清淨道論 義疏通講 · 冊12Visuddhimagga · Exposition Throughout · Vol. 12

Once concentration has obtained its benefit, make it firmer: first train the mind until it is “malleable and wieldy” through fourteen modes—only a mind possessing eight factors is fit to produce direct knowledge

The Big Picture — The Opening of the Second Part and the Continuation of the Concentration Division

The second part opens here. Chapter 11 closed the concentration division with the “five benefits,” of which the third is direct knowledge; this chapter and the next (Chapter 13) unfold that benefit. At the opening the Commentator states his position: direct knowledge is for “making the development of concentration both obtain its benefit and become more firmly established,” and only firmly established concentration can “comfortably accomplish the development of wisdom”—within the whole work, direct knowledge is a reinforcement between concentration and wisdom, not the goal (§1). Through the doorway of the mind “concentrated, purified … attained to imperturbability,” possessing eight factors, the Blessed One taught the five mundane direct knowledges: supernormal power, knowledge of the divine-ear element, knowledge encompassing the minds of others, knowledge of recollection of past lives, and knowledge of the death and rebirth of sentient beings (§1). A beginner wishing to perform transformation by supernormal power must first produce eight attainments in each of the eight kasiṇas and train the mind through the fourteen modes (§§1–2); without that training it cannot be done—the Commentator repeats six degrees of difficulty, each with “only one among a hundred or a thousand” (§3); finally he explains the mind possessing eight factors word by word (§4). 〔Observation〕

§01 The Occasion for the Direct Knowledges and the List of Fourteen Modes → Vernacular §1

Three levels: why—the benefit of direct knowledge from developing concentration is said with reference to mundane direct knowledge; one who has attained the fourth jhāna should undertake this practice, through which concentration grows firm and wisdom is more easily accomplished; scriptural evidence—to show the benefit of concentration to one who has attained the fourth jhāna and successively teach more excellent phenomena, the Blessed One taught the five mundane direct knowledges through the formula “the mind concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, free from defilement, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability,” then directing the mind toward and experiencing the varieties of supernormal power; preparation—a beginner who wishes to perform such transformations as becoming many after being one produces the eight attainments in each of the eight kasiṇas ending with white, then trains the mind through fourteen modes: the forward, reverse, and forward-and-reverse orders of kasiṇas; the forward, reverse, and forward-and-reverse orders of jhānas; skipping jhānas, kasiṇas, and both; shifting factors, objects, and both; and determining factors and objects (vernacular §1). 〔Reading〕 “Eight attainments in each of eight kasiṇas” is the admission ticket: each of earth, water, fire, air, blue, yellow, red, and white must be developed through the base of neither perception nor non-perception—all sixty-four attainments mastered before the fourteen modes can even begin. The Commentator does not say, “If you want direct knowledge, practice direct knowledge.” He says: first pass through all sixty-four doors.

§02 Each of the Fourteen Modes → Vernacular §2

The definitions in order: forward kasiṇas (earth to white, entering a hundred or a thousand times), reverse kasiṇas (white to earth), and forward-and-reverse kasiṇas; forward jhānas (first jhāna to the base of neither perception nor non-perception), reverse jhānas, and forward-and-reverse jhānas; skipping jhānas (without changing kasiṇas, skip every other jhāna: first jhāna → third jhāna → base of infinite space → base of nothingness), skipping kasiṇas (without changing jhānas, skip every other kasiṇa: earth → fire → blue → red), and skipping both; shifting factors (enter the remaining jhānas on one kasiṇa), shifting objects (enter only the same jhāna on all the kasiṇas), and shifting factors and objects (shift both at intervals: earth and first jhāna, water and second, fire and third, air and fourth, blue and infinite space, yellow and infinite consciousness, red and nothingness, white and neither perception nor non-perception); determining factors (first jhāna with five factors, second with three, third with two, fourth likewise …); and determining objects (“this is the earth kasiṇa” … “this is the white kasiṇa”). Some wish to establish a fifteenth mode, “determining factors and objects,” but it is not handed down in the commentaries and is therefore not an avenue of development (vernacular §2). 〔Reading〕 The fourteen modes are a course of mental gymnastics: forward, reverse, skip, shift, recognize—training all sixty-four attainments until they are immediately available. The last sentence displays the Commentator’s attitude most clearly: however reasonable an addition may seem, if it has not been handed down in the commentaries he does not establish it.

§03 Six Degrees of Difficulty and the Accounts of Two Elders → Vernacular §3

Accomplishing supernormal power without the training in fourteen modes is impossible. The six degrees of difficulty, each with “only one among a hundred or a thousand can do it,” are: making the kasiṇa—bringing forth the sign—enlarging the sign and attaining absorption—training in the fourteen modes—transformation by supernormal power—quick discernment. The example of quick discernment is the Elder Rakkhita, eight years fully ordained, among the thirty thousand possessors of supernormal power assembled at Therambatthala to attend the Elder Mahā-Rohanagutta (his power appears in the Explanation of the Earth Kasiṇa, where his full name is Buddharakkhita). The great elder told the assembly: “Had Rakkhita not been there, we would all have been reproached, ‘They could not protect the nāga king.’ A weapon one carries should first have its dirt washed away.” The assembly abided by this instruction, and all thirty thousand became quick to discern. A seventh degree: even with quick discernment, serving as a support for another is achieved by only one among a hundred or a thousand—as when Māra rained embers at the Mountain Festival and an elder created earth in midair to provide protection. The exception is Buddhas, paccekabuddhas, and chief disciples with powerful practice in former lives, who accomplish supernormal power and the discriminations merely upon attaining arahantship, without passing through this sequence. Two similes conclude it: the goldsmith first makes gold malleable and wieldy in the fire before making an ornament; the potter first kneads clay soft before making a vessel. So a beginner trains the mind through the fourteen modes, enters attainment with desire, mind, energy, and investigation in the leading position, and gains mastery in adverting and the rest, making the mind malleable and wieldy before practicing for supernormal power; one furnished with prior causes need only master the fourth jhāna on the kasiṇas. To show this practice, the Blessed One said, “When his mind is thus concentrated,” and so forth (vernacular §3). 〔Reading〕 The formula of the six difficulties repeats without alteration, like one sieve after another—the Commentator is discouraging casual pursuit and fixing its place: direct knowledge is not a natural product of concentration but a rare fruit requiring six further levels of work. The lesson of Elder Rakkhita’s story—the weapon must first be cleaned—means precisely “training the mind.” “Serving as a support for another” is a seventh degree: the treatise says only that it is a burden, achieved by one among a hundred or a thousand. The goldsmith and potter return to the scriptural terms “malleable, wieldy”: training the mind is refining gold and kneading clay.

§04 Word-by-Word Explanation of the Scriptural Passage—The Mind Possessing Eight Factors → Vernacular §4

Word by word: “his” means one who has attained the fourth jhāna; “thus,” by the sequence beginning with the first; “concentrated,” by fourth-jhāna concentration; “mind,” a fine-material-sphere mind; “purified,” because of purity of mindfulness through equanimity; “bright,” luminous; “unblemished,” because the conditions beginning with pleasure and stains beginning with greed have been removed; “free from defilement,” because it is unblemished; “malleable,” because it has been well developed and mastered (a mind that turns according to one’s mastery is malleable); “wieldy,” because what is malleable is fit to be worked—like well-refined gold (“I see no other phenomenon that, when thus developed, becomes malleable and wieldy as does this mind”); “steady,” because established in purification and the rest; “attained to imperturbability,” because supported by faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, wisdom, and light—therefore not moved by lack of faith, indolence, negligence, restlessness, ignorance, or darkness. Another method: concentrated (by the fourth jhāna), purified (remote from the hindrances), bright (beyond applied thought and the rest), unblemished (without the resort of desire), free from defilement (free of covetousness and the rest, according to the Anaṅgaṇa Sutta and the Vattha Sutta), malleable (mastered), wieldy (having reached the nature of a basis of power), steady and imperturbable (development complete and excellent). Such a mind possessing eight factors is the basis and proximate cause for the realization of direct knowledge (vernacular §4). 〔Reading〕 The eight factors are not eight minds but eight aspects of one mind; “attained to imperturbability” then opens into six forms of “support”—the same six phenomena reappear among the latter six of the sixteen roots in the next unit. The Commentator sets two explanations side by side without choosing between them, as usual: the first speaks through the factors of jhāna, the second through the removal of obstacles.

