Faith and Understanding, and Seeking
After a fascicle on enlightenment itself, this fascicle turns to the ordinary practitioner's own instruments: faith, and how it is sought and put to work. The chapter on faith gives it thirteen marks and thirteen seeds, catalogues what obstructs each one, and praises its merits with four similes — a hungry dog, a blind tortoise, a fearful servant, a sovereign king. The chapter on seeking that follows is the treatise's most technical stretch so far: the three baskets of scripture and the nine causes that establish them, the objects of cognition and the three wisdoms born of hearing, reflection, and cultivation, eighteen kinds of attention that absorb the entire classical list of thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, and the opening move into what reality actually is — argued, at the fascicle's close, through the oldest and most exact of Buddhist images: the magician, and what is and is not real about what he conjures.
Where This Fascicle Picks Up
Fascicle 3 was the treatise's single longest chapter, working out what enlightenment itself consists in — the buddha-body, the transformation of the basis, the tathāgatagarbha, the three bodies and four wisdoms. This fascicle steps back down to the practitioner's own footing: what faith is, in exhaustive classificatory detail, and then what it means to actively seek — the Dharma in its three traditional divisions, the objects of meditation, the wisdom born of hearing and reflecting and cultivating, the eighteen modes of attention that structure practice, and finally reality itself, approached through the classical simile of the magician's illusion. The source marks this second chapter as 述求品第十二之一, "part one" of the chapter on seeking; part two continues in fascicle 5.
Classical text is set in the left-hand column, our English in the right. See also this site's note on translation method.
1. Thirteen Marks and Thirteen Seeds of Faith
釋曰：已說無上菩提隨順。菩提者，所謂信，此信相今當說。
偈曰：
已生及未生， 正受及似受，
他力亦自力， 有迷亦不迷，
現前不現前， 聽法及求義，
觀察等十三， 分別於信相。
釋曰：信相差別有十三種。一者已生信，謂過去現在信。二者未生信，謂未來信。三者正受信，謂內信。四者似受信，謂外信。五者他力信，謂麁信，由善友力生故。六者自力信，謂細信，由自力生故。七者有迷信，謂惡信，由顛倒故。八者不迷信，謂好信，由無倒故。九者現前信，謂近信，由無障故。十者不現前信，謂遠信，由有障故。十一者聽法信，謂聞信，由聞生故。十二者求義信，謂思信，由思生故。十三者觀察信，謂修信，由修生故。已說信相差別，次說信種差別。
The exposition: what accords with unsurpassed enlightenment has been explained. As for enlightenment, there is what is called faith; the marks of this faith shall now be explained.
Already arisen, and not yet arisen;
genuinely received, and only apparently received;
by another's power, and by one's own power;
deluded, and undeluded;
present, and not present;
from hearing the Dharma, and from seeking its meaning;
and from contemplation — these thirteen
distinguish the marks of faith.
The exposition: the marks of faith are distinguished as thirteen kinds. First, faith already arisen — faith belonging to the past and present. Second, faith not yet arisen — belonging to the future. Third, genuinely received faith — inward faith. Fourth, only apparently received faith — outward faith. Fifth, faith by another's power — coarse faith, arising through the power of a good spiritual friend. Sixth, faith by one's own power — subtle faith, arising through one's own power. Seventh, deluded faith — faulty faith, arising through distortion. Eighth, undeluded faith — good faith, arising without distortion. Ninth, present faith — near faith, being unobstructed. Tenth, not present faith — distant faith, being obstructed. Eleventh, faith from hearing the Dharma — faith born of hearing. Twelfth, faith from seeking its meaning — faith born of reflection. Thirteenth, faith from contemplation — faith born of cultivation. The marks of faith having been distinguished, next the seeds of faith are distinguished.
偈曰：
可奪間無間， 有多亦有少，
有覆及無覆， 相應不相應，
有聚亦無聚， 極入亦遠入，
復此十三義， 分別於信種。
釋曰：信種差別亦有十三。一者可奪信，謂下品信。二者有間信，謂中品信。三者無間信，謂上品信。四者多信，謂大乘信。五者少信，謂小乘信。六者有覆信，謂有障信，由不能勝進故。七者無覆信，謂無障信，由能勝進故。八者相應信，謂熟修信，由恒行及恭敬行故。九者不相應信，謂不熟修信，由離前二行故。十者有聚信，謂有果信，由能得大菩提故。十一者無聚信，謂無果信，由不能得大菩提故。十二者極入信，謂功用信，從初地至七地故。十三者遠入信，謂極淨信，從八地至佛地故。已說信種，次說信障難。
Assailable, intermittent, and unbroken;
abundant, and slight;
obscured, and unobscured;
joined, and not joined;
bearing fruit, and not bearing fruit;
thoroughly entered, and distantly entered —
these further thirteen meanings
distinguish the seeds of faith.
The exposition: the seeds of faith are likewise distinguished as thirteen kinds. First, assailable faith — faith of the inferior grade. Second, intermittent faith — of the middling grade. Third, unbroken faith — of the superior grade. Fourth, abundant faith — Mahāyāna faith. Fifth, slight faith — Lesser Vehicle faith. Sixth, obscured faith — obstructed, unable to advance further. Seventh, unobscured faith — unobstructed, able to advance. Eighth, joined faith — fully cultivated, through constant and reverent practice. Ninth, unjoined faith — not fully cultivated, lacking these two. Tenth, faith bearing fruit — able to attain great enlightenment. Eleventh, faith not bearing fruit — unable to attain it. Twelfth, thoroughly entered faith — the faith of applied effort, from the first ground to the seventh. And thirteenth, distantly entered faith — the faith of utmost purity, from the eighth ground to the ground of buddhahood. The seeds of faith having been explained, next the obstacles and difficulties of faith are explained.
Two exhaustive lists of thirteen, one for the marks of faith and one for its seeds, sound at first like the same catalogue twice — but the distinction the treatise is drawing is worth making explicit, since it never states it directly. The marks describe faith as it presently shows itself: whether it has arisen yet, whether it came from within or from a teacher, whether it is deluded or clear. The seeds describe faith's trajectory and durability: whether it can be shaken, whether it belongs to the lesser or greater vehicle, whether it will actually bear the fruit of enlightenment. A faith could score well on several marks — genuinely received, undeluded, born of contemplation — and still be, by seed, only intermittent or fruitless. The two lists are measuring different things about the same phenomenon: its present character, and its future.
他力信 and 自力信, faith by another's power and faith by one's own power, quietly recur throughout both lists in a way that rewards tracking. Faith sparked by a good friend is called 麁信, coarse faith, and among the seeds it corresponds to what is called unsteady — this is the same distinction fascicle 2's chapter on arousing the mind drew among the four powers behind the conventional arousing of bodhicitta, where the power of a friend alone, among four causes, was singled out as unsteady. The pattern is consistent across the treatise: a teacher can occasion faith, but cannot supply the durability that only self-generated conviction, ripened from one's own prior habituation, provides.
2. What Obstructs Faith, Its Merits, and Four Similes
偈曰：
多忘亦懈怠， 行迷并惡友，
善羸及邪憶， 放逸復少聞，
聞喜及思喜， 因定增上慢，
應知此等過， 障礙於信相。
釋曰：障者，相違義。多忘者，於已生信為障。懈怠者，於未生信為障。行迷者，於正受、似受信為障，如先所受能受執著故。惡友者，於他力信為障，以倒法令受故。善羸者，於自力信為障。邪憶者，於不迷信為障。放逸者，於現前信為障。少聞者，於聽法信為障，不聽了義故。聞喜者，於求義信為障，少思惟故。思喜及定慢者，於觀察信為障，少修及不細觀察故。問：何障障信種？
偈曰：
不厭及不習， 有厭亦有覆，
無應及無聚， 應知障信種。
釋曰：不習者，於可奪信、有聞信為障。不厭者，於小信為障，不厭生死故。有厭者，於大信為障，厭生死故。有覆者，於無覆信為障。無應者，於相應信為障。無聚者，於有聚信為障。已顯示信障難，次讚歎信功德。
Excessive forgetting, and laziness;
delusion in conduct, and evil companions;
weakness in the good, and wrong recollection;
heedlessness, and little learning;
delight in what is heard, and delight in what is reflected upon;
and, through concentration, an overweening conceit —
know that these faults
obstruct the marks of faith.
