                                PART II
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                             SELECTED TEXTS
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  Texts 1_3:     Translated by Edward Conze
  Text 4:        Translated by Nyanaponika Mahathera
  Text 5:        Translated by Bhikkhu Nanamoli 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
                         1. THE FIVE FACULTIES
                         ~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
  
  
                       (a) From the Milindapanha
  
  The king said: "Is it through wise attention that people become exempt 
  from further rebirth?"--"Yes, that is due to wise attention, and also 
  to wisdom, and the other wholesome //dharmas//."--"But is not wise 
  attention the same as wisdom?"--"No, Your Majesty. Attention is one 
  thing, and wisdom another. Sheep and goats, oxen and buffaloes, camels 
  and asses have attention, but wisdom they have not."--"Well put, 
  Venerable Nagasena."
  
      The king said: "What is the mark of attention, and what is the 
  mark of wisdom?"--"Consideration is the mark of attention, cutting off 
  that of wisdom."--"How is that? Give me a simile."--"You know 
  barley-reapers, I suppose?"--"Yes, I do."--"How then do they reap the 
  barley?"--"With the left hand they seize a bunch of barley, in the 
  right hand they hold a sickle, and they cut the barley off with that 
  sickle."--"Just so, Your Majesty, the yogin seizes his mental 
  processes with his attention, and by his wisdom he cuts off the 
  defilements."--"Well put, Venerable Nagasena."
      
      The king said: "When you just spoke of 'the other wholesome 
  dharmas,' which ones did you mean?"--"I meant morality, faith, vigour, 
  mindfulness and concentration."--"And what is the mark of 
  morality?"--"Morality has the mark of providing a basis for all 
  wholesome dharmas, whatever they may be. When based on morality, all 
  the wholesome dharmas will not dwindle away."--"Give me an 
  illustration."--"As all plants and animals which increase, grow, and 
  prosper, do so with the earth as their support, with the earth as 
  their basis, just so the yogin, with morality as his support, with 
  morality as his basis, develops the five cardinal virtues, i.e. the 
  cardinal virtues of faith, vigour, mindfulness, concentration, and 
  wisdom."
      
      "Give me a further illustration."
      
      "As the builder of a city when constructing a town first of all 
  clears the site, removes all stumps and thorns, and levels it; and 
  only after that he lays out and marks off the roads and cross-roads, 
  and so builds the city, even so the yogin develops the five cardinal 
  virtues with morality as his support, with morality as his basis."
      
      
      The king said: "What is the mark of //faith//?"--"Faith makes 
  serene, and it leaps forward."--"And how does faith make 
  serene?"--"When faith arises it arrests the five hindrances, and the 
  heart becomes free from them, clear, serene and undisturbed."--"Give 
  me an illustration."--"A universal monarch might on his way, together 
  with his fourfold army, cross over a small stream. Stirred up by the 
  elephants and horses, by the chariots and infantry, the water would 
  become disturbed, agitated and muddy. Having crossed over, the 
  universal monarch would order his men to bring some water for him to 
  drink. But the king would possess a miraculous water-clearing gem, and 
  his men, in obedience to his command, would throw it into the stream. 
  Then at once all fragments of vegetation would float away, the mud 
  would settle at the bottom, the stream would become clear, serene and 
  undisturbed, and fit to be drunk by the universal monarch. Here the 
  stream corresponds to the heart, the monarch's men to the yogin, the 
  fragments of vegetation and the mud to the defilements, and the 
  miraculous water-clearing gem to faith."
      
      "And how does faith leap forward?"--"When the yogin sees that the 
  hearts of others have been set free, he leaps forward, by way of 
  aspiration, to the various fruits of the holy life, and he makes 
  efforts to attain the yet unattained, to find the yet unfound, to 
  realize the yet unrealized."--"Give me an illustration."--"Suppose 
  that a great cloud were to burst over a hill-slope. The water then 
  would flow down the slope, would first fill all the hill's clefts, 
  fissures, and gullies, and would then run into the river below, making 
  its banks overflow on both sides. Now suppose further that a great 
  crowd of people had come along, and unable to size up either the width 
  or the depth of the river, should stand frightened and hesitating on 
  the bank. But then some man would come along, who, conscious of his 
  own strength and power, would firmly tie on his own loin-cloth and 
  jump across the river. And the great crowd of people, seeing him on 
  the other side, would cross likewise. Even so the yogin, when he has 
  seen that the hearts of others have been set free, leaps forward, by 
  aspiration, to the various fruits of the holy life, and he makes 
  efforts to attain the yet unattained, to find the yet unfound, to 
  realize the yet unrealized. And this is what the Lord has said in the 
  Samyutta Nikaya:
      
            By faith the flood is crossed,
            By wakefulness the sea;
            By vigour ill is passed;
            By wisdom cleansed is he."
            
