清淨道論 法隨念Visuddhimagga · Recollection of the Dhamma

Recollection of the Dhamma recollects six qualities: well-proclaimed, directly visible, immediate, inviting inspection, leading onward, and to be known by the wise, each for themselves. The first is widest, including the teaching Dhamma; the remaining five apply only to the supramundane Dhamma. In the author’s hands, “well-proclaimed” opens into four readings: good in the beginning, middle, and end; meaningful in content and expression, complete and pure; undistorted in meaning; and the path harmonizing with nibbāna like two rivers meeting.

The other five qualities are not five beads laid side by side but a causal chain: well-proclaimed because directly visible; directly visible because immediate; immediate because inviting inspection; and whatever is inviting inspection is called leading onward. The last quality drives the whole chain back into your own life. A path cultivated by a preceptor cannot abandon a pupil’s defilements. This Dhamma cannot be seen like an ornament on another person’s head; it can be seen only within your own mind.

Recollecting the Dhamma therefore gives rise to a distinctive reverence. Seeing the Dhamma’s qualities, the practitioner turns back with deeper reverence for the Teacher who proclaimed it—no such Teacher was seen in the past, and none is seen now apart from him. To recollect the Dhamma is to recollect the reliability that says, “I can walk this path myself.”

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.

§2.1 Svākkhāto, well-proclaimed 〔Vism VII·pp.213–215〕

A practitioner who wishes to cultivate recollection of the Dhamma (dhammānussati, recollection with reference to the Dhamma) should likewise go into seclusion and withdraw alone, recollecting in this way: “The Dhamma is well-proclaimed by the Blessed One, directly visible, immediate, inviting inspection, leading onward, to be known by the wise, each for themselves.” Thus the practitioner recollects the qualities of the teaching Dhamma (pariyattidhamma, the Dhamma transmitted in the teachings) and of the nine supramundane phenomena (lokuttaradhamma)¹.

“well-proclaimed”—the teaching Dhamma is included in this expression; only the supramundane Dhamma is included in the other expressions. First, the teaching Dhamma is well-proclaimed because it is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, and because it discloses a holy life meaningful in content, meaningful in expression, complete, and pure.

Even if the Blessed One teaches only a single verse, because the Dhamma is entirely excellent that verse is good in the beginning with its first line, good in the middle with its second and third lines, and good in the end with its final line.

A discourse with a single connection² is good in the beginning through its introduction, good in the end through its conclusion, and good in the middle through the remainder.

A discourse with many connections is good in the beginning through the first connection, good in the end through the final connection, and good in the middle through the remaining connections.

Furthermore, it is good in the beginning because it has an introduction and an occasion; good in the middle because it accords with the people to be tamed, is unerring in meaning, and is furnished with reasons and examples; and good in the end because it gives rise to faith in the listeners and closes with a conclusion.

The entire Dhamma of the teaching is good in the beginning through virtue, which is its own meaning; good in the middle through serenity, insight, path, and fruit; and good in the end through nibbāna.

Or it is good in the beginning through virtue and concentration, good in the middle through insight and path, and good in the end through fruit and nibbāna.

Or it is good in the beginning through the Buddha’s quality of having awakened well, good in the middle through the Dhamma’s quality of being true Dhamma, and good in the end through the Saṅgha’s quality of practicing well.

Or it is good in the beginning through the unsurpassed Rightly and Fully Enlightened awakening to be attained by someone who, having heard this Dhamma, practices accordingly; good in the middle through a paccekabuddha’s awakening; and good in the end through a disciple’s awakening.

Furthermore, when this Dhamma is heard, it brings good merely through hearing because the hindrances are suppressed, and so it is good in the beginning. When it is practiced, it brings the pleasure of serenity and insight and thus brings good through practice, so it is good in the middle. When the fruit of practice is completed for someone who practices in this way, it brings suchness through that fruit and thus brings good through the fruit of practice, so it is good in the end. Because it is good in the beginning, middle, and end in this way, it is well-proclaimed (SVĀKKHĀTO).

Furthermore, when the Blessed One teaches this Dhamma, he discloses the holy life of the teaching and the holy life of the path and clarifies them in many ways. As appropriate, this Dhamma is meaningful in content because its meaning is complete, and meaningful in expression because its wording is complete.

—It is meaningful in content because it is furnished with declarations and phrases of meaning that indicate, clarify, disclose, analyze, and reveal; it is meaningful in expression because it is complete in letters, words, linguistic forms, etymologies, and explanations.

—It is meaningful in content because its meaning is profound and its penetration is profound; it is meaningful in expression because its Dhamma is profound and its teaching is profound.

—It is meaningful in content because it is the domain of the discriminations of meaning and perspicuity³; it is meaningful in expression because it is the domain of the discriminations of Dhamma and language.

