解脫道論 義疏通講 · 冊5

The Path of Freedom has twelve chapters and more than eighty-seven thousand characters. The three-character Chinese expression rendered “good friend” occurs ten times in the entire treatise—twice in the chapter-heading line 〔T32 408a28〕, with the remaining eight occurrences all within this passage. Once this passage has ended, the name does not appear again through the end of the book.

The central observation may be stated at the outset: the treatise does not discuss the good friend everywhere; it says everything it has to say in one place. This passage therefore becomes the sole place in the entire treatise that speaks directly about the good friend—what such a person is, what happens in that person’s absence, what happens in that person’s presence, and what qualifications that person must possess. Four matters are compressed into a passage of six hundred characters. The next passage in the same chapter still concerns seeking a teacher, yet it does not use “good friend” even once. It changes the names to “meditation teacher” 〔T32 408c04〕, “heshang” 〔T32 408c11〕, and “ācariya” 〔T32 409a20〕. The name changes because the person’s position changes: this passage establishes who the person is; the next puts the relationship into practice.

The Opening: “At This Point” Connects to the Preceding Chapter

The passage opens: “Question: At this point, how is concentration to arise? Answer: If a person beginning seated meditation wishes to bring meditative concentration into being, that person should seek a superior good friend” 〔T32 408a29–408b01〕.

“At this point” is not an empty expression. The preceding Chapter on the Analysis of Concentration closes with “all concentrations enter into the four concentrations” 〔T32 408a27〕—the kinds of concentration have been distinguished. Immediately after that distinction comes a question: then how is this concentration to arise?

The answer is not a contemplative method or an object of meditation. It is a person: “one should seek a superior good friend.”

The treatise author places the first step in the arising of concentration in a person, not in a method. This is the positional force of the passage: the Chapter on the Analysis of Concentration explains how many kinds of concentration there are; the Chapter on Seeking a Good Friend explains from whom concentration begins.

Without Such a Person: Two Comparisons and One Name

“Why? If a person beginning seated meditation wishes to bring meditative concentration into being and attain the most excellent concentration, but is apart from a good friend, that person fails to remain in the division of stability” 〔T32 408b01–02〕.

The expression translated here as “fails to remain in the division of stability” is not coined in this passage. When the second chapter distinguishes virtue, it establishes four names—“the division of regression, the division of stability, the division of excellence, and the division of reaching” 〔T32 402a26〕—and also says “accomplishes the division of stability” 〔T32 401b20〕. The eighth chapter uses the group again when distinguishing the four meditations 〔T32 417c08〕. The author applies an old measure here: apart from a good friend, the practitioner cannot preserve even the division of “stability.”

One person is then given: “As it is said in a scripture, the bhikkhu 有雲 came to belong to the division of regression” 〔T32 408b02–03〕.

The formula “as it is said in a scripture” occurs only once in the entire treatise. The work has several ways to introduce scripture, verse, and words of the Buddha, but this exact formula is used nowhere else. It is also used with great economy: no scripture or chapter is named; the passage does not say what the bhikkhu 有雲 did or where the regression occurred. It gives only one name and one result.

The author does not explain further. This edition supplies no investigation on the author’s behalf.

Then come two comparisons: “like someone travelling alone in a distant country, with no companion to give guidance and therefore going wherever one pleases; like an elephant without a hook” 〔T32 408b03–04〕.

One is a person—travelling alone to a distant country, without a companion to offer guidance, and therefore acting at will. The other is an elephant—without a hook.

These two comparisons concern not “loneliness,” but “having no one able to restrain the practitioner.” Without a companion to guide, the traveller acts at will; the elephant without a hook does the same.

With Such a Person: Thirteen Comparisons in One Sequence

“When a person practising seated meditation gains a good friend who teaches the Dhamma, gives instruction, and brings that person under guidance” 〔T32 408b04–05〕, that friend “shows how to remove faults and obtain wholesome qualities, so that by practising according to the teaching and working diligently through hardship the person attains the most excellent concentration” 〔T32 408b05–06〕.

