5.

Exposition of the Discourse on the Supreme

Now he will explain the Paramaṭṭhakasutta Exposition -

31.

"Dwelling in views as 'supreme'" means: There are some ascetics and brahmins who hold wrong views. They, having taken, having learnt, having grasped, having adhered to, having clung to one or another of the sixty-two wrong views as "this is supreme, highest, foremost, distinguished, eminent, best, excellent", dwell, sojourn, reside, and undergo probation in their own view. Just as householders dwell in houses, or those with offences dwell in offences, or those with mental defilements dwell in mental defilements; just so there are some ascetics and brahmins who hold wrong views. They, having taken, having learnt, having grasped, having adhered to, having clung to one or another of the sixty-two wrong views as "this is supreme, highest, foremost, distinguished, eminent, best, excellent", dwell, sojourn, reside, and undergo probation in their own view - "dwelling in views as 'supreme'".

"Whatever a creature makes superior in the world" means: "What" means which. "Makes superior" means makes superior, makes the highest, foremost, distinguished, eminent, best, excellent; "this Teacher is omniscient" - makes superior, makes the highest, foremost, distinguished, eminent, best, excellent. "This Teaching is well proclaimed" etc. "This group is practicing well" etc. "This view is auspicious" etc. "This practice is well laid down" etc. "This path is leading to liberation" - makes superior, makes the highest, foremost, distinguished, eminent, best, excellent, generates, brings forth. "Creature" means a being, a man, etc. a human being. "In the world" means in the realm of misery, etc. in the world of sense bases - "whatever a creature makes superior in the world".

"He calls all others 'inferior' compared to that" means: setting aside one's own teacher, preaching of the teaching, group, view, practice, and path, one throws, casts out, and utterly eliminates all other doctrines. "That teacher is not omniscient, the teaching is not well proclaimed, the group is not practicing well, the view is not auspicious, the practice is not well laid down, the path is not leading to liberation, there is no purity or purification or complete purity or freedom or liberation or complete liberation here, here they do not become pure or become purified or become completely pure or become free or become liberated or become completely liberated, they are inferior, low, inferior, sinful, insignificant, limited" - thus he says, thus he speaks, thus he declares, thus he explains, thus he expresses - "he calls all others 'inferior' compared to that".

"Therefore he has not passed beyond contentions" means: "Therefore" means for that reason, because of that, on that condition, with that as source. "Contentions" means disputes about views, quarrels about views, strife about views, contentions about views, and conflicts about views. "Has not passed beyond" means has not gone beyond, has not completely gone beyond, has not passed beyond - "therefore he has not passed beyond contentions".

Therefore the Blessed One said -

32.

"Whatever benefit he sees in himself, in what is seen, heard, in morality and observances, or in what is sensed": "In himself" means whatever in oneself. "Self" is called wrong view. He sees two benefits in his own view - a benefit pertaining to the present life and a benefit pertaining to the future life. What is the benefit of wrong view pertaining to the present life? Whatever view the teacher holds, the disciples hold that same view. The disciples honour, respect, revere, and venerate the teacher who holds that view, and on that account he obtains the requisites of robes, almsfood, lodging, and medicine for the sick. This is the benefit of wrong view pertaining to the present life. What is the benefit of wrong view pertaining to the future life? This view is sufficient for the state of a serpent, or the state of a supaṇṇa, or the state of a demon, or the state of a titan, or the state of a gandhabba, or the state of a great king, or the state of Indra, or the state of Brahma, or the state of a god; this view is sufficient for purity, for purification, for complete purity, for freedom, for liberation, for complete liberation; by this view they become pure, become purified, become completely pure, become free, become liberated, become completely liberated; "By this view I shall become pure, I shall become purified, I shall become completely pure, I shall become free, I shall become liberated, I shall become completely liberated" - thus he expects fruit in the future. This is the benefit of wrong view pertaining to the future life. He sees these two benefits in his own view, he also sees two benefits in purification by what is seen, he also sees two benefits in purification by what is heard, he also sees two benefits in purification by morality, he also sees two benefits in purification by ascetic practices, he also sees two benefits in purification by what is sensed - a benefit pertaining to the present life and a benefit pertaining to the future life. What is the benefit of purification by what is sensed pertaining to the present life? Whatever view the teacher holds, the disciples hold that same view. Etc. This is the benefit of purification by what is sensed pertaining to the present life. What is the benefit of purification by what is sensed pertaining to the future life? This view is sufficient for the state of a serpent, or etc. This is the benefit of purification by what is sensed pertaining to the future life. He also sees, perceives, looks at, ponders, examines these two benefits in purification by what is sensed - "whatever benefit he sees in himself, in what is seen, heard, in morality and observances, or in what is sensed."

