                               Chapter IV
                               ==========
                                          
                                          
                                          
                           "And taking a pin,
                        I pulled out the wick."
                                          
    
    
    A theme recurrent in the passages we have been considering is that 
  the abandonment of clinging/sustenance is effected through knowledge. 
  
  
       These four (modes of) sustenance have what as their cause, 
       what as their origin, from what are they born, from what do 
       they arise?  These four (forms of) sustenance have craving 
       as their cause, craving as their origin, are born from 
       craving, and arise from craving.
       
       And what does craving have as its cause...?...feeling...And 
       what does feeling have as its cause...?...contact...And what 
       does contact have as its cause...?...the six sense 
       spheres... And what do the six sense spheres have as their 
       cause...?... name & form...And what do name & form have as 
       their cause...?...consciousness...And what does 
       consciousness have as its cause...?...processes...And what 
       do processes have as their cause...?...ignorance...
       
       And, monks, as soon as ignorance is abandoned in a monk, and 
       clear knowledge arises, he--from the fading of ignorance and 
       the appearance of clear knowledge--clings neither to sensual 
       pleasures as sustenance, nor to views as sustenance, nor to 
       precepts & practices as sustenance, nor to doctrines of the 
       self as sustenance.  Not clinging (unsustained), he is not 
       agitated.  Unagitated, he is totally unbound right within.  
       He discerns that 'Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, 
       the task done.  There is nothing further for this world.'
  
                      M 11
  
  
  
    The word 'vijja'--translated here as clear knowledge--also means 
  'science.'  And just as science implies a method, there is a method--a 
  discipline--underlying the knowledge that leads to Unbinding.  That 
  method is described from a number of perspectives in the Canon, each 
  description stressing different aspects of the steps involved.  The 
  standard formula, though, is the Noble Eightfold Path, also known as 
  the middle way.
  
  
  
       There are these two extremes that one who has gone forth is 
       not to indulge in.  What two?  That which is devoted to 
       sensual pleasure with reference to sensual objects:  base, 
       vulgar, common, ignoble, unprofitable; and that which is 
       devoted to self-affliction:  painful, ignoble, unprofitable.  
       Avoiding both of these extremes, the middle way realized by 
       the Tathagata--producing vision, producing knowledge--leads 
       to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to 
       Unbinding. 
  
       And what is the middle way realized by the Tathagata 
       that--producing vision, producing knowledge--leads to calm, 
       to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding?  
       Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path:  right view, right 
       intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, 
       right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
  
                      S lvi.11
  
  
  
    The eight factors of the path fall under three headings, the first 
  two factors coming under discernment, the next three under virtue, and 
  the final three under concentration.  These three headings are called 
  the Threefold Training; the dynamic among them, leading to the 
  knowledge & vision of release, is one of natural cause & effect.
  
  
  
       It is natural that in a virtuous person, one of consummate 
       virtue, freedom from remorse will arise...It is natural that 
       in a person free from remorse gladness will arise...that in 
       a glad person rapture will arise...that for an enraptured 
       person the body will be calmed...that a person of calmed 
       body will feel pleasure...that the mind of a person feeling 
       pleasure will become concentrated...that a person whose mind 
       is concentrated will see things as they actually are...that 
       a person seeing things as they actually are will grow 
       disenchanted & dispassionate...that a disenchanted & 
       dispassionate person will realize the knowledge & vision of 
       release.  
  
                      A X.2
  
      
  
    According to the standard description of the Eightfold Path, the 
  heading of discernment includes seeing things in terms of the four 
  noble truths about stress, and maintaining the intention to release 
  oneself from sensuality, to abandon ill will, and to avoid doing harm.  
  Virtue includes abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from 
  harsh speech & idle chatter; from killing, stealing, & having illicit 
  sex; and from engaging in dishonest or abusive forms of making a 
  living, such as dealing in poison, slaves, weapons, intoxicants, or 
  animal flesh.
  
    The factors that go into concentration, though, are somewhat more 
  complex.
  
  
  
       And what, monks is right effort?  There is the case where a 
       monk arouses desire, endeavors, arouses energy, extends & 
       exerts his mind for the sake of the non-arising of evil, bad 
       qualities that have not yet arisen...for the sake of the 
       abandonment of evil, bad qualities that have arisen...for 
       the sake of the arising of good, wise qualities that have 
       not yet arisen... (and) for the maintenance, non-confusion, 
       increase, plenitude, development, & culmination of good 
       qualities that have arisen.  This, monks, is right effort.
  
       And what is right mindfulness?  There is the case where a 
       monk remains focused on the body in & of itself--ardent, 
       aware & mindful--putting away greed & sorrow with reference 
       to the world.  He remains focused on feelings in & of 
       themselves...He remains focused on the mind in & of 
       itself... He remains focused on mental qualities in & of 
       themselves--ardent, aware & mindful--putting away greed & 
       sorrow with reference to the world.
       
       Thus either internally he remains focused on the body in & 
       of itself, or externally...or both internally & 
       externally...or else he remains focused on the phenomenon of 
       arising with reference to the body...or the phenomenon of 
       passing away with reference to the body...or the phenomenon 
       of arising & passing away with reference to the body.  Or, 
       simply thinking, 'There is a body,' his mindfulness is 
       present, just to the extent of knowledge & recollection.  
       And he remains independent, not sustained by (clinging to) 
       anything in the world.  (Similarly with feelings, mind & 
       mental qualities.)
  
                      D 22
  
  
  
    (See page 66 above, instructions to Bahiya.)
  
  
  
    Right concentration is the practice of the four basic levels of 
  jhana. 
  