For the General Reader

This unit is the great gate into the two chapters on direct knowledge, and three sentences are written on it: direct knowledge is for making concentration steadier and wisdom easier to develop (it is not the goal); entry requires mastering all sixty-four attainments on the eight kasiṇas and then training the mind through fourteen modes (it does not come merely from wanting it); each of the six sieves admits only one among a hundred or a thousand (it is rare). The Commentator uses no language of mystery, only work and sequence. Remember the simile: well-refined gold. The mind of direct knowledge is simply a mind trained until it is malleable and wieldy.

To read this unit in full: vernacular §1–§4 is the complete paragraph-by-paragraph rendering of the occasion for direct knowledge and the scriptural evidence for the five mundane direct knowledges, the list and individual definitions of the fourteen modes, the six degrees of difficulty and the two accounts of Elder Rakkhita and the Mountain Festival, and the two word-by-word explanations of the mind possessing eight factors.

“Supernormal power” is first explained in three senses—success, completeness of means, and the flourishing of beings through it—then opened into ten kinds: determination, transformation, mind-made, pervasion of knowledge, pervasion of concentration, noble, born of kamma-result, of the meritorious, made by knowledge-spells, and right application; the scriptural term refers only to determination, though transformation and mind-made are also to be included

The Big Picture — The Classification of Ten Kinds of Supernormal Power

The scriptural phrase “he directs and inclines the mind toward supernormal power” is opened here. This unit does one thing: classification. It first explains the meaning of “supernormal power” (§1), then lists ten kinds from the Paṭisambhidāmagga, defining each and relating examples (§§2–7). Of the ten, the first three (determination, transformation, and mind-made) are practiced in the following four units of this chapter. The next two (pervasion of knowledge and pervasion of concentration) are excellences born through knowledge or concentration, illustrated by three elders and five people. Noble supernormal power belongs only to noble ones. The last four (born of kamma-result, of the meritorious, made by knowledge-spells, and right application) do not require jhāna or insight. The final sentence closes the classification: “supernormal power” in the scriptural passage refers only to determination, but transformation and mind-made are also included in this meaning (§7). The point to watch is how the Commentator expands “supernormal power” from the narrow sense of an extraordinary ability to the broad sense that “every success is supernormal power,” and then draws it back again. 〔Observation〕

§01 The Meaning of Supernormal Power and the List of Ten Kinds → Vernacular §1

Three meanings: success (what is accomplished and attained is said to succeed—“renunciation succeeds, and so it is supernormal power; it dispels, and so it is guidance; the arahant path succeeds, and so it is supernormal power”); completeness of means (what produces the desired result—the virtuous householder Citta’s aspiration is pure, so if he aspires to be a Wheel-Turning Monarch the aspiration succeeds); and the success of sentient beings through it (becoming prosperous, flourishing, and supreme). The ten kinds are determination, transformation, mind-made, pervasion of knowledge, pervasion of concentration, noble, born of kamma-result, of the meritorious, made by knowledge-spells, and supernormal power in the sense of success conditioned by right application in the various fields (vernacular §1). 〔Reading〕 Each meaning is broader than the last: success (event) → means (cause) → a being’s flourishing (result). In the citation “supernormal power” and “guidance” stand side by side. This edition reads them separately: supernormal power is success, guidance is what dispels another’s wrong adherence. Later in the chapter “Twin Marvel” follows an established Chinese name; one term has two usages.

§02 Supernormal Power by Determination, Transformation, and the Mind-Made → Vernacular §2

Supernormal power by determination: after adverting to many (hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands), one determines with knowledge, “May I become many”—accomplished through determination. Supernormal power by transformation: abandoning one’s original material form, one displays the form of a boy, a nāga, or arrays of troops—proceeding through the alteration of abandoning the original form. Mind-made supernormal power: from this body one produces another body that is material and mind-made—accomplishing another mind-made body within the body (vernacular §2). 〔Reading〕 The difference between all three lies in the “body”: determination—the body remains mine but becomes many; transformation—the body remains mine but changes form; mind-made—a separate body issues from the body. The following four units develop all three, and the last unit specifically distinguishes transformation from mind-made. “Material form” here follows the “form” of the final unit in its visible-form usage; one term has two functions.

§03 Supernormal Power by the Pervasion of Knowledge and the Accounts of Three Elders → Vernacular §3

An excellence born through the power of knowledge (before, after, or at its arising): “Through contemplation of impermanence, perception of permanence is abandoned … through the arahant path, all defilements are abandoned.” Three accounts: Bākula, swallowed by a fish after falling into the river as an infant, carried to Benares, and found like a golden image when a merchant’s wife cut the fish open—unharmed in the fish’s belly through the power of the arahant-path knowledge that he, one in his final existence, would attain; Saṅkicca, still in the womb when his mother died, heard crying when a stake touched the corner of his eye during cremation, rescued from her opened abdomen, later gone forth and attaining arahantship—unharmed on the pyre; Bhūtapāla, left as a boy outside the city and unharmed through the three watches of night in a place frequented by wild beasts and yakkhas (vernacular §3). 〔Reading〕 All three say, “Before knowledge has arrived, it is already protecting him.” This is what “pervasion” means here: the power of the arahant-path knowledge to be attained in that life has already spread through the earlier portion of the body. This edition follows the established “pervasion” of the aggregates chapter and keeps it distinct from the “pervading” used for such meditation subjects as loving-kindness.

§04 Supernormal Power by the Pervasion of Concentration and the Accounts of Five People → Vernacular §4

An excellence born through the power of serenity: “Through the first jhāna, the hindrances are abandoned … through the base of neither perception nor non-perception, perception of the base of nothingness is abandoned.” Five accounts: Sāriputta, sitting with a freshly shaved head in the open at Pigeon Cave, struck by a malicious yakkha with a blow sounding like thunder but unharmed because he was in attainment (the Udāna); Sañjīva, mistaken for dead while in the attainment of cessation and burned by cowherds, yet not a thread of his robe burned; Stump Koṇḍañña, in attainment in a forest and covered with the goods of five hundred thieves who thought him a stump, then emerging, whereupon the frightened thieves went forth and attained arahantship; the laywoman Uttarā, doused by the jealous courtesan Sirimā with hot oil, entering loving-kindness at that instant so the oil rolled off like water on a lotus leaf; and Queen Sāmāvatī, falsely accused of hiding a snake in a lute, pervading the king with loving-kindness so he could neither release nor lower his poisoned arrow until it fell at his feet, whereupon she instructed him (vernacular §4). 〔Reading〕 The five accounts have one structure: external harm does not reach the person in concentration. The accounts of the two laywomen are especially striking: what they use is loving-kindness—loving-kindness is concentration, and the pervasion of concentration makes no distinction between monastic and lay.

§05 Noble Supernormal Power—Dwelling with the Perception of the Unrepulsive → Vernacular §5

Dwelling with the perception of the unrepulsive in the repulsive and so forth belongs only to noble ones who have mastery of mind. A bhikkhu whose taints are destroyed pervades a repulsive, undesirable object with loving-kindness or attends to it as elements and dwells with the perception of the unrepulsive; pervades an unrepulsive, desirable object with foulness or attends to it as impermanent and dwells with the perception of the repulsive; does one of the same with both together and dwells in one perception; or, through the six-factored equanimity beginning “on seeing a visible form with the eye, he is not pleased,” avoids both and dwells equanimous, mindful, and clearly comprehending. The Paṭisambhidāmagga gives the same account (vernacular §5). 〔Reading〕 This is mastery over five perceptions: one can remain unrepelled by the ugly, repelled by the beautiful, or take neither side. The four instruments are loving-kindness, attention to elements, foulness, and impermanence—all meditation subjects. Noble supernormal power neither flies nor transforms; the mind turns at will toward its object. The Commentator calls it “noble” because only one with mastery of mind can do it.

