辯中邊論 辯真實品第三（連續
學佛的人總在說「見實相」「契真實」。可是——什麼，才算得上「真實」？是一個籠統而說不清的「真理」，還是其實有分際、可以一一指出來？
《辯中邊論》第三品「辯真實品」，正面回答了這一問。它沒有丟下一句空泛的「真理」，而是把「真」拆成十種真實——從十個角度，把「什麼是真」說周到、說到位。
十種看似繁多，其實穿著一條總綱：它們都以「三性」為根本，由三性開顯出來。 三性，就是萬法的三個面——橫加計執而本無的「遍計」、依緣似有而非真的「依他」、二空所顯的真如「圓成」。這品的眼目，是一句話：以三性這面鏡，照出其餘九種真實這些影。相、無顛倒、四諦、二諦、五事、七真實、十善巧……一重重，都不離三性。
而這一切分判，到底為了什麼？這一品標得很白：「皆為除我見」——十種真實治十種我見，十種善巧破十種我執。真實不是拿來談玄的，是拿來破我執的觀法。
換句話說，這一品給的不是一張「真理」的標籤，而是一面照妄顯真的鏡子，以及一套即此鏡影、層層破執的觀門。
如果你也曾追問「究竟什麼才算真」，義疏層會牽著你，把這十重真實一段一段走過；想再深入，還有逐頌原文、世親釋與古德考據。但你不必一開始就跳進去——先在這裡，把「三性如鏡、真實如影」這一句，放在心上。
Students of the Dharma are forever speaking of "seeing reality as it is," of "meeting the real." But — what, exactly, counts as real? Is it some single, hard-to-pin-down "truth," or is it something articulate, something one can actually lay out point by point?
The third chapter of the Madhyāntavibhāga, "Discerning Reality," answers this question head-on. It does not hand you a vague "the truth"; it unfolds the real into ten realities — ten angles from which "what is real" is said fully and said precisely.
The ten look like a crowd, but a single thread runs through them: all of them rest on the "three natures," and are opened out from them. The three natures are the three faces of all things — the wholly-imagined (superimposed and never there), the other-dependent (arising on conditions, seeming real yet not), and the perfectly-accomplished (suchness, revealed by the two emptinesses). The eye of this chapter is one image: with the three natures as a mirror, the remaining nine realities are shown as its reflections. Characteristic, freedom-from-error, the four truths, the two truths, the five matters, the seven realities, the tenfold skill — layer upon layer, none of them stands apart from the three natures.
And what is all this discernment for? The chapter states it plainly: "all for removing the view-of-self" — ten realities counter ten views-of-self, the tenfold skill breaks ten graspings-at-self. Reality here is not for metaphysical talk; it is a contemplation for undoing the grip of self.
In other words, this chapter offers not a label reading "the truth," but a mirror that shows the false and reveals the real — and, upon that very mirror-and-reflection, a set of contemplative gates that break the grasping at self, layer by layer.
If you too have ever pressed the question "what, in the end, counts as real," the exposition layer will walk you through these ten realities one stretch at a time; to go deeper, there are the verses themselves, Vasubandhu's commentary, and the ancient masters' findings. But you need not leap in at once — for now, just here, let one image settle in you: the three natures as mirror, the realities as its reflections.
彌勒菩薩頌 · 世親菩薩釋《辯中邊論》· T31n1600 · 大唐三藏法師玄奘奉詔譯（661）。本品頌曰／論曰逐字錄自 CBETA，一仍其舊，非詮釋。
已辯其障，當說真實。
頌曰：真實唯有十，謂根本與相、無顛倒、因果，及麁細真實、極成、淨所行、攝受并差別，十善巧真實，皆為除我見。
論曰：應知真實唯有十種，一根本真實、二相真實、三無顛倒真實、四因果真實、五麁細真實、六極成真實、七淨所行真實、八攝受真實、九差別真實、十善巧真實。此復十種，為欲除遣十我見故。十善巧者，一蘊善巧、二界善巧、三處善巧、四緣起善巧、五處非處善巧、六根善巧、七世善巧、八諦善巧、九乘善巧、十有為無為法善巧。此中云何根本真實？謂三自性，一遍計所執自性、二依他起自性、三圓成實自性，依此建立餘真實故。於此所說三自性中，許何義為真實？
頌曰：許於三自性，唯一常非有，一有而不真，一有無真實。
論曰：即於如是三自性中：遍計所執相常非有。唯常非有，於此性中許為真實，無顛倒故。依他起相有而不真。唯有非真，於依他起許為真實，有亂性故。圓成實相亦有非有。唯有非有，於此性中許為真實，有空性故。云何相真實？
頌曰：於法數取趣，及所取能取，有非有性中，增益損減見；知此故不轉，是名真實相。
論曰：於一切法補特伽羅所有增益及損減見，若知此故彼便不轉，是遍計所執自性真實相。於諸所取能取法中所有增益及損減見，若知此故彼便不轉，是名依他起自性真實相。於有非有所有增益及損減見，若知此故彼便不轉，是名圓成實自性真實相。此於根本真實相中無顛倒故，名相真實。無顛倒真實者，謂無常、苦、空、無我性，由此治彼常等四倒。云何應知此無常等依彼根本真實立耶？
頌曰：無性與生滅、垢淨三無常；所取及事相、和合苦三種；空亦有三種，謂無、異、自性；無相及異相、自相三無我。如次四三種，依根本真實。
論曰：無常三者，一無性無常，謂遍計所執，此常無故；二生滅無常，謂依他起，有起盡故；三垢淨無常，謂圓成實，位轉變故。苦三種者，一所取苦，謂遍計所執，是補特伽羅法執所取故；二事相苦，謂依他起，三苦相故；三和合苦，謂圓成實，苦相合故。空有三者，一無性空，謂遍計所執，此無理趣可說為有，由此非有說為空故；二異性空，謂依他起，如妄所執不如是有，非一切種性全無故；三自性空，謂圓成實，二空所顯為自性故。無我三者，一無相無我，謂遍計所執，此相本無故名無相，即此無相說為無我；二異相無我，謂依他起，此相雖有而不如彼遍計所執故名異相，即此異相說為無我；三自相無我，謂圓成實，無我所顯以為自相，即此自相說為無我。如是所說無常、苦、空、無我四種，如其次第依根本真實各分為三種，四各三種如前應知。因果真實謂四聖諦，云何此依根本真實？
頌曰：苦三相已說，集亦有三種，謂習氣、等起，及相未離繫。自性、二不生、垢寂二三滅。遍知及永斷、證得三道諦。
論曰：苦諦有三，謂無常等四各三相，如前已說。集諦三者，一習氣集，謂遍計所執自性執習氣；二等起集，謂業煩惱；三未離繫集，謂未離障真如。滅諦三者，一、自性滅，謂自性不生故；二、二取滅，謂所取能取二不生故；三、本性滅，謂垢寂二，即擇滅及真如。道諦三者，一遍知道、二永斷道、三證得道。應知此中於遍計所執唯有遍知，於依他起有遍知及永斷，於圓成實有遍知及證得，故依此三建立道諦。麁細真實，謂世俗勝義諦。云何此依根本真實？
頌曰：應知世俗諦，差別有三種，謂假、行、顯了，如次依本三。勝義諦亦三，謂義、得、正行，依本一無變，無倒二圓實。
論曰：世俗諦有三種，一假世俗、二行世俗、三顯了世俗。此三世俗如其次第，依三根本真實建立。勝義諦亦三種，一義勝義，謂真如勝智之境名勝義故；二得勝義，謂涅槃，此是勝果亦義利故；三正行勝義，謂聖道，以勝法為義故。此三勝義，應知但依三根本中圓成實立。此圓成實總有二種，無為、有為有差別故。無為總攝真如涅槃，無變異故，名圓成實。有為總攝一切聖道，於境無倒故，亦名圓成實。極成真實略有二種，一者世間極成真實、二者道理極成真實。云何此二依彼根本真實立耶？
頌曰：世極成依一，理極成依三。
論曰：若事世間共所安立，串習隨入覺慧所取，一切世間同執此事是地非火、色非聲等，是名世間極成真實。此於根本三真實中，但依遍計所執而立。若有理義聰叡賢善能尋思者，依止三量證成道理施設建立，是名道理極成真實。此依根本三真實立。淨所行真實亦略有二種，一煩惱障淨智所行真實、二所知障淨智所行真實。云何此二依彼根本真實而立？
頌曰：淨所行有二，依一圓成實。
論曰：煩惱、所知二障，淨智所行真實，唯依根本三真實中圓成實立，餘二非此淨智境故。云何應知相名分別真如正智攝在根本三真實耶？
頌曰：名遍計所執，相分別依他，真如及正智，圓成實所攝。
論曰：相等五事，隨其所應，攝在根本三種真實，謂名攝在遍計所執，相及分別攝在依他，圓成實攝真如正智。差別真實略有七種：一流轉真實、二實相真實、三唯識真實、四安立真實、五邪行真實、六清淨真實、七正行真實。云何應知此七真實依三根本真實立耶？
頌曰：流轉與安立，邪行依初二，實相唯識淨，正行依後一。
論曰：流轉等七，隨其所應，攝在根本三種真實，謂彼流轉安立邪行依根本中遍計所執及依他起，實相唯識清淨正行依根本中圓成實立。善巧真實，謂為對治十我見故，說有十種。云何於蘊等起十我見耶？
頌曰：於蘊等我見，執、一、因、受者、作者、自在轉、增上義及常、雜染清淨依、觀、縛解者性。
論曰：於蘊等十法起十種我見，一執一性、二執因性、三執受者性、四執作者性、五執自在轉性、六執增上義性、七執常性、八執染淨所依性、九執觀行者性、十執縛解者性。為除此見，修十善巧。云何十種善巧真實依三根本真實建立？以蘊等十無不攝在三種根本自性中故。如何攝在三自性中？
頌曰：此所執分別，法性義在彼。
論曰：此蘊等十各有三義。且色蘊中有三義者，一所執義色，謂色之遍計所執性；二分別義色，謂色之依他起性，此中分別以為色故；三法性義色，謂色之圓成實性。如色蘊中有此三義，受等四蘊、界等九法各有三義，隨應當知。如是蘊等由三義別，無不攝入彼三性中，是故當知十善巧真實皆依根本三真實而立。如是雖說為欲對治十種我見故修蘊等善巧，而未說此蘊等別義。且初蘊義云何應知？
頌曰：非一及總略、分段義名蘊。
論曰：應知蘊義，略有三種：一、非一義，如契經言：諸所有色等，若過去若未來若現在、若內若外、若麁若細、若劣若勝、若遠若近。二、總略義，如契經言：如是一切略為一聚。三、分段義，如契經言：說名色蘊等，各別安立色等相故，由斯聚義蘊義得成。又見世間聚義名蘊。已說蘊義，界義云何？
頌曰：能所取、彼取，種子義名界。
論曰：能取種子義，謂眼等六內界。所取種子義，謂色等六外界。彼取種子義，謂眼識等六識界。已說界義，處義云何？
頌曰：能受、所了境，用門義名處。
論曰：此中能受受用門義，謂六內處。若所了境受用門義，是六外處。已說處義，緣起義云何？
頌曰：緣起義於因、果、用無增減。
論曰：於因、果、用若無增益及無損減，是緣起義。應知此中增益因者，執行等有不平等因。損減因者，執彼無因。增益果者，執有我行等緣無明等生。損減果者，執無明等無行等果。增益用者，執無明等於生行等有別作用。損減用者，執無明等於生行等全無功能。若無如是三增減執，應知彼於緣起善巧。已說緣起義，處非處義云何？
頌曰：於非愛、愛、淨、俱生及勝主、得、行不自在，是處非處義。
論曰：處非處義略由七種不得自在，應知其相。一於非愛不得自在，謂由惡行雖無愛欲而墮惡趣。二於可愛不得自在，謂由妙行雖無愛欲而昇善趣。三於清淨不得自在，謂不斷五蓋、不修七覺支，決定不能作苦邊際。四於俱生不得自在，謂一世界無二如來、二轉輪王俱時出現。五於勝主不得自在，謂女不作轉輪王等。六於證得不得自在，謂女不證獨覺無上正等菩提。七於現行不得自在，謂見諦者必不現行害生等事。諸異生類容可現行，《多界經》中廣說此等，應隨決了是處非處。如是已說處非處義，根義云何？
頌曰：根於取、住、續、用、二淨增上。
論曰：二十二根依於六事，增上義立，謂於取境眼等六根有增上義，命根於住一期相續有增上義，男女二根於續家族有增上義，於能受用善惡業果樂等五根有增上義，於世間淨信等五根有增上義，於出世淨未知等根有增上義。已說根義，世義云何？
頌曰：因果已未用，是世義應知。
論曰：應知因果已未受用，隨其所應三世義別。謂於因果俱已受用，是過去義；若於因果俱未受用，是未來義；若已受用因、未已受用果，是現在義。已說世義，諦義云何？
頌曰：受及受資糧，彼所因諸行，二寂滅對治，是諦義應知。
論曰：應知諦者即四聖諦。一苦聖諦，謂一切受及受資糧。契經中說：諸所有受皆是苦故。受資糧者，謂順受法。二集聖諦，謂即彼苦所因諸行。三滅聖諦，謂前二種究竟寂滅。四道聖諦，謂即苦集能對治道。已說諦義，乘義云何？
頌曰：由功德過失，及無分別智，依他自出離，是乘義應知。
論曰：應知乘者，謂即三乘，此中如應顯示其義。若從他聞涅槃功德、生死過失而起此智，由斯智故得出離者，是聲聞乘。不從他聞涅槃功德、生死過失自起此智，由斯智故得出離者，是獨覺乘。若自然起無分別智，由斯智故得出離者，名無上乘。已說乘義，云何有為、無為法義？
頌曰：有為、無為義，謂若假、若因、若相；若寂靜、若彼所觀義。
論曰：應知此中假謂名等；因謂種子所攝藏識；相謂器身并受用具，及轉識攝意取思惟；意謂恒時思量性識；取謂五識取現境故；思惟即是第六意識，以能分別一切境故。如是若假、若因、若相及相應法，總名有為。若寂靜者，謂所證滅及能證道，能寂靜故。彼所觀義，謂即真如，是寂靜道所緣境故。如是所說若諸寂靜、若所觀義，總名無為。應知此中緣蘊等十義所起正知，名蘊等善巧。真實總義略有二種，謂即能顯、所顯真實。能顯真實，謂即最初三種根本，能顯餘故。所顯真實，謂後九種，是初根本所顯示故。所顯九者，一離增上慢所顯真實；二對治顛倒所顯真實；三聲聞乘出離所顯真實；四無上乘出離所顯真實，由麁能成熟細能解脫故；五能伏他論所顯真實，依喻導理降伏他故；六顯了大乘所顯真實；七入一切種所知所顯真實；八顯不虛妄真如所顯真實；九入我執事一切祕密所顯真實。
The canonical text stands in Chinese only. This edition renders the essence, the plain reading, the exposition and the apparatus into English — never the sūtra itself. Switch to 漢讀本 or 並行雙語 above to read it.
本品辨障所覆之真實，立十種真實，皆以除我見為歸。十真實以三自性為根本，貫攝四諦、二諦、五事、七真如、我見差別，終於十善巧。義理極密，逐偈攤開其層次。
〔一〕十真實總標
頌曰：
真實唯有十，謂根本與相、 無顛倒、因果，及麁細真實、 極成、淨所行、攝受并差別， 十善巧真實，皆為除我見。
真實唯有十種：一根本真實（三自性）、二相真實、三無顛倒真實、四因果真實、五麁細真實、六極成真實、七淨所行真實、八攝受真實、九差別真實、十十善巧真實。此十種真實，皆為除遣我見而立——辨真實非為戲論，乃對治薩迦耶見之具。
〔二〕根本真實——三自性
頌曰：
許於三自性，唯一常非有， 一有而不真，一有無真實。
第一根本真實，即三自性，為餘九真實所依： 遍計所執——常非有（恆無實體，唯妄情橫計）； 依他起——有而不真（依緣故有，然非實有，似有而非真）； 圓成實——有無真實（即「有之無」「無之有」之真實——於依他上二取永無所顯之實性）。 餘九真實，皆於此三性上開立。
〔三〕相真實——離增益損減
頌曰：
於法數取趣，及所取能取， 有非有性中，增益損減見； 知此故不轉，是名真實相。
第二相真實。於法與數取趣（補特伽羅，人）、及所取能取二者，就其有與非有之分際，每生二種顛倒見：增益見（於非有妄計為有，如執實我實法）、損減見（於有妄撥為無，如撥圓成實之有）。了知此（有非有之如實分際）故，二見不復轉起——是名相真實：如實知何者有、何者非有，二邊不立。
〔四〕無顛倒真實——苦諦四相各三
頌曰：
無性與生滅、垢淨三無常； 所取及事相、和合苦三種； 空亦有三種，謂無、異、自性； 無相及異相、自相三無我。 如次四三種，依根本真實。
第三無顛倒真實，辨四諦十六行相，一一依三性而成三義。先苦諦四相（無常、苦、空、無我），各具三： 無常三種——無性無常（遍計：本無自性）、生滅無常（依他：有起有滅）、垢淨無常（圓成：由垢轉淨之位異）； 苦三種——所取苦（遍計：所執境之苦）、事相苦（依他：行苦之事相）、和合苦（圓成：苦與真實和合而觀其性）； 空三種——無（遍計：畢竟無）、異（依他：異於妄執）、自性（圓成：空之自性）； 無我三種——無相無我（遍計：相本無）、異相無我（依他：相異於所執）、自相無我（圓成：以無我為自相）。 如其次第，四相各三種，皆依根本真實（三性）而立。
〔五〕無顛倒真實——集滅道各三
頌曰：
苦三相已說，集亦有三種， 謂習氣、等起，及相未離繫。 自性、二不生、垢寂二三滅， 遍知及永斷、證得三道諦。
苦諦三相既說，次集、滅、道，各亦三種： 集諦三——習氣（遍計：所執習氣）、等起（依他：俱時而起之因）、相未離繫（圓成：真實相猶未離縛之位）； 滅諦三——自性滅（遍計：自性本無即滅）、二不生滅（依他：能所二取不生即滅）、垢寂滅（圓成：客垢寂息即滅）； 道諦三——遍知（周遍了知苦）、永斷（永斷集）、證得（證得滅）。四諦各三，無顛倒真實之全。
〔六〕因果真實——二諦各三
頌曰：
應知世俗諦，差別有三種， 謂假、行、顯了，如次依本三。 勝義諦亦三，謂義、得、正行， 依本一無變，無倒二圓實。
第四因果真實，即二諦，亦各依三性： 世俗諦三——假世俗（遍計：假名施設）、行世俗（依他：緣起行相）、顯了世俗（圓成：顯了真實之俗詮）——如次依根本三性。 勝義諦三——義勝義（所緣真如）、得勝義（所證涅槃）、正行勝義（能證聖道）——俱依根本之一（圓成實），以其無變、無倒故；三勝義皆圓成實所攝。
〔七〕極成真實與淨所行真實
頌曰：
世極成依一，理極成依三。 淨所行有二，依一圓成實。
第六極成真實：世間極成（世俗共許之真實）依根本一性（依他，世共許之事）；道理極成（依正理成立之真實）依三性（理智抉擇所成）。 第七淨所行真實：有二種（即所知障淨智所行、煩惱障淨智所行之真實），俱依根本之圓成實——清淨智所行之境，唯圓成。
〔八〕攝受真實——五事配三性
頌曰：
名遍計所執，相分別依他， 真如及正智，圓成實所攝。
第八攝受真實之一，以五事（名、相、分別、真如、正智）攝歸三性： 名——遍計所執所攝（假立之名）； 相與分別——依他起所攝（所現之相、能現之分別）； 真如與正智——圓成實所攝（所證真如、能證正智）。五事不出三性。
〔九〕攝受真實——七真如配三性
頌曰：
流轉與安立，邪行依初二， 實相唯識淨，正行依後一。
復以七真如攝歸三性： 流轉真如、安立真如、邪行真如——依初二性（遍計、依他；生死流轉、苦集安立、邪行皆雜染攝）； 實相真如、唯識真如、清淨真如、正行真如——依後一性（圓成；真實相、唯識性、滅淨、正道皆清淨攝）。七真如分屬染淨，俱不離三性。
〔十〕差別真實——破我見十一計
頌曰：
於蘊等我見，執、一、因、受者、 作者、自在轉、增上義及常、 雜染清淨依、觀、縛解者性。 此所執分別，法性義在彼。
第九差別真實，辨我見於蘊（及界、處）所起之種種妄計，凡十一：執之為能執（執取者）、為一（一合相）、為因（生因）、為受者（領納者）、為作者（造作者）、為自在轉（自主而轉）、為增上（主宰增上）、為常（恆常）、為雜染清淨依（染淨所依之我）、為觀（能觀者）、為縛解者（被縛得解之我）。此十一者皆我見所執之分別（虛妄計度）；而法性之真實義，正在其反面（無執、非一、非因、非受作者……乃至無縛解之我）——破妄計即顯法性，是為差別真實。
〔十一〕十善巧真實——蘊界處緣起
頌曰：
非一及總略、分段義名蘊。 能所取、彼取，種子義名界。 能受、所了境，用門義名處。 緣起義於因、果、用無增減。
第十十善巧真實，善巧了知十事以除十種我見。先四事： 蘊義——非一（眾多）、總略（聚略為一類）、分段（分位段別）；以此三義名「蘊」。 界義——能取所取及彼（能所）之種子；以種子義名「界」（十八界為諸法生因之種類）。 處義——能受（根）與所了境（境）；以為識生用門（生長門）義名「處」。 緣起義——於因、果、用三，無增無減（因果功用如實，不增益不損減）；是緣起義。
〔十二〕十善巧真實——處非處、根、世
頌曰：
於非愛、愛、淨、俱生及勝主、 得、行不自在，是處非處義。 根於取、住、續、用、二淨增上。 因果已未用，是世義應知。
次三事： 處非處義——於非愛（不可愛果）、愛（可愛果）、淨（清淨果）之得否，及俱生（二尊不並出等）、勝主（轉輪等唯一）、得（證果之可否）、行不自在（女身等於某行不自在）——辨何者為處（道理所許）、何者非處（道理不許），是處非處善巧。 根義——二十二根於取（六根取境）、住（命根住壽）、續（男女根續種）、用（五受領納）、二淨（信等五根、未知當知等三無漏根，於世出世二淨）各有增上之用；是根善巧。 世義——就因果之已用（已謝為過去）、未用（未起為未來）、（現用為現在）——應知三世義，是世善巧。
〔十三〕十善巧真實——諦、乘、有為無為
頌曰：
受及受資糧，彼所因諸行， 二寂滅對治，是諦義應知。 由功德過失，及無分別智， 依他自出離，是乘義應知。 有為、無為義，謂若假、若因、 若相，若寂靜、若彼所觀義。
後三事： 諦義——受（領納即苦諦）、受資糧及彼所因諸行（招受之因，即集諦）、二寂滅（擇滅、煩惱事二俱寂，即滅諦）、對治（能治之道，即道諦）；應知四諦義，是諦善巧。 乘義——由觀功德（涅槃菩提之德）與過失（生死之失）、依無分別智、依他（起性）而自出離（轉依出離）——是三乘出離義，乘善巧。 有為無為義——有為者：若假（假立）、若因（有因）、若相（有生住異滅相）；無為者：若寂靜（離相寂滅）、若彼所觀（聖智所觀之境）。辨有為無為，是末一善巧。
十善巧既明，十真實圓備。真實所辨既彰，下「辯修對治品」乃辨依真實而修之對治。
This chapter expounds the reality that the obscurations veil, establishing ten kinds of reality, all aimed at removing the view of self. The ten rest on the three natures and run through the four truths, the two truths, the five things, the seven suchnesses, the differentiations of self-view, and the ten skills. The doctrine is extremely dense; its layers are unfolded verse by verse.
