解脫道論 身體安聚與諸過患

The paragraph on arrangement lists ten pairs of bone names and “abide” in their received order. In the first, “at” precedes the foot bones; in the following nine, “at” follows the preceding bone name. The directions indicated do not agree, and the passage does not explain them. It then says that the bones and joints are wrapped together, skin covers them above, and this impure body forms. The paragraph on aggregation lists eleven items beginning with nine skull bones, two cheek bones, and thirty-two tooth bones. They total three hundred bones. It then lists eight hundred joints, nine hundred sinew-entwinings, nine hundred balls of flesh, seventeen thousand 湊, and more, finally saying, “only an aggregate of feces, a collection of feces, is called body.” The referent of “like two aggregates” remains unexplained.

The paragraph on repulsion lists flowers and fragrances, clothing, beds, canopies, bedding, food, and offerings, but expressly says only, “the mind gives rise to cherishing; afterward repulsion forms”; subject and object remain omitted. The paragraph on impurity says clothing can be washed again because its nature is clean, whereas fragrance and scented bathing cannot make the body clean because its nature is impure. The paragraph on place lists pains of eyes, ears, nose, and tongue and many illnesses, saying the body has boundless dangers. The paragraph on ingratitude says that even after the finest food, bathing, fragrant rubbing, and adornment with clothing, the poisonous-tree body still proceeds toward aging, illness, and death, like an ungrateful friend. The paragraph on having a boundary lists four possibilities: cremation, being eaten, destruction, and being worn away.

The conclusion gives in order mastery of mindfulness, mastery of wisdom, an undistracted mind, destruction of the hindrances, and arising of the factors of meditation. It ends, “achieves excellence according to what one delights in.” This passage does not explain “what one delights in,” so only the received expression is preserved.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Body’s Arrangement, Aggregation, and Dangers · Doorway · Summer 2026

Recollecting the Intrinsic Nature of the Body by Arrangement

How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by arrangement?

The source lists in sequence: “At the foot bones the shinbones abide; the shinbones abide at the thigh bones; the thigh bones at the hip bones; the hip bones at the spine; the spine at the 脾-bones; the 脾-bones at the arm bones; the arm bones at the nape bones; the nape bones at the skull; the skull at the cheek bones; the cheek bones at the tooth bones.” In the first statement, the word “at” precedes “foot bones”; in the following nine it comes after the preceding bone name. If all are read with one syntax, the directions they indicate do not agree. The passage does not explain the difference, so the given order is retained rather than recast as a bone chain with a settled direction. Four witnesses read 胛-bones for 脾-bones; the reader text follows its received wording without deciding the variant.

Thus, the source says, this body’s bones and joints are “wrapped together,” skin covers them above, and this impure body is formed. It then says that the body “arises from 行業; nothing else can fashion it.” This passage does not further explain the scope of 行業 or of “nothing else.”

Thus one should recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by arrangement.

Recollecting the Intrinsic Nature of the Body by Aggregation

How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by aggregation?

The source lists nine skull bones, two cheek bones, thirty-two tooth bones, seven nape bones, fourteen chest bones, twenty-four rib bones, eighteen spinal bones, two hip bones, sixty-four hand bones, sixty-four foot bones, and “sixty-four soft bones dependent on flesh.” These eleven entries add up to exactly three hundred, and the text closes the list with “these three hundred bones.”

It further gives eight hundred joints, nine hundred sinew-entwinings, nine hundred balls of flesh, seventeen thousand 湊, eight million head hairs, ninety-nine thousand body hairs, sixty 間, and eighty thousand kinds of worms. The passage does not explain what the “sixty 間” denote.

Bile, spittle, and brain each have one 波賴他; the source annotates, “in Liang usage, a weight of four liang.” Blood has one 阿咃; the source annotates, “in Liang usage, three sheng.” Both measure-names are retained. Four witnesses read dou for “sheng”; the reader text retains sheng.

