C5 Reading

_ _n
mandel
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sashi pukyi jukshing metok tram,
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rirab lingshi nyinde gyenpa di,
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sangye shingdu mikte ulwar gyi,
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drokun namdak shingla chupar shok.
____n____
Idam guru ratna mandalakam niryatayami.
Offering the Mandala
Here is the great Earth,
Filled with the smell of incense,
Covered with a blanket of flowers,
The Great Mountain,
The Four Continents,
Wearing a jewel
Of the Sun, and Moon.
In my mind I make them
The Paradise of a Buddha,
And offer it all to You.
By this deed
May every living being
Experience
The Pure World.
Idam guru ratna mandalakam niryatayami.
_ __________
kyabdro semkye
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sangye chudang tsokyi choknam la,
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jangchub bardu dakni kyabsu chi,
_____________________
dakki jinsok gyipay sunam kyi,
____________
drola penchir sangye druppar shok.
Refuge and The Wish
I go for refuge
To the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
Until I achieve enlightenment.
By the power
Of the goodness that I do
In giving and the rest,
May I reach Buddhahood
For the sake
Of every living being.
_ ___
ngowa
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gewa diyi kyewo kun,
_______________
sunam yeshe tsok-dzok shing,
___________
sunam yeshe lejung way,
__________
dampa kunyi topar shok.
Dedication of the Goodness of a Deed
By the goodness
Of what I have just done
May all beings
Complete the collection
Of merit and wisdom,
And thus gain the two
Ultimate bodies
That merit and wisdom make.
_ ___
chupa
___________
tonpa lame sanggye rinpoche,
___________
kyoppa lame damchu rinpoche,
___________
drenpa lame gendun rinpoche,
___________________
kyabne konchok sumla chupa bul.
A Buddhist Grace
I offer this
To the Teacher
Higher than any other,
The precious Buddha.
I offer this
To the protection
The precious Dharma.
I offer this
To the guides
The precious Sangha.
I offer this
To the places of refuge,
To the Three Jewels,
Rare and supreme.
THE ASIAN CLASSICS
INSTITUTE
The Asian Classics Institute
Course V: How Karma Works
Level One of Higher Knowledge (Abhidharma)
Course Syllabus
Reading One
Subject: Introduction to Abhidharma (Higher Knowledge) and the Detailist
School; history and structure of The Treasure House of Knowledge
(Abhidharmakosha) and its commentaries
Reading: Master Vasubandhu (350 AD), The Treasure House of Knowledge
(Abhidharmakosha), folio 1B
His Holiness the First Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Gendun Drup (1391-
1474), Illumination of the Path to Freedom, folios 2B-3A, 6B-10B, 13A-
13B
Master Changkya Rolpay Dorje (1717-1786), The Schools of
Philosophy, folios 12B-13A
Reading Two
Subject: The nature of karma, and what it produces; the Detailist concept
of "non-communicating form"
Reading: Master Vasubandhu, The Treasure House of Knowledge
(Abhidharmakosha), folios 2A, 10B
His Holiness the First Dalai Lama, Illumination of the Path to
Freedom, folios 17B-18B, 108A-108B
Reading Three
Subject: Types of deeds, and the nature of motivation
(Abhidharmakosha), folios 11A, 13A-B
Freedom, folios 111A-112B, 127A-127B
Course Syllabus
Reading Four
Subject: The correlation of deeds and their results
Reading: Je Tsongkapa (1357-1419), The Great Book on the Steps of the Path
(Lamrim Chenmo), folios 118B-120A
Master Vasubandhu, The Treasure House of Knowledge
Freedom, folios 122B-125A
Reading Five
Subject: How karma is carried, according to the Mind-Only School
Reading: Je Tsongkapa, Illumination of the True Thought, folios 75B-76A, 125B-
127A, 147B-148B, 174A-174B
Reading Six
Subject: How emptiness allows karma to work, according to the Middle-
Way School
Reading: Master Chandrakirti (650 AD), Entering the Middle Way
(Madhyamakavatara), folio 271B
Kedrup Tenpa Dargye (1493-1568), Overview of the Middle Way,
folios 25B, 38A, 125A-130A
Reading Seven
Subject: Black and white deeds, the "path of action," and the root and
branch non-virtues
(Abhidharmakosha), folios 13A-13B
Freedom, folios 126A-127A, 128A-130A
Course Syllabus
Reading Eight
Subject: The concept of most basic virtue, and the distinction between
projecting energy and finishing energy
(Abhidharmakosha), folios 14A-14B
Freedom, folios 130A-130B, 134A-135B
Reading Nine
Subject: The five immediate misdeeds, and the concept of a schism
Freedom, folios 136A-139B
Reading Ten
Subject: The relative severity of deeds, and what causes it
(Abhidharmakosha), folio 15A
Freedom, folios 142B-145B
1
Reading One: Introduction to Abhidharma
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The first selection is from the Schools of Philosophy, written by Changkya Rolpay
Dorje (1717-1786).
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Here next are the Buddhist schools. They are the Detailists, the Sutrists, the
Mind-Only School, and those of the Middle Way. The number of these schools
is exactly four, no more or less, and this is proven by numerous statements
from both the secret and the open scriptures. In particular, in proof of this
number there is the following quotation from the Commentary by Diamond
Heart:
Those of the Buddha are four; the Able One
Had no intention of a fifth.
Master Aryadeva has said as well:
Reading One
2
Those who assert that the teachings of the Buddha
Consist of four schools have seen the way it is:
These, for those who hope to practice, are precisely
The paths explained by the Detailists and the rest.
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_
On the question of an evolution of these four schools, some people assert that
the Detailist and Sutrist Schools started after the third council for assembling
the scriptures. They say that the Middle-Way School began during the days
of Master Nagarjuna, and that the Mind-Only started in the time of Arya
Asanga. They also believe that, prior to these points in time, there was no
concept of the four schools.
This idea is however incorrect, for we do see the concept of the four schools
in works such as Ocean of the Angels; the Secret Teaching of Lo Diamond, in Two
Parts; the Secret Teaching of the Wheel of Time; the Secret Teaching of Diamond
Arali; and others as well.
*********
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The verses throughout the commentary below are from the Treasure House of
Knowledge, written by the Master Vasubandhu (350 AD).
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__
Reading One
3
The commentary to this and the verses below is from Illumination of the Path
to Freedom, written by Gyalwa Gendun Drup, His Holiness the First Dalai
Lama (1391-1474).
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Now the Treasure House of Knowledge utilizes eight chapters as a means of
expressing its subject matter of five basic types. Our explanation of the work
has four divisions: an explanation of its title, the translator's obeisance, an
explanation of the body of the text, and an explanation of the conclusion. In
explaining the title we will first translate it, then elucidate its meaning.
2
About the Title
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_
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In Sanskrit, the Abhidharmakosha Karika.
In Tibetan, the Chu Ngunpay Dzu Kyi Tsikleur Jepa.
[In English, The Treasure House of Knowledge,
set in verse.]
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Reading One
4
In Sanskrit, the title of this work is the Abhidharmakosha Karika. In Tibetan,
this translates as Chu Ngunpay Dzu Kyi Tsikleur Jepa [or, in English, The
Treasure House of Knowledge, set in verse.] Abhidharma refers to "knowledge,"
kosha to "treasure house," and karika to "set in verse."
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Now why do we bother mentioning the Sanskrit title of this commentary to the
Buddha's words? We want to indicate that the work is of reputable origin.
Buddhas of all three times, whether past or present or future, attain their
enlightenment at the Seat of the Diamond, in India. So the Indian name is
meant to show an origin in the seat of knowledge, India.
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A commentary is worth no more or less than it is, but if people think it comes
from India they'll take the time to study and teach it, just because of the better
source. It's just like the local merchants. If they hear some barley has come
from the lowlands, right away they want to trade for it, because the source is
a good one.
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_____________
A commentary may actually be excellent, but if you don't put some Sanskrit
in it nobody wants to work with it. They think it's just Tibetan. Like local
merchants who heard that some barley came from a highlands nooknobody
wants to touch it, whether it's really good or bad.
Reading One
5
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Mentioning the title in Sanskrit has the further purpose of starting a mental
propensity for this excellent tongue. All Buddhas of the three times teach the
Dharma in Sanskrit after their enlightenment. An acquaintance with just this
small amount of the language acts as a mental seed, which will ripen into a
nearly automatic fluency. Finally, it helps one comprehend the differences in
word order between Tibetan and Sanskrit.
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Why do we mention the title at the very start? It facilitates locating the proper
volume, and understanding its subject at a glance. Why put the Sanskrit and
Tibetan side by side? So we may recall the kindness of the master translators,
and strive to repay our debt to them.
We'll explain the actual import of the title later on; here first comes the
obeisance of the translator.
*********
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We now turn to the second part of our detailed treatment of the text's subject
matter: an explication of caused phenomena. In this regard we examine the
actual content of the text only after discussing its structure in three divisions:
a listing of the eight chapters, a demonstration of their interrelation, and a
description of the subject matter presented in each of the eight.
Reading One
6
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Master Purnavardhana presents the eight chapters of the Treasure House as
follows:
Eight chapters were written to elucidate in detail what
is indicated only briefly by the opening words of the
texts: "All phenomena, stained or without stain." the
first two of the chapters are devoted to a general
treatment of stained and unstained phenomena.
A detailed presentation of stained phenomena is left
to the next three chapters. The third, for example,
relates (1) who it is that is so very afflicted, (2) where
they live so very afflicted, and (3) how they are so very
afflicted. It does so with respective presentations on
(1) the five types of beings in the three realmsthe
world of living beings; (2) the external worldthe
"vessel" which holds these beings, and (3) the four
modes of birth and twelve links of dependent
origination. The fourth and fifth chapters describe
what it is that makes beings so very afflictedstained
deeds and the mental afflictions.
Reading One
7
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The final three chapters give a detailed treatment of
unstained phenomena. Chapter Six covers who it is,
what kind of person, that is purified; where it is, the
place, that he is purified; and how it is, by what stages
of realization, that he is purified. Chapter Seven
concerns what it is that makes the person pure: as
sutra says, "Affliction is something wisdom must
destroy." Chapter Eight concerns meditationthat
which provides a base for wisdom to rely onfor as
sutra states again, "The mind in meditation gleans
pure reality."
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Reading One
8
Other masters of the past have outlined the eight in the following way:
The work is presented in eight chapters in order to
address three points: objects, activity, and result. In
general, all objects may be divided into two types:
apparent reality and actual reality. The first two
chapters are devoted to apparent reality; the third,
fourth, and fifth deal with actual realitythe four
truths. The sixth chapter explains the different types
of realization, whose sphere of activity is actual reality.
The result which is attained, wisdom, as well as other
personal attributes associated with it are treated in the
final two chapters.
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_
As for the interrelation of these chapters, the first presents the general subject
matter addressed by the works on knowledge: stained and unstained
phenomena. The first chapter makes but a mere mention of the powers and
of the way in which caused phenomena arise; thus the following chapter, the
second, is devoted to a more detailed treatment of these two points. The
subject of the three realms, given only passing mention in these opening
chapters, is therefore explored in the third. Some believe that the three realms
thus presented are creations of some god, such as the one they call "Powerful";
the following, fourth chapter therefore disproves this idea and shows that the
real source is deeds.
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Reading One
9
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The message of the next chapter, the fifth, is that the motivating force behind
the deeds outlined in Chapter Four is the widespread mental afflictions. The
sixth chapter is devoted to demonstrating a path by which we may eliminate
these afflictions, so naturally comes after their presentation. The seventh
chapter provides additional detail about the types of knowledge mentioned in
the sixth; the eighth, lastly, completes the interrelationship of the chapters by
enlarging upon the qualities which the Buddha possesses in common with
advanced beings at lower stagesthese qualities and those unique to the
Buddha having first appeared in Chapter Seven.
________________
The third point we have promised, a description of the subject matter
presented in each of the eight chapters, will be understood from the words of
the Master's work itself.
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Having thus covered the pledge to compose the work with its preliminary
eulogy, we shall present the actual explanation of the work's title, the first
subject treated once the author has inspired himself for the work. The word
"knowledge" will be explained first, both by itself and, incidentally, with regard
to its accessories. Then we will speak of the expression "treasure house."
Reading One
10
5
Knowledge and its Real Accessories
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Knowledge is unstained wisdom, and its accessories.
[I.5]
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Master Vasubandhu has promised "To write this commentary, the Treasure
House of Knowledge." But what does he mean by "knowledge"? There are two
types of such knowledge; we may describe the first in the form of a logical
statement:
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Consider the following three paths without stain: those of
seeing, habituation, and no further learning.
They are actual knowledge, because
They constitute unstained wisdom and its accessories.
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Now the second portion of knowledge, its accessories, may further be
addressed in two divisions of real accessories to knowledge and merely
nominal accessories to knowledge. Real accessories to knowledge may be
considered in terms of the level upon which they rely, the meaning of reliance
in the present context, and an investigation into how many heaps knowledge
has, if you also count all which stand in attendance to it.
Reading One
11
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On what levels do the three mentioned paths rely? The path of seeing may
rely on any of the six levels of concentration. This is because the final stage
of the path of preparation, known as "ultimate phenomenon," may itself rely
upon any of these six levels; and the path of seeing always relies upon the
same level as the stage of the ultimate phenomenon. As the scripture states,
"Same level as ultimate phenomenon." Scripture also confirms our assertion
that the ultimate-phenomenon stage can rely on any of the six levels:
Meditative at beyond no leisure,
Extraordinary concentration level too.
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The ultimate-phenomenon stage of the path of preparation does not, however,
rely on preliminary levels other than the one mentioned. The stage beyond no
leisure is free of stain, whereas the remaining stages are stainedthey are
levels wherein one's state of realization derives only from making distinctions
between more or less subtle levels of experience. Nor can the ultimate stage
of the path of preparation ever rely on the desire level, for the stage is one of
controlled meditation, and the desire level is not.
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Reading One
12
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Neither can the ultimate stage rely upon any one of the first three formless
levels, for at these levels one is incapable of focusing upon the desire
leveland during the path of seeing one must. Finally, it is impossible for the
ultimate stage to rely on the "peak" levelthe fourth of the formless levelsfor
one's ability to discriminate at this level is too unclear.
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The unstained path of habituation, as well as that of no further learning, may
both rely on any one of the nine unstained levels.
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Now what we mean by "reliance" in the above discussion is not the kind of
reliance you might imagine, where the pole of a banner is propped up in one
of those chimney-like tubes in the corner of the roof to a Tibetan house. Rather
the path, or mental realization, actually consists of the particular level it relies
upon.
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How many heaps does knowledge have, if you count all of those which are
attendant to it? Knowledge can be said to have all five heaps, since unstained
wisdom comes along with non-communicating form included within unstained
restraint. Feeling is present as pleasure of thought if the wisdom relies on the
Reading One
13
first two concentration levels. Where it relies on the third, mental pleasure is
had. Reliance on other levels, of neutral feeling, means that neutral feeling is
present. Discrimination is there as an attendant to consciousness of one's
thoughts, as well as the heap of other factorsbe they mental functions or the
factors not associated with mindalong with consciousness.
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Someone may object that it is improper to speak of consciousness of one's
thoughts as being "attendant" to unstained wisdom, since mind itself must be
considered more primary than mental functions. Generally the relationship is
so, but in the context of an ultimate analysis of phenomena wisdom must be
treated as the more primary. If the context had been the subject of belief, for
example, we could even have considered faith more principal.
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With regard to the formless realm, no accessory to knowledge possessing form
would be present, and thus only four of the heaps had in attendance.
6
Nominal Accessories to Knowledge
_____________
Those used to achieve it, and the commentaries.
[I.6]
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Reading One
14
________________
There are a number of accessories to knowledge which are merely nominal.
Those include first the wisdoms of learning, contemplation, and meditation,
which are practiced in order "to achieve it"actual knowledge. Second there
is that amount of wisdom with which one is born. Finally there are the
classical commentaries which take these very types of wisdom as their subject
matter. These include The Practice of Wisdom and similar works.
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Let us use the form of a logical statement:
Consider the accessories to knowledge just mentioned.
They may be given the name "knowledge," because
They constitute the means or cause of one's achieving actual
knowledge.
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What is the actual process of causation here? Untainted wisdom springs from
meditative wisdom, which comes from contemplative wisdom, which derives
from the wisdom of learningall dependent upon the wisdom with which one
was born.
Calling these accessories "knowledge" serves a specific purpose: the author is
trying to tell us that they must be relied upon as methods, or causes, for
achieving real knowledge. In actual point of fact they could never be
knowledge, since they are stained.
Reading One
15
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_
At what level can each of the three accessories mentioned be found? The
wisdom with which one is born exists in all three realms.
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Wisdom derived from learning is found in the lower two realms but never in
the formless, since there is no hearing sound in that realm. Contemplative
wisdom exists in the desire but not in the higher two realms, since there the
mere act of starting to turn the mind towards an object sets off one-pointed
concentration. Meditative wisdom, on the other hand, appears only in these
higher realms and never in the desire, since it is not a level where there exists
any controlled meditation.
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The classical commentaries, if we consider them as the actual sound of speech,
exist only in the desire realm and are absent from the higher two: as the
Treasure House itself reads, "Communicating at those with examining." If on
the other hand we consider these commentaries as names, words, and letters,
they can be said to exist in the lower two realms but not in the formless: again
the Treasure House states, "Included in the desire, form; animate."
Reading One
16
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____________
Meditative wisdom of the form realm, insofar as it possesses the non-
communicating form of restraint arising from concentration, involves all five
heaps.
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Where does the word "knowledge" [Sanskrit: abhidharma] come from? A
phenomenon [dharma] is that which possesses [dhr] a nature. And knowledge
brings to [abhi] you, or leads you to [abhi] that highest of all existing
phenomena: nirvana.
7
About the Expression "Treasure House"
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______________
"Treasure house" of knowledge because they all fit here
In its points, or since they are its home.
[I.7-8]
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Reading One
17
____________________
Master Vasubandhu has stated: "I shall write this commentary, The Treasure
House of Knowledge." Just how is it a treasure house of knowledge? The very
most prized points of the Seven Works on Knowledge all fit here in the
points, in the subject matter, of the Master's commentary. The scabbard in
which you sheathe a sword, for example, is called the "scabbard of the sword,"
and the place where you deposit your riches is termed the "treasure house of
riches."
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You could also say that the Seven works on Knowledge are themselves the
"treasure house," and that they are the home, or source, for the present work.
The expression "scabbard of the sword," for example, can just as well indicate
the place from where the sword was drawn.
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Next comes a demonstration that the teachings on knowledge are the word of
the Teacher, preceded by a statement of purpose.
8
Purpose and a Proof
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There's no way to put the mental afflictions
to rest without an
Ultimate analysis of every existing
phenomenon, and this
Reading One
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Affliction is what keeps the world adrift
here in the ocean of
Life. Thus the Teacher has spoken it, they say.
[I.9-12]
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Giving an explanation of knowledge has the following purpose. Without
wisdom which analyzes every phenomenon in an ultimate way, there is no
way of putting to rest all that the mental afflictions imply. And this
affliction is what keeps those of the world adrift here in the ocean of life.
It is therefore necessary to plant, in students' minds, wisdom which can make
this ultimate analysis of phenomena. Thus the explanation.
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The Master, moreover, has good reason to honor the exposition of knowledge.
He knows that, first, it plants the wisdom of ultimate analysis in the minds of
students. Secondly, it has been spoken by the Teacher.
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"Why do you say that the exposition of knowledge is spoken by the Teacher?"
one may object. "Are you trying to say that the Seven Works on Knowledge
were not composed by the enemy destroyers?" In answer, we may say that
Reading One
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they are the speech of the Teacher. Even the great enemy destroyers would
have been unable to make the first descriptions of the nature and then
divisions of existing phenomena had they not relied upon the Buddha.
