Pariyatti as the Root of the Sāsanā

General Theravada topics
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Pariyatti as the Root of the Sāsanā

(From the Atthakathā to Anguttara Nikāya, Ekanipāta, Dutiyapamādādivagga, 42nd sutta)

And in that place [Maṇḍalārāma Monastery in Kallagāma] there arose a discussion among the elders as to whether the root of the Dispensation consisted in practice (paṭipatti) or in study of the Teaching (pariyatti). Those elders who were wearers of rag-robes said, “practice is the root,” and those elders who were teachers of Dhamma said, “study is the root.”

Then some elders said, “we cannot decide between your two opinions merely on the basis of your assertions. Support them by quoting a saying spoken by the Conqueror.”

“It will be no trouble to quote a saying,” replied both sides. Then the elders who were wearers of rag-robes quoted these passages:

“Subhadda, if bhikkhus in this very Dispensation were to live rightly, the world would not be empty of arahants.”

“Your majesty, the Teacher’s Dispensation is rooted in practice and has practice as its pith. While practice is maintained, the Dispensation lasts.”

After listening to these sayings, the elders who were teachers of Dhamma then quoted this saying as proof of their own claim:

“For as long the Suttantas endure, for as long as the Vinaya is taught,
For just that long will there be light, like that after the sun has risen.
But when the Suttantas are no more, and when the Vinaya is forgotten,
There will be darkness in the world, like that after the sun has set.
While the Suttantas are protected, then is practice protected too;
A sage, being grounded in practice, fails not to reach peace from the bonds.”

When this saying was quoted, the elders who were wearers of rag-robes became silent and the speech of the teachers of Dhamma prevailed.

Neither among a hundred bulls, nor among a thousand, will even a single bull ensure the continuance of his line in the absence of a cow**. Even so, neither among a hundred bhikkhus intent on insight, nor among a thousand, will even a single bhikkhu penetrate the noble path in the absence of pariyatti.**

Marks are engraved in rock to show the location of buried treasure; for as long as those marks endure, the treasure is not reckoned as lost. Even so, for as long as pariyatti endures, the Teacher’s Dispensation is not reckoned to have disappeared.
(Manorathapūraṇī i. 92-3, )

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Interestingly, these elders don’t seem like having any strict opinion on the matter.
Are they taking the middle path?

Here the necessity of a cow is emphasized, yet the study-monk has equated (in simile) to a cow and practice-monk has equated to a bull. Does that simile hint about a weakness in study-monk although he is a necessary one? Or is it just a simile to convey the meaning?

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Any systematic way for laypeople to do Pariyatti?

I just memorise the scriptures that I felt interested :sweat_smile:

So far I memorised these scriptures and they didn’t slip away from my memory:

(1) Namo Tassa… Tisaranagamana…Pancasila…Buddhaguna, Dhammaguna and Sanghaguna.

(2) Paṭiccasamuppāda

(3) Some miscellaneous gathas…such as Dhammapada “Sabbapapassa akaranam…” and Devadhammagatha from Jataka …

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I think the old way for was new monks to study the Abhidhammatha-sangaha . That gives the basics.

Anyway pariyatti and patipatti go together.
When listening to or reading Dhamma there is also considering it.

Assuming that the study/considering is with maha-kusala cittas associated with wisdom (i.e real pariyatti); then it is of the same type as the citta that arises when there is patipatti. The difference is that object of patipatti is taken directly as enumerated in the satipatthana sutta.

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What I have seen and read is about traditional monk’s way of study. And I guess the lay people’s way is also not largely differs from this.

Generally monks study Suttas or Vinaya or Abhidhamma starting from the beginning of each,
while using Visudhimagga, Matikatthakatha(or any brief summary book of whole Vinaya) and Abhidhammatthasangaha for reference and guidance, respectively.

Some monks start from Abhidhamma, because some senior monks advise them to start from Abhidhamma to protect the view and cover the fundamentals. (as for venerable Nagasena in Milinda Panha, Analytical monks, Burmese monks, Study monks etc.)

Some monks start from Vinaya.(Because it is the beginning and protection of monk-life )

Some monks start from Nettippakarana or Suttas. (Because they are faith developing and encouraging for practice).