The exposition: obstruction has the sense of conflicting with. Excessive forgetting obstructs faith already arisen. Laziness obstructs faith not yet arisen. Delusion in conduct obstructs genuinely and apparently received faith, in that one clings to what was grasped before. Evil companions obstruct faith by another's power, causing one to receive a distorted teaching. Weakness in the good obstructs faith by one's own power. Wrong recollection obstructs undeluded faith. Heedlessness obstructs present faith. Little learning obstructs faith from hearing, since one does not hear the definitive meaning. Delight in what is heard obstructs faith from seeking the meaning, since one reflects too little. Delight in what is reflected upon, and the conceit that comes from concentration, obstruct faith from contemplation, since one cultivates and contemplates too little. Question: what obstructs the seeds of faith?
Not being weary of it, and not practicing it;
being weary of it, and being obscured;
not corresponding, and not bearing fruit —
know these as obstructing the seeds of faith.
The exposition: not practicing obstructs assailable and intermittent faith. Not being weary obstructs slight faith, one not being weary of saṃsāra. Being weary obstructs abundant faith, one being weary of saṃsāra. Being obscured obstructs unobscured faith. Not corresponding obstructs joined faith. Not bearing fruit obstructs fruit-bearing faith. The obstacles to faith having been displayed, next the merits of faith are praised.
偈曰：
信有大福德， 不悔及大喜，
不壞將堅固， 進位并得法，
自利與他利， 亦復速諸通，
以此諸功德， 讚歎信利益。
釋曰：大福德者，讚現在信。不悔者，讚過去信，不追變故。大喜者，讚正受信及似受信，定相應故。不壞者，讚友力信，正道不壞故。堅固者，讚自力信，不退捨故。進位者，讚不迷信、現前信、聽法信、求義信、觀察信、有間信。得法者，讚無間信。自利者，讚少信。他利者，讚多信。速通者，讚諸自分信，謂無覆信、相應信、有聚信、極入信、遠入信。
偈曰：
狗龜奴王譬， 次第譬四信，
習欲習諸定， 自利利他人。
釋曰：譬如餓狗求食無厭，諸習欲人信亦復如是，於一切時種種信故。譬如盲龜水中藏六，諸習外定人信亦復如是，唯知修習世間定故。譬如賊奴畏主勤作，諸自利人信亦復如是，為怖生死勤方便故。譬如大王自在詔勅，諸利他人信亦復如是，增上教化無休息故。菩薩自解諸信，復廣分別令他得解，如是勸諸眾生生大乘信。已讚信功德，次遮下劣心。
Faith has great merit,
freedom from regret, and great joy,
indestructibility and firmness,
advancement in stage, and attainment of the Dharma,
benefit for self and for other,
and swiftness in the powers —
by these several merits
the benefit of faith is praised.
The exposition: great merit praises present faith. Freedom from regret praises past faith, which does not later change. Great joy praises genuinely and apparently received faith, joined with concentration. Indestructibility praises faith by another's power, the right path not being destroyed. Firmness praises faith by one's own power, not turning back. Advancement in stage praises undeluded, present, hearing, seeking-the-meaning, contemplative, and intermittent faith. Attainment of the Dharma praises unbroken faith. Benefit for self praises slight faith. Benefit for others praises abundant faith. Swiftness in the powers praises the faiths of one's own portion — unobscured, joined, fruit-bearing, thoroughly entered, and distantly entered faith.
The dog, the tortoise, the servant, and the king —
these similes, in order, are for four kinds of faith:
one habituated to desire, one habituated to absorption,
one who benefits himself, and one who benefits others.
The exposition: it is like a hungry dog seeking food without satiety — the faith of one habituated to desire is just the same, seeking various things at all times. It is like a blind tortoise withdrawing its six limbs in water — the faith of one habituated to outsiders' absorptions is just the same, knowing only how to cultivate worldly concentration. It is like a thieving servant, fearing his master, diligent in his work — the faith of one who benefits himself is just the same, diligently applying methods for fear of saṃsāra. It is like a great king, issuing decrees with mastery — the faith of one who benefits others is just the same, teaching with authority, without rest. The bodhisattva, having understood these kinds of faith himself, further distinguishes them at length to bring understanding to others, and in this way encourages sentient beings to give rise to Mahāyāna faith. Faith's merits having thus been praised, next an inferior state of mind is warded off.
The blind tortoise withdrawing into its shell is a stock Buddhist image for the rarity of a human birth suited to hearing the Dharma, and it is worth noticing how differently this treatise redeploys it. Here it names not a rare opportunity but a limitation: faith habituated to outsiders' meditative absorptions, competent at withdrawing from the world but knowing only 世間定, worldly concentration, and nothing beyond it. The tortoise is skilled at exactly one thing, and that one thing is not enough — a sharper use of a familiar image than the one most readers will already have in mind.
The four similes run on a spectrum from smallest to largest scope — a dog wants food, a tortoise wants shelter, a servant wants safety from punishment, a king wants to govern well — and matching them to their referents makes the ranking explicit: desire, then withdrawal, then self-benefit, then benefiting others, in ascending order of how much of the world the faith in question actually takes into account. The king is not praised for wanting more, in the way the dog wants more food; he is praised because what he wants already includes everyone he governs.
3. The Three Baskets: Nine Causes and Fourfold Meanings
偈曰：
人身及方處， 時節皆無限，
三因菩提得， 勿起下劣心。
釋曰：人身及方處時節皆無限者，得無上菩提有三因無限：一者人身無限，由人道眾生得無限故。二者方處無限，由十方世界得無限故。三者時節無限，由盡未來際剎那剎那得無限故。三因菩提得勿起下劣心者，由此三因無限，是故諸菩薩於無上菩提不應退屈起下劣心。已遮下劣心，次顯福德勝。
偈曰：
得福由施彼， 非由自受用，
依他說大乘， 不依自義法。
釋曰：得福由施彼非由自受用者，譬如以食施彼則得大福，由利他故。非自受用能得大福，由自利故。問：若爾，菩薩云何得福？答：依他說大乘不依自義法。諸菩薩如是依他說大乘經得大福德，不依自利說小乘經得大福德。已說勝福，次說得果。
偈曰：
大法起大信， 大信果有三，
信增及福增， 得佛功德體。
釋曰：大法起大信大信果有三者，謂有智人於大乘聖法而生大信，由此大信得三種果。問：得何等果？答：信增及福增得佛功德體。此明：一得大信果，信增長故。二得大福果，福增長故。三得大菩提果，功德無等及佛體大故。明信品究竟。
Human birth, and place,
and time — all are without limit;
by these three causes, enlightenment is attained —
do not give rise to an inferior state of mind.
The exposition: unsurpassed enlightenment is attained through three causes without limit: human birth without limit, the beings of the human realm who attain it being without limit; place without limit, the worlds of the ten directions being without limit; and time without limit, its attainment, moment by moment to the very limit of the future, being without limit. By these three causes, enlightenment is attained — do not give rise to an inferior mind means: because these three causes are without limit, bodhisattvas should not shrink back or give rise to an inferior state of mind. This having been warded off, next the supremacy of merit is displayed.
Merit is obtained by giving to another,
not by enjoying it oneself;
by expounding the Mahāyāna for the sake of others,
not a teaching relying on one's own benefit.
The exposition: merit is obtained by giving to another, not by enjoying it oneself means: it is like giving food to another, which obtains great merit, since it benefits another — not consuming it oneself, which does not, since it only benefits oneself. Question: if this is so, how does the bodhisattva obtain merit? Answer: by expounding the Mahāyāna for the sake of others, not a teaching relying on one's own benefit. Bodhisattvas obtain great merit by expounding the Mahāyāna sūtras for others' sake, not by expounding the Lesser Vehicle sūtras for their own benefit. This supreme merit having been explained, next its fruit is explained.