§06 Supernormal Power Born of Kamma-Result and the Supernormal Power of the Meritorious → Vernacular §6

Born of kamma-result: birds, deities, some people of the first aeon, and some beings fallen into bad destinations (such as Piyaṅkaramātā the yakkhinī) travel through the air without jhāna or insight. Of the meritorious: a Wheel-Turning Monarch and fourfold army travel through the air, including grooms and cattle tenders; the householder Jotika’s jewel palace breaks through the earth with sixty-four wishing trees; Jaṭila’s eighty-cubit golden mountain; Ghosita remains unharmed through seven attempts to kill him; Meṇḍaka’s sheep made of seven precious substances; the five people of great merit—Meṇḍaka looks up and rice for twelve thousand five hundred granaries falls from the sky, his wife’s single measure of rice feeds all Jambudīpa without exhaustion, his son’s thousand-coin purse never empties, his daughter-in-law’s single measure of grain never runs out, and his servant’s one plow produces fourteen furrows—excellences produced when the accumulation of merit matures (vernacular §6). 〔Reading〕 These two kinds stretch “supernormal power” to its broadest sense: a bird flying is supernormal power, and the ripening of merit is supernormal power. The Commentator lists them not so they will be sought, but to define the term: every “success” may be called supernormal power—before he draws it back to the scriptural meaning.

§07 Supernormal Power Made by Knowledge-Spells, Conditioned by Right Application, and the Conclusion of the Ten → Vernacular §7

Made by knowledge-spells: knowledge-spell bearers recite spells, travel through the air, and display elephants and arrays of troops. Conditioned by right application: “Through renunciation, sensual desire is abandoned … through the arahant path, all defilements are abandoned”—the canonical passage is the same as before; the commentaries broaden it to arranging carts, crafts, medicine, the three Vedas, the Three Piṭakas, and even farming, every excellence born from doing some work. Conclusion: of the ten, the scriptural word “supernormal power” refers only to determination; yet transformation and mind-made are also included in this meaning (vernacular §7). 〔Reading〕 The last sentence is the destination of the whole unit: after listing ten kinds, only one—determination—is meant in the scriptural passage, expanded to three by transformation and mind-made. The other seven complete the term’s range. The following four units practice only these three. 〔Observation〕

For the General Reader

This unit is like a dictionary entry with ten senses under “supernormal power.” You need not memorize all ten; retain three levels. Narrowest: supernormal power by determination as meant in the scriptural passage (becoming many after being one and so forth, practiced in the next four units). Middle: excellences born of knowledge, concentration, and a noble mind (the accounts of three elders and five people, and dwelling with the perception of the unrepulsive). Broadest: every success is supernormal power (the flight of birds, merit, spells, and crafts). Read the eight accounts simply as accounts: the infant in a fish’s belly, the infant on a pyre, the elder mistaken for a stump, hot oil like water, the poisoned arrow that would not fly—each says the same thing: harm does not reach a person furnished with knowledge and concentration.

To read this unit in full: vernacular §1–§7 is the complete paragraph-by-paragraph rendering of the three meanings of supernormal power, the list of ten kinds, the explanation of the first three, the accounts of three elders under the pervasion of knowledge, the accounts of five people under the pervasion of concentration, noble supernormal power, the accounts of powers born of kamma-result and of the meritorious, powers made by knowledge-spells and conditioned by right application, and the conclusion of the ten.

Before “having been one, he becomes many” stands an entire foundation: four jhānas as grounds, four bases of power as bases, desire and the rest as eight terms, and sixteen kinds of imperturbability as roots—only then does one “determine with knowledge”

The Big Picture — The Foundation of Supernormal Power by Determination

The previous unit completed the classification. This unit enters the word-by-word explanation of the scriptural sentence “he directs and inclines the mind … experiences the various kinds of supernormal power: having been one, he becomes many” (§1), then pauses at “How does he become thus?” The answer: after accomplishing the four grounds, four bases, eight terms, and sixteen roots, he determines with knowledge. The four divisions (§§2–5) each cite and explain the words of the General of the Dhamma. The last (§6) explains the method of “determining with knowledge” and the objects of the preliminary-work and determination minds. The texts on these grounds, bases, terms, and roots are handed down both in discourses and in the Paṭisambhidāmagga; the Commentator expressly says that he repeats them “so there will be no confusion in either place.” This unit inherits the larger discussion and continues the treatment of the ten powers. 〔Observation〕

§01 Word-by-Word Explanation—Directing the Mind toward Supernormal Power → Vernacular §1

“Supernormal power” means a division of supernormal power. “Directs”: when the mind has become the basis for direct knowledge, he moves the preliminary-work mind away from the kasiṇa object and sends it toward supernormal power in order to attain it. “Inclines”: he makes the mind incline and tend toward the power to be attained. “Various” means many kinds. “Experiences” means touches, realizes, reaches. “Having been one” means that before performing the power he was one. “Becomes many”: wishing to walk, recite, or ask questions before a multitude, he becomes hundreds or thousands. How? After accomplishing four grounds, four bases, eight terms, and sixteen roots, he determines with knowledge (vernacular §1). 〔Reading〕 The Commentator explains “directs” as “moving the preliminary-work mind away from the kasiṇa”: supernormal power is a rerouting of the very mind that cultivated the kasiṇa. The four words grounds, bases, terms, and roots form a building: a ground is where one stands, a base is how one goes, a term is a step, a root is the foundation of imperturbability.

§02 The Four Grounds of Supernormal Power—The Four Jhānas → Vernacular §2

The words of the General of the Dhamma: the ground born of seclusion is the first jhāna, the ground of rapture and pleasure the second, the ground of equanimity and pleasure the third, and the ground neither painful nor pleasant the fourth. They lead to the gaining, obtaining, transformation, full ripening, mastery, and fearlessness of supernormal power. The explanation: in the first three jhānas, pervasion with rapture and pleasure brings the perception of pleasure and lightness, making the body light, malleable, and wieldy; therefore they are accessory grounds. The fourth jhāna is the fundamental ground (vernacular §2). 〔Reading〕 Here the four jhānas are named in their character as “ground”: born of seclusion, rapture and pleasure, equanimity and pleasure, neither painful nor pleasant—the principal factors of each jhāna become the names of the grounds. The distinction between accessory and fundamental ground is the distinction between “helping you get there” and “what you stand upon.”

§03 The Four Bases of Supernormal Power—The Four Bases of Power → Vernacular §3

The four bases of power are furnished with concentration due respectively to desire, energy, mind, and investigation, and with formations of exertion. Explanation: concentration whose cause or predominance is desire is concentration due to desire; formations constituting exertion are the energy of right striving that accomplishes four tasks. “Basis of power” means either the remaining group of mind and mental factors serving as an abiding place for the desire, concentration, and formations of exertion associated with direct-knowledge mind (“the feeling aggregate of such a person … the consciousness aggregate”), which have gained the name supernormal power in the sense of success; or it means desire and the rest themselves, that through which one goes and reaches. The discourse says: concentration and one-pointedness gained in dependence on desire are concentration due to desire; striving for the non-arising of unarisen evil and the rest is the formations of exertion; this desire, concentration, and exertion together form the basis furnished with concentration due to desire and formations of exertion (vernacular §3). 〔Reading〕 The Commentator gives two explanations of “basis of power”: on one reading the base is “that group of mind and mental factors” where supernormal power abides; on the other it is desire and the rest themselves, through which it is reached. The two coexist, as usual, without a decision. The names of the four bases already appeared in the chapter on meditation subjects; here is their use.

§04 The Eight Terms of Supernormal Power—Desire and the Other Eight Phenomena → Vernacular §4

“If a bhikkhu gains concentration and one-pointedness in dependence on desire—desire is not concentration, concentration is not desire; desire is one, concentration another.” The same formula applies to energy, mind, and investigation, making eight terms. The explanation: desire leads to supernormal power only when united with and bound to concentration; so too with energy and the rest (vernacular §4). 〔Reading〕 The eight terms take the four bases apart: each is divided into “what predominates” and “concentration,” emphasizing that the two are different but must be united. Desire is not concentration: the desire for supernormal power is not itself concentration; it must be joined to concentration.

