清淨道論 趣向於相——五喻Visuddhimagga · Facing the Sign—Five Similes
「一再令精進趨於平等」，論主畫了五幅畫：蜜蜂採粉，飛太猛過了頭、太緩粉已盡；外科弟子在蓮葉上練刀，太猛切破、太怯不敢碰；取蜘蛛絲，猛拉即斷、怕斷不碰；船長張帆，強風滿帆衝到異國、微風降帆停在原地；注油入筒，貪快灑出、怕灑不敢倒。
五幅畫說一件事：精進過猛落掉舉，過緩落懈怠。把稍退縮的心從退縮中解放、把掉舉的心從掉舉中解放，以平等的用力使心趣向於相——安止是這樣到的。坐下時發現自己在「用力打坐」，或在「等它自己來」，都是這一段在提醒你。
To explain “repeatedly bring energy into balance,” the author paints five pictures. A bee gathering pollen flies too fast and overshoots or too slowly and arrives after the pollen is gone. A surgeon’s pupil practicing on a lotus leaf cuts it with too much force or is too timid to touch it. A spider’s thread breaks when pulled hard, yet cannot be obtained if fear prevents touching it. A ship under full sail in strong wind is driven to a foreign country, while lowered sail in a light wind leaves it still. Oil poured in haste spills; fear of spilling prevents the pour.
The five pictures say one thing: excessive energy falls into restlessness; slack energy into indolence. Free the slightly sluggish mind from sluggishness and the restless mind from restlessness; direct the mind toward the sign with even effort—and absorption is reached in this way. When you sit and notice yourself “trying hard to meditate,” or “waiting for it to arrive by itself,” this passage is speaking to you.
本單元白話為本編自巴利原典之譯疏（tr. mine）；底本事項詳本單元考據。
§11 趣向於相——五喻之調停 〔CSCD §68〕
此中，這是其義的解說：譬如不巧的蜜蜂，知道「某某樹上花開了」，便以猛利的速度飛去，卻越過了那棵樹；等到折返回來時，花粉已經沒有了，牠才到達。另一隻不巧的蜜蜂，以遲緩的速度飛去，也是等到花粉已盡才到達。而巧的蜜蜂，以平等的速度飛去，輕易地到達花叢，隨自己所要的取得花粉，造成了蜜，領受蜜味。
又譬如外科醫師的弟子們在水盆中的蓮葉上學習刀術：其中一個不巧的，猛力落刀，把蓮葉切成兩半，或者把它壓進水裡。另一個不巧的，因為怕切斷、怕壓沉，連用刀碰一下都不敢。而巧的，以平等的用力在那上面施展刀法，技藝純熟之後，就在那樣的地方施術而得到報酬。
又譬如國王說：「誰能取來四尋¹長的蜘蛛絲，就得四千〔錢〕」——於是一個不巧的人猛力地拉扯蜘蛛絲，處處都把它拉斷了。另一個不巧的人，因為怕拉斷，連用手碰一下都不敢。而巧的人，從一端開始，以平等的用力把絲繞在木棒上取來，得到了報酬。
又譬如不巧的船長，在強風中把帆張滿，使船衝到異國去。另一個不巧的，在微風中把帆降下，使船停在原處。而巧的，在微風中張滿帆，在強風中只張半帆，平安地到達所要去的地方。
又譬如老師對弟子們說：「誰能不把油灑出來而注滿油筒，就得報酬」——於是一個不巧的，貪求報酬而猛力灌注，把油灑了出來。另一個不巧的，因為怕灑出油，連傾注都不敢。而巧的，以平等的用力注滿，得到了報酬。
正是這樣：有一位比丘，在相生起之後，心想「我要迅速地達到安止」，就作猛烈的精進；他的心因為精進過度而落入掉舉，於是不能達到安止。另一位比丘見到精進過度的過患，心想「那麼安止對我還有什麼用」，就減損精進；他的心因為精進過於退縮而落入懈怠，他也不能達到安止。至於那位把哪怕只是稍微退縮的〔心〕從退縮中解脫出來、把掉舉的〔心〕從掉舉中解脫出來，而以平等的用力使心趣向於相的人，他就達到安止——應當成為這樣的人。就是針對這個意思，才說了這〔頌〕：
於花粉、於蓮葉、於絲、於船、於筒，
如蜜蜂等的行止，已被善加說明。
從退縮與掉舉的狀態中，完全地解脫出來，
就這樣使心趣向於相。
註
¹ 此處之「尋」為長度之名（byāma），非禪支之尋（vitakka）。
The vernacular of this unit is this edition’s own rendering-with-exposition from the Pāli original (tr. mine); see this unit’s apparatus for the base-text particulars.
