Dutiyavibhaṅga Sutta
“There are five governing principles of the mind monks[1].
What Five?
The governing principle of
(1) Confidence,
(2) Determination,
(3) Awareness,
(4) Mental Collectedness,
(5) Discernment. [2]
[1. Confidence]
What is the governing principle of confidence?
Here monks,
A wise meditator is confident,
One has confidence in the Truth-finder’s Awakening:[3]
‘The Awakened One is an Arahant,
A Perfectly All-Awakened Buddha,
He comes with [perfect] knowledge and behavior,
Happy, knower of the worlds,
Unrivaled trainer for those who seek peace,
Teacher of Devas and humans,
Awakened and gone beyond.’
This is called the governing principle of confidence monks.
[2. Determination]
What is the governing principle of determination?
Here monks,
A wise meditator lives,
Bringing forth determination for:
(1) The giving up of unwholesome states
(2) and the accumulation of wholesome states
So they may be strong.
One deploys steady effort,
Never disregarding the task of wholesome qualities.[4]
[Guarding from Unwholesome States]
(1) One generates the intention
For the non-emergence of unfavorable, unwholesome states of mind.
One endeavors with determination,
strives and supports this with one’s mind.
[Abandoning Unwholesome States]
(2) One generates the intention
For the abandonment of unfavorable, unwholesome states of mind.
One endeavors with determination,
strives and supports this with one’s mind.
[Bringing up Wholesome States]
(3) One generates the intention
For the emergence of wholesome states of mind.
One endeavors with determination,
Strives and supports this with one’s mind.
[Maintaining Wholesome States]
(4) One generates the intention
For the persistence of wholesome states,
For their non-confusion, Growth, Maturation, Development and culmination.
One endeavors with determination,
Strives and supports this with one’s mind.[5]
This is called the governing principle of determination.
[3. Awareness]
What is the governing principle of Awareness?
Here monks,
A wise meditator is present,
Excelling in awareness and mental composure,
Seeing and recalling what was said and done a long time ago. [6]
Here, one lives;
(1) Resting one’s awareness on the body,
Knowing it as body.
Intent, fully conscious and present
Letting go of tensions and distractions.
(2) Resting one’s awareness on sensations,
Knowing them as sensations.
Intent, fully conscious and present,
Letting go of tensions and distractions.
(3) Resting one’s awareness on mind,
Knowing it as mind.
Intent, fully conscious and present,
Letting go of tensions and distractions.
(4) Resting one’s awareness on mental states,
Knowing them as mental states.
Intent, fully conscious and present,
Letting go of tensions and distractions.
This is called the governing principle of awareness.
[4. Mental Collectedness]
What is the governing principle of mental collectedness?
Here monks,
A wise meditator, based on letting go,
on release, [7]
One accumulates mental unity,
Accumulates that sharpness of mind. [8]
(1) Disengaging from sensory input,
and detaching from unwholesome mental states,
Attended by thinking and imagination
With the joy and happiness
born of mental detachment
One understands and abides
in the first level of meditation.
(2) With the calming of thinking and imagining,
With inner tranquilization,
With the mind becoming unified,
Unattended by thinking and imagination
With joy and happiness
born of mental collectedness,
One understands and dwells
in the second level of meditation.
(3) With the calming of excited joy,
Present and fully comprehending,
Experiencing happiness within one’s body
That which the awakened ones describe as:
“Steady presence of mind.”
“This is a pleasant abiding”
One understands and abides
in the third level of meditation.
(4) Unattached to pleasant sensations,
And unstirred by unpleasant sensations,
With the settling of agitation and dullness,
With neither distress nor excitement,
Purified by unmoving presence,
One understands and abides
in the fourth level of meditation.
This is called, the governing principle of mental collectedness.
[5. Discernment]
What is the governing principle of discernment?
Here monks,
A wise meditator is discerning,
Endowed with the vision of arising and passing away,
Which is worthy of the Ariyas,
Which tells states apart,
And brings the complete calming of tension. [9]
One clearly understands:
(1) “This is tension”
(2) “This is the arising of tension”
(3) “This is the calming of tension”
(4) “This is the path to calm the tension.”
This is called the governing principle of discernment.
These monks, are the five governing principles of the mind.
[1] Indriya (nt.) [Vedic indriya adj. only in meaning “belonging to Indra”; nt. strength, might (cp. inda), but in specific pāli sense”belonging to the ruler”, i. e. governing, ruling nt. governing, ruling or controlling principle] A. On term: Indriya is one of the most comprehensive & important categories of Buddhist psychological philosophy & ethics, meaning “controlling principle, directive force, élan, in the foll. applications: (a) with reference to sense — perceptibility “faculty, function”, often wrongly interpreted as “organ”; (b) w. ref. toobjective aspects of form and matter “kind, characteristic, determinating principle, sign, mark” (cp. woman — hood, hood= Goth. haidus “kind, form”); (c) w. ref. to moods of sensationand (d) to moral powers or motives controlling action, “principle, controlling” force; (e) w. ref. to cognition & insight “category”.
[2] Saddhindriyaṃ, vīriyindriyaṃ, satindriyaṃ, samādhindriyaṃ, paññindriyaṃ.
[3] ariyasāvako saddho hoti, saddahati tathāgatassa bodhiṃ:
[4] ariyasāvako āraddhavīriyo viharati akusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ pahānāya, kusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ upasampadāya, thāmavā daḷhaparakkamo anikkhittadhuro kusalesu dhammesu.
[5] uppannānaṃ kusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ ṭhitiyā asammosāya bhiyyobhāvāya vepullāya bhāvanāya pāripūriyā chandaṃ janeti vāyamati vīriyaṃ ārabhati cittaṃ paggaṇhāti padahati
[6] ariyasāvako satimā hoti paramena satinepakkena samannāgato, cirakatampi cirabhāsitampi saritā anussaritā.
[7] Vossaggārammaṇaṃ: The venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi translates as: ‘having made release the object.’ Vossagga [=ossagga; ava+sṛj] relinquishing, relaxation; handing over, donation, gift. Ārammaṇa (nt.) [cp. Sk. ālambana, lamb] primary meaning “foundation”: (1) support, help, footing, expedient, basis of operation, chance (= ālambana, nissaya, upanissaya — (2) condition,ground, cause, means. — (3) a basis for the working of the mind & intellect; i. e. sense — object, object of thought or consciousness, object in general. — (4) (adj.) being supported by, depending on, centred in, concentrated upon.
[8] ariyasāvako vossaggārammaṇaṃ karitvā labhati samādhiṃ, labhati cittassa ekaggataṃ.
[9] ariyasāvako paññavā hoti udayatthagāminiyā paññāya samannāgato ariyāya nibbedhikāya, sammā dukkhakkhayagāminiyā.
