解脫道論 義疏通講 · 冊3

In this passage the Path of Freedom first gives a general account of the thirteen ascetic practices and then treats the two practices associated with robes. The first is the rag robe.

Yet within this very passage, that one practice has two names.

When it is listed, it is “rag robe”—“Two practices are associated with robes: the rag robe and the three robes” 〔T32 404b27–28〕. When it is defined, it is “rag robe”—“What is the rag robe? Answer: Its nature is able to undertake and maintain; this is what is called its nature” 〔T32 404c03–04〕. When the text says what it cuts off, it is still “rag robe”—“What is undertaking the rag robe? Cutting off householders’ gifts” 〔T32 404c04〕.

But as soon as the qualities are discussed, all four occurrences change to “patchwork robe”: “one further sees the qualities of undertaking and maintaining the patchwork robe” 〔T32 404c12–13〕; “I have seen it thus: I cut off householders’ gifts and therefore undertake the patchwork robe” 〔T32 404c13〕; “What are the qualities of undertaking the patchwork robe?” 〔T32 404c13–14〕; and “these are the qualities of the patchwork robe, praised by the Buddha” 〔T32 404c17–18〕.

Farther down, in the question and answer, the name changes back—and changes within a single question and answer: “What is undertaking the rag robe? If a bhikkhu cuts off householders’ gifts, this is called undertaking the rag robe” 〔T32 404c23–24〕, immediately followed by “What is loss? If a bhikkhu accepts a householder’s gift, this is called losing the patchwork robe” 〔T32 404c24–25〕.

Undertaking is expressed as “rag robe”; loss is expressed as “patchwork robe.” One question and answer, two names.

“Patchwork robe” occurs eight times in the whole treatise, seven of them in this passage〔404c12·c13·c14·c17·c18·c19·c25〕. The eighth occurs in the later passage on allowances as “does not lose the patchwork robe” 〔T32 406a17〕. That occurrence too concerns loss.

This edition does not make the two names uniform. It simply places them here as the first reminder for reading the passage: the terminology of this passage moves with its position.

The Beginning: Fascicle Two Opens with This Sentence, and the Sentence Is Used Twice in the Treatise

This passage contains the opening sentence of fascicle two of the Path of Freedom. Fascicle one closes with “Path of Freedom, fascicle one” 〔T32 404b13〕; the opening title “Path of Freedom, fascicle two” stands at〔T32 404b16〕; the translator line follows; the chapter heading “Chapter Three: Ascetic Practices” is at〔T32 404b20〕; and the text begins, “Question: At this time, a person practising seated meditation whose virtue is pure wishes to accomplish the most excellent wholesome qualities and also to obtain the qualities of the ascetic practices. Such a person should accomplish them in this way” 〔T32 404b21–22〕.

The seven Chinese characters 爾時淨戒坐禪人 occur twice in the entire treatise. One occurrence opens chapter three here; the other opens chapter four: “Question: At this time, the person practising seated meditation whose virtue is pure, having carried out the undertaking of ascetic practices and accomplished an excellent wholesome state, what should be done?” 〔T32 406c21–22〕.

The two chapters begin with the same sentence pattern, and only one thing changes between them: chapter three asks before the undertaking has been carried out, while chapter four says “having carried out the undertaking of ascetic practices.” The author joins the two chapters with the same sentence; the joint lies in the two Chinese characters 已行, “having carried out.”

When reading the treatise here, one should notice that chapter two discusses virtue, chapter three the ascetic practices, and chapter four concentration. The ascetic practices do not establish a separate course; they are the stretch of road between virtue and concentration. Thus the first sentence of chapter three speaks of “a person practising seated meditation whose virtue is pure”—virtue has already been purified. The first sentence of chapter four speaks of one who has “carried out the undertaking of ascetic practices”—only when this stretch of road has been travelled does the text ask about concentration.

Eight Instances of “For”: Why Before What

The question is “Why undertake the qualities of the ascetic practices?” 〔T32 404b22–23〕. The author first gives a general statement in reply, “Answer: Because people practising seated meditation are not all of one nature” 〔T32 404b23〕, and then arranges eight instances of “for”: “for few desires, for contentment, for being free of doubt, and for extinguishing craving” 〔T32 404b23–24〕; “for wishing to increase courageous energy, and for personally having few tasks and not receiving offerings from others” 〔T32 404b24–25〕; “for secure abiding, and for cutting off what one clings to while guarding the goodness of virtue” 〔T32 404b25–26〕.

It closes with three statements: “These are the requisites of the concentrations, the first noble lineage, and the contemplation of excellent qualities” 〔T32 404b26–27〕.

Two things should be pointed out here.

First, the author’s order places “why” before “what.” Only after the eight purposes and the three locations have been stated does the text ask, “What are the ascetic practices?” 〔T32 404b27〕. A treatise establishing thirteen practices could list the items first and state their purpose afterward. This treatise does not. The purpose is stated in full before the items appear.

Second, the first sentence of the general account is not about the ascetic practices but about people—“Because people practising seated meditation are not all of one nature” 〔T32 404b23〕. Because those people are not all of one nature, there must be thirteen practices rather than one. This sentence is not unfolded again within the present chapter, but it is the root of all the later distinctions: the whole of chapter six, the Chapter on the Analysis of Practice, distinguishes the kinds of practice found in people; the whole of chapter seven, the Chapter on the Analysis of Meditation Subjects, matches people with practices and meditation subjects. The four Chinese characters 性不一種, “not all of one nature,” are the seed of those two later chapters.

The three names “requisites of the concentrations,” “first noble lineage,” and “contemplation of excellent qualities” each occur once in the entire treatise 〔404b26〕. The author gives three locations and does not explain them further; this edition does not investigate them on the author’s behalf.

Thirteen Practices: Four Groups, but Only One Group Is Numbered

Beneath “What are the ascetic practices? There are thirteen practices” 〔T32 404b27〕, four groups are listed: “Two practices are associated with robes: the rag robe and the three robes” 〔T32 404b27–28〕; “Five practices are associated with alms-food: alms-food practice, sequential alms-food practice, eating at one sitting, measured eating, and not eating after the proper time” 〔T32 404b28–29〕; “Five practices are associated with sitting and lying down: first, sitting in a secluded place; second, sitting beneath a tree; third, sitting in the open; fourth, sitting in a charnel ground; and fifth, sitting in whatever place is found” 〔T32 404b29–404c02〕; and “One practice is associated with vigor; there is one kind: constant sitting without lying down” 〔T32 404c02–03〕.

Two plus five plus five plus one makes thirteen. Each of the four groups is tied to one name: associated with robes, with alms-food, with sitting and lying down, and with vigor.

Of the four groups, only the five practices associated with sitting and lying down carry ordinal numbers—first, second, third, fourth, fifth. The two robe practices, five alms-food practices, and one vigor practice do not. This is recorded as it stands and is not made uniform.

One more point should be retained: the wording of the final group is unusually redundant—“One practice is associated with vigor; there is one kind” 〔T32 404c02〕, stating the number twice. None of the preceding three groups does this.

The order of the thirteen items governs the entire chapter that follows. Once this passage has finished with the two robe practices, the next passage, beginning at〔405a04〕, treats the five alms-food practices; the passage after that, beginning at〔405b22〕, treats the five practices associated with sitting and lying down together with constant sitting without lying down. As soon as the general list appears, the skeleton of the whole chapter is fixed.

One Sentence Explains the Thirteen Practices: “The Rest Are Likewise”

Once the thirteen practices have been listed, the first question is “What is the rag robe?” Yet the answer is “Its nature is able to undertake and maintain; this is what is called its nature. The rest are likewise” 〔T32 404c03–04〕.

This question and answer deserve a pause. The question asks, “What is the rag robe?” but the answer does not say what the rag robe is; it says what “nature” is.

The four Chinese characters 是謂為性, “this is what is called its nature,” occur once in the entire treatise 〔T32 404c03〕. The four Chinese characters 餘亦如是, “the rest are likewise,” extend this explanation all at once to the other twelve practices—the “nature” of all thirteen is being able to undertake and maintain.

Thus, in presenting the thirteen ascetic practices, the treatise actually gives only one shared definition: being able to undertake and maintain them. The items are thirteen; their nature is one.

Thirteen sentences then run in a single sequence, one sentence for each item, each saying what it cuts off: “What is undertaking the rag robe? Cutting off householders’ gifts” 〔T32 404c04〕; “What is undertaking the three robes? It is cutting off surplus robes” 〔T32 404c05〕; “What is alms-food practice? It is cutting off invitations from others” 〔T32 404c05–06〕; and so on through “What is sitting wherever found? Cutting off attachment to pleasant places” 〔T32 404c10–11〕 and “What is constant sitting without lying down? It is leaving sleep behind” 〔T32 404c11〕.

Thirteen items, thirteen instances of “cutting off”—strictly speaking, twelve instances of “cutting off” and one of “leaving,” for the last item says, “It is leaving sleep behind.”

These thirteen sentences contain another irregularity. In the list, the name is “fifth, sitting in whatever place is found” 〔T32 404c02〕; here it becomes “What is sitting wherever found?” 〔T32 404c10〕, omitting the word “place.” The same item has two different names in its two occurrences. This is recorded as it stands and is not made uniform.

Within this passage, then, the thirteen ascetic practices have already been stated twice. The first time lists their names in general; the second gives, item by item, what each one cuts off. A third presentation—the longer form of “why undertake it → its qualities → question on undertaking and loss”—is completed here only for the first two items. The remaining eleven are completed one by one in the next three passages.

Pause: Why, Among the Thirteen Practices, Does Only the Rag Robe Not Say “From This Day Forward”?

The third, longer form begins, “Why undertake the rag robe? One sees that householders’ robes have such faults as having to seek and beg for them, and one further sees the qualities of undertaking and maintaining the patchwork robe. I have seen it thus: I cut off householders’ gifts and therefore undertake the patchwork robe” 〔T32 404c11–13〕.

This is a formula of undertaking: see the danger, see the qualities, and thereupon make the undertaking. All thirteen practices in the chapter follow this form.

Yet in the sentence that makes the undertaking, twelve items uniformly say, “From this day forward.” The three-robes practice in this passage says, “From this day forward I abandon surplus robes” 〔T32 404c27〕; alms-food practice in the next passage says, “From this day forward I cut off invitations from others” 〔T32 405a06–07〕; sequential alms-food practice says, “From this day forward I abandon alms-going out of sequence” 〔T32 405a16〕; and the sequence continues through the last item, constant sitting without lying down, which says, “From this day forward I cut off torpor and lying down” 〔T32 406a12〕. The four Chinese characters 我從今日, “from this day forward,” occur twelve times in the entire treatise, not once outside this chapter.

Only the rag-robe practice says “I have seen it thus” 〔T32 404c13〕—and the four Chinese characters 我見如是, “I have seen it thus,” occur once in the entire treatise.

Why?

This is a place to pause and ask. Only two things can be verified.

First, the rag robe is the first of the thirteen practices, and the formula has not yet been fixed. The longer form appears for the first time with this item; the form is being established within the item, not followed from an earlier model.

Second, the formula is fixed within this very passage, in the next item. The second item here, the three robes, already says, “From this day forward I abandon surplus robes; therefore I undertake the three robes” 〔T32 404c27–28〕. In other words, beginning with the second item, the form never changes again.

This passage is therefore both the beginning of the thirteen items and the place from which their form is fixed. The first item shows the form before it was fixed; from the second item onward the fixed form appears—the two forms are placed side by side in a single passage.

The author does not say why, and this edition does not decide on the author’s behalf. It simply places the two wordings side by side: one says “I have seen it thus,” the other “From this day forward”; in the remaining eleven items there is no third form.

The Closing Formula: “What Good People Cultivate” and “The Conduct of Good People”

The qualities of the patchwork robe close with “It is sufficient for regular use and requires little upkeep; what good people cultivate—this practice—is free of doubt” 〔T32 404c15–16〕. This is followed by “It accords with excellent wholesomeness and brings a happy abiding in the present life; it makes others admire it and enables them to obtain attainment” 〔T32 404c16–17〕, and concludes, “These are the qualities of the patchwork robe, praised by the Buddha” 〔T32 404c17–18〕.

The qualities of the three robes close with “What are the qualities of undertaking the three robes? The conduct of good people is to leave behind storing and roaming with surplus robes” 〔T32 404c28〕; “to have little preparation, restrain the body, and be content; and, like a bird flying through the sky, to have nothing for which one looks back with attachment” 〔T32 404c29〕; and “What good people cultivate—this dhamma—is free of doubt” 〔T32 404c29–405a01〕.