§11 Facing the Sign—The Balance Taught by Five Similes 〔CSCD §68〕
Here is the explanation of the meaning. Suppose an unskillful bee learns, “Flowers have blossomed on such-and-such a tree,” and flies there with violent speed, overshooting the tree. By the time it turns back and arrives, the pollen is gone. Another unskillful bee flies at a sluggish speed and likewise arrives only after the pollen has been exhausted. A skillful bee flies at an even speed, reaches the cluster of flowers with ease, takes as much pollen as it wishes, makes honey, and enjoys its flavor.
Again, suppose a surgeon’s pupils practice using a knife on a lotus leaf in a basin of water. An unskillful pupil brings the knife down forcefully, cuts the lotus leaf in two, or presses it beneath the water. Another unskillful pupil, afraid of cutting it or forcing it under, does not dare even touch it with the knife. The skillful pupil works the knife on it with even effort; once skilled in the craft, he performs surgery in such a place and receives payment.
Again, suppose a king says, “Whoever brings a spider’s thread four fathoms¹ long will receive four thousand coins.” An unskillful person pulls the spider’s thread forcefully and breaks it everywhere. Another unskillful person, afraid of breaking it, does not dare even touch it. A skillful person begins at one end, winds the thread onto a stick with even effort, brings it in, and receives payment.
Again, suppose an unskillful shipmaster spreads the full sail in a strong wind and drives the ship into a foreign country. Another unskillful shipmaster lowers the sail in a light wind and leaves the ship stationary. A skillful shipmaster spreads the full sail in a light wind and only half the sail in a strong wind, reaching the intended destination safely.
Again, suppose a teacher tells the pupils, “Whoever fills an oil tube without spilling the oil will receive payment.” An unskillful pupil, greedy for the reward, pours forcefully and spills the oil. Another unskillful pupil, afraid of spilling it, does not dare pour at all. A skillful pupil fills the tube with even effort and receives payment.
Just so, after the sign has arisen, a bhikkhu thinks, “I shall quickly reach absorption,” and makes violent effort. Because the energy is excessive, his mind falls into restlessness, and he cannot reach absorption. Another bhikkhu sees the danger of excessive energy, thinks, “Then what use is absorption to me?” and diminishes his energy. Because the energy is too lax, his mind falls into indolence, and he too cannot reach absorption. But the practitioner who frees a mind even slightly sluggish from sluggishness, frees a restless mind from restlessness, and directs the mind toward the sign with even effort reaches absorption. The practitioner should become such a person. It is with this meaning in view that the following verse was spoken:
In pollen, on a lotus leaf, on a thread, in a boat, and in a tube,
the conduct of bees and the rest has been well explained.
Completely liberated from sluggishness and restlessness,
let the mind incline toward the sign in this way.
Notes
¹ Here “fathom” names a measure of length (byāma), not the absorption factor applied thought (vitakka).
