Nine Similes of Non-Change

Next, the meaning of non-change should be understood. Separated out, it has six aspects; combined, these reduce to three. The six separate aspects are: no change across former and latter times; no difference between defilement and purity; no difference of arising; no difference of transformation; no difference of dependence and abiding; and no difference of cessation. As to no change across former and latter times: as the Buddha said to Sāgaramati Bodhisattva in the Sandhinirmocana Sūtra, in verse: "Because it is conjoined with adventitious defilement, and because it possesses its own inherent virtue, it is, in the former time and in the latter alike, of this same mark of non-change."

Next, to explain this: within the impure stage, there are nine kinds of adventitious defilement — the nature is called impure not because it is itself stained, but on their account; within the pure stage, it is constantly conjoined with the four virtues of permanence, bliss, self, and purity, and with the Tathāgata's virtues beyond the sands of the Ganges. Hence it is said that the Tathāgata's nature undergoes no change across the former and latter times.

Briefly stated, every kind of adventitious afflictive defilement numbers nine in all: the latent affliction of craving; latent aversion; latent delusion; the extremely heavy, active affliction of craving, aversion, and delusion; the ground of ignorance; what is eliminated by the path of insight; what is eliminated by the path of cultivation; the affliction of the impure grounds; and the affliction of the pure grounds. As to affliction present within the continuum of a worldly being who has become free of desire-realm desire: it serves as the cause for the growth of unshakable karma, able to give rise to rebirth in the form and formless realms, and is eliminated by supramundane, non-discriminating wisdom — this is the latent three poisons of craving, aversion, and delusion.

Explanation: as to affliction being "present," there are two senses — present in substance, and present in the sense that its cause is present. As to being present in substance: this refers to what is eliminated by insight — since the antidote has not yet been applied, it is said to be present in substance. As to being present in the sense that its cause is present: this refers to what is eliminated by cultivation, latent affliction pertaining to contemplative thought, since the antidote has already been applied to it — yet because this contemplative-thought affliction takes insight-level affliction as its cause, even once it has itself ceased, so long as insight-level affliction is still present, it can, later, give rise again to contemplative-thought affliction — hence it is said its cause is present. As to being the cause for the growth of unshakable karma: contemplative-thought affliction is able to accomplish karma, and insight-level affliction is able to obtain its fruit — for when contemplative-thought affliction is entirely cut off, that particular karma cannot be accomplished, and when insight-level affliction is entirely cut off, no fruit is invited. As to being eliminated by supramundane, non-discriminating wisdom: there are two kinds of elimination — elimination by nature, and elimination by the antidote of the path. Elimination by nature is of two kinds, perishing moment by moment, and elimination through mutual opposition — opposition between things of the same category, as craving opposes aversion, and opposition between differing categories, as correct thought opposes desire and aversion. Elimination by the antidote of the path is of two kinds, general and particular — the general path being the contemplation of suchness, which extinguishes the afflictions of all three realms, and the particular path being something like the contemplation of impurity, which extinguishes specific afflictions such as craving and aversion, just as the contemplation of the truth of suffering extinguishes affliction pertaining to suffering but not affliction pertaining to origination.

As to the fourth, the extremely heavy, active affliction of the three poisons: there are afflictions present within the continuum of beings still active within the desire realm, serving as the cause for the growth of both unwholesome and wholesome karmic action, giving rise only to rebirth within the desire realm, and broken by cultivating the contemplation of impurity and the like. As to the fifth, the affliction of the ground of ignorance: this is present within the continuum of the arhat, serving as the cause for the arising of outflow-free karma, able to give rise to the mind-made body, and broken only by the Tathāgata's own enlightenment. The arhat, by means of the contemplation of the established truths, is able to break every ordinary affliction, but this ground of ignorance cannot be broken by that same contemplation, and so remains present within the arhat's continuum. As to "outflow-free": "outflow" carries three senses — flowing into the birth-and-death of the three realms; retrogression, as when one loses rebirth in one realm and flows into another, following birth-and-death without any fixed place; and flowing away, losing one's virtuous roots, discipline, concentration, and wisdom, like a breached pond whose water no longer holds. Being free of these three kinds of flow is what is called "outflow-free." "Karma" here carries the sense of intentional action, this mental karma being able to give rise to four kinds of birth-and-death. It is by means of the Tathāgata's own enlightenment alone — not the ordinary contemplation of the established truths — that this affliction can be extinguished, and hence it is called the ground of ignorance.

As to the sixth, affliction eliminated by the path of insight: there are two kinds of persons still in training, the ordinary person and the sage. This affliction is present within the continuum of the ordinary person still on the path of training, who, since beginningless time, has never once seen the truth, and it is broken by the very first moment of the supramundane noble path. Explanation: in the Hīnayāna scheme, this spans the four stages of heat, summit, forbearance, and supreme worldly dharma, in which the latent affliction eliminated by insight has not yet been eliminated. As to the equal contemplation of the four truths: for a person of sharp faculties, within a single moment, all four truths are contemplated equally, and all eighty-eight afflictions are cut off at once — all of this is called insight into the truth. For a person of dull faculties, contemplating in sequence, the first moment contemplates suffering alone, cutting off only the afflictions pertaining to suffering — this alone is called insight into the truth, the rest belonging to contemplative thought. In the Mahāyāna scheme, this corresponds to the stages of the ten faiths and the like; "sage" refers to one at the first ground or above.