"Having grasped that very thing there": "That very thing" means that wrong view. "There" means in one's own view, in one's own acceptance, in one's own preference, in one's own theory. "Having grasped" means having taken, having learnt, having grasped, having adhered to, having clung to "this is supreme, highest, foremost, distinguished, eminent, best, excellent" - "having grasped that very thing there."

"He sees all else as inferior" means: Another teacher, preaching of the teaching, group, view, practice, path - as low, as inferior, as lesser, as base, as worthless, as insignificant - is seen, perceived, looked at, observed, pondered, examined - he sees all else as inferior.

Therefore the Blessed One said -

33.

"That too the skilled call a mental knot." "The skilled" means those who are skilled in the aggregates, skilled in the elements, skilled in the sense bases, skilled in dependent origination, skilled in the establishments of mindfulness, skilled in the right strivings, skilled in the bases for spiritual power, skilled in the faculties, skilled in the powers, skilled in the factors of enlightenment, skilled in the path, skilled in the fruit, skilled in Nibbāna - those skilled ones thus say - "This is a mental knot, this is an attachment, this is a bondage, this is an impediment." Thus they say, thus they speak, thus they declare, thus they explain, thus they express - that too the skilled call a mental knot.

"Whereby one dependent sees another as inferior." "Whereby one dependent" means whereby one is dependent on, reliant on, clinging to, approached, attached to, inclined towards a teacher, preaching of the teaching, group, view, practice, or path. "Sees another as inferior" means another teacher, preaching of the teaching, group, view, practice, path - as low, as inferior, as lesser, as base, as worthless, as insignificant - is seen, perceived, looked at, observed, pondered, reflected upon, examined - whereby one dependent sees another as inferior.

"Therefore a monk should not depend on what is seen or heard or sensed, or on moral rules and austerities." "Therefore" means therefore, for that reason, because of that, on that condition, with that as source, one should not depend on, should not grasp, should not fondle, should not be established in what is seen or purity through what is seen, or what is heard or purity through what is heard, or what is sensed or purity through what is sensed, or morality or purity through morality, or ascetic practice or purity through ascetic practice - therefore a monk should not depend on what is seen or heard or sensed, or on moral rules and austerities.

Therefore the Blessed One said -

34.

"One should not form a view in the world, either by knowledge or by rites and observances." By knowledge of the eight attainments or by knowledge of the five direct knowledges or by wrong knowledge, by morality or by ascetic practice or by moral rules and austerities, one should not form a view, should not generate, should not produce, should not bring forth, should not bring into existence. "In the world" means in the realm of misery, etc. in the world of sense bases - one should not form a view in the world, either by knowledge or by rites and observances.

"One should not represent oneself as 'equal.'" One should not represent oneself as "I am equal" by birth or by clan or by being a son of good family or by beauty of complexion or by wealth or by study or by field of work or by field of craft or by subject of study or by learning or by discernment or by some subject matter or other - one should not represent oneself as "equal."

"Nor should one think oneself 'inferior' or 'superior.'" One should not represent oneself as "I am inferior" by birth or by clan, etc. or by some subject matter or other. One should not represent oneself as "I am superior" by birth or by clan, etc. or by some subject matter or other - nor should one think oneself "inferior" or "superior."

Therefore the Blessed One said -

35.

"Having abandoned self, not clinging": "Having abandoned self" means having abandoned the view of self. "Having abandoned self" means having abandoned grasping. "Having abandoned self" means having abandoned, having given up, having dispelled, having put an end to, having brought to obliteration what has been grasped, adhered to, attached to, clung to, inclined to through the influence of craving and through the influence of views - having abandoned self. "Not clinging" means not clinging to the four kinds of clinging, not grasping, not adhering, not attaching - having abandoned self, not clinging.

"He does not make even knowledge a support" means by knowledge of the eight attainments or by knowledge of the five direct knowledges or by wrong knowledge, he does not make a support of craving or a support of views, does not generate, does not produce, does not bring forth, does not bring into existence - he does not make even knowledge a support.

