Notes on Dhamma
MN43: Mahavedalla Sutta - on Makers of Measurements
In the last few paragraphs of MN43 Mahavedalla Sutta it states:
“Lust is a maker of measurement, hate is a maker of measurement, delusion is a maker of measurement. How shall this be understood?
Lust is a maker of measurement, hate is a maker of measurement, delusion is a maker of measurement.
In a bhikkhu whose āsavas are destroyed, these are abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, done away with so that they are no longer subject to future arising.
–MN 43
This can be understood as follows:
In SN 22.35, the Buddha declares that “if one has an underlying tendency towards something, then one is measured in accordance with it; if one is measured in accordance with something, then one is reckoned in terms of it. If one does not have an underlying tendency towards something, then one is not measured in accordance with it; if one is not measured in accordance with something, then one is not reckoned in terms of it.”
In SN 36.3 the arahant has abandoned the underlying tendency to lust, the underlying tendency to hate, and the underlying tendency to delusion, and so he cannot be measured in accordance with them or reckoned in terms of them. In upasīva māṇava pucchā (Snp 5.7), the Buddha declares:
atthaṅgatassa na pamāṇamatthi yena naṃ vajjuṃ taṃ tassa natthi, sabbesu dhammesu samuhatesu samuhatā vādapathāpi sabbeti.
“There is no measure of one who has gone out, Upasīva no means by which they can speak of him, when everything has been completely removed, all pathways for speech are also completely removed.”
–Snp 5.7
Sekhas and arahants possess the aggregate of knowledge and vision of liberation (vimuttiñāṇadassanakkhandha), by which they can enter and dwell in their noble liberation and review the noble knowledges they have attained.
In Venāga sutta (AN 3.63), the Buddha describes his abiding in the knowledge and vision of liberation thus:
“But, Master Gotama, what is the noble high and luxurious bed that at present you gain at will, without trouble or difficulty?”
“Here, brahmin, when I am dwelling in dependence on a village or town, in the morning I dress, take my bowl and robe, and enter that village or town for alms. After the meal, when I have returned from the alms round, I enter a grove. I collect some grass or leaves that I find there into a pile and then sit down. Having folded my legs crosswise and straightened my body, I establish mindfulness in front of me. Then I understand thus: ‘I have abandoned greed, cut it off at the root, made it like a palm stump, obliterated it so that it is no more subject to future arising. I have abandoned hatred, cut it off at the root, made it like a palm stump, obliterated it so that it is no more subject to future arising. I have abandoned delusion, cut it off at the root, made it like a palm stump, obliterated it so that it is no more subject to future arising.’
“Then, brahmin, when I am in such a state, if I walk back and forth, on that occasion my walking back and forth is noble. If I am standing, on that occasion my standing is noble. If I am sitting, on that occasion my sitting is noble. If I lie down, on that occasion this is my noble high and luxurious bed. This is that noble high and luxurious bed that at present I can gain at will, without trouble or difficulty.”
–AN 3.63
The Buddha describes the sekha’s attainment of arahantship in the following verses from the sekha sutta (AN 3.35).
sekhassa sikkhamānassa ujumaggānusārino, khayasmiṃ paṭhamaṃ ñāṇaṃ tato aññā anantarā.
tato aññāvimuttassa ñāṇaṃ ve hoti tādino. akuppā me vimuttī’ti bhavasaññojanakkhaye’ti.
“For the sekha in training following along the straight path, First comes the knowledge in destruction From that immediately there is final knowledge.”
from that final-knowledge liberation indeed knowledge arises for the such-like one “unshakeable is my liberation.” “the fetter of being is destroyed.”
–AN 3.35
In the samādhi sutta (AN 5.27), the Buddha instructs his sekha disciples to develop “the samadhi that is measureless”. This noble samādhi is the sekha’s knowledge and vision of liberation which he can enter and abide in. One of the knowledges that the sekha reviews when in such an attainment is described as follows:
The knowledge arises that is personally yours: ’This samādhi is peaceful and excellent, gained by full tranquilization, and attained to unification. It is not arrived at and held in check by keeping it in place with force.
