Present and Future Cultivation, From Stream-Entry to Arhatship
Fascicle 140 completes the Grasped Nyāsa with an exhaustive ledger of exactly what is cultivated in the present versus the future at every single stage of the path — stream-entry, the once-returner, the non-returner, all five supernormal powers, and finally arhatship itself — closing with why the formless realm possesses no precepts at all. 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 140 continues the Grasped Nyāsa (執受納息第四之四). Terms established across fascicles 93–139 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. A Cascade of Rival Doctrines to Refute
Fascicle 140 continues Part Four of the Grasped Nyāsa with an extraordinary list of rival positions the treatise sets out to refute in a single stroke — that there is no future cultivation of the path at all, that two minds can operate together, that the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment cannot all arise at a single moment, that faith and the rest exist only in uncontaminated form, that the awakening-factors and joy belong to stages they do not, that stream-enterers already possess genuine dhyāna, that patient acceptance is itself knowledge, that ordinary beings never cut off affliction, that noble ones never use a mundane path, and half a dozen further claims besides — setting up an exhaustive ledger, tracked moment by moment through every stage of the path, that will settle each dispute in turn.
大種蘊第五中執受納息第四之四以無間道證預流果。修彼道時四念住。幾現在修。幾未來修。乃至廣說。問何故作此論。答欲止他宗顯己義故。謂或有說。無未來修。勿有未作而已得故。為遮彼執顯有未來修。彼雖未起已起彼類故。或復有說二心俱行。以見聞等俱時有故。為遮彼執顯無二心俱行。剎那迅轉非俱似俱故。或復有說。四正斷等非一時有用因異故。為遮彼執顯此同時得有四種體無別故。或復有說。信等唯無漏。經說異生無信等根故。為遮彼執明信等通有漏。契經但說無漏根故。或復有說。根力體異。由彼勝劣位差別故。為遮彼執顯位雖殊而根力用一體有故。或復有說。覺支通有漏。說不淨俱修念覺支故。為遮彼執顯覺支唯無漏。經說有俱非同時俱故。或復有說。近分地有喜。經說依喜斷出離憂故。為遮彼執明近分無喜。經說已斷當斷名斷故。或復有說。正語業命不俱時有。一剎那中無二身語故。為遮彼執。顯三戒俱三根所起。一時可得故。或復有說。預流一來亦得靜慮。為遮彼執顯俱不得未離欲故。或復有說。忍即是智。為遮彼執顯忍非智。以於諦境未審決故。或復有說。異生不斷惑未見諦故。為遮彼執明異生亦斷惑見麁等故。或復有說。聖者不以世俗道斷惑。為遮彼執。顯聖自在隨用何道故。或復有說。上地亦有正思惟支。為遮彼執顯上地無彼支以無尋故。或復有執。無色亦有無漏戒支。為遮彼執。顯彼無戒以無色故。或復有說。三三摩地義別體同。為遮彼執。明體亦異行相別故。為止此等種種異宗顯正所明。故作斯論。
Fifth Aggregate, the Great Elements: the Grasped Nyāsa, Chapter Four, Part Four. By the uninterrupted path realizing the fruit of stream-entry, when cultivating that path, of the four foundations of mindfulness, how many are cultivated in the present, and how many in the future? And so on, in full. Question: why compose this treatise? Answer: in order to refute a rival doctrine and to establish our own correct doctrine. For some hold that there is no future cultivation at all, since one could hardly attain something not yet actually done — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that future cultivation does indeed exist, even though what has not yet arisen has already arisen in kind, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that two minds can operate together at once, since seeing and hearing and the rest occur simultaneously — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that no two minds ever operate together, since a single moment's swift turning merely resembles simultaneity without truly being so, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that the four right efforts and the rest cannot all function at the same single moment, since their causes differ — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that these can indeed be obtained simultaneously, their four kinds sharing a single, undifferentiated substance, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that faith and the rest exist only in their uncontaminated form, since the sūtra says that ordinary beings lack the faith-faculty and the rest — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to make clear that faith and the rest are common to both the contaminated and the uncontaminated, the sūtra speaking only of the uncontaminated kind specifically, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that the faculties and powers differ in their own substance, on account of their differing degrees of superiority and inferiority — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that, though their positions differ, their functioning as faculty or power shares a single, undifferentiated substance, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that the awakening-factors are common to the contaminated as well, since the sūtra speaks of cultivating the mindfulness-awakening-factor together with the contemplation of impurity — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that the awakening-factors are uncontaminated only, the sūtra's own "together" referring to a shared underlying cause, not genuine simultaneity, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that joy is present at the access-stage, since the sūtra speaks of relying on joy to cut off the displeasure of renunciation — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to make clear that the access-stage lacks joy, the sūtra's own language of "already cut off" and "about to be cut off" both being loosely called "cutting off," that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that correct speech, correct action, and correct livelihood cannot occur at the same single moment, since a single instant cannot contain two bodily or verbal acts — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that all three precepts arise together, given rise to by the three faculties at once, and can indeed be obtained simultaneously, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that stream-enterers and once-returners have also already attained genuine dhyāna — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that neither has attained it, since neither has yet become free of sensory desire, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that patient acceptance is itself already knowledge — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that patient acceptance is not knowledge, since it has not yet reached a fully determinate judgment with respect to the truths as its object, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that ordinary beings do not cut off afflictions, since they have not yet seen the truths — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to make clear that ordinary beings, too, cut off afflictions, seeing what is coarse and the rest, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that noble ones never cut off afflictions by means of a mundane path — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that noble ones freely make use of whichever path serves, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that the higher grounds also possess the correct-intention path-factor — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that the higher grounds lack this factor, since they lack discursive thought, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that the formless realm also possesses uncontaminated precepts — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to show that it lacks precepts altogether, since it lacks form, that this treatise is composed. Others, further, hold that the three concentrations differ only in meaning while sharing a single substance — it is in order to refute this attachment, and to make clear that their substance, too, differs, since their respective aspects differ, that this treatise is composed. It is in order to refute these various rival doctrines, each in turn, and to make clear the correct teaching, that this treatise is composed.
Cataloging seventeen distinct rival positions before answering a single one of them is a striking rhetorical choice: rather than refuting each doctrine in isolation, the treatise signals that a single, unified technical ledger — tracking exactly what is cultivated in the present versus the future at every stage of the path — is powerful enough to dissolve all seventeen disputes at once, each one turning out to be a special case of the very same underlying confusion about how cultivation actually works.
2. Stream-Entry's Own Ledger: One Mindfulness in Hand, Four Waiting in the Future
The ledger begins with the uninterrupted path that realizes the very fruit of stream-entry itself: of the four foundations of mindfulness, only one — the mixed-object foundation of mindfulness of dharmas, since it is here that the truths are actually seen — is cultivated in the present, while all four exist as future cultivation at once, refuting both the claim that no future cultivation exists and the claim that multiple minds could somehow operate together to cultivate all four in the present simultaneously.
以無間道證預流果。修彼道時四念住幾現在修。幾未來修。四正斷。四神足。五根。五力。七覺支。八道支。四靜慮。四無量。四無色。八解脫。八勝處。十遍處。八智三等持。幾現在修。幾未來修。答念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在未來六。道支現在未來八。無靜慮。無無量。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處。無智等持。現在未來一。念住現在一。未來四者。此則遮二心俱行。及無未來修執。若有二心俱時行者。則應現在修四念住。然四念住必不俱行。一心相應無四慧故。
By the uninterrupted path realizing the fruit of stream-entry, when cultivating that path — of the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of supernormal power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven awakening-factors, the eight path-factors, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurables, the four formless attainments, the eight liberations, the eight stations of mastery, the ten totalities, the eight kinds of knowledge, and the three concentrations — how many are cultivated in the present, and how many in the future? Answer: of the foundations of mindfulness, one is cultivated in the present, four in the future. Of the right efforts and the bases of power, four are cultivated in both present and future. Of the faculties and powers, five are cultivated in both present and future. Of the awakening-factors, six are cultivated in both present and future. Of the path-factors, eight are cultivated in both present and future. There is no dhyāna, no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality, no knowledge, no concentration — cultivated in present or future. As for the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present and four in the future — this refutes both the doctrine of two minds operating together and the doctrine denying future cultivation. For, were two minds to operate together at a single moment, then all four foundations of mindfulness would have to be cultivated in the present at once — yet the four foundations of mindfulness never operate together, since a single mind, associated with only one kind of wisdom, cannot possess all four kinds of wisdom at once.
