解脫道論 求第三禪與捨、念
坐禪人於第二禪得自在，知二禪過患、見三禪功德，起第三禪。
喜滿是本段所列過患
二禪近覺觀這一定怨；與喜滿相應，禪便成麁，心大踊躍，不能起其餘禪枝。
論文在此說：若著於喜是則為失，若知是失則成不失。這句只判本段的著喜與知失，不擴成各禪通用規則。
八種捨與三種捨
捨是護，不退不進，是心平等。論文列八種捨：受捨、精進捨、見捨、菩提覺捨、無量捨、六分捨、禪枝捨、清淨捨；短釋中說五根為受捨、修菩提覺為菩提捨、慈悲喜捨為無量捨、無染故成捨住為禪枝捨、捨念清淨為清淨捨。八種之中，除受捨外，其餘七種說為平等捨。
三捨定檔：相應乘捨近二禪（斷大踊躍），少經營捨近三禪（斷一切踊躍），第三種（列名無經營、釋名無事捨，名目不齊保留）近四禪——經營愈少，所近愈上（論文自排之序）。抽象詞掛上位置，深淺立辨。
踊躍與平等互斥
捨為何等到三禪纔說？喜滿之處心有所著，大踊躍充遍身心時，平等立不起來——「以不滿故」：捨在，但不滿枝格。喜滅著滅，捨纔登枝。
第三禪無喜染、滅相著，因而成起禪枝；原文由此說捨、念、正智。
The meditator gains mastery in the second jhāna, knows its faults, sees the virtues of the third, and arouses the third jhāna.
Fullness of Rapture Is the Fault Listed Here
The second jhāna is near applied and sustained thought, enemies of concentration. Associated with fullness of rapture, it becomes coarse; the mind greatly leaps up and cannot arouse the remaining jhāna factors.
Here the treatise says: If one becomes attached to rapture, this is a loss; if one knows this as a loss, one comes not to lose. This judgment concerns attachment to rapture and knowing the loss in this passage. It is not expanded into a rule universally applicable to every jhāna.
Eight Kinds and Three Kinds of Equanimity
Equanimity is guarding: neither regressing nor advancing, the mind is balanced. The treatise lists eight kinds—受捨, 精進捨, 見捨, 菩提覺捨, 無量捨, 六分捨, 禪枝捨, and 清淨捨. Its short explanations say that the five faculties are 受捨, cultivating the awakening factor is 菩提捨, loving-kindness through equanimity is 無量捨, dwelling in equanimity through unstainedness is 禪枝捨, and purification of equanimity and mindfulness is 清淨捨. Of the eight, the other seven excluding equanimity as feeling are called balanced equanimity.
The three are located by jhāna: equanimity of the corresponding vehicle is near the second and abandons great leaping; equanimity of little undertaking is near the third and abandons every leaping movement; the third—listed as “no undertaking” but explained as “equanimity without affairs,” with the differing names retained—is near the fourth. The less undertaking, the higher what it approaches: this is the sequence arranged by the treatise. An abstract term becomes distinguishable in depth once it is attached to a location.
Leaping and Balance Exclude One Another
Why is equanimity not taught until the third jhāna? Where fullness of rapture remains, the mind is attached; when great leaping fills body and mind, balance cannot stand. The source says “because it is not full”: equanimity is present, but has not reached the standing of a full factor.
In the third jhāna the stain of rapture and attachment to the sign have ceased, and a jhāna factor therefore arises. The source accordingly teaches equanimity, mindfulness, and clear knowing.
Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Seeking the Third Jhāna: Equanimity and Mindfulness · Doorway · Summer 2026
阿羅漢優波底沙造，梁扶南三藏僧伽婆羅譯《解脫道論》〈行門品〉「求第三禪與捨、念」· 大正藏 T32n1648〔起 T32 0419a〕。段首〔T32 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄錨。
〔T32 0419a〕
念二禪過患，爾時坐禪人已修第二禪身得自在，第二禪麁、三禪寂寂。知二禪過患、見三禪功德，起第三禪。云何二禪過患？謂近覺觀是定之怨。與喜滿相應故禪成麁，以喜成滿心大踊躍，不能起餘禪枝。若著於喜是則為失，若知是失則成不失。若不堪作神通證，若樂二禪不成勝分，是知第二禪過患。見第三禪功德，是其對治。已觀二禪過患，復見三禪功德，是依一切入相作意，令喜心滅。以由喜樂受持心，如是作意，不久以無喜樂令心得安解三禪枝。彼坐禪人不染喜故，得捨念智，以身受樂。是聖所說，得捨念智，樂住第三禪正受，是地一切入功德不染喜故。喜者先已分別。不染者，斷喜得捨住。云何為捨？是捨是護。不退不進是心平等，此謂捨。於是捨有八種，謂受捨、精進捨、見捨、菩提覺捨、無量捨、六分捨、禪枝捨、清淨捨。五根為受捨。有時不作意捨相，為精進捨。苦集我今當斷成得捨，為見捨。修菩提覺，是為菩提捨。慈悲喜捨，是為無量捨。以眼見色不苦不喜成捨，是為六分捨。無染故成捨住者，是禪枝捨。捨念清淨，是清淨捨。於此八捨，除受捨，餘七捨法，是為平等捨。復次有三種捨：一相應乘、二少經營、三無經營。於一切禪行，是禪平等方便。不急疾不遲緩，是名相應乘捨，此下捨近第二禪，能斷大踊躍心。若心無經營，是名少經營捨，此捨近第三禪，是其能斷一切踊躍心。以不動身心，無經營事心，是名無事捨，此捨近第四禪。捨者何相？何味？何起？何處？平等為相，無所著為味，無經營為起，無染為處。
〔T32 0419b〕
問：何故說此捨於此禪，非第二禪及初禪？答：是處喜滿未滅心著。以緣喜樂是故未滅，以大踊躍充遍身心，是故於二種禪不說捨，以不滿故。於此第三禪無喜染故，以滅相著故成起禪枝，以由禪枝自在故說捨念正智。云何為念？念隨念，彼念覺憶持不忘。念者，念根、念力、正念，此謂念。
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.
