瑜伽師地論 聲聞地 · 第三瑜伽處 · 止觀自性 · 九種心住

The establishing done, this leaf takes up the cultivation of meditation in earnest. The point of the eye: the object-image that śrāvaka tranquillity-and-insight rests upon is judged by the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra to be nothing but the appearance of consciousness — so on this leaf the doctrinal eye is heavy (in contrast to the establishing passage, whose eye is light).

In one line: One-pointedness of mind (repeatedly recollecting an object of the same class · flowing on · consorting with a blameless ease) opens into the two divisions of tranquillity and insight — the tranquillity (śamatha) division has the nine mental abidings (inner abiding → even abiding → settled abiding → close abiding → tamed → stilled → utterly stilled → single-pointed absorption → holding-in-equipoise, from strain to spontaneity) · the six forces · the four attentions; the insight (vipaśyanā) division has the four insights (correctly discerning the extent-of-being · utterly discerning the way-of-being · thorough investigation · thorough examination) · the three gateways · the object-differentiated-by-six-matters (meaning · thing · mark · class · time · principle, together with the three cognitions), applied all through the five stilling contemplations (the impure · loving-kindness · dependent origination · the differentiation of elements · mindfulness of breathing); it closes with the joined operation of tranquillity and insight.

Three Points of the Eye

1. The nine abidings = the full itinerary of tranquillity (from strain to spontaneity) · matched with the six forces · the four attentions run through both tranquillity and insight: the nine abidings form one line — inner abiding (hauling the mind in) → even abiding (grinding it fine) → settled abiding (losing mindfulness, gathering it back) → close abiding (repeatedly abiding within) → tamed (taking the five marks as fault) → stilled (stilling evil thought and secondary afflictions) → utterly stilled (severing, expelling, vomiting out whatever momentarily rises) → single-pointed absorption (unbroken continuity) → holding-in-equipoise (spontaneous, effortless) 〔T30 0450c18〕. The six forces accomplish them (hearing and reflection → inner and even abiding · recollection → settled and close abiding · full awareness → tamed and stilled · vigor → utterly stilled and single-pointed absorption · repeated practice → holding-in-equipoise 〔Dunlun T42 0463b · Kuiji T43 0118c〕); the four attentions run the effort from tight to loose (striving-operation → interrupted-operation → uninterrupted-operation → effortless-operation), and pertain to both the tranquillity and insight divisions 〔Dunlun T42 0463b〕. Of the nine abidings the ancients gloss only a few names — even abiding / all-round abiding / clarifying / utterly stilled — the rest following the treatise's own statement; Kuiji cautions that these nine abidings "are not necessarily the mind within meditative equipoise, but abiding upon a single object is just this" 〔T43 0118c〕.

2. The four insights · the six matters · the three cognitions (the format of insight) + the five stilling contemplations, five remedies: insight rests upon tranquillity and gives rise to four wisdom-practices (discerning the extent-of-being / the way-of-being · investigating and examining); the three gateways (following-the-mark-only → following-investigation → following-examination) · the six matters (meaning · thing · mark · class · time · principle — principle contains the four principles of reliance, function, proof, and the nature of things, and under proof the three means: authoritative teaching, inference, direct realization); the six matters are established upon the three cognitions (discerning meaning → the cognition of word-meaning · thing and particular-mark → the cognition of the bounds of the thing · common-mark, class, time, principle → the cognition of things-as-they-are; the treatise says so itself 〔T30 0452a〕). The six matters applied through the five stilling contemplations = five remedies: the impure remedies desire (nine marks of decay: bruised-blue → festering → rotted-and-bloated → devoured → the discolored-red → scattered → bone → chain → bone-chain 〔T30 0451c〕) · loving-kindness remedies hatred (friend, foe, and neutral · a mind of evenness · foe and friend are not fixed) · dependent origination remedies delusion (the twelve members · two causes 〔the drawing-in / the giving-rise〕, two fruits 〔the self-body / the enjoyed-realm〕) · the differentiation of elements remedies conceit (the six elements, "body" but a designation) · mindfulness of breathing remedies discursive thought (in-breath and out-breath, long, short, pervading the whole body · impermanent).

3. ★The object-image is nothing but consciousness (doctrinal eye · heavy · Saṃdhinirmocana, Chapter on the Yoga of Analysis): the object-image within meditation that insight rests upon is judged by the sūtra — "I say that the object of consciousness is nothing but the appearance of consciousness" + the mirror simile "as, in dependence on a well-burnished, clean mirror-face, with the substance as condition one sees again that very substance" 〔Saṃdhinirmocana T16 0698b〕; and one-pointedness of mind is just "penetrating that the image ranged over in meditative equipoise is nothing but consciousness (the extent-of-being layer) → and further reflecting on the way-of-being (the way-of-being layer)" 〔T16 0698b22〕. The object-image that śrāvaka tranquillity-and-insight rests upon is judged by the sūtra itself to be nothing but the appearance of consciousness — the in-scripture pivot on which śrāvaka tranquillity-and-insight communicates with the Consciousness-Only meaning (per the Saṃdhinirmocana scriptural text · spoken by the Buddha · Xuanzang's translation · not a modern reading).

Appended: the joined operation of tranquillity and insight (resting on tranquillity → insight is purified · resting on insight → tranquillity grows and expands 〔T30 0455b〕); the object of skill and the object that purifies the afflictions likewise run the six matters, and the treatise says plainly "I shall speak of that in its own place," pointing forward (to the Ascertainment / the later section); the nine mental abidings are the source of the "nine mental abidings" carried forward by the later Maitreya-Asaṅga treatises (the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra T31n1604 · the Mahāyānasaṃgraha lineage) (carrying forward · stable citation). Two states of the ancients: Dunlun's Notes fascicle 7, latter part 〔from T42 0462c28 · glossing in sequence the six forces / four attentions / three cognitions / the impure / dependent origination / elements / breathing · citing Tai / Bei / the Tripiṭaka-master〕; Kuiji's Concise Compendium fascicle 8 · treatise fascicle 30 〔from T43 0118b04 · the nine abidings pertaining to both equipoise and the diffuse / the six forces / the three natures of the nature-of-things principle / the impure〕; Jinaputra has no line-by-line dedicated gloss 〔T30 0884a24, one line only〕. For loving-kindness the ancients are brief (Dunlun: "clear from the text" 0464b01 · Kuiji fascicle 30: absent). For the doctrinal exposition, see the Exposition.

