T1593 The Summary of the Great Vehicle, Revised Second Edition

Chapter II

The Distinguishing Characteristics

of the Knowable

Section 1

1. We have now explained the support for the knowable. What then are the distinguishing characteristics of the knowable? In sum they are three: the other-dependent pattern, the imagined pattern, and the reality pattern.

2. The other-dependent pattern consists of all the consciously constructed di›erentiations that have the foundational consciousness as their seed and that are included within unreal imagining. These di›erentiations are the conscious construction of the body, the conscious construction of the embodied person, the conscious construction of the experiencing person, the conscious construction of the content experienced, the conscious construction of valid experiencing, the conscious construction of time, the conscious construction of number, the conscious construction of place, the conscious construction of language, the conscious construction of a di›erence between oneself and others, and the conscious construction of being born and dying in good and evil destinies.

The conscious construction of the body, the embodied, and the experiencer, the experienced content, valid experiencing, time, number, place, and language are all engendered from the seminal permeation of language.

11 The conscious construction of the

di›erence between oneself and others is engendered from the seminal permeation of belief in self. The conscious construction of being born and dying in good and evil destinies is engendered from the seminal permeation of the factors of existence. It is because such 37

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conscious constructions are the salient features of other-dependence, found in the defilements of all worlds and destinies, that unreal imagining becomes manifested. These conscious constructs are comprised in unreal imagining, for they exist only as conscious constructs. The other-dependent pattern is the support whereby these nonexistent, unreal objects appear. 3. The imagined pattern is the appearance of nonexistent objects, which are only conscious constructs, as real. 4. The reality pattern is the eternal nonexistence in the otherdependent pattern of such objects and objective properties, for they have no existent reality.

12

5. The conscious constructs of the body, the embodied, and the experiencer correspond to the six internal spheres of the sense organs. The conscious constructs that are the content of experience correspond to the six external sense spheres of perceptible objects. The conscious construction of valid experience corresponds to the six sense consciousnesses. The remaining conscious constructs are di›erentiations of these basic constructs.

6. Thus all conscious objects are only constructs of consciousness because there are no external objects. They are like a dream. In a dream everything is only a conscious construct without any relationship to any external object. All the objects that appear as real therein, such as the various material forms, voices, odors, tastes, touches, villas, gardens, lands, mountains, and so on, have no real objective being whatsoever. This example shows how in all cases there is only conscious construction. The term "and so on" above indicates other examples, such as magic tricks, mirages, optical illusions, and so forth.

Objection:You say that in all cases those things that are seen by a person who is awake are only conscious constructions like objects in a dream. But when a person awakens from a dream, he recognizes that the dreamed objects are only constructs of consciousness. Why then does one not similarly awaken from [the illusion of objectivity]? 38

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Answer:It is similar, for a person who has attained a wisdom awakening to suchness does not lack such an understanding. Just as a person yet dreaming does not wake up as long as he remains dreaming, but a person already awakened does have this awareness. So one who has not yet attained an awakened wisdom to suchness lacks this awakening, but one who has already attained a wisdom awakening to suchness certainly has this awareness. 7. If one has not yet awakened to suchness in wisdom in regard to conscious construction-only, then how can he infer this understanding? He can do so by reflecting upon the scriptures and by true reasoning. In scriptures such as the Scripture on the Ten Stages (DaΩabh¥mika-s¥tra) the World-honored Buddha taught, "Buddha

sons, the three worlds are mind-only.

" And in the Scripture on the

Explication of Underlying Meaningthe great Bodhisattva Maitreya asked the World-honored Buddha,

"World-honored One, are these

images of things, which are the objects of the concentrated mind, di›erent from mind or identical with mind?" The World-honored Buddha answered,

"Maitreya, they are not di›erent from mind,

because I have taught that they are only conscious constructs. These images and objects of perceptible form are the appearances of conscious construction. " Maitreya Bodhisattva then asked,

"Worldhonored One, if these images of perceptible forms that are the content of the concentrated mind are not di›erent from that concentrated mind, how can that consciousness apprehend those constructs as its objects?" The World-honored Buddha responded, "There is nothing that apprehends anything, yet although it cannot apprehend them, as the developments of this consciousness arise they appear in the guise [of those objects]. It is just as one sees on a mirror surface an image that appears to be di›erent from that surface, while in fact he sees [only] the surface. In like fashion, that which appears in the concentrated mind seems to be objectively real, i.e., to di›er from the concentrated mind [but in fact it is only a construct of that mind].

"13

By reasoning upon this scripture we can clarify the meaning of conscious construction-only. How so? When the mind of a prac-39 118c

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titionerof meditation is already in the meditations of totality, he enters into a totality of color-image, as when he sees blue or yellow, but this mind does not itself see these material forms of blue or yellow as external objects. From this reasoning a bodhisattva can infer the meaning of conscious construction in regard to all consciousnesses. 8. The conscious construction of blue or yellow is not consciousness of memory, because the object seen is immediately present. In the mental consciousness of remembering what has been heard or reflected upon, consciousness has as its object things past, which arise as past. Therefore [this case of the concentrated mind] does demonstrate the meaning of conscious construction-only. From this inference a bodhisattva, even if he has not yet attained a wisdom awakening to suchness, can infer the meaning of conscious construction-only.

9. Objection:We grant that among the various conscious constructs explained above to be like magic tricks or dreams, those of the visual consciousness and so on are only conscious constructs. But how can this interpretation of conscious construction apply to material forms grasped by the eye consciousness? Answer:As stated above, it can be understood both from scripture and from reasoning that these also are conscious constructs only. Objection: If material forms are conscious constructs, then how do they appear as material? How do they perdure in solid homogeneity?

Answer:They do so because they are supported by the defile ments, such as inverted thinking, etc. If this were not so, the inversion of taking as an object what is not an object would not occur. And if these two obstacles did not occur, then states of purification would not occur. Therefore, all conscious constructs are engendered in such fashion that they can be believed to be real. We present a verse:

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The cause of confusion and confusion itself are

Constructs of material form and immaterial form. If the first conscious construct did not exist,

The second conscious construct would not arise.