〔1〕The ten realities, stated together
真實唯有十，謂根本與相、 無顛倒、因果，及麁細真實、 極成、淨所行、攝受并差別， 十善巧真實，皆為除我見。
There are only ten kinds of reality: (1) the root reality (the three natures), (2) the reality of characteristic, (3) the non-perverted reality, (4) the reality of cause and fruit, (5) the coarse-and-subtle reality, (6) the well-established reality, (7) the reality of the pure domain, (8) the reality of subsumption, (9) the differentiated reality, and (10) the reality of the ten skills. All ten are set up to remove the view of self — the analysis of reality is not idle theory but a tool against the view of a real self.
〔2〕The root reality — the three natures
許於三自性，唯一常非有， 一有而不真，一有無真實。
The first, the root reality, is the three natures, on which the other nine rest: the wholly-imagined — always nonexistent (forever without substance, merely fancied by deluded mind); the other-dependent — existent but not real (existent through conditions, yet not substantially real, seeming-but-not-true); the perfectly-accomplished — the reality of existence-and-nonexistence (the truth of "the existence of an absence" and "the absence within existence" — the real nature disclosed when, upon the other-dependent, the two never were). The remaining nine realities are all unfolded upon these three natures.
〔3〕The reality of characteristic — free of superimposition and denial
於法數取趣，及所取能取， 有非有性中，增益損減見； 知此故不轉，是名真實相。
The second, the reality of characteristic. Regarding dharma and the person (pudgala), and regarding grasped and grasper, in respect of their existence and nonexistence, two perverted views regularly arise: the view of superimposition (falsely positing the nonexistent as existent, as in clinging to a real self or real dharmas) and the view of denial (falsely negating the existent, as in denying the existence of the perfectly-accomplished). Knowing this — the true measure of what exists and what does not — these two views no longer operate. This is the reality of characteristic: knowing as it is what exists and what does not, so that neither extreme stands.
〔4〕The non-perverted reality — the four aspects of the truth of suffering, three each
無性與生滅、垢淨三無常； 所取及事相、和合苦三種； 空亦有三種，謂無、異、自性； 無相及異相、自相三無我。 如次四三種，依根本真實。
The third, the non-perverted reality, treats the sixteen aspects of the four truths, each made threefold according to the three natures. First, the four aspects of the truth of suffering (impermanence, suffering, emptiness, no-self), each in three: impermanence, three — impermanence as no-nature (wholly-imagined: without inherent nature), impermanence as arising-and-ceasing (other-dependent: with rise and fall), impermanence as defilement-and-purity (perfectly-accomplished: the difference of state from stained to pure); suffering, three — the suffering of the grasped (wholly-imagined), the suffering of the event-mark (other-dependent: the mark of conditioned suffering), the suffering of combination (perfectly-accomplished: suffering contemplated in conjunction with reality); emptiness, three — nonexistence (wholly-imagined: utterly absent), difference (other-dependent: other than what is fancied), own-nature (perfectly-accomplished: the very nature of emptiness); no-self, three — no-self as signlessness (wholly-imagined: the mark itself is absent), no-self as other-marked (other-dependent: marked otherwise than as clung to), no-self as own-mark (perfectly-accomplished: having no-self as its own mark). Respectively, the four aspects in three kinds each rest on the root reality (the three natures).
〔5〕The non-perverted reality — origin, cessation, path, three each
苦三相已說，集亦有三種， 謂習氣、等起，及相未離繫。 自性、二不生、垢寂二三滅， 遍知及永斷、證得三道諦。
The threefold aspects of suffering told, next origin, cessation, and path, each likewise threefold: the truth of origin, three — latent energy (wholly-imagined: the latency of what is clung to), co-arising (other-dependent: the simultaneously arising cause), the mark not yet freed from bondage (perfectly-accomplished: the state in which the real mark is still bound); the truth of cessation, three — cessation by nature (wholly-imagined: being natureless, it is already ceased), cessation as the non-arising of the two (other-dependent: the non-arising of grasper and grasped), cessation as the quieting of stain (perfectly-accomplished: the stilling of adventitious stain); the truth of the path, three — full knowledge (thoroughly knowing suffering), permanent severance (severing origin forever), realization (realizing cessation). The four truths in three each — the whole of the non-perverted reality.
〔6〕The reality of cause and fruit — the two truths, three each
應知世俗諦，差別有三種， 謂假、行、顯了，如次依本三。 勝義諦亦三，謂義、得、正行， 依本一無變，無倒二圓實。
The fourth, the reality of cause and fruit, that is, the two truths, also follow the three natures: the conventional truth, three — conventional designation (wholly-imagined: nominal positing), conventional conduct (other-dependent: the conditioned course of activity), manifesting convention (perfectly-accomplished: conventional discourse that discloses reality) — resting respectively on the three root natures. the ultimate truth, three — ultimate as object (the suchness cognized), ultimate as attainment (the nirvāṇa realized), ultimate as right practice (the noble path that realizes it) — all resting on the single root (the perfectly-accomplished), in its aspects of being unchanging and non-perverted; all three ultimates are subsumed by the perfectly-accomplished.
〔7〕The well-established reality and the reality of the pure domain
世極成依一，理極成依三。 淨所行有二，依一圓成實。
The sixth, the well-established reality: the worldly-established (the reality commonly acknowledged in convention) rests on one root nature (the other-dependent, the matter the world agrees on); the reason-established (the reality established by correct reasoning) rests on the three natures (achieved by the discernment of reason). The seventh, the reality of the pure domain: it has two kinds (the reality that is the domain of the wisdom purifying the cognitive obscuration and the wisdom purifying the afflictive obscuration), both resting on the root perfectly-accomplished — the domain of purified wisdom is the perfectly-accomplished alone.
〔8〕The reality of subsumption — the five things mapped to the three natures
名遍計所執，相分別依他， 真如及正智，圓成實所攝。
The eighth, the reality of subsumption, first by subsuming the five things (name, mark, discrimination, suchness, correct cognition) under the three natures: name — subsumed by the wholly-imagined (the merely posited name); mark and discrimination — subsumed by the other-dependent (the mark that appears, the discrimination that makes it appear); suchness and correct cognition — subsumed by the perfectly-accomplished (the suchness realized, the correct cognition that realizes it). The five things do not fall outside the three natures.
〔9〕The reality of subsumption — the seven suchnesses mapped to the three natures
流轉與安立，邪行依初二， 實相唯識淨，正行依後一。
Further, the seven suchnesses subsumed under the three natures: the suchness of saṃsāric flux, of establishment, and of wrong conduct — rest on the first two natures (wholly-imagined and other-dependent; cyclic flux, the establishing of suffering-and-origin, and wrong conduct all belong to the defiled); the suchness of true characteristic, of consciousness-only, of purity, and of right conduct — rest on the last one nature (the perfectly-accomplished; the true characteristic, the nature of consciousness-only, cessation-purity, and the right path all belong to the pure). The seven suchnesses divide between defiled and pure, none apart from the three natures.
〔10〕The differentiated reality — refuting the eleven imputations of self-view
於蘊等我見，執、一、因、受者、 作者、自在轉、增上義及常、 雜染清淨依、觀、縛解者性。 此所執分別，法性義在彼。
The ninth, the differentiated reality, treats the various fancies that self-view raises upon the aggregates (and elements and bases), eleven in all: positing [a self] as a grasper (one who seizes), as a unity (a single whole), as a cause (a generating cause), as an experiencer (one who receives), as an agent (one who acts), as autonomous (turning of its own accord), as dominant (a sovereign overlord), as permanent (everlasting), as the basis of defilement and purity (a self on which the stained and pure rest), as an observer (one who contemplates), and as one bound and freed (a self that is fettered and then liberated). These eleven are all the discriminations that self-view clings to (false imputations); and the true meaning of the dharma-nature lies in their opposite (no grasper, no unity, no cause, no experiencer-or-agent … down to no self that is bound and freed) — to refute the fancies is to disclose the dharma-nature; this is the differentiated reality.
〔11〕The reality of the ten skills — aggregate, element, base, dependent origination
非一及總略、分段義名蘊。 能所取、彼取，種子義名界。 能受、所了境，用門義名處。 緣起義於因、果、用無增減。
The tenth, the reality of the ten skills, is the skillful knowledge of ten matters that removes ten kinds of self-view. First, four matters: the sense of aggregate — not-one (a plurality), summation (gathered briefly into a class), division (parceled into phases); by these three it is called "aggregate." the sense of element — grasped-and-grasper and the seeds of those; by the sense of seed it is called "element" (the eighteen elements as the seed-kinds that generate phenomena). the sense of base — receiver (faculty) and cognized object (field); as the gateway of function for the arising of consciousness, it is called "base." the sense of dependent origination — in cause, fruit, and function, neither increase nor decrease (cause, fruit, and function just as they are, neither over-affirmed nor under-denied); this is the sense of dependent origination.
〔12〕The reality of the ten skills — the possible-and-impossible, faculties, time
於非愛、愛、淨、俱生及勝主、 得、行不自在，是處非處義。 根於取、住、續、用、二淨增上。 因果已未用，是世義應知。
Next, three matters: the sense of the possible and the impossible — concerning the obtaining of an unwished result, a wished result, a pure result, and concerning co-arising (e.g. two world-honored ones not appearing together), a sovereign (e.g. only one wheel-turning monarch), attainment (whether a fruit can be won), and non-autonomy in conduct (e.g. a female body's incapacity for certain roles) — discerning what is a possible ground (allowed by reason) and what is impossible (not allowed by reason); this is skill in the possible-and-impossible. the sense of faculties — the twenty-two faculties each exercise a dominant function in cognizing (the six faculties seizing their fields), maintaining (the life-faculty sustaining the life-span), continuing (the male and female faculties continuing the kind), function (the five feelings receiving), and the two purities (the five faculties of faith and so on, and the three undefiled faculties of "coming-to-know," etc., with respect to the worldly and supramundane purities); this is skill in the faculties. the sense of time — by the used (cause-and-fruit already spent, hence past), the not-yet-used (not yet arisen, hence future), (and the now-functioning, hence present) — the meaning of the three times is to be known; this is skill in time.
〔13〕The reality of the ten skills — truths, vehicles, conditioned-and-unconditioned
受及受資糧，彼所因諸行， 二寂滅對治，是諦義應知。 由功德過失，及無分別智， 依他自出離，是乘義應知。 有為、無為義，謂若假、若因、 若相，若寂靜、若彼所觀義。
The last three matters: the sense of truths — feeling (reception, i.e. the truth of suffering), the provisions of feeling and the formations that cause it (the cause that summons reception, i.e. the truth of origin), the two quiescences (analytic cessation and the quieting of both affliction and its event, i.e. the truth of cessation), and the antidote (the path that can cure, i.e. the truth of the path); the meaning of the four truths is to be known — skill in the truths. the sense of vehicles — by contemplating virtue (the qualities of nirvāṇa and awakening) and fault (the failings of saṃsāra), by the non-discriminating wisdom, and by self-emancipation through the other-dependent nature (emancipation through the transformation of the basis) — this is the sense of the three vehicles' emancipation, skill in the vehicles. the sense of conditioned and unconditioned — the conditioned: as designation (nominally posited), as having cause, as having mark (the marks of arising, abiding, change, ceasing); the unconditioned: as quiescence (cessation apart from marks), as what is contemplated thereof (the object contemplated by noble wisdom). To distinguish conditioned from unconditioned is the last skill.
With the ten skills clear, the ten realities are complete. The reality expounded being manifest, the next chapter, on the cultivation of antidotes, sets out the antidotes cultivated in dependence on this reality.
本品講的是「真實」——諸法究竟為真的那一面。前面辯相品辯「諸法之相」、辯障品辯「遮蔽之障」；到這一品，正面標出十種真實，並且立下一條貫穿全品的綱：這十種真實，以「三性」為根本，由三性開顯其餘九種。 三性是鏡，九真實是鏡中之影。
《辯中邊論》以「分判中道與二邊」為宗。到了辯真實品，論主問的是：既然要如實見，那麼什麼才算「真實」？答案不是一個籠統的「真理」，而是十種真實——十個面向，把「真」說得周到。
要先記住一句總綱，它是窺基點出、貫穿全品的：辯相品已就「境」說過三性，本品則就「起行」說真實，以三性〔根本真實〕為依，顯出其餘九種真實。 換句話說，下面九種真實——相、無顛倒、因果、麁細、極成、淨所行、攝受、差別、善巧——沒有一種是離開三性別有的；每一種，都是三性在某個角度上的開展。所以這一品，其實是「三性」這面鏡子，照出九重不同的影。
〔標目〕十種真實，都是為了除我見
開頭兩頌只列目次、不說道理。它把要講的十種真實一次數盡：
根本、相、無顛倒、因果、麁細、極成、淨所行、攝受、差別、善巧——十種真實，皆為除我見。
十種之中，第十「善巧真實」自己又開成十善巧（蘊、界、處、緣起、處非處、根、世、諦、乘、有為無為）。而這一切的用處，標目頌一句說盡：「皆為除我見」。真實不是玄談，而是對治我執的觀法——十種真實治十種我見，十善巧也正為破十種我執而設。一上來就把「為何要分這麼細」點明了：不是為分類而分類，是為了一一對治。
一、根本真實：三性各於「一分」為真
第三頌立根本真實——其餘九種的所依。它問：三自性裡，各取什麼義為「真實」？答案很精準：三性各非全真、也各非全妄，而是各於一分上為真。
- 遍計所執性——它的相是「常非有」（永遠不存在）。就「知道它恆無」這一點，是它的真實——因為這樣看就「無顛倒」。
- 依他起性——它的相是「有而不真」（似有而非真實）。就「知道它似有非真」這一點，是它的真實——因為它有「亂」的性質（似現而擾亂）。
- 圓成實性——它的相是「亦有非有」。就「知道它是二空所顯」這一點，是它的真實——因為它有「空」的性質（離妄所顯的真如）。
這就是「根本」之所以為根本：三性各自的真實相一旦立定，後面九種真實，都從這裡分出去。要把握的關鍵是——真實不在「三性哪個是真、哪個是假」，而在「於每一性如實知其分位」：遍計，真實在「知其恆無」；依他，真實在「知其似有非真」；圓成，真實在「知其空所顯」。
二、相真實與無顛倒真實：三性除二見、四念住各開三
第四到第七頌，合講兩種真實，都依根本三性而立。
相真實——三性各「除增益、損減二見」，妄見一旦不轉，各性的真實相就顯了：於人、法的增損見不轉，是遍計的真實相；於所取、能取的增損見不轉，是依他的真實相；於有、非有的增損見不轉，是圓成的真實相。一句話：二取的增、減既遣，三性的真實相自現。
無顛倒真實——對治「常、樂、我、淨」四種顛倒的，是「無常、苦、空、無我」四觀。但本論不把這四觀講成籠統一味，而是就三性各開三，成「四各三＝十二」。以「無常」為例：
- 遍計的無常，是「無性無常」——它本來就無，故說無常。
- 依他的無常，是「生滅無常」——有生有滅、有起有盡。
- 圓成的無常，是「垢淨無常」——不是生滅，而是「位的轉變」（由有垢位轉成離垢位）。
苦、空、無我，也都照這樣各開三。這一節最見大乘唯識的深處：聲聞共學的「無常苦空無我」，到這裡不是泛泛念過，而是就三性一一安立——同一個「無常」，在遍計、依他、圓成上，意思各不相同。三性，是觀行真正的骨架。
三、因果真實：四聖諦，各依三性開三
第八、九頌講因果真實，也就是四聖諦——苦集是世間的因果，滅道是出世的因果。四諦也各開三、各依三性：
- 苦諦的三，就是上一節「無常苦空無我各三」裡的苦三（所以頌說「苦三相已說」）。
- 集諦三：習氣集（遍計執的習氣）、等起集（業與煩惱）、未離繫集（尚未離障的真如）。
- 滅諦三：自性滅、二取滅、本性滅（後者即「垢寂二」——擇滅與真如）。
- 道諦三：遍知道、永斷道、證得道。
道諦這一配，最見唯識的手眼：遍計所執，只須「遍知」（知它本無就夠了）；依他起，要「遍知＋永斷」（知它似有，還要斷它的染分）；圓成實，要「遍知＋證得」（知它，還要證它的真）。三性各有所宜的對治，不是一概而論。同一套四諦，聲聞與大乘共學，而本論以三性把它講得更細、更準。
四、麁細真實：世俗、勝義二諦，各開三
第十、十一頌講麁細真實——粗的是世俗諦，細的是勝義諦。世俗三依三性，勝義三則唯依圓成：
- 世俗諦三：假世俗、行世俗、顯了世俗，如次依遍計、依他、圓成而立。
- 勝義諦三：義勝義（真如，是勝智所緣之境）、得勝義（涅槃，是殊勝的果與義利）、正行勝義（聖道，以勝法為義）。
這裡有一個唯識勝義論的樞紐：勝義三都歸圓成，而圓成又分無為（真如、涅槃，無變異）與有為（聖道，於境無顛倒）兩分——所以連聖道（有為法）也叫圓成實。這就跟「只把無為當勝義」的講法分了家：在唯識，能行的聖道，也是圓成。同一批法，從因果看是四諦，從粗細看是二諦——這就是「異門」：角度換了，說法就換。
五、極成真實與淨所行真實：凡、賢、聖三層境界
第十二頌一頌含兩種真實，正好排出一條由凡到聖的境界遞升。
極成真實——大家公認的真實，又分兩層：
- 世間極成：世間共同承認的（像「這是地、不是火」「這是色、不是聲」這類串習共許），只依遍計所執而立——是共許的假名。
- 道理極成：有智慧的人依「三量」（現量、比量、聖教量）證成的道理，依三性而立。
淨所行真實——清淨智所行的境界（煩惱障淨智、所知障淨智所行的真實），唯依圓成實立；其餘二性不是淨智的所緣。
三者一比，境界層層上升：世間極成只是遍計（共許之假）、道理極成通三性（量證之理）、淨所行唯圓成（聖智唯緣真如）。從凡夫的共許，到賢者的量證，到聖者的淨智——真實的「所依」，正標出了修證的高下。
六、攝受真實：五事攝歸三性
第十三頌講攝受真實——把《楞伽》《瑜伽》通說的「五事」（相、名、分別、真如、正智）收攝進三性：
- 名——攝在遍計所執（能詮的假名）。
- 相、分別——攝在依他起（所緣的境相、能緣的心）。
- 真如、正智——攝在圓成實（所顯的理、能證的智）。
這一攝，顯出一個層層收束的格局：一切法不出「五事」，五事不出「三性」，三性不出「根本真實」。世親說「隨其所應」——不是機械地硬配，而是就五事各自的性質歸位。
七、差別真實：七種真實的雜染、清淨兩分
第十四頌講差別真實——就「生死流轉→還滅清淨」的差別，立七種真實，依三性分屬兩邊：
- 流轉、安立、邪行——屬雜染邊，依「初二性」（遍計、依他）。
- 實相、唯識、清淨、正行——屬清淨邊，依「後一性」（圓成）。
這裡有一處要點出：「唯識真實」歸在圓成。這正與《唯識三十論頌》「圓成實即唯識實性」同一個講法——唯識性，就是圓成真如。雜染的歸前二性、清淨的歸圓成，七真實不過是三性在「染淨差別」上的開展。
八、善巧真實與十我見：蘊等十法，各破一我執
第十五、十六頌，是第十「善巧真實」的標頌。善巧之設，一句話：「為對治十我見」。於蘊等十法，各會起一種我見，就修一種善巧去治：
執「一」性（蘊）、執「因」性（界）、執「受者」性（處）、執「作者」性（緣起）、執「自在轉」性（處非處）、執「增上」性（根）、執「常」性（世）、執「染淨所依」性（諦）、執「觀行者」性（乘）、執「縛解者」性（有為無為）——十種我見，配十種善巧。
第十六頌下半「此所執分別，法性義在彼」更點出：蘊等十法，每一法都有三義——所執義（遍計）、分別義（依他）、法性義（圓成）。以色蘊為例，就有「所執的色、分別的色、法性的色」三面；受等其餘九法，都照此類推。所以十善巧也全依根本三性而立。善巧不是外加的觀法，而是「即蘊等十法、見其三性、破其十我執」——真實的觀，終究還是歸到三性。
九、十善巧別義：把十善巧逐一講開，結穴在「有為無為」
第十七到二十三頌，把十善巧逐一別釋其「義」（七頌貫十善巧）。略舉其要：
- 蘊——「聚」的意思（非一、總略、分段三義），破「執一」。
- 界——能取、所取、彼取三類種子，破「執因」。
- 處——能受用、所了境之門，破「執受者」。
- 緣起——於因、果、用無增無減，破「執作者」。
- 處非處——七種「不得自在」，破「執自在轉」。
- 根——二十二根依六事增上，破「執增上」。
- 世——因果的已用、未用（過去、現在、未來），破「執常」。
- 諦——受及受資糧（苦）、所因諸行（集）、二寂滅（滅）、對治（道），破「執染淨所依」。
- 乘——聲聞、獨覺、無上乘三乘智，破「執觀行者」。
- 有為無為——這一條是全品的結穴。
「有為無為善巧」最見唯識的骨：有為攝「假（名）、因（種子所攝的藏識）、相（器界、根身、受用具，及種種轉識）」；無為攝「寂靜（滅、道）、所觀（真如）」。把一切法的有為、無為盡攝進來，我執就無處可寄——這正是「破縛解者執」的著落。這裡「因＝種子所攝藏識、相＝轉識」一句，把八識的骨架點了出來，是十善巧通向唯識全體的關鍵。
結：能顯與所顯——三性如鏡，九真實如影
辯真實品到末了，世親把十種真實再收成兩類：
- 能顯真實——最初的三種根本（三性），因為它能顯出其餘。
- 所顯真實——後面九種，都是這三根本所顯示出來的。
真諦譯本有一個極好的譬喻：能顯真實如鏡，所顯真實如影。 三性是鏡，九真實是鏡裡照出的影。
回看全品，這就是它的一條線：先標十真實、皆為除我見；立根本三性為依；然後由三性，一重重開出相、無顛倒（四各三）、因果（四諦各三）、麁細（二諦各三）、極成、淨所行、攝受（五事）、差別（七真實）、善巧（十善巧治十我見）九種真實；最後以「能顯/所顯」「鏡/影」收攏——九重真實，不過是三性這面鏡子，照出的九重影。 把十真實看通了，也就看通了：唯識所說的「真實」，從頭到尾，都不離三性。
This chapter treats the real — the side of things by which they are ultimately true. The earlier "Characteristics" chapter discerned the characteristics of things, and the "Obscuration" chapter discerned the veils that hide them; here, by contrast, the treatise states positively ten kinds of reality, and lays down one thread that runs through the whole chapter: these ten realities take the "three natures" as their root, and from the three natures the remaining nine are opened out. The three natures are the mirror; the nine realities are the reflections in it.
The Madhyāntavibhāga takes "distinguishing the middle way from the two extremes" as its governing aim. By the time we reach "Discerning Reality," the question the author asks is this: granting that we are to see as things really are, then what is it that counts as "real"? The answer is not a single, vague "truth," but ten kinds of reality — ten faces, so that "the real" is said thoroughly and from every side.
First hold one master-thread in mind, the one the ancient masters point out as running through the whole chapter: the "Characteristics" chapter already spoke of the three natures with respect to the "object"; this chapter speaks of reality with respect to "setting out in practice," taking the three natures (the root reality) as basis and revealing from them the other nine realities. In other words, the nine realities that follow — characteristics, freedom-from-error, cause-and-effect, coarse-and-subtle, the well-established, the domain of purified cognition, the gathering-in, the differentiated, skill — not one of them stands apart from the three natures with a being of its own; each is the three natures unfolded under a particular aspect. So this chapter is, in truth, the one mirror "three natures" casting nine kinds of reflection.
