A New Chapter: Existence, Rebirth, and the Four Fruits

"In desire-existence, in the continuity of rebirth, how many karma-produced faculties are first obtained," and so on — such are the chapter headings, and such is the explanation of their meaning. Having grasped this, a full analysis should now be given. Yet the term "existence" carries many senses, exactly as explained at length earlier. Here, "existence" refers specifically to the continuity of a sentient being's own class of aggregates, comprising the five aggregates that make up a living being.

Continuity itself is fivefold, again exactly as explained earlier. This passage frames its question around two of these five kinds of continuity — the continuity of the intermediate state and the continuity of rebirth-existence. "In desire-existence, in the continuity of rebirth, how many karma-produced faculties are first obtained?" Answer: for egg-born, womb-born, and moisture-born beings, two are obtained — the body-faculty and the life-faculty.

One might ask: at the very first, embryonic kalala stage, does a being also obtain the remaining form-faculties? If so, how could so many faculties possibly be obtained in so brief a span of time? And why, moreover, does this passage fail to mention it — how, then, is the Vinaya's own statement to be reconciled, where it says that in the mother's womb, two faculties are obtained at first, the body and the life-faculty, and that if these are harmed, and so on, as stated at length? But if the remaining form-faculties are not obtained at that stage, why does the sūtra say that the divine eye can observe and know whether the fetus is male or female? Answer: some say the remaining form-faculties are indeed obtained. One might then ask: how could so many faculties possibly be obtained in so brief a span of time? Answer: at that stage, although none of the form-faculties' own marks are yet manifest, their seeds have already been fully obtained — exactly as pure salt water, ghee, honey, granulated sugar, and wine, all mixed together and stored in a single vessel, will yield, if one dips the tip of a blade of grass into it and draws out a single drop, a drop that fully contains the taste of the salt and every other ingredient at once. The kalala stage should be understood in just the same way — the seeds of every form-faculty are already fully present there. One might then ask: if so, why does this passage fail to mention it? Answer: it ought to have been mentioned, and simply was not;

one should understand that there is a further point of meaning here still to be drawn out. Another position holds that this passage, in saying "obtained," means obtained by everyone without exception; since what is obtained by some but not others is not fixed, it is therefore left unmentioned — just as one born blind, and the like, do not obtain the eye-faculty and so forth. One might ask: how, then, is the Vinaya's own statement to be reconciled? Answer: that passage speaks of what sustains all the remaining faculties — the body-faculty sustaining all the remaining form-faculties, and the life-faculty sustaining all the remaining non-form-faculties — hence it singles these two out for special mention. Another position holds that at this stage the remaining form-faculties are not yet obtained at all. One might then ask: how, then, can the divine eye observe and know whether the fetus is male or female? Answer: at the kalala stage, although the male and female faculties themselves are not yet present, the male and female characteristics already are, and it is by observing these characteristics that one comes to know the sex — for it is not the case that the two faculties themselves, male and female, are already present and thereby observed.

Yet another master holds that this is known through the sūtra: the sūtra states that if the fetus is male, it crouches leaning against the mother's right flank, facing her back; if the fetus is female, it crouches leaning against the mother's left flank, facing her belly — and one who has obtained the divine eye observes this very difference, speaking of it on the sūtra's own authority. Still others hold that this is known by observing the intermediate state: the divine eye observes the intermediate-state being at its final phase, and if it is a male about to enter the mother's womb, one thereby knows that this kalala is male, not female; if a female is entering, one likewise knows that this stage is female, not male. On this account, at the kalala stage the remaining form-faculties have not yet been obtained at all, only coming to be obtained at the later praśākhā stage. A being of transformation-birth obtains six, seven, or eight faculties at once: one without any bodily form obtains six — the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body faculties, and the life-faculty; one of a single sexual form obtains seven — the preceding six, plus whichever one of the male or female faculty applies; one of dual sexual form obtains eight — the preceding six, plus both the male and female faculties. One might then ask: are the remaining formless faculties also obtained at this same moment — namely the mind-faculty, the five feeling-faculties, and faith with its four companions?

Why does this passage fail to mention them? Answer: this too ought to have been mentioned, and simply was not; one should understand that there is a further point of meaning here still to be drawn out. Another position holds that this passage speaks only of what is obtained by everyone without exception at that moment; the remaining formless faculties, although obtained by some, are not obtained by all — as when a being dies in a higher realm and takes rebirth in a lower one, that being does obtain the corresponding faculty there, yet a being who dies in its own realm and is reborn again into that very same realm does not newly obtain it — hence it is left unmentioned. Another position holds that this passage asks specifically about what is first obtained as karma-produced; at the very moment of first taking rebirth, although the remaining formless faculties may indeed be obtained, they are not themselves karma-produced at that moment, hence they are not mentioned here; and whatever is obtained at a later stage, although it may indeed be karma-produced, is not itself a first obtaining, hence that too is left unmentioned.

