清淨道論 死隨念 — 八種行相Visuddhimagga · Mindfulness of Death — Eight Modes

This is the chapter’s first blade, aimed at a single fantasy: “I still have time.”

The eight modes are eight magnifications of the same fact—from the executioner holding a sword at your neck, to the mountains that roll in upon every prosperity, to the comparison in which none of seven classes of great figures escapes, and finally to the most abstract level, a single mind-moment: while a chariot wheel turns, only a single point of its rim touches the ground. The correct beginning for mindfulness of death is not an emotion but a procedure: assemble mindfulness, urgency, and knowledge. If any part is missing, the practice slides toward sorrow, fear, or numbness.

It reaches only access and does not enter absorption—the object is too real, the urgency too lucid. Yet what it gives is useful every day: heedfulness, less accumulation, the ability to let go, and a death free from confusion. Time has not grown shorter; it has always been only a moment. Seeing this brings an immediate loosening.

The vernacular of this unit is this edition’s own rendering-with-exposition from the Pāli original (tr. mine), made from the public-domain PTS text.

§1.1 Maraṇaṃ: Three Meanings of Death; Timely and Untimely Death 〔Vism VIII·pp.229–230〕

Chapter Eight

Exposition of Recollection Meditation Subjects

First: Mindfulness of Death

Now comes the exposition of the cultivation of mindfulness of death (maraṇasati)², immediately following [the preceding chapter].¹

Here, “death” (maraṇa) means the cutting off of the life faculty (jīvitindriya)³ belonging to a single existence. The arahants’ “death-as-final-cutting-off” (samuccheda-maraṇa), so called because it cuts off the suffering of the round; formations’ “momentary death” (khaṇika-maraṇa), so called because they break up from moment to moment; and “conventional death” (sammuti-maraṇa) in expressions such as “the tree died” and “the metal died”—none of these is intended here. The death intended here is of two kinds: “timely death” (kāla-maraṇa) and “untimely death” (akāla-maraṇa).

Timely death occurs through the exhaustion of merit, the exhaustion of the life span, or the exhaustion of both; untimely death occurs through the power of life-cutting kamma (kammupacchedaka-kamma).

Death that occurs solely because the result of the kamma that produced rebirth has fully ripened, even though the conditions capable of sustaining the continuity of life are still present, is called “death by exhaustion of merit.” Death that occurs through the exhaustion of a life span measuring about a hundred years, as with people in the present age, because the supporting conditions of destiny, time, food, and so forth are deficient, is called “death by exhaustion of life-span.” Death in which continuity is cut off by kamma capable of making [a being] fall from their present station in that very moment, as with Dūsīmāra and King Kalābu (Kalāburāja), or in which continuity is being cut off through former kamma or through an assault such as a weapon attack, is called “untimely death.” All of these are included under the cutting off of the life faculty described above.

§1.2 Maraṇasati: Proper Attention to Mindfulness of Death 〔Vism VIII·p.230〕

Thus, remembering the death called the cutting off of the life faculty is “mindfulness of death.” A practitioner who wishes to cultivate it should go to a secluded place and withdraw alone, directing proper attention (yoniso manasikāra) in this way: “Death will come; the life faculty will be cut off,” or simply, “Death, death.” For a person directing attention improperly, sorrow arises when they remember the death of someone dear—as when a birth mother remembers the death of her beloved child; gladness arises when they remember the death of someone disliked—as when enemies remember an enemy’s death; urgency (saṃvega)⁴ does not arise when they remember the death of someone neutral—as when a cremator sees a corpse; and terror arises when they remember their own death—as when a timid person sees an executioner with an upraised sword. All of this occurs from the absence of mindfulness, urgency, and knowledge. Therefore, after looking at beings killed or dead in various places and bringing to mind the death of beings whom the practitioner had formerly seen prospering but who are now dead, the practitioner should join mindfulness, urgency, and knowledge and direct attention in such terms as “Death will come.” A practitioner who proceeds in this way proceeds properly; that is, they proceed by a skillful means. Indeed, by proceeding in this way alone, some practitioners suppress the hindrances,⁵ establish mindfulness with death as its object, and bring the meditation subject⁶ to access [concentration].⁷

