It has for its support a person either in
Kamadhatu
or Rupadhatu.
AbhidharmakosabhasyamVol-4VasubandhuPoussinPruden1991
Extinction, by reason of the destruction of the [impure]
skandhas.
2. Calm, by reason of the extinction of the three fires, craving, anger, and delusion (viii. 26c).
3. Excellent, by reason of the absence of all pain.
4. Salvation, because it is disassociated from all causes of pain. IV. For the Truth of the Path:
1. Path, because one traverses it (towards Nirvana. )84
2. Truth, because it is yogayukta, that is to say, endowed with proofs, endowed with resources or means.
3. Obtaining, because it brings about correct obtaining, that is to say one obtains (Nirvana through it. )
4. Definitive release, because it causes one to pass beyond in a definitive manner.
There is a second exegesis:
I. For the Truth of Suffering:
1. Impermanent (anitya), because it is not definitive {anatyan- tika).
2. Suffering, because it resembles a burden.
3. Empty, because it is empty of purusa (agent, etc. ). 4. No-soul, because it does not obey the will. 85
II. For the Truth of Origin:
The Knowledges ? ?
? 1112 Chapter Seven
1. Cause (hetu), because it comes about from that (the root hi
signifies gati; hetu signifies hinoty asmdt).
2. Arising (samudaya), because there is emergence: (the
86 dharma emerges from the future).
3. Appearance (prabhava), as it is a procession (prasarana).
4. Condition {pratyaya) or foundation, that is, the essential
element from the action of generation.
III. For the Truth of Extinction:
1. Extinction, because of the cessation of the former suffering and of the non-continuation of subsequent suffering.
2. Calm, because it is delivered from the three conditioned characteristics {samskrtalaksanas. ii. 45c).
3. Excellent, because it is absolutely good (pdramdrthasubha, iv. 8c).
87 4. Salvation, because it supremely strengthens (9v. 8b).
IV. For the Truth of the Path:
1. Path, because it is opposed to the wrong path.
2. Truth, because it is opposed to non-truth.
3. Obtaining, because it is not in contradiction with the city of
88 Nirvana.
4. Definitive release, because it abandons existence in the Three Dhatus.
***
Since ancient explanations differ, we are permitted to present a third explanation:
I. For the Truth of Suffering:
1. Impermanent, because it arises and perishes.
? 2. Suffering, because it is repugnant to the mind of Aryans (vi. English trans, p. 898).
3. Empty, because no dtman is found in it.
4. No soul, because this is not an dtman.
II. For the Truth of Origin: the four aspects of the Second
Truth, cause (hetu), arising (samudaya), appearance (prabhava),
and condition (pratyaya), are: explained according to the Sutra,
"The five upddanaskandhas (impure skandhas, i. 8a) are chandamu-
laka, chandasamudaya, chandajatiya, chandaprabhava," that is to
say they have chanda (=desire=frJr>>^=thirst) for their root (mula)
or hetu, which brings about their arising (samudaya), for their
condition (chandajatiya-chandapraty aya), for their appearance 9
(prabhava)* The only difference between the Sutra and the Sastra is that the latter places the condition (pratyaya) aspect in first
90 place, and not the appearance (prabhava) aspect.
***
What is the difference between these four types of "proces- sions"?
A. One should distinguish four states (avasthd) of desire (chanda): 1. the affection that one experiences for oneself when one thinks, "I am", without otherwise distinguishing an actual "self," without thinking of a past or future self; 2. the desire for re-existence without any other specification; 3. the desire for a certain re-existence; 4. the desire for reincarnation, a desire which makes one accomplish a certain action.
The first desire is the initial cause of suffering--as the seed is
91 the initial cause of the fruit--; it is called hetu.
The second desire is that which brings about re-existence--as the production of the shoot, stalk, etc. , is a casual process or arising (samudaya) which brings about fruit; it is therefore called samudaya, a cause which brings forth.
? The third desire is the cause which determines the quality of suffering,--as the field, the water, the fertilizer, etc. , determine the virility, the ripening, the appearance of the fruit; it is therefore called pratyaya, or condition. 92
The fourth desire is the cause from whence the fruit appears-- as the flower is the cause of the fruit; it is therefore called prabhdva, or appearance.
The fourth desire is the immediate or direct cause; the other three are the mediate or indirect causes.
B. And again, according to the Sutra,93 there are two groups of five "modes of desire" (trsndvicdritas), and two groups of four, which are, respectively, the four desires studied above. The first two desires are of five aspects, and the last two are of four.
a. When one thinks asmi, "I am,'* general affection for one's own person without determination is produced, which is fivefold: I am such; I am the same [as formerly]; I am different; I am something that is; I am something that is not.
b. When one thinks bhavisydmi, "I shall be," there is produced a general desire for re-existence without determination, which is also fivefold: "I shall be such, I shall be thus, I shall be different, I shall exist, and I shall not exist. "
? There is produced particularized desire for re-existence, which is fourfold: "May I be; may I be such; may I be the same; may I be different. "
d. There is produced a desire for reincarnation, which is fourfold: "It is absolutely necessary that I may be, that I may be such, the same, different. 94
The first desires are the initial cause of suffering; they are therefore the hetu. . . The rest as above.
III. For the Truth of Extinction:
1. Extinction, because it cuts off transmigration. 95
2. Calm, because it is cessationof all suffering; thus it is said,
? "All the samskdras, Oh Bhiksus, are suffering; only Nirvana alone 96
is absolute calm. "
3. Excellent, because it is the highest.
4. Definitive salvation, because it is without returning. IV. For the Truth of the Path:
1. Path, because it resembles the right path.
2. Truth, because it is true.
3. Obtaining, because it is determined; that is to say one arrives by this path and not by another, as it is said, "This path leads to purity, other systems do not lead to it. "
4. Definitive release, because it is definitive separation from threefold existence.
97
[Fourth explanation. ]
[I. For the Truth of Suffering:]
Furthermore, it is in order to cure persons who nourish views
of permanence, bliss, of things pertaining to the self, and a soul
that the aspects of impermanence, suffering, empty, and no-soul
98
[II. For the Truth of Arising:]
1. The cause aspect is opposed to the view, "There is only one cause" {nasti hetuh, v. 7, English trans, p. 777).
2. The arising aspect is opposed to the view, "There is only one cause"--be it Isvara, or pradhdna (ii. 64). Cause is a complex.
