giustarini 2011 the truth of the body.pdf

8/14/2019 giustarini 2011 the truth of the body.pdf

1/29


2/29

97Giustarini The truth of the body

obtained only by arriving at the end of the world,1but he adds that theextreme border of the world is not reachable by physically travelling:

na kho panha avuso appatv lokassa anta dukkhassa

antakiriya vadmi || api kvhha vuso imasmievavymamatte kaevare saimhi samanake loka ca papemilokasamudaya ca lokanirodha ca lokanirodhagmini ca

paipadan-ti||

Friend, I state that without having reached the end of the world,the end of suering cannot be realized. Moreover, I declare thatin this very fathom-long body (vymamatta kaevara), endowedwith mind and knowledge, there is the world, cessation of theworld and the path leading to cessation of the world.

This suggestive statement seems to indicate that the kernel of theBuddhist teachings, i.e. the truths about suering and the end ofsuering, here paraphrased, are unravelled through direct experience.2It is easy to argue that the Rohitassasutta necessarily implies that thebody itself is a teaching, and this teaching is itself su cient to reachthe goal of nal liberation. The body is explicitly pointed out as themicrocosm where the fundamental issue of suering and the end ofsuering can be clearly observed and eventually resolved.3 Hence,

pais a movement inward, not outward, as suggested by the very factthat although in a past life Rohitassa was a sky-goer (vehsagama),such an amazing skill was no help in his genuine quest. Furthermore, itis well known thatpais a combination of knowing and seeing theway phenomena manifest themselves (yathbhta jana passa).4

* I wish to express my gratitude to Mahidol University for making this work possible bysupporting and encouraging my research, and to Mattia Salvini for reading a rst draft ofthis article and giving some precious suggestion.1S i.107, PTS i.62: lokassa anta dukkhassa antakiriya. The compound lokantag, that

appears in the concluding stanza of this sutta, is indeed a title of the Buddha and ofa liberated person. A very similar analogy is found in the Lokyatikasutta (A ix.4.38,PTS iv.428-432), where some Brahmins are said to be able to run at super-human speed,and yet they still belong to and are bound to the world (lokapariypanna). See alsoLokantagamasutta (S iv.116, PTS iv.92.).2[for an Enlightened person] the arising of the world is understood and abandoned, and thecessation of the world is understood and realised. The individuals experience, then, can bemetaphorically expressed as the world: his experience is for him the world, Hamilton 2000: 98.3The metaphor of the body as an analogue of the world, microcosm and macrocosm, isone of the more familiar ideas of the body from ancient India as well as one of the oldest,Wujastyk 2009: 195.4After a private conversation with Prof. Premasiri, I decided to translate yathbhtawith the way phenomena manifest themselves instead of the more commonly used the


3/29

98TBS II, 2011 Articles

Here the Buddha teaches that the action of knowing and seeing mustbe directed towards the end of the world (lokassa anta teyyadaheyya) and the end of the world has, per force, to be found withinthe body.5This statement directly relates the practice of kyagatsati

(mindfulness applied to the body) to pa (wisdom) and to thesubsequent dukkhanirodha(cessation of suering).

In the Sayatana Sayutta there is an initial comment on thisparticular teaching of the Buddha, and according to the tradition it isoered by nanda, the Buddhas attendant. nanda says that the worldhas to be known by examining the way one perceives sense-experienceand, quoting the Buddha, that the end of the world is connected to theend of suering.6 Regardless any possible psychological acceptation,to understand the world in terms of perception stresses the relevance ofdirect knowledge against a mere conceptualisation of the world itself.In the Sartthappakksin, his commentary to the Sayutta Nikya,Buddhaghosa equates lokassa anta to sakhralokassa anta, i.e.the end of the world (made by) the sakhras. Sakhrais sometimestranslated with coe cients, conditions, formations, physical or mentaltensions, synergies, etc., but it is nevertheless an enigmatic term.7I wouldsuggest that here it refers to its association with avjin the sequenceofpaiccasamuppda. Thus, the end of the world would mean the end ofeverything created by ignorance, a sort of primordial tension from whichall the individual and universal suering of sasraemerges. In this

case, going to the end of the world would mean to reach the very rootsof existence, the place-moment where the mind chooses the making(kamma) of the world, with its consequent suering, instead of theblissful peace of nibbna. In terms ofpaiccasamuppda, the shift from

way things are or reality, because the latter do not convey the sense of becomingimplicit in the verb bhavatiand may somehow suggest that phenomena have permanentqualities.5Wujastyk nds the body-macrocosm identity in a very similar passage from Indianmedical literature: the Caraka Sahit contains a dialogue in which the teacher

Punavarsu asserts that This human being is coincident with the world: whatever kinds ofentity are to be found in the human being are in the world (5.3; Trikamji Acharya 1981:325). Wujastik 2009: 195. The Sanskrit reads puruo ya lokasammitayvantohi loke (mrtimanto) bhvavies tvanta purue tvanto loke, Trikamji A. (ed.)(1981) [1941]. Carakasahit, ricakrapidattaviracirya yurvedadpikvyakhyaysavalita. New Delhi. Munshiram Manoharlal (quoted in Wujastik 2009: 222, n.3).6 chakkhunsotenaghnenajivhyakyenamanena kho vuso lokasmilokasa hoti lokaman S iv.116, PTS iv.95; na ca panha bhikkhave apatv lokassaanta dukkhassa antakiriya vadmti (ib. 96).7one of the most di cult terms in Buddhist metaphysics, in which the blending ofthe subjective--objective view of the world and of happening, peculiar to the East, is socomplete, that it is almost impossible for Occidental terminology to get at the root of itsmeaning in a translation (PED).


4/29


5/29


6/29


to Gethin, it seems that the rst satipahna or kynupassanis initselfstrictly su cient to bring the bhikkhuto the conclusion of the pathto awakening (Gethin 2001: 57).

The scope ofkyagatsatican be also deduced through its relation with

other contemplative techniques. The previous chapter of the AguttaraNikya, the Kyagatsativagga, asserts that mindfulness applied to thebody encompasses all the wholesome factors, just like the ocean receivesevery water stream. The chapter gives a long and detailed list of benetsderiving from kyagatsati, each of them is both a fruit of this practiceand a condition for liberation. Among these, there is a sense of urgency(savega), mindfulness and clear comprehension (satisampajaa),attainment of knowledge and vision (adassanapailbha), happinessin this life (dihadhammasukhavihra), pacication (passaddhi),relinquishment of ignorance (avj-pahna), and wisdom (pa). Thissuggests that mindfulness applied to the body is directly and indirectlyrelated to liberation. Also, the a nities between the wholesome factorsand between kyagatsatiand the wholesome factors are so many and sodeep that it is di cult to distinguish between the primary and secondarycauses of liberation.

The meditative techniques pertaining to kyanupassanare meticulously described in several suttas, especially in theKyagatsatisutta (M 119), in the Mahsatipahnasutta (D 22 andM 10) and in the npnasatisutta (M118, particularly focused on

mindfulness of in-breath and out-breath). The modalities of this practicecan be summarized within six main techniques:

1. mindfulness of in-breath and out-breath;2. mindfulness of body postures;3. mindfulness of physical actions and functions;4. mindfulness of the parts of the body;5. mindfulness of the elements;6. the nine cemetery contemplations.

