5.7 Of the Mental Object in Telepathy (KV5.7)

Controverted Point: That insight into the thoughts of another has no object beyond bare other-consciousness as such.

Theravādin: You admit, do you not, that one may discern a “lust-ridden consciousness”, and so on as such? Then this disposes of your proposition.

Again, you cannot deny that, in thought-discerning, insight can have as its object contact, feeling, etc. or any of the concomitants of consciousness. Where then is bare consciousness as sole object?

Or do you dispute the statement that insight having contact, or feeling, or the rest as its object, comes into thought-discerning? “Yes” you say? But does not thought-discerning include discerning the course of contact, feeling, etc.? This you now deny.

Andhaka: You say my proposition is wrong. But is not this thought-discerning insight limited to a portion of the course of thought in others? Then surely I am right.

The Points of Controversy, an English translation of the Pali Abhidhamma Kathāvatthu. Translated by Shwe Zan Aung and C.A.F. Rhys Davids. First published by Pali Text Society, 1915.

This SuttaCentral edition was prepared by Manfred Wierich and Ven. Vimala and proofread by Josephine Tobin. Some changes were introduced:

Abbreviations, i.e., those of cited works and the participants in the controversies, were expanded.

Cross-references were linked.

Some typographic changes were introduced, among others, i.e.: the phonetic symbol “ŋ” was changed to the Pāli diacritical letter “ṃ”, “ô” to “o”, single quotes to double quotes, and “:—” to “:”.

Letter-spacing with fixed spaces was replaced with bold font.

The corrigenda were merged into the text. Some could not be resolved, though.

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