不可此四一體建立行相所緣俱有異故。非一相續多心並起。勿由彼成多有情故。若未來世無修義者。則所修善無增廣義。起多加行則為唐捐。設功用多所獲少故。又初成佛時應未具足一切功德。勿有此等過失故。有未來修。未來世寬故具修四。現修勢用能引當來種類法。得令現前故。現在一者。謂雜緣法念住。見道諦故。正斷神足現在未來四者。此則遮說正斷神足非俱時有一。正勤體有四。所作如燈。一時有四作用。一三摩地由四因生故。從所因立四名稱。
Nor can these four be established as sharing a single substance, differing only in aspect and object, since a single continuum cannot give rise to many minds arising together — lest this imply the existence of many sentient beings within a single continuum. And, if there were no such thing as future cultivation, then the wholesome quality being cultivated would have no capacity to increase or expand, and undertaking extensive preparatory effort would be entirely wasted labor, exerting much effort for little gain; further, at the moment of first attaining Buddhahood, one would not yet possess every virtue in full — and it is in order to avoid faults such as these that future cultivation does indeed exist. The future, being vast in scope, allows the full cultivation of all four at once, while the present's own operative force is capable of drawing forth the corresponding future kind of dharma, bringing it into manifestation. As for "one in the present" — this refers to the foundation of mindfulness of dharmas with a mixed object, since it is here that the path of seeing the truths occurs. As for the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future — this refutes the claim that the right efforts and the bases of power cannot exist together at a single moment: the substance of right diligence is a single thing, its function likened to a lamp, which, at a single moment, possesses four distinct functions at once; and a single concentration, arising from four distinct causes, receives, accordingly, four distinct names,
That a single present moment can seed all four future foundations of mindfulness at once, without needing four simultaneous minds to do so, elegantly resolves what looks like a genuine paradox: cultivation, on this account, is never a matter of the present containing everything it produces, but of a single, narrow, focused act in the present having a far wider causal reach into what becomes available afterward.
3. Why the Higher Faculties Have No Room Here Yet
The same moment of realization is shown to fully activate the five faculties, five powers, seven awakening-factors, and eight path-factors all at once in both present and future — since faculty and power, despite their different names, share one undivided substance — while pointedly excluding any dhyāna, immeasurable, formless attainment, liberation, station of mastery, totality, worldly knowledge, or concentration beyond the single wishless concentration, each exclusion refuting a specific rival claim that stream-enterers already possess some higher attainment they have, in fact, not yet reached.
未來修者。亦體一義分故。現在未來各言修四根力。現在未來五者。此則遮根力體異。及說五種次第生執。雖根力位異而自體無別。即一信等有生破二用立根力名互不相違。相資俱起故。此五種非次第生。覺支現在未來六者。此則遮說近分有喜。此處未得上根本地。未離下怖。不生喜故。經說依喜斷出離憂者。依加行道說。
— even in future cultivation, since this, too, is a single substance divided by meaning into four. As for the faculties and powers, five in both present and future — this refutes the claim that faculty and power differ in their own substance, and the claim that the five arise in a fixed sequence: though their position as faculty or as power differs, their own substance is not distinct — the very same faith and the rest, through the capacity to give rise and the capacity to overcome, are respectively given the names "faculty" and "power," without any mutual contradiction, sustaining one another as they arise together; these five are never generated in any fixed sequence. As for the awakening-factors, six in both present and future — this refutes the claim that joy exists at the access-stage: at this stage, one has not yet attained the fundamental ground above, and has not yet become free of the fear belonging to the ground below, and hence joy does not arise here. As for the sūtra's own statement that one relies on joy to cut off the displeasure of renunciation —
非無間道故不相違。此依未至無喜故六。道支現在未來八者。此則止正語業命不俱者意。無貪瞋癡所發無表。各有七種俱時起故。無靜慮者。此則止預流一來亦得靜慮者意。此未離欲入見道故。已離欲者非二向故。無無量者。此遮無量亦通無漏。及見道中修無量執。此緣有情故。非無漏見道迅速。又初得故不能兼修。又復未得根本地故。不修無量。無無色者。此遮無色有見道執。無色中無遍緣智故必無見道。又此未得無色定故。無解脫無勝處無遍處者。此遮前三解脫等。亦通無漏者執。十六行相所不攝故不名無漏。又爾時未得根本地故。彼皆不修無智者。此則遮說忍即是智。忍於諦境未如實審決故不名智。又於此位自分修故。不修未來諸智。是故言無等持。現在未來一者。此則遮說三三摩地義別體同。以三等持行相異故。體亦有別。一者。謂無願等持道類忍時。唯修此故。雖八忍皆無間道。依證果位說道類忍非餘。
— this refers to the preparatory path, not the uninterrupted path, and hence there is no contradiction; it is with reference to the not-yet-attained stage's own lack of joy that six are named. As for the path-factors, eight in both present and future — this refutes the intention of those who hold that correct speech, correct action, and correct livelihood cannot occur together: the unmanifest form arising from the absence of greed, hatred, and delusion each has seven varieties, all arising together at the same moment. As for there being no dhyāna — this refutes the intention of those who hold that stream-enterers and once-returners have also attained genuine dhyāna, since one at this point has not yet become free of desire and has entered the path of seeing, and one who has already become free of desire is not among those aiming toward either of these two fruits. As for there being no immeasurable — this refutes the claim that the immeasurables are common to the uncontaminated as well, and the claim that the immeasurables are cultivated within the path of seeing: the immeasurables take sentient beings as their object, whereas the uncontaminated path of seeing operates too swiftly for this, and, being newly attained, cannot cultivate anything else alongside it; further, one has not yet attained the fundamental ground, and hence does not cultivate the immeasurables. As for there being no formless attainment — this refutes the claim that the formless realm possesses the path of seeing: the formless realm lacks the pervasively-observing wisdom, and hence necessarily lacks any path of seeing at all; further, one has not yet attained formless concentration at this point. As for there being no liberation, no station of mastery, and no totality — this refutes the claim that the first three liberations and the rest are common to the uncontaminated as well: these are not subsumed under the sixteen aspects, and hence are not called uncontaminated; further, at this time, one has not yet attained the fundamental ground. As for there being no knowledge — this refutes the claim that patient acceptance is itself knowledge: patient acceptance has not yet reached a truly determinate judgment with respect to the truths as its object, and hence is not called knowledge; further, at this stage, one cultivates only what belongs to one's own particular category, and does not cultivate the various kinds of future knowledge. As for there being no concentration — this refutes the claim that the three concentrations differ only in meaning while sharing a single substance, since the three concentrations differ in their own aspect, and hence differ in substance as well. As for "one in present and future" — this refers to the wishless concentration, present specifically at the moment of the path-class patient-acceptance with respect to the path, since it is at this moment alone that this concentration is cultivated; though all eight patient-acceptances are uninterrupted paths, it is specifically with reference to the moment of attaining the fruit that the path-class patient-acceptance, and not the others, is spoken of here.
The insistence that faculty and power name the very same underlying reality under two different aspects — one describing a capacity's power to arise, the other its power to overcome opposition — is a small but important piece of conceptual economy: rather than positing five additional entities alongside the five faculties, the treatise simply gives the same five a second name for a second function, refusing to multiply substances beyond what the phenomena actually require.
4. Once-Returner Through the Noble Path Directly
The ledger turns to a being who has already become "doubly free" of the desire realm's own defilement — having cut off six of its nine grades beforehand through the ordinary six-aspect method available even to unenlightened beings — and who enters the noble path directly to realize the fruit of the once-returner, carrying the identical pattern of cultivation already established for stream-entry, with the sole addition of the wishless concentration now present in both time-frames rather than merely a single moment.
