- Āsevana-paccaya: The Relation of Habitual Recurrence
- Āsevana-paccaya: The Relation of Habitual Recurrence
The forty-seven kinds of mundane apperception (javana) comprising the twelve classes of immoral consciousness, the seventeen mundane classes of moral consciousness, and the eighteen classes of inoperative consciousness (obtained by excluding the two classes of consciousness, called ’turning towards,’ āvajjana, from the twenty, are here termed the causal relation of habitual recurrence.
When any one of these arrives at the apperceptional process (i.e., the sequence of seven similar states of consciousness in a process of thought), every preceding apperception causally relates itself by way of habitual recurrence to every succeeding apperception.
The related things, paccayuppanna-dhamma, comprise the succeeding apperceptions as stated above, as well as the four paths.
In what sense is the term āsevana to be understood?
It is to be understood in the sense of habituating by constant repetition or of causing its paccayuppanna-dhamma to accept its inspiration, for them to gain greater and greater proficiency, energy and force.
Here “proficiency” (paguṇabhāva) means the proficiency of the succeeding apperceptional thoughts in their apperceptive functions and stages, just as one who reads a lesson many times becomes more proficient with each new reading.
Parivāso literally means perfuming, or inspiring. Just as a silk cloth is perfumed with sweet scents, so also is the body of thought, so to speak, perfumed, or inspired, with lust, hate, and so forth; or with non-lust (arajjana), amity (adussana), and so on.
Although the preceding apperception ceases, its apperceptional force does not cease, that is, its force pervades the succeeding thought.
Therefore, every succeeding apperception, on coming into existence, becomes more vigorous on account of the habituation of the former.
Thus the immediately preceding thought habituates
or causes its immediate successor to accept its habituation.
However, the process of habitual recurrence usually ceases at the seventh thought, after which either resultant thought-moments of retention follow, or subsidence into the life-continuum takes place.
Here, habitual recurrence, as dealt with in the Suttanta too, ought to be mentioned.
Many passages are to be found in several parts of the Sutta Piṭaka. Such are: satipaṭṭhānaṃ bhāveti: one cultivates the earnest applications in mindfulness; sammāppadhānaṃ bhāveti: one cultivates the supreme effort; sati-sambojjhaṅgaṃ bhāveti: one cultivates mindfulness, a factor of enlightenment; dhammavicaya-sambojjhaṅgaṃ bhāveti: one cultivates the “investigation of truth,” a factor of enlightenment; sammādiṭṭhiṃ bhāveti: one cultivates the right view; Sammāsaṅkappaṃ bhāveti: one cultivates right aspiration and so on.
In these passages, by bhāveti is meant to repeat the effort either for one day, or for seven days, or for one month, or for seven months, or for one year, or for seven years.
Moral and immoral actions, which have been repeatedly performed, cultivated or done many times in former existences causally relate by way of habitual recurrence to moral and immoral actions of the present existence for their greater improvement and worsening respectively.
The relation which effects the improvement and the worsening, respectively, of such moral and immoral actions at some other distant time or in some future existence is called sufficing condition,
but the one which effects this only during the apperceptional process is called habitual recurrence.
In this world, many incidental results or consequences are clearly seen to follow upon great achievements in art, science, literature and so forth, carried out continuously, repeatedly and incessantly in thought, word and deed.
As such a relation of habitual recurrence is found among all transient phenomena, strong zeal and effort, exerted for a long period of time, have developed to such a high degree that many great and difficult labours have reached complete accomplishment and even Buddhahood has been attained.
End of Āsevana-relation.