There are two closing formulas: one says, “What good people cultivate—this practice—is free of doubt,” and the other, “What good people cultivate—this dhamma—is free of doubt.” Only the middle two Chinese characters differ.

Beginning with alms-food practice in the next passage, the twelve occurrences uniformly read, “The conduct of good people—this action—is free of doubt” (405a10·a19·a24·a28·b09·b17·b28·c08·c16·c23·406a08·a14)—the difference lies in the middle two Chinese characters: 是行, 是法, and 是業, “this practice,” “this dhamma,” and “this action.”

Count the three forms together: the closing formula 善人所…無疑 occurs fourteen times in the entire treatise, not once outside this chapter—twice in this passage (“this practice” and “this dhamma”) and twelve times afterward (“this action”).

The pivot at which the formula changes lies precisely in the final item of this passage, the three robes. In the sentence on the qualities of the three robes, the opening already says, “The conduct of good people” 〔T32 404c28〕—the first occurrence of those four Chinese characters in the entire treatise—while the closing still says, “What good people cultivate” 〔T32 404c29–405a01〕. In the next item, alms-food practice, the two become “The conduct of good people—this action—is free of doubt” 〔T32 405a10〕, and thereafter the formula never changes.

As for the four Chinese characters 佛所稱歎, “praised by the Buddha”: they occur once in the entire treatise 〔T32 404c17–18〕, tied to the end of the qualities of the patchwork robe. Among the thirteen items, the qualities of this item alone are joined to these four characters. This is recorded as it stands and is not investigated on the text’s behalf.

Two Kinds of Patchwork Robe: Where They Are Picked Up

“Question: How many kinds of patchwork robe are there? Who undertakes them? For what reason are they lost?” 〔T32 404c18–19〕 asks three things in one question, but the answer addresses only the first—“There are two kinds of patchwork robe: first, one without an owner to guard it; and second, one discarded by people” 〔T32 404c19〕. The remaining two matters are answered separately below.

Without an owner to guard it—“One may find it in a charnel ground, at a refuse heap, in a marketplace, or on a road; pick it up, cut it, wash it, dye it, cover it, join it, tailor it, and sew it; then complete and undertake it. This is called one without an owner” 〔T32 404c20–21〕. Four places and eight procedures.

Discarded by people—“It may be a remnant from cutting or piercing, something gnawed by cattle or rats, something burned by fire, or something thrown away by people” 〔T32 404c21–22〕; “it may be a robe offered to cover a corpse or the clothing of non-Buddhist renunciants. This is called something discarded by people” 〔T32 404c23〕.

One point may be noted in passing: in this passage the charnel ground is a place where a robe is picked up, but in the next passage it is itself an ascetic practice—sitting in a charnel ground. The same place is, in one position, a source of material and, in another, a dwelling place. The author does not connect the two, and this edition does not connect them on the author’s behalf.

The Three Robes: From Surplus Robes to a Fourth Robe

After the longer form for the three robes is complete, another question begins: “Question: What are the three robes called? What is undertaking them? What is losing them?” 〔T32 405a01–02〕. The answer is, “They are 僧伽梨, 欝多羅僧, and 安陀會. These are called the three robes” 〔T32 405a02–03〕.

Once the three names have been given, that part of the answer is finished. The author does not explain what each robe is, how large it is, or when it is worn. The names alone are given, not their characteristics.

Undertaking and loss are two sides of a single sentence: “If a bhikkhu does not keep robes in excess, this is undertaking the three robes” 〔T32 405a03–04〕; “If one accepts a fourth robe, this is called loss” 〔T32 405a04〕.

The criterion for undertaking and the criterion for loss are the two sides of the same line: within three robes is undertaking; the fourth robe is loss. The preceding rag-robe practice has the same form—“cutting off householders’ gifts” is undertaking, while “accepting a householder’s gift” is loss〔T32 404c23–25〕.

This is the most important form in the chapter: every item has a line that can be counted and pointed to. It is not a question of what is in the mind; it is the fourth robe, the second sitting, or passing beyond the neighboring house. What makes an ascetic practice an ascetic practice is determined at a line.

Reading Practice: To Read the Thirteen Ascetic Practices, Count the Closing Formulas First

The reading practice this passage provides lies in the closing formula discussed above.

When this chapter presents one ascetic practice, a sentence of the form 善人所…無疑 always closes it. That sentence is not ornament; it is a paragraph marker.

The chapter can therefore be read in this way: before reading sentence by sentence, first scan the chapter for the phrase “free of doubt”—it occurs nineteen times in the whole treatise, not once outside this chapter〔404b24–406c17〕. When the closing formula arrives, one knows that an item is complete; when the wording of the closing formula changes, one knows that the group has changed.

Applied to this passage, the result is this: the passage has two closing formulas in two forms (“this practice” and “this dhamma”), so it contains two items. From the next passage onward the form is fixed as “this action”; once the form has been fixed, one need only count the items and no longer inspect the wording of the form.

This method can be carried into any long enumerative passage in the treatise: first find the sentence that every item shares and take it as the boundary marker; what lies between two boundary markers is one item. The treatise has no modern punctuation or paragraphing; the boundary marker is the author’s own sign of division.

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Take away three things. One observation: the rag robe and patchwork robe are two names for one thing, and the name changes precisely in the section on qualities: the list, definition, and statement of what is cut off all say “rag robe”; all four occurrences in the section on qualities say “patchwork robe”〔404c12·c13·c14·c17〕; and within the one question and answer containing “this is called undertaking the rag robe”〔404c24〕 and “this is called losing the patchwork robe”〔404c25〕, both names appear—undertaking is expressed as “rag robe,” loss as “patchwork robe.” “Patchwork robe” occurs eight times in the entire treatise, seven here; the eighth〔406a17〕 also concerns loss. One reading practice: to read the thirteen ascetic practices, count the closing formulas first: 善人所…無疑 occurs fourteen times in the whole treatise, not once outside this chapter; when a closing formula arrives, one item is complete, and when its wording changes, the group has changed. One place to pause: in the formula of undertaking, twelve of the thirteen items say “From this day forward,” but only the first, the rag robe, says “I have seen it thus”〔404c13〕. Two things can be verified: the first item is where the form is initially established, and the form is fixed in the next item within this passage〔404c27〕. The author does not state the reason, and this edition does not decide on the author’s behalf.

Four smaller matters should also be retained: the seven Chinese characters 爾時淨戒坐禪人 occur twice in the entire treatise, opening chapters three and four respectively〔404b21·406c21〕, with the joint lying in the two Chinese characters 已行, “having carried out”; the sentence “Its nature is able to undertake and maintain; this is what is called its nature. The rest are likewise” explains all thirteen practices〔404c03–04〕—the items are thirteen, their nature one; of the four groups, only the five practices associated with sitting and lying down carry ordinal numbers〔404b29–404c02〕, while the last group repeats the number as “one … there is one kind”; and the four Chinese characters 佛所稱歎, “praised by the Buddha,” occur once in the entire treatise〔404c17–18〕, tied among the thirteen items only to the qualities of the patchwork robe.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · General Account of the Ascetic Practices and the Two Robe-Related Practices · Exposition · Summer 2026

The preceding passage〔404b21 onward〕established the pattern for this chapter: each item proceeds through “seeing the danger → seeing the qualities → making the undertaking → enumerating the qualities → closing formula → question on undertaking and loss.” Once the second item, the three robes, has completed that sequence, the pattern is fixed.

The five items in the present passage—alms-food practice, sequential alms-food practice, eating at one sitting, measured eating, and not eating after the proper time—are the first group to proceed straight through according to this pattern.

Yet one of them does not proceed evenly.

The item on eating at one sitting departs from the pattern in three places.

The first lies in the closing formula. At the end of the qualities of each item in this chapter, there must be the sentence “The conduct of good people—this action—is free of doubt.” There are five items in this passage but six occurrences of this sentence—alms-food practice〔405a10〕, sequential alms-food practice〔405a19〕, eating at one sitting〔405a24〕, eating at one sitting〔405a28〕, measured eating〔405b09–10〕, and not eating after the proper time〔405b17〕. Within the item on eating at one sitting, this sentence occurs twice. Among the thirteen items, this is the only one in which it is repeated.

The second lies in the wording for recognizing the fault. Alms-food practice says “Knowing these dangers, one further sees the qualities of alms-food practice” 〔405a06〕; sequential alms-food practice says “Knowing these dangers, one further sees the qualities of sequential alms-food practice” 〔405a15〕; and not eating after the proper time says “Knowing these dangers, one sees the qualities of not eating after the proper time” 〔405b14〕—the same form in three items. Eating at one sitting, however, says “Knowing the fault to be such and seeing the qualities of eating at one sitting, one should therefore undertake it” 〔405a25–26〕, while measured eating says “Having known this fault and seen the qualities of measured eating” 〔405b06–07〕. “Knowing the fault to be such” occurs once in the entire treatise, and “having known this fault” occurs once in the entire treatise. Five items, three forms.

The third lies in the form of the question on undertaking and loss. The other four items all ask about “undertaking” and “loss,” but the item on eating at one sitting asks “What is undertaking eating at one sitting? What is a boundary? What is loss?” 〔405a29〕—“What is a boundary?” occurs once in the entire treatise.

This edition does not make these three departures uniform. The items are read one by one below, with each departure viewed in its own place.

Alms-Food Practice: First It States What Is Wrong with Accepting Invitations

“What is undertaking alms-food practice? If one accepts invitations from others, this obstructs one’s own work” 〔T32 405a04–05〕—the first fault in accepting an invitation is not craving but obstructing one’s own work.

Next comes “one does not act to please people,” followed by “one does not sit knee to knee together with bhikkhus who do not accord with Dhamma” 〔T32 405a05–06〕. The third sentence is quite concrete: when one accepts an invitation to another person’s home, the seats have already been arranged, and one cannot choose who sits alongside.

Thus comes “Knowing these dangers, one further sees the qualities of alms-food practice” 〔T32 405a06〕, followed by the undertaking “From this day forward I cut off invitations from others and undertake alms-food practice” 〔T32 405a06–07〕.

Seven qualities are listed: “What are the qualities of alms-food practice? One advances or stops freely according to what one wishes in one’s own mind” 〔T32 405a07–08〕; “one does not expect food offerings, removes indolence, cuts off pride, does not crave flavors, and benefits living beings”; and the list closes with “one always moves in the four directions with a mind free of obstruction. The conduct of good people—this action—is free of doubt” 〔T32 405a09–10〕.

The first of the seven is “advances or stops freely,” and the last is “a mind free of obstruction.” The beginning and end concern the same thing: accepting an invitation ties one’s movements to others, whereas alms-food practice does not. Only the five items between them concern cutting off afflictions.

Then comes the question on undertaking and loss: “Question: How many kinds of invitation are there? What is undertaking? What is loss?” 〔T32 405a10–11〕. The answer says, “There are three kinds of invitation: first, a meal-like invitation; second, an approach invitation; and third, an exceeding invitation” 〔T32 405a11–12〕—each of these three names occurs once in the entire treatise. “Apart from these three kinds of invitation, one undertakes alms-food practice. If one accepts these three kinds of invitation, one loses alms-food practice” 〔T32 405a12–13〕.

Three matters are asked and answered in a single breath: once the three kinds of invitation have been stated, undertaking and loss are explained at the same time—not accepting the three is undertaking; accepting them is loss. The author does not answer them separately.

Sequential Alms-Food Practice: What Is Cut Off Is “Going Again”

“What is undertaking sequential alms-food practice? If one obtains much delicious food at a place in the sequence, one does not go there again” 〔T32 405a13–14〕.

What this item guards against is choosing favored places while going for alms-food. Going once more to a place where the choice was good becomes “accepting regular food”; one should also keep away from a doubtful place.

Seven qualities are listed, and the last is a simile: “What are the qualities of sequential alms-food practice? With a mind of equality, one benefits all” 〔T32 405a16–17〕; “one removes the evils of hatred and jealousy, cuts off the fault of overfamiliar association, does not delight in being summoned, does not delight in much speech, keeps far from people’s dwellings, and leaves hurried walking behind”; and the list closes with “like the moon, seldom appearing and gazed upon by people. The conduct of good people—this action—is free of doubt” 〔T32 405a19〕.

“Like the moon” occurs once in the entire treatise〔405a19〕. It is the only simile in this passage.

What the moon simile takes is not brightness but “seldom appearing”—because it does not appear often, people lift their eyes to look. A person who goes sequentially for alms-food does not often visit the same household, and so that household respects the person when he appears. What the simile compares is sequence, not purity.