10. Why do the conscious constructs of the body, the embodied person, the experiencer, the content of experience, and valid experiencing come about in synergy and unison in all places of rebirth? Because they reach their term precisely in the experience of rebirth. Why do the conscious constructs of time and the other di›erentiations treated above come about? Because the beginningless continuity of dying and being reborn is uninterrupted, [time arises]. Because the realm of sentient beings is incalculable, [number arises]. Because the environmental world is unlimited, [place arises]. Because the mutual communication of a›airs is unlimited, [language arises]. Because the di›erentiations in appropriations and experiences are unlimited, [di›erentiations between self and others arise]. Because the maturations of actions, whether experienced as agreeable or disagreeable, are unlimited and because the di›erences in dying and being born thus realized are unlimited, [good and evil, their destinies, and the factors of existence arise]. 11. What valid arguments establish these other conscious constructs [i.e., the last six] as conscious constructs only? In sum there are three approaches: 1) since all constructs have been shown to be only conscious constructs, then the only criterion is conscious construction, for external objects have no existence; 2) there are only two components in conscious construction, i.e., image and insight; and 3) because the images variously produced are included in conscious construction.

What does this mean? Because all consciousnesses have no objects, we validate conscious construction-only as endowed with image and insight, for all sense consciousnesses have material form as their image and the sense consciousnesses as their insight, while the thinking consciousness has all the conscious constructs of sense perception as its image and thinking consciousness as its insight. 41

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How can this be? Because the thinking consciousness is able to imagine and appear discriminately in the guise of all these conscious constructs. We present a verse: When practitioners of meditation who understand The single criterion,

Its two components, and their varieties Reach an understanding of

Conscious construction-only,

They eradicate the standpoint of consciousness. 12. Some teachers say that, since in its arising the thinking consciousness takes di›erent supports, it is referred to under di›erent names, just as acts of volition are referred to as acts of body, speech, and so on, [inasmuch as they depend on the body, the voice, etc.] In all its various configurations engendered by its supports it appears as dual: as an external object and as the discrimination [of that object]. In all realms it appears as contact, but in form realms this thinking consciousness arises only in dependence on the support of the body. It is analogous to the material senses, which are also supported by the body. We present a verse: Those who have journeyed far and have journeyed alone, Bodiless and abiding in the cave of emptiness, Who have suppressed that which is di‡cult to suppress— They are liberated from the bondage of enmity. As a scripture says:

The thinking consciousness apprehends each of the objects of the five senses, for this thinking consciousness in its discrimination is their cause. A further passage also says:

When we describe discrimination,

Among the twelve spheres [of sensation], The group of the six sense consciousnesses Is termed the thinking sphere.

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13. When we here propose the foundational consciousness as the conscious constructor of objects, one must understand that herein all conscious constructs are termed the conscious construction of its image component, while the thinking consciousness and its supporting sense consciousnesses must be termed its conscious construction of the insight component. Why? Because conscious constructions of images are the supports that engender the activity of insight, since, being the cause for the occurrence of insight, they appear as external objects. This is how we establish that all conscious constructs are conscious construction-only. 14. How is it that, even though external objects appear before our eyes and are known, they do not exist? It is as the World-honored Buddha has taught, "When a bodhisattva attains the four

understandings, he is able to comprehend and understand that all conscious constructs are without external object. " What are these

four? They are 1) the understanding that [the same object can] be the cause of contradictory conscious constructs, as when hungry ghosts (pretas), animals, and humans see di›erent things in regard to the same object; 2) [the understanding that] conscious construction can occur from seeing what is not objective, as happens in regard to the past, the future, dreams, and fantasies; 3) understanding perfected spontaneously and unerringly, for, if an encounter with really existent objects produced conscious constructs, then there would be no point in any spontaneous and unerring understanding, since one would know them just as they are; and 4) the understanding that objects conform to the three wisdoms. What three wisdoms? They are 1) when wise persons enter concentration, they attain mastery over their minds, for at will they are masterful, and objects variously appear as intended; 2) when practitioners of concentration have attained quietude and turn their e›ort toward an examination of doctrine, objects appear in accord with their thought; and 3) when such persons have attained nonimaginative wisdom and have not emerged from nonimaginative concentration, no external objects appear at all. Because all objects conform to these three wisdoms and because of the above-cited 43

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reasons for conscious construction-only, we conclude that only conscious construction exists and that external objects do not. There are six verses that reiterate the above interpretation. Be cause these verses appear later in the chapter on wisdom training, they will be treated extensively there. They begin with the phrase, "Hungry ghosts, animals, humans.…

" [Chapter VIII, No. 20].

Section 2

15. If the support whereby what is only a conscious construction appears as an external object is termed the other-dependent pattern, how [in the absence of an external object as other] does it come to be dependent on others? Why is it said to be other-dependent? Because, arising from its own seminal permeation, it is interwoven with causes and cannot be independent [it is dependent on others]. Because it does not arise spontaneously and cannot even for an instant be independent, it is termed other-dependent. If the imagined pattern is the other-dependent appearance of external objects as real, when they really do not exist, then how does it come to be imagined? Why is it termed imagined? Because the discriminations of thinking consciousness in unlimited ways cause error, it comes to be imagined. Because it has no specific character of its own, but is only the seeing of imagined distinctions, it is termed imagined.

If the reality pattern is characterized as the eternal absence of the imagined pattern, how does it come to be reality? Why is it termed reality? Because suchness is never not suchness, it is reality. Because it perfectly purifies all realms and is the highest of all good states in the fullness of ultimate meaning, it is termed reality. 16. The imagined pattern is constituted by the presence of the act of imagining and something imagined. Here what state is referred to as imagining? What is that which is imagined? What is referred to as the imagined pattern?