    These three factors are component parts of a single whole.  In 
  fact, their balanced inter-relatedness is what makes them 'right.'  
  The first level of jhana requires the abandoning of bad mental 
  qualities (the Hindrances*), which is part of the duty of right 
  effort; and, as we saw in the description of breath meditation, jhana 
  begins with mindfulness of the present.  As jhana is practiced & 
  mastered, good qualities (such as the Factors of Awakening*) are 
  fostered & maintained; physical processes are stilled so that mental 
  qualities may become clearly apparent as they occur; mindfulness is 
  made pure on the attainment of the fourth level of jhana; and all four 
  of the Applications of Mindfulness are developed.
  
  
  
       On whatever occasion, monks, a monk breathing in long 
       discerns that he is breathing in long; or breathing out 
       long, discerns that he is breathing out long; or breathing 
       in short discerns that he is breathing in short; or 
       breathing out short, discerns that he is breathing out 
       short; trains himself to breathe in...&...out sensitive to 
       the entire body; trains himself to breathe in...&...out 
       calming the bodily processes:  On that occasion, monks, the 
       monk remains focused on the body in & of itself--ardent, 
       aware & mindful--subduing greed & sorrow with reference to 
       the world...
  
       On whatever occasion a monk trains himself to breathe in... 
       &...out sensitive to rapture; trains himself to breathe 
       in...&... out sensitive to pleasure; trains himself to 
       breathe in...&...out sensitive to mental processes; trains 
       himself to breathe in... &...out calming mental processes:  
       On that occasion the monk remains focused on feelings in & 
       of themselves--ardent, aware & mindful--subduing greed & 
       sorrow with reference to the world...
       
       On whatever occasion a monk trains himself to breathe in... 
       &...out sensitive to the mind; trains himself to breathe 
       in... &...out satisfying the mind; trains himself to breathe 
       in...&... out steadying the mind; trains himself to breathe 
       in...&... out releasing the mind:  On that occasion the monk 
       remains focused on the mind in & of itself--ardent, aware & 
       mindful--subduing greed & sorrow with reference to the 
       world...
       
       On whatever occasion a monk trains himself to breathe in... 
       &...out focusing on inconstancy; trains himself to breathe 
       in...&...out focusing on dispassion; trains himself to 
       breathe in...&...out focusing on stopping; trains himself to 
       breathe in...&...out focusing on relinquishment:  On that 
       occasion the monk remains focused on mental qualities in & 
       of themselves--ardent, aware & mindful--subduing greed & 
       sorrow with reference to the world.
  
                      M 118
  
  
  
    In the Great Discourse on the Applications of Mindfulness, the 
  Buddha describes mindfulness of mental qualities in & of themselves, 
  in part, in terms of the Hindrances and the Factors of Awakening, 
  qualities that are respectively set aside & fostered in the practice 
  of jhana.
  
  
  
       And how does a monk remain focused on mental qualities in & 
       of themselves with reference to the five Hindrances?  There 
       is the case where, there being sensual desire present 
       within, a monk discerns that 'There is sensual desire 
       present within me.'  Or, there being no sensual desire 
       present within, he discerns that 'There is no sensual desire 
       present within me.'  He discerns how there is the arising of 
       unarisen sensual desire.  And he discerns how there is the 
       abandoning of sensual desire once it has arisen.  And he 
       discerns how there is no further appearance in the future of 
       sensual desire that has been abandoned.  (The same formula 
       is repeated for the remaining Hindrances:  ill will, sloth & 
       torpor, restlessness & anxiety, and doubt.)....
  
       And how does a monk remain focused on mental qualities in & 
       of themselves with reference to the seven Factors of 
       Awakening?  There is the case where, there being mindfulness 
       as a Factor of Awakening present within, a monk discerns 
       that 'Mindfulness as a Factor of Awakening is present within 
       me.'  Or, there being no mindfulness as a Factor of 
       Awakening present within, a monk discerns that 'Mindfulness 
       as a Factor of Awakening is not present within me.'  He 
       discerns how there is the arising of unarisen mindfulness as 
       a Factor of Awakening.  And he discerns how there is the 
       development & consummation of mindfulness as a Factor of 
       Awakening once it has arisen.  (The same formula is repeated 
       for the remaining Factors of Awakening:  investigation of 
       phenomena, energy, rapture, serenity, concentration & 
       equanimity.)
  
                      D 22
  
  
  
    Thus the practice of right mindfulness does not repress undesirable 
  mental qualities--i.e., it does not deny their presence.  Rather, it 
  notices them as they occur so that the phenomenon of their occurrence 
  can be understood.  Once they are understood for what they are as 
  phenomena, they lose their power and can be abandoned.
    
    However, the practice of right mindfulness focuses, not on the 
  haphazard occurrence of mental qualities, but on the elimination of 
  undesirable qualities--the Hindrances--that obstruct jhana, and on the 
  development of desirable qualities--the Factors of Awakening--that it 
  fosters.  As these factors are strengthened through the continued 
  practice of jhana, they make possible a clearer awareness of sensory 
  processes as they occur:  The factors of rapture, serenity, & 
  equanimity, existing independently of the input of the five senses, 
  make the mind less involved in sensory pleasures, less inclined to 
  search for emotional satisfaction from them; the factors of 
  mindfulness, investigation of phenomena, effort, & concentration 
  enable clear insight into the events that make up sensory perception. 
    
    To see events in the body & mind simply as that--events, 
  conditioned, arising & passing away--creates a further sense of 
  distance, disenchantment, & de-identification.
  