"In form-existence, in the continuity of rebirth, how many karma-produced faculties are first obtained?" Answer: six — the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body faculties, and the life-faculty. "In formless-existence, in the continuity of rebirth, how many karma-produced faculties are first obtained?" Answer: one — the life-faculty. "Can one who contemplates dharmas bound to the desire realm thereby attain full and exhaustive knowledge of the desire realm, and so on, as stated at length?" Here, "contemplates" carries the sense of grasping something as an object; "full and exhaustive knowledge" carries the sense of cutting something off completely, once and for all.

This passage shows that taking the dharmas of one or another realm as one's object can, in some cases, free one from the contaminations of that very realm, and in other cases cannot.

"Can one who contemplates dharmas bound to the desire realm thereby attain full and exhaustive knowledge of the desire realm?" Answer: yes, one can — this holds true both for the ordinary being and for the noble one, and applies to both the uninterrupted path and the path of liberation. When freedom from desire-realm contamination is achieved through the mundane path, nine uninterrupted paths take the dharmas of the desire realm as their object in freeing one from desire-realm contamination; when freedom from desire-realm contamination is achieved through the uncontaminated path — by means of the dharma-knowledge and dharma-patient-acceptance of suffering and of origin — nine uninterrupted paths and nine paths of liberation take the dharmas of the desire realm as their object in freeing one from desire-realm contamination.

"Can one who contemplates dharmas bound to the desire realm thereby attain full and exhaustive knowledge of the form realm?" Answer: no, one cannot. "Can one who contemplates dharmas bound to the desire realm thereby attain full and exhaustive knowledge of the formless realm?" Answer: no, one cannot. One might ask: why can neither be attained? Answer: the desire realm is an unfixed realm, neither a realm of cultivation nor a realm from which contamination is removed, whereas the form and formless realms are fixed realms, realms of cultivation, realms from which contamination is removed — and one cannot, by taking as object dharmas of an unfixed realm that is neither a realm of cultivation nor a realm of removed contamination, thereby remove the contamination of a fixed realm, a realm of cultivation, a realm of removed contamination. Another position holds that the desire realm is a coarse realm, while the form and formless realms are subtle realms — one cannot, by taking as object the dharmas of a coarse realm, thereby remove the contamination of a subtle realm. Another position holds that the desire realm is a lower realm, the form realm a middle realm,

and the formless realm a sublime realm — one cannot, by taking as object the dharmas of a lower realm, thereby remove the contamination of a middle or sublime realm. Another position holds that the desire realm is an inferior realm, while the form and formless realms are superior realms — one cannot, by taking as object the dharmas of an inferior realm, thereby remove the contamination of a superior realm. It is for reasons such as these that full and exhaustive knowledge cannot be attained in either case. "Can one who contemplates dharmas bound to the form realm thereby attain full and exhaustive knowledge of the form realm?" Answer: yes, one can — this holds true both for the ordinary being and for the noble one, and applies to both the uninterrupted path and the path of liberation. When freedom from form-realm contamination is achieved through the mundane path, nine uninterrupted paths take the dharmas of the form realm as their object in freeing one from form-realm contamination; when freedom from form-realm contamination is achieved through the uncontaminated path — by means of the class-knowledge and class-patient-acceptance of suffering and of origin — nine uninterrupted paths and nine paths of liberation take the dharmas of the form realm as their object in freeing one from form-realm contamination.

"Can one who contemplates dharmas bound to the form realm thereby attain full and exhaustive knowledge of the desire realm?" Answer: yes, one can — this holds true both for the ordinary being and for the noble one, but only through the path of liberation, never the uninterrupted path — for when freedom from desire-realm contamination is achieved through the mundane path, nine paths of liberation take the dharmas of the form realm as their object in freeing one from desire-realm contamination.

"Can one who contemplates dharmas bound to the form realm thereby attain full and exhaustive knowledge of the formless realm?" Answer: no, one cannot. One might ask: why can this not be attained? Answer: the form realm is a coarse realm, while the formless realm is a subtle realm — one cannot, by taking as object the dharmas of a coarse realm, thereby remove the contamination of a subtle realm. Another position holds that the form realm is a middle realm, while the formless realm is a sublime realm — one cannot, by taking as object the dharmas of a middle realm, thereby remove the contamination of a sublime realm. Another position holds that the form realm is an inferior realm, while the formless realm

is a superior realm — one cannot, by taking as object the dharmas of an inferior realm, thereby remove the contamination of a superior realm. It is for reasons such as these that full and exhaustive knowledge cannot be attained here.