Imagining is [the activity of] thinking consciousness, endowed with three kinds of imagining [of essences, shapes, and memories]. 44

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This consciousness [first as the imagining of essences and shapes] arises because its seeds are its own language permeations and the language permeations of all the sense consciousnesses. Because of its unlimited imagining in all places, it is termed the imagining [of memories]. That which is other-dependent is what is imagined. The imagined pattern refers to the basic activity of taking the other-dependent pattern as the content of imagining. Why is this imagining able to fantasize upon the other-dependent pattern the images of the ten thousand things? What object does it encounter? Why does it apprehend these picture images? How does it see them and how does it dependently arise? How does it express itself in language and how does it increase? It names all its objects in the other-dependent pattern; it grasps images; it engenders seeing in judgmental categories; its intelligence dependently arises as presented in language; its four kinds of language about what is seen and so on a‡rm that which is actually without being to be existent and fantasize that which does exist to be nonexistent. Such is its activity of imagining. 17. Are these three patterns di›erent from each other or identical with each other? They are neither di›erent nor identical. One must explain them as [neither di›erent nor identical]. In one specific sense, the other-dependent pattern is dependent on others. In another sense it becomes imagined, and in yet another specific sense it becomes reality.

In what sense is it termed other-dependent? In that it is bound to the other in its issuance from seminal permeation. In what sense does it become imagined? In that the other-dependent pattern is both the cause for imagining and that which is imagined. In what sense does it become reality? In that this other-dependent pattern, when it becomes reality, does not really exist as it was imagined. Furthermore in what sense does this one [other-dependent] consciousness take on all the various configurations of consciousness? In that the conscious constructs that arise by virtue of both the fundamental consciousness and the other consciousnesses have these various configurations, and in that [these consciousnesses] 45

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arise because of those configurations.

18. How many varieties of the other-dependent pattern are there? In sum there are two. The first is that which occurs in tandem with seminal permeation, while the second is that which is unformed in regard to purification or defilement. Thus we speak of other-dependence in virtue of these two mutual relationships. The imagined pattern is also of two varieties. The first is the imagining of essences, while the second is the imagining of specific qualities.

The reality pattern is also of two varieties. The first is essential perfection, while the second is purified perfection. 19. Furthermore imagination is also of four varieties. The first is the imagining of essences and the second is the imagining of specific qualities, while the third is that of intelligent persons and the fourth that of unintelligent persons. The intelligent are those persons who engender imagination from their ability to understand and di›erentiate names and words. The unintelligent are those who engender imagination with no such ability.

Moreover in yet another schema there are five varieties of imagination. The first is to imagine an essence in objects because of their names, as when one sees names as themselves implying objects. The second is to imagine an essence in names because of their objects, as when one takes objects to be intrinsic to names. The third is to imagine an essence in names because of those names, as when one imagines a name for a yet unknown object. The fourth is to imagine an essence in objects because of those objects, as when one imagines an object for a yet unknown name. The fifth is to imagine an essence in both names and objects because of both, as when one identifies names with objects and objects with names. 20. Or one can summarize all imaginings in ten varieties. The first is fundamental imagining, that is, the foundational consciousness. The second is imagining images, that is, the conscious constructs of perceptible forms. The third is imagining because of the appearing [of those images], that is, all the conscious constructs of the sense consciousnesses, together with their supporting 46

Chapter II

[images]. The fourth is imagining changes in those images, that is, the changes of old age and so forth, the changes of sensations of pain and pleasure, of lust and delusion, of oppressive times, or the changes of being reborn in the hells or in the world of desire. The fifth is imagining changes because of the appearing [of those images], that is, the arising of the changes described above. The sixth is imagining that is elicited by others, that is, the imagining that comes from hearing either false or true doctrine. The seventh is incorrect imagining, that is, the imagining of false doctrine of those outside the true doctrine. The eighth is correct imagining, that is, the imagining that comes from hearing the true doctrine of those within the true doctrine. The ninth is imagining that clings to its judgments, that is, the imaginings that arise in tandem with the sixty-two views that are based on belief in selfhood in all its varieties of incorrect reflection. The tenth is distracted imagining, that is, the ten kinds of imaginings of bodhisattvas. 21. The first of these ten distractions of bodhisattvas is distraction through an image of nonbeing. The second is distraction through an image of being. The third is distraction through imputing being to what is not. The fourth is distraction through negating being to what is. The fifth is distraction through clinging to unity. The sixth is distraction through clinging to di›erentiation. The seventh is distraction about totality. The eighth is distraction about specific qualities. The ninth is distraction that takes objects to correspond to names. The tenth is distraction that takes names to correspond to objects.

22. In order to counter these ten kinds of distracting imaginings, the World-honored One has taught in all the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñåpåramitå) teachings that nonimaginative wisdom is able to counter these ten distractions. Thus one should recognize that the full significance of the Perfection of Wisdom scriptures lies in how the bodhisattva is to practice these perfections of wisdom in accord with the explanation of those scriptures. They teach, "¸åriputra,

a bodhisattva is indeed a bodhisattva" [in order to counter the image of nonbeing]. They teach,

"One does not see an existent bodhisattva"

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[in order to counter the image of being]. They teach, "One does not

see the name bodhisattva, the perfection of wisdom, practice or the absence of practice, perceptible form, sensation, conceptualization, volitional dispositions, or consciousness, for the essence of form is empty" [in order to counter the imputation of being to what is not]. They teach,

"They are not empty because of that emptiness" [in order to counter the negation of that which is]. They teach, "That

emptiness within perceptible forms is not identical with those forms" [in order to counter the clinging to unity]. They teach, "No form is

di›erentiated from emptiness" [in order to counter clinging to di›erentiation] for "form is emptiness and emptiness is form. " They

teach,

"This is because, ¸åriputra, these are only names" [in order to counter the distraction about totality]. They teach, "That which

is referred to as the essence of form neither arises nor passes away and is neither defiled nor purified [in order to counter distractions about specific qualities]. They teach,

"It is through artificially established names that one imagines all beings" [in order to counter the mistaken correspondence between objects and names]; that "Things are as they are because they follow upon language, which artificially establishes their incidental names" and "People engender sundry attachments because of such language constructs" [in order to counter the mistaken correspondence between names and objects]. They teach,

"Of such names none are seen by the bodhisattva, who consequently engenders no attachment,

" for if he should take note

of the aggregates, he would also elicit this reflection. From these passages from the Perfection of Wisdom scriptures one should accordingly reflect upon the meaning of the ten distractions. 14

23. If in this sense the other-dependent pattern comes to be in all three patterns, then how can there be three patterns? How can these three di›erent patterns not become commingled? There is no commingling because of the principle that, when this pattern becomes other-dependent, it does not thereby become either imagined or reality; that when it becomes imagined, it does not thereby become other-dependent or reality; and that when it becomes reality, it 48

Chapter II

does not thereby become either other-dependent or imagined. 24. But how does one know that when the other-dependent pattern appears as the imagined pattern, it is not identical with that imagined pattern? Because it is contradictory that any substance to things be intrinsic to its name, since prior to the acquisition of names no understanding arises in regard to objects, and many names would indicate many objects, but this is contradictory. It is also contradictory that since names are undetermined, objects should also be disunified substances. We present verses on this: There is no understanding prior to naming;

Names are many and indeterminate.