      "Well put, Nagasena!"
            
            
      The king asked: "And what is the mark of //vigour//?"--"Vigour 
  props up, and, when propped up by vigour, all the wholesome dharmas do 
  not dwindle away."--"Give me a simile."--"If a man's house were 
  falling down, he would prop it up with a new piece of wood, and, so 
  supported, that house would not collapse."
      
      
      The king asked: "And what is the mark of 
  //mindfulness//?"--"Calling to mind and taking up."
      
      "How is calling to mind a mark of mindfulness?"--"When mindfulness 
  arises, one calls to mind the //dharmas// which participate in what is 
  wholesome and unwholesome, blamable and blameless, inferior and 
  sublime, dark and light, i.e. these are the four applications of 
  mindfulness, these the four right efforts, these the four roads to 
  psychic power, these the five cardinal virtues, these the five powers, 
  these the seven limbs of enlightenment, this is the holy eightfold 
  path; this is calm, this insight, this knowledge and this 
  emancipation. Thereafter the yogin tends those //dharmas// which 
  should be tended, and he does not tend those which should not be 
  tended; he partakes of those //dharmas// which should be followed, and 
  he does not partake of those which should not be followed. It is in 
  this sense that calling to mind is a mark of mindfulness."--"Give me a 
  simile."--"It is like the treasurer of a universal monarch, who each 
  morning and evening reminds his royal master of his magnificent 
  assets: 'So many elephants you have, so many horses, so many chariots, 
  so much infantry, so many gold coins, so much bullion, so much 
  property; may Your Majesty bear this in mind.' In this way he calls to 
  mind his master's wealth."
      
      "And how does mindfulness take up?"--"When mindfulness arises, the 
  outcome of beneficial and harmful //dharmas// is examined in this way: 
  'These //dharmas// are beneficial, these harmful; these //dharmas// 
  are helpful, these unhelpful.' Thereafter the yogin removes the 
  harmful //dharmas//, and takes up the beneficial ones; he removes the 
  unhelpful //dharmas//, and takes up the helpful ones. It is in this 
  sense that mindfulness takes up."--"Give me a comparison."--"It is 
  like the invaluable adviser of a universal monarch who knows what is 
  beneficial and what is harmful to his royal master, what is helpful 
  and what is unhelpful. Thereafter what is harmful and unhelpful can be 
  removed, what is beneficial and helpful can be taken up."
      
      The king asked: "And what is the mark of //concentration//?"--"It 
  stands at the head. Whatever wholesome //dharmas// there may be, they 
  all are headed by concentration, they bend towards concentration, lead 
  to concentration, incline to concentration."--"Give me a 
  comparison."--"It is as with a building with a pointed roof: whatever 
  rafters there are, they all converge on the top, bend towards the top, 
  meet at the top, and the top occupies the most prominent place. So 
  with concentration in relation to the other wholesome 
  //dharmas//."--"Give me a further comparison."--"If a king were to 
  enter battle with his fourfold army, then all his troops--the 
  elephants, cavalry, chariots and infantry--would be headed by him, and 
  would be ranged around him. Such is the position of concentration in 
  relation to the other wholesome //dharmas//."
      
      The king then asked: "What then is the mark of 
  //wisdom//?"--"Cutting off is, as I said before, one mark of wisdom. 
  In addition it illuminates."--"And how does wisdom illuminate?"--"When 
  wisdom arises, it dispels the darkness of ignorance, generates the 
  illumination of knowledge, sheds the light of cognition, and makes the 
  holy truths stand out clearly. Thereafter the yogin, with his correct 
  wisdom, can see impermanence, ill, and not-self."--"Give me a 
  comparison."--"It is like a lamp which a man would take into a dark 
  house. It would dispel the darkness, would illuminate, shed light, and 
  make the forms in the house stands out clearly."--"Well put, Venerable 
  Nagasena."
  
  //Milindapanha//, pp. 51-62
  
  
  
  
  