Most of the monks are needed to memorize(at least parts of) Paritta book, Dhammapada, a Samanera advice-book and Pali beforehand. (Because they are considered to be prerequisites)

And some monks study switching between each other Pitakas while keeping the mentioned 3 guidance books as reference.

Nevertheless, apparently, most of the monks have a preference out of the three pitakas (I don’t know whether this is good or not).

Most of the traditional lay people (only if they like studying dhamma), formally start from studying Abhidhamma basics.

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Thanks for the info.

In that case, I prefer to use Majjhima Nikaya for Sutta study, Visuddhimagga as commentary study.

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It would not be a bad idea to start memorizing some of the abhidhammatthasaṅgaha
I would start with the 8 kusala citta. They are easy to memorize.
Then apply them to the 6 sense doors.

While I think most people prefer the majjhimanikāya over all nikāya, I would have to say that saṃyuttanikāya is more geared towards systematic practice, especially, nidānavagga, khandhavagga and saḷāyatanavagga and other vaggas.

Furthermore, these are more conclusive for reading and learning pāḷi. Why? Because the majority of these are based on technical terms which repeat again and again. The variations are small and therefore the new vocabulary is not so much per sutta.

I’m personally working through the saḷāyatanavagga now right now. I have read the 4 nikāya and believe the sn is most profound. I think others who are well read will feel the same.

Memorizing suttas or gathas are a good idea. pāḷi chanting is very common in monastic environments.

All that said, all 4 nikāya have different qualities. I have not read all of the khuddakanikāya though. Perhaps I am biased because my current “straight through” reading is now on the saṃyuttanikāya. (I think i may have jumped ahead of Devatāsaṃyutta).

A German monk had 3 volumes of Buddhist Legends as private property and I asked him to donate to the library. Eventually he did, and he made me promise to read every story. A very wonderful agreement.

I’ve also read most of the JaA too.
Definitely try to stay close pāḷi or translated pāḷi into English.

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Love them!

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What Buddhist legends?

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here is the last volume by Burlingame - his translation of the Dhammapada Commentary.

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The best edited copy of Buddhist Legends is here:

https://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/English-Texts/Buddhist-Legends/index.htm

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Oh I see, it’s Dhammapada stories…

I prefer this The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories

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I think both pariyatti and patipatti have their own specialties.
Pariyatti: Root
Patipatti: Trunk
Pativedha: Fruit

Without the root there is not tree or fruit. Pariyatti/paratoghosa is the root or base of the sasana. Pariyatti is distinct in this aspect.

Without the trunk no fruit can be obtained, even though there is the root. In order to obtain fruits there should be a trunk grown.

Patipatti-less pariyatti merely secure the roots.
Pariyatti-less patipatti either becomes a wastage or leads towards views.

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in the section on the development of vipassana in Vism.XX
From the tika:
note 13.

“First it has to be seen by inference according to the texts. Afterwards it gradually comes to be seen by personal experience when the knowledge of development gets stronger” (Vism-mhþ 790).

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Anguttara nikaya book of fours p. 394 bodhi translation

7 (7) They Adorn
"Bhikkhus, these four kinds of persons who are competent,
disciplined, self-confident, learned, experts on the Dhamma,
practicing in accordance with the Dhamma, adorn the Sangha.
W hat four? .
(1) "A bhikkhu who is competent, disciplined, self-confident,
learned, an expert on the Dhamma, practicing in accordance
with the Dhamma,. adorns the Sangha. (2) A bhikkhuni who is
com petent. . . (3) A male lay follower who is competent. . . (4)

A female lay follower, who is competent, disciplined, self-
confident, learned, an expert on the Dhamma, practicing in

accordance w ith the Dhamma, adorns the Sangha.

"Bhikkhus, these four kinds of persons who are compe-
tent, disciplined, self-confident, learned, upholders of the

Dhamma, practicing in accordance with the Dhamma, adorn
the Sangha."
One who is competent and self-confident,
learned, an expert on the Dhamma,
practicing in accord with the Dhamma,
is called an adornment of the Sangha.
A bhikkhu accomplished in virtue,
a learned bhikkhuni,
a male lay follower endowed with faith,
a female lay follower endowed with faith:
these are the ones that adorn the Sangha;
these are the Sangha’s adornments.