〔Uddāna〕The Ten Realities: All to Remove the View-of-Self
The first two verses only list the contents; they state no doctrine. They count out, all at once, the ten realities to be treated:
root, characteristics, freedom-from-error, cause-and-effect, coarse-and-subtle, the well-established, the domain of purified cognition, the gathering-in, the differentiated, skill — ten kinds of reality, all to remove the view-of-self.
Of the ten, the tenth, "the reality of skill," itself opens out into ten skills (in the aggregates, the elements, the bases, dependent arising, the possible-and-impossible, the faculties, time, the truths, the vehicles, the conditioned-and-unconditioned). And the use of all this is said in a single clause of the table-of-contents verse: "all to remove the view-of-self" — the view-of-self being the deluded grasping at a real "I." Reality is not abstract talk; it is a way of contemplating that counters self-grasping — the ten realities counter ten kinds of view-of-self, and the ten skills too are set up precisely to break ten kinds of self-grasping. From the very start, then, the verse makes plain why the matter is divided so finely: not classification for its own sake, but a one-by-one antidote.
1. The Root Reality: Each Nature Is Real "in One Respect"
The third verse establishes the root reality — the basis of the remaining nine. It asks: within the three natures, what sense is taken as "real" in each? The answer is exact: each nature is neither wholly real nor wholly false, but real in one respect.
- The wholly-imagined nature — the nature fabricated by the mind's reckoning — has the character "permanently non-existent" (it never exists at all). Just in respect of "knowing that it is forever absent," that is its reality — for seeing it so is to see "without error" (without inversion).
- The other-dependent nature — the flow of things arising in dependence on conditions — has the character "existent yet not real" (it seems to be there, but is not really there). Just in respect of "knowing it as seeming-to-be yet not real," that is its reality — for it has the property of "disturbance" (appearing as if present, and so unsettling the mind).
- The perfectly-accomplished nature — the perfectly-accomplished truth as it actually is — has the character "both existent and non-existent." Just in respect of "knowing it as that which is revealed by the two emptinesses," that is its reality — for it has the property of "emptiness" (suchness, which is revealed once the false is gone).
This is why the "root" is the root: once the real character of each of the three natures is fixed, the later nine realities all branch off from here. The key to grasp is this — reality lies not in "which nature is true and which false," but in "knowing each nature, as it is, in its proper place": with the wholly-imagined, reality is in "knowing it is forever absent"; with the other-dependent, reality is in "knowing it seems-to-be yet is not real"; with the perfectly-accomplished, reality is in "knowing it is what emptiness reveals."
2. The Reality of Characteristics and the Reality of Freedom-from-Error: The Three Natures Remove Two Wrong Views; the Four Contemplations Each Open into Three
The fourth through seventh verses treat two realities together, both established upon the root three natures.
The reality of characteristics — each of the three natures "removes the two wrong views, reification and denial." Reification means asserting that what is not there is there; denial means asserting that what is there is not there. Once the deluded view no longer turns, the real character of each nature shows itself: where the views that reify or deny self and dharmas no longer turn, that is the real character of the wholly-imagined; where the views that reify or deny the grasped and the grasper no longer turn, that is the real character of the other-dependent; where the views that reify or deny the existent and the non-existent no longer turn, that is the real character of the perfectly-accomplished. In a word: once the reifying and the denying of the two-grasping are both dispelled, the real character of the three natures appears of itself.
The reality of freedom-from-error — what counters the four "inversions" (taking the impermanent for permanent, the painful for pleasant, the selfless for self, the impure for pure) is the four contemplations of "impermanence, suffering, emptiness, non-self." But this treatise does not leave these four contemplations as a single undifferentiated lump; rather it opens each into three upon the three natures, so that "four times three equals twelve." Take "impermanence" as the example:
- The impermanence of the wholly-imagined is "impermanence-of-non-being" — it never existed at all, so it is called impermanent.
- The impermanence of the other-dependent is "impermanence-of-arising-and-ceasing" — it has arising and ceasing, beginning and ending.
- The impermanence of the perfectly-accomplished is "impermanence-of-defilement-and-purity" — not arising-and-ceasing, but "a shift of position" (the turn from a defiled position to a position freed of defilement).
Suffering, emptiness, and non-self are likewise each opened into three in the same way. This section shows the depth of Mahāyāna consciousness-only at its clearest: the "impermanence, suffering, emptiness, non-self" that the disciple-path holds in common is here not recited vaguely but set up one by one upon the three natures — the very same "impermanence" means something different upon the wholly-imagined, the other-dependent, and the perfectly-accomplished. The three natures are the real skeleton of contemplative practice.
3. The Reality of Cause-and-Effect: The Four Truths, Each Opened into Three upon the Three Natures
The eighth and ninth verses treat the reality of cause-and-effect — that is, the four noble truths — suffering and its origin being the cause-and-effect of the worldly, cessation and the path being the cause-and-effect of the world-transcending. The four truths too are each opened into three, each resting on the three natures:
- The three of the truth of suffering are just the three of "suffering" already given in the previous section's "impermanence, suffering, emptiness, non-self each in three" (so the verse says "the three characteristics of suffering have been stated").
- The three of the truth of origin are: origin-as-habit-energy (the habit-energy of wholly-imagined grasping — the latent residue laid down by grasping), origin-as-equal-arising (deeds and afflictions), and origin-not-yet-freed-from-bondage (the suchness not yet freed of obscuration).
- The three of the truth of cessation are: cessation of own-nature, cessation of the two-grasping, and cessation of intrinsic-nature (this last being "the two of defilement-stilled" — analytic cessation and suchness).
- The three of the truth of the path are: the path of full knowing, the path of permanent cutting-off, and the path of attainment.
This pairing of the path-truth shows consciousness-only's deft hand most of all: the wholly-imagined nature needs only to be "fully known" (knowing that it was never there is enough); the other-dependent nature requires "full knowing plus permanent cutting-off" (knowing that it seems-to-be, and then cutting off its defiled part as well); the perfectly-accomplished nature requires "full knowing plus attainment" (knowing it, and then realizing its truth). Each nature has the antidote that fits it; there is no treating all alike. The same single set of four truths is held in common by the disciple-path and the Great Vehicle, yet this treatise, by means of the three natures, states it more finely and more precisely.
4. The Reality of the Coarse-and-Subtle: The Two Truths, Conventional and Ultimate, Each Opened into Three
The tenth and eleventh verses treat the reality of the coarse-and-subtle — the coarse being the conventional truth, the subtle being the ultimate truth. The three of the conventional rest on the three natures; the three of the ultimate, however, rest on the perfectly-accomplished alone:
- The three of the conventional truth are: the conventional-as-designation, the conventional-as-process, and the conventional-as-manifest, resting respectively on the wholly-imagined, the other-dependent, and the perfectly-accomplished.
- The three of the ultimate truth are: the ultimate-as-meaning (suchness, the object that the supreme wisdom takes), the ultimate-as-attainment (nirvāṇa, the supreme fruit and benefit), and the ultimate-as-right-practice (the noble path, which takes the supreme dharma as its meaning).
Here lies a pivot of the consciousness-only account of the ultimate: the three of the ultimate all come back to the perfectly-accomplished, and the perfectly-accomplished in turn divides into two parts — the unconditioned (suchness and nirvāṇa, which do not change) and the conditioned (the noble path, which is free of error toward its object) — and so even the noble path, a conditioned dharma, is called perfectly-accomplished. This parts ways with the account that "counts only the unconditioned as ultimate": in consciousness-only, the noble path one can practice is also perfectly-accomplished. The same body of dharmas, viewed by way of cause-and-effect, is the four truths; viewed by way of coarse-and-subtle, is the two truths — this is what is meant by "a different gate": change the angle, and the way of stating it changes.
5. The Reality of the Well-Established and the Reality of the Domain of Purified Cognition: The Three Tiers of Ordinary, Worthy, and Noble
The twelfth verse holds two realities in one verse, and these lay out exactly a tier-by-tier ascent from ordinary being to noble.
The reality of the well-established — the reality that everyone grants — itself divides into two tiers:
- Worldly-established: what the world grants in common (such matters of habitual agreement as "this is earth, not fire," "this is form, not sound"), resting on the wholly-imagined nature alone — it is an agreed-upon designation, a name held in common.
- Reason-established: the principle that those with wisdom prove by way of the "three means of knowing" (direct perception, inference, and the authority of the noble teaching), resting on the three natures.
The reality of the domain of purified cognition — the domain that purified wisdom ranges over (the reality ranged over by the wisdom purified of the obscuration-of-afflictions and the wisdom purified of the obscuration-of-the-knowable) — rests on the perfectly-accomplished nature alone; the other two natures are not the object of purified wisdom.
Set the three side by side, and the tiers rise step by step: worldly-established is only the wholly-imagined (an agreed-upon designation); reason-established runs through all three natures (a principle proved by the means of knowing); the domain of purified cognition is the perfectly-accomplished alone (noble wisdom ranges over suchness alone). From the common agreement of the ordinary being, to the means-proven knowing of the worthy one, to the purified wisdom of the noble one — the "basis" of reality maps out exactly the higher and lower of the path of cultivation-and-realization.
6. The Reality of the Gathering-in: The Five Matters Gathered Back into the Three Natures
The thirteenth verse treats the reality of the gathering-in — gathering the "five matters" taught across the scriptures (characteristic, name, discrimination, suchness, correct cognition) back into the three natures:
- Name — gathered into the wholly-imagined (the designation that names things).
- Characteristic and discrimination — gathered into the other-dependent (the object-appearance that is taken as object, and the mind that takes it).
- Suchness and correct cognition — gathered into the perfectly-accomplished (the principle that is revealed, and the wisdom that realizes it).
This gathering shows a tier-upon-tier drawing-in: all dharmas do not exceed the "five matters," the five matters do not exceed the "three natures," and the three natures do not exceed the "root reality." Vasubandhu says "as each fits" — not a mechanical forcing-together, but a placing of each of the five matters according to its own nature.
7. The Reality of the Differentiated: Seven Realities, Sorted into the Defiled and the Pure
The fourteenth verse treats the reality of the differentiated — with respect to the difference between "flowing on in birth-and-death" and "turning back to purity," it sets up seven realities, assigned to two sides according to the three natures:
- Flowing-on, the established, and wrong practice — belong to the defiled side, resting on the "first two natures" (the wholly-imagined and the other-dependent).
- The true character, consciousness-only, purity, and right practice — belong to the pure side, resting on the "last one nature" (the perfectly-accomplished).
One point to flag here: "the reality of consciousness-only" comes back to the perfectly-accomplished. This is exactly the account of the Thirty Verses on Consciousness-Only, that "the perfectly-accomplished nature is the very reality of consciousness-only" — the nature of consciousness-only just is the perfectly-accomplished suchness. The defiled comes back to the first two natures, the pure to the perfectly-accomplished; the seven realities are nothing but the three natures unfolded under the heading "the difference of defilement and purity."
8. The Reality of Skill and the Ten Views-of-Self: The Ten Dharmas of Aggregates and the Rest, Each Breaking One Self-Grasping
The fifteenth and sixteenth verses are the heading-verses of the tenth, "the reality of skill." The point of setting up skill is said in a word: "to counter the ten views-of-self." Toward the ten dharmas of aggregates and the rest, one or another view-of-self arises in each, and so one cultivates a corresponding skill to counter it:
grasping at a "oneness" nature (the aggregates), at a "cause" nature (the elements), at a "receiver" nature (the bases), at an "agent" nature (dependent arising), at a "self-mastery" nature (the possible-and-impossible), at a "dominance" nature (the faculties), at a "permanence" nature (time), at a "support-of-defilement-and-purity" nature (the truths), at a "contemplator" nature (the vehicles), at a "the-bound-and-the-freed" nature (the conditioned-and-unconditioned) — ten views-of-self, matched to ten skills.
The latter half of the sixteenth verse, "this grasped, this discriminated, the dharma-nature-meaning lies therein," points out further that each of the ten dharmas, aggregates and the rest, has three senses — the grasped sense (the wholly-imagined), the discriminated sense (the other-dependent), and the dharma-nature sense (the perfectly-accomplished). Take the aggregate of form as the example: there is "the grasped form, the discriminated form, the dharma-nature form," three faces; the other nine dharmas, feeling and the rest, are all to be understood in the same way. So the ten skills too are established entirely upon the root three natures. Skill is not a contemplation added from outside, but "taking up the ten dharmas of aggregates and the rest, seeing their three natures, and breaking their ten self-graspings" — the real contemplation, in the end, comes back again to the three natures.