"Can one who contemplates dharmas bound to the formless realm thereby attain full and exhaustive knowledge of the formless realm?" Answer: yes, one can — but this holds true only for the noble one, never the ordinary being, and applies to both the uninterrupted path and the path of liberation. This is because, when freedom from formless-realm contamination is achieved through the uncontaminated path — by means of the class-knowledge and class-patient-acceptance of suffering and of origin — nine uninterrupted paths and nine paths of liberation take the dharmas of the formless realm as their object in freeing one from formless-realm contamination.

"Can one who contemplates dharmas bound to the formless realm thereby attain full and exhaustive knowledge of the desire realm?" Answer: no, one cannot. One might ask: why can this not be attained? Answer: because the two realms are simply too far apart from one another — one cannot, by observing the dharmas of a realm at the very furthest extreme, thereby remove the contamination of a realm at the opposite furthest extreme.

"Can one who contemplates dharmas bound to the formless realm thereby attain full and exhaustive knowledge of the form realm?" Answer: yes, one can — this holds true both for the ordinary being and for the noble one, but only through the path of liberation, never the uninterrupted path — for when freedom from form-realm contamination is achieved through the mundane path, nine paths of liberation take the dharmas of the formless realm as their object in freeing one from form-realm contamination.

How many faculties achieve full and exhaustive knowledge of the desire realm? Answer: seven by the mundane path, eight by the uncontaminated path. The seven of the mundane path are the mind-faculty, equanimity, and faith with its four companions; the eight of the uncontaminated path are these same seven plus the already-known faculty.

How many faculties achieve full and exhaustive knowledge of the form realm? Answer: seven by the mundane path, ten by the uncontaminated path. The seven of the mundane path are the mind-faculty, equanimity, and faith with its four companions; the ten of the uncontaminated path are these same seven plus joy, pleasure, and the already-known faculty.

How many faculties achieve full and exhaustive knowledge of the formless realm? Answer: eleven — the preceding ten plus the faculty of complete knowledge, with the already-known faculty serving as the uninterrupted path and the faculty of complete knowledge serving as the path of liberation; one should understand this is stated with reference to the very final stage. One might ask: at the very final path of liberation in becoming free from desire-realm contamination, it is entirely possible for the fundamental first dhyāna itself to manifest, in which case equanimity serves as the uninterrupted path and joy serves as the path of liberation — why, then, does this passage not state the mundane path as seven or eight, and the uncontaminated path as eight or nine, with reference to that very final stage? Answer: this passage ought to have been phrased as: the mundane path is seven or eight, the uncontaminated path is eight or nine — and that it was not so phrased should be understood as a further point still to be drawn out. Another position holds that this passage speaks only of what is fixed and certain: at freedom from the contamination of the peak of existence, the faculty of complete knowledge is fixedly the very final path of liberation, whereas at freedom from desire-realm contamination, joy is not fixedly the final path of liberation, since at that moment one is sometimes unable to enter the fundamental level at all — and since at that moment reliance is placed for the most part on the proximate concentration alone, only equanimity is mentioned.

How many faculties are exhausted upon attaining full and exhaustive knowledge of the desire realm? Answer: four — the female, male, pain, and displeasure faculties. Although at that moment nineteen faculties in total have their desire-realm portion known, the statement is made specifically with reference to permanent, remainderless cutting-off — a cutting-off without portion, without fragment, without shadow, without any trailing residue — hence only these four are named; or else this passage speaks specifically of what simply does not operate at all in the higher realms and so can never be found there, and for that reason names only these four. How many faculties are exhausted upon attaining full and exhaustive knowledge of the form realm? Answer: five —

