摩訶止觀 識通塞·道品調適

Affliction is obstruction; that is easy to see. Breaking affliction with wisdom is passage; that is easy to understand. The real danger comes when you cherish the wisdom that actively breaks: passage turns into obstruction in your very hands. Contemplation is still called contemplation, but it begins protecting a self who says, “I am contemplating.” What actively breaks then takes the same side as what it breaks.

Discerning passage and obstruction therefore does not mean breaking every Dharma one meets. It resembles removing a film from the eye while nurturing its bright jewel, or defeating a band of thieves while preserving a good general: break what should be broken, nurture what should be nurtured, and do not exempt even the mind that actively breaks. Merely saying emptiness, provisionality, and the Middle may resemble insects boring into wood and accidentally forming written words. Truly knowing the words means seeing, within every thought, everything that contemplates, and everything contemplated, when passage appears and when obstruction appears.

Nor are the five hundred yojanas a straight line onto which one can force a rigid correlation. They are simultaneously the places of birth-and-death traversed, the five levels of affliction severed, and the three contemplations of emptiness, provisionality, and the Middle that illuminate. A key with one notch cannot open a lock with three teeth. The road must be discerned from all three sides, and the horizontal truths, dependent origination, and perfections must be woven into the vertical emptiness, provisionality, and Middle, so that every step of a beginner can truly be inspected.

In the end, three contemplations in one mind make mountains, rivers, and stone walls all like empty space; one need neither leave low ground to climb high nor avoid mountains to follow valleys. Yet even “neither passage nor obstruction” cannot be grasped. The moment it is grasped, it becomes a new obstruction. Neither passage nor obstruction does not mean neglecting everything. It means breaking obstruction when it appears and protecting passage when it appears, without appropriating breaking or protecting as an attainment.

Knowing the route is not enough; the pace must also be regulated. The thirty-seven factors resemble brewing wine and growing a tree. If warmth, yeast, and malt are out of balance, water cannot become wine. If seed, sprout, root, stems and leaves, flowers, and fruit each miss their season, the tree of the path cannot bear fruit. When mind floats, tranquility, equanimity, and concentration settle it. When mind sinks, diligence, investigation of Dharmas, and joy arouse it. Mindfulness holds both sides. Regulation does not add another Dharma; it lets the Dharmas already present mutually arise in just the right way now.

The uncontaminated city has three gates: emptiness, signlessness, and nonaction. Whether one enters through meditative concentration or wisdom, true wisdom can arise. One gate can also possess all three, and all three return to one. A true great guide does not merely know where the destination lies. Without clinging to passage where the way is open or being trapped by obstruction where it is blocked, the guide makes this very step already face the place of jewels.

Fascicle Seven [Upper] of the Mohe Zhiguan, taught by the Tiantai Great Master Zhizhe of the Sui dynasty and recorded by his disciple Guanding.

Discerning Passage and Obstruction: Break Obstruction and Protect Passage

The fifth vehicle is discerning passage and obstruction. It is also called “knowing gain and loss” and “knowing word and nonword.” The preceding contemplation that pervasively breaks through Dharmas should have opened passage into nonarising. If entry still has not occurred, one must investigate precisely where the gain and loss lie. One is necessarily caught in some affirmation or negation and cannot understand the matter from only one side.

Why? If, like a non-Buddhist, one cherishes the wisdom that contemplates emptiness, that wisdom must again be pervasively broken through the four alternatives. At this point the contemplation that actively breaks has become an obstruction just like the attachment it breaks, so every obstruction must be opened anew into passage. If one does not cling to the wisdom that contemplates emptiness, what actively breaks differs from what is broken; one need only break obstruction while preserving passage. This resembles removing a film from the eye while nurturing its bright jewel, or defeating a band of thieves while protecting a good general. Only one who can do this is a great guide skilled in knowing passage and obstruction, able to lead the multitude beyond five hundred yojanas.

Old Explanations of the Five Hundred Yojanas and the Correct Three Rounds

An old explanation counts the exhaustion of the delusions of views and thought at the sixth ground as three hundred yojanas, the seventh and eighth grounds as four hundred, and the ninth and tenth grounds as five hundred. This does not agree with the Great Treatise, which counts the Two Vehicles as four hundred, although the path of the Two Vehicles is not the seventh or eighth ground.

Masters of the Mahāyānasaṃgraha count the three realms as three hundred and add transformational birth-and-death and causal birth-and-death to make five hundred. Yet this still does not exhaust their own treatise’s meaning, for there are also birth-and-death with a remainder and birth-and-death without a remainder. To which hundred yojanas should these two belong?

Masters of the Daśabhūmika correlate the ten faiths, ten abodes, ten practices, ten dedications, and ten grounds with the five hundreds. This again disagrees with the Lotus Sūtra. The sūtra says that a city is conjured only after three hundred yojanas have been crossed; on this correlation, the phantom city would instead appear at the two-hundred-yojana point.

Others correlate the three realms with three hundred and add the two vehicles of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas as the fourth and fifth hundreds. This has three faults. First, if the phantom city is established beyond the three realms, why do followers of the Two Vehicles leave the three realms without entering it and instead travel another fourth and fifth hundred yojanas? There is no further phantom city beyond the fourth and fifth hundreds. Where exactly would they enter so as to be called the Two Vehicles? Second, one can proceed only after the phantom city vanishes. How could they advance into the fourth and fifth hundreds while the city has not yet vanished? Third, śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas enter the phantom city together. Why assign śrāvakas alone to the fourth hundred and pratyekabuddhas alone to the fifth?

Others correlate the five abiding afflictions with the five hundreds. Yet followers of the Two Vehicles have already severed the four abiding afflictions, so this would require placing the phantom city beyond four hundred yojanas and would still disagree with the sūtra. Still others count the delusions of thought in the three realms as three hundred, delusions innumerable as dust and sand as four hundred, and ignorance as five hundred. This too is wrong. Yojanas originally symbolize afflictions; why exclude the more numerous delusions of views yet count the fewer delusions of thought as three hundred?

The expression “five hundred yojanas” comes from the Lotus Sūtra. The sūtra presents the five hundred as a simile, calls birth-and-death a dangerous road, and corresponds this with the guide’s ability to examine and know that road. To meet the sūtra’s text, one must explain five hundred in three distinct rounds: first according to the places of birth-and-death, second according to afflictions, and third according to wisdom. None of the foregoing masters’ arrangements—whether square or round, moving or still, advancing or retreating—accords with the sūtra. They resemble trying to open a lock with three teeth by using a key that has only one notch.

The first school follows the stages of the Shared Teaching, speaks only as far as four hundred, and then establishes the phantom city. The Mahāyānasaṃgraha masters follow types of birth-and-death but cut off the other two types and leave them beyond the wilderness. The Daśabhūmika masters follow the stages of the Distinct Teaching and instead place the phantom city within the three realms. The next school proceeds straight ahead and, without waiting for provisional Dharma to be opened and removed, reveals the real on its own. Each school has these faults.

What, then, is the original intent of the Great Treatise? It contains two passages. The first counts the Two Vehicles as four hundred and stops there, without establishing a fifth hundred. The second instead counts the Two Vehicles as one hundred. They can now be reconciled as follows. The first passage speaks according to the Shared Teaching, which takes the true truth as its utmost point. Having crossed the three realms, practitioners have not yet demolished the phantom city but merely enter nirvāṇa; nirvāṇa is therefore designated as the fourth hundred. The later passage counts the Two Vehicles as one hundred because it instead speaks of bodhisattvas entering the provisional: leaving the nirvāṇa of the Two Vehicles is counted as one hundred, and entering the three realms as three hundred. Understood this way, neither sūtra nor treatise is obstructed.

Now for the correct explanation of the five hundred yojanas. First, according to the places of birth-and-death, the recompense of the three realms is three hundred, the Land of Skillful Means with Remainder is four hundred, and the Land of Unobstructed Real Reward is five hundred. Second, according to afflictions, delusions concerning the truths are one hundred, the five lower fetters are two hundred, the five higher fetters are three hundred, delusions innumerable as dust and sand are four hundred, and ignorance is five hundred. Third, according to contemplative wisdom, the wisdom of contemplating emptiness knows three hundred, the wisdom of contemplating provisionality knows four hundred, and the wisdom of contemplating the Middle knows five hundred. These three rounds meet the sūtra’s text and have none of the foregoing masters’ faults.

Horizontal Passage and Obstruction, Vertical Passage and Obstruction, and Weaving the Horizontal through the Vertical

The stages fixed by the various masters are too remote. A beginner has not yet severed even the delusions of views; how could such a person immediately cross five hundred yojanas? The yojanas discussed here include horizontal passage and obstruction as well as vertical passage and obstruction.

Horizontal passage and obstruction are explained through three kinds of Dharma. First, the truths of suffering and origination are obstruction, while the truths of the path and cessation are passage. Second, ignorance and the twelve links of dependent origination it produces are obstruction, while the cessation of ignorance and of the twelve links is passage. Third, the six obscurations covering the mind are obstruction, while the six perfections are passage.

Vertical passage and obstruction also have three levels. First, the delusions of views and thought and fragmentary birth-and-death are obstruction, while contemplation entering emptiness from provisionality is passage. Second, lack of knowledge and transformational birth-and-death are obstruction, while contemplation entering provisionality from emptiness is passage. Third, ignorance, causal birth-and-death, and the rest are obstruction, while correct contemplation of the Middle Way is passage.