—It is meaningful in content because it is known by the wise and inspires confidence in those of equal discernment; it is meaningful in expression because it can be trusted and inspires confidence in ordinary people.

—It is meaningful in content because its purport is profound; it is meaningful in expression because its sentences are plain.

—Because nothing can be added, it is fully complete; because nothing can be removed, it is faultless and pure.

—Furthermore, it is meaningful in content because of mastery in attainment brought about by practice; it is meaningful in expression because of mastery in the transmission handed down in the teaching. It is fully complete because it is conjoined with the five aggregates of phenomena beginning with virtue. It is pure because it is remote from defilements, proceeds for the sake of crossing over, and is unconcerned with worldly gain. Because it discloses a holy life meaningful in content, meaningful in expression, complete, and pure in this way, it is well-proclaimed (SVĀKKHĀTO).

Or it is well-proclaimed (SVĀKKHĀTO) because its meaning is undistorted and it has been proclaimed well. In the teachings of other sectarians, meaning falls into distortion: what they call obstructive phenomena do not in fact obstruct, and what they call phenomena of escape do not in fact lead to escape. Those teachings are therefore merely badly proclaimed. The meaning of the Blessed One’s Dhamma is not like that and does not fall into distortion. “These phenomena are obstructive; these phenomena lead to escape”: the phenomena stated in this way do not depart from the actuality expressed. Thus the teaching Dhamma is well-proclaimed (SVĀKKHĀTO).

As for the supramundane Dhamma, it is well-proclaimed (SVĀKKHĀTO) because the practice proclaimed accords with nibbāna and the nibbāna proclaimed accords with the practice. As it is said: “The Blessed One has well laid down for his disciples the way of practice leading to nibbāna; nibbāna and the way of practice harmonize. Just as the waters of the Ganges and Yamunā harmonize and meet, so the Blessed One has well laid down for his disciples the way of practice leading to nibbāna; nibbāna and the way of practice harmonize.” Here the noble path does not fall into either extreme; it is itself the middle way, and because it is proclaimed as the “middle way,” it is well-proclaimed. The fruits of recluseship have their defilements stilled, and because they are proclaimed as “the stilling of the defilements,” they are well-proclaimed. By nature, nibbāna is permanent, deathless, a safeguard, a refuge, and so forth; because it is proclaimed as possessing those natures beginning with permanence, it is well-proclaimed. Thus the supramundane Dhamma too is well-proclaimed (SVĀKKHĀTO).

§2.2 Sandiṭṭhiko · Akāliko · Ehipassiko · Opanayiko · Paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhi, directly visible · immediate · inviting inspection · leading onward · to be known by the wise, each for themselves 〔Vism VII·pp.215–217〕

“directly visible”—first, the noble path is directly visible because it is seen personally by the noble person who makes greed and the rest absent within their own continuum (santāna)⁴. As it is said: “Brahmin, a person stained by greed, overcome by greed, with a mind fully seized by greed, thinks of harming themself, thinks of harming another, and thinks of harming both, and experiences mental dukkha and grief. Once greed has been abandoned, that person does not think of harming themself, another, or both and does not experience mental dukkha and grief. Brahmin, this is also how the Dhamma is directly visible.”

Furthermore, whichever of the nine supramundane phenomena a person attains, that person leaves behind the need to proceed by faith in another and sees it for themself with reviewing knowledge (paccavekkhaṇa-ñāṇa, the knowledge that examines their own attainment); therefore it is directly visible (SANDIṬṬHIKO).

Or a praiseworthy view is called sandiṭṭhi, “praised view”; what triumphs by means of praised view is sandiṭṭhiko. Here the noble path triumphs over the defilements by means of the conjoined praised view that causes the noble fruit, while nibbāna triumphs over the defilements by means of praised view whose object it is. Thus, just as someone who triumphs by means of a chariot is a charioteer, all nine supramundane phenomena “triumph by praised view” and are therefore directly visible (SANDIṬṬHIKO).

Or diṭṭha means “seeing” (dassana). What is seen is sandiṭṭha, meaning complete seeing. What deserves sandiṭṭha is sandiṭṭhiko. The supramundane Dhamma wards off the fear of the round precisely when it is seen through the direct realization involved in cultivation and the direct realization involved in personally verifying it. Thus, just as a person who deserves cloth is called “cloth-worthy,” it “deserves complete seeing” and is therefore directly visible (SANDIṬṬHIKO).

With regard to giving its own fruit, there is no time to be waited for, so it is akālo; this very akālo is akāliko—immediate, without waiting for time. It does not give fruit only after an interval of five days, seven days, or the like. Rather, it gives fruit in the moment immediately following its own arising. This is the meaning.

Or something whose fruit takes a long time to arrive is kāliko. What is that? A wholesome worldly phenomenon. This path, however, is not kāliko because its fruit follows immediately; therefore it is immediate (AKĀLIKO). This is stated exclusively with reference to the path.

