解脫道論 六相辨行

The six items laid out here all address one matter: how to discern from outward signs whether a person is of desirous, angry, or deluded temperament.

The content is as orderly as graph paper. Every item sets out three persons, always in the order desire, anger, and delusion. Walking is read from the feet; wearing robes from tightness or looseness; eating from whether a portion of morsel food enters the mouth or falls into the dish; sweeping from whether the hand holds the broom evenly, abruptly, or loosely; and sleeping from how long it takes a person to answer when called at night.

One small matter is repeated three times, and the three persons separate into view. On obtaining a little flavor, one becomes greatly delighted, one greatly angry and distressed, and one does not taste it at all. When called at night, one answers at once, one answers angrily, and one says “yi, yi” for a long time before answering.

Yet the frame enclosing these six items—the six questions and six closes, twelve sentences—contains no two sentences of the same form.

Three questions ask how something is known and three do not; one question even adds a person beneath the item’s name. Four closes use an explicit “can be known” formula and two do not; and the fourth close does not match its heading: the question concerns food, but the close says that it is known by desire.

Nowhere in the entire treatise does a closing formula place “thus” directly together with “through food.”

Earlier readers saw the unevenness. In the question opening the fifth item, the Taishō lacks the character 可, while the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong witnesses supply it so that the phrase reads “can be known.” What they supply is exactly what is absent.

Yet none of the four witnesses changes “by desire” in the close of the fourth item. There is no critical note there.

One place was changed and the other was not. The treatise gives no explanation, and neither do the critical notes. This edition likewise does not alter it on their behalf.

This yields a reading practice worth carrying away: when reading a series of parallel items in this treatise, do not begin with their contents. First draw out the opening and closing sentence of every item and arrange them in two rows. Ask whether the six questions have one form, whether the six closes have one form, and whether the name in each close agrees with the name of its item.

The contents can seem much alike and become tiring; the frame has only twelve sentences and can be taken in at a glance. Where the frame goes awry is precisely where this passage most deserves a pause.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Discerning Temperament through Six Signs · Doorway · Summer 2026

How It Can Be Known through Defilements

Question: How can it be known through defilements?

Answer: A practitioner of desirous temperament has five defilements and often engages in jealousy, stinginess, deceit, flattery, and desire. This is called the five.

A practitioner of angry temperament (瞋恚行人) has five defilements and often engages in indignation, resentment, concealment, stinginess, and anger. This is called the five.

A practitioner of deluded temperament has five defilements and often engages in laziness, indolence, doubt, remorse, and ignorance. These are the five.

Thus, it can be known through defilements.

How through Conduct

Question: How through conduct?

Answer: For a practitioner of desirous temperament, observe walking by its character: he lifts his foot quickly yet walks evenly, lifts his foot evenly, does not set his foot down broadly, and lifts his foot in a pleasing way as he walks. Thus, by conduct, desirous temperament can be known.

For a practitioner of angry temperament (嗔恚行人), observe walking by its character: he raises his foot abruptly and sets it down abruptly, his feet strike one another, and he places half a foot on the ground. Thus, by conduct already performed, an angry person (瞋恚人) can be known.

For a practitioner of deluded temperament, observe walking by its character: when he raises his foot it rubs the ground, and when he sets it down it also rubs; he walks with one foot touching the other. By conduct such as this, a practitioner of deluded temperament can be known.

Thus, through conduct.

How through Wearing Robes

Question: How through wearing robes—a practitioner of desirous temperament?

Answer: Observe how a practitioner of desirous temperament takes hold of his robe: not much is seen and it is not loose; he wears it too low, properly aligned and rounded, variously pleasing and agreeable to behold.

Observe how a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人) wears his robe: far too tight and too high, not properly aligned or rounded, not variously pleasing, and disagreeable to behold.

Observe how a practitioner of deluded temperament wears his robe: very loose, not properly aligned or rounded, and not variously pleasing or agreeable to behold.

Thus, through wearing robes, it can be known.

How It Can Be Known through Food

Question: How can it be known through food?

Answer: A practitioner of desirous temperament delights in rich and sweet things, a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋恚行人) delights in sour things, and what a practitioner of deluded temperament delights in is unsettled.

Further, when eating, a practitioner of desirous temperament measures for himself and takes a fitting, moderate portion of morsel food. He also knows its aroma and flavor and does not eat quickly; if he obtains a little flavor, he becomes greatly delighted.

On seeing food, a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人) takes much morsel food and eats with a full mouth; if he obtains a little flavor, he becomes greatly angry and distressed.