The question on undertaking and loss is: “Question: What is called sequential alms-food practice? What is undertaking? What is loss?” 〔T32 405a20〕. The answer gives a line that can be pointed to—“When a bhikkhu begins going for alms-food and enters a settlement, the last house is counted as the first in the sequence; this is called going sequentially for alms-food” 〔T32 405a20–22〕; “What is loss? One skips over the adjacent house; this is called loss” 〔T32 405a22–23〕.

The criterion is a house address: count the last house as the first, then proceed from one house to the next; if one skips over the neighboring house, the practice is lost.

Eating at One Sitting: The First Departure—The Closing Formula Appears before the Qualities

“What is undertaking eating at one sitting? It means that at two sitting places one repeatedly sits, repeatedly accepts food, and repeatedly washes the bowl” 〔T32 405a23–24〕.

The question asks about “undertaking eating at one sitting,” but the answer begins with its opposite: two sitting places, sitting repeatedly, accepting food repeatedly, and washing the bowl repeatedly.

Then—“The opposite of this is called eating at one sitting. The conduct of good people—this action—is free of doubt” 〔T32 405a24–25〕.

The closing formula has already appeared here. Yet at this point not a single quality has been stated; “Knowing the fault to be such and seeing the qualities of eating at one sitting, one should therefore undertake it” 〔T32 405a25–26〕comes afterward, the undertaking “From this day forward I abandon eating at two sittings and undertake eating at one sitting” 〔T32 405a26〕comes still later, and the enumeration of qualities—“What are the qualities of eating at one sitting? Neither too much nor too little; no craving for impure offerings” 〔T32 405a26–27〕, followed by “no various illnesses or distress, no obstruction in rising and sitting, and ease in one’s own affairs” 〔T32 405a27–28〕—comes last. Only then does the second “The conduct of good people—this action—is free of doubt” appear〔T32 405a28〕.

Thus the sequence of this item becomes: opposite → closing formula → seeing the fault → undertaking → qualities → closing formula. The other twelve items all follow seeing the fault → undertaking → qualities → closing formula.

This edition neither deletes nor moves anything on the text’s behalf. It merely points out the positions of the two closing formulas: one at〔405a24〕and one at〔405a28〕, with seeing the fault, making the undertaking, and enumerating the qualities between them.

Eating at One Sitting: The Second Departure—“What Is a Boundary?”

At the question on undertaking and loss, the item on eating at one sitting adds one question: “Question: What is undertaking eating at one sitting? What is a boundary? What is loss?” 〔T32 405a28–29〕.

The answer is: “There are three kinds of boundary: the sitting boundary, the water boundary, and the food boundary” 〔T32 405a29–405b01〕.

Here “boundary” means a limit—the point at which eating must stop. The criteria for the other items are actions (one accepts a householder’s gift, one skips over the adjacent house, one accepts a fourth robe), but the criterion for eating at one sitting alone is a line within a single meal: before that line one may still eat; after it one may not. Hence a separate question is framed.

Pause: Among the Three Boundaries, Why Does the Sitting Boundary Have No Closing Formula?

As the three boundaries are explained one by one, one conspicuous irregularity appears in their form.

The sitting boundary: “What is the sitting boundary? After eating, one is still seated” 〔T32 405b01〕—four Chinese characters, with no ‘this is called the sitting boundary’ beneath them.

The water boundary: “Upon accepting water and washing the bowl, one may not eat again; this is called the water boundary” 〔T32 405b02〕—it has a closing formula.

The food boundary: “What is the food boundary? If, with respect to morsel food, one gives rise to the perception that it is the last and then swallows it, one does not eat again; this is called the food boundary” 〔T32 405b02–03〕—it has a closing formula. Below it there is another sentence: “If one passes through a second sitting, one loses the single meal; excepted are water, medicine, and the like praised by the buddhas; this is called the food boundary” 〔T32 405b04–05〕—it closes a second time.

Thus, “this is called the food boundary” occurs twice in the entire treatise〔405b03·405b04–05〕, “this is called the water boundary” occurs once in the entire treatise, and “this is called the sitting boundary” occurs zero times in the entire treatise. Three boundaries yield three closing formulas: two attached to the food boundary, one to the water boundary, and none to the sitting boundary.

One further matter deserves an even longer pause. What the final sentence discusses is sitting. “If one passes through a second sitting, one loses the single meal”—passing through a second sitting is precisely what the sitting boundary determines, yet the sentence is attached beneath “this is called the food boundary.”

It is worth pausing here to ask: has the closing formula for the sitting boundary fallen beneath the food boundary, or did the author originally take “passing through a second sitting” as one meaning of the food boundary?

This passage cannot answer. Only three things can be verified: first, among the closing formulas for the three boundaries, the food boundary has two occurrences while the sitting boundary has none; second, the matter in the final sentence belongs to sitting while its name belongs to food; third, the punctuation itself is doubtful—in “What is the sitting boundary? After eating, one is still seated. Upon accepting water and washing the bowl, one may not eat again; this is called the water boundary” 〔T32 405b01–02〕, the treatise does not make clear whether “after eating, one is still seated” forms an answer by itself or should be read together with what follows, “upon accepting water and washing the bowl.”

All three are retained according to the literal wording: nothing is moved, supplied, or decided on the text’s behalf.

In addition, the phrase “excepted are water, medicine, and the like praised by the buddhas” 〔T32 405b04〕occurs once in the entire treatise—this is the treatise’s sole statement that “the buddhas praise” something, and what is praised is the taking of water and medicine after eating. The author gives neither the words of that praise nor its source, and this edition does not investigate on the text’s behalf.

Measured Eating: The Only One of the Five Items That Asks Just Two Matters

“What is undertaking measured eating? If food and drink are taken without measure, the body grows heavy with sleep” 〔T32 405b05–06〕; its fault lies in “greedy delight constantly arises, and there is never satisfaction for the belly.”

“Having known this fault and seen the qualities of measured eating” 〔T32 405b06–07〕is followed by the undertaking “From this day forward I will certainly not engage in greedy indulgence, and I undertake measured eating” 〔T32 405b07〕.

The qualities are: “What are the qualities of measured eating? One measures the food one eats and does not indulge the belly” 〔T32 405b07–08〕; “eating much increases weakness, and knowing this, one does not delight in it; one removes craving, eliminates illness, and cuts off every kind of indolence”; and the list closes with “The conduct of good people—this action—is free of doubt” 〔405b09–10〕.

The four Chinese characters ‘eating much increases weakness’ should be noted: eating more instead increases weakness. This does not say that eating much is an offense; it says that eating much brings no benefit—the reason the author gives for this item concerns the body, not vinaya.

The question on undertaking and loss is: “Question: What is undertaking measured eating? What is loss?” 〔T32 405b10〕—only two matters are asked. Among the five items, this alone asks neither “how many kinds” nor “what is called.”

The reason can be seen in the answer: “Knowing well how to measure and cutting off the absence of any limit is called measured eating. If it is not so, this is loss” 〔T32 405b12–13〕. Measured eating has no countable kinds—it is not three kinds of invitation, two kinds after the proper time, or three boundaries. It is a measure in which “one reflects for oneself on how much is needed and takes this as the standing standard.” Because there are no kinds to count, the author does not ask how many.

Not Eating after the Proper Time: Two Boundaries, One of Them Twenty-One Portions

“What is undertaking not eating after the proper time? One cuts off expectant thought and leaves additional food behind” 〔T32 405b13–14〕. What is cut off is “expectant thought”—the expectation that there will still be food to eat after the proper time has passed.

“Knowing these dangers and seeing the qualities of not eating after the proper time” 〔T32 405b14〕is followed by the undertaking “From this day forward I cut off additional food and undertake not eating after the proper time” 〔T32 405b14–15〕.

The qualities are: “What are the qualities of not eating after the proper time? One cuts off what one craves and delights in, and restrains and guards the body” 〔T32 405b15–16〕; “one leaves overnight food behind, stops what one seeks to procure, makes no request of others, and does not follow the mind’s desires” 〔T32 405b16–17〕; and the list closes with “The conduct of good people—this action—is free of doubt” 〔405b17〕.

The four Chinese characters ‘makes no request of others’—one need not open one’s mouth to ask someone. This corresponds to “does not expect food offerings” in the item on alms-food practice〔405a08〕: one concerns not expecting, the other not speaking.

The question on undertaking and loss is: “Question: How many kinds are there after the proper time? What is undertaking? What is loss?” 〔T32 405b18〕. The answer says, “There are two kinds after the proper time: the non-restraint boundary and the undertaking boundary” 〔T32 405b18–19〕.

“Non-restraint boundary” occurs twice in the entire treatise, “undertaking boundary” occurs twice in the entire treatise (each once in the list and once in its heading), and “offense of a separate invitation” occurs once in the entire treatise〔405b20〕.

“What is the non-restraint boundary? If one accepts additional food, one incurs the offense of a separate invitation and should not eat again” 〔T32 405b19–20〕—this boundary belongs to vinaya: accepting additional food incurs the offense of a separate invitation.

“What is the undertaking boundary? Having eaten twenty-one portions of morsel food, one should not accept any more” 〔T32 405b20–21〕—this boundary is counted: twenty-one portions.

By this point in the chapter, the criterion has become fine enough to count portion by portion. It closes with “Not eating after the proper time cuts off what is additional; if one accepts additional food, one loses not eating after the proper time” 〔T32 405b21–22〕.

Looking Back Once: The Five Single-Phrase Objects Cut Off in the Preceding Passage

The preceding passage〔404c04–11〕gave, in a single sentence for each of the thirteen items, the thing that it cuts off. The five belonging to the present passage are: “What is alms-food practice? It is cutting off invitations from others” 〔T32 404c05–06〕; “What is sequential alms-food practice? It is cutting off alms-going that skips over the sequence” 〔T32 404c06〕; “What is eating at one sitting? It is not sitting down a second time” 〔T32 404c06–07〕; “What is measured eating? Cutting off greedy indulgence” 〔T32 404c07〕; and “What is not eating after the proper time? It is cutting off expectations after the proper time” 〔T32 404c07–08〕.

Set these five sentences beside the longer form of each item in the present passage, and one thing becomes visible: the objects cut off in the five sentences are unfolded here without changing a word.

“Cutting off invitations from others”—the present passage says “if one accepts invitations from others, this obstructs one’s own work” 〔T32 405a04–05〕, and the question on undertaking and loss concerns precisely three kinds of invitation〔T32 405a11–12〕.

“Cutting off alms-going that skips over the sequence”—the present passage says “What is loss? One skips over the adjacent house; this is called loss” 〔T32 405a22–23〕. The words “skips over” appear twice, once in the general account in the preceding passage and once in the determination of loss here.

“Not sitting down a second time”—the present passage says “at two sitting places one repeatedly sits, repeatedly accepts food, and repeatedly washes the bowl. The opposite of this is called eating at one sitting” 〔T32 405a23–24〕; the end of the three boundaries further says “if one passes through a second sitting, one loses the single meal” 〔T32 405b04〕.

“Cutting off greedy indulgence”—the present passage says “From this day forward I will certainly not engage in greedy indulgence, and I undertake measured eating” 〔T32 405b07〕. The words “greedy indulgence” occur in both places.

“Cutting off expectations after the proper time”—the present passage says “one cuts off expectant thought and leaves additional food behind” 〔T32 405b13–14〕. The preceding passage says “expectations after the proper time,” while the present passage says “expectant thought”: one Chinese character changes, while the referent remains the same.

Thus the single sentence in the preceding passage is the outline of the present passage, and the long form here is the itemization of that sentence. This is how the treatise proceeds: first it gives a one-phrase answer, then a passage-length answer, and the one phrase remains throughout.

This method will appear again in later chapters: the author first establishes an extremely short definition, and the longer text that follows merely spreads that definition out. The short sentence must not be passed over—it is the skeleton of all the words that follow.

Reading Practice: To Read One Item of the Ascetic Practices, Read Its “Question” First

The reading practice this passage offers lies in its five questions.

Each of the five items has one “Question:” that begins its question-and-answer section, but the matters asked are not uniform:

Alms-food practice asks “how many kinds of invitation are there?”〔405a10〕; sequential alms-food practice asks “what is called sequential alms-food practice?”〔405a20〕; eating at one sitting asks “what is undertaking eating at one sitting? What is a boundary?”〔405a29〕; measured eating asks “what is undertaking measured eating? What is loss?”〔405b10〕; and not eating after the proper time asks “how many kinds are there after the proper time?”〔405b18〕.

How many matters are asked, and which matters are asked, are precisely what the author means to determine in that item.

Those that ask “how many kinds” (alms-food practice and not eating after the proper time) do so because the object they cut off has countable kinds—three kinds of invitation and two boundaries. The one that asks “what is called” (sequential alms-food practice) does so because its difficulty lies in the name rather than the number—what counts as “sequential.” The one that asks “what is a boundary” (eating at one sitting) does so because its criterion is a line. The one that asks only the two matters of undertaking and loss (measured eating) does so because it has neither a countable kind nor a boundary that can be pointed to, but only a standing standard one sets for oneself.

