阿毘達磨俱舍論

Part 24

The case of noble ones abiding in the fruit (phalastha) who have not yet abandoned the defilements pertaining to the Path of Cultivation has already been explained: they are called Stream-enterers and undergo at most seven more births (saptakṛtvaḥparama). Next comes the explanation of the noble ones who are at the stage of abandoning the defilements, thereby establishing the path of the Once-returner and the fruit of the Once-returner.

[Having abandoned three or four grades of the Desire Realm,

With two or three births remaining, one is called a Family-to-family one.

Having abandoned up to the fifth grade, one is called one proceeding toward the second fruit;

Having abandoned the sixth grade, one attains the fruit of the Once-returner.]

Treatise: A Stream-enterer becomes a Family-to-family one (kulaṃkula) when: ⁽¹⁾ defilements have been abandoned, namely, through abandoning three or four groups of defilements of the Desire Realm; ⁽²⁾ the faculties have been perfected, namely, through acquiring the uncontaminated (anāsrava) faculties capable of counteracting those defilements; and ⁽³⁾ only two or three births remain. The verse mentions only the first and last conditions because to say that, after attaining the fruit of Stream-entry, one has abandoned the defilements also means that one has simultaneously perfected the uncontaminated faculties capable of counteracting those kinds of defilements.

It is therefore unnecessary to mention the remaining condition. The number of births, however, must be specified as two or three, because after attaining the fruit of Stream-entry, a noble one may acquire the qualities of a Once-returner, a Non-returner, or an arhat, and the number of births may therefore vary, being either greater or fewer.

(Question) Why is a Stream-enterer who has abandoned the fifth group of defilements not called a Family-to-family one?

(Answer) Because when the fifth group has been abandoned, the sixth group is also abandoned, and the noble one then becomes a Once-returner. A single group of defilements cannot obstruct the attainment of a fruit, just as in the case of a One-interval one (ekavīcika): when attaining a new fruit, one cannot yet pass into another realm (dhātu).

It should be known that there are two kinds of Family-to-family ones: ⁽¹⁾ a celestial Family-to-family one (devakulaṃkula), a noble one who, after being reborn in two or three celestial families, realizes nirvana in that very heaven or in another heaven; and ⁽²⁾ a human Family-to-family one (manuṣyakulaṃkula), a noble one who, after being reborn in two or three human families, realizes nirvana on this continent (dvīpa) or on another continent.

If these noble Stream-enterers abandon from one to five groups of defilements, they are called those “proceeding toward the second fruit” (the path to the fruit of the Once-returner); if they abandon the sixth group of defilements, they attain the fruit of the Once-returner. After ascending to a heavenly realm, a noble Once-returner will be reborn only once more in the human realm and then realize nirvana. Since there will thereafter be no further return, such a one is called a Once-returner. The sutra (Saṃyukta, 29, 1) says that a noble one becomes a Once-returner “through the weakening of greed (rāga), hatred (dveṣa), and delusion (moha),” because only the three weaker grades of these defilements remain (mṛdvadhimātra, mṛdumadhya, mṛdumṛdu).

The distinction between the path of the Once-returner and the fruit of the Once-returner has now been explained. Next comes the establishment of the path of the Non-returner and the fruit of the Non-returner.

[Having abandoned seven or eight grades,

With only one birth remaining, one is called a One-interval one,

And is also called one proceeding toward the third fruit.

Having abandoned the ninth grade,

One attains the fruit of the Non-returner.]

Treatise: A Once-returner becomes a One-interval one because: ⁽¹⁾ seven or eight groups of defilements have been abandoned; ⁽²⁾ the uncontaminated faculties capable of counteracting those defilements have been perfected; and ⁽³⁾ only one rebirth remains.

(Question) Why can only one remaining group of defilements, namely the ninth group, obstruct the attainment of the fruit of the Non-returner?

(Answer) Because to attain this fruit, one must pass into another realm, the Form Realm. It was previously stated that karma ripening in three periods is the strongest kind of obstruction, because it obstructs the attainment of acceptance, the quality of a Non-returner, and the quality of an arhat. Here, defilements are like karma. Both prevent one from passing beyond the planes pertaining to the fruit of maturation—which refers to karma—and the fruit of outflow—which refers to defilements.

“Interval” (vīci) means a break or separation. A noble Once-returner is separated (vyavahita) from nirvana by one birth and separated from the fruit of the Non-returner by one group of defilements; hence such a one is called a One-interval one. After abandoning seven or eight groups, a noble one is called one “proceeding toward the third fruit” (the path to the fruit of the Non-returner).

Noble ones who had previously abandoned three, four, seven, or eight groups of defilements of the Desire Realm by relying on insight into the truths, and who subsequently attained the fruit of Stream-entry or Once-returning, are nevertheless not called Family-to-family ones or One-interval ones if they have not cultivated the noble path superior to the fruit and have not perfected the uncontaminated faculties capable of counteracting those defilements.

If they abandon the ninth group of defilements—the weakest of the weak grades—of the Desire Realm, they become Non-returners, for they will no longer be reborn in the Desire Realm. The defilements belonging to the ninth group are called the five lower fetters (avaraghāgīya). Although two or three fetters may have been abandoned previously, it is only at this stage that all of them can be completely abandoned.

The sutras speak of the various kinds of noble Non-returners; therefore, their differing characteristics will now be further explained.

[Among them are those who attain nirvana in the intermediate state, upon birth, with effort,

Without effort,

And those who proceed upstream. If one who proceeds upstream cultivates the meditative absorptions in combination,

One may ascend as far as the Akaniṣṭha Heaven;

This case is of three kinds: one who transcends all, one who transcends half, and one who dies everywhere.

The remaining cases ascend only as far as the Peak of Existence.

Noble Non-returners who proceed to the Form Realm are of four kinds.

There are also noble Non-returners who realize nirvana in this very realm.]

Treatise: Attaining nirvana in the intermediate state (antarāparinivṛti) means realizing nirvana in the interval, that is, during the stage of intermediate existence. The other designations are explained in the same manner: [attaining nirvana upon birth means attaining it] after being born (utpanasya); [attaining nirvana with effort means attaining it] by means of preparatory practice; and [attaining nirvana without effort means attaining it] without preparatory practice.

There are five kinds of Non-returners: one who attains nirvana in the intermediate state (Antarāparinivvāyin), one who attains nirvana upon birth (Upapadyaparinirvāyin), one who attains nirvana with effort (Sābhisaṃskāraparinivvāyin), one who attains nirvana without effort (Anabhisaṃskāraparinivvāyin), and one who proceeds upstream (Ūrdhvasrotras).

The first kind attains nirvana during the stage of intermediate existence [while proceeding toward the Form Realm].

The second kind attains nirvana immediately upon rebirth (utpannamātra) and does so very swiftly because the noble one possesses sufficient capacity (abhiyukta), because the noble path is swift, and because cultivation and realization have been accomplished (abhiyuktavāhimārgatvāt). This is nirvana “with a remainder of the basis” (sopadhiśeṣa). Some masters hold that it is not nirvana with a remainder of the basis but nirvana without a remainder of the basis (nirupadhiśeṣa), as in the case of the first kind of noble Non-returner. This would mean that after attaining the quality of an arhat, these noble ones attain nirvana without relinquishing their lifespan. This is incorrect, because noble Non-returners of this second kind have not yet attained mastery over relinquishing their lifespan.