The source says that these innumerable various forms are only “an aggregate of feces, a collection of feces,” called a body. It then reads, “like two aggregates, one should recollect the intrinsic nature of the body.” The syntax and referent of “like two aggregates” are not explained in this passage and remain unresolved.

Recollecting the Intrinsic Nature of the Body by Repulsion

How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by repulsion?

The source first speaks of the things people esteem, clothing regarded as supremely clean and beloved. It then lists anointing the body with flowers and fragrances, adornment with clothing, cushions for sleeping and sitting, pillows, mattresses, 𣰽毺, 㲩𣰆, beds, canopies, bedding, and so on, followed by various foods, dwellings, and offerings. It finally says, “the mind gives rise to cherishing; afterward repulsion forms.” The statement omits both subject and object. This passage expressly establishes only that cherishing comes first and repulsion afterward; it does not specify whether the repulsion is directed at the body or at the things listed before it.

Thus, through repulsion, one should recollect the intrinsic nature of the body.

Recollecting the Intrinsic Nature of the Body by Impurity

How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by impurity?

Even when cloth and various garments become unclean, they can be washed and treated again, returning them to cleanliness. Why? The source answers: because their nature is clean.

This body, however, is impure and cannot be made clean. Even anointing it with fragrance and bathing it with scented water cannot make it clean. Why? The source answers: because its nature is impure.

Thus one recollects the intrinsic nature of the body by impurity.

Recollecting the Intrinsic Nature of the Body by Place

How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by place?

The source first says, “as a flower arises dependent on a pond,” then “as fruit arises dependent on the place of fruit.” In the same way, this body arises because of various afflictions and illnesses. This passage does not explain the exact meaning of “place of fruit.”

It lists pain of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, head, mouth, and teeth. It then lists cough, urgent breathing, cold and heat, abdominal pain, oppression of the heart, seizures and madness, wind illness, 霍亂, 癩, 癭, vomiting blood, 癬, sores, scabies, 瘑, 痳, 𤵘, cold illness, and so on. It concludes that this body has boundless dangers. The source gives no total number for the illnesses.

Thus one should recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by place.

Recollecting the Intrinsic Nature of the Body by Ingratitude

How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by ingratitude?

Even when a person tends the body with the finest food and adorns it with bathing, fragrant rubbing, sleeping, sitting, and clothing, the source says that this “poisonous-tree body” is ungrateful in return and continues toward aging, illness, and death, like an ungrateful friend.

Thus, through ingratitude, one should recollect the intrinsic nature of the body.

Recollecting the Intrinsic Nature of the Body by Having a Boundary

How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by having a boundary?

This body may be cremated, may be eaten, may be destroyed, or may be worn away; therefore the source says that the body has a boundary. “May be” introduces four items. The source does not say that these exhaust every possibility.

Thus, through having a boundary, one should recollect the intrinsic nature of the body.

Conclusion

The meditator should recollect this body through this doorway, this mode, and intrinsic nature. The precise relation among those three is not further distinguished here. The source then says: through mastery of mindfulness and mastery of wisdom, an undistracted mind is achieved. When the mind is undistracted, the hindrances are destroyed, the factors of meditation arise, and one “achieves excellence according to what one delights in.” The passage does not explain what “what one delights in” specifically denotes, so the source expression is retained. (Mindfulness of the body is concluded.)

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Body’s Arrangement, Aggregation, and Dangers · Vernacular · Summer 2026

This passage explains in sequence seven items: arrangement, aggregation, repulsion, impurity, place, ingratitude, and having a boundary. Each paragraph begins directly with “How?” without adding the word “Question.” The paragraph on arrangement lists how the bones abide in relation to one another; aggregation lists bones, joints, sinews, flesh, and various quantities; repulsion first lists beloved clothing, bedding, food, and offerings, then says “the mind gives rise to cherishing; afterward repulsion forms”; impurity contrasts washable clothing with the body that cannot be made clean; place lists illnesses; ingratitude says that the body proceeds toward aging, illness, and death; and having a boundary lists cremation, being eaten, destruction, and being worn away. The final paragraph then gives an undistracted mind, destruction of the hindrances, and arising of the factors of meditation, closing the doorway of mindfulness of the body with “achieves excellence according to what one delights in.”