  
  
       Knowing & seeing the eye as it actually is, knowing & seeing 
       forms...visual consciousness...visual contact as they 
       actually are, knowing & seeing whatever arises conditioned 
       by visual contact--experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither 
       pleasure nor pain--as it actually is, one is not infatuated 
       with the eye...forms...visual consciousness...visual 
       contact... whatever arises conditioned by visual contact and 
       is experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither pleasure nor 
       pain...
       
       Knowing & seeing the ear...Knowing & seeing the nose... 
       Knowing & seeing the tongue...Knowing & seeing the body...
       
       Knowing & seeing the intellect as it actually is, knowing & 
       seeing ideas...mental consciousness...mental contact as they 
       actually are, knowing & seeing whatever arises conditioned 
       by mental contact--experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither 
       pleasure nor pain--as it actually occurs, one is not 
       infatuated with the intellect...ideas...mental 
       consciousness...mental contact...whatever arises conditioned 
       by mental contact and is experienced as pleasure, pain, or 
       neither pleasure nor pain.
       
       For him--remaining uninfatuated, unattached, unconfused--the 
       five aggregates for sustenance head toward future 
       diminution.  The craving that makes for further 
       becoming--accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now 
       this & now that--is abandoned by him.  His bodily 
       disturbances & mental disturbances are abandoned.  His 
       bodily torments & mental torments are abandoned.  His bodily 
       distresses & mental distresses are abandoned.  He is 
       sensitive both to ease of body & ease of awareness. 
       
       Whatever view is his, is his as right view.  Whatever 
       intention, as right intention.  Whatever effort, as right 
       effort.  Whatever mindfulness, as right mindfulness.  
       Whatever concentration, as right concentration:  just as 
       earlier his actions, speech, & livelihood were already 
       well-purified.  Thus for him the Noble Eightfold Path goes 
       to the culmination of its development...the four 
       Applications of Mindfulness go to the culmination of their 
       development...the seven Factors of Awakening go to the 
       culmination of their development.  (And) for him these two 
       qualities occur in concert:  tranquillity & insight.
  
                      M 149
  
  
  
    With the union of tranquillity & insight at the culmination of the 
  path, Awakening occurs.  The Canon records many instances where 
  Awakening is sudden & total, and many where it occurs in stages:  The 
  reason for the difference isn't stated, but perhaps in sudden 
  Awakening the mind goes through the various stages in quick 
  succession.  At any rate, a brief look at the stages will give 
  something of an idea of the dynamics of the mind's Unbinding.
  
    The standard list of the stages gives four, and describes them in 
  terms of how many of the ten Fetters the mind sheds: (1) self-identity 
  views, (2) grasping at precepts and practices, (3) doubt, (4) sensual 
  passion, (5) irritation, (6) passion for form, (7) passion for 
  formlessness, (8) conceit, (9) restlessness, & (10) ignorance.
  
  
  
    There are in this community of monks, monks who, with the total 
  ending of (the first) three Fetters, are Stream-winners, steadfast, 
  never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening...
    
    There are...monks who, with the total ending of (the first) three 
  fetters and the thinning out of passion, aversion, & delusion, are 
  Once-returners.  After returning only once to this world they will put 
  an end to stress...
    
    There are...monks who, with the total ending of the first set of 
  five Fetters, are due to be reborn (in the Pure Abodes), there to be 
  totally unbound, never again to return from that world...
    
    There are...monks who are Arahants, whose mental effluents are 
  ended, who have reached fulfillment, done the task, laid down the 
  burden, attained the true goal, totally destroyed the fetter of 
  becoming, and who are released through right gnosis.
  
                      M 118
  
   
  
    An alternative way of classifying the stages lists three:
  
  
  
       There is the case of the monk who has attained full 
       accomplishment with regard to virtue, a modicum of 
       accomplishment with regard to concentration, and a modicum 
       with regard to discernment...
       
       There is the case of the monk who has attained full 
       accomplishment with regard to virtue, full accomplishment 
       with regard to concentration, and a modicum of 
       accomplishment with regard to discernment... 
       
       There is the case of the monk who has attained full 
       accomplishment with regard to virtue, full accomplishment 
       with regard to concentration, and full accomplishment with 
       regard to discernment.  With the ending of the mental 
       effluents, he remains in the effluentless release of 
       awareness & release of  discernment, having known and made 
       them manifest for himself right in the present.
  
                      A iii.88
  
  
  
    As the text makes clear, Stream-winners and Once-returners are 
  those who have fully developed virtue, Non-returners are those who 
  have fully developed virtue & concentration, and Arahants are those 
  who have fully developed all three parts of the path:  virtue, 
  concentration, & discernment.
    
    This is not to say, however, that Stream-winners have not developed 
  discernment to a fairly high degree.  In fact, the unvarying 
  definition of Stream-winners is that they have 'seen with 
  discernment,' and their level of Awakening is called the arising of 
  the Dhamma eye.  What they see with this Dhamma eye is always 
  expressed in the same terms:
  
  
  
       Then Ven. Assaji gave this exposition of Dhamma to Sariputta 
       the Wanderer:
       
       'Whatever phenomena arise from cause:
              Their cause
                 & their cessation.
       Such is the teaching of the Tathagata
                                the Great Contemplative.'
       
       Then to Sariputta the Wanderer, as he heard this exposition 
       of Dhamma, there arose the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye:  
       Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to 
       cessation.
  
                      Mv i.23.5
  
  
  
    For this realization to occur, it must follow on a glimpse of what 
  stands in opposition to 'all that is subject to origination,' i.e., a 
  glimpse of the Unconditioned--deathlessness.  
  