以無間道證一來果。修彼道時四念住。乃至三等持。幾現在修。幾未來修。答若倍離欲染。入正性離生修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足。現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在未來六。
By the uninterrupted path realizing the fruit of the once-returner, when cultivating that path — of the four foundations of mindfulness, up through the three concentrations — how many are cultivated in the present, and how many in the future? Answer: if one who has already become doubly free of desire's own defilement enters the correct determination of the noble path and cultivates that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, six in both present and future;
道支現在未來八。無靜慮。無無量。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處。無智等持。現在未來一。若倍離欲染入正性離生者。此則遮說異生不斷惑。然異生類能以麁等六種行相。離欲界染乃至無所有處染。若先已離六品欲染。名倍離欲。倍後三故。所餘文句皆如前釋。
of the path-factors, eight in both present and future; there is no dhyāna, no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality, no knowledge, and one concentration in both present and future. As for one who has already become doubly free of desire's own defilement, entering the correct determination of the noble path — this refutes the claim that ordinary beings do not cut off afflictions. Yet ordinary beings are indeed capable of becoming free from the desire realm's own defilement, up through the sphere of nothing-whatsoever's own defilement, by means of the six aspects of coarse-and-the-rest. If one has already become free of six grades of desire-realm defilement beforehand, this is called being "doubly free of desire," since it doubles the remaining three grades. The remaining text and phrasing should all be explained exactly as before.
That an ordinary, unenlightened being can independently cut off six of nine grades of desire-realm defilement before ever entering the noble path at all is a striking concession about the reach of purely mundane spiritual effort: enlightenment's own technical apparatus, on this account, is not required to make substantial progress — it is required only to finish what ordinary discipline has already carried most of the way there.
5. Once-Returner Two Ways: The Mundane Path and the Uncontaminated Path
Two entirely separate routes from stream-entry to the fruit of the once-returner are now compared side by side: the mundane path, cultivated with only mundane knowledge in the present and lacking any awakening-factor or path-factor there at all, precisely because the sūtra's language of joint cultivation with the contemplation of impurity refers only to a shared underlying cause, never true simultaneity — against the uncontaminated path, which activates every awakening- and path-factor immediately, refuting outright the claim that the contaminated could ever count as genuine awakening.
若從預流果以世俗道證一來果。修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。
If, from the fruit of stream-entry, one realizes the fruit of the once-returner by means of a mundane path, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future.
正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在無。未來六。道支現在無。未來八。無靜慮。無無量。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。
Of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, none in the present, six in the future; of the path-factors, none in the present, eight in the future; there is no dhyāna, no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery,
無遍處智。現在一。未來七。等持現在無。未來三。以世俗道。證一來果者。此則遮說聖者不以世俗道斷惑。聖於二道。俱成就故。
no totality; of knowledge, one in the present, seven in the future; of concentration, none in the present, three in the future. As for realizing the fruit of the once-returner by means of a mundane path — this refutes the claim that noble ones never cut off afflictions by means of a mundane path, since noble ones have attained mastery over both paths at once,
隨欲現前。即以彼斷。念住現在。一者。謂雜緣法念住。有漏離染無間道。必總緣故。根力現在未來五者。此則遮說信等唯無漏。說觀信等為集等故。佛觀三根。方說法故。有漏亦有根力用故。覺支現在無者。此則遮說覺支通有漏有漏不能如實覺故。說不淨觀俱修念覺支者。依展轉因有俱而說。未來六者。聖者起有漏道時。亦兼修無漏故。道支現在無者。雖道支通有漏。然覺支後說故亦唯無漏。阿毘達磨有如此相。無無量等者。未至定中無彼根本地諸善法故。智現在一者。謂世俗智未來七者。除他心智。以無間道相違故。又未得故。此中但依八智作論。除盡無生。以位局故。等持現在無者。三等持雖通有漏。然此中說無漏者。以無漏是解脫門故。
and freely make use of whichever they wish, cutting off affliction by whichever they choose. As for "one in the present" — this refers to the foundation of mindfulness of dharmas with a mixed object, since a contaminated uninterrupted path of becoming free of defilement necessarily takes a comprehensive object. As for the faculties and powers, five in both present and future — this refutes the claim that faith and the rest exist only in their uncontaminated form: it is precisely because faith and the rest are said to be conducive to accumulation and the rest that the Buddha observes the three faculties before teaching the Dharma at all, and hence the contaminated, too, possesses the function of faculty and power. As for the awakening-factors, none in the present — this refutes the claim that the awakening-factors are common to the contaminated as well, since the contaminated is incapable of genuine, accurate awakening. As for the sūtra's own statement that one cultivates the mindfulness-awakening-factor together with the contemplation of impurity — this is spoken with reference to a shared underlying cause, treated loosely as "together," not as genuine simultaneity. As for "six in the future" — this is because a noble one, when giving rise to a contaminated path, cultivates the uncontaminated alongside it as well. As for the path-factors, none in the present — though the path-factors are indeed common to the contaminated as well, since the awakening-factors are spoken of just before them, they, too, are uncontaminated only — Abhidharma has this very characteristic pattern. As for there being no immeasurable and the rest — the not-yet-attained stage of concentration lacks the wholesome dharmas belonging to the fundamental ground above. As for "one in the present" for knowledge — this refers to mundane knowledge. As for "seven in the future" — this excludes knowledge of others' minds, since it is contradictory to the uninterrupted path, and since it has not yet been attained. This passage relies specifically on the eight kinds of knowledge in composing its treatise, excluding the knowledge of exhaustion and of non-arising, since these are confined to a specific stage. As for "none in the present" for concentration — though the three concentrations are indeed common to the contaminated as well, it is the uncontaminated kind specifically that is spoken of here, since the uncontaminated alone is a genuine gateway to liberation.
此文說第六無間道。以彼能證一來果故。餘如前說。若從預流果以無漏道證一來果修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在未來六。道支現在未來八。無靜慮。無無量。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處智。現在二。未來七。等持現在一。未來三。念住現在一者。謂法念住。或雜不雜以四法智隨起一故。智現在二者。謂苦智法智二。或乃至道智法智二。等持現在一者。謂三中隨一。餘如前說。
This passage speaks of the sixth uninterrupted path, since it is this path that is capable of realizing the fruit of the once-returner; everything else is as already explained. If, from the fruit of stream-entry, one realizes the fruit of the once-returner by means of an uncontaminated path, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, six in both present and future; of the path-factors, eight in both present and future; there is no dhyāna, no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality; of knowledge, two in the present, seven in the future; of concentration, one in the present, three in the future. As for "one in the present" for the foundation of mindfulness — this refers to the foundation of mindfulness of dharmas, either with a mixed or an unmixed object, since any one of the four kinds of dharma-knowledge may arise. As for "two in the present" for knowledge — this refers to either suffering-knowledge and dharma-knowledge together, or up through path-knowledge and dharma-knowledge together. As for "one in the present" for concentration — this refers to any one of the three, chosen accordingly. Everything else is as already explained.
That a noble one is shown moving freely between a contaminated, mundane path and a genuinely uncontaminated one to reach the very same fruit — refuting, in passing, the claim that noble ones are somehow confined to uncontaminated methods alone — reveals a practical flexibility this tradition rarely gets credit for: liberation's own technical machinery, once genuinely attained, becomes something to be used pragmatically, not a single rigid track that must be followed to the letter.
6. Non-Returner's Own Path, Ground by Ground
The uninterrupted path realizing the fruit of the non-returner opens with the most basic case — one who has fully become free of desire's own defilement and relies on the not-yet-attained access-stage to enter the noble path directly — carrying the same essential pattern as before, but now explicitly excluding any dhyāna at all, since the path of seeing, resting on a lower ground, is never capable of cultivating anything belonging to a higher one.
以無間道證不還果修彼道時。四念住乃至三等持。幾現在修。幾未來修。答若已離欲染。依未至定入正性離生修。彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在未來六。道支現在未來八。無靜慮。無無量。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處。無智等持。現在未來一。無靜慮者。見道依下不修上故。餘如前說。
By the uninterrupted path realizing the fruit of the non-returner, when cultivating that path — of the four foundations of mindfulness, up through the three concentrations — how many are cultivated in the present, and how many in the future? Answer: if one who has already become free of desire's own defilement enters the correct determination of the noble path relying on the not-yet-attained stage, and cultivates that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, six in both present and future; of the path-factors, eight in both present and future; there is no dhyāna, no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality, no knowledge, and one concentration in both present and future. As for there being no dhyāna — the path of seeing, relying on a lower ground, does not cultivate anything higher. Everything else is as already explained.
