解脫道論 義疏通講 · 冊8

Asking the Whole Set of Questions First

The chapter's practice-by-practice exposition begins with the earth kasiṇa. At the outset, this passage asks the whole set of questions at once: what this practice is, how it is cultivated, what its characteristic, function, and proximate cause are, what benefits it has, and then the meaning of kasiṇa, the kinds of earth, the earth from which a sign is taken, the method of making a maṇḍala, and the cultivation of the earth practice. The reply answers through the benefits first; the remaining questions are taken up in sequence below. This opening thus establishes the framework of an entire practice: first learn what must be asked, then receive the answers item by item.

The Definition Falls upon the Mind

The definition of the earth kasiṇa is only one sentence: a mind arising in dependence on the earth sign. The name speaks of earth, but what is established is a mind; the earth sign is that in dependence on which this mind arises.

Four Matters: Cultivation, Characteristic, Function, and Proximate Cause

Cultivation is the mind's abiding without distraction. The characteristic is skill in delighting in the perception of earth. The function is not relinquishing it. The proximate cause is an intention without a different thought.

The Twelve Benefits as the Close

The passage closes by presenting the benefits. It says there are twelve, beginning with the sign being easy to obtain and ending with the Deathless as the boundary: at all times and in every mode of conduct, the mind proceeds without obstruction; supernormal powers occur according to one's wish; one treads upon water and moves through the air as though upon earth; one receives discriminative knowledge concerning various forms, the initial recollection and discriminative knowledge of former lives, discriminative knowledge of the sphere of the divine ear, and proceeds toward a fortunate destination. This string of benefits carries the practice from the first obtaining of its sign all the way to its boundary.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Opening Questions on the Earth Kasiṇa · Exposition · Summer 2026

The Practice Chapter opens by asking eleven questions at once, and the preceding passage answers through the benefits. This passage supplies the answers to three successive questions: what kasiṇa means, how many kinds of earth there are and which sign should be taken, and how a maṇḍala is made. The three questions may look minute, yet together they provide three foundations for a single practice: establish the meaning of its name, choose the object, and then make that object with one's own hands.

The Name Refers to Earth; the Meaning Lies in Pervasiveness

The first question concerns the term itself: “Question: What does kasiṇa mean? Answer: it means the kasiṇa that is pervasive throughout”〔T32 412c01–02〕.

The answer gives only four characters—周普一切入: pervasive throughout, extending everywhere. Although this practice is named for “earth,” its meaning lies not in earth but in pervasion.

The treatise does not assert this meaning without support. It cites a verse of the Buddha:

“If a person recollects the Buddha's virtues, the joy that arises fills and pervades the body. Observing the earth kasiṇa, the observation fills all Jambudīpa. This observation arises conditioned by earth; the joy of the mind is likewise”〔T32 412c03–05〕.

The verse uses recollection of the Buddha as its comparison. When joy arises in one who recollects the Buddha's virtues, it does not remain at a single point in the heart or mouth; it “fills and pervades the body”—the whole body is filled with joy. So too for one who observes the earth kasiṇa: the observation does not remain upon the patch of earth in front of the eyes, but “fills Jambudīpa”—it pervades the whole earth. On one side joy pervades the body; on the other observation pervades its object. Both have the same movement of suffusion. The last two lines disclose the correspondence themselves: “This observation arises conditioned by earth; the joy of the mind is likewise.” The observation arises in dependence on earth, and the pervasion of joy is like it.

Thus, “cultivating such an observation, one sees the maṇḍala pervading the entire kasiṇa”〔T32 412c06〕. What is seen in such cultivation is the maṇḍala sign pervading everywhere. This sentence establishes in advance the weight of the last question in the passage: the little circular maṇḍala made below reaches fulfillment in filling the earth. The object begins at the smallest; the attainment becomes utterly pervasive. The meaning of kasiṇa lies in that distance.

Choosing Earth: Two Exclusions, One Object

The second question selects the object: “Question: How many kinds of earth are there? The sign of what earth may be taken for cultivation?”〔T32 412c06–07〕

The answer says there are two kinds of earth. “The earth element whose intrinsic characteristic is hardness is called intrinsic earth”〔T32 412c08〕—the earth element characterized by hardness is earth in its intrinsic aspect. “If one digs it oneself or has another dig it, what is produced by preparation is called prepared earth”〔T32 412c08–09〕. Prepared earth is made in four colors: white, black, red, and the “like-bright” color (如明色).

The treatise then makes two exclusions in a single movement: “Attention should not be directed to intrinsic earth; white, black, and red should be excluded”〔T32 412c10–11〕.

The first “Why?” gives the results of both exclusions together: “If one observes intrinsic earth, the counterpart sign does not arise from it. If one takes white, black, or red, the cultivation becomes a color kasiṇa”〔T32 412c11–13〕. The result of the first is that the counterpart sign does not arise; the result of the second is that the cultivation becomes a color kasiṇa. The four color kasiṇas—blue, yellow, red, and white—are indeed enumerated in the preceding chapter〔T32 411a10–11〕. This passage itself, however, only excludes observing intrinsic earth and taking white, black, or red, and states the respective results. It does not derive from them a general rule for every subject of practice.

After the second “Why?” the source reads: 觀自相地離白黑赤，若作不作當取其相，如明相現當取其相〔T32 412c13–14〕. How 觀自相地 connects to 離白黑赤, and how 若作不作 is to be construed, remain indeterminate in the wording; the sentence cannot be rewritten as two certain rules. The positive criterion that can be established extends only to the final clause: the source says that when the “like-bright sign” appears, its sign should be taken. The passage does not explain 如明.

The Experienced and the Beginner: Unprepared Earth and the Maṇḍala

The third question is supplementary: “Question: What is called unprepared earth?”〔T32 412c14–15〕

The answer says: “Level throughout, apart from grasses and scrub, without tree stumps: upon the object before one's eyes, the mind should be made to arise. This is called the perception of earth; this is called unprepared earth”〔T32 412c15–17〕. A naturally level and unobstructed patch of earth, made into a perception of earth upon the visual object, is sufficient; it need not be prepared.

The treatise then distinguishes two kinds of practitioners. “If an experienced meditator, 隨樂不樂, he immediately sees the counterpart earth sign and abides without regression”〔T32 412c17–18〕. It is certain that the experienced meditator, the counterpart earth sign, and abiding without regression all occur in the same sentence. How 隨 and 樂不樂 connect with what follows, however, cannot be determined here, so they are not given a settled interpretation as “agreeable or disagreeable.” “A beginner in the first jhāna takes the sign of prepared earth and makes a maṇḍala, without observing unprepared earth”〔T32 412c18–19〕.

This sentence locates the entire procedure that follows: the maṇḍala is a means established for the beginner. The experienced meditator's mind is practiced, and the sign may arise wherever appropriate; the beginner's mind is new and requires an object made specifically for the arising of the sign. All the meticulous rules in the next passage arrange in advance the conditions for a mind that does not yet know how to abide.

Making the Maṇḍala: The Procedure Item by Item

The fourth question is: “Question: How is a maṇḍala made?”〔T32 412c19〕. The treatise answers in great detail, successively listing the selection of a place, treatment of the ground, preparation of materials, establishment of the seat, drawing of the circle, application of mud, guarding, and the outer boundary.

Selecting the place. “First one should examine a quiet place, whether in a monastery dwelling, in a stone chamber, or beneath a tree”〔T32 412c20–21〕. “Do not dwell in a dark place without sunlight or upon a path used by people”〔T32 412c21–22〕. The source lists only these two prohibitions and gives no reason for either. “In such a place, let all sides be one fathom distant”〔T32 412c22〕—a clearance of one fathom is left all around.

Treating the ground. “Sprinkle and sweep it clean; let the ground dry”〔T32 412c22–23〕. The source then reads, 掃於處所如明相現時土色，使與地性得相發起〔T32 412c23–24〕. Four elements are certain in the sentence: the soil color of the place, the “like-bright sign,” the nature of earth, and “the sign arising.” Their syntactic relations remain indeterminate, so it is not said that the color of the site must resemble some already established sign.

Preparing the materials and mud. The punctuation and internal connection of 籌量調適威儀恭敬〔T32 412c24〕 are unclear; they are retained without an assigned rationale. Only thereafter comes the explicit procedure: “Obtain a vessel and mix earth with water; cut away grass and tree stumps and remove dung and refuse; take a cloth and strain the sediment from the mud”〔T32 412c24–26〕—obtain the vessel, mix the mud, remove foreign matter, and strain the sediment through cloth.

Establishing the seat. “On clean ground, screen off the sitting place, cut off the light, and establish a meditation enclosure”〔T32 412c26–27〕. The source lists these three actions in sequence without explaining their rationale or mental effect.

Drawing the circle and applying mud. “Neither near nor far, use compasses to make a circle; within the circle make it level and full, without any trace”〔T32 412c27–28〕. The sitting place and maṇḍala are neither near nor far; the circle is drawn with compasses, and the inside is level, full, and traceless. “Plaster the earth with mud unmixed with any other color; 以別色不雜於地應安”〔T32 412c28–29〕. The mud of the maṇḍala surface is not mixed with another color; if a distinct color is used, it likewise is not confused with the color of the ground. This reading preserves only the source's requirements of level fullness, absence of traces, and unmixed color; it supplies no mental effect for them.

Guarding and the outer boundary. “Until it is dry, it should be covered and guarded”〔T32 412c29〕. Covering and guarding it before it dries allows it to be completed. Once dry, an outer boundary is made “with another color”〔T32 412c29–413a01〕. Its size may be “as large as a rice sieve, or as large as a 搔牢”〔T32 413a01〕—both measures are taken from everyday objects. Its form may be “circular, square, triangular, or four-cornered, and should be clearly distinguished”〔T32 413a01–02〕.

The treatise then gives a ruling: “According to the root teacher, making the maṇḍala circular is best”〔T32 413a02–03〕. Although four forms are allowed, the root teacher judges the circle best. The supporting surface is treated similarly: “Whether on cloth, on a board, or upon a wall, a maṇḍala may be made in each case; one made on earth is best”〔T32 413a03–04〕. Possibility and what is best can coexist: the teaching has breadth, and the transmission makes a choice.

The closing sentence is, “Thus it was spoken by the teachers of old”〔T32 413a04〕. This entire procedure is not presented as the treatise author's invention, but as a method transmitted by earlier teachers. The expression 先師所說 also occurs elsewhere in the work—for example, “the four kinds of use spoken by the teachers of old”〔T32 403c20〕 and, later, “the cultivation of mindfulness of death spoken by the teachers of old”〔T32 432a08〕. Behind every step in making this small circular maṇḍala, from choosing the earth through guarding it, stands a transmission.

Conclusion

With the three questions answered, the foundation of the practice is established. In name and meaning, the earth kasiṇa means pervasiveness—the object is very small, the attainment utterly pervasive. In its object, intrinsic nature and color are set aside, and only the “like-bright” sign is taken. In its means, the experienced practitioner obtains the sign from natural earth, while the beginner makes a maṇḍala according to the procedure set out here. How to cultivate once the maṇḍala has been made—“Question: How is the earth practice cultivated?”〔T32 413a04–05〕—is answered immediately by the treatise in the next passage.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Meaning of Kasiṇa, Choosing Earth, and the Maṇḍala · Exposition · Summer 2026

The preceding passage completed the maṇḍala. This one begins with “Question: How is the earth practice cultivated?”〔T32 413a04–05〕. It first treats the dangers of desire, the benefits of renunciation, and the conduct before practice, and then explains balanced observation and four skillful means of attention.

The mirror simile occurs only in the section on balanced observation: “One should observe as a person looking in a mirror sees the image of one's face: one sees the face in dependence on the mirror, and the face arises from the mirror”〔T32 413b18–19〕. The text next says explicitly that the meditator “sees the concentration sign arise in dependence on the maṇḍala”〔T32 413b20〕. What can be established from this passage is that the concentration sign arises in dependence on the maṇḍala and that taking the sign through balanced observation is “for the mind to abide.” The scope of the mirror simile ends with this section. It cannot be extended to the rest of the passage or used to assign a further mind-and-object relation to each section.

Placed back into its question-and-answer sequence, the simile is preceded by two modes that fail to be balanced observation. With the eyes wide open, the source lists “the eyes become fatigued,” “the maṇḍala's intrinsic nature, directly seeing intrinsic nature,” and “the counterpart perception does not arise”〔T32 413b15–16〕. With the eyes closed as tightly as possible, it lists “the maṇḍala appears dark,” “one does not see its sign,” and “lassitude then arises”〔T32 413b16–17〕. The answer therefore directly requires one to leave both wide-open and tightly closed eyes and attend solely to abiding upon the maṇḍala〔T32 413b17–18〕. These results are stated item by item in the source and are retained in order here without supplying an additional psychological mechanism for either side.

This answer also connects with the preceding general heading. The source first says that the meditator directly observes the form of the maṇḍala and takes the sign in three ways—balanced observation, skillful means, and freedom from disturbance〔T32 413b12–13〕. At the close of the balanced-observation answer, the sequence is: observe the maṇḍala, see the concentration sign arise in dependence on it, take the sign by balanced observation, and state once again that this is “for the mind to abide”〔T32 413b18／413b21〕. The exact place of the mirror simile within this unit is therefore the first of the three ways of taking the sign. The dependence it explicitly states extends only to the concentration sign arising in dependence on the maṇḍala.

The First Step Is Not Looking at the Disk, but Becoming Disenchanted with Desire

“Question: How is the earth practice cultivated? Answer: if a meditator wishes to cultivate the earth kasiṇa, one should first observe the dangers of desire and should then observe the benefits of renunciation”〔T32 413a04–06〕.

Pause here and ask: the maṇḍala has been made, so why is the first step observing the dangers of desire? The treatise's next question answers for itself: “Desire has little savor and therefore much sorrow and suffering; its dangers are many”〔T32 413a07–08〕. If the mind still adheres to desire, what offers little savor and much sorrow and suffering will repeatedly pull it away; however perfectly circular the maṇḍala, one will not remain seated. Thus the earth practice begins with disenchantment toward desire: first loosen the grasp, and only then speak of taking a sign.

The source next gives twenty similes for the dangers of desire in order, beginning with “desire is like a bone, illustrating little savor”〔T32 413a08〕 and ending with “desire is suffering, because it creates many dangers”〔T32 413a18–19〕. The first five are bone, lump of flesh, holding fire against the wind, burning charcoal, and dream. The reasons attached to them in order are little savor, belonging to many, immediately burning, large and small, and vanishing in an instant〔T32 413a08–10〕. The phrase “because large and small” is retained as it stands; the passage does not explain how size serves as the reason for the burning-charcoal simile.

The sixth through tenth are borrowed object, tree fruit, knife, spear, and the head of a venomous snake. Their clauses are: its condition cannot last, people break it off, it cuts, “because it is a spear,” and it is fearful〔T32 413a10–13〕. The reason “because it is a spear” explains the spear with the same word and does not unfold its meaning; the wording is therefore preserved without another reason being supplied.

The eleventh through fifteenth are windblown cotton, illusion, darkness, an obstructed road, and delusion. The source attaches to them respectively: unable to be guarded, deluding foolish people, nothing seen, obstructing wholesome dharmas, and loss of right mindfulness〔T32 413a13–16〕. These five too are preserved only in their source wording and order.

The final five are a ripe thing, a restraining instrument, a thief, an enemy, and suffering. Their clauses are rotting, binding one another, 功德物, giving rise to contention, and creating many dangers〔T32 413a16–19〕. In “desire is a thief, because of 功德物,” the relation of 功德物 to the surrounding words is not explained here. The remaining items likewise stay in the order of the answer. As soon as the twenty are complete, the source says that, having observed the dangers of desire, one should observe the benefits of renunciation.

Unfolding the list item by item again, the first uses the bone to state little savor; the second uses the lump of flesh and gives “because it belongs to many”; the third is holding fire against the wind, followed by “because it burns immediately”; the fourth is burning charcoal, followed by “because large or small”; and the fifth is a dream, followed by “because it vanishes in an instant”〔T32 413a10〕. These five follow continuously in the source without an intervening collective name.

The sixth, the borrowed object, expressly cannot be kept long. The seventh, tree fruit, is expressly broken off by people. The eighth, the knife, expressly cuts. For the ninth, the spear, the reason remains “because it is a spear.” The tenth, the snake's head, is expressly fearful〔T32 413a10–13〕. The five from the borrowed object through the snake's head follow in this order, with the spear clause retained intact.

The eleventh, windblown cotton, cannot be guarded. The twelfth, illusion, deludes foolish people. The thirteenth, darkness, leaves nothing seen. The fourteenth, an obstructed road, obstructs wholesome dharmas. The fifteenth, delusion, causes the loss of right mindfulness〔T32 413a13–16〕. The answer moves from cotton and illusion to darkness, an obstructed road, and delusion, pairing each name with its reason.

The sixteenth, a ripe thing, is followed by “because it rots”; the seventeenth, a restraining instrument, by “because of binding one another”; the eighteenth, a thief, by “because of 功德物”; the nineteenth, an enemy, by “because it gives rise to contention”; and the twentieth, suffering, by “because it creates many dangers”〔T32 413a18–19〕. The final sentence closes with suffering and many dangers, then immediately turns to observing the benefits of renunciation.

After the long list, do not forget its exit. The treatise closes one door and opens another: “Having thus observed the dangers of desire, one should observe the benefits of renunciation. What is called renunciation means the first jhāna and the wholesome qualities cultivated from the very beginning of going forth; this is called renunciation”〔T32 413a19–21〕. The definition of renunciation has two reaches: nearby, it is the first jhāna—the first destination of this earth-kasiṇa practice; farther away, it is “cultivating wholesome qualities from the beginning of going forth”—all wholesome qualities cultivated from the day one resolves to go forth are called renunciation. Near and far together connect the small practice of an earth sign to the whole path of going forth.

Renunciation: Establish the Name, Then Make the Comparison

Disenchantment with desire is only a withdrawal; the mind that withdraws needs somewhere to go. Thus the question asks, “What are the benefits of renunciation?”〔T32 413a21〕. The answer first unfolds the positive account: “the mind, free of hindrances and sovereign, abides in the happiness of quietude”〔T32 413a21–22〕. It next says that one “endures pain and pleasure, abides, and does not forget”〔T32 413a22〕. Then: “broadly aiding many affairs, reaching the ground of great fruit, worthy of offerings, benefiting in two places”〔T32 413a22–23〕. What “two places” denotes cannot be determined here and is left unresolved. The passage ends this sequence with: “It is great wisdom, the locus of every wholesome quality, and is called transcending the three realms”〔T32 413a23–24〕.

Arranged once more in source order, the list first says that the mind without hindrances is sovereign and abides in the happiness of quietude; then that it endures pain and pleasure and abides without forgetfulness; then that it broadly aids many affairs, reaches the ground of great fruit, is worthy of offerings, and benefits in two places; finally it lists great wisdom, the locus of every wholesome quality, and transcending the three realms. Every phrase occurs successively within the same answer. None is changed into the cause of another.

“Again, what is called renunciation is departure from sexual desire”〔T32 413a24–25〕. The second definition reaches what is most immediate: it is sexual desire that is left. Another series of 是 clauses follows: “the stilling of the hindrances, undefiled happiness, the supreme ground, the path for attaining what is supreme, and the purification of the mind's defilement”〔T32 413a25–26〕. The source comments: “This benefit is produced by cultivation; it is happiness cultivated inwardly”〔T32 413a26–27〕. This happiness is not supplied from outside; it is produced by practice and cultivated within.

The treatise then changes its mode of speaking. Rather than describe only renunciation's excellence, it gives six contrasts: “desire is coarse; renunciation is excellent”〔T32 413a27〕, followed by defiled and undefiled, lower and higher, with aversion and without aversion, disagreeable fruit and agreeable fruit, with fear and without fear〔T32 413a27–413b02〕. Each sentence is a balance: desire lies in the left pan, renunciation in the right, and the beam inclines the same way six times. The earlier twenty similes state the trouble in desire; these six pairs place both sides on the balance. First rejection, then comparison: the mind sees the choice before it.

The source order of the six pairs is: desire coarse and renunciation excellent; desire defiled and renunciation undefiled; desire below and renunciation above; desire with aversion and renunciation without aversion; desire bearing a disagreeable fruit and renunciation an agreeable fruit; desire with fear and renunciation without fear〔T32 413a27–413b02〕. In each pair desire is listed first, renunciation second. After the six, the source says that the dangers of sexual desire and the benefits of renunciation have been observed and immediately proceeds to the conduct before practice.

The Conduct before Practice: Bringing the Mind to the Point Where It Can Sit

“Dependent upon renunciation, desire and delight arise; faith and reverence arise in the mind”〔T32 413b03〕. Note the word “desire”: the preceding twenty similes described the dangers of sexual desire, while here the source explicitly speaks of desire and delight arising in dependence on renunciation. Faith and reverence are then listed alongside it, making three items: desire and delight dependent upon renunciation, faith arising in the mind, and reverence arising. The source does not assign the three different psychological functions or state what follows if one is absent. The exposition retains their order without forcing a division of labor.

Their position in the source makes this still clearer. The sentence begins by continuing “having thus observed the dangers of sexual desire and the benefits of renunciation”〔T32 413b02–03〕. Only then does it give desire and delight dependent on renunciation, faith, and reverence; it immediately moves to “examining what may and may not be done”〔T32 413b03–04〕. What can be established here is that the two sides are observed first, the three items are then listed, and the preparatory acts follow. Their subsequent order is also explicit: measured eating, arranging the robe and bowl, no weariness in the body, no lassitude in the mind, walking about a little; after walking, sitting and washing the hands and feet; then recollecting the Buddha's awakening, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha; after the recollection of wholesome conduct, becoming glad; and then continuing with “I can thus obtain fulfillment” and “one should act courageously”〔T32 413b04–08〕. The sequence is verifiable, but it does not assign a separate exclusive role to desire and delight, faith, or reverence.

Next comes a string of small preparations. “Examine what may and may not be done”〔T32 413b03–04〕. “Rely on measured eating and arrange the robe and bowl”〔T32 413b04〕. “Without weariness in the body or lassitude in the mind, walk about a little”〔T32 413b04–05〕, and after walking “sit and wash the hands and feet”〔T32 413b05〕. Seen separately, each may appear unrelated to concentration. Together they settle the circumstances of the body so that no unfinished matter returns during the sitting.

Pause at one question: why, before sitting before the disk, must one first “recollect the Buddha's awakening, recollect the Dhamma, and recollect the Saṅgha”〔T32 413b06〕? The passage gives no separate reason. It continues in order: “Having cultivated the recollection of wholesome conduct, one should become glad. I am able to obtain fulfillment in this way”〔T32 413b06–07〕, and then: “If I do not attain renunciation, I will not long remain secure in vigor; therefore one should act courageously”〔T32 413b07–08〕. The sequence of recollection of the Three Jewels, recollection of wholesome conduct, gladness, the statement that one can obtain fulfillment, and courageous action is certain. The source does not analyze a separate psychological function for each, and this exposition follows its order.

Only then does one sit: “neither near nor far from the maṇḍala, at the distance of a yoke or a fathom”〔T32 413b08–09〕. The sitting distance is again expressed by everyday measures, yoke and fathom, continuing the rice sieve and 搔牢 used in the maṇḍala instructions〔T32 413a01〕. “One should establish the seat”〔T32 413b09〕, sit cross-legged facing the disk with body upright, “raise a thought inwardly”〔T32 413b10〕, “close the eyes for a short time, remove distraction of body and mind, and gather the entire mind into one. Open the eyes slightly and observe the maṇḍala indistinctly”〔T32 413b10–11〕. Notice the order: the eyes first close while the mind is gathered, then open slightly toward the disk. The eyes are given to the maṇḍala last; the mind is first made one, and only then are the eyes useful.

The First of Three Ways of Taking the Sign: Balanced Observation, the Place of the Mirror Simile

“The meditator directly observes the form of the maṇḍala and takes the sign in three ways: through balanced observation, skillful means, and freedom from disturbance”〔T32 413b12–13〕. The three are the general heading. This unit explains the first two; freedom from disturbance continues in the next.

Balanced observation means “neither opening the eyes wide nor closing them tightly”〔T32 413b14〕. Why? On the side of opening them wide, the source lists in sequence “the eyes become fatigued,” “the maṇḍala's intrinsic nature, directly seeing intrinsic nature,” and “the counterpart perception does not arise”〔T32 413b15–16〕. The exact meanings and relation of 曼陀羅自性 and 現見自性 cannot be determined here; they are not resolved as simply seeing physical earth. On the side of tightly closing the eyes, the source lists “the maṇḍala appears dark,” “one does not see its sign,” and “lassitude then arises”〔T32 413b16–17〕. The answer immediately says, “One should depart from wide-open and tightly closed eyes and attend solely to abiding upon the maṇḍala”〔T32 413b17–18〕. The clauses on each side are retained in their order, without supplying a new classification of body, object, and mind.

Then comes the mirror simile: “One should observe as a person looking in a mirror sees the image of one's face; one sees the face in dependence on the mirror, and the face arises from the mirror”〔T32 413b18–19〕. This is immediately followed by “seeing the concentration sign arise in dependence on the maṇḍala”〔T32 413b20〕. The two sentences explicitly state that, as the face-image appears in dependence on the mirror, the concentration sign arises in dependence on the maṇḍala. Twice in this section the treatise says, “for the mind to abide”〔T32 413b18·413b21〕. The mirror simile's scope ends with taking the sign through balanced observation; it is not the basis for a theory of mind and matter for the whole passage.

The Second of Three Ways of Taking the Sign: Four Skillful Means of Attention

“There are four skillful means of attention: first inner delimitation, second filling the square, third turning, fourth complete pervasion”〔T32 413b22–23〕. The four are not presented as four compulsory stages. They are four “at that time” clauses, each pairing a condition with a remedy.

First: “When the sign is seen dispersing outward without a boundary, at that time one should direct attention to inner delimitation”〔T32 413b23–24〕. When the sign disperses, inner delimitation raises a boundary and brings what has gone out back inside it. Second: “When the sign is seen as small, or half of the maṇḍala is seen, at that time make the maṇḍala full and direct attention through filling the square”〔T32 413b24–25〕. When the sign is too small or only half a disk appears, attention completes it. The first means treats overflow; the second treats deficiency—one gathers in, the other fills out. Third: “When the mind is distracted or slack, at that time it should be urged and pressed onward like a potter's wheel”〔T32 413b25–27〕. The first two means address the sign; this one addresses the mind. When the mind is scattered or slack, it is encouraged and pressed onward. The potter's wheel is drawn from an artisan's ordinary work, and the source connects it only with 策課. Fourth: “When the mind has come to abide, at that time make the maṇḍala appear completely pervasive and without deficiency; one should observe equanimity”〔T32 413b27–28〕. When the mind abides and the sign is complete, the treatise's final instruction is 觀捨. The meaning of 捨 is not explained here and is left unresolved.

The repeated “at that time … at that time …” is itself a teaching form: the four skillful means apply remedies according to the condition, not according to a fixed schedule. When the sign disperses, delimit; when deficient, fill; when the mind is slack, urge; when the mind abides, observe equanimity. A remedy is not applied before its condition appears. The order can also be seen: establish the boundary, make full, urge onward, and finally, when mind and sign are complete, close with observing equanimity. At that point, the work passes to the next section's “freedom from disturbance”〔T32 413b28–29〕.

Conclusion

Looking back, the source treats in order the dangers of desire, the benefits of renunciation, the preparatory acts, the general heading of taking the sign in three ways, balanced observation, and the four skillful means of attention. The mirror simile belongs to the balanced-observation section alone: it says that the face-image appears in dependence on the mirror and the concentration sign arises in dependence on the maṇḍala, and states the purpose as “for the mind to abide.”

Before leaving this passage, gather three things that may be carried forward. The twenty similes remain in source order from bone and lump of flesh through enemy and suffering. In balanced observation, the concentration sign arises in dependence on the maṇḍala, for the purpose of the mind's abiding. The four skillful means are inner delimitation, filling the square, turning, and complete pervasion, with their respective “at that time” clauses. All of these sequences remain within the preliminaries, balanced observation, and skillful means explicitly presented in this unit.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Preliminaries for the Earth Practice: Balanced Observation and Skillful Means · Exposition · Summer 2026

The three ways of taking the sign reach their third member. Balanced observation teaches how to open the eyes, and skillful means teaches how to complete the sign; this passage's “freedom from disturbance,” however, first speaks not of the sign but of faults that arise from the practitioner's own exertion. Once those faults are balanced, the text turns and presents two signs, removing the work of taking the sign from the eyes. This is also the first positive account of the counterpart sign after two passages have left it suspended. In 08-02, “the counterpart sign does not arise”〔T32 412c12〕, and in the preceding passage “the counterpart perception does not arise”〔T32 413b16〕; both speak only of its failure to arise. Here the suspended question is answered.

State the central observation first: the sign is not acquired by looking. These are the treatise's own words. The acquired-sign section explicitly says, “One does not observe the maṇḍala with the eyes; through the skillful means of attention the acquired sign arises”〔T32 413c23–24〕. The counterpart-sign section goes further: “one simply forms the mental act and closes the eyes, as previously observed”〔T32 413c26–27〕, and it “appears in accordance with the mind”〔T32 413c28〕. The preceding passage instructed one to “open the eyes slightly and observe the maṇḍala indistinctly”〔T32 413b11〕; the eyes were given to the disk only at the end. Here they need not be given at all—first the sign is not observed with the eyes, and then the eyes close altogether. The road from disk to sign is a road on which the eyes gradually withdraw.

Four Kinds of Disturbance: Every Fault Arises from Exertion

“Question: What is meant by freedom from disturbance? Answer: disturbance is of four kinds: first, exerting effort with the greatest haste; second, exerting effort with the greatest delay; third, being highest; fourth, being lowest”〔T32 413b28–413c01〕.

The four must be read according to their own clauses. Hasty practice is “directing attention urgently without waiting for the proper time, sitting early and stopping late until the body is weary”〔T32 413c02–03〕. The treatise separately says that hasty exertion makes “the body sluggish and the mind retreat; the mind goes out toward external objects and various kinds of agitation arise”〔T32 413c05–06〕. Delayed practice is “abandoning the skillful means of attention; although seeing the maṇḍala, not attending respectfully; repeatedly getting up and repeatedly sleeping”〔T32 413c03–05〕. The treatise separately says that delayed exertion makes “body and mind sluggish and indolent, and various kinds of sleep arise”〔T32 413c06–07〕. The highest condition first says, “the mind retreats, various disturbances arise, and one becomes discontented with the place of practice”〔T32 413c07–08〕. The following clause, 若不樂於初戲笑言語，以由欲心成高〔T32 413c08–09〕, cannot be punctuated or connected with certainty and receives no settled construal. The additional clause is retained as: “if the modes of various signs are obtained, one becomes high through the mind of desire that delights in pleasure”〔T32 413c09〕. The lowest condition first says, “because of retreat and disturbance, one becomes discontented with the meditation subject”〔T32 413c10〕. It next lists, “If discontented, at the place made by aversion in the initial locus of practice, one becomes low through a mind of aversion”〔T32 413c10–11〕, and then adds: “after long weariness with applied thought and examination, the mind falls away from an excellent state and becomes low through a mind accompanied by painful feeling”〔T32 413c12〕. These are the conditions explicitly stated for each of the four; they are not recast as a single psychological progression.

The wording of the four conditions is not uniform. The hasty clause says, “If effort is exerted hastily, then …”; the delayed clause says, “If effort is exerted with delay …”; high and low are first named and then each receives an additional clause〔T32 413c05–12〕. The source presents them this way. The syntax does not warrant defining the first two as “doing” and the latter two as “feeling,” nor constructing a progressive sequence of decline from their order.

The remedial passage preserves another lexical irregularity. The earlier list names “the greatest hasty exertion” and “the greatest delayed exertion.” In the remedies the first clause still reads, “if the mind practices hastily and declines into agitation,” but the second reads, “if the mind practices with 進作 and declines into indolence”〔T32 413c14〕. The passage neither changes 進作 to 遲作 nor explains their relation, and the two phrases must be retained separately. The next two clauses directly use “one with a high mind” and “one with a low mind” to continue the high and low of the list〔T32 413c15–17〕.

A Conditions-and-Remedies Table: How to Read a Remedial Passage

Subduing comes next: “If the mind practices hastily and declines into agitation, subdue it with the faculty of mindfulness and the faculty of concentration, causing agitation to be relinquished. If the mind practices with 進作 and declines into indolence, subdue it with the faculty of mindfulness and the faculty of vigor, causing indolence to be relinquished. If a high mind declines into desire, bring about direct knowing, causing desire to be relinquished. If a low mind declines into aversion, bring about direct knowing, causing aversion to be relinquished”〔T32 413c13–17〕.

This supplies a way of reading: when meeting a remedial passage, first arrange the correspondence between condition and remedy. The treatise writes each condition together with its medicine, using a parallel construction in all four: if one declines into a condition, with or by bringing about something, cause that condition to be relinquished.

The four must remain separate. For hasty practice declining into agitation, the source explicitly lists the faculties of mindfulness and concentration to subdue it and cause agitation to be relinquished. For 進作 declining into indolence, it explicitly lists the faculties of mindfulness and vigor to subdue it and cause indolence to be relinquished. Both of the first two clauses list the faculty of mindfulness, but one adds concentration and the other vigor. For a high mind declining into desire, the source says only “bring about direct knowing, causing desire to be relinquished.” For a low mind declining into aversion, it likewise says only “bring about direct knowing, causing aversion to be relinquished.” The latter two do not mention the faculty of mindfulness; the practice assigned to the first two cannot be expanded into a rule common to all four. What 現知 means here cannot be determined from this passage and receives no settled interpretation. A table preserves only the treatment explicitly assigned by each clause. Its purpose is to keep the wording of one clause from being transferred to another, not to formulate a new general rule.

Once the four are balanced, the treatise closes: “In these four conditions the mind becomes purified and one-pointed. This shows that through the three ways concentration of mind is accomplished, and the form of the maṇḍala is seen at will”〔T32 413c17–18〕. The three ways now join: balanced observation adjusts the eyes, skillful means adjusts the sign, and freedom from disturbance adjusts the practitioner. With all three carried out, concentration of mind is accomplished. “Seen at will” states the result: a disk form formerly visible only through a careful measure of opening and closing the eyes can now be seen at will. This sentence is absent from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions. The present passage retains the Taishō sentence; the effect of the two readings upon the transition cannot be determined from the passage and is not adjudicated.

A Pausing Question: How Do the Acquired Sign and Counterpart Sign Differ?

“When the one-pointed mind and perception have been accomplished, the signs that arise are of two kinds: the acquired sign and the counterpart sign”〔T32 413c18–20〕.

Pause here: how does each sign appear in this passage? The treatise answers in two sections. What can be compared directly are the conditions and phrases each section gives.

The acquired sign: “with an undistracted mind directly observing the maṇḍala, perception arises from the maṇḍala, appearing as though seen in space”〔T32 413c20–21〕. The source then uses “sometimes” for five pairs, ten items: “sometimes far, sometimes near; sometimes left, sometimes right; sometimes large, sometimes small; sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful; sometimes many, sometimes few”〔T32 413c21–23〕. Far and near, left and right, large and small, ugly and beautiful, many and few are all present. The final sentence says: “One does not observe the maṇḍala with the eyes; through the skillful means of attention the acquired sign arises; this is called the acquired sign”〔T32 413c23–24〕. This section establishes that perception for the acquired sign arises from the maṇḍala, its appearances vary as listed, and it arises through the skillful means of attention. The source does not explain those changes as the practitioner's mastery over the sign.

The counterpart-sign section begins: “Through practicing that repeatedly, the counterpart sign arises”〔T32 413c24–25〕. It then defines it: “Whenever attention is directed, it appears in accordance with the mind. It is not that a thought arises after seeing the maṇḍala; one simply forms the mental act and closes the eyes, and it is as previously observed”〔T32 413c25–27〕. It next lists far, near, left and right, front and back, inside and outside, above and below, saying the same applies to what is seen when attention is directed, and it repeats “appears in accordance with the mind”〔T32 413c26／413c28〕. The acquired-sign passage lists far and near and the other five pairs under “sometimes”; the counterpart-sign passage says that at the moment of attention it appears according to the mind. This difference is directly supported by the wording. “Through practicing that repeatedly” only says that the counterpart sign arises after repeated practice; the passage does not explain a finer mechanism between them.

If arranged only by the verbs in the passage, the acquired-sign section proceeds through directly observing the maṇḍala, perception arising from the maṇḍala, appearing as though in space, not observing with the eyes, and causing the acquired sign to arise through the skillful means of attention〔T32 413c20–24〕. The counterpart-sign section proceeds through practicing the former repeatedly, appearance at the time of attention, closing the eyes and seeing it as before, and seeing it according to attention directed to far, near, and the other positions〔T32 413c24–28〕. Both speak of attention, and both list appearances. The former explicitly gives five “sometimes” pairs; the latter twice says “appears in accordance with the mind.” The comparison stops at these textual differences and supplies no unspoken mechanism.

Three Meanings of Sign and What Follows Its Attainment

Once the signs have arisen, the treatise pauses over one word: “What does ‘sign’ mean?”〔T32 413c29〕. In the midst of practice, it first tests the name—a characteristic manner of this treatise. The answer has three levels. Cause: “As the Buddha instructed the bhikkhus, those evil unwholesome dharmas arise with a sign; this is the meaning of condition as cause”〔T32 413c29–414a01〕. The sign is a cause; with such a sign, that dharma arises, just as evil unwholesome dharmas each have a sign as their condition. Knowledge: “As the Buddha said, through forming a perception it should be relinquished”〔T32 414a02〕. The sign is something known; once known, it can be relinquished. Image: “as when one sees the image of one's own face and imagines that image”〔T32 414a03〕. The sign is an image, like a person's own face-image. The following phrase 彼分無異義〔T32 414a03–04〕 is retained. What “no difference” attaches to cannot be determined here, so no settled construal is imposed. All three meanings are supported by the Buddha's words or an immediate simile; the citations are detailed in the apparatus. A single sign has three aspects: as condition it can give rise, as something known it can be discerned, and as image it is like the face-image in relation to the face. Of the three, the image meaning responds most closely to the counterpart sign's “appearing with closed eyes.” Cause and knowledge each have their own citation, but the passage does not assign them separately to one of the two signs. The image meaning again uses a face-image. In the preceding mirror simile〔T32 413b18–19〕, seeing the face in dependence on the mirror illustrates the concentration sign arising in dependence on the disk. Here seeing one's own face-image illustrates the meaning “image.” The same face speaks first of dependence and now of image; the two comparisons do different work. Together they preserve two facts of the passage: the sign arises in dependence on the disk, and it is an image.

The final stroke is brief: “At that time the sign is obtained, and the meditator gives rise to a mind of reverence toward the teacher”〔T32 414a04〕. The source records reverence toward the teacher after attainment of the sign but gives no reason for it. Then comes the admonition: “Having obtained the excellent sign, one should guard it; if it is not guarded, it will be lost”〔T32 414a04–05〕. The order is obtaining the sign, reverence toward the teacher, taking the excellent sign and guarding it. How to guard it is explained by the next question, “How should it be guarded?”〔T32 414a05–06〕.

Conclusion

Return to the central observation: the sign is not acquired by looking. The four faults of disturbance concern the practitioner's exertion, not the disk; even delight arising upon signs appears in the list of faults. The first two conditions use respectively mindfulness with concentration and mindfulness with vigor; the last two speak only of bringing about direct knowing and relinquishing. With the four purified, the mind becomes one-pointed and the sign can be seen at will. The acquired sign takes perception from the maṇḍala and arises through the skillful means of attention, with five “sometimes” pairs listing its appearances. After repeated practice, the counterpart sign appears at the time of attention in accordance with the mind and, with eyes closed, is as previously observed. Once the sign is obtained, the source lists reverence toward the teacher and the guarding of the excellent sign. How it is guarded belongs to the next passage.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Balancing Disturbance: The Acquired Sign and Counterpart Sign · Exposition · Summer 2026

The preceding passage leaves one admonition at its end: “Having taken the excellent sign, one should guard it; if it is not guarded, it will be lost”〔T32 414a04–05〕. This passage answers how to guard it. In following the act of guarding, the text reaches the most important pair of terms in this first practice: access to jhāna and absorption.

State the central observation first. The two naming similes at the close of the passage combine into one complete picture: “Because it is near jhāna, it is called access; as a road near a village is called a village road”〔T32 414b06–07〕, and “Absorption has the meaning of harmony, like arriving at the maṇḍala”〔T32 414b08〕. Access is the road nearing the village; absorption is arrival at the disk. Near and arrived are two successive positions on the same road. Once the positions have an order, their difference follows. The treatise first gives a long answer listing the differences, then explains each name with one of these similes. The difference is the journey; the explanations of names are its map. Holding this picture in mind, read back through the passage: the three ways of guarding are how one travels on this road. The maṇḍala—the disk made by hand in 08-02〔T32 412c19–413a04〕—changes its textual role here. It was an object of observation; now it becomes the simile of arrival.

Three Ways of Guarding the Sign: Three Names, Two Questions

“Question: How should it be guarded? Answer: the sign should be guarded in three ways: by leaving evil, by cultivating what is wholesome, and by constant practice”〔T32 414a05–07〕.

The general heading names three, but only two separate questions follow: leaving the unwholesome and constant practice each receive a question, while “cultivating what is wholesome” does not. The structural division and the announced number do not match. At the end of the list, 不彼對治。是善，應常作〔T32 414a11〕 may continue what precedes or begin a new clause, and the referent of “this is wholesome” cannot be determined here. It therefore receives no settled construal.

The list of what is to be left〔T32 414a07–11〕 must remain in source order. It begins with five instances of “delighting”: delighting in tasks, various playful forms of speech, sleep, gatherings, and intimacy with laypeople. These are followed, in order, by not guarding the faculties, not being measured in food, not rising in the first and last watches for jhāna practice, not respecting what is learned, having many bad friends, cultivating what ought not be practiced, and leaving unsuitable times, food, lying down, and sitting. The treatise lists all of them under the answer to “what is leaving the unwholesome?” It neither divides the earlier and later items into two classes nor says one causes another. What 不彼對治 at the end attaches to, and what the following 是善 refers to, cannot be established from this passage.

Constant Practice: Linked Clauses and the Perception of a Precious Jewel

“Question: What is meant by constant practice? Answer: the meditator skillfully acquires this sign, constantly observes its benefits as with the perception of a precious jewel, constantly proceeds with gladness, and constantly cultivates it repeatedly”〔T32 414a11–13〕. Three instances of “constantly” set the register. The source then says, “whether cultivating much by day and night, or while leaning, sitting, or lying down, the mind delights in taking it as an object and is released in every place”〔T32 414a13–14〕. What the mind released “in every place” is connected with cannot be determined here. What is certain is that the answer on constant practice successively lists skillfully acquiring the sign, constantly observing its benefits, regarding it as a precious jewel, proceeding constantly with gladness, repeated cultivation, and cultivating by day and night.

Next comes a chain of anadiplosis: “The acquired sign has been acquired; once acquired, cause it to arise; once arisen, observe in accordance with it; once observed, cultivate; cultivation has a time; at that time observe the maṇḍala”〔T32 414a14–16〕. Acquire, arise, observe, cultivate, time—six clauses link tail to head in one movement. The syntax itself resembles constant practice: one link catches the next without a gap. The passage then says, “Guarding the sign directly in this way, one may obtain mastery. If the sign accords with the mind, one obtains access to jhāna. If access proceeds from the mind, absorption is thereby obtained”〔T32 414a16–18〕. Guarding yields mastery; mastery introduces access; access introduces absorption. The three terms pass from one sentence into the next, and the questions below follow that line.

Access and Absorption: One Not Yet, One Accomplished

“Question: What is access to jhāna? Answer: the mind directs attention to this subject without distraction, thereby subduing the hindrances; applied thought, examination, joy, bliss, one-pointedness, and the five faculties beginning with faith have not yet been cultivated; although the strength of concentration is obtained, moments of thought still arise—this is access to jhāna”〔T32 414a18–21〕.

The portrait of access has three strokes: the hindrances have been subdued, which is its accomplishment; the five factors and five faculties “have not yet been cultivated,” which is what is lacking; and “although the strength of concentration is obtained, moments of thought still arise,” which is its present condition. The portrait is exact. It does not say that access has accomplished nothing—the hindrances have been subdued and the strength of concentration obtained. Nor does it call access arrival—the factors and faculties remain uncultivated and thoughts still arise. This is precisely the form of a road near a village: the houses are visible, but one's feet remain on the road. Absorption is then described: “Through the mind's obtaining the strength of cultivation, applied thought, faith, and the other dharmas remain unmoving with respect to the subject”〔T32 414a21–22〕. Those same dharmas are now unmoving with respect to the subject. “Still arise” and “unmoving,” not yet and accomplished, draw the line in terms of movement and stillness. At 414a19, the base reads 未, while the other four editions read 求. The present passage follows 未; the difference the two readings make to the position of access cannot be resolved from this passage.

A Way of Reading: In a Passage of Differences, Arrange the Paired Similes in Columns

“Question: What is the difference between access and absorption?”〔T32 414a22–23〕. The answer first establishes two criteria: “When the five hindrances are subdued, that is access; because these five have been subdued, absorption is accomplished. Through access to jhāna one obtains excellent concentration; when excellent concentration is obtained, it is called absorption”〔T32 414a23–25〕. The same five hindrances, once their subdual is accomplished, mark absorption; the same concentration, once excellent concentration is obtained, is absorption. After the criteria come the similes. The whole passage contains ten simile-clauses in seven groups, and the dense center lies in this question. Here is a way to read it: when a text presents differences, set each pair of similes into left and right columns, with each pair fixing one dimension.

The boat pair appears first. If “body and mind have not obtained quietude,” the mind “moves like a boat among waves”; if they “have obtained quietude,” one “remains unmoving in absorption like a boat on windless water”〔T32 414a26–27〕. But “because the faculties have no strength,” which follows immediately in the source, may continue the windless-water sentence or may lead into “access to jhāna does not remain long at the task.” Its syntax cannot be determined, so it is not interpreted as weak faculties causing unmoving absorption. The text separately says that access cannot remain long at the task, like a small child; and then that, because the faculties have strength, one remains quiet and long at the task, like a strong person〔T32 414a27–29〕. Next come forgetting a scripture after long neglect and not forgetting it through constant practice〔T32 414b01–02〕—lack of harmony and harmony; then blindness and absence of blindness〔T32 414b03–04〕—lack of skill and skill in subduing the hindrances. The latter pair is closed by “such statements are unclean teaching” and “such statements are clean teaching”〔T32 414b04–05〕. What 教 denotes cannot be determined here. These similes are retained in source order and used to separate the answer's sides, not to adjudicate a practitioner's level. The simile materials themselves are ordinary sights of community life: boat, child, and recitation. The treatise consistently draws from what lies before the student—from the rice sieve〔T32 413a01〕 and potter's wheel〔T32 413b26–27〕 to the ferryboat and the sound of recitation here. Its instruction stands in the student's life. The source similes may therefore be arranged in columns when reading a passage of differences; short phrases of uncertain attachment, such as 諸根無力故, must remain unresolved and not be assigned a punctuation by the table.

The answer closes with a general boundary: “From the beginning of mastery of the sign through 性除 is called access; immediately after 性除 is called absorption”〔T32 414b05–06〕. From mastery of the sign until 性除 is access; immediately after 性除 is absorption. The meaning of 性除 cannot be determined here. Chapter 4 has the parallel statement, “the initial part of each concentration is outer concentration; immediately after 性除 is absorption concentration”〔T32 407b15–16〕, while a positive definition occurs in chapter 12〔T32 457a18–23〕. Here it is enough to see where the boundary marker stands: a line called 性除 lies between access and absorption, and the text says “immediately after”—they touch, rather than being separated by another stretch of road. Near and arrived differ only by the final step.

A Pausing Question: Why Is the Simile for Absorption Again the Maṇḍala?

In the question on meanings, each name receives one simile. Access receives the village road: “Because it is near jhāna, it is called access; as a road near a village is called a village road, the meaning is one and the name differs”〔T32 414b06–07〕. A road takes the name “village road” from its proximity to a village; access takes its name from its proximity to jhāna. The name is borrowed from its neighbor.

Pause here: why, of all things, does absorption receive the simile “like arriving at the maṇḍala”?〔T32 414b08〕. The maṇḍala is what has been made and observed throughout this practice. At the explanation of the name, it suddenly ceases to be merely an object and becomes a landmark of arrival. The treatise supplies its own reason: “absorption has the meaning of harmony.” Arrival at the maṇḍala is the disappearance of the distance between practitioner and disk. Taken together with the village road, the two similes make one pair: village road illustrates near while still traveling; arrival at the maṇḍala illustrates arrived, harmony without an interval. This responds to the immediately preceding “immediately after 性除.” The next sentence, “renunciation and jhāna absorption have no different meaning”〔T32 414b08–09〕, carries the reckoning one step further back. At the opening of 08-03 the student was instructed to observe the dangers of desire and the benefits of renunciation〔T32 413a05–06〕. Here the source says that renunciation and jhāna absorption have no different meaning. The direction established then is the place reached now.

The final sentence is an instruction: “Thus, when a meditator abides in access, the kasiṇa should be made to increase; whether in absorption or in the first jhāna, it should be made to increase”〔T32 414b09–10〕. The next task for one abiding in access is to increase the kasiṇa. Two destinations are named for that increase: absorption or the first jhāna. Notice the spatial character of the instruction. It does not hurry one toward arrival; it gives the person on the road the work proper to the road. Access is not a waiting room. It has its own task. How to increase is explained in the next passage.

Conclusion

Return to the central picture: near and arrived along one road. The three ways of guarding are the discipline of walking. Leaving evil keeps one from taking a side road; constant practice keeps one moving. Access is the road near the village, with the hindrances subdued but thoughts still arising. Absorption is arrival at the disk, unmoving with respect to the subject and harmonious without an interval. The paired similes measure the distance, and “immediately after 性除” places the boundary at the threshold. The passage's most memorable shift is the movement of the maṇḍala: at first an object made of mud, here the simile of arrival. The term is unchanged; its role has moved.

Before leaving the passage, gather what can be carried onward: one picture—near the village and arrived at the disk; one table—the paired similes of a difference, separated by movement and stillness, short and long abiding, neglected and practiced recitation, blindness and sight; one list of what is to be left, retained in its source order; and the three explicit instances of “constantly” in the passage on constant practice. With the first practice developed this far, the road from making the disk and taking the sign through guarding it and attaining absorption has been traced. Increase and the factors of jhāna belong to what follows arrival.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Guarding the Sign: Jhāna Access and Absorption · Exposition · Summer 2026

Once access is established, the preceding passage instructs that the kasiṇa should be increased. This passage answers how. After increase, it gives two means for the person who “has obtained access but cannot obtain absorption”—ten conditioned ways and sustaining—and continues through the accomplishment of the first jhāna, explicitly closing, “this is the benefit of the earth kasiṇa”〔T32 415a09〕.

The words “gradually,” “increase,” and “arise” recur at three points, each with its own syntactic referent. The section on increase says, “gradually cause it to increase until it pervades this great earth”〔T32 414b14〕. The section on ten ways closes, “practicing these ten conditioned matters gives rise to absorption”〔T32 414c25–26〕. The sustaining section successively reads, “from this arises joy,” “from this arises ease,” and “from this arises light”〔T32 414c29–415a01〕. The following exposition respects the source order: the sign increases from four finger-joints to the great sea; ten conditioned matters are listed; sustaining follows; and the passage closes with the benefit of the first jhāna and the three names bodily, mental, and defilement seclusion. The three kinds are explained only in the next unit.

Increase: From Four Finger-Joints to the Great Sea

Before the question, the source says: “Thus, when a meditator abides in access, the kasiṇa should be made to increase; whether in absorption or in the first jhāna, it should be made to increase”〔T32 414b09–10〕. What is certain is that one abiding in access should increase the kasiṇa, and the source separately names absorption and the first jhāna as positions of increase. This passage does not restrict increase to what follows absorption or independently decide its boundary with the stage of taking the sign. It then asks, “How should it be made to increase?” and answers, “Beginning with the initial sign as large as four finger-joints of the hand, it should gradually be increased”〔T32 414b11–12〕. The hand supplies the opening measure. A sequence of similes follows: “Directing attention in this way, gaining mastery in this way, and proceeding in this sequence—as a wheel, as a canopy, as the shadow of a tree, as a field of merit, as a neighbor, as a village, as an outer wall, as a city—in this sequence, gradually cause it to increase until it pervades this great earth”〔T32 414b12–14〕.

Wheel, canopy, tree shade, field of merit, neighbor, village, outer wall, and city—eight similes form a trajectory. Wheel and canopy are objects, tree shade a natural cover, field of merit cultivated ground, and neighbor, village, outer wall, and city human settlement. Connected by “in this sequence, gradually cause it to increase,” they carry the scale of the sign toward pervading the earth. The treatise lists them without explaining the point of each comparison. Sequence and gradual increase are certain. From finger-joints it expands to the earth and then “as far as the great sea, one directs attention to the perception of earth; as it increases, the mind's range becomes the most excellent concentration”〔T32 414b16–17〕.

Pause here: when increase encounters rivers, mountains, heights and depressions, trees, thorns, and other uneven features, why does the treatise say that none is attended to?〔T32 414b15–16〕. The next sentence answers in its own wording: even as far as the great sea, one attends to the perception of earth. What increases from beginning to end is the perception of earth, not the shape of terrain. Mountains and trees are forms upon earth, not what makes earth earth; attention takes the level perception and passes over uneven features. This continues the selection made in 08-02〔T32 412c10–14〕. There white, black, and red were excluded so that color did not change the practice; here terrain is not attended to so that form does not disturb the perception of earth. The object remains unmixed from disk to earth; only its scale changes.

Two Means and the Ten-Item List: A Method of Collation

“If a meditator has obtained access to jhāna but cannot obtain absorption, that meditator should make the means to absorption arise in two ways: first through conditions, second through sustaining”〔T32 414b17–19〕. This sentence is written for the person who has become stuck: access has been obtained, but absorption does not arrive. The treatise does not blame the person; it opens means. Conditions first yield ten items: “one, make the place of observation clear; two, fully arouse and observe the faculties; three, understand the sign; four, restrain the mind's disturbance; five, subdue lassitude; six, the mind lacks savor; seven, gladden the mind; eight, the settled mind becomes equanimous; nine, leave those who do not learn concentration and approach those who do; ten, delight in absorption”〔T32 414b20–23〕.

This supplies a method of reading: when a text first lists items and then explains them, copy the list and check each explanation back against it; mark every mismatch. Applied here, the fifth item reads “subdue lassitude,” while its heading reads “one who subdues a lethargic mind”〔T32 414c05–06〕. The tenth reads “delighting in absorption concentration,” while its heading reads “one delighting in absorption”〔T32 414c23〕. Six and seven, “the mind lacks savor” and “gladden the mind,” are separate list items, while the explanation combines them in one section〔T32 414c12–17〕. These three irregularities are preserved according to the base text. The marks themselves teach caution: wherever a name loosens from its explanation, read slowly rather than normalize it.

Explaining the Ten in Source Order

The ten explanations may now be read in their listed order.

A clear place and arousing the faculties. “A distinct place is produced in three ways: cultivating agreeable and well-adjusted food, agreeable timing, and agreeable deportment”〔T32 414b24–25〕. Clarity of place is connected with three ordinary matters: adjusted eating, appropriate timing, and agreeable deportment. None is separately explained. Then, “Observation means not allowing the five faculties beginning with faith to disappear and not becoming indolent, like a swift horse drawing a cart”〔T32 414b25–26〕. The source explicitly states the preservation of the faculties and absence of indolence and gives the swift-horse simile; it does not explain the gait of the horse or the driver's method.

Understanding the sign. “Skillfully hold the mental perception, neither tight nor loose, like a skilled craftsperson using a marking cord evenly and without bias”〔T32 414b27–28〕. The source states that the mental perception should be neither tight nor loose and compares it to a craftsperson's straight line; it does not assign a separate result to tightness or looseness. The punctuation of “善解作意急離不離”〔T32 414b28〕 cannot be determined here and receives no settled interpretation.

Restraining disturbance. 調 here continues the preceding senses of agitation and disturbance at 413c05–07, not adjustment; 調適 appears separately as a positive term in the same passage. Disturbance has two routes: “first, excessive vigor; second, at a place where the mind has gone beyond measure, the mind becomes disturbed. Or remaining amid sexual desire and various signs, agitated intention increases and becomes disturbance”〔T32 414b29–414c02〕. Excessive effort brings disturbance, and distracting objects bring disturbance. The former is the old fault of hasty exertion from 08-04 appearing again at the stage of absorption. For the first the source says, “in two ways the mind should be subdued, so that vigor arises with moderation each time”〔T32 414c03–04〕. For the second it says, “subdue it in two ways by observing and seeking out the many sufferings and evil results”〔T32 414c04–05〕. Both say “two ways” without enumerating two items. Their exact referents cannot be established and remain unresolved.

Subduing a lethargic mind. The treatise gives a sequence: “Because excellent concentration is not obtained, the mind lacks savor and therefore becomes lethargic; when lethargy is abundant, it wishes to sleep”〔T32 414c06–07〕. Lack of excellent concentration, lack of savor, lethargy, and sleep follow in order. Lethargy “should be subdued in two ways, namely observing benefits so as to arouse vigor”〔T32 414c08–09〕. A sleepy and lazy mind is subdued “in four ways”〔T32 414c10〕: for one who has eaten much, take the perception of lethargy; change among the four deportments; attend to the sign of light; and dwell in the open〔T32 414c10–11〕. The source lists observing benefits, arousing vigor, and the four ways of subduing sleep in this order.

Lack of savor and gladness. “Lack of savor occurs in three ways: because skillful means are few, because wisdom is dull, and because the happiness of quietude has not been obtained”〔T32 414c12–13〕. For a mind lacking savor, the treatise gives two ways: “first through fear, second through gladness”〔T32 414c14–15〕. Fear observes birth, aging, death, and the four bad destinations, sees what is fearful, and the mind becomes sorrowful. Gladness recollects the Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, virtue, giving, and deities, sees the benefits of these six, and the mind becomes glad〔T32 414c15–17〕. The source gives the two ways and their respective objects and mental conditions. It does not say they must be used one after the other.

The settled mind becoming equanimous and choosing companions. “The settled mind becoming equanimous means that concentration on the ground outside jhāna is accomplished in two ways: by cutting off the hindrances the mind becomes concentrated; or by the jhāna factors arising upon the obtained ground the mind becomes concentrated”〔T32 414c17–19〕. The punctuation of “當捨非成住故、中方便調適故”〔T32 414c19–20〕 cannot be determined, so no settled interpretation is imposed. The ninth way concerns people. A person without absorption, access, or deportment concentration, who neither cultivates nor learns, is to be left and not followed or supported. A person who has all three should be learned from and supported〔T32 414c23〕. The source states leaving the former and learning from and supporting the latter; it does not derive a ruling on solitary or communal practice.

Delighting in absorption. “This meditator, like that deep source, like that rushing spring, like that low tree, constantly delights, reveres, and cultivates much”〔T32 414c24–25〕. The treatise gives the three similes without explaining their points. What is certain is the conduct immediately attached to them: constant delight, reverence, and much cultivation. It closes, “practicing these ten conditioned matters gives rise to absorption”〔T32 414c25–26〕. The ten remain, in source order, a clear place, arousing faculties, understanding the sign, restraining disturbance, subduing lethargy, lack of savor and gladness, the settled mind becoming equanimous, approaching those who learn concentration, and delighting in absorption.

Sustaining: Seven Repetitions of “The Mind Obtains Sustaining”

The second means is sustaining. Beginning, “The meditator skillfully understands conditioned arising and enters a place of quietude”〔T32 414c26–27〕, the source says that the sign understood is mastered according to the mind in the concentration being cultivated, and desire and delight arise and arouse the mind. It then reads, “from this, body and intention are capable and useful, causing sustaining to be obtained”〔T32 414c28–29〕. How 身意堪任, 有用, and 令得受持 connect remains unclear. Next come, in order, “from this arises joy and the mind obtains sustaining; from this arises ease and body and mind obtain sustaining; from this arises light and the mind obtains sustaining; from this arises sorrow and the mind obtains sustaining”〔T32 414c29–415a02〕. The order is certain, but the attachment of 從 in each sentence is not; no new causal ladder is imposed.

After the sorrow clause the treatise explicitly says, “through this sorrow, cause the mind to become quiet; skillfully taking the quiet mind, the mind obtains sustaining”〔T32 415a02–03〕. What sorrow denotes, and how it follows light, are not explained. The next clause, “from boundless defilements, the mind is liberated and accomplishes sustaining”〔T32 415a03–04〕, also has unresolved attachment. Only after this does the source explicitly list that liberation makes a single flavor of dharma; that with a mind of one flavor one sustains and cultivates; and that “from this, the excellent mind increases”〔T32 415a05–06〕. The sequence and explicit relationships are preserved, without more being supplied.

Checked sentence by sentence, the seven occurrences of “the mind obtains sustaining” attach in order to joy, ease, light, sorrow, quiet mind, equanimity, and one flavor〔T32 414c29–415a05〕. The ease clause names both body and mind. The quiet-mind clause first says sorrow causes the mind to become quiet and then says the quiet mind is skillfully taken. The one-flavor clause follows “through liberation one becomes a single flavor of dharma.” These orders and repetitions are source facts. How the seven arise from one another is not explained item by item.

“Skillfully understanding conditioned arising and sustaining the mind in this way, concentration arises before long”〔T32 415a06–07〕. “Before long” is the passage's only statement of time, given to the person stalled at access. The source first lists the two means and explains the ten conditions and sustaining; at the end, skillful understanding of conditioned arising and sustaining the mind stand together. Whether they are outer and inner, or used separately or together, cannot be determined here.

First Jhāna Accomplished, One Practice Completed

“The meditator, secluded from desire and unwholesome dharmas, with applied thought and examination, the mind accomplished in a quiet place, with joy and bliss, obtains the first jhāna. This is the benefit of the earth kasiṇa”〔T32 415a07–09〕. The first-jhāna sentence explicitly closes the benefit of the earth kasiṇa; the first practice is complete. The last sentence, “Regarding one secluded from desire, seclusion is of three kinds: bodily seclusion, mental seclusion, and seclusion from defilements”〔T32 415a09–10〕, gives the general heading. The individual explanations belong to the next passage.

Conclusion

The source order is clear: increase proceeds from four finger-joints toward the great sea; ten conditioned ways list a clear place, arousing the faculties, understanding the sign, restraining disturbance, subduing lethargy, lack of savor and gladness, equanimity, companions, and delight in absorption; and the sustaining passage repeatedly uses “arise” and “the mind obtains sustaining.” Three things may be carried forward: a cluster of words—gradually, increase, arise, each within its own source sentence; a method—collate list and explanation, marking without normalizing what does not match; and a location—the first-jhāna sentence explicitly closes the benefit of the earth kasiṇa.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Expanding the Kasiṇa and the Means to Absorption · Exposition · Summer 2026

At the end of the preceding passage, the complete first-jhāna sentence appears for the first time: secluded from desire and unwholesome dharmas, with applied thought and examination, with joy and bliss, one obtains the first jhāna. Beginning here, the treatise does what it does particularly well: it dismantles the sentence and questions it word by word. This passage treats the first group, “secluded from desire and unwholesome dharmas,” and also begins applied thought in “with applied thought.”

State the observation first: this passage is the treatise reading itself. Seclusion is divided into three kinds and then five. Desire is divided into two kinds. Unwholesome dharmas are divided into three roots and three natures. The division of labor between seclusion from desire and seclusion from unwholesome dharmas is unfolded through a chain of “again” clauses into eight aspects. Five words of a sentence open into a small treasury of dharmas. Not one word in the first-jhāna sentence is passed over as merely idiomatic.

Three and Five Kinds of Seclusion

Continuing the preceding general heading, the source answers the three separately. “What is bodily seclusion?”—going far from disturbances and going out to dwell in mountains and wilderness. “What is mental seclusion?”—reaching an excellent wholesome place with a purified mind. “What is seclusion from defilements?”—for the person without binding burdens, there is no sphere of conduct in birth and death〔T32 415a12–13〕. Each sentence has its own name and answer: bodily seclusion explicitly gives distance from disturbances and mountain wilderness; mental seclusion explicitly gives the purified mind and excellent wholesome place; defilement seclusion explicitly gives absence of binding burdens and a sphere of birth and death. The source lists them in this order without establishing a hierarchy among them.

It then gives five: “Again, seclusion is of five kinds: seclusion by subduing, counterpart seclusion, seclusion by cutting off, seclusion by repose, and escape”〔T32 415a13–14〕. Each is explained. Seclusion by subduing is “cultivating the first jhāna and subduing the five hindrances.” Counterpart seclusion is “cultivating 達分定 and subduing the views.” Seclusion by cutting off is “cultivating the supramundane path and cutting off the defilements.” Seclusion by repose is “happiness at the time of attaining the fruit.” Escape is “Nibbāna”〔T32 415a17〕. The five explanations respectively attach to first jhāna, 達分定, the supramundane path, fruit attainment, and Nibbāna. The passage lists them without stating their mutual relation.

The wording of each is retained. Both the first and second connect “cultivate” with “subdue,” but the practices are first jhāna and 達分定 and what they subdue are five hindrances and views. Seclusion by cutting off also begins with cultivation, but the verb changes to cutting off and its object is the defilements. Seclusion by repose says only “happiness at fruit attainment”; escape only “Nibbāna.” The answers identify each term without joining the five into a chronological process.

“Desire” is next divided into two: “first, the domain of desire; second, the defilement of desire. Heavenly and human forms, odors, flavors, and tangibles that are loved are the domain of desire. Desire-stained thought arising toward this domain is the defilement of desire”〔T32 415a18–20〕. Object is object; stain is stain. Forms, odors, flavors, and tangibles exist in the world, and heavenly and human realms contain agreeable objects. The stain is the “desire-stained thought” arising toward that domain. What is left is the stain, not the removal of forms, odors, flavors, and tangibles from the world. The source closes with four terms: “this is distancing, escape, liberation, and nonassociation; this is called seclusion from desire”〔T32 415a20–21〕.

Three Natures of Unwholesome Dharmas

“What is seclusion from unwholesome dharmas? Answer: the unwholesome roots are three: greed, aversion, and delusion”〔T32 415a22–23〕. The unwholesome has three natures: “first intrinsic nature, second association, third nature arising from conditions”〔T32 415a24–25〕. The three are parallel in the source. The roots greed, aversion, and delusion are called intrinsic nature. Feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness associated with them are called association. Bodily, verbal, and mental action arising from them are called conditioned nature〔T32 415a25–27〕. The source creates three classifications and identifies what each includes. It assigns no order or causal sequence among them. The closing says that with respect to these three unwholesome dharmas one is distanced, escaped, liberated, and unassociated〔T32 415a27–28〕. It adds: “One secluded from desire is secluded from the hindrance of sensual desire; one secluded from unwholesome dharmas is secluded from the remaining hindrances”〔T32 415a29〕. The five hindrances are divided between the two: sensual desire belongs to seclusion from desire, the other four to seclusion from the unwholesome. This is the first contrast in the passage and the simplest ledger: division by hindrance.

The question first defines the unwholesome broadly: the three roots, the feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness associated with them, and bodily, verbal, and mental action are all included under “these are called unwholesome dharmas”〔T32 415a22–24〕. Only then does it rearrange them under intrinsic nature, association, and nature arising from conditions: roots under intrinsic nature, four aggregates under association, and three actions under conditioned nature. The list reads 生緣性, but the explanation closes with 緣性; the wording is not fully uniform. At its conclusion the source repeatedly aligns distancing, escape, liberation, and nonassociation with seclusion from unwholesome dharmas〔T32 415a22／415a28／415a29／415b01／415b06／415b13〕. It resembles the four terms in the conclusion on desire, while 出離 / 解脫 are shortened here to 出 / 脫.

The Treatise Poses Its Own Difficulty: Why State Seclusion from Desire Separately?

The most vigorous moment in the passage is the treatise's challenge to itself: “Question: having spoken of seclusion from unwholesome dharmas, desire is unwholesome and already included; why state seclusion from sexual desire separately?”〔T32 415b01–02〕. If the broader category already includes desire, why repeat it?

The answer has two levels. First it establishes the importance of its counteraction: “婬欲是出對治。佛所說欲，能除煩惱。離欲者，佛說為出”〔T32 415b02–03〕. Regression from the first jhāna occurs through the perception of desire: “when the first jhāna has been obtained, attention associated with the perception of desire arises; this is a dharma belonging to regression”〔T32 415b03–04〕. Even after first jhāna is obtained, the gate of regression is the perception of desire; naming desire separately names that gate. Second, the source makes desire pivotal: “desire is conjoined with the defilements; when desire is separated, all defilements are likewise separated. Therefore seclusion from desire is separately stated”〔T32 415b04–06〕. Desire is called out because it binds the defilements together. This is not repetition but naming the chief evil.

The punctuation and agent-object relations of the opening words, 婬欲是出對治。佛所說欲，能除煩惱, remain indeterminate; the following “one secluded from desire is what the Buddha called escape” stands separately. The verifiable sequence is: attention associated with the perception of desire arises and is called a dharma of regression; desire is said to be conjoined with the defilements; when desire is separated, all defilements are separated; therefore seclusion from desire is stated separately〔T32 415b03–06〕. The central reason remains these source steps, not an imported mechanism.

The Ten “If One Obtains” Sentences and Eight “Again” Turns: A Way of Reading

A chain of contrasts follows in the form “again, one secluded from desire … one secluded from unwholesome dharmas …,” eight instances in the passage beginning with the pair “secluded from the sensual-desire hindrance / from the remaining hindrances”〔T32 415a27–415b23〕. One section first says, “again, one secluded from desire has obtained escape and becomes secluded from desire,” then unfolds ten sentences on the side of unwholesome dharmas〔T32 415b06–12〕. In order: obtaining non-aversion means seclusion from aversion; obtaining the bright sign, from lassitude and sleepiness; nondistraction, from agitation; nonremorse, from remorse; absorption, from doubt; wisdom, from ignorance; right thought, from wrong thought; gladness, from discontent; the mind's bliss, from suffering; all wholesome dharmas, from all that is unwholesome. The first eight use “if one obtains … one becomes secluded from ….” The ninth changes to “if the mind obtains bliss,” and the last to “if all wholesome dharmas are obtained, then one is secluded from all that is unwholesome.” The sequence may be remembered as obtaining one dharma and leaving one, but the source does not present the ten as a ladder of cultivation. It then cites the Three Piṭakas: “because non-greed is fulfilled, seclusion from desire is accomplished; because non-aversion and non-delusion are fulfilled, seclusion from unwholesome dharmas is accomplished”〔T32 415b12–13〕.

After that statement〔T32 415b12–13〕, the source gives six further pairs introduced by “again”〔T32 415b13–23〕. First, seclusion from desire is bodily seclusion, while the unwholesome side is mental seclusion. Second, cutting off thoughts of desire is paired with cutting off thoughts of aversion and harm. Third, avoiding the pleasures of desire is paired with avoiding attachment to the body and lassitude. Fourth, cutting off the six kinds of joking and glad delight is paired with cutting off playful thought, sorrow and suffering, and, in another formulation, joking and equanimity. Fifth, directly obtaining happiness and escaping the pleasures of desire is paired with directly obtaining happiness and a mind without danger. Sixth, transcending the flood of desire is paired with the remaining defilements that should arise in the existence of desire arising in the form realm, called transcendence. The source gives each pair without identifying one as the general meaning of the others or ranking them.

Applied Thought: Like the Mind Reciting a Scripture

At the close, the question changes: “With applied thought and examination, what is applied thought?”〔T32 415b23〕. The word-by-word analysis of the five factors begins here. Applied thought receives two explanations. The first reads, 種種覺思惟安思想，心不覺知入正思惟，此謂為覺〔T32 415b23–24〕. How 安思想 and 心不覺知 connect with 入正思惟 cannot be determined and receives no settled definition. The second belongs to this practice: “Entering the earth kasiṇa, in dependence on the earth sign and without an interval, applied thought is accomplished; this is called applied thought, like the mind reciting a scripture”〔T32 415b25–26〕. The source gives dependence on the earth sign, no interval, and the simile of mental recitation. It does not explain the precise syntax of the earlier clause. The characteristic, function, arising, and proximate cause of applied thought belong to the next passage.

Conclusion

Return to the source sequence. Three and five kinds explain “seclusion.” Two kinds of desire and three kinds of the unwholesome distinguish the domain and stain of desire, and intrinsic nature, association, and conditioned nature. Ten “if one obtains” sentences pair what is obtained with what is left; six subsequent “again” groups contrast seclusion from desire and unwholesome dharmas. What may be carried onward is a list—bodily, mental, and defilement seclusion; seclusion by subduing, counterpart seclusion, seclusion by cutting off, seclusion by repose, and escape—and the content assigned to each of the eight 復次離欲者 turns. No level or rule absent from the source is imposed among the groups.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Seclusion from Desire and Unwholesome Dharmas · Exposition · Summer 2026

The analysis of the five first-jhāna factors begins with applied thought and examination. This passage first asks separately about their characteristic, function, arising, and proximate cause, then asks how they differ. The answer gives the similes of striking a bell, seeing a person approach from afar, a bird, and reciting a scripture, together with many verbal contrasts. At the end it separately explains “accomplished through quietude” and begins joy.

The leading simile says, “Like striking a bell, the first sound is applied thought and the following sound is examination”〔T32 415c04–05〕. The source later gives the first and following of the mind's object, seeking jhāna and guarding, recollection and nonrelinquishment, sustaining with a coarse and subtle mind, seeking and drawing versus holding and following, and initial and sustained instruction. It also explicitly says: “Where applied thought is present, examination is present; where examination is present, applied thought may be present or absent”〔T32 415c08–09〕. Every group distinguishes applied thought and examination in its own terms and must be preserved as such. The relation between the two directions is asymmetrical.

Four Questions, Three Answers: One Different Item Missing in Each Place

First comes the work of names. “Question: what 想, function, arising, and proximate cause does applied thought have? Answer: for applied thought, cultivating the perception of 猗 is its function, lowering the mind and forming a thought is its arising, and perception is its sphere of conduct”〔T32 415b26–28〕. The three items that directly match the question are 修猗想 as function, 下心作念 as arising, and 想 as sphere of conduct. The punctuation of 下心作念 cannot be determined. Four items are asked, but only three answered; no answer to 何想 is separately listed. The four questions on examination〔T32 415c02–04〕 likewise receive three answers, but the missing item there is arising. The omissions differ and are a visible feature of the source.

Examination is first defined: “When cultivating examination, one selects in accordance with what is observed; the mind abides and relinquishes in accordance; this is called examination”〔T32 415b28–29〕. For one entering concentration on the earth kasiṇa, “the earth sign being cultivated is what the mind observes; as examining various meanings, this is examination”〔T32 415c01–02〕. Its own four questions read, “What is the characteristic, function, arising, and proximate cause of examination?”〔T32 415c02–03〕. The answer is, “selection in accordance is its characteristic; causing the mind to 猗 is its function; 隨見覺 is its proximate cause”〔T32 415c03–04〕. No arising is separately given. Whether 隨見覺 is one expression or several connected words cannot be determined and receives no settled construal.

Eighteen Turns Distinguishing Applied Thought and Examination

After “Question: what is the distinction between applied thought and examination?”〔T32 415c04〕, the answer sets out eighteen turns in sequence.

1. The bell: “the first sound is applied thought, the following sound examination”〔T32 415c04–05〕. The two sounds of the same bell distinguish the pair; this is the first simile.
2. The mind's object: “with regard to the mind's object, the first is applied thought and what follows is examination”〔T32 415c05–06〕. The sentence divides only first and following and does not define the range of “the mind's object.”
3. Seeking jhāna and guarding: “seeking jhāna is applied thought; guarding is examination”〔T32 415c06〕. Each verb is assigned to one member.
4. Recollection and nonrelinquishment: “recollection is applied thought; not relinquishing is examination”〔T32 415c06–07〕. The source gives only this pair, without an intermediate link.
5. Coarse and subtle mind: “sustaining with a coarse mind is applied thought; sustaining with a subtle mind is examination”〔T32 415c07〕. Both use sustaining, first with a coarse mind and then a subtle mind.
6. Presence by locus: “where applied thought is present, examination is present; where examination is present, applied thought may be present or absent”〔T32 415c08–09〕. This is a conditional statement, not a simile, and explicitly gives different relations in the two directions.
7. Settling upon the subject: “initially settling the mind upon the subject is applied thought; 得覺未定 is examination”〔T32 415c09–10〕. How 得覺未定 is punctuated and what 未定 attaches to cannot be determined.
8. A person approaching from afar: seeing a person at a distance without knowing whether man or woman, then recognizing man or woman, color, and shape is applied thought; thereafter examining whether virtuous or unvirtuous, rich or poor, noble or lowly is examination〔T32 415c10–12〕. Both sides' contents are listed item by item.
9. Seeking and following: “applied thought seeks and draws 將來; examination holds and follows”〔T32 415c12–13〕. How 將來 attaches cannot be determined. What is certain is 求引 on the side of applied thought and 守持隨逐 on the side of examination.
10. The bird: “like a bird mounting the sky and beating its wings, that is applied thought; gliding and remaining is examination”〔T32 415c13〕. Beating the wings belongs to applied thought and gliding to examination; the source gives no further account of the movements.
11. Instruction: “initial instruction is applied thought; sustained instruction is examination”〔T32 415c13–14〕. The base reads 教 in both places, and the two are preserved.
12. Guarding and investigating: “through applied thought one guards; through examination one investigates”〔T32 415c14〕. Two parallel prepositional constructions assign the terms.
13. Thinking: “through applied thought one thinks; through examination one follows thought”〔T32 415c14–15〕. The source terms are retained on their respective sides.
14. Practice: “the practice of applied thought does not think of evil dharmas; the practice of examination sustains jhāna”〔T32 415c15–16〕.
15. Silent recitation: “like a strong person silently reciting a scripture and recollecting its meaning, this is examination”〔T32 415c16〕. This turn states examination alone and gives no counterpart for applied thought.
16. 如覺所覺: “如覺所覺，覺已能知”〔T32 415c17〕. This turn states applied thought alone. How its two occurrences of 覺 relate to 所覺 cannot be determined.
17. Four discriminations: “examining verbal discrimination and discriminative eloquence is applied thought; discrimination of meaning and discrimination of dharmas are examination”〔T32 415c17–18〕. The four are assigned between the two, but not defined here.
18. The mind's understanding: “the mind understanding what is excellent is applied thought; the mind understanding distinctions is examination”〔T32 415c18–19〕. Both use “the mind understands,” followed respectively by excellence and distinction, and the source closes, “this is the distinction between applied thought and examination.”

Sixteen of the eighteen turns give both sides. Silent recitation states examination alone; 如覺所覺 states applied thought alone. The verbs, objects, and constructions are preserved in source order. No selection of several turns is made into a definition governing all the others.

A Pausing Question: Why Is Examination Always Present with Applied Thought, but Applied Thought Not Always with Examination?

Amid the long corridor of similes stands one especially important non-simile: “Where applied thought is present, examination is present; where examination is present, applied thought may be present or absent”〔T32 415c08–09〕.

Why the asymmetry? The passage gives no further reason. The only direct source fact is the one-way relation stated: applied thought entails examination; examination may occur with or without applied thought. “As spoken in the Three Piṭakas” stands between this sentence and the next. Whether it closes the former or introduces the latter cannot be determined here.

Accomplished through Quietude, and the First Appearance of Joy

After the distinctions, the treatise explains “accomplished through quietude.” The first account is: “What is called quietude means seclusion from the five hindrances; this is called quietude.” It then separately says “the wholesome root of the form realm,” “access to the first jhāna,” and “the jhāna mind arises from this mind; this is called accomplished through quietude”〔T32 415c21〕. “Wholesome root of the form realm” stands as its own clause; access to the first jhāna and the jhāna mind arising from this mind are each introduced by “it is further said.” The statements are retained in sequence and none is changed into the definition of the others. The closing simile is: “As a flower born from earth and water is called an earth-and-water flower”〔T32 415c22〕. The flower receives its name from that from which it arises.

The close reads: “As for joy and bliss, at this time the mind greatly rejoices and laughs; the mind is full and cool. This is called joy”〔T32 415c22–23〕. The initial account explicitly lists great rejoicing, laughter, and the mind being full and cool.

Conclusion

Return to the source. One bell and two sounds form the first of eighteen distinctions, and each subsequent turn separates applied thought and examination in its own terms. The two one-sided sentences remain one-sided. The source separately states that applied thought entails examination while examination may occur with or without applied thought. Finally, the quietude section lists seclusion from the hindrances, the wholesome root of the form realm, access to the first jhāna, and the jhāna mind arising from this mind, then uses the earth-and-water flower as a simile. Joy first appears as great rejoicing, laughter, and a mind full and cool.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Applied Thought and Examination: Their Qualities and Distinction · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage first analyzes joy and pleasure, then explains the formulation of the first jhāna, and finally lists the five hindrances to be left behind and the three sources of sleep.

The central observation can be stated at once: the passage separately lists six sources from which joy is born, five forms of joy and the places where they arise, five kinds of pleasure, and four paired contrasts between joy and pleasure. Its statement of inclusion reads, “Where there is joy, there is pleasure; where there is pleasure, there may or may not be joy” 〔T32 416a23–24〕. It also explicitly says, “Joy is coarse, and pleasure subtle,” and “Joy is included in the aggregate of formations, and pleasure in the aggregate of feeling” 〔T32 416a22–23〕. The six kinds of joy are listed according to what each arises from; there is no wording of succession from one item to the next.

Joy: Six Sources and Five Movements of Water

“Question: What is joy's characteristic? What is its function? What is its manifestation? What is its basis? How many kinds of joy are there? Answer: Joy has pervasive gladness as its characteristic, delight as its function, the taming of a scattered mind as its manifestation, and elation as its basis” 〔T32 415c23–25〕. The answer gives one statement each: pervasive gladness is the characteristic, delight the function, taming the scattered mind the manifestation, and elation the basis. It then separately asks how many kinds of joy there are.

Characteristic, function, manifestation, and basis each receive their own phrase in this answer and should not be interchanged: “pervasive gladness” belongs only to the characteristic, “delight” only to the function, “taming the scattered mind” only to the manifestation, and “elation” only to the basis 〔T32 415c23–25〕. After these four statements, the source separately answers “how many kinds of joy?” by first listing six sources and then explaining each. The four answers and the six names thus form two successive levels, not one inventory.

Joy has six sources: “born of desire, born of faith, born of nonremorse, born of seclusion, born of concentration, and joy born of the factors of awakening” 〔T32 415c26–27〕. The source explains each in turn. Joy born of desire is “the mind's joy through attachment to sensual desire” 〔T32 415c28〕. Joy born of faith occurs in a person of much faith and when one “sees a potter and others and joy arises” 〔T32 415c29〕. Joy born of nonremorse occurs in a person who purely keeps virtue 〔T32 416a01〕. Joy born of seclusion is the joy of one who enters the first jhāna, while joy born of concentration is the joy born on entering the second jhāna 〔T32 416a01–02〕. Joy born of the factors of awakening is “joy in cultivating the supramundane path in the second jhāna” 〔T32 416a03〕. The six are listed in this order and each is assigned its source; no connective says that one develops into the next.

Joy is then divided into five: “smiling joy, moment-by-moment joy, streaming joy, leaping joy, and fulfilling joy” 〔T32 416a04–05〕. Each is tied to a simile: “Smiling joy is like a fine rain touching the body and making every hair stand on end. Moment-by-moment joy arises and ceases without remaining, like rain at night. Streaming joy is like oil flowing downward: though it pours over the body for a long time, it never pervades it completely. Leaping joy surrounds everything and makes the mind glad, yet is soon lost, like a poor person who sees a hidden treasure. Fulfilling joy abides in the body and fills its use, like thunder with rain” 〔T32 416a05–09〕. The source immediately gives their places of arising: “Small joy and moment-by-moment joy arise through faith in access. Streaming joy is powerful and arises in access. Leaping joy: with respect to the maṇḍala, correct and incorrect, all arise, everywhere means. Fulfilling joy arises at the place of security” 〔T32 416a09–12〕. What can be established is each joy's simile, the places called access and the place of security, and the discrepancy between “smiling joy” in the list and “small joy” in the placement sentence. The passage gives these appearances and places, but no further diagnostic procedure for practice.

The wording emphasized by each simile also differs. Smiling joy says only that fine rain touches the body and the hairs stand up. Moment-by-moment joy explicitly “arises and ceases without remaining.” Streaming joy, although it “pours over the body for a long time,” “never pervades it completely.” Leaping joy, although it “surrounds everything and makes the mind glad,” is explicitly “soon lost.” Fulfilling joy “abides in the body and fills its use” 〔T32 416a08–09〕. Thus the source records differences in duration, pervasion, and loss; the kinds cannot be collapsed merely because their similes draw on water or hidden treasure.

Pleasure: Five Kinds and Its Difference from Joy

“Question: What is pleasure? Answer: At that time, it is the pleasure of mind that can be experienced, formed by mental contact. This is called pleasure” 〔T32 416a12–13〕. After four items—“its characteristic is savor, loving an agreeable object is its agreeable function, receiving is its manifestation, and its tranquillity is its basis”—the passage lists five kinds: causal pleasure, for which “as the Buddha said, the pleasure of virtue endures old age”; this is causal pleasure and the quality of pleasure; pleasure of requisites, for which “as the Buddha said, the arising of a Buddha is pleasure in the world”; pleasure of seclusion, meaning “the arising of concentration, equanimity, and the concentration of cessation-jhāna”; undefiled pleasure, for which “as the Buddha said, foremost is the felt pleasure of Nibbāna”; and felt pleasure 〔T32 416a14–21〕. Three statements of the Buddha are cited as evidence (see apparatus section 4), and the author adds, “In this treatise, felt pleasure is what is agreeable” 〔T32 416a20–21〕. What this passage establishes is the list of five, each explanation, and this treatise's use of felt pleasure as what is agreeable. It gives no further sequence among the five.

The two sets of questions on joy and pleasure do not have the same form. Joy is first asked about characteristic, function, manifestation, basis, and number, and after the first four are answered the source lists six kinds by source 〔T32 415c23–416a03〕. Pleasure is first asked about separately—“What is pleasure?”—and only afterward are characteristic, function, manifestation, basis, number, and the difference between joy and pleasure combined in one question 〔T32 416a12–14〕. The answer first gives four items, then five kinds of pleasure, and only then answers the difference between joy and pleasure 〔T32 416a14–24〕. The six kinds of joy, five forms of joy, five kinds of pleasure, and differences between joy and pleasure are consequently four inventories belonging to distinct questions, not stages of a single sequence.

The five pleasures likewise have only the explanations given by the source. Causal pleasure is illustrated by “the pleasure of virtue endures old age” and called a quality of pleasure. Pleasure of requisites is illustrated by “the arising of a Buddha is pleasure in the world.” Pleasure of seclusion is tied to the arising of concentration, equanimity, and the concentration of cessation-jhāna. Undefiled pleasure is illustrated by “foremost is the felt pleasure of Nibbāna.” Felt pleasure is defined by the treatise here as what is agreeable 〔T32 416a15–21〕. The five appear side by side in this order; the passage does not say that one arises from another.

The source gives a series of paired contrasts: “Elation of mind is joy, and softness of mind is pleasure. Tranquillity of mind is pleasure, and concentration of mind is joy. Joy is coarse, and pleasure subtle. Joy is included in the aggregate of formations, and pleasure in the aggregate of feeling” 〔T32 416a21–23〕. The four pairs—elation and softness, concentration and tranquillity, coarse and subtle, formations and feeling—stand side by side in the source; they need not be reduced to one abstract definition. The source then says, “Where there is joy, there is pleasure; where there is pleasure, there may or may not be joy” 〔T32 416a23–24〕. The asymmetry should be preserved. The referents and syntax of the following sentence, “The first is form; the second is name” 〔T32 416a24–25〕, are unclear in this passage.

The two halves of the inclusion statement are unequal. The first explicitly says that where joy occurs, pleasure occurs. The second says that where pleasure occurs, joy may be present or absent 〔T32 416a23–24〕. This is the range directly given by the source. Since “the first is form; the second is name” receives no identification of its referents here, it cannot be used to impose another definition on the four preceding contrasts.

Three Meanings of Jhāna and Threefold Excellence

“The jhāna factors of one who has fulfilled access and enters the first jhāna are applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness” 〔T32 416a25–26〕. The five factors are listed in this order. The treatise then asks the meaning of jhāna and answers: “evenly contemplating the matter, vigorously shaking off the five hindrances, and contemplating the antidote” 〔T32 416a26–27〕. These three meanings are juxtaposed; the source does not assign them separate levels.

The formulation of the first jhāna is then explained word by word: “Secluded from sensual desire and unwholesome states means being able to abandon through the antidote. With applied and sustained thought describes the characteristic of jhāna as born of seclusion. Joy and pleasure describes the attainment of a corresponding jhāna” 〔T32 416b02–04〕. The passage also gives threefold excellence: it describes the first jhāna as excellent from the ground of the sensual realm, the second jhāna as excellent from applied and sustained thought, and joy and pleasure born of seclusion as excellent 〔T32 416a28–416b02〕. “One who enters the first jhāna and gains attainment has gained, touched, realized, and abides” 〔T32 416a27–28〕. “Entering and abiding” is further explained as gaining the first jhāna, being separated from five factors, accomplishing five factors and three kinds of goodness, fulfilling ten characteristics, and being associated with twenty-five qualities, and thereby being reborn above in a sublime dwelling in the Brahmā world 〔T32 416b04–06〕. In this unit, the three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, and twenty-five qualities are given only by name and number, not explained item by item.

