Synchrony of Relations in the Groups of Material Qualities
There are twenty-eight kinds of material qualities.
A. Four essential material qualities:
- the element of solidity (paṭhavī)
- the element of cohesion (āpo)
- the element of kinetic energy (tejo)
- the element of motion (vāyo)
B. Five sensitive material qualities:
- the eye (cakkhu)
- the ear (sota)
- the nose (ghāna)
- the tongue (jivhā)
- the body (kāya)
C. Five material qualities of sense-fields:
- visible form (rūpa)
- sound (sadda)
- odour (gandha)
- taste (rasa)
- the tangible (phoṭṭhabba)
Footnote: In computing the number of material qualities, the tangible is generally omitted, since the physical objects of body-sensitivity are identical with the aforementioned elements of solidity, kinetic energy and motion. When these three elements are considered, seven qualities of sense fields are counted. (Editor)
D. Two material qualities of sex:
- female sex (itthibhāva)
- male sex (puṃbhāva)
E. One material quality of life (jīvita)
F. One material quality of heart-base (hadaya-vatthu)
G. One material quality of nutrition (āhāra)
H. One material quality of space (ākāsadhātu)
I. Two material qualities of communication:
- intimation by the body (kāyaviññatti)
- intimation by speech (vacīviññatti)
J. Three material qualities of plasticity:
- l. lightness (lahutā)
- pliancy (mudutā)
- adaptability (kammaññatā)
K. Four material qualities of salient features:
- integration (upacaya)
- continuance (santati)
- decay (jaratā)
- impermanence (aniccatā)
Of these, six kinds of material qualities—the four essentials, the material quality of life, and the material quality of nutrition—causally relate themselves to the material qualities.
Here also the four essentials are mutually related among themselves by way of five relations: sahajāta, aññamañña, nissaya, atthi, and avigata;
and they are related to the coexistent material qualities derived from the latter by way of four relations, i.e. excluding aññamañña in the above five.
The material quality of life causally relates itself to the co-existent material qualities produced by kamma by way of indriya.
The material quality of nutrition causally relates itself to both the co-existent and the non-co-existent material qualities which are corporeal by way of āhāra.
Again, thirteen kinds of material qualities causally relate themselves to the mental states by some particular relations. These material qualities are: the five kinds of sensitive material qualities, the seven kinds of sense-fields, and the heart-base.
Of these, just as a mother is related to her son, so also the five kinds of sensitive material qualities are causally related to the five sense-cognitions by way of vatthu-purejāta, by way of vatthu-purejātindriya, and by way of vatthu purejāta-vippayutta.
And just as a father is related to his son, so also the seven sense-fields are causally related to the five sense-cognitions and the three elements of apprehension by way of ārammaṇa-purejāta.
In the same way, just as a tree is related to the deva who inhabits it, so also the heart-base causally relates itself to the two elements of apprehension and comprehension by way of sahajāta-nissaya at the time of rebirth, and by way of vatthu-purejāta and of vatthu-purejātavippayutta during life.
There are twenty-three groups of material qualities.
They are called groups (kalāpa) because they are tied up with the material quality of production (jāti-rūpa) into groups, just as hair or hay is tied up with a string.
Footnote:Ledi Sayādaw here makes the number of groups twenty-three instead of twenty-one, as in the Compendium of Philosophy (Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha), tr. by S. Z. Aung (PTS), p. 164. He also makes the groups of material qualities produced by thought number eight instead of six, as in the Compendium; thus they are here increased by two. (Cf. Paramatthadīpanī, page 273.) (Translator)
Of these, the eight kinds of material qualities, such as the four essentials—colour, odour, taste, and nutritive essence—make up the primary octad of all material qualities.
There are nine groups produced by kamma: the vital-nonad, the heart-decad, the body-decad, the female-decad, the male-decad, the eye-decad, the ear-decad, the nose-decad, and the tongue-decad.
Of these, the primary octad together with the material quality of life is called the vital-nonad.
This vital nonad together with each of the eight material qualities, i.e. heart-base and so forth, makes up analogously the other eight decads, i.e. base-decad, and so forth.
Here the four groups—vital-nonad, body-decad, and two-fold sex-decad—locate themselves in a person, pervading the whole body.
Here vital-nonad is the name of the maturative fire (pācakaggi) and of the bodily fire (kāyaggi).
The maturative fire is that which locates itself in the stomach and matures or digests the food that has been eaten, drunk, chewed and licked.
The bodily fire is that which locates itself by pervading the whole body, and it refines the impure bile, phlegm and blood.
