解脫道論 五種定與四禪五禪

The author establishes the five jhānas by first giving all five factor names: applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness.

He then subtracts level by level.

In the first jhāna, leaving the five hindrances, one accomplishes five factors. In the second jhāna, leaving applied thought, one accomplishes four factors—only applied thought is left, not sustained thought, and this is precisely why five jhānas are five jhānas. In the third jhāna, leaving joy—

By calculation, there ought to be three factors. The text reads two.

Between four factors and two factors, one level is missing. Yet the author says only “leaving joy” and does not account in a single character for where sustained thought has gone.

It is worth pausing here. Three matters can be checked.

First, the literal wording. When the preceding unit presents the four jhānas, the sentence for the third jhāna is “leaving joy, one accomplishes two factors”—exactly the same five characters as here. In the four-jhāna system, the second jhāna leaves applied and sustained thought together and has three factors, while the third leaves joy and has two; three minus one is two, so it is correct there.

Second, the numbers. “Accomplishes three factors” occurs only once in the whole treatise, in the four-jhāna doorway; “accomplishes four factors” likewise occurs only once, in the five-jhāna doorway. Each system has one number used only by it, while both doorways use “accomplishes two factors.”

Third, the textual notes. This passage has three textual notes, each on one of three other sentences, and not one falls on the number of factors. No variant reading bears witness here.

The author does not say, and this edition neither alters nor supplies.

One way of reading can be taken from this, simple enough to require only a pen: whenever a step-by-step descending list says “leaving such-and-such, one accomplishes this many factors,” do not read past it—subtract the numbers for yourself.

How many things were given at the first level? How many are left at each level? Does the number produced by subtraction agree with the number written in the text? If it agrees, the reading is complete. Where it does not agree, the text has usually omitted a step without saying so. Then ask one more question: is there a textual note at this point? Where there is a note, the variant often supplies the omitted step; where there is no note, the text itself simply stands this way and can only be recorded as written.

The present passage gives precisely the two results of this method. The number of factors in the third jhāna cannot be obtained by subtraction, and there is no textual note on the factor count at that point—so it can only be recorded as written. In the comparison of the two persons below, there is likewise one place that does not align: the first person “gathers mindfulness and reflects upon coarse applied and sustained thought,” yet the fault known is stated only as “applied thought”; the second “gathers mindfulness and reflects upon coarse applied thought,” and what is known is likewise “applied thought.” The second person is internally aligned, while the first is not. A textual note falls precisely there, and the four witnesses read “applied and sustained thought”; that one change makes the pair align. This edition nevertheless records both without adjudication, and the present text follows the base.

Finally, the whole chapter closes with one sentence: all concentrations enter into the four concentrations.

Beginning with its second unit, the Chapter on the Analysis of Concentration divides concentration throughout—three doorways of two kinds, three of three kinds, seven of four kinds, and three of five kinds: sixteen doorways, with the number increasing from two to five. It increases to five and closes with four. The author does not say why.

Once that sentence closes, the next line is the heading of the next chapter; on the line after that, the author opens by asking, “At that time, how is concentration to arise?”

The present chapter divides concentration sixteen times, yet never says how it arises. The matter of arousing concentration is given to the next chapter.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Five-Fold Divisions and the Four and Five Jhānas · Doorway · Summer 2026

First Doorway: The Five Jhānas

Again, concentration is of five kinds: the first jhāna, the second jhāna, the third jhāna, the fourth jhāna, and the fifth jhāna.

The five jhānas have five factors: applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness. Leaving the five hindrances, one accomplishes five factors; this is called the first jhāna.

Leaving applied thought, one accomplishes four factors; this is called the second jhāna.

Leaving joy, one accomplishes two factors; this is called the third jhāna.

Leaving pleasure, one accomplishes two divisions, called the fourth jhāna—namely equanimity and one-pointedness.

Why Both Four Jhānas and Five Jhānas Are Taught

Question: Why are four jhānas taught and five jhānas also taught?

