Ten Demons, Ten Philosophies

Sūtra: "Ānanda, once this good person, cultivating samādhi, has exhausted the aggregate of sensation — though not yet free of outflows entirely — the mind can leave the body like a bird escaping its cage, already able to progress, starting from this ordinary body, up through all sixty sagely stages of the bodhisattva path, gaining a mind-made body that travels wherever it wishes without obstruction."

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

"Exhausted the aggregate of sensation" — though having passed through every prior state one by one, one still remains covered by the aggregate of perception — hence, "though not yet free of outflows entirely"; and this word "though" itself carries the sense of something nearly, but not quite, exhausted.

"The mind can leave the body" means: since this true mind pervades everywhere, and was never, in truth, confined within the body at all, it is only through beginningless confused clinging that it becomes, though not truly confined, confined all the same. Even once the aggregate of form is exhausted, the ten directions opened up entirely, seeing and hearing pervading everywhere, there is still no free function of leaving the body at all — this, too, is entirely because the aggregate of sensation still covers it over. Now that the aggregate of sensation is exhausted, the mind is, at last, able to leave the body, personally beholding this substance detached from the sense-faculties itself; fearing this may still not be entirely clear, the text further offers the metaphor of a bird escaping its cage. The bird is a metaphor for this substance detached from the faculties; the cage is a metaphor for the very faculty that had bound it. This substance detached from the faculties is precisely the eighth, root consciousness itself; having attained this substance detached from the faculties, one comes close to attaining the very function belonging to one whose outflows are entirely exhausted — hence, "already able to progress, starting from this ordinary body, up through" every stage of the bodhisattva path, all the way to wondrous enlightenment itself.

"All sixty sagely stages" refers specifically to the sharpest faculties of the perfect, sudden teaching, certainly able to progress, with this very ordinary body, straight up through every sagely stage — not the same as the separate teaching, where every stage must be actually, individually realized, requiring lifetime upon lifetime, kalpa upon kalpa, to realize even a single portion and reach a single stage — how, then, could this ordinary body ever progress through every stage all at once? These sixty sagely stages are the fifty-five stages with the three gradual stages and the ground of dry wisdom added before them, and wondrous enlightenment added after — exactly sixty in total. All are called, together, "sagely" here because, in passing from the ordinary to the sagely, cause and fruit share one and the same principle, since this perfect awakening has already been attained.

"Gaining a mind-made body that travels wherever it wishes without obstruction" means: like going wherever the mind wishes, swift and free of any obstruction — and there are three kinds of such a body. First, the mind-made body of one who delights in samādhi entered upon (人三昧樂意生身): meaning that this mind is still and unmoving — corresponding, by resemblance, to the first through seventh of the ten faiths, entering the practice of emptiness. Second, the mind-made body awakened to the nature of phenomena as one's own nature (覺法自性性意生身): meaning entering universally into every buddha-land, taking phenomena themselves as one's own nature — corresponding, by resemblance, to the eighth faith, emerging into the provisional. Third, the mind-made body of every kind arising together, without any contrivance at all (種類俱生無作意生身): meaning fully realizing the very Dharma a buddha has realized — corresponding to the ninth and tenth faiths, cultivating the middle position. Among these three kinds of mind-made body, this passage refers specifically to the second, the mind-made body awakened to the nature of phenomena as one's own nature. Since this substance detached from the faculties is precisely the eighth, root consciousness, and every single phenomenon manifests dependent on this consciousness, having attained this consciousness, one is thereby able to awaken to the fact that every phenomenon's own nature is, like an illusion, nothing but this consciousness's own transformation. Having attained this body, one is not only able to manifest freely, but able, moreover, to enter fully into every buddha-land at once — hence, "travels wherever it wishes without obstruction." This closes the first section, carrying forward the mark of the aggregate of sensation already exhausted.

Sūtra: "It is like a person talking in their sleep, deep in slumber: though this person has, in fact, no separate awareness of what they are saying, their very words have already taken on distinct tones and coherent order, so that anyone not asleep can fully understand what they are saying. This is called the boundary of the aggregate of perception."

Commentary: "Deep slumber" means deep sleep; "talking in one's sleep" means talking to oneself, unprompted — not the same as the speech of one who is awake, precisely because it remains covered by the aggregate of perception. This deeply sleeping person, dim and unaware, has, regarding the matter being spoken of, no separate awareness of it at all; yet their very sleep-talk has already taken on distinct, audible tones, a coherent order that can be discerned, so that anyone not asleep comes to understand fully what they are saying.

This describes one for whom the aggregate of perception has not yet broken through, who has gained this mind-made body, progressing through all sixty sagely stages, traveling wherever they wish without obstruction — and yet, regarding this same accord above with the sagely and unity below with the ordinary, has not, in truth, personally realized it at all. Though not yet personally realized, still, what manifests is not mistaken: every buddha and bodhisattva knows fully well this very person, the bodily marks they manifest able to be seen, their sequence of stages in no way disordered — just as, within the second of the three gradual stages, it is said that one gains the power to roam freely through every realm, beholding buddhas and hearing the Dharma, personally receiving this sagely instruction directly — and which buddha, then, would fail to personally know and see them? This is called the boundary of the aggregate of perception not yet broken through. This closes the first section, the boundary not yet broken through, at the very start of practice.

Sūtra: "Once every stirring thought is exhausted and every floating, superficial idea dissolved, so that the bright, awakened mind is as if cleansed of all dust, and the entire cycle of birth and death, beginning to end, is illuminated in a single perfect view, this is called the exhaustion of the aggregate of perception, and such a person can transcend the turbidity of affliction itself. Examining its cause, this aggregate is rooted in interfusing, false thought."

Commentary: As the Zhizhang Commentary puts it: "stirring thought" refers precisely to the seeds of the six consciousnesses contained within the eighth consciousness — since this subtle, fine mark of movement is present, it is spoken of here as "stirring thought." Movement must give rise to thought — this is precisely the very root of the aggregate of perception itself, since every floating, superficial thought of the six consciousnesses arises dependent on this same root thought. Once this root thought is exhausted, the branch-and-twig, floating thought within the six consciousnesses has nothing left from which to arise — hence, "every floating, superficial idea dissolved." "The bright, awakened mind" refers to the eighth, root consciousness itself; since it still carries some trace of falseness, the text does not yet call it the wondrous, awakened, bright mind. Stirring thought already exhausted, floating thought no longer arising — hence, "as if cleansed of all dust": this nature of consciousness, awakened and bright, resembles a mirror; the six consciousnesses' own floating thought resembles dust upon it; this subtle, fine mark of movement resembles a smudge upon it.

"The entire cycle of birth and death, beginning to end, is illuminated in a single perfect view" means: throughout the three realms, class by class, among the twelve categories of sentient beings, every single instance of birth and death — from the very first, egg-born, to the very last, born neither through thought nor its absence — can be illuminated and observed in perfect completeness: whence birth comes, and whither death goes — since this dust and this smudge are now both exhausted, this awakened mind's own light now made manifest, this very root of arising and ceasing is, from this point, laid bare — exactly as a later passage states: "beholding, throughout the ten directions, every one of the twelve kinds of sentient being, their every category exhausted entirely." And this same root of arising and ceasing, class by class, is precisely the aggregate of formations itself; once the aggregate of formations manifests, this is precisely transcending the aggregate of perception — hence, "this is called the exhaustion of the aggregate of perception." This corresponds, within the teaching of perfect penetration, to "awareness, and what is aware of it, both become empty."

As the Zhizhang Commentary puts it: earlier, at the moment when "the very hearing of what is heard comes to an end," one was aware of there being such a thing as "the hearing of what is heard coming to an end" — plainly, there remained some awareness capable of this awareness, precisely this subtle, fine mark of movement, these seeds of the six consciousnesses within the eighth. Now that thought itself is exhausted, this subtle, fine mark of movement, too, is gone — and so awareness, and what is aware of it, both alike become empty! The reason this is still not the true return, though, is that it remains covered over by the aggregate of consciousness still.

"Such a person can transcend the turbidity of affliction itself": as the earlier passage on this turbidity states, "and further, within your own mind, recollection, discrimination, recitation, and habituation — apart from this dust, no mark remains; apart from this awareness, no nature remains — interwoven together, this falsely forms what is named the turbidity of affliction." Now that stirring thought is exhausted, and floating thought dissolved, thought itself removed and consciousness made empty, one is thereby able to transcend it. Observing together the very cause from which the aggregate of perception arises, one finds it rooted, at its origin, in interfusing false thought, woven falsely together — since this aggregate of perception is able to interfuse and pass through what is otherwise solid and obstructed, exactly as, when the mind thinks of a sour plum, water rises of itself within the mouth. This closes the first section, showing this aggregate's full course from beginning to end.

Sūtra: "Ānanda, this good person, the aggregate of sensation now empty and wondrous, encountering no deviant apprehension, this perfect samādhi brought to light — within this samādhi, their mind comes to love perfect brightness, sharpening their own refined thinking, craving skillful means."

Commentary: From this point on, the ten distinct demonic states of the aggregate of perception are shown one by one; this is the first, craving skillful means. "This" refers to the good person who has passed through the aggregate of sensation, hence called "good." "Empty" means seeing and hearing pervading everywhere; "wondrous" means this function of having left the body, like a bird escaping its cage, gaining this mind-made body, traveling wherever it wishes without obstruction. "Encountering no deviant apprehension" means not being misled by any deviant apprehension belonging to the aggregate of sensation. "This perfect samādhi brought to light" is precisely this perfect, penetrating, wondrous samādhi, now brought to light — this is the state belonging to the aggregate of sensation already exhausted; everything that follows should be understood along this same pattern. "Within this samādhi, their mind comes to love perfect brightness" means: within this mind of meditative samādhi, a single thought suddenly arises, cherishing attachment to this perfect brightness — that is, cherishing attachment to the perfect, complete manifestation of every wondrous function. Sharpening one's own resolve, applying diligent, refined thought, craving transformation, seeking further skillful means still, wishing to stir and move people's hearts, to carry out teaching and transformation, and to accomplish great Buddhist works widely.

Sūtra: "At that time, a heavenly demon, watching for its opening, sends its own spirit to possess a person, who then speaks the sūtras and their teaching."

Commentary: At exactly this time, this heavenly demon — that is, one of the demon-kings of the sixth heaven — watches for its opening, finding a gap it can exploit, and sends its own spirit forth to possess another person's body, one who has always been susceptible to deviant delusion. "Sends forth its spirit" resembles a military dispatch flying between camp and headquarters. Speaking what resembles the sūtras and their teaching, through the power of this demonic possession, drawing on this borrowed deviant wisdom, so as to make listeners receive it — this is not, in truth, someone genuinely able to expound the Buddhadharma; were they genuinely able to do so, this would not be a demon at all. For one whose aggregate of sensation is already exhausted cannot be entered by a demon directly, in their own inmost heart — and so the demon borrows some other, nearby person instead to mislead them, causing the practitioner to fall into confusion indirectly.

Sūtra: "This person, unaware that they are possessed by this demon, themselves declares that they have attained unsurpassed nirvāṇa, and comes to where this good person seeking skillful means dwells, sets up their own seat, and expounds the Dharma. Their own form, in the briefest moment, may appear as a monk, causing that person to see them so; or as Śakra; or as a woman; or as a nun; or they may sleep within a darkened room, their own body giving off light."

Commentary: "This person" refers to the one who has been possessed; "unaware" means that, though possessed by this demon, they are entirely unaware of it themselves. "Themselves declares that they have attained unsurpassed nirvāṇa" means: since this person has never, before now, been able to expound the Dharma at all, and yet now, unaccountably, is able to speak the sūtras and their teaching, they come to suspect, of themselves, that they have accomplished the path of buddhahood, declaring that they have attained unsurpassed nirvāṇa, and come to where this good person seeking skillful means dwells, setting up their own seat and expounding the Dharma — all of this precisely a scheme to entice and mislead. "Expounding the Dharma" refers specifically to expounding skillful means, manifesting spiritual powers as a kind of teaching. "Their own form, in the briefest moment" means that this bodily form, within the very briefest span of time, may appear, at times, as a monk — manifesting a form of the same kind, catering to what the practitioner already favors, so as to make them believe; or may appear as Śakra, or as a woman, or as a nun — these being forms of a different kind.

As the Awakening of Faith states: within the assembly, it may manifest the marks of an upright man or woman, and so on; and, further, it may manifest the image of a heavenly being, or of a bodhisattva, or even the image of a Tathāgata himself. But there, the demon itself comes directly and manifests these forms; here, it possesses another person and manifests them through that person instead. And further: there, one merely sees the manifested image, and may still harbor some doubt about it; here, one personally witnesses this very person transforming before one's own eyes in the briefest instant — and, absent some deep samādhi and wondrous wisdom, few indeed could avoid being misled by this. Or, sleeping within a darkened room, their own body gives off every kind of light; at times expounding the Dharma, at times manifesting some form, at times emitting light, carrying out these skillful means widely, stirring the practitioner's own heart, and causing them to fall into confusion of their own accord.

Sūtra: "This person, foolish and confused, mistakes them for a bodhisattva, believes in their teaching and transformation, their own mind shaken and unsettled, breaking the Buddha's own monastic discipline, and secretly indulging in desire."

Commentary: This person, foolish and lacking any wisdom, confused and unaware, mistakes the possessed teacher for a bodhisattva — one whose three wheels respond according to capacity: the wheel of the body manifesting spiritual powers, the wheel of speech expounding the Dharma, the wheel of the mind certainly discerning each capacity — and so, of themselves, giving their whole heart over, believes in this teaching and transformation, so that whatever settled mind they had cultivated is, thereupon, entirely shaken and unsettled, and whatever precepts they had upheld are, thereupon, entirely destroyed. "Secretly indulging in desire" points to the demon's own ultimate intent in confusing and disordering the practitioner — for whenever a practitioner falls prey to a demon, a mind of desire is thereby aroused; since demons, for the most part, crave desire themselves, they secretly indulge in it, breaking the precepts, and thereby fail ever to attain liberation. Yet one whose pure conduct runs deep, and whose wisdom is strong, though the demon's own skillful means may be beyond ordinary reckoning, need only observe this same enticement to lust and destruction of the precepts to recognize this as demonic at once, certainly not the Buddha's own teaching — how, then, could one ever be misled by it? This, in fact, becomes one further means of verifying a demon for what it is.

Sūtra: "This mouth loves to speak of calamity and good fortune, of strange and unusual portents — declaring that the Tathāgata has appeared in a certain place, or speaking of coming conflagrations, or of coming warfare, striking terror into people, so that their own family fortune is squandered away for no reason at all."

Commentary: This mouth constantly loves to speak of such things: calamity is an ill omen — coming conflagrations, warfare, and the like, striking terror into people; good fortune is an auspicious omen — the Tathāgata appearing in a certain place, and the like; strange and unusual portents are simply bizarre, contrary-to-nature pronouncements. "Their own family fortune is squandered away for no reason at all" means: either it speaks of some ill omen — the great conflagration of the aeon-ending fires arising, or the lesser calamity of warfare arriving — so that the whole household scrambles to seek deliverance; or it speaks of some auspicious omen — a buddha present in a certain place — so that they exhaust their entire fortune seeking to be received by this buddha; and so the family fortune is squandered away for no reason at all — and, when the appointed time finally arrives, nothing whatsoever has actually happened.

Sūtra: "This is named a strange-object ghost, grown old and become a demon, tormenting this person; and, once its purpose has been served, it departs from that person's body, and both disciple and teacher alike fall into entanglement with the law."

Commentary: A strange-object ghost is one that takes on form by encountering some object. "Grown old and become a demon" means that, having existed as a ghost for a very long time, the demon-king enrolls it into his own service, so that it becomes one of his own retinue — and this same spirit, sent flying to possess a person earlier, is exactly this ghost. Tormenting this practitioner cultivating samādhi, once their own power of samādhi has been broken through, this same sense of its purpose being served arises, and it departs from the body of the person it had possessed. Once the demon no longer possesses them, they are left with no authority or virtue at all. "Disciple" refers to the one craving skillful means and the like; "teacher" refers to the one possessed by the demon and misleading others. "Fall into entanglement with the law" means: the authorities charge them with the crime of misleading the multitude through deviant talk, corrupting public morals — this being the immediately visible retribution alone, its true karmic fruit still awaiting them in hell.

Sūtra: "You should recognize this in advance, so as not to enter the turning wheel of rebirth; confused and unaware of it, you fall into the unrelenting hell."

Commentary: You should listen to what is said and examine the principle behind it, recognizing in advance that this is a demon, not misled by it, and thereby transcend birth and death, not entering the turning wheel of rebirth. But should you remain confused and unaware, suffering this torment, you will certainly fall into the unrelenting hell — how could this not call for the utmost care! This closes the first state, craving skillful means.

Sūtra: "Ānanda, further, this good person, the aggregate of sensation now empty and wondrous, encountering no deviant apprehension, this perfect samādhi brought to light — within this samādhi, their mind comes to love roaming freely, this refined thinking sent flying outward, craving to roam far and wide."

Commentary: This is the second state, craving to roam far and wide. This good person, having passed through the ten states of the aggregate of sensation — "empty" meaning seeing and hearing pervading everywhere, "wondrous" meaning this function of having left the mind's own confinement, like a bird escaping its cage, gaining this mind-made body, traveling wherever it wishes without obstruction — encountering no deviant apprehension belonging to the aggregate of sensation, this perfect, penetrating, wondrous samādhi brought to light — this being the state belonging to both form and sensation already exhausted, no longer bound by any material form. Within this mind of meditative samādhi, a single thought of attachment suddenly arises. "Roaming freely" means roaming through spiritual powers as though at play, unrestrained and free, exactly as every sage roams through spiritual powers as though at play, pervading every world as numerous as motes of dust. "This refined thinking sent flying outward, craving to roam far and wide" means: "flying" carries the sense of rousing oneself into motion — rousing one's own spirit and thought into flight, researching morning and night, craving to roam through every land, to carry out great Buddhist works widely — this very craving becomes the point at which the demon is drawn in.

Sūtra: "This person, likewise unaware that they are possessed by this demon, likewise declares that they have attained unsurpassed nirvāṇa, and comes to where this good person seeking to roam dwells, sets up their own seat, and expounds the Dharma. Their own form remains unchanged, yet those who listen to this teaching may suddenly see their own bodies seated upon a jeweled lotus, their whole body transformed into a mass of purple-gold light, every single listener in the assembly seeing this same thing, gaining what they had never experienced before."