Once the positive function has been stated, the passage reaches its densest sequence:

“Like a wealthy merchant-leader whom the people respect and esteem, like drawing near to a good person, like drawing near to one’s parents” 〔T32 408b07〕; “as for a good friend, like an elephant tethered so that it does not move” 〔T32 408b07–08〕; “like a charioteer making the carriage go or stop accordingly, like a person holding a rudder and thereby gaining a good course, like a physician treating illness and removing distress” 〔T32 408b08–10〕; “like rain from the heavens moistening and benefiting every seed, like a mother nurturing her child, like a father instructing his son, like kin who cause no difficulty, like a friend who brings benefit, and like a teacher who gives instruction” 〔T32 408b10–11〕. It closes with “all wholesome qualities reach fulfilment in dependence on this” 〔T32 408b11–12〕.

Together with the two comparisons for the absence of a teacher, there are fifteen comparisons in this one passage. Every one of the fifteen occurs only once in the whole treatise, and none is repeated.

One feature deserves to be pointed out. The elephant appears twice, and it is the same elephant. In the absence of the teacher it is “like an elephant without a hook” 〔T32 408b04〕; in the teacher’s presence it is “like an elephant tethered so that it does not move” 〔T32 408b08〕. The words “like an elephant” occur twice in the whole treatise, both in this passage. One elephant is without a hook; the other is tethered. The author changes not the animal but the situation of that elephant.

The ordering of the thirteen is not casual. It begins with a person whom others esteem, the wealthy merchant-leader; it turns to close relations, drawing near to a good person and to one’s parents; it places instruments and occupations in the middle—the tethered elephant, the charioteer, the rudder-holder, and the physician; it pivots through rain moistening seeds; and it ends with kin, friend, and teacher. The author neither classifies these thirteen comparisons nor states their total. They are recorded without a supplied classification or number.

The Introduced Words: Not “As the Blessed One Said,” but “Instructed Nantuo”

“Therefore the Blessed One instructed Nantuo: the whole of the holy life is what is called a good friend” 〔T32 408b12–13〕.

The form of this sentence should be retained. The author does not write “as the Blessed One said”; the wording is “instructed Nantuo.” The sentence is tied to the recipient of the instruction, not to a source.

“Nantuo” occurs three times in the whole treatise. In chapter two, one comparison within the nine practices that fulfil virtue reads “as when seeing Nantuo through deportment” 〔T32 403b12–13〕. At the close of the thirteen ascetic practices in chapter three, the text has “therefore the Buddha spoke for Nantuo” 〔T32 406b14〕. The present occurrence is the third. Of the three, two are instructions spoken by the Buddha to Nantuo (406b14 and 408b12), while one uses Nantuo as a comparison.

The same disciple appears three times in this treatise, twice as the person being instructed. The author does not say why that person is Nantuo.

Qualifications: First Two Kinds of Person; If They Cannot Be Found, Step Down Once to the Seven Factors

After “one should therefore seek the most excellent wholesome person as a good companion” 〔T32 408b13〕, the author begins to state the conditions.

“What constitutes a superior good friend? It is a person who possesses accomplishment” 〔T32 408b13–14〕. The accomplished are of two kinds. One “understands sutta, abhidhamma, and vinaya—this is termed accomplishment in what has been attained” 〔T32 408b14–15〕. The other “understands kinds of kamma, obtains excellent supernormal knowledge, and sees the four truths; these two kinds of person are accomplished in qualities and are the ones who should be sought” 〔T32 408b15–16〕.

One verbal correspondence here deserves to be remembered. In the opening chapter, the treatise’s own account of its range says that it “inquires broadly into the matters of sutta, abhidhamma, and vinaya” 〔T32 399c19〕. The three terms “sutta, abhidhamma, and vinaya” occur together twice in the whole treatise—once in the introduction, describing the three matters investigated by this book, and once here, describing the three matters that a good friend should understand. What the author requires from the teacher is exactly what the author says this book investigates.

Then comes the structurally decisive sentence: “If a person accomplished in either of these two ways cannot be found, a good friend accomplished in seven factors should also be sought” 〔T32 408b17–18〕.

Pause: Why May One Step Down, and Why Is There No Further Step Beneath the Seven Factors?

This is a place to pause and ask.

The passage has spoken with great force—apart from the teacher one fails to remain in the division of stability; with the teacher all wholesome qualities reach fulfilment. On that basis, one might expect the qualifications of the good friend to admit of no reduction. Yet the author immediately yields one step: if neither of those two kinds of person can be found, one accomplished in seven factors “should also be sought.”

After yielding that one step, however, there is no second reduction beneath the seven factors. The text does not say what one should do “if even the seven factors cannot be found.”

The passage does not answer why. Only one difference can be verified: the two kinds and the seven factors test different things.

