Exploring the Path - Pāli Course

Iti mahāvikārāni¹ bhūtānīti mahābhūtāni:

‘Bhūmito vuṭṭhitā² yāva, brahmalokā vidhāvati;³

Acci accimato⁴ loke, dayhamānamhi⁵ tejasā.

Koṭisatasahassekaṃ, cakkavāḷaṃ vilīyati;⁶

Kupitena⁷ yadā loko, salilena⁸ vinassati.⁹

Koṭisatasahassekaṃ, cakkavāḷaṃ vikīrati;¹⁰

Vāyodhātuppakopena,¹¹ yadā loko vinassati.’¹²

‘Such are the gigantic changes that the great four primary elements may undergo!’

‘When heat burns up this world with flames of fire,

Reaching up even to the Brahma-sphere,

Then the ten-million-hundred-thousand world cycles perish,

When waters furiously whelming up destroy this world,

And angry thundery gales devastate this universe,

Then the ten-million-hundred-thousand world cycles perish.’

The mind-matter phenomenon, generally termed nāmarūpa in Sutta terminology, gets segmented in the Abhidhamma into the mental states of consciousness (citta), mental concomitants (cetasikā) and the field of matter or corporality (rūpa), that along with nibbāna, constitute the whole of the universe.¹³

The phenomena of citta and cetasikā are by their nature conscious and, in accordance with their function, grasp and scrutinize the mental objects. Rūpa is understood as non-conscious and devoid of cognizance. Both phenomena, the conscious components and the unconscious material elements or material qualities, are in automatic and harmonious cooperation that is felt as natural:

A certain (mental) volition or determination stimulates the ‘material elements’ in the physical parts of the body to follow suit. A strong emotion occurs and physical reactions are clearly showing their noticeable signs. When a child is found out telling a lie, their face turns red. When sad news is disclosed, tears drop from one’s eyes. This shows that mental transmission evokes a congenial response in the physical material elements. Likewise the same automatism works the other way round: effects on the body, like heat, cold, agonizing or agreeable touch, are immediately felt by the mind.

But how do the conscious parts of a human being communicate, cooperate and function together with those unconscious parts? This has been an ancient quest for various sciences from philosophy to biology. The seventh book of the Abhidhamma, the Paṭṭhānapāli, provides a detailed explanation of such interrelation, their conditioning, dependence, mutual association and support.¹⁴

The previous chapters focused on the realities of citta and cetasikā, describing their constant change and interrelation, in terms of what can be experienced as impermanence. The reality of rūpa appears permanent and invites the delusion of stability and endurance. Even though it is scientifically verified that all matter consists of molecules, atoms, protons, electrons, quarks and hadrons in constant motion, matter still appears to be of a stable and solid character.

Thus Buddhaghosa, the commentator on the Dhammasaṅgaṇī, tries to remove such a delusion with the provoking verses shown above. He also analyses the term mahābhūtā — translated as the four ‘great essentials’, ‘great basic elements’, ‘great primaries’, ‘great phenomena’ — by dissecting them into mahā + abhūtā (‘great’ + ‘falsehood, deception’). He calls them the ‘great deceivers’ and compares them with magicians that present something as what it is not, deluding their real nature and thus are the ‘great deceivers’:

… attano sabhāvaṃ daṭṭhuṃ na denti.

… they do not allow to see their true nature.

According to the Abhidhamma, matter or corporality or form — the Dhammasaṅgaṇī calls it ‘all what is form’ (sabbaṃ rūpaṃ) — is the third ultimate reality. Like citta and cetasikā, that occur in a constant flow of ever-changing sequential mental phenomena, rūpa is recognized as material phenomena that gets composed, arises, seems to exist momentarily and then deforms, decays and is devoured. Thus the Buddha defined rūpa in the following way:

Kiñca, bhikkhave, rūpaṃ vadetha?

Ruppatīti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā ‘rūpa’nti vuccati. Kena ruppati?¹⁵

Sītenapi ruppati, uṇhenapi ruppati, jighacchāyapi¹⁶ ruppati, pipāsāyapi ruppati, ḍaṃsamakasavātātapasarīsapasamphassenapi¹⁷ ruppati.

Ruppatīti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā ‘rūpa’nti vuccati.¹⁸

Now, Bhikkhus, what do you call ‘matter’?

It is deformed, devoured that is what is called ‘matter’! By what does it get deformed and devoured?