Commentary: "This person," down through "sets up their own seat and expounds the Dharma," matches what came before. "Their own form" refers to the very form of the one expounding the Dharma, undergoing no change at all. "Those who listen" may suddenly see their own bodies seated upon a jeweled lotus, their whole body transformed into a mass of purple-gold light, appearing exactly as though buddhahood itself had been accomplished. Since this is possible, how could this resolve, cherished in the mind, to roam freely ever fail to be fulfilled? Every listener in the assembly, seeing this same thing, gaining what they had never experienced before — this is precisely how their own desire is catered to.

Sūtra: "This person, foolish and confused, mistakes them for a bodhisattva, their own mind given over to lustful abandon, breaking the Buddha's own monastic discipline, and secretly indulging in desire."

Commentary: This person craving to roam far and wide, foolish and confused, lacking any wisdom, mistakes the possessed teacher for a bodhisattva, offering up their very body and life in reliance upon them, giving their own mind over entirely to lustful, unrestrained abandon, roaming and indulging without any restraint whatsoever, taking the very mind they had cultivated in samādhi and breaking the precepts the Buddha established with it, secretly indulging in desire in private. How regrettable — once a child of the Buddha, now become a companion of Māra instead.

Sūtra: "This mouth loves to speak of buddhas appearing in the world, saying that a certain person in a certain place must be a certain buddha's own transformation-body, come here; that a certain person is precisely a certain bodhisattva, come to transform the human world. This person, seeing this, gives rise to a mind of thirsting reverence, and a deviant view arises secretly within them, this innate seed of wisdom extinguished."

Commentary: The passage above made plain the harm this person themselves receives; this one makes plain the confusion the world at large receives from it. This mouth loves to speak of buddhas appearing in a certain place, of a certain person being a certain buddha's own transformation-body, come here — and, wherever there is a buddha, there must be a bodhisattva as well, so a certain person is precisely a certain bodhisattva, come to transform the human world. Everything this demon's own mouth speaks takes the present place itself for a buddha-land, precisely because this practitioner's own intent was never to leave this very place, but to roam through every land as numerous as motes of dust — and so it speaks in exactly this way. "This person" refers to the one craving to roam far and wide, who, seeing this person possessed by the demon, gives rise to a mind of thirsting reverence, drawing closer day by day, tinged and stained more deeply with each passing day, so that a deviant view arises secretly within them, this right view growing dimmer with each passing day, this innate seed of wisdom extinguished, this wisdom-life itself severed entirely.

Sūtra: "This is named a drought-demon ghost, grown old and become a demon, tormenting this person; and, once its purpose has been served, it departs from that person's body, and both disciple and teacher alike fall into entanglement with the law."

Commentary: A drought-demon ghost is precisely the ghost of drought itself, taking on form by encountering wind — the rest may be understood following the pattern above.

Sūtra: "You should recognize this in advance, so as not to enter the turning wheel of rebirth; confused and unaware of it, you fall into the unrelenting hell."

Commentary: This may be understood following the pattern above. This closes the second state, craving to roam far and wide.

Sūtra: "Further, this good person, the aggregate of sensation now empty and wondrous, encountering no deviant apprehension, this perfect samādhi brought to light — within this samādhi, their mind comes to love a seamless union, settling this refined thinking into stillness, craving union and correspondence."

Commentary: This is the third state, craving union and correspondence. The first four clauses match what came before. "Their mind comes to love a seamless union" means: precisely because they encounter no deviant apprehension belonging to the aggregate of sensation, they become aware, of themselves, that this settled mind is dense and seamless, this perfect, penetrating, wondrous samādhi brought to light, aware, of themselves, that this wondrous function is in seamless union with it, having gained this mind-made body, progressing upward through all sixty sagely stages of the bodhisattva path — and so, within this mind of meditative samādhi, a longing suddenly arises, until, settling their own spirit into utter stillness, exhausting their own capacity for reflection entirely, they come to crave this union and correspondence, this secret union with the utmost principle, this seamless accord with every wondrous function, suddenly opening into awakening.

Sūtra: "This person, in truth unaware that they are possessed by this demon, likewise declares that they have attained unsurpassed nirvāṇa, and comes to where this good person seeking union dwells, sets up their own seat, and expounds the Dharma. Their own form, and the form of those who listen to this teaching, show no outward change at all — yet those who listen, even before hearing the Dharma spoken, find their own minds spontaneously opening into awakening, each successive thought shifting and changing: some gain knowledge of past lives; some gain knowledge of others' minds; some behold the hells; some come to know every matter of good and ill within the human world; some speak verses aloud unprompted; some recite sūtras of their own accord — each and every one delighted and rejoicing, gaining what they had never experienced before."

Commentary: "This person," down through "sets up their own seat and expounds the Dharma," matches what came before. "Their own form" refers to the very bodily form of the one expounding the Dharma, and the bodily form of those listening to the Dharma as well, showing no outward shift or change at all. Those in the assembly listening to the Dharma, even before hearing it spoken, find their own minds spontaneously opening into awakening, resembling the attainment of the very substance of perfect penetration; each successive thought shifting and changing, resembling the attainment of the very function of perfect penetration; some gain the power of knowing past lives, able to know matters of the past; some gain the power of knowing others' minds, able to know what others are thinking; some behold the hells, coming to understand the very state of utmost suffering there; some come to know every matter of good and ill within the human world; some speak verses aloud unprompted; some recite sūtra-text of their own accord from memory — all of this, above, being this same matter of secret union — each and every one delighted and rejoicing, gaining what they had never experienced before.

Sūtra: "This person, foolish and confused, mistakes them for a bodhisattva, this seamless love binding their own mind, breaking the Buddha's own monastic discipline, and secretly indulging in desire."

Commentary: "This seamless love" means an intimate, clinging affection born of desire, secretly binding one's own mind — believing in this teaching and transformation, breaking the precepts the Buddha established, joining together with the demon in this same conduct, secretly indulging in desire.

Sūtra: "This mouth loves to speak of buddhas great and small, of a certain buddha as an earlier buddha and a certain buddha as a later buddha; and, among them, there are true buddhas and false buddhas, male buddhas and female buddhas, and bodhisattvas likewise so. This person, seeing this, washes away their own original mind, and easily falls into a deviant awakening instead."

Commentary: What came before made plain the harm this person themselves receives; what follows makes plain the confusion the world at large receives from it. This mouth constantly loves to speak of buddhas great and small, a certain buddha as an earlier buddha, a certain buddha as a later buddha. Yet every buddha, through three incalculable aeons of refining their own conduct, a hundred kalpas of cultivating this very cause, shares one and the same path, ancient and present alike identical — how, then, could there be any distinction of earlier or later at all? "Among them, there are true buddhas and false buddhas": once falseness is exhausted and truth reaches its very utmost, this alone is named a buddha — how, then, could there be any distinction of true or false at all? "Male buddhas and female buddhas": since ancient times, every buddha has attained the path through a male body — how could a woman's own body, bound by its five hindrances, ever become a buddha? "Bodhisattvas likewise so": there are, likewise, male bodhisattvas and female bodhisattvas — meaning, precisely, that the possessed person indulging widely in desire is the "male buddha," and whoever receives this desire, according with the demon's own intent, is the "female buddha"; and, further, transforming into male or female forms in turn, imitating this act of desire, is itself said to be a bodhisattva — hence, "bodhisattvas likewise so." "This person, seeing this" refers to the practitioner, who, seeing this person possessed by the demon able to bring about this awakening, this secret union, and, moreover, believing what they say, thereupon mistakes the deviant for the correct, takes falseness for truth, washes away the very mind they had originally cultivated, and easily falls into this deviant awakening instead.

Sūtra: "This is named an animal-charm ghost, grown old and become a demon, tormenting this person; and, once its purpose has been served, it departs from that person's body, and both disciple and teacher alike fall into entanglement with the law."

Commentary: An animal-charm ghost is one that takes on form by encountering some animal — the rest may be understood following the pattern above.

Sūtra: "You should recognize this in advance, so as not to enter the turning wheel of rebirth; confused and unaware of it, you fall into the unrelenting hell."

Commentary: This, too, may be understood following the pattern above. This closes the third state, craving union and correspondence.

4. Craving to Trace Things to Their Root 貪求辨析 — This good person's mind comes to love this very root of things, exhaustively surveying the beginning and end of every transformation among physical objects, sharpening their own mind to its keenest edge, craving analysis and discernment. This craving becomes the point at which a heavenly demon finds its opening, sending its spirit to possess a nearby person, who declares attainment of unsurpassed nirvāṇa and comes to expound the Dharma, their own body carrying an intimidating spiritual authority sufficient to subdue any listener even before a word is spoken.

Commentary: This good person, still advancing in samādhi, comes to love this very root of things because, the aggregate of sensation now exhausted, this subtle, fine mark of movement is laid bare, and, not knowing that this is merely the seed of the sixth consciousness, the very root of the aggregate of perception itself, they mistakenly suppose that this movement itself gives rise to birth, taking it to be the very root of all things. And so, in single-minded devotion, they exhaustively survey the beginning and end of every transformation among the myriad things; once this suddenly opens into full comprehension, nothing of the outer and inner, the fine and coarse, of every single thing remains unreached, and the entire substance and function of one's own mind becomes, in every respect, illuminated! Just as this very sūtra has the Buddha say: knowing the root cause of every worldly and transcendent phenomenon — and so every present thing, the pine growing straight and the thorn growing crooked, the swan white and the crow black, each fully understood down to its root cause, even down to a single drop of rain beyond worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, its exact count fully known — this belongs to the very domain of a buddha's own wisdom; a buddha, having transformed the eighth consciousness into the great, perfect mirror-wisdom, is able to know in this way. For a beginner's mind to aspire to this is nothing but a genuine false thought. "Sharpening their own mind to its keenest edge, craving analysis and discernment" means, so to speak, rousing their own spirit, exhausting their own mental strength, craving to discern the principle behind every object, to analyze the very nature of transformation, so that whatever they wish to know appears before them, each and every point made clear — this very single thought becomes, in truth, the point at which the demon is drawn in.

The word "root" here refers to this longing to exhaust the very origin of every transformation. "Their own body carrying an intimidating spiritual authority sufficient to subdue any listener" refers to this possessed body likewise carrying some awe-inspiring, fearsome quality, some spiritual power able to hold and subdue, sufficient to overcome anyone seeking this same root, so that, though those in the assembly have not yet even heard the Dharma spoken, their own hearts are, of themselves, delighted and subdued already.

Sūtra: "Such people declare that the Buddha's own nirvāṇa, bodhi, and dharmakāya are present right here, in this very body of flesh — that father begetting son, and son begetting son again, generation after generation, is itself this same dharmakāya, ever-abiding without cessation, pointing to this present world itself as the very buddha-land, with no separate pure abode or golden-hued form to seek elsewhere. This person, believing and accepting this, loses their own prior mind entirely, offering up their very body and life in reliance upon it, gaining what they had never experienced before. Such people, foolish and confused, mistake this teacher for a bodhisattva, and, their own mind drawn into this same inquiry, break the Buddha's own monastic discipline, and secretly indulge in desire."

Commentary: This makes plain how master and companion alike are equally misled: taking the Buddha's own three kinds of nirvāṇa — specifically, the nirvāṇa of pure nature — taking the true nature of the three kinds of bodhi as this same nirvāṇa, taking the merit of the dharma-body among the three virtues as this same nirvāṇa, and declaring it present right here, in this very body of flesh, father begetting son and son begetting son again, generation after generation, taken as this very root, and this taken to be the dharma-body itself, ever-abiding without cessation — this nature, neither arising nor ceasing, never once apart from what does arise and cease, pointing to this present world itself, taken to be the buddha-land, defilement itself taken to be purity itself, with no separate pure abode or golden-hued form to seek elsewhere — the ordinary itself taken to be the sagely itself.

"This person" refers to the one seeking out this very root, who, believing this deviant teacher, receiving this demonic teaching, loses the very mind they had originally cultivated, and offers up their entire body and life in reliance upon it — taking this base, contemptible matter of bodily procreation as the very root of transformation itself, gaining what they had never experienced before. Such people, foolish and confused, mistake this teacher for a bodhisattva, and, investigating what this teacher's own mind delights in, comply with it in every respect, taking entanglement itself for liberation, breaking the precepts the Buddha established, taking lustful attachment itself for buddha-nature, secretly indulging in desire.

Sūtra: "This mouth loves to speak of the eye, ear, nose, and tongue as themselves the pure land, and of the male and female organs as themselves the true place of bodhi and nirvāṇa — and those without any true understanding believe these filthy words."

Commentary: This mouth loves to speak of the eye, ear, nose, and tongue as themselves the pure land — were this spoken as a provisional teaching's antidote, taking hold of the faculty's own nature, this might, in principle, be acceptable; but to speak this way constantly and exclusively is precisely a non-Buddhist wrong view — how much more so, then, to take the male and female organs, this very root of filth and impurity, as the very root of all transformation, the true place of bodhi and nirvāṇa, profaning the Buddhadharma and throwing the true principle into utter confusion. As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: the whole intent here is nothing but enticing people to indulge in lust unchecked and break the precepts, destroying this great samādhi entirely. Those without any true understanding mostly believe these filthy words, and sink down into the demon's own ranks.

Sūtra: "This is named a venom-gu, hex-casting evil ghost, grown old and become a demon."

Commentary: A venom-gu ghost is one that takes on form by encountering some poisonous substance; a hex-casting ghost is one that takes on form by encountering some hidden, obscure influence — the world has an art of hexing and casting spells said to overpower its target, hence also called a "hex-casting" ghost. This closes the fourth state, craving to trace things to their root.

5. Craving Hidden, Responsive Connection 貪求冥感 — This good person's mind comes to love a distant, responsive connection, researching this precisely, in every direction, craving hidden correspondence. A heavenly demon finds its opening and sends its spirit to possess a nearby person, who declares attainment of unsurpassed nirvāṇa and expounds the Dharma, causing listeners to see this person as though they had lived for a hundred or a thousand years, giving rise to a love and attachment they cannot bear to part with, serving this person as a servant, offering the four kinds of support without ever feeling weary — each in the assembly believing this to be their own teacher from a past life, gaining what they had never experienced before.

Commentary: This is the fifth state, craving hidden, responsive connection. The first four clauses match what came before. "Their mind comes to love a distant, responsive connection" — "distant" here means far removed, referring specifically to those sages, connected to oneself across many lifetimes and distant kalpas, who might respond to one's own seeking. "Researching this precisely, in every direction, craving hidden correspondence" means: with a single mind, moving through and researching this precisely in every direction, craving this hidden accord, hoping thereby to move and attain some sagely response.

The moment even a single thought of this craving arises, this settled mind is no longer dense and secure; and so this heavenly demon, watching for its opening, finding a gap it can exploit, a means by which it can ensnare, sends its own spirit flying to possess this person, speaking the sūtras and their teaching, in order to answer this very longing. "This person," the one possessed by the demon, originally unaware that they are possessed by this demon, likewise declares that they have personally realized this wondrous fruit of unsurpassed nirvāṇa, and comes to where this good person seeking such a response dwells, setting up their own seat to expound this teaching of hidden, responsive connection.

What follows falsely presents this matter of hidden, responsive connection: for a time, this possessed person is seen — white-haired yet with a youthful face, appearing exactly as though deeply cultivated and long realized, as though a hundred or a thousand years old — and a mind of love and attachment arises, unable to bear parting with them, serving even as their own servant, offering the four kinds of support without ever feeling weary or fatigued. "Each" refers to those gathered under the demon's own sway; "in the assembly" refers to this same following — their own hearts knowing, or so they believe, that this possessed person was their own teacher from a former life, their own original spiritual guide, and so give rise to a separate kind of attachment to this teaching, sticking fast like glue or lacquer, gaining what they had never experienced before.

Sūtra: "This mouth loves to say, 'In a former life, in a certain birth, I liberated a certain person, who was, at that time, my own wife, concubine, or sibling; and now I have come once more to liberate you, that you might accompany me to a certain world, to make offerings to a certain buddha.' Or it speaks of a further heaven of great light, where a buddha dwells, the very resting place of every Tathāgata — and those without any true understanding believe these false, deceptive words, and lose their own original mind entirely."

Commentary: This person, foolish and lacking any wisdom, mistakes this teacher for a bodhisattva, draws their own mind close to them, tinged and stained more deeply by this teaching day by day, believes this deviant teaching, breaks the precepts the Buddha established, learns this deviant conduct, and secretly indulges in desire. This mouth loves to say: "In my former life, in a certain birth, I liberated a certain person, who was, at that time, my own wife, concubine, or sibling" — falsely recounting some matter of the past, plainly to entice and draw the listener in through desire itself. "Now I and you" continues, likewise, this same karmic bond from a former life, come specially to liberate you once more, to accompany me to a certain world, to make offerings to a certain buddha — this according with this listener's own longing for such a distant, responsive connection. "Or it speaks of a further heaven of great light" and what follows falsely points to the summit-heaven of the desire realm, the demon's own palace there, calling it "the heaven of great light," and falsely calling the demon-king himself a buddha, dwelling there, this being the very resting place of every Tathāgata. Those without any true understanding believe these false, deceptive words, and lose the very mind they had originally cultivated, submitting instead to this demonic teaching. A plague ghost is precisely a pestilence-ghost that takes on form by encountering decline. This closes the fifth state, craving hidden, responsive connection.

6. Craving Deep Seclusion and Stillness 貪求靜謐 — This good person's mind comes to love penetrating deeply, disciplining themselves through hardship and toil, delighting in dwelling in some hidden, secluded place, craving perfect quiet and stillness. A heavenly demon finds its opening and sends its spirit to possess a nearby person, who declares attainment of unsurpassed nirvāṇa, expounds the Dharma, and causes each listener to know their own past karma — telling one, for instance, "you are not yet dead, yet have already become an animal," and having another tread on their tail from behind, so that they find themselves unable to rise at all, the whole assembly thereby won over entirely.

Commentary: This is the sixth state, craving deep seclusion and stillness. The first four clauses match what came before. "Their mind comes to love penetrating deeply" means: within this state of samādhi, the mind comes to love penetrating deeply into union with it, disciplining oneself without regard for hardship or toil, hoping only to penetrate deeply into perfect, penetrating samādhi, delighting in dwelling in some hidden, secluded, solitary place, seeking this cultivation of peace, quiet, and stillness. Little do they know that, within this samādhi, no thought whatsoever ought to be allowed to stir at all — the moment craving enters in, the demon finds its opening, sending its own spirit secretly to possess another person, speaking the sūtras and their teaching. "This person" refers to the one possessed by the demon, originally unaware that they are possessed by this demon, who likewise declares that they have personally realized unsurpassed nirvāṇa, and comes to where this good person seeking such seclusion dwells, setting up their own seat to expound this teaching of perfect penetration.