若依初靜慮入正性離生。修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在未來七。道支現在未來八。靜慮現在未來一。無無量。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處。無智等持。現在未來一。釋此文句准前應知。
If one relies on the first dhyāna to enter the correct determination of the noble path, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, seven in both present and future; of the path-factors, eight in both present and future; of dhyāna, one in both present and future; there is no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality, no knowledge, and one concentration in both present and future. The interpretation of this passage should be understood by analogy with what has already been explained.
The principle that a lower ground's own path of seeing can never reach upward to cultivate a higher ground's dhyāna, stated here almost in passing, will prove to be one of this fascicle's most consequential recurring rules — quietly setting up a genuine tension, addressed at length only several pages later, over whether the very same limitation should also apply to a mind that has, by then, already mastered the higher ground in question.
7. Climbing Through Every Dhyāna to Become a Non-Returner
The identical ledger is now run through every possible dhyāna-basis a practitioner might rely upon to enter the noble path — the first dhyāna, the subtle intermediate stage between the first and second (lacking the joy-faculty and, notably, refuting the claim that higher grounds retain discursive thought), and the second, third, and fourth dhyānas in turn — each version of the path activating precisely one more awakening-factor, path-factor, or dhyāna in the present than the version before it, tracking with real precision exactly how a practitioner's own basis shapes what becomes available to cultivate.
若依靜慮中間。入正性離生修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在六。未來七。道支現在七。未來八靜慮現在無。未來一。無無量。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處。無智等持。現在未來一。覺支現在六者。靜慮中間無喜根故。依上修下故。未來七。道支現在七者。此遮上地有尋者執此上心細故無有尋。餘如前說。若依第二靜慮。入正性離生修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在未來七。道支現在七。未來八。靜慮現在一。未來二。無無量。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處。無智等持。現在未來一。釋此文句准前應知。
If one relies on the intermediate stage of dhyāna to enter the correct determination of the noble path, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, six in the present, seven in the future; of the path-factors, seven in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, none in the present, one in the future; there is no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality, no knowledge, and one concentration in both present and future. As for the awakening-factors, six in the present — the intermediate stage of dhyāna lacks the joy-faculty, and, relying on the higher ground, one cultivates the lower — hence seven in the future. As for the path-factors, seven in the present — this refutes the claim that the higher grounds possess discursive thought, since this level's own mind, being subtle, lacks discursive thought entirely. Everything else is as already explained. If one relies on the second dhyāna to enter the correct determination of the noble path, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, seven in both present and future; of the path-factors, seven in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, one in the present, two in the future; there is no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality, no knowledge, and one concentration in both present and future. The interpretation of this passage should be understood by analogy with what has already been explained.
若依第三靜慮。入正性離生修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在六。未來七。道支現在七。未來八。靜慮現在一。未來三。無無量。無無色。無解脫。
If one relies on the third dhyāna to enter the correct determination of the noble path, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, six in the present, seven in the future; of the path-factors, seven in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, one in the present, three in the future; there is no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation,
無勝處。無遍處。無智等持。現在未來一。釋此如前。
no station of mastery, no totality, no knowledge, and one concentration in both present and future. The interpretation of this is as already explained above.
若依第四靜慮入正性離生修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在六。未來七。道支現在七。未來八。靜慮現在一。未來四。無無量。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處。無智等持。現在未來一。此隨所應如前釋。
If one relies on the fourth dhyāna to enter the correct determination of the noble path, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, six in the present, seven in the future; of the path-factors, seven in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, one in the present, four in the future; there is no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality, no knowledge, and one concentration in both present and future. This should be explained, according to what is fitting, exactly as already given above.
Watching the exact same fruit — non-returner — become reachable through five structurally distinct paths, each one differing only in which single dhyāna-basis underlies it, demonstrates something genuinely important about how this tradition conceives of spiritual attainment: the destination is fixed and singular, but the specific technical inventory a person carries with them upon arriving there depends entirely, and precisely, on which door they happened to walk through.
8. Two More Roads to Non-Returner, and the First Supernormal Power Begins
After confirming the mundane and uncontaminated routes from once-returner to non-returner follow the identical pattern already established, the fascicle pivots to an entirely new topic: the uninterrupted path realizing the first of the five supernormal powers, the penetration of supernormal locomotion — beginning with an ordinary being relying on the first dhyāna, whose ledger looks strikingly different from every noble-path case before it, lacking any awakening-factor or path-factor whatsoever, since this power belongs to an entirely separate track from the path of liberation itself.
若從一來果以世俗道證不還果。修彼道時念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在無。未來六。道支現在無。未來八。無靜慮。無無量。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處智。現在一。未來七。等持現在無。未來三。釋此文句如前應知。若從一來果以無漏道證不還果修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在未來六。道支現在未來八。無靜慮。無無量。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處智。現在二。未來七。等持現在一。未來三。皆如前釋。以無間道證神境智通。修彼道時。四念住乃至三等持。幾現在修。幾未來修。答若諸異生。依初靜慮修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。無覺支。無道支。靜慮。現在未來一。無量現在無。未來四。無無色。解脫。現在無。未來二。
If, from the fruit of the once-returner, one realizes the fruit of the non-returner by means of a mundane path, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, none in the present, six in the future; of the path-factors, none in the present, eight in the future; there is no dhyāna, no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality; of knowledge, one in the present, seven in the future; of concentration, none in the present, three in the future. The interpretation of this passage should be understood exactly as already explained. If, from the fruit of the once-returner, one realizes the fruit of the non-returner by means of an uncontaminated path, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, six in both present and future; of the path-factors, eight in both present and future; there is no dhyāna, no immeasurable, no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality; of knowledge, two in the present, seven in the future; of concentration, one in the present, three in the future — all as already explained. By the uninterrupted path realizing the penetration of supernormal locomotion, when cultivating that path — of the four foundations of mindfulness, up through the three concentrations — how many are cultivated in the present, and how many in the future? Answer: if an ordinary being relies on the first dhyāna and cultivates that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; there is no awakening-factor, no path-factor; of dhyāna, one in both present and future; of immeasurable, none in the present, four in the future; there is no formless attainment; of liberation, none in the present, two in the future;
That the very first supernormal power's own ledger contains no awakening-factors or path-factors at all — categories that were, until this point, present in essentially every single case examined — marks a genuine shift in subject matter the reader should not miss: these five powers, however impressive, belong to an entirely different project than liberation itself, and the treatise's own bookkeeping makes that separation immediately, structurally visible.
9. Why the Locomotion-Power Must Share Its Object With Its Own Path
A genuinely subtle question asks why the penetration of supernormal locomotion and its own uninterrupted path must necessarily share the identical object of pure form, when the vajra-like concentration and the very first knowledge of the arhat's own liberation can take differing objects across the three realms — resolved by a sharp distinction between two entirely different kinds of spiritual work: cutting off affliction, which merely seeks freedom and need not transform its own object, and exercising a supernormal power, which specifically aims to transform, manifest, and comprehend whatever it takes as its object, and hence cannot afford any mismatch between the path and what that path is actually working upon.
勝處現在無。未來四。無遍處智。現在未來一。無等持。此中念住現在一者。謂身念住。神境智通。但緣色故。彼無間道亦但緣色。
of station of mastery, none in the present, four in the future; there is no totality; of knowledge, one in both present and future; there is no concentration. Here, "one in the present" for the foundation of mindfulness refers to the foundation of mindfulness of the body, since the penetration of supernormal locomotion takes only form as its object, and its own uninterrupted path likewise takes only form as its object.