3. The appearance aspect is opposed to the idea of evolution (parindmadrsti), the theory that bhdva, or existence, existing
99
initially, transforms itself: rather, bhdva begins.
4. The condition aspect is opposed to the view that the world is
created by an intelligent being {buddhipurvakrtadrsfi, iv. 1): things
100 arise from a multiplicity of causes.
are established.
The Knowledges 1115
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[III. For the Truth of Extinction:]
1. The extinction aspect is opposed to the view that there is no deliverance.
2. The calm aspect is opposed to the view that deliverance is suffering.
3. The excellent aspect is opposed to the view that the happiness of the dhydnas and samapdttis is excellent (v. 7, English trans, p. 777).
4. The definitive release aspect is opposed to the view that deliverance is subject to falling, that it is not definitive.
[IV. For the Truth of the Path. ]
The Path, truth, cultivation, and definitive release aspects oppose, respectively, the views that there is no path, that a false path is the Path, that there is another path, and that the Path is subject to falling.
101 13b. The aspects are prajnd.
The aspects are by their nature mental prajnd or discernment. (ii. 24).
But, we would say, if this is so, then prajnd, the knowledge that
discerns the dharmas, will not be endowed with the aspects, for
prajnd cannot be associated {samprayukta) with prajnd. It is
therefore correct to say [--with the Sautrantikas--] that "aspect"
is a mode of perceiving {grahana) objects by the mind and mental 102
states.
Is it solely prajnd which perceives the different, unique
characteristics {visesa, i. 14c) of objects?
13b-c. Everything that has an object perceives.
? Prajnd and all the other dharmas which have an object m
13d. Everything that exists is the object of perception.
Everything that exists is perceived by the dharmas which have an object.
We have therefore three more or less large categories: 1. prajnd is aspect, subject, and object; 2. the other minds and mental states, which are associated with prajnd, are subject and object; and
3. all the other dharmas, conditioned or unconditioned, are only 104
object.
***
We have explained the aspects of the ten knowledges; we must now explain their natures, the sphere which serves as their support (bhumi), and the person {dsraya) in whom they arise.
14a. The first is of three natures; the others are good.
"The first" is worldly, conventional knowledge, because this
105
knowledge is named first in the Karika (vii. 2b)
types, good, bad, or neutral. The nine other knowledges are only good.
14b. The first exists in all spheres.
It exists in all spheres, from Kamadhatu up to Bhavagra
{-naivasamjndndmjndyatana).
(salamba) perceive.
14c. In six, the knowledge named dharma.
, and is of three
? 1118 Chapter Seven
A knowledge of the dharmas is obtained in or through the Four Dhyanas, and in Anagamya and Dhyanantara.
14c-d. In nine, that which is called anvaya (inferential). Inferential knowledge is obtained in the six spheres which
have been mentioned, and furthermore, in three Arupyas.
I4d. So too six jnanas.
When one considers them together, some six knowledges,-- the knowledge of Suffering, Origin, Extinction, the Path, Destruction, and Non-Arising--are obtained in nine spheres; when they form part of the knowledge of dharmas, they are obtained in six spheres; when they form part of inferential knowledge, they are obtained in nine spheres.
15a. The knowledge of the mind of another exists in the Four Dhyanas.
The knowledge of the mind of another is only obtained in the Four Dhyanas, and nowhere else.
15b.
It has for its support a person either in Kamadhatu or Rupadhatu.
Beings in Kamadhatu and Rupadhatu realize the knowledge of the mind of another.
106
15c. The knowledge of dharmas, a person in Kamudhatu. The knowledge of dharmas can only be realized by a person in
Kamadhatu, and not by a person in either Rupadhatu or Arupyadhatu.
15d. Others, in persons of the three spheres.
? What are the other knowledges?
They are the eight knowledges with the exception of the
knowledge of the mind of another and the knowledge of dharmas. ***
We have explained the spheres in which one acquires the knowledges, and the sphere to which the persons who can acquire the knowledges belong. Let us explain the relationship of the knowledges with the four applications of mindfulness (vi. 15).
16a. The knowledge of Extinction is an application of mindfulness.
The knowledge of Extinction is an application of mindfulness which relates to a dharma.
16b. The knowledge of the mind of another is threefold.
The knowledge of the mind of another, related to the mind of another, necessarily relates to vedand, samjnd, and the samskdras.
16c. The others, four.
By excluding the knowledge of Extinction and the knowledge of the mind of another, the other eight knowledges have the four applications of mindfulness for their nature [The knowledge of Suffering, in fact, sometimes relates to the body. . . ; the knowledge
107 application of mindfulness related to the body].
of the Path, when it has pure discipline
for its object, is an
***
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The different knowledges are the object of how many other knowledges?
16d. Nine knowledges are the object of a knowledge of
dharmas.
Excluding inferential knowledge.
17a. Nine are the object of inferential knowledge and knowledge of the Path.
Excluding the knowledge of dharmas in inferential knowledge; by excluding worldly conventional knowledge in the knowledge of the Path, because it does not form part of the Path.
17b. Two are the object of the knowledge of Suffering and Origin.
Worldly conventional knowledge and the part of the knowl- edge of the mind of another which is impure, are the object of a knowledge of Suffering and of Origin.
17c. Ten, of four.
Ten knowledges are the object of worldly conventional knowledge, a knowledge of the mind of another, the Knowledge of Destruction and the Knowledge of Non-Arising.
17c. None are the object of one.
No knowledge is the object of the knowledge of Extinction whose only object is Extinction obtained through conscious effort (pratisamkhydnirodba).
***
? How many dharmas constitute in their totality the object of the ten knowledges? How many dharmas constitute the object of each
108 knowledge?
109 17d. The totality of their object is ten dharmas.
What are these ten dharmas?
18a-b. Dharmas of the Three Dhatus, pure dharmas, unconditioned, each category being twofold.
The conditioned dharmas are divided into eight classes: dharmas of Kamadhatu, of Rupadhatu, of Arupyadhatu, plus the pure dharmas, all being either associated with the mind or not (samprayukta, viprayukta, ii. 22).
