瑜伽師地論 聲聞地 · 初瑜伽處 · 出離地 · 覺寤瑜伽＋正知而住

After guarding the faculties and moderating food, these two gates push practice into sleep and everyday deportment: even sleeping is practice (the yoga of wakefulness), and every movement is done with right knowing (dwelling with right knowing). The point of the eye: seated meditation's "back-turned mindfulness" faces toward nirvāṇa, turning the back on birth-and-death; in sleep, lie on the right side like the lion-king.

In one line: The yoga of wakefulness purifies and cultivates the mind through day-and-night walking meditation and seated meditation (walking meditation removes the sloth-and-torpor hindrance; seated meditation removes the remaining four hindrances by the contemplation of the impure / loving-kindness / settling the mind within / attention in accord with principle); in the middle watch one lies on the right side like the lion-king (the four skillful means; sleeping alertly like a wild deer); in the last watch one wakes swiftly (the four kinds of right course of action: not forsaking the wholesome · lying down in season · sleeping with a mind free of defilement · rising in season); and seated meditation's "back-turned mindfulness" is the mind facing toward nirvāṇa, turning its back on birth-and-death. Dwelling with right knowing pushes the guarding out to nine kinds of deportment (going-and-returning · looking-and-gazing · bending-and-stretching · bearing robe-and-bowl · eating-drinking-chewing-tasting · walking-standing-sitting-lying · being awake · speaking-and-silence · dispelling fatigue in sleep), each done with right knowing; and its "silence" gate's nine mental abidings plus insight are the preliminaries to serenity and insight.

Three Points of the Eye

1. The yoga of wakefulness = not craving slumber through day and night: by day / in the first watch, walking meditation and seated meditation; in the middle watch, lying on the right side; in the last watch, waking swiftly 〔T30 0411c〕; the condensed sense is the four kinds of right course of action 〔T30 0413b〕. Walking meditation chiefly counteracts sloth-and-torpor (the perception of light · recollection of the Buddha, Dharma, Saṅgha, discipline, generosity, gods · reproaching sloth-and-torpor); seated meditation chiefly counteracts the remaining four hindrances. Back-turned mindfulness = "the mind attaining nirvāṇa · mindfulness seeking to transcend the world · turning its back on birth-and-death"; the ancient masters cite the Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā's "abiding in face-to-face mindfulness" 〔Dunlun, T42 0435b23; Kuiji, T43 0110b12〕.

2. Counteracting the five hindrances + the lion-king manner of lying: in seated meditation, removing desire by the contemplation of the impure (the nine aspects: the bluish-discolored … the chained skeleton) · removing ill will by the mind conjoined with loving-kindness (pervading measureless worlds) · removing restlessness by settling the mind within · removing doubt by attending in accord with principle to past, future, and present, "seeing only that there are phenomena, knowing the conditioned as conditioned and the unconditioned as unconditioned · impermanent, suffering, empty, without self" 〔T30 0413a; the contemplation of no-self tending toward the path of seeing〕 (the ancient masters' two ponderings: asking the substance / the cause of the phenomenon 〔Dunlun, T42 0436a〕). Three higher [factors] (Dharma / self / world). Sleep = lying on the right side like the lion-king (brave and fierce; the body without agitation, the mindfulness without lapse, the sleep not overly heavy, seeing no evil dreams; unlike a ghost face-down / a god face-up / one given to lusts on the left side 〔Dunlun, T42 0436b03〕) · the four skillful means of lying (perception of light / right mindfulness / right knowing / the perception of rising set in mind) · sleeping alertly like a wild deer.

3. Dwelling with right knowing = every deportment is a training-ground: the nine deportments (going-and-returning · looking-and-gazing · bending-and-stretching · bearing the saṅghāṭī, robe, and bowl · eating-drinking-chewing-tasting · walking-standing-sitting-lying · being awake · speaking-and-silence · dispelling fatigue in sleep), each done with right knowing = knowing well the own character / what befits / the fitting time / as befits 〔T30 0413c–0414a〕. Approaching the donors' households after the likeness of the moon (the moon brings the donor the benefit of coolness 〔Kuiji, T43 0111b18〕) · what should be observed (the aged, the diseased, a corpse) versus what should not be looked at (music, women, beautiful forms) · the robes worn evenly and trim (not like an elephant's trunk / a dragon's head / a heap of beans / a tāla tree · the five houses' differing glosses 〔Dunlun, T42 0437b〕). The condensed sense: the five undertakings in walking (body / eye / limbs / robe-and-bowl / food-and-drink) · the five undertakings in dwelling (body / speech / mind / day / night) · the four undertakings across walking-and-dwelling; the "silence" gate's nine mental abidings (settling the mind within … holding-in-equipoise) plus insight = the preliminaries to serenity and insight 〔T30 0416b〕.

Note: The yoga of wakefulness inherits knowing-the-measure-in-food (regulating sleep) · counteracting the five hindrances inherits the restraint of the faculties (guarding the mind). Dunlun's Record of the Treatise 〔T42 0435b03–0437c13〕 and the twenty-fourth-fascicle excerpt of Kuiji's Concise Compendium 〔T43 0110b02–0112a27〕 are both detailed (back-turned mindfulness cited from the Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā; the robe-deportment of elephant's-trunk, dragon's-head, bean-heap, and tāla tree given the differing glosses of five houses — the Tripiṭaka-master Xuanzang / Jing / Tai / Kuiji / Vinaya-master Xuan). The variant graphs 覺寤 / 悎寤 stand side by side. For the doctrinal exposition, see the 〈Exposition〉.

Of the fourteen doorways of the provisions for the two paths, the seventh doorway is "constantly and diligently cultivating the yoga of wakefulness through the first and last watches of the night" (not craving sleep by day or night; purifying one's mind), and the eighth doorway is "dwelling with right knowing" (being clearly and rightly aware in every posture and deportment). The technical terms are kept in their old forms, and the text is rendered clause by clause into today's language, without adding doctrinal exposition, without citing the treatises, and without annotating the Sanskrit; where the uddāna summary verse has compressed things, what was abbreviated is restored within 〔brackets〕.

〔Within the Basic Section, the Śrāvaka Stage, the thirteenth; the First Yoga-Station; the Stage of Deliverance, the third; the third part thereof.〕

The Seventh Doorway · Constantly and Diligently Cultivating the Yoga of Wakefulness through the First and Last Watches of the Night

Furthermore, as to "constantly and diligently cultivating the yoga of wakefulness through the first and last watches of the night" — what is the first watch? What is the last watch? What is the yoga of wakefulness? What is constantly and diligently cultivating the yoga of wakefulness?

What is called the "first watch" is this: of the four divisions of the night, once the very first division has passed, this is the first portion of the night. What is called the "last watch" is this: of the four divisions of the night, once the very last division has passed, this is the last portion of the night. 〔The middle two divisions are the middle of the night.〕

As for the "yoga of wakefulness," it is just as was stated: during the daytime portion, walking to and fro and sitting in quietude, purifying one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances; during the first-watch portion of the night, walking to and fro and sitting in quietude, purifying one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances; and when the mind has been purified, going outside the dwelling-place and washing both feet, then returning into the dwelling-place, lying down on the right side with the feet stacked one upon the other, abiding in the perception of light, in right mindfulness, in right knowing, and in the perception of rising, and so lying down skillfully; and at the last-watch portion of the night, awakening swiftly, walking to and fro and sitting in quietude, purifying one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances.

