(derivation uncertain; Sanskrit avrha) is one of the five Pure Abodes (suddha^va^sa, q.v.) in the fine-material sphere. For details, s. under Ana^ga^mi^.
The 2-fold division, kamma and upapatti, is probably found for the first time in Vibh. of the Abh. Canon, but it expresses throughout the genuine teaching of the suttas.
”becoming”, ”process of existence”, consists of 3 planes: sensuous existence (ka^ma-bhava), fine-material existence (rúpa-bhava), immaterial existence (arúpa-bhava). Cf. loka.
The whole process of existence may be divided into two aspects:
(1) Karma-process (kamma-bhava), i.e. the karmically active side of existence, being the cause of rebirth and consisting in wholesome and unwholesome volitional actions. See Karma, paticca-samuppa^da (IX).
(2) Karma-produced rebirth, or regenerating process (uppattibhava), i.e. the karmically passive side of existence consisting in the arising and developing of the karma-produced and therefore morally neutral mental and bodily phenomena of existence. Cf. Tab. - (App.).
(lit: influxes), ”cankers”, taints, corruption”s, intoxicant biases. There is a list of four (as in D. 16, Pts.M., Vibh.): the canker of sense-desire (ka^ma^sava), of (desiring eternal) existence (bhava^sava), of (wrong) views (dittha^sava), and of ignorance (avijja^sava). A list of three, omitting the canker of views, is possibly older and is more frequent in the Suttas, e.g. in M. 2, M. 9, D. 33; A. III, 59, 67; A. VI, 63. - In Vibh. (Khuddakavatthu Vibh.) both the 3-fold and 4-fold division are mentioned. The fourfold division also occurs under the name of ”floods” (ogha) and ”yokes” (yoga).
Through the path of Stream-Entry, the canker of views is destroyed; through the path of Non-Returning, the canker of sense-desire; through the path of Arahatship, the cankers of existence and ignorance. M. 2 shows how to overcome the cankers, namely, through insight, sense-control, avoidance, wise use of the necessities of life, etc. For a commentarial exposition, see Atthasa^lini Tr. I, p. 63f: II, pp. 475ff.
Khi^na^sava, ”one whose cankers are destroyed”, or ”one who is canker-free”, is a name for the Arahat or Holy One. The state of Arahatship is frequently called a^savakkhaya, ”the destruction of the cankers”. Suttas concluding with the attainment of Arahatship by the listeners, often end with the words: "During this utterance, the hearts of the Bhikkhus were freed from the cankers through clinging no more" (anupa^da^ya a^savehi citta^ni vimuccimsú”ti).
is the name of one of the most frightful hells (niraya, q.v.).
4 ways of showing sangaha-vatthu. (q.v.).
(fr. javati, to impel): ”impulsion”, is the phase of full cognition in the cognitive series, or perceptual process (citta-vi^thi; s. vin~n~a^na-kicca) occurring at its climax, if the respective object is large or distinct. It is at this phase that karma is produced, i.e. wholesome or unwholesome volition concerning the perception that was the object of the previous stages of the respective process of consciousness. There are normally 7 impulsive moments. In mundane consciousness (lokiya, q.v.), any of the 17 karmically wholesome classes of consciousness (Tab. I, 1-17) or of the 12 unwholesome ones (Tab. I, 22-23) may arise at the phase of impulsion. For the Arahat, however, impulsion has no longer a karmic, i.e. rebirth-producing character, but is a karmically independent function (kiriya, q.v.; Tab. I, 72-89). There are further 8 supermundane classes of impulsion (Tab. I, 18-21, 66-69).