The unconditioned dharmas are divided into two classes, good 110
and neutral.
Which of these two classes of dharmas are the object of the ten knowledges?
1. Worldly conventional knowledge is related to ten dharmas; 2. a knowledge of dharmas is related to five: two dharmas of
111
Kamadhatu, associated or not with the mind; unconditioned dharma; 3. inferential knowledge is related to seven: two of Rupadhatu, two of Arupyadhatu, and two pure, which make six, and a good unconditioned dharma; 4-5. the knowledge of Suffering and of Origin are related to only good unconditioned dharmas; 7. a knowledge of the Path is related to the two pure dharmas; 8. a knowledge of the mind of another is related to three; the dharmas associated with the mind which are of Kamadhatu, and of the Rupadhatu, and pure; 9-10. the Knowledge of Destruction and the Knowledge of Non-Arising are related to nine dharmas, with the exception of neutral uncondi- tioned dharmas.
***
The Knowledges 1121
and a good
? 1122 Chapter Seven
Can one, through a single knowledge,
dharmas}
No. Yet
18c-d. One conventional knowledge, with the exception of its own complex, knows the rest as non-self.
When a moment of conventional knowledge knows all the
dharmas as not being a self, this is with the exception, in the
totality of the dharmas, of 1. itself, this same moment of
conventional knowledge, for the subject of knowledge cannot be its 113
own object; 2. the mental dharmas which are associated with it, for they have the same object as it does; and 3. the dharmas disassociated from the mind but which accompany it, for example, its characteristics (ii. 45c), for they are too close.
This conventional knowledge of universal consciousness belongs only to Kamadhatu, being prajna of hearing or reflection (srutamayi, cintamayt, vi. English trans, p. 913), not prajna of absorption (bhavanamayt, iv. 123c), for the conventional knowl- edge which is of this third type of prajna always has a determined sphere for its object. If it were otherwise one could obtain at one
114
The different categories of humans are endowed with how many knowledges?
A common person possesses only worldly conventional knowledge; when he is detached [from Kamadhatu], he also possesses a knowledge of the mind of another.
and the same time detachment with respect to all of the spheres.
***
112
know all of the
? As for the Aryan,
19a-b. Not detached, in the first pure moment, he possesses one knowledge.
An Aryan who is not detached through a worldly path before entering the Path, in the moment in which the Patience which is the knowledge of the dharmas related to Suffering (duhkhe dharmajndnaksdnti, vi. 25c) arises, possesses a single knowledge, namely worldly conventional knowledge, because this Patience is not a knowledge (vii. 1).
19c. In the second moment, he possesses three knowledges.
At the moment of the knowledge of dharmas related to Suffering, he possesses worldly conventional knowledge, a knowledge of dharmas, and a knowledge of Suffering.
19c-d. Beyond, in four moments, each time adding a knowledge.
A knowledge is added in each of four subsequent moments; at the fourth moment (the inferential knowledge of suffering) there is inferential knowledge; at the sixth moment (a knowledge of dharmas related to Origin) there is the knowledge of origin; at the tenth moment (the knowledge of the dharmas as they relate to Extinction), there is the knowledge of Extinction; and at the fourteenth moment (the knowledge of the dharmas as related to the Path), there is the knowledge of the Path.
Consequently, having attained the knowledge of the dharmas
115
For an Aryan who, before entering into the Pure Path (the Path of Seeing), has obtained detachment through a worldly path,
related to the Path, the ascetic possesses seven knowledges.
The Knowledges 1123
? we must add the knowledge of the mind of another. A samayavi-
rnukta Arhat (vi. 50, 56) possesses nine knowledges, by adding the
Knowledge of Extinction; an asamayavimukta Arhat in addition
116
117 How many knowledges does the ascetic cultivate (acquire) at
one and the same time in different stages, the Path of Seeing the Truths, and in the Path of Meditation, etc. ?
With respect to the fifteen minds (vi. 28c-d) of the Path of Seeing:
possesses the Knowledge of Non-Arising (vi. 50).
20a-c. In Seeing, future patiences and knowledges exist to 118
the extent to which they are produced.
Those which are produced are acquired or cultivated. For
example, when an ascetic produces the Patience of the knowledge
of the dhannas related to Suffering, he cultivates future Patience of
this same type, and he takes possession of future Patience of this
same type. [And so on to the Patience of the inferential knowledge
Why, in the Path of Seeing, is there only acquisition of the
knowledge and the aspects of the type of knowledge and the 120
When the Patience of the knowledge of the dharmas related to
Suffering is produced, the gotra,--that is to say, the seed or the
cause--of this Patience, and the gotras of its four aspects, are
121
grasped,
related to Suffering, etc. , are not grasped. As for the aspects, we see that the four aspects of each Truth are of the same type, for they have the same object. When one of them is produced, the gotras of the others are grasped.
20c-d. In the Path of Seeing one also acquires conventional
knowledge at the moment of the three inferential
122 knowledges.
119
etc. ) are also acquired when any one of the aspects is produced.
of the Path].
The four aspects of this Patience (impermanence,
aspects produced?
whereas the gotras of the knowledge of dharmas
The ascetic takes possession of future conventional knowledge
? at the moment of the three inferential knowledges of Suffering, Origin, and Extinction (moments 4, 8, and 12 of the Path of Seeing, vi. 26b): not at the moment of the knowledge of the dbarmas, because, in the knowledge of the dharmas, each Truth has not been understood in its totality, but only relating to Kamadhatu.
21a. This conventional knowledge is termed "the end of
125 abhisamaya. "
It is termed abhisamaydntika jnana, because it is cultivated (=acquired) at the end of the comprehension of each Truth.
Why does an ascetic not take possession of it at the moment of inferential knowledge of the Path (sixteenth moment of compre- hension or abhisamaya, the first moment of the Path of Medita- tion)?
a. Because the Path has not been understood (abhisamita) formerly, through a worldly path, under its aspects of Path, Truth,
124 etc. (above p. 1111).
b. Because the Path is not susceptible of being understood in its
entirety. Suffering, its Origin, and its Extinction can be respec-
tively known, abandoned, realized, in their entirety; but the Path
cannot be practiced (= actualized) in its entirety. Without doubt
one cannot say of a person who is in the Path of Seeing, that, at the
end of his comprehension of the Truths of Origin and Extinction,
he has complete abandoning of Origin, and complete realization of
125
Extinction: yet a time will come when this abandoning and this
realization will be complete. But the same does not hold for the Path, given the diversity of families {gotta) of the Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Buddha.