§1.3 Vadhakapaccupaṭṭhānato: As an Executioner Stands Present (List of the Eight Modes) 〔Vism VIII·pp.230–232〕

But if this much does not bring success, death should be recollected in these eight modes: (1) by way of [death’s] presentation as executioner, (2) by way of fortune-failure, (3) by way of comparison, (4) by way of the body’s being shared with many, (5) by way of the weakness of life, (6) by way of [death’s] signlessness, (7) by way of the limit of duration, and (8) by way of the brevity of the moment.

Here, (1) “by way of [death’s] presentation as executioner” means that [death] stands present like an executioner. Just as an executioner, thinking, “I shall cut off this person’s head,” stands present with sword in hand, testing its path at the person’s neck, so death too stands present: this is how it should be recollected. Why? Because it comes together with birth and because it takes life. Just as a mushroom bud necessarily rises with soil on its cap, beings too are born carrying aging and death. For as soon as their rebirth consciousness has arisen, it reaches aging and, like a rock fallen from a mountain peak, breaks up together with its associated aggregates. In this way momentary death comes together with birth; and because whoever has been born must die, the death intended here also comes together with birth. Therefore, from the time of birth this being, like the risen sun that goes only toward its setting without turning back even slightly from any place it has passed, or like the swift mountain river that carries off what it meets and continues flowing and rolling without turning back even slightly, does not turn back even slightly but goes only toward death. Hence it is said:

On the first night a person dwells in the womb, they set out on the journey, going on without return.

For a person journeying in this way, death draws near like a small river drying up under the summer heat, like fruit whose stem has been soaked with sap falling in the morning, like pottery struck with a wooden mallet breaking apart, and like dewdrops dispersing when touched by sunlight. Hence it is said:

Days and nights pass; life comes to a halt. The life span of mortals drains away like water in a small stream.

As ripe fruit is always in danger of falling at dawn, so beings once born are always in danger from death.

The vessels made by a potter, whether small or large, fired or unfired, all end in breaking; so too the life of mortals.

As a dewdrop on a blade of grass vanishes toward sunrise, so too does human life. Mother, do not hold me back.

Thus death, which comes together with birth, is like an executioner with an upraised sword; and like that executioner testing the sword at the neck, it unfailingly takes life and does not turn back after taking it. Because death comes together with birth and takes life, it stands present like an executioner with an upraised sword: death should be recollected in this way, “by way of [death’s] presentation as executioner.”

§1.4 Sampattivipattito: By Way of Fortune-Failure 〔Vism VIII·p.232〕

(2) “By way of fortune-failure”: here, fortune appears splendid only until failure overcomes it, and there is no fortune that can remain after passing beyond failure. Indeed:

Having enjoyed the whole earth and given away a hundred crores, living happily, in the end he became master of only half an āmalaka fruit.

When merit was exhausted within that very same body, even the “Sorrowless” turned toward death and fell into sorrow.

Moreover, all health ends in illness, all youth ends in aging, and all life ends in death. The entire world’s community is pursued by birth, pervaded by aging, overcome by illness, and struck down by death. Hence it is said:

As vast mountains of rock, rising to the sky, might roll in from every side, crushing the four directions, so aging and death close in upon beings. Khattiyas, brahmins, vessas, suddas, caṇḍālas, and pukkusas— they spare none but crush them all. There is no ground there for elephant troops, no place for chariots or infantry; they cannot be conquered by a battle of spells or by wealth.

Death should be recollected “by way of fortune-failure” by determining that the fortune of life ends in the failure of death.