求第三禪之起
念二禪的過患。那時坐禪人已修第二禪，身得自在，知道第二禪是麁的、三禪是寂寂的；知了二禪的過患、見了三禪的功德，就起第三禪。
二禪過患
什麼是二禪的過患？是說它近於覺觀，是定之怨；與喜滿相應的緣故，禪就成麁；以喜成滿，心大大踊躍，不能起其餘的禪枝。若著於喜，這就是失；若知道這是失，就成為不失。若不堪能作神通之證，若樂著二禪就不成勝分——這是知第二禪的過患。見了第三禪的功德，就是它的對治。
修第三禪的作意與成句
已經觀了二禪的過患，又見了三禪的功德，於是依一切入之相而作意，令喜心滅。因為由喜樂受持心，這樣作意，不久便到原文所說的「以無喜樂令心得安解三禪枝」。這句的斷法未決：既可讀作「無喜，樂令心得安」，也可連讀作「無喜無樂，令心得安」；原文在此沒有替兩讀作出判定。
那位坐禪人因不染於喜的緣故，得捨念智，以身受樂。這是聖者所說：得捨念智，樂住第三禪正受——這是地一切入的功德。
不染與捨的界說
所謂不染喜：喜，先前已經分別過了；所謂不染，是斷喜而得捨住。
什麼是捨？是捨、是護；不退不進、是心平等——這叫作捨。
八種捨
在此，捨有八種：受捨、精進捨、見捨、菩提覺捨、無量捨、六分捨、禪枝捨、清淨捨。
五根是受捨。有時不作意於捨相，這是精進捨。苦、集我今天應當斷——這樣成就而得捨，是見捨。修菩提覺，這是菩提捨。慈、悲、喜、捨，這是無量捨。以眼見色而不苦不喜、成就捨，這是六分捨。因無染的緣故成就捨住，這是禪枝捨。捨念清淨，這是清淨捨。
在這八捨之中，除去受捨，其餘七種捨法都是平等捨。
三種捨
再者有三種捨：一是相應乘，二是少經營，三是無經營。
於一切禪行，這禪是平等的方便，不急疾、不遲緩，這名為相應乘捨；這下捨近於第二禪，能斷大踊躍之心。
若心無經營，這名為少經營捨；這捨近於第三禪，它能斷一切踊躍之心。
以不動身心、無經營事之心，這名為無事捨；這捨近於第四禪。
捨的四問
捨是什麼相？什麼味？什麼起？什麼處？平等為相，無所著為味，無經營為起，無染為處。
此捨何故不說於初禪、二禪
問：為什麼把這捨說在這禪，而不說在第二禪以及初禪？答：因為那裡喜滿還沒有滅、心仍有所著；由於緣著喜樂，所以還沒有滅，以大踊躍充遍身心——所以在那二種禪不說捨，因為捨還不滿的緣故。
在這第三禪，因為沒有喜染的緣故，以滅了相著的緣故，就成起禪枝；因為由禪枝而自在的緣故，所以說捨、念、正智。
念
什麼是念？是念、隨念，那念、覺、憶持不忘。所謂念，就是念根、念力、正念——這叫作念。
Arousing the Third Jhāna
He recollects the faults of the second jhāna. At that time the meditator has cultivated the second jhāna and gained bodily mastery. He knows that the second jhāna is coarse and the third jhāna deeply quiet. Knowing the faults of the second jhāna and seeing the virtues of the third, he arouses the third jhāna.
The Faults of the Second Jhāna
What are the faults of the second jhāna? It is said to be near applied and sustained thought, which are enemies of concentration. Because it is associated with fullness of rapture, the jhāna becomes coarse. When rapture reaches fullness, the mind greatly leaps up and cannot arouse the remaining jhāna factors. If one becomes attached to rapture, this is a loss; if one knows this as a loss, one comes not to lose. If one is incapable of accomplishing 神通證, and if delight in the second jhāna does not become a superior portion—this is to know the faults of the second jhāna. Seeing the virtues of the third jhāna is their counteragent. The precise referent of 神通證 is not explained here.
Attention in Cultivating the Third Jhāna and Its Accomplishment Formula
Having contemplated the faults of the second jhāna and again seen the virtues of the third, one attends to the sign of the kasiṇa and causes the mind’s rapture to cease. Because rapture and pleasure sustain the mind, through such attention one soon reaches what the source calls “with no rapture pleasure causes the mind to find ease and understand the factors of the third jhāna.” How this sentence is to be divided remains unresolved: it may be read “without rapture / pleasure causes the mind to find ease,” or continuously as “without rapture and without pleasure / causes the mind to find ease.” The source does not decide between these readings.
Because that meditator is unstained by rapture, he gains equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing, and experiences pleasure with the body. This is what the noble ones taught: gaining equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing, he dwells pleasantly in the attainment of the third jhāna. This is the virtue of the earth kasiṇa.
Unstainedness and the Definition of Equanimity
As for being unstained by rapture: rapture has already been analyzed. “Unstained” means that, having abandoned rapture, one gains a dwelling in equanimity.
What is equanimity? It is equanimity and it is guarding. Neither regressing nor advancing, the mind is balanced: this is called equanimity.
Eight Kinds of Equanimity
Here equanimity is of eight kinds: equanimity as feeling, equanimity of exertion, equanimity of view, equanimity of the awakening factor, immeasurable equanimity, sixfold equanimity, equanimity as a jhāna factor, and purified equanimity.
The five faculties are equanimity as feeling. Sometimes not attending to the sign of equanimity is equanimity of exertion. “Suffering and its origin I shall now abandon”: accomplishing this and gaining equanimity is equanimity of view. Cultivating the awakening factor is equanimity of awakening. Loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity are immeasurable equanimity. Seeing a form with the eye and becoming neither pained nor pleased, one accomplishes equanimity: this is sixfold equanimity. Because there is no stain, one accomplishes a dwelling in equanimity: this is equanimity as a jhāna factor. Purification of equanimity and mindfulness is purified equanimity.
Among these eight kinds of equanimity, except for equanimity as feeling, the other seven equanimity qualities are balanced equanimity.
Three Kinds of Equanimity
Furthermore, equanimity is of three kinds: first, the corresponding vehicle; second, little undertaking; and third, no undertaking.
In all jhāna practice, this is the balanced means of jhāna: neither hurried nor delayed. This is called equanimity of the corresponding vehicle. This lower equanimity is near the second jhāna and can abandon the greatly leaping mind.
If the mind has no undertaking, this is called equanimity of little undertaking. This equanimity is near the third jhāna and can abandon every leaping movement of the mind.
With body and mind unmoving and a mind without the affairs of undertaking, this is called equanimity without affairs. This equanimity is near the fourth jhāna.
Four Questions on Equanimity
What is the characteristic of equanimity? What is its function, manifestation, and proximate cause? Balance is its characteristic; nonattachment is its function; no undertaking is its manifestation; and unstainedness is its proximate cause.
Why This Equanimity Is Not Taught in the First and Second Jhānas
Question: Why is this equanimity taught in this jhāna but not in the second or the first jhāna? Answer: In those places the fullness of rapture has not ceased and the mind is still attached. Because it takes rapture and pleasure as its condition, it has not ceased; great leaping fills body and mind. Therefore equanimity is not taught in those two jhānas, for it is not yet full.
In this third jhāna, because there is no stain of rapture and attachment to the sign has ceased, a jhāna factor arises. Because one has mastery through the jhāna factors, equanimity, mindfulness, and clear knowing are taught.
Mindfulness
What is mindfulness? It is mindfulness, recollection, that mindfulness and awareness, retaining without forgetting. What is called mindfulness is the faculty of mindfulness, the power of mindfulness, and right mindfulness. This is called mindfulness.
Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Seeking the Third Jhāna: Equanimity and Mindfulness · Vernacular · Summer 2026
本段先說：「念二禪過患，爾時坐禪人已修第二禪身得自在，第二禪麁、三禪寂寂」〔T32 419a08–09〕；繼而知二禪過患、見三禪功德，起第三禪。其後的重點是三禪之捨，論文以八種與三種兩組分列加以說明。
先把所見說在前頭：本段所列二禪過患，先是「近覺觀是定之怨」，又說「與喜滿相應故禪成麁，以喜成滿心大踊躍，不能起餘禪枝」〔T32 419a11–12〕；另有不堪作神通證、樂二禪不成勝分〔T32 419a13–14〕。論文在這個脈絡中說：「若著於喜是則為失，若知是失則成不失」〔T32 419a12–13〕。這句只就本段的著喜與知失而說，不把「知」擴成各禪都通用的心理藥方。
過患答文的各句不可互相吞併：近覺觀是定怨，是一項；與喜滿相應而禪成麁，是一項；喜成滿、心大踊躍而不能起餘禪枝，又是一項；著喜為失、知此失則不失，另作一對判文；末後還列不堪作神通證與樂二禪不成勝分〔T32 419a10–14〕。原文接著只說第三禪功德是其對治，不另解上述各項的心理來源。
捨喜入三禪
「已觀二禪過患，復見三禪功德，是依一切入相作意，令喜心滅」〔T32 419a15–16〕之後，原文接「不久以無喜樂令心得安解三禪枝」〔T32 419a17–18〕。其中「無喜樂」可斷作「無喜／樂」或「無喜無樂」，本段未決，此處不強行選。後文另明說坐禪人「不染喜故，得捨念智，以身受樂」及「樂住第三禪正受」〔T32 419a18–20〕，這些句子各依原文保留，不倒推前句的斷法。「不染者，斷喜得捨住」〔T32 419a21〕，則是本段對「不染」的直接解釋。
兩種斷法的差別須明示：一讀在「無喜」後斷開，以下讀作有樂而令心得安；另一讀把「無喜樂」連在一起，以下讀作令心得安。後文雖另有「不染喜」「以身受樂」等語，仍不足以替前一句自動加上標點。故本疏只並列兩讀，保留「令心得安解三禪枝」的原次序，不用後句反推前句；兩種斷法都不得擅自刪去或合併。
捨：先給界說，再鋪全譜
「云何為捨？是捨是護。不退不進是心平等，此謂捨」〔T32 419a21–22〕——「是捨是護」四字先正名：捨不是丟開不管，捨裡有護；護持之中不退不進、兩不偏幫，纔是捨。世俗話裡的捨是放棄，禪枝裡的捨是執秤——秤桿平了，手還在秤上。
隨後論文列出八種捨：受捨、精進捨、見捨、菩提覺捨、無量捨、六分捨、禪枝捨、清淨捨。隨列名而有的短釋是：五根為受捨；有時不作意捨相，為精進捨；「苦集我今當斷成得捨」，為見捨；修菩提覺，為菩提捨；慈悲喜捨，為無量捨；眼見色而不苦不喜、成捨，為六分捨；無染故成捨住，為禪枝捨；捨念清淨，為清淨捨〔T32 419a23–29〕。列名作「菩提覺捨」而短釋作「菩提捨」，兩處字面不齊。「於此八捨，除受捨，餘七捨法，是為平等捨」〔T32 419a29–419b01〕；本段只作此一總判，沒有再說受捨與其餘七捨各自具何種功能。
這一組的行文先列八名，再依原次序作八項短釋，最後才總判受捨之外的七種為平等捨。五根、不作意捨相、苦集當斷、修菩提覺、慈悲喜捨、眼見色而不苦不喜、無染捨住、捨念清淨，都是原文分繫各項的語句。
短釋的詳略也不相同：受捨只說「五根」；精進捨帶「有時」的限定；見捨保留「苦集我今當斷成得捨」的整句；六分捨只舉眼見色、不苦不喜而成捨；禪枝捨只說無染故成捨住；清淨捨只說捨念清淨。各項均止於本段所寫的這些語句。
讀法：以鄰近定義抽象詞
八捨之後又有三捨，這一組的定義方式別致。這裡交付一個讀法：抽象名相，可以用「近什麼」來定檔。「復次有三種捨：一相應乘、二少經營、三無經營」〔T32 419b01–02〕——相應乘捨「不急疾不遲緩」，「此下捨近第二禪，能斷大踊躍心」；少經營捨「若心無經營」，「此捨近第三禪，是其能斷一切踊躍心」；第三種列名「無經營」而釋名作「無事捨」——「以不動身心，無經營事心，是名無事捨，此捨近第四禪」〔T32 419b06–07〕（列釋名目不齊，保留仍未確定）。三捨不靠玄言分判，靠鄰近哪一禪分檔：斷大踊躍者近二禪，斷一切踊躍者近三禪，身心不動者近四禪——經營愈少，所近愈上（論文自排之序）。「於一切禪行，是禪平等方便。不急疾不遲緩」〔T32 419b02–03〕——相應乘之捨是駕車的手勢：韁不緊不鬆，車自中道而行；到少經營，手幾乎離韁；到無經營，連車馬之事都無。三檔是同一隻手漸次放鬆的三張快照；「近二禪、近三禪、近四禪」是論文自己的排序——經營愈少，所近愈上。抽象詞一旦掛上位置，深淺立辨；往後遇「平等」「寂靜」一類難分深淺的詞，都可以問一句：這是近哪一層的講法？位置一問，玄談就落了地——這是本論給抽象名相定深淺的獨門手藝，比堆疊形容詞誠實得多。
捨的四目收束此節：「平等為相，無所著為味，無經營為起，無染為處」〔T32 419b08–09〕——相平等、味無著、起無營、處無染，四目自身就是一幅捨的素描；四個「無」字排開（無所著、無經營、無染），捨的性格全在否定式裡——它不添任何東西，只是不再做那些多餘的事。
停問：捨為何等到三禪纔說？
「問：何故說此捨於此禪，非第二禪及初禪？」〔T32 419b09–10〕——初禪二禪之中難道無捨？
在此停問，論文先答：「是處喜滿未滅心著。以緣喜樂是故未滅，以大踊躍充遍身心，是故於二種禪不說捨，以不滿故」〔T32 419b10–12〕。喜滿未滅、心著、緣喜樂、大踊躍充遍身心，是答文自己列出的理由；前文又以心平等界說捨，就本段兩處合讀，可說踊躍與平等不相容。答文隨即轉入第三禪：「於此第三禪無喜染故，以滅相著故成起禪枝，以由禪枝自在故說捨念正智」〔T32 419b12–14〕。這裡只說第三禪無喜染、滅相著而起禪枝，並由禪枝自在說捨念正智；不把這一段擴成各層禪枝如何登場的通則。
念：話頭又起
段末開下一個名目：「云何為念？念隨念，彼念覺憶持不忘。念者，念根、念力、正念，此謂念」〔T32 419b14–16〕。這一段緊接「以由禪枝自在故說捨念正智」之後：先點出捨、念、正智，隨即只就念立問。答文先列念、隨念、彼念覺、憶持不忘，接著依次列念根、念力、正念，便以「此謂念」收束。三個名目在本段只有列名，未各作自釋；本單元至此止於念的列名，答文末句仍是「此謂念」，念的相、味、起、處由下一單元接續。
本段條目的先後次序
若按底本次序排開，前一組先說第二禪身得自在、第二禪麁而第三禪寂寂，接著列二禪過患；再說見第三禪功德、依一切入相作意令喜心滅，然後才出不染喜、得捨念智、以身受樂及樂住第三禪的成句〔T32 419a08–20〕。其間「無喜樂」的斷法仍保持未決，但後面的「不染喜」「斷喜得捨住」都有各自明文，不因句讀未決而刪去。
第二組先問「云何為捨」，以「是捨是護。不退不進是心平等」作總說〔T32 419a21–22〕；隨後列八種捨，再逐項短釋。受捨只說「五根為受捨」；精進捨說有時不作意捨相；見捨說苦集當斷而成得捨；菩提捨說修菩提覺；無量捨列慈悲喜捨；六分捨說眼見色而不苦不喜；禪枝捨說無染故成捨住；清淨捨說捨念清淨〔T32 419a23–29〕。八項釋完，原文才總判除受捨外，其餘七捨是平等捨〔T32 419a29–419b01〕。
第三組另列相應乘、少經營、無經營三種捨〔T32 419b01–02〕。相應乘捨以不急疾、不遲緩為文，近第二禪、能斷大踊躍心；少經營捨以「心無經營」作釋，近第三禪、能斷一切踊躍心；第三項列名「無經營」而釋名「無事捨」，說身心不動、無經營事心，近第四禪〔T32 419b02–07〕。列名與釋名不齊之處保持不齊，不予改成同一名稱。此組之後才問捨的相、味、起、處，答為平等、無所著、無經營、無染〔T32 419b07–09〕。
末一組從「何故說此捨於此禪」起，先答初、二禪之喜滿、心著、大踊躍與捨不滿，再答第三禪無喜染、滅相著而起禪枝〔T32 419b09–14〕。最後只開出念的第一層界說：念、隨念、念覺、憶持不忘，以及念根、念力、正念〔T32 419b14–16〕。念的相、味、起、處尚未在本單元出現，留待下一單元承接。
收束
回到所見：本段說二禪近覺觀、喜滿使禪成麁與心大踊躍；若著於喜是失，若知是失則不失。接著依次列第三禪的不染喜、捨念智、八種捨、三種捨及捨的四問；至段末才開出念的界說。各句都依本段的具體判文收束。
This passage first says, “Recollecting the faults of the second jhāna, at that time the meditator has cultivated the second jhāna and gained bodily mastery; the second jhāna is coarse, while the third jhāna is deeply quiet” 〔T32 419a08–09〕. He then knows the faults of the second jhāna, sees the virtues of the third, and arouses the third jhāna. The emphasis thereafter is the equanimity of the third jhāna, which the treatise explains in two enumerations: eight kinds and three kinds.