From the great Dharma, great faith arises;
great faith has three fruits:
the increase of faith, and the increase of merit,
and the attainment of the substance of the Buddha's own merit.
The exposition: a person of wisdom gives rise to great faith in the noble Dharma of the Mahāyāna, and through this great faith obtains three fruits: the fruit of great faith, faith itself increasing; the fruit of great merit, merit increasing; and the fruit of great enlightenment, merit becoming unequaled and the substance of buddhahood becoming vast. The chapter on illuminating faith is complete.
釋曰：如是已說種種信，次說以信求諸法。
偈曰：
三藏或二攝， 成三有九因，
熏覺寂通故， 解脫生死事。
釋曰：三藏或二攝者，三藏謂修多羅藏、毘尼藏、阿毘曇藏。或二謂此三由下上乘差別故。復次為聲聞藏及菩薩藏。問：彼三及二，云何名藏？答：由攝故。謂攝一切所應知義。問：云何成三？答：成三有九因。立修多羅者，為對治疑惑，若人於義處處起疑，為令彼人得決定故。立毘尼者，為對治受用二邊，為離樂行邊遮有過受用，為離苦行邊聽無過受用。立阿毘曇者，為對治自心見取，不倒法相此能示故。復次立修多羅者，為說三學。立毘尼者，為成戒學、心學，由持戒故不悔，由不悔故隨次得定。立阿毘曇者，為成慧學，不顛倒義此能擇故。復次立修多羅者，為正說法及義。立毘尼者，謂成就法及義，由勤方便煩惱滅故。立阿毘曇者，為通達法及義，由種種簡擇此為方便故。由此九因，故立三藏。問：別用如此，通用云何？答：熏覺寂通故解脫生死事。此明解脫生死是其通用。由聞故熏，由思故覺，由止故寂，由觀故通。由此四義，生死諸事永得解脫。
偈曰：
經律阿毘曇， 是各有四義，
具解成種智， 一偈得漏盡。
釋曰：若略說三藏，一一各有四義。若菩薩能了此義，則成就一切種智。若聲聞能了一偈，則得諸漏永盡。問：云何一一四種義？
The exposition: the various kinds of faith having thus been explained, next seeking the various dharmas by means of faith is explained.
The three baskets, or gathered as two,
are established as three through nine causes;
through habituation, awakening, quiescence, and penetration,
one is liberated from the affairs of saṃsāra.
The exposition: the three baskets, or gathered as two: the three baskets are the sūtra basket, the vinaya basket, and the abhidharma basket. Gathered as two, these three divide by the lower and higher vehicle — or, alternatively, into the śrāvaka basket and the bodhisattva basket. Question: why are these called "baskets"? Answer: because of their gathering — they gather in every meaning that is to be known. Question: how are they established as three? Answer: through nine causes. The sūtras are established as the remedy for doubt: when a person doubts the meaning here and there, they bring him to certainty. The vinaya is established as the remedy for the two extremes of enjoyment: departing from the extreme of pleasure-seeking, it restrains faulty enjoyment; departing from the extreme of painful austerity, it permits faultless enjoyment. The abhidharma is established as the remedy for grasping at one's own views, displaying the marks of things without distortion. Furthermore, the sūtras are established to teach the three trainings. The vinaya is established to accomplish the training in morality and in mind, since upholding morality brings freedom from regret, and freedom from regret brings concentration in turn. The abhidharma is established to accomplish the training in wisdom, discerning meaning without distortion. Furthermore, the sūtras correctly teach the Dharma and its meaning; the vinaya accomplishes the Dharma and its meaning, extinguishing the afflictions through diligent method; and the abhidharma penetrates the Dharma and its meaning, through manifold discernment as its method. By these nine causes, the three baskets are established. Question: their individual functions being thus, what is their shared function? Answer: through habituation, awakening, quiescence, and penetration, one is liberated from the affairs of saṃsāra. Through hearing, one is habituated; through reflection, one awakens; through calm abiding, one attains quiescence; and through insight, one penetrates. By these four, the affairs of saṃsāra are forever left behind.
The sūtras, the vinaya, and the abhidharma
each have their own four meanings;
one who fully understands them accomplishes omniscience;
one who grasps even a single verse attains the exhaustion of contaminants.
The exposition: in brief, the three baskets each have four meanings. A bodhisattva who understands these meanings accomplishes omniscience; a śrāvaka who understands even a single verse attains the forever exhaustion of contaminants. Question: what are these four meanings, one by one?
偈曰：依故及相故，法故及義故，如是四種義，是說多羅義。
釋曰：修多羅有此四義，一依、二相、三法、四義。依者，是處、是人、是用，謂隨是何國土、隨是何諸佛、隨是何眾生，如來依此三種說修多羅。相者，謂世諦相及第一義諦相。法者，謂陰、界、入、緣生、諦、食等法。義者，謂釋所以。
偈曰：對故及數故，伏故及解故，如是四種義，是說毘曇義。
釋曰：阿毘曇有此四義，一對、二數、三伏、四解。對者，是向涅槃法，諦、菩提分、解脫門等說故。數者，是相續法，於一一法色非色、可見不可見等差別無量說故。伏者，是勝上法，於諍論眾中決判法義退彼說故。解者，是釋義法，由阿毘曇，修多羅義易可解故。
偈曰：罪起淨出故，人制解判故，四義復四義，是說毘尼義。
釋曰：毘尼有二種四義。初四義者，一罪、二起、三淨、四出。罪者，罪自性，謂五聚罪。起者，罪緣起，此有四種：一無知、二放逸、三煩惱疾利、四無恭敬心。淨者，罪還淨，由善心不由治罰。出者，罪出離，此有七種：一者悔過，謂永遮相續；二者順教，謂與學羯磨治罰；三者開許，謂先時已制、後時更開；四者更捨，謂僧和合與，學者捨是時，先犯還得清淨；五者轉依，謂比丘比丘尼男女轉根出不共罪；六者實觀，謂法憂陀那由勝觀察；七者性得，謂見諦時細罪無體，由證法空法爾所得。復四義者，一人、二制、三解、四判。人者，謂犯罪人。制者，謂依彼犯人，大師集眾說彼過失，制立學足。解者，謂如所制，更廣分別。判者，謂云何得罪、云何不得罪，如是應持。已說求法，次說求緣。
Basis, and characteristic; dharma, and meaning — these four meanings are what is meant by the sense of the sūtras.
The exposition: the sūtras have these four meanings: basis, characteristic, dharma, and meaning. Basis is the place, the person, and the use — that is, according to whatever land, whatever buddha, and whatever beings, the Tathāgata teaches the sūtras in reliance on these three. Characteristic is the characteristic of the conventional truth and of the ultimate truth. Dharma is such things as the aggregates, the elements, the sense-fields, dependent origination, the truths, and nutriment. Meaning is the explanation of the reasons for things.
Confronting, and enumerating; subduing, and explaining — these four meanings are what is meant by the sense of the abhidharma.
The exposition: the abhidharma has these four meanings: confronting, enumerating, subduing, and explaining. Confronting is the dharma that faces nirvāṇa, teaching the truths, the factors of enlightenment, the gates of liberation, and the rest. Enumerating is the dharma of connected analysis, teaching for each and every dharma its measureless distinctions — material or immaterial, visible or invisible, and so on. Subduing is the dharma that is superior, deciding the meaning of the Dharma amid contending assemblies and refuting their claims. Explaining is the dharma that clarifies meaning, since through the abhidharma the meaning of the sūtras becomes easy to understand.
Offense, its arising, its purification, and its release; the person, the promulgation, the explanation, and the judgment — four meanings, and four further meanings — this is what is meant by the sense of the vinaya.
