V&V, Analayo's misunderstanding of noble silence

V&V, Analayo's misunderstanding of noble silence

Analayo EBMS 2017 pg 126

(Early Buddhist Meditation Studies) Another indication relevant to the present theme is that the second absorption constitutes a noble type of silence.35 Since speech has ceased before the attainment of the first absorption,36the reference to “silence” here cannot mean that only with the second absorption one stops speaking (I return below to the question of hearing sound while being in the second absorption). The point behind the idea of a “noble silence” would rather reflect that with the attainment of the second absorption, the mental factors vitakka and vicāra (application) have been left behind. These two are elsewhere qualified as verbal formations,37 since they are required for being able to speak. However, the same two mental factors of vitakka and vicāra can also be employed in a way that does not involve breaking into speech, merely standing for a directing of the mind toward a theme or object and sustaining it there. ―――――― _{so vivicc' eva kāmehi, etc. On repetition as a central characteristic of the early Buddhist texts, see e.g. von Simson 1965: 5ff, Allon 1997: 273ff, Weeratunge 2004, Anālayo 2007: 8ff, and Gethin 2007. 35 SN 21.1 at SN II 273,14: dutiyaṃ jhānam upasampajja viharati, ayaṃ vuccati ariyo tuṇhībhāvoti, and its parallel SĀ 501 at T II 132a19: 第二禪具足住, 是名聖默然. 36 SN 36.11 at SN IV 217,5: pathamaṃ jhānaṃ (Be and Ce: paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ, Se: paṭhamajjhānaṃ) samāpannassa vācā niruddhā hoti and its parallel SĀ 474 at T II 121b2: 初禪正受時, 言語寂滅. 37 SN 41.6 at SN IV 293,15: vitakkavicārā vacīsaṅkhāro and its parallel SĀ 568 at T II 150a24: 有覺, 有觀, 名為口行. Another occurrence of this definition in MN 44 at MN I 301,21 has a similarly worded Tibetan counterpart in D 4094 ju 8a5 or Q 5595 tu 9a5:rtog pa dang dpyod pa ni ngag gi ’du byed ces bya’o.}

---

Two big problems with his analaysis.
1. Fallacious reasoning: "However, the same two mental factors of vitakka and vicāra can
also be employed in a way that does not involve breaking into
speech, merely standing for a directing of the mind toward a
theme or object and sustaining it there."

vaci-sankhara = vocalization-co-doing

(Analayo: verbal-formation). Actions that are essential to the process of vocalizing speech out loud.
Vaci-sankhara is communicable, coherent, un-vocalized verbal activity, meant to be broadcast, received and heard by listeners. If you're only directing your mind toward a theme and silently sustaining it there, it's a mentally silent activity, with no coherent idea or thoughts to broadcast to a listener.
example: mentally reciting some Dhamma you’ve memorized, is like chanting it in your mind without making a sound. You can even move your lips, as long as you don’t emit sound.

The fallacies involved here are false equivalence, biased sample.

He doesn't dispute the nature of vaci-sankhara, "verbal formations", needing to be communicable speech in unspoken form.
The fallacy, is that he claims that since "directing & sustaining" are a subset of the required actions for vaci-sankhara to happen, therefore it satisfies the criteria for it. That's a type of false equivalence fallacy. For example, if you go to a store to buy a horse-and-carriage, you pay for it and they give you only a horse without a carriage. A horse does not equal a horse-and-carriage, and is unable to perform all the functions you need.
Revisiting the example of chanting Dhamma mentally versus vocalizing it out loud: With the proper definition of V&V = directed-thought and evaluation, you would then chant Dhamma out loud that other people can listen to and comprehend. If you used the wrong V&V of Analayo, your mind would just be directed to with sustained attention on an unmoving preverbal thought, and you would not be able to speak anything intelligible.

2. B.Analayo doesn't follow the implications of his redefinition.

If you redefine V&V (the activity of first jhana) to be "directing the mind and sustaining it on an object", then first jhana would be noble silence, not second jhana! The fact that Buddha sets the bar at second jhana is incontrovertible evidence that the

✅ V&V of first jhana must be verbal thinking and reflection!

Noble Silence, ariyo vā tuṇhī-bhāvo

silence as implicit consent appears very frequently like this:

adhivāsesi bhagavā tuṇhībhāvena	Venerable Sāriputta consented by silence.