The third type attains nirvana after birth without relinquishing preparatory effort (apratipraśrabdha-prayoga), because the noble one possesses power; since the noble path is not of the swift kind, effort is required. The fourth type attains nirvana without effort, because the noble one does not possess sufficient power and the noble path is not of the swift kind. The foregoing is the Vibhāṣā's explanation of these two classes of noble ones.

Some maintain that the distinction between attainment with effort and attainment without effort is that one who attains with effort attains nirvana by means of a noble path whose objects are conditioned dharmas (saṃskṛta), such as the truths of suffering, origin, and the path, whereas one who attains without effort relies on a noble path that takes unconditioned dharmas (asaṃskṛta), such as the truth of cessation, as its object. This view is unreasonable, for it entails an excessive consequence (atiprasangāt): if this were so, the same distinction could also be found in the first two types of non-returners.

According to the sutra (Saṃyukta, 27, 23), the one who attains parinirvana without effort is mentioned before the one who attains parinirvana with effort, and this order is entirely reasonable (tathā ca yujyate). In the former case, because the noble path is without effort and is attained without exertion (ayatnaprāpti), realization is swift (vāhin); in the latter case, because the noble path involves effort and everything depends upon exertion, nirvana cannot be realized swiftly. In the case of one who attains parinirvana after birth, the noble path is even swifter (vāhitara = jitatara) and more excellent (adhimātratara), while the afflictions (anuśayas) are weaker (mṛdutara).

The fifth type consists of noble ones who have a “current” (srotas), meaning a course of movement (gati), toward higher realms. Here the words srotas and gati have the same meaning. Such a noble one does not attain nirvana in the place of rebirth reached after departing from the Desire Realm, but proceeds upward to a higher realm.

Noble stream-enterers are divided into two types: one cultivates the dhyanas in a mixed manner and therefore realizes nirvana only upon reaching the Akaniṣṭha heaven; the other does not cultivate the dhyanas in a mixed manner and therefore must ascend to the Summit of Existence.

Those noble ones who cultivate the dhyanas in a mixed manner and realize nirvana upon reaching the Akaniṣṭha heaven are further divided into three types: the Complete Transcender (pluta), the Half Transcender (ardhapluta), and the One Who Dies Everywhere (sarvacyuta).

The upward-going Complete Transcender is one who, while in the Desire Realm, cultivated all four dhyanas in a mixed manner, but subsequently regressed from the upper three and retained only the first dhyana. At death, this person is born among the Brahmakāyika gods and, through the power of having previously cultivated the dhyanas, again cultivates the fourth dhyana in a mixed manner. Upon dying among the Brahmakāyika gods, this person is born directly in the Akaniṣṭha heaven. Because this person does not “descend into” (animajjana) any of the fourteen heavens lying between the first heaven of the Form Realm (brahmakāyika) and its final heaven (akaniṣṭha), this person is called the Complete Transcender.

The upward-going Half Transcender is one who, upon dying among the Brahmakāyika gods, is born among the Śuddhāvāsa gods and thereafter passes over one or more intermediate realms before being born in the Akaniṣṭha heaven. Because this person does not completely transcend all the intermediate realms, this person is called only the Half Transcender.

A noble one is never reborn in the Mahābrahmā heaven, for this is a realm of wrong views: the gods of that realm regard Mahābrahmā as the creator of the world and the sole teacher of that realm, whereas a noble non-returner cannot be inferior to Mahābrahmā.

The upward-going One Who Dies Everywhere is one who, after dying among the Brahmakāyika gods, is successively reborn in all the following heavens—except the Mahābrahmā heaven—until reaching the final heaven, the Akaniṣṭha heaven. Because this person passes through all these heavens, dying in each and taking birth in the next, this person is called One Who Dies Everywhere. No noble non-returner is born a second time in a realm where that person has previously been born (upapattyāyatana), because noble ones of this class seek only further advancement (viśeṣagamanāt).

This is precisely what constitutes the meaning of “non-returner”: one is never again born in a place where one has previously been born. If such a person does not wish to be reborn even in the present abode, how much less in lower realms.

Among the upward-going noble ones, those who have cultivated the dhyanas in a mixed manner attain nirvana only upon reaching the Akaniṣṭha heaven. Those who have not cultivated the dhyanas in a mixed manner attain nirvana only upon reaching the Summit of Existence. Because previously they did not cultivate the dhyanas in a mixed manner but concentrated solely on meditative absorption, they are born in all the abodes of the Form Realm except the Śuddhāvāsa heavens.

After dying in the Form Realm, they are successively born in the three realms of the Formless Realm, until they reach the Summit of Existence and attain nirvana. Of these two cases, the former are practitioners of insight (vipasāyanacarita, prajñāpriya), while the latter are practitioners of tranquility (śmathacariya, samādhipriya), because of the distinction between delight in wisdom and delight in meditative absorption.

Although the treatise masters do not mention this, we can nevertheless reasonably recognize that in both of the foregoing cases of upward-going ones, nirvana may be attained in a lower realm before they reach the Akaniṣṭha heaven or the Summit of Existence. Thus, the statement that they ascend to the highest realm—the Akaniṣṭha heaven or the Summit of Existence—implies that after reaching those realms they will not be born again; it does not mean that they must necessarily undergo a birth in those realms. This is like the case of stream-enterers: although they are said necessarily to be reborn seven times, there are nevertheless cases in which they undergo fewer than seven births.

The foregoing five types of noble ones—namely, those who attain parinirvana in the intermediate existence, after birth, with effort, without effort, and by going upward—are all non-returners because they all proceed to the Form Realm (those who proceed to the Form Realm).

There is another type of non-returner called one who proceeds to the Formless Realm (ārūpyopaga). Having become detached (virakta) from the Form Realm, that is, after dying there, this noble one is reborn in the Formless Realm. In this case there are only four types: one who attains parinirvana after birth, one who attains parinirvana with effort, one who attains parinirvana without effort, and one who goes upward. There is no one who attains parinirvana in the intermediate existence, because there is no intermediate existence in the Formless Realm.

Thus there are six types of non-returners: the five types enumerated above and the type that proceeds to the Formless Realm, without counting the various subdivisions of those who proceed to the Formless Realm.

Another type of non-returner attains nirvana here and now, namely, noble ones who “attain parinirvana in this very life” (dṛṣṭdharma parinirvāyin). This is the seventh type of non-returner.

Besides the foregoing classification, there is another classification of the five cases of non-returners who proceed to the Form Realm.

[Those who proceed to the Form Realm are of nine types,

For each of the three cases has three types.

Because karma, afflictions, and faculties differ,

Nine types are established.]

Treatise: The three types of non-returners are each divided into three groups, making nine types of non-returners, because all of them proceed to the Form Realm.

(Question) What are these three types?

(Answer) They are those who attain parinirvana in the intermediate existence, those who attain parinirvana after birth, and those who go upward.

(Question) Why is each divided into three groups?

(Answer) ⁽¹⁾ According to the comparison made in the sutra, there are three kinds of those who attain nirvana in the intermediate state: those who attain nirvana swiftly (āśu), those who attain it not swiftly (anāśu), and those who attain it after some time. ⁽²⁾ Regarding those who attain nirvana after birth, one must distinguish the basic kind who attains nirvana after birth, the kind who attains nirvana with effort, and the kind who attains nirvana without effort. Since all three attain nirvana after being born, they all belong to the class of those who attain nirvana after birth. ⁽³⁾ Regarding those who proceed to a higher realm, one must distinguish three kinds: those who transcend all realms, those who transcend half the realms, and those who die in every realm.

Alternatively, one may say that each of these three kinds of non-returners is divided into three groups according to whether they attain nirvana swiftly, not swiftly, or only after some time.

