Dharma-Cognition and the Fetters Above
Fascicle 107 tracks the cultivation of knowledge stage by stage across the entire path, resolves the tetralemma of dharma-cognition and subsequent cognition at the path of seeing's own sixteenth moment, and explains why dharma-cognition alone can cut off the fetters of the upper two realms. This page carries Ru-Yi's complete translation.
Translation Method
The Chinese source is Xuánzàng's seventh-century translation of the Abhidharma-mahāvibhāṣā-śāstra (阿毘達磨大毘婆沙論), preserved in the Taishō canon (T1545, vol. 27) via the CBETA digital edition — public domain text, translated directly from the Chinese. The English wording throughout is Ru-Yi's own, and the reading notes are original, grounded in standard Sarvāstivāda scholarship rather than a specific named commentator's lecture transcript.
Fascicle 107 continues the Cultivation-of-Knowledge Nyāsa (修智納息第四之三), moving from an exhaustive stage-by-stage cultivation survey into the tetralemma of dharma-cognition and subsequent cognition, the four conditions, and why dharma-cognition alone reaches the upper realms' own fetters. Terms established across fascicles 93–106 recur here and are not re-explained at each occurrence.
Classical text is set in the left-hand column below, our English in the right.
1. What Is Cultivated, Present and Future, at Every Stage
Fascicle 107 opens the third part of the Cultivation-of-Knowledge Nyāsa with an exhaustive, stage-by-stage accounting of exactly which kinds of knowledge are cultivated in the present and drawn forth for the future, tracking an ordinary being's progress freeing himself from the desire realm's own defilement, then each dhyāna and formless attainment in turn, through the nine unimpeded paths and eight (or nine) paths of liberation belonging to each stage.
異生離欲染時。諸加行道九無間道八解脫道中。現在唯修世俗智。
At the time an ordinary being becomes free of the desire realm's own defilement, within the various preparatory-effort paths, the nine unimpeded paths, and the eight paths of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone.
未來亦唯修世俗智。第九解脫道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修世俗他心智。離初靜慮染時。若依初靜慮作加行。彼加行道中現在唯修世俗智。未來修世俗他心智。若依第二靜慮近分作加行。彼加行道九無間道八解脫道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來亦唯修世俗智。第九解脫道中現在唯修世俗智。未來修世俗他心智。離第二第三靜慮染時應知亦爾。離第四靜慮染時。若依第四靜慮作加行。彼加行道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修世俗他心智。若依空無邊處近分作加行。彼加行道九無間道九解脫道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來亦唯修世俗智。離空無邊處染時。諸加行道九無間道九解脫道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來亦唯修世俗智。離識無邊處無所有處染時應知亦爾。
In the future, too, he cultivates worldly knowledge alone. Within the ninth path of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. At the time of becoming free of the first dhyāna's own defilement: if he undertakes preparatory effort in reliance upon the first dhyāna, within that same preparatory-effort path, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. If he undertakes preparatory effort in reliance upon the approach to the second dhyāna, within that same preparatory-effort path, the nine unimpeded paths, and the eight paths of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future, too, he cultivates worldly knowledge alone. Within the ninth path of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. At the time of becoming free of the second and third dhyānas' own defilement, this should be understood in just the same way. At the time of becoming free of the fourth dhyāna's own defilement: if he undertakes preparatory effort in reliance upon the fourth dhyāna, within that same preparatory-effort path, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. If he undertakes preparatory effort in reliance upon the approach to the sphere of infinite space, within that same preparatory-effort path, the nine unimpeded paths, and the nine paths of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future, too, he cultivates worldly knowledge alone. At the time of becoming free of the sphere of infinite space's own defilement, within the various preparatory-effort paths, the nine unimpeded paths, and the nine paths of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future, too, he cultivates worldly knowledge alone. At the time of becoming free of the sphere of infinite consciousness's and the sphere of nothingness's own defilement, this should be understood in just the same way.
The sheer procedural exhaustiveness on display here — every dhyāna, every formless attainment, every unimpeded and liberation path individually tracked — is itself a kind of argument: by refusing any shortcut or general rule that might paper over an exception, the treatise insists that the cultivation of knowledge is not one uniform process repeating identically at every stage, but a finely differentiated sequence whose details actually change according to where a practitioner stands on the path.
2. Ordinary Beings, the Noble Path of Seeing, and Why It Differs
The same exhaustive method turns to an ordinary being's cultivation of the four immeasurables, the liberations, mastery-bases, and totality-bases, the contemplation of impurity, mindfulness of breathing, and the four wholesome roots of warmth, summit, forbearance, and the supreme mundane dharma, then to drawing forth the five superknowledges — before pivoting to the noble one's own path of seeing, where a governing rule emerges: whatever virtue presently manifests is exactly what gets cultivated for the future, with no cultivation of anything belonging to a different category, unlike the path of cultivation which is free to cultivate both same-category and different-category virtues alike.
未離欲染異生。起四無量。初二解脫。前四勝處。不淨觀。持息念。念住。暖頂忍世第一法時。現在唯修世俗智。未來亦唯修世俗智。已離欲染異生。起四無量。初三解脫。八勝處。前八遍處。不淨觀。持息念。念住時。現在唯修世俗智。未來修世俗他心智。起暖頂忍世第一法時。現在唯修世俗智。未來亦唯修世俗智。起無色四解脫。二遍處。及念住時。現在唯修世俗智。未來亦唯修世俗智。引發五通時。諸加行道二解脫道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修世俗他心智。一解脫道中。現在修世俗他心智。未來亦修世俗他心智。五無間道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來亦唯修世俗智。二解脫道中。不修智無記故聖者見道中。若如是功德現在修未來。即修如是功德。如諸忍現在前時。現在修如是忍。未來亦修如是忍。諸智現在前時。現在修如是智。未來亦修如是智。除三心頃。未來亦修世俗智。謂苦集滅類智時。亦修未來現觀邊世俗智。問何故見道中唯修同分。修道中能修同分不同分耶。答以見道處所定對治定故唯修同分。修道處所不定對治不定。故能修同分不同分。復次以見道所緣定對治定故唯修同分。修道所緣不定對治不定。故能修同分不同分。復次見道中初得聖種性於四聖諦初修聖行相故唯修同分。修道中已得聖種性。於四聖諦已修聖行相。故能修同分不同分。復次見道中初得見諦。初得現觀故唯修同分。修道中已得見諦已得現觀。
As for an ordinary being not yet free of the desire realm's own defilement: at the time he gives rise to the four immeasurables, the first two liberations, the first four mastery-bases, the contemplation of impurity, mindfulness of breathing, the applications of mindfulness, warmth, summit, forbearance, or the supreme mundane dharma, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future, too, he cultivates worldly knowledge alone. As for an ordinary being already free of the desire realm's own defilement: at the time he gives rise to the four immeasurables, the first three liberations, the eight mastery-bases, the first eight totality-bases, the contemplation of impurity, mindfulness of breathing, or the applications of mindfulness, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. At the time he gives rise to warmth, summit, forbearance, or the supreme mundane dharma, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future, too, he cultivates worldly knowledge alone. At the time he gives rise to the four formless liberations, the two remaining totality-bases, or the applications of mindfulness, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future, too, he cultivates worldly knowledge alone. At the time he draws forth the five superknowledges, within the various preparatory-effort paths and the two paths of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. Within the one remaining path of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds; in the future, too, he cultivates worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. Within the five unimpeded paths, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future, too, he cultivates worldly knowledge alone. Within the two paths of liberation, he does not cultivate knowledge, since it is neutral in moral quality. As for the noble ones: within the path of seeing, if such-and-such a virtue presently manifests, he then cultivates that same virtue for the future — exactly as, when the various forbearances presently manifest, in the present he cultivates these same forbearances, and in the future, too, he cultivates these same forbearances; when the various kinds of knowledge presently manifest, in the present he cultivates these same kinds of knowledge, and in the future, too, he cultivates these same kinds of knowledge — excepting three mind-moments, in the future he also cultivates worldly knowledge — namely, at the time of the subsequent cognition of suffering, of accumulation, and of cessation, he also cultivates the worldly knowledge belonging to the very border of direct realization, for the future. One asks: for what reason, within the path of seeing, does he cultivate solely what belongs to the same category, while, within the path of cultivation, he is capable of cultivating both what belongs to the same category and what does not? The answer: because the path of seeing's own domain is fixed, and what it counteracts is fixed, he cultivates solely what belongs to the same category; the path of cultivation's own domain is not fixed, and what it counteracts is not fixed, and it is thereby capable of cultivating both what belongs to the same category and what does not. Further, because the path of seeing's own object is fixed, and what it counteracts is fixed, he cultivates solely what belongs to the same category; the path of cultivation's own object is not fixed, and what it counteracts is not fixed, and it is thereby capable of cultivating both what belongs to the same category and what does not. Further, because, within the path of seeing, one first attains the noble lineage, cultivating, for the very first time, the noble aspects with respect to the four noble truths, he cultivates solely what belongs to the same category; within the path of cultivation, one has already attained the noble lineage, having already cultivated the noble aspects with respect to the four noble truths, and it is thereby capable of cultivating both what belongs to the same category and what does not. Further, because, within the path of seeing, one first attains the seeing of the truths, first attains direct realization, he cultivates solely what belongs to the same category; within the path of cultivation, one has already attained the seeing of the truths, has already attained direct realization,
The explanation for why the path of seeing cultivates solely same-category virtue while the path of cultivation cultivates both — because the path of seeing's own domain, object, and characteristic activity are each individually fixed, while the path of cultivation's are not — is a compact illustration of how this tradition typically explains an asymmetry: not by simple stipulation, but by tracing it back to a more basic structural difference (fixed versus unfixed) from which the asymmetry then follows as a natural consequence.
3. The Noble One Freeing Himself from Defilement, Ground by Ground
The identical exhaustive tracking now follows the noble one specifically — freeing himself from the desire realm's own defilement, then each dhyāna and formless attainment in turn, distinguishing throughout between undertaking preparatory effort by way of the undefiled path versus the worldly path, with the resulting count of kinds of knowledge cultivated for the future (six, seven, or eight, and precisely which is excluded) shifting according to which combination applies.
