Anusaya
Follow-on (emotional) Reaction
References:
[SN 4.36.6] Both the common person and the Arahant experience painful sensations, pleasant sensations and sensations that are not painful but not pleasant. The Buddha explains that the difference between the two is that the Arahant does not add to his pain by an emotional component (the anusaya).
In this sutta we have illustrated a very clear idea of what is meant by 'anusaya' It is, simply put, the emotional (heart-felt) mental attitude that arises subsequent (following after, 'anu') to the experience of a sensation. The 'follow-on' experience. Experiencing a painful sensation the anusaya is a mental attitude of repugnance. Experiencing a pleasant sensation the anusaya is a mental attitude of attachment to plesant sense experience. Experiencing a sensation that is not unpleasant-but-not-pleasant the anusaya is blindness.
[SN 4.35.58] Anusaya-Pahāna Suttaṃ, The Buddha teaches a bhikkhu what it is that results in letting go of the anusayas.
[SN 4.35.59]Anusaya-Samugghāta Suttaṃ,The Buddha teaches a bhikkhu the method for exterpating the secondary associations of a bad habit.
| Pali | MO | Hare | Horner | Punnaji | Bodhi | Nanamoli | Rhys Davids | (Mrs)Rhys Davids | Thanissaro | Walshe | Woodward |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anusaya | follow-on (emotional) reaction | leaning [AN 7.12] | Underlying Tendency [AN 7.12] | Bent, Bias | obsession [AN 7.12] resistance-obsession [sn4.36.006] | lurking tendency [sn4.36.006] |
Pali Text Society
Pali English Dictionary
Edited by T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede
[EDITED ENTRY]
Anusaya: Bent, bias, proclivity, the persistance of a dormant or latent disposition, predisposition, tendency. Always in bad sense. In the oldest texts the word usually occurs absolutely, without mention of the cause or direction of the bias. So ... M. III.31; S. III.130, IV.33, V.28 236; A. I.44; II.157; III.74, 246, 443. Or in the triplet obstinacy, prejudice and bias (adhiṭṭhāna-bhinivesa-nusayā) S. II.17; III.10, 135, 161; A. V.III. Occasionally a source of the bias is mentioned. Thus pride...doubt...ignorance, lust, and hatred....
A Dictionary of the Pali Language
Robert Caesar Childers
[EDITED ENTRY]
Repentance; inclination, thought, desire.
Pali Text Society
A Dictionary of Pāli
Margaret Cone
[EDITED ENTRY]
(latent) disposition, tendency, propensity, inherence; D III 254; SIII 130...
The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
A Critical Pāli Dictionary
V. Trenckner, Dines Andersen and Helmer Smith
[EDITED ENTRY]
'residuum' (opp. āsaya) (latent) disposition, propensity to certain views
Bhk. Thanissaro provides this footnote in AN 7.11: This term — anusaya — is usually translated as "underlying tendency" or "latent tendency." These translations are based on the etymology of the term, which literally means, "to lie down with." However, in actual usage, the related verb (anuseti) means to be obsessed with something, for one's thoughts to return and "lie down with it" over and over again.