State the central observation first. Among the faults of the second jhāna listed here, the passage begins with “being near applied and sustained thought, which are enemies of concentration,” then says, “because it is associated with fullness of rapture, the jhāna becomes coarse; when rapture reaches fullness, the mind greatly leaps up and cannot arouse the remaining jhāna factors” 〔T32 419a11–12〕. It also lists being incapable of accomplishing 神通證 and delighting in the second jhāna without attaining a superior portion 〔T32 419a13–14〕. In this context the treatise says, “If one becomes attached to rapture, this is a loss; if one knows this as a loss, one comes not to lose” 〔T32 419a12–13〕. This sentence speaks only of attachment to rapture and knowing the loss in this passage; it does not expand “knowing” into a psychological remedy universally applicable to every jhāna.
The several statements in the answer on the faults must not swallow one another. Nearness to applied and sustained thought as enemies of concentration is one item. Association with fullness of rapture, making the jhāna coarse, is another. Rapture reaching fullness, the mind greatly leaping up, and the inability to arouse the remaining jhāna factors is yet another. Attachment to rapture as loss and knowledge of that loss as nonloss form a separate paired judgment. Finally, the passage also lists inability to accomplish 神通證 and delight in the second jhāna that does not become a superior portion 〔T32 419a10–14〕. The precise referent of 神通證 is not explained in this passage. The source then says only that the virtues of the third jhāna are their counteragent; it does not separately explain the psychological source of these items.
Abandoning Rapture and Entering the Third Jhāna
After “Having contemplated the faults of the second jhāna and again seen the virtues of the third, one attends to the sign of the kasiṇa and causes the mind’s rapture to cease” 〔T32 419a15–16〕, the source continues, “Before long, with no rapture pleasure causes the mind to find ease and understand the factors of the third jhāna” 〔T32 419a17–18〕. The expression 無喜樂 may be divided after 無喜, “without rapture / pleasure,” or read continuously as “without rapture and without pleasure.” This passage does not decide, and no choice is imposed here. Later statements separately say that the meditator, “because he is unstained by rapture, gains equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing, and experiences pleasure with the body,” and “dwells pleasantly in the attainment of the third jhāna” 〔T32 419a18–20〕. Each statement is preserved according to its own wording; neither is used retrospectively to decide the earlier division. “Unstained means that, having abandoned rapture, one gains a dwelling in equanimity” 〔T32 419a21〕 is the passage’s direct explanation of “unstained.”
The difference between the two divisions must remain explicit. One reading ends after “without rapture” and then reads that pleasure causes the mind to find ease. The other joins 無喜樂 and then reads that the mind is caused to find ease. Although the later passage separately has “unstained by rapture” and “experiences pleasure with the body,” it still does not automatically punctuate the preceding sentence. This exposition therefore places the two readings side by side, preserves the original order of “causes the mind to find ease and understand the factors of the third jhāna,” and does not use the later sentence to force the earlier one. Neither reading may be silently deleted or merged.
Equanimity: First the Definition, Then the Full Spectrum
“What is equanimity? It is equanimity and it is guarding. Neither regressing nor advancing, the mind is balanced: this is called equanimity” 〔T32 419a21–22〕. The four characters 是捨是護 first name it correctly: equanimity is not abandonment through neglect; there is guarding within it. Only guarding without regression or advance, taking neither side, is equanimity. In ordinary speech, “letting go” means giving up. As a jhāna factor, equanimity is holding a balance: the beam is level, but the hand remains upon it.
The treatise then lists eight kinds of equanimity: 受捨, 精進捨, 見捨, 菩提覺捨, 無量捨, 六分捨, 禪枝捨, and 清淨捨. The short explanations accompanying the names are these: the five faculties are 受捨; sometimes not attending to the sign of equanimity is 精進捨; “suffering and its origin I shall now abandon, accomplishing and gaining equanimity” is 見捨; cultivating the awakening factor is 菩提捨; loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity are 無量捨; seeing a form with the eye and becoming neither pained nor pleased, accomplishing equanimity, is 六分捨; accomplishing a dwelling in equanimity because there is no stain is 禪枝捨; and purification of equanimity and mindfulness is 清淨捨 〔T32 419a23–29〕. The list has 菩提覺捨, while the short explanation has 菩提捨; the two forms do not align. “Among these eight kinds of equanimity, except for equanimity as feeling, the other seven equanimity qualities are balanced equanimity” 〔T32 419a29–419b01〕. This passage makes only that single general judgment; it does not go on to assign separate functions to equanimity as feeling and the other seven.
The writing first gives the eight names, next explains the eight in their original order, and only then judges the seven other than equanimity as feeling to be balanced equanimity. The five faculties, not attending to the sign of equanimity, suffering and its origin to be abandoned, cultivating the awakening factor, loving-kindness through equanimity, seeing a form without pain or pleasure, dwelling in equanimity through unstainedness, and purification of equanimity and mindfulness are all phrases that the source attaches to the respective items.
The short explanations also differ in fullness. Equanimity as feeling says only “the five faculties.” Equanimity of exertion includes the qualification “sometimes.” Equanimity of view retains the whole sentence “suffering and its origin I shall now abandon, accomplishing and gaining equanimity.” Sixfold equanimity gives only the example of seeing a form with the eye and becoming neither pained nor pleased. Equanimity as a jhāna factor says only that unstainedness accomplishes a dwelling in equanimity. Purified equanimity says only “purification of equanimity and mindfulness.” Each item stops with precisely what this passage states.