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The Buddha first delivered various teachings, according to the states of mind
or inquiries of his disciples. The scattered records of these teachings were later
taken by the Venerable Katyayaniputra and others, and collected into such
works as The Practice of Wisdom. The Venerable Dharmatrata, for example, has
taken a whole group of scattered sutras, delivered at various places and times,
addressing the needs of various students with counsel such as "Alas! All things
with causes must change!" He has arranged these various teachings into a
group, but they remain the word of the Teacher. So too with the Seven.
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The entire point may be summarized in an extended logical statement:
The works on knowledge are nothing less than
the word of the Teacher, because
The enemy destroyers have only made them into
collections,
Analogous to the sections of sutra and
vowed morality found in the canon, for
They are only collections made by the
Arya Kashyapa.
Thus they say.
Reading One
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This expression, "Thus they say," is meant to indicate that another school of
philosophers holds a different view. The so-called "Sutrists" assert the
following:
That these explanations constitute the speech of the
Teacher is a belief held by the followers of the
"Knowledge" group within the Detailist school of
philosophy. We however cannot accept this tenet, for
many statements appear in these texts which are
contrary to logic. One example is the claim that
phenomena not produced by causes exist as material
entities. Moreover, everybody knows there are lots of
other authors who have composed such works on
knowledge. They are the works of enemy destroyers,
not collections of the Buddha's speech.
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____________
Now Master Jinaputra's text, in a versed summary, lists the Seven Works on
Knowledge as follows:
Katyayaniputra did Practice of Wisdom,
The Treatise was of Vasumitra.
Reading One
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Collection of Consciousness, Devasharma,
And Shariputra the Heap of Phenomena.
The Comment on Wisdom's by Maudgalyayana,
Mahakaushtila's Types of Beings;
And Purna, Category Anthology.
_______ ______________
_________ ______________
_______________________ _
_____
Master Purnavardhana attributes the Types of Beings to Shariputra.
"Why is the one school," you may ask, "known as the `Sutrists.'?" This school
of philosophers holds that sutra is valid, but denies the validity of classical
commentaries such as the Seven Works on Knowledge. The Detailists respond
with the following criticism:
____ ________________
___________ _________
_______ ____
Well then, what about the expression "monk who has
mastered all three sections of the scriptures," which
occurs in sutra itself? How are you going to come up
with three sections of scripture? We don't see any
section on knowledge apart from these very works.
____
_ __ __ __ _ ____ _ _______ ___ _ _
____ ____ ___ ___ __ _ _ _ _ __ _
__
Reading One
22
The Sutrists counter:
This is not a problem. Those works within the sutra
section devoted to the delineation of what is
ultimately real and to the defining characteristics of
phenomena constitute in themselves a discrete section
on knowledge.
So they say.
____________ ________________
______ ____________________
_ ____ _____ ___ __ __ __ _
___________________ ______
_ ____ ______________ _ __ __
"Now why is the other school," one might continue, "known as the `Detailists'?"
One may say that they are "Detailists" because they devote their study
exclusively to the classical commentary known as Detailed Exposition, or else
because they understand the Exposition's meaning. The school itself may be
further divided into a number of groups. Those who reside in Kashmir are
known as the "Kashmiris," while those who live in the western part of the
same land are known as the "Westerners." Detailists in areas other than
Kashmir, those in central India and so forth, are referred to collectively as those
"Under the Sun."
_ _ ______ ___ _ __ ___ ____ __ _ ___
_ __ __ __ ___ ___ ____ ____ __ _ __ __ __
________ _____ ____________
_________________________
____
Reading One
23
Now the lines beginning with "There's no way to put the mental afflictions to
rest..." also indicate that Master Vasubandhu's commentary possesses the four
requisite attributes of a reputable work. Again we may use the form of a
logical statement:
Consider the act of making a statement of purpose, and of a
relation of the text to that purpose, here at the beginning of the
commentary.
It has a purpose of its own, because
It conveys to disciples the fact that the commentary possesses the
four attributes of a reputable work. Once they realize that these
attributes are present, disciples will be inspired to study the text.
______________________________
_________ ___________________
__________________________
_ __ __________ __ ____ __ ___ _ __ _ _
_____________ ___________
__________ ________________
_ ___________ ___________
___
Here are the four attributes:
1) The subject matter of the text concerns stained and unstained types
of phenomena. It is indicated in the verse with the words "every
existing phenomenon."
2) The purpose is to utilize this subject matter to plant, in students'
minds, that wisdom which analyzes phenomena in an ultimate
way. It is indicated by the words "ultimate analysis."
Reading One
24
3) The ultimate goal is to have these students achieve nirvana, both
with and without anything remaining. It is indicated indirectly by
the entire phrase running from "There's no way..." up to
"...without," and on from "this affliction..." up to the word "Thus."
4) A relation exists in that the purpose must be achieved through the
subject matter of the work, and the ultimate goal through this very
purpose.
One may also state the relation as being between the subject matter of the
work (that is, all existing phenomena) and the means by which this subject
matter is expressed (i.e., the commentary itself).
________________ __________
______________ _________
__________ ___________
__________________________
Demonstrating that the work possesses the four attributes serves its own
purpose. Master Dharmottara explains that
It functions to satisfy any doubts that a student might
have about whether the commentary has any purpose;
if so, whether one could ever achieve that purpose; if
so, whether anyone would want to; and, if so, whether
there exists any relationship between the text and the
realization of its proclaimed purpose.
_________ __________ _________
___________ _____________
________ _________________
__________
Reading One
25
Master Vinitadeva is in no disagreement:
A statement of just these four attributes serves to allay
any suspicions a person might have that the work
might lack any subject matter, or be without a
purpose, or lead to no desirable ultimate goal, or that
these three might bear no relation to each other. The
statement thus inspires students to take up the
commentary.
__
________________________
__ __ _ __ ______ __ __ __ _
_ _____ __________
Someone may make the following objection:
If the mere claims that the work possesses these
attributes is enough to remove any doubts that it does
not, then the simple statement "Sound is a changing
thing" should be enough to remove any misconception
that sound is lasting. If the latter is true, it must be an
exercise in futility for the classic proofs to go on and
give a reason followed by a supporting example, to
prove the point of sound's impermanence.
__________________
_ ___________
And suppose the statement about sound is not enough to stop the
misconception by itself. How then can the assertion about the
attributes suffice to end a student's doubts? For the two cases are
exactly the same.
_____________________ ____
________________________
Reading One
26
_______________
Sages reply to such an objection as follows:
Telling someone that sound is changing is enough to
prevent his believing that sound is something lasting.
Giving him then a reason and supporting example
serves to plant the opposing, accurate belief in his
mind, removing the uncertainty and lack of correct
ideas left behind by stopping his wrong belief.
__ ___ _ _ _ ______ __ _ __ ____ _
____ _______________ __
___________ ___________
______ _____
One may ask if any of the four attributes is such that one subsumes another.
The purpose, its ultimate purpose, and the relationship of the content to the
purpose are, all of them, subsumed by the subject matterfor this subject
matter includes every existing phenomenon. Neither of the purpose of its
ultimate purpose subsumes the other, since they are cause and effect.
__ __ _ _ ___ ______ __ _ _ ___ _
__
Yet another question may be raised:
You've mentioned that the ultimate goal of knowledge
is achieving the two types of nirvana. Can you list
each one's basic nature, as well as characteristic
features?"
_______ ________________
_______________ ______
Reading One
27
_ __ __ __ ____ _____ _ _____ _ __
________
According to the Listener system, nirvana where something still remains is
described as having both achieved and actualized a cessation resulting from
analysis, an elimination of the true condition of the source of all suffering,
which implies deeds and mental afflictions. At the same time, one has
achieved but not actualized a cessation where he has eliminated suffering.
Something "remains" because one still undergoes some one or more of the
three types of suffering.
___________________
_______________________
____________ ________
_ _ __ __ _ ____ __ ___ __ _ _
__________________________
___________
We can see occurrences in sutra of persons who had attained this nirvana, who
were living in desire-realm bodies and still had to go through outright
suffering. Arya Gurchung, for example, was forced to consume a soup of
water and ashes, which killed him. The Arya Udayin was decapitated in a
brothel. We hear of a self-made Buddha who died from a wound inflicted by
a poisoned arrow. Even the Buddha himself was pricked by the sandalwood
thorn, suffered from backache, and bled where he was hit from the fragments
of shells hurled by Devadatta's catapult.
____________________________
________________________
___________________________
__
Reading One
28
Enemy destroyers reside in all three realms; those at the first three levels of
concentration have but the last two kinds of suffering left: the first is
completely absent there. Those at the fourth concentration level and beyond
have only the last suffering, the pervasive kind of mortality itself, remaining
still.
_______________________
________ ____________ _
________ ___________ __
_____ __________ _____
_
Given the above, we can say that one achieves nirvana without anything left
over when he actually brings about a cessation in which every one of the
stained heaps has been stopped. The Anthology of Advices concurs:
The body dissolves, feeling's finally cooled,
End of discrimination, demise of the other
Factorsconsciousness fades away.
Such one has seen the end of suffering.
_ __ _ _ __ ___ ___ __ ___ _ __ _
________________________
_____________________ ________
___ _ _ _ ___ __ ____ ___ __ _____
_______________________
___
It should be noted that the above view is only that of the present school.
According to the great vehicle, the freedom achieved by listeners and self-made
victors is not a final sort of freedom. Moreover, the prick of His foot by the
sandalwood thorn and the other events mentioned above were only a show
Reading One
29
that the Buddha put on for the sake of His disciples. Actually the Buddha is
completely incapable of suffering, for He has liberated himself from every
possible problem, ranging from those of a normal suffering life up to those of
a lower nirvana. The sutra known as Developing the Three Bodies of a Buddha
does though speak of the two form bodies of the Buddha as being nirvana with
something remaining, and of the phenomena body as being a nirvana with
nothing remaining.
_ __ _____ _ __ ____ __ __ _ _ __
______ _____________ __
______________ __________
_________________
Master Jinaputra summarizes as follows:
The whole purpose of explicating knowledge is to
make one a master of subjects such as the heaps and
so on. Two benefits spring from such mastery. One's
own focus helps him to develop such qualities as
mental quietude. And when discoursing with others,
he will feel full confidence to expound on any
question.
30
Reading Two: The Nature of Karma, and What it Produces; the
Detailist Concept of "Non-Communicating Form"
______________ ______ _
_____ __
We turn now to our commentary on the "Presentation of Deeds," which
constitutes the fourth chapter of the Treasure House of Knowledge. First we
relate the present chapter to the one just finished, and then continue with the
exposition of deeds itself.
1
What Causes Worlds
___________
Deeds cause the multitude of worlds.
[IX.1]
_______________________
_ _ ___ __ _ _ __ __ __ ___ __ __
____________ ______
One may begin with the following question: "You have just described a
multitude of worldsboth the great vessels of the outer worlds and the living
beings they contain. Where do they all come from?" They do not come from
no cause at all, and they do not come from causes that are inconsistent with
their own nature. This is because they stay for some time, then go away; and
as the root text said itself, "Not an almighty one or the like, because of stages
and such."
Reading Two
31
____ __ _ ___ __ __ __ ___ ___ __
What then does cause them? It is the past deeds of living beings that cause all
the multitude of worldsboth the places and the people.
___ ___ ____________ _
___ ____ __
The exposition that follows now on deeds is divided into two parts: first on the
basic nature of deeds, and secondly on listings from sutra on the different
types of deeds. The former is itself presented first in a brief introduction and
then in a more detailed treatment.
2
Introduction to Deeds
__________
________
__________
___________
They're movement of the mind and what it brings.
Mental movement is a deed of thought;
What it causes, deeds of body and speech.
These are either communicating or not.
[IV.2-5]
___________ ______ ________
_________ _____ _______
__________
"In the line above," one might continue, "you said that `deeds cause the
multitude of worlds.' Just how many types of deeds are there?"
Theydeedsare of two different types: deeds consisting of movement of the
mind, and the deeds that it bringsthose that the mind motivates.
Reading Two
32
_ ___ _ __ _ _ ___ __ _ __ __ ___ _
__________ ___________
_ __ __ __ ___ _ _ ____ __ _
________________
One may ask about each of their basic natures. Mental movement is a deed
of the thought, for it consists of a deed linked with consciousness of the
thought. What it causesthat is, deeds motivated by the mindare of two
kinds: these are deeds of the body and deeds of speech. These two
themselves can be further divided into two types each: they are either what we
call "communicating" or not.
__ _ __ __ _ ___ __ _ __ __ __
________
Our more detailed treatment of these points continues in three steps: the
definition of a deed, typical features of the three types of deeds in general, and
different divisions of non-communicating types of deeds.
_ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ _
________ ________
In discussing the definition of a deed we will cover first the communicating,
and then the non-communicating types. The former will be described first for
those of the body, and then for those of speech.
3
Communicating Deeds of the Body
_____________
Body communicating held to be shape.
[IV.6]
Reading Two
33
_ _ _ ____ ___ __ _ _ _____ __ __ _
_ __ __ __ _ _ _____ __ __ __ __ __
______________________
_____________________
"You mentioned," one might start, "a line just now saying `these are either
communicating or not.' Can you describe the types of bodily deeds that are
said to be `communicating'?" Communicating deeds of the body are held in
the present school to be the shape that the physical body takes under
motivation by movements of the mind present for the duration of specific
actions such as prostrating oneself before a holy object or taking the life of a
sentient being.
*********
22
Non-Communicating Form
________
__________
_________
____________
Even during distraction, while mind is stopped,
Virtue or not, continuing after,
Taking the great elements as its causes,
This form we say does not communicate.
[I.41-4]
__________________ _______
______ _______________
Reading Two
34
Someone may begin:
What about the line above that ends with the words
"...and non-communicating"? What do you mean by
"non-communicating form"?
_ _ ______ __ _______ ___ ___ _
_ ______________________
This form which does not communicate possesses five distinctive features.
The first is a feature of period: this type of form is present even during periods
when one is distracted, or while one is engaged in a controlled meditation
where mind is stopped.
______________________
___ _________________
_ ___ __ _ __ _ _ _ ___ ___ _ __ _ _ _
_______________
This much is also true of the eye and so on, so that we must mention a feature
of essence: this form is either virtuous or not. The description so far could
apply to communicating form as well, so a feature of time is included: non-
communicating form continues on after a deed, in a perfect stream. As much
could also be said of virtuous and non-virtuous holds, and thus we note that
this form takes the great elements as its causes.
________ _________ _____
______ _________ ________
_____________
The Kashmiri Sanghabhadra [?] attacks this definition with the following verse:
It's incomplete, contradicts classical
Commentary, one then is not,
One not then is. "Even's" superfluous,
A feature not mentioned should be.
Reading Two
35
__________________ ___
___________ _____________
_ ____ ______ ____ ___
_______________
He explains his criticism as follows:
Let's consider some non-communicating form at the
first instant of its existence. According to you, it could
never be non-communicating form, because it is
incompleteit lacks the feature of continuing on in a
perfect stream. Consider this form again. According
to you, it could also never be a substantial thing,
because it's a stream. And if you go ahead and agree
that it is not substantial, you contradict the classical
commentaries which explain that it is.
___________________
_ ________________ __
_________________ ____
________________
Consider further the non-communicating form that is created by
single-pointed concentration. If your definition is correct, then it
is not non-communicating form. This is because it does not exist
during particular periods when one is distracted, or while mind is
stopped; rather, it is present during periods when one is not
distracted, and when the mind is functioning.
___ __ __ _ __ ___ _ ___ __ __ __ ___ _
_ __ __ __ _ __ ___ _ __ ___ __
____________ _________
Reading Two
36
_________________________
__ _ _ _ ____ _ _ _ ___ _ __ ___ _
__________________
Take too what is not this kind of form at all: form which does
communicate intent. If you are right then it is form which doesn't
communicate intent, because it is present during periods without
distraction, and with a functioning mind. Moreover, the word
"even" is superfluous: when you state that this type of form is there
when the mind is distracted, everyone understands that it is also
present at times when the mind is functioning. You have, finally,
also made the mistake of not mentioning a feature which should have
been: the fact that this type of form is invisible and ineffable.
_______ ______ ___
______ _____________ ____
________ ___________
Sanghabhadra [?] then presents an alternative definition, in the following verse
of his own:
Form different from the one
You made: during thought and also
Not, specified, ineffable,
This does "not communicate."
________________________
___ ________ _____________
______________________
_____
Both of the above systems, nonetheless, amount to the same inconsistency. If
you establish something as non-communicating form because it relates to
periods when the mind is not distracted, or functioning, then form which does
Reading Two
37
communicate intent must also not communicate it. And if on the other hand
you establish something as non-communicating because it relates to periods
where the mind is stopped, then the two restraints which arise from single-
pointed concentration could never be non-communicating.
38
Reading Three: Types of Deeds, and the Nature of Motivation
69
Abbreviated List of Rights and Wrongs
_________
________
_________
A very gross abbreviation of them
All was stated as the ten paths of
Action, whether virtuous or not.
[IV.262-4]
____________________ _____
_______________
A very gross abbreviation of all of themof all right and wrong
activitieswas stated as the ten paths of action, whether we are talking about
the ten virtuous types or the ten types which are not virtuous.
_____ __ _ _ __ ___ _ _ __ __ ____
____________ _________
One may ask just what is not included in such an abbreviation. Certain steps
of a particular act, say that of taking life, are not included. These would be the
steps known as "undertaking" or "conclusion." Neither have we included any
but the most serious forms of action in speech; mental movement as an
element in deeds of the thought has been omitted too.
Reading Three
39
__________ _________ __
________
As for virtues, the above abbreviation again leaves out the "undertaking" and
"conclusion" steps for actions of the body. Examples of virtue in one's speech,
such as speaking sweetly, are omittedas is mental movement in deeds of the
thought.
______ __________ __
__ ___ __ __ _ _ __ _ ___ ___ ___ __ __ _
______ _ _ _____ ___ __ _ ___
_________ ______
Our more detailed treatment of what we call a "path of action" includes seven
different parts:
1) the relative certainty of whether a given action includes types
of form that either do or do not communicate one's intentions;
2) the division of each of the paths of action into three different
types;
3) the details of non-virtuous paths of action;
4) the ways in which one loses, and then regains, his most basic
virtues;
5) how many paths of action can occur together with movement
of the mind;
6) what paths of action are found in which realms, and among
what types of beings; and
7) the results of the paths of action.
*********
Reading Three
40
11
Virtue and the Other Types
_
_________
__________
_____________
__________
__________
_________
...Freedom
Is the ultimate virtue. The roots as well as
Shame and a conscience are so in themselves.
Those that are linked with them, by a mental link;
Actions and the like, by motivation.
Their opposites, non-virtue. The ultimate
In the ethically neutral, those described.
[IV.30b-6]
__ ____________________
___ ______________ ______
One may ask whether virtue and the rest are established only on the basis of
the motivation involved. They are not; in fact, there are four different
divisions, beginning with what we call "ultimate" virtue. How do we describe
them?
__ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ ____ ___
____ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ ____ ___ _
__ _ ____ __ __ ___ __ __ _ _ __ ___
Reading Three
41
_ __ _____ _____ __ ___ _ _ _ _ _
_______
First consider freedomnirvana. It is the ultimate virtue, for it is the highest
state of happiness, free of every single suffering. It's like a totally healthy
person. Next consider the three roots of virtue, as well as a sense of shame
and a conscience. They are virtue by nature, for they are virtue in and of
themselves, without relying on anything else. They are like medicinal herbs.
______________________ ___
___ ___ _ __ __ _____ ____ ____ _ _
_ _____________
Still further let us take those instances of mind and mental functions that are
joined in a mental link with themwith these virtues. They are "mental-link"
virtue, for we establish them as virtue by the fact that they share a mental link
with virtue. They are, for example, like the liquid in which you mix your
medicinal herbs.
_______________________ __
________ ______________ __
_________________
Next consider physical and verbal actions and the likethe things that are
motivated by the mental elements just described. They are what we call
"motivational" virtue, for they are considered virtue by reason of the virtuous
motivation involved with them. We can compare them to the milk that a
mother produces after she has drunk the liquid mixed with the medicinal herbs
described.