                     (b) From the Akshayamati Sutra
  
      The five faculties are faith, vigour, mindfulness, concentration, 
  and wisdom. Here what is //faith//? By this faith one has faith in 
  four //dharmas//. Which four? He accepts the right view which assumes 
  renewed becoming in the world of birth-and-death; he puts his trust in 
  the ripening of karma, and knows that he will experience the fruit of 
  any karma, that he may have done; even to save his life he does not do 
  any evil deed. He has faith in the mode of life of a Bodhisattva, and, 
  having taken up this discipline, he does not long for any other 
  vehicle. He believes when he hears all the doctrines which are 
  characterized by the true, clear, and profound knowledge of 
  conditioned co-production, by such terms as lack of self, absence of a 
  being, absence of a soul, absence of a person; and by emptiness, the 
  signless and the wishless. He follows none of the false doctrines, and 
  believes in all the qualities (//dharmas//) of a Buddha, his powers, 
  grounds of self-confidence, and all the rest; and when in his faith he 
  has left behind all doubts, he brings about in himself those qualities 
  of a Buddha. This is known as the virtue of faith. His //vigour// 
  consists of his bringing about (in himself) the //dharmas// in which 
  he has faith. His //mindfulness// consists in his preventing the 
  qualities which he brings about by vigour from being destroyed by 
  forgetfulness. His //concentration// consists in his fixing his 
  one-pointed attention on these very same qualities. With the faculty 
  of //wisdom// he contemplates those //dharmas// on which he has fixed 
  his one-pointed attention, and penetrates to their reality. The 
  cognition of those //dharmas// which arises in himself and which has 
  no outside condition is called the virtue of wisdom. Thus these five 
  virtues, together, are sufficient to bring forth all the qualities of 
  a Buddha.
  
  //Akshayamati Sutra// (quoted in //Shikshasamuccaya//).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
                     2. THE RESTRAINT OF THE SENSES
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               (a) From Ashvaghosha's Saundaranandakavya
  
      By taking your stand on mindfulness you must hold back from the 
  sense-objects your senses, unsteady by nature. Fire, snakes, and 
  lightning are less inimical to us than our own senses, so much more 
  dangerous. For they assail us all the time. Even the most vicious 
  enemies can attack only some people at some times, and not at others, 
  but everybody is always and everywhere weighed down by his senses. And 
  people do not go to hell because some enemy has knocked them down and 
  cast them into it; it is because they have been knocked down by their 
  unsteady senses that they are helplessly dragged there. Those attacked 
  by external enemies may, or may not, suffer injury to their souls; but 
  those who are weighed down by the senses suffer in body and soul 
  alike. For the five senses are rather like arrows which have been 
  smeared with the poison of fancies, have cares for their feathers, and 
  happiness for their points, and fly about in the space provided by the 
  range of the sense-objects; shot off by //Kama//, the God of Love, 
  they hit men in their very hearts as a hunter hits a deer, and if men 
  do not know how to ward off these arrows, they will be their undoing; 
  when they come near us we should stand firm in self-control, be agile 
  and steadfast, and ward them off with the great armour of mindfulness. 
  As a man who has subdued his enemies can everywhere live and sleep at 
  ease and free from care, so can he who has pacified his senses. For 
  the senses constantly ask for more by way of worldly objects, and 
  normally behave like voracious dogs who can never have enough. This 
  disorderly mob of the senses can never reach satiety, not by any 
  amount of sense-objects; they are rather like the sea, which one can 
  go on indefinitely replenishing with water.
      
      In this world the senses cannot be prevented from being active, 
  each in its own sphere. But they should not be allowed to grasp either 
  the general features of an object, or its particularities. When you 
  have beheld a sight-object with your eyes, you must merely determine 
  the basic element (which it represents, e.g. it is a sight-object), 
  and should not under any circumstances fancy it as, say, a "woman" or 
  a "man." But if now and then you have inadvertently grasped something 
  as a "woman" or a "man," you should not follow that up by determining 
  the hairs, teeth, etc., as lovely. Nothing should be subtracted from 
  the datum, nothing added to it; it should be seen as it really is, as 
  what it is like in real truth.
      
      If you thus try to look continually for the true reality in that 
  which the senses present to you, covetousness and aversion will soon 
  be left without a foothold. Coveting ruins those living beings who are 
  bent on sensuous enjoyment by means of pleasing forms, like an enemy 
  with a friendly face who speaks loving words, but plans dark deeds. 
  But what is called "aversion" is a kind of anger directed towards 
  certain objects, and anyone who is deluded enough to pursue it is 
  bound to suffer for it either in this or a future life. Afflicted by 
  their likes and dislikes, as by excessive heat or cold, men will never 
  find either happiness or the highest good as long as they put their 
  trust in the unsteady senses.
      
  //Saundaranandakavya//, xiii, 30-56
  
  
  
