解脫道論 義疏通講 · 冊10
慧的總說與功德偈A General Account of Wisdom and the Verse on Its Qualities
全文五層 →Full five layers →〈五通品〉收在「（解脫道說神通道已竟）」〔T32 444c03〕，下一行就是〈分別慧品〉的品題〔T32 444c04〕。神通說完，慧開場——兩品同在卷第九，中間沒有換卷，連一頁的間隔都沒有。
先把所見說在前頭：這一段的三重界說，一重比一重不像定義；而最不像定義的第三重，教得最多。第一重只有六個字：「意事如見，此謂波若」〔T32 444c06–07〕。第二重換一個角度：「作意饒益不饒益、作意莊嚴」〔T32 444c07–08〕。第三重乾脆引書：「如阿毘曇中說」〔T32 444c08〕，然後排出一長串——「波若是慧、是智、是擇法妙相隨觀」〔T32 444c09〕、「彼觀聰明、曉了分別、思惟見大、易悟、牽正智」〔T32 444c09–10〕，接著是九個以「慧」為首字的詞：「慧鉤、慧根、慧力、慧仗、慧殿、慧光、慧明、慧燈、慧實」〔T32 444c10–11〕。
這九個詞不是九條定義，是九個譬。鉤是勾住的，根是長出來的，力是使得動的，仗是靠得住的，殿是住得下的，光與明與燈是照得見的，實是結得出的。論文一個也不解釋，只把它們排在那裡。而排完之後，慧是什麼已經不必再說——一個抽象的名相，用九件具體的東西圍一圈，中間那個空位就是它。這是本論常用而極省力的教法：不下定義，下包圍。
（末一目「慧實」的「實」字，三本作「寶」。若從三本，九目就全是器物；從底本作「實」，末目轉向果實。並錄不判，本編從底本。這一字之差恰好決定了這一串是收在「用」上還是收在「果」上——不能代裁，但值得讀者自己掂量。）
問了九個，先答六個
開卷的問法是本論的老規矩：「問：云何慧？何相？何味？何起？何處？何功德？慧者何義？幾功德為得波若？幾種波若？」〔T32 444c05–06〕——一口氣九問。
而這一段答到「何功德」為止，剩下三問（慧者何義、幾功德為得波若、幾種波若）一句也沒碰，要到下一段才接〔T32 444c29〕。
在這裡停下來問一句：既然只答六個，為什麼要一次問滿九個？
就文本自答：這九問不是九個零散的疑問，是一張地圖。前六問問的是「這是什麼、長什麼樣、有什麼用」，後三問問的是「這個字怎麼講、要幾樣功德才得到它、它分幾種」。前者是認識，後者是分判。論文先把整張地圖攤開，讓讀者知道這一品要走到哪裡，然後一格一格走。問滿再答、答不完就留著——這樣讀者手上永遠有一張比當下所讀更大的圖；讀到第二段時，他不是接著讀，是回來把空格填上。
本段給了一個可靠的讀法：遇見一長串問，先數它當段答了幾個。此處九問只答前六，後三問從下一單元「慧者何義」〔T32 444c29〕起別答；因此此處未答者不是本段遺漏，而是跨單元續答。至於其他門是否同式，須逐門另驗。
相味起處：一個格子，兩種填法
接著是本段最工整的一處：「如達為相，擇為味，不愚癡為起，四諦為處」〔T32 444c12–13〕；緊接著「復次了義光明為相，入正法為味，除無明闇為起，四辯為處」〔T32 444c13–14〕。
兩說的位次完全相同——相、味、起、處，四格；而四格裡填的東西全不一樣。本段連出二說〔T32 444c12–14〕，以「復次」並列，沒有判高下，也沒有合為一說。這是本段可以直接核實的編排；不憑未作全論統計的印象把它標成異例。
值得注意的是第四格：第一說以「四諦為處」，第二說以「四辯為處」。同一個「處」字在兩說中各繫一項，但本文不解釋「處」在兩說中如何立義。因此只照錄四諦、四辯兩個填值及二說並列的事實，不代換成「從哪裡來」「到哪裡去」等方向解。
順帶記一條可核的跨段線索：四辯這個名目在品八分別覺觀時已出現，該處明說不釋、指其界說在本品〔T32 415c17–18〕；本段只出其名，全幅界說在下一段〔T32 445b17–29〕。
功德不論說，逕以偈略聞
「何功德者，波若無量功德。當以略聞此偈」〔T32 444c14–15〕——功德的部分，論文不用長行，改用一偈。
偈凡十三段，而讀它最快的辦法是數「慧」字：以慧淨諸戒、以慧修諸道、以慧見彼果、波若為勝善、慧眼最無上、慧退是穢污、慧增長無上、慧破諸外論、有慧人最妙、勇猛有慧人、是有慧境界、以慧除眾惡——同字複沓是這首偈的骨架，與前面九個「慧」字的連舉是同一個手法，一在長行、一在偈頌。
而第一句最該記著：「以慧淨諸戒，入禪亦二慧」〔T32 444c16〕。
戒要慧來淨，禪要慧來入。《解脫道論》前面九卷，兩卷講戒、六卷講定、一卷講神通；到了第十品的第一句偈，論文回過頭來說：那些也都靠慧。這不是把前面推翻，是把它們串起來——慧不是修完戒定之後才登場的第三件事，是那兩件事得以成立的東西。接著「以慧修諸道，以慧見彼果」〔T32 444c17〕，道與果也一併繫上。一句偈四事（戒、禪、道、果），全書所修盡在其中。
偈的後半轉向慧與世間的關係：「慧破諸外論，非世法所著」〔T32 444c20〕、「有慧人最妙，顯說善語言」〔T32 444c21〕，末了收在「以慧除眾惡，愛瞋恚無明，以智除生死，除餘不可除」〔T32 444c26–28〕。最後六個字最重：除掉那些非它不能除的。慧的功德不在於它能做很多事，在於有些事只有它能做。
（偈文的句讀多有難決處——例如「此世及彼世，解脫聞苦樂，諸義及精進」〔T32 444c22–23〕幾句的屬讀，底本以句號分段而不逐句立目，本編照錄不代斷。其中「苦」字三本作「吉」，一字之易，全句所指即異；並錄不判。）
帶走三件：一個所見——三重界說一重比一重不像定義，而第三重的九個「慧」字最教人：不下定義，下包圍；九件具體的東西圍一圈，中間的空位就是慧。一個讀法——遇見一長串問，先數它答了幾個；沒答的不是遺漏，是預告。一處停問——只答六問為何要問滿九個？因為九問是一張地圖：前六問認識、後三問分判；先攤開圖，再一格一格走。
而全段最該帶走的一句是偈的開頭：以慧淨諸戒，入禪亦二慧。前九卷的戒與定，到這裡才被告知都靠慧撐著。神通說完接慧，不是換了個題目，是回到了根上。
The Chapter on the Five Direct Knowledges closes with “the Path of Freedom has completed its explanation of the path of direct knowledge” 〔T32 444c03〕. The title of the Chapter on the Analysis of Wisdom stands on the next line 〔T32 444c04〕. Direct knowledge ends and wisdom opens. Both chapters belong to fascicle nine; not even a fascicle boundary separates them.
The central observation is this: the passage’s three accounts look progressively less like definitions, and the third—the least definitional—teaches the most. The first has only six Chinese characters: “The matter of mind as seen; this is called paññā” 〔T32 444c06–07〕. The second turns the view: “attending to what is beneficial and not beneficial, attending to adornment” 〔T32 444c07–08〕. The third cites a text: “as the Abhidhamma says” 〔T32 444c08〕, then gives a long sequence—“paññā is wisdom, knowledge, and subtle observation that selects qualities” 〔T32 444c09〕; “that observation is intelligence, clear understanding and discernment, reflection, great seeing, easy comprehension, drawing forth right knowledge” 〔T32 444c09–10〕; then nine compounds beginning with wisdom: “the hook of wisdom, faculty of wisdom, power of wisdom, staff of wisdom, hall of wisdom, light of wisdom, brightness of wisdom, lamp of wisdom, and fruit of wisdom” 〔T32 444c10–11〕.