The numbers are first announced without expansion. The five factors left behind are immediately explained below as the five hindrances—sensual desire, ill will, sloth-and-torpor, agitation-and-remorse, and doubt 〔T32 416b06–08〕. The five factors accomplished have already been listed as applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness 〔T32 416a25–26〕. The three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, and twenty-five qualities occur together only in the statement on entering and abiding; none is enumerated in this unit. What can be established here is the juxtaposition of “being separated from five factors” and “accomplishing five factors,” together with the stated numbers of the three later groups.

The statement on entering and abiding has a complete source order: first gaining the first jhāna; then being separated from five factors, accomplishing five factors and three kinds of goodness, fulfilling ten characteristics, and being associated with twenty-five qualities; and finally, through this merit and goodness, being reborn in a sublime dwelling in the Brahmā world 〔T32 416b04–06〕. The passage only strings these items together and does not enumerate the three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, or twenty-five qualities. Their names, numbers, and order are therefore retained here without anticipation.

The Five Hindrances and an Arahant's Sleep

Being separated from five factors is being separated from the five hindrances: “sensual desire, ill will, sloth-and-torpor, agitation-and-remorse, and doubt” 〔T32 416b07–08〕. The passage then explains four terms: sensual desire is “the mind's loving attachment toward the five sense objects,” ill will is “acting in the ten grounds of vexation,” sloth is “the mind being lazy,” and torpor is “the body being dull and heavy and wanting to sleep” 〔T32 416b10〕. Agitation-and-remorse and doubt are only named in this passage, not explained further.

After the list of hindrances, sleep is divided by source into three: born of food, born of season, and born of mind 〔T32 416b10–11〕. What is born of mind is abandoned through contemplation. What is born of food and season is called an arahant's sleep, because it “is not born of mind and there is nothing that hinders.” The source then says that sleep born of food and season can be abandoned through energy 〔T32 416b11–13〕. These statements respectively give source, whether there is a hindrance, and the antidote; each is retained in the source order.

In the list of five hindrances, “agitation-and-remorse” joins agitation and remorse as one hindrance, while “sloth-and-torpor” joins laziness and bodily heaviness as one. Ill will is given the ten grounds of vexation as its shortest point of application, and sensual desire the five sense objects. The treatise spends more words on “sleep,” because this hindrance is readily confused with a bodily appearance. Sleep is divided into three: “first, born of food; second, born of season; and third, born of mind” 〔T32 416b10–11〕. Pause here with one question: Does an arahant sleep? The treatise answers plainly: “If it is born of food and season, it is an arahant's sleep; it is not born of mind, because there is nothing that hinders” 〔T32 416b11–13〕. The distinction lies in the source of the hindrance, not in the body's appearance. Drowsiness after food or according to the season belongs to the body's conditions and occurs even for an arahant; torpor born of mind is the hindrance and is “abandoned through contemplation.” The passage cites 阿㝹樓馱: “When I first exhausted the influxes, I attained sleep not born of mind. Now, fifty-five years; in the interval, cut off food season lying down, already twenty-five years” 〔T32 416b14–16〕. The reckoning of the years and the punctuation of “cut off food season lying down” remain unclear in this passage. Only one point is secure: one who has exhausted the influxes does not sleep from mind. The text thereby draws the boundary of the hindrance at the mind, not the bodily appearance. It also distinguishes the antidotes. What is born of mind is abandoned through contemplation, while what is born of food and season “can be abandoned through energy” 〔T32 416b13〕. Bodily sleep is not wholly beyond response; energy can abandon it. Whether sleep is or is not a hindrance depends on its source, while its abandonment depends on energy.

Conclusion

The passage lists six sources and five forms of joy with their places of arising, and five kinds of pleasure. It distinguishes joy and pleasure through four pairs—elation and softness, concentration and tranquillity, coarse and subtle, formations and feeling—and through the statement that joy entails pleasure while pleasure may occur without joy. Each of the six joys is read by its own source, and each of the five forms by its own simile and placement. Sleep born of mind is abandoned through contemplation; what is born of food and season is an arahant's sleep, and the source further says that it can be abandoned through energy 〔T32 416b10–13〕.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Joy, Pleasure, the First Jhāna, and the Five Hindrances · Exposition · Summer 2026

After naming the five hindrances, this passage takes up three questions of “why”: if sleep is a bodily quality, why is it counted as a mental-factor defilement? Why do two qualities form one hindrance? If subtle fetters are innumerable, why are only five hindrances taught? All three ask how this inventory is composed.

The main observation can be stated first. The passage gives three distinct reasons for combining hindrances and arriving at five. On combining sloth and sleep, the source says, “These two qualities are one matter and one characteristic—what is called 疲懈 is together one” 〔T32 416b19–20〕. On combining agitation and remorse, it says, “Since their characteristics are equal, they form one hindrance” 〔T32 416b20–21〕. On why only five hindrances are taught, it gives the general answer, “Through collected grasping, they become five” 〔T32 416c02〕, followed by three groups and what each encompasses. Each reason goes no further than the combination or collection it describes.

The two combinations do not use the same term. The first says “one matter and one characteristic,” while the second says “their characteristics are equal.” The formation of five is described separately as “collected grasping.”

Sleep and Sloth: Why the Same Hindrance?

“Question: If sleep is formed as a material quality, why is it a mental-factor defilement?” 〔T32 416b16〕 asks why sleep, if it belongs to material qualities, is also called a mental-factor defilement. The answer reads, “A material quality invariably becomes a mental-factor defilement. As when I see a person drink alcohol and eat, it can thereby be known” 〔T32 416b16–18〕. The source places the example of drinking and eating directly after the central sentence. It does not further explain the precise meaning of “invariably becomes” or how the example establishes the preceding sentence.

The subjects of the three sentences also change in sequence. The question says “sleep,” the answer begins with “a material quality,” and the example says, “I see a person drink alcohol and eat” 〔T32 416b17〕. What can be established is the order of question, answer, and example, and that the answer does close with the example. The source does not unfold the intermediate relation by which “a material quality” answers the question about sleep or by which drinking and eating make the “mental-factor defilement” known.

“Question: If sleep is a bodily quality and sloth a mental-factor quality, why do the two qualities form one hindrance?” 〔T32 416b18–19〕. One is called bodily and the other a mental-factor quality, so the question asks why they are combined. The answer is, “These two qualities are one matter and one characteristic—what is called 疲懈 is together one” 〔T32 416b19–20〕. The treatise does not further divide the precise referents of “one matter and one characteristic” or 疲懈. The pair agitation-and-remorse is described separately: “Agitation means that the mind lacks quietude; remorse means that the mind regrets and is not concentrated. Since their characteristics are equal, they form one hindrance” 〔T32 416b20–21〕. Both passages explicitly say why two form one hindrance, but their wording differs and should be read in its respective form.

Four Difficulties through Doubt: This Scripture Takes Only One

“Doubt means that the mind's grasping is not one” 〔T32 416b21〕, after which it is divided into four difficulties: “first, difficulty concerning calm; second, difficulty concerning insight; third, difficulty concerning both; and fourth, difficulty concerning various non-[matters]” 〔T32 416b22–23〕. The section on difficulty concerning calm first has the wording “Here, fulfilled, in order to attain calm, or doubtful about this” 〔T32 416b23–24〕, in which the attachment of “fulfilled” is not self-evident. The next sentence separately describes doubt about whether one can attain quietude. Difficulty concerning insight is doubt about the Four Noble Truths or the three periods 〔T32 416b25–26〕. Difficulty concerning both is doubt about the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha 〔T32 416b26–27〕. The fourth is doubt about countries, cities, and roads, or the names and surnames of men and women 〔T32 416b27–28〕. The four are preserved separately in the source order; what “both” refers to in “difficulty concerning both” is not supplied.

Pause at one question: Why is doubt “about countries, cities, and roads, or the names and surnames of men and women” 〔T32 416b27〕 also included under doubt? The treatise first calls it “non-Dhamma difficulty,” and then explicitly says, “In this scripture, doubt is a difficulty concerning quietude; this is what may be taken” 〔T32 416b28〕. Thus, among the four kinds, this scripture takes difficulty concerning quietude. As for the scope of “non-Dhamma difficulty,” this passage gives only countries, cities, roads, and personal names as examples; no additional criterion is supplied.

Meanings of Hindrance and “Why Only Five?”

“What does ‘hindrance’ mean? The meaning of obstructing the vehicle; the meaning of covering, the meaning of defilement, and the meaning of binding. These do not have different meanings” 〔T32 416b29–416c01〕. The answer gives, in order, “the meaning of obstructing the vehicle,” “covering,” “defilement,” and “binding,” followed by “these do not have different meanings.” What “vehicle” refers to is not self-evident. The source also does not say whether the first and following three expressions are parallel, general and particular, or otherwise connected; no separate image or function is assigned to them here.

In the order of the answer, “the meaning of obstructing the vehicle” comes first, followed by covering, defilement, and binding, and the last statement is “these do not have different meanings” 〔T32 416b29–416c01〕. This sequence can be preserved. The relation among the expressions, and which part the final statement concludes, remain unresolved.

“Question: There are various subtle fetters, such as covering and vexation. Why are only five hindrances taught?” 〔T32 416c01–02〕. The answer is general and particular. The general statement is “Through collected grasping, they become five.” Since 集執取, “collected grasping,” is not explained in this passage, the source term is retained. The particular account proceeds in order: attachment through sensual desire encompasses all greed; attachment through ill will encompasses all unwholesome qualities; attachment through sloth, sleep, agitation-and-remorse, and doubt encompasses all unwholesome qualities of delusion. It concludes, “In this way, attachment through the five hindrances encompasses all defilements” 〔T32 416c05〕. The descriptions of what the three groups encompass are not uniform, so each is retained as written and not recast as one system of antidotes.

Grouped by the names of the five hindrances, the first sentence gives only sensual desire, the second only ill will, and the third jointly gives sloth-and-torpor, agitation-and-remorse, and doubt. One, one, and three make five. What they encompass is respectively “all greed,” “all unwholesome qualities,” and “all unwholesome qualities of delusion” 〔T32 416c02–05〕. These scopes are not written in a uniform form. Only the final sentence brings “attachment through the five hindrances” together under “all defilements”; it is the shared conclusion after the three groups have been separately listed.

The questions can be read in sequence: first, why sleep and sloth are combined; next, why agitation and remorse are combined; and finally, why the innumerable subtle fetters are expressed as only five hindrances. The three reasons are respectively “one matter and one characteristic,” “their characteristics are equal,” and “through collected grasping, they become five.” Each has its own wording and need not be forced into a general rule beyond this passage.

Naming the Five Factors

The final sentence returns to the positive side: “Accomplishment of five factors means applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness” 〔T32 416c06–07〕. Once the five factors to be left behind have been explained, the inventory of the five factors to be accomplished is named again. The first four have each already received their own treatment; the details of one-pointedness and accomplishment are taken up later.

Conclusion

Sleep and sloth form one hindrance because “these two qualities are one matter and one characteristic—what is called 疲懈 is together one.” Agitation and remorse form one because “their characteristics are equal.” The formation of five is explained through “collected grasping” and the three groups of what is encompassed. Doubt is divided into four difficulties, while this scripture explicitly takes “doubt as a difficulty concerning quietude.” The passage ends by restating the five factors as applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness, moving from the five hindrances left behind to the five factors accomplished.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Questions on Sleep and the Five Hindrances · Exposition · Summer 2026

Once the five factors have been named, a sharp question immediately arises: are jhāna and its factors one thing or two?

“Question: If accomplishing the five factors of the first jhāna is itself jhāna, its factors should not again be separately called jhāna. If factors are separately spoken of, why is the first jhāna said to be associated with five factors?” 〔T32 416c07–09〕. If the five factors together constitute jhāna, factors should not be separately spoken of; if factors are spoken of separately, then what is jhāna?

The central observation is given by the passage's strongest simile: there is no jhāna apart from its factors. “Jhāna is formed in dependence on the jhāna factors. There is no jhāna apart from the jhāna factors, no other separate jhāna. It is like speaking of a cart in dependence on each part of the cart: apart from the parts, there is no cart. It is like speaking of an army in dependence on the divisions of the army: there is no army apart from its divisions” 〔T32 416c09–11〕. Wheels, axle, and shafts together are called a cart; when they are taken apart, no “cart” remains. Soldiers, ranks, and formations together are called an army; when the ranks disperse, no “army” stands apart. Jhāna is the same: jhāna is the collective name for five factors, not a sixth thing beyond them. One who seeks jhāna need not look beyond applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness for another state called “jhāna.” When the five factors are cultivated together, jhāna is there; if one factor is absent, jhāna lacks a corner. The simile also teaches a way to look at names: some names designate a thing, while others designate a combination. Confusing the two leads one to seek something that does not exist.

The treatise gives three further pairs concerning name and division: “What is one is named jhāna, and what can be divided is named factor. Speaking of the matter, it is named jhāna; speaking of its qualities, they are named factors. By speaking, 依制 is named jhāna; by speaking, 依性制 is named factor” 〔T32 416c12–14〕. The first two pairs respectively set one against divisible, and matter against qualities. In the third, the referents of 依制 and 依性制, the segmentation of the two occurrences of “by speaking,” and their attachment to “named jhāna” and “named factor” are not explained by the source. How this third pair joins the first two remains uncertain here.

The cart and army similes also use different negative forms. The cart simile says, “apart from the parts, there is no cart,” while the army simile says, “there is no army apart from its divisions” 〔T32 416c11〕. The first directly denies a cart once the parts are left behind; the second denies that an army exists separately from its divisions. The conclusion immediately repeats, “It is named jhāna in dependence on the jhāna factors; there is no jhāna apart from the factors” 〔T32 416c11–12〕, bringing what both similes establish back to jhāna and its factors. The three pairs then distinguish collective name from divisible item, matter from qualities, and 依制 from 依性制.

The Sequence in the Answer on Grasping the Characteristic

“Question: Given qualities such as mindfulness and energy, why are only five factors taught? Answer: Through grasping, they become five” 〔T32 416c14–15〕. The question notes that there are also such qualities as mindfulness and energy, while the answer says only that through grasping they become five. Asked what “grasping the characteristic” means, the source proceeds in this order: “Applied thought follows the matter, and the mind thereby settles itself. Sustained thought follows the maintaining of the mind. Applied and sustained thought are not intermixed, and means arises. When means is fulfilled, joy and pleasure arise. When arising means is fulfilled and gains arising, the mind of joy grows and the mind of pleasure becomes full. Through these four qualities, the mind is accomplished and undistracted. When the mind is undistracted and gains concentration, this is called grasping the characteristic” 〔T32 416c16–20〕. The source does not individually name the items to which “these four qualities” refers. What can be established is the order of the answer and its conclusions, “When the mind is undistracted and gains concentration, this is called grasping the characteristic” and “In this way, through grasping they become five” 〔T32 416c19–20〕.

The surface sequence can be distinguished further. Applied thought and sustained thought each receive one sentence. Then comes “Applied and sustained thought are not intermixed, and means arises.” This is followed by two clauses beginning with “when”: “When means is fulfilled, joy and pleasure arise”; “when arising means is fulfilled and gains arising”; and then “the mind of joy grows and the mind of pleasure becomes full” 〔T32 416c18〕. Only afterward does the passage introduce “these four qualities,” the mind's nondistraction, and the gaining of concentration 〔T32 416c18–20〕. Since the source neither numbers the four nor recasts the five factors as a sequence of stages, the present account follows only the existing order of these statements.

Two Tables: Juxtaposed without Reconciliation

The treatise then gives the first table: “Applied thought is the excellent factor in the first jhāna, for applied thought removes sensual desire. If applied thought enters right concentration, the other factors also arise. Among the five factors, sustained thought first arises in the second jhāna; joy first arises in the third; pleasure first arises in the fourth; and one-pointedness first arises in the fifth. In this way, through the excellent factors they become five” 〔T32 416c21–25〕. In this table, only applied thought is explicitly called the first jhāna's “excellent factor.” Sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness are said respectively to “first arise” in the second through fifth jhānas. Immediately before it stands the statement “The first hindrance is the antidote to the first jhāna, up to the five hindrances being the antidote to the five jhānas” 〔T32 416c21〕. Its direction of action and relation to the ensuing correspondences are not self-evident, so it is not rewritten as though each hindrance took its respective jhāna as antidote.

The second table comes from the Piṭaka: “One-pointedness is the antidote to sensual desire; gladness is the antidote to ill will; applied thought is the antidote to sloth-and-torpor; pleasure is the antidote to agitation-and-remorse; and sustained thought is the antidote to doubt. Because the hindrances follow their antidotes, they therefore become five” 〔T32 416c26–29〕. Here the five factors and five hindrances are explicitly paired one by one. The ordinary list of factors uses “joy,” while the citation uses “gladness”; the discrepancy is retained.

The order of these five differs from the usual list—applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, one-pointedness. It is arranged by antidote as one-pointedness, gladness, applied thought, pleasure, and sustained thought, and closes with, “Because the hindrances follow their antidotes, they therefore become five” 〔T32 416c26–29〕.

The two tables stand side by side in the source. The first has “excellent factor,” “first arises,” and “applied thought removes sensual desire”; the second pairs each factor with a hindrance as its “antidote.” Each is preserved in its own wording. How they are related to one another remains unresolved in the text.

The first table concludes, “In this way, through the excellent factors they become five”; the second, “Because the hindrances follow their antidotes, they therefore become five.” Each sentence closes its own table.

Pause: Does Applied Thought Remove Desire, or Does One-Pointedness Counter Sensual Desire?

Pause here: the two tables in the same passage do not make the same pairing. The vertical table says, “Applied thought removes sensual desire” 〔T32 416c22〕: applied thought is the excellent factor of the first jhāna, and what it removes is desire. The horizontal table cited from the Piṭaka says instead, “One-pointedness is the antidote to sensual desire” 〔T32 416c26–27〕. For the same desire, one statement says applied thought removes it, while the other says one-pointedness counters it. The treatise presents both without reconciliation.

The text states only the two sentences, “Applied thought removes sensual desire” 〔T32 416c22〕 and “One-pointedness is the antidote to sensual desire” 〔T32 416c26–27〕. Although both occur in the same passage, the treatise does not explain the relation between “removing desire” and “being the antidote to sensual desire,” or how the two tables should be harmonized. Both statements are retained, and their relation remains unresolved.

Conclusion

Return to the central observation: there is no jhāna apart from its factors. The cart and army similes show that jhāna is named in dependence on its factors and that no other jhāna exists beyond them. The passage on grasping the characteristic proceeds through applied thought, sustained thought, means, joy and pleasure, nondistraction, and the gaining of concentration. Its final two tables give respectively the excellent factors and their first arising, and the antidotes to the five hindrances. Carry away three things: jhāna is inseparable from its factors; the answer on grasping the characteristic ends with the undistracted mind gaining concentration; and “applied thought removes sensual desire” stands beside “one-pointedness is the antidote to sensual desire” without reconciliation.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Establishment of the Five Factors of the First Jhāna · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage lists the three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, and twenty-five qualities item by item, and ends with the Buddha's simile of a ball made from bean-and-rice bath powder. The first part is an inventory; the second uses “moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing” to describe how joy and pleasure born of seclusion pervade body and mind.

The structure can be stated first. The three kinds of goodness are divided into beginning, middle, and end. The ten characteristics are divided three, three, and four. The twenty-five qualities are listed item by item. The closing simile says that bath powder is mixed with water and kneaded into a ball, “moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing” 〔T32 417a28–29〕. In this way, the bhikkhu's body and mind are thoroughly moistened by joy and pleasure born of seclusion, with no place untouched. The sections below follow each source item in turn.

Pause: Where Do Joy and Pleasure Come From?

The opening asks a good question: “Why does this meditator, while attending to the sign of the earth kasiṇa, nevertheless give rise to joy and pleasure?” 〔T32 416c29–417a01〕. The object attended to is a sign of earth; what is delightful about earth?

The answer first states explicitly, “The sign of the earth kasiṇa is not the cause for the arising of joy and pleasure” 〔T32 417a01〕. The earth sign itself is therefore not the cause. Immediately afterward comes, “Because of leaving the heat of the five hindrances, cultivating according to its nature, the Dhamma-child should give rise to joy and pleasure” 〔T32 417a01–02〕. The passage does not further explain the segmentation and relation of “leaving the heat of the five hindrances” and “cultivating according to its nature,” or whom “Dhamma-child” precisely designates. What is certain is the denial that the earth sign is the cause and the existing order of the following expressions; the remaining relations are unresolved.

The question explicitly names three things: the agent is “this meditator,” the object attended to is “the sign of the earth kasiṇa,” and the question is why he “nevertheless gives rise to joy and pleasure” 〔T32 417a01〕. The answer first denies that the earth sign is the cause, then writes continuously, “leaving the heat of the five hindrances,” “because of cultivating according to its nature,” and “the Dhamma-child should give rise to joy and pleasure” 〔T32 417a01–02〕. These expressions unquestionably occur in one sentence, but the source does not mark the agent of “cultivating according to its nature” or state what separate explanatory role it and “leaving the heat of the five hindrances” bear. The sentence therefore cannot be turned into a general law of object, psychological reaction, or bodily and mental feeling.

The follow-up asks, “If so, why does the Dhamma-child not give rise to joy and pleasure in the fourth jhāna?” 〔T32 417a03〕. The answer gives the following in source order: first, “because that is not their place”; second, because on attaining the fourth jhāna joy and pleasure “have already been abandoned”; again, joy and pleasure first arose, were later “subdued and abandoned through means,” their danger was seen, and one “became attached to the pleasure of the most secluded equanimity,” so joy and pleasure do not arise 〔T32 417a03–06〕. Every statement directly answers the question. The source neither ranks them by depth nor establishes from them a general law that each jhāna exchanges a coarser pleasure for a subtler one, so they are retained only in their original order.

This answer first juxtaposes two clauses with “because”: “because that is not their place” and “because on attaining the fourth jhāna joy and pleasure have already been abandoned” 〔T32 417a03–04〕. It then begins another account with “again,” proceeding through joy and pleasure first arising, being subdued and abandoned through means, seeing their danger, and becoming attached to the pleasure of the most secluded equanimity, and concludes, “therefore joy and pleasure do not arise” 〔T32 417a06〕. What can be established is the boundary of the two answers and the source order within the “again” statement. The passage does not classify them as three depths or call them a common rule for the rising and falling of all jhāna factors.

Three Kinds of Goodness and Ten Characteristics: Check the Count First

“The three kinds of goodness are goodness in the beginning, middle, and end. Pure practice is goodness in the beginning, the growth of equanimity is goodness in the middle, and gladness is goodness in the end” 〔T32 417a06–08〕. A single sitting has a beginning, middle, and end: pure practice at the outset, growth of equanimity in the middle, and gladness at the close. Each receives an explanation: “What is pure practice? The various requisites of goodness. What is the growth of equanimity? Stability. What is gladness? Contemplation” 〔T32 417a08–10〕. Goodness in the beginning is the requisites of goodness; goodness in the middle is stability; and the gladness of goodness in the end is called “contemplation.” The passage gives only these three correspondences. It does not decide whether “contemplation” here is wisdom or supramundane wisdom, or say that it is a destination beyond calm meditation. What can be established is the sequence of the three kinds and their three correspondences; the source gives no further classification of “contemplation.” The beginning, middle, and end of one jhāna are all included among the three kinds of goodness and then each receives its characteristics: “three characteristics through pure practice, three through the growth of equanimity, and four through producing gladness” 〔T32 417a10–11〕.

This passage gives two levels of correspondence. At the first, beginning, middle, and end mark the three kinds of goodness: pure practice corresponds to goodness in the beginning, the growth of equanimity to goodness in the middle, and gladness to goodness in the end. At the second, each name is separately asked about: pure practice is answered with “the various requisites of goodness,” the growth of equanimity with “stability,” and gladness with “contemplation” 〔T32 417a06–10〕. The ten characteristics are then divided among these same three names as three, three, and four 〔T32 417a10–11〕. Thus the three kinds of goodness, the three explanations, and the grouping of the ten characteristics can be aligned statement by statement. Whether “the various requisites of goodness” or “contemplation” can be further classified here is not answered.

This yields a reading practice: when a passage presents an account, check the count first. Three plus three plus four is exactly “the fulfillment of ten characteristics”; the treatise supplies its own decomposition. Item by item, the three through pure practice are: “the obstruction to jhāna is cleared from that mind, making the mind pure; through purity, the mind gains the 中-calm sign; because it gains this sign, with respect to that the mind 跳擲” 〔T32 417a12–14〕—clearing the obstruction, gaining calm, and “the mind 跳擲.” The meaning of 心跳擲 remains uncertain here. The three through the growth of equanimity are: “when the mind is pure, equanimity is accomplished; when seclusion is gained, equanimity is accomplished; abiding in one direction, equanimity is accomplished, and equanimity grows” 〔T32 417a15–16〕. The source separately lists purity of mind, gaining seclusion, and abiding in one direction as three cases of “equanimity is accomplished,” and concludes only that “equanimity grows.” It does not assign three distinct mental acts to them. The four through producing gladness are listed as following the practice of qualities born of the ten characteristics; making the faculties one in flavor; following the vehicle of energy; and being able to practice. All four produce gladness 〔T32 417a17–19〕. The source calls them four characteristics. It neither classifies them as four kinds of causal source nor turns the final one into consolation for one who has not attained.

The three characteristics through pure practice are syntactically successive: the obstruction to jhāna is cleared from the mind; because of purity, the mind gains the 中-calm sign; because it gains this sign, “with respect to that the mind 跳擲” 〔T32 417a13–14〕. The attachment of 中 and the meaning of 心跳擲 are not further explained by the base text. The dependency is therefore preserved without turning the last phrase into a definite psychological sign. The three through the growth of equanimity write “equanimity is accomplished” three times: through purity of mind, gaining seclusion, and abiding in one direction, followed by the general conclusion “and equanimity grows” 〔T32 417a16〕. The source assigns no different function to the three occurrences of “equanimity,” and none is supplied.

The syntax of the four should likewise be retained. The first runs from “following the practice of qualities born of these ten characteristics” to “producing gladness”; the second from “making these faculties one in flavor” to “producing gladness”; the third is “following the vehicle of energy, producing gladness”; and the fourth, “through being able to practice, producing gladness” 〔T32 417a19〕. All four close with gladness, but “qualities born of the ten characteristics,” “one flavor,” and “vehicle of energy” receive no definition in this passage. The existing four items and their common conclusion can therefore be established; a separate psychological mechanism represented by each cannot.

The twenty-five qualities can also be checked: “The first jhāna fulfills applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness; fulfills faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom; and fulfills beginning, middle, and end” 〔T32 417a21–22〕. Five factors, five faculties, and three kinds of goodness make thirteen. Add the eleven fulfillments—gathering-in, practice, seclusion, dependence, reception, following, contemplation, cultivation, power, liberation, and purification 〔T32 417a22–24〕. There are twenty-four countable items, although the heading says “twenty-five” 〔T32 417a20〕, a difference of one. The source does not explain which item is missing. Nor does it define the eleven final names individually; their exact meanings remain uncertain here. After the inventory, the source concludes: “This is an excellent divine dwelling born of seclusion, called an abiding in joy and pleasure, surpassing the human realm—the excellent place of divine dwelling” 〔T32 417a25–26〕. It places association with twenty-five qualities, the excellent divine dwelling, abiding in joy and pleasure, and surpassing the human realm in one continuous statement; it does not define the list as a checklist for determining attainment during a sitting.

Grouped by the wording, the first is the five items applied thought, sustained thought, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness; the second, the five faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom; the third, beginning, middle, and end; and the fourth, the eleven from gathering-in through purification 〔T32 417a20–24〕. The first two groups each end with a single “fulfills,” the third reads “fulfills beginning, middle, and end,” while in the fourth each name carries its own “fulfills.” This repetition establishes the boundaries of the items but cannot supply the missing one. The stated number twenty-five and the twenty-four countable items in the received text must therefore both be retained.

The Bath Attendant's Simile: The Feel of the Account

At the end, the treatise gives the Buddha the voice: “As the Buddha, the Blessed One, instructed the bhikkhus: a diligent bath attendant or the bath attendant's apprentice puts bean-and-rice powder in a fine copper basin, mixes and kneads it with water, and makes it into a ball. It becomes moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing” 〔T32 417a27–29〕. A skilled bath attendant and apprentice put bean-and-rice bath powder in a copper basin, add water, and knead it into a ball: damp through inside and out, cohering as one and not scattering. “In the same way, a bhikkhu whose body and mind are secluded can give rise to joy and pleasure, pouring them through the body until it is completely moistened, with no place untouched” 〔T32 417a29–417b01〕. For the bhikkhu whose body and mind are secluded, joy and pleasure born of seclusion pour through the body like water, leaving no part untouched.

The order of the citation is clear. It first gives the people—the diligent bath attendant or apprentice; then vessel and material—the fine copper basin and bean-and-rice powder; then the action—mixing and kneading with water into a ball; then the result—moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing 〔T32 417a27–29〕. On the bhikkhu's side, the source explicitly says only that seclusion of body and mind gives rise to joy and pleasure, which “pour through until completely moistened, with no place untouched” 〔417b01〕. Moistening and pervasion are visible on both sides. The other objects are not individually assigned meanings in this passage.

The simile says three things explicitly: after the bean-and-rice powder is mixed with water into a ball, it is moistened within and without, cohering without dispersing; the bhikkhu's body and mind are secluded, and the joy and pleasure that arise pour through until completely moistened, with no place untouched; and the bath attendant or apprentice and the meditator are “likewise” 〔T32 406b05／406b24／413c28／417b03／420c01／426b08〕. The source's description can be gathered as pervading, moistening, not dispersing, but this is a précis of the words of the citation, not three signs to diagnose during a sitting. The final sentence says only, “In this way, the copper basin is the sign of the kasiṇa; this is how it may be known” 〔T32 417b03–04〕. This passage does not assign the basin, powder, water, and ball one by one.

Conclusion

Return to what is seen. The earth sign is not the cause for the arising of joy and pleasure. The answer then writes continuously, “leaving the heat of the five hindrances, cultivating according to its nature; therefore the Dhamma-child should give rise to joy and pleasure,” whose relations remain uncertain. The three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, and twenty-five qualities are listed in order, and the bath attendant's simile describes joy and pleasure completely moistening body and mind, with no place untouched. The ten characteristics are three plus three plus four. The extant inventory under twenty-five qualities has twenty-four countable items. The citation can be summarized as pervading, moistening, and not dispersing. The passage ends at, “In this way, the copper basin is the sign of the kasiṇa; this is how it may be known.”

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Three Kinds of Goodness, Ten Characteristics, and Twenty-Five Qualities of the First Jhāna · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage asks in turn about the sign of the kasiṇa, the nature of mind and mental factors corresponding to bath powder, water, and the ball. Item by item, it states relations between the objects in the simile and the Dhamma statements. Applied and sustained thought receive two different correspondences within the passage.

The relations explicitly stated can be given first. The copper basin corresponds to the sign of the kasiṇa; bath powder to mind and mental factors; water to the concentration of joy and pleasure; and in one place applied and sustained thought are the hand. In the section on the ball, the source says that the mind and mental factors thus formed follow joy and pleasure and become one ball, while the jhāna mind is not scattered and is placed in the matter of jhāna. The source also says, “Applied and sustained thought are like bath powder,” so their two correspondences cannot be combined into one account.

The Copper Basin and Bath Powder

“Question: What is the sign of the kasiṇa? Answer: Like the place of bath powder in a copper basin—firm, fine, radiance” 〔T32 417b04–05〕. The answer writes “the place of bath powder in a copper basin” continuously with “firm, fine, radiance,” without explaining their internal connection. The next sentence reads, “Skillfully taking up the sign of the kasiṇa, becoming firm gives rise to joy; becoming fine is purity and therefore radiance” 〔T32 417b05–06〕. It gives in order firmness, arising of joy, fineness, purity, and radiance. The next sentence first says, “Mind and mental factors, because the matter is accomplished,” and only then continues, “This is called the copper basin corresponding to the sign of the kasiṇa; mind and mental factors are like bath powder” 〔T32 417b06–07〕. What “because the matter is accomplished” refers to and how it connects to the following sentence remain uncertain, but the explicit correspondence of mind and mental factors to bath powder is clear.

The nature of the powder is stated as follows: “Coarse bath powder, being uncombined, scatters with the wind. The nature of mind and mental factors is likewise: apart from joy and pleasure it becomes coarse; apart from concentration it does not combine; and it flies together with the wind of the five hindrances” 〔T32 417b08–10〕. Coarse bath powder is uncombined and scatters with the wind. For the corresponding mind and mental factors, the source says in order that apart from joy and pleasure they become coarse, apart from concentration they do not combine, and they fly together with the wind of the five hindrances. These are the three stated relations. The passage does not diagnose all distraction as “lack of water,” or derive from it a further prescription to “add water” or “cultivate joy.”

Viewed by sentence form, the simile first says that coarse bath powder “does not combine” and “scatters with the wind.” The Dhamma side follows with “likewise” and separately states “apart from joy and pleasure it becomes coarse,” “apart from concentration it does not combine,” and “it flies together with the wind of the five hindrances,” closing with, “This is called the nature of mind and mental factors corresponding to bath powder” 〔T32 417b08–11〕. These correspondences and their order are grounded in the source; the passage does not recast “coarse,” “uncombined,” and “flies together” as another system of psychological causes or operational steps.

Water and the Hand

“What corresponds to water? The concentration of joy and pleasure is like water, making bath powder moist and soft so that it forms a ball. In the same way, joy and pleasure make mind and mental factors moist and soft so that they become concentration” 〔T32 417b11–13〕. The source directly compares the concentration of joy and pleasure to water. Water makes the powder moist and soft so that it forms a ball; joy and pleasure make mind and mental factors moist and soft so that they become concentration. It then says, “As 欲-water stirs and makes them cohere, in this way applied and sustained thought may be understood” 〔T32 417b13–14〕. The passage does not explain how 欲 is to be read here.

Pause at one question: How does this passage correspond applied and sustained thought? “The first jhāna takes joy and pleasure as water and applied and sustained thought as the hand; through stirring it makes a ball” 〔T32 417b18–19〕. Here applied and sustained thought are jointly called the hand; the source does not assign a different action to each. Earlier, “Applied and sustained thought are like 欲使” 〔T32 417b15〕 leaves both the meaning of 欲使 and its relation to applied and sustained thought uncertain. Later it says, “Applied and sustained thought are like bath powder” 〔T32 417b21〕, which differs from their correspondence to the hand. Both sentences speak of applied and sustained thought, but the base text does not explain the relation between hand and bath powder. Both correspondences must be retained and cannot be merged into one account.

The Ball: A Mind That Does Not Disperse

“Once the ball has been made, the various moist particles are joined together into one ball, kept from dispersing, and placed in the copper basin. In the same way, the meditator's mind and mental factors are stored in the matter and can give rise to seclusion” 〔T32 417b16–18〕. The moist powder is made into one ball, kept from dispersing, and placed in the copper basin; correspondingly, mind and mental factors are stored in the matter and can give rise to seclusion. The next sentence adds, “The mind and mental factors thus formed follow joy and pleasure and become one ball. The jhāna mind is not scattered and is placed in the matter of jhāna” 〔T32 417b19–21〕. Following joy and pleasure, becoming one ball, not being scattered, and being placed in the matter of jhāna are all retained in the source order. Both sentences align the ball that has been made with mind and mental factors without adding an action beyond the simile, and both fully preserve the sense of not allowing dispersion.

On the side of making the ball, the actions proceed in order: place bath powder in a copper basin; stir it with water; make a ball by hand; after the ball has been made, join the moist powder into one ball; keep it from dispersing; and finally place it in the copper basin 〔T32 417b15–17〕. On the Dhamma side, mind and mental factors are stored in the matter and can give rise to seclusion; the first jhāna takes joy and pleasure as water and applied and sustained thought as the hand, and through stirring makes a ball that can give rise to seclusion; then the mind and mental factors thus formed follow joy and pleasure and become one ball, while the jhāna mind is not scattered and is placed in the matter of jhāna 〔T32 417b17–21〕. This paired reading unfolds only the actions and correspondences stated in the source, preserving both the steps of making the ball and the statements concerning jhāna.

At the end, the simile returns to bodily feeling: “In the first jhāna, above and below the body, from head to foot, from foot to skull, skin, and hair, joy and pleasure fill within and without. He abides without falling back. In this way, he accomplishes abiding in Brahmā” 〔T32 417b22–24〕. The source first says “from head to foot” and then “from foot to skull, skin, and hair”; the reason for this return is not explained. It proceeds to joy and pleasure filling within and without, abiding without falling back, and finally accomplishing abiding in Brahmā.

What This Passage States and What Remains Unresolved

The passage explicitly states relations among the copper basin, the sign of the kasiṇa, bath powder, mind and mental factors, water, the concentration of joy and pleasure, the hand, and applied and sustained thought. It also says that the mind and mental factors follow joy and pleasure and become one ball, while the jhāna mind is not scattered and is placed in the matter of jhāna 〔T32 417b04–21〕. At the same time, the attachment of “firm, fine, radiance,” “mind and mental factors, because the matter is accomplished,” and “applied and sustained thought are like 欲使” is unclear, and applied and sustained thought receive the two correspondences of hand and bath powder. The definite source statements and unresolved relations must be kept distinct.

Return to the observation. The source says that mind and mental factors become coarse apart from joy and pleasure, do not combine apart from concentration, and fly together with the wind of the five hindrances. It also takes joy and pleasure as water and applied and sustained thought as the hand, and says that the mind and mental factors thus formed follow joy and pleasure and become one ball, are not scattered, and are placed in the matter of jhāna. Yet it also says, “Applied and sustained thought are like bath powder,” alongside “applied and sustained thought are the hand.” The relation between the two correspondences remains unresolved.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Simile of Bath Powder, Water, and the Ball · Exposition · Summer 2026

Continuing the preceding account of joy and pleasure pervading the body, the passage first asks: if joy and pleasure are not material qualities and have no resistant characteristic, how do they pervade and abide in the body? The answer gives “name depends on form, and form depends on name-and-form,” and says that form is born of pleasure and the body gives rise to tranquillity. The first jhāna is then divided into lower, middle, and upper, each paired with a destination and lifespan. The qualities of birth in Brahmā are further divided into regression, stability, excellence, and reaching, after which a separate question asks who regresses and why. The full order is: the question on bodily pervasion; three grades of the first jhāna; results of the three grades; the general heading of four divisions; the division of regression; four accounts of regression; and the divisions of stability, excellence, and reaching.

Pause: How Does Formless Joy Moisten the Body?

The opening is a theoretical difficulty raised by the treatise itself: “Question: What is called joy and pleasure is name, not a material quality, and has no resistant characteristic. How can it pervade and abide in the body?” 〔T32 417b24–25〕. Joy and pleasure belong to name, to mental qualities; they are formless and without resistance, yet the preceding passage says they fill the body within and without from head to foot. How can formless water moisten a formed body?

Pause here. The answer first says, “Name depends on form, and form depends on name-and-form. Therefore, when name has become joy, form also becomes joy; when name has become pleasure, form also becomes pleasure” 〔T32 417b25–27〕. The meaning of “form depends on name-and-form” is not explained here. The next two clauses explicitly say only that when name becomes joy, form also becomes joy, and when name becomes pleasure, form also becomes pleasure. The answer then begins another account: “Again, form is born of pleasure and causes tranquillity to arise in the body; the whole body becomes the tranquillity-pleasure of that form” 〔T32 417b27–28〕. It gives in order form born of pleasure, bodily tranquillity arising, and the entire body becoming that form's tranquillity-pleasure. The source next writes, “Therefore, unobstructed, causing the qualities of birth in Brahmā” 〔T32 417b28〕. Whether this sentence concludes what precedes or introduces what follows remains uncertain. Both groups of statements occur within the answer to the question on bodily pervasion; they do not establish a universal name-and-form rule for other passages.

The two groups in the answer have their own ranges. The first has two parallel clauses beginning, “when name has become”: one for joy and one for pleasure, both ending in “form also becomes.” The second begins separately with “again,” moving from “form is born of pleasure” to “causes tranquillity to arise in the body,” and then “the whole body becomes the tranquillity-pleasure of that form.” The first group answers how form responds when name becomes joy or pleasure; the second how form born of pleasure brings about bodily tranquillity. The body text does not separately define “form depends on name-and-form.”

At the transition, the source proceeds, “The whole body becomes the tranquillity-pleasure of that form. Therefore, unobstructed, causing the qualities of birth in Brahmā. The first jhāna is of three kinds” 〔T32 417b27–29〕. It is certain that “form is born of pleasure,” “causes tranquillity to arise in the body,” and “the whole body becomes the tranquillity-pleasure of that form” all belong to the further answer. It is also certain that lower, middle, and upper first jhāna begin immediately afterward. From the wording alone, however, it cannot be decided whether the intervening sentence concludes the preceding answer or introduces the following passage.

Three Grades: Difference in Results despite Identical Wording

“The first jhāna is of three kinds: lower, middle, and upper” 〔T32 417b28–29〕. The criteria read as follows: unskillfully removing the five hindrances and not reaching mastery as wished is lower jhāna; skillfully removing the five hindrances and reaching mastery as wished is middle jhāna; and the words for upper jhāna—“if one contemplates an excellent condition, skillfully removes the five hindrances, and reaches mastery as wished” 〔T32 417c01–03, occurring for both middle and upper〕—are identical to those for middle jhāna. Their textual difference cannot be determined here. Their results are separately listed: “If one cultivates the lower first jhāna, at death one is born among a class of Brahmās, and one's lifespan is one eon, three parts. If one cultivates the middle first jhāna, at death one is born among the Brahmās and lives half an eon. If one cultivates the upper first jhāna, at death one is born as a Great Brahmā and lives one eon” 〔T32 417c04–06〕. The three results occur in the source order of lower, middle, and upper.

All three criteria begin, “if one contemplates an excellent condition,” continue with removing the five hindrances and mastery as wished, and conclude, “this is called lower, middle, or upper jhāna.” The sentence on the lower has negatives in both places: it does not skillfully remove and does not reach mastery. The middle and upper have no negation in either place. The body text distinguishes only the lower from the following two; the middle and upper have identical wording, so no difference is supplied beyond the received text.

The three results then begin three separate clauses with “if one cultivates.” The lower first jhāna is joined to “a class of Brahmās” and “one eon, three parts”; the middle to “the Brahmās” and “half an eon”; and the upper to “Great Brahmā” and “one eon” 〔T32 417c03–06〕. The passage does not explain how “one eon, three parts” is divided. The three destinations and lifespans are therefore recorded in their source forms without converting the first into another numerical value. Their order agrees with the lower, middle, and upper headings.

Four Divisions: Read Each in Its Own Sentence

The general heading gives only four names: “Some persons form the division of regression, some the division of stability, some the division of excellence, and some the division of reaching” 〔T32 417c07–08〕. The following text describes the person, attention, and attainment connected with each. Each is read in its own wording without turning them into a general rule the passage does not state.

The division of regression: “A person of dull faculties wishes to dwell in heedlessness, and attention follows along. When this jhāna arises in this way, the division of regression is formed” 〔T32 417c08–09〕. The sentence explicitly gives dull faculties, wishing to dwell in heedlessness, accompanying attention, and the division of regression. The answer continues with “because of the greatest entanglement he is not energetic,” an unwholesome applied thought arising from the beginning and not being dispelled, leading to rapid regression, and “delighting in the work of jhāna, delighting in talk, delighting in sleep, not abiding in energy” 〔T32 417c12–13〕. The expressions “three jhāna practices,” “the greatest entanglement,” and “the work of jhāna” are not individually explained and are retained in their source form.

The further account first says, “through the practice of three jhānas, the division of regression is formed,” then that the greatest entanglement makes one unenergetic. The next sentence explains rapid regression through an unwholesome applied thought already arisen from the beginning that cannot be dispelled, together with the great entanglement. The final sentence juxtaposes delight in the work of jhāna, talk, and sleep with not abiding in energy, and concludes, “therefore one regresses” 〔T32 417c13〕. These three groups occur in this order. The passage does not separately define “three jhāna practices,” “the greatest entanglement,” or the three instances of “delight.”

The space devoted to regression differs from the other three divisions. After the general heading, there is first a paragraph on dull faculties and heedlessness, then an “again” statement on three jhāna practices, the greatest entanglement, lack of energy, the inability to dispel unwholesome applied thought, and the three delights. A further question, “Who regresses, and why?” then gives four accounts. The divisions of stability, excellence, and reaching each receive only one sentence. The passage treats regression at length and the other three briefly; nothing is supplied to make the explanations equal.

The division of stability: “If a person of dull faculties abides in heedfulness and gains mindfulness of that Dhamma, the division of stability of the jhāna is formed” 〔T32 417c16–17〕. It again names dull faculties, but now adds abiding in heedfulness and gaining mindfulness of that Dhamma. The division of excellence: “If a person of sharp faculties abides in heedfulness, gains the second jhāna at will, and attention without applied thought accompanies its arising, the division of excellence of that jhāna is formed” 〔T32 417c17–19〕. It lists sharp faculties, heedfulness, the second jhāna, and attention without applied thought. The division of reaching: “If a person of sharp faculties abides in heedfulness, gains insight at will, and attention following the perception of danger is accomplished and arises, freely and unstained, the division of reaching of the jhāna is formed” 〔T32 417c19–21〕. It lists sharp faculties, heedfulness, insight, attention to the perception of danger, and being freely unstained.

The distribution across the four sentences can be checked directly. Regression has dull faculties and heedlessness. Stability has dull faculties and heedfulness. Excellence and reaching both have sharp faculties and heedfulness. Excellence adds the second jhāna and attention without applied thought; reaching adds insight, attention to the perception of danger, and being freely unstained. Each term is retained in its own sentence; conditions from one are not moved into another.

Who Regresses, and Why?

“Question: Who regresses? Why does one regress?” 〔T32 417c13〕. Four accounts coexist in the answer: “One account says that when rapid defilement is accomplished, regression and loss arise. Another says that one regresses because of lingering defilement. Another says that when calm is lost, regression occurs. Another says that when one has long not practiced with respect to having a sign, one cannot cause it to arise at the various places; because concentration is not gained, the division of regression is formed” 〔T32 417c13–16〕. The first concerns rapid defilement; the second lingering defilement; the third loss of calm; and the fourth long nonpractice with respect to having a sign, inability to cause it to arise at the various places, and failure to gain concentration. The four are introduced successively by “one account says” and “another says.” The precise meanings of “rapid,” “lingering,” and “having a sign” remain uncertain here.

Conclusion

Return to the passage. The question of bodily pervasion receives two levels of answer: “name depends on form, and form depends on name-and-form,” and “form is born of pleasure.” The three grades of the first jhāna each receive a destination and lifespan, although the criteria for middle and upper are identical. The qualities of birth in Brahmā are further divided into regression, stability, excellence, and reaching, each explained by its person, attention, and attainment. Four accounts of regression follow. These names and correspondences are retained in the order of this passage.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Joy and Pleasure Pervading the Body and the Four Divisions of the First Jhāna · Exposition · Summer 2026

The account of the first jhāna has closed, and the path now rises. Beginning with “This explains seeking the second jhāna” 〔T32 418a08〕, the treatise describes advancement: “Contemplating the faults of the first jhāna and the qualities of the second, at that time the meditator, wishing and delighting to arouse the second jhāna, has already gained bodily mastery of the first jhāna” 〔T32 418a08–10〕. These opening statements contain the outline of the whole passage: contemplation of fault and quality supplies the motive, while bodily mastery supplies the qualification. “Why?” 〔T32 418a10〕 asks the treatise, and then it fully sets out the result of lacking mastery. The first thing it teaches is not how good the second jhāna is, but the story of a foolish calf. Everyone may have a motive; not everyone has the qualification. Checking the qualification before discussing the motive is the sequence of this passage.

Structurally, the first half begins with “This explains seeking the second jhāna,” proceeds through the mountain-calf simile and the cultivation of mastery in the first jhāna, and ends with contemplating the coarseness of the first and fineness of the second 〔T32 418a08–29〕. The second begins, “Question: What are the faults of the first jhāna?”, gives the faults, attention to the second jhāna, and its formula, and ends, “The cessation of applied and sustained thought is also called cutting off” 〔T32 418b12〕. Each half has its own question and closure. The received order of both must be read sentence by sentence.

The main observation can be stated at once: one cannot go up because one has not stood securely below. In seeking the second jhāna, the body first “gains mastery of the first jhāna” 〔T32 418a09–10〕. If one has not gained mastery and yet contemplates removing applied and sustained thought in hope of the second, the result is that one “becomes unable to arouse the concentration of the second jhāna and also unable to enter the first” 〔T32 418a11–12〕. Both directions are lost. The mountain-calf simile writes this sequence as “before its front foot is set, it raises its hind foot,” and the passage concludes, “Therefore one should cultivate the first jhāna and bring the mind to mastery” 〔T32 418a23–24〕.

The Mountain-Calf Simile: Anatomy of Losing Both Directions

The Buddha tells the failure as a story: “As the Blessed One said, giving the bhikkhus the simile of a mountain calf” 〔T32 418a12–13〕. This is the second time in this field of practice that the Buddha personally gives a simile, after the bath attendant; here the simile is a negative example. A foolish mountain calf does not know a feeding place and has not learned how to walk, yet wishes to go to a steep and distant place. It keeps thinking, “Today I shall go to a place never reached before, eat grass never eaten before, and drink water never drunk before” 〔T32 418a14–15〕. The place never reached, grass never eaten, and water never drunk make the longing vivid through three occurrences of “never before”—and all three recur in the sentence of failure, six occurrences in the passage. The result is an awkward picture: “Before its front foot is set, it raises its hind foot. It staggers and is unsteady, unable to advance” 〔T32 418a15–16〕. It lifts the hind foot before the front is secure, staggers, and cannot move an inch. “Thus it cannot reach the place never reached before, eat the grass never eaten before, or drink the water never drunk before” 〔T32 418a16–17〕. Three instances of “cannot” answer the three instances of “never before,” each hope failing in turn. It turns back: “I should just rely on my former food and drink”—back to the old grass.

The bhikkhu is the same. He “does not understand entering the first jhāna through seclusion from sensual desire, does not cultivate this Dhamma, and does not study it much” 〔T32 418a19–20〕, yet “immediately thinks” that he wishes “to enter the second jhāna and become separated from applied and sustained thought” 〔T32 418a20–21〕. Before cultivating the first jhāna to familiarity, he hurries toward the second, without applied and sustained thought. He “does not understand how to settle himself” and is uncertain both forward and back, thinking, “I cannot enter the second jhāna and become separated from applied and sustained thought; I wish to fall back and enter the first jhāna, secluded from sensual desire” 〔T32 418a21–22〕. Even falling back is only a plan, and he cannot accomplish that either.

Read the calf and bhikkhu together; the correspondences are on the surface. The calf “does not know a feeding place and has not learned how to walk” 〔T32 418a13–14〕; the bhikkhu “does not know the place of practice and does not understand entering the first jhāna through seclusion from sensual desire” 〔T32 418a19–20〕. The calf first thinks of going to the unreached place, eating uneaten grass, and drinking undrunk water; the bhikkhu, without cultivating or studying much, thinks of entering the second jhāna and becoming separated from applied and sustained thought. The calf lifts its hind foot before its front is set and gains none of the three things it seeks. The bhikkhu also receives two explicit results: he cannot arouse the second-jhāna concentration and cannot enter the first. The source finally joins simile and Dhamma in, “like that mountain calf which does not understand how to walk” 〔T32 418a23〕. The conditions, actions, and results are all stated one by one.

Pause here: Why can he neither advance nor even retreat? The source gives no separate psychological mechanism. It says only that the bhikkhu “does not cultivate this Dhamma and does not study it much,” yet forces himself to enter the second jhāna and leave applied and sustained thought; consequently he can neither enter the second nor fall back into the first. “The foolish bhikkhu is like that mountain calf which does not understand how to walk. Therefore one should cultivate the first jhāna and bring the mind to mastery” 〔T32 418a23–24〕. The simile closes on “therefore”: cultivate the first jhāna to mastery before seeking the second. Three instances of “never before” fully express the longing; “before its front foot is set” fully expresses the fact underfoot. Mastery lies between longing and the next step. The calf thinks again after failing, and the bhikkhu thinks again after failing; their two rounds of thought correspond verbally.

The Times of Mastery and Entering and Emerging Listed Here

The text next lists the times and entering and emerging through which one brings the first jhāna to mastery: “At the time before eating and after eating, in the first and last watches, according to what the mind delights in, according to the desired length or brevity, freely without obstruction. For arising-entering-contemplating, from one occasion up to many occasions; entering and emerging many times, from one occasion up to many occasions” 〔T32 418a24–27〕. The times are before eating, after eating, the first watch, and the last watch. The three “according to” expressions are according to what the mind delights in, according to the desired length or brevity, and freely without obstruction. After them, the phrase “for arising-entering-contemplating,” two occurrences of “from one occasion up to many occasions,” and “entering and emerging many times” are all certain. How “for arising-entering-contemplating” is segmented and which item each measure of time attaches to are unclear. The source also gives no separate definition of the three “according to” expressions. Only after this series ends does it say, “Having gained the pleasure of mastery, one arouses the second jhāna and goes beyond the first” 〔T32 418a27–28〕.

After this series on mastery, the treatise turns to contemplating the coarseness of the first jhāna and the fineness of the second, seeing faults in the first and qualities in the second 〔T32 418a27–29〕. The sequence explicitly stated is thus: cultivate the first jhāna and bring the mind to mastery; arouse the second and go beyond the first; then contemplate coarse and fine, fault and quality. Each is read at its place in the source.

The Preparation for the Second Jhāna Listed Here

Once mastery is gained, the passage says, “One thinks again: this first jhāna is coarse, while the second is fine; one sees faults in the first jhāna and qualities in the second” 〔T32 418a28–29〕. The answer on faults lists in order: “close to the hostile five hindrances,” “make applied and sustained thought move,” “the body becomes slothful and the mind distracted,” “all its qualities constitute coarse concentration and are not fit for 神通證,” and “delighting in the first jhāna, one does not form the division of excellence” 〔T32 418b01–03〕. These are retained in their source order without recasting any as another psychological cause. The final statement, “the qualities of the second jhāna are their antidote” 〔T32 418b04〕, says only that the qualities of the second counter these faults; this passage provides no separate inventory of second-jhāna qualities.

The answer begins by being close to the hostile five hindrances, then separately states movement of applied and sustained thought, bodily sloth and mental distraction, and judges all the qualities to be coarse concentration unfit for 神通證. It closes the faults of the first with delight in that jhāna and failure to form the division of excellence 〔T32 418b01–04〕. The qualities of the second are introduced only as “their antidote,” taking up this series of faults.

This passage gives only the following sequence for seeking the second: first gain mastery of the first; then contemplate that the first is coarse and the second fine, seeing faults in the first and qualities in the second; afterward, “do not attend to combining the first jhāna, do not attend to applied thought, and do not attend to sustained thought; through mastery of joy and pleasure born of concentration, cause the mind to uphold them” 〔T32 418b06–07〕. The three instances of nonattention and the causing of the mind to uphold are the attention for entering the second explicitly given here, and should be read within this specific transition.

Each negative statement has an explicit object: first, not attending to combining the first jhāna; second, not attending to applied thought; third, not attending to sustained thought. The positive statement that follows is, “Through mastery of the joy and pleasure born of concentration, cause the mind to uphold them” 〔T32 418b07〕. The source neither combines applied and sustained thought into one item nor omits “combining the first jhāna.” All four statements must be retained; this attention cannot be reduced to the general phrase “letting go of coarse qualities.”

Applied and Sustained Thought Cease; Entry into the Second Jhāna

“When the meditator attends in this way, before long applied and sustained thought cease. Through mastery of the joy and pleasure arisen from concentration, he causes the mind to become settled. This explains the meaning of the four factors of the second jhāna” 〔T32 418b07–09〕. The second-jhāna formula follows: “Because applied and sustained thought have ceased, he accomplishes internal confidence; the mind becomes one in nature; without applied or sustained thought, he enters the second jhāna with joy and pleasure born of concentration. This is the quality of the earth kasiṇa” 〔T32 418b10–12〕. Internal confidence, becoming one in nature, absence of applied and sustained thought, and joy and pleasure born of concentration are all listed in the source order. The passage does not use the hand from the earlier bath-powder simile to explain how they arise. It ends, “The cessation of applied and sustained thought is through skillful discrimination. Their cessation is also called cutting off” 〔T32 418b12〕. Its detailed analysis is taken up by the next unit.

In sentence order, “attends in this way” continues the three instances of nonattention and the causing of the mind to uphold. Only then does the text say that applied and sustained thought shortly cease, followed by joy and pleasure arisen from concentration settling the mind 〔T32 418b07–09〕. Internal confidence, becoming one in nature, absence of applied and sustained thought, and joy and pleasure born of concentration are juxtaposed in the next formula 〔T32 418b10–11〕. This passage gives only that order; later questions unfold the terms further.

The second-jhāna formula has a clear sequence of closure. “Because applied and sustained thought have ceased” leads; “he accomplishes internal confidence, the mind becomes one in nature” follows; “without applied or sustained thought” restates their absence; and “with joy and pleasure born of concentration, he enters the second jhāna” concludes 〔T32 418b11〕. “This is the quality of the earth kasiṇa” 〔T32 418b11–12〕 separately ties the attainment back to this field of practice. Then “the cessation of applied and sustained thought is through skillful discrimination; their cessation is also called cutting off” 〔T32 418b12〕 gives the two names “cessation” and “cutting off” together; the next question begins their detailed explanation.

Conclusion

Return to the observation: set the foot before lifting it. The mountain calf raises its hind foot before the front is set and cannot advance. The bhikkhu does not cultivate or study the Dhamma much, yet seeks separation from applied and sustained thought, and can enter neither the second nor the first jhāna. The treatise therefore teaches him first to cultivate the first jhāna and bring the mind to mastery, then, within this particular transition to the second, contemplate the first as coarse and the second as fine, see fault and quality, and practice according to the stated attention. This is the sequence explicitly stated here; it is not enlarged into a universal law for every later advancement.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Seeking the Second Jhāna and the Faults of the First · Exposition · Summer 2026

With entry into the second jhāna, this passage analyzes each factor in turn: the cessation of applied and sustained thought, internal confidence, the mind becoming one in nature, being without applied or sustained thought, and joy and pleasure born of concentration. It closes with the Buddha's simile of the mountain spring and the lifespans of the three grades. The preceding passage names four factors at its end—internal confidence, one nature, being without applied or sustained thought, and joy and pleasure born of concentration—and this passage fills out the meaning of each. It follows the same pattern used to analyze each factor of the first jhāna; the repetition of the form is itself a review.

The observation may be stated first: the joy and pleasure of the second jhāna are born of concentration. The treatise explicitly says that “the second jhāna is accomplished by being born from the concentration of the first jhāna,” and also says that concentration arises together with one-pointedness; hence there is “joy and pleasure born of concentration” 〔T32 418b07／418b11／418c16／418c22／418c25／419a01〕. The Buddha's simile says that the pool water “does not come from the four directions and is not produced by rain. It has no season, but issues from a spring” 〔T32 418c23–24〕. The correspondence after the simile makes the limits still clearer: no incoming water from outside and no rain correspond to the cessation of applied and sustained thought, while the spring issuing and filling the pool without waves corresponds to joy and pleasure born of concentration filling the body of name-and-form while the mind is undisturbed 〔T32 418c27–419a01〕. What this passage establishes is “born of concentration” and these three correspondences. It does not say who adds the water in the bath-powder simile of the first jhāna, nor does it divide the sources of joy and pleasure into a further internal and external classification.

The Cessation of Applied and Sustained Thought: Roots and Qualities Removed Together

“Question: What is the cessation of applied and sustained thought? Answer: It is also the faults of applied and sustained thought in the first jhāna, the faults of every root of applied and sustained thought and of applied and sustained thought, and the removal together of the roots of applied and sustained thought and applied and sustained thought themselves; because of these, the cessation of applied and sustained thought is accomplished” 〔T32 418b12–15〕. The source lists in sequence the faults of applied and sustained thought in the first jhāna, the faults of every root of applied and sustained thought and of applied and sustained thought, and the removal together of the roots and applied and sustained thought themselves. “Further, by cutting off the lower and coarse jhāna, one gains the higher and excellent jhāna, and again causes what is present to cease in sequence” 〔T32 418b15–16〕. It thus also speaks of cutting off the lower and coarse jhāna, gaining the higher and excellent jhāna, and present cessation in sequence. The cessation of applied and sustained thought is explained here only from these explicit statements; no separate generative mechanism is added.

Three Kinds of Internal and Internal Confidence

“What is presently realized is called internal” 〔T32 418b16〕. The treatise first explains internal through “present realization” and immediately divides it into three kinds, so the word cannot be reduced to a definition that excludes every sense of inner and outer direction. First is the inner-internal: “the six internal bases.” Second is internal concentration: “contemplating the body in oneself; this is called internal concentration.” Third is the internal field of practice: “thinking within oneself, the mind not going outside; gathering is its meaning and its nature; this is called the internal field of practice” 〔T32 418b19〕. These three explanations include the six internal bases, contemplation of one's own body, and the mind not going outside. They are retained as three senses, without using “present realization” to erase the subsequent language of inner and outer. “In this scripture, the inner-internal is delightful” 〔T32 418b20〕. The treatise separately says that the inner-internal in this scripture is delightful, so the original expression is retained. It then says, “Confidence means confidence, right confidence, and confidence increased through contemplation. This is called confidence in internal concentration; it is called internal confidence” 〔T32 418b20–21〕, before answering the four questions about internal confidence: “Nondistraction is the characteristic of internal confidence, seclusion is its function, being unclouded is its manifestation, and applied and sustained thought are its basis” 〔T32 418b22–23〕. Each of the four items must keep its source position. In particular, the “basis” of internal confidence is applied and sustained thought; “the cessation of applied and sustained thought,” which is the basis of the next factor, cannot be assigned back to this one.

The Mind Becoming One in Nature: A Gloss from a Treatise on Sound

“The mind becoming one in nature means that the mind abides in right concentration” 〔T32 418b23–24〕. The following word analysis says, “Mind is mentation. As for one, it is spoken of in mindfulness. As for what is called nature, as a treatise on sound speaks of arising-nature. Nature is spoken of in the sense of what is natural” 〔T32 418b24–26〕. The wording certainly establishes “mind is mentation” and “nature is spoken of in the sense of what is natural,” and it certainly cites the “arising-nature” spoken of by a treatise on sound. Yet how “As for one, it is spoken of in mindfulness” is segmented, and which statement “As for what is called nature” continues, are unclear from this passage. After “The one-pointedness of the second jhāna can extinguish applied and sustained thought and arises through one nature” 〔T32 418b26–27〕, the four items follow: “Exclusive right focus is its characteristic, seclusion its function, being without waves its manifestation, and the cessation of applied and sustained thought its basis” 〔T32 418b28–29〕. Here the “basis” is the cessation of applied and sustained thought. Reading the two factors together shows that internal confidence and the mind becoming one in nature have seclusion in common as their function, but their characteristic, manifestation, and basis are each explicitly distinguished. Internal confidence has applied and sustained thought as basis, while the mind becoming one in nature has their cessation as basis. These cannot be interchanged, nor may a separate generative mechanism be constructed from the two bases.

Arranged in two rows, the characteristic, function, manifestation, and basis are particularly clear. The row for internal confidence is nondistraction, seclusion, being unclouded, and applied and sustained thought. The row for the mind becoming one in nature is exclusive right focus, seclusion, being without waves, and the cessation of applied and sustained thought 〔T32 418b21–29〕. Only their “function” is the same, namely seclusion. One characteristic is nondistraction and the other exclusive right focus; one manifestation is being unclouded and the other being without waves; one basis is applied and sustained thought and the other their cessation. These are the clear boundaries supplied by the source's two consecutive sets of four questions. The later use of water and wave similes does not make the remaining items in the two sets synonymous.

Wind-Tossed Water and the Mirror of Its Surface: Why the First Jhāna Lacks These Two Factors

“Question: Why are confidence and the mind becoming one in nature not included in the first jhāna?” 〔T32 418b29–418c01〕. The answer says: “It is like water with waves stirred by wind, in which the image of one's face can no longer be seen clearly. In this way, applied and sustained thought in the first jhāna are waves. Because the moving waves make it turbid, internal confidence and the mind's one nature become impure” 〔T32 418c02–04〕. Applied and sustained thought are waves. Wind-tossed water in the first jhāna cannot clearly reflect the image of a face. The answer uses the moving waves of applied and sustained thought to explain how internal confidence and the mind becoming one in nature become impure, then says, “Therefore, as factors of jhāna, they are not included in the first jhāna” 〔T32 418c04–05〕. The judgment here is limited to internal confidence, the mind becoming one in nature, and the first jhāna; it does not establish a general rule for deciding every factor of jhāna.

Between the questions and answers, the treatise directly explains “without applied or sustained thought” in one sentence: “Without applied or sustained thought means that, because applied thought is cut off, there is no applied thought, and because sustained thought is left behind, there is no sustained thought” 〔T32 418c05–06〕. The two halves are retained: applied thought is cut off, hence no applied thought; sustained thought is left behind, hence no sustained thought. The next question then asks further why, since the cessation of applied and sustained thought and being without applied or sustained thought both cut them off, they must still be spoken of as two.

This passage offers a reading principle: where a simile is followed by an item-by-item correspondence, read the simile according to that correspondence. First the passage uses wind-tossed waves to say that applied and sustained thought make water turbid, preventing a clear view of a face's image 〔T32 418c01–04〕. Later it uses the spring-fed pool to speak of the cessation of applied and sustained thought, joy and pleasure born of concentration, and coolness pervading the body 〔T32 418c23–419a03〕. The treatise itself gives three item-by-item explanations through three statements beginning “Just as.” The reader can follow those correspondences back through the source, without supplying another classification of sources for the bath powder, waves, and spring water.

Pause at the Question: “Without” Has Two Kinds

“Question: The cessation of applied and sustained thought and being without applied or sustained thought are both ways of cutting off applied and sustained thought. Why are they spoken of as two?” 〔T32 418c06–07〕. If cessation means absence, why use two names?

Pause here. The treatise answers in three successive layers. First: “The cessation of applied and sustained thought is for manifesting internal confidence, with the mind's one nature as cause; being without applied or sustained thought is for manifesting the exquisite characteristic of joy and pleasure formed by seclusion” 〔T32 418c07–08〕. It separately lists manifesting internal confidence, the mind's one nature as cause, and the exquisite characteristic of joy and pleasure formed by seclusion. Second: “In the cessation of applied and sustained thought, through these very applied and sustained thoughts one sees the faults of applied and sustained thought and cuts off the qualities that are their faults; being without applied or sustained thought means cutting off applied and sustained thought of the form realm” 〔T32 418c08–10〕. It explicitly lists seeing the faults of applied and sustained thought, cutting off their fault-qualities, and cutting off applied and sustained thought of the form realm. Third: “Being without applied or sustained thought is of two kinds: first, being without applied or sustained thought not through the cessation of applied and sustained thought; second, being without applied or sustained thought through the cessation of applied and sustained thought. Here, the five consciousnesses and the third jhāna and so forth become without applied or sustained thought not through the cessation of applied and sustained thought. Because of skillful means and seclusion, the second jhāna becomes without applied or sustained thought through the cessation of applied and sustained thought” 〔T32 418c10–14〕. It first lists two kinds, then gives the five consciousnesses and third jhāna and so forth as examples distinct from the second jhāna. Thus “without applied or sustained thought” has two origins: the five consciousnesses, the third jhāna, and so forth are without them not through cessation; the second jhāna is without them through the cessation of applied and sustained thought. The source closes with “This is why two meanings are spoken of” 〔T32 418c14〕. Each of the three layers has its own syntax and content and should be read in the original order.

The first layer states what the two expressions manifest. The second speaks of the faults of applied and sustained thought, their fault-qualities, and applied and sustained thought of the form realm. The third sets out two kinds of absence and their respective examples. The answer thereby addresses the question “Why are they spoken of as two?” Although both cut off applied and sustained thought, the source still distinguishes two meanings.

Joy and Pleasure Born of Concentration and the Mountain-Spring Simile

“‘Born of concentration’ is called concentration: the first jhāna is born from that wisdom, while the second jhāna is accomplished by being born from the concentration of the first jhāna” 〔T32 418c14–15〕. The referent of “that wisdom” is unclear in this passage; the second jhāna is born from the concentration of the first. It further says, “Concentration is said to give rise to joy and pleasure because, in the second jhāna, it arises together with one-pointedness” 〔T32 418c16〕. The second jhāna is named “in dependence on the first.” “Entering the attainment of this second jhāna means entering the second jhāna. Jhāna here is internal confidence, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness; this is called jhāna” 〔T32 418c17–19〕. These four factors constitute the jhāna.

After forming the statement, the treatise lists the account of the person abiding in attainment item by item: “accomplishing and gaining the second jhāna, leaving behind two factors and accomplishing two factors, being complete in three kinds of goodness and ten characteristics, and corresponding with twenty-three qualities” 〔T32 418c19–21〕. Only the five items explicitly listed—leaving behind two factors, accomplishing two factors, three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, and twenty-three qualities—are retained here; the unnamed items are not supplied. “This is a heavenly dwelling and a quality, and it leads to birth in the Heaven of Radiance. It is as explained at length for the first jhāna” 〔T32 418c21–22〕 then brings heavenly dwelling, destination, and the reference back to the earlier full explanation into the same account.

The Buddha's mountain-spring simile follows: “It is like a pool in which water arises. It does not come from the four directions and is not produced by rain. It has no season, but issues from a spring, cool and cold, soaking and filling the pool, overflowing and flowing far” 〔T32 418c23–25〕. The pool's water comes neither through channels from the four directions nor from rain in the sky; it does not depend on a season, but wells from its own spring, cool, filling and overflowing. “The bhikkhu is likewise: this body has joy and pleasure born of concentration, causing it to become cool, with no part unmoistened. Joy born of concentration pervades body and mind, like spring water” 〔T32 418c25–27〕. The treatise immediately assigns each part: no water from the four directions and no rain correspond to the cessation of applied and sustained thought; the spring issuing and filling the pool without waves corresponds to joy and pleasure born of concentration filling the body of name-and-form while the mind is undisturbed; cold water cooling every place corresponds to joy and pleasure born of concentration filling the entire body of name-and-form 〔T32 418c27–419a03〕. “The body of that meditator entering the second jhāna may be understood” 〔T32 418c27〕. The three levels that the simile is to explain are complete in these three correspondences.

The account is also stated again exactly as listed: “leaving behind two factors and accomplishing two factors, being complete in three kinds of goodness and ten characteristics, and corresponding with twenty-three qualities” 〔T32 418c20–21〕. The passage explicitly lists leaving behind two factors, accomplishing two factors, three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, and twenty-three qualities, without supplying names for the items not listed. These five items form one sentence in the source, followed by “This is a heavenly dwelling and a quality, and it leads to birth in the Heaven of Radiance. It is as explained at length for the first jhāna” 〔T32 418c21–22〕. The first statement lists the items in the attainment; the next speaks of heavenly dwelling, quality, birth in the Heaven of Radiance, and the earlier full explanation. Although consecutive, they are not recast into new numerical correspondences or equations. What can be preserved here is precisely the source's twenty-three qualities and its phrase “as explained at length for the first jhāna.”

The result is called a heavenly dwelling: “It is called a heavenly dwelling because its joy and pleasure, born of concentration, surpass human dwelling” 〔T32 418c22–23〕. After the Buddha's pool simile, the treatise closes again with “Such is the quality of radiance born of heavenly dwelling” 〔T32 419a03–04〕. This sentence remains attached to the sequence of joy and pleasure born of concentration, the filling of the body of name-and-form, and the fruit of cultivating concentration. Finally, the three grades give their respective destinations and lifespans: “When one cultivates the lower jhāna, at death one is born in the Heaven of Lesser Light and lives for two eons. When one cultivates the middle jhāna, one is born in the Heaven of Measureless Light and lives for four eons. When one cultivates the higher jhāna, one is born in the Heaven of Radiance and lives for eight eons” 〔T32 419a05–07〕. Two, four, and eight are given in sequence; all three destinations bear names of light—Lesser Light, Measureless Light, and Radiance.

Conclusion

“Joy and pleasure born of concentration fill this body of name-and-form without allowing the mind to become disturbed” 〔T32 419a01〕. This statement follows the spring's flowing, filling the body of water without waves, and precedes the cold water's coolness pervading every place and the filling of the entire body of name-and-form as the fruit of cultivating concentration 〔T32 418c29–419a03〕. The three correspondences remain distinct in their source order, without replacing one another; the subject and work of each statement are retained according to its position in the source.

Return to the observation: the joy and pleasure of the second jhāna are born of concentration. The roots of applied and sustained thought and the thoughts themselves are removed together; internal confidence and the mind becoming one in nature each have their own characteristic, function, manifestation, and basis. “Without applied or sustained thought” in turn has two origins: absence not through their cessation and absence through their cessation. Carry away three things: one statement of origin—joy and pleasure are born of concentration; one pair of names—the cessation of applied and sustained thought and being without applied or sustained thought each receive their own explanation here; and one explicitly stated set of correspondences—no external water or rain, a spring issuing without waves, and cold water pervading the body. The second jhāna is now established. The road to the third begins with relinquishing joy.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Internal Confidence and the Mind Becoming One in Nature in the Second Jhāna · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage first says, “Recollecting the faults of the second jhāna, at that time the meditator has cultivated the second jhāna and gained bodily mastery; the second jhāna is coarse, while the third jhāna is deeply quiet” 〔T32 419a08–09〕. He then knows the faults of the second jhāna, sees the virtues of the third, and arouses the third jhāna. The emphasis thereafter is the equanimity of the third jhāna, which the treatise explains in two enumerations: eight kinds and three kinds.

State the central observation first. Among the faults of the second jhāna listed here, the passage begins with “being near applied and sustained thought, which are enemies of concentration,” then says, “because it is associated with fullness of rapture, the jhāna becomes coarse; when rapture reaches fullness, the mind greatly leaps up and cannot arouse the remaining jhāna factors” 〔T32 419a11–12〕. It also lists being incapable of accomplishing 神通證 and delighting in the second jhāna without attaining a superior portion 〔T32 419a13–14〕. In this context the treatise says, “If one becomes attached to rapture, this is a loss; if one knows this as a loss, one comes not to lose” 〔T32 419a12–13〕. This sentence speaks only of attachment to rapture and knowing the loss in this passage; it does not expand “knowing” into a psychological remedy universally applicable to every jhāna.

The several statements in the answer on the faults must not swallow one another. Nearness to applied and sustained thought as enemies of concentration is one item. Association with fullness of rapture, making the jhāna coarse, is another. Rapture reaching fullness, the mind greatly leaping up, and the inability to arouse the remaining jhāna factors is yet another. Attachment to rapture as loss and knowledge of that loss as nonloss form a separate paired judgment. Finally, the passage also lists inability to accomplish 神通證 and delight in the second jhāna that does not become a superior portion 〔T32 419a10–14〕. The precise referent of 神通證 is not explained in this passage. The source then says only that the virtues of the third jhāna are their counteragent; it does not separately explain the psychological source of these items.

Abandoning Rapture and Entering the Third Jhāna

After “Having contemplated the faults of the second jhāna and again seen the virtues of the third, one attends to the sign of the kasiṇa and causes the mind’s rapture to cease” 〔T32 419a15–16〕, the source continues, “Before long, with no rapture pleasure causes the mind to find ease and understand the factors of the third jhāna” 〔T32 419a17–18〕. The expression 無喜樂 may be divided after 無喜, “without rapture / pleasure,” or read continuously as “without rapture and without pleasure.” This passage does not decide, and no choice is imposed here. Later statements separately say that the meditator, “because he is unstained by rapture, gains equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing, and experiences pleasure with the body,” and “dwells pleasantly in the attainment of the third jhāna” 〔T32 419a18–20〕. Each statement is preserved according to its own wording; neither is used retrospectively to decide the earlier division. “Unstained means that, having abandoned rapture, one gains a dwelling in equanimity” 〔T32 419a21〕 is the passage’s direct explanation of “unstained.”

The difference between the two divisions must remain explicit. One reading ends after “without rapture” and then reads that pleasure causes the mind to find ease. The other joins 無喜樂 and then reads that the mind is caused to find ease. Although the later passage separately has “unstained by rapture” and “experiences pleasure with the body,” it still does not automatically punctuate the preceding sentence. This exposition therefore places the two readings side by side, preserves the original order of “causes the mind to find ease and understand the factors of the third jhāna,” and does not use the later sentence to force the earlier one. Neither reading may be silently deleted or merged.

Equanimity: First the Definition, Then the Full Spectrum

“What is equanimity? It is equanimity and it is guarding. Neither regressing nor advancing, the mind is balanced: this is called equanimity” 〔T32 419a21–22〕. The four characters 是捨是護 first name it correctly: equanimity is not abandonment through neglect; there is guarding within it. Only guarding without regression or advance, taking neither side, is equanimity. In ordinary speech, “letting go” means giving up. As a jhāna factor, equanimity is holding a balance: the beam is level, but the hand remains upon it.

The treatise then lists eight kinds of equanimity: 受捨, 精進捨, 見捨, 菩提覺捨, 無量捨, 六分捨, 禪枝捨, and 清淨捨. The short explanations accompanying the names are these: the five faculties are 受捨; sometimes not attending to the sign of equanimity is 精進捨; “suffering and its origin I shall now abandon, accomplishing and gaining equanimity” is 見捨; cultivating the awakening factor is 菩提捨; loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity are 無量捨; seeing a form with the eye and becoming neither pained nor pleased, accomplishing equanimity, is 六分捨; accomplishing a dwelling in equanimity because there is no stain is 禪枝捨; and purification of equanimity and mindfulness is 清淨捨 〔T32 419a23–29〕. The list has 菩提覺捨, while the short explanation has 菩提捨; the two forms do not align. “Among these eight kinds of equanimity, except for equanimity as feeling, the other seven equanimity qualities are balanced equanimity” 〔T32 419a29–419b01〕. This passage makes only that single general judgment; it does not go on to assign separate functions to equanimity as feeling and the other seven.

The writing first gives the eight names, next explains the eight in their original order, and only then judges the seven other than equanimity as feeling to be balanced equanimity. The five faculties, not attending to the sign of equanimity, suffering and its origin to be abandoned, cultivating the awakening factor, loving-kindness through equanimity, seeing a form without pain or pleasure, dwelling in equanimity through unstainedness, and purification of equanimity and mindfulness are all phrases that the source attaches to the respective items.

The short explanations also differ in fullness. Equanimity as feeling says only “the five faculties.” Equanimity of exertion includes the qualification “sometimes.” Equanimity of view retains the whole sentence “suffering and its origin I shall now abandon, accomplishing and gaining equanimity.” Sixfold equanimity gives only the example of seeing a form with the eye and becoming neither pained nor pleased. Equanimity as a jhāna factor says only that unstainedness accomplishes a dwelling in equanimity. Purified equanimity says only “purification of equanimity and mindfulness.” Each item stops with precisely what this passage states.

A Reading Method: Locate Abstract Terms by What They Are Near

After the eight comes another group of three. Here is a reading method the passage hands us: an abstract term can be located by asking what it is “near.” “Furthermore, equanimity is of three kinds: first, the corresponding vehicle; second, little undertaking; and third, no undertaking” 〔T32 419b01–02〕. Equanimity of the corresponding vehicle is “neither hurried nor delayed”; “this lower equanimity is near the second jhāna and can abandon the greatly leaping mind.” Equanimity of little undertaking is explained by “if the mind has no undertaking”; “this equanimity is near the third jhāna and can abandon every leaping movement of the mind.” The third is listed as “no undertaking” but explained as “equanimity without affairs”: “with body and mind unmoving and a mind without the affairs of undertaking, this is called equanimity without affairs; this equanimity is near the fourth jhāna” 〔T32 419b06–07〕. The names in list and explanation do not align, and that uncertainty is preserved. These three are distinguished not through metaphysical speech but by which jhāna each is near: that which abandons great leaping is near the second, that which abandons every leaping movement is near the third, and that in which body and mind do not move is near the fourth. The less undertaking, the higher the jhāna it approaches—this is the sequence arranged by the treatise. “In all jhāna practice, this is the balanced means of jhāna: neither hurried nor delayed” 〔T32 419b02–03〕. The equanimity of the corresponding vehicle is the gesture of a hand driving a cart: the reins are neither tight nor slack, and the cart proceeds along the middle. With little undertaking the hand nearly leaves the reins; with no undertaking even the affairs of cart and horses are absent. The three levels are three snapshots of the same hand gradually relaxing. “Near the second, near the third, near the fourth” is the treatise’s own ordering: the less undertaking, the higher what it approaches. Once an abstract word is hung upon a location, its depth becomes clear. When later encountering difficult terms such as “balance” or “quiet” whose depth is hard to distinguish, one may ask: To which level is this way of speaking near? Location brings lofty talk down to earth. This is the treatise’s distinctive craft for measuring the depth of abstract names, more honest than piling up adjectives.

The fourfold profile closes the section: “Balance is its characteristic; nonattachment is its function; no undertaking is its manifestation; and unstainedness is its proximate cause” 〔T32 419b08–09〕. Characteristic as balance, function as nonattachment, manifestation as nonundertaking, and proximate cause as unstainedness form a spare portrait of equanimity. Three “non-” expressions stand in a row—nonattachment, no undertaking, unstainedness. The character of equanimity is carried by negation: it adds nothing; it simply no longer performs those superfluous acts.

Pause at the Question: Why Is Equanimity Not Taught Until the Third Jhāna?

“Question: Why is this equanimity taught in this jhāna but not in the second or the first jhāna?” 〔T32 419b09–10〕. Is there no equanimity in the first and second jhānas?

Pause here. The treatise first answers: “In those places the fullness of rapture has not ceased and the mind is attached. Because it takes rapture and pleasure as its condition, it has not ceased; great leaping fills body and mind. Therefore equanimity is not taught in those two jhānas, for it is not full” 〔T32 419b10–12〕. Fullness of rapture not yet ceased, attachment of mind, conditioning by rapture and pleasure, and great leaping filling body and mind are the reasons listed in the answer itself. The preceding passage defines equanimity as mental balance. Reading only these two statements together, one may say that leaping and balance are incompatible. The answer immediately turns to the third jhāna: “In this third jhāna, because there is no stain of rapture and attachment to the sign has ceased, a jhāna factor arises; because one has mastery through the jhāna factors, equanimity, mindfulness, and clear knowing are taught” 〔T32 419b12–14〕. This says only that in the third jhāna the stain of rapture and attachment to the sign have ceased, a jhāna factor arises, and through mastery of the factors equanimity, mindfulness, and clear knowing are taught. It is not expanded into a general law for how jhāna factors appear on every level.

Mindfulness: A New Headword Begins

The end of the passage opens the next term: “What is mindfulness? It is mindfulness, recollection, that mindfulness and awareness, retaining without forgetting. What is called mindfulness is the faculty of mindfulness, the power of mindfulness, and right mindfulness. This is called mindfulness” 〔T32 419b14–16〕. This immediately follows “because one has mastery through the jhāna factors, equanimity, mindfulness, and clear knowing are taught.” The three are first named, but only mindfulness is then questioned. The answer first lists mindfulness, recollection, awareness, and retaining without forgetting, then the faculty, power, and right mindfulness in order, and closes with “this is called mindfulness.” The three latter terms are only listed in this passage, not separately explained. This unit stops with the list under mindfulness; the questions on its characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause are taken up in the next unit.

The Order of the Items in This Passage

In the order of the base text, the first group begins with bodily mastery in the second jhāna, the coarseness of the second and deep quiet of the third, and then lists the faults of the second jhāna. Next come the virtues of the third, attention to the sign of the kasiṇa to make rapture cease, and only then the formula of being unstained by rapture, gaining equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing, experiencing pleasure with the body, and dwelling pleasantly in the third jhāna 〔T32 419a08–20〕. The division of 無喜樂 remains unresolved, but the later phrases “unstained by rapture” and “having abandoned rapture, one gains a dwelling in equanimity” each stand explicitly in the text and are not deleted because of that unresolved punctuation.

The second group first asks “What is equanimity?” and gives the general statement “It is equanimity and it is guarding. Neither regressing nor advancing, the mind is balanced” 〔T32 419a21–22〕. It then lists eight kinds and gives a short explanation of each. Equanimity as feeling says only “the five faculties.” Equanimity of exertion sometimes does not attend to the sign of equanimity. Equanimity of view says suffering and its origin should be abandoned and equanimity accomplished. Equanimity of awakening says to cultivate the awakening factor. Immeasurable equanimity lists loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. Sixfold equanimity sees a form without pain or pleasure. Equanimity as a jhāna factor is a dwelling in equanimity accomplished through unstainedness. Purified equanimity is purification of equanimity and mindfulness 〔T32 419a23–29〕. Only after all eight explanations does the source judge the other seven, excluding equanimity as feeling, to be balanced equanimity 〔T32 419a29–419b01〕.

The third group separately lists the corresponding vehicle, little undertaking, and no undertaking 〔T32 419b01–02〕. Equanimity of the corresponding vehicle is neither hurried nor delayed, is near the second jhāna, and can abandon the greatly leaping mind. Equanimity of little undertaking is explained by “the mind has no undertaking,” is near the third jhāna, and can abandon every leaping movement. The third is listed as “no undertaking” but explained as “equanimity without affairs”; body and mind are unmoving, the mind has no affairs of undertaking, and it is near the fourth jhāna 〔T32 419b02–07〕. The differing list-name and explanatory name remain different and are not regularized. Only after this group does the text ask about the characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause of equanimity, answering balance, nonattachment, no undertaking, and unstainedness 〔T32 419b07–09〕.

The final group begins with “Why is this equanimity taught in this jhāna?” It first answers with fullness of rapture, attachment, great leaping, and the incompleteness of equanimity in the first two jhānas; then it answers with the absence of the stain of rapture and the cessation of attachment to the sign in the third 〔T32 419b09–14〕. It closes by giving only the first-level definition of mindfulness: mindfulness, recollection, awareness, retaining without forgetting, and the faculty, power, and right mindfulness 〔T32 419b14–16〕. The characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause of mindfulness have not yet appeared in this unit; the next unit continues with them.

Conclusion

Return to the central observation. This passage says that the second jhāna is near applied and sustained thought, that fullness of rapture makes the jhāna coarse and the mind greatly leap up, and that attachment to rapture is a loss while knowing the loss is nonloss. It then presents, in order, the third jhāna’s unstainedness by rapture, equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing, the eight kinds of equanimity, the three kinds, and the fourfold profile of equanimity. Only at the end does it open the definition of mindfulness. Every conclusion is kept within the passage’s own specific statements.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Seeking the Third Jhāna: Equanimity and Mindfulness · Exposition · Summer 2026

In the preceding passage, equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing were named as three factors. Equanimity was completed while mindfulness had only begun. This passage brings mindfulness and clear knowing forward for examination one by one, then answers two crucial questions: Why are these two factors taught in the third jhāna? What “body” is meant by “experiences pleasure with the body”? Along the way the source lists, item by item, that this jhāna “easily arises and reaches that place of pleasure, is the ground of utmost savor, also makes a deluded mind, and is called a place of attachment.”

The Characteristic, Function, Manifestation, and Proximate Cause of Mindfulness and Knowledge

“Question: What is the characteristic of mindfulness? What is its function, manifestation, and proximate cause? Answer: Recollection is its characteristic, not forgetting its function, guarding its manifestation, and the four mindfulnesses its proximate cause” 〔T32 419b16–17〕. This is the first fourfold question in the passage. The characteristic is recollection, the function not forgetting, the manifestation guarding, and the proximate cause the four mindfulnesses. What “the four mindfulnesses” denotes is not explained here, so no fixed interpretation is supplied.

The explanation of knowledge immediately follows. It first gives a definition: “What is knowledge? Understanding is wisdom; this clear knowing is what is called knowledge” 〔T32 419b17–18〕. Understanding glosses wisdom, and clear knowing gathers up knowledge; the ancient syntax of the sentence is retained. It then opens four kinds: “knowledge of meaning, knowledge of own-characteristic, knowledge without delusion, and knowledge of the domain” 〔T32 419b19〕. Each receives one explanatory sentence: knowledge of meaning “has the four postures”; knowledge of own-characteristic is “entering the base of space”; knowledge without delusion “knows the eight worldly things”; and knowledge of the domain “means with respect to the place of affairs” 〔T32 419b21〕. None of these four names occurs outside this passage, and its single explanatory sentence is the full extent given for each. What “the base of space” denotes and which eight things are meant are not stated; nothing is added. The source next says, “In this scripture, knowledge of the domain is to be taken” 〔T32 419b22〕. “Domain” and “place of affairs” both appear, but the treatise gives no further definition; the difference is preserved. The second fourfold question follows: “Nondelusion is its characteristic, being attached to a condition its function, selecting phenomena its manifestation, and right attention its proximate cause” 〔T32 419b23–24〕. Mindfulness and knowledge use the same four questions, while their eight answers remain separately listed as written.