                      (b) From the Prajnaparamita
  
      The Lord: When he practises the perfection of meditation for the 
  sake of other beings his mind becomes undistracted. For he reflects 
  that "even worldly meditation is hard to accomplish with distracted 
  thoughts, how much more so is full enlightenment. Therefore, I must 
  remain undistracted until I have won full enlightenment." ... 
  Moreover, Subhuti, a Bodhisattva, beginning with the first thought of 
  enlightenment, practises the perfection of meditation. His mental 
  activities are associated with the knowledge of all modes when he 
  enters into meditation. When he has seen forms with his eye, he does 
  not seize upon them as signs of realities which concern him, nor is he 
  interested in the accessory details. He sets himself to restrain that 
  which, if he does not restrain his organ of sight, might give him 
  occasion for covetousness, sadness or other evil and unwholesome 
  //dharmas// to reach his heart. He watches over the organ of sight. 
  And the same with the other five sense-organs--ear, nose, tongue, body 
  and mind.
  Whether he walks or stands, sits or lies down, talks or remains 
  silent, his concentration does not leave him. He does not fidget with 
  his hands or feet, or twitch his face; he is not incoherent in his 
  speech, confused in his senses, exalted or uplifted, fickle or idle, 
  agitated in body or mind. Calm is his body, calm is his voice, calm is 
  his mind. His demeanour shows contentment, both in private and 
  public.... He is frugal, easy to feed, easy to serve, of good life and 
  habits; though in a crowd he dwells apart; even and unchanged, in gain 
  and loss; not elated, not cast down. Thus in happiness and suffering, 
  in praise and blame, in fame and disrepute, in life or death, he is 
  the same unchanged, neither elated nor cast down. And so with foe or 
  friend, with what is pleasant or unpleasant, with holy or unholy men, 
  with noises or music, with forms that are dear or undear, he remains 
  the same, unchanged, neither elated nor cast down, neither gratified 
  nor thwarted. And why? Because he sees all //dharmas// as empty of 
  marks of their own, without true reality, incomplete and uncreated.
  
  //Prajnaparamita//, ch. 68.
  
  
  
                       (c) From the Visuddhimagga
  
      This is the morality which consists in the restraint of the 
  senses: "//Here someone: (1) having seen a form with his eye, does not 
  seize on its general appearance, or the (accessory) details of it. 
  That which might, so long as he dwells unrestrained as to the 
  (controlling) force of the eye, give occasion for covetous, sad, evil 
  and unwholesome //dharmas// to flood him, that he sets himself to 
  restrain; he guards the controlling force of the eye, and brings about 
  its restraint. And likewise (2) when he has heard sounds with the ear, 
  (3) smelled smells with the nose, (4) tasted tastes with the tongue, 
  (5) touched touchables with the body, (6) cognized mind-objects 
  (//dharmas//) with the mind.//" (M.i,180).
      
      //Having seen a form with his eye//: when he has seen a form with 
  the visual consciousness which is capable of seeing forms, and which 
  in normal language is usually called the "eye," though it actually is 
  its tool. For the Ancients have said: "The eye cannot see forms 
  because it is without thought; thought cannot see forms because it is 
  without eye. When the object knocks against the door (of sight) one 
  sees with the thought which has eye-sensibility for its basis." In the 
  expression "one sees with the eye," only accessory equipment is 
  indicated, just as one may say, "one shoots with a bow" (and not "with 
  an arrow"). Therefore, the meaning here is: "having seen form with 
  visual consciousness."
      
      //He does not seize on its general appearance// (lit. "the sign"): 
  he does not seize on its appearance as man or woman, or its appearance 
  as attractive, etc., which makes it into a basis for the defiling 
  passions. But he stops at what is actually seen. //He does not seize 
  on the details of it//: he does not seize on the variety of its 
  accessory features, like the hands or feet, the smile, the laughter, 
  the talk, the looking here, the looking away, etc., which are in 
  common parlance called "details" (//anubyanjana//) because they 
  manifest the defiling passions, by again and again (//anu anu//) 
  tainting with them (//byanjanato//). But he seizes only on that which 
  is really there, i.e. the impurity of the 32 parts of the body) like 
  Mahatissa, the Elder, who lived on Mount Cetiya. Once that Elder went 
  from Mount Cetiya to Anuradhapura, to gather alms. In a certain family 
  the daughter-in-law had quarrelled with her husband, and adorned and 
  beautified like a heavenly maiden, she left Anuradhapura early in the 
  morning, and went away to stay with some relatives. On the way she saw 
  the Elder, and, as her mind was perverted, she gave a loud laugh. The 
  Elder looked to see what was the matter; he acquired, at the sight of 
  her teeth (-bones), the notion of repulsiveness (impurity), and 
  thereby reached Arahatship.... The husband who ran after her on same 
  road, saw the Elder, and asked him whether he had by any chance seen a 
  woman. The Elder replied:
      
            "Whether what went along here
            Was a man or a woman, I do not know.
            But a collection of bones is moving
            Now along this main road."
  
      //That which might//, etc.: that which might be the reason, or 
  that non-restraint of the faculty of the eye which might be the cause, 
  why in this person, when he //dwells// without having restrained the 
  faculty of the eye with the gate of mindfulness, i.e. when he has left 
  the door of the eye open, such //dharmas// as covetousness, etc., 
  //flood// him, i.e. pursue and submerge him. //That he sets himself to 
  restrain//: he sets himself to close this faculty of the eye with the 
  gate of mindfulness. And one who sets himself to do that, of him it is 
  said that he //guards the controlling force of the eye//, and //brings 
  about its restraint//.
      