The third of the five things established, "one-pointedness of mind," is here formally taken up. First one-pointedness of mind is defined; then it divides into the two divisions of tranquillity (śamatha) and insight (vipaśyanā): tranquillity has the nine mental abidings, the six forces, and the four attentions; insight has the four insights, the three gateways, and the object-differentiated-by-six-matters, and at the last the object-of-six-matters is applied, one by one, to the five stilling contemplations of the impure, loving-kindness, dependent origination, the differentiation of elements, and mindfulness of in-and-out breathing. Rendered line by line in today's language from Xuanzang's translation; the technical terms are left in their old form, no doctrine is added, no treatise cited, no Sanskrit annotated; where the treatise's wording is compressed it is supplied back within 〔brackets〕.

One-Pointedness of Mind · The Object of the Same Class

What is one-pointedness of mind? It is recollecting again and again an object of one same class (an object of the same class), the mind flowing on continuously, consorting with a "blameless ease," so that the mind is kept in unbroken continuity — this is named concentration, and is also named the wholesome one-pointedness of mind.

What is called "recollecting again and again"? It is that, toward the true Dharma one has heard and retained, and having received instruction and teaching from a teacher, by this reinforcing force the various marks of the meditative stage come to appear before one; taking these marks as the object, flowing on, consorting with a blameless ease, all the right mindfulness turns along with them and abides. What is called "the object of the same class"? It is that the object-fields of the several meditative stages are not of one kind but of many various sorts and classes; to take these as the object and make the mind operate rightly is named meditation, and this is named the object of the same class.

Question: this object-field — of "what" is it the same class, that it is called of the same class?

Answer: it is a class resembling the thing-to-be-known, and so is named of the same class. Again, because that mindfulness operates upon the object-field without scattering, without lapse, without interval — operating without interval and with earnest, sustained application, and turning in consort with ease — it is therefore named "flowing on and consorting with ease"; and again, because that mindfulness operates upon the object-field without defilement, abiding in utmost security, and turning in consort with the ease of the ripened path (the path made thoroughly familiar), it is therefore named "consorting with a blameless ease." This is why it is said: recollecting again and again an object of the same class, flowing on and consorting with a blameless ease, keeping the mind in continuity, is named concentration, and is also named the wholesome one-pointedness of mind.

Such one-pointedness of mind belongs either to the tranquillity division or to the insight division: when it is the one-pointedness of mind within the nine mental abidings, it is named the tranquillity division; when it is the one-pointedness of mind within the four wisdom-practices, it is named the insight division.

The Nine Mental Abidings: The Nine Stations of Binding the Mind

What are the nine mental abidings? They are that a monk makes the mind — abide within, abide evenly, abide settled, abide close, become tamed, become stilled, become utterly stilled, become single-pointed in absorption, and become held-in-equipoise — and this is named the nine mental abidings.

• What is inner abiding? Gathering the mind back from every outer object-field and binding it within, so that it does not scatter. This is the very first binding of the mind, making it abide within and not scatter outward, and so it is named inner abiding.
• What is even abiding? The mind first bound is still coarse and restless in nature, not yet able to be made to abide evenly and to abide pervasively; and so, upon this object-field, by the expedient of "continuity" and the expedient of "clarifying," it is ground down fine and gathered all round into abiding, and so it is named even abiding.
• What is settled abiding? Though this mind has already abided within and abided evenly, yet if through loss of mindfulness it scatters outward again, one gathers it back once more and sets it upon the inner object, and so it is named settled abiding.
• What is close abiding? He must first draw near, in this way and that, and cultivate the abiding of mindfulness; by this mindfulness, attending again and again, he makes the mind abide within and does not let this mind abide far off outside, and so it is named close abiding.
• What is taming? The various marks make the mind scatter — namely the five marks of color, sound, smell, taste, and touch, and the marks of greed, hatred, delusion, man, woman, and the like; he must first take these marks as the "thought of fault," and by the reinforcing force of this thought, upon those marks he breaks the mind down and abides, not letting it flow loose, and so it is named tamed.
• What is stilling? There are the various evil thoughts of desire, ill-will, harm, and the like, and the several secondary afflictions such as the hindrance of covetousness, which come to disturb the mind; he must first take these dharmas as the thought of fault, and by the reinforcing force of this thought, upon the thoughts and the secondary afflictions he brings the mind to rest and abides, not letting it flow loose, and so it is named stilled.
• What is utter stilling? Through loss of mindfulness, when those two 〔evil thoughts and secondary afflictions〕 briefly operate for a moment, whatever evil thoughts and secondary afflictions arise, he is able not to endure them, and at once severs, expels, removes, and vomits them out, and so it is named utterly stilled.
• What is single-pointed absorption? With exertion, with effort, the meditative equipoise abides in continuity without lapse and without interval, and so it is named single-pointed absorption.
• What is holding in equipoise? By repeated cultivation, repeated practice, and much repeated cultivation as cause and condition, one gains the path that is "without exertion, without effort, and runs on of itself"; by this cause and condition, without relying on exertion and without relying on effort, the mind's meditative equipoise continues of itself, turning without scattering, and so it is named held-in-equipoise.

The Six Forces: By What the Nine Abidings Are Accomplished

It should be known that herein it is by six forces that the nine mental abidings can be accomplished: first, the force of hearing; second, the force of reflection; third, the force of recollection; fourth, the force of full awareness; fifth, the force of vigor; sixth, the force of repeated practice.

At the first, by the two forces of hearing and reflection, by the reinforcing force of repeated hearing and repeated reflecting, one makes the mind first abide upon the inner object, and right there, by the expedients of continuity, clarifying, and the rest, makes it abide all round — accomplishing inner abiding and even abiding. Having thus bound the mind within, by the force of recollection one attends again and again, gathers the mind back, and makes it not scatter — accomplishing settled abiding and close abiding. From this point on, by the force of full awareness one regulates and stills the mind, so that upon the various marks, the various evil thoughts, and the various secondary afflictions it is not let to flow loose — accomplishing tamed and stilled. By the force of vigor, when those two briefly operate one is able not to endure them but at once to sever, expel, remove, and vomit them out — accomplishing utterly stilled and single-pointed absorption. By the force of repeated practice, holding-in-equipoise is brought to fullness.

The Four Attentions: The Four Ways of Applying the Mind That Match the Nine Abidings

Right upon these nine mental abidings, it should be known that there are again four attentions: first, the attention of striving-operation; second, the attention of interrupted-operation; third, the attention of uninterrupted-operation; fourth, the attention of effortless-operation.

Within inner abiding and even abiding, it is the attention of "striving-operation"; within settled abiding, close abiding, tamed, stilled, and utterly stilled, it is the attention of "interrupted-operation"; within single-pointed absorption, it is the attention of "uninterrupted-operation"; within holding-in-equipoise, it is the attention of "effortless-operation." It should be known that these four attentions, within the nine mental abidings, are the tranquillity division. Again, when one who has already gained inner tranquillity of mind diligently cultivates insight, it is precisely by these four attentions that he can cultivate insight, and so these four attentions are also the insight division.