故能修同分不同分。道類智時無他心智者。現在修道類二智。未來修六智。除世俗他心智。有他心智者。現在修道類二智。未來修七智。除世俗智。聖者以世俗道離欲染時。若無漏作加行。彼加行道中。四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修七智。除他心智。若世俗作加行。彼加行道九無間道八解脫道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修七智。除他心智。第九解脫道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修八智。離初靜慮染時。若無漏作加行。彼加行道中。四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修八智。若世俗作加行。彼加行道九解脫道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修八智。九無間道中現在唯修世俗智。未來修七智。
and it is thereby capable of cultivating both what belongs to the same category and what does not. At the time of the subsequent cognition of the path, whoever is without the knowledge of others' minds, in the present cultivates the two kinds of knowledge of the path and of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates six kinds of knowledge, excluding worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. Whoever possesses the knowledge of others' minds, in the present cultivates the two kinds of knowledge of the path and of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding worldly knowledge. As for the noble one who becomes free of the desire realm's own defilement by way of the worldly path: if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of others' minds. If he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path, the nine unimpeded paths, and the eight paths of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of others' minds. Within the ninth path of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. At the time of becoming free of the first dhyāna's own defilement: if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. If he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path and the nine paths of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. Within the nine unimpeded paths, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge,
除他心智。乃至離無所有處染。時。應知亦爾。以無漏道離欲染時。若世俗作加行。彼加行道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修七智。
excluding the knowledge of others' minds. And so on, up through, at the time of becoming free of the sphere of nothingness's own defilement, this should be understood in just the same way. As for becoming free of the desire realm's own defilement by way of the undefiled path: if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge,
除他心智。若無漏作加行。彼加行道中。四法四類智隨二現在修。
excluding the knowledge of others' minds. If he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition;
未來修。七智。除他心智。九無間八解脫道中。四法智隨二現在修。未來修七智。除他心智。第九解脫道中四法智隨二現在修。未來修八智。離初靜慮染時。若以世俗作加行。彼加行道中現在唯修世俗智。未來修八智。若無漏作加行。彼加行道中。四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修八智。九無間道中。二法四類智隨二現在修。未來修七智。除他心智。九解脫道中。二法四類智隨二現在修。未來修八智。乃至離無所有處染應知亦爾。離非想非非想處染時。若世俗作加行。彼加行道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修八智。若無漏作加行。彼加行道中四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修八智。九無間道中二法四類智隨二現在修。未來修六智。除世俗他心智。八解脫道中。二法四類智隨二現在修。未來修七智。除世俗智。第九解脫道中。二類智隨二現在修。未來修八智及修三界無量善根未離欲染信勝解。練根作見至時。若世俗作加行。彼加行道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修七智。除他心智。若無漏作加行。彼加行道中。四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修七智。除他心智。無間道中。四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修六智。除世俗他心智。解脫道中四法四類智隨二現在修。未來有說修六智。除世俗他心智。有說修七智。除他心智。已離欲染信勝解。練根作見至時。若世俗作加行。彼加行道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修八智。若無漏作加行。彼加行道中。
in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of others' minds. Within the nine unimpeded and eight paths of liberation, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of others' minds. Within the ninth path of liberation, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. At the time of becoming free of the first dhyāna's own defilement: if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. If he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. Within the nine unimpeded paths, he cultivates, in the present, two among two kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of others' minds. Within the nine paths of liberation, he cultivates, in the present, two among two kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. And so on, up through, at the time of becoming free of the sphere of nothingness's own defilement, this should be understood in just the same way. At the time of becoming free of the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception's own defilement: if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. If he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. Within the nine unimpeded paths, he cultivates, in the present, two among two kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates six kinds of knowledge, excluding worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. Within the eight paths of liberation, he cultivates, in the present, two among two kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding worldly knowledge. Within the ninth path of liberation, he cultivates, in the present, two among two kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge, together with cultivating the measureless wholesome roots belonging to the three realms. As for the follower through faith not yet free of the desire realm's own defilement, sharpening his own faculties and becoming one who has arrived at insight: if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of others' minds. If he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of others' minds. Within the unimpeded path, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates six kinds of knowledge, excluding worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. Within the path of liberation, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; as for the future, there are those who say he cultivates six kinds of knowledge, excluding worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds; there are those who say he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of others' minds. As for the follower through faith already free of the desire realm's own defilement, sharpening his own faculties and becoming one who has arrived at insight: if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. If he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path,
Watching the same underlying question — how many kinds of knowledge, and which ones — receive a different numerical answer depending on whether the path taken is undefiled or worldly, and depending on which specific unimpeded or liberation path within a given stage is in view, drives home a point easy to miss at a glance: no single number can summarize "how much knowledge does freeing oneself from defilement cultivate," since the true answer is a lattice of conditional cases, not a constant.
4. Faith-Followers, Time-Liberated Arhats, and Sharpened Faculties
The same tracking extends to two further transformations: the follower through faith sharpening his own faculties to become one who has arrived at insight, and the time-liberated arhat sharpening his own faculties to become unshakeable — each traced through both the undefiled and worldly paths, both before and after freeing himself from the desire realm's own defilement, with the fascicle noting an open disagreement among unnamed teachers over exactly how many kinds of knowledge are cultivated within a single path of liberation.
四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修八智。無間道中四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修六智。除世俗他心智。解脫道中四法四類智隨二現在修。未來有說修七智。除世俗智。有說修八智。時解脫阿羅漢練根作不動時。若世俗作加行。彼加行道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修八智。若無漏作加行。彼加行道中。四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修八智。九無間道中二法四類智隨二現在修。未來修六智。除世俗他心智。八解脫道中二法四類智隨二現在修。未來修七智。除世俗智。第九解脫道中二類智隨二現在修。未來修八智。及修三界無量善根。未離欲染聖者。起四無量。初二解脫。前四勝處。不淨觀。
he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. Within the unimpeded path, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates six kinds of knowledge, excluding worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. Within the path of liberation, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; as for the future, there are those who say he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding worldly knowledge; there are those who say he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. As for the time-liberated arhat sharpening his own faculties and becoming unshakeable: if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. If he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. Within the nine unimpeded paths, he cultivates, in the present, two among two kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates six kinds of knowledge, excluding worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds. Within the eight paths of liberation, he cultivates, in the present, two among two kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding worldly knowledge. Within the ninth path of liberation, he cultivates, in the present, two among two kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge, together with cultivating the measureless wholesome roots belonging to the three realms. As for the noble one not yet free of the desire realm's own defilement: at the time he gives rise to the four immeasurables, the first two liberations, the first four mastery-bases, the contemplation of impurity,
That the treatise is willing to record an unresolved disagreement ("there are those who say six... there are those who say seven") rather than forcing a single verdict here is worth noticing: not every technical question in this tradition receives the treatise's own confident resolution, and this fascicle's own exhaustiveness sometimes surfaces genuine, standing uncertainty rather than manufacturing false precision to close it.
5. The Noble One, the Immeasurables, and Mixed Cultivation of Dhyāna
The exhaustive tracking turns to the noble one not yet free of the desire realm's own defilement engaging the four immeasurables and related practices, before a particularly intricate three-moment analysis of the mixed cultivation of dhyāna (alternating contaminated and undefiled dhyāna moments): the first moment cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, the second moment collapses back to worldly knowledge alone in the present, and the third moment cultivates the full eight — a rhythm of expansion, contraction, and full expansion again across just three consecutive mind-moments.
持息念。及世俗念住時。現在唯修世俗智。未來修七智。除他心智。雜修靜慮時。初剎那頃四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修七智。
mindfulness of breathing, or worldly applications of mindfulness, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of others' minds. At the time of the mixed cultivation of dhyāna, within the very first moment, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge,
除他心智。第二剎那頃現在唯修世俗智。未來修七智。除他心智。
excluding the knowledge of others' minds. Within the second moment, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of others' minds.
第三剎那頃四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修八智。引發五通時。五無間道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修七智。除他心智。諸加行道二解脫道中。現在唯修世俗智。未來修八智。一解脫道中未來修八智。現在唯修世俗他心智。有說。亦修道法道類隨二。他心智二解脫道不修智無記故。已離欲染聖者。起四無量世俗解脫勝處遍處不淨觀持息念世俗念住世俗無礙解無諍願智邊際定空空無願無願無相無相三摩地入滅定想微細心時。現在唯修世俗智。未來修八智。起無漏他心智時。現在修道法道類隨二他心智。未來修八智。依靜慮地。起無漏念住無漏義無礙解時。四法四類智隨二現在修。未來修八智。起無漏辯無礙解時。道法道類智隨二現在修。未來修八智。
Within the third moment, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. At the time of drawing forth the five superknowledges: within the five unimpeded paths, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of others' minds. Within the various preparatory-effort paths and the two paths of liberation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. Within the one remaining path of liberation, in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge; in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds alone. There are those who say he also cultivates two among the knowledge of the path and of subsequent cognition — since the knowledge of others' minds, within the two paths of liberation, does not cultivate knowledge, being neutral in moral quality. As for the noble one already free of the desire realm's own defilement: at the time he gives rise to the four immeasurables, worldly liberation, mastery-bases, totality-bases, the contemplation of impurity, mindfulness of breathing, worldly applications of mindfulness, the worldly unhindered understanding, non-contention, the knowledge of aspiration, the boundary concentration, the emptiness-of-emptiness, wishlessness-of-wishlessness, or signless-of-signless concentration, or the notion of the subtlest of subtle minds upon entering the attainment of cessation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. At the time of giving rise to the undefiled knowledge of others' minds, in the present he cultivates two among the knowledge of the path and of subsequent cognition, together with the knowledge of others' minds; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. Relying upon the dhyāna ground, at the time of giving rise to the undefiled application of mindfulness or the undefiled unhindered understanding of meaning, he cultivates, in the present, two among the four kinds of dharma-cognition and four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. At the time of giving rise to the undefiled unhindered understanding of eloquence, he cultivates, in the present, two among the knowledge of the path and of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge.
The mixed-cultivation sequence's own contraction at its second moment — falling all the way back to worldly knowledge alone in the present, having reached seven kinds of knowledge just one moment before — is a small but vivid reminder that spiritual progress, even within a single, deliberately engineered meditative technique, is not monotonically forward: this practice appears to require the practitioner to touch back down at an ordinary baseline before the third moment can open onto the full eight.
6. The Five Superknowledges and the Noble One Already Free of Defilement
The tracking closes its opening section with the five superknowledges drawn forth by the noble one, and an extensive catalogue of what the noble one already free of the desire realm's own defilement cultivates while engaging immeasurables, liberations, the unhindered understandings, non-contention, the knowledge of aspiration, the boundary concentration, the three doubled concentrations first introduced in fascicle 105, and the subtlest-of-subtle mind that immediately precedes entering the attainment of cessation.