As to the seventh, affliction eliminated by the path of cultivation: this is present within the continuum of the sage still in training, already broken once before by the supramundane noble path. As to the eighth, affliction of the impure grounds: this is present within the continuum of a bodhisattva whose practice is not yet ultimate, obstructing the seven grounds of the bodhisattva, and is broken by the path free of signs and free of effort — "free of signs" meaning the object is suchness itself, "free of effort" meaning the path of advancement occurs spontaneously, this belonging to the eighth ground and above. As to the ninth, affliction of the pure grounds: this is present within the continuum of a bodhisattva whose practice has reached its ultimate, obstructing the three grounds from the eighth ground upward, and is broken only by the vajra-like concentration and wisdom — "ultimate" meaning that, from the eighth ground upward, every object to be seen has already been fully seen, with nothing left unseen.

It is simply because skillful means differ in depth, and the bodhisattva grounds are correspondingly distinguished, that affliction is differentiated into these nine kinds. With reference to these afflictions, sentient beings are established as four kinds: the ordinary person, the arhat, the one still in training, and the bodhisattva. The first is impure on account of four afflictions — the latent craving, aversion, and delusion, plus the active affliction. The second, the arhat, is impure on account of one affliction alone, the ground of ignorance. The third is impure on account of two — the ordinary person on the path of training, impure through affliction eliminated by insight, and the sage still in training, impure through affliction eliminated by contemplative thought. The fourth is impure on account of two as well — the bodhisattva from the first through the seventh ground, impure through the affliction of the impure grounds, and, from the eighth ground through the remaining three, impure through the affliction of the pure grounds.

Next, to illustrate these nine kinds of affliction, nine similes are established. First, to reveal the affliction of craving, the simile of the lotus and the transformation-buddha is given. It is like a lotus flower, which, when it first blooms, is utterly lovely and delightful, but which later withers, coming to be despised — craving is exactly the same, at first formed dependent on its object, and later decaying dependent on that same object. And at the very moment the flower decays, a transformation-buddha appears from within it, just as craving conceals the dharmakāya. Second, for the affliction of aversion, the bee is taken as the simile: just as a bee, when disturbed by another, releases its poison and stings, aversion is exactly the same, for when the mind gives rise to aversion, it is able to harm both oneself and others — yet there is sweet honey within, the simile for the dharmakāya, concealed by aversion. Third, for the affliction of ignorance, the simile of rice grain within its husk is given: it is like white rice, covered by its husk, unable to be put to use — the dharmakāya is exactly the same, concealed beneath the shell of ignorance, and hence unable to manifest. Fourth, for the three kinds of active affliction, the simile of gold fallen into filth is given: it is like a pure, clean gold treasure smeared with excrement, repugnant to the human mind — one who is free of ordinary desire is exactly the same, repelled by this active affliction. The dharmakāya is originally pure, yet concealed by active affliction, and hence called impure.

Fifth, to reveal the ground of ignorance, the simile of the poor woman's buried treasure is given: it is like a poor woman in whose house, underground, lies a treasure of gold, yet, covered by the earth, she suffers the pain of poverty — followers of the two vehicles are exactly the same, concealed by ignorance, unable to see the fruit of buddhahood, and hence suffering the pain of the four kinds of birth-and-death. Sixth, to reveal the affliction eliminated by insight, the simile of the mango seed is given: it is like a mango seed, which, when its sprout emerges, must first break through its husk before it can come out — the husk is the simile for the affliction eliminated by insight, the sprout the simile for the dharmakāya. Insight into the truth is exactly the same: at the very moment one first sees the truth, this affliction is broken, and the dharmakāya is thereby manifested. Seventh, to reveal the affliction eliminated by contemplative thought, the simile of gold wrapped in worn-out rags is given: it is like tattered clothing, no longer fit to be worn — the true view of a self having already been broken from the start, through the repeated cultivation of the noble path's antidote, the affliction of contemplative thought retains no further power, like those worn-out rags; the gold is like the dharmakāya, obstructed by this affliction.

Eighth, to reveal the affliction of the impure grounds, the simile of a poor woman carrying a future king in her womb is given: it is like a wheel-turning king's son within a poor woman's womb — the womb is unable to defile him. The affliction present through the first seven grounds is exactly the same: though called "affliction," it possesses three virtues — it is unstained, being nourished by wisdom and compassion; it causes no fault, since it harms neither oneself nor others; and it possesses immeasurable virtue, able to bring both the Buddhadharma and sentient beings to maturity. If one allowed this affliction to grow unchecked, one would become an ordinary being, unable to bring the Buddhadharma to maturity; if one simply cut it off entirely, one would become merely a follower of the two vehicles, unable to bring sentient beings to maturity. Ninth, to reveal the affliction of the pure grounds, the simile of a gold image still within its mold is given: it is like a cast gold image, already fully formed even before the mold has been opened, unable to be damaged by water, breakable only by something like an axe — the affliction present from the eighth ground onward is exactly the same, breakable, to its very end, only by the vajra-like mind. On account of the three kinds of self-nature, in order to reveal that the pure realm of mind is called the tathāgatagarbha, these nine similes, beginning with the lotus, are given.