問如金剛喻定緣有頂四蘊。或三界滅道漏盡通。緣有頂四蘊。如是則所緣。或異。此中何故神境智通與無間道。必同緣色。答金剛喻定與最初盡無生智。俱是觀諦斷煩惱道。但求離染非於所緣。有所轉作故。所緣或異。神境通等皆是隨事作意。俱欲於境變現了知故。所緣必同。無量現在無。未來四者。根本地中有漏功德由同地故。隨應皆修解脫。現在無。未來二者。謂初二解脫彼在初二靜慮繫故。勝處現在無。未來四者。謂初四勝處。亦彼繫故。智現在未來一。謂世俗智。問何故無他心智。答無間道中不修彼故。是容暇道之所修故。餘隨所應如前說。
Question: as the vajra-like concentration takes as its object the four aggregates of the Peak of Existence, or the penetration of the exhaustion of outflows takes as its object the four aggregates of the Peak of Existence within the three realms, meaning their respective objects may differ — why, then, must the penetration of supernormal locomotion and its own uninterrupted path here necessarily share the same object of form? Answer: the vajra-like concentration and the very first knowledge of exhaustion and of non-arising are alike a path of contemplating the truths and cutting off afflictions, seeking only freedom from defilement, not effecting any transformation with respect to their own object — and hence their objects may differ. The penetration of supernormal locomotion and the rest, however, are all a matter of attending to a specific undertaking, both alike wishing to transform, manifest, and comprehend their object — and hence their objects must necessarily be the same. As for "none in the present, four in the future" for immeasurable — the wholesome virtues of the fundamental ground, sharing the same ground, are cultivated accordingly wherever fitting. As for "none in the present, two in the future" for liberation — this refers to the first two liberations, since these belong to the first two dhyānas. As for "none in the present, four in the future" for station of mastery — this refers to the first four stations of mastery, since these, too, belong to the same ground. As for "one in both present and future" for knowledge — this refers to mundane knowledge. Question: why is there no knowledge of others' minds? Answer: because the uninterrupted path does not cultivate it, since it is a path cultivated only in a state of leisure. Everything else, according to what is fitting, is as already explained.
Distinguishing a path that merely seeks freedom from one that seeks active transformation of its own object is a genuinely useful piece of conceptual machinery reaching well beyond this specific technical puzzle: it captures something true about the difference between simply escaping a problem and actually reshaping the material one is working with, a distinction with obvious echoes far outside Abhidharma physics.
10. One Dhyāna, Not Four: A Noble One's Own Curious Limit
A genuinely puzzling asymmetry emerges when a noble one who has already mastered every one of the four dhyānas relies on the first alone to cultivate the locomotion-power: since the uncontaminated penetration can in principle draw on both higher and lower grounds at once, shouldn't such a master cultivate all four dhyānas in the future rather than merely one? The treatise works through several competing resolutions before settling on the most compelling: the five supernormal powers, unlike cutting off affliction or refining one's own faculties, always demand fresh, deliberate, maximal effort each time they are exercised, and hence never simply inherit whatever mastery a practitioner has already achieved elsewhere.
若諸聖者依初靜慮修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在無。未來七。道支現在無。未來八。靜慮現在未來一。無量現在無。未來四。無無色解脫。現在無。未來二。勝處現在無。未來四。無遍處智。現在一。未來七。
If noble ones rely on the first dhyāna and cultivate that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, none in the present, seven in the future; of the path-factors, none in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, one in both present and future; of immeasurable, none in the present, four in the future; there is no formless attainment; of liberation, none in the present, two in the future; of station of mastery, none in the present, four in the future; there is no totality; of knowledge, one in the present, seven in the future;
等持現在無。未來三。靜慮現在未來一者。問聖者已離第三靜慮染得第四靜慮。依初靜慮修神境通。無間道中應言靜慮未來修四。無漏通依上下修故何故但說未來一耶。答有說。應言未來修四而不說者當知有餘。有說。此中依漸次者說。謂從具縛入正性離生。乃至得不還果已。依初靜慮修神境通無間道中。未來修一。不修上者以未得故。有說。假使離第三靜慮染。依初靜慮修神境通。亦但修一不修上地故。問豈不依初靜慮斷上地染。及無學者。修練根時亦修上地所有功德耶。寧說依下不能修上。答斷上地惑能修上者。以彼地道所治同故。法斷彼惑能治必修。無學練根如得彼果。是故此皆依下修上。諸通不爾故不修上。如見道中唯修自下。此例非理。見道是初得種性未自在故。唯自分修。修道是已得種性。於彼自在寧不兼修。然五通是勝功德。修加行時必極作意。若諸靜慮已得自在何理為障而不兼修。由此應知前說者好。無無色等准此應知。餘如前說。
of concentration, none in the present, three in the future. As for dhyāna, one in both present and future — question: since a noble one who has already become free of the third dhyāna's own defilement and attained the fourth dhyāna, relying on the first dhyāna to cultivate the penetration of supernormal locomotion — since the uncontaminated penetration relies on both higher and lower grounds to be cultivated — should it not then be said that dhyāna is cultivated fourfold in the future? Why does the passage say only one? Answer: some say: it ought properly to have said "four are cultivated in the future," and its failure to do so should be understood as a matter left with some further, supplementary account. Others say: this passage speaks of the gradual practitioner — that is, one who, starting bound by every fetter, enters the correct determination of the noble path, and, proceeding all the way to the attainment of the fruit of non-returner, then, relying on the first dhyāna, cultivates the penetration of supernormal locomotion during the uninterrupted path, cultivates only one in the future, not cultivating anything higher, since it has not yet been attained. Others say: even supposing one has already become free of the third dhyāna's own defilement, and, relying on the first dhyāna, cultivates the penetration of supernormal locomotion, one still cultivates only one, not cultivating the higher grounds. Question: is it not the case that, relying on the lower ground to cut off a higher ground's own defilement, and at the moment of a non-trainee's own refining of faculties, one also cultivates whatever virtues belong to the higher ground? How, then, can it be said that relying on a lower ground is incapable of cultivating a higher one? Answer: cutting off a higher ground's own affliction, and being capable of cultivating the higher ground, is because the antidote-path for that same ground shares the same object being treated — and hence, wherever the dharma that cuts off that affliction is present, cultivation necessarily follows; a non-trainee's refining of faculties resembles attaining that fruit anew — and it is for these reasons that both cases cultivate the higher ground accordingly. The various penetrations, however, are not like this — and hence they do not cultivate the higher ground. It is exactly like the path of seeing, which cultivates only what belongs to its own lower ground and nothing higher. But is this analogy not itself unreasonable? Answer: the path of seeing represents the very first attainment of the noble lineage, not yet having attained mastery, and hence cultivates only its own particular portion; the path of cultivation, however, has already attained the noble lineage, and, being at ease within it, why should it not cultivate accordingly, alongside it, as well? Yet the five penetrations are superior virtues, and, when cultivating the preparatory practice for them, one must exert the most intense attention — if one has already attained mastery over the various dhyānas, what principle could possibly obstruct their being cultivated alongside as well? By this reasoning, it should be known that the account given first is the better one. As for there being no formless attainment and the rest, this should likewise be understood accordingly. Everything else is as already explained.
The final resolution — that the supernormal powers, unlike liberation itself, always require fresh, focused exertion rather than automatically inheriting whatever mastery already exists elsewhere in a practitioner's own continuum — captures something recognizable well beyond this technical dispute: even genuine expertise in one domain does not automatically transfer into effortless competence in a related but distinct skill, which must still be freshly and deliberately exercised each time it is called upon.
11. The Second Dhyāna's Own Version of the Same Power
The same locomotion-power is now traced through the second dhyāna for both ordinary beings and noble ones — the ordinary being's version pointedly excluding cultivation of the already-attained first dhyāna as well, since contaminated virtues remain permanently confined to their own particular realm and ground no matter what has already been mastered elsewhere, while the noble one's own version, drawing on genuinely uncontaminated power, does extend to include the first dhyāna, precisely because it alone was uncontaminated.
若諸異生依第二靜慮修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。無覺支。無道支。靜慮。現在。未來一無量。現在無。未來四。無無色。解脫。現在無。未來二。勝處現在無。未來四。無遍處智。現在未來一。無等持。靜慮。現在未來一者。彼已得下地。而不修者。有漏功德唯自地修墮界地故。餘如前說。
If ordinary beings rely on the second dhyāna and cultivate that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; there is no awakening-factor, no path-factor; of dhyāna, one in both present and future; of immeasurable, none in the present, four in the future; there is no formless attainment; of liberation, none in the present, two in the future; of station of mastery, none in the present, four in the future; there is no totality; of knowledge, one in both present and future; there is no concentration. As for dhyāna, one in both present and future — though one has already attained the lower ground, one does not cultivate it, since contaminated virtues are cultivated only within their own particular ground, each falling within its own realm and ground. Everything else is as already explained.
