Guest and Host: The Fifty States Begin

Sūtra: "Just as the Tathāgata was about to rise and leave his seat, he instead drew back to his jeweled armrest on the lion's throne, his body like a mountain of purple-gold once more settling into place, and addressed the whole assembly and Ānanda together: 'You who are still in training — pratyekabuddhas and śrāvakas alike — have today turned your minds toward great bodhi, unsurpassed wondrous enlightenment, and I have already taught you the true method of practice.'"

Commentary: This passage is spoken entirely unprompted, since Ānanda knows only enough to ask for samādhi itself — the subtle demonic states that arise within samādhi are not something his own wisdom could ever think to ask about. The Buddha, knowing that the demon armies will inevitably come to obstruct anyone wishing to cultivate this great Śūraṅgama samādhi, and that, without distinguishing these five-aggregate demonic states clearly enough to be recognized, genuine practice cannot be protected and falling away becomes unavoidable, therefore, just as he was about to rise and leave his own seat, draws back instead to his jeweled armrest on the lion's throne. The throne is named for the lion to express its very fearlessness; the armrest is called jeweled to show how precious this teaching is. "His body like a mountain of purple-gold" refers to the Tathāgata's own sixteen-foot golden form, its perfect light shining everywhere, resembling exactly a mountain of gold. "Once more settling into place" is precisely this final, inexhaustible true compassion, speaking on its own without waiting to be asked at all. And so he addresses the whole assembly and Ānanda together — this being the sūtra compiler's own narration.

"You who are still in training — pratyekabuddhas and śrāvakas alike" bends the address specifically to those still in training, and so singles them out by name here. "Have today turned your minds toward great bodhi, unsurpassed wondrous enlightenment" narrates what has already occurred: though they had, earlier, brought forth the mind that turns from the lesser vehicle toward the great, relinquishing the lesser vehicle's own teaching to advance toward great bodhi, unsurpassed enlightenment — this may truly be called "emerging from a dark valley to move up into a tall tree." "I have already taught you the true method of practice" means: I have, up to now, already expounded for you this true method of practice — that is, precisely the effort of turning the hearing inward, since the very nature of hearing is complete with the three true qualities of being perfect, all-penetrating, and ever-abiding. Relying on this to cultivate, one is certain never to go astray — yet, within this teaching, the matter of demonic states has not yet been spoken of, and so it cannot but be distinguished here in full detail, so that it may be recognized.

Sūtra: "But you do not yet recognize the subtle demonic states that can arise in cultivating śamatha and vipaśyanā. When a demonic state appears, if you cannot recognize it, your effort to cleanse the mind goes astray, and you fall into wrong views."

Commentary: If even the very question has not yet occurred to you, how much less could you already recognize such states? It is only that I fear you may not yet be able to recognize them. "Cultivating this great Śūraṅgama samādhi" here raises together, as a compound term, both the inherent samādhi of one's own nature and the cultivated samādhi of practice: śamatha is precisely this inherent samādhi of one's own nature; vipaśyanā is precisely this subtle, secret contemplation cultivated through practice. And within this samādhi — both inherent and cultivated together — there exist all manner of subtle demonic states; if these are not known in advance, how could they ever be avoided? Should such a demonic state suddenly appear before you, and you fail to recognize it, you cannot help but mistake the deviant for the correct, and take falseness to be truth. "Your effort to cleanse the mind goes astray, and you fall into wrong views" means: cultivating samādhi is, from the very outset, meant to use the water of samādhi to wash away the mind's own defilement; yet, should a demonic state go unrecognized, then, however much one wishes to cleanse the mind, one cannot attain this correctly at all — and, failing to attain it correctly, one inevitably falls into wrong views, exactly as with the five-aggregate demonic states described below, every one of which comes down to mistaking the deviant for the correct — every one of them, in the end, a wrong view.

Sūtra: "Whether it is a demon arising from your own aggregates, a heavenly demon, an attachment to spirits, or an encounter with mountain goblins — if your mind is not clear about it, you will mistake a thief for your own son."

Commentary: The passage above raised the matter generally; this passage now sets out every demonic state in full detail. "A demon arising from your own aggregates" has both a general and a specific sense: generally, all fifty states are named aggregate-demons, since every one of them arises dependent on the five aggregates; specifically, the ten states of the aggregate of form are only the initial mind's own self-manifested experience, with, properly, no external demon involved at all — hence the text says only "a demon arising from your own aggregates" for these. The ten states of the aggregate of sensation have already summoned an external demon into the mind, though the demon has not yet manifested any actual body. The ten states of the aggregate of perception are where heavenly demons, spirits, and mountain goblins actually appear. These latter two aggregates both come about through a slight lapse of right mindfulness that draws in an external demon — hence the text says "a heavenly demon, an attachment to spirits, or an encounter with mountain goblins." Should any of these demonic states arise, and the mind fail to see clearly and discern them — whether taking oneself for a sage, claiming attainment before it is actually reached, or mistaking a demon for a sage and offering up one's very body and life in service to it — all of this is exactly mistaking a thief for one's own son, and so one's own Dharma-wealth is lost, one's own wisdom-life injured. How could this not be a grave danger!

Sūtra: "Worse still, you may take some small attainment as final and complete — as with the monk of little learning in the fourth dhyāna, who falsely claimed to have realized sagehood; when his heavenly reward was exhausted and signs of decline appeared, he slandered arhats by claiming they, too, were subject to further rebirth, and fell into the Avīci hell for it."

Commentary: This further makes plain the aggregates of formation and consciousness: the aggregate of formation gives rise to ten kinds of mind-demon, and the aggregate of consciousness gives rise to ten kinds of view-demon — in neither case is there any external state at all, only, within one's own mind, false wrong views arising of themselves, taking some small attainment as final and complete, and further declaring oneself to have fully attained bodhi — inevitably falling back into the cycle of rebirth. "As with the monk of little learning in the fourth dhyāna" and so on offers a single example to illuminate this: this monk of little learning cultivated only the samādhi of no-thought, without applying himself to broad learning; having attained, as retribution, the fourth dhyāna, he falsely declared that he had already realized the lesser sagely fruit of arhatship. When his heavenly reward was exhausted, thought arose once more, and signs of decline appeared; not realizing that he had, from the very outset, never actually attained this fruit at all, he instead gave voice to slander, declaring that he had indeed already attained the fruit of arhatship, yet was now subject to further rebirth — meaning that he took the Buddha to have falsely taught that an arhat is not subject to further rebirth. Through this slander of the Buddha, he fell into the Avīci hell. Such is the harm this brings about — how could one not fear it! As the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: there was once a monk who, relying only on his own mind to cultivate, without broad learning or wisdom, and unable to distinguish the various dhyānas or the stages of the three realms, cultivated and attained the first dhyāna, yet took this, uniformly, for the first fruit; and so on up through the fourth dhyāna, which he took for the fourth fruit. As his life was about to end, he beheld the mark of the intermediate state, and thereupon gave rise to a wrong view, slandering the very existence of nirvāṇa and claiming that even an arhat is subject to further birth; and, through this very cause and condition, he fell straight into the hell of Nairaya. The sūtra and this treatise, then, describe one and the same matter, differing only in how fully or briefly it is told. This closes the second section, setting out these subtle demonic states in detail.

Sūtra: "You must listen closely — I will now explain this for you in careful, precise detail."

Commentary: As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: the Buddha not only promises to distinguish these states, but further promises to do so with the very greatest care and precision — on the one hand, because the marks of a demon are so faint and subtle, so difficult to see; on the other, because the harm a demon brings is so severe and bitter, so difficult to bear — and so this true compassion exerts itself to this very degree. This closes the first section, that this demonic territory must be recognized.

Sūtra: "Ānanda rose to his feet, and, together with everyone in the assembly still in training, bowed with joy, and, bending low, awaited this compassionate teaching."

Commentary: These demonic states arising within samādhi — apart from the Tathāgata's own wisdom, who else could ever distinguish them? Now, receiving this true compassion, promised to be explained with the very greatest care, Ānanda rises to his feet in reverent awe, and, together with everyone in the assembly still in training, all alike give rise to a joyful heart, bow with the utmost sincerity in gratitude for this promised teaching, and, bending low, listen closely for this compassionate instruction — this, too, is enough to show their utmost sincerity in revering the Buddha and honoring the Dharma.

Sūtra: "The Buddha said to Ānanda and the whole assembly: 'You should know that the twelve categories of birth in this world of outflows all share, as their original substance, the same wondrous, bright, perfectly awake mind as the buddhas of the ten directions, with no difference between them at all.'"

Commentary: Seeing Ānanda and the whole assembly's own utmost sincerity in revering the Buddha and honoring the Dharma, the Buddha thereupon tells them: you should now give rise to this illuminating wisdom and observe closely, coming to know that this world of outflows is dependent retribution, and these twelve categories of birth are direct retribution; distantly, both arise from delusion made manifest, and, immediately, both are summoned by karma — hence called "of outflows," to distinguish them from what is outflow-free and unconditioned. For we ourselves are each already endowed with this nature of the tathāgatagarbha, originally self-aware, wondrous precisely because bright, bright precisely because wondrous, unchanging while according with conditions, according with conditions while unchanging, this nature of awareness perfectly complete, pervading the mind of every buddha alike, the very substance of mind shared in common by sentient beings and buddhas together — and so it shares, with every buddha of the ten directions, one and the same substance, with no difference between them at all.

Sūtra: "It is only because your false thinking has obscured this principle that ignorance and craving arose, and, once arisen, spread delusion everywhere, giving rise to the very nature of emptiness; and as this transforming delusion continued without rest, whole worlds came into being — and so these lands, as numerous as motes of dust throughout the ten directions, wherever they are not outflow-free, are, every one of them, established by nothing but stubborn delusion and false thought."

Commentary: "It is only because your beginningless false thinking has obscured this originally possessed true principle" — this is precisely beginningless ignorance itself. And ignorance and false thought each have their own root and branch: the very nature of root ignorance belongs to delusion; the very nature of root false thought belongs to movement; the two arise together, at once, and so both alike are called beginningless. What follows explains this in detail. As the Zhizhang Commentary puts it: delusion is precisely ignorance, since failing to know truly that suchness is a single principle is exactly what is meant by delusion. This unawakened mind stirring into movement, and thereby giving rise to a thought, is exactly what is meant by craving — as in the earlier passage, "the nature of awareness is necessarily bright, a false brightness imposed on this awareness," this refers precisely to the thought wishing to brighten this awakened substance, which is exactly this craving. Because of this craving, truth and falseness merge together, and the ālaya, this root consciousness, arises through transformation — this is named "arising." This is exactly what is meant by "because it is grounded in this lack of awareness, the mind stirs — this is called karma." As it was said earlier: "awareness is not itself the object of illumination; because of this illumination, an object is established" — this is precisely establishing an object as this same "arising."

"Once arisen, spread" means that, depending on this karmic consciousness already arisen, the seeing-portion capable of perceiving is given rise to — precisely what is meant by "depending on movement, there comes to be perceiving." As it was said earlier: "once an object is falsely established, this gives rise to your own false capacity" — this is precisely this false capacity as this same "spreading." "Delusion everywhere" means that, because of this capacity to perceive, this prior original mind of awakening, this true mind, becomes entirely obscured and dim; true awareness is no longer seen, and only a stubborn void is seen instead — this is exactly "giving rise to the very nature of emptiness," just as the earlier verse states, "delusion falsely gives rise to empty space."

"As this transforming delusion continued without rest": facing this seeing against this emptiness, awareness turns to confusion and distress, and once more gives rise to this mind of transforming delusion, and so, within this emptiness, comes to see the appearance of form — this is exactly "whole worlds came into being," just as it was said earlier, "depending on emptiness, a world is established." This emptiness and this world are spoken of here specifically in terms of the subtle mark within — that is, lands; sentient beings are not mentioned here, since what stirs the demons concerns only the shattering and cracking of these lands themselves, and has nothing to do with sentient beings as such. Nor is the coarse mark mentioned here, since the coarse mark, summoned by individual karma, belongs to the realm of individual karma, brought about by false thought confused about phenomena; while this subtle mark, made manifest through delusion, belongs to the realm shared in common, brought about by the ignorance confused about principle.

"These lands, as numerous as motes of dust throughout the ten directions, wherever they are not outflow-free": "the ten directions" refers to this realm shared in common; "motes of dust" is a metaphor for their vast number; "wherever they are not outflow-free" distinguishes them, making plain that they are, instead, subject to outflow — as the earlier passage on shared-karma false seeing states: "this Sahā world, together with every land subject to outflow throughout the ten directions, are, alike, this same outflow-free, wondrous mind of awareness and brightness, afflicted by this false, sickness-born condition." Hence the text says: "every one of them established by nothing but stubborn delusion and false thought." Delusion here means being deluded about the truth; stubbornness here means giving rise to falseness — that is, through this delusion spreading everywhere, this stubborn void thereby comes to be, exactly as was said above, "once arisen, spread delusion everywhere, giving rise to the very nature of emptiness"; and through this transforming delusion, this world thereby comes to be, exactly as it was said, "as this transforming delusion continued without rest, whole worlds came into being." And so it is entirely clear that this world is nothing but what false thought itself has established.

Sūtra: "You should know that this empty space itself arises within your own mind — like a single wisp of cloud dotting the vastness of a clear sky. How much less, then, could all these many worlds, suspended within that very emptiness, amount to anything at all?"

Commentary: Nothing in this world is greater than empty space itself; and yet even this empty space is still not great enough to be called truly great at all. You should know that this boundless, unmoving empty space arises within your own originally awakened, true mind, exactly like a single wisp of cloud dotting the vastness of a clear sky. "The vastness of a clear sky" refers to the very heavens themselves — according to the Confucian classics, the light, pure vapor that floats upward is called heaven, hence spoken of here as this vast, clear expanse. "A single wisp of cloud" refers to one drifting cloud, utterly insubstantial, utterly slight, dotted within this vast, clear expanse — how could it possibly endure for long? Here, this vast, clear expanse serves as a metaphor for the true mind, and this single wisp of cloud as a metaphor for empty space itself, showing how minute and how easily dissolved it truly is. How much less, then, could all these many worlds — suspended, moreover, within that very emptiness — amount to anything at all? Is not their illusory, empty nature all the more plainly seen?