Asubhabhvan is the fourth technique in the list of kyagatsati:as will be clear, the parts of the body have to be examined through thelens of asubha. First of all, in Buddhist texts the use of the term asubhain compounds like asubhasaor asubhnupassanclearly denes itas a quality that has not to be eluded but to be contemplated, observed,and deeply realized. As an adjective, asubhais translated by the PEDwith impure, unpleasant, bad, ugly, nasty, as a noun it is translatedwith nastiness, impurity. Compounds where asubha is applied to acontemplative practice are translated in PED as follows: -nupassinrealising or intuiting the corruptness (of the body) -kammahna

reection on impurity -bhvancontemplation of impurity (of the


7/29


body) -saidea of impurity.12Nyanatilokas Buddhist Dictionarytranslates asubhawith impurity, loathsomeness, foulness and denesthe purpose of asubhabhvanas follows: The contemplation of thebodys impurity is an antidote against the Hindrance of Sense-desire

(nvaraa) and the mental Perversion (vipallsa) which sees what istruly impure as pure and beautiful. On the basis of Woodwardstranslation, Hamilton usefully highlights the reference to impermanenceas follows: Asubha can also be translated as what is not beautiful(Woodwards translation of SN.V.320 uses unlovely: KS.V.284). Thistranslation has the same implication of impermanence as impuredoes (Hamilton 1996: 191 n.48). In this sense, it is noteworthy thatasubha is often associated with dukkha, the quality of suering,or unsatisfactoriness, characteristic of the conditioned realm, thusworking as an antidote to rga(craving). Another synonym (paikla= unpleasant, repulsive) points to the same approach and claries thefunction of this practice. The term is frequently used in compounds with-manasikra(= attention to what is unpleasant) or sa(awarenessof the unpleasant), often associated with hra(food).13 Furthermore,in asubhabhvan the term asubha is often replaced by the adjectiveasuci (PED: impure, unclean). On the contrary, taking the body andsense-experience in general as subha (pure) is said to foster craving(tah) in those who are aected by attachment (rga): If a personwith intense attachment, agitated by discriminative thought, focuses on

purity, his craving increases, he consolidates the bond.14

Conversely,as stated in the following stanza of the Dhammapada, pacication ofdiscriminative thought, cultivation of the perception of impurity andconsistent mindfulness break the bond of Mra, the personication ofsuering: One who is joyful in the pacication of discursive thought,who cultivates [perception of] impurity, always mindful, he will nish[craving], he will cut the bond of Mra.15

That seems to suggest that, whether related to ones own body, to foodor to any sense object, a sense of loathsomeness serves as a balancingfactor to counteract the corrupting work of nand(enchantment), kma

12The presence of the compound asubhasainin the Rohitassasutta suggests that sa,when referring to meditative techniques, is something more that a mere idea: in suchcases, indeed, -sais used with the same acceptation of anupassan. See below n. 28.13See for instance A i.453-472 (PTS i.41).14Vitakkapamathitassa jantuno || tibbargassa subhnupassino|| bhiyyo tah pavahati|| eso kho daha karoti bandhana Dhp 349, PTS 98. This stanza is extensivelydiscussed in Martini 2011passim.15Vitakkpasame ca yo rato|| asubha bhvayat sad sato|| esa kho vyantikhiti esa-checchati Mrabhandana Dhp 350, PTS 98. See below the commentary on this stanza(n.30).


8/29


(sense-desire) and rga(attachment)16. These negative factors constitutethe fetter of suering, which is weakened by focusing on impurity andsevered by mindfulness. Moreover, the misperception of purity, i.e.looking for perfection in what is conditioned and ultimately impure, is

one of thefour perversion(vipallsa).17Unlike the other techniques of contemplation, that generally use the

termpajnti(to know), in the practice of asubhabhvan(as well as inthe following contemplations of the elements and of the stages of decay)the act of watching is indicated by the termpaccavekkhati, that literallymeans to look at, to consider, to examine, or to analyse.18Thisslight shift of lexicon could be justied by the technique itself: the bodyhas to be thoroughly scrutinized from the soles of the feet (pdatala)up to the tip of the hair (kesamatthaka) and vice versa, by means ofdirect, meticulous observation that includes the internal organs andthus resembles an actual practice of visualization.19In two key suttas

16 The purpose of contemplating the nature of the body is to bring its unattractiveaspects to the forefront of ones attention, thereby placing the attractive aspects previouslyemphasized in a more balanced context. The aim is a balanced and detached attitudetowards the body. With such a balanced attitude, one sees the body merely as a productof conditions, a product with which one need not identify, Anlayo 2003: 122. In theSaddhammopyana (368; JPTS 1887:57) the mark of asubhahas to be seen not only inthe body but in the four major objects of mindfulness as listed in the satipahna(body,feelings, mind, phenomena) and it is said to be the eld of mindfulness.

17 Anicce bhikkhave niccan ti savipallaso cittavipallaso dihivipallaso, adukkhebhikkhave dukkhan ti savipallaso cittavipallaso dihivipallaso, anattani bhikkhaveatt ti savipallasodihivipallaso, asubhe bhikkhave subhan ti savipallasocittavipallaso dihivipallaso A iv.49, PTS ii.52. See also Vism xxii.53 (PTS 683) andPaism i.236 (PTS ii.81).18Explaining the process of npnasatiand the three verbs used to describe it, i.e. sikkhati(training)paccavekkhati(considering) and upasaharati(comparing), Anlayo outlinesa progression from comparatively simple acts of observation to more sophisticatedforms of analysis (Anlayo 2003: 119). Likewise, we may recognize thatpaccavekkhatiin asubhabhvansuggests a particular type of attention towards physical components.See also below n. 21.19

Visualization most probably corresponds to two of the seven ways of practicingthis examination of the body according to the Visuddhimagga, i.e. by visualizing thecolour (vaa) and shape (sahna) of the thirty-two parts of the body (Vism viii.2,PTS 242 .). I also agree with Gethin when, considering a possible statement that non-Mahyna texts would lack techniques of visualization, he notes that there is nospecialized word or expression in Buddhist Sanskrit texts for visualization. Moreoverthe notion of visualization is somewhat loose, ranging from having some kind of vision,to deliberately cultivating a specic prescribed image. It seems worth considering thepossible evidence in the non-Mahyna materials of a more general interest in thevisual in a meditative context, Gethin 2006: 96. Apart the anussatis, this practice ofcontemplating the organs shows by itself the features of a visualization, as it would bedi cult to observe ones organs without a visual technique. The very termpaccavekkhatisuggests a visual approach (pai + avekkhati: to look upon, consider, review, realise,contemplate, PED). Yet, it is possible that the meditator here has already developed a


9/29


of contemplative practice, namely the Mahsatipahnasutta and theKyagatsatisutta, the technique is extensively illustrated as follows:

Also, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu examines the body from the tip

of the feet up to the top of the hair, bounded by skin, with itsimpurity, thus: here in this body there are body-hair, hair, nails,teeth, skin, esh, sinews, bones, bone-marrow, kidneys, heart,liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, food inthe stomach, faeces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears,grease, spittle, snot, oil of the joints, urine. Just as if there werea sack, with two holes at ends, full of many kinds of grains, likehill rice, red rice, beans, peas, millet, white rice, and a man withgood sight opened it and examined it thus: this is hill rice, thisis red rice, these are beans, these are peas, this is millet, this iswhite rice. In the same way, a bhikkhu examines his own body,with its impurity, thus: here in this body there are body-hair, hair,nails, teeth, skin, esh, sinews, bones, bone-marrow, kidneys,heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, foodin the stomach, faeces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears,grease, spittle, snot, oil of the joints, urine.20

particular sensitivity that provides him/her with a sort of tactile inner feeling. Even thoughthe rst interpretation may sound more reasonable and would supply some material for

