(4) Likewise, when sounds are heard and appreciated by the mind, that event is afflictive and will bring about the ripening of unvirtuous factors. (3) Finally, when forms are registered as neutral, that will bring about the ripening of indeterminate factors. (2) On the other hand, when forms appear and become the source of mental displeasure, there is freedom from desire, and thus there will be the ripening of virtuous factors. Hence, such an event leads to the experience of the ripening of unvirtuous factors. What are those eighteen? Here he will think, (1) ‘When forms appear to the eyes and are appreciated by the mind, that is afflictive. “At this point he will understand the mind’s engagement with what is virtuous, unvirtuous, and neutral in terms of eighteen categories of discernment. In an account that spans the full spectrum of life in saṃsāra, from the horrifying misery and intense pain of the lower realms to the enrapturing beauty and bliss in the heavens, the Buddha explains how different kinds of physical, verbal, and mental behavior of humans lead to rebirth in such realms of existence. As the Buddha responds to the monks, he describes the path from the perspective of an adept meditating monk, who applies the Dharma teachings correctly and so discovers the truths of the Dharma. Not knowing how to reply, the monks request that the Buddha explain how the path of the sacred Dharma is unlike any other. A group of newly ordained monks have been challenged by the members of another religious group, who suggest that the Buddha’s teachings are indistinguishable from those of their own teacher. The epic discourse of The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (AMSD) unfolds as a single, sustained reply to a short question that is put to the Buddha Śākyamuni as the sūtra opens. In the final section of the sūtra, which is presented as an individual scripture on its own, the focus is on mindfulness of the body and the ripening of karmic actions that is experienced among humans in particular. As the teaching progresses, the Buddha presents an epic tour of the realm of desire-from the Hell of Ultimate Torment to the Heaven Free from Strife-all the while introducing the specific human actions and attitudes that cause the experience of such worlds and outlining the ways to remedy and transcend them. In response to the monks’ request, the Buddha delivers a comprehensive discourse on the effects of virtuous and unvirtuous actions, explaining these matters from the perspective of an adept practitioner of his teachings, who sees and understands all this through a process of personal discovery. The monks do not know how to reply, and when they later return to the brahmin town of Nālati, where the Buddha is residing, Śāradvatīputra therefore encourages them to seek clarification from the Blessed One himself. While on the way to Rājagṛha to collect alms, a group of newly ordained monks are approached by some non-Buddhists, who suggest that their doctrine is identical to that of the Buddha, since everyone agrees that misdeeds of body, speech, and mind are to be given up. The Application of Mindfulness of the Body (30) Finally Going Completely Beyond Suffering (29) Being Free From Regrets at the Time of Death (25) Possessing the Wealth of Being Endowed with the Dharma (22) Being Praised by the People of the World (21) Cultivating Activity That Increases One’s Life Span (20) Understanding Karmic Actions and Their Effects (15) Relinquishing Negativities That Arise by the Force of Conditions (12) Establishing Those with Wrong View in the Authentic View (10) Causing the Roots of Virtue to Mature (9) Giving Rise to Roots of Virtue That Did Not Exist Previously (8) Developing Discernment of the Characteristics of the Dharma (6) Establishing Others in That Which One Observes (1) Hearing the Dharma That One Has Not Heard Before The Gods in Fine Complexion and Large Body The Gods in Enraptured by and Attached to Song The Gods in Distinguished in Many Colorful Ways The Gods in Dwelling in Essence of Jewels The Gods in Dwelling on Forest Riverbanks The Gods in Dwelling by the Pārijāta Tree
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