What follows first presents this deviant, misleading matter: causing every listener to know their own past karma — this being karma from former lives, showing penetration into the past. "Or, in this very place" refers to the place of this teaching, where they say specifically to one person, "you are not yet dead now, yet have already turned into an animal" — and, fearing this person's own heart might not submit, they order another to tread on that person's tail from behind, so that, through the demon's own sustaining power, this person finds themselves suddenly unable to rise at all — and, this proof thus demonstrated, the whole assembled audience gives their hearts over entirely, in reverent submission — this showing penetration into the future. Should someone, further, give rise to a thought, the demon already knows precisely where this thought began — "began" meaning its very starting point — this showing penetration into the present. The demon's own intent is to seem to penetrate all three periods of time at once, as though this were the very supreme function of perfect penetration itself; little do they know that the true, supreme function of perfect penetration is, in truth, far more than this alone.

"Beyond the discipline the Buddha himself established, piling on further austerities" refers to such things as abstaining from every ordinary food, going naked, plucking out their own hair, smoking their own nostrils, lying in ashes or upon thorns — deliberately performing bizarre, unusual conduct, so as to startle the world. "Denouncing monastics" means reproaching them for being unable to endure such austerities themselves. "Reviling their own followers" shows they harbor no private favoritism. "Exposing others' private affairs" means attacking and revealing others' hidden, private matters. "Not avoiding reproach or suspicion" shows their own apparent forthright honesty, concealing nothing. "This mouth loves to speak of calamity and fortune not yet come to pass" describes this deviant, misleading speech further still: this mouth constantly loves proclaiming matters of future calamity and fortune, and, when the time finally arrives, every single prediction proves accurate down to the very last detail — again, a deliberately bizarre, unusual claim, meant to dazzle the world. A being of great power is a ghost possessing great spiritual power, skilled at misleading people — the rest may be understood accordingly. This closes the sixth state, craving deep seclusion and stillness.

7. Craving Knowledge of Past Lives 貪求宿命 — This good person's mind comes to love knowledge and insight, laboring hard in research and inquiry, craving knowledge of past lives. A heavenly demon finds its opening and sends its spirit to possess a nearby person, who declares attainment of unsurpassed nirvāṇa and expounds the Dharma. This person may, for no evident reason, obtain some great, precious pearl at the very place of this teaching — the demon itself, at times, transforming into an animal, carrying this pearl and various other treasures, tablets, talismans, and strange objects in its mouth, bestowing these first upon this listener before finally taking possession of their body.

Commentary: This is the seventh state, craving knowledge of past lives. The first four clauses match what came before. "Their mind comes to love knowledge and insight" means: what ordinary people cannot know, they wish to know; what ordinary people cannot see, they wish to see — and so, sparing no hardship or toil, they research and inquire deeply, craving this knowledge of past lives.

"This person" refers to the one possessed by the demon; this first presents this deviant, misleading matter. "For no evident reason" means: without any apparent cause, obtaining, at this very place of teaching, a great, precious pearl, taken to be an auspicious sign; and, at times, this demon itself transforms into an animal, carrying this pearl in its mouth, together with various colored treasures — vessels such as a jeweled seal or a jeweled vase — and tablets and talismans — bamboo strips called tablets, leather-bound sheets called registers, carved bamboo called talismans, wooden strips called tallies, a talisman serving as a token of trust, made, under Han-dynasty regulation, of bamboo six inches long, carved with an agreed mark within it, each of two people holding half, matched together to confirm mutual trust — and various other strange objects, such as a dragon-light treasure-mirror and the like — bestowing these first upon this listener before finally taking possession of their very body: this plainly the demon's own doing. Or it entices listeners to dig beneath the earth, where a bright pearl illuminates the very spot — every listener personally witnessing this, believing what is said, gaining what they had never experienced before.

Sūtra: "They eat mostly medicinal herbs rather than fine food, sometimes eating but a single grain of sesame or wheat in a day, yet their own form remains full and robust, sustained by the demon's own power; they denounce monastics, revile their own followers, and do not avoid reproach or suspicion. This mouth loves to speak of treasures hidden in distant lands, or of the hidden dwelling places of every sage and worthy of the ten directions, and those who follow after such a person often encounter strange, unusual people."

Commentary: "Eating mostly medicinal herbs rather than fine food" means: avoiding cooked food, eating mostly medicinal herbs such as Solomon's seal or calamus root; or, at times, eating but a single grain of sesame or wheat in a day, their own form remaining full and robust, their blood and vital energy sustained entirely by the demon's own power. Denouncing monastics for not cultivating austerity themselves, reviling their own followers, spending their days in idle satiety. This further recounts more deviant, misleading speech: this mouth constantly loves speaking of hidden treasures in distant lands — misleading through worldly benefit; and of the hidden, secret dwelling places of every sage and worthy of the ten directions — misleading through transcendent benefit. Those who follow after such a person often encounter strange, unusual people — all such matters being of this same hidden, secluded kind, resembling closely this same craving for seclusion and stillness above.

"Mountain forest, land, city moat, river, or mountain" refers to the spirits presiding over these: mountain spirits, forest spirits, local land-spirits, city guardian-spirits — rivers meaning the four great watercourses, mountains meaning the five great peaks, each holding its own particular authority, spirits of blessed merit. "Grown old and become a demon" means that, over a long span of years, the demon-king enrolls it into his own service, hence "becoming a demon." As the Zhizhang Commentary explains this passage on possessing a spirit to mislead people, in three general ways: sometimes openly proclaiming lewdness, breaking the Buddha's own pure precepts, secretly indulging in the five worldly desires together with their own attending disciples — breaking the Dharma of the precepts through desire itself; sometimes practicing some fruitless austerity, foolishly and blindly cultivating, eating nothing but grass and wood exclusively, and inducing others to imitate this same conduct — breaking the Dharma of wisdom through mere foolishness; sometimes given repeatedly to anger and delight, diligence and idleness, faith and doubt, with no fixed pattern of conduct at all — breaking the Dharma of samādhi through this very disorder, simply tormenting the practitioner throughout. This closes the seventh state, craving knowledge of past lives.

8. Craving Spiritual Powers 貪取神力 — This good person's mind comes to love spiritual powers, every kind of transformation, researching this very origin of transformation, craving to seize this spiritual power for themselves. A heavenly demon finds its opening and sends its spirit to possess a nearby person, who declares attainment of unsurpassed nirvāṇa and expounds the Dharma. This person may hold flame in hand, scooping this light and distributing it upon the heads of every listener present, so that every listener's own head bears a flame several feet tall, giving off no heat at all and never burning them; or walk upon water as though upon solid ground; or sit motionless, suspended in mid-air; or enter into a jar, or hide within a sack, passing through window and wall alike without any obstruction whatsoever — only unable to remain unharmed by blade or weapon.

Commentary: This is the eighth state, craving spiritual powers. The first four clauses match what came before. Within this samādhi, the mind comes to love a bodhisattva's own spiritual powers, wondrous beyond all reckoning, penetrating everywhere without obstruction, every kind of transformation — and so researches this very origin of transformation, craving to attain this spiritual power for themselves. As Wenling puts it: this origin of transformation is the very root of every transformation — one wishes to ride upon it, to give rise to spiritual transformations of one's own. The very moment this mind is roused to research it, one has already fallen into deviant thought; the very moment the mind is bent on seizing it, this already amounts to contrived, artificial action — how, then, could the heavenly demon fail to find its opening here?

"This person holding flame in hand" and what follows first present this deviant, misleading matter: mere words alone would not be sufficient to inspire belief, and so this person specially manifests every kind of spiritual transformation. This person may hold flame in hand, scooping this light and distributing it upon the heads of every listener present, so that every listener's own head bears a flame several feet tall, without heat, without burning. Or they walk upon water as though treading solid ground — here, both water and fire alike brought under their own control. Or they sit motionless, suspended in mid-air, as though emptiness and form had become one and the same; or enter into a jar, or hide within a sack, matching, however small the space, their own size to fit it; or a window, though closed, can be passed through, or a wall, though separating, can be penetrated, without any obstruction whatsoever — this, too, a spiritual, extraordinary matter. Only regarding blade and weapon do they remain unable to remain unharmed — since the demon has not yet departed from desire, this view of a fixed self still persisting within it, and so it cannot make itself immune to a blade's touch, unlike the wind blowing against light, or the blade cutting through water.

Sūtra: "They declare themselves to be a buddha, though wearing the white robes of a layperson, receiving the bows even of monastics; they denounce meditation practice and the monastic discipline alike, revile their own followers, expose others' private affairs, and do not avoid reproach or suspicion. Their mouth constantly speaks of spiritual freedom and power, or causes others to glimpse, from the side, a buddha-land — this being nothing but a ghost's own power misleading people, with nothing real about it whatsoever. They praise the practice of lust openly, do not condemn coarse conduct, and take every filthy, obscene act to be the very transmission of the Dharma itself."

Commentary: They declare themselves a buddha — the buddha being the very utmost of sagehood — and yet dare falsely to claim this title for themselves, though wearing the white robes of a layperson, receiving even monastics' own bows of reverence. Denouncing meditation practice and the monastic discipline means: slandering the Chan tradition as mere idle sitting, wild investigation, presuming falsely to have transcended birth and death all at once; slandering the study of the monastic discipline as mere bodily restraint through the precepts, never, in the end, transcending the lesser vehicle. Among Chan, doctrinal study, and monastic discipline, only the teaching-tradition is not slandered — since they themselves set up their own seat to expound the Dharma, falsely claiming their own words to be the Buddha's own words, worthy of everyone's own devotion. To claim buddhahood for oneself destroys the Buddha-jewel; to denounce Chan and the precepts destroys the Dharma-jewel; to receive monastics' own bows destroys the Saṅgha-jewel. Believing this deviant teaching cuts off the very seed of the Three Jewels, and plants, instead, the seeds of hell! Reviling one's own followers displays an apparent absence of favoritism; exposing others' private affairs displays an apparent uprightness; not avoiding reproach or suspicion displays an apparent frank honesty, unafraid to expose others' private matters, mockery, and resentment alike.

This mouth constantly proclaims spiritual freedom and power, without any obstruction whatsoever, so as to console this very craving mind. And causing others to glimpse, from the side, a buddha-land, as proof of their own buddhahood — all of this nothing but a ghost's own power seeking to mislead people, deliberately manifesting falsely, with nothing real about it whatsoever. "Praising the practice of lust" means declaring the union of man and woman to be the dharma-body itself, ever-abiding without cessation; and, moreover, never condemning coarse conduct, taking every filthy, obscene, unclean act to be the very transmission of the Dharma, that the seed of buddhahood might never be cut off. This takes the very seed of hell to be the seed of buddhahood — how truly lamentable!

"The great power of heaven and earth" refers, together, to the five kinds of nature-spirit that follow — since these are the great, powerful spirits of heaven and earth itself. Each of these five kinds of spirit holds its own particular jurisdiction, its own sovereign authority, some upright and some deviant: the upright are called deities, the deviant are called nature-spirits, since they are able to divide authority with the true deities, their power being the very greatest. Every strange plant and unusual tree, receiving the very refined essence of heaven and earth, stealing the very quintessence of sun and moon, accumulated over kalpas, becomes such a nature-spirit turned demon. "Or a dragon-spirit" refers to such creatures as the dragon guarding some heavenly palace, or the dragon guarding some buried treasure, stealing heaven's own numinous power, stealing an object's own essence, and thereby becoming such an uncanny spirit. "Or an immortal, life ended, revived to become such a spirit" refers to one who, through visualization practice, sought to solidify their own bodily form, originally hoping for eternal life without death — yet, unaware that even an immortal's own lifespan has its final end, is revived instead as such a spirit. "Or one whose allotted years as an immortal have come to an end, their years reckoned and death due, yet whose body has not decayed" refers to one who, cultivating immortality, smelting lead and refining mercury, preparing and nourishing cinnabar, ought to have enjoyed a very long lifespan, yet, this immortal span having come to its end, their years reckoned and death due, their spirit and consciousness unable to remain, their bodily form not yet decayed, is possessed instead by some other strange being — how regrettable, that their own past merit and practice should, instead, become fuel for this very demonic affliction! Those who, rather than relying on right awakening, cultivating this samādhi, engage instead in visualization to solidify their own bodily form, ought to know to reflect on this most urgently. This closes the eighth state, craving spiritual powers.

9. Craving Deep Emptiness 貪求深空 — This good person's mind comes to love entering cessation, researching the very nature of transformation, craving profound emptiness. A heavenly demon finds its opening and sends its spirit to possess a nearby person, who declares attainment of unsurpassed nirvāṇa and expounds the Dharma; within the very midst of the assembly, this person's own form may suddenly vanish, unseen by anyone, then reappear, bursting forth once more from empty space, coming and going entirely as they wish.

Commentary: This is the ninth state, craving deep emptiness. The first four clauses match what came before. Within this samādhi, the mind comes to love entering cessation — as the Precious Mirror Commentary puts it, because they do not realize that every phenomenon's own mark is, from the very outset, already quiescent and extinct of itself, requiring no further extinguishing at all, and so, for no evident reason, they wish, instead, to force this phenomenon of form into this markless emptiness — not the same as the lesser vehicle's own extinguishing of form to return to emptiness. "Researching the very nature of transformation, craving profound emptiness" means: researching the very substance and nature of every transformation — that is, precisely the very root of the aggregate of perception, this subtle, fine mark of movement — refining this research to its utmost, hoping thereby to exhaust it entirely, all for the sake of craving this profound emptiness. To speak of this "profound" emptiness means not merely that both body and world alike become empty, but, further, that coming and going becomes entirely free as well.

This single thought of craving alone is already enough to show that this settled mind is no longer dense and secure, and so it stands entirely to reason that the heavenly demon should find an opening here to exploit, sending its own spirit to possess this person and cause confusion. "This person," down through "sets up their own seat and expounds the Dharma," may be understood following the pattern above. "Within the assembly, their own form may suddenly vanish" first presents this deviant, misleading matter: though speaking of this teaching of emptiness, fearing this may still not inspire belief, they specially manifest this proof, so as to make this faith firm and secure. Precisely within the assembly, this bodily form suddenly becomes empty, unseen by anyone — showing precisely that existence itself is emptiness; and precisely at the moment this form is empty, unseen, it bursts forth once more from empty space — showing precisely that emptiness itself is existence. Coming and going in this way, alike attaining this same freedom, this bears some resemblance to wondrous existence and true emptiness, true emptiness and wondrous existence — yet this is merely the demon's own power falsely manifesting this, so as to satisfy the mind of one craving this profound emptiness.

Sūtra: "Or their own body appears transparent, like lapis lazuli; or their hands and feet give off the fragrance of sandalwood; or their excrement and urine taste like thick, refined honey. They denounce the monastic precepts, and hold monastic life in contempt. Their mouth constantly declares that there is no cause and no effect, that a single death is final and permanent extinction, with no further body to follow, and no distinction whatsoever between the ordinary and the sagely. Though claiming to have attained this empty stillness, they secretly indulge in desire, and those who receive this desire from them likewise attain this same empty mind, denying cause and effect altogether."

Commentary: "Or their own body appears transparent, like lapis lazuli" means: a body ordinarily composed of every kind of filth is made to appear translucent, radiant, like the lapis-lazuli treasure itself. "Or their hands and feet give off the fragrance of sandalwood" means: hands and feet, ordinarily unclean and defiled, are made to give off the very fragrance of sandalwood instead. "Or their excrement and urine taste like thick, refined honey" means: excrement and urine, ordinarily foul and unbearable, are made to taste as sweet as thick, refined honey — refined honey being rock candy — showing precisely that defilement itself is purity itself. All of this manifested within their own present body, dazzling and misleading the crowd. "Denouncing the precepts" means slandering the keeping of precepts as belonging to the lesser vehicle, a mere self-imposed restraint; "holding monastic life in contempt" means, having failed to attain emptiness of body themselves, presuming to have found liberation on their own terms instead.

This further recounts more deviant, misleading speech, meant to dazzle the world. This mouth constantly loves declaring that there is no cause and no effect, that a single death is final and permanent extinction — exactly as King Prasenajit, upon meeting Kātyāyana and Vairaṭīputra, was told that this very body, after death, undergoes utter cessation — precisely this same view. "No further body to follow" means: a single death, final and permanent extinction, with no further casting off of one life to take up another, no further receiving of any retribution of suffering or bliss after death; and every distinction between the six ordinary destinies and the four sagely ones, between confusion and awakening, is likewise nonexistent — even a sage's own cultivation and realization is held to be nothing at all. Taking this annihilation itself for the attainment of empty stillness, taking the practice of desire itself for freedom from all obstruction, hence, "though claiming to have attained this empty stillness, they secretly indulge in desire." Those who receive this desire from them are called "sons of the Dharma," transmitted this same teaching of annihilation, likewise attaining this same "empty mind," denying cause and effect altogether, giving rise to this great wrong view. As Yongjia has said: "boundless emptiness, denying cause and effect — reckless and unrestrained, this invites calamity and misfortune" — how could this not be feared!

Sūtra: "This is named a spirit born of the eclipsing essence of sun and moon, or of gold, jade, magic fungus, unicorn, phoenix, tortoise, or crane, surviving for thousands upon thousands of years without dying, becoming numinous, born into this land, grown old and become a demon."

Commentary: As the Zhizhang Commentary explains: "the eclipsing of sun and moon" — dark vapor pressing close together is called eclipsing; obscuring this refined radiance is called an eclipse — precisely what is meant today by a solar or lunar eclipse. Now, the sun is the very essence of yang, and the moon the very essence of yin, each possessing its own radiant vapor, pervading and dispersing everywhere; yet, at the very moment of eclipse, unable to disperse as usual, this vapor pours straight down into the earth instead. The gold, jade, magic fungus, unicorn, phoenix, tortoise, and crane upon the earth, receiving this vapor, are thereby able to live long, and to nurture their own refined essence — hence, "surviving for thousands upon thousands of years without dying, becoming numinous." "Born into this land" refers to becoming an immortal-object, an immortal-bird, or an immortal-beast, differing from the "nature-spirit accumulated over kalpas" spoken of earlier. This closes the ninth state, craving deep emptiness.

