解脫道論 初禪三善、十相與二十五功德

At the close of the first jhāna, the treatise hands over two things: an account and a ball.

The Earth Sign Is Not the Cause of Joy and Pleasure

The treatise explicitly says that the sign of the earth kasiṇa “is not the cause for the arising of joy and pleasure.” It then writes continuously, “because of leaving the heat of the five hindrances, cultivating according to its nature, the Dhamma-child should give rise to joy and pleasure.” How “leaving the heat of the five hindrances” and “cultivating according to its nature” are segmented and related, and whom “Dhamma-child” precisely designates, remain uncertain here.

Why are joy and pleasure absent from the fourth jhāna? The answer says in order: it is not their place; on attaining the fourth jhāna, joy and pleasure have already been abandoned; and the joy and pleasure that first arose are later subdued and abandoned through means, their danger is seen, and one becomes attached to the pleasure of the most secluded equanimity. The source does not rank these statements by depth.

An Account

The three kinds of goodness are pure practice at the beginning, growth of equanimity in the middle, and gladness at the end. Ten characteristics equal three plus three plus four. Yet the countable items under “twenty-five qualities” number only twenty-four: five factors, five faculties, three kinds of goodness, and eleven fulfillments. The count is short by one. The source does not say which item is missing; both the stated number and the extant list must be retained.

A Ball

The Buddha says: a diligent bath attendant puts bean-and-rice powder in a copper basin and mixes it with water into a ball, moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing. So too, for the bhikkhu whose body and mind are secluded, joy and pleasure pour through until completely moistened, with no place untouched.

The simile explicitly says that bean-and-rice powder mixed and kneaded with water becomes a ball, moistened within and without and cohering without dispersing; and that joy and pleasure born from a secluded body and mind pour through until completely moistened, with no place untouched. Its essentials can be gathered as pervading, moistening, not dispersing. The final sentence says only, “In this way, the copper basin is the sign of the kasiṇa; this is how it may be known.” It does not yet assign each object in the simile.

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Three Kinds of Goodness, Ten Characteristics, and Twenty-Five Qualities of the First Jhāna · Doorway · Summer 2026

Why Does Attending to the Earth Sign Give Rise to Joy and Pleasure?

Question: Why does this meditator, while attending to the sign of the earth kasiṇa, nevertheless give rise to joy and pleasure? Answer: The sign of the earth kasiṇa is not the cause for the arising of joy and pleasure. It is because of “leaving the heat of the five hindrances, cultivating according to its nature”; therefore the Dhamma-child should give rise to joy and pleasure. How “leaving the heat of the five hindrances” and “cultivating according to its nature” are segmented and connected, and whom “Dhamma-child” precisely designates, are not explained here.

Why Do Joy and Pleasure Not Arise in the Fourth Jhāna?

It is further asked: If so, why does the Dhamma-child not give rise to joy and pleasure in the fourth jhāna? Answer: Because that is not their place, and because on attaining the fourth jhāna joy and pleasure have already been abandoned. Again, joy and pleasure that first arose are subdued and abandoned through means. Having seen their danger, one becomes attached to the pleasure of the most secluded equanimity. Therefore joy and pleasure do not arise.

Three Kinds of Goodness

The three kinds of goodness are goodness in the beginning, middle, and end: pure practice is goodness in the beginning, the growth of equanimity is goodness in the middle, and gladness is goodness in the end.

What is pure practice? The various requisites of goodness. What is the growth of equanimity? Stability. What is gladness? Contemplation. Thus the first jhāna accomplishes three kinds of goodness and fulfills ten characteristics.

General Heading of the Ten Characteristics

Three characteristics through pure practice, three through the growth of equanimity, and four through producing gladness.

Three Characteristics through Pure Practice

Question: What are the three characteristics through pure practice? Answer: First, the obstruction to jhāna is cleared from that mind, making the mind pure. Second, through purity, the mind gains the “中 calm sign”; the source does not explain how the character 中 is to be attached. Third, because it gains this sign, the source says, “with respect to that, the mind 跳擲.” The witnesses read 躑 in place of 擲, but the source does not explain this state of mind, and its meaning cannot presently be determined. These are called the three characteristics through pure practice.

Three Characteristics through the Growth of Equanimity

Question: What are the three characteristics through the growth of equanimity? Answer: When the mind is pure, equanimity is accomplished; when seclusion is gained, equanimity is accomplished; abiding in one direction, equanimity is accomplished, and equanimity grows. These are called the three characteristics.

