攝大乘論 白話全本

To set out his theme from the very start, Asaṅga, at the very opening of the whole treatise, first lays out the "table of contents" of the entire Great Vehicle (Mahāyāna). What follows is in five parts, going along with his words.

1. Setting Out the Theme: The Great Vehicle Is Vast in Scope, with Ten Supremely Excellent Teachings

Asaṅga says: this treatise comes from a scripture called the Abhidharma-mahāyāna-sūtra. In a former time, in the presence of the Buddha (the Bhagavān, that is, the World-Honored One), there was a bodhisattva who had already entered deeply into the Great Vehicle, and who — in order to make plain how vast the Great Vehicle is in scope — spoke these words. (This same point is stated once more at the very end of the treatise: "The 'Mahāyānasaṃgraha' chapter of the Abhidharma-mahāyāna-sūtra — I, Asaṅga, have now finished giving it a brief commentary." So you can see that this treatise is the outline that Asaṅga composed for the "Mahāyānasaṃgraha" chapter of that scripture.)

Going straight to the heart of the matter, he sets out a string of headings: it is solely in dependence on the Great Vehicle that the Buddhas have the "ten supremely excellent teachings" (the original calls this "the tenfold supremely excellent discourse" — "supremely excellent" means specially surpassing, found nowhere else; the doubling of the word is to say that these ten are surpassing to the utmost). These ten, in order, are:

1. The basis of the knowable — the root on which everything there is to know depends (what the foundation of all things is).
2. The characteristics of the knowable — how these things there are to know present themselves.
3. Entering the characteristics of the knowable — how one truly "enters" and personally realizes this way of appearing.
4. The cause and fruit of that entering — what cause this "entering" rests upon, and what fruit it bears.
5. The distinctions in that cultivation that cause and fruit — the stages into which the practice of this cause and fruit is divided.
6. The higher training in discipline — the "discipline" of a further, higher level within this practice.
7. The higher training in mind — the "concentration" of a further, higher level.
8. The higher training in wisdom — the "wisdom" of a further, higher level.
9. The fruit of severance — that quality of "cutting off" attained at the level of the fruit (that is, nirvāṇa).
10. The fruit of cognition — the "wisdom" accomplished at the level of the fruit (that is, the state of Buddhahood).

Asaṅga says: the lines of the Buddhas' scriptural teaching that are gathered up under these ten are enough, by themselves, to prove that the Great Vehicle is truly the word the Buddha spoke. (This sentence has quietly laid the groundwork for the question that comes later — "is the Great Vehicle really what the Buddha spoke?" — and in the next two parts he sets out the reasoning head-on.)

2. These Ten Are Taught Only in the Great Vehicle — What Each One Points To

Next Asaṅga asks himself: on what grounds can these ten prove that the Great Vehicle is what the Buddha spoke? His first reason is this — these ten were never once found in the earlier teaching given to the Śrāvaka (Hearer) disciples; only in the Great Vehicle are they taught everywhere. So he "points out the actual thing" for each one, making clear what is really being spoken of under each heading:

• The basis of the knowable speaks of the storehouse consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna): the root consciousness at the very bottom of the mind, holding within it all the "seeds," the foundation of all experience.
• The characteristics of the knowable speaks of the three natures (three ways the nature of things may be regarded): the other-dependent (paratantra), the wholly-imagined (parikalpita), and the perfectly-accomplished (pariniṣpanna).
• Entering the characteristics of the knowable speaks of the nature of consciousness-only (vijñapti-mātratā): personally realizing that all things are only what the conscious mind makes appear.
• The cause and fruit of that entering speaks of the six perfections (pāramitās): giving, discipline, patience, energy, meditation, and wisdom.
• The distinctions in that cultivation that cause and fruit speaks of the ten bodhisattva grounds: the ten ranks of the practice.
• The higher training in discipline speaks of the bodhisattva discipline (the precepts a bodhisattva undertakes and upholds).
• The higher training in mind speaks of the various profound states of concentration (samādhi) such as the Heroic-March (Śūraṅgama) and the Space-Treasury (Ākāśagarbha).
• The higher training in wisdom speaks of non-conceptual wisdom (nirvikalpa-jñāna): the wisdom that goes beyond the split of subject and object and reaches directly into the truth.
• The fruit of severance speaks of non-abiding nirvāṇa: that liberation which is neither tied down by birth-and-death nor falls back into a dead stillness.
• The fruit of cognition speaks of the Buddha's three bodies: the self-nature body, the enjoyment body, and the transformation body.

Since these ten are taught only in the Great Vehicle, and are not found in the Śrāvaka vehicle, they mark out the fundamental difference between the Great Vehicle and the Śrāvaka vehicle; and, just because the World-Honored One spoke them specifically for the bodhisattvas, this shows all the more how supremely excellent they are. So we can know: it is solely in dependence on the Great Vehicle that the Buddhas have these ten supremely excellent teachings.

3. Why These Ten Can Prove the Great Vehicle Is What the Buddha Spoke

Asaṅga presses one step further and asks: these ten "teachings of the Tathāgata" — on what grounds can they both prove that the Great Vehicle is truly what the Buddha spoke, and also "block off" — fend off the lumping-together that says "the Śrāvaka vehicle just amounts to the Great Vehicle"?

His grounds, besides the "found only in the Great Vehicle, not in the Śrāvaka vehicle" already mentioned, lie also in the fact that these ten themselves possess four marks:

1. They are the most able to give rise to unsurpassed awakening; they are the most powerful cause of Buddhahood.
2. They are established soundly and completely in their reasoning, standing firm — not idle talk.
3. They follow correct principle and hold together from first to last, with no contradiction among them.
4. They are precisely the path that leads to the Buddha's "wisdom that knows everything."

A body of teaching that possesses all four of these at once is the Buddha's teaching, not something an ordinary person could make up. Conversely, since the Śrāvaka vehicle has none of these ten, it likewise cannot falsely claim to be the Great Vehicle itself.

4. Two Verses That Gather the Ten Together

Having finished the reasoning, Asaṅga uses two verses to gather the above together once more.

The first verse names these ten over again in order — the basis of the knowable, the characteristics of the knowable, the cause and fruit of entry, the gradations of the practice, the threefold training in discipline, mind, and wisdom, and the cessation and wisdom of the fruit-level — and says that these ten are gathered up in the "supreme vehicle," and are supremely excellent for that very reason. The second verse declares: these ten are had only by the Great Vehicle and are seen nowhere else; precisely because they are the most excellent cause of Buddhahood, the Great Vehicle is acknowledged to be truly the word of the Buddha — it is just because it sets forth these ten that the Great Vehicle is excellent in this way.

(The ancient treatises often used this device of "finishing the reasoning, then appending verses" to help the reader fix the framework firmly in mind.)

5. The Order in Which These Ten Are Arranged Is the Very Sequence of the Practice

Finally, Asaṅga explains: why are these ten arranged in this order? Because this order is precisely the course by which a bodhisattva personally realizes the practice step by step, each link giving rise to the next —

First one must come to recognize the "cause" of all things (that is, the basis of the knowable = the storehouse consciousness holding the seeds within it); only then can there be any talk of penetrating dependent arising. Having penetrated dependent arising, one can then see clearly the characteristics of phenomena and keep away from two errors — one is "over-affirming" (forcibly adding to a thing a reality it simply does not have), the other is "under-denying" (sweeping it away as if there were nothing at all); this is the characteristics of the knowable = the three natures. Having seen the characteristics clearly, one can then truly penetrate them and let the mind win liberation from every kind of obstruction (entering the characteristics of the knowable = consciousness-only); after penetrating, the six perfections of the preparatory stage grow more complete through being actually realized, because that deep aspiration turned toward the path (the higher resolve) has become pure (the cause and fruit of that entering); then, with the six perfections held by this pure aspiration, one practices through the ten grounds portion by portion, having to pass through the long span of three great incalculable eons (the distinctions in that cultivation = the ten grounds); once the threefold training is complete, one at last directly realizes the two fruits — nirvāṇa (the fruit of severance) and unsurpassed perfect awakening (the fruit of cognition).

So these ten are not items strung together at random, but a complete path running from "recognizing the foundation of the world and the mind" all the way to "perfect Buddhahood." Asaṅga adds one more line at the close: once these ten have been fully set forth, the whole doctrine of the Great Vehicle is then gathered up within them, with nothing left out.

Of the ten special points, the very first is the basis of the knowable (所知依) — the root on which everything worth knowing depends. Asaṅga says: this root is the storehouse consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna) — the deepest layer of mind, the root consciousness that holds and contains all the "seeds." What follows runs through his account of it.

1. Where did the World-Honored One call this consciousness the "storehouse consciousness"?

Asaṅga first asks: where exactly did the World-Honored One set up the name "storehouse consciousness" for this consciousness? He answers: in a verse of the Abhidharma-mahāyāna-sūtra (阿毘達磨大乘經), the Buddha said this —

There is a "realm" (here meaning the root basis that holds the seeds) that has existed from beginningless time; it is the root on which all things equally depend. Just because it is there, sentient beings have their many destinies of birth-and-death (the various courses of rebirth), and nirvāṇa too can be realized.

Then that same sūtra adds a further verse, meaning: because it gathers in and contains all things, being the "consciousness of all seeds" (the consciousness that holds every seed), it is named the storehouse; this teaching the Buddha set forth specifically for those of advanced attainment (those fit to receive the deep teaching).

Asaṅga says: these two passages are the scriptural authority — the "āgama" (the holy teaching, the scripture passed down from the Buddha's own mouth) — cited first as proof.

2. Why is this consciousness called the "storehouse consciousness"?

Having cited the scripture, Asaṅga presses further: on what grounds is this consciousness to be called the "storehouse consciousness" (the word "ālaya" carries the sense of storing up, gathering in)? He gives several reasons —

First, all things of the defiled kind that arise (the many tainted, defiled phenomena) are stored up in this consciousness as their "fruit" (the results they perfume in are all kept in this consciousness), and so it is called the storehouse consciousness.

Second, the other way around: it is precisely this consciousness that serves as the "cause" for those defiled things (the seeds it holds are able to give rise to them), and so it is called the storehouse consciousness.

And there is a further sense: sentient beings grasp and store this consciousness as their own "self" (mistaking it for that permanent self), and so it is called the storehouse consciousness as well.

3. This consciousness is also called the "appropriating consciousness"

Asaṅga goes on: this consciousness has another name too — the appropriating consciousness (ādāna) (the word "ādāna" carries the sense of holding fast, taking up). This name also has scriptural authority. In the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra (解深密經), the Buddha spoke a verse, meaning —

The appropriating consciousness is extremely deep and extremely subtle; the seeds it holds, all of them, run on like a rushing torrent. I (the Buddha) do not expound it to the ignorant and immature, for fear they would form discriminations and wrongly grasp it as a "self."

So why is this consciousness also called the appropriating consciousness? Asaṅga says: because it holds fast all the material faculties (it takes up and sustains the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body — those bodily organs), and because it is the basis for "appropriating one's own bodily existence" (the whole body-and-mind of a single lifetime is held together and appropriated through it).

How so? These material faculties, precisely because they are held fast by this consciousness, can remain undamaged for a whole lifetime and run on with the continuum of life. And again: in the continuum of life, at the very moment of "linking up a new birth" (taking conception, joining on to the next life), it is this consciousness that goes to appropriate the body being born, and so takes up a fresh bodily existence. On these two grounds, this consciousness is also called the appropriating consciousness.

4. This consciousness is also called "mind" — and from this comes "thought-faculty" (manas)

Asaṅga says: this consciousness is also called "mind" (citta). Just as the World-Honored One spoke of the three — "mind, thought-faculty, and consciousness."

Here we treat the "thought-faculty" (manas) first. The thought-faculty is of two kinds —

The first kind of thought-faculty is the basis that serves as the "immediately-antecedent condition" (the seat that is relied upon when a prior moment of consciousness has just ceased and, with no gap, gives rise to the next): the consciousness that has just ceased in the preceding instant can serve as the basis from which the next mental consciousness arises.

The second kind of thought-faculty is the defiled mind (kliṣṭa-manas) (a defiled consciousness that, at all times and beneath the surface, grasps a self). It keeps constant company with four afflictions, in unbroken correspondence with them: first, the view of a real self in the body-and-mind (taking the body-and-mind to be a real "self"); second, self-conceit (the haughtiness that rides on the self); third, self-love (craving for the self); fourth, ignorance (the dimness as to how things truly are). This second kind of thought-faculty is just what the "consciousness" depends on for becoming defiled.

Asaṅga sums up: consciousness (meaning the storehouse consciousness) is given rise to by that first kind of thought-faculty (it arises in dependence on the immediately-antecedent condition), and is made defiled by the second kind of thought-faculty (the defiled mind). And further, by the meaning of the words: "consciousness" means "discerning an object" (cognizing and discriminating the object faced); "thought-faculty" means, first, "immediately antecedent" (the prior ceasing and the next arising, leading on without a gap), and second, "deliberating" (constantly measuring, grasping a self). Because "thought-faculty" carries these two meanings, it comes to be of two kinds.

5. How do we know there really is a "defiled mind"? — Six counter-proofs

Asaṅga then asks: how can it be settled that there really is such a "defiled mind"? He establishes it through a chain of counter-proofs of the form "suppose it were absent — then this would not work" —

One. Were there no defiled mind, then "uncommon ignorance" (the kind of ignorance that does not arise together with craving and the rest but lies latent on its own) would have nowhere to stand — and that is a fault.

Two. Again, "the parity of the five consciousnesses" could not be established either — and that too is a fault. Why? Because the five sense-consciousnesses (eye-consciousness through body-consciousness) must each have a "co-existing basis" (a faculty present alongside it that serves as its support); the defiled mind is precisely the co-existing basis of the mental consciousness. Without it, "the five consciousnesses each have a co-existing basis but the mental consciousness does not" would be a mismatch.

Three. Again, the etymological gloss put on the name "thought-faculty" (explaining "thought-faculty" as "deliberating") would have nothing to rest on — and that is a fault. With no defiled mind constantly deliberating and grasping a self, "thought-faculty = deliberating" falls empty.

Four. Again, the two attainments "the meditative attainment of no-thought" and "the meditative attainment of cessation" could not be told apart — and that is a fault. Note: in the attainment of no-thought the defiled mind is still at work (so the grasping of self has not been truly stilled), whereas in the attainment of cessation it is not. Were the defiled mind not posited, these two attainments would have no difference at all — yet they plainly do differ.

Five. Again, a being born into the "heaven of no-thought" would, for that whole stretch of life, turn out to be "without defilement" — and that is a fault: for if, in that lifetime, even the grasping of self and self-conceit were gone, that would amount to an ordinary being becoming selfless in the heaven of no-thought, which does not hold up.

Six. Again, "the grasping of self" is present in active operation at all times, found everywhere: in a wholesome mind, in an unwholesome mind, and even in an indeterminate mind (a mind that is neither wholesome nor unwholesome), the grasping of self quietly operates. Were no constantly co-existing defiled mind posited, then the grasping of self could only arise alongside the mind it "corresponds" to — but craving and the rest correspond only with the unwholesome mind, so afflictions of the "I and mine" kind would have to operate only in unwholesome minds and not in wholesome or indeterminate ones. Yet the fact is that wholesome and indeterminate minds also have the grasping of self. Therefore — only if the defiled mind is posited as something "co-existing in active operation" (present alongside every kind of mind, quietly operating at all times beneath the surface), and not as "operating by correspondence" (not as something that arises only when it corresponds to a particular mind), do all the above faults vanish.

Asaṅga gathers these six in a verse, whose meaning is: if no defiled mind is posited, then "uncommon ignorance," "the parity of the five consciousnesses," "the etymological gloss," and "the difference between the two attainments" — not one of these can stand; all become faults. In the heaven of no-thought one whole lifetime would have to turn out with no grasping of self operating — again a fault; whereas the grasping of self in fact runs along constantly, threading through every kind of mind, and without it there is no accounting for it. Apart from the defiled mind these have nowhere to settle, and items "two and three" spoken of above contradict each other; without it, the grasping of self ought not to be everywhere. And further: when a mind of "true reality" (a mind penetrating to how things truly are) is about to arise, there is always something that constantly obstructs it — accompanying it and threading through every state, namely that "uncommon ignorance" (the ignorance belonging to the defiled mind).

Asaṅga adds a word on its nature: this "thought-faculty," because it is defiled, belongs to the "obstructive-yet-indeterminate" (有覆無記) (it can veil over the noble path, while in itself being neither wholesome nor unwholesome); it corresponds constantly with those four afflictions. Just as in the form realm and the formless realm the afflictions of the "entanglement" kind are likewise reckoned as obstructive-yet-indeterminate — for in the form and formless realms those entanglement-afflictions are held in check and held within by "calm-abiding" (śamatha, stilling-meditation) — so too this defiled mind runs along quietly, at all times and in the most subtle way.

6. Why "mind" is established, and why it is called "mind"

Asaṅga returns to "mind." He says: as to the substance of "mind," reckoned as the third (of the three — mind, thought-faculty, and consciousness), if you set aside the storehouse consciousness, nothing else can be found — there is no other thing to serve as the "substance of mind." So the storehouse consciousness is taken as the substance of "mind." On the strength of it serving as the seed, the "thought-faculty" and the "consciousness" are able to turn and operate.

And why is this consciousness called "mind"? Because the seeds perfumed in by every kind of thing accumulate and gather together in it ("mind" carries the sense of accumulation), it is called mind.

7. Why the Śrāvaka vehicle does not state this name "storehouse / appropriating consciousness"

Asaṅga asks: then why, in the teachings of the Śrāvaka vehicle (聲聞乘), is this mind not called the storehouse consciousness or the appropriating consciousness?

He answers: because this belongs to an extremely deep and subtle domain. How so? Śrāvakas are not those who must "turn and operate, and penetrate through, on every object and every domain of knowledge" — their aim is limited. So for them, even without this consciousness being taught, their wisdom can still be accomplished and their liberation can still be accomplished, and so the Buddha did not teach it to them. As for bodhisattvas, they must turn and operate, and leave nothing unpenetrated, on every object and every domain of knowledge; so it had to be taught to them. For without the wisdom about this consciousness, it is not easy to realize the "wisdom of all-knowing" (the Buddha's all-knowing wisdom).

8. In fact the Śrāvaka vehicle did speak of it too — by another name, with hidden intent

Asaṅga says further: in fact, within the Śrāvaka vehicle, the storehouse consciousness was indeed spoken of by an "alternative gateway with hidden intent" (under another heading, with a deeper meaning concealed) — only it was not named outright.

For example, that Ekottarikāgama (增壹阿笈摩) says: worldly beings love the storehouse, delight in the storehouse, yearn for the storehouse, rejoice in the storehouse (toward the storehouse they have craving, and delight, and yearning, and joy); and it is in order to cut off such a storehouse that, when the Buddha proclaims the true teaching, beings will reverently lend an ear, settle into a mind that seeks liberation, and practice step by step according to the teaching. The arising of a Tathāgata is just this — that such a wondrous, rare true teaching appears in the world. — This passage, in the Śrāvaka vehicle's "Sūtra of the Four Qualities of the Tathāgata's Arising" (如來出現四德經), already quietly points out the storehouse consciousness by way of this "alternative gateway with hidden intent."

Again, in the āgama transmitted by the Mahāsāṃghika school, by an alternative gateway with hidden intent it is called the "root consciousness" (根本識), likened to a tree depending on its root (all the consciousnesses are like branches and leaves, all standing on this root consciousness). In the Mahīśāsaka school, again by an alternative gateway with hidden intent, it is called the "aggregate that runs through birth-and-death" (窮生死蘊) (the aggregate that runs the whole length of birth-and-death, never breaking off) — because at times "form" and "mind" can be seen to break off (as when one enters a mindless meditative attainment), yet the seeds in the storehouse consciousness do not break off.

Asaṅga sums up: this "basis of the knowable," then, is said to have for its essence the storehouse consciousness, to have for its essence the appropriating consciousness, to have for its essence mind, to have for its essence the storehouse, to have for its essence the root consciousness, to have for its essence the aggregate that runs through birth-and-death — and so on. Precisely because there are so many "alternative names" all leading to one and the same thing, the storehouse consciousness becomes a "great royal road" (a master highway) that everyone can travel, opening out in all directions.

9. Refuting several ways of mistaking the "storehouse"

Asaṅga then sets several misreadings straight.

The first. There is a class who hold that "mind, thought-faculty, and consciousness" are merely different names with one and the same meaning. This does not hold up — the meanings of "thought-faculty" and "consciousness" can plainly be told apart, and from this we should know that the meaning of "mind" too ought to be distinct, not lumped in with them.

The second. There is a class who hold that the "storehouse" in the Buddha's saying "beings love the storehouse" and all that is expounded at length means the "five appropriated aggregates" (the body-and-mind of the five aggregates formed by grasping). Others again say it is the "pleasant feeling" arising together with craving that is called the storehouse. Others again say it is the "view of a real self in the body" that is called the storehouse.

Asaṅga's judgment: these masters, being still dim and unclear about the storehouse consciousness — both as to its teaching and as to its realization — fall into such graspings. The way they set up the name "storehouse" does not even square with the principle of the Śrāvaka vehicle's own way of setting things up. Whereas one who is not dim about the storehouse consciousness, who takes this storehouse consciousness to set up the "storehouse" the Buddha spoke of — that is the most excellent and most fitting setup.

Why say "explaining it by the storehouse consciousness is most excellent"? Asaṅga breaks the three preceding claims one by one —

Suppose the "five appropriated aggregates" were the storehouse: but for one born into an evil destiny, into a place of unrelenting suffering (such as the hells), the five appropriated aggregates are most loathsome, a thing one cannot flee fast enough; beings there never feel love or delight for them. To say that, even there, a being "grasps and stores them as a self and clings to them" does not hold up — for there he single-mindedly wants only to be quickly rid of them.

Suppose the "pleasant feeling arising together with craving" were the storehouse: but from the fourth meditative absorption upward there is no such pleasant feeling, and beings born in those heavens constantly hold this kind of feeling in disgust; to say that even there they grasp and store and cling to it does not hold up either.

Suppose the "view of a real self in the body" were the storehouse: but within this true teaching, one who has already come to conviction in "no-self" constantly holds the view-of-self in disgust; to say that they still grasp and store and cling to the view-of-self does not hold up either.

Turn it around to the storehouse consciousness and it all works: the storehouse consciousness is what gets taken up as the "inner self" —

Even one born into an evil destiny, a place of unrelenting suffering, single-mindedly seeking to be rid of the suffering aggregates, is still bound fast by "self-love" for the storehouse consciousness, following him like a shadow; he never once thinks of leaving the storehouse consciousness behind.

Even one born from the fourth meditative absorption upward, constantly holding in disgust the pleasant feeling that arises with craving, is bound just the same by self-love for the storehouse consciousness.

Even one who within this true teaching has come to conviction in no-self and holds the view-of-self in disgust is bound just the same by self-love for the storehouse consciousness.

Therefore — setting up the storehouse consciousness as the "storehouse" the Buddha spoke of is the most excellent, the most defensible.

10. Setting up the "three aspects" of this consciousness: own-aspect, cause-aspect, fruit-aspect

Asaṅga says: the foregoing has finished setting out the various "alternative names" of the storehouse consciousness; how, then, is its "aspect" (the manner in which it presents) to be set up? In brief there are three: first, the own-aspect; second, the cause-aspect; third, the fruit-aspect.

Own-aspect. The storehouse consciousness, taking the "perfuming" left behind by every category of defiled thing (the residual force perfumed in), serves as the cause for the arising of those things; it is able to hold and carry the corresponding seeds — this is its own-aspect (it is itself the storing substance that can hold seeds and give rise to defilement).

Cause-aspect. This is the storehouse consciousness containing all seeds, serving at all times as the "cause" for the various categories of defiled things when they arise before us.

Fruit-aspect. This is the storehouse consciousness arising in unbroken continuity in dependence on the perfuming left behind, from beginningless time, by those various categories of defiled things — it is itself the "fruit" perfumed in by that perfuming.

11. What is "perfuming"?

Asaṅga asks: then what is "perfuming" (薰習) (one thing perfuming into another, leaving behind a force able to give rise to it again)? "Perfuming" is the "expressing term" (the name used to state it); what does it express (what is the thing stated)? It is this: in dependence on a certain thing, "arising together and ceasing together" (arising at the same time as that thing and passing away at the same time), within this arising-and-ceasing-together a portion of "causal nature able to give rise to it" is left behind — and this left-behind causal nature is what "perfuming" refers to.

He gives an example: it is like the fragrance of flowers being perfumed into sesame (the transliterated 苣蕂 is sesame) — the sesame and the flowers arise together and cease together (pressed together at once), and these sesame seeds come along bearing the "cause able to reproduce that flower-fragrance" (the oil pressed from them carries the flower's fragrance). Again, take what is called a "person of craving conduct" (a person heavy with craving): his craving-and-such perfuming is left behind in dependence on his craving-and-such mind arising-and-ceasing-together, so that his mind comes along bearing the "cause able to give rise to craving again" (the more it is perfumed, the heavier the craving grows). Again, take a person of "much learning": his much-learning perfuming is left behind in dependence on "hearing and attending" arising-and-ceasing-together, so that his mind comes along bearing the "cause able to retain what was heard"; and just because this perfuming is able to hold and carry what was heard, he is called a "keeper of the teaching" (one who holds and keeps the teaching). — The way the storehouse consciousness is perfumed, you should know, is just like this.

12. Do the seeds "abide as separate things" or are they "without separation"?

Asaṅga asks: those seeds of the defiled categories of things within the storehouse consciousness — do they abide there each set apart, each a separate real thing stored inside (abiding as separate things)? Or are they wholly without separation from the consciousness (without separation)?

He answers: those seeds are not "another set of real things, item by item," stored in the consciousness (they are not separate things abiding apart); yet neither are they wholly without separation from the consciousness (not entirely without separation). The truth is: when the storehouse consciousness arises in this way, it comes along bearing the various "capacity-differences able to give rise to those things" — and precisely because it has these capacity-differences, it is called the "consciousness of all seeds." (The seeds are not little separate things stored apart, but the capacity-differences in this consciousness able to give rise to all things.)

13. The storehouse consciousness and the defiled things are "simultaneously causes of each other"

Asaṅga asks: the storehouse consciousness and those defiled things are "at one and the same time, causes of each other" — how is this to be understood?

He gives two similes — it is like a bright lamp: the flame and the wick — one producing the firelight, the other being burnt — are at the same single moment mutually accomplishing each other (the flame depends on the wick, the wick is burnt by the flame, accomplishing each other at once). Again, it is like a bundle of reeds: each stalk leans on and props the others, and at the same single moment none falls. The principle of "being causes of each other" here should be seen in just this way: the storehouse consciousness serves as the cause of those defiled things, and those defiled things in turn serve as the cause of the storehouse consciousness (the consciousness gives rise to things, things perfume the consciousness, accomplishing each other at once). And only by setting it up this way does the "causal condition" (the directly producing cause) hold up — for outside of this, no other causal condition can be found.

14. How can perfuming that is undivided and unmixed give rise to things that are divided and mixed?

Asaṅga asks: perfuming in itself is "without distinction, unmixed" (still a single undifferentiated mass when it is perfumed in); how can it serve as the cause of those things that are "with distinction, mixed"?

He offers an analogy: it is like a cloth to be tie-dyed — when you bind up the cloth with threads and it waits to be dyed, there is in fact as yet no visible difference of pattern or color on the cloth, it is still a plain white sheet; yet once it is put into the dye-vat and dyed, the cloth then shows forth all manner of distinct, mixed, interlaced patterns and figures. The storehouse consciousness is just so: perfumed by the "distinct and mixed perfuming things," at the very moment of being perfumed no distinction is yet visible; but once "the fruit arises and the dye-vat is present," then distinct and mixed things of measureless kinds appear forth one by one.

15. The two kinds of dependent arising — and dispelling the various confused graspings about dependent arising

Asaṅga says: such "dependent arising" (all things arising in dependence on conditions), in the Mahāyāna, is taught in the most subtle and profound way. In brief there are two kinds of dependent arising —

The first is "dependent arising that discriminates own-nature" (分別自性緣起): all things arise in dependence on the storehouse consciousness — this is called dependent arising that discriminates own-nature, because it is able to discriminate and manifest the various "own-natures" of things (the manifold natures of each kind) to serve as the condition for arising.

The second is "dependent arising that discriminates the liked and disliked" (分別愛非愛緣起): this is the twelvefold dependent arising (ignorance, formations ... old-age-and-death) — this is called dependent arising that discriminates the liked and disliked, because in the good destinies and the evil destinies it is able to discriminate and manifest various "likeable / unlikeable" bodily existences (bodies that bring on pleasant or painful retribution) to serve as the condition.

Asaṅga continues: if one is unclear about the dependent arising within the storehouse consciousness, various wrong graspings arise —

If one is confused about the "first kind of dependent arising" (dependent arising that discriminates own-nature), one will wrongly suppose: either that things have "own-nature" as their cause, or "deeds done in a former life" as their cause, or "the transformations of Īśvara (the lord-of-creation)" as their cause, or "a real self" as their cause, or else simply say "without cause, without condition." If one is confused about the "second kind of dependent arising" (dependent arising that discriminates the liked and disliked), one will wrongly suppose that there is a "self" that is the doer, and a "self" that is the receiver of retribution.