The 4 impulsive moments immediately before entering an absorption (jha^na, q.v.) or one of the supermundane paths (magga; s. ariyapuggala) are: the preparatory (parikamma), approach (upaca^ra), adaptation (anuloma), and maturity-moment (gotrabhú, q.v.) In connection with entering the earth-kasina absorption (s. kasina), they are explained as follows, in Vis.M. IV: "After the breaking off of the subconscious stream of being (bhavanga-sota, q.v.), there arises the ”advertence at the mind-door” (manodva^ra^vajjana, s. vin~n~a^nakicca), taking as object the earthkasina (whilst thinking), ”Earth! Earth!” Thereupon, 4 or 5 impulsive moments flash forth, amongst which the last one (maturity-moment) belongs to the fine-material sphere (rúpa^vacara), whereas the rest belong to the sense-sphere (ka^ma^vacara; s. avacara), though the last one is more powerful in thought conception, discursive thinking, interest (rapture), joy and concentration (cf. jha^na) than the states of consciousness belonging to the sense-sphere. They are called ”preparatory” (parikamma-sama^dhi), as they are preparing for the attainment-concentration (appana^-sama^dhi);”approaching” (upaca^ra-sama^dhi), as they are close to the attainment-concentration and are moving in its neighbourhood;”adaptive” (anuloma), as they adapt themselves to the preceding preparatory states and to the succeeding attainment concentration. The last one of the four is called ”matured” (gotrabhú). In a similar way, the impulsive moments before reaching the divine ear are described in Vis.M. XIII, 1. - Cf. Karma - (App.).
The only reference in the Sutta Pitaka is Pts.M. II, 73: kusalakammassa javana-khane, "in the impulsion-moment of a wholesome karma." In the Abhidhamma Pitaka it is briefly mentioned in the Pattha^na, but without explanation, as if already known. The teaching of the flashing forth of 4 javana immediately before entering the jha^na or lokuttara-magga, i.e. parikamma, upaca^ra, anuloma, gotrabhú is, as such, without doubt a later development in the commentarial literature.
”sphere”, realm. The 3 spheres of existence are: the sensuous sphere (ka^ma^vacara), the fine-material sphere (rúpa^vacara), the immaterial sphere (arúpa^vacara)."Which things are of the sensuous sphere (ka^ma^vacara)? Whatever things exist within the interval bounded beneath by the Avi^ci-hell and above by the Paranimmitavasavatti-heaven (s. deva), having therein their sphere, and being therein included, to wit: the groups of existence, the elements, bases (s. khandha, dha^tu, a^yatana), corporeality, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness, all these things are of the sensuous sphere. - But which things are of the fine material sphere (rúpa^vacara)? Whatever things exist within the interval bounded beneath by the Brahma-world and above by the Akanittha-world (s. deva), having therein their sphere, and being therein included ... and also consciousness and mental factors in one who has entered the (fine-material) absorptions, or who has been reborn in that sphere, or who already during his life-time is living in happiness (of the absorptions), all these things are of the fine-material sphere. - Which things are of the immaterial sphere (arúpa^vacara)? Consciousness and mental factors arising within the interval bounded beneath by the beings reborn in the sphere of unbounded space and above by the beings reborn in the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception (s. jha^na 5-8), and consciousness and mental factors in one who has entered the (immaterial absorptions), or who has been reborn in that sphere, or who already during his lifetime is living in happiness (of the immaterial absorptions), all these things are of the immaterial sphere." (Cf. Dhs. 1280, 1282, 1284; Vibh. XVIII). (App.).
ka^ma^vacara is already met with in the oldest sutta texts (e.g. D. 1). Rúpa^vacara and arúpa^vacara, however, occur probably for the first time in Pts.M. (I. 83ff.), while in the Abhidhamma Canon and the Com. all the 3 terms are frequently mentioned and explained.
”ignorance,” nescience, unknowing; synonymous with delusion (moha, s. múla), is the primary root of all evil and suffering in the world, veiling man”s mental eyes and preventing him from seeing the true nature of things. It is the delusion tricking beings by making life appear to them as permanent, happy, substantial and beautiful and preventing them from seeing that everything in reality is impermanent, liable to suffering, void of ”I” and ”mine”, and basically impure (s. vipalla^sa). Ignorance is defined as ”not knowing the four truths, namely, suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the way to its cessation” (S. XII, 4).
As ignorance is the foundation of all life-affirming actions, of all evil and suffering, therefore it stands first in the formula of Dependent Origination (paticca-samuppa^da, q.v.). But for that reason, says Vis.M. (XVII, 36f) ignorance should not be regarded as "the causeless root-cause of the world ... It is not causeless. For a cause of it is stated thus ”With the arising of cankers (a^sava, q.v.) there is the arising of ignorance” (M. 9). But there is a figurative way in which it can be treated as a root-cause; namely, when it is made to serve as a starting point in an exposition of the Round of Existence ... As it is said: ”No first beginning of ignorance can be perceived, Bhikkhus, before which ignorance was not, and after which it came to be. But it can be perceived that ignorance has its specific condition (idappaccaya)" (A. X, 61). The same statement is made (A. X, 62) about the craving for existence (bhava-tanha^; s. tanha^). The latter and ignorance are called "the outstanding causes of kamma that lead to unhappy and happy destinies" (Vis.M. XVII, 38).
