Space-Dwelling Heavens and a New Chapter of Vision

Fifth Aggregate, the Great Elements: the Condition Nyāsa, Chapter Two, Part Four. Having already explained the formation of the wind-wheel, water-wheel, golden wheel, the various seas, mountains, and continents, and the ground-dwelling vessel-world, we should next explain the formation of the space-dwelling heavens — the Great Brahma and the rest — and the ground upon which their palaces rest. As to these palaces: some say they rest directly upon space itself; others say that dense clouds gather within space, forming a ground-like foundation for these palaces to rest upon. The external vessel-world extends up through Akaniṣṭha, above which there is no form at all, and hence nothing further can be established. Question: from the Yāma heaven up through Akaniṣṭha, what is the measure of this cloud-ground foundation? Some say: from Yāma up through the Paranirmita-vaśavartin heaven, the cloud-ground

— is uniformly equal in measure to Mount Sumeru's own summit; while the form realm's own cloud-ground is narrower below and broader above — that is, the cloud-grounds of the first, second, third, and fourth dhyānas correspond, in order, to the measure of the four continents, a small thousand-world-system, a middling thousand-world-system, and a great thousand-world-system respectively. The fourth dhyāna's own measure is boundless — and it is on this account that, relying on the fourth dhyāna, the view of a real self becomes exceedingly difficult to cut off, since one grasps this boundless ground as one's own self. Other masters say: the Yāma heaven's own cloud-ground is twice the measure of Sumeru's summit, and each subsequent heaven up through Paranirmita-vaśavartin doubles the measure of the one before it; the first, second, and third dhyānas correspond, in order, to a small, middling, and great thousand-world-system; and the fourth dhyāna's own measure is boundless. Question: if the fourth dhyāna's own ground is never reached by any calamity whatsoever, is it not therefore permanent and unchanging? Answer: no, since it is momentarily impermanent, this fault does not arise. Others say: within the fourth dhyāna, both the palace and its own foundation are entirely impermanent in a fixed, determinate sense — that is, these palaces and pools arise and perish together with each of these gods' own birth and death. This account, however, is unreasonable,

— for why is this? There would then be no common, shared karma among beings for a common vessel-world at all. Hence the earlier account is the better one. Once the vessel-world has thus been fully formed, the very first being to appear is a single Ābhāsvara god, whose own lifespan, karma, or merit — whichever runs out first — causes him, upon dying there, to be reborn in the Great Brahma Palace. Thereafter, other beings, likewise dying from that same heaven, are reborn variously as Brahma-Purohita, as Brahma-Pariṣadya, or in the palace of the Paranirmita-vaśavartin heaven,

— and, gradually descending in sequence, are reborn among the human destinies, beginning with Uttarakuru, then Godānīya, then Videha, and finally Jambudvīpa,

— then the ghost realm, then the animal realm, and finally hell — for, by natural law, whichever place was emptied last is necessarily the first to be repopulated,

— and whichever place was emptied first is necessarily the last to be repopulated. Once a single being is born in the great hell, the twenty formation-eons are thereby completed, and the twenty duration-eons begin from this point. Question: how many eons does it take for the vessel-world itself to form, and how many for beings to gradually populate it? Some say: ten eons for the vessel-world to form, and ten for beings to populate it. Others say: five eons for the vessel-world, and fifteen for beings. According to this final account: one eon for the vessel-world, and nineteen for beings.

Question: how many world-systems form and are destroyed together at once? Some say: precisely a hundred million four-continent world-systems together. Others say: an innumerable number of world-systems form and are destroyed together — and how is this known? Because the sūtra itself serves as the measure, for the sūtra says: the Buddha told the bhikṣus, "My eye is purer than the human eye — I see, in the eastern direction and elsewhere, innumerable world-systems, some presently being destroyed, some already destroyed and empty, some presently forming, some already formed and enduring" — just as heaven's own great rainfall, its drops as large as cart-axles, falls without any interval or gap, so too it is here. Question: why do not all world-systems form and perish together, all at the same time? Answer: because beings' own karma is not uniform — that is, where beings' collective karma increases in a given place, that world-system forms; once their collective karma is exhausted, that world-system is destroyed; and, where beings' own pure karma increases in a given place, that realm is destroyed, while, if their pure karma decreases, that realm forms instead. Question: if, with only half an eon remaining before its destruction, some being commits schism in the community, an ānantarya deed destined for hell — does such a being die prematurely, before their full natural term? If they do die prematurely, how could such an act still bring about a full eon's worth of hellish retribution? But if they do not die prematurely, would this not mean the world's own destruction is somehow delayed on their account — contrary to the sūtra's own teaching that, wherever even a single ant's egg still remains, that place is never destroyed by calamity,