He gives an illustration — it is like a crowd of men born blind who have never seen an elephant; someone brings an elephant and has each of them touch one part: one touches the trunk, one the tusk, one the ear, one the leg, one the tail, one the back. Bystanders ask, "What is an elephant like?" Those who touched the different parts each insist on their own version — one says the elephant is like a plow-handle, one like a pestle, one like a winnowing basket, one like a mortar, one like a broom, and one says outright that the elephant is like a mountain of stone. Toward these two kinds of dependent arising, the "born blind," blinded by ignorance, are just like this: some grasp own-nature as the cause, some former deeds as the cause, some Īśvara as the cause, some a real self as the cause, some no-cause-no-condition; some grasp "I am the doer, I am the receiver." Whereas the own-nature, cause-nature, fruit-nature, and so forth of the storehouse consciousness are like the true whole shape of that elephant — which the blind, each touching one part, cannot recognize in full.

16. The storehouse consciousness is the maturation-consciousness, the consciousness of all seeds

Asaṅga says in brief: the storehouse consciousness has for its essence the "maturation-consciousness" (the consciousness of retribution drawn on by wholesome and unwholesome deeds, ripening at a different time and in a different kind) and the "consciousness of all seeds"; it gathers in all the "bodily existences" of the three realms (all the bodies taken in rebirth), all the destinies, and so on.

He then draws together the various meanings of "seed" in a set of verses, whose meaning is —

Seeds are of two sorts, "outer and inner" (outer, like the grain-seed of rice and wheat; inner, like the seeds in the storehouse consciousness); they are "not manifest" (hidden and hard to notice, not coarse and plainly visible); spoken of from the two sides of "the conventional and the ultimate," each has its setting-up. Know that seeds have six meanings:

One, momentary cessation — arising only to cease at once, not abiding for even a single thought (a thing that abides cannot serve as a seed). Two, co-existence — present together at the same time with the fruit it gives rise to (not cut off before-and-after). Three, constant continuance — running along of one kind in unbroken continuity, constantly following on (not turning into another kind midway, and not breaking off). Four, fixity — a wholesome cause definitely yields a wholesome fruit, an unwholesome cause definitely an unwholesome fruit; what arises is fixed, not jumbled. Five, awaiting the assembly of conditions — it must still wait for the many supporting conditions to come together before it gives rise to active operation (it does not arise of itself at any time). Six, only able to draw on its own fruit — it can only draw forth a fruit of its own kind (a wheat-seed yields only wheat, not beans).

Asaṅga also states the aspects of "that which can perfume" and "that which is perfumed": that which can serve as "the perfumed" (that which is perfumed into and can hold and carry the perfuming) must be "stable-abiding, indeterminate, perfumable, and corresponding with that which perfumes" — stable and continuous in nature (stable), not leaning to wholesome or unwholesome (indeterminate), perfumable in nature (perfumable), and corresponding at the same time with that which perfumes; and moreover this "perfumed" must not be one and the same thing as "that which perfumes" (the perfumed is not other than this, yet not identical with this). These few conditions are just what makes "perfuming" possible.

He then points out the reverse side: the "six consciousnesses" cannot serve as the perfumed for one another — because the preceding and following moments of the six consciousnesses cannot correspond, because the three natures (wholesome, unwholesome, indeterminate) differ and contradict one another, and because the two moments before and after do not co-exist at the same time ... measure them against these and require them to be the substance that receives perfuming, and it all falls empty, becomes faulty. So the substance that receives perfuming can only be the storehouse consciousness.

Asaṅga returns to inner and outer seeds, saying that both have two functions, "able to generate, able to draw along": a seed can both "generate" active operation (in the very producing of the fruit) and "draw along" its continuity (as grass and trees, even when withered, can still hold on a while by the force of "drawing along," tapering off slowly of their own accord, rather than breaking off at once).

To make clear that "inner seeds" differ from "outer seeds," Asaṅga states it again in a verse, whose meaning is: outer seeds may at times not depend on perfuming (some fruits arise without being perfumed in beforehand), but inner seeds are not so — inner seeds must come about through perfuming. Consider: if there were no perfuming of hearing the teaching and the like, yet one claimed that the fruit of hearing-wisdom could arise later, that does not stand to reason; and it would fall into the fault of "what should be gained is not gained, what should not be gained is gained instead" (doing-and-not-doing, losing-and-gaining all in disorder), a self-contradiction. As for outer seeds, in fact they too must rely on inner seeds as their condition — they grow in dependence on that portion of perfuming within the storehouse consciousness (the force of deeds, the shared-aspect seeds).

17. The storehouse consciousness and the evolving consciousnesses are "conditions for each other"

Asaṅga says: apart from the storehouse consciousness, the remaining "evolving consciousnesses" (the consciousnesses that arise actively — eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind, and so on), present throughout all bodily existences and all destinies, should be known as "those that experience-and-use" (the side that takes in and uses objects). Just as a verse in the Madhyānta-vibhāga (Differentiating the Middle from the Extremes) says, whose meaning is: the first is called the "condition-consciousness" (that is, the storehouse consciousness, serving as the objective-support and basis-condition for everything), the second is called the "experiencer" (that is, the evolving consciousnesses, which experience-and-use objects); and within this, the experiencing, discriminating, and reckoning are all the mental factors of this side.

And these two kinds of consciousness (the storehouse consciousness and the evolving consciousnesses) are conditions for each other. Just as a verse in the Abhidharma-mahāyāna-sūtra says, whose meaning is: things are perfumed and stored into the consciousness (the evolving consciousnesses perfume things into the storehouse consciousness), and the consciousness toward things is likewise (the storehouse consciousness in turn gives rise to things); they mutually serve as each other's "fruit-nature," and constantly serve as each other's "cause-nature" (causes of each other, fruits of each other).

Asaṅga then sorts out the kinds of "condition" —

In the "first kind of dependent arising" (dependent arising that discriminates own-nature), what these two kinds of consciousness serve as for each other is the "causal condition" (the directly producing cause). Then in the "second kind of dependent arising" (dependent arising that discriminates the liked and disliked, that is, the twelvefold chain), which kind of condition is it? It is the "predominant condition" (the condition that helps things along).

Then by which kinds of condition are the "six consciousnesses" produced? They are produced by three: the "predominant condition, the objective-support condition, and the immediately-antecedent condition" (the six consciousnesses do not separately set up a causal condition; the causal condition belongs to the storehouse consciousness).

Put the above together: these three kinds of dependent arising — "running through birth-and-death" (the dependent arising that discriminates own-nature; the storehouse consciousness in unbroken continuity), "the liked and disliked destinies" (the twelvefold dependent arising; drawing on good or evil destinies), and "experiencing-and-using" (the evolving consciousnesses experiencing-and-using objects) — together fully possess the "four conditions" (causal condition, immediately-antecedent condition, objective-support condition, predominant condition).

18. Why the "three aspects and alternative names" belong only to the storehouse consciousness, not to the evolving consciousnesses — proved in reverse by "neither defilement nor purity could be established"

Asaṅga says: the above has set up the alternative names and the three aspects of the storehouse consciousness. But how do we know that these alternative names and these aspects belong definitely only to the storehouse consciousness, and not to those evolving consciousnesses?

His master-proof is this: were one to set aside the storehouse consciousness set up in this way, then both "defilement" and "purity" would fail to hold — affliction-defilement, deed-defilement, and birth-defilement could none of them be established; worldly purity and supramundane purity could neither of them be established. Below he takes them apart item by item for you.

(a) Affliction-defilement could not hold

Asaṅga asks: why would "affliction-defilement" fail to hold (if there were no storehouse consciousness)? Because to place the seeds formed by the perfuming of the various afflictions and secondary afflictions upon the "six-consciousness body" is unreasonable.

How so? Suppose one posits that "the craving-and-such afflictions on the eye-consciousness arise-and-cease together with it, and the seeds are perfumed in by this and by nothing else" — but once this eye-consciousness has passed away, with other consciousnesses (such as ear-consciousness or mental consciousness) intervening in between, then this perfuming, and the place the perfuming rested on, can no longer be found. From this eye-consciousness, "already ceased, intervened upon by other consciousnesses, now without substance," to say it could still arise together with later craving (so as to give craving something to rest on) is unreasonable — for it is long past and has no substance now. This is like trying to have a maturation-fruit arise straight out of a "past deed that now has no substance" — it does not hold.

Further, the perfuming left behind when this eye-consciousness arose together with craving-and-such cannot be lodged anywhere either: it cannot lodge in "craving" — for craving is "that which depends" (it needs something else to prop it up) and is not stable-abiding (it flashes by in an instant). Nor can it lodge in the other consciousnesses — for the faculties those consciousnesses depend on are each different, and they have no "fixed arising-and-ceasing-together" relation with one another. Nor can it lodge in the eye-consciousness itself — for the eye-consciousness's own substance has no "fixed arising-and-ceasing-together" continuity to speak of. So to say that "the eye-consciousness is perfumed by the craving-and-such afflictions and secondary afflictions" is simply unreasonable; and moreover this consciousness is not something that can be perfumed by another consciousness. As it is with the eye-consciousness, so it is with all the other evolving consciousnesses — you may know it by the same reasoning.

Asaṅga gives a further case: when a person passes away from a high station such as the heaven of no-thought and is born down here, at that moment the "very first consciousness" arises stained by afflictions and secondary afflictions — yet here, if there were no storehouse consciousness, this one consciousness would turn out to have no seeds at all: because the basis it depended on, and that portion of perfuming, are both already past and have no substance now (a mindless state intervened in between).

Another case: when the "consciousness that counteracts the afflictions" (such as the uncontaminated mind when the noble path appears) has arisen, all the remaining worldly consciousnesses have already ceased; at that time, if one sets aside the storehouse consciousness, then to have the seeds of the remaining afflictions and secondary afflictions stored within this "counteracting consciousness" is unreasonable — because the counteracting consciousness is by its own nature liberated and pure, and does not arise-and-cease together with the afflictions and secondary afflictions (how could a pure mind store defiled seeds?). And when worldly mind later arises again, if one sets aside the storehouse consciousness, that perfuming and its basis are long past and have no substance now — would it not then be a case of "arising afresh without any seeds"? — which also does not hold. So it is said: if one sets aside the storehouse consciousness, affliction-defilement cannot be established at all.

(b) Deed-defilement could not hold

Asaṅga asks: why would "deed-defilement" fail to hold (if there were no storehouse consciousness)? Because in the twelvefold chain the link "formations conditioning consciousness" (deed-formations giving rise to consciousness) cannot connect (the deed-seeds perfumed by formations would have nowhere to be stored, nothing from which to draw consciousness). And if this link is missing, then "grasping conditioning becoming" (grasping giving rise to subsequent becoming) cannot connect either.

(c) Birth-defilement could not hold

Asaṅga asks: why would "birth-defilement" fail to hold (if there were no storehouse consciousness)? Because the moment of "linking up the continuum of a new birth" (taking conception, joining on to the next life) could not be accounted for.

He works it out in detail: if a being passes away from a "non-meditatively-poised stage" (a stage of scattered mind) and is to take birth, then in the "intermediate-existence" state (the in-between body after death and before birth) it raises a defiled mental consciousness to "link up the continuum of a new birth." But this defiled mental consciousness ceases at the end of the intermediate existence; what joins with the "kalala" (the first congealed embryonic mass) in the mother's womb is something else again.

So a dilemma arises: suppose "what joins with the embryonic mass" were that very mental consciousness — having joined, one would then, in dependence on this consciousness, have another mental consciousness turn and operate in the mother's womb; would there not then be "two mental consciousnesses" turning at the same time in the womb? That does not hold. Moreover, to insist that "the joining consciousness is itself of the nature of mental consciousness" is also unreasonable: because it turns in dependence on defilement, because it goes on without breaking off for an instant (without break in time), and because the object that mental consciousness ought to take cannot be found (in the womb it is dim and dark, with no object to take) — none of this is like mental consciousness.

Stepping back, even granting "the joining consciousness is the mental consciousness," one must still ask: is "this joining mental consciousness itself" the consciousness of all seeds? Or is "another mental consciousness arising in dependence on this consciousness" the consciousness of all seeds? If you say "this joining consciousness is the consciousness of all seeds" — then it is in fact the storehouse consciousness, and you have merely given it another name and forced it to be called "mental consciousness." If you say "the dependent consciousness is the consciousness of all seeds" — then it turns out that "the depended-on cause-consciousness is not the consciousness of all seeds, while the dependent fruit-consciousness is," which puts root and branch backward and does not hold. So the conclusion is: this "joining consciousness" is not the mental consciousness — it is precisely the maturation-consciousness, which is the consciousness of all seeds (the storehouse consciousness).

Asaṅga gives several more cases, all pointing to the same conclusion —

After the continuum of a new birth is linked, if one sets aside the maturation-consciousness, then "holding fast the material faculties" (sustaining the eye and the rest) cannot be managed either: because the remaining consciousnesses each depend on a separate faculty and are not stable-abiding, and the material faculties cannot do without a consciousness that constantly holds them.

If one sets aside the maturation-consciousness, then "consciousness and name-and-form depending on each other" (turning in mutual dependence like a bundle of reeds leaning together) cannot be established either.

If one sets aside the maturation-consciousness, then for a being already born, "consciousness-nutriment" (the nutriment consisting of consciousness that sustains life) cannot be established. Why? Because take any one of the six consciousnesses you like, and to have it "act as nutriment and sustain" a "being already born" throughout the three realms cannot be managed (the six consciousnesses have breaks in them; they cannot hold up a whole lifetime).

Again: when one passes away from here and is to take birth in a "meditatively-poised stage" (a stage of concentration), it is by a "non-meditatively-poised (scattered-mind) defiled mental consciousness" that the continuum of birth is linked; but this non-poised defiled mind belongs to the lower realm, and apart from the maturation-consciousness no other substance of seeds can possibly be found (where would the seeds of a scattered mind be stored?).

Further, when birth is taken in the "formless realm," if one sets aside the "maturation-consciousness of all seeds," then the defiled mind and the wholesome mind in the formless realm would have no seeds and no support (the formless realm has not even a material body, so the seeds, all the more, can belong nowhere but the storehouse consciousness).

Again: there, when a "supramundane mind" is present before one, all the remaining worldly minds have ceased entirely; would one not then have to part from and lose that very destiny (that very place of birth) altogether? For instance, for a being born in the "station of neither-perception-nor-non-perception," when the supramundane mind of the "station of nothingness" is present, would one not have to part from both these destinies? — Yet this supramundane mind does not take the "station of neither-perception-nor-non-perception" as the destiny it depends on, nor the "station of nothingness" as the destiny it depends on, nor even "nirvāṇa" as the destiny it depends on (the supramundane mind has its own uncontaminated basis, not in any one destiny of the three forms of existence). Plainly, there must be a storehouse consciousness holding the body.

Again: when a person is about to pass away, depending on whether the deeds done were wholesome or unwholesome, the body he depends on grows cold either from the lower body upward or from the upper body downward (the order in which warmth-and-consciousness is given up differs). If one does not admit a storehouse consciousness (holding fast warmth, consciousness, and life-force), this "order of giving up the body" cannot be accounted for either.

Asaṅga sums up this section: therefore, if one sets aside the "maturation-consciousness of all seeds," this "birth-defilement" cannot be established either.

(d) Worldly purity could not hold

Asaṅga asks: why would "worldly purity" (such as cultivating up from the desire realm and gaining the meditative absorption of the form realm) fail to hold (if there were no storehouse consciousness)?

He works it out: a person "not yet free of desire-realm craving, not yet having gained a form-realm mind" takes the "wholesome mind of the desire realm" as the starting point and diligently practices the preparatory effort in order to become free of desire-realm craving. But this "preparatory mind of the desire realm" does not arise-and-cease together with the "form-realm mind" he is about to gain, so it cannot perfume in a form-realm mind, nor serve as the seed of a form-realm mind — this does not hold (the two minds are not simultaneous, so the perfuming cannot land). And the "form-realm mind" he is to gain was long ago in the past, separated by many lifetimes of other minds, so it cannot be taken as the seed of "this present concentration-mind" either, because right now it simply does not exist. So the correct setup is: the "all-seeds of the form-realm concentration-mind" exist within the maturation-consciousness, are handed on through this lifetime, and serve as the "causal condition" (the direct cause) of this life's concentration-mind; while the "preparatory wholesome mind" serves only as the "predominant condition" (the helping condition). Wherever there is any "becoming free of desire," it is to be understood in just this way. So it is said: worldly purity, if one sets aside the "maturation-consciousness of all seeds," cannot hold up in principle.

(e) Supramundane purity could not hold

Asaṅga asks: why would "supramundane purity" fail to hold (if there were no storehouse consciousness)?

The World-Honored One said: in dependence on "hearing another's (the Buddha's) spoken word" and "one's own inner reasoned attention" (reflecting in accordance with reason), with these two as cause, right view comes to arise. Asaṅga then presses: this "Buddha's spoken word" and "reasoned attention" — what do they perfume? The "ear-consciousness"? The "mental consciousness"? Or both?

He closes off each route: when a person is "reasonably reflecting" on that teaching, the ear-consciousness is in fact not arising (hearing is one thing, reflecting another; the two do not arise together); and the mental consciousness is forever being intervened upon and broken off by various scattering consciousnesses. Even if now and then a moment "corresponding with reasoned attention" arises, this "hearing-perfumed mental consciousness" and that portion of perfuming cease in a flash, become past, and definitely have no substance — how could it then serve as a seed to give rise to a later mind "corresponding with reasoned attention"? Moreover, this mind "corresponding with reasoned attention" is a worldly mind, whereas the mind "corresponding with right view" is a supramundane mind, and the two have never once arisen-and-ceased together; so this (worldly) mind cannot perfume that (supramundane) mind. Since it cannot perfume it, to require it to serve as the seed of the supramundane mind does not hold. So it is said: supramundane purity, if one sets aside the "maturation-fruit consciousness of all seeds," cannot be established either — for "the seed taken up by the hearing-perfuming" would then have nowhere to be set up (without resting on the storehouse consciousness, it has nothing to lodge in).

19. Hearing-perfuming: where the seed of the supramundane mind comes from

Asaṅga presses further: this "maturation-fruit consciousness of all seeds" (the storehouse consciousness), since it is the cause of defilement, how can it at the same time be the seed of the pure mind that "counteracts defilement and gives rise to supramundane purity"? And besides, the supramundane mind has never been perfumed in the past (an ordinary being has never raised an uncontaminated mind), so its perfuming, by rights, should be entirely absent; and if there is no perfuming, from what seed does the supramundane mind arise?

He answers: the supramundane mind arises from the seed produced by the "right hearing-perfuming that flows out as an outpouring from the most purified dharma-realm" — that is to say, the buddhas pour the true teaching forth from that most purified dharma-realm, we hear and uphold it and perfume in this "right hearing-perfuming," and by it serving as the seed, the supramundane mind is drawn forth.

Asaṅga then questions where this "hearing-perfuming" belongs: is it the very nature of the storehouse consciousness, or not? If you say "it is the nature of the storehouse consciousness," then how can it turn around and serve as the seed that "counteracts the storehouse consciousness" (counteracting itself)? If you say "it is not the nature of the storehouse consciousness," then how is the basis of this hearing-perfuming seed to be understood?

He answers: right up until the realization of the buddhas' awakening, this hearing-perfuming, following along wherever it has its basis, is "lodged" within the maturation-consciousness, turning together in union with the storehouse consciousness, like water and milk mixed together (sharing the same place while each keeps its own nature); yet it is not the storehouse consciousness, for it is precisely the seed-nature that "counteracts the storehouse consciousness" (its nature is the opposite of the storehouse consciousness).

He adds a word on the order of cultivation: in dependence on the "lower-grade" perfuming the "middle-grade" is cultivated; in dependence on the "middle-grade," the "upper-grade" is cultivated; this comes about in accordance with hearing, reflecting, and cultivating, more and more, in gradual correspondence.

He says further: the lower, middle, and upper grades of this "right hearing-perfuming" seed, know, are also the seeds of the "dharma-body" — they are opposed to the storehouse consciousness, not gathered in by the storehouse consciousness, for they are of the nature of "an outpouring from the most-purified supramundane dharma-realm"; though they are still counted as worldly (the uncontaminated has not yet manifested), they are the seed-nature of the supramundane mind. And even when this supramundane mind has not yet arisen, this hearing-perfuming is already able to counteract the various afflictive entanglements, already able to counteract the various perilous evil destinies, already able to act as a "rotting-away counteraction" upon all the evil deeds one has done (making the force of the evil deeds wither away), and is also able to follow along in meeting and serving all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Though it is still worldly, know that the perfuming gained by a "bodhisattva at the beginning of practice" is also gathered into the "dharma-body"; whereas what is gained by śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas is gathered only into the "liberation-body" (the bodhisattva leads on to the dharma-body, while the two vehicles stop at the liberation-body).

He says further: this perfuming, since it is not the storehouse consciousness, is gathered into the "dharma-body and liberation-body." As the perfuming, by lower-grade, middle-grade, and upper-grade in turn, gradually increases, just so the maturation-fruit consciousness (the storehouse consciousness) in turn gradually diminishes — and this is called the "transformation of the basis" (turning the root basis from defiled to pure). Once the "basis of all seeds" has entirely turned, then the maturation-fruit consciousness, together with all the seeds it holds, "turns with no seeds" (no more defiled seeds left to give rise to anything), and all defiled seeds are forever cut off.

Asaṅga then explains the "water and milk" simile: in what way is it "like water and milk"? It means that "non-storehouse consciousness (the pure hearing-perfuming)" and "the storehouse consciousness," though they turn together in the same place, end in this way: the seeds on the storehouse consciousness's side gradually run out, while the seeds on the non-storehouse-consciousness side gradually increase. It is like milk mixed into water — when the goose drinks, it can drink only the milk and leave the water (each takes by its own nature). Again, it is like a worldly person gaining "freedom from desire": the "non-meditatively-poised (scattered-stage) perfuming" gradually diminishes and the "meditatively-poised (concentration-stage) perfuming" gradually increases, and so the basis is turned (the transformation of the basis).

20. Once more, by "the attainment of cessation," refuting the claim that "there is a mental consciousness in the attainment"

Asaṅga adds several more points, still proving in reverse that there must be a storehouse consciousness —

The Noble One has said: when one enters the "attainment of cessation," "consciousness does not depart from the body." But in the attainment of cessation all six consciousnesses are inactive; so the consciousness that "does not depart from the body" must be the maturation-consciousness (the storehouse consciousness holding the body); and entering the attainment of cessation is not at all for the sake of counteracting and extinguishing this maturation-consciousness (what the attainment of cessation extinguishes is the mind and mental factors of the first six consciousnesses, not the storehouse consciousness).

Again: it is not the case that "this consciousness arises afresh only when one comes out of the attainment." Because once the maturation-consciousness is broken off, it is just like the continuum of birth being broken off — it cannot arise again (if the storehouse consciousness were cut off, the life-faculty would be cut off; how would one come out of the attainment at all?); plainly, then, the storehouse consciousness was not cut off in the attainment.

Again, there are those who stubbornly hold that "in the attainment of cessation there is in fact still a mental consciousness, and so it is said to have mind" — Asaṅga says this "mind" cannot be established, and lists a string of reasons: by the very meaning of "attainment" it ought not to still have mind (the attainment would not be established); no object-support and no mental aspect can be found in the attainment (object-support and aspect cannot be found); if there were a mental consciousness there ought to be wholesome roots corresponding with it (there would be the fault of wholesome roots corresponding); to say it is unwholesome or indeterminate is in both cases unreasonable (unwholesome or indeterminate does not hold); if there were a mental consciousness there ought to be "perception and feeling" in operation (yet the attainment of cessation is precisely the cessation of perception and feeling — so there would be the fault of perception and feeling operating); there ought to be "contact" to be found (contact would be found); the mental consciousness ought to exert a function upon the concentration (it has a function with respect to the meditative concentration); the attainment of cessation would then turn out to be the cessation of "perception" alone (there would be the fault of only perception ceasing); there ought to be wholesome roots such as "volition and faith" in operation (there would be the fault of its volition, faith, and such wholesome roots operating); to keep "the dependent mental consciousness" yet say it is "parted from its basis" does not hold (to pull out that dependent and have it part from its basis does not hold); and there is a ready simile to prove it (there is a simile); in short, the mental consciousness is not something the attainment of cessation ought to have — it ought not to be here (just as a non-omnipresent factor is not present here).

He says further: were one to insist that in the attainment of cessation "there is mind by way of the mental consciousness," then this mind cannot be settled as wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate — and so it does not hold.

Again, some hold separately: "form and mind arising one after another without a gap (the prior form-mind ceases, the next form-mind immediately arises) — this continuum itself is the seed of all things." — Asaṅga says this too cannot be established, as was already stated before (a mindless state intervenes, the continuum is broken, the seeds have nowhere to be set up). Furthermore: if this were so, then when one passes away from the formless realm or the heaven of no-thought, or comes out of the attainment of cessation and the like, that "form and mind arising without a gap" has long since been broken off — so how would the later phenomena arise? — it does not hold. And "the final mind of an arhat" could not be accounted for either (there is no mind afterward to join on, so where would the seed lodge?). So this position can at most be allowed a "immediately-antecedent condition" (the condition of a prior moment leading on to the next), but it cannot bear the role of "seed."

Asaṅga sums up this whole long passage: seen in this way, if one sets aside the "maturation-fruit consciousness of all seeds," defilement and purity, both sides, fail to hold; therefore one can settle it — the storehouse consciousness, with all the aspects spoken of above, definitely does exist.

He draws this point together in a set of verses, whose meaning is roughly: a bodhisattva at the stage of the purified mind has left behind the five consciousnesses — and even to no remainder (even the defiled consciousness exhausted) — so how would you set up that "transformation of the basis" of the mind? If you say "the transformation of the basis is just cutting off what is to be counteracted," then "cutting off" spoken of alone does not work either (if fruit and cause had no distinction, one falls into the difficulty where "permanent cutting-off" itself becomes a fault); if you then say "even with no seed, or no substance, it can still count as the transformation of the basis," then since both of those (seed, substance) are now gone, the term "transformation of the basis" would have nothing to rest on. — Layer upon layer of questioning, and in the end it still drives toward "there must be a storehouse consciousness that can hold seeds and can turn the basis."

21. The "differentiations" of the storehouse consciousness: three kinds and four kinds

Asaṅga asks: how, then, are the various "differentiations" (classifications) of the storehouse consciousness to be stated? In brief one may state them as three kinds, and one may also state them as four kinds.

Three kinds — stated in terms of "the differentiations of three kinds of perfuming":

One, the differentiation of name-and-word perfuming (the differences among seeds perfumed in by various names and concepts). Two, the differentiation of view-of-self perfuming (the differences among seeds perfumed in by the view that grasps a self). Three, the differentiation of factors-of-becoming perfuming (the differences among seeds perfumed in by the twelve factors of becoming, by the force of deeds).

Four kinds — stated in terms of the following four:

One, the differentiation of inducement — this refers to "newly arisen perfuming." Were this item absent, then "formations conditioning consciousness" and "grasping conditioning becoming" (these two links in the twelvefold chain) could not connect (new deeds must rely on new perfuming to induce later consciousness and later becoming).

Two, the differentiation of maturation — this refers to the differences among the maturation-fruits drawn on, in the various destinies of the six paths, with "formations and becoming" as condition. Were this item absent, then there would be no seeds, and the arising of later-life phenomena could not be established.

Three, the differentiation of object-aspect — this refers to the "object-aspect of the grasping of self" within the "thought-faculty" (the defiled mind). Were this item absent, then "the object grasped by the grasping of self" within the defiled mind could not be set up.

Four, the differentiation of features — this refers to the various features this consciousness carries: there is a "shared feature" and an "unshared feature," a "feature of seeds with no further birth" and a "feature of seeds with a further birth," and so on.

Asaṅga spells out the "differentiation of features" in detail —

The "shared feature" refers to the seeds able to manifest the "world-receptacle" (the mountains, rivers, and great earth — the commonly-shared environing world) (the world that beings commonly draw on and commonly face). The "unshared feature" refers to the seeds of "each one's own inner bases" (the eye and other inner faculties, each one's own separate body) (each person's own portion, not shared with others). The shared feature is just the "feature of seeds with no further birth"; the unshared feature is just the "feature of seeds with a further birth."

When the noble path's "counteraction" arises, what is extinguished is only what the "unshared feature" side counteracts (each person cuts off his own portion of inner-body seeds); as for the "shared feature" (the common world), it is held fast by the discriminations of other beings, and although the noble one cuts off his own side, he cannot cut off the world for others too — the noble one only "sees it as pure" there (sees that it is pure). Just as a yoga-practitioner (one cultivating contemplative practice) can raise various different resolutions and various different visions toward one and the same object, and those visions can each be established (changing with the mind, each seeing differently).

Asaṅga states it in a verse: the shared (the shared bond) is hard to cut off and hard to know all around, and so it is called the "shared bond"; if the yoga-practitioner's mind has been transformed, then (though the thing is not extinguished) what is seen is already different, because the "outer feature" is vast and held in common by the many; one who gains purity, though unable to extinguish that shared world, is already able to see its purity there; just as a purified buddha-land is made to appear pure precisely by the buddha's pure vision.

He attaches another verse, restating the foregoing point that "various resolutions and various visions can each be established," whose meaning is: the various yoga-practitioners, toward one and the same object, have resolutions that are each different, yet the various visions can each be established; from this one may know — what is grasped as object is in fact "consciousness-only" (everything seen does not depart from the manifestation of mind and consciousness).