The source thus gives two different groups of four under knowledge. The first is knowledge of meaning, own-characteristic, nondelusion, and domain, attached respectively to the four postures, entering the base of space, knowing the eight worldly things, and the place of affairs. Only the second group gives knowledge’s characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause: nondelusion, being attached to a condition, selecting phenomena, and right attention. Although both groups contain four, the source does not pair them one to one.

Reading mindfulness and knowledge together strictly in the question-and-answer order: the characteristic of mindfulness is recollection, and that of knowledge nondelusion; the function of mindfulness is not forgetting, and that of knowledge being attached to a condition; the manifestation of mindfulness is guarding, and that of knowledge selecting phenomena; the proximate cause of mindfulness is the four mindfulnesses, and that of knowledge right attention. Each of these eight answers keeps its original place. “The four mindfulnesses” remains unexplained within the passage.

“Question: Why are this mindfulness and clear knowing not excellent everywhere? Answer: If a person loses mindfulness and does not arouse clear knowing, he is incapable of arousing the access to jhāna” 〔T32 419b24–26〕. The character 妙, “excellent,” is 少, “few,” in the Gong witness. The two readings point the question in different directions and are recorded without adjudication. The answer explicitly says that losing mindfulness and failing to arouse clear knowing makes one incapable of arousing the access to jhāna. Only the next question asks why they are taught in the third jhāna but not in the first two.

The Place of Attachment Listed for This Jhāna

“Question: Why are they taught in the third jhāna but not in the second or first?” 〔T32 419b26〕

The answer has three levels. The first concerns timing: “Here rapture is foremost, because the coarse jhāna factors have ceased and right concentration is subtle. This concentration enters a subtle place. By this clear knowing one is capable of arousing the third jhāna, and therefore gains mastery through the jhāna factors” 〔T32 419b27–29〕. The coarse factors headed by rapture have ceased and concentration has entered a subtle place. What jhāna 此, “here,” denotes is not expressly stated—the preceding passage explicitly called the first two jhānas “於二種禪” 〔T32 419b12〕—and therefore remains unresolved. As concentration becomes subtler, subtler knowing must receive it.

The second level lists four statements in the source’s own order: “this jhāna easily arises and reaches that place of pleasure,” “the ground of utmost savor,” “also makes a deluded mind,” and “this is called a place of attachment” 〔T32 419b29–419c01〕. “The ground of utmost savor” and “also makes a deluded mind” receive no further explanation here. They are preserved without supplying causal links among the four or constructing a contrast with the first two jhānas. The source then only continues, “Therefore in this jhāna, knowing that mastery has been gained makes one capable of abandoning rapture” 〔T32 419c01–02〕. The four statements remain separately preserved, and the following statement is read in its original order; no later claim is used to impose a causal scheme on them. All five must remain present.

The third level concerns distinction by mindfulness and knowing. “It is also said that rapture and pleasure are close friends. Therefore this mindfulness and knowing distinguish them, causing one to be without rapture but to have pleasure and to accomplish dwelling with respect to the affair” 〔T32 419c02–03〕. The answer first calls rapture and pleasure close friends, then expressly says that mindfulness and knowing distinguish them so that one is without rapture yet has pleasure and accomplishes dwelling with respect to the affair. The source of the cited saying is not named and remains unresolved. The simile follows: “It is like a calf following its mother: it does not grasp her two ears but bumps along after her. In the same way, without rapture but with pleasure, mindfulness and knowing distinguish them, and pleasure comes to dwell in its domain” 〔T32 419c03–05〕. The calf follows its mother, does not grasp her ears, and bumps along behind. After the simile the source directly returns to no rapture but pleasure, the distinction made by mindfulness and knowing, and pleasure dwelling in its domain. It then says, “If the distinguishing is not gentle, one instead enters rapture and the jhāna becomes subject to regression” 〔T32 419c05–06〕, joining ungentle distinguishing, returning into rapture, and regression of the jhāna in that order. Four repetitions of “therefore” close the answer—“therefore there is mastery through the jhāna factors,” “therefore in this jhāna,” “therefore this mindfulness and knowing distinguish,” and “therefore it is said to have equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing” 〔T32 419c07〕—and return to the formula: “Because this equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing are accomplished, it is said that one has equanimity, mindfulness, and knowing and experiences pleasure with the body” 〔T32 419c07–08〕.

In the order of the answer, rapture and pleasure are first called close friends; next comes distinction by mindfulness and knowing, absence of rapture but presence of pleasure, and dwelling with respect to the affair. The calf following its mother without grasping her ears is then introduced. After the simile, the source restates no rapture but pleasure, distinction by mindfulness and knowing, and pleasure dwelling in its domain. Only at the end does it say that ungentle distinguishing turns back into rapture and makes the jhāna subject to regression 〔T32 419c02–06〕. What all these sentences expressly share is distinction by mindfulness and knowing, absence of rapture but presence of pleasure, and pleasure dwelling in its domain.

Pause at the Question: If the Pleasure Faculty Has Ceased, What “Body” Experiences Pleasure?

The four words “experiences pleasure with the body” in the noble formula collide with a doctrinal fact. Pause at this question:

“Question: Why is this pleasure without rapture, yet not experienced by the body as the faculty of feeling? Answer: In the third jhāna the pleasure faculty has ceased” 〔T32 419c11–12〕. The pleasure faculty has ceased in the third jhāna, yet the preceding passage expressly says “experiences pleasure with the body.” Do the words contradict one another?

The treatise’s solution is not to smooth the difficulty away. It puts the terms through examination again. First it asks about the body: “Question: What is the body? Answer: The aggregate of perception, the aggregate of formations, and the aggregate of consciousness are called the body. This pleasure is experienced with the body; hence it is said that one experiences pleasure with the body” 〔T32 419c09–11〕. This “body” is not the body of flesh: three aggregates constitute it, excluding the aggregate of form and the aggregate of feeling. The same list of three occurs later in Chapter Ten 〔T32 445c16〕. It then asks about pleasure: “Question: What is mental pleasure? Answer: The mind’s receiving is mental pleasure. Receiving born from mental contact is the feeling of mental pleasure. This is called pleasure” 〔T32 419c08–09〕. The pleasure of the third jhāna is mental pleasure and is born from mental contact. “Receiving” appears twice within the answer, once attached to mind and once to mental contact; the treatise does not judge the difference, and both are preserved. Body and pleasure are each restated according to this passage’s answers. The paradox resolves itself: the pleasure faculty—the bodily faculty of pleasure—has ceased, while mental pleasure remains. That mental pleasure is experienced by the “body” of the three aggregates of perception, formations, and consciousness. Not one character of 身受樂 has changed, yet each has received a changed content. The remaining question is raised by the treatise itself: “Why did the Blessed One say that the pleasure faculty ceases in the third jhāna? This pleasure is what noble persons taught. Noble persons are the Buddha and his disciples, who open and combine, establish the teaching, analyze, and disclose. This is called what the noble ones taught” 〔T32 419c12–14〕. The authority for the judgment is “what the noble ones taught,” and the passage positively explains “noble” as the Buddha and his disciples. Unit 08-17 cited “what the noble ones taught” without explaining the phrase; its explanation is here, and the two passages should be read together.

This passage offers a reading method: its answer to the paradox redefines the terms. When “experiences pleasure with the body” meets “the pleasure faculty has ceased,” the treatise alters neither noble statement. Instead it defines “body” and “pleasure” again, allowing both to stand. When the treatise later raises a dilemma in which earlier and later words seem opposed, first ask whether its next move changes the content of one term. The term whose content changes is the place where the knot is untied.

Conclusion

Return to the passage. Mindfulness has recollection as its characteristic and guarding as its manifestation; knowledge has nondelusion as its characteristic and selecting phenomena as its manifestation. The treatise places together this jhāna’s ease of reaching pleasure, “ground of utmost savor,” making a deluded mind, and place of attachment. It uses the calf following its mother as a simile for being without rapture yet having pleasure, and says that if distinguishing is not gentle one returns to rapture and the jhāna regresses. Finally, it defines “body” as the three aggregates of perception, formations, and consciousness, and “pleasure” as receiving born from mental contact, explaining “experiences pleasure with the body” in the terms of this passage.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Mindfulness, Clear Knowing, and Bodily Pleasure in the Third Jhāna · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage accomplishes two major tasks in one movement. First it completes the account of the third jhāna—the answer, its four-factor formula, the water-flower simile, and the three grades with three heavens. It then lists three faults of the third jhāna, the virtues of the fourth, and the attention by which one turns to the fourth. Both faces occur in this same passage. The treatise does not establish an additional causal statement explaining how they connect.

The Accomplishment of the Third Jhāna and an Unresolved Short Phrase

“Question: Why did the noble ones speak of this body and not another place?” 〔T32 419c14–15〕. This carries forward the preceding explanation of “what the noble ones taught”—the noble ones being the Buddha and his disciples—and asks further why they spoke of this body rather than another place. The answer proceeds: “This third jhāna easily arises and reaches that place of pleasure; 彼無受樂. Noble ones incline toward dwelling in pleasure; this is the accomplishment of noble persons. Therefore noble persons said that this jhāna supremely accomplishes equanimity” 〔T32 419c15–17〕. The syntax and referent of 彼無受樂 are unclear, and the treatise does not explain them elsewhere. It cannot be determined as nonattachment or any other single meaning. What can be directly confirmed is only the sequence of statements: the third jhāna easily arises and reaches that place of pleasure; the source then has 彼無受樂; noble ones incline toward dwelling in pleasure, which is their accomplishment; therefore noble persons said that this jhāna “supremely accomplishes equanimity.” The order and the unresolved phrase are preserved, without using “supremely accomplishes equanimity” to infer a single reading of 彼無受樂.

It is especially important here to separate what can be confirmed word for word from what still requires interpretation. The words “third jhāna,” “place of pleasure,” “noble ones incline toward dwelling in pleasure,” “accomplishment of noble persons,” and “this jhāna supremely accomplishes equanimity” are explicit. Only the intervening 彼無受樂 remains to be interpreted. It cannot automatically borrow characters from the later phrase “pleasure free of rapture,” nor can general doctrine turn it into nonattachment to pleasure. An exposition may arrange the answer and mark the unresolved words; it may not make one unresolved phrase explain the whole reason the noble ones spoke.

The accomplishment formula is then examined word by word: “A person who dwells pleasantly with mindfulness has equanimity, mindfulness, and pleasure; this has already been analyzed and is accomplished; he enters and dwells in the third jhāna” 〔T32 419c17–18〕. Equanimity, mindfulness, knowing, and pleasure in the noble formula have already been analyzed factor by factor, hence “this has already been analyzed and is accomplished.” The formula does not introduce a new meaning; it closes the account of factors already explained. “Third means that it is named the third in dependence upon the second” 〔T32 419c18〕. Its name comes not from an essence but from sequence: only by stepping upon the second is there a third; the name itself is a mark on the ladder. “The third jhāna is equanimity and mindfulness, clear knowing, pleasure, and one-pointedness; this is called the accomplishment of jhāna” 〔T32 419c19〕. Four factors establish the form. Equanimity, mindfulness, and clear knowing, treated across 08-17 and 08-18, are gathered here with pleasure and one-pointedness. Under “one who enters and dwells,” the text first records that “he has already gained the second jhāna.” It then continuously writes “離一分五分, accomplishing three kinds of goodness, fulfilling ten characteristics, being associated with twenty-two virtues, dwelling among devas, being reborn in the Heaven of Pervasive Purity—as explained at length under the first jhāna” 〔T32 419c20–22〕. How the two occurrences of 分 in 離一分五分 divide and what they denote are not stated, so the phrase is retained without assigning its parts. The number twenty-two has a variant. Only “dwelling among devas” receives another explanation: “dwelling in 無喜樂住; surpassing human dwelling is called dwelling among devas” 〔T32 419c22–23〕. It surpasses human dwelling and therefore receives the name. How 無喜樂住 is divided is not explained and remains unresolved.

The order under “one who enters and dwells” is: already gained the second jhāna; 離一分五分; accomplished three kinds of goodness and fulfilled ten characteristics; associated with twenty-two virtues; dwelling among devas; reborn in the Heaven of Pervasive Purity; and finally “as explained at length under the first jhāna.” This passage says only that the person has gained the second jhāna; it does not add further states here.

The Water-Flower Simile: Completely Filled from Root to Crown

“Therefore the Blessed One told the bhikkhus” 〔T32 419c23〕 opens the largest image in the passage. The three pond flowers are “born of water and grow through water, arise from water and remain in it, and water fills them from root to crown” 〔T32 419c25–26〕. “In the same way, bhikkhus, he fills and moistens this body with pleasure free of rapture; pleasure free of rapture pervades body and mind” 〔T32 419c26–28〕. The simile expressly states filling “from root to crown” and “pervading body and mind.” Its warranted meaning goes no farther; no separate classification or mechanism is invented for the water. The close turns from flower to lotus root: “his body should be understood as a lotus root born in water, completely filled from root to crown” 〔T32 419c29–420a01〕. The point remains “from root to crown” and “completely filled.” The first name in the list differs within the simile—first 欝波羅, later 欝多羅. The base text is retained, and the difference remains unresolved.

The three grades are then paired with three heavens: “This third jhāna is also of three kinds: upper, middle, and lower” 〔T32 420a03〕. The lower is reborn in the Heaven of Limited Purity for sixteen eons; the middle in the Heaven of Measureless Purity for thirty-two; the upper in the Heaven of Pervasive Purity for sixty-four 〔T32 420a03–07〕. All three heaven names contain the character 淨, “purity.” The lifespans double from sixteen to thirty-two to sixty-four, but the treatise does not state why. Each lower, middle, and upper grade is simply kept with its corresponding destination and lifespan.

Pause at the Question: Why Go Beyond a Pleasure Praised by Noble Ones?

“Recollecting the faults of the third jhāna, at that time the meditator, having practiced in this way, has gained bodily mastery and pleasure in the third jhāna, arouses the fourth jhāna, and goes beyond the third” 〔T32 420a07–08〕. The ascent formula begins again. Pause here. The first half of the passage has just said “noble ones incline toward dwelling in pleasure; this is the accomplishment of noble persons.” How can pleasure praised by noble ones immediately become a fault to be surpassed?

“What are the faults of the third jhāna? It is near rapture, which is an enemy. Right concentration is coarse because of the pleasure factor and cannot bear the task of gaining 神通; the third jhāna does not become a superior portion” 〔T32 420a10–12〕. The answer expressly lists three matters: nearness to rapture as an enemy, coarseness of right concentration through the pleasure factor and consequent incapacity for 神通, and failure of the third jhāna to become a superior portion. The precise referent of 神通 is not explained here. Unit 08-17 called the fault of the second jhāna “being near applied and sustained thought, which are enemies of concentration.” This passage uses the same construction but changes what is near to rapture. It also says that the fourth is excellent and the third coarse, and that the virtues of the fourth counteract the faults of the third 〔T32 420a08–13〕. The first half has “accomplishment of noble persons” and “this jhāna supremely accomplishes equanimity”; the second half explicitly lists the faults of the third and going beyond it. Both occur here. The treatise does not use the unresolved 彼無受樂 to explain their connection, and no causal link is imposed.

The transition of attention follows its original order: “he attends only to the sign of the kasiṇa, 令現滅樂滅” 〔T32 420a14–15〕. The object remains the sign of the kasiṇa. In 令現滅樂滅, two 滅 characters stand together. The treatise does not punctuate them, and the division remains unresolved. The phrase is retained without punctuation. Next comes “sustained by a mind of equanimity, attending in this way, before long, through the mind of equanimity, he finds ease and understands the factors of the fourth jhāna” 〔T32 420a15–16〕. Sustained by equanimity, such attention, before long, and finding ease and understanding the factors through equanimity are kept as four elements in the original sentence. The source does not explain why “before long” is brief or add a psychological mechanism among the elements.

The fourth-jhāna formula follows item by item: “because pleasure has been abandoned,” “because pain had already been abandoned,” and “because the initial gladness and distress have been exhausted”; then neither-pain-nor-pleasure, accomplishment of purification of equanimity and mindfulness, dwelling in the fourth jhāna, and finally “this is the virtue of the earth kasiṇa” 〔T32 420a16–18〕. This list supplies the formula and its order. Although “sustained by a mind of equanimity” and “purification of equanimity and mindfulness” share the term equanimity, the source does not declare them synonymous or place them in a separate causal relation. Each is preserved in its own sentence.

The Faults of the Third Jhāna Listed Here

After “What are the faults of the third jhāna?” the text writes, in order: “It is near rapture, which is an enemy. Right concentration is coarse because of the pleasure factor; it cannot bear the task of gaining 神通; the third jhāna does not become a superior portion” 〔T32 420a10–12〕. Nearness to rapture as an enemy, coarseness through the pleasure factor, incapacity for 神通, and failure to become a superior portion are all retained according to their sentences. The answer immediately says that seeing the virtues of the fourth is their counteragent 〔T32 420a12–13〕. These words concern the faults and virtues expressly listed here in the turn from the third to the fourth.

Before the list, the source says that the meditator gains bodily mastery and pleasure in the third jhāna, arouses the fourth and goes beyond the third. It judges the third coarse and fourth excellent, and says that he sees the faults of the third and virtues of the fourth 〔T32 420a07–10〕. After the list, it repeats that he sees the faults of the third in this way and that the virtues of the fourth are their counteragent 〔T32 420a12–13〕. Only then does it proceed to seeing faults and virtues, attending to the sign of the kasiṇa, 令現滅樂滅, being sustained by the mind of equanimity, and through equanimity finding ease and understanding the fourth-jhāna factors 〔T32 420a13–16〕. The passage moves from the judgment of coarse and excellent into the list of faults, from the counteracting virtue into attention and the factors, and only then into the formula of the fourth jhāna.

All Four Accounts Are Cleared Together

“That meditator has abandoned pleasure, had already abandoned pain, and exhausted the initial gladness and distress. He accomplishes neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purification of equanimity and mindfulness, and dwells in the fourth jhāna. This is the virtue of the earth kasiṇa” 〔T32 420a16–18〕. The formula of the fourth jhāna stands complete. “This is the virtue of the earth kasiṇa” records the accomplishment under the earth-kasiṇa gate, as at the close of each jhāna. The attainment of the four jhānas remains on the same ledger of the object used at this gate. The text then explains the words: “Abandoning pleasure means the abandonment of bodily pleasure; abandoning pain means the abandonment of bodily pain. The preceding gladness and distress have ceased: gladness means mental pleasure and distress mental pain; both are completely extinguished” 〔T32 420a18–20〕. Pleasure, pain, gladness, and distress are entered in two columns, bodily and mental: bodily pleasure, bodily pain, mental pleasure as gladness, and mental pain as distress. At the threshold of the fourth jhāna, all four accounts are cleared together. What remains is the feeling of neither pain nor pleasure. The preceding unit’s method of redefining terms appears again: gladness is explained as mental pleasure and distress as mental pain. Each of four ordinary words finds its place, and every character in the formula has an account that can be checked. “Neither pain nor pleasure” is not a vague middle; it is what remains when each of four entries has been cleared. Its direct definition occurs in the next unit.

Conclusion

Return to the central observation. The same passage first says that noble ones incline toward dwelling in pleasure and that this jhāna “supremely accomplishes equanimity,” then says that nearness to rapture is an enemy, that right concentration is coarse through the pleasure factor, that it cannot bear 神通, and that the third jhāna does not become a superior portion. It therefore arouses the fourth and goes beyond the third. 彼無受樂 remains in its original form and unresolved. Carry away three things: an image—the flowers and lotus root completely filled from root to crown; the faults listed in this passage; and the original sequence—attention to the sign of the kasiṇa, being sustained by equanimity, before long, and through equanimity finding ease and understanding the factors of the fourth. The fourth-jhāna formula has now been established, while its lexical explanation has only begun. The next passage opens, “Pleasure, pain, and distress have been abandoned: where did they cease?” and continues the accounting of the feelings.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Accomplishing the Third Jhāna and Turning to the Fourth · Exposition · Summer 2026

At the end of the preceding passage the fourth-jhāna formula was established: pleasure abandoned, pain abandoned, gladness and distress exhausted. This passage has six questions. The first four ask separately where the pain, distress, and pleasure faculties cease and why. The fifth asks why cessation is still taught in the fourth jhāna if they have ceased in the first three. The sixth explains why this mindfulness becomes distinct and clear through equanimity. The passage closes with the simile of white cloth covering the body and the heavens in which practitioners are reborn.

Tracing the Accounts: Each Feeling Ceases in Its Own Jhāna

“Question: Pleasure, pain, and distress have been abandoned. Where did they cease? Answer: Cessation occurs at the time of the first jhāna. In this fourth jhāna, the Buddha spoke of the cessation of pain” 〔T32 420a20–21〕. The answer first says that cessation occurs at the time of the first jhāna, without restating a subject, then that in the fourth jhāna the Buddha spoke of the cessation of pain. The fifth question will directly ask why the fourth still speaks of cessation when cessation has occurred in the first three. The three cited statements in between are respectively marked “the Buddha,” “as the Buddha said,” and “as the Blessed One said,” but none names a scripture.

The pain faculty: “The Buddha told the bhikkhus: when the first jhāna is accomplished and sensual desire left behind, that is the place where the pain faculty, once arisen, ceases without remainder” 〔T32 420a22–23〕. The reason follows the original sentence: “Because rapture is full, the body is at ease; because the body is at ease, the pain faculty ceases. Because abandonment is its counteragent, the pain faculty ceases in the first jhāna” 〔T32 420a24–25〕. Fullness of rapture, bodily ease, cessation of the pain faculty, and abandonment as counteragent are linked in this order.

The distress faculty: “In the second jhāna the distress faculty ceases” 〔T32 420a25–26〕, followed by words introduced as the Buddha’s 〔T32 420a26–28〕. The reason is given sentence by sentence: “If applied and sustained thought are present and one long follows them, the body becomes weary and the mind indolent; if the mind becomes indolent, the distress faculty arises” 〔T32 420a29–420b01〕. The text next says that applied and sustained thought cease in the second jhāna, and therefore the distress faculty ceases 〔T32 420b01–02〕. Long following applied and sustained thought, bodily weariness and mental indolence, arising of distress, cessation of applied and sustained thought in the second jhāna, and cessation of distress are all kept in the source’s order. The quoted question here literally reads “the gladness faculty, once arisen, ceases without remainder” 〔T32 420a26–27〕, while the treatise’s answer concerns the distress faculty. The words do not align and are retained without altering one character.

The pleasure faculty: “As the Blessed One said: Where does the pleasure faculty, once arisen, cease without remainder? Here, because the bhikkhu becomes disenchanted with rapture, he enters and dwells in the attainment of the third jhāna. This is the place where the pleasure faculty, once arisen, ceases without remainder” 〔T32 420b02–04〕. Its reason is explicit: “Because rapture ceases. Rapture is the cause; pleasure therefore comes to cease. Hence the pleasure faculty ceases in the third jhāna” 〔T32 420b05–06〕. Rapture as cause, cessation of rapture, and cessation of pleasure are all relations stated in this passage.

The three explicit locations are: the pain faculty ceases in the first jhāna, the distress faculty in the second, and the pleasure faculty in the third. The pain section says that fullness of rapture brings bodily ease, bodily ease brings cessation of pain, and abandonment is the counteragent. The distress section says that long following applied and sustained thought produces bodily weariness and mental indolence, indolence brings distress, and cessation of applied and sustained thought in the second jhāna brings cessation of distress. The pleasure section says that rapture is the cause and that when rapture ceases, pleasure ceases. Each section’s own causal sentences are preserved; they are not merged into another classification.

Pause at the Question: If They Ceased Earlier, Why Does the Fourth Jhāna Speak of Cessation Again?

Pause here at the contradiction visible in the accounts: “Question: If pain, pleasure, and distress have already ceased in the places of the first three jhānas, why is cessation taught in this fourth jhāna?” 〔T32 420b06–07〕. Each was extinguished at an earlier station, yet the fourth-jhāna formula gathers them all under “pleasure and pain abandoned, gladness and distress exhausted.” Is this not double entry?

The treatise gives four answers in succession, with three repetitions of “furthermore” after the first. First, the first three jhānas are the road to the fourth; since the feelings have already ceased in the first three, cessation is taught in the fourth 〔T32 420b07–09〕. Second, neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling is the present counteragent, so it is said to counteract pain and pleasure 〔T32 420b09–10〕. Third, the fourth jhāna gathers together the common counteraction of feelings 〔T32 420b10–11〕. Fourth, defilements are relinquished and now abandoned without remainder 〔T32 420b11〕. The four answers remain side by side as written; their subjects and reasons are not merged into a single formula.

Neither-Painful-nor-Pleasant Feeling and Purification of Equanimity and Mindfulness

The treatise next defines neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling: “The intention does not receive and the mind does not cast away; this is called neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling” 〔T32 420b11–12〕. These two negative statements are used only here to define this feeling. The four questions on characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause follow. What can be clearly divided is “being in the middle is its characteristic; dwelling in the middle is its function.” The remaining 除是起喜滅是處 has no punctuation boundary, and it cannot be determined which words answer manifestation and proximate cause. The full string is retained without fixed interpretation 〔T32 420b13–14〕.

The four characters 捨念清淨 are then examined word by word. “A neutral nature is equanimity; this is called equanimity” 〔T32 420b15〕. Here equanimity is glossed as neutral nature. Unit 08-17 defined it as “neither regressing nor advancing, the mind is balanced” 〔T32 419a22〕. The two explanations coexist without adjudication; each should be recognized where it occurs. The former speaks of the activity of equanimity in the third jhāna, the latter gives a designation of its nature in the fourth. “Mindfulness means mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness” 〔T32 420b15–16〕. Its list is close to but not identical with the definition in 08-17, which had mindfulness, recollection, awareness, retaining, and the faculty, power, and right mindfulness. The base-text forms are retained. Combined, “Taking equanimity as mindfulness, it becomes distinct and clear; this is called purification of equanimity and mindfulness” 〔T32 420b16–17〕. Taking equanimity as mindfulness: mindfulness has equanimity as its ground-color and consequently becomes distinct and clear. The weight of the four-character phrase falls on 以, “taking … as.”

Why can equanimity make mindfulness clear? The sixth question answers expressly: “Because this equanimity is free from all defilements and is associated through similarity with feeling, it becomes unmoving and without undertaking. Because this nonundertaking is associated with equanimity, mindfulness reaches the unmoving and becomes without undertaking. Therefore this mindfulness, having become equanimous, is distinct and clear” 〔T32 420b17–20〕. The answer gives only these reasons in order: equanimity is free from all defilements and associated through similarity with feeling, hence becomes unmoving and without undertaking; nonundertaking is associated with equanimity; mindfulness reaches the unmoving and becomes without undertaking; therefore this mindfulness, having become equanimous, is distinct and clear. The source does not explain this with wind and waves, rescue, or mirrors; only the listed reasons are read here.

The White-Cloth Simile: From Head to Foot, Nowhere Untouched

The accomplishments are listed as written: “Fourth means that, in dependence on the third, this fourth is accomplished” 〔T32 420b20–21〕. Next comes “This means the equanimity, mindfulness, and one-pointedness of the fourth jhāna; this is called the accomplishment of jhāna” 〔T32 420b21–22〕, explicitly listing three. The passage does not say how the three divide their work or classify them as enjoyment and maintenance. Nor does it explain why other factors are absent. The current three-item formula is therefore retained. “One who enters and dwells comes to gain that fourth jhāna, 離一分三分, accomplishes three kinds of goodness, fulfills ten characteristics, is associated with twenty-two virtues, dwells in heaven as result, and is reborn in the Heaven of Fruition. The virtues are as explained at the beginning” 〔T32 420b22–25〕. The items of 離一分三分 are not listed and are not assigned. The three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, and twenty-two virtues remain in their original sentence; dwelling in heaven as result and birth in the Heaven of Fruition follow. Dwelling among devas is then explained again: “捨樂住, going beyond human dwelling; this is called dwelling among devas” 〔T32 420b25〕. How 捨樂住 is divided and how it connects to the following phrase are not explained.

Of the three factors, equanimity and mindfulness have already been separately treated here: neutral nature is equanimity; mindfulness is listed as mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness; then “taking equanimity as mindfulness, it becomes distinct and clear” 〔T32 420b16〕. One-pointedness is only named in the formula and receives no separate question in this unit. The three may therefore be recognized according to the preceding explanations of equanimity and mindfulness while preserving the name one-pointedness. Because two have explanations, no threefold classification of functions may be supplied. “This is called the accomplishment of jhāna” only expressly judges that the three together form the fourth-jhāna accomplishment described here.

The white-cloth simile follows. Before the concluding turn, the text says of the practitioner: “Free from every upper defilement, he should be understood as dwelling in the fourth jhāna” 〔T32 420c01–02〕. After the simile it concludes: “Thus one enters the fourth jhāna, which is neither painful nor pleasant; this is equanimous pleasure, filling the body. Such is the result of cultivating concentration: the virtue of dwelling among devas and being reborn in the Heaven of Fruition” 〔T32 420c03–05〕. The image first says that white cloth touches every part of the body from head to foot, then that the clear-white mind fills every part 〔T32 420b26–29〕. It next says that the white cloth covers the body from head to foot, neither cold nor hot, with the season balanced and body and mind purified; it then speaks of entering the fourth jhāna as neither painful nor pleasant 〔T32 420c02–04〕. Both correspondences are directly adjacent in the source and are not turned into a general law about other terms. The readings 疊 / 㲲 and 處 / 覆 remain recorded without adjudication.

For dwelling among devas, the passage says only: “捨樂住, going beyond human dwelling; this is called dwelling among devas” 〔T32 420b25〕. 捨樂住, 出於人住, and 此謂天居 remain in their original sequence. The text gives no further explanation of how 捨樂住 is divided or how the first two phrases connect. It can be confirmed only that this sentence explains dwelling among devas here; it does not establish a principle spanning every jhāna.

The resultant destinations are listed in three statements: “An ordinary person who cultivates the fourth jhāna is reborn at death in the Heaven of Fruition. If the mind is disenchanted, he is reborn in the Heaven of No Perception, with a lifespan of fifty eons. A renunciant is reborn either in the Heaven of Fruition or in the Five Pure Abodes” 〔T32 420c05–07〕. Ordinary person, one whose mind is disenchanted, and renunciant are each kept with their own sentence. The five Pure Abodes are not listed here and are not supplied.

The Order of the Six Questions and Their Long Answers

The first four questions do not have exactly the same scope. The first raises pleasure, pain, and distress together and asks where they ceased, while its answer continuously writes “at the time of the first jhāna” and “in this fourth jhāna, the Buddha spoke of the cessation of pain” 〔T32 420a20–21〕. The second asks specifically where the pain faculty, once arisen, ceases without remainder; the answer places it at accomplishment of the first jhāna and leaving sensual desire 〔T32 420a22–23〕. The third begins by asking why the pain faculty ceases in the first jhāna, but its answer proceeds through cessation of the distress faculty in the second and the pleasure faculty in the third 〔T32 420a23–420b04〕. The fourth again separately asks why the pleasure faculty ceases in the third 〔T32 420b04–06〕. The questions range from general to specific and must be read with their respective answers.

The pain section uses the causal term 故 twice in succession: because rapture is full, the body is at ease; because the body is at ease, pain ceases. It then adds that abandonment is the counteragent, so pain ceases in the first jhāna 〔T32 420a24–25〕. The distress section first lists two results of long following applied and sustained thought—bodily weariness and mental indolence—then links mental indolence to arising distress, and finally uses the cessation of applied and sustained thought in the second jhāna to explain the cessation of distress 〔T32 420a29–420b02〕. The pleasure section is shortest: because rapture ceases, and because rapture is the cause, pleasure ceases 〔T32 420b05–06〕. The three sections differ in length and syntax; their relations stand only according to their own sentences.

There is also a literal mismatch in the distress section. The preceding sentence says “the distress faculty ceases in the second jhāna,” but the quoted question asks “where does the gladness faculty, once arisen, cease without remainder?” and the following sentence returns to “this is the place where the distress faculty, once arisen, ceases without remainder” 〔T32 420a28〕. No critical note decides between “gladness faculty” and “distress faculty.” All three forms are therefore preserved; the quoted word may not be silently altered to agree with its neighbors.

The fifth question asks not about one faculty but why the fourth again speaks of cessation if feelings have already ceased in the first three. The first answer connects road and sequence: the first three are the road to the fourth, and feelings have ceased there, therefore cessation is taught in the fourth. The second turns to a present counteragent: neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling is present and counteracts pain and pleasure. The third says only that the fourth gathers together the common counteraction of feelings. The fourth says only that defilements are relinquished and now abandoned without remainder 〔T32 420b07–11〕. The sentences have no single common subject and are not recast into one shared causal explanation. Keeping four answers side by side is closest to the base text.

After the four answers, the prose turns directly to the definition of neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. The order is: intention does not receive and mind does not cast away; then four questions on characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause; then “being in the middle is its characteristic, dwelling in the middle its function”; and finally the unpunctuated 除是起喜滅是處 〔T32 420b14〕. The two certain answers must remain separate from the unresolved string. Characteristic and function have clear correspondences; manifestation and proximate cause cannot be assigned from words without a punctuation boundary.

Purification of equanimity and mindfulness is then split in its original order. First comes neutral nature as equanimity, then mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness, and then the combined “taking equanimity as mindfulness, it becomes distinct and clear; this is called purification of equanimity and mindfulness” 〔T32 420b16–17〕. Only the next question explains why it is clear: equanimity is free from every defilement and associated through similarity with feeling, becoming unmoving and without undertaking; nonundertaking is associated with equanimity; mindfulness reaches the unmoving and becomes without undertaking; therefore this mindfulness, having become equanimous, is distinct and clear 〔T32 420b17–20〕. Reasons, results, and conclusion all emerge layer by layer in the answer.

After explaining purification of equanimity and mindfulness, the long answer to the sixth question continues with accomplishment of the fourth jhāna. The fourth is named in dependence upon the third. Jhāna accomplishment lists equanimity, mindfulness, and one-pointedness. One who enters and dwells gains the fourth, 離一分三分, accomplishes three kinds of goodness, fulfills ten characteristics, is associated with twenty-two virtues, dwells in heaven as result, and is reborn in the Heaven of Fruition, closed by “the virtues are as explained at the beginning” 〔T32 420b20–25〕. The items of 離一分三分 are not listed, nor are functions assigned to the three factors. Only their list and order are preserved.

The white-cloth simile appears after the accomplishment items. The first telling covers the body from head to foot, leaving no part untouched, then says the clear-white mind fills every part and touches everywhere 〔T32 420b26–29〕. The second says that white cloth covers the body from head to foot, neither cold nor hot, with the season balanced and body and mind purified, then says that entry into the fourth jhāna is neither painful nor pleasant, is equanimous pleasure, and fills the body 〔T32 420c02–04〕. The two conclusions differ, but both are expressly written and require no additional function for the cloth. The simile closes with the result of concentration, dwelling among devas, and the virtue of rebirth in the Heaven of Fruition 〔T32 420c04–05〕.

Conclusion

Return to the passage. The pain faculty ceases in the first jhāna, the distress faculty in the second, and the pleasure faculty in the third. Their stated reasons are respectively fullness of rapture bringing bodily ease and bodily ease bringing cessation of pain; long following applied and sustained thought producing weariness and indolence and their cessation bringing cessation of distress; and rapture as cause, with cessation of rapture bringing cessation of pleasure. The treatise separately gives four answers for why cessation is again taught in the fourth: the road through the first three, the present counteraction by neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, the fourth’s gathering of the common counteraction of feelings, and present abandonment of defilements without remainder. Neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling is defined as intention not receiving and mind not casting away. Purification of equanimity and mindfulness is explained through equanimity’s freedom from defilements, association by similarity with feeling, unmovingness, and nonundertaking. The passage ends with white cloth covering the body and the clear-white mind filling every part.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Cessation of the Faculties and Purification of Equanimity and Mindfulness in the Fourth Jhāna · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage first answers why superior resultant grounds are not taught for the fourth jhāna. It then says that the meditator recollects the faults of the fourth, sees the virtues of concentration on space, removes the sign of the earth kasiṇa, and cultivates the concentration of boundless space. Finally it explains the base of boundless space and its result word by word.

The Far Shore of Subtle Factors: The Ladder Has Reached Its Top

“Question: Why are superior resultant grounds taught as lower, middle, and upper in the first three jhānas but not in the fourth? Answer: What is gained through the first three jhānas is coarse in some cases and subtle in others, so superior resultant grounds are taught through superior factors. The fourth jhāna has reached the far shore of subtle factors. Beyond it there is no subtler factor; therefore no superior resultant ground is taught here” 〔T32 420c08–11〕. The answer gives only two levels: because what is gained through the first three is coarse and subtle, superior resultant grounds are taught; because the fourth has reached the far shore of subtle factors and no subtler factor remains, they are not. No scheme of resultant divisions from another unit is added to make a new causal account.

“Coarse and subtle” is expressly attached to “what is gained through the first three,” followed by “therefore superior resultant grounds are taught through superior factors.” On the fourth-jhāna side, the source says in order: it has reached the far shore of subtle factors; beyond it there is no subtler factor; therefore no superior resultant ground is taught. Each side has its own causal terms, and this exposition follows their sentence order. “Superior factor” and “superior resultant ground” receive no further definition here, so the grades or destinations from elsewhere cannot be imposed upon them.

Turning from the Fourth Jhāna toward the Concentration of Boundless Space

“Recollecting the faults of the fourth jhāna, at that time the meditator has gained mastery and pleasure in the fourth jhāna; he ranges in concentration on space and goes beyond the form realm” 〔T32 420c11–13〕. The passage expressly says that he has gained mastery and pleasure in the fourth, recollects its faults, ranges in concentration on space, and goes beyond the form realm. The base character 遊 has a variant 起. Both are recorded, while the body follows the base.

The next observations are also listed item by item: “He further reflects: concentration on form is coarse, concentration on space subtle. The meditator sees the faults of form and again sees the virtues of concentration on space” 〔T32 420c13–14〕. One pair contrasts coarse concentration on form with subtle concentration on space; the other pairs seeing the faults of form with seeing the virtues of space. The source writes both in sequence; no single general grading principle need be added.

The faults of form are laid out in their original list: “What are the faults of form? Taking up weapons and fighting, contention, divisive and false speech, cutting off hands and feet, and various affairs; pain of the eyes, illness, cold, heat, hunger, thirst, and other suffering—these are called the faults of desire for form” 〔T32 420c14–17〕. Weapons and fighting, divisive and false speech, cutting off hands and feet, pain of the eyes, illness, cold, heat, hunger, and thirst are all listed here. The question says “faults of form,” its conclusion “faults of desire for form,” and the variant “faults of desire-form.” The three forms do not align. The fourth-jhāna faults read: “It is near rapture, which becomes an enemy; it depends on matters of form and is therefore called coarse. Attached to pleasure here, one does not attain a superior portion; one depends on the deeply quiet liberation of space” 〔T32 420c17–19〕. The source next says, “With respect to form, seeing the faults of the fourth jhāna and the virtues of concentration on space is their counteragent” 〔T32 420c19–20〕. These reasons remain in their original order and are not expanded into a rule of coarse and subtle spanning other units.

The sentence order in the fourth-jhāna section must remain complete: “near rapture, which becomes an enemy”; “depending on matters of form, it is called coarse”; “attached to pleasure here, one does not attain a superior portion”; and “depending on the deeply quiet liberation of space.” The next sentence separately says “this concentration is coarse” and connects seeing the faults of the fourth, seeing the virtues of concentration on space, and counteraction 〔T32 420c17–20〕. How 此, 於是, and 於此 attach is not individually explained. What can be confirmed is the statements and their sequence; they may not be recast as a grading law for other concentrations.

The practitioner first “recollects entry into the fourth jhāna and makes clear the concentration of boundless space” 〔T32 420c22〕. Next, “Emerging from this concentration, he removes the sign of the earth kasiṇa; cultivating concentration on space, the earth sign is lost. He attends to space, taking boundlessness as the task; attending presently in this way, before long the earth sign is lost” 〔T32 420c22–25〕. The actions listed here are concrete: emerging from concentration, removing the sign of the earth kasiṇa, cultivating concentration on space, and attending to space as boundless, whereupon the earth sign is lost. The small passage says “the earth sign is lost” twice: first immediately after cultivating concentration on space, then after “attending presently in this way, before long.” What can be confirmed is only that, in this cultivation, the earth sign is lost when one presently attends to boundless space. No general rule is made that every relinquished object is lost through a shift of attention.

The next sentence is “From the earth sign, mind arises and comes to go beyond into space; by the sign of entry into space it gains mastery and settles” 〔T32 420c25–26〕. It preserves at least three successive groups: mind arises from the earth sign; comes to go beyond into space; by the sign of entry into space, mastery and settled mind. It can be confirmed that mind leaves the earth sign and turns toward space, ending with mastery and settledness. But whether 成越於虛空 joins upward with mind’s arising or downward with entry into space, and whether 自在 modifies sign, entry, or mind, are not further explained. The three groups are therefore listed in order without adding a unique syntax or expanding them into a universal method of taking and abandoning.

Putting together the actions that can be confirmed: first he recollects entry into the fourth and makes clear the concentration of boundless space; then he emerges, removes the sign of the earth kasiṇa, and cultivates concentration on space. When he attends to boundless space, the earth sign is lost. Only afterward come the three groups “mind arises from the earth sign,” “comes to go beyond into space,” and “by the sign of entry into space, mastery and settled mind.” The closing sentence says that having aroused all signs of form and extinguished resistant perceptions, and because he does not attend to diverse perceptions, the meditator enters the attainment and dwells in the base of boundless space 〔T32 420c22–27〕. This is the complete order from attention to attainment supplied here. Only the syntactic attachment among the final groups remains unclear.

Six Terms in the Accomplishment Formula: One Key for Each Word

“Having aroused all signs of form and extinguished resistant perceptions, and because he does not attend to diverse perceptions, the meditator enters the attainment and dwells in the base of boundless space” 〔T32 420c26–27〕. The first formless-realm formula now stands. The treatise then explains six expressions from it, each in the same form:

“All means arising without remainder” 〔T32 420c28〕. This is the only explanation of “all” given here. “As for signs of form: what are signs of form? The perceptual knowing and clear knowing of one who enters concentration in the form realm are called signs of form” 〔T32 420c28–29〕. “Going beyond means arising from here” 〔T32 420c29〕. “What are resistant perceptions? Perceptions of form, sound, odor, taste, and touch are called resistant perceptions” 〔T32 421a01–02〕. The five are retained in their original list. “Cessation means that those diverse perceptions are exhausted” 〔T32 421a02〕. “What are diverse perceptions? In a person not in concentration, the perceptual knowing and clear knowing associated either with the mind-element or the mind-consciousness-element are called diverse perceptions” 〔T32 421a03–04〕. When the six explanations have been given, the formula still has going beyond signs of form, cessation of resistant perceptions, and nonattention to diverse perceptions; the treatise does not explain the difference among these three terms.

Each of the six explanations has a different range. “All” is explained only as “arising without remainder.” “Signs of form” are attached to perceptual knowing and clear knowing in form-realm concentration. “Going beyond” is explained only as “arising from here.” “Resistant perceptions” are listed as perceptions of form, sound, odor, taste, and touch. “Cessation” says only that diverse perceptions are exhausted. “Diverse perceptions” are attached to a person outside concentration and list perceptual knowing and clear knowing associated with the mind-element and mind-consciousness-element. The source explains the formula through these six terms. It does not turn “without remainder” into an additional condition of success or state that the three verbs are interchangeable.

Two further rounds of correspondence follow 〔T32 421a17–21〕 and deserve slow reading. The treatise itself gives two charts for the same formula. The first relates it to realms: “Here, arousing all perceptions of form is said to abandon form-realm phenomena, resistant perceptions, and the cessation of diverse perceptions. Not attending is said to abandon desire-realm phenomena” 〔T32 421a16–18〕. Going beyond perceptions of form abandons form-realm phenomena; nonattention abandons desire-realm phenomena. The three expressions are distributed across two realms, an accounting downward. The second begins with “furthermore”: “Going beyond all perceptions of form is said to gain the formless realm. Cessation of resistant perceptions is said to abandon disturbance outside that concentration and to manifest the unmoving. Not attending to diverse perceptions is said to abandon disturbance within concentration and to manifest the sign of deeply quiet liberation” 〔T32 421a18–21〕. Going beyond perceptions of form positively establishes the formless realm; cessation of resistant perceptions abandons disturbance outside concentration; nonattention to diverse perceptions abandons disturbance within. The accounting now uses inside and outside concentration. One text gives two arrangements. They do not subsume one another, and the treatise retains both without adjudication. Their relation remains unresolved. The reader need only recognize that each forms its own sequence, without forcing a reconciliation.

In the first round, the source does not individually mark the attachments among “form-realm phenomena,” “resistant perceptions,” and “cessation of diverse perceptions.” One can therefore preserve only that it first speaks of abandoning form-realm phenomena and later says that nonattention abandons desire-realm phenomena. The second round more clearly lists three items: going beyond all perceptions of form means gaining the formless realm; cessation of resistant perceptions means abandoning disturbance outside that concentration; nonattention to diverse perceptions means abandoning disturbance within. Yet the division of 為顯現無動種種想 and its attachment to the surrounding items are still not separately explained. Both rounds retain the original order, without assigning what the source leaves unassigned.

Pause at the Question: Why Only Perception, Not Feeling, Formations, or Consciousness?

“Question: Why does it speak only of going beyond perception, without speaking of feeling, formations, or consciousness?” 〔T32 421a05–06〕. The accomplishment formula names perception—perceptions of form, resistant perceptions, diverse perceptions. Why are the other three of the four aggregates not named? Pause here. 止 has a variant 正, and the reading remains unresolved.

“Answer: If one goes beyond perception, all the others also come to be gone beyond. Why? If one does not leave perception, the mind cannot go beyond. Furthermore, because the Blessed One wished to speak of going beyond matters of form, he spoke of going beyond perceptions of form; all matters of concentration depend upon perception” 〔T32 421a06–09〕. The answer first says that if perception is gone beyond, “all the others” are also gone beyond; if perception is not left, the mind cannot go beyond. Although the question lists feeling, formations, and consciousness, the answer gathers them only under “all the others.” It does not explain a mechanism relating their arising or operation to perception or appoint perception to a function governing the other three. Only these dependencies are preserved. “Furthermore” then gives another answer: the Blessed One wished to say “going beyond matters of form,” and therefore said “going beyond perceptions of form,” concluding that “all matters of concentration depend upon perception.” This is the answer to why only perception is named; it does not establish another rule for determining the category of every concentration. The treatise then adds a distinction: one in form-realm concentration has resistant and diverse perceptions, and the answer reads “has resistant perceptions and has diverse perceptions because they have been abandoned” 〔T32 421a10–11〕. Next comes “Why is the path not cultivated there?” The referent of “there” and the relations among the answering sentences must remain according to the source, without first imposing a definite stage of cultivation.

The intervening short exchange cannot be omitted. The questioner proposes that one in form-realm concentration also has resistant and diverse perceptions; they are not absent. The answer says only, “A person who enters form-realm concentration has resistant perceptions and has diverse perceptions because they have been abandoned” 〔T32 421a10–11〕. Whether 以斷故 governs both kinds or only the nearer item is not divided further. What is certain is that the question raises two perceptions, and the answer lists both again and says “because they have been abandoned.”

The answer first states “for disenchantment with form,” then “是故於彼不滅、於彼不盡故” 〔T32 421a12〕. The referents of the two instances of “there” and their relation to disenchantment with form are unstated. Next comes “In the first jhāna, sound is its thorn; it is like this,” followed by “佛所說於此為厭色以修行道，是故於此成斷” 〔T32 421a13–14〕. Whether the three instances of “here” share a referent, whether they match the preceding “there,” and the boundary of what the Buddha said are all unmarked.

The next sentence reads “於此斷故，無色定不動行想。寂寂解脫想” 〔T32 421a14–15〕. How 不動行想 and 寂寂解脫想 are divided, whether they are parallel or sequential, and how they attach to “because it is abandoned here” receive no explanation. Only the original order is preserved. No two-stage law of suppression in the form realm and exhaustion in the formless realm is constructed from it.

Counted word for word, this small passage first has three occurrences of “there”: “Why is the path not cultivated there?” and “there it is not extinguished; there it is not exhausted.” Three occurrences of “here” follow: “here the path is cultivated for disenchantment with form,” “here abandonment is accomplished,” and “because it is abandoned here” 〔T32 421a11–15〕. The source repeatedly uses pronouns without naming each referent. Their six occurrences can therefore be preserved in sequence, but not automatically assigned to one place, two places, or a line of stages from suppression to extinction.

The example follows: “It is like 迦蘭欝頭藍弗 entering concentration without perception: five hundred carts pass back and forth before him, yet he neither sees nor hears; therefore cessation is spoken of at the place” 〔T32 421a15–16〕. Five hundred carts passing before him unseen and unheard and the final “therefore cessation is spoken of at the place” are explicit. What “at the place” denotes and how the example connects to “unmoving formation-perception” and “deeply quiet liberation-perception” are not explained, and nothing is added.

Four Expressions for Space and Its Result

After the formula has been analyzed, the treatise explains “boundless space” term by term. Its first question asks what space is: “This space enters the space-element and empty opening and is not touched by the four great elements; this is called space” 〔T32 421a22–23〕. The certain definition is “not touched by the four great elements.” “Space-element” and “empty opening” receive no further explanation. Next, “Correctly settling the mind upon space and making it fill boundlessness is called boundlessness” 〔T32 421a23〕. Then, “Boundless space is entry into boundless space. The mind and mental factors entering the base of space are called entry into space” 〔T32 421a23–25〕, placing boundless space, entry into boundless space, entry into space, and the entering mind and mental factors in sequence.

The treatise asks, “What is the meaning of entry into space?” and answers: “It is the boundless nature of space. This base of space having a boundless nature expresses the meaning of space” 〔T32 421a25–26〕. Thus the passage says both “settling the mind upon space and making it fill boundlessness” as cultivation and “it is the boundless nature of space.” Both statements must be retained. Finally it compares: “Just as dwelling in a heavenly place is called a heavenly place,” then says, “the concentration of the base of space is called entry into the base of space” 〔T32 421a27〕. The comparison explains naming by place; it does not separately define space-element, empty opening, or the range of boundless nature.

The close says: “One who dwells correctly gains concentration on the base of space, goes beyond the three portions of matters of form, accomplishes three kinds of goodness, fulfills ten characteristics, is associated with twenty-two virtues, dwells in deep quiet, and cultivates the result of concentration. This virtue brings rebirth in the base of space, as explained at length at the beginning” 〔T32 421a27–421b01〕. The three portions in “goes beyond the three portions of matters of form” are not listed, so the words are retained without assignment. It then explicitly says, “Having cultivated the base of space, at death one is reborn in the Heaven of Space, with a lifespan of two thousand eons” 〔T32 421b01–02〕.

No item in the section on correct dwelling may be omitted: gaining concentration on the base of space; going beyond the three portions of matters of form; accomplishing three kinds of goodness; fulfilling ten characteristics; association with twenty-two virtues; dwelling in deep quiet; and cultivating the result of concentration. It next says that this virtue brings rebirth in the base of space, as explained at length at the beginning. The separate result sentence begins “one whose virtue brings rebirth in space” and explicitly gives cultivation of the base of space, rebirth at death in the Heaven of Space, and a lifespan of two thousand eons. The items of the three portions and the details covered by “as explained at length at the beginning” are not repeated here and are not supplied.

The two sentences answer different aspects. The first is headed “one who dwells correctly” and lists gaining concentration, going beyond three portions, and corresponding virtues. The second is headed “one whose virtue brings rebirth in space” and lists cultivation, destination at death, and lifespan. Dwelling in the first and rebirth in the second are separately preserved as explicit statements and are not blended into one answer.

Conclusion

Return to the passage. What is gained through the first three jhānas is coarse and subtle; the fourth has reached the far shore of subtle factors, with no subtler factor beyond it, so no superior resultant ground is taught there. The meditator recollects the faults of the fourth, attends to boundless space, loses the earth sign, and turns the mind toward space until it settles. The passage answers why only perception is named with “all matters of concentration depend upon perception,” and closes with correct dwelling in the base of boundless space and two thousand eons in the Heaven of Space.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Going Beyond Form into the Base of Boundless Space · Exposition · Summer 2026

The preceding passage dismantled the earth-sign maṇḍala and took space as its object. This passage advances one base farther, going beyond the space in which it had previously dwelt. The treatise says, “He attends by cultivating the consciousness of space and making it fill, thereby making consciousness boundless” 〔T32 421b11–12〕, then says that mind rises from perception of the base of space and goes beyond into the base of consciousness, and that through perception of the base of consciousness mind settles 〔T32 421b12–14〕. This exposition keeps only these explicit statements: the passage turns from perception of the base of space to perception of the base of consciousness and makes consciousness boundless. It adds no interpretive label.

Recollecting the Faults of Concentration on Space and Arousing the Consciousness-Kasiṇa Concentration

“Recollecting the faults of concentration on space, at that time the meditator has gained mastery and pleasure in the base of space. He arouses the consciousness-kasiṇa concentration and goes beyond the space kasiṇa. He reflects that concentration on space is coarse and sees that the base of consciousness is subtle” 〔T32 421b03–05〕. The passage says in order that the meditator has gained mastery and pleasure in space, recollects its faults, arouses the consciousness-kasiṇa concentration, goes beyond the space kasiṇa, reflects that concentration on space is coarse, and sees the base of consciousness as subtle. The faults continue: “This concentration is near form, which is an enemy; in concentration on space this affair becomes coarse. It is not far removed from resistant and diverse perceptions; attachment of mindfulness to that is formed, and no superior portion is gained” 〔T32 421b06–08〕. How nearness to form is an enemy, what “this affair” denotes, and where “attachment of mindfulness to that is formed” attaches are not explained. The long sentence cannot be divided into three items with already determined mechanisms. What can be confirmed is only its order: near form as enemy; this affair becoming coarse; not being far removed from the two perceptions; finally attachment and failure to gain a superior portion. The text then says that the virtue of the consciousness kasiṇa is their counteragent and names the counteraction of the concentration of boundless consciousness.

The Method: From Perception of the Base of Space to Perception of the Base of Consciousness

“Recollects entry gently and recollects emergence gently” 〔T32 421b11〕 expressly names recollection of entering and emerging. 祥 / 詳 has a corrected reading, recorded in the apparatus. The passage continues: “He attends by cultivating the consciousness of space and making it fill, thereby making consciousness boundless. Through perception of the base of consciousness, mind sustains. Attending presently in this way, before long mind rises from perception of the base of space and goes beyond into the base of consciousness. Through perception of the base of consciousness, mind settles” 〔T32 421b11–14〕. The operations that can be determined sentence by sentence are: attending to make consciousness boundless, mind rising from perception of the base of space and going beyond into the base of consciousness, and finally mind settling through perception of the base of consciousness. In this sequence, the practitioner first sees the faults of space and virtues of consciousness, gently recollects entry and emergence, and then cultivates the consciousness of space, making it fill. The treatise states the result as “making consciousness boundless” and places sustaining by perception of the base of consciousness beside settled mind. This passage goes no farther than this single transition.

Read closely, the relation of mind and perception is explicit in three sentences: “Through perception of the base of consciousness, mind sustains”; “mind rises from perception of the base of space and goes beyond into the base of consciousness”; and “through perception of the base of consciousness, mind settles” 〔T32 421b13–14〕. The first records sustaining, the second arising from perception of space and passing into consciousness, and the third settling through perception of consciousness. Their verbs and order are retained. The internal syntax of “cultivating the consciousness of space and making it fill” is not explained, so it is read in sequence with “making consciousness boundless,” without a further mechanism of mind or consciousness.

“Because the meditator arouses all space, he reflects on boundless consciousness, accomplishes entry into attainment, and dwells in the whole base of consciousness” 〔T32 421b14–15〕. What can be confirmed is the original sequence: “because he arouses all space,” “reflects on boundless consciousness,” “accomplishes entry into attainment,” and “dwells in the whole base of consciousness.” Accomplishment of entry precedes dwelling in the base. How 起 governs an object and which statements 故 joins causally are not further explained, so the sentence is not turned into a rule that each base must first leave the preceding one. The three lexical explanations follow: “All means without remainder” 〔T32 421b15–16〕, whereas 08-21 had “arising without remainder,” adding 起; the difference is retained. “Going beyond means crossing correctly” 〔T32 421b16–17〕. “Boundless consciousness means that, with consciousness, one attends to that very space and makes it fill boundlessness” 〔T32 421b17–18〕. The last states only that with that space, consciousness attends and makes boundlessness full; no mechanism by which consciousness derives boundlessness from space is added.

Pause at the Question: How Is 色非色法 to Be Read?

“Question: 色非色法，云何執為無邊？” 〔T32 421b19〕. Pause here. The source does not explain how 色非色法 is divided or how its characters relate. The question must not first be rewritten as “consciousness is a formless phenomenon”; only what the ensuing answer states may be read.

One question receives three answers in succession, with a concluding statement. First, “Because it is solely a formless phenomenon, it becomes boundless. Why? A phenomenon that is not form has no boundary, which cannot be apprehended” 〔T32 421b19–21〕. Second, “Furthermore, because space is boundless, it is called boundless” 〔T32 421b21〕. Third, “Boundless means that one forms an intention of boundlessness and therefore becomes boundless” 〔T32 421b21–22〕. “Hence it does not obstruct consciousness” 〔T32 421b22〕 closes them. What is clearly divided in the text is just these three answers. It does not classify them as substance, object, and cultivation or rank them in depth.

Structurally Close to the Previous Passage, Yet Each Sentence Reads on Its Own

Read beside 08-21, this passage has several structural parallels, but the source does not say why its treatment is shorter. The heavenly-place comparison reappears—“as the dwelling place of devas is called a heavenly place” 〔T32 421b24–25〕—with a slightly different word order from 08-21, which is retained. “Entry into the base is entry into the base of consciousness. Mind and mental factors are called the base of consciousness” 〔T32 421b22–23〕 uses the same form. It again asks, “What is the meaning of the base of consciousness? It is consciousness being boundless; this is called boundless consciousness” 〔T32 421b23–24〕. Thus the meaning of the base of consciousness is consciousness’s boundlessness. “This consciousness has sustained concentration; this is called concentration on the base of consciousness” 〔T32 421b25〕. “Going beyond matters of space, three portions accomplished” 〔T32 421b26〕 resembles “going beyond the three portions of matters of form” 〔T32 421a28〕. Neither lists the portions, so neither is assigned. These parallels are placed beside one another according to their exact sentences; no authorial intention is inferred from the difference in length.

The passage in fact accounts separately for three close names. First, “entry into the base is entry into the base of consciousness” explains entry. Then “mind and mental factors are called the base of consciousness” identifies the base. Next it asks the meaning of the base and answers, “It is consciousness being boundless; this is called boundless consciousness” 〔T32 421b23–24〕. Only after the comparison with the heavenly dwelling place does it say, “This consciousness has sustained concentration; this is called concentration on the base of consciousness” 〔T32 421b25〕. Entry into the base, base of consciousness, and concentration on the base of consciousness therefore each receive a sentence and should not be merged into one undifferentiated name.

The account closes in the established form: “The place of entry into attainment means one who has gained concentration on the base of consciousness, goes beyond matters of space, three portions accomplished, through three kinds of goodness ten characteristics fulfilled, associated with twenty-two virtues, dwelling in deep quiet, and cultivating the result of concentration. This virtue brings rebirth in the base of consciousness, as explained at length at the beginning” 〔T32 421b25–28〕. Entry into attainment is gaining and dwelling there; virtue brings rebirth in consciousness, while the rest points backward. “The virtue of rebirth in consciousness-entry means cultivating entry into the base of consciousness and, at death, being reborn in the Heaven of Consciousness, with a lifespan of four thousand eons (the consciousness entry is complete)” 〔T32 421b28–421c01〕. The Heaven of Space had two thousand eons; the Heaven of Consciousness has four thousand, precisely twice this station. The numbers of later stations have their own lists and are not made into a law for the whole ascent. The inline note 識入已竟 is the closing phrase of this entry and the only inline note in the passage. It is retained: the chapter marks the completion of a gate with “is complete,” and this consciousness entry closes here.

The qualifications under entry into attainment also remain in the source’s order: gaining concentration on the base of consciousness; going beyond matters of space; three portions accomplished; three kinds of goodness and ten characteristics fulfilled; association with twenty-two virtues; and dwelling in deep quiet while cultivating the result 〔T32 421b25–28〕. Which three portions are meant is not listed and cannot be supplied. The end states only cultivation of entry into the base of consciousness, death, rebirth in the Heaven of Consciousness, and four thousand eons, followed by the inline conclusion.

Conclusion

Return to what is seen. The treatise actually writes that mind rises from perception of the base of space, reflects on boundless consciousness, is sustained by perception of the base of consciousness, and settles; it also says that with consciousness one attends and makes boundlessness full 〔T32 421b12–18〕. Carry away three things: the passage turns from perception of space to perception of consciousness and makes consciousness boundless; the syntax of 色非色法 remains unresolved, while the answer lists formless phenomenon, boundless space, and forming an intention of boundlessness; and several sentences parallel the preceding passage, but no authorial intention is inferred from their difference in length.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Base of Boundless Consciousness · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage first lists the faults of the base of consciousness and the virtues of the base of nothingness. It then writes that the meditator gently emerges from concentration on consciousness, no longer cultivates or discriminates that consciousness, and comes to lose it; perception of the base of nothingness then settles the mind. The lexical explanation repeats “no longer cultivating, no longer discriminating, coming to lose that consciousness” and adds “seeing only nothingness.” The reading here follows only this sequence. As for the later expression 識無性, the treatise does not explain it further, and its source form must be preserved.

The Faults of Consciousness and the Virtues of Nothingness

“Recollecting the faults of the concentration of boundless consciousness, at that time the meditator has gained mastery of the base of consciousness and wishes to arouse concentration on the base of nothingness, going beyond the base of consciousness” 〔T32 421c02–03〕. The passage first says that he has gained mastery of the base of consciousness, wishes to arouse the base of nothingness, and goes beyond consciousness; it then expressly lists “concentration on the base of consciousness is coarse, concentration on the base of nothingness subtle” 〔T32 421c03–04〕. The source sentence on the faults is: “This concentration is near space, which is an enemy; the affair of consciousness is coarse; by reflecting on the perception of boundlessness, attachment of mindfulness to it is formed and no superior portion is gained” 〔T32 421c05–07〕. The answer lists in order nearness to space as an enemy, coarseness of the affair of consciousness, reflection on the perception of boundlessness, and attachment with failure to gain a superior portion. The referent of “it” is retained according to the sentence. The counteragent is also explicit twice: first he sees the virtues of concentration on nothingness 〔T32 421c04–05〕, then “the virtues of nothingness are their counteragent” 〔T32 421c07〕.

The sequence of this answer is clear: it first states what this concentration is near, then the coarseness of the consciousness affair, then reflection on boundless perception with its attachment and failure to gain a superior portion, and only at the end turns to the virtues of nothingness as counteragent 〔T32 421c05–07〕. Faults and counteragent thus stand within one answer and follow one another.

The Method: No Longer Cultivating, No Longer Discriminating

The transition must be read word for word: “He gently emerges from concentration on the base of consciousness; he no longer cultivates that consciousness, no longer discriminates it, and comes to lose that consciousness” 〔T32 421c09–10〕. The source expressly lists gentle emergence, then no longer cultivating or discriminating that consciousness, and coming to lose it. It does not state a further psychological mechanism between “coming to lose” and the preceding two. The sequence continues: “Having seen and mastered the sign of the base of nothingness, the mind aspires to sustain it. Attending presently in this way, before long mind rises from perception of the base of consciousness. Through perception of the base of nothingness, mind settles” 〔T32 421c10–12〕. What can be confirmed is seeing and mastering the sign, aspiration and sustaining, present attention, before long rising from perception of consciousness, and finally settling through perception of nothingness. The source does not explain why “before long” is brief.

Arranged by verbs, the passage first says that he sees the faults of consciousness and virtues of nothingness, then gently emerges from concentration on consciousness. Next come no longer cultivating, no longer discriminating, and coming to lose that consciousness; then seeing and mastering the sign of nothingness, aspiring and sustaining, present attention, rising from perception of consciousness, and finally settling through perception of nothingness 〔T32 421c07–12〕. The former “perception of the base of consciousness” is that from which mind rises; the latter “perception of the base of nothingness” is in the sentence where mind settles.

The formula follows: “The meditator who has made clear the concentration of boundless consciousness goes beyond the whole base of consciousness, sees nothingness, enters attainment, and dwells there” 〔T32 421c12–13〕. The explanations first say, “All means without remainder” 〔T32 420c28／421b15–16／421c13–14／422a10–11〕, then “Going beyond the base of consciousness means going beyond this consciousness and entering by correct crossing; this is called going beyond the whole base of consciousness” 〔T32 421c14–15〕. 越 has a repeated variant 起, recorded without adjudication. The third explanation reads: “Nothingness means no longer cultivating, no longer discriminating, coming to lose that consciousness, and seeing only nothingness; this is called the base of nothingness” 〔T32 421c15–17〕. The same three expressions occur twice in the source; the explanatory occurrence adds “seeing only nothingness.” What is certain is this repetition and addition. “Seeing only” cannot be recast as a pure observer remaining alone; the source makes no such classification.

This passage supplies a reading method: place the attention passage beside the lexical explanation and check the words. “No longer cultivating, no longer discriminating, coming to lose that consciousness” first occurs in the practice sequence 〔T32 421c09–10〕 and then in the explanation 〔T32 421c15–16〕 without a changed character. The second occurrence immediately adds “seeing only nothingness.” The three shared expressions and the one added expression precisely mark what is common and what differs between the practice wording and its lexical explanation.

The explanation advances item by item after the formula. First “without remainder” explains all. Then “going beyond this consciousness and entering by correct crossing” explains going beyond consciousness. Next the two negations, one loss, and “seeing only nothingness” explain nothingness. Finally the mind and mental factors entering the concentration explain the base of nothingness 〔T32 421c13–18〕. Each has its own answer, and their order follows “going beyond the whole base of consciousness, seeing nothingness, entering attainment, and dwelling.”

Pause at the Question: What Does 識無性 Mean Here?

The lexical explanation first uses “no longer cultivating, no longer discriminating, coming to lose that consciousness, and seeing only nothingness” to explain nothingness 〔T32 421c15–17〕. It then calls the mind and mental factors entering concentration the base of nothingness, and abruptly asks for that base’s meaning. The entire answer is “是識無性，是無所有” 〔T32 421c18〕. Pause here: what does 識無性 mean?

The answer places “是識無性” and “是無所有” side by side 〔T32 421c18〕. 無性 receives no definition, so 識無性 remains in its source form and its exact meaning unresolved. Next comes: “The base of nothingness expresses sustaining. Sustaining right concentration in nothingness is called concentration on the base of nothingness” 〔T32 421c19–20〕. The sentence moves from the expression “sustaining” to sustaining right concentration and closes with the name of the concentration.

Closing the Account

“The mind and mental factors entering concentration on the base of nothingness are called the base of nothingness” 〔T32 421c17–18〕. This sentence directly calls the mind and mental factors in concentration the base. The account then reads: “One who enters the attainment and dwells comes to gain concentration on nothingness, goes beyond the three portions of the affair of consciousness, accomplishes three kinds of goodness, fulfills ten characteristics, is associated with twenty-two virtues, dwells in deep quiet, and cultivates the result of concentration. This virtue brings rebirth in the base of nothingness, as explained at length at the beginning” 〔T32 421c20–23〕. The three portions are not listed and remain unassigned. The three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, twenty-two virtues, deep quiet, and result of cultivation remain in their original order and are not reclassified as qualifications and results.

The close first says, “This virtue brings rebirth in the base of nothingness, as explained at length at the beginning” 〔T32 421c22–23〕, then unfolds the result: “One whose virtue brings rebirth in nothingness cultivates concentration on the base of nothingness and at death is reborn in the Heaven of Nothingness, with a lifespan of six thousand eons (the concentration of nothingness is complete)” 〔T32 421c23–25〕. The first sentence gives a general result and points backward; the second lists cultivating this concentration, death, destination, and lifespan. 千 has a variant 十, recorded without adjudication; the body follows the base. The inline “nothingness concentration is complete” closes the passage and is retained.

Conclusion

Return to the passage. The meditator first sees the faults of consciousness and virtues of nothingness, then gently emerges from concentration on consciousness. He no longer cultivates or discriminates that consciousness and comes to lose it; he sees and sustains the sign of nothingness, rises from perception of consciousness, and settles through perception of nothingness. The explanation repeats the same three expressions and adds “seeing only nothingness.” Carry away three things: the faults and counteragent of this base; a sequence repeated word for word and open to direct checking; and the unresolved source term 識無性, which must remain unresolved.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Base of Nothingness · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage first lists the faults of the concentration of nothingness and the virtues of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. It then gives attention, the accomplishment formula, lexical explanation, entry and correct dwelling, and the heaven of rebirth. Two questions at the end separately explain why it does not become the base of consciousness and why this concentration does not accomplish exhaustion of the taints.

The Faults of the Concentration of Nothingness

“Recollecting the faults of the base of nothingness, at that time the meditator has gained mastery of the base of nothingness and wishes to arouse concentration on neither-perception-nor-non-perception, going beyond nothingness” 〔T32 421c26–28〕. The passage says in order that he has gained mastery of nothingness, wishes to arouse this concentration, and goes beyond nothingness. It then lists “the base of nothingness is coarse; the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception is subtle” 〔T32 421c28–29〕. The faults given here are: “This concentration is near consciousness, which is an enemy; because it coexists with distinct perception it becomes coarse; attachment of mindfulness to it is formed, and the highest is not gained” 〔T32 422a01–03〕. What can be confirmed is only that it is near consciousness, which is an enemy, and becomes coarse because it coexists with distinct perception, followed by “attachment of mindfulness to it is formed, and the highest is not gained.” How nearness to consciousness becomes an enemy and how the last clause attaches are not further explained. The four witnesses add 起 after 共. The body retains the sentence of this unit and does not string “near consciousness as an enemy” into a law spanning the concentrations.

The treatise next says, “He sees this perception as an affliction, a boil, and a thorn; nonperception as 政, deeply quiet, and excellent” 〔T32 422a04–05〕. Three expressions attach to “this perception” and three to nonperception, parallel but separately unexplained. “This perception” refers only to the perception discussed in the immediate passage. The text first says that he has seen the faults of nothingness and the virtues of entry into neither-non-perception as their counteragent 〔T32 422a03–04〕, then adds this opposition of affliction, boil, and thorn to 政, deep quiet, and excellence. The Taishō base reads 政, while the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong witnesses read 正. The body retains 政 and records the variant without adjudication.

Attention, Accomplishment Formula, and Meaning of the Name

The order of transition is: “He recollects entry into the base of nothingness and emerges gently. At that base he attends in deep quiet and cultivates another concentration” 〔T32 422a06–07〕. Next, “Before long mind rises from perception of the base of nothingness; through perception of the base of neither-non-perception, mind settles” 〔T32 422a08–09〕. The source writes gentle emergence, attending in deep quiet and cultivating another concentration, rising from perception of nothingness, and settling through perception of neither-non-perception in that order. No exact relation between “attending in deep quiet” and “another concentration” is supplied. The formula follows: “The meditator who has made clear the concentration of neither-non-perception goes beyond the whole base of nothingness and accomplishes entry and dwelling in the base of neither-non-perception” 〔T32 422a09–10〕. The explanation first says, “All means without remainder,” then “Going beyond the base of nothingness means going beyond that base and entering by correct crossing” 〔T32 422a11–12〕. In explaining neither-non-perception it repeats word for word “At the base of nothingness he attends in deep quiet and cultivates another concentration” 〔T32 422a07／422a13〕. What can be confirmed is that the practice sentence and lexical explanation repeat the same words, using them to explain the base of neither-non-perception.

The lexical explanation follows the formula through four items. “All” is explained by “without remainder.” “Going beyond the base of nothingness” is explained by “going beyond that base and entering by correct crossing.” “Neither-non-perception” is explained by “at the base of nothingness he attends in deep quiet and cultivates another concentration.” “Base of neither-non-perception” is explained through the mind and mental factors that enter it 〔T32 422a10–15〕. Only after these four does the source ask the meaning of the base and turn to cessation of distinct perception and remaining subtle perception.

The headwords and conclusions do not all have the same form. The entry beginning 非非想者 explains “at the base of nothingness he attends in deep quiet and cultivates another concentration,” but concludes “this is called the base of neither-non-perception.” The next entry begins 非非想處者, answers “the mind and mental factors entering the base of neither-non-perception,” and again concludes “this is called the base of neither-non-perception” 〔T32 422a15〕. Then “What is the meaning of the base of neither-non-perception?” is asked, and the name is explained by cessation of distinct perception and remaining subtle perception 〔T32 422a15–17〕. The passage therefore has three neighboring levels: the practice sentence, the mind-and-mental-factors sentence, and the question on the name. Their original order is sufficient. The earlier conclusion is not changed to another headword, and the three levels are not merged into a newly made definition.

After the formula and its explanation, the treatise asks for the name’s meaning: “What is the meaning of the base of neither-non-perception? Because distinct perception has ceased, it becomes nonperception; because subtle perception remains, it becomes neither-perception-nor-non-perception, which is its base” 〔T32 422a15–17〕. One name has two explanations. On one side, cessation of distinct perception makes nonperception; on the other, remaining subtle perception makes neither-perception-nor-non-perception. Each occurrence of “because” brings its own result. This is the passage’s direct explanation of the double name. 分明 / 分別 is a variant; the body follows 分明想.

The section on entry and correct dwelling says: “He comes to gain concentration on neither-non-perception, goes beyond the base of nothingness, accomplishes three portions and three kinds of goodness, fulfills ten characteristics, is associated with twenty-two virtues, dwells in deep quiet, and makes clear the result of cultivating concentration. By this virtue one is reborn in the Heaven of Neither-Non-Perception, as explained at length at the beginning” 〔T32 422a17–20〕. It then separately says, “One whose virtue brings rebirth in the Heaven of Neither-Non-Perception cultivates concentration on the base of neither-non-perception and at death is reborn in that heaven, with a lifespan of eighty-four thousand eons” 〔T32 422a20–22〕. The lifespan explicitly stated is eighty-four thousand eons, and the passage does not explain why this number holds.

The two sentences concern different levels. The first lists the three portions, three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, twenty-two virtues, deep quiet, and result after entry and correct dwelling, then gives the general statement that virtue brings rebirth in that heaven. The second separately lists cultivation of this concentration, death, the heaven, and the lifespan 〔T32 422a17–22〕. The items remain in their original sequence, and the three portions are not listed here.

Under “one who enters and dwells correctly,” the source lists in order “comes to gain concentration on neither-non-perception,” “goes beyond the base of nothingness,” “three portions accomplish three kinds of goodness,” “fulfills ten characteristics,” “is associated with twenty-two virtues,” and “dwells in deep quiet and makes clear the result of cultivating concentration” 〔T32 422a17–20〕. It neither lists the three portions nor explains how 明 joins dwelling in deep quiet to the result of cultivation, so only the sentence order is preserved. It then first says, “By this virtue one is reborn in the Heaven of Neither-Non-Perception, as explained at length at the beginning,” and begins again with “One whose virtue brings rebirth in the Heaven of Neither-Non-Perception,” listing cultivation, death, rebirth, and eighty-four thousand eons 〔T32 422a20–22〕. The pattern of a general statement followed by renewed explanation is visible in the source. No mechanism of the result is added beyond the listed items.

Why This Concentration Does Not Accomplish Exhaustion of the Taints

“Question: Why does dependence on this concentration not accomplish exhaustion of the taints?” 〔T32 422a24–25〕. Pause here. This question follows the preceding “Why is it called the base of neither-non-perception? Why is it not called the base of consciousness?” and its answer. The two questions remain separate in their original order.

“Answer: Having left distinct perception behind, one is incapable of attaining the path of seeing. Furthermore, this concentration is most subtle; neither-non-perception cannot discriminate. Therefore it does not become a base for exhaustion of the taints” 〔T32 422a25–26〕. The answer gives only two reasons. First, inability to attain the path of seeing is attached to leaving distinct perception. Second, failure to become a base for exhaustion is attached to the extreme subtlety of the concentration and to “neither-non-perception cannot discriminate.” No further reason is supplied. The preceding question asks, “Why is it called the base of neither-non-perception? Why is it not called the base of consciousness?” and the answer says, “Because grasping at boundlessness has been left behind and the perception that arises is subtle, it does not become the base of consciousness” 〔T32 422a23–24〕. It lists leaving grasping at boundlessness and subtle arising perception without explaining how the two establish “does not become the base of consciousness.” Only the sentence order is kept.

The syntax of the two final exchanges must also remain separate. The first asks in succession why the base is called neither-non-perception and why it is not called consciousness; its answer only reads “because grasping at boundlessness has been left behind and the perception that arises is subtle, it does not become the base of consciousness” 〔T32 422a23–24〕. What is grasped under “grasping at boundlessness,” and which of the two “because” statements answers which question, are not assigned individually. The second uses “furthermore” to divide two reasons: first leaving distinct perception and consequently being incapable of attaining the path of seeing; then the concentration’s extreme subtlety followed by “neither-non-perception cannot discriminate,” and therefore failure to become a base for exhaustion of the taints 〔T32 422a24–26〕. “Furthermore” explicitly begins the second reason, while “therefore” appears only at its end. The conjunctions remain in their positions, and the two reasons are not merged into another causal chain. How “neither-non-perception” relates grammatically to “cannot discriminate” is not further explained. The two questions, four stated reasons, and two uncertainties all retain their original sequence. “The perception that arises is subtle” from the first question is not moved into the path-of-seeing reason of the second, which remains limited to the two reasons given here.

The two exchanges stand together at the end, followed immediately by the inline note “the concentration of neither-non-perception is complete” 〔T32 422a27〕. Their positions and the note are retained. The source gives no further account of the intention behind this arrangement.

Conclusion

Return to the passage. The faults of the concentration of nothingness are nearness to consciousness as an enemy, coexistence with distinct perception making it coarse, and the final statement that attachment forms and the highest is not gained. The name of the base is explained by two clauses: distinct perception ceases, while subtle perception remains. Entry and correct dwelling list gaining the concentration, going beyond nothingness, three portions, three kinds of goodness, ten characteristics, twenty-two virtues, deep quiet, and result, and expressly state rebirth in the Heaven of Neither-Non-Perception for eighty-four thousand eons. The only two reasons given for not exhausting the taints are “having left distinct perception behind, one is incapable of attaining the path of seeing,” and that the concentration is most subtle and “neither-non-perception cannot discriminate.” The inline note “the concentration of neither-non-perception is complete” 〔T32 422a27〕 is retained.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Base of Neither-Perception-nor-Non-Perception · Exposition · Summer 2026

After the eight concentrations have been presented, the treatise says: “The preceding meanings are clarified once more. Question: In these stations of concentration, what are the miscellaneous statements? Answer: They are cessation, sound, inversion, emergence, crossing, access, applied thought, feeling, doubt, and what cannot be attained” 〔T32 422a28–29〕. The passage first gives ten headings and then explains them one by one, although the list and the explanations do not align perfectly.

After the entry on inversion, the answer introduces successive passages with “as for emergence,” “as for crossing,” “as for access,” “as for applied thought,” “as for feeling,” and “as for doubt.” “What cannot be attained” is not introduced again by name; instead, the ending says, “Four kinds of people cannot enter concentration” 〔T32 422b18–19〕. This is the arrangement that can be checked directly in the passage. No missing item is supplied where the list itself does not provide one.

How to Read the Miscellany: The List Is a Map

The first point is how to read it. The form of these miscellaneous statements is list first, explain afterward: the opening compresses ten items into a single line—cessation, sound, inversion, emergence, crossing, access, applied thought, feeling, doubt, and what cannot be attained—and then gives explanations. Yet ten items are listed while fewer than ten are distinctly explained. The explanations vary in fullness; some listed items receive no separate heading, while elsewhere an explanation appears without restating its heading. The variant 者／香 also changes the possible identification of one item. This lack of alignment is preserved, and no heading is supplied. Read the opening list as a map and match each later explanation to it. Where the two do not match, record the mismatch instead of drawing in a missing road. With the map in hand, the miscellany need not become scattered. This form recurs later in the treatise, including the miscellany on the kasiṇas and the miscellany on the ten impurities; here it appears for the first time.

A brief view of the ten items begins with cessation: “On entering the first jhāna speech ceases; on entering the fourth jhāna inhalation and exhalation cease” 〔T32 422a29–422b01〕. The two cessations provide observable marks for the concentrated states: speech ends at the first jhāna and breathing at the fourth. This passage gives no further explanation, so the wording is preserved as it stands. Concerning sound: “If someone who has entered concentration hears a sound, that person cannot speak. Why? Because the auditory consciousness of one in concentration is not conjoined” 〔T32 422b02–03〕. The source expressly says that the person “hears a sound” and “cannot speak,” and then says that auditory consciousness “is not conjoined.” All three statements stand together, but the passage does not explain how they agree. The word “hears” cannot be removed from the first. The treatise also cites the Blessed One: “For one who has entered jhāna, sound is a thorn” 〔T32 422b04〕. Its wording is not identical to 08-21, “On entering the first jhāna, sound is a thorn—so it is” 〔T32 421a12–13〕, and that difference is retained. Emergence has five causes: “discomfort in one’s posture, the greatest object, the arising of an obstacle, imbalance in the means, and one’s own wish” 〔T32 422b08–09〕. Five parallel phrases beginning with 以 are entered in the account, although none is separately explained. “If one has entered a formless concentration, one cannot emerge through the greatest object, because one abides unmoving” 〔T32 422b09–10〕: the “greatest object” is not a cause for emerging from a formless concentration, because that concentration abides unmoving. “When one has entered the concentration of cessation or a fruition concentration, one can emerge through the activity first undertaken, not through any other cause” 〔T32 422b10–11〕. These two concentrations emerge only through the activity first undertaken, with other causes excluded. The passage does not explain either name; both have appeared earlier 〔T32 408a01·416a19〕, and remain undetermined. Crossing has two kinds: “Crossing from a form jhāna over a form concentration is called sectional crossing. Crossing from a form jhāna over a formless concentration, and again crossing from one formless concentration over another formless concentration, is called objective crossing” 〔T32 422b12–14〕. One example is given for sectional crossing, and two for objective crossing: form jhāna over formless concentration, and formless concentration over formless concentration. The treatise does not itself define the distinction between “section” and “object,” so it is preserved. The crossings described station by station in the preceding passages receive names here. For access the source states, “The access of every concentration accomplishes five factors” 〔T32 422b14〕; the five are not listed and are not assigned from elsewhere. The chapter's definition of access appears in 08-05 〔T32 414b06–07〕. Applied thought and feeling each receive one sentence: “The same nature as the second jhāna, excepting the immediately adjacent, becomes without applied thought and examination,” and “The same nature as the fourth jhāna, excepting the immediately adjacent, arises together with equanimity” 〔T32 422b15–16〕. The ending of applied thought is tied to the second jhāna, and the arising of equanimous feeling to the fourth, but the treatise does not explain “same nature” or “immediately adjacent.” The wording is preserved. “Arises” has the variant “crosses”; another statement, “Some hold that resemblance is immediately adjacent,” records an unnamed opinion and remains undetermined.

“Sectional crossing” and “objective crossing” must be kept separate according to the answer itself. The former has only the example of crossing from a form jhāna over a form concentration; the latter has both crossing from a form jhāna over a formless concentration and crossing from one formless concentration over another 〔T32 422b12–14〕. The two examples in the second group do not even share a single surface structure, and the treatise gives no further definition. The original grouping of one example and two is therefore retained, without recasting “section” and “object” into a new rule about crossing within or between categories.

What Is Seen: Perceiving Earth in What Is Not Earth—Why Is This Not Inversion?

Among the ten items, inversion brings its own critical question. “Inversion means that, having entered the earth kasiṇa, one forms the perception of earth with regard to what is perceived as not-earth” 〔T32 422b04–05〕. The treatise immediately asks: if so, why does it not become an inversion? The passage places forming earth-perception regarding not-earth under the heading “inversion,” but supplies no separate psychological definition of inversion.

“Answer: Because these four inverted perceptions do not differ, one knows that this perception of earth is its sign; therefore it does not become an inversion” 〔T32 422b06–07〕. This answer uses both “because these four inverted perceptions do not differ” and “one knows that this perception of earth is its sign,” and concludes that it is not an inversion. But the source does not explain the specific referent of “four,” the antecedent of “its,” or the linkage between the two clauses. The answer is therefore preserved without expanding it into a universal psychological boundary between ordinary people and practitioners, or using the word “knows” from another unit to establish a new general rule.

Where Inquiry Stops: Climbing a Tree to Escape a Venomous Snake

“Doubt means that, without having abandoned the hindrances beginning with every form of sensual greed, one abides in the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception and is said to have a remainder, like someone who climbs a tree out of fear of a venomous snake” 〔T32 422b17–18〕. Three elements can be confirmed directly: the hindrances beginning with sensual greed have not been abandoned; one abides in neither-perception-nor-non-perception; and one is said to have a remainder. The image of climbing a tree to escape a venomous snake is then added.

The source does not assign the person, snake, and tree one by one to the preceding three elements, nor does it tell what happens after the person climbs. It therefore preserves the juxtaposition of “having a remainder” and the snake-and-tree image, without adding a mechanism of temporary safety, an eventual descent, or a location where the defilements remain. The passage then says: “Four kinds of people cannot enter concentration and will inevitably fall into a bad destination: one without a cause, one who commits the five heinous deeds, and one holding wrong view” 〔T32 422b18–19〕. It says four kinds but lists three matters. The fourth is not given, so the lacuna is retained as unresolved.

The parenthetical note expressly states, “The miscellaneous statements are concluded; the earth kasiṇa is complete” 〔T32 422b19〕, marking both the end of the miscellany and the completion of the entire earth-kasiṇa section.

Concluding Focus

Return to the passage itself: the entry on sound preserves together “hears a sound,” “cannot speak,” and “auditory consciousness is not conjoined,” without deleting the source’s “hears.” The entry on inversion likewise preserves the complete answer: “Because these four inverted perceptions do not differ, one knows that this perception of earth is its sign; therefore it does not become an inversion.” Emergence, crossing, access, applied thought, feeling, doubt, and what cannot be attained are read item by item according to the opening list. Wherever listing and explanation do not align, the mismatch remains and nothing is supplied.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Miscellaneous Statements on Concentration · Exposition · Summer 2026

With the earth kasiṇa complete, this passage separately asks about the water kasiṇa. It proceeds through meaning, cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, distinctive benefits, and the method of acquiring the sign, and ends by referring back to the preceding section with “The remaining matters are as with the earth kasiṇa.” Although the question includes “What is its manifestation?”, the answer contains no explanation that directly corresponds to it. This lack of alignment between question and answer must remain as it stands.

The Seven Questions and the Items in the Answer

“Question: What is the water kasiṇa? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its manifestation? What are its benefits? How is its sign acquired? Answer: The mind takes the water sign as its object—this is called the water kasiṇa. The mind abides without disturbance—this is called cultivation” 〔T32 422b20–22〕. The treatise first defines the water kasiṇa through the mind’s taking the water sign as its object, then defines cultivation through the mind’s stable and undisturbed abiding. It next says: “With regard to the water kasiṇa, one-pointed attention is its characteristic, not removing the perception of water is its function, and the mind not forming a second intention is its basis” 〔T32 422b22–23〕. These three statements are successively labeled characteristic, function, and basis. Four witnesses read 外, “external,” in place of 水, “water”; what that variant would refer to is unclear, so the Taishō base is followed without supplying a meaning. The question “What is its manifestation?” receives no separate counterpart among these answers, and “basis” cannot simply be reassigned as “manifestation.”

The passage first gives the distinctive benefits: “The water kasiṇa has five distinctive benefits: freely appearing and disappearing within the earth; producing a palace from the earth; causing movement causing rain to fall; enabling the body to produce water; and transforming rivers and seas” 〔T32 422b23–26〕. The source explicitly says there are five, but whether “causing movement causing rain to fall” is one item or two is not settled by the surface punctuation. The list is therefore preserved without forcing a division to make the count. It continues, “The benefits stated for the earth kasiṇa are also shared,” followed by, “One who clearly cultivates the water kasiṇa sees water everywhere” 〔T32 422b26–27〕. The first sentence refers to benefits already stated for the earth kasiṇa; the second expressly says that clear cultivation of the water kasiṇa results in seeing water everywhere. Each is read in its given order, without adding another condition for mastery.

The verbs in the list must likewise remain as the source gives them. The first item speaks of freely appearing and disappearing in the earth, the second of producing a palace from the earth, followed in sequence by causing movement causing rain to fall, enabling the body to produce water, and transforming rivers and seas. The treatise does not explain the operative manner of any item here, so the exposition confirms only the list and its order. “The benefits stated for the earth kasiṇa” is an explicit reference back to the preceding section and cannot be replaced by conjecture about the sentences to which it refers.

Experienced and New Meditators

The sign can be acquired using naturally occurring water or water one has prepared: “In acquiring the water-kasiṇa sign, one takes the sign in the presence of water, whether naturally occurring water or water one has prepared” 〔T32 422b27–28〕. The source then sets experienced and new meditators side by side, describing the difference in the places where they presently acquire the sign.