The two kinds test “what has been accomplished”—understanding the three collections, or understanding kinds of kamma, obtaining excellent supernormal knowledge, and seeing the four truths. These are attainments already present in the person.

The seven factors test observable characteristics: “What are the seven factors? Being worthy of respect and affection, worthy of esteem, worthy of honor, able to speak, patient, speaking profound discourse, and not settling one in an unsuitable place” 〔T32 408b18–19〕. Being worthy of respect and affection is being one who “speaks well, is a joy to live with, and opens the mind without making things difficult” 〔T32 408b20〕. Being worthy of esteem means that “one’s conduct in virtue is peaceful, one has accomplished guarded mindfulness, and one is neither greedy in desire nor talkative” 〔T32 408b21–22〕. These do not say what the person has realized; they say what it is like to live with that person.

The direction of the step down is therefore from “what has this person realized?” to “what is it like to live with this person?” The former is usually beyond one’s ability to test; the latter becomes visible after living together for several days.

The author does not state this level of meaning, and this edition does not state it on the author’s behalf. It places the two things tested side by side: one group concerns attained results, the other observable qualities. The author allows qualities to stand in place of attainments, but permits no further step down.

Seven Items with Four Closing Forms; Even the Sixth Item’s Name Is Not Uniform

As the seven factors are explained one by one, several formal differences should be recorded together.

First, there are two forms of opening. The first item is posed as a question—“What is being worthy of respect and affection?” 〔T32 408b19〕. The remaining six use the form “one who is X”: “one who is worthy of esteem” 〔T32 408b21〕, “one who is worthy of honor” 〔T32 408b22〕, “one who is able to speak” 〔T32 408b23〕, “one who is patient” 〔T32 408b25–26〕, “one of profound discourse” 〔T32 408b27〕, and “one who does not settle another in an unsuitable place” 〔T32 408b29〕. Of the seven items, only the first opens as a question.

Second, there are four forms of closing. The four items on being worthy of respect and affection 〔T32 408b20–21〕, worthy of esteem 〔T32 408b22〕, able to speak 〔T32 408b25〕, and patient 〔T32 408b26–27〕 close with “this is termed.” The item on being worthy of honor 〔T32 408b23〕 closes with “this constitutes.” The profound-discourse item 〔T32 408b29〕 closes with “this is what it means to speak.” The final item 〔T32 408c02〕 closes with “this is meant by.” Seven items have four closing forms. They are recorded without being regularized.

Third, the sixth item’s name changes. In the list it is “speaking profound discourse” 〔T32 408b19〕. Its heading is “one of profound discourse, who penetrates the field of practice; discrimination, recollection, attention, and fixation all arise through grasping a sign” 〔T32 408b27–28〕. Its closing phrase returns to “speaks well and in accordance with the Dhamma, and can bring to complete cessation the defiled grasping of signs that is not in accordance with the Dhamma; this is what it means to speak profound discourse” 〔T32 408b28–29〕. “Speaking profound discourse” occurs twice in the whole treatise, while “one of profound discourse” occurs once. The word “speaking” is present in the list, absent from the heading, and restored in the closing phrase. No other factor changes in this way.

Fourth, the fourth item changes the name when referring back to the first three. “One who is able to speak thinks, ‘What I say about being worthy of affection, worthy of esteem, and worthy of honor bears fruit’” 〔T32 408b23–24〕. “Worthy of esteem” and “worthy of honor” retain their wording, but “worthy of respect and affection” is shortened here to “worthy of affection.” “Worthy of respect and affection” occurs three times in the whole treatise, all in this passage, and the place that refers back to it does not use the full form.

Two further places are not made clear by the text itself. One is 依二種行者 〔T32 408b19–20〕: the passage does not list what the two kinds are, and the sequence can be parsed either as “depending on two kinds of practice” or “a practitioner of two kinds.” The other is “one who does not settle another in an unsuitable place: if, with respect to clan, residence, occupation-group, and attachment to recitation, a place is unfit to stay, it is avoided” 〔T32 408b29–408c01〕, whose string of terms remains uncertain in punctuation. Both are retained close to their literal wording, without a supplied division or completion.

The final item continues, “if it is a place fit for undertaking affairs, conduct there brings security, and it is a residence in which one may stay; this is meant by not settling another in an unsuitable place” 〔T32 408c01–02〕. The whole passage closes, “one accomplished in these seven factors is the good friend who should be sought” 〔T32 408c02–03〕. The opening “one should seek a superior good friend” 〔T32 408b01〕 and the closing share the same act of seeking.

