The Medium Discourses

Chapter 7: King Dīrghāyu

Notes

1. For the source text, cf. T26.1.562a19-5c26.

   It’s been suggested that MN 148 and SĀ 2.228 (304) are parallels for this sūtra. Both MN 148 and MĀ 86 include the six sets of six, but MĀ 86 has been expanded greatly to include much more. The conclusions of MN 148 and MĀ 86 are in very different formats, yet we can see that they both take the practitioner through a similar set of contemplations about the topics covered in the beginning of both sūtras. MN 148 analyzes a set of six topics as impermanent and not self, which leads to disillusionment and liberation. MĀ 86 traces a similar arc, but it does so as it defines the summit as a turning point in practice. Thus, there are vague similarities at best. By contrast, SĀ 2.228 matches MN 148 fairly closely.

   It’s clear, then, that if this sūtra was originally related to these other two texts, it underwent a large addition of material, including a background story and a section on the thirty-seven factors of the path along with other topics drawn from the Sarvāstivāda Saṅgīti Sūtra. The conclusion of the entire sūtra would also have been rewritten to serve as an additional teaching about the Sarvāstivāda concept of the summit of practice.

   In its final form, this sūtra looks more closely related to the Saṅgiti Sūtra. Perhaps it was intended to serve as a concise training manual and the compilers included material from multiple sources including SĀ 2.228. [back]

2. afflicted. C. 煩熱, P. pariḷāha, S. paridāha. The C. translation combines the two common readings of S. paridāha, which can mean “burning hot” (熱) or “sorrow, pain, mental anguish” (煩). The latter is the more appropriate meaning here, but the translator apparently coined this C. term for the word to work in either usage. I’ve translated the term contextually here as simply “afflicted.” [back]

3. This topic seems inserted, given that the Buddha has just announced he will be teaching the sense fields. The next two topics likely formed the original core of this sūtra as they present the sense fields. The six sets of six naturally followed given that they all relate to the sense fields, too. Internal evidence that the aggregates do not belong here is also found at the end of MĀ 86 when the first ten topics beginning with the inner sense fields are listed as subjects of contemplation.

   We should note that this initial set of ten topics (the aggregates, six inner and outer sense fields, awarenesses, contacts, feelings, conceptions, cravings, and elements) also occur as a set of individual sūtras at SĀ 39.1-10 (892). This shows that they were a related set of items outside of the present text. [back]

4. six kinds of awareness. C. 六識身, P. cha viññāṇakāyā. Lit. “six bodies (or assemblages) of awareness.” Each “body” (kāya) refers to the many awarenesses derived from one of the senses. Abhidharma commentators explained the first five awarenesses as separate channels of sensory input that came together in mental awareness to produce conscious experience.

   While this topic doesn’t occur anywhere else in MĀ, it is mentioned in a couple handfuls of SĀ sūtras. It primarily served as the definition of the aggregate of awareness (e.g. SĀ 1.58 (61), SĀ 1.153 (41), SĀ 1.154 (42), SĀ 1.177 (109)).

   Sometimes, a “body of awareness” is mentioned without the six kinds of awareness (e.g. SĀ 1.29 (23), SĀ 1.30 (24), SĀ 2.41-48 (198), SĀ 2.49-56 (199), SĀ 3.12 (294)). In these cases, the exact meaning of kāya is not always clear and might be read lit. as the physical body, but it seems to actually refer to the mind as a totality in passages that offer more context. This totality was perhaps later analyzed into six types to explain the function of the senses. [back]

5. six kinds of experienced pleasures. C. 六更樂身, P. cha phassakāyā. Lit. “six bodies (or assemblages) of contact.” The C. translation of P. phassa (G. phaṣa, S. sparśa) actually means “body of experiencing pleasures” where 更 is read to mean “experience” or “subsequent.” This would seem to read S. sparśa not as “contact, touch” but instead as “pleasant feeling, comfort,” which is a possible reading in Sanskrit for the word, similar to the English expression “a woman’s touch” to mean to be comforted by physical contact. In the same way, S. sparśa could allude to either pleasant and unpleasant feelings. This reading of sparśa seems would be roughly equivalent to the “five kinds of sensuality” (S. pañca kāmaguṇa), which were understood to mean enjoyable sensations felt through the five senses.