An experienced meditator “acquires the water sign in a place where there is no water” 〔T32 422b29〕. The source then says that such a person sees water everywhere, lists wells, bottles, ponds, marshes, rivers, lakes, the Huai, and the sea, and continues: “Whatever is observed is seen at will, and the counterpart water sign can arise” 〔T32 422c01–02〕. These places and the latter two phrases are preserved in their original order. The passage does not explain how far “whatever is observed” extends, nor the internal relation between “seen at will” and “the counterpart water sign can arise.” A new meditator, by contrast, “acquires the sign at a prepared place and cannot clearly cultivate the means of the water kasiṇa at an unprepared place” 〔T32 422c03–04〕. This contrast stops at the places and capacities described in the source; it is not turned into an inevitable developmental sequence between the two kinds of meditator.

Specifications for the New Meditator’s Prepared Place

The treatise next describes the place a new meditator uses when observing from the beginning: “A secluded, quiet place—whether a monastery dwelling, a stone chamber, or beneath a tree. The place is not dark, is not scorched by sunlight, has no dust or wind, no mosquitoes, gnats, or the like, and no obstructions” 〔T32 422c05–07〕. The three possible places are a monastery dwelling, a stone chamber, and beneath a tree. The conditions are separately listed: not dark, not exposed to scorching sunlight, without dust, wind, mosquitoes and gnats, and without obstructions. The source gives these requirements but does not explain what psychological or physical effect each one prevents. They must therefore remain parallel conditions, without inventing separate reasons for burying the bowl, avoiding wind and dust, or avoiding insects.

The vessel is prepared as follows: “Use a bowl or basin, bury it in clean ground, make it level with the earth, make it one fathom around, fill it with 兩水, do not mix it with water of another color, and fill the bowl or basin” 〔T32 422c07–09〕. A bowl or basin is buried in clean ground and made level with the earth; the circumference is one fathom, it is filled with water, and no water of another color is mixed in. Four witnesses read 雨水, “rainwater,” for the base reading 兩水. Only the Taishō reading is followed here. The paragraph prescribes burial, size, the water used, and the absence of other color; it does not state the purpose of making the vessel level with the ground or keeping the color unmixed, so conjecture cannot be presented as an explanation supplied by the treatise.

Syntactically, “a bowl or basin” gives two kinds of vessel; “bury it in clean ground” and “make it level with the earth” prescribe placement; “one fathom around” gives a measurement; “do not mix it with water of another color” restricts what is placed in it; and “fill the bowl or basin” states that it is to be full. These commands stand in parallel. None may be omitted, and their order does not itself establish a purpose for them.

Three Modes of Acquiring the Sign and the Reference Back

“At this place one should attend to the perception of water and acquire the sign in three modes: through balanced observation, through skillful means, and through freedom from disturbance” 〔T32 422c09–10〕. The three are expressly listed here as balanced observation, skillful means, and freedom from disturbance. The third term, 離, “freedom from,” has the variant 雜, “mixed,” in three witnesses. Moreover, this passage’s 平等觀, “balanced observation,” is not textually identical to the earlier 等觀, “equal observation,” in the earth section. Both differences are retained without forcing uniformity.

The ending says: “The remaining matters are as with the earth kasiṇa. Explained in full through the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception” 〔T32 422c10–11〕. This expressly refers the matters not repeated here back to the earth kasiṇa and states that the expanded account reaches neither-perception-nor-non-perception. What can be established from this sentence is the explicit reference to the preceding section. The differing degrees of detail in later kasiṇa sections must still be read from their own wording; this sentence cannot be made into a progression guaranteed for every practitioner.

Concluding Focus

The facts established by this passage form four groups: taking the water sign as object, undisturbed abiding, and the answers concerning characteristic, function, and basis; the five distinctive benefits and the shared benefits; the contrast between the experienced meditator’s acquiring the sign where there is no water and the new meditator’s doing so at a prepared place; and the specifications for a quiet place, vessels, water, and three modes of acquiring the sign. The final sentence refers the remaining matters back to the earth kasiṇa and says that the expanded account reaches neither-perception-nor-non-perception. Where the source gives only specifications and no reasons, inquiry stops at the specifications. Where a variant or a mismatch between question and answer remains, it remains unresolved.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Water Kasiṇa · Exposition · Summer 2026

The third section begins. This passage first answers the questions about the fire kasiṇa’s meaning, cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, and benefits, then explains acquiring the sign through experienced and new meditators. The experienced can begin observing from grass fires, wood fires, forest fires, house fires, and other such sights. The new must cut wood, pile fuel, and burn it at a prepared place; the text expressly lists two things not attended to and one thing in which the perception of fire is directly formed. These are the fire-kasiṇa materials that can be checked directly within this unit 〔T32 422c12–423a01〕.

An Account of Differences: Meaning, Four Matters, and Five Benefits

“Question: What is the fire kasiṇa? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its basis? What are its benefits? How is the sign acquired? Answer: The mind is directed to the fire sign—this is called the fire kasiṇa” 〔T32 422c12–13〕. Seven questions are given in one sequence. Their wording differs slightly from the water section, which asks “What is its manifestation?” where this asks “What is its basis”; the difference is retained. The definition likewise differs slightly: the water section says “The mind takes the water sign as its object,” while this says “The mind is directed to the fire sign,” following the base text. “At that time the mind abides without disturbance—this is called cultivation” 〔T32 422c14〕 gives a separate answer for cultivation: the mind’s undisturbed abiding is cultivation. The remaining answer reads, “Skillfully directing the mind to the fire sign is its characteristic, not removing the perception of fire is its function, and attending without a second is its basis” 〔T32 422c14–15〕. This passage directly establishes “attending without a second” as the answer for “basis,” but does not further explain the exact meaning of “without a second”; no general rule is borrowed from another unit. It likewise leaves the word “skillfully” in the characteristic unexplained, so its wording is retained without supplementation.

The five distinctive benefits are: “managing the fire kasiṇa; producing smoke and flame, with the perception of light arising; extinguishing the light of other colors; whatever is burned at will; and producing light so as to understand the fire element” 〔T32 422c16–18〕. This is the fire section’s five-item account of extraordinary benefits. The term “managing” appears both here and in “making preparations from the beginning” in the later directions, but the treatise does not distinguish its meanings; the uses are preserved according to their respective sentences. None of the five is separately explained, and the wording is retained. The Korean witness reads 相, “sign,” for 想, “perception,” and the reading remains unresolved. The shared account refers back as usual: “the benefits stated for the earth kasiṇa” 〔T32 422c18〕. In the source’s order, the first item is managing the fire kasiṇa; the second joins smoke and flame with the arising of the perception of light; the third extinguishes other colored light; the fourth is whatever is burned at will; and the fifth produces light and understands the fire element. The source lists only these five without explaining a sequence or operation among them. How “producing smoke and flame, with the perception of light arising” is divided syntactically remains unresolved. Because “managing” recurs in the new meditator’s preparations, each occurrence is retained within its own governing sentence.

Two more statements follow the five items and may not be merged. “The benefits stated for the earth kasiṇa” first refers one set of benefits back to the earlier section; “Through cultivating the fire kasiṇa, one sees fire everywhere” then states what is seen in this section 〔T32 422c18–19〕. One is a reference back, the other a direct assertion here. The treatise adds no condition or derivation between them, so each remains within its own sentence.

The Experienced Meditator’s Four Fires and the Point Where Inquiry Stops

“Here an experienced meditator acquires a naturally occurring sign. Such a person sees everywhere a grass fire, a wood fire, a forest fire, or a house fire, blazing with abundant flames. Beginning from this, the person makes it the observation. Whether one personally delights or does not delight, one immediately sees the counterpart fire sign arise” 〔T32 422c21–24〕. Four fires are seen by the experienced meditator: grass, wood, forest, and house fire. Inquiry pauses here: a burning house is a scene of disaster, yet it too can be a beginning for observation.

The next statement is “Whether one personally delights or does not delight, one immediately sees the counterpart fire sign arise.” How “whether one personally delights or does not delight” connects syntactically with what follows is unclear in the base text. The only point that can be established is that the experienced meditator sees “the counterpart fire sign” arise. It cannot therefore be asserted that a sign arises equally from pleasing and displeasing objects, nor can the sentence be made to decide whether an agreeable or disagreeable object is selected. The new meditator, by contrast, is expressly restricted to “acquires the sign only at a prepared place” 〔T32 422c24–25〕. Compared with the water section, the word “only” is additional and must be retained.

What Is Seen: Discarding Two and Taking One

The directions for the new meditator are the finest-grained part of this unit: “From the beginning, the new meditator makes preparations, cuts firewood, piles it in a clean place and burns it, either at sunrise or at sunset, ignites it from below, does not attend to the grass or wood, does not attend to the smoke and fire arising above, and in the mass of flame directly forms the perception of fire” 〔T32 422c25–29〕. The person cuts wood, piles fuel, chooses one of two times—sunrise or sunset, for reasons the treatise does not give—and ignites it from below. Three acts then follow: does not attend to the grass or wood; does not attend to the smoke and fire; and only within the mass of flame directly forms the perception of fire.

Discarding two and taking one. Two things are discarded: no attention is given to the grass and wood, and no attention is given to the smoke and fire arising above. Four witnesses read 炎, “flame,” for 火, “fire,” so what is not attended to differs with the reading; both are recorded without decision. One thing is taken: the perception of fire is directly formed within the mass of flame. The sequence is clear: two refusals to attend are listed before a single place where the perception of fire is formed. Grass and wood, the smoke and fire arising above, and the mass of flame are not collapsed into one item. The 火／炎 variant also remains unresolved. This reading belongs only to the new meditator’s procedure for the fire kasiṇa: it distinguishes what the text says is not attended to from that in which the perception of fire is formed, without omitting or combining either category.

The ending follows the pattern: “The sign is acquired in three modes: through balanced observation, through skillful means, and through freedom from disturbance, as explained in full at the beginning. (The fire kasiṇa is concluded)” 〔T32 422c29–423a01〕. The three modes remain the same, while the wording that refers back differs from the fuller phrase in the water section. The difference is retained, and the parenthetical note closes the section.

Concluding Focus

Return to what is seen: two are discarded and one is taken. No attention is given to the grass and wood or to the smoke and fire arising above; only within the mass of flame is the perception of fire directly formed. The sign is then acquired through balanced observation, skillful means, and freedom from disturbance. Three matters remain with the reader: a sequence—cutting wood, piling fuel, igniting it from below, two instances of not attending, and one formation of the perception of fire; a variant—the discarded 火, “fire,” is read 炎, “flame,” by four witnesses, without adjudication; and an unresolved question—a house fire stands among the experienced meditator’s four fires, while the grammar of “whether one personally delights or does not delight” remains unclear and does not determine whether the object is agreeable or disagreeable. The third section is complete.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Fire Kasiṇa · Exposition · Summer 2026

This is the fourth section and the last of the sections on the four great elements. The passage expressly lists two methods for acquiring the wind sign: one sees a sugarcane grove, bamboo forest, or place with much grass being stirred by wind; the other lets wind pass through a hole in a wall and a bamboo tube to touch the body 〔T32 423a09–16〕. The treatise lists only these two procedures. It does not separately explain why they are divided into sight and touch, or supply a common cause for them.

An Account of Differences: Three Benefits and Two Modes

After the seven questions, the answer defines the wind kasiṇa by “the mind is directed to the wind sign.” “Cultivation is the mind’s abiding without disturbance—this is called cultivating the wind kasiṇa” 〔T32 423a04〕 answers the question of cultivation through the mind’s undisturbed abiding. Next come, in order, “Directing the mind is its characteristic, not removing the perception of wind is its function, and attending without a second is its basis” 〔T32 423a04–05〕. Neither “directing the mind” nor “without a second” is separately explained here; they are retained only as the answers concerning characteristic, function, and basis. The benefits are expressly numbered as three: “being master of the movement of wind in the wind kasiṇa, being able to cause wind to arise, and attending and sustaining it so as to bring coolness” 〔T32 423a06–07〕. None of the three is further explained. The final sentence refers back to “the benefits stated for the earth kasiṇa” 〔T32 423a07–08〕.

The order of the seven opening questions is: wind kasiṇa, cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, benefits, and acquiring the sign 〔T32 423a02–03〕. The answer first addresses the first five in sequence, then introduces the three benefits with “concerning benefits,” and finally turns to acquiring the sign with “the means of cultivating the wind kasiṇa; as for how its sign is acquired” 〔T32 423a05–09〕. A corresponding section can therefore be found for each of the seven. The source does not, however, explain what “differing” in “three differing benefits” differs from, or how the elements of “attending and sustaining it so as to bring coolness” are internally connected.

The passage then expressly sets out “acquiring the sign in two modes”: “A new meditator who directly acquires the wind kasiṇa acquires the wind sign in two modes—either by sight or by touch” 〔T32 423a08–10〕. The following text explains sight and touch separately. Within the method by sight, it again says that the sign is acquired through the three modes of balanced observation, skillful means, and freedom from disturbance 〔T32 423a10–13〕. Both a pair and a triad therefore occur in this passage. The treatise does not explain how their classifications relate, so each is retained in its own sentence without forced reconciliation.

What Is Seen: The Two Methods of Acquiring the Sign in This Passage

“What is acquiring the sign by sight? The meditator sees a sugarcane grove, a bamboo forest, or a place with much grass being stirred by the wind. Having seen it, the meditator forms the perception of wind” 〔T32 423a10–11〕. The source expressly says that three places are stirred by wind, that the meditator sees this, and then forms the perception of wind, before acquiring the sign through balanced observation, skillful means, and freedom from disturbance 〔T32 423a11–13〕. The order of the places seen, their movement, seeing, and forming the perception of wind is preserved without adding a causal explanation.

“What is acquiring the sign by touch? A new meditator attends to a perception in a secluded, quiet sitting place. At the point from which the wind comes, the person makes a hole in the wall, places within it a tube made of bamboo or reed, sits at the mouth of the tube so that the wind touches the body, and attends and acquires the wind sign” 〔T32 423a13–16〕. In the source’s order, one attends in a quiet sitting place, makes a hole in the wall where the wind comes from, places a bamboo-or-reed tube in the hole, sits at its mouth, lets the wind touch the body, and attends to acquire the wind sign. This is the concrete procedure for acquiring the sign by touch in this passage; no comparison from another section is added.

Each question has its own closing statement. After forming the perception of wind and acquiring the sign in three modes, the visual procedure says, “In this way the sign is acquired after being seen” 〔T32 423a12–13〕. After allowing the wind to touch the body and attending to acquire the wind sign, the tactile procedure says, “In this way the sign is acquired by touch” 〔T32 423a16〕. The former expressly lists the three modes; the latter does not repeat them. Each passage is retained as it stands, without inserting words omitted from one into the other.

The Experienced Meditator: Wind’s Touch, Wind’s Movement, and Observation Already Made at the Beginning

“An experienced meditator sees the wind sign arise in every quarter. When wind touches the body while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, and the body moves with the wind, the meditator has already made this an observation from the beginning. Whether one personally delights or does not delight, one immediately sees the counterpart wind sign arise. This is unlike a new meditator” 〔T32 423a16–19〕. The source first says that the experienced meditator sees the wind sign arise everywhere; it next lists the wind touching the body in walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, and then says that with movement by the wind “observation has already been made at the beginning.” These are its explicit statements about touch, movement, and prior observation.

The sentence does not define “observation already made at the beginning” as habituation, nor state a degree of observation that necessarily makes the sign arise. Its original sequence with wind’s touch and movement is therefore preserved. “The wind sign arises” and “the counterpart wind sign can arise” both occur, but the treatise does not expressly say whether they are identical; they remain unmerged. The grammatical relation between “whether one personally delights or does not delight” and “one immediately sees the counterpart wind sign arise” is likewise unclear. Only the arising of the counterpart wind sign is established; the unresolved phrase cannot be made to state that both pleasing and displeasing objects produce the sign. “This is unlike a new meditator” closes the contrast without supplying a rule of progression between the two. The source ends the sentence here and gives no further reason.

The parenthetical note, “The wind kasiṇa is concluded” 〔T32 423a19〕, closes the section and with it the four sections on the great elements.

Concluding Focus

Return to what is seen: this passage expressly lists two methods for acquiring the wind sign—seeing what the wind moves, or feeling what it touches. Three matters remain: one unresolved relation—the text juxtaposes the two modes of sight and touch with the three modes of balanced observation, skillful means, and freedom from disturbance, but does not distinguish how the two classifications relate; one device—where the wind comes from, make a hole in the wall and place a bamboo-or-reed tube so that wind touches the body; and one scene—while the experienced meditator walks, stands, sits, or lies down, wind touches and moves the body, and observation has already been made at the beginning, while the syntactic attachment of “whether one personally delights or does not delight” remains uncertain. The four elemental sections are complete; the four color sections—blue-green, yellow, red, and white—follow.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Wind Kasiṇa · Exposition · Summer 2026

With the sections on the four great elements complete, the four color sections begin. This unit gathers two in succession—blue-green and yellow. Their sequence of topics is the same, but their wording differs in many places. The preparations for both the blue-green and yellow maṇḍala explicitly say to surround the outside with a different color. Each first lists cloth, board, or wall as the prepared surface; then the flower-color to be used and the triangular or quadrangular shape of the maṇḍala-flower; then states that another color surrounds the outside. The source lists these steps without explaining the function of the outer color.

Blue-Green: Seven Questions, Five Benefits, and a Maṇḍala of Flower-Color

“Question: What is the blue-green kasiṇa? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its basis? What are its benefits? How is its sign acquired? Answer: The mind is directed to the blue-green sign—this is called the blue-green kasiṇa. Cultivation is that mind’s abiding without disturbance—this is called cultivation. Directing the mind to the blue-green sign is its characteristic, not removing the perception of blue-green is its function, and attending without a second is its basis” 〔T32 423a20–23〕. There are seven opening questions: blue-green kasiṇa, cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, benefits, and acquiring the sign. The character 修, “cultivation,” has a variant. This unit cannot determine whether the variation changes the meaning. “Attending without a second” is not explained here, so the source term is retained without supplementation.

The benefits passage reads: “Five differing benefits: with the mind’s object-following in the blue-green kasiṇa, one attains pure liberation; one attains the blue-green overcoming entry, like a blue-green flower; the mind sustains it, enabling the transformation of various blue-green colors. One who cultivates the blue-green kasiṇa sees blue-green everywhere” 〔T32 423a24–26〕. The source explicitly announces five benefits, yet what follows is not clearly separated into five items. The connection between “the mind’s object-following” and “attains pure liberation,” the attachment of “like a blue-green flower,” and whether “the mind sustains it” and “enabling the transformation of various blue-green colors” are separate cannot be determined from the sentence. The wording is therefore preserved in its original order without forcing five divisions or supplying definitions for “pure liberation” and “overcoming entry.” The final statement does directly establish that one cultivating the blue-green kasiṇa sees blue-green everywhere.

The count of seven can be checked directly from the question: blue-green kasiṇa, how cultivated, what characteristic, what function, what basis, what benefits, and how its sign is acquired 〔T32 423a20–21〕. The answer proceeds through “basis,” separately introduces “benefits” with “concerning benefits” 〔T32 423a23–24〕, and after the benefits separately introduces “how its sign is acquired” 〔T32 423a26〕. Benefits and acquiring the sign are therefore not one question and cannot be merged to make six. The yellow section likewise begins with the same seven items 〔T32 423b08–09〕 and separately introduces both “concerning benefits” and “as for how that sign is acquired” in the answer 〔T32 423b11–14〕.

Acquiring the sign follows the experienced-new pattern: “The blue-green-kasiṇa sign may be acquired at a prepared place or at a naturally occurring place; an experienced meditator acquires the sign at an unprepared place” 〔T32 423a27–28〕. Both a prepared and a naturally occurring place are possible, while the experienced meditator acquires the sign at an unprepared place. “That meditator sees everywhere a blue-green flower, blue-green cloth, or another blue-green color, which constantly appears before the eyes. Following whether one delights or does not delight, one immediately sees the counterpart blue-green sign arise” 〔T32 423a28–423b01〕. Blue-green flowers, cloth, other blue-green color, and constant appearance before the eyes are explicit. But the syntax linking “following whether one delights or does not delight” with “one immediately sees the counterpart blue-green sign arise” is unclear. Only the arising of the counterpart blue-green sign is retained. The sentence cannot determine the referent of delight or non-delight, establish a threshold for the arising of the sign, or supply a progression. A new meditator “acquires the sign at a prepared place and cannot acquire it at an unprepared place” 〔T32 423b02〕, an express restriction. The preparation is described as follows: “On cloth, a board, or a wall, use the blue-green color of the flower named 阿多思; with this color make a maṇḍala-flower, either triangular or quadrangular, and surround its outside with a different color” 〔T32 423b03–05〕. The treatise does not identify what flower 阿多思 denotes. The shapes are expressly triangular and quadrangular, and a different color is expressly placed around the outside. The sign is then acquired through balanced observation, skillful means, and freedom from disturbance, followed by “the remaining matters are as explained in full at the beginning” and the parenthetical completion note 〔T32 423b05–07〕.

Preparing the Blue-Green and Yellow Maṇḍalas: A Different Color Around the Outside

The blue-green instructions proceed in this order: cloth, board, or wall as three possible surfaces; the blue-green color of the 阿多思 flower; a maṇḍala-flower made in that color; either a triangular or a quadrangular shape; a different color around the outside; formation of the blue-green sign there; then acquiring the sign through three modes 〔T32 423b03–06〕. The yellow instructions proceed in this order: cloth, board, or wall; the yellow color of the 迦尼羅 flower; a maṇḍala-flower in that color; either triangular or quadrangular; a different color around the outside; formation of the yellow sign there; and then three modes of acquiring the sign 〔T32 423b20–23〕. Both place “a different color around the outside” after the shape and before forming the sign in the section’s own color. This shared sequence can be checked directly.

Only specifications and order can be established from this unit. Both sections list cloth, board, and wall; each uses the color of a named flower; each permits a triangle or quadrangle; and each prescribes a different color around the outside. The source does not say that the inner color thereby prevents the object from becoming disturbed, that the outer color thereby creates a boundary, or that without the ring the mind would have nowhere to settle. Such causal or psychological explanations cannot be supplied on the treatise’s behalf. The blue-green section says, “there form the blue-green sign,” while the yellow says, “there form the yellow sign.” The blue-green triad ends with “freedom from disturbance”; the yellow with “removal of disturbance.” Shared specifications and verbal differences are both retained according to their own sentences.

The restriction on the new meditator is likewise preserved separately in each section. Blue-green says, “A new meditator acquires the sign at a prepared place and cannot acquire it at an unprepared place—the means of cultivating the blue-green kasiṇa” 〔T32 423b01–03〕. Yellow says, “A new meditator acquires the sign at an already prepared place and cannot do so at an unprepared place—the means of cultivating the yellow kasiṇa” 〔T32 423b18–20〕. One says “prepared place,” the other “already prepared place”; one uses the noun 人, “person,” after “new meditator,” the other 者, “one.” These differences cannot be erased for symmetry. After the preparation, blue-green says “there form the blue-green sign,” while yellow says “at that place form the yellow sign.” Both then list balanced observation, skillful means, and a third mode, but one has 離亂, “freedom from disturbance,” and the other 除亂, “removal of disturbance.” Both end with “the remaining matters are as explained in full at the beginning” and a parenthetical completion note.

The experienced-meditator sentences must also be preserved one section at a time. Blue-green says first “which constantly appears before the eyes,” then “following whether one delights or does not delight, one immediately sees the counterpart blue-green sign arise.” Yellow says first “from then on sees it constantly,” then “following delight or non-delight, one immediately sees the counterpart yellow sign arise.” Both unresolved phrases stand between “constantly sees” and “immediately sees the counterpart sign arise,” but their position alone does not determine their grammatical function. The exposition identifies the structure without assigning “delight/non-delight” to the object, the mind, a selection, or an outcome.

Yellow and the Method of Reading: Attend to Differences Within a Parallel Structure

“Question: What is the yellow kasiṇa? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its basis? What are its benefits? How is the sign acquired? Answer: The mind is directed to the yellow sign—this is called the yellow kasiṇa. Cultivation is that mind’s abiding without disturbance—this is called cultivation. Directing the mind to the yellow kasiṇa is its characteristic, not removing the perception of yellow is its function, and attending without a second is its basis” 〔T32 423b08–11〕. Seven questions are again listed, and the answer again proceeds through meaning, cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, benefits, and acquiring the sign. The benefits passage says: “Five differing benefits: with the mind following in the yellow kasiṇa, one attains pure liberation; one attains the yellow overcoming entry—attending; like golden flowers, various yellow colors; one who cultivates the yellow kasiṇa sees yellow everywhere” 〔T32 423b12–14〕. Five are announced but the wording is not clearly divided into five. The connection of “the mind following,” the attachment of “attending,” and the internal division of “like golden flowers, various yellow colors” cannot be determined from the sentence. No forced division or numerical assignment is made. The Gong witness omits the ten characters meaning “one who cultivates the yellow kasiṇa sees yellow everywhere”; the variant is recorded without decision.

Acquiring the sign allows two settings, while the experienced acquire it at an unprepared place: “In directly acquiring the yellow kasiṇa, one acquires the yellow sign at either a self-prepared place or a naturally occurring place; here the sign is acquired at an unprepared place” 〔T32 423b14–16〕. “The meditator sees everywhere a yellow flower, yellow cloth, or another yellow color, and from then on sees it constantly. Following delight or non-delight, one immediately sees the counterpart yellow sign arise. This is unlike a new meditator” 〔T32 423b16–18〕. How “following delight or non-delight” attaches to the following phrase is unresolved; only the arising of the counterpart yellow sign is retained, without assigning a referent to delight or non-delight. The new meditator acquires the sign at an already prepared place and cannot do so at an unprepared place 〔T32 423b18–20〕. The preparation is: “On cloth, a board, or a wall, use the yellow color of the flower named 迦尼羅 to make a maṇḍala-flower, either triangular or quadrangular, and surround its outside with a different color” 〔T32 423b20–22〕. This unit does not identify the 迦尼羅 flower. The character 尼 has a variant 尼迦, and this unit cannot determine whether the difference changes the meaning. The section closes with the three modes—its third is “removal of disturbance,” one character different from blue-green’s “freedom from disturbance”—the reference back, and its parenthetical note 〔T32 423b21–23〕.

Although the two sections have the same sequence, their wording differs in many places: blue-green says “Directing the mind to the blue-green sign is its characteristic,” yellow “Directing the mind to the yellow kasiṇa is its characteristic”; blue-green has “the mind’s object-following,” yellow “the mind following”; blue-green has “constantly appears before the eyes,” yellow “from then on sees it constantly”; the boundary phrases differ by 不如／非如; one new meditator acquires the sign at a “prepared place,” the other at an “already prepared place”; the final mode is “freedom from disturbance” in one and “removal of disturbance” in the other. These six differences are facts of the base text, but this unit cannot determine whether each changes meaning. The yellow section also has two Gong omissions, of ten and seven characters, where the blue-green section contains parallel wording. This unit likewise cannot use them to determine how the meaning should be altered.

Concluding Focus

Return to what is seen: both the blue-green and yellow sections expressly say to surround the outside with a different color, but neither explains the causal function of this specification. Three matters remain: one procedure—cloth, board, or wall; the corresponding flower-color; a maṇḍala-flower; triangle or quadrangle; another color around the outside; formation of the blue-green or yellow sign; and the three modes of acquiring it; one unresolved point—both sections announce five benefits but do not clearly divide what follows into five, while “pure liberation” and “overcoming entry” remain only names in their sentences; and one set of verbal differences—“is its characteristic” in two forms, “unlike/not like,” and “freedom from/removal of disturbance.” The grammar of “following whether one delights or does not delight” in the two experienced-meditator passages also remains unresolved. With blue-green and yellow complete, the red, white, and light sections begin in the next unit.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Blue-Green and Yellow Kasiṇas · Exposition · Summer 2026

This unit gathers three sections in succession—red, white, and light. Their sequences are similar and can be read in parallel through meaning, benefits, what experienced meditators see, and the prepared places used by new meditators; where they do not match, each passage remains as it stands. Moonlight and sunlight appear in the experienced meditator’s lists for both white and light, an explicit overlap. The base text does not say how the same moonlight or sunlight is distinguished between the two. The light section gives a further sequence involving a bowl filled with water, water-light, a maṇḍala, maṇḍala-light, and light attached to the wall. It does not separately explain how those expressions connect.

Each section begins with seven questions, not six. Red asks in sequence about the red kasiṇa, cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, benefits, and acquiring its sign 〔T32 423b24–25〕; white uses the same sevenfold form 〔T32 423c12–13〕; light likewise asks the seven in the same order 〔T32 424a01–02〕. Each answer first addresses meaning, cultivation, characteristic, function, and basis, then separately answers benefits with “concerning benefits,” and separately begins acquiring the sign with “as for how its sign is acquired.” Benefits and acquiring the sign are therefore distinct questions and cannot be merged. Each acquisition passage ends by listing the three modes of balanced observation, skillful means, and freedom from disturbance, followed by “as explained in full at the beginning” and its own parenthetical completion note 〔T32 423c10–11·423c28–29·424a14–16〕.

Red: Two Sources of Color and a Subtle Change of Characters

“Question: What is the red kasiṇa? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its basis? What are its benefits? How is its sign acquired? Answer: The mind is directed to the red sign—this is called the red kasiṇa. That cultivation is the mind’s abiding without disturbance—this is called cultivation. Directing the mind to the red sign is its characteristic, not departing from the perception of red is its function, and attending without a second is its basis” 〔T32 423b24–27〕. The red, white, and light sections in this unit all use “not departing from the perception of … is its function” and “attending without a second is its basis.” This shared wording can be checked directly in all three. The source does not explain it, so it is retained without building a new theory of terminology. The benefits are announced as four, followed by “by following the mind one attains pure liberation, one attains the red overcoming entry, and one transforms various red colors” 〔T32 423b28–29〕. The passage then says, “As for the distinctive benefits, they are as stated for the earth kasiṇa. One who cultivates the red kasiṇa sees red everywhere” 〔T32 423b29–423c01〕. It does not state how the announced number relates to the wording that follows or to the reference back. “Pure liberation” and “overcoming entry” are retained only as they stand here, without adding later functions not given in the passage.

The acquisition section says: “An experienced meditator acquires the sign at a naturally occurring place and sees everywhere a red flower, red cloth, or another red color. Beginning from this, the person sees it constantly. Following delight or non-delight, one immediately sees the counterpart red sign arise. This is unlike a new meditator” 〔T32 423c03–05〕. The syntax connecting “following delight or non-delight” to what follows is unclear in the base text. Only the arising of the counterpart red sign can be established; the sentence is not adjudicated to mean that both pleasing and displeasing objects produce the sign. The new meditator’s preparation gives two sources of red: “red such as the color produced by the flower named 槃偷時婆, or cinnabar pigment used to make a maṇḍala-flower” 〔T32 423c08–09〕. This unit does not identify the 槃偷時婆 flower. The character 槃 has the variant 盤; both readings are recorded, and this passage cannot determine which is more fitting. The source next says to “mark off its outside with a different color” 〔T32 423c09〕. It gives no separate explanation of the function of “mark off,” so the order of preparation is retained without causal supplementation. The section ends with the three modes, the reference back, and its parenthetical note 〔T32 423c10–11〕.

White: Eight Benefits Announced, Five Listed

“Question: What is the white kasiṇa? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its basis? What are its benefits? How is its sign acquired? Answer: The mind is directed to the white sign—this is called the white kasiṇa. That cultivation is the mind’s abiding without disturbance—this is called cultivation. Directing the mind to the white sign is its characteristic, not departing from the perception of white is its function, and attending without a second is its basis” 〔T32 423c12–15〕. Meaning, cultivation, characteristic, function, and basis all appear in the established form. The listed benefits are: “by following the mind in the white kasiṇa, one attains pure liberation; one attains the white overcoming entry; one subdues sloth and sleep; one removes darkness and produces light; and the white kasiṇa enables the arising of the divine eye” 〔T32 423c16–18〕. It then says: “The remaining benefits are as stated for the earth kasiṇa. One who cultivates the white kasiṇa sees white everywhere” 〔T32 423c18–19〕. Eight are announced and five explicitly listed. Each of the five is retained by its own name; “the remaining benefits” is not assigned a number, and subduing sloth and sleep, removing darkness and producing light, and the arising of the divine eye are not rearranged into a theory the treatise does not state. What the experienced meditator sees is “a white flower, white cloth, another white color, moonlight, sunlight, the color of stars, or a round mirror” 〔T32 423c21–22〕: the first three are white flower, cloth, and color; the latter four are moonlight, sunlight, star-color, and a round mirror, seven in all. The new meditator uses “a color such as that of the Taibai star” for the prepared maṇḍala 〔T32 423c26〕. The name 太白星 occurs nowhere else in the treatise and is not explained; it is retained without forcing a modern identification. The shapes and the three modes continue as given, and the section ends with the reference back and completion note 〔T32 423c26–29〕. The next section separately gives the meaning, benefits, seen objects, and prepared place for light. Both white and light list moonlight and sunlight, but this passage does not explain the reason for the repetition or how the two sections are divided.

The white acquisition passage can also be read in its sentence order. It first asks how the sign is acquired, then divides the experienced and the new. The experienced meditator acquires the sign at a naturally occurring place and sees everywhere, in order, a white flower, white cloth, white color, moonlight, sunlight, star-color, and a round mirror. The attachment of “Beginning from these, one sees them constantly; following delight or non-delight, one immediately sees the counterpart white sign arise” 〔T32 423c22–24〕 is unclear, so only constant seeing from the beginning and the arising of the counterpart white sign are retained; “following delight or non-delight” is not adjudicated into two types of object. The new meditator first takes a color such as that of the Taibai star and makes a maṇḍala-flower on cloth, a board, or a wall. It can be triangular or quadrangular, and a different color marks off its outside 〔T32 423c26–28〕. Balanced observation, skillful means, and freedom from disturbance follow, then “as explained in full at the beginning” and “the white kasiṇa is concluded.” These are the materials, form, and three modes expressly listed in the white section. They are not interpreted through the light section’s water-bowl procedure.

Light and What Is Seen: The Water Bowl, Maṇḍala, and Wall-Attached Light

“Question: What is the light kasiṇa? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its basis? What are its benefits? How is its sign acquired? Answer: The mind forms the light sign—this is called the light kasiṇa. That cultivation is the mind’s abiding without disturbance—this is called cultivation. Directing the mind to light is its characteristic, not departing from the perception of light is its function, and attending without a second is its basis” 〔T32 424a01–04〕. The full pattern appears, but the verb in the definition stands out. The verbs in the several kasiṇa definitions are not uniform—earth has “depends,” water “takes as object,” and fire, wind, and the colors mostly “is directed to.” This section alone says that the mind forms the light sign. The forms are placed side by side and retained without adjudicating their meaning. The benefits are “equal to those of white” 〔T32 424a05〕, with no number stated and a direct reference to the preceding section. “One who cultivates the light kasiṇa sees light everywhere” 〔T32 424a05–06〕 closes the usual sequence. The experienced meditator sees “moonlight, sunlight, lamplight, or jewel-light” 〔T32 424a08–09〕. Compared with the white list, its four items are two the same and two different: moon and sun are shared, while white has star-color and a round mirror where light has lamplight and jewel-light. The differences remain. The experienced-new pattern continues as before: a prepared or naturally occurring place is possible; the experienced acquires the sign at a naturally occurring place; and “Beginning from these, one sees them constantly; following delight or non-delight, one immediately sees that portion of light arise. This is unlike a new meditator” 〔T32 424a09–10〕. The four lights remain simply moonlight, sunlight, lamplight, and jewel-light. The treatise does not state a common nature or hierarchy among them, so none is supplied.

The new meditator’s prepared place is described in detail: “Either make an east-west wall; sitting, cause water to fill a bowl, and place it where sunlight reaches. From that water-light, a maṇḍala arises; from the maṇḍala-light arises light attached to the wall; there one sees the light sign” 〔T32 424a12–14〕. Four witnesses read 依, “rely on,” for 作, “make,” in “make an east-west wall”: one reading says to construct the wall, the other to use it. Both are recorded without decision. How 坐令, “sitting, cause,” is divided and connected to “water fills a bowl” is also unclear. What can be established is that the bowl is filled with water and placed where sunlight reaches; the sequence then names water-light, maṇḍala, maṇḍala-light, wall-attached light, and seeing the light sign. It does not explain the precise relation among these expressions or between them and the bowl, water, and wall. No mechanism of reflection, projection, or image formation is supplied. The three modes, reference back, and completion note follow 〔T32 424a14–16〕.

The comparison established by this unit is not a scale of depth among the sections, but the lists and procedures each one gives. Red lists naturally occurring red colors and prepared places using cinnabar and other red; white lists white flowers, cloth, color, moonlight, sunlight, star-color, and a round mirror; light lists moonlight, sunlight, lamplight, and jewel-light, and separately describes a procedure involving a bowl of water, a maṇḍala, and wall-attached light. The three sets overlap and differ, with moonlight and sunlight expressly repeated in white and light. The text does not say that this repetition represents levels, a progression, or a difference in the manner of acquiring the sign. The lists are compared without constructing a movement from material object to light and shadow to a formless dhamma.

Where Inquiry Stops: How Should the Overlap of White and Light Be Understood?

Inquiry pauses here: the experienced meditator in the white section sees moonlight and sunlight, and the experienced meditator in the light section sees moonlight and sunlight as well. Why is the same object repeated in both?

This unit gives no answer. Only the two lists can be established. White gives white flower, white cloth, white color, moonlight, sunlight, star-color, and a round mirror 〔T32 423c21–22〕; light gives moonlight, sunlight, lamplight, and jewel-light 〔T32 424a08–09〕. Moonlight and sunlight occur in both; star-color and a round mirror occur only in the white list; lamplight and jewel-light occur only in the light list. The definitions also differ between “the mind is directed to the white sign” and “the mind forms the light sign,” but the treatise does not use that verbal difference to explain the two sections. Only the overlap and the verbal difference can therefore be confirmed. This unit cannot determine the distinction and does not force one.

The announced counts do not correspond to the explicit lists: red announces four and explicitly lists three; white announces eight and explicitly lists five. Red then says, “As for the distinctive benefits, they are as stated for the earth kasiṇa,” and white says, “The remaining benefits are as stated for the earth kasiṇa.” The source does not explain how these references back relate to the announced numbers and listed items, so no missing benefit is supplied.

The three directions back are themselves not identical. After three items red says, “As for the distinctive benefits, they are as stated for the earth kasiṇa” 〔T32 423b29–423c01〕. After five items white says, “The remaining benefits are as stated for the earth kasiṇa” 〔T32 423c18〕. Light gives no separate list and says only, “equal to the benefits of white” 〔T32 424a05〕. Red’s four, white’s eight, and light’s reference to white therefore remain in their own sentences: the earth reference is not made to supply four for red or eight for white, and the white list is not recopied into light. This preserves all three directions of reference without re-editing the counts of the base text.

Several variants also bear directly on reading. In the red section, four witnesses read 盤 for 槃 in the flower-name 槃偷時婆 〔T32 423c08〕. In the white section, three witnesses read 自, “self,” for 白, “white,” in “one immediately sees the counterpart white sign arise” 〔T32 423c23〕. In the light section, the Ming witness reads 於, “in/at,” for 與, “equal with,” in “equal to the benefits of white” 〔T32 424a05〕, and four witnesses read 光明相放意為相, “directing the mind to the light sign is its characteristic,” where the base has 光明放意為相 〔T32 424a03〕. In addition, the Gong witness omits one “sees … everywhere” phrase and one “means of cultivating …” phrase in each of the red, white, and light sections. Some differences change a flower-name character, some a subject or preposition, and some omit a whole string. The exposition follows the Taishō base and does not use these readings to settle the unresolved overlap between white and light.

Concluding Focus

Return to what is seen: each of the three sections contains meaning, benefits, experienced-new acquisition, and a closing parenthetical note. The light passage lists, in order, the place reached by sunlight, the water-filled bowl, water-light, maṇḍala, maṇḍala-light, and wall-attached light, without explaining their relations. White and light both list moonlight and sunlight, without saying how they are distinguished. Red announces four but lists three benefits; white announces eight but lists five; neither explains how its reference back relates to the announced count and explicit list. Each section has its own completion note. The Gong witness omits a “sees … everywhere” phrase and a “means of cultivating …” phrase from each of the three, six omissions of the same kind, all retained as variants. The end of this unit is the end of fascicle five. Fascicle six begins next, followed by the space and consciousness kasiṇas.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Red, White, and Light Kasiṇas · Exposition · Summer 2026

These are the last two of the eleven kasiṇas. The space section sets out two kinds of space, cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, benefits, and acquiring the sign in detail. The consciousness section gives only, “It is said to be the concentration of the consciousness sphere—this is called the consciousness kasiṇa. The remaining matters are as explained in full at the beginning” 〔T32 424b13–14〕. The difference in length is striking, but the base text does not explain why the consciousness section is so brief.

Space: First Divide It into Two Kinds, Then Acquire One

“The space kasiṇa is of two kinds: space separated from form and space not separated from form. The sign of the sphere of entry into space is what is called space separated from form. The space-sign of a well or hole is called space not separated from form” 〔T32 424a26–29〕. The source first gives two definitions. Space separated from form is described through “the sign of the sphere of entry into space”; space not separated from form through “the space-sign of a well or hole.” Four witnesses read 并空, “combined space,” for 井穴, “well or hole”; both are recorded without decision. The text later gives a hole, the spaces between lattice windows and tree branches, and a prepared round hole as examples for acquiring the sign 〔T32 424b04–10〕, but does not formally assign the entire acquisition passage to either of the two kinds with a defining statement. The two definitions and the later examples are therefore preserved separately, while their formal classification remains unresolved. The four matters then follow the established form: “One cultivates this perception and the mind abides without disturbance—this is called cultivation. Directing the mind to the perception of space is its characteristic” 〔T32 424a29–424b01〕; then, “not departing from the perception of space is its function, and attending without a second is its basis” 〔T32 424b01〕. The wording belongs to the same group as 08-30. The benefits are expressly announced as two, followed by the inability of obstructing places to obstruct within the space entry, and bodily movement unobstructed, free, and fearless through walls, mountains, and the like 〔T32 424b02–03〕. The two are retained only according to the passage’s wording.

The sentence order is clear. It first announces “two kinds,” then separately lists separated and not-separated space and closes each definition with “what is called space separated from form” and “is called space not separated from form.” Only after that does “one cultivates this perception” turn to cultivation, characteristic, function, and basis 〔T32 424a26–424b01〕. The two names and their two definitions are complete before the cultivation passage begins.

The seven opening questions are, in order: what is the space kasiṇa, how is it cultivated, what is its characteristic, what its function, what its basis, what its benefits, and how its sign is acquired 〔T32 424a25–26〕. The answer first gives the two kinds of space, then cultivation, characteristic, function, and basis, separately introduces two benefits, and finally answers acquiring the sign through the passages on experienced and new meditators 〔T32 424a26–424b11〕. All seven questions must remain; none can be absorbed into another.

Acquiring the sign follows the experienced-new pattern. An experienced meditator sees “in a hole, between lattice windows, or between tree branches. Beginning with these, the person sees it constantly; following delight or non-delight, one immediately sees that portion of the space sign arise. This is unlike a new meditator” 〔T32 424b06–08〕. A hole, the spaces between lattice windows, and the spaces between tree branches are all explicitly named places for acquiring the sign. But the syntax connecting “following delight or non-delight” to what follows is unclear. Only the arising of that portion of the space sign can be established; it cannot be adjudicated to mean that both pleasing and displeasing objects produce the sign. A new meditator “acquires the sign at a prepared place and cannot do so at an unprepared place” 〔T32 424b08–09〕. The text then expressly says that the person can make a round hole and form the perception of space indoors or outdoors in an unobstructed place 〔T32 424b09–10〕. The three modes here are “through equal observation, through skillful means, and through freedom from disturbance” 〔T32 424b10–11〕, textually identical to the definition in 08-03 〔T32 413b12–13〕. The ending separately states, “In the space kasiṇa, the four-jhāna and five-jhāna arise; the remaining matters are as explained in full at the beginning” 〔T32 424b11–12〕. The passage does not explain the classification of four-jhāna and five-jhāna, so it remains undetermined. The remainder follows the source’s reference back.

The sentence order of the prepared place is equally clear: it first gives the two settings, indoors and outdoors; qualifies the place as unobstructed; says to make a round hole and form the perception of space; and only then lists equal observation, skillful means, and freedom from disturbance 〔T32 424b09–11〕. All four steps are retained in their own order. The round hole is not recast as a maṇḍala or another device.

Consciousness and the Point Where Inquiry Stops: Why Does One Section Receive Only Two Sentences?

“Question: What is the consciousness kasiṇa? Answer: It is said to be the concentration of the consciousness sphere—this is called the consciousness kasiṇa. The remaining matters are as explained in full at the beginning. (The eleven kasiṇas are concluded)” 〔T32 424b13–14〕. Of the two sections in this unit, consciousness contains only a single answer and a reference back, far shorter than the space section. Three witnesses read 虛空, “space,” for 處定, “sphere concentration,” making the sole defining sentence itself vary between two readings. Both are recorded without adjudication. Inquiry pauses here: the space section has seven questions, benefits, experienced and new meditators, and a prepared place; why does the consciousness section close its account with one reference back?

Only two points can be established from the text. First, it defines the consciousness kasiṇa through “concentration of the consciousness sphere.” Second, it refers to the earlier account through “the remaining matters are as explained in full at the beginning.” Three witnesses read “consciousness-space” in place of “consciousness-sphere concentration,” and the variation falls within the only defining sentence in the section. The two readings remain without decision. The treatise does not specify which earlier passage “the remaining matters” takes up, nor does this unit separately provide cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, benefits, or a way to acquire the sign. It must therefore be read only through this answer and reference back, without supplying a concrete practice or a reason for the abbreviation.

Two parenthetical closings occur: “The space kasiṇa is concluded” closes the space section, while “The eleven kasiṇas are concluded” expressly closes the elevenfold set 〔T32 424b12–14〕.

Concluding Focus

Return to what is seen: space is first divided into separated and not-separated form, and then examples are given of acquiring its sign from naturally occurring places and a prepared round hole; consciousness receives only one answer and a reference back. Three matters remain: a classification—space separated from form is described through the sign of the sphere of entry into space, and space not separated from form through the space-sign of a well or hole, while the source does not formally assign the later examples to either; a set of places for acquiring the sign—a hole, between lattice windows, between tree branches, and a prepared round hole; and a question—why does consciousness receive only two sentences? The treatise explicitly gives only “concentration of the consciousness sphere” and “the remaining matters are as explained in full at the beginning,” without explaining the abbreviation or specifying which prior passage is meant. No procedure or reason is supplied. “The eleven kasiṇas are concluded” closes the section, and the miscellany on the kasiṇas follows.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Space and Consciousness Kasiṇas · Exposition · Summer 2026

With the eleven kasiṇas complete, this miscellany gathers mastery of one sign, the supremacy of the four colors, and the sixteen modes. The general statement of the sixteen modes is: “At the place one desires, the concentration one desires is freely attained without obstruction” 〔T32 424b23〕. What follows lists the desired place, desired concentration, time, ascending and descending sequences, kinds of increase, and items described as less and combined. Fifteen explanatory headings can actually be found, including two occurrences of “less by object”; the number does not correspond to the title.

The source’s statement of the list begins with “at the place one desires” and continues through ascending sequence, descending sequence, ascending and descending sequence, making each increase, making both increase, less in the middle, less by division, less by object, less by division and object, division combined, object combined, and division and object combined 〔T32 424b23–26〕. In the explanation, the desired concentration and desired time are separately explained after the desired place 〔T32 424b26–29〕. Title, statement, and explanations are all preserved in their original order.

Before these names, the source says, “With respect to the eight kasiṇas and eight concentrations, through entering the sixteen modes one rises at ease” 〔T32 424b21–22〕. Both the two sets to which the sixteen modes apply and the phrase “rises at ease” are expressly given in this heading.

Mastery of One Sign, the Remaining Signs Following at Will

“Question: Among these kasiṇas, what are the miscellaneous statements? Answer: If one has attained mastery of one sign, all the remaining signs follow one’s attention. If, with respect to a kasiṇa in one place, one has attained mastery of the first jhāna, one is capable with respect to the remaining kasiṇas and can arouse the second jhāna” 〔T32 424b15–17〕. The answer first says that, when mastery of one sign is attained, the remaining signs follow one’s attention. It then separately states a condition: when one has attained mastery of the first jhāna with respect to a kasiṇa in one place, one becomes capable with respect to the remaining kasiṇas and can arouse the second jhāna. Both sentences are read through the conditions and results the passage itself states.

The source writes the progression sentence by sentence: mastery of the first jhāna with respect to a kasiṇa in one place makes one capable with respect to the remaining kasiṇas and able to arouse the second jhāna; mastery of the second enables the third; mastery of the third enables the fourth 〔T32 424b16–19〕. Both sequences are completed within this question and answer: from “mastery of one sign” to “all remaining signs follow one’s attention,” and from the first jhāna step by step to the fourth.

The two layers of meaning in the miscellany must remain separate. The opening sentence contrasts “one sign” with “all remaining signs” and says only that, when one sign is mastered, the remaining signs follow one’s attention. The next sentence separately begins “If, with respect to a kasiṇa in one place,” limiting its condition to mastery of the first jhāna in that context, then says one is capable with respect to the remaining kasiṇas and can arouse the second. The next two sentences do not repeat “one sign”; they successively make mastery of the second jhāna the condition for arousing the third, and mastery of the third the condition for arousing the fourth 〔T32 424b15–19〕. The relation of sign and remaining signs in the first sentence and the conditional sequence from first through fourth jhāna are distinct contents explicitly stated in the answer.

“Question: Among the kasiṇas, which are supreme? Answer: The four color kasiṇas are supreme, because they accomplish liberation and because one attains the overcoming entries; they are said to be supreme among the kasiṇas. Because they produce light, the mind attains mastery” 〔T32 424b19–21〕. The answer directly calls the four color kasiṇas supreme and gives accomplishment of liberation, attainment of the overcoming entries, and production of light as reasons, ending with mastery of the mind. The character 曰, “they are said,” is read 白, “white,” in four witnesses. With 曰 it can be read as an assertion; with 白 it may enter the list of four colors. Both are recorded without decision.

This answer first states positively that the four color kasiṇas are supreme, then gives “because they accomplish liberation,” “because one attains the overcoming entries,” and “because they produce light,” and closes with “the mind attains mastery” 〔T32 424b19–21〕. In the present text, “they are said to be supreme among the kasiṇas” stands between the first two reasons and “because they produce light.” If the variant 白 is adopted, both the punctuation and the content gathered under the four colors change. The three reasons and final statement are therefore retained in the order of the base text; the variant is not preemptively merged into a single interpretation.

The Sixteen Modes: Statement and Explanations

“With respect to the eight kasiṇas and eight concentrations, through entering the sixteen modes one rises at ease. At the place one desires, the concentration one desires is freely attained without obstruction” 〔T32 424b21–23〕. The heading first states eight kasiṇas, eight concentrations, and “rises at ease,” then says that the place and concentration one desires are unobstructed. The following passage explains the items in its original order. 入／八, “entering/eight,” has a variant, and the relation of the count to the listed modes is not stated here.

“At the place one desires” gives either a village or the wilderness 〔T32 424b26–27〕. “As one desires” means the concentration one desires. “Time” includes entering concentration at the time one desires and entering attainment for a long time 〔T32 424b28–29〕. “Ascending sequence” proceeds from the first jhāna through neither-perception-nor-non-perception; “descending sequence” begins with the concentration of neither-perception-nor-non-perception and proceeds to the first jhāna 〔T32 424b29–424c02〕. “Ascending and descending sequence” expressly gives first to third jhāna, third to second, and second to fourth, continuing in this manner through neither-perception-nor-non-perception 〔T32 424c02–05〕. Its opening phrase “crossing in going and returning” is not further explained and is retained. “Making each increase” says to enter the fourth jhāna in sequence, upward or downward. The explanation of “making both increase” reads, “Enter the fourth jhāna; from here, space enters the third jhāna—these are two kinds of entering concentration” 〔T32 424c06–07〕. The attachment of “space” is unclear and remains undetermined. The statement then lists less in the middle, less by division, less by object, less by division and object, division combined, object combined, and division and object combined 〔T32 424b24–26〕. The explanation of “less in the middle” gives, in turn, first jhāna, neither-perception-nor-non-perception, second jhāna, and the sphere of nothingness, ending with direct entry into attainment and the ability to distinguish the sphere of space 〔T32 424c07–09〕. The present text of the rest reads: “Less by division: enter concentration in the eight kasiṇas through one jhāna. Less by object: in three kasiṇas enter the division of the eight concentrations. Less by object: namely, two concentrations and a kasiṇa” 〔T32 424c09–12〕; then, “Division combined: in three kasiṇas enter two-and-two jhānas. Object combined: in two-and-two kasiṇas enter two jhānas. Division and object combined: these are the two preceding statements” 〔T32 424c12–13〕. “Less by object” occurs twice, “less by division and object” receives no separate explanation, four witnesses read “two” for “three,” and the final item only refers back to the preceding two statements. All of these features are retained.

According to the present explanatory text, place, concentration, and time are first explained separately; the three sequence items then distinguish upward, downward, and upward-and-downward movement; the two kinds of increase each have one sentence; and the items described as less and combined follow at the end. “Less in the middle” distinctly gives its four stations, after which “less by division,” “less by object,” “division combined,” and “object combined” are each written, and “division and object combined” finally points back with “these are the two preceding statements” 〔T32 424c07–13〕. This is the actual order of explanation in the passage.

Counting only the headings expressly written in the explanations yields: at the desired place; as desired; time; ascending sequence; descending sequence; ascending and descending sequence; making each increase; making both increase; less in the middle; less by division; less by object; less by object; division combined; object combined; and division and object combined—fifteen headings in all 〔T32 424b26–424c13〕. What the statement combines as desired place, desired concentration, and time becomes three items in the explanations. The statement contains “less by division and object,” but the corresponding position in the explanations gives “less by object” twice. Thus “sixteen modes,” fourteen items obtainable from punctuating the statement, and fifteen explanatory headings do not correspond. All three surfaces are preserved according to the present text.

How to Read It When the Map Does Not Match the Ground

In the explanations, “less by object” occurs twice in the base text 〔T32 424c10–11·424c11〕, while “less by division and object” in the statement receives no corresponding heading. The passage does not say why the statement and explanations differ. At “in three kasiṇas,” four witnesses read “two,” so the associated count likewise depends on the reading. The final “division and object combined: these are the two preceding statements” only points back to two statements.

What can be read directly is therefore the title “sixteen modes,” the items in the statement, and the actual repetition of “less by object” in the explanations. Placed side by side, they do not automatically become a sixteen-item list that may be rearranged. In particular, “these are the two preceding statements” gives only a backward reference; it does not restate the names or extent of the two statements.

The first half’s ascending sequence, descending sequence, and ascending and descending sequence, and the latter half’s less in the middle, less by division, less by object, division combined, object combined, and division and object combined all occur in the same passage. The source does not say that the items in the two halves must correspond on a single scale of classification. Reading the present text therefore requires preserving the statement, explanations, and backward reference separately.

The parenthetical note, “The miscellaneous statements are concluded,” immediately follows “Division and object combined: these are the two preceding statements” 〔T32 424c13–14〕 and closes the unit. The next sentence, “Question: What is increasing the sign?”, begins the section on the ten impurities.

Concluding Focus

Return to what is seen: the sixteen modes expressly include place, concentration, time, ascending and descending sequences, kinds of increase, and items described as less and combined, under the general statement “freely and without obstruction.” Three matters remain: mastery of one sign and the remaining signs following one’s attention; the four colors described as supreme because they accomplish liberation, attain the overcoming entries, and produce light; and the numerical and verbal mismatch between statement and explanation, preserved without moving any wording. With the miscellany complete, the ten impurities begin in the next unit.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Miscellaneous Statements on the Kasiṇas and the Sixteen Modes · Exposition · Summer 2026

The ten impurities open with this passage, whose first subject is the swollen-corpse perception. It first answers questions about the name, cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, and qualities; then it describes in detail going to where the corpse lies, choosing a seat, marking nearby objects, contemplating item by item, retaining the sign, and the analysis at the end. The source explicitly gives “revulsion” as the function of the swollen-corpse perception and later explains the meaning of “sitting and contemplating the whole sign everywhere” as “for not being deluded.” The same final passage also expressly says that fear may arise in the mind. All three statements are retained at their own locations; no causal account is built among them.

Meaning and Qualities: Its Function Is Revulsion

“The developed sign fills every place. It is like a bellows-bag filled with a foul, filthy corpse. This is called swollen. Knowing the swollen sign with right wisdom is called the swollen-corpse perception” 〔T32 424c16–18〕. The question says “developed sign,” while the answer immediately turns to the name “swollen”; the treatise does not state the relation between the two names. The present wording of the simile has 排 in “排囊,” while four witnesses read 韛. “When one cultivates this perception, the mind abides without distraction. This is called cultivation” 〔T32 424c18–19〕. “Contemplating in accordance with the sign of the swollen-corpse perception is its characteristic; revulsion toward the swollen-corpse perception is its function; attention to foul impurity is its basis” 〔T32 424c19–20〕. These three items are respectively contemplation in accordance with the swollen sign, revulsion toward it, and attention to foul impurity. This passage lists only “revulsion” as its function; it neither supplies another operation here nor establishes a universal correspondence with the other practices.

Nine qualities are then listed: “one gains mindfulness of the internal body, gains the perception of impermanence, gains the sign of death, has much revulsion and subdues sensual desire, cuts off pride in beauty, cuts off pride in freedom from illness, inclines toward a good destination, and inclines toward the Deathless” 〔T32 424c21–23〕. The base text says nine, but the current punctuation yields eight items. Whether “has much revulsion” and “subdues sensual desire” should be separated into two is not determined by the source's punctuation, so the wording is preserved without forcing a numerical assignment. The character 相 in “sign of death” has a repeated variant 想; this too remains undecided. The exposition keeps the source order—mindfulness of the internal body, impermanence, the sign of death, revulsion and subduing desire, cutting off two kinds of pride, a good destination, and the Deathless—without remaking the list into stages.

Preparations and the Ten Modes of Contemplation

“A new meditator directly takes up the impure perception of a swollen corpse. With conduct that is not twofold, with mindfulness unmoving and without delusion, with the faculties drawn inward, and with the mind not going outside, one goes to that place” 〔T32 424c23–25〕. When going there, the source places side by side conduct that is not twofold, unmoving mindfulness, absence of delusion, faculties drawn inward, and the mind not going outside. Later, “conduct that is not twofold” is itself explained as “for gaining bodily seclusion”; it is not connected to the “taking the wind sign through two modes” in the wind practice. Upon arrival one “remains there away from the contrary wind, neither far from nor close to the impure sign, either leaning or sitting” 〔T32 424c26–27〕. Staying away from the contrary wind is later explained as avoiding the foul odor, and the faults of distance and nearness are answered separately at the end. The text then lists a stone, mound of earth, tree, stump, and vine, each “for making a sign and making an object” 〔T32 424c28〕. It gives no separate account of the function of each nearby thing; they are retained in sequence.

The syntax of the nearby objects must also be seen as it stands: “A stone or mound of earth, a tree, stump, or vine, for making a sign and making an object, one contemplates: this stone, impure. This, the impure sign. This stone. In the same way with the mound of earth and so forth, a sign has been made and an object has been made” 〔T32 424c27–425a01〕. Five kinds are listed at the start. The body uses “this stone” repeatedly as its only example, then gathers the rest under “the mound of earth and so forth.” It does not provide one matching explanation for each of the five. Nor does it explain the punctuation of “this stone, impure; this, the impure sign; this stone,” or whether the second “this stone” continues what precedes or begins what follows. Only the closing “a sign has been made and an object has been made” is certain; no purpose is supplied for the short statements.

The ten modes unfold at 〔T32 425a02–03〕, but under the current punctuation only nine headings appear: color, female or male form, direction, place, discrimination, joints, openings, depressions, and level ground. “By place” receives no separate explanation, preserving the omission. The detailed explanation begins with colors—black as black, neither black nor white as neither black nor white, white as white, and foul skin as foul skin 〔T32 425a04–05〕—then gives female or male form, young, long, or old, and long, short, fat, or small 〔T32 425a05–08〕. Under “by direction,” it locates the head, hands, feet, back, abdomen, my seat, and the impure sign, and then the source writes “in this way contemplate according to the place of light,” followed by the hand, foot, head, my seat, and the impure sign in the place of light 〔T32 425a08–13〕. It does not say whether “by the place of light” continues “by direction” or begins anew; nor does it say that this phrase is the earlier “by place” that lacks a separate explanation. Next comes contemplation from head to foot and from below to the head, bounded by hair and skin, as “a single heap of excrement” 〔T32 425a14〕. After the repeated wording “by discriminating contemplation, contemplate; as to by joints,” it lists six joints in the hands, six in the feet, the hip joint, and the neck joint as fourteen great joints 〔T32 425a14–16〕. It then contemplates the openings of mouth and eyes and those between hands and feet 〔T32 425a16–18〕; “empty openings” has the variant “flesh,” recorded without judgment. The headings separately list depression and level ground, but their explanation combines them as “by depressions and even ground,” followed by the positions of object and observer and the distance of two or three fathoms 〔T32 425a18–22〕. All these words remain in source order; unclear headings and attachments are not reassigned.

The continuous wording after “by direction” can be counted directly. Before “in this way contemplate according to the place of light” come seven items: head, hand, foot, back, abdomen, my seat, and impure sign 〔T32 425a08–10〕. After that phrase come five: hand, foot, head, my seat, and impure sign 〔T32 425a11–13〕. Head, hand, foot, my seat, and impure sign occur on both sides; back and abdomen occur only in the first, and the order differs. This establishes only the distribution of items in the received wording; it does not decide whether “by the place of light” is attached or independent. The fourteen great joints can be added directly: six in the two hands plus six in the two feet, the hip joint, and the neck joint make fourteen. This numerical agreement is distinct from the “ten modes” whose headings number nine under current punctuation; both counting situations are retained.

The detailed explanation of depressions and level ground begins “as to by depressions and even ground,” differing from the separate headings “by depressions, by level ground.” It continues: “The impure sign accords with its location, whether in an open space or on the ground; contemplate it according to that place. Further, I am in an open space and the impure sign is on the ground, or the impure sign is below and I am on the ground; contemplate accordingly” 〔T32 425a18–21〕. The certain sequence is the location of the impure sign and then the relative positions of observer and object, followed by “through every place from me, neither taking near nor far, whether two or three fathoms, contemplate accordingly” 〔T32 425a21–22〕. What “from me” attaches to and how neither near nor far relates to two or three fathoms are not explained. The whole sequence is therefore retained.

All five critical notes in the passage fall on these key expressions. The base 排 in the bellows-bag simile has 韛 in four witnesses 〔T32 424c17〕. The base 相 in the quality “gains the sign of death” has 想 in four witnesses 〔T32 424c21〕. “Empty openings” has “flesh” in four witnesses 〔T32 425a16〕. In “contemplate the openings between the hands and feet,” the base 穴 has the variant sequence 穴隨觀 in four witnesses 〔T32 425a18〕. In “if one takes it from far away, the removal-sign is not accomplished,” the Palace edition lacks the negative 不 〔T32 425b01〕. The first four change respectively a character in the simile, the wording sign/perception, the contemplated object as opening or flesh, and the internal word order. The presence or absence of the final negative directly reverses the statement about distance. The body follows the Taishō base in every case, recording the variants without using them to supply an implicit function.

“When the meditator has thus rightly contemplated everything and seen that sign, ‘Good, good’: one retains it in this way and settles oneself well. Having taken the sign well, retained it well, and settled oneself well” 〔T32 425a22–24〕. The source gathers the sequence under taking the sign well, retaining it well, and settling oneself well. It then repeats conduct that is not twofold, unmoving mindfulness, the undeluded mind, faculties drawn inward, and the mind not going outside, adding that on the road there and back, whether walking or sitting, one contemplates the impurity and constantly retains it 〔T32 425a24–26〕. What can be established is the successive order of taking, retaining, settling, and constant retention while walking and sitting; the treatise gives no separate explanation of how the first three connect.

The five expressions used in going to and leaving the place can be checked against each other. Going there reads “with conduct that is not twofold, with mindfulness unmoving and without delusion, with the faculties drawn inward, and with the mind not going outside” 〔T32 424c24–25〕. After taking the sign well, the text reads “one—conduct that is not twofold, with mindfulness unmoving, the mind undeluded, the faculties drawn inward, the mind not going outside” 〔T32 425a24–25〕. The later wording separates unmoving mindfulness from the undeluded mind and places “one” before “conduct that is not twofold”; both retain the faculties drawn inward and the mind not going outside. Only then does the treatise add “on the road there and back, whether walking or sitting, one contemplates that impurity and constantly retains it” 〔T32 425a25–26〕. These differences are recorded as written and are not merged into a new formula.

Checking the Sequence Exactly as Given

If the passage is reordered only by its own sequence and no new meaning is added, it proceeds as follows. First it explains the name swollen; next cultivation, characteristic, function, and basis; then the nine qualities. It then directs the new meditator to go there while maintaining conduct that is not twofold, unmoving mindfulness, absence of delusion, faculties drawn inward, and the mind not going outside. At the place one first avoids the contrary wind and sits neither far nor near, then uses the stone, mound of earth, tree, stump, and vine for making a sign and making an object. The text next announces “ten modes” but gives nine headings and proceeds in order through color; male or female form and other expressions of form; the directional statements; the statements about the place of light whose attachment is unclear; discrimination; joints; empty openings; and the combined depressions and even ground. “By place” has no separate explanation. The actual list includes head, hands, feet, back, abdomen, and the place of sitting; after “place of light,” hands, feet, head, seat, and impure sign; head to foot and foot to head; fourteen great joints; openings of mouth, eyes, hands, and feet; and the relative positions of observer and object in an open space or on the ground. Finally come the unclear attachments among “from me,” neither near nor far, and two or three fathoms, followed by taking well, retaining well, and settling well. On leaving, the same five expressions are again maintained; on the road there and back, walking or sitting, the impurity is still contemplated and constantly retained. This is only a restatement of the received sentence order, without deciding unclear headings or short statements.

The analysis at the end can likewise be checked question by question. Conduct that is not twofold is answered as being for bodily seclusion. Causing mindfulness not to move is followed by absence of delusion, faculties drawn inward, and the mind not going outside. The road there and back is answered as being for bodily seclusion. Staying away from the contrary wind is answered as avoiding the foul odor. Sitting neither far nor near separately gives the wording about taking from far and taking from near. Contemplating the whole sign everywhere is answered as being for absence of delusion. The passage then separately proceeds through entering a secluded place, seeing the sign directly before one, fear arising, the corpse rising and pursuing, not arousing the mind to contemplate, retaining with mindfulness and right wisdom, contemplating the sign everywhere, and attending in this way. The source joins these expressions, but it explicitly answers only the preceding questions. Relations not answered remain in the source wording. They are not turned into steps for treating fear, nor is “not being deluded” restated as the necessary disappearance of fear.

Pause at the Question: If the Corpse Rises and Pursues Me, What Then?

After the item-by-item analysis, the passage continues: “If the meditator enters a secluded place and sees the impure sign as if directly before him, the mind becomes frightened. Therefore, meditator, if the corpse rises and pursues, not arousing the mind to contemplate, in this way having known, retain it with mindfulness and right wisdom” 〔T32 425b04–06〕. Pause here. In seated meditation the impure sign appears as if present before one—even “the corpse rises and pursues.” What then?

First see the sequence clearly. Earlier the source has already said taking well, retaining well, and settling well; here it still explicitly says “the mind becomes frightened.” The same sentence continues with “if the corpse rises and pursues, not arousing the mind to contemplate, in this way having known, retain it with mindfulness and right wisdom.” Both “not arousing the mind to contemplate” and “retain it with mindfulness and right wisdom” are retained literally. The passage closes, “Having contemplated the sign everywhere, this is its pervasive sign. Attending in this way is called not being deluded” 〔T32 425b06–07〕. Fear, not arousing the mind to contemplate, retaining with mindfulness and right wisdom, and not being deluded are all listed; the source does not arrange them into an expandable chain of operations. The exposition does not supply how fear is removed.

Analysis of Six Expressions, Each by Its Own Answer

The final passage analyzes six expressions in order: “What is the meaning of conduct that is not twofold? It is for gaining bodily seclusion” 〔T32 425a26–27〕; causing mindfulness not to move, through absence of delusion, faculties drawn inward, and the mind not going outside 〔T32 425a27–28〕; “What is the meaning of the road there and back? It is for gaining bodily seclusion” 〔T32 425a28–29〕; “What is the meaning of staying away from the contrary wind? It is to avoid the foul odor” 〔T32 425a29〕; sitting neither far nor near, because at a distance “the removal-sign is not accomplished” and too near “revulsion is not accomplished and its nature is not seen” 〔T32 425b01–02〕; and sitting and contemplating the whole sign everywhere, answered as “for not being deluded” 〔T32 425b03–04〕. Five of the six are asked through “What is the meaning?”, while causing mindfulness not to move is directly explained without a question. Each answer stops at the wording of this passage and is not made into a universal rule for other operations. The Palace edition lacks 不 in “if one takes it from far away, the removal-sign is not accomplished”; its presence or absence reverses the statement, so both are recorded without judgment while the body follows the base.

Conclusion

Return to the observation: this passage sets out taking the sign of the swollen-corpse perception item by item. Carry away three things: one definition—contemplation in accordance is its characteristic, revulsion its function, and attention to foul impurity its basis; one contemplation announced as ten but listed under nine headings—“by place” receives no separate explanation, and the directional statements, place-of-light statements, depressions and even ground, and “from me” retain their unresolved attachments; and one analysis—conduct that is not twofold, the road, wind, distance, and contemplation of the whole sign each have the source's own answer. The final lines say both that fear arises and that there are not arousing the mind to contemplate, retaining with mindfulness and right wisdom, and not being deluded. Their relation is not further developed. The next passage turns to the jhāna of the swollen-corpse perception.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Swollen-Corpse Perception: Its Qualities and Taking the Sign · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage answers three connected questions: what it means to take the sign in ten modes and contemplate the road there and back, why this practice reaches only the first jhāna, and how joy and pleasure arise in relation to an unbearable thing. It also says: “A beginning meditator forms the perception of a treasure toward this corpse. Delighting in this way, the mind gains retention” 〔T32 425b14–15〕.

The Method of Sequence: Four Things to Contemplate and Repeated Direct Contemplation

“Question: What is the meaning of taking the sign in ten modes? Answer: It is for binding at the mind” 〔T32 425b07–08〕. The meaning of “binding” is not explained here, and whether it refers to the same thing as the later “binding-place” remains uncertain. “What is the meaning of contemplating the road there and back? It is for arousing the method of sequence” 〔T32 425b08–09〕. The method of sequence is explicitly stated: “If a meditator enters a secluded place, the mind is sometimes distracted, and because one does not contemplate constantly, the impure sign does not arise. Therefore the meditator gathers the whole mind and should contemplate the road there and back, contemplate the place of meditation, contemplate the pervasive sign, and contemplate taking the sign in ten modes. When the meditator repeatedly contemplates it directly in this way, the sign arises again, as though seen with the eyes” 〔T32 425b09–13〕. The source lists in order distraction and failure of the impure sign to arise, gathering the whole mind, four statements of “should contemplate,” repeated direct contemplation, the sign arising again, and the simile “as though seen with the eyes.” Four witnesses omit 禪 from “place of meditation”; both readings are recorded without judgment.

The two questions each have a short answer. Taking the sign in ten modes is answered as “for binding at the mind,” while contemplating the road there and back is answered as “for arousing the method of sequence” 〔T32 425b09〕. The four items of the method of sequence all begin “should contemplate”: the road there and back, the place of meditation, the pervasive sign, and taking the sign in ten modes. The final statement clarifies repetition with “repeatedly contemplates directly,” names what arises with “the sign arises again,” and gives “as though seen with the eyes” as the resulting simile 〔T32 425b11–13〕.

What Is Seen: Perceiving the Corpse as a Treasure

“A beginning meditator forms the perception of a treasure toward this corpse. Delighting in this way, the mind gains retention. Through constant cultivation, the mind extinguishes the hindrances and the factors of jhāna arise” 〔T32 425b14–16〕. The source explicitly places four things in sequence: forming the perception of a treasure toward the corpse, delighting and gaining retention in the mind, constantly cultivating and extinguishing the hindrances, and the arising of the factors of jhāna. Earlier the function of the swollen-corpse perception was said to be “revulsion” 〔T32 424c19–20〕; here the corpse is perceived as a treasure. Both statements coexist, and the treatise does not explain how revulsion and the treasure-perception relate. The formula then stands: “secluded from sensual desire and unskillful qualities, with applied and sustained thought, with joy and pleasure formed by seclusion, one enters the concentration of the first jhāna together with the swollen sign” 〔T32 425b16–17〕. This is the full first-jhāna formula, with “together with the swollen sign” at its end to identify this practice.

The sequence of the two sentences must not be abridged. The first proceeds from treasure-perception and delightful retention to constant cultivation, extinguishing the hindrances, and the arising of jhāna factors. The next says in order: secluded from sensual desire, secluded from unskillful qualities, with applied and sustained thought, formed by seclusion, with joy and pleasure, entering the concentration of the first jhāna, and finally the swollen sign 〔T32 425b14–17〕. Treasure-perception, abandoning the hindrances, jhāna factors, and the first-jhāna formula are all written in this order by the source.

Three Answers: Why Only the First Jhāna?

“Question: Why does the practice of impurity arouse the first jhāna and not the remaining jhānas?” 〔T32 425b17–18〕. Three answers follow. The first begins with “this practice has not made contemplation” and “this becomes a binding-place,” then says it always follows applied and sustained thought, that only through their constant presence can its sign arise, and that the mind does not settle apart from them 〔T32 425b18–20〕. “Has not made contemplation” and “becomes a binding-place” receive no separate explanation; neither does the relation of “binding-place” to the earlier “binding at the mind.” The second says that the impure sign has color, form, and so forth and is aroused by “not-one-mode contemplation,” followed by the received sentence “As for one who contemplates the practice, this is a matter of applied and sustained thought; one cannot bear being apart from applied and sustained thought as the practice of contemplation” 〔T32 425b22–23〕. The attachment of “not one mode” and the phrases of the following sentence remains uncertain. The third says in order that the impure sign is an unbearable thing; one cannot raise the mind toward an unbearable thing; then comes “At the impure place, because the mind has joy and pleasure, 除覺觀方便”; and finally, through the power of the means of applied and sustained thought, “the practice at this time is 由如 foul excrement” 〔T32 425b26〕. The syntax of 除覺觀方便 is unclear, while 由如 is kept as the base wording and not altered. The three answers are preserved according to their own sentences and are not combined into a universal sequence for every jhāna.

The three answers also begin differently. The first uses two statements ending “because” to list “has not made contemplation” and “becomes a binding-place,” then immediately says that the practice always follows applied and sustained thought. The second begins from the color, form, and so forth of the impure sign and not-one-mode contemplation. The third begins from an unbearable thing and inability to raise the mind 〔T32 425b18–25〕. The latter two are each introduced by “It is further said.” Their source expressions are not exchanged. Their only common feature is the conclusion explicitly written in this question: the first jhāna arises, not the remaining jhānas.

Each of the three conclusions lands on the first jhāna. The first closes, “Therefore the first jhāna arises, not the remaining jhānas” 〔T32 425b20–21〕. The second, after the phrase about being unable to be apart from applied and sustained thought as the practice of contemplation, says, “Therefore only the first jhāna arises, not the remaining jhānas” 〔T32 425b23／425b26–27〕. The third, after the unbearable thing, inability to raise the mind, power of the means of applied and sustained thought, and “由如 foul excrement,” gives the same conclusion, “Therefore only the first jhāna arises, not the remaining jhānas” 〔T32 425b23／425b26–27〕. Each answer states its own grounds and then repeats first jhāna rather than the others.

The latter two answers are both introduced by “It is further said” 〔T32 425b21·425b23〕, making three answers with the first; no other jhāna is separately named between them. All three answers close on the first jhāna rather than the remaining jhānas.

Pause at the Question: Where Does Joy and Pleasure Come from toward an Unbearable Thing?

“Question: How do joy and pleasure arise toward an unbearable thing? Answer: The unbearable thing is not the cause, for the arising of joy and pleasure. Further, because the heat of the hindrances has been well cut off, and because the cultivated mind has gained mastery, the practice of joy and pleasure arises” 〔T32 425b27–29〕. Pause here. The first statement excludes the unbearable thing as the cause, but does not explain how “for the arising of joy and pleasure” attaches to it. Two reasons are then separately listed: the heat of the hindrances has been well cut off, and the cultivated mind has mastery. The explicit answer goes no further than these source expressions.

The answer first excludes the unbearable thing as cause, then uses two “because” statements to list cutting off the heat of the hindrances and mastery of the cultivated mind, and closes with “the practice of joy and pleasure arises” 〔T32 425b27–29〕. The negative, the two stated reasons, and the conclusion are preserved in the order of a single answer.

The final statement, “The remainder is as explained at length at the beginning” 〔T32 425b29〕, points backward in the usual way, while the parenthetical note “The swollen sign is finished” closes the practice. Its name has now appeared in three forms: the question says “developed sign” 〔T32 424c15〕; the body has “swollen-corpse perception” 〔T32 411a11／424c18／424c19／424c19／424c20–21／425c28〕; and the closing note has “swollen sign” 〔T32 425b29〕. All three forms are retained.

“The remainder is as explained at length at the beginning” belongs to the body text as a backward reference; “The swollen sign is finished” is the immediately following parenthetical closing note. Their different textual levels are preserved.

Conclusion

Return to what is seen: the method of sequence lists four things to contemplate, repeatedly contemplating directly until the sign arises again as though seen with the eyes. It next speaks of perceiving the corpse as a treasure, delightful retention, extinguishing the hindrances, and the arising of jhāna factors. The earlier “revulsion is its function” and the present treasure-perception coexist without an explained relation. The final two questions say respectively that this practice arouses only the first jhāna, and that the unbearable thing is not the cause of joy and pleasure while cutting off the heat of the hindrances and mastery of the cultivated mind allow the practice of joy and pleasure to arise. The parenthetical note closes the swollen sign here.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Sequence for Taking the Swollen-Corpse Sign and the First Jhāna · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage gives in sequence nine further perceptions of impurity: livid, decomposed, cut and dismembered, devoured, scattered, slain and scattered, blood-smeared, worm-infested, and bones 〔T32 425c01–426b03〕. Only the livid practice explicitly records one night or two or three nights after death, and the decomposed practice two or three nights. The other seven describe the sign seen in that practice without separately giving a number of nights after death. Each of the nine is read according to its own received wording; the numbers of nights attach only to the two practices in which the source states them.

The nine definitions respectively give color arising blue, decomposition with pus, a body cut apart by knives and swords, a corpse devoured by birds and beasts, hands and feet scattered in different places, a corpse slain with knives, clubs, bows, and arrows, blood smearing the body, worms filling the body, and bones linked like hooks and chains and otherwise bound 〔T32 425c02–426a28〕. These are the observed contents explicitly listed practice by practice and remain under their source names and sentences.

Recurring Questions and Answers, and Their Differences

The livid, decomposed, devoured, scattered, slain-and-scattered, blood-smeared, worm-infested, and bone practices each begin by asking seven things: meaning, cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, qualities, and taking the sign. The opening question for cut-and-dismembered also lists these, but the base reads “What function? What? Basis what qualities?”, with a break in punctuation, and it sets out a separate question and answer on taking the sign 〔T32 425c14–22〕. Each of the nine practices has its own parenthetical closing note, making ten body-text paragraphs in all.

The answers repeatedly include definition, knowing with right wisdom, the mind abiding without distraction, characteristic, function, basis, qualities, and a backward reference for taking the sign; but the wording is not identical. For example, the livid practice says “retaining the blue sign is its characteristic,” decomposition “retaining decomposition is its characteristic,” and cut-and-dismembered directly “the cut-and-dismembered perception is its characteristic” 〔T32 425c05·425c11–12·425c18〕. The devoured practice first says “with regard to that devouring is the sign,” then says that knowing it with right wisdom is called the devoured perception 〔T32 425c25–27〕. Slain-and-scattered has “with regard to the slain-and-scattered, this perception is right-wisdom knowing” 〔T32 426a10〕. Each form is preserved as written.

All nine explicitly say “revulsion is its function.” The livid and decomposed practices say “attention to the unbearable is its basis” 〔T32 425c05–06·425c11–12〕, while the other seven say “attention to impurity is its basis” 〔T32 425c18–19 and following〕. The backward references for the qualities also appear in four forms: “qualities equal those of the swollen sign” three times, “qualities equal those of the swollen-corpse perception” four times, “qualities equal those of swelling” once, and, in the scattered practice, “qualities of the swollen-corpse perception are equal” 〔T32 426a04〕. These four forms record inconsistency in the received wording and are not harmonized.

The backward references for taking or cultivating the sign are likewise preserved individually. Livid says “cultivating its sign is as explained at length in the first practice,” decomposed “taking the sign is as explained at length in the first practice,” cut-and-dismembered and devoured “the remainder is as explained at length in the first practice,” and scattered puts “the remainder is as explained at length in the first practice” only after arranging the bodily parts. Slain-and-scattered, blood-smeared, worm-infested, and bones say “as to how its sign is taken, it is as explained at length in the first practice” 〔T32 425c06–426b02〕. The source does not enumerate exactly what each local backward reference carries over, so each scope remains unresolved.

The words “sign” and “perception” also vary by location. The scattered practice alone says “retaining the scattered perception is the perception” 〔T32 426a03〕. In the slain-and-scattered practice, the question and answer-heading differ between “slain-and-scattered perception” and “as to being slain and scattered” 〔T32 426a08〕. Devoured asks with “perception” but closes with “sign” 〔T32 425c23·425c28〕. The closing note for decomposed uniquely adds the two words “may be known” 〔T32 425c13〕. No general rule is formed from the differences between sign and perception; the characters are recorded as they stand.

Checking the qualities practice by practice, livid, decomposed, and cut-and-dismembered read “qualities equal those of the swollen sign”; devoured, blood-smeared, worm-infested, and bones read “qualities equal those of the swollen-corpse perception”; slain-and-scattered reads “qualities equal those of swelling”; and scattered reverses the order to “qualities of the swollen-corpse perception are equal” 〔T32 425c06·425c12–19·425c28·426a04·426a12–426b02〕. None of the nine relists the qualities here; each points backward through the particular sentence found in its own practice.

The sentence on cultivation in all nine says that the mind abides without distraction and calls this cultivation. The sentence on characteristic differs. Livid has retaining the blue sign, decomposed retaining decomposition, cut-and-dismembered the cut-and-dismembered perception itself, devoured the devoured perception, scattered uniquely “retaining the scattered perception is the perception,” and slain-and-scattered, blood-smeared, worm-infested, and bones each have retaining that practice's perception as the characteristic 〔T32 425c05–426b02〕. The series preserves both the common statement about the mind abiding without distraction and the literal differences involving “as characteristic/as perception” and the presence or absence of “retaining.”

Checking the sign-taking and closing formulas, livid says only “cultivating its sign is as explained at length in the first practice,” and decomposed only “taking the sign is as explained at length in the first practice.” Cut-and-dismembered asks a separate sign-taking question, gives two ears, two fingers, perception of pieces, one or two, and empty sign, and only then says “the remainder is as explained at length in the first practice.” Devoured says the latter directly. Scattered first gathers the bodily parts in one place and separates the joints by two inches before saying it. The final four all close the body with “as to how its sign is taken, it is as explained at length in the first practice” 〔T32 425c06–426b02〕. The nine parenthetical notes then say respectively that the livid sign, decomposed sign, cut-and-dismembered sign, devoured sign, scattered perception, slain-and-scattered perception, blood-smeared sign, worm-infested perception, and bone perception are finished. The decomposed note alone adds “may be known.”

Reading the Nine Practices One by One from the Source

Livid: “After one night or after two or three nights in death, the livid sign forms. As color arises according to something dyed blue, this is called the livid sign” 〔T32 425c02–04〕. This is the first explicit time statement in the passage: one night after death or two or three nights. Next come “that lividity is called the blue sign” and knowing with right wisdom as the livid sign, followed by the mind abiding without distraction as cultivation, retaining the blue sign as characteristic, revulsion as function, attention to the unbearable as basis, and qualities equal to the swollen sign 〔T32 425c04–06〕. The body closes “cultivating its sign is as explained at length in the first practice,” and the note says “The livid sign is finished.” The character 淤 has the variant 瘀 in four witnesses, in six repeated occurrences across this practice; both are recorded without judgment.

Decomposed: “After two or three nights in death, the body decomposes and pus comes out, like poured curds; the body becomes decomposed. This is called decomposed” 〔T32 425c09–10〕. This is the second explicit time statement and gives only two or three nights. The simile “like poured curds” receives no further explanation here. Knowing with right wisdom then names the decomposed sign, the mind abiding without distraction is cultivation, retaining decomposition the characteristic, revulsion the function, attention to the unbearable the basis, and the qualities equal those of the swollen sign 〔T32 425c10–13〕. The body says only “taking the sign is as explained at length in the first practice.” Its closing note alone reads “The decomposed sign may be known; the decomposed sign is finished,” adding “may be known.”

Cut and dismembered: “The body has been cut apart with knives or swords. It is also said to be a corpse that has been thrown down. This is called cut and dismembered” 〔T32 425c15–17〕. The first sentence gives knives and swords and the body separated; “it is also said” records a thrown corpse without naming the speaker. Both remain side by side without adjudication. Knowing with right wisdom names the cut-and-dismembered perception; the mind abiding without distraction is cultivation; the cut-and-dismembered perception is the characteristic; revulsion the function; attention to impurity the basis; and the qualities equal those of the swollen sign 〔T32 425c17–19〕. This paragraph stops after the qualities, and sign-taking begins as a separate question.

Devoured: “A corpse is eaten by crows, magpies, kites, owls, eagles, and vultures, or by pigs, dogs, foxes, wolves, tigers, and leopards. This is called devoured” 〔T32 425c24–25〕. The source lists six birds and six beasts, twelve names in all, without separately explaining them. It then uniquely says “with regard to that devouring is the sign,” and only afterward says that knowing it with right wisdom names the devoured perception. The mind abiding without distraction is cultivation; the devoured perception is characteristic; revulsion function; attention to impurity basis; and the qualities equal those of the swollen-corpse perception 〔T32 425c25–28〕. The body adds only “the remainder is as explained at length in the first practice,” while the closing note says “The devoured sign is finished.”

Scattered: “Hands and feet have been strewn in different directions in different places. This is called scattered” 〔T32 426a01–02〕. Knowing with right wisdom then names the scattered perception, and the mind abiding without distraction is cultivation. This practice alone says “retaining the scattered perception is the perception,” followed by revulsion as function, attention to impurity as basis, and “qualities of the swollen-corpse perception are equal” 〔T32 426a02–04〕. Its own explicit sign-taking instruction says, “Gather all the bodily parts in one place and arrange the joints of the parts two inches apart. After arranging them, form the scattered perception and take the sign” 〔T32 426a05–06〕. Gathering in one place, setting the joints two inches apart, and taking the scattered sign after arranging them are certain. The source gives no reason for the arrangement and makes it no rule for the other practices. Only then comes “the remainder is as explained at length in the first practice.”

Slain and scattered: the question says “slain-and-scattered perception,” but the answer opens “as to being slain and scattered,” continuing “with knives and clubs or with bows and arrows, a corpse has been cut and slain in different places. This is called slain and scattered” 〔T32 426a08–10〕. Knives and clubs, bows and arrows, and cutting and slaying in different places are explicitly listed. The source does not separately explain its boundary from the cut-and-dismembered and scattered practices. Next comes “with regard to the slain-and-scattered, this perception is right-wisdom knowing,” followed by the mind abiding without distraction, retaining as characteristic, revulsion as function, attention to impurity as basis, and qualities equal those of swelling 〔T32 426a10–13〕. Taking the sign is only said to be as explained at length in the first practice.

Blood-smeared: “The hands, feet, or bodily parts have been cut off, and blood comes out and smears the body. This is called blood-smeared” 〔T32 426a15–16〕. Knowing the blood-smeared sign with right wisdom names the blood-smeared perception, the mind abiding without distraction is cultivation, retaining the blood-smeared perception is characteristic, revulsion function, attention to impurity basis, and the qualities equal those of the swollen-corpse perception 〔T32 426a16–19〕. The base 相 has the variant 想 in the Korean witness; both are recorded without judgment. Taking the sign is only said to be as explained at length in the first practice, and the closing note says “The blood-smeared sign is finished.”

Worm-infested: “Worms arise and fill the body; like white pearls, it is nothing but a mass of worms. This is called worm-infested” 〔T32 426a21–22〕. This practice uses “like white pearls” to figure the mass of worms covering the body; the exact feature taken by the simile is not explained. Knowing the worm-infested perception with right wisdom names that perception, the mind abiding without distraction is cultivation, retaining it is characteristic, revulsion function, attention to impurity basis, and the qualities equal those of the swollen-corpse perception 〔T32 426a22–25〕. Taking the sign is only said to be as explained at length in the first practice, and the note says “The worm-infested perception is finished.”