The nine compounds are not nine definitions, but nine images. A hook catches; a root or faculty grows; power moves; a staff supports; a hall provides a place to dwell; light, brightness, and lamp make things visible; fruit is what ripens. The treatise explains none of them. It simply sets them in a row. Once they surround wisdom, no further statement is needed: an abstract term is encircled by nine concrete things, and the open space in the middle is what they teach. It is one of the treatise’s most economical methods—not defining, but enclosing.
The final item’s 實, “fruit” or “real,” has the variant 寶, “treasure,” in three witnesses. Under the variant, the nine end with an object like the preceding eight; under the base, the last turns toward fruit or result. Both are recorded and the base is followed. The single character decides whether the sequence closes on use or result. It cannot be adjudicated here, but it is worth weighing.
Nine Questions Asked, Six Answered First
The chapter opens in the treatise’s familiar manner: “Question: What is wisdom? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its manifestation? What is its basis? What are its qualities? What does wisdom mean? How many qualities lead to the attainment of paññā? How many kinds of paññā are there?” 〔T32 444c05–06〕. Nine questions arrive at once.
This passage answers only through the question about qualities. The final three—the meaning of wisdom, the qualities leading to paññā, and its kinds—are untouched until the next passage begins at 〔T32 444c29〕.
Pause here: if only six are to be answered, why ask all nine at once?
The arrangement itself answers. The nine are not scattered doubts but a map. The first six ask what the thing is, how it appears, and what it does. The last three ask how the term is construed, what conditions attain it, and how it is classified. The first group recognizes; the second discriminates. The treatise spreads out the whole map so the reader knows the chapter’s destination, then walks it one square at a time. Ask the full set, answer what fits, leave the rest waiting. The reader always carries a map larger than the paragraph in hand. When the second unit begins, one is not merely moving forward but returning to fill the open squares.
This supplies a reliable reading practice: when a passage opens with a long series of questions, count how many are answered in that passage. Here nine are asked and only the first six answered. The remaining three begin with “What does wisdom mean?” in the next unit 〔T32 444c29〕. Their absence here is not a defect but continuation across a unit boundary. Whether other methods follow the same arrangement must be checked individually.
Characteristic, Function, Manifestation, Basis: One Grid, Two Fillings
The most orderly portion reads: “Its characteristic is as though reaching; its function is selecting; its manifestation is nondelusion; its basis is the Four Truths” 〔T32 444c12–13〕. Immediately follows: “A further account says: its characteristic is illumination that comprehends meaning; its function is entering the true Dhamma; its manifestation is removing the darkness of ignorance; its basis is the four discriminations” 〔T32 444c13–14〕.