Reading Practice: Before Reading a Chapter, Count Its Key Word Across the Treatise

The reading practice offered by this passage lies in the initial observation.

The key expression in the title Chapter on Seeking a Good Friend is “good friend.” A scan of the full treatise gives this result: ten occurrences, two in the chapter heading, eight in this passage, and none elsewhere in the treatise.

Once that count is known, the structure of the chapter speaks for itself: the passage in which the title’s key expression is concentrated is the passage that establishes the chapter’s meaning; the remaining passages put the matter into practice without restating its name. The next passage’s change to “meditation teacher,” “heshang,” and “ācariya” is therefore not a casual variation in wording. The person’s position has changed.

The same method can be brought to any chapter of this treatise: before reading through it, count the key expression in the chapter title across the entire book. See where it occurs, how often it occurs, and whether it continues afterward. Read only after counting, and it becomes clear which passage establishes the chapter’s name and which passages unfold it.

Applied here, the result is: the name is established only in this passage and is not used again afterward.

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Take away three things. One observation: “good friend” occurs ten times in the entire treatise—twice in the chapter heading, eight times in this passage, and nowhere after it; the next passage in the same chapter changes the names to “meditation teacher” 〔408c04〕, “heshang” 〔408c11〕, and “ācariya” 〔409a20〕 without using the earlier name—this passage establishes the person; the next puts the relationship into practice. One reading practice: before reading a chapter, count the key expression in its title across the whole treatise; where it is concentrated is where that chapter establishes its name. One place to pause: the author permits a step down from “a person accomplished in either of two ways” to one “accomplished in the seven factors,” but provides no further step beneath the seven 〔T32 408b17–18〕. Only the differing objects of examination can be verified: the two kinds examine the person’s attained results, while the seven examine what it is like to live with that person. The author does not state why, and this edition does not adjudicate on the author’s behalf.

Four smaller matters should also be retained: the fifteen comparisons form one sequence and each occurs only once in the whole treatise; within that sequence, the two “like an elephant” comparisons both occur here, one without a hook and one tethered; “as it is said in a scripture” occurs once in the whole treatise, introducing a scripture without naming it or narrating its event; “sutta, abhidhamma, and vinaya” occur together twice, once in the author’s account of what the book investigates and once in what the teacher should understand; and the seven factors have two forms of opening and four forms of closing, with “speaking profound discourse” in the list but “one of profound discourse” in the heading.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Necessity of a Good Friend and the Seven Factors · Exposition · Summer 2026

The preceding passage has finished saying what a good friend should be. This passage asks, “How should one seek?” 〔T32 408c03〕—how does one go and find that person?

The central observation may be stated at the outset: from beginning to end, this passage does not use the expression “good friend.” Instead, the title changes with the relationship: the person being sought is called the “meditation teacher,” the teacher at one’s present residence is called the “heshang,” and after dependence has been requested the person is called the “ācariya.” The transition among the three is not casual; it has a pivot. The last occurrence before the pivot is “if the meditation teacher asks what one wants” 〔T32 409a17〕. This is followed by “one should request dependence and cultivate the work one is to practise” 〔T32 409a19〕, and immediately below it comes “one should ask the ācariya” 〔T32 409a19–20〕. After one sentence, the person’s name changes.

Begin with the Name That Does Not Appear

“Good friend” occurs ten times in the entire treatise: eight occurrences are in the preceding passage and two in the chapter heading. It does not occur once in the present passage.

Yet the present passage concerns precisely the act of seeking that person—from asking where the person lives, through arriving at the person’s place, to requesting that person as a teacher of dependence. The person is the same, but the name is not.

The first replacement is “meditation teacher”: “If one knows that a certain person’s residence is a place where someone accomplished in qualities and worthy of esteem lives, and if there is a meditation teacher there, one should go to that place” 〔T32 408c03–05〕.

“Meditation teacher” occurs eight times in the whole treatise, all eight in this passage. Across twelve chapters and more than eighty thousand characters, only this passage uses the designation. The preceding passage does not; neither do the ten chapters that follow.

Three Names, Three Positions

The second name is “heshang 和上.”

Before leaving, one must report: “One should put one’s robes in order, go to the heshang, and state what one wishes” 〔T32 408c11–12〕, saying, “Heshang, please hear me. I intend to go there and draw near to the meditation teacher” 〔T32 408c12〕.