The differences among the three kinds of non-returners, or among the nine groups of non-returners described above, arise from differences in karma, faculties, and afflictions.

i. The three groups of non-returners differ because (a) accumulated karmas may produce their results in the intermediate existence (abhinirvṛttivedanīyakarman), in the immediately following life (upapadya), or in a subsequent life (aparaparyāya); (b) the active manifestations of the afflictions (kleśasamudācāra) differ as weak, medium, or strong; and (c) the faculties differ as strong, medium, or weak.

ii. Each of the three kinds of non-returners, in turn, belongs to three different groups because (a) their afflictions are of the kinds mentioned above—the weakest of the weak, the medium of the weak, and the strongest of the weak in the case of the three groups who attain nirvana in the intermediate state, and so forth; and (b) their karma resembles that in the case of the three kinds who proceed to a higher realm: although it is the same kind of karma that produces a result in a subsequent life, namely karma to be experienced in a later life, they differ as those who transcend all realms, those who transcend half the realms, and those who die in every realm.

Thus there are nine groups of non-returners because of differences in karma, afflictions, and faculties.

(Question) Nevertheless, why do the sutras say that the Buddha established only seven courses of rebirth of noble persons (satpuruṣagatis)?

The stanza answers:

[Seven courses of noble persons are established

Because those proceeding higher constitute only one kind;

They are also based on doing good and not doing evil,

And on proceeding upward without returning.]

Treatise: One who proceeds to a higher realm is a noble one whose nature is to “flow” toward a higher place (ūrdhvasravaṇadharman).

The sutra (Gatisūtra) does not divide them into the groups who transcend all realms, transcend half the realms, and die in every realm. It speaks only of seven courses (gatis) of noble persons: the three kinds who attain nirvana in the intermediate state and the three kinds who attain nirvana after birth—making six courses in all—to which is added, as the seventh, the course of one who proceeds to a higher realm.

(Question) Why are there only these seven courses? Why are other courses of trainees (śaikṣa), such as stream-enterers and once-returners, not considered?

(Answer) Those who fulfill these seven courses perform only wholesome actions (saty eva karmaṇi vṛttiḥ) and do not perform evil; and once they have reached these courses, they do not return (na punaḥ praty āgatiḥ). Other noble trainees do not possess all three of these characteristics, and therefore they were not used as the basis for establishing the seven courses of noble persons.

Only these seven courses belong to the courses of noble persons.

In fact, the sutra (Madhyama, 2, 1) says: “What is a noble person (satpuruṣa)? One who possesses the right view of trainees (śaikṣī samyadṛṣṭi), and so forth.” The sutra says this because, when analyzed from another standpoint, stream-enterers and once-returners are also noble persons: ⁽¹⁾ They too have acquired the restraint through which noble ones ultimately become incapable of committing (akaraṇasaṃvara) the five evil deeds [killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, and drinking intoxicants]; and ⁽²⁾ they have abandoned most of the unwholesome afflictions belonging to the Desire Realm. Here, however, the Sutra of the Seven Courses of Noble Persons (Saptasatpuruṣagati) speaks only of noble ones who are noble persons in the fullest sense (niḥparyāyeṇa).

(Question) In the case of noble ones who attained the fruits of stream-entry and once-returning in their first life and will attain the fruit of non-returning in their next life—who in this case are called non-returning noble ones who have passed through another birth (parivṛttajanmā anāgāmī)—do these noble ones belong to the five kinds comprising those who attain nirvana in the intermediate state, those who attain nirvana after birth, and so forth?

The stanza answers:

[Noble ones who attain a fruit while born in the Desire Realm

Cannot be born in another realm.

These noble ones and those born in the higher realms

Neither transform their faculties nor fall back.]

Treatise: Noble ones who attain a noble fruit in a lifetime in the Desire Realm cannot be born in the Form Realm or the Formless Realm, because after attaining the fruit of non-returning they will necessarily realize nirvana in that very lifetime. If they attain the fruit during a lifetime in the Form Realm, they may be born in the Formless Realm, as in the case of those proceeding to a higher realm through the course of the Form Realm and reaching the Summit of Existence.

(Objection) If so, why did Śakra, Lord of the Devas, say: “I have heard of a heavenly realm called Akaniṣṭha; later, when I fall from here, I shall be born there”?

(Explanation of the Vibhāṣā): “Śakra, Lord of the Devas, spoke thus because he did not know the true Dharma; and the Blessed One did not refute him because he merely wished to encourage him.”

Noble ones who attain the fruit of non-returning while born in the Desire Realm, and noble ones born in the higher realms, can neither transform their faculties (indriya saṃcāra) nor fall back (parihāṇi).

(Question) Why is it not admitted that noble ones of the Desire Realm who have passed through another birth and those born in a higher realm can transform their faculties or fall back?

(Answer) Because this is inherently impossible.

(Question) Why is it impossible?

(Answer) Because, over the course of two births (janmāntaraparivāsena; kālāntara), their faculties have reached an extremely mature state (paripakvataratva), and they have attained an exceptionally excellent basis [that is, a personality highly conducive to the noble path (āśrayaviśeṣalābha)].

(Question) Why can noble trainees who have not become detached from the Desire Realm (avītarāga)—that is, stream-enterers and once-returners—not realize the fruit of non-returning during the intermediate existence?

(Answer of the author of the treatise) Because the noble path has not yet been fully mastered (ajitatvāt); they cannot yet readily cause the noble path to become manifest, have not perfected its direct presence (saṃmukhībhāva), and have not made the afflictions truly weak (alimanda).

(Answer of the Vibhāṣā) Because it is extremely difficult to transcend the Desire Realm (duḥsamatikarma), and because these noble ones still have much to accomplish in order to realize nirvana: ⁽¹⁾ They must continue to abandon two kinds of unwholesome afflictions belonging to the Desire Realm; ⁽²⁾ they must abandon the morally indeterminate afflictions belonging to the Form Realm and the Formless Realm; ⁽³⁾ they must attain three fruits of the ascetic life in the case of a stream-enterer, or two fruits of the ascetic life in the case of a once-returner, whereas a noble one who is “free from desire” (vītarāga), that is, a non-returner, has only one fruit left to attain; and ⁽⁴⁾ they must transcend the three realms.

Therefore noble ones in the intermediate existence cannot possess these capacities.

(Question) It was stated above that, through the mixed cultivation of meditative concentration, noble ones who proceed to a higher realm can be born in the Akaniṣṭha heaven. Which meditative concentration, then, is first combined (ākīryate, vyavakīryate, vyatibhidyate), or cultivated in a mixed manner (miśrīkriyate)?

[First, the fourth meditative concentration is cultivated in a mixed manner;

Accomplishment comes through mixed cultivation down to a single moment.

Mixed cultivation is for the sake of rebirth, present bliss,

And preventing regression caused by the afflictions.]

Treatise: In order to cultivate the four kinds of dhyana in a mixed manner, one must first cultivate the fourth dhyana, for this is the kind of samadhi possessing the greatest efficacy (karmaṇya), and it is the highest (agra) noble path among the noble paths that are easy to cultivate (sukhā pratipad, pleasant practice).

According to the Vaibhashikas, when an arhat or a non-returner cultivates dhyana in a mixed manner, he first enters the fourth dhyana with an uninterrupted, continuous series (prābandhika) of undefiled (anāsrava) thoughts. He then emerges from dhyana and reenters the fourth dhyana with a continuous series of defiled thoughts. Afterward, he again emerges from dhyana and then reenters the fourth dhyana with a continuous series of undefiled thoughts.