Both use the same four positions—characteristic, function, manifestation, and basis—while every filling differs. The two accounts stand together at 〔T32 444c12–14〕, joined by “a further account says,” with neither ranking nor synthesis. This is the directly observable arrangement. It need not be declared unique without a corpus-wide count.
The fourth position deserves attention. In one account the basis is the Four Truths; in the other, the four discriminations. The same word “basis” attaches to different contents, yet the passage does not explain how “basis” functions in the two accounts. This edition records the two values and their coexistence. It does not replace “basis” with a directional gloss such as “where it comes from” or “where it leads.”
One cross-passage clue can be checked. The four discriminations were named but not explained in Chapter Eight, where the treatise directs their definition to the present chapter 〔T32 415c17–18〕. This unit names them only. Their full fivefold explanation comes in the next unit 〔T32 445b17–29〕.
The Qualities Are Not Explained in Prose, but Heard in a Verse
“As for the qualities: paññā has immeasurable qualities. They should be heard in brief through this verse” 〔T32 444c14–15〕. For qualities, the treatise leaves prose and uses verse.
The verse has thirteen blocks. The quickest way to read its structure is to count the word “wisdom”: through wisdom virtues are purified; through wisdom paths are cultivated; through wisdom fruits are seen; paññā is the highest good; the eye of wisdom is unsurpassed; decline of wisdom is defilement; increase of wisdom is unsurpassed; wisdom breaks outside doctrines; a person with wisdom is excellent; a courageous person has wisdom; this is the range of wisdom; through wisdom evils are removed. Repetition of the same word forms the verse’s skeleton, paralleling the nine wisdom compounds in prose.
The opening line should remain: “Through wisdom all virtues are purified; entry into jhāna is likewise two wisdoms” 〔T32 444c16〕.
Virtue requires wisdom for purification; jhāna requires wisdom for entry. The first nine fascicles of the Path of Freedom devote two fascicles to virtue, six to concentration, and one to direct knowledge. In the first verse of Chapter Ten, the treatise turns back and says that those too depend on wisdom. It does not overturn what came before but threads it together. Wisdom is not a third item that appears only after virtue and concentration have been completed; it is what allows both to be established. The next line, “through wisdom all paths are cultivated; through wisdom their fruits are seen” 〔T32 444c17〕, adds path and fruit. Four matters in one verse—virtue, jhāna, path, fruit—gather the practice of the entire work.
The latter half turns to wisdom and the world: “Wisdom breaks all outside doctrines and is not attached by worldly qualities” 〔T32 444c20〕; “a person with wisdom is most excellent and clearly speaks good words” 〔T32 444c21〕. It closes with “through wisdom all evils are removed—craving, ill will, and ignorance; through knowledge birth and death are removed, and what cannot be removed by anything else is removed” 〔T32 444c26–28〕. The final six Chinese characters carry the weight: remove what nothing else can remove. Wisdom’s quality is not that it does many things, but that some things can be done only by it.
The verse’s punctuation remains difficult. The attachment of such phrases as “this world and the other world, liberation, hearing suffering and pleasure, meanings and energy” 〔T32 444c22–23〕 is not fully determined. The base punctuates blocks rather than individual metrical lines, and this edition does not impose a final division. The character 苦, “suffering,” has the variant 吉, “auspicious,” in three witnesses; the change redirects the whole phrase. Both are recorded without adjudication.
Carry away three things. One observation: the three accounts look progressively less like definitions, yet the nine compounds beginning with wisdom teach most. The treatise does not define but encloses; nine concrete images surround an open center. One reading practice: when a long sequence of questions appears, count how many the passage answers. What remains may be a promise rather than an omission. One place to pause: why ask nine and answer only six? Because the questions are a map. The first six concern recognition; the last three discrimination. The whole map is opened before it is crossed.
The sentence to carry from the unit is the verse’s beginning: through wisdom all virtues are purified; entry into jhāna is likewise two wisdoms. Only here are the preceding fascicles on virtue and concentration explicitly shown to rest upon wisdom. Direct knowledge ends and wisdom begins, not as a new topic, but as a return to the root.
Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · A General Account of Wisdom and the Verse on Its Qualities · Exposition · Summer 2026
慧義、得慧功德與分類The Meaning of Wisdom, Qualities for Its Attainment, and Its Classifications
全文五層 →Full five layers →上一段問了九個問題，只答了六個。這一段把剩下三個接完，然後收品——〈分別慧品〉全品只有兩個單元，卷第九也在這裡收尾。
先把所見說在前頭：論文答「幾種慧」時只說了三個數，卻排出十一組。「幾種慧者，答二種、三種、四種」〔T32 445a03–04〕——二、三、四，就這三個數。而往下逐一排開的是：二種一組、三種三組、四種七組。標與實不相當，本編照錄不代併、不代補。
更要緊的是這十一組彼此的關係：它們不是一個體系的十一層，可以讀作同一塊料的十一種切法。欲界慧、色界慧、無色界慧、無繫慧是一組四；法智、比智、他心智、等智是另一組四；義辯、法辯、辭辯、樂說辯又是一組四。三組所依的分類軸不同，本段不把它們拼成單一階序。「四種」在這裡不是一個分類本身，而是七組共同採用的一個切法的粒度。
十一組可逐一點清：二種一組，是世慧、出世慧；三種三組，依次是思聞修、來去方便、聚不聚非聚非非聚；四種七組，依次按自作業等四智、三界與無繫、法比他心等智、聚與非聚四句、厭患與通達四句、四辯、苦集滅道相關四智而列。這份清冊只確認各組實際列目，不把十一組另合成論文未立的總分類。
同樣標作「四種慧」，各組的釋法也不相同：前三組逐目界說，第四、第五組以四句分別，第六組四辯之後連出五釋，第七組則以「道智」無釋語而收品。可見相同的只是列目數，不是每組共享同一套說明結構，須逐組分讀；數同不等於義同，也不等於釋法同。
開頭兩句與一張清單
先看開頭。「問：慧者何義？答智義，能除為義」〔T32 444c29〕——慧的意思有兩個：智，以及能除。第二個字面很輕，卻正接著前一段偈的末句「除餘不可除」〔T32 444c28〕。上一段用一整首偈說慧能除什麼，這一段開口就把「除」寫進它的定義裡；兩段之間的針腳，就在這一個字上。
接著是得慧的十一功德：「尋修多羅義、多善事、清淨居、止觀、四諦、作分明處、心停住常在禪、無蓋心、離無智慧人、修行智、慧人樂著」〔T32 445a01–03〕——逐字實測十一目，與標數相符。這張清單的性格值得看一眼：它不全是「內功」。尋經義、多作善事、住清淨處，是可以安排的；止觀、四諦、心常在禪，是要修的；而「離無智慧人」「慧人樂著」兩目講的乾脆是交往——遠離沒有智慧的人，樂於親近有慧的人。慧在這張表上不是一個人關起門來長出來的東西，環境與同伴都算條件。（「常在禪」的「在」字明本作「住」，並錄不判。）
中間那幾組：分類本身就是教學
十一組之中，前面幾組容易被當作名相表讀過去，其實各有各的角度。
三種慧的第二組是「來曉了、去曉了、方便曉了」〔T32 445a13〕。前二目以善法的增與退互翻：現前作意而「此不善法成退、善法成增長」的慧是來曉了；作意而「此不善法增長、善法成退」的慧是去曉了；一切方便上的慧是方便曉了。同樣是慧，看的是它讓善法長還是讓善法退。這一組不問慧的內容，只問慧的去向。
第三組是「聚慧、不聚慧、非聚非非聚慧」〔T32 445a17–18〕——三地善慧為聚，四道慧為不聚，四地果報與三地事有記慧為非聚非非聚。而同一組「聚／非聚」的名相，到了四種慧之四又被拿去作四句分別〔T32 445b04–10〕：為聚非為非聚、為非聚非為聚、為聚亦為非聚、非為聚非非為聚。同一組名相，前作三分、後作四句——這正是前面說的「換刀」：料沒變，刀口的數目變了。
四種慧之二按界分（欲界、色界、無色界、無繫）〔T32 445a25–26〕，之三按智分（法智、比智、他心智、等智）〔T32 445a28–29〕，之五按厭患與通達作四句〔T32 445b10–11〕。三組的角度依次是所在之界、所知之事、所趣之向——彼此不相涵蓋，也不必相涵蓋。
四種慧之三裡還有一個小細節：「除此三智餘慧，此謂等智」〔T32 445b04〕——第四目不正面立義，而以「除掉前三個，剩下的」來界定。一張四目的表，末目是餘數。可核的只是這個排除式界說；不能再由「餘慧」推論論主是否分不完，或是否刻意不另立名目。
遇「復次」，是換刀不是補刀
本段「復次」十見，而每一個「復次」領起的，都是一次重新分類或一次重釋——沒有一個是承前補足。
這一點值得作為讀法帶走：遇到「復次」領起的同數之列，先檢查它是不是換一個切法，而不是把上一組沒說完的說完。本段七組四種慧各自重列四目，未明言合成一表；讀者應先保留組界，不把編者的合併推定寫成原文體系。
這個讀法在本論之外也管用。凡見一部論在同一題目下反覆「復次」，先問它是在補還是在切。補是加法，切是換角度；補的可以合，切的不可以合。本段是切的極端例子——七次四種，一次也不重疊。
世慧與出世慧：有／是與無逐目對翻
二種慧那一組最短，也最漂亮。
「世慧者，有漏、有結、有縛，是流、是厄、是蓋、是所觸、是趣、是有煩惱」〔T32 445a06–07〕；「出世慧者，無漏、無結、無縛、無流、無厄、無蓋、無所觸、無趣、無煩惱」〔T32 445a07–09〕。
兩列各九目，一一相對。出世慧沒有另換九個詞幹，而是以「無」對翻世慧各目的「有」或「是」：有漏對無漏、有結對無結、是厄對無厄，一路對到有煩惱對無煩惱。這是逐目對列，不是把「無」字原樣加在每一個世慧詞組之前。