Thus this chapter may be read as follows: do not read the answer first; first read the sentence marked “Question.” However many matters the question asks, that item has that many levels of criterion; whichever words begin the question (“how many kinds” / “what is called” / “what is a boundary”), there lies the difficulty of that item.

This method can be used throughout the treatise’s question-and-answer form: the author’s question is not rhetoric; it is the outline he has drawn for himself.

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Take away three things. One observation: among the five items, eating at one sitting departs from the pattern in three places: the closing formula “The conduct of good people—this action—is free of doubt” is repeated twice〔405a24·405a28〕, with its first occurrence before the qualities (among the thirteen items, only this one repeats it); its wording for recognizing the fault is “knowing the fault to be such” 〔405a25〕(once in the entire treatise; the five items have three forms, including measured eating’s “having known this fault” 〔405b06〕, also once in the entire treatise); and the question on undertaking and loss adds “what is a boundary?” 〔405a29〕(once in the entire treatise). One reading practice: to read one item of the ascetic practices, read its “Question” first: however many matters are asked, there are that many levels of criterion, and the words used in the question (“how many kinds” / “what is called” / “what is a boundary”) show where the difficulty of the item lies. One place to pause: among the three boundaries, the sitting boundary alone has no closing formula (its heading is at 405b01): “this is called the food boundary” occurs twice in the entire treatise〔405b03·405b04–05〕, “this is called the water boundary” occurs once〔405b02〕, and the sitting boundary has no closing formula; the final sentence concerns sitting while its name belongs to food, and the punctuation too is doubtful. The author does not state why, and this edition does not move, supply, or decide anything on the text’s behalf.

Three smaller matters should also be retained: “like the moon” occurs once in the entire treatise〔405a19〕, the only simile in this passage, and what it compares is “seldom appearing,” not brightness; “praised by the buddhas” occurs once in the entire treatise〔405b04〕, what is praised being the taking of water and medicine after eating, without the words or source of the praise being given; and the number “twenty-one portions of morsel food”〔405b20〕and the “offense of a separate invitation”〔405b20〕(once in the entire treatise) stand together as the two boundaries of not eating after the proper time—one emerges from measure, the other from vinaya.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Five Practices Associated with Alms-Food · Exposition · Summer 2026

The preceding passage has five items, each in two paragraphs: the first states the undertaking and qualities, and the second begins with “Question:” and determines undertaking and loss. Ten paragraphs and five items correspond exactly; paragraph boundaries and item boundaries do not depart from each other at all.

The present passage has six items—sitting in a secluded place, sitting beneath a tree, dwelling in the open, dwelling in a charnel ground, dwelling in whatever place is found, and constant sitting without lying down—and its form suddenly becomes irregular.

Six items, but “Question:” occurs only three times.

The secluded-place item has: “Question: What is the final secluded place? What is undertaking? What is loss?” 〔T32 405b29–405c01〕.

The tree item has: “Question: Which trees may be lived beneath? Which trees should be avoided? How is it undertaken? How is it lost?” 〔T32 405c08–09〕.

The charnel-ground item has: “Question: What are the qualities of undertaking a charnel ground? Where may one dwell? Where may one practise? What undertaking, what loss?” 〔T32 405c24–25〕.

The other three items—dwelling in the open, dwelling in whatever place is found, and constant sitting without lying down—have no “Question:” at all. They proceed directly from the qualities to “What is undertaking? What is loss?” The open-dwelling item reads, “What is undertaking? What is loss? Cutting off sheltered places and places beneath trees is undertaking open dwelling. If one dwells in sheltered places or places beneath trees, open dwelling is lost” 〔T32 405c17–18〕; the whatever-place-is-found item reads, “What is undertaking? What is loss? Cutting off the lodging to which one is attached is called reliance on what is encountered. If one goes to a place in which one delights, this is called loss” 〔T32 406a09–10〕; and constant sitting without lying down reads, “What is undertaking? What is loss? It means cutting off sleep and lying down. If one lies down, this is called loss” 〔T32 406a15–16〕.

And the three places that do have “Question:” are all different from one another.

The secluded-place item asks three things, and its first question adds the word “final”—“final secluded place” occurs twice in the entire treatise (405b29·405c02), both times in this passage. Among the thirteen items, only this question is qualified by “final.”

The tree item asks four things, and expresses undertaking and loss as “How is it undertaken? How is it lost?”—not “What is undertaking?” or “What is loss?”

The charnel-ground item asks four things, and expresses undertaking and loss as “What undertaking, what loss?”—the four Chinese characters 何受何失 occur once in the entire treatise〔405c25〕. Four characters compress an eight-character question by half.

Thus the questions in this passage occur in three instances and three forms. The sentence “What is undertaking? What is loss?” occurs four times in the passage (405b29·405c17·406a09·406a15), and three of those occurrences do not carry “Question:”.

The preceding passage is orderly in that way; this passage is uneven in this way. This edition records each form as it stands and does not make them uniform. We may now read through the items one by one.

Secluded Place: The Criterion Is a Measurable Distance

“What is undertaking sitting in a secluded place? In the city there is clamor and confusion; when consciousness contacts the five sense objects, delight stained by defilement arises in the mind” 〔T32 405b22–23〕.

One point in the section on qualities should be brought out: “one sees the qualities of the ten kinds of speech as supreme and lovely, bringing joy to devas and humans” 〔T32 405b27〕—“ten kinds of speech” occurs once in the entire treatise〔405b27〕, but the treatise does not list what those ten kinds are. The author does not explain them, and this edition does not supply them.

It closes with “does not delight in familiar association with worldly pleasures; obtains quietude and delights in little sound; and sits in jhāna as the mind inclines” 〔T32 405b27–28〕 and the closing formula〔405b28〕.

Then comes the first “Question:” in the passage—and it asks not what a secluded place is, but what the “final secluded place” is〔T32 405b29〕.

The answer reads: “One leaves the city walls, settles in the outskirts, and avoids far-off borderlands; within an average person’s four cubits and five hundred bows—this is the final secluded place” 〔T32 405c01–02〕.

“Four cubits and five hundred bows” occurs once in the entire treatise〔405c02〕. This is the hardest criterion reached so far in this chapter—not an action, but a distance that can be measured. The criteria in the preceding passage were three kinds of invitation, one neighboring house, and twenty-one morsels; here the criterion becomes a measure of length.

What the word “final” qualifies is precisely this measure: the question is not what a secluded place is, but where its lower limit lies—how far away one must be at the least for it to count.

Undertaking and loss then return to the common form: “Eliminating dwelling in the city is called a secluded place. If one dwells in the city, the secluded place is lost” 〔T32 405c03–04〕.

Beneath a Tree: Four Questions, with One Word Changed in Undertaking and Loss

“What is undertaking sitting beneath a tree? One abandons sheltered places, does not accumulate possessions, and cultivates the correction of greedy acceptance and seeking” 〔T32 405c04–05〕; then, “Knowing this to be a fault and seeing the qualities of being beneath a tree” 〔T32 405c05〕.

“Knowing this to be a fault” differs yet again from the wording used for the other items in this chapter—the preceding passage’s five items already have three forms, “knowing these dangers,” “knowing the fault to be such,” and “having known this fault”; this item adds a fourth.

The qualities begin, “What are the qualities of being beneath a tree? One relies on what is pleasant and lovely without mingling with worldly people” 〔T32 405c06–07〕; they continue with delighting in leaving tasks, dwelling together with devas, cutting off jealousy over dwellings, and departing from attachment, and close with the closing formula〔405c08〕.

The question is the longest in this passage: “Question: Which trees may be lived beneath? Which trees should be avoided? How is it undertaken? How is it lost?” 〔T32 405c08–09〕.

Four questions, with the last two expressed as “how is it undertaken?” and “how is it lost?” Among the thirteen items, only this one has this form.

The answer also answers four matters. Concerning where one may dwell: “The place reached by a tree’s shadow at midday and the place reached by its falling leaves when there is no wind—these are places where one may dwell” 〔T32 405c09–10〕—two measurable boundaries: where the midday shadow reaches and where leaves fall when there is no wind. What should be avoided, together with undertaking and loss, is given in one sentence: “Excluding dangerous decaying trees, hollow rotten trees, and spirit trees, and leaving all sheltered places—this is undertaking being beneath a tree. If one goes to sheltered places, being beneath a tree is lost” 〔T32 405c11–12〕.

Three kinds of trees may not be lived beneath: dangerous decaying trees, hollow rotten trees, and spirit trees. The first two concern danger to life and body; the third does not. The author does not explain this, and the forms are recorded as they stand.

The Open: The First Item in This Passage without “Question:”

“What is undertaking dwelling in the open? One does not delight in sheltered places or in places beneath trees where possessions are stored” 〔T32 405c12–13〕.

What this item cuts off includes the preceding item—one does not delight in sheltered places, and one also does not stay beneath a tree. Among the thirteen items, this is the only one that includes the preceding item among what it cuts off.

The undertaking is, “From this day forward I cut off places that are not delightful and undertake dwelling in the open” 〔T32 405c14〕. The qualities begin, “What are the qualities of open dwelling? One does not go to places that are not delightful and cuts off indolence and sleep” 〔T32 405c14–15〕; a single simile follows, “like a wild deer going wherever it wishes, with nothing it pursues or longs for” 〔T32 405c15–16〕; then comes the closing formula〔405c16〕.

This is the only simile in the passage. What the wild deer illustrates is not speed but having nothing it pursues or longs for—there is no place to which it must return.

Undertaking and loss then follow directly: “What is undertaking? What is loss? Cutting off sheltered places and places beneath trees is undertaking open dwelling. If one dwells in sheltered places or places beneath trees, open dwelling is lost” 〔T32 405c17–18〕. There is no “Question:”.

Charnel Ground: The Only Item in the Entire Chapter with Detailed Rules of Conduct

“What is undertaking dwelling in a charnel ground? If one stays in other places, one engages only slightly in heedlessness and does not give rise to fear or aversion” 〔T32 405c18–19〕—what is cut off is “other places,” and the danger is that while staying elsewhere one does not give rise to fear or aversion.

The qualities are nine: “What are the qualities of undertaking a charnel ground? One obtains mindfulness at the time of death; obtains the perception of foulness; obtains the respect of nonhuman beings” 〔T32 405c21–22〕; does not give rise to heedlessness; subdues defiled desire; experiences much disenchantment; does not fear what is frightening; and closes with “contemplates the body as empty and quiet, and cuts off the perception of permanence” 〔T32 405c23〕 and the closing formula〔405c23〕. “Respect of nonhuman beings” occurs once in the entire treatise〔405c22〕.

Then comes the third “Question:” in this passage, and the most distinctive in the entire chapter: “Question: What are the qualities of undertaking a charnel ground? Where may one dwell? Where may one practise? What undertaking, what loss?” 〔T32 405c24–25〕.

The opening question, “What are the qualities of undertaking a charnel ground?”, occurs twice in the entire treatise (405c21·405c24)—the same question appears twice, before and after. Yet the answer in the later passage does not state the qualities again. It first speaks of a place where one may dwell: “If people are constantly there and often weeping, and fires are constantly burning” 〔T32 405c25–26〕; one should first examine it, and if there is another quiet place one may go there and dwell. It next gives eleven rules of conduct: “If a bhikkhu stays in a charnel ground, one should not build a hut or set up a bed and seat” 〔T32 405c27–28〕; should not sit with the wind, dwell against the wind, sleep soundly when lying down, eat fish-flavored food, drink milk or curds, eat 麻䉽, touch meat dishes, stay inside a building, or set down the bowl and other utensils. It then says that when one goes there, one stays “a thrown-object’s distance” away, and that “when the sign of dawn appears, one gathers the robes and other requisites and returns to the monastery; eliminating dwelling in other places is called a charnel ground. If one dwells in other places, this is called loss” 〔T32 406a02–04〕.

Among the thirteen items, this one alone has such a series of detailed rules of conduct. “Monastery” occurs once in the entire treatise〔406a03〕.

Pause Here: Why Ask about the Qualities and Then Not Answer?

This is a place worth pausing to ask.

The question “What are the qualities of undertaking a charnel ground?” is asked twice in this item: the first time at the beginning of the section on qualities〔405c21〕, where nine qualities are answered; and the second time at the beginning of the later question〔405c24〕, where the answer below begins with the place in which one may dwell and contains not one sentence on the qualities.

Why does the author ask the question a second time?

This passage cannot answer that. Only three things can be verified.