The Four Insights: The Four Wisdom-Practices of Contemplation

What are the four insights? They are that a monk, resting upon inner tranquillity of mind, is able, among the several dharmas, to discern correctly, to discern utterly, to investigate thoroughly, and to examine thoroughly — this is named the four insights.

• What is discerning correctly? Upon the object-field of the purifying practices, or the object-field of skill, or the object-field that purifies the afflictions, one is able to discern correctly the "extent-of-being."
• What is discerning utterly? Right upon that object-field, one discerns utterly the "way-of-being."
• What is investigating thoroughly? Right upon that object-field, by an attention that is discriminative and conjoined with wisdom, one grasps its mark and shape and investigates it thoroughly.
• What is examining thoroughly? Right upon that object-field, one probes and searches with care, and examines it thoroughly.

The Three Gateways of Insight

This insight, by "three gateways" and by the "object-differentiated-by-six-matters," should be known to have again many differentiations.

What are the three gateways of insight? First, that which follows the mark only; second, that which follows investigation; third, that which follows examination. What is "following the mark only"? It is that, upon the dharmas one has heard and retained, or upon the dharmas of instruction and teaching, by an attention in accord with principle at the stage of equipoise, one reflects for the moment, but has not yet reflected, weighed, probed, or examined — this is named the insight that follows the mark only. If one further weighs, probes, and examines that dharma, then it is named the insight that follows investigation. If one further, having probed and examined that dharma, once more contemplates with care what has been established, this is named the insight that follows examination. This is named the three gateways of insight.

The Object-Differentiated-by-Six-Matters: Investigating the Six Matters plus the Three Cognitions

What is the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters? It is that, when investigating, one investigates six matters one by one: first, the meaning of the words; second, the inner and outer things; third, the marks of the dharmas; fourth, the dark and white classes; fifth, the three times of past, future, and present; and sixth, the four principles. Having investigated each of these six matters, one then probes with care and examines thoroughly what has been investigated.

• What is investigating with regard to meaning? One correctly investigates that "such-and-such words have such-and-such meaning."
• What is investigating with regard to thing? One correctly investigates the two things, inner and outer.
• What is investigating with regard to mark? One correctly investigates the two marks of the several dharmas — the particular-mark and the common-mark.
• What is investigating with regard to class? One correctly investigates the two classes of the several dharmas — the dark class and the white class; investigating the fault and disaster of the dark class, and investigating the merit and excellence of the white class.
• What is investigating with regard to time? One correctly investigates the three times, past, future, and present — that this thing once was in the past age, will be in the future age, and now is in the present age.
• What is investigating with regard to principle? One correctly investigates the four principles. First, the principle of reliance: investigating the conventional as conventional, the ultimate as ultimate, and cause-and-condition as cause-and-condition. Second, the principle of function: investigating the several dharmas and all their functions — such a dharma has such a function. Third, the principle of proof: investigating the three means — the means of authoritative teaching, the means of inference, and the means of direct realization; that is, correctly investigating whether this meaning has any authoritative teaching, whether it is attainable by direct realization, and whether it ought to be inferred. Fourth, the principle of the nature of things: toward the nature of things established truly, as the several dharmas truly are — the nature of things hard to conceive, the nature of things that abides — one should give rise to conviction, and should not deliberate, should not discriminate.

This insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters, together with the foregoing three gateways of insight, gathers in all insight altogether.

Question: for what reason is this insight differentiated-by-six-matters set up?

Answer: it is set up in dependence on the "three cognitions." Which three cognitions? First, the cognition of word-meaning; second, the cognition of the bounds of the thing; third, the cognition of things-as-they-are. Because one investigates "meaning," the cognition of word-meaning arises; because one investigates "thing" and "particular-mark," the cognition of the bounds of the thing arises; because one investigates "common-mark, class, time, and principle," the cognition of things-as-they-are arises. The field known to one who cultivates yoga is only this much — namely word-meaning, together with the extent-of-being and the way-of-being of the thing-to-be-known.

The Object-of-Six-Matters Applied to the Five Purifying Practices (1) The Contemplation of the Impure

What is the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters for one who diligently cultivates the contemplation of the impure?

Investigating meaning: in dependence on the reinforcing force of hearing and retaining the true Dharma that reinforces the impure, by an attention in accord with principle at the stage of equipoise, one understands its meaning — knowing that this impurity is truly impure, deeply to be loathed, its nature rotten and foul, malodorous, raw and rank; by these various aspects, one understands the meaning of the true Dharma formerly heard, which was spoken with reference to the several impurities.

Investigating that thing: having understood the meaning, one contemplates the impure things and sets up two divisions — inner and outer.

Investigating the particular-mark: first, toward the foul, rotten impurities within one's own inner body, one arouses resolute conviction, knowing that within the body there are hair, body-hair, and so on, spoken at length down to the membrane of the brain and the urine; and again one gathers these many impurities within the body into two elements — the earth-element and the water-element: from hair and body-hair down to feces one arouses the resolute conviction of the earth-element; from tears and sweat down to urine one arouses the resolute conviction of the water-element. This is investigating the particular-mark in dependence on the inner impurity. 　Again, toward the outer impure things, by the various aspects of bruised-blue and the rest one arouses resolute conviction: the corpse one contemplates, whether man or woman or neither man nor woman, whether kin or foe or neutral, whether inferior or middling or superior, whether young, middle-aged, or old. Having grasped that mark — if the death is one day past, the blood already run dry but not yet come to festering, one arouses the resolute conviction of the bruised-blue; if the death is two days past, already come to festering but not yet grown worms and maggots, one arouses the resolute conviction of the festering; if the death is seven days past, already grown worms and maggots and the body already ruined, one arouses the resolute conviction of the rotted-and-bloated; if devoured by foxes and wolves, kites and owls, eagles and vultures, crows and magpies, and starving dogs, one arouses the resolute conviction of the devoured; once devoured, the skin, flesh, and blood exhausted, only sinews binding the bones, one arouses the resolute conviction of the discolored-red; or devoured, the limbs and joints parted and scattered here and there (some with flesh, some without flesh, some with a little flesh remaining), one arouses the resolute conviction of the scattered; if the bone-joints are parted and scattered, the hand-bones, foot-bones, knee-bones, thigh-bones, hip-bones, shoulder-bones, arm-bones, spine-bones, the ring of the jaw, the garland of teeth, and the skull each in a separate place, one arouses the resolute conviction of the bone; if one reflects that the skeleton is joined together and not scattered, grasping only the coarse mark and not grasping the bending of the limbs and joints in detail, then one arouses the resolute conviction of the chain; if one grasps the bending of the limbs and joints in detail, then one arouses the resolute conviction of the bone-chain. 　Again there are two chains: first, the frame-chain (from the blood-cauldron and the spine-bones down to the seat of the skull); second, the limb-chain (the shoulder-bones and the rest linked in a chain, the thigh- and calf-bones and the rest linked in a chain); the frame-chain is named "chain," and the limb-chain is named "bone-chain." Again there are two ways of grasping the mark of a bone-chain: first, grasping the mere designation (the mark of a bone-chain made of painted work, wood, stone, clay, and the like); second, grasping the true mark of a bone-chain — when reflecting on the mark of the merely-designated bone-chain, it is only named arousing the resolute conviction of the "chain," and is not named bone-chain; when reflecting on the mark of the true bone-chain, only then is it named arousing the resolute conviction of the "bone-chain." 　Again, the mark of this outer derived matter has three kinds of alteration-and-ruin: first, alteration of itself (from bruised-blue down to rotted-and-bloated); second, alteration by another (from devoured down to scattered); third, alteration of both kinds (whether bone, or chain, or bone-chain). To be able thus to know truly the mark of the outer impurity is named investigating the particular-mark of all the outer impurities.