an analysis of visualization in the Nikyas, I would leave the latter open to further study:texts on meditation often give detailed accounts of marvellous superpowers, comparedto which awareness of internal organs is denitely easier to accept. Other examples ofvisualization in the Nikyas that might be cited are the cemetery practices that will beillustrated later, or the visualization of the colours in some meditative techniques (e.g.Mahsakuludyisutta, M 77, PTS ii.1-22).20 Puna ca para, bhikkhave, bhikkhu imam eva kya uddha pdatal adhokesamatthak tacapariyanta prannnappakrassa asucino paccavekkhati: Atthiimasmi kye kes lom nakh dant taco masa nahr ah ahimij vakkahadaya yakana kilomaka pihaka papphsa anta antagua udariya karsapitta semha pubbo lohita sedo medo assu vasa kheo sighik lasik muttanti.Seyyathpi, bhikkhave, ubhato mukh mto pr muggna msna tilna

taulna; tam ena cakkhum puriso mucitv paccavekkheyya: Ime sl ime vhime mugga ime ms ime til ime taul ti;-evam eva kho, bhikkhave, imam eva kyauddha pdatal adho kesamatthak tacapariyanta pran nnappakrassa asucinopaccavekkhati; Atthi imasmi kye kes lom nakh dant taco masa nahr ahahimij vakka hadaya yakana kilomaka pihaka papphsa anta antagunaudariya karsa pitta semha pubbo lohita sedo medo assu vas kheo sighiklasik muttan ti(M iii.154, PTS iii.90). It is noteworthy that in the Kynupassan-niddesaof the second book of the Abhidhamma, the Vibhaga, this is the only technique ascribedto the contemplation of the body. In other texts this list includes the brain (Gethin 2008:285, n. 144). Even though the present work considers the PTS editions of the Nikyas,I would like to briey mention that the parallel asubhabhvanin the Saa-Sutra of theGndhri Sayuktgama Sutras contains two words that are not found in the Pli version.In his inestimable study on the Gndhri manuscripts, in fact, Glass analyses the presenceof raya and jalaand, after a comparison with the Pli Dhammapada (rajo va jalla=


10/29


The body, described in detail through this list, is compared to a sackof legumes and cereals.21 More than just stimulating repulsiveness,this analogy aims to signicantly reduce concern and involvement insense experience, though the recommendation here is to recognize the

fundamental quality of asubha. It is interesting to note that whilst theMahsatipanasutta and the Kyagatsatisutta describe asubhabhvanas being followed by the contemplative practice focused on theelements (dhtu), in the Mahrhulovdasutta the two techniques areinextricably intertwined to the point that contemplation of the elementsiscontemplation of the physical organs (M ii.114-121, PTS i.422-3).In this perspective, the metaphor of the sack seems to encourage anobjective observation that in turn ought to show the essential texture ofconditioned reality. Let us try to examine this method further.

In the Asubhnupasssutta of the Itivuttaka, the asubhnupassanisthe rst step of a threefold contemplative process (asubhnupassan npnasati aniccnupassan) that culminates in the relinquishing(pahna) of ignorance and the consequent arising of true knowledge:

asubhnupass, bhikkhave, kyasmi viharatha, npnasatica vo ajjhatta parimukha spahit hotu, sabbasakhresuaniccnupassino viharatha. Asubhnupassna bhikkhavekyasmi viharata yo subhya dhtuy rgnusayo so pahyati.

npnasatiya ajjhatta parimukha spahitya ye bhir

vitakksay vightapakkhik te na honti. Sabbasakharesuaniccnupassna viharata y avj s pahyati, y vj suppajjatti.22

Monks, abide contemplating impurity in the body, establishunshakeable mindfulness of in and out-breath internally and

dust and [wet] dirt; Dhp 141), with the Dharmapada Udnavarga and with the ChineseMadhygama list, concludes that we may understand the list to include an underlyingtendons and networks, which ts very nicely with the context. However, given that

my aim is to translate the text of this manuscript, which clearly does not support thisinterpretation, I follow the Chinese Madhygama and translate dust and networks andadmit the possibility of translating dust and (wet) dirt if our scribe misunderstoodjala(Glass 2007: 155). Despite the accuracy of this translation, I would follow the idea thatambiguity of the terms may have a proper function and suggest more technical meanings,i.e. rajju, the tendons of the spinal column, that would be suitable in such a meticulousdescription of the organs.21 Seyyath pi bhikkhave ubhatomukh muto pr nnvihitassa dhaassa,seyyathda: slna vhna muggna msna tilna taulna (e.g. D ii.377,PTS ii.293-4; M i.110, PTSi.57; M iii.154, PTS iii.90). The association body-mater-foodis not uncommon in the Suttas: another graphic analogy is with a mass of boiled rice andjunket (odanakimmspacaya, e.g. M iii.7, PTS ii.77; S iv.204, PTS iv.194).22Iti iv.6 (85); PTS 80-81.


11/29


in the front, abide contemplating impermanence in all theconditioned phenomena. Monks, those who abide contemplatingimpurity in the body relinquish craving for [mistaken as] pureelements. When mindfulness of in-breath and out-breath is

rmly established internally in the front, exterior thoughtsassociated with distress are relinquished. For those who abidecontemplating impermanence in all the conditioned phenomena,ignorance is relinquished and knowledge arises.

Imbued with the characteristic of impermanence, asubharepresents afundamental feature of both internal and external experience, whereinit is impossible to nd any authentic, permanent, pure contentment. Inthis light, asubhawould be synonymous with conditioned (sakhata),and this is conrmed by the strict relationship between perfect purityand perfect liberation stated in the Mahniddesa.23

The practices illustrated in the Mratajjaniyasutta provide thisreection with solid arguments. First of all, in this text we nd thepractice of asubhawith the use of the locutionyathbhtapajnti, thatconfers an objective standpoint to the whole technique. The instructionon asubhabhvanis followed by three modalities denitely related toit: paiklasa, anbhiratisa and aniccnupassan (perceptionof the loathsome, perception of disenchantment and contemplationof impermanence). While the rst compound is often described as

asubhabhvan itself, the second one indicates the contemplationof disenchantment towards sense objects. The last modality unveilsthe intrinsic characteristic of impurity in the conditioned world, i.e.impermanence. Whilst in this sutta asubhabhvanis applied only to thebody, the other three approaches focus respectively on hra(food and,in a broad sense, matter), sabbaloka(the world, or the whole perceptiveexperience), sakhra(conditioned phenomena). These objects shareso many features in common that they could even be interchangeable.In other words, the focus of awareness is progressively expanded for thesake ofpaand virga(non-attachment, dispassion), allowing for the

comprehension of anicca.24Despite the evidence, drawing the conclusion thatasubhais ultimately

synonymous with anicca is reductive. In fact, in the Asubhasuttaearlier mentioned (A iv.163, PTS ii.150-2), asubhnupassan andaniccnupassan are two distinguishable approaches in a list of kindred

23suhhi v visuddhi v parisuddhi v mutti v vimutti v parimutti v (Mniddiii.20, PTS i.76).24 According to Hamilton, this is the true purpose of asubhbhvan: the purposeof meditating on impurity (or unloviness) is to realise its impermanence (Hamilton1996:178-183).


