解脫道論 身多屬、壽無力與遠分別

This passage cultivates mindfulness of death through three questions.

The body’s many dependencies are the many conditions through which this body may result in or enter the condition of death: wind and phlegm, kinds of worms, food, venomous snakes and other creatures, lions and other beasts, and humans and nonhumans. When the list is complete, the treatise concludes only with “subject to many things.”

The powerlessness of life divides into the powerlessness of its basis and of what it depends on. The first uses water bubble, plantain, and water foam together to say that the body has no own-nature and no reality. The second lists five things to which it is “bound”: inhalation and exhalation, the four great elements, food, the four postures, and 緩.

Distant discernment first says that life in the present world does not exceed a hundred years, then asks about day and night, one day, half a day, a short while, one meal, half a meal, “four or five 揣,” and finally whether inhalation can reach exhalation and exhalation reach inhalation. 詎能 remains a question throughout. 四五揣 and the inserted statement “From the Blessed One’s dhammas I have received great benefit” remain as the source gives them, without a settled explanation.

All three questions tie mindfulness of death to the conditions, branches, and questions explicitly listed here. By the end, the question has come down to the interval of a single breath.

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Body’s Many Dependencies, the Powerlessness of Life, and Distant Discernment · Doorway · Summer 2026

Cultivating Mindfulness of Death Because the Body Has Many Dependencies

Question: Why does one cultivate mindfulness of death because the body “has many dependencies”?

Answer: Death may result from the conjunction of wind and phlegm, from the conjunction of kinds of worms, or from improper food and drink. It may also result from venomous snakes, centipedes, the source-name 射, house centipedes, or rat bites; from the wording “lions, tigers, leopards, dragons, oxen, and others, 兌”; or from being killed by humans or nonhumans. 射 is a name listed in this passage. The text does not explain how 等兌 is to be divided or what it denotes.

This body is subject to so many conditions that may lead into the condition of death. The source calls this “having many dependencies”; therefore one cultivates mindfulness of death.

Cultivating Mindfulness of Death Through the Powerlessness of Life

Question: Why does one cultivate mindfulness of death through “the powerlessness of life”?

Answer: The powerlessness of life can be explained in two ways: the powerlessness of its basis and the powerlessness of what it depends on. By observing the powerlessness of life in these two ways, one cultivates mindfulness of death.

The Powerlessness of Its Basis

Question: Why does “the powerlessness of its basis” reveal the powerlessness of life?

Answer: The source says that this body “has no own-nature.” It compares the body together to a water bubble, a plantain, and water foam, saying that it has no reality and is apart from reality. It does not assign a different function to each of the three similes. This is how the powerlessness of its basis is said to make life powerless.

The Powerlessness of What It Depends On

Question: Why does “the powerlessness of what it depends on” make life powerless?

Answer: The source lists five items: bound to inhalation and exhalation, bound to the four great elements, bound to food, bound to the four postures, and bound to 緩. Each is expressed with “bound to.” Four witnesses read 暖, “warmth,” for 緩, “slowness/relaxation”; the readings denote different things, and no decision is made here for the base text.

Through the two aspects of the powerlessness of its basis and the powerlessness of what it depends on, one observes the powerlessness of life and cultivates mindfulness of death.

Cultivating Mindfulness of Death Through Distant Discernment

Question: How does one cultivate mindfulness of death through “distant discernment”?

Answer: From the distant past onward, all who have been born live in the present world for “no more than a hundred years” and finally enter the condition of death. The question calls this “distant discernment,” while the answer and closing call it “discernment of the distant past.” The terms do not match.

Further, one should cultivate as follows: Can I be certain of remaining alive for a day and a night? The source then inserts, “Contemplating day and night: from the Blessed One’s dhammas I have received great benefit,” without explaining how the sentence connects to what precedes and follows. It continues asking: Can I be certain of living another day, half a day, or a short while? Can I live through the time of one meal or half a meal? Can I live through “four or five 揣”? The exact quantity denoted by 四五揣 is not explained in this passage. When I inhale, can I live until the exhalation? When I exhale, can I live until the next inhalation?