Some say: Because conventional knowledge accompanies the Path of Seeing. Now the sixteenth moment of this "comprehen- sion" (the inferential knowledge of the Path) forms part of the
126
comprehension" in the sixteenth moment.
Path of Meditation.
We would say that this argument does not hold, for one should
Thus one does not acquire "the end of
The Knowledges 1125
? not regard the fact that conventional knowledge does not
127 accompany the Path of Meditation as a proof.
21b. It is not destined to arise.
At no moment is there the possibility for it to arise.
This knowledge does not arise when the ascetic is in contem- plation, nor when the ascetic has left his contemplation (=Seeing of the Truths). On the one hand this knowledge is incompatible with his contemplation (see above p. 1122); on the other hand the
128 mind, outside of its contemplation, is too coarse.
If this is so, how can one say that one takes possession of conventional knowledge, and that conventional knowledge is "cultivated. "
[The Sarvastivadins answer:] Formerly it was not acquired, but now it is acquired.
How can it be acquired, since it is not produced?
[The Sarvastivadins answer:] It is termed acquired because it is acquired [and not because it should be produced].
"Acquired because it is acquired," is an unprecedented manner
ofspeaking. Youdonotthusexplainhowconventional knowledge
is cultivated. This point should be understood in the same way as
the Former Masters [the Sautrantikas] understood it. According to
these Masters, one acquires conventional knowledge through the
power of the Aryamarga (=the Path of Seeing). After one has left
the contemplation of the Aryamarga, a conventional knowledge
bearing on the Truths is realized, and it is much more distin-
guished than that which preceeds the obtaining of the Aryamarga
itself. When one says that an ascetic acquired this conventional
knowledge through the Path of Seeing, one means to speak of the
acquisition of a personality (asraya) capable of realizing of this
129
containing gold is called the acquisition of gold itself.
conventional knowledge,
as the acquisition of a mineral 130
? ^ The Knowledges 1127
The Vaibhasikas do not accept this manner of seeing things. They hold that the so-called abhisamaydntika conventional knowledge is an unarisen dharma.
131 21c. From the sphere or from a lower sphere.
When one realizes the Path of Seeing of a certain sphere (bhumi), one acquires, in the future, the conventional knowledge of this sphere or of a lower sphere. This means that if one realizes the Path of Seeing in the state of Anagamya, one acquires, in the future, the Path of Seeing of a single sphere (i. e. , Anagamya), and one acquires, in the future, the conventional knowledge of two spheres (Anagamya and Kamadhatu): and so on until: if one realizes the Path of Seeing in the Fourth Dhyana, one acquires, in the future, the Path of Seeing of six spheres (Anagamya, Dhyanantara, and the Four Dhyanas), and one acquires, in the future, the conventional knowledge of seven spheres (the same, plus Kamadhatu).
21c. In Extinction, the last.
If one cultivates conventional knowledge at the end of Suffering and Origin, -- that is to say in the moments of the inferential knowledge of Suffering and the inferential knowledge of Origin, -- conventional knowledge is by nature the four foundations of mindfulness (vi. 14).
If one cultivates at the end of Extinction,--that is, in the moment of the inferential knowledge of Extinction,--it is only the last foundation of mindfulness, namely the foundation of mindfulness related to dharrnas.
2 Id. It has the aspects of its Truth.
? 1128 Chapter Seven
When one cultivates conventional knowledge at the end of the comprehension of a certain truth, the conventional knowledge takes on the aspects of this Truth and has this Truth for its object.
2 Id. It proceeds from effort.
Being acquired through the power of the Path of Seeing, it is exclusively obtained through effort; it does not arise from detachment.
***
The knowledges are so called because knowledge is the major element in them; if one takes into consideration their followings, they make up four skandhas in Kamadhatu, and five skandhas in Rfipadhatu (by adding dhyanasamvaralaksanarupa, iv. 13c).
***
132
states of the Path of Meditation?
How many knowledges does one cultivate in the different
22a. In the sixteenth, six, through non-detachment.
One should add "are cultivated" {bhavyante, according to vii.
20a). In the sixteenth moment (the inferential knowledge of the
Path), the ascetic who is not detached from Kamadhatu cultivates
(i. e. , takes possession of and actualizes) two knowledges in the
133
present; he cultivates (takes possession of) six knowledges in
the future: namely the knowledge of dharmas, inferential 134
knowledge, and knowledges of the Four Truths.
22b. Through detachment, seven.
? With respect to the ascetic already detached from Kamadhatu, at the moment when he attains inferential knowledge of the Path, one should add the cultivation of the knowledge of the mind of another, the seventh.
22c-d. Above, in the Path of Meditation associated with sensual desire, there is the cultivation of seven.
Beyond the sixteenth moment, that is, in the rest of the Path of
135 Meditation, as long as one has not obtained detachment, in the
preparatory paths, the uninterrupted paths, the paths of deliver- ance, and in the excellent paths,--there is cultivation of seven knowledges, namely a knowledge of the dharmas, inferential knowledge, the knowledges of the Four Truths, and worldly, conventional knowledge.
136
If one cultivates a worldly path, one also, in the present,
cultivates worldly conventional knowledge. If one cultivates a transworldly path, one also, in the present, cultivates one of the four knowledges of the dharmas. One will cultivate the other six knowledges in the future.
23a-d. In the uninterrupted paths of the victory over seven spheres, of the acquisition of the supernormal knowledges, and of the quality of Immovability, of mixed meditation. And also in the eight paths of higher deliverance.
Based on the preceding, add "there is cultivation of seven knowledges. "
One cultivates seven knowledges, the same as above, in the uninterrupted paths (paths of the expulsion of the defilements and the obstacles) which make up:
1. victory over seven spheres, that is to say detachment from the Four Dhyanas and the three Arupyas: these spheres are "vanquished" when one is detached from them;
The Knowledges 1129
? 2. the acquisition of five supernormal knowledges, with the exception of the sixth (vii. 42);
3. entry into Immovability (vi.
skandhas.