   This translation of sparśa as 更樂 was not universal in Chinese translations. It’s the reading found in the Madhyama Āgama, Ekottarika Āgama, early Abhidharma texts, and some other individual translations. The more literal translation as “touch or contact” (觸) is found in the Dīrgha Āgama, Saṃyukta Āgama, and most later Sanskrit translations, such as those by Xuanzang and Yijing. There was clearly disagreement on how the term should be read during the early period of Chinese Buddhist translation which resolved to the reading we’re familiar with today as “contact” during the Tang dynasty era. This may represented ambiguity in the Prakrit tradition, or these readings might have reflected sectarian disagreements that disappeared in later Buddhist tradition. [back]

6. six kinds of feeling. C. 六覺身, P. cha vedanākāyā. Lit. “six bodies (or assemblages) of feeling.” The C. translation of P. vedanā (G. vedana, S. vedanā) means “feeling” where 覺 is read to mean “to experience” or “notice.” Here, though, feeling is usually interpreted to refer to the reaction that mind has to any given sensation, which causes feelings of pleasure, pain, or neither about the sensation. These feelings then reinforce attachments and aversions to these experiences. Once these attachments and aversions are in place, the suffering of the first noble truth is in operation when we are frustrated by our experiences not matching what we want or don’t want. Here, these feelings are divided into the feelings that arise from each of the six senses. [back]

7. six kinds of conception. C. 六想身, P. cha saññākāyā. Lit. “six bodies (or assemblages) of feeling.” The C. translation of P. saññā (G. saṃña, S. saṃjñā) means “idea, notion, mental image.” This term 想 was often used interchangeably with 相, which causes confusion for readers and translators today because 相 more often translates words like S. nimitta (“omen, sign”) or lakṣaṇa (“indication, symbol, quality”). 相 was a broader term that could refer to mental images in the right context but generally referred to external forms and appearances. Later Chinese translators took better care to avoid the confusion this sometimes causes, but it occurs fairly often in the earlier Āgama translations.

   The role that S. saṃjñā plays in early Buddhist psychological theory is to represent the notions or ideas that form as a result of our experience of the world. Saṃjñā was also the term used for subtle mental activity that occurs in deep meditative states. [back]

8. six kinds of intention. C. 六思身, P. cha cetanākāyā. Lit. “six bodies (or assemblages) of feeling.” The C. translation of P. cetanā (G. saṃña, S. cetanā) means “thinking, deliberating, planning” (among other things). This matches the Buddhist use of cetanā as referring to the active thinking, intending, or willing action of the mind as an agent.

   The Buddhist interpretation of cetanā as “intending” or “thinking” specifically is unusual when compared to non-Buddhist usage in Sanskrit. Generally, cetanā refers to the conscious or intelligent faculty rather than its action, thus readings such as “consciousness, sense, understanding, intelligence” are typical. For Buddhists, this term was put to a much narrower purpose referring to the active decision-making of a karmic agent. [back]

9. six kinds of craving. C. 六愛身, P. cha taṇhākāyā. Lit. “six bodies (or assemblages) of craving.” The C. translation of P. taṇhā (G. taṣ̄a, S. tṛṣṇā) means “love, fondness, possessiveness.” Like the English word “love,” 愛 has a wide range of meanings both positive and negative. The Buddhist usage, however, is the negative aspect of having an urgent desire for something that’s upsetting. The Indic word has its root in “thirst,” and this meaning was extended to any urgent desire. Generally, craving was considered the result of forming attachments to things that give pleasure or delight and one of the principal causes of suffering. [back]