這一組用九組「有／是」與「無」的對列，呈現世慧與出世慧之別。（「厄」「趣」二字四本各作「軛」「起」，若並從四本則二目字面全易；本編從底本、誌而不改。）
一句無法由本段定讀的話
三種慧的第一組是思慧、聞慧、修慧。而思慧的解釋裡有一句：「若自作業智、若得隨諦相應智」〔T32 445a10〕、「於功乃明處，此謂思慧」〔T32 445a10–11〕。
「於功乃明處」五個字，論文不更釋，句讀也無從判定。而更有意思的是校記：這五個字裡有三個字有異讀——「功」元本作「切」、宮本作「巧」，「乃」四本作「及」，「明」明本作「用」〔T32 445a11〕。
四個實字，三個各本互異。這個異讀密度足以證明字面分歧，卻不能證明各本為何改異，也不能反推傳抄者是否讀通。本編從底本、誌而不改、不代點，並把各本讀法一併記下。
在這裡停下來問一句：留著一句讀不通的話，對讀者有什麼用？
有用的地方正在於它提醒讀者：底本文字與異讀都不足以在此定出唯一句讀。若編者自行補通，推定就會混入正文；所以此處寧可保留不決，讓底本與各本讀法仍可被分辨。
四辯：一組四目，五個解釋
本段最長也最耐讀的是四辯那一組。「復次四種慧：義辯、法辯、辭辯、樂說辯」〔T32 445b17〕，然後論文一連給了五個解釋：
一、「於義智此謂義辯」〔T32 445b17–18〕以下，四目各繫一智。 二、「於因果智義辯，於因智法辯」〔T32 445b19–20〕以下——義辯改繫因果、法辯改繫因。 三、「復次於苦及滅智，此謂義辯」〔T32 445b21〕以下——義辯繫苦與滅，法辯繫集與道。 四、以九分教釋法辯：「所謂脩多羅、祇夜、闍柯羅界、伽陀、優陀那」〔T32 445b23–24〕以下九目，知此為法辯，知其義為義辯。 五、「次於眼智，此謂法辯」〔T32 445b28〕以下——法辯繫眼智，義辯繫眼智之所見。
一組四目而五釋並出。五釋之間，義辯、法辯、辭辯三目的所繫一直在換：義辯一會兒是義、一會兒是因果、一會兒是苦滅、一會兒是所說之義、一會兒是眼智之見。
唯獨第四目不動。五釋之中，樂說辯五次都作同一句：「於智智」。
三動一靜——這是本段可直接看見的字面圖形：其餘三辯所繫屢易，樂說辯五處都作「於智智」。論文不解釋為何不動，本編不從這個重複另立其所緣之義。（此組首釋之「義」字，四本作「義諸」「義法」，並錄不判。）
順帶接上一條可核的跨段線索：四辯這個名目在品八分別覺觀時已出現，該處論文明說不釋、指其界說在本品〔T32 415c17–18〕；本段以五釋具體展開〔T32 445b17–29〕。
底本的兩處硬疙瘩
本段有兩處底本的形跡值得誌下。
一是標點。第四釋的末句，底本作「於智智，此謂樂說辯復」〔T32 445b27〕，而下句起於「次於眼智，此謂法辯」〔T32 445b28〕——「復」字屬上、「次」字屬下，與本段其餘十處「復次」的寫法都不一樣。可確定的是底本句讀如此；是否本應合為「復次」，本編不代正、不代移。
二是收品的方式。末組四種慧標作「苦智、苦集智、苦滅智、於是道等分智」〔T32 445c01–02〕，而逐釋作「苦相應智，苦智；苦集相應智，集智；苦滅修行相應智，具足智；道智」〔T32 445c02–03〕——標作「苦滅智」而釋作「具足智」、標作「道等分智」而釋唯作「道智」；更奇的是最後那個「道智」有名而無釋語，論文就這樣直接接上夾註「（解脫道分別慧品已竟）」〔T32 445c03〕收品。
一品的最後一個詞沒有解釋。這件事本編照錄不補；至於它是傳本之闕還是體例之簡，論文自身不足以判，不代考定。
（本段還有一處標釋不一在前面：四種慧之一標作「隨諦相應智」「道等分智」〔T32 445a20–21〕而釋作「隨諦相似智」〔T32 445a23〕「道分智」〔T32 445a24〕，同樣照錄不代正。一段之內標釋不一凡四處；這只證明現存底本文字不齊，不能反推其成因。）
全品的位置
〈分別慧品〉只有兩個單元：前段總說相味起處與功德偈，本段分類。全品收於〔T32 445c03〕，卷第九也同處而竟〔T32 445c04〕——〈五通品〉與〈分別慧品〉合為卷第九之全。
而慧的分類排完，全論就轉入〈五方便品〉與〈分別諦品〉。回頭看這一品的位置：神通說完接慧，慧先總說、再分類，然後才進入陰入界緣起與四諦的實觀。本品是一道門，不是一個房間——它把「慧」這個字先立起來、先切開，好讓後面兩品有東西可用。十一組分類看似瑣碎，其實是把工具一件件擺上桌；至於用哪一件，要到下兩品才見分曉。
帶走三件：一個所見——標舉只說二、三、四三個數，實出十一組；各組按自己的列目成一個分類面。一個讀法——遇「復次」領起的同數之列，先查它是另起分類、重釋，還是承前補足，不先把同數各組合併。一處停問——「於功乃明處」四個實字而三字各本互異；底本與異讀不足以定出唯一句讀，故保留不決。
還有兩件小事該記著：出世慧沿用世慧九個詞幹，以「無」逐目對翻「有」或「是」。而四辯五釋之中，義辯、法辯、辭辯的所繫一路在換，唯樂說辯五次都是「於智智」；可確定的是三動一靜的字面，不由此另立樂說辯之所緣。
The preceding unit asked nine questions and answered only six. This unit completes the remaining three and then closes the chapter—the entire Chapter on the Analysis of Wisdom contains only two units, and fascicle nine also ends here.