2. Calm, by reason of the extinction of the three fires, craving, anger, and delusion (viii. 26c).
3. Excellent, by reason of the absence of all pain.
4. Salvation, because it is disassociated from all causes of pain. IV. For the Truth of the Path:
1. Path, because one traverses it (towards Nirvana. )84
2. Truth, because it is yogayukta, that is to say, endowed with proofs, endowed with resources or means.
3. Obtaining, because it brings about correct obtaining, that is to say one obtains (Nirvana through it. )
4. Definitive release, because it causes one to pass beyond in a definitive manner.
There is a second exegesis:
I. For the Truth of Suffering:
1. Impermanent (anitya), because it is not definitive {anatyan- tika).
2. Suffering, because it resembles a burden.
3. Empty, because it is empty of purusa (agent, etc. ). 4. No-soul, because it does not obey the will. 85
II. For the Truth of Origin:
The Knowledges ? ?
? 1112 Chapter Seven
1. Cause (hetu), because it comes about from that (the root hi
signifies gati; hetu signifies hinoty asmdt).
2. Arising (samudaya), because there is emergence: (the
86 dharma emerges from the future).
3. Appearance (prabhava), as it is a procession (prasarana).
4. Condition {pratyaya) or foundation, that is, the essential
element from the action of generation.
III. For the Truth of Extinction:
1. Extinction, because of the cessation of the former suffering and of the non-continuation of subsequent suffering.
2. Calm, because it is delivered from the three conditioned characteristics {samskrtalaksanas. ii. 45c).
3. Excellent, because it is absolutely good (pdramdrthasubha, iv. 8c).
87 4. Salvation, because it supremely strengthens (9v. 8b).
IV. For the Truth of the Path:
1. Path, because it is opposed to the wrong path.
2. Truth, because it is opposed to non-truth.
3. Obtaining, because it is not in contradiction with the city of
88 Nirvana.
4. Definitive release, because it abandons existence in the Three Dhatus.
***
Since ancient explanations differ, we are permitted to present a third explanation:
I. For the Truth of Suffering:
1. Impermanent, because it arises and perishes.
? 2. Suffering, because it is repugnant to the mind of Aryans (vi. English trans, p. 898).
3. Empty, because no dtman is found in it.
4. No soul, because this is not an dtman.
II. For the Truth of Origin: the four aspects of the Second
Truth, cause (hetu), arising (samudaya), appearance (prabhava),
and condition (pratyaya), are: explained according to the Sutra,
"The five upddanaskandhas (impure skandhas, i. 8a) are chandamu-
laka, chandasamudaya, chandajatiya, chandaprabhava," that is to
say they have chanda (=desire=frJr>>^=thirst) for their root (mula)
or hetu, which brings about their arising (samudaya), for their
condition (chandajatiya-chandapraty aya), for their appearance 9
(prabhava)* The only difference between the Sutra and the Sastra is that the latter places the condition (pratyaya) aspect in first
90 place, and not the appearance (prabhava) aspect.
***
What is the difference between these four types of "proces- sions"?
A. One should distinguish four states (avasthd) of desire (chanda): 1. the affection that one experiences for oneself when one thinks, "I am", without otherwise distinguishing an actual "self," without thinking of a past or future self; 2. the desire for re-existence without any other specification; 3. the desire for a certain re-existence; 4. the desire for reincarnation, a desire which makes one accomplish a certain action.
The first desire is the initial cause of suffering--as the seed is
91 the initial cause of the fruit--; it is called hetu.
The second desire is that which brings about re-existence--as the production of the shoot, stalk, etc. , is a casual process or arising (samudaya) which brings about fruit; it is therefore called samudaya, a cause which brings forth.
? The third desire is the cause which determines the quality of suffering,--as the field, the water, the fertilizer, etc. , determine the virility, the ripening, the appearance of the fruit; it is therefore called pratyaya, or condition. 92
The fourth desire is the cause from whence the fruit appears-- as the flower is the cause of the fruit; it is therefore called prabhdva, or appearance.
The fourth desire is the immediate or direct cause; the other three are the mediate or indirect causes.
B. And again, according to the Sutra,93 there are two groups of five "modes of desire" (trsndvicdritas), and two groups of four, which are, respectively, the four desires studied above. The first two desires are of five aspects, and the last two are of four.
a. When one thinks asmi, "I am,'* general affection for one's own person without determination is produced, which is fivefold: I am such; I am the same [as formerly]; I am different; I am something that is; I am something that is not.
b. When one thinks bhavisydmi, "I shall be," there is produced a general desire for re-existence without determination, which is also fivefold: "I shall be such, I shall be thus, I shall be different, I shall exist, and I shall not exist. "
? There is produced particularized desire for re-existence, which is fourfold: "May I be; may I be such; may I be the same; may I be different. "
d. There is produced a desire for reincarnation, which is fourfold: "It is absolutely necessary that I may be, that I may be such, the same, different. 94
The first desires are the initial cause of suffering; they are therefore the hetu. . . The rest as above.
III. For the Truth of Extinction:
1. Extinction, because it cuts off transmigration. 95
2. Calm, because it is cessationof all suffering; thus it is said,
? "All the samskdras, Oh Bhiksus, are suffering; only Nirvana alone 96
is absolute calm. "
3. Excellent, because it is the highest.
4. Definitive salvation, because it is without returning. IV. For the Truth of the Path:
1. Path, because it resembles the right path.
2. Truth, because it is true.
3. Obtaining, because it is determined; that is to say one arrives by this path and not by another, as it is said, "This path leads to purity, other systems do not lead to it. "
4. Definitive release, because it is definitive separation from threefold existence.
97
[Fourth explanation. ]
[I. For the Truth of Suffering:]
Furthermore, it is in order to cure persons who nourish views
of permanence, bliss, of things pertaining to the self, and a soul
that the aspects of impermanence, suffering, empty, and no-soul
98
[II. For the Truth of Arising:]
1. The cause aspect is opposed to the view, "There is only one cause" {nasti hetuh, v. 7, English trans, p. 777).
2. The arising aspect is opposed to the view, "There is only one cause"--be it Isvara, or pradhdna (ii. 64). Cause is a complex.