10. six elements. C. 六界, P. cha dhātuyo. The C. translation of P. dhātu (G. dhadu, S. dhātu) means “domain, realm, sphere.” In Buddhist usage, dhātu could have the meaning of realm or sphere (e.g., the three realms of existence), but here the intended meaning is “element, component, constituent.” This dual usage makes translating dhātu with a single word in Chinese or English impossible. This situation creates ambiguities at times when it’s not clear which reading is the intended one. Here, the meaning is “element of existence.” The four primary material elements of earth, water, fire, and air has been expanded to include two immaterial elements of space and awareness. [back]

11. four right abandonments. C. 四正斷, P. cattāro sammappadhānā, S. catvāri samyak-prahāṇāni. C. 斷 here translates S. prahāṇa, which means “abandonment.” This term, however, sounds strange in the passage where in Pali and some Chinese sources the term is instead pradhāna. This reading of prahāṇa as “abandonment” is confirmed by later Tibetan translations as well. Thus, there is a problem as to what the interpretation of “abandonment” was here. Surely it doesn’t mean that good qualities are abandoned.

    One clue, however, can be found in MĀ 222, where the four right abandonments serve as the method of abandoning ignorance (cf. T26.1.805c26, which reads: 欲斷無明者，當修四正斷。). This passage is repeated for many other synonyms for “abandoning” ignorance, but “abandoning” was the word being interpreted. It’s possible then that the four right abandonments were considered to be four ways of abandoning ignorance in the tradition of the Madhyama Āgama.

    There is also a passage in the Mahāvibhāṣā, an authoritative Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma commentary, that says that monks were taught the four right abandonments “because of their error-creating bad practices” (cf. T1545.27.28b27, which reads: 彼由顛倒造惡行故。有說四正斷是。).

    Finally, there is another brief passage in the Mahāvibhāṣā that addresses the difficulty of reading the second pair of efforts as “abandonments” of good qualities. A couple different rationalizations are offered: “There is no error because the first [two] are called abandonments. Or, these four items have abandonment as their goal. That is, the first two abandon the obstacle of mental defilement, and the last two abandon the obstacle of knowledge. This is because it is the lack of knowledge that is abandoned when cultivating good qualities and both temporary and eternal abandonments are called abandonments here. There are places where it is explained that these are called right excellencies because the lack of error sends one to the completion of the supreme task” (cf. T1545.27.724b25, which reads: 以初為名故無有失。或此四種皆有斷義。謂前二斷煩惱障。後二斷所知障。修善法時斷無知故。暫斷永斷俱名斷故。有處說此名為正勝。無倒策發成勝事故。).

    We can see from these passages that the C. term 斷 did translate prahāṇa and that it was understood to mean “abandonment.” There was no translation error here despite the awkwardness of the passage when we read it without further context. [back]

12. accomplishes the desire for samādhi and burns his actions. He cultivates the miraculous abilities by relying on the lack of desire, seclusion, and cessation, and aspires to become unranked … effort … mind … contemplation … . C. 成就欲定燒諸行。修習如意足，依於無欲、依離、依滅，願至非品⋯精進⋯心⋯觀⋯, P. chandasamādhipadhānasaṅkhārasamannāgataṁ iddhipādaṁ bhāveti … vīriya … citta … vīmaṁsā, S. chandasamādhiprahāṇasaṃskārasamanvāgata ṛddhipāda ityucyantete … vīrya … citta … mīmānsā. The translation of S. ṛddhi as 如意 lit. means “at will” or “as one wishes,” which refers to magical powers like flight, changing one’s appearance, and walking through walls, which allow one to do as they wish. I have translated the term as miraculous, however, because of the difficulty of rendering the C. into English (“the abilities to do as one wishes”?) and wouldn’t communicate the magical nature of the abilities in question.

    This description of the four miraculous abilities also appears in MĀ 206 and MĀ 222. These three descriptions in MĀ were not translated consistently, however. Here in MĀ 86, the most doubtful thing is that the word prahāṇa apparently had become a word that meant “to burn” (燒). This results in a meaning like “burning away actions” (reading C. 諸行, S. saṃskāra as referring to karmic actions).