It is contradictory for objects to be

Identical with substances, to be many, or to be disunified. The nonbeing of beings appears as being.

The undefiled yet becomes purified.

Thus it is like a magic trick,

Like the empty sky.

25. Since the other-dependent pattern does not really exist as it appears, how does one know that it is not entirely nonexistent? If there were no other-dependent pattern, then the reality pattern would also be nonexistent, and one would then come to a‡rm universal nothingness. And then, if the other-dependent pattern and the reality pattern both did not exist, one would fall into error about the being and nonbeing of defilement and purification. But since these states can be known not to be nothing, it is not true that all is nothing. We present a verse:

If there is no other-dependent pattern,

Then the reality pattern also does not exist. Then there could never be the two states

Of defilement and purification.

26. All the World-honored Buddhas have preached the broad scriptures of the Great Vehicle, wherein it is asked: How should one understand the imagined pattern? It should be understood 49

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through the teaching that such states do not exist. How should one understand the other-dependent pattern? It should be understood through the teaching on such similes as a magic trick, a mirage, a dream trace, a shadow, a reflection, a valley echo, the moon in water, a transformation. How should one understand the reality pattern? It should be understood through the teaching on the four kinds of pure states. These are 1) original, essential purity, that is, suchness, emptiness, the reality limit, the imageless, reality, the reality realm; 2) undefiled purity, that is, the above state separated from all adventitious obstacles; 3) the purity of the path whereby one reaches that [undefiled purity], that is, all the factors favorable to awakening, all the perfections, and so on; and 4) the purity of the object that engenders that path, that is, the truly enunciated doctrine of the Great Vehicle. Why? Because this teaching is the cause for purification, it is not imagined. Because it is an outflow from the pure reality realm, it is not other-dependent. These four pure states encompass all pure states without exception. We present a verse: Such similes as magic refer to the other-dependent. The teaching of nonbeing refers to the imagined. The teaching of the four purities treats reality. These purities are the origin, the undefiled, The path, and the object.

All pure states are encompassed in these four. 15

27. Why and wherefore is the other-dependent pattern explained in the scriptures through similes such as the magic trick and so on? In order to eliminate the delusions and doubts of others about the other-dependent pattern.

How can these others be shown that their doubts about the otherdependent pattern are unjustified? In order to resolve the doubts of those who say,

"If there really are no things, then how can one validate the objective world?" , it is taught that it is like a magic trick. In order to resolve the doubts of those who say, "If there really

are no objects, then how can the mind and its activities arise?" , it

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is taught that it is like a mirage.

In order to resolve the doubts of those who say, "If there really

are no external things, then how can one experience pleasure or pain?"

, it is taught that it is like a dream trace. In order to resolve the doubts of those who say, "If there really

are no beings, how can good or evil actions produce pleasant or unpleasant results?"

, it is taught that it is like a shadow. In order to resolve the doubts of those who say, "If there really

are no beings, then how do the various understandings arise?" , it

is taught that it is like a reflection. In order to resolve the doubts of those who say, "If there really

are no beings, then how can language arise?" , it is taught that it

is like a valley echo.

In order to resolve the doubts of those who say, "If there really

are no beings, then how can one actually encounter real beings as objects of the concentrated mind?"

, it is taught that it is like the

moon in water.

In order to resolve the doubts of those who say, "If there really

are no beings, then how could bodhisattvas resolve unerringly to experience birth in the six destinies to benefit others?" , it is taught

that it is like a transformation.

28. With what intention did the World-honored One say in the Scripture of Brahmå's Questions (P'o lo men wen ching) that a Tathågata sees neither the cycle of birth and death (samsara) nor cessation? His underlying intention was to teach the undi›erentiation whereby the cycle of birth and death is cessation because they are grounded within the other-dependent pattern [respectively] as the imagined and reality patterns. This is because the other-dependent pattern in its imagined aspect becomes the cycle of birth and death and in its reality aspect becomes cessation. 29. In the Abhidharma Scripture (Abhidharma-mahåyånas¥tra), the World-honored One taught three aspects: 1) the defiled aspect, 2) the pure aspect, and 3) the defiled and pure aspect. What was his intention in teaching these three aspects? While the defiled aspect is the imagined pattern within the other-depen-51 121a

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dent pattern, and the pure aspect is the reality pattern within the other-dependent pattern, the defiled and pure aspect is the other-dependent pattern itself. This was his intention in teaching these three aspects.

What analogies can be o›ered for his intention? It is like a lump of gold with three aspects: elemental earth, gold, and a lump of soil. In the elemental earth, a lump of soil is visible, although it does not exist [for it is really gold], while the gold, which does really exist, is not visible. But when the lump of soil is heated in the furnace, then the previously invisible gold appears. When the lump of soil appeared as the elemental earth, this was an illusory appearance. But when the gold appears, this is the appearance of reality. Thus the elemental earth has two aspects. In a similar way, when the fundamental consciousness has not yet been heated in the furnace of nonimaginative wisdom, this consciousness appears as the unreal, imagined pattern, and the reality pattern does not appear. But when it is heated in the furnace of nonimaginative wisdom, this consciousness appears as the perfected, reality pattern, and the unreal, imagined pattern does not appear. Therefore the consciousness of unreal imagination, that is, the other-dependent pattern, has two aspects. It is like the primal matter that contains gold covered over by dirt. 30. Furthermore in certain passages the World-honored One taught that all things are eternal; in other passages, that all things are transient; and in yet other passages, that they are neither eternal nor transient. This was his intention in teaching the eternal, transient, and neither eternal nor transient natures of all things. This same interpretation holds for su›ering, pleasure, and the absence of either; for good, evil, and the absence of either; for emptiness, nonemptiness, and the absence of either; for self, non-self, and the absence of either; for quiescence, nonquiescence, and the absence of either; for essence, non-essence, and the absence of either; for arising, nonarising, and the absence of either; for passing away, no passing away, and the absence of either; for original quiescence, no original quiescence, and the absence of either; for original ces-52