Let the central observation come first: when answering “how many kinds of wisdom?” the treatise gives only three numbers, yet lays out eleven groups. “As for how many kinds of wisdom there are, the answer is: two kinds, three kinds, and four kinds” 〔T32 445a03–04〕—two, three, and four, only these three numbers. What follows is one twofold group, three threefold groups, and seven fourfold groups. The heading and what is actually given do not correspond. This edition records them as they stand and neither merges nor supplements them.
More important is how these eleven groups relate to one another: they are not eleven levels of a single system; they can be read as eleven ways of cutting the same material. Sense-realm wisdom, form-realm wisdom, formless-realm wisdom, and unbound wisdom form one group of four. Dhamma knowledge, inferential knowledge, knowledge of others’ minds, and equal knowledge form another. The discriminations of meaning, Dhamma, language, and eloquence form yet another. The classificatory axis differs in each case, and this passage does not assemble them into a single hierarchy. Here “four kinds” is not itself one classification, but the granularity of a single cut shared by seven groups.
The eleven groups can be counted one by one. The single twofold group is worldly and supramundane wisdom. The three threefold groups are, respectively, wisdom from thought, hearing, and cultivation; understanding arrival, departure, and means; and accumulated, unaccumulated, and neither accumulated nor nonaccumulated wisdom. The seven fourfold groups classify by the four knowledges headed by knowledge of one’s own karma; the three realms and the unbound; Dhamma knowledge, inferential knowledge, knowledge of others’ minds, and equal knowledge; the four statements concerning accumulated and unaccumulated wisdom; the four statements concerning revulsion and penetration; the four discriminations; and the four knowledges related to suffering, origin, cessation, and path. This inventory confirms only the items actually listed in each group. It does not combine the eleven groups into an overarching classification the treatise never establishes.
Although each is headed “four kinds of wisdom,” the manner of explanation differs from group to group. The first three define each item separately. The fourth and fifth distinguish them through four statements. The sixth lists the four discriminations and then gives five explanations. The seventh closes the chapter with “path knowledge” left without an explanatory phrase. Only the number of listed items is the same. The groups do not share a single explanatory structure and must be read separately; equal number does not mean equal meaning or equal method of explanation.
Two Opening Sentences and One List
Begin with the opening. “Question: What does wisdom mean? Answer: it means knowledge, and it means the ability to remove” 〔T32 444c29〕. Wisdom has two meanings: knowledge and removal. The second seems slight, yet it directly continues the preceding verse’s final words, “removing what otherwise cannot be removed” 〔T32 444c28〕. The preceding unit uses an entire verse to say what wisdom removes; this unit opens by placing “remove” within wisdom’s definition. That single word is the stitch between the two units.
Next come the eleven qualities for attaining wisdom: “searching out the meaning of the sūtras; doing many wholesome deeds; dwelling in a pure place; calm and insight; the Four Truths; making a clearly distinguished basis; the mind coming to rest and continually remaining in jhāna; a mind without hindrances; keeping away from people without wisdom; cultivating knowledge; and delighting in people of wisdom” 〔T32 445a01–03〕. A direct count gives eleven items, agreeing with the announced number. The character of this list deserves attention: it is not entirely “inner work.” Searching out scriptural meaning, doing wholesome deeds, and dwelling in a pure place can be arranged; calm and insight, the Four Truths, and a mind continually in jhāna must be cultivated; while “keeping away from people without wisdom” and “delighting in people of wisdom” concern association directly—keep away from those without wisdom and delight in the company of the wise. Wisdom is not represented here as something that grows while one remains shut away alone. Environment and companions are also conditions. (In “continually remaining in jhāna,” the character 在, “remain,” is 住, “abide,” in the Ming witness; both readings are recorded without adjudication.)
The Middle Groups: Classification Itself Is the Teaching
Among the eleven groups, the earlier ones can easily be skimmed as tables of technical terms, yet each approaches wisdom from its own angle.
The second threefold group is “understanding arrival, understanding departure, and understanding means” 〔T32 445a13〕. The first two reverse the growth and decline of wholesome qualities. Wisdom attending to “this unwholesome quality declines and this wholesome quality increases” is understanding arrival; wisdom attending to “this unwholesome quality increases and this wholesome quality declines” is understanding departure; wisdom concerning every means is understanding means. The same wisdom is viewed according to whether it makes wholesome qualities grow or decline. This group does not ask what wisdom contains, but where it leads.
The third group is “accumulated wisdom, unaccumulated wisdom, and wisdom neither accumulated nor nonaccumulated” 〔T32 445a17–18〕. Wholesome wisdom in the three planes is accumulated; wisdom in the four paths is unaccumulated; indeterminate wisdom concerning four-plane results and three-plane objects is neither accumulated nor nonaccumulated. The same terms “accumulated” and “unaccumulated” are taken up again in the fourth fourfold group and arranged as four statements 〔T32 445b04–10〕: is accumulated and not unaccumulated; is unaccumulated and not accumulated; is accumulated and also unaccumulated; is neither accumulated nor unaccumulated. The same terms first form a threefold division and later four statements. This is precisely the change of knife described above: the material has not changed, but the number of cuts has.
