Dīgha Nikāya

The Longs Basket

Sutta 33

Saṅgīti Suttantaṃ

The Compilation

Nines

Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds

There are, friends, nine-part Dhammas
consummately taught by the Lucky Man,
that #1-Consummately-Awakened-One,
an Arahant
who knows and sees.

In this situation,
let us all gather together as one,
undivided,
so that this best of lives
will stay on track and
stand for a long time
as a benefit to the many,
as a pleasure for the many,
out of compassion for the world,
for the benefit and pleasure of
gods and man.

What are these nines?

[9.01][pts][wlsh] Nine foundations of aggression:^[1]

Thinking:
'Disservice has been done to me'
he becomes bound up
in aggression.

Thinking:
'Disservice is being done to me'
he becomes bound up
in aggression.

Thinking:
'Disservice will be done to me'
he becomes bound up
in aggression.

Thinking:
'Disservice has been done to one
who is pleasing and loved by me'
he becomes bound up
in aggression.

Thinking:
'Disservice is being done to one
who is pleasing and loved by me'
he becomes bound up
in aggression.

Thinking:
'Disservice will be done to one
who is pleasing and loved by me'
he becomes bound up
in aggression.

Thinking:
'Service has been done to one
who is neither pleasing nor loved by me'
he becomes bound up
in aggression.

Thinking:
'Service is being done to one
who is neither pleasing nor loved by me'
he becomes bound up
in aggression.

Thinking:
'Service will be done to one
who is neither pleasing nor loved by me'
he becomes bound up
in aggression.

[9.02][pts][wlsh] Nine ways of
controlling aggression:^[2]

Thinking:
'Disservice has been done to me;
what can be gained
from this situation?'^[3]
he controls aggression.

Thinking:
'Disservice is being done to me;
what can be gained
from this situation?'
he controls aggression.

Thinking:
'Disservice will be done to me;
what can be gained
from this situation?'
he controls aggression.

Thinking:
'Disservice has been done to one
who is pleasing and loved by me;
what can be gained
from this situation?'
he controls aggression.

Thinking:
'Disservice is being done to one
who is pleasing and loved by me;
what can be gained
from this situation?'
he controls aggression.

Thinking:
'Disservice will be done to one
who is pleasing and loved by me;
what can be gained
from this situation?'
he controls aggression.

Thinking:
'Service has been done to one
who is neither pleasing nor loved by me;
what can be gained
from this situation?'
he controls aggression.

Thinking:
'Service is being done to one
who is neither pleasing nor loved by me;
what can be gained
from this situation?'
he controls aggression.

Thinking:
'Service will be done to one
who is neither pleasing nor loved by me;
what can be gained
from this situation?'
he controls aggression.

[9.03][pts][wlsh] Nine Habits of Beings:^[4]

There are beings, friends,
diverse in body,
diverse in perception,
such as man,
some gods and
some on the path to ruin.

This is the first
habit of beings.

There are beings, friends,
diverse in body,
similar in perception,
such as the gods
in the Brahmā group.

This is the second
habit of beings.

There are beings, friends,
similar in body,
diverse in perception,
such as the gods
of the Abhassara.

This is the third
habit of beings.

There are beings, friends,
similar in body and
similar in perception,
such as the gods
of the Subhakiṇhā.

This is the fourth
habit of beings.

There are beings, friends,
without perception,
having no personal sense reactions,
such as the gods
of No-Perception.

This is the fifth
habit of beings.

There are beings, friends,
that,
passing past
all perception of form,
leaving behind
perception of reaction,
averting the mind from
perception of diversity,
thinking
'Unending is space,'
experience the Realm of Space.

This is the sixth
habit of beings.

There are beings, friends,
that,
wholly passing past
the Realm of Space,
thinking
"Unending is consciousness,'
experience the Realm of consciousness.

This is the seventh
habit of beings.

There are beings, friends,
that,
wholly passing past
the Realm of consciousness,
thinking
'There is nothing,'
experience the Realm Where There is No Thing to be Had There.

This is the eighth
habit of beings.

There are beings, friends,
that,
wholly passing past
the Realm of No Things to be Had There
experience the Realm of Neither-Perception-nor-Non-Perception.

This is the Ninth
Habit of beings.

[9.04][pts][wlsh] Nine unlucky situations
when it comes to taking on
the Brahmā-life:^[5]

Here friends,
a Tathāgata arises in the world,
an Arahant
#1 High Awakened One, and
Dhamma is taught
leading to calm,
leading to complete
putting down of bondage,^[6]
to the self-awakening
proclaimed by the Welcome One; and
a being is at this time
reborn in Niraya.