_____________ __ _____ __
________ _________________
_ _____
Reading Three
42
The opposites of each of the above are what we call "non-virtue"; the process
is as follows. First take the cycle of life. It is the ultimate non-virtue, for it is
the highest form of unhappinesstotal bondage in suffering. It is like an
illness.
_ __ _ ____ __ __ ___ _ __ __ _ _ __ __
_____ ___________________
________
Next consider the three root non-virtues, as well as shamelessness and the lack
of a conscience. They are non-virtue by nature, for they are non-virtue in and
of themselves, without relying on anything else. They are like poisonous
herbs.
_______________________ _____
________ __________________
______________
Then consider instances of mind and mental functions which share a mental
link with these non-virtues. They are "mental-link" non-virtue, for we establish
them as non-virtue because they share a mental link with non-virtue. These
we can compare to a liquid in which the poisonous herbs were mixed.
___________________ ______
_____ ________________ ___
________________
Let's next take the deeds of body and speech motivated by the mental elements
described. These are "motivational" non-virtue, for we establish them as non-
virtue through the non-virtuous motivation involved. These types resemble the
milk that a mother gives after she has drunk the liquid mixed with the
poisonous herbs.
__________ _____________
Reading Three
43
___ ______________ ____
The ultimate in the things which are ethically neutral consist of those
instances we have described previously: non-analytic cessations and
unproduced space.
We turn next to a description of motivation.
12
The Nature of Motivation
___________
________
_________
__________
___________
________
___________
_________
Two types of motivation: causal and
The one we give the name of "at the time."
The first of the two acts to set you off;
The second's function is to make you continue.
The consciousness eliminated by seeing
Is the one which starts. The thought for both
Eliminated by habituation.
The five function in continuation.
[IV.37-44]
__ __ ___ __ __ ____ __ _ __ __ _ _
Reading Three
44
________________
_________
One may begin as follows:
You have stated above that the communicating type of
form can never be motivated by something which is
eliminated by the path of seeing. Sutra though
explains that mistaken views lead to mistaken
thoughts, mistaken speech, and mistaken activity.
Isn't there a contradiction here?
___ __________ __________
_______________ _________
_ __ _ _ ___ __ __ __ __ _ _ __ __
___________
There is not. In general, all motivation may be divided into two types: the
motivation had during the causal stages of a deed and the one we give the
name of "motivation at the time." The first of the two acts to set you off: this
is where you say before any particular action, "I'm going to do this or that."
The second's function is to make you continue on: this is where you say to
yourself after you've already started, "Now I'll do this act."
_ _____ ____ ___ __ __ __ _ ____ _
____ _______________
Now among these two, the consciousness eliminated by the path of seeing is
the first, the one which starts you off on an action. This is the one that the
sutra was referring to; when we made our statement, we were talking about
how it couldn't be the motivation during the time of the action.
__ _ ______ __ __ _ _____ ___ _ _
___ ___ _ __ __ __ _ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ _
Reading Three
45
__ ____
The thought for both kinds of motivation includes types that are eliminated
by the path of habituation, for it involves conceptions and is directed
outwards. The five sense consciousnesses function only in continuation of a
deed, for they are types of awareness that do not involve conception but which
are directed outwards.
We continue now with certain relevant features of motivation.
13
Certain Features of Motivation
___________
____________
_________
_____________
From starting types of virtue and the rest,
Come three types of continuation as well.
For the Able the same, or that one virtue.
Those that come from ripening are neither.
[IV.45-8]
__ __ ___ __ ____ __ __ ___ __ __
____ _ __ __ ___ __ ____ __ __ __
_________________
One may ask whether it is assured that starting types of motivation that are
virtuous or whatever will lead to continuing types of motivation that are also
virtuous or such. From each of the starting types, from those of virtue and
the rest, come all three types of continuation as wellwhether it be virtue,
non-virtue, or the ethically neutral.
_____________________ __
Reading Three
46
__ _ ______ __ __ _ _____ ___ _
____________________ ___
_ ___ ___ __ __ _ _____ __ _ _ _____
____
For the Able Ones they are the same: starting types of motivation which have
a virtuous nature lead to continuing types that are also virtue, and starting
motivations of an ethically neutral character lead to continuing motivations that
are neutral too. Or their starting motivations that are ethically neutral can lead
to continuing motivations that are virtue. With the Able Ones though you can
never have a continuing motivation which is ethically neutral coming from a
starting motivation of virtue, for these beings' motivation never digresses.
_ _ __ _ ________ _ ___ __ _ _
__________ _______ ___
___________ _____________
____________ ___________
_ _______
Some people make the following claim:
The Able Ones are never in any state of mind other
than that of balanced meditation. They therefore
possess no ethically neutral states of mind. For
support we have the verse from sutra that says,
Even as he goes, the elephant meditates.
Even as he rises, the elephant meditates.
Even as he sleeps, the elephant meditates.
Even as he stays, the elephant meditates.
_______ __________________
___ _______________________
Reading Three
47
_________________
In reply to this assertion the Detailists make a claim of their own:
This is no proof that they can never have any state of
mind that is not one of balanced meditation. The
quotation is only referring to the way the Ones Thus
Gone think as they act in any of the four different
ways: when they are going somewhere, they conceive
of themselves as going somewhere, and so on.
__________________________
_ ______________
__ _ ___ ____ _ _ __ __ __ __ __
________ _______________
__________
Those things that come about from a ripening of past deeds are neither the
starting type of motivation or the continuing type. This is because their
appearance does not rely on any particular application of effortthey just
come out on their own.
This completes our discussion of the typical features of the three types of deeds
in general. We move on now to the different divisions of non-communicating
types of deeds, beginning with a brief summary and continuing to a more
detailed treatment.
As for the first, non-communicating form can be understood as having three
different types. These are vows, anti-vows, and those other than these two.
*********
__ ____ ___ __ ____ _ __ ______ ___ _
__________________________
Reading Three
48
____ _____ __ __ __ __ ___ _ __ _ _
____________ __________
____________________
The Treasure House of Chim [Chim Jampey Yang's commentary to the
Abhidharmakosha] states:
Sutra describes three kinds of karma: virtuous karma,
non-virtuous karma, and neutral karma. Virtue is that
karma which, in the short term, brings you a karmic
ripening which is desirable (that is, a feeling of
pleasure), and ultimately protects you from suffering
(that is, helps you achieve nirvana). Non-virtue is that
karma which brings you a karmic ripening which is
undesirable (that is, a feeling of pain). A neutral deed,
something neither virtuous nor non-virtuous, is that
karma which brings you something which is neither
desirable nor undesirable.
49
Reading Four: The Correlation of Deeds and Their Results
________________________ __
__________________________
The first selection is taken from the Treasure House of Knowledge
(Abhidharmakosha), written by Master Vasubandhu (350 AD), and from its
commentary by His Holiness the First Dalai Lama, Gendun Drup (1391-1474),
entitled Illumination of the Path to Freedom.
**********
48
Definitions of the Basic Types of Deeds
___________
___________
Deeds for the pleasant, unpleasant, and other--
Virtuous, non-virtuous, and other.
[IV.177-8]
_____________ ___________
_ _ __ __ ____ _ __ _ __ _ __ _____
____________________ ___
____________ ___ ____
Reading Four
50
"Just how," one may ask, "do you describe virtuous, non-virtuous, and ethically
neutral deeds?" Deeds that lead to a pleasant experience are virtuous deeds.
Those that lead to an unpleasant experience, an experience of suffering, are
non-virtuous. Deeds that lead to some "other" type of experiencethat is,
which bring on a neutral experienceare themselves the "other" type of deeds:
those which are ethically neutral.
Our second group includes divisions of deeds according to their results; we
begin with a brief introduction and continue to a more detailed treatment.
49
Deeds According to Result
________________
___________
Merit, non-merit, those which are unshifting;
The three including those which lead to pleasure.
[IV.179-80]
_ _ __ __ _ __ __ _____ __ __ ____
____ __________ __
_____ _______________
_ ___ _____________ ________
__
Now deeds may be divided into three different types: deeds which represent
merit, non-merit, or those which are unshifting. They can also be divided
into a different set of three: the three including those which lead to an
experience of pleasure and so on.
Our more detailed treatment of these points will proceed in two steps: first a
presentation of merit and the rest; secondly, a description of the mentioned
pleasure and so on.
Reading Four
51
50
Merit, Non-Merit, and Unshifting Deeds
_______________
_______
________
__________
Merit, virtuous deeds of the realm of desire.
The ones that come from the above, unshifting.
They're unshifting for the reason that
The deeds involved ripen at their levels.
[IV.181-4]
_ ______________ _________
___________ ___________
____________
One might start with the following question: "Just how do you describe merit
and the other types of deeds you mentioned?" Deeds that we call "merit" are
the virtuous deeds of the realm of desire. What we call "unshifting" deeds
are the ones that come from those realms above; that is, from the form and
formless realms.
_________ ______________
_______ ___ ______________
_____ _ _ __ _ __ __ ___ _ _ _ ___
_________
"Isn't it contradictory," one may object, "for you to describe deeds of the upper
realms as unshifting, when those of the third and lower levels of concentration
are explained as shifting types?" There is no contradiction. The levels of
concentration from the third on down are explained as "shifting" or "affected"
Reading Four
52
only with reference to their being affected by the various problems that prevent
one from perfecting single-pointed concentration. The point in calling deeds
of the upper realms "unshifting" is in reference, rather, to the fact that they do
not shift direction when they ripen.
_________ ____________________
______________________
____________
These deeds are called "unshifting" for the reason that a ripening of deeds
which is meant to occur at "their" levelat the levels of the form and formless
realmswill never occur at any other level. The point is thus that the ripening
is an unshifting one.
____________ ___________
_________ __ ____________
___ __ _ __ ___ ___ _______ __ _ _
_______________
Deeds of the desire realm, on the other hand, are shiftingsomeone meant to
be born as a pleasure being can, through the effect of certain factors, take birth
as one of the other types of beings. There was for example the case of the
Brahmin who because of his generosity was to be born as a pleasure being.
But he caught sight of an especially majestic elephant and thought to himself
how wonderful it would be if he could obtain one. As a result, he took birth
as the elephant known as Son of the Protector.
___ ____________ ______
__________ _ ___
______ __
Next we consider deeds involving a sensation of pleasure and so on. We
proceed in three steps concerning (1) definitive examples of each of the deeds
leading to specific types of experiences, (2) the various divisions of experience,
Reading Four
53
and (3) the correlation between specific sensations and the deeds they result
from. Definitive examples are discussed in terms of both positions accepted
by the present school and those accepted by others.
51
Accepted Views on Deeds
Leading to Specific Experiences
_____________
_________
___________
__________
Virtue up to the third concentration, the ones that
Bring a pleasant experience. From here on up,
The ones which bring on neither pain nor pleasure.
Non-virtue here which bring a painful experience.
[IV.185-8]
___________ ____________ __
_________________________
_ _________________________
___________________ _____
____________
"In the lines above," one might begin, "you mentioned `the three including
those which lead to pleasure.' Can you describe these types of deeds?"
Virtuous deeds from the desire realm up to the third concentration level are
the ones that bring one a pleasant experience in the future. From herethat
is, from this third concentration levelon up to the "peak" level, virtuous
deeds are the ones which bring on an experience of a neutral nature: neither
pain nor pleasure. The deeds which bring on a painful experience are all the
non-virtuous deeds here in the desire realm.
Reading Four
54
52
Other Views on Deeds that Lead
to Specific Experiences
________
_______
_____________
____________
Some make the claim that the ones below as well
Have the one between, for the reason that
Deeds ripen in the advanced concentration,
Three accepted to ripen without progression.
[IV.189-92]
____ ____________________
____________ ____________
___________ ________
_______________
Now some people make the claim that the ones below the fourth
concentration levelthat is, the third on downhave as well those deeds that
lead to the "one between": to a neutral experience. They say this is for the
reason that these are deeds that ripen in the advanced stages of the
concentration levels, and because we must accept it as possible for all three
types of results to ripen at the same time, without a temporal progression.
__ _ ___ _ ___ __ _ _ ___ ___ _ _
Next we present the various divisions of experience. After discussing a
division into five different kinds, we will continue on to a more detailed
treatment of the ripening of past deeds into future experience.
Reading Four
55
53
Five Types of Experience
__________
___________
________
_______
Five are the different types of experience:
That by very nature, a mental link,
An object of focus, that by ripening,
That which makes its appearance in a manner direct.
[IV.193-6]
___________ _________
_____ _______________
________________
Now there are five different types of experiences that deeds bring about. An
example of the first would be feelings, which are an experience or sensation by
their very nature. Something like the mental function of contact represents the
second type, or experience due to a mental link. And form for example is
experienced by acting as the object of one's focus.
__ _ __ ___ ___ __ __ __ __ _ ___ _ _
________________
Virtuous and non-virtuous deeds are cases where something is experienced by
its ripening. And an example of the final type, of something that one
experiences as it makes its appearance in a direct manner, would be feelings.
___ ____ _________ _ __
___ ________________ __
Reading Four
56
Our more detailed treatment of experiences that ripen from a past deed will
begin with some general notes and continue to the particulars of deeds that
definitely lead to a future experience. The general notes themselves touch first
on the various divisions of deeds, then on the number of different deeds
projected with different realms and types of beings.
54
Experiences that Ripen from Past Deeds
______
________
__________
_________
____________
____________
These are either definite or not;
The definite's three types because of those
Experienced as something seen and such.
Some claim that the kinds of deeds are five,
Others that the combinations are four.
Three of them act to project a discrete being.
[IV.197-202]
___ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ ___ _ _
____ _ ____________
__ _______________ __
____________________
__________
Now there are three types of deeds which lead to a future experience through
a process of ripening. These types of deeds themselves are grouped into two:
Reading Four
57
they are either definite, or not. The "definite" group is of three different
types, because it includes (1) those deeds with results that are experienced as
"something seen"that is, deeds which ripen into an experience in this very
life; (2) deeds with results that are experienced after one's rebirththat is, in
the very next life; and (3) deeds with results that are experienced in "some
other" lifewhich is to say, in any life after the next.
__________ ___________
______ _______________
Some people claim that the kinds of deeds are five: they arrive at this figure
by dividing indefinite types of deeds into (1) those which will definitely ripen
but at an indefinite time, and (2) those where neither ripening itself nor its
timing is definite.
____________________ _____
_______ _ ______ ____ __ _ __ __
_ ______
Othersnamely, the Exemplist group in the Sutrist schoolclaim that the
possible combinations which hold true in this regard are four. They say there
are (1) deeds which are definite to ripen but at no definite time, (2) deeds
which should ripen at a definite time but which are not definite to ripen at all,
(3) deeds which are definite in both respects, and (4) deeds which are definite
in neither respect.
_ ____________ ____________
_ __ __ _ __ _ _ __ _ ___ __ _ __ _
_____________ ____
One may ask which of these deeds projects a discrete being in the future.
Three of them act to project a discrete being, but deeds with results that you
see in this very life do not. This is because they ripen upon the very same
stream of heaps which performed the original deed.
Next we examine the number of different deeds that can be projected with
different realms and types of beings.
Reading Four
58
55
Deeds Projected for Different
Realms and Beings
__________
___________
___________
__________
___________
_________
Every one has four projections each;
In the hells, three of virtuous.
A stable child does none to experience born
At that for which he's overcome desire.
Neither realized, in others even;
Neither the unstable, desire and peak.
[IV.203-8]
______________ _________
_______ ______________
_____ ________________ __
__________
One may ask which different deeds can be projected with different realms and
beings. Every one of the five different types of beings each has all four kinds
of projections produced by deeds. In the hells through there are only three
projections of virtuous types of deeds that are possible. Here there can be no
projection of a virtuous deed that will bring one a result that he sees in the
very same life, because it is impossible for any deed to ripen into a pleasant
result in the hells.
Reading Four
59
____ ___ __________ _ __ _____
________________ ________
_________
Next let's consider a child [non-Arya] who is stable and has overcome his
desire for any one or number of the eight different levels. He does no deeds
of the type that will lead to an experience there after being reborn at a level
for which he has overcome desire. For the fact is that for his next life he will
not take any rebirth at a level for which he's lost desire.
_________________________
_______________________
____________________
Next let's consider a realized being who is stable and has overcome desire for
any one or number of the seven levels between. Neither does he perform any
deed which will lead to an experience at such a level after being reborn there;
what's more, he does not even perform any deed which will lead to an
experience at such a level in any other life beyond the next. This is because
he will never again take a birth at a level for which he has overcome desire.
_ ___ __ __ _______ ____ ____
_ __ _ ____ _ _ _______ _ _ _
_____ __________________
____________ __________
________
Let's finally consider a realized being who has overcome his desire for the
desire realm and the "peak" level, but who is unstable. Neither does he ever
perform any deed which will lead to an experience subsequent to a rebirth, for
either his next life or for any life beyond, in the desire realm or "peak" level.
A realized being who has degenerated from the state of having overcome
desire for the desire realm and "peak" level is someone that we say has "lost
Reading Four
60
his result." But it is impossible for such a person to die during the period
between losing his result and gaining it back again.
56
Projections with Different
Realms and Beings, Continued
__________
_________
__________
_________
Twenty-two different projections had with
Inbetween beings in the realm of desire.
One is the type with results that you see;
It is but a single discrete type.
[IV.209-12]
__ ___ _ _ ____ _ _ ____ _____ _
_____ _________ ____________
_ __ _ __ ___ ___ __ _ ____ _ ___ _ _
One may ask whether deeds project their energy with beings of the state
between death and rebirth as well. There are twenty-two different projections
had with inbetween beings in the realm of desire. These are the inbetween
being himself, the five periods in the womb, and the five periods out of the
womb: these eleven are then divided into two types each, those which will
definitely be experienced and those that will not.
__ _ __ __ _ ____ __ __ _ __ _ _ _
__________________________
__ __ __ __ __ __ ___ ___ __ __ _ _
Reading Four
61
_ ____
The one group of eleven which are definite is considered to come from the
type of deeds that come with results that you see in the same life. This is
because "it"this groupis counted but a single discrete being: the heaps that
were present when the energy of the deeds was collected, and the heaps that
are present when this energy ripens into an experience, have both been sent
forth by the same projecting energy born from deeds of the past.
Next we consider the particulars of deeds that definitely lead to a future
experience.
57
Deeds that Definitely Ripen
_________
___________
_______
_________
__________
________
____________
_______
Those are definite which involve fierce
Mental affliction or faith, an object of special
Qualities, anything done on a
Continual basis, killing father or mother.
Deeds with results which are something seen,
Due to features of the object or thought;
Anything which was something certain to ripen,
Where completely free of the level's desire.
[IV.213-20]
Reading Four
62
____________ ____________
__________________ ________
__ _ __ __ _____ _ __ _____ _ __
_________
"Just what," one may ask, "do you mean when you mention types of deeds that
are certain to ripen?" Those deeds are definite (will definitely ripen into a
future experience) which involve any of the following:
1) fierce emotions, of either mental affliction or faith;
2) an object of special qualitiesthat is, deeds performed with
respect to the Gems;
3) anything done on a continual basis; and
4) killing one's father or mother, even when this is done with
meritorious intent.
_ _ __ _ ____ _ _ ______ __ _ __ _ ____
_______________
"In the lines above," one may continue, "you mentioned that òne is the type
with results that you see.' Can you describe this further?" Deeds with results
which are something seen in the same life are this way due to special features
of the object or thought involved.
_ _ _____ _ ____ __ __ _ _ _ ____
_______________ ________
_ _____ _ _ _ __ __ __ ___ ___ __ _ _
_ ___ __ _ ____ __ __ __ __ __ _ __ ____ _ __
____ __________ __________
______
Reading Four
63
A case of a deed which, because of the special features of the object involved,
turned into the type that gives a result in the very same life would be as
follows. In one of his former lives, our Teacher was once a certain monk who
had mastered all three sections of the canon. There had been a steady increase
in quarreling among the community of monks. One monkwho had himself
committed the sections of the canon to memorymanaged to bring the
different sides to an agreement. This angered the other monk (the one who
was a master of the canon), who made the sarcastic statement that "A woman
has settled a women's quarrel." Because of this deed the monk turned into a
woman in that very life, and took five hundred births thereafter as a woman
as well.