10. Craving Long Life 貪求永歲 — This good person's mind comes to love long life, laboring hard through toil and hardship to research this most subtle, imperceptible point, craving eternal years, giving up ordinary, fragmentary birth-and-death in the hope of suddenly attaining a transformational birth-and-death instead, this subtle mark made ever-abiding. A heavenly demon finds its opening and sends its spirit to possess a nearby person, who declares attainment of unsurpassed nirvāṇa and expounds the Dharma, loving to speak of traveling to distant lands and returning without any hindrance, covering ten thousand miles and returning again in the space of a single breath, bringing back some object from that place each time as proof.

Commentary: This is the tenth state, craving long life. The first four clauses match what came before. Within this samādhi, the mind comes to love long life, laboring through hardship and toil to research this most subtle, imperceptible mark of movement — that is, precisely the very root of the aggregate of perception itself. As the Zhizhang Commentary puts it: this subtle, fine mark of movement cannot be researched through any deliberate effort of mind at all — one need only rely on this fundamental practice, and, as samādhi deepens, it dissolves of itself, exactly like muddied water, set to rest within a still vessel: once stilled deeply enough, unmoving, the sediment settles of its own accord. Now, to research this most subtle point through such hard, toilsome effort is already a miscalculation; and, further, to crave eternal years, giving up ordinary, fragmentary birth-and-death, hoping suddenly for a transformational birth-and-death instead, hoping for this subtle mark to become ever-abiding — this is nothing but compounding false thought upon false thought.

Fragmentary birth-and-death refers to birth-and-death still possessing form, within the three realms — beings of the six destinies, dependent on this same bodily root, having a fixed span, long or short, to their lifespan, a fixed measure, large or small, to their bodily substance — hence called "fragmentary." Transformational birth-and-death refers to birth-and-death without form, beyond the three realms — noble ones of the three vehicles, having entirely cut off the delusion of view and thought found within the three realms, born instead into the very land of the dharma-nature, and so undergoing this transformational birth-and-death instead, nothing more than this thought itself shifting and changing moment to moment. Now, giving up this fragmentary birth-and-death, hoping suddenly for this transformational birth-and-death instead, hoping thereby to attain this subtle mark, ever-abiding.

"Loving to speak of distant lands" and what follows first presents this deviant, misleading matter: traveling to lands ten thousand miles distant, going and coming without any hindrance or obstruction at all; "the space of a single breath" describes the very shortness of this time, within which one may return once more; bringing back some object from that place each time, as proof. This is precisely the power of unimpeded bodily movement, among the five spiritual powers, brought about through the demon's own power, turning the very farthest distance into the very nearest. In the past, the Daoist Xue Daoguang cultivated nature without cultivating life-force, and so was able only to send forth his own yin-spirit, unable to fetch objects from distant places; Zhang Ziyang cultivated both nature and life-force together, and so was able to send forth his own yang-spirit, and, moreover, was able to fetch objects from distant places as well. Seen in this light, even the ability to fetch objects from distant places never goes beyond this same heavenly demon's own bag of tricks — how, then, could this ever be compared, in depth, to the Lotus Sūtra's own samādhi of manifesting one's own body universally, or to this sūtra's own supreme, wondrous function of perfect penetration?

Sūtra: "Or, within a single place, a single dwelling, over the span of only a few steps, they cause a listener attempting to walk from the east wall to the west wall, however urgently they hurry, to find themselves unable to cross this distance even after years of trying. Because of this, this listener's own mind comes to believe that the Buddha himself now stands present before them."

Commentary: Or, within a single place, a single dwelling, over what ought to be no more than a few steps, this measure being, in truth, exceedingly close, they cause a listener attempting to walk from the east wall to the west wall, however urgently they hurry, to find themselves unable to cross this distance even after years of trying. Yet, should this same clarity be applied to themselves, they can make what is far seem near; while, applied to another, they can make what is near seem far instead — this shrinking or expanding of space, this lengthening or shortening of time, being nothing but the demon's own false manifestation, meant to confuse and disorder people's own minds. Because of this, this listener's own mind comes to believe, mistakenly, that the Buddha himself now stands present before them.

Sūtra: "Their mouth constantly declares that every sentient being of the ten directions is their own child, that they have given birth to every buddha, that they themselves brought forth this world, that they are the primordial buddha itself, appearing in the world spontaneously, not through any cultivation at all."

Commentary: This further gives voice to more deviant, misleading speech. "Every sentient being of the ten directions is my own child" shows that they existed before any sentient being ever did; "I have given birth to every buddha" shows that they existed before any buddha was ever born; "I myself brought forth this world" shows that they existed before this world was ever brought forth — that is, both dependent and direct retribution, every buddha and every sentient being, and "I" am the primordial buddha behind them all. Being, then, this very root, primordial buddha, still present even now, their own lifespan, then, must exceed every other's entirely — this catering precisely to this listener's own original longing. "Appearing in the world spontaneously, not through any cultivation at all" precisely shows that all cultivation elsewhere is useless, denying the very matter of cultivation and realization altogether.

Sūtra: "This is named a heavenly demon abiding at ease within the world, who deploys his own retinue — such as Pañcikā, or the youthful spirits under the Four Heavenly Kings not yet resolved on bodhi — to exploit this practitioner's own empty clarity, and feed upon their vital essence; or, without relying on any such intermediary teacher, this practitioner may personally behold, with their own eyes, this being declaring itself Vajrapāṇi, promising them long life; presenting itself, further, as a beautiful woman, indulging widely in desire with them — and, before even a year has passed, their own liver and brain run dry, this person speaking as though alone, their words sounding, to any listener, exactly like the moaning of one possessed."

Commentary: A heavenly demon abiding at ease within the world refers precisely to a further demon-king dwelling above the sixth heaven of the desire realm, likewise belonging to the heaven of mastery over others' transformations. "Deploys his own retinue" refers to such things as the spirit sent flying to possess someone, described earlier. Pañcikā, translated "servant spirit," is precisely a ghost put to service, also called "the jealous woman." The youthful spirits of Vaiśravaṇa, precisely the piśāca ghosts, translated "devourers of vital essence," all subject to the jurisdiction of the Four Heavenly Kings — those who have already resolved on bodhi protect people, while those not yet resolved on bodhi harm them, seeking benefit from this practitioner's own settled, empty clarity, drawing forth deviant wisdom from it, feeding upon their vital essence, nourishing thereby their own demonic form.

"Or, without relying on any such intermediary teacher" means: not relying on any teacher possessed by the demon, this practitioner personally beholds, with their own eyes, the demon-king itself appearing directly, declaring itself Vajrapāṇi, this technique of firm, unbreakable strength, promising them a lifespan and body as firm as vajra itself. And afterward, this same being presents itself as a beautiful woman, enticing and misleading them, this practitioner, confident in their own bodily strength, indulging widely in desire with her — and, before even a year and a half has passed, their own liver-blood and brain-marrow, of themselves, run entirely dry. Little do they know that this promise of long life was nothing but empty words all along, while the harm done to their own body becomes, in the end, all too real and proven. "Speaking as though alone" means: this practitioner, conversing with this demon, is not understood by those nearby, who take it for talking to oneself — what they say having no fixed pattern, sounding, to any listener, exactly like the moaning of one possessed.

"Those who came before, uncertain of this" and what follows makes plain both kinds of harm together: those who, through relying on some intermediary teacher, were misled earlier, uncertain whether they were possessed by some demonic spirit, so that disciple and teacher alike, for the most part, fall into entanglement with the law; while this present case, not relying on any teacher, indulging widely in desire with this beautiful woman directly, before even meeting with any legal punishment, has already run dry and perished — this harm, indeed, coming all the more swiftly still. Both of these are sufficient to torment the practitioner, bringing them, in the end, to ruin and death.

As the Precious Mirror Commentary puts it: all ten of these states, above, come about entirely because, within this perfect samādhi, a false thought of craving arises — nothing more than this. Were one to advance diligently in accordance with the Dharma, not a single thought arising, cultivating and realizing as though all were illusion, what skillful means would ever remain unattained? What realm of the dharma-world would ever remain untraveled? What point of doctrine would ever remain unmastered? What root cause would ever remain unanalyzed? What response would ever remain unattained? What stillness would ever remain unentered? What past life would ever remain unknown? What spiritual power would ever remain unpossessed? What profound emptiness would ever remain unrealized? What constant abiding would ever remain unattained? And yet, instead, a mind of craving suddenly arises. It is exactly like scales and horns not yet fully grown, yet already thinking to fly and leap; feathers not yet fully formed, yet already hoping to soar aloft — as the saying goes, seeking office before one's studies are complete, swallowing the elixir before it is fully refined — how could this ever be permissible? And so one knows: that a demon is invited, and one falls, comes about entirely through this very fault of one's own mind's false thought. This closes the tenth state, craving long life.

Sūtra: "Ānanda, you should know: in the age of the Dharma's decline, these ten kinds of demons will take on the guise of monastics practicing within my own teaching, whether possessing another's body or appearing directly in their own form, every one of them declaring that they have already accomplished perfect, complete awakening. They praise sexual desire and destroy the Buddha's own monastic discipline. The evil demon-teacher and the demon's own disciples pass this same corrupt teaching down from one to the next, lust transmitted through lust; such deviant spirits, having taken possession of a person's very heart, remain there for at least nine lifetimes, and often more than a hundred generations, turning genuine practitioners entirely into Māra's own retinue. When such a person's life ends, they inevitably become one of Māra's own subjects, losing perfect, complete awakening, and fall into the unrelenting hell."

Commentary: This closes by summing up these ten demonic states, urging Ānanda, the one to whom this teaching is directly addressed, to transmit and proclaim this to future generations, so that everyone may come to know it, and never be misled by it. Ānanda, you should be aware: these ten kinds of deviant demons, in the age of the Dharma's decline, will falsely present themselves within my own Buddhadharma, taking on the name and form of monastics cultivating the path, hoping thereby to destroy the Buddhadharma, appearing in the very guise of a monk.

Long ago, while the Buddha still dwelt in the world, the demon-king wished to destroy the Buddhadharma, yet, the Buddha possessing such spiritual power, could not succeed in destroying it. As the Buddha was about to enter nirvāṇa, he summoned this demon-king and charged him instead to protect and uphold the Buddhadharma. One demon, though, made this vow: "Once the Buddha has passed away, I will, in accordance with the outward form of this teaching, become a monk myself, don your own kāṣāya robe, and destroy your Buddhadharma from within — is this possible or not?" And the Buddha, shedding tears at this, replied: "There is nothing I can do about you!" — exactly like a worm born within a lion's own body, feeding upon the lion's own flesh from within.

"Whether possessing another's body or appearing directly in their own form" — as in the tenth state above, where the practitioner personally beholds this being with their own eyes, declaring itself Vajrapāṇi, promising long life, and presenting itself as a beautiful woman, indulging widely in desire. "Every one of them declaring that they have already accomplished perfect, complete awakening" is spoken here in terms of the very fruit of wisdom: having already accomplished the very buddha-fruit of perfect, complete awakening — knowing fully that the mind gives rise to every phenomenon is "correct knowledge"; knowing fully that every phenomenon is nothing but mind alone is "complete knowledge." A practitioner should know: whoever manifests spiritual powers and, on that basis, calls themselves a buddha, is, without any doubt whatsoever, certainly a demon — since a true sage, manifesting in the world, would never lightly reveal such powers at all.

As Wenling puts it: the Nirvāṇa Sūtra states that, in the age of the Dharma's decline, Māra's own retinue will take on the very appearance of monks, arhats, and the like, corrupting and destroying the true Dharma, slandering and destroying the monastic precepts — this carries exactly the same intent as here. To praise lust, anger, and delusion as themselves precepts, samādhi, and wisdom is to destroy the discipline the Buddha established. "The evil demon-teacher" refers to the ten kinds of person possessed by a demon, described above, together with their own disciples beneath them, transmitting lust through lust, extending this harm on into later generations. These deviant spirits, having taken possession of a person's very heart, mislead the entire world without their even being aware of it, drawn into this demonic net — hence, remaining there for at least nine lifetimes, and often more than a hundred generations. "Nine lifetimes" and "a hundred generations" are both reckoned from after the Buddha's own passing: taking a hundred years as one lifetime, nine lifetimes amounts to nine hundred years; taking thirty years as one generation, a hundred generations amounts to three thousand years. As the age of the sages recedes ever further into the past, people's own faculties grow ever shallower and weaker, and what was originally hoped to be genuine cultivation turns, instead, into Māra's own karma — hence, "turning genuine practitioners entirely into Māra's own retinue." Having already become part of Māra's own retinue, when such a person's life ends, they inevitably become one of Māra's own subjects. Their wrong views deepen day by day, their right views grow ever dimmer, and, losing this buddha-nature of perfect, complete awakening, they fall into the unrelenting hell.

Sūtra: "You need not seek final cessation for yourself just yet. Even once you have attained the stage beyond further training, remain, by your own vow, within this coming age of the Dharma's decline, giving rise to great compassion, and rescue those beings of sincere mind and deep faith, so that they are not caught by any demon, and attain right understanding and right view instead. I have now already brought you across birth and death; that you uphold the Buddha's own words in turn is itself called repaying the Buddha's kindness."

Commentary: This directly urges Ānanda, the one to whom this teaching is addressed, to rescue beings in this age of decline. Ānanda had, for a long time already, aspired to the bodhisattva path — the bodhisattva's own resolve is to save others before saving oneself — and so the Buddha teaches him not to seek final cessation for himself just yet, but, even upon attaining the stage beyond further training, to remain by his own vow within this coming age of decline. Ānanda, at this point, had already cut off the six grades of afflictive delusion cultivated within the three realms, and knew, of himself, that his own cultivation and realization, the path beyond further training, was already accomplished — and so is urged here to remain, by his own vow, to save beings instead.

The five clauses beginning "giving rise to great compassion" mean: since this is an age of the Dharma's decline, when demons grow strong and the Dharma grows weak, deviant teachings arising in fierce competition with one another, true and false impossible to distinguish, one should give rise to this great, loving-kindness mind, so as to grant the very bliss of right understanding and right view; and give rise to this great, compassionate mind, so as to remove the very suffering of wrong understanding and wrong view. "Sincere mind" means having given rise to the mind of unsurpassed bodhi; "deep faith" means believing that every sentient being possesses buddha-nature. Rescuing such beings, bringing the eye of wisdom to perfect brightness, cultivating this true samādhi. "So that they are not caught by any demon, and attain right understanding and right view instead" means being able to keep them from falling prey to the demon-king's own wrong understanding and wrong view, so that they attain the Buddhadharma's own right understanding and right view instead.

The two clauses beginning "I have now already brought you across" mean: though Ānanda still remained at the second fruit, only for the sake of attending upon the Buddha did he retain this remaining trace of delusion; the Buddha, knowing that this fragmentary birth-and-death no longer bound him, therefore says, "I have now already brought you across, already free of birth and death." Having already transcended birth and death, Ānanda is thus charged not to enter final extinction, but to uphold the Buddha's own words, transmitting and proclaiming them throughout the age of decline, rescuing sentient beings — and this alone is called repaying the Buddha's own kindness. For even should one, throughout kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, bear the Buddha upon one's own head in reverence, or offer one's own body as a seat spanning the entire great-thousand world, were one not, thereby, to expound the Dharma and save sentient beings, this could never truly be called repaying this kindness at all — exactly as Ānanda's own verse states elsewhere: "offering up this profound mind to every world as numerous as motes of dust — this alone is what is truly called repaying the Buddha's kindness."

Sūtra: "Ānanda, these ten states appearing in meditation are all produced by the interaction of effort and the aggregate of perception 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 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 this teaching, so that heavenly demons find no opening, and practitioners are protected and guided all the way to the unsurpassed path."

Commentary: These ten kinds of demonic states appearing in meditation are, in every case, produced because the aggregate of perception still covers the practitioner over — this contemplative power and this false thought locked in battle within the mind, each in turn gaining the upper hand; and, whenever false thought happens to prevail, these particular phenomena appear. "Declare themselves to have ascended to sagehood" means: not only are they misled into taking a demon for a sage, but they, too, go so far as to declare themselves to have ascended to sagehood — yet the Buddha alone is the very king of the Dharma; how could this title ever be falsely claimed? Committing, thereby, the offense of great false speech, they will certainly and without any doubt fall into hell.

"You" here, throughout, carries this same sense of earnest, repeated exhortation. You must take these very words spoken by the Tathāgata and, after the Tathāgata's own passing, transmit and proclaim them throughout the age of the Dharma's decline, so that every sentient being everywhere may awaken to this teaching, and never fall into this demonic net. And so Ānanda, the one to whom this teaching is directly addressed, compiled this teaching into the Dharma treasury, transmitting it onward from this time forward, serving as the very eye through which both humans and heavenly beings alike may see, the very compassionate vessel that carries the world across — causing every practitioner everywhere to cultivate in accordance with it, to preserve this true mind, to protect and guide this samādhi, and to accomplish this path of unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. This closes the third section, the demonic states of the aggregate of perception.

Sūtra: "Ānanda, once this good person, cultivating samādhi, has exhausted the aggregate of perception, their ordinary dreaming thoughts dissolve away, so that waking and sleeping become exactly the same state. Awakened brightness becomes empty and still, like a clear sky, with no more coarse shadow-images of past objects remaining; observing the great earth, mountains, and rivers of the world becomes like a bright mirror reflecting things — what comes leaves no trace clinging to it, what passes leaves no residue behind. Receiving and responding entirely empty of content, every trace of old habitual tendency dissolved, only a single, essential truth remains."

Commentary: This passage, taken as a whole, makes plain the aggregate of formations' own boundary from beginning to end. "This good person" gathers together those who have passed through the ten states of the aggregate of perception described earlier — whether, throughout, never once giving rise to any craving at all, this nature of samādhi remaining constant; or, whenever a demon came, always able to recognize it, never letting it damage their own fundamental practice. Applying their mind in this way, the aggregate of perception breaks through, and, continuing still to refine this research further, this is called "cultivating this samādhi" — with respect to perception, marking the end of that practice, and, with respect to formations, marking the beginning of this next one; this samādhi advancing further still, stirring thought exhausted, floating thought dissolved away, this is called the exhaustion of the aggregate of perception.

