Vipassanā-ñāṇa

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The Vipassanā-ñāṇas (

Sarvastivadin abhidharma texts, the "path of insight" (darśana-mārga) one of the five paths
of progress in the dharma and is made up of several jñānas also called "thought moments".

Vimuttimagga

The

arahant Upatissa preserved only in a sixth-century Chinese translation. The stages of insight outlined by the Vimuttimagga are:[2]

  1. Comprehension (廣觀)
  2. Rise and fall (起滅)
  3. Dissolution (滅)
  4. Fear & disadvantage & disenchantment (畏 & 過患 & 厭離)
  5. Delight in deliverance & equanimity (樂解脫 & 捨)
  6. Conformity (相似)

A similar presentation of these stages can be found in the

Patisambhidamagga, there are only 5 stages presented. The first three stages are the same and the last two are "fear & disadvantage" (bhaya & ādīnava) and "wish for deliverance & equanimity towards formations" (muñcitukamyatā & saṅkhārupekkhā).[3]

Visuddhimagga

Buddhagosa's Visuddhimagga (Path of purification) (ca. 430 CE), while seemingly influenced by the Vimuttimagga, divides the insight knowledges further into sixteen stages:[4]

  1. Namarupa pariccheda ñana - Knowledge of mental and physical states, analytical knowledge of body and mind.
  2. Paccaya pariggaha ñana - Discerning Conditionality, knowledge of cause and effect between mental and physical states.
  3. Sammasana ñana - Knowledge of the
    three characteristics
    of mental and physical processes.
  4. Udayabbaya ñana - Knowledge of arising and passing away. Accompanied by possible mental images/lights, rapture, happiness, tranquility and strong mindfulness so that "there is no body-and-mind process in which mindfulness fails to engage." [5]
  5. Bhanga ñana - Knowledge of the dissolution of formations, only the "vanishing," or "passing away" is discernible.
  6. Bhaya ñana - Knowledge of the fearful nature of mental and physical states. The meditator's mind "is gripped by fear and seems helpless."[6]
  7. Adinava ñana - Knowledge of mental and physical states as
    dukkha. "So he sees, at that time, only suffering, only unsatisfactoriness, only misery."[7]
  8. Nibbida ñana - Knowledge of disenchantment/disgust with conditioned states.
  9. Muncitukamayata ñana - Knowledge of Desire for Deliverance, the desire to abandon the worldly state (for nibbana) arises.
  10. Patisankha ñana - Knowledge of re-investigation of the path. This instills a decision to practice further.
  11. Sankharupekha ñana - Knowledge which regards mental and physical states with
    equanimity
    .
  12. Anuloma ñana - Knowledge in conformity with the Four Noble Truths.
  13. Gotrabhu ñana- Knowledge which is void of
    conditioned formations
    , "maturity Knowledge".
  14. Magga ñana - Knowledge by which defilements are abandoned and are overcome by destruction.
  15. Phala ñana - Knowledge which realizes the fruit of the path (
    nibbana
    ).
  16. Paccavekkhana ñana - Knowledge which reviews the defilements still remaining.

Abhidhammattha-sangaha

In the Abhidhammattha-sangaha (11th to 12th century), another widely used Buddhist commentarial text, there are only ten insight knowledges.[8]

  1. Comprehension - sammasana
  2. Rise and fall - udayabbaya
  3. Dissolution - bhaṅga
  4. Fear - bhaya
  5. Disadvantage - ādīnava
  6. Disenchantment - nibbidā
  7. Wish for deliverance - muñcitukamyatā
  8. Reflection - paṭisaṅkhā
  9. Equanimity towards formations - saṅkhārupekkhā
  10. Conformity - anuloma

Sarvastivadin Abhidharma texts

The Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣa Śāstra presents 'the process of the direct insight into the four truths' as follows:[9]

Darśana mārga (15 moments)(見道十五心)