Investigating the common-mark: the mark of the fine outer matter of the inner body has not yet altered, while the mark of the impure matter of the outer body has already altered; by the "sameness of the nature of things, the resemblance of the nature of things" of the impure matter-mark of the inner body, one arouses resolute conviction, and is able to know oneself: "the mark of my own fine matter also has the same nature of things as this; and if there are sentient beings possessed of such a mark of fine matter, the mark of their fine matter also has the same nature of things as this — like the mark of the outer impure matter." This is named investigating the common-mark of the impure.

Investigating that class: one reflects thus — if I do not truly know the impure nature of those several fine-matter marks, and arouse greed and desire toward the several fine-matter marks inner and outer, this is upside-down, belongs to the dark class, is a dharma of strife, has suffering, has harm, has all disasters and calamities, has all-round burning distress, and by this cause and condition gives rise to the various distresses of future birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, lament, grief, and pain; if I truly contemplate along with the impure nature of those several fine-matter marks, then I am not upside-down, belong to the white class, am a dharma without strife, without suffering and without harm, spoken at length down to being able to extinguish the future birth, aging, sickness, death, and on to the distresses. The several dark-class things I ought now not to endure, and ought to sever and expel; the several white-class things, unarisen in me, I ought to make arise, and once arisen, make abide, grow, and become vast and great. This is named investigating that class.

Investigating that time: one reflects thus — the several fine-matter marks I have within are in the present age, and the impure matter-marks I have without are also in the present age; the marks that were once fine in the past age, though they had a fine mark in the past, are now in the present already various impurities; the seemingly-fine matter-marks I have in the present age, though they have a fine mark now in the present, will by the future age certainly not remain "unaltered and pure" like the outer impure matter now present — that is impossible. This matter-body of mine, past, future, and present, once had such a mark, will have such a mark, and now has such a mark — nothing but such an impure nature of things. This is named investigating that time.

Investigating that principle: one reflects thus — whether inner or outer, no "self or sentient being" is to be found that could be called pure or impure; there is only the matter-mark, only the bodily shape, within which by conventional supposition and designation one speaks of it as pure or impure. Again, as it is said: lifespan, warmth, and consciousness, when the body is cast off, then depart from their holding-and-grasping and lie down, without thought, like wood; and once dead and gone, the successive phases of alteration-and-ruin can be known (bruised-blue and the rest down to the bone-chain). Now this body of mine is drawn forth by former karma and afflictions, born of the impure union of father and mother, and grown by the nourishment of rice-gruel and the like; by this cause, this condition, this dependence, though for a while it has a seemingly-knowable fine matter-mark, yet within the inner body, whether inner or outer, at all times the various impurities are all completely filled. This is named investigating that principle in dependence on the principle of reliance — the conventional, the ultimate, and cause-and-condition. 　Again one reflects thus — if one can well cultivate, well practice, and well much-cultivate this impurity, one is able to sever desire and greed; this desire and greed most certainly ought to be severed. This is named investigating that principle in dependence on the principle of function. 　Again one reflects thus — that "if one well cultivates, well practices, and well much-cultivates the impure, one is able to sever desire and greed," as the World-Honored One said, is the means of authoritative teaching; that I too, within, am able myself to see directly the several impurities, and, by attending, reflecting, and cultivating thus and thus, am able thus to make desire-and-greed's enwrapment, unarisen, not arise, and once arisen, expel it, is the means of direct realization; the means of inference too is to be had — one reflects thus, "how is it that now, by attending and reflecting on the counteracting dharma, upon the object-field that counteracts, the affliction is to arise?" This is named investigating that principle in dependence on the principle of proof. 　Again one reflects thus — that this dharma is established the nature of things, the nature of things hard to conceive, the nature of things that abides — namely that cultivating the impure can serve as the severing counteragent of desire-and-greed — ought not to be deliberated, ought not to be discriminated, and ought only to be met with conviction. This is named investigating that principle in dependence on the principle of the nature of things.

This is named the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters for one who diligently cultivates the contemplation of the impure.

The Object-of-Six-Matters Applied to the Five Purifying Practices (2) The Contemplation of Loving-Kindness

What is the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters for one who diligently cultivates the contemplation of loving-kindness?

Investigating meaning: in dependence on the reinforcing force of hearing and retaining the true Dharma that reinforces loving-kindness, by the inclination of "wishing to benefit and bring ease," one attends to giving happiness to the several sentient beings and arouses resolute conviction — this is the mark of loving-kindness; to be able thus to understand its meaning is named investigating the meaning of the several loving-kindnesses.

Investigating thing: having understood the meaning, one is able to discern this as the friend-class, this as the foe-class, this as the neutral-class; all these classes are subsumed under the continua of others, and toward them one arouses "resolute conviction of the outer thing"; again, the friend-class is named the inner thing, and the foe- and neutral-classes are named the outer thing. This is named investigating the thing of the several loving-kindnesses.

Investigating the particular-mark: one discerns whether these three classes are "without suffering and without happiness, wishing to seek happiness," and wishes them to gain happiness — the one with a mark of benefit is named the friend-class, the one with a mark of no-benefit is named the foe-class, the one with a mark contrary to both is named the neutral-class. If these three classes are without suffering and happiness and wish to seek happiness, then as to the mind wishing to seek happiness there are three differences: first, wishing to seek the various happinesses of the desire realm; second, wishing to seek the various happinesses of the form realm that have joy and buoyant delight; third, wishing to seek the various happinesses apart from joy; if one is lacking in desire-happiness, one wishes them all to gain blameless desire-happiness, and if one is in any way lacking in the happinesses that have joy and apart from joy, likewise. This is named investigating the particular-mark of loving-kindness.