The second fourfold group classifies by realm—sense realm, form realm, formless realm, and the unbound 〔T32 445a25–26〕. The third classifies by knowledge—Dhamma knowledge, inferential knowledge, knowledge of another’s mind, and equal knowledge 〔T32 445a28–29〕. The fifth distinguishes wisdom through revulsion and penetration 〔T32 445b10–11〕. Their respective angles are the realm in which wisdom occurs, the matter it knows, and the direction in which it tends. They do not contain one another, and need not.
The third fourfold group also contains a small detail: “wisdom other than these three knowledges is called equal knowledge” 〔T32 445b04〕. The fourth item is not defined positively, but as whatever remains after the preceding three are removed. In a four-item table, the final item is a remainder. Only this exclusionary definition can be verified. One cannot infer from “other wisdom” that the author was unable to complete the classification or deliberately refused to establish another name.
When “Further” Appears, the Knife Changes Rather than Repairs
The expression “further” occurs ten times in this unit, and every occurrence begins either a new classification or a new explanation. Not one completes something left unfinished in the preceding group.
This is worth carrying away as a reading practice: when “further” introduces another list of the same size, first ask whether it changes the cut instead of completing the previous one. Each of the seven fourfold groups lists four items afresh, and the passage never says that they combine into one table. The reader should preserve their boundaries rather than write an editor’s proposed merger into the treatise’s system.
This practice applies beyond the present work. Whenever a treatise repeatedly says “further” under the same topic, first ask whether it is supplementing or recutting. A supplement is addition; a cut changes the angle. Supplements can be combined, but different cuts cannot. This passage is an extreme example: seven fourfold classifications, not one overlapping another.
Worldly and Supramundane Wisdom: With / Is Reversed by Without
The twofold group is the shortest and also the most elegant.
“Worldly wisdom has influxes, fetters, and bonds; it is a stream, a peril, a covering, what is touched, a destination, and it has defilements” 〔T32 445a06–07〕. “Supramundane wisdom is without influxes, without fetters, without bonds, without stream, without peril, without covering, without what is touched, without destination, and without defilements” 〔T32 445a07–09〕.
The two lists contain nine items each and correspond item by item. The supramundane list does not substitute nine new stems. Instead, it reverses each “has” or “is” in the worldly list through “without”: with influxes against without influxes, with fetters against without fetters, is a peril against without peril, and so through with defilements against without defilements. This is an item-by-item correspondence, not the mechanical addition of the same negative word before every unchanged worldly expression.
The nine pairs of “has / is” and “without” present the difference between worldly and supramundane wisdom. (For the base characters 厄, “peril,” and 趣, “destination,” all four witnesses read 軛, “yoke,” and 起, “arising.” Following both variants would alter the wording of two complete items. This edition follows the base, records the variants, and does not emend it.)
A Sentence This Unit Cannot Securely Read
The first threefold group is wisdom from thought, hearing, and cultivation. Its explanation of wisdom from thought includes the sentence, “if it is knowledge of one’s own karma, or if knowledge corresponding to truth is attained” 〔T32 445a10〕, followed by “於功乃明處; this is called wisdom from thought” 〔T32 445a10–11〕.
The five-character phrase 於功乃明處 receives no further explanation, and its punctuation cannot be determined. More strikingly, three of these five characters have variant readings: 功 is 切 in the Yuan witness and 巧 in the Palace witness; 乃 is 及 in all four witnesses; and 明 is 用 in the Ming witness 〔T32 445a11〕.
Four content characters, three of them divergent among the witnesses. This density of variation establishes disagreement in the wording, but it cannot establish why the witnesses changed or whether their scribes understood the sentence. This edition follows the base, records it without alteration, supplies no punctuation, and records the witness readings together.
Pause here and ask: what use is there in preserving a sentence that cannot be read smoothly?
Its usefulness lies precisely in reminding the reader that neither the base nor the variants suffice to establish one unique reading. If an editor supplied a smooth reconstruction, conjecture would enter the body as fact. The sentence therefore remains unresolved, so the readings of the base and the witnesses can still be distinguished.
The Four Discriminations: One Group of Four, Five Explanations
The longest and most rewarding group is the four discriminations. “Further, four kinds of wisdom: discrimination of meaning, discrimination of Dhamma, discrimination of language, and discrimination of eloquence” 〔T32 445b17〕. The treatise then gives five explanations in succession:
First, beginning with “knowledge concerning meaning is called discrimination of meaning” 〔T32 445b17–18〕, each of the four discriminations is attached to a kind of knowledge. Second, beginning with “knowledge concerning cause and result is discrimination of meaning; knowledge concerning cause is discrimination of Dhamma” 〔T32 445b19–20〕, discrimination of meaning is now attached to cause and result, and discrimination of Dhamma to cause. Third, beginning with “further, knowledge concerning suffering and cessation is called discrimination of meaning” 〔T32 445b21〕, discrimination of meaning is attached to suffering and cessation, while discrimination of Dhamma is attached to origin and path. Fourth, the ninefold teaching explains discrimination of Dhamma: the nine items beginning “what are called 脩多羅, 祇夜, 闍柯羅界, 伽陀, 優陀那” 〔T32 445b23–24〕 are known as discrimination of Dhamma, while knowing their meanings is discrimination of meaning. Fifth, beginning with “next, knowledge concerning the eye is called discrimination of Dhamma” 〔T32 445b28〕, discrimination of Dhamma is attached to eye-knowledge, while discrimination of meaning is attached to what eye-knowledge sees.