First, the order followed by the answer in the later passage is precisely the order of the question’s other three matters—where one may dwell (405c25–26), where one may practise (the eleven rules of conduct at 405c27–406a02), and what undertaking and loss are (406a02–04). Four questions are asked and three matters answered; the first question is left unanswered.

Second, this is the only item in the chapter with detailed rules of conduct. The later sections of the other twelve items determine only undertaking and loss; the later section of this item must also teach how to dwell.

Third, this item’s question uses the four characters “what undertaking, what loss”〔405c25〕—the most compressed question form in the chapter—while its answer is the longest. The shorter the question, the longer the answer.

All three are matters of the written surface alone. The author does not state why, and this edition does not decide, delete, or supply anything on the author’s behalf.

Whatever Place Is Found: The Opening Does Not Attach the Item’s Name, and the Closing Changes It Again

“What is undertaking? Dwelling in whatever place is found—one does not delight in places that people covet and does not trouble others so that they have to move away” 〔T32 406a04–05〕.

The opening reads “What is undertaking?”, without attaching the item’s name below it. Among the thirteen items, only this one does so; every other item says, “What is undertaking such-and-such?”—what is undertaking alms-food practice, what is undertaking sitting beneath a tree, what is undertaking constant sitting without lying down.

The qualities read, “What are the qualities of whatever place is found? One seeks a place of contentment, craves quiet, and cuts off many objects of delight” 〔T32 406a06–08〕; one is also respected by people, dwells in compassion, and is wholly gathered in, before the closing formula〔406a08〕.

At the determination of undertaking and loss, the item’s name changes: “What is undertaking? What is loss? Cutting off the lodging to which one is attached is called reliance on what is encountered. If one goes to a place in which one delights, this is called loss” 〔T32 406a09–10〕.

“Reliance on what is encountered” occurs once in the entire treatise〔406a10〕. The preceding passage lists the name as “sitting in whatever place is found” 〔404c02〕, the item-by-item account of what is cut off calls it “sitting wherever found” 〔404c10〕, this passage opens with “dwelling in whatever place is found” 〔406a04〕, its qualities say “whatever place is found” 〔406a06〕, and the statement of undertaking calls it “reliance on what is encountered.” One item, four written forms.

This item forms an exact pair with the preceding passage’s rag robe and patchwork robe: that item changes its name in the section on qualities; this item changes its name in the statement of undertaking. They are recorded as written and not made uniform.

Constant Sitting without Lying Down: The Shortest Item in the Entire Chapter

“What is undertaking constant sitting without lying down? At one’s dwelling place there is sleep and indolence” 〔T32 406a10–11〕; the undertaking reads, “From this day forward I cut off torpor and lying down and undertake constant sitting without lying down” 〔T32 406a12〕.

The qualities begin, “What are the qualities of constant sitting? One cuts off the conditions in which indolence arises; removes jealousy concerning the body; leaves the pleasure of defiled contact; and has little entanglement in sleep” 〔T32 406a12–14〕; they close with “being constantly and deeply quiet, one is capable of cultivating the excellence of jhāna” 〔T32 406a14〕 and the closing formula〔406a14〕.

The four Chinese characters 堪修禪勝 require attention. Among the qualities of the thirteen items, only this one speaks of cultivating jhāna. The preceding passage’s general list places constant sitting without lying down alone in the fourth group, “associated with vigor” 〔404c02〕; here its qualities also point alone to jhāna. The grouping corresponds to the qualities.

Undertaking and loss read, “What is undertaking? What is loss? It means cutting off sleep and lying down. If one lies down, this is called loss” 〔T32 406a15–16〕—the shortest determination of undertaking and loss in the entire chapter, completed in eight Chinese characters.

Three Kinds of Beholders Hidden among the Qualities

The enumeration of qualities differs from item to item. Yet when the six are set side by side, something the author does not point out becomes visible: in four of the six items, the qualities state who is doing the seeing.

The secluded place: “one sees the qualities of the ten kinds of speech as supreme and lovely, bringing joy to devas and humans” 〔T32 405b27〕—“bringing joy to devas and humans” occurs once in the entire treatise.

Beneath a tree: “One relies on what is pleasant and lovely without mingling with worldly people, delights in leaving tasks, and dwells together with devas” 〔T32 405c06–07〕—“dwelling together with devas” occurs once in the entire treatise.

The charnel ground: “One obtains mindfulness at the time of death; obtains the perception of foulness; obtains the respect of nonhuman beings” 〔T32 405c21–22〕—“respect of nonhuman beings” occurs once in the entire treatise.

Whatever place is found: “One seeks a place of contentment, craves quiet, cuts off many objects of delight, and is respected by people” 〔T32 406a07–08〕—“respected by people” occurs once in the entire treatise.

Four expressions, each occurring once, and together they form a line: bringing joy to devas and humans (devas and humans) → dwelling together with devas (devas) → respect of nonhuman beings (nonhumans) → respected by people (people).

This line corresponds to the nearness or remoteness of the dwelling place. The secluded place leaves the city, and devas and humans rejoice; beneath a tree is wilder, and one dwells with devas; the charnel ground is wildest, and the beholders are nonhuman; whatever place is found returns to the human sphere and settles wherever encountered, and so one is respected by people.

The farther one dwells from human beings, the less human the beholder appearing among the qualities becomes; when one returns to the human sphere, the beholder is human again.

The author does not make this connection, and this edition does not make it on the author’s behalf. Here the four expressions and their anchors are simply set side by side; each occurs once in the entire treatise.

The other two items have no such entry: the open and constant sitting without lying down. The qualities of the open mention only a wild deer, and the qualities of constant sitting mention only jhāna. One is a simile and one a result; neither is tied to a person.

One Further Note: The Open Also Has Three Names

The preceding discussion showed that whatever place is found has four written forms. The open is also uneven.

The preceding passage lists it as “third, sitting in the open” 〔T32 404c01〕, and its item-by-item account of what is cut off asks, “What is sitting in the open? Cutting off places with extensive shelter” 〔T32 404c09–10〕—“sitting in the open” occurs twice in the entire treatise, both times in the preceding passage.

This passage opens with “What is undertaking dwelling in the open?” 〔T32 405c12〕, and its undertaking reads, “From this day forward I cut off places that are not delightful and undertake dwelling in the open” 〔T32 405c14〕—“dwelling in the open” occurs three times in the entire treatise (405c12·405c14·406c09), the third occurring in the chapter’s final passage on the seasons for three ascetic practices.

But the qualities and undertaking-and-loss section uniformly use “open dwelling”—“What are the qualities of open dwelling?” 〔T32 405c14–15〕, and “this is undertaking open dwelling” together with “open dwelling is lost” 〔T32 405c17–18〕—“open dwelling” occurs five times in the entire treatise (405c13·c14·c18 twice·406b04).

One item: the list says sitting, the opening says dwelling, and the qualities and determination of undertaking and loss say open dwelling. Read together with the four names for whatever place is found, two of the five practices associated with sitting and lying down have names that are not uniform. They are recorded as written and not made uniform.

Reading Practice: When Reading the Dwelling-Place Ascetic Practices, First Read What They “Eliminate”

The reading practice offered by this passage lies in the six sentences on undertaking and loss.

Set the six determinations side by side:

For the secluded place, “Eliminating dwelling in the city is called a secluded place”〔405c03〕; beneath a tree, “leaving all sheltered places—this is undertaking being beneath a tree”〔405c11–12〕; the open, “cutting off sheltered places and places beneath trees is undertaking open dwelling”〔405c17–18〕; the charnel ground, “eliminating dwelling in other places is called a charnel ground”〔406a03–04〕; whatever place is found, “cutting off the lodging to which one is attached is called reliance on what is encountered”〔406a09–10〕; and constant sitting without lying down, “it means cutting off sleep and lying down”〔406a15〕.

The undertaking of all six items takes eliminating, leaving, or cutting off a place as its substance. Not one item says that undertaking consists in where one dwells; every one says that undertaking consists in where one does not dwell.

Loss is the return to that place: dwelling in the city, going to sheltered places, dwelling in sheltered places or places beneath trees, dwelling in other places, going to a place in which one delights, or lying down.

Thus undertaking an ascetic practice is not a location; it is a boundary one does not cross. The preceding passage already says this in the six statements of what the thirteen items cut off—cutting off dwelling in a village, cutting off dwelling in a house, cutting off places with extensive shelter, cutting off other superior places, cutting off attachment to pleasant places, and leaving sleep behind〔404c07–11〕. The present passage simply unfolds those six statements.

The reading practice is here: when reading the dwelling-place ascetic practices, do not ask where the practitioner dwells; first ask what the treatise says is “eliminated.” Once the place eliminated has been stated, undertaking is fixed; and in the statement of loss, the name of that same place will appear again.

Applied to this passage, the method makes all six items clear at a count: the undertaking and loss of each item are two sides of the same place-name.

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Take away three things. One observation: six items, but “Question:” occurs only three times, and the three questions take three forms. The secluded-place item asks three matters and adds “final” to the first (“final secluded place” occurs twice in the entire treatise, both times here); the tree item asks four matters and says, “How is it undertaken? How is it lost?”; and the charnel-ground item asks four matters and says, “What undertaking, what loss?” (once in the entire treatise〔405c25〕). The open, whatever place is found, and constant sitting without lying down have no “Question:”, proceeding directly to “What is undertaking? What is loss?” (405c17·406a09·406a15). The preceding passage’s ten paragraphs and five items have perfectly aligned boundaries; this passage suddenly becomes uneven. One reading practice: when reading the dwelling-place ascetic practices, first read what they “eliminate”. The undertaking of all six items takes eliminating, leaving, or cutting off a place as its substance, and its loss makes the name of that place appear again; undertaking is not a location but a boundary one does not cross. One place to pause: the charnel-ground item asks “What are the qualities of undertaking a charnel ground?” twice (405c21·405c24), but the second occurrence receives no answer. The later answer begins with the place where one may dwell and follows the order of the question’s other three matters, leaving the first unanswered; this is also the only one of the thirteen items with detailed rules of conduct, with the most compressed question and the longest answer. The author does not state why, and this edition neither deletes nor supplies anything.

Four smaller matters should also be remembered: “four cubits and five hundred bows” occurs once in the entire treatise〔405c02〕, and here the chapter’s criterion becomes a measurable distance; “ten kinds of speech” occurs once in the entire treatise〔405b27〕, but the treatise does not list them; whatever place is found has four written forms—sitting in whatever place is found〔404c02〕, sitting wherever found〔404c10〕, dwelling in whatever place is found〔406a04〕, and reliance on what is encountered〔406a10〕 (once in the entire treatise), while its opening does not attach the item’s name; and the passage has only one simile—“like a wild deer going wherever it wishes, with nothing it pursues or longs for”〔405c15–16〕, whose point lies in having nothing it pursues or longs for.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Five Practices Associated with Sitting and Lying Down, and Constant Sitting without Lying Down · Exposition · Summer 2026

The preceding three passages have treated the thirteen ascetic practices item by item: what is undertaken, what the qualities are, what counts as undertaking, and what counts as loss.

The present passage consists of only one paragraph, 488 Chinese characters long, and does two things.

The first is to open a gap—to state the circumstances in which each of the thirteen items is not considered lost. The author calls this an “allowance.”

The second is to gather—thirteen are gathered into eight, and eight again into three.

Yet the two are really one thing: first widen the boundary enough for a person to live, then gather the number into something that can be remembered.

Fifteen Occurrences of “Allowance,” All in This Passage

The two Chinese characters 方便, rendered “allowance,” occur 136 times in the whole Path of Freedom, but only fifteen times within the Chapter on the Ascetic Practices, all in the present passage (406a17 to 406b06).

Not one “allowance” appears in the preceding three passages. Those passages state only undertaking and loss, the two sides of a single line, with a clearly drawn boundary. The present passage suddenly widens that boundary.

The manner in which it widens the boundary differs from item to item:

Rag robe—“How may one depart from the rag robe? For robes donated by householders—芻麻, 古貝, 憍奢耶, 欽婆羅, and the like—if one accepts them by way of an allowance, one does not lose the patchwork robe” 〔T32 406a16–17〕. 憍奢耶 and 欽婆羅 each occur once in the entire treatise〔406a17〕.

Three robes—“What of the three robes? If one has kept a surplus robe for more than ten days” 〔T32 406a17–18〕. What follows lists the month-expected robe, merit robe, surplus robe, bedding and spreads, wound-covering robe, hand towel, and rain-bathing robe, and gathers them under “if these are neither undertaken nor subject to pure giving, then, when one acts by way of an allowance, one does not lose the three robes” 〔T32 406a20–21〕.