精進過猛落掉舉、過緩落懈怠｜蜜蜂、外科弟子、蜘蛛絲、船帆、注油——平等用力的五幅畫
大局 — 「策、抑、捨」三個旋鈕的總口訣
上一單元十種安止善巧裡「觀察心轉起的行相，一再令精進趨於平等」一句，論主在白話 §11 用五個譬喻演足。單元雖短，卻是把「用力」這件事講到讀者身上的一段：太猛與太怯，兩邊都到不了相。
§01 平等的用力——五個譬喻 → 白話 §11
那句「觀察心轉起的行相，一再令精進趨於平等」，論主用五個喻演足（白話 §11）：蜜蜂採粉（飛太猛過了頭、太緩粉已盡）、外科弟子在蓮葉上練刀（太猛切破、太怯不敢碰）、取蜘蛛絲（猛拉即斷、怕斷不碰）、船長張帆（強風滿帆衝到異國、微風降帆停在原地）、注油入筒（貪快灑出、怕灑不敢倒）。五個喻說一件事：精進過猛落掉舉，過緩落懈怠；把稍退縮的心從退縮中解放、把掉舉的心從掉舉中解放，以平等的用力使心趣向於相——安止是這樣到的。 這是前面「策、抑、捨」三個旋鈕的總口訣。
給一般讀者
若只帶走一件事：用力要平等（白話 §11）。五個譬喻挑一個記住就夠——多數人記得住蓮葉上練刀的外科弟子：太猛切破，太怯不敢碰。坐下時發現自己在「用力打坐」，或發現自己在「等它自己來」，都是這一段在提醒你。安止真的到來的那一刻長什麼樣，04-06 剖到剎那。
想讀本單元全文：白話 §11 即趣向於相一段之逐段全譯（tr. mine，譯自公版巴利原典；底本事項詳本單元考據）。
Excessive Energy Falls into Restlessness; Slack Energy into Indolence | Bee, Surgeon’s Pupil, Spider’s Thread, Sail, and Pouring Oil—Five Pictures of Even Effort
The Big Picture — The Master Formula for the Three Dials: “Exert, Restrain, and Regard with Equanimity”
In the preceding unit on tenfold absorption-skill, the author said, “Examine the mode in which the mind proceeds and repeatedly bring energy into balance.” In Vernacular §11 he plays this out through five similes. Although short, the unit makes the matter of “effort” directly palpable: neither excessive force nor timidity reaches the sign.
§01 Even Effort—Five Similes → Vernacular §11
The author enacts the statement, “Examine the mode in which the mind proceeds and repeatedly bring energy into balance,” through five similes (Vernacular §11): a bee collecting pollen—flying too fast and overshooting, too slowly and arriving after the pollen is gone; a surgeon’s pupil practicing on a lotus leaf—too forceful and cutting it, too timid to touch it; obtaining a spider’s thread—pulling hard and breaking it, fearing breakage and not touching it; a shipmaster setting sail—full sail in a strong wind drives the ship to a foreign country, lowered sail in a light wind leaves it still; pouring oil into a tube—haste spills it, fear of spilling prevents the pour. The five similes say one thing: excessive energy falls into restlessness; slack energy into indolence. Free the slightly sluggish mind from sluggishness and the restless mind from restlessness; direct the mind toward the sign with even effort—and absorption is reached in this way. This is the master formula for the earlier three dials: exertion, restraint, and equanimity.
For the General Reader
If you retain only one thing, let it be this: effort must be even (Vernacular §11). Remember any one of the five similes. Most readers can retain the surgeon’s pupil practicing with a knife on a lotus leaf: too forceful and it is cut; too timid and the knife never touches it. When you sit down and notice yourself “trying hard to meditate,” or notice yourself “waiting for it to arrive by itself,” this passage is speaking to you. In 04-06 the instant when absorption actually arrives is dissected down to the mind-moment.
To read this unit in full: Vernacular §11 is the complete passage-by-passage translation of the section on facing the sign (tr. mine, from the public-domain Pāli original; see this unit’s apparatus for the base-text particulars).
