If anyone could point me in the direction of an English translation for MĀ 215, or if they would be so kind as to translate this paragraph for me I would be very much appreciative.
「復次，有四想，有 比丘想小、想大、想無量、想無所有，眾生如是 樂想意解者，變易有異。多聞聖弟子如是觀 則厭彼，厭彼已，尚不欲第一，況復下賤？復 次有八除處。云何為八？比丘，內有色想，外 觀色，少善色惡色，彼色除已知、除已見，作 如是想：『是謂第一除處。』復次，比丘！內有色 想，外觀色，無量善色惡色，彼色除已知、除 已見，作如是想：『是謂第 二 除處。』復次，比丘！內 無色想，外觀色，少善色惡色，彼色除已知、 除已見，作如是想：『是謂第三除處。』復次， 比丘！內無色想，外觀色，無量善色惡色，彼 色除已知、除已見，作如是想：『是謂第四除 處。』
「復次，比丘！內無色想，外觀色，青青色，青 見青光。猶如青水華，青青色，青見青光。猶 如成就波羅 ［木＊奈］ 衣，熟擣磨碾，光色悅澤， 青青色，青見青光。如是，比丘！內無色想，外 觀色，青青色，青見青光，無量無量，淨意潤 意，樂不憎惡。彼色除已知、除已見，作如是 想：『是謂第五除處。』復次，比丘！內無色想，外 觀色，黃黃色，黃見黃光。猶如頻頭歌羅華， 黃黃色，黃見黃光。猶如成就波羅 ［木＊奈］ 衣，熟 擣磨碾，光色悅澤，黃黃色，黃見黃光。如是， 比丘！內無色想，外觀色，黃黃色，黃見黃光， 無量無量，淨意潤意，樂不憎惡。彼色除已知、 除已見，作如是想：『是謂第六除處。』
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Try contacting professor William Chu, you can find his email on the link.
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I’d rather not translate it off the cuff without the proper amount of time available, but it’s very close to the Pali parallel with very little difference. I’d say the biggest difference on the surface is the expression 彼色除已知、除已見 and the term 八除處.
That is:
除已知、除已見 = ‘tāni abhibhuyya jānāmi passāmī’ti
and
八除處 = Aṭṭhimāni … abhibhāyatanāni
in the two texts.
除 is most likely translating abhibhu in both cases, and it normally means instead “to remove, get rid of, except.” However, it is less commonly read as “to govern or manage” in classical sources, which appears in dictionaries like Gakken. MA is alone in translating the term this way, so I think it may be word choice by the translator, using a word that’s a bit awkward to later readers.
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