At the bare minimum he should so conduct himself that he becomes proficient in at least one kasiṇa meditation. It would be improper for him not to do at least this much."
Theravada subcommentary explains further
(B. Yuttadhammo trans.)
Āruppāti iminā catassopi arūpasamāpattiyo gahitā, tā pana catūhi rūpasamāpattīhi vinā na sampajjantīti āha –
In regards to "āruppa": by these ones, all four immaterial attainments are taken, but they do not attain without the four material attainments,
thus it was said, "āruppa was said referring to the extent of the eight attainments".
B. Dhammanando explains ‘ettavata’
frank k wrote: ↑Sun Oct 11, 2020 7:47 am
So what the Theravada commentary is saying, wrongly, is that the four jhanas are a-rūpa (since 4 jhanas are part of the 8 attainments).
Ven. Responds:
No. If the commentator had meant that, he would merely have said:
_Āruppā_ti aṭṭha samāpattiyo.
As it is, you're overlooking the word ettāvatā:
Ettāvatā: by just so much, with this much; to such an extent; so far, to that extent; thus.
(Margaret Cone's dictionary)
and the word api, ("also").
The combination of the two words is often used by the commentators when they want to say that some statement is to be understood as allusive or implicative: "Though the Buddha mentioned only X, we should understand Y and Z to be included too."
a-rūpa and āruppa
With regard to word-formation, arūpa is formed by adding the negative prefix a- to rūpa.
Āruppa is formed by adding the suffix -ṇya to arūp, leading to assimilation (p + -ṇya = pp) and stem-vowel lengthening.
It's analogous to how sāmaññā ("the state of an ascetic") is formed from samaṇa ("ascetic").
With regard to meaning, āruppa is a more specialised term, used to refer to either
(1) meditation subjects that lead to arūpāvacarajjhāna;
(2) the arūpāvacarajjhānas themselves; or
(3) the vipāka that comes from developing arūpāvacarajjhāna, i.e., formless planes of existence.
Arūpa includes all of these too, but a dozen other things besides.
Āruppa (adj.) [fr. arūpa as ā (= a2) -- *rūpya] formless, incorporeal; nt. formless existence D iii.275; M i.410 cp. 472; iii.163; S i.131 (˚ṭṭhāyin); ii.123; A iv.316 It 61; Sn 754; J i.406; Dhs 1385 (cp. trsl. 57); Vism 338; DA i.224; SnA 488, 508; Sdhp 5, 10; the four Vism iii, 326 sq.
The PED seems to have a typo. Āruppa is a noun, not an adjective.
frank k wrote: ↑Sun Oct 11, 2020 7:47 am
The subcommentary for MN 69 says:
[...]
That seems to be correcting the commentary, saying that it's only the four a-arupa attainments that are meant, and not the 4 rupa attainments. Then it mentions there are ten-fold kasinas.
I don't understand what it says about parikkama ...
Can someone confirm I'm translating correctly for subcmy?
Cūḷa Dhammapāla isn't correcting Buddhaghosa. The gist of his first sentence is that Buddhaghosa says what he does because there's no divorcing the attainment of the arūpasamāpattis from that of the rūpasamāpattis. The rest is just saying at length what Buddhaghosa said in brief.
Can someone give a complete translation of this line? It's the commentary to MN 69.
♦ "āruppā" ti ettāvatā aṭṭhapi samāpattiyo vuttā honti. tā pana sabbena sabbaṃ asakkontena sattasupi yogo karaṇīyo, chasupi ... pe ... pañcasupi. sabbantimena paricchedena ekaṃ kasiṇe parikammakammaṭṭhānaṃ paguṇaṃ katvā ādāya vicaritabbaṃ, ettakaṃ vinā na vaṭṭati.
First sentence says 'aruppa' refers to the 8 meditative attainments. Kasinas are mentioned, but I can't make out what the rest of that definition is saying.
The relevant line from MN 69:
Āraññikenāvuso, bhikkhunā ye te santā vimokkhā atikkamma rūpe āruppā tattha yogo karaṇīyo. A wilderness monk should practice meditation to realize the peaceful liberations that are formless, transcending form.
So what the Theravada commentary is saying, wrongly, is that the four jhanas are a-rūpa (since 4 jhanas are part of the 8 attainments).
And can someone explain the difference between the two spellings a-rūpa and āruppa (which mean the same thing)?
Āruppa (adj.) [fr. arūpa as ā (= a2) -- *rūpya] formless, incorporeal; nt. formless existence D iii.275; M i.410 cp. 472; iii.163; S i.131 (˚ṭṭhāyin); ii.123; A iv.316 It 61; Sn 754; J i.406; Dhs 1385 (cp. trsl. 57); Vism 338; DA i.224; SnA 488, 508; Sdhp 5, 10; the four Vism iii, 326 sq.
That seems to be correcting the commentary, saying that it's only the four a-rūpa attainments that are meant, and not the 4 rūpa attainments. Then it mentions there are ten-fold kasinas. I don't understand what it says about parikkama ...
Can someone confirm I'm translating correctly for subcmy?
In regards to "āruppa": by these ones, all four immaterial attainments are taken, but they do not attain without the four material attainments, thus it was said, "āruppa was said referring to the extent of the eight attainments".
Āruppāti iminā catassopi arūpasamāpattiyo gahitā, tā pana catūhi rūpasamāpattīhi vinā na sampajjantīti āha – ‘‘āruppāti ettāvatā aṭṭhapi samāpattiyo vuttā hontī’ ’ti.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to "āruppa": by these ones, all four immaterial attainments are taken, but they do not attain without the four material attainments, thus it was said, "āruppa was said referring to the extent of the eight attainments".
thanks for that translation Ven. Yuttadhammo!
DeleteSorry, iminā means "by this", I guess referring to the passage itself.
Delete