One group contains four items, yet five explanations are given. Across those five explanations, what the discriminations of meaning, Dhamma, and language are attached to keeps changing. Discrimination of meaning concerns meaning, then cause and result, then suffering and cessation, then the meaning of what is taught, and finally what eye-knowledge sees.
Only the fourth item remains unchanged. In all five explanations, discrimination of eloquence is expressed by the same sentence: “knowledge concerning knowledge.”
Three move and one remains still—this is the textual pattern directly visible in the passage. The attachments of the other three discriminations change repeatedly, while discrimination of eloquence reads “knowledge concerning knowledge” all five times. The treatise does not explain why it remains unchanged, and this edition does not derive a separate theory of its object from the repetition. (For the character “義” in the first explanation of this group, the four witnesses read “義諸” or “義法”; both are recorded without adjudication.)
One further cross-unit connection can be checked. The four discriminations were named during Chapter Eight’s analysis of applied and sustained thought. There the treatise explicitly declined to explain them and directed the reader to their definitions in the present chapter 〔T32 415c17–18〕. This passage supplies the five explanations 〔T32 445b17–29〕.
Two Hard Knots in the Base Text
Two traces in the base text deserve to be recorded.
The first concerns punctuation. The fourth explanation ends, “knowledge concerning knowledge; this is called discrimination of eloquence, further” 〔T32 445b27〕, while the next sentence begins, “next, knowledge concerning the eye; this is called discrimination of Dhamma” 〔T32 445b28〕. The character 復 belongs to the preceding sentence, while 次 belongs to the following one, unlike the other ten occurrences of 復次 in this unit. The punctuation of the base can be established. Whether the two characters ought to be joined cannot, and this edition neither corrects nor moves them.
The second is the manner in which the chapter closes. The final fourfold group is headed “knowledge of suffering, knowledge of the origin of suffering, knowledge of the cessation of suffering, and then knowledge sharing in the path” 〔T32 445c01–02〕. Its explanations read, “knowledge associated with suffering is knowledge of suffering; knowledge associated with the origin of suffering is knowledge of origin; knowledge associated with cultivating the cessation of suffering is complete knowledge; path knowledge” 〔T32 445c02–03〕. The heading has “knowledge of cessation,” while the explanation has “complete knowledge”; the heading has “knowledge sharing in the path,” while the explanation has only “path knowledge.” Stranger still, the final “path knowledge” is named without an explanatory phrase. The treatise then proceeds directly to the parenthetical note “(The Path of Freedom, Chapter on the Analysis of Wisdom, is finished)” 〔T32 445c03〕 and closes the chapter.
The chapter’s final term has no explanation. This edition records the fact without supplying one. The treatise itself is insufficient to decide whether this is a loss in transmission or merely brevity in its mode of exposition.
(There is an earlier heading/explanation mismatch in the same unit. The first fourfold group is headed “knowledge corresponding to truth” and “knowledge sharing in the path” 〔T32 445a20–21〕, while the explanations read “knowledge resembling truth” 〔T32 445a23〕 and “path-part knowledge” 〔T32 445a24〕. These too are recorded without correction. Heading and explanation diverge at four places within this single unit. This establishes only that the wording of the received base is irregular; it cannot establish the cause.)
The Place of the Entire Chapter
The Chapter on the Analysis of Wisdom contains only two units: the preceding general account of characteristic, function, manifestation, basis, and the verse on its qualities, followed by this unit of classifications. The chapter closes at 〔T32 445c03〕, and fascicle nine ends at the same point 〔T32 445c04〕. The Chapter on the Five Direct Knowledges and the Chapter on the Analysis of Wisdom together fill fascicle nine.
Once wisdom has been classified, the treatise turns to the Chapter on Five Means and the Chapter on the Analysis of Truth. Looking back at this chapter’s position, direct knowledge is followed by wisdom; wisdom is first described and then classified; only afterward does the treatise enter the practical examination of aggregates, bases, elements, dependent arising, and the Four Truths. This chapter is a doorway, not a room. It first establishes the word “wisdom” and cuts it into distinct views so the following two chapters have something to use. The eleven classifications may appear minute, but they place the tools one by one upon the table. Which tool is used becomes clear only in those next two chapters.
Carry away three things. One observation: only the numbers two, three, and four are announced, but eleven groups appear; each group forms a classificatory surface through its own listed items. One reading practice: when “further” introduces another list of the same size, first determine whether it begins a new classification, re-explains one, or completes the preceding one; do not merge equal-sized groups in advance. One place to pause: in 於功乃明處, three of four content characters vary among the witnesses. The base and variants do not establish one unique reading, so the line remains unresolved.
Two smaller matters should also remain in mind. Supramundane wisdom reuses the nine stems of worldly wisdom and reverses each “has” or “is” through “without.” Across the five explanations of the four discriminations, the attachments of meaning, Dhamma, and language keep changing, while discrimination of eloquence reads “knowledge concerning knowledge” all five times. The text establishes three moving and one still; it does not establish a further theory of the fourth.
Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Meaning of Wisdom, Qualities for Its Attainment, and Its Classifications · Exposition · Summer 2026