"Their ordinary dreaming thoughts dissolve away": as a later passage states, waking is precisely this thinking mind, and sleep gives rise to every dream — now, with neither dream nor thought present at all, waking, too, is free of thought, constantly the same as this same stillness found in sleep; and sleep, too, is free of dreaming, constantly the same as this same awareness found while waking — hence, "waking and sleeping become exactly the same state." "Awakened brightness becomes empty and still" means: this original, wondrous, bright, true mind of awakening, free of every disturbance from dream and thought alike, attains this same purity, emptiness, and stillness! Exactly like a clear, bright sky, utterly without anything within it at all. "No more coarse shadow-images of past objects remaining" means: this coarse, heavy dust-image is precisely a mental object, entirely dependent on the aggregate of perception for its very substance; thought exhausted, this dust-image has nothing left to depend upon — hence, "no more" and so on. Everything up to this point concerns the wondrous quality of the mind's own substance — this "isolated shadow" now, at last, empty.

"Observing" onward concerns the wondrous quality of the mind's own illumination of its objects — this "objective realm" now, too, empty. The mountains, rivers, and great earth of this world are this objective realm; now, this mind illuminating these mountains and rivers becomes exactly like a bright mirror's own thoroughgoing clarity, manifesting according to whatever object appears, without the slightest trace of analysis at all. And so, when an object comes, its reflection appears within the mirror, yet the mirror clings to nothing at all; when an object passes, its reflection vanishes from within the mirror, yet the mirror, too, retains no trace of it at all. Based on this, then, within this objective realm and this consciousness, there is nothing more than an entirely empty receiving and responding. Once the object is gone, within this consciousness, everything is utterly clear, with no trace of any old habitual tendency left to speak of at all — "old" here meaning former, that is, this habitual tendency accumulated in the past. "Only a single, essential truth remains" means only this single essence of consciousness, this true substance — precisely this eighth, root consciousness itself — not yet the final, ultimate truth.

Sūtra: "And it is from this point that the very root of arising and ceasing itself is finally laid bare. One beholds, throughout the ten directions, every one of the twelve kinds of sentient being, their every category exhausted entirely; though not yet penetrating each one's own individual thread of destiny, one sees this same foundation of birth shared by all, exactly like heat-shimmer flickering over open country, this fine, restless glimmer serving as the very hinge underlying every floating sense-faculty and sense-object. This is called the boundary of the aggregate of formations."

Commentary: "The very root of arising and ceasing" refers to the very root cause underlying every instance of arising and ceasing — that is, precisely the seeds of the seventh consciousness contained within the eighth consciousness; since this subtle, fine arising and ceasing is present, it serves as the very root of the aggregate of formations, every instance of arising and ceasing flowing out from it. Formerly, covered by the aggregate of perception, this could not be seen; now, with the aggregate of perception's own stirring thought exhausted, this very root of arising and ceasing belonging to the aggregate of formations is, from this point, laid bare and revealed. And so one comes to behold, throughout the ten directions, the arising and ceasing of every one of the twelve kinds of sentient being, their every category exhausted entirely — "exhausted" here meaning entirely complete.

"Each one's own individual thread of destiny" belongs to the aggregate of consciousness; "this same foundation of birth shared by all" belongs to the aggregate of formations. Now, still covered by the aggregate of formations, one has not yet penetrated the individual thread of destiny behind each of these twelve kinds of birth — hence, "though not yet" — and yet one does see these seeds of the seventh consciousness, this same foundation of birth shared by all, exactly like heat-shimmer flickering, this fine, restless glimmer. Heat-shimmer is not dust in the air, but rather a drifting vapor over open fields, visible, on a clear spring day, hovering close to the ground — its form resembling water, its glimmer resembling flame. Zhuangzi calls this "wild horses"; Buddhist sūtras mostly call it "heat-shimmer" — a thirsty deer chasing after this heat-shimmer, seeing it resemble water from a distance, only to find nothing there upon drawing near. This same aggregate, discussed earlier in fascicle 2, within the section on the five aggregates, was there described, with respect to the position of delusion, taking its coarser mark, likened to a cascading torrent; here, though, it is described with respect to the position of cultivation, taking its subtler mark, likened instead to this same heat-shimmer — used as a metaphor for the aggregate of formations' own hidden, subtle mark of movement. "Fine, restless glimmer" describes a slight brightness, used as a metaphor for this mark of movement within the aggregate of formations, suddenly arising, suddenly vanishing.

"Restless" here distinguishes this from what comes before and after: this restlessness is a light, subtle restlessness, not the same as the heavy turbidity of the aggregate before it; and this restlessness is a stirring restlessness, not the same as the settled clarity of the aggregate after it. "The very hinge underlying every floating sense-faculty and sense-object" means: the floating faculties and their four kinds of object are precisely a sentient being's own bodily faculties; the twelve kinds of birth each differ from one another, and yet the very mechanism governing their ultimate transformation lies, in every case, within the aggregate of formations alone. A "hinge" is the axle of a door; a "socket" is the door's own pivot-hole — because of this hinge and socket, a door is able to open and close; because of this aggregate of formations, the sense-faculties and their objects are able to arise and cease. So long as this mark remains unexhausted, birth and death are difficult to escape — and this is called the boundary of the aggregate of formations. This closes the first section, the boundary not yet broken through, at the very start of practice.

Sūtra: "Once this restless, flickering original nature settles into its own original stillness, and that stillness absorbs its own original habitual tendency, like waves subsiding into still water, this is called the exhaustion of the aggregate of formations, and such a person can transcend the turbidity of sentient existence itself. Examining its cause, this aggregate is rooted in hidden, deeply concealed false thought."

Commentary: Should this light, subtle, restless, flickering original substance of arising and ceasing, through the power of samādhi growing ever deeper, settle, at last, into its own original, clear stillness — precisely what a later passage means by "this place where all is clear and unmoving" — "original nature" refers to this original substance of arising and ceasing, precisely the seventh consciousness; "original stillness" refers to the settling of waves, precisely the eighth consciousness. This settling of this original habitual tendency is precisely the seventh consciousness's own aggregate of formations; once both seed and habitual tendency alike are exhausted, one returns, once more, to this same essential, luminous substance of consciousness — hence, "like waves subsiding into still water."

Since the aggregate of perception is like great, crashing waves, and the aggregate of formations like fine ripples, and the aggregate of consciousness like flowing water free of any waves at all, while this true, awakened substance itself is like a settled, motionless pool — now, transformed into this settled water, this is called the exhaustion of the aggregate of formations. As the Zhizhang Commentary puts it: according to the teaching of perfect penetration through the ear-faculty, this corresponds to "even this emptiness, and what is empty, both are extinguished." That is: earlier, at the moment when "awareness, and what is aware of it, both become empty," there still remained, plainly, some mind capable of this very emptiness arising, this object emptied, this awareness itself extinguished — still belonging to a fine current, precisely the seeds of the seventh consciousness within the eighth, named the very root of arising and ceasing. Now, at the moment the aggregate of formations is exhausted, both this nature and this habitual tendency alike are entirely gone, and so this capacity for emptiness, and this object emptied, are, together, extinguished as well! The reason this still cannot be called the true return, though, is that it remains covered over by the aggregate of consciousness still.

"Such a person can transcend the turbidity of sentient existence itself": as the earlier passage on this turbidity states, "knowledge and views constantly wish to remain within the world, while karmic movement constantly shifts them onward into some other land — interwoven together, this falsely forms" this same turbidity. Since the aggregate of formations, arising and ceasing without pause, this karmic movement constantly shifting onward, thereby forms this same knowledge and views belonging to sentient existence, muddying this true nature — now, the aggregate of formations already exhausted, this turbidity of sentient existence is thereby transcended of itself. Having transcended it, one looks back to observe the very source from which the aggregate of formations arises, and finds it rooted, originally, in this deep, hidden, concealed false thought. This closes the first section, showing this aggregate's full course from beginning to end.

Sūtra: "Ānanda, you should know: within this śamatha of correct knowledge, this good person's mind, settled and clear, meets no obstruction from any of the ten kinds of heavenly demon, and so is able to research this with full precision, exhausting the very root of these twelve kinds of birth. Within this same root category, this origin of birth now laid bare, they observe this hidden, fine, universally restless root of movement — and, giving rise to speculation regarding this universal root, such a person falls into the two theories of no cause."

Commentary: From this point on, the ten distinct speculations of the aggregate of formations are shown one by one. The text says "speculations" rather than "states" here because these come about only after perception has broken through and formations have manifested, the practitioner giving rise, of themselves, within samādhi, to various wrong speculations based on what they observe — there is no external state or demonic affair disturbing them at all here. This is the first, the two theories of no cause.

Addressing Ānanda, the Buddha tells him: "you should know" here means to warn him into awareness. "Correct knowledge" means encountering no deviant apprehension; "this śamatha" means this perfect samādhi brought to light. Anyone able to reach this stage possesses a definite, wholesome root — hence called a good person. "Settled and clear" means: "settled," unmoving, giving rise to no craving throughout the ten states of the aggregate of perception; "clear," unconfused, able to recognize at once whenever a spirit is sent flying to possess someone. "Mind" carries forward both of these together — the samādhi of being unmoved, and the wisdom of being unconfused — samādhi and wisdom held in equal measure. Meeting no obstruction from any of the ten kinds of heavenly demon, this wondrous practice of perfect penetration can, thereby, be further cultivated, and so one is able to research this with full precision and force through the aggregate of perception. Once the aggregate of perception breaks through, the aggregate of formations manifests, and so one is able to exhaust the very root of arising and ceasing among these twelve kinds of birth. Everything above narrates, in sequence, how perception breaks through and formations manifest.

"Within this same root category, this origin of birth now laid bare" begins to make plain how a wrong interpretation gives rise to speculation — this is, in no way, any external demon, but simply the practitioner's own mind creating this affliction for itself, hence called a mind-demon. First exhausting this deep root of the twelve kinds of birth, the aggregate of formations, one wishes, within this same root category, to research and seek out this very root of arising and ceasing, now laid bare — this being precisely the aggregate of formations made manifest.

"They observe this hidden, fine, universally restless root of movement" refers to directly observing the aggregate of formations itself; "this" refers to the aggregate of formations, hidden and finely subtle, not the same as the aggregate of perception before it, plainly evident and coarse. "Universally" means: throughout all twelve kinds of birth, each and every one is exactly the same — that is, observing the aggregate of formations' own flowing movement, this subtle, fine mark of movement, as the very universal root of restless movement among the entire multitude of beings, observing this general mark of a shared foundation of birth, without giving rise to any wrong speculation, single-mindedly researching this with precision — one is thereby able to advance further and break through the aggregate of formations. But here, instead, giving rise to speculation regarding this universal root — taking this universal root of restless movement among the entire multitude, this very root of every formation, this very origin of arising and ceasing, observed in this way, and clinging to it as some superior nature — one gives rise, thereby, to this speculation, entirely unaware that there exists a suchness that neither stirs nor moves at all, and so loses this fundamental practice, falling, thereby, into the two theories of no cause.

As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: these two theories of no cause are precisely the wrong interpretations, born of cultivating the mind, held by non-Buddhist practitioners of a former age — evil views established in direct violation of principle, opposed to what is correct. This present interpretation, arising from the manifestation of formations, happens to coincide exactly with theirs, and so one falls, thereby, into this very same theory — exactly like a later cart following the very same ruts as an overturned cart before it, and so falling into one and the same pit together. Every theory discussed hereafter should be understood along this same pattern. This closes the first section, showing the cause and the falling that results.

Sūtra: "First, such a person sees no cause at the very beginning. Why is this? Because this person, having already had this mechanism of birth entirely broken open, and riding upon the eight hundred merits of the eye-faculty, sees, throughout eighty thousand kalpas, every sentient being's own karmic stream circling and curving back upon itself, dying here and being born there — yet sees only sentient beings turning within the wheel of rebirth in this same span; beyond these eighty thousand kalpas, all is dark, with nothing at all to be observed. And so they form this interpretation: that these worlds, and the sentient beings of the ten directions throughout them, have existed, these eighty thousand kalpas, without any cause at all, spontaneously so. Through this speculation, they lose correct knowledge, fall into a non-Buddhist view, and confuse their own very nature of bodhi."

Commentary: The first two clauses establish this position; what follows questions and then answers it. "First, such a person" refers to the one giving rise to speculation regarding this universal root, clinging to and grasping this universal root as some superior nature, entirely unaware that this is merely the manifestation of formations, not yet reaching their exhaustion — for, after the aggregate of formations is exhausted, there still remains the aggregate of consciousness, and only after the aggregate of consciousness is exhausted does one reach original awareness itself. And so they take this aggregate of formations to be the very origin of arising and ceasing, originally without any cause giving rise to it at all — hence, "sees no cause at the very beginning."

"Why is this?" questions this; what follows answers it. "This person, having already had this mechanism of birth entirely broken open" — "this mechanism of birth" is precisely the aggregate of formations; "broken open" carries the meaning of being laid bare — exactly what was meant earlier by "the very root of arising and ceasing itself is finally laid bare." Riding upon this purified eye-faculty, having attained its eight hundred merits, exhausting the very limit of this power of sight, they are able to see, within these eighty thousand kalpas, every sentient being's own karmic conduct flowing onward, circling and curving back upon itself, unable to bring itself to rest. "Dying here and being born there" means casting off one life to take up another — exactly what was meant earlier by "karmic movement constantly shifting them onward into some other land." They see only sentient beings, following this karmic conduct, flowing onward, turning within the wheel of rebirth in this same span of eighty thousand kalpas; beyond these eighty thousand kalpas, all is dark and indistinguishable, with nothing at all to be observed.

And so they form this deviant, false interpretation: that these worlds, and the sentient beings of the ten directions throughout them, have existed, these eighty thousand kalpas, without any cause at all, spontaneously so. Because, beyond these eighty thousand kalpas, all is dark, with nothing to be observed at all, they conclude there is no cause. Such teachers as Maskarī Gośālīputra, mistaking this for the "primal principle," hold exactly this same view; what the Confucian tradition calls "primordial chaos" belongs to this same category as well. Little do they realize that their own power of sight has its own limit, not yet reaching perfect completeness — for the Tathāgata's own power of sight extends vertically through every one of the three periods of time, and horizontally throughout the ten directions at once — how, then, could it ever be confined to a mere eighty thousand kalpas?

Through this deviant speculation and calculation, they lose correct knowledge, clinging to the view that these eighty thousand kalpas exist without any cause, spontaneously so; and they lose complete knowledge as well, falling into this non-Buddhist wrong view, and thereby confusing and disordering this very nature of bodhi, correct and complete awakening itself. This closes the first position, no cause at the very beginning.

Sūtra: "Second, such a person sees no cause at the very end. Why is this? Because this person, regarding birth, has already seen its very root: knowing that a human gives birth to a human, realizing that a bird gives birth to a bird; that the crow has always been black, that the swan has always been white; that humans and heavenly beings are, by their own nature, upright in form, while animals are, by their own nature, horizontal — white was never made white through washing, black was never made black through dyeing — and, from these eighty thousand kalpas onward, nothing has ever been altered or changed. And so, exhausting this present form entirely, they conclude the same will hold true forever: since I myself, originally, never once saw bodhi arise, how, then, could there ever be any further matter of accomplishing bodhi to come? And so you should know: every phenomenon present today is, at root, entirely without cause. Through this speculation, they lose correct knowledge, fall into a non-Buddhist view, and confuse their own very nature of bodhi."

Commentary: The first two clauses establish this position; what follows questions and then answers it. "Second, such a person" refers, again, to the one giving rise to speculation regarding this universal root, clinging to and grasping this same universal root as some superior nature, examining the past in detail and seeing no cause at the very beginning, and, by the same reasoning, inferring the future, and so seeing no cause at the very end either.

"Why is this?" questions this; what follows answers it: "this person, regarding birth, has already seen its very root" means: this person, regarding every sentient being, has already seen that, before this same kalpa, there was, originally, no root cause at all, existing without any cause whatsoever — and so, taking this very absence of cause to be the original root of these twelve kinds of birth, spontaneously so of itself, they turn this speculation further, becoming, thereby, a follower of the non-Buddhist teaching of spontaneity. Knowing that a human, spontaneously, gives birth to a human once more, realizing that a bird, spontaneously, gives birth to a bird once more, that the crow has, spontaneously, always been black, that the swan has, spontaneously, always been white — white was never made white through washing, black was never made black through dyeing. (These two clauses regarding humans and heavenly beings, and animals, ought properly to be read here — most likely a transcription error placed them elsewhere.) Humans and heavenly beings, by their own nature, stand upright in form; animals, by their own nature, move horizontally — all of this, spontaneously so of itself, originally without any cause at all, and, from these eighty thousand kalpas onward, never once altered or changed.

What follows completes this explanation: the section above inferred entirely from the past; this section fixes its conclusion regarding the future. "Exhausting this present form entirely" means: "exhausting" here means to the very end of the future itself — and this present form, too, will remain exactly the same, entirely unaltered and unchanged. "I myself, originally" — that is, eighty thousand kalpas ago — never once saw these twelve kinds of birth arise from this same nature of bodhi; how, then, could there ever be, after this same kalpa has passed, any further matter of sentient beings accomplishing bodhi to come? You should know that every phenomenon present today, being, in every case, already without any cause before this same kalpa, may thereby be inferred to be equally without any cause after this same kalpa as well. That is to say: once these eighty thousand kalpas have run their course, everything, in the end, becomes utter annihilation, with no cause and effect remaining whatsoever. For whatever arose without cause returns, once more, to this same absence of cause — nothing more than a return to this same primordial darkness.

Through this deviant speculation and calculation, they lose correct knowledge, holding that everything, without exception, is spontaneous of itself; and they lose complete knowledge as well, failing to understand that every phenomenon manifests in accordance with karma, and so fall into this non-Buddhist evil view, confusing and disordering, in turn, this very nature of bodhi, correct and complete awakening itself. This closes the second section, detailing this position in full.

This, then, is named the first non-Buddhist school, establishing the theory of no cause. This closes the first position, the two theories of no cause.

Sūtra: "Ānanda, within this same samādhi, this good person, mind settled and clear, meets no obstruction from any demon, and exhausts the very root of these twelve kinds of birth. Observing this hidden, fine, constantly restless root of movement, and giving rise to speculation regarding a kind of universal permanence, such a person falls into four theories of universal permanence."