This is what the source calls cultivating mindfulness of death through discernment of the distant past.

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Body’s Many Dependencies, the Powerlessness of Life, and Distant Discernment · Vernacular · Summer 2026

This passage continues the explanation of three of the eight modes for mindfulness of death. Its three topics unfold in order: first it lists the conditions through which the body may enter the condition of death; then it divides “the powerlessness of life” into the powerlessness of its basis and of what it depends on; finally it moves from “no more than a hundred years” down to the interval between one breath and the next. Each topic has its own question and answer and cannot be recast as an explanation of another.

The Body’s Many Dependencies: Five Kinds of Conditions for Death

In answer to “Why does one cultivate mindfulness of death because the body has many dependencies?”, the passage lists five kinds in order: the conjunction of wind and phlegm; the conjunction of kinds of worms or improper food and drink; venomous snakes, centipedes, 射, house centipedes, and rat bites; lions, tigers, leopards, dragons, and oxen; and being killed by humans or nonhumans 〔T32 432a29–432b04〕. The first category closes with “results in the condition of death,” while the remaining categories use “results in entering the condition of death.” The wording is not identical and remains in its original order.

Sentence by sentence, the first makes the “conjunction” of wind and phlegm the condition; the second juxtaposes the conjunction of kinds of worms with improper food and drink; the third and fourth each give a string of names; only the fifth expressly says “killed by humans or nonhumans” 〔T32 432b04〕. The first four groups speak through conditions or names of resulting in or entering the condition of death, while the last writes “being killed.” These are the five syntactic groups of the answer itself. They should neither be reduced to a general “one dies” nor supplemented with an operation absent from the source.

The conclusion is: “This body is thus subject to many things; because it has many dependencies, one cultivates mindfulness of death” 〔T32 432b04–05〕. The question uses 身多屬, “the body has many dependencies,” while the conclusion uses 多所屬, “subject to many things.” The passage does not separately define the two forms. What can be established is that every preceding item stands in a sentence about resulting in or entering the condition of death, after which the conclusion says “subject to many things” and uses that to explain cultivating mindfulness of death.

Two items in the lists require inquiry to stop. 射 appears within “venomous snakes, centipedes, 射, house centipedes, and rats,” but the passage does not explain the name. In “lions, tigers, leopards, dragons, oxen, and others, 兌,” the character 兌 has a variant and is absent from the Gong witness. The exposition preserves the present text and does not replace either item with a name not explained here.

To read this question, first hold to the answer’s enumeration: wind and phlegm; kinds of worms and food; five juxtaposed names; five beasts; humans and nonhumans. It delivers several conditions for entering the condition of death and concludes with “having many dependencies.” The passage does not separately state a sequence among the conditions.

The Powerlessness of Life: The Powerlessness of Its Basis and of What It Depends On

The next answer says: “In two modes, one cultivates mindfulness of death because life is powerless: because its basis is powerless and because what it depends on is powerless, life becomes powerless” 〔T32 432b06–07〕. This first establishes two branches: the powerlessness of the basis and the powerlessness of the dependence. The question uses “life is powerless,” while the answer uses the longer “lifespan is powerless”; later passages likewise alternate between 壽 and 壽命. The mismatch need not be erased in advance.

The question about the powerless basis takes “this body” as subject: “This body has no own-nature, like the simile of a water bubble, the simile of a plantain, and the simile of water foam; it has no reality, being apart from reality” 〔T32 432b08–10〕. Water bubble, plantain, and water foam are juxtaposed in one sentence and gathered at the end under “has no reality, being apart from reality.” The source does not assign a different function to each simile. Their common point that can be read here is precisely the statement’s lack of own-nature, lack of reality, and separation from reality. The answer then reiterates that through the powerlessness of this basis, life becomes powerless 〔T32 432b10–11〕.