  
  
       (Immediately after winning to the Stream) Sariputta the 
       Wanderer went to where Moggallana the Wanderer was staying.  
       Moggallana the Wanderer saw him coming from afar, and on 
       seeing him said, 'Your faculties are bright, my friend; your 
       complexion pure & clear.  Could it be that you have attained 
       the Deathless?'
  
       'Yes, my friend, I have....'
  
                      Mv i.23.5
  
  
  
    Although their Awakening is not yet complete, Stream-winners see 
  enough of the Deathless to remove all doubt in the Buddha's teachings.
  
  
  
       To Upali the householder, as he was sitting right there, 
       there arose the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye:  Whatever is 
       subject to origination is all subject to cessation.  
       Then--having seen the Dhamma, having reached the Dhamma, 
       known the Dhamma, plunged entirely into the Dhamma, having 
       crossed over & beyond doubt, having had no more 
       questioning-- Upali the householder gained fearlessness and 
       was independent of others with regard to the Teacher's 
       message.
  
                      M 56
  
  
  
    Their glimpse of deathlessness is also enough to convince 
  Stream-winners of the worthlessness of self-identity views that center 
  around the five aggregates of sustenance, all of which come under the 
  category of 'all that is subject to origination.' 
  
  
  
       Magandiya, it is just as if there were a blind man who 
       couldn't see black objects...white...blue...yellow...red... 
       the sun or the moon. Now suppose that a certain man were to 
       take a grimy, oil-stained rag and fool him, saying, 'Here, 
       my good man, is a beautiful, clean, spotless white cloth.'  
       The blind man would take it and wear it.  
       
       Then suppose his friends, companions & relatives took him to  
       a doctor and the doctor treated him with medicine:  purges 
       from above & purges from  below, ointments & 
       counter-ointments and treatments through the nose.  And 
       thanks to the medicine his eyesight would appear & grow 
       clear.  Then together with the arising of his eyesight, he 
       would abandon whatever passion & delight he felt for that 
       grimy, oil-stained rag.  And he would regard that man as an 
       enemy & no friend at all, and think that he deserved to be 
       killed.  'My gosh, how long have I been fooled, cheated, & 
       deceived by that man & his oil-stained rag!--"Here, my good 
       man, is a beautiful, clean, spotless white cloth."' 
       
       In the same way, Magandiya, if I were to teach you the 
       Dhamma--this freedom from Disease, this Unbinding--and you 
       on your part were to understand that freedom from Disease 
       and see that Unbinding, then together with the arising of  
       your eyesight, you would abandon whatever passion & delight 
       you felt with regard for the five aggregates for sustenance.  
       And it would occur to you, 'My gosh, how long have I been 
       fooled, cheated, & deceived by this mind!  For in clinging, 
       it was just form that I was clinging to...it was just 
       feeling...just perception...just mental processes... just 
       consciousness that I was clinging to.  With my clinging as 
       condition, there arises becoming...birth...ageing & death... 
       sorrow, lamentation, pains, griefs, & despairs.  And thus is 
       the origin of this entire mass of stress.'
  
                      M 75
  
  
  
     Because they realize that their glimpse of the goal came through 
  an act of discernment, Stream-winners no longer grasp at precepts & 
  practices.  What this means is that they no longer view mere adherence 
  to precepts & practices as a sufficient means to the goal in & of 
  itself, although they continue to abide by the precepts of right 
  speech, action, & livelihood and by the practice of jhana that 
  fostered their discernment to begin with.  Having seen the efficacy of 
  their own actions, they will never intentionally do evil again.  This 
  is what perfects their virtue.  Still, they have yet to fully 
  comprehend the practice of jhana, and so their minds remain attached 
  to the phenomena--with & without form--on which that practice is 
  based.  As the texts say, they are bound by their incomplete mastery 
  of concentration & discernment, and by seven remaining Fetters to the 
  cycle of birth & death.
  
    As for Non-returners, they have mastered jhana to the extent that 
  they can use it as a vantage point for watching the arising & passing 
  away that occurs in reference to the five senses, while the pleasure, 
  rapture, & equanimity it offers serve them as a fulcrum point for 
  uprooting any desire for the pleasures of those five senses, together 
  with all feelings of irritation that come when such desires are not 
  met.
  
    They, too, have seen the Deathless, but as with Stream-winners, 
  their discernment is not yet fully comprehensive:  They have yet to 
  turn it on the act of seeing:  the tools--tranquillity & insight--that 
  lead to that discernment, and the subtle levels of passion & delight 
  that accompany it.  
    
    The texts express this point in a variety of ways.  Some passages 
  simply list the Fetters that Non-returners have yet to abandon:  
  passion for form, passion for formlessness, conceit, restlessness, & 
  ignorance.  Others give more experiential accounts of what is 
  happening in a Non-returner's mind.  From reading these latter 
  accounts it is possible to see how the five Fetters in the list are 
  interconnected:  Although Non-returners shed attachment to 
  self-identity views back when they attained Stream entry, they still 
  have a lingering sense of the conceit 'I am', associated with the five 
  aggregates for sustenance--possessing form & formless--as they 
  function subtly in the arising of tranquillity & insight as a process 
  of becoming.  And while they have gained enough insight into the five 
  senses to let go of any attachment to them, they still suffer from a 
  certain amount of ignorance concerning the subtler level of becoming 
  inherent in that conceit, and this leads to refined forms of passion & 
  delight that keep them restless & bound to the sixth sense:  the mind.
  