Two names appear in the same sentence: the heshang is the teacher at one’s present residence; the meditation teacher is the teacher one intends to seek. The author places the two positions clearly in one sentence without adding a word of explanation.

“Heshang” occurs five times in the whole treatise, three in this passage and the other two in the ascetic-practice preliminaries of chapter three 〔T32 406a25–06·406a28〕.

The third name is “ācariya 闍梨.” It appears only in the latter part of the passage, and once it appears, the occurrences are dense: “When the time for alms-going arrives, one should ask the ācariya and act in accordance with the Dhamma” 〔T32 409a19–20〕; “when mealtime arrives, wash the ācariya’s feet, arrange the sitting place, and present the bowl” 〔T32 409a20–21〕; “when the meal is over, take the ācariya’s bowl, wash it, and put it away” 〔T32 409a23〕 … Eleven occurrences follow one another, while every occurrence before them uses “meditation teacher.”

Beginning by Asking the Way

The author writes the act of seeking a teacher from the first step of asking directions.

“If one does not know, but a fellow student elsewhere does, one should go and draw near” 〔T32 408c05〕. When one does not know, one finds a fellow student who does.

There is a rule for asking: “Having discerned the proper time, and before stating one’s purpose in accordance with the Dhamma, one should offer respectful greetings and ask about the person’s welfare; then inquire into what is to be known” 〔T32 408c05–07〕. First discern the time, first ask about the person’s welfare, and keep one’s purpose back until afterward.

The author writes out each thing to ask: “In what country and at what residence is the person staying? Is a community living there? Are members of the Saṅgha sitting quietly there? Is there such a meditation teacher there, and what is that teacher’s conduct like?” 〔T32 408c07–08〕; “Through what qualities is that teacher esteemed by everyone? One should ask in this way” 〔T32 408c08–09〕.

The question is not what the teacher has realized. It concerns where the teacher lives, whether members of the Saṅgha sit quietly there, what the teacher’s conduct is like, and through what qualities the teacher is esteemed. This follows the same direction as the seven factors in the preceding passage: test the observable characteristics, not the attained result.

The author also writes the fellow student’s answer: “The fellow student should answer: In such-and-such a country and such-and-such a residence, a certain community is seated in meditation, and a certain meditation teacher is loved and esteemed by the community” 〔T32 408c09–10〕.

The Heshang’s Two Statements

Even after the information has been obtained, one cannot simply leave. One must report to the heshang, and the heshang must respond.

“The heshang should grant permission and answer, ‘Excellent. I too rejoice; this is what a good person does’” 〔T32 408c12–13〕. The first response is rejoicing. Then comes a statement of judgment: “This is called living together with good people and the conduct of good people; it is practice in accordance with the Dhamma” 〔T32 408c13–14〕; “if merely seeing or hearing such a person brings great benefit, how much more living together? You should go there” 〔T32 408c14–15〕.

Then comes the admonition: “Once you have gone there, take care not to be heedless. If this is a good person, you may apply yourself diligently to study and practice” 〔T32 408c15–16〕; “whether at one particular time or at all times, maintain equal confidence and respect; speak sincerely and well; guard body and speech; and understand the practice. You will then attain accomplishment” 〔T32 408c16–18〕.

The final sentence has the greatest weight: “Depend upon the teacher in everything and do not give rise to a dismissive attitude. Be like a young woman newly married who serves her parents-in-law; give rise to modesty and accept instruction” 〔T32 408c19–20〕.

This is the only comparison in the prose of the entire passage. The preceding passage places fifteen comparisons in a sequence; this passage has only this one, and it is tied to “do not give rise to a dismissive attitude.” It does not describe the teacher’s excellence; it describes the disciple’s sense of restraint.

A Passage with Almost No Doctrinal Statement

From here onward, nearly everything the author writes is an action.

On the road: “The person practising seated meditation should put the robes in order, respectfully circle around, and bow at the teacher’s feet” 〔T32 408c22–23〕; and at water, “choose a spot and set the robes, bowl, leather sandals, bathing vessel, and meditation requisites high up together, not close to the water; bathe without making noise” 〔T32 408c23–25〕. The author even records that one should not make noise while bathing and that one’s things should be placed high and away from the water.

On entering: “When entering the monastery, lower the parasol and circumambulate the stūpa” 〔T32 408c27〕.