Sūtra: "The moment even a single one of you brings forth true realization and returns to the source, all the empty space of the ten directions dissolves at once — how, then, could the lands suspended within that space fail to shatter as well?"

Commentary: Suppose that, among you, even a single person were able to illuminate inwardly with the light of their own mind, bringing to light this originally possessed true mind, returning to the very source whence it came — returning to the source means there is no more delusion; and, with no more delusion, all this obscurity throughout the ten directions, this stubborn void it had formed, dissolves away entirely, and perishes! For empty space originally comes to be through delusion and falseness — as was said earlier, "once arisen, spread delusion everywhere, giving rise to the very nature of emptiness" — and, with no more delusion, there is no more this false emptiness either; this is precisely truth revealed and falseness broken, transforming, the very moment this thought occurs, into unsurpassed awareness itself. How, then, could the lands within this stubborn void — formed by binding this very darkness into form — possibly remain intact, without taking on the very form of shattering and cracking?

Question: if the moment a single person brings forth true realization and returns to the source causes all the empty space of the ten directions to dissolve at once, then, since the buddhas of the ten directions have already accomplished the path long ago, why is empty space still seen at all? Answer: this empty space is seen only by sentient beings who have not yet returned to the source — it has nothing whatsoever to do with the buddhas' own state. It is like a cataract in the eye: at night, seeing a lamp's light, one sees, besides, a separate ring of five colors around it; once a buddha's own such affliction has been entirely removed, emptiness in its entirety, and truth in its entirety, are one and the same, and only the single true dharma-realm itself is seen. This closes the first section, inferring the interrelation between truth's arising and falseness's ceasing.

Sūtra: "As you cultivate meditation, adorning this samādhi, your very essence of mind comes into full accord with the bodhisattvas of the ten directions and every outflow-free great arhat, utterly clear and still, exactly where you stand."

Commentary: As you cultivate this samādhi, seeking to adorn it fully, this is precisely the effort of turning the hearing inward, moment after moment without interruption, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, forgetting the dust of the senses to illuminate this principle instead, abiding within this principle neither dull nor scattered — able, thereby, to come into complete accord with the very essence of mind of every bodhisattva of the ten directions, and every outflow-free great arhat. As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: noble and ordinary beings share, from the very outset, one and the same dharma-realm; it is only that ordinary beings, deluded and driven about, separately form their own deviant gathering, so that, though not truly separated, they seem separated all the same. Now, once awakened and returned to the very source, one is no longer apart, exactly where one stands, from this same realm; not a single thought arises, and one dissolves into one and the same boundary as the mind of every sage, utterly clear, empty, and bright, with no difference, no separateness, at all.

Sūtra: "Every demon-king, together with every spirit and ghost, and every ordinary heavenly being, seeing their own palaces crack apart for no evident reason, the great earth itself shaking and splitting, every creature of water and air thrown into turmoil, is struck with terror; only ordinary human beings, dull and unaware, fail to notice this upheaval at all."

Commentary: Every demon-king at the very summit of the desire realm, together with every demon-subject and demon-woman, every spirit and ghost of great power, and every yakṣa and rākṣasa alike. "Every ordinary heavenly being" refers to the six desire-heavens and the four dhyānas, together with the non-Buddhist heavens such as the No-Thought heaven — all these, seeing their own palaces suddenly, for no evident reason, crack and split apart, and, together with them, the great earth itself shaken and split open as well. "Every creature of water and air" refers to beings dwelling in these three domains, who, seeing the great earth shaking and splitting, are, every one of them, struck with terror and unease. "Ordinary human beings, dull and unaware" refers specifically to the human realm alone — dull, confused, and slow-witted, lacking, that is, the five spiritual powers. "Fail to notice" refers to the practitioner themselves, entering samādhi, on the very verge of realization, and so, for no evident reason, being shaken by outer conditions, even to the point of confused rumors — that the very balance of yin and yang has been thrown off, and the like — hence, "fail to notice this upheaval at all."

Sūtra: "All of them possess the five kinds of spiritual power — all but the power of having exhausted every outflow — and, clinging still to the dust and toil of this world, how could they ever allow you to shatter and crack open their own domain? And so spirits and ghosts, every heavenly demon, mountain goblins, and nature-spirits alike all come, at the very time of your samādhi, to trouble you together."

Commentary: This describes these demons coming to trouble the practitioner. "All of them" refers to heavenly demons, spirits, ghosts, and the like; "all possess the five kinds of spiritual power" refers to powers received as retribution, not powers cultivated through practice — among the six spiritual powers, only the power of having exhausted every outflow is excluded, since this alone arises from outflow-free samādhi, through the cutting off of delusion. Already possessing these five powers, they inevitably know that their palaces' cracking apart is brought about by the very power of your samādhi; clinging still to the dust and toil of this world, they naturally have no wish to seek liberation from it — so how could they ever allow you to accomplish the path spontaneously, and shatter and crack open their own domain in the process?

Just as, when Śākyamuni Tathāgata sat at ease in the place of enlightenment, he made this vow: "Should I fail to accomplish buddhahood, I will not rise from this seat" — and, at that very moment, the earth shook in all six ways. At that time, the demon-king, seeing his own palace shaking, looked out across the distance with his heavenly eye, and knew that this was Prince Siddhārtha himself, beneath the bodhi tree, vowing to accomplish buddhahood. He at once gave the order: who is able to receive this command, and disrupt this samādhi? At that time, three demon-daughters received this command and went forth — this being exactly a clear proof that samādhi itself is what summons the demons. Fortunately, the Buddha's own power of samādhi was already so deep, and his power of vow so firm, that he was not moved by them at all. Afterward, the demon-king himself personally led his own demon-troops and demon-generals forth to disrupt him, yet, once again, could do nothing at all.

And so spirits and ghosts, every heavenly demon, mountain goblins, and nature-spirits alike, all depend, for their very existence, on nothing but a realm of foolish delusion and deviant darkness. When a practitioner cultivates samādhi, the very moment this mind's own light is given rise to, it comes into complete accord with every bodhisattva and every sage, able to shatter this foolish delusion and deviant darkness entirely. And so, at the very time you cultivate this samādhi in stillness, they all come together to trouble you — "together" here meaning "all of them at once." All of them wish to disrupt this samādhi, so that they themselves might, at last, find peace. This closes the first section, that the demons are startled into action by samādhi itself.

Sūtra: "Yet however great these demons' fury may be, they remain within the dust and toil of the world, while you abide within wondrous awakening itself — like wind blowing against light, or a blade cutting through water, the two never truly touch at all. You are like boiling water; they are like solid ice — as the warmth draws nearer, the ice cannot help but melt away before long. However much they rely on their own spiritual powers, they remain only guests."

Commentary: This shows the gain of awakening against the loss of confusion. However great these demons' fury may be, seeing their palaces crack apart for no evident reason — the text says "however great," yet, in the end, it does no harm to you at all. "They remain within the dust and toil of the world" means that they still remain within the very laws of arising and ceasing, and it is from within these that their deviant conduct arises. "You abide within wondrous awakening itself" means that what you cultivate — this wondrous, awakened, true, and constant mind — already inherently possesses correct samādhi; the deviant can never overcome the correct, and so their wish to destroy this true constancy with mere arising and ceasing, to trouble this settled mind with mere anger, is exactly like using wind to blow against the light of sun and moon, or a blade to cut through a long-flowing river. "The two never truly touch at all" means that the light of sun and moon remains exactly as it was, and the long-flowing river bears no mark at all — the two never truly touch or harm each other in the least.

And further: you, cultivating this samādhi, have your own contemplative wisdom growing ever brighter, exactly like boiling water; while they, causing this disturbance, cling firmly to their own deviant views, exactly like solid ice — and so, far from suffering any harm, you are, in fact, able to break the demons entirely. As the warmth of this boiling water draws gradually nearer to this solid ice, this ice's own frozen mass cannot help but melt away and perish before long! Although they rely solely on their own five spiritual powers, however great their fury may become, they remain, in the end, nothing more than guests, never able to remain for long, and never able to actually cause you any real harm at all.

Sūtra: "Whether they succeed in disrupting you depends entirely on the master within your own mind, among your own five aggregates. If the master is deluded, the guest finds its opening."

Commentary: Should your own precepts be destroyed and your own settled mind thrown into disorder, whose fault, in truth, is this? In truth, it lies entirely with the master within your own mind, among your own five aggregates. The five aggregates are precisely these five layers of aggregate-territory spoken of below; the master is precisely this contemplative wisdom spoken of below as well. Should the territory of an aggregate appear before you, and your own contemplative wisdom hold its own strength, then, whether the demon confronting you is forceful or gentle, no fear arises at all — their own tricks are, in the end, finite, while your own refusal to be moved by them is inexhaustible. But should your own contemplative wisdom grow the least bit deficient, and right mindfulness be lost, then the demon-king finds his opening and enters — hence the metaphor, "if the master is deluded, the guest finds its opening." As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: a demon troubling a practitioner is like a guest-thief robbing the master of a house — if the master remains deep within, undisturbed, the thief can never predict his movements, and grows only more fearful the nearer he approaches. As the common saying goes, "a strong thief fears a weak master" precisely for this reason. Should the master, though, fail to hold his own ground, and flee in a panic instead, he is thereby seized by the thief, who thus finds his opening — and, matching this metaphor against the Dharma it illustrates, it becomes entirely clear that everything, in the end, depends on this master alone.

Sūtra: "Remain, in the midst of your meditation, awake and free of confusion, and no demonic affair can do anything to you at all. Once the aggregate itself dissolves and gives way to brightness, then this whole host of deviant spirits, sustained entirely by this dark, obscure energy, cannot withstand this brightness — for brightness overcomes darkness of itself, and, drawing near, they perish of their own accord. How, then, could they dare to remain and disturb your meditation any further?"

Commentary: A practitioner, remaining exactly within this correct samādhi of meditation, illuminates and observes with wisdom, not a single thought arising. "Awake and free of confusion" means being aware that this is a demon, recognizing that this is not a wholesome state, and refusing to be misled by it — and so, however overbearing this demonic power may be, it can find no way at all to exercise its own tricks, hence, "can do anything to you at all" — meaning it can do nothing at all.

"Once the aggregate itself dissolves and gives way to brightness" onward explains the reason it can do nothing at all: this aggregate-territory dissolves away, and one enters instead into this great treasury of light — exactly as it was said earlier, "permeated by this hearing, this essential brightness pervades the entire dharma-realm." "This whole host of deviant spirits, sustained entirely by this dark, obscure energy" means that this whole host of demons and deviant spirits are, every one of them, sustained by this dark, obscure energy in taking on form at all — just as a rākṣasa, facing the sun, cannot be seen, which may serve as proof of this. Through your own wisdom and brightness, you are able to break through their own foolish, dark ignorance entirely — hence, "brightness overcomes darkness of itself, and, drawing near, they perish of their own accord," exactly as it was said earlier, "this darkness and obscurity can never remain whole." "How, then, could they dare to remain and disturb your meditation any further?" means that they dare not even remain at all — how much less, then, could they disturb your meditation?

Sūtra: "But if you are not clear and awakened, and instead are misled by your own aggregates, then you, Ānanda, will certainly become a child of Māra, and be made into one of his own people."

Commentary: Should this master of your own five aggregates fail to see clearly that this is a demon, and fail to recognize that it is not a wholesome state, this inevitably leads to mistaking it for genuine sagely attainment, and being misled by this aggregate entirely! And so you, Ānanda, having thereby lost this correct reception, will certainly become a child of Māra — whatever you undertake to cultivate becomes, thereupon, nothing but Māra's own karma — and you will be made into one of Māra's own people.

Sūtra: "Take Mātaṅgī, for instance — utterly slight and inconsequential, as she was. All she could do was to chant a mantra over you, breaking one single precept of Buddhist conduct among its eighty thousand fine details — and even that, only because your mind was already pure, had not yet actually drowned you in it at all."

Commentary: Consider, for instance, the woman Mātaṅgī — utterly slight in stature, and moreover base and inferior in her own initial intention, relying only on the ancient Brahmā-mantra to chant over you, breaking the precepts and rules the Buddha himself established. Among the eighty thousand fine details of conduct, all she could do was to threaten a single precept — that against bodily contact with a woman — nothing more. Her lascivious touch would only have destroyed the very substance of this one precept — and even this "would have," not "did," since it had not yet actually been destroyed at all. This was not, moreover, because you yourself gave rise to any lustful desire on your own — it was entirely because your own mind was already pure, and, moreover, because you already possessed the power of the precepts inherent to the path attained at the first fruit, that this precept-substance was, quite naturally, never actually destroyed at all, and you had not yet actually drowned in it at all. As Guhshan puts it: comparing a lustful woman to a heavenly demon shows how slight a person she truly was; comparing a single precept to your entire body shows how slight a matter this truly was.

Sūtra: "But this — this would destroy your entire body of precious awakening itself. It is like a chief minister's household, suddenly stripped of rank and its property confiscated all at once — cast adrift, scattered and lost, with nothing left that could ever be pitied or saved."

Commentary: This refers to the aggregate-demons' own power of destruction. Should this aggregate-territory appear before you, it seeks nothing less than to destroy your very dharma-body, and to extinguish your very wisdom-life — hence, "destroy your entire body of precious awakening itself." Since both dharma-body and wisdom-life alike would be destroyed, this is spoken of as your "entire body." "It is like a chief minister's household" onward offers an illustration to arouse alertness: a chief minister stands next in honor to the emperor himself, beneath a single person yet above ten thousand — and should some matter arise, offending the emperor's own authority, and his rank suddenly stripped away, his very name erased from the registry, and his property confiscated, he would lose, thereby, not only every official rank he held, but could scarcely escape punishment under the law as well — how fitting, then, to take this as a warning, and remain vigilant and aware!

Should you, in truth, destroy this entire body of precious awakening, this would mean not merely failing to accomplish the fruit of the path, but inevitably drifting in and out of the three evil destinies — precisely what is meant by being "cast adrift, scattered and lost," falling into these evil realms with nothing left to rely upon at all. At such a time as this, though every buddha holds great compassion, vast enough to save any being, how could they do anything at all, when wrong views have already penetrated so deep? Even they could scarcely save you then! This closes the first section, the reason these demons are stirred into action.