9. The Particular Sense of the Ten Skills: Each Skill Opened Out One by One, Coming to Rest in "the Conditioned-and-Unconditioned"
The seventeenth through twenty-third verses explain, one by one, the "sense" of each of the ten skills (seven verses run through the ten skills). To take the gist of each:
- Aggregates — the sense of "heap" (the three senses of not-one, of summing-up, and of dividing into parts), breaking "grasping at oneness."
- Elements — the three classes of seeds — of the grasper, of the grasped, and of the grasping of these — breaking "grasping at a cause."
- Bases — the gateways for taking in [an object] and for cognizing the object, breaking "grasping at a receiver."
- Dependent arising — neither adding to nor subtracting from cause, effect, and function, breaking "grasping at an agent."
- The possible-and-impossible — the seven kinds of "not having self-mastery," breaking "grasping at self-mastery."
- The faculties — the twenty-two faculties exercising dominance by way of six matters, breaking "grasping at dominance."
- Time — the spent and the unspent of cause-and-effect (past, present, and future), breaking "grasping at permanence."
- The truths — feeling and the requisites of feeling (suffering), the conditioned activities that are the cause [of suffering] (origin), the two stillings (cessation), and the antidote (path), breaking "grasping at a support-of-defilement-and-purity."
- The vehicles — the wisdom of the three vehicles, the disciple, the solitary realizer, and the unsurpassed, breaking "grasping at a contemplator."
- The conditioned-and-unconditioned — this one is where the whole chapter comes to rest.
The "skill in the conditioned-and-unconditioned" shows the very bone of consciousness-only: the conditioned gathers in "designation (name); cause (the store-consciousness within which the seeds are held); and characteristic (the world-container, the body-with-its-faculties, the things of use, and the various evolving consciousnesses)"; the unconditioned gathers in "the stilled (cessation and the path) and the contemplated (suchness)." Gather in the conditioned and unconditioned of all dharmas, and self-grasping has nowhere left to lodge — and this is precisely where "breaking the grasping at the-bound-and-the-freed" comes to ground. Here the clause "cause = the store-consciousness within which seeds are held, characteristic = the evolving consciousnesses" points out the skeleton of the eight consciousnesses, and is the hinge by which the ten skills pass through to consciousness-only as a whole. (The store-consciousness is the eighth, foundational consciousness that holds the seeds of all things; the evolving consciousnesses are the seven that arise and turn upon it.)
Conclusion: The Revealing and the Revealed — the Three Natures as Mirror, the Nine Realities as Reflection
At the close of "Discerning Reality," Vasubandhu gathers the ten realities once more into two classes:
- The revealing reality — the first three, the root (the three natures), because it is what reveals the rest.
- The revealed reality — the nine that follow, all of them revealed by these three root realities.
There is an excellent simile in Paramārtha's translation: the revealing reality is like a mirror, the revealed reality like a reflection. The three natures are the mirror; the nine realities are the reflections cast in the mirror.
Looking back over the whole chapter, this is its single line: first it states ten realities, all to remove the view-of-self; it establishes the root three natures as basis; then, from the three natures, it opens out, layer upon layer, the nine realities — characteristics, freedom-from-error (four contemplations each in three), cause-and-effect (the four truths each in three), coarse-and-subtle (the two truths each in three), the well-established, the domain of purified cognition, the gathering-in (the five matters), the differentiated (seven realities), and skill (the ten skills countering the ten views-of-self); and finally it draws them together with "the revealing and the revealed," "mirror and reflection" — the nine-fold reality is nothing but the nine-fold reflection cast by the one mirror, the three natures. See the ten realities through, and one sees this through as well: the "reality" that consciousness-only speaks of, from first to last, is never apart from the three natures.
考據Apparatus
辯真實品共 23 偈（[041]–[063]）·十真實。genus 分段：標目（[041]–[042]）· 根本三性（[043]）· 相＋無顛倒（[044]–[047]）· 因果四諦（[048]–[049]）· 麁細二諦（[050]–[051]）· 極成淨所行（[052]）· 攝受五事（[053]）· 差別七真實（[054]）· 善巧十我見（[055]–[056]）· 十善巧別義（[057]–[063]）。現收 Pass A [041]–[047]。
科判定位（窺基《述記》T1835·卷中）
本品 genus 段聚偈所依之古德科判——窺基《辯中邊論述記》(T44n1835) 之科文，逐字錄並對位玄奘頌。〔科判＝詮釋史座標·顯既有段結構之古德權威·非新立義。〕
品大文三段：[0015c03]「此品有三。初結前起後以發論端。二頌曰下當宗正辯。三真實總義略有二種下。攝上所明。」
正辯二十三頌→二段：[0015c07]「此即第二當宗正辯。合於此中有二十三頌。總分為二。初之二頌烈十實名。餘二十一頌別解十實。」
別解十實·逐實頌數：[0015c10]「於中次有一頌辯根本真實。次有一頌半明第二。次有二頌半辯第三。次有二頌明第四。次有二頌辯第五。次有半頌明第六。次有半頌辯第七。次有一頌明第八。次有一頌明第九。次有九頌辯第十真實。」
第十善巧三段：[0018c18]「明善巧中總有九頌。合為三段。初一頌半明十善巧所治我見。次有半頌明善巧實依根本立。後有七頌明十善巧。」
| 窺基科判（十實） | 頌數 | 玄奘頌 | genus 段 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 烈十實名 | 2 | [041]–[042] | 十真實標目 |
| 一·根本真實 | 1 | [043] | 根本真實 |
| 二·相真實／三·無顛倒真實 | 1½＋2½ | [044]–[047] | 相·無顛倒 |
| 四·因果真實 | 2 | [048]–[049] | 因果·四諦 |
| 五·麁細真實 | 2 | [050]–[051] | 麁細·二諦 |
| 六·極成／七·淨所行真實 | ½＋½ | [052] | 極成·淨所行 |
| 八·攝受真實 | 1 | [053] | 攝受·五事 |
| 九·差別真實 | 1 | [054] | 差別·七真實 |
| 十·善巧真實 | 9 | [055]–[063] | 善巧·十我見／十善巧別義 |
〔窺基逐實以「頌·半頌」計（相 1½＋無顛倒 2½ 共 4 頌 ＝ [044]–[047]，段界在頌中），genus 段以玄奘頌號整偈聚之；二者同 spine，計法粗細之別。〕
偈 [041]–[042] · 十真實標目 — 十真實·十善巧·皆為除我見
校本錨 · T1601 [p0478c02 / c04] 頌 · T1600 [p0468c08 頌 / p0468c12 論曰] 世親釋 · T1599 [p0455a26 標目] 真諦 · T1835 [p0015b27–0015c28 述曰] 窺基述記
真實唯有十，謂根本與相、無顛倒、因果，及麁細真實、 極成、淨所行、攝受并差別，十善巧真實，皆為除我見。
深入三門
論諍 / 義理脈絡（樞紐：品轉）
辯障品辯「所斷」（障）竟，辯真實品辯「所證」（真實）。「不妄名真、非虛稱實」（窺基），體即十真實：
| # | 十真實 | # | 十真實 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | 根本真實（三自性） | 六 | 極成真實 |
| 二 | 相真實 | 七 | 淨所行真實 |
| 三 | 無顛倒真實 | 八 | 攝受真實 |
| 四 | 因果真實（四諦） | 九 | 差別真實 |
| 五 | 麁細真實（二諦） | 十 | 善巧真實 |
第十「善巧真實」復開十善巧——蘊·界·處·緣起·處非處·根·世·諦·乘·有為無為——「皆為除〔十〕我見」。全品結構（窺基）：辯相品已辯三性（依境說），本品（依起行說）以三性〔根本真實〕為依，顯餘九真實——故 [043] 根本三性立，[044] 以下九真實皆「依根本三真實」而成。此即本品 genus 之綱：一根本、九枝，三性貫之。
世親釋要
論曰：應知真實唯有十種，一根本真實、二相真實、三無顛倒真實、四因果真實、五麁細真實、六極成真實、七淨所行真實、八攝受真實、九差別真實、十善巧真實。此復十種，為欲除遣十我見故。十善巧者，一蘊善巧、二界善巧、三處善巧、四緣起善巧、五處非處善巧、六根善巧、七世善巧、八諦善巧、九乘善巧、十有為無為法善巧。
世親標十真實之名與數，並明第十善巧復開為十（蘊等），其用在「除遣十我見」——真實非玄談，乃對治我執之觀。
諸家異釋
窺基《辯中邊論述記》（T44n1835，沙門基撰，p0015b27–0015c28）：
- 釋名：「不妄名真、非虛稱實；體即十種，若有若無稱彼法而論，故名真實。」
- 品科：二十三頌分二——初二頌烈十實名，餘二十一頌別解十實（根本一頌·相一頌半·無顛倒二頌半·因果二頌·麁細二頌·極成半頌·淨所行半頌·攝受一頌·差別一頌·善巧九頌）。
- 三性為依：「雖辯相品已辯三性，前依境說；今說於境起行，以三性為依顯餘九真實。」
- 舊譯：真諦譯「善巧真實」作「勝智」——窺基辨：「若言善巧，是緣彼智；若言善巧真實，是此智所緣之理」（善巧＝能緣智，善巧真實＝所緣理）。
譯名 — 古譯對讀（玄奘·真諦）
| 譯本 | 譯文與分析 |
|---|---|
| 陳 真諦《中邊分別論》 (T31n1599) p0455a26 真實品標目 (c. 557–569) | 真諦頌「根本相真實，無顛倒真實，果因俱真實，細麁等真實，成就清淨境，攝取分破實，勝智實十種，為對治我見」。譯名對讀：真諦「成就」＝玄奘「極成」·「清淨境」＝「淨所行」·「攝取」＝「攝受」·「分破」＝「差別」·「勝智」＝「善巧」。真諦十勝智＝陰·界·入·生緣·處非處·根·世·諦·乘·有為無為勝智（即玄奘十善巧）。玄奘從。 |
| ★ 唐 玄奘《辯中邊論頌》 (T31n1601) p0478c02–c04 (661) · 釋 (T31n1600 p0468c08) | 「真實唯有十……十善巧真實，皆為除我見。」底本：有世親釋＋窺基述記漢傳釋讀鏈。 |
進階參考
★ 四論互讀
| 百法 | 三十頌 | 二十論 | 辯中邊論 |
|---|---|---|---|
| —（總攝諸法之真實觀） | 三性·二空所顯真如 | 唯識無境（除我法執之所成） | 本段（十真實標目·除我見） |
十真實以三性為本、為除十我見而設，與《唯識三十論頌》三性義、《攝大乘論》應知勝相（十勝相）之「所知」框架相發。本品 [043] 起三性，正《三十頌》圓成依他遍計之同詮。
互見:
- [043]（根本真實·三性，餘九真實之所依）· 辯相品 [006]（三性標名·虛妄分別攝三性）·《唯識三十論頌》三性·《攝大乘論》應知勝相。
偈 [043] · 根本真實 — 三自性各許何義為真實
校本錨 · T1601 [p0478c06] 頌 · T1600 [p0468c23 頌 / p0468c25 論曰] 世親釋 · T1599 [p0455b12 根本真實] 真諦 · T1835 [p0015c29–0016a05 述曰] 窺基述記
許於三自性，唯一常非有， 一有而不真，一有無真實。
深入三門
論諍 / 義理脈絡（樞紐：諸真實之依）
根本真實——餘九真實之所依。問「三自性中許何義為真實」，答：各取一義為真實：
| 三自性 | 相 | 許為真實之義 | 何故 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 遍計所執 | 常非有 | 唯「常非有」 | 無顛倒故（執相恆無，知其恆無即真） |
| 依他起 | 有而不真 | 唯「有非真」 | 有亂性故（似有而非真實，知其似有非真即真） |
| 圓成實 | 亦有非有 | 唯「有非有」 | 有空性故（二空所顯，有〔真如〕而非有〔離妄〕） |
要義：三性各非全真全妄，乃各於一分為真實——遍計真實在「知其恆無」、依他真實在「知其似有非真」、圓成真實在「知其有空所顯」。此即辯相品 [003]「非空非不空」、[006]「三性標名」於真實觀之落實；下九真實（相·無顛倒·四諦·二諦……）皆依此三性而分立。
世親釋要
論曰：即於如是三自性中：遍計所執相常非有。唯常非有，於此性中許為真實，無顛倒故。依他起相有而不真。唯有非真，於依他起許為真實，有亂性故。圓成實相亦有非有。唯有非有，於此性中許為真實，有空性故。
世親就三性各立其真實義：遍計「常非有」（恆無）·依他「有而不真」（似有亂性）·圓成「亦有非有」（有空性）。三者皆「許一義為真實」，非性性全真——此即「根本」之所以為根本：三性之真實相，後諸真實皆攝歸之。
諸家異釋
窺基《辯中邊論述記》（T44n1835，沙門基撰，p0015c29–0016a05）：
- 此別解十實之初——「先為問答三根本名，於此所說下釋根本體」。
- 「根本之真實是事；或根本即真實——二釋可知」（根本真實＝三性之真實相，餘九所依）。
譯名 — 古譯對讀（玄奘·真諦）
| 譯本 | 譯文與分析 |
|---|---|
| 陳 真諦《中邊分別論》 (T31n1599) p0455b12 根本真實 (c. 557–569) | 真諦頌「性三一恒無，二有不真實，三有無真實，此三本真實」。釋「分別性〔遍計〕相恒常不有，此相分別性中是真實，無顛倒故；依他性相有不實，唯有散亂執起故，此相依他性中是真實；真實性〔圓成〕相有無真實，此相真實性中是真實」。與玄奘三性三義全同；真諦「分別性／依他性／真實性」＝玄奘「遍計所執／依他起／圓成實」。玄奘從。 |
| ★ 唐 玄奘《辯中邊論頌》 (T31n1601) p0478c06 (661) · 釋 (T31n1600 p0468c23) | 「許於三自性，唯一常非有，一有而不真，一有無真實。」底本：有世親釋＋窺基述記漢傳釋讀鏈。 |
進階參考
★ 四論互讀
| 百法 | 三十頌 | 二十論 | 辯中邊論 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 無為·真如（圓成實·二空所顯） | 三性（遍計／依他／圓成·偈二十至二十五） | — | 本頌（根本真實·三性各真實義） |
三自性各許一義為真實，與《唯識三十論頌》三性章「依他起·遍計所執·圓成實」之立義同詮；圓成「有非有·有空性」即《三十頌》「二空所顯」之真如。本論辯相品 [006] 已「依境」標三性，此處「依起行」立其真實，二處相發。
互見:
- [041]–[042]（十真實標目，本頌為根本）· [044]–[047]（相·無顛倒，依本頌三性而分）· 辯相品 [006]（三性標名）·《唯識三十論頌》三性·《攝大乘論》應知勝相。
偈 [044]–[047] · 相真實·無顛倒真實 — 三性除二見·無常苦空無我各三
校本錨 · T1601 [p0478c08 / c10 / c12 / c14] 頌 · T1600 [p0469a02·a15 頌 / p0469a05·a20 論曰] 世親釋 · T1599 [p0455b19·c03] 真諦 · T1835 [p0016a06–0017a 述曰] 窺基述記
於法數取趣，及所取能取，有非有性中，增益損減見； 知此故不轉，是名真實相。無性與生滅、垢淨三無常； 所取及事相、和合苦三種；空亦有三種，謂無、異、自性； 無相及異相、自相三無我。如次四三種，依根本真實。
深入三門
論諍 / 義理脈絡
二真實合段（[045] 跨二）：相真實（[044]–[045上]）＋無顛倒真實（[045下]–[047]），皆依根本三性而立。
一·相真實——三性各「除增益·損減二見」，知之則妄見「不轉」，即得各性之真實相：
- 於法·補特伽羅（人）之增益損減見，知故不轉 → 遍計所執真實相。
- 於所取·能取之增益損減見，知故不轉 → 依他起真實相。
- 於有·非有之增益損減見，知故不轉 → 圓成實真實相。
此即辯相品 [023]「非染非不染」之相觀於三性之落實——二取增減既遣，三性真實相顯。
二·無顛倒真實——治常·樂·我·淨四倒之無常·苦·空·無我四，各依三性分三，成四各三＝十二：
| 四（無顛倒） | 遍計所執 | 依他起 | 圓成實 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 無常 | 無性無常（常無） | 生滅無常（有起盡） | 垢淨無常（位轉變） |
| 苦 | 所取苦（人法執所取） | 事相苦（三苦相） | 和合苦（苦相合） |
| 空 | 無性空（非有說空） | 異性空（不如妄執·非全無） | 自性空（二空所顯為自性） |
| 無我 | 無相無我（相本無） | 異相無我（有而不如執） | 自相無我（無我所顯為自相） |
要義：四念住之「無常苦空無我」（聲聞共法）在本論非籠統一味，乃就三性各別安立——同一「無常」，遍計約「本無」、依他約「起盡」、圓成約「位轉（垢→淨）」。此大乘唯識之「四倒治」深於聲聞處，正顯三性為觀行之骨。
世親釋要
論曰：於一切法補特伽羅所有增益及損減見，若知此故彼便不轉，是遍計所執自性真實相。於諸所取能取法中所有增益及損減見，若知此故彼便不轉，是名依他起自性真實相。於有非有所有增益及損減見，若知此故彼便不轉，是名圓成實自性真實相。此於根本真實相中無顛倒故，名相真實。
論曰：無常三者，一無性無常，謂遍計所執，此常無故；二生滅無常，謂依他起，有起盡故；三垢淨無常，謂圓成實，位轉變故。苦三種者，一所取苦，謂遍計所執，是補特伽羅法執所取故；二事相苦，謂依他起，三苦相故；三和合苦，謂圓成實，苦相合故。空有三者，一無性空，謂遍計所執，此無理趣可說為有，由此非有說為空故；二異性空，謂依他起，如妄所執不如是有，非一切種性全無故；三自性空，謂圓成實，二空所顯為自性故。無我三者，一無相無我，謂遍計所執，此相本無故名無相，即此無相說為無我；二異相無我，謂依他起，此相雖有而不如彼遍計所執故名異相，即此異相說為無我；三自相無我，謂圓成實，無我所顯以為自相，即此自相說為無我。
世親以「知增減二見故不轉」立相真實（三性各一），復以「四各三」立無顛倒——無常·苦·空·無我皆依三性分三。其要在：四倒之治，非離三性別有，乃三性各現其無常苦空無我之相。
諸家異釋
窺基《辯中邊論述記》（T44n1835，沙門基撰，p0016a06 起）：
- 相真實一頌半（[044]–[045上]）、無顛倒二頌半（[045下]–[047]）——故 [045] 跨二真實（窺基品科）。
- 相真實＝三性各除「增益（執有）·損減（撥無）」二見；無顛倒＝四倒（常樂我淨）之治（無常苦空無我），各依三性開三。
譯名 — 古譯對讀（玄奘·真諦）
| 譯本 | 譯文與分析 |
|---|---|
| 陳 真諦《中邊分別論》 (T31n1599) p0455b19 相真實 / p0455c03 無常 (c. 557–569) | 相真實，真諦頌「增益損減謗，於法於人中，所取及能取，有無中諸見，知常見不生，是真實寂相」——「知（增減見）不生」＝玄奘「知此故不轉」·「真實寂相」＝「真實相」。無常，真諦頌「無常義有三，無義、生滅義、有垢無垢義，本實中次第」——「無義／生滅義／有垢無垢義」＝玄奘「無性／生滅／垢淨三無常」。三性各三之配與玄奘全同。玄奘從。 |
| ★ 唐 玄奘《辯中邊論頌》 (T31n1601) p0478c08–c14 (661) · 釋 (T31n1600 p0469a02·a15) | 「於法數取趣……如次四三種，依根本真實。」底本：有世親釋＋窺基述記漢傳釋讀鏈。 |
進階參考
★ 四論互讀
| 百法 | 三十頌 | 二十論 | 辯中邊論 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 無為·真如（圓成·自相無我·自性空） | 三性·二空所顯·二無我 | 破人法二執（增益之遣） | 本段（相真實·無顛倒四各三依三性） |
「無常苦空無我」之四念住共法，本論以三性開三、成十二——與聲聞《阿含》四念住對讀，顯大乘唯識之深化；「自性空·自相無我（圓成·二空所顯）」即《唯識三十論頌》圓成實·二空真如。相真實之「除增益損減」即《辯中邊》中道根本（[002]–[003]）於真實觀之貫。
底本校勘（源頌·底本從 T1601）:
- [045]「無性與生滅、垢淨三無常」：世親釋作「垢淨無常」（圓成位轉變），底本字一致。
- [046]「空亦有三種，謂無、異、自性」：對世親釋「無性空·異性空·自性空」三名之略。
互見:
- [043]（根本三性，本段所依）· [048]–[049]（因果四諦，苦諦三即本段苦三之延）· 辯相品 [002]–[003]（虛妄分別·非空非不空，相真實之本）·[023]（心性本淨，除二取增減）·《唯識三十論頌》三性·二無我。
偈 [048]–[049] · 因果真實·四諦 — 苦集滅道各三依三性
校本錨 · T1601 [p0478c16 / c18] 頌 · T1600 [p0469b10 頌 / p0469b14 論曰] 世親釋 · T1599 [p0455c27 因果真實] 真諦 · T1835 [p0016c18–0017b15 述曰] 窺基述記
苦三相已說，集亦有三種，謂習氣、等起，及相未離繫。 自性、二不生、垢寂二三滅，遍知及永斷、證得三道諦。
深入三門
論諍 / 義理脈絡
因果真實＝四聖諦（苦集＝世間因果·滅道＝出世因果）。四諦各三，依根本三性而立（苦諦三即 [045]–[047] 無顛倒所說之苦三，故曰「苦三相已說」）：
| 四諦 | 三 | 依三性 |
|---|---|---|
| 苦諦 | 無常·苦·空·無我 各三（[045]–[047] 已說） | 三性 |
| 集諦 | 習氣集／等起集／未離繫集 | 遍計執習氣／業煩惱／未離障真如 |
| 滅諦 | 自性滅／二取滅／本性滅 | 自性不生／能所取二不生／垢寂二（擇滅·真如） |
| 道諦 | 遍知道／永斷道／證得道 | 遍計唯遍知·依他遍知＋永斷·圓成遍知＋證得 |
要義：道諦三之配三性最見唯識手眼——遍計所執唯可「遍知」（知其本無）、依他起「遍知＋永斷」（知其似有而斷染分）、圓成實「遍知＋證得」（知而證真）。三性之治各有所宜，非一概而論。
世親釋要
論曰：苦諦有三，謂無常等四各三相，如前已說。集諦三者，一習氣集，謂遍計所執自性執習氣；二等起集，謂業煩惱；三未離繫集，謂未離障真如。滅諦三者，一、自性滅，謂自性不生故；二、二取滅，謂所取能取二不生故；三、本性滅，謂垢寂二，即擇滅及真如。道諦三者，一遍知道、二永斷道、三證得道。應知此中於遍計所執唯有遍知，於依他起有遍知及永斷，於圓成實有遍知及證得，故依此三建立道諦。
世親逐諦開三、各配三性。集諦「未離繫＝未離障真如」、滅諦「本性滅＝垢寂二（擇滅·真如）」——皆以圓成（真如）為樞。道諦三之三性配（遍知／遍知永斷／遍知證得）尤顯三性對治之差等。
諸家異釋
窺基《辯中邊論述記》（T44n1835，沙門基撰，p0016c18–0017b15）：
- 苦諦別名「無顛倒真實」：窺基答難——四諦中唯苦諦別立無顛倒真實名（[045]–[047]），以「無常苦空無我」四行正治常等四倒；集滅道則合名因果真實。
- 滅諦「二取滅·本性滅」· 窺基會通（所依／所得），二論不違（非待裁之異諍，古德已會）：安慧云「二取所依識自體分斷得不生」假名依他（二取滅）；本性滅（垢寂二）屬圓成。窺基會《成唯識論》「二取滅即擇滅」之說：本論約「所依（依他）／所得（本性）」各別，《成唯識》但辯所得，故擇滅入二取滅，二論不違。
- 「垢寂二」＝染垢寂（煩惱障斷·擇滅）＋不染垢寂（所知障斷·真如）。
譯名 — 古譯對讀（玄奘·真諦）
| 譯本 | 譯文與分析 |
|---|---|
| 陳 真諦《中邊分別論》 (T31n1599) p0455c27 因果真實 (c. 557–569) | 真諦集諦頌「集諦復有三，熏習與發起，及不相離等」（熏習＝習氣·發起＝等起·不相離＝未離繫）；滅諦「體滅二種滅，垢淨前後滅」（無體滅·二滅·自性滅）；道諦「觀智及除滅、證至道有三」（觀察分別性·除滅依他·證至真實）。配三性與玄奘全同；真諦「熏習集」＝玄奘「習氣集」·「不相離」＝「未離繫」。玄奘從。 |
| ★ 唐 玄奘《辯中邊論頌》 (T31n1601) p0478c16–c18 (661) · 釋 (T31n1600 p0469b10) | 「苦三相已說……遍知及永斷、證得三道諦。」底本：有世親釋＋窺基述記漢傳釋讀鏈。 |
進階參考
★ 四論互讀
| 百法 | 三十頌 | 二十論 | 辯中邊論 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 無為·真如·擇滅（滅諦·本性滅） | 三性·轉依（道諦三性別治） | — | 本段（四諦各三依三性） |
四諦之三性別釋，與聲聞《阿含》四諦對讀，顯大乘以三性深化苦集滅道；「擇滅·真如」二無為即《大乘百法明門論》無為法之二。道諦三性別治（遍知／永斷／證得）通《唯識三十論頌》轉依義。
互見:
- [045]–[047]（無顛倒·苦諦三之所說）· [050]–[051]（麁細二諦，下科）· 辯相品 [005]（依他非實有全無·許滅解脫，滅諦之本）·《大乘百法明門論》無為法（擇滅·真如）。
偈 [050]–[051] · 麁細真實·二諦 — 世俗三·勝義三依根本
校本錨 · T1601 [p0478c20 / c22] 頌 · T1600 [p0469b25 頌 / p0469b29 論曰] 世親釋 · T1599 [p0456a17 麁細真實] 真諦 · T1835 [p0017b16–0017c27 述曰] 窺基述記
應知世俗諦，差別有三種，謂假、行、顯了，如次依本三。 勝義諦亦三，謂義、得、正行，依本一無變，無倒二圓實。
深入三門
論諍 / 義理脈絡
麁細真實＝世俗諦（麁）·勝義諦（細）。世俗三依三性，勝義三唯依圓成實：
| 諦 | 三 | 依 |
|---|---|---|
| 世俗諦 | 假世俗／行世俗／顯了世俗 | 如次依三性（遍計＝假名·依他＝遷流·圓成由二顯了） |
| 勝義諦 | 義勝義（真如·勝智之境）／得勝義（涅槃·勝果義利）／正行勝義（聖道·以勝法為義） | 唯依圓成實——無為攝真如·涅槃（無變異）·有為攝聖道（於境無倒），二皆圓成 |
要義：勝義三皆歸圓成，而圓成有「無為（真如·涅槃，無變異）·有為（聖道，於境無倒）」二分——故聖道（有為）亦名圓成實。此「圓成通有為無為」之判，是唯識勝義論之樞，異於但以無為為勝義之說。
世親釋要
論曰：世俗諦有三種，一假世俗、二行世俗、三顯了世俗。此三世俗如其次第，依三根本真實建立。勝義諦亦三種，一義勝義，謂真如勝智之境名勝義故；二得勝義，謂涅槃，此是勝果亦義利故；三正行勝義，謂聖道，以勝法為義故。此三勝義，應知但依三根本中圓成實立。此圓成實總有二種，無為、有為有差別故。無為總攝真如涅槃，無變異故，名圓成實。有為總攝一切聖道，於境無倒故，亦名圓成實。
世親立世俗三（假·行·顯了）依三性、勝義三（義·得·正行）唯依圓成；並判圓成有無為（真如涅槃）·有為（聖道）二分，故聖道亦圓成。三勝義即「所觀真如·所得涅槃·能行聖道」，攝盡出世。
諸家異釋
窺基《辯中邊論述記》（T44n1835，沙門基撰，p0017b16–0017c27）：
- 麁細門（俗麁真細）異於因果門（四諦）——同一法，約因果說四諦、約麁細說二諦。
- 三勝義之釋名：義勝義（無漏觀心名勝智·其境名勝義）·得勝義（涅槃·亦勝亦義持業釋）·正行勝義（智是有為故名行·以勝法為義）。
- 舊譯：真諦「勝義」譯作「真諦」或「第一義諦」（窺基 p0017c08）。
譯名 — 古譯對讀（玄奘·真諦）
| 譯本 | 譯文與分析 |
|---|---|
| 陳 真諦《中邊分別論》 (T31n1599) p0456a17 麁細真實 (c. 557–569) | 真諦世俗頌「麁義有三種，立名及取行、顯了名俗諦」（立名＝假·取行＝行·顯了＝顯了）；勝義「真諦三中一……一義、二正修、三至得真實」（義＝義勝義·正修＝正行·至得＝得勝義）。真諦以「俗諦／真諦」對玄奘「世俗／勝義」。配三性／圓成與玄奘同。玄奘從。 |