— how much less could such a being still remain there? Some say: such a being does not, in fact, die prematurely. Question: if so, would the world's destruction then not be delayed on their account? Answer: as the eon is about to be destroyed, the overwhelming power of that being's own karma sweeps them instead into another world-system's own great hell — just as, when a royal capital is about to celebrate an occasion of joyous amnesty, the most grievous criminals are first quietly relocated to a border-prison, and only afterward is the amnesty formally proclaimed in the capital. Other masters say: as an eon is about to be destroyed, beings there naturally, by the very law of things, develop such a settled and wholesome disposition of mind that they would be incapable even of lesser transgressions, let alone one who would destroy the harmony of the community. Others, further, say: as an eon is about to be destroyed, should anyone commit the ānantarya deed of schism, they die and fall at once into another world-system's own hell, since it is a matter of natural law that no being is ever born into a place about to be destroyed.

As has been explained for the fire-eon's own destruction of the world, and the sequence and timing of beings' ascent as the calamity arises, so too, in full, for the water-eon and the wind-eon — differing only in the specific manner of destruction, water soaking and dissolving, wind scattering and striking, each reaching a different range in its destructive power. And, just as with the fire-eon's own sequence and timing at the world's formation, so too likewise for the water- and wind-eons.

Just as the great eon has its three great calamities, so too does the intermediate eon have its own three minor calamities — sword-warfare, plague, and famine. As the sword-calamity is first about to arise, the people of Jambudvīpa have declined to a mere ten years of life, their own continuity defiled by unlawful craving,

— unequal desire obscuring their own minds, wrapped in wrong views, the poison of hatred ever increasing. Upon merely seeing one another, they give rise to fierce, murderous thoughts — just as hunters, seeing wild beasts, find whatever they seize in hand becomes a weapon — each abandoning himself to violent frenzy, slaughtering one another for seven days and seven nights, until nearly all have perished, with only ten thousand people remaining in the whole of Jambudvīpa. Each of these survivors then gives rise to a compassionate mind, and their lifespans gradually begin to increase — this marks the passing of the sword-calamity. Next, as the plague-calamity is about to arise, the people of Jambudvīpa have again declined to a mere ten years of life, and, possessing the same faults as before, non-human beings spread poison, and plague spreads throughout the land — whoever encounters it soon dies, difficult to treat or cure, with not even the name of medicine any longer heard of. After seven months, seven days, and seven nights, the plague has run its course, and nearly all have perished, with only ten thousand people remaining in the whole of Jambudvīpa. Each of these survivors then gives rise to a compassionate mind, and their lifespans gradually begin to increase — this marks the passing of the plague-calamity. Later, as the famine-calamity is about to arise, the people of Jambudvīpa have again declined to a mere ten years of life, and, again possessing the same faults as before, the gods and nāgas, angered, withhold sweet rain, and the world thereby suffers prolonged famine.

On account of this famine, the terms "gathering," "white bones," and "counting sticks" each carry two distinct meanings. As to "gathering," it is spoken of for two reasons: first, people of that time, weakened by extreme hunger, gather together and die; second, people of that time, wishing to benefit those who come after, set aside a small portion of their own food in a little box, keeping it as seed-grain for the future — and hence the famine-time is called a time of "gathering." As to "white bones," it too is spoken of for two reasons: first, people of that time, their bodies withered and dry, show their bones white and visible not long after death; second, people of that time, driven by famine, gather up bones and boil them to drink the broth. As to "counting sticks," it too is spoken of for two reasons: first, on account of scarce provisions, a household allots its food by counting sticks, so that, from eldest to youngest, each receives a small, coarse portion according to the stick drawn for that day; second, using sticks to sift the threshing-floor for whatever few grains remain, boiling them with much extra water, and sharing the thin gruel together to sustain what life remains. Such a famine lasts seven years, seven months, seven days, and seven nights, and, driven by famine, nearly all perish, with only ten thousand people remaining in the whole of Jambudvīpa. Each of these survivors then gives rise to a compassionate mind, and their lifespans gradually begin to increase —