Sūtra: "Ānanda, you should know: as you sit in the place of practice and let every thought dissolve away, once thought is exhausted, every trace of essential brightness apart from thought remains unmoved whether in motion or stillness, and remembering and forgetting become exactly the same."

Commentary: This passage, taken as a whole, makes plain the aggregate of form's own boundary from beginning to end. Everything explained above — that every demon comes to disturb the practitioner precisely because of samādhi itself, and that whether disruption succeeds depends entirely on the master within the practitioner's own mind, among the five aggregates, so that, if the master is deluded, the guest finds its opening — is why Ānanda is now charged to meet this with wisdom and knowledge.

"You sit in the place of practice" refers to a place of cultivation, of which there are two kinds, one of phenomena and one of principle alone: first, a place of practice cultivating phenomena and principle together — that is, exactly what fascicle 7 describes, the solemn construction of the ritual platform, and, after twenty-one days, seeking realization within this fixed span, cultivating this samādhi right there, sitting upright and dwelling in retreat for a full hundred days without ever rising from one's seat — this is named "sitting in the place of practice." Second, a place of practice of principle alone — without constructing any ritual platform, without being bound to any fixed bodily posture, but taking only the state described in detail earlier, within the gateway of hearing, and, at every moment, within all four postures of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, fixing one's attention wholly on turning the hearing inward — this, too, is "sitting in the place of practice."

"Let every thought dissolve away" means fixing one's attention wholly on turning the hearing inward to illuminate this nature, this sense of inquiry never scattering, forgetting whatever dust-like image the mind clings to, so that every thought naturally dissolves away of itself, with no need to apply any further, separate effort — this is exactly what the teaching on the ear-faculty's own perfect penetration describes: "at first, within this hearing, entering the stream and forgetting the object." "Once thought is exhausted, every trace of essential brightness apart from thought" means: once this effort has deepened and matured, false thought naturally dissolves away entirely of itself — precisely what was described earlier as "what had entered thereby grows still." Once thought itself has been exhausted, then every trace of this essential nature apart from thought, already inherently possessed, manifests at once, at every time and in every place, essential without being mixed, bright without being obscured. As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: this describes precisely the moment thought itself is first taken hold of — it does not yet mean that light has been given rise to.

And further: dissolving thought is exactly this stillness upon stillness; essential brightness is exactly this wakefulness upon wakefulness. Since this attention is fixed on hearing itself, not on any object, how could the object's own motion or stillness ever move it at all? Since this nature of hearing has nothing to do with discriminating consciousness, how could this consciousness's own remembering or forgetting ever change it at all? And should consciousness suddenly arise, becoming a memory, this is exactly like a reflection appearing within a mirror, never once obstructing the mirror itself; and should consciousness suddenly cease, becoming forgetting, this is exactly like a reflection vanishing from within a mirror, while the mirror's own substance remains exactly as it was — this is exactly the moment, in the Chan tradition's own phrase, of "becoming one single, seamless whole!" This is precisely what was meant earlier by "these two marks of motion and stillness become, thereupon, utterly unarising." As the Zhizhang Commentary puts it: "remaining unmoved whether in motion or stillness" refers to the ear-faculty's own nature of hearing; "remembering and forgetting become exactly the same" refers to the mind-faculty's own nature of knowing — the text names only two of the six faculties here, and the rest may be understood by the same pattern.

Sūtra: "Abiding in this state as you enter samādhi is like a person with clear eyesight standing in total darkness: the essential nature is wondrously pure, but its light has not yet dawned. This is called the boundary of the aggregate of form."

Commentary: The practitioner, with wakefulness and stillness flowing together as one, should abide their mind exactly within this place of the nature of the faculty itself; through the effort described above, having thus taken hold of it, this samādhi manifests before them — this is named "entering samādhi," precisely this same samādhi of the perfect illumination of the gateway of the ear. "Like a person with clear eyesight" and what follows describes the state of one abiding within this samādhi: since the power of this samādhi is not yet deep, and this realm of principle has only just been entered, one remains still covered by the aggregate of form — hence, like a person with clear eyesight standing within a room of total darkness. Though the very nature of these six essences — this wondrously pure, bright mind — originally pervades the entire dharma-realm, still, since the aggregate of form has not yet opened, and this mind's own light has not yet dawned, wherever one looks, one finds nothing but boundless, dim darkness, utterly without light. This is called the boundary of the aggregate of form: this nature of the faculty remains still confined by the aggregate of form — hence "boundary"; still covered over by the aggregate of form — hence this same character elsewhere translated "abode." A "boundary" is a small enclosure; an "abode" is what hangs down on every side of a dwelling. This is precisely the mark of the aggregate of form not yet broken through. This closes the first section, the boundary not yet broken through, at the very start of practice.

Sūtra: "Once the eyes grow bright and the ten directions open up with no more darkness left at all, this is called the exhaustion of the aggregate of form, and such a person is able to transcend the turbidity of the aeon itself. Examining its cause, this aggregate is rooted in solidified false thought."

Commentary: Should the power of this samādhi grow deep and mature, giving rise to this originally bright radiance, this prior darkness transforms entirely into light — exactly as though the eyes had grown bright and clear, illuminating within all the way through the five organs and every bone, and illuminating without all the way through every mountain, river, and expanse of land. Though not yet able to perfectly reflect the great-thousand world entire, still, everywhere throughout the ten directions before one's eyes, nothing remains that is not thoroughly open and clear, entirely without obstruction, with no trace of hidden, dark obscurity left at all; this same wondrously pure quality, from this point on, has its essential nature and this mind's own light pervading everywhere, perfectly complete — hence this is named the exhaustion of the aggregate of form. It is like a person wearing five layers of clothing, now removing, for the first time, the very topmost layer. The five aggregates arise beginning with consciousness, and dissolve away beginning with form — just as a person puts on clothing, first the innermost layer, so too the aggregate of consciousness through the aggregate of form deepens from subtle to coarse; now, in breaking through them, one proceeds instead from coarse to subtle, first the aggregate of form, all the way through the aggregate of consciousness — exactly like removing this same clothing in reverse.

As the Standard Meaning Commentary asks: every form is still seen — how, then, can this be called "exhausted"? Answer: within this perfectly fused middle way, how could form ever be exhausted into mere emptiness? It is only that this aggregate of form is exhausted, no longer covering and obscuring the truth, nothing more. For this true mind is, from the very outset, able to give rise to form according to conditions, and this form is never other than this mind itself, originally bright and thoroughly clear of itself — like a pearl whose own light shines back to illuminate the pearl's own substance. It is only that, since beginningless time, one has been confused, mistaking oneself for a mere object, so that this becomes, everywhere, an obstruction and a separation; and, further, mistaking this object for one's own self, gathering this seeing into the eye alone, one thereby sinks forever into darkness, entirely losing this brightness that pervades the whole realm — not only failing to know this original brightness, but failing even to be aware of this present darkness at all.

Now, within this śamatha, the four categories and seven great elements have already been shown to be, at root, one and the same tathāgatagarbha, each known individually, this mind pervading the ten directions; and yet, at that stage, those still in training knew this only through inference, only just becoming aware of this present darkness, not yet able to see it through direct realization — how much less, then, could they have already personally realized this original brightness? Only now, at this point, treading this understanding into actual practice, entering this samādhi, and enduring, within this darkness, a spell of patient perseverance — once this effort has ripened, in a single moment, the clouds of the aggregate of form part, and this original brightness is personally realized: every solid, stubborn, dark, and obscure faculty and object alike becomes, then, like clear crystal, radiant through and through, no longer gathering this seeing into the eye alone, this mind's own substance pervading everywhere, with no more near or far at all, everything exactly as though right before one's eyes — this is called the exhaustion of the aggregate of form. How could the mere destruction of form into emptiness ever be compared to even one part in ten thousand of this!

And once the aggregate of form has been exhausted, such a person is thereby able to transcend the turbidity of the aeon itself. As the Zhizhang Commentary puts it: this sūtra's own turbidity of the aeon takes emptiness and seeing, interwoven together, as its very substance — exactly as the earlier passage on this turbidity states: "your own seeing and this emptiness, no longer distinguished, interweave together and falsely form what is named the turbidity of the aeon." One thereby knows that the earlier image of a person with clear eyesight standing within total darkness, without knowing what state this truly was, was precisely this very mark of the turbidity of the aeon. Now, as the power of samādhi grows ever deeper, even emptiness itself is gone, and this seeing has nothing left to interweave with — and so one is able to transcend it. Having transcended it, one observes together the very cause from which the aggregate of form arises in the first place: precisely at that moment when emptiness and seeing were not yet distinguished, this stubborn clinging to seeing itself brought about this binding of darkness into the very appearance of form. Hence the text: "rooted in solidified false thought." As it was said earlier, "as this transforming delusion continued without rest, whole worlds came into being" — this very transforming delusion, continuing without rest, is exactly this same solidified false thought. This closes the first section, showing this aggregate's full course from beginning to end.

1. The Body Passing Through Solid Matter 身能出礙

Sūtra: "Ānanda, right within this state, as you refine and research this wondrous brightness intently, the four elements no longer bind together, and for a brief moment the body is able to pass through solid obstruction. This is named this essential brightness overflowing into the world before you — merely a temporary effect of this very effort, attained only for a while, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken without any mind that claims sagehood, this is a wholesome state; taken as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to every kind of deviant influence."

Commentary: From this point on, the ten distinct demonic states of the aggregate of form are shown one by one; this is the first, the body passing through solid matter. The practitioner cultivating samādhi is, at this point, exactly within that period where the aggregate of form has not yet broken through but is on the verge of doing so, this stillness and this illumination proceeding together. This is exactly what was described earlier: like a person with clear eyesight standing within total darkness — just as, when the mind is scattered, facing whatever appears before the eyes, one is aware only of a single patch of light, entirely unaware that everywhere else remains dark. Now, within this settled mind, it is exactly like a dark night, facing a single room's lamplight, while the boundless darkness outside the room remains entirely unknown. Once this present scene before the eyes is set aside and disregarded entirely, fixing one's attention wholly on turning the hearing inward, one becomes aware only of the boundless dharma-realm, and this present scene is lost entirely — one becomes aware that the ten directions are, everywhere, utterly dark. It is exactly like blowing out the lamp within that room: the room itself vanishes as well, and, reaching from heaven to earth, everything becomes, all at once, one solid darkness — exactly like a person with clear eyesight standing within total darkness. Longtan blowing out the lamp, awakening Deshan, is exactly this same state.

"Refine and research this wondrous brightness" means to research and refine, with great precision, this wondrous, bright nature of hearing, this stillness and this illumination proceeding together. This wondrously bright nature of hearing originally pervades the entire dharma-realm, never once obstructed or separated at all; it is only because sentient beings falsely take the four elements to be their own body that the dust-image of what lies within and what lies without becomes woven together, and thereby forms material obstruction. Now, as this refined research and the power of this samādhi grow ever stronger, what lies within and what lies without become empty and fused together, and every bodily and worldly appearance becomes like a cloud, like a shadow, no longer densely woven and solid as before.

"For a brief moment, the body is able to pass through solid obstruction": "a brief moment" means an instant, a very short span of time — this body becomes like a shadow, this outer world like a cloud, suddenly free of all obstruction; but this is only temporary, not a constant ability. "This is named" what follows determines its own name, so that its meaning may be examined in detail. "This is named this essential brightness overflowing into the world before you": "essential brightness" refers to this mind's own essential, wondrous brightness; "overflowing" means that this mind's own light, empty and fused, is released outward into the very faculties and objects presently before one, and so no longer causes any obstruction. This is nothing more than what appears, within samādhi, through the very effort of refining and researching this wondrously bright nature of hearing, attained only for a while; the moment this effort grows the least bit deficient, this emptiness and fusion is lost at once. This is not a sign of sagehood attained, where realization, once attained, remains forever.

Should a practitioner encounter this state without giving rise to any attachment or dwelling upon it, without giving rise to any envious admiration of it, remaining, throughout, of one even, undisturbed mind, continuing to illuminate this same nature exactly as before, this is enough to prove that this mind's own wondrous quality is not empty at all — it may strengthen one's own faith, and serves, moreover, as an early sign that the aggregate of form is about to break through; it is, in truth, a wholesome, auspicious state, with no fault in it at all. But should one take this as a sign of sagehood attained — should one, encountering this state, lack the wisdom born of learning and lack sufficient inner cultivation, and rashly take this to mean that one has already realized a sagely fruit — one falls, at once, into the very trap of this whole host of deviant spirits, and, misled by them, gradually comes to great harm, reaching, in the end, a point beyond any rescue!

2. Pulling Parasites From Within the Body 內徹拾蟲

Sūtra: "Ānanda, further, refining and researching this wondrous brightness with this same mind, the body's own interior becomes translucent. Such a person may suddenly draw intestinal parasites out from within their own body, the flesh itself left entirely intact, with no injury done to it at all. This is named this essential brightness overflowing into one's own physical form — merely a temporary effect of this very refined practice, attained only for a while, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken without any mind that claims sagehood, this is a wholesome state; taken as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to every kind of deviant influence."

Commentary: This is the second state, the body's interior becoming translucent. The practitioner, still within this same mind of meditative samādhi, refines and researches this wondrous brightness further still. "Refining and researching" refers to this contemplating wisdom, the subject that observes; "wondrous brightness" refers to this nature of hearing, the object observed. Having observed for a long time, this effort deepens, and, rather than overflowing outward any further, one sees, of oneself, one's own body's light growing translucent from within. Such a person may suddenly draw intestinal parasites out from within their own body — the short worms dwelling within the belly, and the long worms dwelling within the belly alike — drawn out with the body's own form left entirely intact, with no injury or harm done to it at all. This is named this mind's own essential, wondrous brightness overflowing into one's own physical form, the five internal organs made empty and fused, and all four limbs made translucent. This is nothing more than what appears, within samādhi, through this very effort of refined practice, pressed to its very limit, attained only for a while — this inner body growing translucent, parasites drawn out from within — and, before long, this state is lost once more; it is not a sagely person's genuine realization, where attainment, once reached, remains forever. Taken without any mind claiming sagely attainment, this is, in truth, a wholesome, auspicious state, fit to serve as an early sign of breaking through this aggregate. But should one, lacking even the slightest true understanding, take this as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls, at once, into the very pit of this whole host of deviant spirits, and suffers the harm of being misled and thrown into confusion by them!