Alms-food practice—“What is the allowance for alms-food practice? If there is a meal distributed in monastic order or a regular-residence meal” 〔T32 406a21〕, together with a meal distributed by lots, a fifteenth-day meal, an observance meal, a communal meal, and a monastery meal: “one may accept it by way of an allowance without losing alms-food practice. If one sees this as a fault, one should also relinquish it” 〔T32 406a22–23〕.

The allowance for this item carries a sentence that draws it back in: a gap has been opened, but the close says, “If one sees this as a fault, one should also relinquish it.” Among the allowances for the thirteen items, this alone carries its own closure.

Sequential alms-food practice—“What is the allowance for sequential alms-food practice? If one sees elephants, horses, and the like fighting in front of a doorway, making it a shameful and contemptible place” 〔T32 406a23–24〕; and “on seeing 旃陀羅 or 覆鉢學家, or when ‘following the heshang, ācariya, or guest bhikkhu’ (heshang 和上; ācariya 闍梨), one may pass over such cases by way of an allowance without losing the sequence” 〔T32 406a25–27〕. 覆鉢學家 occurs once in the entire treatise〔406a25〕.

Eating at one sitting—“What is the allowance for eating at one sitting? If, while one is eating, there is ‘seeing elephants, horses, cattle, snakes, rain, the heshang, the ācariya, or a guest bhikkhu’” 〔T32 406a27–28〕, then “one may rise by way of an allowance and eat again after rising without losing eating at one sitting” 〔T32 406a28–29〕.

Secluded place—“What is the allowance for a secluded place? For receiving ordination, confessing an offense, asking about the Dhamma, participating in the observance-and-invitation ceremony, being ill oneself, caring for the sick, or asking about a doubtful passage in a scripture” 〔T32 406b01–02〕, then “for such conditions, one may dwell in a settlement by way of an allowance without losing the secluded place” 〔T32 406b02–03〕. Of the seven matters, five concern the Dhamma and two concern illness.

Beneath a tree—“What is the allowance for being beneath a tree? If rain comes, one may enter a covered place; once the sign of dawn has appeared, one returns and does not lose being beneath a tree” 〔T32 406b03–04〕. The next sentence gathers three items at once: “The allowances for dwelling in the open, the charnel ground, and whatever place is found are likewise the same” 〔T32 406b04–05〕.

Two Opening Forms, and Three Items with “No Allowance”

The form of the allowance section is uneven from its opening.

The first two items do not use the word “allowance”—“How may one depart from the rag robe?”〔406a16〕 and “What of the three robes?”〔406a17–18〕. The following five all take the form “What is the allowance for such-and-such?”—“What is the allowance for alms-food practice?”〔406a21〕, “What is the allowance for sequential alms-food practice?”〔406a23〕, “What is the allowance for eating at one sitting?”〔406a27〕, “What is the allowance for a secluded place?”〔406b01〕, and “What is the allowance for being beneath a tree?”〔406b03〕. Seven items, but two opening forms. They are recorded without being made uniform.

Among the thirteen items, three are expressly said to have no allowance: “Measured eating and eating after the proper time have no allowance” 〔T32 406a29〕, and “Other dwelling places may be used. Constant sitting without lying down has no allowance” 〔T32 406b05–06〕.

These three are precisely the three items with the hardest criteria in the chapter—measured eating is determined by one’s own fixed regular standard, not eating after the proper time by twenty-one portions, and constant sitting without lying down by a single instance of lying down. There is no room for negotiation, and therefore no allowance.

Pause Here: The Treatise’s Only “A Further Account Says” Concerns Nasal Irrigation

Yet immediately after “constant sitting without lying down has no allowance,” another sentence appears:

“A further account says: when performing nasal irrigation, one may make an allowance and does not lose constant sitting” 〔T32 406b06–07〕.

The four Chinese characters 復有一說 occur once in the entire treatise〔406b06〕; the two Chinese characters 灌鼻 also occur once in the entire treatise〔406b06〕.

The treatise is not sparing in its formulas for recording alternate accounts—復有說 occurs five times in the whole treatise (410a23·438c08·449a14·451c12·460c24), and 復說 occurs thirty-six times—but the form 復有一說 appears only here in the entire work.

This is worth pausing over.

The author has just said, “Constant sitting without lying down has no allowance,” yet within a single sentence records an opposing account: nasal irrigation permits one. He neither adopts nor rejects it, but simply sets it down.

Why record an alternate account for this one item?

The present passage cannot answer. Only three things can be verified.

First, among the thirteen items this is the only one in which an alternate account follows “no allowance.” No such statement follows the other two items with no allowance, measured eating and eating after the proper time.

Second, the gap opened by the alternate account is exceedingly narrow—not for the Dhamma, not for illness, not for rain, but only for the single matter of nasal irrigation. The allowances for the seven items readily list seven or eight matters; here there is only one.

Third, constant sitting without lying down forms a group by itself among the four groups (“One practice is associated with vigor; there is one kind: constant sitting without lying down” 〔T32 404c02–03〕), and its qualities alone point directly to cultivating jhāna (“constantly and deeply quiet, capable of cultivating the excellence of jhāna” 〔T32 406a14〕). The strictest item is nevertheless the only one for which an alternate account is recorded.

All three are matters of wording alone. The author does not state the reason; this edition does not decide, adopt, or reject on his behalf.

Thirteen Become Eight: Five Items Are Subsumed

When the allowances have been stated, the passage turns to subsumption: “Through these thirteen ascetic practices, there further come to be eight practices” 〔T32 406b07〕.

Next comes the only citation of a treatise in the chapter: “As the Abhidhamma says, there are eight ascetic practices. This is subsumed under not eating after the proper time” 〔T32 406b07–08〕, followed by “Measured eating and eating at one sitting—the undertaking and maintenance of these form a single kind. This is subsumed under the secluded place” 〔T32 406b08–09〕.

The author then poses his own question: “Why are being beneath a tree, sitting in the open, and the charnel ground within the secluded place? If one constructs dwellings and delights in work” 〔T32 406b09–10〕; “accumulates many things and is attached to dwelling places, this is not what the mind delights in” 〔T32 406b10–11〕; and “forming this intention, one dwells purely beneath a tree, in a charnel ground, or in the open. Therefore, they become eight” 〔T32 406b11–12〕.

Thirteen minus eight is five. The items shown in the text as subsumed are likewise exactly five: measured eating, eating at one sitting, being beneath a tree, sitting in the open, and the charnel ground.

The author does not write out this subtraction. This edition records only the count: five items are subsumed, and thirteen minus five leaves eight, agreeing with “there further come to be eight practices.”

The Punctuation Is Uncertain Precisely Where the Head of Subsumption Is at Stake

If the three sentences above are read according to the punctuation of the Taishō edition, they yield a result that is not easy to understand—“This is subsumed under not eating after the proper time” concludes the preceding statement and belongs to “the eight ascetic practices,” while “This is subsumed under the secluded place” follows “measured eating and eating at one sitting.”

But measured eating and eating at one sitting concern food, whereas the secluded place concerns dwelling.

If they are punctuated differently—not eating after the proper time subsumes measured eating and eating at one sitting, while the secluded place subsumes being beneath a tree, sitting in the open, and the charnel ground—then the five items fall under two heads, each according to its kind.

This edition does not decide the punctuation. It sets side by side only three verifiable things:

First, five items are subsumed—measured eating, eating at one sitting, being beneath a tree, sitting in the open, and the charnel ground—and thirteen minus five leaves eight, agreeing with “there further come to be eight practices”〔406b07〕.

Second, the author’s question immediately afterward is “Why are being beneath a tree, sitting in the open, and the charnel ground within the secluded place?”〔406b09–10〕—the question already presupposes that being beneath a tree, sitting in the open, and the charnel ground belong to the secluded place, and the answer below it—constructing dwellings, delighting in work, accumulating many things, and being attached to dwelling places—concerns precisely dwelling places.

Third, after measured eating and eating at one sitting the text says, “the undertaking and maintenance of these form a single kind”〔406b08–09〕—the phrase “form a single kind” says that they resemble one another; it does not name the head under which they fall.

All three are present in the wording. Judgment on the punctuation belongs to Shi Huijing; this edition preserves the literal wording.

Eight Become Three: If Three Are Pure, All Thirteen Are Fulfilled

“From the eight ascetic practices there further come to be three practices: first, the secluded place; second, the rag robe; and third, going for alms-food” 〔T32 406b12–13〕.

These three are precisely the first items in each of the three groups that appeared at the beginning of the chapter: the rag robe is the first of the two robe practices〔404b28〕, alms-food practice the first of the second group〔404b28〕, and the secluded place the first of the third group〔404b29〕. At the end of the gathering, the author leaves the first item of each group.

The closing sentence deserves attention: “If these three are pure, the ascetic practices are fulfilled” 〔T32 406b13–14〕.

It does not say that three ascetic practices are fulfilled; it says that “the ascetic practices are fulfilled”〔406b14〕. When the three are pure, all thirteen are fulfilled.

Subsumption is therefore not deletion. None of the ten subsumed items is abolished—they still remain in the preceding three passages, each with its undertaking and loss. Subsumption says this: the structure of the thirteen lies in three places; when those three stand, the rest naturally stand.

The Buddha Speaks to Nantuo

The entire passage closes with words attributed to the Buddha: “Therefore the Buddha said to Nantuo: When shall I see you accomplished in a secluded place, undertaking the rag robe, not eating after the proper time, directed to sustaining bodily life, not seeing what is desired?” 〔T32 406b14–16〕.

The three named here—the secluded place, the rag robe, and not eating after the proper time—are not entirely the same as the three gathered above: the third item above is “going for alms-food,” whereas the third here is “not eating after the proper time.”

The author gives no explanation, and this edition does not make them uniform on his behalf. It records only the difference: the third of the three practices is going for alms-food〔406b13〕, while the third in the Buddha’s words is not eating after the proper time〔406b15〕.

“Nantuo” occurs three times in the entire treatise—chapter two uses him in the comparison “as when one sees Nantuo because of his deportment”〔T32 403b12–13〕; the present passage says “Therefore the Buddha said to Nantuo”〔T32 406b14〕; and chapter five says “Therefore the Blessed One instructed Nantuo”〔T32 408b12〕. In two of the three occurrences, Nantuo is the person instructed by the Buddha. The same disciple appears twice in this treatise as one who receives instruction.

Reading Practice: On Seeing “Subsumption,” Turn Back and Count the Items

The reading practice offered by this passage rests on one word: subsumption.

When this treatise speaks of “subsumption,” it does not mean merging or abolishing; it means gathering many items under one while leaving those items intact. Thus, whenever readers encounter “is subsumed under such-and-such,” they can do one very simple thing: turn back and count.

Applied to the present passage: on seeing “This is subsumed under not eating after the proper time”〔406b08〕 and “This is subsumed under the secluded place”〔406b09〕, count the subsumed items—five; then count those remaining—eight; this agrees with “there further come to be eight practices”〔406b07〕. On seeing “there further come to be three practices”〔406b12–13〕, count again—eight are gathered into three, and the three are the first items of the three groups.

Counting the items is the least laborious way to check what the treatise itself says. The author says “there further come to be eight practices” without writing out the subtraction; a reader can count and know which five he has subtracted. The author says “there further come to be three practices” without saying why these three; a reader can compare the preceding passage and see that they are the respective first items of the three groups.

This method will continue to be used in later chapters of the treatise: whenever words of gathering and enumeration such as “subsumption,” “become,” or “further become” appear, do not first ask their meaning; first count their items. If the count agrees, half the meaning is already clear. If the count does not agree, there is usually an uncertainty of punctuation or transmission at that place—as there is here.

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Take away three things. One observation: the present passage gathers thirteen into eight and eight into three, and its manner of gathering is subsumption, not abolition: five items are subsumed—measured eating, eating at one sitting, being beneath a tree, sitting in the open, and the charnel ground—and thirteen minus five leaves eight〔406b07–12〕; eight are gathered into three, and those three are precisely the first items of the three groups—the rag robe, alms-food practice, and the secluded place〔406b12–13〕; the closing sentence says, “If these three are pure, the ascetic practices are fulfilled”〔406b13–14〕—it does not say that three ascetic practices are fulfilled, but that the ascetic practices are fulfilled. One reading practice: on seeing “subsumption,” turn back and count the items: subsumption in this treatise gathers without abolishing, so whenever words of gathering and enumeration appear, count the items first; when the count agrees, half the meaning is clear, and when it does not, an uncertainty of punctuation or transmission is often present. One place to pause: the only “A further account says” in the entire treatise concerns nasal irrigation〔406b06–07〕: the author has just said “constant sitting without lying down has no allowance”〔406b05–06〕, yet within one sentence records an opposing account without adopting or rejecting it. Both 復有一說 and 灌鼻 occur once in the entire treatise, while other formulas for alternate accounts appear as 復有說 five times and 復說 thirty-six times. The strictest item is nevertheless the only one for which an alternate account is recorded. The author does not state why, and this edition does not decide on his behalf.