___________________ _
__________ ___________
_____ _______ __________
_______________
An instance of a deed which, because of special features of the thought
involved, turns into the type that gives a result that you see in this very life
would be as follows. King Kanaka had a certain eunuch by the name of
"Longwa." He met someone driving a herd of five hundred cattle and asked
the man what he planned to do. "We're going to castrate them," was the reply.
Overcome with compassion, Longwa managed to save all the cattle from their
fate: as a result, his own organ was restored in the very same life.
_ _____ _ _________ _ _ __ ___ _ _
______________
Aside from the above, anything which was something certain to ripen at any
particular level can also constitute a deed which gives a result that you see in
the very same life, in cases where the person has become completely free of
any desire for this level.
Reading Four
64
58
Objects with Very Special Features
______________
__________
________
________
Help or harm to any of the following
Leads to quick experience of a result:
Anyone coming out of cessation or love,
No affliction, seeing, result of destroying.
[IV.221-4]
________ ____________
_______________ ______
_ ____ _ ______ ___ __ __ _ _
______________________
_ _ _ __________ _ __ __ _ __
______ _________________
_____
One may ask about the features that make an object special. Help or harm
which you perform towards anyone who has just come out of cessation leads
to a quick experience of a result, for it is almost as if such a person has just
come back from nirvana. Help and harm too towards anyone who has just
come out of a meditation on immeasurable love or a state of one-pointed
concentration where he has no affliction at all also leads to the speedy
experience of a result. This is because such persons are helping every living
being; they are involved with a willingness to accept the ultimate personal
responsibility, free of any affliction; and they are totally imbued with an
immeasurable kind of merit, very sharp and clear.
Reading Four
65
______________________
__ _ _ ___ __ ___ ____ ___ _
_____
Help or harm done towards a person who has just come out of the path of
seeing is another example of a deed that leads to a quick result. This is true
because this person has just attained, for the first time, an unstained state
where he has gotten rid of every undesirable object eliminated by the path of
seeing.
_______________________
______ ___________
_________
Finally, beneficial or harmful acts towards a person who has just come out of
the state where he achieved the result of destroying the enemy also lead to the
quick experience of a result. The reason here is that the person has just
achieved, for the first time, the unstained state where he has gotten rid of
every undesirable object eliminated by the path of habituation.
_ __ _ _ ___ _________ ____
___ __ _ __ _ _ __ ___ ____ __
_____________________
_______ ___ ___ ______
______
Help or harm performed towards those who have just come out of a state
where they have achieved one of the two resultswhere they need either
return or not return to the realm of desiredoes not though lead to a speedy
result. First of all, their "new" condition of having reached an unstained state
free of the objects eliminated by the path of seeing has by this time become
somewhat old. Secondly, they have yet to reach the unstained state where they
have just managed, for the first time, to rid themselves of the objects stopped
by the path of habituation.
Reading Four
66
We turn now to the third and final step in our discussion of deeds involving
a sensation of pleasure and so on. This is a presentation of the correlation
between specific sensations and the deeds from which they result. Following
the actual presentation we will go into some detail on the subject of mental
illness.
*********
_________________
The following selection is from the Great Book on the Steps of the Path, composed
by Lord Tsongkapa (1357-1419):
______________ _________
Here is the third section, a presentation on the consequences of the various
kinds of bad deeds. We proceed in three parts, beginning with what are called
the "ripened" consequences.
____________________
_______ _______________
_______ _________
_______
Now each one of the ten paths of karma can itself be divided into three
kindslesser, medium, and greaterdepending on the intensity of the three
poisons. The Main Stage of Levels states that, from the ten greater instances of
killing and the rest, one is born into the hells. It says that from medium
instances of each of the ten you take birth as an insatiable spirit; and from the
ten lesser instances, you are born as an animal.
______________________
The Sutra on the Ten Levels however states the consequences of two of the kinds
of instances, the lesser and the medium, in reverse of this.
_ __ _ ___ _ __ ___ _ __ ___ _ __
__ __ __ ___ ____ __ __ _ _
Reading Four
67
________________________
____ _____________
The "consistent" consequences are as follows. Even if you do manage to escape
the realms of misery and take birth as a human, the following respective
results occur to you:
1) Your life is short.
2) You don't have enough to live on.
3) You have problems keeping your partner from others.
4) People don't believe what you say, even when you're telling the
truth.
5) You lose friends easily.
6) You hear things as bad sounds.
7) No one listens to you.
8) Your personality is dominated by desire.
9) Your personality is dominated by anger.
10) Your personality is dominated by stupidity.
____________________
____ _________________
________________________
_ _ _ ________ _ __ ____ ___
___ _ _ __ __ __ _ __ __ ___ _ __
______________________
Reading Four
68
_ __ _ __ _ _ __ _ ___ ___ _____
________________________
_______________
The Chapter on the True and the Sutra on the Ten Levels state that there are two
such consequences for each of the ones given here; even if you do manage to
take birth as a human,
1) Your life is short, and you get sick easily.
2) You don't have enough to live on, and what you do have is all
just common property with others.
3) The people who work around you are "inconsistent," which here
means unreliable, and you find yourself having a lot of
competition for your partner.
4) No one believes what you say, even when you are speaking the
truth, and others are always deceiving you.
5) The people around you are always fighting against one another,
and have an undesirable character.
6) You hear many unpleasant things, and when others talk to you
it always seems to you as if they want to start a fight.
7) No one respects what you sayno one thinks that what you say
has any particular value, and you are afflicted with a lack of
confidence.
8) Your personality is dominated by desire, and you are never
satisfied with what you have.
9) You are always finding yourself without help, or never find the
help you need; and you are always hurting others, or always
being hurt by others.
10) You become a person who keeps harmful views, or a deceitful
person.
________________________
Reading Four
69
___________________________
_____
Great lamas of the past have expressed the position that it is a consequence of
consistent action where as a karmic result of killing you become someone who
takes pleasure in killing and the rest. It is a consequence of consistent
experience then when you have to undergo the results just listed.
______________ _________
_______________________
__ ____ ___ ___ __ ___ ____ ___ __
____________
Next is what we call the "environmental" or "dominant" consequence. Here for
example the consequence of killing expresses itself in the outer world around
you. Food, drink, medicine, the crops in the fields, and other such things have
very little power; they are always inferior; they have little nutrition or potency;
they are hard to digest, and they cause disease in you. Because of this the
majority of the living beings around you die before reaching the end of a full
life.
_____ _______________
____________________
_________
Because you have stolen, then the crops are few and far between; the crops
have no power to remove hunger; they spoil; they never come up; dry spells
stay on too long; it rains too much; the crops dry up, or die off.
__ __ _ ___ _________ ___ _____
_______________
Because you have done wrong sex, you live in a place where there is piss and
shit all around, and mud and dirt and filth, and everything stinks, and
everywhere seems unpleasant and distasteful.
Reading Four
70
_______ ______________
____________________
_______
Because you have lied, you live in a world where, when you undertake
farming or some work in cooperation with other people, in the end the work
fails to prosper, and the people can't work well together, and for the most part
everyone is cheating one another, and is afraid, and where there are many
things to be afraid of.
__ _ __ ____ ___ ___ _____ ____
______________
Because you have split people up with your talk, the very ground in the place
you live is all uneven, covered with crags and gullies, full of highs and lows,
so that you can travel only with difficulty, and where you are always afraid,
and there are many things to be afraid of.
____ ____________________
____ ______ _ _____ ___ __ __ _
_________________________
________
Because you have spoken harsh words, the ground where you live is covered
with obstacles like the trunks of fallen trees, and thorns, and stones, and clods
of dirt, and lots of sharp broken pieces of glass; it's rough, and dreary; no
streams, or lakes, or springs of water; the whole earth is parched, poisoned
with salt and borax, burning hot, useless, threatening; a place where there are
many things to fear.
_____ __________________
____________________
Reading Four
71
______ ____ _ _ _____ ________
_____________________
_
Because you have talked meaninglessly, fruits refuse to grow on the trees, or
they start to grow at the wrong times, never at the right times, and seem ripe
when they're still not ripe, or their roots are frail, or they can't stay long; there
are no places to take your leisure, no parks, no glades, no pools of cool water,
and many things around to make you afraid.
________ ___________________
_______________
Because you have coveted what others have, then each and every good thing
you ever manage to find starts to get worse, and less and less, never more,
each one of them, with the passing of each of the four seasons, and in every
month, and even day by day.
__ __ ___ _ _____ _____ ___ ___
______________________
__________________________
________
Because you have wished bad things on others, you live in a world of chaos,
where diseases spread, and evil is everywhere, and plague, and conflict, and
fear from the armies of other nations; where there are many lions or leopards
or other dangerous animals; where there are everywhere venomous snakes or
scorpions or poison biting worms; you live surrounded by harmful spirits, and
thieves or muggers, and the like.
___ _____________________
_________________________
Reading Four
72
____________________
Because you have held wrong views, then you live in a world where the single
highest source of happiness is steadily disappearing from the earth; a world
where people think that things that are unclean and things that are suffering
are actually nice, and happiness; a world where there is no place to go, no one
to help, nothing to protect you.
73
Reading Five: How Karma is Carried, According to the Mind-
Only School
Selection One: The Mind-Only School on how mental seeds cause our
perceptions
____________________
The selections are all taken from Illumination of the True Thought, written by
Lord Tsongkapa:
______ __________ ______
__ __________________
__________________________
. . .The second part has two sections of its own: stating the position of the other
school, and then denying this position. Here is the first.
This is how the presentation was made. Then those of the Mind-Only School
come back, considering and then presenting a position which by itself reflects
the primary belief of their entire system.
__________________________
___ _____ _____ __ _ ____ __ _
Reading Five
74
__________________________
___
They speak first of the mental seed, the energy, from which the "mind of the
eye" (which refers to the consciousness of the eye) comes forth. Another case
of consciousness, as it is in the process of stopping, in the next moment plants
this mental seed in the foundation consciousness. When this seed ripens later,
it produces that consciousness of the eye, one which takes after the earlier one.
________________________
____________ _________
_____________________ ________
_________ _______________
___
Consider now this energy as it exists immediately before producing the
consciousness of the eye related to it; consider the energy which acts as the
immediate basis for this eye consciousness. Normal people, out of ignorance,
conceive of this as the physical faculty of the eye. In truth though a power of
the eye which is something separate from consciousness is something that
doesn't even exist. This same explanation applies to all the remaining physical
faculties.
___________________ _____
____________
Here the cause behind the consciousness of the eye, the mental seed, is the
primary factor behind it. The faculty of the eye is the component of the body
that provides a contributing circumstance.
_________________ ________
_____________________
Reading Five
75
Here when the physical faculty of the eye is presented as the direct cause of
the consciousness of the eye, the real intent is to refer to the situation where
the mental seed which produces the eye consciousness is ripening. They are
not talking here of what we normally think of as the physical faculty of the
eye.
_ __ ____ _ ___ ________ _ __ __
___ _________ ___________
__________________________
____________________________
________ ___________________
_______________________
Regarding this the text called Middle and Extremes states,
The combination of the objects
and the person,
The base consciousness, is a consciousness
that appears;
In reality this is not the being.
Here the word "objects" refers to form and the rest, and "the person" refers to
the five faculties; the lines are describing a consciousness that arises and which
appears to be them, but which is actually foundation consciousness. Master
Stiramati also explains the physical faculties as the object of foundation
consciousness. The point then is that those of the Mind-Only School who
accept the idea of a foundation consciousness believe that the physical faculties
of the eye and so on are actually the condition of the foundation consciousness
appearing as the physical faculties.
______________________ _____
__________________ ___
_ ___ ___ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _
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________________________
_________________ ___________
________________ ____
____________
Once they have demonstrated that there is no such thing as physical faculties
of the eye and so on that could ever be anything separate from consciousness
itself, then they must show how form as well is nothing other than
consciousness. To do this they give the following description. Consider now
the five types of consciousness that, according to general belief, arise from the
five physical faculties. It is not that there are any outside physical objects such
as the color blue and so on which the consciousness has to grasp to. Rather,
blue and the rest are only an appearance which occurs through the ripening
of the very mental seed which was planted in the foundation consciousness
and from which consciousness itself has arisen. Not realizing this fact, people
look at the mind appearing as blue or whatever and accept or interpret these
appearances as being outer objects.
*********
Selection Two: How the Middle-Way School says the mental seeds of
karma work
____ ______________________
___ __ ______ _ _____ _ __ ___ _
_ __ _ _ ___ _ _ __ _ ________
__ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _____
_____ ____________
_________
Here is the second part [of a different] discussion [about where the
Madhyamika school believes the mental seeds from karma are planted, since
they do not accept the concept of foundation consciousness]. One may begin
with the following question:
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Suppose you deny then the existence of a foundation
consciousness. Nonetheless you must accept that
mental seeds from virtue or non-virtue do get planted,
and that consequences do arise from the ripening of
these mental seeds. After all, the autocommentary to
Entering the Middle Way does state that "For time
without beginning, in the suffering cycle of life, the
mental seeds for things have been planted, and have
then ripened, and have then been interpreted by
people as the things themselves." There are as well
many other quotations which mention the same thing.
And it would be incorrect to say that there existed no
basis or place where these mental seeds were planted.
What then, according to your view, provides this place
for the seeds to be planted?
__ ___ ___ ___ _____ __ _ _ __ _ ___
___________________________
____________________________
_____________
According to those who accept the idea of a foundation consciousness, the
thing called "afflicted mind" focuses on foundation consciousness and holds it
to be "me"; they say that this foundation consciousness then is the place where
the mental seeds stay. In our [Madhyamika] school too we have a similar
concept; we say that the base which is stained with the mental seed is exactly
that thing that you focus on with your simple, natural awareness of yourself
and call "me."
_ __ _ _ ___ _ _______ __ __ _ _
___ ________________________
_ _________ _____________
__ ______________
One may ask the following:
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The autocommentary to Entering the Middle Way states
that the stream of the mind is the basis where the
mental seeds are planted. How does this fit into what
you have just said?
The very thing we call the simple "me" is something which results from a label
being applied to the mind, or consciousness. It also goes on in a stream. From
this point of view then we can also refer to it as the "stream of the mind." And
even if what you mean by a "stream" is the continuation of later, similar
instances of mind itself, you can say that it too is the basis which is stained by
mental seeds of particular occasions.
__________ ___ _______
__________ ______________
_ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ ____________ __
__ _______ _ _ ___ _ __ __ __ ____
___ _________________ ___
_ _ __ _____ _ __ _ _____ _ _____
__________________ ______ ___
_________________________
_____
Here is how the mental seed for ignorance works. The autocommentary to
Entering the Middle Way says,
That thing which tends to stop, and yet still stain, and
then continue on in the flow of the mind is what we
refer to as a 'mental seed.' The expressions 'continuity'
and 'habit' and 'root' and 'mental seed' for the state of
mental affliction all refer to the same thing. This is
something that Listeners and Self-Made "Buddhas" are
unable to eliminate even though they may already
have eliminated the state of mental affliction itself
through using the unstained path. It's similar to what
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happens with sesame butter or flowers; you may
already remove these things from the scene, but the
vase in which the flowers were, or the piece of cloth
that the butter stained, still retain some subtle trace of
them due to the previous contact.
How then could there be any sense to saying that there is another basis, a
second one, on top of the one mentioned here, where other types of mental
seeds, like those of virtuous deeds and non-virtuous deeds and the rest, are
planted?
___ _____ ___ _ __ _ ____ __ __ __
___________ ___________
_ ______ _____ ___ _ __ _ _ __
________ ________________
_____________________
___ ______________________
__ _______________
One might wonder about something else:
Let's talk about the period while you are in the
"uninterrupted" stage of the path of seeing [the actual
direct perception of emptiness]. I can accept that at
this point the negative thoughts eliminated by this
path are no longer present, but we would have to say
that the negative things eliminated by the path of
habituation are still there, in a dormant way. At this
particular point in time, the consciousness of the mind
is unstained, unaffected by the mental seed which
causes the mistaken state of mind where the
appearance and actuality of things are different from
one another. As such none of these things could lie
dormant here, due to its very quality at the time.
There is no consciousness of the senses that could act
as the basis for those mental seeds, and it would be
improper to say that physical form could ever provide
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such a basis either. According to you, moreover,
there's no foundation consciousness. I would have to
think then that there is no basis at all where these
dormant things could stay.
And yet there is no such problem, for at this point in time it is the simple "me"
which is providing the basis for the dormant things eliminated by the path of
habituation to stay. You can apply this reasoning as well to all the other cases
involving things to be eliminated, and the antidotes which eliminate them.
*********
Selection Three: The Middle-Way School on the question of where the
seeds of karma stay until they give their result
____ ________________
_ ___ _ ____________ _ ___ _ _
__
Here is the second point [of still another discussion]. One may ask the
following:
Those who believe that entities have no natural existence [meaning
the Madhyamika Prasangika (or Consequence) School] do not
accept the concepts of a foundation consciousness and the like;
how then is it that they can still assert that all the workings of
karma and its consequences are totally right and proper?
__________________
_ _____________________
_______ _____________
________ _____________
__________
All the Buddhist schools, whether higher schools or lower schools, accept the
principle that the consequences of pleasure and pain and so on arise from
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virtuous and non-virtuous karma or actions, even though the original karma
and its eventual consequences may be separated by a very long period of time.
The problem though is that, if the karma stays around during the entire period
up to the point at which it gives its consequence, it would have to be
unchanging. An unchanging thing though is incapable of affecting anything,
and so you could never have a relationship where karma gave rise to any
consequence.
__ __ __ ___ __ ___ _____ _____ _ _
_____________ _____
___________________
From the moment after you complete a karma or deed, that deed is finished
and gone. During the entire period from that point up to the point at which
the consequence actually occurs, the deed no longer exists. A deed which is
already gone is no longer a thing that can have any affect on anything. How
then does a deed or karma ever produce any kind of consequence? Here is
how we explain this problem:
_____________________
_ __ _ __ _ __ _ ______ _ _ __ ___
________ ___________
____________ _______________
_____ ___________________
________________
Let's consider the deed or karma as it exists up to the point right after the
moment in which the deed is completed; that is, let's consider the deed as it
approaches its end. The energy of the deed has to be stored somewhere, and
so some thinkers have invented the idea of some kind of foundation
consciousness for it to stay. Others have said that there is something which is
changing but neither mental nor physical, something they call "the fact of not
just going away"; they say it is something that exists separately from the two
types of deeds [virtue and non-virtue], and that it resembles the document
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written up for a loan that has to be repaid. Still others have invented the idea
that there is another changing thing which is neither mental nor physical, again
different from the two kinds of deeds themselves, something they call a "hold."
__________________________
_____________________
__ __ __ __ ___ _____ ________
______ ________________
_ __ ___ __ ___ __ _ _ __ __ ___
______
Others finally have invented the idea of a stream of consciousness which is
stained with the mental seed of the deed. This then is why, they say, that it
is no contradiction for the deed to produce its consequence later, even after a
very long time. The deed or karma plants a mental seed in the foundation
consciousness, and so the mental seed is the result of the deed. This mental
seed continues on in a stream of similar forms until eventually it produces the
consequence. Thus, they say, the consequence of the original karma is
something that is produced indirectly, via a medium. This same type of idea
applies to the other three positions expressed.
____________ ___________
_____ ____ _ ___ _____ __ _ ___ ______
_ __ __ __ ___ __ ____ __ __ ___
__ __ __ _ _____ ___ ____ _ ___ _ __
_______
The first of these positions belongs to a certain group within the Mind-Only
School. The second position is explained by Master Avalokitavrata to be that
of the Detailist Schoolof a certain section other than the Kashmiri Detailists.
