THE FIRST TRUTH.

THE HOLY TRUTH OF SUFFERING.

The purport of the First Truth.

What now Brothers, is the Holy Truth of Suffering?

Birth is Suffering; decay is Suffering; disease is Suffering; Death is Suffering; Sorrow, Lamentation, Pain, Grief and Despair are Suffering; not to get what one desires, is Suffering; in short, the Five Aspects of Existence are Suffering.

What now, Brothers, is Birth? The birth, the bearing, the germination, the conception, the manifestation of the Aspects of Existence of Beings belonging to this or that order of Beings; the arising of sense-activity;—this, Brothers, is called Birth.3

What now, Brothers, is Decay? The becoming aged and withered, decrepit, grey and wrinkled of beings belonging to this or the other order of beings; the disappearance of the vital force, the enfeebling of the senses;-this, Brothers, is called Decay.

What now, Brothers, is Death? The parting, the disappearance, of Beings out of this or that Order of Beings; the rending asunder, the ruin, the death, the dissolution, the end of the life-period, the disappearance of the Aspects of Existence, the putrefaction of the corpse ;-this, Brothers, is called Death.

What now, Brothers, is Sorrow? What soever, Brothers, through this or the other loss which one undergoes, through this or the other misfortune which one encountersis sorrow, trouble, affliction, inward distress, inward woe,— this, Broers, is called Sorrow.

What now, Brothers, is Lamentation? Whatsoever, Brothers, through this or the other loss which one undergoes, through this or the other misfortune which one encounters-is plaint and lamentation, wailing and bemoaning, mourning and unalloyed lamentation ;-this, Brothers; is called Lamentation.

3. By birth (Jāti) is to be understood the entire birth-process, begin ning with conception and ending with parturition.

What now, Brothers, is Pain? Whatsoever, Brothers, is painful to the body, disagreeable to the body; is felt by bodily contact to be painful and disagreeable;—this, Brothers, is called Pain.

What now, Brothers, is Grief? Whatsoever, Brothers. is painful to the mind, disagreeable to the mind; is felt by mental contact to be painful and disagreeable ;-this, Brothers, is called Grief.

What now, Brothers, is Despair? Whatsoever, Brothers, through this or the other loss which one undergoes, through this or the other sorrow which one encounters,—is dejection and despairing, despondency and hopelessness ;— this, Brothers, is called Despair.

What now, Brothers, is the Suffering of not getting what one desires? To beings, Brothers, subject to birth, comes the desire: "O that we were not subject to birth! O that no birth (again) lay before us!" But that cannot be got by mere desiring and not to get what one desires is Suf. fering. To beings, Brothers, subject to decay, disease, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair, comes the desire: "O that we were not subject to decay, disease, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair! O that there lay before us nor decay, nor disease, nor death; neither sorrow, nor lamentation, nor pain, neither grief nor despair!" But this cannot be got by mere desiring; and not to get what one desires is Suffering.

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The five Khan

What now, in brief, Brothers, are the Five Aspects (Khandhas) of Existence? They are, Material Existence (Rūpa), Sensation (Vedanā), dhas or Aspects Perception (Saññā), Subjective Differentiations (Sankhārā, mental properties), Consci

of Existence.

ousness (Viññāṇa).

All material existence, Brothers, whether one's own or not one's own, whether gross or refined, lofty or low, far or near,—this belongs to the Aspect of Material Existence (rūpa-kkhandha) ; all sensation belongs to the Aspect of Sensation; all perception belongs to the Aspect of Perception; all differentiations belong to the Aspect of Subjective

Differentiations; all consciousness belongs to the Aspect of Consciousness.4

Rupa-kkhandha or the Material Aspect.

What now, Brothers, is the Aspect of Material Existence? It is the Four Chief Material Elements and the bodily properties dependent upon the Four Chief Material Elements. What now, Brothers, are the Four Chief Material Elements? They are the Solid Element (Paṭhavi-dhātu), the Fluid Element (Apodhātu), the Heating Element (Tejo-dhātu), the Vibrating Element (Vāyo-dhātu).5

The four Elements (elementary forces.)

1. What now, Brothers, is the Solid Element (Pathavidhātu)? There is the Solid Element of one's own body and the Solid Element of other bodies. What now, Brothers, is the Solid Element of one's own body? Whatsoever, of one's own body individualised, presents itself hard and solid as the hair of the head, and the body, as the nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, stomach, bowels, mesentery, excrement, and whatsoever else of one's own body individualised, presents itself hard and solid-this, Brothers, is called the Solid Element of one's own body. Whatever there is of the Solid Element in one's own body, and whatever there is of the Solid Element in other bodies, this is the Solid Element; hence one should understand according to reality and true

4. Our individual existence is nothing more than the subjective-objective Anschauung, Nama-Rūpa, produced by consciousness, the existence of which latter again is conditioned by the contact of the six senses--the mind being the sixth--with their corresponding objects. Material Existence constitutes the objective aspect (Rūpa-kkhandha), whilst the subjective aspects (Nama-kkhandhas) consist of Sensation, Perception, Subjective Differentia tions, and Consciousness. We shall see later on that these five Khandhas or Aspects of Existence, whether taken collectively or apart, do not constitute any kind of self-existent state or Ding an Sich, or anything that can be called an I', in the absolute sense of the word, and that hence the belief in the existence of such an' I' is a purely illusory belief.