namely the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body faculties. Although at that moment thirteen faculties in total have their form-realm portion known, the statement is again made specifically with reference to permanent, remainderless cutting-off — without portion, without fragment, without shadow, without any trailing residue — hence only these five are named; or else this passage again speaks of what simply does not operate at all in the higher realm and so can never be found there, and for that reason names only these five. How many faculties are exhausted upon attaining full and exhaustive knowledge of the formless realm? Answer: eight — the mind-faculty, the life-faculty, equanimity, and faith with its four companions — since, at freedom from the contamination of the peak of existence, all of these faculties are permanently cut off. How many faculties are obtained upon attaining the fruit of stream-entry? Answer: nine — the mind-faculty, equanimity, and faith with its four companions, together with the faculty of the yet-unknown and the already-known faculty, with the faculty of the yet-unknown serving as the uninterrupted path and the already-known faculty serving as the path of liberation. How many faculties are obtained upon attaining the fruit of once-returning? Answer: if one enters the fixed state of correct destiny having already halved one's desire-realm contamination in advance, nine, exactly as with stream-entry. If one attains the fruit of once-returning from the fruit of stream-entry, then by the mundane path seven, by the uncontaminated path eight — the seven being the mind-faculty, equanimity, and faith with its four companions, the eight being these same seven plus the already-known faculty. How many faculties are obtained upon attaining the fruit of non-returning? Answer: if one has already become entirely free of desire-realm contamination before entering the fixed state of correct destiny, nine — the mind-faculty, together with whichever one of pleasure, joy, or equanimity applies, depending on the specific ground involved, and faith with its four companions, and the faculty of the yet-unknown and the already-known faculty,

with the faculty of the yet-unknown serving as the uninterrupted path and the already-known faculty serving as the path of liberation. If one attains the fruit of non-returning from the fruit of once-returning,

then by the mundane path seven, by the uncontaminated path eight — the seven and the eight exactly as described for once-returning, this being stated with reference to the majority of cases; if one enters through the fundamental level itself, it may be either eight or nine. How many faculties are obtained upon attaining the fruit of arhatship? Answer: eleven — the mind-faculty, pleasure, joy, and equanimity, and faith with its four companions, together with the already-known faculty and the faculty of complete knowledge, with the already-known faculty serving as the uninterrupted path and the faculty of complete knowledge serving as the path of liberation. One might ask: is this count of eleven meant in the sense of actual function, or in the sense of mere possession? If in the sense of function, there is never a single moment in which all three feelings function together at once — how, then, can eleven be said? If in the sense of possession, then attaining the fruit of non-returning likewise involves the possession of all three feelings — why is that not also said to be eleven? Answer: this is stated in the sense of function, not in the sense of mere possession. One might then ask: since there is never a single moment in which all three feelings function together, how can eleven still be said? Answer: this is stated with reference to a single continuum's own capacity for function across time, and so involves no fault at all — for it is entirely possible for a single individual to attain arhatship first by means of the pleasure-faculty, then, having regressed, to make use of joy, and then, regressing further still, to make use of equanimity; or else to make use of equanimity upon the first regression and joy upon a later one — and exactly as with pleasure first, so too, mutatis mutandis, with joy first or equanimity first. No such thing occurs, however, in the case of attaining the fruit of non-returning: if one first attains that fruit by means of a given feeling-faculty and then, having regressed, again makes use of that very same faculty in attaining it once more, the faculty used will invariably be equanimity, since pleasure and joy carry no possibility of regression once used to attain that fruit.

How many faculties achieve full and exhaustive knowledge upon attaining the fruit of stream-entry? Answer: none, since at that moment not a single faculty has yet been definitively and completely cut off. How many achieve full and exhaustive knowledge upon attaining the fruit of once-returning? Answer: none, since at that moment too no faculty has yet been definitively and completely cut off. How many achieve full and exhaustive knowledge upon attaining the fruit of non-returning? Answer: if one has already become entirely free of desire-realm contamination before entering the fixed state of correct destiny, none, for the reason already given; if one attains this fruit from the fruit of once-returning, four — namely the female, male, pain, and displeasure faculties. How many achieve full and exhaustive knowledge upon attaining the fruit of arhatship? Answer: eight — the life-faculty, the mind-faculty, equanimity, and faith with its four companions.

Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of stream-entry, once that fruit has already been obtained by means of these faculties, should they be said to be still possessed, or no longer possessed? Answer: whatever belongs to the path of liberation should be said to be still possessed; whatever belongs to the uninterrupted path should be said to be no longer possessed. Whatever faculties are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path,

these belong to the path of liberation, and should be said to be still possessed, since they have already been obtained; whatever faculties are co-arisen with the class-patient-acceptance of the path, these belong to the uninterrupted path, and should be said to be no longer possessed, since they have already been relinquished. Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of once-returning, once that fruit has already been obtained by means of these faculties, should they be said to be still possessed, or no longer possessed? Answer: whatever belongs to the path of liberation should be said to be still possessed; whatever belongs to the uninterrupted path should be said to be no longer possessed. Whatever faculties are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path, or with the sixth path of liberation, these belong to the path of liberation, and should be said to be still possessed, since they have already been obtained; whatever faculties are co-arisen with the class-patient-acceptance of the path, or with the sixth uninterrupted path,