— this marks the passing of the famine-calamity. Though these three sudden calamities are difficult to entirely eliminate, the sages have nevertheless taught antidotes for each — for whoever is able to keep the precept against killing for a single day and night is guaranteed never to encounter the sword-calamity in any future life; whoever is able, with a sincerely pure mind, to offer even a single myrobalan fruit to the monastic community is guaranteed never to encounter the plague-calamity in the world to come; and whoever is able, with a sincerely pure mind, to offer even a single portion of food to the monastic community is guaranteed never to encounter the famine-calamity in the world to come. Question: do these same three calamities occur on the other continents as well? Answer: they lack the true, root form of these calamities, though a resembling form does occur — namely, increased anger, physical weakness, and frequent hunger and thirst — and this holds for two of the continents. Uttarakuru, however, has neither the true calamities nor even their resembling counterpart, since no one is ever reborn there through unwholesome karma, and since anger itself never intensifies there.

Fifth Aggregate, the Great Elements: the Full-Vision Nyāsa, Chapter Three, Part One. A disciple of the World-Honored One who has already fully seen the truths, yet is not yet free of desire's own defilement, possesses form-realm-bound bodily and verbal karma — by which great elements is this produced? And so on, in such chapter headings. Having now grasped this chapter heading and its explanatory meaning in full, we should next analyze it in full. Question: why compose this treatise? Answer: in order to bring certainty to those in doubt — for the sūtra says: the Buddha told the bhikṣus, "If, within this body, the joy and happiness born of seclusion saturate it, pervade it, delight it, and pervade it with delight, there is not the slightest portion of this body left unpervaded by this joy and happiness born of seclusion" —

— this sūtra passage speaks of the fundamental ground specifically, and one might suppose that only this fundamental ground, not the preparatory access-stage, possesses this freedom-producing quality. It is in order to cut off this doubt, and to show that the access-stage, too, possesses a similar, freedom-conducive wholesome quality, that this treatise is composed. Other masters say: it is in order to refute the Vibhajyavādins, who claim that stream-enterers and once-returners have also already attained genuine, fundamental-level dhyāna. Why do they say this? On the basis of the sūtra, which says: wisdom lacking absorption is deficient, absorption lacking wisdom is deficient, but one endowed with both is not far from nirvāṇa — and, since stream-enterers and once-returners never lack wisdom, they say, such noble ones must also possess genuine, fundamental-level dhyāna. It is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that those who have attained only the first two fruits have not yet attained genuine dhyāna, that this treatise is composed. Question: if so, how is the verse they cite to be reconciled? The Venerable Vasumitra explains it this way: the verse's own term "dhyāna" means correct discernment, nothing more — for, were it otherwise, outside-path ascetics, too, attain genuine, fundamental-level dhyāna, and would then, by this same logic, have to be granted "wisdom" as well. The Vibhajyavādins say: what fault would follow from granting them wisdom too? This, however, is mistaken, for why is this? One endowed with both wisdom and absorption together is indeed not far from nirvāṇa,

— but no outside-path ascetic is ever close to nirvāṇa, since they possess no genuine dharma of liberation at all. Others say: this treatise is composed in order to refute the Dṛṣṭāntikas, who claim that the access-stage grounds contain only wholesome dharmas. It is now shown that the access-stage in fact contains all three moral natures — wholesome, defiled, and neutral. For, were the access-stage to contain only wholesome dharmas, then, when a disciple of the World-Honored One not yet free of sensory craving relies on the not-yet-attained stage of absorption to give rise to a mundane path, by which realm's great elements would his own accompanying restraint be produced? The Venerable Dṛṣṭāntika says: it must be produced by first-dhyāna-level great elements. But do you yourselves not also teach that

— stream-enterers and once-returners have not yet attained genuine dhyāna? He replies: I deny only wholesome dhyāna specifically for them, not defiled or neutral dharmas at that same level. This account, too, is unreasonable,

— for, being not yet free of sensory craving, one cannot even give rise to a wholesome first-dhyāna state, let alone its undefiled-neutral counterpart. It is therefore in order to refute this rival doctrine, and to establish the correct principle, that this treatise is composed.