As for "constantly and diligently cultivating the yoga of wakefulness," it is like this: suppose there is a certain disciple of the World-Honored One who, having heard the teaching of the yoga of wakefulness, wishes and delights to train in it, and so, relying on this yoga of wakefulness, forms this thought: "I shall accomplish the yoga of wakefulness that the Buddha has permitted." He gives rise to aspiration and delight, to energy and diligent toil, to surpassing valor, the arousing of strength, boldness, firm resolve, an unconquerable spirit, and the spurring on of his mind, without interval and in unbroken succession 〔cultivating unceasingly〕.

Walking to and Fro · Sitting in Quietude · The Five Hindrances · The Factors That Go Along with the Hindrances

Now within this, how does one "during the daytime portion walk to and fro and sit in quietude, purifying one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances"? What is called "daytime" is this: from the time the sun rises to the time the sun sets. What is called "walking to and fro" is this: on a stretch of ground broad and long, of a measure suited to the purpose, the bodily act of going and coming as is fitting 〔pacing back and forth〕. What is called "sitting in quietude" is this: suppose there is a certain one who, whether on a large bed, or on a small rope-cot, or on a seat of grass and leaves, sits cross-legged, holds the body erect and the aspiration upright, and settles into the mindfulness that turns the back 〔the mind turning its back on birth-and-death and heading toward nirvāṇa〕.

What is called the "hindrances" is this: the five kinds of covering. As for the "factors that go along with the hindrances," they are the factors that are able to draw on the hindrances and that fall in with the hindrances. What are the five hindrances? They are the hindrance of sensual craving, the hindrance of ill-will, the hindrance of dullness-and-drowsiness, the hindrance of restlessness-and-remorse, and the hindrance of doubt. What are the factors that go along with the hindrances? They are: the sign of the lovely and fine 〔which goes along with craving〕; the sign of ill-will 〔which goes along with ill-will〕; the sign of darkness 〔which goes along with dullness-and-drowsiness〕; the thought-currents concerning relatives, concerning the country, and concerning not-dying 〔which go along with restlessness〕; the recollection of times past — of laughter, play, joy, delight, and being waited upon 〔which goes along with remorse〕; and the improper thinking about the three times, or about anything within the three times 〔which goes along with doubt〕.

Question: When walking to and fro, from how many kinds of hindering factors does one purify one's mind? And how does one purify it of them? Answer: One purifies one's mind of the hindrance of dullness-and-drowsiness and of the hindering factors that are able to draw on dullness-and-drowsiness. In order to remove it, one applies oneself to the perception of light with skill and earnest care, taking it up well, thinking it well, understanding it well, and penetrating it well, with a mind accompanied by clarity and a mind accompanied by light; and whether in a sheltered place or in an open place, one walks to and fro. While walking to and fro, following along with some one agreeable and fine object, one displays it most excellently, encouraging, exhorting, and consoling one's mind — whether by recollecting the Buddha, or recollecting the Dharma, or recollecting the Saṅgha, or recollecting moral discipline, or recollecting generosity, or recollecting the gods; or, within the true Dharma that sets forth what accords with the perils of dullness-and-drowsiness, by censuring and decrying the faults of dullness-and-drowsiness through countless approaches, and by extolling and praising the merit of the everlasting cutting-off of dullness-and-drowsiness through countless approaches (namely, the discourses in prose, the verse-summaries, the prophetic expositions, the metrical hymns, the utterances spoken unasked, the accounts of occasions, the parables, the narratives of past events, the birth-stories, the extensive teachings, the accounts of marvels, and the discussions 〔the twelvefold division of the teaching〕); and, within this true Dharma, hearing and upholding it, reading and reciting it aloud in a great voice, expounding it to others, pondering its meaning, and weighing and examining it; or observing the directions and their quarters, or gazing at the courses and degrees of the stars, the moon, and the constellations 〔the movements of the heavenly bodies〕, or splashing cold water on one's face and eyes. By these means the enwrapping hindrance of dullness-and-drowsiness, being not yet arisen, does not arise, and, having arisen, is removed. By such skillful means one purifies one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances.

Question: When sitting in quietude, from how many kinds of hindering factors does one purify one's mind? And how does one purify it of them? Answer: One purifies one's mind of four kinds of hindering factors — namely, sensual craving, ill-will, restlessness-and-remorse, and the hindrance of doubt, together with the factors that are able to draw on them. In order to swiftly remove the enwrapping hindrance of sensual craving that has already arisen, and to keep at the utmost distance that which has not yet arisen, one sits cross-legged, holds the body erect and the aspiration upright, and settles into the mindfulness that turns the back: contemplating the discolored blue corpse, or the festering-and-rotting, or the decomposing, or the bloated, or the devoured, or the blood-smeared, or its bones, or its linked bones, or the chain of bones 〔the nine aspects of the contemplation of the unlovely〕; or bringing to mind and pondering some one worthy and good sign of concentration; or, within the true Dharma that sets forth what accords with the perils of sensual craving, censuring and decrying, through countless approaches, the faults of the craving for sense-desire, the love of sense-desire, the hoarding of sense-desire, the guarding of sense-desire, and the clinging to sense-desire, and extolling and praising, through countless approaches, the merit of the everlasting cutting-off of all sensual craving (the discourses in prose, the verse-summaries, the prophetic expositions, and so on at length); and, within this true Dharma, hearing and upholding it, becoming well-versed in it in speech, well-reflecting on it in mind, and well-penetrating it in view, and, in this very Dharma, thus sitting in quietude and reflecting in accordance with principle. By these means the enwrapping hindrance of sensual craving, being not yet arisen, does not arise, and, having arisen, is removed. By such skillful means one purifies one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances.

Where the case of the hindrance of ill-will differs — it is this: thus sitting in quietude, with a mind accompanied by loving-kindness, free of enmity, free of adversary, free of harm, free of vexation, vast and immeasurable, one cultivates it most excellently; toward one direction one arouses conviction and abides fully endowed with it, and so too the second, the third, and the fourth, spreading above, below, and to the sides, and toward all the boundless world-systems one arouses conviction and abides fully endowed with it 〔the immeasurable of loving-kindness〕. The rest is as stated before.

Where the case of the hindrance of restlessness-and-remorse differs — it is this: thus sitting in quietude, one makes the mind abide inwardly, accomplishes single-pointedness, and attains concentration. The rest is as stated before.

Where the case of the hindrance of doubt differs — it is this: thus sitting in quietude, one does not fail to reflect improperly upon the past, the future, and the present: "Did I exist in the past, or did I not exist? What was I in the past? How did I exist? What shall I be in the future? How shall I exist? What do I have in the present? How do I come to be? Whence has this sentient being come? And when it perishes from here, where will it go?" Such reflecting that does not accord with right principle one should properly keep at a distance; and reflecting in accordance with principle upon the past, future, and present, one "sees only that there are factors, sees only that there are events; knows the existent as existent and the non-existent as non-existent; observes only that there are causes and only that there are fruits; toward what is truly a non-event neither adds nor increases, and toward what is truly an event neither disparages nor slanders; and toward what truly exists understands it as truly existent" — that is, within all factors that are impermanent, suffering, empty, and without self, one understands the impermanent, the suffering, the empty, and the without-self. Being able thus to reflect in accordance with principle, one then has no confusion and no doubt about the Buddha; and about the Dharma, about the Saṅgha, about suffering, about its origin, about its cessation, about the path, about causes, and about the factors produced from causes, one has no confusion and no doubt. The rest is as stated before.

