Abhidhamma Papers |
Buddhism deals essentially with the problem of suffering: why do we perform acts which lead to suffering? A look at the states of consciousness which create effects should elucidate this for us. The states of consciousness are broken down into two kinds, which we can call skilful and unskilful.
Let's take a closer look at the unskilful states of consciousness, since it is in these that the majority of the grosser kinds of suffering must be produced. There are twelve of these, eight of which we can call 'attachment consciousnesses', for reasons which will become apparent. Abhidhamma states that if we look closely at one single state of consciousness we find that it arises with many associated mental factors. For instance, the first kind of attachment consciousness arises together with mental factors such as dullness, lack of fear of consequences of the act, distraction, and attachment. (An example of this particular kind of consciousness is often given as that of a person who sees an apple on a greengrocer's barrow, and then promptly and joyfully takes it, without any idea that he is doing wrong.) Although many contributory and associated factors arise in this one type of consciousness, it is known as an attachment consciousness because the mental factor of attachment is the main cause of the unskilful act. For instance, in our example, it is the instant arising of attachment for the apple which conditions the unskilful act of stealing.
The same applies for the remaining four unskilful consciousnesses, the two 'aversion consciousnesses' and the two 'deludedness consciousnesses'. Any one of the two states of aversion consciousness will arise together with many mental factors such as jealousy, envy, guilt, distraction, aversion, and so on; but aversion is the main causative agent in this type of consciousness, hence it can be called 'aversion consciousness'. Similarly in the two deludedness consciousnesses, deludedness is the main causative factor, and is accompanied by such factors as distraction or doubt.
Thus we can say that in all unskilful states of mind, there are three main causative factors, attachment, aversion and deludedness. In abhidhamma, these three factors are called the unskilful 'roots' (Often the analogy is drawn between an unskilful state of consciousness and a tree, and here attachment, aversion and deludedness form the roots which sustain and give life support to the rest of the tree, which together with the roots forms the unskilful states of mind.) It is interesting to note that all unskilful consciousnesses have the root of deludedness, and in fact the deludedness consciousnesses only have this single root. Attachment consciousnesses arise with roots of both attachment and deludedness, and aversion consciousnesses arise with the roots of aversion and deludedness, thus these consciousnesses can be called 'two-rooted'.
We were originally looking at the states of consciousness which produce effects. Besides the unskilful consciousnesses, there are some kinds of skilful consciousnesses which produce effects. An example of a skilful consciousness is that of a person who joyfully gives food to a beggar, even though he doesn't understand why it is a good act. Here again, such a state of consciousness will be associated with many mental factors such as faith, composure, discretion, mental buoyancy, generosity and goodwill. In this example, the two factors of generosity (or non-attachment) and goodwill (or non-aversion) are regarded as being the main causes of the act of generosity. Hence non-attachment and non-aversion are known as skilful roots, and they always co-exist in all states of skilful consciousness. All states of skilful consciousness will then be at least two-rooted. Another example of a skilful state of consciousness is that of a person who gives food to a beggar with a joyful feeling and with understanding. Here, because of the understanding present, there is the factor of wisdom, in addition to other factors such as non-attachment, non-aversion, faith, discretion, etc. Wisdom, or non-deludedness, is regarded as the third skilful root, and may or may not be present in skilful states of consciousness, depending on whether there is understanding there or not. Thus skilful states of consciousness are always two-rooted, and may be three-rooted. In total, then, there are six roots, the three unskilful roots of attachment, aversion and deludedness, and the three skilful roots of non-attachment, non-aversion and non-deludedness, The three skilful roots can also be described in their more positive aspects as generosity, loving-kindness and wisdom.