On seeing food, a practitioner of deluded temperament makes his morsel food small, unrounded, and immoderate. He takes little, smears his mouth with the food, puts half the morsel into his mouth and drops half into the dish, and with a distracted mind does not attend to the food.

Thus, it is known by desire.

How It Can Be Known through Things

Question: How can it be known through things? The source has 知 rather than 可知.

A practitioner of desirous temperament sweeps the ground with his body level and holds a broom without working quickly; without distinguishing earth and sand, he is nonetheless able to make it clean.

A practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人) who sweeps the ground takes hold of the broom abruptly, quickly clears away earth and sand on both sides with an urgent sound, and, though he makes it clean, does not make it even.

A practitioner of deluded temperament (愚癡行人) who sweeps the ground holds the broom loosely and looks back and forth; even when he reaches the end, places remain unclean and uneven.

Likewise, in washing, dyeing, sewing, and so forth, all tasks are performed evenly and without applying the mind; this is a person of desire and a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人). In all tasks, they are performed unevenly and without applying the mind. A practitioner of deluded temperament has a distracted mind, does much, and completes nothing.

Thus, it can be known through things.

How through Lying Down and Sitting

Question: How through lying down and sitting?

A practitioner of desirous temperament does not fall asleep quickly. Before sleeping, he first arranges his sleeping place so that it is properly aligned and even, settles his body securely, bends his arm, and sleeps. If someone calls in the night, he rises at once; if there is something in doubt, he answers at once.

A practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人) falls asleep quickly and settles his body wherever he obtains a place, with face and eyes knit in a frown. If someone calls in the night, he rises at once and answers angrily.

When a deluded person lies down to sleep, the place is not properly aligned; he sprawls his hands and feet, covers his body, and lies down. If someone calls in the night, he responds “yi, yi” and answers only after a long time.

Thus, it can be known through lying down.

Points to Note

This passage answers the second through seventh items among the seven set out in the preceding unit. Across the openings and closes of the six items, no pair has exactly the same form. The openings read “How can it be known through defilements?”; “How through conduct?”; “How through wearing robes—a practitioner of desirous temperament?”; “How can it be known through food?”; “How can it be known through things?” (知 rather than 可知); and “How through lying down and sitting?” The closes read “Thus, it can be known through defilements”; “Thus, through conduct”; “Thus, through wearing robes, it can be known”; “Thus, it is known by desire”; “Thus, it can be known through things”; and “Thus, it can be known through lying down.” They are recorded here without being made uniform.

Among the six items, only the fourth changes its name in the close: it opens by asking about food, but closes with “Thus, it is known by desire.” Food is replaced by desire in the closing formula. This is recorded without alteration.

“Answer:” appears only in the first four items. The fifth and sixth proceed directly from the question to the response without “Answer:”. This is recorded as it stands.

The five defilements of a practitioner of desirous temperament are jealousy, stinginess, deceit, flattery, and desire; those of a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋恚行人) are indignation, resentment, concealment, stinginess, and anger. “Stinginess” appears under both persons. A critical note in the Taishō falls precisely on the second occurrence of “stinginess,” where four witnesses read “distress.” This edition follows the Taishō base and records the variant without adjudicating it.

The closing words for the five defilements of the three persons have two forms: the first two say “This is called the five,” while the third says “These are the five.” They are recorded without being made uniform.

In the section on conduct, the three personal closes read “Thus, by conduct, desirous temperament can be known”; “Thus, by conduct already performed, an angry person can be known”; and “By conduct such as this, a practitioner of deluded temperament can be known.” The middle sentence uses 已, “already,” where the other two use 以, “by.” There is no critical note here. This is recorded as it stands.

The three persons receive several designations in this passage. On the anger side there are a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋恚行人), a practitioner of angry temperament (嗔恚行人), a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人), and an angry person (瞋恚人); on the delusion side there are a practitioner of deluded temperament, a practitioner of deluded temperament (愚癡行人), and a deluded person; on the desire side there are a practitioner of desirous temperament and a person of desire. The difference between 嗔 and 瞋 is a difference of written character. These forms are recorded without being made uniform.

The section on things ends, “Likewise, in washing, dyeing, sewing, and so forth, all tasks are performed evenly and without applying the mind; this is a person of desire and a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人). In all tasks, they are performed unevenly and without applying the mind. A practitioner of deluded temperament has a distracted mind, does much, and completes nothing.” The first sentence groups the person of desire and the practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人) together, while the subject of the following sentence has to be supplied from the practitioner of deluded temperament in the sentence after it. The base reads this way; it is recorded here without being repunctuated.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Discerning Temperament through Six Signs · Vernacular · Summer 2026

The preceding passage listed seven items but explained only the first. This passage continues by explaining the second through the seventh in turn: through defilements, through conduct, through wearing robes, through food, through things, and through lying down and sitting.