  
  
       There is the case, Ananda, where a monk...enters & remains 
       in the first jhana:  refreshment & pleasure born of 
       withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation.  
       He regards whatever phenomena there that are connected with 
       form (body), feeling, perceptions, mental processes, & 
       consciousness as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, 
       an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, a 
       void, not self. 
       
       He turns his mind away from those phenomena, and having done 
       so, inclines his mind to the quality of deathlessness:  
       'This is peace, this is exquisite--the resolution of all 
       mental processes; the relinquishment of all the 
       paraphernalia of becoming; the ending of craving; 
       dispassion; stopping; Unbinding.'  Having attained this 
       point, he reaches the ending of the mental effluents.  Or, 
       if not, then--through passion & delight for this very 
       phenomenon (the discernment inclining to deathlessness) and 
       from the total ending of the first of the five Fetters--he 
       is due to be reborn (in the Pure Abodes), there to be 
       totally unbound, never again to return from that world.  
       (Similarly with each of the remaining levels of jhana.)
  
                      M 64
  
  
  
    Several strands of our discussion converge at this passage.  To 
  begin with, the act of discernment described here--inclining the mind 
  to the Deathless--is identical with the object of concentration 
  described by the Buddha at A x.6 (see page 35).  This would thus be an 
  instance of tranquillity occurring in concert with insight (see page 
  102).
  
    Secondly, as the passage points out, the crucial difference between 
  Arahants and Non-returners is whether or not the mind feels passion & 
  delight for this act of discernment.  Here the distinctions concerning 
  sustenance & clinging raised at the beginning of Chapter III (see page 
  44) come subtly into play.  Any act of discernment, even on this 
  level, comes under the five aggregates for sustenance, as composed of 
  perception, mental processes, & consciousness.  If not fully seen for 
  what it is, it can thus act as a phenomenon offering sustenance (or as 
  a clingable phenomenon).  Any passion & delight for it--and these 
  themselves are perceptions & mental processes--function as refined 
  sustenance/clinging in the modes of views (of inferior/superior), 
  mental absorption, & a sense of 'I am' involved in the act of 
  discerning.  Thus the mind still contains the conditions for becoming 
  on a refined level, and this stands in the way of its total freedom.  
  
  
       
       Bound by both
            the yoke of sensuality
            & the yoke of becoming,
       Beings continue in transmigration,
            returning to birth & death.
       Those who have abandoned sensuality
            without reaching the ending of the effluents,
       are bound by the yoke of becoming:
            Non-returners they are called.
       While those who have cut off doubt
            have no more conceit
                 or  renewal of becoming.
       They who have reached
            the ending of the effluents,
       while in the world,
            have gone      beyond.
  
                      Iti 96  
  
  
  
     Ven. Khemaka, a Non-returner, speaks shortly before he 
       attains Arahantship:  'Just like the scent of a blue, red, 
       or white lotus:  If someone were to call it the scent of a 
       petal or the scent of the color or the scent of a filament, 
       would he be speaking correctly?'
  
       'No, friend.'
       
       'Then how would he describe it if he were describing it 
       correctly?'
       
       '...As the scent of the flower.'
       
       'In the same way, friends, I don't say that this "I am" is 
       form,  nor that this "I am" is other than form.  I don't say 
       that this "I am" is feeling...perception...mental 
       processes....I don't say that this "I am" is consciousness, 
       nor that this "I am" is other than consciousness.  It's just 
       that for me the "I am" with regard to the five aggregates 
       for sustenance has not been removed, although I don't regard 
       them as "This is me."
  
       '...Just like a cloth, spotted & stained, whose owners give 
       it over to a washerman:  The washerman scrubs it with salt 
       earth or lye or cow-dung and then rinses it in clear water.  
       Now even though the cloth is clean and spotless, it still 
       has a slight, lingering residual scent of salt earth or lye 
       or cow-dung.  The washerman gives it to the owners, the 
       owners put it away in a wicker box filled with incense, and 
       its slight, lingering residual scent of salt earth, lye, or 
       cow-dung disappears.  
       
       'In the same way, even though a noble disciple has abandoned 
       the five lower Fetters, he still has with regard to the five 
       aggregates for sustenance a slight, lingering residual  "I 
       am" conceit, an "I am" desire, an "I am" propensity.  But at 
       a later time he keeps focusing on the phenomena of arising & 
       passing away with regard to the five aggregates of 
       sustenance:  "Such is form, such its origin, such its 
       disappearance.  Such is feeling...Such is perception...Such 
       are mental processes...Such is consciousness, such its 
       origin, such its disappearance."  As he keeps focusing on 
       the arising & passing away of these five aggregates for 
       sustenance, the slight, lingering residual "I am" conceit, 
       "I am" desire, "I am" propensity he had with regard to them  
       disappears.'
  
                      S xxii.89
  
  
  
    Only when discernment is so fully developed & totally comprehensive 
  that it has no lingering conceits, desires or propensities for 
  anything--not even for the mental processes of passion & delight that 
  condition subtle levels of becoming around the act of discerning--can 
  it complete its emancipation from the six spheres of sensory contact 
  that make up the All.
  
  
  
     Moggallana (shortly before becoming an Arahant):  Briefly, 
       sir, in what respect is a monk--released through the ending 
       of craving--utterly complete, utterly free from  bonds, a 
       follower of the utterly chaste life, utterly consummate:  
       foremost among human & heavenly beings?
  