§1.5 Upasaṃharaṇato: By Way of Comparison 〔Vism VIII·pp.232–235〕

(3) “By way of comparison” means comparing yourself with others. Here death should be recollected by comparison in seven modes: by greatness of fame, greatness of merit, greatness of strength, greatness of psychic power, greatness of wisdom, by reference to the paccekabuddhas, and by reference to the Sammāsambuddha. How? Death has fallen without hesitation even upon people of great fame, great retinues, wealth, and vehicles—Mahāsammata, Mandhātu, Mahāsudassana, Daḷhanemi, Nimi, and others. How could it fail to fall upon me?

　　The victorious kings of great fame, Mahāsammata and the rest,
　　also fell under death’s dominion; what can be said of someone like me?

First recollect in this way “by greatness of fame.” How is death recollected “by greatness of merit”?

　　Jotika, Jaṭila, Ugga, Meṇḍaka, and Puṇṇaka—
　　these and others famed in the world for great merit
　　all reached death; what can be said of someone like me?

Recollect in this way “by greatness of merit.” How is death recollected “by greatness of strength”?

　　Vāsudeva, Baladeva, Bhīmasena, Yudhiṭṭhila,
　　Cānura and Piyādi the Wrestler all fell under the Ender’s dominion;
　　though famed in the world as endowed with such mighty strength,
　　they too went to death; what can be said of someone like me?

Recollect in this way “by greatness of strength.” How is death recollected “by greatness of psychic power”?

　　With no more than his great toe he shook the Vejayanta Palace;
　　that second chief disciple, foremost among those with psychic power,
　　entered death’s dreadful mouth together with his powers,
　　like a deer entering a lion’s mouth; what can be said of someone like me?

Recollect in this way “by greatness of psychic power.” How is death recollected “by greatness of wisdom”?

　　Apart from the Protector of the World, all other beings
　　do not equal even a sixteenth part of Sāriputta’s wisdom;
　　yet the first chief disciple, possessed of such great wisdom,
　　fell under death’s dominion; what can be said of someone like me?

Recollect in this way “by greatness of wisdom.” How is death recollected “by reference to the paccekabuddhas”? Even those self-awakened sages who, through the strength of their own knowledge and energy, crushed every enemy of defilement, reached paccekabodhi, and lived alone like the rhinoceros horn did not escape death. How then could I escape?

　　The great seers who examined and investigated through various signs,
　　who reached the exhaustion of the taints through the power of self-arisen knowledge,
　　who lived and wandered alone, like the rhinoceros horn—
　　even they did not pass beyond death; what can be said of someone like me?

Recollect in this way “by reference to the paccekabuddhas.” How is death recollected “by reference to the Sammāsambuddha”? Even the Blessed One—whose physical body was adorned with the eighty minor characteristics and embellished with the thirty-two marks of a great person; whose Dhamma body was filled with the jewel-like qualities of the aggregate of virtue, purified in every respect, and the rest; who had reached the far shore of greatness of fame, merit, strength, psychic power, and wisdom; who was unequalled, the equal of the unequalled, without a counterpart, the Worthy One, the Fully Awakened One—even he, like a great mass of fire quenched by a downpour, was immediately stilled by the downpour of death.

　　Death, neither fearing nor feeling shame,
　　brought this great seer of such majestic power under its dominion;
　　shameless, without moral dread, crushing every being—
　　how could it fail to overcome a being like me?

Recollect in this way “by reference to the Sammāsambuddha.” Having compared themself through the commonality of death with others endowed with greatness of fame and the rest, the practitioner recollects, “Like those distinguished beings, I too shall die”; as they recollect in this way, the meditation subject reaches access [concentration]. Death should be recollected in this way “by way of comparison.”

