Human Development
Understanding
Description:
On the Path of Purification of Hinayana Buddhism, understanding is insight knowledge associated with profitable consciousness or moral thought. It is knowing in a way which is more penetrating than perception or consciousness, which are nevertheless included in panna. As well as knowing the object, penetrating its characteristics, it also, through endeavour, brings about manifestation of the path. Although not always present when perception and consciousness are present, it is always accompanied by perception and consciousness. Its proximate cause is concentration.The "soil" of understanding are all the aggregates, sense-organs or bases, elements, faculties, truths, dependent origination. In this soil are the roots of purification of virtue (purity of morality) and purification of consciousness (purity of mind). From these roots grow the body or trunk of the other five purifications or purities: view; overcoming of doubt; knowledge and vision of what is and what is not the path (discernment of right path and wrong path); knowledge and vision of the way (discernment of the middle way); knowledge and vision (discernment). One who is perfecting his understanding should study these things.
Understanding is considered as of one kind (monad), of two kinds (dyads), of three kinds (triads) or of four kinds (tetrads). There are five dyads, four triads and two tetrads. All have the characteristic of penetrating the individual essences or true nature of states (monad).
Broader:
Models of human development Narrower:
Four discriminationsMundane understandingSupramundane understandingUnderstanding free from cankersUnderstanding as skill in meansUnderstanding subject to cankersUnderstanding defining mentalityUnderstanding accompanied by joyUnderstanding defining materialityUnderstanding as skill in detrimentUnderstanding as the plane of seeingUnderstanding as knowledge about lawUnderstanding having a limited objectUnderstanding as skill in improvementUnderstanding having an exalted objectUnderstanding accompanied by equanimityUnderstanding consisting in developmentUnderstanding as knowledge of sufferingUnderstanding as knowledge about meaningUnderstanding as the plane of developmentUnderstanding having a measureless objectUnderstanding as knowledge about languageUnderstanding as interpreting the internalUnderstanding as interpreting the externalUnderstanding consisting in what is learnedUnderstanding consisting in what is reasonedUnderstanding as knowledge about kinds of knowledgeUnderstanding as knowledge of the origin of sufferingUnderstanding as knowledge of the cessation of sufferingUnderstanding as interpreting the internal and the externalUnderstanding as knowledge of the way leading to cessation suffering Related:
PurificationsFive aggregates