Four Characteristics through Producing Gladness

Question: What are the four characteristics through producing gladness? Answer: The source gives four statements in order. First, one follows and cultivates “qualities born of these ten characteristics,” thereby producing gladness. Second, “these faculties” are made one in flavor, thereby producing gladness. Third, one follows “the vehicle of energy,” thereby producing gladness. Fourth, through being able to practice, gladness is produced. All four statements conclude with producing gladness, but the exact meanings of “qualities born of the ten characteristics,” “one flavor,” and “vehicle of energy” remain uncertain in this passage. These are called the four characteristics.

Twenty-Five Qualities

Thus the first jhāna fulfills ten characteristics. To be associated with twenty-five qualities means that the first jhāna fulfills applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness; fulfills faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom; fulfills beginning, middle, and end; and fulfills gathering-in, practice, seclusion, dependence, reception, following, contemplation, cultivation, power, liberation, and purification.

Abiding, cultivated and accomplished in supreme purity and associated with twenty-five qualities, this is an excellent divine dwelling born of seclusion, called an abiding in joy and pleasure, surpassing the human realm—the excellent place of divine dwelling. The source heading says “twenty-five,” but the list contains only twenty-four countable items: five, five, three, and eleven. It does not identify a missing item, so both the heading and the extant list are retained.

The Buddha's Simile of the Bath Attendant

As the Buddha, the Blessed One, instructed the bhikkhus: a diligent bath attendant or the bath attendant's apprentice puts bean-and-rice powder in a fine copper basin, mixes and kneads it with water, and makes it into a ball. It becomes moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing. In the same way, a bhikkhu whose body and mind are secluded can give rise to joy and pleasure, pouring them through the body until it is completely moistened, with no place untouched. Just as joy and pleasure born of seclusion touch every part of body and mind—such is the diligent bath attendant and the bath attendant's apprentice. The meditator is likewise.

In this way, the copper basin is the sign of the kasiṇa; this is how it may be known.

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Three Kinds of Goodness, Ten Characteristics, and Twenty-Five Qualities of the First Jhāna · Vernacular · Summer 2026

This passage lists the three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, and twenty-five qualities item by item, and ends with the Buddha's simile of a ball made from bean-and-rice bath powder. The first part is an inventory; the second uses “moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing” to describe how joy and pleasure born of seclusion pervade body and mind.

The structure can be stated first. The three kinds of goodness are divided into beginning, middle, and end. The ten characteristics are divided three, three, and four. The twenty-five qualities are listed item by item. The closing simile says that bath powder is mixed with water and kneaded into a ball, “moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing” 〔T32 417a28–29〕. In this way, the bhikkhu's body and mind are thoroughly moistened by joy and pleasure born of seclusion, with no place untouched. The sections below follow each source item in turn.

Pause: Where Do Joy and Pleasure Come From?

The opening asks a good question: “Why does this meditator, while attending to the sign of the earth kasiṇa, nevertheless give rise to joy and pleasure?” 〔T32 416c29–417a01〕. The object attended to is a sign of earth; what is delightful about earth?

The answer first states explicitly, “The sign of the earth kasiṇa is not the cause for the arising of joy and pleasure” 〔T32 417a01〕. The earth sign itself is therefore not the cause. Immediately afterward comes, “Because of leaving the heat of the five hindrances, cultivating according to its nature, the Dhamma-child should give rise to joy and pleasure” 〔T32 417a01–02〕. The passage does not further explain the segmentation and relation of “leaving the heat of the five hindrances” and “cultivating according to its nature,” or whom “Dhamma-child” precisely designates. What is certain is the denial that the earth sign is the cause and the existing order of the following expressions; the remaining relations are unresolved.

The question explicitly names three things: the agent is “this meditator,” the object attended to is “the sign of the earth kasiṇa,” and the question is why he “nevertheless gives rise to joy and pleasure” 〔T32 417a01〕. The answer first denies that the earth sign is the cause, then writes continuously, “leaving the heat of the five hindrances,” “because of cultivating according to its nature,” and “the Dhamma-child should give rise to joy and pleasure” 〔T32 417a01–02〕. These expressions unquestionably occur in one sentence, but the source does not mark the agent of “cultivating according to its nature” or state what separate explanatory role it and “leaving the heat of the five hindrances” bear. The sentence therefore cannot be turned into a general law of object, psychological reaction, or bodily and mental feeling.

The follow-up asks, “If so, why does the Dhamma-child not give rise to joy and pleasure in the fourth jhāna?” 〔T32 417a03〕. The answer gives the following in source order: first, “because that is not their place”; second, because on attaining the fourth jhāna joy and pleasure “have already been abandoned”; again, joy and pleasure first arose, were later “subdued and abandoned through means,” their danger was seen, and one “became attached to the pleasure of the most secluded equanimity,” so joy and pleasure do not arise 〔T32 417a03–06〕. Every statement directly answers the question. The source neither ranks them by depth nor establishes from them a general law that each jhāna exchanges a coarser pleasure for a subtler one, so they are retained only in their original order.