§05 The Sixteen Roots of Supernormal Power—Sixteen Kinds of Imperturbability → Vernacular §5

The mind is imperturbable in sixteen modes: not downcast and unmoved by indolence; not elated and unmoved by restlessness; not inclined and unmoved by greed; not turned away and unmoved by ill will; not dependent and unmoved by views; not bound and unmoved by the greed of desire; released and unmoved by sensual greed; freed from bonds and unmoved by defilements; rid of limits and unmoved by the limits of defilement; arrived at unity and unmoved by the various defilements; supported by faith and unmoved by lack of faith; supported by energy and unmoved by indolence; supported by mindfulness and unmoved by negligence; supported by concentration and unmoved by restlessness; supported by wisdom and unmoved by ignorance; arrived at luminosity and unmoved by the darkness of ignorance—leading to the gaining of supernormal power, up to fearlessness in supernormal power. Although this meaning was already established by “when his mind is thus concentrated,” it is repeated to show the jhānas and the rest as grounds, bases, terms, and roots. The former method is in the discourses, this one in the Paṭisambhidāmagga; it is repeated to prevent confusion between the two (vernacular §5). 〔Reading〕 The last six of the sixteen roots are precisely the six supports of “attained to imperturbability” in the preceding unit—the Commentator himself points out that this is one meaning stated in two places. A “root” is the foundation of imperturbability: the less the mind moves, the more deeply power is rooted. 〔Observation〕

§06 The Method of Determining with Knowledge and the Objects of Its Minds → Vernacular §6

Having accomplished the grounds, bases, terms, and roots, one enters and emerges from the jhāna that serves as the basis for direct knowledge. Wishing to become a hundred, one performs preliminary work as “May I become a hundred,” enters and emerges from the foundational jhāna again, then determines—and simultaneously with the determination mind becomes a hundred. The same applies to a thousand. If it does not succeed, perform preliminary work again, enter and emerge a second time, and determine (the Commentary on the Saṃyutta allows one or two entries). Objects: the foundational-jhāna mind takes the sign; the preliminary-work mind takes the hundred or thousand as material form, not as concept; the determination mind likewise takes the hundred or thousand. Like an absorption mind, only one arises after change-of-lineage, belonging to the fourth jhāna of the fine-material sphere (vernacular §6). 〔Reading〕 This is the “cognitive process” of the whole operation: enter—emerge—preliminary work—enter—emerge—determine. The determination mind lasts a single moment, belongs to the fourth jhāna, and takes material form as its object (not the name “hundred”). At this point it becomes clear that supernormal power is not a spell but one decision by a fourth-jhāna mind after change-of-lineage.

For the General Reader

This unit is the first half of the instruction manual for “one becoming many.” It first supplies the complete foundation: the four jhānas are grounds, the four bases of power are bases, desire and the rest are eight terms, and sixteen kinds of imperturbability are roots. Then it gives the operation in a single sentence: enter, emerge, perform preliminary work, enter again, emerge, determine. Remember the three objects in the last section: the foundational-jhāna mind takes the sign, the preliminary-work mind takes the material forms of hundreds or thousands, and the determination mind takes the same material forms for a single moment. The whole of supernormal power is one determination by a well-trained mind.

To read this unit in full: vernacular §1–§6 is the complete paragraph-by-paragraph rendering of the word-by-word explanation of the scriptural passage, the four grounds, the two explanations of the four bases, the eight terms, the sixteen roots and their two places of transmission, and the method of determining with knowledge together with the objects of the three kinds of mind.

“Directing” is preliminary work, while “determining with knowledge” is the knowledge of supernormal power—the account of Cūḷapanthaka creating himself a thousand times explains this sentence; manifestation turns darkness to light and concealment turns light to darkness, with cases involving the Blessed One and the elders, while in the evident both the power and its practitioner are known but in the nonevident only the power is known

The Big Picture — The First and Second Cases of Supernormal Power by Determination

The previous unit laid the foundation; this one begins the word-by-word explanation of the cases of supernormal power by determination listed in the scriptural passage. First comes “having been one, he becomes many”: a word-by-word explanation of the Paṭisambhidāmagga passage (§1), the account of Cūḷapanthaka (§2), and the appearance of created figures and the method of returning them to one (§3). Then come “manifestation and concealment”: the method of manifestation (§4), three cases of manifestation (§5), the method of concealment (§6), three cases of concealment (§7), and the general classification of manifestation and concealment with the definition of the Twin Marvel (§8). The Commentator’s pattern is consistent: first he cites scripture, then explains it word by word, then asks, “Who has performed this before?” Each series starts with the Blessed One, continues with the disciples, and then reaches an elder of Tambapaṇṇi Island. 〔Observation〕

§01 The Scriptural Passage on One and Many, and Its Explanation → Vernacular §1

The Paṭisambhidāmagga: “Originally one, he directs his mind toward many—a hundred, a thousand, or a hundred thousand. Having directed his mind, he determines with knowledge, ‘May I become many,’ and becomes many, as did the Venerable Cūḷapanthaka.” Explanation: “directs his mind” is said only of the preliminary work, while “determines with knowledge” is said of the knowledge of supernormal power—he directs his mind toward many, enters attainment at the end of the preliminary-work minds, emerges and again directs his mind, “May I become many,” and then determines with the one knowledge of supernormal power called “determination,” arising immediately after three or four preceding minds (vernacular §1). 〔Reading〕 This passage restates the cognitive process from the end of the previous unit solely to distinguish the scriptural passage’s two verbs: “directs” = preliminary work (preparation); “determines” = knowledge of supernormal power (a single moment). Remember this correspondence; every later case of “having directed his mind, he determines with knowledge” is read in the same way.

§02 The Account of Cūḷapanthaka → Vernacular §2

The two brothers were born on a road and so were named “Panthaka.” The elder, Mahāpanthaka, went forth and attained arahantship. He had his younger brother go forth and gave him a verse (the fragrant red lotus and the radiance of Aṅgīrasa), but after four months the younger brother could not master it and was expelled from the monastery. The elder was then the assigner of meals. When Jīvaka invited the Buddha and five hundred bhikkhus, he accepted “apart from Cūḷapanthaka.” The younger brother stood at the gatehouse weeping. The Blessed One saw him with the divine eye and went to him, saying, “One unable to recite is not thereby incapable in my Teaching.” By supernormal power he fashioned a piece of cloth and had him rub it while reciting “Removing dust, removing dust.” The cloth turned black. Cūḷapanthaka conceived, “The cloth was clean; the fault belongs to this individual existence,” directed knowledge into the five aggregates, developed insight, and through conformity drew near change-of-lineage. The Blessed One spoke a verse of illumination (“Greed is dust, not dirt; hate … delusion is dust”), and at its end the nine supramundane dhammas, the four analytical knowledges, and the six direct knowledges were all his. The next day, as gruel was served at Jīvaka’s house, the Blessed One covered his bowl: “There is still one bhikkhu at the monastery.” A man was sent to summon him—but “Panthaka created himself a thousand times and sat in the delightful mango grove until the time was announced.” The messenger found the grove full of bhikkhus and could not tell which one was the noble one. The Blessed One told him to pull the robe of the first he saw. He did so; all the created figures vanished. The Elder sent him on and arrived first, sitting in the reserved place (vernacular §2). 〔Reading〕 This account is often read as the awakening of a slow learner, but the Commentator cites it for only one sentence: “as did the Venerable Cūḷapanthaka,” an embodied witness to becoming many. Yet the reader may also notice the piece of cloth. What the Blessed One gave was not a spell but an object (“removing dust”) from which insight began. Cūḷapanthaka first attained arahantship; only then did there come a thousand bodies. Supernormal power always follows path and fruit.

§03 The Appearance of Created Figures and Their Return to One → Vernacular §3

Figures created without specification all resemble the practitioner—standing, sitting, speaking, and remaining silent exactly as he does. To create different appearances (young, middle-aged, old; long-haired, half shaven, shaven, mixed-haired; half-red or yellow-brown robes; reciting, discussing the Dhamma, chanting, questioning, answering, boiling dye, sewing robes, washing, and so on), he emerges from the foundational jhāna, performs such preliminary work as “So many bhikkhus are to be young,” enters attainment again, emerges, and determines. Simultaneously with the determination mind they become the desired kinds. “Having been many, he becomes one” follows the same method. The distinction is this: after creating many bodies, if he wants to walk, recite, or question alone, or out of fewness of wishes fears that people will recognize him, he can midway determine, “May I become one,” by entering the foundational jhāna, performing preliminary work, entering again, and determining. Otherwise, he naturally becomes one when the specified time ends (vernacular §3). 〔Reading〕 “Out of fewness of wishes he wants to become one”—a practitioner of supernormal power fears being recognized: this may be the most endearing sentence in the chapter. Created figures may differ from one another, but every difference requires one preliminary work and one determination. Without a separate determination, all are identical to their creator.