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https://suttacentral.net/an6.51/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=sidebyside&reference=none&notes=sidenotes&highlight=false&script=latin

anguttara nikaya
About Dhammika

5. Dhammikavagga

With Ānanda

Reverend Sāriputta, take a mendicant who memorizes the teaching—statements, mixed prose & verse, discussions, verses, inspired exclamations, legends, stories of past lives, amazing stories, and elaborations.

Then, just as they learned and memorized it, they teach others in detail, make them recite in detail, practice reciting in detail, and think about and consider the teaching in their heart, examining it with the mind.

They enter the rains retreat in a monastery with senior mendicants who are very learned, inheritors of the heritage, who have memorized the teachings, the monastic law, and the outlines.From time to time they go up to those mendicants and ask them questions:‘Why, sir, does it say this? What does that mean?’Those venerables clarify what is unclear, reveal what is obscure, and dispel doubt regarding the many doubtful matters.

This is how a mendicant gets to hear a teaching they haven’t heard before. It’s how they remember those teachings they have heard. It’s how they keep rehearsing the teachings they’ve already got to know. And it’s how they come to understand what they haven’t understood before.

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Comment: A “repetitive intellectual denial of self” does nothing to remove wrong view.

Obviously a mere "repetitive intellectual denial of self’ would be as effective as saying Buddho, Buddho over and over or any other idea.

However, without actual pariyatti -that is the wise contemplation of Dhamma correctly and relating it to the moment- nothing further will be developed.
Right now the world is disintegrating, there is not even a drop of this entire universe left from a second ago. But new elements arise partially conditioned by the prenascent ones, and so there is continuity. And because of this continuity impermanence is concealed- and it appears that there is simple change and the radical and complete falling way is unknown.

Sammohavinodani (the Dispeller of Delusion)
p.59
The characteristic of impermanence does not appear owing to not keeping in mind, not penetrating rise and fall owing to its being concealed by continuity (santati).

The texts say the development takes a long time- cira kala bhavana. We need to rely on the guidance of the ancients, and I believe the one who does will learn to see the Dhamma - the Suttas, the Abhidhamma, the Commentaries, as descriptions of life itself.

So, as I see it, we should not be doing something else other than studying directly the present moment ; then Dhamma becomes real and there is no more looking outside for some other way… Reading a book on Abhidhamma becomes like reading life itself. Then there can be the development of satipatthana.

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**Sotānugatasutta—Bhikkhu Bodhi translation
Numbered Discourses 4.191

  1. The Great Chapter
    “191 (1) Followed by Ear “Bhikkhus, when one has followed the teachings by ear, 903 recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view, four benefits are to be expected. What four? (1) “Here, a bhikkhu masters the Dhamma: discourses, mixed prose and verse, expositions, verses, inspired utterances, quotations, birth stories, amazing accounts, and questions-and answers. He has followed those teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view. He passes away muddled in mind and is reborn into a certain group of devas. There, the happy ones recite passages of the Dhamma to him. 904 The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. This is the first benefit to be expected when one has followed the teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view. (2

) “Again, a bhikkhu masters the Dhamma: discourses … and questions-and-answers. He has followed those teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view. He passes away muddled in mind and is reborn into a certain group of devas. There, the happy ones do not recite passages of the Dhamma to him, but a bhikkhu with psychic potency who has attained mastery of mind teaches the Dhamma to an assembly of devas. It occurs to him: ‘This is the Dhamma and discipline in which I formerly lived the spiritual life.’ The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. Suppose a man were skilled in the sound of a kettledrum. While traveling along a highway he might hear the sound of a kettledrum and would not be at all perplexed or uncertain about the sound; rather, he would conclude: ‘That is the sound of a kettledrum.’ So too, a bhikkhu masters the Dhamma [186] … The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. This is the second benefit to be expected.