How does a person develop the roots? Since a root is a cause, one could say that it has a causal relation to the arisen state of consciousness. Abhidhamma states that other relations or conditions occur, such as the 'repetition condition', where the repetition of a particular act will naturally tend to strengthen the habit, and 'kamma condition', where actions of the present will condition actions in the future. If the mind is deluded we will soon become entangled in the world of the passions, hating this, wanting that and strengthening our conditioning by each repeated act of craving or aversion. The roots of attachment, aversion and deludedness will be developed and become completely automatic, dominating our lives. Conversely, if we try to perform acts of generosity and loving-kindness we may gradually reach the stage where the giving and goodwill is spontaneous, and we may truly be said to have the two skilful roots. A man needs the third skilful root, wisdom, before he can enter the states of higher consciousness, or have the possibility of achieving that end of all root-making, nibbana; so he should make efforts to cultivate insight so that, if not in this life, perhaps in the next he may establish the wisdom-root.
Steve
Roots seem to be very active phenomena. As the name suggests, they are a prime cause. (Thus in abhidhamma, wrong knowing is the first link in dependent origination and with the other roots also the first of the twenty-four conditions.)
Abhidhamma also includes attachment, aversion and wrong knowing as latent tendencies (anusaya), which are said to lie dormant in oneself until an opportune moment arises for them to come to the surface. The question was thus raised as to the difference between roots and latent tendencies, since they appear similar in many respects. The main difference seems to be that latent tendencies are always present as a kind of seed or potential, so that a latent tendency towards unskilfulness is present in skilful consciousness, even if only in a dormant state. Only the path consciousnesses can eradicate latent tendencies. Roots, on the other hand, are far more active; they power states of mind in an energetic way. Because of their active nature, it is impossible for unskilful roots to co-exist with skilful ones. Each can cancel out the other. Seeds of the other three may be present as latent tendencies, but, to extend the analogy of growth, they need soil and nourishment before they can grow as roots.
There was some discussion as to the extent to which roots can be seen. Usually it seems that we only see the effects or manifestations of roots, so presumably a fuller seeing of the mind is necessary to know the roots themselves.
As the essay points out, roots can either be kusala (skilful) or akusala (unskilful), and there was a lot of discussion about the appropriate translations for these two terms. They are sometimes translated as 'moral' and 'immoral'; similarly, sila is sometimes translated as 'morality'. The word 'moral' comes from the Latin 'mores', meaning customs or habits. In other words, it is a term indicating behaviour which receives cultural approval. In our culture, it has acquired connotations of divine approval as well. This sense of some kind of external agency judging or approving others does not seem to be applied in abhidhamma; there is no sense of moral approval attached to the pursuit of the path. It seems simply that certain states of mind are more useful for the development of the conditions in which the goal is likely to arise. 'Skilful' and 'unskilful' would then be more appropriate translations for kusala and akusala, than words like 'moral' and 'immoral' or 'wholesome' and 'unwholesome'. To regard these states of mind as 'good' or 'bad' in terms of moral judgement is in a sense an evasion of responsibility - an action is done not for itselfbut for praise or blame.
The essay also points out how sila can be seen as an aspect of developing skilful roots, and in this respect it can be translated as 'right character' or 'keeping the right discipline'. In practice, it can be seen as an act of restraint helpful for arousing skilful consciousness. This may be seen, for instance, when an occasion for saying something hurtful arises, but restraint occurs. The lift in energy experienced at that moment is an indication that skilful consciousness is present. This example can also be used to illustrate the difference between a two-rooted and a three-rooted consciousness. The former would be an instinctive avoidance of saying the hurtful comment and at that moment of decision, faith (saddha) would be the dominant motivation. A more developed wisdom, however, would be present if, at the moment of decision, all the implications involved in the action were known. If an understanding of the precise reason for rejecting the comment was present, then the knowledge would be the knowledge of wisdom rather than of faith.
In summary, there seems to be a complete difference in quality between skilful and unskilful roots. The latter seem to depend on a wrong way of looking at things based on misconceptions. Skilful roots, on the other hand, seem to be natural functions, working freely if the mind is in its proper pure state. The natural energy flows of skilful roots are, however, blocked and distorted at different stages if skilful roots are replaced by unskilful ones.
