"One does not engage in 'mind-making', in chunking and bagging, that's all."
The word manasikara "mind-making", usually translated as "attention", has an active meaning, very much like mentation. Manas is mind, the sixth sense, and kara is from the stem kr- "to do, to make, to act", as in karman "deed" and samskara "composition" (the fourth aggregate, which is in the plural). Nirvana is an-abhisamskara "non-doing, non-acting", which is very much like a-manasikara.
In India as in Europe, thought and volition are taken to be very related. The Buddha talks of the fourth aggregate as the aggregate of the compositions (samskara, stem kr- "to do, to act, to make"), and also calls it the aggregate of volitions (cetana). Nirvana comes about from the absence of thinking and willing.
"If an ignorant person composes a meritorious composition, his consciousness goes to merit (puññam ce sankharam abhisankharoti, puññupagam hoti viññanam, Skt. punyopaganam samskaranam punyopagam eva vijñanam bhavati). If an ignorant person composes an unmeritorious composition, his consciousness goes to demerit. If an ignorant person composes an immovable composition, his consciousness goes to the immovable (aneñjam ce sankharam abhisankharoti, aneñjupagam hoti viññanam, Skt. anenjyopaganam samskaranam anenjyopagam eva vijñanam bhavati). But when in a monk, ignorance is cut and knowledge has arisen, because of the fading of ignorance and the arisal of knowledge, he does not compose a meritorious composition, he does not compose an unmeritorious composition, he does not compose an immovable composition; not composing, not willing out (anabhisankharonto anabhisañcetayanto), he grasps nothing in the world (na loke upadiyati, Skt. na kiñcil loka upadatte). Not grasping he is unperturbed (anupadiyam na paritassati, Skt. anupadadano na paritasyati). Unperturbed, internally he fully blows out (aparitassam paccattaññeva parinibbayati, Skt. aparitasya atmaiva parinirvati)." — SN, II, 82 (12, 51), SA, 192, 83a-b, Nidana-samyukta, 133–135.
In the Scripture on the Analysis of the Six Modalities, at the fourth form meditation, after concentrating on equanimity, the meditator can reflect: "If I move this equanimity, purified thus, into the place of infinite space [and so on for each of the other three formless attainments] and should develop my thought in accordance with it, leaning on it, supported by it, standing on it, taking it as object, attached to it, this equanimity, purified thus, leaning on the place of infinite space, is therefore composed (sankhatam etam). What is composed is impermanent, what is impermanent is suffering; if it is suffering, I know suffering; after knowing suffering, from the equanimity I do not move into the place of infinite space [and so on]." If the monk with regard to the four places contemplates them with wisdom as they are, he does not accomplish them, does not move into them. He therefore neither composes nor wills out/mentates (neva abhisankharoti nabhisañcetayati) for becoming (bhava) or un-becoming (vi-bhava). "[I] am" (asmiti) is a thought (maññita, Skt. manyita), "I am this" (ayam aham asmiti) is a thought, "I will be" is a thought, "I will neither be nor not be" is a thought, "I will be with form" is a thought, "I will be without form" is a thought, "I will be with notion" is a thought, "I will be without notion" is a thought, "I will be neither with notion nor without notion" is a thought; the monk thinks: "If there is none of these thoughts, agitations, etc., the mind is quiesced." (The Pali says: "when he is gone beyond all thoughts, the sage is said to be at peace" [sabba-maññitanam tveva samatikkama muni santo ti vuccati]). — MA, 162, 692a, MN, III, 246 (140).
So, Nirvana is an-abhisamskara "non-doing, non-acting" (l'agir nul) and an-abhisamcetana "non-volition, non-willing" (l'involonté). The strange thing about these negatives is that in converse they usher in immense grace or whatever, so that the more one effaces oneself, the more grace fills one up unasked. Grace rewards those who don't do anything, especially anything to deserve it. Between grace and one, there is only one. Getting oneself out of the way will leave space for grace to fill up accordingly.
The Daoist saying in eight Chinese characters summarises the situation perfectly: wu-xin yu wu, wu-wu yu xin — "no mind in things, no things in mind." It's not that there is only a homogeneous blank, for everything still happens like before and all is cognised just like before, but one does not focus on something, make some thing of it and carry the box and its content around. One does not engage in "mind-making", in chunking and bagging, that's all.
Tang Huyen — talk.religion.buddhism, 26 Oct 2006.
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