When asking: “If one sees a bhikkhu, one should go and ask: Is there a person practising seated meditation here?” 〔T32 408c27–28〕; “Is there a rag-robe wearer? Is there an alms-food practitioner? Is there a vinaya master?” 〔T32 408c28–29〕.

The author also gives the sequence to follow if one does not find the desired person: “If none of those people is present but there is a vinaya master, one should still go. If there is no vinaya master either, one should ask who the elder is and go to that person” 〔T32 409a01–02〕. This is another step-down sequence—from a person practising seated meditation, a rag-robe wearer, or an alms-food practitioner, to a vinaya master, and then to an elder. The preceding passage steps down from either of two kinds of person to the seven factors; this one steps down through people. It steps down rather than returning empty-handed.

The text even says who may carry the robes and bowl: “If a senior elder bhikkhu offers to take one’s robes and bowl, do not hand them over. If someone junior to oneself offers, one may do so” 〔T32 409a02–03〕. It says how to stand before an elder: “If one sees the elder, one should bow at the elder’s feet and stand to one side” 〔T32 409a04〕.

The resident’s side is written as well: “The resident bhikkhu should properly provide a seat, water, and a place to bathe; let the guest rest and arrange the guest’s robes and bowl” 〔T32 409a05–06〕. The author records both the guest’s conduct and the host’s conduct.

Three Questions to Three People

As the sun draws down, another sequence begins: “As the day is about to end, one should walk throughout the monastery” 〔T32 409a06–07〕.

Whom one encounters and what one asks are distinguished precisely:

“If one sees a vinaya master, one should converse and ask about doubtful offenses and about what is not an offense” 〔T32 409a07–08〕.

“If one sees an Abhidhamma teacher, in order to accord with the cultivation of wisdom, one should ask about aggregates, sense bases, elements, and kamma” 〔T32 409a08–09〕.

“If one sees an ascetic-practice practitioner, in order to accord with wisdom, one should ask about the qualities of the ascetic practices” 〔T32 409a09–10〕.

Three people and three questions, each matching that person’s discipline. “Abhidhamma teacher” and “ascetic-practice practitioner” each occur only once in the entire treatise.

The section closes with a single sentence: “This is the practice designated 為客法用—the procedure for a bhikkhu serving as a guest” 〔T32 409a11–12〕.

This sentence divides the prose into two halves. Before it, the passage explains how a bhikkhu should act as a guest in another monastery. After it comes the practice of drawing near to the meditation teacher. The author does not set a separate heading, using one sentence instead to make the division.

Pause: Having Come for the Dhamma, Why Is the Rule Not to Speak Unless Asked?

One sentence in the section on drawing near to the meditation teacher deserves a pause.

“If the meditation teacher asks what one wants, one should state what one wishes. If the teacher does not ask, one should not speak” 〔T32 409a17–18〕.

The strangeness lies here. This person has travelled far precisely in order to state what is to be practised and ask what remains doubtful. Yet the rule is: if the teacher does not ask, do not speak.

The words “if not asked” occur three times in this passage (409a18·409a25·409a26), all here.

Pause and ask: having come for the Dhamma, why does the text establish the limit that one does not speak unless asked?

The passage does not answer why. Only one thing can be verified: the author places “doing” before “speaking.”

Before the three places where “if not asked” occurs, the author writes nothing but acts: “When the meditation teacher arrives, even if one is junior, one should take the teacher’s robes and bowl on the teacher’s behalf” 〔T32 409a12–13〕; “when mealtime arrives, wash the ācariya’s feet, arrange the sitting place, and present the bowl” 〔T32 409a20–21〕; “with the food in one’s own bowl, ask how much the ācariya will take, set one’s bowl in place, and reduce a portion to give to the disciple” 〔T32 409a21–22〕; and “when the meal is over, take the ācariya’s bowl, wash it, and put it away” 〔T32 409a23〕.

Only after all of these have been done does speech begin.

Nor does the author close off speech entirely. Beneath the three instances of “if not asked,” another path is opened each time: “If the ācariya does not ask, bow and request, ‘Please hear what I originally wished to say’” 〔T32 409a25〕; and “if the ācariya does not ask, bow to the ācariya, find the proper time, state the reason for one’s coming, and say, ‘May the ācariya hear what I have to say’” 〔T32 409a26–28〕.

Speech is not forbidden; speaking without first asking leave is forbidden. The request has its own form: bow first, then “find the proper time” 〔T32 409a27〕.