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sation, no original cessation, and the absence of either; for the cycle of birth and death, cessation, and the absence of either. One should interpret the underlying intent of all the distinctions taught by all Buddha Tathågatas by following the structure of the three patterns as above. We present verses:16 As things have no reality,

And as they appear in various ways, He explained their nonduality As neither reality nor unreality. From a single perspective he taught Either being or nonbeing;

From a double perspective he taught Neither being nor nonbeing.

Beings are not as they appear; Thus he taught their eternal nonbeing. But beings actually do exist in their appearances; Thus he taught their absence of nonbeing. Because substances do not of themselves exist, Because substances do not of themselves perdure, Because they do not exist as apprehended, The three patterns validate the three absences of essence. Because of non-essences,

One establishes their momentary basis, Their original quiescence as neither arising nor passing away,

And their original cessation. 31. Furthermore, the teachings of all World-honored Buddhas should be interpreted according to their four intentions and four aims.

The four intentions are 1) the intention to make an identification, as for example when it is taught that "At that time I was called VipaΩyin, who had attained Buddhahood"; 2) the intention to declare a future event, as for example when it is taught that "If a person recites and bears in mind the name of Bahuratna Buddha, 53

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he is assured of attaining supreme awakening without ever again falling back,

" or when it is taught that "Only those who have elicited the vow to be born in the Buddha Land of Bliss will be born there"; 3) the intention of indirect reference, as for example when it is taught that "One can attain full comprehension of the Great Vehicle by serving Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River"; and 4) the intention to accord with the dispositions of sentient beings, as for example when the Tathågata first e›usively praised the charity of a certain person and then afterward severely censured it [in another person]. As with charity, the same applies to discipline and the other perfections. These are termed the four intentions.

The four aims are 1) the aim of causing one to enter, as when in the great or lesser vehicles the World-honored Buddha taught the conventional truths that identify the general and specific characteristics of persons and things; 2) the aim of disclosing patterns, as when he taught that the three patterns necessarily exist in the teaching on the specific nature of things; 3) the aim of countering, as when the practices that counter the eighty-four thousand passionate actions of sentient beings are clarified; and 4) the aim of interpreting, as when a meaning di›erent from the literal sense is expressed in order to elucidate a di›erent meaning. An example of this is found in the following verse: "Those who take the unsubstantial for the substantial, who are well established in error, who are a·icted by all the passions—they attain supreme awakening. "

32. If one desires to interpret the overall doctrine of the Great Vehicle in summary, he should treat the three themes: 1) he should elucidate the character of dependent co-arising, 2) he should elucidate the true character of dependently co-arisen states of being, and 3) he should elucidate the meaning of what has been taught [in the scriptures in light of the above two].

The elucidation of the character of dependent co-arising is as the verse declares,

"All things arise from the permeations of

language and these [permeations] from those [things], " that is,

the maturing consciousness and the actively evolving conscious-54

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nesses are causes one of the other.

The elucidation of the true character of dependently co-arisen states of being means that the nature of all things, being characterized as active evolutions of consciousness, is conscious construction endowed with image and insight. Furthermore all states of being are characterized as support, imagined, and reality. In these words the nature of all states of being is elucidated within the context of the three patterns. We present a verse: Issuing from that which has both image and insight, One knows that all states of being have the three patterns. How can one elucidate the characters of these states? Within the other-dependent pattern, the imagined pattern lacks any reality whereby it might exist, but the true reality pattern really does exist therein. It is in virtue of this nonbeing and this being that at the same time spontaneously perfected suchness is realized or not, seen already or not yet seen. For in the other-dependent pattern, the imagined pattern does not exist, but the true reality pattern does exist. If one sees one, one does not see the other. We present a verse: In the other-dependent, the imagined does not exist, But true reality does exist.

Therefore the absence of realization and realization Are both equally present in it.

The elucidation of what has been taught consists of explaining and analyzing texts that have previously been taught [by the Buddha] in the light of later commentaries, whether concerning the assemblage of good qualities [of the Buddha] or the various aims of practice [of bodhisattvas].

17

33. The body of good qualities, which is an elucidation of the World-honored Buddha's good qualities [as presented in the scriptures], consists of the purest wisdom: 1) his nondual action, 2) his unmarked state of being the highest refuge, 3) his arrival at the Buddha abode, 4) his realization of equality with all Buddhas, 5) his attainment of unhindered activity, 6) his unerring and unop-55 121c

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posable doctrine, 7) his unchanging sphere, 8) his inconceivable establishment of doctrine, 9) his equality in regard to the three times, 10) his manifestation of bodies in all world realms, 11) his unhindered wisdom in all things, 12) his wisdom joined with all his practices, 13) his wisdom without doubt in regard to all things, 14) his unimaginable bodies, 15) his wisdom as that which is to be experienced by all bodhisattvas, 16) the perfection of his nondual Buddha abode, 17) his attainment of the undi›erentiated liberation wisdom of a Tathågata, 18) the finality of his attainment of equality in all Buddha lands, 19) the ultimacy of his reality realm, and 20) his extension to the limit of the realm of empty space. Just as the initial phrase "purest wisdom" is interpreted later by the commentarial explanations, so one must in turn distinguish and interpret each of the following phrases.