Bones: “Linked together like hooks and chains; or bound by flesh, blood, sinews, and vessels; or without blood and flesh but still wrapped in sinews; or without flesh and blood. This is called bones” 〔T32 426a27–29〕. The source lists in sequence four received forms: linked like hooks and chains; bound by flesh, blood, sinews, and vessels; without blood and flesh but with sinews; and without flesh and blood. It assigns no time to the four. Knowing the bone perception with right wisdom names it, the mind abiding without distraction is cultivation, retaining it is characteristic, revulsion function, attention to impurity basis, and the qualities equal those of the swollen-corpse perception 〔T32 426a29–426b02〕. Taking the sign is only said to be as explained at length in the first practice, and the note says “The perception of bones is finished.” Bones is the ninth practice in this passage.

Pause at the Question: How Is the Sign of a Dismembered Corpse Taken?

Cut-and-dismembered alone asks separately, “How is its sign taken? Answer: At the two ears two fingers, form the perception of pieces and the cut-and-dismembered perception; take the sign in this way. Upon one or two, take its empty sign” 〔T32 425c19–21〕. Pause here. How should these expressions for taking the sign be understood?

One fact can first be recorded: among the nine, cut-and-dismembered alone sets out a separate question about taking the sign. The answer writes in order “at the two ears two fingers, form the perception of pieces,” “form the cut-and-dismembered perception,” “take the sign in this way,” and “upon one or two take its empty sign,” followed by “the remainder is as explained at length in the first practice” and the closing note 〔T32 425c19–22〕. Two fingers, upon one or two, and empty sign receive no explanation here. How the expressions join and what they refer to remain open.

Before this question, the preceding paragraph has already given in order the name of cut-and-dismembered, knowing with right wisdom, the mind abiding without distraction, characteristic, function, basis, and qualities equal to the swollen sign 〔T32 425c15–19〕. Only with “Question: How is its sign taken?” does the specific sign-taking answer begin. This question asks only about taking the sign.

The received order of the answer is: “at the two ears two fingers,” then “form the perception of pieces,” “form the cut-and-dismembered perception,” “take the sign in this way,” and then “upon one or two take its empty sign” 〔T32 425c21〕. The source does not unfold how two fingers attach to the two ears, whether one or two is a number, position, or something else, what “its” continues, or how the short phrases are distributed. Only the order and source expressions can be retained; they cannot be arranged into certain operational steps.

After the sign-taking answer, the body says only “the remainder is as explained at length in the first practice,” followed by “The cut-and-dismembered sign is finished” 〔T32 425c21–22〕. The word-for-word skeleton that can be preserved is therefore: two ears and two fingers, perception of pieces, cut-and-dismembered perception, upon one or two, empty sign, backward reference, and closing note. The technical meaning of each remains unresolved.

Reading Principle: Each Backward Reference Stays with Its Own Practice

This passage certainly contains many instances of “as explained at length in the first practice” and “the remainder is as explained at length in the first practice,” as well as many statements that qualities equal those of the swollen sign, swollen-corpse perception, or swelling. Yet each is only a short phrase and the source does not enumerate its scope item by item 〔T32 425c06–426b02〕. Thus livid's “cultivating its sign” and decomposed's “taking the sign” are read in their own statements; the “remainder” in cut-and-dismembered, devoured, and scattered remains within its own practice; and the sign-taking formulas in slain-and-scattered, blood-smeared, worm-infested, and bones are likewise preserved independently. The common scope of their backward references remains unresolved.

The content stated only within one practice likewise stays there. Cut-and-dismembered has the unexplained expressions two ears and two fingers, perception of pieces, upon one or two, and empty sign. Scattered explicitly gathers all bodily parts and separates the joints by two inches. Livid and decomposed record nights after death. Devoured lists twelve birds and beasts. Worm-infested gives the white-pearl simile. Bones lists four received forms. Each can be checked within its practice, but the passage does not say that any one of these arrangements is to be followed in the other eight.

Conclusion

Return to what is seen. The passage separately gives livid, decomposed, cut-and-dismembered, devoured, scattered, slain-and-scattered, blood-smeared, worm-infested, and bones. Only livid and decomposed state numbers of nights. Cut-and-dismembered has its own sign-taking question and leaves two fingers, one or two, its, and empty sign unexplained. Scattered separately gives the arrangement of gathered bodily parts with the joints two inches apart. Bones lists four received forms without setting them in sequence through time. Each backward reference is kept to its own source statement rather than enlarged. Each practice closes with a parenthetical note; the decomposed note alone adds “may be known.”

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Other Nine Perceptions of Impurity · Exposition · Summer 2026

With the ten practices complete, miscellaneous statements close the account in the usual way. Yet these miscellaneous statements gather not unrelated items but two matters: first, who should not take the sign or attend to it; second, why the ten impurities are neither more nor fewer.

Miscellaneous Statements: Three Prohibitions and the Statements That Follow

“Question: What are the miscellaneous statements concerning the impure place? Answer: If a beginning meditator has heavy defilements, one should not take the sign with respect to a kind that is not. A kind that is not, such as a female or male body” 〔T32 426b04–05〕. A beginner with heavy defilements should not take a sign with regard to “a kind that is not.” The source adds only “a kind that is not, such as a female or male body,” without deciding a precise rule or stating why it is prohibited. “If one is a person whose work is impure, one should not attend to the impure sign. Why? Because one constantly sees such things, revulsion is not formed” 〔T32 426b06–07〕. The second statement provides a separate place to pause, discussed below. “Toward the body of an animal, one does not arouse a perception of purity” 〔T32 426b07〕. It stops with this one sentence, whose relation to the two surrounding matters is unclear. The three statements use three different forms: one should not take the sign; one should not attend; one does not arouse a perception of purity. The received text does not say whether they form one class of rule.

The source then writes, “With one bone arising, arising the sign at will; taking at the bone is likewise” 〔T32 426b07–08〕. The character 起 occurs twice consecutively in the base. One bone, arousing the sign at will, and taking at the bone are certain, but how the two occurrences of 起 are distributed and what “likewise” refers back to are unexplained. Four witnesses read 聚 instead of 取; both are recorded without judgment. The source continues: “If the impure sign arises through color, one should contemplate by way of the kasiṇa. If it arises through emptiness, one who should contemplate by way of the element; if it arises through impurity, one should contemplate by way of impurity” 〔T32 426b08–10〕. The condition and consequence of the first statement are explicit. The later arising through emptiness, contemplating by way of the element, arising through impurity, and contemplating by way of impurity remain in source order; the attachment of “one who” is unresolved. Four witnesses read 男, “male,” instead of 界, “element”; both are recorded without judgment.

Pause at the Question: Why Should Someone Who Sees Impurity Every Day Not Cultivate It?

“If one is a person whose work is impure, one should not attend to the impure sign. Why? Because one constantly sees such things, revulsion is not formed” 〔T32 426b06–07〕. Pause here. The phrase “a person whose work is impure” occurs only once in the whole treatise and is not explained, so the identity of that person remains uncertain. If someone constantly lives among impurity, would that not put the person close to the practice?

The treatise's answer reaches the bottom in one sentence: because one constantly sees such things, revulsion is not formed. This question is answered only to that point. It supplies no further mechanism and does not turn the answer into a rule for all ten practices.

Why the Ten Impurities Are Neither More nor Fewer

“Question: Why are the ten impurities neither more nor fewer? Answer: Because the body's losses are of ten kinds” 〔T32 426b10–11〕. The first sentence says only that the body's losses are ten; the ten are not listed. “Further, ten perceptions are formed because of ten kinds of people: a person of desire should cultivate the swollen-corpse perception; a person who lusts after beauty should cultivate the livid perception; a 如淨 person of desire should cultivate the decomposed perception; the remainder may likewise be known” 〔T32 426b11–13〕. Only three of the ten people and ten perceptions are exemplified. The syntax and referent of “a 如淨 person of desire” are unclear and are retained as given; the other seven are omitted under “the remainder may likewise be known.” “Further, because the impure sign cannot be obtained; because all perceptions of impurity desire/counteract. If a person whose practice is desire is what is obtained by it, that person should take the sign” 〔T32 426b13–15〕. The latter part explicitly gives two clauses ending “because” and one conditional clause, but does not explain the referent of “cannot be obtained,” the attachment of “desire” and “counteract,” the syntax of “is what is obtained by it,” or the referents of “it” and “that person.” The exposition preserves the received order and builds no general theory of the ten practices from these unexplained phrases.

The list is read only as a list: three examples are stated and seven are omitted. The source explicitly has the person of desire cultivate the swollen-corpse perception, the person who lusts after beauty cultivate the livid perception, and “a 如淨 person of desire” cultivate the decomposed perception, then immediately closes with “the remainder may likewise be known” 〔T32 426b11–13〕. The remaining seven people and seven perceptions are not listed. The three examples and the fact of omission are preserved without supplementation.

Conclusion

Return to what is seen. The passage first gives three prohibitions: one should not take the sign with respect to “a kind that is not, such as a female or male body”; a person whose work is impure should not attend to the impure sign; and one does not arouse a perception of purity toward the body of an animal. It then gives in sequence arising through color, contemplating by way of the kasiṇa, arising through emptiness, contemplating by way of the element, arising through impurity, and contemplating by way of impurity. Carry away three things: the three different sentence forms remain as written; the element/male variant remains open; and among the ten people and ten perceptions only three examples are explicit, with the other seven omitted under “the remainder may likewise be known.” The next unit continues with the question about development and the concluding verses on the ten impurities.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Miscellaneous Statements on the Ten Impurities · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage begins with “Question: Why does one not cause development?” 〔T32 426b16〕. The answer first speaks of “a person who delights in revulsion toward desire,” then uses “It is further said” to introduce “if freedom from desire has been gained” 〔T32 426b20〕, followed by a statement from the Abhidharma and a verse of the Venerable 摨狗父 〔T32 426b21–25〕. The source does not explain how the two answers relate, whether as successive stages of one person or two different situations. Each condition and answer is therefore retained on its own.

Two Answers Given within One Question

The first answer begins “if a person delights in revulsion toward desire” and speaks of causing the natural perception of the body to arise. The second begins “It is further said: if freedom from desire has been gained” and says that development is accomplished for cultivating a great mind. The source ranks neither answer and does not explain the relation between their conditions. The question asks only why development is not caused, yet the answer preserves both a statement that it should not be developed and another that development may be accomplished. The exposition does not merge them into one rule.

The First Answer: The Natural Perception of the Body and Not Causing Development

“Answer: If a person delights in revulsion toward desire, one causes the natural perception of the body to arise. Why? If the natural perception of the body is present, one quickly gains revulsion in relation to that perception, because of that division” 〔T32 426b16–18〕. The directly readable sequence is: first the person who delights in revulsion toward desire, then causing the natural perception of the body to arise, then quickly gaining revulsion in relation to the perception when the natural perception of the body is present. The referent of “that division” remains unclear and is not forced.

The passage continues: “Once the perception of impurity has been developed, the bodily sign is removed. Once the perception of one's own body has been removed, revulsion is not gained quickly. Therefore development should not be caused” 〔T32 426b18–20〕. It explicitly records that after the impure perception is developed, the bodily sign is removed; after the perception of one's own body has been removed, revulsion is not quickly gained; therefore it should not be developed. Whether “bodily sign” and “perception of one's own body” refer to the same thing is not explained. Only the sequence and causal words in the sentence are retained, without an added psychological mechanism or simile.

The Second Answer: If Freedom from Desire Has Been Gained, Development for Cultivating a Great Mind

“It is further said: if freedom from desire has been gained, then for cultivating a great mind, development may be accomplished” 〔T32 426b20–21〕. The condition is “if freedom from desire has been gained,” the stated purpose is “for cultivating a great mind,” and the conclusion is “development may be accomplished.” “Great mind” is not explained here, nor does the source say how the statement joins the preceding answer.

The citation that follows reads: “As the Abhidharma says: Place, seclusion from desire and so forth, the attainment of the first jhāna abides in swelling, and arouses immeasurable matters” 〔T32 426b21–22〕. The attachment of “place,” the scope of “and so forth,” the relation of “attainment of the first jhāna” to “abides in swelling,” and what “and arouses immeasurable matters” continues cannot be determined from this sentence. Only the expressions and their order are certain. The cited section is not named, and the sentence is not repunctuated.

Pause at the Question: Why Does the Verse That Closes the Practice Sing of “Filling This Whole Ground”?

After “As the Venerable 摨狗父 said in verse,” the verse states in sequence: the bhikkhu is the wealth of the Buddha's family; he is in a fearful forest place; having cultivated the perception of bones; he fills this whole ground with it; I know that bhikkhu; he will swiftly cut off the stain of desire 〔T32 426b22–25〕. The verse immediately follows the Abhidharma citation—that much is certain from the textual order. The source does not mark whether “fills this whole ground” belongs to the first or second answer, so it is assigned to neither.

The first four clauses give the bhikkhu, his place, and the bone perception he cultivates. The final two turn to “I know that bhikkhu; he will swiftly cut off the stain of desire.” The shift from narrating the bhikkhu to the verse-speaker's “I know” is visible on the surface. The identity of the speaker, the manner of knowing, and the relation of the verse to the two answers are not supplemented. In the name “Venerable 摨狗父,” 德 has the variant 得 and 父 the variant 文. The base is retained and the variants listed without inferring the person's identity from the name.

Conclusion

The parenthetical note “The ten impurities are finished” 〔T32 426b25〕 marks the end of this passage and of the ten impurities. The structure that can be established is one question, two answers, one Abhidharma citation, and one venerable's verse. The first answer explicitly says that after the perception of one's own body is removed, revulsion is not quickly gained, and therefore development should not be caused. The second explicitly says that if freedom from desire has been gained, development may be accomplished for cultivating a great mind. The relation between the answers, the syntax of the Abhidharma citation, and the attachment of “fills this whole ground” in the verse all remain unresolved.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Why the Ten Impurities Are Not Developed Further, and the Closing Verse · Exposition · Summer 2026

The door of the ten impurities closes, and the door of the ten recollections opens. The first recollection is recollection of the Buddha. Here the base text presents an unusually long passage for this chapter: more than 2,300 characters proceed under a single question without a paragraph break. What is seen may be stated first. This passage explicitly says that recollection of the Buddha has “causing the Buddha's qualities to arise” as its characteristic 〔T32 426c02〕, followed by “reverence as its function and increase of faith as its basis” 〔T32 426c02–03〕. It then lists, in order, the ten titles, former causes and conditions, raising himself up, attaining the supreme Dhamma, and benefiting the world, before closing with “making the Tathāgata present in recollection through these qualities, his mind gains faith” 〔T32 428a17–18〕. What this unit securely establishes, therefore, is that the treatise takes the Buddha's qualities as the characteristic and includes multiple sets of titles, deeds, and qualities in its answer on practice. It does not compare recitation of the name, contemplation of an image, or other methods here, and no exclusive claim is drawn from that silence. The close further says that when faith and recollection are mastered, the mind remains undistracted; when it is undistracted, the hindrances are extinguished, the jhāna factors arise, and internal-practice jhāna is accomplished and abides 〔T32 428a18–19〕. From characteristic, function, and basis at the opening to faith, recollection, and jhāna at the close, this sequence is expressly present in the passage.

Seven Questions Establish the Door, and Four Matters Define It

“What is recollection of the Buddha? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its basis? What are its qualities? How is it practiced?” 〔T32 426b26–27〕. One question sets out seven items. It follows the question-form of the other doors in this chapter while adding the final item, “How is it practiced?” The answer then proceeds through them. The definition of Buddha is: “The Buddha is the Blessed One, so of himself and without a teacher. With respect to an unheard Dhamma, he rightly awakened to the right truth; he can know all and has attained power and mastery. This is called Buddha” 〔T32 426b27–28〕. Four expressions establish the word “Buddha”: without a teacher, self-awakened, all-knowing, and masterful. 世 has a critical note, for four witnesses read 世所; “so of himself and without a teacher” recurs in the later explanation of accomplishment in knowledge and conduct, “in every matter he is so of himself and without a teacher” 〔T32 427a05〕, giving the same words near the beginning and end. The definition of recollection, by contrast, supplies a chain of names: “recollection, repeated recollection, holding in recollection, not forgetting in recollection, the faculty of recollection, the power of recollection, and right recollection; this is called recollection of the Buddha” 〔T32 426b28–426c01〕. The seven names are listed but their distinctions are not explained, so no forced division is imposed. The continuous list touches on persistence, non-forgetting, faculty, and power, giving the word “recollection” its full weight before the practice begins. The text does not state the purpose of their order, and it remains open.

The four matters follow in their accustomed form: “When the mind abides without distraction, this is called cultivation; causing the Buddha's qualities to arise is the characteristic; reverence is the function; increase of faith is the basis” 〔T32 426c01–03〕. The passage gives, in order, undistracted abiding of mind, the arising of the Buddha's qualities, reverence, and increase of faith. Characteristic, function, and basis are each retained according to their own sentence.

The allocation of questions and answers is itself striking. The first six questions—what recollection of the Buddha is, cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, and qualities—receive only a sentence or half-sentence each, altogether little more than a hundred characters. The final question, “How is it practiced?”, occupies nine-tenths of the passage. The disparity is the arrangement of the treatise itself: definition and the four matters are the sign on the door; practice is the house. The actual content of this door lies less in “what recollection of the Buddha is” than in “what is recollected.” The two inventories—the ten titles and four practices—form the substance of that answer. A small verbal echo also appears: the basis is “increase of faith,” and the first item in the list of qualities is “faith increases” 〔T32 426c03〕. The same words recur in reverse order, joining the basis to the head of the qualities-list. On the page, recollection of the Buddha enters through faith and also takes faith as its first harvest.

The qualities-list says, “If one cultivates recollection of the Buddha, one acquires eighteen qualities” 〔T32 426c03〕. The list itself reads: “increase of faith, increase of recollection, increase of wisdom, increase of reverence, increase of merit, much joy, fitness for ascetic practice, freedom from fear, the arising of shame when receiving an unwholesome state, always dwelling together with the teacher, a mind that delights in the Buddha-ground, practice directed toward a good destination, and finally cream” 〔T32 426c03–06〕. The first five all “increase”: faith, recollection, wisdom, reverence, and merit. The middle gives much joy, fitness for ascetic practice, freedom from fear, and shame upon receiving an unwholesome state. The last gives dwelling with the teacher, delighting in the Buddha-ground, practice toward a good destination, and finally cream. The heading says eighteen, but only thirteen items can be counted. The absent material is left absent; no items are supplied or assigned to make the number fit. The citation then consists of the single sentence, “as stated in the phrase 修多羅涅底里” 〔T32 426c06–07〕. It occurs only here in the treatise, and the work meant is not named and cannot be determined. The next sentence is 若人欲念佛、其可恭敬如佛像處 〔T32 426c07–08〕. The base text places a pause after 念佛. The referent of 其 and what 如佛像處 modifies are both unclear. Only the adjacency of “wishes to recollect the Buddha,” “may be revered,” and “place like a Buddha image” can be secured. This passage does not say that either the practitioner or the place thereby acquires elevated status, so no such explanation is built from it. The sentence stands after the unnamed scriptural phrase and before “How is it practiced?” It is neither a separately listed fourteenth quality nor followed by an answer that settles its subject. Its position can be verified word for word but cannot decide its syntax. The question-and-answer order turns to practice only after this sentence; that order is preserved. Nor are the last three qualities recast with this syntactically uncertain sentence into a path of spatial or personal elevation. Counting the thirteen actual items and then returning to the stated eighteen leaves a deficit of five. The text does not say where they have gone: that is precisely what it means to preserve the lacuna.

The thirteen boundaries can be checked from the punctuation: five items ending in “increase,” followed by much joy, fitness for ascetic practice, freedom from fear, and shame upon receiving an unwholesome state, and then dwelling with the teacher, delighting in the Buddha-ground, practice toward a good destination, and finally cream. After “finally cream,” the source moves directly to the phrase 修多羅涅底里. It supplies no further five items before or after the citation. The discrepancy between the heading and the actual list can therefore only be recorded; adjacent sentences cannot be recruited to fill the count.

The Ten Titles: Several Meanings Gathered beneath One Name

“How is it practiced? The beginning meditator goes to a secluded place and gathers the mind without distraction. With an undistracted mind, one recollects the Tathāgata” 〔T32 426c08–09〕. The ten titles then appear in full: “Blessed One, Worthy of Offerings, Fully and Rightly Awakened, Accomplished in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Person, Trainer of Persons to Be Tamed, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha Blessed One” 〔T32 426c09–11〕, all joined to the sentence, “thereupon that person reaches the further shore of all qualities” 〔T32 426c11〕. The ensuing text explains the titles one by one. An accounting difference must first be recorded: ten names are listed, but nine are explained below. “Buddha Blessed One” is not separately explained, while the explanation uses “Arahant” where the list has “Worthy of Offerings.” Both readings are preserved without a forced correspondence. The difference deserves a pause. The list says “Worthy of Offerings,” the exposition says “Arahant,” yet reception of offerings is its first explanation: the treatise itself places a difference of title beside a continuity of meaning. “Buddha Blessed One” receives no separate exposition. It might occupy the places where Buddha was already defined at the beginning—“this is called Buddha” 〔T32 426b28〕—and Blessed One is explained first among the titles, but that is only a possible location on the page; the text does not say so. The absence is recorded, not supplied.

The explanations use a recognizable form: each title receives several meanings, each closed by “is called” or “therefore called.” Blessed One has five reasons: “because he has obtained praise in the world, he is called Blessed One; because he has further obtained the wondrous Dhamma, he is called Blessed One; because he has further obtained offerings, he is called Blessed One; because he has obtained the fullness of merit, he is called Blessed One; because he is master of the Dhamma of the path, he is called Blessed One; for these reasons he receives the name Blessed One” 〔T32 426c12–14〕. Praise, wondrous Dhamma, offerings, fullness of merit, and mastery of the path all converge on a single title. Arahant has three meanings: “because for that reason he receives offerings, he is called Arahant; because he has slain the enemy of defilements, he is called Arahant; because he has broken the spokes of the wheel of birth and death, he is called Arahant” 〔T32 426c14–16〕. Receiving offerings carries forward the preceding explanation. Slaying an enemy and breaking spokes are both images of conflict: defilement is an enemy, birth and death a wheel, and this is the name of one who has prevailed. Fully and Rightly Awakened likewise has three meanings: “because through every mode he rightly knows all dhammas, he is called Fully and Rightly Awakened; because he has further slain ignorance, he is called Fully and Rightly Awakened; because he has awakened by himself to unsurpassed awakening, he is called Fully and Rightly Awakened” 〔T32 426c16–18〕. Each sentence gives one meaning and closes with the same name. The meanings are many, but the name is one. The text does not assign the three explanations word by word among the components of the title, so no atomized gloss is imposed. What can be established here is simply that all three meanings close under the same name and follow the statement that causing the Buddha's qualities to arise is the characteristic.

“Accomplished in Knowledge and Conduct” receives the fullest exposition. Knowledge is the three knowledges: “the knowledge of former lives, the knowledge of the birth and death of beings, and the knowledge of the exhaustion of the taints” 〔T32 426c19–20〕. Each is paired with one of the three times: “with the knowledge of former lives, the Blessed One cut down past ignorance; with the knowledge of the birth and death of beings, he cut down future ignorance; with the knowledge of the exhaustion of the taints, he cut down present ignorance” 〔T32 426c20–22〕. After the pairing comes a second threefold passage: “because past ignorance has been cut down, with respect to every mode and every past dhamma, whenever the Blessed One recollects it, it immediately becomes present; because future ignorance has been cut down, with respect to every mode and every future dhamma, whenever the Blessed One recollects it, it immediately becomes present; because present ignorance has been cut down, with respect to every mode and every present dhamma, whenever the Blessed One recollects it, it immediately becomes present” 〔T32 426c22–26〕. First a pairing, then its continuation: two balanced triads. The phrase “whenever recollected, immediately present” is especially worth attending to. Where ignorance has been severed, the dhammas of the three times are described not as inferred but as becoming present upon recollection. Conduct is “fully endowed with virtue and concentration” 〔T32 426c26〕, whose words are then individually explained: “virtue is called the basis of all wholesome dhammas, hence knowledge and conduct; ‘accomplished’ is called the basis of all supernormal powers, hence accomplished in knowledge and conduct; ‘full’ means all concentrations” 〔T32 426c26–28〕. Knowledge and conduct are then considered together: “Thus the Blessed One, through omniscience, the three knowledges, and conduct, obtained great compassion in order to benefit the world” 〔T32 426c28–29〕. “Knowledge is mastered because it knows its proper place; he initiates a course of discourse, and no one can defeat him. He has destroyed the defilements and practices pure right conduct. Being full in knowledge, he became the eye of the world, disclosing what is beneficial and what is not. Being full in conduct, he became the support of the world and rescues beings from fear” 〔T32 426c29–427a04〕. “Through knowledge he is liberated and has penetrated ultimate meaning; through conduct he becomes a ferry across and accomplishes what is meaningful for the world. In every matter he is so of himself, without a teacher. His conduct is even, and he has attained unsurpassed seclusion” 〔T32 427a04–06〕. The passage closes, “the Blessed One is accomplished in knowledge and conduct; this is called fullness in knowledge and conduct” 〔T32 427a06–07〕. The long exposition thus has three levels: separate explanation—knowledge as the three knowledges, conduct as fullness in virtue and concentration; pairing with the three times—the destruction of past, future, and present ignorance; and joint consideration—fullness in knowledge makes him the eye of the world, while fullness in conduct makes him the support of the world. The former “discloses what is beneficial and what is not”; the latter “rescues from fear,” each following its source sentence. Later, under “raising himself up,” the first, middle, and last watches list former-life recollection, the divine eye, knowledge of suffering and abandonment of its arising, and realization of the element of cream 〔T32 427b24–26〕. The two locations retain their respective orders.

The title Well-Gone is the most densely repeated: “because he has reached the good path, he is called Well-Gone. He does not come back again. Because he has reached the element of cream, unconditioned Nibbāna, he is called Well-Gone. Because he teaches the Dhamma without inversion, he is called Well-Gone. Because he teaches the Dhamma without deviation, he is called Well-Gone. Because he teaches the Dhamma without fault, he is called Well-Gone. Because he teaches the Dhamma with neither too much nor too little, he is called Well-Gone” 〔T32 427a07–11〕. Five clauses end with “therefore called Well-Gone,” the densest repetition in the passage. The first two meanings concern where the “going” has gone: the good path and unconditioned Nibbāna, without returning. The next four abruptly concern the teaching of Dhamma: it is not inverted, deviant, faulty, excessive, or deficient. Half the “good” of Well-Gone lies in the destination reached, half in the Dhamma spoken—even the measure of the teaching, “neither too much nor too little,” is included among the qualities of one title.

Knower of the World opens two worlds: “there are two kinds of world, the world of beings and the world of formations” 〔T32 427a11–12〕. Knowledge of the world of beings proceeds through sixteen occurrences of “through”: “through knowing the many desires and delights of beings; through differences in faculties; through former lives; through the divine eye; through going and coming; through combination; through accomplishment; through the many kinds who can be taught; through the many kinds who are capable and incapable; through the many kinds of birth, destination, plane, action, defilement, result, good and evil, bondage and release; through such modes, the Blessed One fully knows the world of beings” 〔T32 427a13–18〕. Knowledge of the world of formations proceeds through ten: “through every action he also knows formations; through a fixed characteristic; through the causes and conditions of each one's own characteristic; through the wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate; through the various aggregates, elements, and sense bases; through clear knowledge; through impermanence, suffering, and not-self; through arising and non-arising; through such modes, the Blessed One fully knows the formations of the world” 〔T32 427a19–22〕. The treatise does not state those totals, so the counts are recorded without being made into a numbered scheme. What can be established is that both lists repeatedly use “through” and respectively close with “the Blessed One fully knows the world of beings” and “the Blessed One fully knows the formations of the world.” The first list treats the desires and delights, faculties, former lives, movements, teachability, capability, and other varieties of beings. The second treats action, fixed characteristic, the conditions of own-characteristic, the wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate, aggregates, elements, sense bases, impermanence, suffering, not-self, and arising and non-arising. The source itself distinguishes “world of beings” from “world of formations,” but neither ranks them as dull and keen nor says that knowledge of the first causes the teaching of the second. They are read separately according to their two source lists.

Unsurpassed has three meanings: “in the world there is none above him; this is called unsurpassed. Further, no person is his equal. Further, he is supreme and without peer, and no other can surpass him; therefore he is called unsurpassed” 〔T32 427a23–24〕. None above, none equal, none comparable: the three negatives rise one after another. Trainer of Persons to Be Tamed first lists “three kinds of person: one awakens immediately upon hearing the Dhamma; for one, causes and conditions are explained; for one, former lives are explained” 〔T32 427a25–26〕, then states, “because the Blessed One guides by the path of the eight liberations and tames beings, he is called Trainer of Persons to Be Tamed” 〔T32 427a26–27〕. This unit gives only the three persons and the path of eight liberations. It does not rank them by acuteness or dullness and does not assign one teaching to each; the order is retained without such a hierarchy or mapping. Teacher of Devas and Humans has two meanings: “because the Blessed One can bring devas and humans across, out of the fearful forest of birth, aging, and death, he is called Teacher of Devas and Humans. Further, because he gives instruction in the paths of seeing and reflection, he is called Teacher of Devas and Humans” 〔T32 427a27–29〕. The fearful forest is an image in which birth, aging, and death become a wood from which beings must be led. The teacher is a teacher both in leading them from that forest and in instructing them in seeing and reflection. The titles close with, “in this way, by this approach and this practice, one should recollect the Tathāgata” 〔T32 427a29〕. “Approach” and “practice” are guideposts repeated throughout the passage.

Four Practices Unfold in Their Original Order

“Further, as the original teacher said, recollection of the Blessed One is cultivated through four practices: former causes and conditions, raising himself up, attaining the supreme Dhamma, and benefiting the world” 〔T32 427a29–427b02〕. The teacher meant by “the original teacher said” is not named in the treatise. The four items unfold in their original order. Former causes and conditions runs from the first aspiration through the former births. Raising himself up runs from relinquishing attachments in youth through awakening. Attaining the supreme Dhamma lists ten powers, fourteen knowledges, eighteen qualities, and other wholesome dhammas. Benefiting the world lists the turning of the wheel, the three transformations, and many things already done. The last three are introduced by “How should one recollect …?” Only the first, “former causes and conditions,” lacks that opening question. Both forms are retained; no question is supplied.

Each of the four has an explicit beginning and end. Former causes and conditions begins, “from the first aspiration until the last” 〔T32 427b02–03〕, passes through the four “I have attained … I shall cause them …” sentences, the ten items from giving through wisdom, the long former-birth list, and the separately introduced monkey birth, and closes, “one should recollect the qualities of the Blessed One's former births” 〔T32 427b19〕. Raising himself up begins with the abandonment in youth of attachment to dwelling, children, wife, parents, relatives, and friends; it then lists dwelling alone, crossing the 尼連禪 River, sitting beneath the Bodhi tree, subduing Māra's host, the knowledge in the three watches, and the noble eightfold path, and closes, “one should recollect the Blessed One's quality of raising himself up” 〔T32 427b28–29〕. Attaining the supreme Dhamma first names liberation, liberation of mind, ten powers, fourteen knowledges, and eighteen qualities, then lists wholesome dhammas from the four fearlessnesses through ten powers of exhausted taints, and closes, “one should recollect the Blessed One's quality of attaining the supreme Dhamma” 〔T32 428a04〕. Benefiting the world begins with turning the wheel and opening the door of cream, lists the three transformations and many things “already done,” and closes, “one should recollect the quality of the benefit the Blessed One has already brought to the world” 〔T32 428a16–17〕. These boundaries are explicit within this passage; no unattested function is supplied for the four.

Former causes and conditions. “From the first aspiration until the last, during the long interval between them, there were twenty incalculable eons” 〔T32 427b02–04〕. This is followed by 一百千億觀凡夫根，念根所初，慈哀世間 〔T32 427b04–05〕. The attachment of the number 一百千億 cannot be decided from punctuation in the base text and is not uniquely divided. The four aspiration-sentences are plain: “I have attained release; I shall cause them to be released. I have attained taming; I shall cause them to be tamed. I have attained peace; I shall cause them to attain peace. I have entered Nibbāna; I shall cause them to enter Nibbāna” 〔T32 427b05–07〕. Each of the four moves from what has been attained by oneself to causing others to attain it. Ten items follow: “giving, virtue, going forth, patience, truth, sustaining, loving-kindness, relinquishment, energy, and wisdom were all fulfilled for the attainment of awakening” 〔T32 427b07–08〕. Then comes the former-birth list, retained word for word as a textual object: 世尊為菩薩時，說本生因緣，作兔子身，常行布施，當念可護生；戒摩瞿頻陀生，當念出離生、忍辱生，當念忍普明生，當念實語、當念噁蹇生，當念受持、當念帝釋慈悲、當念毛竪捨、當念商主正真、當念麋生、當念長壽生、逐父語當念六牙白象恭敬仙人、當念白馬生往羅剎國渡諸眾生、當念鹿生護彼壽命捨自壽命、當念猴生令得解脫所屬大苦 〔T32 427b08–16〕. The list shares words such as giving, going forth, patience, truthfulness, sustaining, compassion, and relinquishment with the ten preceding items. But the boundaries of the former-birth names and the attachment of 當念 are not clearly marked, so those ten items cannot be assigned one by one to the births. The repeated 當念 remains unresolved between governing what follows and closing what precedes. The birth names have several variants: 摩 is 摩訶 in four witnesses; 噁蹇 is 啞謇; 逐 in 逐父語 is 遂 in four witnesses, while its upward or downward attachment cannot be settled by punctuation; and 戒 is 或 in the Palace witness. The readings are recorded without decision and without identifying the stories from elsewhere. The base text does not fully punctuate the boundaries of the names; no unique division is imposed.

At the level of source lines, the first unstable boundary occurs in 當念可護生；戒摩瞿頻陀生 〔T32 427b09–10〕. If 戒 is read with the Taishō base, it may join the following birth-name; if the Palace reading 或 is followed, the syntax and the preceding and following boundaries change. 摩 also has the variant 摩訶, so this passage is not fixed as a particular former-birth name. In the next group, 當念出離生、忍辱生，當念忍普明生，當念實語、當念噁蹇生 〔T32 427b10–11〕, modern punctuation alone cannot settle whether 當念 governs what follows or closes what precedes; 噁蹇 also has the reading 啞謇. Both are preserved.

The middle section proceeds with 當念受持、當念帝釋慈悲、當念毛竪捨、當念商主正真、當念麋生、當念長壽生 〔T32 427b12–13〕, immediately followed by 逐父語當念六牙白象恭敬仙人 〔T32 427b13–14〕. Four witnesses read 遂 for 逐. The base text does not provide punctuation sufficient to decide whether 逐父語 attaches to the long-life birth or the six-tusked white elephant. The final portion gives the white-horse birth going to the land of rākṣasas and ferrying beings across, the deer birth protecting another's life by relinquishing its own, and the monkey birth bringing release from the attached great suffering 〔T32 427b14–16〕. The Ming reads 度 for 渡, while the attachment of 所屬大苦 receives no further explanation. The sequence is preserved without remaking it into a correspondence table of births and virtues.

The Original Sequence of the Monkey-Birth Passage

After the long former-birth list, the source begins again with “Further, one should recollect the monkey birth” 〔T32 427b16–17〕. It continues: “Seeing a person who had fallen into a pit, he drew him out with a mind of loving-kindness and offered him tree roots and fruit. That person desired flesh and struck my head, yet I taught him the Dhamma out of compassion and told him the good path” 〔T32 427b17–19〕. The secure sequence is: he sees a person in a pit and draws him out with loving-kindness; offers tree roots and fruit; is struck on the head by the person who desires flesh; and nevertheless teaches the Dhamma out of compassion and tells him the good path. The source then closes, “in this way, through the approach of many aspirations, one should recollect the qualities of the Blessed One's former births” 〔T32 427b19〕.

The paragraph only narrates these four events in sequence. It does not give them separate hierarchical labels or match them one by one with the preceding aspiration-statements. Nor does the source explain why the monkey birth begins again with “further” after the long list. The exposition preserves the local narrative, its order, and its closing sentence; it does not infer authorial intention from relative length.

Raising himself up. “How should one recollect the Blessed One's quality of raising himself up? The Blessed One was endowed with former births such as these. When young, he cut off every attachment to dwelling and attachment to children, wife, parents, relatives, and friends. Relinquishing what was difficult to relinquish, he dwelt alone in an empty and unpossessed place, seeking the peaceful cessation of unconditioned Nibbāna” 〔T32 427b20–23〕. “In the country of 摩伽陀 he crossed the 尼連禪 River, sat beneath the Bodhi tree, and subdued Māra and his host of spirits. During the first watch of the night he recollected his former lives; during the middle watch he cultivated and attained the divine eye; during the last watch he knew suffering, abandoned its arising, and realized the element of cream” 〔T32 427b23–26〕. “He cultivated the noble eightfold path, separately accomplished the exhaustion of the taints, and attained awakening. He raised himself out of the world and abided in the foremost, purified ground of exhausted taints” 〔T32 427b26–28〕. The forms 摩伽陀 and 尼連禪 are retained from the Chinese source; no Indic identification is imposed. The phrase “raised himself out of the world” directly closes the section's question. The attachments named are attachment to dwelling and attachment to children, wife, parents, relatives, and friends. The text then gives, in sequence, dwelling alone, crossing the river, sitting beneath the Bodhi tree, subduing Māra's host, and the events of the first, middle, and last watches. Former causes and conditions first gives aspirations and practices over a long time; raising himself up then gives the sequence from relinquishing attachments in youth to awakening. The two follow one another in the original order of the four practices.

Attaining the supreme Dhamma. “How should one recollect the Blessed One's quality of attaining the supreme Dhamma? Thus the Blessed One possesses liberation and liberation of mind. Through the Tathāgata's ten powers, the fourteen knowledges of a Buddha, and the eighteen qualities of a Buddha, he has been accomplished together with many jhāna-dhammas and has reached the further shore of mastery. This should be recollected” 〔T32 427b29–427c03〕. The ten powers follow the tenfold formula “the Tathāgata knows … as it really is”: “the Tathāgata knows what is possible and impossible, as it really is; the Tathāgata knows the causes and conditions of wholesome action in the past, future, and present, together with virtue, cause, and results, as they really are; the Tathāgata knows complete arrival at every place, as it really is; the Tathāgata knows 不以一戒、種種戒世間, as it really is; the Tathāgata knows beings' many desires and delights, as they really are; the Tathāgata knows the various faculties of beings, as they really are; the Tathāgata knows jhāna, liberation, concentration, attainment, with defilements and without defilements, as they really are; the Tathāgata knows former lives, as they really are; the Tathāgata knows the birth and death of beings, as they really are; the Tathāgata knows the exhaustion of the taints, as it really is” 〔T32 427c03–12〕. In source order the ten are: possible and impossible; past, future, and present causes and conditions of wholesome action, with virtue, cause, and results; complete arrival at every place; 不以一戒、種種戒世間; beings' various desires and delights; beings' various faculties; jhāna, liberation, concentration, attainment, defiled and undefiled; former lives; the birth and death of beings; and exhaustion of the taints. Every item closes with “as it really is.” “The Tathāgata knows” occurs ten times, agreeing with the stated ten. The internal connection and modification of the fourth expression remain unclear and cannot be settled from this unit. The other items likewise retain their original formula and order rather than being replaced by conventional names from another text. The fourteen knowledges are: “knowledge of suffering, knowledge of arising, knowledge of cessation, knowledge of the path, analytical knowledge of meaning, analytical knowledge of Dhamma, analytical knowledge of language, analytical knowledge of ready speech, knowledge of the faculties, knowledge of beings' desires, delights, defilements, and latent tendencies, knowledge of the twin transformation, knowledge of the concentration of great compassion, omniscience, and unobstructed knowledge” 〔T32 427c13–16〕. Fourteen are actually listed, agreeing with the stated number. “Knowledge of the twin transformation” and “knowledge of the concentration of great compassion” share words with “three transformations” below 〔T32 428a09〕 and “compassionate toward the world” 〔T32 428a15〕. Beyond that verbal cross-reading, no external passage is used to assign rank or class among the fourteen. The eighteen qualities are six plus six plus six: “knowledge of a Buddha is unobstructed with respect to the past, future, and present, and bodily, verbal, and mental action arise everywhere in accordance with a Buddha's knowledge; the Blessed One is accomplished in these six qualities” 〔T32 427c17–20〕. “Desire, energy, recollection, concentration, wisdom, and liberation do not decline; the Blessed One is accomplished in these twelve qualities” 〔T32 427c20–22〕. Six more matters follow: “there is no doubtful matter, no matter of 誣師, nothing unclear, no urgent matter, no concealed place, and no relinquishment without examination” 〔T32 427c22–23〕. Each is then glossed: “as to ‘no doubtful matter’: there is no deportment done through cunning. As to 誣師 matter: there is no hurried deportment. As to ‘nothing unclear’: through knowing, there is no non-contact. As to ‘no urgent matter’: there is no deportment through urgent matters. As to ‘no concealment’: in the activity of mind, there is no 非不憶智. As to ‘no relinquishment without examination’: there is no relinquishment without knowing” 〔T32 427c23–27〕. The six qualities, six non-declines, and six final matters make eighteen, agreeing with the stated number, but the syntax of the final six explanations is not secure throughout. How deportment connects with cunning, haste, and urgent matters, and how 以知無不觸 and 心行無有非不憶智 divide, are not explained by this unit. The six headings and six explanations are retained without recasting them as settled categories of conduct or psychology. A further long list reads: “through the four fearlessnesses, four establishments of mindfulness, four right efforts, four bases of spiritual power, five faculties, five powers, six supernormal knowledges, seven factors of awakening, factors of the noble eightfold path, eight spheres of mastery, eight liberations, nine successive concentrations, ten noble abodes, ten powers of exhausted taints, and the remaining many wholesome dhammas, the Blessed One is accomplished and has reached the further shore of mastery” 〔T32 427c28–428a03〕. The source proceeds from the four fearlessnesses through the ten powers of exhausted taints and closes with “the remaining many wholesome dhammas.” In the three explicitly numbered tables—the ten powers, fourteen knowledges, and eighteen qualities—the counts ten, fourteen, and eighteen can each be verified. By contrast, the earlier “eighteen qualities” of recollection of the Buddha contains only thirteen countable entries. The two accounting states are preserved.

The fourteen knowledges can be checked item by item in their listed order. The first through fourth are knowledge of suffering, arising, cessation, and the path. The fifth through eighth are analytical knowledge of meaning, Dhamma, language, and ready speech. They are followed by knowledge of the faculties; knowledge of beings' desires, delights, defilements, and latent tendencies; knowledge of the twin transformation; knowledge of the concentration of great compassion; omniscience; and unobstructed knowledge 〔T32 427c13–16〕. Before the list the source asks, “How is the Blessed One accomplished in the fourteen knowledges of a Buddha?” and after it answers, “The Blessed One is accomplished in these fourteen knowledges.” The stated number closes the list at both ends, and all fourteen names can be checked in order. The passage does not individually explain or rank them; this exposition therefore identifies only their order and does not borrow explanations from elsewhere.

The ten powers can likewise be checked through their formulas. The first sentence contains possible and impossible. The second combines causes and conditions of wholesome action in past, future, and present with virtue, cause, and results. The third is complete arrival at every place. The fourth preserves the base reading 不以一戒、種種戒世間. The fifth and sixth respectively give the many desires and delights and the various faculties of beings. The seventh combines jhāna, liberation, concentration, attainment, defiled and undefiled. The final three are former lives, the birth and death of beings, and exhaustion of the taints. The ten sentences differ in length, but all close with “as it really is.” What can be determined is these ten source formulas and their order. Short sentences are not expanded, long ones are not split into new items, and the difficult fourth is not replaced by a conventional title for a power.

Benefiting the world. “How should one recollect the Blessed One's quality of benefiting the world? The Blessed One was accomplished in every practice and reached the further shore of all qualities. Out of compassion for beings, he turned the wheel of Dhamma, which the world could not turn. 以密護無內外，開醍醐門. 已作無量天人於沙門果，無量眾生得功德分，能令功德具足” 〔T32 428a05–09〕. “Through three kinds of transformation—bodily transformation, transformation of speech, and transformation of instruction—he caused the world to have faith” 〔T32 428a09–10〕. A series introduced by “already” follows: “he had subdued the physiognomists and spell-masters of wrong view, covered over bad destinations, opened good destinations, gone to heaven and attained the fruit of liberation, established disciples in the Dhamma of disciples, instituted the precepts, proclaimed the Pātimokkha, attained supreme gain and support, attained the Buddha's supreme Dhamma, attained mastery and pervaded the world; all beings revered and honored him, and even devas and humans all heard and knew of him” 〔T32 428a10–15〕. It closes, “abiding immovably and compassionate toward the world, the Blessed One had done the work that benefited the world” 〔T32 428a15–16〕. What can be established is that this section repeatedly introduces deeds as already done and closes with “the Blessed One had done.” The items remain in their original order. The source does not state that they form stages. “He instituted the precepts” and “he proclaimed the Pātimokkha” stand side by side. The former explicitly uses “institute,” the latter “proclaim,” but their doctrinal relation is not further explained and is not recast as essence and text. The sentence concerning three transformations expressly says they cause faith in the world 〔T32 428a09–10〕 and occurs in the same unit as “increase of faith is the basis” 〔T32 426c02–03〕.

Within the order of this section, accomplishment in every practice and turning the wheel come first, followed by 以密護無內外，開醍醐門. Only then come the innumerable devas and humans, beings' share of qualities, and the three transformations. The short clauses are tightly connected, but the governing relation within 以密護無內外 and the object relation in 已作無量天人於沙門果 are not separately decided by the source.

The later series governed by “already” should likewise be read item by item: subduing the physiognomists and spell-masters of wrong view; covering bad destinations; opening good destinations; going to heaven and attaining the fruit of liberation; establishing disciples in the Dhamma of disciples; instituting the precepts; proclaiming the Pātimokkha; attaining supreme gain and support; attaining the Buddha's supreme Dhamma; and attaining mastery and pervading the world. Only after these come the reverence of beings, the knowledge of devas and humans, and the statement that the Blessed One had done the work. The passage does not regroup them into another chain of causes or stages.

Conclusion: From Recollection to Jhāna

The conclusion says: “Through this approach and this practice, that meditator now makes the Tathāgata present in recollection through these qualities, and the mind gains faith. Through mastery of faith and mastery of recollection, the mind is always undistracted. When the mind is undistracted, the hindrances are extinguished, the jhāna factors arise, and internal-practice jhāna is accomplished and abides” 〔T32 428a17–19〕. The passage expressly lists making the qualities present in recollection, gaining faith, mastery of faith and recollection, an undistracted mind, extinguishing the hindrances, arising of jhāna factors, and the accomplishment and abiding of internal-practice jhāna. Any finer articulation of their sequence remains limited to what these sentences state. The next passage separately asks, “Why does recollection of the Buddha arouse internal practice but not settledness?” 〔T32 428a20〕.

Several closing formulas can be directly checked. The explanation of the titles ends, “in this way, by this approach and this practice, one should recollect the Tathāgata” 〔T32 427a29〕. The former-birth section ends, “in this way, through the approach of many aspirations, one should recollect the qualities of the Blessed One's former births” 〔T32 427b19〕. Raising himself up ends, “in this way, through the approach of many practices, one should recollect the Blessed One's quality of raising himself up” 〔T32 427b28–29〕. Attaining the supreme Dhamma ends, “in this way, by this approach and this practice, one should recollect the Blessed One's quality of attaining the supreme Dhamma” 〔T32 428a04〕. Benefiting the world ends, “by this approach and this practice, one should recollect the quality of the benefit the Blessed One has already brought to the world” 〔T32 428a16–17〕. The five formulas share a form while differing slightly in wording. They can identify sections within this unit, but this unit does not prescribe that observation as a rule for reading other long passages, and no fixed grammar for the whole treatise follows from it.

Three things explicitly stated in this unit may be carried away. Recollection of the Buddha has causing the Buddha's qualities to arise as its characteristic. The ten titles and four practices are the principal inventories in the answer on practice. After the long former-birth list, “further, one should recollect the monkey birth” introduces the story of the person in the pit, his rescue, the offering, the blow to the head, and the compassionate teaching that follows. The source does not explain the boundaries in the long list, the reason the monkey birth begins separately, or any wider grammar beyond the five closing formulas.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Qualities and Cultivation of Recollection of the Buddha · Exposition · Summer 2026

This unit crosses two practice boundaries. The first two questions still belong to recollection of the Buddha, ending with the parenthetical note “Recollection of the Buddha is finished” 〔T32 428a27〕. The following long question is recollection of the Dhamma in full, ending with “Recollection of the Dhamma is finished” 〔T32 428b27〕. The first portion explicitly states why recollection of the Buddha “arouses internal practice but not settledness” and poses the question of one-pointedness. The latter portion gives in sequence the Dhamma recollected, the names for recollection of the Dhamma, cultivation and characteristic/function/basis, explanations of the Dhamma's several descriptions, and the closing practice statement. The closing formulations differ between “the jhāna of internal practice is accomplished and abides” 〔T32 428a19〕 and “the jhāna of external practice is accomplished and abides” 〔T32 428b26〕. The two characters are recorded separately as written; no universal rule for the ten recollections is built from them.

Two Questions on Recollection of the Buddha

The first question asks: “Why does recollection of the Buddha arouse internal practice but not settledness? Answer: The Buddha's qualities are a field of practice for profound wisdom concerning ultimate meaning. Matters of ultimate meaning are a field of practice for profound wisdom, and the mind does not become settled because they are subtle” 〔T32 428a19–22〕. The answer first says that matters of ultimate meaning stand within the field of profound wisdom, and that because they are subtle the mind does not settle. “A field of practice for profound wisdom concerning ultimate meaning” receives no further explanation in this unit and is retained as a source expression. “Further, one should recollect qualities that are not one. If the meditator recollects qualities that are not one, the mind arises together with attention to many kinds of object and therefore becomes unsettled. This sign is a field of practice for every external practice” 〔T32 428a22–24〕. This second reason gives recollecting qualities that are not one, the mind arising together with many kinds of object and attention, and unsettledness, and calls this sign a field for every external practice. These are the two reasons explicitly stated; no judgment is added about the capacities of recollection of the Buddha or the character of its object.

The order of the first answer should be preserved item by item. It begins with “the Buddha's qualities,” places them in “a field of practice for profound wisdom concerning ultimate meaning,” then retains “matters of ultimate meaning” as the subject of the next sentence, followed by “in the field of profound wisdom, the mind does not become settled,” and only at the end gives “because they are subtle” 〔T32 428a22〕. The next answer begins separately with “Further,” explicitly states that what is recollected is qualities that are not one, then lists recollection, various objects, attention arising together, and the mind becoming unsettled, before landing on “a field of practice for every external practice” 〔T32 428a24〕. The source's two reasons and their order are sufficient; “subtle” and “not one” cannot be expanded into a taxonomy of objects applying to all recollection practices.

The second question and answer are separate paragraphs in the base. “Question: If one recollects qualities that are not one, then the mind is not one and the jhāna of external practice should not be accomplished. If one concentrates the mind on one, the jhāna of external practice is accomplished and abides” 〔T32 428a24–26〕. The question juxtaposes two branches, “the mind is not one” and “if one concentrates the mind on one.” The answer reads: “If one recollects the qualities of the Tathāgata and recollection of the Buddha becomes one-pointed, there is therefore no fault. It is further said that through recollection of the Buddha, the four jhānas also arise” 〔T32 428a26–27〕. This unit answers only, “recollection of the Buddha becomes one-pointed, therefore there is no fault,” and then separately records “the four jhānas also arise.” It does not harmonize this latter statement with the earlier “arouses internal practice but not settledness.” Both remain on record without a determination of their relation. Both questions stand before “Recollection of the Buddha is finished,” so the parenthetical note confirms the boundary.

Recollection of the Dhamma: Dhamma Means Nibbāna and the Cultivation That Reaches Nibbāna

“Question: What is recollection of the Dhamma? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its basis? How is it practiced?” 〔T32 428a28〕. Its question-form matches that for recollection of the Buddha, except that “What are its qualities?” is absent. The answer places two things side by side as the “Dhamma” recollected: “The Dhamma means Nibbāna and the cultivation that reaches Nibbāna” 〔T32 428a29〕. Nibbāna is self-explained: “The cessation of all formations, escape from all defilements, the cessation of craving, being unstained, and peaceful cessation. This is called Nibbāna” 〔T32 428b01–02〕. The five expressions—cessation of formations, escape from defilements, cessation of craving, unstained, peaceful cessation—follow one another as the source's explanation; no separate category of “the substance of Dhamma” is made from them. The cultivation reaching Nibbāna is self-explained as “the four establishments of mindfulness, four right efforts, four bases of spiritual power, five faculties, five powers, seven factors of awakening, and factors of the noble eightfold path. This is called the cultivation that reaches Nibbāna” 〔T32 428b02–04〕. All seven groups are listed. The character 分 has the variant 支 in the Ming witness, belonging to the same recurring family as 枝／支, and is recorded. Later, the final explanation of “well proclaimed” again says “makes manifest Nibbāna and the cultivation that reaches Nibbāna” 〔T32 428b12–13〕; under “directly realized” it says “realizes Nibbāna and path and fruit” 〔T32 428b14〕. These two objects and their later repetitions are certain. The source does not name them as two aspects of one substance or create a further framework of fruit and path, so each is read by its own words.

Their forms of explanation are different and explicit. Nibbāna is explained through five phrases: cessation of all formations, escape from all defilements, cessation of craving, unstained, and peaceful cessation. Cultivation reaching Nibbāna is explained by seven named groups: the four establishments of mindfulness, four right efforts, four bases of spiritual power, five faculties, five powers, seven factors of awakening, and factors of the noble eightfold path 〔T32 428b01–04〕. The five expressions and seven groups remain in source order, without importing definitions for the groups that this unit does not provide. The final reason for “well proclaimed” repeats “Nibbāna and the cultivation that reaches Nibbāna” in full 〔T32 428b12–13〕, confirming that both belong here to the Dhamma recollected.

“The qualities of escape in recollection of the Dhamma, the qualities of conveyance, and that recollection, repeated recollection, and right recollection—this is called recollection of the Dhamma” 〔T32 428b04–05〕. The source lists three names: recollection, repeated recollection, and right recollection. The Korean witness omits “that”; the body follows the Taishō base and does not use the variant to supply meaning. The four further matters are clear: “When the mind abides without distraction, this is called cultivation. Arousing the Dhamma's qualities is the characteristic; selecting the Dhamma is the function; understanding the meaning is the basis” 〔T32 428b05–06〕. It then appends 念佛功德等, “recollection-Buddha-qualities-and-so-forth” 〔T32 428b06–07〕, but the scope and object of 等 remain unclear. It cannot therefore establish that all four items are equal to those for recollection of the Buddha or supply a distinct character for the doorway.

There is another sentence-boundary problem that cannot be skipped. The source writes 念法出離功德乘功德 continuously, without modern punctuation 〔T32 428b04〕. The two strings “qualities of escape” and “qualities of conveyance” are certainly present, followed by the three names “that recollection, repeated recollection, and right recollection.” Yet how the two qualities attach precisely to the three names receives no further analysis. The next sentence has clearer boundaries through four closing formulas—“this is called cultivation,” “is the characteristic,” “is the function,” and “is the basis.” The phrase “recollection-Buddha-qualities-and-so-forth” then appears after all four. Precisely because 等 gives neither a stated object nor a scope, the vernacular and exposition can only preserve the question; they cannot use it to build an equivalence table between recollection of the Buddha and recollection of the Dhamma.

Six Descriptions of the Dhamma

“How is it cultivated? A beginning meditator enters a secluded place, sits, and gathers the whole mind. With an undistracted mind one recollects the Dhamma: the Blessed One's Dhamma is well proclaimed, directly realized, timeless, come-and-see conveyance, timeless, come-and-see, joined with conveyance, directly knowable by a wise person” 〔T32 428b07–10〕. This is the list of the Dhamma's descriptions, but its account has an inconsistency: “timeless” and “come-and-see conveyance” each occur twice in the list, whereas six items are explained below—the Blessed One's Dhamma well proclaimed, directly realized, timeless, come and see, joined with conveyance, and directly knowable by a wise person. The base punctuation does not fully divide the mismatch between list and explanations. The received list is preserved without unique punctuation or deletion.

Only three actions in the opening practice statement are certain: the beginner enters a secluded place and sits, gathers the whole mind, and recollects the Dhamma with an undistracted mind 〔T32 428b07–08〕. A list follows, then explanations proceed in the order well proclaimed, directly realized, timeless, come and see, joined with conveyance, and directly knowable by a wise person 〔T32 428b08–20〕. Because the list repeats “timeless” and “come-and-see conveyance,” the six explanations cannot be projected backward as the only punctuation of the list. What can safely be retained is the source order of the list, the order of explanations, and the mismatch between them.

The items are then explained. “Well proclaimed” has five explanations: “because it is separated from the two extremes, it is called well proclaimed; because it is not different, it is called well proclaimed; because it is not mistaken and because of three kinds of goodness, it is called well proclaimed; because it is complete and pure, it is called well proclaimed; because it makes manifest Nibbāna and the cultivation that reaches Nibbāna, it is called well proclaimed” 〔T32 428b10–13〕. The third contains both “because it is not mistaken” and “because of three kinds of goodness,” while the three kinds of goodness are not explained here. Directly realized reads, “because path and fruit are gained in sequence, it is called directly realized; because Nibbāna and path and fruit are realized, it is directly realized” 〔T32 428b13–14〕. Timeless reads, “because the fruit is gained at no different time, it is called directly realized” 〔T32 428b14–15〕. The heading is timeless, but the closing phrase says “therefore it is called directly realized”; that mismatch is retained from the base rather than corrected. Come and see reads, “Come to my place; see my good Dhamma-nature, capable of teaching another; this is called come and see” 〔T32 428b15–16〕. Neither the division within “see my good Dhamma-nature” nor the subject of “capable of teaching another” can be determined. Joined with conveyance reads, “If a person accepts subduing and succeeds in entering the sphere of cream, this is called joined with conveyance. Directing oneself toward the fruits of recluseship is called joined with conveyance” 〔T32 428b16–18〕. Directly knowable by a wise person reads, “If a person accepts subduing, does not accept another's instruction, and arouses the knowledge of cessation, knowledge of non-arising, and knowledge of liberation, this is called direct realization by wisdom” 〔T32 428b18–20〕. Each is explained only through the sentences listed here; no new relation among the descriptions is supplied.

The secure correspondences within the explanations can be stated more exactly. Well proclaimed closes five times with “called well proclaimed” or “therefore called well proclaimed,” on the grounds of separation from two extremes, nondifference, nonmistakenness and three kinds of goodness, complete purity, and manifestation of Nibbāna and the cultivation that reaches Nibbāna 〔T32 428b10–13〕. Directly realized has two statements: path and fruit gained in sequence, and realization of Nibbāna and path and fruit 〔T32 428b13–14〕. Joined with conveyance also has two: accepting subduing and entering the sphere of cream, and directing oneself toward the fruits of recluseship 〔T32 428b16–18〕. Direct realization by wisdom lists accepting subduing, not accepting another's instruction, and the knowledge of cessation, non-arising, and liberation 〔T32 428b18–20〕. These are explicit. Why “timeless” closes with “therefore called directly realized,” and who is capable of teaching another, cannot be determined from this unit; their gaps cannot be filled from the syntax of the other items.

Eight Occurrences of “It Is” and the Place of Refuge

“One should also recollect the Dhamma through the remaining practices: it is the eye, it is knowledge, it is well-being, it is the doorway of the cream-conveyance; it is escape, it is the means, it is arrival at cessation, it is arrival at cream; there is no falling, it is cream” 〔T32 428b20–22〕. The first eight occurrences of “it is” introduce in order eye, knowledge, well-being, doorway of the cream-conveyance, escape, means, arrival at cessation, and arrival at cream, followed separately by “there is no falling, it is cream.” The list contains seeing, well-being, a doorway, escape, and destinations. The source merely juxtaposes them without establishing levels. “It is unconditioned, secluded, and subtle; not the practice of a physiognomist; it is known by a person of subtle wisdom. It carries one across to the other shore and is a place of refuge” 〔T32 428b22–23〕. Unconditioned, secluded, and subtle appear in succession; “known by a person of subtle wisdom” and “place of refuge” are explicit. But the expression “physiognomist” and the referent of “not the practice of a physiognomist” are unexplained. It cannot be rewritten as a certain claim such as “not operating through signs.” The unresolved source statement is retained, followed by being known by subtle wisdom, crossing to the other shore, and the place of refuge.

The order of this passage must also be maintained. Eight juxtaposed items are followed separately by “there is no falling, it is cream”; then unconditioned, secluded, subtle, and “not the practice of a physiognomist”; only at the end come known by a person of subtle wisdom, crossing to the other shore, and place of refuge 〔T32 428b20–23〕. The passage does not say that the eight items form a sequence or which of them “there is no falling” belongs to. They are therefore given only in their order of appearance, not converted into a ladder of practice.

“Through this doorway, this practice, and these qualities, the meditator directly recollects the Dhamma, and the mind gains confidence. Through that confident recollection, the mind abides without distraction. With the undistracted mind the meditator extinguishes the hindrances, the factors of jhāna arise, and the jhāna of external practice is accomplished and abides. The remainder is as explained at length in the first practice. Recollection of the Dhamma is finished” 〔T32 428b24–27〕. The unit explicitly lists direct recollection of the Dhamma, confidence in the mind, the mind abiding without distraction, extinguishing the hindrances, arising of the jhāna factors, and accomplishment of the jhāna of external practice. What is omitted under “the remainder is as explained at length in the first practice” is not relisted here, so this is not made a template for the whole treatise. The parenthetical note marks the end of recollection of the Dhamma.

The conclusion first limits what the meditator relies upon through three expressions—this doorway, this practice, and these qualities—and only then says the Dhamma is directly recollected 〔T32 428b23–24〕. Confidence appears in “the mind gains confidence” after direct recollection; the next statement separately says, “Through that confident recollection, the mind abides without distraction” 〔T32 428b25〕. The following sentence begins from the undistracted mind and lists in sequence extinguishing the hindrances, arising of the jhāna factors, and accomplishment and abiding of external-practice jhāna 〔T32 428b25–26〕. This is the sentence-by-sentence sequence that can be aligned within this unit. The closing backward reference does not authorize supplying omitted content or elevating the sequence into a fixed procedure for all other recollections.

Conclusion

Three things are certain in this unit. The two answers concerning recollection of the Buddha respectively say “because it is subtle,” that recollecting qualities that are not one leaves the mind unsettled, and “recollection of the Buddha becomes one-pointed, therefore there is no fault.” Recollection of the Dhamma takes Nibbāna and the cultivation that reaches Nibbāna as the Dhamma recollected, and lists cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, and the descriptions of the Dhamma. Its ending says that the mind gains confidence and abides without distraction, the hindrances are extinguished, jhāna factors arise, and external-practice jhāna is accomplished and abides. Two places require a stop: the scope of 等 in 念佛功德等 remains unclear, and the subject of “capable of teaching another” remains unclear. The next passage begins with “Question: What is recollection of the Saṅgha?” 〔T32 428b28〕.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Questions on Recollection of the Buddha and Recollection of the Dhamma · Exposition · Summer 2026

This unit asks about recollection of the Saṅgha, its characteristic, function, basis, qualities, and cultivation. It first explains the Saṅgha as “the concord of noble persons,” then lists cultivation, characteristic, function, basis, and the contents recollected. In the list, “follows” appears in the first three statements: follows gentle goodness, follows what is true, and follows concord. In the explanation, “called following in practice” occurs five times. These counts and statements can be established within the passage. The source does not say that the items form a causal sequence or progression.

Definition and Four Matters

“Question: What is recollection of the Saṅgha? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its basis? What are its qualities? What is its cultivation?” 〔T32 428b28–29〕. Six questions are explicitly listed. The definition reads: “The Saṅgha is the concord of noble persons. This is called the Saṅgha. Directly recollecting the qualities of the Saṅgha's practice—that recollection, repeated recollection, and right recollection—is called recollection of the Saṅgha” 〔T32 428b29–428c01〕. The Saṅgha is explained as the concord of noble persons, and recollection, repeated recollection, and right recollection are listed. The four matters are: “When that recollection abides without distraction, this is called cultivation. Arousing recollection of the Saṅgha's qualities is the characteristic; reverence in the mind is the function; delight in the qualities of concord is the basis” 〔T32 428c01–03〕. The source words can be established exactly: cultivation is recollection abiding without distraction; characteristic is arousing recollection of the Saṅgha's qualities; function is reverence in the mind; basis is delight in the qualities of concord. “The concord of noble persons” at the beginning recurs later as “the noble community in concord” 〔T32 428c24–25〕. The source does not state that this recurrence is a cause of the four matters. The appended 念佛功德等 stands at 〔T32 428c03〕. The scope and object of 等 remain unclear; both possible attachments remain open.

The six questions and answers do not each begin a separate paragraph but unfold continuously in one base-text paragraph. The answer clearly first defines the Saṅgha and recollection of the Saṅgha, then cultivation, characteristic, function, and basis. “What are its qualities?” receives no short answer labeled only “qualities” but leads into the items recollected in the practice 〔T32 428b28–428c08〕. The exposition therefore follows the source order without forcing each later item under one question. The phrase 念佛功德等 after the four matters especially cannot serve as a definite summary because 等 is unexplained.

The beginning reads “The Saṅgha is the concord of noble persons” 〔T32 428b29〕, while later it reads “The Saṅgha is the noble community in concord” 〔T32 428c24–25〕. The locations and wording of both can be checked exactly.

Several literal differences must be preserved separately. In “arousing recollection of the Saṅgha's qualities is the characteristic,” the base 念 is 令 in four witnesses. In “as explained at length in the first practice,” the base 如 is 餘如 in four witnesses. The passage also has “through the remaining practices one should recollect beings” 〔T32 429a01–02〕. The subject and referent of “through the remaining practices,” and the attachment of “beings,” cannot be determined from this unit. It remains open and is not emended to “one should recollect the Saṅgha” or another fixed reading. The body follows the Taishō base and records variants without using them to supply meaning.

Six Statements Recollected and Five Reasons for Following

“What is cultivation? A beginning meditator enters a secluded place and sits, gathers the whole mind, and, with an undistracted mind, forms the recollection and is well able to cultivate. The Blessed One's community of recluses follows gentle goodness; the Blessed One's community of recluses follows what is true; the Blessed One's noble community follows concord; the Blessed One's noble community is the four pairs and eight persons; the Blessed One's community of recluses is fit for reverence and offerings and fit for joined palms, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world; here one cultivates well” 〔T32 428c03–08〕. The opening explicitly lists entering a secluded place and sitting, gathering the whole mind, and forming the recollection with an undistracted mind. It then lists following gentle goodness, following what is true, following concord, four pairs and eight persons, fitness for reverence, offerings, and joined palms, and the unsurpassed field of merit. The explanations below do not correspond one for one with the divisions of this list, so the received order is preserved without making the first three causes of the last three.

The subjects also change exactly as written. The first two statements say “the Blessed One's community of recluses,” the third and fourth “the Blessed One's noble community,” and the next returns to “the Blessed One's community of recluses” 〔T32 428c05–08〕. Their respective contents are gentle goodness, what is true, concord, four pairs and eight persons, fitness for reverence and offerings and joined palms, and the unsurpassed field of merit for the world. Subject and complement order is certain, but whether “here one cultivates well” closes only the last statement or the whole string cannot be uniquely proven from the unpunctuated base. Lineation therefore does not substitute for doctrinal judgment.

Five reasons appear under following: “because it follows the well-proclaimed Dhamma, it is called following in practice; because it benefits self and others, it is called following in practice; because it has reached fulfillment, it is called following in practice; because it is fulfilled without hostility, it is called following in practice; because it is fulfilled in the middle, apart from the two extremes, it is called following in practice” 〔T32 428c09–12〕. Each of the five closes “called following in practice,” and “fulfilled” occurs three times. The source lists the reasons individually without arranging them as beginning, direction, and goal. Gentle goodness has two separate reasons: “because it is separated from illusion and flattery, it is called gently good; because it is separated from crooked and evil conduct of body and speech, it is called gently good” 〔T32 428c12–13〕. These are separation from illusion and flattery and from crooked bodily and verbal evil. “Gently good” is not redefined as a psychological trait.

The content carried by each of the five “because” statements remains distinct: following the well-proclaimed Dhamma, benefiting self and others, having reached fulfillment, fulfillment without hostility, and fulfillment in the middle apart from two extremes 〔T32 428c09–12〕. Four witnesses read 至已 for the base 已至; the body follows the base. The two reasons for gentle goodness follow immediately. The Ming witness reads 幼 for the base 幻. What the base securely establishes is the two statements, separation from illusion and flattery and separation from crooked bodily and verbal evil, together with two occurrences of “called gently good” 〔T32 428c12–13〕. The variants do not change the list or authorize a sequence among the five or two reasons.

Pause at One Question: Why Does One Character, “True,” Receive Two Explanations?

“Following what is true means the noble eightfold path. Because it follows that, it is called following the true. Further, ‘the true’ means Nibbāna. Because one follows and gains Nibbāna, this is practice of the true. Because one follows the knowledge of the four noble truths taught by the Blessed One, it is called practice of the true” 〔T32 428c13–16〕. The same character 如 is first explained as the noble eightfold path and then, through “further,” as Nibbāna. Both explanations coexist and the unit does not harmonize them. The final sentence separately gives the four noble truths taught by the Blessed One and “following knowledge of the true.” Only these three explicit referents—the noble eightfold path, Nibbāna, and the four noble truths—are retained. No relation of inclusion not stated here is supplied.

Following concord reads: “because one follows the fulfillment of concord among recluses, it is called following concord. If one follows in this way and performs the work of concord, it produces great fruit and great qualities. Because it follows in this way, it is called following concord” 〔T32 428c16–19〕. Fulfillment of concord among recluses, performing the work of concord, great fruit, and great qualities are explicit; both statements close on “following concord.” The beginning also has “concord of noble persons,” and the fourfold account has “delight in the qualities of concord.” These are different locations of the same word within the unit. The source does not organize them into levels, so they are listed separately.

The syntax of the two concord statements cannot be merged into a new definition. The first gives “because one follows the fulfillment of concord among recluses” as its reason. The second begins with the condition “if one follows in this way,” then says “performs the work of concord, produces great fruit and great qualities,” and again joins “because it follows in this way” to “called following concord” 〔T32 428c18–19〕. The condition, work performed, fruit and qualities, and naming formula all occur in the source. It does not follow that every following necessarily produces reverential status through a sequence.

The Four Pairs and Eight Persons, and the Six Descriptions of the Saṅgha

“The four pairs and eight persons are these: one abiding on the path of stream-entry and one abiding in its fruit form one pair; one abiding on the path of once-return and one abiding in its fruit form one pair; one abiding on the path of non-return and one abiding in its fruit form one pair; one abiding on the path of arahantship and one abiding in its fruit form one pair. These are called the four pairs: because they abide on the paths and in the fruits of the paths, they are called the four pairs. The eight persons are the four directions toward the fruits and the four fruits; these are called the eight persons” 〔T32 428c19–24〕. Four sentences give in sequence path and fruit for stream-entry, once-return, non-return, and arahantship, each called one pair. “Eight persons” is explained only as four directions and four fruits and is not expanded by name. Next, “A recluse is so called because one is accomplished through hearing” 〔T32 428c24〕; only this source explanation of recluse is certain.

Each of the four pair-statements uses the same construction and retains both “abiding on such-and-such path” and “abiding in its fruit” 〔T32 428c19–23〕. The summary again says “because they abide on the paths and in the fruits of the paths, they are called the four pairs,” and only the next sentence changes to “four directions and four fruits” for the eight persons 〔T32 428c22–24〕. The source neither enumerates the eight by name nor assigns either explanation of “true” to the four pairs and eight persons. The four pairs, eight persons, and recluse are therefore each read from their own explicit wording.

The six descriptions of the Saṅgha are: “The Saṅgha is the noble community in concord, worthy of invitation, worthy of offerings, worthy of gifts, worthy of reverence, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world” 〔T32 428c24–26〕. They are then explained one by one: “worthy of invitation” means fit to receive an invitation; “worthy of offerings” means that giving to the community produces great fruit and it is fit to receive offerings; “worthy of gifts” means that giving to the community brings great fruition; “worthy of reverence” means fit to receive acts of reverence; “unsurpassed” means having the greatest qualities; “field of merit for the world” means the place of beings' qualities 〔T32 428c26–429a01〕. In the initial list, “unsurpassed field of merit for the world” runs together; in the explanations, “unsurpassed” and “field of merit for the world” are separate. List and explanation do not correspond, and both presentations remain open. The textual form for worthy of gifts varies in length across witnesses; the variants are recorded. The source explicitly gives each of the first four meanings and then explains unsurpassed and field of merit. Beyond this, the field metaphor is not expanded into a psychological or causal mechanism between donor and Saṅgha.

The upper list has four separate items—worthy of invitation, offerings, gifts, reverence—followed by undivided “unsurpassed field of merit for the world” 〔T32 428c25–26〕. The explanation has one explanation for each of the first four and then separately explains unsurpassed and field of merit for the world 〔T32 428c26–429a01〕. This boundary difference is a visible textual fact. The upper list cannot be silently remade into six items, nor can the lower explanation be folded into five. Both are retained.

Conclusion

“Through the remaining practices one should recollect beings; such an excellent community, a true community, is called cream; fulfillment in virtue, fulfillment in concentration, fulfillment in wisdom, fulfillment in liberation, fulfillment in the knowledge and vision of liberation” 〔T32 429a01–04〕. The syntax of “through the remaining practices one should recollect beings” is unresolved. The source next explicitly lists excellent community, true community, cream, and five fulfillments—virtue, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation. No rank-comparison or authorial intention is added to the five. “Through this doorway and this practice, the meditator directly recollects the qualities of the community. Directly recollecting those qualities in this way, the mind gains confidence. Through confident recollection, the mind becomes undistracted. With the undistracted mind, one can extinguish the hindrances; the factors of jhāna arise, and external jhāna is accomplished and abides. It is as explained at length in the first practice. Recollection of the Saṅgha is finished” 〔T32 429a04–07〕. This lists in order direct recollection of the community's qualities, confidence, nondistraction, extinguishing hindrances, arising of jhāna factors, and accomplishment of external jhāna. The omitted content of “as explained at length in the first practice” is not supplied.

What can be established is that the Saṅgha is the concord of noble persons; cultivation, characteristic, function, and basis each have explicit wording; the practice lists gentle goodness, what is true, concord, four pairs and eight persons, and the worthy qualities; “true” receives the two explanations noble eightfold path and Nibbāna; and the passage ends with fulfillment in virtue, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation. Unresolved places include 等 in 念佛功德等, how list and explanations correspond item by item, and the syntax of “through the remaining practices one should recollect beings.” The next passage begins recollection of virtue at 〔T32 429a08〕.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Recollection of the Saṅgha · Exposition · Summer 2026

The fourth and fifth of the ten recollections are recollection of virtue and recollection of giving. The source presents them as two separate doorways, read together in this unit. The verifiable first-person language comes first. The cultivation passage on virtue says “one’s own virtue” 〔T32 429a17〕. The cultivation passage on giving says “with an undistracted mind one recollects one’s own giving” 〔T32 429b09〕, followed by “I have gained a benefit; I have gained a benefit well,” “I abide with a mind unstained by stinginess,” and “I always give” 〔T32 429b10–11〕. These are the source’s own first-person formulations. The two passages are read according to their respective statements about virtue, giving, and cultivation; no mechanism of everyday increase or decrease and no cross-doorway sequence is inferred from the pronouns.

Each passage gives cultivation, characteristic, function, and proximate cause. For recollection of virtue these are “recollection of virtue remains without distraction,” “arousing the virtues of virtue,” “seeing danger and becoming afraid,” and “delight in blameless pleasure” 〔T32 429a10–11〕. For recollection of giving they are “that mindfulness remains without distraction,” “arousing the virtues of giving,” “not storing up,” and “non-stinginess” 〔T32 429b04–05〕. Each passage then lists virtues, explains cultivation, and concludes with the extinguishing of the hindrances, the arising of the jhāna factors, and the abiding of access jhāna 〔T32 429a27–29; 429b13–15〕. The virtue passage reads “through faith and mindfulness the mind is undistracted” 〔T32 429a27〕, while the giving passage reads “the mind becomes faithful; through faith and mindfulness the mind remains undistracted” 〔T32 429b13–14〕. These internal differences in wording remain visible. Their adjacent structure does not establish any further relation between the two doorways.

The virtue passage first says “recollect purified virtue by way of its virtues,” and calls this recollection “mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness” 〔T32 420b15–16; 428b05; 428c01; 429a09; 429b04; 429b17–18〕. It then says, item by item, that cultivation is recollection of virtue remaining without distraction, its characteristic is the arousing of the virtues of virtue, its function is seeing danger and becoming afraid, and its proximate cause is delight in blameless pleasure 〔T32 429a10–11〕. The giving passage first defines giving in order as acting for another’s welfare, delighting in benefiting another, enabling another to receive, and relinquishing one’s own possessions 〔T32 429b01–03〕. It then says that relinquishment is brought to mind through the virtues of giving and calls this “mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness” 〔T32 420b15–16; 428b05; 428c01; 429a09; 429b04; 429b17–18〕. Its cultivation is mindfulness remaining without distraction; its characteristic is arousing the virtues of giving; its function is not storing up; and its proximate cause is non-stinginess 〔T32 429b04–05〕. Each doorway is unfolded in its own stated order. Fear and pleasure from the virtue passage are not moved into the giving passage, nor are non-storage and non-stinginess used to explain the virtue passage.

Recollection of Virtue: A Doorway of Virtues Whose Function Is Fear

The opening question reads: “What is recollection of virtue? What is its cultivation? What is its characteristic? What? Function what proximate cause? What are its virtues? How is it cultivated?” 〔T32 429a08–09〕. The source punctuation gives 何相？何？味何處？ rather than the regular pair “what is its function? what is its proximate cause?” The source wording remains unchanged. Its definition and three names follow the regular form: “To recollect purified virtue by way of its virtues—that mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness—is called recollection of virtue. For recollection of virtue to remain without distraction is called cultivation” 〔T32 429a09–10〕. The passage then gives “arousing the virtues of virtue” as characteristic, “seeing danger and becoming afraid” as function, and “delight in blameless pleasure” as proximate cause 〔T32 429a10–11〕.

One question may be left standing here: In a doorway of virtues, how can the function be “seeing danger and becoming afraid”? The source establishes several adjacent items. The function formula reads “seeing danger and becoming afraid,” while the proximate-cause formula reads “delight in blameless pleasure” 〔T32 429a11〕. The list of virtues also includes “constantly seeing fear in subtle dangers,” “freedom from fear in this world,” and “freedom from fear in the other world” 〔T32 429a13–15〕. The graph for “fear” appears four times in this doorway: once in the function formula and three times in the list. The items in the list are simply juxtaposed, and “blameless pleasure” receives no further explanation. Each item is therefore read in its source position without an added account of how it operates.

The full list says that when recollection of virtue is successfully cultivated, “twelve virtues are attained”: respect for teacher, Dhamma, Sangha, the training in virtue, offerings, and heedfulness; constant fear regarding subtle dangers; guarding oneself and others; freedom from fear in this world and in the other world; and much delight and lovableness 〔T32 429a11–15〕. The first six all use “respect”; the middle turns to guarding and fear, and the list ends with much delight and lovableness. The heading says twelve, the list permits only eleven distinct items, and four witnesses read “thirteen”: three numbers do not agree. The existing lack is retained without forcing the count. The repeated wording “recollection of virtue succeeds” and “virtues are attained” is also retained. A final sentence says, “All the virtues of virtue are the virtues of recollection of virtue” 〔T32 429a15–16〕. It does not supply the absent item or resolve the difference between the stated number and the list.

The cultivation passage recollects the qualities of one’s own virtue: “one’s own virtue is not partial, not pierced, not stained, not sullied, unmixed, free, praised by the wise, untouched, and arouses concentration” 〔T32 429a17–19〕. Eight headings can be distinguished: not partial, not pierced, not stained, not sullied, unmixed, free, praised by the wise, and untouched while arousing concentration. They are not individually explained at this point; the following six reasons provide the source’s explanation. “If it is not partial it is not pierced; if it is not pierced it is not stained; all the rest is to be understood in this way” 〔T32 429a19–20〕 gives two linked cases and leaves the rest abbreviated, as in 08-36’s “the rest is also to be understood” 〔T32 426b13〕. Six reasons then follow: fulfilled purified virtue is an abiding place for wholesome qualities and is therefore called not partial and not pierced; because 作姓稱譽, it is called not stained and not sullied; because craving is cut off, it is called free; because the noble ones delight in it, it is without danger; because it is praised by the wise and separated from 戒盜, it is called untouched; because it becomes a place of non-regression, it arouses concentration 〔T32 429a20–24〕. The eight headings above and the six reasons below do not divide alike, and “unmixed” is not explained. No correspondence is forced and nothing is supplied. The Ming witness reads 性 for 姓, and four witnesses omit one of the repeated instances of 故; both are recorded. The final two reasons are separate sentences: “praised by the wise and separated from 戒盜” concludes in “untouched,” while “becomes a place of non-regression” concludes in “arouses concentration.” One explains untouched and the other the arousing of concentration; the source does not turn them into a chain. 戒盜 occurs only here in this unit and is not defined in 429a08–429b15, so it is not explained from another passage.

Read only at the verbal level, the first reason applies one shared designation to “not partial, not pierced”; the second applies one designation to “not stained, not sullied”; the third concludes in “free”; the fourth says “without danger”; the fifth says “untouched”; and the sixth says “arouses concentration.” “Unmixed,” from the upper list, does not reappear as the name of any lower explanation. “Praised by the wise,” from the upper list, does reappear at the beginning of the fifth reason, but its concluding term remains “untouched.” The eight qualities and six explanations therefore cannot be pressed into eight matching cells. What can be established is only each explicit shared name and conclusion. 戒盜 stands within the fifth reason without further definition, and the next sentence separately explains the arousing of concentration by becoming a place of non-regression. Each sentence keeps its own “because.”

The final passage says: “Virtue is to be recollected through the remaining modes. What is called virtue is pleasure without danger, a 姓 that is esteemed, and freedom with respect to material things. As the virtues of virtue were taught before, so the full explanation is to be understood” 〔T32 429a24–26〕. Pleasure, esteem, and freedom restate advantages of virtue. The referent of “as taught before” is not supplied in this passage; although virtue is discussed extensively in Chapter Two, the source does not itself make that link, so the referent remains uncertain. The concluding chain is kept whole: through this doorway, practice, and virtue, recollection of virtue is made present; through faith and mindfulness the mind is undistracted; with the undistracted mind the hindrances are extinguished, the jhāna factors arise, and access jhāna comes to abide 〔T32 429a26–28〕. The inline closure “Recollection of virtue is finished” marks the boundary 〔T32 429a29〕.

Recollection of Giving: A Doorway Filled with “I”

The question asks what recollection of giving is, together with its cultivation, characteristic, function, proximate cause, virtues, and method. The answer says: “Giving means acting for another’s welfare, delighting in benefiting another, enabling another person to receive, and relinquishing one’s own possessions. This is called giving” 〔T32 429b01–03〕. These four expressions remain in their stated order. The source closes with “this is called giving” but establishes no further hierarchy or conditions among them. Three names and four functions then follow: “To bring relinquishment to mind through the virtues of giving—that mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness—is recollection of giving. That mindfulness remains without distraction: this is cultivation. Arousing the virtues of giving is its characteristic; not storing up is its function; non-stinginess is its proximate cause” 〔T32 429b03–05〕. Four witnesses read 畜 for 蓄. What is certain is the list of remaining undistracted, arousing the virtues of giving, not storing up, and non-stinginess. The source does not further explain their relations.

The virtues passage says that a person cultivating recollection of giving obtains ten virtues, followed by the sequence: giving, following delight, non-stinginess, a mind without greed; being recollected by many; skillfully winning another’s mind; fearlessness among a gathering; much delight and a compassionate mind; tending toward a good destination; tending toward the cream 〔T32 429b06–08〕. The source states ten, but its commas form only seven groups. In particular, 施隨樂無慳無貪意 does not disclose its internal divisions, and “much delight and a compassionate mind” may be one or more items. The sequence is therefore retained without a unique punctuation or forced count. Explicit phrases include being recollected by many, skillfully winning another’s mind, fearlessness among a gathering, much delight and a compassionate mind, tending toward a good destination, and tending toward the cream. This unit does not explain “being recollected by many” as the giver becoming a field of merit for others, nor does it provide a causal order for the items.

The method begins again with a beginning meditator entering seclusion, sitting, and gathering the whole mind 〔T32 429b08–09〕. It then says: “With an undistracted mind one recollects one’s own giving: through what I have relinquished, I have gained a benefit; I have gained a benefit well. People of the world are dragged along by the stain of stinginess. I abide with a mind unstained by stinginess. I always give, always delight in giving, always provide, and always distribute” 〔T32 429b09–12〕. The four explicit uses of “I” occur in “I have gained a benefit,” “I have gained a benefit well,” “I abide,” and “I always give.” Four witnesses read 手, “hand,” for the last 我, so the alternate reading would refer to giving with one’s own hand; the two readings attach differently and remain undecided. The passage explicitly contrasts people of the world, dragged by the stain of stinginess, with “I,” abiding with a mind unstained by stinginess. The virtues list separately includes “much delight and a compassionate mind” 〔T32 429b07–08〕, while the cultivation passage separately gives always giving, delighting in giving, providing, and distributing. The source neither says that the former arise from the latter nor says that delight and compassion are cultivated separately; the two lists remain in their own places. The full concluding chain is again retained: recollection of giving is made present and the mind becomes faithful; through faith and mindfulness it remains undistracted; the hindrances are extinguished, the jhāna factors arise, and access jhāna comes to abide 〔T32 429b12–15〕. The inline closure “Recollection of giving is finished” marks the boundary 〔T32 429b15〕.

Conclusion

The two source passages are consecutive. Recollection of virtue ends with the inline closure “Recollection of virtue is finished” 〔T32 429a29〕; recollection of giving then begins with its own question 〔T32 429b01〕 and ends with “Recollection of giving is finished” 〔T32 429b15〕. This order establishes the sequence of passages, not an additional doctrinal correspondence between the two doorways.

Two source facts remain: the virtue passage says “one’s own virtue” 〔T32 429a17〕, and the giving passage says “with an undistracted mind one recollects one’s own giving” 〔T32 429b09〕. Each belongs to its own doorway; the difference in pronouns does not establish a cross-doorway arrangement. Within the giving passage one can directly read: “People of the world are dragged along by the stain of stinginess; I abide with a mind unstained by stinginess” 〔T32 429b10–11〕, followed by always giving, delighting in giving, providing, and distributing 〔T32 429b11–12〕. The reading follows this explicit contrast without adding a mechanism of daily psychological transformation. Fear, pleasure, and freedom in two worlds from the virtue doorway likewise remain as listed, without an added relation among them. The next passage is recollection of devas, beginning at 08-42 〔T32 429b16〕.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Recollection of Virtue and Giving · Exposition · Summer 2026

The sixth of the ten recollections is recollection of deities. With its completion, fascicle six also ends, and mindfulness of breathing begins in the next fascicle. The opening states: “On the basis of the virtues that lead to birth among deities, one recollects one’s own virtues” 〔T32 429b17〕. The characteristic is likewise “arousing one’s own virtues and the virtues of deities, 等” 〔T32 429b19〕. The cultivation passage first says that through accomplished faith the deities were born from here into those realms, and then says, “I too have faith in this way” 〔T32 429b28–29〕. At the end it again says, “I too have wisdom in this way” 〔T32 429c01〕. This is the explicit placement of the deities and “I” side by side. The source does not turn the strength of the comparison into a psychological mechanism, so only the stated juxtaposition is retained.

Definition and Eight Virtues

The passage says: “That mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness is called recollection of deities. That mindfulness remains without distraction: this is cultivation. Arousing one’s own virtues and the virtues of deities, 等, is its characteristic; love and respect for virtue is its function; faith in the fruit of virtue is its proximate cause” 〔T32 429b17–20〕. Mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness are three explicitly named terms. Remaining without distraction is cultivation; love and respect for virtue is the function; faith in the fruit of virtue is the proximate cause. The characteristic names “one’s own virtues and the virtues of deities, 等,” but this unit does not explain whether 等 signifies equality, a class of comparable things, or another syntactic connection. It therefore does not establish that the two kinds of virtue are equal or support an additional psychological function.

The order of these four sentences can be checked directly. The passage first states what is recollected through “on the basis of the virtues that lead to birth among deities, one recollects one’s own virtues,” then gives mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness, and then cultivation, characteristic, function, and proximate cause 〔T32 429b17–20〕. In the characteristic sentence, “arousing” clearly answers to “is its characteristic,” but the final graph in “one’s own virtues and the virtues of deities, 等” receives no separate explanation. The function merely says “love and respect for virtue,” and the proximate cause merely says “faith in the fruit of virtue.” The source does not say that love and respect necessarily produce faith or that these are successive stages. They remain parallel items.