3. Essence and Soul Parting and Rejoining 精魄離合

Sūtra: "Further, researching what lies within and what lies without with this same mind, the soul, the animal spirit, the intention, the will, the essence, and the spirit — apart from what sustains the very body that holds them together — all interpenetrate one another, becoming guest and host by turns. One may suddenly hear, from within empty space, the sound of the Dharma being expounded, or hear it expounded throughout the ten directions all at once, revealing hidden meanings in unison. This is named this essence and this soul parting and rejoining by turns, bringing a wholesome seed to fruition — attained only for a while, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken without any mind that claims sagehood, this is a wholesome state; taken as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to every kind of deviant influence."

Commentary: This is the third state, the essence and the soul parting and rejoining by turns. The practitioner, still within this same mind of meditative samādhi, researches with great precision, and what lies within the body and what lies without in the surrounding world both alike become empty and fused together — compared to the first state, which could only penetrate outward, and the second, which could only grow translucent within, this present fusion of both body and world is enough to show that the power of this samādhi has grown stronger still.

"The soul, the animal spirit, the intention, the will, the essence, and the spirit": medical classics hold that the soul is stored in the liver, the animal spirit in the lungs, the intention in the spleen, the will in the gallbladder — or, some say, the left kidney, a point still awaiting further verification — the essence is stored in the kidneys, and the spirit in the heart. Apart from that faculty which alone sustains and holds the body together, serving as the single whole governing the entire body, which remains at rest and unchanged, all these — soul, animal spirit, intention, will, essence, and spirit — belong to what this faculty sustains and holds, and so all of them interpenetrate one another. The Zhizhang Commentary explains this in terms of the six vital energies: since a person receives their vital energy from heaven and earth, and heaven and earth's own vital energy comes in six kinds — namely yin, yang, dimness, brightness, wind, and rain — a person, too, ought to possess a corresponding six: namely soul, animal spirit, intention, will, essence, and spirit. That is to say: the energy that rises is called the soul, and that which sinks is called the animal spirit, closely resembling the two energies of yin and yang; the energy that gathers and stills is called the will, and that which disperses and stirs is called the intention, closely resembling heaven and earth's own energies of dimness and brightness; the energy that fills and harmonizes is called the spirit, and that which permeates and moistens is called the essence, closely resembling heaven and earth's own two energies of wind and rain — though here spoken of solely in terms of a single body.

"All interpenetrate one another, becoming guest and host by turns": the soul, whose nature is originally to rise, instead sinks downward — and so the soul becomes guest, while the animal spirit becomes host; the animal spirit, whose nature is originally to sink, instead rises upward — and so the animal spirit becomes guest, while the soul becomes host; and the remaining four, interpenetrating in the same way, may be understood by this same pattern. Taking this further, should the soul interpenetrate all five of the others, then all five become host, and the soul alone becomes guest; and the same holds when the animal spirit and the rest interpenetrate the other five in turn — hence, "becoming guest and host by turns."

"One may suddenly hear, from within empty space, the sound of the Dharma being expounded" describes hearing it from a single place; "or hear it expounded throughout the ten directions all at once, revealing hidden meanings in unison" describes hearing it from every place at once. Now, this inner realm of the body's own faculties has the soul and the animal spirit interpenetrating one another, while this outer realm of empty space and the ten directions allows the Dharma being expounded there to actually be heard — this comes about precisely because this refined research into this wondrous brightness has strengthened the power of this samādhi, so that what lies within and what lies without become empty and fused together. This is named this essence and this soul parting and rejoining by turns: whether the essence departs from its own place to join with the soul, or the soul departs from its own place to join with the essence, and so on — departing means leaving one's own place, rejoining means entering another's place — this is precisely what is meant by the essence, the soul, and the rest, parting and rejoining by turns. "Bringing a wholesome seed to fruition" refers to what has been received through hearing and habituation in past lives, this seed of wholesome cause and habitual practice able, of itself, to manifest and be heard once more. Attained only for a while, this is not a sagely person's genuine realization, where attainment, once reached, remains forever. The rest may be understood following the same pattern as above.

4. The Landscape Transforming, Buddhas Appearing 境變佛現

Sūtra: "Further, with this same mind grown clear, luminous, and radiantly transparent, an inner light dawns and shines forth, and the ten directions everywhere take on the color of jāmbūnada gold, every kind of being transformed into a Tathāgata. At that time, one may suddenly see Vairocana seated upon a throne of heavenly light, surrounded by a thousand buddhas, a hundred million lands and lotus flowers appearing all at once. This is named this mind and soul tinged by spiritual insight from the past, this mind's own light refined and brought to light, illuminating every world — attained only for a while, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken without any mind that claims sagehood, this is a wholesome state; taken as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to every kind of deviant influence."

Commentary: This is the fourth state, the landscape transforming and buddhas appearing. The practitioner, still within this same mind of meditative samādhi, refines this research further still, this wondrous mind growing ever brighter, clear, luminous, and radiantly transparent — resembling this wisdom of initial awakening, the light of samādhi fused through and through. "An inner light dawns and shines forth" resembles this principle of original awakening, this mind's own light made manifest. Every insentient world throughout the ten directions everywhere takes on the purple-gold color of jāmbūnada; every sentient kind of being is transformed entirely into a buddha, a Tathāgata — this being exactly an early sign that the mountains, rivers, and the great earth itself are about to transform, the very moment this thought occurs, into unsurpassed awareness. Though this state appears, one's own illuminating contemplation does not cease, this effort growing ever stronger, until the three bodies — dharma, reward, and transformation — are all perfectly manifest at once.

"At that time, one may suddenly see Vairocana" — translated "pervading every place," this is precisely the dharma-body buddha. "Seated upon a throne of heavenly light": the Brahmā Net Sūtra states, "at that time, within the lotus-treasury world, upon a blazing throne of heavenly light, sits Rocana Buddha" — translated "light pervading and illuminating everywhere," this is precisely the reward-body buddha. "Heavenly light" refers to exactly this blazing throne of heavenly light; "throne" refers to this lotus-treasury world itself, the seat resting upon this treasury — hence, "a throne of heavenly light." "Surrounded by a thousand buddhas": as the verse states, "encircling this thousand-petaled lotus, a thousand Śākyamunis appear once more, each lotus a hundred million lands, each land its own Śākyamuni" — this is precisely the transformation-body buddha. "A hundred million lands and lotus flowers appearing all at once": the lotus here is exactly the lotus upon which the Buddha sits; though Śākyamuni himself is not named, one may understand that Śākyamuni and this lotus appear together at once, every adornment of dependent and direct retribution alike complete — this, altogether, is precisely an early sign of the perfect manifestation of these three bodies.

"This is named this mind and soul tinged by spiritual insight from the past": this refers to this mind and soul having, in past lives, once heard sūtras such as the Avataṃsaka, the Brahmā Net, and the Vimalakīrti, tinged by the spiritual insight received through this hearing and habituation; now, within this wondrous samādhi of turning the hearing inward, this mind's own light, refined and researched, is brought to light, illuminating every world — attained only for a while, and, before long, lost once more. This is not a sign of sagehood attained, where attainment, once reached, remains forever, constant and unchanging through all time. The rest may be understood following the same pattern as above.

5. Space Filling With Jeweled Colors 空成寶色

Sūtra: "Further, refining and researching this wondrous brightness with this same mind, observing without pause, restraining and subduing it, checking it whenever it exceeds its own bounds, at that time, empty space throughout the ten directions may suddenly turn into the seven treasures' own colors, or the colors of a hundred treasures, filling it all at once without obstructing one another — blue, yellow, red, and white, each shown in its own pure form. This is named this restraint, its effort exceeding its proper measure — attained only for a while, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken without any mind that claims sagehood, this is a wholesome state; taken as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to every kind of deviant influence."

Commentary: This is the fifth state, space filling with jeweled colors. The practitioner, still within this same mind of meditative samādhi, researches this wondrously bright nature of hearing with great precision. "Observing without pause" means turning the hearing inward to illuminate this nature, closely, without a single interruption — every meaning here belonging to "observing," and pertaining to samādhi's own wisdom-aspect. "Restraining and subduing" means restraining one's own mind, holding it steady and unmoving — precisely what is meant by "subduing this mind" — every meaning here belonging to "restraining," and pertaining to samādhi's own stillness-aspect. "Checking it whenever it exceeds its own bounds": "checking" is exactly this restraining; "exceeds its own bounds" means fearing that the power of samādhi might exceed the power of wisdom, and so checking it, so that samādhi and wisdom remain equally balanced, flowing evenly along the middle course — like the two wheels of a cart, which must always remain evenly matched, lest the cart overturn.

At that time, suddenly, empty space throughout the ten directions turns into the seven treasures' own colors, or the colors of a hundred treasures — though appearing all at once, each color fills space completely, and, moreover, none of these colors obstructs or interferes with any other. Or blue, yellow, red, and white each appear in their own pure form, entirely, with no mixing at all. This is named this restraint, its effort exceeding its proper measure: "restraining" here means exactly this checking, and its effort exceeding what is ordinarily proper is exactly this exceeding of bounds — this comes about because the power of samādhi has outstripped the power of wisdom, and, pressed to its very limit, manifests all at once, radiant and vivid; attained only for a while, and, before long, ceasing once more. This is not a sign of sagehood attained, where a single appearance remains forever. As the Precious Mirror Commentary puts it: the earlier state of seeing a world of gold and seeing the Tathāgata was a transformation of form itself; this present state of seeing space turn into jeweled colors is a transformation of emptiness itself. Yet both this form and this emptiness alike belong to the dharma of form, both being objects that the eye confronts — and now that both, in turn, are said to transform, one knows that the aggregate of form, too, will not endure much longer, and is on the very verge of breaking through. The rest may be understood following the same pattern as above.

6. Seeing Objects Within Total Darkness 暗中見物

Sūtra: "Further, researching this clarity to its finest point with this same mind, this essential light undisturbed, one may suddenly, in the middle of the night, see every kind of object within a sealed dark room, no different from broad daylight, while the room's own objects remain exactly as they were, with nothing lost or removed at all. This is named this mind refined to its finest point, quietly settling this seeing, so that what is seen pierces through the darkness entirely — attained only for a while, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken without any mind that claims sagehood, this is a wholesome state; taken as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to every kind of deviant influence."

Commentary: This is the sixth state, seeing objects within total darkness. The practitioner, still within this same mind of meditative samādhi, researches this wondrous brightness further still — precisely what is meant by "should the mind grow sunken, rouse it through observation," so that samādhi and wisdom remain equally balanced. "Clarity" means settling this mind until it grows quiet and clear, illuminating through the scene before it — precisely what is meant by "at the very extreme of stillness, light itself is revealed." "This essential light undisturbed" means that this mind's own light has become fixed and settled, no longer stirred or disturbed by either brightness or darkness. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, within a sealed dark room, one sees every kind of object — not the objects actually within the room, but objects appearing out of the darkness itself — no different from broad daylight, clearly and distinctly manifest, while the room's own actual objects remain exactly as they were, with nothing lost or removed at all. This is named this mind's own light quietly settling this seeing, so that, at this very moment when what is hidden and obscure comes to light, what is seen pierces through this darkness entirely — attained only for a while, not a sign of sagehood attained. As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: it has been heard that someone, sitting within a quiet room, suddenly saw one person emerge from the ground, and another come out from within the wall, conversing together at length before each vanished back into their original place; and, further, that three or five naked figures, some two feet tall, were seen stealing rice from within the room, as though no one else were present at all. The rest may be understood following the same pattern as above.

7. The Body Becoming Like Grass or Wood 身同草木

Sūtra: "Further, entering perfectly into this emptiness and fusion with this same mind, the four limbs may suddenly become no different from grass or wood, entirely unaware of fire burning them or a blade cutting them at all; and, further, fire cannot burn or scorch them, and, though one's own flesh is cut, it feels exactly like carving wood. This is named the sense-objects dissolved away together, the very nature of the four elements set aside, entering wholly and solely into this purity — attained only for a while, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken without any mind that claims sagehood, this is a wholesome state; taken as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to every kind of deviant influence."

Commentary: This is the seventh state, the body becoming like grass or wood. The practitioner, still within this same mind of meditative samādhi, this effort of turning the hearing inward grown stronger still, has what lies within the body and what lies without in the surrounding world alike, without exception, empty and fused together — this is precisely what is meant by "entering perfectly," forgetting the body as though it had been discarded entirely. The four limbs belong to a sentient body, while grass and wood are insentient things; since what is sentient has now become no different from what is insentient, though it undergoes the burning of fire or the cutting of a blade, it remains entirely unaware of this at all. And, further, fire, however much it burns, cannot scorch it, and a blade cutting its flesh feels exactly like carving wood. This is named every sense-object dissolved away together, the four elements set aside and dismissed. "Entering wholly and solely into this purity" means that, through this single-minded, intent turning of the hearing inward, this pure awareness alone remains, the body forgotten entirely — hence, "entering wholly," with no injury or contact felt at all. This is nothing more than attained for a while, not a sign of sagehood attained, where attainment, once reached, remains forever. The rest may be understood following the same pattern as above.

8. Every Realm Seen Without Obstruction 遍見無礙

Sūtra: "Further, accomplishing purity with this same mind, this pure mind's own effort reaching its very limit, one may suddenly see the great earth and every mountain and river of the ten directions transformed entirely into buddha-lands, complete with the seven treasures, light filling everything completely; and, further, see buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges filling the whole of empty space, their halls and palaces magnificent and resplendent; looking down, one sees the hells, and looking up, one beholds the heavenly palaces, entirely without obstruction. This is named longing and aversion, this fixed contemplation deepening day by day, until, over time, this fixed contemplation transforms into actual sight — not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken without any mind that claims sagehood, this is a wholesome state; taken as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to every kind of deviant influence."