A Reading Method: Locate Abstract Terms by What They Are Near
After the eight comes another group of three. Here is a reading method the passage hands us: an abstract term can be located by asking what it is “near.” “Furthermore, equanimity is of three kinds: first, the corresponding vehicle; second, little undertaking; and third, no undertaking” 〔T32 419b01–02〕. Equanimity of the corresponding vehicle is “neither hurried nor delayed”; “this lower equanimity is near the second jhāna and can abandon the greatly leaping mind.” Equanimity of little undertaking is explained by “if the mind has no undertaking”; “this equanimity is near the third jhāna and can abandon every leaping movement of the mind.” The third is listed as “no undertaking” but explained as “equanimity without affairs”: “with body and mind unmoving and a mind without the affairs of undertaking, this is called equanimity without affairs; this equanimity is near the fourth jhāna” 〔T32 419b06–07〕. The names in list and explanation do not align, and that uncertainty is preserved. These three are distinguished not through metaphysical speech but by which jhāna each is near: that which abandons great leaping is near the second, that which abandons every leaping movement is near the third, and that in which body and mind do not move is near the fourth. The less undertaking, the higher the jhāna it approaches—this is the sequence arranged by the treatise. “In all jhāna practice, this is the balanced means of jhāna: neither hurried nor delayed” 〔T32 419b02–03〕. The equanimity of the corresponding vehicle is the gesture of a hand driving a cart: the reins are neither tight nor slack, and the cart proceeds along the middle. With little undertaking the hand nearly leaves the reins; with no undertaking even the affairs of cart and horses are absent. The three levels are three snapshots of the same hand gradually relaxing. “Near the second, near the third, near the fourth” is the treatise’s own ordering: the less undertaking, the higher what it approaches. Once an abstract word is hung upon a location, its depth becomes clear. When later encountering difficult terms such as “balance” or “quiet” whose depth is hard to distinguish, one may ask: To which level is this way of speaking near? Location brings lofty talk down to earth. This is the treatise’s distinctive craft for measuring the depth of abstract names, more honest than piling up adjectives.
The fourfold profile closes the section: “Balance is its characteristic; nonattachment is its function; no undertaking is its manifestation; and unstainedness is its proximate cause” 〔T32 419b08–09〕. Characteristic as balance, function as nonattachment, manifestation as nonundertaking, and proximate cause as unstainedness form a spare portrait of equanimity. Three “non-” expressions stand in a row—nonattachment, no undertaking, unstainedness. The character of equanimity is carried by negation: it adds nothing; it simply no longer performs those superfluous acts.
Pause at the Question: Why Is Equanimity Not Taught Until the Third Jhāna?
“Question: Why is this equanimity taught in this jhāna but not in the second or the first jhāna?” 〔T32 419b09–10〕. Is there no equanimity in the first and second jhānas?
Pause here. The treatise first answers: “In those places the fullness of rapture has not ceased and the mind is attached. Because it takes rapture and pleasure as its condition, it has not ceased; great leaping fills body and mind. Therefore equanimity is not taught in those two jhānas, for it is not full” 〔T32 419b10–12〕. Fullness of rapture not yet ceased, attachment of mind, conditioning by rapture and pleasure, and great leaping filling body and mind are the reasons listed in the answer itself. The preceding passage defines equanimity as mental balance. Reading only these two statements together, one may say that leaping and balance are incompatible. The answer immediately turns to the third jhāna: “In this third jhāna, because there is no stain of rapture and attachment to the sign has ceased, a jhāna factor arises; because one has mastery through the jhāna factors, equanimity, mindfulness, and clear knowing are taught” 〔T32 419b12–14〕. This says only that in the third jhāna the stain of rapture and attachment to the sign have ceased, a jhāna factor arises, and through mastery of the factors equanimity, mindfulness, and clear knowing are taught. It is not expanded into a general law for how jhāna factors appear on every level.
Mindfulness: A New Headword Begins
The end of the passage opens the next term: “What is mindfulness? It is mindfulness, recollection, that mindfulness and awareness, retaining without forgetting. What is called mindfulness is the faculty of mindfulness, the power of mindfulness, and right mindfulness. This is called mindfulness” 〔T32 419b14–16〕. This immediately follows “because one has mastery through the jhāna factors, equanimity, mindfulness, and clear knowing are taught.” The three are first named, but only mindfulness is then questioned. The answer first lists mindfulness, recollection, awareness, and retaining without forgetting, then the faculty, power, and right mindfulness in order, and closes with “this is called mindfulness.” The three latter terms are only listed in this passage, not separately explained. This unit stops with the list under mindfulness; the questions on its characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause are taken up in the next unit.
The Order of the Items in This Passage
In the order of the base text, the first group begins with bodily mastery in the second jhāna, the coarseness of the second and deep quiet of the third, and then lists the faults of the second jhāna. Next come the virtues of the third, attention to the sign of the kasiṇa to make rapture cease, and only then the formula of being unstained by rapture, gaining equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing, experiencing pleasure with the body, and dwelling pleasantly in the third jhāna 〔T32 419a08–20〕. The division of 無喜樂 remains unresolved, but the later phrases “unstained by rapture” and “having abandoned rapture, one gains a dwelling in equanimity” each stand explicitly in the text and are not deleted because of that unresolved punctuation.
The second group first asks “What is equanimity?” and gives the general statement “It is equanimity and it is guarding. Neither regressing nor advancing, the mind is balanced” 〔T32 419a21–22〕. It then lists eight kinds and gives a short explanation of each. Equanimity as feeling says only “the five faculties.” Equanimity of exertion sometimes does not attend to the sign of equanimity. Equanimity of view says suffering and its origin should be abandoned and equanimity accomplished. Equanimity of awakening says to cultivate the awakening factor. Immeasurable equanimity lists loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. Sixfold equanimity sees a form without pain or pleasure. Equanimity as a jhāna factor is a dwelling in equanimity accomplished through unstainedness. Purified equanimity is purification of equanimity and mindfulness 〔T32 419a23–29〕. Only after all eight explanations does the source judge the other seven, excluding equanimity as feeling, to be balanced equanimity 〔T32 419a29–419b01〕.
The third group separately lists the corresponding vehicle, little undertaking, and no undertaking 〔T32 419b01–02〕. Equanimity of the corresponding vehicle is neither hurried nor delayed, is near the second jhāna, and can abandon the greatly leaping mind. Equanimity of little undertaking is explained by “the mind has no undertaking,” is near the third jhāna, and can abandon every leaping movement. The third is listed as “no undertaking” but explained as “equanimity without affairs”; body and mind are unmoving, the mind has no affairs of undertaking, and it is near the fourth jhāna 〔T32 419b02–07〕. The differing list-name and explanatory name remain different and are not regularized. Only after this group does the text ask about the characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause of equanimity, answering balance, nonattachment, no undertaking, and unstainedness 〔T32 419b07–09〕.
The final group begins with “Why is this equanimity taught in this jhāna?” It first answers with fullness of rapture, attachment, great leaping, and the incompleteness of equanimity in the first two jhānas; then it answers with the absence of the stain of rapture and the cessation of attachment to the sign in the third 〔T32 419b09–14〕. It closes by giving only the first-level definition of mindfulness: mindfulness, recollection, awareness, retaining without forgetting, and the faculty, power, and right mindfulness 〔T32 419b14–16〕. The characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause of mindfulness have not yet appeared in this unit; the next unit continues with them.