The exposition: the vinaya has two sets of four meanings. The first four are offense, arising, purification, and release. Offense is the own-nature of the offense — the five classes of transgression. Arising is its condition, of four kinds: ignorance, heedlessness, sharp and swift affliction, and a lack of reverence. Purification is its return to purity, achieved by a wholesome mind and not by punishment. Release is of seven kinds: repentance, permanently blocking its continuation; complying with instruction, the formal correction given for training; provisional permission, in that what was formerly prohibited is later opened again; further relinquishment, in that when the assembly, in harmony, grants a trainee's relinquishment, a former transgression is again made pure; the transformation of the basis, in that a monk or nun, upon a change of sex, is released from an offense not shared by the other; true contemplation, through the udāna of the Dharma, by superior contemplation; and natural attainment, in that at the time of seeing the truths, subtle offenses are without substance, naturally attained upon realizing the emptiness of things. The further four meanings are the person, the promulgation, the explanation, and the judgment. The person is the one who commits the offense. The promulgation is such that, in dependence on that person, the great teacher gathers the assembly, states the fault, and establishes the rule of training. The explanation is the further, detailed elaboration of what has been promulgated. The judgment is how an offense is or is not incurred, and how it is accordingly to be upheld. Seeking the Dharma having been explained, next seeking the object is explained.
The nine causes for the three baskets are given in three passes, each organized around a different concern — remedy, training, and correct teaching — and it is worth noticing that the same three baskets get re-derived three separate times rather than once. This is not redundancy; it is the treatise showing that the threefold division is over-determined, arrived at independently from three different starting questions (what problem does each basket solve? what training does it accomplish? what does it correctly convey?), which is a stronger claim than deriving the number three from any single consideration alone.
The seven kinds of release from an offense, buried within the vinaya's fourfold meaning, include one item easy to read past: 性得, natural attainment, whereby at the moment of seeing the truths directly, subtle offenses simply cease to have substance, "naturally attained upon realizing the emptiness of things." This quietly folds the entire monastic disciplinary apparatus — repentance, formal procedures, probation — into a hierarchy that culminates in something no procedure can produce: a realization that dissolves the very category of subtle transgression from the inside, rather than absolving it from the outside.
4. Seeking the Object, and the Three Wisdoms
偈曰：
佛說所緣法， 應知內外俱，
得二無二義， 二亦不可得。
釋曰：佛說所緣法應知內外俱者，佛說一切所緣法有三種，一內、二外、三俱，彼能取自性身等為內，所取自性身等為外，合二自性為俱。得二無二義二亦不可得者，於此內外二緣，如其次第得無二義。問：云何得？答：若所取義與能取義無別觀，若能取義與所取義無別觀。復次合二為一，由於內外二緣得如如故。如是彼二無有二義，則此二緣亦不可得。問：已說得緣，云何得智？
偈曰：
三緣得三智， 淨持意言境，
了別義光已， 安心唯有名。
釋曰：三緣，謂如前說內外俱三境。三智，謂聞思修三慧。由依三緣，能得三慧。問：云何得？答：若於三緣淨持意言境，即得聞慧。意言者，分別也。淨者，信決定。持者，擇彼種。由此得聞慧。若於三緣了別義光已，即得思慧。謂知義及光不異意言，由此得思慧。若於三緣安心唯有名，即得修慧。謂知義及光但唯是名，由此得修慧。如先所說二緣不可得，是故應知彼三緣者是聞思修三慧依止。已說求緣，次說求作意。
The Buddha teaches that the object taken as condition
should be known as inward, outward, or both;
attaining the sense that these two are non-dual,
even these two cannot ultimately be found.
The exposition: the Buddha teaches that every object taken as condition is of three kinds — inward, outward, or both. The own-nature of the body and the rest that grasps is inward; the own-nature that is grasped is outward; and the two joined together is both. Attaining the sense that these two are non-dual, even these two cannot ultimately be found means: with regard to these two conditions, inward and outward, one attains, in this order, the sense of their non-duality. Question: how? Answer: by observing that what is grasped is not different from what grasps, and what grasps is not different from what is grasped. Joining the two as one, one attains suchness with regard to both. Since these two thus have no dual sense, these two conditions themselves cannot ultimately be found either. Question: the attaining of the object having been explained, how is wisdom attained?
From the three conditions, three kinds of wisdom are attained:
purely holding the domain of mental discourse;
having discerned the light of its meaning;
and settling the mind on there being only name.
The exposition: the three conditions are, as stated before, inward, outward, and both. The three wisdoms are those born of hearing, of reflection, and of cultivation. In dependence on the three conditions, the three wisdoms are attained. Question: how? Answer: purely holding, with regard to the three conditions, the domain of mental discourse attains the wisdom of hearing — mental discourse being discrimination, pure meaning faith that is settled, and holding meaning selecting out its kind. Having discerned, with regard to the three conditions, the light of its meaning attains the wisdom of reflection — that is, knowing that the meaning and its light are not different from mental discourse. Settling the mind, with regard to the three conditions, on there being only name attains the wisdom of cultivation — that is, knowing that the meaning and its light are only name. As stated before, the two conditions cannot ultimately be found; therefore these three conditions are the support for the three wisdoms of hearing, reflection, and cultivation. Seeking the object having been explained, next seeking attention is explained.
意言, mental discourse, is the hinge term this whole passage turns on, and its placement is deliberate: the wisdom of hearing is defined as purely holding this domain, not the words heard themselves. The claim quietly embedded here is that what one actually works with, even at the most basic stage of learning through hearing, was never the raw external teaching but already one's own internal discursive representation of it. The three wisdoms then trace a single object — mental discourse and its light — through three depths of understanding: first holding it purely, then seeing that its light is not different from mental discourse itself, and finally settling on the recognition that both are only name. Nothing changes about what is being examined across the three stages; only how thoroughly its status as mental discourse is understood.
5. The Eighteen Kinds of Attention
偈曰：
最初謂種性， 所作及依止，
信安及欲生， 依定亦依智，
別緣種種緣， 通達及修種，
自性與功力， 領受及方便，
自在小大等， 如是有十八，
盡攝諸作意， 行者應勤修。
釋曰：十八種作意者，一種性作意、二所作作意、三依止作意、四信安作意、五欲生作意、六依定作意、七依智作意、八別緣作意、九種種緣作意、十通達作意、十一修種作意、十二自性作意、十三功力作意、十四領受作意、十五方便作意、十六自在作意、十七小作意、十八大作意。種性作意者，由聲聞等三乘性定故。所作作意者，由福智二聚圓滿故。依止作意者，由在家出家迫迮不迫迮差別故。信安作意者，念佛相應故。欲生作意者，隨念佛時信心相應故。依定作意者，有覺有觀等三三昧相應故。依智作意者，從聞思修方便次第生故。別緣作意者，此有五種，於修多羅、憂陀那、伽陀、阿波陀那，一受、二持、三讀、四思、五說故。種種緣作意者，此有七種，名緣、句緣、字緣、人無我緣、法無我緣、色緣、無色緣。色緣謂身緣，無色緣謂受、心、法緣。通達作意者，此有四種：一通達物，謂知苦體。二通達義，謂知苦無常空無我義。三通達果，謂知解脫。四通達覺，謂知解脫智。
First, the attention of the lineage;
of what is to be done, and of the support;
of faith and ease, and of longing for birth;
resting on concentration, and resting on wisdom;
of a single object, and of manifold objects;
of penetration, and of cultivating the seed;
of own-nature, and of capability;
of reception, and of skillful means;
of mastery, and of the lesser and the greater —
these eighteen
comprise every kind of attention;
the practitioner should diligently cultivate them.