(3) “Again, a bhikkhu masters the Dhamma: discourses … and questions-and-answers. He has followed those teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view. He passes away muddled in mind and is reborn into a certain group of devas. There, the happy ones do not recite passages of the Dhamma to him, nor does a bhikkhu with psychic potency who has attained mastery of mind teach the Dhamma to an assembly of devas. However, a young deva teaches the Dhamma to an assembly of devas. It occurs to him: ‘This is the Dhamma and discipline in which I formerly lived the spiritual life.’ The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. Suppose a man were skilled in the sound of a conch. While traveling along a highway he might hear the sound of a conch and he would not be at all perplexed or uncertain about the sound; rather, he would conclude: ‘That is the sound of a conch.’ So too, a bhikkhu masters the Dhamma … The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. This is the third benefit to be expected when one has followed the teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view.

(4) “Again, a bhikkhu masters the Dhamma: discourses … and questions-and-answers. He has followed those teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view. He passes away muddled in mind and is reborn into a certain group of devas. There, the happy ones do not recite passages of the Dhamma to him, nor does a bhikkhu with psychic potency who has attained mastery of mind teach the Dhamma to an assembly of devas, nor does a young deva teach the Dhamma to an assembly of devas. However, one being who has been spontaneously reborn reminds another who has been spontaneously reborn: ‘Do you remember, dear sir? Do you remember where we formerly lived the spiritual life?’ The other says: ‘I remember, dear sir. I remember.’ The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. Suppose there were two friends who had played together in the mud. By chance they would meet one another later in life. Then one friend would say to the other: ‘Do you remember this, friend? Do you remember that, friend?’ And the other would say: [187] ‘I remember, friend. I remember.’ So too, a bhikkhu masters the Dhamma … The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. This is the fourth benefit to be expected when one has followed the teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view. “These are the four benefits to be expected when one has followed the teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view

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These are only short summaries… Try comparing the first story to see what is missing. You will find a lot is missing.

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There are three levels of understanding, the pariyatti, patipatti, and pativedha. If the first one - the clear intellectual understanding is absent then there can’t be further understanding at the level of patipatti, let alone pativedha.

Visuddhimagga XIX19

“There is no doer of a deed, or one who reaps the result. Phenomena alone flow on, no other view than this right.
XVIII24
“This is mere mentality-materiality, there is no being, no person
And this right view - is essential for the further development of the factors of the path:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth … 7.html#pt2
Commentary to the Sammaditthi Sutta.

“The person possessing right view is of three kinds: the worldling
(puthujjana), the disciple in higher training (sekha), and the one beyond
training (asekha). Herein, the worldling is of two kinds: one outside the
Dispensation and one within the Dispensation. Herein, one outside the
Dispensation who believes in kamma is one of right view on account of the
view of kamma as one’s own, but not on account of that which is in
conformity with the truths, because he holds to the view of self. One
within the Dispensation is of right view on account of both. The disciple
in higher training is one of right view on account of fixed right view,
the one beyond training on account of (the right view) that is beyond
training.”

Quoting Bodhi In the Buddha’s Words page 302:

Pañña[wisdom] is directed to specific domains of understanding. These domains, known in the Pali commentaries as “the soil of wisdom” (paññabhumi), must be thoroughIy investigated and mastered through conceptual understanding before direct, nonconceptual insight can effectively accomplish its work. To master them requires analysis, discrimination, and discernment.

Thus, as I see it, the level of sacca ñana, the intellectual understanding has to sink through to the bones. One sees the world through the lens of the three characteristics. Whatever appears is understood - whenever reflected on - as utterly anatta, dukkha and anicca. And this is the beginning of satipatthana.
So from the Satipatthana sutta “Clear comprehension in looking straight on and in looking away from the front”
the Commentary explains.

And further this clear comprehension of non-delusion should be understood, by way of the reflection on the aggregates, bases, processes and conditions.

To be sure, here, eye and visible object are materiality-aggregate; seeing is consciousness-aggregate; feeling that is associated with seeing is feeling-aggregate; perceiving is perception-aggregate, and those beginning with sense-impression are formation-aggregate. Thus looking-straight-on-and-looking-away-from-the-front is seen in the combination of these five aggregates. There, who, singly, looks straight on? Who looks away from the front?
[…] Thus looking straight-on-and-looking-away-from-the-front is seen in the combination of these conditions.

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