依無色定起無漏念住無漏義無礙解無漏解脫時。四類智隨二現在修。未來修八智。依無色定起無漏辯無礙解時。現在修道類二智。
Relying upon a formless attainment, at the time of giving rise to the undefiled application of mindfulness, the undefiled unhindered understanding of meaning, or the undefiled liberation, he cultivates, in the present, two among four kinds of subsequent cognition; in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. Relying upon a formless attainment, at the time of giving rise to the undefiled unhindered understanding of eloquence, in the present he cultivates the two kinds of knowledge of the path and of subsequent cognition;
未來修八智。起入滅盡定微微心時。現在唯修世俗智。未來亦唯修世俗智。是謂此處略毘婆沙。
in the future he cultivates eight kinds of knowledge. At the time of giving rise to the notion of the subtlest of subtle minds upon entering the attainment of cessation, in the present he cultivates worldly knowledge alone; in the future, too, he cultivates worldly knowledge alone. This, then, is what is termed, in this place, the brief Vibhāṣā.
The doubled concentrations' own reappearance here, folded into a routine list of what a noble one cultivates while already free of the desire realm's defilement, shows how thoroughly this treatise's own technical vocabulary accumulates and gets reused: an attainment introduced two fascicles ago with an elaborate caṇḍāla simile now appears as simply one item among many in a dense enumerative list, its significance taken for granted rather than re-explained.
7. Does Cultivating Dharma-Cognition Mean Cultivating Subsequent Cognition?
A governing tetralemma opens a new topic: does whoever cultivates dharma-cognition also cultivate subsequent cognition? Within the path of seeing, the answer is a clean no in either direction — dharma-cognition cultivates solely its own future category, subsequent cognition solely its own — since whatever virtue presently manifests is exactly what gets cultivated for the future, and even an already-attained dharma-cognition presently manifesting for a learner or arhat is too feeble a force to reach even a second future moment, let alone one of a different category.
若修法智亦類智耶。答應作四句。義不定故有修法智非類智。謂入現觀苦集滅道法智時。學見迹阿羅漢。已得法智現在前時。此中入現觀苦集滅道法智時者。謂見道中四法智時。唯修法智不修類智。
Does whoever cultivates dharma-cognition also cultivate subsequent cognition? The answer: a tetralemma ought to be cast, since the meaning is not fixed. There is one who cultivates dharma-cognition, not subsequent cognition — this referring to the time of entering direct realization of the dharma-cognition of suffering, of accumulation, of cessation, or of the path, and the learner who has seen the tracks, and the arhat, at the time his already-attained dharma-cognition presently manifests. Here, "the time of entering direct realization of the dharma-cognition of suffering, of accumulation, of cessation, or of the path" refers to the time of the four kinds of dharma-cognition within the path of seeing — at that time, he cultivates solely dharma-cognition, not subsequent cognition.
所以者何。以見道中若如是功德現在修未來。即修如是功德法智現在前時。唯修未來法智品。類智現在前時。唯修未來類智品故學見迹阿羅漢。已得法智現在前時者。學謂預流一來不還補特伽羅。迹謂四聖諦。以無漏慧已具見四諦迹故名學見迹。阿羅漢者謂慧解脫或俱解脫。此學無學已得法智現在前時唯修法智。是習修故不修類智。所以者何。以曾得法現在前時。勢力羸劣尚不能及第二剎那。
For what reason is this so? Because, within the path of seeing, if such-and-such a virtue presently manifests, he then cultivates that same virtue for the future — at the time dharma-cognition presently manifests, he cultivates solely the future category belonging to dharma-cognition; at the time subsequent cognition presently manifests, he cultivates solely the future category belonging to subsequent cognition. "The learner who has seen the tracks, and the arhat, at the time his already-attained dharma-cognition presently manifests": here, "learner" refers to the stream-enterer, once-returner, and non-returner persons; "tracks" refers to the four noble truths — since, through undefiled wisdom, he has already fully seen the tracks of the four truths, he is named "the learner who has seen the tracks"; "arhat" refers to the wisdom-liberated or the both-liberated. At the time this same learner or non-learner's own already-attained dharma-cognition presently manifests, he cultivates solely dharma-cognition, this being habituation-cultivation, and does not cultivate subsequent cognition. For what reason is this so? Because, at the time a previously attained dharma presently manifests, its own force is feeble and weak, incapable even of reaching the second moment,
The image of an already-attained dharma's own force being "too feeble to reach even the second moment" gives real explanatory texture to what would otherwise be a bare stipulation: habituation-cultivation is not simply defined as narrower than attainment-cultivation, but is shown to be narrower because a merely repeated, already-familiar dharma genuinely lacks the generative force that a freshly, effortfully attained dharma possesses.
8. Both Together: The Sixteen-Moment Path of Seeing's Own Culmination
The tetralemma's remaining two branches receive extensive treatment: cultivating subsequent cognition alone (mirroring dharma-cognition's own case), and cultivating both together — the latter occurring specifically at the subsequent cognition of the path, the sixteenth and final moment of the path of seeing, where the practitioner relinquishes the previously attained mundane path and attains the not-yet-attained noble path, suddenly and simultaneously attaining all eight kinds of knowledge and cultivating all sixteen aspects at once — a moment then traced across an extensive catalogue of parallel cases in both the learner's and the non-learner's own stages.
況能修餘未來遠者。有修類智非法智。謂入現觀苦集滅類智時。學見迹阿羅漢。已得類智現在前時此中入現觀苦集滅類智時者。謂見道中三類智時。唯修類智不修法智。義如前說。學見迹阿羅漢。已得類智現在前時者。謂學無學曾得類智現在前時。唯修類智不修法智。義如前說。有俱修。謂入現觀道類智時。學見迹阿羅漢。未得無漏智現在前時。未得世俗智現在前。能俱修時。此中入現觀道類智時者。謂見道後道類智時。能修法智。亦修類智。由此位中捨曾得道。得未曾得道。證結斷一味得。頓得八智。俱時修十六行相故。學見迹阿羅漢。未得無漏智現在前時者。謂有學位以無漏道離欲染。若無漏作加行。彼加行道九無間道九解脫道時。乃至離無所有處染時。亦爾。離非想非非想處染若無漏作加行。彼加行道九無間道八解脫道時。信勝解練根作見至。若無漏作加行。彼加行道無間道解脫道時。雜修靜慮初後心時。起無漏他心智無漏念住無漏解脫時。如是等學位未得無漏智現在前時。能修法智。亦修類智。若無學位離非想非非想處染第九解脫道時。時解脫練根作不動。若無漏作加行。彼加行道九無間道九解脫道時雜修靜慮初後心時。起無漏他心智無漏念住無漏無礙解無漏解脫時。如是等無學位未得無漏智現在前時。能修法智。亦修類智。未得世俗智現在前能俱修時者。謂學位以世俗道離欲染。若世俗作加行。彼加行道九無間道九解脫道時。乃至離無所有處染時亦爾。離非想非非想處染。若世俗作加行。彼加行道時。信勝解練根作見至。若世俗作加行。彼加行道時。雜修靜慮中間心時。引發五通諸加行道五無間道三解脫道時。起四無量世俗解脫勝處遍處不淨觀持息念世俗念住入滅定想微細心時。若無學位時解脫練根作不動。若世俗作加行。彼加行道時。雜修靜慮中間心時。引發五通諸加行道五無間道三解脫道時。
how much less capable of cultivating any further, more distant future dharma. There is one who cultivates subsequent cognition, not dharma-cognition — this referring to the time of entering direct realization of the subsequent cognition of suffering, of accumulation, or of cessation, and the learner who has seen the tracks, and the arhat, at the time his already-attained subsequent cognition presently manifests. Here, "the time of entering direct realization of the subsequent cognition of suffering, of accumulation, or of cessation" refers to the time of the three kinds of subsequent cognition within the path of seeing — at that time, he cultivates solely subsequent cognition, not dharma-cognition, the meaning being exactly as stated before. "The learner who has seen the tracks, and the arhat, at the time his already-attained subsequent cognition presently manifests" refers to the fact that, at the time the learner's or non-learner's own already-attained subsequent cognition presently manifests, he cultivates solely subsequent cognition, not dharma-cognition, the meaning being exactly as stated before. There is one who cultivates both — this referring to the time of entering direct realization of the subsequent cognition of the path, and the learner who has seen the tracks, and the arhat, at the time his not-yet-attained undefiled knowledge presently manifests, and at the time his not-yet-attained worldly knowledge presently manifests, being capable of cultivating both together. Here, "the time of entering direct realization of the subsequent cognition of the path" refers to the time of the subsequent cognition of the path following the path of seeing — at that time, he is capable of cultivating dharma-cognition, and also cultivating subsequent cognition, since, at this same stage, he relinquishes the previously attained path and attains the not-yet-attained path, witnessing the very same taste of the cutting-off of the fetters, suddenly attaining all eight kinds of knowledge, simultaneously cultivating all sixteen aspects. "The learner who has seen the tracks, and the arhat, at the time his not-yet-attained undefiled knowledge presently manifests" refers to the fact that, within the stage of the learner, becoming free of the desire realm's own defilement by way of the undefiled path — if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path, the nine unimpeded paths, and the nine paths of liberation, and so on, up through, at the time of becoming free of the sphere of nothingness's own defilement, this, too, is just the same; at the time of becoming free of the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception's own defilement, if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path, the nine unimpeded paths, and the eight paths of liberation; the follower through faith sharpening his own faculties and becoming one who has arrived at insight, if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path, the unimpeded path, and the path of liberation; at the time of the mixed cultivation of dhyāna's own first and final mind-moments; at the time of giving rise to the undefiled knowledge of others' minds, the undefiled application of mindfulness, or the undefiled liberation — at all such stages within the learner's own position, at the time his not-yet-attained undefiled knowledge presently manifests, he is capable of cultivating dharma-cognition, and also cultivating subsequent cognition. If, within the stage of the non-learner, at the time of becoming free of the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception's own defilement, within the ninth path of liberation; the time-liberated arhat sharpening his own faculties and becoming unshakeable, if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the undefiled, within that same preparatory-effort path, the nine unimpeded paths, and the nine paths of liberation; at the time of the mixed cultivation of dhyāna's own first and final mind-moments; at the time of giving rise to the undefiled knowledge of others' minds, the undefiled application of mindfulness, the undefiled unhindered understanding, or the undefiled liberation — at all such stages within the non-learner's own position, at the time his not-yet-attained undefiled knowledge presently manifests, he is capable of cultivating dharma-cognition, and also cultivating subsequent cognition. "At the time his not-yet-attained worldly knowledge presently manifests, being capable of cultivating both together" refers to the fact that, within the stage of the learner, becoming free of the desire realm's own defilement by way of the worldly path — if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path, the nine unimpeded paths, and the nine paths of liberation, and so on, up through, at the time of becoming free of the sphere of nothingness's own defilement, this, too, is just the same; at the time of becoming free of the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception's own defilement, if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path; the follower through faith sharpening his own faculties and becoming one who has arrived at insight, if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path; at the time of the mixed cultivation of dhyāna's own intermediate mind-moments; at the time of drawing forth the five superknowledges, within the various preparatory-effort paths, the five unimpeded paths, and the three paths of liberation; at the time of giving rise to the four immeasurables, worldly liberation, mastery-bases, totality-bases, the contemplation of impurity, mindfulness of breathing, or the notion of the subtlest of subtle minds upon entering the attainment of cessation — if, within the stage of the non-learner, the time-liberated arhat sharpening his own faculties and becoming unshakeable, if he undertakes preparatory effort by way of the worldly, within that same preparatory-effort path; at the time of the mixed cultivation of dhyāna's own intermediate mind-moments; at the time of drawing forth the five superknowledges, within the various preparatory-effort paths, the five unimpeded paths, and the three paths of liberation;