§1.6 Kāyabahusādhāraṇato: By Way of the Body’s Being Shared with Many 〔Vism VIII·p.235〕

(4) “By way of the body’s being shared with many”: this body is shared with many—first, with eighty families of worms. Creatures dependent on the outer skin eat the outer skin, those dependent on the inner skin eat the inner skin, those dependent on flesh eat flesh, those dependent on sinews eat sinews, those dependent on bones eat bones, and those dependent on marrow eat marrow. There they are born, age, die, urinate, and defecate; this body is their birthing room, infirmary, cemetery, latrine, and urine trough. This body goes to death through the disturbance of those worms alone. And just as it is shared with eighty families of worms, it is also shared with hundreds of internal illnesses and with external conditions for death, such as snakes and scorpions. Just as arrows, spears, javelins, stones, and the rest, shot from the four quarters and eight directions, all fall upon a target set at a crossroads, so every calamity falls upon this body. This body goes to death simply through the fall of those calamities. Therefore the Blessed One said: “Bhikkhus, here, when day has passed and night draws on, a bhikkhu reflects thus: ‘There are indeed many conditions for my death: a snake might bite me, a scorpion might sting me, or a centipede might bite me; through that I might die, and that would be an obstacle for me. Or I might stumble and fall; the food I have eaten might disagree with me; my bile might flare up, my phlegm might flare up, or knife-like winds might flare up; through that I might die, and that would be an obstacle for me.’” Death should be recollected in this way “by way of the body’s being shared with many.”

§1.7 Āyudubbalato: By Way of the Weakness of Life 〔Vism VIII·pp.235–236〕

(5) “By way of the weakness of life”: what is called a life span is powerless and fragile. A being’s life depends upon out-breath and in-breath, posture, cold and heat, the four great elements, and food. [Life] continues only while out-breath and in-breath proceed in balance; when the wind exhaled through the nose no longer enters, or the wind that has entered no longer comes out, the person is called dead. It continues only while the four postures proceed in balance; when any posture becomes excessive, the life formations are cut off. It continues only while cold and heat proceed in balance; a person overcome by excessive cold or heat is destroyed. It continues only while the four great elements proceed in balance; through a disturbance in the earth element, the water element, or any other element, even a powerful person may become rigid-bodied, become sodden and putrid through diarrhea and the like, become tormented by great heat, or have the bonds of the joints break apart, and thus reach the exhaustion of life. Likewise, life continues only when physical food (kabaliṅkārāhāra) is obtained at the proper time; a person who obtains no food reaches exhaustion. Death should be recollected in this way “by way of the weakness of life.”

§1.8 Animittato: By Way of Signlessness and Indeterminacy 〔Vism VIII·pp.236–237〕

(6) “By way of signlessness” means “by way of indeterminacy”; there is no boundary that can be fixed. For beings:

　　Life, illness, time, the place where the body is laid down, and destination:
　　these five have no sign and cannot be known in the living world.

First, “life” is signless because there is no fixed rule, “A being should live only this long and not beyond.” Beings die in the kalala stage, in the abbuda, pesi, and ghana stages,⁸ and at one month, two months, three months, four months, five months, or ten months; they die at birth, and later they die within a hundred years or beyond it.

“Illness” is signless because there is no fixed rule, “Beings die only from this illness, not another”; beings die from eye disease or from any among ear disease and the rest.

“Time” is signless because there is no fixed rule, “A being must die only at this time, not another”; beings die in the morning or at any time such as midday.

“The place where the body is laid down” is signless because there is no fixed rule, “The body of a dying person must fall only here and nowhere else”; the body of a person born inside a village may fall outside it, and the body of a person born outside may fall inside. Likewise, a land-born being may [fall] in water and a water-born being on land—this should be expanded in many ways.

“Destination” is signless because there is no fixed rule, “A being who dies here must be reborn only there.” A being who dies in a deva realm may be born among humans, and a being who dies in the human world may be born in a deva realm or anywhere else. In this way the world turns round through the five destinations,⁹ like an ox yoked to a machine. Death should be recollected in this way “by way of signlessness.”