The third position also belongs to a specific group within the Detailist School.
It is not completely clear where the fourth position belongs, but since it is
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consistent with the ninth chapter of the autocommentary to the Treasure House
of Knowledge (Abhidharmakosha), it would appear to be an alternate belief of the
Sutrists and the Kashmiri Detailists.
__________________________
___________________ ___
_______ _______________
_ __ _ __ __ __ __ _ ____ __ _____
_____ _ __ ___ _ _ ___ _ _______
_ ___________ _______
_________________
_ _____ ___ _ ___ _ _ __ _
__ __ _ _ ___ ___ _ _____ _ _ _
______
Although the Kashmiris do accept the idea of a "hold," they do not assert that
a hold could be produced by the two types of karma as something retained by
the hold. The position here though belongs to someone who does assert this,
and this is the point of the phrase "according to someone."
According to someone now of the Madhyamika Consequence school, the deed
or karma is not something which arises in and of itself, and so, for this very
reason, neither is it something which finishes through any nature of its own.
Nonetheless it is no contradiction to say that something which never finishes
through any nature of its own can still produce a consequence. As such a
consequence can come from a deed even if we never accept the idea of a
foundation consciousness or the like.
You must understand then that this is why the two kinds of karma can already
have finished in the mental continuum of any given sentient being, and yet still
after a long timeeven after the passing of many millions of yearsthese
deeds can nonetheless produce their consequences "perfectly," which is to say,
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without any confusion. [That is, good deeds lead to pleasure, and bad deeds
lead to pain, and there is never any case where this law somehow goes wrong,
and good deeds lead to pain, or bad deeds to pleasure.]
Given all this, the connection between deeds and their consequences is, in this
school, purely and totally correct.
_______________________ __
_____ ____ __ __ ___ __ ___ _
_ ____ __ __ __ __ __ _ _ __ __ __ _
_ ___ ___ ___ _ ____ ___ __ _ __
_______ ______________
____________
The point of all this is that all four of the positions above, as they attempt to
answer the problem raised, do so from a viewpoint of accepting that a deed
has a beginning that exists by definition and an ending too that exists by
definition. They are agreeing as well that the later condition of the deed's
having ended is something that exists by definition. The Master [Chandrakirti]
is stating that it is improper to answer the problem raised above by saying
that, "Even though the ending of the deed is that way, it's no problem, because
we believe in foundation consciousness." He is denying all these positions, for
the reason that there simply doesn't even exist any beginning or ending of a
deed that could occur through any nature of its own.
_________________ __
______ _________ _______
_______ __________ _
_______________________ __
___ __ ____ _ _ _ ___ __ ___
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________________________
_____
The Master, to demonstrate how this way of answering reflects exactly the
position of the Arya [Nagarjuna], quotes the following statement from the Root
Text on Wisdom:
Because the karma never begins,
Because it has no nature of its own,
And since it has never even begun,
Neither then can it simply go away.
The lines are saying that, because there is no such thing as a karma that exists
through its own nature, no such karma could ever have a beginning that came
in and of itself. Because of this, it is completely impossible for a karma ever
to end by any nature of its own. It is illogical to think of the subsequent
condition of the deed's having ended and invent some idea of something that
can never just go away.
*********
Selection Four: What the Middle-Way School means when it says things
are just the results of conceptualization
_ __ _ _ _____ _ ___ _ __ _ _ ___ _
_ _ _ __ __ ____ _ _ _ __ _ __ __
__ __ ____ _ ___ _ __ _ ___ ___ _
_ _ __ _ ___ __ _ ___ _ ___ ____
_ _ _ ___ _ __ ________ _ __ _____ _
___________ ________________
________________
This section [still another one] has two parts to it. First we will show how it
is that objects are established through the process of conceptualization, and
then describe what it is to grasp to true existence, wherein one holds things as
existing in the opposite way. Here is the first.
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The Sutra Requested by Upali includes the following lines:
A splash of pleasing flowers open their petals,
Golden palaces blaze in breathtaking beauty;
Look for their maker, but you'll never find him,
For all of these are built of conceptions
The world is an invention of conceptions.
The verse is describing how objects are established through the process of
conceptualization, and there are as well many other statements of the Buddha
that describe how every single object in the universe is nothing more than a
creation of conceptions.
______ _________ _____
_______ _______ _______
__ __ ___ _ _ __ __ _____ _ _
________________
The Sixty Verses on Reasoning say as well,
The world is something that ignorance causes;
Why? For the Buddhas say it is so.
And why then would it be wrong to say
That this world is only conceptions.
The meaning of this verse, according to the commentary, is that none of the
many worlds that exist does so through some essence of its own: none of them
are anything more than products of our conception.
____ _________ _______
___ _________ _________ __
________ __________
_ __ _ __ __ __ ___ _ _______ __
______________ ______
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__________ __________
The 400 Verses says as well:
Without conceptions, desire and such
Are nothing that can even exist;
Why then would anyone with a brain
Believe in reality and conception?
The commentary to the work states that
Things that can't even exist in the absence of
conceptions are, beyond any manner of doubt,
absolutely things that cannot exist through any
essence of their own: they are like a coil of rope you
label with "snake."
The expression "reality" here refers to something that could exist through its
own essence. "Conception" is the fact that things occur through the process of
conceptualization.
_______________________
_______ ___________________
_ _______ _ __ __ ___ ___ _
__ ______________
______________________
_______ _____________
When this commentary states that "desire and such" are like a piece of rope
labelled "snake," it is only giving a single example; what it means to say is that
each and every other existing object is as well like a rope called a snake: they
are all established through the process of conceptualization.
Here the colored pattern of the rope and the way it's coiled make it resemble
a snake; and if you're in a place where you can't see it very clearly, then you
start to think to yourself, "It's a snake!" The fact though is that there is nothing
about the rope as a whole, nor anything about its various parts, that you could
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ever establish as being one kind of a snake; the snake of the rope, then, is
nothing but a creation of conceptions.
________________ _____
________ ________________
__________________
The same thing happens when you get the idea of "me" about the heaps, the
various components to yourself. There is nothing about these components as
a whole, when you consider them as a continuum in time, nor as a whole
considered in a single moment in time, nor as the various parts to a whole, that
you could ever establish as being any kind of "me." We'll go into this in more
detail further on.
_ _ __ _____ _ ___ _ __ _ __
______ _________________
_ ________
Because of this fact, and since moreover there is not the slightest thing outside
of the parts or whole of the components to yourself that you could ever
consider any kind of "me," this "me" is nothing more than a creation of
conception, based on the components. There is no "me" which exists through
any essence of its own.
*********
Selection Five: What the Buddha really meant when He said that things
were "mind only"
______ _________ _____
______ _______ ________
___ ________ ________
__________ _______ __
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____
Now the Sixty Verses on Reasoning says,
The world is something that ignorance causes;
Why? For the Buddhas say it is so.
And why then would it be wrong to say
That this world is only conceptions.
If one were to end his ignorance,
Then how is it that the thing that's ended,
Despite our misunderstanding, could never
Disappear, even in conceptions?
__________________ ___
__________ ____ _____
The meaning of the lines is as follows. If things existed in their very essence,
then they would exist as some independent reality. If this were so, then when
you finally stopped your mistaken states of mind, they would never disappear,
although they should have.
________________________
__________________________
___ ______________________
_________________________
__________________
The mind is the main thing; and to show this, the following explanation
appears in the scripture:
The world, in the form of those who live in it, finds its
very being through the power of the karma they have
collected with their minds, and through the bad
thoughts in their minds. All the vast multitude of
worlds too, in the form of the places where these
beings live, have been put there, have been produced,
by the collective karma of these same beings, and no
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one elseby the karma within their own minds. This
refers to everything up to the farthest reaches of the
world, from the great disc of wind that underpins our
planet up to the highest temporary heaven, the one
named "Below No Other."
_________________ _____
______________ _______
__________ _______________
___________
On this subject, the intricate patterns on a peacock and
other such objects are produced by each one's personal
karma. The intricacies of the petals and colors of a
lotus flower and other such things are produced by
the collective karma of living beings. You can apply
these principles to all other cases as well.
___ __________ _________
_ ______ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ _
__ __ __ ___ __ __ _ _ __ ___ __ ___ __
_ _____ __ _ _____ _____ ___ __ _
_______
As the verse goes,
It's through the karma of living beings
That the great dark mountains arise in their time.
It's like the hells, and the heavens above,
And swords, and jewels, and trees in the world.
The great books of the Mind-Only School also discuss whether the two worlds
[of beings and the place they live] are produced by karma that is collective or
not, and so it's not as though the system of the Mind Only denies the existence
of the world where beings live.
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_______________ _____
______________________
_ ____ ____ _ _ ____ _ _ __ _
____________ ____________
___
And so it is spoken, that all the living beings of the universe are produced by
karma. And if somehow you could stop all minds, then karma itself would
cease to be, for it is only through mind and what comes along with it that
karma can be collected. Therefore karma itself depends on the mind. So the
statement from the Sutra of the Ten Levels, where it says that there is no great
master of all things, and no great maker of all things, conveys one meaning of
the word "only" in the expression "mind-only"; the point is that there is no
other creator of things than the mind itself.
______________________
_____ ________________ _____
____ ____ __ __ ____ __ _ _ _ ___ _
_ ___ ___ _ _ __ _ _______ __ _ _ _ __
_________________________ __
___________________________
_________ ____________
________ _____________
It is stated in scripture as well that each and every one of the twelve links in
the chain of interdependence depends on a single thing: the mind. These
references convey yet another meaning of the word "only" in the expression
"mind-only." Here the point is that mind is the main thing. The former
scriptural references are putting their point in a negative way, and the latter
references are putting their point in a positive way.
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Thus we can see that it's the mind which is the one single principal cause that
sets all life into motion. The principal cause is not something other than the
mind. Therefore when the sutras speak of "mind only," they are making the
point that mind is the main thing, and not matter. Although we do of course
admit that physical matter exists, this matter is not the one prime creator of
sentient beings in the way that mind is.
Therefore all these scriptural references are denying that the opposite of the
mind, something other than the mind, could be the creator. They are not
though saying that there are no outside physical objects at all.
93
Reading Six: How Emptiness Allows Karma to Work, According
to the Middle-Way School
____________________________
The following selections are from the Overview of the Middle Way, composed by
Master Kedrup Tenpa Dargye (1493-1568).
_________ _______________
__________ _ _____ ___ _ _
__ __ __ __ _ _ ___ ____ ___ _ __
_____ __ ___________
____
Let us first consider enemy destroyers of the Listener or Self-Made Buddha
type. Aren't you saying then that, like the non-Buddhists, they fail to eliminate
all the widespread mental afflictions that operate in all three realms? Because
isn't it true that they have failed to achieve the path which is directly
incompatible, in the way it holds its object, with the root of all these afflictions;
that is, the tendency to conceive of things as existing through some nature of
their own? And this is true, for they lack that comprehensive knowledge
where they realize that things have no nature of their own.
_______ _________________
__________________ __
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______ _ ____ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _
___________ __ _
_____________
Consider these same enemy destroyers. It is true that they have not yet
realized, entirely, the fact that the person has no self nature. This is because
they have yet to perceive directly the fact that the person has no nature. This
in itself is true as well, for they are still chained by total misperceptions, in
such a way that they will never be able to root out the object that they think
they see when they hold the parts to the person, the thing which gets the label
of "me," as existing from its own side. And this too is true, for they lack that
comprehensive knowledge where they realize that the parts to the person have
no nature of their own.
__ ____ __ ______ _ __ __ __ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ ____
____________________
______ _____________
___ ___________
The first of our logical statements above is always true. For suppose that a
person is still unable to root out the object that he thinks he sees when he
holds the parts to the person, the thing which gets the label of "me," as existing
through some nature of its own. As long as he goes on this way, then he will
continue to find himself unable to root out the object that he thinks he sees
when he holds the thing which gets the label, the "me," as existing from its
own side. And as long as he continues with this, then by the power of this
misperception he will continue to collect karma. And as long as he collects
karma, then he will continue to spin around in this wheel of suffering life.
*********
________________ ___________
______________ ____________
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__ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ ___ __ _ __ _
____________________ _
_______________ ______
____________________
_______________________
____
This then is the ultimate idea within the root text and the commentary of the
Higher Line, [written by Maitreya and Asanga]:
Due to the mental seeds for the two kinds of tendencies to grasp to some self-
nature, these two tendencies themselves spring up.
Due to the fact that they have sprung up, an impression with a wrong way of
looking at things springs up, and some things seem as though they are
pleasant from their own side, and other things seem as though they are
unpleasant from their own side.
Due to the fact that this impression has sprung up, the emotion of liking
springs up, where you focus on a pleasant object and don't want to lose it.
And the emotion of disliking springs up, where you focus on an unpleasant
object and want to avoid it.
This then forces you to collect karma.
And karma forces you to spin around in the wheel of suffering life.
And this is why the Buddhas have said that this suffering life is something
forced on us because we have not been able to see, directly, the essence of the
Ones Gone Thus [that is, emptiness].
*********
_ ___ ______ _ __ ___ ____ _____
_ _ _____ __ ____ _ __ __ __ __ _
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_______________ _______
____ _ ______ _ _ ________
__ ____________________
Here we will analyze the statement [from Entering the Middle Way, by Master
Chandrakirti (650 AD)] where it says, "...The mind of a craving spirit as well,
which sees a stream of water as pus." One may begin with the following
question:
Let's consider the objects of the following states of
mind: the visual consciousness of a craving spirit
where a river of water looks like pus and blood; the
visual consciousness of a person with a kind of
cataract where a clean white porcelain basin looks like
a hair has fallen into it; and that kind of meditation
where you visualize skeletonswhere you imagine
that the entire surface of the earth is covered with the
bones of corpses. Are all these objects completely
equivalent, as far as being something that exists or
doesn't exist?
________ _________ _
______ ___________ _______
___ __________ ________
___ _______________________
In reply we will first set forth a relevant passage, and then we will explicate
the passage. Here is the first. The text called The Abbreviation of the Greater
Way says,
Insofar as craving spirits, animals,
Humans, and pleasure beings, each according
To their class, have differing perceptions
Of a single thing, we say it has no reality.
Asvabhava, the venered layman with lifetime vows, has explained the passage.
His words include the following:
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______________________
________________
When they look at a single thing, a stream of water, each one sees
what the ripening of his particular karma forces him to see. A
craving spirit sees the river full of pus and blood and the like.
______________________
An animal or such, on the other hand, thinks of this same water as
a place to stay, and makes his home there.
__________ ___ ________
_ _____ ___
Humans look at the same thing and perceive it as watersweet,
clear, and cool. They drink of it, they wash themselves with it,
and they swim in it.
_________________________
_____ ______________ __
____
Those pleasure beings who are wrapped in deep
meditation at the level we call the "realm of limitless
space" see the water as empty space, for their ability
to conceptualize physical matter has dissolved
altogether.
_________ ________ _____
_________ _
Here secondly we will explain the meaning of the text we quoted first. We
proceed in three steps: disproving the position of others, establishing our own
position, and then refuting their rebuttal. Here is the first.
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___ __________ ___________
__ __ _ _ __ _ __ _ ____ _ ____ _
________ ________ _
______________
Someone may make the following claim:
Given the statements that have come above, the fact is
that we should never again consider anything as being
one way or the other.
Well then, you must be suggesting that the system of the Buddha is all the
same as the system of every non-Buddhist belief, that there is no difference in
their correctness at all. And you must be saying too that we could never state
that our Teacher was the highest teacher, and that the teachers of the non-
Buddhists are lesser.
_ ______ __ _ ___ __ _ _ _ _ _ __
__ _____________ ________
___ __ __ __ __ _ __ __ ____ __ _ _
____
And you must be suggesting all this, for you have claimed that we should
never again consider anything as being one way or the other.
Now if you should agree that none of the differences mentioned above exist,
we must reply that they do, for as the verse says:
All other teachers now I've given up,
And go for refuge now to only You;
Why? Because it's You alone who has
No fault, and perfected every good.
__ __________ ________
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__________ __________
____ ___________ _______
______ _________________
__
Someone else might make the following claim:
Suppose a pleasure being, a human, and a craving
spirit sit down together and look at a glass filled with
water: the thing that we define as "wet and flowing."
Since to the perceptions of each different type of being
it is real, the glass full of wet and flowing water is in
reality pus and blood to the eyes of the craving spirit,
and in reality water to the eyes of the human, and in
reality ambrosia to the eyes of the pleasure being.
_ _ __ ___ _ _ _ __ ________ ___ __ _
_________ ____________
_ _ _____ __ _ _ __ __ __ ___
_______ _________
____________ _____________
_________
We ask you then a question: in the situation you've just described, is it that the
visual consciousness of all three beings are a valid perception, or is it that only
one or two of them are a valid perception? Suppose you say all three are
valid. Well then, the glass of wet and flowing water must be full of something
that is all three different things: pus and blood, and each of the others. And
then too it must be possible for there to be multiple and yet still valid
perceptions which see one thing in two completely incompatible ways. And
finally there must be such a thing as a valid perception which correctly
perceives that the glass is filled with something which is simultaneously water
and yet not water. Why so? Because, according to your view, the three
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differing cases of visual consciousness possessed by the three different beings
would all have to be valid perception.
_______ _____________
___ ___________________
__
And if you try to agree to these absurdities, you are wrong, for the quality of
being pus and blood is incompatible with the quality of being either one of the
other two substances mentioned. Moreover, the quality of being water and the
quality of not being water are directly incompatible in such a way that, if
something exists and lacks one of these qualities, it must then possess the
other.
___ __________ _____________
______ __________________ ___
____________ __
Someone may answer with the following claim:
In the case mentioned, the visual consciousness of the
human is a valid perception, but the visual
consciousnesses of the other two types of beings are
not valid perception. These latter two see something
like the pus and blood, and the ambrosia, only
because their karma (which is good in one case, and
bad in the other) forces them to.
____________ ________
_______ ___ ________
_ _____ ___ _____ __ _ _ __ __ ___
____ __ ___________ ___
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Well then, according to you, the visual consciousness of the human wouldn't
be valid perception either. Because isn't it true that the human sees the water
only because his karma (which in this case is halfway between the good and
the bad just mentioned) forces him to? Moreover, aren't you implying then
that there is no such thing as a valid tactile consciousness, or a valid auditory
consciousness, in the mental stream of any being who is not a human?
Because aren't you saying that there's no such thing as a valid visual
consciousness in the mental stream of any such being? Certainly you are, for
you believe your original position to be correct. And suppose now that you
do agree that such beings can have no such valid consciousnesses.
_ __ ___ _ __ __ __ _ _ ___ __ __
_ _ _ _ __ _ _____ __ __ __ _ _ __ _
_ ___
Aren't you then implying that these beings never have any case where they are
able to reach a definite conclusion about something, or to analyze an object?
And if so, aren't you implying that there could never be a case where one of
these beings could recognize another? Of course you are, given your position.
________ __________
____________________ __
________________ _______
_________ ______________
_________
Here secondly is the section where we establish our own position. Now
suppose three different types of beingsa pleasure being, a human, and a
craving spirit, each with their own karmasit down together and look upon
a glass filled with water, the thing we define as "wet and flowing." The glass
of water is not at this point one thing which is simultaneously three different
objects. Neither is it necessary in this situation for there to be three identical
valid perceptions. And when the glass full of wet and flowing water occurs,
it occurs with three different, distinct parts to it.
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___________________ ______
_________________ _________
____________ __________
_ __ _____ ____ ____ __ ____ ______ _
__
It is not though the case that, from the time it first started, the glass of water
came with the three different parts, or that they stay with the glass of water
until it eventually ends. What happens is that one of the parts of the glass
filled with wet and flowing water provides a material cause, and the karma of
the craving spirit provides a contributing factor; and then based on both of
these the later continuation of one part of the glass of water starts being blood
and pus.
___________ _____________
_____________________
Another part of the glass of water again provides a material cause, and the
karma of the human provides a contributing factor; and then based on both of
these the later continuation of one part of the glass of water starts being water.