Commentary: This is the second position, the four theories of universal permanence. "Mind settled and clear" means: settled and unmoving, throughout the ten states of the aggregate of perception, never once giving rise to craving from beginning to end; clear and illuminating, unconfused, whenever a spirit is sent flying to possess someone, able at once to recognize it — "mind" here carries forward both this samādhi of being unmoved and this wisdom of being unconfused, samādhi and wisdom held in equal measure. "Meets no obstruction from any demon" means this wondrous practice of perfect penetration can, thereby, be further cultivated. The aggregate of perception already broken through, the aggregate of formations now manifest before them, exhausting the very root of arising and ceasing among these twelve kinds of birth, they thereby observe this aggregate of formations' own hidden, fine, constantly restless root of movement.

"Giving rise to speculation regarding a kind of universal permanence" means: seeing this quality pervading everywhere, they call it "universal"; seeing this quality of continuity, they call it "permanent" — little do they realize that this very pervading and this very continuity are nothing but the aggregate of formations' own flowing movement, this mark of arising and ceasing itself. And so, within this very state, they give rise to this false speculation, that this is universally, permanently abiding — such a person falls, thereby, into this non-Buddhist theory, the four theories of universal permanence.

Sūtra: "First, such a person, exhausting the very nature of mind and its objects, finds both to be without cause; through this cultivation, they come to know that, throughout twenty thousand kalpas, every sentient being of the ten directions, in all their arising and ceasing, cycles endlessly without ever being lost, and so concludes this to be permanent. Second, such a person, exhausting the very origin of the four elements, finds their four natures to be ever-abiding; through this cultivation, they come to know that, throughout forty thousand kalpas, every sentient being of the ten directions, in all their arising and ceasing, shares this same constant substance without ever being lost, and so concludes this to be permanent. Third, such a person, exhausting entirely the six sense-faculties, the seventh consciousness that sustains and holds them, ever discerning and deliberating, and the mind, intellect, and consciousness within them, finding their own original root to be constant and unchanging by nature; through this cultivation, they come to know that, throughout eighty thousand kalpas, every sentient being cycles without loss, originally and permanently abiding, and, exhausting this very nature that is never lost, concludes this to be permanent. Fourth, such a person, having already exhausted the very root of the aggregate of perception, and finding no further flowing or resting, no further movement, no further arising-and-ceasing thought remaining, concludes that this thought, now permanently extinguished, has, within this very principle, spontaneously become something free of arising and ceasing altogether — and, through this deliberation of mind, concludes this to be permanent. Through this conclusion of permanence, they lose correct, complete knowledge, fall into a non-Buddhist view, and confuse their own very nature of bodhi. This, then, is named the second non-Buddhist school, establishing the theory of universal permanence."

Commentary: First, such a person, wishing to exhaust the aggregate of formations, examines only these two natures of mind and its objects, seeking their very origin, whence they arose. Yet, in exhausting this, they do not reach very far, seeing only that mind and its objects, twenty thousand kalpas ago, existed without any cause, spontaneously so. "This cultivation" refers to this cultivation of exhausting mind and its objects; "come to know" refers to the fact that their own power of sight has its own limit, seeing only, throughout these twenty thousand kalpas, every sentient being of the ten directions' own arising and ceasing of mind and its objects. Since mind and its objects both belong to the aggregate of formations, both possess arising and ceasing — and this arising and ceasing is, in truth, precisely impermanence itself — yet they see only that, within this span of kalpas, arising ceasing and ceasing arising once more, cycle endlessly, continuing without interruption, never once being lost. And so they conclude that these two natures of mind and its objects are universally permanent, without ever considering that, beyond this span of kalpas, this same absence of cause might equally be taken for utter annihilation instead — this differing from the position above.

Second, such a person, wishing to exhaust the aggregate of formations, relying on their own view and understanding, researches and exhausts the four elements, taking them for the very origin of transformation. Seeing that every phenomenon arises from the combination of these four elements, they conclude that the very nature of these four elements is, originally, ever-abiding. Little do they realize that these four elements, too, belong to nothing but consciousness-only transformation, their own substance originally empty, like a flower conjured in empty space. Relying on this cultivation, they come to know matters within forty thousand kalpas; beyond forty thousand kalpas, all is dark, with nothing to be observed at all. Their own power of sight, compared to the position before, has doubled: every sentient being of the ten directions' own arising and ceasing arises entirely from the combination of these four elements; and, since the very nature of these four elements is ever-abiding, this same substantial nature, they conclude, pervades everywhere, constant and permanent, never once lost — and so they conclude that the nature of these four elements is universally permanent.

Third, such a person, exhausting entirely, among these six sense-faculties, the sixth consciousness they possess, together with the seventh consciousness, manas, ever discerning and deliberating, and the eighth consciousness, which sustains and holds — since it sustains and holds the bodily faculties, the outer world, and every seed — this practitioner, relying on their own view and understanding, exhausts, within the eighth consciousness (mind), the seventh consciousness (intellect), and the sixth consciousness (consciousness proper), the very original root and place from which they arise. Little do they realize that this is precisely the very cause of the aggregate of formations' own continuity, and instead falsely conclude that the very nature of consciousness is constant and unchanging. Relying on this cultivation, they are able to observe that, throughout eighty thousand kalpas, every sentient being, dying here and being born there, turns and cycles endlessly, never once lost — and so they conclude that, from the very beginning, this has pervaded everywhere, permanently abiding; that is, exhausting this very nature that cycles without loss, they conclude this to be universally, permanently abiding. As the Standard Meaning Commentary notes: precisely because the eighth consciousness they have exhausted here is a far deeper, broader, more detailed and precise teaching than the four elements examined before, the span of kalpas they claim to know is, likewise, double that of the position before.

Fourth, such a person concludes that the exhaustion of perception itself is permanence — because, having already exhausted the very root of the aggregate of perception (meaning this root aggregate of perception, precisely this mark of movement within the eighth consciousness), and now, with perception broken through, this mark of movement already exhausted, this very root of arising and ceasing belonging to the aggregate of formations laid bare — "no further flowing or resting" refers to this same root of arising and ceasing, exactly like heat-shimmer, this fine, restless glimmer — this is not, in truth, without any flow at all, yet they mistakenly conclude that there is no further flowing or resting, no further movement or activity whatsoever, meaning that this thought of arising and ceasing has, now, been permanently extinguished, and that, within this very principle, something free of arising and ceasing has spontaneously come to be. Little do they realize that the aggregate of formations is, precisely, the seventh consciousness's own seeds, this subtle, fine, flowing stream — not, in truth, genuinely free of arising and ceasing at all — nothing more than a conclusion reached through mere mental deliberation, taken to be universally, permanently abiding. This closes the second section, detailing this position in full.

For this very reason, then, what is not, in truth, universally permanent is falsely taken to be universally permanent. "They lose correct, complete knowledge" means: failing to understand the aggregate of formations' own flowing movement, correct knowledge is lost; failing to awaken to every phenomenon's own arising and ceasing, complete knowledge is lost. Falling into this non-Buddhist view, clinging to this as permanence, they remain unaware that there exists a further, true permanence — this very nature of bodhi, correct and complete awakening itself. This, then, is named the second, eternalist non-Buddhist school, establishing the theory of universal permanence. This closes the second position, the four theories of universal permanence.

Sūtra: "Further, within this same samādhi, this good person, mind firm and settled, meets no obstruction from any demon, and exhausts the very root of these twelve kinds of birth. Observing this hidden, fine, constantly restless root of movement, and giving rise to speculation regarding self and other, such a person falls into four inverted views: one part impermanent, one part permanent."

Commentary: This position speculates on both permanence and impermanence at once. "Mind firm and settled" — the two positions before this spoke of "settled and clear," fully showing samādhi and wisdom mutually supporting each other; this speaks of "firm and settled," seeming to lean more toward samādhi alone. Yet, though seeming to lean this way, this is samādhi inseparable from wisdom itself — the power of samādhi growing ever deeper, firm and settled, unmoving. Throughout the ten states of the aggregate of perception, never once giving rise to craving from beginning to end — hence, "mind." Meeting no obstruction from any demon, one is thereby able to have perception break through and formations manifest. Researching the deep root of arising and ceasing among these twelve kinds of sentient being, this deep root now manifest, one need only rely on this wondrous cultivation through the ear-faculty, single-mindedly turning the hearing inward to illuminate this nature, and one can, of oneself, advance further and break through the aggregate of formations.

Instead, though, they observe the aggregate of formations, hidden and finely subtle, constantly restless in movement; this very root of arising and ceasing, being the very root of every kind of movement, self and other, dependent and direct retribution, are all, thereby, established upon it. And so, within this very matter of self and other, they give rise to this false speculation and calculation — such a person falls, thereby, into these four inverted views, within which lies this meaning of one part impermanent, one part permanent. As the Hezhe Commentary puts it: within this nature of equality, there was, originally, no self or other at all, and yet self and other are falsely conceived; within this complete meaning of the middle way, both extremes are utterly transcended, and yet annihilation and eternity are wrongly clung to — how could this be anything but an inverted view?

As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: comparing these four kinds of inversion against the two speculations before, the two theories of no cause resemble observing the break beyond this span of kalpas, and concluding impermanence; the four theories of universal permanence resemble observing the continuity within this span of kalpas, and concluding permanence — each, in either case, a single, one-sided speculation alone. This present position, though, speculates on both permanence and impermanence together, at once.

Sūtra: "First, such a person, observing this wondrous, bright mind, pervading the worlds of the ten directions, clear and still, takes this to be the ultimate, spiritual self. From this, they conclude: this self of mine pervades the ten directions, settled and bright, unmoving, and every sentient being, within this very mind of mine, is born of itself and dies of itself. And so this nature of my own mind is named permanent, while these beings that arise and cease are of a truly impermanent nature.

"Second, such a person, no longer observing their own mind, instead observes broadly, throughout the ten directions, lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Wherever they see a place undergoing the destruction of the kalpa, they name this the ultimate, impermanent kind of nature; wherever they see a place not undergoing this destruction, they name this the ultimate, permanent kind of nature.

"Third, such a person, observing this self of mine separately, finds it refined, fine, and subtle, exactly like a mote of dust, flowing and turning throughout the ten directions, its nature never shifting or changing at all — able to make this body arise and cease in an instant, while its own indestructible nature is named the permanent nature of this self. Every instance of death and birth flows out from this self, and is named the impermanent nature.

"Fourth, such a person, knowing that the aggregate of perception is exhausted, and seeing the aggregate of formations still flowing on, concludes that, since the aggregate of formations flows on constantly, this must be its permanent nature; while form, sensation, and perception, these three aggregates, now already extinguished entirely, are named its impermanent nature.

"Through this conclusion — one part impermanent, one part permanent — they fall into a non-Buddhist view, and confuse their own very nature of bodhi. This, then, is named the third non-Buddhist school, the theory of one part permanent."

Commentary: First, such a person, observing this hidden, fine, constantly restless root of movement — this being precisely the aggregate of formations, this very root of arising and ceasing — instead concludes this to be the wondrous, bright, true mind itself, pervading the worlds of the ten directions. And, moreover, taking this hidden, fine, constant restlessness, unaware of it as such, falsely calling it "clear and still" — meaning, precisely, unmoving — they conclude, of themselves, that this is the very utmost, calling it "ultimate," and name it the spiritual self — this being precisely the very last of the twenty-five categories of the non-Buddhist tradition. Possessing some power of samādhi, able to observe eighty thousand kalpas, yet, beyond these eighty thousand kalpas, all dark and indistinguishable, they establish this as the "primal principle." From this primal principle, "great awareness" is said to arise; from great awareness, this self-mind arises; from this self-mind, five subtle elements arise; from these five subtle elements, five gross elements arise; from these five gross elements, eleven faculties arise; and, at the very last, this single spiritual self is established. They falsely conclude that this primal principle is the very generator, and these twenty-three intervening categories of phenomena its generated products; that this spiritual self is the very enjoyer, and these same twenty-three intervening categories what is enjoyed. As their own treatise states: this spiritual self possesses knowledge, being capable of thought and reflection — this self takes thought itself as its own nature, enjoying these twenty-three categories, "great" and the rest. This is, in fact, nothing but taking the seeds of the seventh consciousness, contained within the eighth consciousness, to be this "spiritual self."

Having established this spiritual self, they then conclude that this spiritual self pervades the ten directions, settled and bright, unmoving, neither arising nor ceasing — and so is permanent; while every sentient being, arising and dying of itself within this very mind of theirs, is thereby impermanent. This, then, speculates on permanence and impermanence in terms of self and other.

Second, this person, having already concluded their own mind to be permanent, no longer observes it further, and, having already concluded sentient beings to be impermanent, turns instead to the question of whether lands themselves remain permanently abiding or not — and so, applying their mind, they observe broadly, throughout the ten directions, lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, their formation and destruction never uniform. They see only that, wherever a kalpa's destruction occurs, the three calamities arising, emptiness is seen after this destruction — not realizing that formation, abiding, destruction, and emptiness are simply this same cosmic cycle of the kalpa, and that formation follows once more after emptiness — and so they name this the ultimate, impermanent kind of nature. Wherever they see a place not undergoing this destruction, not realizing that this, too, abides only temporarily, no more than twenty small kalpas at most, they name this the ultimate, truly permanent kind of nature. This, then, speculates on permanence and impermanence in terms of whether a land is destroyed or not. As the Zhizhang Commentary puts it: one should know that the very nature of the world-realm is not twofold — its formation and its destruction alike follow conditions. Should one, on account of its destruction, cling to impermanence, this becomes the very mind of a bodhisattva who regards even a jeweled, adorned land as mere ash; should one, on account of its non-destruction, cling to true permanence, this becomes, instead, the ordinary being's own growing attachment to this world. A wrong view misleads people — this cannot but be understood clearly.

Third, this person, setting aside the question of others, observes only themselves, distinguishing separately between their own body and mind in observing each. "Observing this self of mine separately" and so on concerns observing the mind; "able to make this body" and so on concerns observing the body. "Refined, fine, and subtle" refers to this same state where perception has broken through and formations have manifested, pointing to the very root of the aggregate of formations itself. Observing this self of mine separately — since this is the seed of the seventh consciousness, it is called "refined"; since its flowing continuity cannot be seen, it is called "fine"; since it merely receives and reflects emptily, it is called "subtle"; since its own activity remains hidden and concealed, it is called "densely obscure" — exactly like a mote of dust, serving as the very root of these twelve kinds of sentient being. This is precisely the "subtle self" conceived by non-Buddhist teachers; the "spiritual self" in the first position above was, by contrast, the "vast self." Relying on this subtle self, giving rise to delusion and creating karma, receiving retribution according to this karma, flowing and turning throughout the ten directions, while this nature itself never shifts or changes at all — this is precisely the "self of indeterminate size," since the retribution received differs, sometimes vast, sometimes small.

The above concerns observing the mind; next comes observing the body. "Able to make this body arise and cease in an instant" — as it was said earlier, "karmic movement constantly shifts them onward into some other land" — able to make this body change and perish in a single instant, hence, "arise and cease in an instant." "Its own indestructible nature" is precisely this mind-nature that never shifts or changes, named the permanent nature of this self. As for every body subject to birth and death, flowing out from this self, this is named its impermanent nature. This, then, speculates on permanence and impermanence in terms of one's own body and mind.

Fourth, this person, observing all four aggregates together, knows that form, sensation, and perception, these three aggregates, are already exhausted, and sees the aggregate of formations presently flowing on — and, since the aggregate of formations continues in unbroken succession, constantly flowing, they conclude this to be its permanent nature; while form, sensation, and perception, these three aggregates, already extinguished entirely and no longer present, are concluded to be its impermanent nature. This, then, speculates on permanence and impermanence among these four aggregates. This closes the second section, detailing this position in full.

Through this speculation — regarding self and other, dependent and direct retribution, and the aggregates themselves — each clinging to a different position, yet none departing from this same theory, one part impermanent, one part permanent. Through this dual speculation, an inverted view results. And so they fall into this non-Buddhist teaching, such as the followers of the Sāṃkhya treatise and the like. As the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: no phenomenon should ever be clung to as permanent — for, were it permanent, there would be no offense and no merit, nothing ever harmed or destroyed, and no giving of life either; no bondage and no liberation, and so no nirvāṇa at all. And should one cling to impermanence instead, this becomes utter annihilation — likewise no offense and no merit, no increase or decrease of any deed, and cause, condition, and karmic fruit alike lost entirely. Both are equally sufficient to confuse this very nature of bodhi. This, then, is named the third non-Buddhist school, the theory of one part permanent. This is spoken of specifically as "one part" because, of the two parts, permanence is taken as superior, showing that it alone is given special weight. This closes the third position, the four kinds of inversion.

Sūtra: "Further, within this same samādhi, this good person, mind firm and settled, meets no obstruction from any demon, exhausts the very root of these twelve kinds of birth, observes this hidden, fine, constantly restless root of movement, and, giving rise to speculation regarding position and status, such a person falls into the four theories of finitude.

"First, such a person's mind concludes, regarding this very root of birth, that it flows and functions without rest — concluding the past and future to be finite, while concluding this continuous, present mind to be infinite. Second, such a person, observing eighty thousand kalpas, sees that, eighty thousand kalpas before this, sentient beings were utterly still, with no hearing or seeing at all — and, having no place of hearing or seeing, names this infinite, while, having a place where sentient beings exist, names this finite. Third, such a person concludes that this knowing of mine pervades everywhere, attaining an infinite nature; and, since every other person appears within my own knowing, while I myself have never once known their own nature of knowing, this is named their own failure to attain this infinite mind — theirs, therefore, is merely a finite nature. Fourth, such a person, exhausting the aggregate of formations toward emptiness, deliberates, based on what they have observed, that every sentient being, within a single body, is exactly half arising and half ceasing at any moment — and so concludes that everything belonging to this world is likewise half finite and half infinite. Through this conclusion — finite and infinite — they fall into a non-Buddhist view, and confuse their own very nature of bodhi. This, then, is named the fourth non-Buddhist school, the theory of finitude."

Commentary: "Further, within this same samādhi" matches the pattern above. "Giving rise to speculation regarding position and status": as Wenling puts it, there are four such positions — the position of the three periods of time, the position of hearing and seeing, the position of self and other, and the position of arising and ceasing. Giving rise to speculation within these four positions, such a person falls into these four theories of finitude. Though the text speaks of both finite and infinite together, the underlying reasoning, in truth, is nothing but a wrong, one-sided view — not a genuine attainment of the true substance of infinity at all, and so, judged against the correct teaching, this is named, simply, finitude throughout.