Continuing to alternate in this way, the noble one gradually reduces the number of thoughts in each meditative absorption—undefiled, defiled, undefiled, and so forth—until he enters a kind of fourth dhyana containing only two defiled thoughts, followed by a kind of fourth dhyana likewise containing only two undefiled thoughts. At this stage, the preparatory cultivation of concentration (prayoga) is said to have been perfected.

The Vaibhashikas say: From one undefiled thought, one defiled thought is brought forth; and from this one defiled thought, one undefiled thought is then brought forth and becomes present. Thus, through combining one defiled thought in the middle with two undefiled thoughts before and after it, the mixed cultivation (ākiraṇa) of dhyana is perfected. The first two moments are similar (sadṛśa) to the Path of No-Interval (ānantaryamārga), and the third moment is similar to the Path of Liberation (vimuktimārga).

Thus, after cultivating the fourth dhyana, the noble one may rely on this already acquired power to cultivate the three lower dhyanas in a mixed manner. At first, this mixed cultivation is practiced in the three continents of the human realm within the Desire Realm; afterward, if the noble one falls back and is reborn in the Form Realm, he may still practice the mixed cultivation of dhyana as described above.

According to us, the mixing of a single defiled thought with two undefiled thoughts (kṣaṇavyākiraṇa) is not possible for everyone, with the sole exception of the Buddha. Therefore, the mixed cultivation of a dhyana is accomplished only when the noble one seeks to enter three prolonged kinds of dhyana: undefiled, defiled, and then undefiled.

(Question) For what purpose do noble ones cultivate the dhyanas in a mixed manner?

(Answer) There are three reasons: ⁽¹⁾ Non-returners of sharp faculties (tīkṣṇedriya) obtain bliss (sukhavikāra) in this very life (dṛṣṭadharma) and are reborn among the gods of the Pure Abodes; those of dull faculties (mṛdvindriya) avoid regression by remaining apart from concentrations associated with savoring (āsvādasaṃprayuktasamādhi), because they are always fearful of the afflictions; and ⁽²⁾ arhats of sharp faculties obtain bliss in this very life, while those of dull faculties avoid regression because they too fear the afflictions.

(Question) The mixed cultivation of dhyana is intended to bring about rebirth in the Pure Abodes, but why are there only five cases of rebirth in those realms?

The stanza answers:

[Because mixed cultivation is of five kinds,

There are only five cases of rebirth in the Pure Abodes.]

Treatise: Because the practice (bhāvanā) of cultivating dhyana in a mixed manner is of only five kinds, there are only five cases of rebirth in the Pure Abodes. The five kinds are weak (lower), middling (middle), strong (higher), stronger (adhimātratara, superior higher), and strongest (adhimātratama, utmost higher). For the first kind, only three thoughts—undefiled, defiled, and undefiled—are required for its accomplishment; the second kind requires six thoughts; the third requires nine thoughts; the fourth requires twelve thoughts; and the fifth requires fifteen thoughts.

These five kinds of mixed cultivation of dhyana bring about, in the order given above, the five cases of rebirth in the Pure Abodes. It should be understood that this result is produced by the power of the defiled being perfumed through cultivation by the undefiled.

Some masters of the treatises hold that the five cases of rebirth in the Pure Abodes are brought about by the successive predominance (ādhikya) of the five faculties—faith and so forth.

(Question) It is said that a non-returner is also called a bodily witness. On the basis of what excellent quality is he called a bodily witness?

The stanza answers:

[If a noble non-returner attains the Absorption of Cessation, his designation changes to bodily witness.]

Treatise: A noble non-returner who attains the absorption of the cessation of perception and feeling (saṃjñāveditanirodhasamāpatti) is called “one who has attained cessation.” Because the noble non-returner personally realizes with the body a dharma resembling nirvana—the absorption of cessation (nirodhasamāpatti)—he is called a bodily witness (kāyasākṣin).

(Question) Why does the noble non-returner realize it only with the body?

(Answer) Because there is no mind, he must rely on the body. [The foregoing is the explanation of the Vaibhashikas.]

(Explanation of the Sautrantikas) After emerging from the absorption of cessation, the noble non-returner thinks, “This absorption is peaceful, like nirvana.” The noble one has attained the tranquility of a sentient body—that is, a body in which consciousness (vijñāna) has arisen (savijñānakakāya, a body endowed with consciousness)—that had never previously been attained. In this way, through the body, the noble one directly realizes this tranquility by means of two acts of realization (sākṣākaraṇa): the first act is the attainment (prapti), while entering the absorption, of a body conforming to cessation (nirodha);

the second act is the recognition of the state of the body after emerging from the absorption, because this “act of realization” (sākṣākriyā) is called “making directly present” (pratyakṣīkāra).

Realization occurs when one recognizes the tranquility of a body that has regained perception; and from this recognition it is evident that this tranquility was attained while the body was in a state devoid of perception.

(Question) The sutra speaks of eighteen kinds of trainees, but why is the bodily witness not included among them?

(Answer) Because the quality of being a bodily witness is not a cause of the state of a trainee.

(Question) If so, what is the cause of the state of a trainee?

(Answer) It is the three undefiled trainings (śīkṣās): higher morality (adhiśīlam), higher concentration (adhicittam), and higher wisdom (adhiprajñām). They constitute the noble path, together with the fruit of the three trainings, namely, disconnection (visaṃyoga). It is precisely on account of the distinctions among the three trainings and their fruit that the various kinds of trainees are established. The absorption of cessation, however, is not one of the three trainings, because it is not a path of abandonment (prahāṇamārga); nor is it the fruit of the three trainings, because it is not disconnection. Therefore, one cannot conclude, on the basis of a noble one’s attainment of the absorption of cessation, that he belongs to a distinct kind of trainee.

Above, the readily discernible characteristics of the various kinds of non-returning noble ones have been explained, comprising five cases belonging to the Form Realm, one case with four types belonging to the Formless Realm, and one case of attaining nirvana in this very realm. However, if analyzed in full detail, there would be countless different cases. For example, in the case of one who attains nirvana in the intermediate state: ⁽¹⁾ if analyzed according to faculties (indriya), there are three types: superior, middling, and inferior faculties;

⁽²⁾ if analyzed according to stage (bhūmi), there are four types: the first concentration, the second concentration, and so forth, depending on which concentration the noble one has as the basis [this is the case of non-returners who proceed to the Form Realm (rūpopaga)]; ⁽³⁾ if analyzed according to disposition (gotra), there are six types: the disposition subject to regression (parihāṇadharman), the disposition of volitional resolve (cetanādharman), the disposition of self-protection (anurakṣaṇādharman), the disposition of stable abiding (sthitākampya), the disposition capable of penetration (prativedhanādharman), and the immovable disposition (akopyadharman); ⁽⁴⁾ if analyzed according to abode, there are sixteen types, from the Heaven of Brahmā’s Retinue through the Heaven of Akaniṣṭha;

⁽⁵⁾ if analyzed according to freedom from defilement in the various stages, there are thirty-six types: one type still bound by all the fetters of the Form Realm (rūpadhātau sakalabandhana), eight types that have abandoned from one group through eight groups of defilements belonging to the first dhyāna, one type still bound by the fetters of the second dhyāna, eight types that have abandoned the eight groups of defilements belonging to the second dhyāna, and so forth.

Thus, there are altogether four sets of nine types of those who attain nirvana in the intermediate state. Noble ones who have been liberated from the ninth group of defilements belonging to the fourth dhyāna and are bound by all the fetters of the Formless Realm are not included, because the present discussion concerns those who attain nirvana in the intermediate state, namely non-returners of the type who proceed to the Form Realm, and because an intermediate existence does not occur above the Form Realm.