these should be said to be no longer possessed, since they have already been relinquished. Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of non-returning, once that fruit has already been obtained by means of these faculties, should they be said to be still possessed, or no longer possessed? Answer: whatever belongs to the path of liberation should be said to be still possessed; whatever belongs to the uninterrupted path should be said to be no longer possessed. Whatever faculties are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path, or with the ninth path of liberation, these belong to the path of liberation, and should be said to be still possessed, since they have already been obtained; whatever faculties are co-arisen with the class-patient-acceptance of the path, or with the ninth uninterrupted path, these belong to the uninterrupted path, and should be said to be no longer possessed, since they have already been relinquished. One might ask: since it is by the uncontaminated path that once-returning and non-returning are attained, it may be said that whatever belongs to the uninterrupted path is no longer possessed — but if these two fruits are attained by the mundane path instead, the uninterrupted path's own faculties are never actually relinquished at all, so how can they be said to be no longer possessed? Answer: strictly, this passage concerning these two fruits ought to have been phrased as: whatever belongs to the path of liberation should be said to be still possessed, and whatever belongs to the uninterrupted path should be said to be sometimes still possessed and sometimes no longer possessed — and that it was not so phrased should be understood as speaking here only with reference to the distinctive, uncommon path. Some hold that this passage speaks of present possession in the sense of current manifestation: once these two fruits have been attained by the mundane path, the faculties of the uninterrupted path are fixedly no longer currently manifest.

Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of arhatship, once that fruit has already been obtained by means of these faculties, should they be said to be still possessed, or no longer possessed? Answer: whatever belongs to the path of liberation should be said to be still possessed; whatever belongs to the uninterrupted path should be said to be no longer possessed. Whatever faculties are co-arisen with the very first knowledge of exhaustion, these belong to the path of liberation, and should be said to be still possessed, since they have already been obtained; whatever faculties are co-arisen with the vajra-like concentration, these belong to the uninterrupted path, and should be said to be no longer possessed, since they have already been relinquished. Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of stream-entry, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off?

Answer: those of the form and formless realms, or in some cases no fetters are cut off at all. "Of the form and formless realms" refers to whatever faculties are co-arisen with the class-patient-acceptance of the path; "or in some cases no fetters are cut off at all" refers to whatever faculties are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path, since the path of liberation is not itself the antidote that actually performs the cutting-off. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of stream-entry, or in some cases they belong to no fruit at all — whatever faculties are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path belong to the fruit of stream-entry; whatever faculties are co-arisen with the class-patient-acceptance of the path belong to no fruit at all. Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of once-returning, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the desire realm, or the form and formless realms, or in some cases none at all. "The desire realm, or none at all" refers to the case of attaining the fruit of once-returning from the fruit of stream-entry — the faculties co-arisen with the sixth uninterrupted path cut off desire-realm fetters, while the faculties co-arisen with the sixth path of liberation cut off no fetters at all. "The form and formless realms, or none at all" refers to the case of attaining the fruit of once-returning by having already halved one's desire-realm contamination in advance before entering the fixed state of correct destiny — the faculties co-arisen with the class-patient-acceptance of the path cut off fetters of the form and formless realms, while the faculties co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path cut off no fetters at all. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of once-returning, or none at all — those belonging to the fruit of once-returning are the faculties co-arisen with the sixth path of liberation and with the class-knowledge of the path; those belonging to no fruit at all are the faculties co-arisen with the sixth uninterrupted path and with the class-patient-acceptance of the path. Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of non-returning, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the desire realm, or the form and formless realms, or in some cases none at all. "The desire realm, or none at all" refers to the case of attaining the fruit of non-returning from the fruit of once-returning — the faculties co-arisen with the ninth uninterrupted path cut off desire-realm fetters, while the faculties co-arisen with the ninth path of liberation cut off no fetters at all. "The form and formless realms, or none at all" refers to the case of attaining the fruit of non-returning by having already become entirely free of desire-realm contamination before entering the fixed state of correct destiny — the faculties co-arisen with the class-patient-acceptance of the path cut off fetters of the form and formless realms, while the faculties co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path cut off no fetters at all. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of non-returning, or none at all — those belonging to the fruit of non-returning are the faculties co-arisen with the ninth path of liberation and with the class-knowledge of the path; those belonging to no fruit at all are the faculties co-arisen with the ninth uninterrupted path and with the class-patient-acceptance of the path. Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of arhatship, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the formless realm, or in some cases none at all — those cutting off the formless realm's fetters are the faculties co-arisen with the vajra-like concentration; those cutting off no fetters at all are the faculties co-arisen with the very first knowledge of exhaustion. Which fruit do these faculties belong to?