考據Apparatus
一、科判定位
本單元之定位 本單元承本品譯底之第 5 段（全品十一段之第 5），譯底欄小節作 Nimittābhimukhapaṭipādanaṃ；段號自〔CSCD §68〕至〔CSCD §68〕，實落段號 1 個；白話 1 節（§11）——「趣向於相——五喻之調停」。前承第 4 單元〔十種安止善巧〕，後接第 6 單元〔初禪——安止心路與定型句逐句釋〕。本單元無既有校文 §（其節為本編所補）。本段之事實唯自切界與本篇《總覽》之對齊表字面取，餘皆下列品級之段所載。
（品級段——本品之科判定位，十一單元同載，一字不改）
譯底 本品之譯底＝CSCD（內用不上站）。本層一切巴利逐字取自本品原典欄之譯底，
定位二式並用：〔Vism IV.x〕式唯限本品《總覽》movement 表既載者，〔CSCD §NN〕式對
譯底欄逐字可核。二系不明對映，本欄不推估、不換算。本品無自家對頁之巴利，故頁域一概不記。
品名 第四品〈地遍〉，巴利作 Pathavīkasiṇaniddesa。譯底欄之品題行作
4. Pathavīkasiṇaniddeso〔CSCD §51〕。品末之自標作
Iti sādhujanapāmojjatthāya kate visuddhimagge／Samādhibhāvanādhikāre／Pathavīkasiṇaniddeso nāma／Catuttho paricchedo.（四行）〔CSCD §90〕——論自繫本品為《清淨道論》定修習一部之第四品。
章§域 本品《總覽》movement 表所載之章§，首列作〔Vism IV.21–31〕，末列作 〔Vism IV.139 起〕，止點未載；本欄不代補、不外推。
段號域 譯底欄之段號自〔CSCD §51〕至〔CSCD §90〕，實落段號 39 個。其中一號號無而
文在：〔CSCD §66〕末之偈頌一段，譯底欄於其處未落段號，下一號逕作 [§68]。本欄不補號、
不引未落之號；該偈頌之文一律繫〔CSCD §66〕引之。不默示號序連續。
小節 譯底欄自帶 ### 小節 18 個（含品題行一），末小節作 Pañcakajjhānakathā。
本品之分節地圖與其對譯底欄之跨度，見本品《總覽》。
前品接點 本品首段以 yaṃ vuttaṃ 標其所承，逐句取前已說之句而開演之：
samādhibhāvanāya ananurūpaṃ vihāraṃ pahāya anurūpe vihāre viharantenā〔CSCD §51〕、
Khuddakapalibodhupacchedaṃ katvā〔CSCD §54〕、
sabbaṃ bhāvanāvidhānaṃ aparihāpentena bhāvetabbo〔CSCD §55〕。三句皆論自標為前已說者，
其所在之品譯底欄未標，本欄不代考定；依本書品序，取業處之品在本品之前。
後品接點 〔CSCD §55〕自標
ayaṃ pathavīkasiṇaṃ ādiṃ katvā sabbakammaṭṭhānavasena vitthārakathā hoti——就一切業處之
詳論，自地遍始。本品唯開演地遍一遍；〔CSCD §63〕作 pathavīkasiṇādikassa，以「地遍等」
該其餘之遍，其開演不在本品。
二、詞義與譯語
本目只記本品用法與其定位；名相定讀以規範詞表為準，詞表所未定者，本目不代定。
本編詞表已定之詞引其定讀，不逐品重解——本品所涉之既立詞為 upacāra-samādhi（近行定）·
appanā-samādhi（安止定）·ārammaṇa（所緣）·guṇa（德）·Porāṇā（古師，見〔CSCD §76〕
之 Tenāhu porāṇā）·paricchedo（品，見〔CSCD §90〕之品末）。以下唯列本品新出者，
及本編既有校讀與規範詞表須併觀之處。
本編既有校讀與規範詞表須併觀之四處 ①sappāya 規範詞表定「相宜」，既有校讀作
「七隨順」；②ekaggatā 規範詞表定「心一境性」，既有校讀於禪支表作「一境性」；
③upekkhāsatipārisuddhi 既有校讀作「念清淨」，本目依論自釋作「捨念清淨」；
④cetaso ekodibhāva 既有校讀作「內淨一心」，本目依論自釋分作「內淨」與「心之一趣」。
四處皆依論自釋取讀。又，既有校讀之三相次第作「遍作相→取相→似相」，而
parikammanimitta（遍作相）一名於本品譯底欄零命中——譯底欄唯出 uggahanimitta 與
paṭibhāganimitta 二相之名，parikamma 一詞則唯作遍作之心與遍作之時二用〔CSCD §55〕·
〔CSCD §69〕。誌之不判。
三、異讀
材料之面 本品無自家對頁之巴利，故無校勘段可錄；可查之面唯譯底欄自身。誌錄不判。
普查之實測 譯底欄全篇逐字普查：異讀括注式（(sī.)・(syā.)・(kaṃ.)・(pī.) 等）
零命中；異誦之標識詞 pāṭho 零命中；方括注唯 [§NN] 段號與版頁記二式，
無一為異讀之記。全篇之圓括注 48 處，逐一檢之，皆為所引之出處標記，無一載異讀。
查無即記無：譯底欄自身無異讀之記。
掃描面之界 本欄之查唯及譯底欄一面；他本之對勘不在本欄之面，本欄不代考定， 亦不以本欄之零命中推斷他本。
四、論主引據
引式之數〔本欄實測〕 Vuttañhetaṃ 7 處・Vuttampi cetaṃ 2 處・Yathāha 5 處・