Thus, when established through analysis according to abode, disposition, freedom from defilement, and faculties, there are altogether two thousand five hundred and ninety-two types of those who attain nirvana in the intermediate state.

(Question) How is the above number obtained?

(Answer) In each abode there are six different dispositions. Each disposition, when classified according to different degrees of freedom from defilement—from still having all the fetters of the Form Realm through having abandoned eight groups of defilements belonging to the fourth dhyāna—has nine types. Since each disposition has nine types and each abode has six dispositions, there are fifty-four types; multiplying these by sixteen abodes gives eight hundred and sixty-four types; multiplying these by three kinds of faculties gives two thousand five hundred and ninety-two types.

The case of abandoning the ninth group of defilements in a lower stage is regarded as the case of still being bound in a higher stage, so that each stage has an equal number of degrees of freedom from defilement. In this manner, from those who attain nirvana in the intermediate state through those who ascend to the highest abode, each of the five cases has two thousand five hundred and ninety-two types, making twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty types in all. Non-returners who belong to the Formless Realm are likewise calculated in the same way.

The distinctions pertaining to the path of approach to and the fruit of the third attainment have been analyzed above; next comes the establishment of the path of approach to and the fruit of the fourth attainment.

[Among the defilements to be abandoned through cultivation in the higher realms, if one abandons one grade in the first concentration,

Up to the eighth grade at the Summit of Existence,

This is called the path of approach to arhatship.

The ninth uninterrupted path

Is called the vajra-like samādhi.

When the knowledge of exhaustion arises together with the acquisition of exhaustion,

One perfects the fruit of the worthy one beyond training.]

Treatise: If the noble one bh continues to eliminate the defilements to be abandoned through cultivation that belong to the Form and Formless Realms, from the first group in the first dhyāna through the final, eighth group at the Summit of Existence, that noble one is then designated one who is approaching arhatship (arhatphalapratipannaka, the path of approach to the fruit of arhatship). At the stage of the noble path that eliminates these defilements (ānantaryamārga, uninterrupted path), even when the ninth group of defilements at the Summit of Existence is eliminated, the noble one still remains one who is approaching arhatship.

However, because this ninth uninterrupted path is capable of shattering all kinds of latent tendencies (sarvānuśayabhedin), it is called the “samādhi resembling a vajra” (vajropamasamādhi, vajra-like samādhi). In fact, the ninth uninterrupted path does not destroy all latent tendencies, because many kinds of latent tendencies have already been destroyed earlier; nevertheless, it has the power to shatter all remaining defilements and is the most excellent of all uninterrupted paths capable of eliminating defilements.

There are many kinds of vajra-like samādhi. The statement that the uninterrupted path which eliminates the ninth grade of defilements at the Summit of Existence gives rise to various kinds of vajra-like samādhi is made with reference to nine stages: the preparatory stage (anāgamya), the intermediate dhyāna (dhyānāntara), the four dhyānas, and the first three concentrations belonging to the Formless Realm (ārūpyas). It is therefore said that this samādhi has different aspects and kinds of knowledge.

i. When arising in dependence upon the preparatory stage (anāgamyasaṃgṛhīta), eight vajra-like samādhis correspond respectively to each of the four aspects of subsequent knowledge of suffering and each of the four aspects of subsequent knowledge of origination; these kinds of knowledge take the suffering and origination of the Summit of Existence as their objects.

Eight vajra-like samādhis correspond respectively to each of the four aspects of Dharma knowledge of cessation and to each of the four aspects of Dharma knowledge of the path.

Four vajra-like samādhis correspond respectively to each of the four aspects of subsequent knowledge of cessation taking the first dhyāna as its object; and this continues in the same manner through four vajra-like samādhis corresponding respectively to each of the four aspects of subsequent knowledge of cessation taking the Summit of Existence as its object.

Four vajra-like samādhis correspond respectively to each of the four aspects of subsequent knowledge of the path, because subsequent knowledge of the path extends throughout all realms and stages. [It is unnecessary to distinguish the different stages as in the case of subsequent knowledge of cessation].

Thus, when based upon the preparatory stage, there are as many as fifty-two vajra-like samādhis, owing to differences among the aspects and objects of Dharma knowledge and subsequent knowledge.

ii. The same calculation applies to vajra-like samādhis arising in dependence upon the other stages, up through the fourth dhyāna.

iii. As for the vajra-like samādhis arising in dependence upon the first three concentrations of the Formless Realm, there are respectively twenty-eight, twenty-four, and twenty kinds.

(a) Dharma knowledge is absent there; (b) subsequent knowledge whose object is the truth of cessation (nirodha) belonging to a lower stage is also absent there; (c) subsequent knowledge whose object is the path counteracting a lower stage is present there, because all noble paths mutually serve as causes for one another.

One Abhidharma master maintains that subsequent knowledge of the path does not take all stages as its object simultaneously, but that the different stages must be distinguished as in the case of subsequent knowledge of cessation. According to this position, twenty-eight kinds must be added to the number of vajra-like samādhis based upon the preparatory stage and so forth. The vajra-like samādhis in the concentrations of the Formless Realm would then number forty, thirty-two, and twenty-four kinds.

If analyzed according to disposition and faculties, these numbers become still greater.

The case in which the ninth group of defilements at the Summit of Existence is eliminated by the vajra-like samādhi has been explained above.

At the moment when the noble one acquires (prāptyā saha) the abandonment of the ninth group of afflictions, this “knowledge of destruction” (kṣayajñāna) arises. Immediately after the Diamond-Like Concentration, or the final Path of Uninterruptedness (ānantaryamārga), the final Path of Liberation (vimuktimārga) arises. Therefore, this Path of Liberation, which arises together with (sahajāta) the acquisition of the abandonment of all the outflows (āsravas), becomes the first arising “knowledge of destruction” and is called the Knowledge of Destruction (kṣayajñāna = kṣayaprathamajñāna).

When this Knowledge of Destruction arises, those “proceeding toward arhatship” attain the fruit of arhatship beyond training. These noble ones have nothing further to do for the sake of another fruit and are therefore called those beyond training (aśaikṣa). For this same reason, noble ones who have cleansed themselves of defiled dharmas possess the qualification (arhattva) to bring benefit to others (parārthakaraṇa) and are worthy of receiving the veneration (pūjārha) of all beings who still possess desire (sarāga).

The foregoing definition of an arhat as one beyond training shows that the other seven classes of noble ones—comprising the four cases of proceeding toward a fruit and the three cases of abiding in a fruit—all belong to those in training (śaikṣa).

(Question) Why are these seven classes of noble ones all called those in training?

(Answer) Because, in order to bring the outflows to an end, they must constantly cultivate the trainings (śikṣās). The three trainings—namely, higher morality (adhiśīlaṃ śikṣā), higher mind (adhicittaṃ śikṣā), and higher wisdom (adhiprajñāṃ śikṣā)—have morality, concentration, and wisdom as their respective natures.

(Question) According to the definition above, could an ordinary being also be one in training?

(Answer) No, because ordinary beings do not see the noble truths as they truly are (aprajñāna) and can lose all the trainings they have attained.

It was precisely to affirm that only those who are still training belong to those in training, and that merely undertaking the three trainings does not make one a person in training, that the Blessed One reiterated: “Sīvaka, only those who train in what must be trained in are called by me persons in training.”

(Question) How can noble ones be said to possess the nature of those in training when they are in their ordinary state (prakṛtiṣṭha; abiding in their original nature), rather than when they are in concentration?