The exposition: the eighteen kinds of attention are: of the lineage, of what is to be done, of the support, of faith and ease, of longing for birth, resting on concentration, resting on wisdom, of a single object, of manifold objects, of penetration, of cultivating the seed, of own-nature, of capability, of reception, of skillful means, of mastery, the lesser attention, and the greater attention. The attention of the lineage is such because the natures of the three vehicles — the śrāvaka's and the others' — are fixed. The attention of what is to be done is such because the twofold accumulation of merit and wisdom is fulfilled. The attention of the support is such because of the difference between the householder's constraint and the renunciant's freedom. The attention of faith and ease is joined with mindfulness of the Buddha. The attention of longing for birth is joined with faith at the time of that mindfulness. The attention resting on concentration is joined with the three kinds of absorption — with both examination and analysis, and the rest. The attention resting on wisdom arises in sequence through the methods of hearing, reflection, and cultivation. The attention of a single object is of five kinds, with regard to the sūtras, the udāna, the verse-teachings, and the avadāna: receiving, upholding, reciting, reflecting upon, and expounding them. The attention of manifold objects is of seven kinds: the object of names, of phrases, of syllables, of the selflessness of persons, of the selflessness of things, of form, and of the formless — form being the object of the body, the formless being the object of feeling, mind, and things. The attention of penetration is of four kinds: penetrating the thing, knowing the substance of suffering; penetrating the meaning, knowing suffering as impermanent, empty, and selfless; penetrating the fruit, knowing liberation; and penetrating awakening, knowing the wisdom of liberation.
修種作意者，此有四種修及三十七種修。四種修者，謂人無我種修、法無我種修、見種修、智種修。三十七種修者，謂不淨、苦、無常、無我四種修，是名四念處種修。復次得、習、斷、對治四種修，是名四正勤種修。復次為對治知足、亂疑、掉動、沈沒四障故，欲、進、念、慧四種修，是名四神足種修。復次住心者，為成就出世間故，起信、勤、不忘、心住、簡擇五種修，是名五根種修。復次如是五修能治五障，即名為力，是名五力種修。復次於菩提正憶、簡擇、勇猛、慶悅、調柔、心住、平等七種修，是名七覺分種修。復次得決定故，成淨持地業，思惟分別故、聖所受三戒能持故、先所得道勤習故、法住相不忘故、無想心住轉依故，如是八種修，是名八道分種修。
自性作意者，此有二種：一奢摩他、二毘鉢舍那，此二是道自性故。功力作意者，力有二種：一拔除熏習、二拔除相見。領受作意者，諸佛菩薩教授所有法流悉受持故。方便作意者，於定所行處方便有五：一解數方便，於名句字數悉通達故。二解具方便，具有二種，一分量具所謂諸字、二非分量具所謂名句等。三解分別方便，分別二種，一依名分別義、二依義分別名。非分別者字也。四解次第方便，謂先取名後轉取義。五解通達方便，通達有十一種，一通達客塵、二通達境光、三通達義不可得、四通達不可得不可得、五通達法界、六通達人無我、七通達法無我、八通達下劣心、九通達高大心、十通達所得法、十一通達所立法。
自在作意者，自在三種：一惑障極清淨、二惑智二障極清淨、三功德極清淨。小作意者，謂初清淨。大作意者，謂後二清淨。已說求作意，次說求真實義。
The attention of cultivating the seed is of four kinds of cultivation, and thirty-seven kinds. The four kinds are: cultivating the seed of the selflessness of persons, of the selflessness of things, of view, and of wisdom. The thirty-seven kinds are as follows. The cultivation of impurity, of suffering, of impermanence, and of selflessness — these four are the seed-cultivation of the four foundations of mindfulness. The cultivation of attainment, of practice, of abandonment, and of the antidote — these four are the seed-cultivation of the four right exertions. To counteract the four obstructions of complacency, confused doubt, agitation, and torpor: the cultivation of aspiration, diligence, mindfulness, and wisdom — these four are the seed-cultivation of the four bases of supernormal power. For one who settles the mind, in order to accomplish the transcendent: the cultivation of faith, diligence, unforgetting mindfulness, stability of mind, and discernment — these five are the seed-cultivation of the five faculties. Since these five cultivations counteract five obstructions, they are then called powers — the seed-cultivation of the five powers. With regard to enlightenment: right recollection, discernment, valor, delight, pliancy, stability of mind, and equanimity — these seven are the seed-cultivation of the seven factors of enlightenment. And because certainty is attained, accomplishing the deed of a pure ground; because one reflects and discriminates; because the three noble precepts once received are upheld; because the path already attained is diligently practiced; because the mark of the Dharma's abiding is not forgotten; and because the mind, without conceptual construction, abides in the transformed basis — these eight are the seed-cultivation of the eightfold path.
The attention of own-nature is of two kinds — calm abiding and insight, these being the very own-nature of the path. The attention of capability has two kinds of power: uprooting habituation, and uprooting the marks that are seen. The attention of reception is fully receiving and upholding every stream of the Dharma taught by the buddhas and bodhisattvas. The attention of skillful means, with regard to the domain of concentration, has five methods: understanding number, thoroughly penetrating the number of names, phrases, and syllables; understanding completeness, of two kinds — completeness of quantity, the syllables, and completeness apart from quantity, names and phrases; understanding discrimination, of two kinds — discriminating meaning in dependence on a name, and discriminating a name in dependence on meaning, that which is not discrimination being the syllable itself; understanding sequence, first grasping the name and then, in turn, the meaning; and understanding penetration, of eleven kinds — penetrating adventitious defilement, the light of the domain, that meaning cannot be found, that even this unfindability cannot be found, the dharma-realm, the selflessness of persons, the selflessness of things, the inferior mind, the lofty and great mind, the dharma that is attained, and the dharma that is established.
The attention of mastery has three kinds: the utmost purity from the afflictive obstruction, the utmost purity from both the afflictive and cognitive obstructions, and the utmost purity of merit. The lesser attention is the first purity; the greater attention is the latter two. Seeking attention having been explained, next seeking the meaning of ultimate reality is explained.
The eighteenth item in this list is really thirty-seven items compressed into one, and the compression is worth pausing on: 修種作意, the attention of cultivating the seed, absorbs the entire classical inventory of the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment — the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right exertions, the four bases of supernormal power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the eightfold path — treating them not as a separate curriculum but as one mode of attention among eighteen. Read this way, the mainstream Abhidharma path-scheme that other treatises on this site present as the whole of practice becomes, in this treatise's architecture, a single ingredient nested inside a larger classification the śrāvaka teachings never named.
方便作意's fifth method, understanding penetration, ends its eleven sub-kinds on a pair worth reading together: 通達義不可得, penetrating that meaning cannot be found, followed immediately by 通達不可得不可得, penetrating that this very unfindability cannot be found either. The list does not stop at the negation; it negates the negation as well, refusing to let "meaning cannot be found" harden into a new positive fact that could itself be grasped. This is the same move fascicle 3 made with the buddha-substance — neither existent nor non-existent — applied here to the epistemic step of the practitioner's own search, rather than to the object ultimately sought.
6. Seeking Reality: The Three Natures and Their Two Purities
偈曰：
離二及迷依， 無說無戲論，
三應及二淨， 二淨三譬顯。
釋曰：離二及迷依無說無戲論者，此中應知，三性俱是真實。離二者，謂分別性真實，由能取所取畢竟無故。迷依者，謂依他性真實，由此起諸分別故。無說無戲論者，謂真實性真實，由自性無戲論不可說故。三應及二淨二淨三譬顯者，三應謂初真實應知，第二真實應斷，第三真實應淨。二淨，謂一者自性清淨，由本來清淨故；二者無垢清淨，由離客塵故。此二清淨，由三種譬喻可得顯現，謂空、金、水。如此三譬，一則俱譬自性清淨，由空等非不自性清淨故。二則俱譬無垢清淨，由空等非不離客塵清淨故。
偈曰：
法界與世間， 未曾有少異，
眾生癡盛故， 著無而棄有。
釋曰：法界與世間未曾有少異者，非法界與世間而有少異。何以故？法性與諸法無差別故。眾生癡盛故著無而棄有者，由眾生愚癡熾盛，於世間無法不應著而起著，於如如有法不應捨而棄捨。已說求真實，次說求真實譬喻。
Free of the two, and the basis of delusion;
inexpressible and free of discursive elaboration;
three that should be known, and two purities;
these two purities are displayed by three similes.