      But it is not with reference to the faculty of the eye itself that 
  there is restraint or non-restraint (i.e. it does not apply to the 
  initial stage of the impact of stimulus on the eye), and it is not 
  concerning the eye considered as a sensitive organ that mindfulness 
  arises, or the lack of it. But it is at (the stage of the apperception 
  of the object, with such and such a meaning and significance, and the 
  volitional reaction to it, which is technically known as) the 
  "impulsive moment," that there is lack of restraint, if and when 
  immorality arises then, or lack of mindfulness, or lack of cognition, 
  lack of patience or laziness. Nevertheless one speaks of the 
  non-restraint of the sense of sight. And why? Because when the mind is 
  in that condition, also the door (of the eye) is unguarded. The 
  situation can be compared with that of a city: when its four gates are 
  unguarded, then, although in the interior of the city the doors of the 
  houses, the storerooms and private rooms are well guarded, 
  nevertheless all the property in the city is actually unguarded and 
  unprotected, and robbers can, once they have entered through the city 
  gates, do whatever they like. In the same sense also the door (of the 
  eye) is unguarded when, in consequence of the arising of immorality, 
  etc., there is lack of restraint at the "impulsive moment."
      
      But when morality, etc., arise at that moment, then the door (of 
  sight) also is guarded. Just again as with the city: When the 
  city-gates are well guarded, then, although in the interior the doors 
  of the houses, etc., are unguarded, nevertheless all the property in 
  the city is actually well guarded and well protected; for the 
  city-gates being closed, robbers cannot enter. Just so also the door 
  (of the eye) is guarded when morality, etc., arise at the "impulsive 
  moment."
      The same explanation applies to: when he has heard sounds with the 
  ear, etc. The restraint of the senses thus consists, in short, in the 
  avoiding of the seizing of the general appearance, etc., of 
  sight-objects, etc., which lead to one's being pursued by the defiling 
  passions.
      
      And it should be achieved through mindfulness. For it is effected 
  by mindfulness, in so far as the sense-organs when they are governed 
  by mindfulness, can no longer be influenced by convetousness, etc. 
  Therefore, we should remember the "Fire Sermon" (S.iv,168) which says: 
  "It were better, monks, if the eye were stroked with a heated iron 
  bar, afire, ablaze, aflame, than that one should seize on either the 
  general appearance or the details of the forms of which the eye is 
  aware." The disciple should achieve a thorough restraint of the 
  senses, in that, by unimpaired mindfulness, he prevents that seizing 
  on the general appearance, etc., which makes the consciousness which 
  proceeds through the door of the eye, etc., with forms, etc., for its 
  range (province), liable to be flooded (influenced) by covetousness, 
  etc.
      
      And one should become like Cittagutta, the Elder, who lived in the 
  great Kurandaka Cave. In that cave there was a delightful painting 
  which showed the seven Buddhas leaving for the homeless life. One day 
  numerous monks were wandering about in the cave, going from lodging to 
  lodging. They noticed the painting and said: "What a delightful 
  painting, Venerable Bhikkhu!" The Elder replied: "For more than sixty 
  years, brethren, I have lived in this cave, and I have never known 
  whether there is a painting here or whether there is not. Today only I 
  have learned it from you people, who use your eyes." For all that time 
  during which the Elder had lived there, he had never lifted up his 
  eyes and looked more closely at the cave. At the entrance to the cave 
  there was a large ironwood tree. To that also the Elder had never 
  looked up; but he knew that it was in flower when each year he saw the 
  filaments which had fallen down on the ground.
  
      All the sons of good family who have their own welfare at heart 
  should, therefore, remember:
      
            "Let not the eye wander like forest ape,
            Or trembling wood deer, or affrighted child.
            The eyes should be cast downwards; they should 
            look
            The distance of a yoke; he shall not serve
            His thought's dominion, like a restless ape."
  
  Visuddhimagga, I, 42, 53-59, 100, 104-5, 109
  
  
  
  
  
  
                       3. THE CONTROL OF THE MIND
                       ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~
  
                From the Majjhima Nikaya and Commentary
  
      The Sutta on the Composition of Ideas:[27]
  
      //If, whilst attending to a certain sign, there arise, with 
  reference to it, in the disciple evil and unwholesome ideas, connected 
  with greed, hate or delusion, then the disciple:
      
      I.    should, by means of this sign (= cause, occasion) attend to 
           another sign which is more wholesome;
      
      II.   or he should investigate the peril of these ideas: 
           "Unwholesome truly are these ideas! Blameworthy are these 
           ideas! Of painful result are these ideas!";
      
      III.  or he should pay no attention to these ideas;
      
      IV.   or he should attend to the composition of the factors which 
           effect these ideas;
      
      V.    or, with teeth clenched and tongue pressed against the gums, 
           he should by means of sheer mental effort hold back, crush 
           and burn out the (offending) thought.
      