"He indeed does not follow a faction among those who are divided" means he indeed among those who are divided, broken, fallen into doubt, become uncertain, of various views, of various acceptances, of various preferences, of various doctrines, dependent on various view-supports, going to bias through desire, going to bias through hatred, going to bias through delusion, going to bias through fear - he does not go to bias through desire, does not go to bias through hatred, does not go to bias through delusion, does not go to bias through fear, does not go through the influence of lust, does not go through the influence of hate, does not go through the influence of delusion, does not go through the influence of conceit, does not go through the influence of views, does not go through the influence of restlessness, does not go through the influence of doubt, does not go through the influence of underlying tendencies, is not driven, led, carried, or drawn along by divisive mental states - he indeed does not follow a faction among those who are divided.

"He does not fall back on any view": His sixty-two wrong views have been abandoned, cut off, appeased, tranquillised, incapable of arising, burnt by the fire of knowledge. He does not fall back on any wrong view, does not return to it - he does not fall back on any view.

Therefore the Blessed One said -

36.

"For one in whom there is no aspiration for either extreme here, for this or that existence, here or beyond": "For whom" means for the Worthy One who has eliminated the mental corruptions. "Extreme" means: contact is one extreme, the origin of contact is the second extreme; the past is one extreme, the future is the second extreme; pleasant feeling is one extreme, unpleasant feeling is the second extreme; mentality is one extreme, materiality is the second extreme; the six internal sense bases are one extreme, the six external sense bases are the second extreme; identity is one extreme, the origin of identity is the second extreme. Aspiration is called craving. Whatever lust, passion, etc. covetousness, greed, unwholesome root.

"For this or that existence" means for this or that existence, for kammic becoming, for rebirth, for sensual existence; for kammic becoming, for sensual existence, for rebirth, for fine-material existence; for kammic becoming, for fine-material existence, for rebirth, for immaterial existence; for kammic becoming, for immaterial existence, for rebirth, for repeated existence, for repeated destination, for repeated rebirth, for repeated conception, for repeated production of individual existence. "Here" means one's own individual existence; "beyond" means another's individual existence; "here" means one's own matter, feeling, perception, activities, consciousness; "beyond" means another's matter, feeling, perception, activities, consciousness; "here" means the six internal sense bases; "beyond" means the six external sense bases; "here" means the human world; "beyond" means the heavenly world; "here" means the sensual element; "beyond" means the fine-material sphere element and immaterial sphere element; "here" means the sensual element and fine-material sphere element. "Beyond" means the immaterial sphere element. "For one in whom there is no aspiration for either extreme here, for this or that existence, here or beyond": For whom regarding both extremes and for this or that existence and here and beyond, aspiration, craving does not exist, is not present, is not found, is not obtained - abandoned, cut off, appeased, tranquillised, incapable of arising, burnt by the fire of knowledge - for one in whom there is no aspiration for either extreme here, for this or that existence, here or beyond.

"For him there are no dwellings whatsoever": "Dwellings" means there are two dwellings - dwelling in craving and dwelling in views, etc. this is dwelling in craving, etc. this is dwelling in views. "For him" means for the Worthy One who has eliminated the mental corruptions. "For him there are no dwellings whatsoever" means dwellings for him are not any, do not exist, are not present, are not found, are not obtained - abandoned, cut off, appeased, tranquillised, incapable of arising, burnt by the fire of knowledge - for him there are no dwellings whatsoever.

"Having discriminated what is grasped among phenomena": "Among phenomena": among the sixty-two wrong views. "Having discriminated": having discriminated, having decided, having examined, having thoroughly examined, having weighed, having determined, having made clear, having made manifest. "What is grasped": grasping by limitation, grasping by portion, grasping by excellence, grasping by share, grasping by accumulation, grasping by collection - "this is true, real, actual, factual, exact, not reversed" - grasped, adhered to, attached to, clung to, inclined to - does not exist, is not present, is not found, is not obtained - abandoned, cut off, appeased, tranquillised, incapable of arising, burnt by the fire of knowledge - having discriminated what is grasped among phenomena.

Therefore the Blessed One said -

37.

"For him here in what is seen, heard, or sensed, there is not even a minute perception that is designed": "For him" means for the Worthy One who has eliminated the mental corruptions. For him, regarding what is seen or purity through what is seen, or what is heard or purity through what is heard, or what is sensed or purity through what is sensed, preceded by perception, to be considered through perception, through strife of perception, by perception raised up, produced, designed, arranged, conditioned, prepared, established - wrong view does not exist, is not present, is not found, is not obtained - abandoned, cut off, appeased, tranquillised, incapable of arising, burnt by the fire of knowledge - for him here in what is seen, heard, or sensed, there is not even a minute perception that is designed.