–AN 5.27
In the ānanda sutta (AN 9.37), the Buddha declares that abiding in this noble measureless samādhi has final knowledge (aññā) as its fruit.
Sister, the samadhi that does not lean forward and does not bend back, and that is not arrived at and held in check by keeping it in place with force. By being liberated, it is steady; by being steady, it is content; by being content, one is not agitated. The Auspicious One said that this samadhi has final knowledge as its fruit.
–AN 9.37
This noble samādhi is also known as viññāṇanirodha or viññāṇaṃ anidassanaṃ anantaṃ sabbato pabhaṃ in kevaddha sutta (DN 11) and ānantariko cetosamādhi in the dasuttara sutta (DN 34) or ratana sutta (Snp 2.1).
Once the sekha gains final knowledge and becomes an arahant, one of the knowledges that arise is called akuppaṃ ñāṇaṃ, described as:
“unshakeable is my liberation.”
“the fetter of being is destroyed.”
So the arahants liberation is called akuppā cetovimutti.
For the arahant, entering upon and abiding in this measureless liberation of mind is his abiding in the unsheakable liberation of mind (akuppā cetovimutti)
This is what is meant by the statement:
Of all the kinds of immeasurable liberation of mind, the unshakeable liberation of mind is declared to be the foremost.
–MN 43
Now the statement:
“Lust is a something, hate is a something, delusion is a something. In a bhikkhu whose āsavas are destroyed, these are abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, done away with so that they are no longer subject to future arising.
–MN 43
can be understood as follows:
[I think nothingness is closer in translation to suññata (null, void, emptiness) so I will use not-something-ness in these translations, which is the literal translation for ākiñcañña]
There is an abiding called not-something-ness where lust, hate and delusion cease without remainder. This abiding is described in the following verse from the nibbāna sutta (Ud 8.3).
“duddasaṃ anantaṃ nāma na hi saccaṃ sudassanaṃ, paṭividdhā tanhā jānato passato natthi kiñcanaṃ”ti.
“Indeed hard to see is the Endless, Truly, it is not easy to see the Truth, Knowing and seeing,”there is not something”,
Is the piercing through of craving.
–Ud 8.3
This abiding in “not-something-ness” is further elaborated on in the questions of posāla from the pārāyanavaggo (Snp 5.15)
vibhūtarūpasaññissa sabbakāyappahāyino ajjhattañca bahiddhā ca natthi kiñcīti passato ñāṇaṃ sakkānupucchāmi kathaṃ neyyo tathāvidho
“For the one in whom perception of form has ended, who has abandoned the entire body, who is seeing internally and externally, ‘there is not something’, I ask about his knowledge, O Sakyan, how is such a one to be known?”
Ākiñcaññasambhavaṁ ñatvā, Nandī saṁyojanaṁ iti; Evametaṁ abhiññāya, Tato tattha vipassati; Etaṁ ñāṇaṁ tathaṁ tassa, Brāhmaṇassa vusīmato”ti
Having known the origin of “not-something-ness”, [having known] “delight is a fetter”; [having known] with supreme knowledge that this is so, because of that he sees clearly therein: this knowledge for him is such, for the brahmin who is accomplished.”
–Snp 5.15
This knowledge and vision of “not-something-ness” requires cessation of form, and is called the viññāṇanirodha or viññāṇaṃ anidassanaṃ anantaṃ sabbato pabhaṃ in the kevaddha sutta (DN 11):
viññāṇaṃ anidassanaṃ anantaṃ sabbato pabhaṃ; ettha āpo ca paṭhavī tejo vāyo na gādhati; ettha dīghañca rassañca aṇuṃ thūlaṃ subhāsubhaṃ; ettha nāmañca rūpañca asesaṃ uparujjhati; viññāṇassa nirodhena etthetaṃ uparujjhatīti.