      In doing so, these evil and unwholesome ideas, bound up with 
  greed, hate or delusion, will be forsaken and disappear; from their 
  forsaking thought will become inwardly settled and calm, composed and 
  concentrated. This is called the effort to overcome.//
      
  
      The Commentary says:
      
      I. Unwholesome ideas may arise with reference to beings--be they 
  desirable, undesirable, or unconsidered--or to things, such as one's 
  possessions, or things which annoy, like stumps or thorns. The 
  wholesome counter-ideas which drive them out arise from the following 
  practices, which are directly opposed to them:
      
      Greed about beings: Meditation about the repulsiveness of the 
  body.
      
      Greed about things: Attention to their impermanence.
      
      Hate for beings: The development of friendliness.
      
      Hate for things: Attention to the elements: which of the physical 
  elements composing the thing am I angry with?
      
      Delusion about beings and things:
      
      (1)   When he has, in his general bewilderment, neglected his 
           duties to a teacher, he wakes himself up by doing some 
           tiresome work, such as carrying water.
      
      (2)   When he has been hazy in attending to the teacher's 
           explanation of the doctrine, he wakes himself up by doing 
           some tiresome work.
      
      (3)   He removes his doubts by questioning authorities.
      
      (4)   At the right time he listens respectfully to the Dharma.
      
      (5)   He acquires the skill in distinguishing between correct and 
           faulty conclusions, and knows that "this is the reason for 
           that, this is not the reason."
      
      
      These are the direct and correct antidotes to the faulty ideas.
      
      
      II. He investigates them with the power of wisdom, and rejects 
  them like a snake's carcass.
      
      III. He should not remember those ideas, not attend to them, but 
  become one who is otherwise engaged. He should be like someone who, 
  not wanting to see a certain sight-object, just closes his eyes; when 
  these ideas arise in his mind, he should take hold of his basic 
  subject of meditation, and become engaged in that. It may help him to 
  break the spell of intruding thoughts and to occupy his mind 
  otherwise, if he recites with great faith a passage from the 
  Scriptures, or reads out a passage in praise of the Buddha or Dharma; 
  or he may sort out his belongings, and enumerate them one by one: 
  "these are the scissors," "this is the needle," etc.; or he should do 
  some sewing; or he should do some good work for a given period of 
  time. And after that he should return to his basic subject of 
  meditation.
      
      IV. He should analyse the conditions for these ideas and ask 
  himself: "What is their cause, what their condition, what the reason 
  for their having arisen?"
      
      V. He should put forth great vigour, and with a wholesome thought 
  he should hold back an unwholesome one.
      
  //Majjhima Nikaya, No. 20, and Papancasudani (Summary)//
  
  
  
  
  
  
                4. THE BUDDHA'S SAYINGS ON THE FACULTIES
                ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
                                          
                           (Indriya Samyutta)
                           ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
                                          
                                          
                        From the Samyutta Nikaya
                                          
                                          
                                          
                           (a) At their Best
                                          
      There are these five faculties, monks: the faculty of faith, the 
  faculty of vigour, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of 
  concentration and the faculty of wisdom.
      
      Where can the faculty of faith be seen (at its best)? In the four 
  characteristic qualities of a stream-winner.[28]
      
      Where can the faculty of vigour be seen (at its best)? In the four 
  right efforts.[29]
      
      Where can the faculty of mindfulness be seen (at its best)? In the 
  four foundations of mindfulness.[30]
      
      Where can the faculty of concentration be seen (at its best)? In 
  the four meditative absorptions.[31]
      
      Where can the faculty of wisdom be seen (at its best)? In the Four 
  Noble Truths.[32]
  
  //Sutta 8// (PTS, iv,196)
  
  
  
                     (b) The Measure of Achievement
  
      By accomplishment and perfection in the five faculties one is an 
  Arahant. If the faculties are weaker, one is a non-returner; if they 
  are still weaker, one is a once-returner, or a stream-winner, or a 
  Dhamma-devotee (//dhammanusarin//), or a faith-devotee 
  (//saddhanusarin//).
      
      Thus, monks, through the difference of faculties, there is 
  difference of result; and the difference of results makes for the 
  difference of individuals.
  //Sutta 13//
  
  
      Thus, monks, he who practises the five faculties to their 
  perfection, wins to perfection (of Arahantship). He who practises them 
  partially, wins a partial result. Not barren (of results), I say, are 
  the five faculties. 
  //Sutta 14//
  
  
      But he who is entirely, in any degree and respect, without these 
  five faculties, stands outside, in the class of ordinary men 
  (puthujjana).
  //Sutta 18//(iv,200-202)
  
  
  
                        (c) Rooted in Experience
  
      Thus I have heard. On one occasion when the Exalted One lived in 
  the Eastern Cottage at Savatthi, he addressed the Venerable Sariputta 
  as follows:
      
      "Do you believe, Sariputta, that the faculty of faith, if 
  cultivated and regularly practised, leads to the Deathless, is bound 
  for the Deathless, ends in the Deathless; that the faculty of vigour 
  ... the faculty of mindfulness ... the faculty of concentration ... 
  the faculty of wisdom, if cultivated and regularly practised, leads to 
  the Deathless, is bound for the Deathless, ends in the Deathless?"
      