The virtues passage states: “If a person cultivates recollection of deities, eight virtues are attained. The five qualities increase, namely faith, virtue, learning, giving, and wisdom; the person becomes recollected, loved, and respected by deities. At the teaching of the fruit and result of virtue, there is great delight and leaping up; the person esteems oneself and is valued by deities. Recollection of virtue and recollection of giving enter within it; the person tends toward a good destination and toward the cream” 〔T32 429b20–24〕. The source states eight but does not separate every item with list punctuation. The graph 於 in the phrase about teaching the fruit and result of virtue is 施 in the Ming witness; the two readings directly change the boundaries of the list. The eight items therefore cannot be securely divided by this unit. The sequence is retained without unique punctuation or a forced count. What is explicit is the increase of the five qualities—faith, virtue, learning, giving, and wisdom—along with such expressions as being recollected, loved, and respected by deities; great delight and leaping up; esteem for oneself; being valued by deities; recollection of virtue and giving entering “within it”; tending toward a good destination; and tending toward the cream. The source does not explain the referent of “within it,” so it does not establish a theory in which prior doorways become the material of a later doorway.

Cultivation: The Deities, Oneself, and the Five Qualities

The method begins: “A beginning meditator enters a secluded place and sits, gathering the whole mind. With an undistracted mind one recollects that there is the Heaven of the Four Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, Yanmo Heaven, Doushuai Heaven, the Heaven of Delight in Transformation, the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Transformations, Brahmā-body Heaven, and deities constantly born” 〔T32 429b24–28〕. It starts with secluded sitting and gathering the mind, then recollects the listed heavens with an undistracted mind. The first six are linked in a series; Brahmā-body Heaven is separated by a comma, and the passage ends with “there are deities constantly born.” Whether “deities constantly born” is the name of a heaven is not explained here, so it remains uncertain and is not used to impose a count. The source then reads: “Through accomplished faith, the deities were born from here into those realms; I too have faith in this way. So too with virtue, learning, giving, and wisdom: those deities accomplished them and were born from here into those realms; I too have wisdom in this way. One should recollect oneself and recollect the deities: faith, virtue, learning, giving, and wisdom” 〔T32 429b28–429c02〕. Only the first and last qualities, faith and wisdom, are explicitly linked to “I too have it in this way”; the intervening virtue, learning, and giving continue through “so too.” The omitted middle formulations are not supplied. The last sentence clearly says to recollect oneself and the deities, but its punctuation does not decide whether the five qualities that follow belong only to the deities or to both the deities and oneself. The uncertainty is retained.

The Five Qualities: Explicit Statements and Open Questions

The sequence faith, virtue, learning, giving, and wisdom appears twice in this unit. The first occurrence says “the person’s five qualities increase” in the passage on eight virtues 〔T32 429b21〕. The second repeats the same five terms after “one should recollect oneself and recollect the deities” 〔T32 429c01–02〕. The first is introduced by “namely,” while the second directly follows the recollection sentence. Their positions differ, but names and order are the same. The cultivation passage also says that the deities accomplished faith and were born into those realms and that “I too have faith in this way”; it continues with virtue, learning, giving, and wisdom and ends with “I too have wisdom in this way” 〔T32 429b28–429c01〕. The list itself and the first-and-last comparison can be established. The source does not say how each quality is to be operated or use the list as a test of success. Elsewhere in the same unit, “faith in the fruit of virtue” is given as the proximate cause 〔T32 429b20〕, while the virtues passage separately says “at the teaching of the fruit and result of virtue, there is great delight and leaping up” 〔T32 429b22–23〕. Each remains in its source position; they are not combined into a causal psychological account.

Final Question: Why Not Recollect Human Virtues?

The conclusion states: “Through this doorway, this practice, and these virtues, the meditator brings recollection of deities to mind, and the mind becomes faithful. Through faith and mindfulness the mind becomes undistracted. With the undistracted mind, the hindrances are extinguished, the jhāna factors arise, and access jhāna comes to abide” 〔T32 429c02–05〕. It gives, in order, bringing recollection to mind, faith, non-distraction, extinguishing the hindrances, arising of the jhāna factors, and abiding of access jhāna. The source then asks separately: “Why recollect the virtues of deities rather than human virtues?” The answer says: “The virtues of deities are most excellent; their birth is most excellent; 地成妙處; 心於妙處修行成妙. Therefore one recollects the virtues of deities rather than human virtues. The remainder is as explained fully at the beginning. Recollection of deities is finished” 〔T32 429c05–08〕. The boundaries of “virtues are most excellent” and “birth is most excellent” are clear. How 地成妙處 and 心於妙處修行成妙 should be divided and what their grammatical subjects are remains unclear. Although the answer contains four occurrences of 妙, that does not establish four syntactically regular items, still less a scale of comparison or a psychological effect.

The final question explicitly contrasts recollecting the virtues of deities with not recollecting human virtues 〔T32 429c05〕, and the answer repeats the same conclusion at its end 〔T32 429c07〕. Its reasons contain four occurrences of 妙, but not four equally structured clauses. “The virtues are most excellent” and “birth is most excellent” are similar in form; the relation of 地 to 處 in 地成妙處 and what “becomes excellent” in 心於妙處修行成妙 remain unresolved. The source order and the uncertainty are therefore preserved.

Three explicit groups remain. The doorway first says, “On the basis of the virtues that lead to birth among deities, one recollects one’s own virtues” 〔T32 429b17〕. Its cultivation compares “the deities were born from here into those realms” with “I too have faith in this way” and “I too have wisdom in this way” 〔T32 429b28–429c01〕. The five compared and repeated qualities are faith, virtue, learning, giving, and wisdom. The final answer uses 妙 four times, while the grammar of its final two clauses remains open. These statements are sufficient to present the unit without adding itemized self-testing, a psychology of stronger and weaker comparison, or diagnostic claims. Fascicle six ends here 〔T32 429c09〕. The next passage, mindfulness of breathing, opens fascicle seven, “The Practice Chapter, Part Four”; its chapter heading is at 429c16, and 08-43 begins with “Question: What is mindfulness of breathing?” 〔T32 429c17〕.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Recollection of Deities · Exposition · Summer 2026

Fascicle seven opens with the seventh of the ten recollections, mindfulness of breathing. The fascicle number changes from six to seven while the chapter remains “The Practice Chapter.” This unit gives the overview and the acquisition of the sign. The source explicitly tethers mindfulness at the nose-tip or lips and says to observe and know with mindfulness the place touched by the breath 〔T32 430a07–16〕. It then separately lists the faults of attending inwardly and outwardly to the breath, attending to the very longest and shortest breaths, becoming attached to diverse signs, and applying sluggish or swift exertion 〔T32 430a16–27〕. These are the specific instructions stated here; they do not establish the universal rule that every departure of attention from the point of contact is necessarily faulty. The sign passage further says that the wind of in-and-out breathing touches the nose and lips and that mindfulness forms a perception of wind “not through shape or color; this is called the sign” 〔T32 430b01–02〕. This is the unit’s direct limitation on the sign.

The currently adopted wording at 430b01 is: “In this way the wind of the in-and-out breath touches the nose and lips; mindfulness forms a perception of wind, not through shape or color. This is called the sign.”

Opening the Door: “An” Means In, “Ban” Means Out

The passage asks what mindfulness of breathing is, together with its cultivation, characteristic, function, proximate cause, virtues, and method. It answers: “An means in; ban means out” 〔T32 429c17–18〕. The name is thus explained by assigning one direction to each graph; the following passage uses “in-breath” and “out-breath” rather than the two graphs alone. It continues: “With regard to the sign of out-and-in breathing, that mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness is called mindfulness of breathing. The mind remains without distraction: this is cultivation. Arousing the perception of mindfulness of breathing is its characteristic; contact-contemplation is its function; cutting off 覺 is its proximate cause” 〔T32 429c18–21〕. Mindfulness of breathing, cultivation, characteristic, function, and proximate cause each receive a sentence. Contact-contemplation and cutting off 覺 are not otherwise defined in this unit and therefore remain unexplained.

The virtues have no stated count: “When a person cultivates mindfulness of breathing, it becomes quiet, excellent, and adorned, lovable and a source of delight. Repeatedly arisen bad and unwholesome qualities are made to cease; body and eyes become unwearied; body and mind become unmoving and unshaken; it fulfills the four establishments of mindfulness, 七覺意, and liberation” 〔T32 429c21–25〕. The source first gives quietness, excellence, and related terms, then the removal of bad and unwholesome qualities, unwearied body and eyes, unmoving body and mind, and finally the four establishments, 七覺意, and liberation. 七覺意 differs in wording from 七覺分 in the recollection-of-Dhamma doorway 〔T32 428b03〕 and remains unregularized. It then adds: “praised by the Blessed One; dwelling of the noble ones; dwelling of Brahmā; dwelling of a Tathāgata” 〔T32 429c25–26〕. The source does not explain the distinction among one praise and three dwellings, so the list remains as given.

Set against the seven questions, the answer does not introduce seven separate headings. It first explains the name through “An means in; ban means out,” immediately defines mindfulness and cultivation, then gives characteristic, function, and proximate cause through three short formulas; the virtues become a long list, and only afterward does “what is the method?” introduce place, posture, and practice. This order is visible on the face of the text. The source does not state a causal relation, hierarchy, or comprehensive relation among the items. In particular, the virtues from quietness through fulfillment of liberation remain a list rather than a necessary sequence of attainment.

Direct Cultivation: Fourfold Knowing and Mindfulness Tethered in One Place

The long sequence may first be laid out by its wording. Long out-breath, long in-breath, short in-breath, and short out-breath each conclude “one knows it thus.” Two further clauses state, “I am aware thus while breathing in” and “I am aware thus while breathing out.” Then come three knowings—rapture, pleasure, mental activity—four causatives—causing mental activity to cease, gladdening, training, and liberating the mind—and four seeings—impermanence, dispassion, cessation, and emergence. The end again joins “aware and see emergence” to out-breath and to in-and-out breath. This order is certain. The treatise gives neither an overall number nor an account of what “know,” “cause,” and “see” do, so the items may be compared but their function and level are not supplied. In particular, whether the two clauses “I am aware thus” count as separate items is left open rather than decided by a familiar number.

The method begins: “A beginning meditator goes to a wilderness, beneath a tree, or to a secluded place, sits cross-legged, and holds the body upright before oneself. The meditator is mindful of in-breath and out-breath” 〔T32 429c26–28〕. Three places are listed first, then posture, then mindfulness of in-breath and out-breath. Four clauses of knowing length follow: long out, long in, short in, short out, each ending “one knows it thus” 〔T32 429c29–430a03〕. Their in-out order is uneven and is not regularized. Three witnesses omit “mindful of out-breath” at the junction, and the reading 短息 belongs to a repeated critical note; both are recorded. A later sentence says not to attend to the very longest or shortest breath 〔T32 430a18–19〕. How “knowing” and “attending” differ here is not explained. Beneath the four clauses stand two separate complete sentences: “I am aware thus while breathing in; I am aware thus while breathing out.”

The following sequence reads: “I am aware thus while breathing in; I am aware thus while breathing out: knowing rapture, knowing pleasure, knowing mental activity; causing mental activity to cease, gladdening the mind, training the mind, liberating the mind; seeing impermanence, dispassion, cessation, and emergence; thus being aware and seeing emergence” 〔T32 430a03–06〕. Three items follow “knowing,” four follow “causing,” and four follow “seeing.” The two awareness sentences remain complete sentences before those items. The source does not say that the verbs describe distinct psychological operations or levels, nor does it recast the sequence as a route through four establishments of mindfulness. The final wording—“thus aware and seeing emergence; I am aware and see emergence thus while breathing out; my in-and-out breath is thus” 〔T32 430a06–07〕—is also retained. Four witnesses read 息出 at both places where the base has 出息 and 出入息.

Three irregularities cannot be silently normalized. First, the four long-and-short clauses run long out, long in, short in, short out rather than two orderly in-out pairs. Second, the two awareness sentences precede the knowing, causing, and seeing items and are not moved into them to obtain a familiar count. Third, the base’s 出息 and 出入息 are both 息出 in four witnesses. The possible work is to preserve the sentences, count the explicit items, and record the variants. The overall number, levels, and relations of practice are not answered here.

The passage then says: “Here, one who trains in an is made present. Mindfulness is tethered at the nose-tip or lips; this is the object where the in-and-out breath makes contact. The meditator settles mindfulness there and observes with mindfulness the contact of in-breath and out-breath at the nose-tip or lips” 〔T32 430a07–10〕. The source clearly calls the nose-tip or lips the object of in-and-out breathing and says that contact is observed there with mindfulness. The statements “mindfulness is present, 令 the breath enter; mindfulness is present, 令 the breath leave” and “when the breath enters one does not attend to the inward movement, and when it leaves one does not attend to the outward movement” stand beside one another 〔T32 430a10–11〕. Neither the attachment of 令 nor the exact sense of “does not attend” is explained. They cannot be allocated to mechanisms of control, release, or another operation. The text next says to observe and know with mindfulness the contact at the nose-tip or lips; the remaining wording stays unresolved.

The saw simile follows: “As a person touches wood through the force of a saw and does not attend to the perception of the saw’s going and coming, so the meditator does not attend to the perception of in-and-out breath but observes and knows with mindfulness the nose-tip or lips that are touched; mindfulness is present, 令 the breath enter and 令 the breath leave” 〔T32 430a13–16〕. The two statements “does not attend” correspond directly: not attending to the saw’s going and coming in the simile, and not attending to the perception of in-and-out breath in the application. The source also identifies the nose-tip or lips as the place touched and says to observe and know there, but does not assign saw, wood, force of the saw, and contact point one by one. Four witnesses read 解 for 觸 in 觸材. Beyond the stated non-attendance to coming and going, no mechanism of looking, effort, or engagement is supplied.

Within this passage, “observe contact with mindfulness” and “observe and know what is touched with mindfulness” both explicitly point to the contact place. “Mindfulness is present, 令 the breath enter; mindfulness is present, 令 the breath leave” also recurs. The former wording can be located directly at nose-tip or lips; the latter leaves the government of 令 unresolved. The saw simile provides only two explicit negative correspondences: not attending to the saw’s coming and going and not attending to the perception of the in-and-out breath. It says nothing about a point along the saw’s path or a prescribed force, so no additional operational detail follows from it.

Threefold Faults: Each Item as the Source States It

The treatise writes the wrong practices in sequence: attending inwardly and outwardly to the in-and-out breath makes the mind confused; when the mind is confused, body and mind become weary and shaken; “this is a fault” 〔T32 430a16–18〕. It next says not to attend to the very longest or shortest breath; making a place of them causes body and mind to become weary and shaken, again ending “this is a fault” 〔T32 430a18–20〕. Third, because in-and-out breathing has diverse signs, one should not become attached; forming the mind in this way makes other objects confused 〔T32 430a20–21〕. These three passages establish only their own attention or attachment and their stated results. No common psychological mechanism is provided, so none is supplied.

The third passage continues: “If the mind is confused, body and mind become weary and shaken; faults in this way are boundless. The in-and-out breath arises; because of boundless 懈, one should form a perception so that the mind is not confused” 〔T32 430a21–23〕. The first sentence has a clear order: confused mind, weary and shaken body and mind, boundless faults. The attachment of the next sentence is unclear. How “the in-and-out breath arises” joins “because of boundless 懈,” and whether “boundless” continues from the previous sentence, cannot be decided through punctuation alone. Four witnesses moreover read 觸 for 懈. Only the directly legible conclusion—“one should form a perception so that the mind is not confused”—is retained, without deriving its reason from the doubtful wording or collapsing 懈 and 觸 into one sense. This keeps both the explicit cautions and the unresolved syntax visible.

A fourth matter concerns sluggishness and swiftness: “When the mind is sluggish or swift, one should not exert. Sluggish exertion produces weariness and sleep; swift exertion produces 調” 〔T32 430a23–25〕. It continues: “If the meditator arises together with weariness and sleep or with 調, body and mind become weary and shaken; this is a fault” 〔T32 430a25–27〕. Each kind of exertion and its consequence can be established, concluding in weariness and shaking. The source does not add a middle degree of effort or say that the nose-tip and lips are the unique answer to every case; no prescription of intensity is supplied.

The four fault passages have different syntax. Attending inwardly and outwardly first produces confused mind and then weariness and shaking; attending to longest and shortest breaths proceeds directly to weary and shaken body and mind; attachment to diverse signs first produces confusion among other objects and then confused mind and boundless faults; sluggish and swift exertion first produce sleep or 調 and only then weary and shaken body and mind. A repeated result does not mean that the text has stated one psychological cause for all four. Nor can the unresolved phrase about boundless 懈, with its 觸 variant, serve as a general principle for them.

Acquiring the Sign: The Named Sign and Different Signs

The sign arises when the meditator, with a mind purified from the nine minor defilements, brings the in-breath to mind 〔T32 430a27–28〕. The nine defilements are not listed, so the absence remains. The named sign is described “like the pleasant bodily contact of drawing cotton or kapok, and like the pleasant bodily contact of a cool breeze. In this way the wind of in-and-out breathing touches the nose and lips; mindfulness forms a perception of wind, not through shape or color. This is called the sign” 〔T32 430a28–430b02〕. The source first gives the pleasant contact of cotton, kapok, and cool wind, then the wind of breathing touching the nose and lips, a perception of wind, and the exclusion of shape or color. The adopted wording at 430b01 is “In this way the wind of in-and-out breathing touches the nose and lips; mindfulness forms a perception of wind, not through shape or color. This is called the sign.” The growth passage then states that repeated cultivation makes the sign grow; it names growth at the nose-tip, the space between the eyebrows, the forehead, abiding in many places, “wind filling the head,” and tranquillity and pleasure filling the whole body, which is called fulfillment 〔T32 430b02–04〕. The listed locations are certain; no mechanism connecting them is supplied.

The named-sign passage first uses cotton, kapok, and cool breeze to describe pleasant contact and then locates the wind of breathing at the nose and lips. “Mindfulness forms a perception of wind” and “not through shape or color” are explicit. The growth passage shifts to growth at the nose-tip, many places around the eyebrows and forehead, a head full of wind, and a body full of tranquillity and pleasure. The terms can be kept in order, but the source does not repeat a subject in every clause; it remains unclear whether sign, wind-contact, location, or tranquillity and pleasure are growing at each point. The sequence and final judgment “this is called fulfillment” are therefore preserved without turning “wind filling the head” into modern physiology or the places into a necessary visualization route.

One question remains: Why does the source call smoke, mist, dust, broken gold, a needle’s prick, and an ant’s bite “different signs”? It gives no reason, only the list: “Another meditator sees different signs from the beginning: like smoke, mist, dust, broken gold, a needle’s prick, or an ant’s bite, seeing diverse colors” 〔T32 430b04–06〕. The preceding named sign is the wind of breathing touching the nose and lips, explicitly “not through shape or color” 〔T32 430b02〕; this passage separately calls the listed appearances different signs. It then distinguishes a mind that forms a different perception, becomes inverted, and fails to establish the perception of breathing from a clear mind that does not form a different intention, brings the in-breath and out-breath to mind, leaves aside other perceptions, and causes different signs to cease 〔T32 430b06–10〕. Four witnesses read 雖 for 離. The source neither joins these different signs to the earlier inward-and-outward attention as one pathology nor explains their arising; no mechanism is supplied.

Three Masteries and Conclusion

The source says: “The meditator gains a subtle sign, remains heedful, brings the in-breath and out-breath to mind, and masters the sign. Through mastery of the sign, desire for cultivation arises. Through mastery of desire, rapture arises as the in-breath and out-breath are brought to mind. When rapture and desire have been mastered, equanimity arises as they are brought to mind. When equanimity, desire, and rapture have been mastered, the in-breath and out-breath are brought to mind and the mind remains undistracted” 〔T32 430b10–15〕. The source presents mastery of sign, arising of desire, rapture, and equanimity; the order of arising is desire, rapture, equanimity, while the concluding order is equanimity, desire, rapture. The different orders are retained. Every stage repeats bringing in-breath and out-breath to mind. What desire, rapture, and equanimity mean here, why they are successive, and whether they form psychological stages are not explained; only their order is preserved. “When the mind is undistracted, the hindrances cease and the jhāna factors arise; the meditator has attained the excellent quiet concentration of the four jhānas, as explained fully at the beginning” 〔T32 430b15–17〕. Hindrance-cessation, arising of factors, and four-jhāna concentration remain in source order. The earlier “cutting off 覺 is its proximate cause” is not explained by this later passage.

At every stage of the three-masteries passage, “brings the in-breath and out-breath to mind” recurs. After mastery of the sign, desire arises for cultivation; mastery of desire is followed by rapture; mastery of rapture and desire is followed by equanimity; mastery of equanimity, desire, and rapture is followed by an undistracted mind. This verbal recurrence is certain. The source does not say that desire, rapture, and equanimity are three necessary stages or define how each is cultivated. Nor can the following extinguishing of hindrances and attainment of four-jhāna concentration be used backward to assign them unstated causal functions.

The last sentence opens the next unit: “Furthermore, the former teachers taught four ways to cultivate mindfulness of breathing: counting, following, placing, and contemplation” 〔T32 430b17–18〕. This unit names the four and attributes them to former teachers; their explanations follow in the next unit. No authorial intention is inferred from the arrangement.

Across the whole passage, the wording “brings the in-breath and out-breath to mind” recurs from the tethering section to the end of the masteries. Its recurrence is recorded without turning it into an additional hierarchy.

Three things remain: a finding—mindfulness of breathing stays at the contact of nose-tip or lips, while inward-outward attention, longest-shortest attention, attachment to signs, and sluggish-swift exertion retain their separately stated faults; a method of reading—the named sign is explicitly “not through shape or color,” while different signs remain as listed without added correspondences; and a saw—the explicit correspondence extends only to not attending to the saw’s going and coming and not attending to the perception of in-and-out breathing. The next unit explains the four ways beginning with the question “What is called counting?” in 08-44 〔T32 430b18〕.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Mindfulness of Breathing: Overview and Acquiring the Sign · Exposition · Summer 2026

This unit explains counting, following, placing, and contemplation one by one, states what each is for, and then treats “knowing the whole body,” the three trainings, and the cessation of bodily activity. Its structure can be checked directly: counting has two accounts; following, placing, and contemplation each receive one explanation; the source then assigns counting to cessation of 覺 and attainment of emergence-覺, following to cessation of coarse 覺, placing to ending distraction and forming an unmoving perception, and contemplation to sustaining perception and knowing superior qualities. It presents the four in order but does not say that they eliminate one another or declare that only one is genuine contemplation. Their names, order, and purposes remain as stated.

The unit contains four source paragraphs. The first begins with the question on counting and continues through the four explanations, four purposes, and the discussion of long and nature. The second asks specifically about the matter of non-delusion and ends by naming two ways. The third asks about knowing the whole body through non-delusion. The fourth asks about knowing the whole body through the matter and continues into “although there is a body, there is no being and no life,” the three trainings, and cessation of bodily activity. Reading by the source paragraph boundaries avoids turning adjacent terms into an unstated general theory.

The Four Ways: Four Explanations and Four Purposes

The counting passage says: “A beginning meditator counts from the first out-breath through the in-breath, from one to ten, not counting beyond ten. Another account says from one to five, not counting beyond five and not allowing the attention to go astray. At that time one should count. Until counting is left behind, mindfulness remains on the matter of in-and-out breathing. This is called counting” 〔T32 430b18–22〕. The two accounts—one through ten and one through five—stand together. The latter is introduced by “another account,” whose source and relation to the first are not given. “Until counting is left behind, mindfulness remains on the matter of in-and-out breathing” is the source’s concluding statement; it does not explain when or how counting is left behind and therefore is not rewritten as an elimination rule among the four ways. Following is defined as “gathering counting and following in-and-out breathing with uninterrupted mindfulness” 〔T32 430b22–23〕. The graph 隨 is 名隨 in four witnesses. Placing says that the nose-tip or lips are the contact place of the in-and-out breath, and that a wind-sign is formed there so mindfulness remains 〔T32 430b23–24〕. Four witnesses read 想 for 相. Contemplation says that, through mastery of contact, one contemplates the sign and the qualities such as rapture and pleasure that arise there 〔T32 430b24–26〕. Each of the four explanations stands on its own; no progressive mechanism is added.

The four purposes follow in corresponding order: “Counting is for cessation of 覺 and enables attainment of emergence-覺. Following is for cessation of coarse 覺. Placing uninterrupted mindfulness on the in-and-out breath is for ending distraction and forming an unmoving perception. Contemplation is for sustaining perception and knowing superior qualities” 〔T32 430b26–29〕. Counting has two clauses, “for cessation of 覺” and “enables attainment of emergence-覺”; the latter term is not explained. Following is for cessation of coarse 覺; placing is for ending distraction and forming the perception of unmovingness; contemplation is for sustaining perception and knowing superior qualities. These are the four stated correspondences. They do not entail that each merely clears the way for the next. The graph 想 in “unmoving perception” is 相 in the Palace witness. That variant and the earlier wind-sign/wind-perception variant remain separate rather than one being used to govern the other.

Long and Nature: Syntax and Variants Remain Visible

The passage reads: “If the in-breath is long, if the out-breath is short, and one trains thus with the short in-breath, this is made by a means; passing beyond its nature, this is called long. As for nature: present knowledge knowledge, for making the matter of non-delusion present” 〔T32 430b29–430c02〕. The syntax is unclear. “Passing beyond its nature” immediately precedes “this is called long,” but what “made by a means” governs and whether the two occurrences of “nature” refer to the same thing cannot be decided by punctuation. The final 智 in 現智智 is 短 in the Ming witness. Both 智智 and 智短 remain visible, and the sequence is not rewritten as a theory of long, short, method, or nature.

The next question asks about non-delusion. The answer begins: “A beginning meditator gains 倚 of body and mind, makes mindfulness of in-and-out breathing present and established, and the breaths become subtle. Because the breaths become subtle, they cannot be apprehended” 〔T32 430c03–05〕. The sequence of bodily-and-mental 倚, established mindfulness, subtle breath, and non-apprehension is explicit; four witnesses read 猗 for 倚. The passage continues: “If the meditator contemplates a long breath and makes it long, up to the sign arising and abiding; once the sign has arisen and abides, one should attend according to its nature. This is called non-delusion” 〔T32 430c05–07〕. It then separately names “one should 消息 for the mind; sometimes make it long, sometimes make it short” and “through the matter make a clear sign arise” 〔T32 430c07–09〕. These are the stated practices. Because “nature” remains unresolved, the preceding doubtful sentence cannot define it, and subtle, unapprehendable breath is not turned into a diagnostic threshold of realization.

The answer can be divided by its explicit verbs into four parts without adding a hidden cause. First are gaining bodily-and-mental 倚, establishing mindfulness, subtle breath, and non-apprehension; only “because the breath becomes subtle” explicitly marks a cause. Second are contemplating a long breath, the sign arising and abiding, attending according to nature, and the conclusion “this is called non-delusion.” A third begins with “furthermore” and states being at times long and at times short while one 消息 for the mind. A fourth begins with another “furthermore” and says that through the matter a clear sign arises and that this should be cultivated. Only then does “knowing the whole body, I breathe in” introduce the two ways. Whether the four parts are alternatives, consecutive stages, or simultaneous conditions is not stated.

Knowing the Whole Body: From the Breath Count to Name and Form

The source says: “One who trains with ‘knowing the whole body, I breathe in’ knows the whole body in two ways: because of non-delusion and because of the matter” 〔T32 430c09–10〕. The two ways are non-delusion and the matter. Four witnesses read 知 for the first 故, and the following text indeed asks about each way. The answer on knowing through non-delusion says: “When a meditator is concentrated in mindfulness of breathing, the contact of rapture and pleasure fills body and mind. Because that contact fills them, the whole body becomes non-deluded” 〔T32 430c11–13〕. The answer on knowing through the matter says: “In-and-out breathing is a material body abiding in one place. In the matter of in-and-out breathing, mind and mental qualities are called a name-body; this material body name-body; this is called the whole body” 〔T32 430c14–15〕. Material body and name-body are explicitly named and followed by “this is called the whole body.” No procedure for dismantling a subject is added.

The two answers differ and are read by their own sentences. The first begins with concentration in mindfulness of breathing, proceeds to body and mind filled by the contact of rapture and pleasure, and explicitly uses “because” to reach “the whole body becomes non-deluded.” The source gives no separate role for rapture, pleasure, and contact. The second first calls the in-and-out breath a material body abiding in one place, then says that in the matter of breathing mind and mental qualities are the name-body, and ends with an awkward sequence of “material body,” “name-body,” and “whole body.” Those terms remain without being converted into a philosophical equation. The following “thus one knows the whole body by seeing” likewise does not supply steps of observation.

One question remains: How does “although there is a body, there is no being and no life” 〔T32 430c16–17〕 follow here from material body and name-body? The source places the sentence after “thus one knows the whole body by seeing” and gives no inference. The three simultaneous statements—there is a body, no being, no life—are retained. No procedure of deduction or transition to calm-and-insight is added.

The Three Trainings and the Cessation of Bodily Activity

The source lists: “The three trainings are the higher training in virtue, the higher training in mind, and the higher training in wisdom. Virtue as it really is is the higher training in virtue; concentration as it really is is the higher training in mind; wisdom as it really is is the higher training in wisdom. The meditator trains in these three by attending with mindfulness to that matter, having cultivated and repeatedly cultivated” 〔T32 430c17–21〕. Three names correspond to three explanations: virtue, concentration, and wisdom as they really are. The source does not call them three depths of one breath, so no hierarchy is added.

The sentence form names the three and explains each through “this is called.” The following “attends with mindfulness to that matter” does not define “that matter” anew, so no new object is assigned to it. “Having cultivated and repeatedly cultivated” is the source’s own repeated wording. These sentences establish the three training names, their three “as it really is” clauses, and repeated cultivation, not an additional sequence of relative depth.

It then says: “This is called training: causing bodily activity to cease, I breathe in. What is bodily activity? It is in-and-out breathing. Through such bodily activity, bending and stretching, form follows 申, moving, leaping, trembling, and shaking. Thus bodily activity is made to cease in the present” 〔T32 430c21–24〕. The passage defines bodily activity as in-and-out breathing, then links it to bending and stretching and to movement, leaping, trembling, and shaking of form. Four witnesses read 神 for 申, and the Palace witness reads 涌 for 踊. Both variants remain undecided. A separate sequence follows: “Make coarse bodily activity cease; with subtle bodily activity cultivate the first jhāna; from there, with the most subtle, cultivate the second; from there, with the most subtle, train in the third; causing it to cease without remainder, cultivate the fourth” 〔T32 430c24–26〕. The certain order is subtle, most subtle, most subtle, cessation without remainder, joined to the four jhānas. The source does not distinguish the two occurrences of “most subtle,” and no additional transition method is supplied.

The bodily-activity passage first asks and answers what bodily activity is; the answer is only “in-and-out breathing.” It then names bending and stretching and movement, leaping, trembling, and shaking of form, concluding with present cessation. A new “furthermore” begins the coarse-activity and four-jhāna series: coarse activity is made to cease, subtle activity is joined to the first jhāna, most subtle to the second, most subtle again to the third, and cessation without remainder to the fourth. The source does not differentiate the two “most subtle” stages or give a method for crossing among the jhānas. The names, verbs, and jhāna assignments therefore stand without additional instructions.

Three things remain: the four ways have their own definitions and purposes and are not recast as an elimination ladder; after “two ways,” the questions on knowing through non-delusion and through the matter are read in sequence; and after material body and name-body the source says “although there is a body, there is no being and no life,” which remains a juxtaposition rather than an added search for an owner or a calm-to-insight transition. The final series preserves subtle, most subtle, most subtle, and cessation without remainder across the first through fourth jhānas.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Four Ways of Mindfulness of Breathing and Knowing the Whole Body · Exposition · Summer 2026

The unit opens with a question: “If the in-and-out breath has ceased without remainder, how does one cultivate mindfulness of breathing?” The answer is: “Because the initial sign has been well acquired. With the cessation of in-and-out breathing, the sign arises and becomes the sign of cultivation” 〔T32 430c27–28〕. The question and answer begin at 〔T32 430c26–28〕. Three points can be read directly: the question presupposes that breathing has ceased without remainder; the answer gives well acquiring the initial sign as its reason; and it says that when breathing ceases the sign arises and becomes the sign of cultivation. The source does not explain how the sign replaces the breath or extend the sentence into a general rule about changing objects. The subsequent items repeatedly use “one who trains thus,” “brings the in-breath and out-breath to mind,” or “as taught at the beginning.” These repetitions form a visible literary frame without supplying an additional practice. Near the end, the source classifies “the first twelve bases” as accomplishing calm and insight and “the last four” as accomplishing insight alone 〔T32 431b06〕. The twelve-and-four distinction is explicit classification, not an inferred prescription of sequence.

The opening answer continues with “why?” and 諸禪相知喜為事 before proceeding into “knowing, I breathe in” and rapture at the place of the second jhāna 〔T32 430c28–431a02〕. This junction establishes that knowing rapture is the first item unfolded here. How “the signs of the jhānas” and “knowing rapture as the matter” divide is not settled; their order is preserved without supplying subject and object.

The sixteen items may first be listed in source order. The preceding unit already gave knowing long, knowing short, knowing the whole body, and causing bodily activity to cease. This unit continues with knowing rapture, knowing pleasure, knowing mental activity, causing mental activity to cease, knowing the mind, gladdening the mind, training the mind, liberating the mind, and finally constantly seeing impermanence, dispassion, cessation, and emergence. These total sixteen and agree with the source’s “these sixteen bases” 〔T32 431b05〕. This unit says only at the end that cultivating mindfulness of breathing fulfills the four establishments 〔T32 431b19〕; it does not assign each item one by one to the four establishments. No four-by-four correspondence is therefore added.

The latter half groups some of the terms a second time beneath four conclusions. Under “this is called cultivation” it lists knowing long and short, causing bodily activity and mental activity to cease, and gladdening, training, and liberating the mind. Under “this is called arousing” it lists knowing the whole body, pleasure, and mental activity. Knowing the mind alone concludes “this is called fulfillment of contemplation.” “The four practices beginning with constantly seeing impermanence” conclude “this is called seeing at times” 〔T32 431b12〕. These four conclusions are not a full item-by-item repetition of all sixteen, and the first combines knowing long and short as one phrase. They can be checked only according to the source grouping; they cannot be split or combined to manufacture four equal groups.

Knowing Rapture, Knowing Pleasure, Knowing Mental Activity

The text reads: “The signs of the jhānas, knowing rapture as the matter; knowing, I breathe in. One who trains thus brings the in-breath and out-breath to mind, and rapture arises at the place of the second jhāna. That rapture becomes known in two ways: because of non-delusion and because of the matter” 〔T32 430c29–431a02〕. Knowing rapture is explicitly assigned to the place of the second jhāna and to the two ways. It continues: “The meditator enters concentration and knows rapture, not through delusion; because of contemplation, counteraction, and the matter, knowing pleasure, I breathe in” 〔T32 431a02–04〕. Four witnesses read 以不 for 不以. How “not through / through non-delusion” attaches to the three clauses is unclear, so both readings and all three are retained rather than reordered as fixed reasons. The next passage assigns pleasure to the place of the third jhāna and again gives non-delusion and the matter as the two ways 〔T32 431a04–06〕. The assignments of rapture to the second and pleasure to the third remain without a supplied reason.

For “knowing mental activity, I breathe in,” the source explains mental activity as perception and feeling and says that such mental activity arises at the place of the fourth jhāna and becomes known in two ways, because of non-delusion and because of the matter 〔T32 431a06–09〕. “Causing mental activity to cease” again says that mental activity is perception and feeling, followed by causing coarse mental activity to cease 〔T32 431a10–11〕. What can be read directly is the sequence of knowing mental activity, its definition, the fourth-jhāna place, the two ways, and the cessation of coarse mental activity. No mechanism of first knowing and then releasing, or of bodily activity withdrawing so mental activity can take its place, is supplied.

The three passages use similar but not identical forms. Knowing rapture first assigns rapture to the second-jhāna place and then says it becomes known in two ways. Knowing pleasure first contains the uncertain wording about non-delusion and the three “because” clauses, then assigns pleasure to the third-jhāna place and gives two ways. Knowing mental activity first explains mental activity as perception and feeling, then says it arises at the fourth-jhāna place and becomes known in two ways. The source assigns different jhāna places but never says that the first causes the second or that the three are interchangeable instances of one formula.

Knowing, Gladdening, Training, and Liberating the Mind

“Knowing the mind, I breathe in” is followed by bringing the in-breath and out-breath to mind and by the statement that the matter of the mind’s entering and leaving becomes known in two ways 〔T32 431a11–13〕. The syntax of “the matter of the mind’s entering and leaving” is not explained and does not establish that the mind itself follows the breath in and out or provide a stage of watching oneself. “Gladdening the mind, I breathe in” is explained through rapture, and at the second-jhāna place rapture makes the mind leap up 〔T32 431a13–15〕. This establishes gladdening, rapture, the second-jhāna place, and leaping up; the unit does not redefine rapture as an instrument for lifting a sunken mind. “Training the mind” lists bringing the breaths to mind, mindfulness, attention, causing the mind to remain and concentrate upon the matter, and 一心教化以彼心住 〔T32 431a17–18〕. The final phrase is not clearly divided, so no paired operation of raising and suppressing the mind is supplied.

Read only by explicit statements, knowing the mind includes present mindfulness of both breaths and knowing the matter in two ways, still named non-delusion and the matter. Gladdening the mind explicitly says that gladdening means rapture, locates it at the second-jhāna place, and uses the verb “makes the mind leap up.” Training the mind explicitly names mindfulness and attention, remaining and concentration upon the matter, one mind, training, and abiding. Each has its own verbs and content; the source does not state one shared psychological mechanism.

Liberating the mind gives five pairs: sluggish / weariness, swift / 調, high / stain, low / ill will, defiled / minor defilements 〔T32 431a19–23〕. The source lists each condition and what the mind is liberated from. 調 is not explained here. A separate sentence follows: “If the mind does not attach to and delight in the matter, cause it to attach and train” 〔T32 431a23〕. It does not belong to the five pairs. The list remains limited to each condition, what is escaped, and its conclusion “train,” without a psychological diagnosis or more distant soteriological claim.

The five sentence forms are not fully regular. The first ends “liberate from weariness” and then moves to the next item; the other four explicitly include “train.” The following “furthermore” introduces a sixth statement, conditioned by the mind not attaching to and delighting in the matter, followed by “cause it to attach” and “train.” The missing “train” is not supplied backward into the first pair. Nor does the source say whether “delight” here is the same as knowing pleasure or gladdening. The ledger is therefore five conditional pairs plus one separate further statement.

Near-synonyms also cannot replace the source wording. The second pair uses 調, not a different graph elsewhere translated as agitation. The third simply says a high mind is liberated from stain; the fourth, a low mind from ill will; the fifth, a defiled mind from minor defilements. The pairings are explicit, but the source does not explain why high is paired with stain or low with ill will and gives no external test for diagnosing the five conditions. Each pair remains in its original words without personality analysis or a self-test.

The Last Four: Insight Alone

“Constantly seeing impermanence, I breathe in” says that one brings both breaths to mind and sees arising and cessation in the breaths and in the mind and mental qualities whose matter is the breath 〔T32 431a23–26〕. The next sentence reads 彼無常法彼法無欲，是泥洹入息學之 〔T32 431a27–28〕. The boundaries among “that quality is without desire,” “is nibbāna,” and “breathing in, train” remain unclear and are not repunctuated. The following sentence reads 彼無常法如實見其過患，彼我滅是泥洹，以寂寂見學之 〔T32 431a28–431b01〕. The attachment of 我 in 彼我滅 and the sentence division also cannot be decided by the present translation.

The emergence item more fully names seeing danger as it really is, making relinquishment present toward that danger, abiding in cessation and nibbāna, causing the mind to be at ease, and training 〔T32 431b01–03〕. It concludes: “Thus quiet, thus excellent: all activities quiet, emergence from all defilements, craving ceased, dispassion, cessation, nibbāna” 〔T32 431b03–05〕. The four item names and their conclusions are preserved. The unresolved dispassion and cessation sentences do not become one fixed psychological process.

All four items formally begin with “constantly seeing,” include “I breathe in” and “one who trains thus,” and conclude in training. The impermanence item names present mindfulness and seeing arising and cessation; the dispassion item preserves impermanent quality, dispassion, nibbāna, and breathing in; the cessation item preserves seeing danger as it really is, nibbāna, and seeing quietness; the emergence item preserves relinquishment, abiding in cessation and nibbāna, and causing ease. This side-by-side reading organizes only explicit language and supplies no subject, object, or cause for the two doubtful clauses.

The summary says: “Of these sixteen bases, the first twelve accomplish calm and insight, 見初無常; the last four accomplish insight alone. In this way they are to be understood by calm and insight” 〔T32 431b05–07〕. The certain fact is the classification: the first twelve are joined to calm and insight; the last four to insight alone. No procedural order is stated.

Four Kinds, Grounds, Cultivation, and Fulfillment

The source reads: “Furthermore, all of these are four kinds, 一: cultivation, arousing, fulfillment of contemplation, and seeing at times” 〔T32 431b07–08〕. Four conclusions then assign items to cultivation, arousing, fulfillment of contemplation, and seeing at times 〔T32 431b08–12〕. Four witnesses omit 一, changing the way the list begins; both readings remain. This is another classification within the unit. It does not establish a practice order or say that one category must be completed before another.

The four conclusions do not have identical grammar. Cultivation and arousing are each placed beside several items; fulfillment of contemplation has only knowing the mind; seeing at times uses the summary “the four practices beginning with constantly seeing impermanence” rather than repeating dispassion, cessation, and emergence. The heading says four kinds and four conclusions occur below, but 一 is absent from all four witnesses. These countable textual differences remain without being recast as levels or a timetable.

Their scopes are also uneven. “This is called cultivation” is associated with knowing long-and-short and five causative items. “This is called arousing” is associated with three knowing items. Knowing the mind alone belongs to fulfillment of contemplation. The four practices beginning with seeing impermanence belong to seeing at times. The source does not repeat all sixteen or say the categories are exclusive or sequential. This can therefore be read only as another grouping whose exact sentence attachments remain visible together with the 一 variant.

The grounds passage says: “Cultivation is the sustaining ground of mindfulness of breathing. It is sustaining; it is with 覺; that is a ground with 覺 and 觀, and a ground with 觀. Knowing rapture is the ground of the second jhāna, knowing pleasure the ground of the third, and knowing the mind the ground of the fourth” 〔T32 431b13–16〕. The first sequence is unclear, and four witnesses read 學 for 覺. The Taishō assigns knowing rapture, pleasure, and mind to second, third, and fourth jhāna grounds. The Palace witness reads first and second for the first two. The two numerical assignments remain visible without using internal resemblance to decide which is correct.

The ground passage must therefore keep base and variants separate. The base says that the sustaining ground of mindfulness of breathing is cultivation and continues through “sustaining,” “with 覺,” “with 覺 and 觀,” and “with 觀 ground”; the witnesses’ 學 does not combine with 覺 into one sense. The base then assigns knowing rapture to the second, pleasure to the third, and mind to the fourth jhāna ground; the Palace witness assigns the first two to first and second. What is certain is that the two versions contain different numbers. Neither becomes a practice diagnosis, nor does similarity within this unit determine the better reading.

The source also distinguishes the terms “jhāna place” and “jhāna ground.” Earlier it says that rapture is at the second-jhāna place, pleasure at the third, mental activity at the fourth, and gladdening at the second. Only later does it assign knowing rapture, pleasure, and mind to jhāna grounds. The words are not identical, and “mental activity” is not “knowing the mind.” The two sets may be compared but not merged into a hierarchy already explained by the treatise; the Palace readings make the first two numbers differ in any case.

One final question may remain: Why are cultivation and fulfillment given two separate names? The source says: “All these become two kinds, cultivation and fulfillment. Here is cultivation; what alone is called fulfillment, the sixteen practices are not diminished. Cultivation is like a seed, because it is the cause of virtues. Fulfillment is like flowers and fruit, because it emerges from resemblance” 〔T32 431b16–19〕. The source gives two similes and their explicit reasons. Cultivation is like a seed because it is a cause of virtues; fulfillment is like flowers and fruit because it emerges from resemblance. It also explicitly joins fulfillment with no diminution among the sixteen practices. These statements distinguish the two names without yielding an added theory of concealment or psychological maturation. The passage concludes in three successive fulfillments: cultivating mindfulness of breathing fulfills the four establishments; cultivating the four establishments fulfills the seven awakening factors; cultivating the seven awakening factors fulfills knowledge-liberation 〔T32 431b19–21〕. Only these three levels are stated.

The source’s cultivation-and-fulfillment statement has three layers: a heading that all become two, the names cultivation and fulfillment, and the limitation of fulfillment by “the sixteen practices are not diminished”; finally each receives a simile and stated reason. The seed is joined to being a cause of virtues, while flowers and fruit are joined to emerging from resemblance. The text does not map the similes item by item onto the sixteen practices. In each of the three final sentences, the former item is cultivated and the latter fulfilled. Reading only those subjects and objects preserves the succession without adding time to attainment, inner feeling, or self-certified signs.

Three things remain: this unit preserves the sixteen items in order and explicitly divides the first twelve, which accomplish calm and insight, from the last four, which accomplish insight alone; repeated formulas such as “one who trains thus” and “brings the in-breath and out-breath to mind” connect the items without an added meaning of attainment; and cultivation and fulfillment keep their own similes—seed as cause of virtues, flowers and fruit emerging from resemblance—with fulfillment also requiring none of the sixteen practices to be diminished. The next unit, beginning at 〔T32 431b21〕, explains the four establishments, seven awakening factors, and knowledge-liberation.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Sixteen Bases of Mindfulness of Breathing and Calm-and-Insight · Exposition · Summer 2026

This is the concluding unit of the mindfulness-of-breathing doorway. The preceding unit ended by naming the four establishments, seven awakening factors, and knowledge-liberation. This one first gives four correspondences for the establishments, then explains the seven factors in order, states that knowledge is fulfilled at the momentary path and liberation at the momentary fruit, and finally asks why mindfulness of breathing alone is called the removal of 覺. The sections are consecutive, but the source does not say that the four establishments grow by themselves or that each of the seven factors is necessarily caused by the one before it. Causal relations are distinguished sentence by sentence according to explicit “through” and other connective wording.

Four Groups Corresponding to Four Establishments of Mindfulness

The passage asks: “How is this attained?” Its answer says: “The first four bases associated with long in-and-out breathing accomplish the establishment of mindfulness of body. 知起所初 accomplishes the establishment of mindfulness of feeling. The beginning associated with knowing the mind accomplishes the establishment of mindfulness of mind. The beginning associated with seeing impermanence accomplishes the establishment of mindfulness of qualities. Thus cultivating mindfulness of breathing fulfills the four establishments” 〔T32 431b21–24〕. Four correspondences are certain: long-breathing first four bases to body, 知起所初 to feeling, knowing mind to mind, and seeing impermanence to qualities. The difficulty also remains: the range and grammar of 所初 in the latter three phrases are unresolved, and 知起 receives no explanation here. The four correspondences and final fulfillment are therefore retained without changing 知起 to knowing rapture or supplying “four items” to every occurrence of 所初.

The four sentences are not fully symmetrical. Only the first explicitly says “four bases”; the other three repeat 所初 without a number. All four use “accomplish” before an establishment, but they do not state that the groups contain the same number of items. “Knowing the mind” and “seeing impermanence” have exact counterparts earlier; 知起 cannot be changed by resemblance alone. The four resulting establishments are certain, while the ranges of the groups remain open. The final sentence merely summarizes that cultivating mindfulness of breathing fulfills the four; it does not supply an itemized internal table.

The Seven Awakening Factors: The Source List

The source asks how cultivating the four establishments fulfills the seven factors, then gives: mindfulness comes to abide without delusion; this is the factor of mindfulness. The meditator whose mindfulness abides knows and discerns suffering and impermanent activities; this is the factor of investigation of qualities. Investigation is made present and energy is applied without sluggishness; this is the factor of energy. Through energy, rapture arises, 無煩惱; this is the factor of rapture. Through the gladdened mind, body and mind become tranquil; this is the factor of tranquillity. Through bodily tranquillity there is pleasure and the mind becomes concentrated; this is the factor of concentration. The concentrated mind thus becomes equanimous; this is the factor of equanimity 〔T32 431b24–431c02〕. Their order is mindfulness, investigation, energy, rapture, tranquillity, concentration, equanimity. The first transitions use “the meditator whose mindfulness abides” and “investigation is made present”; the next three explicitly use “through energy,” “through the gladdened mind,” and “through bodily tranquillity”; equanimity uses “thus the concentrated mind.” Only three sentences explicitly mark “through,” so the entire list cannot be rewritten as each factor caused by the preceding one. The punctuation of 起喜無煩惱 also remains unresolved. Terminology differs within the list: six conclusions use 覺分 while investigation uses 菩提分; six use “this is called,” while tranquillity uses “this is.” Three different forms of the total name also occur. All remain as written.

Read one by one, the mindfulness factor is joined to mindfulness abiding without delusion; investigation to knowing and discerning suffering and impermanent activities; energy to making investigation present and exerting without sluggishness; rapture to 起喜無煩惱; tranquillity to body and mind becoming tranquil; concentration to bodily tranquillity with pleasure and the mind becoming concentrated; equanimity to the concentrated mind becoming equanimous. These seven contents can be placed side by side, but the source does not give one common definition format or say that they are a single thing under seven temporal names.

The passage then asks how cultivating the seven factors fulfills knowledge-liberation and answers: “When the seven factors are repeatedly cultivated in this way, knowledge is fulfilled at the momentary path and liberation is fulfilled at the momentary fruit. Thus cultivating the seven factors fulfills knowledge-liberation” 〔T32 431c03–06〕. The source explicitly pairs knowledge with path and liberation with fruit; it does not further define “momentary.” Its three questions ask in order how the four establishments are gained, how the seven factors are fulfilled, and how knowledge-liberation is fulfilled. That question-and-answer order is explicit and is not recast as an automatically operating mechanism.

Within the short conclusion, the source alternates three total names: 七菩提覺分, 七覺分, and 七菩提分. All are retained. “Repeatedly cultivated” precedes the statements on knowledge and liberation, and momentary path and momentary fruit are separately named. What is certain is the pairing of knowledge with path and liberation with fruit. How repeated cultivation joins the moment, or what each moment’s characteristic is, receives no further explanation.

One Standing Question: Why Is Breathing Specifically Marked as Removing 覺?

Before closing the doorway, the treatise asks: “All activities, depending on their grounds, become with 覺 or without 覺. Why is mindfulness of breathing alone said to remove 覺, and not the others?” 〔T32 431c06–08〕. Four witnesses read 說惟 for 唯說. The first answer says: “覺 is not spoken of in that sense. What does not abide is an obstruction to jhāna; removing 覺 is therefore said with reference to this meaning” 〔T32 431c08–09〕. The source explicitly says that non-abiding is an obstruction to jhāna but does not define 覺 further. It is therefore not separately interpreted as a particular fluctuation of mind.

The question first says that activities become with or without 覺 according to their grounds and asks why mindfulness of breathing alone removes it. The answer begins by denying that 覺 is being spoken of “in that way,” then says that non-abiding is an obstruction to jhāna. What “in that way” refers to, and whether the two occurrences of 覺 have exactly the same sense, are not explained. Only the turn in the answer and the explicit sentence on non-abiding are retained; no universal theory of mental activity is supplied.

The next sentence reads: 何故於風樂觸？由心樂著如覺，乾闥婆聞聲隨著，是故斷覺 〔T32 431c09–11〕. How 於風樂觸 should be divided and how 心樂著如覺 attaches are unclear; four witnesses read 樂心 for 心樂. “Qiantupo (乾闥婆) hears a sound and follows it” is the stated simile, but the source does not map sound, Qiantupo, wind, pleasant contact, and mind one by one. It is therefore not expanded into a mechanism in which pleasant contact draws the mind.

The last sentence says: “Furthermore, like 行 an embankment, because the mind is concentrated in mindfulness and 倚 unmoving, mindfulness of breathing is said to remove 覺. Mindfulness of breathing is finished” 〔T32 431c11–12〕. The syntax of 如行堤塘 and its correspondence to the following phrase are not explained; 倚 is also a graph in a repeated critical note. What can be established is the sequence embankment, concentrated mindfulness and 倚 unmoving, removal of 覺. It cannot establish that the embankment symbolizes unmovingness or combine the Qiantupo and embankment similes into a negative-and-positive pair. The inline closure stands at the end of this answer and clearly marks the end of mindfulness of breathing; the next passage begins the question on recollection of death.

Three things remain: the four correspondences to the establishments can be identified, while 所初 and 知起 remain unresolved; the seven factors are preserved as mindfulness, investigation, energy, rapture, tranquillity, concentration, and equanimity with the exact connective terms of each sentence; and the final phrases 於風樂觸, 心樂/樂心著如覺, and 如行堤塘 retain their uncertainty together with Qiantupo, the embankment, and the inline boundary.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Mindfulness of Breathing Fulfilling the Four Establishments, Seven Awakening Factors, and Knowledge-Liberation · Exposition · Summer 2026

The eighth of the ten recollections is mindfulness of death. The main finding comes first: although all four kinds take death as their object, the grief-associated, alarm-associated, and intermediate-associated kinds are “not to be cultivated”; only the wisdom-associated kind can remove faults. The treatise then lists three deaths, two deaths, and eight modes of cultivation.

Definition and Virtues: Revulsion as Function, “Without Difficulty” as Proximate Cause

The source asks: “What is mindfulness of death? What is its cultivation? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its proximate cause? What are its virtues? How is it cultivated?” It answers: “The breaking off of the activity of the life span is death. For mindfulness of that to remain without distraction is cultivation. The breaking off of one’s own life span is its characteristic; revulsion is its function; ‘without difficulty’ is its proximate cause” 〔T32 431c13–16〕. Death is defined in five graphs in the source as “life-span activity cut off.” The base uses 答 without 曰, while four witnesses have 答曰. The question has 問曰, so base question and answer are not parallel, whereas the four witnesses make them so; neither is regularized. The characteristic concerns the breaking off of one’s own life span, not an abstract concept of death. The function is revulsion, and the proximate cause is “without difficulty.” The source does not explain the latter phrase, so its uncertainty remains.

The virtues have no stated count: cultivation makes one heedful regarding higher wholesome qualities and averse to unwholesome qualities; loosens acquisition of garments and ornaments and stinginess; loosens clinging to body and life; fulfills perceptions of impermanence, suffering, and no-self; tends toward a good destination and toward the cream; and at the approach of death keeps the mind from error 〔T32 431c16–20〕. Heedfulness comes first, aversion to the unwholesome next, followed by release regarding possessions and release regarding body and life. Three perceptions are fulfilled in the middle; the final and most immediate statement is “when life is about to end, the mind is not mistaken.” The list runs from daily matters to dying. “Revulsion” appears as function, while “heedfulness” appears first among the virtues. The source places them in different categories and does not say that revulsion produces heedfulness through an exchange or causal mechanism.

Four Kinds: The First Three Are Not to Be Cultivated; Only Wisdom-Associated Removes Faults

The method begins: “A beginning meditator enters a secluded place and sits, gathers the whole mind, and with an undistracted mind recollects the death of beings: ‘I have entered the law of death, I am headed toward the destination of death, I do not pass beyond the law of death,’ as stated in 涅底履波陀脩多羅. If a person delights in contemplating death, one should contemplate a person being killed and see the conditions of death” 〔T32 431c20–24〕. The name resembles the phrase 修多羅涅底里句 in the recollection-of-Buddha doorway 〔T32 426c07〕, but the treatise does not say whether they refer to the same source. The starting point is “I have entered the law of death”: from the death of beings to the fact that “I” do not pass beyond death. The three clauses move from law, to destination, to not passing beyond it. Contemplating a person being killed provides an event for contemplation, but no further mechanism is supplied. The named source appears only here in the treatise, and its wording differs from the earlier expression; it is not harmonized.

The four kinds are stated as grief-associated, alarm-associated, intermediate-person-associated, and wisdom-associated. Loss of a beloved child is grief; sorrowful recollection of a child’s sudden violent death is alarm; “a 闍維 person recollects separation from birth” is intermediate; constant contemplation of the world that gives rise to revulsion is wisdom 〔T32 431c24–28〕. Each scene is tied to one kind. The source does not explain what 闍維 is or what “intermediate” means. Its terms also vary in one passage: the heading has “intermediate-person-associated,” the example closes “intermediate-associated mindfulness,” and the decision says “intermediate-associated.” The alarm term likewise lacks “mindfulness” in the heading but includes it in the example. These differences remain without added degrees or sequence. The decision is direct: “The grief-associated, alarm-associated, and intermediate-associated kinds are not to be cultivated. Why can they not remove faults? Only diligent cultivation associated with wisdom can remove faults” 〔T32 431c28–432a01〕.

The same unit uses slightly different wording for the four names. Across the statement, examples, and decision 〔T32 431c24–432a01〕, the three forms for the intermediate kind and the two forms for the alarm kind receive no stated doctrinal distinction. The source does not grade the four; it says only that the first three are not to be cultivated because they cannot remove faults and that the wisdom-associated kind can. That explicit ability is the only criterion stated.

One question can therefore be answered only within the source’s boundary: Why are the first three not cultivated and only the wisdom-associated kind cultivated? The answer is its own decision: the first three cannot remove faults, while diligent wisdom-associated cultivation can 〔T32 431c29–432a01〕. Because “intermediate” is not defined, it does not support a scale of stronger and weaker mental movement. The criterion is solely whether faults can be removed.

Three Deaths, Two Deaths, and the Heading of Eight Modes

The source says: “Death is of three kinds: equal death, severance death, and moment-by-moment death. What is equal death? Depending on 修 beings, this is equal death. Severance death refers to an arhat whose defilements have been cut off. Moment-by-moment death means activities cease from moment to moment” 〔T32 432a01–04〕. For equal death, the only explanation is “depending on 修 beings”; four witnesses read 假. Neither reading is explained here. Equal death is therefore not supplemented with a generic meaning, and the clear descriptions of the other two are not used backward to solve the first. Severance death is linked to an arhat whose defilements are cut off; moment-by-moment death to the momentary cessation of activities. The source then gives two more kinds: untimely and timely. Death by oneself, by another, through illness, or intermediate death without a cause is untimely; exhaustion of life, up to death in old age, is timely; both are to be recollected 〔T32 432a04–08〕. The list of three and list of two are consecutive, but the treatise does not say how they intersect. “Intermediate death without a cause” remains in the untimely list.

The two lists are also explained differently. Each member of the three-death list receives a sentence, though the equal-death sentence contains the 修/假 variant; the two-death list first names both, then assigns four conditions to untimely and exhaustion of life, up to death in old age, to timely, and closes “one should recollect both.” The source neither assigns the three members into the two nor says that the lists use one criterion. Each keeps its own names, examples, and conclusion.

The final heading states: “Furthermore, the former teachers taught mindfulness of death through eight modes: as when pursued by a violent man; through absence of a cause; through former taking; through the body belonging to many; because the life span has no power; through long-distant differentiation; because there is no sign; because of the moment” 〔T32 432a08–10〕. This unit provides only the eight names and attributes them to former teachers. It does not name those teachers or turn that attribution into a claim about authorial intention. The wording introducing the eight is uneven: the first begins “as,” the remaining seven “through”; three end with “because,” while four do not. These are textual facts, not a basis for further inference.

The eight names in order are pursuit by a violent man, absence of a cause, former taking, body belonging to many, life span without power, long-distant differentiation, absence of a sign, and the moment. The first is phrased “as when pursued by a violent man”; the others use “through,” with varying final particles. Because this unit does not explain them individually, neither the initial “as/through” nor the presence or absence of “because” can establish that they belong to distinct types such as simile, reason, sequence, or method. Only their number, order, and attribution are certain.

Three things remain: a finding—the first three of the four kinds are not cultivated, while only wisdom-associated mindfulness removes faults; a method of reading—successive classifications are kept as their own lists, since the three deaths and two deaths are not reconciled by the source; and a criterion—whether faults can be removed, with “intermediate” still unexplained. The next three units explain the eight modes one by one, beginning in 08-48 at 〔T32 432a10〕.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Mindfulness of Death: Overview and Eight Modes of Practice · Exposition · Summer 2026

This unit explains the first three of the eight modes, one question and answer for each. Three points can be checked directly. Violent pursuit uses a condemned person, a drawn sword following behind, uncertainty about which step brings death, and certain death whether going, standing, sitting, or sleeping. Absence of a cause uses the statement that one who is born has no cause or means by which not to die, together with the sun and moon that cannot be made not to set. Taking the former successively lists kings, sages, disciples, independently awakened persons, and Tathāgatas as entering the law of death, ending with “how much more I, whose life span is brief.” The source does not group these as three abstract categories of time, means, and status or say that they collectively remove an “only I” exception. Each is therefore explained through its own instructions.

Violent Pursuit: On Which Step Shall I Die?

The source asks how mindfulness of death is cultivated through violent pursuit and answers: “It is like a person condemned to death being led to the place of killing while a violent man follows with a drawn sword. Seeing the violent man following behind, the person reflects: ‘This man will kill me. When shall I die? As I take each step, on which step shall I die?’” 〔T32 432a10–14〕. The condemned person is led toward death while the violent man follows with a sword. The two questions concern the time of death and the step on which death occurs. It continues: “If I go I will certainly die; if I stand I will certainly die; if I sit I will certainly die; if I sleep I will certainly die. Thus a meditator should cultivate mindfulness of death through being pursued by a violent man” 〔T32 432a14–16〕. Going, standing, sitting, and sleeping each take “will certainly die.” The source uses three slightly different forms for this mode—兇惡人逐 and 兇惡逐—and they remain unregularized. No psychological mechanism of shifting from an observer to oneself or using every posture as a prompt is added.

Absence of a Cause: No Means of Escape

The question and answer say: “How is mindfulness of death cultivated through absence of a cause? No cause and no means can make one who has been born not die, just as no cause and no means can make the sun and moon, once risen, not set. Thus mindfulness of death is cultivated through absence of a cause” 〔T32 432a16–19〕. The answer certainly says that one who is born cannot avoid death by any cause or means, and the sun-and-moon simile says that what rises cannot be made not to set. How 以生 attaches to 能令 is unclear; four witnesses read 能念 for 能. The syntax and variant remain undecided. This section gives only its statement and simile; it is not enlarged into a universal law spanning all three modes.

Taking the Former: None of the Five Groups Escapes

The third question asks how mindfulness of death is cultivated through 本取. The answer lists: former kings Duocai, Dacheng, Great-Powered Dashanjian, Dingsheng, and others, all entering the law of death; sages of old with great power, Pishamidu and Shemadali, producing water and fire from their bodies and entering the law of death; earlier disciples with great wisdom and power, Shelifu, Mujianlian, and others entering the law of death; independently awakened persons, self-arisen without a teacher and accomplished in all virtues, entering the law of death; and Tathāgatas, worthy of offerings and rightly awakened, immeasurable and unsurpassed, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, having reached the far shore of virtue, entering the law of death 〔T32 432a19–28〕. Five groups occur in sequence. Beginning with the second, four instances of “furthermore” introduce the groups, and each concludes with “enter the law of death.” The question calls the mode 本取 while the conclusion calls it 先取; both remain without forced regularization. The names of kings and sages receive no further explanation.

Read group by group, the kings conclude “all kings entered the law of death.” The first “furthermore” names ancient sages and bodily production of water and fire, concluding “again entered the law of death.” The second names earlier disciples and their wisdom and powers, concluding “they entered the law of death.” The third names independently awakened persons and their accomplishment, concluding “also entered the law of death.” The fourth names Tathāgatas and their epithets, again concluding “also entered the law of death.” The five conclusions vary slightly in wording while making the same repeated statement. The source does not turn the group-specific virtues into a theory of exemption or non-exemption. The two forms 本取 and 先取 remain visible, and the order of the groups is retained without additional explanation.

One question may remain: Why do the first three groups give personal names, while the final two give only class names? The source does not answer. The kings name Duocai, Dacheng, Dashanjian, and Dingsheng, followed by “and others”; the sages name Pishamidu and Shemadali; the disciples name Shelifu and Mujianlian, also followed by “and others.” The independently awakened and Tathāgata groups name no individuals. All five conclude in entering the law of death and culminate in: “How much more shall I, whose life span is brief, not enter the law of death? Thus mindfulness of death is cultivated through 先取” 〔T32 432a28–29〕. The lists, common conclusion, and final question remain. The decreasing number of names is not interpreted as rising status or class names encompassing every individual.

Conclusion

Each mode has its own concluding formula. Violent pursuit ends “one should cultivate mindfulness of death”; absence of a cause ends “thus cultivate mindfulness of death through absence of a cause”; taking the former ends “thus cultivate mindfulness of death through 先取.” Three explicit points remain: uncertainty about time and step together with four certainties of death; the born person and the sun-and-moon simile; and five groups entering the law of death followed by “how much more I.” Their juxtaposition is sufficient. No common exception-category or inferred authorial intention is added.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Pursuit by a Violent Man, No Means, and Taking the Former · Exposition · Summer 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Distant Discernment: From a Hundred Years to a Single Breath

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

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

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

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

Concluding Focus

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

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

The last two of the eight modes and the conclusion of the doorway. First, the principal observation: the eight modes close here. The mode of signlessness says, “death has no fixed time.” The mode of the moment says, “the lifespan of living beings abides for the time of one thought; from there it does not abide for a second thought,” and then, “every living being disappears in a moment of mind” 〔T32 432b27–28〕. The question and answer occur at 〔T32 432b24–28〕. These three statements are read in their given order, without expanding their relation.

Signlessness: There Is No Sign; Death Has No Fixed Time

“Question: How does one cultivate mindfulness of death through signlessness? Answer: There is no sign; death has no fixed time. Therefore one cultivates mindfulness of death through signlessness” 〔T32 432b23–25〕. This is the briefest answer among the eight modes: measured line by line, its answer has only thirty Chinese characters. The received text writes “there is no sign” immediately beside “death has no fixed time,” then closes with “therefore one cultivates mindfulness of death through signlessness.” It gives no separate explanation of the precise relation between “sign” and “time.” The two terms and their order are therefore retained, without redefining “sign” as some particular kind of information.

The Moment: Abiding for the Time of One Thought

“Question: How does one cultivate mindfulness of death through the moment? Answer: One does not count past or future, but counts only present conditions. The lifespan of living beings abides for the time of one thought; from there it does not abide for a second thought; every living being disappears in a moment of mind” 〔T32 432b25–28〕. The answer first sets aside counting past and future and speaks only of present conditions. It then states, in order, abiding for the time of one thought, not abiding for a second thought, and disappearing in a moment of mind. The three statements are read in their given order; the referent of “from there” is not turned into a relation that the base text does not state. The base reads 念死, “mindfulness of death”; four witnesses read 死念, “death-mindfulness.” Both are recorded without adjudication.

The citation continues: “For past mind, it has not already arisen, will not arise, and is not presently arising. For future mind, it has not already arisen, is not presently arising, and will not arise. For the present moment of mind, it has not already arisen, will not arise, and is presently arising” 〔T32 432b28–432c02〕. Each of the three times of mind has three items. Past mind is ordered already, future, present; future mind is ordered already, present, future; the present moment returns to already, future, present. The order is not uniform. All six items for past and future are negative; the first two for the present moment are also negative; only the final item says “is presently arising.” Checked statement by statement, the distribution is eight negatives and one affirmative. This exposition preserves that verbal distribution, neither reordering the three lists nor adding a relation that this passage does not state.

“It is further said in verse: ‘Lifespan and the nature of the body, pain and pleasure and all that is possessed, correspond with a single mind and swiftly arise in a moment. For what has not arisen there is no arising; in the present there is arising; because mind is cut off, the world dies; it has been said that the world is exhausted’” 〔T32 432c02–06〕. The verse does not identify its source. This differs from the marked formulas 如佛說偈言, “as the Buddha said in verse” 〔T32 412c02〕, and 如大德摨狗父說偈, “as the venerable Saigoufu said in verse” 〔T32 426b22〕, yet its source still cannot be determined. The first four lines list lifespan, the nature of the body, pain and pleasure, and all that is possessed as corresponding with one mind, and say that they swiftly arise in a moment. The last four say, in order, that for what has not arisen there is no arising, in the present there is arising, because mind is cut off the world dies, and it has been said that the world is exhausted. The verse ends with these eight lines. The final two are retained in their given order, without separately defining their relation.

“Thus one cultivates mindfulness of death through the moment. Through this doorway and this mode, the meditator thus cultivates mindfulness of death in the present and arouses disaffection. With mastery of disaffection comes mastery of mindfulness and the mind becomes undistracted. When the mind is undistracted, the hindrances are destroyed, the factors of meditation are formed, and one arouses access meditation and attains abiding” 〔T32 432c07–10〕. The passage expressly gives this sequence: present cultivation of mindfulness of death arouses disaffection; mastery of disaffection leads to mastery of mindfulness; mastery of mindfulness leads to an undistracted mind; once the mind is undistracted, the hindrances are destroyed, the factors of meditation are formed, and there is “arousing access meditation and attaining abiding.” Each step follows only the order of this passage; no mechanism is added for disaffection or access meditation. The punctuation of the closing phrase “the factors of meditation are formed; one arouses access meditation and attains abiding” also follows the received text.

One Question Left Open: Are Mindfulness of Death and the Perception of Impermanence Not the Same Thing?

After “disappearing in a moment of mind,” a reader may naturally ask how this differs from the perception of impermanence. The treatise leaves that question as the doorway’s final one: “Question: What is the difference between the perception of impermanence and mindfulness of death? Answer: The arising and cessation of the aggregates is called the perception of impermanence; recollecting the destruction of the faculties is called mindfulness of death. The marks of impermanence and not-self are cultivated in order to remove conceit; mindfulness of death is cultivated so that the marks of impermanence and suffering become established, through the cutting off of life mind ceases. This is the distinction. (Mindfulness of death is concluded.)” 〔T32 432c10–14〕. In the text’s own answer, the distinction has two levels. Their objects differ: the perception of impermanence concerns the arising and cessation of the aggregates, whereas mindfulness of death concerns the destruction of the faculties. Their stated results differ: cultivating impermanence and not-self removes conceit, whereas cultivating mindfulness of death establishes the marks of impermanence and suffering and comes to “through the cutting off of life, mind ceases.” At “life,” four witnesses read the fuller form 壽命 for the base 壽 in a repeated collation note. The treatise states only these two levels and stops. It does not say how the two doorways include one another. The reader may discern their difference at the point of practice, while taking these two textual levels as the boundary. The inline note marks the limit: the doorway of mindfulness of death, extending from 08-47 through this fourth unit, is concluded.

Carry away three things: one observation—signlessness says “death has no fixed time,” while the moment says that life abides for one thought, does not abide for a second, and disappears in a moment of mind; one reading rule—retain the three temporal lists in their received order, since past, future, and present do not arrange already-arisen, future-arising, and present-arising uniformly; and one distinction—mindfulness of death is not simply the perception of impermanence, because the text distinguishes faculties from aggregates as their objects, and the establishment of the marks of impermanence and suffering from removing conceit as their results. The distinction has two levels and stops where the treatise stops. The next passage begins the ninth of the ten recollections, mindfulness of the body, at 08-51 〔T32 432c15〕.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Signlessness, the Moment, and the Conclusion of Mindfulness of Death · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage first answers the definition, cultivation, characteristic, function, and benefits of mindfulness of the body. It then lists the things within the body and the order of observation, followed by three kinds of apprehension, three groups of conditional statements, and three kinds of practitioners; it ends by announcing thirteen modes. The crucial observation is that the names in these groups are not completely identical. The three apprehensions are “color, aversion, emptiness,” but the third item in the later groups becomes “elements.” Read each group separately in its own order. The first group expressly has “emptiness” as its third item, while the later conditional statements, supporting objects, and practitioner groups expressly have “elements.” This verbal mismatch must be preserved in full.

Definition and Benefits

“Question: What is mindfulness of the body? What is its cultivation? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What are its benefits? How is it cultivated? Answer: Cultivate mindfulness of the nature of the body. That mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness are called mindfulness of the body. This mindfulness abides without distraction; this is called cultivation. Causing the nature of the body to arise is its characteristic, disaffection is its function, and seeing the absence of reality is its arising” 〔T32 432c15–18〕. This doorway has no question “what is its basis?” Its answer likewise reads “seeing the absence of reality is its arising.” The missing question is preserved without forcing uniformity. The four base-text characters 念身此念 are read as 身念 in four witnesses, changing the punctuation; both are recorded without adjudication. The definition places mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness side by side and calls them mindfulness of the body. Mindfulness abiding without distraction is called cultivation. The passage then gives, in order, causing the nature of the body to arise as characteristic, disaffection as function, and seeing the absence of reality as arising. Each item stops at the source’s wording; no meaning absent from the passage is supplied for “arising.”

“What is its cultivation?” and the final question “How is it cultivated?” both occur in the list of questions. The answer first responds to the former with “This mindfulness abides without distraction; this is called cultivation.” Only after listing the benefits does “As for how it is cultivated” turn to entering a secluded place and sitting, gathering the mind, and listing things within the body 〔T32 432c17–23〕. Both concern cultivation, but the received text places their answers at different points. That order should be retained.

The benefits have no stated total: “Through cultivating mindfulness of the body one becomes capable of endurance, capable of bearing fear, capable of enduring cold and heat, and so on. The perceptions of impermanence, not-self, foulness, and danger become fulfilled. One becomes able to obtain the four meditations at will, to discern dhammas clearly and complete the cultivation, to proceed toward a good destination, and to proceed toward cream” 〔T32 432c18–21〕. In the source’s order: becoming capable of endurance, capable of bearing fear, and capable of enduring cold and heat; fulfillment of the four perceptions; obtaining the four meditations at will; clearly discerning dhammas and completing cultivation; proceeding toward a good destination and toward cream. The entire list is governed by “through cultivating mindfulness of the body,” and both final phrases use “proceed toward.”

In the sentence-by-sentence connection, “those perceptions become fulfilled” immediately follows the perceptions of impermanence, not-self, foulness, and danger. “One becomes able to obtain the four meditations at will” begins the next item; “clearly discerning dhammas and completing the cultivation” forms another group; and the final two clauses both say “proceed toward” 〔T32 432c19–21〕. These connective words and this order distinguish the nodes of the list. The passage does not state that the items form a further causal sequence.

The Thirty-Two Items: Speech First, Mind Thereafter

“As for how it is cultivated, a beginning meditator enters a secluded place and sits, gathers the whole mind, and with an undistracted mind cultivates only the nature of mind. How does one cultivate the nature of mind? In this body there are hair of the head, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, marrow, brain, liver, heart, 脾胇, gall, stomach, fat and grease, brain membrane, large intestine, small intestine, feces, urine, pus and blood, 淡污, saliva, tears, nasal mucus and spittle: foul” 〔T32 432c21–25〕. The opening sequence is entering a secluded place and sitting, gathering the whole mind, and with an undistracted mind cultivating only the nature of mind. The opening of the doorway reads “nature of the body,” whereas this point reads “nature of mind”; the base text’s wording is retained. The list starts with hair of the head, body hair, nails, teeth, and skin, continues through flesh, sinews, and internal things, and closes with feces, urine, pus and blood, 淡污, saliva, tears, nasal mucus and spittle. The final “foul” governs the whole list; the passage does not explain each name separately. Four witnesses read 肺 for 胇, four read 痰 for 淡, and the Gong witness reads 入 for 腦 in 腦膜. All are recorded without adjudication.

Following the punctuation of the base text, twenty-five entries can be counted one by one: hair of the head one through sinews seven; marrow eight, brain nine, liver ten, heart eleven, 脾胇 twelve, gall thirteen, stomach fourteen, fat and grease fifteen, brain membrane sixteen, large intestine seventeen, small intestine eighteen, feces nineteen, urine twenty, pus and blood twenty-one, 淡污 twenty-two, saliva twenty-three, tears twenty-four, and nasal mucus and spittle twenty-five 〔T32 432c23–25〕. This count reflects only the present punctuation; it does not decide whether compounds should be divided.

One question must be held open here: the text calls them “these thirty-two items” 〔T32 432c26〕, yet punctuation yields only twenty-five. Where are the missing seven? Seven entries in the list are two-character compounds—骨髓, 脾胇, 肪膏, 腦膜, 膿血, 淡污, and 涕唾. Dividing each in two produces the number thirty-two exactly. The treatise, however, does not state this mode of division, and the base text is punctuated as it is. The original form is preserved: no unique punctuation and no forced count. This exposition asks only one discipline here: when a stated number and a list do not match, count first, then see whether division or combination offers a path, and finally record the uncertainty without forcing a decision.

The order of observation reads: “A beginning meditator, with regard to these thirty-two items, first proceeds upward in sequence, then downward in sequence. Good! With words spoken by the mouth, one should constantly recite and constantly observe. Good! Through constantly observing words spoken by the mouth, at this time, in each of four modes, one should apprehend with mind alone: by color, by movement, by shape, by location, and by discrimination, a coarse sign arises; whether one, two, or many, one skillfully grasps the corresponding sign” 〔T32 432c25–433a01〕. First comes “upward in sequence, then downward in sequence”; this passage does not further explain the method. Next comes “with words spoken by the mouth, one should constantly recite and constantly observe,” followed later by “one should apprehend with mind alone.” What can be established is the sequence from constant oral recitation and observation to apprehension with mind alone; the passage does not explain their functional relation. “Good!” occurs once in each of the two clauses concerning oral words. “Each of four modes” announces four but is followed by five items—color, movement, shape, location, and discrimination. This is retained without forcing the count. The passage then says that the coarse signs are one, two, or many, and that the corresponding sign is skillfully grasped.

The end of the sentence must likewise remain in order: first “one should apprehend with mind alone”; next come color, movement, shape, location, and discrimination; only then comes “a coarse sign arises; whether one, two, or many, one skillfully grasps the corresponding sign” 〔T32 432c29–433a01〕. The received text does not explain how each of the five “by” phrases connects to one, two, or many. Nor does it say which of the five the announced four excludes. All five items and all three quantity words are therefore retained.

Three Kinds of Apprehension and the Three Groups That Follow

“The meditator thus brings the practice forth through three kinds of apprehension: by color, by aversion, and by emptiness” 〔T32 433a01–02〕. This is the first group, whose third item expressly reads “emptiness.” The next group has three conditional statements: one whose sign arises through color should attend through mastery of the color kasiṇa; one whose sign arises through aversion should attend to foulness; one whose sign arises through emptiness should attend to the elements 〔T32 433a02–05〕. The third statement contains both “emptiness” and “elements”; the source does not say that the two terms are identical.

The next group changes its grammatical subject to the supporting object: depending on a kasiṇa, one arouses the four meditations; depending on an object of foulness, the first meditation; depending on an object of elements, access meditation 〔T32 433a05–07〕. Here the three items are “kasiṇa, foulness, elements,” no longer the original “color, aversion, emptiness.” Practitioners are then listed: one of angry temperament arouses a sign through color, one of lustful temperament through aversion, and one of wisdom temperament through elements 〔T32 433a07–09〕. The third item is again “elements,” not “emptiness.”

The practitioner group is immediately repeated under “further”: one of angry temperament should attend to color, one of lustful temperament to aversion, and one of wisdom temperament to elements 〔T32 433a09–10〕. The first group says “arouses a sign”; the second says “should attend.” The treatise does not state the difference between them. What can be established is each group’s received order and wording, and the verbal mismatch by which the third item changes from “emptiness” to “elements.” The passage offers no further account of the relation among the groups.

The closing announcement reads: “Further, one should recollect the nature of the body through thirteen modes: by origin, by place, by condition, by flow, by sequence, by shape, by kinds of worms, by their resting places, by aggregation, by what is repellent, by foulness, by place, by ingratitude, and by having a boundary” 〔T32 433a11–13〕. Counted in the order of the received text, fourteen items are listed. The second and twelfth both read “by place.” This passage only names them and does not explain them one by one. The stated “thirteen modes,” all fourteen original names, and the repeated “by place” are therefore retained without deletion or addition, and the two occurrences are not assigned distinct meanings in advance.

Carry away three things: one observation—the three apprehensions “color, aversion, emptiness” do not use exactly the same words as the later groups “kasiṇa, foulness, elements” and “color, aversion, elements”; one reading rule—retain the received sequence, with “constantly recite and constantly observe” before “apprehend with mind alone,” without separately defining their relation; and one pen—where a stated number and a list differ, as thirty-two against twenty-five, four against five, and thirteen against fourteen, count first, look for division or combination, and finally record without forcing a decision. The next passage begins the item-by-item explanation of the thirteen modes, at “Question: How should one recollect the nature of the body by origin?” in 08-52 〔T32 433a13–14〕.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · General Account of Mindfulness of the Body and the Thirty-Two Items · Exposition · Summer 2026

The first six of the thirteen modes—seed, place, condition, flow, sequence, and formation—make five questions and six paragraphs here. Sequence and formation are combined under one question, “by sequential formation,” while the sixth paragraph begins separately with “It is further said.” The six paragraphs proceed through the impure seed from father and mother, the constrained place in the mother’s womb, the condition of foul food and liquid, overflow from the nine apertures, and formation in successive seven-day periods. Their conclusions use both “should recollect” and “ought to recollect”; what is recollected appears under three names, nature of the body, intrinsic nature of the body, and nature of mind. The received text does not make these expressions uniform.

Two Sets of Questions and Answers on Seed and Place

“Question: How should one recollect the nature of the body by seed? Answer: Just as a poisonous seed gives rise to 茱萸, 拘沙, 多紀, and all the others, so this body arises from the impurities of father and mother. Arising from an impure seed, this body becomes impure” 〔T32 433a13–16〕. The answer first names 茱萸, 拘沙, and 多紀 as arising from poisonous seed, then turns the comparison to this body: it arises from the impurities of father and mother and becomes impure because its seed is impure. Only seed and what it produces are connected here; the passage gives no separate account of how poisonousness is transmitted. None of the three names is explained in this passage, and 拘沙 and 多紀 occur nowhere else in the treatise. The question reads “nature of the body,” but the paragraph ends, “Thus one should recollect the nature of mind by seed.” The distinction between nature of the body and nature of mind at this point cannot be supplied from the passage itself.

“Question: How should one recollect the nature of the body by place? Answer: This body is not born from the 欝多羅 flower, nor from the 拘牟陀 or 分陀利迦 flower. It is born in the mother’s womb, in an impure, foul, constricted, and oppressive place; it arises from the two repositories, raw and cooked; it is wrapped in sacs at the left and right sides and abides supported by the spine. That place is impure, and the body becomes impure” 〔T32 433a16–20〕. The answer first uses “not born from” and “nor from” to exclude the three flowers 欝多羅, 拘牟陀, and 分陀利迦, then affirmatively says that the body is born in the mother’s womb. The womb’s place is described in layers: impure and foul, constrained and oppressive; between the two repositories, raw and cooked; wrapped in sacs at the left and right sides; and supported by the spine. This passage does not further explain the referent of “the two repositories, raw and cooked” or the precise relation among the locations. The conclusion proceeds only from “that place is impure” to “the body becomes impure.” The focus of this question is thus the place of birth.

The seed and place paragraphs each state their own reason. The seed paragraph speaks of the body’s seed through “arises from the impurities of father and mother.” The place paragraph begins again from “born in the mother’s womb” and lists the environment of birth. Both close with “the body becomes impure,” but the first paragraph then abruptly changes to “one should recollect the nature of mind,” whereas the second retains “one should recollect the nature of the body.” These conclusions cannot be rewritten to match one another, because the received text itself preserves the difference.

Conditions of Growth and Flow through the Nine Apertures

“Question: How should one recollect the nature of the body by conditions? Answer: If this impure body grows and persists, gold, silver, jewels, and the like cannot make it grow, nor can conditions such as sandalwood, 多伽羅, and agarwood make it grow. This body arises in the mother’s womb. What the mother eats is mixed with nasal mucus, spittle, saliva, and tears. Arising in the womb, it grows and persists through a flow of foul food and liquid. After it emerges, the rice, milk, 䉽, and beans that it eats are mixed together with nasal mucus, spittle, saliva, and 淡. This body grows and persists through a foul and impure flow” 〔T32 433a21–27〕. “Grows and persists” supplies the thread of this answer. It first excludes two groups of conditions: neither gold, silver, and jewels, nor sandalwood, 多伽羅, agarwood, and the like make the body grow. It then positively states conditions of growth in two phases, in the womb and after birth. In the womb, what the mother eats is mixed with “nasal mucus, spittle, saliva, and tears,” and the body grows and persists through a “flow of foul food and liquid.” After birth, rice, milk, 䉽, and beans are mixed with “nasal mucus, spittle, saliva, and 淡,” and the body grows and persists through a “foul and impure flow.”

Within this answer, the two strings end differently, one with 淚, “tears,” and the other with 淡. Four witnesses read 痰 for 淚, but the edition follows the Taishō base and retains both occurrences rather than making them identical. 䉽 is likewise the character in the base and occurs only here in the entire treatise. The question asks how to recollect “the nature of the body” by conditions, whereas the paragraph closes, “Thus one should recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by conditions.” Nature of the body and intrinsic nature of the body form another difference in the received wording. What can be established within this paragraph is that the mother’s food in the womb and rice and milk after birth are narrated as two distinct conditions of growth, both through foul liquid.

“Question: How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by flow? Answer: It is like a leather bag filled with feces and urine: because it has many openings, impurities flow out. This body is the same, filled with feces and urine. The food and drink consumed by this body are mixed with nasal mucus, spittle, feces, urine, and foulness. Various impurities overflow from the nine apertures, because it has many openings and because it does not become full” 〔T32 433a28–433b03〕. Each part of the leather-bag comparison can be read against its counterpart. The leather bag is “filled with feces and urine,” and so is the body. Because the bag has “many openings,” impurities flow out; for the body, various impurities overflow from the nine apertures. The body’s food and drink are also placed beside nasal mucus, spittle, feces, urine, and foulness, stating what flows. At the close, “because it has many openings” and “because it does not become full” are two coordinate reasons, not one combined reason.

This question moves from “conditions” to “flow.” The preceding answer states what enables the body to grow and persist; this answer states where the impurities within the body overflow. On the leather-bag side are being filled, having many openings, and flowing out. On the body side, the nine apertures are expressly named, along with the added phrase “because it does not become full.” Thus, in a point-by-point reading, the body’s nine apertures correspond to the bag’s many openings; the nine apertures cannot be inserted as an additional item on the comparison’s side. This paragraph alone begins with the fuller “Question says,” and alone closes “ought to recollect the intrinsic nature of the body,” rather than the other paragraphs’ “Question” and “should recollect.” Each difference must be preserved as it stands.

The Sequence Listed by Seven-Day Periods

“Question: How should one recollect the intrinsic nature of the body by sequential formation? Answer: This body is established in sequence through initial action. In the first seven-day period 迦羅邏 forms; in the second, 阿浮陀; in the third, 俾尸; in the fourth, 阿那; at five seven-days, five joints; at six, four joints; at seven, another four joints arise; at eight, another twenty-eight joints; at nine seven-days and ten seven-days, the spine further arises; at eleven, three hundred bones; at twelve, eight hundred joints; at thirteen, nine hundred sinews; at fourteen, one hundred balls of flesh; at fifteen, blood; at sixteen, a membrane; at seventeen, skin; at eighteen, skin color; at nineteen, wind produced by action pervades every place; at twenty, the nine apertures form; at twenty-five, seventeen thousand 湊 arise; at twenty-six, the body becomes firm; at twenty-seven, it has strength; at twenty-eight, ninety-nine thousand pores arise; at twenty-nine seven-days, all parts of the body become complete” 〔T32 433b03–16〕. “This body is established in sequence through initial action” introduces twenty-four items in the received text. The first through fourth seven-day periods have four names in order: 迦羅邏, 阿浮陀, 俾尸, and 阿那. This passage does not explain any of the four. The fifth through eighth turn to numbers: five joints, four joints, another four joints, and another twenty-eight joints. The two occurrences of “four joints” differ, one saying “forms” and the other “further arises”; both must be retained.

Next the received text says “at nine seven-days and ten seven-days, the spine further arises,” combining nine and ten seven-days in a single item. It then moves directly to three hundred bones at eleven seven-days, eight hundred joints at twelve, nine hundred sinews at thirteen, and one hundred balls of flesh at fourteen. The respective numbers for bones, joints, sinews, and balls of flesh are three hundred, eight hundred, nine hundred, and one hundred; adjacency does not permit interchanging them. Fifteen through eighteen seven-days give blood, membrane, skin, and skin color in sequence. At nineteen seven-days comes the separate statement, “wind produced by action pervades every place.” Wind does not occur before nineteen in this series, and the four source characters 業所生風 can only be retained in their stated sense.

After nineteen seven-days, the base does not give twenty-one but reads, “at twenty seven-days, the nine apertures form.” The next item then jumps to “at twenty-five seven-days, seventeen thousand 湊 arise.” At 433b13, four witnesses read 十四 for the base 十. Under that reading, the phrase would become “at twenty-four seven-days” and would connect with twenty-five, but the Taishō base remains “at twenty seven-days” and cannot be changed here. The list then has the firm body at twenty-six, strength at twenty-seven, ninety-nine thousand pores at twenty-eight, and all parts of the body complete at twenty-nine seven-days. “At twenty seven-days, the nine apertures form” and “at twenty-seven seven-days, it has strength” are verbally different and should not be merged. Four witnesses read 腠 for the base 湊; the base is retained.