Again, concerning the hindrance of ill-will, one should speak thus: in order to cut off ill-will and the sign of ill-will, one hears and upholds this true Dharma, and so on at length. Concerning the hindrance of restlessness-and-remorse, one should speak thus: in order to cut off restlessness-and-remorse and the factors that fall in with them, one hears and upholds this true Dharma, and so on at length. Concerning the hindrance of doubt, one should speak thus: in order to cut off the hindrance of doubt and the factors that fall in with it, one hears and upholds this true Dharma, and so on at length. By such skillful means, from sensual craving, ill-will, dullness-and-drowsiness, restlessness-and-remorse, the hindrance of doubt, and the factors that fall in with them, one purifies one's mind. This is why it is said, "walking to and fro and sitting in quietude, one purifies one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances."

By the Governance of the Dharma · by the Governance of Oneself · by the Governance of the World

Thus has it been stated how, "by the governance of the Dharma," one purifies one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances. There is also purifying one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances "by the governance of oneself" and "by the governance of the world."

What is called purifying by the governance of oneself? It is like this: suppose there is a certain one for whom, among the hindrances, some one kind arises, and he himself knows that "this is not a wholesome factor," and does not firmly cling to the hindrance that has arisen, but swiftly casts it off, drives it out, and spits it up; and he is also able himself to observe that this hindrance that has arisen is deeply worthy of shame, defiling and vexing the mind and making wisdom feeble — that it belongs to the class of the harmful. This is called purifying one's mind by the governance of oneself.

What is called purifying by the governance of the world? It is like this: suppose there is a certain one for whom, among the hindrances, some one has already arisen, or is about to arise, and he then forms this thought: "If I give rise to a hindrance not yet arisen, I shall be censured by the Great Teacher, and shall also be lightly esteemed, in accordance with the Dharma, by the gods and by wise fellow-practitioners of the holy life." By this governance of the world, he is able to keep hindrances not yet arisen from arising, and is able swiftly to cast off hindrances that have arisen. This is called purifying one's mind by the governance of the world.

Lying Down on the Right Side · The Manner of the Lion-King's Lying Down

Further, in order to safeguard the bedding and to accord with worldly propriety, one spends the first portion of the night walking to and fro and sitting in quietude, purifying one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances; and when the mind has been purified, one goes outside the dwelling-place and washes both feet, and having washed the feet, one returns into the dwelling-place and lies down to sleep in accordance with the Dharma — so that the lying down may nourish and increase the great elements; and having gained this increase, the body is benefited and increased, becomes more possessed of strength, and becomes more capable of falling in with the wholesome, applied exertion that is unbroken and constantly attentive.

Question: For what reason does one lie down on the right side? Answer: Because it resembles the manner of the lion-king's lying down. Question: In what respect does it resemble it? Answer: Just as the lion-king, among all the beasts, is bold, firm, and fierce, and foremost of all; so too the monk, in constantly cultivating the yoga of wakefulness, rouses diligent energy and is bold, firm, and fierce, and foremost of all — for this reason it resembles the manner of the lion-king's lying down, and is unlike the lying down of ghosts, the lying down of the gods, or the lying down of those who indulge in sense-desires (for those are all slothful and lax, of low energy and feeble strength). Moreover, the principle rightly ought to be so: just as the lion-king lies down on its right side, so when one lies down in this manner "the body is without agitation and disorder, mindfulness is without lapse and loss, sleep is not overly heavy, and one does not see bad dreams"; whereas one who lies down otherwise than this is the opposite of this, and should be known to possess every one of these faults. This is why it is said, "lying down on the right side, with the feet stacked one upon the other."

The Four Skillful Ways of Lying Down (the Perception of Light · Right Mindfulness · Right Knowing · the Perception of Rising)

What is called "abiding in the perception of light and lying down skillfully"? It is this: with skill and earnest care as to the perception of light — taking it up well, thinking it well, understanding it well, and penetrating it well — one ponders the mind accompanied by the light of the gods, and lies down skillfully; and by this cause, even though one lies down, the mind is not dulled and darkened. This is called abiding in the perception of light and lying down skillfully.

What is called "right mindfulness and lying down skillfully"? It is this: if there are factors that one has already heard, already reflected on, and already cultivated to maturity, whose intrinsic nature is wholesome and which are able to draw on benefit and welfare, then by right mindfulness they keep operating, even as far as into sleep and dreams; by right mindfulness one keeps remembering them even within sleep and dreams, making the marks of those factors appear clearly and vividly present, so that toward those factors the mind mostly follows and contemplates; and by right mindfulness, following upon what one is mindful of, one sleeps either with a wholesome mind or with an indeterminate mind. This is called right mindfulness and lying down skillfully.

What is called "right knowing and lying down skillfully"? It is this: when, by right mindfulness, one lies down to sleep, if some one affliction becomes present and defiles and vexes the mind, then when this affliction arises one is able to rightly become aware of it, to keep from firmly clinging to it, and swiftly to cast it off, and having thoroughly penetrated it, one makes the mind turn back. This is called right knowing and lying down skillfully.

What is called "the perception of rising and lying down skillfully"? It is this: with energy one spurs on the mind and only then lies down to sleep; while lying down to sleep, from time to time one awakens, like a deer in the wild 〔alert and wary〕, and one should not in every respect let the mind run loose, falling in with, heading toward, and drawing near to sinking into sleep. And one forms this thought: "I should now accomplish, in full and complete measure, the whole of the yoga of wakefulness that the Buddhas have permitted; and in order to accomplish it, I should abide in the most extremely thick and intense aspiration and delight of applied exertion." And one forms this thought: "In order now to cultivate the yoga of wakefulness, I should rightly rouse and abide in diligent energy; and in order to cultivate the various wholesome factors, I should rightly stir up diligence, be free of all sloth, and be fully endowed with rousing; and as this portion of the night passes into the bright dawn, I should redouble the rousing of diligent energy in which I abide, and be fully endowed with rousing." Herein it should be known: by the first perception of rising, there is no heavy sleep, and at the time one ought to rise one is able to rise swiftly and never awakens only after the time has passed; by the second perception of rising, one is able, in the lion-king's lying down that the Buddhas together have permitted, to lie down in accordance with the Dharma, with neither excess nor deficiency; by the third perception of rising, one makes the wholesome aspiration and delight always without slackening or lapse, so that even if there is a lapse of mindfulness, one is able, again and again in succession, to take it up and train, so that there be no breaking-off. This is called the perception of rising and lying down skillfully.

Swiftly Awakening in the Last Watch · The Condensed Meaning (the Four Right Things to Be Done)

What is called "at the last-watch portion of the night, awakening swiftly, walking to and fro and sitting in quietude, purifying one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances"? The "last portion of the night" is, of the four divisions of the night, the division after the last one has passed. Having thus abided in the perception of light, in right mindfulness, in right knowing, and in the perception of rising, and lain down skillfully, he sleeps duly in the middle portion of the night (the division after one of the four divisions of the night has passed), so that at the time of rising the body is capable and rises in due time, and is not overpowered by the enwrapping of the highest grade of dullness-and-drowsiness (which, at the time about to rise, makes one dull, feeble, slothful, and lax); and because he is without this dullness, feebleness, sloth, and laxity, a single momentary act of attention suffices, without any difficulty, and he is able to rise swiftly. As for purifying the mind of the various hindering factors, it should be understood as before. Thus has been extensively expounded "constantly and diligently cultivating the yoga of wakefulness through the first and last watches of the night."