If one would correctly explain the meaning of the doctrine, he must expand upon "the purest wisdom" by explaining that the wisdom of the Buddhas and Tathågatas is pure and without misunderstanding in regard to all things. In this basic meaning are comprised all twenty-one good qualities: 1) the quality of arising without any obstacle to knowledge whatsoever; 2) the quality of causing entrance into the highest purity of true suchness without duality in regard to being and nonbeing; 3) the quality of the Buddha abode wherein the Tathågata's activity is e›ortless and uninterrupted; 4) the quality of the absence of di›erentiation in support, intention, and action in the Dharma body; 5) the quality of countering all obstacles to practice; 6) the quality of suppressing all heretical doctrines; 7) the quality of arising in the world without being defiled by worldly states; 8) the quality of true doctrine validly established; 9) the quality of responding to the questions of others through the four skillful answers; 10) the quality of manifesting enjoyment bodies in all world realms; 11) the quality of resolving the doubts of others; 12) the quality of introducing others to various practices; 13) the quality of understanding the arising of future things; 14) the quality of manifestation in accord with the aspirations of sentient beings; 15) the quality of taming sentient beings by the true doctrine 56

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through convening unlimited assemblies; 16) the quality of the fullness of perfection of the equal Dharma body; 17) the quality of manifesting pure Buddha lands in accord with the aspirations of sentient beings; 18) the quality of the inseparability and undi›erentiation of the three Buddha bodies; 19) the quality of engendering benefit and gladness for all sentient beings to the limit of the cycle of birth and death; and 20) the quality of inexhaustibility. 34.

"The various aims of practice" are expressed in the scripture as,

"If a bodhisattva has thirty-two qualities, he is called a bodhisattva. " They embrace the intention to bestow benefit and gladness upon sentient beings: 1) their intention to lead sentient beings to enter the wisdom of omniscience; 2) their wisdom to accord with their present situations; 3) their abandonment of pride; 4) the firmness of their good intentions; 5) their intention of being benevolent without simulation, of not currying favor, of being [equally] impartial to friend and foe, and of always being good teachers until they enter final cessation; 6) their quality of speaking in good measure and gently, smiling before beginning to talk; 7) their compassion for all sentient beings without di›erentiation; 8) their not faltering or growing fainthearted in carrying out their tasks; 9) their quality of not becoming bored; 10) their quality of never being satiated with hearing doctrine; 11) their quality of confessing their own faults, while disregarding and not censuring the faults of others; 12) their quality of maintaining an awakened mind in all their deportment; 13) their quality of practicing disinterested charity, of not displaying fear in any destiny, of maintaining discipline, of being unerringly patient to all sentient beings, of zealously engendering all good states and practices, of cultivating contemplation, except those of the world of formlessness, and their wisdom joined to skillful means (upåya), that is, yoked to the four enticements; 14) their quality of being good friends to both the disciplined and the undisciplined without distinction, of being respectful in serving good teachers, of being respectful in hearing doctrine, of enjoying dwelling in forest places, of not being fond of worldly fads, of taking no joy in the lesser vehicle, of appreciating the Great Vehicle, and 57

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of avoiding evil friends and respecting and serving good friends; 15) their quality of constantly maintaining the four Brahmå abodes, of maintaining unlimited purity of mind, of sporting in the five supernatural powers and taking refuge in wisdom; and 16) their quality of not abandoning people of either proper or improper conduct, but including everybody, of speaking in a definitive manner, of revering truth, and of prioritizing and respecting action. The word "bodhisattva" is associated with these states. The above phrases have been taught [in the scriptures]. The interpretation through later [commentaries] means that "their intention to benefit and gladden sentient beings" is elucidated through sixteen descriptions of bodhisattva practice, which are 1) their continuous practice; 2) their unmistaken practice; 3) their personally initiated practice; 4) their indestructible practice; 5) their disinterested practice, which interprets the three phrases about their not currying favor, not being attached to or repulsed from attractive or unattractive sentient beings, and continually practicing in later lives; 6) their practice of speaking in accord with circumstances, which interprets the two phrases about speaking and smiling; 7) their impartial practice in regard to sentient beings, whether su›ering, happy, or neither; 8) their practice of not denigrating others; 9) their practice of not retrogressing; 10) their practice of skillful means of enticement; 11) their practice of destroying what must be countered, which interprets the two phrases about their own and others' faults; 12) their practice of uninterrupted deliberation; 13) their practice of cultivating excellence, which interprets the seven phrases about true meditation and intense practice of the six perfections and the four enticements that are done respectfully; 14) their practice of perfected skillful means, which interprets the six phrases about service to good teachers, hearing true doctrine, dwelling in forest places, avoiding perverse thoughts, true reflection, which covers two phrases, and associating with good friends, which is expressed in two phrases; 15) their practice of perfection, which interprets the three phrases about maintaining the immeasurable with purity of mind, the practice of august powers, and the real-58

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ization of good qualities; and 16) their practice of establishing others, which covers four phrases about convening assemblies, proclaiming and teaching doctrine without hesitancy, gathering together o›erings according to the doctrine, and the undefiled mind.

Through these commentarial explanations we have interpreted the previous passages. Here is a verse: When one takes up the previous phrases, They are analyzed as a sequence of good qualities. When one takes up the previous passages, Each is analyzed in light of its intention. 59

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Entry into the Distinguishing

Characteristics of the Knowable

1. Having explained the distinguishing characteristics of the knowable, how are we to understand the distinguishing characteristics of entry into the knowable?

[That entry] is supported by the permeations of much hearing [of the doctrine of the Great Vehicle] and is not comprised within the container consciousness. Rather, just as [occurs] with that container consciousness, so [this permeation] is a seed that develops [within consciousness]. It is comprised in correct reflection. 18 [Such

correct reflection in turn] arises from images that appear as doctrine and its meaning. [These images] are discriminated in mental words that are accompanied by insight and that appear as if connected to apprehended [realities].

2. Who enters into the characteristics of the knowable? All [bodhisattvas] who have permeated the continuities [of their consciousnesses] with much hearing of the Great Vehicle, who have already rendered service to all the innumerable Buddhas who appear in the world, who have already entered a true state of definitive commitment, and who, through well-matured meditation, have increased their good roots and thus accumulated the two stores of merit and wisdom.

