No narrative setting; the chapter closes Part II by working through four more of the traditional six direct knowledges
Speaker
Buddhaghosa, completing the concentration section before Part III begins
Form
Four subjects covered more briefly than Chapter 12's single extended topic, each following a similar basis-and-method pattern, closing with a look ahead rather than a full treatment of the sixth knowledge
Length
moderate; four topics share roughly the space Chapter 12 gave to one
Northern parallel
Comparable lists of six or more forms of superknowledge appear elsewhere in Buddhist abhidharma literature; this guide does not assert a specific matching passage
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — each of the four subjects is conceptually straightforward on its own
Why this chapter
Chapter 12 covered the first of six traditional forms of direct knowledge: supernormal powers. Chapter 13 works through four more — the divine ear, penetration of others' minds, recollection of past lives, and the divine eye — each developed on the same basis of a mastered fourth jhāna, before closing Part II with a brief look ahead to the sixth and final direct knowledge. That sixth knowledge is what the whole eleven-chapter concentration section has ultimately been pointing toward, but its actual attainment depends on the analytical work Part III still has to unfold.
Reading guide
Four more, from the same basis
Just as Chapter 12's supernormal powers rested on a mastered fourth jhāna, so do the four knowledges this chapter covers. What changes from one to the next is not the underlying mastery but the kind of object that same mastered mind is directed toward.
Divine ear
The divine ear extends hearing beyond its ordinary range, taking in sounds both human and celestial, near and far, in a way ordinary hearing cannot.
Penetration of minds
This knowledge has a practitioner directly know another being's present mental state — whether a mind is affected by greed or free of it, for instance, worked through a series of such paired, contrasting conditions.
Recollection of past lives
This knowledge extends the same recollective capacity used elsewhere in the work, but turned toward a practitioner's own former existences, traditionally described as beginning from a single recent past life and extending backward from there.
Divine eye
The divine eye extends sight rather than hearing, allowing a practitioner to see other beings pass away and be reborn according to their own actions. Among the five knowledges covered across Chapters 12 and 13, this one is often treated as the most significant, since it bears directly on confirming the operation of kamma across successive lives.
Five mundane, one supramundane
The chapter groups these five knowledges — supernormal powers together with the four covered here — as attainments a sufficiently trained mind can produce by refining faculties already present in ordinary experience. The sixth and final knowledge, the destruction of the taints, is categorically different: not a further refinement of concentration, but the fruit of the insight Part III still has to explain.
Closing Part II
With this chapter complete, the eleven-chapter concentration section closes. Unlike the five knowledges just covered, the destruction of the taints cannot be approached directly the way a kasina or the divine ear can — it depends on the analytical work Part III is about to undertake.
What follows
Chapter 14 opens Part III, the ten-chapter section on understanding, beginning with the first of the five aggregates.
Key terms
abhiññā — “direct knowledge” — the general term for the traditional set of six, five covered across Chapters 12–13, the sixth reserved for Part III.
dibbasota — the divine ear — hearing extended beyond its ordinary range, taking in sounds both human and celestial.
cetopariyañāṇa — penetration of minds — directly knowing another being's present mental state.
pubbenivāsānussati — recollection of past lives — recollecting one's own former existences, beginning from a recent one and extending backward.
dibbacakkhu — the divine eye — seeing other beings pass away and be reborn according to their own actions.
Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What did Chapter 12 cover as the first of the traditional six direct knowledges?
Correct: C. Chapter 13 works through four more of the remaining five.
Question 2 of 10
What basis do the four direct knowledges in this chapter share with Chapter 12's powers?
Correct: D. What changes between them is the object the same mastered mind is directed toward.
Question 3 of 10
What is the divine ear?
Correct: D. Extending hearing near and far in a way ordinary hearing cannot.
Question 4 of 10
What is penetration of minds?
Correct: C. Worked through a series of paired, contrasting mental conditions, such as greed present or absent.
Question 5 of 10
What does recollection of past lives involve?
Correct: B. An extension of the same recollective capacity used elsewhere in the work.
Question 6 of 10
What is the divine eye, and why is it often treated as especially significant?
Correct: C. Often treated as the most significant of the five knowledges covered across Chapters 12 and 13.
Question 7 of 10
How does the chapter group the five knowledges covered across Chapters 12 and 13?
Correct: A. Distinguished from the sixth and final knowledge, which is categorically different.
Question 8 of 10
How does the sixth direct knowledge, destruction of the taints, differ from the other five?
Correct: A. It cannot be approached directly the way a kasina or the divine ear can.
Question 9 of 10
What does the completion of Chapter 13 mark?
Correct: B. Part III (Understanding) opens next with Chapter 14.
Question 10 of 10
Where can a reader go for Chapter 13's full translated text?
Correct: A. As with every page in this series, since none reproduces the translation itself.