§04 The Method of Manifestation → Vernacular §4

“Manifest” means uncovered, unobscured, open, evident; “concealed” means covered, obscured, closed, overturned. One wishing to manifest something turns darkness into light, what is covered into what is open, and what is out of view into what is in view. Wishing that he or another be seen even though screened off or far away, he emerges from the foundational jhāna, directs his mind as “Let this dark place become luminous,” performs the preliminary work, and determines. Others see even from afar, and if he wishes to see, he sees (vernacular §4). 〔Reading〕 The whole definition of manifestation and concealment lies in covering: manifestation removes a covering, while concealment adds one. The operation follows the same cognitive process, with only the sentence toward which the mind is directed changed.

§05 Three Cases of Manifestation—Cūḷasubhaddā’s Invitation, the Descent from the Gods, and Elder Dhammadinna → Vernacular §5

Accepting Cūḷasubhaddā’s invitation, the Blessed One traveled from Sāvatthī to Sāketa in five hundred peaked dwellings fashioned by Vissakamma and determined that the residents of the two cities should see one another. Descending in the city center, he split the earth down to Avīci and divided the sky up to the Brahmā world, revealing them all. Descent from the gods: after performing the Twin Marvel and freeing eighty-four thousand beings, the Blessed One saw that past Buddhas had gone to the Heaven of the Thirty-three. With one foot on the earth, another on Yugandhara, and then the first upon the summit of Sineru, he spent the rains on the Yellow-Stone Seat and taught the Abhidhamma for three months to gods from ten thousand world-systems. At mealtime he created a created Buddha to teach, while he chewed a Nāgalatā tooth-stick, rinsed at Lake Anotatta, gathered alms in Uttarakuru, ate at the lakeside, and transmitted the method of the teaching to Sāriputta. Eighty koṭis of gods directly realized the Dhamma. The gathering extending twelve leagues encamped to wait, supplied by the junior Anāthapiṇḍika. They asked Elder Anuruddha to see the Buddha with the divine eye, and Elder Mahāmoggallāna to sink into the earth, pass through Sineru, emerge at the Buddha’s feet, and report their wish. The Blessed One arranged to descend at Saṅkassa the next day, the full moon of the Great Invitation. On his way out and back, Mahāmoggallāna determined that the people should see him—this was his guidance of manifestation. The Blessed One told Sakka, and Vissakamma made three flights of stairs of gold, silver, and gems. Standing atop Sineru, the Blessed One looked in all four directions; innumerable thousands of world-systems appeared like a single courtyard, from Avīci below to the Akaniṭṭha realm above. That day was called “the Opening of the World.” Humans and gods saw one another face to face. The Blessed One descended by the central gem stairs; gods of the six sensual heavens came down the golden stairs on the left, and gods of the Pure Abodes and Great Brahmā the silver stairs on the right. Sakka held the bowl and robe, Great Brahmā the three-league white parasol, Suyāma the fan, and Pañcasikha played a lute three gāvutas in size. No being who saw the Blessed One that day failed to aspire to Buddhahood. Again, at the courtyard of the stūpa at Tissamahāvihāra, Elder Dhammadinna of Talaṅgara taught the Discourse on the Sure Course. Lowering his fan, he made everything down to Avīci a single courtyard; raising it, he did the same up to the Brahmā world. He frightened his hearers with hell and enticed them with heavenly bliss; some attained stream-entry, some once-returning, non-returning, or arahantship (vernacular §5). 〔Reading〕 The three cases move from large to small: the Buddha splits earth and sky, Moggallāna passes through Sineru, and Elder Dhammadinna uses one fan. Yet all three do the same thing: remove the covering. On the day of the Opening of the World, humans did not look upward and gods did not look downward. This is manifestation at its utmost: it is not that one party managed to see another; the covering was gone.

§06 The Method of Concealment → Vernacular §6

One wishing to conceal turns light into darkness, what is uncovered into what is covered, and what is in view into what is out of view. Wishing that he or another not be seen even when unscreened and close by, he emerges from the foundational jhāna, directs his mind as “Let this light place become dark,” performs the preliminary work, and determines. Others do not see even at close range, and if he himself does not wish to see, he does not see (vernacular §6). 〔Reading〕 Each point is the reverse of §4.

§07 Three Cases of Concealment—Yasa, Mahākappina, and Elder Mahinda → Vernacular §7

The Blessed One caused Yasa, son of good family, not to be seen by his father even while sitting close by. He traveled two thousand leagues to meet Mahākappina, established the king in non-returning and his thousand ministers in stream-entry, and then caused Queen Anojā and her thousand women, following their route, not to see the king and his company though they sat nearby. The queen asked, “Have you seen the king?” The Blessed One replied, “Is it better to seek the king or yourself?” She answered, “Myself,” and sat. He taught the Dhamma, establishing the queen and her thousand women in stream-entry, the ministers in non-returning, and the king in arahantship. On the day Elder Mahinda reached Tambapaṇṇi Island, he likewise caused the king not to see his companions (vernacular §7). 〔Reading〕 Each case of concealment has one purpose: the one who needs to hear the Dhamma hears it first. “Is it better to seek the king or yourself?” is the sharpest sentence in the unit. Only by concealing the king could that question be asked.

§08 The General Classification of Manifestation and Concealment, and the Twin Marvel → Vernacular §8

General classification: every evident guidance is called manifestation, and every nonevident guidance concealment. In the evident, both the supernormal power and its practitioner are known—as in the Twin Marvel: “The Tathāgata performs the Twin Marvel, not shared by disciples: fire arises from the upper body, water flows from the lower.” Both are known. In the nonevident, only the power is known and not the practitioner—as in the Mahaka Sutta and the Brahmā’s Invitation Sutta. The householder Citta asks Mahaka to show guidance by a state beyond ordinary humans; the venerable one enters his dwelling, and flames issue from the keyhole and door hinge, burning the grass but not the upper robe. Before Brahmā, the Blessed One determines, “To this extent the Brahmā assembly will hear my voice but not see me,” vanishes, and speaks the verse, “I have seen fear in becoming … nor did I grasp at delight” (vernacular §8). 〔Reading〕 This final classification lifts manifestation and concealment from “whether the person can be seen” to “whether one knows who did it.” Everyone knows the Twin Marvel is the Buddha’s; in Mahaka’s case, one sees fire but not its maker; before Brahmā, one hears only the Blessed One’s voice and does not see his form. Here is the definition of the Twin Marvel: fire above and water below, not shared by disciples. 〔Observation〕

For the General Reader

This unit has more stories than any other in the chapter: Panthaka’s thousand bodies, the earth split to Avīci, three flights of stairs at the descent from the gods, a fan turning all into one courtyard, Yasa’s father unable to see his son, a queen unable to see her king, and flames issuing from a keyhole. Read them as stories if you wish, but remember two things: before each event comes the same cognitive process—enter attainment, perform preliminary work, enter again, and determine—and after each event comes the Dhamma: awakening, stream-entry, arahantship. Supernormal power here is never a performance; it is “making a support for others.”

To read this unit in full: vernacular §1–§8 is the complete paragraph-by-paragraph rendering of the scriptural explanation of one and many, the account of Cūḷapanthaka, the appearance and reunification of created figures, the method and three cases of manifestation, the method and three cases of concealment, and the general classification of manifestation and concealment with the definition of the Twin Marvel.