_ ____ __ __ __ _ __ ___ __ __ ___
_____ _____________________
__
Yet another part of the glass of water provides a material cause, and the karma
of the pleasure being provides a contributing factor; and then based on both
of these the later continuation of one part of the glass of water starts being
ambrosia, and so on.
_________________________
__ _____ ____ __ __ ____ ______
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___ ______ __ _ _ _____ ____ __ _ __ _
______________
At this point, the glass full of wet and flowing water is something with three
different parts. Nonetheless, it is not the case that all three different beings see
all three parts. The craving spirit is forced by the bad karma he has collected
to see the glass of water as pus and blood; and he doesn't see the other two
things. One should understand that a similar case holds with the latter two
types of beings.
______________________
________ ______________
______________________ ___
____ _ __ _ _ __ __ __ ____ _____
_____
What we just described as happening is only with reference to where a glass
of something wet and flowing is an object shared by the three different beings,
as they look at it together. When the craving spirit himself though picks up
the glass in his hand and begins to partake of its contents, the glass of liquid
is no longer something that exists with three different parts. Since at this point
it is something that the craving spirit is experiencing exclusively, its
continuation starts being pus and blood.
___________________
___ ____ _ _ __ __ _______ _ __ _ _
__ ___________________
_________________________
How the glass of liquid exists originally all depends on the particular outer
world from where it has been taken, for each of the three different beings has
a different outer world, depending on the specific karma he himself has
collected. If the glass of liquid were sweet, cool water taken from the world
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of humansa world created by the specific karma of the human in the
groupthen that would be its original condition, and so on.
_______________________
____ __________ ______
_ _____ _____________
_
When we say that a craving spirit looks at a stream of water and sees pus and
blood, by the way, we are only talking about some kinds of craving spirits, and
not all of them. This is because there are many kinds of craving spirits: some
with obstacles in the world around them that prevent them from relieving their
craving; some with obstacles that are parts of their bodies; and some with
obstacles that relate to the food or drink itself.
_____________________
______________________
__________________________
______________ ____________
___________________ ______
____ __ __ _ _ __ ___ ______ _
__
There is, moreover, an example we can use for how, when the three different
types of beings with their three karmas look all together at a glass full of
something wet and flowing, there start to be three different objects, each
confirmed by a valid perception. Suppose there is a ball of red-hot steel; one
piece of this ball provides the material cause, and the "mantra of steel"
provides a contributing factor. Due to these two, a person who has used the
mantra of steel on his hand can touch the ball, but he doesn't undergo any
sensation of heat; instead, he feels some other sensation. A person who has
not used the mantra on his hand touches the ball and does feel a sensation of
heat, and no other kind of sensation.
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_ __ _ __ __ __ ____ __ __ __ ____
__ ___ __ __ _____ ___ _ __ __ _ __
_______ _________________
___ _____________________
__________________
_
Another example would be the moon in springtime; one part of the feel of its
rays on the body provides the material cause, and then the karma of a craving
spirit provides a contributing factor. Based on these two, the spirit gets a
sensation of heat, which is experienced by the consciousness of the body.
So too with the wintertime sun; one part of the feel of its rays on the body
provides the material cause, and then the karma of the craving spirit provides
a contributing factor. Based on these two, the spirit gets a sensation of cold,
which is experienced by the consciousness of the body.
______ __________________
__________ ______
It is a fact that they get this kind of sensation, for [Arya Nagarjuna's] Letter to
a Friend states:
For craving spirits, even the light of the moon
In the spring is hot, and even the winter sun cold.
_______________________
___ __________ _______
____ __ ___________
All of this is caused by the extraordinary circumstances of the particular time
and place, for generally speaking it never happens this way: there is nothing
at all about the sun that can feel cold, and nothing about the moon that can
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feel hot. This too is a fact, for there does not exist on the sun any case of that
substance we call "covered space."
________ _________ _
________________ ________
__ _______________ _______
____________ _____
____________
Here is the third part of our presentation, where we refute the rebuttal of
representatives of other views. You will recall that our own position is
describing a situation where beings of three different types, each with their
own karma, are sitting together and looking at a glass filled with something
that is wet and flowing. The glass filled with something wet and flowing
exists, at this point, as something with three distinct parts. Nonetheless, no
one of the beings is able to see all three things there, for they are each at the
mercy of the particular karma that they themselves have collected.
Representatives of other viewpoints now come to attack this position.
__ _________ _________
____ __ ____ _____
__ _______________ __________
__________________ ________
_______________ ________________
_________ _____________________
__ _____ _ ____ ______ _ __ __ ___
_____________
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One comes and makes the following claim:
Your position, as just explained, is mistaken, for it
goes against a statement of the glorious Dharmakirti.
This is quite surely the case, for in his major work
[entitled The Commentary on Valid Perception] he says,
Suppose you say that they don't see it,
And circumstances cause another form.
What he's talking about here is a belief of the [non-
Buddhist] Numerist School. They give the case of a
single person whose physical form is looked upon at
the same time by his enemy, and also by his friend.
In reality, the person's physical form is both attractive
and ugly at the same time. Something happens where
yet another physical form, one from karma, grows up
between the person's true physical form and the
enemy and friend looking at it. Because of this neither
the enemy nor the friend sees both the attractiveness
and the ugliness together.
Master Dharmakirti uses logic to refute this concept,
and this same logic can be used against the position
you have taken, to prove that you are wrong.
_____ _______________
_____________________
Your reasoning here is though incorrect, for the belief you have expressed
shows that you have failed to understand both the meaning of Master
Dharmakirti's statement, and the whole position expressed above.
__ _________ ________
__ ______ _ _ _ _ _ __ ___ _ __ ___ _
___ ________________ ______
_______ ________________
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_______________ ____
___________________________
____ ________________________
______
This is a fact, for the actual meaning of Master Dharmakirti's statement is as
follows. The Numerist School is describing a situation where you are looking
at a physical form either from far away, or from up close. They say that,
depending on the distance between you and the object, another physical form
which is the result of karma, and which stands between your visual
consciousness and the original form, is either clear or not. This then
determines whether the original form appears to you distinctly or not. It is not
the case though, they say, that what determines whether the original form
appears clearly or not is whether or not you have a clear impression of this
form.
In reply then Master Dharmakirti is asking the Numerists:
Let's consider these two cases of some intermediate
physical form that comes from karma. Do they, or do
they not, function to obscure the two original forms,
the one at a distance, and the other close by? If they
were to obscure them, then your visual consciousness
could never see the two original forms, since they
would have been obscured by the others.
______ ______________________
__________ ______________
____
And suppose you say that they do not obscure them.
Wouldn't your visual consciousness then see both the
two intermediate forms created by karma, and the two
original forms, the near one and the far one, all at the
same time? They would have to because, according to
you, the intermediate forms do not obscure the
original ones.
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This is the real point of the Master's statement, wherein he refutes that belief
of the Numerists.
_____ _______________ __
_____________ __________
_________________ __________
__ __ __ ___ __ ______ ____ __ __ _
__ _ _ __ _____ ___ ___ ______ ___
___________________________
___ ____________________
_
Our second point [that you have failed to comprehend the position we
expressed above] is also quite true. Our original position was describing a
situation where three different kinds of beings were sitting together and
looking at a glass full of something wet and flowing. It is not our position that
the glass full of something wet and flowing is one thing that is three different
things. And it is not our position that there is such a thing as the physical
appearance of a person which is at once both attractive and ugly.
It is furthermore not our position that the blood and pus represent some kind
of physical form which results from karma and grows up between the visual
consciousness of the craving spirit and the stream of water. And it is not our
position that the craving spirit's eyes see both this blood and pus as some kind
of physical form resulting from karma, and the river of water at the same time.
It is our position that, by force of his karma, the craving spirit is not able to see
the stream of water.
___ ______________ ___
____ _ ___ __ ________ _ __ __ _
__________ __________________
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__ __ ___ __ ___ ___ ____ _____
____________ ____________
________ __________ __
________________ ______
____________________
And anyway, maybe it's you who have contradicted a statement of the glorious
Dharmakirti. You have taken the position that the five sicknesses, and the five
elements, and the five demons are all the direct result of the five poisonsthe
five bad thoughts. But when the non-Buddhists take the position that phlegm
and desire have a cause-and-effect relationship, and that bile and anger have
the same kind of relationship, and so on, then Master Dharmakirti refutes them
by showing that desire doesn't always come and go according to the phlegm,
and anger doesn't always come and go according to the bile. To do so he
makes the statement that says, "It's not a fact that wind and the rest are such,
for the relationship doesn't always hold." We could twist around this
statement too and say that it disproved your position; and add as well how
wrong it is to assert that uncreated space could ever be the direct result of
jealousy.
[The point seems to be that, although your position about the bad thoughts,
and our original position on the nature of the three beings' perceptions, are
both correct, you could always twist around some quotation by a master, take
it out of context or misinterpret it, and try to show they were wrong.]
___ __________ _______
_ ___________________
____ _________________
___ __ ________________
________ ____________
________ __
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Someone else might come and make yet another claim:
Let's talk about that quotation above, where it said:
Insofar as [these different beings] have
differing perceptions
Of a single thing, we say it has no reality.
The idea being expressed here is that a single object
can be appearing in three different ways. This is
incorrect because, according to you, what's happening
is that three different objects are appearing in three
different ways. And this certainly is your position;
remember, you were describing a situation where
three different kinds of beings sit down together and
look at a glass full of something that's wet and
flowing. You said that there were three different
objects, each confirmed by a valid perception, and that
they were appearing in three different ways.
_ _______________________
__ __________________ __
______________
Well now, suppose a person is using all four of his limbs, and his head, to
perform five different actions. According to you, it wouldn't be one person
performing five different actions, because five different protuberances of his
body are performing five different actions.
____ _____ _____________
_____________________ __
In response to this line of reasoning, someone responds:
No, there's no such problem here. The five
protuberances are all parts of the one person, so we
have to say that, when the five are performing some
actions, the person is performing some actions.
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________ _____________
____ __ __ _ _ ___ ___ __ ____
______________________
__
Well the case above is exactly the same! The three things mentioned, the blood
and pus and the other two, are all parts of the glass full of something wet and
flowing. When the three appear then we can say that the glass full of a thing
which is wet and flowing is acting as a basis, and that three different ways of
appearing are being displayed upon it.
___ ___________________
_______ ___________
_ __ ____ _ _ _ _ ___ ___ __ ___
__
Someone else may come now and make yet another argument:
Let's talk about these three things: the pus and blood,
and the other two. Are you implying then that these
are not types of objects which would block each other
from entering the space that each one occupies? After
all, you were talking about a situation where those
three types of beings, each with their own karma, sit
down together and look at a glass full of water. And
you said that your position was that it was possible
for there to be three different objects there, each one
confirmed by a valid perception.
_____________________
______ _____________ __
_______________ _________
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______
This kind of reasoning, where you attempt to show that we are implying that
the three objects are not the kinds that block each other from entering the space
that each one occupies, cannot disprove our position. It is not our belief that
in this situation the glass full of something which is wet and flowing is one
thing which is three different things. Neither did we ever say that there
definitely had to be identical valid perceptions here.
___ __________________
_____________________
__________________ _____
_____ _________________
_______ _________________
_______
Someone might make the following claim:
In his Commentary to the Twenty Verses, Master
Vinitadeva makes this statement
If there was not a single drop of pus there, then
how could there ever be a whole river of pus?
They are forced to see it, through the ripening of
their karma.
According to you, this statement would have to be
mistaken, because when the three different kinds of
beings sit down together and look at the glass full of
something wet and flowing, the visual consciousness
of the craving spirit is a valid perception, and the pus
is real pus.
_____ ____________________
______ ________ ___
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_ __ _ __ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ ___ _ __ _ _ _
_____________ _____________
__________ __________
_____ _ ____ __ _ ___ __ _____ __ _
_________ __________
__________________ _____
______________
And yet there is no such problem. No matter how many arguments of this
kind you want to present, they are all made from the point of view of denying
the existence of external objects. The way these arguments go is as follows.
If the color blue were to exist as an external object, then the following would
occur when this color appeared directly to a sense perception grasping blue;
that is, with such a perception found in the mental stream of one of those who
"only sees this side" [which is another name for those who have not yet
perceived emptiness directly].
When an earlier instance of the perception of blue ends, what actually happens
is that it plants a mental seed which eventually grows into a later instance of
the same perception of blue, when the seed ripens. Suppose the blue were not
just this kind of appearance, but rather an appearance where blue as an outer
object were transmitting a likeness of itself and thereby appearing to one's
perceptions. Something else then would be happening when the three different
beings sit down together and look at the glass full of something wet and
flowing. The three different objects would be appearing to them because each
of the objects was transmitting a likeness of itself to their perception. All of
this would be happening independent of any process where each being's karma
planted a mental seed, which later ripened and produced the appearance of the
object.
____________________
_______________ __________
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_ ___ __ _ __ ___ ____ ____ __ _
______
If this were how the three objects were appearing, then they would not be
appearing through a process where the specific and different karma that each
of the three beings had collected had planted a seed in their mind which later
ripened. As such each of the beings involved would have to be perceiving all
three of the objects, whereas the fact is that they do not.
All this is an argument attempting to refute those who refuse to accept the
denial of outer objects.
________ ____________
____________ __________
__ _ __ _ __ _ __ ___ __ ___ ___
___________
The real meaning of the quotation by Master Vinitadeva is therefore the
following:
Suppose there didn't exist a single drop of pus that
existed as it appeared to exist to the craving spirit;
that is, which existed as an outer object. How then
could there exist a whole river full of pus which
existed as an outer object? These beings do though
see the pus and so on, for they are forced to do so by
their karma.
_ _ _ __ _____ _ __ __ _ _ _____ ___
____ ________________ ____
_____ ____________________
_________________
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And this is certainly the case, for later on in the text someone argues that, if
the pus and blood did not exist as outer objects, and if they were only a part
of the mind itself, then they could never provide the function of being
something to eat or drink. And in response, Master Vinitadeva says "Actions
and their objects are like an injury in a dream." He is saying that, even though
the pus and blood do not exist as outer objects, nonetheless they can perform
the function of being something to eat or drink. He proves his point by using
a great many examples, such as a dream.
______________________ __
_ _ __ __ ___ ___ __ _ _ _ _ _ _
__ ____________________
______________________
______ ______
If this were not the case, then one would have to say that form and other such
doorways through which perceptions grow do not even exist at all. Why?
Because you would be saying that all the sutras which state that they exist are
sutras which do not mean what they say; sutras which you have to interpret
to understand their true meaning. And this too is certainly the case, for the
autocommentary to the Twenty Verses states that:
In the same way, statements by the victorious Buddha
where He says that form and other such doors of
perception do exist would be examples of His word
that must be interpreted to establish their real
meaning; statements that are only spoken figuratively,
for the benefit of disciples who might require such
explanations.
____ _____ ______________
____________________
__ ________ ___________
___________
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In response to this someone might claim:
There's no problem; the point of this statement is to
say that sutras which explain form and similar doors
of perception as actually existing as outer objects are
only spoken figuratively, and must be interpreted to
establish their true meaning.
Well then, the meaning of the original statement then is just the same: it is
saying that "there does not exist even a drop of pus and blood which exists as
an outer object."
_ _ ____ __ _ ____ _ _ _ ____
____ _ _ _ __ __ ___ __ _ _____ _
___ _ _____ _ _ _ __ ____ __ _ _
__ __ _____ __ __ _____ _ _____ _
_____________________
Yet again, another argument might be made:
Let's take the case of one of those craving spirits that
looks at a river of water, and sees it as a dry riverbed,
genuinely so. Or consider one that looks at a tree
loaded with fruit, but sees it as nothing but bare
limbs, genuinely so. The visual consciousness of both
of these beings then must be a valid perception.
Why? Remember the case of the three different beings
looking at a glass full of something wet and flowing;
according to you, the pus and blood was actual pus
and blood, and the perception of them by the craving
spirit was genuine: his visual consciousness was a
valid perception.
______ __________________
_ _ __ ____ _ __ _ ___ __
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_____________________ ______
__ _____ __ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ ___ __
_______________________
_______________
Just because we said that about the other case doesn't mean that it's true in
every case. If the craving spirit hadn't seen any water in that area in the first
place, it wouldn't have made any sense for him to go over in that direction to
try to enjoy some of the water. Therefore what happened was that, at first, he
saw some water. Later on, he was forced by his karma to stop seeing water
and saw only bare, parched earth. Then he had an impression where he
thought the water had dried up.
The case with the fruit tree is the same. Although at first the craving spirit
sees a tree loaded with fruit, later on his karma forces him to stop seeing fruit,
and all he sees is bare branches. Then he has an impression where he thinks
that the tree has no fruit any more.
___ ______________________ _
___________ _________________
___ ________________
When all this is happening, the obstacle in the visual consciousness of the
craving spirit prevents him from seeing the river of water, and so he sees a
dry, parched riverbed. The same is true for the visual consciousness of a
human: if the obstacle were there, it would prevent him from seeing the river
of water, and then he would have to see a dry, parched riverbed.
______ ___________________
_ ________ _______
______ _________________
_______ _________________
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___________
From one point of view, the river of water hasn't dried up when the craving
spirit looks at it; but there is a river which has dried up, if you're talking about
a river of water that the spirit can see, or a river of water that the spirit can drink
from. This follows because when the three different types of beings sit down
together and look at a glass full of something wet and flowing, it is true that,
due to the force of karma, three different kinds of objects exist there at the
same time: the pus and blood, and the other two.
_____ _________________
__________________ _____
_____ _________________ __
___ __ _____ _____ _ ___ __ __ _ __
____ _____ _ _ _ _ _ __ ___
_____________
Given all this, consider craving spirits that have obstacles that relate to their
food and drink itself. The food and drink there really is food and drink, until
such time as the spirit starts trying to eat or drink it. When he does try to do
so, then the continuum of the food into the next moment starts becoming pus
and blood. It is not though that it is the simple appearance of something as
pus and blood that could ever function as something to eat or drink. If this
were the case, then the rules of karma and its consequences would have to be
less that what they really are. And this is true, for if a craving spirit like this
ever existed it would represent a failure of the laws of karma and its
consequences.
___ _________________
_ _____ _ ___ __ _ ____ __ ______
_ __ _ __ __ _ ____ _ __ _ __ __
_ __ __ __ __ ___ _ _____ __ __
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_______________________
Suppose moreover that there were no pus and blood out there to appear as the
pus and blood, and suppose that the mere appearance of something looking
like pus and blood could ever function as something to eat or drink. Well
then, you would also have to be able to use a comb on the hair that appears
on a porcelain sink to a person with cataracts. And a horsefly that appeared
to the same person would have to be able to give him a bite. And the water
of a mirage would have to provide all the normal functions of water, and so
on. Why so? Well because, according to you, there is no pus and blood out
there to appear as pus and blood; according to you, the mere appearance of
something looking like pus and blood can provide all the functions of things
that you eat and drink.
____ __ __ ___ ____ __ _ ___ _ __
______ _______________
__________________ ___
_ _____ ___ __ _ ______ _ __ __ _ __
_______ ______ ________
____________ ___________
_ __ __ _ __ _______ _ _ _____ _
_
And consider again this case where a pleasure being and a human and a
craving spirit and an animal or the like all sit down together and look at a
glass full of something wet and flowing. According to you, it would have to
be genuine when something that just looked like ambrosia appeared to the
pleasure being, and it would have to be genuine when something that just
looked like pus and blood appeared to the craving spirit, but there couldn't be
any pus and blood out there to appear as pus and blood. And if this were the
case, then consider the visual consciousness of a being in the hells. It would
then have to be a valid perception towards something appearing to it that just
looked like the burning steel of the hells, and towards something that just
looked like the forest of swords, and towards something that just looked like
a mass of fire, and so on. Finally, this person would not have any valid
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perceptions at all towards any of these things as actual objects. Why would
this all have to be so? If your idea were correct, it would have to be, for the
logic here is identical to your own.