All seven questions speak of “recollecting the intrinsic nature of the body,” and the conclusions return to that intrinsic nature. The paragraph on impurity alone closes with “thus one recollects the intrinsic nature of the body by impurity,” lacking the character meaning “should” that appears in the other conclusions. Both the shared form and the difference are directly visible in the received text. This exposition unfolds the seven statements separately and does not enlarge “nature” into an attitude or goal the passage does not state.

Arrangement and Aggregation: How the Bones Abide and How the Parts Are Counted

“How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by arrangement? At the foot bones the shinbones abide; the shinbones abide at the thigh bones; the thigh bones at the hip bones; the hip bones at the spine; the spine at the 脾-bones; the 脾-bones at the arm bones; the arm bones at the nape bones; the nape bones at the skull; the skull at the cheek bones; the cheek bones at the tooth bones” 〔T32 434a11–16〕. Ten pairs of bone names and “abide” occur in sequence. Yet the word “at” precedes “foot bones” in the first statement, whereas in the following nine it comes after the preceding bone name. Under a single syntactic reading, the first statement and the rest indicate inconsistent directions. The passage does not explain how to make the two word orders uniform. The source order is therefore preserved, without rewriting it into a bone chain whose direction has been settled.

The fifth and sixth pairs use 脾-bones: the spine abides at the 脾-bones, and the 脾-bones at the arm bones. Four witnesses read 胛 for 脾, but the reader text retains the base form. After the ten pairs, the source concludes: “Thus the bones and joints of this body are wrapped together; skin covers them above, forming this impure body. It arises from 行業; nothing else can fashion it” 〔T32 434a16–17〕. What can be established is the order: bones and joints wrapped together, skin covering above, the impure body formed, followed by the statement that it arises from 行業 and not from another maker. The current source wording reads “bones and joints wrapped together.” This paragraph gives no separate definition of the respective scope of 行業 and “nothing else.”

“How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by aggregation? Nine skull bones, two cheek bones, thirty-two tooth bones, seven nape bones, fourteen chest bones, twenty-four rib bones, eighteen spinal bones, two hip bones, sixty-four hand bones, sixty-four foot bones, and sixty-four soft bones dependent on flesh: these three hundred bones” 〔T32 434a18–22〕. The bone list first gives eleven entries: nine, two, thirty-two, seven, fourteen, twenty-four, eighteen, two, sixty-four, sixty-four, and sixty-four. Added item by item, they equal exactly three hundred, agreeing with “these three hundred bones.” “Nine skull bones” must be retained and cannot be changed into nine apertures or another body part. The last entry has the unusual syntax “sixty-four soft bones dependent on flesh”; the passage does not explain how “dependent on flesh” modifies the soft bones.

The eleven entries can also be checked in two portions from the numbers themselves. The first eight, from nine skull bones through two hip bones, total one hundred eight. The hand bones, foot bones, and soft bones dependent on flesh are each sixty-four, totaling one hundred ninety-two. The two portions together give three hundred. This arithmetic confirms only that the listed numbers agree with the total. It adds no modern anatomical definition for skull, chest, rib, or soft bones.

After the three hundred bones, the source continues: “eight hundred joints, nine hundred sinew-entwinings, nine hundred balls of flesh, seventeen thousand 湊, eight million head hairs, ninety-nine thousand body hairs, sixty 間, and eighty thousand kinds of worms” 〔T32 434a22–24〕. Each quantity belongs to one item: eight hundred joints; nine hundred sinew-entwinings; nine hundred balls of flesh; seventeen thousand 湊; eight million head hairs; ninety-nine thousand body hairs; sixty 間; eighty thousand kinds of worms. The phrase “sixty 間” occurs nowhere else in the treatise and is not explained here. 湊 and 間 cannot be reassigned to other body parts merely because they stand next to one another in a series.

