InBuddhism,dhamma vicaya (Pali;Sanskrit:धर्मविचय-) has been variously translated as the "analysis of qualities,"[1] "discrimination ofdhammas,"[2][note 1] "discrimination of states,"[3] "investigation of doctrine,"[4][note 2] and "searching the Truth."[5] The meaning is ambivalent; it implies the investigation of the Buddhist teachings (dhamma), but also the application ofdiscernment tobody-mind phenomena in order to applyright effort, giving way to entry into the firstjhana.
According to Rupert Gethin, "Dhamma-vicaya means either the 'discrimination ofdhammas' or the 'discernment ofdhamma'; to discriminatedhammas is precisely to discerndhamma."[6]
In thePali canon'sSutta Pitaka, this is the second of theSeven Factors of Awakening (satta bojjhaṅgā). It is preceded by the establishment ofmindfulness (sati) and applied with energy/effort (viriya) Together, mindfulness, discernment and effort calm the mind, and give way to the onset of thejhanas, which are characterised by the remaining four factors of awakening, namely rapture (piti), tranquility (passaddhi), unification (samadhi) and equanimity (upekkha).[note 3] According to theSamyutta Nikaya, this factor is to be developed by paying continuous careful attention (yoniso manasikāra bahulīkāro) to the following states (dhammā): wholesome and unwholesome (kusalā-akusalā); blameable and blameless (sāvajjā-anavajjā); inferior and superior (hīna-paṇītā); and, evil and good (kaṇha-sukka).[7] An alternate explanation in thenikayas is that this factor is aroused by "discriminating that Dhamma with wisdom" (taṃ dhammaṃpaññāya pavicināti).[8]
TheAbhidhamma'sDhammasaṅgaṇi even more strongly associatesdhamma vicaya withpaññā (wisdom) in its enumeration of wholesome states (kusalā dhammā):
What on that occasion is the faculty of wisdom (paññindriyaṃ)?
The wisdom which there is on that occasion is understanding, search, research, searching the Truth....[9]
where "searching the Truth" isC.A.F. Rhys Davids' translation ofdhammavicayo.
In laterAbhidhamma texts and in post-canonical literature (such as those by the 4th-century CE Indian scholarVasubandhu),dhamma vicaya refers to the study ofdhamma as physical or mental phenomena that constitute absolute reality (Pali:paramattha; Skt.:paramārtha).[10]
^In regards to his leavingdhamma untranslated,Gethin 1992 summarizes (p. 151): "The point I wish to make, however, is that the usage of the worddhamma (in the plural) remains in the Nikāyas, canonical Abhidhamma, and even to some extent in the commentarial tradition, a somewhat ambiguous and multivalent term. Its precise understanding continues to be elusive and defies rigid or fixed definition. Possibly this is no accident and the texts delight in the very fluidity of the term." In the context ofdhamma-vicaya, Gethin puts forth the idea (p. 152, also see p. 154): "In Buddhist thought to takedhamma apart is, I think, to be left withdhammas.Dhamma-vicaya means, then, either the 'discrimination ofdhammas' or the 'discernment ofdhamma'; to discriminatedhammas is precisely to discerndhamma. In a related footnote (p. 152,n. 38), Gethin expresses doubt about translatingvicaya as "investigation."
^SN 46.2 (Bodhi, 2000, p. 1569) and 46.51 (Bodhi, 2000, p. 1598). In a related end note, Bodhi (2000, pp. 1900–1,n. 59) comments:
An extended example of the opposition between good and bad states is found inMN No. 8, where the Buddha enumerates forty-four pairs of wholesome and unwholesome opposites. The explanation of this enlightenment factor suggests that while 'discrimination of states' may be technically identified withpañña [e.g., inSN 54.13 (see below) or in theDhammasangani], the initial function ofpañña as an enlightenment factor is not to discern thethree characteristics, etc., but simply to discriminate between the good and bad mental states that become apparent with the deepening of mindfulness.
^SN 54.13 (Bodhi, 2000, pp. 1782-3; Gethin, 1992, p. 147). Gethin (1992, p. 147) remarks: "... [W]hat 'thatdhamma' (taṃ dhammaṃ) refers to is not entirely clear."
Paññāya is an inflected form ofpaññā (Pali; Skt.:prajñā) that could be translated in a variety ways. For instance, as reflected here, Bodhi translates it as "with wisdom," while Gethin (1992, p. 147) translates it as "by means of wisdom." (Thanissaro, 1995, translates it as "with discernment," using "discernment" forpaññā.) As suggested by Bodhi (2000, pp. 1900-1,n. 59) quoted in the preceding end note, a conventional manner of understandingpaññā here is in terms of seeing adhamma in terms of thethree characteristics of impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and not-self (anatta).
^For instance, Williams (2007, p. 43) writes: "So, in the non-MahayanaAbhidharmakośa Bhāṣyaprajñā is given simply as the discernment ofdharmas (dharmapravicayaḥ), those ultimates which mark the terminating point of Abhidharma analysis."
Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2000),The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, Boston: Wisdom Publications,ISBN0-86171-331-1
Gethin, R.M.L. (1992),The Buddhist Path to Awakening: A Study of the Bodhi-Pakkhiyā Dhammā, Leiden: E.J. Brill,ISBN90-04-09442-3
Rhys Davids, Caroline A.F. (2003) [1900],Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics, of the Fourth Century B.C., Being a Translation, now made for the First Time, from the Original Pāli, of the First Book of the Abhidhamma-Piṭaka, entitled Dhamma-Saṅgaṇi (Compendium of States or Phenomena), Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing,ISBN0-7661-4702-9
Rhys Davids, T.W.; Stede, William (1921–1925),The Pali Text Society's Pali–English Dictionary, Chipstead: Pali Text Society. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available athttp://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
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