This answer first juxtaposes two clauses with “because”: “because that is not their place” and “because on attaining the fourth jhāna joy and pleasure have already been abandoned” 〔T32 417a03–04〕. It then begins another account with “again,” proceeding through joy and pleasure first arising, being subdued and abandoned through means, seeing their danger, and becoming attached to the pleasure of the most secluded equanimity, and concludes, “therefore joy and pleasure do not arise” 〔T32 417a06〕. What can be established is the boundary of the two answers and the source order within the “again” statement. The passage does not classify them as three depths or call them a common rule for the rising and falling of all jhāna factors.

Three Kinds of Goodness and Ten Characteristics: Check the Count First

“The three kinds of goodness are goodness in the beginning, middle, and end. Pure practice is goodness in the beginning, the growth of equanimity is goodness in the middle, and gladness is goodness in the end” 〔T32 417a06–08〕. A single sitting has a beginning, middle, and end: pure practice at the outset, growth of equanimity in the middle, and gladness at the close. Each receives an explanation: “What is pure practice? The various requisites of goodness. What is the growth of equanimity? Stability. What is gladness? Contemplation” 〔T32 417a08–10〕. Goodness in the beginning is the requisites of goodness; goodness in the middle is stability; and the gladness of goodness in the end is called “contemplation.” The passage gives only these three correspondences. It does not decide whether “contemplation” here is wisdom or supramundane wisdom, or say that it is a destination beyond calm meditation. What can be established is the sequence of the three kinds and their three correspondences; the source gives no further classification of “contemplation.” The beginning, middle, and end of one jhāna are all included among the three kinds of goodness and then each receives its characteristics: “three characteristics through pure practice, three through the growth of equanimity, and four through producing gladness” 〔T32 417a10–11〕.

This passage gives two levels of correspondence. At the first, beginning, middle, and end mark the three kinds of goodness: pure practice corresponds to goodness in the beginning, the growth of equanimity to goodness in the middle, and gladness to goodness in the end. At the second, each name is separately asked about: pure practice is answered with “the various requisites of goodness,” the growth of equanimity with “stability,” and gladness with “contemplation” 〔T32 417a06–10〕. The ten characteristics are then divided among these same three names as three, three, and four 〔T32 417a10–11〕. Thus the three kinds of goodness, the three explanations, and the grouping of the ten characteristics can be aligned statement by statement. Whether “the various requisites of goodness” or “contemplation” can be further classified here is not answered.

This yields a reading practice: when a passage presents an account, check the count first. Three plus three plus four is exactly “the fulfillment of ten characteristics”; the treatise supplies its own decomposition. Item by item, the three through pure practice are: “the obstruction to jhāna is cleared from that mind, making the mind pure; through purity, the mind gains the 中-calm sign; because it gains this sign, with respect to that the mind 跳擲” 〔T32 417a12–14〕—clearing the obstruction, gaining calm, and “the mind 跳擲.” The meaning of 心跳擲 remains uncertain here. The three through the growth of equanimity are: “when the mind is pure, equanimity is accomplished; when seclusion is gained, equanimity is accomplished; abiding in one direction, equanimity is accomplished, and equanimity grows” 〔T32 417a15–16〕. The source separately lists purity of mind, gaining seclusion, and abiding in one direction as three cases of “equanimity is accomplished,” and concludes only that “equanimity grows.” It does not assign three distinct mental acts to them. The four through producing gladness are listed as following the practice of qualities born of the ten characteristics; making the faculties one in flavor; following the vehicle of energy; and being able to practice. All four produce gladness 〔T32 417a17–19〕. The source calls them four characteristics. It neither classifies them as four kinds of causal source nor turns the final one into consolation for one who has not attained.

The three characteristics through pure practice are syntactically successive: the obstruction to jhāna is cleared from the mind; because of purity, the mind gains the 中-calm sign; because it gains this sign, “with respect to that the mind 跳擲” 〔T32 417a13–14〕. The attachment of 中 and the meaning of 心跳擲 are not further explained by the base text. The dependency is therefore preserved without turning the last phrase into a definite psychological sign. The three through the growth of equanimity write “equanimity is accomplished” three times: through purity of mind, gaining seclusion, and abiding in one direction, followed by the general conclusion “and equanimity grows” 〔T32 417a16〕. The source assigns no different function to the three occurrences of “equanimity,” and none is supplied.