The list of measures reads: “Bile, spittle, and brain each have one 波賴他; in Liang usage, a weight of four liang. Blood has one 阿咃; in Liang usage, three sheng” 〔T32 434a24–25〕. Bile, spittle, and brain are each assigned one 波賴他, after which “in Liang usage, a weight of four liang” explains it. Blood is assigned one 阿咃, followed by “in Liang usage, three sheng.” Apart from these two explanations in Liang measures, the passage gives no further meaning for 波賴他 or 阿咃. Four witnesses read dou for the base sheng; the reader text retains sheng.

The aggregation paragraph finally says: “Such innumerable various forms are only an aggregate of feces, a collection of feces, called the body. Like two aggregates, one should recollect the intrinsic nature of the body” 〔T32 434a25–27〕. It first says that the various forms cannot be reckoned, then calls what is named “body” an “aggregate of feces, a collection of feces.” The next phrase, “like two aggregates,” presents a syntactic question. Four witnesses read “like this aggregation,” producing a different syntax. Even when the base “like two aggregates” is retained, the passage does not say how the “two aggregates” are separately assigned. The list of quantities and the concluding formula are certain; the referent left unexplained remains in the source wording.

One Question Left Open: “The Mind Gives Rise to Cherishing; Afterward Repulsion Forms”

“How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by repulsion? The things people esteem, the supremely clean clothing they love: thus they anoint the body with flowers and fragrances, adorn it with clothing, use cushions for sleeping and sitting, pillows, mattresses, 𣰽毺, 㲩𣰆, beds, canopies, bedding, and so on, and various foods, dwellings, and offerings. The mind gives rise to cherishing; afterward repulsion forms” 〔T32 434a27–434b01〕. The source first gives esteemed things and beloved clothing, then lists anointing with flowers and fragrances, adornment with clothing, cushions for sleeping and sitting, pillows and mattresses, 𣰽毺 and 㲩𣰆, beds, canopies and bedding, as well as food, dwellings, and offerings. Only in the final statement does it turn to “the mind gives rise to cherishing; afterward repulsion forms.”

What can be established is the temporal order: cherishing first, repulsion afterward. Both “the mind gives rise to cherishing” and “repulsion forms” omit an expressly stated subject or object. The source does not decide that the repulsion must be directed at the body, nor that it must be directed at the objects just listed. Only the sequence and the enumerated contents can be retained; neither an object nor a psychological causal mechanism absent from the received text is supplied.

The paragraph on impurity says: “Thus, even when cloth and various garments become unclean, they can be washed and treated again and return to cleanliness. Why? Because their nature is clean. This body is impure and cannot be made clean. Further, anointing the body with fragrance and bathing it with scented water cannot make it clean. Why? Because its nature is impure” 〔T32 434b03–06〕. There are two contrasts. The first concerns cloth and clothing: even when unclean, they can be washed and return to cleanliness, because “their nature is clean.” The second concerns this body: fragrance and scented bathing cannot make it clean, because “its nature is impure.”

Each side has an action, result, and reason, and they cannot be exchanged. Washing clothes results in renewed cleanliness; anointing and washing the body cannot make it clean. Clothing receives the reason “its nature is clean”; the body, “its nature is impure.” The current source wording reads 以不淨潔. However that phrase is punctuated, the explicit contrast remains between clothing that can be washed again and a body that cannot be made clean.

Place, Ingratitude, and Having a Boundary

“How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by place? As a flower arises dependent on a pond, and as fruit arises dependent on the place of fruit, so this body arises because of various afflictions and illnesses. Thus there are pain of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, head, mouth, and teeth; cough, urgent breathing, cold and heat, abdominal pain, oppression of the heart, seizures and madness, wind illness, 霍亂, 癩, 癭, vomiting blood, 癬, sores, scabies, 瘑, 痳, 𤵘, cold illness, and so on. This body has boundless dangers” 〔T32 434b07–12〕. The opening gives two things that arise in dependence on a place: a flower dependent on a pond, and fruit dependent on the “place of fruit.” The source immediately turns to the body and says it arises because of various afflictions and illnesses. “Place of fruit” is not defined here and cannot be replaced by another technical term.