若諸聖者。依第二靜慮修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在無。未來七。道支現在無。未來八。靜慮現在一。未來二。無量現在無。未來四。無無色。解脫。現在無。未來二。勝處現在無。未來四。無遍處智。現在一。未來七。等持現在無。未來三。靜慮未來二者。謂初二靜慮初唯無漏。餘如前說。
If noble ones rely on the second dhyāna and cultivate that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, none in the present, seven in the future; of the path-factors, none in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, one in the present, two in the future; of immeasurable, none in the present, four in the future; there is no formless attainment; of liberation, none in the present, two in the future; of station of mastery, none in the present, four in the future; there is no totality; of knowledge, one in the present, seven in the future; of concentration, none in the present, three in the future. As for dhyāna, two in the future — this refers to the first two dhyānas, the first being uncontaminated only. Everything else is as already explained.
The clean contrast between the ordinary being, whose contaminated power stays locked within a single ground regardless of prior mastery, and the noble one, whose uncontaminated power freely extends across grounds already traversed, is this fascicle's clearest statement yet of a governing principle: contamination itself, not mere attainment, is what confines a capacity to its own narrow territory — remove the contamination, and the very same capacity becomes free to range wherever genuine mastery has already been won.
12. The Third Dhyāna, Where Pleasure Gets in the Way
The locomotion-power's own third-dhyāna version reveals a striking gap: this ground, famously the most pleasurable of all four dhyānas, entirely lacks the liberations, stations of mastery, and totalities that appear so richly in the ground just above it — not for any technical incapacity, but because the third dhyāna's own overwhelming pleasure actively distracts a practitioner from the renunciation-oriented aspiration these purer virtues require, its intrinsically hazard-prone nature keeping them permanently out of reach there.
若諸異生依第三靜慮修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。無覺支。無道支。靜慮。現在未來一。無量現在無。未來三。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處智。
If ordinary beings rely on the third dhyāna and cultivate that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; there is no awakening-factor, no path-factor; of dhyāna, one in both present and future; of immeasurable, none in the present, three in the future; there is no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality;
現在未來一。無等持。無量未來三者。除喜無量。無解脫等者。第三靜慮樂所迷故。無解脫等。厭行功德淨解脫等。雖作欣行相。由地有災橫故亦不得。有餘如前說。
of knowledge, one in both present and future; there is no concentration. As for immeasurable, three in the future — this excludes the immeasurable of joy. As for there being no liberation and the rest — the third dhyāna, being deluded by its own pleasure, lacks these, since the pure liberations and the rest, which involve a renunciation-oriented aspect, though they too, in a certain sense, take on an aspirational aspect, are, on account of that ground's own calamitous nature, still not attained. Everything else is as already explained.
若諸聖者。依第三靜慮修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在無。未來七。道支現在無。未來八。靜慮現在一。未來三。無量現在無。未來三。無無色。無解脫。無勝處。無遍處智。現在一。未來七。等持現在無。
If noble ones rely on the third dhyāna and cultivate that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, none in the present, seven in the future; of the path-factors, none in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, one in the present, three in the future; of immeasurable, none in the present, three in the future; there is no formless attainment, no liberation, no station of mastery, no totality; of knowledge, one in the present, seven in the future; of concentration, none in the present,
That the single most blissful of the four dhyānas is precisely the one ground where an entire category of purifying virtue becomes unreachable is one of this fascicle's most quietly pointed observations: pleasure itself, however refined and legitimately attained through deep meditative accomplishment, can still function as an active obstacle to certain further, subtler forms of purification — comfort and completion, on this account, are simply not the same thing.
13. The Fourth Dhyāna's Own Complete Set of Pure Virtues
By striking contrast, the fourth dhyāna — free of all eight calamities that plague the lower grounds — turns out to be the exclusive home of an entire suite of the tradition's purest attainments: the pure liberation bodily witnessed and fully abode in, the latter four of the eight stations of mastery, and fully eight of the ten totalities, none of them accessible from any other ground in the entire cosmos, whether cultivated by ordinary beings or noble ones exercising the very same locomotion-power.
未來三。廣釋如前。若諸異生。依第四靜慮修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。無覺支。無道支。靜慮。現在未來一。無量現在無。未來三。無無色解脫。現在無。未來一。勝處現在無。未來四。遍處現在無。未來八。智現在未來一。無等持。解脫。未來一者。謂淨解脫身作證具足住。勝處未來四者。謂後四勝處。遍處。未來八者。謂前八遍處。由此地中離八災橫故。有此等清淨功德。餘如前說。若諸聖者。依第四靜慮修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在無未來七。道支現在無。未來八。靜慮現在一。未來四。無量現在無。未來三。無無色。解脫。現在無。未來一。勝處現在無。未來四。遍處現在無。未來八。智現在一。未來七。等持現在無。未來三。廣釋如前。
three in the future. This is explained in full, exactly as above. If ordinary beings rely on the fourth dhyāna and cultivate that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; there is no awakening-factor, no path-factor; of dhyāna, one in both present and future; of immeasurable, none in the present, three in the future; of formless attainment, of liberation, none in the present, one in the future; of station of mastery, none in the present, four in the future; of totality, none in the present, eight in the future; of knowledge, one in both present and future; there is no concentration. As for liberation, one in the future — this refers to the pure liberation, bodily witnessed and fully abiding in it. As for station of mastery, four in the future — this refers to the latter four stations of mastery. As for totality, eight in the future — this refers to the first eight totalities, since it is only at this ground that these pure virtues are attained, this ground alone being free of the eight calamities. Everything else is as already explained. If noble ones rely on the fourth dhyāna and cultivate that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, none in the present, seven in the future; of the path-factors, none in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, one in the present, four in the future; of immeasurable, none in the present, three in the future; there is no formless attainment; of liberation, none in the present, one in the future; of station of mastery, none in the present, four in the future; of totality, none in the present, eight in the future; of knowledge, one in the present, seven in the future; of concentration, none in the present, three in the future. Explained in full, exactly as above.
That an entire category of the tradition's most refined meditative attainments exists nowhere else in the cosmos except the fourth dhyāna specifically ties this ground's own freedom from every calamity directly to a concrete payoff: it is not simply the most stable and untroubled ground, but is, for that very reason, the sole gateway through which certain forms of purification become available at all.
14. Four More Powers, Each Keyed to Its Own Foundation of Mindfulness
The remaining four supernormal powers — the divine ear, knowledge of others' minds, recollection of past lives, and knowledge of death and rebirth — are shown to follow the very same ledger pattern already established for supernormal locomotion, since all five alike depend on the four dhyānas and are accessible to ordinary beings and noble ones alike, differing from one another only in which single foundation of mindfulness manifests in the present: form for the divine ear and death-and-rebirth knowledge, mind for reading others' minds, and dharmas for recollecting past lives.
以無間道。證天耳智通。他心智通。宿住隨念智通。死生智通。修彼道時。四念住乃至三等持。幾現在修。幾未來修。答如神境智通。應隨相說。由此五種皆依四靜慮。異生聖者俱能起故。然修天耳死生智通。無間道時。現在念住如神境智通說。以俱緣色作身念住故。修他心智通。無間道時。現在唯起心念住。修宿住隨念智通無間道時。現在唯起法念住。餘隨所應皆如前說。
By the uninterrupted path realizing the penetration of the divine ear, the penetration of others' minds, the penetration of recollecting past lives, and the penetration of death and rebirth, when cultivating those paths — of the four foundations of mindfulness, up through the three concentrations — how many are cultivated in the present, and how many in the future? Answer: this should be spoken of, according to each respective case, exactly as with the penetration of supernormal locomotion, since these five kinds all depend upon the four dhyānas, and both ordinary beings and noble ones alike are capable of giving rise to them. Yet, when cultivating the penetration of the divine ear or the penetration of death and rebirth, during the uninterrupted path, the present foundation of mindfulness is explained exactly as for the penetration of supernormal locomotion, since both alike take form as their object, constituting the foundation of mindfulness of the body. When cultivating the penetration of others' minds, during the uninterrupted path, only the foundation of mindfulness of mind arises in the present. When cultivating the penetration of recollecting past lives, during the uninterrupted path, only the foundation of mindfulness of dharmas arises in the present. Everything else, according to what is fitting, is as already explained.