12/29


practices that include asubhnupassan (contemplation of impurity),hre paikklasa (awareness of the repulsive in food), sabbalokeanabhiratasa (awareness of the absence of delight in the wholeworld), aniccnupassan (contemplation of impermanence) andmaraasa (awareness of death). Yet, the a nity between asubhaand anicca may oer signicant clues to the understanding of bothterms. Due to its intrinsic impermanence, a phenomenon cannot beultimately pure and, on the other hand, impurity itself signies thatvery lack of a permanent core and consequent inadequacy in providingpermanent satisfaction. Some passages, such as the following stropheof the Theragth, replace dukkhawith asubhain the list of the threefundamental marks (tilakkhaa):

Bhaveyya aniccan ti anattasaa asubhasaa ca|lokamhi ca anabhirati: eta samaassa pairpa||25

Awareness of impermanence, not-self and impurity are to becultivated as well as disenchantment toward the world, this issuitable for a practitioner.26

Commenting on this verse in his Paramatthadpan TheragthAhakath, the Buddhist scholar Dhammaplcariya27 displaysremarkable subtlety interpretation of asubhasa. After glossing

aniccasa and anattasa by emphasizing impermanence,selessness and emptiness of all phenomena, Dhammapla, through thepeculiar commentarial lexicon, refers asubhasato the human body:

Awareness of impurity means: impurity is the oozing of thedirtiness (asuci) of delements in the whole body sprung from

25Th 594 (PTS p. 61).26Sais e caciously translated by conception or cognition throughout the Nikyasand especially when referred to the khandhas list, yet I think that in this stanza the termindicates a process of deep awareness rather than a merely intellectual recognition ofthe truth of impermanence, not-self etc. Among the meanings given by PED, awarenessseems to better convey a function of direct observation that saobviously has when it isinterchangeable with anupassan. One of the clearest examples of such interchangeabilityis in the Girimnandasutta, where aniccasa, anattsa andasubhasaare denedas synonyms of aniccnupassan, anattnupassan and asubhnupassan. Here thepractice of asubha is described as iti imasmi kye asubhnupass viharati. Ayavuccatnanda asubhasa (A x.60; PTS v.109). Moreover, in the Mratajjaniyasuttaitself the compoundspaiklasainandpaiklnupassinare perfectly interchangeable.As will appear later, contemplation is a more tting translation when sarefers tothe actual observation of the physical body. See Anlayo 2003: 222. Tse-Fu Kuan 2008:13-23 and 2005: 193-7.277th-10thcentury? On the date of Dhammapla see Cousins 1996: 581 and 1998: 156.


13/29


action (karaja-kya) or in the formation of the three worlds(tebhmaka-sankhra);28 awareness of suering that followsawareness of that which happens, this is [awareness of] impurity;therefore this is how awareness of suering is grasped and how

it should be known.29

This exegesis seems to suggest that the physical body is an easy preyto delements and the way it is aected by delements has to becontemplated and clearly understood, since this is the very basis forsuering.

It is clear that the practice of asubha has at least the function ofreducing the power of delements because they not only bring aboutsuering, but also prevent the action of the key factor in the path toliberation, i.e. pa. Aected by rga (lust, attachment), the mindis not able to contemplate because its relationship with sense objectsis conditioned by identication, craving and possession. This isexplicitly stated by the meditative instructions found in texts like theMahrhulovdasutta, wherein contemplation of the body, its organsand elements is aimed at cultivating a perspective based on selessness(anatt), and every modality is accompanied by the following advice:

ta: neta mama, neso 'ham asmi, na meso att ti eva - etayathbhta sammappaya dahabba30

28On the three worlds (kma-rpa-arpa) and their correspondence to dimensions ofconsciousness cf. e.g. Sdhp (passim) and Gethin 1997: 192-193. In the commentary to theDhammapada, the formation and the conditioning of the three worlds make the compoundused to dene the bond of Mra (tebhmakavaasankhta Mrabandhana, Dhp-axxiv.7, PTS iv.69). The corresponding stanza of the Dhammapada, quoted above, says thatthe always mindful (sad sata) will cut the bond of Mra (Dhp 350, PTS 98).29Asubha-saan ti; karaja-kye sabbasmim pi v tebhmaka-sankhre kilessuci-paggharaato asubh ti pavatta-saa dukkha-sa parivr hi aya; etenevetthadukkha-sapi gahit ti veditabba(Th-a ii.253). In his translation of the Visuddhimagga,amoli translates karaja-kya with gross physical matter, that may refer to thequality of impurity intrinsic in the physical body (amoli 1991: 320). In this passageof the Visuddhimagga, Buddhaghosa states that the karajakyais overcome by means ofthe fourth stage of meditation (jhna) just as a man escapes a snake or an enemy (Vismx.1, PTS 326). In their respective commentaries to the Suttas, both Buddhaghosa (e.g. D-aii.136, PTS ii.259) and Dhammapla (Iti-a 79, PTS 268), as well as the Niddvibhvanaof the Sarsagaha (PTS 76), that for its section on meditation is inspired by theVisuddhimagga, consider karaja-kyaas a sickness (gelaa), thus equating the whole ofphysical existence to a sort of imperfection, and recalling a widespread formula whereinthe Buddha denes the ve aggregates as a disease (roga), an abscess (gaa), a pain(agha), etc. (i.e. M ii.133, PTS i.435; S iii.122, PTSiii.167; A iv.124, PTS ii.128).30See e.g. M ii.114 (PTS i.421). Even though this is not the best occasion to go deeperinto this, it is extremely interesting that in the Mahrahulovdasutta contemplation ofbody and elements is a preliminary practice to that of npnasati.


14/29


This has to be deeply understood and seen in the way it manifestsitself: this is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.

This deep understanding (sammappa) is explained in the rst sutta

of the Itivuttaka as the key factor in the letting go of craving (lobha). Thelink between deep understanding and relinquishing (pahna) is insight(vipassan), i.e. the outcome of satipahna-practice. The process canbe summed up in the following way:

practice insight deep understanding relinquishing non-return stage31

Again, the paradox of the path is that the grip of the self view, expressedthrough the dyad attachment-aversion, has to be thoroughly observedand understood in order to be let go of, but this practice of observationis impeded by that very grip. The strategy used in the Nikyas to resolvethis stalemate is to encourage letting go from the very beginning, and byoering convincing scenarios of right view well before the meditatorhas developedpaby himself.

The practices described in the Mratajjaniyasutta are also listedin the Sasakhrasutta (A iv.169, PTS ii.155-6), in the Asubhasutta(A iv.163, PTS ii.150-2) and in the Gilnasutta (A v.121, PTS iii.142-3), where we meet an additional meditative practice: maraasa

(awareness of death). In the Asubhasutta these practices are said to leadto savnakhaya(eacement of poisons), and in the Sasakhrasuttathere is an explicit reference to the experience of nibbnain this verylife: puggalo diheva dhamme sasakhraparinibbyi hoti.32 Lastbut not least, among the direct fruits of these techniques there is thedevelopment of thejhnas, which proves their meditative purpose.33

Nevertheless, there are points in the Nikyas where some adverseeects of asubhabhvan are mentioned. In the Aatitthiyasutta (A

31 Ekadhamma bhikkhave pajahatha. Aha vo pibhogo angmitya. Katamaekadhamma? Lobha bhikkhave ekadhamma pajahatha. Aha vo pibhogoangmity (Iti i.1, PTS 1). The condition of non-returning is an incontrovertible steppreceding nal liberation.32See also savakkhayasutta (A v.70, PTS iii.83).33In the Kyagatsatisutta (M 119), each technique of contemplation of the body givesrise to relinquishing and then to samdhi(M iii.154-155, PTS iii.89.). In accordancewith this sutta, a contemporary Theravda monk, Ajahn Brahmavamso, states that therst purpose of body contemplation is to clear away the hindrances so that samdhicanhappen, and then you can get into deepjhnas. The second stage of body contemplation isto use the experience ofjhnasthemselves, or the power conferred on the mind by thoseexperiences to actually see this body so deeply that you can disentangle the attachment toit Brahmavamso 2001: 2.