3. At what points [in their development] do these bodhisattvas gain insight into conscious construction-only? In virtue of a discrimination of the images and mental words accompanied by insight that appear as doctrine and its meaning, and in virtue of the arising of insight into the doctrine of the Great Vehicle, they enter the state of practicing earnest commitment upon firmly believing what 61

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they have heard; they enter the path of insight upon intelligently understanding [what they have heard]; they enter the path of meditation upon countering all obstacles [to that insight]; and they enter the final path upon going beyond obstructing defilement to the utmost purification. The reality of all things exists only as conscious construction as [just] explained, in virtue of an earnest commitment to what is heard, of an intelligent understanding, of a countering of all obstacles, and of a going beyond obstructing defilement to utmost purification. 4. Why do they come so to enter? Because they are supported by the force of good roots; because they have sharpened their minds in three aspects; because they have eradicated the four basic barriers; and because, with uninterrupted and reverent meditation upon the doctrine and its meaning in quietude and insight, they have not been distracted.

5. The first sharpening of their minds [is expressed in the following thought]: "Innumerable and immeasurable sentient beings in the human realm—since world realms in the ten directions are innumerable and immeasurable—from moment to moment realize supreme awakening.

"

The second sharpening of their minds [is expressed in the thought that] "In virtue of correct intentions [of sentient beings] the perfections of giving and so forth inexorably mature. I too have committed myself and attained such stability and, in virtue of my correct intention, will without di‡culty progress in the cultivation of the perfections of giving and so forth and attain their fullness. "

The third sharpening of their minds [is expressed in the thought that] "Persons with good mental states after death in all their rebirths e›ortlessly attain pleasant and joyful destinies, for they have attained a limited goodness. Even with their limited goodness these persons still come to such attainments. How then would I who have achieved perfect and unlimited goodness not come to attain pleasant and joyful destinies at will?" Here stanzas refer [to these three sharpenings]: 62

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Sentient beings in the human realm Realize awakening at each and every moment In places beyond reckoning.

Thus let not your mind be downcast. The commitment of good persons enables them To engender the perfections of giving and so forth. Since the Victors attain these dispositions, They are enabled to cultivate giving and so forth. When good persons die, they attain superior joy. How then would not those whose purified goodness In its perfection eliminates [all] gradations Be lacking in these accomplishments? 6. They eradicate the four barriers: 1) because they abandon the thoughts of word-hearers and solitary enlightened ones, perverse notions are destroyed; 2) because they engender a mind of faith in and clear understanding of the Great Vehicle, they destroy all perverse ideas and doubts; 3) because they abandon perverse attachments to "I" and "mine" in regard to the doctrine they have heard and reflected upon, they destroy attachment to doctrine; and 4) because thoughts about images standing over against [their minds] are not discriminated, they are able to eradicate discrimination. Herein a stanza states:

Because the wise do not discriminate Thoughts about all the images

That appear and stand before [them], They attain supreme awakening.

7. How and by what means do they come to full understanding concerning doctrine and its meaning? [They so understand] because of the discrimination of mental words accompanied by insight that are linked to the permeation of hearing, that are comprised in correct reflection, and that appear as doctrine and its meaning.

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[They so understand] because of the four inquiries on the designations of names, objects, essences, and di›erences. [They so understand] because of the four reality wisdoms, for in these four kinds of reality wisdoms names, objects, essences, and di›erences do not exist.

When entering into the understanding of these things, bodhisattvas zealously endeavor to gain insight into conscious construction-only through the appearance of the mental words involved in such insight, which appear as written words and meanings to be discriminated. They fully comprehend that the images of those written words are merely the discriminations of mental words, that objects, depending on names and words, are merely discriminations of mental words, and that such names, objects, essences, and di›erences are valid only as conventional designations. Then at this stage, upon realizing that they are only the discriminations of mental words, these practitioners of meditation see that designations are neither names nor objects, neither essences nor di›erences, since in their real character there are no objective essences or di›erences.

Thus they gain insight into conscious construction-only through the four inquiries and the four reality wisdoms that bear upon the names and objects that appear in the discrimination of mental words.

8. What state is entered in understanding conscious construction-only? What is it like? One enters a state of cognition-only, a state of duality of image and insight, and a state of multiplicity. Since the six images of names as essences, di›erences, and designations, and of objects as essences, di›erences, and designations, have no objectivity [one enters a state of cognition-only].

Because of the subject and object structure, which also lacks objectivity, [one enters a state of duality]. Because many apparently di›erent patterns of things do appear simultaneously, [one enters a state of multiplicity]. 64

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It is just as in the dark a rope might appear to be a snake, while in fact that snake is an illusion and does not exist in the rope. Thus when people have clearly examined the objective rope, their previously confused awareness of a snake is [seen] to be without objective foundation and falls away while only the rope is known to be present. Yet this knowledge of the rope, when subtly analyzed, is also chimerical and without objective foundation, because it is characterized by material form, odor, taste, and contact, [none of which have any stable and objective foundation]. When the mind encounters these objects, its knowledge of the rope is also negated. When with a parallel insight one eradicates the apparent names and objects that appear in these six images, then discriminative, defiled understanding in mental words will no longer arise, just as in the knowledge of the snake. In suppressing objectivity in these six images, just as was the case with the knowledge of the rope, by relying on the wisdom of suchness the understanding of conscious construction-only itself can be rejected. 9. In this fashion, in understanding that the images discriminated by the mental words appear as objective, the bodhisattva fully understands the imagined pattern. In understanding the meaning of conscious construction-only, he fully understands the other-dependent pattern. But how does he understand the reality pattern? By abandoning any idea about conscious construction-only! At that moment the bodhisattva clearly understands the imagining of mental words, which long since had been yoked to the permeations of hearing doctrine, and he suppresses any idea of their correspondence with the external world. These [ideas] no longer arise because their apparent objective status no longer has any cause and thus they do not even arise as an imagining of the mental words of conscious construction-only. This implies that the bodhisattva dwells only in nonimagination in regard to all objects and names, and in virtue of nonimaginative wisdom he realizes and abides in the reality realm of suchness. He then enters the reality pattern because of the arising of nonimaginative wisdom wherein subject and object are entirely identical.