Question: since it has already been said "has already fully seen the truths," why does it further say "a disciple of the World-Honored One"? Answer: "has already fully seen the truths" is meant to distinguish this person from one following faith or following the Dharma; "a disciple of the World-Honored One" is meant to distinguish this person from ordinary beings altogether. Question: who, precisely, does this refer to? Answer: this refers to stream-enterers and once-returners specifically, not others, since it speaks of one not yet free of desire's own defilement. Question: why is one following faith or following the Dharma not called "one who has already fully seen the truths"? Some say: one is called "one who has already fully seen the truths" only once one has already seen the four truths and already destroyed wrong view — but one following faith or following the Dharma has not yet already seen the four truths, being presently in the very act of seeing them, and has not yet already destroyed wrong view, being presently in the very act of destroying it — and hence is not called one who has already fully seen the truths. Other masters say: only once one's own continuum has already eliminated every inverted view, evil conduct, and every affliction leading to evil destinies is one properly called "one who has already fully seen the truths" — one following faith or following the Dharma is presently in the very act of eliminating these, not yet having eliminated them, still possessing them — and hence is not so called, just as a fine field, free of every speck of dust, hail, or calamity, is called a "complete field" bringing forth its crops. Others, further, say: only once one's own continuum has already eliminated the four doubts and given rise to the four certainties is one called "one who has already fully seen" — one following faith or following the Dharma, presently eliminating the four doubts and giving rise to the four certainties, is not yet called complete in this. Others say: only once one has already eliminated the four darknesses within oneself, already given rise to the four lights, already eliminated the four kinds of ignorance, and already given rise to the four kinds of knowledge is one called "one who has already fully seen" — one following faith or following the Dharma is not so, and is not called complete in this. Others say: only once one has already subdued the very continent of the four truths, and already eliminated the afflictions that are its enemies within, is one called "already complete" — one following faith or following the Dharma is presently subduing and presently eliminating these, and is not yet called complete. Question: why is an ordinary being not called a disciple of the World-Honored One?

Answer: only one who follows the Buddha's own word exclusively, accepting no other teaching, is called a disciple of the World-Honored One — an ordinary being sometimes follows the Buddha's own word, and sometimes follows heterodox teachings instead, and hence is not so called. Others say: only one whose correct hearing is never overturned by incorrect hearing is called a disciple of the World-Honored One —

— an ordinary being is not so. Others say: only one who possesses the four kinds of unwavering faith is called a disciple of the World-Honored One — an ordinary being, lacking these four, is not so called. Others say: only one who takes the Buddha alone as their great teacher is called a disciple of the World-Honored One — an ordinary being may instead take an outside-path teacher or even a demonic figure as their own teacher, and hence is not so called. Others say: only one who takes refuge in and reveres the Three Jewels alone as their own field of merit,

— is called a disciple of the World-Honored One — ordinary beings may instead revere some heterodox deity or outside-path ascetic as their own field of merit, and hence are not so called. Others say: only one who believes that the Buddha alone is omniscient, that only the Buddha's own teaching can carry one across birth-and-death, and that only the community of bhikṣus are true practitioners of the holy life, is called a disciple of the World-Honored One — ordinary beings hold the opposite of this, and hence are not so called. Others say: only one whose own mind remains firm and unshakable within the Buddha's own sacred teaching, like Śakra's own banner-pole, is called a disciple of the World-Honored One — ordinary beings' own minds, within the Buddha's teaching, remain unstable, like cotton wadding tossed up and down by the wind without any fixed rest, and hence are not so called.

