3.
The Chapter on the Unsurpassed Things
1-2.
Commentary on the Discourse on Sāmaka and Others
21-22. In the first of the third, "Sāmagāmaka" means in a small village so named due to the abundance of sāmāka grain. "At the Pokkharaṇī" means at the monastery named Pokkharaṇī. "When the night was far advanced" means when the first watch of the night had passed and the middle watch had arrived. "With surpassing beauty" means with surpassingly agreeable beauty. "Kevalakappan" means almost the whole. "Having illuminated the Pokkharaṇī" means having pervaded the great monastery named Pokkharaṇī with its own light. "Approving" means of the same approval, of the same mind. "Being difficult to admonish" means the state of being difficult to admonish. "Evil friendship" means inferior friendship. In this discourse, only qualities leading to decline have been spoken of. In the second, conditions preventing decline, mixed with the supramundane, have been spoken of.
3.
Commentary on the Discourse on Fear
23. In the third, "dyed with sensual lust" means this one is dyed with sensual lust. "Bound by desire and lust" means bound by desire and lust. "From fear" means from the fear of mental terror. "From mire" means from the mire of mental defilements. "Attachment and mire - both" means attachment and mire - this too is both. "These are called sensual pleasures, where the worldling is attached" means in which attachment and mire the worldling is attached, stuck, fastened, obstructed. "In clinging" means in the fourfold clinging. "The origin of birth and death" means being the condition for the origination of birth and death. "Without clinging they become liberated" means without clinging they become liberated. "In the extinction of birth and death" means in Nibbāna, which is termed the extinction of birth and death; the meaning is they become liberated through the liberation having Nibbāna as its object. At this point, having turned back, this monk has attained arahantship itself. Now, praising that one who has eliminated the mental corruptions, he said beginning with "they, having attained security." Therein, "having attained security" means having attained the state of security. "Happy" means made happy with supramundane happiness. "Perfectly quenched in this very life" means perfectly quenched in this very present life through the absence of mental defilements within. In this discourse, having spoken only of the round of rebirths, the round of rebirths and the end of the round of rebirths are spoken of in the verses.
4.
Commentary on the Himavanta Discourse
24. In the fourth, "could split apart" means could break. "Miserable" means inferior. "Skilled in attainment of concentration" means having ascertained what is suitable in food and what is suitable in climate, he is skilled in attaining concentration, clever, able, competent. "Skilled in duration of concentration" means skilled in the duration of concentration; the meaning is that he is able to maintain concentration. "Skilled in emergence from concentration" means skilled in emergence from concentration; the meaning is that he is able to emerge according to a predetermined limit. "Skilled in readiness of concentration" means skilled in the pliancy of concentration; the meaning is that he is able to gladden the mind of concentration and make it pliant. "Skilled in the resort of concentration" means having avoided states that are unsuitable and unhelpful for concentration, and resorting to those that are suitable and helpful, and also knowing "this one has the sign of concentration as object, this one has a characteristic as object," one is called skilled in the resort of concentration. "Skilled in resolution of concentration" means being able to direct the concentration of the first meditative absorption and so on for the purpose of attaining successively higher attainments, one is called skilled in the resolution of concentration. He, having emerged from the first meditative absorption, attains the second; from the second meditative absorption, etc. having emerged from the third meditative absorption, he attains the fourth.
5.
Commentary on the Discourse on the Bases of Recollection
25. In the fifth, "states of recollection" means causes of recollection. "Thus indeed is he, the Blessed One" and so on were explained in detail in the Visuddhimagga itself. "This too, monks, having made this an object" means having made this meditation subject of recollection of the Buddha an object. "Become purified" means they attain Nibbāna, the supreme purification. The remainder is of manifest meaning everywhere. But in this discourse, it should be understood that the six states of recollection were spoken of as mixed.
6.
Commentary on the Discourse to Mahākaccāna
26. In the sixth, "confinement" means the confinement of the five types of sensual pleasure. "The achievement of opportunity" means here "opportunities" are called the six states of recollection; the achievement of those. "For the purification" means for the purpose of purifying. "For the transcendence of sorrow and lamentation" means for the purpose of transcending sorrow and lamentation. "For the passing away" means for the purpose of passing away. "For the achievement of the true method" means for the purpose of achieving the path together with insight. "For the realisation of Nibbāna" means for the purpose of directly experiencing final nibbāna without conditions.