(Answer) This is said with reference to the intention of these noble ones. It is like travelers who, though temporarily resting, are still called travelers. Alternatively, it is because the three trainings remain constantly associated with them even while they are in their ordinary state.

(Question) What are the dharmas of training?

(Answer) They are the unconditioned-by-outflows conditioned dharmas of those in training. Likewise, all the conditioned dharmas free from outflows belonging to those beyond training are called dharmas beyond training.

(Question) Why is nirvana, which is an unconditioned dharma, not a dharma beyond training?

(Answer) Because both those beyond training and ordinary beings can possess nirvana.

The four classes of noble ones proceeding toward fruits and the four classes of noble ones abiding in fruits together constitute the eight classes of noble persons (āryapudgala): namely, the noble one “who has set forth (pratipanna) to attain the fruit of stream-entry” and the noble one who is already a stream-enterer, continuing up to the noble one “who has set forth to attain the fruit of arhatship” and the noble one who is already an arhat.

Although they are called eight, in reality there are only five: the noble one proceeding toward (pratipannaka) the first fruit—that is, one who is on the Path of Seeing (darśanamārga)—and the four classes of noble ones abiding in the fruits (phalastha); for the three subsequent cases of proceeding toward fruits are not separate from the three preceding cases of abiding in fruits.

The foregoing explanation is based on the sequential attainment of the four fruits (anupūrvādhigama = anupūrvena catuḥphalaprāpti). In the cases of noble ones who have largely become free from desire (bhūyovītarāga) and those who have become entirely free from sensual desire (kāmavītarāga), because they have abandoned six groups or nine groups of afflictions belonging to the Desire Realm before entering the Path of Seeing, while abiding in the Path of Seeing they are called those proceeding toward the fruit of once-returning and those proceeding toward the fruit of non-returning, rather than those proceeding toward the fruit of stream-entry and those proceeding toward the fruit of once-returning.

Here, noble ones proceeding toward a higher fruit are not confused with noble ones abiding in a lower fruit.

(Question) As stated above, the path of cultivation (bhāvanāmārga) is of two distinct kinds: with outflows (mundane) and without outflows (supramundane). By which kind do those in training free themselves from the defiled dharmas of the various planes?

The stanza answers:

[Freedom from the defilements belonging to the Summit of Existence is attained through the path without outflows;

Freedom from the defilements belonging to the other planes is attained through both kinds.]

Treatise: Only the path without outflows frees one from the defilements belonging to the Summit of Existence, and not the path with outflows, because ⁽¹⁾ there is no mundane path higher than the Summit of Existence [one becomes free from a plane by means of the mundane path of a higher plane, whereas the Summit of Existence is the highest plane]; and ⁽²⁾ the mundane path of a given plane cannot counteract the defiled dharmas of that same plane, because the afflictions of that plane adhere to this mundane path (tatkleśānuśayitatvāt).

If afflictions adhere to a noble path, they cannot be counteracted by that noble path. If a noble path is capable of counteracting an affliction, that affliction certainly cannot adhere to that noble path.

Freedom from the remaining eight planes may rely on either the mundane path or the supramundane path.

If both paths can free one from the various planes, how many kinds of acquisition of freedom from defilement are associated with each path?

The stanza answers:

[Noble ones cultivate both kinds to become free from the eight planes,

And in every case acquire both kinds of disjunction.]

Treatise: If noble ones free themselves from the first eight planes—the Desire Realm, the four meditative concentrations, and the three Formless attainments—by means of the path with outflows, they acquire “disjunction” (visaṃyoga) from the afflictions of those planes. In other words, they acquire the acquisition (prāpti), that is, the possession of the cessation through discernment (pratisaṃkhyānirodha) of those afflictions.

This acquisition is both with outflows and without outflows.

(Question) Some masters say that when noble ones become free by means of the path without outflows, their acquisition of disjunction is likewise both with outflows and without outflows. Why is this so?

(Answer) These masters say: Suppose it were admitted that when noble ones become free by means of the path without outflows, they do not possess an acquisition of disjunction with outflows. According to this supposition, after noble ones have become free from the Sphere of Nothingness (ākiñcanyāyatana) by means of a noble path (ārya), they may subsequently rely upon a meditative concentration to transform their faculties, that is, to make their faculties (indriya) sharper (saṃcarati).

Because these noble ones relinquish the paths they previously acquired [namely, the paths belonging to the Formless Realm included among those of dull faculties (mṛdvindriyasaṃgṛhīta)], and because they acquire only the path of the fruit of non-returning pertaining to those of sharp faculties, they would no longer possess disjunction from the afflictions of the Formless Realm. Because this disjunction had been lost, they would come to possess those afflictions.

Such noble ones have no acquisition of disjunction with outflows; nevertheless, they also do not possess the afflictions mentioned above.

It is likewise in the case of a noble one who has been liberated from some of the groups of defilements of the Summit of Existence: there certainly can be no contaminated acquisition of disconnection with regard to these defilements, because only the uncontaminated path can eliminate the defilements of the Summit of Existence. Suppose that this noble one, in cultivating the faculties by relying on a stage of dhyana, relinquishes the uncontaminated acquisition of disconnection with regard to the defilements of the Summit of Existence; you yourselves can still recognize that this noble one does not possess these defilements.

It is likewise in the case of an ordinary being born in a place higher than the first dhyana—for example, born in the second dhyana, and so forth. Because this ordinary being has passed into the second dhyana (bhūmisaṃcāra, transference of stage), he loses the acquisition of disconnection with regard to the defilements of the Realm of Desire; nevertheless, you must still admit that this ordinary being does not possess these defilements.

Therefore, the argument of the aforementioned masters is unreasonable.

(Question) By relying on which stage does one attain detachment from the various stages?

The stanza answers:

[The uncontaminated path belonging to the Preliminary Stage

Can bring detachment from the defilements of all stages.

The paths belonging to the other eight stages bring detachment from their own and higher stages.

The contaminated path brings detachment from lower stages.]

Exposition: By means of the uncontaminated Preliminary Stage, one can attain detachment from all stages, from the Realm of Desire up to the Summit of Existence.

When a practitioner becomes detached from a lower stage by relying on a neighboring preparation (sāmantaka), do all Paths of Liberation (vimuktimārgas) arise from the neighboring preparation, just as do the Uninterrupted Paths (ānantaryamārgas)?

(Answer) No.

(Question) Why is this?

The stanza answers:

[The path belonging to a neighboring preparation brings detachment from the defilements of the lower stage.

When becoming detached from the first three stages, the Path of Liberation arises from

Either the fundamental absorption or the neighboring preparation.

When becoming detached from the higher stages, the Path of Liberation arises only from the fundamental absorption.]

Exposition: There are nine stages of arising: the Realm of Desire, the four dhyanas, and the four formless absorptions.

When three stages have been conquered (jaya)—that is, when one becomes detached from the Realm of Desire, the first dhyana, and the second dhyana—the ninth Path of Liberation arises in either the neighboring preparation of a dhyana or its fundamental absorption (maula).

With regard to the higher stages, the final Path of Liberation always arises from the fundamental absorption (samāpatti), rather than from the neighboring preparation of that absorption. Indeed, from the fourth dhyana onward, the fundamental absorption and its neighboring preparation have the same feeling, namely neutral feeling. In the stages of the earlier dhyanas there are two different feelings: a practitioner of dull faculties, at the ninth Path of Liberation, is incapable of entering the fundamental absorption because the transition from one feeling to another is very difficult. Therefore, the ninth Path of Liberation for detachment from the first three stages arises only from the neighboring preparation of a dhyana.