The observation may be stated at the outset: what these six items discern is exceedingly orderly—every item sets three persons side by side, and every item proceeds in the order desire, anger, and delusion without a single disruption. Yet the frame enclosing them, six questions and six closes, has no two among its twelve sentences in the same form.

The content is orderly; the form is entirely disorderly. This is not an impression gained from reading but something that can be counted sentence by sentence.

First Draw Out the Frame and Look at It by Itself

The six questions:

“Question: How can it be known through defilements?” 〔T32 410b08〕 · “Question: How through conduct?” 〔T32 410b12〕 · “Question: How through wearing robes—a practitioner of desirous temperament?” 〔T32 410b18〕 · “Question: How can it be known through food?” 〔T32 410b23〕 · “Question: How can it be known through things?” (知 rather than 可知) 〔T32 410c01–02〕 · “Question: How through lying down and sitting?” 〔T32 410c09〕.

Three ask how it may be known and three do not. The third is more distinctive still: beneath the item’s name it adds a person—“How through wearing robes—a practitioner of desirous temperament?” Among the six questions, this alone contains the name of a person.

The six closes:

“Thus, it can be known through defilements” 〔T32 410b11–12〕 · “Thus, through conduct” 〔T32 410b18〕 · “Thus, through wearing robes, it can be known” 〔T32 410b23〕 · “Thus, it is known by desire” 〔T32 410c01〕 · “Thus, it can be known through things” 〔T32 410c08〕 · “Thus, it can be known through lying down” 〔T32 410c15〕.

Four use the explicit formula “can be known,” and two do not. The fourth closing sentence has the wrong name: its item asks about food, but its close says “by desire.”

No formula of “thus” immediately followed by “through food” occurs anywhere in the entire treatise.

The Content in the Middle, by Contrast, Never Departs from Its Order

The frame is this irregular, yet what stands inside it is highly regular.

Through defilements: “A practitioner of desirous temperament has five defilements and often engages in jealousy, stinginess, deceit, flattery, and desire. This is called the five” 〔T32 410b08–09〕; “A practitioner of angry temperament (瞋恚行人) has five defilements and often engages in indignation, resentment, concealment, stinginess, and anger. This is called the five” 〔T32 410b09–10〕; “A practitioner of deluded temperament has five defilements and often engages in laziness, indolence, doubt, remorse, and ignorance. These are the five” 〔T32 410b10–11〕. Each person has five, without a single discrepancy in the count.

Through conduct: for all three persons the text says “observe walking by its character,” and then looks at the feet. A practitioner of desirous temperament “lifts his foot quickly yet walks evenly, lifts his foot evenly, does not set his foot down broadly, and lifts his foot in a pleasing way as he walks” 〔T32 410b13–14〕; a practitioner of angry temperament (嗔恚行人) “raises his foot abruptly and sets it down abruptly, his feet strike one another, and he places half a foot on the ground” 〔T32 410b15〕; and a practitioner of deluded temperament “raises his foot rubbing the ground and sets it down rubbing as well, walking with one foot touching the other” 〔T32 410b16–17〕. The distinction among the three persons lies entirely in a pair of feet: one lifts and sets them evenly, one is abrupt and heavy, and one drags and rubs with foot striking foot.

Through wearing robes, through food, through things, and through lying down and sitting likewise give one sentence to each of the three persons, always in the order desire, anger, and delusion.

The item through food shows the method most clearly. The three persons eat the same meal: a practitioner of desirous temperament “measures for himself and takes a fitting, moderate portion of morsel food, knows its aroma and flavor, does not eat quickly; if he obtains a little flavor, he becomes greatly delighted” 〔T32 410b25–26〕; a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人) “takes much morsel food and eats with a full mouth; if he obtains a little flavor, he becomes greatly angry and distressed” 〔T32 410b27–28〕; and a practitioner of deluded temperament “makes his morsel food small, unrounded, and immoderate, takes little, smears his mouth with the food, puts half the morsel into his mouth and drops half into the dish, and with a distracted mind does not attend to the food” 〔T32 410b28–410c01〕. In the very same matter—obtaining a little flavor—the practitioner of desirous temperament becomes greatly delighted, the practitioner of angry temperament greatly angry and distressed, while the practitioner of deluded temperament does not taste it at all and drops half the food into the dish.

The item through things concerns sweeping. “A practitioner of desirous temperament sweeps the ground with his body level and holds a broom without working quickly; without distinguishing earth and sand, he is nonetheless able to make it clean” 〔T32 410c02–03〕; a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人) “takes hold of the broom abruptly, quickly clears away earth and sand on both sides with an urgent sound, and, though clean, leaves it uneven” 〔T32 410c03–04〕; a practitioner of deluded temperament (愚癡行人) “holds the broom loosely, looks back and forth to the end, and leaves places unclean and uneven” 〔T32 410c05–06〕. The hands of the three persons holding the broom are, respectively, even, abrupt, and loose.

The item through lying down and sitting even counts how they respond when called in the night: a practitioner of desirous temperament “rises when called in the night and, if there is something in doubt, answers at once” 〔T32 410c10–11〕; a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人) “if someone calls in the night, rises at once and answers angrily” 〔T32 410c12–13〕; and a deluded person “if someone calls in the night, responds ‘yi, yi’ and answers only after a long time” 〔T32 410c14〕. One answers at once, one answers angrily, and one says “yi, yi” for a long time before answering.

The expression rendered “yi, yi” occurs only once in the entire treatise.

The Third Item: The Only Question That Writes a Person into the Question

Among the six questions, the third is the most distinctive: “Question: How through wearing robes—a practitioner of desirous temperament?” 〔T32 410b18〕

The other five questions ask only about the item—through defilements, conduct, food, things, or lying down and sitting. This one alone adds “a practitioner of desirous temperament” after the item’s name. Yet the answer below still gives all three persons: a practitioner of desirous temperament has a manner in which “not much is seen and it is not loose; he wears the robe too low, properly aligned and rounded, variously pleasing and agreeable to behold” 〔T32 410b19–20〕; “a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人) wears his robe by its character” 〔T32 410b20〕, “far too tight and too high, not properly aligned or rounded” 〔T32 410b20–21〕; and a practitioner of deluded temperament wears it “very loose, not properly aligned or rounded.”

The person added in the question does not cause the other two persons to disappear from the answer. It is recorded without deletion.

This item also has a duplicated critical note: for 大 in “far too tight and too high,” the Ming witness reads 太 〔T32 410b20〕, and the same note also governs 大 in “becomes greatly angry and distressed” under the later item on food 〔T32 410b27–28〕. One critical note governs two places, and the text follows the base at both.

A Pause: The Witnesses Changed One Place but Not the Other

Earlier readers did see the irregularity of the frame.

The fifth question is rendered “How can it be known through things?” 〔T32 410c01–02〕. Among the three questions rendered with “can be known,” this alone has 知 rather than 可知 in the source: it lacks the character 可. Yet the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong witnesses all read 可知 here.

The two-character form supplied by the four witnesses is exactly the form absent from this question. This shows that a copyist read this place, found it irregular, and made it uniform.

Yet within the same passage, the fourth closing sentence reads “Thus, it is known by desire” 〔T32 410c01〕—the item is food, but the close says desire—and the four witnesses do not change a single character. There is no critical note at that place.

This gives reason to pause and ask: why was the form of “known” changed, but not “desire”?

The treatise does not say, and neither do the critical notes. Only the following verifiable facts can be placed side by side: first, the witnesses change a missing character in a question but do not change a different name in a close; second, this passage has several other irregularities—the six forms of the questions, the six forms of the closes, 以 against 已, and three forms of designation—and the witnesses do not alter any of them; third, the Taishō prints the base reading in both places, and this edition does not change either one.

This edition does not adjudicate on behalf of the author or of the four witnesses. It only sets out what was changed and what was not.

Three Forms within One Item: By, Already, and By Such

The three personal closes in the second item deserve to be viewed separately:

For the practitioner of desirous temperament: “Thus, by conduct, desirous temperament can be known” 〔T32 410b14〕. A practitioner of angry temperament (嗔恚行人): “Thus, by conduct already performed (已行), an angry person (瞋恚人) can be known” 〔T32 410b15–16〕. For the practitioner of deluded temperament: “By conduct such as this, a practitioner of deluded temperament can be known” 〔T32 410b17〕.

Three sentences within one item, in three forms; moreover, the 已 in the second sentence is not the same written character as the 以 in the other two. They are recorded without being made uniform.

The designations follow the same pattern. The angry person has three designations within this passage: the first item has a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋恚行人) 〔T32 410b09–10〕, the second a practitioner of angry temperament (嗔恚行人) 〔T32 410b14〕, and the third a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人). The deluded person also has three: ordinarily a practitioner of deluded temperament, in the fifth item a practitioner of deluded temperament (愚癡行人) 〔T32 410c04–05〕, and in the sixth a deluded person 〔T32 410c13〕. The distinction between 嗔 and 瞋 is a difference of written character.

Two persons, each with three names, all within a single passage.

One Name Appears on Two Lists

There is another place that is easy to glide past while reading.

The five defilements of a practitioner of desirous temperament are jealousy, stinginess, deceit, flattery, and desire; the five of a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋恚行人) are indignation, resentment, concealment, stinginess, and anger.

“Stinginess” appears on both lists. The author does not say why it appears twice and makes no distinction between the two.

A critical note falls here: for “stinginess” under the practitioner of angry temperament, the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong witnesses all read “distress” 〔T32 410b10〕. Under the reading of the four witnesses, the two lists no longer repeat an item.

The text follows the Taishō base, recording the repetition and recording the variant without adjudication.

The Punctuation at the End of the Fifth Item Is Uncertain

After the fifth item has described sweeping, the author adds a general statement: “Likewise, in washing, dyeing, sewing, and so forth, all tasks are performed evenly and without applying the mind; this is a person of desire and a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人). In all tasks, they are performed unevenly and without applying the mind. A practitioner of deluded temperament has a distracted mind, does much, and completes nothing. Thus, it can be known through things” 〔T32 410c06–08〕.

The expression rendered “without applying the mind” occurs only twice in the entire treatise, both here. The treatise itself does not make clear how these two sentences should be divided or which sentence belongs to which person: read literally, the first sentence groups the person of desire and the practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人) together under “performed evenly,” while the next sentence says “performed unevenly” without a subject, and only in the sentence after that does the practitioner of deluded temperament appear.

Where the division is made changes the person produced by the reading. This edition retains the wording and punctuation as given and does not divide it anew.

Reading Practice: In a Parallel List, Read Only the First and Last Sentences First

The reading practice offered by this passage begins from its close “Thus, it is known by desire.”

When encountering a series of parallel items in this treatise, do not begin by reading their contents one by one. First draw out the first sentence—the question—and the final sentence—the close—of each item, and arrange them in two rows.

Once they are arranged, look for three things: first, whether the six questions have one form; second, whether the six closes have one form; and third, whether the name stated in each close agrees with the name of its item.

Arranged in this way, the passage immediately shows six forms of question and six forms of close, while the name in the fourth close does not correspond. Where the frame goes awry is precisely where this passage most deserves a pause.

This method can be used throughout the treatise, for it contains many parallel lists. Their contents can seem much alike and become tiring, while the frame has only twelve sentences and can be taken in at a glance. The frame is more honest than the content.

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Carry away three things. One observation—each of the six items has highly orderly content while its frame is entirely disorderly: all six set three persons side by side and follow the order desire, anger, and delusion; yet there are six forms of question—three ask how it may be known and three do not, with the third alone naming a person inside the question—and six forms of close—four use an explicit “can be known” formula and two do not. The fourth close says “Thus, it is known by desire” 〔T32 410c01〕 even though its item concerns food; no closing formula anywhere in the treatise places “thus” directly together with “through food.” One reading practice—when reading parallel items, first draw out only the question and close of each and arrange them side by side, then ask whether the name in each close agrees with the item’s name; where the frame goes awry is where one should pause. One place to pause—the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong witnesses supply a character in the fifth question 〔T32 410c02〕 so that it reads “can be known,” but do not alter a single character of “by desire” in the fourth close; there is no critical note at that latter place. One place was changed and the other was not; the treatise does not say why, and neither do the critical notes, so this edition neither alters nor adjudicates.

Three smaller matters should also be retained: the three personal closes in the second item have three forms—“by conduct,” “by conduct already performed,” and “by conduct such as this” 〔T32 410b14·410b15–16·410b17〕, and 已 in the middle differs in written character from 以; the angry and deluded persons each receive three designations within this passage—a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋恚行人), a practitioner of angry temperament (嗔恚行人), and a practitioner of angry temperament (瞋行人) / a practitioner of deluded temperament, a practitioner of deluded temperament (愚癡行人), and a deluded person—the distinction between 嗔 and 瞋 being a difference of written character; and “stinginess” appears in the lists of both the desirous and angry practitioners 〔T32 410b09·410b10〕, while the four witnesses read “distress” for the angry practitioner’s “stinginess,” under which reading the repetition disappears. The text follows the base and records its repetition.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Discerning Temperament through Six Signs · Exposition · Summer 2026