瑜伽師地論 思所成地 · 體義伽他 · 第二段「說」

The Body-Meaning Verses, segment two · four verses. "Beings who conceive of what-is-to-be-spoken-of take their stand upon what-is-to-be-spoken-of … having cut off name-and-form, craving, and conceit — unattached, with the smoke stilled."

In one line: The "Discourse" segment takes "what-is-to-be-spoken-of" (conditioned phenomena · here the wondrous fivefold objects of desire · the time-biding desires) for its point of the eye — not understanding it, one amasses birth-and-death; understanding it, one is apart from perverse prayer, perverse view, and self-conceit, and is without dispute; and it closes with "the smoke (craving) stilled," cutting off name-and-form, craving, and conceit, to become an arhat free of attachment and free of longing.

Three Points of the Eye

1. What-is-to-be-spoken-of = the time-biding desires: "what-is-to-be-spoken-of" = all conditioned phenomena (subsumed under the three matters of speech), here pointing in particular to the wondrous fivefold objects of desire. Desire must be sought or summoned by speech, its perils are known only when a disciple of the Buddha has told them, and its merit is brought to fruition only in a later life — hence "biding their time." Not understanding → grasping the marks, giving rise to craving → amassing birth-and-death; understanding (the desires as impermanent, hollow, false, of slight sweetness and many perils · knowing the escape) → renouncing the household and cultivating the holy life · without perverse prayer · unafraid of reproach.
2. The root of dispute is conceit · non-dispute is the dharma-nature: dispute arises when "from a topsy-turvy view there arises conceit" (the three classes of conceit — "I am superior / I am equal / I am inferior"). The noble disciple "understands that all formations arise from a concurrence of conditions and sees only the dharma-nature," and does not measure himself as superior, equal, or inferior → the three kinds of the unmoved · without dispute (setting forth his tenet and overthrowing others' doctrines only out of compassion · that the right Dharma may long endure, not in reliance on the conceit of views or on gain and honor).
3. Smoke = craving (the forerunner of fire): cutting off name-and-form (the five appropriating aggregates), craving, and conceit → the arhat. Smoke = craving: just as the smoke of the world is the forerunner of fire, able to injure the eye-faculty, so craving is the forerunner of the fire of greed, hatred, and delusion, injuring the wisdom-eye and disturbing the mind. Cutting off craving = the smoke stilled → unattached (seeking without defilement) · without vexation · without longing (constantly abiding in the thought of death) → cannot be seen among the causes-and-fruits of the world of gods and humans.

Appendix · Pointers

Understanding what-is-to-be-spoken-of and the escape → segment one, apart from the extreme of the pleasure-devoted practice of desire (11-03-01) · the perils of the desires in the Śrāvaka Stage; seeing only the dharma-nature, without dispute → the no-self of the person in the Verses on the Ultimate Meaning (11-01). Similes: the maddened, drunken elephant that holds up its trunk and makes for another's house (Dunlun) · smoke is the forerunner of fire. The doctrine is opened out in the Exposition.

The Verses (in today's language · four verses)

Beings who conceive of "what-is-to-be-spoken-of" take their stand upon "what-is-to-be-spoken-of"; not understanding "what-is-to-be-spoken-of," they amass birth-and-death. If one understands "what-is-to-be-spoken-of," one has no anxiety over one who would speak against one; and because this [anxiety] is absent, others should not reproach one. If one reckons in terms of equal, superior, and inferior, one thereupon stirs up disputes; but in the three kinds of the unmoved [unmoved alike by equal, superior, and inferior], equal, superior, and inferior are all gone. Having cut off name-and-form, craving, and conceit — unattached, with the smoke stilled, without vexation, without longing — such a one cannot be seen, either here or there, in the world of gods and humans.

