To Be Seen
Daṭṭhabbaṁ Sutta (SN 48:8)
“Monks, there are these five faculties. Which five? The faculty of conviction, the faculty of persistence, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, & the faculty of discernment.
“Now, where is the faculty of conviction to be seen? In the four stream-entry factors: Here the faculty of conviction is to be seen.1
“And where is the faculty of persistence to be seen? In the four right exertions: Here the faculty of persistence is to be seen.2
“And where is the faculty of mindfulness to be seen? In the four establishings of mindfulness: Here the faculty of mindfulness is to be seen.3
“And where is the faculty of concentration to be seen? In the four jhānas: Here the faculty of concentration is to be seen.4
“And where is the faculty of discernment to be seen? In the four noble truths: Here the faculty of discernment is to be seen.”5
Notes
1. The Pali for “stream-entry factor,” sotāpattiyaṅga, can be read either as factor for stream-entry or factor of stream-entry. Adopting the first reading, this passage could be referring to the four factors leading to stream-entry listed in SN 55:5: “Association with good people is a factor for stream-entry. Listening to the true Dhamma is a factor for stream-entry. Appropriate attention is a factor for stream-entry. Practice of the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma is a factor for stream-entry.”
Adopting the second reading, the passage could be referring to the four factors with which, according to AN 10:92, a stream-winner is endowed:
“Now with which four factors of stream-entry is the disciple of the noble ones endowed? There is the case where the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Awakened One: ‘Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy and rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine & human beings, awakened, blessed.’
“He is endowed with verified confidence in the Dhamma: ‘The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, to be seen here & now, timeless, inviting verification, pertinent, to be realized by the wise for themselves.’
“He is endowed with verified confidence in the Saṅgha: ‘The Saṅgha of the Blessed One’s disciples who have practiced well… who have practiced straight-forwardly… who have practiced methodically… who have practiced masterfully—in other words, the four types of noble disciples when taken as pairs, the eight when taken as individual types—they are the Saṅgha of the Blessed One’s disciples: worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, the incomparable field of merit for the world.’
“He is endowed with virtues that are appealing to the noble ones: untorn, unbroken, unspotted, unsplattered, liberating, praised by the observant, ungrasped at, leading to concentration.”
2. “There are these four right exertions. Which four? There is the case where a monk generates desire, endeavors, arouses persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen… for the sake of the abandoning of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen… for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen… (and) for the maintenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen. These are the four right exertions.” — SN 49:1
3. Now, what is the establishing of mindfulness? There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself—ardent, alert, & mindful—putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings… mind… mental qualities in & of themselves—ardent, alert, & mindful—putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. This is called the establishing of mindfulness.” — SN 47:40
See also DN 22.
4. “Quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful qualities—one enters & remains in the first jhāna: rapture & pleasure born of seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, one enters & remains in the second jhāna: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation—internal assurance. With the fading of rapture, one remains equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. One enters & remains in the third jhāna, of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous & mindful, one has a pleasant abiding.’ With the abandoning of pleasure & pain—as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress—one enters & remains in the fourth jhāna: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain.” — SN 48:10
See also MN 119.
5. “Now this, monks, is the noble truth of stress: Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are stressful; association with the unbeloved is stressful; separation from the loved is stressful; not getting what is wanted is stressful. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.
“And this, monks, is the noble truth of the origination of stress: the craving that makes for further becoming—accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now here & now there—i.e., craving for sensuality, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming.
“And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of stress: the remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving.
“And this, monks, is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress: precisely this noble eightfold path—right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.”
