The Partly Eternalists and The Partly Non‑Eternalists

There are, Monks, some Ascetics and Brāhmins who are partly Eternalists and partly Non‑Eternalists, who proclaim the partial eternity and the partial non‑eternity of the self and the world in four ways.

On what grounds?

(1) There comes a time, Monks, sooner or later after a long period, when this world contracts. At a time of contraction, beings are mostly reborn in the Ābhassara Brahmā world. And there they dwell, mind‑made, feeding on excitement, self‑luminous, moving through the air, glorious — and they stay like that for a very long time.

But the time comes, sooner or later after a long period, when this world begins to expand. In this expanding world an empty palace of Brahmā appears. And then one being, from exhaustion of his life span or of his merits, falls from the Ābhassara world and arises in the empty Brahmā‑palace. And there he dwells, mind‑made, feeding on excitement, self‑luminous, moving through the air, glorious — and he stays like that for a very long time.

Then in this being who has been alone for so long there arises unrest, discontent and worry, and he thinks: Oh, if only some other beings would come here! And other beings, from exhaustion of their life span or of their merits, fall from the Ābhassara world and arise in the Brahmā–palace as companions for this being.

And then, Monks, that being who first arose there thinks: I am Brahmā (God), the Great Brahmā, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be. These beings were created by me. How so? Because I first had this thought: Oh, if only some other beings would come here! That was my wish, and then these beings came into this existence! But those beings who arose subsequently think: This, friends, is Brahmā (God), Great Brahmā, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be. How so? We have seen that he was here first, and that we arose after him.

And this being that arose first is longer‑lived, more beautiful and more powerful than they are.

And it may happen that some being falls from that realm and arises in this world. Having arisen in this world, he goes forth from the household life into homelessness. Having gone forth, he by means of effort, exertion, application, earnestness, and right attention attains to such a degree of mental concentration that he thereby recalls his last existence, but recalls none before that. And he thinks: That Brahmā (God), … he made us, and he is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, the same for ever and ever. But we who were created by that Brahmā (God), we are impermanent, unstable, short‑lived, fated to fall away, and we have come to this world.

This is the first case whereby some Ascetics and Brāhmins are partly Eternalists and partly Non‑Eternalists.

(2) And what is the second way? There are, Monks, certain heavenly beings called Corrupted by Pleasure. They spend an excessive amount of time addicted to happiness, play and enjoyment, so that their mindfulness disappears, and by the disappearance of mindfulness those beings fall from that state.

And it can happen that a being, having fallen from that state, arises in this world. Having arisen in this world, he goes forth from the household life into homelessness. Having gone forth, he by means of effort, exertion, application, earnestness and right attention attains to such a degree of mental concentration that he thereby recalls his last existence, but recalls none before that.

He thinks: Those divine heavenly beings who are not corrupted by pleasure do not spend an excessive amount of time addicted to happiness, play and enjoyment. Thus their mindfulness does not disappear, and so they do not fall from that state. They are permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, the same for ever and ever. But we, who are corrupted by pleasure, spent an excessive amount of time addicted to happiness, play and enjoyment. Thus we, by the disappearance of mindfulness, have fallen from that state, we are impermanent, unstable, short‑lived, fated to fall away, and we have come to this world. This is the second case.

(3) And what is the third way? There are, Monks, certain heavenly beings called Corrupted in Mind. They spend an excessive amount of time regarding each other with jealousy. By this means their minds are corrupted. On account of their corrupted minds, they become weary in body and mind. And they fall from that place.

And it can happen that a being, having fallen from that state, arises in this world. Having arisen in this world, he goes forth from the household life into homelessness. Having gone forth, he by means of effort, exertion, application, earnestness and right attention attains to such a degree of mental concentration that he thereby recalls his last existence, but recalls none before that.

He thinks: Those divine heavenly beings who are not corrupted in mind do not spend an excessive amount of time regarding each other with jealousy … They do not become corrupted in mind, or weary in body and mind, and so they do not fall from that state. They are permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, the same for ever and ever. But we, who are corrupted by mind, spent an excessive amount of time regarding each other with jealousy. Thus we, by the disappearance of mindfulness, have fallen from that state, we are impermanent, unstable, short‑lived, fated to fall away, and we have come to this world. This is the third case.

(4) And what is the fourth way? Here, a certain Ascetic or Brāhmin is an expert in logic, a reasoner. Hammering it out by reason, following his own line of thought, he argues: Whatever is called eye or ear or nose or tongue or body, that is impermanent, unstable, non‑eternal, liable to change. But what is called thought, or mind or consciousness, that is a self that is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, the same for ever and ever! This is the fourth case.

(Reference: DN 1)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how some Practitioners will think that some things are permanent while other things are impermanent. The Buddha is referring to this as “partly Eternalists and partly Non‑Eternalists”.

The Buddha provides four (4) cases where one might consider something else permanent while considering themselves as impermanent. Thus, the mind is confused on The Universal Truth of Impermanence.

To attain Enlightenment, a Practitioner will need to deeply learn, reflect, and practice to observe the truth to acquire wisdom. If the mind is unable to understand the difference of a conditioned object and unconditioned object, impermanence versus permanence, then one will need to investigate this further, perhaps through seeking guidance from a Teacher.

To learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings to attain the results of Enlightenment, every Practitioner will need a Teacher. It is only a Buddha who would be able to attain Enlightenment without the guidance of a Teacher.

So if you are currently not understanding the difference between a conditioned object and an unconditioned object, I suggest you seek guidance from your Teacher as The Universal Truth of Impermanence is a very important and foundational Teaching to understand to attain Enlightenment.

You are welcome to seek guidance with the author of this book. You will find contact information using this link.

https://www.buddhadailywisdom.com/