Prose Exposition (in today's language)

Within these four verses, first, as for the word "what-is-to-be-spoken-of," it means all conditioned phenomena. Why? Because all conditioned phenomena are subsumed under the "three kinds of the matters of speech." Here in the present sense, it is the "wondrous fivefold objects of desire" that are said to be "what-is-to-be-spoken-of": moreover, as for the wondrous fivefold objects of desire, the several ascetics and brahmins and the rest must seek and beg them by speech from a donor's side, and so they are called "what-is-to-be-spoken-of"; the several rulers, for the wondrous fivefold objects of desire, must summon them by speech from their servants and attendants and the like in order to enjoy them, and by this too they are called "what-is-to-be-spoken-of"; again, those who partake of desire cannot of themselves come to know the perils in the wondrous fivefold objects of desire — only when the buddhas and the disciples of the buddhas have proclaimed those perils for them can they come to understand — and by this too they are called "what-is-to-be-spoken-of."

Those who partake of desire, toward the several desires, think improperly, and grasp their marks and grasp too their subsidiary features; thereupon they give rise to craving-attachment toward those desires, indulge and are greedy in enjoying them, and go so far as to cling to them firmly. Again, they do not know as it really is that the several desires have a host of perils — namely, that the several desires are impermanent, hollow, false, empty and without substance, things bound to decay, deceiving and deluding the fool as a conjuring-trick does, of very slight sweetness of craving and of many perils; nor do they understand as it really is the "escape" from these desires that are of "slight sweetness and many perils" (that is, the subduing of, and even the transcending of, the craving for desire). Since they neither see the perils nor know the escape, yet partake of the several desires, they thereupon deeply take delight in and cling to the several formations that have "being born" for their root in the desire-realm, and, having enacted karma whose root is "being born," they take on birth in the desire-realm, and having been born, they die and perish. Therefore it is said: "Beings who conceive of what-is-to-be-spoken-of take their stand upon what-is-to-be-spoken-of; not understanding what-is-to-be-spoken-of, they amass birth-and-death."

If one meets a good man, gets to hear the right Dharma, and attends to it in accord with reason, then toward the several desires one understands as it really is their perils and their escape. One gains pure faith in the right Dharma-and-Discipline realized by the Tathāgata and sees the perils in the several desires ever more deeply and with growing force. One is thereupon able to renounce however little or much wealth and treasure, storehouses, kinsfolk, and retinue one has, and, with a mind of right faith, to leave the household state and go forth to the homeless state, where all birth, aging, illness, and death are forever extinguished. Having thus gone forth, one practices the holy life without any further object of prayer. One has no such perverse prayer as, "By keeping the precepts, striving, and cultivating the holy life I shall be reborn in heaven or in some other heavenly station." Since one has no such false aspiration, one sees in oneself no ground for reproach, does not fear it, and is not anxious over it. Nor should others reproach, blame, and rebuke one, saying: "Worthy sir! You are in the very flush of your prime; why do you cast off the wondrous desires present before you, not follow the wishes of your kinsfolk, and instead seek the desires that must bide their time, vowing to cultivate the holy life?" This is to have accomplished pure moral conduct (śīla) and pure view. Therefore it is said: "If one understands what-is-to-be-spoken-of, one has no anxiety over one who would speak against one; and because this is absent, others should not reproach one."

Why [does dispute arise]? Because from a topsy-turvy view there arises conceit, and, held fast by conceit, one comes to stir up dispute together with the other ascetics and brahmins — therefore this view is called "the root of dispute." If there is an ascetic or brahmin who, relying on the dispute-rooted view of "equal, superior, inferior," is lifted up in mind, and who, relying on the three classes of conceit — "I am superior, I am equal, I am inferior" — establishes himself as superior, or equal, or inferior, then they dispute with one another back and forth. But if a noble disciple is not stirred by self, what-belongs-to-self, or self-conceit 〔and so on, is not even stirred by "I shall be neither-perceiving-nor-non-perceiving"〕, understands that all formations arise from a concurrence of conditions, and within the formations sees only the nature of phenomena (their dharma-nature) — he will not so much as measure himself against another as superior, equal, or inferior; how much less would he give rise to the conceit of views and dispute? Though before others he may set forth his own tenet and overthrow the doctrines of others, yet toward the several phenomena it is only for the sake of the dharma-nature and out of compassion (with the wish that, should anyone grasp the meaning of even a single phrase of what he has spoken and thus practice rightly, it may bring that one great benefit, weal, and ease through the long night, and may make the Tathāgata's right Dharma long endure) — it is not in reliance on the conceit of views, nor for the sake of gain and honor, that he disputes. Therefore it is said: "If one reckons in terms of equal, superior, and inferior, one thereupon stirs up disputes; but in the three kinds of the unmoved, equal, superior, and inferior are all gone."