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The Summary of the Great Vehicle

10. Herein a stanza states:

Things and persons, texts and meanings,

Statements both concise and extended,

Beings defiled and purified, and the final stage— These ten are the di›erent spheres of naming.

11. Because the bodhisattva has gained insight into conscious construction-only, he has attained understanding of the characteristics of the knowable. Through fully understanding these characteristics, he has attained entry into the first stage of joy, well penetrated into the reality realm, attained birth in the lineage of all Buddhas in the ten directions, and attained impartiality in thinking about all sentient beings, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. This is termed the bodhisattva's path of insight. 12. Why does the bodhisattva once again become aware of conscious construction-only? Through a transcendent wisdom of quietude and insight focused on the all-pervading doctrine and through a wisdom characterized by a variety of images and conscious constructs attained subsequent to nonimaginative wisdom, he eradicates all the causal seeds in his fundamental container consciousness and nurtures all the seeds that enable one to contact the Dharma body. He converts his support and comes to attain the true qualities of all Tathågatas, and he attains the wisdom of omniscience. This is why he [again] becomes aware of conscious construction-only.

Seeing magical illusions in all the constructs that arise from the container consciousness and all the images of those imagined constructs, that wisdom attained subsequently to nonimaginative wisdom is fundamentally exempt from error. Just as a magician is himself undeceived by his magic tricks, so the bodhisattva, when enunciating the path of cause and result, always remains free from error in all his descriptions.

13. When one truly gains understanding of conscious construction-only, there are four concentrations that support the good roots 66

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of the four aids to penetration. How should a bodhisattva understand this? Through the four inquiries during the inferior e›orts at recognizing the absence of objectivity, the concentration of the acquisition of clarity supports good roots for aid to the penetration of fervor.

In superior e›orts at recognizing the absence of objectivity, the concentration of increased clarity supports the good roots for aid to the penetration of crowning practice.

In the four reality wisdoms, when the bodhisattva has gained insight into conscious construction-only and clearly understands the absence of objectivity, the concentration of partially penetrating reality supports recognition that is well-disposed toward truth not mediated through language.

Immediately following this concentration, the clear suppression of the idea of conscious construction-only becomes an uninterrupted concentration that supports the highest worldly state. These four concentrations are methods whereby bodhisattvas gain insight into and bring to presence the truth not mediated through language.

14. When the bodhisattva enters the first stage, he has attained the path of insight and acquires full understanding of conscious construction-only. But how does he practice meditation? How does he enter into the path of meditation?

He attains [the stage of] presence as described in the teachings in the extensive discourses of the Buddha on the ten bodhisattva stages, which summarize the twelvefold scripture of the Great Vehicle taught by all Tathågatas, because he masters both the general and the specific [meaning of doctrine] since he engenders transcendent, nonimaginative wisdom that focuses on the farreaching universal import [of doctrine] and a wisdom of quietude and insight acquired subsequently to that nonimaginative wisdom [which focuses on specific doctrinal meanings]; because for immeasurable and incalculable millions of eons he relies on these many 67

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practices of meditation; because, by virtue of his conversions of support both previously and presently attained, he intensifies his meditative practices in order to bring about an attainment of the three Buddha bodies.

15. What are the di›erences in the path of insight of wordhearers and bodhisattvas? There are eleven di›erences herein: 1) a di›erence of object in that the object for a bodhisattva is the doctrine of the Great Vehicle; 2) a di›erence of support in that his support is the store of great merit and wisdom; 3) a di›erence in penetration in that he penetrates the non-self of both persons and things; 4) a di›erence in cessation in that he reposes upon non-abiding cessation as his abode; 5) a di›erence in stages in that he relies on the ten stages for liberation; 6) and 7) a di›erence in purification in that he both destroys the permeation of passion and brings pure lands to purity; 8) a di›erence in impartiality of mind in regard to sentient beings in that, in order to mature sentient beings, he does not discard e›ort in relation to their good roots and merits; 9) a di›erence in birth in that he is born in the lineage of the Tathågatas; 10) a di›erence in manifestation in that he is always able to appear in the great assemblies of Buddha's sons in order to uphold the true doctrine; and 11) a di›erence in results in that his results are the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, the exclusive Buddha qualities, and the arising of untold good qualities.

16. Herein two stanzas [on the four inquiries] state: The bodhisattva must inquire into the fact that

The interdependence of name and object is incidental. He must meditate on the duality [of their essences] as unitary,

And as a conventional designation [of their di›erences]. From this he engenders reality wisdom, apart from Objectifying the three ideas [of name, essence, and di›erence].

If he sees that these do not exist,

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He enters into the three absences of essence. 17. Two further stanzas on the true teaching, as given in the Treatise on Meditating on Conscious Construction(Fen pieh kuan lun), state:

In states of quiescence the bodhisattva Understands that images exist only in his mind, And, abandoning externalized ideas of objects, He assuredly understands them to be only his own thoughts.

Abiding within himself, the bodhisattva Understands that the objective realm does not exist, And also that the subjective realm is empty. He then directly experiences the unobtainability of both. 18. Five verses from the Ornament of Scriptures of the Great Vehicle(Mahåyånas¥trålaµkåra) illustrate the point: Having nurtured the two stores of merit And wisdom without limit,

A bodhisattva, in virtue of his certainty In reflection on doctrine,

Is able to understand that the varied objects Are caused by ideas.

Knowing that the varied objects are only ideas, He abides in conscious construction-only, Wherein objects appear.

Therefore a practitioner of meditation realizes The Dharma realm

And is liberated both from duality and From a nonduality [that would ignore those appearances]. If one knows that there nothing remains apart from mind, Then he realizes also that mind does not exist either. Seeing both to be nonexistent, the sage Abides in the true reality realm of nonduality. 69

The Summary of the Great Vehicle The sage, through nonimaginative wisdom Is constantly impartial in all his actions, And the dense thicket of

Error with its defiled support is banished and eliminated, Just as a medicine expels a poison. The sage, who is well-grounded in the true doctrine Taught by the Buddha,

Places his mind at its root upon the reality realm and, Knowing that memory is merely imagination, Arrives at the shore of the ocean of good qualities. 20

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