起四無量世俗解脫勝處遍處世俗念住世俗無礙解無諍願智邊際定空空無願無願無相無相三摩地入滅定想微細心時。如是等學無學位。
at the time of giving rise to the four immeasurables, worldly liberation, mastery-bases, totality-bases, worldly applications of mindfulness, worldly unhindered understanding, non-contention, the knowledge of aspiration, the boundary concentration, the emptiness-of-emptiness, wishlessness-of-wishlessness, or signless-of-signless concentration, or the notion of the subtlest of subtle minds upon entering the attainment of cessation — at all such stages within the learner's or the non-learner's own position,
未得世俗智現在前時。能修未來法智類智。有俱不修。謂學見迹阿羅漢。已得世俗智現在前時。未得世俗智現在前俱不修時。一切異生染污心無記心無想定滅定無想天無漏忍時。此中學見迹阿羅漢已得世俗智現在前時者。謂有學無學位已得世俗智現在前時。勢力羸劣尚不能修未來自類有漏功德。況能修異類法智類智品。未得世俗智現在前俱不修時者。謂即有學無學位未曾得聞思所成慧。及入滅定微微心現在前時。皆不能修法智類智。一切異生者。謂異生位諸有心時皆不能修法智類智。此非異生所修法故。染污心者。謂諸聖者諸染污心現在前時。皆不能修法智類智。以染污心是順退分其性沈重懈怠相應。自尚非修。況能修他無漏功德。要順勝分其性輕妙精進相應心方能修善故。無記心者。謂諸聖者諸無記心現在前時。
at the time his not-yet-attained worldly knowledge presently manifests, he is capable of cultivating future dharma-cognition and subsequent cognition together. There is one who cultivates neither — this referring to the learner who has seen the tracks, and the arhat, at the time his already-attained worldly knowledge presently manifests; and at the time his not-yet-attained worldly knowledge presently manifests, together not cultivating either, and every ordinary being's defiled mind and neutral mind, the attainment of no-notion and the attainment of cessation, the heaven of no-notion, and the time of an undefiled forbearance. Here, "the learner who has seen the tracks, and the arhat, at the time his already-attained worldly knowledge presently manifests" refers to the fact that, within the stage of the learner or the non-learner, at the time his already-attained worldly knowledge presently manifests, its own force is feeble and weak, incapable even of cultivating a future contaminated virtue of its own same category, how much less capable of cultivating dharma-cognition or subsequent cognition, belonging to a different category. "At the time his not-yet-attained worldly knowledge presently manifests, together not cultivating either" refers to the fact that, within precisely the stage of the learner or the non-learner, wisdom accomplished through hearing and through reflection not yet attained, and at the time the subtlest of subtle minds presently manifests upon entering the attainment of cessation, none whatsoever is capable of cultivating dharma-cognition or subsequent cognition. "Every ordinary being" refers to the fact that, at every moment an ordinary being's own mind is present, in every case, he is incapable of cultivating dharma-cognition or subsequent cognition, since this is not a dharma cultivated by an ordinary being's own stage. "Defiled mind" refers to the fact that, at the time the various noble ones' own defiled minds presently manifest, they are, in every case, incapable of cultivating dharma-cognition or subsequent cognition, since a defiled mind is associated with sinking toward retrogression, being heavy in its own nature and associated with sloth — being incapable of cultivating even itself, how much less capable of cultivating another's undefiled virtue; it is solely a mind associated with the superior portion, light and subtle in its own nature and associated with diligence, that is capable of cultivating the wholesome. "Neutral mind" refers to the fact that, at the time the various noble ones' own neutral minds presently manifest,
The sixteenth moment's own sudden, simultaneous attainment of all eight kinds of knowledge and all sixteen aspects at once — after fifteen moments that had each cultivated only their own narrow category — reads as this entire technical apparatus's own culminating payoff: the elaborate, moment-by-moment restriction maintained throughout the path of seeing exists, in part, so that its sudden lifting at the very last moment can register as the genuinely dramatic transition it is.
9. Neither: When Nothing New Is Cultivated at All
The tetralemma's final branch — cultivating neither dharma-cognition nor subsequent cognition — gathers together every case where cultivation of any kind simply fails to occur: an already-attained worldly knowledge too feeble even to cultivate its own future category; every ordinary being's mind whatsoever, since this is simply not a dharma an ordinary being's own stage is capable of cultivating; a defiled mind, heavy and sunk toward retrogression; a neutral mind, lowly and feeble exactly like a rotted seed; the mindless attainments of no-notion and of cessation; the heaven of no-notion, whose inhabitants give rise to no more than an innately attained wholesome mind; and the eight undefiled forbearances of the path of seeing itself.
皆不能修法智類智。以無記心卑下羸劣如腐種子。自尚非修。況能修他無漏功德。要堅勝心能修功德。無想定滅定者。謂住無想定及住滅定時。俱不能修法智類智。要有心位方有所修。無心位中不能修故。無想天者。有說。生彼於一切時不起善心。故不能修法智類智。有說。生彼雖起善心。而不能修加行善法。以彼唯起生得善故。尚不能修加行有漏。況法類智彼豈能修。無漏忍時者。謂見道中八無漏忍時不能修智。爾時唯修自類功德。非他類故。
they are, in every case, incapable of cultivating dharma-cognition or subsequent cognition, since a neutral mind is lowly and feeble, exactly like a rotted seed — being incapable of cultivating even itself, how much less capable of cultivating another's undefiled virtue; it is solely a firm, superior mind that is capable of cultivating virtue. "The attainment of no-notion and the attainment of cessation" refers to the fact that, while dwelling within the attainment of no-notion, and while dwelling within the attainment of cessation, in both cases he is incapable of cultivating dharma-cognition or subsequent cognition, since it is solely within a stage possessing mind that there is anything to cultivate — within a stage without mind, he is incapable of cultivating. "The heaven of no-notion": there are those who say that whoever is born there never, at any time, gives rise to a wholesome mind, and is thereby incapable of cultivating dharma-cognition or subsequent cognition; there are those who say that whoever is born there, although he does give rise to a wholesome mind, is nonetheless incapable of cultivating a preparatory-effort wholesome dharma, since he gives rise solely to an innately attained wholesome dharma — being incapable even of cultivating a contaminated preparatory-effort dharma, how, then, could he possibly cultivate dharma-cognition or subsequent cognition? "The time of an undefiled forbearance" refers to the fact that, within the path of seeing, at the time of the eight undefiled forbearances, he is incapable of cultivating knowledge — at that time, he cultivates solely the future category belonging to that same forbearance itself, not a different category.
The rotted-seed simile for the neutral mind is doing careful, deliberate work: a seed that looks intact yet cannot germinate captures precisely what "lowly and feeble" means here — not an absence of mind altogether, but a mental state technically present and even, in its own way, functioning, yet lacking whatever specific vital capacity genuine cultivation requires, exactly as a rotted seed retains a seed's own outward form while having lost a seed's own generative power.
10. Spent Wealth: Why an Already-Attained Dharma Cannot Cultivate Further
A closing cluster of reasons explains why an already-attained wholesome dharma presently manifesting is incapable of cultivating any further future wholesome dharma at all: it has already been used, already accomplished its own task, already yielded its own fruit, and, across the two cultivations, spans only diminishment, never increase — exactly as a person who spends wealth he has already accumulated only ever depletes it, never thereby gathering wealth not yet gathered — closing with the striking case of the Buddha himself, who, at the very moment his knowledge of exhaustion first manifested, had already fully attained and cultivated every virtue there was, since any further future cultivation at that point would imply his own awakening had been incomplete.
問何故已得善法現在前時。不能修餘未來諸善功德。答作用劣故。
One asks: for what reason, at the time an already-attained wholesome dharma presently manifests, is he incapable of cultivating any further wholesome virtue for the future? The answer: because its own function is feeble.
已受用故。已作事故。已與果故。復次已修已息無勢用故。復次起已得法現在前時。前已得修今復習修。二修歷世但有損減更無增益。豈能更修未曾得善。如人食用先所集財。但有損減更無增益。
It has already been made use of; it has already accomplished its own matter; it has already yielded its own fruit. Further, it has already been cultivated and already been brought to rest, and is without any further force or function. Further, at the time an already-attained dharma presently manifests, what was previously attained is now again habituation-cultivated — across the two kinds of cultivation, spanning generations, there is solely diminishment, never any further increase — how, then, could it possibly further cultivate any not-yet-attained wholesome dharma? Exactly as a person who eats and makes use of wealth he has previously gathered has, thereby, solely diminishment, never any further increase —
豈名更集未曾集財。復次若多用功所起善法。能修未來諸餘善法。
how could this be named further gathering wealth not yet gathered? Further, it is solely a wholesome dharma given rise to through great exertion that is capable of cultivating other future wholesome dharmas;
起已得善現在前時不多用功故。不能修未來善法。復次若已得善現在前時。能修未來諸善法者。世尊將欲入涅槃時。次第入諸靜慮等至。亦應能修未來功德。世尊現起初盡智時。已具得修一切功德。
an already-attained wholesome dharma presently manifesting, since it does not require great exertion to give rise to, is incapable of cultivating any future wholesome dharma. Further, were it so that, at the time an already-attained wholesome dharma presently manifests, it were capable of cultivating future wholesome dharmas, then the Bhagavān, at the very time he was about to enter final nirvāṇa, entering, in sequence, the various dhyānas and attainments, ought likewise to have been capable of cultivating future virtues. Yet the Bhagavān, at the very moment his very first knowledge of exhaustion presently manifested, had already fully attained and cultivated every virtue —
今若更修前應未得。若爾前位功德未滿。初成佛時應非究竟。證得無上正等菩提。勿有此失故。已得善現在前時。定不能修未來善法。餘修智義如文廣說。准前方隅應知其相。
were he now, further, to cultivate them again, they ought then to have been not yet attained before. Were this so, then the virtue of his former stage would not yet have been complete, and, at the very time of first becoming a buddha, he ought not yet to have reached ultimacy in certifying the attainment of unsurpassed, complete awakening — let there be no such fault as this. It is thereby that, at the time an already-attained wholesome dharma presently manifests, it is decisively incapable of cultivating any future wholesome dharma. The remaining meaning of cultivating knowledge is set forth at length exactly as the text states; in accordance with the direction already given before, its characteristics should be known accordingly.