      "Herein, O Lord, I do not follow the Exalted One out of faith. 
  Those by whom this is unknown, unseen, uncognized, unrealized and 
  unexperienced by wisdom, they will herein follow others out of faith. 
  But those by whom this is known, seen, cognized, realized and 
  experienced by wisdom, they have no uncertainty, no doubt about it 
  that these five faculties, if cultivated and regularly practised, lead 
  to the Deathless, are bound for the Deathless, end in the Deathless. 
  By me, O Lord, it has been known, seen, cognized, realized and 
  experienced by wisdom and I have no uncertainty, no doubt about it 
  that the faculty of faith ... the faculty of vigour ... the faculty of 
  mindfulness ... the faculty of concentration ... the faculty of 
  wisdom, if cultivated and regularly practised, leads to the Deathless, 
  is bound for the Deathless, ends in the Deathless."
      
      "Well said, Sariputta, well said," spoke the Lord (and he repeated 
  in approval the words of the Venerable Sariputta).
      
  //Sutta 44// (iv,220)
  
  
  
                   (d) Wisdom, the Crowning Virtue--1
  
      It is through cultivating and regularly practising one faculty 
  that a canker-free bhikkhu makes known his knowledge (of final 
  attainment):[33] "Ceased has rebirth, fulfilled is the holy life, the 
  task is done, nothing further remains after this." Which is the one 
  faculty? The faculty of wisdom.
  
      In a noble disciple endowed with wisdom, faith that goes along 
  with it, is firmly established; vigour that goes along with it, is 
  firmly established; mindfulness that goes along with it, is firmly 
  established; concentration that goes along with it, is firmly 
  established.
  This, monks, is the one faculty through the cultivating and regularly 
  practising of which, a canker-free bhikkhu makes known his knowledge 
  (of final attainment): "Ceased has rebirth, fulfilled is the holy 
  life, the task is done, nothing further remains after this."
  
  //Sutta 45// (iv,222)
  
  
  
                  (e) Wisdom, the Crowning Virtue--II
                                          
      Just as among all heartwood fragrances that of the red sandalwood 
  is deemed best, so, monks, among states that partake of enlightenment 
  the faculty of wisdom is deemed best, namely, for the purpose of 
  enlightenment.
      
      Which, monks, are the states partaking of enlightenment? The 
  faculty of faith is a state partaking of enlightenment and it leads to 
  enlightenment. The faculty of vigour ... the faculty of mindfulness 
  ... the faculty of concentration ...the faculty of wisdom is a state 
  partaking of enlightenment and it leads to enlightenment.
      
      And among them, the faculty of wisdom is deemed best, namely, for 
  the purpose of enlightenment.
  //Sutta 55// (iv,231)
  
  
  
                         (f) The Acme of Faith
                                          
      Thus I have heard. On one occasion, the Exalted One dwelt among 
  the Anga people, at Apana, a town of the Angas. There the Exalted One 
  addressed the Venerable Sariputta as follows:
      
      "A noble disciple, Sariputta, who has single-minded confidence in 
  the Perfect One, can he have uncertainty or doubt concerning the 
  Perfect One's dispensation?"
      
      "A noble disciple, Lord, who has single-minded confidence in the 
  Perfect One, cannot have uncertainty or doubt concerning the Perfect 
  One's dispensation.
      
      "Of a noble disciple endowed with faith it can be expected, Lord, 
  that he will live employing his vigour to the overcoming of unsalutary 
  states and the acquisition of salutary states, energetic, with 
  strenuous exertion, unremittingly applying himself to things salutary. 
  This vigour of his, O Lord, is his faculty of vigour.
      
      "Of a noble disciple who is endowed with faith and employs his 
  vigour, it can be expected, Lord, that he will be mindful, equipped 
  with the highest mindfulness and circumspection, and that he remembers 
  well and keeps in mind what has been done and said long ago. This 
  mindfulness of his, Lord, is his faculty of mindfulness.
      
      "Of a noble disciple who is endowed with faith, employing his 
  vigour, keeping his mindfulness alert, it can be expected, Lord, that 
  making the highest relinquishment (Nibbana) his object, he will obtain 
  concentration, will obtain unification of mind. This concentration of 
  his, Lord, is his faculty of concentration.
      