Answer: the fruit of arhatship, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of arhatship are the faculties co-arisen with the very first knowledge of exhaustion; those belonging to no fruit at all are the faculties co-arisen with the vajra-like concentration.

Of the faculties relinquished upon attaining the fruit of stream-entry, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the desire realm, or the form and formless realms, or in some cases none at all.

This refers to whatever faculties, already obtained and belonging to the path of seeing, are relinquished upon attaining the fruit of stream-entry: these faculties may cut off the desire realm — namely, the faculties co-arisen with the four dharma-patient-acceptances — or may cut off the form and formless realms — namely, the faculties co-arisen with the four class-patient-acceptances — or may cut off no fetters at all —

namely, the faculties co-arisen with the seven kinds of knowledge. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: none, since no fruit lower than stream-entry exists to which these faculties could belong.

Of the faculties relinquished upon attaining the fruit of once-returning, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the desire realm, or the form and formless realms, or in some cases none at all.

If one attains the fruit of once-returning by having already halved one's desire-realm contamination in advance before entering the fixed state of correct destiny, whatever faculties, already obtained and belonging to the path of seeing, are relinquished are meant here:

these faculties may cut off the desire realm — namely, the faculties co-arisen with the four dharma-patient-acceptances — or may cut off the form and formless realms — namely, the faculties co-arisen with the four class-patient-acceptances — or may cut off no fetters at all — namely, the faculties co-arisen with the seven kinds of knowledge. If one attains the fruit of once-returning from the fruit of stream-entry, whatever faculties belonging to the fruit of stream-entry and to this superior fruit-path are relinquished are meant here: these faculties may cut off the desire realm — namely, the faculties belonging to the six uninterrupted paths — or may cut off no fetters at all — namely, the faculties belonging to whatever preparatory paths, paths of liberation, or paths of further advancement belong to the fruit of stream-entry and to this superior fruit-path. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of stream-entry, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of stream-entry are the faculties relinquished that are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path; those belonging to no fruit at all are the faculties belonging to this superior fruit-path and to the path of seeing that are relinquished. Of the faculties relinquished upon attaining the fruit of non-returning, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the desire realm, or the form and formless realms, or in some cases none at all. If one attains the fruit of non-returning by having already become entirely free of desire-realm contamination before entering the fixed state of correct destiny, whatever faculties, already obtained and belonging to the path of seeing, are relinquished are meant here: these faculties may cut off the form and formless realms — namely, the faculties co-arisen with the four class-patient-acceptances — or may cut off no fetters at all — namely, the faculties co-arisen with the four dharma-patient-acceptances and the seven kinds of knowledge. If one attains the fruit of non-returning from the fruit of once-returning, whatever faculties belonging to the fruit of once-returning and to this superior fruit-path are relinquished are meant here: these faculties may cut off the desire realm — namely, the faculties belonging to the three uninterrupted paths — or may cut off no fetters at all — namely, the faculties belonging to whatever preparatory paths, paths of liberation, or paths of further advancement belong to the fruit of once-returning and to this superior fruit-path. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of once-returning, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of once-returning are the faculties relinquished that are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path and with the sixth path of liberation; those belonging to no fruit at all are the faculties belonging to this superior fruit-path and to the path of seeing that are relinquished.

Of the faculties relinquished upon attaining the fruit of arhatship, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the form realm, or the formless realm, or in some cases none at all.

Upon attaining the fruit of arhatship, whatever faculties belonging to the fruit of non-returning and to this superior fruit-path are relinquished are meant here: these faculties may cut off the form realm — namely, the faculties belonging to the nine uninterrupted paths present in freeing oneself from the contamination of each of the four dhyānas — or may cut off the formless realm — namely, the faculties belonging to the nine uninterrupted paths present in freeing oneself from the contamination of each of the four formless attainments — or may cut off no fetters at all — namely, the faculties belonging to whatever preparatory paths, paths of liberation, or paths of further advancement belong to the fruit of non-returning and to this superior fruit-path.

Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of non-returning, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of non-returning are the faculties relinquished that are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path and with the ninth path of liberation; those belonging to no fruit at all are the faculties belonging to this superior fruit-path that are relinquished. Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of stream-entry, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: none, since the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of stream-entry

all belong to the class of the path of liberation, and only the uninterrupted path is capable of cutting off any affliction. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of stream-entry, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of stream-entry are the faculties obtained that are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path; those belonging to no fruit at all are the mundane faculties obtained at that same moment. One might ask: the faculties obtained at that moment are entirely uncontaminated and belong entirely to the fruit of stream-entry — what further mundane faculty could there possibly be that is now obtained yet is said to belong to no fruit at all? Answer: strictly, this passage ought to have spoken only of the fruit of stream-entry, without adding "or in some cases none at all" — and that it speaks in this way is meant to make clear that the life-faculty and the other seven faculties obtained at that moment have never once been obtained since beginningless time before, since this is the very first occasion on which the basis for a noble fruit is obtained.

Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of once-returning, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: none, for the same reason already explained.

Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of once-returning, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of once-returning are the faculties obtained that are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path and with the sixth path of liberation; those belonging to no fruit at all are the mundane faculties obtained at that same moment.

Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of non-returning, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: none, for the same reason already explained.

Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of non-returning, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of non-returning are the faculties obtained that are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path and with the ninth path of liberation; those belonging to no fruit at all are the mundane faculties obtained at that same moment. Of the faculties obtained upon attaining the fruit of arhatship, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: none, for the same reason already explained. Which fruit do these faculties belong to?

Answer: the fruit of arhatship, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of arhatship are the faculties obtained that are co-arisen with the very first knowledge of exhaustion; those belonging to no fruit at all are the mundane faculties obtained at that same moment.

Of the faculties possessed by stream-enterers generally, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the desire realm, or in some cases none at all. Those cutting off the desire realm are the faculties belonging to the six uninterrupted paths; those cutting off none at all are the faculties belonging to whatever preparatory paths, paths of liberation, or paths of further advancement belong to the fruit of stream-entry and to this superior fruit-path. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of stream-entry, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of stream-entry are the faculties possessed that are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path; those belonging to no fruit at all are the faculties possessed that belong to this superior fruit-path, together with whatever wholesome-but-contaminated, defiled, or unobscured-neutral faculties are also possessed.

Of the faculties possessed by once-returners generally, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the desire realm, or in some cases none at all. Those cutting off the desire realm are the faculties belonging to the three uninterrupted paths; those cutting off none at all are the faculties belonging to whatever preparatory paths, paths of liberation, or paths of further advancement belong to the fruit of once-returning and to this superior fruit-path.

Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of once-returning, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of once-returning are the faculties possessed that are co-arisen with the class-knowledge of the path and with the sixth path of liberation; those belonging to no fruit at all are the faculties possessed that belong to this superior fruit-path, together with whatever wholesome-but-contaminated, defiled, or unobscured-neutral faculties are also possessed.

Of the faculties possessed by non-returners generally, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the form realm, or the formless realm, or in some cases none at all. Those cutting off the form realm are the faculties belonging to the nine uninterrupted paths present in freeing oneself from the contamination of each of the four dhyānas; those cutting off the formless realm are the faculties belonging to the nine uninterrupted paths present in freeing oneself from the contamination of each of the four formless attainments; those cutting off none at all are the faculties belonging to whatever preparatory paths, paths of liberation, or paths of further advancement belong to the fruit of non-returning and to this superior fruit-path.

Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of non-returning, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of non-returning are the faculties possessed that are co-arisen with the class-patient-acceptance of the path

and with the ninth path of liberation; those belonging to no fruit at all are the faculties possessed that belong to this superior fruit-path, together with whatever wholesome-but-contaminated, defiled, or unobscured-neutral faculties are also possessed.

Of the faculties possessed by arhats generally, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: none, since an arhat's every fetter has already been exhausted and nothing further remains to be cut off. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: the fruit of arhatship, or in some cases none at all — those belonging to the fruit of arhatship are the uncontaminated faculties possessed by the arhat; those belonging to no fruit at all are the wholesome-but-contaminated and unobscured-neutral faculties possessed by the arhat.

Of the faculties by which stream-enterers cut off fetters, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the desire realm — namely, the first six grades of fetters cut off by cultivation within the desire realm. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: none, since it is the uninterrupted path alone that is capable of cutting off fetters, and whatever faculties belong to a śramaṇa-fruit must belong to the path of liberation. Of the faculties by which once-returners cut off fetters, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the desire realm — namely, the final three grades of fetters cut off by cultivation within the desire realm. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: none, for the same reason already given.

Of the faculties by which non-returners cut off fetters, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: the form realm, or the formless realm. The form realm refers to the nine grades of fetters cut off by cultivation within each of the four dhyānas; the formless realm refers to the nine grades of fetters cut off by cultivation within each of the four formless attainments. Which fruit do these faculties belong to? Answer: none, for the same reason already given. As for arhats, since their every fetter is already exhausted, there remains no fetter-cutting faculty at all to speak of, and no question is therefore raised.