The three horizontal Dharmas must now be interwoven with the three vertical contemplations, inspecting passage and obstruction one by one. Begin with entering emptiness from provisionality and breaking the various delusions of views and thought. Delusions of views include simple four alternatives, compound four alternatives, complete four alternatives, ineffable views, and the rest; delusions of thought comprise nine times nine, or eighty-one, grades. These delusions are intrinsically defiled: they increase affliction and obstruct the practitioner. How could one suddenly cling to them instead, taking them to be right or wrong? If they consequently produce the various fetters and karma and one leaks back into birth-and-death, one sees only suffering and origination, not the path and cessation. Failing to recognize the four truths within the delusions of views and thought is precisely ignorance concerning them and is therefore called ignorance. From it arise the twelve links of dependent origination through aging-and-death. If ignorance does not cease, dependent origination is not dismantled. Because one grasps firmly and finds relinquishment difficult, one remains on this shore and cannot reach the other shore.

The Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra tells of a hungry child who took fruit from excrement. When a wise person rebuked him, he felt ashamed and abashed. Attachment to delusion likewise causes one to lose pure Dharma; this is called obstruction. When faced with various views, one need only know, the instant a single thought arises, that it has no real intrinsic nature, is impermanent, and has no master. Once inversion is broken, no karma is produced; without karma there is no fruit. This is called the path, and because there is a path there is cessation. If one recognizes the four truths, there is neither ignorance nor aging-and-death. When dependent origination is dismantled, one can relinquish all modes of existence and reach the other shore. Following this meaning, one must pass through every thought-moment, everything that contemplates, and everything contemplated. If the three kinds of obstruction arise within truths, dependent origination, and perfections, break them and open passage. If the three kinds of passage are present, protect and bring them to fulfillment.

Moreover, the nature of the views contemplated is itself empty, and the wisdom that contemplates is itself empty too. Even an arhat’s mind is called the uncontaminated five aggregates. Since my contemplative wisdom is not yet real, how could it not be an aggregate? If one grasps this aggregate as truly existent, it produces fetters, karma, and birth-and-death. If one does not recognize the four truths within this aggregate, that is ignorance. If one cherishes the wisdom that contemplates emptiness, one cannot relinquish it. One must therefore still pass through every thought-moment, everything that contemplates, and everything contemplated by means of immediate emptiness. If the three obstructions are present, break them and open passage; if the three passages are present, protect and fulfill them. This is skillfully crossing the obstruction of views and thought and passing through three hundred yojanas.

Next, weaving the horizontal through the vertical to inspect the passage and obstruction of contemplation entering provisionality from emptiness is easier to understand. For Dharmas of illness, Dharmas of medicine, and the Dharma of administering medicine, clearly distinguish truths, dependent origination, and perfections in every Dharma, everything that contemplates, and everything contemplated. If the three obstructions arise, break them and open passage; if the three passages are present, protect and fulfill them. In this way one crosses the obstruction of lack of knowledge and passes through four hundred yojanas.

Next, weave the horizontal through the vertical to inspect correct contemplation of the Middle Way. For ignorance, Dharma-nature, true conditions, and the rest, clearly distinguish truths, dependent origination, and perfections in every Dharma, everything that contemplates, and everything contemplated. If the three obstructions arise, break them and open passage; if the three passages are present, protect and fulfill them. In this way one crosses the obstruction of ignorance and passes through five hundred yojanas.

If passage and obstruction are taught only in this sequential vertical fashion, one must reach the sixth ground or first ground, often after many eons, before obstruction opens into passage. The Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra says that a stream-enterer arrives after eighty thousand eons and, successively, a pratyekabuddha after ten thousand eons; what they reach is a bodhisattva’s abode of initial arousal of mind. This discusses the stages of noble ones. What help is it to a beginner?

The Beginner’s Three Horizontally Distinct Contemplations

Passage and obstruction can next be explained through horizontally distinct contemplations. The Great Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra says that some bodhisattvas correspond with omniscience from their initial arousal of mind; this is correspondence with emptiness. If a beginner does not yet correspond, that person should inspect every thought-moment through truths, dependent origination, and perfections. If the three obstructions are present, break them and open passage; if the three passages are present, protect and fulfill them. One can thereby cross three hundred yojanas.

The sūtra also says that some bodhisattvas can roam in superknowledges and purify buddha lands from their initial arousal of mind; this is the meaning of entering the provisional. If beginners cultivate contemplation of provisionality, they likewise inspect every thought-moment through truths, dependent origination, and perfections, breaking obstruction, protecting passage, and crossing four hundred yojanas.

The sūtra also says that some bodhisattvas can sit at the site of awakening and accomplish correct awakening from their initial arousal of mind; this is the meaning of contemplation of the Middle. If beginners cultivate contemplation of the Middle, they likewise inspect every thought-moment through truths, dependent origination, and perfections, breaking obstruction, protecting passage, and crossing five hundred yojanas.

Although this account allows beginners to discuss passage and obstruction, the three Dharmas of emptiness, provisionality, and the Middle still remain separate. The Great Treatise gives three similes: first traveling on foot, second riding a horse, and third employing superknowledge. Those traveling on foot or horseback must discern where the road is open and where blocked. Superknowledge, however, is intrinsically unobstructed: obstruction cannot cover it, and mountain walls are all like empty space. What open route remains to be chosen? The first contemplation is compared to walking, the second to riding, and the last to flying. Because these three meanings remain divided, this too is not the contemplative method adopted here.

When the three contemplations are taught vertically, the first two are passage within their present respective scopes but become obstruction in relation to the higher contemplation. The last surpasses the lower two and is passage, yet it too becomes obstruction by remaining isolated as a separate minor Dharma. When the three contemplations are taught horizontally, each is passage within its own scope, but inability to include the others is obstruction. These Dharma-marks already possess shallow and deep forms of passage and obstruction; how much more so when practitioners produce suffering, origination, ignorance, the six obscurations, and the rest within them? All three contemplations can thus become obstruction, leaving no passage at all.

Three Contemplations in One Mind: Neither Passage nor Obstruction, Yet Illuminating Both

Contemplating the Dharma-mark of three contemplations in one mind breaks the passage and obstruction of the vertical three contemplations. Contemplating the three contemplations as only one mind breaks the passage and obstruction of the horizontal three contemplations. Contemplation of emptiness immediately possesses all three contemplations and therefore breaks the passage and obstruction of walking, mountain walls, and three hundred yojanas. Contemplation of provisionality immediately possesses all three and therefore breaks the passage and obstruction of riding and four hundred yojanas. Contemplation of the Middle immediately possesses all three and therefore breaks even the passage and obstruction of superknowledge itself.

Precisely because one mind can immediately be empty, provisional, and the Middle, every mountain, river, stone wall, horde of māras, and group following other paths is like empty space. Three contemplations in one mind roam among them without any obstruction. Ultimately, one need not leave low ground to climb high, nor avoid a mountain ridge to follow a valley. Every obstruction touched becomes open and unobstructed, so one can cross five hundred yojanas and arrive at the place of jewels. This is called passage. Yet passage is originally established in contrast to obstruction. Once everywhere touched is like empty space, there is no obstruction; without obstruction, there is no passage either.

If suffering, origination, ignorance, and obscuration arise anew at the point of neither obstruction nor passage, one loses not only superknowledge but also horseback travel and walking. What actively breaks then becomes the same as what is broken; the word becomes a nonword. It resembles insects boring into wood and accidentally leaving shapes that form the words “three contemplations,” although the insects do not know whether these are words or nonwords.

If every Dharma, everything that contemplates, and everything contemplated is immediately empty, provisional, and the Middle and fully possesses truths, dependent origination, and perfections, this is called neither passage nor obstruction while illuminating passage and obstruction together. Only one capable of this is a person of wisdom who knows word and nonword, like a good physician who knows gain and loss. Passage and obstruction should be clearly distinguished in the gate of nonarising, and likewise in all the other Dharma gates. This is how a beginner crosses five hundred yojanas; the meaning of the six identities should further be used to distinguish its levels, and so forth.

Question: Are passage and obstruction, gain and loss, and word and nonword ultimately identical or different?

Answer: The three are different expressions of one purport, yet they also differ. Passage and obstruction concern understanding, gain and loss concern practice, and word and nonword concern teaching. The Golden Light Sūtra speaks of correct hearing, correct listening, correct discrimination, correct understanding of conditions, and correct awakening. Knowing word and nonword corresponds to correct hearing and correct listening. Knowing gain and loss corresponds to correct discrimination and correct understanding of conditions. Knowing passage and obstruction corresponds to correct awakening. Although the three differ in these respects, they still reveal the same purport together.

Question: Can horizontal obstruction obstruct vertical passage? Can vertical obstruction obstruct horizontal passage? Can horizontal passage pass through vertical obstruction? Can vertical passage pass through horizontal obstruction?

Answer: At a first level one may say yes; examined more finely at a second level, one must say no. One may say yes because ignorance itself is views and thought, so how could it not be a horizontal obstruction? Wisdom of the Middle Way can treat everything, so how could it not pass through horizontal obstruction? This is only the first, provisional answer of yes. Distinguished a second time, horizontal obstruction blocks what is nearer and cannot obstruct vertical passage. Horizontal passage is weaker and cannot pass through vertical obstruction. Vertical obstruction is deep and remote and does not become a horizontal obstruction. Vertical passage treats its corresponding obstruction and does not pass through horizontal obstruction.

Four Arrangements of the Factors of the Path

The sixth vehicle explains regulating the factors of the path. They have four arrangements: first, individually defined; second, mutually inclusive; third, according to stages; and fourth, mutually arising.

First, individually defined. One need not necessarily possess all the factors of the path in order to attain the path. The three groups of four—the four foundations of mindfulness, four right efforts, and four bases of spiritual power—the two groups of five—the five faculties and five powers—and the separate groups of seven factors of awakening and the Noble Eightfold Path can each, in their own individually defined scope, be the path. Thus one may attain the path by relying on the foundations of mindfulness, and the thirty-seven factors are called the site of awakening and the Great Vehicle. What is true of the foundations is true of the remaining groups. These are individually defined factors of the path, not yet regulation.

Second, mutually inclusive. The single Dharma of the four foundations of mindfulness, for example, can include all the remaining groups. The meaning of the Great Treatise is that since the foundations include the remaining factors, the remaining factors also include the foundations. These are mutually inclusive factors of the path, also not regulation.

Third, according to stages. The four foundations of mindfulness occupy their own stage; the four right efforts correspond to the stage of warmth; the four bases of spiritual power to the stage of summit; the five faculties to the stage of tolerance; the five powers to the stage of foremost in the world; the Noble Eightfold Path to the stage of seeing the truths; and the seven factors of awakening to the path of cultivation. This establishes them according to stages and is also not regulation.

Fourth, mutually arising. Cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness can produce the four right efforts. The right efforts activate the four bases of spiritual power; these produce the five faculties; the faculties produce the five powers; the powers produce the seven factors of awakening; and the seven factors enter the Noble Eightfold Path. This alone is called skillful regulation. Moral discipline, meditative concentration, wisdom, and the rest are all called correct. When the pure mind remains constantly one, it can see prajñā. This is mutual arising, which is regulation.

Why must the factors of the path be regulated? Although one has already pervasively broken through Dharmas and discerned passage and obstruction, how could one rapidly correspond with true Dharma without regulating these factors? True Dharma is called uncontaminated, while the factors here are contaminated. Contaminated factors can serve as preparatory means for the uncontaminated. If preparatory means lose their proper measure, they have difficulty entering principle. It resembles brewing wine: when the warmth of fermentation is suitable, water can turn into wine, but if yeast and malt lose their proper balance, the flavor of wine cannot form. The Great Treatise says that the thirty-seven factors are Dharmas for practicing the path and that the city of nirvāṇa has three gates. The three gates are proximate causes; the factors are remote causes. For this reason, the factors of the path must be regulated.

The Factors of the Path Are Not Exclusive to the Two Vehicles

Question: The factors of the path belong to the Two Vehicles. How can they also be the bodhisattva path?

Answer: The Great Treatise rebukes this question: Who says such a thing? Neither the Tripiṭaka nor the Great Vehicle teaches so. How can one alone decide that these factors are only a Small Vehicle Dharma? The Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra says that the factors of the path are good spiritual friends through which correct awakening is accomplished; they are the site of awakening and the Great Vehicle. The Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra says that one who can cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path sees buddha-nature and is called one who obtains ghee. The Mahāvaipulya Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra says that the thirty-seven factors are the bodhisattva’s Jeweled Torch dhāraṇī. All these scriptures expressly teach the factors of the path. When were they ever exclusive to the Small Vehicle?

The Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra also says that the thirty-seven factors are a cause of nirvāṇa but not a cause of great nirvāṇa; immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas of Dharmas assisting awakening are the cause of great nirvāṇa. This does not mean there is another set of factors outside the factors themselves, just as there is no fifth truth beyond the four truths. Stated directly, suffering and origination are single, their measure like earth on a fingernail. Distinguished in detail, suffering and origination possess immeasurable marks, like all the earth in worlds throughout the ten directions. One set of thirty-seven factors is a cause of nirvāṇa; immeasurable sets of thirty-seven factors assisting the path are called a cause of great nirvāṇa. Why can they be immeasurable? Because there are four kinds of the truth of the path and sixteen gates.

There are also contaminated factors of the path. The desire realm has twenty-two, the access concentration has thirty-six, and the first dhyāna has thirty-seven; these are all contaminated factors, like milk. The factors of the Tripiṭaka Teaching are like curds, those of the Shared Teaching like raw butter, those of the Distinct Teaching like refined butter, and those of the Perfect Teaching like ghee. The textual meaning of the Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra corresponds precisely to this; it does not establish separate assisting Dharmas outside the factors.

Sometimes the thirty-seven factors are called aids to the path, while at other times they are called the direct path. The Great Treatise says they are the bodhisattva path, which seems to mean the direct path. The Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra says they are good spiritual friends through which correct awakening is accomplished, which seems to mean aids to the path.

If someone says all thirty-seven factors are contaminated, one must answer: Why are the seven factors of awakening described as the path of cultivation? Why does the Lotus Sūtra speak of the wealth of uncontaminated faculties, powers, factors of awakening, and path? And why is the Noble Eightfold Path ever placed before the seven factors of awakening?

This must be divided into three statements: first, all thirty-seven are contaminated; second, all are uncontaminated; and third, they are both contaminated and uncontaminated.

First, all are contaminated. The Great Treatise says that cultivating the Noble Eightfold Path enables one to obtain the initial wholesome contaminated five aggregates. These five aggregates are the Dharma of warmth. If even before warmth one can cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path, how is it cultivated? At first one receives a Dharma gate from a teacher, fixes the mind upon it, and recollects it: these are the four foundations of mindfulness. Diligently practicing in quest of this Dharma constitutes the four right efforts. Practicing in one mind constitutes the four bases of spiritual power. The arising of five wholesome roots constitutes the five faculties. Their increase constitutes the five powers. Distinguishing the path’s functions constitutes the seven factors of awakening. Traveling securely within the path constitutes the Noble Eightfold Path. Cultivated in this way, they yield the wholesome contaminated five aggregates. Thus all the factors can be contaminated.

Second, all are uncontaminated. The factors practiced in seeing the truths and in cultivation have always been uncontaminated; this is precisely the meaning of the Lotus Sūtra. Although it was formerly said that one can cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path, the seven factors of awakening, and the rest at contaminated stages, no explicit scriptural or treatise passage was adduced as proof.

The Abhidharma Vibhāṣā Treatise, however, says that if the Noble Eightfold Path is placed after the seven factors of awakening, it can be either contaminated or uncontaminated. Why? If one enters seeing the truths through the Noble Eightfold Path, it too is uncontaminated. If the Noble Eightfold Path is placed before the seven factors, it is always uncontaminated. This is easy to understand. The Vibhāṣā is cited to establish the two foregoing meanings. Its being both contaminated and uncontaminated is precisely relative to their stages.

The thirty-seven factors under the various truths of the path will not all be recorded here. Only the thirty-seven nonconstructed factors under the nonconstructed truth of the path are now explained, in order to establish the meaning of three contemplations in one mind.

The Nonconstructed Four Foundations of Mindfulness

The meaning of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra is this: if one wishes to cultivate the four foundations of mindfulness through wisdom of all modes, one should know that the foundations themselves are the Dharma realm and include all Dharmas. All Dharmas tend toward the foundations, and none surpasses this tending. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says that there is only one earth, yet it can produce all kinds of sprouts, so the earth itself is the seed of all sprouts. The Lotus Sūtra says that every variety of mark, substance, and nature is the mark, substance, and nature of a single seed. What seed is this? It is the mark, substance, and nature of the Buddha seed. People commonly say that the Lotus Sūtra does not illuminate buddha-nature, yet the sūtra expressly speaks of one seed. What seed could this be? The various herbs, trees, groves, and forests symbolize the seven preparatory means; the single earth symbolizes the one real matter called the Buddha seed.

When an inconceivable contemplation now arises in one thought-moment, it immediately is every seed, and the aggregates and sense fields of the ten Dharma realms do not obstruct one another.

First contemplate the form of Dharma-nature. Because Dharma-nature arises through conditions, one seed is every seed and one form is every form. Because Dharma-nature is empty, every form is one form and one emptiness is every emptiness. Because Dharma-nature is provisional, one form is every form and one provisionality is every provisionality. Because Dharma-nature is the Middle, it is neither one nor all, yet illuminates both one and all. This is also called neither empty nor provisional yet illuminating both emptiness and provisionality; thus every form is likewise neither empty nor provisional yet illuminates both. The forms of the other nine Dharma realms are immediately empty, provisional, and the Middle in the same way. This is called the foundation of mindfulness of the body.

Next contemplate the feeling of Dharma-nature. Because this feeling arises through conditions, one seed is every seed and one feeling is every feeling. Because the feeling of Dharma-nature is empty, every feeling is one feeling and one emptiness is every emptiness. Because it is a provisional designation, one feeling is every feeling and one provisionality is every provisionality. Because the feeling of Dharma-nature is the Middle, it is neither one feeling nor all feelings, neither empty nor provisional yet illuminating both emptiness and provisionality. The feelings of the other nine Dharma realms are immediately empty, provisional, and the Middle in the same way. This is called the foundation of mindfulness of feelings.

Next contemplate the mind of Dharma-nature as a Dharma arising through conditions. Thus one seed is every seed and one mind is every mind. Because Dharma-nature is empty, every mind is one mind and one emptiness is every emptiness. Because Dharma-nature is provisional, one mind is every mind and one provisionality is every provisionality. Because Dharma-nature is the Middle, it is neither one nor all, neither empty nor provisional yet illuminating both emptiness and provisionality. The minds of the other nine Dharma realms are likewise. This is called the foundation of mindfulness of mind.

Next contemplate the aggregates of perception and formation within Dharma-nature as Dharmas arising through conditions. Thus one seed is every seed and one formation is immeasurable formations. Because Dharma-nature is empty, every formation is one formation and one emptiness is every emptiness. Because Dharma-nature is provisional, one formation is every formation and one provisionality is every provisionality. Because Dharma-nature is the Middle, it is neither one nor all, neither empty nor provisional yet illuminating both emptiness and provisionality. The formations of the other nine Dharma realms are immediately empty, provisional, and the Middle in the same way. This is called the foundation of mindfulness of Dharmas.

The power and function of these foundations of mindfulness are vast. Their meaning includes both Great and Small; they break the eight inversions together, reveal withering and flourishing together, and are also beyond both withering and flourishing, entering parinirvāṇa in their midst. They are also called sitting at the site of awakening, the Great Vehicle, and the Dharma realm.

The Eight Inversions, Withering and Flourishing, and the Midst

How exactly do the foundations of mindfulness encompass such extensive meanings?

The form of Dharma-nature is in reality not pure, yet ordinary beings arbitrarily reckon it pure; this is inversion. In reality it is also not impure, yet followers of the Two Vehicles arbitrarily reckon it impure; this too is inversion. Now contemplate the seed of form as immediately empty, so every form is immediately empty. Since there is no purity in emptiness, how could attachment to it arise? This breaks the ordinary being’s inversion of reckoning purity and fulfills the withered foundation of mindfulness. The seed of form is immediately provisional, so every form is immediately provisional; distinctions of names and marks are inexhaustible. Provisional wisdom remains constantly pure and is not defiled by lack of knowledge or delusions innumerable as dust and sand. How could one remain in emptiness, choose the extinction of body and knowledge, and declare form definitely impure? This breaks the Two Vehicles’ inversion of reckoning impurity and fulfills the flourishing foundation of mindfulness. In this way all eight inversions are broken together, and the withered and flourishing foundations are established together.

Next contemplate the original limit of form as neither empty nor provisional; every form is likewise neither empty nor provisional. Because it is not empty, it is not the inversion of impurity. Because it is not provisional, it is not the inversion of purity. Because it is not the inversion of purity, it is not the flourishing tree; because it is not the inversion of impurity, it is not the withered tree. Neither withered nor flourishing means neither extreme. Where there is no extreme, neither is there some separate middle; only this is called the midst. The Buddha enters this principle, and it is therefore called nirvāṇa, which is neither pure nor impure. The nonarising of the eight inversions is called nirvāṇa, and such nirvāṇa is called the secret treasury. The Buddha places all his children in the secret treasury and dwells there himself; hence it is called entry.

The feeling of Dharma-nature is originally not pleasant, yet ordinary beings arbitrarily reckon it pleasant; this is inversion. In reality it is also not painful, yet followers of the Two Vehicles arbitrarily reckon it painful. Now contemplate the seed of feeling as immediately empty, so every feeling is empty. There is no pleasure in emptiness; how could defiled attachment arise? The ordinary being’s inversion is broken, and the withered foundation of mindfulness is fulfilled. The seed of feeling is immediately provisional, so every feeling is provisional. Receiving every feeling through nonreception, one does not become disgusted or afraid when distinguishing name and reputation. How could one reject them and sink into emptiness and extinction? The Two Vehicles’ inversion is broken, and the flourishing foundation of mindfulness is fulfilled. This is the simultaneous breaking of the two inversions and establishment of withering and flourishing.

Next contemplate the original limit of feeling as neither empty nor provisional. Because it is not empty, it is not withered; because it is not provisional, it is not flourishing. The nonarising of inverted extremes is called nirvāṇa, and the appearance of the principle of their midst is called the secret treasury, just as explained above, and so forth.

The mind of Dharma-nature is originally not permanent, yet ordinary beings arbitrarily reckon it permanent; this is the inversion of permanence. In reality Dharma-nature is also not impermanent, yet followers of the Two Vehicles arbitrarily reckon it impermanent. Now contemplate the seed of mind as immediately empty, so every mind is immediately empty. There is no permanence in emptiness; how could one say that mind continues from thought to thought? This breaks the ordinary being’s inversion of permanence and fulfills the withered foundation of mindfulness. Mind is a provisional designation, so every mind is also provisional. If mind could only be said to be impermanent, how could immeasurable marks of mind be distinguished? This breaks the Two Vehicles’ inversion of impermanence and fulfills the flourishing foundation of mindfulness.

Next contemplate mind as immediately neither empty nor provisional. Because it is not empty, it is not impermanent; because it is not provisional, it is not permanent. Neither flourishing nor withered, with inverted extremes not arising, is called entry into nirvāṇa. The appearance of the principle of the Middle Way is called the secret treasury. The Buddha places all his children there and enters it himself, and so forth.

The Dharmas of Dharma-nature originally do not possess a self, yet ordinary beings arbitrarily reckon there is a self. They originally are also not without self, yet followers of the Two Vehicles arbitrarily reckon there is no self. Now contemplate Dharma-nature as immediately empty, so all Dharmas are empty. There is no self in emptiness; this breaks the ordinary being’s inversion of self and fulfills the withered foundation of mindfulness. Dharma-nature is immediately provisional, so all Dharmas are established through provisionality, freely and without obstruction, fully possessing the meaning of “self.” This breaks the Two Vehicles’ inversion of no-self and fulfills the flourishing foundation of mindfulness. Next contemplate the original limit of Dharmas as neither empty nor provisional. Because it is not empty, it is not no-self; because it is not provisional, it is not self. The nonarising of inverted extremes is called entry into nirvāṇa, and the appearance of the principle of their midst is called the secret treasury.

There are four Dharma medicines for treating inversion. Contemplative wisdom of Dharma-nature is called mindfulness, and one truth immediately being three truths is called a foundation. Everything is immediately empty, so all inversions and all withering and flourishing are quiescent. Everything is immediately provisional, so both twin trees of the two extremes are established. Everything is immediately the Middle, so no Dharma is anything but the Dharma realm. It is only one thought-moment, yet it is this vast and profound.

If one can deeply contemplate the foundations of mindfulness, that itself is sitting at the site of awakening, is the Great Vehicle, and is entering parinirvāṇa between the twin trees. Beginning and end are already complete, and no remaining Dharma need be cultivated. If entry still does not occur, one advances to cultivate the remaining factors of the path.

The Four Right Efforts and Four Bases of Spiritual Power

Diligently contemplating the four foundations of mindfulness is called the four right efforts. The delusions of views and thought have already arisen and are therefore called evils already arisen. Contemplate them as immediately empty so that evils already arisen do not arise again, and therefore apply diligent effort. Delusions innumerable as dust and sand and the delusion of ignorance have not yet appeared and are therefore called evils not yet arisen. Contemplate them as immediately provisional and immediately the Middle so that evils not yet arisen do not arise, and therefore apply diligent effort. Practitioners exert all their strength and sincerity in cultivating the four kinds of samādhi, checking these two kinds of evil.

Wisdom of all dharmas is called goodness already arisen. This goodness arises more easily, so the path to nirvāṇa is said to be easily attained. Wisdom of the varieties of the path and wisdom of all modes are called goodness not yet arisen; such discriminating wisdom is more difficult to produce. Once the wisdom of emptiness has arisen, one diligently causes it to increase. Since wisdom of the Middle has not yet arisen, one causes it to develop. The three contemplations continue without interruption solely to produce these two kinds of wisdom. The four right efforts can themselves cause awakening to the path; hence wholehearted, diligent effort attains the three awakenings, and no further Dharma need be cultivated.

If entry still does not occur, effort must be insufficient and the mind too scattered and agitated. One must therefore enter wholesome quiescence and carefully contemplate mind-nature; this is called superior concentration. Within superior concentration, cultivate the four bases of spiritual power of aspiration, diligence, mind, and contemplation.

The base of spiritual power of aspiration is single-mindedly tending toward the Dharma being cultivated and is also called adorning that Dharma. Contemplative wisdom within meditative concentration resembles a lamp in a sealed room: whatever it illuminates becomes clearly understood. Because it illuminates and understands, the formation of severance is accomplished and the base of aspiration is cultivated to completion.

The base of spiritual power of diligence is accomplishing the Dharma being cultivated. Dharma-nature is originally unmoving, yet within quiescence practitioners apply diligence continuously, without interruption or admixture. Thus the formation of severance is accomplished and the base of diligence is cultivated to completion.

The base of spiritual power of mind is correctly abiding in contemplation of the Dharma being cultivated, taking it as object within one mind. When mind is controlled in one place, nothing remains unaccomplished. Thus the formation of severance is accomplished and the base of mind is cultivated to completion.

The base of spiritual power of contemplation is skillfully distinguishing the Dharma being cultivated and its preparatory means. One contemplates in this way without allowing the mind to move or scatter. Because contemplation occurs within meditative concentration, the formation of severance is accomplished and the base of contemplation is cultivated to completion.

Cultivating this way, one enters through the concentrated mind and needs no other Dharma. If entry still does not occur, one should cultivate the five faculties.

The Five Faculties and Five Powers

Faith that the principle of the three truths is the mother of the buddhas of the three times can produce all ten powers, fearlessnesses, liberations, and samādhis. Cultivating only the foundations of mindfulness and seeking no Dharma outside them is called the faculty of faith.

The faculty of diligence means that faith gathers in all Dharmas; because one faithfully accepts them, one redoubles vigorous effort.

The faculty of mindfulness means attending only to the direct path and the assisting path and allowing no deviance or falsity to enter. Moreover, because this Dharma is cultivated through diligence, one does not forget or lose it; it is therefore called the faculty of mindfulness.

The faculty of concentration is practicing diligence with one mind quiescent and concentrated. Moreover, because this Dharma is gathered in by mindfulness, it is neither forgotten nor lost and does not waver; it is therefore called the faculty of concentration.

The faculty of wisdom is the wisdom of the foundations of mindfulness gathered in by the Dharma of concentration. Its intrinsic nature inwardly sees for itself and does not know through another; it is therefore called the faculty of wisdom.

Cultivating only the five faculties can also lead one into the path and accomplish the Great Vehicle. If entry still does not occur, one further cultivates the five powers, causing the five faculties to increase. Because they can check the various afflictions, they are called powers.

The power of faith can break every doubt, and nothing can shake it. The power of diligence can remove indolence, so everything is accomplished according to one’s original vows. The power of mindfulness can break deviant thinking and is not damaged by afflictions.

The power of concentration can break distraction and remain far from clamor. Even when one speaks, it does not obstruct the first dhyāna. Skillfully dwelling in initial and sustained application does not obstruct the second dhyāna. The mind’s production of joy does not obstruct the third dhyāna. Teaching and transforming beings does not obstruct the fourth dhyāna. A Dharma that obstructs one of the four dhyānas does not obstruct all the other concentrations. Practitioners neither abandon meditative concentration nor drift along with it; this is called the power of concentration.

The power of wisdom can break deviant attachment. Every attachment and every wisdom are fully illuminated together; this is called the power of wisdom. These five powers are all called the Great Vehicle. If entry still does not occur, use the seven factors of awakening to balance and regulate the mind.

The Seven Factors of Awakening and the Noble Eightfold Path

When the mind is buoyant, use the factor of tranquility to remove coarseness of body and speech, the factor of equanimity to relinquish attachment to contemplative wisdom, and the factor of concentration to bring the mind into dhyāna. When the mind sinks, use the factors of diligence, investigation of Dharmas, and joy to arouse it. The factor of mindfulness encompasses both buoyancy and sinking. Cultivating these seven factors enables entry into the path. The Great Treatise says that after one has left the five hindrances and single-mindedly cultivated the seven factors of awakening, it is impossible not to enter. If entry still does not occur, cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.

First use the supramundane and highest grade of correct view to contemplate the principle of the three truths; then activate this contemplation through correct intention. Speaking according to the true mark of Dharma so that both oneself and others benefit is correct speech.

Black karma brings black recompense, white karma white recompense, mixed karma mixed recompense, and neither-white-nor-black karma neither-white-nor-black recompense; explained through the Small Vehicle, this is easy to understand. Here, however, sinking into emptiness is black karma, entering provisionality is white karma, practicing emptiness and provisionality together is mixed karma, and the Middle Way is neither-white-nor-black karma; all of these are called wrong livelihood. If the karma one performs can exhaust all karma, it is called correct action; acting according to it is likewise called correct action. Correct action is not drawn by either extreme, emptiness or existence.

When others gain benefit, the mind does not burn with distress; regarding one’s own gain, one remains content and knows when to stop. This is correct livelihood. Skillfully entering the correct truth is called correct effort. When mind is not shaken or dispossessed by objects but remains upright and does not forget, this is correct mindfulness. Abiding in correct Dharma with unwavering certainty is called correct concentration. Through this Noble Eightfold Path, one can enter true principle. The Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra says that anyone able to cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path can obtain ghee.

These factors of the path are not established relative to sequential stages; they can be complete when a beginner contemplates the principle of Dharma-nature. The meaning of the Great Treatise is this: four kinds of diligence within the four foundations of mindfulness are called the four right efforts; four kinds of concentrated mind are called the four bases of spiritual power; the arising of five wholesome roots is called the faculties; the increase of those roots is called the powers; distinguishing the function of the path of the four foundations is called awakening; and traveling securely in the path of the four foundations is called the Noble Eightfold Path.

Thus beginners practicing the path can use the thirty-seven factors to nurture and regulate calming-and-contemplation and the four kinds of samādhi, entering the bodhisattva stages. These factors are a proximate cause of great nirvāṇa; the other kinds of factors are called remote causes, and so forth.

The Tree of the Path Flowers and Bears Fruit

A simile now reveals this meaning. A seed is planted in the earth; the tip of a sprout first splits open, roots grow downward, branches and leaves spread upward, flowers bloom in profusion, and finally fruit is produced.

Dharma-nature and the Dharma realm resemble the earth; contemplation of the foundations of mindfulness resembles the seed; the four right efforts resemble the emerging sprout; the five faculties resemble roots growing downward; the five powers resemble the growth of stems and leaves; the seven factors of awakening resemble flowering; and the Noble Eightfold Path resembles bearing fruit. The fruit is entry into the copper-wheel stage and realization of the tolerance of nonarising. It is also called reaching the place of jewels, entering the secret treasury, obtaining ghee, seeing buddha-nature, or the manifestation of the Dharma body and buddhahood through the eight marks. The statement that the factors of the path are good spiritual friends through which correct awakening is accomplished concerns precisely this.

Explained more generally through the tree of the path, the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra expressly says that escaping the three evil destinations is benefit of leaves, obtaining a human or celestial body is benefit of flowers, and obtaining the four fruits of the path is benefit of fruit; this explanation leans toward contemplation of emptiness. Escaping the ground of the Two Vehicles is benefit of leaves, obtaining a body of transformational superknowledge is benefit of flowers, and fully possessing wisdom of the varieties of the path is benefit of fruit; this leans toward contemplation of provisionality. Escaping the bonds of the two extremes, emptiness and existence, is benefit of leaves, receiving a body of Dharma-nature is benefit of flowers, and realizing buddha-nature is benefit of fruit; this leans toward contemplation of the Middle. Explained generally through the three contemplations, immediate emptiness is benefit of leaves, immediate provisionality benefit of flowers, and immediate Middle benefit of fruit, and so forth.

The Three Samādhis and Three Gates of Liberation

Moreover, practicing the thirty-seven factors of the path brings one near the uncontaminated city. The city’s domain has three gates. Entering them can produce true uncontaminated wisdom: the gate of emptiness, gate of signlessness, and gate of nonaction. They are also called the three gates of liberation and the three samādhis.

If one enters meditative concentration through correct view and correct intention and then produces uncontaminated wisdom from concentration, the wisdom of correct view is called the chief minister and correct concentration the great king. Because concentration is primary in this relation, these are called the three samādhis. “Without wisdom, meditative concentration cannot be established” has precisely this meaning.

If correct view arises from correct concentration and uncontaminated wisdom then arises from correct view, correct concentration is the chief minister and wisdom the great king. Because wisdom is primary in this relation, these are called the three liberations. “Without meditative concentration, wisdom cannot be established” has precisely this meaning.

One may also say that the three samādhis belong to the path of suppression, while the liberations belong to the paths of severance and realization. Or one may say that meditative concentration and wisdom unite, so samādhi itself is liberation and liberation itself is samādhi.

According to the Tripiṭaka Teaching, the two practices of emptiness and no-self under the truth of suffering are the gate of emptiness; the four practices under the truth of cessation are the gate of signlessness; the eight practices under the truths of origination and the path, together with the other two practices under suffering, are the gate of nonaction. Within the sixteen practices, wisdom and meditative concentration alternately being king and minister can be inferred accordingly, and so forth.

According to the Shared Teaching, seeing suffering and origination as both illusory transformations is the gate of emptiness. An old recension of the Great Treatise said that if one contemplates extremely subtle form, there are eighteen emptinesses; the recension then current said that if one contemplates one end of cloth, there are eighteen emptinesses. Cloth is provisional designation, while extremely subtle form is a real Dharma; this is the difference between the two recensions. If one understands their purport, both provisional and real Dharmas are empty.

If one has not yet entered emptiness, emotional imaginings and conceptual proliferation arise, and one clings to a mark of emptiness. Knowing that emptiness itself has no mark of emptiness is called the gate of signlessness. Although the mark of emptiness is empty, if one still clings to the wisdom that contemplates, grasping remains. Once neither what contemplates nor what is contemplated exists, who ultimately performs the contemplation of emptiness? This is called the gate of nonaction. Since there is no agent, who could produce an aspiration? It is therefore also called wishlessness. The relation of meditative concentration and wisdom as king and minister within the Shared Teaching’s three samādhis can be inferred accordingly, and so forth.

According to the Distinct Teaching, entering emptiness from provisionality and realizing the true truth is called the samādhi of emptiness. The Two Vehicles realize only this emptiness and retain its mark. Bodhisattvas know that emptiness is not fixed emptiness, so they enter the provisional to teach and transform beings and no longer retain a mark of emptiness; this is called the samādhi of signlessness. They then advance to cultivate the Middle Way, retaining neither a mark of the Middle nor of the extremes and seeking neither Middle nor extremes; this is called the samādhi of nonaction. The relation of wisdom and meditative concentration as king and minister within the three contemplations of the Distinct Teaching can be inferred accordingly, and so forth.

Speaking specifically according to the Distinct Teaching’s entry into the provisional, distinguishing immeasurable medicines and illnesses is entirely provisional designation. Provisional designations have no real substance and are empty because they have no substance; this is called the gate of emptiness. Emptiness itself has no mark of emptiness, so how much less could there be a provisional mark? It is therefore called the gate of signlessness. Since emptiness and provisionality are both markless, one does not aspire to know illnesses or recognize medicines; it is therefore called wishlessness. The relation of wisdom and meditative concentration as king and minister within wisdom entering the provisional can be inferred accordingly, and so forth.

According specifically to the Perfect Teaching, although the names are the same as above, the meanings are entirely different. The meaning of the Great Treatise is that śrāvakas cultivate the three liberations taking emptiness as object, while bodhisattvas cultivate them taking the true mark of all dharmas as object. A wise person sees emptiness and nonemptiness simultaneously; this emptiness and nonemptiness are also called the Middle Way. Seeing this emptiness is seeing buddha-nature.

The Two Vehicles contemplate eighteen kinds of events in a dream. Internal events in the dream cannot be obtained and are called emptiness of internal Dharmas. Events outside the dream cannot be obtained and are called emptiness of external Dharmas. This continues until all eighteen kinds of existence in the dream cannot be obtained; these are called the eighteen emptinesses.

Perfect contemplation now takes as unobtainable the Dharma of sleep itself on which dreaming depends. There are no internal Dharmas within sleep, and all the internal Dharmas produced from sleep are likewise unobtainable; this is emptiness of internal Dharmas, and all Dharmas tend toward this internal emptiness. There are no external Dharmas within sleep, and all the external Dharmas produced from sleep are likewise unobtainable; this is emptiness of external Dharmas, and all Dharmas tend toward this external emptiness. This continues until all eighteen kinds of existence within the Dharma of sleep are unobtainable; these are called the eighteen emptinesses. All Dharmas tend toward the eighteen emptinesses, and passing through the eighteen kinds of object is called the eighteen emptinesses, although in reality there is only one emptiness.

The meaning of a Vaipulya scripture is that great emptiness and small emptiness both return to one emptiness. One emptiness is the true mark of Dharma-nature, the real Dharma of all buddhas; the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra calls it solitary emptiness. Just as the four alternatives of ignorance contemplated earlier were all unobtainable, one emptiness is every emptiness and no differentiated marks of four gates are seen. Since it is neither cultivation through conditions nor true cultivation, both what contemplates and what is contemplated are unobtainable and no agent can be established. The relation of wisdom and meditative concentration as king and minister within the Perfect Teaching can be inferred accordingly, and so forth.

Such emptiness is immediately signlessness and nonaction and is also all Dharmas; all Dharmas are likewise. One should therefore know that one gate of liberation is the three gates, and the three gates are one gate. Moreover, one cultivates the three liberations within each of the four gates without mutual obstruction. The meaning of these three gates is not sequential.

Although the Distinct Teaching cultivates sequentially, all its gates still take the true mark as object. It differs from the Shared Teaching, which takes only the principle of emptiness as object, and differs still more from the Tripiṭaka Teaching, which takes wisdom concerning the four truths as object. One should therefore know that every section of the three liberations and factors of the path differs and must be skillfully distinguished.

A Lifetime of Teaching and the Midst of the Twin Trees

The Avataṃsaka Sūtra resembles the rising sun first illuminating high mountains and predominantly presents the four flourishing trees. The Tripiṭaka Teaching at Deer Park predominantly presents the four withered trees. The Vaipulya and Prajñā periods mostly regulate the four withered so that practitioners enter the four flourishing, guiding the Small Vehicle back toward the Great. At the Crane Grove, the teaching and transformation of a lifetime are complete, and the Buddha enters nirvāṇa amid flourishing and withering. Those with extremely dull faculties who are difficult to transform finally complete the path only at the twin trees; those with sharp faculties and clear understanding can enter everywhere.

Śāriputra and the others, for example, entered the secret treasury and saw buddha-nature in the Lotus Sūtra. The Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra therefore points from afar to the eight thousand śrāvakas who had received predictions of buddhahood in the Lotus, like autumn harvest and winter storage, with nothing else left to do. According to this round of teaching and transformation, they had long since completed the task and did not need to wait for the assembly of the Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra.

The sūtra also asks who can adorn the twin śāla trees, immediately names six people including Śāriputra, and separately names the Tathāgata. One able to see buddha-nature can adorn the twin trees and enter nirvāṇa in their midst. Since Śāriputra and the other five could adorn the twin trees, how could they not have seen buddha-nature or entered nirvāṇa in their midst? If even śrāvakas are so, one can understand that bodhisattvas enter everywhere.

Entering nirvāṇa brings the five liberations to fulfillment. The five liberations are not themselves the six Dharmas, yet neither are they separate from them. They fully possess the meaning of the three buddha-natures, and so forth.

The hardest obstruction to recognize on a road is often not the wall directly ahead but the route that seems already open. The Mohe Zhiguan (Great Calming-and-Contemplation) places discerning passage and obstruction after pervasively breaking through Dharmas precisely because practitioners may already know how to contemplate emptiness and break attachment yet come to cherish the very wisdom that breaks it. Once what actively breaks is grasped, it becomes an obstruction just like what it breaks.

The fifth vehicle therefore asks not only what obstruction is but also what passage means and whether passage can turn back into obstruction. The sixth vehicle immediately continues the same question: once the road’s openings and blockages are known, how should bodily and mental practices be regulated to the proper measure so that buoyancy and sinking do not run out of balance? The first vehicle here resembles a guide who knows the route; the second, a brewer who balances flavor. One discerns direction and the other regulates the pace, and both concern the beginner’s present thought.

Are Passage and Obstruction Not Obvious at a Glance?

Not necessarily. Obvious greed, deviant views, and afflictions are certainly obstructions, but cherishing the wisdom that contemplates emptiness is an obstruction too. When the wisdom that actively breaks is grasped, it takes the same side as the delusion it breaks and must itself be examined again. Only when contemplative wisdom is not grasped can one break obstruction while preserving passage.

The treatise states this measure precisely through two images. Treating an eye disease means removing the film while nurturing the jewel; one must not damage the bright jewel while removing the film. A campaign means defeating bandits while protecting the general; one must not destroy the good general together with the bandits. Discerning passage and obstruction does not break everything into a blank. At every act of breaking it knows what should be removed and what should be protected.

Discerning passage and obstruction is therefore also called knowing gain and loss and knowing word and nonword. Passage and obstruction concern understanding; gain and loss, practice; word and nonword, teaching. One must hear correctly, distinguish correctly, understand conditions correctly, and genuinely awaken to where passage lies and where obstruction lies. Merely happening upon the names of the three contemplations resembles insects boring into wood and accidentally leaving the shapes of written words: the insects themselves do not read. Name, understanding, and practice must illuminate one another.

Five Hundred Yojanas: What Five Stretches of Road Are They?

The five hundred yojanas come from the simile of the dangerous road and phantom city, but they cannot be forced onto one linear scheme. The treatise examines six old explanations: some correlate them with stages; some with types of birth-and-death; some join the three realms to the Two Vehicles to make five hundred; some correlate them with the five abiding afflictions; and some count only the delusions of thought, dust-and-sand delusions, and ignorance. Each explanation catches one aspect but cannot simultaneously accord with the five hundred, the phantom city at the three-hundred point, the Two Vehicles entering the city together, and the other implications of the sūtra. This resembles using a key with one notch to open a lock with three teeth. The key is not wholly without shape; it simply does not match the complete lock.

Zhizhe therefore does not establish one exclusive correlation but gives three rounds of five hundred. Seen through places of birth-and-death, recompense in the three realms is three hundred, the Land of Skillful Means with Remainder four hundred, and the Land of Unobstructed Real Reward five hundred. Seen through afflictions, delusions of views, the five lower fetters, the five higher fetters, dust-and-sand delusions, and ignorance successively form the five hundreds. Seen through contemplative wisdom, contemplation of emptiness knows three hundred, contemplation of provisionality four hundred, and contemplation of the Middle five hundred. Places are what is traversed, afflictions what is severed, and contemplative wisdom what knows. Only by seeing all three sides together does the guide truly know the passage and obstruction of the dangerous road.

This rereading also resolves two apparently different correlations in the Great Treatise. Counting the Two Vehicles as four hundred follows the Shared Teaching in regarding nirvāṇa beyond the three realms as the utmost point. Counting them as one hundred instead speaks from the standpoint of bodhisattvas entering the provisional, who leave the nirvāṇa of the Two Vehicles and reenter the three realms. The numbers are not forcibly flattened into one scheme; each returns to the contemplative method on which it depends.

If the Stages Are So Remote, How Does a Beginner Inspect This Very Step?

If passage and obstruction are placed only at noble stages many eons away, beginners who have not even severed delusions of views have no way to practice. The treatise therefore draws the road back into every thought and divides its inspection into horizontal and vertical dimensions.

Horizontally, three structures are examined at once: suffering and origination are obstruction, while the path and cessation are passage; ignorance and the twelve links of dependent origination are obstruction, while the cessation of ignorance is passage; the six obscurations covering mind are obstruction, while the six perfections are passage. Vertically, three levels of advance are examined: views and thought together with fragmentary birth-and-death are obstruction, while entering emptiness from provisionality is passage; lack of knowledge and transformational birth-and-death are obstruction, while entering provisionality from emptiness is passage; ignorance and causal birth-and-death are obstruction, while correct contemplation of the Middle Way is passage.

Neither horizontal listing nor vertical listing alone is sufficient; the horizontal must be woven through the vertical. When cultivating contemplation entering emptiness, one must distinguish truths, dependent origination, and perfections within every mind, everything that contemplates, and everything contemplated. When cultivating contemplation entering the provisional, illness, medicine, and administering medicine undergo the same inspection. When cultivating contemplation of the Middle, this step cannot be omitted in relation to ignorance, Dharma-nature, and true conditions. Emptiness, provisionality, and the Middle are not three passes granting automatic passage. Each contemplation can generate obstruction within truths, dependent origination, and perfections, and each requires breaking obstruction and nurturing passage.

What is most easily overlooked is what contemplates. The view contemplated is immediately empty, but the mind that embodies and penetrates it is immediately empty too. Even an arhat’s mind is called the uncontaminated five aggregates; how could the beginner’s not-yet-real contemplation be treated as pure wisdom outside the five aggregates? Once what contemplates is reckoned truly existent, fetters, karma, and birth-and-death arise from it again. What is contemplated must be inspected, and what contemplates must also be inspected. Only then does discerning passage and obstruction cease to mean searching outward for errors.

If Emptiness, Provisionality, and the Middle Are Complete, Why Are They Still Said Not to Fit the Intended Use?

Because the three contemplations still leave passage and obstruction when divided from one another. Seen vertically, the first two are passage within their own scope but become obstruction in relation to the contemplation above. The last surpasses the lower contemplations and is passage, yet becomes obstruction again when isolated from the lesser Dharmas. Seen horizontally, each contemplation is passage within its own division, but their inability to include one another is obstruction.

The treatise uses walking, riding a horse, and superknowledge as similes. Walking and riding both require choosing open routes and avoiding obstructions. When one flies by superknowledge, mountain walls are like empty space and there seems no route left to choose. Yet dividing the three into separate stretches still leaves three meanings dispersed. The real issue is not replacing one mode of travel with another of increasing speed, but whether the mind still cuts the three contemplations into three mutually exclusive roads.

Three contemplations in one mind break vertical separation; the three contemplations as one mind break horizontal separation. Emptiness immediately possesses emptiness, provisionality, and the Middle and is therefore not merely a stretch traveled on foot. Provisionality immediately possesses all three and is therefore not merely a stretch traveled on horseback. The Middle immediately possesses all three and does not even retain attachment to the unobstructedness of superknowledge. When one mind can immediately be empty, provisional, and the Middle, mountains, rivers, stone walls, hordes of māras, and groups following other paths are all like empty space. One need neither leave low ground to climb high nor avoid mountains to follow valleys. Every place touched opens passage to the place of jewels.

This does not blend emptiness, provisionality, and the Middle into a slogan. Every Dharma, everything that contemplates, and everything contemplated must still be concretely inspected. At every point one must see whether truths, dependent origination, and perfections are immediately empty, provisional, and the Middle. One mind does not eliminate distinctions; it prevents all distinctions from becoming closed to one another.

If There Is No Obstruction, Must Passage Still Be Spoken Of?

No separate passage need be established. Passage is spoken of relative to obstruction. If everywhere touched is like empty space, obstruction is unobtainable and passage cannot stand alone. Yet if “neither passage nor obstruction” is itself seized as a new view, suffering, origination, ignorance, and obscuration arise there again. The superknowledge that formerly crossed mountain walls is lost, and even the capacities to ride and walk are lost with it.

Neither passage nor obstruction therefore does not mean ending inspection; it means illuminating passage and obstruction together. Faced with a Dharma, what contemplates, and what is contemplated, one neither fixes obstruction as a real thing nor appropriates passage as an attainment. If there is obstruction, one breaks it; if there is passage, one nurtures it; and one illuminates even attachment to breaking and nurturing. This also explains the four intersecting questions. Seen roughly, horizontal obstruction can obstruct vertical passage, and vertical passage seems able to treat horizontal obstruction. Distinguished finely, horizontal obstruction is near and cannot block the profound and remote vertical passage; horizontal passage is weak and cannot pass through vertical obstruction; vertical obstruction need not become a horizontal barrier; and vertical passage treats only its corresponding obstruction. The answer changes with the level of observation; a first-order answer must not be used to foreclose second-order distinctions.

Having Already Pervasively Broken through Dharmas, Why Regulate the Factors of the Path?

Because knowing the direction does not mean body and mind are tuned to walk it. Even after pervasively breaking through Dharmas and discerning passage and obstruction, one still has difficulty quickly corresponding with true Dharma if the thirty-seven factors are not regulated. At the initial mind, contaminated factors serve as preparatory means for the uncontaminated. When these means lose their measure, entry into true principle becomes difficult.

The simile of brewing wine speaks precisely to this word “proper.” Water turns into wine only when the ferment has the right warmth. If yeast and malt are excessive or deficient, no flavor forms. The factors of the path likewise do not work merely because all items are present. One must know when they arise, how one succeeds another, and how they mutually regulate buoyancy and sinking.

The treatise first presents four arrangements. Individually defined means that the foundations of mindfulness, right efforts, bases of spiritual power, faculties, powers, factors of awakening, and path can each attain the path within their own scope. Mutually inclusive means that the foundations include the other factors and the other factors also include the foundations. According to stages means distributing the seven groups across warmth, summit, tolerance, foremost in the world, seeing the path, cultivating the path, and other stages. All three explain the factors but do not yet regulate them. Only mutual arising—foundations producing right efforts, right efforts activating bases of spiritual power, bases producing five faculties, faculties producing five powers, powers producing seven factors of awakening, and seven factors entering the Eightfold Path—reveals skillful regulation.

Nor are the factors exclusive to the Two Vehicles. If one set of thirty-seven is a cause of nirvāṇa, unfolding it through four kinds of the truth of the path and sixteen gates produces immeasurable sets of thirty-seven Dharmas assisting awakening, which become causes of great nirvāṇa. This does not invent a separate set outside the factors, just as there is no fifth truth outside the four truths. The factors can be called the direct path or the assisting path. They can serve as contaminated preparatory means in the desire realm, access concentration, and first dhyāna, and can become uncontaminated practice within seeing the truths and cultivation. Their names change according to stage and function; what is regulated remains these same thirty-seven factors.

With So Many Factors, Where Does a Beginner Start?

Begin with the four foundations of mindfulness, but do not leave the other thirty-three for a remote future. The treatise extensively explains only the thirty-seven factors of the nonconstructed truth of the path and first gathers the aggregates and sense fields of the ten Dharma realms within one thought-moment. Because Dharma-nature arises through conditions, one seed can be every seed. Because Dharma-nature is empty, no form, feeling, mind, or Dharma can be fixed. Because Dharma-nature is provisional, one form is every form, one feeling every feeling, one mind every mind, and one formation immeasurable formations. Because Dharma-nature is the Middle, it is fixed neither as one nor divided into all, yet illuminates one and all together. Each of the four foundations—body, feelings, mind, and Dharmas—is immediately empty, provisional, and the Middle.

The earth’s power to produce various sprouts is the central image of this contemplation. However many herbs, trees, groves, and forests there are, the earth does not divide into many earths. However immeasurable the forms and minds of the ten Dharma realms are, they do not obstruct the Dharma-nature of one thought. Conversely, the earth’s oneness does not cause sprouts and leaves to lose their respective shapes and colors. Every seed and one seed, all Dharmas and one thought-moment, do not cancel one another here but open passage into one another.

The four foundations simultaneously break the eight inversions of ordinary beings and the Two Vehicles. Take the foundation of the body. The form of Dharma-nature is not fixed purity. When ordinary beings reckon it pure, immediate emptiness breaks their defiled attachment and fulfills the withered foundation. The form of Dharma-nature is also not fixed impurity. When followers of the Two Vehicles reckon it impure, immediate provisionality breaks their stagnation in emptiness and extinction of body and knowledge, fulfilling the flourishing foundation. Contemplating form next as neither empty nor provisional makes it neither pure nor impure, neither flourishing nor withered. It leaves the two extremes without establishing another midpoint; only this is called the midst of the twin trees.

The inversions of pain and pleasure in feelings, permanence and impermanence in mind, and self and no-self in Dharmas are contemplated through the same structure. Immediate emptiness makes all inversions and all flourishing and withering quiescent. Immediate provisionality establishes both twin trees of the extremes. Immediate Middle makes everything the Dharma realm. There are four Dharma medicines for treating inversion. Contemplative wisdom of Dharma-nature, which actively contemplates, is called mindfulness; the one truth immediately being three truths, which is contemplated, is called a foundation. In only one thought-moment, its function is this vast. If one can enter through it, beginning and end are complete and no other Dharma need be cultivated. Only if one still has not entered does regulation proceed to the next factor.

If One Has Not Entered through One Factor, How Does the Next Take Over?

The transition does not declare the preceding factor a failure. It sees the present imbalance and uses the next factor to regulate it. Diligently contemplating the foundations is the four right efforts: preventing already-arisen evils of views and thought from arising again; preventing not-yet-arisen evils of dust-and-sand delusions and ignorance from arising; increasing the already-arisen wisdom of emptiness; and developing the not-yet-arisen wisdom of the varieties of the path and wisdom of all modes. If mind remains scattered and agitated, one enters wholesome quiescence and cultivates the four bases of spiritual power within superior concentration.

The base of aspiration directs mind exclusively toward the Dharma cultivated. The base of diligence makes cultivation uninterrupted and unmixed. The base of mind makes one mind abide correctly. The base of contemplation skillfully distinguishes preparatory means without moving or scattering. If the concentrated mind still has not entered, the five faculties take over: faith in the three truths, redoubled diligence, mindfulness of direct and assisting paths alone, stability without forgetting or movement, and the intrinsic nature inwardly illuminating itself. If the faculties remain weak, cultivate the five powers, so faith breaks doubt, diligence breaks indolence, mindfulness breaks deviant thinking, concentration breaks distraction, and wisdom breaks deviant attachment.

When the mind is buoyant, the seven factors use tranquility, equanimity, and concentration to settle it. When the mind sinks, diligence, investigation of Dharmas, and joy arouse it. Mindfulness holds both buoyancy and sinking. If entry still does not occur, employ the Noble Eightfold Path: correct view contemplates the three truths; correct intention activates contemplation; correct speech benefits oneself and others; correct action is not drawn by the two extremes; correct livelihood feels no distress at others’ gain and remains content with one’s own; correct effort skillfully enters the correct truth; correct mindfulness neither moves nor forgets; and correct concentration abides with certainty.

This sequence finally returns to the four foundations. Four kinds of diligence within the foundations are the four right efforts, and four kinds of concentrated mind are the four bases of spiritual power. The arising of wholesome roots is called faculties; the growth of those roots is called powers; distinguishing the path’s function within the foundations is called awakening; and traveling securely on the path of the foundations is called the Eightfold Path. The seven groups are not seven assembled parts but different names for the same contemplative Dharma as it becomes diligent, concentrated, strengthened, regulated, and secure in practice.

The tree of the path makes this line of growth still clearer. Dharma-nature and the Dharma realm are the earth, the foundations of mindfulness the seed, the right efforts the sprout, the five faculties roots growing downward, the five powers stems and leaves spreading upward, the seven factors flowers, and the Eightfold Path ripened fruit. When the fruit forms, one reaches the place of jewels, enters the secret treasury, and sees buddha-nature. Root, stem, flower, and fruit each have their season, yet none ever leaves the same earth and seed.

The Uncontaminated City Has Three Gates: Should One Enter through Concentration or Wisdom?

Both routes are possible. The thirty-seven factors bring practitioners to the uncontaminated city, whose three gates are emptiness, signlessness, and nonaction, also called the three gates of liberation and three samādhis. If one enters meditative concentration through correct view and correct intention and then produces uncontaminated wisdom from concentration, wisdom is the chief minister and correct concentration the great king; because the name is established from concentration, these are the three samādhis. If correct view arises from correct concentration and uncontaminated wisdom then arises from correct view, concentration is the chief minister and wisdom the great king; because the name is established from wisdom, these are the three liberations. They can also be distinguished as the path of suppression and the paths of severance and realization, or, because meditative concentration and wisdom unite, samādhi can be called liberation and liberation samādhi.

The three gates mean different things within different contemplative methods. The Tripiṭaka Teaching distributes emptiness, signlessness, and nonaction across the sixteen practices of the four truths. The Shared Teaching first contemplates suffering and origination as illusory and immediately empty, then dispels both the mark of emptiness and attachment to what contemplates. The Distinct Teaching enters provisionality from emptiness and then advances to the Middle Way, or explains emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness amid immeasurable illnesses and medicines. Perfect contemplation takes the true mark of all dharmas as object and calls both emptiness and nonemptiness the Middle Way.

The simile of dream and sleep reveals the difference. Searching one by one for eighteen unobtainable events within a dream still explains the eighteen emptinesses through the events produced. Perfect contemplation also finds unobtainable the very Dharma of sleep that produces the dream, so all inner and outer Dharmas produced from it become unobtainable. The eighteen emptinesses are not eighteen sealed empty rooms; all return to the one emptiness of the true mark of Dharma-nature. One emptiness is three gates and three gates are one gate; each gate further possesses all three liberations without mutual obstruction.

If Sharp Faculties Can Enter Everywhere, Why Travel All the Way to the Twin Trees?

Because teaching and transformation have different seasons. The Avataṃsaka is like the sun first illuminating high mountains and predominantly reveals the four flourishing trees. Deer Park predominantly reveals the four withered trees. The Vaipulya and Prajñā periods regulate the withered into flourishing and guide the Small back toward the Great. At the twin trees of the Crane Grove, teaching and transformation are complete and the Buddha enters nirvāṇa amid flourishing and withering. Those of extremely dull faculties who are difficult to transform complete the path only at the end, while those of sharp faculties and clear understanding can enter everywhere.

Eight thousand śrāvakas received predictions of buddhahood in the Lotus Sūtra, like autumn harvest and winter storage. This round of teaching and transformation was already complete; they did not need to wait for the twin trees. Six people including Śāriputra could also adorn the twin trees, and if they could adorn them one cannot say they had not seen buddha-nature. If even śrāvakas can enter everywhere, this is all the clearer for bodhisattvas. The road has an order of teaching and transformation, but its entrances are not monopolized by the final station.

Discerning passage and obstruction thus combines with regulating the factors of the path to form one complete route. First discern whether what actively breaks has again become what is broken, then inspect every mind through the horizontal and vertical. Next see whether the factors are regulated into mutual arising and whether one knows how to shift factors when mind floats or sinks. Finally, enter one gate and see three gates, enter one season without obstructing all seasons. Skill in knowing passage and obstruction is not merely the ability to point out where the road is blocked. It returns every step to three contemplations in one mind so that even a beginner genuinely advances toward the place of jewels.

Through the Eye of the Fuxing

Zhanran first divides discerning passage and obstruction into four levels: horizontal, vertical, horizontally distinct, and one mind. Pervasively breaking through Dharmas in the preceding passage breaks attachment to Dharmas; here, what actively grasps is examined more finely. Even when the Dharma contemplated is itself correct, once attachment arises toward what contemplates, the attached mind is identical with deviant grasping. “Breaking obstruction and preserving passage” therefore does not preserve some passage that may be possessed; both what breaks and what is broken undergo inspection.

After the six schools’ correlated explanations, Zhanran marks the three rounds of five hundred as “the correct explanation of our tradition” and explains weaving the horizontal through the vertical with warp and weft. The three vertical contemplations are warp; the horizontal truths, dependent origination, and perfections are weft. Only their interweaving forms the patterned text of the three truths. Entering emptiness, entering provisionality, and contemplating the Middle must each pass through Dharma, what contemplates, and what is contemplated. Being called contemplation of the Middle does not exempt one from inspecting passage and obstruction.

The three kinds of bodhisattva and three similes of travel cited by the treatise also involve layers of scriptural use. Zhanran points out that the order of the three kinds of bodhisattva has been divided and rearranged. In the treatise recension, the travel similes originally use riding a sheep, riding a horse, and superknowledge; the present treatise substitutes walking for riding a sheep. These differences reveal how Zhizhe takes up a text’s meaning and should not be silently flattened against the wording of current recensions.

Zhanran judges the one-mind passage most strictly. One mind possesses three, breaking sequential vertical separation; the three contemplations are only one mind, breaking horizontal dispersion. If “neither passage nor obstruction” is grasped anew, it remains an obstruction with a distinct mark. Passage and obstruction, gain and loss, and word and nonword concern understanding, practice, and teaching respectively. The three names share one purport but carry different responsibilities.

Among the four meanings of the factors of the path, Zhanran judges only mutual arising to be regulation because it tests and adjusts the seven groups in sequence. Contaminated factors serve as preparatory means for the uncontaminated; their scope is regulation at the initial mind, yet they can become a cause for the uncontaminated first abode. Both direct-path and assisting-path readings must be preserved; one cannot be chosen to eliminate the other. The extensive explanation of the thirty-seven nonconstructed factors is the direct intent of this passage, while the other three kinds of the truth of the path are provisionally set aside.

Although the nonconstructed foundations are written sequentially as body, feelings, mind, and Dharmas, Zhanran reminds the reader that actual contemplation never leaves one thought-moment. Although the wording of the four right efforts appears sequential, their meaning remains perfectly interfused. Although the four bases of spiritual power belong to concentration, concentration and wisdom must be balanced. The five faculties are called the five powers only when cultivated further and increased. The seven factors regulate through quiescent illumination, the groups of tranquility and equanimity, and the group of diligence; mindfulness holds both groups. Although the Noble Eightfold Path is the highest in sequential stage, this passage still says only that it can be cultivated by a beginner.

The opening of the nonconstructed foundations successively uses the Prajñā, Avataṃsaka, and Lotus scriptures. Zhanran judges this as unfolding the meaning of the preceding scripture through the one that follows, not three scriptures independently restating one sentence. He further gathers one thought’s hundred realms and thousand suchnesses and the three thousand worlds into the three truths of emptiness, provisionality, and the Middle, explaining how “every seed” is present in the current thought. Although body, feelings, mind, and Dharmas are unfolded one by one in the wording, what is contemplated never leaves this thought and never excludes the nine Dharma realms from the Buddha realm.

In the simile of the tree of the path, the treatise moves directly from seed and sprout to the five faculties without explicitly correlating the bases of spiritual power. Zhanran merely adds in his explanation that the upward-reaching trunk may symbolize those bases; he does not rewrite the root text. Nor may one insist on only one correlation of king and ministers for the three samādhis and three liberations. In the Perfect gates, emptiness itself is signlessness and nonaction, and one gate is three gates; nevertheless, one must first distinguish the respective objects of the Tripiṭaka, Shared, Distinct, and Perfect teachings so that identical names do not conflate different meanings.

Zhanran judges the closing five periods as teaching and transformation through the five flavors. From the six disciples and the Tathāgata, the five aggregates and five liberations at the twin trees, he reads the three buddha-natures and the neither-identical-nor-separate relation of the six Dharmas. This mirror gathers the exertion of the entire passage into “regulating” and “discerning.” Discerning does not mean multiplying judgments but knowing at every joint whether what contemplates has become attached. Regulating does not mean adding another Dharma but causing the existing factors to rise and sink appropriately and mutually arise within one thought.

The later Zhiguan Yili summarizes discerning passage and obstruction through “three calmings and three contemplations within one mind” and “inspection at every joint,” and takes the foundations of mindfulness as the substance of the factors. The Zhiguan Dayi joins “when obstruction arises within passage, break it; when passage is gained within obstruction, protect it” into one line with the sequential testing and adjustment of the seven groups. Neither short text invents another method. Both reveal again the skeleton of this passage, from self-inspection of what contemplates through the mutual arising of all the factors.