     The Buddha:  There is the case, Moggallana, of the monk who 
       has heard, 'All things are unworthy of attachment.'   Having 
       heard that all things are unworthy of attachment, he fully 
       knows every thing.  Fully knowing every thing, he fully 
       comprehends every thing.  Fully comprehending every thing, 
       then whatever feeling he experiences--pleasure, pain, 
       neither pleasure nor pain-- he keeps focusing on 
       impermanence with regard to it, keeps focusing on 
       dispassion, focusing on stopping, focusing on relinquishing.  
       As he keeps focusing on impermanence... 
       dispassion...stopping...relinquishing with regard to that 
       feeling, he is unsustained by (does not cling to) anything 
       in the world.  Unsustained, he is not agitated.  Unagitated, 
       he is unbound right within:  'Birth is ended, the holy life 
       fulfilled, the task done.  There is nothing further for this 
       world.'
  
       It is in this respect, Moggallana, that a monk, in brief, is 
       released through the ending of craving, utterly complete, 
       utterly free from  bonds, a follower of the utterly chaste 
       life, utterly consummate:  foremost among human & heavenly 
       beings.
  
                      A vii.58
  
  
  
       He who knows the All
            from all around,
       Who is not aroused
            by anything at all,
       Having totally comprehended
            the All,
       Has overcome
            all stress.
  
                      Iti 7
  
  
       Now when a monk discerns--as they actually are--the origin & 
       passing away of the six spheres of (sensory) contact, their 
       allure, their drawbacks & the emancipation from them, then 
       he discerns that this (discernment) is superior to all these 
       (things).
  
                      D 1
  
  
  
       With ignorance as condition, there occur processes; with 
       processes as condition, (sensory) consciousness; with 
       (sensory) consciousness as condition, name & form; with name 
       & form as condition, the six (sense) spheres....
       
       But with the remainderless fading & stopping of ignorance, 
       processes stop.  With the stopping of processes, (sensory) 
       consciousness stops.  With the stopping of (sensory) 
       consciousness, name & form...the six (sense) 
       spheres...contact... 
       feeling...craving...clinging...becoming...birth stops.  With 
       the stopping of birth--ageing & death, sorrow, lamentation, 
       pain, & grief (all) stop.  Thus is the stopping of this 
       entire mass of stress.
  
                      M 115
  
  
  
       That which arises in dependence on the eye as pleasure or 
       joy, that is the allure of the eye.  Whatever aspects of the 
       eye are inconstant, stressful, & subject to change, that is 
       the drawback of the eye.  Whatever is the subduing of 
       passion & desire, the abandoning of passion & desire for the 
       eye, that is the emancipation from the eye.  (Similarly with 
       the ear, nose, tongue, body, & intellect, and with forms, 
       sounds, odors, flavors, tactile sensations, & ideas.)
  
                      S xxxv.13-14
  
  
  
       This, the unsurpassed, foremost state of peace, has been 
       realized by the Tathagata:  liberation, through lack of 
       clinging/sustenance, having known, as they actually are, the 
       origin, the passing away, the allure, the drawbacks of--and 
       the emancipation from--the six spheres of (sensory) contact.
  
                      M 102
  
  
  
    This unsurpassed, foremost state of peace that comes as the mind 
  realizes emancipation from the All, is totally Unconditioned.
  
  
  
       There is, monks, an unborn--unbecome--unmade--uncompounded.  
       If there were not that 
       unborn--unbecome--unmade--uncompounded, there would not be 
       the case that emancipation from the 
       born--become--made--compounded would be discerned.  But 
       precisely because there is 
       an--unborn--unbecome--unmade--uncompounded, emancipation 
       from the born--become--made--compounded is thus discerned.
  
                      Ud viii.3
  
  
  
       Where water, earth, fire and wind have no footing
       There the stars do not shine
            The sun is not visible
            The moon does not appear
            Darkness is not found.
       And when a sage, a worthy one, through wisdom
            has known (this) for himself
       Then from form & name
            from pleasure & pain,
                 He is freed.
  
                      Ud ii.10
  
  
  
    Having fully realized the Unconditioned, the mind no longer falls 
  under the sway of stress & inconstancy.  No longer engrossed, it finds 
  that its sense of participation & engagement in all the processes of 
  experience disbands once & for all.
  
  
  
     Ven. Nandaka:  'Sisters, it is just as if a skilled butcher 
       or butcher's apprentice, having killed a cow, were to carve 
       it up with a sharp carving knife so that--without damaging 
       the substance of the inner flesh, without damaging the 
       substance of the outer hide--he would cut, sever & detach 
       only the skin muscles, connective tissues, & attachments in 
       between; and having cut, severed & detached the outer skin, 
       and then covering the cow again with that very skin, he were 
       to say that the cow was actually joined to the skin:  Would 
       he be speaking rightly?'
  
       'No, sir.  Why is that?...because no matter how much he 
       might say that the cow was actually joined to the skin, the 
       cow would still be disjoined from the skin.'
       
       'This simile, sisters, I have given to convey a message.  
       The message is this:  The substance of the inner flesh 
       stands for the six inner sense spheres (the senses); the 
       substance of the outer hide stands for the six outer sense 
       spheres (their objects).  The skin muscles, connective 
       tissues, & attachments in between stand for passion & 
       delight.  And the sharp knife stands for noble discernment, 
       which cuts, severs, & detaches the defilements, fetters, & 
       attachments in between.'
  
                      M 146
  
  
  
    Although the senses & their objects are there just as before, the 
  fundamental affective link that ties the mind to sensations has been 
  cut.  And its cutting means unconditional freedom for the mind.
  