And how is the condensed meaning of this to be known? It is this: the person who constantly and diligently cultivates the yoga of wakefulness has, in brief, four kinds of right things to be done. Which four? First, as long as one is awake 〔while awake〕, always not forsaking the wholesome factors one is cultivating, and, within the cultivation of wholesome factors that is unbroken and constantly attentive, being boldly energetic; second, lying down at the proper time and not at an improper time; third, sleeping with a mind that is undefiled, not with a defiled mind; fourth, awakening at the proper time, rising not past the time. These are called the four right things to be done.

In accordance with these four right things to be done, the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, proclaim to the assembly of śrāvakas the cultivation of the yoga of wakefulness. How is it proclaimed? "During the daytime portion, walking to and fro and sitting in quietude, one purifies one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances; during the first-watch portion of the night, walking to and fro and sitting in quietude, one purifies one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances" — by this is proclaimed the first right thing to be done (as long as one is awake, always not forsaking the wholesome factors, being boldly energetic); "going outside the dwelling-place and washing the feet, then returning into the dwelling-place, lying down on the right side, with the feet stacked one upon the other" — by this is proclaimed the second right thing to be done (lying down at the proper time and not at an improper time); "abiding in the perception of light, in right mindfulness, in right knowing, and in the perception of rising, and lying down skillfully" — by this is proclaimed the third right thing to be done (sleeping with an undefiled mind); "at the last-watch portion of the night, awakening swiftly, walking to and fro and sitting in quietude, purifying one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances" — by this is proclaimed the fourth right thing to be done (awakening at the proper time, rising not past the time).

What is here stated — "abiding in the perception of light, in right mindfulness, in right knowing, and in the perception of rising, and lying down skillfully" — reveals that it is by two conditions that one "sleeps with an undefiled mind," namely by right mindfulness and by right knowing; and again that it is by two conditions that one "awakens at the proper time, rising not past the time," namely by abiding in the perception of light and by the perception of rising. How is this? By right mindfulness, one gathers oneself in upon a wholesome object and lies down; by right knowing, if upon the wholesome object the mind falls away and the various afflictions arise, one is then able swiftly and rightly to understand it — this is called, by two conditions, sleeping with an undefiled mind. By abiding in the perception of light and the perception of rising, there is no heavy sleep and the enwrapping of sleep cannot pursue one from afar — this is called, by two conditions, awakening at the proper time, rising not past the time. Thus proclaimed is the condensed meaning of the yoga of wakefulness; and this, together with the extensive expounding and explanation of the meaning stated before, is altogether named "constantly and diligently cultivating the yoga of wakefulness through the first and last watches of the night."

The Eighth Doorway · Dwelling with Right Knowing

What is called dwelling with right knowing? It is like this: suppose there is a certain one who — whether going or returning — dwells with right knowing; whether glancing or gazing, dwells with right knowing; whether bending or stretching, dwells with right knowing; in carrying the outer robe together with the [under-]robes and the alms-bowl, dwells with right knowing; whether eating, drinking, chewing, or tasting, dwells with right knowing; whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, dwells with right knowing; at the time of wakefulness, dwells with right knowing; whether speaking or keeping silent, dwells with right knowing; and at the time of relieving fatigue-sleep, dwells with right knowing.

Whether Going · Whether Returning

As for "whether going or returning, dwelling with right knowing" — what is going? What is returning? And how does one dwell with right knowing in going and returning? What is called "going" is this: going to a village, going among villages; going to households, going among households; going to a religious ground, going among religious grounds. What is called "returning" is this: returning from a village, returning among villages; returning from households, returning among households; returning from a religious ground, returning among religious grounds. What is called "dwelling with right knowing in going and returning" is this: as to one's own going, rightly knowing "I am going"; and as to one's own returning, rightly knowing "I am returning"; being able rightly to understand what one ought to go to and what one ought not to go to, and being able rightly to understand what one ought to return to and what one ought not to return to; being able rightly to understand the time one ought to go and the time not to go, and being able rightly to understand the time one ought to return and the time not to return; being able rightly to understand, in this way and that, what one ought and ought not to go to, and being able rightly to understand, in this way and that, what one ought and ought not to return to — this is called right knowing. Because he has accomplished this right knowing, he knowingly goes and knowingly returns; he goes to what ought to be gone to, not to what ought not to be gone to, and returns to what ought to be returned to, not to what ought not to be returned to; he goes and returns at the proper time, and not at an improper time; and in keeping with the rules of movement and stillness, the etiquette, and the deportment proper to his kind and station, whatever he ought to go to and ought to return to, thus he goes and thus he returns. This is called, whether going or returning, dwelling with right knowing.

Whether Glancing · Whether Gazing

As for "whether glancing or gazing, dwelling with right knowing" — what is glancing? What is gazing? How does one dwell with right knowing while glancing and gazing? what is called "glancing" is this: in the matters listed above, whether going or returning, with no prior awareness, no prior effort, and no prior wish, in the midst of them the eye sees the manifold forms 〔an inadvertent glimpse〕 — this is called glancing. What is called "gazing" is this: in the matters listed above, whether going or returning, with awareness beforehand, effort beforehand, and wish beforehand, the eye sees the manifold forms 〔a deliberate looking〕 — namely, kings, or those of the rank of kings, or their officials, or the common people, or brahmins, or householders, or wealthy elders and caravan-leaders; or other external things, houses, dwellings, halls, corridors, and shrines; or other manifold and various fine things of the world; contemplating and seeing such things, this is called gazing. If, as to the particular marks of this glancing and gazing, one is able rightly to understand them, and is able rightly to understand what one ought to glance at and what one ought to gaze at, and the time one ought to glance and the time one ought to gaze, and as one ought to glance and as one ought to gaze — this is called right knowing. Because he has accomplished this right knowing, he knowingly glances and knowingly gazes; he glances at what ought to be glanced at and gazes at what ought to be gazed at; at the proper times for glancing and gazing, he rightly glances and gazes; and in the manner in which he ought to glance and gaze, he thus glances and thus gazes. This is called, whether glancing or gazing, dwelling with right knowing.

Whether Bending · Whether Stretching

As for "whether bending or stretching, dwelling with right knowing" — what is bending? What is stretching? How does one dwell with right knowing while bending and stretching? it is this: as he thus glances and gazes, with going beforehand or returning beforehand, he either bends or stretches a foot, or bends or stretches an arm, or bends or stretches a hand, or bends or stretches some one limb or joint — this is called bending and stretching. If, as to the particular marks of bending and stretching, one is able rightly to understand them, and as to what is bent and stretched, the time of bending and stretching, and bending thus and stretching thus, one is able rightly to understand them — this is called right knowing. Because he has accomplished this right knowing, in bending and stretching he knowingly bends and knowingly stretches; he rightly bends and stretches what ought to be bent and stretched; at the proper times for bending and stretching, he rightly bends and stretches; and in the manner in which he ought to bend and stretch, he thus bends and thus stretches. This is called, whether bending or stretching, dwelling with right knowing.