The exposition: here it should be understood that all three natures are reality. Free of the two is the reality of the discriminated nature, since what is grasped and what grasps are, in the end, both absent. The basis of delusion is the reality of the dependent nature, since it is what gives rise to every discrimination. Inexpressible and free of discursive elaboration is the reality of the true nature, since its own-nature is free of discursive elaboration and cannot be expressed. The three that should be — the first reality should be known, the second should be abandoned, and the third should be purified. The two purities are: purity of own-nature, since it was pure from the very beginning; and purity from taint, since adventitious dust has since departed. These two purities can be displayed by three similes — space, gold, and water. Each of these three is a simile for both purities: for purity of own-nature, since space and the rest are never anything but pure in their own-nature to begin with; and for purity from taint, since space and the rest are never anything but pure once free of adventitious dust.
The dharma-realm and the world
have never differed in the least;
but sentient beings, so thick with delusion,
cling to what is absent, and forsake what is present.
The exposition: the dharma-realm is not different from the world in the least, since the nature of things and the various dharmas are without difference. Because sentient beings are so thickly deluded, they cling to what, in the world, is absent and should not be clung to, and forsake what, as suchness, is present and should not be forsaken. Seeking reality having been explained, next the similes for seeking reality are explained.
Assigning each of the three natures its own task — the discriminated to be known, the dependent to be abandoned, the true to be purified — gives this treatise's three-natures scheme something the bare ontological distinction between them does not supply on its own: a program of action, not just a classification. Knowing, abandoning, and purifying are three different verbs because they name three different relationships a practitioner has to hold toward the three, and collapsing them into one undifferentiated task — treating them all as simply "to be understood," say — would blur exactly the distinction the chapter on reality worked so hard to establish two fascicles earlier.
The space-gold-water triad for the two purities is chosen with some care: each image already carries an intact and a compromised state in ordinary experience — space obscured by cloud rather than altered, gold buried in ore rather than transformed, water muddied rather than changed in kind — which lets a single simile carry both purities at once, since nothing about the obscuring agent (cloud, ore, mud) was ever part of what it obscured. The same figure that argues purity of own-nature also argues purity from taint, because in each case the taint was always adventitious to begin with.
7. The Illusion Similes: Why Reality Is Neither Existent Nor Non-Existent
偈曰：
如彼起幻師， 譬說虛分別，
如彼諸幻事， 譬說二種迷。
釋曰：如彼起幻師譬說虛分別者，譬如幻師依呪術力變木石等以為迷因，如是虛分別依他性亦爾，起種種分別為顛倒因。如彼諸幻事譬說二種迷者，譬如幻像金等種種相貌顯現，如是所起分別性亦爾，能取所取二迷恒時顯現。
偈曰：
如彼無體故， 得入第一義；
如彼可得故， 通達世諦實。
釋曰：如彼無體故得入第一義者，如彼謂幻者、幻事無有實體，此譬依他、分別二相亦無實體，由此道理即得通達第一義諦。如彼可得故通達世諦實者，可得謂幻者、幻事體亦可得，此譬虛妄分別亦爾，由此道理即得通達世諦之實。
偈曰：
彼事無體故， 即得真實境；
如是轉依故， 即得真實義。
釋曰：彼事無體故即得真實境者，若人了彼幻事無體，即得木等實境。如是轉依故即得真實義者，若諸菩薩了彼二迷無體，得轉依時即得真實性義。
偈曰：
迷因無體故， 無迷自在行；
倒因無體故， 無倒自在轉。
釋曰：迷因無體故無迷自在行者，世間木石等雖復無體，而為迷因；若得無迷行，則自在不依於他。倒因無體故無倒自在轉者，如是依未轉時，雖復無體而為倒因；若得轉時，由無倒故，聖人亦得自在依、自在行。
As the magician who conjures the illusion
is a simile for false discrimination,
so the various illusory things themselves
are a simile for the two kinds of delusion.
The exposition: it is like a magician who, by the power of spells, transforms wood or stone into the cause of delusion; false discrimination, the dependent nature, is just the same, giving rise to various discriminations as the cause of distortion. It is like the illusory image, appearing in various forms as gold and the rest; the arisen discriminated nature is just the same, the two delusions of grasper and grasped constantly appearing.
As that has no substance,
one enters the ultimate truth;
as that can nonetheless be found,
one penetrates the reality of the conventional truth.
The exposition: as the magician and the illusory thing have no real substance, so the two marks of the dependent and the discriminated are likewise without real substance, and by this reasoning one penetrates the ultimate truth. As the substance of the magician and the illusory thing can nonetheless be found, false discrimination is just the same, and by this reasoning one penetrates the reality of the conventional truth.
Because that thing has no substance,
one attains the true object;
just so, through the transformation of the basis,
one attains the meaning of the real.
The exposition: if a person understands that the illusory thing has no substance, he attains the true object — the wood, and so on. Just so, if bodhisattvas understand that the two delusions have no substance, then, at the transformation of the basis, they attain the meaning of the true nature.
Because the cause of delusion has no substance,
one who is free of delusion acts with mastery;
because the cause of distortion has no substance,
one who is free of distortion is transformed with mastery.
The exposition: worldly wood or stone, though without substance, still serves as the cause of delusion; once one is free of delusion in conduct, one acts with mastery, no longer dependent on another. Just so, before the basis is transformed, though without substance, it still serves as the cause of distortion; once the basis is transformed, being free of distortion, the noble one likewise attains a masterful basis and masterful conduct.
偈曰：
是事彼處有， 彼有體亦無，
有體無有故， 是故說是幻。
釋曰：是事彼處有彼有體亦無者，此顯幻事有而非有。何以故？有者，是幻像事，彼處顯現故。非有者，彼實體，不可得故。有體無有故是故說是幻者，如是有體與無體無二，由此義故說彼是幻。
偈曰：
無體非無體， 非無體即體，
無體體無二， 是故說是幻。
釋曰：無體非無體非無體即體者，此顯幻事非有而有。何以故？非有者，彼幻事無體，由無實體故。而有者，彼幻事非無體，由像顯現故。無體體無二是故說是幻者，如是無體與體無二，由此義故說彼是幻。
偈曰：
說有二種光， 而無二光體，
是故說色等， 有體即無體。
釋曰：說有二種光而無二光體者，此顯虛妄分別，有而非有。何以故？有者，彼二光顯現故。非有者，彼實體不可得故。是故說色等有體即無體者，由此義故，故說色等有體即是無體。
偈曰：
無體非無體， 非無體即體，
是故說色等， 無體體無二。
釋曰：無體非無體非無體即體者，此顯虛妄分別非有而有。何以故？非有者，彼二光無體，由無實體故。而有者，彼二光非無體，由光顯現故。是故說色等無體體無二者，由此義故，故說色等無體與體而無有二。問：體與無體何不一向定說，而令彼二無差別耶？
This thing is present there,
yet that presence's substance is likewise absent;
because it has presence, yet lacks substance,
for this reason it is called an illusion.
The exposition: this shows that the illusory thing is present and yet not present. Present, because the illusory image and thing appear right there. Not present, because its real substance cannot be found. Because presence and the absence of substance are thus non-dual, for this reason it is called an illusion.
Without substance, yet not without substance;
not without substance, and yet that presence is itself substance;
substance and the absence of substance are non-dual —
for this reason it is called an illusion.
The exposition: this shows that the illusory thing is not present and yet is present. Not present, because it is without substance, having no real substance. Yet present, because it is not without substance either, its image appearing. Since substance and its absence are thus non-dual, for this reason it is called an illusion.
It is said that there are two kinds of light,
yet these two lights have no substance;
for this reason it is said that form and the rest
have substance that is itself the absence of substance.