"That brahmin not taking up any view": "Brahmin": through having warded off seven qualities, one is a brahmin - identity view has been warded off, etc. Unattached, such a one is called a Brahmā. "That brahmin not taking up any view": That brahmin not taking up any view, not grasping, not adhering to, not clinging to - that brahmin not taking up any view.

"By what could one here in the world assign him?": "Assign" - there are two kinds of assigning - assigning through craving and assigning through wrong view, etc. This is assigning through craving, etc. This is assigning through wrong view. For him, assigning through craving has been abandoned, assigning through wrong view has been relinquished. Because assigning through craving has been abandoned, because assigning through wrong view has been relinquished, by what lust would he assign, by what hate would he assign, by what delusion would he assign, by what conceit would he assign, by what wrong view would he assign, by what restlessness would he assign, by what sceptical doubt would he assign, by what underlying tendencies would he assign - as "lustful" or "corrupted" or "deluded" or "bound" or "adhered to" or "gone to distraction" or "gone to the undesirable" or "gone to strength"? Those volitional activities have been abandoned. Because volitional activities have been abandoned, by what would he assign the destinations - as "doomed to Niraya Hell" or "of the animal realm" or "of the ghost realm" or "human" or "god" or "material" or "immaterial" or "percipient" or "non-percipient" or "neither percipient nor non-percipient"? That cause does not exist, that condition does not exist, that reason does not exist, by which he would assign, would consider, would put forward a consideration. "In the world" means in the realm of misery, etc. in the world of sense bases - by what could one here in the world assign him?

Therefore the Blessed One said -

38.

"They do not form views nor do they hold anything as foremost": "Assign" - there are two kinds of assigning - assigning through craving and assigning through wrong view. What is assigning through craving? Whatever is made a boundary, made a limit, made a restriction, made an end, possessed, cherished by what is reckoned as craving - "This is mine, that is mine, this much is mine, to this extent is mine, mine are forms, sounds, odours, flavours, tangible objects, bed-coverings, outer garments, female and male slaves, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, elephants, cattle, horses and mares, fields, sites, unwrought gold, gold, villages, market towns, royal cities, countries, provinces, treasuries, and storehouses" - even the entire great earth one cherishes through the influence of craving, as far as the one hundred and eight thoughts of craving - this is assigning through craving. What is assigning through wrong view? Identity view with twenty bases, wrong view with ten bases, extreme-grasping view with ten bases, whatever such view, wrong view, thicket of views, wilderness of views, wriggling of views, writhing of views, mental fetter of wrong view, grasping, formal acceptance, adherence, adherence, wrong path, wrong path, wrong course, sphere of sectarian doctrines, grasping through perversion, grasping through reversal, grasping through distortion, wrong grasping, grasping "what is actual in what is not actual," as far as the sixty-two wrong views - This is assigning through wrong view. For them, assigning through craving has been abandoned, assigning through wrong view has been relinquished. Because assigning through craving has been abandoned, because assigning through wrong view has been relinquished, they do not assign assigning through craving or assigning through wrong view, they do not generate, they do not produce, they do not bring forth, they do not bring into existence - "they do not form views."

"Nor do they hold anything as foremost": "Putting in front" - there are two kinds of putting in front - putting craving in front and putting wrong view in front, etc. this is putting craving in front, etc. this is putting wrong view in front. For them, putting craving in front has been abandoned, putting wrong view in front has been relinquished. Because putting craving in front has been abandoned, because putting wrong view in front has been relinquished, they do not walk about having put craving or wrong view in front, they are not with craving as their flag, not with craving as their banner, not with craving as their authority, not with wrong view as their flag, not with wrong view as their banner, not with wrong view as their authority. They do not walk about surrounded by craving or wrong view - "they do not form views nor do they hold anything as foremost."

"The teachings are not accepted by them": "Mental states" are called the sixty-two wrong views. "By them" means by those Worthy Ones who have eliminated the mental corruptions. "Are not accepted" means "The world is eternal, only this is the truth, anything else is vain" - this is not accepted. "The world is non-eternal... the world is finite... the world is infinite... the soul is the same as the body... the soul is one thing and the body another... the Tathāgata exists after death... the Tathāgata does not exist after death... the Tathāgata both exists and does not exist after death... the Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death, only this is the truth, anything else is vain" - this is not accepted - "the teachings are not accepted by them."