Tenāha 2 處（其一作 Tenāha bhagavā）・Tenevāha 1 處・Tenāhu porāṇā 1 處・
Vibhaṅge pana 5 處・Vibhaṅgepi vuttaṃ 2 處・peṭake vuttaṃ 1 處・Tatrāyaṃ pāḷi 1 處・
aṭṭhakathāsu 2 處。本文自標之圓括注出處 48 處。此數唯就本品之域，不及全書。
所引之類〔本欄實測〕 48 處括注析為 62 個出處分項，就其標識分：vibha. 12・
saṃ. ni. 11・dī. ni. 11・dha. sa. 8・a. ni. 7・ma. ni. 6・paṭi. ma. 4・
mahāni. 2・paṭṭhā. 1（一括注載二出處以上者，逐項計入）。此外：未繫括注而以「諸義注」
「《藏釋》」「《二集義注》」「古師」自標其所從來者 5 處〔CSCD §52〕·〔CSCD §69〕·
〔CSCD §70〕·〔CSCD §71〕·〔CSCD §76〕；標書名而未繫號者 2 處〔CSCD §80〕；
引而全未標出處者 2 處〔CSCD §55〕·〔CSCD §62〕。
五、譬喻·修辭
本目只記本品譬喻之所在與其所配，不作文學評價。
甲・譬喻
| 位置 | 譬喻 | 所配之義 |
|---|---|---|
| 〔CSCD §68〕 | madhukaro・uppalapatte satthakammaṃ・makkaṭasuttamāharati・niyāmako balavavāte laṅkāraṃ pūrento・telena achaḍḍento nāḷiṃ pūreti | 五喻之義釋：不巧者或太急或太緩，巧者以平等之行趣向於相 |
〔上表人地之名，本層唯逐字照錄譯底欄之巴利；漢語定讀不於本目立。〕
丙・修辭之可核觀察 ①四禪之生起段用同一句式：tattha dosaṃ disvā（見前禪之過）→
santato manasikatvā（作意後禪為寂）→ nikantiṃ pariyādāya（盡前禪之愛）→
tadeva pathavīkasiṇaṃ ārammaṇaṃ katvā 而繼以意門轉向之起。本欄實測：tattha dosaṃ disvā
5 見・nikantiṃ pariyādāya 5 見・oḷārikattā aṅgadubbalā 5 見（第五見皆在五分法之段）・
tadeva pathavīkasiṇaṃ ārammaṇaṃ katvā 4 見（其末之意門轉向，〔CSCD §69〕作連聲形，
餘三處作 manodvārāvajjanaṃ uppajjati，故此長式 3 見）；作意之動詞二形——
santato manasikatvā 2 見・santato manasikaritvā 3 見。
②四禪之收句一律作 tividhakalyāṇaṃ dasalakkhaṇasampannaṃ … adhigataṃ hoti pathavīkasiṇaṃ，
本欄實測 4 見。③後三禪之末皆以 Sesaṃ paṭhamajjhāne vuttanayameva 收，本欄實測 3 見；
五分法之段則作 Sesaṃ vuttappakārameva，2 見。④省略式 …pe… 全篇 18 見，皆在所引之
經文內。⑤viya 為本品譬喻之主要標識，全篇 63 見；Seyyathāpi 6 見，皆為所引經之喻起句。
⑥「地、地」之作意句全篇 7 見，貫遍作與四禪之生起——''pathavī pathavī''ti 形 5 見，
pathavī pathavīti 形 2 見。⑦本品之偈頌以縮排出之，
計 34 行。以上諸數唯就本品之域實測，不及全書。
七、傳本
作者、傳本與注疏源流諸問題，本編不於考據內立說。
I. Placement in the Outline
Location of this unit This unit takes the fifth segment of the chapter’s working base—the fifth of eleven segments in the chapter. The source column gives the subsection title Nimittābhimukhapaṭipādanaṃ; its paragraph numbers run from 〔CSCD §68〕 through 〔CSCD §68〕, with one actual numbered paragraph. The vernacular has one section (§11), “Facing the Sign—The Balance Taught by Five Similes.” Unit 4, 〔Tenfold Absorption-Skill〕, precedes it; Unit 6, 〔First Absorption—The Absorption Cognitive Process and the Stock Formula Explained Phrase by Phrase〕, follows. This unit has no pre-existing construal section (its section was supplied by this edition). The facts in this paragraph derive only from the literal cut boundaries and the alignment table in the chapter Overview; all other statements belong to the chapter-level paragraphs below.