The illnesses begin with eight pains: of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, head, mouth, and teeth. They continue with cough, urgent breathing, cold and heat, abdominal pain, oppression of the heart, seizures and madness, wind illness, 霍亂, 癩, 癭, vomiting blood, 癬, sores, scabies, 瘑, 痳, 𤵘, and cold illness. The list ends with “and so on” and concludes, “this body has boundless dangers.” The source gives no total for the latter list and does not reclassify the illnesses. What is preserved is each name and the express phrase “boundless dangers.”

Following only the current punctuation, the first group has eight pains and the second eighteen illness names. Yet the source labels neither group as “eight” or “eighteen,” and follows the second with “and so on.” Those measured numbers cannot therefore be rewritten as closed classifications made by the treatise. “Boundless dangers” immediately follows “and so on,” likewise showing that the names do not claim exhaustion.

“How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by ingratitude? Even if a person tends the body with the finest food, and adorns it through bathing, fragrant rubbing, sleeping, sitting, and clothing, this poisonous-tree body is ungrateful in return and proceeds toward aging, illness, and death, like an ungrateful friend” 〔T32 434b13–16〕. The first half lists what a person does in tending the body: the finest food, bathing, fragrant rubbing, sleeping, sitting, and adornment with clothing. The second calls it a “poisonous-tree body,” says it is ungrateful in return, lists its movement toward aging, illness, and death, and finally compares it to an ungrateful friend.

This paragraph contains both “poisonous-tree body” and “like an ungrateful friend,” while the preceding one has the further comparisons of a flower with a pond and fruit with the place of fruit. The poisonous tree is therefore not the unit’s only comparison. What the source explicitly contrasts is care and adornment first, followed by the body’s movement toward aging, illness, and death. It does not prescribe a further emotion or daily attitude to be derived from this.

“How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by having a boundary? This body may be cremated, may be eaten, may be destroyed, or may be worn away. The body has a boundary” 〔T32 434b17–19〕. “May be” occurs four times, with cremation, being eaten, destruction, and being worn away, followed by “the body has a boundary.” These are the four possibilities expressly listed. The source neither says that they exhaust all possibilities nor gives them a necessary sequence.

The conclusion reads: “The meditator should recollect this body through this doorway, this mode, and intrinsic nature. Through mastery of mindfulness and mastery of wisdom, the mind becomes undistracted. When the mind is undistracted, the hindrances are destroyed, the factors of meditation arise, and one achieves excellence according to what one delights in. (Mindfulness of the body is concluded.)” 〔T32 434b19–22〕. The received order is: the meditator recollects the body through this doorway, this mode, and intrinsic nature; mastery of mindfulness and of wisdom; an undistracted mind; after the mind is undistracted, destruction of the hindrances and arising of the factors of meditation; finally, “achieves excellence according to what one delights in.” The passage explains neither the precise relation among doorway, mode, and intrinsic nature, nor the specific referent of “what one delights in.” The final sentence cannot therefore be recast as a particular freedom or attainment. The inline note “Mindfulness of the body is concluded” marks only the end of this doorway.

The seven items each have definite material. Arrangement lists ten paired dependencies among bones; aggregation lists three hundred bones and other quantities; repulsion states only that cherishing comes first and repulsion afterward; impurity contrasts washable clothing with the body that cannot be made clean; place lists illnesses and boundless dangers; ingratitude lists care of the body followed by its movement toward aging, illness, and death; having a boundary gives four possibilities and closes with the result of cultivation. These sequences, numbers, comparisons, and unexplained terms are retained as given. No meaning absent from the received text is supplied for “the mind gives rise to cherishing; afterward repulsion forms,” “like two aggregates,” 行業, or “achieves excellence according to what one delights in.”

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Body’s Arrangement, Aggregation, and Dangers · Exposition · Summer 2026