解脫道論 勝、地與取

This chapter has nine classifications. The numbers in eight can all be added up. The final sentence of the eighth cannot.

“又五行處，初坐禪人不應修行，四無色及捨,” “Further, there are five meditation subjects that a beginning meditator should not cultivate: the four formless states and equanimity” 〔T32 412a11–12〕. Below it the text says, “餘二十三，初學禪人應取,” “The remaining twenty-three should be grasped by a beginning learner in jhāna” 〔T32 412a12〕. Five plus twenty-three is twenty-eight; the full count in this chapter is thirty-eight.

The Taishō has a critical note on these three Chinese characters: the Song, Yuan, and Ming witnesses read “thirty-two,” while the Palace witness reads “thirty-three.” Five plus thirty-three is exactly thirty-eight.

Of the three readings, only one balances the account.

This edition records the readings without altering the text. Yet one thing deserves to be kept in mind: the number is not the only thing that changes form in the same sentence.

The first sentence says 初坐禪人, “beginning meditator”—this expression occurs thirty-six times in the whole treatise, from Chapter Five through Chapter Eleven, and is the treatise’s fixed expression for a beginner. The second suddenly says 初學禪人, “beginning learner in jhāna”—this form occurs only once in the whole treatise.

One name changes form and one number receives a critical note, in adjacent sentences.

This edition neither determines the reason nor could determine it. But it gives the reader a practical reminder: when reading an old treatise and finding wording that suddenly looks unlike what surrounds it, do not rush toward a doctrinal explanation; first look back to see whether that line has a critical note. If it does, set the two things beside each other. If it does not, it is more likely to be the author’s own wording.

Both kinds occur in this passage. The occurrence of 勝念, “excellence of recollection,” has no critical note—the excellence classification has five items; concentration-excellence, perception-excellence, and wisdom-excellence all place the quality first, while the item concerning the ten stations of recollection alone reverses the order as “excellence of recollection” 〔T32 411c29〕, and the reverse Chinese form does not occur anywhere in the work. The author himself wrote it this way; it is retained without being made uniform.

The occurrence of 初學禪人, “beginning learner in jhāna,” stands on a line with a critical note. Both are recorded without adjudication.

Neither place is changed. But they are known not to be of the same kind.

Beyond all this, the numbers in the five items, three aspects, and four methods still add up on their own: in the excellence classification, twelve plus eleven plus ten plus four plus one is thirty-eight; in the first four items of the grasping classification, seventeen plus one plus one plus nineteen is thirty-eight. The accounts are clean enough to leave only one imbalance—therefore that imbalance can be seen.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Excellence, Ground, and Grasping · Doorway · Summer 2026

Sixth Classification · Through Excellence

Question: What is the classification through excellence?

Answer: The eight kasiṇas and the four formless concentrations are called excellent because of 真實事, “true object.”

For the eight kasiṇas, this is called concentration-excellence, because the fourth jhāna attains 勝地, “excellent ground.” The four formless concentrations also become excellent.

The ten perceptions of impurity and the perception of repulsiveness in food are called perception-excellence—because of color, shape, space, direction, discrimination, combination, and attachment, and because of the matter of perception of impurity.

For the ten stations of recollection, this is called excellence of recollection, because of subtlety and recollection.

The four immeasurables take freedom from fault as excellence, because they receive benefit.

Contemplating the four elements is called wisdom-excellence, because of attachment to emptiness.

Thus, they can be known through excellence.

Seventh Classification · Through Ground

Question: How is it through ground?

Answer: Twelve meditation subjects do not arise in the heavens: the ten impurities, mindfulness of the body, and the perception of repulsiveness in food.

Further, thirteen meditation subjects do not arise in form existence: the preceding twelve together with breathing-mindfulness do not arise in form existence.

Apart from the four formless bases, the other meditation subjects do not arise in formless existence.

Thus, they can be known through ground.

Eighth Classification · Through Grasping

Question: How is it through grasping?

Answer: For seventeen meditation subjects, the sign should be grasped through seeing—the seven kasiṇas other than the wind kasiṇa and the formless kasiṇas, together with the ten perceptions of impurity.

For one further meditation subject, the sign should be grasped through touch: mindfulness of breathing.

For one further meditation subject, it should be grasped either through seeing or through touch: the wind kasiṇa.

The remaining nineteen meditation subjects should be grasped through 聞分別, “hearing-discrimination.”

