Grieving Still, Amid Every Joy
The four immeasurables themselves are now examined one by one: compassion free of craving, joy that still grieves at beings' own suffering, equanimity that never abandons the work of helping others — followed by the nine successive absorptions held without weariness of ordinary rebirth, and the three gates of liberation held without a śrāvaka's own private escape.
Joy That Grieves, Equanimity That Never Abandons
「……修大慈悲，不隨愛者；修習喜心，見眾生苦，常憂慼者；修習捨心，而不捨離利他事者；得九次第定，而不厭離欲界生者；離於諸受，而不證實際者；住三脫門，而不證聲聞解脫法者；觀四真諦，而不證諸果者；觀於緣起，離邊見者；……」
"… of one who cultivates great compassion, yet does not follow craving; of one who cultivates a mind of joy, yet, seeing sentient beings' own suffering, constantly grieves for them; of one who cultivates a mind of equanimity, yet never abandons the work of benefiting others; of one who attains the nine successive absorptions, yet is not wearied of taking rebirth in the desire realm; of one who is free of every feeling, yet does not realize the reality-limit for oneself alone; of one who abides in the three gates of liberation, yet does not realize the śrāvaka's own dharma of liberation; of one who contemplates the four noble truths, yet does not realize their fruits for oneself alone; of one who contemplates dependent origination, free of every extreme view … [the reflection continues]"
"Cultivating a mind of joy, yet constantly grieving" reads as a direct paradox until its own logic is followed through: the classical immeasurable of sympathetic joy (muditā) ordinarily rejoices at others' own good fortune, yet the text insists this joy coexists with unceasing grief at their suffering — Fazang reads this as refusing any spiritual attainment that would numb a bodhisattva to what sentient beings actually endure. The nine successive absorptions, among the deepest meditative states classically taught, are here held explicitly without producing weariness toward the ordinary desire-realm rebirth most practitioners would consider a step backward.
Part 287 In Progress
These paired qualities continue to accumulate. Part 288 continues and completes this entire reflection with the eightfold path, the five aggregates, and the tower's own closing declaration.
Continue to Part 288 →