Invoking the Buddha's own awakening to settle what might look like a narrow technical question — can an already-attained dharma cultivate further future dharmas — is characteristic of how this treatise anchors its most abstract distinctions in the tradition's highest stakes: if the answer here were otherwise, it argues, the Buddha's own supreme attainment would have to be understood as somehow still incomplete at the moment of awakening, a conclusion the treatise treats as simply unthinkable, and lets that unthinkability settle the technical point.
11. Which Knowledge Takes Which Knowledge as Its Object?
A new technical topic opens: of the eight kinds of knowledge, how many does each take as its object? Dharma-cognition and subsequent cognition, strikingly, never take one another as object at all — dharma-cognition confined to what is below, subsequent cognition to what is above, exactly like two people standing in the same place, one gazing at the ground and the other at the sky, never once seeing each other's face — while the knowledge of others' minds and worldly knowledge, both capable of taking mind and mental concomitants as object, each take in all eight.
法智乃至道智。於八智中一一緣幾智耶。問何故作此論。答為止他宗顯正理故。謂或有說。諸所緣緣非實有體。為遮彼執顯所緣緣實有自體故作斯論。答法智緣七智。除類智。類智緣七智。除法智。
Of dharma-cognition, up through the knowledge of the path, how many, one by one, among these eight kinds of knowledge, does each take as its object? One asks: for what reason is this treatise composed? The answer: it is in order to put a stop to what other schools maintain, and to display the correct principle — that is, there are those who say that the condition of object does not, in genuine truth, possess any own substance whatsoever; in order to put a stop to this same holding, and to display that the condition of object decisively possesses its own substance, this treatise is composed. The answer: dharma-cognition takes seven kinds of knowledge as its object, excluding subsequent cognition; subsequent cognition takes seven kinds of knowledge as its object, excluding dharma-cognition.
所以者何法智緣下類智緣上。故不相緣。如有二人同住一處一人觀地。一人觀空。如是二人不相見面。他心智世俗智俱緣八智者。此二總能緣心心所法故。苦智集智俱緣二智。謂他心世俗智者。此二唯能緣有漏心品故。滅智不緣智者緣無為故。道智緣七智除世俗智者。緣道諦故。有餘於此別作問言。法智乃至道智。於八智中一一幾智緣耶。即自答言。法智四智緣。除類苦集滅智。類智四智緣。
For what reason is this so? Dharma-cognition takes what is below as its object; subsequent cognition takes what is above as its object, and it is thereby that they do not take one another as object — exactly as two people dwelling together in a single place, one observing the earth, the other observing space: these two people, in this way, do not see one another's own face. The knowledge of others' minds and worldly knowledge both take all eight kinds of knowledge as their object, since these two are, together, capable of taking mind and mental concomitants as their object. The knowledge of suffering and the knowledge of accumulation both take two kinds of knowledge as their object — namely, the knowledge of others' minds and worldly knowledge — since these two are capable of taking solely a contaminated mental category as their object. The knowledge of cessation does not take knowledge as its object, since it takes the unconditioned as its object. The knowledge of the path takes seven kinds of knowledge as its object, excluding worldly knowledge, since it takes the truth of the path as its object. There are further teachers who, with respect to this same matter, pose the question differently, asking: of dharma-cognition, up through the knowledge of the path, how many kinds of knowledge, one by one, take each as their object? And themselves answer as follows: dharma-cognition is taken as object by four kinds of knowledge, excluding subsequent cognition, the knowledge of suffering, of accumulation, and of cessation; subsequent cognition is taken as object by four kinds of knowledge,
The image of two people standing together yet never seeing each other's face, one looking only down and the other only up, gives an almost tactile sense of what it means for dharma-cognition and subsequent cognition to be mutually exclusive in their own objects despite operating, in every other respect, in exact parallel to one another — proximity and even structural similarity, the simile insists, guarantee nothing at all about shared object.
12. The Four Conditions, Revisited from a New Angle
The treatise returns to the four conditions (cause, immediate succession, object, and dominance) first explored in the Fetters Aggregate's own treatment of the view of self, explicitly justifying why the same apparatus yields a different-looking answer here — not a contradiction, the treatise insists, but two deliberately distinct approaches to the identical underlying reality, offered so that varied phrasing might delight those who study the treatise, exactly as two lamps illuminate a room more fully than one alone.
除法苦集滅智。他心智七智緣。除滅智。世俗智六智緣。除滅道智。苦集滅道智五智緣。除苦集滅智。法智乃至道智自他相望為幾緣耶。問何故作此論。答為止他宗顯正理故。謂或有執緣無實體。
excluding dharma-cognition, the knowledge of suffering, of accumulation, and of cessation; the knowledge of others' minds is taken as object by seven kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of cessation; worldly knowledge is taken as object by six kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of cessation and of the path; the knowledge of suffering, of accumulation, of cessation, and of the path are each taken as object by five kinds of knowledge, excluding the knowledge of suffering, of accumulation, and of cessation. Of dharma-cognition, up through the knowledge of the path, taken with respect to one another and to themselves, how many conditions do they constitute? One asks: for what reason is this treatise composed? The answer: it is in order to put a stop to what other schools maintain, and to display the correct principle — that is, there are those who hold that a condition does not, in genuine truth, possess any own substance whatsoever;
The seven-fold list of reasons for stating things differently here than in the Fetters Aggregate — two approaches, two summaries, two reflections, two ladders, two stairways, two lights, two torches — reads almost as a small manifesto on this tradition's own attitude toward apparent redundancy: repetition across different texts is treated not as inefficiency to be trimmed away but as a deliberate pedagogical resource, each restatement casting new light the other, by itself, could not.
13. Working Through Dharma-Cognition's Own Four Conditions in Full
The four-conditions analysis is then worked out in exhaustive, case-by-case detail for dharma-cognition itself: all four conditions with respect to itself (via three vivid similes — cause like a seed, immediate succession like something making way for what follows, object like a supporting staff, dominance like simply not obstructing), three conditions excluding object with respect to subsequent cognition (since the two never share an object), a careful two-way split with the knowledge of others' minds depending on whose continuum is at issue, and further exclusions with worldly knowledge and each of the four truth-specific kinds of knowledge.
為遮彼意欲顯四緣實有自體故作斯論。答法智與法智為四緣。乃至廣說。問何故此中與前結蘊不善納息所說有異。謂此中說法智與法智為四緣。不善納息說有身見與有身見或為四三二一緣耶。答如此中說彼亦應爾。如彼所說此亦應爾。但為顯示異相異文令受持者生欣樂故。復次欲現二門二略二影二梯二隥二明二炬令知所說更相顯故。復次彼說是了義。此說非了義。彼說無別意。此說有別意。彼說無別緣。此說有別緣。彼說依勝義。此說依世俗。復次彼依四種差別而說。謂界差別。世差別。剎那差別。等無間緣差別。此唯依一種差別而說。謂等無間緣差別。法智與法智為四緣者。謂因等無間所緣增上。此中因者如種子法。等無間者如開避法。所緣者如柱杖法。增上者如不障法。法智與法智為因緣者。謂為一因即相似因。為等無間緣者。謂法智無間法智現在前。為所緣緣者。謂法智緣法智而生。為增上緣者。謂法智不障礙法智生。與類智為三緣除所緣者。謂法智與類智為三緣。除所緣。為因緣者。謂法智與類智為一因。即同類因。為等無間緣者。謂法智無間類智現在前。為增上緣者。謂法智不障礙類智生。除所緣者。謂法智與類智互不相緣。與他心智為四緣等者。謂法智與自相續他心智。為因等無間。
it is in order to put a stop to this same intention, and to display that the four conditions decisively possess their own substance, that this treatise is composed. The answer: dharma-cognition, with respect to dharma-cognition, constitutes all four conditions, and so on, stated at length. One asks: for what reason does what is stated here differ from what is stated within the Fetters Aggregate's own Unwholesome Nyāsa — namely, that this treatise here states that dharma-cognition, with respect to dharma-cognition, constitutes all four conditions, while the Unwholesome Nyāsa states that the view of self, with respect to the view of self, constitutes, variously, four, three, two, or one condition? The answer: exactly as what is stated here, so, too, ought that discussion to be; exactly as what is stated there, so, too, ought this discussion to be — it is solely in order to display differing characteristics through differing texts, so as to give rise to delight in those who uphold and retain the treatise, that they are stated differently. Further, it is in order to display two approaches, two summaries, two reflections, two ladders, two stairways, two lights, and two torches, causing what is spoken of to illuminate one another the more, that they are stated differently. Further, that discussion speaks of what is fully determinate in meaning; this discussion speaks of what is not fully determinate in meaning. That discussion has no separate intention; this discussion has a separate intention. That discussion has no separate condition in view; this discussion has a separate condition in view. That discussion relies upon supreme meaning; this discussion relies upon worldly convention. Further, that discussion relies upon four separate distinctions in speaking — namely, the distinction of realm, the distinction of time, the distinction of moment, and the distinction of the condition of immediate succession; this discussion relies upon solely a single distinction in speaking — namely, the distinction of the condition of immediate succession. As for dharma-cognition, with respect to dharma-cognition, constituting all four conditions: this refers to the condition of cause, of immediate succession, of object, and of dominance. Here, "cause" is like the seed-dharma; "immediate succession" is like the way-clearing dharma; "object" is like the pillar-and-staff dharma; "dominance" is like the non-obstructing dharma. As for dharma-cognition, with respect to dharma-cognition, constituting the condition of cause: this refers to its serving as a single cause — namely, a cause of the same kind. As for constituting the condition of immediate succession: this refers to the fact that dharma-cognition, immediately and without interruption, is followed by dharma-cognition presently manifesting. As for constituting the condition of object: this refers to the fact that dharma-cognition takes dharma-cognition as its object and thereby arises. As for constituting the condition of dominance: this refers to the fact that dharma-cognition does not obstruct the arising of dharma-cognition. As for dharma-cognition, with respect to subsequent cognition, constituting three conditions, excluding the condition of object: this refers to the fact that dharma-cognition, with respect to subsequent cognition, constitutes three conditions, excluding the condition of object. As for constituting the condition of cause: this refers to the fact that dharma-cognition, with respect to subsequent cognition, serves as a single cause — namely, a cause of the same kind. As for constituting the condition of immediate succession: this refers to the fact that dharma-cognition, immediately and without interruption, is followed by subsequent cognition presently manifesting. As for constituting the condition of dominance: this refers to the fact that dharma-cognition does not obstruct the arising of subsequent cognition. As for excluding the condition of object: this refers to the fact that dharma-cognition and subsequent cognition do not take one another as their mutual object. As for dharma-cognition, with respect to the knowledge of others' minds, constituting all four conditions, and the like: this refers to the fact that dharma-cognition, with respect to the knowledge of others' minds belonging to its own continuum, constitutes the conditions of cause and of immediate succession,