The whole list has clear content item by item and also discontinuities that cannot be erased: nine and ten seven-days share one item; after nineteen come twenty and then twenty-five. What can be established is the content assigned by the received text to each item; what cannot be established is how the broken points should originally have been ordered. “Established in sequence through initial action” and the phrase “wind produced by action pervades every place” both contain “action” in the same paragraph, but the passage does not state their relation or use one to explain the other.

“It is further said: at seven seven-days the body exists, leaning against the mother’s back with its head downward, crouching and sitting. At forty-two seven-days, wind produced by action turns the feet upward and the head downward toward the birth passage. At this time it is born into the world and is called a person by designation” 〔T32 433b17–19〕. “It is further said” begins another list, naming only seven and forty-two seven-days. At seven seven-days the body already exists, leaning against the mother’s back with its head downward, crouching and sitting. At forty-two seven-days, “wind produced by action” turns the feet upward and the head downward toward the birth passage. Birth into the world and “called a person by designation” follow. The first sequence ended at twenty-nine seven-days, while this account moves directly to forty-two. The two sequences are not reconciled in this passage. Each occurrence of “wind produced by action” is understood only within its own sentence, without using one as a definition of the other.

One Question Left Open: What Does “Person by Designation” Mean?

The last sentence reads, “At this time it is born into the world and is called a person by designation” 〔T32 433b19〕. “Person by designation” appears immediately after the moment of birth; before it stand the twenty-four items of sequential formation and the separate account introduced by “it is further said.” The passage gives no definition of “designation.” What can be preserved is the phrase’s position and wording here.

The passage moves from seed, place, conditions, and flow into sequential formation, with a separate question and answer for each. The leather-bag comparison can be read point by point as filled against filled, many openings against nine apertures, and flow out against overflow. Sequential formation requires preserving both the content of all twenty-four items and the two discontinuities. “Established in sequence through initial action,” “wind produced by action,” and “person by designation” are each retained only in the sentence where this passage gives it; no definition of one is derived from another.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Body’s Arising and Sequence · Exposition · Summer 2026

The seventh of the thirteen modes, “by kinds of worms,” occupies a single paragraph here. The text first states generally that “this body is eaten by eighty thousand households of worms” 〔T32 433b20–21〕. It then repeatedly uses the word “associated with” to identify the body part on which each worm depends, followed by the worm’s name. Near the end, another group expressly says that worms associated with the front, back, left, and right of the body each eat that place. The paragraph gives no further explanation at its end, but closes only with “Thus one should recollect the nature of the body through the worms’ dwelling” 〔T32 434a11〕. What the received text establishes is the worms’ dwelling, dependencies, and eating. It does not reconcile the general total of eighty thousand with the names that follow.

The subject and object of the general statement are clear: “this body” is what is eaten, and the “eighty thousand households of worms” are what eat it. When the text turns to “associated with” below, it moves from the general statement about eating to an item-by-item identification of the body part on which a worm depends. The two constructions have distinct functions.

General Statement, Dependencies, and the Form of the List

“Question: How should one recollect the nature of the body by kinds of worms? Answer: This body is eaten by eighty thousand households of worms” 〔T32 433b20–21〕. “Eighty thousand households of worms” is the general total. The text neither lists eighty thousand names nor explains how that total is converted into the number of names below. The question has “kinds of worms,” while the conclusion has “the worms’ dwelling” 〔T32 434a11〕. The terms “kinds” and “dwelling” are preserved only where each occurs. The list begins at the head: “The worm associated with the hair of the head is named 髮鐵; that associated with the skull is named 耳腫; that associated with the brain is named 顛狂下. 顛狂 further has four kinds: the first 塸拘霖婆, the second 濕婆羅, the third 陀羅呵, and the fourth 陀阿尸邏” 〔T32 433b21–24〕. Hair, skull, and brain are the dependent places, while 髮鐵, 耳腫, and 顛狂下 are the corresponding names. The four kinds are introduced by “顛狂 further has four kinds.” This passage explains neither the meanings of the names nor the precise level at which the four stand in relation to 顛狂下.

The most common construction thereafter is “the worm associated with X is named Y.” Where several kinds are listed at one place, the construction becomes “there are further two,” “further three,” or “further four kinds,” after which first, second, and subsequent names are given. The text has twenty-six such subdivisions. Lists of two are the most numerous, followed by lists of four. This organization is directly observable in the names. The particular worms denoted by the phonetic forms cannot be determined from this passage alone.

The head and face continue: “The worm associated with the eyes is named 舐眼; that associated with the ears, 蚔耳. The worm associated with the nose is named 蚔鼻, and there are further three kinds: the first 樓扣母可, the second 阿樓扣, the third 摩那樓母可. The worm associated with the tongue is named 勿伽; that associated with the root of the tongue, 母但多; that associated with the teeth, 狗婆; that associated with the roots of the teeth, 優婆拘婆; that associated with the throat, 阿婆離呵. There are two kinds associated with the neck: the first is named 虜呵羅, 二毘虜呵羅” 〔T32 433b24–433c01〕. This proceeds in order from eyes, ears, and nose to tongue, root of the tongue, teeth, roots of the teeth, throat, and neck. Tongue and root of the tongue, like teeth and roots of the teeth, are separate entries. The word “root” occurs later with roots of the vessels, heart, bladder, 胞, intestine, and 彊. For the second neck item the base text writes only 二毘虜呵羅, omitting the character “named” used throughout the paragraph. It cannot be silently supplied in the reader text.

The list then gives body hair, nails, skin, membranes, flesh, blood, sinews, vessels, and roots of the vessels: “The worm associated with body hair is named 蚔毛; that associated with the nails, 蚔爪. There are two associated with the skin: the first 兜那, the second 兜難多. There are further two associated with the membranes: the first 鞞藍婆, the second 摩諀藍婆. There are further two associated with the flesh: the first 阿羅婆, the second 羅婆. There are further two associated with the blood: the first 婆羅, the second 婆多羅. There are further four associated with the sinews: the first 賴多虜, the second 喜多婆, the third 婆羅婆多羅, the fourth 羅那婆羅那. The worm associated with the vessels is named 架栗俠那. There are further two associated with the roots of the vessels: the first 尸婆羅, the second 優婆尸尸羅” 〔T32 433c01–10〕. Skin, membranes, flesh, and blood each have two kinds; sinews have four; vessels have one name; roots of the vessels again have two. Each number belongs only to the immediately adjoining body part and cannot be reassigned across entries.

The bone and marrow lists read: “There are further four kinds associated with the bones: the first 遏褫（除里反）毘馱, the second 安那毘馱, the third 殆（塗履反）履拕毘拕, the fourth 遏褫絙可羅” 〔T32 433c10–12〕; and “There are further two associated with the marrow: the first 弭（亡比反）社, the second 弭社尸羅” 〔T32 433c12–13〕. These contain all three inline fanqie notes in the paragraph: 除里反, 塗履反, and 亡比反. Fanqie preserves the pronunciations annotated in the base text, but does not license adding meanings for the names that this passage never gives. The spleen, heart, root of the heart, and fat then each have two: 尼羅 and 比多; 死毘多 and 優鉢拕毘多; 滿可 and 尸羅; 哿羅 and 哿羅尸羅 〔T32 433c14–18〕.

From the bladder onward: “There are further two associated with the bladder: the first 弭哿羅, the second 摩訶哿羅. There are further two associated with the root of the bladder: the first 哿羅, the second 哿羅尸羅. There are further two associated with the 胞: the first 娑婆羅, the second 摩訶沙婆羅. There are further two associated with the root of the 胞: the first 賴多, the second 摩訶賴多. There are further two associated with the small intestine: the first 帚賴多, the second 摩訶賴多. There are further two associated with the root of the intestine: the first 波, the second 摩訶死波. There are further two associated with the root of the large intestine: the first 安那婆呵, the second 𭘰果婆呵” 〔T32 433c18–26〕. The pair 哿羅 and 哿羅尸羅 also appeared under fat. 摩訶賴多 appears first under the root of the 胞 and then under the small intestine. The text does not say whether identical names designate identical kinds. Both occurrences must be retained.

The stomach and the mature repository each have four. The stomach’s names are 優受哿, 優社婆, 知社婆, and 先市婆; the mature repository’s are 婆呵那, 摩訶婆呵那, 陀那槃, and 粉那母可 〔T32 433c26–434a01〕. This passage does not explain the “mature repository” or its difference from the stomach. Next, bile, spittle, sweat, and grease each receive one name. Under 強 are the two names 藪婆呵母 and 社摩契多; under 彊根 are the three 處呵母珂, 陀虜呵母珂, and 娑那母珂 〔T32 434a01–06〕. The received text first uses 強 and then 彊根. Both the difference of written form and the presence or absence of “root” are preserved. Finally, the two lower apertures have the three names 拘樓拘羅唯喻, 遮羅喻, and 寒頭波拕 〔T32 434a09–11〕.

The dependent parts, in the order of the received text, are: hair of the head, skull, brain, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, root of the tongue, teeth, roots of the teeth, throat, neck, body hair, nails, skin, membranes, flesh, blood, sinews, vessels, roots of the vessels, bones, marrow, spleen, heart, root of the heart, fat, bladder, root of the bladder, 胞, root of the 胞, small intestine, root of the intestine, root of the large intestine, stomach, mature repository, bile, spittle, sweat, grease, 強, 彊根, the front, back, left, and right of the body, and the two lower apertures. This is simply the passage’s order. The text does not name it as an anatomical sequence. Names such as 髮鐵, 耳腫, 顛狂下, 舐眼, 蚔耳, 蚔鼻, 蚔毛, and 蚔爪 can partly be read by their Chinese characters; most of the others are phonetic forms. Whether or not their characters appear intelligible, this passage defines none of them individually.

The four-direction section says: “There are five kinds of worms. Those associated with the front of the body eat the front; those associated with the back eat the back; those associated with the left eat the left; those associated with the right eat the right. The worms are named 栴陀, 死羅, 脣呵, 死羅不, 偷羅, and so on” 〔T32 434a06–09〕. Five are announced, but only four locations—front, back, left, and right—are given. Five names occur, followed by “and so on.” The stated total, number of directions, and form of the list cannot be made fully to match, and the received text does not allocate the five names one by one to the four directions. Only four eating relations are certain: those at the front eat the front, those at the back eat the back, those at the left eat the left, and those at the right eat the right.

Besides this numerical mismatch, the list preserves several other irregularities that cannot be flattened: the second neck item omits “named”; the complete pair 哿羅 and 哿羅尸羅 recurs; 摩訶賴多 recurs; the forms 強 and 彊 both occur; and “kinds of worms” in the question differs from “the worms’ dwelling” in the conclusion. The phonetic names also have many variant readings, and the characters in the three fanqie notes themselves have variants. These are differences preserved by the received text and its witnesses, not grounds for supplying meanings to any worm name.

Read by the number of names assigned to each location, there are five lists of four: 顛狂, sinews, bones, stomach, and mature repository. Lists of three follow the nose, and occur at 彊根 and the two lower apertures. Lists of two are more numerous: neck, skin, membranes, flesh, blood, roots of the vessels, marrow, spleen, heart, root of the heart, fat, bladder, root of the bladder, 胞, root of the 胞, small intestine, root of the intestine, root of the large intestine, and 強. Places given only one name include hair of the head, skull, brain, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, root of the tongue, teeth, roots of the teeth, throat, body hair, nails, vessels, bile, spittle, sweat, and grease. This classification merely rearranges the explicit counts of the received text; it does not interpret one, two, three, or four names as levels.

Two grammatical levels must also be distinguished. The opening generalization says that the body “is eaten by eighty thousand households of worms.” Most detailed entries only state the body part with which a worm is associated and its name. Only the group of four directions expressly writes that those associated with each direction “eat” that direction. Thus “associated with” is visible item by item throughout the detailed list, whereas “eat” is written direction by direction only in that four-direction section. The three kinds at the two lower apertures then return to the naming construction, “there are three kinds of worms associated with the two lower apertures,” without separately stating an act of eating. This textual difference must be preserved; the grammar of the four-direction item cannot be rewritten into each detailed entry where it does not appear.

One Question Left Open: The Worms’ Dwelling and the Nature of the Body

After the long list, the paragraph closes with only one sentence: “Thus one should recollect the nature of the body through the worms’ dwelling” 〔T32 434a11〕. “Kinds of worms” in the question becomes “the worms’ dwelling” here, but the received text explains neither the relation between the two terms nor the steps between the list of worm names and “should recollect the nature of the body.” The exposition can therefore preserve only the sequence actually supplied: first, the body is generally said to be eaten by eighty thousand households of worms; next, dependent places and names are listed one by one; near the end, the four directions are expressly said to be eaten in their respective places; finally, the worms’ dwelling supplies the conclusion. Whether the list omits further names, how the number eighty thousand is established, and what each phonetic name denotes all remain unresolved.

Conclusion

The passage’s explicit thread is the dependent places and eating of the worms within the body: the general total “eighty thousand households of worms,” the body parts and names listed under “associated with,” the four-direction item stated through “eat,” and finally “the worms’ dwelling.” Reading the passage requires retaining both the complete list and its irregularities: the total eighty thousand does not match the names actually listed; five worms do not match four directions; several names recur; 強 and 彊, and “kinds of worms” and “the worms’ dwelling,” use different wording. Where the phonetic names have no explanation, only their written form, dependent place, and order in the list are preserved.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Kinds of Worms within the Body · Exposition · Summer 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Place, Ingratitude, and Having a Boundary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This passage first answers the definition, benefits, and method of recollection of quietude. It lists seeing, hearing, and other actions, together with the two separations from commotion of body and mind; then it lists, item by item, the cessations recollected in the concentrations and fruits, closing with “If he enters nibbāna, through recollection of quietude, everything has ceased” 〔T32 434c20–21〕. After the main text “Quietude is concluded” and the inline note “The ten recollections are concluded,” a separate paragraph begins, “Within the ten recollections, these are miscellaneous statements.” Each portion is read separately in the order and under the names given by this passage.

Definition, Three Categories, and Benefits: Unmoving, 不調, and Wonderful Liberation

“Question: What is recollection of quietude? What is its cultivation? What are its characteristic, function, basis, and benefits? How is it cultivated? Answer: Quietude is the cessation of disturbance in body and mind. Because it has been subdued and cut off, this is called quietude. Clearly recollect quietude in the present. That mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness are called recollection of quietude. When mindfulness abides without distraction, this is called cultivation. Causing the quality of unmovingness to arise is its characteristic, 不調 is its function, and wonderful liberation is its basis” 〔T32 434b23–27〕. Quietude means the cessation of disturbance in body and mind, subdued and cut off. The two characters 寂寂 occur densely throughout the passage—its meaning remains in that unchanged repetition. Mindfulness still has three names: mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness. Cultivation still has one statement: “When mindfulness abides without distraction, this is called cultivation.”

The three categories of characteristic, function, and basis are unmovingness, 不調, and wonderful liberation. This passage gives no further explanation of the three expressions. The characteristic statement introduces the quality of unmovingness with “causing to arise”; the function statement gives only 不調; the basis statement only wonderful liberation. All three precede the renewed question, “What are its benefits?” The benefits are separately listed: “peaceful sleeping, peaceful waking, accomplishment of quietude; quietude of the faculties and fulfillment of aspirations; becoming lovable, complete in conscience, constantly esteemed by others; proceeding toward a good destination and toward cream” 〔T32 434b28–434c01〕. Still later, the great-benefit statements follow seeing, hearing, and going 〔T32 434c05–09〕. “Wonderful liberation is its basis,” this list of benefits, and the later statements about great benefit occur in three separate places. The passage does not state that they cause one another.

The answer gives two definitions in sequence. The first answers “quietude” itself: cessation of disturbance in body and mind, already subdued and cut off, is called quietude 〔T32 434b24–25〕. The second answers “recollection of quietude”: clearly recollecting quietude in the present, with mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness placed side by side, is called recollection of quietude 〔T32 434b25–26〕. Only thereafter does it answer cultivation, characteristic, function, and basis. Both levels belong to the same answer. One cannot retain “cessation” while dropping the three names for mindfulness, or retain the three names while dropping the definition that disturbance of body and mind has been subdued and cut off.

The benefits likewise must be carried in the source’s full order: peaceful sleeping, peaceful waking, and accomplishment of quietude; quietude of the faculties and fulfillment of aspirations; becoming lovable, complete in conscience, and constantly esteemed; finally, proceeding toward a good destination and toward cream 〔T32 434b28–434c01〕. The passage gives no total number and states no causal relation among the benefits. They are grouped only by the source’s own verbs, “accomplishes,” “is complete,” and “proceeds.”

Method: Even Seeing a Quiet Bhikkhu Is a Great Benefit

“As for how to cultivate it, a beginning meditator enters a quiet place and sits, gathers the whole mind, and does not allow a distracted mind to arise. Like that bhikkhu whose faculties are quiet, whose mind delights in quietude, quiet in one place. Abiding in correspondence, that bhikkhu, through body, speech, and mind, whether seeing or hearing, recollects through quietude and through the qualities of quietude” 〔T32 434c01–05〕. The passage does list quiet faculties, a mind delighting in quietude, quiet in one place, and abiding in correspondence. Yet it is unclear how “like that bhikkhu” connects to what precedes and how body, speech, and mind attach to seeing and hearing. The wording cannot be reorganized into a settled practical sequence. The passage then cites the Blessed One: “As the Blessed One said: that bhikkhu is complete in discipline, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation. If a bhikkhu sees that bhikkhu, I say that this is 大種大恩. If he hears that bhikkhu, I say it is a great benefit. If he goes to him, I say it is a great benefit. If he 視供養彼, if he recollects him, if he follows him into renunciation, I say that he greatly gains benefit” 〔T32 434c05–09〕. The bhikkhu complete in five things and the sequence seeing, hearing, going, 視供養, recollecting, and following into renunciation are all expressly listed. Each of the first three actions receives a benefit statement; how the final sentence governs the latter three remains unclear. The Ming witness reads 親 for 視, and the division of 視供養彼 remains undecided. Four witnesses read 得 for 種 in 大種大恩, and three witnesses repeat the clause about going to him. The boundary of the cited speech is not marked, so its ending cannot be settled from the treatise itself.

One question is held open here: Why does “Why?” follow the preceding actions? The answer reads, “Such bhikkhus hear his teaching and obtain two separations from commotion, namely bodily separation from commotion and mental separation from commotion” 〔T32 434c09–11〕. Only two things can be read directly: bhikkhus of this kind hear the teaching, and what they obtain is bodily and mental separation from commotion. The passage does not explain how this answer attaches one by one to the earlier seeing, hearing, going, 視供養, recollecting, and following into renunciation. The six actions cannot be made into a necessary causal line ending in hearing the teaching. The citation has another unresolved level: the text does not mark its boundary. Where the Blessed One’s words end cannot be determined from the treatise; the uncertain boundary is retained.

The benefit expressions for the six actions are not uniform. Seeing the bhikkhu receives 大種大恩; hearing and going each receive “great benefit”; 視供養, recollecting, and following into renunciation together precede “greatly gains benefit” 〔T32 434c09〕. Four witnesses read 得 for 種 in 大種大恩, the Ming reads 親 for 視, and three witnesses repeat a sentence after “if he goes to him, I say it is a great benefit.” Those variants change the regularity of the statements. The received text follows the Taishō base throughout.

Concentrations, Fruits, and What Has Ceased

“That bhikkhu enters the first meditation and through recollection of quietude recollects that the hindrances have ceased. If he enters the second meditation, he recollects that initial and sustained thought have ceased; entering the third, that joy has ceased; entering the fourth, that pleasure has ceased; entering the concentration of infinite space, that perception of form, perception of ill will, and manifold perception have ceased; entering the concentration of infinite consciousness, that space has ceased; entering the concentration of nothingness, that perception of entering consciousness has ceased; entering the concentration of neither perception nor non-perception, that perception of nothingness has ceased; entering the cessation of perception and feeling, that perception and feeling have ceased” 〔T32 434c11–17〕. Every “if he enters” statement expressly names what is recollected as ceased. The statement on the concentration of infinite space lists three—perception of form, perception of ill will, and manifold perception—while each of the other statements lists one group in its received wording.

The construction then changes to “if he attains”: “If he attains the fruit of stream-entry, he recollects that afflictions of one place of seeing have ceased; if he attains the fruit of once-returning, that coarse afflictions of sensual desire and ill will have ceased; if he attains non-returning, that subtle afflictions, sensual desire, and ill will have ceased; if he attains the fruit of arahantship, that all afflictions have ceased” 〔T32 434c17–20〕. Three names in the Taishō base have the character “fruit,” while non-returning alone lacks it. Variant readings in four witnesses add “fruit,” and are recorded without decision. This group too is read only through the fruit-name and cessation expressly listed in each statement.

One reading rule follows: compare each condition item by item with what has ceased. Entering the second meditation corresponds to cessation of initial and sustained thought, the third to cessation of joy, the fourth to cessation of pleasure. Each concentration and each fruit is read against its own source sentence, without adding a psychological judgment after attainment. When the list is complete, “If he enters nibbāna, through recollection of quietude, everything has ceased” gathers it up 〔T32 434c20–21〕.

Spread out, the nine concentrations are: first meditation and the hindrances; second and initial and sustained thought; third and joy; fourth and pleasure; concentration of infinite space and three perceptions; infinite consciousness and space; nothingness and perception of entering consciousness; neither perception nor non-perception and perception of nothingness; cessation of perception and feeling and perception and feeling. The four-fruit section changes to “if he attains”: stream-entry and afflictions of one place of seeing; once-returning and coarse afflictions of sensual desire and ill will; non-returning and subtle afflictions, sensual desire, and ill will; arahantship and all afflictions. Both groups place the condition first and what is recollected as ceased afterward. No meaning absent from this passage is supplied for the names.

The conclusion reads: “Through this doorway and this mode, the meditator thus recollects quietude according to its qualities, and faith forms in his mind. Through mastery of faith and mastery of mindfulness, the mind becomes undistracted. When the mind is undistracted, the hindrances are destroyed, the factors of meditation arise, access meditation forms abiding mindfulness. Quietude is concluded. (The ten recollections are concluded.)” 〔T32 434c21–24〕. The base punctuation makes “mindfulness” belong to the preceding sentence, with “Quietude is concluded” standing in the main text. The boundary statements of other doorways are inline notes; only this “Quietude is concluded” stands in the main text, while “The ten recollections are concluded” alone is inline. The received wording and textual layers are retained. The ten-recollection series extends across eighteen units from recollection of the Buddha in 08-38, from 426b26 through 434c24 across fascicles six and seven, and closes here as the largest doorway-series within the “Chapter on Practice.”

This conclusion also has a definite order: recollecting quietude through its qualities, formation of faith, mastery of faith and mindfulness, an undistracted mind; after the mind is undistracted, destruction of the hindrances and arising of the factors of meditation, followed by “access meditation forms abiding mindfulness” 〔T32 434c24〕. The division of the final expression is not explained. The vernacular and exposition retain it. “Quietude is concluded” in the main text and “The ten recollections are concluded” in the inline note belong to different textual layers and are not made uniform.

Miscellaneous Statements on the Ten Recollections

“Within the ten recollections, these are miscellaneous statements” is this paragraph’s heading. “Ten recollections” modifies the place to which the statements belong; it does not state the number of items that follow. The text then says in order: recollecting the qualities of past and future Buddhas, and likewise those of independently awakened persons; recollecting one well-spoken dhamma; recollecting the qualities of one disciple’s practice; recollecting that discipline; recollecting that giving 〔T32 434c25–29〕. Each sentence is retained in its own wording, without using the heading to infer how many statements should follow.

Two further sentences follow recollection of giving. The first reads, “If one delights in recollection of giving, when giving to a person of qualities one should grasp the sign of receiving” 〔T32 434c29〕. The second reads, “If there is someone 受施未施, even down to one 摶, none should be eaten” 〔T32 435a01〕. The subject of 受施未施, the relation between receiving and not yet giving, and its attachment to the preceding sentence are not explained. 摶 occurs nowhere else in the treatise and its measure remains undetermined. Only the final statement, “none should be eaten,” is certain.

The last two sentences read, “One who recollects devas accomplishes faith. Five dhammas should be used to cultivate recollection of devas” 〔T32 435a01–02〕. This passage gives only the number five and does not list the items. Other witnesses add “The miscellaneous statements are concluded” after “recollection of devas,” whereas the Taishō base does not. The present unit therefore ends at “recollection of devas.” These visible features do not create a numerical comparison between the miscellaneous statements and the ten recollections.

The syntax of the statements can also be distinguished one by one. The sentences on Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha begin “if one recollects” and close with “this is called.” Discipline and giving instead directly state “recollect that.” Giving is followed by two further “if” statements. The statement on devas reads “one who recollects devas” 〔T32 435a01–02〕. The differing constructions need not be made into one template, especially because the referent of “that discipline,” “that giving,” and the attachment of 受施未施 are not explained here.

Carry away three things: one observation—recollection of quietude is a catalogue of cessation, pairing each concentration and fruit with something stated as ceased and closing with everything ceased; one reading rule—compare condition and cessation item by item, reading only what is entered or attained and what that sentence recollects as ceased; and one parallel list—seeing, hearing, going, 視供養, recollecting, and following into renunciation occur in order, while hearing the teaching and the two separations of body and mind are separately listed afterward. How the groups connect item by item remains unresolved. “The ten recollections are concluded” closes the entire series. The next doorway, loving-kindness, begins in fascicle eight at 〔T32 435a11〕.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Recollection of Quietude and Miscellaneous Statements on the Ten Recollections · Exposition · Summer 2026

Loving-kindness is the first of the four immeasurables. One feature should be seen at the outset: this passage bears the name of loving-kindness, yet most of its length counts the dangers of anger. After posing seven questions, establishing the definition, and listing eleven benefits, the author gives the eight clauses beginning “from this it grows,” four similes of self-reflection, and nine losses suffered by one who is angry. The sequence on the page is: “How is it practiced? A beginning meditator who wishes to cultivate loving-kindness first contemplates the dangers of anger and the qualities of patience. The mind should receive and retain patience” 〔T32 435a19–21〕. The cultivation of loving-kindness begins by contemplating the dangers of anger and the qualities of patience and by receiving and retaining patience. The whole passage first unfolds the dangers of anger in that order.

The Only-Child Simile: Defining Loving-Kindness

“Question: What is loving-kindness? What is its cultivation? What are its characteristic, function, and arising? What benefits does it have? How is it practiced?” 〔T32 435a11–12〕. Seven questions open the doorway. The last asks “How is it practiced?” whereas the last question in each of the later doorways on compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity has a one-character difference, asking “What does its cultivation consist in?” The difference is retained without harmonization. The answer begins with a simile: “It is like parents who have only one child. They love and cherish the child, and on seeing the child they arouse loving-kindness and a mind that seeks the child's benefit. In the same way, a mind of loving-kindness and a mind seeking the benefit of all beings are called loving-kindness” 〔T32 435a12–14〕. The definition begins not from a concept but from particular persons: parents looking upon their only child. Their look contains two things, loving concern and seeking the child's benefit—not merely finding the child lovable but wishing the child well. Extending this look to all beings is loving-kindness. In the simile, the parents are the subjects: first they love and cherish their only child, and on seeing the child they successively arouse loving-kindness and a mind seeking benefit. Only the application of the simile turns to all beings and gathers the mind of loving-kindness and the mind of benefit under “this is called loving-kindness.” “For it to abide without distraction is called cultivation. Causing a mind of benefit to arise is its characteristic; loving and cherishing is its function; absence of anger is its arising” 〔T32 435a14–15〕. All four answers revolve around the definition itself. Benefit and loving concern, the two elements in the definition, are assigned respectively to characteristic and function. Arising is stated through the negative phrase “absence of anger”; the four answers already display this doorway's opposition to the fire of anger.

The answers to the seven questions fall in sequence across two parts. The first answer uses parents with only one child as a simile: the parents first love and cherish the child and, on seeing the child, arouse loving-kindness and a mind of benefit; “in the same way” then turns to all beings and extends a mind of loving-kindness and benefit to them, closing with “this is called loving-kindness” 〔T32 435a14〕. Next, “for it to abide without distraction is called cultivation” answers the question on cultivation; “causing a mind of benefit to arise” answers the question on characteristic; “loving and cherishing” answers the question on function; and “absence of anger” answers the question on arising 〔T32 400c01／401b02／406c17／406c22–23／406c25／407a01〕. The following sentence announces that one “acquires eleven benefits” and gives the complete eleven, answering the question on benefits 〔T32 400c01／408c08／412b22–23／412b26／422b20–21／422c12–13〕. After the list, the final question “How is it practiced?” is asked again, and its answer expressly lists contemplation of the dangers of anger, contemplation of the qualities of patience, and receiving and retaining patience 〔T32 435a19–21〕. Thus, the earlier question about cultivation is answered by “abiding without distraction,” while the final question about practice receives these three items. Both questions and both answers retain their respective positions in the source sequence.

Eleven Benefits: Counting from Peaceful Sleep

“If loving-kindness is cultivated, eleven benefits are acquired” 〔T32 435a15–16〕: “peaceful sleeping, peaceful waking, no bad dreams, being loved by humans, being loved by nonhumans, protection by devas, fire, poison, blades, and cudgels not touching one's body, the mind quickly becoming concentrated, a pleasing and radiant complexion, death without confusion, and, if a superior dhamma has not been attained, birth in the Brahmā world” 〔T32 435a16–19〕. Direct counting gives eleven items, agreeing with the stated number. The first three are peaceful sleeping, peaceful waking, and no bad dreams. They are followed in order by being loved by humans, being loved by nonhumans, protection by devas, fire, poison, blades, and cudgels not touching the body, quick concentration of mind, a pleasing and radiant complexion, and death without confusion. The last item concludes with birth in the Brahmā world for one who has not attained a superior dhamma. “Fire, poison, blades, and cudgels not touching one's body” is one item in the list. The treatise gives no further moral-causal explanation, so it is not rewritten to say, “because one does not harm others, things cannot harm one.” The later doorways on compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity all say their benefits are “equal to those of loving-kindness,” referring back to this list of eleven.

Following the source order once more, items one through three all concern daily sleep: peaceful sleeping, peaceful waking, and having no bad dreams. Items four and five are being loved by humans and nonhumans respectively. Item six is protection by devas. Item seven lists fire, poison, blades, and cudgels not touching the body. Item eight says the mind quickly becomes concentrated. Item nine gives a pleasing and radiant complexion. Item ten is death without confusion. Item eleven alone adds the condition “if a superior dhamma has not been attained,” with birth in the Brahmā world as its result. The first ten items do not carry this condition; it begins only with the final “if.” The qualification and result cannot be separated when the final item is read. The full list contains eleven, neither more nor fewer.

Beginning the Practice: Three Matters Explicitly Listed

“How is it practiced? A beginning meditator who wishes to cultivate loving-kindness first contemplates the dangers of anger and the qualities of patience. The mind should receive and retain patience” 〔T32 435a19–21〕. In answering the question on practice, the sentence expressly gives three matters in sequence: first contemplate the dangers of anger; contemplate the qualities of patience; and cause the mind to receive and retain patience. This unit develops the first, beginning with “How should the dangers of anger be contemplated?” and closing with “This is how the dangers of anger should be contemplated” 〔T32 435a21–435b15〕. The second begins in the next unit with the separate question, “How should the qualities of patience be contemplated?” 〔T32 435b15〕. “The mind should receive and retain patience” remains as stated in the opening sentence. This passage also says “absence of anger is its arising” within the four answers concerning loving-kindness 〔T32 435a15〕, while the three parts of the answer on practice are still read in their own source order.

Eight Clauses Beginning “From This It Grows”

“How should the dangers of anger be contemplated? When anger first arises in a person, it burns up loving-kindness and makes the mind turbid” 〔T32 435a21–22〕. At anger's first arising, the source first states that it burns loving-kindness and makes the mind turbid. Eight clauses then repeat “from this it grows”: the face frowns, the mouth speaks evil words, one looks in the four directions, the hand grasps a blade or cudgel, one vomits blood through anger, one scatters one's wealth, one smashes objects, and one kills another or oneself 〔T32 435a22–26〕. One way of reading is thus given directly: follow the eight repetitions of “from this it grows.” Their common opening joins the eight into a single list, whose source order should be retained. The passage then gives another list: “Furthermore, if a person continually harbors anger, one may kill one's parents, kill an arahant, split the Saṅgha, or maliciously draw blood from the Buddha's body, thus committing fearful deeds” 〔T32 435a26–28〕. These four fearful deeds also remain in their stated order.

Self-Reflection: Four Similes, Each Paired with a Declaration

“One should further contemplate in this way: I am called a disciple. If I do not cut off anger, it is a cause for shame. I recollect what is said in the Sūtra of the Simile of the Saw” 〔T32 435a28–435b01〕. Self-reflection begins with an identity: since I am called a disciple, not cutting off anger is shameful. The scripture's title immediately follows. The author gives the title but does not reproduce its words, passing over them with only “I recollect.” What that scripture says is not given in this treatise; the absence is retained rather than filled. Four declarations follow, each paired with a simile: “I delight in wholesome dhammas. If anger now grows in me, I become repellent, like a person who delights in bathing but then goes back into filth” 〔T32 435b01–02〕; “I am learned. If I have not subdued anger, people reject and disdain me, like a physician who himself contracts cholera” 〔T32 435b02–03〕; “我為世所為貴. If I do not remove anger, people reject and disdain me, like a painted vessel that contains filth and is left uncovered” 〔T32 435b03–05〕; “If a person has wisdom yet still gives rise to anger, it is like knowingly eating food mixed with poison” 〔T32 435b05–06〕. The four similes share one line: each makes a person's own strength reflect back upon that person. One delights in the wholesome yet returns into filth like a lover of bathing; one is learned and able to treat others yet cannot treat oneself, like a physician contracting cholera; one is honored in the world yet carries the filth of anger within, like a painted vessel containing filth and left uncovered; one has wisdom yet deliberately arouses anger, like knowingly eating poison. The truer the strength, the sharper its reflection. This self-examination is not self-denigration; it questions one through the very identity one most cherishes. In 我為世所為貴, 為 occurs twice, its punctuation remains unresolved, and four witnesses omit one occurrence. The form is retained without punctuation or deletion: the uneven wording does not prevent the direction of the comparison from being read.

The Snake Simile: One Who Refuses the Medicine

“Why? This anger is most to be cast aside and brings a painful result” 〔T32 435b06–07〕. After the four similes, the author asks why and answers with a painful result, then gives another simile: “It is like a person bitten by a poisonous snake who possesses an antidote but refuses to take it. That person may be known as one who delights in suffering and does not delight in happiness” 〔T32 435b07–08〕. The application immediately follows: “In the same way, if anger arises in a bhikkhu and he does not quickly subdue it, that bhikkhu may be known as one who delights in suffering and does not delight in happiness” 〔T32 435b08–10〕. The simile and its application each use “delights in suffering and does not delight in happiness” once: first for the snake-bitten person who has medicine but will not take it, and then for the bhikkhu whose anger arises but is not quickly subdued. “Why? This anger is most fearful” 〔T32 435b10〕. The section asks “why?” twice: first answering that anger is most to be cast aside and brings a painful result, and then that it is most fearful.

Nine Losses, Preserved in Source Order

“Anger should further be contemplated. One who is angry is laughed at by enemies and causes friends to feel ashamed. Though one has deep virtue, one is despised; though formerly honored, one instead comes to be lightly regarded” 〔T32 435b10–12〕. It continues: “If one has already gained praise, all of it is subjected to slander; if one seeks happiness, it becomes suffering; if one was unmoving, one becomes moved; if one has eyes, one becomes blind; if one was intelligent, one becomes foolish” 〔T32 435b12–14〕. This final contemplation gives nine items: first, being laughed at by enemies; second, causing friends to feel ashamed; third, being despised despite deep virtue; fourth, turning from honored to lightly regarded; fifth, having praise already gained subjected to slander; sixth, seeking happiness and obtaining suffering; seventh, changing from unmoving to moved; eighth, changing from sighted to blind; ninth, changing from intelligent to foolish. The nine remain a single list in source order. In the base text, items five through nine repeatedly begin with “if,” and items six through nine all contain “becomes.” “This is how the dangers of anger should be contemplated” 〔T32 435b14–15〕 closes the unit.

Three things may be carried away: one feature—the loving-kindness doorway first establishes its definition and eleven benefits, then the section on practice immediately turns to the paired heading of the dangers of anger and the qualities of patience; one way of reading—follow the eight repetitions of “from this it grows,” retaining their common opening and source order; and one line—the loving-kindness and mind of benefit that parents arouse on seeing their only child are extended to all beings, and this is loving-kindness. The next passage begins the qualities of patience, the second half of the paired heading.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · General Account of Loving-Kindness and the Dangers of Anger · Exposition · Summer 2026

The preceding passage counted the dangers of anger. This one first answers concerning the qualities of patience and then enters the graduated cultivation of loving-kindness. The central structure is explicit: the paired heading—contemplate the dangers of anger and the qualities of patience—closes here. After that close, the text says in order to govern the mind, make it soft, and make it able to receive and retain, and only then says, “from this point one should cultivate loving-kindness.” An uncertain initial sentence lists an enemy, a neutral person, a bad person, a person without qualities, and a dead person, but the scope of its negation and the attachment of 起慈 remain unresolved. The next sentence clearly names an esteemed person as the starting point. The text then expressly proceeds through a dear person, a neutral person, and an enemy, finally treating all beings as oneself.

The Qualities of Patience: Strength and Armor

“How should the qualities of patience be contemplated? Patience is strength and armor; it can protect the body and remove anger” 〔T32 435b15–16〕. Image and referent stand in the same sentence without the word “like.” It continues: “It is renown, praised by the wise; it is pleasure, preventing retreat; it is protection, bringing every protection to fulfillment; it is understanding, enabling one to examine many meanings; this is called the arising of shame” 〔T32 435b16–18〕. The source pairs renown with praise by the wise, pleasure with non-retreat, protection with fulfilled protection, and understanding with examination of meanings. It does not explain how “this is called the arising of shame” gathers the list. Nor is “prevents retreat” expanded into a theory of durable pleasure, or the earlier list of protection from fire, poison, blades, and cudgels made an effect of patience.

Nine Statements to Oneself, Read One by One

“I have shaved my head; I should only be patient; this is what I have undertaken” 〔T32 435b18–19〕. “I have received 國施; with a patient mind I cause that donor to have great fruit” 〔T32 435b19–20〕. “I bear 聖形飾; this patience of mine is the performance of noble conduct” 〔T32 435b20–21〕. “I have anger; I cause it to become non-anger” 〔T32 435b21〕. “I am called a disciple; now I truly bear the name disciple” 〔T32 435b21–22〕. Each retains its own opening and close.

The sixth does not begin with “I”: “That donor has given me various things; through this patience I cause that donor to obtain great fruit” 〔T32 435b22–23〕. The second says that the donor “has great fruit,” while the sixth says “obtains great fruit”; the forms are not made uniform. The final three say, in order, “I have faith; this patience is the basis of my faith” 〔T32 435b23–24〕, “I have wisdom; this patience is the basis of wisdom” 〔T32 435b24〕, and “I have the poison of anger; this patience is my 却毒藥” 〔T32 435b24–25〕. The passage lists basis of faith, basis of wisdom, and antidote one by one. It does not say that the nine form a taxonomy of bodies or entail one exclusive choice.

却毒藥 connects word for word with the preceding passage: “like a person bitten by a poisonous snake, who possesses an antidote but refuses to take it” 〔T32 435b07–08〕. There the antidote is possessed but not taken; here patience is explicitly called “my antidote.” No common mechanism is assigned to the other eight statements.

The nine endings are not uniform. The first closes “I should only be patient; this is what I have undertaken”; the second with the donor “having great fruit”; the third with noble conduct; the fourth with non-anger; the fifth with truly bearing the name disciple; the sixth returns to the donor and says “obtains great fruit”; only the last three repeat “this patience is …,” followed by basis of faith, basis of wisdom, and antidote 〔T32 435b18–25〕. Thus each sentence's own opening and ending must be preserved. Two concern donors' fruit, but one says “have” and one “obtain.” Faith and wisdom each take a “basis”; the poison of anger takes an “antidote.” Only after all nine does the text sum up, “Contemplating the dangers of anger and the qualities of patience in this way, cause the mind to receive and retain them” 〔T32 435b25–26〕. The explicit summary reaches only the twofold contemplation and the mind's reception and retention.

The initial list of qualities likewise retains source order: patience is strength and armor, protecting the body and removing anger; it is renown, followed by praise by the wise; pleasure, followed by non-retreat; protection, followed by fulfilled protection; understanding, followed by examining meanings; and finally “this is called the arising of shame.” The list contains headings, functions, and a final formula, but gives no further relation among them. They are not rearranged as a causal ladder.

After the nine statements, the text contemplates together the dangers of anger and qualities of patience, with the stated result that the mind receives and retains. Three “I shall” clauses then turn toward patience, patience under abuse, and softness without conceit: “I shall turn toward patience”; “when another abuses me, I shall be patient”; “I shall be soft, without conceit” 〔T32 435b25–27〕. They are read in their source order without being made into required psychological stages.

Closing the Paired Heading: I Shall Turn toward Patience

“Contemplating the dangers of anger and the qualities of patience in this way, cause the mind to receive and retain them” 〔T32 435b25–26〕 closes the paired heading opened in the preceding passage. “I shall turn toward patience. When another abuses me, I shall be patient. I shall be soft, without conceit” 〔T32 435b26–27〕 gives a direction, a trial under abuse, and a texture—softness without conceit. The source places the test when abuse occurs, not only when nothing happens, and the word “soft” returns below as the condition for entering loving-kindness. At the opening the instruction was “first contemplate”; at the close it is “cause the mind to receive and retain.” Contemplation sees, reception holds. The two things contemplated converge on one stated result: placing the mind in patience.

Governing the Mind: Softness Makes It Able to Retain

“Delighting in turning toward patience in this way, the meditator benefits oneself, enters a secluded place, keeps the mind undistracted, and from the beginning fills the body with it” 〔T32 435b27–29〕. Then comes 我復樂樂，心不耐苦 〔T32 435b29〕. The meaning of 樂樂 and whether the clause attaches upward or downward are not explained; no unique division is imposed. The following question is clear: “How may I be without enemies and anger, delight in freedom from every disturbance, and accomplish all qualities?” 〔T32 435b29–435c01〕. “The meditator governs the mind, makes it soft, and makes it able to receive and retain. When the mind has become soft and able to retain its object, from this point one should cultivate loving-kindness, treating all beings as oneself” 〔T32 435c02–04〕. The order is explicit: govern, soften, enable retention, cultivate loving-kindness. “Soft” and “able to retain” are source terms. The passage does not define anger, conceit, or haste as “hard,” nor define softness by a reaction to abuse. Both the previous passage and this one use “govern,” but this unit establishes only the sequence stated here, not a general law of mental transformation.

The Esteemed Person: The Explicit Starting Point

An uncertain sentence precedes the starting point: “If the meditator cultivates loving-kindness, one cannot at first cultivate it toward all beings; toward an enemy, neutral person, bad person, person without qualities, dead person, arouse loving-kindness” 〔T32 435c04–06〕. The scope of “cannot at first cultivate” and the attachment of the final 起慈 are not secure. The five names are therefore recorded without declaring them all forbidden starting points. The next sentence explicitly says, “the person esteemed by the meditator, 為起慚愧，不為輕賤、不為所中, arouses loving-kindness for the person's benefit” 〔T32 435c06–07〕, and “toward this person one should first cultivate loving-kindness” 〔T32 435c08〕. The esteemed person is the stated beginning; no additional psychological rationale is supplied. Only afterward does the sequence extend through a dear person, neutral person, enemy, and all beings. 所中 occurs only here in the treatise and is not explained.

The content recollected is sixfold: “accomplished in nature, renown, learning, virtue, concentration, and wisdom” 〔T32 435c09–11〕. Four benefits follow: “accomplished in giving, affectionate speech, benefit, and acting together; this person has benefited me” 〔T32 435c11–12〕. The treatise gives no collective name to the four. “By well recollecting the esteemed qualities and beneficial qualities in this way, arouse the perception of esteem and the perception of a friend” 〔T32 435c12–13〕. Six are esteemed qualities, four beneficial qualities. The practice begins by attending to these explicit qualities and benefits before the ensuing aspirations. The passage makes no claim that every later object has the same qualities or benefits.

Aspirations of Loving-Kindness: Twenty-Seven Occurrences of “May”

Once the perceptions arise, aspirations follow, beginning “may this person be without enmity and anger and dwell in well-being” 〔T32 435c14–15〕. They continue through freedom from disturbance, accomplishment of qualities, good benefit, renown, faith, pleasure, virtue, learned wisdom, giving, and wisdom; then “may this person sleep peacefully, wake peacefully, and see no bad dream” 〔T32 435c17–18〕, be loved by humans and non-humans, protected by devas, untouched by fire, poison, blades, and cudgels, quickly concentrated, and serene in complexion; finally, “may this person be born in 中國, meet good people, have a complete body, be free of illness, obtain long life, and always dwell at ease” 〔T32 435c20–22〕. “May” occurs twenty-seven times in this list. Nine items—peaceful sleep and waking, no bad dream, human and non-human affection, deva protection, protection from fire, poison, blades, and cudgels, rapid concentration, and serene complexion—overlap word for word with the earlier qualities of loving-kindness. The source does not call this a transfer or rank the wishes internally. The twenty-seven are read in order. Only after them does “Further contemplate in this way” introduce the four aspirations that an unarisen unwholesome dhamma not arise, an arisen one cease, an unarisen wholesome dhamma arise, and an arisen one increase; these are not folded into the count of twenty-seven.

The next lines place aspiration on arising and cessation: “If an unwholesome dhamma has not arisen in that person, may it not arise; if arisen, may it be extinguished and cut off. If a wholesome dhamma has not arisen, may it arise; if arisen, may it increase” 〔T32 435c22–24〕. Then: “If an unlovely dhamma has not arisen, may it not arise; if arisen, may it cease; 彼可愛念法未生，彼由慈心得信” 〔T32 435c24–26〕. The first half is clear. In the second, the referents of the two occurrences of 彼, the division after 未生, and the attachment of 由慈心得信 are not explained. The continuous source order is retained rather than rewritten as a settled result.

The passage then uses mastered faith to take the mind, mastered taking to establish recollection, and mastery of recollection, taking, and faith to make the mind undistracted 〔T32 435c26–28〕. The stated order is faith, taking, recollection. The text twice says that one directly knows non-distraction and twice says “by this approach and this practice,” and says loving-kindness toward that person is “cultivated and repeatedly cultivated” 〔T32 435c28–436a01〕. Only then does it turn to a dear person.

Four Positions Moving Outward, and When Loving-Kindness Does Not Operate

“Through mastery of recollection, taking, and faith, the mind becomes undistracted” 〔T32 435c27–28〕. Toward the esteemed person, the source twice says one directly knows non-distraction, twice says “by this approach and this practice,” and says the loving-kindness is cultivated and repeatedly cultivated. Then comes “next cultivate the perception of loving-kindness toward a dear person” 〔T32 436a02〕 and “after the neutral person, next cultivate the perception of loving-kindness toward an enemy” 〔T32 436a03–04〕, until “treating all beings as oneself, fill them with it and make the distinctions” 〔T32 436a04–05〕. The order of esteemed person, dear person, neutral person, and enemy is explicit. But “cultivated and repeatedly cultivated” is explicitly attached only to the esteemed person; it does not establish one identical proficiency threshold at every position or say that success at one necessarily becomes the mental force for the next. Because the scope of negation in the earlier five-name sentence is unresolved, the two lists cannot be made into a fixed reverse sequence.

If loving-kindness will not move at the neutral person—“if loving-kindness does not operate toward a neutral person” 〔T32 436a06〕—the source first says that when loving-kindness temporarily does not arise, one “should become disenchanted: 於我不善不可愛，我樂得善法信心出家” 〔T32 436a07–08〕. The ancient syntax should not be separated into a psychological diagnosis. What is secure is that “become disenchanted,” “I am unwholesome and unlovely,” and “I delight in obtaining wholesome dhammas and went forth through faith” occur in the source. It continues: “Because of the great teacher, benefiting beings, arouse great compassion. If loving-kindness does not arise toward one neutral person, how much less toward an enemy?” 〔T32 436a08–09〕. Only if anger still does not cease does it say, “the meditator should not exert for the cultivation of loving-kindness. One should cultivate by another means in order to remove anger toward that person” 〔T32 436a10–12〕. The order of response is therefore explicit: disenchantment and the source's statement when loving-kindness temporarily does not arise; if anger remains, no exertion in loving-kindness, but another means directed to removing anger toward that person. The source does not generalize “should not exert” into a universal law of mental capacity.

The conditional scope remains local: loving-kindness does not operate toward the neutral person; it temporarily does not arise; anger still does not cease. These three conditions are not merged into a universal diagnosis, and this passage does not state what the other means is.

Three things may be carried away. The paired heading closes here; after governing, softening, and making the mind able to retain, the esteemed person is explicitly set as the starting point, followed by a dear person, neutral person, enemy, and all beings as oneself. The aspirations should be read item by item, from freedom from enmity and anger through qualities and benefits, sleep and bodily well-being, then the non-arising or cessation of unwholesome dhammas and arising or increase of wholesome dhammas. Finally, the antidote in the preceding snake simile is named here as patience, this 却毒藥; when loving-kindness does not operate toward a neutral person and anger remains, the source expressly directs one away from forced exertion and toward another means of removing anger toward that particular person. The five names in the uncertain initial sentence remain unresolved and are not five settled prohibitions.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Qualities of Patience and the Graduated Cultivation of Loving-Kindness · Exposition · Summer 2026

The preceding passage ends by saying that when loving-kindness will not proceed and anger has not ceased, one should remove anger “by another means.” This passage immediately asks, “What are the means of removing anger?” 〔T32 436a12〕. Its order is clear: a general list and “embracing”; twelve named explanations from qualities through emptiness; a verse attributed to the Blessed One, saying that contact with suffering and pleasure depends on defilements; and then the extension of loving-kindness through persons, dwelling-places, villages, countries, and directions, concluding with the reason for broad cultivation. The twelve stand beside one another. The source neither ranks them nor states a rule that failure of one requires replacing it with the next. They are read in listed order, not as a staircase.

The General List and Embracing

The general list reads 功德恩、自業所作負債解脫，親族自身罪過不應作意，自現苦諸根自性念滅，知念應當觀空、應作攝受 〔T32 436a12–15〕. Punctuation cannot establish whether 功德恩 is one or two items or how 自業所作負債解脫 groups. The general list therefore cannot yield a fixed count. The explanations below do: qualities, beneficence, one's own action, release from debt, kinship, one's own fault, non-attention, suffering, nature, cessation in a thought, combination, and emptiness—twelve headings introduced with 者. One textual mismatch remains: the general list has 知念, the explanation 和合者. Four witnesses read 和合 in the general list, but the reading text follows the Taishō base 知念. Uncertain grouping above does not prevent identifying the twelve explanations below.

Embracing: Four Exchanges and One Explicit Result

Before the twelve headings comes an unheaded account of embracing: “Although that person is angry, if the person asks for something, give what is appropriate; if the person gives something, accept what is appropriate; always speak good words together; and follow what that person does” 〔T32 436a15–17〕. The four acts are explicit. It immediately says, “Through embracing in this way, anger on both sides comes to cease” 〔T32 436a17–18〕. Giving, receiving, good speech, and following are the contents of embracing, and cessation of both parties' anger is attached to that cause. The source does not say which act first changes the mind or create a rule for diagnosing attitude by action.

Qualities and Beneficence

“As to qualities: if one sees the person's qualities, contemplate those qualities rather than what is without quality. Like grass in water, remove the grass and take the water” 〔T32 436a18–20〕. If qualities are present, contemplate them. If none are present, “arouse loving-kindness; this person has no qualities and is heading toward a bad destination” 〔T32 436a20–21〕. These are the two explicit treatments; the simile does not become a further classification of personality.

“As to beneficence one should contemplate the person's beneficence” 〔T32 436a21〕 is the only heading without punctuation after 者, and the form is retained. Then comes 若人作不愛敬，令起恩。於彼若已作不愛敬，應作功德 〔T32 436a21–22〕; its relations remain in source order. Next: “Further, 已令滅不善; this is a good destination; the enemy's becoming a benefactor can be known” 〔T32 436a22–23〕. The text gives these three layers in order but does not identify which unwholesome state was ended by whom or supply a causal story about the enemy necessarily producing a particular result.

One's Own Action, Release from Debt, Kinship, and One's Own Fault

“As to one's own action: 是人所作惡法，是人所瞋處; one should contemplate that bad action” 〔T32 436a23–25〕. The passage requires contemplation of the bad action but does not develop how its result matures or promise a psychological outcome. Under release from debt, if a person abuses or harms me, “this is 初惡業; 彼 is released from debt”; “I now bear witness; through contemplation I should rejoice” 〔T32 436a25–27〕. 初 and 彼 are not explained here. Abuse or harm, initial bad action, release from debt, bearing witness, contemplation, and joy occur in sequence.

“As to kinship: in the continuity of beings through birth and death, they are my kin; having recollected, arouse the perception of kinship” 〔T32 436a27–28〕. The basis is beings' continuity through birth and death, and the perception is explicitly named kinship. One's own fault reads: 其作我相，彼瞋恚從我生，為彼得非功德。我成相，令起自罪過相 〔T32 436a28–436b01〕. The syntax of 其作我相 and 我成相 remains open, while anger's arising from me, obtaining what is without quality, and arousing the perception of one's own fault are explicit. The four means have different ends: contemplate bad action; bear witness, contemplate, and rejoice; arouse kinship; arouse the perception of one's own fault. The source does not arrange them as mandatory diagnostic stages.

Non-Attention and Suffering

“As to non-attention: 無嗔恚相，不應作意, like a person who does not like to see a visible form and closes the eyes” 〔T32 436b01–02〕. The attachment of 無嗔恚相 remains open; non-attention is repeated, and the simile explicitly gives closed eyes. “As to suffering” first says 為自苦無障礙，應令起相, then gives the foolish person who “through incorrectly recollecting loving-kindness makes suffering for oneself and consequently obtains mental suffering,” closing “contemplate in this way and it can be known” 〔T32 436b02–04〕. Only afterward does it direct one to leave a place containing an enemy, neither see nor hear that person, and establish the faculties where one stays 〔T32 436b04–05〕. Leaving, not seeing, not hearing, and establishing the faculties are explicit. The source does not call this failure or loss-cutting and gives no diagnosis of a strong object and weak mind.

Nature, Cessation in a Thought, Combination, and Emptiness

The final four all close with “contemplate in this way,” but the source does not say they deepen progressively. Nature says that taking lovely and unlovely objects is the nature of the faculties and that anger here is caused by incorrect recollection 〔T32 436b05–07〕. It distinguishes lovely and unlovely objects, names the faculties as taking them, and explicitly states incorrect recollection as the cause of anger. Cessation in a thought says 以彼生苦彼得苦, then “all these dhammas cease in one mind-moment,” and asks why I should form anger toward a 非瞋處 〔T32 436b07–09〕. The assertion is momentary cessation of all these dhammas; the question retains “why should I” and “I should become angry.” It is not rewritten as a story about particular words having vanished.

Combination reads 內外不一分和合故生苦，我於一分處不堪作瞋恚心 〔T32 436b10–11〕. The division of 不一分 is unresolved. Inner, outer, combination, suffering, one part, and inability to form an angry mind remain together. Emptiness reads: “The person who makes suffering and the person who receives suffering cannot be found in ultimate meaning. This body arises from causes and conditions; 無眾生、無我界聚草聚等” 〔T32 436b11–13〕. The base has no punctuation after 無我 and does not explain how 界聚 and 草聚 attach. The chain is retained rather than reclassified. These four can be read through their own source sentences—nature and incorrect recollection; one-moment cessation and 非瞋處; inner-outer combination and one part; persons ultimately unfindable and the body arisen from conditions. No rule is supplied for their rank, substitution, or matching to a type of mind.

The Blessed One's Verse

“Therefore the Blessed One spoke a verse” 〔T32 436b13–14〕: “Dwelling in village or forest, touched by suffering and pleasure: it is not 從自他燒, but contact is obtained in dependence on defilements. If the mind is without defilements, who can touch 細滑?” 〔T32 436b15–17〕. The first line pairs village and forest and suffering and pleasure. The second first negates self-or-other “burning,” then positively says that contact depends on defilements. The third closes with a question. “Therefore” connects the verse to the twelve means, but the text does not divide verse and list into separate courses for outbreak and disease-root. 細滑 has one other occurrence in the treatise and is not explained here.

Wide Cultivation: Dwelling-Places, Villages and Countries, and All Directions

“When the meditator's anger has ceased in this way and the means are understood, distinctions have been made regarding one's own friend, a neutral person, and an enemy, and the mind has attained mastery; next arouse the perception of loving-kindness and cultivate the kinds of dwelling-place” 〔T32 436b18–20〕. The prerequisites are anger ceased and means understood; distinctions made and mastery obtained regarding three classes; then graduated loving-kindness and kinds of dwelling-place. The list says that a bhikkhu cultivates the dwelling-place, while the Saṅgha, devas, and beings each cultivate their own dwelling-place. The attachment of 外村 in “beings … their own dwelling-place outer village” remains unresolved. It then explicitly moves village to village, country to country, and to one direction 〔T32 436b20–23〕. The first has “the dwelling-place,” the latter three “their own dwelling-place”; the one-character difference is retained.

Directions begin with one: “Having filled one direction with a mind of loving-kindness, proceed to two, three, and four directions, the intermediate directions, above and below, radiating loving-kindness and compassion toward all beings” 〔T32 436b23–25〕. One, two, three, four, intermediate directions, above and below are listed in order; the recipients are all beings and the act is radiation. The next sentence reaches “the whole world,” calls the mind of loving-kindness greatest and measureless, and closes by filling it without enmity or anger 〔T32 436b25–26〕. The source does not name the human sequence “depth” and the regional sequence “breadth” or create a universal rule of mastering the familiar before the unfamiliar.

Three Ways of Establishing Jhāna and the Reason for Wide Cultivation

“Establish jhāna in three ways: comprehending beings, comprehending village-fields, and comprehending directions” 〔T32 436b27–28〕. The beings-list says, “with one being establish loving-kindness jhāna; likewise two or three beings, up to many” 〔T32 436b28–29〕. The village-field list proceeds from beings in one village-field to many villages; the direction-list from one being in one direction to four directions 〔T32 436c01–02〕. Each expands according to its own heading: beings from one to two or three and many; villages from one to many; directions from one to four. The source does not say to use villages when the mind is scattered, beings when it is subtle, or how to switch among the three.

The last paragraph directly gives the reason: “If loving-kindness depends on one being and that being dies, the object is lost; because the object has been lost, loving-kindness cannot arise from it” 〔T32 436c02–04〕. The condition is narrow and explicit. It continues, “Therefore loving-kindness should be cultivated and practiced widely,” and then “it becomes excellent cultivation, great fruit, and great merit” 〔T32 436c04–05〕. The argument supports not tying cultivation solely to one being who may die and states three results of wide cultivation. It does not promise that no object can ever be lost afterward or characterize the requirement as engineering rather than ethics.

Three points remain. First, the twelve 者-headings can be counted, but the grouping of the general list cannot, and the two counts must not be confused. Second, every means retains its own content; embracing says anger on both sides ceases, qualities uses removing grass and taking water, beneficence says an enemy becomes a benefactor, and the other headings retain their own contemplation or perception, while the last four share “contemplate in this way.” The source does not rank them. Third, wide cultivation is separately organized by beings, village-fields, and directions because an object restricted to one being is lost when that being dies; it concludes with excellent cultivation, great fruit, and great merit. Between removal and extension, the verse says contact with suffering and pleasure depends on defilements and closes by asking who could touch 細滑 if the mind were without them.

The twelve can finally be checked by their own endings: qualities includes contemplation, removing grass and taking water, and loving-kindness for one without qualities; beneficence includes non-respect, making merit, cessation of the unwholesome, good destination, and enemy becoming benefactor; one's own action ends in contemplation of bad action; release from debt in witnessing, contemplating, and rejoicing; kinship in the perception of kinship; one's own fault in the perception of one's fault; non-attention in the closed-eye image; suffering in self-made and mental suffering and leaving the place to establish the faculties; nature in faculties taking objects and incorrect recollection; cessation in a thought in one-moment cessation; combination in suffering arising through inner-outer combination; emptiness in the ultimate unfindability of doer and receiver and the conditioned body. These are the meanings of the individual headings; no neighboring passage is needed to complete them.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Means of Removing Anger and Extending Loving-Kindness Widely · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage closes the loving-kindness practice. It begins with five short questions and answers and ends at the Buddha-ground. It asks about the roots, arising, fulfillment, non-fulfillment, and object of loving-kindness. “Its object is beings” elicits the objection that “in ultimate meaning no being can be found,” answered by “in dependence on 諸根種, beings are conventionally spoken of in the world.” It then lists, in order, ten perfections, four sustainments, calm and insight, all jhānas, liberations, concentrations and attainments, the concentrations of twin transformation and great compassion, supernormal powers, analytical knowledge, powers, fearlessnesses, natural knowledge, and omniscience, closing “fulfills the Buddha-ground in sequence” 〔T32 437a23〕. Every name and alignment in this sequence is retained; the items are not collapsed into an unstated common essence.

The base has three paragraphs. The first completes the five questions and answers. The second contains only the ultimate-meaning objection and conventional answer. The third begins with “Why is this so?” and carries the ten perfections and all later alignments. Preserving the paragraph boundaries prevents the third paragraph's long lists from adding meaning to the second paragraph's short answer or the later Buddha-ground sequence from redefining the earlier roots and fulfillment of loving-kindness.

Five Questions: An Inventory of Loving-Kindness

The roots are listed in order: “non-greed is a root, non-anger is a root, non-delusion is a root, desire is a root, right attention is a root” 〔T32 436c06–07〕—five items, though the question merely asks “what roots?” and gives no number. “As to arising: these roots cause it to arise” 〔T32 436c07–08〕 states only that these roots cause loving-kindness to arise; it supplies no other condition and no image of seed or soil. Fulfillment explicitly says: “When loving-kindness is accomplished, it slays and removes anger, removes unwholesome affection, and purifies bodily, verbal, and mental action; this is called fulfillment” 〔T32 436c08–09〕. Anger and unwholesome affection are removed; the three actions are purified. Non-fulfillment first says “loving-kindness is lost for two reasons,” then has 以自朋生怨，以不善愛；以對治生怨，以起瞋恚 〔T32 436c10–11〕. 自朋 and 對治, who becomes an enemy to whom, and the attachment of the latter two 以-phrases remain unresolved. Only the stated two causes, four phrases, and order are retained; no psychological diagnosis of close and distant objects is supplied. The final answer is “its object is beings” 〔T32 436c12〕.

Each answer has its own end. The roots-answer lists five names; arising ends at “these roots cause it to arise”; fulfillment at purification of bodily, verbal, and mental action; non-fulfillment states two causes, the four uncertain phrases, and its closing formula; object ends at beings. The answers occur in question order. Content from later answers is not moved into earlier ones and subjects and objects are not supplied to the uncertain sentence.

The five root-statements each say “is a root.” After non-greed, non-anger, and non-delusion, the base changes punctuation before desire and right attention 〔T32 436c06–07〕. That punctuation difference is preserved but does not divide the five into two classes. “These roots cause it to arise” only refers back to the roots 〔T32 436c07–08〕. Fulfillment uses “when loving-kindness is accomplished” and lists removal of anger, removal of unwholesome affection, and purification of three actions before “this is called fulfillment” 〔T32 430b04／436c09〕. Non-fulfillment begins with two causes and closes “this is called non-fulfillment” 〔T32 436c11〕. Because the subjects and attachment of the four phrases remain open, only that numerical heading, their wording, order, and close carry forward. The shortest answer is simply “its object is beings” 〔T32 436c12〕. Their unequal lengths call for stopping at each answer's own boundary.

The Ultimate-Meaning Objection: Beings Conventionally Spoken Of

“Its object is beings” 〔T32 436c11–12〕 is followed immediately by: “That cannot be so. In ultimate meaning no being can be found. How can beings be called the object?” 〔T32 436c12–13〕. The two sides are explicit: no being can be found in ultimate meaning; the preceding answer nevertheless names beings as object. The complete reply is only: “In dependence on 諸根種, beings are conventionally spoken of in the world” 〔T32 436c13–14〕. The content of 諸根種 is not explained here. Nor do these two sentences further explain the relation between ultimate meaning and conventional speech or why the question occurs at the end of the loving-kindness practice. The short exchange is not enlarged with an added doctrine or authorial intention.

The next sentence begins separately: “At that time the bodhisattva great being cultivates 慈流, pervading all beings with the ten perfections” 〔T32 436c14–15〕. A new “Why is this so?” then introduces the ten explanations. Source order is: conventional designation of beings; the statement that 慈流 pervades the ten perfections; the new question and ten sections. The first reply is not turned into a theoretical proof of the ten perfections.

Ten Perfections Read in Source Order

First, practicing loving-kindness toward all beings, embracing them through benefit and giving fearlessness, closes with the perfection of giving 〔T32 436c17〕. Second, depending on benefit, accomplishing 無苦, not losing the functioning of Dhamma, “like a father toward a child,” closes with virtue 〔T32 436c17–20〕. Third, intention without greed, leaving non-benefit, turning toward jhāna and going forth closes with 出 〔T32 436c20–22〕. Fourth, much reflection, benefit and non-benefit, speaking according to meaning, understanding means, removing evil, and obtaining good closes with prajñā 〔T32 436c22–25〕.

Fifth, 依取饒益不捨精進 and constant association with firm energy close with energy 〔T32 436c25–27〕. Sixth changes the order to “practices loving-kindness toward all beings”; harsh words and abuse, accomplishment of patience, and non-anger close with patience 〔T32 436c27–29〕. Seventh lists speaking truth, abiding in truth, and sustaining truth, closing with true truth 〔T32 436c29–437a02〕. Eighth lists refusing to abandon the aspiration even at the loss of life and firmly sustaining the vow, closing with sustaining 〔T32 437a02–05〕. Ninth lacks the earlier “practices loving-kindness” formula and says only that through one's own characteristic one benefits all beings and fulfills loving-kindness 〔T32 437a05–06〕. Tenth says “cultivates loving-kindness,” lists equality toward friends, neutral persons, and enemies and a mind free of anger and affection, and closes with equanimity 〔T32 437a06–08〕. Only then comes the summary: “Thus, by cultivating loving-kindness, the bodhisattva great being fulfills the ten perfections” 〔T32 437a08–09〕.

The first eight repeat practice of loving-kindness and benefit, but their openings, order, and closes are not identical; the ninth and tenth each change the formula. Each section must be checked by its own loving-kindness language, benefit language, contents, and closing name. Repetition does not imply that the ten perfections are one thing or that loving-kindness is their common essence. Four names differ in the later alignment: 檀／施, 出／出離, 般若／慧, 實諦／諦. Both lists follow the base.

Read only by what each section states: giving has embracing and fearlessness; virtue has 無苦, not losing Dhamma's function, and the father-child image; 出 has non-greed, leaving non-benefit, jhāna, and going forth; prajñā has reflection, benefit and non-benefit, speech according to meaning, means, removal of evil, and gaining good; energy has non-abandonment and constant firm effort; patience has harsh abuse, patience, and non-anger; true truth has true speech, abiding, and sustaining; sustaining has the vow not abandoned even with life lost; loving-kindness has benefit through own-characteristic; equanimity has equality toward three classes and freedom from anger and affection 〔T32 436c15–437a08〕. Each has its own contents and closing; no missing subject or syntax is supplied.

Four Sustainments and Two Dhammas, Aligned in Sequence

明慈滿四受持 〔T32 437a09〕 resembles a heading but has no question-answer opening and remains in place. The four are “sustainment of truth, giving, seclusion, and wisdom” 〔T32 437a10–11〕. The text aligns them in groups: the perfections of truth, sustaining, and energy close with “fulfill the perfection of truth,” not the sustainment of truth 〔T32 437a11–13〕; giving, virtue, and going forth fulfill the sustainment of giving 〔T32 437a13–14〕; patience, loving-kindness, and equanimity fulfill the sustainment of seclusion 〔T32 437a14–15〕; wisdom fulfills the sustainment of wisdom 〔T32 437a15〕. The four groups and order are preserved without an invented rationale. Two dhammas are then named as calm and insight 〔T32 437a16–17〕. The sustainments of truth, giving, and seclusion fulfill calm; wisdom fulfills insight 〔T32 437a17–19〕. The secure content is the order and alignment of ten perfections, four sustainments, and two dhammas, not a universal law of practice.

After the alignment, the source again says that loving-kindness has pervaded, the ten perfections and four sustainments are fulfilled, and two dhammas are fulfilled, before naming those two 〔T32 437a16–17〕. Three sustainments stand under calm, one under insight 〔T32 437a17–19〕. There are thus two explicit alignments: ten perfections to four sustainments, and four sustainments to two dhammas. The first group's “perfection of truth” differs from the form of the other three; the second directly uses the four sustainment names. Neither table emends the other, and no hidden reason is inferred from the three-to-one distribution.

The two lists of the ten perfections also require exact preservation. The first closes its sections with giving, virtue, 出, prajñā, energy, patience, true truth, sustaining, loving-kindness, and equanimity 〔T32 436c17–437a08〕. The four-sustainment alignment uses truth, sustaining, energy / giving, virtue, going forth / patience, loving-kindness, equanimity / wisdom 〔T32 437a11–15〕. Both have ten, but four names differ. The first group's close says “fulfill the perfection of truth” 〔T32 437a12–13〕, while the remaining three say “fulfill the sustainment of giving,” “sustainment of seclusion,” and “sustainment of wisdom” 〔T32 437a13–15〕. No “fulfill the sustainment of truth” occurs here, and there is no critical note; regularity cannot justify an emendation.

The four sustainments themselves are explicitly named 〔T32 437a11〕. The first group contains the perfections of truth, sustaining, and energy; the second giving, virtue, and going forth; the third patience, loving-kindness, and equanimity; the fourth wisdom alone. The source then does not align the ten directly with calm and insight. It first repeats “fulfills the ten perfections, fulfills four sustainments, fulfills two dhammas” and only then names calm and insight 〔T32 437a16–17〕, followed by the explicit three-to-calm, one-to-insight alignment 〔T32 437a17–19〕. These are the stated groups; no rationale is supplied.

After the two dhammas, three sentences have distinct openings and results. “When calm is fulfilled” is followed by fulfillment of all jhānas, liberations, concentrations, and attainments, and arising of the concentrations of twin transformation and great compassion 〔T32 437a20〕. “When insight is fulfilled” is followed only by fulfillment of all supernormal powers 〔T32 437a21〕. The third no longer begins from either dhamma: “when analytical knowledge, powers, and fearlessnesses are fulfilled,” natural knowledge and omniscience arise 〔T32 437a21–22〕. Only after these does the passage close with cultivation of loving-kindness and fulfillment of the Buddha-ground. Items from one sentence are not moved into another, and no symbolic meaning is assigned to the two concentrations.

Buddha-Ground: The Explicit Sequence

“When calm is fulfilled, all jhānas, liberations, concentrations, and attainments are fulfilled, and the concentrations of twin transformation and great compassion arise” 〔T32 437a19–20〕. “When insight is fulfilled, all supernormal powers are fulfilled” 〔T32 437a20–21〕. “When analytical knowledge, powers, and fearlessnesses are fulfilled, natural knowledge and omniscience arise” 〔T32 437a21–22〕. Finally: “By cultivating loving-kindness in this way, the bodhisattva great being fulfills the Buddha-ground in sequence” 〔T32 437a22–23〕. These sentences supply the sequence. They do not interpret twin transformation and great compassion as tracks of wisdom and compassion, nor establish a universal doctrine that calm and insight are nondual or inseparable. The inline note “Loving-kindness is finished” closes only according to the explicit text, without supplying authorial intention for the whole practice.

The final sequence is therefore: fulfilled calm → all jhānas, liberations, concentrations, and attainments, plus the two concentrations; fulfilled insight → all supernormal powers; fulfilled analytical knowledge, powers, and fearlessnesses → natural knowledge and omniscience; then cultivation of loving-kindness fulfills the Buddha-ground in sequence 〔T32 437a19–23〕. The order is not changed and no result is added.

Three points remain: the five questions define roots, arising, fulfillment, non-fulfillment, and object; the ultimate-meaning question and conventional answer turn to ten perfections, followed by four sustainments, two dhammas, and Buddha-ground. The ten sections are read through their own loving-kindness or cultivation wording, benefit wording, contents, and closing names, especially preserving the three different opening forms and four pairs of differing names. Finally, only the stated alignment is followed: ten perfections to four sustainments, those to calm and insight, then the listed concentrations, supernormal powers, analytical knowledge, powers, fearlessnesses, natural knowledge, omniscience, and “fulfills the Buddha-ground in sequence.” The ultimate-meaning exchange remains only the two statements that no being can be found and that beings are conventionally spoken of in dependence on 諸根種; no further relation between emptiness and loving-kindness is constructed.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Roots and Object of Loving-Kindness and the Ten Perfections · Exposition · Summer 2026

This is the second doorway among the four immeasurables. The passage first states what is seen: it uses the simile of parents with only one child and expressly says that, “seeing the child undergo suffering, they become distressed with compassion: ‘Alas, such suffering!’” It then says, “To arouse loving care and pity toward all beings is called compassion”〔T32 437a26–27〕. This defining question and answer occurs at〔T32 437a25–27〕. The text next answers, in sequence, the cultivation, characteristic, flavor, arising, merits, and practical cultivation of compassion. The practical cultivation sets out three kinds of what is seen, then extends through a neutral person and an enemy until it fills the four directions. It next explains fulfillment and nonfulfillment, and finally answers how universal cultivation is possible through the sign of suffering already undergone and the suffering of birth and death shared by all beings. The phrase “loving care and pity” (慈憐愍) in the definition is retained from the original. The passage does not explain how “loving-kindness” and “compassion” are divided or joined here, so compassion is not redefined as loving-kindness transformed by an encounter with suffering. “Its merits are equal to those of loving-kindness”〔T32 437a28〕says only that their merits are equal, while “the remainder is as explained in detail before”〔T32 437b12〕does no more than refer back to an earlier explanation. Neither statement explains why material is omitted. The exclamation “Alas, such suffering!” is likewise preserved only as part of the defining sentence; no additional psychological point of origin is constructed from it.

The Seven Questions and Their Express Answers

The line “Question: What is compassion? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its flavor? What is its arising? What merits does it have? What does its cultivation consist in?”〔T32 437a24–25〕sets out seven questions. The defining answer uses the simile of parents and their only child and ends with “To arouse loving care and pity toward all beings is called compassion”〔T32 437a26–27〕. The answers then follow the order of the questions: “For compassion to remain without distraction is called cultivation. Its characteristic is that what brings no benefit does not appear; its flavor is happiness; its arising is non-harming; and its merits are equal to those of loving-kindness”〔T32 437a27–28〕. Here, the cultivation, characteristic, flavor, arising, and merits of compassion are each read under their original name. The answer to the final question, “What does its cultivation consist in?” begins with the meditator entering a secluded place, sitting, and gathering the whole mind〔T32 437a28–29〕. This reading does not combine “happiness as flavor” with the later “distress does not arise” into an unstated psychological criterion.

Setting the questions alongside their answers distinguishes the two uses of “cultivation.” The answer to the earlier question, “How is it cultivated?” is only that compassion remains without distraction. Only the final question, “What does its cultivation consist in?” opens the account of sitting meditation, the three kinds of what is seen, repeated cultivation, and extension to a neutral person, an enemy, and the four directions. The answer concerning the characteristic is only that what brings no benefit does not appear; the answer concerning flavor is only happiness; the answer concerning arising is only non-harming; and the answer concerning merit is only that the merits are equal to those of loving-kindness. Although the seven questions occur on a single line, their answers still follow the original sequence; the conditions of fulfillment and nonfulfillment later in the passage do not revise these five answers.

“Its merits are equal to those of loving-kindness” is only the answer concerning merit. The passage does not repeat the merits of loving-kindness or explain why these four words refer backward. “The remainder is as explained in detail before” likewise appears only after the sequence through the neutral person and the enemy. Both statements retain their referential function; neither the omitted material nor the reason for its omission is supplied here.

Three Kinds of What Is Seen and One Mode of Attention

The cultivation sets out three kinds of what is seen in succession. The first is illness, aging, and poverty: “seeing that person fall ill, grow old, or become poor, whether seeing or hearing, one attends in this way: ‘This being undergoes suffering. By what means might this being be delivered from suffering?’”〔T32 437b01–02〕. The second is inversion, being bound by the entanglements of the defilements and entering ignorance, or having merit without training. Whether one sees or hears, one attends to the being’s suffering, future birth in a bad destination, and how that being might be delivered from suffering〔T32 437b02–05〕. The third is association with unwholesome qualities and nonassociation with wholesome qualities, together with association with what is unlovely and nonassociation with what is lovely. Whether one sees or hears, the attention remains directed to the being’s suffering, future birth in a bad destination, and how that being might be delivered from suffering〔T32 437b05–08〕. All three move from “whether one sees or hears” into attention. The treatise merely places them in sequence and assigns them no separate grades or applications. Their closing formulas differ at one point: the first says “might then gain release from suffering,” while the latter two say “might be freed from suffering.” The difference is retained and not harmonized.

The shared construction of the three can be checked item by item. The first lists illness, aging, and poverty, then “whether seeing or hearing” and “this being undergoes suffering.” The second lists inversion, entanglement by the defilements, entry into ignorance, and having merit without training, then “whether seeing or hearing” and “the being undergoes suffering and will be born in a bad destination.” The third lists the four relations of association or nonassociation with the unwholesome, wholesome, unlovely, and lovely, then “whether seeing or hearing” and “this being undergoes suffering and will be born in a bad destination.” All three end by asking what means might free the being from suffering. Only the first closing formula has the two additional characters 當 and 解.

Sequence, Fulfillment, and Nonfulfillment

After “the mind becomes gentle and capable of sustaining it”〔T32 437b11〕, the original says that compassion is cultivated in sequence toward a neutral person and then toward an enemy. The remainder is “as explained in detail before,” until it fills the four directions〔T32 437b11–13〕. This passage expressly names only the person first cultivated toward, a neutral person, and an enemy; it does not add a friend as a fourth person. The answer concerning fulfillment is: “When compassion is accomplished, killing is removed, distress does not arise, and unwholesome affection is removed”〔T32 437b14〕. Its three items are, in order, removal of killing, nonarising of distress, and removal of unwholesome affection. Nonfulfillment is first marked as having two causes, followed by 以自親生怨，以憂惱行；以對治生忿，以起恐怖〔T32 437b15–16〕. The text does not explain what “one’s own intimates” or “the counteragent” denotes, who becomes hostile or indignant toward whom, or how 以 functions and attaches in 以憂惱行 and 以起恐怖. The stated count of two causes, the four phrases, and their order are therefore preserved. No psychological process absent from the source is added to distress. The character 忿 has three readings among five witnesses. The main text follows the Taishō reading; the Exposition does not adjudicate the variants.

Before extending the sequence, the original twice says “through this doorway and this practice.” It first speaks of cultivating and repeatedly cultivating compassion toward that person; it then says that after compassion has been cultivated and repeatedly cultivated, the mind becomes gentle and capable of sustaining it〔T32 437b09–11〕. Only after that does it name the neutral person, the enemy, and the filling of the four directions. The question and answer about fulfillment begin a separate paragraph and list removal of killing, nonarising of distress, and removal of unwholesome affection. The passage on nonfulfillment first states two causes and then lists the four unresolved phrases. The cultivation sequence, the three items of fulfillment, and the difficult sentence on nonfulfillment remain in their own paragraphs and are not made into explanations of one another.

The Challenge That Suffering Does Not Pervade: Two Answers

The question is: “Suffering is not present in every being, nor is it present at every time. How can compassion be cultivated toward all beings?”〔T32 437b16–17〕. The first answer says: “Because beings have already undergone suffering, its sign is well grasped. Once that sign has been grasped, compassion can be cultivated everywhere”〔T32 437b17–19〕. The temporal reference of “have already undergone suffering” is not explained, so it is not restricted here to suffering experienced in the past. The second answer says: “The suffering of birth and death is shared by all beings; on that basis, cultivation becomes possible everywhere”〔T32 437b19–20〕. Both answers directly address how compassion can be cultivated “everywhere”: one speaks of suffering already undergone, good grasp of the sign, and the sign once grasped; the other speaks of the suffering of birth and death as shared by all beings. Their order is retained, without adding a hierarchy or a rule for choosing between them. The paragraph ends with the inline note “(The section on compassion is concluded.)”

The closing statement of the first answer expressly says “compassion can be cultivated everywhere,” whereas that of the second says only “cultivation becomes possible everywhere”; the word “compassion” appears in one but not the other. The wording is preserved sentence by sentence. Both use “everywhere” in response to the question’s “all beings,” but their conclusions are not rewritten as a single sentence.

Take away three points. First, compassion is defined through the simile of parents seeing their only child suffer and is expressly said to be loving care and pity aroused toward all beings. Second, the cultivation sets out illness, aging, and poverty; inversion, entanglement, or failure to train; and association with the unwholesome and unlovely as three kinds of what is seen. In each, whether one sees or hears, one attends to how the being might be freed from suffering. Third, fulfillment removes killing, prevents the arising of distress, and removes unwholesome affection, while nonfulfillment is stated in a difficult sentence of two causes. The challenge that suffering does not pervade is then answered through good grasp of the sign of suffering already undergone and through the suffering of birth and death shared by all beings. Each point keeps the source order without adding grades, separate applications, or psychological diagnoses.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Cultivation and Fulfillment of Compassion · Exposition · Summer 2026

This is the third doorway among the four immeasurables. The passage first states what is seen: it uses the simile of parents with only one child. Cherishing that child, they see the child gain happiness, become joyful, and say, “Excellent—so it is.” The original immediately extends this “becoming joyful” to all beings and concludes, “This is called appreciative joy”〔T32 437b24〕. The defining question and answer occur at〔T32 437b22–24〕. This is the simile and definition expressly stated in this unit; loving-kindness or compassion is not borrowed to explain it. The entire text is one base-text paragraph. In sequence it contains seven questions, two modes of attention, cultivation and repeated cultivation of appreciative joy, the mind’s becoming gentle and capable of sustaining it, the sequence through a neutral person and an enemy, filling the four directions, fulfillment, and two causes of losing appreciative joy. The reading follows this unit’s own order.

The whole passage finally refers back with “as explained in detail before” and then appends the inline note “(The section on appreciative joy is concluded.)”〔T32 437c10〕. The appreciative-joy doorway ends on that line.

Seven Questions and Four Matters: Fearlessness as Flavor

“Question: What is appreciative joy? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its flavor? What is its arising? What merits does it have? What does its cultivation consist in?”〔T32 437b21–22〕—seven questions in the same formula. The answer also descends by stages: it first answers “What is appreciative joy?” through the simile of the only child; then “appreciative joy remains without distraction” answers cultivation; “gladness” and “fearlessness” designate characteristic and flavor; next comes the irregular third member 除無樂為喜; “its merits are equal to those of loving-kindness” concludes the answer on merits; and finally “as for what its cultivation consists in” opens the practical sequence. “For appreciative joy to remain without distraction is called cultivation. Gladness is its characteristic, fearlessness is its flavor, removing the absence of happiness is appreciative joy, and its merits are equal to those of loving-kindness”〔T32 437b24–25〕. The characteristic is gladness and the flavor is fearlessness. The treatise lists only those two and gives no psychological cause for fearlessness. The third member uniquely says 除無樂為喜, “removing the absence of happiness is appreciative joy,” rather than “is its arising.” There is no critical note here, so the original sentence is retained without changing it to “is its arising” or constructing a separate explanation for “absence of happiness.” The statement on merits remains the four-character phrase 與慈等功德: this passage connects the merits of appreciative joy back to the loving-kindness doorway without producing another list.

Two Modes of Attention: Excellent, Excellent

The cultivation has two parts. The first begins with an esteemed person: “A person whom one naturally esteems—seeing that this person has gained happiness, one becomes joyful; whether seeing or hearing, one attends in this way: ‘Excellent, excellent! May this being long continue to gain joy’”〔T32 437b27–29〕. The treatise gives the object, seeing or hearing, the heart’s joy, and attention; it does not establish a separate scale of difficulty for “esteem.” The second part says: “Again, one may see nonassociation with unwholesome qualities, association with wholesome qualities, nonassociation with what is unlovely, and association with what is lovely” (復次若見與不善法不相應與善法相應與，不可愛法不相應與可愛相應)〔T32 437b29–437c01〕. One question must remain open here: the sentence uses 與 three times; does each instance attach backward or forward? The base punctuation has only one comma in the middle, and the passage does not explain itself. The attachment of the three instances therefore remains unresolved; its irregular form is retained instead of being rearranged into a definite syntax. What can be known is that both parts enter through “whether seeing or hearing” and close with “Excellent, excellent! May this being long continue to gain joy”〔T32 437b27–437c03〕. The first explicitly mentions seeing happiness gained before “whether seeing or hearing”; the second puts a string of associations and nonassociations before the same entrance. Their content differs, while the entrance and aspiration are the same. This is the repeated structure expressly present in the passage.

Sequence and Fulfillment: The Fork in Appreciative Joy

Only after “the mind becomes gentle and capable of sustaining it”〔T32 437c05–06〕does the treatise set out the sequence of extension: “From there one cultivates in sequence toward a neutral person, and from there toward an enemy; the remainder is as explained in detail before, until appreciative joy fills the four directions”〔T32 437c06–07〕. Before this, the answer writes two consecutive sentences: “toward that person, the meditator cultivates appreciative joy and practices it repeatedly,” and “toward that person, the meditator has cultivated appreciative joy and has practiced repeatedly”〔T32 437c03–05〕. The latter adds the two markers “has” to the former and is followed by “the mind becomes gentle and capable of sustaining it.” This word-by-word movement from cultivating to having cultivated, and from repeated cultivation to having cultivated repeatedly, is the sequence written by the passage itself. The following series moves only from the earlier person to a neutral person, then to an enemy, and finally to the four directions. It adds no psychological diagnosis at any step. “Under what conditions is appreciative joy fulfilled or unfulfilled? When appreciative joy is accomplished, unhappiness is removed; unwholesome affection does not arise, and frivolous speech is removed”〔T32 437c07–09〕. Fulfillment contains the three phrases “removal of unhappiness,” “nonarising of unwholesome affection,” and “removal of frivolous speech.” Their original order is preserved; they are not rewritten as a mechanism by which one produces another. The end expressly marks “two causes through which appreciative joy is lost,” then lists two groups: “Through one’s own intimates, enmity arises; through play and laughter, action arises. Through the counteragent, enmity arises; unhappiness arises”〔T32 437c09–10〕. The treatise does not further explain the grammar or causality within either group, so the two causes remain as listed. The reading delivered here is this: when the text provides a count, first read every member following that count in full; do not convert an unexplained connection into a self-test. The doorway closes with “as explained in detail before (the section on appreciative joy is concluded).”

Take away three points: one thing seen—the passage establishes appreciative joy through “seeing the child gain happiness, the heart becomes joyful” and marks its flavor as fearlessness, retaining both statements only as the source gives them; one way of reading—read every listed member following a count, leaving unexplained connections unresolved; and one line of development—both parts of the cultivation enter through “whether seeing or hearing” and close with “Excellent, excellent! May this being long continue to gain joy,” then proceed from the esteemed person through a neutral person and an enemy to the four directions. The final line uses “as explained in detail before” in the sense of referring omitted development back to an earlier explanation. Only this referential function is certain; the Exposition follows what this unit expressly writes and does not supply details absent from it.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Cultivation and Fulfillment of Appreciative Joy · Exposition · Summer 2026

This is the last doorway among the four immeasurables. State first what the passage itself shows: it does not begin with equanimity alone, but first says, “From the beginning, the meditator arises together with loving-kindness, arises together with compassion, arises together with appreciative joy, and has arisen into the third jhāna”〔T32 437c16–17〕. It then sees the drawbacks of loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy and the merits of equanimity, and only at the end says “the fourth jhāna arisen together with equanimity”〔T32 437c25〕. This complete phrase occurs at〔T32 437c25–26〕. The clearest line of the passage is therefore not a newly supplied theory of emotion, but the jhāna sequence expressly listed in the base text: the first three immeasurables, the third jhāna, seeing drawbacks and merits, cultivation of equanimity, and the fourth jhāna. Each of the three paragraphs also has its own office. The first defines equanimity and lists its cultivation, characteristic, flavor, arising, and merits. The second answers the question of practical cultivation, moving from the third jhāna to the fourth jhāna and its three ways of establishment. The third separately asks how to attend to beings, then closes with fulfillment and the loss of equanimity. These three paragraphs must first be distinguished, so that no item is moved into another paragraph as its explanation.