The question about powerless dependence separately lists five items: “bound to inhalation and exhalation, bound to the four great elements, bound to food, bound to the four postures, bound to 緩” 〔T32 432b12–13〕. All five share the same expression “bound to.” Immediately after the list it says that because what life depends on is powerless, life becomes powerless; “these two modes” then gathers the powerless basis and powerless dependence and says that one therefore cultivates mindfulness of death 〔T32 432b13–15〕. The passage establishes no separate mechanism for each of the five, so the exposition carries forward only their names, shared syntax, and conclusion.

The two branches answer in different ways. The powerless basis begins with “this body has no own-nature,” lists three similes, explains them through “has no reality, being apart from reality,” and reiterates that the powerless basis makes life powerless 〔T32 432b08–11〕. Powerless dependence gives no simile, only five instances of “bound to,” then reiterates that powerless dependence makes life powerless 〔T32 432b11–14〕. Both the general statement and the conclusion call them “two modes.” The three similes therefore remain in the first branch and the five bindings in the second.

Four witnesses read 暖, “warmth,” for 緩 in 緩所縛, “bound to 緩.” The two readings denote different things, and the present text does not explain itself. The exposition records the variant without selecting it through general doctrine. This is also how the whole topic is to be read: the two branches are not merged; the three similes are not forced into three separate explanations; and five causal mechanisms are not added to the five bindings.

Distant Discernment: From a Hundred Years to a Single Breath

The third question asks, “How does one cultivate mindfulness of death through distant discernment?” The answer first says that from the distant past, all who have been born live in the present world for no more than a hundred years and enter the condition of death, calling this “discernment of the distant past” 〔T32 432a10／432b17／432b23／461b19〕. The question has 遠分別, “distant discernment,” while the heading and conclusion have 久遠分別, “discernment of the distant past.” The passage does not explain the one-character difference, so it is retained.

The answer then asks in succession: “Can I remain alive for a day and night?” followed by a day, half a day, a short while, the time of one meal or half a meal, “four or five 揣,” and finally whether an inhalation reaches the exhalation and an exhalation reaches the inhalation 〔T32 432b17–22〕. Every sentence is a question formed with 詎能, “can one be certain?” It should not be rewritten as a statement of something already accomplished. 詎能 occurs eight times in the passage: once with “remain alive,” five times with “live,” and twice with “reach.” Preserving the questions preserves the voice of the present text.

Within the sequence, “From the Blessed One’s dhammas I have received great benefit” stands between “contemplating day and night” and “Thus, can I live for one day?” 〔T32 432b18–19〕. The passage does not explain its exact connection to the surrounding sentences. The exact quantity of 四五揣 is likewise not explained here. Although 揣 occurs elsewhere with food in the treatise, that does not determine its measure in this sentence. Inquiry stops at both points rather than supplying a definite modern wording.

The order can be checked item by item: first no more than a hundred years in the present world, then day and night, one day, half a day, a short while, one meal, half a meal, four or five 揣, and whether inhalation and exhalation reach one another. The final sentence again closes with “discernment of the distant past,” saying that mindfulness of death is cultivated in this way 〔T32 432b22–23〕. The method of reading is simply to follow the original list while retaining the questions, the source terms, and what remains unexplained.

Concluding Focus

The passage has three clear levels. The body’s many dependencies list the conditions that result in or enter the condition of death. The powerlessness of life divides into the powerlessness of its basis and of what it depends on, with three similes and five bindings respectively. Distant discernment first gives the limit of a hundred years, then carries the question down to the interval of one breath. The reading to retain is to let every topic stop at its own sentences: lists in their original order, branches in their original division, and questions in their original voice. The next unit continues with the absence of a sign, the instant, and the conclusion of mindfulness of death 〔T32 432b23〕.

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Body’s Many Dependencies, the Powerlessness of Life, and Distant Discernment · Exposition · Summer 2026