Of the faculties belonging to the fruit of stream-entry, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: none, since whatever faculties belong to a śramaṇa-fruit belong to the path of liberation, and it is the uninterrupted path alone that is capable of cutting off fetters. Of the faculties belonging to the fruits of once-returning, non-returning, and arhatship, which realm's fetters do these faculties cut off? Answer: none, for the same reason already given — and, moreover, in the case of the fruit of arhatship, there simply remains no fetter left to cut off at all.

"Is every suffering-knowledge itself an uncontaminated knowledge of suffering, and so on, as stated at length?" Why raise this question at all? To resolve a doubt for those who remain uncertain. The aspects of suffering-knowledge and origin-knowledge are unmixed, yet their objects are mixed; the aspects of cessation-knowledge and path-knowledge are unmixed, and their objects are likewise unmixed. This might give rise to a doubt: just as suffering-knowledge and origin-knowledge have unmixed aspects yet mixed objects, perhaps cessation-knowledge and path-knowledge are the same; and just as cessation-knowledge and path-knowledge have unmixed aspects and unmixed objects, perhaps suffering-knowledge and origin-knowledge are the same. To resolve this doubt once and for all, the treatise makes clear that suffering-knowledge and origin-knowledge have mixed objects while cessation-knowledge and path-knowledge have unmixed objects, and for this reason raises the present discussion. One might ask: why do suffering-knowledge and origin-knowledge have unmixed aspects yet mixed objects? Answer: because there is no origin apart from suffering, and no suffering apart from origin — for within any one and the same contaminated phenomenon,

considered under the aspect of its result, it is called suffering, and considered under the aspect of its cause, it is called origin; so that, within that very same contaminated phenomenon, if a given knowledge operates through the four aspects of suffering and so forth, it is called suffering-knowledge, and if it operates through the four aspects of origin and so forth, it is called origin-knowledge — hence suffering-knowledge and origin-knowledge have unmixed aspects yet mixed objects.

The aspects and objects of cessation-knowledge and path-knowledge are both unmixed, since the aspects of cessation and of the path differ from one another, and since their objects — the unconditioned and the conditioned respectively — are likewise distinct from one another.

"Is every suffering-knowledge itself an uncontaminated knowledge of suffering? And, conversely, is every uncontaminated knowledge of suffering itself a suffering-knowledge?" Answer: every suffering-knowledge is indeed an uncontaminated knowledge of suffering, since uncontaminated knowledge, when it operates through the four aspects of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self with regard to the matter of suffering, is called suffering-knowledge. But there exists uncontaminated knowledge of suffering that is not itself suffering-knowledge — namely, the origin-knowledge that knows suffering, since uncontaminated knowledge, when it operates through the four aspects of cause, origin, arising, and condition with regard to the matter of suffering, is called origin-knowledge. It has already been explained that there is no origin apart from suffering, and it is for this reason that origin-knowledge's own object is also called "suffering."

"Is every origin-knowledge itself an uncontaminated knowledge of origin? And, conversely, is every uncontaminated knowledge of origin itself an origin-knowledge?" Answer: every origin-knowledge is indeed an uncontaminated knowledge of origin, since uncontaminated knowledge, when it operates through the four aspects of cause, origin, arising, and condition with regard to the matter of origin, is called origin-knowledge. But there exists uncontaminated knowledge of origin that is not itself origin-knowledge — namely, the suffering-knowledge that knows suffering with regard to the matter of origin, since uncontaminated knowledge, when it operates through the four aspects of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self with regard to the matter of origin, is called suffering-knowledge. It has already been explained that there is no suffering apart from origin, and it is for this reason that suffering-knowledge's own object is also called "origin."

"Is every cessation-knowledge itself an uncontaminated knowledge of cessation?" Answer: yes, it is. "And, conversely, is every uncontaminated knowledge of cessation itself a cessation-knowledge?" Answer: yes, it is. "Is every path-knowledge itself an uncontaminated knowledge of the path?" Answer: yes, it is. "And, conversely, is every uncontaminated knowledge of the path itself a path-knowledge?" Answer: yes, it is. This is because it has already been explained that the aspects and objects of cessation-knowledge and path-knowledge are both unmixed with one another. If uncontaminated knowledge takes the cessation-through-analysis as its object and operates through the four aspects of cessation, calm, sublimity, and definitive departure, it is called cessation-knowledge; if uncontaminated knowledge takes the noble path as its object and operates through the four aspects of the path, the correct method, accomplishment, and deliverance, it is called path-knowledge.