‘The non-manifestative consciousness which is endless and all-luminous,
That’s where earth, water, fire and air find no footing, There both long and short, small and great, fair and foul – There “name-and-form” are completely held in check. With the cessation of consciousness, this is all held in check.’”
DN 11
For the arahant, this abiding in the liberation of mind through not-something-ness is his abiding in the unsheakable liberation of mind.
This is what is meant by the statement:
Of all liberation of mind through not-something-ness, this akuppā cetovimutti is declared the foremost.
–MN 43
And so this shows how the measureless liberation of mind and the liberation of mind through not-something-ness are the same in meaning.
Now the statement:
“Lust is a maker of signs, hate is a maker of signs, delusion is a maker of signs. In a bhikkhu whose āsavas are destroyed, these are abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, done away with so that they are no longer subject to future arising.
–MN 43
can be understood as follows:
From sanimitta sutta (AN 2.77)
sanimittā bhikkhave uppajjanti pāpakā akusalā dhammā, no animittā. tasseva nimittassa pahānā evaṃ te pāpakā akusalā dhammā na honti.
“Evil unwholesome dhammas, O Bhikkhus, arise with signs, not without signs. With the abandoning of signs, these evil unwholesome dhammas do not come to be.”
–AN 2.77
Now the root of evil unwholesome dhammas are lust, hate and delusion.
From the cūḷasuññata sutta (MN 121), when one abiding in the signless samādhi understands thus:
‘This signless samādhi is especially conditioned, especially intended. But whatever is especially conditioned, especially intended, is impermanent, subject to cessation.’ When he knows and sees thus, his mind is liberated from the āsava of sensual desire, from the āsava of being, and from the āsava of ignorance. When it is liberated there comes the knowledge: ‘It is liberated.’ He understands: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing more for thusness.’
–MN 121
This liberation of mind through signlessness gives rise to unsheakable knowledge (akuppaṃ ñāṇaṃ) as described in the sekha sutta (AN 3.35).
This is what is meant by the statement:
Of all liberation of mind through signlessness, this unshakeable liberation of mind through signlessness is declared the foremost.
–MN 43
And so this shows how the measureless liberation of mind, the liberation of mind through not-something-ness and the liberation of mind through signlessness are the same in meaning.
Now the statement:
“This unshakeable liberation of mind is void of lust, hate, and delusion”, that is repeated for each liberation of mind description can be understood with reference to the cūḷasuññata sutta (MN 121):
“He understands thus: ‘Whatever disturbances there might be dependent on the āsava of sensual desire [kāmataṇhā (greed or longing)], those are not present here; whatever disturbances there might be dependent on the āsava of being [bhavataṇhā (lust) and vibhavataṇhā (hate)], those are not present here; whatever disturbances there might be dependent on the āsava of ignorance [moha (delusion)], those are not present here. There is present only this amount of disturbance, namely, that connected with the six bases that are dependent on this body and conditioned by life.’ He understands: ‘This field of perception is void of the āsava of sensual desire; this field of perception is void of the āsava of being; this field of perception is void of the āsava of ignorance. There is present only this non-voidness, namely, that connected with the six bases that are dependent on this body and conditioned by life.’ Thus he regards it as void of what is not there, but as to what remains there he understands that which is present thus: ‘This is present.’ Thus, Ānanda, this is his genuine, undistorted, pure descent into voidness, supreme and unsurpassed.
–MN 121
See Sāḷhā sutta (AN 3.66) and satipaṭṭhāna sutta (DN 22) for definition of taṇhā for justification of clarification in brackets to show that destruction of the āsavas (āsavakkhayo) is also the destruction of lust, hate, delusion (rāgakkhayo, dosakkhayo, mohakkhayo).
This is also called the liberation of mind through voidness. For the arahant, this abiding in the liberation of mind through voidness is his abiding in the unsheakable liberation of mind.
And so this shows how the measureless liberation of mind, the liberation of mind through not-something-ness, the liberation of mind through signlessness and the liberation of mind through. voidness are the same in meaning.