Investigating the common-mark: one considers with care and discerns — toward the three classes of friend, foe, and neutral, I should in all cases arouse a "mind of resemblance, a mind of evenness." Why? For me to attend to giving happiness to the friend-class is not hard, to give happiness to the neutral-class is also not very hard, and to give happiness to the foe-class is hardest; toward the foe-class I should still attend and wish to give it happiness — how much more the friend-class and the neutral-class, and not give them happiness? Why? For herein there is fundamentally no reviler and reviled, no angered and angerer, no mocker and mocked, no striker and struck; there is only sound, only names; and again this body of mine, arising as it does, is made of the coarse and heavy four great elements that have matter, and wherever it dwells is oppressed by such contacts (there are roughly two contacts: the contact of sound, and the contact of hand, foot, clod, blade, staff, and the like), and this body and these contacts are both impermanent, and the one who does me no benefit is also impermanent; and again all sentient beings have such dharmas as birth, aging, sickness, and death, and are by their very nature suffering — I ought not, upon the body of a sentient being by nature suffering, to add still more suffering and not give it happiness; and again I ought not to fail to be a good friend to a foe, nor to fail to gather all sentient beings as my own self; and again the World-Honored One said, "I do not see a single such kind of sentient being that, throughout the beginningless ages passing through birth-and-death, long turning in the round, has not at some time been to one another father, mother, brother, sister, preceptor, teacher, or one otherwise venerable or seemingly-venerable," and by this cause and condition every one of the foe-class is nothing but my friend-class; and again the foe- and friend-classes have nothing fixed and truly to be found — the friend-class at another time turns into the foe-class, the foe-class at another time turns into the friend-class, and so all are without fixity. Therefore I ought now, toward all sentient beings, to arouse a mind of evenness and a view of evenness, and to arouse a resembling inclination-to-benefit, inclination-to-ease, and resolute conviction of giving happiness. This is named investigating the common-mark of loving-kindness.

Investigating class: one considers with care and discerns — if I arouse anger and ill-will toward the one who does me no benefit, this is upside-down, belongs to the dark class, is a dharma of strife (spoken at length as before); if I do not arouse anger and ill-will, this is not upside-down, belongs to the white class, is a dharma without strife (spoken at length as before). This is named investigating the dark class and the white class of loving-kindness.

Investigating time: one considers with care and discerns — the sentient beings of the past age who sought and wished to gain happiness have all passed away, so how shall I be able to give them happiness? The sentient beings of the present age, I now wish that, throughout the whole future age, at all times they may constantly receive happiness. This is named investigating the times of the several loving-kindnesses.

Investigating principle: one considers with care and discerns — herein there is no "self or sentient being, no one seeking happiness, no one giving happiness"; there are only the several aggregates, only the several formations, within which by conventional supposition and designation one speaks of this one seeking happiness, this one giving happiness; and again those several formations have karma, affliction, and the rest as their cause and condition. This is named investigating loving-kindness in dependence on the principle of reliance. If, by well cultivating, well practicing, and well much-cultivating loving-kindness, one is able to sever anger and ill-will, this is named investigating loving-kindness in dependence on the principle of function. That such a meaning has the means of authoritative teaching, that my own inner knowledge-and-vision turns present and is to be had, and that the means of inference too is to be had, is named investigating loving-kindness in dependence on the principle of proof. And again, that this dharma is established the nature of things, the nature of things hard to conceive, the nature of things that abides — namely that cultivating loving-kindness can sever anger and ill-will — ought not to be deliberated, ought not to be discriminated, and ought to be met with resolute conviction, is named investigating loving-kindness in dependence on the principle of the nature of things.

This is named the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters for one who diligently cultivates the contemplation of loving-kindness.

〔Within the Basic Section, the Śrāvaka Stage, the thirteenth, the third yoga-station, part two.〕

The Object-of-Six-Matters Applied to the Five Purifying Practices (3) The Contemplation of Dependent Origination

What is the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters for one who diligently cultivates the contemplation of dependent origination?

Investigating meaning: in dependence on the reinforcing force of hearing and retaining the true Dharma that reinforces the conditioned nature and dependent origination, one is able to know correctly that "because such-and-such dharmas arise, such-and-such dharmas arise; because such-and-such dharmas cease, such-and-such dharmas cease"; herein there is no "sovereign lord, maker, producer, or transformer" that could fashion the several dharmas, nor any "intrinsic self, person, or intermediate transformer" that could transform the several dharmas. To be able to know such meanings is named investigating the meaning of the several dependent originations.

Investigating thing: one considers with care and discerns the twelve members of existence, whether inner or outer, and arouses resolute conviction. This is named investigating the thing of the several dependent originations.

Investigating the particular-mark: one considers with care and discerns the "ignorance (avidyā) about the prior bound, ignorance about the later bound" of the member of ignorance and the rest (spoken at length as before in the analysis of the members of dependent origination). This is named investigating the particular-mark of dependent origination.

Investigating the common-mark: one considers with care and discerns — all these conditionally-arisen formations are, without exception, non-existent before and existent now, existent and then dispersed and ceased, and so before and after they are all impermanent; because they all have the dharmas of birth, aging, sickness, and death, their nature is suffering; because they are not sovereign, and because the intermediate person is not to be found, therefore their nature is empty and without self. This is named investigating the common-mark of dependent origination.

Investigating class: one considers with care and discerns — if I, toward the true principle of those impermanent, suffering, empty, and selfless formations, give rise to confusion, this is upside-down, belongs to the dark class (spoken at length as before); if I am not confused, this is not upside-down, belongs to the white class (spoken at length as before). This is named investigating the class of the several dependent originations.

Investigating time: one considers with care and discerns — the self-body gained in the past age had no constancy of the normal, and so abided; the self-body gained in the present age has no constancy of the normal, and so now abides; the self-body to be gained in the future age will have no constancy of the normal, and so will abide. This is named investigating the time of the several dependent originations.