3. The appearance aspect is opposed to the idea of evolution (parindmadrsti), the theory that bhdva, or existence, existing
99
initially, transforms itself: rather, bhdva begins.
4. The condition aspect is opposed to the view that the world is
created by an intelligent being {buddhipurvakrtadrsfi, iv. 1): things
100 arise from a multiplicity of causes.
are established.
The Knowledges 1115
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[III. For the Truth of Extinction:]
1. The extinction aspect is opposed to the view that there is no deliverance.
2. The calm aspect is opposed to the view that deliverance is suffering.
3. The excellent aspect is opposed to the view that the happiness of the dhydnas and samapdttis is excellent (v. 7, English trans, p. 777).
4. The definitive release aspect is opposed to the view that deliverance is subject to falling, that it is not definitive.
[IV. For the Truth of the Path. ]
The Path, truth, cultivation, and definitive release aspects oppose, respectively, the views that there is no path, that a false path is the Path, that there is another path, and that the Path is subject to falling.
101 13b. The aspects are prajnd.
The aspects are by their nature mental prajnd or discernment. (ii. 24).
But, we would say, if this is so, then prajnd, the knowledge that
discerns the dharmas, will not be endowed with the aspects, for
prajnd cannot be associated {samprayukta) with prajnd. It is
therefore correct to say [--with the Sautrantikas--] that "aspect"
is a mode of perceiving {grahana) objects by the mind and mental 102
states.
Is it solely prajnd which perceives the different, unique
characteristics {visesa, i. 14c) of objects?
13b-c. Everything that has an object perceives.
? Prajnd and all the other dharmas which have an object m
13d. Everything that exists is the object of perception.
Everything that exists is perceived by the dharmas which have an object.
We have therefore three more or less large categories: 1. prajnd is aspect, subject, and object; 2. the other minds and mental states, which are associated with prajnd, are subject and object; and
3. all the other dharmas, conditioned or unconditioned, are only 104
object.
***
We have explained the aspects of the ten knowledges; we must now explain their natures, the sphere which serves as their support (bhumi), and the person {dsraya) in whom they arise.
14a. The first is of three natures; the others are good.
"The first" is worldly, conventional knowledge, because this
105
knowledge is named first in the Karika (vii. 2b)
types, good, bad, or neutral. The nine other knowledges are only good.
14b. The first exists in all spheres.
It exists in all spheres, from Kamadhatu up to Bhavagra
{-naivasamjndndmjndyatana).
(salamba) perceive.
14c. In six, the knowledge named dharma.
, and is of three
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A knowledge of the dharmas is obtained in or through the Four Dhyanas, and in Anagamya and Dhyanantara.
14c-d. In nine, that which is called anvaya (inferential). Inferential knowledge is obtained in the six spheres which
have been mentioned, and furthermore, in three Arupyas.
I4d. So too six jnanas.
When one considers them together, some six knowledges,-- the knowledge of Suffering, Origin, Extinction, the Path, Destruction, and Non-Arising--are obtained in nine spheres; when they form part of the knowledge of dharmas, they are obtained in six spheres; when they form part of inferential knowledge, they are obtained in nine spheres.
15a. The knowledge of the mind of another exists in the Four Dhyanas.
The knowledge of the mind of another is only obtained in the Four Dhyanas, and nowhere else.
15b.
It has for its support a person either in Kamadhatu or Rupadhatu.
Beings in Kamadhatu and Rupadhatu realize the knowledge of the mind of another.
106
15c. The knowledge of dharmas, a person in Kamudhatu. The knowledge of dharmas can only be realized by a person in
Kamadhatu, and not by a person in either Rupadhatu or Arupyadhatu.
15d. Others, in persons of the three spheres.
? What are the other knowledges?
They are the eight knowledges with the exception of the
knowledge of the mind of another and the knowledge of dharmas. ***
We have explained the spheres in which one acquires the knowledges, and the sphere to which the persons who can acquire the knowledges belong. Let us explain the relationship of the knowledges with the four applications of mindfulness (vi. 15).
16a. The knowledge of Extinction is an application of mindfulness.
The knowledge of Extinction is an application of mindfulness which relates to a dharma.
16b. The knowledge of the mind of another is threefold.
The knowledge of the mind of another, related to the mind of another, necessarily relates to vedand, samjnd, and the samskdras.
16c. The others, four.
By excluding the knowledge of Extinction and the knowledge of the mind of another, the other eight knowledges have the four applications of mindfulness for their nature [The knowledge of Suffering, in fact, sometimes relates to the body. . . ; the knowledge
107 application of mindfulness related to the body].
of the Path, when it has pure discipline
for its object, is an
***
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The different knowledges are the object of how many other knowledges?
16d. Nine knowledges are the object of a knowledge of
dharmas.
Excluding inferential knowledge.
17a. Nine are the object of inferential knowledge and knowledge of the Path.
Excluding the knowledge of dharmas in inferential knowledge; by excluding worldly conventional knowledge in the knowledge of the Path, because it does not form part of the Path.
17b. Two are the object of the knowledge of Suffering and Origin.
Worldly conventional knowledge and the part of the knowl- edge of the mind of another which is impure, are the object of a knowledge of Suffering and of Origin.
17c. Ten, of four.
Ten knowledges are the object of worldly conventional knowledge, a knowledge of the mind of another, the Knowledge of Destruction and the Knowledge of Non-Arising.
17c. None are the object of one.
No knowledge is the object of the knowledge of Extinction whose only object is Extinction obtained through conscious effort (pratisamkhydnirodba).
***
? How many dharmas constitute in their totality the object of the ten knowledges? How many dharmas constitute the object of each
108 knowledge?
109 17d. The totality of their object is ten dharmas.
What are these ten dharmas?
18a-b. Dharmas of the Three Dhatus, pure dharmas, unconditioned, each category being twofold.
The conditioned dharmas are divided into eight classes: dharmas of Kamadhatu, of Rupadhatu, of Arupyadhatu, plus the pure dharmas, all being either associated with the mind or not (samprayukta, viprayukta, ii. 22).
The unconditioned dharmas are divided into two classes, good 110
and neutral.