非所緣。與他相續他心智為所緣。非因等無間。餘如前說。與世俗智為三緣除因者。謂因緣如種子法。無漏與有漏非種子法故。法智與世俗智非因緣。但為三緣。與苦集滅智為三緣除所緣者。謂苦集智緣有漏。法智無漏故非彼所緣。滅智緣無為法。法智有為故非彼所緣。與道智為四緣如前說。類智與類智為四緣等。准前法智應知其相。他心智與他心智為四緣等者。此中因緣。謂一同類因。餘如前說。與世俗智為四緣者。此中因緣。謂同類異熟二因。餘如前說。與苦集智為四緣等者。謂無漏他心智。與苦集智為一同類因者。定非所緣彼緣有漏故。若有漏他心智。與苦集智為所緣者。定非因緣。有漏不與無漏為因緣故。與滅智為三緣除所緣者。彼緣無為故。與道法類智為四緣者。義如前說。世俗智與世俗智。為四緣者。此中因緣。謂同類遍行異熟三因。餘如前說。與苦集智為三緣除因者。有漏不與無漏法為因緣故。與滅道智為二緣謂等無間增上者。彼緣無漏故。餘如前說。與法類智為三緣除因者。有漏與無漏非如種子故。與他心智為四緣等者。謂世俗智與自相續有漏他心智。為同類因等無間緣。與自相續無漏他心智為等無間緣。俱非所緣。與他相續有漏他心智為所緣。非因等無間。苦智與苦智及集滅智為三緣除所緣等者。如文廣說。其中所以准前應知諸結欲界繫彼結法智斷耶。乃至廣說。問何故作此論。答欲令疑者得決定故。謂法智能斷色無色界結。類智不能斷欲界結。或有生疑。如法智能斷色無色界結。類智為亦能斷欲界結耶。如類智不能斷欲界結。法智為亦不能斷色無色界結耶。欲令此疑得決定故。顯法智定能斷色無色界結。類智定不能斷欲界結。故作斯論。問何故法智能斷色無色界結。類智不能斷欲界結耶。答法智先斷欲界結故。亦能斷色無色界結。類智不先斷色無色界結。故不能斷欲界結。復次類智未斷色無色界結故。法智斷之。法智已斷欲界結故類智不斷。復次若類智能斷欲界結者。云何斷耶。為先斷色無色界結。後斷欲界結。為先斷欲界結。後斷色無色界結耶。若先斷色無色界結。後斷欲界結者。欲界結麁先已斷故。復何所斷。若先斷欲界結後斷色無色界結者。類智則應受他訶責。自界諸結猶未能離。如何欲斷他界結耶。
but not the condition of object; with respect to the knowledge of others' minds belonging to another's continuum, it constitutes the condition of object, but not the conditions of cause and of immediate succession — the rest is stated as before. As for constituting three conditions with respect to worldly knowledge, excluding the condition of cause: this refers to the fact that the condition of cause is like the seed-dharma, and the undefiled, not being like a seed-dharma with respect to the contaminated, cannot be the condition of cause for it, and it is thereby that dharma-cognition, with respect to worldly knowledge, is not the condition of cause, constituting solely three conditions. As for constituting three conditions with respect to the knowledge of suffering, of accumulation, and of cessation, excluding the condition of object: this refers to the fact that the knowledge of suffering and of accumulation take the contaminated as their object, and dharma-cognition, being undefiled, is thereby not their object; the knowledge of cessation takes the unconditioned dharma as its object, and dharma-cognition, being conditioned, is thereby not its object. As for constituting all four conditions with respect to the knowledge of the path: this is exactly as stated before. Subsequent cognition, with respect to subsequent cognition, constituting all four conditions, and the like: its characteristics should be understood in accordance with the preceding account of dharma-cognition. As for the knowledge of others' minds, with respect to the knowledge of others' minds, constituting all four conditions, and the like: here, as for the condition of cause, this refers to a single cause of the same kind; the rest is stated as before. As for constituting all four conditions with respect to worldly knowledge: here, as for the condition of cause, this refers to two causes — the cause of the same kind, and the cause of ripening; the rest is stated as before. As for constituting all four conditions with respect to the knowledge of suffering and of accumulation, and the like: this refers to the fact that the undefiled knowledge of others' minds, with respect to the knowledge of suffering and of accumulation, constituting a single cause of the same kind, is decisively not their object, since these take the contaminated as their object; if the contaminated knowledge of others' minds serves as the object of the knowledge of suffering and of accumulation, it is decisively not the condition of cause, since the contaminated cannot be the condition of cause for the undefiled. As for constituting three conditions with respect to the knowledge of cessation, excluding the condition of object: this refers to the fact that it takes the unconditioned as its object. As for constituting all four conditions with respect to dharma-cognition and subsequent cognition belonging to the path: the meaning is exactly as stated before. Worldly knowledge, with respect to worldly knowledge, constituting all four conditions: here, as for the condition of cause, this refers to three causes — the cause of the same kind, the universally operative cause, and the cause of ripening; the rest is stated as before. As for constituting three conditions with respect to the knowledge of suffering and of accumulation, excluding the condition of cause: because the contaminated cannot be the condition of cause for the undefiled dharma. As for constituting two conditions with respect to the knowledge of cessation and of the path — namely, the conditions of immediate succession and of dominance: because these take the undefiled as their object. The rest is stated as before. As for constituting three conditions with respect to dharma-cognition and subsequent cognition, excluding the condition of cause: because the contaminated and the undefiled are not like a seed-dharma with respect to one another. As for constituting all four conditions with respect to the knowledge of others' minds, and the like: this refers to the fact that worldly knowledge, with respect to the contaminated knowledge of others' minds belonging to its own continuum, constitutes the condition of cause of the same kind and the condition of immediate succession; with respect to the undefiled knowledge of others' minds belonging to its own continuum, it constitutes the condition of immediate succession, being, in both cases, not the object; with respect to the contaminated knowledge of others' minds belonging to another's continuum, it constitutes the condition of object, but not the conditions of cause and of immediate succession. The knowledge of suffering, with respect to the knowledge of suffering, and with respect to the knowledge of accumulation and of cessation, constituting three conditions, excluding the condition of object, and the like: exactly as the text sets forth at length, the reason for it should be understood in accordance with what precedes. Are the fetters bound to the desire realm cut off by dharma-cognition? And so on, stated at length. One asks: for what reason is this treatise composed? The answer: it is in order to bring resolution for those who harbor doubt — that is, dharma-cognition is capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms, while subsequent cognition is incapable of cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm; there may be those who give rise to doubt: exactly as dharma-cognition is capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms, is subsequent cognition, too, capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm? Exactly as subsequent cognition is incapable of cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm, is dharma-cognition, too, incapable of cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms? It is in order to bring resolution to this same doubt, displaying that dharma-cognition decisively is capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms, while subsequent cognition decisively is incapable of cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm, that this treatise is composed. One asks: for what reason is dharma-cognition capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms, while subsequent cognition is incapable of cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm? The answer: dharma-cognition first cuts off the fetters bound to the desire realm, and is thereby also capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms; subsequent cognition does not first cut off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms, and is thereby incapable of cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm. Further, since subsequent cognition has not yet cut off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms, it is dharma-cognition that cuts them off; since dharma-cognition has already cut off the fetters bound to the desire realm, subsequent cognition does not cut them off. Further, were subsequent cognition capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm, then how would it cut them off — would it first cut off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms, and afterward cut off the fetters bound to the desire realm, or would it first cut off the fetters bound to the desire realm, and afterward cut off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms? If it were to first cut off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms, and afterward cut off the fetters bound to the desire realm — the desire realm's own fetters, being coarse, would already have been cut off first, and what, then, would remain to be cut off? If it were to first cut off the fetters bound to the desire realm, and afterward cut off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms — subsequent cognition ought then to be reproached by others: were his own realm's own fetters not yet capable of being relinquished, how could he wish to cut off another realm's own fetters?
The seed-and-staff similes offered for the four conditions are compact enough to risk being read past too quickly, yet each one earns its keep: a cause genuinely does resemble a seed in producing something of its own kind, immediate succession genuinely does resemble something making way for a successor, and the condition of object genuinely does resemble a staff a mind leans on to arise at all — three deliberately chosen, mundane images doing real conceptual work for one of this tradition's most abstract categories.
14. Why Dharma-Cognition Cuts Off Upper Fetters, But Not the Reverse
A rich cluster of reasons — nine in total — explains a striking asymmetry: dharma-cognition is capable of cutting off fetters bound to the form and formless realms, while subsequent cognition is entirely incapable of cutting off fetters bound to the desire realm. Dharma-cognition, having already cut off the coarser desire-realm fetters first, has thereby sharpened its own function enough to reach upward; subsequent cognition, arising only once the peak of existence's own fetters are already gone, would find nothing left below to cut. A vivid martial image drives the asymmetry home: a king who has not yet subdued his own country's enemies is rightly reproached for wishing to conquer another country first.