Each case changes only the kasiṇa: to pass through a wall, enter the space kasiṇa; to emerge and submerge in earth, the water kasiṇa; to walk on water or sit in the air, the earth kasiṇa—only touching the sun and moon requires no particular kasiṇa but solely the foundational jhāna; and of the hand that extends, “the unappropriated grows in dependence on the appropriated”

The Big Picture — The Third through Seventh Cases of Supernormal Power by Determination

These are the remaining cases of supernormal power by determination listed in the scriptural passage: passing through walls and mountains (§1), emerging and submerging in the earth (§2), walking on water without sinking (§3), traveling cross-legged through the air like a bird (§4), and touching the sun and moon (§5). Here the Commentator’s format is at its most regular. For each case he first explains the words of the scriptural passage; then says, “One who wishes to travel in this way enters attainment in a certain kasiṇa, emerges, directs the mind, performs the preliminary work, and determines”; then cites the Paṭisambhidāmagga as proof; and then adds a discussion. A different kasiṇa is entered for each case—this is the unit’s skeleton: whatever is to be the object, enter the corresponding kasiṇa (wall to become space → space kasiṇa; earth to become water → water kasiṇa; water to become earth → earth kasiṇa; space to become earth → earth kasiṇa). Only touching the sun and moon does not require a kasiṇa, because the determination is not “Let it become something” but “Let them be within reach of my hand.” Elder Tipiṭaka Cūḷābhaya twice questions, “What use is there in entering a kasiṇa?” The Commentator records both challenges but nevertheless follows scripture both times. This unit inherits the higher-level discussion. 〔Observation〕

§01 Passing through Walls and Mountains → Vernacular §1

Word meanings: “beyond a wall” is the far side of a wall (a wall is the wall of a house, a rampart encloses a house, monastery, or village, and a mountain is of earth or stone); “without obstruction” means without sticking; “as though in space” means as in space. Method: enter attainment in the space kasiṇa, emerge, direct the mind to a wall, rampart, or any mountain among Sineru and the world-system mountains, perform the preliminary work, and determine, “Let it become space.” It becomes space: hollow for one wishing to descend or ascend, and an opening for one wishing to pass through. Elder Cūḷābhaya objects: What use is there in entering the space kasiṇa? Must one wishing to create an elephant or horse enter an elephant or horse kasiṇa? Mastery over the eight attainments alone should be the measure. The bhikkhus answer: the space kasiṇa is what occurs in the scriptural passage, so it must be stated (the citation says: “He is originally one who has attained the space kasiṇa … having directed his mind, he determines with knowledge, ‘Let it become space’ … like a person without supernormal power walking freely in an uncovered, unenclosed place”). Discussion: if a mountain or tree arises midway after the determination, must one enter attainment again and determine? There is no fault in doing so—entering again is like retaking dependence in the presence of one’s preceptor. Yet through the preceding determination, no mountain or tree produced by temperature can arise midway. If another practitioner has created it, the earlier creation is stronger, and the later practitioner must go above or below (vernacular §1). 〔Reading〕 Elder Cūḷābhaya’s challenge is a good one: if whatever one wishes becomes so, why match each task to a kasiṇa? The Commentator’s answer is simply, “It is precisely the space kasiṇa that occurs in the scriptural passage.” Text outranks inference—his consistent position. “The earlier creation is stronger” is the rule between practitioners: the later arrival goes around.

§02 Emerging and Submerging in the Earth → Vernacular §2

“Emerging” is rising and “submerging” is sinking. Method: enter the water kasiṇa, emerge, define “Within this much space, let the earth become water,” perform preliminary work, and determine. The earth in the defined area becomes water, in which he emerges and submerges (the citation follows the same formula). This is not limited to emerging and submerging: he can bathe, drink, wash his face or vessels. Nor is it limited to water: ghee, oil, honey, sugar, and so forth become whatever he directs his mind toward and determines. Once taken up and put into a vessel, ghee remains ghee, oil oil, and water water. He gets wet if he wishes, or does not if he does not. And it becomes water only for him; for others it remains earth—they walk, ride, and plow as usual. If he wishes it to become water for them too, it does. Once the defined time passes, it is again earth apart from water originally present in jars and ponds (vernacular §2). 〔Reading〕 The finest point is “it becomes water only for him.” Under the practitioner’s feet is water, while under everyone else’s feet remains earth. The object of the power is what his own mind determines; it does not alter another’s world unless he separately determines that it do so. “Once the defined time passes, it is again earth”: every creation has a time limit.

§03 Walking on Water without Sinking → Vernacular §3

“Sinking” is what happens when water is stepped upon; “without sinking” is the opposite. Method: enter the earth kasiṇa, emerge, define “Within this much space, let the water become earth,” perform preliminary work, and determine. The water becomes earth and he walks upon it (the citation follows the same formula). This is not limited to walking: he assumes any posture he wishes. Nor only earth: gems, gold, mountains, trees, and so forth become whatever he directs his mind toward and determines. It becomes earth only for him; for others it remains water, and fish, turtles, and water birds swim about as they please. If he wishes it to become earth for others, it does. After the time passes, it is again water (vernacular §3). 〔Reading〕 This is perfectly symmetrical with §2: earth becomes water, water becomes earth, and the kasiṇa entered is the opposite one. The line “fish, turtles, and water birds move about as they please” is delightful: the practitioner walks above while the fish continue swimming below.

§04 Traveling Cross-Legged through the Air → Vernacular §4

“Travels cross-legged” means moving in the cross-legged posture; “winged bird” means a bird furnished with wings. Method: enter the earth kasiṇa and emerge. To travel sitting, define an area the size of one’s cross-legged posture; lying down, the size of a bed; walking, the size of a path. Determine, “Let it become earth,” and it becomes earth (the citation says one walks, stands, sits, and lies in space as people do on earth). Addition: one who wishes to travel in the air must have attained the divine eye—to see mountains and trees produced by temperature midway, or obstacles created out of jealousy by nāgas and supaṇṇas. On seeing one, enter the foundational jhāna, perform preliminary work, and determine, “Let it become space.” The Elder (Cūḷābhaya) again says, “What use is there in entering attainment? Has his mind not already attained concentration?” Yet despite his words, one should proceed by the method for passing through a wall. The divine eye is also necessary in order to descend at an appropriate place. Descending at a bathing ford or village gate would expose one to a crowd; with the divine eye, one sees and avoids such a place (vernacular §4). 〔Reading〕 The divine eye is equipment here: there may be an obstacle in the air, so one must see it; there is an appropriate place to land, so one must see that too. Elder Cūḷābhaya’s second challenge has the same structure as the first—whatever one wishes becomes so—and the Commentator handles it in the same way: “Although he said this, nevertheless one should …”

§05 Touching the Sun and Moon with the Hand → Vernacular §5

The sun and moon are mighty in supernormal power because they travel forty-two thousand leagues above, and mighty in influence because they illuminate three continents in one instant (or the two together make them mighty in both power and influence). “Touches” means grasps or makes contact at one place; “strokes” means rubs all around like a mirror surface. This power succeeds solely through the foundational jhāna for direct knowledge, with no requirement concerning a kasiṇa attainment. The Paṭisambhidāmagga says: he directs his mind to the sun and moon and determines with knowledge, “Let them be within reach of my hand.” They come within reach, and seated or lying down he touches, grasps, and strokes them as a person touches a material form at hand. If he wishes to go and touch them, he goes. If he wishes to remain seated or lying here, he determines, “Let them be within reach”; they come like palm fruits released from their stalks, or he extends his hand. When it extends, is it the appropriated or unappropriated that grows?—the unappropriated grows in dependence on the appropriated. Elder Tipiṭaka Cūḷanāga says: Can the appropriated not become small or large? Does it not become small when a bhikkhu passes through a keyhole, and large when he makes his individual existence large, as in the case of Elder Mahāmoggallāna? (vernacular §5). 〔Reading〕 This is the only one of the five cases that does not enter a kasiṇa. What is determined is not “Let the sun and moon become something,” but “Let the distance become within reach of the hand”; therefore only the foundational jhāna is needed. The final discussion is a question concerning material form: is the extended hand a kamma-produced body (appropriated) or a creation of supernormal power (unappropriated)? The Commentator answers, “the unappropriated grows in dependence on the appropriated”—the hand is created, but depends on this body. The Commentator records Elder Cūḷanāga’s alternative (that the appropriated itself can become large or small); the next unit answers through the account of Moggallāna subduing the nāga. 〔Observation〕

For the General Reader

Five cases, one format: explain the words, enter a kasiṇa, direct the mind, perform preliminary work, determine, cite scripture. Remember the correspondence table: to pass through a wall, enter the space kasiṇa; to enter earth, the water kasiṇa; to tread water or sit in air, the earth kasiṇa; to touch the sun and moon, no kasiṇa. Two small details matter. A supernormal creation becomes so only for its maker—earth remains earth under others’ feet, and fish continue to swim; and every creation has a time limit. Elder Cūḷābhaya asks twice, “What use is there in entering a kasiṇa?” Twice the Commentator answers, “This is how it occurs in scripture.” That is the temperament of this book.