The Final Turn of a Single Simile: Even “Cherishing” Does Not Appear

The opening again has seven questions: “What is equanimity? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its flavor? What is its arising? What merits does it have? What does its cultivation consist in?”〔T32 437c11–12〕. The answer begins: “It is like parents facing their one child: regarding the child as neither to be cherished nor not to be cherished, they accomplish equanimity. They develop a balanced mind toward that child; in the same way, toward all beings, equanimity / guarding / a balanced mind—this is called equanimity”〔T32 437c12–14〕. One question must remain open here: does “neither to be cherished nor not to be cherished” mean absence of love, or another kind of love? The passage makes no such classification, so neither account is added. Only three steps are certain: parents and their one child, neither to be cherished nor not to be cherished, and a balanced mind. The same balanced mind is then extended to all beings. In 捨護中心, whether 捨 attaches to what precedes or follows also remains unresolved, so no single punctuation is imposed. The five matters are expressly listed: “For equanimity to remain without distraction is called cultivation. Nonattachment is its characteristic, equality is its flavor, subduing anger and affection is its arising, and its merits are equal to those of loving-kindness”〔T32 437c14–15〕. These answer cultivation, characteristic, flavor, arising, and merits in order; the final question, “What does its cultivation consist in?” is left for the second paragraph. The seven questions are not compressed into one, nor are the two senses of cultivation merged.

Drawbacks and Transition: Because Affection and Anger Are Near

Why do the first three immeasurables have drawbacks? The wording gives the reason “because affection and anger are near,” then lists “arising together with play” and “arising together with leaping gladness”〔T32 437c18–19〕. One question remains open: do these three respectively refer to loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy? The passage neither pairs them item by item nor explains their syntactic attachment. They therefore cannot be fixed into three corresponding groups, still less expanded into a psychological cause for each doorway. Only this sequence is certain: in dependence on the first three immeasurables the meditator gives rise to the third jhāna, sees the drawbacks of loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy, sees the merits of equanimity, then cultivates equanimity and gives rise to the fourth jhāna〔T32 437c16–19·437c25–26〕. The “transition” explained here stops with that expressly stated jhāna sequence; it does not split “because affection and anger are near” into a taxonomy absent from the treatise.

The Sequence Runs Backward: The Enemy Precedes the Friend

The second paragraph first writes together “having seen the drawbacks of loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy” and “having seen the merits of equanimity”〔T32 437c20〕. Only then does it say: “Beginning with a person regarded as neither worthy nor unworthy of affection, mindfulness is made to arise together with equanimity, the mind is brought to fulfillment, and the mind of equanimity grows”〔T32 437c20–22〕. The five characters 念 and 捨心增長 are absent from all four other witnesses and are retained from the base text. Next, “having cultivated and cultivated repeatedly, the mind becomes gentle and capable of sustaining it”〔T32 437c22–23〕places cultivation, gentleness of mind, and capacity to sustain it in that order. The following step expressly says: “The meditator cultivates in sequence toward an enemy, and from there toward a friend; the remainder is as explained in detail before and may be known, until it fills the four directions”〔T32 437c23–24〕. The enemy precedes the friend: that is the source order. The treatise does not say which is easier or call the final position a test, so no rationale based on degrees of intimacy is supplied. The reading delivered here is: preserve the original sequence; do not supply degrees of difficulty—the person regarded as neither worthy nor unworthy of affection, the enemy, the friend, and the four directions, omitting none and reversing none to accord with general expectation. “The fourth jhāna arisen together with equanimity is established in three ways: beings have been comprehensively included, villages and fields have been comprehensively included, and all directions have been comprehensively included”〔T32 437c25–27〕immediately follows. All three ways of establishment are read in the source order; the stated count is three, and the following list also has three: beings, villages and fields, all directions.

The Question of Attention: The Course of a Long-Separated Reunion

“Question: When the meditator is presently cultivating equanimity, how does the meditator attend to beings?”〔T32 437c27–28〕. The answer first says: “What was said concerning attention should be applied to loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy. Toward beings, remove producing joy and practicing joy; attend within happiness”〔T32 437c28–29〕. Whether 作意所說, “what was said concerning attention,” is an independent opening or joins the following sentence remains unresolved. The internal boundary of “remove producing joy and practicing joy; attend within happiness” should likewise not be rewritten as a sequence of stages unstated by the treatise. A simile follows: “It is like a person long separated from a friend. On first meeting, 榮侍, joy and happiness arise in the heart; after living together, the heart becomes balanced”〔T32 437c29–438a02〕. The simile gives only three steps: long separation, joy and happiness at the first meeting, and a balanced heart after living together. The term 榮侍 is not self-explained, and all four other witnesses read 營待, so it is not assigned a definition. The application then expressly says: “In the same way, after dwelling long in loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy, one again comes to be embraced by equanimity”〔T32 438a02〕. Finally comes another account: “Someone else says: attend in this way—‘beings, beings’” (復有人說：眾生眾生者如是作意)〔T32 438a03–04〕. The passage does not identify the speaker or explain the repeated “beings.” The answer’s order is the statement on attention, the reunion simile, its application, and another account. These four layers follow one another without being combined. “The heart becomes balanced” in the simile and “comes to be embraced by equanimity” in its application also retain their own terms. Reading this section requires distinguishing the stated simile, application, and other account while leaving the three unresolved points in their respective places.

Fulfillment and Loss of Equanimity: The Fork of Ignorance

“What is the fulfillment and nonfulfillment of equanimity? When equanimity is accomplished, 殺除瞋愛; ignorance does not arise”〔T32 438a04–05〕. The fulfillment statement originally lists 殺除瞋愛 and 不起無明. “Equanimity is lost through two causes: through one’s own intimates, enmity arises; ignorance arises. Through the counteragent, enmity arises; anger and affection arise”〔T32 438a05–06〕. The loss statement likewise gives only its two original groups. The passage does not separately explain ignorance, so it is not forced into a psychological definition; “anger and affection arise” is also retained only as the original phrase. Fulfillment lists two items, and loss expressly marks two causes; the count and original items are preserved in both places. The inline note “(The section on equanimity is concluded.)” closes the doorway. From fulfillment to loss, the reading remains the same: first identify the phrases expressly listed by the treatise, then leave their unexplained relations where they stand.

Take away three points: one thing seen—this doorway depends on the third jhāna arisen through the first three immeasurables, sees their drawbacks and the merits of equanimity, and then gives rise to the fourth jhāna arisen together with equanimity; one way of reading—preserve the original sequence and do not supply degrees of difficulty: the person regarded as neither worthy nor unworthy of affection, the enemy, the friend, and the four directions; and one line—the long-separated friends become joyful at the first meeting and balanced after living together, while fulfillment lists 殺除瞋愛、不起無明 and loss lists two causes without imposing a psychological definition on ignorance. Two expressly numbered statements offer a further check. The fourth jhāna is “established in three ways,” followed by exactly three items—beings, villages and fields, and all directions. Equanimity is lost “through two causes,” followed by exactly two groups—enmity through one’s own intimates with arising ignorance, and enmity through the counteragent with arising anger and affection. First check the stated count against the list, then address unresolved syntax, so that one’s own inference does not replace an explanation the source lacks.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Cultivation and Fulfillment of Equanimity · Exposition · Summer 2026

This is the concluding passage in the sequence of the four immeasurables. State first what the text itself shows: “Further clarification of the meaning of the four immeasurables” (重明四無量義)〔T32 438a07〕forms a seven-character paragraph of its own. All four other witnesses omit this sentence, but the base text is retained. The passage then treats in sequence the miscellaneous statements, jhāna grounds, the reason for four, one nature and various characteristics, and the correspondence of four doorways to four bases. This unit has nine paragraphs: one general heading, one on the miscellaneous statements, one on the jhāna grounds, one on the reason for four and the general correspondence, one asking “How can this be known?”, and four final paragraphs explaining loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity in turn. The questions must also be read according to the base text. The miscellaneous statements open directly with “What are...” and do not use the character meaning “Question”; each of the next seven paragraphs begins with “Question”; and the question formulas of the last four paragraphs are not entirely uniform. Reading from the general heading through “(The miscellaneous statements are concluded.)”〔T32 438b24〕shows this passage’s work: it reclassifies, enumerates, and assigns grounds to the four previously established doorways. The Exposition unfolds only the express wording of these nine paragraphs and does not enlarge “further clarification” into a summary the treatise never gives.

Miscellaneous Statements: As a Mother Thinks of Her Child According to the Time

“What are the miscellaneous statements on the immeasurables? The four immeasurables arise with one being as their object and are cultivated in relation to other objects, as a mother thinks of her child according to the child’s present circumstance”〔T32 438a08–09〕. The four immeasurables arise from the matter of one being and are then cultivated in other contexts. The simile says only that the mother thinks of her child according to the time. The treatise does not list what the mother does at different times or assign loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity to four situations of daily life. Examples involving food, clothing, or illness are therefore not supplied, and the immeasurables are not turned into a system of switching gestures. The next sentence lists: “in this way, toward an animal, a person who violates the precepts, a person who possesses the precepts, a person disenchanted with desire, a hearer, a solitary awakened one, a perfectly awakened one, 歸依勝處; one may know that a supreme immeasurable is accomplished”〔T32 438a09–12〕. The base punctuation sets out eight successive expressions. The last, 歸依勝處, differs in kind from the preceding seven. Whether it is the eighth item or continues “perfectly awakened one” remains unresolved. The reading to take away is: stop where the simile stops. Preserve “according to the time” and the unresolved syntax of the last expression; do not answer either gap by importing a familiar story about mother and child.

Distinguishing the Jhāna Grounds: Two Accounts of the Third and Fourth Jhānas

“Question: Why do loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy give rise to the third jhāna rather than the fourth?”〔T32 438a12〕. The first answer begins: “Beings give rise to distress, anger, harming, and absence of happiness. Countering that distress, loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy are cultivated with a mind arisen together with joy; therefore the third jhāna arises, not the fourth”〔T32 438a12–15〕. What is certain is that loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy are cultivated with “a mind arisen together with joy,” and the conclusion expressly says that the third jhāna arises rather than the fourth. The internal division of 眾生憂惱所起，瞋恚害不樂 is not separately explained, so no additional etiology is supplied. The answer then turns to equanimity: “Again, the ground of equanimity is the fourth jhāna because it is accomplished through two kinds of equanimity, namely equanimity as feeling and equanimity within phenomena. Dwelling on the ground of equanimity, one takes benefit toward beings and accomplishes equanimity”〔T32 438a15–17〕. A count of two is expressly marked and the two names are given; the passage does not define them further. The first account then concludes: “Because of the ground, the first three immeasurables arise with the third jhāna, not the fourth”〔T32 438a17〕.

The same paragraph immediately introduces another account with “It is further said”: “It is further said that the four immeasurables arise in the four jhānas”〔T32 438a17–18〕. The Blessed One’s statement follows: “Regarding the four immeasurables, monastic, you should cultivate. This concentration has applied and sustained thought; you should cultivate with applied thought but without sustained thought; you should cultivate without applied or sustained thought; you should cultivate arisen together with joy; you should cultivate arisen together with pleasure; you should cultivate arisen together with equanimity”〔T32 438a18–21〕. The quotation first has “monastic, you should cultivate,” then one statement on concentration with applied and sustained thought. Afterward, the exact phrase “you should cultivate” occurs five times, introducing in order: with applied but without sustained thought, without applied or sustained thought, arisen together with joy, arisen together with pleasure, and arisen together with equanimity. The passage does not assign each of these five individually to a particular jhāna, nor does the later account cancel the earlier. The reading is therefore: whenever “It is further said” appears, preserve the preceding and following accounts in separate columns. The earlier account assigns the first three immeasurables to the third jhāna and equanimity to the fourth-jhāna ground; the later says that the four immeasurables arise in the four jhānas and gives six formulations for cultivating concentration. The two accounts of third and fourth jhāna coexist; the Exposition does not decide between them.

The Reason for Establishing Four: Why Exactly Four Doorways?

“Question: Why are four immeasurables taught, rather than three or five? Answer: 若然，一切所疑”〔T32 438a21–22〕. The first four characters of the answer are not self-explained, so they are not fixed as either a rhetorical challenge or a rebuke. Only the next sentence lists the reason: “Again, the four immeasurables are established because they counter anger, harming, absence of happiness, and anger-and-affection”〔T32 438a22–23〕. The four expressions and “countering” occur together in one sentence, but the original does not say item by item which belongs to loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, or equanimity. The Exposition preserves the four expressions and their relation to establishing the four immeasurables without forcing a four-by-four correspondence.

The answer also records: “It is further said that these four are only loving-kindness. Because people frequently arouse anger, harming, and affliction, the four doorways become supreme in order to remove them”〔T32 438a23–25〕. This account expressly says “these four are only loving-kindness” and expressly says that the four doorways become supreme because people frequently arouse anger, harming, and affliction and these are to be removed. How the next sentence, “As for equanimity, loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy are purified; because anger and affection are countered”〔T32 438a25〕, connects is not further unfolded, so a new definition is not created for “as for equanimity.” The passage then establishes one nature and various characteristics: “The four immeasurables have one nature; their various characteristics may be known”〔T32 438a25–26〕. There are three reasons for forming one characteristic: countering drawbacks, the object of beings, and the intention of benefit〔T32 438a26–27〕. There are also three reasons for forming various characteristics: supremacy of the quality, supremacy of the object taken, and supremacy of the benefit taken〔T32 438a27–28〕. Each side has three items; the latter is introduced by “It is further said.” One nature and various characteristics stand together, and the passage does not require choosing one over the other.

The two groups can each be counted as three in their original order. The group forming one characteristic is “countering drawbacks,” “the object of beings,” and “the intention of benefit.” The group forming various characteristics is “supremacy of the quality,” “supremacy of the object taken,” and “supremacy of the benefit taken”〔T32 438a26–28〕. The first is listed directly in the text and the second is introduced by “It is further said”; neither is labeled with the number three. The four bases subsequently listed in the Yellow-Robe Sūtra each contain “foremost”: loving-kindness foremost in the base of purity, compassion foremost in the base of space, appreciative joy foremost in the base of consciousness, and equanimity foremost in the base of nothingness〔T32 438a28–438b02〕. These repeated terms establish the items and their order but do not supply a fixed correspondence between the two preceding groups of three, nor turn the four occurrences of “foremost” into a ladder of practice absent from this passage.

Pause at one question: do the two groups of three correspond item for item? The original places three items in each group but does not say that the first corresponds to the first or the second to the second. What can be checked is that each list actually has three members, not that the treatise expressly establishes three fixed correspondences. This pause also supplies a way of reading: list members may be counted; an unmarked correspondence may not be added. The paragraph finally cites the Yellow-Robe Sūtra: “Loving-kindness is foremost in the base of purity, compassion is foremost in the base of space, appreciative joy is foremost in the base of consciousness, and equanimity is foremost in the base of nothingness”〔T32 438a29–438b02〕. This is the general table for the fourfold correspondence explained next. The title of the scripture occurs in the passage itself, but no further scriptural context is given, so its identity is not determined here.

The Fourfold Correspondence: A Distinct Upper Limit for Each of the Four Minds

The culmination of the debate is cited from scripture: “As the Blessed One says in the Yellow-Robe Sūtra: loving-kindness is foremost in the base of purity, compassion is foremost in the base of space, appreciative joy is foremost in the base of consciousness, and equanimity is foremost in the base of nothingness”〔T32 438a28–438b02〕. The phrase “Yellow-Robe Sūtra” occurs once in the whole treatise; the title is supplied by the treatise, which gives no further text, so it is retained without identification. “Question: How can this be known? Answer: Its meaning can be known because each depends on what is near it”〔T32 438b02–03〕. The paragraph explains the fourfold correspondence only through “near”; it does not recast nearness as disposition, habit, or ease of entering concentration. The next four paragraphs unfold in their original order. First, loving-kindness and the base of purity: “One cultivates loving-kindness toward all beings, following their wishes. By following constantly, one brings attention to the blue-green and yellow kasiṇas; with little effort the mind settles”〔T32 438b03–05〕. In the immediately following 是眾生種類事，或色界清淨，一切入放意〔T32 438b05–06〕, the character 或 and the sentence boundaries remain unresolved. The matter of kinds of beings, purity of the form realm, and release of attention in the kasiṇa are therefore preserved literally and not arranged into a fixed causal sequence. The text then expressly says that the meditator attains the fourth jhāna in the form realm; hence loving-kindness is foremost in the base of purity〔T32 438b06–08〕. Second, compassion and the base of space: because loving-kindness has been cultivated, the mind knows the drawbacks of the form realm; on seeing beings suffer, the attachment of 彼為色因生慈 remains unclear. What follows can be established: attention is brought to emergence from form, the mind settles in the base of space with little effort, and therefore compassion is foremost in the base of space〔T32 438b09–13〕. Third, appreciative joy and the base of consciousness: appreciative joy has been cultivated, the mind is unattached, and it continually takes boundless consciousness as its object. The syntax of 此喜於無所著無邊識處安眾生事 is irregular. The text then again lists the arising of boundless consciousness in attention and settlement of the mind with little effort; therefore appreciative joy is foremost in the base of consciousness〔T32 438b14–18〕. Fourth, equanimity and the base of nothingness: because equanimity has been cultivated, the mind becomes detached. The assignments within 此眾生得樂得苦，或由喜或由樂 and 離無所著無所有處，現令心喜 both remain unresolved. What follows can be established: the mind is not attached to various objects or, in the base of nothingness, to consciousness or boundlessness; therefore equanimity is foremost in the base of nothingness〔T32 438b18–24〕. The four paragraphs share expressions such as “bring to appear in attention,” “with little effort,” and “the mind settles.” This is a checkable repetition in the wording; no mental inertia is inferred from it, and whether practice feels effortful is not made a diagnosis of attainment. The reading is therefore simple: read the four correspondences in the source order of their four paragraphs, preserve repeated expressions, and do not supply unresolved attachments.

Paragraph-by-Paragraph Check of the Four Correspondences

The loving-kindness paragraph first asks “Why?” and answers from “cultivating loving-kindness toward all beings”〔T32 438b03–04〕. It writes “following” twice in succession: first “following their wishes,” then “by following constantly.” Only afterward does it turn to the blue-green and yellow kasiṇas, bringing attention to appear, little effort, and settlement of the mind〔T32 438b04–05〕. The difficulty comes in the next sentence: 是眾生種類事，或色界清淨，一切入放意〔T32 438b05–06〕. Reading 或 with what precedes differs from reading it with what follows; attaching “the kasiṇa releases attention” to the preceding or following sentence likewise changes the boundary. The base gives no further punctuation, so the later conclusion concerning the fourth jhāna is not used to retroactively punctuate the earlier sentence. The final three certain steps are attainment of the fourth jhāna in the form realm, loving-kindness being foremost in the base of purity, and dependence on loving-kindness in the fourth jhāna of the form realm to go beyond it〔T32 438b06–08〕.

The compassion paragraph begins with the corrected reading “What does this mean?”〔T32 438b08–09〕. Although the answer is to explain why compassion is foremost in the base of space, its first sentence says, “Because loving-kindness has been cultivated, the mind knows the drawbacks of the form realm”〔T32 438b09〕. The word “loving-kindness” is retained and not changed to “compassion.” The text then asks “Why?” and says, “Seeing beings suffer, 彼為色因生慈”〔T32 438b09–10〕. The original does not say whether 彼 refers to the beings, suffering, or the preceding sentence, or how “because of form” connects with the arising of loving-kindness. The subsequent order is clear: the mind knows the drawbacks of the form realm, brings attention to emergence from form, uses little effort at the base of space, settles, has obtained its support, and therefore compassion is foremost in the base of space〔T32 438b10–13〕. The closing statement “The meditator depends on appreciative joy to go beyond the base of space”〔T32 438b13〕is transitional and introduces appreciative joy and the base of space before the next paragraph.

The appreciative-joy paragraph again asks “What does this mean?” and answers with “Because appreciative joy has been cultivated, the mind is unattached and continually takes boundless consciousness as its object”〔T32 438b13–14〕. After asking itself “Why?”, the original says 此喜於無所著無邊識處安眾生事〔T32 438b15〕. Punctuation cannot determine how “nonattachment,” “the base of boundless consciousness,” and “establishing the matter of beings” combine. What is worth seeing literally is that the answer writes “the mind is unattached and continually takes boundless consciousness as its object” twice〔T32 438b14–16〕. Only after the second occurrence does it list leaving form, adhering to space, causing boundless consciousness to arise in attention, settling with little effort, and the matter of kinds, and finally conclude, “Appreciative joy is foremost in the base of consciousness”〔T32 438b18〕. The repeated sentence is certain; the doctrinal reason for its repetition is not supplied.

The equanimity paragraph places the transitional statement inside the question: “The meditator depends on equanimity to go beyond the base of consciousness. What does this mean?”〔T32 438b18–19〕. The answer first lists having cultivated equanimity and the mind’s becoming detached. It asks “Why?” and answers, “Cultivating equanimity does not cause attachment to be acquired”〔T32 438b20〕. The two most difficult points follow. 此眾生得樂得苦，或由喜或由樂〔T32 438b20–21〕does not mark how joy and pleasure correspond to gaining happiness and gaining suffering. 從彼以心離著，離無所著無所有處，現令心喜〔T32 438b21–22〕does not mark the scope of each occurrence of “depart.” The certain conclusion may still be read: with little effort the mind settles and is not attached to various objects; in the base of nothingness it becomes attached neither to consciousness nor to boundlessness; therefore equanimity is foremost in the base of nothingness〔T32 438b22–24〕. The inline note concluding the miscellaneous statements follows immediately, with no further transitional sentence.

The final answer first says that because equanimity has been cultivated the mind becomes detached, then lists settling with little effort and nonattachment to various objects, and says that in the base of nothingness it becomes attached neither to consciousness nor to boundlessness〔T32 438b19–24〕. The conclusion is “Therefore equanimity is said to be foremost in the base of nothingness”; its final word is expressly “foremost.” Beneath it appears only the inline note “(The miscellaneous statements are concluded.)”〔T32 438b24〕. The passage stops here and adds no separate summary.

Take away three points: one thing seen—the passage lists anger, harming, absence of happiness, anger-and-affection, and their countering, then records another account that “these four are only loving-kindness”; because it gives no item-by-item pairing, the list is simply preserved; one way of reading—read the four correspondences in the source order of their four paragraphs: loving-kindness in the base of purity, compassion in the base of space, appreciative joy in the base of consciousness, and equanimity in the base of nothingness; repeated expressions such as “bring to appear in attention,” “with little effort,” and “the mind settles” are read literally and not elevated into dispositions or diagnoses; and one line—two accounts of the first three immeasurables in the third jhāna and all four immeasurables in the four jhānas coexist, just as one nature and various characteristics coexist, without this passage deciding between them. The end expressly records “(The miscellaneous statements are concluded.)”; the unit stops there.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Miscellaneous Statements on the Four Immeasurables and Their Jhāna Grounds · Exposition · Summer 2026

At this point the “Chapter on Ways of Practice” turns to contemplation of the four elements. First set out the structure. The first paragraph uses seven questions to give a general account of the definition, cultivation, characteristic, flavor, arising, and merits of contemplating the four elements, and says that the beginning meditator grasps the great elements in two ways, briefly and in detail. The second paragraph first answers brief grasping, then introduces “another account” with four modes relying on membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones, next answers detailed grasping, and finally cites the elder masters’ heading of ten modes for contemplating the four elements. The first account of brief grasping, the account of the four modes, and detailed grasping all close with “there are only elements, no being and no life.” This eight-character statement is the shared conclusion that can be established. The passage does not say that adjacent doorways form a system of cooling and warming one another, so inference imported from another unit does not replace this passage’s self-contained order.

The three occurrences of the conclusion stand in different positions. The first follows the four pairings of moisture with water, heat with fire, sustaining with earth, and motion with wind, and closes with “in this way the elements are grasped briefly.” The second follows subduing the mind, making it gentle, sustaining, and knowing the elements through the four modes relying on membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones; after it come 以比餘行成住 and again “in this way the elements are grasped briefly.” The third follows the four lists for earth, water, fire, and wind and is followed by “in this way the elements have been grasped in detail.” The same sentence thus seals the first account of brief grasping, the “another account” of brief grasping, and detailed grasping respectively. This threefold correspondence is the passage’s clearest structure.

Overview: Seven Questions and the Heading of Eight Merits

“Question: What is contemplation of the four elements? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its flavor? What is its arising? What merits does it have? How is it cultivated in practice?”〔T32 438b25–26〕. The seven questions concern, in sequence, contemplation, cultivation, characteristic, flavor, arising, merits, and practical cultivation. The answer first says 擇智自相內四大，此謂觀四大〔T32 438b26〕. The syntax of 擇智自相內四大 remains unresolved, so only the three source expressions “discerning knowledge,” “own-characteristic,” and “the four internal elements” can be preserved; ordinary terminological expectations cannot turn it into another meditation practice. The next sentence, “For that mind to remain without distraction is called cultivation,” directly gives the definition of cultivation. The following three answer item by item: “Continually contemplating the four elements is its characteristic, penetrating emptiness is its flavor, and removing the perception of a being is its arising”〔T32 438b27–28〕. The beginning of brief grasping separately says that the meditator “enters a secluded place, sits, gathers the whole mind, and keeps it undistracted”〔T32 428c04／429a16–17／429b09／432c22–23／437b26–27／438c05〕. Both the general account and the sitting formula in brief grasping must be retained.

Of the seven questions, “How is it cultivated?” asks for the definition of cultivation, while the final “How is it cultivated in practice?” asks for the actual method. The former is answered by the mind’s remaining without distraction; the latter by grasping the great elements in the two ways of brief and detailed treatment. Each use of “cultivation” thus receives its own answer.

The sequence of the following questions and answers can likewise be checked sentence by sentence. The general account ends with “The beginning meditator grasps the great elements in two ways: briefly and in detail.” The next question asks specifically how they are grasped briefly. After the two presentations of brief grasping have been answered, the text asks how they are grasped in detail. Only after detailed grasping has concluded does “Again, the elder masters say” introduce the list of nine expressions.

The merits first have the heading “eight merits.” The text then says: 能堪恐怖樂不樂，於可愛非可愛成平等心，除男女意思，成大智慧，向善趣、向醍醐，其所有明分法，彼一切成滿修行〔T32 438b29–438c03〕. Under the present base punctuation, this can be divided into seven items. Only by dividing “being able to endure fear” from “happiness and unhappiness” would the count become eight. The base places no separator there, so both ways of counting remain and no unique punctuation is imposed. Each phrase can only be listed as it stands: 能堪恐怖樂不樂; accomplishing a mind of equality toward what is lovely and unlovely; removing thoughts of male and female; accomplishing great wisdom; tending toward a good destination; tending toward the cream of the teaching; and bringing all 明分法 to fulfillment in cultivation. The attachment of “happiness and unhappiness” and the specific referent of 明分法 are not explained here. They therefore cannot support an invented causal mechanism involving fear, desire, or daily application. The answer to the final question, “How is it cultivated in practice?”, is that the beginning meditator grasps the great elements in two ways, one brief and one detailed〔T32 438c03–04〕. This is the express heading for the two methods in the next paragraph.

Brief Grasping: The First Account and “Another Account”

The first account of brief grasping begins with the sitting formula: “The meditator enters a secluded place, sits, gathers the whole mind, and keeps it undistracted”〔T32 438c04–05〕. Entering the secluded place and sitting, gathering the whole mind, and keeping it undistracted are the complete wording that opens this account. The next statement, “This body may be designated through the four great elements,” does not mean weighing the body on a scale. The base next has “all sees element” in this body and lists moisture as the water element, heat as the fire element, sustaining as the earth element, and motion as the wind element〔T32 438c05–07〕. The four natures and four elements are paired explicitly. The conclusion is: “Thus, in this body there are only elements, no being and no life. In this way the elements are grasped briefly”〔T32 438c07–08〕. The four other witnesses differ greatly at two connected points, but the main text still follows the Taishō base; the variants remain only in the critical notes.

The answer proceeds through four layers: the sitting formula, designation of the body, pairing four natures with four elements, and the conclusion that there are only elements. All belong to the first account under the question “How are the great elements grasped briefly?”

“Another account” discerns the body through four modes relying on membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones. For membrane, it first says “discern by relying on the body’s membrane,” then “discern the nature of the whole body by relying on the membrane”; each sentence is followed by “through color, shape, location, or discernment.” For flesh, it likewise has “discern this body by relying on flesh” and “having discerned the whole body by relying on flesh.” For vessels, it has “discern the whole body by relying on the vessels” and “having discerned the whole body by relying on the vessels.” Bones receive only one sentence: “From here, again discern the whole body by relying on the bones”〔T32 438c08–19〕. The repeated four-part formula therefore occurs seven times: twice each with membrane, flesh, and vessels, and once with bones. The forms are not uniform. The text marks only “another account.” It places the two presentations of brief grasping side by side, but makes no classification by practitioner type and gives no rule for moving upward or downward between them.

The seven instances of the repeated formula attach as follows. The first belongs to “discern by relying on the body’s membrane”; the second to “discern the nature of the whole body by relying on the membrane”; the third to “discern this body by relying on flesh”; the fourth to “having discerned the whole body by relying on flesh”; the fifth to “discern the whole body by relying on the vessels”; the sixth to “having discerned the whole body by relying on the vessels”; and the seventh to “from here, again discern the whole body by relying on the bones.” Every occurrence contains all four aspects—color, shape, location, and discernment—for twenty-eight introductions by “through.” The membrane, flesh, and vessel sections each have both an unfinished and an “having discerned” form, while the bone section has only the form of discerning. This irregularity belongs to the source’s own structure.

After the four-mode discernment, the treatise twice writes of subduing the mind, making it gentle, and causing sustaining. It first says, “Within these four modes, through these four modes subdue the mind; cause subduing, make the mind gentle, cause the mind to sustain.” It then says, “Having subdued the mind through the four modes and having made it gentle, cause sustaining”〔T32 438c21–22〕. This is the sequence expressly stated within this account; it cannot be generalized into a universal preliminary for every doorway of practice. The four elements are then known through the four modes: when there is hardness, know it as the earth element; when there is moisture, know it as the water element; when there is heat, know it as the fire element; when there is motion, know it as the wind element〔T32 438c22–24〕. The conclusion remains “there are only elements, no being and no life,” followed by 以比餘行成住 and “in this way the elements are grasped briefly”〔T32 438c24–26〕. The two presentations may neutrally be described as direct pairing of four natures with the elements and four-mode discernment through membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones. No classification of practitioners or necessary sequence is added beyond that.

Detailed Grasping: The Four Element Lists and Two Mismatched Counts

Detailed grasping first asks “How are the elements grasped in detail?” and then lists modes under earth, water, fire, and wind. The earth element has the heading “grasped in detail through twenty modes,” but the exact list is hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, vessels, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, 胇, spleen, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, 胞, feces, and brain—twenty-one items〔T32 438c26–28〕. The stated count and actual list therefore differ by one. All four other witnesses read 肺 for 胇; the main text retains the base 胇. Only the mismatch of twenty and twenty-one can be disclosed. No item may be removed to repair the count, nor may one be silently merged with another.

The water element is headed as twelve modes, and its list—gall, saliva, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, water, saliva and nasal mucus, phlegm, and urine—contains exactly twelve〔T32 438c28–439a01〕. 唾 and 唾涕 occur separately and remain two items. The fire element is headed as four modes: heat, warmth, mild warmth, and 平等消飲食噉甞, followed by “this is called the fire element”〔T32 439a02／445c19–20〕. The list agrees with its count, but the old phrase 平等消飲食噉甞 is retained rather than transformed into a modern physiological explanation. The wind element is headed as six modes: upward wind, downward wind, wind depending on the abdomen, wind depending on the back, wind depending on the parts of the body, and the wind of in-breath and out-breath; it likewise has six items〔T32 439a02–04〕. All four lists are read under their original names and counts. Their items are not converted into everyday prescriptions, and another unit is not borrowed to explain their functions.

After the four lists, the passage says: “Thus, through forty-two modes one sees that in this body there are only elements, no being and no life. In this way the elements have been grasped in detail”〔T32 439a04–05〕. If the earth element is counted according to its stated twenty, then twenty plus water’s twelve, fire’s four, and wind’s six equals forty-two. If its actually listed twenty-one is counted, the total is forty-three. The stated forty-two and listed forty-three therefore coexist. Forty-two follows from adding the headings; forty-three follows from counting each actual item. The passage does not decide which should be taken. Neither calculation changes the third occurrence of “there are only elements, no being and no life.” In the original, brief and detailed grasping are the two ways by which the beginning meditator grasps the great elements. The former has two presentations, while the latter has four element lists. The text stops with the sitting formula, modes of discernment, lists of four elements, and shared conclusion.

Checking each of the four lists item by item, the earth element’s twenty-one may be divided into the first ten, from hair of the head through marrow, and the next eleven, from kidneys through brain. The water element’s twelve run from gall to urine, with 唾 and 唾涕 listed separately. The four fire items are each introduced by the same source formula: heat, warmth, mild warmth, and 平等消飲食噉甞. Among the six winds, the first two are upward and downward, the next three depend respectively on the abdomen, back, and body parts, and the final one is the wind of in-breath and out-breath. The earth-element heading differs by one, while the headings of water, fire, and wind agree with their actual lists. Adding the stated counts gives twenty plus twelve plus four plus six; adding the actual items gives twenty-one plus twelve plus four plus six. The former is forty-two and the latter forty-three, and each result has a textual basis.

The Elder Masters’ Heading: Nine Items Listed Under a Name of Ten Modes

After “Again, the elder masters say that the four elements should be contemplated through ten modes,” the text actually lists nine: verbal meaning, matter, aggregation, dispersal, nonattachment, condition, characteristic, same kind and different kind, and one meaning and various meanings〔T32 439a06–08〕. The heading says ten modes, but the body has only nine, one fewer. No new name may be supplied, nor may a compound item be split merely to reach ten. The final sentence 以界釋第一，以言語義章〔T32 439a08–09〕has unresolved syntax, and the meaning of 章 is unresolved; only the original sentence is retained. The following text does open, in sequence, doorways on verbal meaning, matter, aggregation, dispersal, inseparability, condition, characteristic, same kind and different kind, and one nature and various natures. Yet the fifth item in the elder masters’ heading here is “nonattachment,” while the fifth doorway actually explained below is “inseparability.” The two names do not agree, and each is retained in its own location.

The word “mode” attaches to several different things in this passage. In one place, the beginning meditator “grasps the great elements in two modes,” brief and detailed. “Another account” takes membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones as four modes. Detailed grasping then divides the earth element into twenty modes, water into twelve, fire into four, and wind into six. The elder masters, in turn, say that the four elements should be contemplated through ten modes. These counts belong to distinct lists and cannot be exchanged. The text’s organizational order is first brief grasping, then detailed grasping, then the elder masters’ account. It can be read as a written sequence with the names of its items; it cannot be turned into a compulsory practice prohibition absent from the text.

Take away three points. First, the overview opens with seven questions: its answer on contemplating the four elements preserves the unresolved syntax of 擇智自相內四大; cultivation is the mind’s remaining without distraction, the characteristic is continual contemplation of the four elements, the flavor is penetrating emptiness, and the arising is removing the perception of a being. The heading of eight merits does not agree with the seven items distinguishable under the base punctuation. Second, brief grasping has a first account pairing four natures with four elements and “another account” using the four modes of membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones. Both close with “there are only elements, no being and no life,” and the text does not classify the practitioners for whom each applies. Third, detailed grasping heads the earth element as twenty while listing twenty-one; thus, if the stated total of forty-two is recalculated from the actual items, it becomes forty-three. The elder masters likewise head their account as ten modes while listing nine. These mismatches are disclosed exactly, without deletion, addition, or reordering. This passage supports the definitions, lists, conclusions, and unresolved points stated above—and no more.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Contemplating the Four Elements: Overview and Brief and Detailed Grasping of the Elements · Exposition · Summer 2026

The passage begins with “How does one distinguish the elements through language?” and first gives common and distinctive designations. It then asks what “great” means in “four great elements” and lists great arising, not-real-meaning making real meaning manifest, and shapes of ghosts and the like. Finally it asks the meanings of earth, water, fire, wind, and “element,” lists the four self-natures, and closes “the meanings of the elements are thus; contemplate the elements through linguistic meaning” 〔T32 439a09–439b11〕. The reading below follows that question-and-answer order. It does not expand the short phrases into an ontology or convert the lists of natures into a separate practice prescription.

Common and Distinctive Designations: Preserving the First Clause

The first answer reads: “二界語言同, namely, common designation and distinctive designation” 〔T32 439a09–10〕. The first clause admits different divisions, and the treatise does not explain it further, so the later sentences cannot decide a unique punctuation. They do clearly divide the names into two groups: “Here, ‘the four great elements’ is the common designation. Earth element, water element, fire element, and wind element are the distinctive designations” 〔T32 439a10–11〕. The collective name and the four separate names are expressly assigned.

The wording must also be retained: first the collective “four great elements,” then earth, water, fire, and wind, each with “element.” The conclusion says only “these are distinctive designations.” It does not say common designation is coarse and distinctive designation fine or arrange them as two stages of cultivation. Only the two classes of name and their express assignment can be established.

Three Accounts of “Great” and the Verse Cited for the First

The next question is “What is the meaning of the four great elements?” The answer gives: “Great arising is called great. 有大非實義令現實義, therefore it is called great. Great means that shapes of ghosts and the like are called great” 〔T32 439a12–13〕. The source does not state “three meanings” as a number, but three accounts are visibly juxtaposed, and their constructions are uneven. The first is simply “great arising is called great,” the second includes “therefore it is called great,” and the third says “shapes of ghosts and the like are called great.” They can be listed as three accounts without making them a uniform set or assigning categories such as quantity, function, and simile.

The first is immediately questioned and answered: “How is great arising called great? The elements arise greatly, as in the verses spoken by the Blessed One” 〔T32 439a13–14〕. The six lines list, in order, earth as “two hundred thousand, four 那由他,” water as “four hundred thousand, eight 那由他,” and wind abiding in space as “nine hundred thousand, six 那由他” 〔T32 439a17〕. They then turn to the world’s support being formed by fire, flames within the world, the Brahmā world, and at most 七日, closing “such is great arising; therefore it is called great” 〔T32 439a17–20〕. Earth, water, and wind each have “hundred thousand” and 那由他; the fire passage has 七日. The forms of measure differ. The source neither converts 那由他 nor explains how 七日 compares with the preceding quantities, so every item remains in its order and form.

The verse’s checkable structure is earth, water, and wind each with a numerical group; the fire section begins “the world’s support is also formed by fire,” continues through flames, Brahmā world, and 七日, and the final two clauses remain within the verse. These features support the answer “the elements arise greatly.” They do not say that bodily elements and the world have the same material or that the numbers are only rhetoric. No purpose beyond the source is assigned to the verse.

“Not a Real Meaning, Making a Real Meaning Manifest”: Three Negations and Visibility

The second account receives a separate question: “How is it great—not a real meaning, making a real meaning manifest?” 〔T32 439a21〕. The answer says a great element is “neither male nor female; visible through male and female form,” then “neither long nor short; visible through long and short form,” then “neither tree nor mountain; visible through tree and mountain form” 〔T32 439a23〕. The whole question and answer stands at 〔T32 439a21–23〕. Each group first negates two terms and then adds “visible through” a form. The conclusion is “thus, great—not a real meaning, making a real meaning manifest—is called great” 〔T32 439a24〕.

The difficulty is not the order of the three groups but the attachment of “visible through…form.” The source does not say whether the element is seen by means of male/female, long/short, and tree/mountain forms, or those forms become visible through the element. It also does not separately analyze the syntax of the central phrase. Only the three negations and three visibility clauses can be placed side by side. They do not establish that all appearances are one substrate, that all names are mere surface, or an unstated classification of emptiness.

Different Ghostly Shapes: Introduction and Following List Do Not Correspond

The third account asks about “different shapes of ghosts and the like” and first gives “a ghost enters a person’s body and forms that body.” It then says the ghost’s shape gives rise to four activities, but the Taishō text gives only three groups: “the body becomes strong, urine becomes hot, light movement” 〔T32 439a24–26〕. 尿熱 runs together in the Taishō; other witnesses differ. The body of this unit cannot split it into two simply to meet the number four or delete the stated number.

The next sentence begins: “Thus in the body, through combination with the fire element, four activities arise” 〔T32 439a26–27〕, naming fire alone. Four clauses immediately follow: combination with earth produces hardness, water produces flow, fire produces heat, wind produces light movement 〔T32 439a27–29〕. The introduction and the list do not correspond and both must remain. The passage expressly gives combination of the elements and hardness, flow, heat, and light movement; it does not turn an element into an agent operating within the body or philosophically substitute ghost, element, and person for one another. The close remains: “Thus shapes of ghosts and the like are called great; this is the linguistic meaning of great” 〔T32 439a29〕.

Meanings of the Four Elements and “Holding Its Own Characteristic”

The question “What are the meanings of earth element, water element, fire element, and wind element?” is answered in order: “Vastness is the meaning of earth; drinkable and protective is the meaning of water; giving light is the meaning of fire; going and coming is the meaning of wind” 〔T32 439b01–02〕. The earth phrase has two Chinese graphs, water four, fire three, wind two. The forms differ but are explicit. How “drinkable and protective” divides is not explained.

The next question, “What is the meaning of element?” receives only: “Holding its own characteristic is its meaning” 〔T32 439b03〕. The complete phrase “holding its own characteristic” must remain. The source adds no qualifications such as everlasting, fixed, unchanging, substantial, or reliable, and says nothing here about how a nature persists when the elements combine. No universal rule of fixed own-nature follows from this short answer.

The Four Self-Natures: Preserving Each List

The passage first states: “The own-nature of earth is the earth element, the own-nature of water the water element, the own-nature of fire the fire element, and the own-nature of wind the wind element” 〔T32 439b03–05〕. Four questions then list their natures. Earth has six: hardness, strength, thickness, immobility, stability, holding 〔T32 439b05–06〕. Water has eight: moisture, luster, flow, issuing forth, fullness, increase, joy, binding 〔T32 439b06–07〕. Fire has six: heat, warmth, steaming, maturation, burning, taking 〔T32 439b08–09〕. Wind has six: holding, cold, going and coming, light movement, low, taking 〔T32 439b09–10〕. The source does not state the numbers; six, eight, six, six are counts of the received lists.

“Holding” appears under both earth and wind, and “taking” under both fire and wind. The source does not distinguish the repeated terms’ meanings or merge the elements because of them. “Joy” and “binding” occur among the eight water terms alongside moisture, luster, flow, and the others; no subgroup or item-by-item explanation follows. The exact names, order, and repetitions can be established without assigning modern mental or bodily categories.

The conclusion “the meanings of the elements are thus; contemplate the elements through linguistic meaning” 〔T32 439b10–11〕 returns to the opening question about language. It says to contemplate through linguistic meaning but does not say the listed natures are interchangeable or prescribe switching terms when recognition fails. The common and distinctive designations, the three accounts of “great,” the four element-name meanings, “holding its own characteristic,” and the four lists may be gathered; every unresolved syntax and mismatch remains.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Four Great Elements: Language and Meaning · Exposition · Summer 2026

This passage answers four questions in sequence: how to contemplate the elements through function, grouping, dispersion, and non-separation 〔T32 439b11–439c11〕. The function doorway gives two sets of four functions and then eight sentences with “because two elements are near.” Grouping gives eight qualities and four groups. Dispersion first speaks of the space-adjacent mote and then quotes former teachers on quantities in hu, sheng, and ge. Non-separation explains each element in relation to the other three. The four answers retain their own boundaries, lists, and conclusions; no doorway is rewritten as the general definition of the other three.

Function: Two Sets of Four Kept in Source Order

The first set reads: “Holding is the function of earth, binding of water, causing maturation of fire, and 遮 of wind” 〔T32 439b11–12〕. The order is holding, binding, causing maturation, 遮. The single graph 遮 is not explained or related here to the wind element’s other names. The second set begins “again”: “Establishing is the function of earth, descending of water, raising of fire, and moving and turning of wind” 〔T32 439b13–14〕. The two sets follow the fixed order earth, water, fire, wind, but the treatise does not call the first capacities and the second directions, nor say that each element has static and dynamic sides. Only the two fourfold lists can be established.

Eight sentences follow. The first two are “because two elements are near, there comes to be raising the initial step” and “raising the later step” 〔T32 439b14–15〕. The third and fourth give initial sitting and lying, then later walking and standing 〔T32 439b15–16〕. The fifth and sixth give initial sloth and sleep, then later energy and vigor 〔T32 439b16–17〕. The seventh and eighth give initial heaviness, then later lightness 〔T32 439b17–18〕. Every sentence centers on “because two elements are near,” but none names the two. The text does not say all eight point to one pair or four pairs, so none is supplied.

Two further points remain at the literal level. “Initial” and “later” attach respectively to step, sitting-lying, sloth-sleep, heaviness, and lightness, but the source provides no single definition. Every result is introduced by “comes to be,” while every “two elements” has a number but no names. The eight results, repeated construction, and unnamed pair remain without added explanations. The close is only “in this way one contemplates the four great elements through function” 〔T32 439b18–19〕.

The connecting terms are uneven. The first and second sentences begin “again”; the third does not, the fourth does, and the fifth through eighth do not 〔T32 439b14–18〕. The content can be read as four adjacent pairs—steps, sitting/lying and walking/standing, sloth/sleep and energy/vigor, heaviness and lightness—but the connectives do not make four regular paragraphs. “Initial” and “later” stay in their source positions. “Raising the initial/later step” is not silently recast as lifting and placing a foot, since direction is not stated.

Grouping: Eight Qualities and Four Groups

Grouping is first defined: “A group consists of earth, water, fire, and wind; in dependence on these elements arise color, odor, taste, and touch” 〔T32 439b19–20〕. Four elements plus color, odor, taste, and touch make eight qualities. The next sentence reads: “These eight qualities 或多 co-arise, abide, and are not separate; this combination is called a group” 〔T32 439b20–21〕. How 或多 attaches is not explained. Co-arising, co-abiding, non-separation, and “combination” can be established. This sentence uses 合和, while the non-separation doorway later uses 和合; both forms remain.

Groups are earth, water, fire, and wind 〔T32 439b21–22〕. In an earth-group earth is greatest and water, fire, and wind are “successively least” 〔T32 439b23 / 439b26〕. In a water-group water is greatest and earth, wind, and fire are least 〔T32 439b23–24〕. In a fire-group fire is greatest and earth, wind, and water are least 〔T32 439b24–25〕. In a wind-group wind is greatest and fire, water, and earth are “successively least” 〔T32 439b23 / 439b26〕. All four say one is greatest and three least; only earth and wind use “successively.” No quantities are given for greatest or least. The doorway ends “in this way one contemplates the elements through grouping” 〔T32 439b26–27〕.

The order of the three lesser elements differs in every group: earth-group water-fire-wind; water-group earth-wind-fire; fire-group earth-wind-water; wind-group fire-water-earth 〔T32 439b22–26〕. The treatise does not explain a principle of order. Each main element occurs once as greatest and the other three jointly as least. No numerical quantities or ranking among the three lesser elements are inferred.

Dispersion: Space-Adjacent Mote and the Former Teachers’ Quantities

The first answer says: “Contemplate the earth element as arising from the finest space-adjacent mote” 〔T32 439b27–28〕. “Finest space-adjacent mote” is the received expression; the attachment of “from” remains unresolved, and no size is calculated. Then come three facts: the earth element does not disperse because water combines it, does not become putrid because fire matures it, and turns because wind sustains it 〔T32 439b28–29〕. Water, fire, wind and the results not dispersing, not putrefying, and turning are explicit. The source does not say that bodily putrefaction is the departure of fire or recast the three as a process after death.

“The former teachers further said: when the earth element in the body of an average person is pulverized into dust, it amounts to one hu and two sheng; when combined with water, it amounts to six sheng and five ge; fire matures it, and it rises and revolves following wind” 〔T32 439c01–03〕. The first quantity expressly belongs to the bodily earth element after pulverization; the second occurs after combination with water. The units are not converted. Fire matures and wind turns; “in this way one contemplates the elements through dispersion” closes the doorway 〔T32 439c03〕.

The two statements have explicit boundaries. The first begins with the dispersion question, gives the mote and the three water-fire-wind clauses, and temporarily closes “contemplate in this way” 〔T32 439b27–29〕. The second is expressly introduced as the saying of former teachers, gives one hu two sheng and six sheng five ge, and closes the whole doorway 〔T32 439b29–439c03〕. The first has no volumetric units; the second does not repeat the mote.

Non-Separation: Each Element and the Other Three

The question is “How does one contemplate the four great elements through non-separation?” 〔T32 439c03–04〕. With earth as subject, earth is gathered by water, matured by fire, and sustained by wind, closing “thus the three elements combine” 〔T32 439c04–05〕. With water as subject, water dwells at the place of earth, is matured by fire, and sustained by wind, closing “thus gathered by the three elements” 〔T32 439c06〕. With fire as subject, fire dwells at the place of earth, is gathered by water, and sustained by wind, closing “thus matured by the three elements” 〔T32 439c07〕. With wind as subject, wind dwells at the place of earth, is gathered by water, and matured by fire, closing “thus sustained by the three elements” 〔T32 439c08〕. Each sentence gives a principal element and the other three, but the four conclusions—combine, gathered, matured, sustained—do not share one transparent subject-object construction. The wording remains.

The summary says: “Upon earth the three elements dwell; gathered by water, the three do not disperse; matured by fire, the three do not become putrid; sustained by wind, the three can turn, directly abide, and not disperse” 〔T32 439c08–10〕. The explicit functions of earth, water, fire, and wind are dwelling, gathering without dispersal, maturing without putrefaction, and sustaining with turning. The grouping of “can turn, directly abide, not disperse” remains unresolved. The final sentence reads: “Thus these four elements depend reciprocally upon one another and come to abide without dispersing. In this way one contemplates the elements through non-separation” 〔T32 439c10–11〕. The question uses the fuller form “non-separation,” while the close uses “non-separated”; both are retained.

The four principal-element clauses repeat checkable relations. Earth has water-gathering, fire-maturing, wind-sustaining; water has earth-place, fire-maturing, wind-sustaining; fire has earth-place, water-gathering, wind-sustaining; wind has earth-place, water-gathering, fire-maturing 〔T32 439c04–08〕. The summary again lists dwelling, gathering, maturing, and sustaining in earth-water-fire-wind order 〔T32 439c08–10〕. These repetitions support the reciprocal arrangement and final “come to abide.” They do not settle the syntax of “gathered by the three,” “matured by the three,” and “sustained by the three.”

The doorways have four explicit closes: function—“in this way contemplate the four great elements through function” 〔T32 439b18–19〕; grouping—“through grouping” 〔T32 439b26–27〕; dispersion—“through dispersion” 〔T32 439c03〕; non-separation—“through non-separation” 〔T32 439c11〕. They fix the end of each doorway.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Four Great Elements by Function, Grouping, Dispersion, and Non-Separation · Exposition · Summer 2026

The earlier teachers’ original heading says “ten modes,” but it actually lists only nine items. This passage continues by explaining the last four doorways in that list: conditions, characteristics, like and unlike in class, and one nature and diverse natures. Each of the four sections has its own question and answer, and each closes with “thus … contemplate the elements.” The conditions doorway first states, “four causes and four conditions give rise to the elements,” then lists action, mind, time, and food. The characteristics doorway lists hardness, moisture, heat, and cold. The doorway of like and unlike in class distinguishes class and nonclass through heaviness and lightness, extinguishing and obstruction, reciprocal condition, and own-characteristic. The doorway of one nature and diverse natures explains one nature through a common cause of arising, through element, great, and quality, and through impermanence, suffering, and not-self; it explains diverse natures through characteristic, function, action, mind, time, food, place, birth, and destination. The four sections can therefore be read side by side, one by one, through these four opening questions, four groups of answers, and four closing sentences.

The four closing sentences, in order, are “Thus one contemplates the elements through conditions,” “Thus one contemplates the elements through characteristics,” “Thus one contemplates the elements as like and unlike in class,” and “Thus one contemplates the elements through one nature and diverse natures.” The third and fourth retain the compound names used in their respective opening questions.

Conditions: Action, Mind, Time, and Food

“Question: How does one contemplate the elements through conditions? Answer: Four causes and four conditions give rise to the elements. What are the four? They are action, mind, time, and food” 〔T32 439c11–13〕. The heading uses both “four causes” and “four conditions,” but the passage that follows gives only one four-item list: action, mind, time, and food. Whether the two names refer to one thing or two is not distinguished here and therefore remains unresolved. The action item says “born of action.” The four elements are conditioned through two conditions, the arising condition and action condition, while the remaining elements are conditioned through the support condition 〔T32 439c13–14〕. Action, the four elements, and the remaining elements are three distinct levels of subject, each with its own verb and named conditions; they must be kept sentence by sentence.

The mind item first says “born of mind.” The four elements are conditioned through six conditions: arising, co-arising, support, food, faculty, and existence. The remaining elements are then listed as conditioned “by a condition, by the support condition, and by the existence condition,” with the first “condition” left unnamed, followed by “at the time of entering the womb, mind” 〔T32 439c17〕. Material qualities are then conditioned through seven conditions: co-arising, reciprocal, support, food, faculty, result, and existence. The passage next says, “later-arising mind is initial arising.” The body is conditioned through three conditions: later-arising, support, and existence 〔T32 439c17–20〕. The stated totals of six, seven, and three all agree with their lists, but the unnamed first “condition” for the remaining elements and the meaning of “later-arising mind is initial arising” must remain as received.

After “this time is formed by time,” the time item says that the four great elements are conditioned through two conditions, arising and existence, while the remaining elements are conditioned through two conditions, support and existence 〔T32 439c19–21〕. After “this food, from what is formed by food,” the food item says that the four great elements are conditioned through three conditions, arising, food, and existence, while the remaining elements are conditioned through two conditions, support and existence 〔T32 439c21–23〕. The passage then again speaks of the four elements born of action: the co-arisen elements reciprocally are conditioned through four conditions—co-arising, reciprocal, support, and existence—while the remaining elements are conditioned through support and existence. It gathers the four items again with “what is born of mind, time, and food is to be understood in the same way” 〔T32 439c23–27〕. In source order, the nine explicitly numbered lists are two, six, seven, three, two, two, three, two, and four; all nine agree with the items listed. Ten distinct condition names occur verbatim: arising, action, co-arising, support, food, faculty, existence, reciprocal, result, and later-arising.

Expanded one by one in source order, the nine numbered lists are these: first, the four elements born of action are conditioned through arising and action; second, the four elements born of mind through arising, co-arising, support, food, faculty, and existence; third, material qualities through co-arising, reciprocal, support, food, faculty, result, and existence; fourth, the body through later-arising, support, and existence; fifth, the four great elements formed by time through arising and existence; sixth, the remaining elements in that section through support and existence; seventh, the four great elements formed by food through arising, food, and existence; eighth, the remaining elements in that section through support and existence; and ninth, the co-arisen elements reciprocally through co-arising, reciprocal, support, and existence. At every point, the stated total can be checked item by item against its list.

The ten condition names are distributed differently among the lists. The arising condition appears with the action-born four elements, the mind-born four elements, the time-formed great elements, and the food-formed great elements; the action condition appears only with the action-born four elements. The co-arising condition appears with the mind-born four elements, material qualities, and the co-arisen elements reciprocally; the reciprocal condition appears with material qualities and the co-arisen elements reciprocally. The food condition appears with the mind-born four elements, material qualities, and the food-formed great elements; the faculty condition appears with the mind-born four elements and material qualities. The result condition is listed only for material qualities, and the later-arising condition only for the body. Support and existence are the most widely distributed, but the remaining elements in the action section are expressly given only the support condition. These differences must be preserved list by list, so the ten names are not mistaken for a fixed template present under every source.

At the end of the conditions doorway, the passage separately states the conditions that the four elements provide for the remaining elements: the earth element serves as a dwelling-place condition, the water element as a binding condition, the fire element as a maturing condition, and the wind element as a sustaining condition 〔T32 439c27–29〕. The four subjects, their shared object, and what each does are all distinct: earth, water, fire, and wind act upon the remaining elements respectively as dwelling place, binding, maturing, and sustaining. No total is stated for these four correspondences. The doorway then closes with “Thus one contemplates the elements through conditions.”

Characteristics: Hardness, Moisture, Heat, and Cold

“Question: How does one contemplate the elements through characteristics? Answer: Hardness is the characteristic of earth, moisture the characteristic of water, heat the characteristic of fire, and cold the characteristic of wind. Thus one contemplates the elements through characteristics” 〔T32 440a01–02〕. The four correspondences are stated verbatim: hardness with earth, moisture with water, heat with fire, and cold with wind. “Cold characteristic” occurs only here in the entire treatise. In the self-nature doorway, the same wind element is separately described as sustaining, cold, going and coming, light movement, low, and taking; in the function doorway as obstruction and turning; and in the conditions doorway as serving as a sustaining condition. These descriptions belong to their respective doorways. They cannot be combined into a single count, nor can weight, tactile sensation, or an on-the-spot mnemonic be turned into a diagnostic rule for the practitioner. The characteristics doorway itself gives only the four characteristics and their four corresponding elements, then closes with the same concluding formula.

The order of the four characteristics exactly matches the order of the four elements: first, hardness with earth; second, moisture with water; third, heat with fire; and fourth, cold with wind. No element is omitted or repeated, and no question of numerical correspondence arises.

Like and Unlike in Class: Heaviness, Lightness, Functions, Conditions, and Own-Characteristics

“Earth and water are one class because of heaviness. Fire and wind are one class because of lightness” 〔T32 440a03–04〕. On the first level, heaviness and lightness group earth and water into one class and fire and wind into one class. The second level says that water and fire are unlike because the water element can extinguish while the fire element causes drying 〔T32 440a04–05〕. The third says that earth and wind are reciprocally unlike in class because the earth element obstructs, the wind element moves, and the wind element can destroy the earth element 〔T32 440a05–07〕. Each of the three levels has an explicit textual basis, and each uses different groups of elements, different class terminology, and different reasons.

The passage finally states, “Or the four elements are reciprocally of one class because they are reciprocal conditions; or they are reciprocally unlike in class because of their own characteristics” 〔T32 440a07–08〕. The same group of four elements can be described as reciprocally of one class on the basis of reciprocal condition and as reciprocally unlike in class on the basis of each element’s own characteristic. The two judgments rest on different grounds and do not cancel each other. Within this doorway, the text alternates among forms meaning “one class,” “unlike,” “unlike in class,” “reciprocally of one class,” and “like and unlike in class”; each form must remain in its own sentence. The conclusion is “Thus one contemplates the elements as like and unlike in class” 〔T32 440a08–09〕.

Returning each reason to its subject: when earth and water are grouped together, their only reason is “because of heaviness”; when fire and wind are grouped together, their only reason is “because of lightness.” When water and fire are said to be unlike, water “can extinguish” and fire “causes drying.” When earth and wind are said to be unlike in class, earth “obstructs,” wind “moves,” and wind “can destroy the earth element.” The final judgment no longer takes the elements in pairs but speaks of all four together: reciprocal condition is the basis for being reciprocally of one class, and own-characteristic is the basis for being reciprocally unlike in class. The scope of the subject changes across these three levels, so the reasons of heaviness and lightness from the first level cannot be transferred to the later ones.

One Nature and Diverse Natures: Shared and Differing Aspects

“The four elements are born of action; because they are born of action, this is called one nature. With respect to characteristics, diverse natures” 〔T32 440a10–11〕. Their common birth from action is one nature; their differing characteristics are diverse natures. The next sentence, “What is born of mind, time, and food is to be understood in the same way,” places mind, time, and food alongside action as four causes of arising 〔T32 440a11〕. The older wording then reads, “The earth element of four causes and conditions: one nature with respect to characteristic; with respect to cause, what are called diverse characteristics. In the same way, the wind element and fire element of four causes and conditions. The wind element is to be understood” 〔T32 440a12–13〕. Measured by the names actually given, earth appears once, fire once, wind twice, and water not at all. The missing water and repeated wind must be disclosed exactly as they stand; water cannot be supplied and the second wind cannot be deleted. The syntax of “one nature with respect to characteristic; with respect to cause, what are called diverse characteristics” is likewise retained as received.

This numerical fact must be kept separate from interpretation. After “the earth element of four causes and conditions,” the passage says, “In the same way, the wind element and fire element of four causes and conditions. The wind element is to be understood.” The actual sequence of names is therefore earth, wind, fire, wind, not a regular series of earth, water, fire, and wind. Elsewhere, four witnesses record the variant “arising” for “place,” but that cannot be used to regularize the names here. According to the Taishō base text, the received surface remains earth once, fire once, wind twice, and water zero.

The passage next lists six aspects of one nature: “The four elements are one as elements, one as great, one as qualities, one as impermanent, one as suffering, and one as not-self” 〔T32 440a13–15〕. The transition from one nature to diverse natures appears at 〔T32 440a13–16〕. The six items, in order, are element, great, quality, impermanence, suffering, and not-self; the treatise does not separately state their number. Diverse natures first lists characteristic, function, and action 〔T32 440a15–16〕, then mind, time, and food 〔T32 440a16–18〕. An unnamed sentence, “through diverse nature, they become diverse in nature,” is then inserted without stating the category to which it belongs. Place, birth, and destination follow 〔T32 440a18–20〕. The textual form is therefore three items, three items, one unnamed sentence, and three items; the unnamed sentence cannot be supplied with a missing category.

The latter two lists repeat each item in full: “Through diversity of mind, they become diverse; through diversity of time, they become diverse; through diversity of food, they become diverse.” After the unnamed sentence come “through diversity of place, they become diverse; through diversity of birth, they become diverse; through diversity of destination, they become diverse.” Characteristic, function, and action instead appear only in the single series “through diversity of characteristic, through diversity of function, through diversity of action,” without repeating “they become diverse” after each item. The three groups do not originally have precisely the same form.

Precisely stated, common birth from action is one nature, while difference in characteristics is diverse natures. The four elements are also one as element, great, quality, impermanent, suffering, and not-self, and they become diverse through characteristic, function, action, mind, time, food, place, birth, and destination. These shared and differing aspects are all listed item by item in the source; missing water, repeated wind, and the unnamed sentence remain as three textual irregularities. “Thus one contemplates the elements through one nature and diverse natures” 〔T32 440a20〕 corresponds to the conclusions of the preceding three doorways and closes the fourth question.

Carry away the explicit content of all four sections. The conditions doorway gives action, mind, time, and food as one four-item list; all nine explicitly numbered condition-lists agree with the items actually given, and the doorway closes with four conditions: earth as dwelling place, water as binding, fire as maturing, and wind as sustaining. The characteristics doorway gives only hardness-earth, moisture-water, heat-fire, and cold-wind. The doorway of like and unlike in class first divides two pairs through heaviness and lightness, then gives water-fire and earth-wind as unlike, and finally speaks of class through reciprocal condition and nonclass through own-characteristic. The doorway of one nature and diverse natures speaks of one nature through a common cause of arising and through the six items element, great, quality, impermanence, suffering, and not-self; it speaks of diverse natures through characteristic, function, action, mind, time, food, place, birth, and destination, while preserving the missing water, repeated wind, and unnamed sentence. The content of the four doorways is sufficient for a detailed reading in the source’s own order; no modern simile, bodily diagnosis, or fixed rule of practice needs to be added.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Four Great Elements: Conditions, Characteristics, Similarity, and Difference · Exposition · Summer 2026

The final passage on contemplation of the four great elements begins with a wooden puppet and then turns to the element-puppet called “body.” The two sides must first be read in their own sequences: the puppet side forms one complete description and the element-body side another. Though they share words and similar structures, the source does not arrange them as a numbered one-to-one correspondence. 界隷 occurs ten times in the whole treatise, all here; the exact meaning of 隷 receives no separate explanation.

The Wooden Puppet and the Element-Body: Reading the Two Sequences Separately

The puppet side begins: “Like a craftsperson skilled in making puppets, using wood to make a person, every bodily part complete, following along and walking, connected inside by cords and provisionally decorated outside with clay” 〔T32 440a21–23〕. The puppet simile begins at 〔T32 440a20–23〕. The craftsperson uses wood to make a person, complete in its parts; it follows the pull and walks, cords connect it inside, and clay provisionally decorates it outside. Then: “Its visible form resembles a person; precious garments adorn it; it is a man or woman. A person pulls the cords, and it walks or dances, leans or sits” 〔T32 440a23–24〕. Material, construction, appearance, clothing, and movements occur in that order.

The element-body side begins with a separate sentence: “Thus this element-puppet is called body” 〔T32 440a24〕. It is constructed with initial defilement as its puppet-maker, its bodily parts complete, sinews as connecting cords, flesh as clay, skin as visible color, space as openings, and precious garments adorning it so that it is called man or woman 〔T32 440a25–27〕. It then says: “Its 心事 is pulled by the wind element; it walks or stands, goes or comes, extends or contracts, speaks or says” 〔T32 440a27–28〕. The actions come in the pairs walking-standing, going-coming, extending-contracting, and speaking-saying. The exact referent of 心事 is not explained.

The two sides can be read together where the source permits: both have complete bodily parts, cords, clay, visible color or skin, precious garments, man and woman, and movements after being pulled. That does not make every term an assigned counterpart. “Using wood to make a person” gives the material on the puppet side, but the element-body side does not name what corresponds to wood. “Space as openings” occurs only on the element-body side. The puppet side says that after adornment with precious garments it is a man or woman; the element-body side says the adornment makes it “called man or woman.” Both forms remain without being forced into a numbered chart.

The puppet is moved when a person pulls the cords. The element-body is described as “its 心事 is pulled by the wind element.” The first lists walking, dancing, leaning, and sitting; the second walking-standing, going-coming, extending-contracting, and speaking-saying. The latter list is longer, but the source only states each within its own passage and does not say the movements correspond one by one. Reading the sequences separately preserves both their analogous structures and their unequal details.

Conditions, Support, and Dispersal of the Element-Puppet

The source next leaves external shape and movement: “This element-puppet person co-arises with the consciousness element” 〔T32 440a28–29〕. Through conditions of sorrow and distress it experiences sorrow, lamentation, pain, and distress, and it laughs, plays, or people pat one another’s shoulder 〔T32 440a29–440b01〕. Beyond the four great elements, “consciousness element” appears here, but the passage does not state a list of six elements. What is certain is the expressly stated co-arising of the element-puppet person and the consciousness element, followed by the listed conditions and behaviors.

Support and termination are stated separately: “Food supports the element-puppet. The life faculty sustains the element-puppet; at the end of life the element-puppet disperses” 〔T32 440b01–02〕. Food here “supports,” while the life faculty “sustains”; at life’s end the element-puppet disperses. If action and defilements remain, a new element-puppet arises again; thus it arises with its beginning unknown and its end unknown 〔T32 440b02–04〕. Food, life faculty, end of life, action, and defilements each retain their place. No item is renamed a soul or controller.

The sequence closes: “In this way one contemplates the elements through the element-puppet” 〔T32 440b04〕. Construction, pulling, co-arising, support, sustaining, dispersal, and renewed arising all return to that sentence. The source establishes no changeless operator beyond the simile.

From the Element-Puppet into Name-and-Form and the Four Truths

Contemplation immediately deepens: “One contemplates only this body as an element-puppet, without a being and without a life” 〔T32 440b05–06〕. The source next reads “At that time one contemplates through the affairs of the elements, 以生心數法受想行識” 〔T32 440b06–07〕. The checkable order is affairs of the elements first and feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness afterward. 心 is the Taishō reading; four witnesses have 以, under which 心數法 ceases to form a term. How 觀以 and 以生 attach remains unresolved, so no definite relation of arising is supplied. A separate sentence then says the meditator has contemplated name-and-form.

From name-and-form the source says in order: one contemplates name-and-form as suffering and craving as the arising of suffering; the cessation of craving as the cessation of suffering; and the eightfold right path as the fulfillment of the cessation of suffering 〔T32 440b07–09〕. The fourth member does not use the expression “truth of the path” but “fulfillment of the cessation of suffering,” so that form is retained. The treatise then says the meditator has extensively contemplated the four truths and divides what follows into the faults of suffering and the virtues of cessation.

The faults of suffering are seen through impermanence, suffering, and not-self, with continual attention without distraction 〔T32 440b09–11〕. The virtues of the cessation of suffering are seen by discernment as deep quiet and wondrous separation 〔T32 440b11〕. Finally, directly seeing the faults of suffering and virtues of cessation, the meditator “is rightly established in the faculties, powers, and awakening factors; 從行相心起證醍醐界” 〔T32 440b12–13〕. The closing stands at 〔T32 440b11–13〕. How 從, 行相, 心起, and 證 divide and attach is unexplained; 醍醐界 also receives no definition here.

The explicit local sequence is therefore element-puppet contemplation of the body; affairs of the elements followed by feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness; contemplation of name-and-form; suffering, arising, cessation, and fulfillment of cessation; impermanence, suffering, and not-self as the faults of suffering; deep quiet and wondrous separation as virtues of cessation; and finally faculties, powers, awakening factors, and realization of 醍醐界, with the intervening syntax unresolved. This is the continuous sequence of this passage and does not establish a formula outside it.

(Contemplation of the four great elements is complete.)

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Element-Puppet Contemplation and the Four Truths · Exposition · Summer 2026

Another doorway among the thirty-eight fields of practice opens here. Begin with the central observation: the general account of the food-repulsiveness perception first says that the food one eats and tastes becomes impure, putrid, and loathsome after entering the body, and then lists five modes; the first mode, “procurement,” presents both the burden of obtaining food and the impurity into which food changes. “Question: How is the perception of repulsiveness in food cultivated through procurement? The meditator sees beings committing various evil actions for the sake of procuring food, such as killing and stealing” 〔T32 440b27–29〕. It later says, “Impure excrement and urine overflow, with food as their cause” 〔T32 440c03〕. The passage on renunciants likewise first describes leaving a pure mountain forest for food, undergoing cold, heat, mud, and rain and the difficulties of alms-gathering, and then expressly states, “Food is impure, and excrement and urine flow out” 〔T32 440c10–11〕. Under “procurement,” this passage expressly lists killing, stealing, begging, deception, falsely displaying energy, leaving a quiet place, and the difficulties encountered in gathering alms; it also expressly lists the impurity of the excrement and urine produced by food. Each of the two passages says that what is seen gives rise to repugnance.

General Account: Eight Questions, One Unanswered; Eight Virtues Match Their Count

“Question: What is the perception of repulsiveness in food? What is its cultivation? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What is its place? What is its arousing? What is its virtue? How is it cultivated?” 〔T32 440b14–15〕—eight items by actual count. The answer beginning, “With respect to the food one eats and tastes, one attends to all of it as repulsive; 彼想知正知; this is called the perception of repulsiveness in food” 〔T32 440b15–16〕, first says, “For that perception to remain without distraction is called cultivation,” then, “Taking the faults of food is its characteristic, repugnance its function, and subduing craving for flavor its arousing” 〔T32 440b17–18〕. Thus cultivation is answered by the perception remaining undistracted, the characteristic is taking the faults of food, the function is repugnance, and the arousing is subduing craving for flavor; all four questions have explicit answers. The question about “place” has none (the four witnesses omit the two graphs 何處, “what place,” yielding seven questions; this edition follows the Taishō in retaining the question and does not supply an answer). “Subduing craving for flavor is its arousing” is retained as written; this passage gives no separate definition of “craving for flavor.” The eight virtues are: “If one cultivates the perception of repulsiveness in food, one knows the perception of morsel food, knows fulfillment of the five desires, knows the material aggregate, knows the perception of impurity, fulfills cultivation of mindfulness of the body, draws back from craving for flavor, departs from that mind, and tends toward a good destination and toward the cream” 〔T32 440b18–21〕. The eight items exactly match the stated number: the first four are each introduced by “knows,” while the latter four read, in order, fulfilling cultivation of mindfulness of the body, drawing back from craving for flavor, departing from that mind, and tending toward a good destination and toward the cream. The name of this doorway is itself worth observing: “perception of repulsiveness in food” occurs thirteen times and “food-repulsiveness perception” three times. The two orders are interwoven rather than being an error at a single point; both are retained without forcing them into one form.

Accordingly, the syntax of the eight divides into a first group of four and a latter group of four: the first four are each led by “knows,” while the latter four follow the verbs of their source phrases. The fifth says that cultivation of mindfulness of the body is fulfilled; the sixth, that one draws back from craving for flavor; the seventh, that one departs from that mind; and the eighth, that one tends toward a good destination and toward the cream. None of the latter four is prefaced in the source by another “knows.”

After listing the eight virtues, the answer again asks, “How is it cultivated?” and immediately says: “The beginning meditator enters a deeply quiet sitting place, gathers the whole mind, makes the mind undistracted, and attends to the food one eats and tastes as repulsive” 〔T32 440b21–23〕. In the literal order come first entering deeply quiet sitting, then gathering the whole mind and making it undistracted, and only at the end attending to the food one eats and tastes as repulsive. The source forms 寂寂 (“deeply quiet”) and 噉甞 (“eats and tastes”) are retained; this unit gives neither a further definition. Only after this sentence does the text proceed to many flavors obtained through procurement, what people esteem, fullness of color and fragrance, and impurity after entering the body.

Many Flavors, Esteem, and Impurity after Entering the Body

The general account of the practice proceeds in sequence: “Many flavors obtained through procurement, esteemed by pure people, complete in color and fragrance, and accounted highly valuable; such food enters the body and changes into impurity, becoming repulsive, putrid, and loathsome” 〔T32 440b23–25〕. Two explicit groups can be checked in the source sentence: before entry into the body come many flavors obtained through procurement, esteem by pure people, fullness of color and fragrance, and high value; after entry come becoming impure, repulsive, putrid, and loathsome. The source only places them in this order and does not separately explain how each gives rise to the next. It then states the five modes: “The perception of repulsiveness in food is cultivated in five modes: through procurement, dispersed use, place, flow, and aggregation” 〔T32 440b25–27〕. The five names, in order, are procurement, dispersed use, place, flow, and aggregation. This unit next asks only how it is cultivated through procurement, so it explains only the first and does not define the other four in advance.

Before the heading of the five modes, the sentence has already expressly named four results after food enters the body: becoming impure, repulsive, putrid, and loathsome. Impurity is therefore not something that appears only in the latter four modes; it is established in the general contemplation before the five modes unfold.

Procurement: What Beings Do and Undergo

The procurement section first says that the meditator sees beings commit various evil actions for the sake of procuring food, expressly listing “killing or stealing” 〔T32 440b29〕. It then says that beings undergo various sufferings and that he knows those killed and bound 〔T32 440b29–440c01〕; it next lists “begging or deceiving, falsely displaying energy” 〔T32 440c01–02〕. These five actions occur in the source order: killing, stealing, begging, deceiving, and falsely displaying energy. The source places them in one passage, without comparing their severity or supplying a separate motive for “falsely displaying energy.” Only after the list does it say, “Seeing food thus, he arouses repugnance; impure excrement and urine overflow, with food as their cause; beings perform evil actions in this way” 〔T32 440c02–04〕. The answer explicitly contains the actions, the suffering undergone, impure excrement and urine, food as their cause, evil action, and “arouses repugnance”; it gives no further psychological mechanism beyond them.

Twice this passage directly connects “procurement” with the impurity of excrement and urine. The passage on beings first lists killing, stealing, being killed and bound, begging, deception, and falsely displaying energy, and immediately says: “Seeing food thus, he arouses repugnance; impure excrement and urine overflow, with food as their cause; beings perform evil actions in this way” 〔T32 440c02–04〕. The passage on renunciants first lists a pure mountain forest, cold, heat, wind, dust, mud, rain, and alms-gathering, and immediately says: “Seeing this, he arouses repugnance; food is impure, and excrement and urine flow out. This is the procurement of food; it is the cause of that” 〔T32 440c10–11〕. The first uses “overflow,” the second “flow out”; both place food, excrement and urine, impurity, and repugnance within one statement.

Procurement: Places Traversed by Renunciants

“He further sees renunciants dwelling in pure mountain forests, with many flowers fragrant and birds and beasts calling, made by good people” 〔T32 440c04–05〕. The following lines continue with fully adorned fields, tree shade, woods and water that delight others, ground that is level, pure, and fine, without rises or hollows; people marvel at it, and it is free from clamor. They call this “a place where renunciants cultivate awakening, equal to a Brahmā dwelling,” and say that those dwelling there have no greed or attachment, continually practice meditation and recitation, and delight in wholesome matters 〔T32 440c05–08〕. The answer then separately lists cold, heat, wind, dust, mud, rain, difficult mountains, and taking the bowl and entering homes for alms in order to procure food 〔T32 440c08–10〕. It next expressly states: “Seeing this, he arouses repugnance; food is impure, and excrement and urine flow out. This is the procurement of food; it is the cause of that. Thus it should be relinquished and the foremost pleasure sought” 〔T32 440c10–12〕. The ascertainable order is dwelling place, conditions traversed for alms, the mind arousing repugnance, food’s impurity, excrement and urine flowing out, relinquishing, and seeking the foremost pleasure. No psychological explanation is added to make any one item necessarily produce the next.

“He further sees renunciants practicing for alms, among horses, elephants, and fierce beasts, in places with dogs and wild boars, in the presence of evil people, or in unclean places treading in mud and excrement” 〔T32 440c12–14〕. Four kinds of place occur in the source order: among horses, elephants, and fierce beasts; where dogs and wild boars are; where evil people are; and unclean ground where one must tread in mud and excrement. The preceding paragraph moved from the pure mountain forest into cold, heat, wind, dust, mud, rain, and difficult mountains; this paragraph further itemizes the beasts, people, and filth along the alms route. Together the two paragraphs state the difficulties undergone in obtaining food.

At the door of another household, the source continues, “For a short time they stand silently, covering the body with their robe, uncertain whether they will receive morsel food” 〔T32 440c14–15〕. They stand only briefly, remain silent, cover the body with the robe, and are uncertain whether food will be obtained. The text states only these actions and this doubt; it gives no separate account of the robe’s function or the beggar’s sense of identity. It then says, “At times they see that food is like dog food and become repelled by it” 〔T32 440c15–16〕. It closes with, “This procurement of food is most loathsome. What use is procurement? It is only begging from others” 〔T32 440c16–17〕, and finally concludes, “In this way the food-repulsiveness perception is cultivated through procurement” 〔T32 440c17〕. The sequence of this small passage is clear: first the places traversed for alms, then silent standing at the door and doubt about obtaining food, then the comparison with dog food and the arising of repugnance, and finally the close of the procurement mode.

To organize this passage, the material expressly present in the source may be summarized under three aspects: what actions the obtaining of food involves, what environments and journeys renunciants undergo to obtain it, and what food becomes after entering the body. These three aspects are only an editorial summary of the passage’s contents. The formal practice named in the text remains “cultivating the food-repulsiveness perception through procurement,” and its virtues remain the eight stated above.

Carry away three things: one observation (procurement and impurity after entry into the body are viewed together—obtaining food involves evil actions, leaving quiet places, and the hardships of alms-gathering, while food itself enters the body and becomes impure and putrid, with excrement and urine flowing out); one reading method (the five modes in their source order are procurement, dispersed use, place, flow, and aggregation; this passage first explains procurement, yet already twice expressly mentions the impurity of excrement and urine); and one through-line (the general account moves from many flavors, esteem, and fullness of color and fragrance to impurity after entry into the body; the procurement section then again writes together, paragraph by paragraph, the burdens borne by worldly people and renunciants in obtaining food and the impurity within the body). The other four modes continue in the next passage.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Perception of Repulsiveness in Food: Overview and Procurement · Exposition · Summer 2026

The last four modes of the perception of repulsiveness in food each occupy one paragraph. State the textual sequence first: the preceding unit treats procurement; this unit proceeds through dispersed use, place, flow, and aggregation. Dispersed use describes food being mixed in the mouth; place describes it after it is swallowed into the belly; flow describes it circulating through the whole body and becoming five portions; aggregation describes flowing food forming one hundred and one bodily parts or, if it does not flow, giving rise to one hundred and one illnesses and afflictions. Each of the first three modes has a simile. The aggregation mode instead pairs two occurrences of “one hundred and one,” and the inline note “the perception of repulsiveness in food is complete” closes the doorway. Each mode begins with its own question, sets out what is contemplated, and concludes with cultivating the perception of repulsiveness in food.

Dispersed Use: A Grain-Processing Workshop in the Mouth

“How is the perception of repulsiveness in food cultivated through dispersed use? The meditator sits down to eat the food obtained through procurement, mixing it with 濕鮭 and softening it” 〔T32 440c17–19〕. This question alone lacks the graph meaning “question,” and its name lacks the introductory “through” used by the other three modes. 濕鮭 occurs only once in the treatise and is unexplained. The source then gives five clauses: “the hand serves as a winnowing basket, the mouth as a mortar, the lips gather, the teeth serve as a pestle, and the tongue turns it over” 〔T32 440c19–21〕. Hand, mouth, and teeth are paired with a basket, mortar, and pestle; lips and tongue are paired with the actions gathering and turning. The five clauses lay out the actions of the parts in order.

They are followed by: “mixed together with 涎唾淡血, utterly repulsive, like a dog’s vomit, unfit to be seen” 〔T32 440c21–22〕. The source runs 涎唾淡血 together, and its division into items remains unresolved. 淡 is the base reading; four witnesses have 痰. “Like a dog’s vomit” is explicitly introduced as the simile of dispersed use, explaining that the mixture is utterly repulsive and unfit to be seen. This mode closes: “In this way one cultivates the perception of repulsiveness in food through dispersed use” 〔T32 440c22–23〕. The order is sitting to eat, mixing and softening, five bodily actions, mixture with 涎唾淡血, and the dog-vomit simile.

Place and Flow: An Unclean Vessel and a Broken Cup

“Question: How is the perception of repulsiveness in food cultivated through place? Answer: This food is swallowed into the belly, mixed with impurity, and dwells in 生熟藏” 〔T32 440c23–24〕; it is “eaten by a hundred kinds of worms, matured by warmth, becoming foremost repulsive, like human vomit placed in an unclean vessel” 〔T32 440c24–26〕. The division of “mixed with impurity, dwelling in 生熟藏” remains unresolved. The count “a hundred kinds of worms” differs from the “eighty thousand kinds of worms” of the mindfulness-of-body doorway, and the treatise does not say how the two are to be reconciled. “Question: How is the perception of repulsiveness in food cultivated through flow? Answer: The food is matured by warmth and mixed with new and old impurities, like wine placed in a broken cup” 〔T32 440c26–28〕. The broken cup holds wine, and the flow reaches throughout the body: “it flows into the vessels, interstices, face, and eyes; nine openings, ninety-nine thousand pores, all are filled by the flow” 〔T32 440c28–441a01〕. The division between “nine openings” and “ninety-nine thousand pores” remains as written. The source then lists item by item: “This food flows into five portions: one portion is eaten by worms, one is consumed by fire, one supports the body, one becomes urine, and one becomes 體” 〔T32 441a01–02〕. The five repeated “one portion” clauses agree with the stated count. 成體 is the received expression and is not explained here. The following aggregation mode separately says, “This flowing food forms the body, head-hair, body-hair, nails, and so forth” 〔T32 441a04〕. That is a separate general statement and does not uniquely resolve 成體 in the fivefold list.

The subject of the next aggregation mode is “this flowing food”: it forms the body, head-hair, body-hair, nails, and so forth, causing one hundred and one bodily parts to arise; if it does not become a flow, it causes one hundred and one illnesses and afflictions to arise 〔T32 441a04–05〕. The aggregation mode closes by opposing formation of bodily parts to arising of illnesses.

Aggregation: One Hundred and One in Formation and Breakdown

“Question: How is the perception of repulsiveness in food cultivated through aggregation? Answer: This flowing food forms the body, head-hair, body-hair, nails, and so forth, causing one hundred and one bodily parts to arise; if it does not become a flow, it causes one hundred and one illnesses and afflictions to arise” 〔T32 441a03–05〕. The subject of the first clause is “this flowing food”; its result is formation of the listed parts and the arising of one hundred and one bodily parts. The latter clause begins with the condition “if it does not become a flow” and yields one hundred and one illnesses and afflictions. Each clause uses “one hundred and one,” one for bodily parts and the other for illness. “In this way one cultivates the perception of repulsiveness in food through aggregation” 〔T32 441a05–06〕. The doorway then closes: “Through this doorway and this practice, the meditator thus cultivates the perception of repulsiveness in food and comes to abide in repugnance toward food” 〔T32 441a06–07〕. The received text continues, “through repugnance, 自在 mind, becomes undistracted” 〔T32 441a07–08〕. How “through repugnance,” “自在 mind,” and “becomes undistracted” divide and attach is not explained. A separate sentence follows: “If the mind is undistracted, the hindrances cease, the jhāna factors arise, and access jhāna comes to abide” 〔T32 441a08〕. The paragraph ends with the inline note “the perception of repulsiveness in food is complete.”

Read the four modes in sequence. Dispersed use treats food in the mouth, mixed with 濕鮭 and the received string 涎唾淡血. Place treats it swallowed into the belly, dwelling in 生熟藏 and eaten by worms. Flow treats it mixed with new and old impurity, entering the vessels, face, openings, and pores. Aggregation treats flowing food forming bodily parts or, if it does not flow, producing illness. The three similes are dog’s vomit, human vomit in an unclean vessel, and wine in a broken cup. Aggregation has no simile and instead closes with the pair of one hundred and one bodily parts and one hundred and one illnesses. Every mode returns to cultivation of the perception of repulsiveness in food, and the last is followed by the access-jhāna conclusion of the whole doorway.

Carry away three things. One finding: the dispersed-use mode makes the hand a winnowing basket, the mouth a mortar, and the teeth a pestle, and then takes a dog’s vomit as its simile. One reading method: follow the food through the four modes—dispersed use in the mouth, place in the belly, flow throughout the body, until it becomes bodily parts or produces illness. One thread: the food-flow is listed in five portions—eaten by worms, consumed by fire, supporting the body, becoming urine, becoming 體; the last term is not explained in this passage; the hundred and one bodily parts and the hundred and one illnesses stand paired at the same number; and the final paragraph leaves the attachment of “through repugnance, 自在 mind, becomes undistracted” unresolved, followed by the separate statement that if the mind is undistracted, the hindrances cease, the jhāna factors arise, and access jhāna comes to abide. The doorway of the perception of repulsiveness in food closes here with an inline note.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Perception of Repulsiveness in Food: Dispersed Use through Aggregation · Exposition · Summer 2026

This unit contains only eighty-nine Chinese characters: one supplementary statement, six lines of concluding verse, and one inline chapter-ending note. The next line is the closing title of fascicle eight 〔T32 441a19〕, so these eighty-nine characters close both the chapter and the fascicle. Though the text is short, three expressions occurring only once in the entire treatise—面形, 波利弗多國, and 如非如—receive no explanation in this verse. Their positions and the literal structures of their lines can be established; their meanings remain unresolved.

One Supplementary Statement: Only a Backward Reference

“The base of nothingness and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception are as taught in the kasiṇa doorway of the first ground. The treatise then gives verses” 〔T32 441a10–11〕. No separate question and answer is raised here for the two bases; they are handled only by the backward reference “as taught in the kasiṇa doorway of the first ground.” It is certain that the reference governs both bases. This passage does not restate how the referred material applies item by item to each one.

Six Lines of Concluding Verse: What Can Be Known and What Remains Unresolved

The first line is: “The meditator’s field of practice; what has been taught is only 面形” 〔T32 441a12〕. 面形 occurs only once in the treatise and is not explained in the verse. It follows “what has been taught is only,” but whether it means an outline, outward form, or something else cannot be determined.

The second line is: “Like a person skilled in showing the way, 波利弗多國” 〔T32 441a13〕. The opening “like” explicitly marks a comparison: the first half presents a person skilled in showing the way, and the second gives 波利弗多國. The source explains neither what this transliterated name denotes nor how the two halves of the line attach. The Taishō text has 導, “to guide,” while four witnesses have 道, “way”; the readings yield different constructions, and the line’s exact meaning remains unresolved.

The third line is: “From the brief statement one gains knowledge of the extensive and understands what comes before and after” 〔T32 441a14〕. The directly visible structure opposes “brief” to “extensive” and “before” to “after.” The source says that the extensive can be known from the brief statement and that its before and after can be understood. It does not identify a unique referent for “its.”

The fourth line is: “Constantly contemplate 如非如; here it has been explained extensively” 〔T32 441a15〕. “Constantly contemplate” is the stated action, and “here it has been explained extensively” is the latter half. Between them, 如非如 occurs only once in the treatise and is not self-explained. Four witnesses replace the final 如 with 法, changing what is contemplated. The base form cannot be divided into two already-defined doctrinal items; its exact meaning remains unresolved.

The fifth and sixth lines are: “Thus, the characteristics being complete, all those virtues; they should be distinguished in accordance with the Dhamma—the fields of practice in the Path of Freedom” 〔T32 441a16–17〕. The literal text names “characteristics,” “all virtues,” “should be distinguished in accordance with the Dhamma,” and “fields of practice in the Path of Freedom.” The first line of the verse has “the meditator’s field of practice,” and the final line “the fields of practice in the Path of Freedom”; “field of practice” occurs at both ends. The final “should be distinguished” does not further explain the three unresolved expressions above.

Chapter Conclusion: One Chapter, Two Names

The final paragraph consists only of the inline note “The Chapter of Thirty-Eight Practices is complete” 〔T32 441a18〕. The chapter title is Chapter on the Doorways of Practice, while the closing note says “Chapter of Thirty-Eight Practices”; both names remain. Four witnesses read 四, “four,” for 三, “three.” The closing sequence is exact: one backward reference for the two formless bases, six lines of concluding verse, the chapter-ending inline note, and then the end of fascicle eight. The meanings of 面形, 波利弗多國, and 如非如 remain unresolved.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · The Bases of Nothingness and Neither-Perception-nor-Non-Perception, and the Chapter Conclusion · Exposition · Summer 2026