"Altogether" means in every way. "Like space" means similar to space in the sense of non-attachment and in the sense of being unobstructed. "Extensive" means not limited. "Exalted" means having gone to the state of greatness, or gone to, that is, practised by great noble disciples - this is the meaning. "Limitless" means limitless because of the limitlessness of pervading. "Without enmity" means free from unwholesome enmity and personal enmity. "Without ill-will" means free from wrath and suffering. All this was said with reference to the consciousness of recollection of the Buddha only. In the remaining cases too, the same method applies. "Of purifying nature" means having the intrinsic nature of purifying. In this discourse too, the six states of recollection are spoken of only as mixed.
7.
Commentary on the First Discourse on Time
27. In the seventh, "of one who develops the mind" - here, one who develops, increases the mind is one who develops the mind. "For an audience" means for the purpose of seeing. "Escape" means going out, cessation. "Teaches the Teaching" means he speaks on the meditation subject of foulness for the purpose of abandoning sensual lust. In the second occasion and so on, it should be understood that he teaches the Teaching by speaking on the meditation subject of friendliness for the abandoning of anger, the meditation subject for dispelling sloth and torpor for the abandoning of sloth and torpor - either the perception of light or one among the arousal of energy and so on - the meditation subject of serenity for the abandoning of restlessness and remorse, and talk praising the virtues of the three jewels for the abandoning of sceptical doubt. "Based on" means referring to. "Attending to" means for one making it in the mind by way of object. "There is the proximate elimination of mental corruptions" means there is the elimination of mental corruptions without obstacle.
8.
Commentary on the Second Discourse on Time
28. In the eighth, "circular pavilion" means in the refectory. "Fatigue from walking" means the fatigue arisen from walking for almsfood. "Fatigue from the meal" means the disturbance from the meal. "In the shade of the dwelling" means in the shade at the edge of the monastery. "Whatever sign of concentration he attended to during the day" means whatever sign of serenity meditation was made in the mind during the earlier part of that day. "That very thing occurs to him at that time" means that very thing moves through the mind-door of this one seated in the day residence at that time. "Sustained by nutritive essence" means standing, established by nutritive essence. "It is comfortable for him" means it is pleasant for him. "Face to face" means at a place directly facing the one who was speaking. "Heard" means heard with the ear. "Received" means received with the mind.
9.
Commentary on the Discourse to Udāyī
29. In the ninth, "Udāyī" means the Elder Lāḷudāyī. "I am listening, friend" means: friend, I am not deaf, I hear the Blessed One's word, but I am examining the question. "Higher consciousness" means the consciousness of concentration and insight. "This, venerable sir, is a state of recollection" means this is a basis for recollection reckoned as the triad of meditative absorptions. "Leads to pleasant abiding in the present life" means it proceeds for the purpose of pleasant abiding in this very individual existence. "Perception of light" means the perception arisen regarding the light sign. "Determines the perception of day" means one establishes the perception as "day." "As by day so by night" means just as the perception of light was attended to by him during the day, at night too he attends to that in the same way. "As by night so by day" means just as or the perception of light was attended to by him at night, by day too he attends to that in the same way. "Open" means unconcealed. "Unobstructed" means not enveloped by the mental hindrances. "Develops a mind of luminosity" means for the purpose of the knowledge of the divine eye, one increases and cultivates a mind with radiance. But what is said as "attends to the perception of light," that should be understood as said with reference to the perception of light for dispelling sloth and torpor, not the light of the knowledge of the divine eye. "For the attainment of knowledge and vision" means for the attainment of the knowledge and vision reckoned as the divine eye.
Whatever should be said regarding "this very body" and so on, all that has been stated in every way in detail in the Visuddhimagga in the meditation subject of mindfulness of the body. "For the abandoning of sensual lust" means for the purpose of abandoning the lust for the five strands of sensual pleasure. "Just as if he were to see" means as he might see. "Body" means a dead body. "Abandoned in a charnel ground" means thrown away in a cemetery. "Dead for one day it would be" means dead for one day. "Dead for two days it would be" means dead for two days. "Dead for three days it would be" means dead for three days. Like bellows inflated by air, after the exhaustion of life, through the state of swollenness that has arisen in due order, because of being bloated it is "bloated"; bloated itself is "uddhumātaka." Or, because of repulsiveness, what is contemptible as bloated is "uddhumātaka." "Discoloured" is said to mean of changed colour; discoloured itself is "vinīlaka." Or, because of repulsiveness, what is contemptible as discoloured is "vinīlaka." This is a designation for a corpse-body as if wrapped in a blue cloth, with red colour in the places where flesh is abundant, white colour in the places where pus has accumulated, and for the most part blue colour in the blue places. Pus oozing from the broken places or from the nine wound openings is "festering"; festering itself is "vipubbaka." Or, because of repulsiveness, what is contemptible as festering is "vipubbaka." "Festering" means having become festering, having reached such a condition.
