解脫道論 受持變的行用
一門講飛的功夫，第一句話卻在問摔：從虛空退了，會不會翻下來？答語不從空中說，從坐處說——他是從先坐處起的，退則還至先坐處，見自身如先坐。所依者自始至終是那個坐處。本論教神通，開口先講怎麼不出事。
然後是總舉：以一成多、以多成一、徹過壁牆山、於地出沒、於水上行、行如飛鳥、手摸日月，乃至梵世。八件事、四個「猶如」，句法一露底就知道是同一件事的八種說法——在甲處作乙處用。
真正的門道在配屬。要在地上像在水裡出沒，修的是水一切入；要在水上像走地一樣，修的是地一切入。想在甲處作乙處用，就修乙處的一切入。不是把地變軟、把水變硬，是把地受持成水、把水受持成地。原句作「性水」「性地」；「性」字本身不釋，只能照錄，不能拿「本有」等近義詞代換。
四節的骨架完全一樣：入第四禪、安詳出、以智受持、此當成某某。既然都一樣，何必各寫一遍？因為分寫四遍，才看得出整門的變數只有一個——受持什麼相。前面的定力是共法，變化不從那裡來。
手摸日月一節最見分寸：受持「此當成近手」之後，那人是或坐或臥摸捫日月的。受持的是「近」，不是位移。
所以讀本論說某種能力，先找它的「此當成…」句。那是動手處；而動的永遠是相，不是物。
A teaching on flight begins by asking about falling. If the practitioner falls away from jhāna while in space, will he tumble to the ground? The answer speaks not from the air but from the sitting place: he rose from his earlier seat; when he falls away he returns to it and sees his body sitting as before. From first to last, the earlier sitting place remains the support. Before this treatise teaches supernormal action, it speaks of how not to come to harm.
It then gives the inventory: making one many and many one; passing through walls, enclosures, and mountains; sinking into the earth; walking on water; traveling like a bird; touching the sun and moon; reaching the Brahmā world. Four items use “as though” or “like.” Their grammar discloses a single operation: making one domain function as another.
The assignment of practices shows the method. To sink into earth as into water, cultivate the water kasiṇa. To walk on water as on earth, cultivate the earth kasiṇa. To make A function as B, cultivate the kasiṇa of B. It is not a matter of softening earth or hardening water, but of resolving earth as water and water as earth. The source closes the two sections with “the nature of water” and “the nature of earth.” It does not define “nature,” so the word is preserved rather than replaced with “inherent” or “real.”
Four operations share the same frame: enter the fourth jhāna, emerge calmly, resolve with knowledge, “Let this become …” Repetition exposes the only variable—which sign is determined. Concentration is the common preparation; the variation does not occur there.
Touching the sun and moon reveals the restraint of the account. After resolving, “Let this come within reach of my hand,” the practitioner touches them while sitting or lying down. What has been determined is nearness, not bodily displacement.
So when this treatise describes an ability, first find its sentence, “Let this become …” That is where the operation occurs, and what changes is always the determined sign, not a claim about transforming an external thing.
Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Applications of Determination-Transformation · Doorway · Summer 2026
阿羅漢優波底沙造，梁扶南三藏僧伽婆羅譯《解脫道論》〈五通品〉「受持變的行用」· 大正藏 T32n1648〔起 T32 0442a〕。段首〔T32 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄錨。
〔T32 0442a〕
問：彼坐禪人於虛空或從禪退，彼從虛空轉當落地耶？答：不然。是從其先坐處起，若遠行退者還至先坐處，其見自身如先坐。有神通人是其止法。彼坐禪人，如是次第作觀，至受持自在作，不一種變，以一成多、以多成一，或現徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山，身行無礙猶如虛空，於地或沒或出猶如在水，於水上行猶如行地，行於虛空猶如飛鳥，手摸日月。如是大神通、如是大力身，乃起至于梵世。以一成多者，以一令多，或一百、或一千、或一萬等。以變入第四禪安詳出，次第以智受持，我當多成多，如小路阿羅漢。以多成一者，欲轉多為一，以智受持，我當轉多成一，如長老小路阿羅漢。或現或不現，徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山，行不障礙猶如虛空。彼坐禪人如是以修行虛空一切入，入第四禪安詳出，徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山，已轉成轉以智受持，此當成虛空。已成虛空，彼坐禪人於虛空徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山，行不障礙猶如虛空。或現者何義開？或不現者何義不開？彼坐禪人不開令開，徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山，行不障礙。此何義？於地令作出沒猶如在水。彼坐禪人如是以心修行水一切入，入於第四禪，安詳出轉地作隔，以智受持，此當成水。彼坐禪人於地成出沒，猶如性水。於水上行，心不障礙，猶如行地。彼坐禪人如是以心修行地一切入，入第四禪，安詳出轉水作隔，以智受持，此當成地。已成地，彼坐禪人於水行不障礙，如行性地，行於虛空猶如飛鳥。於是三行，步行、風行、心行。於是坐禪人得地一切入定，於虛空受持道路以步行。若得風一切入定，受持風如綿縷如風行。以心行，令滿身心，或樂想或輕想。以著身，身已輕。以心行，行如飛鳥。如是以心行，行已手摸日月，如是神通、如是神力。彼坐禪人，有禪人有神通，得心自在。以是修行心入第四禪，安詳出手摸日月，以智受持，此當成近手。彼成近手，彼坐禪人或坐或臥，以手摸捫日月，起身乃至梵世。彼坐禪人有神通，得心自在，樂行梵世。如是四如意足，以如是修行心，於遠受持近、於近受持遠，或多受持少、或少受持多，以天眼見梵天色，以天耳聞梵天聲，以他心智知梵天心。彼坐禪人三行，以二行行於梵世，是法於一切受持變（受持變已竟）。
The canonical text stands in Chinese only. This edition renders the essence, the plain reading, the exposition and the apparatus into English — never the sūtra itself. Switch to 漢讀本 or 並行雙語 above to read it.