This noble disciple does not vow to cultivate the holy life in order to seek the wondrous desires of the present life. By cultivating it in this way, he keeps far from false aspirations and false views, abandons the craving pursuit of gain and honor, and becomes pure in every respect, his radiance blazing and shining everywhere. Gods and humans should only praise him, not reproach him; and he is able to cross beyond birth, aging, illness, and death. These too are consequences of the "three kinds of the unmoved" taught in the third verse.

"Name-and-form" means the five appropriating aggregates. If one contemplates them and sees them as suffering, then, at the time of the direct realization of the [four] truths, when one sees to the full the suffering of the five appropriating aggregates, the craving toward the five appropriating aggregates is, by reason of one's resolve, all said to be "cut off," although the latent tendency of that craving is not yet cut off. If such a one further cultivates the path as it was attained, then self-conceit is cut off without remainder, and one becomes an arhat, with the outflows forever exhausted. By having realized the fruit of arhatship, with the mind well liberated, one forever cuts off attachment to one's own body and the appurtenances of one's own body, together with the active entanglements and latent tendencies; one is apart from craving, pride, and every kind of heedlessness. Because one is apart from craving, pride, and heedlessness, this is called "the smoke stilled"; there is no scorching vexation and no expectation or longing.

What is called "the smoke stilled"? "Smoke" means craving. Why? Just as the smoke of the world is the forerunner of fire, able to injure the eye-faculty and to make it unable to rest at ease, so too is craving: it is the forerunner of the fire of greed, hatred, and delusion, able to injure the wisdom-eye and to disturb the continuum of the mind (able to draw forth meaningless discursive thought). When one has, toward this craving, already cut it off and already known it, and even brought it about that in the world to come it becomes something no longer arising, this is called "the smoke stilled."

Since one has thus stilled the smoke and is apart from attachment, then, though one still seeks the appurtenances that are conditions for life — it is not that one does not seek them — yet one is able to be liberated from the seeking that is greedy craving, and what one seeks is without defilement. This is "unattached."

What is "without vexation"? The treatise sets out the "three vexations" (the vexation of greed, the vexation of hatred, the vexation of delusion) and speaks of them one by one: (1) When such a one seeks in this way at present, if another gives of himself, or urges others to give, and gives at the time with earnest heart and not without earnestness, with fine things and not coarse, in plenty and not in scarcity, swiftly and not slowly — yet he does not crave the taste of it, and toward what he obtains he enjoys it without defilement, giving rise to no greedy stinginess and no firm clinging — enjoying the requisites of life in this way, he is not scorched by the "vexation of greed." (2) If that donor is himself unable to give, or obstructs another's giving, and even if he does give, gives without earnestness, and even slowly and not swiftly — yet the seeker does not resent it, and by this gives rise to no anger-vexation; and when he enjoys what he has obtained, he neither grieves nor broods, and has no mind to harm and no mind of ill-will — enjoying in this way, he is not vexed by the "vexation of hatred." (3) And toward what he obtains, whether fine or coarse, when enjoying it he sees deeply its perils, well knows the escape, abides in right mindfulness, and stays far from folly — in this way he is not vexed by the "vexation of delusion."

What is "without longing"? Longing means longing-and-hoping, the fixing of the mind upon something to be had. He does not "hold up his trunk with greedy craving harbored within" and make his way to householders' homes — 〔he does not count on〕 obtaining from the great clans of the kṣatriyas, or of the brahmins, householders, and lay masters, the finest fit foods, and even wealth and treasure, clothing, delicacies, seats and bedding, and the medicines for illness and utensils for the body's need; thus in seeking and in enjoying, toward these goods he has no longing whatever. He also constantly abides in "the thought of death": passing from the night-watch into the day-watch, and passing again from the day-watch back into the night-watch, in the interval between "I have measureless causes for dying" (as the sūtra sets forth at length: namely the arising of wind-disorder, and even the terrors wrought by non-humans); and by this cause, toward the goods sought and the goods enjoyed, and even toward "life" itself, he has no longing. Thus, because of being "unattached, with the smoke stilled, without the scorch of vexation, and without longing," he cannot be seen among the causes of the gods and humans, of Śakra, of the Sovereign [Īśvara], of the World-Lords among the gods, and so on; nor can he be seen among the causes-and-fruits of those gods and humans; nor can he be seen in the world of gods and humans of these four continents and elsewhere; nor can he be seen in the world of gods and humans of this world-system and elsewhere. Therefore it is said: "Having cut off name-and-form, craving, and conceit — unattached, with the smoke stilled, without vexation or longing — he cannot be seen, either here or there, in the world of gods and humans."