Investigating principle: one considers with care and discerns — there are only the several karmas and the fruits of maturation, within which no "master and controller" is to be found (namely a maker and an experiencer); there is only the conventional supposition established upon dharmas — within "ignorance conditioning formations down to birth conditioning aging-and-death" one arouses a false mark and by designation speaks of a maker and an experiencer, having such a name, such a kind, such a clan, such food and drink, experiencing such suffering or such happiness, such long life, such long abiding, and such reaching to the very bound of the lifespan. And again herein there are two kinds of fruit and two kinds of cause: the two kinds of fruit — first, the self-body fruit (the six bases and the rest, the dharmas born of maturation in this present life); second, the enjoyed-realm fruit (the several feelings born of the six contacts, arisen by the reinforcing force of agreeable and disagreeable karma); the two kinds of cause — first, the drawing-in cause; second, the giving-rise cause. 　The drawing-in cause: toward the two fruits one arouses folly; with folly preceding, one produces meritorious, non-meritorious, and imperturbable formations; the formations are able to appropriate the consciousness of the later existence and make the sprouts of existence arise — that is, they are able to appropriate the seeds of consciousness and make them, turn by turn, appropriate the seeds of the name-and-form, the seeds of the six bases, and the seeds of contact-and-feeling of the later existence; in order that the consciousness, name-and-form, six bases, contact, and feeling subsumed under the future birth-member may in sequence come to arise, one now first appropriates the seeds of those dharmas. All this is named the drawing-in cause. 　The giving-rise cause: when experiencing the several feelings born of the ignorance-contact, by "object-craving" one produces "craving for the later existence," and the several graspings that are able to appropriate the craving-portion and the folly-portion; by this force, this capacity, one moistens the karma-seeds and makes them able to yield the several fruits of maturation. All this is named the giving-rise cause. 　By the reinforcing force of these two causes, one is then pursued by the three sufferings and gathers together the whole great mass of nothing but suffering. This is named investigating the whole principle of dependent origination in dependence on the principle of reliance. And again one considers with care and discerns that, by well cultivating, well practicing, and well much-cultivating this contemplation of the conditioned nature and dependent origination, one is able to sever folly; and again one considers with care and discerns that this principle has the means of authoritative teaching, has inner direct realization, has the dharma of inference, and also has such meanings as being established the nature of things — this is named investigating the whole principle of dependent origination in dependence on the principle of function, the principle of proof, and the principle of the nature of things.

This is named the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters for one who diligently cultivates the contemplation of dependent origination.

The Object-of-Six-Matters Applied to the Five Purifying Practices (4) The Contemplation of the Differentiation of Elements

What is the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters for one who diligently cultivates the contemplation of the differentiation of elements?

Investigating meaning: in dependence on the reinforcing force of hearing and retaining the true Dharma that reinforces the differentiation of elements, one is able to understand correctly the meaning of all "element" — namely the sense of lineage, the sense of seed, the sense of cause, and the sense of nature — such is the sense of "element." This is named investigating the meaning of element.

Investigating thing: one correctly investigates the inner and outer differentiation of the six elements, earth and the rest, and arouses resolute conviction. This is named investigating the thing of element.

Investigating the particular-mark: one correctly investigates — earth is the mark of hardness, 〔water is the mark of moisture, fire is the mark of warmth,〕 and on to wind being the mark of lightness-and-motion, consciousness being the mark of discerning, and the space-element being the mark of empty space, the mark of pervading matter, the mark of no obstruction. This is named investigating the particular-mark of the several elements.

Investigating the common-mark: one correctly investigates — all these elements, to say it in brief, are impermanent and on to without self. This is named investigating the common-mark of the several elements.

Investigating class: one correctly investigates "the differentiated nature of the elements within the one lumped mark" — one who does not know this, and toward the body composed of the differentiation of elements arouses lofty conceit, is upside-down, belongs to the dark class (spoken at length as before); the one contrary to the above is not upside-down, belongs to the white class (spoken at length as before). This is named investigating the class of element.

Investigating time: one correctly investigates — that in the past, future, and present age, with the six elements as condition, one gains entry into the mother's womb. This is named investigating the time of element.

Investigating principle: one correctly investigates — as grass, wood, and the rest, a concurrence of many conditions ringing round empty space, are reckoned 〔and counted〕 as a "house," so, because the six elements serve as support, sinew, bone, blood, and flesh, a concurrence of many conditions ringing round empty space, by conventional supposition and the several suppositions and designation, are reckoned as a "body"; and again the several karmas and afflictions of former lives, and one's own seeds, serve as cause and condition. This is named investigating the principle of the differentiation of the several elements in dependence on the principle of reliance. And again one correctly investigates that, by well cultivating, well practicing, and well much-cultivating the contemplation of the differentiation of elements, one is able to sever conceit; and again one correctly investigates that this principle has the means of authoritative teaching, has inner realization-knowledge, has the dharma of inference, and has the establishing of the nature of things, the nature of things hard to conceive, the nature of things that abides — this is named investigating the principle of the differentiation of the several elements in dependence on the principle of function, the principle of proof, and the principle of the nature of things.

This is named the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters for one who diligently cultivates the contemplation of the differentiation of elements.

The Object-of-Six-Matters Applied to the Five Purifying Practices (5) Mindfulness of In-and-Out Breathing

What is the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters for one who diligently cultivates mindfulness of in-and-out breathing 〔the mindfulness of the in-breath and the out-breath〕?

Investigating meaning: in dependence on the reinforcing force of hearing and retaining the true Dharma that reinforces mindfulness of in-and-out breathing, one is able to know correctly that "binding the mind to the object-field of the in- and out-breath, penetrating it, and keeping it unforgotten and clearly noted" is the meaning of mindfulness of in-and-out breathing. This is named investigating its meaning.

Investigating thing: one correctly investigates — the in-breath and out-breath are to be found within, and because they are bound to the body and subsumed under the outer bases, they have an inner and outer differentiation. This is named investigating its thing.

Investigating the particular-mark: one correctly investigates — the in-breath is twofold and the out-breath is twofold: the wind entering within is named the in-breath, and the wind going out is named the out-breath; and one also knows correctly that this is a long in-breath and out-breath, that this is a short in-breath and out-breath, and that the breath pervades every part of the body. This is named investigating the particular-mark of the several breaths.

Investigating the common-mark: one correctly investigates — once the in-breath has ceased there is the arising of an out-breath, and once the out-breath has ceased there is the arising of an in-breath; the turning of the in- and out-breath is bound to the life-faculty and the conscious body, and this in- and out-breath and its support are all impermanent. This is named investigating the common-mark of the several breaths.

Investigating class: one correctly investigates — if, with regard to the in- and out-breath, one does not abide in right mindfulness and, by evil discursive thoughts, has the mind disturbed, this is upside-down, belongs to the dark class, is a dharma of strife (spoken at length as before); the one contrary to the above is not upside-down, belongs to the white class, is a dharma without strife (spoken at length as before). This is named investigating its class.

Investigating time: one correctly investigates — that in the past, future, and present age the turning of the in- and out-breath is bound to body and mind, and body and mind are bound to the in- and out-breath. This is named investigating its time.