Through the inharmonious action of these two elements, people become unhealthy, and by their harmonious action they become healthy.
It is this dual fire (or that vital-nonad) that gives life
and good complexion to people.
The body-decad makes available pleasurable and painful contact.
The two-fold sex-decad makes available all the feminine characteristics to females
and all the masculine characteristics to males.
The remaining five decads are termed partial decads.
Of these, the heart-decad, locating itself in the cavity of the heart, makes available many various kinds of moral and immoral thoughts.
The four decads, i.e. eye-decad and so forth, locating themselves respectively in the eye-ball, in the interior of the ear, in the interior of the nose, and on the surface of the tongue, make available sight, hearing, smell, and taste.
There are eight groups produced by mind. The first four are the primary octad, the soundnonad, the nonad of body communication, the sound-decad of speech-communication. Taking these four together with lightness, pliancy and adaptability, they make up another four: the undecad of plasticity, the sound-dodecad of plasticity, the dodecad of body-communication together with plasticity, and the sound-tredecad of speech communication together with plasticity. The first four are termed primary groups, and the last four are termed plastic groups.
Of these, when the elements of the body are not working harmoniously, only the four primary groups occur to a sick person.
His material qualities then become heavy, coarse and inadaptable, and consequently it becomes difficult for him to maintain the bodily postures as he would wish, to move the members of the body, and even to make a vocal reply.
But when the elements of the body are working harmoniously—there being no defects of the body, such as heaviness and so on, in a healthy person—the four plastic groups come into existence.
Among these four, two groups of body communication occur by means of mind or by moving any part of the body.
The other two groups of speech communication occur also on account of mind, when wishing to speak; but when non-verbal sound is produced through laughing or crying, only the two ordinary sound-groups occur. At other times the first two groups, the primary octad and the sound-nonad, occur according to circumstances.
There are four groups produced by physical change: the two primary groups (the primary octad and the sound-nonad) and the two plastic groups (i.e. the undecad of plasticity and the sound-dodecad of plasticity).
Now this body of ours maintains itself right on throughout the whole life, through a long course of bodily postures. Hence, at every moment, there occur in this body the harmonious and inharmonious workings of the elements, through changes in the postures,
through changes in its temperature, through changes of food, air, and heat, through changes of the disposition of the members of the body, and through changes of one’s own exertion and of others.
Here also, when working harmoniously, two plastic groups occur; and when working inharmoniously, the other two primary groups occur.
Of the four groups, two sound groups arise, when there occur various kinds of sound other than that produced by mind.
There are two groups produced by food: the primary octad and the undecad of plasticity.
These two groups should be understood as the harmonious and inharmonious occurrences of material qualities produced respectively by suitable and unsuitable food.
The five material qualities, namely, the element of space and the four salient features of matter, lie outside the grouping.
Of these, the element of space lies outside the grouping because it is the boundary of the groups.
As to the material qualities of the salient features, they are left aside from grouping because they are merely the marks or signs of conditioned things through which we clearly know them to be really conditioned things.
These twenty-three groups are available in an individual.
The groups available in external things are only two, which are no other than the two primary groups produced by physical change.
There are two locations of material qualities, the internal and the external.
Of these two, the internal location means a sentient being
and the external location means the earth, hills, rivers, oceans, trees, and so forth.
Therefore we have said that, in an individual twenty-three groups, or all the twenty-eight kinds of material qualities, are available.
Now the rebirth-conception and its mental concomitants are causally related to the groups produced by kamma at the moment of conception by way of six different relations, the four superior sahajāta, vipāka, and vippayutta.
But to the heart-base alone, they are causally related by seven relations: the above together with the relation of aññamañña.
Among the mental states at the moment of rebirth, the roots are causally related by way of the hetu relation; the volition by way of āhāra; the controls by way of indriya; the jhāna constituents by way of jhāna; and the pathconstituents, by way of magga, to the kamma-produced groups.
The past moral and immoral volitions are causally related by way of kamma alone. The first posterior life-continuum, the second, the third, and so on, are causally related to the prior material qualities produced by kamma, by way of pacchājāta.
By “pacchājāta” are meant all the species of pacchājāta.
The past volitions are causally related by way of kamma alone.
Thus the mental states are causally related to the material qualities produced by kamma by fourteen different relations.
Here, ten relations are not obtained: ārammaṇa, adhipati, anantara, samanantara, upanissaya, purejāta, āsevana, sampayutta, natthi and vigata.