Asaṅga then says: were this item (the "differentiation of features") absent, then "the various differences in the arising of the world-receptacle (the material world) and the world of sentient beings" could not be established.

Asaṅga adds several more sets of "features" —

Again there are the "feature of coarse-heaviness" and the "feature of pliancy": the feature of coarse-heaviness refers to the seeds of the afflictions and secondary afflictions (heavy, coarse, and rough, obstructing the path); the feature of pliancy refers to the seeds of contaminated wholesome things (light, sharp, and at ease, conducive to the wholesome). Were this item absent, then "the maturation-fruit drawn on being in some cases capable (capable of cultivating the wholesome, having the ability) and in some cases incapable, and the differences of basis in this 'capable or not'" could not be established.

Again there are the "feature of exhaustible experience" and the "feature of inexhaustible experience": the feature of exhaustible experience refers to the wholesome and unwholesome seeds of the already-ripened maturation-fruit (which, once the retribution is experienced to the full, are finished); the feature of inexhaustible experience refers to the seeds of "name-and-word perfuming" — those seeds perfumed in by the streaming-on of various conceptual proliferations (verbal discriminations) from beginningless time, going on without end. Were this item absent, then "the wholesome and unwholesome deeds already done coming to an end once their fruit is experienced to the full" could not be established; and "new name-and-word perfuming arising on and on" could not be established either.

Again there is the "feature of simile": this means that this storehouse consciousness can be likened to "an illusion, a mirage, a dream, a cataract (the sky-flowers seen in an eye-disease)" (seeming to be there, yet not real). Were this item absent, then "from the seeds of unreal universal-discrimination, the arising of various inverted object-aspects (mistaking the false and empty for real)" could not be established.

Again there are the "feature of full possession" and the "feature of not-full-possession": the various "fully bound" (ordinary beings whose afflictive bondage is still entire) are the feature of full possession; the "worldly ones free of desire" (those who have suppressed the craving for desire) are the feature of diminishment (diminished by a portion); the "trainee śrāvakas" and "the bodhisattvas" are the feature of partial permanent extraction (having permanently cut off a portion); the "arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and the tathāgatas" are the feature of the complete permanent extraction of the affliction-obstruction (arhats and pratyekabuddhas), and up to the feature of the complete permanent extraction of both the affliction-obstruction and the obstruction-to-the-knowable (the tathāgatas, with both obstructions exhausted) — each settled by its own station. Were this item absent, then "the gradual reversal-and-extinction of defilement by this sequence (cutting off defilement layer by layer from ordinary being up to noble one)" could not be established.

22. Why the maturation-fruit is "non-obstructive-and-indeterminate"

Asaṅga asks at the last: why is it that wholesome things and unwholesome things both can draw on a maturation-fruit, while the maturation-fruit drawn on is "non-obstructive-and-indeterminate" (無覆無記) (not obstructing the noble path, neither wholesome nor unwholesome)?

He answers: it is precisely because the maturation-fruit is non-obstructive-and-indeterminate that it can be at odds with neither the "wholesome" nor the "unwholesome" side — whereas the wholesome and the unwholesome are at odds with each other (incompatible as fire and water). Suppose the maturation-fruit itself carried a wholesome or an unwholesome nature; then "the gradual reversal-and-extinction of defilement" could not be established (if the fruit were fixedly wholesome or fixedly unwholesome, it would be locked solid and could not turn). So the maturation-consciousness is solely "non-obstructive-and-indeterminate."

The previous chapter dealt with "the basis of the knowable," and explained clearly that root consciousness which holds all things in store (the storehouse consciousness, ālaya-vijñāna). This chapter goes on to ask: those "things that are to be known" (the knowable) — what sort of characteristics do they show, and how are we to look at them? Asaṅga's answer is the famous three natures. What follows runs straight through his words.

1. The Overview: the characteristics of the knowable are, in brief, of three kinds

Asaṅga says: "the basis of the knowable" has already been covered, so how should "the characteristics of the knowable" be observed? In brief, there are three kinds:

1. The other-dependent mark (paratantra) — the side that arises only in dependence on other conditions (a web of conditions);
2. The wholly-imagined mark (parikalpita) — the side that ordinary beings everywhere (all-pervadingly) calculate over and grasp at;
3. The perfectly-accomplished mark (pariniṣpanna) — the side that is perfectly-accomplished, real, and not empty.

Each is explained below, one by one.

2. What the other-dependent mark is

What is called the other-dependent mark? It is those consciousnesses that take the storehouse consciousness for their "seeds" (the latent cause of all phenomena) and are gathered up by all manner of "false discrimination" (the activity of unreal discrimination).

And which consciousnesses are these? Asaṅga lists a whole string of them —

• the body consciousness: the sense-body (the support of the senses — eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind);
• the body-possessor consciousness: that "I" which fancies itself the "owner," the one who enjoys;
• the enjoyer consciousness: the side that does the receiving;
• the consciousness of what is received: the objects received (form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and so on);
• the consciousness that receives: the side that does the receiving of them (the six consciousnesses);
• the time consciousness: the showing-forth of time (past, present, future);
• the number consciousness: the showing-forth of number;
• the place consciousness: the showing-forth of place and location;
• the speech consciousness: the showing-forth of language and words;
• the self-and-other-difference consciousness: the showing-forth of the distinction between oneself and others;
• the consciousness of death and birth in good and bad destinies: the showing-forth of being reborn into good or evil paths, dying and being born again, and all the rest.

From what seeds do these consciousnesses arise? Asaṅga accounts for them in three groups —

• The first group (the nine consciousnesses: body, body-possessor, enjoyer, received, receiving, time, number, place, and speech) arises from the seeds of "verbal perfuming" (the latent force left behind by the repeated impression of everyday language and concepts);
• the "self-and-other-difference consciousness" arises from the seeds of "the perfuming of self-view" (the force left behind by clinging to an "I" and the repeated impression of it);
• the "consciousness of death and birth in good and bad destinies" arises from the seeds of "the perfuming of the limb of existence" (the "becoming" limb among the twelve links of dependent arising — the force that, having made karma, summons forth a future existence).

By these consciousnesses, all the defiled other-dependent characteristics that belong to the three realms and six destinies — all that false discrimination — come fully into showing. And these consciousnesses, every one of them, are gathered up by false discrimination; their very nature is nothing but consciousness (consciousness-only their nature). They are the support upon which that meaning — "in truth there is nothing there, it is not real" — shows itself forth. This is what is called the other-dependent mark.

3. What the wholly-imagined mark is

What is called the wholly-imagined mark? It is this: within "what is in truth without any object, where there is only consciousness," there seems nonetheless to appear an object (the appearance-as-if-of-an-object) — and this side, seeming to be there yet truly without substance, is the wholly-imagined mark.

4. What the perfectly-accomplished mark is

What is called the perfectly-accomplished mark? It is this: within that very other-dependent mark just described, that characteristic of "seeming to have an object" (the appearance-as-if-of-an-object) is, utterly and forever, absent (its nature is to be eternally without it) — and this side, in which the seeming-object is for ever cut off and the real is just as it is, is the perfectly-accomplished mark.

5. Where that string of consciousnesses is matched up

Asaṅga turns back and matches that string of consciousnesses against the familiar categories:

• the three — "body, body-possessor, enjoyer" consciousnesses — are just the six inner elements (the six faculties): eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind;
• the "consciousness of what is received" is just the six outer elements (the six objects): form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas;
• the "consciousness that receives" is just the six consciousness-elements: from the eye-consciousness on through the mind-consciousness;
• the remaining consciousnesses (time, number, place, speech, and so on) are the various unfoldings and differentiations of these consciousnesses.

6. Consciousness-only, without a real object, illustrated by the dream and the like

Asaṅga then sets out his thesis: all these consciousnesses are nothing but consciousness; there is simply no real object at all (in every case, without an object). And what does he use to make the point plain? You should know he uses the "dream" and the like as illustration —

Just as a person in a dream has no real object at all, and there is purely the working of consciousness; though in the dream too there appear all manner of forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches — houses, woods, the earth, the mountains — like the shadows of real objects, yet within it there is in fact not a single real object. From this dream-illustration you should infer: at all times and in all places, there is only consciousness.

Following this kind of comparison, Asaṅga says there are further illustrations: like an "illusion" (the false display conjured by magic), like "deer-thirst" (the mirage — the thirsty deer that mistakes the shimmer of water on the heat for water), like "eye-disease and dizziness" (the eye, sick with a cataract, seeing flowers in the empty air; the dizzied eye seeing things awry), and so on.

But then a question arises: if, while awake, all times and places are likewise only consciousness just as in a dream, why does a person not, like "waking from a dream," turn it round and recognize then and there that this is only consciousness? Asaṅga answers: when the awakening of true wisdom (true-wisdom-awakening) comes to the fore, it does turn round in just this way — just as a person in a dream has no arising of the awareness "this is a dream," and only after waking does that awareness arise; in the same way, before true-wisdom-awakening is gained, this awareness "it is only consciousness" does not turn round, and only once true-wisdom-awakening is gained does this awareness turn round.

7. How one who has not yet gained true-wisdom-awakening may infer consciousness-only: by teaching and by reasoning

Someone asks: then how can one who has not yet gained true-wisdom-awakening have any cognizance of "consciousness-only"? Asaṅga answers: by two roads, "teaching" (the holy word) and "reasoning" (principle), one may infer it.

First, teaching (the Buddha's holy word). As in the Daśabhūmika-sūtra the Blessed One says: "These three realms, such as they are, are nothing but mind." And the Blessed One says likewise in the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra — for in that sūtra the bodhisattva Maitreya asks the World-Honored One: "Those reflected images that are the objects of meditative absorption — are they to be called different from this mind, or to be called not different (one and the same)?" The Buddha tells Maitreya: "They are to be called not different. Why? Because that reflected image is nothing but consciousness; what I call the object of consciousness is nothing but what consciousness itself shows forth." Maitreya asks again: "World-Honored One! If the reflected image that is the object of absorption is not different from this mind — one and the same with it — then how is it that this mind takes hold of this mind itself?" The Buddha says: "Maitreya! There is no slightest dharma that takes hold of a slightest dharma; it is only that when this mind arises in such a way, there is just such a reflected image showing forth along with it. It is like taking the original thing as condition (looking into a mirror): what is seen is still the original thing, yet a person says, 'I am now seeing a reflected image,' and supposes that, apart from the original thing, there is some separate reflected image showing forth. This mind is just so: when it arises in such a way, it is as if there were a separate object seen, an image showing forth."

Next, reasoning (principle). Why does reasoning too bring consciousness-only to light? Because: within the mind in absorption, those "bruised-blue" images you observe and see as you wish (the corpse turning blue and rotting, and the like, seen in the contemplation of impurity) have no separate outer bruised-blue thing at all — what is seen is nothing but one's own mind. By this principle, the bodhisattva may infer of all consciousnesses that they are nothing but consciousness, with no outer realm. Moreover, these bruised-blue and similar images are not the objective support of a consciousness that is "remembering" (not a later recollection), for they stand present right before one. And the two remembering consciousnesses formed through hearing and reflection take the past as their object, so the images they show forth equally establish "only consciousness." By inference of this kind, the bodhisattva, though he has not yet gained true-wisdom-awakening, may yet infer "consciousness-only."

8. Since the eye-consciousness and the rest have form, how are they too only consciousness

It has already been said that the various consciousnesses are like the dream and the other illustrations, so that among these the eye-consciousness and the rest can be set down as only consciousness. But since the eye-consciousness and the other consciousnesses carry form (they have shape, are visible, occupy a place), how can it be said that they too are only consciousness? Asaṅga answers: this likewise rests on the two roads spoken of before, "teaching" and "reasoning" (by which one infers that, though they show a form-characteristic, they still do not pass beyond consciousness).

Someone presses further: if these consciousnesses are themselves consciousness, why do they show forth a characteristic like "form" — abiding solidly, kind by kind, flowing on in unbroken succession? Asaṅga answers: because this form-characteristic must serve as the support for "inversion" and all manner of defiled dharmas. Were it not so (were it not to show as solidly abiding and continuous), then the inverted error of grasping "this really is an object" amid "what is in truth without a real object" could not occur; and if this inversion did not exist, then the two defilements — the affliction-obstruction and the obstruction-to-the-knowable — would not exist; and if these two obstructions did not exist, then the various pure dharmas (the merits won by countering defilement) could not be spoken of either. Therefore these consciousnesses must flow on just so (showing forth as a solidly abiding, continuous form-characteristic).

Here there is a verse, the gist of which is this: that which serves as the "disordered appearance" (the deranged characteristic that shows forth) and as the "disordered substance" (the underlying basis that gives rise to derangement) should be granted to be the "form-consciousness" (the consciousness that shows a form-characteristic); together with the consciousness that shows no form-characteristic (the non-form-consciousness) — these two sides, if one is gone, the other too is gone (they stand by mutual dependence, neither can do without the other).

9. Why this string of consciousnesses turns together, in concord, within the body

Someone asks: why do the several consciousnesses — body, body-possessor, enjoyer, received, receiving — turn together, all in concord, within every body? Asaṅga answers: because only thus can "enjoyment" (the receiving and partaking of objects) arise in full — they arise together precisely to display this full enjoyment.

10. Why, again, there are time, number, and other such differentiations that turn

Someone asks: and why do such things as the "time consciousness, number consciousness" spoken of before show forth so many differentiations as they turn? Asaṅga accounts for each:

• because birth-and-death has flowed on without beginning, never once cut off — hence there is the "time consciousness" (the continuity of time);
• because the realm of sentient beings (the world of beings) is beyond all count — hence there is the "number consciousness";
• because the receptacle worlds (the material world of mountains, rivers, and great earth) are beyond all count;
• because the deeds done between one another, and the speech passed back and forth, are beyond all count — hence there is the "speech consciousness";
• because the differences in what each grasps and enjoys are beyond all count — hence there is the "self-and-other-difference consciousness";
• because the maturations of karmic fruit, lovely and unlovely, are beyond all count in the enjoying of them;
• because the differences of the death and birth one undergoes are beyond all count — hence there is the "consciousness of death and birth in good and bad destinies."

11. How the consciousnesses establish "consciousness-only": the three aspects

Asaṅga asks again: how, then, are these consciousnesses set down, and said to be "only consciousness" (the nature of consciousness-only)? In brief, by three aspects —

1. By "consciousness-only": because all consciousnesses in truth have no real object (no object), "only consciousness" is established;
2. By "the two-fold nature": because consciousness has the distinction of the "characteristic" (the side that is cognized, the image-part) and the "view" (the side that cognizes, the seeing-part);
3. By "the manifold": because consciousness shows forth manifold modes as it arises.

How is this so? Since all these consciousnesses have no real object, "consciousness-only" is established. And because there is a characteristic-side and a view-side, two kinds are distinguished: taking the first five consciousnesses, the eye-consciousness and the rest, the form-consciousness and so on serve as the "characteristic" (the side that is the object), and the eye-consciousness itself as the "view" (the side that cognizes), on up to the body-consciousness itself as the "view"; while the mind-consciousness takes all the consciousnesses, from the "eye" as the first to "dharmas" as the last, as its "characteristic," and the mind-consciousness itself as its "view." It is precisely because the mind-consciousness discriminates that it can arise as if showing forth all those consciousnesses.

Here there is a verse, the gist of which is this: the three aspects — "consciousness-only," "the two (image-part and seeing-part)," and "the manifold" — the one who practices contemplation can enter by way of the mind-consciousness; and once he has awakened into "this is mind alone," that contemplator too can subdue and turn away from (all manner of inversion and defilement).

12. The doctrine of the single mind-consciousness

Asaṅga then cites a certain school of masters who hold that there is only "one mind-consciousness," which, turning in dependence now on this faculty, now on that, comes to bear this name and that — just as the "intention" (the mental act of willing) within the mind, once issued through body and speech, is called bodily karma and verbal karma (though it is one and the same willing). They say further: when it turns in dependence on the various faculties, two kinds of image turn forth: one is the "object-image" (the side that seems to have an object), the other the "discrimination-image" (the side that discriminates). And in all places too it turns as if showing forth a tangible image; and in the realms that have form (the desire realm and the form realm), this very mind-consciousness, because it takes the sense-body as its support, is just like the other form-faculties (eye, ear, and so on) that take the body for their support.

Here there is a verse, the gist of which is this: that which travels far, journeys alone, has no body, and lies hidden in the deep cave (pointing to this subtle, fathomless mind) — whoever can tame that hard-to-tame mind, him I (the Buddha) call a true seeker of the Way.

Asaṅga cites scripture again as proof: as the sūtra says, "the objects ranged over by these five faculties — eye, ear, nose, tongue, body — the faculty of mind can each receive, and mind is their support"; and as is said of the twelve bases (the six faculties and six objects), the whole body of the six consciousnesses is given the name "mind-base" (showing that the consciousnesses are alike gathered under mind).

Then Asaṅga sets down a scheme of "characteristic-consciousness / view-consciousness": if the storehouse consciousness is set up as the "object-consciousness" (the root consciousness that shows forth the seeming-object), then within this all the remaining consciousnesses are the "characteristic-consciousness" (the side that is cognized), while the mind-consciousness together with its support is the "view-consciousness" (the side that cognizes). Because that "characteristic-consciousness" is the very condition and objective-support-characteristic for the arising of this "view-consciousness," when the seeming-object shows forth, the "characteristic-consciousness" can serve as the support for the arising of the "view-consciousness." It is in this way that the consciousnesses are set down as having the nature of "consciousness-only."

13. Though objects appear plainly before one, they are not real: the four kinds of knowledge

Someone asks: those objects show forth plainly and clearly right before one's eyes — how can it be said that they are in truth not real? How can this be known? Asaṅga cites the World-Honored One's words in answer: if a bodhisattva accomplishes four dharmas, he can step by step awaken into "all is only consciousness, with no real object at all" —

1. The accomplishment of "the knowledge of the mutually contradictory characteristics of consciousness": faced with one and the same thing, hungry ghosts, beasts (animals), gods, and humans each see it differently — one thing, yet the cognitions of it differ; from which one sees that the thing is not outwardly real, not fixed and so.
2. The accomplishment of "the knowledge that consciousness without an objective-support can be found to show forth": just as a consciousness arising from the support of the past, the future, a dream, or an image has no present real object, yet arises all the same — from which one sees that consciousness can come to be without waiting upon a real object.
3. The accomplishment of "the knowledge, free of effort, that is without inversion": if there were really a real object, then a consciousness that takes a real object as its support ought naturally to be without inversion, without need to labor at correction; but the fact is that one must exert effort (cultivate the counter-practice) before the real is seen — from which one sees there is no real object after all.
4. The accomplishment of "the wondrous knowledge that follows along with the three excellent knowledges." Which three? First, the bodhisattvas who have gained "mastery of mind," and those who have gained meditative absorption: following the force of their excellent resolve (the power of their contemplative vision), the various objects show forth just as they will (from which one sees that objects turn along with mind). Second, those who have gained "calm-abiding (śamatha)" and cultivate the contemplation of dharmas: the moment they direct attention, the various objects show forth (from which one sees that objects show forth by the act of attention). Third, those who have gained "non-conceptual wisdom (nirvikalpa-jñāna)": when this non-conceptual wisdom comes to the fore, all objects whatsoever fail to show forth at all (from which one sees that objects are not real to begin with — when the wisdom appears, they vanish).

By this "wondrous knowledge that follows along with the three excellent knowledges" just spoken of, together with the "three causes and conditions" spoken of before, the principle that "all objects are in truth without a real object" is established.

14. The naming and the reasoning of each of the three natures

Asaṅga goes on to account, one by one, for "why each of the three natures bears its name" —

The other-dependent. Someone asks: that other-dependent nature is in truth nothing but consciousness, merely the support for "the appearance-as-if-of-an-object" — how does it count as "other-dependent"? Why is it called other-dependent? Answer: because it is born from the seeds of its own perfuming and arises in dependence on other conditions, it is called "other-dependent"; and because, once arisen, after a single moment it has no power to abide of itself (it must, moment by moment, depend on conditions to continue), it is called "other-dependent."

The wholly-imagined. Someone asks: that wholly-imagined nature, resting on the other-dependent yet in truth without anything at all, merely "the appearance-as-if-of-an-object" — how does it count as "wholly-imagined"? Why is it called wholly-imagined? Answer: because it is a characteristic that the mind-consciousness brings forth by calculating everywhere, by inverted error, with measureless modes, it is called "wholly-imagined"; its own characteristic is in truth nothing, and all that can be found is the shadow that has been "wholly-imagined and grasped," and so it is called "wholly-imagined."

The perfectly-accomplished. Someone asks: that perfectly-accomplished nature is the side that is "the eternal absence of the wholly-imagined" — how does it count as "perfectly-accomplished"? Why is it called perfectly-accomplished? Answer: because it has no alteration (it does not change with conditions), it is called "perfectly-accomplished" (perfectly-accomplished and real); and because it is the pure objective-support (the pure object of the holy wisdom) and the most excellent nature among all good dharmas, by this most-excellent meaning it is called "perfectly-accomplished."

15. The imaginer, the imagined, and the wholly-imagined

Asaṅga distinguishes further: there must be "an imaginer" (that which does the imagining and grasping) and "an imagined" (the object that is imagined and grasped) for "the wholly-imagined nature" to be established. So among these, which is the imaginer? Which the imagined? Which the wholly-imagined nature?

• The imaginer is just the "mind-consciousness," because it discriminates. Why? Because this mind-consciousness has its own verbal perfuming for seed, and the verbal perfuming of all consciousnesses for seed, and so it can give rise to boundless modes and discriminate as it turns, imagining and measuring everything pervadingly — and so it is called "the imaginer."
• The imagined is just the "other-dependent nature" (it is the object imagined and grasped by the mind-consciousness).
• And since this (grasped) characteristic makes the other-dependent nature into "the imagined object," that within it (the part that seems to be there yet is truly without substance) is called "the wholly-imagined nature." This is what "by this characteristic" means.

Asaṅga asks more closely: how does this "imaginer" do its imagining and measuring? What object does it take as its support? What appearance does it grasp? On what does it cling? On what does it set the train of thought? On what does it speak? And what does it add on (superimpose)? Answer: it takes the "name" (the designation) as its object; in the other-dependent nature it grasps the appearance that the name points to; by "view" (fixed opinion) it clings; by "investigation" (deliberation) it sets the train of thought going; by the four grounds of speech — seen, heard, sensed, and known — it speaks; and so, amid "what is in truth without a real object," it forcibly adds on (superimposes) a "real existence" — and in this way the imaginer does its imagining and measuring.

16. Whether the three natures are different or not different

Someone asks: these three natures — are they, in the end, different (other) or the same (not different)? Asaṅga answers: it should be said they are "not different, yet not not-different" (neither wholly other, nor wholly one). The meaning is this: one and the same other-dependent nature, looked at from one angle (one approach), becomes "the other-dependent"; this same nature, looked at from another angle, becomes "the wholly-imagined"; and still this same nature, looked at from yet another angle, becomes "the perfectly-accomplished."

• From which angle does this other-dependent become "the other-dependent"? — From the side of its arising in dependence on the seeds of perfuming.
• From which angle does this same nature become "the wholly-imagined"? — From the side of its being the characteristic that the imaginer takes as its object, the thing the imaginer imagines.
• From which angle does this same nature become "the perfectly-accomplished"? — From the side that "in the end it is not, as the imaginer takes it, truly so" (as wholly-imagined, it is in the end without being).

17. Into how many kinds each of the three natures divides

Asaṅga says that each of the three natures may be further divided —

• The other-dependent is, in brief, of two kinds: one, "arising in dependence on the seeds of perfuming"; two, "in dependence on it, the natures of defilement and purity are not settled" (one and the same other-dependent: defiled, it falls to the wholly-imagined; pure, it returns to the perfectly-accomplished — it is not fixed); by these two sides of "dependence," it is called the other-dependent.
• The wholly-imagined is likewise of two kinds: one, "the imagining-and-grasping of self-nature" (grasping at the essence of a thing itself); two, "the imagining-and-grasping of difference" (grasping at the manifold differences of a thing); by this it is called the wholly-imagined.
• The perfectly-accomplished is likewise of two kinds: one, "the perfectly-accomplished of self-nature" (the self-nature of suchness, pure from the first); two, "the perfectly-accomplished of purity" (the purity won by leaving defilement behind); by this it becomes the perfectly-accomplished.

18. The four kinds and five kinds of imagining

Asaṅga divides "imagining" more finely. Imagining is of four kinds: first, the imagining of self-nature (grasping at a thing's own essence); second, the imagining of difference (grasping at differences); third, imagining with cognizance; fourth, imagining without cognizance. "With cognizance" means being versed in names and words (understanding the sense of names and characteristics); "without cognizance" means not being versed in names and words (not grasping the sense of names and characteristics).

Such imagining is further of five kinds:

1. relying on the "name" to imagine the self-nature of the "object" — supposing "where there is this name, there is such an object";
2. relying on the "object" to imagine the self-nature of the "name" — supposing "where there is this object, there is such a name";
3. relying on the "name" to imagine the self-nature of the "name" — calculating over a name whose meaning is still unclear;
4. relying on the "object" to imagine the self-nature of the "object" — calculating over an object whose name is still unclear;
5. relying on both "name and object" to imagine the self-nature of "both" — calculating that "this name and this object are an essence of just such a sort."

19. Gathering up all discrimination — in brief, ten kinds

Asaṅga gathers all "discrimination" up into ten kinds —

1. Root discrimination: namely the storehouse consciousness (the root of all discrimination);
2. Object-characteristic discrimination: namely the form-consciousness and the rest (grasping the objective-support-characteristic);
3. Appearing-characteristic discrimination: namely the eye-consciousness and the rest, together with their supporting consciousness (showing forth the cognizing characteristic);
4. Discrimination of the alteration of the object-characteristic: the manifold alterations of the objective-support-characteristic, such as: the alteration of aging and the like, the alteration of pleasant feeling and the rest (the feelings of pain, pleasure, and neither), the alteration of greed and the rest (greed, anger, delusion), the alteration of oppression and harm and of the turning of the seasons, the alteration of falling into the various destinies such as the hells (Naraka), and the alteration of the various realms such as the desire realm;
5. Discrimination of the alteration of the appearing-characteristic: namely the alterations (on the side that shows forth the cognizer) that accompany the alterations just spoken of;
6. Discrimination drawn forth by another: discrimination roused by another — the discrimination arising from hearing the class of teachings that are "not the true Dharma," and from hearing the class that is the true Dharma;
7. Improper discrimination: the discrimination of the various non-Buddhists arising from hearing the class of teachings that are not the true Dharma;
8. Proper discrimination: the discrimination arising, within the true Dharma, from hearing the class that is the true Dharma;
9. Clinging discrimination: the class of improper attention — discrimination that has the "view of the perishable composite as self" (the self-view that grasps the body as a self) for its root, and answers to the sixty-two false views;
10. Distracting discrimination: the ten "distractions" that bodhisattvas are to counter (discriminations of the mind running outward and astray): one, the distraction of no-characteristic; two, the distraction of a characteristic; three, the distraction of superimposition (adding on what is not there); four, the distraction of denial (erasing what is there); five, the distraction of oneness (grasping unity); six, the distraction of difference (grasping difference); seven, the distraction of self-nature (grasping an essence); eight, the distraction of differentiation (grasping distinctions); nine, the distraction of grasping the object after the name (rigidly grasping the object by the name); ten, the distraction of grasping the name after the object (rigidly grasping the name by the object).

Asaṅga says: in order to counter these ten distractions, all the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras proclaim "non-conceptual wisdom." In this way, taking together what is countered (the ten distractions) and what does the countering (non-conceptual wisdom), the whole meaning of the Prajñāpāramitā is gathered up complete.

20. Set up by way of differing angles, why the three natures do not run together

Someone asks: since, by differing angles (differing approaches), the one other-dependent nature can become the three natures, are these three natures not then left without distinction, run together into a single mass? Asaṅga answers: no. Because — what becomes "the other-dependent" by one angle does not, by that very same angle, become "the wholly-imagined" or "the perfectly-accomplished"; what becomes "the wholly-imagined" by one angle does not, by that very same angle, become "the other-dependent" or "the perfectly-accomplished"; what becomes "the perfectly-accomplished" by one angle does not, by that very same angle, become "the other-dependent" or "the wholly-imagined." (The angles being each distinct, the three natures stand clear and unconfused.)

21. Why the wholly-imagined "shows forth without answering to the substance"

Someone asks: how is it known that the wholly-imagined nature "shows forth upon the other-dependent, yet does not answer to (the other-dependent's) substance" (it shows forth but does not answer to the substance)? Asaṅga gives three points in proof —

1. By "before the name there is no awareness": before a name has been set up, there is no such awareness; from which one sees that the characteristic the name grasps is at odds with the substance (it is not what the substance has of itself);
2. By "one thing has many names": one and the same thing can have many names; if the name were the substance, then where names are many, substances ought to be many — which is at odds with "the substance is one";
3. By "names are not fixed": names are not fixed (the same name for different things, different names for the same thing); if the name were the substance, this would be at odds with "the substance is determinate."

Here there are two verses, the gist of which is this: by these three points — "before the name there is no awareness," "one thing has many names," "names are not fixed" — one may know that the characteristic the name grasps is at odds with "answering to the substance," with "the substance is one (else, many substances)," and with "the substance is determinate (else, a jumble)" — and so the wholly-imagined is but a seeming-appearance, not real. And it says further: that (grasped) dharma is in truth nothing, yet seems to be findable; it has no defilement of itself, yet purity can be accomplished in it — you should know it is just like an "illusion" and the like (seeming to be there yet truly without substance), and also like empty space (without characteristic, yet all-pervading).