STED ariyo vā tuṇhī-bhāvo

SN 21.1 (V&V could not be visual nimitta here, clearly thinking and evaluation)

♦ āyasmā mahāmoggallāno etadavoca —	Ven. Mahā Moggallāna said,
“idha mayhaṃ, āvuso, rahogatassa paṭisallīnassa	"Friends, once as I was withdrawn in seclusion,
evaṃ cetaso parivitakko udapādi —	this train of thought arose to my awareness,
‘ariyo tuṇhībhāvo, ariyo tuṇhībhāvoti vuccati.	'"Noble silence, noble silence," it is said.
katamo nu kho ariyo tuṇhībhāvo’ti?	But what is noble silence?'
tassa mayhaṃ āvuso, etadahosi —	Then the thought occurred to me,

(STED second jhāna = noble silence)

‘idha bhikkhu vitakkavicārānaṃ vūpasamā	'There is the case where a monk, with the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations,
ajjhattaṃ sampasādanaṃ	[1] enters & remains in the second jhāna:
cetaso ekodibhāvaṃ	rapture & pleasure born of concentration,
avitakkaṃ avicāraṃ	unification of awareness
samādhijaṃ pītisukhaṃ	free from directed thought & evaluation —
dutiyaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati.	internal assurance.
ayaṃ vuccati ariyo tuṇhībhāvo’ti.	This is called noble silence.'

incontrovertible proof V&V = thinking and evaluation

In VRJ (vism. redefinition of jhana) first jhāna,
you can't feel the pain of mosquito bites,
you can't hear mosquitoes buzzing,
you can't open your mouth to say, "I wish that mosquito could go away."
You can't think, "I wish that mosquito would go away."
So why didn't the Buddha call first jhāna noble silence then? Why is the entry bar at 2nd jhāna?
This is more incontrovertible proof that V&V (vitakka & vicara) must mean thinking and evaluation/pondering/consideration, not "initial mind thought of a bright visual nimitta and sustained mind glued to the nimitta"
In first EBT jhāna, it's possible for the thought to arise, "I wish that mosquito could go away." (that thought not connected with dhamma and your samadhi nimitta of 4sp would knock you out of first jhana).
It's also possible to have the thought, "may that mosquito be well and happy." This thought being right intention, right view, connected with dhamma, is perfectly legal and expected to happen in first jhāna V&V.
But you can't open your mouth and say, "go away mosquito." (SN 36.11), since the energetic shift to flap your vocal cords would disturb the consolidated internal energy pervasion that characterizes the piti sukha of first jhāna.
This is why it's not noble silence until second jhāna.
And this is why V&V are vaci-sankhara speech fabrications (MN 44). The thoughts of what you're thinking about saying before you actually say it.
V&V of VRJ is just perceptions and attention to luminosity, nothing to do with noble silence of not speaking and not thinking thoughts that you might speak.
This is also further evidence for walking while in jhāna. If monks are told that they should either only be talking about dhamma or in noble silence, in most of those scenarios, they're not sitting with their eyes closed. They're standing or walking around with eyes open.

Either talk on dhamma, or noble silence

MN 26

“bhagavantameva kho no, bhante, ārabbha dhammī kathā vippakatā, atha bhagavā anuppatto”ti.	“Venerable sir, our discussion on the Dhamma that was interrupted was about the Blessed One himself. Then the Blessed One arrived.”
“sādhu, bhikkhave! etaṃ kho, bhikkhave, tumhākaṃ patirūpaṃ kulaputtānaṃ saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṃ pabbajitānaṃ yaṃ tumhe dhammiyā kathāya sannisīdeyyātha. sannipatitānaṃ vo, bhikkhave, dvayaṃ karaṇīyaṃ — dhammī vā kathā, ariyo vā tuṇhībhāvo”.	“Good, bhikkhus. It is fitting for you clansmen who have gone forth out of faith from the home life into homelessness to sit together to discuss the Dhamma. When you gather together, bhikkhus, you should do either of two things: hold discussion on the Dhamma or maintain noble silence.298

AN 8.2 context seems to jhana type activity

AN 8, 1. paṭhamapaṇṇāsakaṃ, 1. mettāvaggo, 2. paññāsuttaṃ (AN 8.2), para. 7 ⇒	(6) “He has aroused energy for abandoning unwholesome qualities and acquiring wholesome qualities; he is strong, firm in exertion, not casting off the duty of cultivating wholesome qualities. This is the sixth cause and condition that leads to obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life….
“saṅghagato kho pana anānākathiko hoti atiracchānakathiko. sāmaṃ vā dhammaṃ bhāsati paraṃ vā ajjhesati ariyaṃ vā tuṇhībhāvaṃ nātimaññati. ayaṃ, bhikkhave, sattamo hetu sattamo paccayo ādibrahmacariyikāya paññāya appaṭiladdhāya paṭilābhāya, paṭiladdhāya bhiyyobhāvāya vepullāya bhāvanāya pāripūriyā saṃvattati.	18(7) “In the midst of the Saṅgha, he does not engage in rambling and pointless talk. Either he himself speaks on the Dhamma, or he requests someone else to do so, or he adopts noble silence.1622"" This is the seventh cause and condition that leads to obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life….
	19(8) “He dwells contemplating arising and vanishing in the five aggregates subject to clinging: ‘Such is form, such its origin, such its passing away; such is feeling … such is perception … such are volitional activities … such is consciousness, such its origin, such its passing away.’ This is the eighth cause and condition that leads to obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life when it has not been obtained and to its increase, maturation, and fulfillment by development after it has been obtained.