15/29


iii.69, PTS i.200-1), for instance, the risk of increasing dosa(aversion)is mentioned, and the whole practice of asubhais described as a delicatebalance between rga (attachment) and dosa itself. This balance ispursued by cultivating both yonisomanasikra (close attention) andmettcetovimutti(release of mind by means of amity).34

Somehow, attention, especially if it is cultivated by focusing on theimpurity of the object observed (i.e. the body), has to be softened becausethe delements can easily mislead it into conict with the object itself.Similarly, in the Meghiyasutta (Ud 31, PTS 33, 37, and A ix.3, PTS iv.354-8) the purpose of asubhasais to let go of craving and it is followed(and balanced) by mettbhvan, npnasati and aniccasa:mett is cultivated in order to relinquish aversion, npnasati to cutconceptual thought and aniccasa uproots the identication withand appropriation of a separate self.35 The Nvarappahnavaggaof the Aguttara Nikya (A i.16-17, PTS i.4) suggests contemplationof asubhanimitta (the characteristic of impurity) as an antidote tothe rst hindrance, kmacchandha (sense-desire) and to focus onmettcetovimutti to withstand bypda (aversion). The di culty ofthis practice is emphasized even more in the Bhradvjasutta of theSayatana Sayutta, wherein Piola Bhradvja, a disciple of theBuddha, explains to King Udena why even young disciples of the Buddhalook so committed and content with the spiritual life. He says that theyare taught by the Buddha to practice asubhabhvan (here described

in detail) to counteract the power of lust/craving (lobha). This practiceis described as an easy (sukara) meditative practice for experiencedmeditators, that are already cultivated in body, cultivated in virtue,cultivated in mind, cultivated in wisdom (bhvitaky bhvitaslbhvitacitt bhvitapa), conversely it is di cult (dukkara) for thosewho are not so well trained. Asked about other reasons for the bhikkhuscontentment, Bhradvja points to the practice of contemplation of thesix senses by means of restraint (savara).36

34This caution seems to be widespread in Buddhism. In the Avaghoas Saundarananda,for instance, it is recommended not to practice aubhawhen the mind is aected byaversion (vypda, dvea), as that would further increase this poison and dramaticallydamage the meditator. As in the Nikyas, a mind aected by aversion has to be treated byamity (maitr): vypdadoena manasy udre| na sevitavya tv aubha nimitta| dve-tmakasya hy aubh vadhya|pitttmana tka ivpacra|| vypdadoakubhite tucitte| sevy svapakpanayena maitr | dvetmano hi praamya maitr |pitttmanata ivpacra SdNd 16.60.35Asubh bhvetabb rgassa pahnya, npnasati bhvetabb vitakkupacchedya,aniccasa bhvetabb asmimnasamugghtya.36 S iv.127 (PTS iv.111). The same concept is illustrated in a similar way in theMahsaccakasutta (M i.367-368, PTS i.239) through the relationship between theuntrained mind (abhvitacitta) and feeling (vedan). On the role of savara in the


16/29


An episode told in the Veslisutta of the npna Sayutta is evenmore eloquent: here the Buddha, after having exalted the benets derivedfrom asubhabhvan, leaves for a half month on solitary retreat. Onceback, nanda tells him that during his absence several monks, after

meditating on asubha, had fallen into a state of despair and, overwhelmedby disgust, committed suicide. nanda asks the Buddha for a teachingand the Buddha illustrates npnasamdhi (concentration on thebreath).37 This example shows how the risk of disparaging the bodywas taken into careful consideration in the Nikyas and that this verycontempt was seen as a dramatic misunderstanding of the teachings.38In this regard, it is relevant that the practice suggested is npnasati, acontemplation of the body that can also incorporate asubhnupassan.If we consider the role of npnasati in uprooting conceptual thought(vitakka), as mentioned earlier, it is clear that here the Buddha is oeringa remedy to sever the obsessive thoughts that may arise from dwellingon asubhawithout right discernment. Also, as we have seen earlier ina passage from the Itivuttakas Asubhnupassisutta, the combination ofnpnasati and asubhnupassanproduces a magnifying glass withwhich to recognize impermanence in all formations.39

contemplation of sense-experience see Anlayo 2003: 60 and Giustarini 2005: 153-178(passim).

37 S v.985 (PTS v.320-2). Hamilton glosses this episode thus: An important storywhich illustrates the way in which certain early bhikkhus disastrously failed to understandboth the meaning of purity and also the fact that meditating on the body is intended to giveinsight into its impermanence. [] This plea, and indeed the episode as a whole, perhapsindicates the di culty bhikkhushad in understanding that the purpose of meditating onimpurity (or unloveliness) is to realise its impermanence (Hamilton 1996: 181-182). Seealso Anlayo 2006: 4.38According to Hamilton, this has been a misunderstanding that many exegetes, includingBuddhaghosa, ran into: Theravda Buddhism is often, one might say commonly,understood to have a negative attitude towards the human body. Though there are whatappear to be negative statements about the body in the canonical material [] this negativeattitude has largely been promulgated by Buddhaghosa, both in his Visuddhimagga andin the commentaries on the Pali canon: in spite of his exegetical claims, Buddhaghosaswriting is in fact signicantly dierent in this respect from canonical material (Hamilton1996: 170). Hamilton backs up her thesis by pointing out that the whole kyagatsatiisbased on putting aside any kind of judgment: The Suttas also imply in these exercisesthat there is nothing about any particular part, or condition, of the body that is intrinsicallydesirable or repugnant: be it breathing or posture, hair or pus, a young body or a rottingcorpse, a bhikkhuis merely to observe it quite free from any connotation. The purpose ofsuch mindfulness exercises is so to concentrate on an each specic subject of meditationthat there follows clear comprehension of its precise nature, which is that it is impersonaland conditional (Hamilton 1996: 174).39 Asubhnupass bhikkhave kyasmi viharatha, npnasati ca vo ajjhattaparimukha spahit hotu, sabbasakhresu aniccnupassino viharatha Iti iv.6 (85);PTS 80-81.


17/29


It is clear that it is not disgust that needs to be cultivated, butmindfulness and wisdom, and focusing on the repulsive aspects ofphysical experience mitigates the inuence of craving on the mind,and lets these two crucial factors spring naturally from practice and

unveil the truth of impermanence.40 In fact, a closer examination of thepassages examined above displays three distinct elements. First, there isthe factor of mindfulness-understanding (sati-sampajaa), that bringsinto focus the nature of perception and the perceived. Then there is therecognition of asubha, strictly related with the vision of the tilakkhaa.Finally, these two factors together are the antidote to the poison, whichis the third element. The poison is identication with and attachmentto, sense-experience, and the very resistance to contemplative practice.The cure consists of mindfulness and wisdom, but to make these work,the poison has to be diluted, and this is the task of asubhabhvan.The attachment reducing function is inferred through an overview ofsome qualities directly stimulated by contemplating impurity. In theGirimnandasutta (Ax.60, PTS v.111-112), for instance, asubhasabelongs to a series of meditations focused on virga(dispassion), nibbid(disenchantment),nirodha(cessation) andpainissagga(relinquishment),and culminating in nibbna. Similarly, in the Nibbidsutta (A v.69,PTS iii.83) asubhnupassan fosters a process of relinquishing andunderstanding summarized by a list of wholesome qualities: nibbid,nirodha, upasama, the six abhis (supreme knowledge), sambodhi

(perfect awakening) and nibbna. The text following the Nibbidsutta,i.e. the savakkhayasutta (A v.70, PTS iii.83), reiterates the same listand denes the process as savna khaya(eacement of the poisons).