A disciple of the World-Honored One who has already fully seen the truths, yet is not yet free of desire's own defilement, possesses form-realm-bound bodily and verbal karma — by which great elements is this produced? Answer: by form-realm-bound great elements — this is said with reference to the general category as a whole. Stated with more precision, it should be said: produced by great elements of the not-yet-attained stage specifically. This refutes the claim that stream-enterers and once-returners have already attained genuine dhyāna, meaning that, being not yet free of desire's own defilement, there is no one not yet free of desire's own defilement who is capable of attaining genuine dhyāna; and it likewise refutes the claim that the not-yet-attained stage contains no neutral dharmas, meaning that, since it is form-realm-bound great elements that produce this restraint, there is no one who has not yet attained the level of dhyāna itself who is nevertheless capable of giving rise to those very great elements. Question: why does this passage ask only about mundane-path bodily and verbal karma, and not also about the undefiled kind? Answer: it is simply the intention of the treatise's own author — the treatise was composed following his own preference, and, so long as this does not contradict the proper form of the Dharma, this ought not to be demanded as an objection. Others say: that this ought to have been asked in full, yet was not, should be understood as a matter left with a further, supplementary account. Others say: undefiled bodily and verbal karma is never separate from mundane-path bodily and verbal karma, and hence, in asking about the mundane, the undefiled is already implicitly asked about as well. Others say: undefiled restraint takes mundane precepts as its own preparatory practice, its own gateway, its own basis, and its own foundation, and hence, in asking about that preparatory practice, the undefiled is already asked about as well. Others say: undefiled precepts are obtained in dependence on mundane precepts, and hence, in asking about the mundane, the undefiled is already asked about as well. Others say: mundane-path bodily and verbal restraint necessarily shares the same class as its own producing elements, and this passage asks only about this same-class case, differentiated by realm — the undefiled, belonging to a different class altogether, is hence not asked about here. Others say: this concerns a genuine scholarly dispute specifically regarding mundane-path form,

— some saying it is produced by not-yet-attained-stage great elements, others saying it is produced by genuine first-dhyāna-level great elements — and hence this question is asked; whereas undefiled form is, without dispute, simply produced by desire-realm-bound great elements, and hence this question is not asked. It is for reasons such as these that this passage asks only about mundane bodily and verbal karma, not about the undefiled. For one reborn in the desire realm who enters contaminated versions of the four dhyānas, by which great elements is their bodily and verbal karma-form produced? Answer: by form-realm-bound great elements — this is said with reference to the general category as a whole. Stated with more precision: form belonging to the first dhyāna's own mundane path is produced by first-dhyāna-level great elements, and so on, up through form belonging to the fourth dhyāna's own mundane path being produced by fourth-dhyāna-level great elements.

For one reborn in the desire realm who enters the undefiled versions of the four dhyānas, by which great elements is their bodily and verbal karma-form produced? Answer: by desire-realm-bound great elements, since it manifests in dependence on their desire-realm body. Question: why must the great elements underlying contaminated restraint necessarily belong to the same realm as the restraint itself, while the great elements underlying undefiled restraint simply belong to whatever realm the practitioner's own body happens to be in? Answer: contaminated restraint is bound and fettered, and hence is produced by great elements of the same realm; undefiled restraint is free of bondage and fetter, yet, manifesting in dependence on a body, is produced by whatever realm's great elements are present in whatever body it manifests within.

Others say: contaminated restraint falls within a realm and a ground, and hence is produced by great elements of its own realm and ground; undefiled restraint, though it falls within a ground, does not fall within a realm, and, manifesting in dependence on a body, is produced by whatever great elements underlie that body. Others say: contaminated restraint is produced by great elements of the same class as itself, and hence its ground must match; undefiled restraint is produced by great elements of a different class from itself, and hence varies with whatever body it depends upon, since it necessarily manifests in dependence on some body.

For one reborn in the form realm who enters contaminated versions of the four dhyānas, by which great elements is their bodily and verbal karma-form produced? Answer: by form-realm-bound great elements — this is said with reference to the general category as a whole. Stated with more precision: form belonging to the first dhyāna's own mundane path is produced by first-dhyāna-level great elements, and so on, up through form belonging to the fourth dhyāna's own mundane path being produced by fourth-dhyāna-level great elements.