Conclusion
Return to the central observation. This passage says that the second jhāna is near applied and sustained thought, that fullness of rapture makes the jhāna coarse and the mind greatly leap up, and that attachment to rapture is a loss while knowing the loss is nonloss. It then presents, in order, the third jhāna’s unstainedness by rapture, equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing, the eight kinds of equanimity, the three kinds, and the fourfold profile of equanimity. Only at the end does it open the definition of mindfulness. Every conclusion is kept within the passage’s own specific statements.
Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Seeking the Third Jhāna: Equanimity and Mindfulness · Exposition · Summer 2026
考據Apparatus
全段定位 本段出自《解脫道論》卷第五〈行門品〉之二，承前段末二禪三品之生處與壽〔T32 419a04–07〕，轉入第三禪：先出二禪過患與三禪功德，次出三禪成句，繼以逐語料簡「不染喜」「捨」（八種·三種·四問·何故獨說於三禪）與「念」。段末「此謂念」〔T32 419b15–16〕之後，念之四問自「問：念者何相？」〔T32 419b16〕起另段，屬下一單元。
一、科判定位
本段標「問」者二，另以「云何」設問者三（二禪過患、捨、念），捨復設四問；精確段內問號凡八。問答之界逐字可核：
| 節 | 經文起訖逐字（各繫其錨） |
|---|---|
| 求三禪之起 | 「念二禪過患」〔T32 419a08〕…「起第三禪」〔T32 419a10〕 |
| 二禪過患 | 「云何二禪過患？」〔T32 419a10〕…「是其對治」〔T32 419a15〕 |
| 修三禪之作意與成句 | 「已觀二禪過患」〔T32 419a15〕…「是地一切入功德」〔T32 419a20〕 |
| 不染與捨之界說 | 「不染喜故。喜者先已分別」〔T32 419a20–21〕…「此謂捨」〔T32 419a22〕 |
| 八種捨 | 「於是捨有八種」〔T32 419a23〕…「是為平等捨」〔T32 419b01〕 |
| 三種捨 | 「復次有三種捨」〔T32 419b01–02〕…「此捨近第四禪」〔T32 419b07〕 |
| 捨之四問 | 「捨者何相？何味？何起？何處？」〔T32 419b07–08〕…「無染為處」〔T32 419b09〕 |
| 此捨何故不說於初二禪 | 「問：何故說此捨於此禪，非第二禪及初禪？」〔T32 419b09–10〕…「說捨念正智」〔T32 419b14〕 |
| 念之界說（逗起下段） | 「云何為念？」〔T32 419b14〕…「此謂念」〔T32 419b15–16〕 |
段首無此明求第三禪之標目：本段逕以「念二禪過患」〔T32 419a08〕起，與前之第二禪段首「此明求第二禪。思惟初禪過患、二禪功德」〔T32 418a08〕之例不同；此處大正藏無校記，諸本亦無異文。照錄不補、不代擬標目，誌待考。
句讀之難一處：三禪成句之末，底本作「樂住第三禪正受，是地一切入功德不染喜故。喜者先已分別」〔T32 419a19–21〕——「不染喜故」係屬上作成句之收，抑係屬下起逐語料簡之首（其式與二禪之逐語料簡同），底本標點屬上而文勢屬下。照錄不改，誌待考。
單元末界：本單元止於念之界說「此謂念」〔T32 419b15–16〕，其下「問：念者何相？何味？何起？何處？」〔T32 419b16〕另為一段。底本段界即在此：捨已講畢而念方立名，其相味起處四問屬下段。
全段定位錨
〔T32, 419a08–419b16〕
二、詞義與譯語（逐字各繫其錨）
| 名相 | 本段用法 | 章內接點（可核） |
|---|---|---|
| 捨（總界說） | 「是捨是護。不退不進是心平等，此謂捨」〔T32 419a22〕 | 08-03「當觀捨」〔T32 413b28〕本段始得正面界說；四無量之捨在品 8 之五，其捨門正文自「問：云何捨？」〔T32 437c11〕起（〔T32 435a10〕唯卷段標題「行門品之五」） |
| 八種捨 | 受·精進·見·菩提覺·無量·六分·禪枝·清淨〔T32 419a23–24〕，八者各有逐釋〔T32 419a24–29〕 | 列目作「菩提覺捨」〔T32 419a23–24〕而逐釋作「是為菩提捨」〔T32 419a26–27〕，同一目而二名，照錄不齊，不代畫一。「六分捨」全論二見（皆在本段） |
| 平等捨 | 「於此八捨，除受捨，餘七捨法，是為平等捨」〔T32 419a29–419b01〕 | 與總界說「是心平等」〔T32 419a22〕同用「平等」而所指不同（一為捨之相、一為八捨中之七），照錄不改 |
| 三種捨 | 列目「一相應乘、二少經營、三無經營」〔T32 419b02〕；逐釋作相應乘捨、少經營捨、無事捨〔T32 419b03–07〕 | 第三目列作「無經營」而釋作「無事捨」，照錄不齊；又「若心無經營，是名少經營捨」〔T32 419b05〕以「無經營」釋「少經營」，論文不聲明，誌待考 |
| 三捨配禪 | 相應乘捨近第二禪〔T32 419b04〕、少經營捨近第三禪〔T32 419b05〕、無事捨近第四禪〔T32 419b07〕 | 相應乘捨又自稱「此下捨」〔T32 419b04〕，「下」之所對本段不出，不代考定 |
| 不染 | 「不染者，斷喜得捨住」〔T32 419a21〕 | 論文自釋，照錄 |
| 捨念智·捨念正智 | 成句作「得捨念智」〔T32 419a18–19·419a19〕；末作「說捨念正智」〔T32 419b14〕 | 二處字面不全同（智／正智），照錄不改；三禪之枝目後文作「捨念、正智、樂、一心」〔T32 419c19〕 |
| 念 | 「念隨念，彼念覺憶持不忘。念者，念根、念力、正念，此謂念」〔T32 419b14–16〕 | 「念根」前見 08-04〔T32 413c13–15〕；念之相味起處在下一單元 |
| 神通證 | 「若不堪作神通證」〔T32 419a13–14〕 | 同語前見 08-15〔T32 418b02–03〕 |
三、校記與異讀
本段範圍內大正藏校記二條，另有枝／支＊條之覆出繫錨六處（419a12·419a18·419a24·419a29·419b13·419b14），均誌而不改；本文之讀一律依大正本：
| 錨 | 底本 | 異讀 | 見證 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 419a11 | 怨（是定之怨） | 德 | 【明】 |
| 419a28 | 捨（是為六分捨） | 捨喜 | 【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 |
| 419a12 起 | 枝（禪枝） | 支 | 【宋】【元】【明】【宮】（＊條之覆出，繫錨六處） |
誌錄不判二事：
- 419a11「謂近覺觀是定之怨」之「怨」，明本作「德」——作「怨」則承 08-15「近五蓋怨」〔T32 418b01〕之式而為過患語，作「德」則反成稱美，二讀正相反。並錄不判，本文從底本作「怨」。
- 419a28「是為六分捨」，四本作是為六分捨喜——四本多一「喜」字；上文「以眼見色不苦不喜成捨」〔T32 419a27–28〕已出「不喜」，多「喜」字則目名為六分捨喜。並錄不判，本文從底本。
校本零命中二項：本段正文缺字零命中；夾註零命中。
四、論主引據
| 引語逐字 | 錨 | 論文所繫之義 |
|---|---|---|
| 「是聖所說，得捨念智，樂住第三禪正受」 | 〔T32 419a19–20〕 | 證三禪成句。「聖所說」全論二見（本處與〔T32 419c14〕）；所引之語論文不出經名；「聖」為誰則本品後文自釋——「聖者佛及弟子，開合制教分別顯示，此謂聖所說」〔T32 419c13–14〕 |
五、譬喻·修辭
本段無譬，唯以列目與配位成文：
- 八捨之列與釋〔T32 419a23–419b01〕：列八目而逐釋亦八，一一相對；末以「除受捨，餘七捨法，是為平等捨」〔T32 419b01〕作一總簡，於八目之中別出七目——是本段唯一之先列後簡之式。
- 三捨之配禪〔T32 419b01–07〕：三捨各繫一禪（二禪·三禪·四禪），三句同構是名…捨，此捨近第…禪；唯第一句多「此下捨」一語、第二句多「是其能斷一切踊躍心」一語，三句而詳略不齊。
- 踊躍之四見〔T32 419a12·419b04·419b06·419b11〕：「心大踊躍」（二禪過患）、「能斷大踊躍心」（相應乘捨）、「能斷一切踊躍心」（少經營捨）、「以大踊躍充遍身心」（釋初二禪何以不說捨）——由過患而斷、而盡斷，末復以之答不說捨之由。
- 四問之全出〔T32 419b07–09〕：捨之四問四答俱全（平等·無所著·無經營·無染），與 08-08 覺觀之四問三答〔T32 415b26–28〕〔T32 415c02–04〕相形。
六、章內互讀
- 前指：二禪三品之生處與壽〔T32 419a04–07〕（本段所承）；「此明求第二禪」之標目式〔T32 418a08〕；「近五蓋怨」〔T32 418b01〕與「不任為神通證」〔T32 418b02–03〕；08-03「當觀捨」〔T32 413b28〕；「念根」〔T32 413c13〕。