As ignorance still exists - though in a very refined way until the attainment of Arahatship or Holiness, it is counted as the last of the 10 fetters (samyojana, q.v.) which bind beings to the cycle of rebirths. As the first two roots of evil, greed and hate (s. múla), are on their part rooted in ignorance, consequently all unwholesome states of mind are inseparably bound up with it. Ignorance (or delusion) is the most obstinate of the three roots of evil.
Ignorance is one of the cankers (a^sava, q.v.) and proclivities (anusaya, q.v.). It is often called a hindrance (ni^varana; e.g. in S.XV, 3; A.X, 61) but does not appear together with the usual list of five hindrances.
tanha^ (q.v.), ra^ga (q.v.); further s. múla.
buddha (or satthu)- sa^sana: s. sa^sana.
Sravaka == 声闻
the first or initial stage in Hinayana, the second being that of Praetyka-Buddha. Sravaka, a Sanskrit word, means a hearer. It generally relates to Hinayana disciple who understands the Four Noble Truth in entering Nirvana.
ditthi = uccheda-ditthi; s. ditthi.
(from existence), contemplation of: s. vipassana^ (VI . 5)
sota and bhavanga citta: The first term may tentatively be rendered as the ”undercurrent forming the condition of being, or existence”, and the second as ”subconsciousness”, though, as will be evident from the following, it differs in several respects from the usage of that term in Western psychology. Bhavanga (bhava-anga), which, in the canonical works, is mentioned twice or thrice in the Pattha^na, is explained in the Abhidhamma commentaries as the foundation or condition (ka^rana) of existence (bhava), as the sine qua non of life, having the nature of a process, lit. a flux or stream (sota). Herein, since time immemorial, all impressions and experiences are, as it were, stored up, or better said, are functioning, but concealed as such to- full consciousness, from where however they occasionally emerge as subconscious phenomena and approach the threshold of full consciousness, or crossing it become fully conscious. This so-called ”subconscious life-stream” or undercurrent of life is that by which might be explained the faculty of memory, paranormal psychic phenomena, mental and physical growth, karma and rebirth. etc. An alternative rendering is ”life-continuum”.
It should be noted that bhavanga-citta is a karma-resultant state of consciousness (vipa^ka, q.v.), and that, in birth as a human or in higher forms of existence, it is always the result of good, or wholesome karma (kusala-kamma-vipa^ka), though in varying degrees of strength (s. patisandhi, end of the article). The same holds true for rebirth consciousness (patisandhi) and death consciousness (cuti), which are only particular manifestations of subconsciousness. In Vis.M. XIV it is said:
"As soon as rebirth-consciousness (in the embryo at the time of conception) has ceased, there arises a similar subconsciousness with exactly the same object, following immediately upon rebirth-consciousness and being the result of this or that karma (volitional action done in a former birth and remembered there at the moment before death). And again a further similar state of subconsciousness arises. Now, as long as no other consciousness arises to interrupt the continuity of the life-stream, so long the life-stream, like the flow of a river, rises in the same way again and again, even during dreamless sleep and at other times. In this way one has to understand the continuous arising of those states of consciousness in the life-stream." Cf. vin~n~a^na-kicca. For more details, s. Fund. 11. (App.).
(equivalents: ahimsa^, avihesa^): ”harmlessness”, nonviolence, absence of cruelty. The ”thought of harmlessness” (or: ”non-cruelty”; avihimsa^-vitakka) is one of the three constituents of right thought (samma^-sankappa), i.e. the 2nd factor of the Eightfold Path (s. magga). In the several lists of ”elements” (dha^tu) appears also an ”element of harmlessness” (avihesa^-dha^tu), in the sense of an elementary quality of noble thought. See Dhp. 225, 261, 270, 300.