That each of these five very different-sounding powers reduces, at the level of its own present-moment foundation of mindfulness, to simply one of three basic categories — body, mind, or dharmas — shows how much apparent variety in this tradition's own catalog of supernormal abilities rests on a comparatively small and elegant underlying structure, the same handful of foundational categories recombining to produce what looks, on the surface, like an extravagant diversity of powers.
15. The Final Power: Exhausting the Outflows at the Peak of Existence
The fifth and most consequential power, the penetration of the exhaustion of outflows — the very attainment of arhatship itself — receives its own detailed ledger for the not-yet-attained access-stage: cultivating both higher and lower antidote-paths together at the climactic ninth uninterrupted path that finally cuts off the Peak of Existence's own defilement, while pointedly excluding every contaminated dharma whatsoever, since nothing contaminated could ever serve as an antidote to the very subtlest affliction in the entire cosmos.
以無間道。證漏盡智通修彼道時。四念住。乃至三等持。幾現在修。幾未來修。答若依未至定。證阿羅漢果修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在六。未來七。道支現在未來八。靜慮現在無。未來四。無無量。無色。現在無。未來三。解脫現在無。未來三。無勝處。無遍處智。
By the uninterrupted path realizing the penetration of the exhaustion of outflows, when cultivating that path — of the four foundations of mindfulness, up through the three concentrations — how many are cultivated in the present, and how many in the future? Answer: if one relies on the not-yet-attained stage to realize the fruit of arhatship, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, six in the present, seven in the future; of the path-factors, both present and future eight; of dhyāna, none in the present, four in the future; there is no immeasurable; of formless attainment, none in the present, three in the future; of liberation, none in the present, three in the future; there is no station of mastery; of totality,
現在二。未來六。等持現在一。未來三。念住現在一者。謂法念住。或雜不雜。四類智。二法智。隨一現前故。靜慮未來四者。斷有頂惑。通修上下能治道故。無無量等者。爾時不修有漏法故。有漏不能治有頂故。無色。解脫。未來三者。謂前三無色。及即彼三解脫通無漏故。智現在二者。謂滅智法智二。或道智法智二。或苦智類智二。乃至或道智類智二。未來六者。除世俗智。及他心智。
none in the present or future; of knowledge, two in the present, six in the future; of concentration, one in the present, three in the future. As for the foundation of mindfulness, one in the present — this refers to the foundation of mindfulness of dharmas, either with a mixed or an unmixed object, since one of the four kinds of class-knowledge or dharma-knowledge may arise. As for dhyāna, four in the future — since one is cutting off the affliction of the Peak of Existence, both higher and lower antidote-paths are cultivated together. As for there being no immeasurable and the rest — at this time, one does not cultivate contaminated dharmas, since the contaminated cannot serve as an antidote to the Peak of Existence's own affliction. As for formless attainment and liberation, three in the future — this refers to the first three formless attainments, and the very same three as liberations, since these alone are common to the uncontaminated. As for knowledge, two in the present — this refers to either cessation-knowledge and dharma-knowledge together, or path-knowledge and dharma-knowledge together, or suffering-knowledge and class-knowledge together, and so on, up through path-knowledge and class-knowledge together. As for "six in the future" — this excludes mundane knowledge and the knowledge of others' minds,
彼有漏故。與無間道相違故。等持現在一者。謂空無相無願隨一現前。金剛喻定與六智相應故。此中但說斷有頂惑第九無間道。彼能證得漏盡智通故。餘如前說。
since these are contaminated, and hence contrary to the uninterrupted path. As for concentration, one in the present — this refers to any one of the empty, signless, or wishless concentrations, as fitting, since the vajra-like concentration is associated with all six kinds of knowledge. This passage speaks only of the ninth uninterrupted path cutting off the affliction of the Peak of Existence, since it alone is capable of realizing the penetration of the exhaustion of outflows. Everything else is as already explained.
That this final, decisive uninterrupted path excludes every single contaminated dharma without exception — not even the humble immeasurables or the ordinary liberations get admitted here — is a fitting climax to this tradition's own logic of purification: the very last, subtlest defilement in existence can be dislodged by nothing less than the purest possible instrument, with no room left for even the most refined trace of anything still contaminated.
16. Arhatship Through Every Dhyāna in Turn
The exhaustion-of-outflows penetration is now traced, exactly as before, through every possible dhyāna-basis — the first dhyāna, the intermediate stage, the second, and the third-and-fourth taken together — each version differing only in its precise count of present-moment awakening- and path-factors, following with exact fidelity the very same pattern already established many pages earlier for the path to non-returner, confirming that the architecture governing entry into the noble path and the architecture governing final arhatship are, in their essential structure, one and the same.
若依初靜慮。證阿羅漢果修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在未來七。道支現在未來八。靜慮現在一。未來四。無無量。無色。現在無。未來三。解脫現在無。未來三。無勝處。無遍處智。現在二。未來六。等持現在一。未來三。若依靜慮中間。證阿羅漢果修彼道時。念住現在一。
If one relies on the first dhyāna to realize the fruit of arhatship, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, seven in both present and future; of the path-factors, eight in both present and future; of dhyāna, one in the present, four in the future; there is no immeasurable; of formless attainment and liberation, none in the present, three in the future; there is no station of mastery, no totality; of knowledge, two in the present, six in the future; of concentration, one in the present, three in the future. If one relies on the intermediate stage of dhyāna to realize the fruit of arhatship, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present,
未來四。正斷神足。現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在六。
four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, six in the present,
未來七。道支現在七。未來八。靜慮現在無。未來四。無無量。無色。現在無。未來三。解脫現在無。未來三。無勝處。無遍處智。
seven in the future; of the path-factors, seven in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, none in the present, four in the future; there is no immeasurable; of formless attainment and liberation, none in the present, three in the future; there is no station of mastery, no totality; of knowledge,
現在二。未來六。等持現在一。未來三。若依第二靜慮。證阿羅漢果修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在未來七。道支現在七。未來八。靜慮現在一。
two in the present, six in the future; of concentration, one in the present, three in the future. If one relies on the second dhyāna to realize the fruit of arhatship, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, seven in both present and future; of the path-factors, seven in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, one in the present,
未來四。無無量。無色。現在無。未來三。解脫現在無。未來三。
four in the future; there is no immeasurable; of formless attainment and liberation, none in the present, three in the future; there is no station of mastery, no totality; of knowledge,
無勝處。無遍處智。現在二。未來六。等持現在一。未來三。若依第三第四靜慮。證阿羅漢果修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支。現在六。未來七。道支現在七。未來八。靜慮現在一。未來四。無無量。無色。現在無。
two in the present, six in the future; of concentration, one in the present, three in the future. If one relies on the third or fourth dhyāna to realize the fruit of arhatship, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, six in the present, seven in the future; of the path-factors, seven in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, one in the present, four in the future; there is no immeasurable; of formless attainment and liberation, none in the present,
未來三。解脫現在無。未來三。無勝處。無遍處智。現在二。未來六。等持現在一。未來三。此隨所應如前釋。
three in the future; there is no station of mastery, no totality; of knowledge, two in the present, six in the future; of concentration, one in the present, three in the future. This should be explained, according to what is fitting, exactly as already given above.
That arhatship's own ledger, worked out basis by basis across every dhyāna, turns out to mirror almost exactly the ledger already built earlier in this same fascicle for the more modest attainment of non-returner is a quiet but significant structural discovery: the deepest and the more modest transformations along this path are not, in the end, governed by fundamentally different rules, but by the very same rule applied one final time, at the furthest possible extreme.