Likewise, in the Rohitassasutta the use of kaevarato indicate thebody implicitly refers to a thorough understanding of impermanenceby means of the contemplation of mortality. The Buddha here is notactually referring to the dead body (he says that in this instance, the bodyis seen as endowed with cognition, sa)41, but to the living, mortalbody. The underlying purpose is to see limitation in order to transcendlimitation. Moreover, the dyad kaevara-sadenes a human being as

a mind-body compound (nma-rpa, lit. name and form), that ultimatelycorresponds to the ve aggregates (khandha). Mental faculties have to

40Illustrating the role of aubhaas described in the Khotanese Book of Zambasta andits similarities with the Theravda cognate practices, Martini writes: Seeing the bodyas aubha has the potential to develop calmness and to neutralise ones identicationand attachment with the ordinary bodily perception [] the practice aims at freeingones perception from mis-apprehension and helps align it with reality [] a means ofcounteracting lust and entanglement with the body, and developing detachment regardingthe world, Martini 2011: 129-130.41In this sutta sa, rather than being a synonym of anupassan, means cognition, orapperception.


18/29


be examined in the same way as the experience of physicality, and thetwo together form the boundaries of human existence with its relativesuering, i.e. the conditioned realm. Within these very boundaries, theBuddha says in the Rohitassasutta, lies freedom from boundaries and

the cessation of suering. Means suited to investigate the conditionedrealm are given throughout the Nikyas, and particular emphasis is puton the contemplation of the body with the specic parameter of asubha:this helps to recognize what is conditioned as conditioned, and thereforeits inability to provide denitive and authentic happiness.

Even though there are obvious similarities, asubhabhvanis not anddoes not include the practice of mindfulness of corpses in cemeteries.The cemetery contemplations are, as briey mentioned above, the sixthexercise of kyagatsatiand come after contemplation of the physicalelements (dhtu). They comprise nine exercises (navama svathka)each of which is focused on a specic stage of decay of the body andincludes the meditators reection on the inevitability of this processin regard to ones own body. As Anlayo points out, the exercise helpsto develop loathsomeness towards ones own body and this disgust iseventually applied to others bodies (2003: 154). Besides loathsomenessas an antidote to greed, both contemplation in the cemetery andasubhabhvanaim to develop awareness of death (maraasa) andto the relinquishment of the idea of a separate and lasting self:

An alternative insight to be gained through this meditationpractice is the inevitability of death. The stages of decay of adead body vividly depict the truth that whatever one clings to asan embodiment of I or mine will endure only a limited time.42

Let us examine the same meditative dynamics as displayed in a cognateand yet slightly dierent practice, found in the Bojjhaga Sayutta (Svii.238, PTS v.128.) as well as in the Aguttara Nikya (A x.57, PTS v.105;A x.238, PTS v.309), and partially included in the asubhakammahnalist of the Visuddhimagga (Bodhi 2000: 1913, n. 117). It is a complexapproach that comprises ten meditative techniques, the rst ve ofwhich focus onstages in the decay of the body.43 Contemplations of

42Anlayo 2003: 155. According to Buddhaghosa, asubhabhvanis indeed a practiceof contemplation of death (maraasati), likewise the body-scan practice briey describedabove (Vism 14.67).43The Visuddhimagga lists ten asubhakammahnas instead of the ve described in theNikyas, and order them in reverse order, namely from the contemplation of the rststage of decay to the contemplation of the skeleton. This chronological order is obviouslymore reasonable than the one present in the Nikyas, and it is questionable if the priorityof awareness would somehow have reversed the list. The series of kammahnas in the


19/29


a corpse, graphically depicted, are applied to the following stages ofdecay: ahika(a skeleton),puavaka(a worm-infested corpse), vinlaka(livid), vicchidaka (ssured), uddhumtaka (bloated). Each technique

is associated with the factors of awakening (bojjhaga), from sati(mindfulness) to upekkh(equanimity), supported by an attitude basedon viveka (detachment), virga (dispassion) and nirodha (cessation),and leading to either dihe dhamme a (knowledge in this world)or angmit (condition of non-returner) yogakkhema (refuge fromthe fetters), savega (urgency) and phsuvihra (comfort). After thecontemplation of a corpse, the teachings illustrate through the samedynamics the practises of the four brahmavihras and npnasati.Interestingly, the Bojjhaga Sayutta mentions asubhasaimmediately after these ten techniques, in a separate list.44

This sophisticated system of contemplation can be schematised asfollows:

Visuddhimagga is as follows: uddhumataka(bloated [corpse]), vinlaka(livid), vipubbaka(festering), vicchiddaka (cut up), vikkhyitaka (gnawed), vikkhittaka (scattered),hatavikkhittaka(hacked and scattered), lohitaka(bleeding), puuvaka(worm-infested),ahika(skeleton). Vism 178. Cf. Boisvert 1996: 41-43.44The chapter on cessation (nirodhavagga) is comprised of this list and includes: asubha(impurity), maraa (death), patikkla (repulsive), anabhirati (absence of joy), anicca(impermanence), dukkha(suering), anatt(non-self),pahna(relinquishment), virga(dispassion) and nirodha (cessation). S vii.239 (PTS v.132-3). The Aguttara Nikyacombines the two lists in a dierent way (anabhiratasa, ahikasa,puavakasa,vinlakasa,vicchiddakasa, uddhumtakasa) and considers these contemplationsas leading to and related to deathlessness (amata). A x.57, PTS v.105.


20/29


INSTRUMENTS PRACTICESTHAT

SUPPORT THEINSTRUMENTS

GROUNDING OFTHE PRACTICE

FRUITS

sambojjhagas:sati

dhammavicayaviriyapti

passaddhisamdhiupekkh

ahikasapuavakasavinlakasa

vicchidakasamett

karumudit

upekkh

npnasati

vivekavirga

nirodha

1) dihe dhammea(or)angmit

2.a)yogakkhema2.b) savega

2.c)phsuvihra

A shorter version of this list, including only the brahmavihras, isillustrated in the Mettsahagatasutta of the Bojjhagasayutta, withthe same interrelation between sambojjhagas, each brahmavihraandthe three modes of detachment (viveka, virgaand nirodha), and aimedat vossagga(relinquishment). The peculiarity of the latter practices isthat they are all focused on paikla (unpleasant, repulsive) and itsopposite appaikla (non-repulsive). The consequent combinationis noteworthy: the meditator, by means of each sambojjhaga andeach brahmavihra, if he has the wish I would contemplaterepulsiveness in non-repulsiveness, he contemplates repulsiveness

therein, if he has the wish I would contemplate non-repulsiveness inrepulsiveness, he contemplates non-repulsiveness therein, if he has thewish I would contemplate repulsiveness in non-repulsiveness and inrepulsiveness, he contemplates repulsiveness therein, if he has the wishI would contemplate non-repulsiveness in repulsiveness and in non-repulsiveness, he contemplates non-repulsiveness therein, if he has thewish having renounced to both repulsiveness and non-repulsiveness, Iwould live equanimous (upekkha), mindful (sata) and comprehensive(sampajna), he lives equanimous, mindful and comprehensive.45If possible, the conclusion seems to be even more signicant: Or,

he reaches the liberation of purity (subha), and I say that the goal ofliberation of the mind by means of amity (mettcetovimutti) is purity,

45So sace akkhati appaikkle paikklasa vihareyyanti||paikklasa tattha viharati|| sa ce akkhati paikkle appaikklasa vihareyyanti|| appaikklasa tattha viharati|| sa ce akkhati appaikkle ca paikkle ca paikklasa vihareyyanti||paikklasatattha viharati|| sa ce akkhati paikkle ca appaikkle ca appaikklasa vihareyyanti|| appaikklasa tattha viharati || sace akkhati appaikklaca paikklaca tadubhaya abhinivajjetv upekha kho vihareyya sato sampajno ti || upekhako tatthaviharati sato sampajnoS v.235 (PTS v.119).