During the term of life, mental states capable of producing material qualities are causally related to the co-existent material qualities produced by them, by five different relations: the four superior sahajāta and vippayutta.
Among these mental states: hetu are causally related by way of hetu, the dominances by way of adhipati, the volition by way of kamma, the resultants by way of vipāka, the foods by way of āhāra, the controls by way of indriya, the jhāna factors by way of jhāna, the path-constituents by way of magga, to the mind-produced material qualities.
All the posterior mental states are causally related to the prior material qualities produced by mind by way of pacchājāta.
Thus the mental states are causally related to the material groups produced by mind by fourteen different relations.
Here also ten relations are not obtainable; ārammaṇa, anantara, samanantara, aññamañña, upanissaya, purejāta, āsevana, sampayutta, natthi and vigata.
During a lifetime, starting from the static phase of conception, all mental states are causally related both to the material groups produced by food and to those produced by physical change solely by way of pacchājāta.
Here again, by “pacchājāta” are meant all the four species of pacchājāta. The remaining twenty relations are not obtainable.
Among the twenty-three groups of material qualities, the four essentials are mutually related among themselves by way of five different relations: four superior sahajāta and one aññamañña; but to the co-existent derivative material qualities they are related by way of the four superior sahajāta only.
The material quality of nutritive essence is causally related by way of āhāra, both to the co-existent and the non-coexistent material qualities which are corporeal.
The material quality of physical life in the nine groups produced by kamma is causally related only to the co-existent material qualities by way of indriya.
Thus the corporeal material qualities are causally related to the corporeal material qualities by seven different relations.
As for the external material qualities, they are mutually related to the two external groups produced by physical change, by way of five different relations.
End of the Synchrony of Relations in the Groups of Material Qualities.
Note 7: There is a title here —"The meaning of Paṭṭhāna".The meaning of the term paṭṭhāna also will now be explained:
padhānaṃ ṭhānaṃ ti paṭṭhānaṃ.“Paṭṭhāna is the pre-eminent or principal cause.”
In this definition padhāna means “pre-eminent” and ṭhāna means “condition” or “cause.” Hence the whole expression means the preeminent cause, the actual cause or the ineluctable cause.
This is said having reference to its ineluctable effect or result.
Footnote: Elsewhere I have rendered the word paccayuppanna as “related thing.”
There are two kinds of effect, the direct and the indirect.
By “the direct” is meant the primary or actual effect, and by “the indirect” is meant the consequent or incidental effect.
Of these two kinds, only the direct effect is here referred to as ineluctable,
and for this reason: that it never fails to arise when its proper cause is established or brought into play.
And the indirect effect is to be understood as eluctable since it may or may not arise even though its cause is fully established.
Thus the ineluctable cause is so named with reference to the ineluctable effect.
Hence the ineluctable or principal cause alone is meant to be expounded in this “Great Treatise (Mahāpakaraṇa).”
For this reason the name paṭṭhāna is assigned to the entire collection of the twenty-four relations, and also to the “Great Treatise.”
And now, to make the matter clearer and simpler: Say that greed springs into being within a man who desires to get money and grain.
Under the influence of greed, he goes to a forest where he clears a piece of land and establishes fields, yards and gardens, and starts to work very hard.
Eventually he obtains plenty of money and grain by reason of his strenuous labours. So he takes his gains, looks after his family, and performs many virtuous deeds, from which also he will reap rewards in his future existences.
In this illustration, all the mental and material states co-existing with greed are called direct effects.
Apart from these, all the outcomes, results and rewards, which are to be enjoyed later on in his future existences, are called indirect effects.
Of these two kinds of effects, only the former is dealt with in the Paṭṭhāna.
However, the latter kind finds its place in the Suttanta discourses:
if this exists, then that happens; or, because of the occurrence of this, that also takes place. Such an exposition is called “expounding by way of Suttanta”.
In fact, the three states (greed, hate and ignorance) are called the hetu or conditions, because they are the roots whence spring the defilements of the whole animate world, of the whole inanimate world, and of the world of space.
The three other opposite states (dispassionateness, amity, and intelligence) are also called hetu or conditions, since they are the roots whence springs purification.
In the same manner the remainder of the relations are to be understood in their various senses.
Thus must we understand that all things that happen, occur, take place, or produce changes, are solely the direct and indirect effects, results, outcomes, or products of these twenty-four relations or causes.
Thus ends the Paṭṭhānuddesa Dīpanī, “The Concise Exposition of the Buddhist Philosophy of Relations,”
written by The Most Venerable Ledi Araññavihāravāsi Mahāthera of Monywa, Burma.