This is the first
unlucky situation
when it comes to taking on
the Brahmā-life.

Again, additionally friends,
a Tathāgata arises in the world,
an Arahant
#1 High Awakened One, and
Dhamma is taught
leading to calm,
leading to complete
putting down of bondage,
to the self-awakening
proclaimed by the Welcome One; and
a being is at this time
reborn in an animal birth.

This is the second
unlucky situation
when it comes to taking on
the Brahmā-life.

This is the third
unlucky situation
when it comes to taking on
the Brahmā-life.

This is the fourth
unlucky situation
when it comes to taking on
the Brahmā-life.

This is the fifth
unlucky situation
when it comes to taking on
the Brahmā-life.

This is the sixth
unlucky situation
when it comes to taking on
the Brahmā-life.

'There is no giving;
there is no making of offerings,^[8]
there is no having paid homage,
there is no pleasant or
painful fruition of
or consequence from
deeds,
there is not "This world,"
there is not "A world hereafter,"
there is not mother,
there is not father,
there are no spontaneously arising beings,
there is no Shaman or
Brahmān
who has got the Highest,
who having attained the highest
can explain this world and
the world beyond
from personal experience of
super-powers.'

This is the seventh
unlucky situation
when it comes to taking on
the Brahmā-life.

This is the eighth
unlucky situation
when it comes to taking on
the Brahmā-life.

Again, additionally friends,
a being is born
in the central provences, and
he is smart,
no slack-jaw'd
driveler,
able to recognize
the well- from
the badly-said, but
at this time
no Tathāgata has arisen in the world,
no Arahant
#1 High Awakened One, and
no Dhamma is taught
leading to calm,
leading to complete
putting down of bondage,
to the self-awakening
proclaimed by the Welcome One.

This is the ninth
unlucky situation
when it comes to taking on
the Brahmā-life.

[9.05][pts][wlsh] Nine habitats,
one-after-the-other:^[9]

Here friends a bhikkhu,
separating himself
from sense pleasures,
separating himself
from unskillful things,
still thinking and
pondering
the pleasurable enthusiasm
born of solitude
enters into and
makes a habitat of
the First Kenning;

Then,
with thinking and
pondering
having calmed down,
attaining tranquillity,
becoming whole-heartedly single-minded,
without thinking and
pondering,
with the pleasurable enthusiasm
born of serenity
he enters into and
makes a habitat of
the Second Kenning;

Then, dispassionate and
detached from
enthusiasm,
living conscious and
aware of bodily sense-reactions
such as those described
by the aristocrats
when they say:
'Detached,
with satisfied mind,
he lives pleasantly,'
he enters into and
makes a habitat of
the Third Kenning;

Then, letting go of
pleasures,
letting go of
pains,
settling down
the antecedent
mental ease and
mental pain,
without pain, but
without pleasure,
detached,
recollected,
surpassingly pure
he enters into and
makes a habitat of
the Fourth Kenning;

Elevating himself
above all perceptions of
form,
allowing perceptions of
resistance
to subside, and
not scrutinizing
perceptions of diversity,
thinking:
'Un-ending is space'
enters into and
makes a habitat of
the Space-dimension;

Then,
elevating himself
completely above
the Space-dimension,
thinking:
'Un-ending is consciousness'
he enters into and
makes a habitat of
the consciousness-dimension;

Then,
elevating himself
completely above
the consciousness-dimension,
thinking:
'There is nothing'
he enters into and
makes a habitat of
the No-thing to be Had There Dimension;

Then,
elevating himself
completely above
the No-thing-to-be-had-there-dimension
he enters into and
makes a habitat of
the Dimension of Neither-perception-nor-non-perception;

Then,
elevating himself
completely above
the Dimension of Neither-perception-nor-non-perception,
he enters into and
makes a habitat of
the ending of perception and sense experience.

[9.06][pts][wlsh] Nine endings, one after the other:^[10]

The First Kenning
being attained,
perception of sensuality
comes to an end.

The Second Kenning
being attained,
thinking and pondering
come to an end.

The Third Kenning
being attained,
enthusiasm
comes to an end.

The Fourth Kenning
being attained,
in-and-out breathing
comes to an end.

The Realm of Space
being attained,
perception of form
comes to an end.

The Realm of consciousness
being attained,
perception of the Realm of Space
comes to an end.

The Realm of No Thing to be Had There
being attained,
perception of the Realm of consciousness
comes to an end.

The Realm of Neither Perception Nor Non Perception
being attained,
perception of the Realm of No Thing to be Had There
comes to an end.