Investigating principle: one correctly investigates — herein there is no "holder of the in-breath, holder of the out-breath" that would make the in- and out-breath bound to it; there is only, upon the several formations arisen from causes and conditions, an arousing of conventional supposition and, by designation, the speaking of there being one able to hold the in- and out-breath. This is named investigating its principle in dependence on the principle of reliance. And again one correctly investigates that, by well cultivating, well practicing, and well much-cultivating mindfulness of in-and-out breathing, one is able to sever discursive thought; and again one correctly investigates that this principle has the means of authoritative teaching, has inner realization-knowledge, has the dharma of inference, and has the establishing of the nature of things, the nature of things hard to conceive, the nature of things that abides, which ought not to be deliberated, ought not to be discriminated, and ought only to be met with conviction — this is named investigating its principle in dependence on the principle of function, the principle of proof, and the principle of the nature of things.

This is named the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters for one who diligently cultivates mindfulness of in-and-out breathing.

The Joined Operation of Tranquillity and Insight · The Object of Skill and the Object That Purifies the Afflictions Spoken of Later

Thus, in dependence on the object of the purifying practices, having investigated the differentiated contemplation of the six matters, one again and again stills the mind within, and again and again examines with care, with the practice of superior contemplation, what one has investigated: because he takes tranquillity as his support, he makes insight swiftly gain purity; and because he takes insight as his support, he makes tranquillity grow and become vast and great. As for investigating the insight of the object-differentiated-by-six-matters in dependence on the object of skill and the object that purifies the afflictions, I shall speak of it in its own place 〔in the text below〕.

Teaching arc: with the preliminaries established, this leaf takes up in earnest the teaching of "cultivating meditation" — how the mind is bound in place step by step (tranquillity), and how, from being bound, it turns into contemplative illumination (insight). Tranquillity has one full chart: the nine mental abidings, from hauling the mind back by force to running on effortlessly of itself; the six forces are what push it along, and the four attentions are the tightening and loosening of the mind's effort. Insight then has the four insights and the object-differentiated-by-six-matters, applied dose by dose to the five stilling contemplations. The eye is in the last layer: the "object-image" that the tranquillity-and-insight cultivated by the śrāvaka rests upon — the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra judges it in a single stroke — the image is nothing but the appearance of consciousness. The one-pointedness of mind of the Śrāvaka Stage is pointed by the sūtra itself toward Consciousness-Only. This is the greatest difference between this leaf and the establishing passage (whose eye is light): on this leaf the doctrinal eye is heavy.

What Counts as "Meditation" at All?

First the definition. What is "one-pointedness of mind"? It is not nailing a single thought fast and unmoving, but "repeatedly recollecting an object of the same class, flowing on, consorting with a blameless ease, keeping the mind in unbroken continuity" — again and again recollecting an object of one same class, the mind flowing on continuously like water, unmixed with any taint of fault, consorting with a certain settled ease. "An object of the same class" is not the grasping of one single point, but "a class resembling the thing-to-be-known" (many, yet of one same class); to make the mind operate rightly with this same-class object as its field is what is named meditation.

This one-pointedness of mind opens toward both sides: the one within the nine mental abidings is the tranquillity (śamatha) division; the one within the four wisdom-practices is the insight (vipaśyanā) division. Within one leaf, both tranquillity and insight are complete.

The Nine Stations: From Hauling the Mind Back by Force to Running On Effortlessly

The nine mental abidings are one full chart of the whole course of tranquillity. Do not take them for nine coordinate names set side by side; they are a single line along which the mind is broken in:

• Inner abiding — at the first, the mind is gathered back in one grip from the outer colors, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches, and bound within. This is hauling by force.
• Even abiding — the just-bound mind is still coarse and restless; by the two expedients of "continuity" and "clarifying," it is ground fine and gathered all round into abiding.
• Settled abiding — once mindfulness is lost it scatters out again, and one gathers it back and settles it upon the inner object.
• Close abiding — relying on repeated abiding in mindfulness, attending again and again so that the mind abides within, and not letting it wander off far.
• Tamed — the marks of color, sound, smell, taste, and touch, and of greed, hatred, delusion, man and woman, are what most hook the mind into scattering; first take these marks as "fault," and once the thought of fault is roused, the mind is broken and no longer flows loose.
• Stilled — evil thoughts of desire, ill-will, and harm, and the secondary afflictions such as the hindrance of covetousness, come to stir it; likewise take them as the thought of fault, and the mind is brought to rest.
• Utterly stilled — should mindfulness be lost for a moment and those two (evil thoughts, secondary afflictions) briefly poke up, at once they are not endured but "severed, expelled, vomited out."
• Single-pointed absorption — reaching here, there is still exertion and effort, but already the meditative equipoise abides continuously, without gap and without break.
• Holding-in-equipoise — repeated cultivation has become the cause and condition, and one attains the path that is "without exertion, without effort, running on of itself"; not relying on force, the mind continues of itself, unscattered.

Looked at across the nine stations, this is a road "from exertion to spontaneity": at the head one must haul by force, grind, and again and again gather back; in the middle one holds down scattering and affliction by the thought of fault; at the last it comes of itself, and the mind abides down of its own accord.

What pushes these nine stations along is the six forces — hearing, reflection, recollection, full awareness, vigor, and repeated practice. The ancients match force to abiding cleanly: the two forces of hearing and reflection accomplish inner abiding and even abiding (at the first, hearing and reflecting set the mind up within); the force of recollection accomplishes settled abiding and close abiding (once mindfulness is lost, one relies on recollection to gather it back); the force of full awareness accomplishes tamed and stilled (relying on full awareness to regulate the marks and afflictions); the force of vigor accomplishes utterly stilled and single-pointed absorption (severing what momentarily rises relies on vigor); the force of repeated practice accomplishes holding-in-equipoise 〔Dunlun · Kuiji〕.

And the tightening and loosening of the mind's effort is the four attentions: inner and even abiding require "striving-operation" (exertion); from settled abiding to utterly stilled is "interrupted-operation" (there is still gap and break); single-pointed absorption is "uninterrupted-operation" (no more gap and break); holding-in-equipoise is "effortless-operation" (running on of itself without strain). The effort goes from tight to loose, matching exactly that road from exertion to spontaneity. The ancients further point out that these same four attentions serve when one comes to cultivate insight, so the four attentions "run through both the tranquillity and insight divisions" 〔Dunlun〕.

〔Appended: of the nine abidings, the ancients gloss only a few names — "even abiding (apart from sinking and floating) · all-round abiding (examining and contemplating all round) · clarifying (apart from disorder, stilled) · utterly stilled (mindfulness lost, something suddenly rises, and is at once expelled)" — the rest following the treatise's own statement. Kuiji also cautions: these nine abidings "are not necessarily the mind within meditative equipoise, but abiding upon a single object is just this" — at the first, gathering the mind is not necessarily attaining meditative equipoise, and so it is said to be "of the tranquillity kind," not that every one is already tranquillity.〕

Tranquillity Turns into Insight: The Four Insights, the Six Matters as Gateway

Once meditation is set and settled, one turns to cultivating insight. The four insights (the four wisdom-practices of contemplation) arise resting upon inner tranquillity: correctly discerning the "extent-of-being" (the range of all things and their marks) · utterly discerning the "way-of-being" (the true principle of things and marks) · thorough investigation (grasping the mark, discerning) · thorough examination (probing and searching with care).