| ★ 唐 玄奘《辯中邊論頌》 (T31n1601) p0478c20–c22 (661) · 釋 (T31n1600 p0469b25) | 「應知世俗諦……依本一無變，無倒二圓實。」底本：有世親釋＋窺基述記漢傳釋讀鏈。 |
進階參考
★ 四論互讀
| 百法 | 三十頌 | 二十論 | 辯中邊論 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 無為·真如（義勝義）·擇滅（得勝義·涅槃） | 圓成實·勝義（依圓成立） | — | 本段（二諦各三·勝義依圓成） |
二諦三性別釋與《唯識三十論頌》「勝義依圓成」相發；圓成通「無為（真如涅槃）·有為（聖道）」之判，亦《成唯識論》勝義諦四重之所本。世俗·勝義之安立，通《攝大乘論》。
互見:
- [048]–[049]（因果四諦，同一法之異門）· [052]（極成·淨所行，下科）· 辯相品 [015]–[016]（空異門·勝義性）·《唯識三十論頌》勝義依圓成。
偈 [052] · 極成真實·淨所行真實 — 世極成依一·理極成依三·淨所行依圓成
校本錨 · T1601 [p0478c24] 頌 · T1600 [p0469c12 頌·c13 論曰（極成）/ p0469c22 頌·c23 論曰（淨所行）] 世親釋 · T1599 [p0456b07 極成 / p0456b16 淨所行] 真諦 · T1835 [p0017c28–0018a 述曰] 窺基述記
世極成依一，理極成依三。淨所行有二，依一圓成實。
深入三門
論諍 / 義理脈絡
一頌含二真實：
一·極成真實（半頌）——世間共認之真實：
- 世間極成（世間同執「是地非火、色非聲」之串習所取）→ 但依遍計所執而立。
- 道理極成（聰叡賢善依三量證成道理）→ 依三性立。
二·淨所行真實（半頌）——淨智所行境：煩惱障淨智所行·所知障淨智所行二種，唯依圓成實立（餘二非淨智境）。
要義：世間極成唯遍計（共許之假）·道理極成通三性（量證之理）·淨所行唯圓成（二障淨智唯緣真如）——三真實之「所依性」遞升，正顯凡→賢→聖之境界差。
世親釋要
論曰：若事世間共所安立，串習隨入覺慧所取，一切世間同執此事是地非火、色非聲等，是名世間極成真實。此於根本三真實中，但依遍計所執而立。若有理義聰叡賢善能尋思者，依止三量證成道理施設建立，是名道理極成真實。此依根本三真實立。
論曰：煩惱、所知二障，淨智所行真實，唯依根本三真實中圓成實立，餘二非此淨智境故。
世親判：世間極成（共許）依遍計·道理極成（量證）依三性·淨所行（二障淨智）唯依圓成。後者「餘二非淨智境」一句，明聖智唯緣圓成真如，不緣遍計依他之妄。
諸家異釋
窺基《辯中邊論述記》（T44n1835，沙門基撰，p0017c28–0018a）：
- 極成＝悉檀：「梵云悉陀，即是極成義，舊曰悉檀，即此名是」——極成真實，窺基音寫作「悉陀」（舊譯「悉檀」），即古德所傳之梵名。
- 世間極成「但依遍計所執」（串習共許之假），道理極成「依三量證成」通三性。
- 此二真實與後淨所行，《瑜伽》三十八真實義品共處明，本論以名別故分二處。
譯名 — 古譯對讀（玄奘·真諦）
| 譯本 | 譯文與分析 |
|---|---|
| 陳 真諦《中邊分別論》 (T31n1599) p0456b07 極成 / p0456b16 淨所行 (c. 557–569) | 真諦極成頌「安立成就者，一處世俗成」「離名無體故，三處道理成」（世俗成就依一性·道理成就依三性）；淨所行「清淨境二種，攝在於一處」（依真實性）。真諦「成就」＝玄奘「極成」·「清淨境」＝「淨所行」。配遍計／三性／圓成與玄奘同。玄奘從。 |
| ★ 唐 玄奘《辯中邊論頌》 (T31n1601) p0478c24 (661) · 釋 (T31n1600 p0469c12·c22) | 「世極成依一，理極成依三。淨所行有二，依一圓成實。」底本：有世親釋＋窺基述記漢傳釋讀鏈。 |
進階參考
★ 四論互讀
| 百法 | 三十頌 | 二十論 | 辯中邊論 |
|---|---|---|---|
| —（凡賢聖境之別） | 圓成實（淨智所行） | 唯識無境（道理極成·三量） | 本頌（極成·淨所行） |
世間極成（遍計共許）·道理極成（三量證成·通《二十論》量論）·淨所行（圓成淨智境）之三層，與《唯識三十論頌》「淨智所緣唯圓成」相發。「極成＝悉檀」通《瑜伽師地論》真實義品四真實。
互見:
- [050]–[051]（麁細二諦，世俗·勝義）· [053]（攝受五事，下科）·《瑜伽師地論》真實義品四真實。
偈 [053] · 攝受真實·五事 — 相名分別真如正智攝三性
校本錨 · T1601 [p0478c26] 頌 · T1600 [p0469c27 頌 / p0469c29 論曰] 世親釋 · T1599 [p0456b21 五攝真實] 真諦 · T1835 [p0018a 述曰] 窺基述記
名遍計所執，相分別依他，真如及正智，圓成實所攝。
深入三門
論諍 / 義理脈絡
攝受真實＝五事（相·名·分別·真如·正智）攝在三性。五事為《楞伽》《瑜伽》通說之「五法」，本頌明其與三性之攝：
| 五事 | 攝在三性 |
|---|---|
| 名 | 遍計所執 |
| 相·分別 | 依他起 |
| 真如·正智 | 圓成實 |
要義：五法三性之攝，是唯識「五法·三性·八識·二無我」四科互攝之一環。名（能詮假名）唯遍計；相（所緣境相）·分別（能緣心）唯依他；真如（所顯理）·正智（能證智）唯圓成。此攝顯：一切法不出五事，五事不出三性，三性不出根本真實。
世親釋要
論曰：相等五事，隨其所應，攝在根本三種真實，謂名攝在遍計所執，相及分別攝在依他，圓成實攝真如正智。
世親判五事攝三性：名→遍計·相分別→依他·真如正智→圓成。「隨其所應」明非機械配屬，乃就五事各自之性而歸。
諸家異釋
窺基《辯中邊論述記》（T44n1835，沙門基撰，p0018a 述曰）：
- 攝受真實一頌（窺基品科：第八真實一頌）；五事即五法（相名分別真如正智），其攝三性與《楞伽》《瑜伽》五法三自性說同。
譯名 — 古譯對讀（玄奘·真諦）
| 譯本 | 譯文與分析 |
|---|---|
| 陳 真諦《中邊分別論》 (T31n1599) p0456b21 五攝真實 (c. 557–569) | 真諦頌「相及於分別，名字二性攝」「聖智與如如，此二一性攝」（相·分別攝依他·名字攝分別性·如如·聖智攝真實性）。真諦「五攝真實」＝玄奘「攝受真實」·「如如」＝「真如」·「聖智」＝「正智」。配三性與玄奘全同。玄奘從。 |
| ★ 唐 玄奘《辯中邊論頌》 (T31n1601) p0478c26 (661) · 釋 (T31n1600 p0469c27) | 「名遍計所執，相分別依他，真如及正智，圓成實所攝。」底本：有世親釋＋窺基述記漢傳釋讀鏈。 |
進階參考
★ 四論互讀
| 百法 | 三十頌 | 二十論 | 辯中邊論 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 百法總攝（五事攝一切法） | 三性（五事·三性互攝） | — | 本頌（五事攝三性） |
五事（相名分別真如正智）攝三性，是唯識「五法三自性」綱；與《攝大乘論》《楞伽經》五法說相發，亦與《大乘百法明門論》「一切法不出百法、百法不出五位」之總攝同其旨趣（五事為更約之攝）。
互見:
- [052]（極成·淨所行，上科）· [054]（差別七真實，下科）· 辯相品 [006]（三性標名）·《攝大乘論》五法·《楞伽經》五法三自性。
偈 [054] · 差別真實·七真實 — 流轉等七依三性
校本錨 · T1601 [p0478c28] 頌 · T1600 [p0470a07 頌 / p0470a09 論曰] 世親釋 · T1599 [p0456b27 分破真實] 真諦 · T1835 [p0018a 述曰] 窺基述記
流轉與安立，邪行依初二，實相唯識淨，正行依後一。
深入三門
論諍 / 義理脈絡
差別真實＝七真實（流轉·實相·唯識·安立·邪行·清淨·正行），依三性分屬：
| 七真實 | 依三性 |
|---|---|
| 流轉·安立·邪行 | 依初二（遍計所執·依他起） |
| 實相·唯識·清淨·正行 | 依後一（圓成實） |
要義：七真實乃就「生死流轉→還滅清淨」之差別立——流轉（生死）·安立（施設）·邪行（顛倒）屬遍計依他（雜染邊）；實相（真如）·唯識（唯識性）·清淨（離垢）·正行（聖道）屬圓成（清淨邊）。「唯識真實」歸圓成一點，正《唯識三十論頌》「圓成實＝唯識實性」之同詮——唯識性即圓成真如。
世親釋要
論曰：流轉等七，隨其所應，攝在根本三種真實，謂彼流轉安立邪行依根本中遍計所執及依他起，實相唯識清淨正行依根本中圓成實立。
世親判七真實：流轉·安立·邪行（雜染三）依遍計依他·實相·唯識·清淨·正行（清淨四）依圓成。雜染歸前二性、清淨歸圓成，七真實即三性之「差別」開展。
諸家異釋
窺基《辯中邊論述記》（T44n1835，沙門基撰，p0018a 述曰）：
- 差別真實一頌（窺基品科：第九真實一頌）；七真實依三性，雜染（流轉安立邪行）屬初二·清淨（實相唯識清淨正行）屬圓成。
譯名 — 古譯對讀（玄奘·真諦）
| 譯本 | 譯文與分析 |
|---|---|
| 陳 真諦《中邊分別論》 (T31n1599) p0456b27 分破真實 (c. 557–569) | 真諦頌「生實二性攝，處、邪行亦爾，相、識及清淨、正行真性攝」（生起·依處·邪行依二性·相·識·清淨·正行依真實性）。真諦「分破真實」＝玄奘「差別真實」·「生起」＝「流轉」·「依處」＝「安立」·「識」＝「唯識」。配三性與玄奘全同。玄奘從。 |
| ★ 唐 玄奘《辯中邊論頌》 (T31n1601) p0478c28 (661) · 釋 (T31n1600 p0470a07) | 「流轉與安立，邪行依初二，實相唯識淨，正行依後一。」底本：有世親釋＋窺基述記漢傳釋讀鏈。 |
進階參考
★ 四論互讀
| 百法 | 三十頌 | 二十論 | 辯中邊論 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 無為·真如（圓成·唯識實性） | 圓成實＝唯識實性（偈二十五） | 安立唯識（唯識真實） | 本頌（七真實依三性·唯識歸圓成） |
「唯識真實」歸圓成實，即《唯識三十論頌》圓成實「唯識實性」之同詮；流轉·清淨之分屬三性，通《攝大乘論》雜染清淨二分。
互見:
- [053]（攝受五事，上科）· [055]–[056]（善巧十我見，下科·末真實）· 辯相品 [004]（識變四似·唯識）·《唯識三十論頌》圓成實＝唯識實性。
偈 [055]–[056] · 善巧真實·十我見 — 蘊等十法治十我見·各三義攝三性
校本錨 · T1601 [p0479a01 / a03] 頌 · T1600 [p0470a14·a24 頌 / p0470a17·a25 論曰] 世親釋 · T1599 [p0456c09 勝智] 真諦 · T1835 [p0018a 述曰] 窺基述記
於蘊等我見，執、一、因、受者、作者、自在轉、增上義及常、 雜染清淨依、觀、縛解者性。此所執分別，法性義在彼。
深入三門
論諍 / 義理脈絡
第十善巧真實之標頌（善巧真實復開十，[057]–[063] 別釋其義）。善巧之設「為對治十我見」——於蘊等十法各起一我見，修十善巧以治：
| 善巧（十法） | 所治我見 |
|---|---|
| 蘊 | 執一性 |
| 界 | 執因性 |
| 處 | 執受者性 |
| 緣起 | 執作者性 |
| 處非處 | 執自在轉性 |
| 根 | 執增上義性 |
| 世 | 執常性 |
| 諦 | 執染淨所依性 |
| 乘 | 執觀行者性 |
| 有為無為 | 執縛解者性 |
[056] 下半「此所執分別，法性義在彼」明：蘊等十法各有三義——所執義（遍計所執）·分別義（依他起）·法性義（圓成實），故十善巧亦皆依根本三真實而立（如色蘊有所執色·分別色·法性色三，受等界等九法準此）。要義：善巧非外加之觀，乃即蘊等十法見其三性、破其十我執——真實之觀終歸三性。
世親釋要
論曰：於蘊等十法起十種我見，一執一性、二執因性、三執受者性、四執作者性、五執自在轉性、六執增上義性、七執常性、八執染淨所依性、九執觀行者性、十執縛解者性。為除此見，修十善巧。
論曰：此蘊等十各有三義。且色蘊中有三義者，一所執義色，謂色之遍計所執性；二分別義色，謂色之依他起性，此中分別以為色故；三法性義色，謂色之圓成實性。如色蘊中有此三義，受等四蘊、界等九法各有三義，隨應當知。如是蘊等由三義別，無不攝入彼三性中，是故當知十善巧真實皆依根本三真實而立。
世親立「蘊等十法各起一我見、各修一善巧」，並明蘊等各有三義（所執·分別·法性＝三性），故十善巧亦歸根本三真實——與前九真實同其「依三性」之骨。
諸家異釋
窺基《辯中邊論述記》（T44n1835，沙門基撰，p0018a 起，善巧九頌之首）：
- 第十善巧真實九頌（[055]–[063]）為本品最廣段；[055]–[056] 標十我見·十善巧依三性，[057]–[063] 別釋十善巧義。
- 「善巧」與「善巧真實」之別：善巧＝能緣之智，善巧真實＝此智所緣之理（窺基 [041]–[042] 已辨）。
譯名 — 古譯對讀（玄奘·真諦）
| 譯本 | 譯文與分析 |
|---|---|
| 陳 真諦《中邊分別論》 (T31n1599) p0456c09 勝智·十我見 (c. 557–569) | 真諦頌「一、因及食者，作者及自在，增上義及常，垢染清淨依，觀者及縛解，此處生我見」（十我見）。真諦「勝智」＝玄奘「善巧」·「食者」＝「受者」·「垢染清淨依」＝「染淨所依」。蘊等各三義（分別·種類·法然），如真諦「分別、種類色，法然色等三」＝玄奘「所執·分別·法性」三義。玄奘從。 |
| ★ 唐 玄奘《辯中邊論頌》 (T31n1601) p0479a01–a04 (661) · 釋 (T31n1600 p0470a14·a24) | 「於蘊等我見……此所執分別，法性義在彼。」底本：有世親釋＋窺基述記漢傳釋讀鏈。 |
進階參考
★ 四論互讀
| 百法 | 三十頌 | 二十論 | 辯中邊論 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 五位百法（蘊界處等攝一切法）·我執 | 三性·我法二執（由假說我法） | 破我執（無我之成） | 本段（蘊等十善巧治十我見·各三義攝三性） |
蘊等十法治十我見，與《唯識三十論頌》「由假說我法」之破我法執同其對治；蘊界處之善巧即《大乘百法明門論》「一切法無我」之觀門。蘊等各三義（所執·分別·法性）即三性於一一法之貫。
互見:
- [054]（差別七真實，上科·末真實之前）· [057]–[063]（十善巧別義，本段之別釋）· 辯相品 [007]–[008]（入無相方便·二無·無所得）·《唯識三十論頌》由假說我法。
偈 [057]–[063] · 十善巧別義 — 蘊界處緣起處非處根世諦乘有為無為（辯真實品結）
校本錨 · T1601 [p0479a05 / a07 / a09 / a11 / a13 / a15 / a17] 頌 · T1600 [p0470b06–0471a26 逐善巧 / p0471a27 品總義] 世親釋 · T1599 [p0457a01–0458a09 十勝智 / p0457c26 總義] 真諦 · T1835 [p0018a–0019 述曰] 窺基述記
非一及總略、分段義名蘊。能所取、彼取，種子義名界。 能受、所了境，用門義名處。緣起義於因、果、用無增減。 於非愛、愛、淨、俱生及勝主、得、行不自在，是處非處義。 根於取、住、續、用、二淨增上。因果已未用，是世義應知。 受及受資糧，彼所因諸行，二寂滅對治，是諦義應知。 由功德過失，及無分別智，依他自出離，是乘義應知。 有為、無為義，謂若假、若因、若相，若寂靜、若彼所觀義。
深入三門
論諍 / 義理脈絡（辯真實品結）
十善巧逐一別釋其「義」（七頌貫十善巧，蘊界·處緣起·根世各合一頌）。十善巧義一覽（世親論曰）：
| 善巧 | 義（治對應我見） |
|---|---|
| 蘊 | 非一·總略·分段（聚義三）→治執一 |
| 界 | 能取種子（六內界）·所取種子（六外界）·彼取種子（六識界）→治執因 |
| 處 | 能受用門（六內處）·所了境用門（六外處）→治執受者 |
| 緣起 | 於因·果·用無增減（離增益損減二執）→治執作者 |
| 處非處 | 七種不得自在（非愛·愛·淨·俱生·勝主·得·行）→治執自在轉 |
| 根 | 二十二根依六事增上（取境·住·續·受用·世間淨·出世淨）→治執增上 |
| 世 | 因果已未受用（俱已＝過去·俱未＝未來·因已果未＝現在）→治執常 |
| 諦 | 受及受資糧（苦）·彼所因諸行（集）·二寂滅（滅）·對治（道）→治執染淨所依 |
| 乘 | 從他聞功德過失智（聲聞）·自起此智（獨覺）·無分別智（無上乘）→治執觀行者 |
| 有為無為 | 有為＝假（名）·因（種子藏識）·相（器身受用具＋轉識）；無為＝寂靜（滅·道）·彼所觀（真如）→治執縛解者 |
要義：十善巧即以蘊界處等十門「如實知」破十我執——其結穴在有為無為善巧：有為攝假因相（含「因＝種子所攝藏識」、「相＝器身受用具及轉識」），無為攝寂靜（滅道）與所觀（真如）；至此一切法之有為無為盡攝，我執無所寄。
辯真實品總義（世親 p0471a27）：十真實復攝為二——「能顯真實」（最初三根本，能顯餘故）·「所顯真實」（後九種，根本所顯）。真諦譬之「能顯如鏡·所顯如影」。三性為鏡、九真實為影——全品「以三性為依顯餘九真實」之綱，於此結穴。
世親釋要
論曰：應知蘊義，略有三種：一、非一義，如契經言：諸所有色等，若過去若未來若現在、若內若外、若麁若細、若劣若勝、若遠若近。二、總略義，如契經言：如是一切略為一聚。三、分段義，如契經言：說名色蘊等，各別安立色等相故，由斯聚義蘊義得成。又見世間聚義名蘊。
論曰：應知此中假謂名等；因謂種子所攝藏識；相謂器身并受用具，及轉識攝意取思惟；意謂恒時思量性識；取謂五識取現境故；思惟即是第六意識，以能分別一切境故。如是若假、若因、若相及相應法，總名有為。若寂靜者，謂所證滅及能證道，能寂靜故。彼所觀義，謂即真如，是寂靜道所緣境故。如是所說若諸寂靜、若所觀義，總名無為。應知此中緣蘊等十義所起正知，名蘊等善巧。
真實總義略有二種，謂即能顯、所顯真實。能顯真實，謂即最初三種根本，能顯餘故。所顯真實，謂後九種，是初根本所顯示故。所顯九者，一離增上慢所顯真實；二對治顛倒所顯真實；三聲聞乘出離所顯真實；四無上乘出離所顯真實，由麁能成熟細能解脫故；五能伏他論所顯真實，依喻導理降伏他故；六顯了大乘所顯真實；七入一切種所知所顯真實；八顯不虛妄真如所顯真實；九入我執事一切祕密所顯真實。
世親逐善巧釋義（上引蘊義·有為無為義為示例，餘界·處·緣起·處非處·根·世·諦·乘準此，見〈論諍〉表），末以「能顯（三根本）·所顯（後九）」總攝十真實——三性能顯、九真實所顯，全品結穴於此。「有為無為善巧」之「因＝種子所攝藏識（阿賴耶）·相＝轉識」一句，尤見唯識八識之骨。
諸家異釋
窺基《辯中邊論述記》（T44n1835，沙門基撰，p0018a–0019）：
- 十善巧逐頌別釋，多引《阿含》契經（蘊之非一·總略·分段皆「如契經言」）·《多界經》（處非處七不自在）·《瑜伽》二十二根六事。
- 有為無為善巧「因＝種子所攝藏識·相＝器身受用具及轉識」明唯識所變；無為「寂靜＝滅道·所觀＝真如」。
譯名 — 古譯對讀（玄奘·真諦）
| 譯本 | 譯文與分析 |
|---|---|
| 陳 真諦《中邊分別論》 (T31n1599) p0457a01–0458a09 十勝智別義·總義 (c. 557–569) | 真諦逐勝智別釋（蘊＝聚義三〔多·總·異〕·界＝能取所取取種子·入〔處〕＝受塵分別用門·因緣＝因果事不增損·處非處＝七繫屬他·根＝六義增上·世＝因果已未用·諦＝受及受資糧·乘＝三乘·有為無為＝言說因相／寂靜境）。真諦「因＝種子所攝阿黎耶識·相＝世器身及所受用·生起識所攝心及取分別」與玄奘「藏識·轉識」全同。品末總義，真諦「能顯真實譬如鏡·所顯真實譬如影」（玄奘「能顯·所顯」），喻精。真諦本「中邊分別大乘論真實品說竟」止此。玄奘從。 |
| ★ 唐 玄奘《辯中邊論頌》 (T31n1601) p0479a05–a17 (661) · 釋 (T31n1600 p0470b06 起) | 「非一及總略……若寂靜、若彼所觀義。」底本：有世親釋＋窺基述記漢傳釋讀鏈。 |
進階參考
★ 四論互讀
| 百法 | 三十頌 | 二十論 | 辯中邊論 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 五位百法·八識（藏識·轉識）·二無為 | 阿賴耶·轉識（初能變·了境能變）·圓成真如 | 唯識無境（蘊界處之唯識） | 本段（十善巧別義·有為無為攝藏識轉識真如） |
十善巧之「有為＝因（藏識）·相（轉識）」，即《唯識三十論頌》「初能變（阿賴耶）·了境能變（前六）」之同詮；「無為＝寂靜（滅道）·所觀（真如）」即《大乘百法明門論》二無為。蘊界處之唯識善巧，通《成唯識論》（集大成之論）所變之理。品結「能顯（三性）·所顯（九真實）」即全品三性統攝之綱。
互見:
- [055]–[056]（善巧十我見，本段之標）· [041]–[042]（十真實標目·十善巧，本段之總）· [043]（根本三性，「能顯」之三根本）· 辯修對治品（品四，「修諸對治即修菩提分」，本品所辯真實之能修）·《唯識三十論頌》八識三性·《成唯識論》所變。
The chapter has 23 verses ([041]–[063]) · the ten realities. Genus sections: Headings ([041]–[042]) · Root three natures ([043]) · Characteristic + Non-inversion ([044]–[047]) · Cause-effect / four truths ([048]–[049]) · Coarse-subtle / two truths ([050]–[051]) · Well-established & purified-domain ([052]) · Subsumption / five matters ([053]) · Differentiation / seven realities ([054]) · Skill / ten views-of-self ([055]–[056]) · The tenfold skill, item by item ([057]–[063]).
Doctrinal Outline (Kuiji's 科判, T1835 · fasc. 中)
The ancient doctrinal outline (科判) underlying this chapter's genus-grouped verse sections — Kuiji's Madhyāntavibhāga Shuji (T44n1835), transcribed verbatim and aligned to Xuanzang's verses. 〔科判＝詮釋史座標·顯既有段結構之古德權威·非新立義。〕
Chapter's three-part division: [0015c03]「此品有三。初結前起後以發論端。二頌曰下當宗正辯。三真實總義略有二種下。攝上所明。」
The main exposition — twenty-three verses in two sections: [0015c07]「此即第二當宗正辯。合於此中有二十三頌。總分為二。初之二頌烈十實名。餘二十一頌別解十實。」
Exposition of the ten realities, verse-count per reality: [0015c10]「於中次有一頌辯根本真實。次有一頌半明第二。次有二頌半辯第三。次有二頌明第四。次有二頌辯第五。次有半頌明第六。次有半頌辯第七。次有一頌明第八。次有一頌明第九。次有九頌辯第十真實。」
The tenth reality (skill), three-part division: [0018c18]「明善巧中總有九頌。合為三段。初一頌半明十善巧所治我見。次有半頌明善巧實依根本立。後有七頌明十善巧。」
| Kuiji's 科判 node (the ten realities) | Verses | Xuanzang verse | Genus segment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listing the ten realities' names | 2 | [041]–[042] | The Tenfold Reality: Headings |
| 1 · Root reality | 1 | [043] | Root Reality |
| 2 · Characteristic-reality / 3 · Non-inversion reality | 1½+2½ | [044]–[047] | Characteristic-Reality · Non-Inversion Reality |
| 4 · Cause-effect reality | 2 | [048]–[049] | Cause-Effect Reality · The Four Truths |
| 5 · Coarse-subtle reality | 2 | [050]–[051] | Coarse-Subtle Reality · The Two Truths |
| 6 · Well-established / 7 · Domain-of-purified-cognition reality | ½+½ | [052] | Well-Established Reality · Domain of Purified Cognition |
| 8 · Subsumption reality | 1 | [053] | Subsumption Reality · The Five Matters |
| 9 · Reality of differentiation | 1 | [054] | Reality of Differentiation · The Seven Realities |
| 10 · Reality of skill | 9 | [055]–[063] | Reality of Skill · The Ten Views-of-Self / The Tenfold Skill |
〔Kuiji counts each reality by "verse and half-verse" (characteristic 1½ + non-inversion 2½ = 4 verses = [044]–[047], the section boundary falling mid-verse); the genus segments gather whole verses by Xuanzang's verse-numbers. Both follow the same spine; the difference is the granularity of the count.〕
Verse [041]–[042] · The Tenfold Reality: Headings — Ten Realities · Tenfold Skill · all for removing the view-of-self
Source anchor · Sanskrit verse III.1–2 · T1601 [p0478c02 / c04] verse · T1600 [p0468c08 verse / p0468c12 bhāṣya] Vasubandhu's commentary · T1599 [p0455a26 headings] Paramārtha · T1835 [p0015b27–0015c28 述曰] Kuiji 述記
真實唯有十，謂根本與相、無顛倒、因果，及麁細真實、 極成、淨所行、攝受并差別，十善巧真實，皆為除我見。
In Depth · The Three Gates
The Debate · Doctrinal context (pivot: the chapter turns)
Having finished discerning "what is to be abandoned" (the obstructions) in the chapter on Obstructions, the chapter on Reality discerns "what is to be realized" (reality). "What is not deceptive is named 真 (true); what is not empty is called 實 (real)" (Kuiji); its substance is precisely the ten realities (十真實):
| # | The ten realities (十真實) | # | The ten realities (十真實) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 根本真實 root reality (the three natures / 三自性) | 6 | 極成真實 the well-established reality |
| 2 | 相真實 reality of characteristics | 7 | 淨所行真實 reality of the domain of purified cognition |
| 3 | 無顛倒真實 reality of non-inversion | 8 | 攝受真實 reality of subsumption |
| 4 | 因果真實 reality of cause-and-effect (the four truths / 四諦) | 9 | 差別真實 reality of differentiation |
| 5 | 麁細真實 reality of the coarse and the subtle (the two truths / 二諦) | 10 | 善巧真實 reality of skill |
The tenth, "reality of skill" (善巧真實), further unfolds into the tenfold skill (十善巧) — aggregates (蘊) · elements (界) · bases (處) · dependent arising (緣起) · the possible-and-impossible (處非處) · faculties (根) · time (世) · truths (諦) · vehicles (乘) · the conditioned-and-unconditioned (有為無為) — all "for removing the [ten kinds of] view-of-self" (皆為除〔十〕我見). The structure of the whole chapter (Kuiji): the chapter on Characteristics already discerned the three natures (spoken of in terms of object / 境); the present chapter (spoken of in terms of arousing practice / 起行) takes the three natures [root reality] as its basis and reveals the remaining nine realities — hence [043] establishes the three natures as root, and from [044] onward the nine realities are all established "in dependence on the root threefold reality." This is the guiding thread of the chapter's genus: one root, nine branches, the three natures running through them all.
From Vasubandhu's Commentary (bhāṣya)
論曰：應知真實唯有十種，一根本真實、二相真實、三無顛倒真實、四因果真實、五麁細真實、六極成真實、七淨所行真實、八攝受真實、九差別真實、十善巧真實。此復十種，為欲除遣十我見故。十善巧者，一蘊善巧、二界善巧、三處善巧、四緣起善巧、五處非處善巧、六根善巧、七世善巧、八諦善巧、九乘善巧、十有為無為法善巧。
Vasubandhu sets out the names and the number of the ten realities, and shows that the tenth — skill — itself further unfolds into ten (the aggregates and so forth); their purpose lies in "removing the ten kinds of view-of-self" — reality is no abstract discourse but a contemplation that counteracts the grasping at self.
Commentarial Forks
Kuiji, Commentary on the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論述記》, T44n1835, composed by the śramaṇa Ji, p0015b27–0015c28):
- Glossing the name: 「不妄名真、非虛稱實；體即十種，若有若無稱彼法而論，故名真實。」 — "what is not deceptive is named 真 (true); what is not empty is called 實 (real); its substance is precisely the ten kinds; whether [a dharma] exists or does not exist, one speaks of it as it accords with that dharma — hence it is named reality."