Which of these two classes of dharmas are the object of the ten knowledges?
1. Worldly conventional knowledge is related to ten dharmas; 2. a knowledge of dharmas is related to five: two dharmas of
111
Kamadhatu, associated or not with the mind; unconditioned dharma; 3. inferential knowledge is related to seven: two of Rupadhatu, two of Arupyadhatu, and two pure, which make six, and a good unconditioned dharma; 4-5. the knowledge of Suffering and of Origin are related to only good unconditioned dharmas; 7. a knowledge of the Path is related to the two pure dharmas; 8. a knowledge of the mind of another is related to three; the dharmas associated with the mind which are of Kamadhatu, and of the Rupadhatu, and pure; 9-10. the Knowledge of Destruction and the Knowledge of Non-Arising are related to nine dharmas, with the exception of neutral uncondi- tioned dharmas.
***
The Knowledges 1121
and a good
? 1122 Chapter Seven
Can one, through a single knowledge,
dharmas}
No. Yet
18c-d. One conventional knowledge, with the exception of its own complex, knows the rest as non-self.
When a moment of conventional knowledge knows all the
dharmas as not being a self, this is with the exception, in the
totality of the dharmas, of 1. itself, this same moment of
conventional knowledge, for the subject of knowledge cannot be its 113
own object; 2. the mental dharmas which are associated with it, for they have the same object as it does; and 3. the dharmas disassociated from the mind but which accompany it, for example, its characteristics (ii. 45c), for they are too close.
This conventional knowledge of universal consciousness belongs only to Kamadhatu, being prajna of hearing or reflection (srutamayi, cintamayt, vi. English trans, p. 913), not prajna of absorption (bhavanamayt, iv. 123c), for the conventional knowl- edge which is of this third type of prajna always has a determined sphere for its object. If it were otherwise one could obtain at one
114
The different categories of humans are endowed with how many knowledges?
A common person possesses only worldly conventional knowledge; when he is detached [from Kamadhatu], he also possesses a knowledge of the mind of another.
and the same time detachment with respect to all of the spheres.
***
112
know all of the
? As for the Aryan,
19a-b. Not detached, in the first pure moment, he possesses one knowledge.
An Aryan who is not detached through a worldly path before entering the Path, in the moment in which the Patience which is the knowledge of the dharmas related to Suffering (duhkhe dharmajndnaksdnti, vi. 25c) arises, possesses a single knowledge, namely worldly conventional knowledge, because this Patience is not a knowledge (vii. 1).
19c. In the second moment, he possesses three knowledges.
At the moment of the knowledge of dharmas related to Suffering, he possesses worldly conventional knowledge, a knowledge of dharmas, and a knowledge of Suffering.
19c-d. Beyond, in four moments, each time adding a knowledge.
A knowledge is added in each of four subsequent moments; at the fourth moment (the inferential knowledge of suffering) there is inferential knowledge; at the sixth moment (a knowledge of dharmas related to Origin) there is the knowledge of origin; at the tenth moment (the knowledge of the dharmas as they relate to Extinction), there is the knowledge of Extinction; and at the fourteenth moment (the knowledge of the dharmas as related to the Path), there is the knowledge of the Path.
Consequently, having attained the knowledge of the dharmas
115
For an Aryan who, before entering into the Pure Path (the Path of Seeing), has obtained detachment through a worldly path,
related to the Path, the ascetic possesses seven knowledges.
The Knowledges 1123
? we must add the knowledge of the mind of another. A samayavi-
rnukta Arhat (vi. 50, 56) possesses nine knowledges, by adding the
Knowledge of Extinction; an asamayavimukta Arhat in addition
116
117 How many knowledges does the ascetic cultivate (acquire) at
one and the same time in different stages, the Path of Seeing the Truths, and in the Path of Meditation, etc. ?
With respect to the fifteen minds (vi. 28c-d) of the Path of Seeing:
possesses the Knowledge of Non-Arising (vi. 50).
20a-c. In Seeing, future patiences and knowledges exist to 118
the extent to which they are produced.
Those which are produced are acquired or cultivated. For
example, when an ascetic produces the Patience of the knowledge
of the dhannas related to Suffering, he cultivates future Patience of
this same type, and he takes possession of future Patience of this
same type. [And so on to the Patience of the inferential knowledge
Why, in the Path of Seeing, is there only acquisition of the
knowledge and the aspects of the type of knowledge and the 120
When the Patience of the knowledge of the dharmas related to
Suffering is produced, the gotra,--that is to say, the seed or the
cause--of this Patience, and the gotras of its four aspects, are
121
grasped,
related to Suffering, etc. , are not grasped. As for the aspects, we see that the four aspects of each Truth are of the same type, for they have the same object. When one of them is produced, the gotras of the others are grasped.
20c-d. In the Path of Seeing one also acquires conventional
knowledge at the moment of the three inferential
122 knowledges.
119
etc. ) are also acquired when any one of the aspects is produced.
of the Path].
The four aspects of this Patience (impermanence,
aspects produced?
whereas the gotras of the knowledge of dharmas
The ascetic takes possession of future conventional knowledge
? at the moment of the three inferential knowledges of Suffering, Origin, and Extinction (moments 4, 8, and 12 of the Path of Seeing, vi. 26b): not at the moment of the knowledge of the dbarmas, because, in the knowledge of the dharmas, each Truth has not been understood in its totality, but only relating to Kamadhatu.
21a. This conventional knowledge is termed "the end of
125 abhisamaya. "
It is termed abhisamaydntika jnana, because it is cultivated (=acquired) at the end of the comprehension of each Truth.
Why does an ascetic not take possession of it at the moment of inferential knowledge of the Path (sixteenth moment of compre- hension or abhisamaya, the first moment of the Path of Medita- tion)?
a. Because the Path has not been understood (abhisamita) formerly, through a worldly path, under its aspects of Path, Truth,
124 etc. (above p. 1111).
b. Because the Path is not susceptible of being understood in its
entirety. Suffering, its Origin, and its Extinction can be respec-
tively known, abandoned, realized, in their entirety; but the Path
cannot be practiced (= actualized) in its entirety. Without doubt
one cannot say of a person who is in the Path of Seeing, that, at the
end of his comprehension of the Truths of Origin and Extinction,
he has complete abandoning of Origin, and complete realization of
125
Extinction: yet a time will come when this abandoning and this
realization will be complete. But the same does not hold for the Path, given the diversity of families {gotta) of the Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Buddha.
