Direct Knowing, Understanding, Full Understanding

[Tep Sastri]

Hello Everyone!

It is a good mental exercise to study the meanings of, the use of, and relation between the following terms:

Pajaanati : to understand, know
Pari~n~neyyaa : to be fully understood
Pari~n~naa : full understanding
Abhi~n~naa : direct knowledge
Abhijaanaati : to know fully or thoroughly

[MN 149]

“These two things --serenity and insight-- occur in him yoked evenly together.
He fully understands by direct knowledge those things that should be fully understood by direct knowledge.
He abandons by direct knowledge those things that should be abandoned by direct knowledge.
He develops by direct knowledge those things that should be developed by direct knowledge.
He realizes by direct knowledge those things that should be realized by direct knowledge.

[Tassime dve dhammaa yuganaddhaa vattanti samatho ca vipassanaa ca. 

So ye dhammaa abhi~n~naa pari~n~neyyaa, te dhamme abhi~n~naa parijaanaati.
Ye dhammaa abhi~n~naa pahaatabbaa, te dhamme abhi~n~naa pajahati.
Ye dhammaa abhi~n~naa bhaavetabbaa te dhamme abhi~n~naa bhaaveti.
Ye dhammaa abhi~n~naa sacchikaatabbaa, te dhamme abhi~n~naa sacchikaroti.]
..................

SN 22.106 Pari~n~neyya Sutta: To Be Fully Understood (translation by Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi)

At Saavatthi:    Bhikkhus, I will teach you things that should be fully understood, full understanding, and the person that has fully understood. Listen to that.

[Saavatthi-nidaanam:  Pari~n~neyye ca bhikkhave, dhamme desessaami, pari~n~na~nca, pari~n~naataavi~nca puggalam. Tam su.naatha:]

And what, bhikkhus, are the things that should be fully understood?
Form, bhikkhus, is something that should be fully understood. Feeling .. Perception .. Volitional formations .. Consciousness is something that should be fully understood.

[Katame ca bhikkhave, pari~n~neyyaa dhammaa:
Ruupam bhikkhave pari~n~neyyo dhammo, vedanaa pari~n~neyyo dhammo, sa~n~naa
pari~n~neyyo dhammo, sankhaaraa pari~n~neyyo dhammo, vi~n~naa.nam pari~n~neyyo
dhammo, ime vuccanti bhikkhave, pari~n~neyyaa dhammaa.]

And what, bhikkhus, is full understanding?
The destruction of lust, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion: this is called full understanding.

[Katamaa ca bhikkhave, pari~n~naa:
Yo bhikkhave, raagakkhayo dosakkhayo mohakkhayo, ayam vuccati bhikkhave, pari~n~naa.]

And who, bhikkhus, is the person that has fully understood?
It should be said: the arahant, the venerable one of such a name and clan. This is called the person that has fully understood.

[Katamo ca bhikkhave, pari~n~naataavii puggalo:
Arahaatissa vacaniiyam. Yvaa yam aayasmaa evamnaamo evamgotto. Ayam vuccati
bhikkhave, pari~n~naataavii puggaloti.]
...................

Vism XX, 3: Here is the exposition: there are three kinds of mundane full understanding, that is, full-understanding of the known, full understanding as investigation, and full-understanding as abandoning, with reference to which it was said:
'Understanding that is direct-knowledge is knowledge in the sense of being known. Understanding that is full understanding is knowledge in the sense of investigating. Understanding that is abandoning is knowledge in the sense of giving up' [Psm I., 87]

Ptsm I, 265.
He trains by adverting to these three kinds of training, he trains by knowing them, by seeing them, by reviewing them, by steadying [cognizance] upon them, by resolving with faith upon them, by exerting energy upon them, by establishing mindfulness upon them, by concentrating cognizance upon them, by understanding them with understanding, by directly knowing what is to be directly known, by fully understanding what is to be fully understood, by abandoning what is to be abandoned, by realizing what is to be realized, he trains by developing what should be developed. etc.

Ptsm I, 414 lists four kinds of understanding, only one of which is the full understanding :

Whatever ideas(dhammas) are directly known are known.
Whatever ideas are fully understood are judged(investigated).
Whatever ideas are abandoned are given up.
What ever ideas are developed have a single function(rasa, taste).
Whatever ideas are realized are sounded(phassita).

According to Pari~n~a Sutta [SN 22.23], when the dhammas (e.g. the upadanakkhandha, the 'all', or the world) are comprehended (fully understood) lobha, dosa and moha are totally abandoned.

Best wishes.
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P.S. This review was first presented at the SariputtaDhamm Group. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SariputtaDhamma/message/16659

[Tep Sastri]

Hello Everyone, -

Direct knowledge begins with Stream-entry. A Sotapanna touch Nibbaana with namma-kaaya for the first time.

"Doubt and hesitation are abandoned with stream-entry. The one who has attained the first Path and Fruit no longer doubts, because that person has had a personal experience of an unconditioned reality, totally different from the relative reality in which we live. He can now forge ahead without worry or fear. There can be no doubt about a direct experience. If we tell a small child: "Please don't touch the stove, you might get burned," it's quite likely that the child will nevertheless touch the stove. Having once touched it and experienced the painful feeling of being burned, he will surely never touch it again. The experience removes doubt and hesitation".

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khema/allofus.html

Best wishes.