    In MĀ 206, the description instead says one “cultivates desire for samādhi and accomplishes abandonment and the miraculous abilities …” (cf. T26.1.781b5, 修欲定心成就斷、如意足⋯). The remainder is the same.

    MĀ 222 has another slightly different description: One “cultivates desire for samādhi and miraculous abilities and accomplishes the abandonment of actions …” (cf. T26.1.806a22, 修欲定如意足，成就斷行⋯). A very similar passage to this one also occurs in MĀ 70 (cf. T26.1.524c17). It differs from MĀ 222 by replacing “becoming unranked” (趣非品) with “leading to escape” (趣向出要).

    These descriptions differ from the P. and S. sources I have found in a couple ways. First, they lack a word like P. samannāgata or S. samanvāgata. This additional word functions to convert the clause prior to the miraculous abilities into a long compound describing those abilities. This does not happen in MĀ’s description, which makes the miraculous abilities the end result of cultivating samadhi and the abandonment of actions. A second difference is that here the practice is said to rely on the process of renunciation and resulting in the practicianer “becoming unranked” (非品) or “escaping” (出要).

    If we turn to Xuanzang’s Abhidharma translations, we can find more precise translations of this formula from the Sarvāstivāda tradition. An example is the description found in the Saṅgītiparyāya: “desiring samādhi and abandoning actions accomplishes the miraculous abilities” (cf. T1536.26.391c26, 欲三摩地斷行成就神足). It’s not clear whether a word like S. samanvāgata was present in Xuanzang’s source texts. If it was, he interpreted it to mean “to accomplish” (成就).

    On the other hand, we find a longer description of the miraculous abilities in Xuanzang’s translation of the Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. An example passage that includes the traditional description reads: “Furthermore, Subhūti, the sign of a bodhisattva mahāsattva’s great vehicle is known as the four miraculous abilities. What are the four? Subhūti, when a bodhisattva mahāsattva cultivates the perfection of wisdom, he does so with apprehending nothing as his method. He cultivates the desire for samādhi, abandons action, and accomplishes miraculous abilities relying on renunciation, lack of defilement, cessation, and turning to equanimity. This is the first.” (復次，善現！菩薩摩訶薩大乘相者，謂四神足。何等為四？善現！若菩薩摩訶薩修行般若波羅蜜多時，以無所得而為方便，修欲三摩地斷行成就神足，依離、依無染、依滅、迴向捨。是為第一。 T220.5.300a6-10). This longer description occurs a couple more times in the entirety of Xuanzang’s compendium of prajñāpāramitā sūtras. It is very much like the one we find in MĀ.

    What all of this shows is that the variations of the canonical descriptions of these four miraculous abilities generally represent a concise and longer form. The longer descriptions appear to be later expansions given how unstable their wording was from one source to the next. On the other hand, the concise form was ambiguous, and so the interpretations varied from one tradition to the next (or, as was the case in MĀ, from one reading to the next). [back]

13. This passage has been abbreviated. For the full description of the four meditations along with my notes on how they were interpreted by Sarvāstivādins, cf. MĀ 2 and its notes. [back]

14. A canonical definition of the four noble truths can be found in MĀ 31, which provides a commentary attributed to Śāriputra. [back]

15. This set of four conceptions is interpreted in different ways in Sarvāstivāda sources. Often, small conceptions are equated with conceptions about the desire realm, great conceptions are about the form realm, measureless conceptions are about the heavens of empty space and awareness in the formless realm, and the conception of nothing relates to the heaven of nothingness in the formless realm. These different cosmological realms can be taken literally as places where beings are born and also experienced as meditative attainments.