- Subdivision of the chapter: the twenty-three verses divide into two — the first two verses enumerate the names of the ten realities, and the remaining twenty-one verses separately expound the ten realities (root: one verse · characteristics: one and a half verses · non-inversion: two and a half verses · cause-and-effect: two verses · coarse-and-subtle: two verses · the well-established: half a verse · domain of purified cognition: half a verse · subsumption: one verse · differentiation: one verse · skill: nine verses).
- The three natures as basis: 「雖辯相品已辯三性，前依境說；今說於境起行，以三性為依顯餘九真實。」 — "Although the chapter on Characteristics already discerned the three natures, there it was spoken of in dependence on the object; here it is the arousing of practice upon the object, taking the three natures as basis to reveal the remaining nine realities."
- The old translation: Paramārtha renders "reality of skill" (善巧真實) as "superior cognition" (勝智) — Kuiji distinguishes: 「若言善巧，是緣彼智；若言善巧真實，是此智所緣之理」 — "if one says 'skill,' it is the cognition that takes that [object] as its referent; if one says 'reality of skill,' it is the principle that is the referent of this cognition" (skill = the cognizing cognition; reality of skill = the principle that is its referent).
Translation Choices · Two ancient witnesses (Xuanzang · Paramārtha)
| Edition | Rendering and analysis |
|---|---|
| Chen · Paramārtha, Madhyāntavibhāga (《中邊分別論》) (T31n1599) p0455a26 Tattva-chapter headings (c. 557–569) | Paramārtha's verse reads 「根本相真實，無顛倒真實，果因俱真實，細麁等真實，成就清淨境，攝取分破實，勝智實十種，為對治我見」. Term comparison: Paramārtha's 成就 (accomplishment) = Xuanzang's 極成 (well-established) · 清淨境 (pure domain) = 淨所行 (domain of purified cognition) · 攝取 (taking-up) = 攝受 (subsumption) · 分破 (dividing-and-distinguishing) = 差別 (differentiation) · 勝智 (superior cognition) = 善巧 (skill). Paramārtha's tenfold superior cognition = superior cognition of aggregates · elements · bases · the conditions of arising · the possible-and-impossible · faculties · time · truths · vehicles · the conditioned-and-unconditioned (i.e. Xuanzang's tenfold skill). Xuanzang followed. |
| ★ Tang · Xuanzang, Verses of the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論頌》) (T31n1601) p0478c02–c04 (661) · bhāṣya (T31n1600 p0468c08) | 「真實唯有十……十善巧真實，皆為除我見。」 Base text: a Han-transmitted chain of exegetical reading comprising Vasubandhu's bhāṣya + Kuiji's 述記. |
For Scholars · notes, parallels, cross-references
★ Quartet Reading-Map
| Baifa | Thirty Verses | Twenty Verses | Madhyāntavibhāga |
|---|---|---|---|
| — (the reality-contemplation that comprehensively subsumes all dharmas) | the three natures · suchness revealed by the twofold emptiness | consciousness-only without object (what is established by removing the grasping at self and dharmas) | this segment (the headings of the ten realities · removing the view-of-self) |
The ten realities take the three natures as their root and are set up for the removal of the ten kinds of view-of-self; they illuminate one another with the doctrine of the three natures in the Thirty Verses and with the "what-is-to-be-known" framework of the supreme characteristics-to-be-known (the ten supreme characteristics / 十勝相) in the Mahāyānasaṃgraha. From [043] onward this chapter raises the three natures — precisely the same exposition as the Thirty Verses on the perfectly-accomplished, the other-dependent, and the wholly-imagined.
See also:
- [043] (root reality · the three natures, the basis of the remaining nine realities) · chapter on Characteristics [006] (heading-names of the three natures · false imagining subsumes the three natures) · Thirty Verses on the three natures · Mahāyānasaṃgraha supreme characteristics-to-be-known.
Verse [043] · Root Reality — what each of the three natures admits as the real
Source anchor · T1601 [p0478c06] verse · T1600 [p0468c23 verse / p0468c25 bhāṣya] Vasubandhu's commentary · T1599 [p0455b12 root reality] Paramārtha · T1835 [p0015c29–0016a05 述曰] Kuiji 述記
許於三自性，唯一常非有， 一有而不真，一有無真實。
In Depth · The Three Gates
The Debate · Doctrinal context (pivot: the support of all the realities)
Root reality — that on which the remaining nine realities depend. To the question "among the three natures, what meaning is admitted as the real?" the answer is: each takes one meaning as the real:
| Three natures | Characteristic | Meaning admitted as the real | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 遍計所執 the wholly-imagined | 常非有 always non-existent | only "always non-existent" | because it is free of error (the grasped characteristic is forever absent; to know it forever absent is the real) |
| 依他起 the other-dependent | 有而不真 existent yet not real | only "existent yet not real" | because it has a disturbed nature (it seems existent yet is not the real; to know it as merely seeming-existent and not real is the real) |
| 圓成實 the perfectly-accomplished | 亦有非有 both existent and non-existent | only "existent and non-existent" | because it has emptiness (revealed by the two emptinesses — existent as 真如 suchness, yet non-existent as separated from the false) |
Core point: none of the three natures is wholly real or wholly false; rather each is real in one respect — the reality of the wholly-imagined lies in "knowing it forever absent," the reality of the other-dependent in "knowing it seeming-existent and not real," and the reality of the perfectly-accomplished in "knowing it has the emptiness-revealed." This is the working-out, in the contemplation of reality, of 辯相品 [003] "neither empty nor not-empty" and [006] "naming the three natures"; the nine realities below (characteristic · freedom-from-error · four noble truths · two truths · …) are all set apart in dependence on these three natures.
From Vasubandhu's Commentary (bhāṣya)
論曰：即於如是三自性中：遍計所執相常非有。唯常非有，於此性中許為真實，無顛倒故。依他起相有而不真。唯有非真，於依他起許為真實，有亂性故。圓成實相亦有非有。唯有非有，於此性中許為真實，有空性故。
Vasubandhu establishes the meaning of "the real" for each of the three natures: the wholly-imagined is "always non-existent" (forever absent); the other-dependent is "existent yet not real" (seeming-existent, with a disturbed nature); the perfectly-accomplished is "both existent and non-existent" (having emptiness). For all three, "one meaning is admitted as the real" — no nature is wholly real. This is why it is "root": the real-characteristic of the three natures is that to which all the later realities are gathered back.
Commentarial Forks
Kuiji, Notes on the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論述記》, T44n1835, by the monk Ji, p0015c29–0016a05):
- This opens the separate exposition of the ten realities — 「先為問答三根本名，於此所說下釋根本體」 (first a question-and-answer on the name "root" with respect to the three; what is said below explains the substance of the root).
- 「根本之真實是事；或根本即真實——二釋可知」 (the reality belonging to the root is the matter at hand; or else the root simply is the reality — both readings are intelligible) — i.e. "root reality" = the real-characteristic of the three natures, the support of the remaining nine.
Translation Choices · Two ancient witnesses (Xuanzang · Paramārtha)
| Edition | Text and analysis |
|---|---|
| Chen · Paramārtha, Madhyāntavibhāga (《中邊分別論》, T31n1599) p0455b12 root reality (c. 557–569) | Paramārtha's verse reads 「性三一恒無，二有不真實，三有無真實，此三本真實」. His commentary: 「分別性〔遍計〕相恒常不有，此相分別性中是真實，無顛倒故；依他性相有不實，唯有散亂執起故，此相依他性中是真實；真實性〔圓成〕相有無真實，此相真實性中是真實」. Fully agrees with Xuanzang's three meanings for the three natures; Paramārtha's 分別性／依他性／真實性 = Xuanzang's 遍計所執／依他起／圓成實 (wholly-imagined / other-dependent / perfectly-accomplished). Xuanzang followed. |
| ★ Tang · Xuanzang, Verses of the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論頌》, T31n1601) p0478c06 (661) · commentary (T31n1600 p0468c23) | 「許於三自性，唯一常非有，一有而不真，一有無真實。」 Base text: carries the Han-transmitted reading-chain of Vasubandhu's commentary + Kuiji's 述記. |
For Scholars · notes, parallels, cross-references
★ Quartet Reading-Map
| Baifa | Thirty Verses | Twenty Verses | Madhyāntavibhāga |
|---|---|---|---|
| asaṃskṛta · 真如 suchness (perfectly-accomplished · revealed by the two emptinesses) | three natures (wholly-imagined / other-dependent / perfectly-accomplished · vv. 20–25) | — | this verse (root reality · the real-meaning of each of the three natures) |
That each of the three natures admits one meaning as the real expounds the same doctrine as the three-natures chapter of the Thirty Verses — 依他起 the other-dependent · 遍計所執 the wholly-imagined · 圓成實 the perfectly-accomplished; the perfectly-accomplished's "existent and non-existent · having emptiness" is precisely the suchness "revealed by the two emptinesses" of the Thirty Verses. The 辯相品 [006] of this treatise already named the three natures "in dependence on object"; here, "in dependence on arising-practice," it establishes their reality — the two passages illuminate each other.
See also:
- [041]–[042] (the heading of the ten realities, this verse being the root) · [044]–[047] (characteristic · freedom-from-error, set apart in dependence on this verse's three natures) · 辯相品 [006] (naming the three natures) · Thirty Verses three natures · Mahāyānasaṃgraha (攝大乘論) "the characteristic of the knowable to be understood."
Verse [044]–[047] · Characteristic-Reality · Non-Inversion Reality — the three natures clearing the two views · impermanence/suffering/emptiness/non-self each threefold
Source anchor · T1601 [p0478c08 / c10 / c12 / c14] verse · T1600 [p0469a02·a15 verse / p0469a05·a20 bhāṣya] Vasubandhu's commentary · T1599 [p0455b19·c03] Paramārtha · T1835 [p0016a06–0017a 述曰] Kuiji's 述記 (Subcommentary on the Madhyāntavibhāga)
於法數取趣，及所取能取，有非有性中，增益損減見； 知此故不轉，是名真實相。無性與生滅、垢淨三無常； 所取及事相、和合苦三種；空亦有三種，謂無、異、自性； 無相及異相、自相三無我。如次四三種，依根本真實。
In Depth · The Three Gates
The Debate · Doctrinal context
A fused segment covering two realities ([045] straddles both): characteristic-reality (相真實, [044]–[045a]) + non-inversion reality (無顛倒真實, [045b]–[047]), both established upon the root three natures.
One · Characteristic-reality — each of the three natures "clears the two views of superimposition (增益) and denial (損減)"; when these are known, false views "do not arise" (不轉), and thereby the characteristic-reality of each nature is realized:
- The view of superimposition/denial regarding dharmas and the person (補特伽羅, pudgala): knowing it, it does not arise → characteristic-reality of the wholly-imagined nature (遍計所執).
- The view of superimposition/denial regarding the grasped (所取) and the grasper (能取): knowing it, it does not arise → characteristic-reality of the other-dependent nature (依他起).
- The view of superimposition/denial regarding the existent (有) and the non-existent (非有): knowing it, it does not arise → characteristic-reality of the perfectly-accomplished nature (圓成實).
This is the contemplation of characteristic in [023] of the chapter on characteristics — "neither defiled nor undefiled" (非染非不染) — brought to fruition across the three natures: once the superimposition and denial of the grasped-and-grasper (二取) are dispelled, the characteristic-reality of the three natures becomes manifest.
Two · Non-inversion reality — the four — impermanence (無常) · suffering (苦) · emptiness (空) · non-self (無我) — which counter the four inversions (倒) of permanence, pleasure, self, and purity, are each divided three by the three natures, forming four-times-three = twelve:
| The four (non-inversion) | Wholly-Imagined (遍計所執) | Other-Dependent (依他起) | Perfectly-Accomplished (圓成實) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Impermanence (無常) | impermanence as nonexistence (無性無常 — always nonexistent) | impermanence as arising-and-perishing (生滅無常 — has arising and cessation) | impermanence as defilement-and-purity (垢淨無常 — shift of state) |
| Suffering (苦) | suffering of the grasped (所取苦 — grasped by person- and dharma-clinging) | suffering of phenomenal characteristics (事相苦 — the three marks of suffering) | suffering of conjunction (和合苦 — conjoined with the mark of suffering) |
| Emptiness (空) | emptiness as nonexistence (無性空 — called empty because non-existent) | emptiness as otherness (異性空 — not as falsely clung-to · not wholly nonexistent) | emptiness as own-nature (自性空 — what the twofold emptiness reveals is its own-nature) |
| Non-self (無我) | non-self as the characteristic-less (無相無我 — the characteristic is originally absent) | non-self as the otherwise-charactered (異相無我 — existent yet not as clung-to) | non-self as own-characteristic (自相無我 — what non-self reveals is its own-characteristic) |
Key point: the "impermanence/suffering/emptiness/non-self" of the four foundations of mindfulness (a teaching shared with the śrāvakas) is, in this treatise, not a single undifferentiated flavour but is established separately upon each of the three natures — the one and the same "impermanence" is read by the wholly-imagined as "originally nonexistent," by the other-dependent as "arising and ceasing," and by the perfectly-accomplished as "shift of state (defilement → purity)." This Mahāyāna Yogācāra "counter to the four inversions" goes deeper than the śrāvaka treatment, precisely displaying the three natures as the backbone of contemplative practice.
From Vasubandhu's Commentary (bhāṣya)
論曰：於一切法補特伽羅所有增益及損減見，若知此故彼便不轉，是遍計所執自性真實相。於諸所取能取法中所有增益及損減見，若知此故彼便不轉，是名依他起自性真實相。於有非有所有增益及損減見，若知此故彼便不轉，是名圓成實自性真實相。此於根本真實相中無顛倒故，名相真實。
論曰：無常三者，一無性無常，謂遍計所執，此常無故；二生滅無常，謂依他起，有起盡故；三垢淨無常，謂圓成實，位轉變故。苦三種者，一所取苦，謂遍計所執，是補特伽羅法執所取故；二事相苦，謂依他起，三苦相故；三和合苦，謂圓成實，苦相合故。空有三者，一無性空，謂遍計所執，此無理趣可說為有，由此非有說為空故；二異性空，謂依他起，如妄所執不如是有，非一切種性全無故；三自性空，謂圓成實，二空所顯為自性故。無我三者，一無相無我，謂遍計所執，此相本無故名無相，即此無相說為無我；二異相無我，謂依他起，此相雖有而不如彼遍計所執故名異相，即此異相說為無我；三自相無我，謂圓成實，無我所顯以為自相，即此自相說為無我。
Vasubandhu establishes characteristic-reality by way of "knowing the two views of superimposition-and-denial, so they do not arise" (one for each of the three natures), and then establishes non-inversion by way of "the four each threefold" — impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self all divided three across the three natures. His point is this: the counter to the four inversions is not something apart from the three natures; rather, each of the three natures manifests its own characteristic of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self.
Commentarial Forks
Kuiji, Madhyāntavibhāga 述記 (Subcommentary) (T44n1835, composed by the monk Ji, beginning at p0016a06):
- Characteristic-reality occupies one-and-a-half verses ([044]–[045a]), non-inversion reality two-and-a-half verses ([045b]–[047]) — hence [045] straddles the two realities (per Kuiji's chapter division).
- Characteristic-reality = each of the three natures clearing the two views of "superimposition (執有, clinging to existence) and denial (撥無, repudiating into nonexistence)"; non-inversion = the counter (impermanence/suffering/emptiness/non-self) to the four inversions (permanence/pleasure/self/purity), each opened threefold by the three natures.
Translation Choices · Two ancient witnesses (Xuanzang · Paramārtha)
| Edition | Text and analysis |
|---|---|
| Chen · Paramārtha, Madhyāntavibhāga (中邊分別論) (T31n1599) p0455b19 characteristic-reality / p0455c03 impermanence (c. 557–569) | Characteristic-reality: Paramārtha's verse reads 「增益損減謗，於法於人中，所取及能取，有無中諸見，知常見不生，是真實寂相」 — "knowing (the superimposition/denial views), they do not arise" (知〔增減見〕不生) = Xuanzang's 「知此故不轉」; "characteristic of true quiescence" (真實寂相) = "characteristic-reality" (真實相). Impermanence: Paramārtha's verse reads 「無常義有三，無義、生滅義、有垢無垢義，本實中次第」 — "the meaning of nonexistence / the meaning of arising-and-perishing / the meaning of defiled-and-undefiled" (無義／生滅義／有垢無垢義) = Xuanzang's "impermanence as nonexistence / as arising-and-perishing / as defilement-and-purity" (無性／生滅／垢淨三無常). The threefold allocation of each across the three natures matches Xuanzang entirely. Following Xuanzang. |
| ★ Tang · Xuanzang, Madhyāntavibhāga verses (辯中邊論頌) (T31n1601) p0478c08–c14 (661) · commentary (T31n1600 p0469a02·a15) | 「於法數取趣……如次四三種，依根本真實。」 Base text: carries the Han-transmission interpretive chain of Vasubandhu's bhāṣya + Kuiji's 述記. |
For Scholars · notes, parallels, cross-references
★ Quartet Reading-Map
| Baifa | Thirty Verses | Twenty Verses | Madhyāntavibhāga |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unconditioned · suchness (圓成 · non-self as own-characteristic · emptiness as own-nature) | three natures · what the twofold emptiness reveals · twofold non-self | refuting the twofold clinging to person and dharma (the dispelling of superimposition) | this segment (characteristic-reality · non-inversion, the four each threefold grounded in the three natures) |
The "impermanence/suffering/emptiness/non-self" shared teaching of the four foundations of mindfulness is here opened threefold by the three natures, forming twelve — cross-read against the śrāvaka Āgama four foundations of mindfulness, this displays the Mahāyāna Yogācāra deepening; "emptiness as own-nature · non-self as own-characteristic (perfectly-accomplished · what the twofold emptiness reveals)" is precisely the perfectly-accomplished nature / twofold-emptiness suchness of the Thirty Verses (Triṃśikā). Characteristic-reality's "clearing of superimposition and denial" is the threading of the Madhyāntavibhāga's root middle way ([002]–[003]) through the contemplation of reality.
Base-text collation (source verse · base text follows T1601):
- [045] 「無性與生滅、垢淨三無常」: Vasubandhu's bhāṣya reads 「垢淨無常」 (perfectly-accomplished nature's shift of state); the base-text wording is consistent.
- [046] 「空亦有三種，謂無、異、自性」: an abbreviation of the three names in Vasubandhu's bhāṣya — 「無性空·異性空·自性空」.
See also:
- [043] (the root three natures, on which this segment rests) · [048]–[049] (the four truths of cause-and-effect; the three of the truth of suffering being the extension of this segment's threefold suffering) · chapter on characteristics [002]–[003] (false imagining · neither empty nor non-empty, the basis of characteristic-reality) · [023] (mind's nature is originally pure, clearing the superimposition/denial of the grasped-and-grasper) · Thirty Verses (Triṃśikā) three natures · twofold non-self.
Verse [048]–[049] · Cause-Effect Reality · The Four Truths — suffering, origin, cessation, path, each threefold upon the three natures
Source anchor · T1601 [p0478c16 / c18] verse · T1600 [p0469b10 verse / p0469b14 bhāṣya] Vasubandhu commentary · T1599 [p0455c27 因果真實] Paramārtha · T1835 [p0016c18–0017b15 述曰] Kuiji 述記
苦三相已說，集亦有三種，謂習氣、等起，及相未離繫。 自性、二不生、垢寂二三滅，遍知及永斷、證得三道諦。
In Depth · The Three Gates
The Debate · Doctrinal context
Cause-effect reality = the four noble truths (suffering and origin = the cause-effect of the mundane; cessation and path = the cause-effect of the supramundane). Each of the four truths is threefold, founded on the root three natures (the three of the truth of suffering are precisely the threefold suffering stated as the undistorted in [045]–[047], hence "the three aspects of suffering have already been stated"):
| The four truths | Threefold | Founded on the three natures |
|---|---|---|
| Truth of suffering (苦諦) | impermanence · suffering · emptiness · no-self, each threefold ([045]–[047], already stated) | the three natures |
| Truth of origin (集諦) | origin-as-habit-energy (習氣集) / origin-as-co-arising (等起集) / origin-as-not-yet-freed-from-bondage (未離繫集) | the habit-energy of the wholly-imagined (遍計執習氣) / karma and afflictions (業煩惱) / suchness not yet freed from obstruction (未離障真如) |
| Truth of cessation (滅諦) | cessation-of-own-nature (自性滅) / cessation-of-the-two-graspings (二取滅) / cessation-of-intrinsic-nature (本性滅) | own-nature's non-arising (自性不生) / non-arising of grasped and grasper (能所取二不生) / the twofold quiescence of defilement (垢寂二: analytic cessation 擇滅 · suchness 真如) |
| Truth of path (道諦) | path-of-full-knowledge (遍知道) / path-of-eradication (永斷道) / path-of-realization (證得道) | the wholly-imagined: full knowledge only · the other-dependent: full knowledge + eradication · the perfectly-accomplished: full knowledge + realization |
Key point: the matching of the truth of path's three with the three natures most clearly displays Yogācāra's craftsmanship — the wholly-imagined (遍計所執) admits only "full knowledge" (遍知) (knowing that it is fundamentally non-existent), the other-dependent (依他起) admits "full knowledge + eradication" (遍知＋永斷) (knowing that it seems to exist while eradicating its defiled portion), the perfectly-accomplished (圓成實) admits "full knowledge + realization" (遍知＋證得) (knowing while realizing the real). The remedy proper to each of the three natures has its own fitness; it cannot be treated uniformly.
From Vasubandhu's Commentary (bhāṣya)
論曰：苦諦有三，謂無常等四各三相，如前已說。集諦三者，一習氣集，謂遍計所執自性執習氣；二等起集，謂業煩惱；三未離繫集，謂未離障真如。滅諦三者，一、自性滅，謂自性不生故；二、二取滅，謂所取能取二不生故；三、本性滅，謂垢寂二，即擇滅及真如。道諦三者，一遍知道、二永斷道、三證得道。應知此中於遍計所執唯有遍知，於依他起有遍知及永斷，於圓成實有遍知及證得，故依此三建立道諦。
Vasubandhu opens each truth into three and matches each with the three natures. For the truth of origin, "not-yet-freed-from-bondage = suchness not yet freed from obstruction"; for the truth of cessation, "cessation-of-intrinsic-nature = the twofold quiescence of defilement (analytic cessation 擇滅 · suchness 真如)" — both take the perfectly-accomplished (圓成, suchness) as their pivot. The matching of the truth of path's three with the three natures (full knowledge / full knowledge + eradication / full knowledge + realization) especially manifests the graded distinctions of the three natures' counteractives.
Commentarial Forks
Kuiji, Notes on the Madhyāntavibhāga (辯中邊論述記) (T44n1835, composed by the monk Ji, p0016c18–0017b15):
- The truth of suffering's distinct name "undistorted reality" (無顛倒真實): Kuiji answers an objection — among the four truths only the truth of suffering is separately given the name "undistorted reality" ([045]–[047]), since the four practices "impermanence, suffering, emptiness, no-self" directly counteract the four distortions of permanence and the rest; origin, cessation, and path are jointly named cause-effect reality.
- The truth of cessation's "cessation-of-the-two-graspings · cessation-of-intrinsic-nature" — Kuiji's harmonization (support / attained), the two treatises not in conflict (not a fork awaiting adjudication; the ancient masters have already reconciled it): Sthiramati holds that "the self-witnessing portion (自體分) of the consciousness that is the support of the two graspings, once severed, attains non-arising" is nominally the other-dependent (the cessation-of-the-two-graspings); cessation-of-intrinsic-nature (the twofold quiescence of defilement) belongs to the perfectly-accomplished. Kuiji harmonizes the Cheng Weishi Lun's statement that "cessation-of-the-two-graspings is precisely analytic cessation (擇滅)": the present treatise speaks in terms of "the support (the other-dependent) / the attained (the intrinsic nature)" as distinct items, whereas the Cheng Weishi Lun discusses only the attained, hence analytic cessation falls under cessation-of-the-two-graspings — the two treatises do not conflict.