5. The Four Elements, or--to speak more correctly--the Four Elementary Forces, Pathavi-dhātu, Apo-dhātu, Tejo-dhātu, and Vayo- dhātu may be rendered as, Inertia, Cohesion, (bandhana-lakkhaṇa), Radiation, and Vibration (calana-lakkhana).

All material things, according to Buddhism owe their existence to the more or less dissimilar inter-blending of these forces. The twenty-four bodily properties which depend upon these forces are:-1. Eye 2. Ear 3. Nose. 4. Tongue. 5. Body. 6. Form. 7. Sound. 8. Odour. 9. Taste 10. Masculinity. 11. Feminity. 12. Vitality. 13. Heart. (European science would here say, brain, since by heart is meant the organ of thinking.) 14. Gesture. 15. Speech. 16. Space. (i. e., cavities, as of the ear, the nose, and so forth.) 17. Agility. 18. Elasticity, 19. Adaptability. 20. Growth. 21. Duration. 22. Decay. 23. Variability. 24. Change of substance.

(For a detailed description of the foregoing, consult the VisuddhiMagga.)

wisdom: This does not belong to me; this am I not; this is no "I" (Attā)."

2. What now, Brothers, is the Fluid Element (Apodhātu)? There is the Fluid Element of one's own body and the Fluid Element of other bodies. What now, Brothers, is the Fluid Element of one's own body? Whatever, individualised presents itself fluid and watery, in one's own body, as bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, lymph, tears, serum, spittle, nasal mucus, oil of the joints, urine, and whatever else individualised presents itself fluid and watery in one's own body-this Brothers, is called the fluid Element in one's own body. Whatever there is of the Fluid Element in one's own body, and whatever there is of the Fluid Element in other bodies, this is the Fluid Element; hence one should understand according to reality and true wisdom: This does not belong to me; this am I not; this is no 'I.'

3. What now, Brothers, is the Heating Element (Tejodhātu)? There is the Heating Element of one's own body and the Heating Element of other bodies. What now, Brothers, is the Heating Element of one's own body? Whatsoever, individualised, presents itself fiery and flame-like in one's own body as that whereby heat and the process of combustion arise, whereby one grows hot, whereby that which one has eaten, drunken, or masticated or tasted, is digested; or whatever else individualised, presents itself fiery and flame-like in one's own body,-this, Brothers, is called the Heating Element in one's own body. Whatever now there is of the Heating Element in one's own body and whatever there is of the Heating Element in other bodies, this is the Heating Element; hence one should understand according to reality and true wisdom: This does not belong to me; this am I not; this is no 'I.'

4. What now, Brothers, is the Vibrating Element (Vayo-dhātu)? There is the Vibrating Element of one's own

6. Just as the word chariot is merely a designation for axle, wheels body, shaft, and other parts put together in a certain manner, and as, when we proceed to investigate this particular thing we discover that in the absolute sense there is no chariot there;-and just as the word house is nothing more than a convenient designation for wood and other materials, which put together, after a specific fashion, constitute an enclosed space, and yet in the absolute sense there is no house at all there;-in exactly the same way that which we call a being or an individual is nothing more than the presence of the Five Khandhas or Aspects of Existence, and when we proceed to inquire into the Khandhas, each one separately by itself,--we come to the knowledge that in the absolute sense there is nothing present that can furnish any real support for such fictions as: I am,' or ' I.'

(Visuddhi Magga.)

body and the Vibrating Element of other bodies. What now, Brothers, is the Vibrating Element of one's own body? Whatsoever, individualised, presents itself mobile and fugitive in one's own body, as the upward going and the downward-going vapours, the vapours of stomach and intestines, the in-breathing and the out-breathing; or whatsoever else individualised, presents itself mobile and fugitive in one's own body-this, Brothers, is called the Vibrating Element in one's own body. Whatsoever there is of the Vibrating Element in one's own body and whatsoever there is of the Vibrating Element in other bodies,-this is the Vibrating Element; hence one should understand according to reality and true wisdom: This does not belong to me; this am I not; this is no 'I'.

Just as Brothers, one calls a house the circumscribed space, which comes to be by means of beams and rushes, reeds and clay;-even so Brothers, we call body, the circumscribed space that arises by means of bones and sinews, flesh and skin.

If now Brothers, one's eye is whole, and external forms. do not fall upon the field of vision, and no corresponding conjunction takes place, then there occurs no formation of the corresponding consciousness-impression. If one's eye is whole and external forms do fall upon the field of vision, and still no corresponding conjunction takes place, then also there occurs no formation of a corresponding consciousnessimpression.

If however, Brothers, one's eye is whole, and external forms fall upon the field of vision and a corresponding conjunction takes place, in that case there occurs the formation of the corresponding consciousness-impressions.

Hence I say: The arising of consciousness is dependent upon causes, and without these there is no consciousness. Now upon whatsoever causes the arising of consciousness is dependent, after these causes it is called.

Consciousness whose arising depends on the eye (Cakkhu) and forms, is called eye-consciousness (Cakkhuvin ñāna.)

Consciousness whose arising depends on the ear (Sota) and sounds, is called ear-consciousness (Sotaviññāņa).

Consciousness whose arising depends on the nose (Ghana) and odours, is called olfactory-consciousness (Ghānaviññāna).