..续本文上一页her concealments; and aloka — brilliance, radiance streaming out in all directions — enable us to see the true nature of sensations and mental acts, in accordance with our powers of intuitive discernment.

　　Cognitive skill refers to clear, uncanny knowledge that arises from the mind”s being firmly fixed in jhana. There are eight sorts —

　　(1) Vipassana-ñana: clear comprehension of physical sensations and mental acts (rupa, nama).

　　(2) Manomayiddhi: psychic powers, influencing events through the power of thought.

　　(3) Iddhividhi: the ability to display powers, making one”s body appear in a variety of ways.

　　(4) Dibba-cakkhu: clairvoyance.

　　(5) Dibba-sota: clairaudience.

　　(6) Cetopariya-ñana: the ability to know the mental states of other people.

　　(7) Pubbenivasanussati-ñana: the ability to remember previous lives.

　　(8) Asavakkhaya-ñana: the ability to put an end to the effluents that defile the heart.

　　Thus, jhana on the level of fixed penetration is extremely important. It can give us support on all sides — on the level of the world and of the Dhamma — and can bring success in our various activities, both in our worldly affairs and in our Dhamma duties, leading us on to the transcendent.

　　To summarize, there are two kinds of concentration:

　　1. That which gives rise to mundane knowledge: This is termed mundane concentration.

　　2. That which helps us to fulfill our duties on the level of the Dhamma, leading to vipassana-ñana or asavakkhaya-ñana, the knowledge that enables us — in accordance with the discernment and insight that arise — to abandon or cut off completely the mental tendencies that lean in the direction of the Fetters: This is termed transcendent concentration.

　　Discernment

　　Discernment is of three kinds —

　　1. Sutamaya-pañña: discernment that comes from studying.

　　2. Cintamaya-pañña: discernment that comes from reflecting.

　　3. Bhavanamaya-pañña: discernment that comes from developing the mind.

　　Discussion

　　l. Sutamaya-pañña refers to the discernment that comes from having listened a great deal, like the Venerable Ananda. Listening here, though, includes studying and taking interest in a variety of ways: paying attention, taking notes, asking questions, and taking part in discussions so as to become quick-witted and astute.

　　Education of all kinds comes down to two sorts: (a) learning the basic units, such as the letters of the alphabet, their sound and pronunciation, so as to understand their accepted usage; and (b) learning how to put them together — for instance, how to combine the letters so as to give rise to words and meanings — as when we complete our elementary education so that we won”t be at a loss when we”re called on to read and write in the course of making a living.

　　In the area of the religion, we have to study the letters of the Pali alphabet, their combinations, their meanings, and their pronunciation. If we don”t understand clearly, we should take an interest in asking questions. If we have trouble memorizing, we should take an interest in jotting down notes as a way of aiding our memory and expanding our concepts. In addition, we have to study by means of our senses. For example, when we see a visual object, we should find out its truth. When we hear sounds or words, we should find out their truth. When we smell an aroma, we should consider it to see what it comes from. We should take an interest in flavors so that we know what they come from, and in tactile sensations — the heat and cold that touch the body — by studying such things as the way weather behaves.

　　All of these forms of education are ways of giving rise to astuteness — both in the area of the world and in the area of the Dhamma — because they c…

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