22. The other-dependent is not, after all, simply nothing

Someone asks: since what shows forth (the seeming-object) is in truth nothing at all, why is it that the other-dependent nature is not "everything-whatsoever-utterly-nothing"? Asaṅga answers: because if this other-dependent too were gone, the perfectly-accomplished nature would be gone along with it; and if this (the perfectly-accomplished) too were gone, then all would be nothing. Were both natures — the other-dependent and the perfectly-accomplished — to be gone, one would fall into the fault of "there being neither defilement nor purity." But defilement and purity are plainly to be found before us (beings truly have defilement; sages truly have purity), and so one should not say "all is nothing."

Here there is a verse, the gist of which is this: if there were no other-dependent, the perfectly-accomplished too would be gone; and were all these seeds (of the other-dependent and the perfectly-accomplished) gone, then for all time there could be no talk of defilement or of purity.

23. The three natures in the Mahāyāna Vaipulya teaching, with the eight illusion-and-the-like illustrations, and the four purities

Asaṅga cites what the Buddhas proclaim in the Mahāyāna "Vaipulya teaching" (the vast and upright teaching) — for in that teaching it is said:

• How should the wholly-imagined nature be known? You should know that, by another way of putting it (another approach), it is "nothing at all."

• How should the other-dependent nature be known? You should know that it is like the eight illustrations spoken of: illusion (the conjuring of magic), flame (the mirage), dream, image (the mirror-reflection), shadow (the cast shadow), valley-echo (the echo in the mountain valley), water-moon (the moon in the water), and conjuration (what is wrought by transformation) — all eight seeming to be there yet truly without substance, showing forth the moment conditions present them.

• How should the perfectly-accomplished nature be known? You should know that it is the "four kinds of pure dharma" proclaimed. Which four?

  1. Self-nature purity: the nature pure from the first — that is, suchness, emptiness, the genuine limit, the no-characteristic, the supreme truth, the dharma-realm (these are its several other names);
  2. Purity from defilement: namely this (self-nature purity) as the purity made manifest by leaving behind all obstructing defilement (the defilement acquired later);
  3. Purity of the path that attains this: the path by which this purity can be realized — that is, all the limbs of awakening and the perfections, and so on (the methods of practice);
  4. Purity of the realm that gives rise to this: that which can give rise to this pure realm — that is, the wondrous true teachings of the Dharma of the Great Vehicle (the true Dharma to be heard and studied).

  The scripture says further: precisely because these (the latter two) come by way of the teaching and have purity for their condition, they do not belong to the wholly-imagined nature; and because they are the "outflow of the utterly pure dharma-realm" (flowing forth from the pure dharma-realm), neither do they belong to the other-dependent nature. In this way these four dharmas gather up all pure dharmas complete.

Here there are two verses, the gist of which is this: what is spoken of by "illusion" and the other eight is meant to speak of the "arising" of the other-dependent (its arising from conditions); what speaks of "nothing at all" speaks of the wholly-imagined; and what speaks of "the four kinds of purity" speaks of the perfectly-accomplished. Self-nature purity, purity from defilement, purity of the path (its objective-support), purity of the realm that gives rise to it — all pure dharmas are gathered up by these four aspects.

24. Why "illusion" and the other eight illustrations are told of the other-dependent: to dispel eight doubts

Someone asks: why, as the scripture says, are the illustrations "illusion" and the rest told of the other-dependent nature? Asaṅga answers: it is to dispel the various false doubts that others raise about the other-dependent. And what doubts do others raise? Asaṅga unties them one doubt to one illustration —

• Doubt: "How can it be that there is in truth no real object, and yet it becomes an objective realm?" — to dispel this doubt, the "illustration of the illusory event" is told (the magic conjuring is plainly without substance, yet presents a realm).
• Doubt: "Without a real object, how do mind and the mental factors turn?" — to dispel this doubt, the "illustration of the mirage" is told (no water, yet a water-characteristic shows forth).
• Doubt: "Without a real object, how can there be the difference of lovely and unlovely enjoyment?" — to dispel this doubt, the "illustration of the dream" is told (in a dream there is no substance, yet there is the enjoyment of pain and pleasure).
• Doubt: "Without a real object, how can pure karma and impure karma give rise to the difference of lovely and unlovely fruit?" — to dispel this doubt, the "illustration of the image" is told (the mirror-image has no substance, yet shows fair or foul according to the thing).
• Doubt: "Without a real object, how can the various consciousnesses turn forth?" — to dispel this doubt, the "illustration of the shadow" is told (the shadow has no substance, yet shows forth according to the shape).
• Doubt: "Without a real object, how can the various elaborations and speech turn forth?" — to dispel this doubt, the "illustration of the valley-echo" is told (the echo has no substance, yet rises up answering the sound).
• Doubt: "Without a real object, how can there truly be grasping, and the showing-forth of the various objects ranged over in meditative absorption?" — to dispel this doubt, the "illustration of the water-moon" is told (the moon in water has no substance, yet is vividly to be seen).
• Doubt: "Without a real object, how can there be bodhisattvas who, with a mind free of inversion, in order to accomplish the various benefits and joys of sentient beings, deliberately (with intention) take on birth?" — to dispel this doubt, the "illustration of conjuration" is told (the conjured body has no substance, yet can do the work of benefiting beings).

25. Spoken by hidden intent: birth-and-death and nirvāṇa are without difference

Someone asks: on what hidden intent does the World-Honored One, in the Brahma-paripṛcchā-sūtra, say "the Tathāgata neither finds (falls into) birth-and-death, nor finds (abides in) nirvāṇa"? Asaṅga answers: this is the hidden intent of saying, upon the other-dependent nature — distinguishing the wholly-imagined nature and the perfectly-accomplished nature — that "birth-and-death and nirvāṇa are without difference." Why? Because, taking this same other-dependent nature, looked at from the wholly-imagined side it becomes "birth-and-death," and looked at from the perfectly-accomplished side it becomes "nirvāṇa" (birth-and-death and nirvāṇa alike rest on the one other-dependent, and so are said to be without difference).

26. Spoken by hidden intent, the threefold division: the illustration of the gold-earth-ore

Asaṅga cites what the World-Honored One says in the Abhidharma Mahāyāna Sūtra: "Dharmas are of three kinds: one, the defiled portion; two, the pure portion; three, the portion that runs through both." On what hidden intent is this said? — Within the other-dependent nature, the wholly-imagined nature is the "defiled portion," the perfectly-accomplished nature is the "pure portion," and the other-dependent itself is that "portion running through both"; it is on this hidden intent that it is so said.

And what does he use to illustrate this principle? Asaṅga uses the "gold-earth-ore" (the ore-bearing earth that holds gold) as illustration to make it plain —

Just as in the gold-earth-ore of the world three things are to be found: one, the earth-element (the solid quality of the soil, the underlying ground); two, the earth; three, the gold. Within that earth-element, the "earth" is in truth not real, yet shows forth and is to be found; the "gold" is in truth real, yet (before smelting) cannot be made out. When it is smelted with fire, the "earth" characteristic shows no more, and the "gold" characteristic shows forth. And further: of this one same earth-element, when the "earth" shows forth it shows forth falsely, and when the "gold" shows forth it shows forth truly — and so this earth-element is precisely that "portion running through both."

Consciousness is just so: while the fire of "non-conceptual wisdom" has not yet smelted it, all the false "wholly-imagined nature" in this consciousness shows forth, and all the real "perfectly-accomplished nature" does not show forth; once this consciousness is smelted by the fire of non-conceptual wisdom, all the real "perfectly-accomplished nature" in this consciousness shows forth, and all the false "wholly-imagined nature" shows forth no more — and so this false-discriminating other-dependent nature runs through that twofold portion, just like the "earth-element" in the gold-earth-ore (earth gone, gold made manifest; defilement gone, purity made clear).

27. Spoken by hidden intent: the permanent, the impermanent, and the manifold "without-duality"

Someone asks: the World-Honored One sometimes says "all dharmas are permanent," sometimes says "all dharmas are impermanent," and sometimes says "all dharmas are neither permanent nor impermanent" — on what hidden intent is this said? Asaṅga answers: this is said upon the other-dependent nature — from the side of its "perfectly-accomplished nature" it is "permanent" (suchness unchanging); from the side of its "wholly-imagined nature" it is "impermanent" (seeming to show forth, it shifts at once); taken as "running through both portions," it is "neither permanent nor impermanent"; it is on this hidden intent that it is so said.

And just as "permanent / impermanent" is told as "without-duality" (not falling to either extreme), Asaṅga says: pain / pleasure are without-duality; pure / impure are without-duality; empty / not-empty are without-duality; self / no-self are without-duality; calm / not-calm are without-duality; having-self-nature / without-self-nature are without-duality; arising / not-arising are without-duality; ceasing / not-ceasing are without-duality; primordially-calm / not-primordially-calm are without-duality; nirvāṇa-by-nature / not-nirvāṇa-by-nature are without-duality; birth-and-death / nirvāṇa are without-duality — all are so likewise (each told upon the three natures and three portions, and so they come to be "without-duality"). All such differences set in pairs are the hidden-intent speech of the Buddhas, and should be settled one by one in accordance with "the three natures" (discerning which portion each is told upon), just as one threads through the gate of "permanent / impermanent" and the rest spoken of before.

Here there are several verses, the gist of which is this: dharmas, spoken of as to their "reality," are not truly there (looked at by the perfectly-accomplished and wholly-imagined, they are not real), and spoken of as to their "showing-forth," are not of just one sort (arising by conditions, manifold and not one); being neither (real) dharma nor (wholly) no-dharma, they are said to be "without-duality." Disclosed in dependence on a "single portion" (taken just as one portion), there comes the saying "either there is, or there is not"; said in dependence on "two portions" (running through both), there comes the saying "neither there-is nor not-not-there." With respect to the side that "what shows forth is in truth nothing," it is said to be "without"; with respect to the side that "there is, after all, this showing-forth," it is said to be "with." It is not naturally there, its own substance is empty; its self-nature does not abide solidly either (moment by moment in dependence on conditions); just as it is grasped, so it is in truth nothing, and therefore one grants it "without-self-nature." Precisely by being "without (the wholly-imagined) nature," it accomplishes that (perfectly-accomplished) upon which all the later stages (the holy levels) rest; it is without arising and ceasing, primordially calm, by self-nature in parinirvāṇa.

28. The four kinds of intent and the four kinds of secret

Asaṅga says: in all the Buddha's teachings there are, besides, "four kinds of intent" (the bearing behind the words) and "four kinds of secret" (the hidden import), and these too should be settled in accordance (their true sense grasped).

The four kinds of intent:

1. The intent of sameness: as when the Buddha says, "I, of old, at that time, in that portion, was named the very 'Vipaśyin, the Perfectly Awakened One' (a certain Buddha of the past)." — this is said with reference to "the sameness of the dharma-body, the way of all Buddhas being one," and is not to say that this Buddha is that Buddha.
2. The intent of another time: as when it is said, "if one recites the name of the 'Tathāgata of Many Jewels,' then with respect to unsurpassed perfect awakening one is already determined (sure to realize it)." Or as when it is said, "merely by making the vow, one can be reborn in the Land of Bliss." — this takes a fruit that will be accomplished "only at another time (in the future)" and tells it as though it were gained then and there, so as to spur the practitioner on.
3. The intent of another meaning: as when it is said, "only after one has served Buddhas as many as the sands of the Ganges can one truly understand the meaning of the Mahāyāna Dharma." — there is in fact some other meaning intended (it is not as simple as the words make it).
4. The intent of a person's disposition (spoken according to a being's faculties and likings): as when, with respect to a certain person, generosity is first praised (catering to what he likes, to draw him in), and later generosity is disparaged again (to break his clinging to it); as with generosity, so should it be known with the keeping of precepts and with a portion of cultivation (teaching to suit the person, the earlier and later seeming opposed, each with its own purpose).

These are called the four kinds of intent.

The four kinds of secret:

1. The secret that leads one in: in the Vehicle of the Hearers or in the Great Vehicle, in accordance with the truth of conventional reality, it is said that "there is a person (a self)" and that "dharmas each have their own natures and differences" — in order to lead one in through the door first.
2. The secret of characteristics: in certain places the characteristics of dharmas are spoken of, making clear the principle of the "three natures."
3. The secret of the counter-practice: in certain places the methods of countering (the afflictions) are spoken of, together eighty-four thousand.
4. The secret of transformation: in certain places, words are spoken in another sense, so that the same letters and words disclose a further import.

There is a verse that is just an example of the secret of transformation. The verse says: taking what is "not firm" and awakening to it as "firm," abiding well within inversion, and there at the place of the gravest afflictions and their torment, gaining, on the contrary, the supreme awakening. — On the surface it looks inverted, yet what it discloses is another meaning entirely; this is just where the secret of "speaking in another sense, the same letters and words then disclosing a further import" lies.

29. Whoever would compose a treatise on the Mahāyāna Dharma should do so by three aspects

Asaṅga says: should anyone wish to make an exposition of the Mahāyāna Dharma (to compose a treatise glossing the scriptures), in brief he should do so by three aspects: first, "stating the dependent arising" (telling how the dharmas come to arise); second, "stating the characteristics of the dharmas born of conditions"; third, "stating the sense of the words" (explaining the meaning of the text).

First, "the dependent arising." As is said (in a verse), the gist of which is: the various dharmas born of "verbal (name-and-word) perfuming" — this comes from that — "maturation (the storehouse consciousness)" and "the turning consciousnesses (the first seven)" arise as conditions one for the other (the storehouse gives rise to the seven turning consciousnesses, the seven turning consciousnesses perfume the storehouse, arising by turns one from the other).

Next, "the characteristics of the dharmas born of conditions." That dharma which is the characteristic of the "turning consciousnesses" has a "characteristic" (the side that is the object) and a "view" (the side that cognizes), with consciousness for its self-nature. It also has the "support-place (the other-dependent)" for characteristic, the "wholly-imagined" for characteristic, and the "dharma-nature (the perfectly-accomplished)" for characteristic — and by this the characteristics of the three natures are displayed. As is said (in a verse): upon "having a characteristic" and "having a view" (the other-dependent), you should know those three characteristics (the other-dependent, the wholly-imagined, and the perfectly-accomplished all rest upon it).

And how are these three characteristics to be explained? Thus: the wholly-imagined mark, within the other-dependent mark, is in truth nothing at all; the perfectly-accomplished mark, within this other-dependent, is in truth there. By this "the one being nothing, the one being something," there comes "the not-yet-realized (the wholly-imagined being in truth nothing, so there is nothing to find) and the realized (the perfectly-accomplished being in truth there, so it can at last be found)" — the one who has not yet seen the real, and the one who has already seen the real, both facing this one same other-dependent (the one seeing only the wholly-imagined, the other already seeing the perfectly-accomplished). The meaning is: with respect to the other-dependent nature, there is no wholly-imagined (so it is said to be "nothing"), yet there is the perfectly-accomplished (so it is said to be "something"). And when this (the transformation of the basis) takes place: gaining that (the perfectly-accomplished), one no longer gains this (the wholly-imagined); gaining this (the wholly-imagined), one does not gain that (the perfectly-accomplished). As is said (in a verse), the gist of which is: upon the other-dependent, the grasped (the wholly-imagined) is not there, and the perfectly-accomplished is in truth there within it; and so "the gaining (of the perfectly-accomplished) and the not-gaining (of the wholly-imagined)" — these two stand equal and side by side upon the other-dependent (resting on the one same place, the one hidden, the one made manifest).

30. Stating the sense of the words: by way of merit, by way of meaning

Asaṅga lastly states the "sense of the words": it is to state the opening line (the summary line) first, and then with the remaining lines display it severally apart. This may be done either by way of "merit" (the merits of the Buddha) or by way of "meaning" (the meaning of the bodhisattva).

By way of merit (displaying the merits of the Buddha), as in the statement of the Buddha's various merits: the utterly pure awakening; the non-dual conduct; turning toward the dharma of no-characteristic; abiding in the abode of the Buddhas; attaining the equal nature of all Buddhas; reaching the place of no obstruction; the dharma that cannot be turned back; conduct without hindrance; the establishing of him that is beyond conceiving; ranging in the dharma-nature equal throughout the three times; his body spread through all worlds; in all dharmas a wisdom without doubt or hesitation; in all conduct accomplishing the great awakening; in the various dharmas a wisdom without any doubt; whatever body he shows being beyond discriminating; the wisdom sought by all bodhisattvas and the rest; gaining the Buddha's "non-dual abode" and surpassing the far shore; the wondrous wisdom of the Tathāgata's unmixed (pure and unalloyed) liberation, brought to the end; realizing the equality of the Buddha-stage "without middle, without bound"; reaching the very end of the dharma-realm; exhausting the nature of empty space; penetrating to the boundless reach of the future.

Asaṅga points out how to read it: this opening line "the utterly pure awakening," you should know, is displayed severally by all the remaining lines (the summary line sets the warp, the remaining lines set it forth) — and only thus does it become "well-spoken of the dharma-nature" (the merits of the Buddha's dharma-nature fully proclaimed).

Asaṅga makes it clear further: what is called "the utterly pure awakening" — that is to say, the utterly pure awakening of the Buddha, the World-Honored One — you should know it gathers up the Buddha's twenty-one kinds of merit —

the merit of turning, with respect to the knowable, ever (for all time) without obstruction; the merit of being able to enter, by the most excellent purity, the suchness that is the "non-dual characteristic" of "being and non-being"; the merit of abiding, without effort, in Buddha-work that never rests; the merit of there being, within the dharma-body, no difference of support, of resolve, or of activity; the merit of cultivating the counter to every obstruction; the merit of subduing all non-Buddhists; the merit of being born within the world yet unobstructed by worldly dharmas; the merit of establishing the true Dharma; the merit of bestowing prophecies; the merit of showing forth the body-of-enjoyment and the body-of-transformation in all worlds; the merit of cutting off doubt; the merit of leading one into the various forms of conduct; the merit of the wondrous wisdom that will be born in time to come; the merit of showing forth according to a being's excellent resolve; the merit of disciplining sentient beings, and of the preparatory practice for them, through measureless supports; the merit of the equal dharma-body and the full accomplishment of the perfections; the merit of showing forth Buddha-lands differing according to a being's excellent resolve; the merit of the three kinds of Buddha-body being without limit of place; the merit of, to the very end of birth-and-death, ever showing forth benefit and joy to all sentient beings; and the merit that is without end, and the rest (twenty-one in all).

By way of meaning (displaying the meaning of the bodhisattva), as it is said: if a bodhisattva accomplishes "thirty-two dharmas," only then is he called a bodhisattva. These thirty-two dharmas are —

raising, toward all sentient beings, the surpassing resolve of "benefit and joy" (the deep wish that they may gain benefit and gain joy); leading all sentient beings to enter the "wisdom of the wisdom of all" (the Buddha's wisdom); knowing of himself, "by what now, by what wisdom do I borrow my standing" (not self-satisfied); crushing pride; a firm and surpassing resolve; a compassion not feigned (a true heart of compassion); a mind level toward kin and not-kin; being ever a good friend, to the very last limit of nirvāṇa; speaking to measure (saying just what is fitting); speaking first with a smile (meeting others warmly); a great compassion without limit; not flinching from any task taken on; a mind without weariness; never tiring of hearing the meaning; with respect to his own wrongdoing, deeply seeing the fault; with respect to others' wrongdoing, not being angry but counseling well; ever cultivating the awakening-mind through all the postures (walking, standing, sitting, lying); giving without craving the fruit; upholding the precepts without leaning on any thought of a "destiny (a future existence)"; practicing patience toward sentient beings without anger or hindrance; vigorously exerting himself in order to take up all good dharmas; forsaking the formless realm (and its delight in absorption) to cultivate meditative absorption (not coveting the joy of absorption); cultivating wisdom in accord with skillful means; making the means of attraction through the "four means of attraction" — generosity, kindly speech, beneficial conduct, and shared work; a mind without duality toward the precept-keeper, the precept-breaker, and the good friend; hearing the true Dharma with an earnest heart; abiding in the wilderness (the place of quiet) with an earnest heart; taking no delight in worldly miscellany; never once yearning after the lesser vehicle; deeply seeing the merit within the Great Vehicle; keeping far from evil friends; drawing near to good friends; ever cultivating the "four divine abodes" — loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity; ever disporting in the five higher knowledges; making wisdom his resort (taking wisdom for his refuge); not forsaking the various sentient beings, whether they abide in right conduct or do not abide in right conduct; being settled in his word (his word holding good); prizing truthfulness and sincerity; ever making the great awakening-mind his forerunner (all led by the awakening-mind).

Asaṅga points out: all these many lines, you should know, are the "several details" of the opening line — namely, "raising, toward all sentient beings, the surpassing resolve of benefit and joy." And this line "the surpassing resolve of benefit and joy," you should know, holds within it the differences of sixteen kinds of "deed" (function).

These sixteen kinds of deed are — one, the deed of preparatory practice carried on by turns; two, the deed without inversion; three, the deed of preparatory practice undertaken of itself, without waiting for another's request; four, the deed that does not waver or break; five, the deed without seeking-and-defilement (practicing not for the sake of a defiled return), and this one has three lines of difference: namely, without defiled bondage, without love or anger toward those who have shown kindness or no kindness, and turning along life after life; six, the deed of fitting speech-deed and body-deed, and this one has two lines of difference; seven, the deed that is level amid pleasure, amid pain, and amid the neither-of-the-two; eight, the deed that is not lowly; nine, the deed that does not turn back; ten, the deed of the means of attraction; eleven, the deed of loathing what is to be countered, and this one has two lines of difference; twelve, the deed of unbroken attention; thirteen, the deed of advancing conduct, and this one has seven lines of difference: namely, the right preparatory practice of the six perfections, together with the right preparatory practice of the four means of attraction; fourteen, the deed of the preparatory practice brought to fullness, and this one has six lines of difference: namely, drawing near to good people, hearing the true Dharma, abiding in the wilderness, keeping far from evil deliberation, the merit of attention (this again having two lines of difference), and the merit of the helping companion (this again having two lines of difference); fifteen, the deed brought to fullness, and this one has three lines of difference: namely, measureless purity, gaining great might, and realizing merit; sixteen, the deed of establishing them (sentient beings), and this one has four lines of difference: namely, the merit of governing the assembly, instruction and admonition that are settled and without doubt, the joining of attraction-by-wealth and attraction-by-Dharma into one, and a mind without defilement. All these many lines, you should know, are likewise the details of that opening line.

Lastly, as it is said (in a verse), the gist of which is: from that "first line" (the summary line) are divided out the various classes of "merit" (the way of merit); from that "first line" are divided out the various differences of "meaning" (the way of meaning).

The previous chapter treated "the characteristics of the knowable," making clear the three shapes in which all things appear (the three natures). This chapter goes on to ask: well then, how does one truly "enter" those characteristics — how does one realize them for oneself? Asaṅga's answer is "entering the nature of consciousness-only" (vijñapti-mātratā) — coming, step by step, to realize directly that all things are nothing but what the mind-consciousness presents. What follows runs straight through his words.

1. The Opening Frame: What Counts as "Entering the Characteristic of the Knowable"

Since "the characteristics of the knowable" have already been explained, how then should one observe the "entering" of those characteristics? Asaṅga says: one must rely on that "perfuming from much hearing" (the latent force left behind by hearing the right Mahāyāna teaching again and again and being steeped in it) as one's basis. Note this: although this basis is itself a kind of seed, it is not included in the storehouse consciousness (ālaya) — it is not like the (defiled) seeds within the storehouse consciousness (which belong to a defiled lineage), but belongs to a pure lineage. On this very basis, and further governed by "attention in accord with reason" (thinking in accord with truth), there arises an "inner discourse" (the mind's own verbal discrimination) that "seems to present a thing and seems to present a meaning" (semblance-of-dharma, semblance-of-meaning) and that carries a side that "can see." Practice begins right here.

2. Who Can Enter (Who Can Awaken Into the Characteristic of the Knowable)

In all this, who has the power to awaken into these "characteristics one ought to know"? Asaṅga says: it is a bodhisattva of this kind — one whose perfuming from much hearing in the Mahāyāna teaching is unbroken and continuous; one who has already met, and served, countless buddhas appearing in the world; one who has already gained a settled (firm), decisive (unwavering) superior resolve (a deep, surpassing conviction); one who has already well accumulated all kinds of roots of good. By all this, he is a bodhisattva whose two provisions, merit and wisdom, are both well prepared. Only such a person has the power to enter.

3. Where One Enters (On What Basis One Enters)

Then in what place, relying on what, does one enter? Asaṅga says: it is right on that "inner discourse that carries the seeing, that seems to present a thing and seems to present a meaning" spoken of above — that is, on everything that arises from the characteristics of the Mahāyāna teaching and the like — that one enters. The course of entering passes through several stages: the ground of resolved practice (the stage of conviction and cultivation), the path of seeing (the stage of seeing the real for the first time), the path of cultivation (the stage of repeated cultivation after seeing), and the ultimate path (the stage where practice is fulfilled). All along this road, one is to realize "that all dharmas have only the nature of consciousness" (all things are nothing but mind-consciousness) — on the ground of resolved practice, by gaining resolve in accord with what one has heard (conviction in consciousness-only); on the path of seeing, by penetrating it in accord with reason (direct realization of consciousness-only); on the path of cultivation, by counteracting every obstruction (clearing away all kinds of hindrance); and on the ultimate path, by being free of every obstruction (utterly released from all hindrance).

4. By What One Enters (By What Power Entering Is Possible)

Then by what power does one enter? Asaṅga says: by the upholding sustained by the strength of the roots of good (which supports and carries one along). Concretely, three things are to be done: first, to temper one's mind by means of "three kinds of characteristic" (the three temperings of the mind, set out just below); second, to cut off "four places" (the four places to be cut off, set out just below); and third, regarding the objects of "dharma and meaning" (the teaching one has heard and its import) to cultivate calm and insight, applying oneself constantly and earnestly, without the least negligence.

(1) The Three Temperings of the Mind

The "three characteristics for tempering the mind" that Asaṅga speaks of are these:

First tempering: in worlds beyond measure and beyond number, there are sentient beings beyond measure and beyond number, who in moment after moment can realize unsurpassed perfect awakening (the highest enlightenment) — since the attaining of buddhahood is happening in thought-moment after thought-moment, it is plainly not far out of reach; therefore I should not shrink back or lose heart. This is the first tempering of the mind.

Second tempering: it is precisely because I have that aspiration above (the will turned toward the Way) that I am able to cultivate the six perfections, giving and the rest. Now that I have already gained such an aspiration, then from here on, with only a little effort applied to cultivating the six perfections of giving and the rest, I will surely cultivate them to fullness in time to come. This is the second tempering of the mind.

Third tempering: in the world, even those "goods that come with obstruction" (good deeds mixed with the stain of hindrance) can still cause a person, at the close of life, to be born at once with a lovable, fully complete body of every kind (born into a good destiny, with a complete self); how much more so for what I cultivate, which is subtle, unobstructed good — so when that time comes, how could I, of all people, fail to gain every kind of completeness? (Since I cultivate good free of obstruction, completeness must be all the more attainable.) This is the third tempering of the mind.

Here there is a verse, the gist of which is: the various sentient beings in the human realm — their dwelling-places and their numbers are beyond all measure, and in thought after thought they can realize perfect awakening, so one should not shrink back and wilt. Those whose minds are pure, whose aspiration is turned toward the Way, are the ones who can cultivate the six perfections of giving and the rest; and this surpassing practitioner, having already gained that aspiration, is therefore able to cultivate giving and the rest. Even doers of good, at the time of death, can still gain a complete self according to what they delight in; how much more, then, when this surpassing good comes from the "permanent cutting off (of obstruction)" — how could its completeness be lacking?

(2) Cutting Off the Four Places

The "four places to be cut off" that Asaṅga speaks of are these:

First, one must depart from the attention that takes the hearer (śrāvaka) and the solitary-realizer (pratyekabuddha) — the lesser vehicle — as its concern (no longer making the lesser vehicle's bent of mind one's preoccupation); this is "cutting off attention" (cutting off the bent of mind that slips back toward the lesser vehicle).

Second, one must be free of doubt regarding the many doubts about the Mahāyāna, for one can permanently cut off the doubt of "raising a divergent interpretation" (the doubt of a deviant understanding: misgivings that swerve away from the right understanding and crop up sideways); this is cutting off doubt.

Third, one must depart, within "the dharma one has heard and pondered," from the grasping at "I and what is mine" (clinging to there being a self, and things owned by a self); this is "cutting off the grasping at dharmas" (cutting off the self-grasping directed at dharmas).

Fourth, regarding all the characteristics that are present, presently abiding, and set up before one, one must achieve "no attention, no discrimination" (no longer stirring up the mind to chase after and discriminate them); this is "cutting off discrimination."

Here there is a verse, the gist of which is: regarding all the characteristics that are present, abiding of themselves, and set up before one, the wise person, by not discriminating them, can realize the highest awakening.

5. By What and How Awakening Comes About

Then by just what, and in just what way, does one come to awaken? Asaṅga answers:

It is by that inner discourse — which is of the kind formed from "perfuming by hearing" (the lineage formed by being steeped in much hearing), is governed by attention in accord with reason, "seems to present a thing and seems to present a meaning," and carries the seeing — together with the "four investigations" and the "four kinds of all-pervading wisdom of knowing-as-it-is," that one enters.