    There are other interpretations to be found as well. In the Abhidharma Saṅgītiparyāya, for example, we find these conceptions to simply describe the extent of any given visualization: Small conceptions refer to thinking about limited forms. Example forms given are the images of corpses in various stages of decomposition contemplated in the meditations on impurity. Other examples are the four material elements, the primary colors, and the ideas that are central to Dharma practice. Great conceptions refer to these same examples, but they are vast rather than limited. Measureless conceptions refer to the same examples but in a limitless scope. Finally, the conception of nothing is said to be the appearance of the heaven of nothingness (cf. T1536.26.392a23-b6). This progression is similar to the progressively large scope of the meditations on the four immeasurables, with the notion of nothingness added to it.

    Kumārajīva offered several ways to interpret these four conceptions in his commentary to the Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (cf. T1509.25.325b11). There, he says that small conceptions can refer to small desires, beliefs, forms, and conditions. Small conceptions can also refer to things tied to the desire realm, great conceptions to the form realm, measureless conceptions to the formless heavens, and the conception of nothing relates to the heaven of nothingness. He also says that the four conceptions can relate to mental defilements: Small conceptions refer to being cloaked in the defilements. Great conceptions refer to conceptions that are undefiled but with contamination (e.g., good deeds). Conceptions of nothing refer to uncontaminated conceptions, and measureless conceptions refer to the measureless quality of nirvāṇa. [back]

16. These practices were also sometimes called the four ways to Brahmā, which was perhaps inspired by a Brahmanical meditative practice. [back]

17. These practices were usually called formless samādhis, but here they are simply called “formlessnesses.” They represent access to each of the four formless realm heavens through meditative attainment. When prefaced by the four meditations, they are the culmination of a “grand tour” (so to speak) of Buddhist cosmology effected through meditation. When a ninth attainment of cessation was added to these eight attainments, the grand tour ended with the cessation of mental activity, which is analogous to nirvāṇa. [back]

18. four noble traditions. C. 四聖種, G. cadur ariyavaṃśa, P. cattāro ariyavaṁsā, S. catvāra āryavaṃśāḥ. This rubric lit. means “four noble lineages” or “tribes.” S. vaṁsa normally refers to a family tree or dynasty, and the Dharmaskandha (cf. T1537.26.466c13) says that the Buddha and his disciples formed their own tribe or clan in its commentary on this topic. This indicates that vaṁsa was understood literally by Sarvāstivādins. Still, this set of four āryavaṃśa are not separate groups of people but four customs essential to the ascetic way of life: to rely on whatever food, clothing, and lodging is received and to lead a contemplative life. I’ve therefore opted for “traditions” as my English translation here in the sense of institutions or customs that have a long history but aren’t necessarily hereditary. [back]

19. five concepts that ripen liberation. C. 五熟解脫想, P. pañca vimuttiparipācanīyā saññā. This same rubric is found in DN 33, DĀ 9, and the Sarvāstivāda Saṅgītiparyāya (T1536).

    The version in DĀ 9 is only vaguely similar, being called the “five ways leading to liberation” (C. 五趣解脫). The five concepts listed there are the concepts of the body being impure (身不淨想), that food is impure (C. 食不淨想), that all formed things are impermanent (C. 一切行無常想), that the whole world is unenjoyable (C. 一切世間不可樂想), and death (C. 死想).

    The versions in DN 33 and T1536 share the same name with the version found here in MĀ 86, and the first three items are identical. DN 33 ends the list with the concepts of “abandonment” (pahānasaññā) and “lack of passion” (virāgasaññā). T1536 ends the list with the concepts of “rejecting food” (厭逆食想) and “death” (死想).

    Clearly, there was awareness of this rubric across these different traditions, and they collected very similar sets of concepts under it. The degree of similarity between the Theravāda and Sarvāstivāda lists suggests a direct connection between them, given the degree of difference with DĀ 9. We should note, too, that there were larger lists of concepts with a great deal of overlap. E.g., there was a set of six concepts in the Sariputra Abhidharma called the “six things that are insightful” (六明分法, and it began the same as this list of five concepts. The six concepts were of impermanence, the pain of impermanence, the selflessness of pain, food being impure, the whole whole being unenjoyable, and death (cf. T1548.28.637b1). [back]