_ __ ____ __ ___ _ _ _ _ _ __ __
________________ ____
_ __ ___ _ ____ __ _ __ _ ___
_ _ __ ____ _ _ _ _ __ _____ _ _ _ _
______ _______________
And suppose you agree that this hell being could have no valid perceptions of
the type we mentioned. Well then, the burning steel and other objects could
never perform any real actions: they could never burn the bodies of the people
born there, they could never chop them up, and so on. Why? Well because
of what you just agreed to. And suppose you agree to this; that they could
never perform any real actions. Well then, the torment of the hells itself then
must not even exist, by your own admission. And remember too that case
where the beings all sit down and look at the same thing. You must be saying
then that the actual water, the thing towards which the visual consciousness
of the human is a valid perception, doesn't exist at all. Why? Well because,
according to you, no actual pus and blood exists either in the same situation.
_ _ _ _ __ _ ____ __ _ _ __ ___ _
_ __ _ __ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____
_______ ___ ________ __
____________________
Someone might now make the following claim:
In this situation, there does exist some real water there.
This is because the human can confirm the water with
his own experience, as it performs all the functions of
wateras he uses it to wash himself, or as he uses it
to cook something.
Reading Six
122
Well then, in the same situation there must exist some real pus and blood there
as well, because in this same situation the craving spirit can confirm the pus
and blood with his own experience as they perform their functionsas he
drinks them, and then as the sizzle in his throat and stomach, and so on.
____ _____ ________ ___
_________ __ _______
____ ___________
Someone may respond to this argument with the following claim:
The two cases are not the same. When all this
happens to the craving spirit, it's nothing more than
his own imagination.
Well then, what happens to the human can't be happening to him either,
because it's nothing more than his imagination.
___ _ _ __ __ ___ _____ __ _
__________ __
Someone may respond to this with another claim:
When the human washes himself with the water and
so on, it must not be something real, because it's
nothing more than his own imagination.
__________________ ____
_________ ___ __________
_
Are you saying then that when the pus and blood sizzle in the stomach of the
craving spirit, and so on, it can't be something real? For that too is nothing
more than his own imagination. You agree? Well then, the suffering of
craving spirits must not exist at all.
Reading Six
123
__ ________ ___________
_ _ ___ ___ ____ _ __ __ ____ _
___ ___________ ____
______ ______ __
Someone might make the following claim:
Isn't it true that when all those beings sit down
together and look at something, there isn't any actual
pus and blood at all? Because isn't it true first of all
that, when a person with cataracts looks into a
porcelain basin, there is no strand of hair in the basin
at all? And, secondly, doesn't [Master Dharmakirti's]
text itself say,
Identical to the case of someone where his sense
power has a cataract,
Is the mind of a craving spirit as well, which
sees a stream of water as pus.
_ __ __ __ _ ____ __ __ _ __ ___ __ __ ___ _
______ _________________
_ _ _ ___ _ __ _____ __ _ _ ____
__ ________________
And yet there is no such problem, for this quotation appears in the section
where we are examining the question of whether, in the schools of the Middle
Way and the Mind-Only, an object and the perception of it must be equivalent
in either both existing or both not existing. Moreover, there is another fact
about this situation, where the stream of water appears as pus and blood to the
visual consciousness of the craving spirit. It is no inconsistency to say that the
visual consciousness that sees things this way is not a valid perception, and to
say at the same time thatwhen the craving spirit looks at the stream of
waterthere does exist there actual pus and blood.
Reading Six
124
__ __________________
_____ ____________ ______
___________________ _____
______ __ ________
__ ____ ____________ _____
____ __________ ________
____ ______ __
Someone again may come and claim the following:
Let's consider once more this situation where three
different types of beings sit down together and look at
a glass full of something wet and flowing. Isn't it true
that there is no actual pus and blood there? Because
isn't it true that the burning steel and so on in the
hells is only something that appears to a person who
is born there, but that there is nothing there which
actually is these objects? Because isn't it true that
there is no one at all who went and made all these
kinds of things? And isn't this a fact, because doesn't
the text of The Bodhisattva's Way of Life say:
Who made the burning steel that acts
As the floor of the world of hell?
Where did all the mass of flames
You find there all come from?
The Able Ones have spoken that
Everything there like this
Is nothing at all other than
The mind of what's non-virtue.
_____ _______________________
_ __ _ __ __ _______ __ _ _ _ _ _ _
Reading Six
125
_________
Yet there is no such problem. The point of this quotation is to say that the
burning steel and so on are not something that was created by some
unchanging creator being or something like that; by someone who thought it
over first and then created them. The lines are meant to show us that what
really made all these things is the non-virtuous states of mind had by the
beings who have to take birth there.
_____ ___________________
_______ ________________
______________ ________
__ __ __ ___ _ __ _ _ _ ___ __ _ __ __
____
If this were not the case, then consider those holy people who lead their lives
following the ten virtues, and who are then born into the higher realms, and
then experience the pleasures of these realms. And consider too those
miserable people who lead their lives following the ten non-virtues, and who
are then born into the lower realms, and then experience the sufferings of these
realms. Is the difference between them just that they are having some better
or worse kind of misperception, and not whether they are experiencing
pleasure or pain? This would have to be the case, if your reasoning were
correct.
_ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ _ ____ __ _ _
__
Suppose you agree that it is only a matter of better or worse misperceptions.
Are you saying then that the pleasures of the higher realms don't even exist,
and that the pains of the lower realms don't even exist? You must be, if you
agree this way.
___ ____________________
______ ____________ ____
Reading Six
126
_ _ _ __ ____ _ _____ ___ _ __ __ __
_________________ ________
_ ______________________ _
____________ ______ ____
_____________
In conclusion now, let us consider again these three kinds of beings, each with
their different karma, as they sit down together and look at a glass full of
something wet and flowing. It's not necessarily true that they must all have
valid perceptions which are identical. If they did, then the three beings
looking at the glass of water would have to think of the water as a place to
live, in the way that a creature living in water would. The three beings as well
would have to see the water in the same way that microscopic organisms
living in the water, little beings imperceptible to normal visual consciousness,
see it with their own visual consciousness. Then too the visual consciousness
of microscopic organisms living in the depths of the ocean would have to be
a valid perception towards the entire extent of the sea. And certain kinds of
near-gods too would have to see weapons as glasses of water, and on and on;
the problems raised would be many.
___ ___________ _________
_ _ __ __ ___ __ _ ___ ___ ___ __ __
______ _______ _____________
__________
Again consider this same situation. Even though it is not necessarily true that
the valid perceptions are identical, it is possible for there to be three valid
perceptions here which happen to be identical. This is because, as we have
already established logically, there can be a case where by the force of karma
three different objects, each one confirmed by a valid perception, start to exist.
And since this is possible, then it is equally possible that, by the force of
karma, three equivalent valid perceptions of a vessel could start to exist as
well.
Reading Six
127
______________________
_ _ _____ _ __ __ __ __ _ _ _ __ _
_ _____ __________________
__ _______ ___________
_ ____________ _________
____ ____________
__ ________
Generally speaking, each of the three objects mentionedthe pus and the other
twoare things of the type that block other objects from entering into the
space which they themselves occupy. It is no contradiction though to say that,
in this situation where the beings are looking this way, they are not objects
such that they block other things from entering into the space they occupy.
This is true for the following reason.
A central mountain of the world which is square in shape, and a central
mountain of the world which is round in shape, and the like, are objects such
that they block other things from entering the space they occupy.
Nevertheless, it is possible for both these things to occupy the space taken up
by a single central mountain of the world. A red-hot ball of steel is something
that's hot, but consider what happens when a person touches it after he has
used the mantra of steel on his hand. The sensation that he feels is not a
sensation of heat; on the contrary, it is a sensation of something not heat.
[This concludes the section of the text entitled "The Stream."]
128
Reading Seven: Black and White Deeds, the "Path of Action," and
the Root and Branch Non-Virtues
____ _ __ __ ___ __ __ __ ______ ____
___
The following selections are taken from Illumination of the Path to Freedom, a
commentary to the Abhidharmakosha by Gyalwa Gendun Drup, His Holiness the
First Dalai Lama.
63
Black, White, and Other Deeds Defined
______________
___________
____________
__________
Non-virtue as well as virtue itself taken
In by the form and desire represent
Respectively deeds which are black, white, and both.
The unstained is what brings it to an end.
[IV.237-40]
___________ ____________
Reading Seven
129
______ ____________ __
_________________
Just how do we describe these four types of deeds? Non-virtue represents a
type of deed which is black and ripens into something black. It is black in
that its very nature consists of something afflicted. It also ripens into
something black, for it ripens forth into an undesirable result.
_____________ __________
__ _ _ _ __ __ __ ____ _ ___ _ __
__________________
Virtue taken in by the realm of form represents a type of deed which is
white and also ripens into something white. This is first of all because of its
basic nature: it is unmixed with afflicted types of things, within the mental
stream in question. And it ripens forth into a desirable result; with the one
mental stream, it is not mixed together with any suffering.
_____________________
______ ____________ __
_____________ ________
_______ ___________________
_
Virtue taken in by the realm of desire represents a type of deed which is
both white and black, and which also ripens into something both white and
black. Since its basic nature is free of affliction it is white butsince within a
single mental stream it is also mixed with afflicted thingsit is black as well.
It ripens into something white because it gives forth a pleasant result
butsince within the particular mental stream this is also mixed with
sufferingwe can also say it ripens into something black.
___ __ __ _ ___ ______ _ _ __ _ ___ _
__
Reading Seven
130
Deeds which are unstained never ripen into anything either white or black.
Their nature is to be what brings "it"that is, the black kind of deedto an
end.
64
Bringing Black and White Deeds
to an End
____________
___________
__________
_______
_______
___________
_____________
___________
Twelve types of mental movement had with
Phenomena, mastery, and eight of the
Uninterrupted path free of desire
Are deeds that act to bring the black to an end.
That which is the mental movement in the
Ninth acts to end the white and black.
White by the final uninterrupted arising,
Free of desire for the concentration.
[IV.241-8]
______ __________________
_______________________
_____ _________
Reading Seven
131
Here is how these deeds are brought to an end. First let's take the twelve
types of mental movement had with the four instants known as "the mastery
of phenomena," as well as eight instants of the uninterrupted path [part of
the path of seeing, the direct perception of selflessness] which is free of desire.
These are the deeds that act to bring black deeds to an end, for they function
to eliminate all the mental afflictions that relate to the desire realm.
______________________
_ _ _ __ _ _ __ __ __ _______ _
___ ________________
Next let's take that type which is the mental movement in the ninth instant
of the uninterrupted path. This is a deed which acts to end the white and
black, first of all because it eliminates desire-realm virtue by means of
eliminating the aspiration, or the desire, for it. Secondly, it eliminates all the
mental afflictions of the desire realmthe process here being that one stops the
hold which retains them.
_________________________
____ ___ _ __ __ ___ __ __ __ ____
_________
Finally, let's consider the final instant in the arising of the uninterrupted path
which is free of desire for the fourth level of concentration. It is by this that
white deeds are brought to an end, for here one eliminates aspiration, that is
desire, for virtue of the formless realm.
65
Other Views on the Black and White
__________
____________
_____________
Reading Seven
132
_____________
According to others, understood as those
For a hell experience, the two for other desire.
Others, what seeing eliminates is black;
White and black, others that come from desire.
[IV.249-52]
_________________ ___
_________________________
_ ___________________
______________________
According to the claim of certain other groups, deeds which bring one an
experience in the hells are to be understood as the "black" ones. And those
that bring one an experience in some other birth in the desire realm are to be
understood as the two: as deeds that are both white and black.
Still other groups assert that those kinds of deeds which the path of seeing
eliminates are the black ones, while the other deeds that come from the
desire are both white and black.
We turn next to our fifth group of deeds, which includes those divided on the
basis of the person who possesses them.
*********
72
Three Types of Each Path of Action
__________
_________
________________
____________
Reading Seven
133
_____________
The undertakings come from the root three.
Because they occur just subsequent to them,
Coveting and the rest come from these three.
The virtues, with undertaking and conclusion,
From no desire, dislike, ignorance.
[IV.272-6]
__ __ __ __ __ ____ __ _ ______ __
_ ___ __ __ _ ___ ____ __ _____
________________________
Now sutra states that there are three types of killing: that which comes from
desiring something, that which comes from disliking something, and that
which comes from being ignorant of things. One may ask then whether the
various paths of action are each brought to completion by these three roots of
all non-virtue.
___ _____________________
______
The answer is that they are not. The statement from sutra was made only with
reference to the fact that the "undertaking" stages of deeds such as killing
come from the root three.
____________________ ____
___________ _________ _
_____________ ___________
________________
One may next ask for a description of the process by which the "undertaking"
stages of the ten non-virtues come from the three roots of non-virtue. Let's
start with the act of killing. The "undertaking" stage of this type of act comes
from desire in a case where, for example, you take the life of another being in
Reading Seven
134
order to get its flesh to eat. An instance where this stage comes from dislike
would be where you kill your enemy. And a case where the undertaking stage
comes from being ignorant of things would be where you kill someone like
your father or mother out of some meritorious intent.
________________ _____
________ ______________
___________________ ___
Next let's consider the act of stealing. An example of the "undertaking" stage
for this act coming from desire would be where you steal something of value
out of a longing for it. A case where this stage comes from dislike would be,
for example, where you steal something of value from your enemy. An
example of the "undertaking" stage for stealing coming from ignorance is
exemplified by the description that "It's religion when a Brahmin steals."
_______________ ______
____ ______ _________
______ ________ ____ ____
_________ _____ ________
___________
Sexual misconduct that comes from desire would be a case where, for example,
one engages in some wrong kind of sexual activity because of lustful feelings.
Sexual misconduct born from dislike would be represented by engaging in
sexual intercourse in order to harm someone else's reputation. Sexual
misconduct that you do from ignorance is typified in the statement that "Sex
should be enjoyed by everyone together, like the flowers and the fruits of the
earth, like a banquet ready for the feast, like a pool in the river, like a public
road."
________________________ _____
__________ ____________
Reading Seven
135
_______________________
Coveting and the rest of the three misdeeds of thought come from these three
roots of non-virtue because they occur just subsequent to themto these
three roots. The ten virtues, and here we consider them with all their various
stages (undertaking and conclusion, as well as actual commission), come from
the states of possessing no desire for something, no dislike for a thing, and no
ignorance of things.
__ _ _ __ _ ___ _ _ _ _ ____ _ __
_____
This brings us to our third point, a detailed discussion of non-virtuous paths
of action. We present first the way these paths are committed, the their
individual definitions, and finally the literal meaning of the expression "a path
of action."
73
How Non-Virtues are Completed
______________
___________
_____________
__________
_________
_____________
Taking life, malice, and harsh speech are
Brought to their completion by dislike.
Sexual misconduct, coveting, and
Stealing are brought to completion by desire.
Mistaken views by ignorance of things;
The rest accepted as completed by three.
[IV.277-82]
Reading Seven
136
_ _ __ __ _______ ____ __ _ _ __ _
_________________________
One may ask just what it is that brings each of the different non-virtues to
completion. Three of themtaking life, malice, and harsh speechare
brought to their completion by the emotion of dislike.
__________________________
_ _ ___ _ _____ _ __ __ ___ __ _ _ _
______
Another threethe non-virtues of sexual misconduct, coveting, and
stealingare brought to completion by desire. Mistaken views are brought
to completion by an ignorance of things, for mistaken views spring from a
deep-seated lack of understanding.
_________________________ __
__________________________
The "rest"which refers to the three of lying, divisive speech, and meaningless
talkare accepted as being completed by all three poisons of the mind. Such
actions motivated by desire, for one example, would be brought to their
completion by desire.
74
The Objects of Non-Virtue
___________
__________
The objects consist of living beings, enjoyments.
Names and forms, and then of names as well.
[IV.283-4]
Reading Seven
137
_ ____________ ___________
__ __ _ ____ _ __ __ __ __ ___ _____
________ _____
One might ask what things serve as the objects for each of the four divisions
of non-virtues just mentioned. The object of the non-virtues of the first
division consists of living beings: killing is to take the life of a living being;
malice is to feel hatred for a living being; andas the root text itself
says"harsh speech is that which is unpleasant."
____________ __________
______ _______________
The non-virtues of the second division have enjoyments as their object: they
occur through enjoyment in the form of physical sensations within a living
being, or by force of one's taking possession of certain enjoyments.
_______________ __________
_____________ _________
________________
The objects of the third division are names and forms, for the non-virtue in
this case arises from a view about the virtues and non-virtues that are all part
of names and forms in general. The objects of the last division are names, for
lying and so forth all occurultimatelybased on the names of things.
75
Some Ethical Questions
________
___________
___________
Reading Seven
138
___________
There is no actual stage for those who die
Before or together, for another body's been born.
Because their goal's the same in a war or whatever,
All possess it as much as the one who commits it.
[IV.285-8]
_ _ _ _____ ___ __ __ __ ____ __ __
___________________
"Suppose," one may begin, "that a person takes a weapon and delivers a blow
to someone else which is sure to kill him, but then this murderer himself
happens to die, either before his victim or together with himat the same
time. Can we say then that the actual "commission" stage of a full path of
action has occurred for such a murderer, or not?"
_ _ _ __ __ ______ __ _ _ _________
_________ ____________
The answer is that there is no occurrence of this stage for such a person. In
the first place, the stage cannot occur before the victim dies; in the second
place, where the murderer dies at the same time as his victim, another body
of the killer has been born. There is no actual commission because the body
never went through the stage of undertaking this act towards the victim in
question.
____________________ _____
______ ___ ___________
______________________
____
One may raise another question: "Suppose a group of people are engaged in
a war or similar activity, and one of these people kills someone from the other
side. Does a path of action occur only for the one person who actually did the
killing?" It does not. Because they are engaged in the war (or whatever
activity it may be) for the same common goal, all the people involved come to
possess a full path of action, just as much as the one who commits it.
Reading Seven
139
___ ____ _____ _______
Next we present the definition of each individual non-virtue. We start with the
"root" non-virtues, continue to the "four expressions," and end with the six
"branch" non-virtues.
76
Definitions of the Four
"Root" Non-Virtues
_____________
__________
_________
____________
__________
_______
____________
________
Taking life is killing another being
Purposely, and without a mistake.
Stealing is to take possession of
Another's wealth by means of force or stealth.
Sexual misconduct, of four types,
Engaging in improper kinds of sex.
Lying's when the meanings of one's words
Are understood, a wrong impression given.
[IV.289-96]
Reading Seven
140
__ ___________ _________
__ __ __ __ ______ ______ __ _ _______
_________
"What," one may ask, "is the basic nature of each of the ten non-virtues?" The
taking of life is defined as killing another being purposely, and without a
mistake. The word "purposely" is meant to indicate that there is no problem
like where the being in question has died but there was no intent.
____________________ ________
__________________________
_______________________
The words "without a mistake" are meant to indicate that no "actual-
commission" stage of an act occurs in a case of mistaken identity; for example,
in a case where you undertake to kill John but instead kill Joe because you
have mistaken him for John. The word "another," finally, is meant to indicate
that no "actual-commission" stage occurs either in an instance where one takes
his own life.
__ _ __ ______ __ __ _____ _ __ ____
__ ___ _____ _ _ ______ __ __ __ _
____ _____________
________
Stealing is to take possession of another's wealth, purposely and without a
mistake, whether it be by means of superior force or by stealthundetected.
Sexual misconduct is engaging in kinds of sex which are improper to
perform, purposely and with no mistaken identity.
_______________ _________
_____ __ __ ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Reading Seven
141
___ _______ _ ______
_ _______________ _______
__ ___ _________________
___
This sexual misconduct is of four different types, as the number of the
following list each constitutes one of its forms:
1) sex with someone else's wife or with a woman who, although
she is not another person's wife, is too closely related to
oneselfhis mother, or sister, or any female related to one up
to seven generations past;
2) sex with a woman, even if she is one's wife, using an improper
part of her bodyher mouth or anus;
3) sex in an improper placeout in the open or in the environs of
a shrine or temple; and
4) sex at an improper timewhile a baby is still nursing from the
woman, or when she is pregnant, or during the period that she
is observing the one-day layman's vow.