First, the four investigations (four ways of searching into and examining). The four investigations are: regarding these four — "name" (the designation), "meaning" (the thing-import the name points to), "own-nature" (the intrinsic character of a thing), and "distinction" (the various distinctions of a thing) — to search into and examine that they are all merely "provisionally set up" (set up for the time being, not really existent). The bodhisattva, searching like this in accord with truth, applies himself diligently in order to "enter consciousness-only," and so, upon that inner discourse that "seems to have wording and seems to have meaning," he probes: he probes that the "wording, the name" is, after all, only inner discourse; he probes that the "meaning" that follows upon the wording and name is, likewise, only inner discourse; he probes that the own-nature and the distinction of "name and meaning" are merely set up provisionally.

Next, the four kinds of all-pervading wisdom of knowing-as-it-is (four ways of knowing-as-it-is, fully and all around). The four kinds of all-pervading wisdom are: regarding the very fact that these four — "name, thing, own-nature, distinction" — are "provisionally set up," to know it as-it-is, fully and all around — to know that they are, every one, "not to be found" (seek for them as real and they are not to be found at all). When he has realized that "there is, after all, only inner discourse," at that very moment he realizes as well that the "name," the "meaning," the "own-nature," and the "distinction" are all provisionally set up; and because the meaning-characteristic of "own-nature" and "distinction" simply does not exist (is without reality), they likewise are not to be found. In just this way, by means of the four investigations and the four kinds of all-pervading wisdom of knowing-as-it-is, upon that inner discourse that "seems to have wording and seems to have meaning," one is able to awaken into "there is only the nature of consciousness" (all things are consciousness-only).

6. Within the Awakening Into the Nature of Consciousness-Only: What Is Awakened Into, and How (the Rope-and-Snake Simile)

Within this "awakening into the nature of consciousness-only," what, exactly, is awakened into? And how is it awakened into? Asaṅga says:

What is called "entering the nature of consciousness-only" is awakening into the consciousness's two natures, "characteristic and seeing" (the seen aspect that is cognized and the seeing aspect that cognizes), as well as into its "manifold nature" (presenting manifold modes). How is this awakening possible? Because the six meanings — the provisional status of "name and meaning" together with the provisional status of "own-nature and distinction," plus the meaning-characteristic of "own-nature and distinction" — in fact do not exist at all (are without reality); because the nature of "the grasped (the object grasped) and the grasper (the mind that grasps)" comes clearly into view (one sees that grasped-and-grasper are only the two sides of consciousness); and because all this arises at one stroke as a "seeming presentation of manifold characteristics and manifold meanings" (presented all at once, with no real outer object behind it).

This principle Asaṅga conveys with a famous simile — the "rope-and-snake simile": it is like seeing a rope in the dark, yet having it show up "as though it were a snake." Understand that the snake on the rope is not real, because there is no snake there at all. Once one knows that the "meaning" of "snake" is in fact absent, then although the cognition "that it is a snake" ceases, the cognition "that it is a rope" still remains. But if one then takes a finer order of analysis further, this "rope" too turns out to be unreal — for the rope is nothing but a characteristic put together out of (the finer constituents) form, smell, taste, and touch; and so this cognition "that it is a rope" must, in turn, cease as one (presses on to see through form, smell, taste, and touch). By the same principle: confronting that "six-characteristic inner discourse" that "seems to have wording and seems to have meaning" (the inner discourse formed by the six meaning-characteristics spoken of above — name, meaning, own-nature, distinction, and so on), when one has subdued and removed "the six-characteristic meaning, which is not real," then even the cognition of "the nature of consciousness-only" — just like the cognition "that it is a snake" — must in the end be dispelled too; for it is to be replaced by the cognition of the "perfectly-accomplished nature" (the direct realization of the perfectly real nature).

7. The Sequence of Awakening Into the Three Natures

Following on from this, Asaṅga points out the sequence in which one awakens into the three natures:

The bodhisattva, having awakened into "the characteristic of the inner discourse that seems to have meaning" (seeing through the inner discourse that seems to present a meaning), has thereby awakened into the wholly-imagined nature (seeing clearly that the wholly-imagined mark is from the first unreal); and having awakened into "consciousness-only" (all things are only consciousness), has thereby awakened into the other-dependent nature (seeing clearly that this semblance-of-meaning is a consciousness arising in dependence on conditions). And the perfectly-accomplished nature — how is that awakened into? Asaṅga says: at the time when he has extinguished even "the notion of consciousness-only that is of the kind formed from inner discourse and the perfuming of heard dharma," this bodhisattva has by then driven away the "notion of meaning" (the notion directed at an object), and everything "seeming to have meaning" can no longer arise at all; this being so, even the characteristic "as though it were consciousness-only" can no longer arise. By this cause and condition, he comes to abide in a state of "no discrimination toward any meaning whatever," and in the "dharma-realm" (the realm of the real) he comes to "abide in correspondence with direct seeing" (directly seeing the real, in correspondence with it). At that moment, this bodhisattva's "wisdom in which the object cognized and the cognizing — perfectly equal, perfectly equal — are without discrimination" (non-conceptual wisdom) has arisen; and by this, this bodhisattva is called "one who has awakened into the perfectly-accomplished nature."

Here there is a verse, the gist of which is: dharma, the person (pudgala, the self), dharma, meaning, the condensed, the expanded, nature, as well as the impure, the pure, and the ultimate — these are the various distinctions within the field "ranged over" (by non-conceptual wisdom): ranging in accord with name, observing in accord with the manifold distinctions, and in the end coming to no discrimination.

8. Entering the Path of Seeing, Ascending the Joyful Ground

Thus the bodhisattva, by reason of awakening into the nature of consciousness-only, awakens into "the characteristics of the knowable"; and by reason of awakening into these "characteristics of the knowable," he is able to enter the "Joyful Ground" (the first of the bodhisattva's ten grounds, the initial ground). By this time he penetrates the dharma-realm well, is born into "the family of the Tathāgata" (becomes a true son of the Buddha), gains the mind-nature "equal toward all sentient beings," gains the mind-nature "equal toward all bodhisattvas," and gains the mind-nature "equal toward all buddhas" — and this is what is called the bodhisattva's "path of seeing" (the stage of directly seeing the real for the first time).

9. Why One Enters the Nature of Consciousness-Only (What Its Point Is)

Asaṅga asks again: well then, for the sake of what does one enter the nature of consciousness-only? He answers: it is for the sake of the "supramundane wisdom of calm and insight" (the calm-and-insight wisdom that transcends the world) that arises by "taking all dharmas together as object" (taking the whole of dharmas as one's object), and for the sake of the "subsequently-attained wisdom" that arises after this and can take "the manifold characteristics" as its object (the wisdom that, even after rising from concentration, still illumines the myriad characteristics). Concretely, one enters the nature of consciousness-only in order to: cut off the seeds of those characteristics that are the characteristics of "characteristic" and of "the storehouse consciousness" (pull up the root of the defiled consciousness); nourish the seeds that can make contact with and realize the "dharma-body" (the real body of a buddha); transform the "basis" (turning the defiled support into a pure support — that is, the "transformation of the basis"); realize all the dharmas of a buddha; and realize "the wisdom of all-knowing wisdom" (the buddha's wisdom that knows everything). Moreover: that "subsequently-attained wisdom," regarding all the "characteristics of discernment" (the cognized characteristics) born from the storehouse consciousness, can see that they "are like things conjured up by magic (seeming to exist while in fact without reality), and that their nature is unmistaken (one is no longer turned upside-down by them)," and so they course freely along. Therefore this bodhisattva is just like a magician: toward the things he himself has conjured, toward their various characteristics, and toward the cause-and-effect spoken of within them, because his mind understands clearly that they are conjured and is not fooled by them, he is constantly free of any upside-down view.

10. The Four Concentrations and the Four Stages of Application

Asaṅga says: in this process of "awakening into the nature of consciousness-only" there are four concentrations (samādhi), and these are precisely the support for the "four factors conducing to penetration" (the four stages of application that head toward the path of seeing). How is this to be known? Asaṅga matches them up one by one —

First, by means of the four investigations spoken of above, within the "lesser-grade 'forbearance toward the absence of meaning'" (the first measure of patient acceptance of the principle that "the object is in fact without reality"), there is a "concentration of attaining clarity," and this is the support of the stage of heat (the first of the factors conducing to penetration, "heat").

Second, within the "higher-grade 'forbearance toward the absence of meaning'" (a further patient acceptance of the meaning's absence of reality), there is a "concentration of increasing clarity," and this is the support of the stage of summit (the second factor, "summit").

Third, by means, further, of the four kinds of all-pervading wisdom of knowing-as-it-is — having by now entered consciousness-only and gained certainty (no longer wavering) regarding "the object's absence of reality" — there is a "concentration of part-entry into the true meaning" (a concentration that has in part penetrated the true meaning), and this is the support of the stage of forbearance (forbearance in accord with the truths).

Fourth, from here, without any interval, having subdued the "notion of consciousness-only" (with even the thought of "consciousness-only" put down), there is a "concentration without interval," and this is the support of the stage of the supreme worldly dharma (the fourth factor, "supreme worldly dharma").

It should be known that these several concentrations are all the "verge of direct realization" (the immediate brink, just before direct realization, the leading edge of direct realization).

11. How One Cultivates After Entering the Path of Cultivation

Asaṅga asks: thus the bodhisattva, having entered the ground (ascended the first ground), having gained the path of seeing, and having entered consciousness-only, how is he to cultivate in the "path of cultivation" that follows? He answers: it is right within the "ten grounds" set up and spoken of above — these ten grounds gather in the whole of the scriptural teaching and present it one by one before him — that, by means of the "supramundane subsequently-attained wisdom of calm and insight" born from "taking all dharmas together as object" (the calm-and-insight wisdom that takes the whole of dharmas as object and, after rising from concentration, still illumines all dharmas), he is to cultivate for as long as "measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭi-nayuta of kalpas" (an immeasurable, numberless stretch of time), and only so can he gain the "transformation of the basis" (the transformation, at the root, from a defiled support into a pure support). In order to realize the three bodies of a buddha (the self-nature body, the enjoyment-body, and the transformation-body), he cultivates with just such diligence.

12. The Eleven Differences Between the Hearer's and the Bodhisattva's Direct Realization

Asaṅga asks: between the hearer's (lesser vehicle's) "direct realization" (direct realization of the real) and the bodhisattva's "direct realization," what is the difference? He answers: the bodhisattva's direct realization differs from the hearer's, and this is to be known through eleven differences —

First, the difference in object: the bodhisattva takes the Mahāyāna teaching as his object (the object he illumines is the more vast).

Second, the difference in provision-support: the bodhisattva takes the two provisions, great merit and great wisdom, as his support.

Third, the difference in penetration: the bodhisattva can penetrate both "the selflessness of the person" and "the selflessness of dharmas," the twofold selflessness (not only realizing the emptiness of the person, but also realizing the emptiness of dharmas).

Fourth, the difference in nirvāṇa: what the bodhisattva takes up is the "great non-abiding nirvāṇa" (the great liberation that abides neither in birth-and-death nor in quiescence).

Fifth, the difference in ground: the bodhisattva goes forth by way of the ten grounds (his stages of practice are the ten grounds).

Sixth and seventh, the difference in purity: the bodhisattva is to cut off the "habitual residues of the afflictions" (the lingering residues of the afflictions), and is also to purify a buddha-land (to adorn and accomplish a pure realm). (These two both belong to the differences in purity.)

Eighth, the difference in gaining a mind equal toward self and others: the bodhisattva's application for "maturing sentient beings" (saving and guiding living beings) never takes a rest.

Ninth, the difference in birth: the bodhisattva is born into "the family of the Tathāgata" (becomes a true son of the Buddha).

Tenth, the difference in taking birth: the bodhisattva constantly takes up birth within the great assemblies of the buddhas (following the buddhas, he is ever born amid their dharma gatherings).

Eleventh, the difference in fruit: what the bodhisattva accomplishes is the fruit of measureless qualities — the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the eighteen qualities unique to a buddha, and the like (the qualities of the fruit-ground, complete and surpassing).

13. The Verses of the Three Passages of Instruction

Asaṅga then cites several passages of "instruction" (handing down the essentials of cultivating insight), in verse.

The first passage (two verses), the gist of which is: "name" and "thing (meaning)" are mutually guests to each other (they are not one — the name is not itself the thing, the thing is not itself the name); this character of theirs is to be searched into. About these two, "name and thing," one should likewise probe, knowing that they are merely "measure-only" (only what the mind's measuring presents) and merely "provisional" (provisionally set up). When one observes with the wisdom of the real, one sees that there is no real meaning, and what is seen is only these three formed by discrimination (the provisionally-set-up characteristics of name, meaning, and the rest). Since it (the semblance-of-meaning) does not exist, this (the cognizing mind's grasping at it) does not exist either — and just this is the entering of the three natures.

The second passage (two verses), another instruction, is cited from what the Treatise on Discerning Yoga says. The gist is: the bodhisattva, in the state of concentration, observes that the (object-) image is only mind. Having extinguished the "characteristic as though it had an object" (the meaning-characteristic), he looks back and examines, and knows it is only his own notion (his own thinking). Abiding thus within the mind, he knows that "the grasped (the object grasped) is not real"; next, even the "grasper (the mind that grasps)" is absent; and finally he "makes contact with the unattainable" (penetrates that real in which nothing at all is to be found).

The third passage (five "verses of direct realization," that is, verses on direct realization), is cited from what the Sūtra-alaṃkāra (Ornament of the Mahāyāna Sūtras) says. The gist is: the bodhisattva, having well prepared the two provisions of merit and wisdom — vast and without limit — and having well pondered and settled his discernment regarding the dharmas, thereby knows that all import is nothing but a kind of "word (verbal designation)." If one knows that all meaning is only word, one can then abide in the principle that "that whole array is mind-only"; and so one is able to realize directly the true dharma-realm, and therefore the two characteristics, the "grasper and grasped," are both dispelled together. He realizes that "apart from mind there is no separate thing," and from this he understands further that "mind too is not real"; the wise person, having thus penetrated that the two — grasper and grasped — both do not exist, abides equally in the true dharma-realm of "the absence of the two (both grasper and grasped absent)." This wise one, by the power of non-conceptual wisdom, courses ever onward, all-pervadingly and equally, in accord (with the real), extinguishing the heap of faults that is like brambles, thorns, and rubble, as a great medicine dispels a host of poisons. The wondrous dharma the Buddha has spoken is well established; he sets "right wisdom (sthāna-prajñā / 安慧)" together with its root within the dharma-realm; knowing that all the "leanings of thought" are merely discrimination, he turns valiantly and swiftly home to the shore of the ocean of virtues.

The previous chapter covered "entering the character of the knowable" — it spelled out how one truly enters and directly realizes that all dharmas are nothing but consciousness. This chapter goes on to ask: this "entry" — by what cause does it come about, and what fruit does it bear? Asaṅga's answer is the six perfections (pāramitās), the six pāramitās. What follows runs through his words in order.

1. Overview: the six perfections as the cause and fruit of "entry"

Asaṅga says: "entering the character of the knowable" has already been covered; so how are we to understand the cause and fruit of that entering? It comes about through the six perfections: giving, discipline, patience, effort, meditation (dhyāna), and wisdom (prajñā).

This raises two questions: how does one "gain entry into nothing-but-consciousness" by means of these six perfections (so that they become the cause of entry)? And in what sense are these six perfections the fruit produced by that "entry"?

First, the cause. This bodhisattva: he does not cling to wealth and position, so he is not led away by wealth and position; he does not transgress the precepts (śīla), so he is not thrown into disorder by bad conduct; he does not waver when he meets suffering; he does not slacken in his practice. When all these factors that would scatter and unsettle a person fail to arise, his mind can settle on a single object, and so he can investigate dharmas according to principle (discern and decide among the various dharmas as they truly are) — and in this way he enters nothing-but-consciousness.

Now the fruit. Having entered nothing-but-consciousness by relying on the six perfections, the bodhisattva attains the perfections "embraced by the six purified higher resolves" — that is, the six perfections held in place by those six purified and heartfelt aspirations toward the path (the higher resolve). For just this reason, even when this bodhisattva later leaves off the active cultivation that brings the six perfections into play (no longer deliberately taking them up as he did on the causal ground), still — because he has given rise to an extraordinary conviction in the sacred teaching (deep, unshakable faith), and because of the various attentions of cherishing, rejoicing, and gladness — he can practice these six perfections constantly, without break, in a manner joined with skillful means, and very quickly bring them to fullness. This "quickly brought to fullness" is precisely the fruit produced by entering nothing-but-consciousness.

2. Three verses showing the seven aspects of the purified higher resolve

Here there are three verses. Their gist is this: (the bodhisattva) has fulfilled the various pure and wholesome dharmas (the white dharmas), and has gained that keen and swift "endurance" (the power to bear and accept). Toward his own vehicle's profound and vast teaching, the bodhisattva can fully awaken (truly realize) that it is nothing but what discrimination presents, and so he gains non-discriminating wisdom. He longs for (earnestly seeks) that excellent purity of conviction, and so his resolve (aspiration) is purified. Both before this, and within this "stream of Dharma" (the continuous inflow of the true teaching), he gets to behold all the buddhas. He knows that awakening (bodhi) is near — for there is now nothing hard to accomplish; it is within easy reach.

Asaṅga says: by these three verses, the "purified higher resolve" is shown to have, in sum, seven aspects, namely: first, the provisions (the capital for becoming a buddha); second, endurance (the power to bear); third, the object (what it is directed toward); fourth, the attention (how the mind is applied); fifth, its own nature (its very essence); sixth, the auspicious sign (the favorable token); seventh, the benefit (the excellent advantage). Following this same order, the lines of the verses display these seven aspects one by one — that is how they are to be matched up and understood.

3. Why the perfections are set at exactly "six"

Asaṅga asks himself: for what reason are the perfections exactly "six" in number? He gives three reasons — first, to establish the relation of "what counters and what is countered" (to use these six to counter the obstacles that ought to be removed); second, to attain the basis on which the dharmas of all buddhas rest; third, to accord with and ripen all sentient beings.

The first reason: to counter the obstacles to be countered. First, to counter the cause of "not setting out" (not even being able to rouse oneself toward the Great Vehicle), the perfections of giving and discipline are established — for the cause of "not setting out" is clinging to wealth and position, and clinging to home and household. Second, to counter the cause of "having set out, yet turning back again," the perfections of patience and effort are established — for the cause of "turning back" is the various sufferings that arise from the offenses and injuries of sentient beings while one is in the midst of birth-and-death, and the fatigue and slackening that arise from long-continued exertion in wholesome practice. Third, to counter the cause of "having set out, no longer turning back, yet spoiling what one has cultivated," the perfections of meditation and wisdom are established — for the cause of "spoiling" is the various distractions and unsettlings, and false, evil wisdom (mistaken understanding). In this way, by reason of "establishing the countering of the obstacles to be countered," only six are set up.

The second reason: to attain the basis on which the buddhas' dharmas rest. Again, the former four perfections (giving, discipline, patience, effort) are the cause of "non-distraction" (the root of an unscattered mind); the next perfection (meditation) is the accomplishment of "non-distraction" (truly bringing the unscattered mind to completion). Resting upon this "non-distraction," one can fully awaken, as it truly is, to the real meaning of dharmas, and so can attain all the dharmas of the buddhas. In this way, by reason of "the basis on which the buddhas' dharmas rest," only six are set up.

The third reason: to accord with and ripen sentient beings. By the perfection of giving, one can rightly draw in the various sentient beings (gather people to oneself); by the perfection of discipline, one can refrain from harming the various sentient beings; by the perfection of patience, one can bear with them even when one suffers harm; by the perfection of effort, one can help manage and accomplish the tasks they need done. By just such causes and conditions of "drawing in and benefiting," the various sentient beings are made fit to be ripened (able to be brought to maturity). From then on: those whose minds are not yet settled are brought to settle; those whose minds are already settled are brought to liberation; and at the moment of their awakening, they are ripened. In this way, by reason of "according with and ripening all sentient beings," only six are set up — that is how it is to be understood.

4. The character of the six perfections, seen through the "six supremacies"

Asaṅga asks: how is the character of these six (perfections) to be seen? It can be seen through the "six supremacies (the most excellent in six respects)" —

First, by supremacy of basis: because it takes the mind of awakening (bodhicitta) as its basis (everything proceeds from bodhicitta). Second, by supremacy of substance: because it is carried out in full (the six are each actually put into practice). Third, by supremacy of locus: because it takes the benefit and ease of all sentient beings as the locus it rests upon (its whole field of action is the welfare of beings). Fourth, by supremacy of skillful means: because it is taken up and sustained by non-discriminating wisdom (governed and guided by non-discriminating wisdom). Fifth, by supremacy of dedication: because it is dedicated to unsurpassed perfect awakening (all the merit is turned over to becoming a buddha). Sixth, by supremacy of purity: because it is gathered up where both obstacles — the obstacle of the afflictions and the obstacle to the knowable — are without hindrance (it arises from a place where both obstacles are alike purified).

5. The four-part analysis of giving and perfection

Asaṅga sets up a question: "Is everything that is giving also a perfection?" "Is everything that is a perfection also giving?" — Some giving is not a perfection (mere giving, lacking the six supremacies just stated, does not count as the perfection that reaches the far shore). This is to be sorted out as "four cases" (giving that is not perfection, perfection that is not giving, both giving and perfection, neither giving nor perfection — sorted into four situations). And just as four cases are made for "giving," so for the remaining perfections four cases are likewise made for each — that is how it is to be worked out.

6. Why these six are arranged in this order

Asaṅga asks: for what reason are these six perfections arranged in this sequence (giving, discipline, patience, effort, meditation, wisdom)? Because the former perfection accords with and gives rise to the latter perfection (each one paves the way for the next, link generating link), they are arranged this way.

7. The naming and explanation of the six perfections

Asaṅga goes on to ask: how are we to see why these perfections are "called by these names" (the explanation of their terms)?

First, the general name "perfection" (reaching the far shore): among worldly people, śrāvakas, and pratyekabuddhas, it is only the wholesome roots — giving and the rest — (of the bodhisattva) that are the most excellent and able to reach the far shore, and so they are all called "perfection."

Now each particular name, one by one —

• Again, because it can break apart stinginess and poverty, and can draw in vast provisions of wealth, position, and merit (cultivating giving actually brings on great reward and blessing), it is called "giving."
• Again, because it can put to rest bad conduct (corrupt discipline) and the bad destinies (places of downfall), and can lay hold of the good destinies and "concentration" (the settled state of meditative stability), it is called "discipline."
• Again, because it can extinguish anger and enmity (hatred), and can keep both oneself and others firmly at ease, it is called "patience."
• Again, because it can keep far away from all sloth and from evil, unwholesome dharmas, and can give birth to measureless wholesome dharmas and make them grow, it is called "effort."
• Again, because it can dispel all distraction and unsettling, and can draw in inner mental stillness, it is called "meditation."
• Again, because it can do away with all "tendencies to views" (the byways of falling into various fixed opinions) and the various false, evil kinds of wisdom, and can truly sort out and know dharmas, it is called "wisdom."

8. How to cultivate the six perfections: the five kinds of cultivation

Asaṅga asks: how is the cultivation of these perfections to be understood? This "cultivation," in brief, has five kinds — first, cultivation as active application (actually setting out and practicing); second, cultivation by conviction (practicing with deep faith and conviction); third, cultivation by attention (practicing with various applications of mind); fourth, cultivation by skillful means (practicing with skillful method); fifth, cultivation by accomplishing the task to be done (practicing so as to bring to completion the work that ought to be done). Of these, the first four kinds of cultivation have already been spoken of above. As for "cultivation by accomplishing the task to be done," it means that the buddhas, the tathāgatas, effortlessly (spontaneously, without contrivance) carry on the work of a buddha and never rest, and upon the perfections they have already fulfilled, they go on still further to cultivate these six that reach the far shore (even after buddhahood, they constantly practice the six perfections, benefiting beings without cease).

9. Cultivation by attention: the three attentions embraced by the six resolves

Again, "cultivation by attention" means cultivating the three kinds of attention — "cherishing, rejoicing, and gladness" — held in place by the six resolves. These six resolves are: first, the vast resolve; second, the long-lasting resolve; third, the joyful resolve; fourth, the resolve of grateful obligation; fifth, the high-aspiring resolve; sixth, the wholly good resolve.

The vast resolve. Suppose there is a bodhisattva who must pass through some number of countless great eons before he directly realizes unsurpassed perfect awakening; throughout all that long time, in every single instant, he is willing to give away his whole body and life all at once, and to offer the buddhas (the tathāgatas) the seven treasures filling world-systems as numerous as the sands of the Ganges — right up until he sits at the wondrous seat of awakening (the time of buddhahood), this bodhisattva's resolve to give is still never satisfied (he always feels he has not given enough). Likewise, throughout all that long time, in every single instant, suppose the great trichiliocosm were filled everywhere with raging fire, and that through the four postures (walking, standing, sitting, lying) he constantly lacked every means of livelihood (enduring extreme want) — yet his mind of discipline, patience, effort, meditation, and wisdom keeps being carried on without break, right up until he sits at the seat of awakening, and this bodhisattva's every resolve of discipline, patience, effort, meditation, and wisdom is still never satisfied. This is what is called the bodhisattva's "vast resolve."

The long-lasting resolve. Again, these bodhisattvas, right within this (the six perfections), keep up that resolve "never satiated" all the way until they sit at the seat of awakening, constant and unbroken, never coming to a stop. This is what is called the bodhisattva's "long-lasting resolve."

The joyful resolve. Again, these bodhisattvas use the six perfections to benefit sentient beings, and through doing so a deep joy springs up from the bottom of their hearts — a joy so deep that even the sentient beings who receive the benefit cannot match it (the giver rejoices more than the one who receives). This is what is called the bodhisattva's "joyful resolve."

The resolve of grateful obligation. Again, these bodhisattvas use the six perfections to benefit sentient beings, yet they see only that "those sentient beings have done me a great kindness," and do not see that "I myself have done those sentient beings any kindness" (turning it around, they feel grateful to beings as the very ones who bring about their own accomplishment). This is what is called the bodhisattva's "resolve of grateful obligation."

The high-aspiring resolve. Again, these bodhisattvas take the wholesome roots gathered by thus practicing the six that reach the far shore, and from the depths of their hearts dedicate and give them away to all sentient beings, so that those beings may obtain a lovely and excellent fruit and ripening (an excellent maturation of reward). This is what is called the bodhisattva's "high-aspiring resolve."

The wholly good resolve. Again, these bodhisattvas take the wholesome roots gathered by thus practicing the six that reach the far shore, and together with all sentient beings dedicate them and seek unsurpassed perfect awakening (seeking not merely the pleasant fruits of gods and humans, but the buddha-fruit realized in common). This is what is called the bodhisattva's "wholly good resolve." In this way, the bodhisattva cultivates the "cherishing attention" embraced by these six resolves.

The rejoicing attention. Again, these bodhisattvas, toward the measureless wholesome roots of other bodhisattvas who "cultivate in accord with the six resolves," rejoice and praise from the depths of their hearts. In this way, the bodhisattva cultivates the "rejoicing resolve" embraced by these six resolves.

The gladness attention. Again, these bodhisattvas, from the depths of their hearts, are glad over all sentient beings' "cultivation of the six that reach the far shore" embraced by the six resolves, and they vow too that their own bodies may never be parted from this cultivation of the six that reach the far shore, all the way until they sit at the seat of awakening. In this way, the bodhisattva cultivates the "gladness attention" embraced by these six resolves.

Asaṅga adds a further word: if someone has merely heard of the bodhisattva's "cultivation by attention embraced by the six resolves," and can give rise to even a single thought of faith, this still gives birth to a measureless accumulation of merit, and the various obstacles of bad karma are likewise made to vanish — how much more so for the bodhisattva who actually practices it!

10. The varieties of the six perfections: three grades within each

Asaṅga asks: how are we to see the varieties of these perfections (their finer subdivisions)? It should be known that each one of them has three grades (three kinds) —

• The three grades of giving: first, the gift of Dharma (giving the true teaching); second, the gift of material things (giving goods); third, the gift of fearlessness (giving safety, freeing from fear).
• The three grades of discipline: first, the discipline of restraint (keeping the prohibitions, guarding against and stopping wrong); second, the discipline of gathering wholesome dharmas (taking hold of all that is wholesome); third, the discipline of benefiting sentient beings (the discipline that does beings good).
• The three grades of patience: first, the patience that endures harm from those who hate (bearing the resentment and injury of others); second, the patience that calmly accepts suffering (calmly bearing the various sufferings); third, the patience of carefully examining dharmas (closely examining dharmas and abiding firm in them).
• The three grades of effort: first, armor-like effort (like donning armor and going into battle, taking up a great vow and advancing); second, effort in active application (actually putting forth exertion in practice); third, effort that is without timidity, without backsliding, and without contentment with little (not faint-hearted, not turning back, not satisfied by small attainment).
• The three grades of meditation: first, meditation that abides at rest (resting firm in concentration); second, meditation that draws forth (using concentration to bring forth qualities and spiritual powers); third, meditation that accomplishes the task to be done (using concentration to complete the work that ought to be done).
• The three grades of wisdom: first, the wisdom of non-discriminating active application (the wisdom of application that heads toward non-discrimination); second, non-discriminating wisdom (the non-discriminating wisdom of direct realization); third, the wisdom obtained after non-discrimination (the wisdom that, following non-discriminating wisdom, arises in use to observe and illumine).