Three smaller matters should also be remembered: “allowance” occurs fifteen times in the Chapter on the Ascetic Practices, all in this passage (406a17 to 406b06), and not once in the preceding three passages; the opening form for allowance takes two shapes—the first two items do not use the word “allowance”〔406a16·406a17〕, while the following five take the form “What is the allowance for such-and-such?”; and the three items in the Buddha’s words are not entirely the same as the three above—the preceding statement has “first, the secluded place; second, the rag robe; and third, going for alms-food”〔406b13〕, while the Buddha’s words have “accomplished in a secluded place, undertaking the rag robe, not eating after the proper time”〔406b14–15〕. They are recorded without being made uniform.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Allowances and Subsumption of the Thirteen Ascetic Practices · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage opens with one long string of questions:

“Question: What is called the share in the ascetic practices? How many qualities do the ascetic practices have? How do the three types of practitioner cultivate the ascetic practices? How many ascetic practices are seasonal? Is there something that is an ascetic practice and is spoken of as an ascetic practice?” 〔T32 406b16–18〕.

Five questions.

But as the answer proceeds item by item—what the share in the ascetic practices is〔406b18–21〕, how many qualities the ascetic practices have〔406b21–28〕, who among the three types can cultivate them〔406b28–406c08〕, and how many ascetic practices are seasonal〔406c08–09〕—it completes four items, and the passage ends.

The fifth question, “Is there something that is an ascetic practice and is spoken of as an ascetic practice?” is not answered by a single word in this passage.

It is answered only in the next passage. The next passage opens: “Question: How is what is an ascetic practice spoken of as an ascetic practice?” 〔T32 406c09–10〕—the same question is asked again, and only then answered.

Thus an unseen line runs between this passage and the next: the fifth question of this passage is the subject of the next passage.

When reading a long list of questions in this treatise, count how many things are asked and how many are answered—this is the first matter to notice here.

The Share in the Ascetic Practices: First Its Source, Then the Three Ethical Categories

The answer to the first question is brief: “Answer: There are thirteen ascetic practices. They were spoken by the Buddha and are precepts established by the Buddha. This is called the share in the ascetic practices” 〔T32 406b18–19〕.

The term “share in the ascetic practices” occurs twice in the entire treatise (406b16·406b19), once in the question and once in the answer; it does not occur anywhere else.

After answering, the author adds something that was not asked above: “It should not be spoken of as wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate” 〔T32 406b19〕.

This is a classification in terms of three ethical categories—all dharmas are wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate. The author says that the share in the ascetic practices should not be assigned in this way.

Why? “Why? Because an unwholesome person remains together with evil desire, does not remove evil desire, and together with it gives rise to what is contrary to the Dhamma, greedily delighting in gains and support; therefore it is unwholesome” 〔T32 406b19–21〕.

This one sentence explains only one of the three categories. The question is why the share should not be assigned to the three categories; the answer is why it can sometimes be unwholesome—one side is answered, while the other two, wholesome and indeterminate, are not.

This edition does not supply what is absent. It points out only this: the author first establishes a negation—that the three categories should not be stated—and then presents a case in which the matter can be unwholesome; the case presented is precisely one of the three categories he has said should not be stated.

The term “evil desire” occurs four times in the entire treatise (403a19·403a21·twice at 406b20); two of these are in the chapter-two analysis of virtue〔403a19·403a21〕, and the other two are in the present sentence.

Two Qualities: Non-Greed and Non-Delusion—but No Non-Anger

The answer to the second question is the most regular section of the passage: “As to how many qualities the ascetic practices have: there are two qualities of the ascetic practices, non-greed and non-delusion” 〔T32 406b21–22〕.

When the answer restates the question, it omits one character—the question has 頭陀有幾種法, “How many qualities do the ascetic practices have?”〔406b16〕, while the answer has 頭陀幾種法者, “As to how many qualities the ascetic practices have”〔406b21〕. This is recorded without making the two forms uniform.

The evidence is a sentence quoting the Buddha: “As the Buddha said: if a rag-robe bhikkhu depends on few desires and contentment, delights in quiet, is free of doubt, and depends on freedom, this is called undertaking the rag robe” 〔T32 406b22–23〕.

This is the only occurrence of “As the Buddha said” in the Chapter on the Ascetic Practices. Within the quoted sentence, the three terms “few desires,” “contentment,” and “free of doubt” occur together—the same three appear at the opening of the chapter in the general statement “for few desires, for contentment, for being free of doubt” 〔T32 404b23–24〕 and in the final passage of the chapter as “few desires are the characteristic, contentment is the function, free of doubt is the arising” 〔T32 406c17〕. At all three places, the same three terms appear in the same order.

The author does not connect them. This edition only places the three locations side by side.

After the quotation comes an extension: “The remaining ascetic practices are likewise non-greed and non-delusion” 〔T32 406b24〕; then a pairing: “By this non-greed, craving can be removed in these thirteen instances; by this non-delusion, ignorance can be removed in the thirteen instances” 〔T32 406b24–26〕; then a deeper statement: “Further, this non-greed, which the Buddha permits, can give rise to disenchantment and a semblance of being free of doubt, and removes the deceit of sensual defilement” 〔T32 406b26–27〕, and “Through this non-delusion, similarly, the deceit of bodily weakness is removed. These two qualities of the ascetic practices are non-greed and non-delusion” 〔T32 406b27–28〕.

The four Chinese characters 不貪不癡, “non-greed and non-delusion,” occur twice in the entire treatise (406b24·406b28), both in this passage—once at the beginning of the extension and once at the close, binding the section at both ends.

Yet this section has an absence worth noting: among the three poisons, the author speaks only of non-greed and non-delusion, not non-anger. The next section will say that a practitioner of angry temperament cannot cultivate the ascetic practices—the absence of non-anger from the two qualities and the exclusion of an angry person from the three types are two sides of the same matter. The author does not connect the two places, and this edition does not connect them on his behalf; it only sets their anchors side by side: the two qualities at〔406b21–22〕 and the exclusion of the angry practitioner at〔406b28–406c01〕.

The Three Types of Practitioner: Two Who Can Cultivate, One Who Cannot

“How do the three types of practitioner cultivate the ascetic practices? Practitioners of greedy and deluded temperaments cultivate the ascetic practices; a practitioner of angry temperament cannot cultivate them” 〔T32 406b28–406c01〕.

The phrase “three types of practitioner” occurs twice in the entire treatise (406b16·406b28), both in this passage—once in the question and once in the answer. The author does not list the three names here—greedy temperament, angry temperament, and deluded temperament—but proceeds directly with “practitioners of greedy and deluded temperaments” and “a practitioner of angry temperament.” The analysis of the three types does not receive an entire chapter until chapter six, the Chapter on the Analysis of Practice〔chapter-heading line T32 409b24〕. This edition does not establish the connection on the text’s behalf.

The reason they can cultivate is given as follows: “Why can practitioners of greedy and deluded temperaments cultivate the ascetic practices? When a greedy person reaches what is deeply loved, heedfulness arises” 〔T32 406c01–02〕; “For a deluded person free of doubt, in dependence on undertaking the ascetic practices heedfulness arises; if there is heedfulness, delusion can be subdued” 〔T32 406c03–04〕.

The two reasons have the same structure: when a greedy person reaches what is deeply loved, heedfulness arises, and heedfulness can subdue greed; a deluded person, in dependence on undertaking the ascetic practices, likewise gives rise to heedfulness, and heedfulness can subdue delusion. The middle link in both is “heedfulness.”

What this section says, then, is that the ascetic practices do not directly counteract greed and delusion; they first bring about heedfulness, and heedfulness then subdues them. The author does not state this level explicitly, and this edition does not state it on his behalf—it points only to the four occurrences of “heedfulness” in this section (twice at 406c02·406c03·406c04).

Pause Here: The Same Thing Is Asked Twice, but the Second Answer Changes the Person

There is a place here where one should pause.

The author first asks: “Why can practitioners of greedy and deluded temperaments cultivate the ascetic practices?” 〔T32 406c01–02〕—and answers with two examples, greed and delusion.

He then asks: “Why do greedy and deluded persons cultivate the ascetic practices?” 〔T32 406c04〕—the same thing, asked a second time.

But this time the answer does not speak of greedy or deluded persons: “When an angry person undergoes suffering, that person’s evil becomes still worse. Just as when a person with a phlegm illness drinks hot broth, the illness grows worse, so an angry person should not cultivate them” 〔T32 406c04–06〕.

The question asks why greedy and deluded persons can cultivate them; the answer says why an angry person cannot.

This passage cannot answer why. Only three things can be verified.

First, the designations in the two questions differ—the first has “practitioners of greedy and deluded temperaments”〔406c01〕, while the second has “greedy and deluded persons”〔406c04〕; 貪癡行人 occurs twice in the entire treatise (406b29·406c01), while 貪癡人 occurs once in the entire treatise〔406c04〕.

Second, even the character for anger appears in two written forms within this passage—the earlier designation is 嗔恚行人, “a practitioner of angry temperament,” and the later one is 瞋人, “an angry person”; 嗔恚行人 occurs three times in the entire treatise (406b29–c01·410a10·410b14), while 瞋人 occurs five times in the entire treatise (406c04·twice at 406c06·409c19·409c21). The two characters 嗔 and 瞋 are both used in the same passage.

Third, after this section comes a still stranger sentence: “It is further said that an angry person should dwell in a secluded place and beneath a tree” 〔T32 406c06–07〕—immediately after saying that an angry person should not cultivate the ascetic practices, it says that an angry person should dwell in a secluded place and beneath a tree, even though those two are two of the thirteen ascetic practices. Only one reason is given: “Why dwell in a secluded place? Because there is no worldly suffering there” 〔T32 406c07–08〕.

All three matters are only what appears in the wording. The author does not state the reason, and this edition does not adjudicate, regularize, or harmonize on his behalf.

Season: Three Ascetic Practices Are Observed for Only Eight Months

The final question is answered very briefly: “How many ascetic practices are seasonal? Three ascetic practices have an eight-month period” 〔T32 406c08〕; “Their names are dwelling beneath a tree, dwelling in the open, and dwelling in a charnel ground. During the rains retreat, the Buddha permits a covered place” 〔T32 406c08–09〕.

The terms “rains retreat” and “the Buddha permits” each occur once in the entire treatise〔406c09〕.

These three items are precisely three of the five practices associated with sitting and lying down in the third passage, and precisely the three subsumed under the secluded place in the fourth passage〔T32 406b09–10〕. The same three items are named three times within this chapter: once when undertaking and loss are treated item by item, once when they are subsumed, and once when their season is stated.

The season is eight months of the year—during the four months of the rains retreat, the Buddha permits a covered place. Among the thirteen items, the undertaking of only these three may lawfully be interrupted for a period of time.

A Way of Reading: For a Long List of Questions, First Count What Is Asked and What Is Answered

The reading practice this passage gives lies in the five questions at its beginning.

The question-and-answer form of this treatise often poses several things in one long question. A reader can easily keep going and regard the passage as finished upon reaching its end. In fact, the first step should be to count.

Count the things in the question and the things in the answer—when the two numbers match, the passage is complete; when they do not, the missing item is usually elsewhere.

Applied here: five things are asked, four are answered; the missing fifth is at the opening of the next passage〔406c09–10〕.

This method has another by-product: when the answer restates a question, its wording is often not entirely the same as the question’s. The second question in this passage is an example—the question has 頭陀有幾種法, “How many qualities do the ascetic practices have?” while the answer has 頭陀幾種法者, “As to how many qualities the ascetic practices have.” Counting makes the difference visible along the way.

Once the numbers have been matched, one can ask another question: Does the answer actually answer what was asked? The third question in this passage is answered twice; the second time, the answer concerns someone else. This too becomes visible through counting.