Further, there are five meditation subjects that a beginning meditator should not cultivate: the four formless states and equanimity. The remaining twenty-three should be grasped by a beginning learner in jhāna.

Thus, they can be known through grasping.

Several Points to Keep in View

Of the five items in the excellence classification, three take the form “X-excellence”—concentration-excellence, perception-excellence, and wisdom-excellence. Only the item concerning the ten stations of recollection reverses the order as “excellence of recollection,” not “recollection-excellence.” The fourth item does not attach “excellence” to a name at all, but says that “the four immeasurables take freedom from fault as excellence.” The five items do not share one naming pattern. They are retained as they stand.

The preceding classification through things established the two names 分別事, “discriminated object,” and 實事, “actual object.” The opening of the present passage says 真實事, “true object.” Whether this true object is the same as that actual object is not stated here. The literal forms are retained without deciding the point.

The opening list of the chapter says “ten recollections,” while the present passage says “ten stations of recollection.” The opening list says “ten perceptions of impurity,” while the ground classification here shortens this to “ten impurities.” The wording differs within the same groups. It is retained as it stands.

Within this single passage, the formless group has three forms: four formless concentrations, four formless bases, and four formless states. They are retained as they stand.

The ground classification has three aspects. The first says “do not arise in the heavens,” while the second and third say “do not arise in form existence” and “do not arise in formless existence.” Why the first speaks of “the heavens” rather than “sense existence” is not stated here. It is retained as it stands.

Of the four items in the grasping classification, the first two say that “the sign should be grasped,” while the latter two say only that the subject “should be grasped.” They are retained as they stand.

In the final two sentences of the grasping classification, the person has two names: the first says that “a beginning meditator should not cultivate,” while the second says that “a beginning learner in jhāna should grasp.” The two names stand together in one place. They are retained as they stand.

The five items in the excellence classification total thirty-eight: eight plus four makes twelve; ten plus one makes eleven; the ten stations of recollection make ten; the four immeasurables make four; and contemplating the four elements makes one. The first four items in the grasping classification likewise total thirty-eight: seventeen, one, one, and nineteen. Yet the last two sentences in that classification give five and twenty-three, totaling only twenty-eight. This very sentence is the only place in the passage with a critical note—the Song, Yuan, and Ming witnesses read “thirty-two,” while the Palace witness reads “thirty-three.” Of the three readings, only the Palace reading agrees with thirty-eight. The readings are recorded without alteration or adjudication, and the present text follows the base.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Excellence, Ground, and Grasping · Vernacular · Summer 2026

This passage has three hundred Chinese characters and three classifications, making it the shortest unit in the chapter. Yet the one sentence in the whole chapter most worth pausing over stands at its end.

State the observation first: in the last two sentences of the grasping classification, one sentence changes the person’s name and one changes the number; that number occurs precisely where the chapter has its sole critical note.

“又五行處，初坐禪人不應修行，四無色及捨,” “Further, there are five meditation subjects that a beginning meditator should not cultivate: the four formless states and equanimity” 〔T32 412a11–12〕—this is the first sentence. “餘二十三，初學禪人應取,” “The remaining twenty-three should be grasped by a beginning learner in jhāna” 〔T32 412a12〕—this is the second.

The first sentence says 初坐禪人, “beginning meditator,” while the second says 初學禪人, “beginning learner in jhāna.” The first expression occurs thirty-six times in the whole treatise, while the second occurs once 〔T32 412a12〕—thirty-six against one, and the one stands in the adjacent sentence.

The three Chinese characters 餘二十三, “the remaining twenty-three,” carry a Taishō critical note: the Song, Yuan, and Ming witnesses read “thirty-two,” while the Palace witness reads “thirty-three.”

First Look at the Three Numbers

Five plus twenty-three is twenty-eight. Five plus thirty-two is thirty-seven. Five plus thirty-three is thirty-eight.

Of the three readings, only the Palace reading agrees with thirty-eight.

This can be said because all the other addition in the passage agrees. The first four items of the grasping classification are: “謂十七行處，以見應取相,” “for seventeen meditation subjects, the sign should be grasped through seeing” 〔T32 412a07〕; “又一行處以觸應取相，謂念數息,” “for one further meditation subject, the sign should be grasped through touch, namely mindfulness of breathing” 〔T32 412a08–09〕; “又一行處，或以見或以觸應取，謂風一切入,” “one further meditation subject should be grasped either through seeing or through touch, namely the wind kasiṇa” 〔T32 412a09–10〕; and “餘十九行處，以聞分別應取,” “the remaining nineteen meditation subjects should be grasped through 聞分別, ‘hearing-discrimination’” 〔T32 412a10–11〕. Seventeen plus one plus one plus nineteen is exactly thirty-eight.

The number seventeen also closes on its own: “除風一切入及無色一切入，餘七一切入、十不淨想,” “apart from the wind kasiṇa and the formless kasiṇas, the other seven kasiṇas and the ten perceptions of impurity” 〔T32 412a07–08〕—from the ten kasiṇas, remove wind, space, and consciousness, leaving seven; add the ten perceptions of impurity, making seventeen.

Thus only the last two sentences do not agree. The three readings in the critical note are recorded as they stand; whether their numbers agree is recorded but not adjudicated, and the present text follows the base.

The Excellence Classification: Five Items but Uneven Names

Return to the sixth classification. The excellence classification has five items, and each is linked to the reason for its excellence.

“以八一切入是名定勝故，彼第四禪得勝地故,” “the eight kasiṇas are called concentration-excellence because the fourth jhāna attains 勝地, ‘excellent ground’” 〔T32 411c25–26〕; “十不淨想及食不淨想是名想勝,” “the ten perceptions of impurity and the perception of repulsiveness in food are called perception-excellence” 〔T32 411c26–27〕, followed by eight reasons in succession—“以色、以形、以空、以方、以分別、以和合、以執著故、以不淨想事故,” “because of color, shape, space, direction, discrimination, combination, and attachment, and because of the matter of perception of impurity” 〔T32 411c27–29〕, a sequence occurring once in the whole treatise; “四無量心以無過為勝，受饒益故,” “the four immeasurables take freedom from fault as excellence, because they receive benefit” 〔T32 411c29–412a01〕; and “觀四大是名慧勝，以執著空故,” “contemplating the four elements is called wisdom-excellence, because of attachment to emptiness” 〔T32 412a01–02〕.

Among these items, three use “X-excellence”—concentration-excellence, perception-excellence, and wisdom-excellence—placing first the factor that is excellent.

The third item is different: “以十念處是名勝念，微細故、隨念故,” “for the ten stations of recollection, this is called excellence of recollection, because of subtlety and recollection” 〔T32 411c29〕. 勝念, “excellence of recollection,” occurs once in the whole treatise 〔T32 411c29〕, while the reverse Chinese form 念勝 does not occur anywhere in the work.

Within the same group of five, the named forms place the qualifying expression in one order, while this one reverses it.

The fourth item has yet another form: it does not attach “excellence” to a name at all, but says “take freedom from fault as excellence.” Five items have three forms of naming.

Pause: Why Is This One Item Alone Reversed?

This is worth pausing over.

Concentration-excellence, perception-excellence, and wisdom-excellence read as “excellent in concentration,” “excellent in perception,” and “excellent in wisdom.” Following that pattern, the ten stations of recollection should be “recollection-excellence.” Yet the treatise gives “excellence of recollection.”

The passage cannot answer why. Two things can be checked.

First, the lengths of the reasons attached to the five items differ greatly: perception-excellence has eight; excellence of recollection has two, subtlety and recollection; wisdom-excellence and taking freedom from fault as excellence each have one; and concentration-excellence has one while adding the separate sentence “the four formless concentrations become excellent” 〔T32 411c26〕. The density with which the author gives reasons differs from item to item.

Second, the numbers of the five items close on their own: the eight kasiṇas plus the four formless concentrations make twelve; the ten perceptions of impurity plus the perception of repulsiveness in food make eleven; the ten stations of recollection make ten; the four immeasurables make four; and contemplating the four elements makes one—twelve plus eleven plus ten plus four plus one is exactly thirty-eight. The author does not state the total, yet the division is exhaustive.

The naming is uneven, but the numbers do not wander. The author does not explain why, and this edition does not explain it on his behalf.

The Ground Classification: Three Aspects but Two Kinds of Place-Name

The seventh classification also has an uneven point.

The three aspects are: “十二行處不生於天上，謂十不淨及念身、食不淨想,” “twelve meditation subjects do not arise in the heavens: the ten impurities, mindfulness of the body, and the perception of repulsiveness in food” 〔T32 412a03–04〕; “又十三行處不生於色有，初十二及數息念不生色有,” “further, thirteen meditation subjects do not arise in form existence: the first twelve together with breathing-mindfulness do not arise in form existence” 〔T32 412a04–05〕; and “除四無色處，餘行處不生於無色有,” “apart from the four formless bases, the other meditation subjects do not arise in formless existence” 〔T32 412a05–06〕.

The first aspect speaks of “the heavens,” while the second and third speak of “form existence” and “formless existence.” There are three aspects but two forms for what is indicated as a place: one is the name of a place; the other two are names of kinds of existence. The treatise does not explain the difference.

There are two further small points. The opening list of the chapter says “ten perceptions of impurity,” while here it says “the ten impurities, mindfulness of the body, and the perception of repulsiveness in food” 〔T32 412a03–04〕, omitting the word “perceptions.” Within this single passage, the formless group has three forms—“four formless concentrations” 〔T32 411c24–25〕, “four formless bases” 〔T32 412a05〕, and “four formless states” 〔T32 412a12〕.

The second aspect also does something worth recording: “the first twelve together with breathing-mindfulness do not arise in form existence.” It does not list those twelve items again, but says only “the first twelve,” referring back to the preceding number. This is the author’s own use of the reading method handed over by the previous unit: the author himself uses a number to point to the items.

A Reading Method: When a Name Changes Form, Look Back for a Critical Note on That Line

The reading method this passage hands over lies in the observation at the beginning.

The preceding unit said that names change while numbers do not, so add the numbers at each point. The present passage goes one step further: a change in a name and a variation in written form often fall in the same place.

The final two sentences of the grasping classification are just such a place: 初坐禪人, “beginning meditator,” becomes 初學禪人, “beginning learner in jhāna,” a form occurring only once in the entire treatise; in the same sentence, “the remaining twenty-three” has “thirty-two” in three witnesses and “thirty-three” in the Palace witness. Within a single sentence, two gestures of the copyist appear at once.

The reading method is therefore this: when a name suddenly changes form, do not rush to explain its doctrine; first look back to see whether the Taishō gives a critical note on that line. If it does, set the note and the changed name side by side—they may be traces of the same event in two places. If it does not, the wording belongs to the author and should be retained without being made uniform.

Applied here: the occurrence of 初學禪人, “beginning learner in jhāna,” stands on a line with a critical note, so both are recorded; the occurrence of 勝念, “excellence of recollection,” has no critical note, so it is retained. Neither is changed, but they are known not to be of the same kind.

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Take away three things. One observation—within the last two sentences of the grasping classification, the person’s name and the number go awry at once 〔T32 412a11–12〕: 初坐禪人, “beginning meditator,” occurs thirty-six times in the whole treatise, while 初學禪人, “beginning learner in jhāna,” occurs once; the two names stand together in adjacent sentences. In the same sentence, “the remaining twenty-three” is precisely the chapter’s sole critical note—the three witnesses read “thirty-two,” while the Palace witness reads “thirty-three,” and only five plus thirty-three makes thirty-eight. Of the three readings, only the Palace number agrees with the full count; the agreement is recorded but not adjudicated, and the present text follows the base. One reading method—when a name suddenly changes form, look back to see whether that line has a critical note: if it does, set them side by side, because the change in the name and the variation in a character are often two traces of the same event; if it does not, it is the author’s own wording and should be retained without being made uniform. Applied here, 初學禪人 has a critical note on its line, while 勝念 does not; neither is changed, but they are known to be of different kinds. One place to pause—among the five items of the excellence classification, concentration-excellence, perception-excellence, and wisdom-excellence all take the form “X-excellence,” but the item concerning the ten stations of recollection alone reverses it as “excellence of recollection” 〔T32 411c29〕, while the reverse Chinese form does not occur anywhere in the work; the fourth item does not attach excellence to a name but says “take freedom from fault as excellence” 〔T32 412a01〕. The author does not give the reason. What can be checked is only that the lengths of the reasons differ greatly—eight for perception-excellence, two for excellence of recollection, and one each for the others—while the numbers of the five items close on their own: twelve plus eleven plus ten plus four plus one is exactly thirty-eight.

Three smaller points should also be remembered. 真實事, “true object,” occurs once in the whole treatise 〔411c25〕, and the treatise does not explain its relation to the preceding classification’s 實事, “actual object”; in the three aspects of the ground classification, the first says “the heavens,” while the second and third say “form existence” and “formless existence,” and the second refers back with “the first twelve” rather than listing the items again; the formless group has three forms within this single passage—four formless concentrations 〔411c24–25〕, four formless bases 〔412a05〕, and four formless states 〔412a12〕.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Excellence, Ground, and Grasping · Exposition · Summer 2026