AN 9.4 noble silence closely associated with samatha

AN 9, 1. paṭhamapaṇṇāsakaṃ, 1. sambodhivaggo, 4. nandakasuttaṃ (AN 9.4), para. 4 ⇒
atha kho bhagavā āyasmantaṃ nandakaṃ sārajjamānarūpaṃ viditvā āyasmantaṃ nandakaṃ etadavoca — “sādhu, sādhu, nandaka! etaṃ kho, nandaka, tumhākaṃ patirūpaṃ kulaputtānaṃ saddhāya agārasmā anagāriyaṃ pabbajitānaṃ, yaṃ tumhe dhammiyā kathāya sannisīdeyyātha. sannipatitānaṃ vo, nandaka, dvayaṃ karaṇīyaṃ — dhammī vā kathā ariyo vā tuṇhībhāvo.	Then the Blessed One, having understood the Venerable Nandaka’s embarrassment, said to him: “Good, good, Nandaka! It is proper for clansmen like you who have gone forth out of faith from the household life into homelessness to sit together for the sake of a Dhamma talk. When you assemble, Nandaka, you should do one of two things: either talk on the Dhamma or maintain noble silence.
saddho ca, nandaka, bhikkhu hoti, no ca sīlavā. evaṃ so tenaṅgena aparipūro hoti. tena taṃ aṅgaṃ paripūretabbaṃ — ‘kintāhaṃ saddho ca assaṃ sīlavā cā’ti. yato ca kho, nandaka, bhikkhu saddho ca hoti sīlavā ca, evaṃ so tenaṅgena paripūro hoti.	45(1) “Nandaka, a bhikkhu may be endowed with faith but he is not virtuous; thus he is incomplete with respect to that factor.1836"" He should fulfill that factor, [thinking]: ‘How can I be endowed with faith [360] and also be virtuous?’ But when a bhikkhu is endowed with faith and is also virtuous, then he is complete with respect to that factor.
	46(2) “A bhikkhu may be endowed with faith and virtuous but he does not gain internal serenity of mind;1837"" thus he is incomplete with respect to that factor. He should fulfill that factor, [thinking]: ‘How can I be endowed with faith and virtuous, and also gain internal serenity of mind?’ But when a bhikkhu is endowed with faith and is virtuous, and also gains internal serenity of mind, then he is complete with respect to that factor.

KN Ud 2.2

KN Ud, 2. mucalindavaggo, 2. rājasuttaṃ (KN 3.12), para. 4 ⇒	Just now, lord, after the meal, on returning from our alms round, we were sitting gathered here at the assembly hall when this discussion arose: 'Friends, which of these two kings has greater wealth, greater possessions, the greater treasury, the larger realm, the greater stock of riding animals, the greater army, greater power, greater might: King Seniya Bimbisāra of Magadha or King Pasenadi of Kosala?' This was the discussion that had come to no conclusion when the Blessed One arrived.
“na khvetaṃ, bhikkhave, tumhākaṃ patirūpaṃ kulaputtānaṃ saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṃ pabbajitānaṃ yaṃ tumhe evarūpiṃ kathaṃ katheyyātha. sannipatitānaṃ vo, bhikkhave, dvayaṃ karaṇīyaṃ — dhammī vā kathā ariyo vā tuṇhībhāvo””ti.	"It isn't proper, monks, that sons of good families, on having gone forth out of faith from home to the homeless life, should talk on such a topic. When you have gathered you have two duties: either Dhamma-talk or noble silence."[1]

KN Ud 3.8 same as Ud 2.2

KN Ud, 3. nandavaggo, 8. piṇḍapātikasuttaṃ (KN 3.28), para. 6 ⇒
“na khvetaṃ, bhikkhave, tumhākaṃ patirūpaṃ kulaputtānaṃ saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṃ pabbajitānaṃ yaṃ tumhe evarūpiṃ kathaṃ katheyyātha. sannipatitānaṃ vo, bhikkhave, dvayaṃ karaṇīyaṃ — dhammī vā kathā ariyo vā tuṇhībhāvo””ti.

KN Ud 3.9 same as Ud 2.2

KN Ud, 3. nandavaggo, 9. sippasuttaṃ (KN 3.29), para. 6 ⇒
“na khvetaṃ, bhikkhave, tumhākaṃ patirūpaṃ kulaputtānaṃ saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṃ pabbajitānaṃ yaṃ tumhe evarūpiṃ kathaṃ katheyyātha. sannipatitānaṃ vo, bhikkhave, dvayaṃ karaṇīyaṃ — dhammī vā kathā ariyo vā tuṇhībhāvo””ti.