Commentary: This is the eighth state, every realm seen without obstruction. The practitioner, still within this same mind of meditative samādhi, refines and researches this wondrous brightness, accomplishing a mind of purity, single and unmixed throughout; and, as this pure mind's own contemplative power reaches its very limit, this purity, at its utmost, opens into penetrating light, and one suddenly sees this same-dwelling pure land. "The great earth and every mountain and river of the ten directions transformed entirely into buddha-lands, complete with the seven treasures, light filling everything completely": the seven treasures shining upon one another, naturally radiant and clear throughout. "And, further, seeing buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges filling the whole of empty space, their halls and palaces magnificent and resplendent": if these lands above represent the total retribution, then, since the seven treasures already shine upon one another, these halls and palaces represent the particular retribution, and so should naturally appear magnificently adorned as well.

"Looking down, one sees the hells, and looking up, one beholds the heavenly palaces, entirely without obstruction" means that one suddenly sees this same-dwelling impure land as well, the hells and the heavenly palaces each personally witnessed, one after another, entirely without obstruction. This is named longing and aversion, this fixed contemplation deepening day by day — not something arising now, within this present samādhi, as a matter of conscious reflection, but rather something from one's ordinary life, having heard the various sūtras and teachings, whether speaking of the pure land or of impure lands, giving rise, accordingly, to a mind that longs for purity and is averse to impurity, this fixed contemplation, cultivated over a long time, becoming a seed. Now, within samādhi, as this turning of the hearing inward is pressed to its very limit, scorched, as it were, by this mind's own light, all of it manifests at once. Though called a transformation brought about by contemplation, this is not, therefore, an empty, unreal state either; and though it is a real state, it, too, remains merely illusory, a mere transformation — not a sign of sagehood attained, where attainment, once reached, remains forever. The rest may be understood following the same pattern as above.

9. Seeing and Hearing Distant Places at Night 遙見遙聞

Sūtra: "Further, researching what is distant and far-reaching with this same mind, one may suddenly, in the middle of the night, see distant marketplaces, streets, and alleyways, one's own relatives and family, or hear their voices speaking. This is named this mind pressed to its very limit, breaking loose and flying outward, and so, frequently, seeing across great distance — not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken without any mind that claims sagehood, this is a wholesome state; taken as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to every kind of deviant influence."

Commentary: This is the ninth state, seeing and hearing distant places falsely. The practitioner, still within this same mind of meditative samādhi, "researches what is distant and far-reaching" — as the Zhizhang Commentary puts it, falsely researching this wondrous brightness, seeking out some distant, far-reaching realm. The middle of the night is precisely darkest, and ought to allow for no seeing at all; yet the text now says that one may suddenly see in the very middle of the night — this shows that darkness cannot conceal it. And it further says one sees distant places — this shows that distance cannot separate it either. This is precisely a sign that the aggregate of form is about to open, and that the nature of seeing is about to become perfectly complete.

"Marketplaces, streets, and alleyways": a place of trade is called a marketplace, a place for drawing water is called a well, a main thoroughfare is called a street, and a side lane branching off is called an alley. "One's own relatives and family" refers to relations both inner and outer, family members and kin, male and female alike. "Or hear their voices speaking": seeing and hearing, though different senses, share this same essential brightness — now that this nature of seeing is about to become perfectly complete, this nature of hearing becomes so as well.

As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: "the middle of the night" here refers specifically to that time when both mind and surroundings are equally still — though this most often occurs at such a time, it need not always be strictly confined to it. This, moreover, is plainly a real state, one I myself have personally witnessed: a monk from Henan, dwelling in Lu, once sat quietly and suddenly saw his own home village's marketplace exactly as it was, and saw his own elder brother beaten and scolded by an official along the road — this occurring in broad daylight, by his own reckoning of the date. Before long, someone from his home village arrived in Lu, and, questioned about it, confirmed it down to the very last detail. This must come from some wholesome root of meditative practice planted in a past life, encountered here by chance — it is only a pity that this monk himself did not know to hold himself in proper regard. This is named this samādhi pressing upon the mind, and, pressed to its very limit, causing this mind's own light to break loose and fly outward, and so, frequently, seeing across great distance, able to see and hear in places dark and far removed. This is not a sign of sagehood attained — merely something that happens by chance, on occasion, in no way comparable to the heavenly eye or clairaudience of the mind itself. The rest may be understood following the same pattern as above.

10. Falsely Seeing and Falsely Speaking 妄見妄說

Sūtra: "Further, researching this to its very finest, utmost point with this same mind, one may see a spiritual teacher's own body and form shift and change, for no evident reason, in the briefest instant, transforming again and again. This is named a deviant mind harboring some mountain goblin within it, or else a heavenly demon that has entered the practitioner's own inmost heart, so that they speak the Dharma unprompted, seeming to penetrate wondrous meanings — not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken without any mind that claims sagehood, this demonic affair subsides on its own; taken as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to every kind of deviant influence."

Commentary: This is the tenth state, falsely seeing and falsely speaking. In each of the nine states above, the practitioner, turning the hearing inward to illuminate this nature, gives rise, within this settled mind, pressed to its very limit, to some particular state — taken without any mind claiming sagehood, this is a wholesome state; taken as a sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to every kind of deviant influence. Now, this tenth state is one the practitioner can only reach after passing, layer upon layer, through all nine states before it. Researching, with this same mind, all the way to this most essential, utmost point, this is exactly the very moment one's own essence of mind comes into full accord with every sage — and, at this same moment, the aggregate of form is about to break through, the demon-realm shattering and cracking apart, so that the demons' own minds, stirred to anger, come here to cause disturbance.

Beginning from this point, "one sees a spiritual teacher" means that the practitioner, in the midst of stillness, sees, of themselves, their own body taking on the form of a spiritual teacher. And, further, one observes one's own body and form shifting and changing — transforming, perhaps, into a buddha's body, or a bodhisattva's, or manifesting as a heavenly dragon, a spirit or ghost, or the form of a man or woman. "For no evident reason, in the briefest instant" means that, in the shortest possible span of time, without relying on any cause at all, spiritual powers and transformations appear, changing again and again. These first four clauses describe this state itself; the last two make plain its cause: this is named a deviant mind. "Harboring some mountain goblin within it" means that the practitioner, guarding their own mind insufficiently, has taken in some false state, or else some deviant seed already latent within their own mind, and this manifests within samādhi — in the end, nothing but an empty reflection, not anything real at all.

"Or else a heavenly demon that has entered the practitioner's own inmost heart" — these two clauses first make plain its cause: the demon-king enters, secretly, the practitioner's own inmost heart, and takes hold of their own mind and spirit. "So that they speak the Dharma unprompted, seeming to penetrate wondrous meanings" — these two clauses describe this state itself: the demon causes the practitioner to speak the Dharma unprompted, giving rise to a kind of wild, unfounded eloquence, seeming to penetrate boundless, wondrous meanings — this being, in fact, the practitioner speaking of their own accord, yet entirely under the demonic power's own control, and not, in truth, any genuine opening of the mind, any actual attainment of realization at all. Taken without any mind claiming sagely attainment, this demonic affair naturally disperses and subsides on its own, leaving nothing behind — exactly as the earlier passage states: "remain, in the midst of your meditation, awake and free of confusion, and no demonic affair can do anything to you at all." But should one, instead, take this as even the slightest sign of sagehood attained, one falls prey to this whole host of deviant spirits and their confusion, with nothing left that can ever be pitied or saved!

As the Precious Mirror Commentary puts it: all ten of these states, above, arise dependent on some condition: first, the body passing through solid matter, comes about through the power of illuminating contemplation, causing this mind's own essence to overflow, and so the body is able to pass through. Second, drawing parasites out from within, comes about through this mind fused and made translucent within, and so these intestinal parasites can be drawn out. Third, the essence and the soul parting and rejoining, builds upon this same power of overflowing outward and growing translucent within, and so the spirit and the soul interpenetrate one another, and thus there comes to be hearing. Fourth, the landscape transforming and buddhas appearing, comes about because this essence and soul, above, become guest and host by turns, and, tinged by this spiritual insight, one thereby sees buddhas appear. Fifth, space filling with jeweled colors, comes about through this observation exceeding its own proper bounds, pressed to its very limit, and so empty space suddenly manifests every color. Sixth, seeing objects within total darkness, comes about through this settled mind grown clear, this essential light undisturbed, and so, within darkness, every object can be seen. Seventh, the body becoming like grass or wood, comes about through the power of samādhi setting the four elements aside together, and so they become empty and fused, entirely unaware of burning or cutting. Eighth, every realm seen without obstruction, comes about through this longing and aversion deepening day by day, this pure mind's own effort reaching its very limit, and so everywhere, above and below throughout the ten directions, is seen without obstruction. Ninth, seeing and hearing distant places, comes about through the power of illuminating contemplation pressing upon the mind, causing it to fly outward, and so, frequently, seeing across great distance. Tenth, falsely seeing and falsely speaking, comes about through a deviant mind harboring some goblin or encountering some demon, and so there comes to be false seeing and false speaking. The first nine, then, all make plain the power of samādhi itself, while this tenth alone speaks of an actual demonic affair — since, precisely as the power of samādhi is about to be accomplished, and the aggregate of form is about to break through, this is exactly what stirs the demons into action. This closes the second section, these ten states in the midst of practice.

Sūtra: "Ānanda, these ten states appearing in meditation are all produced by the interaction of effort and the aggregate of form itself, and so these particular phenomena appear. Beings, stubborn and confused, fail to measure themselves honestly; meeting these conditions, deluded, they do not recognize them for what they are, and declare themselves to have ascended to sagehood — committing the offense of great false speech, and falling into the unrelenting hell for it. After my passing, you must proclaim this teaching clearly in the age of the Dharma's decline, so that heavenly demons find no opening, and practitioners are protected and guided all the way to the unsurpassed path."

Commentary: This is first spoken here as a warning. It means that all ten of these states appearing in meditation come about, within the aggregate of form, precisely because the practitioner has not yet fully penetrated this principle, and correct samādhi has not yet become pure and unmixed — nothing more than this meditative contemplation and this false thought locked in battle with one another, each in turn gaining the upper hand. Should this meditative contemplation happen to prevail over false thought for the moment, this mind's own light is thereby released, and a wholesome state manifests; should false thought, in turn, prevail over this contemplation, the state vanishes in an instant, and everything returns to how it was before — and so these particular phenomena appear. Everything that follows should be understood along this same pattern.

Sentient beings, stubborn and dull by nature, grow confused and dim whenever they meet with such an occasion, failing to measure and reflect on their own situation honestly — for how could an ordinary, unenlightened being such as oneself suddenly attain any sagely response at all? Meeting with these ten conditions, appearing only for a moment before vanishing again, in no way the same as a sage's genuine realization, confused and dim, without any true knowledge, one fails to recognize them for what they truly are — taking merely a state appearing in meditation and declaring oneself to have ascended to sagehood, this is exactly claiming to have attained what has not been attained, claiming to have realized what has not been realized, committing the offense of great false speech, and falling, thereby, into the unrelenting hell, there to undergo countless kalpas of unceasing harm — all of this spoken here precisely as a warning, to instill vigilance.

"You must depend on my words" means: after the Tathāgata's own passing, once the age of the true Dharma and the semblance Dharma have both already passed, within this age of the Dharma's decline, when the demons grow strong and the Dharma grows weak, when the path rises a mere foot while the demons rise a full ten feet, you must, most urgently, proclaim this teaching clearly — whether through compiling and transmitting it, or through manifesting oneself in the world to expound it directly — so that practitioners in this age of decline all know to guard against this in advance, so that heavenly demons find no opening to exploit, seizing their chance to enter and cause no small harm — hence the charge, "so that they find no opening." "Protected" means the Dharma itself protected in this age of decline; "guided" means genuine practice guided and shielded, so that practitioners may, by gradual stages, realize and enter this path, and accomplish unsurpassed bodhi.

Having passed through these ten states as described above, the aggregate of form breaks through, and the nature of the faculty is made manifest; one then advances to break through the remaining four aggregates — sensation, perception, formation, and consciousness — until all six knots are untied, and perfect penetration itself is realized. As the Precious Mirror Commentary puts it: one should know that these ten states above, and, further on, the forty further demonic states yet to come, are all offered by the World-Honored One only as a general outline, to instruct the beginning practitioner — it is not that the five aggregates are fixed, necessarily, to only these particular kinds, incapable of any variation at all; nor is it decided, necessarily, that there must be exactly this fixed number, incapable of any increase or decrease — everything depends, in the end, on how the practitioner's own mind is actually applied. This closes the first section, the demonic states of the aggregate of form.

Sūtra: "Ānanda, once this good person, cultivating samādhi within śamatha, has exhausted the aggregate of form, they see the mind of every buddha as clearly as a reflection appearing in a bright mirror."

Commentary: This passage, taken as a whole, makes plain the aggregate of sensation's own boundary from beginning to end. "This good person" refers to one who, having passed through the ten states of the aggregate of form described earlier — whether encountering all of them, or not encountering every one — is, in every case, someone who was never misled by them, having passed through this prior territory, so that the aggregate of form breaks through and the nature of the faculty is made manifest; and, continuing still to refine this research further, this is called "cultivating this samādhi" — with respect to the aggregate of form, this marks the very end of that practice, and, with respect to the aggregate of sensation, this marks the very beginning of this next practice.

"Within śamatha" refers to this same subtle, secret illuminating contemplation — that is, these two marks of motion and stillness becoming, thereupon, utterly unarising. Earlier, this was like a person with clear eyesight standing within total darkness; reaching this point now, this darkness turns entirely into light, and this is named the exhaustion of the aggregate of form — everything that follows should be described according to this same pattern.

"They see the mind of every buddha as clearly as a reflection appearing in a bright mirror": as Master Huan puts it, the mind of every buddha is precisely this same wondrous, awakened, bright mind that is one's own. Sentient beings, confused and dim, forever chasing after things outside themselves, can never see it in the end; now, as the clouds of the aggregate of form part, it manifests within one's own mind — how could this not be intimate and clear! Hence the metaphor of a reflection appearing within a mirror — this wondrous, awakened, bright mind is never received from another person at all. This stage is to be classified within the stage of resemblance; the ten states of the aggregate of form, described earlier, belong to the stage of contemplative practice — those who would classify it within the stage of mere verbal understanding are mistaken.