21/29


for a wise monk that has not reached a higher liberation.46 Thus,in the case of mett practice, the high though limited purpose of thepractice of brahmavihras is described as purity (subha), and thispurity can be obtained by overcoming the duality of repulsiveness

and non-repulsiveness. After an increasing familiarity with these twoopposites, graphically described by the easiness in shifting from one tothe other, the entire dichotomy is relinquished and replaced by a stateof equanimity, mindfulness and comprehension: the instrument is notthe goal.

In the Pahamarohagatasutta of the Anuruddhasayutta, there is thesame approach to paikla/appaikla, but the goal is not the limitedcetovimutti pertaining to the brahmavihras. In the advice given byMogallna to Anuruddha, in fact, this is the very way to practice thesatipahnas, that in numerous passages are declared to lead to nalliberation.47The stock formulas of the satipahnaare combined withthe contemplation of repulsiveness and non-repulsiveness as observedabove, so giving an insightful clue as to how each satipahna hasto be practiced: body, feelings, mind and dhammas are accuratelycontemplated just as in the standard instruction, and also by means ofthe play of repulsiveness and non-repulsiveness described above. Thesame attitude is taught for concentration deriving from mindfulnessof in and out-breath (npnasatisamdhi), in the Padpopamasutta (Sv.984, PTS 317-318), and for contemplation of sense-faculties in the

Indriyabhvansutta (M 152, PTS 301-301).In these three cases directly concerning with sati, the path iseasily recognizable: the paradigm of repulsiveness is used to assuageinvolvement in sense-objects and consequently to foster mindfulness,which is the key factor in reaching the nal extinction of suering. Oncemindfulness operates relatively free from craving, it does not need torely on repulsiveness (paikla) any more. This principle seems to

46Subha v kho pana vimokkham upasampajja viharati|| subhparamham bhikkhavemettcetovimutti vadmi || idha paassa bhikkhuno uttari vimuttim apaivjhatoS v.235 (PTS v.119). The other brahmavihras are concluded with a slightly dierentformula, with a specic quality instead of subhato epitomize each resulting liberation:karucetovimutti(liberation of mind by means of compassion) ananta-aksa(innitespace); muditcetovimutti (liberation of mind by means of altruistic joy) ananta via(innite consciousness); upekkhcetovimutti(liberation of mind by means of equanimity) akicaa(nothingness).47The importance of the satipahnas is also stressed in the introduction of this sutta,when Anuruddha reects thus: Those who have neglected the four satipahnas haveneglected the noble path leading to the perfect dispelling of suering, those that areengaged in the four satipahnas are engaged in the noble path leading to the perfectdispelling of suering (yesa kesaci cattro satipahn viraddh || viraddho tesamariyo maggo sammdukkhakkhayagm || yesa kesaci cattro satipahn raddh ||raddho tesam ariyo maggo sammdukkhakkhayagm) S v.899, PTS v.294.


22/29


underpin the whole structure of asubhabhvan, the task of which is toresist a movement of the heart, i.e. the dynamic of craving, by opposingit with another force. Although the latter risks nurturing aversion, theresulting balance of conicting forces may bring about an equanimous

space in which both forces are let go of, and the fruit is nal release.To conclude, all the examples analysed above seem to oer

a clear picture of the function of asubhabhvan and its cognatemeditative factors: it is not a goal but an instrument to be used andeventually laid down. It opens a break in the clouds of attachment, soallowing mindfulness and wisdom to shine down on the true natureof phenomena. In that truth there is no room for concepts and foreither negative or positive judgments: once the river is crossed, theraft becomes a dispensable burden.48 In the poignant conclusion ofthe Kevaddhasutta, the Buddha further claries that asubha and itsopposite subhaare ultimately concepts, and as such they are destinedfor cessation:

vina anidassana ananta sabbato pahaettha po ca pahav tejo vyo na gdhatiettha dgha ca rassa ca anu thla subhsubhaettha nma ca rpa ca asesa uparujjhativiassa nirodhena ettheta uparujjhati||49

Where consciousness is without characteristic, without boundary,completely luminous,there earth, water, re and air have no footingthere long, short, small and great, pure and impure,there name and form cease without remainderthere this ceasesdue to the cessation of discriminating consciousness.

If we re-examine the Rohitassasutta in the light of asubhabhvan, wemay better understand what the Buddhas advice is about. The bodyseems to be the alchemic recipient where two crucial and accessible

qualities (satiandpa), as well as all the qualities encompassed bythem, lead to deathlessness. However, the body being such an easy preyto craving, one has to cultivate the mitigating action of asubhabhvan,that may slow down the outward movement of craving and hence allowthe work of mindfulness. Therefore, craving (tah) is the entanglingrelationship of the mind with sense-experience while mindfulness,conversely, is the relationship that does not aim at acquisition (that

48See Alagaddpamasutta, M 22 (PTS i.134-5).49D i.499 (PTS i.223).


23/29


is entanglement). The warning of the Buddha to Rohitassa is aboutstopping that gaining tension, because the pure knowledge that leadsimmediately to liberation is not a movement, but the dramatic arrest ofthe perennial oscillation of sasra:

gamanena na pattabbo|| lokassanto kdacanana ca appatv lokntam|| dukkh atthi pamocanatasm bhave lokavid sumedho||lokantag vusitabrahmacariyo||lokassa anta samitviatv||nsisati lokam ima para c ti|| ||50

It is not possible to reach the end of the world in any way bytravelling, but without reaching the end the world, there is noliberation from suering. For this reason, a knower of the world,wise, ender of the world, who has completed the holy practice,peaceful after having known the end of the world, has noexpectation about this world and the other.

Undoubtedly, the Buddhas instruction in the Rohitassasutta aims at aform of reaching, but this reaching is not external and does not t with theconventional idea of reaching: reaching is stillness. The shift of attentionfrom an external object to the carcass endowed with consciousness

leads to the goal that is erroneously searched far, the end of theworld. That reminds us of the suggestive story of Agulimla fromthe Majjhima Nikya, where Agulimla chases the Buddha withoutreaching him, until he shouts to the Buddha: Stop, contemplative,stop! The Buddhas answer is denitely rich in signicance: I havestopped, Agulimla. You stop!51 In contemporary Theravda, thisconcept is pointed out with two poignant analogies by the Thai teacherAjahn Chah: Have you ever seen owing water?... Have you ever seenstill water?... If your mind is peaceful it will be just like still, owingwater. [] Right there, right where your thinking cannot take you, even

though its peaceful you can develop wisdom. Your mind will be likeowing water, and yet its still. [] Wisdom can arise here.52So let go,put everything down, everything except the knowing. Dont be fooledif visions or sounds arise in your mind during meditation. Lay themall down. Dont take hold of anything at all, just stay with this uniedawareness. Dont worry about the past or the future, just be still and you

50S i.107 (PTS i.61-62).51 Tiha samaa, tiha samati || hito aha, Agulimla; tv ca tihtiAgulimlasutta, M 86, PTS ii.99.52Chah 2007: 253-254.


24/29


25/29


List of abbreviations

A Aguttara Nikya

D Dgha NikyaM Majjhima NikyaS Sayutta NikyaIti ItivuttakaTh TheragthaTh ThergthD-a Dgha Nikya AtthakthIti-a Itivuttaka AtthakthPaism PaisambbhidmaggaSdhp SaddhammopyanaVism Visuddhimagga

PTS Pali Text SocietyPED Pali-English Dictionary (see below)Sk SanskritLt Latin

REFERENCES

Primary Sources

References to Pli texts are to the Pali Text Society editions.For cross-references I also consulted Chaha Sagyana Tipiaka 4.0(1995). Vipassana Research Institute.The only Sanskrit references in this article are to the Covills edition

(and translation) of the Saundaranandaand to Wujastiks quotes fromthe Carakasahit(see below).