20. This rubric is also found in DN 33, DĀ 9, T12, and T1536 (i.e., all four extant versions of the Saṅgīti Sūtra). This version has a somewhat more verbose description than what is found in DN 33, but the version in T12 is even more verbose than this. The DĀ 9 and T1536 versions are similar in detail to DN 33. They are all quite similar, suggesting to me that this must have been a early teaching. [back]

21. As a result of knowing the Dharma and understanding its meaning … their mind becomes stabilized. C. 彼因知法解義故，便得歡悅。因歡悅故，便得歡喜。因歡喜故，便得止身。因止身故，便得覺樂。因覺樂故，便得心定, P. Tassa atthapaṭisaṁvedino dhammapaṭisaṁvedino pāmojjaṁ jāyati, pamuditassa pīti jāyati, pītimanassa kāyo passambhati, passaddhakāyo sukhaṁ vedeti, sukhino cittaṁ samādhiyati.. This key passage is very close to the P. parallel in DN 33. One portion of this passage is of interest because of its equivalence with the progression described by the four meditations. I.e., attaining delight in the Dharma would be equivalent to the first meditation, joy to the second meditation, calming to the third meditation, and stabilizing the mind to the fourth meditation.

    The calmed body leading an experience of happiness appears to echo the key clause in the third meditation that reads: 正念、正智而身覺樂 (“with proper mindfulness and knowledge, they (身) experience happiness”). A common source of confusion about this passage throughout Buddhist history has been what 身 (P/S. kāyena) was intended to mean. The Indic parallels make it clear that it is an instrumental object, not a subject (lit., “experience happiness with the body” not “the body experiences happiness”). There have been two basic schools of thought regarding its meaning.

    One was a literal reading that the body is filled with happiness, which inspired a set of colorful metaphors that illustrate such an experience (cf. e.g., DĀ 20). A second interpretation was that “body” refers to both the mental and physical body, basically meaning the whole person. This was the Sarvāstivāda position.

    This passage gives us another interpretation by separating the body being calm (止身, P. passaddhakāyo) from experiencing happiness (覺樂, P. sukhaṁ vedeti) as two steps, one leading to the other. This allows the experience of happiness to be by an understood subject, presumably the practitioner rather than their body. [back]

22. This conclusion that continues the process from attainment of samādhi to freedom from rebirth is not included in DN 33. DĀ 9 is also more succinct, but it does say that one sees and knows truly after samādhi is attained. T1536 also includes the process of liberation, although it is briefer than this description. [back]

23. memorized. C. 所誦習, G. pa[ri]yata?, P. pariyatta, S. paryāpta. The C. translation here appears to render a word like P. pariyatta (“to learn by heart”), which is its parallel in the DN 33. DĀ 9 translates the parallel as C. 受持 (“accept and retain”). C. 所誦習 literally means “recitation study,” or “learning by rote,” which does describe the way scripture was learned in ancient oral traditions. [back]

24. This series of five scenarios would seem better understood as a progression rather than as five independent ways to become liberated. I.e., a person first receives a teaching from a noble one. They might take that teaching and achieve liberation. However, it may not happen until after they have recited the teaching repeatedly. It might happen after they’ve become a Dharma teacher. It might happen when they think about the teaching. Or, it may not happen until they’ve achieved a measure of samādhi. The overall message is that people reach the point of being able to liberate themselves after different levels of exposure and rehearsal of the teachings. [back]

25. This definition is repeated for the next four elements of escape, which are anger (恚, byāpāda), harmfulness (害, vihesā), form (色, rūpa), and oneself (己身, sakkāya).