- 後指：念之相味起處與正智四種自〔T32 419b16〕起（下一單元）；「聖所說」再見〔T32 419c14〕；三禪之枝目「捨念、正智、樂、一心」〔T32 419c19〕與其三善十相、二十二功德〔T32 419c20–21〕；四無量之捨見品 8 之五〔T32 437c11 起〕。
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 complete passage. This passage is from fascicle five, the second part of the Chapter on Fields of Practice in the Path of Freedom. Following the preceding unit’s places of rebirth and lifespans for the three grades of the second jhāna 〔T32 419a04–07〕, it turns to the third jhāna. It first gives the faults of the second and virtues of the third, next the accomplishment formula for the third, and then analyzes “unstained by rapture,” “equanimity” (eight kinds, three kinds, four questions, and why it is taught only in the third jhāna), and “mindfulness.” After “this is called mindfulness” 〔T32 419b15–16〕, the four questions on mindfulness begin with “Question: What is the characteristic of mindfulness?” 〔T32 419b16〕 and belong to the next unit.
1. Textual and Structural Location
The passage contains two questions explicitly marked “Question:” and three introduced by “what/how” (the faults of the second jhāna, equanimity, and mindfulness); equanimity further receives four questions. There are exactly eight question marks within the carve. The boundaries can be checked word for word:
| Section | Exact beginning and end of the source, each with its anchor |
|---|---|
| Arousing the third jhāna | “Recollect the faults of the second jhāna” 〔T32 419a08〕 … “arouse the third jhāna” 〔T32 419a10〕 |
| Faults of the second jhāna | “What are the faults of the second jhāna?” 〔T32 419a10〕 … “is their countermeasure” 〔T32 419a15〕 |
| Attention in cultivating the third jhāna and its formula | “Having contemplated the faults of the second jhāna” 〔T32 419a15〕 … “are the virtues of the earth kasiṇa” 〔T32 419a20〕 |
| Unstainedness and the definition of equanimity | “Because it is unstained by rapture; rapture was already analyzed above” 〔T32 419a20–21〕 … “this is called equanimity” 〔T32 419a22〕 |
| Eight kinds of equanimity | “Here equanimity is of eight kinds” 〔T32 419a23〕 … “this is balanced equanimity” 〔T32 419b01〕 |
| Three kinds of equanimity | “Equanimity is further of three kinds” 〔T32 419b01–02〕 … “this equanimity is near the fourth jhāna” 〔T32 419b07〕 |
| Four questions on equanimity | “What are the characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause of equanimity?” 〔T32 419b07–08〕 … “unstainedness is its proximate cause” 〔T32 419b09〕 |
| Why equanimity is not taught in the first two jhānas | “Question: Why is this equanimity taught in this jhāna, but not in the second or first jhāna?” 〔T32 419b09–10〕 … “equanimity, mindfulness, and clear knowing are taught” 〔T32 419b14〕 |
| Definition of mindfulness, opening the next passage | “What is mindfulness?” 〔T32 419b14〕 … “this is called mindfulness” 〔T32 419b15–16〕 |
No explicit heading here says that the third jhāna is now being sought. The passage begins directly with “recollect the faults of the second jhāna” 〔T32 419a08〕, unlike the opening of the second-jhāna passage, “This explains seeking the second jhāna: contemplate the faults of the first jhāna and the virtues of the second” 〔T32 418a08〕. There is no Taishō note or variant in the other witnesses at this point. Nothing is supplied and no heading is reconstructed; the matter remains under study.
One punctuation difficulty. At the end of the third-jhāna formula, the base text reads, “He dwells happily in the third-jhāna attainment. These are the virtues of the earth kasiṇa. Because it is unstained by rapture; rapture was already analyzed above” 〔T32 419a19–21〕. The source phrase 不染喜故, “because it is unstained by rapture,” may close the accomplishment formula above, as in the Taishō punctuation, or open the lexical analysis below, as the movement of the prose suggests. The wording is recorded without alteration, and the matter remains under study.
End of the unit. This unit stops with the definition “this is called mindfulness” 〔T32 419b15–16〕. The next words, “Question: What are the characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause of mindfulness?” 〔T32 419b16〕, form a separate passage. Equanimity has been completed while mindfulness has only been named; those four questions belong below.