Answer: Because there are results for two persons. The second jhāna is of two kinds: without applied or sustained thought, and without applied thought but with little sustained thought.

Each of the Two Persons Arouses a Second Jhāna

Question: Which person practising seated meditation brings the first jhāna to mastery and arouses the second jhāna?

Answer: One gathers mindfulness and reflects upon coarse applied and sustained thought, and further knows the fault of applied thought. One then causes the second jhāna without applied or sustained thought to arise—this is that person’s sequence of cultivating the four jhānas.

There is another person who has brought the first jhāna to mastery and caused the second jhāna to appear: this person gathers mindfulness and reflects upon coarse applied thought, knows only the fault of applied thought, sees the state without applied thought but with little sustained thought, and then arouses the second jhāna—this is that person’s sequence of receiving the five jhānas. Therefore five jhānas are taught.

Second Doorway: Five-Division Attainment

There are again five kinds of concentration, called five-division attainment: joy-fulfillment, pleasure-fulfillment, mind-fulfillment, light-fulfillment, and contemplation-perception.

Within these, the first and second jhānas are joy-fulfillment, and the third jhāna is pleasure-fulfillment. With knowledge of others’ minds it is called mind-fulfillment; with the divine eye it is called light-fulfillment; and insight knowledge arising from each particular concentration is called contemplation-perception.

Third Doorway: Five-Knowledge Right Concentration

Again, concentration is of five kinds, called five-knowledge right concentration.

This is pleasure in the present and also a future result of pleasure.

This concentration arises in dependence on 身智; it is practised by the noble and is without defilement.

This concentration is cultivated by a person of wisdom; this concentration is quiet and still, and pleasant; through 猗所得 it accomplishes what is not two and does not subdue birth and death.

This concentration is quiet and still, and most pleasant; it is obtained through 猗成一性; it is not the “I” that subdues birth and death.

In this concentration, mindfulness enters and mindfulness arises; it arises in dependence on 身智.

The Chapter’s Closing Sentences

Again, fields of practice have already been distinguished; now the matters of practice and the lower, middle, and higher are distinguished.

In this way, concentration can be known to be of many kinds—all concentrations enter into the four concentrations.

Several Points to Remember

The count of factors in the five jhānas decreases in sequence as follows: the first jhāna has five factors; leaving applied thought gives four factors; leaving joy ought to give three factors; and leaving pleasure gives two divisions. Yet for the third jhāna the text reads “two factors,” not three. The text says only “leaving joy” and does not say where sustained thought has gone. This is recorded as written.

Again, when the preceding unit presents the four jhānas, its third jhāna also reads “leaving joy, one accomplishes two factors,” literally the same as here. The decrease there is five factors, three factors, two factors; here it is five factors, four factors, two factors. This is recorded as written.

Among the four items, the first, second, and third jhānas all speak of “factors”; only the fourth jhāna speaks of “divisions”—“one accomplishes two divisions.” This is recorded as written.

For 報 in “because there are results for two persons,” the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong witnesses read 執. This is recorded as written, and the present text follows the base.

In the comparison of the two persons, the first reads “gathers mindfulness and reflects upon coarse applied and sustained thought; further knows the fault of applied thought,” while the second reads “gathers mindfulness and reflects upon coarse applied thought; knows only the fault of applied thought.” The first person gathers mindfulness around “coarse applied and sustained thought,” yet the fault known is stated only as “applied thought”; at this place the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong witnesses read “further knows the fault of applied and sustained thought.” This is recorded as written, and the present text follows the base.

The first person’s sequence is called “cultivating the sequence of four jhānas,” while the second person’s is called “receiving the sequence of five jhānas”—one uses “cultivating,” the other “receiving.” This is recorded as written.

The five names of five-division attainment are joy-fulfillment, pleasure-fulfillment, mind-fulfillment, light-fulfillment, and contemplation-perception. Four use “fulfillment,” while the fifth, contemplation-perception, does not. Again, of the five things with which they are correlated, the first two are correlated with jhānas—the first and second jhānas, and the third jhāna—while the last three are correlated with knowledge and direct knowledge: knowledge of others’ minds, the divine eye, and insight knowledge arising from each particular concentration. This is recorded as written.

Under the punctuation of the base text, the passage on five-knowledge right concentration has exactly five sentences. The first reads “this is pleasure in the present and also a future result of pleasure”; the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong witnesses read “this concentration is pleasure in the present and also a future result of pleasure.” Of the remaining four sentences, three begin with “this concentration.” This is recorded as written, and the present text follows the base.

The expression 依身智起 occurs twice in this passage, once at the beginning of the second sentence and once at the end of the last sentence. This is recorded as written.

The chapter’s closing sentence begins “again, fields of practice have already been distinguished.” The four Chinese characters 分別行處 also form the title of chapter seven of this treatise, although chapter seven follows the present chapter. The text does not connect the two. This is recorded as written.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Five-Fold Divisions and the Four and Five Jhānas · Vernacular · Summer 2026

This passage is the final section of the Chapter on the Analysis of Concentration. Once its three doorways have been presented, the whole chapter closes with one sentence: “In this way, concentration can be known to be of many kinds; all concentrations enter into the four concentrations” 〔T32 408a26–27〕.

Before that close, the author first establishes the five jhānas.

The observation may be stated at the outset: the count of factors in the five jhānas does not agree with its own sequential decrease. The first jhāna has five factors; leaving applied thought gives four; leaving joy ought to give three, yet the text reads “two factors”; then leaving pleasure gives two divisions. Between four factors and two factors, one level is missing; and the author says only “leaving joy,” without saying where sustained thought has gone.

There is no textual note on the number of factors at this point. The Taishō has three textual notes in this passage, and not one concerns the number of factors; the “factor” at 408a08 carries only a repeated note from the preceding unit’s 枝／支 variant.

The Five Jhānas: Subtract the Numbers for Yourself

The author’s words are: “Again, concentration is of five kinds: the first jhāna, the second jhāna, the third jhāna, the fourth jhāna, and the fifth jhāna” 〔T32 408a05–06〕.

He then gives the factors: “The five jhānas have five factors: applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness. Leaving the five hindrances, one accomplishes five factors; this is called the first jhāna” 〔T32 408a06–07〕.

The five factors are named plainly: applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness.

“Leaving applied thought, one accomplishes four factors; this is called the second jhāna” 〔T32 408a07–08〕. Five minus one is four. This is the key to there being five jhānas—only applied thought is left, not sustained thought.

“Leaving joy, one accomplishes two factors; this is called the third jhāna” 〔T32 408a08〕.

Four minus one ought to be three. The text reads two.

“Leaving pleasure, one accomplishes two divisions, called the fourth jhāna, namely equanimity and one-pointedness” 〔T32 408a08–09〕.

Pause Here: Where Did Sustained Thought Go?

It is worth pausing here.

The five factors given by the author are applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness. The second jhāna leaves applied thought, leaving sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness—four factors, just as the text says. The third jhāna leaves joy, which ought to leave sustained thought, pleasure, and one-pointedness—three factors. Yet the text says two factors.

To arrive at two factors, sustained thought must also drop away at this level; but the text does not account for this in a single character.

The present passage cannot answer why. Three matters can be checked:

First, the literal wording. When the preceding unit presents the four jhānas, its sentence for the third jhāna is “leaving joy, one accomplishes two factors” 〔T32 408a04〕—exactly the same five characters as the sentence here. The decrease there is five factors, three factors, two factors: the first jhāna has five factors, the second “leaves applied and sustained thought and accomplishes three factors” 〔T32 408a03–04〕, and the third has two. Within the four-jhāna system, “leaving joy, one accomplishes two factors” is correct: three minus one is two.

Second, the numbers. “Accomplishes three factors” occurs only once in the whole treatise 〔T32 408a03–04〕, in the four-jhāna doorway; “accomplishes four factors” likewise occurs only once 〔T32 408a07〕, in the present doorway. Each system has one number used only by it, while both doorways use “accomplishes two factors.”

Third, the textual notes. The three notes in this passage occur respectively at 408a10, 408a12, and 408a21, and not one falls on the number of factors (the character “factor” at 408a08 carries only the repeated 枝／支 note from the preceding unit). No variant reading bears witness at this point.

The author does not say, and this edition neither alters nor supplies. Only what can be checked is set out here: the five-jhāna doorway drops directly from four factors to two; the text does not say where the intervening factor went; and its five characters are the same as in the four-jhāna doorway.

One smaller matter should also be remembered: among the four items, the first, second, and third jhānas all speak of “factors,” while only the fourth jhāna speaks of “divisions”—“one accomplishes two divisions” 〔T32 408a08–09〕. The classifier changes within the same sequence.

Why Both Four Jhānas and Five Jhānas Are Taught: The Chapter Answers Only Here

“Question: Why are four jhānas taught and five jhānas also taught? Answer: Because there are results for two persons. The second jhāna is of two kinds: without applied or sustained thought, and without applied thought but with little sustained thought” 〔T32 408a09–11〕.

This question and answer tie a knot in the chapter.

Earlier, when 04-03 establishes the three-fold concentrations, it says “the second jhāna has no applied thought and little sustained thought” 〔T32 407b18〕. When the preceding unit 04-04 establishes the four jhānas, it says “leaving applied and sustained thought, one accomplishes three factors” 〔T32 408a03–04〕—applied and sustained thought are left together, so the second jhāna has neither. Within the same chapter, two accounts of the same second jhāna coexist.

Neither earlier passage explains this. Only in the present sentence does the author say that it is because there are two persons.

As for what the three characters 二人報 mean, the treatise does not explain. The base reads 報, while the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong witnesses read 執. The internal evidence of the present passage is insufficient to decide between them. Both are recorded without adjudication, and the present text follows the base.

The Two Persons: Four Paired Features, with One Pair That Does Not Align

The author next places the two persons side by side:

“Question: Which person practising seated meditation brings the first jhāna to mastery and arouses the second jhāna?” 〔T32 408a11–12〕 “Answer: One gathers mindfulness and reflects upon coarse applied and sustained thought, and further knows the fault of applied thought, causing the second jhāna without applied or sustained thought to arise; this is that person’s sequence of cultivating the four jhānas” 〔T32 408a12–13〕. “There is another person who has brought the first jhāna to mastery and caused the second jhāna to appear. This person gathers mindfulness and reflects upon coarse applied thought, knows only the fault of applied thought, sees the state without applied thought but with little sustained thought, and arouses the second jhāna; this is that person’s sequence of receiving the five jhānas. Therefore five jhānas are taught” 〔T32 408a14–16〕.

Four features form pairs: what mindfulness is gathered around is coarse applied and sustained thought / coarse applied thought; the manner of knowing is further knows / knows only; what is accomplished is causes to arise / sees; and the sequence is cultivating the sequence of four jhānas / receiving the sequence of five jhānas.

The pairs are highly regular, with only one place that does not align: the fault known is “applied thought” in both cases.

The first person gathers mindfulness around two things, “coarse applied and sustained thought,” yet the fault known is stated as only one thing, “applied thought.” The second gathers mindfulness around one thing, “coarse applied thought,” and the thing known is likewise the one thing, “applied thought.” The second person is internally aligned; the first is not.

The Taishō textual note falls precisely here: at 408a12, where the base reads “further knows the fault of applied thought,” the four witnesses read “applied and sustained thought.” With the four witnesses’ one change, the first person becomes aligned—gathering mindfulness around coarse applied and sustained thought and knowing the fault of applied and sustained thought.

The internal evidence of this passage stands on the side of the variant; this edition nevertheless records both without adjudication, and the present text follows the base. This is the second place in the passage where internal evidence agrees with a variant. It is recorded clearly and left for human review.

One further literal detail should be remembered: for the same matter, the first person’s is called “cultivating the sequence of four jhānas,” while the second person’s is called “receiving the sequence of five jhānas”—one says “cultivating,” the other “receiving.” Each phrase occurs only once in the whole treatise. The author does not state the difference.

Five-Division Attainment: Four “Fulfillments,” One “Perception”

“There are again five kinds of concentration, called five-division attainment: joy-fulfillment, pleasure-fulfillment, mind-fulfillment, light-fulfillment, and contemplation-perception” 〔T32 408a16–18〕.

Set out in sequence, the first four names all end with “fulfillment,” while the fifth is “contemplation-perception” and does not use “fulfillment.”

The correlations are not uniform either: “The first and second jhānas are joy-fulfillment, the third jhāna is pleasure-fulfillment; with knowledge of others’ minds it is called mind-fulfillment, with the divine eye it is called light-fulfillment, and insight knowledge arising from each particular concentration is called contemplation-perception” 〔T32 408a18–20〕.

The first two are correlated with jhānas, while the last three are correlated with knowledge and direct knowledge. Within one list, the names are not uniform, and the correlations use two forms.

The exposition of “knowledge of others’ minds” and “the divine eye” occurs in chapter nine, the Chapter on the Five Direct Knowledges; the present passage gives only their names and does not explain them.

Five-Knowledge Right Concentration: Five Sentences, with the Third and Fourth Almost Repeating

“Again, concentration is of five kinds, called five-knowledge right concentration. This is pleasure in the present and also a future result of pleasure” 〔T32 408a20–21〕.

Under the punctuation of the base text, exactly five sentences follow:

One: “This is pleasure in the present and also a future result of pleasure” 〔T32 408a21〕. Two: “This concentration arises in dependence on 身智; it is practised by the noble and is without defilement” 〔T32 408a21–22〕. Three: “This concentration is cultivated by a person of wisdom; this concentration is quiet and still, and pleasant; through 猗所得 it accomplishes what is not two and does not subdue birth and death” 〔T32 408a22–23〕. Four: “This concentration is quiet and still, and most pleasant; it is obtained through 猗成一性; it is not the ‘I’ that subdues birth and death” 〔T32 408a23–24〕. Five: “In this concentration, mindfulness enters and mindfulness arises; it arises in dependence on 身智” 〔T32 408a24–25〕.

Two matters should be remembered.

First: the third and fourth sentences almost repeat. Quiet and still, and pleasant / quiet and still, and most pleasant; through 猗所得 it accomplishes what is not two / obtained through 猗成一性; does not subdue birth and death / is not the “I” that subdues birth and death. Three pairs of expressions, each close in meaning yet different in every wording. The author does not state the difference, and this edition neither merges nor deletes them.

Second: the four-character expression 依身智起 occurs only twice in the whole treatise, both in this passage 〔T32 408a21·408a25〕—once at the beginning of the second sentence and once at the end of the last. The same expression at the beginning and end encloses three sentences.

There is one further variant reading: for “this” in the first sentence, the four witnesses read “this concentration.” The internal evidence again stands on the side of the variant—the final three sentences all begin with “this concentration,” and the second also has “this concentration” as its object; only the first reads “this.” With the four witnesses’ one change, the five sentences become uniform. This edition nevertheless records both without adjudication, and the present text follows the base.

The Chapter’s Close: Sixteen Doorways Increase to Five, Yet Close with Four

“Again, fields of practice have already been distinguished; now the matters of practice and the lower, middle, and higher are distinguished” 〔T32 408a25–26〕; “In this way, concentration can be known to be of many kinds; all concentrations enter into the four concentrations” 〔T32 408a26–27〕.

Beginning with the second unit, the Chapter on the Analysis of Concentration divides concentration throughout: three doorways of two kinds, three doorways of three kinds, seven doorways of four kinds, and three doorways of five kinds—sixteen doorways, with the number increasing from two to five.

Yet the final sentence says that all concentrations enter into the four concentrations.

The increase reaches five; the close rests on four. The author does not say why. It is recorded without explanation on the text’s behalf.

The sentence before the close has one further point to remember: “fields of practice have already been distinguished” 〔T32 408a25〕—the four Chinese characters 分別行處 are precisely the title of chapter seven of this treatise 〔T32 411a07〕, although chapter seven follows the present chapter. The text does not connect the two, and its punctuation is also left open. The literal wording is retained.

Once this sentence closes, the chapter heading “Chapter Five, Seeking a Good Friend” stands on the next line 〔T32 408a28〕; on the following line, the next chapter opens by asking, “At that time, how is concentration to arise?”—the present chapter divides concentration sixteen times but does not say how it arises; the matter of arousing concentration is given to the next chapter.

A Way to Read: When a Sequence Says “Leaving Something, Accomplishing This Many,” Subtract the Numbers for Yourself

The way of reading offered by this passage lies in the observation stated at the outset, and it is extremely simple.

Whenever a step-by-step descending list says “leaving such-and-such, one accomplishes this many factors,” do not merely read past it—take up a pen and subtract the numbers for yourself.

How many things were given at the first level? How many are left at each level? Does the number produced by subtraction agree with the number written in the text?

If it agrees, the list has been read through. Where it does not agree, the text has usually omitted a step without saying so. Then ask one more question: is there a textual note at this point? Where there is a note, the variant often supplies the omitted step; where there is no note, the text itself simply stands this way and can only be recorded as written.

Applied to the present passage, both inquiries bear fruit: the number of factors in the third jhāna cannot be obtained by subtraction, and there is no textual note on the factor count at that point; the comparison of the two persons has one place that does not align, and a textual note falls precisely there, with a variant that would make it align.

One method, two results—this is precisely why it is worth carrying away.

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Take away three things. One observation: the factors of the five jhānas do not agree with their own sequential decrease: the first jhāna has five factors 〔T32 408a06–07〕 → leaving applied thought gives four 〔T32 408a07–08〕 → leaving joy gives “two factors” 〔T32 408a08〕 → leaving pleasure gives two divisions 〔T32 408a08–09〕. The sequence drops directly from four to two; the text does not say where the intervening factor, sustained thought, has gone, and there is no textual note on the factor count at this point. Its five characters are identical with the preceding unit’s sentence for the third jhāna in the four-jhāna doorway 〔T32 408a04〕, where they are correct within the decrease five → three → two. One way of reading: when encountering a descending list of “leaving something, accomplishing this many,” subtract the numbers for yourself; where subtraction fails, the text has usually omitted a step, and one must then ask whether there is a textual note—where there is a note, a variant often supplies that step; where there is none, the text can only be recorded as written. One place to pause: where did sustained thought go? 〔T32 408a08〕 The present passage cannot answer. Three matters can be checked: the four-jhāna doorway has the same sentence and its subtraction is correct; “accomplishes three factors” and “accomplishes four factors” each occur once in the whole treatise and belong to different doorways; and not one of the three textual notes in this passage concerns the factor count. This edition neither alters nor supplies.

Four smaller matters should also be retained: “because there are results for two persons” 〔T32 408a10〕 connects the chapter’s two accounts of the second jhāna—04-03’s without applied thought but with little sustained thought, and 04-04’s leaving applied and sustained thought, neither earlier passage saying why; four features in the comparison of the two persons form pairs, while the fault known is “applied thought” in both places 〔T32 408a12·408a14–15〕, and the internal evidence stands with the variant “applied and sustained thought,” though the text is not altered; four names in five-division attainment end with “fulfillment,” while the fifth is contemplation-perception 〔T32 408a17–18〕, with the first two correlated with jhānas and the last three with knowledge and direct knowledge; and the two occurrences of 依身智起 in the whole treatise are both in the passage on five-knowledge right concentration 〔T32 408a21·408a25〕, once at the beginning of the second sentence and once at the end of the last, while the third and fourth sentences almost repeat.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Five-Fold Divisions and the Four and Five Jhānas · Exposition · Summer 2026