We have discussed the case in which a practitioner can become detached from all stages by means of uncontaminated paths cultivated in the Preliminary Stage (anāgamya). This capacity, however, does not belong to uncontaminated paths cultivated in stages other than the Preliminary Stage.

By means of an uncontaminated path cultivated in the eight stages—the four dhyanas, the intermediate dhyana, and the three formless absorptions—the practitioner can become detached from his own stage and the higher stages, but not from lower stages, because he has already become detached from them.

Supramundane (lokottara) paths, such as the Uninterrupted Path and the Path of Liberation, arise through the aspects of the truths (satyākārapravṛtta), that is, through seeing dharmas as impermanent, suffering, and so forth.

[The mundane Uninterrupted Path and Path of Liberation

Respectively take their own stage and a higher stage as objects;

Their aspects are coarse, suffering, obstructive,

And peaceful, sublime, liberating.]

Exposition: The mundane Paths of Liberation possess the aspects of peacefulness and so forth; that is, they regard their objects as peaceful and so forth. The mundane Uninterrupted Paths possess the aspects of coarseness and so forth.

The Paths of Liberation may regard a higher stage [or a higher place (sthāna)] as peaceful, sublime (praṇītatas), and a means of escape (niḥsaraṇatas). The Uninterrupted Paths regard a lower stage as coarse (audārikatas), as suffering (duḥkhilatas), and as a thick wall (sthūlabhittikatas): it is regarded as coarse because this stage is not peaceful (aśāntatva) and requires greater exertion (mahābhisaṃskārataratva); it is regarded as suffering because this stage is not sublime and is disagreeable (pratikūla), while neither body nor mind possesses great efficiency due to its greater unfitness (bahudauṣṭhulyataratva); it is regarded as a thick wall because, from such a low stage, one cannot escape, as though it were a very thick wall.

The aspects of peacefulness, sublimity, and liberation are their opposites.

Having discussed this minor issue, let us return to our subject:

[In the case of an immovable arhat, after the Knowledge of Exhaustion

The Knowledge of Non-Arising necessarily arises.

In other cases, there is the Knowledge of Exhaustion or Right View;

This Right View is present in all arhats.]

Exposition: If an arhat belongs to the immovable disposition (akopyadharman), then immediately after the Knowledge of Exhaustion (kṣayajñāna) there arises a knowledge that the contaminants will not arise in the future (anutpādajñāna, Knowledge of Non-Arising).

For arhats who do not belong to the immovable disposition, immediately after the Knowledge of Exhaustion there arises another Knowledge of Exhaustion of the same kind or the Right View of one beyond training (aśaikṣī samyagdṛṣṭi), but not the Knowledge of Non-Arising, because if the practitioner regresses and is no longer immovable, he cannot give rise to the Knowledge of Non-Arising.

(Question) Do arhats of the immovable disposition lack the Right View of one beyond training?

(Answer) They possess it, but it has not been mentioned. All arhats possess the Right View of one beyond training. In the case of an immovable arhat, after this Knowledge of Non-Arising there subsequently arises another Knowledge of Non-Arising, or sometimes the Right View of one beyond training.

(Question) Four fruits were mentioned earlier. What are these fruits?

(Answer) They are the fruits of the “religious life” (śrāmaṇya, the state of a śramaṇa).

(Question) What is the state of a śramaṇa? What is its fruit? How many different kinds of these fruits are there?

The stanza answers:

[The pure path is the state of a śramaṇa;

Its fruit consists of conditioned and unconditioned dharmas;

There are eighty-nine kinds:

Paths of Liberation and cessations.]

Exposition: The state of a śramaṇa is the uncontaminated path. Through this noble path, through being united with the state of a śramaṇa (śrāmaṇyayogāt), one becomes a śramaṇa—that is, a person who pacifies or brings to cessation (śamyati) the defilements (Dhammapada, 265).

As the sutra (Madhyma, 48, 1) says: “One is called a śramaṇa because one pacifies all evil and unwholesome dharmas that lead to samsara, produce rebirth, and maintain it until old age and death.”

Because an ordinary being does not pacify the defilements ultimately, he is not a true śramaṇa (paramārthaśrāmaṇa).

The fruits of the śramaṇa consist of conditioned and unconditioned dharmas. The sutra states that there are four different kinds, but in fact there are as many as eighty-nine kinds.

(Question) What are these eighty-nine fruits of the śramaṇa?

(Answer) They are the paths of liberation together with the cessation dharmas. There are eight uninterrupted paths, followed by eight paths of liberation, for abandoning the afflictions abandoned through seeing. There are eighty-one uninterrupted paths for abandoning the afflictions abandoned through cultivation, namely, nine paths (mārgas) used to abandon the nine grades of afflictions in each of the nine grounds. The same applies to the paths of liberation.

The eighty-nine uninterrupted paths constitute the nature of a śramaṇa.

The eighty-nine paths of liberation are the conditioned fruits of the nature of a śramaṇa; they are the homogeneous fruits and fruits of personal effort of the nature of a śramaṇa.

The abandonment, or analytical cessation (pratisaṃkhyānirodha), of the eighty-nine grades of afflictions is the unconditioned fruit of the nature of a śramaṇa; it is a fruit of personal effort of the nature of a śramaṇa.

Thus, there are altogether eighty-nine fruits of the nature of a śramaṇa.

(Question) If this thesis is correct, how can the teaching of the Blessed One be fully accounted for (upasaṃkhyāna)?

The stanza answers:

[Five causes establish the four fruits:

Relinquishing a former path and attaining a superior path,

Acquiring the totality of abandonments, attaining the eight knowledges,

And cultivating all sixteen aspects at once.]

Treatise: The stages of the path of abandoning the afflictions (prahāṇamārga) in which five causes converge were defined by the Blessed One as the fruits. This is the thesis of the four schools.

(Question) What are these five causes?

(Answer) The five causes are: (1–2) relinquishing the path of approach and attaining the path of the fruit; ⁽³⁾ acquiring (prāpti) the abandonment of the totality (sarvasyaikaprāptilābha, the collective acquisition of the abandonments); ⁽⁴⁾ attaining all eight knowledges at once, namely, the four Dharma knowledges and the four subsequent knowledges; and ⁽⁵⁾ attaining the sixteen aspects, such as impermanence and so forth.

All five causes are present in each of the four fruits.

(Question) If only the uncontaminated path is called the nature of a śramaṇa, how can the two fruits—the once-returner and the non-returner—be called fruits of śramaṇahood when they are attained by a contaminated path?

The stanza answers:

[The cessation of afflictions attained through the worldly path

Is combined with the cessation attained through the noble path

And is sustained by an uncontaminated acquisition;

Therefore, it too is called a fruit of śramaṇahood.]

Treatise: When the fruits of once-returner and non-returner are attained by a contaminated path, they are not merely abandonments (analytical cessations) arising from the contaminated path of cultivation. In fact, they also include the fruit of abandonment belonging to the path of seeing. This second abandonment cannot be separated from the first, because the fruits of once-returner and non-returner include the acquisition (prāpti) of the totality of abandonments—partly the afflictions abandoned through seeing and partly the afflictions abandoned through cultivation.

Therefore, the sutra says: “What is the fruit of once-returner? It is the abandonment of the three fetters—view of a real self, attachment to rules and observances, and doubt (satkāya, śīlavrata, vicikitsā)—which are abandoned through seeing, and the attenuation of desire, hatred, and delusion (kāma, dveṣa, moha). What is the fruit of non-returner? It is the abandonment of the five lower fetters (avarabhāgīya).”