The syntax of the four should likewise be retained. The first runs from “following the practice of qualities born of these ten characteristics” to “producing gladness”; the second from “making these faculties one in flavor” to “producing gladness”; the third is “following the vehicle of energy, producing gladness”; and the fourth, “through being able to practice, producing gladness” 〔T32 417a19〕. All four close with gladness, but “qualities born of the ten characteristics,” “one flavor,” and “vehicle of energy” receive no definition in this passage. The existing four items and their common conclusion can therefore be established; a separate psychological mechanism represented by each cannot.

The twenty-five qualities can also be checked: “The first jhāna fulfills applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness; fulfills faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom; and fulfills beginning, middle, and end” 〔T32 417a21–22〕. Five factors, five faculties, and three kinds of goodness make thirteen. Add the eleven fulfillments—gathering-in, practice, seclusion, dependence, reception, following, contemplation, cultivation, power, liberation, and purification 〔T32 417a22–24〕. There are twenty-four countable items, although the heading says “twenty-five” 〔T32 417a20〕, a difference of one. The source does not explain which item is missing. Nor does it define the eleven final names individually; their exact meanings remain uncertain here. After the inventory, the source concludes: “This is an excellent divine dwelling born of seclusion, called an abiding in joy and pleasure, surpassing the human realm—the excellent place of divine dwelling” 〔T32 417a25–26〕. It places association with twenty-five qualities, the excellent divine dwelling, abiding in joy and pleasure, and surpassing the human realm in one continuous statement; it does not define the list as a checklist for determining attainment during a sitting.

Grouped by the wording, the first is the five items applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness; the second, the five faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom; the third, beginning, middle, and end; and the fourth, the eleven from gathering-in through purification 〔T32 417a20–24〕. The first two groups each end with a single “fulfills,” the third reads “fulfills beginning, middle, and end,” while in the fourth each name carries its own “fulfills.” This repetition establishes the boundaries of the items but cannot supply the missing one. The stated number twenty-five and the twenty-four countable items in the received text must therefore both be retained.

The Bath Attendant's Simile: The Feel of the Account

At the end, the treatise gives the Buddha the voice: “As the Buddha, the Blessed One, instructed the bhikkhus: a diligent bath attendant or the bath attendant's apprentice puts bean-and-rice powder in a fine copper basin, mixes and kneads it with water, and makes it into a ball. It becomes moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing” 〔T32 417a27–29〕. A skilled bath attendant and apprentice put bean-and-rice bath powder in a copper basin, add water, and knead it into a ball: damp through inside and out, cohering as one and not scattering. “In the same way, a bhikkhu whose body and mind are secluded can give rise to joy and pleasure, pouring them through the body until it is completely moistened, with no place untouched” 〔T32 417a29–417b01〕. For the bhikkhu whose body and mind are secluded, joy and pleasure born of seclusion pour through the body like water, leaving no part untouched.

The order of the citation is clear. It first gives the people—the diligent bath attendant or apprentice; then vessel and material—the fine copper basin and bean-and-rice powder; then the action—mixing and kneading with water into a ball; then the result—moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing 〔T32 417a27–29〕. On the bhikkhu's side, the source explicitly says only that seclusion of body and mind gives rise to joy and pleasure, which “pour through until completely moistened, with no place untouched” 〔417b01〕. Moistening and pervasion are visible on both sides. The other objects are not individually assigned meanings in this passage.

The simile says three things explicitly: after the bean-and-rice powder is mixed with water into a ball, it is moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing; the bhikkhu's body and mind are secluded, and the joy and pleasure that arise pour through until completely moistened, with no place untouched; and the bath attendant or apprentice and the meditator are “likewise” 〔T32 406b05／406b24／413c28／417b03／420c01／426b08〕. The source's description can be gathered as pervading, moistening, not dispersing, but this is a précis of the words of the citation, not three signs to diagnose during a sitting. The final sentence says only, “In this way, the copper basin is the sign of the kasiṇa; this is how it may be known” 〔T32 417b03–04〕. This passage does not assign the basin, powder, water, and ball one by one.

Conclusion

Return to what is seen. The earth sign is not the cause for the arising of joy and pleasure. The answer then writes continuously, “leaving the heat of the five hindrances, cultivating according to its nature; therefore the Dhamma-child should give rise to joy and pleasure,” whose relations remain uncertain. The three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, and twenty-five qualities are listed in order, and the bath attendant's simile describes joy and pleasure completely moistening body and mind, with no place untouched. The ten characteristics are three plus three plus four. The extant inventory under twenty-five qualities has twenty-four countable items. The citation can be summarized as pervading, moistening, and not dispersing. The passage ends at, “In this way, the copper basin is the sign of the kasiṇa; this is how it may be known.”

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Three Kinds of Goodness, Ten Characteristics, and Twenty-Five Qualities of the First Jhāna · Exposition · Summer 2026