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AN 3.101 gold washer, bookmarked comments to show correspondence of gold purification with which jhāna

 This article is part of 🔗AN 3.101 notes


(translation derived from B. Sujato‍, SP-FLUENT style additions by frankk‍)


101. Paṃsudhovakasutta
101. A Panner
“Santi, bhikkhave, jātarūpassa oḷārikā upakkilesā paṃsuvālukā sakkharakaṭhalā.
“Gold has coarse corruptions: sand, soil, and gravel.
Tamenaṃ paṃsudhovako vā paṃsudhovakantevāsī vā doṇiyaṃ ākiritvā dhovati sandhovati niddhovati.
A panner or their apprentice pours it into a pan, where they wash, rinse, and clean it.
Tasmiṃ pahīne tasmiṃ byantīkate santi jātarūpassa majjhimasahagatā upakkilesā sukhumasakkharā thūlavālukā.
When that’s been eliminated, there are medium corruptions in the gold: fine grit and coarse sand.
Tamenaṃ paṃsudhovako vā paṃsudhovakantevāsī vā dhovati sandhovati niddhovati.
The panner washes it again.
Tasmiṃ pahīne tasmiṃ byantīkate santi jātarūpassa sukhumasahagatā upakkilesā sukhumavālukā kāḷajallikā.
When that’s been eliminated, there are fine corruptions in the gold: fine sand and black grime.
Tamenaṃ paṃsudhovako vā paṃsudhovakantevāsī vā dhovati sandhovati niddhovati.
The panner washes it again.
Tasmiṃ pahīne tasmiṃ byantīkate athāparaṃ suvaṇṇasikatāvasissanti.
When that’s been eliminated, only gold dust is left.
Tamenaṃ suvaṇṇakāro vā suvaṇṇakārantevāsī vā jātarūpaṃ mūsāyaṃ pakkhipitvā dhamati sandhamati niddhamati.
A goldsmith or their apprentice places the gold in a crucible where they blow, melt, and smelt it.
Taṃ hoti jātarūpaṃ dhantaṃ sandhantaṃ niddhantaṃ aniddhantakasāvaṃ, na ceva mudu hoti na ca kammaniyaṃ, na ca pabhassaraṃ pabhaṅgu ca, na ca sammā upeti kammāya.
Still the gold is not settled and the dross is not totally gone. It’s not pliable, workable, or radiant, but is brittle and not completely ready for working.
Hoti so, bhikkhave, samayo yaṃ suvaṇṇakāro vā suvaṇṇakārantevāsī vā taṃ jātarūpaṃ dhamati sandhamati niddhamati.
But the goldsmith keeps on blowing, melting, and smelting it.
Taṃ hoti jātarūpaṃ dhantaṃ sandhantaṃ niddhantaṃ niddhantakasāvaṃ, mudu ca hoti kammaniyañca pabhassarañca, na ca pabhaṅgu, sammā upeti kammāya.
The gold becomes pliable, workable, and radiant, not brittle, and ready to be worked.
Yassā yassā ca pilandhanavikatiyā ākaṅkhati—yadi paṭṭikāya, yadi kuṇḍalāya, yadi gīveyyake, yadi suvaṇṇamālāya—tañcassa atthaṃ anubhoti.
Then the goldsmith can successfully create any kind of ornament they want, whether a bracelet, earrings, a necklace, or a golden garland.
Evamevaṃ kho, bhikkhave, santi adhicittamanuyuttassa bhikkhuno oḷārikā upakkilesā kāyaduccaritaṃ vacīduccaritaṃ manoduccaritaṃ, tamenaṃ sacetaso bhikkhu dabbajātiko pajahati vinodeti byantīkaroti anabhāvaṃ gameti.
In the same way, a monk who is committed to the higher mind has coarse corruptions: bad bodily, verbal, and mental conduct. A sincere, capable monk gives these up, gets rid of, eliminates, and obliterates them.
Tasmiṃ pahīne tasmiṃ byantīkate santi adhicittamanuyuttassa bhikkhuno majjhimasahagatā upakkilesā kāmavitakko byāpādavitakko vihiṃsāvitakko, tamenaṃ sacetaso bhikkhu dabbajātiko pajahati vinodeti byantīkaroti anabhāvaṃ gameti.
When they’ve been given up and eliminated, there are middling corruptions: sensual, malicious, or cruel thoughts. A sincere, capable monk gives these up, gets rid of, eliminates, and obliterates them.
Tasmiṃ pahīne tasmiṃ byantīkate santi adhicittamanuyuttassa bhikkhuno sukhumasahagatā upakkilesā ñātivitakko janapadavitakko anavaññattipaṭisaṃyutto vitakko, tamenaṃ sacetaso bhikkhu dabbajātiko pajahati vinodeti byantīkaroti anabhāvaṃ gameti.
When they’ve been given up and eliminated, there are fine corruptions: thoughts of family, country, and being looked up to. A sincere, capable monk gives these up, gets rid of, eliminates, and obliterates them.
Tasmiṃ pahīne tasmiṃ byantīkate athāparaṃ dhamma-vitakk-āvasissanti.
When they’ve been given up and eliminated, only thoughts about the ☸Dharma are left.
So hoti samādhi na ceva santo na ca paṇīto nap-paṭip-passaddha-laddho na ekodi-bhāv-ādhigato sa-saṅkhāra-niggayhavāritagato.
That undistractible-lucidity is not peaceful, not sublime, not [sufficiently] pacified, not [sufficiently] singular in focus, but is held in place by forceful suppression [of first jhāna’s vitakka thoughts focusing on the Dharma].
[Internal settling, singular focus, are the explicit terms that first appear in second jhāna’s formula, and are absent from the first jhāna.]
Hoti so, bhikkhave, samayo yaṃ taṃ cittaṃ ajjhattaṃyeva santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.
But there comes a time when that mind is stilled internally; it settles, becomes singular in focus, and becomes undistractible and lucid in samādhi.
So hoti samādhi santo paṇīto paṭippassaddhiladdho ekodibhāvādhigato na sasaṅkhāraniggayhavāritagato.
That undistractible-lucidity is peaceful and sublime and pacified and singular in focus, not held in place by forceful suppression [of first jhāna’s thoughts related to Dharma].
Yassa yassa ca abhiññā sacchikaraṇīyassa dhammassa cittaṃ abhininnāmeti abhiññā sacchikiriyāya tatra tatreva sakkhibhabbataṃ pāpuṇāti sati satiāyatane.
They become capable of realizing anything that can be realized by insight to which they extend the mind, in each and every case.
(...)







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