Sūtra: "As though something has been attained, yet it cannot yet be put to use. It is like a person caught in sleep paralysis: hands and feet perfectly intact, seeing and hearing undisturbed, yet the mind, touched by this guest-like affliction, simply cannot move. This is called the boundary of the aggregate of sensation."

Commentary: "As though something has been attained" refers precisely to this realization of resemblance: it means that, though one has seen this originally possessed, wondrous, awakened, bright mind, as though its very substance had been attained, one is not yet able to give rise to its free and sovereign function. "As though something has been attained" matches the metaphor above — though one has seen the mind of every buddha, as clearly as a reflection in a mirror. "Yet it cannot yet be put to use" matches this same metaphor as well — though the reflection in the mirror has appeared, it cannot yet move about freely of its own accord. Fearing this may still not be entirely clear, the text further offers the metaphor of a person caught in sleep paralysis, illustrating that the practitioner remains covered over by the aggregate of sensation. "Hands and feet perfectly intact, seeing and hearing undisturbed" matches "as though something has been attained": though still covered by the aggregate of sensation, one's own mind already inherently possesses the mind of a buddha, every mark of virtue perfectly intact, wisdom undisturbed by any confusion. "The mind, touched by this guest-like affliction, simply cannot move" matches "yet it cannot yet be put to use": "this guest-like affliction" refers to the affliction brought on by sleep paralysis or a mountain goblin taking hold — though the mind remains clear and aware, its power is not yet free to act on its own. This is called the boundary of the aggregate of sensation: exactly like having just left one room, only to enter another — hence named the boundary of the aggregate of sensation. This closes the first section, the boundary not yet broken through, at the very start of practice.

Sūtra: "Once this paralysis-like affliction lifts, and the mind can leave the body and look back on its own face, coming and going freely with no further obstruction at all, this is called the exhaustion of the aggregate of sensation, and such a person can transcend the turbidity of view itself. Examining its cause, this aggregate is rooted in empty, bright false thought."

Commentary: Formerly, covered by the aggregate of sensation, one was like a person caught in sleep paralysis; now, with the aggregate of sensation already exhausted, this paralysis-like affliction lifts all at once. The four clauses, "the mind can leave the body," and so on, describe precisely this giving rise to a free and sovereign function. This is entirely because sentient beings, since beginningless time, have, in a single confusion, taken this to be mind, and settled with certainty on confining it within this physical body — though the mind was never, in truth, confined within the body at all, it becomes so, through this confused clinging, not truly confined yet confined all the same: confined to the aggregates during life, confined to the intermediate state after death, never for a single moment not confined within the body — how, then, could there ever be any freedom to leave the body at all? Now, the very moment the aggregate of sensation is exhausted, this mind is able, at last, to leave the body, and, moreover, is able to look back upon its own face, attaining a mind-made body, coming and going freely, with no further obstruction or hindrance left at all. As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: one should know that this is not the same as sitting in meditation and passing away, unable ever to return — that other case relies only on the power of samādhi, within that earlier, dim and obscure stage, to pass away while sitting — which is precisely why Jiufeng would not accept Elder Tai's own claim.

"Named the exhaustion of the aggregate of sensation": this corresponds, within the teaching of perfect penetration, to "the very hearing of what is heard comes to an end." Question: if the aggregate of form was already exhausted earlier, how can there still be a body and a face at all? Answer: to say "exhausted" here means only that the aggregate itself is exhausted, not that form itself is exhausted — for, were form itself necessarily made to be exhausted entirely, then would the exhaustion of the aggregate of form not become entirely identical to the formless realm itself?

"Such a person can transcend the turbidity of view itself": this sūtra's earlier passage on this turbidity states, "your body now grasps the four elements as its own substance; the very nature of these four elements, once obstructed, causes this sense of confinement, and these four elements, once revolving, cause this awareness — interwoven together, this falsely forms what is named the turbidity of view." Now that the aggregate of sensation is already exhausted, the great element of nature no longer interweaves in this way, and even the view of a fixed self is gone as well — hence one is able to transcend it. Examining the very cause from which the aggregate of sensation arises — receiving and taking in whatever scene lies before one, emptily brought to light — this inverted false thought is precisely its own root; though it bears such names as suffering and bliss, it never, in truth, possesses any real substance of its own at all. This closes the first section, showing this aggregate's full course from beginning to end.

1. The Demon of Grief 悲魔

Sūtra: "Ānanda, right within this state, this good person gains a great radiance, and this mind of theirs comes to light. Pressing inward beyond all proportion, they suddenly, in the midst of it, give rise to boundless grief — so much so that, seeing even a mosquito or gnat, they feel exactly as though looking upon their own newborn child, a mind of pity arising, tears flowing without any awareness of it at all. This is named this effort of practice, this restraint pressed to a ruinous excess — recognized, no fault, not a sign of sagehood attained; understood clearly, without confusion, this subsides on its own before long. Taken as a sign of sagehood attained, a demon of grief enters this person's own inmost heart, so that they weep at the mere sight of anyone, without limit, losing this correct reception, and inevitably decline."

Commentary: From this point on, the ten distinct demonic states of the aggregate of sensation are shown one by one. This is the first, restraining oneself and grief arising — reproaching oneself, grieving for sentient beings. The practitioner cultivating samādhi is, at this point, exactly within that stage where the aggregate of form has already been exhausted, but the aggregate of sensation has not yet broken through. "Gains a great radiance" refers to what was described earlier, the ten directions opening up entirely, with no more darkness left at all, this emptiness and brightness laid bare — hence spoken of here as this great radiance. "This mind of theirs comes to light" refers to seeing the mind of every buddha, as clearly as a reflection appearing in a mirror, not yet realizing that one still remains covered by the aggregate of sensation, not yet able to give rise to a free and sovereign function.

It means that, since this mind is now the same as a buddha's, one comes to realize that every sentient being already inherently possesses this same bright, wondrous mind, yet suffers unjustly, sunk and drowning within saṃsāra — and, at this, one reproaches oneself instead for not having sooner given rise to the mind of saving beings — hence, "pressing inward." Should this continue on and on unchecked, this becomes excessive. "Suddenly, in the midst of it, they give rise to boundless grief" means that, suddenly, wherever sentient beings are found, one gives rise to this same great compassion of shared substance, this grief unable to be checked of itself; so much so that, seeing even a mosquito or gnat, one feels exactly as though looking upon one's own newborn child — a small infant, just born, its red color not yet faded — a mind of pity arising toward it, tears flowing without any awareness of it at all — and this is exactly falling into attachment through view! Continuing on in this way, growing more and more excessive, one cannot help but invite a demon's own possession as a result.

This is named a mind with this effort of practice, reproaching and wounding itself, exceeding its own proper bounds, and so coming to this grief. Should one quickly awaken to this, there is no fault in it at all — this is not a sage's own genuine realization of the great compassion of shared substance; from this point, understanding clearly, without confusion, gradually awakening, gradually bringing it to a halt, one returns once more to right mindfulness, and this subsides on its own before long. But should one take this as a sign of sagely realization attained, believing oneself to share the very same great compassion as a buddha, taking oneself to be in the right, this grief and pity never ceasing — then a demon of grief enters this person's own inmost heart, so that they weep at the mere sight of anyone, without limit, and thereby lose this correct reception, falling instead into a deviant reception, every kind of inverted state resulting — not only unable to make any further progress, but certain, from this point, to decline. This closes the first state, restraining oneself and grief arising.

2. The Demon of Wild Ambition 狂魔

Sūtra: "Ānanda, further, within this same samādhi, this good person sees the aggregate of form dissolved and the aggregate of sensation made clear; moved by this excellent state beyond all proportion, they suddenly, in the midst of it, give rise to boundless courage, this mind of theirs fierce and sharp, their resolve set on equaling every buddha at once, declaring that three incalculable aeons can be crossed in a single thought. This is named this effort of practice, this ambition overreaching its own bounds — recognized, no fault, not a sign of sagehood attained; understood clearly, without confusion, this subsides on its own before long. Taken as a sign of sagehood attained, a demon of wild ambition enters this person's own inmost heart, so that they boast to everyone they meet, an arrogance beyond any comparison, this mind of theirs reaching a point where, above, they see no buddha at all, and, below, they see no other person at all, losing this correct reception, and inevitably decline."

Commentary: This is the second state, extolling oneself as equal to the buddhas — praising oneself as having, all at once, become equal to every buddha. This good person, still advancing in the cultivation of samādhi, sees the aggregate of form already dissolved — exactly like removing the fifth layer of clothing. "The aggregate of sensation made clear" means that a certain empty, bright state has now been laid bare — exactly like the fourth layer of clothing now revealed. "Moved by this excellent state" refers to seeing the mind of a buddha, as a reflection appearing in a mirror. "Beyond all proportion" means: though one had always heard that this mind is itself a buddha, one had not yet personally witnessed it; now that the aggregate of form is already exhausted, one personally realizes and actually sees it, and so gives rise to this moved, grateful mind — though this belongs to a wholesome thought, it nonetheless exceeds all due proportion. One suddenly, in the midst of it, gives rise to boundless courage, this mind fierce and sharp, one's own resolve set, all at once, on equaling every buddha — declaring that, though the buddhas cultivated and accomplished buddhahood only after passing through three great incalculable aeons, one's own present single thought is able to cross this distance entirely — that a single thought unarisen is already suchness itself, already a buddha.

This is named an effort of practice grown far too sharp, a resolve wishing to overtake the very vehicle of buddhahood itself, rash and self-assured, unable to avoid exceeding all due proportion and principle. Should one awaken to the fact that one still remains covered by the aggregate of sensation, and return, as before, to illuminating this nature against the stream, there is no fault in it at all — this is not a sage's own genuine realization; understanding clearly, without confusion, gradually awakening, gradually bringing it to a halt, one returns once more to right mindfulness, and this subsides on its own before long. But should one take this as a sign of sagely realization attained, then a demon of wild ambition, finding its own opening, enters this person's own inmost heart in a single unguarded moment, and takes hold of their own mind and spirit. Meeting anyone, they boast of their own virtue, an arrogance beyond any comparison, this arrogance arising precisely because of this notion of "I," beyond any measure at all — this mind of theirs reaching a point where they hold the three vehicles' own worthies and sages in contempt entirely. "Above, they see no buddha" means: even granting that becoming a buddha requires passing through three incalculable aeons, how could this compare to my own single thought, crossing this distance all at once? "Below, they see no other person" means: down to every sentient being, none of whom have realized that they, too, are, originally, already a buddha — how could they possibly understand what I myself have realized? Through this, one loses this correct reception, giving rise to every kind of wrong view, and inevitably declines. This closes the second state, extolling oneself as equal to the buddhas.

3. The Demon of Longing Recollection 憶魔

Sūtra: "Further, within this same samādhi, this good person sees the aggregate of form dissolved and the aggregate of sensation made clear, with no new realization gained ahead, and the former ground already lost behind; their own power of insight grows weak, falling into a state of collapse between the two, utterly without anything at all in view. Within this mind, a great parched longing suddenly arises, and, at every moment, a sunken recollection that never disperses — taking this, mistakenly, for a mark of diligent, vigorous effort. This is named a mind cultivated without the aid of wisdom, and so lost of itself — recognized, no fault, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken as a sign of sagehood attained, a demon of longing recollection enters this person's own inmost heart, seizing their mind morning and night, fixing it in a single place, losing this correct reception, and inevitably declining."

Commentary: This is the third state, samādhi unbalanced, tending toward excessive recollection. This good person, still advancing in the cultivation of samādhi, sees the aggregate of form already dissolved, and the aggregate of sensation made clear, with no new realization gained ahead, and the former ground already lost behind. Looking forward, the aggregate of sensation has not yet broken through, and there is no new state of realization there at all; looking backward, the aggregate of form is already exhausted, entirely, and this former ground is already lost. At exactly this juncture, one ought only to hold samādhi and wisdom in equal balance, and only thereby avoid any loss at all — but here, instead, samādhi has grown strong while wisdom has grown weak, hence, "their own power of insight grows weak." "Falling into a state of collapse between the two" means: caught precisely between form and sensation, at this juncture where advancing and retreating are equally difficult, both thoughts alike collapse — unable to advance, and unable to retreat either — and so, of itself, one finds utterly nothing at all in view, this coming about because, within this settled mind, there is no wisdom present to assist it. And so, suddenly, a great parched longing arises, exactly like a drought awaiting rain, or thirst awaiting water; at every moment, one stills this mind, recollecting this state of collapse, not daring, for even an instant, to let it scatter — believing that, through this sustained, sunken recollection, something is bound, eventually, to be attained. And so one takes this, mistakenly, for vigorous, unceasing effort, a mark of diligent progress able to break through the aggregate of sensation.

This is named a mind cultivated by relying exclusively on the power of samādhi, with no wisdom present to assist it, thereby losing the proper means of its own accord. Awakening to the fact that samādhi has grown strong while wisdom has grown weak, one thereby changes course from this sunken recollection and parched longing; the moment one lets go of this sunken recollection entirely, holding samādhi and wisdom in equal balance instead, there is no fault in it at all — this is not a sage's own genuine realization, neither settled ahead nor behind, nor fixed anywhere in the middle either. The text here is missing the two closing clauses, "understood clearly, without confusion, this subsides on its own before long" — most likely an omission on the part of whoever transcribed it. Should one take this sunken recollection as a sign of sagely realization attained, then a demon of recollection, finding its own opening, enters this person's own inmost heart, and holds their own mind and spirit captive — causing them to seize their own mind morning and night, fixing it in a single place: meaning that, day and night, their mind is seized and held fixed in this single place, exactly this same state of collapse, this sunken recollection never dispersing, losing this correct reception, with no wisdom left to save themselves, and inevitably declining. This closes the third state, samādhi unbalanced, tending toward excessive recollection.

