解脫道論 識陰三門

〔T32 0448a〕
心要Essence

識陰是五陰的最後一陰。到這裡,論文的做法忽然變了。

前面四陰,愈講名目愈多——色陰列到三十色,行陰列到三十二目。到識陰,只有七個名字,一次列完,其後一個也不再添。

七個名字之後,論文換了三副眼睛,把這同一批看三遍:從處與事看、從事看、從法看。名不增而看法增。

前五個名字用同一個式子出五次:依眼緣色而生識,是謂眼識;依耳緣聲,依鼻緣香,依舌緣味,依身緣觸。模子完好。而第六、第七個一入手,收句就換了字——前五個一律「是謂」,後兩個一律「此謂」。論文不說為什麼,可是分組已經在用字裡了。

意識界的界說是一句遮遣:除掉那六個,剩下的心就是。這一手上一段剛用過——行陰的界說也是除掉受、想,剩下的都是。連著兩段,同一種立界法。

七這個數也不是這裡才有的。受陰早有「由門七受」,想陰早有「以由門七想」,兩處都已經把意分作意界與意識界而成七。識陰只是第一次把這一列叫作七識。數目字是接榫:讀到一個數,回頭找它上一次在哪裡,段與段就接上了。同一個接榫再往下走,還會連著遞增——識陰三行、五陰四行、十二入五行。

三門之中,第一門最難讀。那一句連寫成串的話,其實是一張三欄表:三個主語各配法、處、事三項;而還原的憑據就在上一句——意界五事、意識界六事,數目對得上,欄位就對得上。連寫不是抄漏,是本論行文的常態;本品這已是第五次。

第二門的句勢是先說不能、再說何以能:六句一律先立一個「不」,隨後給出解。而解只用兩個詞,其中「迅速」二字全論只出現四次,四次都在這幾行裡。讀這一門容易誤以為在講心的無能,其實重心全在後半。

第三門的骨頭是一個「設」字,五行之內出現十四次。五識是定的,意界稍活,意識界最活——愈往後愈不能一口咬定,於是這個字愈密。七識之間的差別,這裡不靠說明,靠一個字出現的疏密就顯出來了。

有一處值得自己去停。「六識」這個詞本段出現九次,只有第一次自帶界說(除掉這六識,剩下的心是意識界,故其六是七減意識界)。其後八次,論文一次也沒有再說是哪六個。這是本論的一種習慣:一個詞第一次出現時自帶界說,其後便一路使用而不回頭。第一處沒接住,後面就只能猜。

末了一句收兩事:既收識陰,又收五陰。五陰之答自色陰起,到這一句才算走完。

(順帶記著:三門的收句並不畫一,前二門作「可知」而第三門作「勝可知」,多一個字。又:上一段一目一譬、三十二目無一缺,本段一譬不立——相鄰兩段的疏密落差如此。)

The aggregate of consciousness is the last of the five aggregates. At this point, the treatise suddenly changes its approach.

In the preceding four aggregates, the farther the discussion proceeds, the more named items there are—the aggregate of form lists thirty forms, and the aggregate of formations lists thirty-two items. With the aggregate of consciousness, there are only seven names, listed once in full, and not one more is added afterward.

After those seven names, the treatise looks through three pairs of eyes at the same set three times: by locus and object, by object, and by quality. Names do not increase; viewpoints do.

The first five names use the same formula five times: dependent on the eye and conditioned by visible form, consciousness arises—this is called eye-consciousness; dependent on the ear and conditioned by sound; dependent on the nose and conditioned by odor; dependent on the tongue and conditioned by taste; dependent on the body and conditioned by touch. The mold remains intact. Yet as soon as the sixth and seventh are taken up, the closing wording changes—the first five consistently use one version of “this is called,” while the last two consistently use another. The treatise does not say why, but the grouping is already present in its choice of words.

The mind-consciousness element is defined in a single act of exclusion: remove those six, and the remaining mind is the mind-consciousness element. The preceding passage has just used the same move—the aggregate of formations is likewise defined by removing feeling and perception and taking everything else as formations. Across two consecutive passages, the same method draws the boundary.

Seven is not new here either. The aggregate of feeling already has “seven feelings by way of the doors,” and the aggregate of perception already has “seven perceptions by way of the doors.” In both places, mind has already been divided into the mind element and the mind-consciousness element, making seven. The aggregate of consciousness is merely the first to call this list the seven consciousnesses. Numbers are joints: when you encounter a number, look back for where it last appeared, and one passage joins to another. Following the same joint onward reveals an ascending sequence—three approaches for the aggregate of consciousness, four for the five aggregates, and five for the twelve sense bases.

Of the three approaches, the first is the hardest to read. Its continuous string is really a three-column table: each of three subjects is paired with quality, locus, and object. The key to reconstructing it lies in the preceding sentence—five objects for the mind element and six for the mind-consciousness element. Once the numbers line up, the columns line up. Running the words together is not an omission in copying; it is this treatise’s normal manner of writing, and this is already the fifth instance in this chapter.

The sentences of the second approach first say what cannot happen and then how it can: each of the six sentences begins with a “does not” and then supplies the resolution. The resolutions use only two terms. Among them, the two-character term for “rapidity” occurs only four times in the entire treatise, all four in these few lines. It is easy to misread this approach as describing the mind’s incapacity; in fact, all the weight lies in the latter half.

The backbone of the third approach is the conditional “may,” which occurs fourteen times within five lines. The treatment of the five sense consciousnesses is fixed, that of the mind element somewhat more flexible, and that of the mind-consciousness element most flexible—the farther the passage proceeds, the less it can state categorically, so this word grows denser. Here the differences among the seven consciousnesses emerge not through explanation but through the changing density of a single word.

There is one place worth pausing over for yourself. The phrase “six consciousnesses” occurs nine times in this passage, and only the first occurrence carries its own definition (remove these six consciousnesses, and the remaining mind is the mind-consciousness element; therefore, the six are the seven minus the mind-consciousness element). In the next eight occurrences, the treatise never again says which six they are. This is one of its habits: a term carries its definition when it first appears and is then used all the way onward without looking back. If you miss that first occurrence, all you can do afterward is guess.

The final sentence closes two things: it closes the aggregate of consciousness and the five aggregates. The answer concerning the five aggregates began with the aggregate of form and only reaches completion in this sentence.

(Keep two further details in mind: the closing formulas of the three approaches are not uniform. The first two read “can be known,” while the third reads “can be distinctly known,” adding one word. And the preceding passage gives one simile for each item, omitting none of its thirty-two items, while this passage establishes not a single simile—that is how sharp the difference in density is between two adjacent passages.)


Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Three Approaches to the Aggregate of Consciousness · Doorway · Summer 2026

原典Canonical · verbatim

阿羅漢優波底沙造,梁扶南三藏僧伽婆羅譯《解脫道論》〈五方便品〉「識陰三門」· 大正藏 T32n1648〔起 T32 0448a〕。段首〔T32 …〕=大正藏頁·欄錨。

〔T32 0448a〕

問:云何識陰?答:眼識、耳識、鼻識、舌識、身識、意界意識界。於是眼識者,依眼緣色生識,是謂眼識。耳識者,依耳緣聲生識,是謂耳識。鼻識者,依鼻緣香生識,是謂鼻識。舌識者,依舌緣味生識,是謂舌識。身識者,依身緣觸生識,是謂身識。意界者,依處五事依二事。五識若前後次第生識,此謂意界。意識界者,除此六識,餘心,此謂意識界。此七識以三行所勝可知。如是以處事、以事、以法。

問:云何以處事?答:五識種種處、種種事,意界及意識界一處,意界五事、意識界六事。五識者,內法內處外事意界、內法外處外事意識界、內法外處內事亦外事。六識者,初生處、初生事意識界。於入體剎那共生處,初以生處,於無色有無處一切事。如是以處事可知。

〔T32 0448b〕

問:云何以事?答:五識一一受其境界,非一一次第生,不前不後生不散起。以五識不知所有法,除初起。以意界不知所有法,除意轉。以六識不安威儀,以迅速安之。以六識不受持身業口業,以六識不受善不善法,以迅速受之。以六識不入定不安詳起,以迅速入定,以後分安詳。以六識不終不生,或以後分或以彼事終,以果報意識界生。以六識不眠不覺不見夢,以後分眠以轉意覺,以迅速夢見。如是以事可知。

問:云何以法?答:五識有覺有觀,意界有覺有觀,意識界設有覺有觀、設無覺少觀、設無覺無觀。五識與捨共行,身識設與樂共行、設與苦共行,意識界設與喜共行、設與憂共行、設與捨共行。五識果報,意界設果報、設方便,意識界設善設不善、設果報、設方便。六識無因無起。世間法有漏有結、有縛有流、有厄有蓋、所觸有取有煩惱,不以見所斷、不以思惟所斷、非為聚非非為聚、非學非非學,少欲界繫,不定非乘,意識界一切壞。如是以法勝可知,此謂識陰、此謂五陰。

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.

白話Plain reading

識陰的標列

問:什麼是識陰?