      "Of a noble disciple endowed with faith, vigour and mindfulness, 
  and whose mind is concentrated, it can be expected, Lord, that he will 
  know this: 'Without a conceivable beginning and end is this round of 
  existence; no first beginning can be perceived of beings hastening and 
  hurrying on (through this round of rebirths), enveloped in ignorance 
  and ensnared by craving. The entire fading away and cessation of this 
  very ignorance which is a mass of darkness, this is the state of 
  peace, this is the state sublime, namely, the quiescence of all 
  formations, the relinquishment of all subtrata of existence, the 
  extinction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nibbana.' This wisdom of 
  his, Lord, is the faculty of wisdom.
      
      "The noble disciple who has faith, after thus striving again and 
  again, after thus applying mindfulness again and again, after thus 
  concentrating his mind again and again, is now fully convinced: 'These 
  teachings which before I had only heard, I now dwell in their personal 
  experience, and having penetrated them with wisdom, I now see them 
  (myself).' This faith of his, Lord, is his faculty of faith."
      
      "Well said, Sariputta, well said," spoke the Exalted One (and he 
  repeated in approval the words of the Venerable Sariputta).
  
  //Sutta 50// (iv,225ff.)
  
  
  
  
  
                    5. THE BALANCE OF THE FACULTIES
                    ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
  
                         From the Visuddhimagga
  
      [According to the //Visuddhimagga//, the balance of the faculties 
  (//indriya-samatta//) is one of the ten kinds of skill in absorption 
  (//appana-kosalla//), and it is one of the seven things that lead to 
  the arising of the enlightenment factor "investigation of (material 
  and mental) phenomena" (//dhammavicaya-sambojjhanga//).]
      
      
      Imparting balance to the faculties is the equalizing of the 
  controlling faculties of faith, vigour, mindfulness, concentration and 
  wisdom. For if the faith faculty is strong and the others weak, then 
  the vigour faculty cannot perform its function of exerting, the 
  mindfulness faculty its function of attending to the object, the 
  concentration faculty its function of excluding distraction, the 
  wisdom faculty its function of seeing. So the (excessive) strength of 
  the faith faculty should be reduced by reflecting on the phenomenal 
  nature (of faith and its objects), and by not paying attention to what 
  has caused the excessive strength of the faith faculty. Then if the 
  //vigour faculty// is too strong, the faith faculty cannot perform its 
  function of convincing, nor can the rest of the faculties perform 
  their several functions. So in that case the excessive strength of the 
  vigour faculty should be reduced by cultivating (the enlightenment 
  factors of) tranquillity, concentration and equanimity. So, too, with 
  the other factors, for it should be understood that when any one of 
  them is too strong the others cannot perform their several functions.
  
      However, what is particularly recommended is the balancing of 
  faith with wisdom, and concentration with vigour. For one who is 
  strong in faith and weak in wisdom places his confidence foolishly in 
  an unworthy object. One strong in wisdom and weak in faith errs on the 
  side of cunning and is as hard to cure as a sickness caused by 
  medicine. But with the balancing of the two, faith and wisdom, a man 
  has confidence only in a deserving object.
      
      If there is too much of concentration and too little of vigour, 
  the mind will be overpowered by indolence to which concentration 
  inclines. But if vigour is too strong and concentration too weak, the 
  mind will be overpowered by agitation to which vigour inclines. But 
  concentration coupled with vigour cannot lapse into indolence, and 
  vigour coupled with concentration cannot lapse into agitation. So 
  these two should be balanced; for absorption comes with the balancing 
  of the two.
      
      Again (concentration and faith should be balanced). One working on 
  concentration needs strong faith, since it is with such faith and 
  confidence that he reaches absorption.
      
      As to (the balancing of) concentration and wisdom, one working on 
  concentration (i.e. who practises tranquillity; //samatha//) needs 
  strong one-pointedness of mind, since that is how he reaches full 
  absorption; and one working on insight (//vipassana//) needs strong 
  wisdom, since that is how he reaches penetration of (the phenomena's) 
  characteristics; but with the balancing of the two he reaches full 
  absorption as well.
  
  Strong mindfulness, however, is needed in all instances; for 
  mindfulness protects the mind from lapsing into agitation through 
  faith, vigour and wisdom, which tend to agitation, and from lapsing 
  into indolence through concentration, which tends to indolence. So it 
  is as desirable in all instances as a seasoning of salt in all 
  curries, as a prime minister in all the king's business. Hence it is 
  said (in the commentaries): "It was declared by the Exalted One that 
  'mindfulness, indeed, is of universal use.' Why? Because the mind has 
  mindfulness as its refuge, and mindfulness is manifested as 
  protection, and there is no exertion and restraint of the mind without 
  mindfulness."
  
  //Visuddhimagga//, (pp.129-30)
  Adapted from Bhikkhu Nanamoli's translation:
  //The Path of Purification//, pp.135-36
  
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