4. The Demon of Easy Satisfaction 易知足魔

Sūtra: "Further, within this same samādhi, this good person sees the aggregate of form dissolved and the aggregate of sensation made clear; their power of wisdom now outstrips their samādhi, losing the needed intensity of concentration, and, cherishing every superior quality within their own mind, they come to suspect, in their own heart, that they are already Vairocana Buddha himself — satisfied with the very smallest attainment. This is named a mind applied so as to forget its own constant self-examination, sinking instead into mere views and opinions — recognized, no fault, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken as a sign of sagehood attained, a demon of base, easy satisfaction enters this person's own inmost heart, so that they declare to everyone they meet, 'I have attained the unsurpassed, foremost truth' — losing this correct reception, and inevitably declining."

Commentary: This is the fourth state, wisdom unbalanced, tending toward wild presumption. This good person, still advancing in the cultivation of samādhi, sees the aggregate of form dissolved and the aggregate of sensation made clear. "Their power of wisdom now outstrips their samādhi, losing the needed intensity of concentration" means that wisdom has grown strong while samādhi has grown weak, losing the needed sharpness and intensity that samādhi alone provides. "Cherishing every superior quality within their own mind" means: having seen that mind and buddha are one and the same, that one's own nature is, originally, already a buddha, one calls this a superior quality, and constantly dwells on this very thought, cherishing it deep within — this is exactly showing excessive reverence for one's own spiritual nature, precisely what the ancient worthies called "growing far too self-important." "They come to suspect, in their own heart, that they are already Vairocana Buddha himself" means that, within their own mind, they constantly harbor the suspicion that their own body is already Vairocana himself, without ever needing to be cultivated into being at all. "Satisfied with the very smallest attainment" means that, among the five aggregates, having only just passed through the ten states of the aggregate of form, form dissolved and sensation now manifest, one already takes buddhahood upon oneself — is this not exactly being satisfied with the very smallest attainment?

As the Standard Meaning Commentary asks: the whole Chan tradition teaches that one is, originally, already a buddha, requiring no cultivation or realization at all — why, then, is this not held to be a fault? Answer: the patriarchs, in teaching people, were concerned only that some might cling exclusively to cultivated attainment, thereby forsaking their own innate spiritual nature — and so they checked and encouraged in turn, according to the need. Yet there were also times when they urged people to undergo a "great death," and to take a further step forward even from the very tip of a hundred-foot pole — sayings of this kind cannot be counted, and never once did they mean to place exclusive weight on one's own innate nature, dismissing cultivation and realization altogether!

This is named a mind applied in a lopsided way, the power of samādhi grown feeble, forgetting this constant, ongoing self-examination of one's own actual stage. "Sinking into mere views and opinions" means being entirely convinced that one's own body already possesses the Tathāgata's own knowledge and vision, clinging to this notion of one's own nature in a way that obstructs actual cultivation — and so it comes to this. Should one be able to reflect and awaken to the fact that, though the aggregate of form has only just broken through, and the aggregate of sensation has only just appeared, like a reflection appearing in a mirror, not yet able to be put to any actual use, and continue advancing, as before, in this same fundamental samādhi, there is no fault in it at all — this is not a sign of sagehood attained. Should one, though, take this as a sign of sagely realization attained, taking Vairocana upon oneself, confused and unable to turn back, then a demon of base, easy satisfaction, finding its own opening, enters this person's own inmost heart, and holds their own mind and spirit captive. Meeting anyone, they declare, "I have already attained unsurpassed bodhi, this truth of the foremost meaning itself" — losing this correct reception, this mind following the demon's own transformation, and inevitably declining. This closes the fourth state, wisdom unbalanced, tending toward wild presumption.

5. The Demon of Perpetual Anxiety 常憂愁魔

Sūtra: "Further, within this same samādhi, this good person sees the aggregate of form dissolved and the aggregate of sensation made clear; with no new realization yet gained, and the former ground already lost, surveying both what lies ahead and what lies behind, they find only danger in either direction. Within their mind, a boundless anxiety suddenly arises, as though sitting upon an iron bed, or drinking poison itself, no longer wishing to go on living at all, constantly begging others to take their own life, so as to hasten their release all the sooner. This is named a practice that has lost the proper means — recognized, no fault, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken as a sign of sagehood attained, a demon of perpetual anxiety enters this person's own inmost heart, so that they take up a blade in hand and cut their own flesh, welcoming the loss of their own life; or else, constantly given to anxiety, they wander off into forests and mountains, unable to bear the sight of any other person. Losing this correct reception, they inevitably decline."

Commentary: This is the fifth state, surveying danger and giving rise to anxiety. This good person, still advancing in the cultivation of samādhi, sees form dissolved and sensation now manifest, with no new advance yet gained, and this former ground already lost. The aggregate of sensation, now made manifest, cannot yet be put to any use — hence, "no new advance yet gained." The aggregate of form, already exhausted entirely, with nothing left of it at all — hence, "this former ground already lost." "Surveying both what lies ahead and what lies behind, they find only danger in either direction" means: having surveyed thoroughly both edges, ahead and behind, with nowhere at all to apply the mind, one gives rise, of oneself, to dread and fear, advancing and retreating both equally difficult, exactly as though facing some perilous cliff. Within their mind, a boundless anxiety suddenly arises. "As though sitting upon an iron bed, or drinking poison itself" means: it is as though, whether sitting, lying, eating, or drinking, nothing at all brings peace. No longer wishing to go on living, regretting only that death does not come more swiftly, one goes so far as to beg others to take one's own life, so as to hasten one's own release all the sooner.

This is named a mind cultivating this practice with excessive fear, losing the proper means provided by wisdom's own illuminating contemplation. Awakening to the need to correct this fault and set aside this anxiety, there is no fault in it at all, and one may naturally return once more to this original practice — this is not a sign of sagehood attained. Should one, though, take this as a sign of sagely realization attained, taking the abandonment of one's own life for liberation itself, the demon thereby finds its own opening — then a demon of perpetual anxiety, finding its own opening, enters this person's own inmost heart, deepening this anxiety further still, so that they take up a blade in hand and cut their own flesh, welcoming the swift loss of their own life, so as to hasten their release all the sooner; or else, in a milder form, constantly harboring anxiety, they wander off into forests and mountains, deeply wearied of worldly affairs, unable to bear the sight of any other person. Losing this correct reception, giving rise to wrong thoughts, they inevitably decline. This closes the fifth state, surveying danger and giving rise to anxiety.

6. The Demon of Delight 好喜樂魔

Sūtra: "Further, within this same samādhi, this good person sees the aggregate of form dissolved and the aggregate of sensation made clear; abiding within this state of purity, this mind at peace and secure, they suddenly, of themselves, give rise to boundless joy, this mind filled with delight, unable to restrain themselves at all. This is named this ease, without wisdom to restrain it — recognized, no fault, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken as a sign of sagehood attained, a demon of delight enters this person's own inmost heart, so that they laugh at the mere sight of anyone, singing and dancing to themselves by the roadside, declaring that they have already attained an unobstructed liberation. Losing this correct reception, they inevitably decline."

Commentary: This is the sixth state, sensing peace and giving rise to joy. This good person, still advancing in the cultivation of samādhi, sees the aggregate of form dissolved, no longer any material obstruction remaining, the ten directions opened up entirely, this great radiance attained; the aggregate of sensation now manifest, this ground of mind empty and bright, beholding the mind of a buddha as a reflection appearing in a mirror. "Abiding within this state of purity" means untouched by a single speck of dust, constantly and forever pure; abiding within this state, this mind at peace and secure, one suddenly, of oneself, gives rise to a mind of boundless delight. "Unable to restrain themselves" means: believing that one has attained great sovereign freedom, this mind filled with delight, unable to restrain itself at all. This is a matter of the very gravest concern within the Chan tradition — as the patriarchs have said, should any awakening or realization occur, it must be spat out swiftly — this being precisely what is meant here.

This is named a settled mind achieving its own accomplishment, this ease suddenly given rise to for a while, body and mind delighted beyond what words could ever express, yet without wisdom present, unable to restrain oneself at all. Should one be able to awaken and turn back from it, there is no fault in it at all — this is not a sage's own genuine realization. Should one, though, take this as a sign of sagely realization attained, then a demon of delight, finding its own opening, enters this person's own inmost heart, so that one believes this sagely mind delights in the path precisely as it ought to. Meeting anyone, they laugh, giving free rein to their own feelings and desires, singing and dancing for their own amusement by the roadside, believing they have already attained sovereign freedom, an unobstructed liberation. Losing this correct reception, giving rise to wrong thoughts, they inevitably decline. This closes the sixth state, sensing peace and giving rise to joy.

7. The Demon of Great Pride 大我慢魔

Sūtra: "Further, within this same samādhi, this good person sees the aggregate of form dissolved and the aggregate of sensation made clear; declaring themselves already complete and satisfied, an unprovoked, overwhelming pride suddenly arises — ordinary pride, and excessive pride, and pride upon pride, and, further, exaggerated pride, or self-deprecating pride, all arising together at once, so that, within their own mind, they hold even the Tathāgatas of the ten directions in contempt, let alone those of the lesser stations, the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas below. This is named seeing oneself as superior, with no wisdom to save oneself from it — recognized, no fault, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken as a sign of sagehood attained, a demon of great pride enters this person's own inmost heart, so that they no longer bow before any stūpa or shrine, and destroy scriptures and images, telling their own donors: 'These are only gold, bronze, earth, or wood; the scriptures are only tree leaves or felted cloth. My own living flesh is what is truly eternal — why should I fail to revere it, and instead worship earth and wood?' This is, in truth, utterly backward. Sincere believers who follow this teaching go on to smash and bury these very objects, misleading multitudes, and, entering the unrelenting hell for it, lose this correct reception, and inevitably decline."

Commentary: This is the seventh state, seeing oneself as superior and pride resulting. This good person, still advancing in the cultivation of samādhi, sees form dissolved and sensation now manifest, and takes this to mean that every falseness is already exhausted, this single truth already perfect and complete — and so declares themselves already complete and satisfied, exactly this sense of self-satisfaction and self-exaltation, bound to take oneself as superior, and so this unprovoked, overwhelming pride suddenly arises. To speak of pride born of "I" means pride arising precisely because of this notion of self — as when one says "I myself am already a buddha," or "I myself have attained unsurpassed nirvāṇa," and the like — hence called "great." Were this, in fact, genuinely realized, this would be pride with real grounds; but here, claiming realization not yet actually attained, this is pride entirely without grounds at all. Relying on this pride born of "I," presuming upon oneself to look down on others, holding oneself up high as one's very nature — this is the very sum of what are called the seven kinds of pride.

As the Kaimeng explains these seven kinds of pride: ordinary pride, excessive pride, pride upon pride, exaggerated pride, deviant pride, pride of self, and self-deprecating pride. As it explains them: reckoning oneself superior to one who is, in fact, inferior, or reckoning oneself equal to one who is, in fact, equal — this is ordinary pride. Reckoning oneself equal to one who is, in fact, superior, or reckoning oneself superior to one who is, in fact, equal — this is excessive pride. Reckoning oneself superior to one who is, in fact, already superior — this is pride upon pride. Claiming to have attained what has not yet been attained, reckoning one's own inferior attainment as abundant — this is exaggerated pride. Being, in truth, entirely without virtue, yet claiming to possess virtue — this is deviant pride. Facing those of far greater attainment, willingly regarding oneself as inferior and lesser, neither respecting them nor seeking to learn from them — this is self-deprecating pride.

All seven kinds of pride arise together at once here, this state surpassing, in severity, even the fourth state above, wisdom unbalanced tending toward wild presumption — that earlier state claimed, at most, to be originally the same as a buddha; this state, though, goes further still, claiming to have surpassed every buddha entirely. Within their own mind, they hold even every Tathāgata of the ten directions in contempt — let alone the lesser-vehicle śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas — this is exactly deviant pride: holding even the Tathāgatas themselves in contempt, and no longer bowing before any Buddhist shrine at all.

This is named seeing only one's own spiritual nature as supreme, driven entirely by this overbearing pride, giving rise to every kind of prideful mind, and, moreover, lacking any wisdom with which to save oneself from this very affliction. Were one able to use this illuminating wisdom to observe closely, seeing that the nature of every phenomenon is, alike, equal throughout, one would not even see a single sentient being one could rightly hold in contempt — how, then, could one dare to hold every sage and worthy of the ten directions in contempt at all? Recognized, no fault; this is not a sage's own genuine realization.

Should one, in the end, remain caught in this confusion, and take this as a sign of sagely realization attained, then a demon of great pride, finding its own opening, enters this person's own inmost heart, and holds their own mind and spirit captive, giving free rein to whatever they do — no longer bowing before any stūpa or shrine, and destroying scriptures and images. They may tell their own donors: a buddha-image is only gold, bronze, earth, or wood; my own living flesh is the truly living buddha, truly eternal; the scriptures are only tree leaves or felted cloth — declaring themselves to hold the true, transcendent teaching itself, no longer showing any reverence at all, worshiping earth and wood instead — this is, in truth, utterly backward, speaking with great, shameless bravado, and misleading everyone. Sincere believers who follow this teaching go on to smash and bury these very objects, creating boundless offense; this demonic teaching harms people, and leads them into the unrelenting hell. Losing this correct reception, giving rise to a deviant reception instead, they inevitably decline.

As the Standard Meaning Commentary asks: the patriarchal masters, too, sometimes scolded the Buddha and reviled the patriarchs — how does this differ from what is described here? Answer: the patriarchs wished, above all, that people awaken to this single nature, equal throughout, that there is no buddha apart from the mind — they meant only to cut off any clinging to some outward view of a buddha, nothing more. How could this ever truly be meant to increase overweening pride, and thereby lose this very equality instead? A further questioner asks: Linji did not bow before the patriarchs' own stūpas; Danxia burned a wooden buddha-image; Deshan called the entire canon of scriptures mere toilet paper; Yantou called the patriarchal masters' own sayings nothing but a worn-out straw sandal — is this not exactly this same great pride? Answer: this was spoken for the sake of those who cling to seeking outwardly, unable to reach their own mind, clinging to words and teachings, unwilling to actually advance in genuine practice — and so these masters spoke in such severe, forceful language, precisely in order to rouse them, this being, in truth, nothing but a single expression of true compassion — who could call this a prideful mind? Had these patriarchal masters truly harbored a prideful mind, they, too, could not have escaped the hell of Nairaya — how much less anyone else! This closes the seventh state, seeing oneself as superior and pride resulting.