§1.9 Addhānaparicchedato: By Way of the Limit of Duration 〔Vism VIII·pp.237–238〕

(7) “By way of the limit of duration”: the human life span now has no [fixed] limit, nor is its duration as [it was in the past].¹⁰ “A person who lives long lives a hundred years, or a little more.” Therefore the Blessed One said: “Bhikkhus, this human life span is short; the future world must be entered. Good should be done, the holy life should be lived; no born being is free from death. Bhikkhus, a person who lives long lives a hundred years, or a little more.” . . .

Human life is short; a good person should hold it lightly. Act as if your head were on fire; there is no chance that death will not come.

He also said, “Bhikkhus, in the past there was a teacher named Araka”¹¹—the whole discourse adorned with seven similes should be expanded. He also said: “Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu may cultivate mindfulness of death in this way: ‘Oh, may I live for a day and a night so that I can attend to the Blessed One’s teaching—then I would have accomplished a great deal!’ Another bhikkhu may cultivate mindfulness of death in this way: ‘Oh, may I live for a day so that I can attend to the Blessed One’s teaching—then I would have accomplished a great deal!’ Another bhikkhu may cultivate mindfulness of death in this way: ‘Oh, may I live for the time needed to eat a single bowl of alms food so that I can attend to the Blessed One’s teaching—then I would have accomplished a great deal!’ Another bhikkhu may cultivate mindfulness of death in this way: ‘Oh, may I live for the time needed to chew and swallow four or five morsels of food so that I can attend to the Blessed One’s teaching—then I would have accomplished a great deal!’—these bhikkhus are said to dwell heedlessly and to cultivate mindfulness of death sluggishly for the exhaustion of the taints.”

“But, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu may cultivate mindfulness of death in this way: ‘Oh, may I live for the time needed to chew and swallow a single morsel of food so that I can attend to the Blessed One’s teaching—then I would have accomplished a great deal!’ Another bhikkhu may cultivate mindfulness of death in this way: ‘Oh, may I live for the time needed to breathe in after breathing out, or to breathe out after breathing in, so that I can attend to the Blessed One’s teaching—then I would have accomplished a great deal!’—these bhikkhus are said to dwell heedfully and to cultivate mindfulness of death keenly for the exhaustion of the taints.” Thus the duration of life is no more than the time needed to chew four or five morsels: it is unreliable and brief. Death should be recollected in this way “by way of the limit of duration.”

§1.10 Khaṇaparittato: By Way of the Brevity of the Moment 〔Vism VIII·p.238〕

(8) “By way of the brevity of the moment”: in the ultimate sense the moment of a being’s life is extremely brief, lasting only for the occurrence of a single mind. Just as a chariot wheel, while turning, turns on only a single point of its rim and, while standing, stands on only a single point, so the life of beings lasts for only a single mind-moment; when that mind ceases, the being is said to have ceased. As it is said: “In the past mind-moment, the being lived, does not live, and will not live; in the future mind-moment, the being did not live, does not live, and will live; in the present mind-moment, the being did not live, lives, and will not live.”

　　Life and identity, and all pleasure and pain,
　　are joined to a single mind; the moment turns swiftly.

　　The aggregates that have ceased here, whether in a dying or surviving person,
　　are all alike: gone, never to reconnect in rebirth.

　　What has not arisen brings no birth; through the present, the being lives;
　　with the mind’s breakup, the world is dead: this designation is made in the ultimate sense.

Death should be recollected in this way “by way of the brevity of the moment.”