從虛空退墮之問
問：那坐禪人在虛空中若從禪退，他會從虛空翻轉而落地嗎？
答：不會。他是從他先前的坐處起身的；若是遠行而退，就還回到先前的坐處，他看見自己的身仍像先前坐著那樣。有神通的人，這是他的止法。
受持自在之後的種種變
那坐禪人像這樣依次第作觀，到了受持自在而作的時候，就有不只一種的變：以一成多、以多成一；或現徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山，身行無礙猶如虛空；於地或沒或出猶如在水；於水上行猶如行地；行於虛空猶如飛鳥；手摸日月。像這樣的大神通、像這樣的大力身，乃至能起到梵世。
以下逐一交代這幾種變各自的修法。
以一成多
以一成多，就是以一令成多，或一百、或一千、或一萬等。以變而入第四禪、安詳而出，依次第以智受持：我當多成多——像小路阿羅漢那樣。
以多成一
以多成一，就是要把多轉為一，以智受持：我當轉多成一——像長老小路阿羅漢那樣。
二處所舉是同一人，前處作「小路阿羅漢」而後處作「長老小路阿羅漢」，這裡照論文原樣錄。
或現或不現、徹過壁牆山
或現、或不現，徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山，行不障礙猶如虛空。
那坐禪人像這樣以修行虛空一切入，入第四禪、安詳而出，要徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山，已轉而成轉，以智受持：此當成虛空。已成虛空，那坐禪人就在虛空中徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山，行不障礙猶如虛空。
「或現」是什麼意思？是開。「或不現」是什麼意思？是不開。那坐禪人於不開處令它開，於是徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山，行不障礙。
於地沒出猶如在水
這是什麼意思？是在地上令它作出沒，猶如在水中。
那坐禪人像這樣以心修行水一切入，入於第四禪，安詳而出，把地轉作隔，以智受持：此當成水。那坐禪人於是在地上成就出沒，猶如性水。
於水上行猶如行地
於水上行，心不障礙，猶如行地。
那坐禪人像這樣以心修行地一切入，入第四禪，安詳而出，把水轉作隔，以智受持：此當成地。已成地，那坐禪人就在水上行不障礙，如行性地。
行於虛空猶如飛鳥：三行
行於虛空猶如飛鳥。在這件事上有三行，就是步行、風行、心行。
坐禪人得地一切入定的，就在虛空中受持道路而以步行。
若得風一切入定的，就受持風如綿縷那樣而如風行。
以心行的，令身心充滿，或起樂想、或起輕想，以此著於身，身已成輕；以心行，行如飛鳥。
手摸日月
像這樣以心行，行了就手摸日月——像這樣的神通、像這樣的神力。
那坐禪人，有禪人有神通，得心自在，以此修行心入第四禪，安詳而出，要手摸日月，以智受持：此當成近手。已成近手，那坐禪人或坐或臥，就以手摸捫日月。
起身乃至梵世
起身乃至梵世。那坐禪人有神通、得心自在，樂於行到梵世。
像這樣的四如意足，以像這樣修行的心，於遠受持為近、於近受持為遠，或多受持為少、或少受持為多；以天眼見梵天色，以天耳聞梵天聲，以他心智知梵天心。
那坐禪人有三行，以其中二行行於梵世。是哪二行，論文不出其目，這裡不代為補。
以上這個法，於一切受持變都是如此——受持變已竟。
A Question about Falling from Space
Question: If a meditator falls away from jhāna while in space, will he tumble from space and fall to the ground?
Answer: No. He rose from the place where he had previously been sitting. If he has traveled far and then falls away, he returns to that earlier sitting place and sees his own body still sitting as before. For one with direct knowledge, this is his method of stopping.
The Transformations Performed after Mastery of Determination
When the meditator has observed step by step in this way and comes to perform with mastery of determination, he can carry out more than one kind of transformation: make one become many and many become one; appear or not appear; pass through a wall, an enclosure, or a mountain, moving without obstruction as through space; sink into and emerge from the ground as though in water; walk on water as though on land; travel through space like a bird; and touch the sun and moon with his hand. With such great direct knowledge and such great bodily strength, he can rise as far as the Brahmā world.
The methods for these transformations are given one by one below.
Making One Become Many
Making one become many means making one into many—a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, and so forth. He enters the fourth jhāna by way of transformation, emerges calmly, and resolves step by step with knowledge: “May I, being one, become many”—like the arahant 小路.
Making Many Become One
Making many become one means wishing to turn the many into one. He resolves with knowledge: “May I turn the many into one”—like the elder arahant 小路.
Both examples name the same person. The first reads “the arahant 小路” and the second “the elder arahant 小路.” The wording is retained as it stands.
Appearing or Not Appearing; Passing through Walls, Enclosures, and Mountains
Appearing or not appearing, he passes through walls, enclosures, and mountains, moving without obstruction as through space.
The meditator cultivates the space kasiṇa in this way, enters the fourth jhāna, and emerges calmly. Wishing to pass through a wall, an enclosure, or a mountain, he turns and turns it, then resolves with knowledge: “Let this become space.” Once it has become space, he passes through the wall, enclosure, or mountain without obstruction, as through space.
What does “appearing” mean? It means open. What does “not appearing” mean? It means not open. The meditator makes what is not open become open and then passes through walls, enclosures, and mountains without obstruction.
Sinking into and Emerging from the Ground as Though in Water
What does this mean? It means causing himself to sink into and emerge from the ground as though in water.
The meditator cultivates the water kasiṇa with the mind in this way, enters the fourth jhāna, and emerges calmly. He turns the ground into a separation and resolves with knowledge: “Let this become water.” He can then sink into and emerge from the ground as though it had the nature of water.
Walking on Water as Though on Land
He walks on water without obstruction, as though walking on land.
The meditator cultivates the earth kasiṇa with the mind in this way, enters the fourth jhāna, and emerges calmly. He turns the water into a separation and resolves with knowledge: “Let this become earth.” Once it has become earth, he walks on the water without obstruction, as though walking on earth by nature.
Traveling through Space Like a Bird: Three Modes of Travel
He travels through space like a bird. There are three modes of travel here: walking, traveling by wind, and traveling by mind.
A meditator who has attained concentration on the earth kasiṇa resolves a road in space and travels by walking.
One who has attained concentration on the air kasiṇa resolves air like a thread of cotton and travels as the wind travels.
One who travels by mind fills body and mind, attaches either a perception of ease or a perception of lightness to the body, and makes the body light. Traveling by mind, he goes like a bird.
Touching the Sun and Moon
Having traveled by mind in this way, he touches the sun and moon with his hand—such is his direct knowledge and such his supernormal strength.
The meditator—a practitioner with direct knowledge and mastery of mind—cultivates his mind in this way, enters the fourth jhāna, and emerges calmly. Wishing to touch the sun and moon, he resolves with knowledge: “Let this come within reach of my hand.” Once it has come within reach, whether sitting or lying down he touches and strokes the sun and moon with his hand.
Rising as Far as the Brahmā World
He rises bodily as far as the Brahmā world. The meditator has direct knowledge and mastery of mind, and delights in traveling to the Brahmā world.
Through the four bases of power and a mind cultivated in this way, he resolves what is far as near and what is near as far, the many as few or the few as many. With the divine eye he sees the forms of Brahmā; with the divine ear he hears Brahmā’s sounds; with knowledge of others’ minds he knows Brahmā’s mind.
The meditator has three modes of travel and uses two of them to travel to the Brahmā world. The treatise does not identify which two, so this edition does not supply them.
This method applies throughout determination-transformation. Determination-transformation is complete.
Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Applications of Determination-Transformation · Vernacular · Summer 2026
三變之中的第一種，到這裡才展開。上一單元教的是共同前行——四如意足、身心相隨、身輕如燒透的鐵丸；這一單元教的是拿這個身去做什麼。
先把所見說在前頭：這一門的動手處全在「受持什麼相」，不在「改變什麼物」，而且配屬是交錯的。要在地上像在水裡一樣出沒，修的不是地一切入，是「以心修行水一切入」〔T32 442b13〕；要在水上像走在地上一樣，修的不是水一切入，是「以心修行地一切入」〔T32 442b16–17〕。想在甲處作乙處用，就修乙處的一切入。不是把地變軟、把水變硬，是把地受持成水、把水受持成地。論文緊接著在兩節末分別作「猶如性水」〔T32 442b15〕與「如行性地」〔T32 442b19〕。「性」字本身不釋，本編照錄，不以「真實」「本有」等近義詞代換。可核的只有句面次第：先以智受持「此當成水／地」，後以「性水／性地」作譬喻收語；本段所說始終是受持之相，沒有一句說改造外物。
開頭一問：先問摔下來
一門講飛的功夫，第一句話卻是問摔：「問：彼坐禪人於虛空或從禪退，彼從虛空轉當落地耶？」〔T32 442a20–21〕
答得也奇：「答：不然。是從其先坐處起，若遠行退者還至先坐處，其見自身如先坐。有神通人是其止法」〔T32 442a21–23〕。
這個答不從空中說，從坐處說。它沒有解釋空中的身為什麼不墜，只交代了一件事：他是從先坐處起的，退則還至先坐處，看見自己的身仍如原先那樣坐著。末句「有神通人是其止法」，「止法」二字論文不更釋；可核的只有次第：退還先坐處的敘述在前，「止法」收句在後。二者如何相屬，本編照字面保留、不代考定。
字面上有三個動作：「起」指出發，「還」記退回，「見」記其所見；三者都繫「先坐處」，卻沒有一字說明空中之身如何存續。這正是此問可解到的邊界。
一門的第一問就是退墮之疑，這與上一單元末尾「不當速遠行」〔T32 442a15–16〕可以互讀：前一處為初學者立一尺至一尋的漸次，這一處記從禪退時還至先坐處。兩處都把限制與次第放在神通作用之前；除此以外，不能再從「止法」補出論文未說的機制。
總舉：八件事，四個「猶如」
「彼坐禪人，如是次第作觀，至受持自在作，不一種變」〔T32 442a23–24〕——然後一口氣列出來：以一成多、以多成一、徹過壁徹過牆徹過山、身行無礙猶如虛空、於地或沒或出猶如在水、於水上行猶如行地、行於虛空猶如飛鳥、手摸日月，「如是大神通、如是大力身，乃起至于梵世」〔T32 442a28〕。
總舉有四個「猶如」，但句面並非完全相同：身行無礙猶如虛空、於地出沒猶如在水、於水上行猶如行地、行於虛空猶如飛鳥。四句可以合讀為在甲處作乙處用的對比；總舉的另四項——以一成多、以多成一、穿越壁牆山、手摸日月——沒有使用這個句式，故不能把八項全說成同一件事。
總舉之後逐節出其修法。逐節之目與總舉相承；「於地或沒或出」那一目的逐釋不另立標語，而以「此何義？」〔T32 442b12〕承上。這是本段可見的承接方式，不推作全論通例。
逐節：同一個句式重複四次
以一成多：「以一令多，或一百、或一千、或一萬等。以變入第四禪安詳出，次第以智受持，我當多成多，如小路阿羅漢」〔T32 442a29–442b02〕。
以多成一：「欲轉多為一，以智受持，我當轉多成一，如長老小路阿羅漢」〔T32 442b02–04〕。同一個人，前處作「小路阿羅漢」、後處作「長老小路阿羅漢」，稱謂不一，照錄不代畫一；論文也不出他的本事。
徹過壁牆山：「彼坐禪人如是以修行虛空一切入，入第四禪安詳出」〔T32 442b05–06〕…「以智受持，此當成虛空」〔T32 442b07–08〕。
這一節先以成對自問釋「或現／或不現」：「或現者何義開？或不現者何義不開？」〔T32 442b09–10〕，答曰「彼坐禪人不開令開，徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山，行不障礙」〔T32 442b10–12〕。下節另以「此何義？」〔T32 442b12〕承上，故不是全段唯一一次自問。
值得注意的是它所釋的範圍。總舉那一句是「或現徹過壁、徹過牆、徹過山」〔T32 442a25〕，「或現」二字看似只是個語助；論文卻停下來，專為「現」與「不現」兩個字各配一個字——現就是開，不現就是不開。別的一概不釋。牆為什麼會開、開了牆還在不在、開的是牆還是人的所受持——一句也沒有。它只把兩個容易被讀滑過去的字釘住，然後接著往下走。
這種「只釋一點、其餘不問」的手法，在本論裡是常態，而它其實是一種分寸：論文釋字，不釋事。字面上含糊的，它替你點明；事情上不可說的，它不替你造說法。讀者若在這裡追問「牆到底怎麼了」，就是拿論文沒有承諾的東西去問它。這一問一答之短，正是它的誠實所在。
順帶記下這一節的一處異讀：底本作「彼坐禪人如是以修行虛空一切入」，而宋元明宮四本於「以」下有「心」字〔T32 442b06〕。若從四本，這一句就與下面兩句「以心修行水一切入」〔T32 442b13〕「以心修行地一切入」〔T32 442b16–17〕齊了；從底本則三句之中獨此一句無「心」字。本編從底本、誌而不改；齊整與不齊整都不能單憑字面判為原貌或訛誤。
於地出沒、於水上行：如前所說，配屬交錯。
四節的骨架完全相同：入第四禪 → 安詳出 → 以智受持 → 此當成某某。「以智受持，此當成…」的同式在本段出現四次（成虛空〔T32 442b08〕、成水〔T32 442b14〕、成地〔T32 442b18〕、成近手〔T32 442b27〕）；「以智受持」一語全論十一見，本段就佔九見。
在這裡停下來問一句：既然入的都是第四禪、用的都是「以智受持」，四節為什麼還要各寫一遍？
就文本自答：四節之間唯一真正不同的，是括在「此當成」後面的那個字——虛空、水、地、近手。前面的入定與出定是共法，寫四遍是為了讓那個字獨自變化，好讓人看清整門功夫的變數只有一個：受持什麼相。若合寫成「入第四禪，安詳出，隨所欲以智受持」，讀者會以為變化來自禪定的力量；分寫四遍，變化來自哪裡就藏不住了。論文用重複來指認變數——這是它不加一句評語就完成的教學。
三行與手摸日月
「行於虛空猶如飛鳥。於是三行，步行、風行、心行」〔T32 442b19–20〕——飛也分三種走法，各繫一個修法：得地一切入定的，「於虛空受持道路以步行」〔T32 442b21〕；得風一切入定的，「受持風如綿縷如風行」〔T32 442b22〕；以心行的，「令滿身心，或樂想或輕想。以著身，身已輕。以心行，行如飛鳥」〔T32 442b22–24〕。三行三法，一一相當。（綿縷這個比喻在上一單元也用過，作「如風吹綿縷」〔T32 442a15〕——那裡喻起身之輕，這裡喻風行之法，同物而異喻，不並判。）
第一行的說法特別值得記：空中沒有路，就受持一條路出來。得地一切入定的人不是把自己變輕，是在虛空裡受持出地——有了地，就照平常走路的樣子走。三行之中，這一行離日常最近，用的功夫也最實在：所受持者是「道路」，所行者是「步行」，一步一步，沒有一個字說到飛。第二行借風，第三行借心，各有各的所借；而三行共通的仍是那句老話——所動的是受持之相，不是身外之物。三行並列而不判高下，也是本論的常態：它只出其法，不排其名次。
手摸日月一節同式：入第四禪、安詳出、以智受持「此當成近手」〔T32 442b27〕。「近手」二字論文不釋，而它的用法就在下一句：「彼坐禪人或坐或臥，以手摸捫日月」〔T32 442b28–29〕。注意這裡的姿勢——或坐或臥。摸到日月的人不必飛上去，他坐著、甚至躺著。受持的是「近」這個相，不是位移。
末節：三行取二，論文不出其目
「彼坐禪人有神通，得心自在，樂行梵世。如是四如意足，以如是修行心，於遠受持近、於近受持遠，或多受持少、或少受持多」〔T32 442b29–442c03〕——遠近多少四目兩兩對翻，仍是受持之事。「以天眼見梵天色，以天耳聞梵天聲，以他心智知梵天心」〔T32 442c03–04〕——五通之中三通在此並用。有意思的是，這三通各有專節在後面（天耳〔T32 443a12〕、他心智〔T32 443b07〕、天眼〔T32 444a13〕）：論文先出其用，後出其法。
末句留了一個白：「彼坐禪人三行，以二行行於梵世」〔T32 442c04–05〕——三行之中用哪二行去梵世，論文不說。三行剛剛才逐一交代過，此處卻只說「二行」而不指名，讀者手上的線索足以猜、卻不足以定；本編照錄不代補。凡此類「數目已出而名目未出」之處，本門一段之內即有兩例（另一例是總舉時的「不一種變」〔T32 442a24〕，逐節列出八目而總標不出其數），可見底本原就不以齊整為務。整門收於行內夾註「（受持變已竟）」〔T32 442c05〕——三變各以同式的夾註落其門界，作變在〔T32 442c21〕、意所造變在〔T32 443a05〕，一門一收，界線分明。
交付一個讀法
讀本論說某種能力，先找它的「此當成…」句。
那是這門功夫真正動手的地方。前面鋪陳多長都不要緊——入什麼禪、怎麼出、身多輕，都是前行；動手就那一句，而那一句動的永遠是「受持什麼相」，不是「改變什麼物」。找到這一句，一門功夫的門道就露了底。
這個讀法出了本門仍然管用。往下天耳、他心智、憶宿命、天眼四門，各有各的所緣，也各自出現「受持」或「作意」的操作語。讀者每次先找出那一句，便能分清論文在該門實際要求做什麼；至於五門是否同屬一種操作，本段不代作總判。
帶走三件：一個所見——配屬是交錯的：於地作水用則修水一切入、於水作地用則修地一切入；不是把地變軟，是把地受持成水。論文並以「性水」「性地」二語收束兩節，而「性」字本身不釋。一個讀法——找它的「此當成…」句：那是動手處，而動的永遠是相，不是物。一處停問——四節既然入的都是第四禪、用的都是「以智受持」，何必各寫一遍？因為分寫四遍，才看得出整門的變數只有一個：受持什麼相。
還有兩處留白值得記著：「止法」不釋，「以二行行於梵世」不出其目。本編照錄不補；不能由本段確定的內容，不寫成確定答案。
The first of the three transformations is unfolded only here. The preceding unit taught their common preparation—the four bases of power, body and mind following each other, and a body made pliant like iron heated through. This unit teaches what is done with that body.
The central observation is this: the point of operation throughout this method is which sign is determined, not which thing is altered, and the assignments cross. To sink into the ground as though into water, one does not cultivate the earth kasiṇa but “cultivates the water kasiṇa with the mind” 〔T32 442b13〕. To walk on water as though on land, one does not cultivate the water kasiṇa but “cultivates the earth kasiṇa with the mind” 〔T32 442b16–17〕. To make A function as B, cultivate the kasiṇa of B. One does not soften earth or harden water; one resolves earth as water and water as earth. The treatise closes the two sections respectively with “as though it had the nature of water” 〔T32 442b15〕 and “as though walking on earth by nature” 〔T32 442b19〕. It does not explain the character 性, “nature.” This edition retains it rather than replacing it with such near-synonyms as “real” or “inherent.” The checkable sequence is only this: first comes the resolution with knowledge, “Let this become water / earth”; afterward, “the nature of water / earth” closes the comparison. The passage speaks throughout of a determined sign. It never says that an external object is remodeled.
The Opening Question: Falling Comes First
A method of flight opens by asking about falling: “Question: If the meditator falls away from jhāna while in space, will he tumble from space and fall to the ground?” 〔T32 442a20–21〕.
The answer is stranger still: “No. He rose from the place where he had previously been sitting. If he has traveled far and then falls away, he returns to that earlier sitting place and sees his own body still sitting as before. For one with direct knowledge, this is his method of stopping” 〔T32 442a21–23〕.
The answer speaks not from the air, but from the sitting place. It does not explain why the body aloft does not fall. It tells us only that the practitioner rose from the earlier sitting place, returns there upon falling away, and sees his body sitting as before. The final expression, “method of stopping,” receives no further explanation. What can be checked is only the order: return to the earlier sitting place comes first; “method of stopping” closes the sentence. This edition retains the words without deciding how the two are related.
Three verbs appear: “rise” marks departure, “return” marks falling back, and “see” marks what is seen. All three attach to the “earlier sitting place.” Not one character explains how the body in space continues. That is the boundary of what this question can answer.
The very first question concerns a possible fall. It can be read beside the preceding unit’s warning that a beginner “should not travel far too quickly” 〔T32 442a15–16〕. There the beginner is given a progression from one chi to one xun; here the practitioner returns to his earlier seat when jhāna falls away. Both passages place limitations and sequence before the exercise of direct knowledge. Nothing further about a mechanism may be inferred from “method of stopping.”
The Survey: Eight Acts, Four Comparisons
“The meditator observes step by step in this way. When he comes to perform with mastery of determination, he carries out more than one kind of transformation” 〔T32 442a23–24〕. The treatise then gives them in one breath: making one many and many one; passing through walls, enclosures, and mountains; moving without obstruction as through space; sinking into and emerging from the ground as though in water; walking on water as though on land; traveling through space like a bird; and touching the sun and moon—“with such great direct knowledge and such great bodily strength, he can rise as far as the Brahmā world” 〔T32 442a28〕.
The survey contains four comparisons, though their surfaces differ: moving without obstruction as through space; entering earth as water; walking on water as on land; traveling through space like a bird. They can be read together as making one domain function as another. The four other items in the survey—making one many, making many one, passing through the obstacles, and touching the sun and moon—do not use this grammar. The eight therefore cannot all be reduced to one expression.
After the survey, the treatise gives each method. Every item corresponds to the survey. Only “sinking into and emerging from the ground” lacks a new heading and is carried forward by “What does this mean?” 〔T32 442b12〕. This is an observable linkage in this passage, not a rule imposed on the treatise as a whole.
In Sequence: One Frame Repeated Four Times
Making one many: “He makes one into many—a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, and so forth. He enters the fourth jhāna by way of transformation, emerges calmly, and resolves step by step with knowledge: ‘May I, being one, become many,’ like the arahant 小路” 〔T32 442a29–442b02〕.
Making many one: “He wishes to turn the many into one and resolves with knowledge: ‘May I turn the many into one,’ like the elder arahant 小路” 〔T32 442b02–04〕. The same person is called “the arahant 小路” first and “the elder arahant 小路” second. The titles differ and are retained. The treatise does not give his story or an Indic identity.
Passing through walls, enclosures, and mountains: “The meditator cultivates the space kasiṇa in this way, enters the fourth jhāna, and emerges calmly” 〔T32 442b05–06〕 … “he resolves with knowledge: ‘Let this become space’” 〔T32 442b07–08〕.
This section pauses to explain “appearing / not appearing” through a paired self-question: “What does appearing mean? Open. What does not appearing mean? Not open” 〔T32 442b09–10〕. It then says, “The meditator makes what is not open become open and passes through walls, enclosures, and mountains without obstruction” 〔T32 442b10–12〕. The following section separately continues with “What does this mean?” 〔T32 442b12〕, so the paired questions are not the passage’s only self-explanation.
Notice the narrow scope of the explanation. The survey has “appearing, he passes through a wall, an enclosure, or a mountain” 〔T32 442a25〕. “Appearing” might slide past as a particle, yet the treatise stops and gives one word each for “appearing” and “not appearing”: open and not open. It explains nothing else. Why the wall opens, whether it remains after opening, whether the wall or the practitioner’s determined object is open—none is stated. The text pins down two easily missed characters and continues.
This habit of explaining one small point and leaving the event untouched is characteristic, and it is itself a restraint: the treatise explains the word, not the phenomenon. Where the wording is ambiguous, it gives a key; where the event would invite invention, it does not invent. Asking “what really happened to the wall?” demands something the treatise never promised. The brevity of the answer is its honesty.
One variant belongs here. The base reads, “the meditator thus cultivates the space kasiṇa,” while the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Old Song witnesses add “with the mind” after “thus” 〔T32 442b06〕. Following those four witnesses would align this line with “cultivates the water kasiṇa with the mind” 〔T32 442b13〕 and “cultivates the earth kasiṇa with the mind” 〔T32 442b16–17〕. Under the base reading, this line alone lacks “mind.” This edition follows the base and records the variant without alteration. Surface regularity and irregularity cannot alone decide which is earlier.
Sinking into earth and walking on water use the crossed assignments described above.
All four sections share the same frame: enter the fourth jhāna → emerge calmly → resolve with knowledge → let this become something. “Resolving with knowledge: let this become …” occurs four times in this passage—space 〔T32 442b08〕, water 〔T32 442b14〕, earth 〔T32 442b18〕, and within reach of the hand 〔T32 442b27〕. The phrase “resolve with knowledge” occurs eleven times in the whole treatise and nine times here.
Pause here: if all four sections enter the same fourth jhāna and all use the same resolution with knowledge, why write each one separately?
The text itself makes the answer visible. The only real difference is the expression following “let this become”: space, water, earth, within reach. Entering and emerging from concentration are common preparation. Repeating them allows the final term alone to vary, revealing that the method has only one variable: which sign is determined. If the text merely said, “enter the fourth jhāna, emerge calmly, and resolve whatever you wish with knowledge,” a reader might attribute the variation to the power of concentration. By writing the common frame four times, the location of the variation cannot remain hidden. Repetition identifies the variable without adding a comment.
Three Modes of Travel and Touching the Sun and Moon
“He travels through space like a bird. There are three modes of travel here: walking, traveling by wind, and traveling by mind” 〔T32 442b19–20〕. Even flight has three ways, each attached to a practice. One who has attained concentration on the earth kasiṇa “resolves a road in space and travels by walking” 〔T32 442b21〕. One who has attained concentration on the air kasiṇa “resolves air like a thread of cotton and travels as wind travels” 〔T32 442b22〕. One who travels by mind “fills body and mind, attaches either a perception of ease or a perception of lightness to the body, and makes the body light; traveling by mind, he goes like a bird” 〔T32 442b22–24〕. Three modes, three methods, paired one by one. The cotton simile appeared in the preceding unit as “like a wisp of cotton blown by the wind” 〔T32 442a15〕. There it illustrated the lightness of rising; here it illustrates wind-travel. The object is shared, not the function of the simile.
The first mode deserves attention: there is no road in space, so the practitioner resolves one. One who has attained the earth kasiṇa does not make himself light; he determines earth in space. Once there is earth, he walks as usual. Of the three, this is closest to everyday action. The object determined is “road” and the mode is “walking”; no word says “fly.” The second borrows wind and the third mind, each with its own support. Their common point remains the same: the operation concerns the determined sign, not a claim about an external thing. The three are listed without ranking.
Touching the sun and moon uses the same frame: enter the fourth jhāna, emerge calmly, and resolve with knowledge, “Let this come within reach of my hand” 〔T32 442b27〕. The treatise does not explain “within reach,” but shows its use in the next sentence: “whether sitting or lying down, he touches and strokes the sun and moon with his hand” 〔T32 442b28–29〕. Attend to the posture: sitting or lying down. The person who reaches the sun and moon does not have to fly up to them. The sign determined is “near,” not bodily displacement.
The Final Section: Two of Three, but the Text Does Not Name Them
“The meditator has direct knowledge and mastery of mind and delights in traveling to the Brahmā world. Through the four bases of power and a mind cultivated in this way, he resolves the far as near and the near as far, the many as few or the few as many” 〔T32 442b29–442c03〕. Far / near and many / few reverse in two pairs, and remain acts of determination. “With the divine eye he sees Brahmā’s forms; with the divine ear he hears Brahmā’s sounds; with knowledge of others’ minds he knows Brahmā’s mind” 〔T32 442c03–04〕. Three of the five direct knowledges operate together. Their dedicated sections come later—the divine ear at 〔T32 443a12〕, knowledge of others’ minds at 〔T32 443b07〕, and the divine eye at 〔T32 444a13〕. The treatise gives their use before their method.
The final sentence leaves a space: “The meditator has three modes of travel and uses two modes to travel to the Brahmā world” 〔T32 442c04–05〕. Which two? The treatise does not say. It has just explained all three, giving enough information to guess but not enough to decide. This edition records the line without supplying the names. There are two cases in this unit in which a number and its names do not line up. The other is the survey’s “more than one kind of transformation” 〔T32 442a24〕, which gives no number before listing eight items. The received text is not governed by our desire for regularity. The method closes with the inline annotation “(determination-transformation is complete)” 〔T32 442c05〕. Each of the three transformations closes with the same kind of annotation: form-transformation at 〔T32 442c21〕 and mind-produced transformation at 〔T32 443a05〕. Each method therefore has a clear boundary.
A Reading Practice
When the treatise describes an ability, first find its sentence, “Let this become …”
That sentence is where the operation occurs. However long the preparation—which jhāna is entered, how one emerges, how light the body becomes—the action begins there. And what it acts upon is always the determined sign, not a stated alteration of an external thing. Once that sentence is found, the method discloses itself.
The practice remains useful in the next four methods—divine ear, knowledge of others’ minds, recollection of past lives, and divine eye. Each has its object and its operational verbs, whether “determine” or “advert.” Find those sentences first and one can distinguish what the treatise actually asks the practitioner to do. Whether all five methods are one kind of operation cannot be decided from this unit and is not asserted here.
Carry away three things. One observation: the assignments cross. To make earth function as water, cultivate the water kasiṇa; to make water function as earth, cultivate the earth kasiṇa. One does not soften earth; one resolves earth as water. The treatise closes the sections with “the nature of water” and “the nature of earth,” while leaving “nature” unexplained. One reading practice: find the sentence “Let this become …”; that is the point of operation, and it acts on the sign, not on a stated external object. One place to pause: if all four sections enter the same fourth jhāna and resolve with knowledge, why repeat them? Repetition reveals that the sole variable is which sign is determined.
Two open spaces also remain: “method of stopping” is unexplained, and the two modes used to travel to the Brahmā world are unnamed. This edition retains both without supplying answers that the passage cannot establish.
Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Applications of Determination-Transformation · Exposition · Summer 2026
考據Apparatus
全段定位 本段出自《解脫道論》卷第九〈五通品〉，承前單元起變與四如意足一節〔T32 441c17–442a20〕而下，為三變之第一——受持變之專節，並以行內夾註「（受持變已竟）」〔T32 442c05〕落其門界。底本一段〔T32 442a20–442c05〕。
一、科判定位
底本一段，內含十節：先答退墮之疑，次總舉受持自在所作諸變，末逐一出其修法：
| 節 | 經文起訖逐字（各繫其錨） |
|---|---|
| 從虛空退墮之問答 | 「問：彼坐禪人於虛空或從禪退」〔T32 442a20〕…「有神通人是其止法」〔T32 442a22–23〕 |
| 受持自在之總舉 | 「至受持自在作，不一種變」〔T32 442a24〕…「乃起至于梵世」〔T32 442a28〕 |
| 以一成多 | 「以一成多者」〔T32 442a28–29〕…「以一令多，或一百、或一千、或一萬等」〔T32 442a29–442b01〕…「如小路阿羅漢」〔T32 442b02〕 |
| 以多成一 | 「以多成一者，欲轉多為一」〔T32 442b02–03〕…「如長老小路阿羅漢」〔T32 442b03–04〕 |
| 或現或不現·徹過壁牆山 | 「或現或不現」〔T32 442b04〕…「行不障礙」〔T32 442b11–12〕 |
| 於地沒出猶如在水 | 「此何義？於地令作出沒猶如在水」〔T32 442b12〕…「猶如性水」〔T32 442b15〕 |
| 於水上行猶如行地 | 「於水上行，心不障礙，猶如行地」〔T32 442b15–16〕…「如行性地」〔T32 442b19〕 |
| 行於虛空猶如飛鳥·三行 | 「於是三行，步行、風行、心行」〔T32 442b20〕…「行如飛鳥」〔T32 442b24〕 |
| 手摸日月 | 「如是以心行，行已手摸日月」〔T32 442b24–25〕…「以手摸捫日月」〔T32 442b28–29〕 |
| 起身乃至梵世·門界 | 「彼坐禪人有神通，得心自在」〔T32 442b29–442c01〕、「樂行梵世」〔T32 442c01〕…「（受持變已竟）」〔T32 442c05〕 |
單元界與問答界之相合：起於「問：彼坐禪人於虛空或從禪退」而訖於門界夾註，一門之全。下段別起「爾時坐禪人欲起變意」〔T32 442c06〕，為作變之節。段內無自答文中間切斷者。
總舉與逐釋之相當：總舉所出諸變〔T32 442a24–28〕與其下逐節之目一一相承，唯「於地或沒或出」一目之逐釋不別立標語而以「此何義」承上〔T32 442b11–12〕。
全段定位錨
〔T32, 442a20–442c05〕
二、詞義與譯語（逐字各繫其錨）
| 名相 | 本段用法 | 章內接點（可核） |
|---|---|---|
| 止法 | 「有神通人是其止法」〔T32 442a22–23〕 | 論文不更釋，就退墮之疑而言，照字面保留、不代考定 |
| 以一成多·以多成一 | 「以一令多，或一百、或一千、或一萬等」〔T32 442a29–442b01〕；「欲轉多為一」〔T32 442b02–03〕 | 「以一成多、以多成一」全論二見〔441b03–04·442a24–25〕，前一見在受持變之界說 |
| 小路阿羅漢·長老小路阿羅漢 | 以一成多之例作「如小路阿羅漢」〔T32 442b02〕，以多成一之例作「如長老小路阿羅漢」〔T32 442b03–04〕 | 同一人而二處稱謂不一（後處多「長老」二字），照錄不代畫一；論文不出其本事，不代考定 |
| 或現·或不現 | 論文自問自答：「或現者何義開？或不現者何義不開？」〔T32 442b09–10〕，繼以「彼坐禪人不開令開」〔T32 442b10–11〕 | 本段第一組以「何義」成對自問；下節另以「此何義？」〔T32 442b12〕承上。此處所釋為「開」「不開」二字而不更及其餘 |
| 一切入之配屬 | 徹過壁牆山→「以修行虛空一切入」〔T32 442b06〕；於地出沒→「以心修行水一切入」〔T32 442b13〕；於水上行→「以心修行地一切入」〔T32 442b16–17〕 | 地與水之配屬互為交錯——欲於地作水用則修水一切入，欲於水作地用則修地一切入；三處同以「以智受持，此當成…」轉之。品七判「九行處為神通緣」〔T32 411b13〕、自釋「八一切入，及分別虛空一切入」〔T32 411b14〕 |
| 性水·性地 | 「猶如性水」〔T32 442b15〕、「如行性地」〔T32 442b19〕 | 二語對出；論文不更釋「性」字，照字面保留，不以「真實」「本有」等近義詞代換 |
| 三行：步行·風行·心行 | 「於是三行，步行、風行、心行」〔T32 442b20〕；逐配「得地一切入定」〔T32 442b20–21〕→步行、「若得風一切入定」〔T32 442b21–22〕→風行、「以心行，令滿身心」〔T32 442b22–23〕→心行 | 三行各繫一修法，一一相當。末句「彼坐禪人三行，以二行行於梵世」〔T32 442c04–05〕——二行為何者論文不出，不代補 |
| 近手 | 「以智受持，此當成近手」〔T32 442b27〕 | 論文不更釋，照字面保留；其用即下句「或坐或臥，以手摸捫日月」〔T32 442b28–29〕 |
| 遠近多少之受持 | 「於遠受持近、於近受持遠，或多受持少、或少受持多」〔T32 442c02–03〕 | 二對四目，皆兩兩對翻 |
| 梵世之三通並舉 | 「以天眼見梵天色，以天耳聞梵天聲，以他心智知梵天心」〔T32 442c03–04〕 | 五通之中三通於此並用；三通各有專節在下（天耳〔T32 443a12〕起、他心智〔T32 443b07〕起、天眼〔T32 444a13〕起），此處先出其用而後出其法 |
| 受持變已竟 | 「（受持變已竟）」〔T32 442c05〕 | 行內夾註，照錄；三變之門界夾註同式者三——作變〔T32 442c21〕、意所造變〔T32 443a05〕 |
三、校記與異讀
本段範圍內大正藏校記四處，均誌而不改；本文之讀一律依大正本：
| 錨 | 底本 | 異讀 | 見證 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 442b06 | 以（彼坐禪人如是以修行虛空一切入） | 以心 | 【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 |
| 442b24 | 摸（行已手摸日月） | 模 | 【宋】【元】【宮】 |
| 442b25 | 有禪人（彼坐禪人，有禪人有神通） | 〔－〕 | 【宮】 |
| 442b26 | 以（以是修行心入第四禪） | 以如 | 【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 |
誌錄不判二事：
- 442b06「如是以修行虛空一切入」之「以」，四本作「以心」——若從四本則與下二處「以心修行水一切入」〔T32 442b13〕「以心修行地一切入」〔T32 442b16–17〕齊；從底本則三處中此一處獨無「心」字。並錄不判，本文從底本、不代補。
- 442b25「彼坐禪人，有禪人有神通」之「有禪人」三字，宮本無之——若從宮本則此句作「彼坐禪人有神通」，與下文「彼坐禪人有神通，得心自在」〔T32 442b29–442c01〕同式；從底本則「坐禪人」「禪人」二稱疊出。並錄不判，本文從底本、不代刪。
校本零命中一項：本段缺字（造字）零命中。夾註一處：〔T32 442c05〕「（受持變已竟）」，底本行內夾註，照錄。
四、論主引據
本段引據零命中：全段無「如佛說」「如世尊說」「如阿毘曇說」等引式；所舉小路阿羅漢之事亦不繫經說。查而無獲，如實記之。
五、譬喻·修辭
- 「猶如」之連舉〔T32 442a25–28〕：總舉一節連下四「猶如」——身行無礙猶如虛空、於地或沒或出猶如在水、於水上行猶如行地、行於虛空猶如飛鳥；所喻皆以甲處作乙處用為式，四事同構。
- 綿縷之譬〔T32 442b22〕：「受持風如綿縷如風行」——喻風行之輕。同品前節別以綿縷喻起之輕「如風吹綿縷」〔T32 442a15〕，二處同取綿縷而所喻不同，不並判。
- 性水·性地之對出〔T32 442b15·442b19〕：二語同式而分置兩節之末；「性」字論文不釋，本編不以近義詞代換。
- 「以智受持，此當成…」之疊式〔T32 442b08·442b14·442b18·442b27〕：徹過→成虛空、於地→成水、於水→成地、摸日月→成近手，四處同式；「以智受持」一語全論十一見，本段內九見。
六、章內互讀
- 前指：受持變之界說「以一成多、以多成一，以身增長乃至梵世」〔T32 441b03–04〕；起變一節之「如風吹綿縷」〔T32 442a15〕與四如意足之修〔T32 442a06〕；品七「九行處為神通緣」〔T32 411b13〕及其自釋「八一切入，及分別虛空一切入」〔T32 411b14〕。
- 後指：作變之門「（作變已竟）」〔T32 442c21〕、意所造變之門「（意所造變已竟）」〔T32 443a05〕；三通之專節——天耳「問：天耳誰起？」〔T32 443a12〕、他心智「問：他心智誰能起？」〔T32 443b07〕、天眼「問：天眼誰起？」〔T32 444a13〕，本段先出其用〔T32 442c03–04〕而後出其法。
七、傳本
作者、譯者與傳本諸問題，本編不於考據內立說。
Location of the whole passage This unit comes from fascicle nine, Chapter on the Five Direct Knowledges, of the Path of Freedom. It follows the preceding unit on bringing forth transformation and the four bases of power 〔T32 441c17–442a20〕. It is the dedicated treatment of the first of the three transformations, determination-transformation, and its boundary is marked by the inline annotation “(determination-transformation is complete)” 〔T32 442c05〕. The base text is one paragraph 〔T32 442a20–442c05〕.
1. Structural Location
The base paragraph contains ten sections. It first answers a doubt about falling, then surveys what can be performed with mastery of determination, and finally gives each method:
| Section | Textual limits, each with its anchor |
|---|---|
| Question and answer about falling away in space | “Question: If the meditator falls away from jhāna while in space” 〔T32 442a20〕 … “for one with direct knowledge, this is his method of stopping” 〔T32 442a22–23〕 |
| Survey of what can be done with mastery of determination | “When he comes to perform with mastery of determination, he carries out more than one kind of transformation” 〔T32 442a24〕 … “he can rise as far as the Brahmā world” 〔T32 442a28〕 |
| Making one many | “Making one become many” 〔T32 442a28–29〕 … “making one into many—a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, and so forth” 〔T32 442a29–442b01〕 … “like the arahant 小路” 〔T32 442b02〕 |
| Making many one | “Making many become one means wishing to turn the many into one” 〔T32 442b02–03〕 … “like the elder arahant 小路” 〔T32 442b03–04〕 |
| Appearing or not appearing; passing through walls, enclosures, and mountains | “Appearing or not appearing” 〔T32 442b04〕 … “moving without obstruction” 〔T32 442b11–12〕 |
| Sinking into and emerging from the ground as though in water | “What does this mean? He causes himself to sink into and emerge from the ground as though in water” 〔T32 442b12〕 … “as though it had the nature of water” 〔T32 442b15〕 |
| Walking on water as though on land | “He walks on water without obstruction, as though walking on land” 〔T32 442b15–16〕 … “as though walking on earth by nature” 〔T32 442b19〕 |
| Traveling through space like a bird; three modes | “There are three modes of travel here: walking, traveling by wind, and traveling by mind” 〔T32 442b20〕 … “he goes like a bird” 〔T32 442b24〕 |
| Touching the sun and moon | “Having traveled by mind in this way, he touches the sun and moon with his hand” 〔T32 442b24–25〕 … “he touches and strokes the sun and moon with his hand” 〔T32 442b28–29〕 |
| Rising bodily as far as the Brahmā world; boundary of the method | “The meditator has direct knowledge and mastery of mind” 〔T32 442b29–442c01〕; “he delights in traveling to the Brahmā world” 〔T32 442c01〕 … “(determination-transformation is complete)” 〔T32 442c05〕 |
The unit boundary coincides with a question-and-method boundary: it begins with “Question: If the meditator falls away from jhāna while in space” and ends at the inline annotation closing the method. The next paragraph separately begins, “At that time the meditator wishes to arouse the intention to transform” 〔T32 442c06〕, opening the section on form-transformation. No answer is cut in the middle.
Survey and detailed explanations correspond: the transformations listed in the survey 〔T32 442a24–28〕 are taken up one by one below. Only the detailed explanation of “sinking into and emerging from the ground” has no separate heading; it continues from the preceding item with “What does this mean?” 〔T32 442b11–12〕.
Anchor for the whole passage
〔T32, 442a20–442c05〕
2. Terms and Translation (Every Citation Anchored)
| Term | Use in this passage | Checkable connection within the treatise |
|---|---|---|
| Method of stopping | “For one with direct knowledge, this is his method of stopping” 〔T32 442a22–23〕 | The treatise gives no further explanation. In relation to the doubt about falling, the wording is retained without deciding its mechanism |
| Making one many; making many one | “Making one into many—a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, and so forth” 〔T32 442a29–442b01〕; “wishing to turn the many into one” 〔T32 442b02–03〕 | The pair “making one many and many one” occurs twice in the treatise 〔441b03–04·442a24–25〕. The earlier occurrence defines determination-transformation |
| The arahant 小路; the elder arahant 小路 | The example for making one many reads “like the arahant 小路” 〔T32 442b02〕; the example for making many one reads “like the elder arahant 小路” 〔T32 442b03–04〕 | The same person bears different titles in the two places (the second adds “elder”). Both are retained; the treatise gives neither his story nor an Indic identity |
| Appearing; not appearing | The treatise asks and answers itself: “What does appearing mean? Open. What does not appearing mean? Not open” 〔T32 442b09–10〕, then says that “the meditator makes what is not open become open” 〔T32 442b10–11〕 | This is the first paired “what does it mean?” in the unit. The next section separately continues with “What does this mean?” 〔T32 442b12〕. Here only “open” and “not open” are supplied; nothing further is explained |
| Assignment of the kasiṇas | Passing through walls, enclosures, and mountains uses “cultivating the space kasiṇa” 〔T32 442b06〕; sinking into earth uses “cultivating the water kasiṇa with the mind” 〔T32 442b13〕; walking on water uses “cultivating the earth kasiṇa with the mind” 〔T32 442b16–17〕 | Earth and water cross: to make earth function as water, cultivate the water kasiṇa; to make water function as earth, cultivate the earth kasiṇa. All three passages turn the object through the same “resolve with knowledge: let this become …” construction. Chapter Seven says that “nine fields are conditions for direct knowledge” 〔T32 411b13〕 and explains them as “the eight kasiṇas and the discriminated space kasiṇa” 〔T32 411b14〕 |
| Nature of water; nature of earth | “As though it had the nature of water” 〔T32 442b15〕; “as though walking on earth by nature” 〔T32 442b19〕 | The two expressions correspond. The treatise does not further explain “nature,” so the word is retained rather than replaced with “real” or “inherent” |
| Three modes: walking, traveling by wind, traveling by mind | “There are three modes of travel here: walking, traveling by wind, and traveling by mind” 〔T32 442b20〕. Sequentially, attainment of the earth kasiṇa 〔T32 442b20–21〕 leads to walking; attainment of the air kasiṇa 〔T32 442b21–22〕 to wind-travel; and “traveling by mind, filling body and mind” 〔T32 442b22–23〕 to mind-travel | Each of the three modes has its own practice. The final sentence says that the meditator “uses two modes to travel to the Brahmā world” 〔T32 442c04–05〕. The treatise does not identify which two; none is supplied |
| Within reach of the hand | “He resolves with knowledge: let this come within reach of my hand” 〔T32 442b27〕 | The treatise gives no separate explanation. Its use appears in the next line: “whether sitting or lying down, he touches and strokes the sun and moon with his hand” 〔T32 442b28–29〕 |
| Determining far and near, many and few | “He resolves what is far as near and what is near as far, the many as few or the few as many” 〔T32 442c02–03〕 | Two pairs and four items reverse one another |
| Three direct knowledges used together in the Brahmā world | “With the divine eye he sees Brahmā’s forms; with the divine ear he hears Brahmā’s sounds; with knowledge of others’ minds he knows Brahmā’s mind” 〔T32 442c03–04〕 | Three of the five direct knowledges operate together here. Their dedicated sections follow: divine ear 〔T32 443a12〕, knowledge of others’ minds 〔T32 443b07〕, and divine eye 〔T32 444a13〕. Their uses appear before their methods |
| Determination-transformation is complete | “(determination-transformation is complete)” 〔T32 442c05〕 | An inline annotation retained as such. The three parallel boundaries are form-transformation 〔T32 442c21〕 and mind-produced transformation 〔T32 443a05〕 |
3. Critical Notes and Variant Readings
The Taishō apparatus gives four notes in this passage. All are recorded without changing the body text, which follows the Taishō base reading:
| Anchor | Base text | Variant | Witnesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 442b06 | 以 (in “the meditator thus 以 cultivates the space kasiṇa”) | 以心 | 【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 |
| 442b24 | 摸 (in “having traveled, he 摸 the sun and moon with his hand”) | 模 | 【宋】【元】【宮】 |
| 442b25 | 有禪人 (in “the meditator, 有禪人, has direct knowledge”) | omitted | 【宮】 |
| 442b26 | 以 (in “以 cultivating his mind in this way, he enters the fourth jhāna”) | 以如 | 【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 |
Two matters are recorded without adjudication:
- At 442b06 the base has 以 in “thus cultivates the space kasiṇa,” while four witnesses have 以心, “with the mind.” Following the four witnesses would align the line with “cultivates the water kasiṇa with the mind” 〔T32 442b13〕 and “cultivates the earth kasiṇa with the mind” 〔T32 442b16–17〕. Following the base leaves this one of the three without “mind.” Both are recorded; the body follows the base and does not supply the word.
- At 442b25 the base has the three characters 有禪人 in “the meditator, a practitioner, has direct knowledge,” while the Old Song witness omits them. Under the Old Song reading the sentence becomes “the meditator has direct knowledge,” matching the later “the meditator has direct knowledge and mastery of mind” 〔T32 442b29–442c01〕. Under the base, two designations for practitioner appear together. Both are recorded; the body follows the base and does not delete the words.
One zero-hit check against the critical text: no missing-character or gaiji marker occurs. One inline annotation occurs: “(determination-transformation is complete)” 〔T32 442c05〕, retained as such.
4. Authorities Cited by the Treatise
No citation formula occurs in this passage: there is no “as the Buddha said,” “as the Blessed One said,” “as the Abhidhamma says,” or comparable formula. The example of the arahant 小路 is not attached to a scriptural citation. The check returned no result, which is recorded as such.
5. Simile and Rhetoric
- Four comparisons in succession 〔T32 442a25–28〕: the survey gives four consecutive comparisons—moving without obstruction as through space, entering or emerging from earth as from water, walking on water as on land, and traveling through space like a bird. Each makes one domain function as another, giving the four a common frame.
- The cotton-thread simile 〔T32 442b22〕: “resolving air like a thread of cotton and traveling as the wind travels” illustrates the lightness of wind-travel. The preceding section separately uses cotton to illustrate rising: “like a wisp of cotton blown by the wind” 〔T32 442a15〕. Both use cotton, but what they illustrate differs; they are not conflated.
- The corresponding closures “nature of water / nature of earth” 〔T32 442b15·442b19〕 appear in the same form at the ends of two sections. The treatise does not explain “nature,” and this edition does not substitute a near-synonym.
- The repeated frame “resolve with knowledge: let this become …” 〔T32 442b08·442b14·442b18·442b27〕 is used for passing through, entering earth, walking on water, and touching the sun and moon—space, water, earth, and nearness. The same frame occurs four times. “Resolve with knowledge” occurs eleven times in the treatise, nine within this passage.
6. Internal Cross-Reading
- Backward: the definition of determination-transformation, “making one many and many one, enlarging the body as far as the Brahmā world” 〔T32 441b03–04〕; the preceding unit’s “like a wisp of cotton blown by the wind” 〔T32 442a15〕 and cultivation of the four bases of power 〔T32 442a06〕; Chapter Seven’s “nine fields are conditions for direct knowledge” 〔T32 411b13〕 and its explanation, “the eight kasiṇas and the discriminated space kasiṇa” 〔T32 411b14〕.
- Forward: the boundary “(form-transformation is complete)” 〔T32 442c21〕 and the boundary “(mind-produced transformation is complete)” 〔T32 443a05〕. The dedicated sections for three direct knowledges begin with the divine ear, “Question: Who brings forth the divine ear?” 〔T32 443a12〕; knowledge of others’ minds, “Question: Who can bring forth knowledge of others’ minds?” 〔T32 443b07〕; and the divine eye, “Question: Who brings forth the divine eye?” 〔T32 444a13〕. The present passage gives their uses 〔T32 442c03–04〕 before their methods.
7. Transmission
Questions concerning the author, translator, and transmission history are not adjudicated in this apparatus.
Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Applications of Determination-Transformation · Apparatus · Summer 2026