For one reborn in the form realm who enters the undefiled versions of the four dhyānas, by which great elements is their bodily and verbal karma-form produced? Answer: by form-realm-bound great elements — this too is said with reference to the general category as a whole. Stated with more precision: one reborn in the first dhyāna who enters all four undefiled dhyānas has his bodily and verbal karma produced entirely by first-dhyāna-level great elements; one reborn in the second dhyāna who enters the three undefiled dhyānas above it has his bodily and verbal karma produced entirely by second-dhyāna-level great elements; one reborn in the third dhyāna who enters the two undefiled dhyānas above it has his bodily and verbal karma produced entirely by third-dhyāna-level great elements; and one reborn in the fourth dhyāna who enters the undefiled fourth dhyāna has his bodily and verbal karma produced by fourth-dhyāna-level great elements. Here, one should understand that a being reborn in a lower ground can manifest a higher ground's own absorption, while a being reborn in a higher ground does not manifest a lower ground's own absorption. Question: why is this? Answer: a lower ground's absorption is inferior, a higher ground's superior — one gives rise to what is superior out of aspiration, and refrains from what is inferior out of aversion to it. Others say: the lower inclines toward the higher, not the higher toward the lower, just as a minister attends upon the king, not the king upon the minister. Others say: one reborn in a lower ground still has further work to do with respect to a higher ground's own dharmas, and hence manifests them; one reborn in a higher ground has no further work to do with respect to a lower ground's dharmas, and hence does not manifest them — just as an arhat does not give rise to the antidote-path for afflictions of the three realms already cut off, since it would serve no further purpose. Others say: preparatory wholesome dharmas arise only through deliberate effort — a being reborn in a higher ground has no use for a lower ground's dharmas, and one does not exert further effort to manifest what serves no purpose, unlike neutral dharmas.

Question: the great elements, according to ground, come in five distinct classes — at any given transition, how many classes cease, and how many immediately arise in their place? Answer: for one reborn in the desire realm, if, immediately following a desire-realm mind, a contaminated first-dhyāna mind manifests, then one class of great elements ceases — namely, desire-realm elements — and two classes immediately arise — namely, desire-realm and first-dhyāna elements. If, immediately following a contaminated first-dhyāna mind, a further contaminated first-dhyāna mind manifests, then two classes cease, and two classes immediately arise — namely, desire-realm and first-dhyāna elements. If, immediately following a contaminated first-dhyāna mind, an undefiled first-dhyāna mind manifests, then two classes cease — namely, desire-realm and first-dhyāna elements — and one class immediately arises — namely, desire-realm elements. If, immediately following an undefiled first-dhyāna mind, a further undefiled first-dhyāna mind manifests, then one class ceases, and one class immediately arises — namely, desire-realm elements. If, immediately following an undefiled first-dhyāna mind, a contaminated first-dhyāna mind manifests,

— then one class ceases — namely, desire-realm elements — and two classes immediately arise — namely, desire-realm and first-dhyāna elements. If, immediately following a contaminated first-dhyāna mind, a desire-realm mind manifests, then two classes cease — namely, desire-realm and first-dhyāna elements — and one class immediately arises — namely, desire-realm elements. If, immediately following a desire-realm wholesome mind, an undefiled first-dhyāna mind manifests, or, immediately following an undefiled first-dhyāna mind, a desire-realm wholesome mind manifests, then, in either case, one class ceases, and one class immediately arises — namely, desire-realm elements. As with entering and leaving the first dhyāna, so too, in full, should this be explained for entering and leaving each of the other three dhyānas, according to what is fitting; and, as with one reborn in the desire realm, so too, in full, should this be explained for one reborn in each of the four dhyānas, according to what is fitting.

Question: for one reborn in the desire realm, when form-realm great elements presently manifest, where in the body do they manifest? Some say: between the eyebrows. Others say:

— the tip of the nose. Others say: near the heart. Others say: near the navel. Others say: the toes. Some say: wherever the practitioner had previously directed their own preparatory effort in settling the mind, there they manifest. Other masters say: desire-realm great elements are coarse, form-realm great elements are fine, and the fine penetrate into the interstices of the coarse, just as oil penetrates into sand — yet, when genuine, fundamental-level dhyāna manifests, form-realm great elements arise throughout the entire body; when merely access-level absorption manifests, form-realm great elements arise only near the heart. Others say: even when access-level absorption manifests, form-realm great elements likewise arise throughout the entire body, though the nourishment they provide the body is not as thorough as at the fundamental level — just as two people both go to bathe in a pond, one standing at the water's edge, scooping water to wash the body, the other fully submerging the body within the pond itself: though both use water covering the whole body, the one who submerges within the pond nourishes the body far more thoroughly. Question: does the desire-realm body first have a gap, into which form-realm great elements then arrive? Answer: it does not. The desire-realm body's own future already contains two distinct possibilities — one consisting of desire-realm great elements alone, and one consisting of a mixture of desire-realm and form-realm great elements together — and, whenever the condition for entering form-realm absorption is met, the purely-desire-realm possibility ceases, and the mixed possibility arises in its place. Hence one cannot say that a gap first exists, later filled by newly-arriving elements.