11. How these six "gather in" all wholesome dharmas

Asaṅga asks: how is this "mutual gathering" (the gathering-in of all wholesome dharmas by the six perfections) to be seen? Because they can gather in all wholesome dharmas — and this is because they "are its character" (the character of all wholesome dharmas is right there in them), "are what it accords with" (all wholesome dharmas accord with them), and "are its outflow" (all wholesome dharmas are of the same kind, flowing out from them).

12. How the defilements to be countered are sorted under the six

Asaṅga asks: in this way, how is what the six "counter" (the defilements that ought to be removed) to be sorted out and seen? Because (those defilements) "are the character of this" (they are precisely the character of what the six counter), "are the cause of this" (they are the cause of what the six counter), and "are the fruit of this" (they are the fruit of what the six counter) — (from the three sides of character, cause, and fruit, the defilements to be countered are matched up against the six).

13. The excellent benefits gained from cultivating the six perfections

Asaṅga asks: how are we to see the excellent benefits (the advantages) gained from these six perfections? It means this: the bodhisattva (through cultivating the six) — while turning through birth-and-death, is embraced by "wealth and rank" (born into abundance and high standing); is embraced by "great birth" (born into a noble house, gaining an excellent body); is embraced by "great friends and great kin" (surrounded by many virtuous friends and a fine retinue); is embraced by "the accomplishment of vast undertakings through active application" (his various vast undertakings are all carried through by his application); is embraced by "freedom from all troubles and harms, and a nature thin in defilement" (free from various troubles and harms, pure in temperament with afflictions slight); is embraced by "skill in all crafts, treatises, and fields of learning" (well-versed in all the arts and skills, the treatises and the fields of knowledge). Such an excellent rebirth (excellent birth), and one free of fault (faultless), all the way until he sits at the seat of awakening, is constantly able to bring about every kind of benefit and welfare for all sentient beings. This is what is called the "benefit."

14. The six perfections "settling one another out"

Asaṅga asks: how are we to see these six perfections "settling one another out" (mutually containing and mutually clarifying one another)? Of all these six perfections, the World-Honored One speaks in some places in terms of "giving," in some places in terms of "discipline," in some places in terms of "patience," in some places in terms of "diligence (effort)," in some places in terms of "concentration," and in some places in terms of "wisdom." What is the intent of speaking in this way? It means this: within the active application of cultivating any one perfection, all the perfections are in fact present, helping one another and accomplishing things together (when one perfection is cultivated, all six are present, mutually containing one another) — this is that intent.

15. Closing verse: a summarizing verse to gather up the whole chapter

Here there is one "summarizing verse" (uddāna) (a verse for gathering up and easy memorizing). The gist of the verse is to name, one by one, the topics covered in this chapter — "number" (why only six are set up), "character" (the character of the six supremacies) and "order" (the sequence of arrangement), "the explanation of terms" (the unpacking of the names), "cultivation" (the five kinds of cultivation), "varieties" (the three grades within each perfection), "gathering" (the gathering-in of all wholesome dharmas), "what is countered" (the defilements to be countered), "qualities" (the benefits gained), "settling one another out" (their mutual settling-out) — all of these are to be known (one verse gathers up everything this chapter has said).

The previous chapter covered "the cause and fruit of entry" — it spelled out the cause for entering consciousness-only (the six perfections) and its fruit. This chapter then asks: that cultivation of cause and fruit — into what stages does it divide, and what distinguishes them? Asaṅga's answer is the famous ten bodhisattva grounds. What follows runs straight through his words.

1. The Distinctions in Cultivation Lie in the Ten Bodhisattva Grounds

Asaṅga says: we have already covered "the cause and fruit of entry." So how are we to see the distinctions within that cultivation of cause and fruit? Through the bodhisattva's "ten grounds" (the ten stages, bhūmis, of cultivation).

Which ten? In order, they are: (1) the Joyful Ground; (2) the Stainless Ground; (3) the Radiant Ground; (4) the Blazing Ground; (5) the Hard-to-Conquer Ground; (6) the Manifest Ground; (7) the Far-Reaching Ground; (8) the Immovable Ground; (9) the Good-Wisdom Ground; (10) the Dharma-Cloud Ground.

2. Why They Are Set Up as Exactly These Ten

Asaṅga asks: why are these grounds set up as exactly "ten"? How are we to see this? The answer: in order to counter ten kinds of "ignorance-borne obstruction to be countered" (obstructions that arise from ignorance, avidyā, and must be countered).

Why say so? Because upon the "tenfold reality-realm of the knowable" (the ten facets shown forth by the reality-realm, dharma-dhātu, of suchness), there sit exactly ten kinds of such ignorance-borne obstruction (one facet, one obstruction — to be broken through ground by ground).

So what is this "tenfold reality-realm of the knowable" (the ten facets the reality-realm shows forth)? Asaṅga accounts for them one by one —

• In the first ground, it is in terms of the facet of "all-pervadingness" (the facet whereby suchness pervades everything, present everywhere);
• in the second ground, in terms of the facet of "supremacy" (the facet whereby suchness is the most excellent of all);
• in the third ground, in terms of the facet of "supreme outflow" (the facet whereby the teaching that streams out of suchness is the most excellent);
• in the fourth ground, in terms of the facet of "non-appropriation" (the facet whereby suchness is grasped or possessed by no dharma);
• in the fifth ground, in terms of the facet of "the undifferentiatedness of the continuum" (the facet whereby, throughout the flow of the continuum, suchness is equal and without distinction);
• in the sixth ground, in terms of the facet of "purity free of defilement" (the facet whereby suchness is of itself pure and untainted by defilement);
• in the seventh ground, in terms of the facet of "the undifferentiatedness of the manifold dharmas" (the facet whereby the manifold teachings are, in suchness, equal and without distinction);
• in the eighth ground, in terms of the facet of "neither increase nor decrease" (the facet whereby suchness neither increases nor decreases), together with the facet of "the basis for mastery of form" (the facet that is the basis for attaining mastery over forms) and the facet of "the basis for mastery of land" (the facet that is the basis for attaining mastery over buddha-lands);
• in the ninth ground, in terms of the facet of "the basis for mastery of wisdom" (the facet that is the basis for attaining mastery of wisdom);
• in the tenth ground, in terms of the facet of "the basis for mastery of activity" (the facet that is the basis for attaining mastery over deeds), together with the facet that is the basis for mastery over the "dhāraṇī-gates" (the gates that retain and hold all dharmas) and the "samādhi-gates" (the gates of the manifold meditative concentrations).

3. Three Verses Gathering the Ten Facets and Ten Grounds Together

Here are three verses, which say, in sum —

The reality-realm has these ten facets: the facet of all-pervadingness, the facet of supremacy, and the facet of supreme outflow; and so too the facet of non-appropriation, the facet of the undifferentiatedness of the continuum, the facet of purity free of defilement, the facet of the undifferentiatedness of the manifold dharmas, the facet of neither increase nor decrease, and the facet that is the basis for the "fourfold mastery" (mastery of form, of land, of wisdom, and of activity).

Within the reality-realm there sit ten kinds of "non-defiling ignorance" (ignorance that, on the ground common to ordinary beings and noble ones, does not count as defiling, yet for the bodhisattva must still be broken through); and in order to counter these ten obstructions-to-be-countered, the ten grounds are set up.

4. Why This "Ignorance" Counts as Defiling Only for the Bodhisattva

Asaṅga adds a word: it should be understood that ignorance of this kind, for śrāvakas and the like, is not defiling (because it poses no obstacle to their release from birth-and-death), yet for the bodhisattvas it is defiling (because it obstructs the bodhisattva from penetrating the reality-realm and attaining buddhahood).

5. Why Each of the Ten Grounds Bears Its Name

Asaṅga then asks, ground by ground: why is this ground called by this name? —

• Why is the first ground called "Joyful"? Because here, for the first time, one attains the excellent capacity to "accomplish the benefit of both oneself and others," and so the heart is filled with joy.
• Why is the second ground called "Stainless"? Because it utterly and thoroughly removes the stain of "breaking the precepts."
• Why is the third ground called "Radiant"? Because it is the basis for "irreversible meditative stabilization and attainment" (concentration that is firm and does not regress), and the basis for "the radiance of the great Dharma" (the light of the vast teaching).
• Why is the fourth ground called "Blazing"? Because, with the various "factors of awakening" (the practices that tend toward enlightenment, bodhi-pakṣya-dharmas), it burns up every obstruction as flames consume.
• Why is the fifth ground called "Hard-to-Conquer"? Because it brings together into one — and makes mutually accord — the "wisdom of ultimate truth" (the world-transcending wisdom that realizes suchness) and "worldly wisdom" (conventional wisdom), two wisdoms that run counter to each other and are by nature hard to reconcile. To accomplish this is extremely hard, and so it is called Hard-to-Conquer.
• Why is the sixth ground called "Manifest"? Because, taking "the wisdom of dependent arising" (the wisdom that penetrates dependent origination) as its basis, it can make "the perfection of wisdom" (prajñā-pāramitā) present before one (operating right in the present).
• Why is the seventh ground called "Far-Reaching"? Because it reaches the very last verge of "practice with effort" (cultivation that still requires deliberate exertion) — for beyond it lies effortless, spontaneous practice.
• Why is the eighth ground called "Immovable"? Because no aspect of "practice with effort" can stir it any longer (it is spontaneous and natural, requiring no exertion).
• Why is the ninth ground called "Good-Wisdom"? Because it attains the most excellent "unobstructed wisdom" (the wisdom of unobstructed teaching and unobstructed eloquence).
• Why is the tenth ground called "Dharma-Cloud"? Because it attains "the wisdom that takes all dharmas together as its object," and this wisdom holds within it all the "dhāraṇī-gates" (gates of total retention) and "samādhi-gates" (gates of meditative concentration) — like a vast cloud, it can cover over an obstruction as broad as space; and because it can bring "the dharma-body" (dharma-kāya) to full completion.

6. What Counts as "Attaining" These Grounds: Four Aspects

Asaṅga asks: how are we to see that someone has "attained" these grounds? Through four aspects (four sides of the matter) —

(1) "Attaining resolute conviction": that is, giving rise to a deep faith-and-understanding in these grounds (deep conviction that can rise to the understanding).

(2) "Attaining right practice": that is, gaining the "ten kinds of right Dharma-practice" that accord with these grounds (ten kinds of proper cultivation).

(3) "Attaining penetration": that is, at the moment one penetrates the reality-realm in the first ground, one can thereby penetrate all the remaining grounds together (penetrate one ground, and all grounds are penetrated).

(4) "Attaining full accomplishment": that is, cultivating these grounds, one by one, all the way to ultimate completion.

7. How to "Cultivate" These Grounds: Five Aspects of Cultivation, Yielding Five Fruits

Asaṅga asks again: how are we to see the way these grounds are "cultivated"? That is to say: in each and every ground, the bodhisattvas cultivate "śamatha" (calm, settling the mind into stillness) and "vipaśyanā" (insight, seeing things as they truly are), by means of "five aspects."

Which five? (1) "Cultivation gathering all together" (cultivating with all dharmas gathered as a totality); (2) "signless cultivation" (cultivating apart from all marks); (3) "effortless cultivation" (cultivating spontaneously and naturally, without deliberate exertion); (4) "blazing cultivation" (cultivating diligently and ardently); (5) "cultivation never satisfied" (cultivating without taking small gains as enough).

Such fivefold cultivation enables the bodhisattvas to accomplish "five kinds of fruit" —

(1) In thought after thought, they dissolve away the basis of all "coarse heaviness" (the gross, heavy burden of defiled habit-tendencies) — wearing down that coarse, heavy substratum piece by piece;

(2) departing from the various "marks," they attain "the joy of the Dharma-garden" (the delight of the Dharma, roaming at ease in the garden-park of the true Dharma);

(3) they can truly know that "radiance of the great Dharma" which is "all-pervading, measureless, and boundless" (the light of the teaching, vast and pervasive, without any limit);

(4) in accord with the pure portion, "non-discriminating, signless" practice comes to operate (practice that raises no discrimination and grasps no mark comes to function in the present);

(5) in order to bring "the dharma-body" to full completion, they can rightly take up "the ever-further excellent cause" (the excellent cause for the next stage, and the stage after that, of attaining buddhahood).

8. Each of the Ten Grounds Cultivates Its Own Perfection Among the Ten

Asaṅga says: because of "increasing excellence" (each ground surpassing the one before), it is said that within the ten grounds, each separately cultivates one "perfection" (pāramitā), making ten in all.

The six perfections cultivated in the first six grounds (giving, discipline, patience, vigor, meditation, and wisdom) have already been covered earlier. The four cultivated in the latter four grounds are —

(1) "The perfection of skillful means": that is, taking the roots of good amassed by the former six perfections and dedicating them, together with all sentient beings, in the common quest for unsurpassed perfect awakening (not enjoying them for oneself alone, but turning them, broadly, toward buddhahood shared with all beings).

(2) "The perfection of aspiration": that is, raising various subtle and excellent great aspirations, thereby drawing in and summoning the various excellent conducive conditions for cultivating the perfections in the future.

(3) "The perfection of power": that is, by the two powers of "discernment" (careful discrimination) and "cultivation," causing the former six perfections to operate without any interruption (functioning continuously and unbroken).

(4) "The perfection of wisdom": that is, by the subtle wisdom established through the former six perfections, both enjoying the Dharma-joy oneself and bringing all sentient beings to maturity.

Asaṅga adds further: it should be understood that these latter four perfections are, in fact, all subsumed under "the perfection of wisdom" — the first three (skillful means, aspiration, power) are subsumed within "non-conceptual wisdom" (nirvikalpa-jñāna), and the fourth (wisdom) within "subsequently-attained wisdom" (pṛṣṭha-labdha-jñāna). Moreover, it is not the case that in a given ground one cultivates only that one perfection and not the rest — in truth, within every single ground, there is no perfection that is not cultivated (it is only that, ground by ground, one of them takes the lead in excellence). A Dharma-teaching such as this is wholly subsumed under "the treasury of the perfections" (the treasury of the teaching of the six perfections).

9. How Long Until Cultivation Is Complete: Five Kinds of Person, Across Three Incalculable Great Eons

Asaṅga asks, last of all: how long in all must one cultivate these grounds before they are complete? The answer: there are five kinds of "person" (pudgala, sentient being, practitioner), who pass through "three incalculable great eons" (three stretches of immeasurably long, countless time) —

• The "person of the practice of resolute conviction" (the practitioner on the level of resolute-conviction practice, who has not yet entered the grounds) passes through the first incalculable great eon before cultivation is complete (completing this stretch and so entering the first ground);
• the "person of the practice of pure, surpassing intent" (the practitioner who has attained pure, surpassing aspiration), together with the "person of practice with marks and the person of practice without marks" (the practitioner who still practices bearing marks and the one who practices apart from marks), in the first six grounds and the seventh ground, passes through the second incalculable great eon before cultivation is complete;
• that very same "person of effortless practice" (the practitioner who has entered spontaneous, effortless practice), from here (the eighth ground) on up to the tenth ground, passes through the third incalculable great eon before cultivation is complete.

10. A Verse in Conclusion

Here is one verse, which says, in sum —

Purity, surpassing power, a firm heart, and onward ascent (advancing upward step by step) — this is what is called the bodhisattva's first cultivation, the "incalculable three great eons" (the long course of the three incalculable great eons).

The previous chapters have already covered "the differences in practice with respect to cause and effect" (that is, the graded stages of the bodhisattva's practice across the ten grounds). From this chapter on, the text takes up the last three of the ten points of excellence — the higher training in discipline, in mind, and in wisdom. This chapter treats the first of these, the "higher discipline" (a discipline raised to a higher level). What follows runs straight through Asaṅga's words.

1. The excellence of the higher discipline — where to go to study it

Asaṅga says: the "differences in practice with respect to cause and effect" have now been covered; so how is one to recognize the excellence of the "higher discipline" (the higher training in discipline) spoken of here? Answer: it is just as set out in the Bodhisattva-bhūmi, in the section on "rightly receiving the bodhisattva discipline" (where the content of a bodhisattva's formal receiving and upholding of the bodhisattva precepts is spelled out plainly).

2. The general statement: the excellence of this discipline is seen through four kinds of excellence

Asaṅga then states the matter in general: you should know that, put briefly, the excellence of "the bodhisattva discipline" is seen through four aspects of excellence —

1. by the excellence of its distinctions (the grades of the discipline are distinguished in an excellent way);
2. by the excellence of its shared and not-shared points of training (which points are held in common with the śrāvaka discipline, and which are not, are distinguished in an excellent way);
3. by the excellence of its vastness;
4. by the excellence of its profundity.

These are explained one by one below.

3. Excellence of distinctions: the bodhisattva discipline divides into three grades

What is meant by "excellence of distinctions"? It means that the bodhisattva discipline has three grades (three kinds) of distinction —

1. the restraining discipline (the discipline that wards off wrong and stops evil, guarding the rules of conduct);
2. the gathering-the-good discipline (the discipline that gathers in and accumulates all wholesome states);
3. the benefiting-beings discipline (the discipline that benefits all sentient beings).

Each of these three grades is established with its own meaning:

• among these, the restraining discipline, you should know, is established on the basis of the "two disciplines";
• the gathering-the-good discipline, you should know, is established on the basis of the meaning of "cultivating and accumulating all the Buddha's teachings";
• the benefiting-beings discipline, you should know, is established on the basis of the meaning of "bringing all sentient beings to maturity."

4. Excellence of shared and not-shared training: where it agrees with the śrāvaka discipline and where it differs

What is meant by "excellence of shared and not-shared points of training" (the excellence of the fact that, in the precepts trained in, there is both common ground with the śrāvakas and a point not held in common)? It means this —

The bodhisattvas, with respect to every "natural offence" (a thing that is evil in itself, carrying fault even apart from the Buddha's having laid down a rule — such as killing, stealing, and the like), never let it come into action (they never commit it at all): in this, the bodhisattva and the śrāvaka are shared (they agree). But as for the "quasi-prohibitory offences" (acts not evil in themselves, which the Buddha prohibited only out of concern that they would invite censure or open the way to abuses), the bodhisattva does in certain situations let them come into action: in this, the bodhisattva is not-shared with the śrāvaka (they differ).

So, on these points of training, this situation arises: there are cases the śrāvaka counts as a transgression but the bodhisattva does not; and there are cases the bodhisattva counts as a transgression but the śrāvaka does not. Further, the bodhisattva possesses discipline in all three of "body, speech, and mind" (body, speech, and thought all to be guarded), whereas the śrāvaka has only the two of "body and speech" (only body and speech are looked after); for just this reason, the bodhisattva can transgress even in the stirring of a thought, which is not the case among the śrāvakas (the śrāvaka does not inquire into the stirring of the mind).

In sum: any act of body, speech, or mind that benefits sentient beings and is without fault — the bodhisattva should in every case bring into action, should in every case train in. This, then, you should know, is what is called the "excellence of shared and not-shared."

5. Excellence of vastness: by four kinds of vastness

What is meant by "excellence of vastness"? It is spoken of, again, through four aspects of vastness —

1. vast by way of the manifold "immeasurable points of training" (the precepts to be trained in are of immeasurable kinds);
2. vast by way of "taking in immeasurable merit" (upholding this discipline gathers in immeasurable merit);
3. vast by way of "taking in the aspiration (the heart's intent) to bring benefit and ease to all sentient beings" (what this discipline holds in its heart is the vast aspiration to benefit and bring ease to all sentient beings);
4. vast by way of "establishing supreme, perfect awakening (the attainment of buddhahood)" (what this discipline points toward is the supreme awakening).

6. Excellence of profundity: the bodhisattva's skilful means

What is meant by "excellence of profundity"? It means this —

The bodhisattvas, through their mastery of a certain class of skilful means, can perform killing and the other ten "courses of action" (referring to the matters of the ten unwholesome courses of action and the like), and not only is there no fault, but on the contrary immeasurable merit is produced, and they are able swiftly to realize supreme, perfect awakening.

Again: the acts of speech and acts of body that the bodhisattvas bring into action upon a "transformation body" (a body manifested by spiritual power and transformation) — the things spoken and done by means of a transformation body — you should know, are likewise a profound discipline (śīla). By this means, a bodhisattva may appear as a king and deliberately display all sorts of acts that vex and harm sentient beings, and thereby settle and lead those beings into the vinaya (the framework of the discipline). Again, the bodhisattva may manifest various "birth-stories" (jātaka — episodes such as giving up one's body to rescue others in past lives): on the surface this looks like coercing and harassing the other beings, but in truth it is taking in those beings — first causing deep, pure faith to arise in their minds, and then turning them toward maturity (their progress on the path ripening). This is what is called the "excellence of profundity" in the discipline the bodhisattva trains in.

7. Conclusion: because of the four kinds of excellence, the bodhisattva discipline is the most excellent

By the four kinds of excellence stated briefly above, you should know that the bodhisattva's "discipline of restraint in śīla" (the discipline a bodhisattva receives and upholds) is the most excellent of all.

The bodhisattva's points of training, sorted out by category in this way, you should know, have besides this immeasurable, boundless further distinctions — these are just as set out in the Vinaya-ghoṣa Vaipulya-sūtra (a Mahāyāna sūtra that expounds the discipline at length); for the full detail, one should seek it in that sūtra.

The previous chapter finished setting out the excellence of the "higher training in discipline" (a discipline raised one level higher). This chapter goes on to ask: and the excellence of the "higher training in mind" (samādhi raised one level higher) — how is that to be seen? Asaṅga lays it out from six angles, then brings out the various spiritual powers this samādhi sets in motion in a bodhisattva, the ten difficult practices, and those secret utterances of the Buddha that look, on the surface, upside-down but in fact carry a hidden meaning. What follows runs straight along with his words.

1. The excellence of the higher mind, seen from six angles

Asaṅga says: we have already spoken of the excellence of the "higher discipline"; so how is the excellence of the "higher mind" to be seen? Put briefly, it is to be recognized from six kinds of distinction (six different angles) —

First, by the distinction of "object" (the object observed and taken as support is different); Second, by the distinction of "varieties" (the kinds of samādhi are many and various); Third, by the distinction of "counteragent" (what is counteracted and removed is different); Fourth, by the distinction of "capacity" (the ability accomplished is different); Fifth, by the distinction of "what it sets in motion" (what it gives rise to is different); Sixth, by the distinction of "operation" (the function it produces is different).

2. Each of the six distinctions, one by one

The distinction of object: this means the bodhisattva's samādhi takes "the Mahāyāna Dharma" as the object it observes and rests on.

The distinction of varieties: this means samādhis (concentrations) such as Mahāyāna-Light, King-of-Merit-Gathering, Bhadrapāla, the Heroic-March (the well-known Śūraṃgama), and the like — kinds many and measureless.

The distinction of counteragent: this means that with the knowledge that "takes the general character of all dharmas as its object" (the wisdom that gathers up the common character of the myriad dharmas and observes it), following the principle of "driving out a peg with a peg" (using one peg to knock out another), it removes every obstructing "coarse heaviness" (the heavy defiled habit-energies) within the storehouse consciousness (the ālaya).

The distinction of capacity: this means that, abiding in the ease of meditative absorption (dhyāna), as he himself wishes, he can at once take rebirth (take a body and be born at will).

The distinction of what it sets in motion: this means it can set in motion spiritual powers that reach through every world without obstruction.

3. The distinction of operation: the great spiritual powers it sets in motion

The distinction of operation means this samādhi can set in motion all sorts of great spiritual powers. That is, it can "make things quake" (shake the great earth), "blaze" (send out blazing fire-light), "pervade" (fill everywhere), "display" (show forth all sorts of phenomena), "transform" (turn and change things), "come and go" (move freely back and forth), "fold and unfold" (gather in or spread out); and it can draw all visible forms (every shape and reflected image) into the body; wherever it goes it can appear in a body of the same kind as those there; it can be either manifest or hidden (now showing, now concealed); in all it does it is sovereign; it can subdue another's spiritual powers; it can bestow eloquence, mindfulness, and ease; it can send out great light — it sets in motion great spiritual powers like these.

4. It also sets in motion ten difficult practices

This samādhi also sets in motion and sustains the bodhisattva's various difficult practices, ten in all — the "ten difficult practices" (ten kinds of practice hard to carry out). These ten difficult practices are —

First, the difficult practice of self-vow: vowing on his own to take up and accomplish the great vow of unsurpassed awakening. Second, the difficult practice of not turning back: the many sufferings of birth-and-death cannot make him turn back. Third, the difficult practice of not forsaking: even though all sentient beings carry on all sorts of wrong conduct, he does not forsake them. Fourth, the difficult practice of being present: toward the beings who bear him resentment, he on the contrary comes forward to do everything that benefits them. Fifth, the difficult practice of being undefiled: born into the world, yet he is not defiled by the world's many dharmas. Sixth, the difficult practice of resolved understanding: toward the Mahāyāna Dharma, though he cannot yet penetrate it through and through, he can give rise to faith-and-understanding (deep belief and resolved conviction) toward all that vast and profound principle. Seventh, the difficult practice of penetration: he can fully penetrate "the selflessness of the person and the selflessness of dharmas" (that neither person nor dharmas has any real own-nature). Eighth, the difficult practice of awakening-to-hidden-intent: toward those profound secret utterances spoken by all the Tathāgatas, he can follow along and awaken to them (grasp their true meaning). Ninth, the difficult practice of neither departing nor being defiled: he does not abandon birth-and-death, and yet is not defiled by birth-and-death. Tenth, the difficult practice of applied effort: he can practice the conduct in which all Buddhas abide, "liberated from every obstruction," exhausting the very limit of birth-and-death yet without expending any effort (carried along of itself, with nothing contrived), constantly setting in motion the conduct that accomplishes every benefit and welfare for all sentient beings.

5. The difficult practice of awakening-to-hidden-intent: how the bodhisattva awakens to those secret utterances of the Buddha

Asaṅga then asks again: within the "difficult practice of awakening-to-hidden-intent" spoken of above, toward which secret utterances of the Buddha can those bodhisattvas awaken? It is as the sūtra says —

"What is it for a bodhisattva to be able to practice giving? It is when bodhisattvas have not the least thing to give, and yet practice giving widely throughout the measureless worlds of the ten directions. What is it for a bodhisattva to delight in practicing giving? It is when bodhisattvas have no wish or delight at all in any giving. What is it for a bodhisattva to give rise to deep faith-and-understanding in giving? It is when bodhisattvas do not believe in the Tathāgata and yet practice giving. What is it for a bodhisattva to spur himself on in giving? It is when bodhisattvas do not spur themselves on in giving. What is it for a bodhisattva to take delight in giving? It is when bodhisattvas have not given even a little, even for a moment. What is it for a bodhisattva's giving to be vast? It is when bodhisattvas, in giving, are free of the notion of suoluo (娑洛). What is it for a bodhisattva's giving to be pure? It is when bodhisattvas are wenbotuo (殟波陀) toward stinginess. What is it for a bodhisattva's giving to be ultimate? It is when bodhisattvas do not abide in the ultimate. What is it for a bodhisattva's giving to be sovereign? It is when bodhisattvas, in giving, do not proceed in a sovereign way (do not deliberately manage it). What is it for a bodhisattva's giving to be inexhaustible? It is when bodhisattvas do not abide in the inexhaustible."

Asaṅga says: just as it is spoken here for "giving," so from "discipline" at the start to "wisdom" at the end (discipline, patience, vigor, concentration, and wisdom — the remaining perfections), each accordingly is to be understood the same way.

Then comes another string — "What is it to be able to kill? It is when one cuts off the round of birth-and-death of beings. What is it to be 'taking what is not given' (theft)? It is when sentient beings have no one to give, and one takes it up of itself. What is it to be 'sexual misconduct' (wrong desire-conduct)? It is when, toward the desires, one knows them to be wrong and practices right conduct. What is it to be able to speak falsely? It is when, of what is false, one can say it is false. What is it to be beishuni (貝戍尼)? It is when one can constantly dwell in the supreme 'dwelling in emptiness.' What is it to be boluoshi (波魯師)? It is when one rests well on the far shore of what is to be known. What is it to be 'idle chatter (frivolous, defiled talk)'? It is when one rightly expounds the kinds and distinctions of the various dharmas. What is it to be able to covet? It is when one again and again wishes to realize for oneself the unsurpassed meditative absorption. What is it to be able to hate? It is when, toward one's own mind, one can rightly hate-and-harm (counter and root out) all the afflictions. What is it to be able to hold wrong views? It is when, toward the wrong nature that pervades and runs through everywhere, one can see it as it truly is (sees through it)."

6. Profound Buddha-dharmas: what is called a profound Buddha-dharma

Asaṅga then asks: those "profound Buddha-dharmas" spoken of above — what is it that is called a profound Buddha-dharma? Here it should be explained —

That "the dharma of permanent abiding" is a Buddha-dharma is said because the Buddha's dharma-body abides permanently; and "the dharma of cutting-off-and-cessation" is a Buddha-dharma is said because every obstruction is forever cut off and ceased; and "the dharma of arising" is a Buddha-dharma is said because the transformation-body appears and arises; and "the dharma of having something to attain" is a Buddha-dharma is said because the eighty-four thousand kinds of sentient-being conduct, together with the teachings that counteract them, can all be attained; and "the dharma of having greed" is a Buddha-dharma is said because the Buddha vows of himself to take in the beings who have greed and make them his own body; and "the dharma of having hatred" is a Buddha-dharma is said, and "the dharma of having delusion" is a Buddha-dharma, and "the dharma of the ordinary being (the worldling)" is a Buddha-dharma — these too, it should be known, are the same way; and "the dharma of being undefiled" is a Buddha-dharma is said because it fulfills suchness and no obstruction or stain can defile it; and "the dharma of being unsullied" is a Buddha-dharma is said because, though the Buddha is born into the world, the world's many dharmas cannot sully him — for these reasons, then, it is called a profound Buddha-dharma.