The exposition: this shows that false discrimination is present and yet not present. Present, because these two lights of the grasper and the grasped appear. Not present, because their real substance cannot be found. For this reason, it is said that the substance of form and the rest is itself the absence of substance.
Without substance, yet not without substance;
not without substance, and yet itself substance —
for this reason it is said that form and the rest
are non-dual as the absence of substance and substance.
The exposition: this shows that false discrimination is not present and yet is present. Not present, because these two lights are without substance, having no real substance. Yet present, because they are not without substance either, the light appearing. For this reason it is said that, with regard to form and the rest, the absence of substance and substance are without difference. Question: why is substance and its absence not stated as one fixed position, but left without distinction between the two?
偈曰：
有邊為遮立， 無邊為遮謗，
退大趣小滅， 遮彼亦如是。
釋曰：如其次第，一為遮有邊，二為遮無邊，三為遮趣小乘寂滅，是故不得一向定說。問：云何遮有邊？答：有邊為遮立。此明由於無體，知無體故，不應安立有。問：云何遮無邊？答：無邊為遮謗。此明由於有體，知世諦故，不應非謗無。問：云何遮趣小乘寂滅？答：退大趣小滅遮彼亦如是。此明由彼二無別故，不應厭體入小涅槃。
偈曰：
色識為迷因， 識識為迷體，
色識因無故， 識識體亦無。
釋曰：色識為迷因識識為迷體者，彼所迷境名色識，彼能迷體名非色識。色識無體故識識體亦無者，色識無故，非色識亦無。何以故？由因無故，彼果亦無。
偈曰：
幻像及取幻， 迷故說有二；
如是無彼二， 而有二可得。
釋曰：幻像及取幻迷故說有二者，迷人於幻像及取幻，由迷故說有能取所取二事。如是無彼二而有二可得者，彼二雖無而二可得，由迷顯現故。問：此譬欲何所顯？
偈曰：
骨像及取骨， 觀故亦說二；
無二而說二， 可得亦如是。
釋曰：骨像及取骨觀故亦說二者，觀行人於骨像及取骨，由觀故說有能觀所觀二事。無二而說二可得亦如是者，彼二雖無而二亦可得，由觀顯現故。問：如是觀已，何法為所治？何法為能治？
Not asserting the extreme of existence wards off wrongly positing it;
not asserting the extreme of non-existence wards off slandering it;
and it likewise wards off
falling back from the great to seek the lesser's cessation.
The exposition: in this order, the first wards off the extreme of existence, the second the extreme of non-existence, and the third heading toward the cessation of the Lesser Vehicle — which is why it cannot be stated as one fixed position. Question: how does it ward off the extreme of existence? Answer: since one knows the absence of substance, one should not assert existence. Question: how does it ward off the extreme of non-existence? Answer: since one knows substance as the conventional truth, one should not slanderously deny it as non-existent. Question: how does it ward off heading toward the Lesser Vehicle's cessation? Answer: since these two are without difference, one should not grow weary of substance and enter the lesser nirvāṇa.
Consciousness of form is the cause of delusion;
consciousness of consciousness is the substance of delusion;
because the cause, consciousness of form, is without substance,
the substance, consciousness of consciousness, is also without substance.
The exposition: the object of delusion is called consciousness of form; the substance that is deluded is called non-form-consciousness. Because consciousness of form is absent, non-form-consciousness is also absent — because the cause is absent, the effect is also absent.
The illusory image, and the one who takes it as an illusion —
owing to delusion, these are said to be two;
just so, though these two are absent,
two can nonetheless be found.
The exposition: the deluded person, with regard to the illusory image and the taking of it, owing to delusion, speaks of two things — the grasped and the grasper. Though these two are absent, two can nonetheless be found, owing to delusion's appearing. Question: what does this simile intend to display?
The image of bones, and the one who takes them as objects of contemplation —
owing to contemplation, these too are said to be two;
though non-dual, they are said to be two,
and can be found in just the same way.
The exposition: the meditator, with regard to the image of bones and the taking of them, owing to contemplation, speaks of two things — the contemplated and the contemplator. Though these two are absent, two can be found, owing to contemplation's appearing. Question: once one has thus contemplated, what is to be remedied, and what serves as the remedy?
偈曰：
應知所治體， 謂彼法迷相，
如是體無體， 有非有如幻。
釋曰：應知所治體謂彼法迷相者，此中應知，所治體即是法迷相。法迷相者，謂如是如是體故。如是體無體有非有如幻者，如是體說有者，由虛妄分別故。說非有者，由能取所取二體與非體無別故。如是有亦如幻、無亦如幻，說此相如幻。
偈曰：
應知能治體， 念處等諸法，
如是體無相， 如幻亦如是。
釋曰：應知能治體念處等諸法者，此中應知，能治體即是諸法。諸法者，謂佛所說念處等法，如是如是體故。如是體無相如幻亦如是者，彼體亦如幻。何以故？如諸凡夫所取，如是如是有體故；如諸佛所說，如是如是無體故。如是體無相，而佛世尊示現入胎，出生，踰城出家，成正覺。如是無相而光顯現，是故如幻。問：若諸法同如幻，以何義故，一為能治、一為所治？
偈曰：
譬如強幻王， 令餘幻王退；
如是清淨法， 能令染法盡。
釋曰：譬如強幻王令餘幻王退者，彼能治淨法亦如幻王，由能對治染法得增上故。彼所治染法亦如幻王，由於境界得增上故。如是清淨法能令染法盡者，如彼強力幻王能令餘幻王退，菩薩亦爾，知法如幻，能以淨法對治染法，是故無慢。問：世尊處處說如幻、如夢、如焰、如像、如影、如響、如水月、如化，如此八譬各何所顯？
Know that the substance to be remedied
is the deluded mark of that dharma;
this substance, whether it has substance or lacks it,
whether present or not present, is like an illusion.
The exposition: the substance to be remedied is precisely the deluded mark of the dharma — such-and-such a substance. This substance is said to be present because of false discrimination; it is said to be not present because the substance and non-substance of the grasper and grasped are without difference. Its being present is like an illusion, and its being absent is like an illusion — this mark is said to be like an illusion.
Know that the substance that serves as the remedy
is the various dharmas such as the foundations of mindfulness;
this substance, without a mark,
is likewise just like an illusion.
The exposition: the substance that serves as the remedy is precisely these dharmas — such things as the foundations of mindfulness taught by the Buddha. This substance too is like an illusion. Why? As grasped by ordinary beings, it has substance in such and such a way; as taught by the buddhas, it has no substance in such and such a way. This substance is without a mark, and yet the Bhagavat displays entering the womb, being born, going forth over the city wall, and accomplishing right enlightenment — without a mark, and yet its light appearing; for this reason, it is like an illusion. Question: if all dharmas are equally like an illusion, why is one the remedy and the other what is to be remedied?
It is like a powerful illusory king
causing another illusory king to retreat;
just so, the pure dharma
is able to bring the defiled dharma to an end.
The exposition: the pure dharma that serves as the remedy is likewise like an illusory king, prevailing over and remedying the defiled dharma; the defiled dharma that is remedied is likewise like an illusory king, prevailing within its own domain. As the powerful illusory king causes another to retreat, so the bodhisattva, knowing that dharmas are like an illusion, remedies the defiled dharma with the pure dharma, and is therefore without conceit. Question: the Bhagavat, here and there, teaches that things are like an illusion, like a dream, like a mirage, like a reflected image, like a shadow, like an echo, like the moon in water, and like a magical creation — what does each of these eight similes display?
The magician simile does exactly the double duty this chapter needs, and it is worth being precise about which half maps to which claim. The magician's spell has no real substance — nothing genuinely turns into anything — and this is the simile for how the dependent and discriminated natures are ultimately empty. But the illusory image is nonetheless findable, conventionally, as an image; a spectator really does see something. This second half is the simile for how false discrimination is nonetheless real at the level of the conventional truth. A simile that only carried the first half would collapse into a denial that anything happens at all; carrying both halves at once is what lets this treatise avoid nihilism while still denying substantial existence to the two lower natures.