The author does not state this level of meaning, and this edition does not state it on the author’s behalf. It sets out only the sequence: doing first, requesting in the middle, speaking afterward.

The Pivot: The Sentence on Requesting Dependence

Return now to the central observation.

The pivot among the three names lies in one sentence: “After this, when such matters as the tooth-stick and bathing have been attended to, one should request dependence and cultivate the work one is to practise” 〔T32 409a18–19〕.

Before this sentence, the person is called the “meditation teacher”—the final occurrence is “if the meditation teacher asks what one wants” 〔T32 409a17〕.

After this sentence, the person is called the “ācariya”—the first occurrence is “when the time for alms-going arrives, one should ask the ācariya” 〔T32 409a19–20〕.

One sentence, “request dependence,” separates the two names.

“Dependence” occurs only three times in the whole treatise (409a19·409b25·411a08), one of them here; “request dependence” occurs only once. The author makes a term rare in the whole treatise the pivot of this passage.

The source does not state why the person is called ācariya after dependence is requested. What can be verified is this: the change of name comes exactly after the request for dependence—neither earlier nor later. It is recorded without adjudicating its reason.

The First Verse in the Entire Treatise

At the end of the prose comes: “Having given instruction in accordance with the Dhamma, the ācariya should receive the student. Therefore the Blessed One spoke this verse” 〔T32 409a29–409b01〕.

This is the first verse in the Path of Freedom. The character 偈, “verse,” occurs thirteen times in the whole treatise. The present occurrence is the earliest; the remaining twelve appear in chapter eight and after.

The verse has fifteen lines, each line two half-lines, and each half-line five characters, making thirty half-lines in all. It begins with “draw near at the proper time” 〔T32 409b02〕 and ends with “one should cultivate heedfulness” 〔T32 409b16〕.

What the verse urges is not exactly the same as what the prose regulates. The prose describes procedure, while the verse describes inward disposition: “let the mind be free of pride” 〔T32 409b02〕, “guard the meaning without exalting oneself” 〔T32 409b09〕, “if a person is repeatedly heedless” 〔T32 409b10〕, then “wisdom born of learning does not grow” 〔T32 409b11〕.

There is only one comparison: “The holy life can guard the Dhamma” 〔T32 409b03〕 is followed by “as a tree stands where there is no wind” 〔T32 409b03〕. Among the fifteen lines this is the only comparison, and its point is immobility—a tree without wind does not move; the holy life guarding the Dhamma does not waver. Read beside the prose comparison, “like a young woman newly married who serves her parents-in-law” 〔T32 408c19〕, one speaks of restraint and the other of stillness; neither describes the teacher’s virtue.

The verse also has a sequence of its own, which may be followed once from beginning to end.

It begins with the practice of drawing near: “draw near at the proper time” 〔T32 409b02〕 and “let the mind be free of pride” 〔T32 409b02〕. It states the proper time first and the state of mind second, following the same direction as the prose phrase “having discerned the proper time, and before stating one’s purpose in accordance with the Dhamma” 〔T32 408c05–06〕.

The middle turns to what should be practised and what should be removed. What should be practised includes “mindful of the Dhamma, practise it” 〔T32 409b04〕, “abide in the Dhamma and discern it” 〔T32 409b05〕, and “speak the Dhamma as it truly is” 〔T32 409b05〕. What should be removed is listed through several lines: “do not act in ways that damage the Dhamma” 〔T32 409b06〕, “ornate talk, brooding, play, and laughter” 〔T32 409b06〕, “do not let anger remain through negligence” 〔T32 409b07〕, “resentment, greed, conceit, and delusion” 〔T32 409b07〕, and “attachment, defilement, obstinacy, and the like” 〔T32 409b08〕, all gathered by “all are to be subdued through practice” 〔T32 409b08〕. The items to be removed are listed but not counted, and no count is supplied.

The verse then turns to hearing. If “a person is repeatedly heedless” 〔T32 409b10〕, “wisdom born of learning does not grow” 〔T32 409b11〕. Conversely, if “a person knows the true Dhamma” 〔T32 409b11〕, “devas and humans hold that person in respect” 〔T32 409b12〕. Respect begins another sequence: “respect gives rise to confidence” 〔T32 409b12〕, “great learning can guard the Dhamma” 〔T32 409b13〕, and “enable one to hear what one delights in hearing” 〔T32 409b13〕. With heedlessness, wisdom born of learning does not grow; with respect, one obtains the hearing one desires. The verse ties access to hearing the Dhamma to respect, not to the teacher’s preference.