It gets deformed and vexed by cold, by heat, deformed and devoured by hunger, by thirst and it gets deformed and devoured through contact with flies, mosquitos, wind and heat, all kind of creeping animals.

It gets deformed, devoured, Bhikkhus, because it is what is called ‘matter’!”

This third category, the field of matter or corporality, i.e., all material phenomena (rūpaṃ), technically only exists and can be recognised in its respective quality, thus a translation of rūpaṃ as ‘material quality’ seems appropriate. Literally māhabhutāni mean the ‘great things that have become’. They constantly arise, change and pass away in an ongoing flux. Each of these gets known by its own character and quality:

• pathavīdhātu: Earth element is solid, hard, rough and understood by hardness, rigidity, internal or external.
• āpodhātu: Water element is fluid, cohesive, adhesive and understood by cohesiveness, fluidity, internal or external.
• tejodhātu: Fire element is cold, hot, freezing, burning, and belongs to the wide field of temperature, internal or external.
• vāyodhātu: Wind or air element is airy, windy, belonging to air, has movement, fluctuation and inflation, can be internal or external.

All other material phenomena originate from these four great primary elements of earth, water, fire and air, thus the mahābhūtā are also called bhūtārūpa. These are called upādārūpa and, according to the Dhammasaṅgaṇī, consist of a further fourteen:

Tattha katamaṃ sabbaṃ rūpaṃ? Cattāro ca,catunnañca mahābhūtānaṃ upādāya rūpaṃ – idaṃ vuccati sabbaṃ rūpaṃ.¹⁹

Thus, what is ‘all form’? These are the four great primary elements and the fourteen material phenomena derived from the great primary elements. That is what is ‘all form.’

This lesson’s corresponding side-by-side table describes further subdivisions of all material phenomena as highlighted in the Rūpaparicchedo of the Abhidhammatthasaṅgaho²⁰ into ‘concretely produced matter’ and ‘non-concretely produced matter’.

Cattāri mahābhūtāni, catunnañca mahābhūtānaṃ upādāyarūpanti duvidhampetaṃ rūpaṃ ekādasavidhena²¹ saṅgahaṃ²² gacchati.²³

With the four great primary elements and fourteen material phenomena derived from the great essentials, thus matter is twofold. This gets further subdivided into eleven sections.

The derived material and corporal phenomena is further segmented according to the sphere where they (can) ensue. Thus twenty-eight occur in the sense sphere; in the fine material planes occur twenty-three and seventeen in the field of non-percipient beings, but not one can exist in the non-material sphere.²⁴

The twenty-eight material and corporal phenomena that manifest in the kāmāvacara list all sense organs, sense-objects, material characteristics of gender, the heart-base, life-faculty and all nutriment.²⁵

The Dhammasaṅgaṇī, like the Abhidhammatthasaṅgaho, analyses matter in different categories of being ‘single-fold’ up to ‘six-fold’. It also examines the modes of origin (rūpasamuṭṭhānana) which are the four fields of:

‘Kammaṃ cittaṃ utu āhāro ceti cattāri rūpasamuṭṭhānāni nāma.’

‘Kamma, consciousness, temperature and nutriment, these are the four ways from which matter get produced.’

Further analyses describes how matter, that never arises singly but in groups, merges and combines; also investigation is provided how matter gets obtained in the different spheres of the realm of sensual yearnings (kāmāvacara)²⁶ and the realm of from (rūpāvacara).²⁷

Nonetheless, whatever detailed analyses the Abhidhamma provides, a meditator should be reminded to follow the example of Bhikkhuni Upacālā: whatever theoretical knowledge one may have acquired, it will be of no help if not fully realized.²⁸  Upacālā, at one time, was visited by Māra who wanted to entice her into yearning for a rebirth in any of the delightful, enjoyable deva-kāmabhūmis.²⁹ Upacālā declined by pointing to the fact that she had gone beyond the field of Māra and sensual bondages.³⁰ She had realized that the whole world of mind and matter was impermanent:

Sabbo ādīpito loko, sabbo loko padhūpito;

Sabbo pajjalito loko, sabbo loko pakampito.

Akampitaṃ apajjalitaṃ, aputhujjanasevitaṃ;³¹

Agati yattha mārassa, tattha me nirato mano’ti.³²

The whole world is on fire, the whole world is smoldering,

The whole world is ablaze, the whole world is trembling.

My mind delights where nothing trembles, nothing blazes,

Where worldlings do not linger and where Māra will not get access.³³

She had reached nibbāna.

Here Māra felt defeated, disappointed and vanished right there.³⁴