如王未降自國怨敵欲伏他國為他所訶。復次一切類智定以法智為因故。法智能助彼斷色無色界結。非一切法智定以類智為因。故類智不能助法智斷欲界結。復次道類智後類智多分不現在前。設現在前勢用羸劣。要畢竟離欲界結已。勝用類智方容現前故彼不能斷欲界結。復次法智要離欲界結已。用方猛利。由猛利故能斷上結。類智要離有頂結已。用方猛利。彼猛利時。下結已斷復何所斷。復次法智極猛利。斷不善結尚不用功。況無記結而不能斷。如極利刀尚能斷鐵。況草木等。類智不極猛利。斷無記結尚多用功。況不善結而當能斷。如以鈍刀斷草木等。尚多用功。況能斷鐵。復次法智具能斷十八界十二處五蘊。如有壯士力敵千夫。能斷上結。類智唯能斷十四界十處五蘊。力用劣故不斷下結。復次欲界邪見能緣三界苦集先斷。彼已復欲斷彼所緣。是故法智能斷上二界結。色無色界邪見。不能緣欲界苦集。是故類智不能斷欲界結。復次欲界他界緣遍行諸結。能緣色無色界苦集先斷。彼已復欲斷彼所緣。是故法智能斷上二界結。上界他界緣遍行諸結。不緣欲界苦集。是故類智不能斷欲界結。如有國王先殺怨賊。後亦壞彼遊戲之處。復次欲界諸蘊逼切有情過於重擔。既斷彼已數復讚彼對治及滅。爾時復能斷上諸蘊。是故法智能斷上界結。類智不能斷欲界結。然法智能斷色無色界結者。是滅道法智非苦集法智。所以者何。法應爾故。謂修行者為欲界蘊現所逼切過於重擔。既捨彼已報彼對治。及滅惡故。數復觀察。數觀察時即自然能斷色無色界結。復次欲界是不定界非修地非離染地。色無色界是定界是修地是離染地非厭。不定界法能斷定界結故。復次欲界是麁。色無色界是細。非厭麁界法能斷細界結故。復次欲界是下劣。色無色界是勝妙非厭。下劣界法能斷勝妙界結故。復次欲界是下。色界是中。無色界是上非厭。下界法能斷中上界結。復次若苦集法智能斷色無色界結者。便為於異處修厭離於異處得解脫。如斷手繫手得解脫。若斷足繫足得解脫。非斷手繫足得解脫。非斷足繫手得解脫。是故法智能斷色無色界結者。是滅道法智非苦集法智。然滅道法智能斷色無色界結者。唯生欲界非生色無色界所以者何。入出法智方便心唯欲界繫生。上二界者已捨此心必不起故。復次法智隨轉戒。唯是欲界大種所造生。上二界者捨此大種必不起故。復次生上二界者必於法智所作已辦。加行已息不復現前。如阿羅漢於三界結斷對治道。所作已辦不復現前。問若爾。
Exactly as a king who has not yet subdued his own country's own enemies, wishing to conquer another country, is reproached by others. Further, every subsequent cognition is decisively caused by dharma-cognition, and it is thereby that dharma-cognition assists it in cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms; not every dharma-cognition is decisively caused by subsequent cognition, and it is thereby that subsequent cognition is incapable of assisting dharma-cognition in cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm. Further, subsequent cognition, following after the knowledge of the path belonging to the subsequent cognition of the path, for the greater part does not presently manifest; even were it to presently manifest, its own force and function would be feeble and weak — it is solely once one has become entirely and finally free of the desire realm's own fetters that subsequent cognition's own superior function may then presently manifest, and it is thereby that it is incapable of cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm. Further, dharma-cognition, only once it has already become free of the desire realm's own fetters, has its own function become fierce and sharp; it is by virtue of this fierce sharpness that it is capable of cutting off the fetters above. Subsequent cognition, only once it has already become free of the fetters belonging to the peak of existence, has its own function become fierce and sharp; at the very time of this fierce sharpness, the fetters below have already been cut off — what, then, would remain to be cut off? Further, dharma-cognition is exceedingly fierce and sharp — in cutting off the unwholesome fetters, it does not even require the exertion of effort, how much less would it be incapable of cutting off a neutral fetter, exactly as an exceedingly sharp blade is capable of cutting even iron, how much less would it be incapable of cutting grass and wood. Subsequent cognition is not exceedingly fierce and sharp — in cutting off a neutral fetter, it still requires much exertion of effort, how much less would it then be capable of cutting off an unwholesome fetter, exactly as, with a blunt blade, cutting grass and wood still requires much exertion of effort, how much less would it then be capable of cutting iron. Further, dharma-cognition is fully capable of cutting off the eighteen elements, twelve sense-fields, and five aggregates, exactly as a mighty warrior, whose strength rivals a thousand men, is capable of cutting off the fetters above; subsequent cognition is capable of cutting off solely the fourteen elements, ten sense-fields, and five aggregates, its own force and function being inferior, and it is thereby incapable of cutting off the fetters below. Further, the desire realm's own wrong view is capable of taking as its object the sufferings and origins of all three realms; having first cut it off, one then further wishes to cut off what it takes as its object, and it is thereby that dharma-cognition is capable of cutting off the fetters of the upper two realms; the form and formless realms' own wrong view is incapable of taking as its object the desire realm's own suffering and origin, and it is thereby that subsequent cognition is incapable of cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm. Further, the desire realm's own universally operative fetters, which take another realm as their object, being capable of taking the form and formless realms' own suffering and origin as their object, have already first been cut off; having cut them off, one then further wishes to cut off what they take as their object, and it is thereby that dharma-cognition is capable of cutting off the fetters of the upper two realms; the upper realms' own universally operative fetters, which take another realm as their object, do not take the desire realm's own suffering and origin as their object, and it is thereby that subsequent cognition is incapable of cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm — exactly as a king who first slays his own enemies and bandits, and afterward, too, destroys the very place where they once sported. Further, the desire realm's own aggregates press and constrain sentient beings, exceeding even a heavy burden; having already cut them off, one repeatedly praises their own counteraction and their own cessation, and, at that time, is further capable of cutting off the aggregates above, and it is thereby that dharma-cognition is capable of cutting off the fetters above, while subsequent cognition is incapable of cutting off the fetters bound to the desire realm. Yet dharma-cognition's being capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms refers specifically to the dharma-cognition of cessation and of the path, not the dharma-cognition of suffering or of accumulation — for what reason is this so? Because the dharma must necessarily be so — that is, the practitioner, on account of the desire realm's own aggregates presently pressing and constraining him, exceeding even a heavy burden, having already relinquished them, repays their own counteraction and cessation with gratitude, and, repeatedly contemplating them thus, at the very time of this repeated contemplation, becomes naturally capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms. Further, the desire realm is an unfixed realm, neither a ground of cultivation nor a ground of freedom from defilement; the form and formless realms are a fixed realm, a ground of cultivation, a ground of freedom from defilement, not a ground of weariness — a dharma belonging to an unfixed realm is incapable of cutting off the fetters of a fixed realm. Further, the desire realm is coarse; the form and formless realms are subtle — a dharma of weariness toward the coarse realm is incapable of cutting off the fetters of the subtle realm. Further, the desire realm is inferior; the form and formless realms are supreme and wondrous — a dharma of weariness toward the inferior realm is incapable of cutting off the fetters of the supreme and wondrous realm. Further, the desire realm is lower; the form realm is middling; the formless realm is upper — a dharma of weariness toward the lower realm is incapable of cutting off the fetters of the middling and upper realms. Further, were the dharma-cognition of suffering or of accumulation capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms, this would then be cultivating weariness in one place while attaining liberation in a different place — exactly as cutting off a bond upon the hand attains liberation for the hand, and cutting off a bond upon the foot attains liberation for the foot, never that cutting off a bond upon the hand attains liberation for the foot, nor that cutting off a bond upon the foot attains liberation for the hand — and it is thereby that dharma-cognition's being capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms refers specifically to the dharma-cognition of cessation and of the path, not the dharma-cognition of suffering or of accumulation. Yet the dharma-cognition of cessation and of the path, though capable of cutting off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms, is solely given rise to within the desire realm, not given rise to within the form or formless realm — for what reason is this so? Because the preparatory mind of entering and emerging from dharma-cognition is bound solely to the desire realm; whoever is born within the upper two realms, having already relinquished this same mind, will decisively never give rise to it again. Further, dharma-cognition, and the restraint that follows in its train, is solely produced by the great elements of the desire realm; whoever is born within the upper two realms, having relinquished these same great elements, will decisively never give rise to it again. Further, whoever is born within the upper two realms has, with respect to dharma-cognition, already accomplished what there was to accomplish; his preparatory effort has already come to rest, and it no longer presently manifests — exactly as the arhat, with respect to the counteracting path that cuts off the fetters of the three realms, has already accomplished what there was to accomplish, and it no longer presently manifests. One asks: if this is so, then
The king who has not yet subdued his own country's enemies is a wonderfully apt image precisely because it reframes what could otherwise look like a merely arbitrary asymmetry (why only one direction, not both?) as a matter of basic priority and propriety: cutting off what is nearest, most pressing, and most fully one's own responsibility must come before any pretension to address what lies further afield, and subsequent cognition's own incapacity toward the desire realm is cast not as a deficiency but as a consequence of already having done its proper work elsewhere first.
15. Nine Reasons, and a Precise Qualification
The cluster of reasons continues — the fierce sharpness of a blade that cuts iron easily needing no effort against mere grass and wood, versus a blunt blade struggling even against wood, let alone iron; the differing scope of the eighteen elements versus the fourteen; the desire realm's own wrong view's capacity to take all three realms as object, versus the upper realms' own more restricted reach — before a crucial qualification narrows the entire claim: it is specifically the dharma-cognition of cessation and of the path, not of suffering or of accumulation, that cuts off the upper realms' fetters, since only the former avoids the absurdity of cultivating weariness in one place while attaining liberation in an entirely different one.