A disciple of the World-Honored One reborn in the formless realm possesses undefiled bodily and verbal karma-form — by which great elements is this produced? Answer: either by desire-realm-bound or by form-realm-bound great elements. Question: why compose this further treatise here? Answer: in order to bring certainty to those in doubt — for, since the formless realm has no form of any kind, one might doubt that a disciple of the World-Honored One reborn there could possess undefiled form produced by any great elements at all. It is to remove this doubt, and to show that it is produced by either desire-realm-bound or form-realm-bound great elements, that this is said. Question: this form is definitely produced by either desire-realm or form-realm great elements — why, then, is it stated disjunctively, as "either"? Answer: it ought properly to be stated determinately in each particular case, yet is stated disjunctively here in order to show that realms themselves never intermix, though undefiled antidotes do intermix — and it is precisely because realms never intermix that desire-realm-produced form is distinct from

— form-realm-produced form, no single form ever being produced by the great elements of two realms at once, and hence it is stated disjunctively. This is the general account.

Yet undefiled form, arising in dependence on whatever ground it manifests within, may be produced by great elements of any of five distinct classes — namely, the desire realm and each of the four dhyānas. A disciple of the World-Honored One reborn in the formless realm — if an arhat, possesses only future elements of all five grounds, the form produced by which is not presently manifest, since he has not presently given rise to it, nor is it past, since he has already given it up. If a non-returner, he too possesses future elements of all five grounds, the form produced by which is not presently manifest, since he has not presently given rise to it — but the past is indeterminate, since the number of grounds' own bodies in which he originally gave rise to it may vary, or there may be none at all. On this basis, it should be said: there is a trainee reborn in the formless realm who possesses future precepts belonging to all five grounds, yet none in the past at all — namely, one who, while formerly relying on a body in the desire realm or one of the four dhyānas, had not yet given rise to nor extinguished the undefiled path leading to the third fruit or the fourth approach, and, dying from that state, was reborn in the formless realm. There is a trainee reborn in the formless realm who possesses future elements of all five grounds, and past elements of one,

— namely, one who, while formerly in the desire realm or one of the four dhyānas, relying on a single body, had already given rise to and already extinguished the undefiled path leading to the third fruit or the fourth approach, and, dying from that state, was reborn in the formless realm. There is a trainee reborn in the formless realm who possesses future elements of all five grounds, and past elements of two — namely, one who, formerly relying on two distinct bodies across the desire realm and the four dhyānas, had already given rise to and already extinguished the undefiled path leading to the third fruit or the fourth approach in each, and, dying from that state, was reborn in the formless realm. There is a trainee reborn in the formless realm who possesses future elements of all five grounds, and past elements of three — namely, one who, formerly relying on three distinct bodies, had done likewise, and, dying from that state, was reborn in the formless realm. There is a trainee reborn in the formless realm who possesses future elements of all five grounds,

— and past elements of four — namely, one who, formerly relying on four distinct bodies, had done likewise, and, dying from that state, was reborn in the formless realm. There is a trainee reborn in the formless realm who possesses future elements of all five grounds, and past elements of all five — namely, one who, relying in turn on bodies across the desire realm and all four dhyānas, had done likewise in each, and, dying from that state, was reborn in the formless realm. Some say: there is no trainee reborn in the formless realm who fails to possess past form, since, while formerly in the desire or form realm, he must necessarily have already given rise to and extinguished the undefiled path leading to the third fruit or the fourth approach before dying — and hence the base treatise itself says that trainees reborn in the formless realm possess derived form both past and future.

