Korean Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

We have concerned about the understanding of nikāya ‘majjha’ and the realization of the majjha in the training methods of early Buddhism to accomplish the majjhimā paṭipadā. In this paper, we will show that the understanding of majjha has been accomplished by focusing on operation of the mind that is bended while performing a saṃyojana occurred between two sides. We introduce the discerning eye of the majjhā as a knowledge derived from the existence of viññāṇa represented as a dhātu. Dhātu is a basic material element of which the usual set comprises the four paṭhavī, āpo, tejo, and vāyo (earth, water, fire, and wind). The majjhā is derived by the saṃyojana appeared between six sense gates and forms while binding each other. The knowledge accomplished by the majjhimā discernment is that the operation of the mind is obtained from khandhas represented as nāma-rūpa, that is rūpa (physical phenomenon), vedanā (feeling), saññā (perception), saṅkhāra (mental fashioning), and viññāṇa (consciousness). A knowledge of laws is derived as the existing state of things yielded from the majjhimā discernment. In breathing meditation, while doing the saṃyojana between a body and a sense, we can see that sati of the majjhimā discernment yields viññāṇa which produces the khandha. With heeding the viññāṇa during the breathing meditation, we see that jhāna, a tranquil mind, can be accomplished while realizing understanding of the majjhima discernment in those saṃyojana. By the majjha understanding about an implement functions represented by kinds of twelve laws, we can know the current law is occurring from the majjhena discernment by mind and will be intervened toward a law ago. By the majjhena discernment, we can see the majjha understanding to be dependent arising of the twelve pariyāya such as pratītyasamutpāda. We expect that the understanding of the majjha will be useful for a discipline to develop majjhima patipada in the training methods of early Buddhism.