To read this unit in full: vernacular §1–§5 is the complete paragraph-by-paragraph rendering of passing through walls and mountains (including Elder Cūḷābhaya’s challenge and the discussion of an intervening obstacle), emerging and submerging in earth, walking on water without sinking, traveling cross-legged through the air (including the requirement of the divine eye), and touching the sun and moon (including the discussion of appropriated and unappropriated material form and Elder Cūḷanāga’s position).

Moggallāna becomes a great nāga king and coils fourteen times around Sineru—the “large individual existence” answers the previous unit’s question; “exercising mastery with the body” is distinguished step by step until only “creating material form before Brahmā” qualifies; transformation shows another form, while mind-making draws a body from within a body—like drawing a reed from muñja grass

The Big Picture — The Conclusion of Supernormal Power by Determination and the Distinction between Two Powers

This unit contains three matters: ① the account of subduing the nāga king Nandopananda (§1), which continues the previous unit’s final words “as in the case of Elder Mahāmoggallāna” and has no new paragraph number in the base text; ② the scriptural phrase “as far as the Brahmā world, he exercises mastery with the body” and its word-by-word explanation (§§2–5)—determining far and near, many and few and the accounts of the elders; distinguishing the divine eye, divine ear, and knowledge of others’ minds; transforming mind by body and body by mind; the mind-made body; and what alone is called “exercising mastery with the body”; ③ the distinction between supernormal power by transformation and mind-made supernormal power (§§6–7), followed by the chapter colophon. At this point the chapter completes the word-by-word explanation of the scriptural passage from “having been one, he becomes many” through “as far as the Brahmā world, he exercises mastery with the body,” and concludes the discussion of supernormal power by determination. It then closes the chapter with transformation and mind-making. 〔Observation〕

§01 Subduing the Nāga King Nandopananda → Vernacular §1

Anāthapiṇḍika invites the Buddha and five hundred bhikkhus to eat the next day. Toward dawn the Blessed One surveys ten thousand worlds, and the nāga king Nandopananda appears at the gateway of his knowledge—a holder of wrong view without confidence in the Three Jewels. Who can free him from wrong view? Mahāmoggallāna. The Blessed One has Ānanda tell the five hundred bhikkhus, “The Tathāgata is going on a divine excursion.” The nāga is at a drinking festival upon a divine-jeweled seat. Making himself visible to the nāga, the Blessed One passes with five hundred bhikkhus directly above his canopy toward the Thirty-three. The nāga conceives an evil view: “These bald-headed ascetics go to the gods over our dwelling, scattering foot-dust on my head.” At the foot of Sineru he coils seven times around the mountain and covers the Thirty-three with his hood. Raṭṭhapāla asks the Buddha why Sineru, its terrace, the Thirty-three, the Vejayanta Palace, and its banner, all formerly visible, can no longer be seen. The Buddha tells him that the nāga has coiled around the mountain and made darkness. Raṭṭhapāla, Bhaddiya, Rāhula, and all the bhikkhus in turn request permission to tame him; the Buddha permits none. Mahāmoggallāna asks and is permitted. The Elder creates the form of a great nāga king, coils fourteen times around Nandopananda, sets his hood upon the nāga’s, and presses him together with Sineru. The nāga emits smoke; the Elder meets smoke with smoke—the nāga’s smoke cannot trouble him, but his troubles the nāga. The nāga blazes; the Elder meets fire with fire, with the same result. “Who are you?” “Nanda, I am Moggallāna.” “Please remain in your bhikkhu form.” The Elder abandons that form, enters the right ear and emerges from the left, enters the left and emerges from the right, enters and exits the two nostrils in the same way, then enters the open mouth and paces east and west inside the belly. The Blessed One says, “Moggallāna, be mindful; this nāga is mighty in supernormal power.” The Elder answers, “My four bases of power have been cultivated … let alone Nandopananda; I could tame a hundred thousand equal nāgas.” Planning to chew him on his way out, the nāga asks him to leave. The Elder emerges and stands outside. The nāga blasts him with nostril-wind; the Elder enters the fourth jhāna, and the wind cannot stir one pore. Although the other bhikkhus could perform every guidance, they could not at this point discern swiftly enough to enter attainment—hence the Buddha’s refusal. The nāga knows that he is mighty in power. The Elder creates a supaṇṇa form and pursues him with a supaṇṇa wind; the nāga creates the form of a young man, pays homage at his feet, and goes for refuge. The Elder says, “The Teacher has come; let us go,” makes the nāga venomless, and brings him to the Buddha. The nāga goes for refuge; the Blessed One says, “May you be well,” and goes to Anāthapiṇḍika. Asked why he is late, the Buddha says that Moggallāna fought Nandopananda—Moggallāna won. The householder offers seven days of meals and honor to the Elder. Conclusion: this “large individual existence” is the referent of “When he makes his individual existence large, it becomes large—as in the case of Elder Mahāmoggallāna.” Yet the bhikkhus still say that the unappropriated grows in dependence on the appropriated—only this is reasonable. Beyond touching the sun and moon, one can make them footstool, seat, bed, or backrest; even if a hundred thousand bhikkhus each do so, each succeeds while sun and moon continue as before—like the moon reflected in a thousand bowls while the moon itself remains unchanged (vernacular §1). 〔Reading〕 This is the longest story of supernormal power in the chapter, yet the Commentator cites it only to continue Elder Cūḷanāga’s words at the end of the previous unit, “a large individual existence as in the case of Moggallāna.” Having cited it, he still says: “The bhikkhus maintain that the unappropriated grows in dependence on the appropriated; this alone is reasonable.” However vivid the story, the judgment does not change. Within the story, notice the sequence behind the Buddha’s refusal of the others: at the gate of the nostril-wind, only Moggallāna can enter the fourth jhāna with “swift discernment.” This realizes the sixth of the six difficulties in 12-01. The nāga advances from smoke to fire, nostril-wind, and a plan to chew him; the Elder from coils to entering ears, nose, and belly and finally becoming a supaṇṇa. The contest ends with the nāga becoming a young man and bowing at his feet. The simile of the moon in a thousand bowls concludes the discussion of touching the sun and moon: a thousand people each touch them while sun and moon remain unchanged.

§02 Mastery with the Body as Far as the Brahmā World—the Scriptural Passage and Determining Far and Near → Vernacular §2

“As far as the Brahmā world” makes that world the limit; “exercises mastery with the body” means exercising one’s own mastery there with the body. Scripture: one who has attained mastery of mind and wishes to go to the Brahmā world determines far to be near, near to be far, many to be few, and few to be many; with the divine eye sees Brahmā’s form, with the divine ear hears his voice, and with knowledge of others’ minds knows his mind; wishing to go with a visible body, transforms and determines mind by the power of body, enters perceptions of pleasure and lightness, and goes; wishing to go with an invisible body, transforms and determines body by the power of mind, enters perceptions of pleasure and lightness, and goes; before Brahmā creates a mind-made material form complete in all its greater and lesser parts and with no faculties deficient. Whatever the practitioner does—walking, standing, sitting, lying down, emitting smoke, blazing, teaching, questioning and answering, standing with Brahmā, conversing, and holding counsel—the created figure does as well. Explanation of “determines far to be near”: emerge from the foundational jhāna, direct the mind to a distant heavenly or Brahmā world, “Let it be near,” perform preliminary work, enter attainment again, and determine with knowledge. It becomes near; the other clauses follow the same method (vernacular §2). 〔Reading〕 Scripture gives a list of abilities—far and near, many and few; seeing, hearing, and knowing; visible and invisible travel; creating a body. The end of this unit (§5) asks: which item in the list is actually called “exercising mastery with the body”? Remember the list first.

