[Buddha-l] Loving your object of study

[Dan Lusthaus]

Lance,

> The very common list of the three kinds of wisdom does not occur in
> the four Nikaayas, except in the single case of the Sa'ngiitisutta,

Very interesting -- and surprising, though I am sure you are right about
this. Hearing, Thinking, and Cultivating was one of Asanga's favorite
models, so it is ubiquitous in Yogacara literature (and elsewhere, as you
know). Now I understand why you raised the historical question.


> The fivefold list at A III 88 _is_ parallelled elsewhere. Compare for
> example the sequence of the five vimuttaayatana at D III 241f.; 279;
> A III 21. The first three items occur more widely.

Thanks for these references. That model seems to appear when "lists of five"
are given. Clearly D III 241 shaped your interpretation. As we discussed
previously on this list, Buddha continuously recombines and reconfigures his
basic models. How much of the variations we find in the canonized lit.
reflects Buddha's own recombinations and customized application to specific
concerns, and how much was fashioned subsequently by the tradition is hard
to say.

A version of the five, or at least that overlaps the five (it omits the
teaching stage and the reciter) is MN 95.20, which, depending how you parse
it, contains about 13 steps, and includes pa~n~naa. It starts with
instructions on how to wisely choose a teacher in whom one can place trust,
and the rest develops from there to the discovery of "truth." I have no idea
"historically" where this version fits in with the rest, but it does a
wonderful job of contextualizing the progression.

Dan