(Chapter-level paragraphs—identically reproduced in all eleven units of this chapter)
Working base The working base for this chapter is CSCD (internal and never published). Every Pāli quotation in this layer is taken verbatim from the source column’s working base,
using two locator systems: the form 〔Vism IV.x〕 is restricted to items already listed in this chapter’s Overview movement table, while 〔CSCD §NN〕 checks
directly against the working-base column. Where the relation between the two systems is unknown, this column neither estimates nor converts it. This chapter has no internally collated Pāli pagination, so page ranges are not recorded.
Chapter title Chapter 4, “Earth Kasiṇa,” is Pathavīkasiṇaniddesa in Pāli. The title line in the working-base column reads
4. Pathavīkasiṇaniddeso 〔CSCD §51〕. The chapter’s closing self-designation reads
Iti sādhujanapāmojjatthāya kate visuddhimagge / Samādhibhāvanādhikāre / Pathavīkasiṇaniddeso nāma / Catuttho paricchedo. (four lines) 〔CSCD §90〕—the treatise itself places this as the fourth chapter in the concentration-development division of the Visuddhimagga.
Chapter-section range The first chapter section recorded in this chapter’s Overview movement table is 〔Vism IV.21–31〕; the last begins at 〔Vism IV.139 onward〕, with no endpoint recorded. This column does not supply or extrapolate an endpoint.
Paragraph-number range The paragraph numbers in the working-base column run from 〔CSCD §51〕 to 〔CSCD §90〕, with thirty-nine actual numbers. One number is absent although
its text is present: the verse paragraph at the end of 〔CSCD §66〕 carries no paragraph number in the working-base column, and the next number is [§68]. This column neither supplies a number
nor cites an unattested one; that verse is always attached to 〔CSCD §66〕. No continuous sequence of numbers is implied.
Subsections The working-base column contains eighteen ### subsection headings, including the chapter title line; the final subsection is Pañcakajjhānakathā.
For the chapter’s subdivision map and its spans in the working-base column, see the chapter Overview.