The illusory-king-versus-illusory-king simile answers a question that a careful reader would have to ask sooner or later: if the pure dharmas that remedy defilement are, on this treatise's own account, equally illusion-like, in what sense is one an improvement on the other? The answer given is entirely functional rather than ontological — one illusion can still prevail over another within the shared domain both operate in, the way one conjured army can rout a second conjured army without either soldier being any more real than the other. This is also the treatise's own explanation for why the bodhisattva who understands this "is without conceit," 是故無慢: knowing that his remedy is itself illusion-like removes any basis for pride in wielding it.
8. The Eight Similes for the Formations, and the Four Kinds of Wisdom
偈曰：
如幻至如化， 次第譬諸行，
二六二二六， 一一一有三。
釋曰：如幻至如化次第譬諸行者，幻譬內六入，無有我等體，但光顯現故。夢譬外六入，所受用塵體無有故。焰譬心及心數二法，由起迷故。像復譬內六入，由是宿業像故。影復譬外六入，由是內入影，內入增上起故。響譬所說法，法如響故。水月譬依定法，定則如水，法則如月，由彼澄靜法顯現故。化譬菩薩故意受生，不染一切所作事故。二六二二六一一一有三者，初二六，謂內六入、外六入，彼幻、夢二譬所顯。二，謂心及心數，彼炎譬所顯。復二六，謂內六入、外六入，彼像、影二譬所顯。一一一，謂說法、三昧、受生，彼響、月、化三譬所顯。已說真實義，次求能知智。
From "like an illusion" to "like a magical creation,"
in order, these are similes for the formations:
two sixes, two, two sixes again,
and one, one, one — in these, a threefold pattern.
The exposition: illusion is a simile for the six inward sense-fields, which have no substance of a self and the rest, only light appearing. Dream is a simile for the six outward sense-fields, the objects one enjoys having no substance. Mirage is a simile for mind and its mental factors, since they give rise to delusion. Reflected image is again a simile for the six inward sense-fields, since these are the image of past karma. Shadow is again a simile for the six outward sense-fields, since these are the shadow of the inward sense-fields, arising through their dominance. Echo is a simile for the Dharma that is taught, since the Dharma is like an echo. The moon in water is a simile for the dharma resting on concentration — concentration being like the water, the dharma like the moon, appearing through that concentration's clear stillness. Magical creation is a simile for the bodhisattva's intentional taking of birth, since he is untainted by everything he thereby does. The first two sixes are the six inward and six outward sense-fields, displayed by illusion and dream. The two are mind and its mental factors, displayed by the mirage. The further two sixes are again the six inward and outward sense-fields, displayed by the reflected image and the shadow. And the one, one, one are the teaching of the Dharma, absorption, and the taking of birth, displayed by the echo, the moon, and the magical creation, respectively. The meaning of ultimate reality having been explained, next the wisdom that knows it is sought.
偈曰：
不真及似真， 真及似不真，
如是四種智， 能知一切境。
釋曰：不真及似真真及似不真者，不真謂不真分別智，由不隨順出世智分別故。似真謂非真非不真分別智，從初極通達分，由隨順出世智故。真謂出世無分別智，證真如故。似不真謂非分別非不分別智，即出世後得世智故。如是四種智能知一切境者，由此四智具足知一切境界。已說求智，次說求染污及清淨。
偈曰：
自界及二光， 癡共諸惑起，
如是諸分別， 二實應遠離。
釋曰：自界及二光癡共諸惑起者，自界謂自阿黎耶識種子，二光謂能取光、所取光，此等分別，由共無明及諸餘惑故得生起。如是諸分別二實應遠離者，二實謂所取實及能取實，如是二實染污應求遠離。
偈曰：
得彼三緣已， 自界處應學，
如是二光滅， 譬如調箭皮。
釋曰：得彼三緣已自界處應學者，三緣謂內外俱，如前說。自界謂諸分別，應如是解。處謂名處，此名處應安心。應學謂修止觀二道。如是二光滅譬如調箭皮者，謂分別二種光息，譬如柔皮熟䩕令軟，亦如調箭端曲令直。轉依亦爾，若止若觀一一須修，得心慧二脫則二光不起，如是清淨應求至得。
Not real, and resembling the real;
real, and resembling the unreal —
these four kinds of wisdom
are able to know every domain.
The exposition: not real is the discriminating wisdom that is not real, discriminating without according with transcendent wisdom. Resembling the real is the discriminating wisdom that is neither real nor unreal, present from the stage of first thorough penetration, since it accords with transcendent wisdom. Real is the transcendent, non-discriminating wisdom, since it realizes suchness. Resembling the unreal is the wisdom that is neither discrimination nor non-discrimination — the worldly wisdom subsequently attained after the transcendent. By these four kinds of wisdom, one fully knows every domain. Seeking wisdom having been explained, next seeking defilement and purification is explained.
One's own realm, and the two lights,
arise together with delusion and the other afflictions;
such discriminations,
and their twofold reality, should be forsaken.
The exposition: one's own realm refers to the seeds of one's own ālayavijñāna; the two lights refer to the light of the grasper and the light of the grasped — these discriminations arise together with ignorance and the other afflictions. Their twofold reality — the reality of the grasped and the reality of the grasper — this twofold, defiling reality should be sought to be forsaken.
Having attained these three conditions,
one should train at the place that is one's own realm,
so that these two lights are extinguished,
as when an arrow is straightened, or hide is tanned.
The exposition: the three conditions are inward, outward, and both, as stated before. One's own realm refers to the various discriminations, understood in this way. Place refers to the domain of name, where the mind should be settled. Should train means cultivating the two paths of calm abiding and insight. The extinguishing of the two lights of discrimination is like softening tanned hide until it is supple, and like straightening a crooked arrow's tip. The transformation of the basis is just the same: whether calm abiding or insight, each must be cultivated, and once one attains the twofold liberation of mind and wisdom, the two lights no longer arise — such purity should be sought and attained.
The eight similes divide by a logic the treatise states outright but is easy to miss on a first pass: they are not eight interchangeable illustrations of "things are unreal" but a precisely mapped anatomy, each simile assigned to a specific component of experience — the inward sense-fields get two similes (illusion and reflected image), the outward sense-fields get two (dream and shadow), mind and its factors get one (mirage), and the Dharma taught, meditative absorption, and intentional rebirth each get their own single, non-repeated simile (echo, moon, magical creation). The doubling for inward and outward sense-fields versus the singleton status of the last three suggests these final three are being treated as achievements rather than as bare components of an unenlightened being's makeup — teaching, absorption, and a bodhisattva's chosen rebirth are each singular enough to need only one image apiece.
化, magical creation, closing the list as the simile for a bodhisattva's intentional taking of birth, quietly answers a question this fascicle's earlier illusion-similes section raised without naming it: given that ordinary rebirth, driven by karma and affliction, is already illusion-like on this treatise's account, what distinguishes a bodhisattva's deliberate return to saṃsāra from just more of the same delusion? The answer is 不染一切所作事故, that he is untainted by everything he thereby does — the same illusory-appearing act, but performed without the grasping that makes an ordinary rebirth a compulsion rather than a choice.
Fascicle 4 Complete
Two chapters, the treatise's most classificatory stretch so far. Illuminating faith gives it thirteen marks, thirteen seeds, a catalogue of what obstructs each, and merits praised through four similes running from a hungry dog to a sovereign king. The first part of the chapter on seeking then works through the three baskets and their nine causes, the threefold object of cognition and the three wisdoms it yields, eighteen kinds of attention that absorb the entire classical scheme of the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, and finally reality itself — approached not through argument alone but through the exact, load-bearing simile of a magician's illusion, present and not present at once, extended across eight further images for how ordinary experience is put together. Fascicle 5 continues 述求品之二, the second part of the chapter on seeking — this treatise's source marks it with no heading of its own beyond that continuation, just "述求品之二."
Continue to Fascicle 5 — Seeking, Continued →