Secondary Sources and Translations

Anlayo (2003). Satipahna: The Direct Path to Realization.Birmingham: Windhorse.

Anlayo (2005). Some Pali Discourses in the Light of Their Chinese

Parallels,Buddhist Studies Review25, 2: 93-106.


26/29


Anlayo (2005-2). Rga, in Malalasekera G.P. Weeraratne W.G. (eds.),Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Colombo 7: 478-481.

Anlayo (2006). The Buddha and Omniscience, The IndianInternational Journal of Buddhist Studies7: 1-20.Anlayo (2007). Oral Dimensions of Pli Discourses: Pericopes, OtherMnemonic Techniques and the Oral Performance Context, Canadian

Journal of Buddhist Studies3: 5-33.

Bateson, J.H. (1909). Body (Buddhist), in Hastings J. (ed.).Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Edinburgh, 158-160.

Berkwitz, S.C., Schober, J., Brown, C. (2010). Buddhist ManuscriptCultures. Knowledge, Ritual and Art, London and New York: Routledge

Bodhi, B. (tr.) (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha. A NewTranslation of the Sayutta Nikya. Vol. I, Oxford: Pali Text Society.

Boisvert, M. (1996). Death as Meditation Subject in the TheravdaTradition,Buddhist Studies Review13, 1: 38-54.

Brahmavamso, A. (2001). My understanding of asubhapractice, talk

given at Bodhinyana monastery on the 28th of March 2001.

Burrow, T. (2001). The Sanskrit Language. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Burrow, T. (1971). Spontaneous Cerebrals in Sanskrit,Bulletin of theSchool of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 34: 538-559, Cambridge University Press.

Chah, A. (2007). The Teachings of Ajahn Chah: A Collection of AjahnChahs Dhamma talks. Wat Nong Pah Pong.

Collins, S. (1997). The Body in the Theravda Buddhist Monasticism,in Coackley S. (ed.) Religion and the Body, Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 185-204.

Cousins, L.S. (1996). Reviewed work: The Udna Commentary(Paramatthadpan nma Udnahakth) by Dhammapla by PeterMaseeld, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies,University of London, 59.3: 580-581, Cambridge University Press.


27/29


Cousins, L.S. (1998). Reviewed work: A Handbook of Pli Literatureby Oskar von Hinber,Bulletin of the School of Oriental and AfricanStudies, University of London, 61.1: 155-156, Cambridge UniversityPress.

Covill, L. (tr.) (2007).Handsome Nanda by Avaghoa. New York: NewYork University Press, Clay Sanskrit Library.

Devendra, K. (1984). Sati in Theravda Buddhist Meditation. Kandy:Sri Lanka National Library Services Board.

Gethin, R.L.M. (20012). The Buddhist Path to Awakening: A Study ofthe Thirty-seven Bodhipakkhiya Dhamma in the Nikyas and in the

Abhidhamma. Oxford: Oneworld.

Gethin, R.L.M. (tr.) (2008). Sayings of the Buddha: New Translationsfrom the Pali Nikyas. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Gethin, R.L.M. (1997). Cosmology and Meditation: From the Agaa-Sutta to the Mahyna,History of Religions, 36.3: 183-217.

Gethin, R.L.M. (2006). Mythology as Meditation: From theMahsudassana Sutta to the Sukhvatvyha Stra,Journal of the Pali

Text SocietyXXVII: 63-112.

Giustarini, G. (2005). A Note on Sayatanas in Buddhist Nikyas,Universit di Napoli LOrientale, Annali65: 153-178.

Glass, A. (2007).Four Gndhri Sayuktgama Stras: Senior KharohFragment 5. Washington: University of Washington Press.

Hamilton, S. (1996). Identity and Experience: The Constitution of theHuman Being According to Early Buddhism, London: Luzac Oriental.

Hamilton, S. (2000). Early Buddhism: A New Approach. The I of theBeholder. Richmond: Curzon Press.

Hara, M. (2009). Divine Witness, Journal of Indian Philosophy 37:253-272.

Hare, E. M. (1978) [1935]. The Book of the Gradual Sayings (Aguttara-Nikya) or More-Numbered Suttas. Vol IV (The Book of the Sevens,Eights and Nines). Oxford: Pali Text Society.


28/29


Hazlewood A. (1988). Saddhammopyana Translation,Journal of thePali Text SocietyXII: 65-168.

Heim, M. (2009). The Conceit of Self-Loathing, Journal of IndianPhilosophy37: 61-74.

Martini, G. (2011). 'Mahmaitr in a Mahyna Stra in Khotanese- Continuity and Innovation in Buddhist Meditation', Chung Hwa

Buddhist Journal, 24: 121-194.

Maseeld, P. (tr.) (2000). The Itivuttaka. Oxford: Pali text Society.Mrozik, S. (2007). Virtuous Bodies: The Physical Dimensions of Moralityin Buddhist Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

amoli, B., Bodhi, B. (tr.) (2001). The Middle Length Discourses ofthe Buddha, revised edition. Oxford: Pali Text Society.

amoli, B. (tr.) (19915) [1956]. The Path of Purication(Visuddhimagga) by Bhadantcarya Buddhaghosa. Kandy: BuddhistPublication Society.

amoli, B. (tr.) (1982). The Path of Discrimination(Paisambhidmagga). Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.

Need, D.N. (2004). Rendering the Body. Etherealization and Sense inVedic and Early Buddhist Religiosity, PhD dissertation, University ofVirginia.Neri C. (2009).A Study on the Srasagaha, PhD dissertation, Universityof Rome La Sapienza.

Norman, K.R. (tr.) (1997). Poems of Early Buddhist Monks (Theragth).Oxford: Pali Text Society.

Norman, K.R. (tr.) (1997). The World of the Doctrine (Dhammapada).Oxford: Pali Text Society.

Nyanatiloka (19804). Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Textsand Doctrines. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.

Rhys Davids T.W. Stede W. (19523). Pali-English Dictionary, London:Pali Text Society.

Ronkin, N. (2005). Early Buddhist Metaphysics: The Making of a

Philosophical Tradition. New York: Routledge.


29/29


Shulman, E. (2010). Mindful Wisdom: the Sati-pahna-Sutta onMindfulness, Memory, and Liberation, History of Religions 49.4:393-420.

Shulman, E. (2008). Early Meanings of Dependent Origination,Journal of Indian Philosophy36: 297-317.

Skilling, P. (2010).Redaction, recitation and writing. Transmission ofthe Buddhas Teaching in India in the Early Period, in Berkwitz, S.C.,Schober, J., Brown, C. 2010: 53-75.

Tse-Fu Kuan (2008).Mindfulness in Early Buddhism. New Approachesthrough Psychology and Textual Analysis of Pli, Chinese and SanskritSources. New York: Routledge.

Tse-Fu Kuan (2005). Sa and Sati, Satybhisamaya: A BuddhistStudies Quarterly32: 191-224.

Wujastyk, D. (2009). Interpreting the Image of the Human Body inPremodern India,International Journal of Hindu Studies13, 2: 189228.

Walshe, M. (tr.) (1987), Thus Have I Heard: The Long Discourses of the

Buddha(Dgha Nikya), London: Wisdom Publication.

Documents

giustarini 2011 the truth of the body.pdf