     Ven. Maha Kaccayana:  'Concerning the brief statement the 
       Master made, after which he entered his dwelling without 
       expounding the detailed meaning--i.e., "A monk should 
       investigate in such a way that, his consciousness neither 
       externally scattered & diffused, nor internally fixated, he 
       would from lack of clinging/sustenance be unagitated.  
       When...from lack of clinging/ sustenance he would be 
       unagitated, there is no seed for the conditions of future 
       birth, ageing, death, or stress"--I understand the detailed 
       meaning of this statement to be this:
  
       'How is consciousness said to be scattered & diffused?  
       There is the case where a form is seen with the eye, and 
       consciousness follows the drift of (lit.: 'flows after') the 
       image of the form, is tied to the attraction of the image of 
       the form, is chained to the attraction of the image of the 
       form, is fettered & joined to the attraction of the image of 
       the form:  Consciousness is said to be externally scattered 
       & diffused. (Similarly with the remaining senses.)
       
       'And how is consciousness said not to be externally 
       scattered & diffused?  There is the case where a form is 
       seen with the eye, and consciousness does not follow the 
       drift of the image of the form, is not tied to...chained 
       to...fettered & joined to the attraction of the image of the 
       form:  Consciousness is said not to be externally scattered 
       & diffused.  (Similarly with the remaining senses.)
       
       'And how is the mind said to be internally fixated?  There 
       is the case where a monk...enters & remains in the first 
       jhana.  His consciousness follows the drift of the rapture & 
       pleasure born of withdrawal, is tied to...chained...fettered 
       & joined to the attraction of the rapture & pleasure born of 
       withdrawal.  Or further...he enters & remains in the second 
       jhana.  His consciousness follows the drift of the rapture & 
       pleasure born of composure, is tied to...chained...fettered 
       & joined to the attraction of the rapture & pleasure born of 
       composure.  Or further...he enters & remains in the third 
       jhana....His consciousness follows the drift of the 
       equanimity & pleasure...Or further...he enters & remains in 
       the fourth jhana.  His consciousness follows the drift of 
       the neither pleasure nor pain, is tied to...chained 
       to...fettered & joined to the attraction of the neither 
       pleasure nor pain:  The mind is said to be internally 
       fixated.
  
       'And how is the mind said not to be internally fixated?  
       There is the case where a monk...enters & remains in the 
       first jhana.  His consciousness does not follow the drift of 
       the rapture & pleasure born of withdrawal, is not tied 
       to...chained to...fettered & joined to the rapture & 
       pleasure born of withdrawal.  (And similarly with the 
       remaining levels of jhana.)
       
       'And how is agitation caused by clinging/sustenance?  There 
       is the case of an uninstructed, run-of-the-mill person...who 
       assumes the body to be the self, or the self as possessing 
       the body, or the body as in the self or the self as in the 
       body.  His body changes & is unstable.  Because of the 
       change and instability of his body, consciousness alters in 
       accordance with the change in the body.  With the 
       concomitant arising of agitation born from this alteration, 
       the mind stays consumed.  And because of the consumption of 
       awareness, he feels fearful, threatened, & solicitous.  It 
       is thus, friends, that agitation is caused by 
       clinging/sustenance.  (And similarly with feeling, 
       perception, mental processes & consciousness.)'
       
       'And how is non-agitation caused by lack of clinging/ 
       sustenance?  There is the case of an instructed noble 
       disciple... who does not assume the body to be the self, or 
       the self as possessing the body, or the body as in the self 
       or the self as in the body.  His body changes & is unstable, 
       but consciousness does not for that reason alter in 
       accordance with the change in the body.  His mind is not 
       consumed with any concomitant agitation born from such a 
       change.   Because his awareness is not consumed, he does not 
       feel fearful, threatened, or solicitous.  It is thus, 
       friends, that nonagitation is caused by lack of 
       clinging/sustenance.  (And similarly with feeling, 
       perception, mental processes & consciousness.)'
  
                      M 137
  
  
  
       One who is dependent has wavering.  One who is independent 
       has no wavering.  There being no wavering, there is calm.  
       There being calm, there is no desire.  There being no 
       desire, there is no coming or going.  There being no coming 
       or going, there is no passing away or arising.  There being 
       no passing away or arising, there is neither a here nor a 
       there nor a between-the-two.  This, just this, is the end of 
       stress.
  
                      Ud viii.4
  
  
  
       Sensing a feeling of pleasure, he (a person who has reached 
       the goal:  This is the continuation of the passage on pages 
       74-75) discerns that it is fleeting, not grasped at, not 
       relished.  Sensing a feeling of pain....Sensing a feeling of 
       neither pleasure nor pain, he discerns that it is fleeting, 
       not grasped at, not relished.  Sensing a feeling of 
       pleasure, he senses it disjoined from it.  Sensing a feeling 
       of pain....Sensing a feeling of neither pleasure nor pain, 
       he senses it disjoined from it.  When sensing a feeling 
       limited to the body, he discerns that 'I am sensing a 
       feeling limited to the body.'  When sensing a feeling 
       limited to life, he discerns that 'I am sensing a feeling 
       limited to life.'  He discerns that 'With the break-up of 
       the body, after the termination of life, all that is 
       experienced, not being relished, will grow cold right here.'
       
       Just as an oil lamp burns in dependence on oil & wick; and 
       from the termination of the oil & wick--and from not being 
       provided any other sustenance--it goes out unnourished; even 
       so, when sensing a feeling limited to the body, he discerns 
       that 'I am sensing a feeling limited to the body.'  When 
       sensing a feeling limited to life, he discerns that 'I am 
       sensing a feeling limited to life.'  He discerns that 'With 
       the break-up of the body, after the termination of life, all 
       that is sensed, not being relished, will grow cold right 
       here.'
       