17. Arhatship From the Formless Attainments
The final basis for realizing arhatship turns to the formless attainments themselves — specifically the sphere of boundless space, boundless consciousness, or nothing-whatsoever, since these three alone possess an uncontaminated path capable of freeing a practitioner from the defilement of the very subtlest sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, that highest sphere's own concentration being simply too faint and weak to ever serve as a basis for the uncontaminated path itself.
若依無色定。證阿羅漢果修彼道時。念住現在一。未來四。正斷神足現在未來四。根力現在未來五。覺支現在六。未來七。道支現在四。未來八靜慮現在無。未來四。無無量。無色。現在一。未來三。解脫現在一。未來三。無勝處。無遍處智。現在二。未來六。
If one relies on a formless attainment to realize the fruit of arhatship, when cultivating that path, one has, of the foundations of mindfulness, one in the present, four in the future; of the right efforts and the bases of power, four in both present and future; of the faculties and powers, five in both present and future; of the awakening-factors, six in the present, seven in the future; of the path-factors, four in the present, eight in the future; of dhyāna, none in the present, four in the future; there is no immeasurable; of formless attainment, one in the present, three in the future; of liberation, one in the present, three in the future; there is no station of mastery, no totality; of knowledge, two in the present, six in the future;
等持現在一。未來三。依無色定者。謂依空無邊處。或依識無邊處。或依無所有處。由此三地皆有無漏道。能離非想非非想處染故。非想非非想處。定力昧劣非無漏道所依止故。此中不說道支。
of concentration, one in the present, three in the future. "Relying on a formless attainment" means relying on the sphere of boundless space, or the sphere of boundless consciousness, or the sphere of nothing-whatsoever, since these three grounds alone possess an uncontaminated path capable of freeing one from the defilement of the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, that latter sphere's own concentration-power being too dim and weak to serve as a basis for the uncontaminated path. This passage does not mention the path-factors,
That the very highest formless attainment, the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, cannot itself serve as the platform from which to escape its own defilement — requiring, instead, one of the three grounds beneath it — is a striking structural humility built into this cosmology: even the most rarefied state of consciousness available to any being is, on its own terms, too subtle and unstable to be the very tool that finally cuts it loose.
18. Why the Formless Realm Has No Precepts at All
The fascicle closes with a rich metaphysical digression explaining why the formless realm's own path-factors number only four, missing correct speech, action, and livelihood entirely: precept itself is form, and the formless realm simply has no great elements to produce it — yet, since uncontaminated precept, unlike its contaminated counterpart, is never bound to any particular realm but merely produced by whatever great elements happen to underlie its own bodily basis, and the formless realm has no bodily basis of any kind, uncontaminated precept, too, finds nothing there to depend upon, leaving that realm entirely without precept in either its contaminated or its uncontaminated form.
現在四者。此則遮說無色界有無漏戒。及說上地有正思惟者意。以無所依四大種故。及上地心漸微細故。問如無無漏大種。而有無漏戒。如是雖無彼地大種。而有彼地戒。斯有何失。答無漏戒不墮界地。隨所依身大種所造。由此雖無無漏大種。而有所造無漏戒。有漏戒必墮界地。唯為自地大種所造。彼無大種故戒亦無。問若無漏戒隨所依身大種所造者生欲色界入無漏無色定時應起彼定俱無漏戒有所依身大種故。答雖無漏戒隨所依身大種所造。然隨何地要有大種造。有漏戒方隨彼類起。無漏戒無色中無有大種造。有漏戒故無漏戒於彼亦無。依彼所有發無漏故。問何故戒體唯色。答遮惡色起故。又是身語業性故。身語二業色為體故。問何故意業非戒。答不能親遮惡戒故。問何故惡戒非意業。答未離欲者。皆成就不善意業。彼豈悉名犯戒或不律儀耶。是故惡戒非意業。又善意業若是善戒。則應一切不斷善者悉名住律儀。彼皆成就善意業故。若許爾者。便一有情名住律儀。亦名住不律儀者。則應無有三種差別。如是則與聖教相違故。善惡戒俱非意業。又世共許防禁身語說名戒故。意業非戒。應知意業是發戒因。不可戒因即名為戒。勿令因果有雜亂失。是故無色道支唯四。未來通修下地無漏故。具有八無色解脫。現在一者。謂前所依三地隨一。餘如前釋。
numbering four in the present — this refutes the claim that the formless realm possesses uncontaminated precepts, and the claim that the higher grounds possess correct intention, since there are no great elements there to serve as a basis. Further, the higher grounds' own minds are progressively subtler. Question: just as there is no uncontaminated great element, yet there is still uncontaminated precept — so too, though there are no great elements of that ground, might there still be a precept of that ground? What fault would this involve? Answer: uncontaminated precept does not fall within any particular realm or ground, but is produced by whatever great elements underlie the body it depends upon — and it is on this account that, though there is no uncontaminated great element, there is still a produced uncontaminated precept. Contaminated precept, however, necessarily falls within a realm and ground, and is produced only by the great elements of its own particular ground — and, since that ground lacks great elements, precept, too, is lacking there. Question: if uncontaminated precept is produced by whatever great elements underlie the body it depends upon, then, for one born in the desire or form realm who enters uncontaminated formless attainment, should not that very attainment then give rise to an accompanying uncontaminated precept, dependent on the great elements of that same bodily basis? Answer: though uncontaminated precept is indeed produced by whatever great elements underlie the body it depends upon, it is only where a given ground actually has great elements to produce it that contaminated precept then arises accordingly in that ground's own likeness — in the formless realm, there are no great elements to produce contaminated precept, and hence uncontaminated precept, too, is absent there, since it, too, is only ever given rise to in dependence on precisely such a basis. Question: why is the substance of precept form alone? Answer: because it blocks the arising of evil form, and because it is the very nature of bodily and verbal karma, both of which have form as their own substance. Question: why is mental karma not precept? Answer: because it cannot directly block evil precept. Question: why is evil precept not mental karma? Answer: one not yet free of desire always possesses unwholesome mental karma — would this then mean that everyone, without exception, is guilty of breaking precept, or lacking in restraint? It is for this reason that evil precept is not mental karma. Further, were wholesome mental karma itself to count as wholesome precept, then everyone who has not cut off wholesome roots would have to be called one abiding in restraint, since all such beings possess wholesome mental karma — and, if this were granted, then a single sentient being would have to be called both one abiding in restraint and one abiding without restraint at once, leaving no room for any third, intermediate category — and this would directly contradict the sacred teaching. Wholesome and unwholesome precept are, therefore, both alike not mental karma. Further, it is universally agreed in the world that what restrains and prohibits bodily and verbal action alone is called "precept" — mental karma is hence not precept. It should be understood that mental karma is merely the cause that gives rise to precept, and a cause can never simply be identified with its own effect, lest cause and effect become confused and disordered. It is for this reason that the formless realm's own path-factors number only four, since future cultivation universally extends to the uncontaminated dharmas of the lower grounds as well. There are, in full, eight formless liberations. As for "one in the present" — this refers to whichever one of the three grounds already discussed the practitioner presently depends upon. Everything else is as already explained.
The closing insistence that mental karma alone could never count as precept, however wholesome, because a cause can never simply be identified with its own effect, gives this entire fascicle's exhaustive ledger a final, quietly important philosophical anchor: precept is not just a description of one's own inner moral disposition, but a genuinely distinct category of restraint requiring an actual bodily and verbal basis to exist at all — and where that basis is entirely absent, as in the formless realm, no amount of inner wholesomeness can substitute for it.
Fascicle 140 Complete
This closes fascicle 140 of Ru-Yi's translation, drawn from the treatise's true CBETA boundary. Fascicle 140 completes the Grasped Nyāsa (執受納息第四之四) with an exhaustive ledger, refuting seventeen distinct rival doctrines at once, tracking exactly how many of the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, together with the dhyānas, immeasurables, formless attainments, liberations, stations of mastery, totalities, kinds of knowledge, and concentrations, are cultivated in the present versus the future at every stage of the path — from stream-entry through the once-returner, the non-returner, the five supernormal powers, and finally arhatship itself — closing with a rich account of why the formless realm possesses no precepts at all. Fascicle 141 continues within this same nyāsa (執受納息第四之五).