- "Twofold quiescence of defilement (垢寂二)" = quiescence of defiled defilement (染垢寂: severance of the afflictive obstruction · analytic cessation 擇滅) + quiescence of undefiled defilement (不染垢寂: severance of the cognitive obstruction · suchness 真如).
Translation Choices · Two ancient witnesses (Xuanzang · Paramārtha)
| Edition | Rendering and analysis |
|---|---|
| Chen · Paramārtha, Zhongbian Fenbie Lun (中邊分別論) (T31n1599) p0455c27 因果真實 (c. 557–569) | Paramārtha's verse on the truth of origin: 「集諦復有三，熏習與發起，及不相離等」 (熏習 perfuming = 習氣 habit-energy · 發起 instigation = 等起 co-arising · 不相離 inseparability = 未離繫 not-yet-freed-from-bondage); the truth of cessation: 「體滅二種滅，垢淨前後滅」 (無體滅 cessation-without-substance · 二滅 twofold cessation · 自性滅 cessation-of-own-nature); the truth of path: 「觀智及除滅、證至道有三」 (觀察分別性 observing the wholly-imagined nature · 除滅依他 removing the other-dependent · 證至真實 realizing-and-arriving-at the real). The matching with the three natures is entirely identical to Xuanzang's; Paramārtha's "origin-as-perfuming (熏習集)" = Xuanzang's "origin-as-habit-energy (習氣集)" · "inseparability (不相離)" = "not-yet-freed-from-bondage (未離繫)." Follow Xuanzang. |
| ★ Tang · Xuanzang, Bianzhongbian Lun Song (辯中邊論頌) (T31n1601) p0478c16–c18 (661) · commentary (T31n1600 p0469b10) | 「苦三相已說……遍知及永斷、證得三道諦。」 Base text: carries the Han-transmitted exegetical chain of Vasubandhu's commentary + Kuiji's 述記. |
For Scholars · notes, parallels, cross-references
★ Quartet Reading-Map
| Baifa | Thirty Verses | Twenty Verses | Madhyāntavibhāga |
|---|---|---|---|
| unconditioned · suchness · analytic cessation (truth of cessation · cessation-of-intrinsic-nature) | three natures · the turning of the support (道諦三性別治 path's distinct remedies by nature) | — | this section (the four truths, each threefold upon the three natures) |
The treatise's distinct exposition of the four truths by the three natures, read against the Śrāvaka Āgama's four truths, displays how the Mahāyāna deepens suffering-origin-cessation-path through the three natures; the two unconditioned dharmas "analytic cessation · suchness (擇滅·真如)" are the two unconditioned dharmas of the Mahāyāna Śatadharma-vidyādvāra Śāstra (大乘百法明門論). The path's distinct remedies by nature (full knowledge / eradication / realization) connect to the sense of the turning of the support (轉依) in the Triṃśikā (唯識三十論頌).
See also:
- [045]–[047] (the undistorted · what is stated as the truth of suffering's three) · [050]–[051] (coarse-subtle, the two truths, the section below) · 辯相品 [005] (the other-dependent is neither truly existent nor wholly nonexistent · admitting cessation as liberation, the basis of the truth of cessation) · Mahāyāna Śatadharma-vidyādvāra Śāstra (大乘百法明門論) unconditioned dharmas (analytic cessation · suchness).
Verse [050]–[051] · Coarse-Subtle Reality · The Two Truths — the conventional's three, the ultimate's three, founded on the root
Source anchor · T1601 [p0478c20 / c22] verse · T1600 [p0469b25 verse / p0469b29 bhāṣya] Vasubandhu commentary · T1599 [p0456a17 麁細真實] Paramārtha · T1835 [p0017b16–0017c27 述曰] Kuiji 述記
應知世俗諦，差別有三種，謂假、行、顯了，如次依本三。 勝義諦亦三，謂義、得、正行，依本一無變，無倒二圓實。
In Depth · The Three Gates
The Debate · Doctrinal context
Coarse-subtle reality = the conventional truth (coarse) · the ultimate truth (subtle). The conventional's three are founded on the three natures; the ultimate's three are founded solely on the perfectly-accomplished (圓成實):
| Truth | Threefold | Founded on |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional truth (世俗諦) | nominal-conventional (假世俗) / processual-conventional (行世俗) / manifesting-conventional (顯了世俗) | founded respectively on the three natures (the wholly-imagined 遍計 = nominal designation · the other-dependent 依他 = flux · the perfectly-accomplished 圓成 made manifest by the prior two) |
| Ultimate truth (勝義諦) | meaning-ultimate (義勝義: suchness · the object of supreme cognition) / attainment-ultimate (得勝義: nirvāṇa · the benefit-meaning of the supreme fruit) / right-practice-ultimate (正行勝義: the noble path · taking the supreme dharma as its meaning) | solely on the perfectly-accomplished (圓成實) — the unconditioned subsumes suchness · nirvāṇa (changeless 無變異); the conditioned subsumes the noble path (undistorted toward its object 於境無倒); both are the perfectly-accomplished |
Key point: the ultimate's three all revert to the perfectly-accomplished, yet the perfectly-accomplished has two divisions — "the unconditioned (無為: suchness · nirvāṇa, changeless) · the conditioned (有為: the noble path, undistorted toward its object)" — and so the noble path (the conditioned) is also named the perfectly-accomplished (圓成實). This adjudication that "the perfectly-accomplished extends across both conditioned and unconditioned" is the pivot of Yogācāra's doctrine of the ultimate, differing from the view that takes only the unconditioned as the ultimate.
From Vasubandhu's Commentary (bhāṣya)
論曰：世俗諦有三種，一假世俗、二行世俗、三顯了世俗。此三世俗如其次第，依三根本真實建立。勝義諦亦三種，一義勝義，謂真如勝智之境名勝義故；二得勝義，謂涅槃，此是勝果亦義利故；三正行勝義，謂聖道，以勝法為義故。此三勝義，應知但依三根本中圓成實立。此圓成實總有二種，無為、有為有差別故。無為總攝真如涅槃，無變異故，名圓成實。有為總攝一切聖道，於境無倒故，亦名圓成實。
Vasubandhu founds the conventional's three (nominal · processual · manifesting) on the three natures, and the ultimate's three (meaning · attainment · right-practice) solely on the perfectly-accomplished; and he adjudicates that the perfectly-accomplished has the two divisions of the unconditioned (suchness, nirvāṇa) · the conditioned (the noble path), so that the noble path too is the perfectly-accomplished. The three ultimates are precisely "the suchness contemplated · the nirvāṇa attained · the noble path practiced," exhausting the supramundane.
Commentarial Forks
Kuiji, Notes on the Madhyāntavibhāga (辯中邊論述記) (T44n1835, composed by the monk Ji, p0017b16–0017c27):
- The coarse-subtle gate (the conventional being coarse, the real being subtle) differs from the cause-effect gate (the four truths) — one and the same dharma: spoken of as the four truths in terms of cause-effect, and as the two truths in terms of coarse-subtle.
- The naming of the three ultimates: meaning-ultimate (義勝義: the undefiled contemplating mind is named supreme cognition · its object is named the ultimate) · attainment-ultimate (得勝義: nirvāṇa · a karmadhāraya gloss "both supreme and meaning" 亦勝亦義持業釋) · right-practice-ultimate (正行勝義: cognition being conditioned is named practice · taking the supreme dharma as its meaning).
- The old translation: Paramārtha renders "ultimate (勝義)" as 「真諦」 ("true truth") or 「第一義諦」 ("the truth of the first meaning") (Kuiji p0017c08).
Translation Choices · Two ancient witnesses (Xuanzang · Paramārtha)
| Edition | Rendering and analysis |
|---|---|
| Chen · Paramārtha, Zhongbian Fenbie Lun (中邊分別論) (T31n1599) p0456a17 麁細真實 (c. 557–569) | Paramārtha's verse on the conventional: 「麁義有三種，立名及取行、顯了名俗諦」 (立名 establishing-names = 假 nominal · 取行 grasping-process = 行 processual · 顯了 manifesting = 顯了 manifesting); the ultimate: 「真諦三中一……一義、二正修、三至得真實」 (義 = 義勝義 meaning-ultimate · 正修 right-cultivation = 正行 right-practice · 至得 arriving-at-attainment = 得勝義 attainment-ultimate). Paramārtha matches "conventional truth / true truth (俗諦／真諦)" against Xuanzang's "conventional / ultimate (世俗／勝義)." The matching with the three natures / the perfectly-accomplished is identical to Xuanzang's. Follow Xuanzang. |
| ★ Tang · Xuanzang, Bianzhongbian Lun Song (辯中邊論頌) (T31n1601) p0478c20–c22 (661) · commentary (T31n1600 p0469b25) | 「應知世俗諦……依本一無變，無倒二圓實。」 Base text: carries the Han-transmitted exegetical chain of Vasubandhu's commentary + Kuiji's 述記. |
For Scholars · notes, parallels, cross-references
★ Quartet Reading-Map
| Baifa | Thirty Verses | Twenty Verses | Madhyāntavibhāga |
|---|---|---|---|
| unconditioned · suchness (meaning-ultimate) · analytic cessation (attainment-ultimate · nirvāṇa) | the perfectly-accomplished · the ultimate (founded on the perfectly-accomplished) | — | this section (the two truths, each threefold · the ultimate founded on the perfectly-accomplished) |
The distinct exposition of the two truths by the three natures resonates with the Triṃśikā's (唯識三十論頌) "the ultimate is founded on the perfectly-accomplished"; the adjudication that the perfectly-accomplished extends across "the unconditioned (suchness, nirvāṇa) · the conditioned (the noble path)" is also the basis of the Cheng Weishi Lun's fourfold ultimate truth. The establishment of the conventional and the ultimate connects to the Mahāyānasaṃgraha (攝大乘論).
See also:
- [048]–[049] (cause-effect, the four truths, a different gate onto the same dharma) · [052] (perfectly-established · the object of the pure, the section below) · 辯相品 [015]–[016] (synonyms of emptiness · the nature of the ultimate) · Triṃśikā (唯識三十論頌) the ultimate founded on the perfectly-accomplished.
Verse [052] · Well-Established Reality · Reality as the Domain of Purified Cognition — worldly-established rests on one · reason-established rests on three · domain-of-purified-cognition rests on the perfectly-accomplished
Source anchor · Sanskrit verse III.12 · T1601 [p0478c24] verse · T1600 [p0469c12 verse · c13 bhāṣya (well-established) / p0469c22 verse · c23 bhāṣya (domain-of-purified-cognition)] Vasubandhu bhāṣya · T1599 [p0456b07 well-established / p0456b16 domain-of-purified-cognition] Paramārtha · T1835 [p0017c28–0018a 述曰] Kuiji 述記
世極成依一，理極成依三。淨所行有二，依一圓成實。
In Depth · The Three Gates
The Debate · Doctrinal context
One verse holds two realities:
1 · Well-established reality (half verse) — the reality commonly acknowledged in the world:
- Worldly-established (世間極成, the habitual apprehension whereby the world commonly holds "this is earth not fire, form not sound") → established only on the basis of the wholly-imagined nature (遍計所執).
- Reason-established (道理極成, the reasoned principle that the intelligent and virtuous prove through the three valid means of knowing) → established on the basis of the three natures (三性).
2 · Reality as the domain of purified cognition (half verse) — the object-field accessed by purified wisdom: the two kinds, the domain of cognition purified of the affliction-obscuration and the domain of cognition purified of the knowable-obscuration, rest solely on the perfectly-accomplished nature (圓成實); the other two natures are not the object-field of purified wisdom.
Essential point: worldly-established rests solely on the wholly-imagined (遍計, the convention commonly agreed upon) · reason-established traverses all three natures (the principle proved by valid cognition) · domain-of-purified-cognition rests solely on the perfectly-accomplished (the cognition purifying the two obscurations cognizes only suchness). The "basis-nature" (所依性) of the three realities ascends in turn, exactly displaying the gradation of states from the ordinary worldling → the worthy (賢) → the noble (聖).
From Vasubandhu's Commentary (bhāṣya)
論曰：若事世間共所安立，串習隨入覺慧所取，一切世間同執此事是地非火、色非聲等，是名世間極成真實。此於根本三真實中，但依遍計所執而立。若有理義聰叡賢善能尋思者，依止三量證成道理施設建立，是名道理極成真實。此依根本三真實立。
論曰：煩惱、所知二障，淨智所行真實，唯依根本三真實中圓成實立，餘二非此淨智境故。
Vasubandhu's adjudication: worldly-established (common agreement, 共許) rests on the wholly-imagined · reason-established (proven by valid cognition, 量證) rests on the three natures · domain-of-purified-cognition (the cognition purifying the two obscurations) rests solely on the perfectly-accomplished. The closing clause of the latter, "the other two are not the object-field of purified wisdom" (餘二非淨智境), makes clear that noble wisdom cognizes only the perfectly-accomplished suchness (圓成真如), not the delusive constructions of the wholly-imagined and the other-dependent.
Commentarial Forks
Kuiji, Commentarial Notes on the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論述記》, T44n1835, composed by the śramaṇa Ji, p0017c28–0018a):
- Well-established (極成) = siddhānta: 「梵云悉陀，即是極成義，舊曰悉檀，即此名是」 — for "well-established reality," Kuiji gives the transliteration 「悉陀」 (the old rendering 「悉檀」), i.e. siddhānta, the Sanskrit name transmitted by the ancient masters.
- Worldly-established 「但依遍計所執」 (the convention habitually agreed upon, established only on the wholly-imagined); reason-established 「依三量證成」 (proven by the three valid means of knowing), traversing all three natures.
- These two realities together with the subsequent domain-of-purified-cognition are expounded as a group in the Tattvārtha chapter (真實義品) of the fascicle 38 of the Yogācārabhūmi; the present treatise, distinguishing by name, divides them into two places.
Translation Choices · Two ancient witnesses (Xuanzang · Paramārtha)
| Edition | Rendering and analysis |
|---|---|
| Chen · Paramārtha, Madhyāntavibhāga (《中邊分別論》) (T31n1599) p0456b07 well-established / p0456b16 domain-of-purified-cognition (c. 557–569) | Paramārtha's well-established verse: 「安立成就者，一處世俗成」「離名無體故，三處道理成」 (the conventional accomplishment rests on the one nature · the reasoned accomplishment rests on the three natures); domain-of-purified-cognition: 「清淨境二種，攝在於一處」 (resting on the true nature). Paramārtha's 「成就」 (accomplishment) = Xuanzang's 「極成」 (well-established) · his 「清淨境」 (purified object-field) = 「淨所行」 (domain-of-purified-cognition). His pairing with the wholly-imagined / three natures / perfectly-accomplished agrees with Xuanzang. Xuanzang followed. |
| ★ Tang · Xuanzang, Verses of the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論頌》) (T31n1601) p0478c24 (661) · commentary (T31n1600 p0469c12·c22) | 「世極成依一，理極成依三。淨所行有二，依一圓成實。」 Base text: carries the Han-transmitted exegetical chain of Vasubandhu's bhāṣya + Kuiji's 述記. |
For Scholars · notes, parallels, cross-references
★ Quartet Reading-Map
| Baifa | Thirty Verses | Twenty Verses | Madhyāntavibhāga |
|---|---|---|---|
| —（gradation of the states of worldling, worthy, noble） | the perfectly-accomplished nature 圓成實（domain of purified wisdom） | consciousness-only without external object 唯識無境（reason-established · three valid means） | this verse（well-established · domain-of-purified-cognition） |
The three tiers — worldly-established (the wholly-imagined, commonly agreed) · reason-established (proven by the three valid means, linked to the epistemology of the Twenty Verses) · domain-of-purified-cognition (the perfectly-accomplished, the object-field of purified wisdom) — illuminate one another with the Thirty Verses' "the object cognized by purified wisdom is solely the perfectly-accomplished" (淨智所緣唯圓成). "Well-established = siddhānta" (極成＝悉檀) connects with the four realities of the Tattvārtha chapter (真實義品) of the Yogācārabhūmi.
See also:
- [050]–[051]（the coarse and subtle two truths, the conventional · the ultimate）· [053]（subsumption reality · the five matters, next section）·《瑜伽師地論》Tattvārtha chapter, four realities.
Verse [053] · Subsumption Reality · The Five Matters — characteristic / name / discrimination / suchness / correct cognition subsumed by the three natures
Source anchor · Sanskrit verse III.13 · T1601 [p0478c26] verse · T1600 [p0469c27 verse / p0469c29 bhāṣya] Vasubandhu bhāṣya · T1599 [p0456b21 five-subsumption reality] Paramārtha · T1835 [p0018a 述曰] Kuiji 述記
名遍計所執，相分別依他，真如及正智，圓成實所攝。
In Depth · The Three Gates
The Debate · Doctrinal context
Subsumption reality (攝受真實) = the five matters (相 characteristic · 名 name · 分別 discrimination · 真如 suchness · 正智 correct cognition) subsumed within the three natures. The five matters are the "five dharmas" (五法) commonly expounded in the Laṅkāvatāra and the Yogācārabhūmi; this verse makes clear their subsumption by the three natures:
| The five matters | Subsumed within the three natures |
|---|---|
| name (名) | the wholly-imagined nature (遍計所執) |
| characteristic (相) · discrimination (分別) | the other-dependent nature (依他起) |
| suchness (真如) · correct cognition (正智) | the perfectly-accomplished nature (圓成實) |
Essential point: the subsumption of the five dharmas by the three natures is one link in the mutual subsumption of the four schemata of Yogācāra — the five dharmas (五法) · three natures (三性) · eight consciousnesses (八識) · twofold non-self (二無我). Name (名, the conventional designation that signifies) belongs solely to the wholly-imagined; characteristic (相, the object-aspect cognized) · discrimination (分別, the cognizing mind) belong solely to the other-dependent; suchness (真如, the principle disclosed) · correct cognition (正智, the wisdom that realizes) belong solely to the perfectly-accomplished. This subsumption shows: all dharmas do not exceed the five matters, the five matters do not exceed the three natures, and the three natures do not exceed the root realities.
From Vasubandhu's Commentary (bhāṣya)
論曰：相等五事，隨其所應，攝在根本三種真實，謂名攝在遍計所執，相及分別攝在依他，圓成實攝真如正智。
Vasubandhu's adjudication of the five matters subsumed within the three natures: name → the wholly-imagined · characteristic and discrimination → the other-dependent · suchness and correct cognition → the perfectly-accomplished. "Each according to what is fitting" (隨其所應) makes clear that this is not a mechanical assignment but an attribution grounded in the proper nature of each of the five matters.
Commentarial Forks
Kuiji, Commentarial Notes on the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論述記》, T44n1835, composed by the śramaṇa Ji, p0018a 述曰):
- Subsumption reality, one verse (in Kuiji's chapter division: the eighth reality, one verse); the five matters are the five dharmas (characteristic, name, discrimination, suchness, correct cognition), and their subsumption by the three natures agrees with the doctrine of the five dharmas and three self-natures in the Laṅkāvatāra and the Yogācārabhūmi.
Translation Choices · Two ancient witnesses (Xuanzang · Paramārtha)
| Edition | Rendering and analysis |
|---|---|
| Chen · Paramārtha, Madhyāntavibhāga (《中邊分別論》) (T31n1599) p0456b21 five-subsumption reality (c. 557–569) | Paramārtha's verse: 「相及於分別，名字二性攝」「聖智與如如，此二一性攝」 (characteristic · discrimination subsumed by the other-dependent · the designation subsumed by the wholly-imagined nature · suchness · noble cognition subsumed by the true nature). Paramārtha's 「五攝真實」 (five-subsumption reality) = Xuanzang's 「攝受真實」 (subsumption reality) · his 「如如」 (thusness) = 「真如」 (suchness) · his 「聖智」 (noble cognition) = 「正智」 (correct cognition). His pairing with the three natures wholly agrees with Xuanzang. Xuanzang followed. |
| ★ Tang · Xuanzang, Verses of the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論頌》) (T31n1601) p0478c26 (661) · commentary (T31n1600 p0469c27) | 「名遍計所執，相分別依他，真如及正智，圓成實所攝。」 Base text: carries the Han-transmitted exegetical chain of Vasubandhu's bhāṣya + Kuiji's 述記. |
For Scholars · notes, parallels, cross-references
★ Quartet Reading-Map
| Baifa | Thirty Verses | Twenty Verses | Madhyāntavibhāga |
|---|---|---|---|
| comprehensive subsumption of Baifa（the five matters subsume all dharmas） | the three natures（mutual subsumption of the five matters · three natures） | — | this verse（the five matters subsumed by the three natures） |
The five matters (characteristic, name, discrimination, suchness, correct cognition) subsumed by the three natures is the framework of the "five dharmas and three self-natures" (五法三自性) in Yogācāra; it illuminates and is illuminated by the doctrine of the five dharmas in the Mahāyānasaṃgraha and the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra, and shares its purport with the comprehensive subsumption of the Mahāyāna-śatadharma-vidyā-dvāra (《大乘百法明門論》): "all dharmas do not exceed the hundred dharmas, the hundred dharmas do not exceed the five positions" (一切法不出百法、百法不出五位) — the five matters being a still more concise subsumption.
See also:
- [052]（well-established · domain-of-purified-cognition, previous section）· [054]（the seven realities of distinction, next section）· chapter "Discerning Characteristics" 辯相品 [006]（the naming of the three natures）·《攝大乘論》the five dharmas ·《楞伽經》the five dharmas and three self-natures.
Verse [054] · Reality of Differentiation · The Seven Realities — flow and the rest, the seven distributed across the three natures
Source anchor · Sanskrit verse III.14 · T1601 [p0478c28] verse · T1600 [p0470a07 verse / p0470a09 bhāṣya] Vasubandhu's commentary · T1599 [p0456b27 reality-by-division] Paramārtha · T1835 [p0018a 述曰] Kuiji 述記
流轉與安立，邪行依初二，實相唯識淨，正行依後一。
In Depth · The Three Gates
The Debate · Doctrinal context
Reality of differentiation (差別真實) = the seven realities (七真實) — flow (流轉) · real-mark (實相) · mere-cognition (唯識) · establishment (安立) · wrong-conduct (邪行) · purity (清淨) · right-conduct (正行) — distributed across the three natures as follows:
| The seven realities | Distributed across the three natures |
|---|---|
| flow · establishment · wrong-conduct | upon the first two (遍計所執 the wholly-imagined · 依他起 the other-dependent) |
| real-mark · mere-cognition · purity · right-conduct | upon the last one (圓成實 the perfectly-accomplished) |
Core point: the seven realities are set up with respect to the differentiation that runs from "the flow of birth-and-death → the return-and-cessation that is purity." Flow (生死 birth-and-death) · establishment (施設 designation) · wrong-conduct (顛倒 inversion) belong to the wholly-imagined and other-dependent (the defiled side); real-mark (真如 suchness) · mere-cognition (唯識性 the nature of cognition-only) · purity (離垢 freedom-from-defilement) · right-conduct (聖道 the noble path) belong to the perfectly-accomplished (the pure side). The single point that "mere-cognition reality" (唯識真實) is assigned to the perfectly-accomplished is precisely the same exposition as the Verses on Consciousness-Only in Thirty Stanzas' "圓成實 the perfectly-accomplished = 唯識實性 the true nature of cognition-only" — the nature of cognition-only just is the perfectly-accomplished suchness.
From Vasubandhu's Commentary (bhāṣya)
論曰：流轉等七，隨其所應，攝在根本三種真實，謂彼流轉安立邪行依根本中遍計所執及依他起，實相唯識清淨正行依根本中圓成實立。
Vasubandhu adjudicates the seven realities: flow · establishment · wrong-conduct (the three defiled) depend on the wholly-imagined and other-dependent; real-mark · mere-cognition · purity · right-conduct (the four pure) depend on the perfectly-accomplished. Defilement is assigned to the first two natures, purity to the perfectly-accomplished — the seven realities are precisely the "differentiated" unfolding of the three natures.
