..续本文上一页lives, you first have to understand how to interchange the physical properties in the body.
8. Asavakkhaya-ñana: knowing the causes for mental defilement; knowing the means for putting an end to mental fermentations.
Set C
1. Attha-patisambhida-ñana: acumen in understanding the meaning of various teachings.
2. Dhamma-patisambhida-ñana: acumen — acquired by means of your own heart — with regard to all fashioned properties and qualities.
3. Nirutti-patisambhida-ñana: the ability to understand by means of the heart the affairs and languages of people and other living beings in the world.
4. Patibhana-patisambhida-ñana: the intuitive ability to respond promptly and aptly in situations where you”re called on to speak; the ability to respond to an opponent without having to think: Simply by focusing the mind heavily down, the right response will appear on its own, just as a flashlight gives off light immediately as we press the switch.
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Taken together, all of these skills arise exclusively from training the heart and are called bhavana-maya-pañña — discernment developed through training the mind. They can”t be taught. You have to know them on your own. Thus, they can be called paccatta-vijja, personal skills. If you”re astute enough, they can all become transcendent. If not, they all become mundane. Thus, the principles of discernment are two:
1. Mundane discernment: studying and memorizing a great deal, thinking and evaluating a great deal, and then understanding on the common level of labels and concepts.
2. Transcendent discernment: knowledge that comes from practicing Right Concentration; intuitive understanding that arises naturally on its own within the heart, beyond the scope of the world; clear insight; release from all views, conceits, defilements, and fermentations of the mind.
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II. Upakara dhamma. There are three sets of qualities that are of help in giving rise to cognitive skill.
Set A
1. Sila-sanvara: taking good care of your virtue — your manners and conduct in thought, word, and deed — following such principles as the ten guidelines (kammapatha).
2. Indriya-sanvara: being constantly mindful of the six "gateways" — the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and ideation — making sure they don”t give rise to anything that would disturb your own peace or that of others.
3. Bhojane mattannuta: having a sense of moderation in the amount of food you eat — not too much, not too little, eating only food that”s compatible with your physical make-up; making sure that it”s light food: Otherwise, you”ll have to eat only half-full or on the small side. As far as food is concerned, if you can get by on only one meal a day, you”ll find it much easier to train the mind.
There are three ways of eating:
a. Stuffing yourself full. This interferes with concentration and is termed "being greedy."
b. Eating just enough to keep the body going. This is termed "being content with what you have."
c. Eating no more than half full. This is termed "being a person of few wants," who has no worries associated with food and whose body weighs lightly. Just as a tree with light heartwood won”t sink when it falls in the water, so the meditation of such a person is not inclined to lead to anything low. The senses of such a person — the nerves of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body — tend toward peacefulness and are well-suited for helping the mind to attain peace.
4. Jagariyanuyoga: awakening the physical properties of the body by developing the factor that fashions the body (kaya-sankhara), i.e., adjusting the in-and-out breath so that it”s thoroughly beneficial to the properties of earth, water, wind, and fire within the body. This is termed developing mindfulne…
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