The Realm of the Ending of Perception and Sense Experience
being attained,
the Realm of Neither Perception Nor Non Perception
comes to an end.

These then, friends,
are those nine-part Dhammas
consummately taught by the Lucky Man,
that #1-Consummately-Awakened-One,
an Arahant
who knows and sees.

^[1] Nava āghāta-vatthūni.

^[2] Nava āghāta-paṭivinayā.

^[3] Taṃ kut'ettha labbhā: "that what this-here gain?" I believe the idea is to try and figure out a way that the situation can be turned profitable. Often, if not always, as a lesson concering what not to do.

Walshe: What good would it do (to harbor malice)?"
Rhys Davids: "But what gain would there be to either of us if I quarreled about it" (citing the commentators).

The over-all idea is how do we control our own aggressive impulses. Both Walshe and Rhys Davids, interpreting from their understanding of the system, hear "We control our aggression by seeing its futility," (essentially "suppression") but need to add words not found in the Pāḷi to make this work.

On the other hand reading this as "looking for the good to be gained from the situation" (essentially redirection) works both for the idea of controlling aggression and fits the Pāḷi.

Then this can also be heard as "But what good would that do him." Elsewhere we understand that anger is the consequence of not having paid sufficient attention when in contact with an unpleasant sense experience, it is a reaction to an unpleasant sense experience, and that the "avoidance" of this situation is to be had by cultivation of friendly vibrations. In any case, the way I have worded it, it can be heard in the flexible way I believe was intended by the original.

Asava	Samudaya	Nirodha
No Good	Depends On	Ends with
Lust	Paying attention to the pleasing feature of a thing	Paying attention to the unpleasing feature of a thing
Anger	Paying attention to the unpleasant feature of a thing.	Liberation of the Heart through friendly vibrations.
Blindness	Not tracing things back to their points of origin	Tracing things back to their points of origin

^[4] Nava sattāvāsā.
See also: The 9th Lesson: The Nine Habits of Beings
Glossology: Jhāna
And above: 8s11; 4s#4; 4s#7; 7s#10 (stations of consciousness) and related: 4s#36 (kinds of generation); 4s#37 (ways of experiencing birth); 6s#21 (conditions within births).

^[5] Nava akkhaṇā asamayā Brahmā-cariya-vāsāya.
Rhys Davids translates: "Nine untimely unseasonable, intervals for life in a religious order."
Walshe has: "Nine unfortunate, inopportune times for leading the holy life."

The problem is that this construction looks like it is saying that living the Brahmā-life during such "intervals" or " times" is unlucky; but the meaning must be that it is not possible to lead the Brahmā-life if reborn in these situations; one cannot live the Brahmā Life reborn in Hell; one has been unlucky in one's birth in that one is reborn when a Buddha has come to be, but is in some way unable to hear/follow his teachings, or one has been reborn at a time when no Buddha is present in the world and his Dhamma is not being taught at that time. These are not situations like our current time, when, although the Buddha is not visibly present, he is present in the form of the Dhamma.

^[6] Pari-nibbāniko: aka "Final Nibbāna," but here it appealed to me more to give the more literal meaning of Nibbāna as I think it has more meaning here that way.

^[7] Since it is a very long time between the appearances of Buddhas, most likely this refers only to the gods at the level of the Abhassara Realm and above. See also Lifespan.

^[8] PED: Yiṭṭha having sacrificed D I.138 ... sacrificed ... sacrifice D I.55 ... du-y-yiṭṭha not properly sacrificed, a sacrifice not according to rites. In specific Buddhistic sense "given, offered as alms, spent as liberal gift" ... su-yiṭṭha well given or spent A II.44.

^[9] Nava anupubba-vihārā.
Anupubba-vihāra: (after-previous livings) Walshe has "successive abidings;" Rhys Davids has "successional states;" PED states: "a state of gradually ascending stages, by means of which the highest aim of meditation and trance is attained, viz. complete cessation of all sense-consciousness." But this is neither correct on the face of it, nor correct in spirit. The so called "trance of succession" is not the goal, is not Nibbāna, is itself own-made, and is to be let go. Sāriputta describes this state as the experience of being conscious of one state passing away and another arising. It is simply that this is the highest wordly refinement of consciousness that one in this system is to strive after. At this state of consciousness one should have been able to see the constructed nature of all the previous states as well as this state, and should see the benefit of letting go of all own-made (sankaramed) states, but, again, it is not, itself, the state of having completely let go or of having attained Nibbāna.
See also 4s#4; 4s#7; 8s#11

^[10] Nava anupubba-nirodhā.

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