Path of Freedom [Vimuttimagga]

The Five Methods 251actions of washing, sorting, placing the fruits in a vessel and offering themto the king illustrate determining. The eating by the king is apperception.His talking as to the merits or demerits of the fruits illustrate registration ofeffect, and his sleeping again is the lapsing into the life-continuum. 1Here, consciousness depending on the impact of objects of middlingintensity at the eye-door proceeds up to apperception and immediately lapsesinto the life-continuum. Through the impact of objects of lower intensity,consciousness lapses into the life-continuum immediately after determining.In the same way the procedure at the other doors should be understood. Atthe mind-door there is no impact of object. Conditioned by attention, andfree from activities is the object grasped at the mind-door. Here, withreference to a very great object three stages are produced (after vibration)of the life-continuum, namely, adverting, apperception and registration.With reference to the objects of great and slight intensity two stages are fulfilled:adverting and apperception. 2 Here, feeling and perception shouldbe known through various conditions.Through the conditioning of right-attention 3 and non-right-attention,various kinds of merit and demerit should be known. Thus one should knowthrough manifestation of the interlocking of distinctive thought.*Q. How, through comprehension? A. There are three kinds ofcomprehension, namely, aggregate-comprehension, element-comprehension,truth-comprehension. Here, ten sense-spheres are comprehended in theaggregate of matter. The sense-sphere of mind is comprehended in theaggregate of consciousness. The sense-sphere of states, excepting Nibbdna,is comprehended in the four aggregates. Eleven sense-spheres are comprehendedin eleven elements. The sense-sphere of mind is comprehended inseven elements. The five internal sense-spheres are comprehended in theTruth of 111. The five external sense-spheres are either comprehended or notcomprehended in the Truth of 111. The sense-sphere of mind is either comprehendedor not comprehended in the Truth of 111. The sense-sphere ofstates is either comprehended or not comprehended in the Truth of III. Thusshould comprehension be known. In this way one develops discernmentthrough the sense-sphere method. This is called sense-sphere method.Sense-sphere method has ended.ELEMENT METHODQ. What is the element-method? A. There are eighteen elements,namely, eye-element, material-element, eye-consciousness-element; ear-1. Cp. Compendium of Philosophy, 30 for mango simile.2. Cp. Ibid. 128.3. Sammd-manasikara ( ?)* Not quite clear.