Connection to the preceding chapter The chapter’s opening passage marks what it takes up with yaṃ vuttaṃ, then develops, phrase by phrase, the statements already made:
samādhibhāvanāya ananurūpaṃ vihāraṃ pahāya anurūpe vihāre viharantenā 〔CSCD §51〕,
Khuddakapalibodhupacchedaṃ katvā 〔CSCD §54〕,
sabbaṃ bhāvanāvidhānaṃ aparihāpentena bhāvetabbo 〔CSCD §55〕. The treatise itself marks all three as previously stated;
their location is not identified in this chapter’s working-base column, and this apparatus does not independently determine it. In the order of this treatise, the chapter on taking a meditation subject precedes the present chapter.
Connection to the following chapters At 〔CSCD §55〕 the treatise itself says,
ayaṃ pathavīkasiṇaṃ ādiṃ katvā sabbakammaṭṭhānavasena vitthārakathā hoti—the detailed treatment of all meditation subjects
begins with the earth kasiṇa. This chapter develops only the earth kasiṇa. At 〔CSCD §63〕, pathavīkasiṇādikassa embraces “the earth kasiṇa and the rest”
of the kasiṇas, but their development does not occur in this chapter.
II. Terms and Renderings
This heading records only how terms function and are located in this chapter; the normative glossary governs their established readings, and this heading does not decide terms that the glossary leaves unsettled.
Terms already settled in this edition’s glossary are cited as settled rather than re-explained chapter by chapter. The settled terms occurring here are upacāra-samādhi (access concentration),
appanā-samādhi (absorption concentration), ārammaṇa (object), guṇa (quality), and Porāṇā (the ancient teachers; see Tenāhu porāṇā at 〔CSCD §76〕
), together with paricchedo (chapter; see the chapter’s closing self-designation at 〔CSCD §90〕). What follows lists only terms new to this chapter
and places where this edition’s earlier construal and the normative glossary must be read together.
Four places where this edition’s earlier construal and the normative glossary must be read together (1) The normative glossary renders sappāya as “suitable,” while the earlier construal reads it as
“seven suitabilities.” (2) The normative glossary renders ekaggatā as “one-pointedness,” while the earlier construal’s table of absorption factors reads “singleness.”
(3) The earlier construal renders upekkhāsatipārisuddhi as “purification of mindfulness,” while this heading, following the treatise’s own explanation, reads “purity of mindfulness due to equanimity.”
(4) The earlier construal renders cetaso ekodibhāva as “inner purity and unified mind,” while this heading, following the treatise’s own explanation, distinguishes “inner purity” from “the mind’s unification.”
All four are read through the treatise’s own explanation. Further, the earlier construal orders three signs as “preliminary sign → learning sign → counterpart sign,” yet
the term parikammanimitta (“preliminary sign”) has zero occurrences in this chapter’s working-base column. The working-base column names only uggahanimitta and
paṭibhāganimitta; the word parikamma occurs solely for the preliminary-work mind and the time of preliminary work at 〔CSCD §55〕 and
〔CSCD §69〕. This is recorded without decision.
III. Variant Readings
Material available This chapter has no internally collated Pāli pagination and therefore no collation passages to record; the only searchable surface is the working-base column itself. The facts are recorded without decision.
Measured complete survey A verbatim survey of the entire working-base column found parenthetical variant markers such as (sī.), (syā.), (kaṃ.), and (pī.)
in zero occurrences; the variant-reading marker pāṭho in zero occurrences; and only the two square-bracket forms used for [§NN] paragraph numbers and edition page notations,
none of which marks a variant reading. The forty-eight parenthetical annotations in the chapter were each inspected and all are source references; none records a variant.
When none are found, none are recorded: the working-base column itself records no variant readings.
Limit of the surveyed surface This survey extends only to the working-base column. Comparison with other editions is outside its surface; this heading neither decides such comparison nor infers anything about other editions from the zero occurrences here.
IV. The Commentator’s Citations
Number of citation formulas 〔measured in this heading〕 Vuttañhetaṃ occurs 7 times; Vuttampi cetaṃ, 2; Yathāha, 5;
Tenāha, 2 (one is Tenāha bhagavā); Tenevāha, 1; Tenāhu porāṇā, 1;
Vibhaṅge pana, 5; Vibhaṅgepi vuttaṃ, 2; peṭake vuttaṃ, 1; Tatrāyaṃ pāḷi, 1;
and aṭṭhakathāsu, 2. The text itself marks forty-eight parenthetical source references. These counts apply only to this chapter, not to the whole work.
