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In Buddhism, dhamma vicaya ( Pali; Sanskrit: धर्मविचय-) has been variously translated as the "analysis of qualities," [1] "discrimination of dhammas," [2] [note 1] "discrimination of states," [3] "investigation of doctrine," [4] [note 2] and "searching the Truth." [5] The meaning is ambivalent; it implies the investigation of the Buddhist teachings (dhamma), but also the application of discernment to body-mind phenomena in order to apply right effort, giving way to entry into the first jhana.
According to Rupert Gethin, "Dhamma-vicaya means either the 'discrimination of dhammas' or the 'discernment of dhamma'; to discriminate dhammas is precisely to discern dhamma." [6]
In the Pali canon's Sutta Pitaka, this is the second of the Seven Factors of Awakening (satta bojjhaṅgā). It is preceded by the establishment of mindfulness (sati) and applied with energy/effort ( viriya) Together, mindfulness, discernment and effort calm the mind, and give way to the onset of the jhanas, which are characterised by the remaining four factors of awakening, namely rapture ( piti), tranquility ( passaddhi), unification ( samadhi) and equanimity ( upekkha). [note 3] According to the Samyutta Nikaya, this factor is to be developed by paying continuous careful attention (yoniso manasikāra bahulīkāro) to the following states (dhammā): wholesome and unwholesome (kusalā-akusalā); blameable and blameless (sāvajjā-anavajjā); inferior and superior (hīna-paṇītā); and, evil and good (kaṇha-sukka). [7] An alternate explanation in the nikayas is that this factor is aroused by "discriminating that Dhamma with wisdom" (taṃ dhammaṃ paññāya pavicināti). [8]
The Abhidhamma's Dhammasaṅgaṇi even more strongly associates dhamma vicaya with paññā (wisdom) in its enumeration of wholesome states (kusalā dhammā):
where "searching the Truth" is C.A.F. Rhys Davids' translation of dhammavicayo.
In later Abhidhamma texts and in post- canonical literature (such as those by the 4th-century CE Indian scholar Vasubandhu), dhamma vicaya refers to the study of dhamma as physical or mental phenomena that constitute absolute reality (Pali: paramattha; Skt.: paramārtha). [10]
Paññāya is an inflected form of paññā (Pali; Skt.: prajñā) that could be translated in a variety ways. For instance, as reflected here, Bodhi translates it as "with wisdom," while Gethin (1992, p. 147) translates it as "by means of wisdom." ( Thanissaro, 1995, translates it as "with discernment," using "discernment" for paññā.) As suggested by Bodhi (2000, pp. 1900-1, n. 59) quoted in the preceding end note, a conventional manner of understanding paññā here is in terms of seeing a dhamma in terms of the three characteristics of impermanence ( anicca), suffering ( dukkha) and not-self ( anatta).
Part of a series on |
Buddhism |
---|
In Buddhism, dhamma vicaya ( Pali; Sanskrit: धर्मविचय-) has been variously translated as the "analysis of qualities," [1] "discrimination of dhammas," [2] [note 1] "discrimination of states," [3] "investigation of doctrine," [4] [note 2] and "searching the Truth." [5] The meaning is ambivalent; it implies the investigation of the Buddhist teachings (dhamma), but also the application of discernment to body-mind phenomena in order to apply right effort, giving way to entry into the first jhana.
According to Rupert Gethin, "Dhamma-vicaya means either the 'discrimination of dhammas' or the 'discernment of dhamma'; to discriminate dhammas is precisely to discern dhamma." [6]
In the Pali canon's Sutta Pitaka, this is the second of the Seven Factors of Awakening (satta bojjhaṅgā). It is preceded by the establishment of mindfulness (sati) and applied with energy/effort ( viriya) Together, mindfulness, discernment and effort calm the mind, and give way to the onset of the jhanas, which are characterised by the remaining four factors of awakening, namely rapture ( piti), tranquility ( passaddhi), unification ( samadhi) and equanimity ( upekkha). [note 3] According to the Samyutta Nikaya, this factor is to be developed by paying continuous careful attention (yoniso manasikāra bahulīkāro) to the following states (dhammā): wholesome and unwholesome (kusalā-akusalā); blameable and blameless (sāvajjā-anavajjā); inferior and superior (hīna-paṇītā); and, evil and good (kaṇha-sukka). [7] An alternate explanation in the nikayas is that this factor is aroused by "discriminating that Dhamma with wisdom" (taṃ dhammaṃ paññāya pavicināti). [8]
The Abhidhamma's Dhammasaṅgaṇi even more strongly associates dhamma vicaya with paññā (wisdom) in its enumeration of wholesome states (kusalā dhammā):
where "searching the Truth" is C.A.F. Rhys Davids' translation of dhammavicayo.
In later Abhidhamma texts and in post- canonical literature (such as those by the 4th-century CE Indian scholar Vasubandhu), dhamma vicaya refers to the study of dhamma as physical or mental phenomena that constitute absolute reality (Pali: paramattha; Skt.: paramārtha). [10]
Paññāya is an inflected form of paññā (Pali; Skt.: prajñā) that could be translated in a variety ways. For instance, as reflected here, Bodhi translates it as "with wisdom," while Gethin (1992, p. 147) translates it as "by means of wisdom." ( Thanissaro, 1995, translates it as "with discernment," using "discernment" for paññā.) As suggested by Bodhi (2000, pp. 1900-1, n. 59) quoted in the preceding end note, a conventional manner of understanding paññā here is in terms of seeing a dhamma in terms of the three characteristics of impermanence ( anicca), suffering ( dukkha) and not-self ( anatta).