§03 Transforming Far and Near, Many and Few, and the Accounts of the Elders → Vernacular §3

Taking far and making it near: when the Blessed One goes to the heavenly world after the Twin Marvel, he brings Yugandhara and Sineru near, places one foot on Yugandhara and the other on Sineru’s summit. Mahāmoggallāna shortens the thirty-league road to Saṅkassa for a gathering extending twelve leagues, bringing them there in one instant. During a famine, seven hundred bhikkhus come to Elder Cūḷasamudda in Tambapaṇṇi. Finding no food on the whole island but seeing some at Pāṭaliputta on the opposite shore, he shortens the earth and reaches it. “What city is this?” “Pāṭaliputta.” “But it is very far.” “Senior elders can make far near.” “Where is the ocean?” “Did you not cross a blue ditch midway?” “But the ocean is very large.” “Senior elders can make large small.” In the evening Elder Tissadatta thinks, “I shall pay homage to the Great Bodhi Tree,” and makes it near. Taking near and making it far: the Blessed One makes the short distance between himself and Aṅgulimāla long. Many into few: on the day of the star festival, Mahākassapa puts the moon cakes of five hundred young women into the measure of one bowl and presents them to the Buddha. Few into many: Moggallāna in the account of the merchant Illisa; the Blessed One in the account of Kākavaliya. Mahākassapa emerges from seven days of attainment, stands at poor Kākavaliya’s door, receives saltless sour gruel from his wife, and offers it to the Buddha. The Buddha makes one bowl sufficient for the great community; on the seventh day the poor man becomes a merchant. Sweet can likewise be made not sweet and the reverse: seeing bhikkhus with only dry rice on the bank of the Ganges, Elder Mahāanuḷa determines, “Let the Ganges water be clarified butter.” Novices bring it in bowls, and all eat with delicious clarified butter (vernacular §3). 〔Reading〕 Elder Cūḷasamudda’s dialogue is the finest spare narrative in the chapter: seven hundred bhikkhus cross a “blue ditch” without knowing it is the ocean. Determining far and near, many and few is not merely a power; it is compassion. Every case lets people receive food, reach a shrine, or hear the Dhamma.

§04 Distinguishing the Divine Eye, Divine Ear, and Knowledge of Others’ Minds, and Going by Transforming Mind through Body → Vernacular §4

“With the divine eye”: remaining right here, he expands light and sees Brahmā’s form, hears his voice, and knows his mind. “Transforms mind by the power of body”: by the power of the kamma-born body, places the foundational-jhāna mind upon the body, makes the mind follow the body, and makes it move slowly (because the body moves slowly). “Enters the perceptions of pleasure and lightness”: enters perceptions arising with the supernormal-power mind whose object is the foundational jhāna. The perception of pleasure is associated with equanimity (equanimity is called peaceful pleasure), and it is also a perception of lightness because freed from hindrances and opposing phenomena such as applied thought. One entering these perceptions has a kamma-born body light as cotton fluff and goes to the Brahmā world visibly, like cotton fluff blown by the wind. If he wishes, through the earth kasiṇa he creates a road in the sky and walks; through the air kasiṇa he determines upon air and rides the wind. The wish to go is the measure. When it is present, the force of determination propels him visibly like an arrow shot by an archer (vernacular §4). 〔Reading〕 “Transforming mind by the power of body” is the body carrying the mind (slow); “transforming body by the power of mind” in the next section is the mind carrying the body (fast). The key is the “perceptions of pleasure and lightness”: equanimity is peaceful pleasure, and freedom from hindrances and applied thought is lightness—the fourth jhāna itself causes bodily lightness. The two similes of cotton fluff and arrow explain lightness and propulsion by determination.

§05 Transforming Body through Mind, the Mind-Made Body, and the Conclusion of Supernormal Power by Determination → Vernacular §5

“Transforms the body by the power of mind”: places the body upon the mind, makes the body follow the mind, and makes it travel swiftly; enters the perceptions of pleasure and lightness arising with the supernormal-power mind whose object is the material body. This is solely movement by mind. According to the Elder, one traveling with an invisible body moves through all three moments of the determination mind—arising, presence, and dissolution. Does he go himself or send a created figure? As he wishes, but the passage here describes his going himself. “Mind-made”: created by the mind of determination. “No faculties deficient” refers to the shapes of eye, ear, and the rest; created material form has no sensitivity. “When the practitioner walks, the created figure walks” and the rest refer to a disciple’s creation. A Buddha’s created figure does what the Blessed One does and also something else according to his wish. Distinctions: remaining here and seeing, hearing, and knowing with the divine eye, divine ear, and knowledge of others’ minds—not mastery with the body. Remaining here and standing and conversing with Brahmā—not mastery. Determining far and near—not mastery. Traveling to the Brahmā world with visible or invisible body—not mastery. Only proceeding according to the method “in the presence of Brahmā he creates a material form” is called exercising mastery with the body. The other acts show its preliminary portion. This is supernormal power by determination (vernacular §5). 〔Reading〕 The list in §2 is crossed out point by point here: seeing, hearing, and knowing do not qualify; conversation does not; determining distance does not; even going personally does not. Only “creating a body before Brahmā that acts with me” is mastery with the body. With four repetitions of “by this alone, not yet,” the Commentator fixes the weight of the scriptural passage on its final sentence. The discussion of supernormal power by determination ends here. 〔Observation〕

§06 Supernormal Power by Transformation → Vernacular §6

One who transforms determines whichever is desired among “abandoning the original appearance and showing the form of a young man, nāga, supaṇṇa, asura, Sakka, god, Brahmā, ocean, mountain, lion, tiger, leopard, elephant, horse, chariot, infantry, or varied array of troops.” He emerges from the foundational jhāna whose object is the earth kasiṇa or another kasiṇa, directs his mind to his own form as a young man, enters again at the end of preliminary work, emerges, and determines, “May I become such a young man.” Simultaneously with the determination mind, he becomes one, as Devadatta did. “He also shows an elephant” and the rest means showing an elephant externally: he should not determine “May I become an elephant” but “Let there be an elephant” (vernacular §6). 〔Reading〕 Transformation is “I become”; external manifestation is “Let there be.” The difference between those two formulas of determination is the difference between transforming oneself and creating something outside. The Commentator only names Devadatta’s creation of a young man. From this paragraph this edition uses “form” where appearance is meant, following the source; the preceding unit uses “material form” in its own position.

§07 Mind-Made Supernormal Power and the End of the Chapter → Vernacular §7

For a mind-made creation: emerge from the foundational jhāna, direct the mind to the body, and determine, “Let it become hollow.” It becomes hollow. Direct the mind to another body within, perform preliminary work, and determine, “Let there be another body inside it.” Draw it out like a reed from muñja grass, a sword from its sheath, or a snake from its basket. Thus scripture says, “From this body he creates another body, material, mind-made, complete in all its greater and lesser parts, with no faculties deficient. As if a person drew a reed from muñja grass, he would think: this is muñja grass, this is the reed; the grass is one, the reed another; the reed was drawn from the grass.” As the reed resembles the grass, mind-made material form resembles the practitioner; the simile shows this. This is mind-made supernormal power. Chapter colophon: the twelfth chapter, called the Explanation of Supernormal Power, is concluded (vernacular §7). 〔Reading〕 The three similes—reed, sword, snake—all show “drawing a corresponding form from within.” This is the difference between mind-making and transformation: in transformation the original being changes form; in mind-making the original remains while another body is drawn out. The chapter ends here.

For the General Reader

This unit contains the work’s longest story of supernormal power—Moggallāna and the nāga king—yet the Commentator cites it only to answer a question about material form: is the extended hand appropriated or unappropriated? The answer does not change. Notice one thing in the story: why does the Buddha permit only Moggallāna to go? Because at the gate of the nostril-wind only he can enter the fourth jhāna instantly. The Commentator fixes the phrase “exercising mastery with the body” with four repetitions of “by this alone, not yet,” reserving it for creating before Brahmā a body that acts together with its maker. The last two sections then clarify the difference between transformation (“I become”) and mind-making (“I draw another corresponding body from within my body”). Remember Elder Cūḷasamudda’s dialogue: seven hundred bhikkhus crossed a “blue ditch” without knowing it was the ocean. In this work, supernormal power lets people eat.

To read this unit in full: vernacular §1–§7 is the complete paragraph-by-paragraph rendering of the entire subduing of the nāga king Nandopananda and the simile of the moon in a thousand bowls; the scripture on mastery with the body as far as the Brahmā world and determining far and near, many and few; the accounts of the elders; distinctions involving the divine eye, divine ear, and knowledge of others’ minds and transforming mind through body; transforming body through mind, the mind-made body, and the conclusion of supernormal power by determination; supernormal power by transformation; and the three similes for mind-made supernormal power with the chapter colophon.