8. The Demon of Delight in Ease 好輕清魔

Sūtra: "Further, within this same samādhi, this good person sees the aggregate of form dissolved and the aggregate of sensation made clear; within this essential brightness, they perfectly awaken to this essential principle, and attain a great accord with it. This mind of theirs suddenly gives rise to boundless ease, and they declare themselves to have become a sage, and to have attained a great freedom. This is named, through wisdom, gaining this state of lightness and clarity — recognized, no fault, not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken as a sign of sagehood attained, a demon of delight in ease enters this person's own inmost heart, so that they declare themselves entirely satisfied, seeking no further progress at all; most such people become 'monks of little learning,' misleading multitudes, and, falling into the Avīci hell for it, lose this correct reception, and inevitably decline."

Commentary: This is the eighth state, wisdom at ease and self-satisfied. This good person, still advancing in the cultivation of samādhi, sees form dissolved and sensation now manifest; "within this essential brightness, they perfectly awaken to this essential principle" means: this essential brightness is precisely one's own mind, and, within this essential brightness of consciousness, originally so bright, one perfectly awakens to this most essential principle — that is, precisely the mind of a buddha; meaning that, within one's own mind, one personally beholds the mind of a buddha itself. "Attain a great accord with it" means: having now seen the mind of a buddha, one attains, thereby, this great, unobstructed freedom, nothing at all failing to accord entirely with one's own mind and wish. "This mind of theirs suddenly gives rise to boundless ease" means: looking back to find the aggregate of form already dissolved, transcendent, free of every burden, departed from every coarse, heavy defilement, one suddenly gives rise to boundless ease. "They declare themselves to have become a sage, and to have attained a great freedom" means: because of seeing the aggregate of sensation made manifest, as clearly as a reflection appearing in a mirror, radiant and thoroughly clear, they declare themselves to have become a sage, their own mind and the mind of a buddha with no difference between them at all, with no need to labor at further cultivation, having already attained this great liberation and freedom.

This is named, through wisdom: meaning that, through this wisdom of perfectly awakening to this essential principle within this essential brightness, one gains this state of lightness, ease, and purity, departed from every coarse, heavy mark. This is nothing more than a single moment of sudden awakening — how could it possibly warrant such self-satisfaction? The aggregate of sensation has not yet even broken through — one ought, instead, to return to this same fundamental practice, so as to remain free of any fault at all; this is not a sage's own genuine realization. Should one take this as a sign of sagely realization attained, then a demon of delight in ease, finding its own opening, enters this person's own inmost heart. This demon of delight in ease is exactly like those, in this world, who, without relying on correct awareness, cultivating this samādhi, simply gather in their thoughts and sit quietly, and, gaining some slight lightness and clarity, give rise to a notion of self-satisfaction, dying without ever transforming further, until, in old age, this becomes, itself, a demon — entering this person's own inmost heart, and holding their own mind and spirit captive. They declare themselves that their own practice and merit are already complete, their own blessings and wisdom already sufficient, seeking no further progress at all. Such beings, unwilling to draw close to any spiritual teacher and seek their instruction, mostly become "monks of little learning" within the No-Thought heaven, claiming realization not yet actually attained; and, when their life comes to its end, and the marks of their next rebirth appear, they slander the Buddhadharma and resent others, or cause others, hearing this, to give rise to doubt — and, from this slander, further error results, and, through this very cause of slandering the Dharma, the very seed of bodhi is cut off — hence, "falling into the unrelenting hell." Losing this correct reception, giving rise to every kind of deviant reception instead, they inevitably decline. This closes the eighth state, wisdom at ease and self-satisfied.

9. The Demon of Emptiness 空魔

Sūtra: "Further, within this same samādhi, this good person sees the aggregate of form dissolved and the aggregate of sensation made clear; within this bright understanding, they attain an empty, luminous nature, and suddenly, in the midst of it, turn entirely toward permanent extinction, denying cause and effect altogether, sinking wholly into emptiness, this mind of emptiness now manifest before them — until, in the end, this mind gives rise to the view of a permanent, lasting extinction. Recognized, no fault; not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken as a sign of sagehood attained, a demon of emptiness enters this person's own inmost heart, and they thereupon denounce the keeping of precepts, calling it a lesser vehicle — asking, 'once a bodhisattva has awakened to emptiness, what is there left to keep or to transgress?' Such a person, standing regularly before their own faithful donors, drinks wine and eats meat, engaging widely in sexual misconduct and depravity; and, through this demon's own power, holds their audience in a spell, so that no doubt or reproach ever arises in them. Once this ghost-mind has taken hold for long enough, some even eat excrement and urine, treating these the same as wine and meat, everything alike declared 'empty,' breaking the Buddha's own precepts, leading others falsely into wrongdoing as well. Losing this correct reception, they inevitably decline."

Commentary: This is the ninth state, attaching to emptiness and destroying the precepts. This good person, still advancing in the cultivation of samādhi, sees form dissolved and sensation now manifest. "Within this bright understanding" refers to the ten directions opened up entirely, suddenly free of every obstruction — observing this same empty, bright nature of the aggregate of sensation, revealed in its entirety, with no phenomenon at all left to be grasped; and, within their own mind, suddenly gives rise to a notion of pure emptiness, sinking permanently into extinction, and so comes to deny cause and effect entirely — and, from this point on, no longer relying on actual cultivation at all, above, there is no path of buddhahood left to accomplish, and, below, no sentient being left to save — turning entirely toward emptiness, this mind of severed emptiness now manifest before them, until, in the end, this mind gives rise to the view of a permanent, far-reaching extinction — precisely this same turning entirely toward permanent extinction.

As the Zhizhang Commentary notes: examining every section before and after this one, each includes this same formula, "this is named..." — yet this section alone lacks it; this is most likely an omission on the part of whoever took down the text by dictation. Following the pattern of the sections before and after, I have here gathered and supplied, in outline, what this section's own meaning ought to be — though I would not presume this to be certainly correct, and await further judgment from those more discerning than myself: this is named a settled mind having sunk down, losing this illuminating response. This is named a settled mind sinking into emptiness, mired in mere quiescence, unable to avoid this excessive sinking, losing this wisdom's own illuminating observation. Awakening to the fact that this severed emptiness is mistaken, and returning, as before, to this same fundamental practice, there is no fault in it at all — this is not a sage's own genuine realization of true emptiness itself.

Should one take this severed, extinguished emptiness as a sign of sagely realization attained, then a demon of emptiness, finding its own opening, enters this person's own inmost heart, and holds their own mind and spirit captive, and they thereupon denounce the keeping of precepts, calling it the way of the lesser vehicle — and, moreover, take upon themselves the mantle of a great-vehicle bodhisattva, declaring that a great elephant does not walk the narrow path of a rabbit, that a person of great refinement is not bound by petty details — and that, since a bodhisattva has attained only awakening to emptiness, what need is there for keeping any precept at all? Though drinking wine and eating meat, none of it is anything but the very ground of liberation itself; though engaging in deceit and lustful greed, all of it is, alike, nothing but the very path of bodhi — what precept, then, is there left either to keep or to transgress at all? Such a person, standing regularly before their own faithful donors, drinks wine and eats meat, declaring that "wine and meat merely pass through the gut, while the Buddha sits enthroned within the heart"; and, further, engages widely in lustful, depraved conduct, declaring that lust, anger, and delusion are themselves precisely precepts, samādhi, and wisdom. And, through this demon's own possessing power, holding their audience in a spell, they declare this to be a form of "reverse practice," so that no doubt or reproach ever arises in their listeners at all.

"Once this ghost-mind has taken hold for long enough" means: once this demonic, ghostly mind has taken hold for a sufficiently long time, this influence having deeply saturated them, some even go so far as to eat excrement and urine, treating these the same as wine and meat, declaring purity and impurity alike, all of it "empty," breaking the very precepts and dignified conduct the Buddha himself established, and, moreover, through this false teaching, leading others into wrongdoing as well. Losing this correct reception, giving rise to every kind of deviant reception instead, they inevitably decline. This closes the ninth state, attaching to emptiness and destroying the precepts.

10. The Demon of Desire 欲魔

Sūtra: "Further, within this same samādhi, this good person sees the aggregate of form dissolved and the aggregate of sensation made clear; savoring this empty brightness until it sinks deep into their very marrow, this mind of theirs suddenly gives rise to boundless love, and, at its most extreme, this turns to madness and becomes outright desire. This is named a state of samādhi, at peace and in accord, sinking deep into the mind, without wisdom present to hold it in check, and so falling, mistakenly, into every kind of desire. Recognized, no fault; not a sign of sagehood attained. Taken as a sign of sagehood attained, a demon of desire enters this person's own inmost heart. They thereupon preach desire itself as the very path of bodhi, teaching lay followers to practice desire indiscriminately as 'equality,' calling those who engage in such sexual acts 'sons of the Dharma.' Through this spirit's own power, in this final age, they gather ordinary, foolish followers, their number reaching first into the hundreds, and then, further, one or two hundred, or five or six hundred, even filling out a thousand or ten thousand — until, at last, this demon's own mind grows weary, and departs from this person's own body; their authority and virtue then gone entirely, they fall, thereupon, into entanglement with the law, misleading multitudes, and, entering the unrelenting hell for it, lose this correct reception, and inevitably decline."

Commentary: This is the tenth state, attaching to existence and indulging in lust unchecked. This good person, still advancing in the cultivation of samādhi, sees form dissolved and sensation now manifest. "Savoring this empty brightness" means: through deep savoring and attachment to this substance of empty brightness, unable to let it go, it sinks deep into their very mind and marrow, and, suddenly, a boundless mind of love arises within them — since, within samādhi, this naturally arising, wondrous bliss is beyond anything comparable in this ordinary world. As this love, at its most extreme, gives rise to a kind of saturating pleasure, feeling stirred and turning to madness, this realm of desire manifests before them, and, unable to hold themselves in check, this becomes outright desire, no longer within their own control.

This is named a state of samādhi, at peace and in accord, sinking deep into the very mind and marrow, without any power of wisdom present with which to hold oneself in check, leading, thereby, to this love at its most extreme turning to madness, falling mistakenly into every kind of desire. Should one use this illuminating wisdom to observe closely, recognizing this as merely a wondrous sensation to be experienced, without giving rise to any indulgent attachment to it, the moment one awakens to this, there is no fault in it at all — this is not a sage's own genuine realization.

This matter of a demon taking possession and indulging in lust unchecked is, throughout, easily understood in the text itself. Here, though, it must be made plain that these ten states shown above differ from the ten states of the aggregate of form: the states of form proceed from earlier to later, arising one after another in sequence, passing through one layer before the next appears — as the Guanding Commentary puts it, the aggregate of form unfolds vertically. These states of sensation, though, each arise separately and independently — that is, the state itself remains the same, yet what is seen differs each time, and, following whatever is seen, clinging arises, and a demon results — as the Guanding Commentary puts it, the aggregate of sensation opens horizontally.

All ten of these states, above, speak of losing this correct reception: correct reception belongs to samādhi, deviant reception belongs to a demon; having already lost this correct reception, one inevitably gives rise to a deviant reception instead, and so this belongs to demonic karma. The first arises from pressing inward beyond all proportion, giving rise to boundless grief. The second arises from being moved beyond all proportion, giving rise to boundless courage. The third arises from one's own power of insight growing weak, becoming this sunken recollection. The fourth arises from wisdom growing strong while samādhi grows weak, turning, instead, into this base presumption. The fifth arises from surveying both edges, and so giving rise to this anxiety. The sixth arises from sensing this ease, giving rise to this boundless joy. The seventh arises from seeing oneself as superior, giving rise to this great pride. The eighth arises from this lightness and clarity, giving rise, of itself, to this satisfaction. The ninth arises from attaching to emptiness, and thereby destroying the precepts. The tenth arises from attaching to existence, and, from this, indulging in lust — and so, in every case, none of these ever step outside these same five aspects of suffering, bliss, sorrow, joy, and equanimity, all within the aggregate of sensation itself. This closes the second section, these ten states in the midst of practice.

Sūtra: "Ānanda, these ten states appearing in meditation are all produced by the interaction of effort and the aggregate of sensation itself, and so these particular phenomena appear. Beings, stubborn and confused, fail to measure themselves honestly; meeting these conditions, deluded, they do not recognize them for what they are, and declare themselves to have ascended to sagehood — committing the offense of great false speech, and falling into the unrelenting hell for it. You, too, must take these very words of the Tathāgata and, after my passing, transmit and proclaim them throughout the age of the Dharma's decline, so that every sentient being everywhere may awaken to and understand this teaching, so that heavenly demons find no opening, and practitioners are protected and guided all the way to the unsurpassed path."

Commentary: The Buddha here calls once more upon Ānanda, the one to whom this teaching is directly addressed, and tells him: all ten of these states appearing in meditation come about because the aggregate of sensation has not yet broken through, and the mind's own effort has not yet been rightly applied, this principle and this desire locked in battle, each in turn gaining the upper hand. States such as gaining this great radiance, all the way through attaining this empty, luminous nature, come about wherever this contemplative power prevails over false thought; states such as giving rise to boundless grief, all the way through boundless love arising, come about wherever false thought prevails over this contemplative power instead — and so these particular phenomena appear.

"Deluded, they do not recognize them for what they are" means: encountering states such as gaining this great radiance, or attaining this empty, luminous nature, and not knowing where these truly come from. "Declaring themselves to have ascended to sagehood" means precisely claiming realization not yet actually attained — hence, "committing the offense of great false speech, and falling into the unrelenting hell for it."

You must take these very words of the Tathāgata and transmit and proclaim them throughout the age of the Dharma's decline, so that everyone cultivating samādhi everywhere may awaken to and fully understand this teaching, not be misled by any demon finding its own opening, and so that the Dharma may be sustained throughout this age of decline, genuine practice protected and guided, so that practitioners may, by gradual stages, cultivate and realize this path, and accomplish unsurpassed buddhahood. This closes the second section, the demonic states of the aggregate of sensation.