Kinds of cited sources 〔measured in this heading〕 The forty-eight parenthetical annotations divide into sixty-two source items. By the labels actually given, they comprise vibha. 12,
saṃ. ni. 11, dī. ni. 11, dha. sa. 8, a. ni. 7, ma. ni. 6, and paṭi. ma. 4,
with mahāni. 2 and paṭṭhā. 1 (when one parenthesis contains two or more sources, each is counted separately). In addition, there are sources identified as “the commentaries,”
“the Peṭaka,” “the commentary on the Duka,” or “the ancient teachers” at five places without a parenthetical reference 〔CSCD §52〕 and 〔CSCD §69〕,
〔CSCD §70〕, 〔CSCD §71〕, and 〔CSCD §76〕; two places give a title without a reference number 〔CSCD §80〕;
and two citations give no source at all 〔CSCD §55〕 and 〔CSCD §62〕.
V. Similes and Rhetoric
This heading records only where the chapter’s similes occur and which meanings they illustrate; it offers no literary evaluation.
A. Simile
| Location | Simile | Meaning Illustrated |
|---|---|---|
| 〔CSCD §68〕 | madhukaro · uppalapatte satthakammaṃ · makkaṭasuttamāharati · niyāmako balavavāte laṅkāraṃ pūrento · telena achaḍḍento nāḷiṃ pūreti | explanation through five similes: the unskillful act either too quickly or too slowly, while the skillful face the sign with an even mode of practice |
〔The personal and place names in the table above are reproduced in Pāli verbatim from the working-base column; this heading does not establish Chinese readings for them.〕
C. Verifiable rhetorical observations (1) The passages on the arising of the four absorptions employ the same sequence: tattha dosaṃ disvā (seeing the defect in the preceding absorption) →
santato manasikatvā (attending to the following absorption as peaceful) → nikantiṃ pariyādāya (exhausting attachment to the preceding absorption) →
tadeva pathavīkasiṇaṃ ārammaṇaṃ katvā, followed by the arising of mind-door adverting. Measured here, tattha dosaṃ disvā
occurs 5 times; nikantiṃ pariyādāya, 5; and oḷārikattā aṅgadubbalā, 5 (the fifth instance in each case occurs in the passage on the fivefold system), while
tadeva pathavīkasiṇaṃ ārammaṇaṃ katvā occurs 4 times (for the final mind-door adverting, 〔CSCD §69〕 uses a sandhi form,
while the other three places use manodvārāvajjanaṃ uppajjati, so the longer form occurs 3 times). The verb for attending has two forms:
santato manasikatvā, 2 occurrences, and santato manasikaritvā, 3.
(2) The closing sentence for each of the four absorptions always contains tividhakalyāṇaṃ dasalakkhaṇasampannaṃ … adhigataṃ hoti pathavīkasiṇaṃ,
measured here at 4 occurrences. (3) The last three absorptions all close with Sesaṃ paṭhamajjhāne vuttanayameva, measured here at 3 occurrences;
the passage on the fivefold system instead uses Sesaṃ vuttappakārameva, 2 occurrences. (4) The abbreviation …pe… occurs 18 times throughout the chapter, all within quoted
canonical passages. (5) viya is the chapter’s principal simile marker and occurs 63 times; Seyyathāpi occurs 6 times, each opening a simile in a quoted discourse.
(6) The attention formula “earth, earth” occurs 7 times across preliminary work and the arising of the four absorptions—5 in the form ''pathavī pathavī''ti
and 2 in the form pathavī pathavīti. (7) Verses in this chapter are indented and
number thirty-four lines. All counts apply only to this chapter, not to the whole work.
VII. Transmission
This edition advances no position in its apparatus on questions concerning authorship, textual transmission, or the history of commentaries.