Carrying the Outer Robe together with the Robes and the Alms-Bowl

As for "carrying the outer robe together with the [under-]robes and the alms-bowl, dwelling with right knowing" — what is carrying the outer robe? What is carrying the other robes? What is carrying the alms-bowl? How does one dwell with right knowing while carrying the outer robe, the other robes, and the alms-bowl? the "outer robe" means the large robe, whether of sixty strips, or of nine strips and the like, or stitched in two layers — this is named the outer robe; wearing it and putting it to use, being able rightly to look after it, is called carrying. If there is a middle robe, or a lower robe, or one carried as a robe, or a spare robe, or one that ought to be made allowable, or one already made allowable — all such are called robes; wearing them and putting them to use, being able rightly to look after them, is called carrying. Whatever begging-bowl fit to be received and kept, whether of iron or of clay, is called the alms-bowl; presently putting it to use, being able rightly to look after it, is called carrying. If, as to the particular marks of this outer robe, robes, and alms-bowl, one is able rightly to understand them, and is able rightly to understand what ought to be carried, and whether it is allowable or not allowable, and is able rightly to understand that at this time what has been carried ought to be carried, and is able rightly to understand that it ought to be carried in such a way — this is called right knowing. Because he has accomplished this right knowing, he knowingly carries the outer robe, the other robes, and the alms-bowl that ought to be carried; he carries what ought to be carried, and carries it rightly at the proper time; and in the manner in which it ought to be carried, he thus carries it. This is called, carrying the outer robe together with the [under-]robes and the alms-bowl, dwelling with right knowing.

Whether Eating · Drinking · Chewing · Tasting

As for "whether eating, drinking, chewing, or tasting, dwelling with right knowing" — what is eating? What is drinking? What is chewing? What is tasting? How does one dwell with right knowing while eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting? all food and drink that are put to use are altogether named food; and this is again of two kinds: first, chewing; second, tasting. What is chewing? It is chewing cakes, parched flour, or rice, or gruel, or broth, or thick soup, or anything else prepared and transformed that may be chewed and eaten, and that is able to sustain life; all such kinds are named chewing, and are also named food. What is tasting? It is tasting milk, curds, fresh butter, clarified butter, oil, honey, sugar, fish, meat, vinegar 〔sour condiment〕, or pickled fish 〔salt-cured fish〕, or fresh fruits, or the various kinds of things to be masticated; all such are altogether named tasting, and are also named food. What is drinking? It is sugar-water, or rock-sugar water, or rice-gruel drink, or churned-curd drink, or vinegar as drink, or beaten-curd drink, and so on down to water; these are altogether named drinking. If, as to the particular marks of this eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting, one is able rightly to understand them, and is able rightly to understand all that is eaten, drunk, chewed, and tasted, and is able rightly to understand that at that time one ought to eat, drink, chew, and taste, and is able rightly to understand that in such a way one ought to eat, and so on down to ought to taste — this is called right knowing. Because he has accomplished this right knowing, with respect to his own eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting, he knowingly eats, knowingly drinks, knowingly chews, and knowingly tastes; what ought to be eaten, drunk, chewed, and tasted, he rightly eats, rightly drinks, rightly chews, and rightly tastes; at the proper times for eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting, he eats, drinks, chews, and tastes at the proper time; and in the manner in which he ought to eat, and so on down to taste, he thus eats, and so on down to thus tastes. This is called, whether eating, drinking, chewing, or tasting, dwelling with right knowing.

Whether Walking · Standing · Sitting · Lying · Wakefulness · Speaking · Silence · Relieving Fatigue-Sleep

As for "whether walking or standing, and so on at length down to relieving fatigue-sleep, dwelling with right knowing" — what is walking? What is standing? What is sitting? What is lying? What is wakefulness? What is speaking? What is silence? What is relieving fatigue-sleep? And how does one dwell with right knowing in walking, standing, sitting, lying, wakefulness, speaking, silence, and relieving fatigue-sleep?

"Walking" — it is going to and fro upon the walking-place, or going to where fellow-practitioners in the Dharma are, or traveling along the road; such kinds are named walking. "Standing" — it is standing upon the walking-place, and standing before fellow-practitioners in the Dharma — the ācārya 〔the teacher of conduct-rules〕, the upādhyāya 〔the preceptor〕, and the elders and those equal to elders; such kinds are named standing. "Sitting" — it is, whether on a large bed, a small rope-cot, a seat of grass and leaves, various spreads, or a sitting-cloth 〔the sitting-mat〕, sitting cross-legged, holding the body erect and the aspiration upright, and settling into the mindfulness that turns the back; such kinds are named sitting. "Lying" — it is going outside the dwelling-place and washing both feet, then returning into the dwelling-place, and, whether on a large bed, a small rope-cot, a seat of grass and leaves, or in a forest-hermitage, or beneath a tree, or in an empty and quiet room, lying down on the right side with the feet stacked one upon the other; such kinds are named lying. "Wakefulness" — it is, during the daytime portion, walking to and fro and sitting in quietude, purifying one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances, and, during the first-watch and last-watch portions of the night, walking to and fro and sitting in quietude, purifying one's mind of the factors that go along with the hindrances; this is named wakefulness. "Speaking" — it is, constantly and diligently cultivating this wakefulness, bringing to completion the right receiving and right practicing of the Dharma not yet received (the discourses in prose, the verse-summaries, the prophetic expositions, and so on at length as before), and, as to the Dharma already received, becoming well-versed in it in speech (reading and reciting it aloud in a great voice, or extensively expounding and revealing it to others), and, from time to time, with wise fellow-practitioners of the holy life, or with other worthy and good laypeople, engaging in talk and discussion and mutual consolation (in order to exhort and encourage, and to seek the necessaries of life); such kinds are named speaking. "Silence" — it is, having become well-versed in speech in accordance with what was previously heard and previously practiced, and having brought the various teachings to completion, dwelling alone in an empty and quiet place, pondering their meaning, and weighing and examining them; or, in a quiet room, making the mind abide inwardly, abide evenly, abide settled, abide close, and be tamed, calmed, most extremely calmed, single-pointed, and evenly held 〔the nine ways of settling the mind〕; or, in insight 〔vipaśyanā, contemplation〕, cultivating the practice of yoga; such kinds are named silence. "Relieving fatigue-sleep" — it is, in the extremely hot and blazing time of the hot season, being either oppressed by the heat or wearied by toil and so growing tired, dully drowsing at an improper time and delighting in and clinging to sleep; this is named fatigue-sleep. If, as to the particular marks of walking and so on down to relieving fatigue-sleep, one is able rightly to understand them; if one rightly understands what walking and so on down to relieving fatigue-sleep ought to be done; if one rightly understands the proper time for walking and so on down to relieving fatigue-sleep; and if one rightly understands the manner in which walking and so on down to relieving fatigue-sleep ought to be done — this is called right knowing. Because he has accomplished this right knowing, in his own walking and so on down to relieving fatigue-sleep he walks with right knowing and so on down to relieves fatigue-sleep with right knowing; whatever walking and so on down to relieving fatigue-sleep ought to be done, he does that walking and so on down to that relieving of fatigue-sleep; at the proper time for walking and so on down to relieving fatigue-sleep, he then walks and so on down to relieves fatigue-sleep; and in the manner in which he ought to walk and so on down to relieve fatigue-sleep, he thus walks and so on down to thus relieves fatigue-sleep. This is called, in walking, standing, sitting, lying, wakefulness, speaking, silence, and relieving fatigue-sleep, dwelling with right knowing.

The Sequence of Dwelling with Right Knowing (Going to the Donor's House · What Ought and Ought Not to Be Observed · Deportment)

Furthermore, this dwelling with right knowing — what is its sequence? And to reveal what matter is it set forth? It is like this: suppose there is a certain one who, relying on and dwelling in a village, settlement, or hamlet of such a kind, forms this thought: "I should now go to such a village, settlement, or hamlet to make the rounds and beg for alms; and having thus begged, I should go out and return to my own place."