Some say: Because conventional knowledge accompanies the Path of Seeing. Now the sixteenth moment of this "comprehen- sion" (the inferential knowledge of the Path) forms part of the
126
comprehension" in the sixteenth moment.
Path of Meditation.
We would say that this argument does not hold, for one should
Thus one does not acquire "the end of
The Knowledges 1125
? not regard the fact that conventional knowledge does not
127 accompany the Path of Meditation as a proof.
21b. It is not destined to arise.
At no moment is there the possibility for it to arise.
This knowledge does not arise when the ascetic is in contem- plation, nor when the ascetic has left his contemplation (=Seeing of the Truths). On the one hand this knowledge is incompatible with his contemplation (see above p. 1122); on the other hand the
128 mind, outside of its contemplation, is too coarse.
If this is so, how can one say that one takes possession of conventional knowledge, and that conventional knowledge is "cultivated. "
[The Sarvastivadins answer:] Formerly it was not acquired, but now it is acquired.
How can it be acquired, since it is not produced?
[The Sarvastivadins answer:] It is termed acquired because it is acquired [and not because it should be produced].
"Acquired because it is acquired," is an unprecedented manner
ofspeaking. Youdonotthusexplainhowconventional knowledge
is cultivated. This point should be understood in the same way as
the Former Masters [the Sautrantikas] understood it. According to
these Masters, one acquires conventional knowledge through the
power of the Aryamarga (=the Path of Seeing). After one has left
the contemplation of the Aryamarga, a conventional knowledge
bearing on the Truths is realized, and it is much more distin-
guished than that which preceeds the obtaining of the Aryamarga
itself. When one says that an ascetic acquired this conventional
knowledge through the Path of Seeing, one means to speak of the
acquisition of a personality (asraya) capable of realizing of this
129
containing gold is called the acquisition of gold itself.
conventional knowledge,
as the acquisition of a mineral 130
? ^ The Knowledges 1127
The Vaibhasikas do not accept this manner of seeing things. They hold that the so-called abhisamaydntika conventional knowledge is an unarisen dharma.
131 21c. From the sphere or from a lower sphere.
When one realizes the Path of Seeing of a certain sphere (bhumi), one acquires, in the future, the conventional knowledge of this sphere or of a lower sphere. This means that if one realizes the Path of Seeing in the state of Anagamya, one acquires, in the future, the Path of Seeing of a single sphere (i. e. , Anagamya), and one acquires, in the future, the conventional knowledge of two spheres (Anagamya and Kamadhatu): and so on until: if one realizes the Path of Seeing in the Fourth Dhyana, one acquires, in the future, the Path of Seeing of six spheres (Anagamya, Dhyanantara, and the Four Dhyanas), and one acquires, in the future, the conventional knowledge of seven spheres (the same, plus Kamadhatu).
21c. In Extinction, the last.
If one cultivates conventional knowledge at the end of Suffering and Origin, -- that is to say in the moments of the inferential knowledge of Suffering and the inferential knowledge of Origin, -- conventional knowledge is by nature the four foundations of mindfulness (vi. 14).
If one cultivates at the end of Extinction,--that is, in the moment of the inferential knowledge of Extinction,--it is only the last foundation of mindfulness, namely the foundation of mindfulness related to dharrnas.
2 Id. It has the aspects of its Truth.
? 1128 Chapter Seven
When one cultivates conventional knowledge at the end of the comprehension of a certain truth, the conventional knowledge takes on the aspects of this Truth and has this Truth for its object.
2 Id. It proceeds from effort.
Being acquired through the power of the Path of Seeing, it is exclusively obtained through effort; it does not arise from detachment.
***
The knowledges are so called because knowledge is the major element in them; if one takes into consideration their followings, they make up four skandhas in Kamadhatu, and five skandhas in Rfipadhatu (by adding dhyanasamvaralaksanarupa, iv. 13c).
***
132
states of the Path of Meditation?
How many knowledges does one cultivate in the different
22a. In the sixteenth, six, through non-detachment.
One should add "are cultivated" {bhavyante, according to vii.
20a). In the sixteenth moment (the inferential knowledge of the
Path), the ascetic who is not detached from Kamadhatu cultivates
(i. e. , takes possession of and actualizes) two knowledges in the
133
present; he cultivates (takes possession of) six knowledges in
the future: namely the knowledge of dharmas, inferential 134
knowledge, and knowledges of the Four Truths.
22b. Through detachment, seven.
? With respect to the ascetic already detached from Kamadhatu, at the moment when he attains inferential knowledge of the Path, one should add the cultivation of the knowledge of the mind of another, the seventh.
22c-d. Above, in the Path of Meditation associated with sensual desire, there is the cultivation of seven.
Beyond the sixteenth moment, that is, in the rest of the Path of
135 Meditation, as long as one has not obtained detachment, in the
preparatory paths, the uninterrupted paths, the paths of deliver- ance, and in the excellent paths,--there is cultivation of seven knowledges, namely a knowledge of the dharmas, inferential knowledge, the knowledges of the Four Truths, and worldly, conventional knowledge.
136
If one cultivates a worldly path, one also, in the present,
cultivates worldly conventional knowledge. If one cultivates a transworldly path, one also, in the present, cultivates one of the four knowledges of the dharmas. One will cultivate the other six knowledges in the future.
23a-d. In the uninterrupted paths of the victory over seven spheres, of the acquisition of the supernormal knowledges, and of the quality of Immovability, of mixed meditation. And also in the eight paths of higher deliverance.
Based on the preceding, add "there is cultivation of seven knowledges. "
One cultivates seven knowledges, the same as above, in the uninterrupted paths (paths of the expulsion of the defilements and the obstacles) which make up:
1. victory over seven spheres, that is to say detachment from the Four Dhyanas and the three Arupyas: these spheres are "vanquished" when one is detached from them;
The Knowledges 1129
? 2. the acquisition of five supernormal knowledges, with the exception of the sixth (vii. 42);
3. entry into Immovability (vi.
