One wisdom or three wisdoms?

Exploring the Dhamma, as understood from the perspective of the ancient Pali commentaries.
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Viachh
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Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2018 1:38 pm

One wisdom or three wisdoms?

Post by Viachh »

In the list, wisdom through hearing-wisdom through reflection-wisdom through meditation, does the word wisdom refer to the same wisdom (namely direct vision of 4TN) or is it three fundamentally different types of wisdom? Is it possible, based on the analysis of the Pali grammar of the original text (sutra), to give an unambiguous answer to the question posed above? The background of my question is that in the time of the Buddha and not only there were cases of enlightenment at the moment of listening to the dharma. I.e. the hearing was just a trigger.
SarathW
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Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: One wisdom or three wisdoms?

Post by SarathW »

Three types of discernment

understanding that comes from listening (sutamaya-pañña)
understanding that comes from thinking (cintamaya-pañña)
understanding that comes from developing/meditation (bhavanamaya-pañña)
— DN 33

Three kinds of wisdom: the wisdom of a trainee, the wisdom of an adept, and the wisdom of one who is neither a trainee nor an adept.

Another three kinds of wisdom: wisdom produced by thought, learning, and meditation.

https://suttacentral.net/dn33/en/sujato
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
SarathW
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Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: One wisdom or three wisdoms?

Post by SarathW »

It appears there are many kinds of wisdom. They are not the same.
Runoff the mill person has the wisdom necessary for living in society. Perhaps this is the lowest as per Buddhism.
Realising Nibbana is the highest wisdom.
There are many in between.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
SteRo
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Location: Εὐρώπη Eurṓpē

Re: One wisdom or three wisdoms?

Post by SteRo »

Vism wrote:(i) WHAT IS UNDERSTANDING? Understanding (paññā)
is of many sorts and has various aspects. An answer
that attempted to explain it all would accomplish
neither its intention nor its purpose, and would,
besides, lead to distraction; so we shall confine
ourselves to the kind intended here, which is
understanding consisting in insight knowledge
associated with profitable consciousness.


(ii) IN WHAT SENSE IS IT UNDERSTANDING? It is
understanding (paññā) in the sense of act of
understanding (pajānana).[1] What is this act of
understanding? It is knowing (jānana) in a particular
mode separate from the modes of perceiving
(sañjānana) and cognizing (vijānana).[437] For though
the state of knowing (jānana-bhāva) is equally present
in perception (saññā), in consciousness (viññāṇa), and
in understanding (paññā), nevertheless perception is
only the mere perceiving of an object as, say, blue or
yellow; it cannot bring about the penetration of its
characteristics as impermanent, painful, and not-self.
Consciousness knows the objects as blue or yellow,
and it brings about the penetration of its
characteristics, but it cannot bring about, by
endeavouring, the manifestation of the
[supramundane] path. Understanding knows the
object in the way already stated, it brings about the
penetration of the characteristics, and it brings about,
by endeavouring, the manifestation of the path.
...
That is why this act of understanding should be
understood as “knowing in a particular mode separate
from the modes of perceiving and cognizing.”
...
(iii) WHAT ARE ITS CHARACTERISTIC, FUNCTION,
MANIFESTATION AND PROXIMATE CAUSE? Understanding
has the characteristic of penetrating the individual
essences of states.[3] Its function is to abolish the
darkness of delusion, which conceals the individual
essences of states. It is manifested as non-delusion.
Because of the words, “One who is concentrated
knows and sees correctly” (A V 3), its proximate cause
is concentration.


(iv) HOW MANY KINDS OF UNDERSTANDING ARE THERE?
1. ...
2. As mundane and supramundane it is of
two kinds.
...
10. ...
---

[THE THREE KINDS OF FULLUNDERSTANDING]

3. Here is the exposition: there are three kinds of
mundane full-understanding, that is, fullunderstanding
as 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 fullunderstanding
is knowledge in the sense of
investigating. Understanding that is abandoning is
knowledge in the sense of giving up”
Cleared. αδόξαστος.
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