The final four half-lines gather the whole: “with qualities such as these” 〔T32 409b14〕, “one can practise in accordance with the Dhamma” 〔T32 409b14〕, “bring forth excellent and subtle understanding” 〔T32 409b15〕, and “become a person accomplished in wisdom” 〔T32 409b15〕.

The final line returns to the beginning: “If there is such a teacher” 〔T32 409b16〕, “one should cultivate heedfulness” 〔T32 409b16〕. It answers across the whole passage to the prose opening, “if there is a meditation teacher there, one should go to that place” 〔T32 408c04–05〕. The opening says to go if there is a meditation teacher; the ending says to cultivate heedfulness if there is such a teacher. The thousand-plus characters between them explain how to go, how to stay, and how to attend upon the teacher.

One further fact should be recorded: the end of this passage is the end of the chapter and also the end of fascicle two. The final verse line is at 〔T32 409b16〕, and fascicle two closes at 〔T32 409b17〕. One verse closes a passage, a chapter, and a fascicle.

Reading Practice: Follow the Titles through a Passage of Conduct

The reading practice offered by this passage lies here.

This is the passage in the entire treatise that most resembles a manual of conduct. Nearly all of its thousand-plus characters are actions, with few statements of doctrine, so the reader can easily lose the structure. Yet the passage marks its own divisions through titles.

Follow the titles and the structure becomes visible. When the person is called the “meditation teacher,” the practitioner has not yet arrived or has arrived but not yet requested dependence; the text concerns inquiry, travel, entering the monastery, and serving as a guest. When the person is called the “heshang,” the text concerns the section before departure. When the person is called the “ācariya,” dependence has been requested and the text concerns daily attendance and asking questions.

When the title changes, the relationship changes; the boundary between names is the boundary between sections.

The method can be used elsewhere in the treatise. Whenever a long narrative has no explicit structural divisions, circle every designation used for a person and note the stretch of text occupied by each. The boundary between names is the boundary between sections.

Applied here, the result is: three names, three sections, with “request dependence” as the pivot.

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Take away three things. One observation: the passage does not use “good friend,” but changes the name according to the relationship: the one being sought is the meditation teacher (all eight occurrences in the entire treatise are here), the teacher at one’s present residence is the heshang, and after dependence has been requested the person is the ācariya. The transition among the three pivots on “one should request dependence and cultivate the work one is to practise” 〔409a19〕; the last occurrence of “meditation teacher” is at 409a17 and the first occurrence of “ācariya” at 409a20. One reading practice: read a passage of conduct by following its titles—circle every name for a person; the boundary between names is the boundary between sections. One place to pause: having come for the Dhamma, why does the text establish the limit that one does not speak unless asked (the words “if not asked” occur three times here)? Only the sequence can be verified: taking the robes and bowl, washing the ācariya’s feet and presenting the bowl, reducing food for the disciple, and washing and putting away the bowl all precede “speaking,” while beneath the limit three ways are opened for requesting permission (“please hear what I originally wished to say”; “find the proper time and state the reason for my coming”; “may the ācariya hear what I have to say”). Speech is not forbidden; speaking without first asking leave is forbidden. The author does not say why, and this edition does not adjudicate on the author’s behalf.

Four smaller matters should also be retained: the only prose comparison occurs beneath “do not give rise to a dismissive attitude”—“like a young woman newly married who serves her parents-in-law” 〔408c19〕—describing the disciple’s restraint rather than the teacher’s excellence; the inquiry follows a step-down sequence (person practising seated meditation, rag-robe wearer, or alms-food practitioner → vinaya master → elder), parallel in form to the preceding passage’s step down from two kinds of accomplished person to the seven factors; three questions go to three people according to their disciplines (offenses to the vinaya master, aggregates–sense bases–elements–kamma to the Abhidhamma teacher, and the qualities of the ascetic practices to the ascetic-practice practitioner), with “Abhidhamma teacher” and “ascetic-practice practitioner” each occurring once in the whole treatise; and the closing verse is the first verse in the treatise (the formula “therefore the Blessed One spoke this verse” occurs twice, the other in chapter eight), while the end of the passage is also the end of the chapter and of fascicle two.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Seeking the Teacher, Drawing Near, and Requesting Dependence · Exposition · Summer 2026