7. Closing: this too is a distinction of operation of the bodhisattva's concentration

Asaṅga says at the last: this samādhi also sets in motion "cultivation to the far shore (cultivating the six perfections to fullness)," "the ripening of sentient beings (accomplishing the teaching and transforming of beings)," "the purifying of Buddha-lands (adorning and purifying the Buddha's land)," and "the dharmas of all Buddhas" — so it should be known that these too belong to the distinctions of operation (the differences in function produced) of the bodhisattva's "concentration" (samādhi, meditative absorption).

The previous chapter dealt with "the higher training in mind" (the deeper level of meditative concentration). This chapter goes on to ask: the higher training in wisdom — how is it to be recognized? Asaṅga's answer is non-conceptual wisdom (nirvikalpa-jñāna): the wisdom that goes beyond the split into subject and object and meets reality directly. What follows runs through his words one stretch at a time.

1. Overall statement: viewing non-conceptual wisdom through sixteen gates

Asaṅga says: the higher training in mind has already been covered; so how is the excellence of the higher training in wisdom to be seen? What is to be looked at is non-conceptual wisdom, and it is to be looked at from sixteen sides —

its own-nature (what it is in itself); its support (what it rests on); its causal conditions (on what conditions it arises); its object (what realm it takes as object); its mode of appearance (under what aspect it shows itself); its upholding (how it is sustained and made to grow); its accompanying aids (what fellow-supporting conditions go along with it); its ripened fruit (what fruition is felt once it is accomplished); its outflow-continuance (the side of it that carries on, becoming ever finer); its deliverance (how one is liberated and carried beyond through it); its reaching the ultimate (to what final goal it arrives); also the benefits (the excellent advantages) of the three wisdoms — preparatory, non-conceptual, and subsequently-attained; its many distinctions; the simile for non-conceptual wisdom and subsequently-attained wisdom; its effortless accomplishing of deeds (accomplishing the work of a buddha without expending effort); and its profundity (unfathomably deep). Once these have been seen clearly, one should know: what is called "non-conceptual wisdom" is just where the excellence of the higher training in wisdom lies.

2. The own-nature of non-conceptual wisdom: free of five marks

Asaṅga first speaks of its "own-nature." Non-conceptual wisdom is non-conceptual wisdom precisely because it is free of five marks (it has set aside five mistaken identifications, and this is its true face):

1. It is not "absence of attention" (it is not that blank, drowsy, indeterminate state in which the mind raises no thought at all);
2. It is not "having passed beyond the stage of applied and sustained thought" (it is neither still lodged in the stage where there is coarse thought [vitarka] and fine examination [vicāra], nor has it gone past that and dropped back into no-mind) — it is free of that applied and sustained thought;
3. It is not the stillness of "the cessation of perception and feeling" (it is not that meditative state in which perception and feeling are stopped and the workings of consciousness come to a halt);
4. It is not the own-nature of "form" (it is not anything of the order of material shape);
5. It is not "raising a further reckoning upon the real meaning" (it is not taking that true reality and once more discriminating it and conjecturing about it).

Free of these five marks — this, one should know, is what is called non-conceptual wisdom.

3. Many verses setting forth non-conceptual wisdom from every side

Upon the principle just established, "non-conceptual wisdom," Asaṅga goes on with many verses, explaining it from every angle. What follows runs through the gist of them, verse by verse.

First, the own-nature. The non-conceptual wisdom of the bodhisattvas — its own-nature is just that wisdom which is far from the five marks and raises no further reckoning upon "the real" (what is truly so).

The support. What it rests on is "not-mind yet IS mind" — meaning it is not the ordinary discriminating mind, and yet it truly is mind (this wisdom is itself a kind of mind, only it does not fall into the discrimination that "thinks meanings"); it does not belong to the kind that "calculates meaning."

The causal conditions. The conditions for its arising are "having the imprinting laid down by hearing the teaching" — the latent force left behind by listening to the right Dharma day by day and being steeped in it again and again — together with "attention in accord with reason" (turning the mind to ponder in line with right principle); by these two, this non-conceptual wisdom is able to arise.

The object. The realm it takes as object is "that dharma-nature which words cannot say to the full" — that is, "the suchness that is the nature of no-self" (the real, in which there is no substantial self, just-as-it-is and so).

The mode of appearance. The aspect under which it shows itself is this: within the suchness it takes as object, toward "what is known" it is in fact "without mark" (there is no mark there to be discriminated and grasped).

An inserted note on the meaning of "correspondence." (Here a stretch on the principle of terms and their objects is slipped in:) "Correspondence" means that the "graphs" that express — the words and letters of language — match up, link by link, with the meanings they express; this letter-by-letter linking, corresponding to meaning, is what is called "the meaning of correspondence." Yet, on the other hand: it is not that wisdom turns toward what-is-expressed (the meaning) apart from the expresser (the words); nor are the "expresser" and "the expressed" truly two separate, mutually unrelated things standing on their own — and precisely because they are neither one nor different, in the last analysis "the real meaning" can after all never be said to the full (everything is beyond words).

The upholding. By what is the bodhisattvas' non-conceptual wisdom sustained and made to grow? By the various activities that arise from "subsequently-attained wisdom" (the wisdom that is drawn forth after non-conceptual wisdom and can discriminate the world) — by these, the mind set toward the path is able to advance and grow.

The accompanying aids. Its fellow-supporting conditions are spoken of as "the two kinds of path"; this non-conceptual wisdom is just the very nature of the other five "crossings to the far shore" (the five perfections) — it holds them and brings them to fruition as crossings.

The ripened fruit. The fruition the bodhisattvas feel through this non-conceptual wisdom is "within the two assemblies of the Buddha" — and this is realized step by step through "preparatory practice" (the preliminary cultivation).

The outflow-continuance. Its "outflow-continuance" (the side of it that carries on, of the same kind, life after life) is this: across "ensuing births" (one lifetime after another), the very substance of this wisdom grows finer at each turn (ever more matured, ever more excellent the further on it goes).

The deliverance. The bodhisattvas are "delivered" (liberated and carried beyond) through it; this non-conceptual wisdom, brought to fruition and answering to the path, should be understood to run through "the ten grounds" (the ten stages of a bodhisattva's practice).

Reaching the ultimate. Its final goal is the realizing of "the pure three bodies" (the three bodies of a buddha) — and here this non-conceptual wisdom attains the highest, great sovereign mastery.

Then, in a run, the "simile of space" stated in three layers. Non-conceptual wisdom is, like space, undefiled —

• Like space undefiled: even where there are all sorts of gravest evil deeds, this wisdom (together with its preliminary cultivation) holds on its way by "resolute conviction alone" (sustained the whole way only by the force of deep faith and firm conviction), and is not stained by those evil deeds;
• Like space undefiled: this wisdom is freed from every obstruction, brought to fruition and answering to the path;
• Like space undefiled: though it constantly moves about in the world, it is not stained by the things of the world.

Next, three sets of "three similes" stating the order of the three wisdoms — preparatory, fundamental, subsequently-attained. (These verses each use one set of similes to figure the way the three — preparatory wisdom, fundamental wisdom, subsequently-attained wisdom — succeed one another.)

• Like a mute (someone who cannot speak) "seeking to take in the meaning," like a mute in the act of "taking in the meaning," and like one who is not mute "taking in the meaning" — these three layers figure the three wisdoms (preparatory wisdom is like the mute's seeking-to-take-in, fundamental wisdom like the mute's actual taking-in, subsequently-attained wisdom like the non-mute's taking-in).
• Like a fool "seeking to take in the meaning," like a fool in the act of "taking in the meaning," and like one who is not a fool "taking in the meaning" — these three layers likewise figure the three wisdoms.
• Like "the first five senses" "seeking to take in the meaning," like the first five senses in the act of "taking in the meaning," and like "manas (the mind-faculty)" "taking in the meaning" — these three layers likewise figure the three wisdoms.
• And like a person who at first has not yet understood a treatise (not having grasped the treatise) and so goes to "seek the treatise," then to "receive the teaching" and take in "its meaning" — following this order of "seeking the treatise — receiving the teaching — taking in the meaning" figures exactly the three wisdoms; one should know it is the order of preparatory wisdom and the rest.

And the "closing the eyes / opening the eyes" and "space displaying color-forms" said of non-conceptual wisdom and subsequently-attained wisdom.

• Like a person with the eyes just shut (when no mark appears at all) — that is non-conceptual wisdom; and when he opens the eyes again (and all sorts of marks appear once more), subsequently-attained wisdom is just like that too (the one effacing marks, the other displaying them, succeeding each other as they arise).
• And one should know: like space (markless in itself) — that is non-conceptual wisdom; and the way all sorts of color-forms are displayed within that space, subsequently-attained wisdom is just like that too.

The "wish-fulfilling gem" and "heavenly music" used to figure the "effortless accomplishing of deeds." Like the "wish-fulfilling gem" (maṇi, the gem that grants every wish) and like "music in the heavens," which raise no thought at all (without thought) yet of themselves accomplish their several tasks — just so, all the various deeds of a buddha are each accomplished, and accomplished always apart from "thought" (without recourse to contrived discrimination — non-conceptual wisdom accomplishing deeds without expending effort).

The "profundity." This wisdom is neither upon "this (object)" nor upon "the other (some separate place)"; say it "is not wisdom," and yet it truly is wisdom; it is no different from the realm it takes as object (wisdom and object not two) — and just so this wisdom accomplishes "non-conceptuality."

A final verse rounding it off. One should know: all dharmas are by their very nature already "non-conceptual"; and precisely because "the thing that gets discriminated" is simply not there (there being nothing discriminated), the "discriminating" too has nothing to stand on — and so the "conception" of "non-conceptual wisdom" is itself gone as well (wisdom and object effaced together: this is the thoroughgoing non-conceptuality).

4. How many kinds the three wisdoms — preparatory, fundamental, subsequently-attained — each divide into

Asaṅga next subdivides the three wisdoms mentioned above, each into its kinds —

• Preparatory non-conceptual wisdom has three kinds: divided by the three sides of "causal condition" (former habituation as cause), "induction" (the earlier stage drawing forth the later), and "repeated cultivation" (formed by cultivating again and again).
• Fundamental non-conceptual wisdom also has three kinds: divided by the three sides of non-conceptual difference — "contentment" (the mind satisfied at realizing the real), "freedom from error" (no longer misidentifying), and "freedom from elaboration" (apart from all the discrimination of conceptual proliferation).
• Subsequently-attained non-conceptual wisdom has five kinds: divided by the five sides of "penetrating through" (penetrating the truth), "subsequent recollection" (recalling it afterward), "establishing" (setting up the teaching for others), "harmonizing" (harmonizing with the various dharmas), and "discerning at will" (choosing among the dharmas freely).

5. Again, many verses establishing "consciousness-only, without object" to prove non-conceptual wisdom

Asaṅga uses many verses again, to establish this non-conceptual wisdom once more (from the line that "the object is in itself not real," he brings out why non-conceptual wisdom is possible and why it is needed). What follows runs through the sense of the verses.

First, one and the same thing is seen differently. Hungry ghosts, animals (beasts), humans, and gods — each according to what his own karmic recompense brings forth — toward "one and the same thing" have different things appearing in their minds; from this one sees that the "object" is not truly fixed and real (granting that the "meaning" is not truly real).

Next, even with no real realm, a mark can still appear. Toward things past and the like, or within dream-images, or within "the two reflected images" (the kind of reflected shapes thrown up by a mirror or the moon-in-water) — though what is taken as object is not real, the "appearing of a mark" comes off all the same (which shows that consciousness can display a mark without waiting on a real realm).

Further: if the object were real, a great fault would follow. Suppose the "meaning" (the object) truly had its own real substance — then there ought to be no "non-conceptual wisdom" (for if the realm were real in itself, why would wisdom need to efface the realm in order to meet the real); and if this non-conceptual wisdom were not there, then "the realizing of the fruit of buddhahood" too would make no sense (becoming a buddha rests precisely on this wisdom — so the object must be unreal, and the wisdom must be possible).

A first proof: "the realm shifts with the mind." A bodhisattva who has gained "sovereign mastery," by the force of his excellent conviction, has the earth (the great ground) become whatever he would have it become (as he wishes, the earth and the rest become so); just so, too, for one who has gained meditative concentration (the realm can shift with the mind, which shows it is not an outwardly real thing).

A second proof: "the realm shifts with attention." Those who have accomplished "discernment" (the discerning contemplative wisdom), who have wisdom and have gained concentration — they have only to ponder all dharmas, and the dharmas all display themselves "according to their meaning" (the realm appears by way of attention, and is likewise not an outwardly real thing).

A third proof: "when wisdom appears, the realm is effaced." While non-conceptual wisdom is at work, the various "meanings" (objects) one and all fail to appear; and one should know: since (when wisdom is present) there is no "meaning," by this very token there is no "consciousness" either (realm and consciousness depend on each other; the realm effaced, consciousness too is effaced — and only thus does one see "consciousness-only," on through to "wisdom-only").

6. The perfection of wisdom and non-conceptual wisdom are no different: cultivating it to fullness by being free of five places

Asaṅga says: "the perfection of wisdom" (prajñā-pāramitā, the wisdom that crosses to the far shore) and "non-conceptual wisdom" are no different. Just as the scripture says: a bodhisattva who abides in "the non-fixed correspondence" of the perfection of wisdom is able to cultivate all the remaining perfections (giving, keeping the precepts, and so on) to fullness.

What is meant by "cultivating to fullness through the non-fixed correspondence"? It is by reason of being far from five "places" (five places one might fall into and cling to):

1. Far from the place of "the non-Buddhist self-grasping" (not, like the non-Buddhists, clinging to a real self);
2. Far from the place of "discrimination on the part of a bodhisattva who has not yet seen suchness" (not, like one who has not yet seen suchness, still carrying discrimination);
3. Far from the place of "falling to either extreme of birth-and-death or nirvāṇa" (not clinging to birth-and-death, nor settling one-sidedly in nirvāṇa);
4. Far from the place of "being content with merely cutting off the obstruction of the afflictions" (not, like the śrāvakas, stopping and being pleased with oneself once the obstruction of the afflictions is cut);
5. Far from the place of "abiding in the nirvāṇa-realm without remainder with no regard for the benefit and ease of sentient beings" (not, like the śrāvakas, taking no thought for living beings and realizing quiescence alone).

7. The five differences between the wisdom of the śrāvaka and the wisdom of the bodhisattva

Someone asks: the wisdom of the śrāvakas and the rest, and the wisdom of the bodhisattva — what is the difference? Asaṅga answers: from five sides their difference is to be known —

1. By the difference of "non-conceptuality": the bodhisattva's wisdom raises no discrimination toward "the five aggregates" and the rest (whereas the śrāvaka's wisdom still has discrimination);
2. By the difference of "not a small portion": the bodhisattva's wisdom, in penetrating suchness, is to enter the field of "all kinds" of the knowable and to deliver every single sentient being — it is not just taking a small portion (the śrāvaka realizes but a portion);
3. By the difference of "non-abiding": the bodhisattva's wisdom takes "non-abiding nirvāṇa" (abiding neither in birth-and-death nor in nirvāṇa) as the place it abides (whereas the śrāvaka abides in nirvāṇa);
4. By the difference of "the ultimate": the bodhisattva's wisdom, even within "the nirvāṇa-realm without remainder," is not cut off and exhausted (not, like the śrāvaka, with body burnt out and wisdom snuffed, exhausted then and there);
5. By the difference of "the unsurpassed": above this there is no further vehicle that could surpass it (above the śrāvaka's wisdom there is still the Great Vehicle; above the bodhisattva's wisdom there is nothing that can go beyond).

Here there is a verse, the gist of which is: the wisdom of the bodhisattvas has "great compassion" for its substance; by the five marks above it becomes the most excellent wisdom — among all the perfections worldly and world-transcending, this wisdom, it is said, is the highest and the most far-reaching.

8. With the perfect merit of precepts, concentration, and wisdom, why are sentient beings still seen lacking wealth and station

Asaṅga asks at the last: if a bodhisattva has already accomplished such "higher precepts (śīla), higher mind (citta), higher wisdom (prajñā)," his merit perfect, then by rights he should have great sovereign mastery over every kind of wealth and station (whatever he wishes he has, and can bestow it on living beings too); so why is it that, here and now, some sentient beings are still seen lacking in wealth and station?

Asaṅga lays out, one by one, the reasons behind it —

• Because he sees that those sentient beings carry a heavy "karmic obstruction" with regard to wealth and station (former karma obstructs them, the merit cannot show itself, and even if given they could not hold it);
• Because he sees that, were those sentient beings given wealth and station, it would on the contrary obstruct the rising of wholesome dharmas in them (once full of wealth and station, they slack off and grow heedless, and wholesome dharmas fail to arise);
• Because he sees that, if those sentient beings lack wealth and station, it is precisely what lets a mind of "weariness and turning away" come to the fore in them (poverty and hardship turn out to be a help toward their deliverance);
• Because he sees that, were those sentient beings given wealth and station, it would amount to amassing for them the causes of all sorts of unwholesome dharmas (wealth and station become instead their capital for doing evil);
• Because he sees that, were those sentient beings given wealth and station, they would take it to make it a cause for harming and afflicting countless other sentient beings (one person gains wealth and station, and harms numberless beings in return):

Just for these reasons, here and now some sentient beings are seen lacking in wealth and station (it is not that the bodhisattva is unable to bestow, but that to bestow would turn to their harm, and so he does not).

Here there is a verse, the gist of which is: by reason of "karmic obstruction," "obstruction of wholesome dharmas," "weariness coming to the fore," "amassing the unwholesome," and "harming and afflicting beings," there are here and now various sentient beings who do not draw (cannot bear to receive) the bodhisattva's giving.

The previous chapter treated "the higher wisdom" (wisdom raised one level further). This chapter goes on to ask: the "cessation at the fruit-stage" that this higher wisdom accomplishes — the merit that is cut off and accomplished once one has cultivated all the way to the fruit-stage — what does that look like? What follows runs straight along Asaṅga's words.

1. The opening statement: the fruit of what is cut off is the bodhisattva's non-abiding nirvāṇa

Asaṅga says: the excellence of the higher wisdom has already been treated; so how should we understand the excellence of "the fruit of severance" that it brings about?

The "cessation" spoken of here is precisely the bodhisattva's non-abiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhita-nirvāṇa) — that liberation which is neither bound fast by birth-and-death nor falls back into a stretch of dead stillness. And what is its mark? Its mark is the transformation of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti) that is the "shared support of the two" — namely, relinquishing defilement and yet not relinquishing birth-and-death. That is to say: the bodhisattva has relinquished defilement (every kind of contamination), and yet does not leave birth-and-death (does not duck out of saṃsāra, does not let go of beings) — these two sides are both set upon one and the same ground, and the "turning over" of that ground is the mark of non-abiding nirvāṇa.

A few terms here should be pointed out first:

• Birth-and-death (saṃsāra) refers to the "defiled portion" — the contaminated part — within "the other-dependent nature" (that side which arises in dependence on conditions);
• Nirvāṇa refers to the "pure portion" — the clean part — within "the other-dependent nature";
• the shared support of the two refers to the other-dependent nature itself, which runs through both the defiled and the pure portions (one and the same other-dependent, on which both defilement and purity rest).

As for "transformation of the basis," its sense is this: right upon this other-dependent nature, when "the counteragent" (the force that counters contamination — that is, non-discriminating wisdom) arises, then the defiled portion is "turned away and relinquished" and the pure portion is "turned toward and attained" — one side relinquished, one side attained, and this turning-over is what is called the transformation of the basis.

2. The transformation of the basis is, in brief, of six kinds

Asaṅga goes on to say: this "transformation of the basis," divided briefly, is of six kinds —

1. The transformation that diminishes [affliction's] strength and increases [practice's] capacity. How so? Because, by the force of excellent resolve, the "perfuming" of the heard Dharma (the residual force left by repeated saturation) is made to abide in the mind; and because, holding a sense of "shame" (conscience and dread of blame), some of the various afflictions only "manifest in a small measure" (rise up just a little) while others outright "do not manifest" (rise up no more) — affliction's strength is whittled down and practice's capacity is built up. That is why it is called the transformation that diminishes strength and increases capacity.

2. The transformation of penetration. This refers to the bodhisattvas who have already entered "the great grounds" (the stages from the first ground upward), able to abide present-and-clear toward "the real and the unreal," "the appearing and the non-appearing" (both seeing the appearing of the real, and not deceived by the unreal) — this stretch runs from the first ground all the way to the sixth ground.

3. The transformation in cultivation. This refers to the transformation at the stage of cultivation, where there are still "obstructions" (residual hindrances) remaining, so that "all marks" (the various appearing marks) still do not appear, while "the real" appears — this stretch runs up to the tenth ground.

4. The transformation of fully accomplished fruit. This refers to the stage where obstruction is forever cut off and exhausted, "all marks" do not appear at all, and "the utterly pure real" appears, and one gains mastery over "all marks" (their coming and going, showing and hiding, all at one's ease).

5. The lesser transformation. This refers to the śrāvakas and the like, who can only penetrate "the emptiness and selflessness of the person" (pudgala — that there is no real "self" to the person, the emptiness and selflessness of just this layer), turning their backs wholly on birth-and-death and relinquishing birth-and-death wholly (thinking only of getting away from saṃsāra in a hurry, never turning back).

6. The vast transformation. This refers to the bodhisattvas who, besides penetrating the person's emptiness, also penetrate "the emptiness and selflessness of dharmas" (that all dharmas too have no real own-nature, the emptiness and selflessness of this layer); just because of this, they see, right within birth-and-death, that it is of itself "quiescent" (birth-and-death is, just as it stands, quiescence), and so, although they have cut off defilement, they yet do not relinquish birth-and-death (do not duck out of saṃsāra, but stay on to deliver beings).

3. Question and answer: what is the fault of abiding in the lesser transformation? what is the merit of abiding in the vast transformation?

Asaṅga, by a question and an answer, lays open the height and lowness of these two transformations —

Question: if a bodhisattva stops at the "lesser transformation," what is the fault? Answer: there are three faults — first, he does not regard the matter of the benefit and ease of all sentient beings (he attends only to his own liberation and disregards beings); second, he goes against and oversteps all the dharmas a bodhisattva should practice (he does not walk the bodhisattva's road); third, he falls into the same liberation as that lesser vehicle (the small vehicle) (liberation is indeed gained, but it is that of the small vehicle). This is where the fault lies.

Question: if a bodhisattva abides in the "vast transformation," what then is the merit? Answer: the merit is this — within the dharmas of birth-and-death, taking his own "transformation of the basis" as his support, he thereby gains mastery (birth-and-death can do nothing to him); he is able, within all the destinies (the various places of going among the six paths), to display the bodies of every kind of sentient being, and within "the most excellent births" and "the three vehicles" (śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva), with every kind of skillful means for "taming" beings, to set the sentient beings he would deliver, one by one, upon the path (manifesting bodies according to kind and teaching according to capacity, leading beings onto the road). This is its merit.

4. Gathering it up with several verses

Asaṅga at last uses several verses to draw the doctrine of this chapter together once more. The gist of these verses is this —

The ordinary person veils the real and brings forth, wholly, only the false; the bodhisattvas relinquish the false and bring forth, wholly, only the real. Know that "the appearing and the non-appearing" correspond precisely to "the real meaning and the non-real meaning" (the ordinary person makes the non-real meaning appear and veils the real; the bodhisattva makes the real meaning appear and relinquishes the non-real). This "transformation of the basis" is, just as it stands, liberation — one may go forth at one's will, at ease and unobstructed.

Toward "birth-and-death" and "nirvāṇa," if one can give rise to "the wisdom of sameness" (no longer seeing these two sides as opposed, as cut clean apart), then at that very moment, by this, one realizes: birth-and-death is, just as it stands, nirvāṇa. Just because of this, toward birth-and-death one is "neither relinquishing nor not relinquishing" (one neither lets go and ducks out, nor is bound by it); likewise, toward nirvāṇa one is "neither attaining nor not attaining" (one does not go off to attain some separate nirvāṇa, nor is it that nothing is attained).

The previous chapter treated "the fruit of cutting-off," making clear that liberation-merit (nirvāṇa) which is severed and accomplished at the stage of buddhahood. This final chapter takes up the next question: that "cognition" accomplished at the stage of buddhahood — the very state of becoming a buddha — how should we look at it? Asaṅga's answer is the buddha's three bodies, together with the many merits of the dharma-body that unfold from those three. What follows runs through his words in order. This is also the longest, and the last, chapter of the whole treatise.

1. The opening summary: the excellence of the fruit of cognition lies in the buddha's three bodies

Asaṅga says: above we have finished treating the excellence of "the fruit of cutting-off"; how, then, should we observe the excellence of "the fruit of cognition"? It should be understood as shown by the buddha's three kinds of body: first, the self-nature body (svābhāvika); second, the enjoyment body (sāṃbhogika); third, the transformation body (nairmāṇika).

• The self-nature body is the dharma-body (dharmakāya) of all the buddhas — it is the root support on which "the free operation of all dharmas" rests (the buddha freely wields and freely manifests all dharmas).
• The enjoyment body is what exists in dependence on the dharma-body — in the pure buddha-lands that appear within those various great assemblies of the buddhas, the buddha uses this body to receive and enjoy the dharma-bliss of the Great Vehicle's true teaching.
• The transformation body also exists in dependence on the dharma-body — this body manifests its passing-away from the palace of Tuṣita heaven, descends and takes birth, enjoys sense-pleasures in the palace, leaps the city wall and goes forth, goes to the places of the non-Buddhist teachers and practices various austerities, attains great awakening, turns the great wheel of the dharma, and finally enters great nirvāṇa (that is, the eight aspects of Śākyamuni's lifetime of manifestation).

2. A summary verse: naming the ten aspects of the dharma-body to be treated

Here Asaṅga first gives a "summary mnemonic" (a verse gathering the outline), naming once through the ten aspects of the dharma-body to be treated one by one below. The verse runs, in substance: the dharma-body's "characteristic," its "attainment," its "mastery," its "support," and its "upholding," its various "distinctions," its "merit," its "profundity," the "recollection" of it (recollection as a practice), and its "activity" — these ten together make the buddhas manifest. The exposition now follows these ten in order.

3. The "characteristic" of the dharma-body: it has, in brief, five marks

The first aspect, "characteristic." What is the characteristic of the buddhas' dharma-body? It should be understood that the dharma-body has, in brief, five marks —

First, the transformation of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti) is its mark. That is: the "defiled portion of the other-dependent nature" — that portion of arisen dharmas that is defiled by the afflictive obscuration and the cognitive obscuration, gathered under all obscurations — is turned away and extinguished; and the "pure portion of the other-dependent nature that is freed from all obscuration, operates freely among the dharmas, and is present and manifest" — that pure portion of arisen dharmas which, free of all obscuration, can freely wield the myriad dharmas and is manifest right here — is turned toward and attained. This "turning the defiled into the pure" is the dharma-body's first mark.

Second, being made of white dharmas (pure wholesome dharmas) is its mark. That is: by the fulfilling of the six perfections (pāramitās) one attains the "ten masteries." Among them —

• Mastery over lifespan, mastery over mind, and mastery over resources (the enjoyment of provisions) come from the fulfilling of the perfection of giving;
• Mastery over action and mastery over birth (over taking rebirth) come from the fulfilling of the perfection of moral discipline;
• Mastery over resolve (the power of contemplative resolve) comes from the fulfilling of the perfection of patience;
• Mastery over vow comes from the fulfilling of the perfection of vigor;
• Mastery over spiritual power (including the five higher knowledges) comes from the fulfilling of the perfection of meditative concentration;
• Mastery over wisdom and mastery over dharma come from the fulfilling of the perfection of wisdom (prajñā).

Third, non-duality is its mark. This "non-duality" (not falling into the two extremes) is itself of three layers —

First, the non-duality of "being and non-being": because all dharmas (on the side of the wholly-imagined) have no real self-substance at all, they are said to be "non-being"; yet the "real characteristic revealed by emptiness" (the perfectly-accomplished nature) is really existent, so it is also said to be "being" — being and non-being are not two.

Second, the non-duality of "the conditioned and the unconditioned": because the dharma-body is not produced by action and affliction (so it is not conditioned), yet it can freely manifest the various marks of the conditioned (so it is also not purely unconditioned) — conditioned and unconditioned are not two.

Third, the non-duality of "difference and oneness": because that on which all buddhas rest (the suchness-dharma-body) is without distinction (so it is "one"), yet measureless, boundless continuums (the body-continuums of measureless buddhas) each manifest the equal-awakening of buddhahood (so it is also "different") — difference and oneness are not two.

Here there are two verses, said in continuation of "the non-duality of difference and oneness," running in substance: because (at the stage of buddhahood) there is no grasping-at-self, there is within it no separate distinct support (all buddhas rest on one and the same suchness, so they do not become many); it is only in accordance with the difference of the "capacity-to-realize" in their former cause-practices that one provisionally sets up "there is distinction." And again: because of the difference of (buddha-)lineage, because it is not false, because of fullness, and because it is without beginning — this "undefiled support" (the pure dharma-body) is itself without distinction, and so it is said to be "neither one nor many."