       Thus a monk so endowed is endowed with the highest resolve 
       for discernment--for this, the knowledge of the passing away 
       of all stress, is the highest noble discernment.
       
       His release, being founded on truth, does not fluctuate, for 
       whatever is deceptive is false; Unbinding--the 
       undeceptive--is true.  Thus a monk so endowed is endowed 
       with the highest resolve for truth, for this--Unbinding, the 
       undeceptive--is the highest noble truth.
       
       Whereas formerly he foolishly had taken on & brought to 
       completion the paraphernalia of becoming, he has now 
       abandoned them, their root destroyed, like an uprooted palm 
       tree, deprived of the conditions of development, not 
       destined for future arising.  Thus a monk so endowed is 
       endowed with the highest resolve for relinquishment, for 
       this--the renunciation of all the paraphernalia of 
       becoming--is the highest noble relinquishment.
       
       Whereas formerly he foolishly had greed--as well as desire & 
       infatuation--he has now abandoned them, their root 
       destroyed...not destined for future arising.  Whereas 
       formerly he foolishly he had malice--as well as ill-will & 
       hatred--he has now abandoned them....Whereas formerly he 
       foolishly had ignorance--as well as delusion & confusion--he 
       has now abandoned them, their root destroyed like an 
       uprooted palm tree, deprived of the conditions of 
       development, not destined for future arising.  Thus a monk 
       so endowed is endowed with the highest resolve for calm, for 
       this--the calming of passions, aversions, & delusions--is 
       the highest noble calm.  'One should not be negligent of 
       discernment, should guard the truth, be devoted to 
       relinquishment and train only for calm.' Thus it was said, 
       and in reference to this was it said.
       
       'He has been stilled where the currents of construing do not 
       flow.  And when the currents of construing do not flow, he 
       is said to be a sage at peace:'  Thus it has been said.  
       With reference to what was it said?  'I am' is a construing.  
       'I am this' is a construing.  'I shall be' is a construing.  
       'I shall not be'...'I shall be possessed of form'...'I shall 
       not  be possessed of form'...'I shall be percipient'...'I 
       shall not be percipient'... 'I shall be neither percipient 
       nor non-percipient' is a construing.  Construing is a 
       disease, construing is a cancer, construing is an arrow.  By 
       going beyond all construing, he is called a sage at peace. 
       
       Furthermore, a sage at peace is not born, does not age, does 
       not die, is unagitated and free from longing.  He does not 
       have anything whereby he would be born.  Not being born, 
       will he age?  Not ageing, will he die?  Not dying, will he 
       be agitated?  Not being agitated, for what will he long?  It 
       was in reference to this that it was said, 'He has been 
       stilled where the currents of construing do not flow.  And 
       when the currents of construing do not flow, he is said to 
       be a sage at peace.'
  
                      M 140
  
  
  
     Sariputta:  And how, my friend, is a monk's mind 
       well-composed by means of awareness?  'My mind is without 
       passion'--his mind is well-composed by means of awareness.  
       'My mind is without aversion'...'My mind is without 
       delusion'...'My mind is not subject to passion'...'to 
       aversion'... 'to delusion'--his mind is well-composed by 
       means of awareness.  'My mind is destined not to return to 
       states of sensuality'...'to states of form'...'to states 
       without form'-- his mind is well-composed by means of 
       awareness. 
  
       Even if powerful forms cognizable by the eye come into the 
       visual range of a monk whose mind is thus rightly released, 
       his mind is neither overpowered nor even engaged.  Being 
       still, having reached imperturbability, he focuses on their 
       passing away.  And even if powerful 
       sounds...smells...tastes... tactile sensations...Even if 
       powerful ideas cognizable by the intellect come into the 
       mental range of a monk whose mind is thus rightly released, 
       his mind is neither overpowered nor even engaged.  Being 
       still, having reached imperturbability, he focuses on their 
       passing away.
       
       Just as if there were a stone column, sixteen spans tall, of 
       which eight spans were rooted below ground, and then from 
       the east there were to come a powerful wind storm:  The 
       column would not shiver nor quiver nor quake.  And then from 
       the west...the north...the south there were to some a 
       powerful wind storm:  The column would not shiver nor quiver 
       nor quake.  Why?  Because of the depth of the root and the 
       well-buriedness of the stone column.  In the same way, my 
       friend, even if powerful forms cognizable by the eye come 
       into the visual range of a monk whose mind is thus rightly 
       released...etc....his mind is neither overpowered nor even 
       engaged.
  
                      A ix.26
  
  
  
       Everywhere
            the sage
                 independent
       holds nothing dear or undear.
            In him
       lamentation & selfishness
       like water on a white lotus
            do not adhere.
       As a water bead on a lotus leaf,
       as water on a red lily,
            does not adhere,
            so the sage
            does not adhere
       to the seen, the heard or the sensed;
            for, cleansed,
            he does not construe
       by means of the seen, the heard or the sensed.
            In no other way
       does he ask for purity,
       for neither impassioned
            nor dispassioned
                 is he.
  
                      Sn iv.6
  
  
  
    This radical freedom--unattached to sensation, untouched by the 
  power of passion, aversion, & delusion--is the Unbinding experienced 
  in the present life.
  
     Sister Patacara:
       Washing my feet, I noticed
                 the 
                 water.
       And in watching it flow from high 
                 to 
                 low,
            my heart was composed
            like a fine thoroughbred steed.
       Then taking a lamp, I entered the hut,
            checked the bedding,
            sat down on the bed.
       And taking a pin, I pulled out the wick:
            Like the flame's unbinding
            was the liberation
                 of awareness.
  
                      Thig v.10
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