Summary Meaning (in today's language)

The first verse shows "the desires that bide their time," and the perverse conduct toward desire and the fruit of that perverse conduct. The second verse shows the renouncing of desire as according with right reason, the cultivating of the pure holy life while yet being reproached as not according with reason, and the desires that bide their time. The third verse is the same 〔showing the renouncing of desire as according with reason, and reproach as not according with reason〕. In the fourth verse the World-Honored One shows that the Dharma he presently realizes is forever apart from the blaze [of the afflictions], and even that it is realized by the wise inwardly within themselves.

More specifically, the first verse declares that the several desires have the characteristic of "what-is-to-be-spoken-of," thereby showing that they are desires that bide their time. They do not satisfy one as soon as the need arises; speech must come first, after which they are sought and enjoyed. Because beings let their conceptions rest upon those desires and do not understand their perils and escape, they engage in perverse conduct and amass birth-and-death as its fruit. The second verse shows, in sequence, understanding the several desires, departing from false aspirations, cultivating the holy life, departing from false views, departing from the seed of self-conceit that is the root of view, and keeping far from attachment to gain and honor. For all these reasons, abandoning the several desires accords with right reason, while another person's reproach does not.

Again: the several desires are called "biding their time," because if in a former life one did not make merit, then though one now exert oneself, the desires one delights in cannot be brought to fruition; and if one has made merit only in the present life, then the desires one delights in still do not chime in — they must be brought about only in a later life, and so the several desires are called "biding their time." The fourth verse shows: because the afflictions to be cut off by seeing [the truths] are cut off, one presently realizes the first ascetic-fruit 〔the path of seeing〕; because the afflictions to be cut off by cultivation are cut off, one presently realizes the later ascetic-fruit 〔the path of cultivation〕; the cutting off of greedy craving and the cutting off of self-conceit show the Dharma presently realized; and being apart from attachment, with the smoke stilled, shows that one is forever apart from the blaze, and even that it is realized by the wise inwardly of themselves.

How, then, can another know that inwardly realized Dharma? The outward signs of being without scorching vexation and without any longing make it knowable.

Herein the first three verses are what the World-Honored One spoke for the gods — 〔there was a monk who thought to himself〕 that a monk cannot set forth the great meaning of the Tathāgata's holy teaching, whereas he alone could; and when he spoke these words, since he came to understand, both his mind of scorn toward the monk and his conceit toward himself were removed. The fourth verse, then, sets forth at length the great meaning of the Tathāgata's holy teaching.

The Body-Meaning Verses, segment two: four verses. The hard places are all explained with the treatise's own words.

First, One Question: What Is a "Being Who Conceives of What-Is-to-Be-Spoken-Of"? What Does "What-Is-to-Be-Spoken-Of" Actually Point To?

The treatise's answer takes one by surprise: "what-is-to-be-spoken-of" means all conditioned phenomena — because conditioned phenomena are all subsumed under the "three kinds of the matters of speech" (the three time-paths). But the focus of this segment is to bring "what-is-to-be-spoken-of" down onto the wondrous fivefold objects of desire. Why are the desires called "what-is-to-be-spoken-of"? Because desire is not something one simply has in the present moment: an ascetic must "seek and beg it by speech," a ruler must "summon it by speech" before he can enjoy it; and as for the perils of desire, one comes to know them only "after a disciple of the Buddha has told you." The single phrase "what-is-to-be-spoken-of" lays bare the "time-biding" of the desires (that they are cashed out only by way of speech, by way of conditions, by way of merit made in a later life).

