Mati
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Mati (P. mati; T. blo gros བློ་གྲོས་; C. hui) is translated as "intelligence," "discrimating intellect," "discernment," and so on.
The term is used in Abhidharma texts to mean the "proper discernment of dharmas."[1] In this context, mati is a close synonym of prajñā (T. shes rab).
In the Karika (root verses) of the Abhidharma-kosa, mati is one of the the ten omnipresent mental factors. The Ornament of Abhidharma states:
- “Intelligence (mati) is wisdom that fully differentiates [or discerns] phenomena as contaminated or uncontaminated and so on. If classified, there are four: (1) wisdom obtained at birth and that derived from (2) hearing, (3) contemplation, and (4) meditation. {Again, those that occur in the Yogācāra Levels are (1) wisdom closely contemplating phenomena that are contaminated virtuous states or uncontaminated states, (2) the opposite of those, and (3) neutral states that are free of the four wrong engagements. These are, respectively, the wisdom of} states that are appropriately produced, states that are inappropriately produced, and states that are neither. Its function is to stop indecision.”[2]
References
- ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. mati.
- ↑ Chim Jampaiyang 2019, s.v. Intelligence (mati).
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University
Chim Jampaiyang (2019), Jinpa, Thupten, ed., Ornament of Abhidharma: A Commentary on Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakosa, translated by Coghlan, Ian James (Apple Books ed.), Library of Tibetan Classics