Commentarial Forks
Kuiji, Commentary on the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論述記》, T44n1835, composed by the śramaṇa Ji, p0018a 述曰):
- The reality of differentiation occupies one verse (in Kuiji's chapter-subdivision: the ninth reality, one verse); the seven realities depend on the three natures — defilement (flow · establishment · wrong-conduct) belongs to the first two, purity (real-mark · mere-cognition · purity · right-conduct) belongs to the perfectly-accomplished.
Translation Choices · Two ancient witnesses (Xuanzang · Paramārtha)
| Edition | Text and analysis |
|---|---|
| Chen · Paramārtha, Madhyāntavibhāga (《中邊分別論》) (T31n1599) p0456b27 reality-by-division (c. 557–569) | Paramārtha's verse reads 「生實二性攝，處、邪行亦爾，相、識及清淨、正行真性攝」 (arising · support · wrong-conduct upon the [first] two natures; characteristic · cognition · purity · right-conduct upon the true [perfectly-accomplished] nature). Paramārtha's 分破真實 (reality-by-division) = Xuanzang's 差別真實 (reality of differentiation) · 生起 (arising) = 流轉 (flow) · 依處 (support) = 安立 (establishment) · 識 (cognition) = 唯識 (mere-cognition). The distribution across the three natures fully agrees with Xuanzang. Xuanzang followed. |
| ★ Tang · Xuanzang, Verses of the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論頌》) (T31n1601) p0478c28 (661) · bhāṣya (T31n1600 p0470a07) | 「流轉與安立，邪行依初二，實相唯識淨，正行依後一。」 Base text: a Han-transmitted chain of exegetical reading comprising Vasubandhu's bhāṣya + Kuiji's 述記. |
For Scholars · notes, parallels, cross-references
★ Quartet Reading-Map
| Baifa | Thirty Verses | Twenty Verses | Madhyāntavibhāga |
|---|---|---|---|
| asaṃskṛta · 真如 suchness (perfectly-accomplished · the true nature of cognition-only) | 圓成實 the perfectly-accomplished = 唯識實性 the true nature of cognition-only (verse 25) | establishing cognition-only (mere-cognition reality) | this verse (the seven realities distributed across the three natures · mere-cognition assigned to the perfectly-accomplished) |
"Mere-cognition reality" is assigned to the perfectly-accomplished — precisely the same exposition as the perfectly-accomplished's "true nature of cognition-only" in the Thirty Verses; the distribution of flow and purity across the three natures runs together with the twofold division of defilement and purity in the Mahāyānasaṃgraha.
See also:
- [053] (subsumption of the five matters, the segment above) · [055]–[056] (skill, the ten views-of-self, the segment below · the last reality) · chapter on Characteristics [004] (the fourfold seeming of consciousness-transformation · mere-cognition) · Thirty Verses perfectly-accomplished = the true nature of cognition-only.
Verse [055]–[056] · Reality of Skill · The Ten Views-of-Self — the ten dharmas (aggregates and the rest) counteract the ten views-of-self · each holds three meanings subsuming the three natures
Source anchor · Sanskrit verse III.15–16 · T1601 [p0479a01 / a03] verse · T1600 [p0470a14·a24 verse / p0470a17·a25 bhāṣya] Vasubandhu's commentary · T1599 [p0456c09 superior cognition] Paramārtha · T1835 [p0018a 述曰] Kuiji 述記
於蘊等我見，執、一、因、受者、作者、自在轉、增上義及常、 雜染清淨依、觀、縛解者性。此所執分別，法性義在彼。
In Depth · The Three Gates
The Debate · Doctrinal context
This is the heading verse of the tenth reality, the reality of skill (善巧真實), which further unfolds into ten ([057]–[063] separately expound its meanings). Skill is set up for the sake of counteracting the ten views-of-self (為對治十我見) — upon each of the ten dharmas (aggregates and the rest) one view-of-self arises, and one cultivates the tenfold skill to counteract them:
| Skill (the ten dharmas) | The view-of-self counteracted |
|---|---|
| aggregates (蘊) | grasping at the nature of unity (一) |
| elements (界) | grasping at the nature of cause (因) |
| bases (處) | grasping at the nature of experiencer (受者) |
| dependent arising (緣起) | grasping at the nature of agent (作者) |
| the possible-and-impossible (處非處) | grasping at the nature of sovereign operation (自在轉) |
| faculties (根) | grasping at the nature of the predominant meaning (增上義) |
| time (世) | grasping at the nature of permanence (常) |
| truths (諦) | grasping at the nature of the basis of defilement-and-purity (染淨所依) |
| vehicles (乘) | grasping at the nature of the one who contemplates-and-practices (觀行者) |
| the conditioned-and-unconditioned (有為無為) | grasping at the nature of the one who is bound-and-released (縛解者) |
The latter half of [056], 「此所執分別，法性義在彼」 (this — imagined-aspect and discriminated-aspect; the dharma-nature-aspect lies therein), makes plain that each of the ten dharmas (aggregates and the rest) holds three meanings — the wholly-imagined-meaning (遍計所執 the wholly-imagined) · the discriminated-meaning (依他起 the other-dependent) · the dharma-nature-meaning (圓成實 the perfectly-accomplished). Hence the tenfold skill, too, is wholly established in dependence on the root threefold reality (as the matter-aggregate has imagined-matter · discriminated-matter · dharma-nature-matter, the three; feeling and so on, the elements and so on, the remaining nine dharmas, follow the same pattern). Core point: skill is no contemplation added from without; it is precisely the seeing of the three natures in the ten dharmas (aggregates and the rest) and the breaking of their ten graspings-at-self — the contemplation of reality returns in the end to the three natures.
From Vasubandhu's Commentary (bhāṣya)
論曰：於蘊等十法起十種我見，一執一性、二執因性、三執受者性、四執作者性、五執自在轉性、六執增上義性、七執常性、八執染淨所依性、九執觀行者性、十執縛解者性。為除此見，修十善巧。
論曰：此蘊等十各有三義。且色蘊中有三義者，一所執義色，謂色之遍計所執性；二分別義色，謂色之依他起性，此中分別以為色故；三法性義色，謂色之圓成實性。如色蘊中有此三義，受等四蘊、界等九法各有三義，隨應當知。如是蘊等由三義別，無不攝入彼三性中，是故當知十善巧真實皆依根本三真實而立。
Vasubandhu establishes that "upon each of the ten dharmas (aggregates and the rest) one view-of-self arises, and one cultivates one skill" for each, and shows that each of the ten (aggregates and the rest) has three meanings (imagined-aspect · discriminated-aspect · dharma-nature-aspect = the three natures); hence the tenfold skill, too, returns to the root threefold reality — sharing the very bone of "dependence on the three natures" with the preceding nine realities.
Commentarial Forks
Kuiji, Commentary on the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論述記》, T44n1835, composed by the śramaṇa Ji, beginning at p0018a, head of the nine verses on skill):
- The tenth reality of skill, nine verses ([055]–[063]), is the most extensive segment of this chapter; [055]–[056] set out the ten views-of-self and the dependence of the tenfold skill on the three natures, and [057]–[063] separately expound the meanings of the tenfold skill.
- The distinction between "skill" (善巧) and "reality of skill" (善巧真實): skill = the cognizing cognition; reality of skill = the principle that this cognition takes as its referent (Kuiji already distinguished this at [041]–[042]).
Translation Choices · Two ancient witnesses (Xuanzang · Paramārtha)
| Edition | Text and analysis |
|---|---|
| Chen · Paramārtha, Madhyāntavibhāga (《中邊分別論》) (T31n1599) p0456c09 superior cognition · ten views-of-self (c. 557–569) | Paramārtha's verse reads 「一、因及食者，作者及自在，增上義及常，垢染清淨依，觀者及縛解，此處生我見」 (the ten views-of-self). Paramārtha's 勝智 (superior cognition) = Xuanzang's 善巧 (skill) · 食者 (consumer) = 受者 (experiencer) · 垢染清淨依 (basis of stain-defilement-and-purity) = 染淨所依 (basis of defilement-and-purity). For the three meanings of each (aggregates and the rest) — 分別 (discriminated) · 種類 (kind) · 法然 (dharma-as-such) — as in Paramārtha's 「分別、種類色，法然色等三」 (discriminated-matter · kind-matter · dharma-as-such-matter, the three) = Xuanzang's three meanings 所執 (imagined-aspect) · 分別 (discriminated-aspect) · 法性 (dharma-nature-aspect). Xuanzang followed. |
| ★ Tang · Xuanzang, Verses of the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論頌》) (T31n1601) p0479a01–a04 (661) · bhāṣya (T31n1600 p0470a14·a24) | 「於蘊等我見……此所執分別，法性義在彼。」 Base text: a Han-transmitted chain of exegetical reading comprising Vasubandhu's bhāṣya + Kuiji's 述記. |
For Scholars · notes, parallels, cross-references
★ Quartet Reading-Map
| Baifa | Thirty Verses | Twenty Verses | Madhyāntavibhāga |
|---|---|---|---|
| the five-position hundred dharmas (aggregates/elements/bases subsuming all dharmas) · grasping at self | three natures · the twofold grasping at self-and-dharmas (by provisional speech of self-and-dharmas) | breaking the grasping at self (the establishing of no-self) | this segment (the tenfold skill, aggregates and the rest, counteracts the ten views-of-self · each holds three meanings subsuming the three natures) |
The ten dharmas (aggregates and the rest) counteract the ten views-of-self, sharing the same counteraction as the Thirty Verses' "by provisional speech of self-and-dharmas" breaks the grasping at self-and-dharmas; the skill of aggregates/elements/bases is precisely the gate of contemplation of the Treatise on the Hundred Dharmas of the Great Vehicle's "all dharmas are without self." That each (aggregates and the rest) holds three meanings (imagined-aspect · discriminated-aspect · dharma-nature-aspect) is the running-through of the three natures in each single dharma.
See also:
- [054] (the seven realities of differentiation, the segment above · before the last reality) · [057]–[063] (the separate meanings of the tenfold skill, the separate exposition of this segment) · chapter on Characteristics [007]–[008] (the means of entering signlessness · the two non-existents · the unobtainable) · Thirty Verses "by provisional speech of self-and-dharmas."
Verse [057]–[063] · The Tenfold Skill, Item by Item — aggregates · elements · bases · dependent-origination · the possible-and-impossible · faculties · time · truths · vehicles · the conditioned-and-unconditioned (close of the Reality chapter)
Source anchor · Sanskrit verse III.17–23 · T1601 [p0479a05 / a07 / a09 / a11 / a13 / a15 / a17] verse · T1600 [p0470b06–0471a26 skill by skill / p0471a27 chapter genus-meaning] Vasubandhu's commentary · T1599 [p0457a01–0458a09 the tenfold superior cognition / p0457c26 genus-meaning] Paramārtha · T1835 [p0018a–0019 述曰] Kuiji 述記
非一及總略、分段義名蘊。能所取、彼取，種子義名界。 能受、所了境，用門義名處。緣起義於因、果、用無增減。 於非愛、愛、淨、俱生及勝主、得、行不自在，是處非處義。 根於取、住、續、用、二淨增上。因果已未用，是世義應知。 受及受資糧，彼所因諸行，二寂滅對治，是諦義應知。 由功德過失，及無分別智，依他自出離，是乘義應知。 有為、無為義，謂若假、若因、若相，若寂靜、若彼所觀義。
In Depth · The Three Gates
The Debate · Doctrinal context (close of the Reality chapter)
The tenfold skill is now expounded item by item in its "meaning" (seven verses run through the ten skills, with aggregates·elements, bases·dependent-origination, and faculties·time each sharing a verse). An overview of the meaning of each of the ten skills (per Vasubandhu's bhāṣya):
| Skill | Meaning (and the self-view it counteracts) |
|---|---|
| Aggregates (蘊 skandha) | not-one · summary-totality · division-into-segments (the threefold meaning of "heap") → counters grasping at unity |
| Elements (界 dhātu) | seed of the grasping (the six inner elements) · seed of the grasped (the six outer elements) · seed of the grasping-of-that [consciousness] (the six consciousness-elements) → counters grasping at a cause |
| Bases (處 āyatana) | the door-of-function of experiencing (the six inner bases) · the door-of-function of the cognized object (the six outer bases) → counters grasping at an experiencer |
| Dependent-origination (緣起) | neither increase nor decrease in cause · effect · function (free of the two grasps, superimposition and denial) → counters grasping at an agent |
| The possible-and-impossible (處非處) | the seven kinds of non-self-mastery (the unwanted · the wanted · the pure · co-arising · the dominant-lord · attainment · conduct) → counters grasping at a self-mastering controller |
| Faculties (根 indriya) | the twenty-two faculties exercising dominance over six matters (grasping an object · abiding · continuance · enjoyment · mundane purity · supramundane purity) → counters grasping at dominance |
| Time (世) | the enjoyment of cause and effect as already-past or not-yet (both-already = past · both-not-yet = future · cause-already-effect-not-yet = present) → counters grasping at permanence |
| Truths (諦 satya) | experience and the requisites of experience (suffering) · the conditioning-factors that are their cause (origin) · the twofold cessation (cessation) · the counteragent (path) → counters grasping at a basis for defilement and purity |
| Vehicles (乘 yāna) | the cognition of merits and faults heard from another (the disciple-vehicle / śrāvaka) · arousing this cognition oneself (the solitary-buddha / pratyekabuddha) · non-discriminative cognition (the supreme vehicle) → counters grasping at a contemplative-practitioner |
| Conditioned-and-unconditioned (有為無為) | conditioned = the conventionally-designated (names) · cause (seeds, subsumed by the store-consciousness) · characteristic (the receptacle-world, body, and instruments of enjoyment + the evolving consciousnesses); unconditioned = the quiescent (cessation · path) · the referent contemplated thereby (suchness) → counters grasping at one who is bound and one who is freed |
Core point: the tenfold skill is precisely the "knowing-as-it-is" through the ten gates of aggregates, elements, bases, and the rest, breaking the ten kinds of self-grasping — and its knot is tied in the skill in the conditioned and the unconditioned: the conditioned subsumes the conventionally-designated, cause, and characteristic (including "cause = the store-consciousness that subsumes the seeds" and "characteristic = the receptacle-world, body, and instruments of enjoyment, and the evolving consciousnesses"), while the unconditioned subsumes the quiescent (cessation and path) and the contemplated referent (suchness). At this point the conditioned and unconditioned nature of all dharmas is exhaustively subsumed, and the grasping at self has nowhere left to lodge.
The genus-meaning of the Reality chapter (Vasubandhu, p0471a27): the ten realities are further subsumed into two — the "reality that reveals" (能顯真實, the first three roots, because they reveal the rest) and the "reality that is revealed" (所顯真實, the latter nine, revealed by the roots). Paramārtha likens these to "the revealing being like a mirror · the revealed being like a reflection." The three natures are the mirror, the nine realities are the reflection — the guiding thread of the whole chapter, "taking the three natures as basis to reveal the remaining nine realities," is tied off here in its knot.
From Vasubandhu's Commentary (bhāṣya)
論曰：應知蘊義，略有三種：一、非一義，如契經言：諸所有色等，若過去若未來若現在、若內若外、若麁若細、若劣若勝、若遠若近。二、總略義，如契經言：如是一切略為一聚。三、分段義，如契經言：說名色蘊等，各別安立色等相故，由斯聚義蘊義得成。又見世間聚義名蘊。
Vasubandhu gives the meaning of "aggregate" (蘊) in three senses — not-one (the manifold of forms past, future, present, inner, outer, coarse, subtle, inferior, superior, far, near), summary-totality ("all of these summed up into a single heap"), and division-into-segments (each of form and the rest set up separately by its own characteristic). By these the meaning of "heap," and so the meaning of "aggregate," is accomplished; and worldly usage too names the meaning of "heap" an aggregate.
論曰：應知此中假謂名等；因謂種子所攝藏識；相謂器身并受用具，及轉識攝意取思惟；意謂恒時思量性識；取謂五識取現境故；思惟即是第六意識，以能分別一切境故。如是若假、若因、若相及相應法，總名有為。若寂靜者，謂所證滅及能證道，能寂靜故。彼所觀義，謂即真如，是寂靜道所緣境故。如是所說若諸寂靜、若所觀義，總名無為。應知此中緣蘊等十義所起正知，名蘊等善巧。
Vasubandhu spells out the skill in the conditioned and the unconditioned. The conventionally-designated (假) is names and the like. The cause (因) is the store-consciousness (藏識 ālaya) that subsumes the seeds. The characteristic (相) is the receptacle-world, body, and instruments of enjoyment, together with the evolving consciousnesses (轉識) — which here comprise manas (意, the consciousness whose nature is constant deliberation), grasping (取, since the five consciousnesses grasp the present object), and deliberating (思惟, namely the sixth consciousness, the mental consciousness, since it can discriminate every object). Thus the conventionally-designated, the cause, the characteristic, and their associated factors are together named the conditioned (有為). The quiescent (寂靜) is the cessation that is realized and the path that realizes it, since they have the power to quieten; and the referent contemplated thereby (彼所觀義) is precisely suchness (真如), since it is the object-domain of the quiescent path. Thus the quiescent factors and the contemplated referent are together named the unconditioned (無為). And the right knowledge that arises taking the ten meanings of aggregates and the rest as its referent is named the skill in aggregates and the rest. Here the eightfold consciousness of Yogācāra stands forth in bone: cause = the store-consciousness, characteristic = the evolving consciousnesses.
真實總義略有二種，謂即能顯、所顯真實。能顯真實，謂即最初三種根本，能顯餘故。所顯真實，謂後九種，是初根本所顯示故。所顯九者，一離增上慢所顯真實；二對治顛倒所顯真實；三聲聞乘出離所顯真實；四無上乘出離所顯真實，由麁能成熟細能解脫故；五能伏他論所顯真實，依喻導理降伏他故；六顯了大乘所顯真實；七入一切種所知所顯真實；八顯不虛妄真如所顯真實；九入我執事一切祕密所顯真實。
In the genus-meaning Vasubandhu subsumes the ten realities into two: the reality that reveals (能顯真實), namely the first three roots, because they reveal the rest; and the reality that is revealed (所顯真實), namely the latter nine, because they are displayed by the initial roots. The nine that are revealed are: (1) the reality revealed by being free of conceit; (2) the reality revealed by counteracting inversion; (3) the reality revealed by the going-forth of the disciple-vehicle; (4) the reality revealed by the going-forth of the supreme vehicle (since the coarse can ripen and the subtle can liberate); (5) the reality revealed by being able to subdue others' theses (subduing others by leading the principle through similes); (6) the reality revealed by elucidating the Great Vehicle; (7) the reality revealed by entering the knowable in all its modes; (8) the reality revealed by displaying the non-deceptive suchness; (9) the reality revealed by entering all the secrets within the matter of self-grasping.
Vasubandhu glosses each skill in turn (the meaning of "aggregate" and the meaning of "conditioned-and-unconditioned" cited above as samples; elements · bases · dependent-origination · the possible-and-impossible · faculties · time · truths · vehicles follow on the same pattern — see the table under "The Debate"), and at the close subsumes the ten realities under "the revealing (the three roots) · the revealed (the latter nine)" — the three natures revealing, the nine realities revealed; here the knot of the whole chapter is tied. The line in the skill in the conditioned and unconditioned — "cause = the store-consciousness that subsumes the seeds (ālaya) · characteristic = the evolving consciousnesses" — shows especially the bone of the eightfold consciousness of Yogācāra.
Commentarial Forks
Kuiji, Commentary on the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論述記》, T44n1835, composed by the śramaṇa Ji, p0018a–0019):
- Glosses the ten skills verse by verse, drawing largely on the Āgama sūtras (the aggregate's not-one · summary-totality · division-into-segments are all "as the sūtra says" / 如契經言), the Bahudhātuka-sūtra (《多界經》, the seven kinds of non-self-mastery under the possible-and-impossible), and the Yogācārabhūmi (《瑜伽》, the twenty-two faculties over six matters).
- In the skill in the conditioned and unconditioned, "cause = the store-consciousness that subsumes the seeds · characteristic = the receptacle-world, body, instruments of enjoyment, and the evolving consciousnesses" makes plain what is transformed by consciousness-only; the unconditioned is "the quiescent = cessation and path · the contemplated = suchness."
Translation Choices · Two ancient witnesses (Xuanzang · Paramārtha)
| Edition | Text and analysis |
|---|---|
| Chen · Paramārtha, Madhyāntavibhāga (《中邊分別論》) (T31n1599) p0457a01–0458a09 the tenfold superior cognition, item by item · genus-meaning (c. 557–569) | Paramārtha expounds each superior cognition in turn (aggregate = the threefold meaning of "heap" 〔manifold · totality · distinct〕 · element = the seed of the grasping, the grasped, and the grasping-of-that · entrance 〔base〕 = the door-of-function of experiencing the sense-object and discriminating it · cause-and-condition = neither increase nor decrease in the matters of cause and effect · the possible-and-impossible = the seven bound-and-belonging-to-another · faculty = dominance in six meanings · time = the enjoyment of cause and effect as already or not-yet · truth = experience and the requisites of experience · vehicle = the three vehicles · conditioned-and-unconditioned = the cause-and-characteristic of verbal designation / the quiescent domain). Paramārtha's "cause = the ālaya-consciousness that subsumes the seeds · characteristic = the worldly receptacle, body, and what is enjoyed · the mind and the grasping-discrimination subsumed by the arising-consciousnesses" fully agrees with Xuanzang's "store-consciousness · evolving consciousnesses." In the chapter's closing genus-meaning, Paramārtha's "the reality that reveals is likened to a mirror · the reality that is revealed is likened to a reflection" (Xuanzang's "the revealing · the revealed") — an exquisite simile. Paramārtha's text ends here with "the Reality chapter of the great treatise Madhyāntavibhāga is concluded." Xuanzang followed. |
| ★ Tang · Xuanzang, Verses of the Madhyāntavibhāga (《辯中邊論頌》) (T31n1601) p0479a05–a17 (661) · bhāṣya (T31n1600 p0470b06) | 「非一及總略……若寂靜、若彼所觀義。」 Base text: carries the Han-transmitted exegetical reading-chain of Vasubandhu's bhāṣya + Kuiji's 述記. |
For Scholars · notes, parallels, cross-references
★ Quartet Reading-Map
| Baifa | Thirty Verses | Twenty Verses | Madhyāntavibhāga |
|---|---|---|---|
| the five-position hundred dharmas · the eight consciousnesses (store-consciousness · evolving consciousnesses) · the two unconditioned | ālaya · the evolving consciousnesses (the first transformation · the object-cognizing transformation) · the perfectly-accomplished suchness | consciousness-only without object (the consciousness-only of aggregates, elements, and bases) | this segment (the tenfold skill item by item · the conditioned-and-unconditioned subsuming store-consciousness, evolving consciousnesses, and suchness) |
The tenfold skill's "conditioned = cause (store-consciousness) · characteristic (evolving consciousnesses)" is the same exposition as the Thirty Verses' "first transformation (ālaya) · object-cognizing transformation (the first six)"; its "unconditioned = the quiescent (cessation and path) · the contemplated (suchness)" is precisely the two unconditioned of the Baifa (大乘百法明門論). The consciousness-only skill in aggregates, elements, and bases runs through to the principle of what-is-transformed in the Cheng weishi lun (成唯識論, the treatise that gathers it all to a head). The chapter's closing "the revealing (the three natures) · the revealed (the nine realities)" is the guiding thread of the whole chapter's subsumption under the three natures.
See also:
- [055]–[056] (the tenfold view-of-self under the skills, the heading of this segment) · [041]–[042] (the headings of the ten realities · the tenfold skill, the summary of this segment) · [043] (root reality, the three natures, the three roots of "the revealing") · the chapter on Discerning the Counteragents (chapter 4, "to cultivate the counteragents is to cultivate the limbs of awakening," that which can cultivate the reality discerned in this chapter) · Thirty Verses on the eight consciousnesses and three natures · Cheng weishi lun on what-is-transformed.