And so two forking roads stand out clearly: the being who does not understand "what-is-to-be-spoken-of" grasps the marks and the subsidiary features, gives rise to craving-attachment, and delights in and clings to birth in the desire-realm — and so "amasses birth-and-death"; the one who understands "what-is-to-be-spoken-of" sees the several desires as "impermanent, hollow, false, empty and without substance, deceiving the fool as a conjuring-trick does, of slight sweetness and many perils," and so renounces the household and cultivates the holy life — and, moreover, has no perverse prayer that "the holy life is cultivated for the sake of rebirth in heaven" — and so his mind is at ease, and he does not fear the reproach of others. Understanding these two words or not — this is the watershed between birth-and-death and escape.

The Root of Dispute Lies in a Single "Conceit"

The third verse speaks of "dispute." The treatise traces it to its root: dispute arises when "from a topsy-turvy view there arises conceit" — a person, relying on the three conceits "I am superior, I am equal, I am inferior," establishes himself as superior, as equal, as inferior, and thereupon they dispute with one another. How does the noble disciple not dispute? Because he "understands that all formations arise from a concurrence of conditions, and within the formations sees only the nature of phenomena (their dharma-nature)" — he will not so much as measure himself against another; how much less give rise to the conceit of views and dispute? Even if he sets forth his own tenet and overthrows the doctrines of others, it is only for the sake of the "dharma-nature" and out of compassion (with the wish that another might hear a single phrase, practice rightly, and gain ease through the long night, and that the right Dharma might long endure), not for the conceit of views or for gain and honor. This is "in the three kinds of the unmoved, equal, superior, and inferior are all gone" — unmoved, because he no longer even sets up that "self" which would want to measure high against low.

A Marvelous Simile: "Smoke" Means Craving

The last verse: "Having cut off name-and-form, craving, and conceit … the smoke stilled." Name-and-form is the five appropriating aggregates; contemplating the suffering of the five appropriating aggregates and cutting off greedy craving and self-conceit, one becomes an arhat. The most worth-savoring phrase is "the smoke stilled" — the treatise directly lays it bare: "smoke" means craving. Why the figure of smoke? "Just as the smoke of the world is the forerunner of fire, able to injure the eye-faculty"; craving is the same, "the forerunner of the fire of greed, hatred, and delusion, able to injure the wisdom-eye and to disturb the continuum of the mind." Craving is that thread of smoke that first rises before the fire of the three poisons has flared up — it first injures your wisdom-eye and draws you into meaningless discursive thought. Cut off this thread of smoke (craving), and the fire has no way to catch; this is called "the smoke stilled." By this the arhat is "unattached" (his seeking and enjoying without defilement), "without vexation" (giving or withholding, he neither hates nor covets), and "without longing" (constantly abiding in the thought of death, longing for neither goods nor life), and so, throughout all the causes-and-fruits of the world of gods and humans, he "cannot be seen at all" — nowhere is there to be found a "him" who would take on birth again within the three realms. The ancient masters add one further picture: do not go seeking after supplies like "a maddened, drunken elephant that holds up its trunk and charges straight for another's house" — a person who, harboring greedy craving, makes his way to householders' homes to seek offerings is just that drunken elephant.

The Intent of This Segment

The "Discourse" segment, by the two words "what-is-to-be-spoken-of," lights up and breaks through the time-biding and falsity of the desires: understand, and one escapes; do not understand, and it is birth-and-death; the root of dispute is conceit, the very ground of non-dispute is "seeing only the dharma-nature"; and it closes with the one simile of "the smoke (craving) stilled," gathering up into the arhat's freedom from attachment and from longing. A single thread of craving-smoke first injures the wisdom-eye — this is the one line of the whole segment most worth keeping in mind.

Carrying Forward

Understanding what-is-to-be-spoken-of (the perils of the desires and the escape from them) → segment one's "apart from the extreme of the pleasure-devoted practice of desire" (11-03-01) · the perils of the desires in the Śrāvaka Stage; seeing only the dharma-nature, and so without dispute → the no-self of the person in the Verses on the Ultimate Meaning (11-01); the smoke (craving) stilled, cutting off name-and-form, craving, and conceit → the teaching, in the later treatises, of liberation through the exhaustion of craving.