A brahmin is not to be guided by rites and observances. "Not" is a rejection. "Brahmin": through having warded off seven qualities, one is a brahmin - identity view has been warded off, etc. unattached, such a one is called a Brahmā. A brahmin is not to be guided by rites and observances. A brahmin by morality or by ascetic practice or by moral rules and austerities is not driven, is not led, is not carried, is not drawn along - a brahmin is not to be guided by rites and observances.

One who has gone beyond does not fall back, such is he. "The far shore" is called the Deathless, Nibbāna. That which is the stilling of all activities, the relinquishment of all clinging, the elimination of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nibbāna. He has gone beyond, attained the far shore, gone to the end, attained the end, gone to the summit, attained the summit, [in detail] the cycle of birth and death, there is no more rebirth for him - one who has gone beyond. "Does not fall back": whatever mental defilements have been abandoned by the path of stream-entry, he does not come again to those mental defilements, does not fall back, does not return. Whatever mental defilements have been abandoned by the path of once-returning, he does not come again to those mental defilements, does not fall back, does not return. Whatever mental defilements have been abandoned by the path of non-returning, he does not come again to those mental defilements, does not fall back, does not return. Whatever mental defilements have been abandoned by the path of arahantship, he does not come again to those mental defilements, does not fall back, does not return - one who has gone beyond does not fall back. "Such is he": a Worthy One is such in five ways - such regarding the desirable and undesirable, such as one who has given up, such as one who has crossed over, such as one who is released, such as one described thereby.

How is a Worthy One such regarding the desirable and undesirable? A Worthy One is such in gain, such in loss, such in fame, such in disgrace, such in praise, such in blame, such in happiness, such in suffering. If some were to anoint one arm with fragrance, and some were to pare one arm with an axe - in that there is no lust, in that there is no aversion, having abandoned attraction and aversion, having passed beyond elation and dejection, having transcended compliance and opposition. Thus a Worthy One is such regarding the desirable and undesirable.

How is a Worthy One such as one who has given up? For a Worthy One, lust has been given up, vomited out, released, abandoned, relinquished. Hate, etc. Delusion... Wrath... Hostility... Contempt... Insolence... envy... stinginess... deceit... fraudulence... obstinacy... impetuosity... conceit... arrogance... vanity... negligence... all mental defilements... all misconducts... all disturbances... all fevers... all torments... all unwholesome volitional activities have been given up, vomited out, released, abandoned, relinquished. Thus a Worthy One is such as one who has given up.

How is the Worthy One such a one as one who has crossed over? The Worthy One has crossed over the mental flood of sensuality, crossed over the mental flood of becoming, crossed over the mental flood of views, crossed over the mental flood of ignorance, crossed over the entire path of wandering in the round of rebirths, crossed over, gone out, passed over, transcended, gone beyond. He has completed his dwelling, accomplished his conduct, the cycle of birth and death, there is no more rebirth for him. Thus the Worthy One is such a one as one who has crossed over.

How is the Worthy One such a one as one who is released? The Worthy One's mind is released, liberated, well liberated from lust; the mind is released, liberated, well liberated from hate; the mind is released, liberated, well liberated from delusion; from wrath... etc. from hostility... from contempt... from insolence... of envy... from stinginess... of deceit... from fraudulence... from obstinacy... from rivalry... from conceit... from arrogance... from vanity... from negligence... from all mental defilements... from all misconduct... from all disturbances... from all fevers... from all torments... from all unwholesome volitional activities the mind is released, liberated, well liberated. Thus the Worthy One is such a one as one who is released.

How is the Worthy One such a one as described accordingly? The Worthy One, when morality is present, is described as moral - such a one as described accordingly; when faith is present, is described as faithful - such a one as described accordingly; when energy is present, is described as energetic - such a one as described accordingly; when mindfulness is present, is described as mindful - such a one as described accordingly; when concentration is present, is described as concentrated - such a one as described accordingly; when wisdom is present, is described as wise - such a one as described accordingly; when true knowledge is present, is described as possessor of the threefold true knowledge - such a one as described accordingly; when direct knowledge is present, is described as possessor of the six higher knowledges - such a one as described accordingly. Thus the Worthy One is such a one as described accordingly - one who has gone beyond does not fall back, such is he.

Therefore the Blessed One said -

The Analytic Explanation of the Paramaṭṭhaka Discourse is fifth.