Again, among these villages and the like, there are certain households I ought not to go to. Which ones? They are the household of a public crier, or a wine-selling household, or a courtesan's household, or a royal household, or the household of a caṇḍāla or a butcher; or a household that is wholly given to slander and cannot be turned around. There are certain households I ought to go to — namely, the household of a great kṣatriya clan, or of a great brahmin clan, or of great householder clans, or an official's household, or a wealthy household, or an elder's household, or a caravan-leader's household. There are again households that, though I ought to go to them, I ought not to go to too early or too late; and if the donor's household has urgent business at the time, I ought not to go; and at a time of play and amusement, or when there is the business of construction and adornment, or when they are engaged in the world's foul and defiling affairs, or at a time of angry quarreling, I likewise ought not to go.

Again, just as one goes, so one ought to go: not going together with a violent and vicious elephant, not going together with violent throngs of carts, vicious horses, vicious oxen, or vicious dogs; not entering into noisy crowds, not treading on thorns and brambles, not climbing over walls, not crossing over pits and ditches, not falling down mountainsides, not sinking into deep water, not stepping in filth. One should go to the donor's house after the "simile of the moon," fully endowed with conscience and shame, keeping far from arrogance and pride, cleansing body and mind, not seeking gain and offerings, not hankering after respect; just as one rejoices in the mind when one obtains gain and offerings for oneself, so one rejoices in the mind at the gain and offerings obtained by others; not exalting oneself, not slighting others, bearing a mind of compassion. And one should uphold one's mind in this way in going to the donor's house: "How could there be a home-leaver who goes to another's place set on their giving — not that they should fail to give 〔and so on at length〕 — and who requires it to be swift rather than slow?" And one forms this thought: "As I now go for a while to the donor's house, I should know the measure of the offerings I receive; and I ought not, for the sake of gain and offerings, to practice fraud and deceit, display signs meant to confuse and mislead, or use gain to seek gain." Having obtained gain and offerings, without defilement and without craving, one puts them to use without gluttony, greed, infatuation, firm clinging, or besotted attachment.

Again, whether one has already gone or is in the course of going, when one sees the manifold forms, of these manifold forms one part ought to be observed and one part ought not to be observed. As to the manifold forms that ought not to be observed, one should draw in the eye and well guard the sense-faculties; as to the manifold forms that ought to be observed, one should abide well in mindfulness and rightly contemplate them. What class of form ought not to be observed? It is the various kinds of music, laughter, and merriment, or the singing, dancing, music, and the like made in other games and amusements; and again, the surpassing charm of women, young and in the bloom of years, of lovely and fine form; or other manifold forms one might see that are able to spoil the holy life, able to obstruct the holy life, and able to make the various kinds of evil, unwholesome thought-currents operate — such classes of manifold form ought not to be looked upon. What class of form is to be observed? It is all the bodies of those aged, worn, and decrepit, gasping for breath; the bodies of the bent-over, leaning on a staff and trembling; or the bodies of the diseased, sick, and gravely ill — feet swollen, hands swollen, belly swollen, face swollen, skin sallow and yellowed, ulcers, scabies, mange, and leprosy, pressed hard by every kind of suffering, the body worn out and slumped, the body swollen and festering, the sense-faculties dull and darkened; or those who have died young, dead now one day, two days, and so on up to seven days, devoured by crows and magpies, starving dogs, owls and vultures, foxes, wolves, and jackals — every kind of fierce and vicious bird and beast; or those whose life has ended and who have been placed out on a high bed, with a canopy spread above, before and behind which a great crowd wails or weeps, sprinkling ashes, earth, and dust upon body and hair, giving rise to sorrow, giving rise to suffering, giving rise to grief, giving rise to resentment, giving rise to distress, giving rise to vexation — such classes of manifold form I ought to observe; observing these manifold forms is able to accord with the holy life, able to sustain the holy life, and able to make the various wholesome thought-currents operate.

One ought not to enter the donor's house shaking the body, shaking the arms, shaking the head, leaping about, holding hands, hands on the hips, or with shoulders hunched up; one ought not to sit down at once upon a seat not permitted, and ought not to sit without carefully inspecting the seat; one ought not to let all the parts of the body run loose, ought not to prop up the feet, ought not to cross the feet, ought not to draw the feet in too narrowly, ought not to spread the feet too widely, but should sit with dignified composure. One ought not, when wearing the Dharma-robe, to leave the fastening open, nor to raise it up, nor to spread it out, nor to hitch it up 〔pull it aside〕; the Dharma-robes one wears should all be even and neat, neither high nor low, not like an elephant's trunk, and not worn like the seed-cluster in the fronds of a palmyra tree, nor like a dragon's head, nor like a lump of beans. One ought not to hold the bowl in anticipation of getting its food, ought not to hold the bowl over the food and drink, ought not to set the bowl in a defiled place, a place of pits and gullies, or a place at the edge of a cliff. And one should partake of food and drink in order: one ought not to cover the broth or soup with rice, nor cover the rice with broth or soup, ought not to receive the food and drink greedily, ought not to receive the food and drink with resentment, ought not to eat too coarsely, nor eat too finely, ought not to eat in rounded lumps, ought not to lick the hand or lick the bowl, ought not to eat while shaking the hand or shaking the foot, and ought not to bite off pieces as one eats.

Returning home to the dwelling-place from the donor's house, one walks to and fro during the day and night portions upon one's own separately-apportioned walking-place 〔the portion allotted to oneself〕, and does not walk to and fro heedlessly upon another's place, upon a place not entrusted 〔a place not permitted〕, upon a place not freely granted, or upon a place not given; one does not practice walking to and fro at a time when one is overpowered by bodily toil, by bodily weariness, or by restlessness of mind; but in order to cultivate the wholesome factors and in order to think well, drawing the sense-faculties inward and keeping the mind from straying outward, one practices walking to and fro, not too swift and hurried, not too agitated, and not one-sidedly bent solely on going and coming, but practicing walking to and fro with steps taken from time to time and pauses made from time to time. Having thus walked to and fro upon one's own place of residence 〔one's own courtyard, one's own room, one's own separately-apportioned place, the place the Saṅgha has apportioned〕, one then, whether on a large bed, a small rope-cot, a seat of grass and leaves, or a sitting-cloth, or in a forest-hermitage, beneath a tree, in a charnel-ground, or in an empty and quiet room, sits cross-legged, holds the body erect and the aspiration upright, and settles into the mindfulness that turns the back, and so practices sitting in quietude.

In the middle portion of the night one rests in accordance with the Dharma, and during the daytime portion and the first-watch portion of the night one ought not to cultivate the various wholesome factors too urgently; when thus sleeping, one should, as stated before, abide in the perception of light, right mindfulness, right knowing, and the perception of rising; and in the last-watch portion of the night one awakens swiftly.

Whether in discussion and debate, or in reading and reciting, one diligently cultivates the applied practice; or, when for the sake of cultivating cutting-off one dwells at leisure in silent quietude and ponders the Dharma, one ought to keep far from the treatises that accord with the world — ornate letters, ornate phrases, and ornately embellished wording, which are able to draw on the meaningless and are not able to bring about the realization of the higher knowledges, of perfect awakening, or of ultimate nirvāṇa 〔such miscellaneous writings〕. And as to the true Dharma that the Tathāgata has spoken — most extremely profound, resembling the profound, and joined to emptiness, according with the nature of conditions and with the various dependent originations — one earnestly and unbrokenly takes it up well and receives it well, making it firm, making it abide, making it without loss or ruin, in order to accomplish right conduct and not for the sake of gain, offerings, respect, or fame; and as to this Dharma, one becomes well-versed in it in speech, and observes it well with wisdom; toward noisy crowds one does not delight to draw near, does not delight in much activity, and does not delight in much talk, and from time to time abides in right mindfulness; with wise fellow-practitioners of the holy life one engages in talk and discussion and mutual consolation, delighting to raise inquiries, delighting to seek out the various wholesome things, with a mind free of contention and dispute, one's words measured, in accord with reason, upright, and calm, delighting to expound the true Dharma diligently for others. And one ought also to keep silent quietude: as to the evil and unwholesome thought-currents, not delighting to think them; as to the factors that are contrary to principle, not delighting to reflect on them; as to what one has oneself realized, being free of overweening pride; among the small and low kinds of distinguished realization, not giving rise to complacent contentment; among the higher realizations, being without shrinking back; being well able to keep far from the places that ought not to be thought upon, from time to time cultivating the yoga of tranquillity and insight, delighting to cut off and delighting to cultivate, cultivating unbrokenly and cultivating earnestly.