"He this very body" means that monk compares, brings together with knowledge, this body of his own with that body. How? "This body too is of such a nature, will become thus, has not gone beyond this." This is what is meant - Due to the existence of these three phenomena - vitality, heat, and consciousness - this body is capable of standing, walking, and so on; but with their departure, this body too is of such a nature, is indeed of such a putrid intrinsic nature. "Will become thus" means it will just so become differentiated into bloating and so on. "Has not gone beyond this" means has not transcended the state of bloating and so on.
"Being devoured" means having settled on the belly and so on, tearing and tearing out the belly-flesh, lip-flesh, eye-flesh and so on, being eaten. "With flesh and blood" means connected with the remaining residual flesh and blood. "Without flesh, smeared with blood" means even when the flesh is eliminated, the blood does not dry up; with reference to that it was said - "Without flesh, smeared with blood." "Here" means in another direction. "Hand bone" means even the hand bone of sixty-four divisions, each and every one scattered separately. For the foot bone and so on too, the same method applies. "More than a year old" means having passed beyond a year. "Rotten" means those standing in the open air become rotten after just more than a year through the contact of wind, heat, and rain; but those gone underground last for a longer time. "Reduced to powder" means having become crushed to bits, scattered about. "In all cases, he this very" means the explanation should be made according to the method stated, by way of being devoured and so on. "For the uprooting of the conceit 'I am'" means for the purpose of uprooting the ninefold conceit that occurs as "I am." "For the penetration of the various elements" means for the purpose of penetrating the various elements. "Goes forward mindfully" means when going, he goes endowed with mindfulness and wisdom. "Steps back mindfully" means even when turning back, he turns back endowed with mindfulness and wisdom. The same method applies to the remaining terms as well. "For mindfulness and full awareness" means for the purpose of mindfulness and knowledge. Thus in this discourse, mindfulness and knowledge were spoken of as mixed.
10.
Commentary on the Discourse on the Unsurpassed Things
30. In the tenth, "various" means whatever is great or small, or high and low. "Low" means inferior. "Vulgar" means the sight of those who dwell in villages. "Belonging to ordinary people" means the property of worldlings. "Ignoble" means not noble, not the highest, not pure. "Not connected with benefit" means not based upon benefit. "Not to disenchantment" means not for the purpose of becoming disenchanted with the round of rebirths. "Not to dispassion" means not for the purpose of becoming dispassionate towards lust and so on. "Not to cessation" means not for the cessation through non-continuance of lust and so on. "Not to peace" means not for the purpose of the appeasement of lust and so on. "Not to direct knowledge" means not for the purpose of directly knowing. "Not to enlightenment" means not for the purpose of penetrating the knowledge of the four paths, which is called highest enlightenment. "Not to Nibbāna" means not for the realisation of Nibbāna.
"With established faith" means one whose faith is established. "With established devotion" means one whose devotion is established. "Gone to the ultimate" means gone to the extreme; the meaning is having attained the unshakeable. "Devoted" means having faith surpassingly. "This is unsurpassed" means this is unsurpassed. "Trains in elephants" means he trains in the craft of elephant-training, which is to be learnt with the elephant as its sign. The same method applies to the remaining terms as well. "Various" means he trains in great and small crafts.
"Established in service" means established in service. "They develop recollection" means they develop the unsurpassed recollection. "Connected with seclusion" means having made it dependent on Nibbāna. "Secure" means free from danger. "Leading to the Deathless" means leading to Nibbāna; the meaning is they develop the noble path. "Delighting in diligence" means rejoicing and greatly rejoicing in diligence, which is called the continuous presence of mindfulness. "Prudent" means endowed with discretion. "Restrained by morality" means restrained and shut by morality. "They indeed in time attain" means they indeed know at the proper and appropriate time. "Where suffering ceases" means in that state where the entire suffering of the round of rebirths ceases, that Deathless, the great Nibbāna, those monks know. In this discourse, the six unsurpassed things were spoken of as mixed.
The Unsurpassed Chapter is the third.