    The definition found here is somewhat different and more involved than the one found in Theravāda suttas. For example, AN 5.200 reads: “Take a case where a mendicant focuses on sensual pleasures, but their mind isn’t secure, confident, settled, and decided about them. But when they focus on renunciation, their mind is secure, confident, settled, and decided about it. Their mind is in a good state, well developed, well risen, well freed, and well detached from sensual pleasures. They’re freed from the distressing and feverish defilements that arise because of sensual pleasures, so they don’t experience that kind of feeling. This is how the escape from sensual pleasures is explained” (Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno kāmaṁ manasikaroto kāmesu cittaṁ na pakkhandati nappasīdati na santiṭṭhati na vimuccati. Nekkhammaṁ kho panassa manasikaroto nekkhamme cittaṁ pakkhandati pasīdati santiṭṭhati vimuccati. Tassa taṁ cittaṁ sugataṁ subhāvitaṁ suvuṭṭhitaṁ suvimuttaṁ suvisaṁyuttaṁ kāmehi; ye ca kāmapaccayā uppajjanti āsavā vighātapariḷāhā, mutto so tehi, na so taṁ vedanaṁ vediyati. Idamakkhātaṁ kāmānaṁ nissaraṇaṁ.).

    The definition found in the Dīrgha Āgama’s Saṅgīti Sūtra (DĀ 9) is yet another version that’s also more concise: “Desire does not delight a monk, doesn’t move him, and he doen’t draw near it. He only recalls its escape, delights in its escape, and isn’t lax about drawing near [to that escape]. His mind is tamed, escaping and abandoning desire. As a result of the wrapping of contaminants that desire produces, he completely abandons and extinguishes it, becoming freed. This is the escape from desire.” (比丘於欲不樂、不動，亦不親近。但念出要，樂於遠離，親近不怠。其心調柔，出要離欲。彼所因欲起諸漏纏，亦盡捨滅而得解脫。是為欲出要 [T1.1.51b27-c1]).

    The definition is also verbose in Xuanzang’s translation of the Saṅgītiparyāya Abhidharma (T1536.26.427b21-c2) and another Chinese translation of Saṅgīti Sūtra (T12.1.230b5-11). [back]

26. These seven wealths are the same as the seven wealths of the noble ones (satta ariyadhanāni) in DN 33, but they do not appear in the other extant versions of the Saṅgīti Sūtra. [back]

27. These same seven powers also appear in DN 33. There is also a similar set of seven powers in T12, which substitutes fearlessness (無畏) and tolerance (忍) for conscience and modesty. [back]

28. This segue serves to introduce a separate teaching that has been attached to MĀ 86 as a conclusion. It introduces a stage of practice in Sarvāstivāda thought called the summit (C. 頂, S. mūrdhan), which is part of a seven stage process that leads to stream-entry. This teaching was summarized and discussed in Chapter 15 of Dhammajoti’s Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma, and the stage of the summit is covered on p. 506.

    Essentially, the summit is the point at which a practitioner either proceeds to the next stage or regresses to the previous one. Like a mountain climber who reaches the peak, a practitioner cannot stay at the summit for long. We find here a series of subjects of contemplation related to this stage of practice.

    Readers familiar with the Diamond Sutra (i.e., the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) might also notice that Ānanda’s praise of the Buddha here is the same as Subhūti’s praise. The difference is only the particular teaching that prompted the praise. [back]

29. thoughts caused by what’s true.C. 真實因心. This expression doesn’t occur again in MĀ, and I have not been able to find a parallel expression elsewhere, leaving me to make an educated guess on how to read it. I’ve done this noting that there are similarly constructed expressions in the Śāriputra Abhidharma regarding mental states that result from defilements being ended by views or contemplation (i.e., 見斷因心 and 思惟斷因心). These expressions look like noun compounds in which 見斷因 is a description of 心 (“thoughts (or mental states) caused by what’s abandoned by views”). Taking these examples, I’ve rendered 真實因心 as “thoughts caused by what’s true.” This might refer obliquely to the four noble truths, which are often the main subject of contemplation during this liberation process in Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma. [back]

30. These are the first ten subjects listed at the beginning of MĀ 86 (minus the five aggregates). The abbreviated list simply says “inner and outer” for the inner and outer sense fields, which is also how they are listed in the uddāna verse at the end of MĀ 86. [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 13 April 2026