And in the extremely hot and blazing time of the hot season, being boldly diligent and rousing energy, and doing some one thing that ought to be done, on account of toil and weariness one gives rise to dull drowsing at an improper time; for this reason one should rest for a while, wishing to make the dull drowsiness be swiftly removed, and not, by letting a long time pass, to diminish the wholesome factors or obstruct the wholesome factors; and when resting, one either shuts the door, or has a bhikṣu keep watch at one's side, or, by the concealed and proper rule of the Vinaya, covers the body with a robe and rests for a brief while in a deeply secluded place, making all the fatigue-sleep be entirely removed.

This is called the prior-and-subsequent sequence of dwelling with right knowing — namely, in reliance on the time of acting and in reliance on the time of dwelling. And as to the wholesome factors before one has yet entered upon them, the excellent wisdom that operates together with the mind's raising of applied practice and with attention in accordance with principle is called right knowing; and it is this very right knowing that, at the time of acting and at the time of dwelling, accomplishes everything without any deficiency. This is called dwelling with right knowing.

The Condensed Meaning of Dwelling with Right Knowing (Five Acts in the Time of Acting · Five Acts in the Time of Dwelling · Four Acts)

Herein it should be known: "whether going, returning, glancing, gazing, bending, stretching, carrying the outer robe together with the [under-]robes and the alms-bowl, eating, drinking, chewing, or tasting, dwelling with right knowing" — by this is named dwelling with right knowing "in the time of duly acting among the villages and the like"; "whether walking, standing, sitting, lying, cultivating wakefulness, speaking, keeping silent, or relieving fatigue-sleep, dwelling with right knowing" — by this is named dwelling with right knowing "in the time of duly dwelling in one's dwelling-place." Thus has dwelling with right knowing been extensively analyzed.

And how is the condensed meaning of this to be known? It is this: in the time of acting there are five kinds of act, in the time of dwelling there are five kinds of act, and dwelling with right knowing in the time of acting and the time of dwelling has four kinds of act — this is called the condensed meaning of dwelling with right knowing.

What are the five acts in the time of acting? First, bodily act; second, ocular act; third, the act of all the limbs and joints; fourth, the act concerning robes and bowl; fifth, the act concerning food and drink. "Whether going or returning" reveals the bodily act in the time of acting; "whether glancing or gazing" reveals the ocular act in the time of acting; "whether bending or stretching" reveals the act of all the limbs and joints in the time of acting; "carrying the outer robe together with the [under-]robes and the alms-bowl" reveals the act concerning robes and bowl in the time of acting; "whether eating, drinking, chewing, or tasting" reveals the act concerning food and drink in the time of acting.

What are the five acts in the time of dwelling? First, bodily act; second, verbal act; third, mental act; fourth, day-act; fifth, night-act. "Whether walking, standing, or sitting" reveals the bodily act in the time of dwelling; "whether speaking" reveals the verbal act in the time of dwelling; "whether lying, keeping silent, or relieving fatigue-sleep" reveals the mental act in the time of dwelling; "whether cultivating wakefulness" reveals the day-act, night-act, bodily act, and verbal act in the time of dwelling; and again, "whether lying" reveals the night-act in the time of dwelling. It should be known that these are called the five acts in the time of dwelling.

What are the four acts of dwelling with right knowing in the time of acting and the time of dwelling? It is this: at the outset, in reliance on that act of acting and act of dwelling, one gives rise to such an act, and toward that act one keeps guard over right mindfulness and abides without heedlessness — it should be known that this act is subsumed under right mindfulness and subsumed under non-heedlessness 〔the first and second acts〕; if, as to this matter, this place, and this time, in the measure, in accordance with principle, and according to its kind, there is something that ought to be done, then as to this matter, this place, and this time, in the measure, in accordance with principle, and according to its kind, one does it with right knowing 〔the third act〕; and because he thus acts with right knowing, in the present life he is without offense, without transgression, without wrongdoing, without alteration, and without regret, and in the world to come he is likewise without offense, and when the body breaks up and he dies he does not fall into the evil destinies, is not born into any of the hells, and, in order to obtain what has not yet been obtained, amasses and cultivates the provisions 〔the fourth act〕. This is called the condensed meaning of dwelling with right knowing. It has been extensively analyzed before; this condensed meaning now, all together, is named dwelling with right knowing.

Teaching arc: After guarding the faculties and moderating food, these two gates push "practice" into the two places that look least like practice — sleep and everyday deportment. The yoga of wakefulness says: even sleeping is practice — do not crave slumber through day and night, and purify away the five hindrances one by one; dwelling with right knowing says: going and returning, glancing and gazing, bending and stretching, wearing the robes, taking food, walking, standing, sitting, lying, speaking, keeping silent — down to taking a nap — there is not one of them that is not the training-ground of "right knowing." The point of the eye is the "back-turned mindfulness" of seated meditation — the mind turning its back on birth-and-death and facing toward nirvāṇa — and that "lion-king" of sleep — lying on the right side, the body without agitation, the mindfulness without lapse.

Even Sleeping Is Homework: A Day-and-Night Timetable of Practice

The yoga of wakefulness, taken literally, is "the corresponding practice of staying awake," but it is in fact a day-and-night timetable of practice: by day, walking meditation and seated meditation; in the first watch of the night, walking meditation and seated meditation; in the middle watch, lying on the right side; in the last watch, waking swiftly — from morning through the night, "without interval, in continuous succession" purifying and cultivating the mind. "Wakefulness" is not not-sleeping; it is "not craving slumber, lying down in season, sleeping with a mind free of defilement, and rising in season." At its close the treatise gathers this into "four kinds of right course of action": while awake, not forsaking the wholesome and being vigorously energetic; lying down in season and not out of season; sleeping with a mind free of defilement; and waking in season, rising not past the time. Practice is not only on the cushion — even how one sleeps this one night, and at what hour one rises, is counted.

What walking meditation and seated meditation are set to counteract is the "five hindrances" — sensual desire, ill will, sloth-and-torpor, restlessness-and-remorse, and doubt. The treatise divides this ingeniously: walking meditation chiefly counteracts sloth-and-torpor (while walking, one "abides in the perception of light," recollects the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, discipline, generosity, and the gods, and by countless gates reproaches sloth-and-torpor — down to washing the face with cold water and gazing at the stars and moon); seated meditation chiefly counteracts the remaining four hindrances — removing sensual desire by the "contemplation of the impure" (the nine aspects: the bluish-discolored, the festering-and-rotting, down to the chained skeleton), removing ill will by "the mind conjoined with loving-kindness" pervading measureless worlds, removing restlessness by "settling the mind within and accomplishing single-directedness," and removing doubt by "attention in accord with principle."