Furthermore, the abandonment attained through the worldly path—that is, the abandonment of six grades of afflictions in the case of a once-returner, and so forth—is sustained (saṃdhāryate) by an uncontaminated acquisition of disconnection. Likewise, because noble once-returners and non-returners possess this uncontaminated acquisition of disconnection, they cannot die while in a state of regression: they may lose their spiritual status, but they regain it before death.

[What is called the nature of a śramaṇa

Is also called the nature of a brāhmaṇa,

And is also called the Wheel of Brahmā,

Because it is set in motion by the true Brahmā.

Within it, only the path of seeing

Is called the Dharma wheel,

Because it is swift, and so forth, like a wheel,

Or because it possesses spokes, and so forth.]

Treatise: The nature of a śramaṇa is precisely the nature of a brāhmaṇa (brāhmaṇya), because it eliminates the afflictions; it is also the wheel of Brahmā (Brahmacakra).

The Blessed One is Brahmā because he has perfected the supreme nature of a brāhmaṇa, the unsurpassed virtues of Brahmā. Indeed, the sutra (Madhyama, 34, 12; Saṃyukta, ii, 27) says, “This Blessed One is Brahmā”; the sutra also says that the Blessed One is peaceful (śānta) and has become cool (śītībhūta).

This wheel belongs to him; therefore, it is the wheel of Brahmā, because Brahmā himself sets this wheel in motion.

Because the path of seeing (darśanamārga) has the nature of a precious wheel (cakraratna), it is called the Dharma wheel.

(Question) Why does the path of seeing have the nature of a wheel?

(Answer) ⁽¹⁾ Because the path of seeing moves swiftly: it can fully comprehend the noble truths in fifteen moments of mind. ⁽²⁾ Because it relinquishes one place and takes possession of another (tyajanakramaṇa): it relinquishes the uninterrupted path and takes possession of the path of liberation. ⁽³⁾ Because it conquers what has not yet been conquered and secures what has already been conquered (ajitajayajitādhyāvasana): it conquers the afflictions by means of the uninterrupted path, severing the acquisition of those afflictions; and it secures the afflictions already suppressed by the path of liberation by attaining disconnection from them. ⁽⁴⁾ Because it can revolve upward and downward: at one time it is the uninterrupted path and at another the path of liberation;

at one time it takes the Desire Realm as its object and at another it takes the higher realms as its object.

The Venerable Ghoṣaka (Bhadanta Ghoṣaka) says that, just as a wheel has spokes and so forth, the noble path has eight factors and so forth, and is therefore called a “wheel”: right view (samyagdṛṣṭi), right intention (samyaksaṃkalpa), right effort (samyagvyāyāma), and right mindfulness (samyaksmṛti) are like the spokes; right speech (samyagvāc), right action (samyakkarmānta), and right livelihood (samyagājīva) are like the hub; and right concentration is like the rim.

(Question) On what basis is it said that the Dharma wheel is precisely the path of seeing?

(Answer) The Āgama says that when the path of seeing arose in Kauṇḍinya and the others, the deities declared that the wheel of the true Dharma had been set in motion.

(Question) Why is the path of seeing said to have three turnings (triparivarta) and twelve aspects?

(Answer) The Vibhāṣā says: The three turnings are: ⁽¹⁾ this is the noble truth of suffering; ⁽²⁾ the noble truth of suffering must be fully comprehended; and ⁽³⁾ the noble truth of suffering has been fully comprehended. In each turning, there arise separately the aspects of vision (cakṣus), knowledge (jñāna), insight (vidyā), and understanding (buddhi). Thus, the three turnings comprise altogether twelve aspects (ākāra).

The same applies to the other noble truths: this is the noble truth of origin, and so forth.

Because the turnings and aspects are the same for each noble truth, the Dharma wheel is said to have three turnings and twelve aspects, rather than twelve turnings and forty-eight aspects. It is like the “discourse on pairs” (dvayadeśanāvat), which is a discourse on a large number of dharmas proceeding in pairs—the eye and visible form, the ear and sound, and so forth. It is also like saying that a person is “skilled in seven matters,” meaning that this person is skilled in numerous instances involving seven matters.

In the foregoing order, the three turnings correspond to the path of seeing, the path of cultivation, and the path beyond training (darśanamārga, bhāvanāmārga, aśaikṣamārga). This is the explanation of the Vibhāṣā.

(Question) If this is so, then the path of seeing would not itself possess three turnings and twelve aspects. How, then, can the Dharma wheel be the path of seeing?

(Answer) It should be understood that the Dharma wheel is precisely this discourse (dharmaparyāya), namely, the Dharma discourse delivered at Benares that set the wheel of the true Dharma in motion (pravartana), a discourse complete with three turnings and twelve aspects. It has three turnings because it caused the Noble Truths to turn three times: [(a) this is suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path; (b) this must be fully understood; (c) this has been fully understood, abandoned, realized, and cultivated]. It has twelve aspects because each Noble Truth was contemplated under three aspects: [(a) the essential nature of the truths (satyasvarūpa); (b) the function of the truths; (c) the accomplishment of this function].

To say that this discourse was “set in motion” means that it proceeded (gamana), that it was cast (preraṇa) into the understanding of another (parasaṃtāne). That this discourse entered the understanding of another means that it enabled another to understand its meaning (arthajñāpana).

Alternatively, the entire Noble Path—namely, the path of seeing, the path of cultivation, and the path beyond training—is the Dharma wheel because it penetrates the understanding of those capable of being guided (vineya). If the sutra says that the wheel was set in motion (pravartita) when () attained the path of seeing, the prefix pra itself conveys the beginning of the action: pravartita means that which has begun to be vartita. When the path of seeing arose in another’s understanding, in the understanding of Kauṇḍinya, the wheel of the true Dharma began to turn and began to be cast into the understanding of another.

(Question) How many fruits of śramaṇa are attained in each realm?

The stanza answers:

[Three fruits in the Desire Realm,

The final fruit in all three realms;

Because the higher realms lack the path of seeing,

For there is no hearing, and it does not take the lower realm as its object,

There is neither revulsion nor fear.]

Explanation: The first three fruits are attained only in the Desire Realm and nowhere else. This means that they are attained only by beings born in the Desire Realm. The fruit of arhatship is attained in all three realms.

(Question) Since noble ones who attain the first two fruits have not yet become free from desire, it is said that these fruits cannot be attained in the higher realms. But why can the third fruit likewise not be attained in the higher realms?

(Answer) Because above the Desire Realm there is no path of seeing. Since there is no path of seeing there, a person who has already relinquished the Desire Realm (virakta) and is reborn in a higher heavenly realm cannot attain the fruit of non-returning.

(Question) Why is there no path of seeing there?

(Answer) Because in the Formless Realm there is no hearing of the Dharma (śravaṇa); and because the path of seeing takes only the Desire Realm as its object.

In the Form Realm, ordinary beings are entirely attached to the bliss of meditative concentration. All painful feeling is absent there; therefore, revulsion (saṃvega) cannot arise there, and one can enter the Noble Path only when such revulsion is present.

Furthermore, the sutra states: “The five kinds of persons (pudgala)—of whom one who attains nirvana in the intermediate state is the first and one who proceeds upstream is the last—penetrate the truth in this realm and attain consummation in that realm.”

Here, “penetrate the truth” refers to the establishment of the Noble Path), because the Noble Path is the means (upāya) to nirvana. Therefore, the higher realms certainly do not possess the path of seeing.