“inviting inspection” means: “Come! Inspect this Dhamma!” A Dhamma fit for this invitation to come and inspect is ehipassiko, inviting inspection. Why is it fit for such treatment? Because it really exists and because it is pure. Even if someone says that gold or silver is present in an empty fist, they cannot say, “Come! Inspect this!” Why not? Because it does not exist. And even actual feces or urine cannot be presented by saying “Come! Inspect this!” to display an attractive appearance and for the purpose of gladdening the mind. Far from it: such a thing is fit only to be covered with grass or leaves. Why? Because it is impure.

These nine supramundane phenomena, however, really exist by their own nature and are as pure as the full disk of the moon in a cloudless sky and as a superb jewel set on yellow cloth. Because they exist and are pure, they deserve inviting inspection—the invitation “Come and inspect”—and are therefore inviting inspection (EHIPASSIKO).

It should be brought near, and so it is opanayiko, leading onward. The analysis here is this: bringing near (upanayana) is “leading” (upanaya). Even if the practitioner’s clothes or head are on fire, it deserves to be brought near to the practitioner’s own mind through cultivation, putting those fires aside; therefore it is leading onward. This explanation applies to the conditioned supramundane phenomena, the four paths and four fruits. As for the unconditioned, nibbāna deserves to be brought near by the practitioner’s own mind, and is therefore leading onward (OPANAYIKO). The meaning is that it is worthy of being approached by direct realization.

Or the noble path leads a person to nibbāna and so “should be led”; the fruit and nibbāna should be led toward attainment and so “should be led.” What “should be led” is leading onward (OPANAYIKO).

“to be known by the wise, each for themselves”—it should be known by every kind of wise person, from those of swift intuition onward, each within their own mind: “The path has been cultivated by me; the fruit has been attained; cessation has been directly realized.” The path cultivated by a preceptor cannot abandon the defilements of the pupil who lives with them. The pupil does not dwell in ease because of the preceptor’s attainment of fruition, nor can the pupil directly realize the nibbāna directly realized by the preceptor. This Dhamma should not be seen as though looking at an ornament on someone else’s head; it should be seen only within the practitioner’s own mind. “It should be personally experienced by the wise”—this is the meaning. Yet this Dhamma is not the domain of fools.

§2.3 Dhammānussati, cultivation and benefits of recollection of the Dhamma 〔Vism VII·pp.213–218〕

Furthermore, this Dhamma is well-proclaimed. Why? Because it is directly visible. It is directly visible because it is immediate; immediate because it is inviting inspection; and whatever is inviting inspection is called leading onward. When a practitioner recollects the Dhamma’s many qualities beginning with being well-proclaimed in this way, at that time their mind is not obsessed (pariyuṭṭhita) by greed, not by aversion ... pe ... and so on, as stated at length above ... and not by delusion; at that time their mind is upright with reference to the Dhamma. Thus, as stated before, just as the hindrances are suppressed, the jhāna factors arise in a single moment. Yet because the Dhamma’s qualities are profound, or because resolve is directed to recollecting qualities of many kinds, the jhāna does not reach absorption (appanā) but reaches only access (upacāra). Since this jhāna arises from recollecting the Dhamma’s qualities, it is called recollection of the Dhamma.

Moreover, a bhikkhu devoted to this recollection of the Dhamma thinks: “In the past I saw no Teacher endowed with this quality, who teaches a Dhamma that is leading onward; and now too I see none apart from that Blessed One.” Seeing the Dhamma’s qualities in this way, the bhikkhu has reverence and deference toward the Teacher, holds the Dhamma in reverence, attains growth in faith and the rest, has abundant joy and gladness, can endure fear and dread, can endure pain, and acquires the perception of dwelling together with the Dhamma. Their body, filled by recollection of the Dhamma’s qualities, becomes worthy of offerings like a shrine. Their mind inclines toward attainment of the unsurpassed Dhamma. When they encounter something they might transgress, the manifestation of shame and fear of wrongdoing arises as they recollect the Dhamma’s quality of being well-proclaimed. Even if they penetrate no higher attainment, they are destined for a good rebirth.

Therefore let the wise continually practice heedfulness in this recollection of the Dhamma, so mighty in power.

This is the detailed exposition of recollection of the Dhamma.

Notes

¹ The nine supramundane phenomena (lokuttaradhamma) are the four paths, four fruits, and nibbāna. When explaining “leading onward” below, the first eight are distinguished as conditioned and nibbāna as unconditioned.

² Connection (anusandhi): the thread of meaning that joins what precedes and follows within a discourse.

³ There are four discriminations: meaning (attha), Dhamma (dhamma), language (nirutti), and perspicuity (paṭibhāna). This passage pairs them two by two.

⁴ Continuum (santāna): an Abhidhamma term for the continuous flow of mind.