答:眼識、耳識、鼻識、舌識、身識、意界、意識界。

標列處「意界意識界」六字連寫、其間無斷;而下文既以此二各立一目而各出其界說,又總稱這一列為「七識」,故知是二不是一。這裡照原字錄,不代加頓號。

五識:一個式子出五次

在這件事上——

眼識,是依眼、緣色而生的識;這叫作眼識。

耳識,是依耳、緣聲而生的識;這叫作耳識。

鼻識,是依鼻、緣香而生的識;這叫作鼻識。

舌識,是依舌、緣味而生的識;這叫作舌識。

身識,是依身、緣觸而生的識;這叫作身識。

意界與意識界

意界,是依處五事、依二事;五識若前後次第而生識,這叫作意界。

「依處五事依二事」一句,論文於本段不再自釋。可與之相參照的只有下文一語——「意界五事」,其「五事」二字與此處字面相同;至於「依二事」,本段更無別處可核。這裡照原字錄。

意識界,是除掉這六識以外其餘的心;這叫作意識界。

這七個識,可以從三個方面看它們的高下差別而知:從處與事、從事、從法。

第一門:從處與事看

問:怎樣從處與事看?

答:五識是種種處、種種事;意界與意識界是一處;意界五事、意識界六事。

五識是內法、內處、外事;意界是內法、外處、外事;意識界是內法、外處、內事也是外事。

這三句在底本裡連寫成一串,後兩個主語各黏在前一句的末尾。三個主語各要配足法、處、事三項,這一層對稱在「事」這一欄可以就近核對——上一句剛說過意界五事、意識界六事,正與此處意界的「外事」(五者皆外)、意識界的「內事亦外事」(五外加一內)相應。這裡照原字錄,不代加標點。

六識是初生處、初生事——意識界,於入體的剎那共生處,最初以生處;於無色有,無處而一切事。

此處的「意識界」三字,或屬上句(作「初生事」之所指)、或屬下句(作下一句的主語),論文自身不斷。這裡照原字錄,二讀並記,不代加標點。

這樣,從處與事看,可知。

第二門:從事看

問:怎樣從事看?

答:五識各各領受它自己的境界,不是一個一個依次生起,不前不後生、不散亂而起。

五識不知一切所有法,除了最初生起的那一下。

意界不知一切所有法,除了意的轉。

六識不安立威儀,是以迅速安立它。

六識不受持身業與口業,六識不受善法與不善法,是以迅速受持它。

六識不入定、不安詳而起,是以迅速入定,以後分安詳。

六識不終、不生,或以後分、或以那件事而終,以果報的意識界而生。

六識不眠、不覺、不見夢;是以後分而眠、以轉意而覺、以迅速而夢見。

這樣,從事看,可知。

第三門:從法看

問:怎樣從法看?

答:五識有覺有觀,意界有覺有觀;意識界或有覺有觀、或無覺少觀、或無覺無觀。

五識與捨共行;身識或與樂共行、或與苦共行;意識界或與喜共行、或與憂共行、或與捨共行。

五識是果報;意界或是果報、或是方便;意識界或善、或不善、或果報、或方便。

六識無因無起。

世間法是有漏、有結,有縛、有流,有厄、有蓋,所觸、有取、有煩惱;不以見所斷、不以思惟所斷;非為聚、非非為聚;非學、非非學;少欲界繫;不定、非乘;意識界一切壞。

這樣,從法看它們的高下而可知。這叫作識陰,這叫作五陰。

收句上的兩處參差

三門各以一句作結而三句之形不畫一:第一門收作「如是以處事可知」、第二門收作「如是以事可知」,唯第三門作「如是以法勝可知」,比前二門多一個「勝」字。這裡照錄,不代為齊。

又:末句一句而收兩事——既收識陰,又收五陰。五陰之答自色陰起、至此而盡,故論文於同一句裡連下兩個收語。這裡照錄。

The List of Consciousnesses

Question: What is the aggregate of consciousness?

Answer: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, the mind element, and the mind-consciousness element.

In the listing, the six Chinese characters rendered “mind element mind-consciousness element” are written continuously, with no break between them. Below, however, each is given its own entry and its own definition, and the whole list is called “seven consciousnesses”; they are therefore two, not one. The wording here follows the source characters as they stand and does not supply a comma.

Five Sense Consciousnesses: One Formula Five Times

Here—

Eye-consciousness is consciousness that arises dependent on the eye and conditioned by visible form; this is called eye-consciousness.

Ear-consciousness is consciousness that arises dependent on the ear and conditioned by sound; this is called ear-consciousness.

Nose-consciousness is consciousness that arises dependent on the nose and conditioned by odor; this is called nose-consciousness.

Tongue-consciousness is consciousness that arises dependent on the tongue and conditioned by taste; this is called tongue-consciousness.

Body-consciousness is consciousness that arises dependent on the body and conditioned by touch; this is called body-consciousness.

Mind Element and Mind-Consciousness Element

The mind element depends on a locus, five objects, and two objects; when consciousness arises before or after the five sense consciousnesses in sequence, this is called the mind element.

The clause “depends on a locus, five objects, and two objects” is not explained further by the treatise in this passage. Its only point of comparison is the statement below, “the mind element has five objects,” whose words “five objects” are the same as those here. As for “depends on two objects,” there is nowhere else in this passage against which to check it. The wording here follows the source characters as they stand.

The mind-consciousness element is the remaining mind after these six consciousnesses have been excluded; this is called the mind-consciousness element.

The relative distinctions among these seven consciousnesses can be known from three perspectives: from locus and object, from object, and from quality.

First Approach: Locus and Object

Question: How can they be known from locus and object?

Answer: the five sense consciousnesses have various loci and various objects; the mind element and the mind-consciousness element have one locus; the mind element has five objects, and the mind-consciousness element has six objects.

The five sense consciousnesses are internal qualities, have internal loci, and have external objects; the mind element is an internal quality, has an external locus, and has external objects; the mind-consciousness element is an internal quality, has an external locus, and has internal as well as external objects.

These three clauses run together in a single string in the base text, and each of the last two subjects is attached to the end of the preceding clause. Each of the three subjects must be matched with all three categories—quality, locus, and object. The symmetry in the “object” column can be checked against the immediately preceding sentence: it has just said that the mind element has five objects and the mind-consciousness element six, corresponding exactly to “external objects” here for the mind element—all five are external—and “internal as well as external objects” for the mind-consciousness element—five external plus one internal. The wording here follows the source characters as they stand and does not supply punctuation.

The six consciousnesses have an initial birth-locus and an initial birth-object—mind-consciousness element. At the moment of entering the body, the co-arising locus is first the birthplace; in formless existence there is no locus and all objects occur.

The three Chinese characters rendered “mind-consciousness element” here may belong to the preceding clause—as what “initial birth-object” refers to—or to the following clause—as the subject of the next sentence. The treatise itself does not divide the text. The wording here follows the source characters as they stand; both readings are recorded, and no punctuation is supplied.

Thus, from locus and object, they can be known.

Second Approach: Object

Question: How can they be known from object?

Answer: each of the five sense consciousnesses receives its own domain; they do not arise one by one in sequence, do not arise before or after one another, and do not arise scattered.

The five sense consciousnesses do not know all existing qualities, except at the first arising.

The mind element does not know all existing qualities, except the turning of mind.

The six consciousnesses do not establish bodily posture; it is rapidity that establishes it.

The six consciousnesses do not take up and sustain bodily action and verbal action; the six consciousnesses do not receive wholesome and unwholesome qualities; it is rapidity that takes them up and sustains them.

The six consciousnesses do not enter concentration and do not arise calmly; it is rapidity that enters concentration, while a later phase is calm.

The six consciousnesses do not end and are not born; ending occurs through either a later phase or that object, and birth occurs through the resultant mind-consciousness element.

The six consciousnesses do not sleep, do not wake, and do not see dreams; sleeping occurs through a later phase, waking through the turning of mind, and dreaming through rapidity.

Thus, from object, they can be known.

Third Approach: Quality

Question: How can they be known from quality?

Answer: the five sense consciousnesses have initial and sustained application, and the mind element has initial and sustained application; the mind-consciousness element may have initial and sustained application, may have no initial application and little sustained application, or may have neither initial nor sustained application.

The five sense consciousnesses are accompanied by equanimity; body-consciousness may be accompanied by pleasure or may be accompanied by pain; the mind-consciousness element may be accompanied by joy, may be accompanied by grief, or may be accompanied by equanimity.

The five sense consciousnesses are resultant; the mind element may be resultant or may be preparatory; the mind-consciousness element may be wholesome, may be unwholesome, may be resultant, or may be preparatory.

The six consciousnesses are without cause and without arising.

Worldly qualities have influxes and knots, bonds and currents, peril and hindrances, contact, grasping, and defilement; they are not abandoned through seeing and not abandoned through cultivation; they are neither aggregative nor nonaggregative; neither training nor not training; small and bound to the sense realm; uncertain and not a vehicle; the mind-consciousness element entirely breaks.

Thus, from quality, their relative distinctions can be known. This is called the aggregate of consciousness; this is called the five aggregates.

Two Irregularities in the Closures

Each of the three approaches closes with one sentence, but the three sentences are not uniform in form: the first closes, “Thus, from locus and object, they can be known”; the second closes, “Thus, from object, they can be known”; only the third reads, “Thus, from quality, their relative distinctions can be known,” with one additional source character, rendered here by “relative distinctions,” compared with the first two. The forms are transcribed as they stand and are not made uniform.

Again, the final sentence closes two matters at once: it closes both the aggregate of consciousness and the five aggregates. The answer on the five aggregates began with the aggregate of form and reaches its end here, so the treatise places two closing formulas in the same sentence. Both are transcribed as they stand.


Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Three Approaches to the Aggregate of Consciousness · Vernacular · Summer 2026

義疏Exposition

到識陰,五陰之答就要收了。

先把所見說在前頭:這一段不再添名。七個名目在段首一次立定,其後三門只是換三副眼睛,把同一批看三遍;而「同一批」在三門裡的稱法並不畫一——時而分作五識、意界、意識界,時而總作六識,論文從不停下來說「六識」是哪六個。

一列七名,三度重看。名不增而看法增——這是本段的形。

七個名字,怎樣立定

問答一起手就把名列完:「答:眼識、耳識、鼻識、舌識、身識、意」〔T32 448a19〕「界意識界」〔T32 448a20〕。

前五個用同一個式子出五次:「於是眼識者,依眼緣色生識,是」〔T32 448a20〕「謂眼識」〔T32 448a21〕——依某根、緣某境、生某識,然後以「是謂」把名收回來。耳、鼻、舌、身四目一字不易地照做。到第五目「身識者,依身緣觸生」〔T32 448a23〕「識,是謂身識」〔T32 448a24〕,模子仍是完好的。

而第六、第七目一入手,收句就換了字。意界作「此謂意界」〔T32 448a25〕,意識界作「此謂意識界」〔T32 448a26〕。前五個一律「是謂」,後兩個一律「此謂」。

這不是我替論文分的組,是論文自己用字分的組——五個一組、兩個一組,收句上就已經分開了。

分組是有道理的。前五個各有自己的根與境,故各得一個「是謂」;後兩個沒有專屬的根,其立義的方式也就不同。意界作「意界者,依處五事依二事。五識」〔T32 448a24〕「若前後次第生識,此謂意界」〔T32 448a25〕——它是承著五識的前後次第說的。意識界更乾脆,直接用一句遮遣:「意識界者,除此」〔T32 448a25〕「六識,餘心,此謂意識界」〔T32 448a26〕。

遮遣立界這一手,上一個單元剛用過。行陰的界說是「除受想一切心數法」〔T32 447c13〕——除掉受、想,剩下的都是。這裡是除掉那六個,剩下的心都是。同一種立界法,連著兩段各用一次。

讀法:把數目字當接榫用

本段交出的讀法很簡單,卻很耐用:遇到一個數目字,先回頭找它上一次出現在哪裡。

「此七識以三行所勝」〔T32 448a26〕——這是全論第一處把這一列明白標作七。可是「七」這個數不是在這裡才有的。

翻回受陰那一段:「由門七受」〔T32 447b19〕,其列是眼、耳、鼻、舌、身,然後「從意界觸生受」〔T32 447b20–21〕、「從意識界觸生受」〔T32 447b21〕。再翻想陰:「以由門七想」〔T32 447c06〕,同樣是五個之外再加「從意界觸生想」〔T32 447c07–08〕與意識界。

兩段都已經在用這個七,而拆出這個七的那一刀——把意分作意界與意識界——也早就下過了。到識陰,論文只是第一次把這一列叫作「七識」。

所以讀到「七識」而覺得新,其實是漏看了前面兩段。數目字是接榫:受陰七、想陰七、識陰七,三段是同一個結構貫下來的。

同一個讀法再用一次,接的就更遠。本段的總標作「此七識以三行所勝」〔T32 448a26〕;下一段作「復次此五陰,以四行所勝」〔T32 448b25〕;再下一段作「五行所勝可知」〔T32 449a07〕之十二入。三行、四行、五行,連著三段遞增。再往前翻,色陰那邊還有兩處同形而不報門數的:「如是以令起,所勝可知」〔T32 446b14–15〕、「如是以一種所勝可知」〔T32 447b11〕。

一個接榫,五處可見。數目字不只是數量,它是論文用來把段與段扣起來的榫頭。

第一門:三欄表,被連寫藏起來

三門的第一門問「怎樣從處與事看」。答文先給一句總的:「五識種種處、種種事」〔T32 448a28〕,意界與意識界共一處,然後「意界五事」〔T32 448a29〕、意識界六事。

接著是本段最難讀的一句:「五識者,內法內處」〔T32 448a29〕「外事意界、內法外處外事意識界、內法外處」〔T32 448b01〕「內事亦外事」〔T32 448b02〕。

一路連寫,看起來像一串亂碼。其實它是一張三欄表——三個主語,各配法、處、事三項:

五識,內法、內處、外事;意界,內法、外處、外事;意識界,內法、外處、內事亦外事。

還原的憑據不是我的猜測,是上一句。上一句剛說過意界五事、意識界六事:意界那五事就是色聲香味觸,全在外,故其欄作「外事」;意識界那六事是五外加一個法,故其欄作「內事亦外事」。數目對得上,欄位就對得上。至於「處」這一欄何以五識是內而意界、意識界是外,論文不解釋,本編也不代解。

而連寫的樣子值得看清楚:後起的主語,各黏在前一句的末尾。「外事意界」——意界黏在五識那一欄的末尾;「外事意識界」——意識界黏在意界那一欄的末尾。同一節裡再來一次:「六識者,初生處、初生事意識」〔T32 448b02〕「界。於入體剎那共生處,初以生處,於無色」〔T32 448b03〕。

這第三處還多一層難:那三個字究竟屬上還是屬下?屬上,則六識的初生事就是意識界;屬下,則意識界是下一句的主語。論文自身不斷,本編二讀並記、照原字錄。

這種連寫,本品已是第五次見。前四次是「無常揣食處色」「色生揣食四界」「水界揣食處色」與「喜心」「精進念」「調戲」三串,還原靠的是論文自報的數或逐釋自己拆開;這一次不同,還原靠的是三個主語各須配足三項的對稱。同一種連寫之形,還原之據卻各不相同——這正說明這種形不是抄手偶爾漏了頓號,是本論行文的常態。

第二門:先說不能,再說何以能

第二門問「怎樣從事看」。這一門的句勢最整齊,也最容易被讀成一堆否定。

先是兩句:「以五識不知所有法,除初起」〔T32 448b06–07〕、「以意界不知所有法,除意轉」〔T32 448b07〕——先立一個「不」,隨即開一個口子。

接著六句一氣連下,每一句都是這個形。「以六識不安」〔T32 448b07〕「威儀,以迅速安之」〔T32 448b08〕;不受持身業口業、不受善不善法,「以迅速受之」〔T32 448b09〕;不入定不安詳起,「以迅速入定」〔T32 448b10〕;不終不生,以果報意識界生;不眠不覺不見夢,「以迅速夢見」〔T32 448b13〕。

六句一律先說某事六識所不能,再說何以竟能。否定在前而解在後——這是本段特有的句勢,前面幾段都沒有。

而解的那一半,反覆只用兩個詞:迅速、後分。「迅速」二字全論只出現四次,四次都在這幾行裡〔T32 448b08·448b09·448b10·448b13〕。一個全論僅此一段使用的詞,密集地擔著六句的解釋。論文不另說迅速是什麼,只讓它在六句裡各出一次。

讀到這裡容易生一種錯覺:以為這一門在講心的無能。其實不是。六句的重心全在後半——不是六識能不能,是何者使之能。前半的否定只是把問題逼出來。

停一下:「六識」到底是哪六個

現在停在一個字上。

「六識」這個詞,本段出現九次,全論也才十一次。九次之中,只有第一次自帶界說。那就是意識界的立界句:「意識界者,除此」〔T32 448a25〕「六識,餘心,此謂意識界」〔T32 448a26〕——除掉這六識,剩下的心是意識界。由此可以回推:這裡的六,是七減意識界,也就是五識加意界。

可是其後八次,論文一次也沒有再說。第一門的「六識者,初生處、初生事意識」〔T32 448b02〕是不是同一個六?第二門連下六句的那個「六識」是不是?第三門末尾的「六識無因無起」〔T32 448b20〕又是不是?

論文全不交代。

這一問值得停,不是因為它難,是因為它示範了本論的一種習慣:一個詞在第一次出現時自帶界說,其後便一路使用而不再回頭。讀者若在第一處沒有把界說接住,後面八處就只能靠猜。

而本段偏偏把「五識」「六識」「七識」三個集合輪替著用:第一門三種稱法都出現,第二門幾乎全說六識,第三門又回到五識、意界、意識界的三分而末尾忽然出一個六識。同一批七個東西,三門三種稱法。

本編不替論文補這個界說,也不由此推論其識說。可核的只有兩件事:九見之中唯首見自帶界說;其餘八見論文不再說。

第三門:一個「設」字撐起來的排比

第三門問「怎樣從法看」。這一門的骨頭是一個字——設。

「意識界設有覺有觀、設無覺少觀、」〔T32 448b15〕「設無覺無觀」〔T32 448b16〕;「五識與捨共行」〔T32 448b16〕而身識或樂或苦,意識界或喜或憂或捨;「五識果報」〔T32 448b18〕而意界或果報或方便,「意識界設善設不善、設果報、設方」〔T32 448b19〕便。

這個字在五行之內出現十四次,而全論不過五十次。四分之一強擠在這五行裡。

它的用處很清楚:五識是定的,意界稍活,意識界最活。同一件事問下來,愈往後愈不能一口咬定,於是「設」字愈密。三門看下來,這是唯一一處讓七識之間的差別直接顯在句法上的地方——不是靠說明,是靠一個字出現的疏密。

而覺觀那三分並非此處新立。本論前文早有:「復次定有三種:有覺有觀定、無覺少觀定、無覺無觀定」〔T32 407b16–17〕,且各繫其禪。這裡把那三分挪來配意識界,又是一次接榫。

收句:三門不齊,末句雙收

最後兩件小事。

三門各以一句作結:「如是以處事可知」〔T32 448b04〕、「如是以事」〔T32 448b13〕「可知」〔T32 448b14〕、「如是以法勝可知,此謂識陰、此謂五陰」〔T32 448b24〕。前二門作「可知」,第三門作「勝可知」,多一個字。照錄不代齊。

而末句是一句收兩事:既收識陰,又收五陰。五陰之答自色陰起,經受、想、行而至識,到這一句才算走完。論文不另起一段作總結,只在同一句裡連下兩個收語。

還有一件關於筆勢的事實該記著。上一個單元一目一譬、三十二目無一缺;本段一譬不立。「如」字本段四見〔T32 448a27·448b04·448b13·448b24〕,四見全是「如是」的如,沒有一個是取譬的如。相鄰兩段,一段全是譬、一段全無譬——可核的是這個落差本身,本編不由此另立體例之說。


帶走三件:一個所見——七個名目在段首一次立定,其後不再添名,三門只是換三副眼睛看同一批;而「同一批」在三門裡的稱法並不畫一,時而分作五識、意界、意識界,時而總作六識。一個讀法——把數目字當接榫用:遇一個數先回頭找它上一次在哪裡(七之數早見於受陰「由門七受」〔T32 447b19〕與想陰「以由門七想」〔T32 447c06〕;三行、四行、五行則連著三段遞增〔T32 448a26·448b25·449a07〕)。一處停問——「六識」九見而唯首見自帶界說〔T32 448a25–26〕,其餘八見論文不再說是哪六個:那是同一個六嗎?本編照錄不代補。

還有三件小事該記著:五識五目以「是謂」收而意界、意識界以「此謂」收,收句用字自己分了組;第一門的三欄表被連寫藏起來而還原之據就在上一句的「意界五事」〔T32 448a29〕;「迅速」二字全論四見而盡在本段第二門。

With the aggregate of consciousness, the answer concerning the five aggregates is about to come to a close.

Let us state the observation at the outset: This passage adds no further names. Seven names are fixed all at once at the beginning; the three approaches that follow merely change eyes three times and look at the same set three times. Yet the way this “same set” is named is not uniform across the three approaches—sometimes it is divided into the five consciousnesses, the mind element, and the mind-consciousness element; sometimes it is gathered as the six consciousnesses. The treatise never pauses to say which six “the six consciousnesses” are.

One list of seven names, reviewed three times. Names do not increase, but ways of seeing do—this is the shape of the passage.

How the Seven Names Are Established

The question and answer list every name at once: “Answer: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mind” 〔T32 448a19〕 “element mind-consciousness element” 〔T32 448a20〕.

The first five use the same formula five times: “As for eye-consciousness here, consciousness is born dependent on the eye and conditioned by visible form; this” 〔T32 448a20〕 “is called eye-consciousness” 〔T32 448a21〕—depending on a particular faculty, conditioned by a particular object, a particular consciousness arises, and then “is called” brings the name back. Ear, nose, tongue, and body repeat it without changing a single character. At the fifth item, “as for body-consciousness, dependent on the body and conditioned by touch, there arises” 〔T32 448a23〕 “consciousness; this is called body-consciousness” 〔T32 448a24〕, the mold is still intact.

But as soon as the sixth and seventh items begin, the closing phrase changes its wording. The mind element has “This is called the mind element” 〔T32 448a25〕, and the mind-consciousness element has “This is called the mind-consciousness element” 〔T32 448a26〕. The first five uniformly close with one version of “this is called”; the last two uniformly with the other version of “this is called.”

This is not a grouping imposed on the treatise here. The treatise’s own wording makes the division—five in one group and two in another, already separated by their closing phrases.

There is a reason for the grouping. Each of the first five has its own faculty and object and so receives the first version of “this is called”; the last two have no exclusive faculty, and the way their boundaries are established therefore differs. Of the mind element, the text says: “The mind element depends on a locus, five objects, and two objects. The five consciousnesses” 〔T32 448a24〕 “—if consciousness arises before or after them in sequence, this is called the mind element” 〔T32 448a25〕. It is explained by carrying forward the sequence of the five consciousnesses. The mind-consciousness element is more direct, established in a single exclusion: “Mind-consciousness element: apart from these” 〔T32 448a25〕 “six consciousnesses, the remaining mind; this is called the mind-consciousness element” 〔T32 448a26〕.

This move of establishing a boundary by exclusion was used in the previous unit. The boundary statement for the aggregate of formations is “all mental factors apart from feeling and perception” 〔T32 447c13〕—remove feeling and perception, and everything left is included. Here, remove those six, and all the remaining mind is included. The same way of drawing a boundary appears once in each of two consecutive passages.

Reading Practice: Use Numbers as Joints

The reading practice offered by this passage is simple but durable: when you encounter a number, first look back for where it last appeared.

“These seven consciousnesses are distinguished in three ways” 〔T32 448a26〕—this is the first place in the entire treatise that expressly labels the list as seven. But the number “seven” did not first appear here.

Turn back to the aggregate of feeling: “seven feelings by way of the doors” 〔T32 447b19〕. The list is eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body, followed by “feeling born from contact of the mind element” 〔T32 447b20–21〕 and “feeling born from contact of the mind-consciousness element” 〔T32 447b21〕. Then turn to the aggregate of perception: “seven perceptions by way of the doors” 〔T32 447c06〕. Again, beyond the five come “perception born from contact of the mind element” 〔T32 447c07–08〕 and the mind-consciousness element.

Both passages were already using this seven, and the cut that produces it—the division of mind into mind element and mind-consciousness element—had already been made. With the aggregate of consciousness, the treatise merely calls this list “seven consciousnesses” for the first time.

So if “seven consciousnesses” seems new, the preceding two passages have been missed. Numbers are joints: seven in feeling, seven in perception, and seven in consciousness; the same structure runs through all three passages.

Use the same practice once more and the joint reaches farther. The general heading here is “These seven consciousnesses are distinguished in three ways” 〔T32 448a26〕; the next passage has “Further, these five aggregates are distinguished in four ways” 〔T32 448b25〕; the passage after that says of the twelve sense bases that “their distinctions can be known in five ways” 〔T32 449a07〕. Three ways, four ways, five ways: the number rises across three consecutive passages. Turn farther back and the aggregate-of-form section has two statements of the same shape that do not report the number of approaches: “Thus, their distinctions through what brings them forth can be known” 〔T32 446b14–15〕 and “Thus, their distinctions through unity can be known” 〔T32 447b11〕.

One joint is visible in five places. A number does more than count; it is the tenon by which the treatise fastens one passage to another.

First Approach: A Three-Column Table Hidden by Continuous Writing

The first of the three approaches asks, “How is it viewed by locus and object?” The answer first gives a general statement: “the five consciousnesses have various loci and various objects” 〔T32 448a28〕; the mind element and the mind-consciousness element share one locus; then comes “mind element, five objects” 〔T32 448a29〕, with six objects for the mind-consciousness element.

Next comes the hardest sentence in the passage: “The five consciousnesses: internal quality, internal locus” 〔T32 448a29〕 “external object mind element, internal quality, external locus, external object mind-consciousness element, internal quality, external locus” 〔T32 448b01〕 “internal object and also external object” 〔T32 448b02〕.

Written straight through, it looks like a string of garbled code. In fact, it is a three-column table—three subjects, each paired with three entries: quality, locus, and object.

The five consciousnesses: internal quality, internal locus, external object; the mind element: internal quality, external locus, external object; the mind-consciousness element: internal quality, external locus, internal and also external objects.

The warrant for reconstructing it is not my conjecture; it is the preceding sentence. That sentence has just said that the mind element has five objects and the mind-consciousness element six. The mind element’s five are visible form, sound, odor, taste, and touch, all external, so its column reads “external objects.” The mind-consciousness element’s six are the five external objects plus one quality, so its column reads “internal and also external objects.” Once the numbers line up, the columns line up. As for why the “locus” column makes the five consciousnesses internal but the mind element and mind-consciousness element external, the treatise does not explain, and this edition does not explain it on the treatise’s behalf.

The continuous writing itself deserves a clear look: each later subject is attached to the end of the preceding clause. “External object mind element”—the mind element is attached to the end of the five-consciousness column. “External object mind-consciousness element”—the mind-consciousness element is attached to the end of the mind-element column. The same thing happens again in this section: “The six consciousnesses: initial birth-locus, initial birth-object mind-consciousness” 〔T32 448b02〕 “element. At the moment of entering the body, the co-arising locus is first the place of birth; in the formless” 〔T32 448b03〕.

This third instance adds another difficulty: do those three Chinese characters—mind-consciousness element—belong above or below? If above, the initial birth-object of the six consciousnesses is the mind-consciousness element; if below, the mind-consciousness element is the subject of the next sentence. The treatise itself does not divide the wording. This edition records both readings and reproduces the received characters.

This is already the fifth occurrence of such continuous writing in this chapter. The previous four were “impermanence-morsel-food-domain form,” “arising-form-morsel-food-four-elements,” “water-element-morsel-food-domain form,” and the three strings “joy-mind,” “energy-mindfulness,” and “agitation-play.” Their structure was recovered either from numbers reported by the treatise or from the individual explanations that separated them. This time is different: the reconstruction rests on the symmetry by which each of three subjects must receive all three entries. The form of continuous writing is the same, but the warrant for reconstructing it differs. That is precisely why the form cannot be dismissed as a copyist’s occasional omission of a list mark; it is a normal feature of this treatise’s prose.

Second Approach: First State What Cannot Happen, Then Explain How It Can

The second approach asks, “How is it viewed by object?” Its sentence pattern is the most regular of the three, and also the easiest to misread as a heap of negations.

It begins with two statements: “The five consciousnesses do not know all qualities, except at initial arising” 〔T32 448b06–07〕 and “the mind element does not know all qualities, except the turning of mind” 〔T32 448b07〕—first a “does not,” then an opening in it.

Six sentences then run on in one breath, each in this form. “The six consciousnesses do not establish” 〔T32 448b07〕 “posture; rapidity establishes it” 〔T32 448b08〕. They do not sustain bodily or verbal action, and they do not receive wholesome or unwholesome qualities; “through rapidity they receive them” 〔T32 448b09〕. They do not enter concentration or arise calmly; “through rapidity concentration is entered” 〔T32 448b10〕. They do not die and are not born; resultant mind-consciousness element is born. They do not sleep, wake, or see dreams; “through rapidity a dream is seen” 〔T32 448b13〕.

All six sentences first state something the six consciousnesses cannot do, then explain how it nevertheless becomes possible. Negation comes first and explanation follows—this sentence pattern is distinctive to this passage and does not occur in the preceding passages.

In the explaining halves, only two terms recur: rapidity and later phase. The two-character term translated “rapidity” occurs only four times in the entire treatise, all four within these few lines 〔T32 448b08·448b09·448b10·448b13〕. A term used only in this passage is densely made to carry the explanations of six sentences. The treatise does not separately say what rapidity is; it only lets the term appear, one occurrence at a time, within those six sentences.

At this point it is easy to form the wrong impression that this approach teaches the mind’s incapacity. It does not. The weight of all six sentences lies in their second halves—not whether the six consciousnesses can do something, but what makes it possible. The initial negations merely force the question into view.

Pause: Which Six Are the “Six Consciousnesses”?

Pause now over a single word.

The phrase “six consciousnesses” appears nine times in this passage and only eleven times in the entire treatise. Of the nine occurrences, only the first carries its own boundary statement. That is the sentence establishing the mind-consciousness element: “Mind-consciousness element: apart from these” 〔T32 448a25〕 “six consciousnesses, the remaining mind; this is called the mind-consciousness element” 〔T32 448a26〕. From this, one can reason backward: here the six are seven minus the mind-consciousness element—that is, the five consciousnesses plus the mind element.

Yet in the remaining eight occurrences, the treatise never again identifies the six. Is “the six consciousnesses: initial birth-locus, initial birth-object mind-consciousness” 〔T32 448b02〕 in the first approach the same six? Are the “six consciousnesses” that run through the six sentences of the second approach the same? And what of “the six consciousnesses are without cause and without arising” 〔T32 448b20〕 at the end of the third?

The treatise gives no explanation at all.

This question deserves a pause, not because it is difficult, but because it demonstrates one of the treatise’s habits: a term carries its boundary statement at its first occurrence and is then used straight through without looking back. If the reader does not catch the boundary at the first occurrence, the next eight can only be guessed at.

And this passage pointedly rotates among three sets: “five consciousnesses,” “six consciousnesses,” and “seven consciousnesses.” All three forms of naming appear in the first approach; the second speaks almost entirely of the six consciousnesses; the third returns to the threefold division into the five consciousnesses, the mind element, and the mind-consciousness element, then suddenly produces six consciousnesses at the end. The same set of seven things receives three modes of naming across the three approaches.

This edition does not supply the boundary statement on the treatise’s behalf, nor does it infer from this a theory of consciousness. Only two facts are verifiable: of nine occurrences, only the first carries its own boundary statement; in the remaining eight, the treatise does not identify them again.

Third Approach: A Parallel Series Held Up by “May Be”

The third approach asks, “How is it viewed by quality?” The backbone of this approach is one expression—may be.

“The mind-consciousness element may have initial and sustained application, may have no initial and little sustained application,” 〔T32 448b15〕 “or may have neither initial nor sustained application” 〔T32 448b16〕. “The five consciousnesses are accompanied by equanimity” 〔T32 448b16〕, while body-consciousness may be accompanied by pleasure or pain, and the mind-consciousness element may be accompanied by joy, grief, or equanimity. “The five consciousnesses are resultant” 〔T32 448b18〕, while the mind element may be resultant or preparatory, and “the mind-consciousness element may be wholesome, may be unwholesome, may be resultant, or may be preparatory” 〔T32 448b19〕.

This expression occurs fourteen times within five lines, while the whole treatise has no more than fifty occurrences. More than one quarter are packed into these five lines.

Its use is clear: the five consciousnesses are fixed, the mind element somewhat flexible, and the mind-consciousness element most flexible. As the same question moves forward, the later items allow less categorical statements, so “may be” grows denser. Across all three approaches, this is the only point where the differences among the seven consciousnesses appear directly in the syntax—not through an explanation, but through the changing density of one expression.

The threefold division concerning initial and sustained application is not first established here. Earlier, the treatise says: “Further, concentration is of three kinds: concentration with initial and sustained application, concentration without initial but with little sustained application, and concentration with neither initial nor sustained application” 〔T32 407b16–17〕, and ties each to its corresponding meditation. Here those three are transferred to the mind-consciousness element—another joint.

Closing Lines: The Three Approaches Are Uneven, and the Last Line Closes Twice

Two final small matters.

Each approach closes with a sentence: “Thus it can be known by locus and object” 〔T32 448b04〕, “Thus by object” 〔T32 448b13〕 “it can be known” 〔T32 448b14〕, and “Thus, through quality, their distinctions can be known; this is called the aggregate of consciousness; this is called the five aggregates” 〔T32 448b24〕. The first two have “can be known”; the third has “their distinctions can be known,” adding one word. The difference is recorded as received and not made uniform.

The last line closes two matters in one sentence: it closes the aggregate of consciousness and it also closes the five aggregates. The answer concerning the five aggregates began with form, passed through feeling, perception, and formations, and reached consciousness; only with this sentence is the course complete. The treatise does not start a separate concluding passage, but places two closing formulas one after the other in the same sentence.

One further fact about the movement of the prose should be remembered. The preceding unit gives one simile for each item, without a single omission among thirty-two; this passage establishes not one simile. The character meaning “like” occurs four times in this passage 〔T32 448a27·448b04·448b13·448b24〕, and all four belong to the word translated “thus”; not one introduces a simile. Two adjacent passages—one filled with similes, one wholly without them. The verifiable point is the contrast itself; this edition does not infer a further rule of composition from it.


Carry away three things. One observation—seven names are fixed all at once at the beginning, no further name is added, and the three approaches merely change eyes three times to view the same set; yet the way that “same set” is named is not uniform, sometimes divided into the five consciousnesses, the mind element, and the mind-consciousness element, and sometimes gathered as the six consciousnesses. One reading practice—use numbers as joints: whenever a number appears, first look back for where it last occurred. Seven had already appeared in feeling as “seven feelings by way of the doors” 〔T32 447b19〕 and in perception as “seven perceptions by way of the doors” 〔T32 447c06〕; three ways, four ways, and five ways rise across three consecutive passages 〔T32 448a26·448b25·449a07〕. One place to pause—“six consciousnesses” occurs nine times, but only the first carries its own boundary statement 〔T32 448a25–26〕; in the other eight occurrences, the treatise does not again say which six they are. Is it the same six? This edition records the wording and does not add the missing gloss.

Remember three smaller points as well: the five consciousnesses close with one version of “this is called,” while the mind element and mind-consciousness element close with the other version of “this is called,” so the closing diction itself makes a group; the first approach’s three-column table is hidden by continuous writing, and the warrant for reconstructing it lies in the preceding “mind element, five objects” 〔T32 448a29〕; and the term translated “rapidity” occurs only four times in the entire treatise, all in the second approach here.


Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Three Approaches to the Aggregate of Consciousness · Exposition · Summer 2026

考據Apparatus

全段定位 本段出自《解脫道論》卷第十〈五方便品〉,答五陰之五——識陰,並收五陰之全。底本四段〔T32 448a19–448b24〕:先標七識之名而各出其界說,次以三門逐一重看(處事·事·法),末以「此謂識陰、此謂五陰」雙收。


一、科判定位

四段而成四節,一節一問:

經文起訖逐字(各繫其錨)
標列與七識之界說「問:云何識陰?答:眼識、耳識、鼻識、舌識、身識、意」〔T32 448a19〕…「此七識以三行所勝」〔T32 448a26〕「可知。如是以處事、以事、以法」〔T32 448a27〕
第一門·以處事「問:云何以處事?」〔T32 448a27〕…「如是以處事可知」〔T32 448b04〕
第二門·以事「問:云何以」〔T32 448b04〕「事?答:五識一一受其境界」〔T32 448b05〕…「如是以事」〔T32 448b13〕「可知」〔T32 448b14〕
第三門·以法「問:云何以法?答:五識有覺有觀,意界」〔T32 448b14〕…「如是以法勝可知,此謂識陰、此謂五陰」〔T32 448b24〕

單元界與問答界之相合:起於識陰之問而訖於識陰、五陰之雙收,段內四問四答〔448a19·448a27·448b04·448b14〕,無自答文中間切斷者。其前為行陰之收〔T32 447c10–448a18〕,其後即五陰之總結四門〔448b25 起〕,屬 11-07。本段四問。

全段定位錨

〔T32, 448a19–448b24〕

二、詞義與譯語(逐字各繫其錨)

名相本段用法章內接點(可核)
識陰之標列「答:眼識、耳識、鼻識、舌識、身識、意」〔T32 448a19〕「界意識界」〔T32 448a20〕標列處「意界意識界」六字連寫而其間無斷;下文各出其界說而總稱「此七識」〔T32 448a26〕,故知是二不是一——照錄不代加頓號
五識之定義式「於是眼識者,依眼緣色生識,是」〔T32 448a20〕「謂眼識」〔T32 448a21〕;「身識者,依身緣觸生」〔T32 448a23〕「識,是謂身識」〔T32 448a24〕一式五出,逐目皆以「依」領根、以「緣」領境而以「生識」承之,末以「是謂」收
收句用字之別五識五目皆以「是謂」收〔T32 448a20·448a21·448a22·448a23·448a24〕;意界、意識界則作「此謂意界」〔T32 448a25〕、「此謂意識界」〔T32 448a26〕同一列而收句用字有別——「是謂」凡五、「此謂」凡二;照錄不代齊
意界「意界者,依處五事依二事。五識」〔T32 448a24〕「若前後次第生識,此謂意界」〔T32 448a25〕「依處五事依二事」本段不自釋;可就近相參者唯下文「意界五事」〔T32 448a29〕之「五事」字面相同,「依二事」則本段無別處可核
意識界之遮遣界說「意識界者,除此」〔T32 448a25〕「六識,餘心,此謂意識界」〔T32 448a26〕以遮遣立界,與行陰之「除受想一切心數法」〔T32 447c13〕同法;同式又見十八界段之「除法界六識界,餘心意識界」〔T32 450a01〕——本論凡二見
七識「此七識以三行所勝」〔T32 448a26〕此列之「七識」全論二見(448a26·449a05)——後一見在十二入段之「是七識界」〔T32 449a05〕;「七識」一詞全論八見,其餘六見皆「七識住」之語,非此列
以三行所勝可知「此七識以三行所勝」〔T32 448a26〕「可知。如是以處事、以事、以法」〔T32 448a27〕總標式:先報門數,次列門名,後逐門設問;同式在本品連下三段而其數遞增——識陰三行〔T32 448a26〕、五陰四行〔T32 448b25〕、十二入五行〔T32 449a07〕
六識「意識界者,除此」〔T32 448a25〕「六識,餘心」〔T32 448a26〕;「以六識不安」〔T32 448b07〕「威儀」〔T32 448b08〕;「六識無因無起」〔T32 448b20〕本段九見而全論十一見;唯首見自帶界說(除之而餘心即意識界,故其六為七減意識界),其餘八見論文不再說是哪六個——照錄不代補
五識「五識種種處、種種事」〔T32 448a28〕;「五識一一受其境界」〔T32 448b05〕;「五識與捨共行」〔T32 448b16〕本段八見而全論九見(餘一見在〔T32 418c12〕)——「五識」一名幾乎為本段所專有
主語黏於前句末「五識者,內法內處」〔T32 448a29〕「外事意界、內法外處外事意識界、內法外處」〔T32 448b01〕「內事亦外事」〔T32 448b02〕;「六識者,初生處、初生事意識」〔T32 448b02〕「界」〔T32 448b03〕一節之內三見:後起之主語各黏在前一句之末而不斷。其「事」欄之對稱可就近核——上句方言「意界五事、意識界六事」〔T32 448a29〕,正與意界之「外事」(五者皆外)、意識界之「內事亦外事」(五外加一內)相應;其「處」欄之內外分配則論文不釋。照錄不代加標點
「意識界」之屬上屬下「六識者,初生處、初生事意識」〔T32 448b02〕「界。於入體剎那共生處,初以生處,於無色」〔T32 448b03〕此三字或屬上(作「初生事」之所指)、或屬下(作次句之主語)——論文不自斷,二讀並記,照錄不代加標點
迅速「以迅速安之」〔T32 448b08〕;「以迅速受之」〔T32 448b09〕;「以迅速入定」〔T32 448b10〕;「以迅速夢見」〔T32 448b13〕全論四見而盡在本段——為本段所獨有之語
以六識不〔T32 448b07·448b08·448b09(二見)·448b11·448b12〕全論六見而盡在本段;六者皆先立一「不」,次出其所以然(以迅速·以後分·以果報意識界)
「意識界設有覺有觀、設無覺少觀、」〔T32 448b15〕「設無覺無觀」〔T32 448b16〕;「意識界設善設不善、設果報、設方」〔T32 448b19〕本段十四見(〔T32 448b15〕至〔T32 448b19〕五行之內),而全論三十七見——第三門之句法以此字為骨
覺觀三分「意識界設有覺有觀、設無覺少觀、」〔T32 448b15〕「設無覺無觀」〔T32 448b16〕此三分之立在本論前文已見:「復次定有三種:有覺有觀定、無覺少觀定、無覺無觀定」〔T32 407b16–17〕,而各繫其禪——「謂初禪有覺有觀,二禪無覺少觀,餘」〔T32 407b18〕「禪無覺無觀」〔T32 407b19〕
無因無起「便。六識無因無起」〔T32 448b20〕全論唯此一見;本段不釋其義
三門收句之不齊「如是以處事可知」〔T32 448b04〕;「如是以事」〔T32 448b13〕「可知」〔T32 448b14〕;「如是以法勝可知」〔T32 448b24〕前二門作「可知」而第三門作「勝可知」——多一「勝」字;照錄不代齊
雙收「如是以法勝可知,此謂識陰、此謂五陰」〔T32 448b24〕一句而收二事:既收識陰,又收五陰之全(五陰之答自色陰起,至此而盡)

三、校記與異讀

本段範圍內大正藏校記三處,均誌而不改,本文一律依大正本:

底本異讀見證
448a23味(依舌緣味生識)【明】
448b13意(以轉意覺)【宮】
448b17設(設與苦共行)設苦【宋】【元】【明】【宮】

誌錄不判二事

  1. 448b17 之異讀不是換一字而是多一字——底本作「設與苦共行」而四本作「設苦與苦共行」。本段第三門通篇以「設」字排比(十四見),此處若從四本則多出一「苦」字而排比之形微異。並錄不判,本文從底本。
  2. 448a23「依舌緣味生識」之「味」,明本作「咏」——五識定義一式五出,唯此一目之所緣字有異讀。並錄不判,本文從底本。

校本零命中一項:本段缺字零命中、夾註零命中;範圍內無校本已改正文者(無【CB】類訂正條),故本段讀者三層之字面與大正本全同。

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,亦無稱引尊者之語。查而無獲,如實記之。

五、譬喻·修辭

  • 譬喻零命中〔T32 448a19–448b24〕:全段無一譬。「如」字本段四見〔T32 448a27·448b04·448b13·448b24〕,四見皆為「如是」之「如」,無一為取譬之「如」;「猶如」「譬」二語零命中。其前一單元(行陰)一目一譬而三十二目無一缺,本段則一譬不立——相鄰二段之疏密懸殊如此,如實記之。
  • 排比為本段之骨:第一門以三主語各配法·處·事三項成排〔T32 448a29–448b02〕;第二門以「以六識不」起句者六見〔T32 448b07–448b12〕;第三門以「設」字排比十四見〔T32 448b15–448b19〕。三門各有其排比之形而不相襲。
  • 先立否定、後出所以然:第二門六句皆先說某事六識所不能,次說何以能之(以迅速·以後分·以果報意識界)〔T32 448b07–448b13〕——否定在前而解在後,為本段特有之句勢。
  • 總標式之三段:先報門數、次列門名、後逐門設問〔T32 448a26–448a27〕。同式在本品連下三段而其數遞增(三·四·五)。
  • 「復次」零命中:本段無一「復次」,四節之相承唯以問答自為次第。

六、章內互讀

  • 前指:行陰收於「此謂行陰」〔T32 448a18〕,本段即繼之而起;意識界之遮遣立界與行陰之「除受想一切心數法」〔T32 447c13〕同法。又「七」之數非本段所新立——受陰已有「由門七受」〔T32 447b19〕而其列以「從意界觸生受」〔T32 447b20–21〕、「從意識界觸生受」〔T32 447b21〕分繫,想陰已有「以由門七想」〔T32 447c06〕而同以「從意界觸生想」〔T32 447c07–08〕分繫;本段是全論第一處把這一列明白標作「此七識」〔T32 448a26〕。
  • 後指:末句雙收五陰,其後即「復次此五陰,以四行所勝」〔T32 448b25〕之總結四門,屬 11-07;「五行所勝可知」之十二入〔T32 449a07〕又繼之。意識界之遮遣式再見於十八界段「除法界六識界,餘心意識界」〔T32 450a01〕。覺觀三分之立見於前文〔T32 407b16–19〕。
  • 同式之遞增:本品連下三段皆以先報門數之式總標而其數遞增——識陰三行〔T32 448a26〕、五陰四行〔T32 448b25〕、十二入五行〔T32 449a07〕。其前尚有色陰二處作「如是以令起,所勝可知」〔T32 446b14–15〕與「如是以一種所勝可知」〔T32 447b11〕,句式同而不報門數。
  • 卷/品次:本段全在卷第十〈五方便品〉之內(卷十開 445c07、迄 451c28)。

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 passage comes from fascicle ten and the Chapter on Five Means of the Path of Freedom. It answers the fifth of the five aggregates—the aggregate of consciousness—and closes the five aggregates as a whole. The base text has four paragraphs 〔T32 448a19–448b24〕: first it names the seven consciousnesses and gives a definition for each; next it re-examines them one by one through three approaches—locus and object, object, and quality; finally it closes twice with “this is called the aggregate of consciousness; this is called the five aggregates.”


1. Structural Location

Four paragraphs form four sections, one question in each section:

SectionVerbatim beginning and end of the text, each tied to its anchor
Listing and definitions of the seven consciousnesses“Question: What is the aggregate of consciousness? Answer: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mind” 〔T32 448a19〕 … “These seven consciousnesses are distinguished in three approaches” 〔T32 448a26〕 “and can be known. Thus, by locus and object, by object, and by quality” 〔T32 448a27〕
First approach: locus and object“Question: How by locus and object?” 〔T32 448a27〕 … “Thus it can be known by locus and object” 〔T32 448b04〕
Second approach: object“Question: How by” 〔T32 448b04〕 “object? Answer: the five consciousnesses each receive their own domain” 〔T32 448b05〕 … “Thus by object” 〔T32 448b13〕 “it can be known” 〔T32 448b14〕
Third approach: quality“Question: How by quality? Answer: the five consciousnesses have initial and sustained application; the mind element” 〔T32 448b14〕 … “Thus the distinction by quality can be known; this is called the aggregate of consciousness, this is called the five aggregates” 〔T32 448b24〕

Agreement of unit and question-and-answer boundaries: the unit begins with the question about the aggregate of consciousness and ends with the double closure of the aggregate of consciousness and the five aggregates. Within it are four questions and four answers 〔448a19·448a27·448b04·448b14〕, and none is cut in the middle of its answer. The aggregate of formations closes immediately before it 〔T32 447c10–448a18〕; immediately after it begins the four-approach summary of the five aggregates 〔448b25 onward〕, which belongs to 11-07. This passage has four questions.

Locator for the whole passage

〔T32, 448a19–448b24〕

2. Terms and Translation (Each Verbatim Item Tied to Its Anchor)

TermUse in this passageVerifiable internal connection
Heading list of the aggregate of consciousness“Answer: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mind” 〔T32 448a19〕 “element, mind-consciousness element” 〔T32 448a20〕In the heading list, the six Chinese characters 意界意識界—“mind element, mind-consciousness element”—run together without a break. The separate definitions below and the collective phrase “these seven consciousnesses” 〔T32 448a26〕 establish that they are two items, not one. The edition records the string as it stands and does not add a comma
Formula defining the five consciousnesses“As for eye-consciousness, consciousness arises dependent on the eye and conditioned by visible form; this” 〔T32 448a20〕 “is called eye-consciousness” 〔T32 448a21〕; “as for body-consciousness, consciousness arises dependent on the body and conditioned by touch” 〔T32 448a23〕 “this is called body-consciousness” 〔T32 448a24〕The same formula appears five times. In each item, “dependent on” introduces the sense faculty, “conditioned by” introduces the object, “consciousness arises” follows, and “this is called” closes the definition
Difference in closure wordingThe five consciousnesses all close with “so it is called” 〔T32 448a20·448a21·448a22·448a23·448a24〕; the mind element closes with “this is called the mind element” 〔T32 448a25〕, and the mind-consciousness element with “this is called the mind-consciousness element” 〔T32 448a26〕The closure wording differs within a single list—“so it is called” occurs five times and “this is called” twice. The edition records both and does not make them uniform
Mind element“As for the mind element: it depends on a locus, five objects, and two objects. The five consciousnesses” 〔T32 448a24〕 “when consciousness arises before or after them in sequence, this is called the mind element” 〔T32 448a25〕The passage does not explain “depends on a locus, five objects, and two objects.” The only nearby comparison is “mind element, five objects” 〔T32 448a29〕, where the wording “five objects” is the same; “two objects” has no other locally verifiable occurrence
Definition of mind-consciousness element by exclusion“As for the mind-consciousness element, apart from these” 〔T32 448a25〕 “six consciousnesses, the remaining mind—this is called the mind-consciousness element” 〔T32 448a26〕The boundary is established by exclusion. This is the same method as the aggregate of formations, “apart from feeling and perception, all mental factors” 〔T32 447c13〕. The same form occurs again in the passage on the eighteen elements, “apart from the dhamma element and the six consciousness elements, the remaining mind is the mind-consciousness element” 〔T32 450a01〕—the form occurs twice in the treatise
Seven consciousnesses“These seven consciousnesses are distinguished in three approaches” 〔T32 448a26〕The wording “seven consciousnesses” for this list occurs twice in the treatise (448a26·449a05); the later occurrence is “these are the seven consciousness elements” 〔T32 449a05〕 in the passage on the twelve sense bases. The expression “seven consciousnesses” occurs eight times in the treatise; the other six are all in the phrase “seven stations of consciousness,” not this list
Can be known through distinctions in three approaches“These seven consciousnesses are distinguished in three approaches” 〔T32 448a26〕 “and can be known. Thus, by locus and object, by object, and by quality” 〔T32 448a27〕General-heading pattern: first the number of approaches is stated, then their names are listed, and then each approach is asked about. The same pattern runs through three successive passages in this chapter, with the number increasing—the aggregate of consciousness has three approaches 〔T32 448a26〕, the five aggregates four 〔T32 448b25〕, and the twelve sense bases five 〔T32 449a07〕
Six consciousnesses“As for the mind-consciousness element, apart from these” 〔T32 448a25〕 “six consciousnesses, the remaining mind” 〔T32 448a26〕; “because the six consciousnesses do not establish” 〔T32 448b07〕 “posture” 〔T32 448b08〕; “the six consciousnesses are without cause and without arising” 〔T32 448b20〕Nine occurrences in this passage and eleven in the whole treatise. Only the first gives its own boundary: when these six are removed, the remaining mind is the mind-consciousness element, so the six are the seven minus the mind-consciousness element. The other eight occurrences do not say again which six they are. The edition records them and does not supply the answer
Five consciousnesses“The five consciousnesses have various loci and various objects” 〔T32 448a28〕; “the five consciousnesses each receive their own domain” 〔T32 448b05〕; “the five consciousnesses are accompanied by equanimity” 〔T32 448b16〕Eight occurrences in this passage and nine in the whole treatise, the remaining occurrence being at 〔T32 418c12〕. The designation “five consciousnesses” is almost exclusive to this passage
Subjects attached to the ends of preceding sentences“As for the five consciousnesses: internal quality, internal locus” 〔T32 448a29〕 “external object mind element, internal quality, external locus, external object mind-consciousness element, internal quality, external locus” 〔T32 448b01〕 “internal objects and also external objects” 〔T32 448b02〕; “as for the six consciousnesses: first-arising locus, first-arising object mind-consciousness” 〔T32 448b02〕 “element” 〔T32 448b03〕Three instances within a single section: each later subject adheres to the end of the preceding sentence without a break. The symmetry of the “object” column can be checked nearby: the preceding sentence has just said “mind element, five objects; mind-consciousness element, six objects” 〔T32 448a29〕. This corresponds to the mind element’s “external objects,” all five being external, and the mind-consciousness element’s “internal objects and also external objects,” five external plus one internal. The treatise does not explain the internal and external distribution in the “locus” column. The edition records the text as it stands and does not add punctuation
Whether “mind-consciousness element” attaches above or below“As for the six consciousnesses: first-arising locus, first-arising object mind-consciousness” 〔T32 448b02〕 “element. At the moment of entering the body, a locus arises together; first through the arising locus, in the formless” 〔T32 448b03〕The three Chinese characters 意識界 may attach backward, as the referent of “first-arising object,” or forward, as the subject of the next sentence. The treatise does not divide the string itself. Both readings are recorded, and the edition does not add punctuation
Rapidity“Through rapidity it is established” 〔T32 448b08〕; “through rapidity it is received” 〔T32 448b09〕; “through rapidity one enters concentration” 〔T32 448b10〕; “through rapidity one sees a dream” 〔T32 448b13〕All four occurrences in the whole treatise are in this passage—the expression is unique to this passage
“Because the six consciousnesses do not …”〔T32 448b07·448b08·448b09 (twice)·448b11·448b12〕All six occurrences in the whole treatise are in this passage. Each first establishes a “do not,” then states the condition by which the event can occur: through rapidity, through a subsequent phase, or through resultant mind-consciousness element
“May be”“The mind-consciousness element may have initial and sustained application, may have no initial and little sustained application,” 〔T32 448b15〕 “or may have neither initial nor sustained application” 〔T32 448b16〕; “the mind-consciousness element may be wholesome, may be unwholesome, may be resultant, may be preparatory” 〔T32 448b19〕Fourteen occurrences in this passage, within five lines from 〔T32 448b15〕 through 〔T32 448b19〕, and thirty-seven in the whole treatise. The syntax of the third approach is built on this word
Three divisions of initial and sustained application“The mind-consciousness element may have initial and sustained application, may have no initial and little sustained application,” 〔T32 448b15〕 “or may have neither initial nor sustained application” 〔T32 448b16〕This threefold division already occurs earlier in the treatise: “Again, concentration is of three kinds: concentration with initial and sustained application, with no initial and little sustained application, and with neither initial nor sustained application” 〔T32 407b16–17〕. Each is then tied to its jhāna: “the first jhāna has initial and sustained application, the second jhāna has no initial and little sustained application, the remaining” 〔T32 407b18〕 “jhānas have neither initial nor sustained application” 〔T32 407b19〕
Without cause and without arising“Preparatory. The six consciousnesses are without cause and without arising” 〔T32 448b20〕This is the only occurrence in the whole treatise; the passage does not explain its meaning
Unequal closures of the three approaches“Thus it can be known by locus and object” 〔T32 448b04〕; “thus by object” 〔T32 448b13〕 “it can be known” 〔T32 448b14〕; “thus the distinction by quality can be known” 〔T32 448b24〕The first two have “can be known,” while the third has “the distinction … can be known”—it adds one Chinese character, 勝, “distinction.” The edition records the wording as it stands and does not make the three uniform
Double closure“Thus the distinction by quality can be known; this is called the aggregate of consciousness, this is called the five aggregates” 〔T32 448b24〕One sentence closes two things: it closes the aggregate of consciousness and also all five aggregates, whose answer began with the aggregate of form and ends here

3. Critical Notes and Variant Readings

The Taishō apparatus has three notes within this passage. All are recorded without altering the text; the reader text follows the Taishō base throughout:

AnchorBase textVariantWitnesses
448a23味 (in “consciousness arises dependent on the tongue and conditioned by taste”)【明】
448b13意 (in “through the turning of mind, one wakes”)【宮】
448b17設 (in “may be accompanied by pain”)設苦【宋】【元】【明】【宮】

Two matters are recorded without adjudication:

  1. At 448b17 the variant does not replace one character but adds one additional character. The base reads “may be accompanied by pain,” while all four witnesses read “may pain be accompanied by pain.” The third approach throughout uses “may be” in parallel, fourteen times; following the four witnesses would add one occurrence of “pain” and make the parallel form slightly different. Both readings are recorded without decision, and the reader text follows the base.
  2. At 448a23 the base has 味, “taste,” in “consciousness arises dependent on the tongue and conditioned by taste,” while the Ming witness has “咏.” The five-consciousness definition follows the same formula five times, and this is the only item in which the word for the object has a variant. Both readings are recorded without decision, and the reader text follows the base.

One zero-hit check of the critical text: there is no missing-character marker and no inline annotation in the passage. No corrected reading has been adopted into the text within this range—there is no 【CB】-type correction—so the wording in all three reader layers agrees throughout with the Taishō base.

4. Authorities Cited by the Treatise

No citation formula occurs in this passage: there is no “as the Buddha says,” “as the Blessed One says,” or “as the Abhidhamma says,” nor any statement attributed to a venerable. The search found nothing, and that absence is recorded as such.

5. Simile and Rhetoric

  • No simile occurs 〔T32 448a19–448b24〕. The character “如” appears four times in this passage 〔T32 448a27·448b04·448b13·448b24〕; all four are the “如” in “如是” (thus), and none is the simile-making “如”; “猶如” (just as) and “譬” (simile) do not occur. In the preceding unit, on the aggregate of formations, every one of its thirty-two items has a simile and not one is missing; this passage establishes not a single simile. The density of two adjacent passages differs this sharply, and the difference is recorded as it stands.
  • Parallelism is the backbone of this passage: the first approach aligns each of three subjects with the three headings quality, locus, and object 〔T32 448a29–448b02〕; the second has six occurrences beginning “because the six consciousnesses do not” 〔T32 448b07–448b12〕; the third has fourteen parallel occurrences of “may be” 〔T32 448b15–448b19〕. Each of the three approaches has its own form of parallelism, and the forms do not repeat one another.
  • Negation first, explanation afterward: each of the six sentences in the second approach first states something the six consciousnesses cannot do, then states what makes it possible—rapidity, a subsequent phase, or resultant mind-consciousness element 〔T32 448b07–448b13〕. The negation comes first and the explanation second, a sentence pattern distinctive to this passage.
  • The three-part general-heading pattern: first the number of approaches is stated, then their names are listed, and then each approach is asked about 〔T32 448a26–448a27〕. The same pattern runs through three successive passages in this chapter, with their numbers increasing through three, four, and five.
  • “Further” does not occur: the word “復次” appears nowhere in this passage; only questions and answers give the four sections their order.

6. Internal Cross-Reading

  • Backward: the aggregate of formations closes with “this is called the aggregate of formations” 〔T32 448a18〕, and this passage begins immediately afterward. The definition of mind-consciousness element by exclusion follows the same method as “apart from feeling and perception, all mental factors” 〔T32 447c13〕 in the formations section. Nor is the number “seven” newly established here: the aggregate of feeling already has “seven feelings by door” 〔T32 447b19〕, whose list separately includes “feeling born of contact with the mind element” 〔T32 447b20–21〕 and “feeling born of contact with the mind-consciousness element” 〔T32 447b21〕; the aggregate of perception already has “seven perceptions by door” 〔T32 447c06〕 and likewise separates the two by means of “perception born of contact with the mind element” 〔T32 447c07–08〕. This is the first place in the whole treatise to label the list explicitly “these seven consciousnesses” 〔T32 448a26〕.
  • Forward: the final sentence gives its double closure, ending both the aggregate of consciousness and the five aggregates as a whole. Immediately afterward comes the summary, “Further, these five aggregates are distinguished in four approaches” 〔T32 448b25〕, which belongs to 11-07; the twelve sense bases, “can be known through distinctions in five approaches” 〔T32 449a07〕, follow that. The exclusion formula for mind-consciousness element occurs again in the eighteen-elements passage, “apart from the dhamma element and the six consciousness elements, the remaining mind is the mind-consciousness element” 〔T32 450a01〕. The three divisions of initial and sustained application appear earlier at 〔T32 407b16–19〕.
  • The same pattern rises: three successive passages in this chapter begin by stating an increasing number of approaches—the aggregate of consciousness has three 〔T32 448a26〕, the five aggregates four 〔T32 448b25〕, and the twelve sense bases five 〔T32 449a07〕. Earlier, the aggregate of form also has “thus it can be known through distinction by what brings it forth” 〔T32 446b14–15〕 and “thus it can be known through distinction by unity” 〔T32 447b11〕; the sentence form is the same, but no number of approaches is announced.
  • Fascicle and chapter: this entire passage lies within fascicle ten and the Chapter on Five Means; fascicle ten begins at 445c07 and ends at 451c28.

7. Transmission

Questions concerning the author, translator, and transmission are not adjudicated in this apparatus.


Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Three Approaches to the Aggregate of Consciousness · Apparatus · Summer 2026

Translator · 釋慧鏡 Shi Huijing — with AI-assisted consistency checking

License · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0