Were one to attain the fruit of arhatship there, he would then possess future derived form, but not past derived form. Were it otherwise, the base treatise ought instead to say that some trainee reborn in the formless realm fails to possess past derived form. The Venerable Saṃghavasu, however, says:

— there is a trainee reborn in the formless realm who possesses neither past nor future undefiled karma-form of any of the five grounds' bodies at all — namely, one who, while formerly relying on a body in the desire realm or one of the four dhyānas, had not yet given rise to nor extinguished the undefiled path leading to the third fruit or the fourth approach, and, dying from that state, was reborn in the formless realm. There is a trainee reborn in the formless realm who possesses one class each of past and future elements — namely, one who, formerly in the desire realm or one of the four dhyānas, relying on a single body, had already given rise to and extinguished the undefiled path leading to the third fruit or the fourth approach, and, dying from that state, was reborn in the formless realm — and so on, up through possessing two, three, four, or all five classes, according to the pattern already explained in full above, to be reflected upon accordingly. As for the claim that, upon attaining the fruit of arhatship there, one separately obtains future precepts of all five grounds — this account is unreasonable, since attaining a fruit obtains only the unconditioned, never the conditioned. It also contradicts the base treatise's own statement elsewhere, which says that a noble one reborn in the formless realm possesses future derived form, but not past great elements — for, were his account correct, the base treatise ought instead to say that some noble one reborn in the formless realm fails to possess future derived form. Hence the account given earlier is the better one.

For a being who dies out of the formless realm and is reborn in the desire realm, the very first faculties and great elements newly obtained there — by which great elements are these caused? And so on in full. Question: why compose this treatise? Answer: in order to bring certainty to those in doubt — for, since the formless realm has no form of any kind at all, one might doubt that a being who dies out of the desire or form realm and is reborn in the formless realm, their own form having been interrupted for eighty, sixty, forty, or twenty thousand eons, would, upon dying there and being reborn again in the desire or form realm, obtain their first faculties and great elements without any cause at all. It is to remove this doubt, and to show that this form does not arise without cause, that this treatise is composed. For a being who dies out of the formless realm and is reborn in the desire realm, the very first faculties and great elements newly obtained — by which great elements are these caused? Answer: by desire-realm-bound great elements — this is said with reference to the general category as a whole. Stated with more precision, it should be said: for a being who dies out of the formless realm and comes to be reborn in the desire realm, the very first faculties and great elements newly obtained — if reborn in hell, are caused by that same hell's own great elements,

— and so on, up through, if reborn among the gods, being caused by that same heaven's own great elements. As for the eye faculty and its own great elements — these are caused by the great elements underlying the eye faculty specifically; and the other faculties and their objects should be understood the same way. As for the left eye specifically, and its own great elements — these are caused by the great elements underlying the left eye specifically; ripening-type elements within the left are caused by ripening-type elements, and nourishment-grown elements by nourishment-grown elements — and likewise for left and right; and the other faculties and objects, explained in full, are likewise so. Yet the rebirth-linking mind and the great elements co-arising with it mutually serve as co-existent cause for one another, and serve as generative cause and the rest for the eye and other faculties — while the great elements long since ceased across beginningless birth-and-death serve as same-class cause for these present great elements. Question: why does this passage not ask about the eye and the rest serving as cause for the newly-obtained faculties and elements? Some say: this is simply a matter of concise wording, and hence not separately asked. Others say: the great elements universally serve as cause for the faculties and elements alike, and hence this is asked; but the eye and the rest do not serve as cause for the great elements, and hence this is not asked. Others say: the great elements possess the sense of cause both long since ceased and presently, whereas the eye and the rest possess only the sense of long-since-ceased cause — and hence this is not separately stated. For a being who dies out of the formless realm and is reborn in the form realm, the very first faculties and great elements newly obtained — by which great elements are these caused? Answer: by form-realm-bound great elements — this too is said with reference to the general category as a whole. Stated with more precision, it should be said: for a being who dies out of the formless realm and comes to be reborn in the form realm, the very first faculties and great elements newly obtained — if reborn in the first dhyāna, are caused by that same first dhyāna's own great elements, and so on, up through, if reborn in the fourth dhyāna, being caused by that same fourth dhyāna's own great elements. As for the eye faculty and its own great elements — these are caused by the great elements underlying the eye faculty specifically; the left and right eye, ripening-type and nourishment-grown elements, explained in full as before; and the other faculties and objects, explained in full, are likewise so. Yet the rebirth-linking mind and the great elements co-arising with it mutually serve as co-existent cause for one another, explained in full as before.

For a being who dies out of the form realm and is reborn in the desire realm, the very first faculties and great elements newly obtained — by which great elements are these caused? Answer: by desire-realm-bound great elements — this too is said generally; stated with distinctions, as explained before, one should understand the remaining details, explained in full, according to the same pattern as before.