Anchor for the complete passage
〔T32, 419a08–419b16〕
2. Terms and Translation (Every Citation Anchored)
| Term | Use in this passage | Checkable connection within the chapter |
|---|---|---|
| 捨, equanimity: general definition | “It is equanimity and protection. Neither receding nor advancing, the mind is balanced; this is called equanimity” 〔T32 419a22〕 | After “one should contemplate equanimity” in 08-03 〔T32 413b28〕, this is the first direct definition. The equanimity among the four immeasurables is treated in part five of the chapter, beginning with “Question: What is equanimity?” 〔T32 437c11〕; 〔T32 435a10〕 is only the fascicle-part heading “Chapter on Fields of Practice, Part Five” |
| Eight kinds of equanimity | Feeling, energy, view, awakening-factor, immeasurable, sixfold, jhāna-factor, and purification equanimity 〔T32 419a23–24〕, each followed by an explanation 〔T32 419a24–29〕 | The list reads 菩提覺捨 〔T32 419a23–24〕, but its explanation reads 菩提捨 〔T32 419a26–27〕. The two forms for one item are retained without regularization. The source form 六分捨 occurs twice in the entire treatise, both times here |
| 平等捨, balanced equanimity | “Among these eight kinds, apart from feeling-equanimity, the remaining seven are balanced equanimity” 〔T32 419a29–419b01〕 | The general definition also uses 平等, “balanced,” in “the mind is balanced” 〔T32 419a22〕, but the referents differ: one is the characteristic of equanimity, the other seven of the eight kinds. Both are retained |
| Three kinds of equanimity | Listed as “first, corresponding vehicle; second, little undertaking; third, no undertaking” 〔T32 419b02〕; explained as corresponding-vehicle equanimity, little-undertaking equanimity, and 無事捨, “equanimity without affairs” 〔T32 419b03–07〕 | The third is listed as 無經營, “no undertaking,” but explained as 無事捨, “equanimity without affairs.” The mismatch is retained. “If the mind has no undertaking, this is called little-undertaking equanimity” 〔T32 419b05〕 also explains “little undertaking” through “no undertaking” without comment; the matter remains under study |
| The three equanimities paired with jhānas | The corresponding vehicle is near the second jhāna 〔T32 419b04〕, little undertaking near the third 〔T32 419b05〕, and equanimity without affairs near the fourth 〔T32 419b07〕 | The first also calls itself “此下捨” 〔T32 419b04〕. What “lower” contrasts with is not stated here and is not determined |
| 不染, unstained | “Unstained means that rapture has been abandoned and one has attained abiding in equanimity” 〔T32 419a21〕 | This is the treatise’s own explanation, retained as written |
| 捨念智 and 捨念正智 | The accomplishment formula reads “attains equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing” 〔T32 419a18–19·419a19〕; the end reads “teaches equanimity, mindfulness, and clear knowing” 〔T32 419b14〕 | The source wording is not identical—智 / 正智—and is retained without correction. The later list of third-jhāna factors reads “equanimity and mindfulness, clear knowing, pleasure, and one-pointedness” 〔T32 419c19〕 |
| 念, mindfulness | “Mindfulness follows and recollects; that mindfulness knows and remembers, holds, and does not forget. Mindfulness is the mindfulness faculty, mindfulness power, and right mindfulness; this is called mindfulness” 〔T32 419b14–16〕 | The mindfulness faculty previously occurs in 08-04 〔T32 413c13–15〕. The characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause of mindfulness occur in the next unit |
| 神通證 | “If he is unable to accomplish 神通證” 〔T32 419a13–14〕 | The same expression occurs in 08-15 〔T32 418b02–03〕. Its precise referent is not explained in either passage and is not supplied here |
3. Critical Notes and Variant Readings
Within this passage the Taishō apparatus has two notes, together with six repeated anchors for the 枝 / 支 starred note at 419a12, 419a18, 419a24, 419a29, 419b13, and 419b14. They are recorded without changing the text; the adopted reading follows the Taishō base text:
| Anchor | Base text | Variant | Witnesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 419a11 | 怨, in 是定之怨 | 德 | 【明】 |
| 419a28 | 捨, in 是為六分捨 | 捨喜 | 【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 |
| From 419a12 | 枝, in 禪枝 | 支 | 【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 (six repeated anchors for the starred note) |
Two matters are recorded without adjudication:
- At 419a11, the base text’s 怨 in “謂近覺觀是定之怨” is 德 in the Ming witness. 怨 continues the fault-formula found in “近五蓋怨” in 08-15 〔T32 418b01〕, while 德 would make it a praise; the readings are opposed. Both are recorded, and the body follows 怨.
- At 419a28, the base reads “是為六分捨,” while the four witnesses read “是為六分捨喜,” adding 喜. The preceding sentence already has “以眼見色不苦不喜成捨” 〔T32 419a27–28〕; with the added character, the item’s name would be 六分捨喜. Both are recorded, and the body follows the base text.
Two zero-result checks: no missing-character marker occurs in the body of this passage, and no inline annotation occurs.
4. Authorities Cited by the Treatise
| Exact cited words | Anchor | Use made by the treatise |
|---|---|---|
| “As the noble ones taught, he attains equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing and dwells happily in the third-jhāna attainment” | 〔T32 419a19–20〕 | Supports the third-jhāna formula. The source expression 聖所說 occurs twice in the entire treatise, here and at 〔T32 419c14〕. The treatise gives no scripture title for the saying. Who “the noble ones” are is explained later in the same chapter: “The noble ones are the Buddha and disciples, who disclose, combine, establish the teaching, distinguish, and make evident; this is called what the noble ones taught” 〔T32 419c13–14〕 |
5. Simile and Rhetoric
This passage contains no simile. Its rhetoric consists of lists and positional pairings:
- The list and explanations of the eight kinds 〔T32 419a23–419b01〕: eight items are listed and eight explanations follow one by one. The conclusion, “apart from feeling-equanimity, the remaining seven are balanced equanimity” 〔T32 419b01〕, makes a single final distinction, setting seven of the eight apart. This is the passage’s only pattern of listing first and then making a general exclusion.
- The three kinds paired with jhānas 〔T32 419b01–07〕: each is attached to one jhāna—the second, third, and fourth—and each uses the construction “this is called … equanimity; this equanimity is near the … jhāna.” Only the first adds 此下捨, the unresolved “this lower equanimity,” and only the second adds “it can abandon every leaping mind”; the three are unequal in detail.
- Four occurrences of leaping 〔T32 419a12·419b04·419b06·419b11〕: “the mind greatly leaps” as a fault of the second jhāna; “can abandon the greatly leaping mind” under the corresponding vehicle; “can abandon every leaping mind” under little undertaking; and “great leaping fills body and mind” in the explanation of why equanimity is not taught in the first two jhānas. The movement runs from fault, to abandonment, to complete abandonment, and finally returns to it as the reason equanimity is not taught there.
- All four questions answered 〔T32 419b07–09〕: all four questions and answers for equanimity are present—balance, nonattachment, no undertaking, and unstainedness—unlike the three answers to the four questions on applied and sustained thought in 08-08 〔T32 415b26–28〕 〔T32 415c02–04〕.
6. Internal Cross-Reading
- Backward: the three grades of the second jhāna and their places and lifespans 〔T32 419a04–07〕, which immediately precede this passage; the heading formula “This explains seeking the second jhāna” 〔T32 418a08〕; “near the five hindrances as enemies” 〔T32 418b01〕 and “unable to accomplish 神通證” 〔T32 418b02–03〕; “one should contemplate equanimity” in 08-03 〔T32 413b28〕; and the mindfulness faculty 〔T32 413c13〕.
- Forward: the characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause of mindfulness and the four kinds of clear knowing beginning at 〔T32 419b16〕; the next occurrence of “what the noble ones taught” 〔T32 419c14〕; the third-jhāna factors “equanimity and mindfulness, clear knowing, pleasure, and one-pointedness” 〔T32 419c19〕 and their three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, and twenty-two virtues 〔T32 419c20–21〕; and the equanimity among the four immeasurables beginning in part five of the chapter at 〔T32 437c11〕.
7. Transmission
Questions concerning the author, translator, and transmission history are not adjudicated in this apparatus.
Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Seeking the Third Jhāna: Equanimity and Mindfulness · Apparatus · Summer 2026