28/06/2026
Nibbāna – The Mind Stilled (143)
Moreover, in the definition of vacīsankhāro it is clearly stated that one speaks out having first thought out and pondered. This is a clear instance of the role of sankhāra as a 'preparation' or a prelimi-nary activity. Now the word 'rehearsal' is in common use in the so-ciety. Sometimes, the day before a drama is staged for the society, a sort of trial performance is held. Similarly, before breaking out into speech, one thinks and ponders. That is why sometimes we find words issuing out before we can be aware of it. Thinking and pon-dering is called vacīsańkhāro, because they 'prepare' speech. The sense of 'preparation' is therefore quite apt.
Then there is perception and feeling, for which the term citta-sankhāro is used here, instead of manosankhāra. The reason for it is that what we reckon as manosankhāra is actually the more prominent level represented by intentions and the like. The background for those intentions, the subliminal preparatory stage, is to be found in perception and feeling. It is perception and feeling that give the im-petus for the arising of the more prominent stage of intention. They provide the necessary mental condition for doing evil or good deeds. This way, we can get at the subtle nuances of the term sankhāra. Just as in the case of an iceberg floating in the ocean, the greater part is submerged and only a fraction of it shows above the surface, so also the deeper nuances of this term are rather imperceptible.
Beneath our heap of body actions, verbal actions, and mental acts of willing or intentions lies a huge mountain of activities. Breathing in and breathing out is the most basic activity in one's life. It is, in fact, the criterion for judging whether one is alive or dead. For in-stance, when someone falls in a swoon, we examine him to see whether he is still breathing, whether this basic activity is still there in him. Also, in such a case, we try to see whether he can speak and feel, whether perception and feeling are still there in him. So in this way we can understand how these basic forms of activity decide the criterion for judging whether life is present or extinct in a person.
The Dhammapada :The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom
