No. 83
心不相應行法 · 不相應行二十四 · 第十三 · dissociated formations · dissociated formations #13/24

Abiding

Sthiti · (無南傳獨立對應)

不相應行第十三。四相(生老住無常)之第三。於眾同分中諸行之「相續不斷」分位,假立「住」之名——其體非實,乃色心分位之施設。四相結構軸「相續」(*prabandha*)之中段:相續啟動後(→#81 生),在壞滅前(→#84 無常),相續保持不斷之分位,稱為「住」。特殊性在於:#83 住 與 #82 老 可同時為真——相續在「住」(不壞)之中同時亦在「老」(變異),兩者為有為法中段之不同分析切面,而非互斥時序(→#81 →#82 →#84)。

zh · Xuanzang 譯

不相應行第十三。四相(生老住無常)之第三。於眾同分中諸行之「相續不斷」分位,假立「住」之名——其體非實,乃色心分位之施設。四相結構軸「相續」(prabandha)之中段:相續啟動後(→#81 生),在壞滅前(→#84 無常),相續保持不斷之分位,稱為「住」。特殊性在於:#83 住與 #82 老可同時為真——相續在「住」(不壞)之中同時亦在「老」(變異),兩者為有為法中段之不同分析切面,而非互斥時序(→#81 →#82 →#84)。

不相應行為論藏所立之分析範疇,於阿含、尼柯耶不作獨立法目;「住」之現象學散見諸共傳教證(如「住四念處」「住正念」等),然此類用法為描述性語言,非獨立本體法立。本條為普通 prajñapti,無 [共傳]/[大乘] 標準分判框架(依 #71 範例,→#71 漢段經已詳普通 prajñapti 之現象學-tracing opener 原則)。

《顯揚聖教論》卷一(T31n1602, T31.0484b17,無著菩薩造):

住者,謂諸行生時相續不斷性。

——「生時相續不斷性」(unbroken-continuum-nature-at-arising-time)為顯揚對 prabandha-avipraṇāśa(相續之不壞滅)之漢譯:相續在生起(→#81)後保持連續不斷之性質。

《成唯識論》卷二(T31n1585, T31.0006a10,四相詞族組批判):

生位暫停,即說為住。

——「生位暫停」(the arising-位置 pausing/stabilizing)為《成唯識論》對 prabandha-avipraṇāśa 之更動態漢譯:「生起」之後的「暫時穩定」即為住。此一動態渲染(「暫停」而非「不斷」)點出住之臨時性格——有為法之住非永恆之安住,乃「暫」不壞滅之分位。《成唯識論》卷一(T31.0006b13–14):「執別有餘不相應行,准前理趣皆應遮止。」

《大乘阿毘達磨雜集論》卷二:

住者,謂於眾同分諸行相續不斷性,假立為住。

⚠ In Review · 俟終校:上引雜集論(T31n1606)卷二引文待 CBETA 字元核校。

按:四相中「住」之地位殊勝而微妙:不同於「生」之點性(本無今有)、「老」之過程性(持續變異)、「無常」之終結性(壞滅),「住」是「不壞」之假立——以「負面定義」(a-vipraṇāśa,不壞滅)描述中段之持續。顯揚「相續不斷性」與《成唯識論》「生位暫停」一正一負表詮同一 prabandha-avipraṇāśa:前者凸顯連續性,後者凸顯有限性——兩種 framing 分別服務於不同的 pedagogical 需要。

saṃskṛta

sthiti < √sthā(立、住、停)+ -ti(行為名詞後綴)——「立之態」「住之質」。印歐祖語 *steh₂-(「立、站」),印歐語系最豐富同源詞幹之一。

同源詞網絡:

  • 拉丁 stō / stāre(立)→ 英文 stand, stance, stable, station, statue, status, state, estate, stagnant, stay, stop
  • 希臘 ἵστημι(hístēmi,立)→ 英文 history, system, ecstasy, apostasy
  • 古英文 standan → 英文 stand(直接繼承)

sthiti 與英文 stand / station / status / stable / state 同根——此一根於英文政治、法律、認識論詞彙中之廣泛分布(狀態, 義理位置, 立場, stability, institution...)與「住」之「安立」「確立」之義相應。

⚠ In Review · 交叉注意:#47 惛沈 styāna 從 √sty/styai(印歐祖語 *stey-「凝結」,如希臘 stéar「動物脂肪/凝固物」),與 sthiti 之 √sthā(印歐祖語 *steh₂-「立」)為不同根,但同屬「不動」之廣義語義場。「住於正念」(sthiti 之善用)與「凝結不動」(styāna 之染用)同一「停」之意象可為善可為染——同義場,異根,異用。

《阿毘達磨集論》(無著,Pradhan 校本,Abhidh-s 10–11):

sthitiḥ katamā / nikāyasabhāge prabandha-avipraṇāśe sthitir iti prajñaptiḥ //

何為住?於眾同分中諸行於相續中之不壞滅prabandha-avipraṇāśa),稱為「住」之假立。

prabandha-avipraṇāśa(相續之不壞滅)之結構:a-(否定前綴)+ vi-(分離、徹底)+ praṇāśa(消滅、亡失)= 「不徹底消滅」「不壞失」。此否定形式(不壞滅)正是「住」之本義——以「不發生壞滅」之分位為假立基礎,而非以「某正面之住留實體」為基礎。

四相前綴對比(→#81 梵段四相公式表):

  • #83 住:prabandha-avipraṇāśe(相續壞滅——中段持續)
  • #84 無常:prabandha-vināśe(相續滅——終結,→#84

兩相關係:住是「尚未壞滅」之分位;無常是「壞滅」之分位——兩者在邏輯上相鄰而不重疊,構成四相終端之兩步。

按:《集論》以 a-vipraṇāśa(不壞)為「住」之定義,以否定為正面假立之基礎,反映不相應行無獨立實體之本體立場——「住」非一「安住之物」,乃「尚無壞滅發生」之分位之施設名。《成唯識論》「生位暫停」之「暫」字點出此假立之非永久性,恰恰是對 a-vipraṇāśa 之「暫時不壞」之準確詮釋。

pāḷi

南傳阿毘達磨不立「住」為心不相應行之獨立 prajñapti。然南傳之 ṭhiti 有一特殊位置:於 cittakkhaṇa(心剎那)分析中,南傳立三子相(uppāda 生起 / ṭhiti 住 / bhaṅga 滅)——ṭhiti 為生起後、滅前之中間剎那。Vism XIV 使用此三子相框架。

⭐ 關鍵架構差異:南傳之 ṭhiticittakkhaṇa 之「剎那子相」(momentary sub-characteristic),每一心剎那皆含此三子相;瑜伽行派之 sthiti 則為「相續位之分位假立」(continuum-階段 prajñapti)——並非剎那層次,而是相續過程之中段。同名(ṭhiti = sthiti 之 Pāli 音轉)、同義(生起後、壞滅前之中段),異格(南傳:剎那子相;北傳:分位假立)。

此南北差異在「住」條中最為有趣:兩傳皆承認同一現象(有為法在生起後有一中段持續),但操作框架完全不同——南傳以剎那三子相(每剎那皆有其 ṭhiti)為框架,北傳以相續分位(過程之中段)為框架。雜集論「依相續位建立生等,不依剎那」一句,正是對兩框架差異之明確點示。

按:南傳 ṭhiti 作為 cittakkhaṇa 子相,是心剎那分析之基礎範疇(配合 uppāda / bhaṅga),在南傳論藏中具有重要地位;唯識以「不依剎那」之框架將此現象移至相續位層次處理,其 prajñapti 判斷則排除了 ṭhiti 成為獨立法的可能。同名而異框,是南北在「住」條之典型交涉。

漢綜述zh-synthesis

詞源

「住」之梵文 sthiti < √sthā(立、住、停)+ -ti(行為名詞後綴)= 「立之態、住之質」。印歐祖語 *steh₂-(「立、站」),印歐語系豐富之同源詞幹之一:拉丁 stō / stāre(英文 stand, stance, stable, station, statue, status, state, estate, stagnant)、希臘 hístēmi(英文 history, system, ecstasy, apostasy)、古英文 standan(英文 stand)。⚠️ 交叉注意:#47 惛沈 styāna→#47)從 √sty/styai(印歐祖語 *stey-「凝結」),與 sthiti 之 √sthā(印歐祖語 *steh₂-「立」)為不同根——「住於正念」(sthiti 之善用)與「凝結不動」(styāna 之染用)同義場(「不動」之廣義語義場),異根,義理方向相反。

義理

住為 24 不相應行之第十三,四相(生老住無常)之第三。《集論》定義(nikāyasabhāge prabandha-avipraṇāśe sthitir iti prajñaptiḥ)揭示:prabandha-avipraṇāśa(相續之不壞滅)= a-(否定)+ vi-(徹底)+ praṇāśa(消滅)——住以否定形式定義:「尚未發生壞滅之分位」,而非以某正面之「住留實體」為基礎。此否定定義為假立本體立場之精確表達——無「安住之物」,唯「尚無壞滅發生」之分位施設名。《成唯識論》「生位暫停,即說為住」之「暫」字精要:不是永恆安住,而是「暫時尚未壞滅」——「暫」字防止住之實體化誤讀。與 #82 老之結構關係:住(不壞)與老(變異)可同時為真,非互斥(→#82),二者為有為法中段之不同分析切面。四相結構終端:#83 住 = 「尚未壞滅」(中段持續),#84 無常 = 「壞滅」(終結,→#84)——兩相邏輯相鄰而不重疊。雜集論「依相續位建立生等,不依剎那」明確區分瑜伽行派之 sthiti(相續分位)與南傳之 ṭhiti(心剎那三子相)。

南北

南傳之 ṭhiticittakkhaṇa 三子相(uppāda / ṭhiti / bhaṅga,Vism XIV)之一——每一心剎那皆含其 ṭhiti 子相。同名(Pāli ṭhiti = 梵 sthiti 之 Pāli 音轉),同指涉(生起後、壞滅前之中段),異格:南傳為剎那子相(每剎那皆有),唯識為相續分位(過程之中段)。雜集論「不依剎那」一句正是對兩框架差異之明確點示。此條為四相中南北對話結構豐富者。

修持

住之修行涵義:觀察「此刻事物在場」——不是生起之邊際,也不是滅去之邊際,而是「此刻之在場質地」。《成唯識論》「暫」字提醒:此在場無本體支撐,唯「尚未壞滅之事實」。行者觀住(此刻之在場)清楚,即坐於「它即將不再是它自身」之邊際——而「它在此」從來只是「它尚未壞滅」之假立名稱。sthiti 之正面用法(「住於正念」、「住四念處」)與此 prajñapti 義互補:修行之「住」是善用分位之穩定,不相應行之「住」是分位穩定之假立性質分析——兩用不衝突,各自發揮。

譯名

「住」玄奘既譯。英譯 Abiding 對應 sthiti 之「住留」義,較 stability(過於靜態)或 duration(過於時間性)更切「分位之在場質地」。

——於眾同分(→#73)中諸行相續不壞滅(prabandha-avipraṇāśa)之分位,假立「住」(sthiti)之名;性為相續尚未壞滅之在場分位(與 →#82 老可同時),業為四相(→#81→#82→#84 無常)中段之持續標示;非別有體,依色心分位差別之合成假立。

英綜述en-synthesis

Etymology

sthiti derives from √sthā "to stand, to abide, to remain" + the action-noun suffix -ti. The root is PIE *steh₂- "to stand" — one of the most richly attested Indo-European roots. Its cognate field spans from mundane to institutional to philosophical: Latin stō / stāre yields English stand, stance, stable, station, statue, status, state, estate, stagnant, stay, stop; Greek hístēmi "to make to stand" yields history, system, ecstasy, apostasy; Old English standan gives stand directly. The PIE root also underlies English substance (sub-stantia "standing-under"), exist (ex-sistere "stand out from"), and establish (ex-stabilis "render standing"). Sthiti is, etymologically, "the standing-state" — the abiding of a thing in being. A note on a near-relative: #47 惛沈 styāna "torpor" derives from a distinct root √sty/styai (PIE *stey- "to congeal," cf. Greek stéar "solidified fat/tallow"), related to sthā only at the broad semantic level of "non-movement." Both involve stasis, but one is the virtuous abiding of sustained attention (sthiti) while the other is the unwholesome congealing of torpor (styāna) — same imagery of not-moving, opposite valence.

Doctrinal frame

Sthiti is the third of the four saṃskṛta-lakṣaṇa, defined by Asaṅga as the designation upon the non-perishing of the continuum (prabandha-avipraṇāśe sthitir iti prajñaptiḥ). The structural logic is the negative: a-vipraṇāśa (not-perishing) designates the phase of conditioned formation's existence where dissolution has not yet occurred. This negative definition — "abiding" named as "not-yet-destroyed" — is a precise expression of the prajñapti-sat standing: there is no positive "abiding-substance" present; there is only the absence of dissolution, and on that configurational differential we apply the designation "住." The Cheng Weishi Lun's rendering 「生位暫停,即說為住」 "after the arising-position, [the formation] pauses momentarily — this we call abiding" adds the temporal qualifier zàn 暫 (momentarily) — a pedagogically crucial addition, since it blocks the misreading of sthiti as stable or permanent abiding. The Saṃgraha's instruction "the four are established upon the continuum-position, not upon the single moment" applies with special force here: sthiti is most easily conflated with the Theravāda cittakkhaṇa-level ṭhiti (the middle sub-moment of each mind-moment), but Yogācāra locates it at the process-arc level, not the moment-level.

Cross-tradition

The Theravāda engagement at this entry is more nuanced than at the other three 四相 entries. Theravāda does have ṭhiti — it is one of the three sub-moments of cittakkhaṇa (uppāda / ṭhiti / bhaṅga), a foundational framework in Theravāda Abhidharma (Vism XIV). Same name (Pāli ṭhiti = Sanskrit sthiti, cognate pair), same phenomenon (the middle phase between arising and ceasing), different categorical frame (Theravāda: sub-moment within each individual mind-moment; Yogācāra: phase within the overall process-continuum). The difference is not whether sthiti/ṭhiti exists but at what level of analysis it is located: Theravāda applies it to every single citta at the moment-level (each citta has its own ṭhiti sub-moment); Yogācāra applies it to the conditioned arc at the continuum-level. The Abhidharma-samuccaya's explicit statement "established upon the continuum-position, not upon the single moment" is precisely the move that distinguishes Yogācāra's sthiti from the Theravāda ṭhiti.

Practitioner's seam

Sthiti as a meditation object points to the "middle of a moment" — not the edge of arising, not the edge of ceasing, but the texture of a moment-in-full-presence. What the meditator contacts when a sensation, thought, or mental state is "here" — before the obvious transition to its becoming something else — is the phase that sthiti designates. Crucially, the Cheng Weishi Lun's zàn 暫 (momentarily) and the negative a-vipraṇāśa (not-yet-perished) remind the practitioner that this "here" has no ontological support beyond its not-yet-ending. There is no substance holding the moment in place; the moment's abidingness is the mere fact of its not-yet-having-ceased. To observe sthiti clearly is to sit at the edge where the moment is about to stop being itself — and to see that what we called "it being here" was always the label for "it has not yet ceased."

Translation

Abiding (sthiti) — upon the conditioned formations of the same class (nikāyasabhāga), in the non-perishing of the continuum (prabandha-avipraṇāśa), [we apply] the designation "abiding" — a conventional appellative upon the phase of not-yet-having-ceased, not upon any standing-substance.

translator's note

譯者按: 結構分析詳 S3-P12 §3.6。本條為四相(#81–#84)詞族之第三,以 prabandha-avipraṇāśa(相續不壞)之否定形式為本義;顯揚「相續不斷性」與《成唯識論》「生位暫停」分別凸顯連續性與有限性兩個 pedagogical 面向——後者之「暫」字尤佳,點出「住」絕非真正之安住,乃「暫時尚未壞滅」之假立分位。#83 住(prabandha-avipraṇāśa)與 #47 惛沈(styāna — 凝結不動,→#47)詞源相鄰而義異:修行「住正念」是善用之「住」;昏沈凝滯是染用之「住」——此義場對比本身即修行辨析之微觀入口。