Fourth, abiding constantly is its mark. That is: the dharma-body is the mark of "suchness purity" (suchness is by nature neither arising nor ceasing, hence constant); it is drawn forth by the buddha's "original vow" at the cause-stage (the power of the vow continues unbroken); and "the deeds of liberating beings that it ought to perform have no term of exhaustion" (its functioning is inexhaustible) — by these three layers it is said to abide constantly.

Fifth, being inconceivable is its mark. That is: this suchness-purity is the buddha's own inwardly-realized domain (known only through realization); no simile anywhere in the world can compare to it; and it is not a place that any of ordinary beings' speculations and reasonings can reach — therefore it is inconceivable.

4. The "attainment" of the dharma-body: how the dharma-body is first attained

The second aspect, "attainment." Again we ask: how is such a dharma-body first attained? That is: by the non-discriminating wisdom that takes "the total-characteristic of the Great Vehicle's dharma" as its object (taking all the Great Vehicle's dharmas together as the object), and by the subsequently-attained wisdom that arises after it, one well cultivates the dharma-body's five marks, and on all the bodhisattva-stages one well gathers the provisions of merit and wisdom; and at last, by the "vajra-like concentration" (the final single moment of concentration, hard and sharp as a diamond, able to shatter everything), one shatters and extinguishes that most subtle, most hard-to-break obscuration. The moment this concentration arises, one is at once free of all obscuration, and so attains "the transformation of the basis" (turning the defiled into the pure, attaining the dharma-body).

5. The "mastery" of the dharma-body: it attains mastery by five kinds

The third aspect, "mastery." Again we ask: by how many kinds does the dharma-body attain mastery? In brief, by five —

• First, mastery over "the buddha-land, one's own body, the marks and minor marks, boundless sound, and the unseen crown-mark" — this comes from turning away the basis that is "the aggregate of form" (it is the turning-away of what is made of the form-aggregate);
• Second, mastery over "abiding in faultless, measureless, vast bliss" — this comes from turning away the basis that is "the aggregate of feeling";
• Third, mastery over "expounding all name-bodies, phrase-bodies, and syllable-bodies" (all names, all phrases, all syllables) — this comes from turning away the basis that is "the aggregate of perception";
• Fourth, mastery over "manifesting various transformation-bodies, transformations, drawing in great assemblies, and drawing in white dharmas (pure wholesome dharmas)" — this comes from turning away the basis that is "the aggregate of formations";
• Fifth, mastery over "mirror, equality, observation, and accomplishment" (the four cognitions, in the root text's short names) — this comes from turning away the basis that is "the aggregate of consciousness."

6. The "support" of the dharma-body: its support should be known through three points

The fourth aspect, "support." Again we ask: through how many points should the support of the dharma-body be known (the various places where the buddha abides)? In brief, through three —

First, support by the various buddha-abidings. Here there are two verses, running in substance: the reason the buddhas attain "the joy of the five natures" is that they have equally realized their own portion of the suchness-dharma-realm (their own realm); the reason beings are apart from this joy and cannot get it is wholly that they have not realized this (their own realm) — so those who would seek this joy should equally realize it. And again: because the buddha can be "measureless" (universally liberating the measureless) and can "accomplish the deed" (accomplishing the work of liberating beings), and is at once full in "the savor of dharma, in meaning, and in merit," the joy thus attained is the most excellent and wholly without fault; the buddhas constantly behold this joy, which never runs out.

Second, support by the various enjoyment-bodies — these are manifested solely to ripen (to teach) the bodhisattvas.

Third, support by the various transformation-bodies — these are mostly manifested in order to ripen the śrāvakas and the rest (the two vehicles and ordinary beings).

7. The "upholding" of the dharma-body: it is upheld by six kinds of buddha-dharma

The fifth aspect, "upholding." It should be known: by how many kinds of buddha-dharma is the dharma-body upheld (sustained and brought to accomplishment)? In brief, by six —

• First, by "purity" — that is, turning away the storehouse consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna) and attaining the dharma-body;
• Second, by "maturation" — that is, turning away the form-faculties (eye, ear, and the rest) and attaining the "maturation cognition";
• Third, by "abiding" — that is, turning away the dwelling in the formations of the desire-realm and the rest, and attaining the domain in which the "measureless wisdom" abides;
• Fourth, by "mastery" — that is, turning away the various bonds of taking-up and producing action, and attaining the mastery of the "wisdom of unobstructed spiritual power throughout all worlds";
• Fifth, by "speech" — that is, turning away all the elaboration of speech that is seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing, and attaining the mastery of the "wisdom of eloquence that gladdens the hearts of all sentient beings";
• Sixth, by "rescue" — that is, turning away the (limited) power to rescue from all calamities and faults, and attaining the "wisdom that rescues all sentient beings from all calamities and faults."

It should be known that the dharma-body is upheld by these six kinds of buddha-dharma here stated.

8. Whether the dharma-body is differentiated or undifferentiated

Asaṅga next asks: the buddhas' dharma-body — should it be said to "have distinction," or to "have no distinction"?

Answer: with respect to the "support, the intention, and the activity" all being without distinction, it should be said to "have no distinction" (the buddhas rest on one and the same suchness, and their intention and their deeds are alike too); but with respect to "the equal-awakening of buddhahood being manifested by measureless support-bodies," it should again be said to "have distinction" (the measureless buddhas each have their own body).

As it is said of the dharma-body, so it is also with the enjoyment body: with respect to intention and activity being without distinction, it should be said to be without distinction; yet one cannot say it is without distinction with respect to "the support being without distinction," because it flows forth by measureless distinct supports (the enjoyment body appears in accordance with each distinct capacity, hence it has distinction). As for the transformation body, it should be known to be just like the enjoyment body (one distinguishes its difference and non-difference in this same way).

9. The "merit" of the dharma-body: with which merits it is endowed

The sixth aspect, "merit." It should be known: with how many merits is the dharma-body endowed? That is, it is endowed with these merits — the most pure "four measureless states" (loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity), the eight "liberations," the eight "masteries-of-place," the ten "totality-fields," "non-contention," "the wisdom of vow," the "four unobstructed analytic knowledges," the "six higher knowledges," the "thirty-two marks of a great being," the "eighty minor marks," the "four purities of every aspect," the "ten powers," the "four fearlessnesses," the "three things needing no guarding," the "three foundations of mindfulness," the "uprooting of habit-energies," "the dharma of non-forgetfulness," "great compassion," the "eighteen dharmas unique to a buddha," "the wondrous wisdom of every aspect," and so on — endowed with all these various merits.

Here there are many verses (a string of "homage" verses, each praising one class of buddha-merit and bowing in reverence), running in substance, in order —

Pitying all sentient beings; raising toward beings both "gathering-in" (drawing them in) and "withdrawal" (removing their suffering); never abandoning their benefit and ease — to the World-Honored One who is complete in these "four intentions," I bow in homage.

Liberated from all obscuration; wisdom reaching through all that is knowable; his mind liberated — to this Sage who surpasses all the world, I bow in homage.

Able to exhaust without remainder all the delusions of all sentient beings; having destroyed the afflictions, yet always cherishing compassion for defiled beings — to such a buddha, I bow in homage.

Without contrived effort (accomplishing deeds spontaneously); without grasping; without obstruction; ever in stillness and concentration; yet able to resolve every question and challenge — to such a buddha, I bow in homage.

In the "support, the supported, and the spoken" — in teachings and in wisdom — able to speak without obstruction, expounding skillfully with ever-good wisdom — to such a buddha, I bow in homage.

For the sake of those sentient beings, manifesting birth, knowing speech, knowing conduct, and showing going, coming, and departure (from birth-and-death) — to this good teacher, I bow in homage.

All beings, merely on seeing this World-Honored One, can discern him to be a truly good person; at a single glance, deep faith is born in them — to this opener-of-the-way, I bow in homage.

In "gathering-in, sustaining, and releasing" (the advance and retreat of guidance), in "manifesting transformations and transmutations," in "concentration and wisdom," he attains mastery, and realizes whatever is fitting — to such a buddha, I bow in homage.

In "skillful means, refuge, purity, and the going-forth of the Great Vehicle" — able in these to crush the Māra that deludes beings — to this Māra-crusher, I bow in homage.

Able to expound "wisdom, cutting-off, and going-forth" and "that which obstructs (liberation)," able to accomplish the benefit of self and others, undefeated by any other non-Buddhist teachers — to such a buddha, I bow in homage.

Standing in the great assembly able to subdue (false views) and to expound well; far apart from the two defilements of afflictive obscuration and cognitive obscuration; without guarding (the three deeds of body, speech, and mind are pure by nature and need no guarding) and without forgetfulness; able to lead and rule his following — to such a buddha, I bow in homage.

In all walking and dwelling, sitting and lying, there is nothing that is not a deed accomplished by perfect wisdom, and at all times he knows-all (there is nothing he does not know) — to this buddha who penetrates the true meaning, I bow in homage.

In the benefit and ease he works for beings he never misses the timing; what he does is constant and never empty, and without forgetfulness — to such a buddha, I bow in homage.

Day and night, constantly six times (the six periods), beholding all the world; in accord with great compassion, his every thought set on the benefit and ease of beings — to such a buddha, I bow in homage.

By "practice (cultivating the cause), by realization (what is realized), by wisdom, and by activity (the work)" — surpassing in all four the two vehicles — to this most excellent buddha, I bow in homage.

By the full attainment of the three bodies (self-nature, enjoyment, transformation), the great awakening complete in every mark, able everywhere to cut off the various doubts of others — to such a buddha, I bow in homage.

Asaṅga then sums up: besides being endowed with these many merits, the buddhas' dharma-body is further endowed with six more kinds of merit — "self-nature, cause, fruit, activity, conjunction, and operation" — and so it should be known that the buddhas' dharma-body has "unsurpassed merit." Here there are two verses, running in substance: the World-Honored One has accomplished the true supreme meaning (the principle of the perfectly-accomplished nature); he has gone beyond all the bodhisattva-stages (having reached the stage of buddhahood); he has arrived above all sentient beings (most honored, most high); he has liberated all sentient beings (broadly delivering the multitudes); he is endowed with inexhaustible, unequalled merit; and he can appear in the world and be seen within great assemblies (this points to the enjoyment and transformation bodies, which can be seen), yet he is not truly to be seen by ordinary beings, gods, and humans, and the like (this points to the dharma-body, which only a buddha self-realizes).

10. The "profundity" of the dharma-body: twelve kinds of profundity

The eighth aspect, "profundity." Again it is said: the buddhas' dharma-body is profound, most profound — how is this mark of profundity to be seen? Here there are many verses, running in substance, in order —

The buddha has no "birth," yet takes "non-birth" as birth (manifesting rebirth while being fundamentally unborn); he has no "abiding," yet takes "non-abiding" as abiding; his various deeds are accomplished spontaneously, without contrived effort; and he takes "the fourth kind of food" as food.

(The buddhas) are without difference, and also without limit; without count, yet of one and the same single deed (their work alike comes down to liberating beings); they manifest "the deed of the unstable" (the marks of impermanence), which is in truth "the deed of the stable" (the function of the truly constant) — the buddhas are complete in these three bodies.

"Equal-awakening (becoming a buddha)," it is said to be "not being" (fundamentally unborn and unmade); "awakening-to-all (the universal awakening)," it is said to be "not non-being" (there is nothing it does not illumine in awakening); in each single moment he gives rise to the measureless (functioning) — this is what "being and not-being" together reveal.

(The buddha) is neither defiled by desire nor (waits to) be apart from desire (before being pure), yet through "desire" he attains going-forth — knowing that "desire" is fundamentally "without desire" (the nature of desire is by nature empty), he thereby awakens to "the dharma-nature of desire."

The buddhas have gone past all aggregates (not bound by the five aggregates), and also abide within the aggregates (not apart from the five aggregates while liberating beings); with those five aggregates they are neither one nor different, not abandoning (beings' five aggregates) yet well-settled in quiescence.

The buddhas' various deeds interpenetrate one another, like the water of the great sea (the deeds of the buddhas are of one savor, mutually merged without distinction); regarding such thoughts as "I have done, am doing, will do (the benefit of beings)," the buddha benefits others with no thought of "I am the doer" (no contrived effort, no grasping at agent-and-object).

When a being's "fault" (the obscuration of action) is present and screens him, the buddha's reflection cannot be cast upon him — like the moon that cannot be cast into a broken vessel (when the water is broken the moon does not appear, illustrating that when a being's capacity is obscured, response and resonance do not get through); yet the buddha pervades all the world, and by the light of "dharma" illumines all, just like the sun (illumining everywhere with no deliberate picking-and-choosing).

The buddha sometimes manifests "the attainment of equal and right awakening," sometimes manifests "parinirvāṇa," like fire (kindling as conditions allow, ceasing as conditions allow, with no real arising or ceasing); yet this (buddha-substance) has never had a time of "not-being (annihilation)," because the body of the buddhas abides constantly.

The buddha, amid "ignoble dharmas, the human destiny and the evil destinies, and non-celibate dharmas" (manifesting within defiled and evil domains), still abides with the most excellent self-substance (dwelling in defilement undefiled, without any obstruction).

The buddha walks in all places (universally responding and appearing), yet does not (confine himself to) walk in any one place; he manifests in all bodily forms, yet is not what the six faculties (the seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing of ordinary beings) can reach (can apprehend).

The afflictions (habit-energies, at the stage of buddhahood) are subdued and not extinguished, like poison held in check by a spell (the poison is present yet cannot do harm); from (former) delusion to (cultivation until) delusion is exhausted, he thereby realizes the buddha's omniscience.

The afflictions have turned into "the limbs of awakening" (the supports of bodhi), birth-and-death is itself nirvāṇa — precisely because (the buddha) is endowed with great skillful means, the buddhas (in this state) are inconceivable.

Asaṅga sums up: it should be known that the profundity thus stated is of twelve kinds in all — namely the profundity of "birth, abiding, and deed-abiding," the profundity of "the established count of deeds," the profundity of "equal-awakening," the profundity of "freedom from desire," the profundity of "severing the aggregates," the profundity of "ripening," the profundity of "manifestation," the profundity of "manifesting equal-awakening and nirvāṇa," the profundity of "abiding," the profundity of "displaying the self-substance," the profundity of "severing the afflictions," and the profundity of "the inconceivable."

11. The "recollection" of the dharma-body: a bodhisattva recollects the buddha's dharma-body by seven recollections

The ninth aspect, "recollection." If a bodhisattva would recollect the buddha's dharma-body, by how many kinds of "recollection" should this recollection be cultivated? In brief, a bodhisattva who recollects the buddha's dharma-body should cultivate this by seven recollections —

First, recollecting that "the buddhas attain the free operation of all dharmas," one should cultivate this recollection, because the buddha attains unobstructed spiritual power throughout all worlds. Here there is a verse, running in substance: throughout the realm of sentient beings there are some beings "complete in obstruction (heavy with the obscuration of action)," some "lacking the cause for it (with no wholesome root by which to be liberated)," some who turn "by the two-fold settled course" (those of settled lineage and settled action, hard to turn) — toward these classes, the buddhas too have no mastery.

Second, recollecting that "the Tathāgata's body abides constantly," one should cultivate this recollection, because (the buddha's body is) suchness, unbrokenly liberated from defilement (suchness is apart from defilement, hence constant).

Third, recollecting that "the Tathāgata is most excellent and faultless," one should cultivate this recollection, because both the afflictive obscuration and the cognitive obscuration are alike loosed from their bonds.

Fourth, recollecting that "the Tathāgata is without contrived effort," one should cultivate this recollection, because the buddha makes no contrived effort, and all the buddha-deeds are accomplished spontaneously without ever resting.

Fifth, recollecting that "the Tathāgata receives great wealth and bliss," one should cultivate this recollection, because the pure buddha-land is complete in great wealth and bliss.

Sixth, recollecting that "the Tathāgata is apart from all defilement," one should cultivate this recollection, because, though the buddha is born in the world, none of the dharmas of the world can defile him.

Seventh, recollecting that "the Tathāgata can accomplish the great deed," one should cultivate this recollection, because the buddha manifests the attainment of equal awakening, parinirvāṇa, and the rest, and can cause all not-yet-ripened sentient beings to ripen and all ripened sentient beings to be liberated.

Here there are two verses, gathering up the seven recollections above, running in substance: (the buddha's merit is) full and belongs to his own mind (inwardly realized), complete in constant abiding, purity, and freedom from contrived effort; able to give sentient beings great dharma-bliss; pervading all places yet resting on no support; equally benefiting many beings — toward all these buddhas (and their merits) the wise should cultivate these (seven) recollections.

12. The marks of the pure buddha-land: eighteen kinds of perfection

Asaṅga next asks: the marks of the buddhas' pure buddha-land — how should they be known? As stated in the "introductory chapter" of the Bodhisattva-piṭaka Sūtra in a Hundred Thousand (a vast Great-Vehicle scripture) —

That is: the Blessed One abides in a place "most excellent, radiant, adorned with the seven treasures, sending forth great light that illumines all boundless worlds"; there "measureless regions are interspersed with wondrous ornaments, round and without edge, its measure hard to fathom, surpassing the range of the three realms"; it "arises from the most excellent supramundane wholesome roots, and has for its mark the most utterly free pure consciousness (made wholly of pure consciousness)"; it is "the capital of the Tathāgata," where "the great bodhisattvas gather like clouds," and where "measureless gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, humans, and non-humans (the eight classes of celestial beings and the rest)" are constantly in attendance and protection; it "is sustained by the joy of the vast savor of dharma," able to "accomplish all the benefit of beings, remove all the afflictions and calamities of beings, and is far apart from the host of Māras"; it "surpasses all adornment, and is the place on which the Tathāgata's adornment rests," with "great mindfulness, great wisdom, and great conduct as the road it travels," with "great calm-abiding and wondrous insight as its vehicle," with "the three liberations of great emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness as the gate it enters," adorned by "a host of measureless merits" — a great palace "established by the great jewel-flower king (the great jewel lotus-flower king)." The buddha dwells within such a great palace.

Asaṅga points out: this displays the eighteen kinds of perfection of the pure buddha-land — "perfection of color, perfection of shape, perfection of measure, perfection of region, perfection of cause, perfection of fruit, perfection of master, perfection of attendants, perfection of retinue, perfection of sustaining, perfection of activity, perfection of benefit-giving, perfection of fearlessness, perfection of dwelling-place, perfection of road, perfection of vehicle, perfection of gate, and perfection of support" (the scripture passage above is exactly the portrayal, one by one, of these eighteen perfections).

And it is further said: to enjoy such a pure buddha-land is to enjoy what is "wholly pure and wondrous, wholly at ease, wholly faultless, and wholly free" (the four "wholly" of the pure buddha-land, without any defilement at all).

13. The "activity" of the dharma-body: the buddhas' dharma-realm constantly performs five activities

The tenth aspect, "activity." It should be further known that this dharma-realm of the buddhas can, at all times, accomplish five kinds of activity —

• First, "rescuing all sentient beings from calamities" as its activity — merely on seeing the buddha, one can be rescued from the blind, the deaf, the deranged, and other such calamities;
• Second, "rescuing from the evil destinies" as its activity — drawing sentient beings out of unwholesome places and setting them in wholesome ones;
• Third, "rescuing from wrong means (mistaken practice)" as its activity — causing the non-Buddhist teachers to abandon those mistaken practices that cannot bring liberation, and setting them within the Tathāgata's holy teaching;
• Fourth, "rescuing from the view-of-self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi, grasping the body as a self)" as its activity — conferring the holy path that can transcend the three realms;
• Fifth, "rescuing as to vehicle (rescuing the vehicle they head toward)" as its activity — drawing up those bodhisattvas who would head toward some lesser vehicle, and the śrāvakas and the rest of undetermined lineage, and settling them to cultivate the practice of the Great Vehicle.

In these five activities, it should be known that the buddhas' use of activity is equal (buddha and buddha share these same five activities, with no higher or lower). Here there is a verse, running in substance: because of difference in "cause, support, deed, nature, and conduct," one is allowed to say that "activity (and its fruit) is differentiated"; and the world (ordinary beings) precisely lacks this (buddha-stage) difference of power, and so cannot become a "guide (a buddha)."

14. Why "one vehicle" is spoken of

Asaṅga asks: since this "buddhas' dharma-body, complete in merit and endowed accordingly" is not shared with the two vehicles of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas (a buddha alone possesses it), then with what intention does the buddha speak of "the one vehicle (the single buddha-vehicle, ekayāna)"? Here there are two verses, running in substance —

In order to "draw in one class (to guide beings of a certain capacity to turn from the lesser toward the great)," in order to "sustain the rest (to uphold those already entered)," and because there are beings of "undetermined lineage (who may go great or small, not yet settled)" — for these the buddhas speak of "one vehicle." Furthermore, because of "dharma (being the same), no-self (being the same), liberation (being the same)," and the like (the principle on which the three vehicles rest is fundamentally the same), though their lineage is not the same, the buddhas can cause them to attain "the two intentions (the intention of the equality of self and other, and of the equality of the dharma-body)," and by reason of "transformation (liberating through the transformation body)" and "the ultimate (all coming home to one and the same ultimate)" — on these grounds, "one vehicle" is spoken of.

15. The buddhas share one dharma-body, so why are there many buddhas

Asaṅga asks: this being so, the buddhas are all one and the same dharma-body — then why do we see that "there are many buddhas"? Here there is a verse, running in substance: within one and the same (suchness-dharma) realm there cannot be "two (becoming a buddha at once with realms divided)," yet at one and the same time there are "measureless (beings) made full (their cause-practice ripened)"; and to say that they must "become buddhas one after another in succession" — this too does not stand to reason — and so it is established that "there are many buddhas" (measureless beings ripen into buddhahood at the same time, hence there are many buddhas at once, while the dharma-body is still one).

16. Whether the buddha finally enters nirvāṇa

Asaṅga asks: how is one to know that, within the dharma-body, the buddha neither "finally (forever) enters nirvāṇa" nor "finally (forever) does not enter nirvāṇa"? Here there is a verse, running in substance: because (the buddha) is liberated from all obscuration (hence it is said "finally nirvāṇa"), and because (the work of liberating beings) has no term of exhaustion (hence it is said "finally not nirvāṇa") — therefore the buddha "finally enters nirvāṇa, and (at the same time) finally does not enter nirvāṇa."

17. Why the enjoyment body is not the self-nature body

Asaṅga asks: why is the "enjoyment body" not the same as the "self-nature body"? It can be known by six reasons —

• First, the enjoyment body is "a form-body that can be seen" (it has form and mark that can be seen, whereas the self-nature body cannot be seen);
• Second, it can be seen to have "the distinctness of measureless assemblies of buddhas" (varying with the assembly, whereas the self-nature body has no distinction);
• Third, it can be seen to be "seen according to beings' resolve, with its own nature not fixed" (varying with capacity);
• Fourth, it can be seen "manifesting now in this way, now in that, with its own nature in flux";
• Fifth, it can be seen "with bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and the various gods and other such assemblies intermingled" (the enjoyment body appears amid mixed assemblies);
• Sixth, it can be seen as "the transformation of the basis of the storehouse consciousness and the various active consciousnesses (the enjoyment body still belongs to the level of what consciousness manifests by its transforming), which cannot be lumped together (with the suchness of the self-nature body)."

So the claim that "the buddha's enjoyment body is the self-nature body" does not stand to reason.

18. By what reasons the transformation body is not the self-nature body

Asaṅga asks: again, for what reason is the "transformation body" not the same as the "self-nature body"? It can be known by eight reasons —

• First, the bodhisattvas, from the distant past, have long attained "non-regressing concentration," yet that (transformation body) manifests taking birth in Tuṣita heaven and among humans (still manifesting entering and dwelling in the womb) — this (if it were the self-nature body) does not stand to reason;
• Second, the bodhisattvas, from the distant past, can always recollect their former dwellings, yet that (transformation body) manifests "not knowing rightly" (learning as ordinary beings do) the treatises of writing, reckoning, counting, seals, and crafts, and the conduct of enjoying sense-pleasures — this does not stand to reason;
• Third, the bodhisattvas, from the distant past, have long distinguished the teachings of "ill-spoken (false dharma)" and "well-spoken (true dharma)," yet that (transformation body) manifests "going to the places of the non-Buddhist teachers (to seek dharma)" — this does not stand to reason;
• Fourth, the bodhisattvas, from the distant past, have long well known the right path of the three vehicles, yet that (transformation body) manifests "practicing deviant austerities" — this does not stand to reason;
• Fifth, the bodhisattvas (with their vast spiritual power, able to liberate) could forsake hundreds of thousands of koṭis (countless) of Jambudvīpa continents (liberating beings in all of them at once), yet manifest the attainment of equal and right awakening and the turning of the true dharma-wheel in only one place — this (if it were the self-nature body) does not stand to reason.

And (Asaṅga further makes plain): if, apart from "manifesting the attainment of equal and right awakening," one were to perform buddha-deeds in the remaining places by the transformation body alone, then he ought to attain equal and right awakening only in Tuṣita heaven — why is it not set up that "buddhas appear in all the Jambudvīpa continents at the same time"? Since it is not set up in this way (neither pervading-forth from one place, nor appearing everywhere at once), one sees that (if one does not establish the meaning of the transformation body) it becomes "without teaching and without reason (without scriptural ground and without right reason)." Though there are many transformations (bodies that can appear at once), this still does not violate that holy word that "no two tathāgatas appear in the world at once" — because it is by "one set of four continents (one four-continent world)" that a single world is reckoned, just as two wheel-turning kings do not appear in the same (four continents) at once (within one realm there is but one wheel-turning king, just as within one realm there is but one buddha). Here there is a verse, running in substance: the buddha, by subtle transformation bodies, "equally enters the womb in many places" at the same time (manifesting rebirth in many places), in order to display "every kind (of liberating)" and to manifest the attainment of equal awakening and so transform beings according to capacity.

And (Asaṅga adds a further reason): if (the transformation body were the self-nature body, taking birth truly) — then "having made the vow and cultivated the practice for the sake of benefiting and easing all sentient beings, and attained great awakening, yet finally to enter nirvāṇa (never to return)," this too would not stand to reason; for (if he were truly to perish finally) that vow and practice would come to no fruit, falling into fault (which precisely shows that the transformation body is a manifestation, not a real perishing).

19. The two bodies are impermanent, so why does the scripture say "the Tathāgata's body is constant"

Asaṅga asks: since the buddha's enjoyment body and transformation body are both "impermanent," why does the scripture then say that "the Tathāgata's body is constant"?

Answer: because the "dharma-body" on which these two bodies rest is constant (it is said to be constant by reason of resting on the constant). Furthermore, that "equally-flowing body" (the enjoyment-body kind, which flows forth from the dharma-body) and the "transformation body" — because they constantly enjoy and never cease (the enjoyment body functions without interruption), and because they manifest transformation again and again and never break off (the transformation body appears without exhaustion) — are like "constantly receiving bliss, constantly giving food (enjoyment and transformation continuing without break)"; it should be known that the Tathāgata's body being constant means just this too (it is said to be constant by reason of the continuity of its functioning).

20. Why the transformation body does not finally abide

Asaṅga says: for six reasons, the transformation body manifested by the buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, does not "finally (forever) abide" (it must manifest entering extinction) —

• First, because "what was to be done is finished" — the already-ripened sentient beings have already been liberated (the work done, it withdraws);
• Second, in order to make beings "abandon the mind that does not delight in nirvāṇa (clinging to the buddha's presence in the world)," and turn instead to seek "the Tathāgata's constantly-abiding body (the dharma-body)";
• Third, in order to make beings "abandon the mind that slights and slanders the buddhas," and lead them to awaken to the teaching of the profound true dharma (lest they take the buddha to be ever-present and so make light of him);
• Fourth, in order to make beings "give rise to deep yearning for the buddha" — for fear that those who constantly see the buddha would instead grow weary and lax (what is rarely seen is the more longed for);
• Fifth, in order to make beings "rouse vigor and zeal in themselves" — knowing that "a buddha who can rightly expound the dharma is hard to encounter" (and so they should treasure it and exert themselves);
• Sixth, in order to make sentient beings "ripen most swiftly" — leading them to be vigorous of themselves and not to set down the yoke from their shoulders (not slackening on the path).

Here there are two verses, gathering up the six reasons above, running in substance: because of "what was to be done being finished, making beings abandon not delighting in nirvāṇa, making them part from slighting and slandering the buddhas, making them give rise to deep yearning, making them rouse right zeal of themselves, and in order to make them ripen most swiftly" — for these reasons it is allowed (to establish) that the buddha's transformation body "does not finally abide" (it must manifest entering extinction, and there are just these six deep meanings in it).

21. The dharma-body is from the first measureless, so why must further effort be made

Asaṅga asks at last: the buddhas' dharma-body, from beginningless time, is "without distinction, without limit" — is it not then the case that "one need make no further effort (cultivation) in order to attain it"? Here there is a verse, running in substance: that "without-distinction, without-limit" which the buddha has attained (the dharma-body) has its own cause (it must be realized by cultivating the cause); if a being were to forsake the effort of vigor (refusing to cultivate), then "its attainment could at no time become the cause (there would forever be no cause for attaining it)" — and to sever such a (indispensable) cause does not stand to reason (so one must still be vigorous in cultivation in order to realize the dharma-body).

Closing Colophon

The "Mahāyānasaṃgraha" chapter within the Abhidharma-mahāyāna-sūtra — which I, Asaṅga (Asaṃga), have briefly explained — is herewith complete.