  1. duḥkhe dharmajñānakṣānti(苦法智忍) - Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge with regard to unsatisfactoriness
  2. duḥkhe dharmajñāna(苦法智)- Dharma-knowledge with regard to unsatisfactoriness
  3. duḥkhe anvayajñānakṣānti(苦類智忍)- Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge with regard to unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence
  4. duḥkhe anvayajñāna(苦類智)- Dharma-knowledge with regard to unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence
  5. samudaye dharmajñānakṣānti(集法智忍)- Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge of the origin of unsatisfactoriness
  6. samudaye dharmajñāna(集法智)- Dharma-knowledge of the origin of unsatisfactoriness
  7. samudaye anvayajñānakṣānti(集類智忍)- Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge of the origin of unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence
  8. samudaye anvayajñāna(集類智)- Dharma-knowledge of the origin of unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence
  9. duḥkhanirodhe dharmajñānakṣānti(滅法智忍)Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge of the cessation of unsatisfactoriness
  10. duḥkhanirodhe dharmajñāna(滅法智) Dharma-knowledge of the cessation of unsatisfactoriness
  11. duḥkhanirodhe anvayajñānakṣānti(滅類智忍)Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge of the cessation of pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence unsatisfactoriness
  12. duḥkhanirodhe anvayajñāna(滅類智)dharma-knowledge of the cessation of unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence
  13. duḥkhapratipakṣamārge dharmajñānakṣānti(道法智忍)- Receptivity dharma-knowledge of the path for the ending of unsatisfactoriness
  14. duḥkhapratipakṣamārge dharmajñāna(道法智)- Dharma-knowledge of the path for the ending of unsatisfactoriness
  15. duḥkhapratipakṣamārge anvayajñānakṣānti(道類智忍)- Receptivity dharma-knowledge of the path for the ending of unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence

Bhāvanā-mārga (The 16th moment)(修道第十六心)

  1. duḥkhapratipakṣamārge anvayajñāna(道類智) - Dharma-knowledge of the path for the ending of unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence

Abhidharma-kosa

The

Sarvastivadin abhidharma:[10]

  1. Saṃvṛti-jñāna (世俗智): worldly, conventional knowledge ('bears on all')
  2. Dharma-jñāna (法智): a knowledge of dharmas ("has for its object, the suffering etc. of Kamadhatu")
  3. Anvaya-jñāna (類智): inferential knowledge ("bears on suffering, etc. of the higher spheres")
  4. Duḥkha-jñāna (苦智): the knowledge of Suffering (1st Noble Truth)
  5. samudaya-jñāna (集智): the knowledge of Origin (2nd Noble Truth)
  6. nirodha-jñāna (滅智): the knowledge of Cessation or Extinction (3rd Noble Truth)
  7. mārga-jñāna (道智): the knowledge of the Path (4th Noble Truth)
  8. para-mano-jñāna (or para-citta- jñāna) (他心智): the knowledge of the mind of another (has for its sphere an independent object" one mental factor of another‘s mind)
  9. kṣaya-jñāna (盡智): the Knowledge of Destruction ("with regard to the truths, the certitude that they are known, abandoned, etc.")
  10. anutpāda-jñāna (無生智): the Knowledge of Non-Arising ("is the certitude that they [the truths] are no longer to be known, to be abandoned, etc.")

References

  1. ^ Mahasi Sayadaw, the Progress of insight
  2. ^ Analayo, The Dynamics of Theravāda Insight Meditation.
  3. ^ Analayo, The Dynamics of Theravāda Insight Meditation.
  4. ^ "The Sixteen Stages of Insight". Vipassanadhura meditation society. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  5. ^ Mahasi Sayadaw, the Progress of insight
  6. ^ Mahasi Sayadaw, the Progress of insight
  7. ^ Mahasi Sayadaw, the Progress of insight
  8. ^ Analayo, The Dynamics of Theravāda Insight Meditation.
  9. ^ Chan, Yiu-wing. "An English translation of the Dharmatrta-Dhyna Sutra" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Abhidharmakosa Study Materials - Chapter 7: Jnana (Knowledges)" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-12-24.