First, such a person speculates on finite and infinite in terms of position within time. "This mind concludes, regarding this very root of birth" means: seeing the aggregate of formations as this very root of arising and ceasing among these twelve kinds of birth, its present flowing karmic function cycling without rest. Concluding the past, already gone, and the future, not yet arrived, to be finite; concluding the present, continuing without a single interruption, to be infinite. Having taken this continuous present mind as without any limit, and so infinite, they necessarily take the past and future, cut off, as bounded, and so finite. Yet this "mind without limit" refers only to this present thought's own contemplating mind, boundless and without any visible shore.

Second, such a person speculates on finite and infinite in terms of hearing and seeing. Through the power of samādhi, able to observe eighty thousand kalpas, they see sentient beings, arising and ceasing, ceasing and arising once more, turning within this same span — while, eighty thousand kalpas before this, all is utterly still, with no hearing or seeing at all. Seeing only this place without hearing or seeing, dark and indistinguishable, boundless without any shore, not realizing this is merely the limit of their own hearing and seeing, they name this an infinite nature. And, seeing only this place where sentient beings exist, arising and ceasing in unbroken succession, not realizing this is merely karmic condition, falsely manifesting, they name this a finite nature.

Third, such a person speculates on finite and infinite in terms of self and other. This comes about because the practitioner, observing their own aggregate of formations, clings to it as their own true self, and so concludes that this self of theirs is able to know everything, pervading every phenomenon completely, attaining thereby an infinite nature. Yet every other person, they conclude, appears entirely within their own knowing, while they themselves have never once known these others' own nature of knowing — and so they name this others' own failure to attain this infinite mind-nature, calling it, instead, merely a finite mind-nature.

Fourth, such a person speculates on finite and infinite in terms of arising and ceasing. "Exhausting the aggregate of formations toward emptiness" means: the aggregate of perception already exhausted, the aggregate of formations still flowing on, they now research and exhaust this through the power of samādhi, seeking its very emptiness, that is, its cessation. While in samādhi, they perceive the aggregate of formations as ceased; emerging from samādhi, they perceive it as arising once more — not realizing that this is simply because their own effort in samādhi has not yet reached its full measure; were this effort to reach its full measure, the aggregate of formations would become empty of itself, exactly like waves subsiding into still water. Now, based on what they have observed, deliberating through this same false, calculating mind, they mistakenly conclude that every sentient being, within a single body, is exactly half arising and half ceasing at any moment — and, taking this single instance as an example for every case, conclude that everything belonging to this world is, likewise, half finite and half infinite, since, at the moment of arising, one perceives finitude, and, at the moment of ceasing, one perceives infinity.

Through this false, calculating mind — finite and infinite — they fall into this non-Buddhist teaching, becoming its own companions; since this very finitude is not the middle way, they thereby become confused about this middle way, this true nature of bodhi itself. This, then, is named the fourth non-Buddhist school, the theory of finitude. This closes the fourth position, the four theories of finitude.

Sūtra: "Further, within this same samādhi, this good person, mind firm and settled, meets no obstruction from any demon, exhausts the very root of these twelve kinds of birth, observes this hidden, fine, constantly restless root of movement, and, giving rise to speculation regarding knowledge and views, such a person falls into these four inverted views: an evasive, undying equivocation, a completely fabricated, empty theory.

"First, such a person, observing the very origin of transformation, sees the place of flowing movement, and names this 'change'; sees the place of continuity, and names this 'constancy.' Seeing the place where something is seen, they name this 'arising'; not seeing the place where something was seen, they name this 'ceasing.' Where the cause of continuity persists without break, they name this 'increase'; where, within this same continuity, some interruption occurs, they name this 'decrease.' Wherever each thing arises, they name this 'existence'; wherever each thing, in turn, vanishes, they name this 'nonexistence.' Surveying all this through principle, yet applying their mind, they see each differently — and so, when someone seeking the Dharma comes to ask them its meaning, they answer: 'I now say both arising and ceasing, both existence and nonexistence, both increase and decrease' — confusing their own words at every turn, so that the one who asked loses track of the very sense of the question entirely.

"Second, such a person, closely observing their own mind, everywhere finds only nonexistence, and, through this nonexistence, gains a kind of confirmation — and so, whenever someone comes to ask, they answer with but a single word, saying only 'nonexistence,' and, apart from this, have nothing further to say at all.

"Third, such a person, closely observing their own mind, everywhere finds only existence, and, through this existence, gains a kind of confirmation — and so, whenever someone comes to ask, they answer with but a single word, saying only 'it is so,' and, apart from this, have nothing further to say at all.

"Fourth, such a person sees both existence and nonexistence together, this realm itself branching in two, and so their own mind, too, becomes confused — and, whenever someone comes to ask, they answer: 'existence is itself nonexistence, yet, within this same nonexistence, it is not the case that existence is present either' — an entirely evasive equivocation, impossible ever to press to any conclusion. Through this conclusion — this evasive, empty confusion — they fall into a non-Buddhist view, and confuse their own very nature of bodhi. This, then, is named the fifth non-Buddhist school, these four inverted natures, an evasive, undying equivocation, a completely fabricated, empty theory."

Commentary: "Giving rise to speculation regarding knowledge and views" means: what is known and seen within this samādhi cannot be resolved and clarified, and so a false, all-encompassing speculation arises instead. Such a person falls into these four inverted views. "Undying" refers to how non-Buddhist practitioners consider the No-Thought heaven the "undying heaven" — one who, throughout this present life, answers no question with any fixed commitment, will, they believe, be born into that heaven after death. Fearing that, should they answer while genuinely not knowing, this might result in an evasive confusion, they therefore, whenever questioned, answer only in secretive, ambiguous language, never stating anything outright, or else giving no fixed answer at all. The Buddhadharma condemns this, saying: this is truly an evasive equivocation. As the Guanding Commentary puts it: because this is a deviant discrimination of one's own nature, it is called "all-encompassing speculation"; because it carries no real meaning whatsoever, it is called an "empty theory."

First, such a person, through discriminating the aggregate of formations' own arising and ceasing, forms eight kinds of wrong view. "Observing the very origin of transformation" means: with perception exhausted and formations now manifest, advancing to observe the aggregate of formations as this very origin of transformation, its own substance being precisely this flowing movement. Since there is this flux and flow, it is named "change"; yet, though there is this flux and flow, it nonetheless continues in unbroken succession before and after — and, since there is continuity, there is no interruption, and so it is likewise named "constancy," meaning permanence. This is the first pair, change and constancy. "Seeing the place where something is seen, they name this arising" means: within these eighty thousand kalpas, wherever something can be seen and is seen, this resembles a sentient being's own birth, and so is named "arising." "Not seeing the place where something was seen, they name this ceasing" means: beyond these eighty thousand kalpas, wherever something can no longer be seen, this resembles a sentient being's own death, and so is named "ceasing." This is the second pair, arising and ceasing.

"Where the cause of continuity persists without break" means: further, within this same arising and ceasing, they give rise to a separate speculation regarding cause: since, when a prior instance of the aggregate of formations has already ceased, and a later instance has not yet arisen, there must, in between, be some cause of continuity — yet this "continuity" is precisely the intermediate-state body, its very substance being, in fact, the aggregate of consciousness itself. Not knowing that, beyond the aggregate of formations, there exists, separately, the aggregate of consciousness, they see only this place where its own nature does not break off, resembling some further phenomenon appearing in addition, and name this "increase." And, within this same continuity, there must also be some place of lack — as with the breath, going out and coming in continuously, yet with some brief interruption between the two — this deficiency is named "decrease." This is the third pair, increase and decrease.

And, further, "wherever each thing arises, they name this existence" means: because they observe sentient beings, each arising in its own place, taking this arising to be existence, they name it, accordingly, "existence." Seeing the place where each, in turn, vanishes, taking this ceasing to be nonexistence, they name it, accordingly, "nonexistence." This is the fourth pair, existence and nonexistence.

Though these eight kinds, above, may all be observed together through this same underlying principle of the aggregate of formations, the practitioner's own application of mind sees each differently, inconsistent from one moment to the next, with no genuine right knowledge or right view present at all. And so, when someone seeking the Dharma comes to ask about the meaning of cultivation and realization, they answer: "I now say both arising and ceasing, both existence and nonexistence, both increase and decrease" — this word "both," here, being a term that hedges between two possibilities, meant to show that they do not fall into any one-sided position. Little do they realize that, having no true master within at all, they confuse their own words at every turn — falling, precisely, into this evasive equivocation. (The text here is somewhat abbreviated regarding the first pair, change and constancy.) "So that the one who asked loses track of the very sense of the question entirely" refers to the very person who came to ask; since the one answering hedges between two possibilities, unable to decide, the listener, naturally, loses track of the very sense of the question itself.

Second, "such a person, closely observing their own mind" means: closely observing, among these kinds of birth, the very mind of the aggregate of formations. "Everywhere finds only nonexistence, and, through this nonexistence, gains a kind of confirmation" means: they believe they have realized that every phenomenon, without exception, is nonexistent. And so, whenever someone comes to ask, they answer only with this nonexistence, and, apart from this, have nothing further to say at all.

Third, "through this existence, gains a kind of confirmation" means: reflecting that, after arising, there must inevitably follow a mark of ceasing, and that, after ceasing, there must inevitably follow a mark of arising once more, from this they confirm that everything, without exception, exists — this, then, is precisely this position of existence. The rest may be understood accordingly.

Fourth, such a person, observing the aggregate of formations, sees both existence and nonexistence together: seeing, on the one hand, the place where each successive thought arises, and, on the other, the place where each successive thought ceases — this realm resembling a tree branching into two, and so their own mind, too, becomes unsettled and confused. Whenever someone comes to ask, they answer accordingly: "seeing existence is itself seeing nonexistence" means that whatever arises must inevitably return to cessation; "yet, within this same nonexistence, it is not the case that existence is present either" means that whatever ceases does not necessarily arise again. "An entirely evasive equivocation, impossible ever to press to any conclusion": "evasive" here means stubbornly resistant, not according with principle; "confusion" means the mind possesses no true master or correctness at all. As the Precious Mirror Commentary puts it: within these four, the first and the fourth both speak in terms of a double possibility, leaning more toward confusion, yet, in the end, never according with principle, and so partaking of evasiveness as well; the second and third speak in terms of only a single, one-sided position, leaning more toward evasiveness, yet, in the end, never truly mastering or settling anything, and so alike falling into confusion. And so the text concludes, in summary: an entirely evasive equivocation, impossible ever to press to any conclusion through further questioning at all.

"Empty" here means a false, deviant calculation, carrying no real meaning whatsoever. Falling into this non-Buddhist teaching, confusing and disordering this true nature of bodhi, this, then, is named the fifth non-Buddhist school. Confused about right knowledge and right view, they establish, instead, this wrong knowledge and wrong view — hence, "these four inverted natures." Concluding, in the name given, "an all-encompassing, empty theory": this person's speculation reaches everywhere, exactly like mistaking a coiled rope for a snake — every bit of it an utterly empty, utterly false theory. This closes the fifth position, this endless evasive equivocation.

6. Sixteen Forms of "Existence After Death" 死後有相 — Observing this endless flow of the aggregate of formations, without yet exhausting it, such a person falls into holding that some form continues to exist after death — an inversion of thought. This position takes shape in four ways: taking the body as this self; taking this self as vast, encompassing every land, with form belonging to it; taking every prior object as belonging to this self, following it wherever it turns; or taking this self as dwelling within the aggregate of formations' own continuity, so that this self is said to dwell within form. Each of these four positions, applied in turn to all four remaining aggregates, yields sixteen such forms altogether — and from this, they further conclude that affliction remains, always, affliction, and bodhi remains, always, bodhi, the two natures running on forever side by side, never once touching each other.

Commentary: "This endless flow" refers to the aggregate of formations' own unbroken continuity, flowing on without rest. "Giving rise to speculation" means concluding that this aggregate of formations, being the very root of every movement, will, in the future, be able to give rise to every further movement as well — and so they conclude that form, sensation, and perception, these three aggregates, though already ceased in the present, must certainly arise again in the future — hence, "such a person falls into holding that some form continues to exist after death, an inversion of thought." As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: true awakening to the unborn knows that the very first arising already contains its own cessation within it — knowing, thereby, that even birth itself is empty and formless, how much less, then, could one speak of "after death," and falsely conclude that some form continues to exist there!

These four positions correspond to four of the sixty-two views held by non-Buddhist traditions. First: holding firmly, guarding fixedly to this bodily form, declaring that this form composed of the four elements is, entirely, this self — this position takes form itself to be this self. Second: seeing this self's own nature as perfectly fused, encompassing every land of the ten directions, declaring that this self possesses form — this position takes this self as vast and form as small, form contained within this self. Third: taking every object presently before them, following this self wherever it turns and returns — that is, its very function — declaring that form belongs to this self: since form belongs to this self, this plainly makes form something this self possesses, not this self itself — this position takes this self as separate from form. Fourth: taking this self as dwelling within the aggregate of formations' own flowing continuity, declaring that this self dwells within form — since the aggregate of formations' own continuous mark is precisely the aggregate of form itself — this position takes form as vast and this self as small, this self contained within form.

This means: though this physical body has died, this self, they hold, still remains present even now. As with the aggregate of form, so too with the remaining three — and so, applying these same four positions to all four remaining aggregates in turn, cycling through each, this yields, together, sixteen such forms in all. Having, above, seen the aggregate of formations as endless, they conclude, likewise, that the three prior aggregates are, equally, endless, all alike taking on this continued existence. This is further extended still, to conclude that every phenomenon, without exception, is the same: affliction encompasses every defiled phenomenon entirely, and bodhi encompasses every pure phenomenon entirely, and so affliction and bodhi, too, must follow this same principle — affliction remaining, to the very end, affliction, and bodhi remaining, to the very end, bodhi, with absolutely no possibility of change between them. And so these two natures, truth and falseness, are held to run on forever side by side — proceeding together without ever conflicting, never once touching or interfering with each other at all.

Through this conclusion — some form continuing to exist after death — they fall into this non-Buddhist teaching, these sixteen forms: truth remaining, to the very bottom, truth, and falseness remaining, to the very bottom, falseness, truth and falseness each independently established, with no possibility of ever transforming this false phenomenon of affliction into this true nature of bodhi — hence, "confuse their own very nature of bodhi." This, then, is named the sixth non-Buddhist school. "Established among the five aggregates" gathers together all five in this conclusion, though this position, in truth, rests only on the first four; and, though resting on these four, its true meaning lies in the aggregate of formations alone. Establishing this theory on this basis, proceeding from an inverted mind — this being precisely a mind-demon wreaking its own mischief — what, indeed, can be done about it? This closes the sixth position, these sixteen forms of existence after death.

7. Eight Forms of "No Existence After Death" 死後無相 — Having already extinguished form, sensation, and perception, such a person, giving rise to speculation regarding these already-vanished aggregates, falls into holding that no form remains at all after death — an inversion of thought. Seeing form itself already ceased, this bodily form has no cause left to depend upon; observing perception already ceased, this mind has nothing left to bind it; knowing sensation already ceased, there is no further linkage remaining at all — the very nature of these aggregates dissolved and scattered, so that even should some remaining principle of life persist, without sensation or perception present, this would be no different from grass or wood. Since even this present substance cannot, in truth, be found at all, how, then, could there be any further form remaining after death? Verifying this against what has already ceased, they conclude that, after death, no form remains at all — and, cycling through this same reasoning, this yields eight such formless positions altogether, and, from this, they further conclude that nirvāṇa itself, cause and fruit alike, are entirely empty, mere names with nothing real behind them at all, ending, in the end, in utter annihilation.

Commentary: "These already-vanished aggregates" refers to seeing the three prior aggregates already ceased, and giving rise to a false, calculated speculation from this: since these three aggregates existed before and are absent now, by the same reasoning, one infers that the aggregate of formations, present now, must likewise be absent in the future. And so, concluding that after death everything, in the end, returns to utter annihilation, such a person falls into holding that no form remains at all after death. As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: this position is the exact opposite counterpart of the one before it, turning existence into nonexistence instead: the position above observed the aggregate of formations, not yet ceased, seeing it as endless, and, from this, inferred that the three prior aggregates, and every phenomenon besides, must likewise be endless; this position observes the three prior aggregates, already ceased, seeing them as formless, and, from this, infers that the aggregate of formations, and every phenomenon besides, must likewise be formless. "An inversion of thought" means: this violates the Buddha's own sincere teaching of cultivating cause to realize fruit, and instead establishes this non-Buddhist, empty, annihilationist theory — hence, "an inversion of thought."

Form is the form composed of the four elements; the body is this same single, bodily form. The body depends on form for its existence — seeing this form composed of the four elements ceased, this body, thereby, has no cause left to depend upon. Perception is the perceiving of mind-consciousness; mind is this mind of the mental faculty. This mind is bound by this perception — observing this perception of mind-consciousness ceased, this mind, thereby, has nothing left to bind it. Form comes before sensation, and mind comes after it; with sensation present in between, form and mind can thereby be linked together — knowing this sensation once ceased, form and mind, thereby, are no longer linked at all. Based on this, the very nature of these three prior aggregates, already dissolved and scattered entirely, even should the aggregate of formations still remain, though this be some remaining principle of life, without sensation or perception present, there would be no awareness at all, no different from grass or wood. As Wenling puts it: "the very nature of these aggregates dissolved and scattered" means form, sensation, and perception all ceased; "this remaining principle of life" refers to the aggregate of formations — meaning that, without sensation or perception, formations, too, must likewise cease.

"This substance" refers to the present aggregates of form and mind together, not the aggregate of form alone. Now, within this samādhi, seeing that all four aggregates, in the present, have no form whatsoever to be found, how, then, could there be any further form remaining after death? Verifying, through this, what has already ceased, and knowing what has not yet ceased in the present, comparing this against the future, they conclude that these aggregates' own form, after death, must certainly be entirely absent. Cycling through this same reasoning, back and forth, examining each in turn, every one of the four aggregates is found formless both before birth and after death — and so form, sensation, perception, and formations, these four aggregates together, yield eight such formless positions in all.

Since even this present substance is empty, with no cause of cultivation to be found, and since this form after death is likewise empty, with no fruit of realization to be found, they conclude, from this, that nirvāṇa itself, cause and fruit alike — every worldly and transcendent phenomenon — is entirely empty, nothing more than an empty name, with no real substance behind it at all, ending, in the end, in utter annihilation. Annihilation is a great wrong view, denying cause and effect entirely — for every single phenomenon, without exception, is never apart from cause and effect. As it is said: "boundless emptiness, denying cause and effect — reckless and unrestrained, this invites calamity and misfortune." This closes the seventh position, these eight formless positions.