Insight further has "three gateways" (following-the-mark-only → following-investigation → following-examination, from shallow to deep) and the "object-differentiated-by-six-matters." The six matters are the six points of focus of insight — meaning (what meaning a word has) · thing (the two things, inner and outer) · mark (the particular-mark, the common-mark) · class (the fault of the dark class, the merit of the white class) · time (past, future, present) · principle (the four principles of reliance, function, proof, and the nature of things; under proof there open further the three means: authoritative teaching, inference, and direct realization). The treatise says of itself: these six matters are in fact opened out from the "three cognitions" — discerning meaning rouses the cognition of word-meaning, discerning the thing and the particular-mark rouses the cognition of the bounds of the thing, discerning the common-mark, class, time, and principle rouses the cognition of things-as-they-are; the field known to one who cultivates yoga is just this much: word-meaning, together with the extent-of-being and the way-of-being of the thing-to-be-known.

Dose by Dose, Matched to the Five Stilling Contemplations

The six matters are not spoken in a void; the treatise applies them one by one to the five stilling contemplations — five doses against five kinds of affliction:

• The contemplation of the impure remedies desire. The most vivid part is right here: contemplating a corpse from fresh to ruined, the treatise sets out nine marks of decay — bruised-blue, festering, rotted-and-bloated, devoured, the discolored-red, scattered, then bone, chain, bone-chain. One body, from its blood run dry to nothing but a white bone-chain — let desire look down this road, and it thins. In passing the ancients point out the difference between "malodor" and "raw stink": what stinks only once it has decayed is like dung and filth; what stinks the moment it is born is like scallion, garlic, leek, and shallot 〔Dunlun · Kuiji〕.
• The contemplation of loving-kindness remedies hatred. It divides beings into three classes — friend, foe, and neutral — and wishes them all to gain happiness; toward the friend it is not hard, toward the foe it is hardest; yet "there is no reviler and no reviled, no striker and no struck, only sound, only names," and from the beginningless past there is no foe who has not once been my father, mother, or teacher, and friend and foe are not fixed (a friend turns into a foe, a foe into a friend), so one should rouse toward all a "mind of evenness".
• The contemplation of dependent origination remedies delusion. Contemplating the twelve members, "this arising, that arises," within which there is no agent and no experiencer, only two causes (the drawing-in cause, the giving-rise cause) drawing out two fruits (the self-body fruit, the enjoyed-realm fruit), gathering together the whole great mass of nothing but suffering.
• The contemplation of the differentiation of elements remedies conceit. It takes apart this body of one lumped mark into the six elements (earth the hard, water the moist, fire the warm, wind the moving, space the unobstructing, consciousness the discerning), and knows that "body" is only the six elements, a concurrence of many conditions ringing round empty space, designated a "body"; and conceit can no longer stand.
• Mindfulness of breathing (counting the breath) remedies discursive thought. Binding the mind to the in- and out-breath, knowing it long, knowing it short, knowing it pervading the whole body, knowing that in- and out-breath are bound to body and mind and are all impermanent, the scattered, restless discursive thought is gathered in.

Each dose runs the full six matters (meaning, thing, mark, class, time, principle) — this is the consistent format in which the treatise teaches insight.

★The Object-Image Is Nothing but Consciousness: The Consciousness-Only Knot of Śrāvaka Tranquillity-and-Insight

Here we must bring out the heaviest single eye of this leaf. When cultivating insight, what the mind rests upon is an "image" (an object-mark that arises within meditation). What is this image? In the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra, the Chapter on the Yoga of Analysis, the bodhisattva Maitreya asks and the World-Honored One answers, cutting through in a single stroke —

「我說識所緣，唯識所現故。」 tr. "I say that the object of consciousness is nothing but the appearance of consciousness." 〔Saṃdhinirmocana〕

The World-Honored One presses the point further with a mirror simile:

「如依善瑩清淨鏡面，以質為緣還見本質，而謂我今見於影像。」 tr. "As, in dependence on a well-burnished, clean mirror-face, with the substance as condition one sees again that very substance, and yet says, 'I now see an image.'" 〔Saṃdhinirmocana〕

Like gazing into a mirror ground to the highest polish, the "image" that appears in the mirror is in fact just the appearance of that substance, and there is no second thing there; the meditation-image that the one who cultivates insight rests upon is likewise "no different from this mind, because that image is nothing but consciousness." And so the sūtra goes on to say that one-pointedness of mind is precisely "penetrating that the image ranged over in meditative equipoise is nothing but consciousness; or, having penetrated this, further reflecting on the way-of-being" 〔Saṃdhinirmocana〕 — first penetrating that the image is nothing but consciousness (this is the "extent-of-being" layer), then reflecting on suchness (this is the "way-of-being" layer). This leaf's "correctly discerning the extent-of-being, utterly discerning the way-of-being" is thus read by the sūtra into the two layers of Consciousness-Only.

This eye is momentous: the tranquillity-and-insight cultivated by the Śrāvaka Stage — the object-image it rests upon is judged by the sūtra itself to be the appearance of consciousness. The tranquillity-and-insight that the śrāvaka cultivates communicates here with the Consciousness-Only meaning — this is a pivot within the scripture, not a later gloss forced on from outside (this rests on the Saṃdhinirmocana scriptural text · spoken by the Buddha · Xuanzang's translation · not a modern reading).

Carrying Forward

Cultivated to the last, tranquillity and insight are not two separate things. The treatise says: resting upon tranquillity, insight is swiftly purified; and resting upon insight, tranquillity grows and expands — tranquillity and insight operate jointly, each benefiting the other.

This leaf applies the object-of-six-matters only to "the five stilling contemplations of the purifying practices"; as for running the six matters upon "the object of skill" (the aggregates, elements, bases, dependent origination, and the possible-and-the-impossible) and "the object that purifies the afflictions" (the mundane and supramundane paths), the treatise says plainly, "I shall speak of these in their own place," pointing to the later section. And these nine mental abidings on this leaf are, moreover, the source of the "nine mental abidings" carried forward by the later Maitreya-Asaṅga treatises (such as the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra and the Mahāyānasaṃgraha lineage) — one full chart of śrāvaka tranquillity, which became the ladder relied upon in common by the Mahāyāna's own tranquillity-and-insight. The essential form of the tranquillity-and-insight that the śrāvaka cultivates in yoga is here complete; on the next leaf, we come to how, within cultivation, one intensifies practice and purifies the obstacles.