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Take away three things. One observation—the opening poses five matters in a single question, but the answer in this passage proceeds through only four〔406b16–18〕: the share in the ascetic practices, the two qualities, the three types of practitioner, and the season are answered one by one, while the fifth question, “Is there something that is an ascetic practice and is spoken of as an ascetic practice?” is not answered by a single word here; its answer is at the opening of the next passage, “Question: How is what is an ascetic practice spoken of as an ascetic practice?”〔406c09–10〕—the fifth question of this passage is the subject of the next. One reading practice—for a long list of questions, first count what is asked and what is answered: when the numbers match, the passage is complete; when they do not, the missing item is elsewhere. Along the way, one can see that the wording of the answer’s restatement does not match the question exactly—the question has 頭陀有幾種法, “How many qualities do the ascetic practices have?”〔406b16〕 while the answer has 頭陀幾種法者, “As to how many qualities the ascetic practices have”〔406b21〕—and can then ask whether the answer actually answers what was asked. One place to pause—the same thing is asked twice, but the second answer changes the person: the first question, “Why can practitioners of greedy and deluded temperaments cultivate the ascetic practices?”〔406c01–02〕 is answered with two examples, greed and delusion; the later question, “Why do greedy and deluded persons cultivate the ascetic practices?”〔406c04〕 is answered by explaining why an angry person should not cultivate them〔406c04–06〕. Three facts can be verified: the two questions use different designations, 貪癡行人 and 貪癡人; anger is written in two forms in this passage, 嗔恚行人〔406b29〕 and 瞋人〔406c04·c06〕; and afterward comes the further statement that “an angry person should dwell in a secluded place and beneath a tree”〔406c06–07〕, even though those are two of the thirteen ascetic practices. The author does not state why, and this edition does not adjudicate on his behalf.

Three smaller matters should also be retained: the only occurrence of “As the Buddha said” in the Chapter on the Ascetic Practices is in this passage〔406b22–23〕, and the three terms “few desires,” “contentment,” and “free of doubt” in its quoted sentence have the same names in the same order as the general statement at the chapter opening〔404b23–24〕 and the account of characteristic, function, and arising at the chapter’s end〔406c17〕; the two qualities state non-greed and non-delusion but do not state non-anger〔406b21–22〕, standing as the other side of the exclusion of the angry practitioner from the three types〔406b28–406c01〕, and the two places are recorded without being connected on the author’s behalf; and “rains retreat” and “the Buddha permits” each occur once in the entire treatise〔406c09〕—the undertaking of three ascetic practices may lawfully be interrupted for four months of the year.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Five Questions on the Share in the Ascetic Practices · Exposition · Summer 2026

The Chapter on the Ascetic Practices contains more than three thousand Chinese characters, while its final passage contains only 170—the shortest passage in the whole chapter.

It does two things: one takes up the question left unanswered in the preceding passage, and the other returns the whole chapter to where it began.

First Taking Up the Preceding Passage: The Fifth Question That Was Not Answered

The preceding passage opens by asking five things, but the answer proceeds through only four〔406b16–18〕. The fifth is “Is there something that is an ascetic practice and is spoken of as an ascetic practice?”

The present passage opens: “Question: How is what is an ascetic practice spoken of as an ascetic practice?” 〔T32 406c09–10〕.

The same question is asked again, and only then answered. The line between the two passages is joined here.

The answer is a set of four cases: “Answer: There is also what is an ascetic practice and is spoken of as an ascetic practice; there is what is an ascetic practice and is not spoken of as an ascetic practice; there is what is not an ascetic practice and is spoken of as having an ascetic practice; and there is what is not an ascetic practice and is not spoken of as an ascetic practice” 〔T32 406c10–12〕.

What the four cases divide are two matters—“whether it is an ascetic practice” and “whether it is spoken of as an ascetic practice”—in their four possible combinations.

The referents of the four cases are assigned using only two kinds of people: arahants, and trainees and ordinary people.

“What is there that is an ascetic practice and is spoken of as an ascetic practice? It is an arahant who accomplishes the undertaking of ascetic practices” 〔T32 406c12–13〕; “What is there that is an ascetic practice and is not spoken of as an ascetic practice? It is an arahant who does not accomplish the undertaking of ascetic practices” 〔T32 406c13–14〕; “What is there that is not an ascetic practice and is spoken of as an ascetic practice? It is trainees and ordinary people who accomplish the undertaking of ascetic practices” 〔T32 406c14–15〕; “What is not an ascetic practice and is not spoken of as an ascetic practice? It is trainees, ordinary people who do not accomplish the undertaking of ascetic practices” 〔T32 406c15–16〕.

Thus “is an ascetic practice” and “is not an ascetic practice” judge not whether someone carries out the ascetic practices, but whether that person is an arahant. Whether the person carries them out is stated separately by whether the undertaking of ascetic practices is accomplished.

The author does not explain why the assignments are made in this way. This edition does not explain on his behalf—it only points out that the four cases use two separate criteria: one judges the person and one judges the practice.

“An arahant accomplishes” occurs once in the entire treatise〔406c12〕. “Undertaking of ascetic practices” occurs six times in the entire treatise (406c03·c13·c14·c15·c16·406c21), four of them in the present passage; the sixth occurs at the beginning of chapter four in “having carried out the undertaking of ascetic practices” 〔406c21〕.

The Wording of the Four Cases Is Uneven at Every Turn

Within the eighty Chinese characters of these four cases, the wording is uneven in three places. They should be recorded together.

First, the third case in the list has one additional 有. The list reads “there is what is not an ascetic practice and is spoken of as having an ascetic practice” 〔T32 406c11〕—after “spoken of” there is an additional 有, rendered “having”—while none of the other three cases has this additional character.

Second, in the item-by-item labels that character is gone, while the fourth case instead lacks its opening 有. The fourth case in the list reads “there is what is not an ascetic practice and is not spoken of as an ascetic practice” 〔406c11–12〕, while its label reads “what is not an ascetic practice and is not spoken of as an ascetic practice” 〔406c15–16〕—the opening 有, rendered “there is,” has dropped out.

Thus the form of the four cases in the list is 有 / 有 / 有…有 / 有; in the labels it is 有 / 有 / 有 / (absent). Of the four cases, two do not align between the list and the labels.

Third, the designations in the answers are uneven. The third case reads “trainees and ordinary people” 〔406c14–15〕, while the fourth reads “trainees, ordinary people” 〔406c16〕—one occurrence of “and” is absent. “Trainees and ordinary people” occurs three times in the entire treatise (406c14–15·407b22·444c01–02), while “trainees, ordinary people” occurs twice (406c16·407b23); and in this treatise the two forms always occur next to each other—once in this passage and once in chapter four〔407b22·407b23〕.

All three are recorded as they stand and are not made uniform.

Characteristic, Function, and Arising: One Question Answered Twice

The second paragraph turns to ask about its defining aspects: “Question: What is the characteristic of the ascetic practices? What is their function? What is their arising?” 〔T32 406c16–17〕.

“What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its arising?” is a fixed formula in this treatise and occurs nineteen times in all (400c01·406c16·406c22·415c02·415c23·416a13·418b21·418b27·419b07·419b16·419b22·420b13·422b20·435a11·437a24·437b21·437c11·438b25·444c05). Its first occurrence, in chapter one〔400c01〕, asks about virtue; the present passage is the second; and the third is at the very beginning of chapter four〔406c22〕, asking about concentration. When the author establishes a dhamma, he often asks about its defining aspects with these three terms.

The answer is: “Answer: Few desires are the characteristic, contentment is the function, and free of doubt is the arising” 〔T32 406c17〕.

Then comes: “Further: non-attachment is the characteristic, freedom from fault is the function, and non-regression is the arising” 〔T32 406c18〕.

The same question is answered twice. The author does not state how the second answer differs from the first or which is primary. “Non-attachment” occurs nine times in the entire treatise (406c18·419b08·437c14·438b14·b15·b16·b21·439a07·444a22), and this is its first occurrence.

They are recorded as they stand, without choosing one on the author’s behalf.

The last sentence is the shortest section of the passage: “What are the beginning, middle, and end? Undertaking is the beginning, practice is the middle, and joy is the end” 〔T32 406c18–19〕—“What are the beginning, middle, and end?” occurs once in the entire treatise〔406c18〕.

Undertaking, practice, and joy. The thirteen ascetic practices begin with undertaking them as a commitment, proceed through practice, and end in joy. When this sentence is finished, the Chapter on the Ascetic Practices ends; the next line is “Chapter Four: Analysis of Concentration” 〔T32 406c20〕.

Pause Here: The Three Terms at the Chapter’s End Are the Three Terms at Its Beginning

This is worth pausing over.

The first answer concerning characteristic, function, and arising in this passage is: few desires are the characteristic, contentment is the function, and free of doubt is the arising〔406c17〕.

At the opening of the Chapter on the Ascetic Practices, when the author answers “Why undertake the qualities of the ascetic practices?”, the first three of his eight statements beginning with “for” are: for few desires, for contentment, for being free of doubt〔T32 404b23–24〕.

The same three terms, in the same order.

There are not only two places. In the chapter’s fifth passage, the words of the Buddha are quoted: “if a rag-robe bhikkhu depends on few desires and contentment, delights in quiet, is free of doubt, and depends on freedom” 〔T32 406b22–23〕—the three terms are once again joined together, and the order remains the same.

Thus, in this chapter the three terms occur together at three joints: the general account at the beginning, the quoted words of the Buddha in the middle, and the account of characteristic, function, and arising at the end.

The two Chinese characters 無疑, “free of doubt,” deserve particular notice: the expression occurs nineteen times in the entire treatise and not once outside this chapter〔404b24 至 406c17〕. Its first occurrence is “for being free of doubt” in the opening general account, and its last is “free of doubt is the arising” in the present passage.

Why did the author arrange it in this way?

This passage cannot answer. Only three things can be verified: first, the three terms occur at three places with their wording and order unchanged; second, the first and last occurrences of “free of doubt” are precisely in the first and final passages of this chapter; third, the middle occurrence is not the author’s own statement but words of the Buddha quoted by him.

The author does not connect the three places, and this edition does not connect them on his behalf. It only places the three anchors side by side:〔404b23–24〕·〔406b22–23〕·〔406c17〕.

A Way of Reading: After Finishing a Chapter, Look Back at What Its Final Passage Returned

The way of reading offered by this passage is an action performed at the close.

After finishing a chapter, most readers move on to the next. Yet the final passages of this treatise are often extremely short—the final passage of this chapter contains only 170 Chinese characters. Because it is short, it is easy to pass over.

But that short passage is often where the whole chapter is returned to its starting point.

The method is simple: after reading the final passage, look back at the chapter’s beginning. See whether the terms used at the end were used at the beginning and, if so, whether their order is the same.

Applied to the present chapter: the terms at the end—“few desires, contentment, and free of doubt”—were used without the difference of a single word at the beginning, and in the same order. The chapter’s beginning and end are thereby bound together—the opening says why one should undertake the practices, while the end says what their characteristic is once undertaken; and both speak in the same three terms.

This method can be taken one step further: a term that appears at both the beginning and the end is very likely one of the chapter’s own words. Scan its distribution across the whole treatise; if it occurs only in this chapter, the point becomes still clearer—this is exactly the case with “free of doubt,” all nineteen occurrences of which are within the present chapter.

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Take away three things. One observation—the account of characteristic, function, and arising at the chapter’s end and the eight “for” statements at its beginning use the same three terms in the same order: the present passage reads “few desires are the characteristic, contentment is the function, and free of doubt is the arising” 〔406c17〕, the opening reads “for few desires, for contentment, for being free of doubt” 〔404b23–24〕, and the Buddha’s words quoted in the fifth passage in the middle again read “depends on few desires and contentment, delights in quiet, is free of doubt” 〔406b22–23〕—the three terms occur together at all three places; “free of doubt” occurs nineteen times in the whole treatise and not once outside this chapter, its first occurrence being at the chapter’s beginning and its last in the present passage. One way of reading—after finishing a chapter, look back at what its final passage returned: a chapter’s final passage is often short and easily passed over, yet the short passage is often where the whole chapter is returned to its starting point; if the terms at the end were used at the beginning in the same order, the chapter’s two ends have been bound together, and a term found in both places is very likely one of the chapter’s own words. One place to pause—the four cases judge two matters by separate criteria〔406c10–16〕: being or not being an ascetic practice is judged by the person (arahant / trainees and ordinary people), while being or not being spoken of as an ascetic practice is judged by the practice (whether the undertaking of ascetic practices is accomplished); the author does not explain why, and this edition does not explain on his behalf.

Three smaller matters should also be retained: the list and labels of the four cases are uneven—the third case in the list has one additional 有〔406c11〕, while the label of the fourth loses its opening 有〔406c15–16〕; the designations in the answers are uneven—“trainees and ordinary people”〔406c14–15〕and “trainees, ordinary people”〔406c16〕, the two forms always occurring next to each other in this treatise (the other place is in chapter four〔407b22·407b23〕); and the question concerning characteristic, function, and arising is answered twice〔406c17·406c18〕, while the author does not say which is primary. They are recorded as they stand, without choosing one on his behalf.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Four Cases of the Ascetic Practices and Their Characteristic, Function, and Arising · Exposition · Summer 2026