8. Eight Forms of "Neither Existence nor Non-Existence" 死後俱非 — Since the aggregate of formations still remains present while sensation and perception have both already ceased, such a person speculates on both existence and nonexistence at once, each undermining the other's own substance — and so falls into holding that death is neither one thing nor the other, giving rise to an inverted theory. Within form, sensation, and perception, they see an existence that is not, in truth, existence; within the aggregate of formations' own flowing continuity, they observe a nonexistence that is not, in truth, nonexistence. Cycling through this same reasoning, exhausting the very boundary of every aggregate, this yields eight such neither-nor positions in all, so that, whichever aggregate is taken as the point of reference, they conclude, in every case, that death is neither some form's existence nor its nonexistence. And, further, concluding that the very nature of every formation is subject to this same shifting confusion, their mind gives rise to a kind of penetrating awakening — existence and nonexistence both alike denied, with no way left to settle what is true or what is false.

Commentary: As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: "the aggregate of formations still remains present" means: seeing that the aggregate of formations has not yet ceased, its own boundary still plainly present; "sensation and perception have both already ceased" means: seeing that the three prior aggregates have already ceased, their substance and mark alike entirely empty. "Speculating on both existence and nonexistence at once" means: taking what remains present as existence, and what has ceased as nonexistence. "Each undermining the other's own substance" means: using the aggregate of formations' own existence to undermine the three prior aggregates' own nonexistence, and using the three prior aggregates' own nonexistence to undermine the aggregate of formations' own existence. In the end, falling into this neither-nor position means: undermining nonexistence results in "not nonexistence"; undermining existence results in "not existence" — and so this inverted theory arises.

This directly explains this meaning of each undermining the other's own substance: since the three prior aggregates have already ceased, within form, sensation, and perception, they see the aggregate of formations' own existence as, likewise, ceased along with them — and so, "not existence." Since this last aggregate still remains, within the aggregate of formations' own flowing continuity, they observe these three aggregates' own nonexistence as, likewise, present along with it — and so, "not nonexistence."

"Cycling through this same reasoning, exhausting the very boundary of every aggregate" means: cycling in this way, observing what came before from what comes after, and what comes after from what came before, exhausting the very boundary of form, sensation, perception, and formations, these four aggregates, they arrive at this neither-existence-nor-nonexistence position, yielding eight such neither-nor positions in all — that is, neither the existence nor the nonexistence of form, sensation, perception, and formations. "Whichever aggregate is taken as the point of reference" means: whichever single aggregate is raised up as the object of reference, they conclude, in every case, that death holds neither existence nor nonexistence of form.

"Every formation" here refers to every phenomenon generally, not the aggregate of formations alone — what follows extends this example to every phenomenon: the very nature of every phenomenon is, without exception, subject to this same shifting, confused change — existence is not, in truth, existence, and nonexistence is not, in truth, nonexistence either — and, regarding this, they claim to know and see it completely. "Their mind gives rise to a kind of penetrating awakening" is not a genuine penetrating awakening at all, but merely an increase of wrong knowledge and wrong understanding, existence and nonexistence both alike denied. Should someone then ask: which, then, is false, and which is true? — they would be unable to answer this either, hence, "with no way left to settle what is true or what is false."

Through this conclusion, they take what holds true before life to hold equally after death, both, in every case, neither existent nor nonexistent. "With no way left to see clearly what lies beyond" means precisely this same darkness and obscurity, with no correct principle left to state at all — unable to say existence, unable to say nonexistence either. This makes plain that this neither-nor position, in every case, cannot, in truth, be spoken of at all, and so they fall into this non-Buddhist teaching, confusing this true nature of bodhi. This, then, is named the eighth non-Buddhist school. Established among the five aggregates, this neither-nor position after death is, in truth, a theory established entirely from an inverted mind. This closes the eighth position, these eight neither-nor positions.

9. Seven Theories of Annihilation 七際斷滅 — Speculating regarding what comes after what comes after — that is, what ultimately, finally, becomes nothing at all — such a person falls into these seven theories of annihilation: concluding that the body itself ceases entirely; or that desire, once exhausted, ceases entirely; or that suffering, once exhausted, ceases entirely; or that the very utmost bliss ceases entirely; or that the very utmost equanimity ceases entirely. Cycling through this same reasoning, exhausting all seven of these boundaries, they conclude that everything presently existing is, in the end, extinguished — and, once extinguished, never to return again.

Commentary: "What comes after what comes after — that is, what ultimately becomes nothing at all" — as Wenling puts it: seeing the place where the aggregate of formations ceases, thought by thought, they name this "what ultimately becomes nothing at all," and, from this, falsely conclude that the seven realms of birth among humans and heavenly beings all, in the end, undergo this same annihilation. This position differs from the seventh, the formless position, discussed above: that one reasoned from the three prior aggregates; this one reasons from the aggregate of formations itself. And that one inferred backward into the past, in order to settle the matter of what comes after death; this one observes forward into the future, thought by thought becoming extinguished — and so concludes that every single place, everywhere, holds some point of final annihilation.

These seven realms of annihilation are: concluding that the body itself ceases entirely — referring to the four continents and the first two of the six desire-heavens; or that desire, once exhausted, ceases entirely — referring to the first dhyāna, the ground free of birth, possessed of joy and bliss, since desire and its taint are already exhausted there, having already departed from birth within the desire realm; or that suffering, once exhausted, ceases entirely — referring to the second dhyāna, the ground where samādhi gives rise to joy and bliss, its joy at its very utmost, free of any anxiety; or that the very utmost bliss ceases entirely — referring to the third dhyāna, the ground free of joy, possessed of wondrous bliss, since even bliss must eventually come to its own end; or that the very utmost equanimity ceases entirely — referring to the fourth dhyāna, the ground of letting go of thought, purity, cultivating this letting-go samādhi, both suffering and bliss alike let go of and gone — together with the four formless heavens, since even the very obstruction of material substance is let go of there as well.

Cycling through this same reasoning, pressing this investigation to its very utmost limit across these seven realms, they conclude that everything presently existing returns, in every case, to annihilation — these seven realms all displaying this same annihilation — and so they know that, after death, in the future, there can never be any further matter of rebirth at all. This closes the ninth position, these seven realms of annihilation.

10. Five Theories of "Present" Nirvāṇa 五現涅槃 — Speculating regarding what comes after what comes after — that is, what continues to exist — such a person falls into these five theories of nirvāṇa: taking the desire realm as the true basis of return, since observing this perfect brightness there gives rise to a longing devotion for it; or taking the first dhyāna as such, since its very nature is free of anxiety; or the second dhyāna, since its mind is free of suffering; or the third dhyāna, since its very utmost delight accords perfectly with every wish; or the fourth dhyāna, since both suffering and bliss are, there, both alike gone, no longer subject to the very nature of rebirth's arising and ceasing at all. Mistaking these heavens, still subject to outflow, for the unconditioned itself, they conclude that these five realms offer perfect security, the very basis relied upon by the most supreme and pure of all — and, cycling through this same reasoning, conclude that these five realms represent the very ultimate end of the path.

Commentary: "What comes after what comes after — that is, what continues to exist" is the exact reverse of the position discussed before it: the position above held that, since the aggregate of formations flows on, thought by thought, never remaining fixed, what comes after must therefore inevitably cease; this position holds that, since the aggregate of formations continues, thought by thought, without a single interruption, what comes after must therefore inevitably continue to exist — hence, "what comes after what comes after — that is, what continues to exist," bound, they believe, to yield some real fruit, certainly never extinguished into nothingness. "Such a person falls into these five theories of nirvāṇa" means: rather than waiting to reduce the body to ash and extinguish the intellect entirely in order to enter nirvāṇa, they take these five presently conceived realms themselves to be nirvāṇa already.

This position takes these five realms, wherever one is presently born, to be nirvāṇa itself — showing plainly that this is not held by a single person alone, but that different people, speculating across all five realms, each follow their own particular view, some concluding this of only a single realm alone. "The desire realm" here refers to the six desire-heavens generally, not any single heaven in particular. "The true basis of return" means falsely taking this to be the true realm of nirvāṇa, since nirvāṇa is the very name, within the Buddha's own teaching, for turning from birth-and-death to rely upon nirvāṇa instead — this resembling how the Daoist immortal traditions hold that, above the six desire-heavens, there is no birth and death at all. This clause ought to apply to all four of the remaining realms that follow as well, each of them holding this same view in turn.

Why is the desire realm taken as this true basis of return? Because, observing this perfect brightness there, a longing devotion for it arises. Since, formerly, the aggregate of perception has already broken through, this perfect samādhi brought to light, and, having newly attained the heavenly eye, they behold everywhere this heavenly light, pure and adorned, transcending utterly the brightness of sun and moon, and, moreover, departed entirely from the filth and turbidity of the human world — and so a mind of longing devotion arises, and they conclude this realm to be nirvāṇa, present here and now. Or they take the first dhyāna, the ground free of birth, possessed of joy and bliss, where suffering and affliction do not press upon them, to be nirvāṇa, present here and now. Or they take the second dhyāna, the ground where samādhi gives rise to joy and bliss, where anxiety does not press upon them, to be nirvāṇa, present here and now. (The present text saying the first dhyāna is "free of anxiety" and the second "free of suffering" is most likely a transposition error in translation.) Or they take the third dhyāna, the ground free of joy, possessed of wondrous bliss, its very utmost delight according perfectly with every wish, meaning this utmost joy and delight, this great accord attained, to be nirvāṇa, present here and now. Or they take the fourth dhyāna, the ground of letting go of thought, purity, cultivating this letting-go samādhi, both suffering and bliss alike let go of and gone, and so conclude that the three calamities cannot reach here, no longer subject to rebirth's very nature of arising and ceasing at all, to be nirvāṇa, present here and now.

All five of these realms lie, in fact, within heavens still subject to outflow; now, mistaking these heavens still subject to outflow, they take them, instead, to be the unconditioned itself, nirvāṇa itself. "These five realms offer perfect security" means: having mistakenly taken these five realms to be nirvāṇa, the unconditioned, they thereupon take them to be their own secure home-country! "The very basis relied upon by the most supreme and pure of all" means: taken to be the very basis relied upon by the most supreme, purest being of all — that most supreme, pure being being, precisely, the Buddha, since the Buddha relies upon nirvāṇa itself. Proceeding in this way, from the lowest realm upward, reasoning through each in turn, there is a cyclical quality to this reasoning. "These five realms represent the very ultimate end of the path" means: having reasoned through these five realms, they mistakenly conclude that each represents the very utmost, ultimate fruit, unsurpassed by anything else at all.

As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: first, regarding the six desire-heavens, having only just departed from the dust and filth of the human world, they falsely take this to be true purity. Next, regarding the first and second dhyānas, having only just departed from the anxiety and suffering of the lower realm, they falsely take this to be true bliss. Next, regarding the third dhyāna, having only just attained this accord and freedom, they falsely take this to be a true self. Next, regarding the fourth dhyāna, having attained, for a time, freedom from the destruction of the three calamities, they falsely take this to be true permanence, free of arising and ceasing. This is precisely mistaking impermanence, suffering, emptiness, no-self, and impurity for permanence, bliss, self, and purity instead.

"Five theories of present nirvāṇa" means: concluding that these five realms are, each, already nirvāṇa in the present moment, already presently receiving the very bliss of quiescent cessation, with nothing further left to wait for in the future at all. "Falling into a non-Buddhist teaching, confusing this very nature of bodhi" means: bodhi and nirvāṇa, these two, are precisely the Tathāgata's own twin fruits of wisdom and severance — now, having mistaken this falseness for truth, they will inevitably come to mistake this truth for falseness as well, hence, "confuse this very nature of bodhi." This, then, is named the tenth non-Buddhist school. Established among the five aggregates, this theory of five present nirvāṇas is, in truth, a theory established entirely from an inverted mind, this false speculation. This closes the second section, these ten intervening speculations.

Sūtra: "Ānanda, these ten wild interpretations in meditation are all produced by the interaction of effort and the aggregate of formations, and so these particular realizations appear."

Commentary: As Wenling puts it: earlier, this text spoke of "states appearing in meditation" — that is, heavenly demons watching for their opening; here, it speaks instead of "wild interpretations in meditation" — that is, a mind-demon giving rise to its own deep affliction of its own accord. Whenever seeing the path is not yet genuine, and one strays down some forked path into false speculation, this is exactly such a wild interpretation — this being what is called a mind-demon, most urgently to be guarded against.

"All produced by the interaction of effort and the aggregate of formations" means: this all comes about because perception has broken through and formations have manifested, using the power of samādhi and wisdom to advance toward truth and cut off falseness, precisely at the very moment truth and falseness contend against each other, each in turn gaining the upper hand — and so these particular realizations appear. "These particular realizations" refers precisely to these wild interpretations themselves.

As the Standard Meaning Commentary puts it: surveying these ten wild interpretations as a whole, none of them go beyond these four terms — annihilation, permanence, emptiness, and existence. The first five belong to annihilation and permanence; the last five belong to emptiness and existence. The first is the view of annihilation; the second, the view of permanence; the third, a double affirmation of both; the fourth and fifth both extend and broaden this same double affirmation further still.

Question: why is there no double negation among them? Answer: annihilation and permanence are both, alike, faults; were there a double negation of both, this would constitute a correct view free of fault, not a non-Buddhist position at all. The sixth clings to existence; the seventh clings to emptiness; the eighth is a double negation of both. Question: why, then, is this eighth position not itself a correct view free of fault? Answer: existence and emptiness are not, in themselves, necessarily faults — a fault arises only through one-sided clinging to either; and this eighth position's own double negation refers, in fact, to this same confusion and obscurity regarding the aggregate that follows, an indecision between existence and nonexistence — not the middle way's own genuine double negation at all, and so this is not a correct view. The ninth extends this to a final, complete annihilation into emptiness; the tenth extends this to a final, complete clinging to existence — and, were emptiness and existence, too, gathered back into annihilation and permanence, this would leave, in the end, nothing more than these same two views, annihilation and permanence, after all.

Sūtra: "Beings, stubborn and confused, fail to measure themselves honestly; meeting these states appearing before them, they mistake confusion for genuine understanding, declaring themselves to have ascended to sagehood — committing the offense of great false speech, and falling into the unrelenting hell for it."

Commentary: "Stubborn and confused" means possessing a nature of stubborn foolishness by its very constitution, difficult to bring to genuine awakening. Confusion and delusion cover over the mind, easily giving rise to such wild interpretations, precisely because they fail to reflect and measure themselves honestly — who, in truth, am I? Meeting these states appearing before them, they mistake this very confusion for genuine understanding, claiming realization not yet actually attained, declaring themselves to have ascended to sagehood, falsely claiming some sagely fruit — and, this offense of great false speech thereby committed, they will certainly fall into the unrelenting hell — how truly regrettable!

For a practitioner to cultivate all the way to the point where perception has broken through and formations have manifested, with external demons entirely powerless against them, requires who knows how many years and months of effort — exactly like one removing layer after layer of clothing: having already shed the topmost three layers, only two remain, this effort already more than halfway complete — and yet, at this very point, to speak falsely, claiming to have ascended to sagehood, and thereby bring about one's own downfall — how could this not be truly lamentable!

Sūtra: "You 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 this teaching. Do not let a self-generated demon of the mind take root and grow — instead, protect and guide practitioners, and dissolve wrong views at their source."

Commentary: This charges Ānanda to act as a spiritual guide breaking down wrong views, so that what has not yet arisen never arises, and what has already arisen is swiftly extinguished. Charging Ānanda: you, and everyone else gathered in this assembly, must take these very words of the Tathāgata and, after the Tathāgata's own passing, transmit and proclaim them throughout the age of the Dharma's decline, since, as the age of the sages recedes ever further into the past, demons grow strong and the Dharma grows weak.

"So that every sentient being everywhere may awaken to this teaching" means: awakening clearly and thoroughly to the meaning of these ten wild interpretations — once one is able to awaken to this clearly, one is naturally able to discern it, deviant and correct plainly distinguished; the very moment a false thought first sprouts, one ought, at once, to resist it with correct samādhi. "Do not let" here carries the sense of a prohibition. "A self-generated demon of the mind" refers precisely to these ten wild interpretations themselves — meaning that, though external demons cannot disturb a practitioner at this stage, one must not allow this demon of one's own mind to take root and grow of its own accord. "Affliction" here means the very sprouting of calamity, since this is able to become the very cause of hell. As the Book of Documents states: "calamity brought by heaven may still be escaped; calamity brought by oneself cannot be survived." To speak here of it arising "of its own accord" is precisely this same calamity brought upon oneself. Everything above teaches that what has not yet arisen should never be allowed to arise. "Protect and guide practitioners, and dissolve wrong views at their source" teaches that what has already arisen should be swiftly extinguished — preserving and protecting this samādhi, guiding and shielding this continued cultivation, dissolving this deviant, wrong view at its very root.

Sūtra: "Teach them, in both body and mind, to awaken to the true meaning, so that they meet no forked path on the unsurpassed way. Do not let their own hearts settle for some small attainment as though it were complete — hold up instead the pure standard of the great, awakened king himself."

Commentary: This charges Ānanda to act as a teacher guiding others toward the truth, teaching them to give rise to right wisdom where it has not yet arisen. Personally investigating, in both body and mind, this true, real meaning, turning away entirely from belonging to annihilation, permanence, emptiness, or existence — simply letting not a single thought arise, turning this light of awareness back to illuminate this nature, flowing straight into the very center of the middle way, meeting no forked path at all upon this unsurpassed path of buddhahood. A branch growing sideways from a tree is called a "fork"; a road dividing crookedly is called a "byway" — neither being the true, straight root or path at all. Do not let their own hearts settle, within, for some small attainment, taken as though it were already complete. For to meet such a forked path is, precisely, to fall into a non-Buddhist teaching; and to settle for some small attainment is, precisely, to fall into the lesser vehicle instead. And so Ānanda, the one to whom this teaching is directly addressed, is charged to hold up the pure standard of the great, awakened king himself. Not a single thought arising is called purity; swiftly hastening toward unsurpassed bodhi, becoming this great, awakened king, is held up as the very standard for both humans and heavenly beings alike, showing the very compass-point toward buddhahood itself. This closes the fourth section, the demonic states of the aggregate of formations.