veneration to the venerables & regards for all dhamma scholars.
i plan to publish an analytical study of the progressive stages of the development of vipassanā-ñāna in the mahasatipaṭṭhāna sutta and compare it with the general suttanta scheme, abhidhamma & visuddhimagga.
the most important word that, in my humble opinion, has been mis-translated is “paṭissatimattāya”. it must denote ‘merely bare-awareness’ in order to fit in the scheme of the mahasatipaṭṭhāna sutta. ‘paṭissati’ cannot mean rememberance or memory (as some scholars state) and ‘sati’ and ‘paṭissati’ cannot mean the same awareness/mindfulness - particularly when there is a prefix ‘paṭi’ and ‘paṭissatimattāya’ is placed after ‘sati’ has already been established (sati paccupaṭṭhitā hoti).
briefly, my conclusion is that:
ñāṇamattāya = mere awareness / mere understanding (of anicca-lakkhaṇa). i.e. mere observation (of anicca-lakkhaṇa) i.e. mere anicca-ñāṇa. observer-is-observed.
paṭissatimattāya = merely bare-awareness (of anicca-lakkhaṇa). here the awareness turns further inwards and is ‘aware of itself’ or the ‘awareness reflects on itself’ (being aware of anicca-lakkhaṇa). it is the further advanced stage of ‘ñāṇamattāya’ where the awareness is aware of itself and due to further deepening nibbida-ñāṇa, the fixation of awareness on anicca-lakkhaṇa falls away leading to dwelling in support-less emptiness or anatta (anissito ca viharati).
i interpret ‘paṭi’ in ‘paṭissatimattāya’ as denoting counter-form / reflective / reverse just as ‘paṭi’ in paṭibhāga nimitta / paṭibimba / patikkante / patinissaggānupassi. surely, after sati is already established (sati paccupaṭṭhitā hoti) - ‘paṭissatimattāya’ cannot mean the reverse/opposite of sati i.e. asati or muṭṭha-sati.
i present the following three references re: ‘paṭissati’ and pray to this august dhamma assembly to:
1: kindly translate the following three quotes.
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kindly opine whether these quotes are helpful to understand the experiential meaning of ‘paṭissati’ or not and what should be the correct interpretation of ‘paṭissati’ / ‘paṭissatimattāya’.
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“Gāthāsu ānāpāne paṭissatoti ānāpānanimittasmiṃ paṭi paṭi sato, upaṭṭhitassatīti attho”.
- Asubhānupassīsuttavaṇṇanā
- “Sampajānoti sattaṭṭhāniyena sampajaññena samannāgato. Patissatoti kammaṭṭhānaṃ phātiṃ, gametuṃ samatthāya satiyā patissato satokārī”.
- Itivuttaka-aṭṭhakathā, Ekakanipāto, Dutiyasekhasuttavaṇṇanā
- Punappunaṃ saraṇato anussaraṇavasena anussati. Abhimukhaṃ gantvā viya saraṇato paṭisaraṇavasena paṭissati.
- Mahāniddesa-aṭṭhakathā 1. Kāmasuttaniddesavaṇṇanā
praying once more to the benevolent sangha (& others) to translate the above three quotes and for suitable guidance and admonitions on this issue.
with veneration & much mettā,
manish
(update on my thought process)
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buddha Himself has mentioned “paṭissatimattāya” as an intermediate stage between “ñāṇamattāya” and “anissito ca viharati” (anatta) in the mahasatipaṭṭhāna sutta.
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i choose to translate ‘paṭissatimattāya’ as ‘self-reflective awareness’.
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the mālukyaputta Sutta and bāhiya sutta offers buddha’s detailed explanation about the nature of the awareness (sati) that reflects on itself. you may check.
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‘paṭissatimattāya’ is self-reflective awareness of the ñāṇamattāya state.
‘ñāṇamattāya’ = mere awareness (of anicca-lakkhaṇa) / mere understanding (of anicca-lakkhaṇa) / mere observation (of anicca-lakkhaṇa) / mere anicca-ñāṇa / observer-is-observed as ‘mere anicca-ñāṇa’.
paṭissatimattāya = merely self-reflective awareness (of anicca-lakkhaṇa). here the awareness (sati) turns further inwards and is ‘aware of itself’ or the ‘awareness reflects on itself’ (being merely-aware of anicca-lakkhaṇa).
‘paṭissatimattāya’ is the further advanced stage of ‘ñāṇamattāya’ where the awareness is aware of its mere-awareness of anicca-lakkhaṇa and due to further deepening nibbida-ñāṇa, the fixation of awareness on anicca-lakkhaṇa falls away leading to dwelling in support-less emptiness or anatta (anissito ca viharati).
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just as meghiya sutta confirms, anicca-saññā develops into anatta-saññā. ‘paṭissatimattāya’ is the intermediate stage of transition from anicca-sañña to anatta-sañña whereby the subtle attachment of sati with the object of anicca-lakkhaṇa is also transcended leading to dwelling in support-less emptiness (anatta).
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what is written above is very much verifiable by experiential insight.
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RE: “Punappunaṃ saraṇato anussaraṇavasena anussati. Abhimukhaṃ gantvā viya saraṇato paṭisaraṇavasena paṭissati”. (Mahāniddesa-aṭṭhakathā 1. Kāmasuttaniddesavaṇṇanā)
here, “Abhimukhaṃ” may be interpreted as “facing oneself” or “facing the kammaṭṭhāna” or “self-reflective awareness of the object of kammaṭṭhāna” in order to justify the difference between “anussati” in the preceding line and “paṭissati”.
- i seek the help of learned pāli scholars to kindly consider contemplating & translating the following three quotes. it may help to present evidence about the true experential meaning of’paṭissatimattāya’
A. “Gāthāsu ānāpāne paṭissatoti ānāpānanimittasmiṃ paṭi paṭi sato, upaṭṭhitassatīti attho”.
- Asubhānupassīsuttavaṇṇanā
B. “Sampajānoti sattaṭṭhāniyena sampajaññena samannāgato. Patissatoti kammaṭṭhānaṃ phātiṃ, gametuṃ samatthāya satiyā patissato satokārī”.
- Itivuttaka-aṭṭhakathā, Ekakanipāto, Dutiyasekhasuttavaṇṇanā
C. Punappunaṃ saraṇato anussaraṇavasena anussati. Abhimukhaṃ gantvā viya saraṇato paṭisaraṇavasena paṭissati".
- Mahāniddesa-aṭṭhakathā 1. Kāmasuttaniddesavaṇṇanā
- discussions with those who are not convinced was helpful in compelling me to find better words and explanations for ‘paṭissatimattāya’ and realizing that it has already been explained in deep detail by the buddha Himself.
with veneration to the sangha, deep respect and gratitude for all dhamma scholars & much mettā for everyone,
manish