§1.11 Maraṇasati: Cultivation and Benefits of Mindfulness of Death 〔Vism VIII·pp.229–239〕

When a practitioner recollects through any of these eight modes, repeated attention familiarizes the mind, establishes mindfulness with death as its object, suppresses the hindrances, and brings the jhāna factors¹³ to manifestation. Yet because the object is a phenomenon with its own nature¹⁴ and because it arouses urgency, the jhāna does not reach absorption (appanā) but reaches only access (upacāra). Although supramundane jhāna and the second and fourth immaterial jhānas also have phenomena with their own nature as objects, they reach absorption through the distinctiveness of their cultivation: the supramundane reaches absorption through the sequence of purification cultivation, and the immaterial reaches absorption through cultivation that transcends the object. There, [in immaterial jhāna], only the object of a jhāna that has already reached absorption is transcended; here [in mindfulness of death], neither condition is present. Therefore, the jhāna reaches only access. Because this [mindfulness] arises through the power of mindfulness, it is called “mindfulness of death.”

Moreover, a bhikkhu devoted to mindfulness of death is constantly heedful, gains the perception of non-delight in all forms of existence, abandons attachment to life, censures evil, does not accumulate much, and is unstained by greed regarding requisites; the perception of impermanence becomes familiar to them, and following it the perceptions of suffering and not-self also become manifest.

Beings who have not cultivated [mindfulness of] death fall into fear, terror, and confusion at the time of death, as if suddenly overcome by a wild beast, yakkha, snake, thief, or executioner. [A bhikkhu who has cultivated it] does not fall into these states but dies fearless and unconfused. Even if the bhikkhu does not attain the deathless in this very life, after the breakup of the body they are destined for a good rebirth.

Therefore let the wise continually practice heedfulness, in this mindfulness of death, so mighty in power.

*This is the detailed exposition of Maraṇānussati.*¹⁵

Notes

¹ The preceding chapter is Chapter 7, “The Six Recollections”; the final four of the ten recollections are explained from this chapter onward.

² Mindfulness (sati): the mental factor that retains its object without forgetting it; in this treatise it consistently operates together with knowledge, energy, and concentration. It is distinct from the broad awareness often meant today by the word “mindfulness,” and should be read according to the treatise’s own definition.

³ Life faculty (jīvitindriya): the faculty that sustains the continuity of a single life; the treatise uses its cutting off to encompass the four forms of timely and untimely death.

⁴ Urgency (saṃvega): the shock and pressing sense of urgency that arise in relation to the contemplated object; it is distinct from the “terror” described below.

⁵ Hindrances (nīvaraṇa): the five states that obstruct concentration; they are explained in Chapter 4, “The Earth Kasiṇa.”

⁶ Meditation subject (kammaṭṭhāna): the general term for the object and method on which the cultivation of concentration depends; the treatise enumerates forty meditation subjects.

⁷ Access concentration (upacāra-samādhi): a level of concentration in which the hindrances have been suppressed but absorption has not yet been entered; in absorption concentration (appanā-samādhi) the mind enters its object completely and remains unmoving.

⁸ Kalala, abbuda, pesi, and ghana: the first four stages in the womb, retained under their established Chinese Buddhist names in the Chinese sister text.

⁹ Five destinations: the five places in which beings take rebirth; together with the four modes of birth, seven stations of consciousness, and nine abodes of beings, they form domains within the round of rebirth.

¹⁰ The base text says that the life span “has no fixed limit”; another recension reads “the duration is now brief”—the two point in opposite directions. This edition follows the base text.

¹¹ Araka: the name of an ancient teacher; the treatise cites his discourse, whose seven similes illustrate the brevity of life.

¹² A single mind-moment: the extremely brief period in which a single mind arises, persists, and ceases; in the ultimate sense the treatise defines a being’s life as only this moment.

¹³ Jhāna factors (jhānaṅga): the five factors of jhāna—applied thought, sustained thought, rapture, pleasure, and one-pointedness.

¹⁴ A phenomenon with its own nature: a phenomenon possessing an intrinsic nature; because the treatise regards the object in this way and because it arouses urgency, it determines that this recollection does not enter absorption.

¹⁵ Detailed exposition (vitthārakathāmukha): the fixed closing formula at the end of a full section; the three elements mean “detailed,” “discussion,” and “opening” respectively.