何故諸阿羅漢起無漏智耶。答欲觀所捨諸蘊過患。及觀所得滅道勝利故。彼復起諸無漏智。復次彼由四緣起無漏智。一為住現法樂故。二為遊戲功德故。三為觀本所作故。四為受用聖財故。尊者妙音作如是說。世尊弟子生無色界。不起靜慮及靜慮中所發功德。生色界者亦能起之。彼說何義。彼說若生無色界者。不起法智斷上界結。生色界者若未離色無色界染亦能起滅道法智斷色無色界結。評曰。彼不應作是說。所以者何。若有此義應不決定。謂生色界於法智少分能起。少分不能起。少分能起者。謂滅道法智少分。不能起者。謂苦集法智。或有能起。或有不能起。或有能起者。謂未離彼染。或有不能起者。謂已離彼染。或時能起或時不能起。或時能起者。謂起離染道時。或時不能起者。謂引善根時。是故前說於理為善。諸結欲界繫彼結法智斷耶。答應作四句。義不定故。有結欲界繫非法智斷。謂欲界結。或忍斷。或餘智斷或不斷。此中或忍斷者。謂四法智忍斷。或餘智斷者。謂世俗智斷。或不斷者。謂已斷故。或未起彼斷加行故。有結法智斷非欲界繫。謂色無色界結法智斷。即色無色界修所斷結滅道法智斷。有結欲界繫亦法智斷。謂欲界結法智斷。即欲界修所斷結四法智斷。有結非欲界繫亦非法智斷。謂色無色界結。或忍斷。或餘智斷。或不斷。此中或忍斷者。
for what reason do the various arhats give rise to undefiled knowledge at all? The answer: it is in order to contemplate the faults of the aggregates they have relinquished, and to contemplate the supreme benefit of the cessation and the path they have attained, that they, further, give rise to the various kinds of undefiled knowledge. Further, it is by virtue of four conditions that they give rise to undefiled knowledge — first, in order to abide in the very bliss of the present dharma; second, in order to play freely amid their own virtue; third, in order to review what they have themselves already accomplished; fourth, in order to make use of their own noble wealth. The Venerable Ghoṣa speaks as follows: the Bhagavān's own disciple, reborn within the formless realm, does not give rise to the dhyānas, nor to the virtues given rise to within a dhyāna; whoever is reborn within the form realm is, however, capable of giving rise to them. What meaning does he intend by this? He intends that whoever is reborn within the formless realm does not give rise to dharma-cognition to cut off the fetters of the upper realms; whoever is reborn within the form realm, if he has not yet become free of the form and formless realms' own defilement, is likewise capable of giving rise to the dharma-cognition of cessation and of the path to cut off the fetters bound to the form and formless realms. The verdict: he ought not to speak in this way — for what reason is this so? Were this meaning so, it would then be indeterminate — that is, whoever is reborn within the form realm would, with respect to a small portion of dharma-cognition, be capable of giving rise to it, and, with respect to a small portion, be incapable of giving rise to it: the small portion capable of being given rise to would refer to the dharma-cognition of cessation and of the path; the portion incapable of being given rise to would refer to the dharma-cognition of suffering and of accumulation. There would be some capable of giving rise to it, and some incapable of giving rise to it: some capable of giving rise to it would refer to whoever has not yet become free of that same defilement; some incapable of giving rise to it would refer to whoever has already become free of that same defilement. At some times capable of giving rise to it, and at some times incapable of giving rise to it: at some times capable of giving rise to it would refer to the time of giving rise to the path of freedom from defilement; at some times incapable of giving rise to it would refer to the time of drawing forth wholesome roots. It is thereby that the position stated first accords with principle. Are the fetters bound to the desire realm cut off by dharma-cognition? The answer: a tetralemma ought to be cast, since the meaning is not fixed. There is a fetter bound to the desire realm, not cut off by dharma-cognition — this referring to the desire realm's own fetter, either cut off by forbearance, or cut off by some other kind of knowledge, or not yet cut off. Here, "cut off by forbearance" refers to being cut off by the four kinds of forbearance of dharma-cognition; "cut off by some other kind of knowledge" refers to being cut off by worldly knowledge; "not yet cut off" refers to the fetter already cut off elsewhere, or to the fetter for which the preparatory effort of cutting it off has not yet been given rise to. There is a fetter cut off by dharma-cognition, not bound to the desire realm — this referring to a fetter bound to the form and formless realms, cut off by dharma-cognition, that is, the fetters abandoned by cultivation, bound to the form and formless realms, cut off by the four kinds of dharma-cognition. There is a fetter bound to the desire realm, also cut off by dharma-cognition — this referring to a fetter bound to the desire realm, cut off by dharma-cognition, that is, the fetters abandoned by cultivation, bound to the desire realm, cut off by the four kinds of dharma-cognition. There is a fetter neither bound to the desire realm nor cut off by dharma-cognition — this referring to a fetter bound to the form and formless realms, either cut off by forbearance, or cut off by some other kind of knowledge, or not yet cut off. Here, "cut off by forbearance" refers to
The qualification that only the dharma-cognition of cessation and of the path — never of suffering or of accumulation — can reach the upper realms is exactly the kind of precise narrowing this treatise habitually insists on just when a broader claim might seem to have been fully established: the hand-and-foot simile that follows (cutting a bond on the hand liberates the hand, never the foot) makes vivid why a general capacity to cut upper fetters cannot simply be assumed from the fact that dharma-cognition, as a whole, ranges more widely than subsequent cognition.
16. Where Dharma-Cognition Arises, and the Arhat's Own Continuing Practice
A final cluster of reasons explains why dharma-cognition, despite being capable of cutting off upper-realm fetters, is nonetheless given rise to solely within the desire realm — its own preparatory mind, and the very physical elements it depends upon, being bound solely there — before the discussion turns to why arhats, having already accomplished everything there is to accomplish, continue giving rise to undefiled knowledge at all: to contemplate the faults of what they have relinquished and the benefits of what they have attained, and by virtue of four motives — abiding in present bliss, playing freely amid their own virtue, reviewing their own accomplishment, and making use of their own noble wealth.
謂四類智忍斷。或餘智斷者。謂類智或世俗智斷。或不斷者。謂已斷故。或未起彼斷加行故。諸結色無色界繫。彼結類智斷耶。答諸結類智斷。彼結色無色界繫。謂色無色界修所斷結四類智斷。有結色無色界繫非類智斷。謂色無色界結。或忍斷。或餘智斷。或不斷。此中或忍斷者。謂四類智忍斷。或餘智斷者。謂法智。或世俗智斷。或不斷者。謂已斷故。或未起彼斷加行故。諸結見苦所斷。
being cut off by the four kinds of forbearance of subsequent cognition; "cut off by some other kind of knowledge" refers to being cut off by subsequent cognition, or being cut off by worldly knowledge; "not yet cut off" refers to the fetter already cut off elsewhere, or to the fetter for which the preparatory effort of cutting it off has not yet been given rise to. Are the fetters bound to the form and formless realms cut off by subsequent cognition? The answer: whatever fetter is cut off by subsequent cognition is, in every case, bound to the form and formless realms — that is, the fetters abandoned by cultivation, bound to the form and formless realms, cut off by the four kinds of subsequent cognition. There is a fetter bound to the form and formless realms, not cut off by subsequent cognition — this referring to the fetter bound to the form and formless realms, either cut off by forbearance, or cut off by some other kind of knowledge, or not yet cut off. Here, "cut off by forbearance" refers to being cut off by the four kinds of forbearance of subsequent cognition; "cut off by some other kind of knowledge" refers to being cut off by dharma-cognition, or by worldly knowledge; "not yet cut off" refers to the fetter already cut off elsewhere, or to the fetter for which the preparatory effort of cutting it off has not yet been given rise to. Are the fetters abandoned by seeing suffering,
The four motives given for why an arhat, with nothing left to accomplish, nonetheless continues practicing are a quietly important corrective to any picture of liberation as simply the cessation of all further activity: playing freely amid one's own virtue and making use of one's own noble wealth describe an arhat's continuing spiritual life in terms of enjoyment and exercise rather than mere absence, treating the completed path as something to be inhabited and used, not simply arrived at and then left inert.
17. A Named Master Corrected, and the Fascicle's Closing Tetralemmas
The Venerable Ghoṣa's claim that a disciple reborn in the formless realm loses the capacity to give rise to dhyāna-virtues, while one reborn in the form realm retains it, is examined and rejected as indeterminate and inconsistent — the treatise's own verdict holding instead that dharma-cognition's own upward reach is governed by consistent principle, not birthplace. The fascicle closes with a careful sequence of tetralemmas distinguishing which fetters are bound to which realm from which are cut off by which kind of knowledge, concluding that only the unimpeded path, never the fruit-knowledges of suffering, accumulation, cessation, or the path themselves, is what actually severs any fetter abandoned by seeing.
彼結苦智斷耶。答諸結見苦所斷。彼結非苦智斷。或忍斷。或餘智斷或不斷。此中或忍斷者。謂苦類智忍斷。或餘智斷者。謂世俗智斷。或不斷者。謂已斷故。或未起彼斷加行故。必無苦智能斷彼結。無漏智唯能斷修所斷故。設結苦智斷。彼結見苦所斷耶。答諸結苦智斷。彼結非見苦所斷是修所斷無漏智。不能斷見所斷故。見集滅道所斷結。對集滅道智斷准上應知。唯無間道能斷諸結。由此中說苦智等不能斷見所斷結故。
cut off by the knowledge of suffering? The answer: whatever fetter is abandoned by seeing suffering is, in every case, not cut off by the knowledge of suffering — it is either cut off by forbearance, or cut off by some other kind of knowledge, or not yet cut off. Here, "cut off by forbearance" refers to being cut off by the forbearance of the dharma-cognition of suffering and the forbearance of the subsequent cognition of suffering; "cut off by some other kind of knowledge" refers to being cut off by worldly knowledge; "not yet cut off" refers to the fetter already cut off elsewhere, or to the fetter for which the preparatory effort of cutting it off has not yet been given rise to. There decisively exists no knowledge of suffering capable of cutting off this same fetter, since undefiled knowledge is capable of cutting off solely what is abandoned by cultivation. Were a fetter cut off by the knowledge of suffering, would it then, in every case, be abandoned by seeing suffering? The answer: whatever fetter is cut off by the knowledge of suffering is not abandoned by seeing suffering, but is abandoned by cultivation, since undefiled knowledge is incapable of cutting off what is abandoned by seeing. As for the fetters abandoned by seeing accumulation, cessation, or the path, cut off by the knowledge of accumulation, of cessation, or of the path, this, too, should be understood in accordance with the preceding standard. It is solely the unimpeded path that is capable of cutting off the various fetters — it is by virtue of this that the treatise states here that the knowledge of suffering, and the rest, is incapable of cutting off the fetters abandoned by seeing.
That the fetters abandoned by seeing can never be cut off by the corresponding fruit-knowledge itself — only by the unimpeded path that immediately precedes it — is a precise and important piece of Sarvāstivāda technical architecture: the knowledge that bears a truth's own name is, in each case, the achievement that follows the cutting-off, not the instrument that performs it, a distinction this fascicle's closing tetralemmas take considerable care to keep sharply drawn.
Fascicle 107 Complete
This closes fascicle 107 of Ru-Yi's translation, drawn from the treatise's true CBETA boundary. Fascicle 107 continued the Cultivation-of-Knowledge Nyāsa (修智納息第四之三): an exhaustive, stage-by-stage tracking of which kinds of knowledge are cultivated in the present and the future across every level of freeing oneself from defilement, sharpening one's faculties, and the mixed cultivation of dhyāna; the tetralemma of whether cultivating dharma-cognition entails cultivating subsequent cognition, culminating in the sixteenth moment of the path of seeing; why an already-attained dharma can never cultivate further, illustrated through the Buddha's own awakening; a return to the four conditions first explored in the Fetters Aggregate; and an extensive discussion of why dharma-cognition, but never subsequent cognition, is capable of cutting off the fetters of the upper two realms. Fascicle 108 continues within the same broader discussion of the kinds of knowledge and their cultivation.