This section on "removing doubt" is the deepest. The treatise says: do not go dwelling on "did I exist in the past or not? whence do I come in the present? whither do I go after death?" — that is unprincipled conceptual proliferation; rather, attend in accord with principle to past, future, and present, "seeing only that there are phenomena, seeing only that there are events; knowing the conditioned as conditioned, the unconditioned as unconditioned" — right within all phenomena, impermanent, suffering, empty, without self, knowing them as impermanent, suffering, empty, without self. The ancient masters split this "was I in some wise in the past" into two questions: one asks "what phenomenon was there in the past" (the substance of the phenomenon), the other asks "whence did this phenomenon come" (the cause of the phenomenon) 〔Dunlun〕. The severing of the doubt-hindrance is severed upon this one contemplation of "seeing only that there are phenomena (without self)" — and this is already the wisdom of no-self that tends toward the path of seeing.

Mindfulness Must "Turn Its Back on Birth-and-Death": That One "Back-Turned Mindfulness" of Seated Meditation

The posture of seated meditation, the treatise says, is "sitting cross-legged, holding the body erect and the aspiration upright, abiding in back-turned mindfulness." The first three are easy to understand; the two words "back-turned mindfulness" are the most crucial. The ancient masters point this out superbly: "abiding in back-turned mindfulness — the mind attaining nirvāṇa, mindfulness seeking to transcend the world, turning its back on birth-and-death: therefore it is called back-turned mindfulness"; and they cite the "abiding in face-to-face mindfulness" of the Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā to bring out the sense — "this face-to-face mindfulness is precisely turning the back on birth-and-death and being mindful, delighting in nirvāṇa" 〔Dunlun; Kuiji〕. So the one thought guarded in sitting is not a vague pressing-down of the mind, but a thought that has a direction: back turned toward birth-and-death, face toward nirvāṇa. That the sitting-posture is erect and upright is so as not to be bound by sloth-and-torpor, not to be scattered by outer objects — the body upright is for the sake of the mindfulness being upright.

Even the Sleeping Posture Has Its Rule: That "Lion-King" Lying on the Right Side

Where it is most finely detailed is that the treatise teaches even "how to lie down." Why lie "on the right side"? The treatise answers: because it resembles "the manner in which the lion-king lies down". The lion-king among the hundred beasts is brave, fierce, firm, and strong, foremost of all; the monk who cultivates the yoga of wakefulness, rousing diligent energy, brave and fierce and firm and strong, is likewise foremost — hence the manner of lying is alike — unlike the slothful and slack manner of "a ghost lying face-down, a god lying face-up, one given to lusts lying on the left side" (so the ancient masters contrast 〔Dunlun〕). Lying on the right side like a lion, "the body is without agitation, the mindfulness without lapse, the sleep not overly heavy, and one sees no evil dreams"; the reverse possesses every fault.

When lying down one must still cultivate "four skillful means": abiding in the perception of light (bringing to mind the light of the gods, so that, though lying down, the mind is not dark and dull), right mindfulness (so that wholesome phenomena carry on continuously even in sleep and dream), right knowing (so that the moment an affliction arises in sleep one is aware and swiftly relinquishes it), and the perception of rising set in mind (keeping the thought "when it is time to rise, rise"). The treatise gathers this with a comparison: one should be "like a deer in the wild" — the wild deer, fearing harm from men, sleeps yet sleeps alertly; the practitioner too, when lying down, should be thus, not indulging the mind into sinking into a dark stupor 〔Dunlun〕. Even one bout of sleep the treatise would have you sleep with mindfulness, with awareness, with expectancy.

Every Deportment Is a Training-Ground: Dwelling with Right Knowing

The eighth gate, "dwelling with right knowing," extends practice from the cushion and the sleeping-mat to the whole of daily life. The treatise lists in one breath nine kinds of deportment: whether going or returning, whether looking or gazing, whether bending or stretching, bearing the outer robe (saṅghāṭī) and the robe and bowl, whether eating or drinking or chewing or tasting, whether walking or standing or sitting or lying, in the time of being awake, whether speaking or keeping silent, and when dispelling fatigue in sleep — for each and every one, one must "dwell with right knowing".

What is "right knowing"? The treatise gives one unified measure: for each matter one is able rightly to know well its "own character, what befits, the fitting time, and as befits". Take "going and returning," for instance: to know of oneself that I go and I return, to know whether one should or should not go, should or should not return, when to go and when to return, and with what deportment to go and return; and even "looking" is divided into two kinds — an inadvertent glance is called "looking" (the ancient masters call it the abrupt eye-consciousness), an intentional beholding is called "gazing" (the equally-flowing two consciousnesses) 〔Dunlun〕.

The treatise then brings this right knowing down to the highly concrete sequence of the alms-round: which households one should not approach (the butcher's, the tavern, the harlot's, the king's, the household of a despised clan, and any household that has thoroughly slandered) and which one may; "one should approach the donors' households after the likeness of the moon" — as the clear moon enters a person's house, causing the donor to gain the benefit of coolness, oneself being furnished with shame and abashment and not seeking gain and honor. The visible forms one sees along the road into the village are likewise divided into "what should be looked at" and "what should not be looked at": music and dancing and singing, and the beauty of a woman's form, should not be looked at (they can ruin the holy life); whereas the aged, the diseased, a corpse being devoured by birds and beasts, and the wailing of a house in mourning — this class "I should observe" — for observing these accords with the holy life and can make wholesome examination operative. Even the robes worn must not hang down like an elephant's trunk nor tilt up like a dragon's head (on which the ancient masters, in five houses, each give their gloss 〔Dunlun〕), and in receiving food one must not cover the broth with rice, nor gluttonously lick the bowl. That a practitioner is a practitioner turns out to lie right within this "right knowing" of each single movement.

At its close the treatise gathers the nine deportments into "the five undertakings in walking, the five undertakings in dwelling, and the four undertakings across walking-and-dwelling": the five in walking are the undertakings of body, eye, limbs, robe-and-bowl, and food-and-drink; the five in dwelling are the undertakings of body, speech, mind, day, and night; and the "four undertakings" running through them all are: guarding by right mindfulness, non-heedlessness, acting in accord with principle, and thereby being without fault in this life and the next, and, for the sake of gaining the not-yet-gained, amassing the equipment. Worth noting is the gate of "silence": when dwelling alone, one "settles the mind within — even settling, abiding, close settling, taming, quieting, thoroughly quieting, single-directedness, and holding-in-equipoise" (this is precisely the nine mental abidings of what follows), and one "cultivates the yoga-practice in insight" — dwelling with right knowing, at its utmost, is already the preliminary to serenity and insight.

Carrying Forward

These two gates establish the equipment of "walking, standing, sitting, and lying are all practice": the yoga of wakefulness inherits knowing-the-measure-in-food and thereby regulates sleep, and by counteracting the five hindrances inherits the restraint of the faculties and thereby purifies the mind; the "back-turned mindfulness" of seated meditation is mindfulness facing toward nirvāṇa, and the "seeing only that there are phenomena" of removing doubt has already disclosed the wisdom of no-self; while dwelling with right knowing pushes the guarding from within sitting out to every deportment, and its "silence" gate's nine mental abidings and insight are precisely the preliminaries to the concentration of the Stage of Meditative Equipoise and the insight of the world-transcending path. Guarding the faculties, moderating food, regulating sleep, and right knowing now being complete, the gates that follow — the character of a good friend, the true Dharma of hearing and reflection, freedom from obstruction, the cultivation of generosity, and the ornaments of the renunciant (13-01-06) — go on to furnish the rest of the equipment, and the practice of separation-from-desire along the two paths is thereupon complete.