_____________________________
___________
Lying is when the meanings of one's spoken words are understood by the
other person involved, and a wrong impression has been given
himpurposely, and without any mistaken identity.
Next we describe the "four expressions."
Reading Seven
142
77
The Four Expressions
__________
____________
_________
____________
That experienced by consciousness
Of eye, of ear, the thought, and by the three
Represents respectively what's seen,
What's heard, what's known, and also what is sensed.
[IV.297-300]
____ ___ ____ ___ _____
_____ ___________ __________
___________________
Now sutra makes mention of the "eight expressions of a child" [one who has
yet to see selflessness directly], which consist of:
1) four types where you say "I didn't see it" and so on about four
different kinds of thingsthings that you really did see, hear,
know, or sense; and
2) four types where you say "I did see it" and so on about another
four kinds of thingsthings that you really didn't see, hear, know,
or sense.
__ ___ _ __ ____ _ ___ ____ _ __ ____
_ ___ ________ __ __ ___ __ ____ _
___ ________ _______ __
Reading Seven
143
_____ _________________
_________ ___ _____ ___
_____
Sutra also mentions the "eight expressions of a realized person"four where
you say "I did see it" about things you really did see and so on; four where
you say "I didn't see it" about things you really didn't see and such.
Regarding these two sets of eight, one may ask for a more detailed description
of the basic four: what it is to be "something seen," "something heard," and so
on. That which is experienced by consciousness of the eye, consciousness of
the ear, consciousness of the thought, and by the other three kinds of
consciousness (those of nose, tongue, and body) represents respectively what
is seen, what is heard, what is known, and also what is sensed.
We turn next to a description of the six "branch" non-virtues.
78
Six "Branch" Non-Virtues
_______
____________
________
__________
_____________
____________
________________
__________
____________
Reading Seven
144
__________
____
Divisive speech, the words of a mentally
Afflicted state meant to split up others.
Harsh speech is that which is unpleasant;
Meaningless, really every afflicted.
Others, every other afflicted type like
Flattery for gain, a song, a show.
Like too wrong commentaries. Coveting
Wrong desire for another's wealth.
Harmful intent, hating a living being;
Mistaken view, the idea that neither virtue
Nor non-virtue even exists.
[IV.301-11a]
____ _____________________
___________________
Divisive speech consists of words which are spoken purposely, without any
mistake, and in a mentally afflicted state; they are meant to split up others
who are friends, and their meaning should be understood by the other person.
__________________________
__
Harsh speech consists of unpleasant words which are spoken purposely, and
without any mistake; their meaning too should be understood by the other
person.
________________ ________
___________________ __
______________ ___________
_____
"Meaningless speech" really refers to every case of words spoken in an
afflicted state of mind. Other groups say that what "meaningless speech"
Reading Seven
145
actually refers to is every afflicted type of the spoken word other than those
three already mentioned. They say cases would be like a monk's engaging in
the improper livelihood of flattering someone for the purpose of some gain,
or else singing a song out of desire.
_ ______ ___ _ _______ _____ _ _ ___
_____ ___________________
Still other cases would be where the monk told stories to entertain others at a
show put on by some performer, or too where he began reciting some wrong
commentary written by a non-Buddhist.
___________________________
____ ___________________
__ __ __ _ __ ___ __ __ ____ ___
Coveting consists of a wrong (that is, an improper) desire for another's
wealth, which leads to a wish that one make it his own. Harmful intent is the
desire to hurt another living being, a desire which comes from the attitude of
hating him. And mistaken view is the idea that neither virtue nor non-virtue
even exists.
Next we discuss the literal meaning of the expression "a path of action."
79
Explanation of the Expression
"Path of Action"
_
___________
In them,
Three are paths, seven deeds as well.
[IV.311b-12]
Reading Seven
146
____ ___________ _____
________ __________
______________
One may ask why the expression "path of action" is used in reference to
"them"to the group of ten just listed. The name derives first of all from the
fact that the three involved with thought are paths by which the "action" or
deed of mental movement is expressed. Moreover, the seven involved with
body and speech are action or deeds themselves, as well as paths through
which mental movement is expressed. Thus they are all "paths of action."
The fourth major part in our presentation of the "paths of action" concerns the
ways in which one loses, and then regains, his most basic virtue.
*********
__________________
The following selections are from the Great Book on the Steps of the Path,
composed by Je Tsongkapa (1357-1419).
__ _______ ___________
_________________ _______
___________________________
____________________
Here is the first. One may ask, "How do you define the act of killing?" The
Abbreviation says that five parts are involved: the object, the conception, the
thinking, the bad thought, and the conclusion. These five can be shortened
into four: the middle three can be included into the thinking, and we can add
the stage of undertaking; this makes the presentation easier, and in no way
violates the intention of the original text.
_ _ __ __ __ _ _ ____ _ ____ _ __ _
____________ ___________
Reading Seven
147
__________________
Now the object for killing is a sentient being: anything with life. The Levels of
Practitioners does state "another living being," but is only referring to the fact
that, when the murderer is murdering himself, there is a wrong deed of
undertaking, but not one of completion.
_______ _______ ___________
______________________
_____________________ ___
__________ _________
The part of the thinking has three components of its own. Conception can be
of four different types: to conceive of the object, say a living being, as being a
living being; to conceive of a living being as something other than a living
being; to conceive of something other than a living being as being other than
a living being, and to conceive of this same thing as a living being. The first
and third types of conception here are unmistaken; the second and fourth are
mistaken.
__________ _______________
_______ __ __ _ ______ _ ___ _ __ ___ __
__________ ____________
____________________ __
___________
This is a particular feature of the motivation. Suppose, for example, that you
think to yourself, "I only want to kill John," and undertake the deed. Then you
mistake Joe for John, and kill Joe. In this sort of case, there is no "actual-
commission" stage; so we can see that, for this stage, the conception you have
must be unmistaken. If on the other hand you undertake the deed with some
general kind of motivation, if you think to yourself, "I'll kill anyone I happen
to meet," then this detail of the conception having to be unmistaken need not
be complete. You should understand that this point applies to the other nine
as well.
Reading Seven
148
_____ ______
The second component of the thinking is the bad thought involved. In this
case, it can be any of the three poisons.
A third component is the motivation; here, it is the wish to kill.
____ _____ _____ ____
_____ __ ___ _______ _ _ _ _ __ _
__ _ ___ _____ _ ___ ____ ___
_
Here are the different aspects of the undertaking. As far as the one who
undertakes the deed, it doesn't matter whether you perform it yourself, or get
someone else to do it for you, it's all the same. The essence of the undertaking
is when the deed is initiated, either with some kind of weapon, or poison, or
spell, or whatever the case may be.
_____ ___________ ________
_ _____ ________ ________
___ ________
The conclusion occurs when, due to this undertaking of the deed, the other
person dies, either at the time of the undertaking, or later on. As the Treasure
House of Knowledge says,
There is no actual stage for those who die
Before or together, for another body's been born.
*********
_ _ __ ___ __ ____ __ ___ _ ___ __ __ __ _
__________
Reading Seven
149
Three of the tenkilling, harsh words, and harmful intentcan be initiated by
any of the three poisons, and are brought to a conclusion by disliking.
__ _ __ __ ______ ___ _ ___ __ __ __ _
_____________
Three of themstealing, sexual misconduct, and covetingcan be initiated by
any of the three poisons, but are brought to a conclusion only by desire.
___________________________
____
Three morelying, divisive speech, and meaningless speechcan be initiated
and brought to a conclusion by all three.
___________________________
_
One of the tenwrong viewscan be initiated by any of the three poisons, but
is brought to a conclusion only by dark ignorance.
_ ____ ___ _ ___ __ _ __ ___ __ _
_ _______________
_ _______________________
The movements of the mind are an action (karma) but not a path of action.
The seven of body and speech are both an action andbecause they are the
basis in which the movement of the mind engagesare also a path of action.
The three of coveting and so on are a path of action but not themselves action
(karma).
150
Reading Eight: Most Basic Virtue, and the Projecting and
Finishing Energy of Deeds
____ _ __ __ ___ __ __ __ ______ _
________
The following selections are from the First Dalai Lama's commentary to the
Treasure House of Knowledge (Abhidharmakosha), entitled Illumination of the Path
to Freedom. They include the root text of Master Vasubandhu.
80
How Most Basic Virtue is Lost
_________
_______________
_________
__________
___________
________
Most basic lost by the view they don't exist;
Taken in the desire, had from birth.
Through the one denying cause and effect,
And through all. In stages, among humans,
Lost by those who are male or female, by the
Intellectual. This is not to have it.
Reading Eight
151
[IV.313-8]
___ _____________ _________
______
One may ask just what kind of non-virtue can make one lose his most basic
virtue. The most basic virtue that a person possesses is lost by the view that
certain important objects don't even exist.
____ ____________ __________
________ _______
One may next ask how the process occurs. Most basic virtue which is taken
in by the realm of desire can be lost, but not that which is taken in by the
form or formless realms. This is because the types of views required can never
appear in the mental streams of the beings of these realms.
_______________ ______
_____________________
Even among the most basic virtues included in the realm of desire, only those
which one had from birth can be lostnever those which have been acquired
by applying some efforts in practice. This is because these latter types of
virtue are gone by the time the mistaken views involved have even reached a
minor stage of minor intensity. They have been lost because the hold retaining
them was lost.
________________ ___
___________
As for the type of mistaken view involved, a person loses his most basic virtue
through the one denying the principles of cause and effect. It is not however
the view that realized beings do not exist which causes one to lose his most
basic virtues.
__________________ ______
_______________________
Reading Eight
152
Now some make the claim that views involving unstained phenomena or levels
which are not comparable cannot cause a person to lose his most basic virtues.
The fact though is that this virtue can be lost through all the forms of this
view: through those that focus on levels that are comparable or those which are
not; through those that focus on unstained phenomena or on those with stain.
__ _ _ __ __ ___ __ __ __ __
_______________
How exactly does the loss occur? Some claim that a person loses his most
basic virtue all at once, the same way he loses all the undesirable objects that
the path of seeing eliminates, once he gains this path. What actually happens
though is that the virtue is lost in stages, the same way one loses the
undesirable objects eliminated by the path of habituation.
_ ___ _ _ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ _______ _
___ ____________________
________________ ________
_____________ ____________
__
One may next ask what kind of being can lose his basic virtue. Such a loss can
occur among humans of the three continents, but not among other types of
beings. The afflicted mental capacity of hell beings lacks the necessary
stability, and the same lack of stability characterizes the non-virtuous thoughts
of humans on the continent of Terrible Sound. Pleasure beings in the realms
of desire and form are beings who see the three conditions directly; the
principles of cause and effect are evident to them therefore, just after their
birth.
_____________ ___________
__________
Even among humans, basic virtue is lost by those who are male or
femalenot by those who have lost their sexual organ, or who never had one.
This is because non-virtuous thoughts in the minds of such beings are never
very stable.
Reading Eight
153
_________________________
_ ____________
Humans in general can be divided into two types: the more intellectual, and
the more sensual. It is the former of the two that can lose this virtue, for they
are capable of sustained intellectual activity marred by mental afflictions.
_______________
The basic nature of this loss or what we call "cut-off" of a person's most basic
virtue is simply not to have it.
81
How Most Basic Virtue is Regained
____________
___________
Regained by suspecting, view there are;
Not in this, when immediate's done.
[IV.319-20]
_ __________________ ______
_____ _ _ __ _ _ __ _______
____
"What," one may ask, "can help a person regain his most basic virtue after he
has lost it?" This virtue can first be regained simply by suspecting that the
principles regarding deeds and their results may actually exist. It can also be
regained by gaining the correct view, whereby one actually perceives that there
really are such principles.
___________________ ________
_______
Reading Eight
154
One may ask whether it is always certain that a person will be able to regain
his most basic virtue in the same life that he lost it. The answer is that he does
not regain the virtue in this same life when he has done any of the
"immediate" type of wrong deeds.
_ ____ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ ___ ___ __________
____ ____________________
________
"When then," one may ask, "does such a person regain his basic virtue?" If he
originally lost this virtue because of some main cause, then the person regains
it once he dies and migrates out of his hell birth. If on the other hand it was
only some secondary factor that made him lose the virtue, then he regains it
when he takes his hell birth.
94
The Projecting Energy of Deeds
___________
A single one projects a single birth.
[IV.377]
_______________ ______ _____
______________ _________ _
_ __ __ __ __ __ _ __ __ __ _ ___ __ __
______ ___________________
_______
Does a single deed project but a single birth, or many different births? And
do a number of deeds project a number of births, or just a single birth? The
answer is that a single deed projects a single birth; it cannot project a number
of births. And since they would function to project a whole group of similar
births, a number of deeds on the other hand is never something that projects
but a single birth. This by the way is all the Detailist system.
Reading Eight
155
__________
Now someone may object that this description contradicts the following
quotation from the Sutra of Sovereignty
___________________ ______
___________________ ____
____________ _______________
________
The elder, Aniruddha, spoke to the monks as follows:
"Venerable monks, I once took a birth in
Varanasi, as a poor man whose job it was to
collect straw for use as fuel. The poor man
made the traditional offerings of food to a Self-
Made Buddha by the name of Tengnesam [?],
who was also known as `the one with the top
center part of his head protruding like a takar
flower.'
____ __ __ ___ _ _ ___ __ ___ __ __ _ _
___ _ _____ __ _ __ ___ __ __ _ __
_____ _______________
_________
"My one act of giving away these offerings
ripened into a birth as a pleasure being in the
Land of the Thirty-Three. I was born there a
total of seven times, and then took another seven
births as a Wheel Emperor. And still it
continues now, with my present birth into the
wealthier class of the Shakyas."
Reading Eight
156
___ _____________________
_________ __________________
_________ _______________ __
______________ ________
_____________
Yet there is no contradiction: the process was as follows. His offerings brought
the poor man the good fortunes of a happier birth; later, he recalled what had
brought him this state. These recollections themselves brought him still further
merit. Thus although we can say that the one act of merit brought him such
and such different births, what we really mean is that he achieved these births
through a process that began with the one act. It's like saying "I got rich on
a single dong-tse [an amount of money]" when what you really did was start
with a single dong-tse and turn it over in a great many business deals until
eventually you became wealthy.
______________________
____________________
You could also say that the poor man started with the one instance of offering
food and that it caused numerous instances of gladness and rejoicing over the
act; these are themselves deeds consisting of a movement of the mind, and the
many births can be said to have resulted from them.
95
The Finishing Energy of Deeds
_________
Those that act to finish them off are many.
[IV.378]
____________________
Reading Eight
157
____________ __ ________
__________ ___________________
___
It is but a single energy of deeds that projects a birth having a nature
consistent with the deed; those deeds though that act to finish off the finer
details of this future life are many. A master painter for example can sketch
out the canvas with a single piece of chalk, and then a number of other people
can come and fill it in with various different colors.
___________________________
________________________
____ _____________________
__
Any given group of people is similar in being human, but some of them
who've had the details of their lives finished by virtuous deeds will have more
attractive bodies, all their senses complete, greater material wealth, freedom
from illness, positions of greater authority, and so on. Others in the same
group who've had the details of their lives finished by non-virtuous deeds will
have bodies with a repulsive appearance and so on.
____________________ ______
________ _________ ________
______
Thus we can say that all four combinations between the two are possible:
projection of a life by virtue but finishing by non-virtue, the reverse, a case
where both are virtue, and a case where both are non-virtue. An example of
the first would be persons born as pleasure beings or humans but who
possessed certain sufferings.
_____________ __________
Reading Eight
158
_ __ __ ___ __ ___ __ _ ___ _ _ __
___
An illustration of the second would be either the "Lord of All Things"the
Lord of Deathor the kings of the serpent-like nagas, those like the "Prince of
Opulence." An example of the third combination would be "Hundred
Offerings"lord of the great pleasure beings. And a case of the final
combination would be the beings in the lowest hell, known as "No Respite."
__ _ _ _____ __ __ __ __ __ ___ _ __
_________ __________ ___
_________
The Sutrists and others assert though that there are many explanations, in a
number of different sutras, that a single deed can project multiple rebirths.
Therefore, they say, a single deed can project many births and a number of
deeds can as well project a single birth.
96
Deeds that do not Project a Life
___________
__________
The balanced meditations that stop the mind
Never act to project; neither do holds.
[IV.379-80]
___________________ _______
_______________________
___________________ ______
_____________________
Reading Eight
159
One may ask whether every different kind of deed can function to project a
new life. The answer is that the two balanced meditations that stop the mind
never act to project a life, even though they do come with the "ripened" sorts
of results. This is because the lives in question have already been projected,
by the fourth concentration level and the "peak" level. Moreover, beings in
these states have no mindand deeds that do not occur together with a
movement of the mind are of very little force.
_ _ _ __ ___ __ ___ ___ __ __ _ __ _ __
_______________ _____________
___________
Thus we can say the expression that "the two balanced meditations ripen into
the long life of a pleasure being, or into a life at the peak level" refers only to
their function in finishing the final details of such rebirths. The projecting
force though is something supplied by the fourth level of concentration and the
"peak" level of existence.
____________________
____________ _______
____________ _________
______
Neither do holds, whether they be virtuous or non-virtuous, act to project a
lifeeven when they occur together with a particular deed. First of all, the
deed and the hold have different results. Secondly, the hold is only an
incidental occurrence, for it does not involve a movement of the mind. It is
therefore of very little force. Finally, the hold is to the deed as the bark is to
the treesomething distinctly separate.
___________________________
_ __ __ ___ _ _ _ _____ __ _ _ _
_______________
Reading Eight
160
Holds however which constitute either virtue with stain or non-virtue do
function to finish off the details of a given life. Just so examples of stained
deeds that are present in the mental stream of a realized being, as well as the
four stages of the peak of preparation (which we also call the "path that leads
to certain separation") function only as "finishing" types of energy.
161
Reading Nine: The Five Immediate Misdeeds, and the Concept of
a Schism
____ _ __ __ ___ __ __ __ ______ _
________
99
Introduction to the Five
Immediate Misdeeds
___________
_________
____________
___________
_______
________
Split community, a thing without a
Link, its nature to be unreconciled.
Not afflicted, neither specified,
Reading Nine
162
Something the community possesses.
The disapproved that leads to it's a lie;
This the one who made the schism has.
[IV.389-394]
____________________ ___
__________ _________
_
The first three of the five "immediate" misdeeds mentioned above are different
types of killing, and the fifth is a preliminary to killing. These are, therefore,
deeds of the body. The fourth of the immediate misdeeds is a kind of lie, and
therefore a deed of speech.
_________ _______________
_________________________
_______
Now a split in the community of monks, at least according to the Detailist
system, is said to "exist as a distinct entityit is a thing (one of the factors)
without involvement in a mental link; its basic nature is for the two factions
of the community of monks to be still unreconciled.
__________________ ___
_____ _______________
_____
Such a split can also belong to both those who have eliminated their mental
afflictions and those who have lost even their most basic virtue; the nature of
the split is thus such that it is not afflicted, but neither was it specified as
being virtue. We can therefore say that it is ethically neutral, without acting
as an obstacle.
___________________________
Reading Nine
163
___________ _______________
__
The kind of schism described here is something the community of monks on
both the opposing sides possesses. It is not though the "immediate" misdeed
itself. The disapproved deed that leads to the community's divisionits
causeis a lie that functions to split the community up.
____________________ ______
_________________
It is the lie which constitutes the immediate misdeed, and this the one who
made the schism in the community haswhether it be Devadatta or someone
else.
100
Consequences of Immediate Misdeeds
_________
_________
It ripens to that Without Respite for an eon;
Extra torment comes from extra ones.
[IV.395-6]
______________________ ___
__ _____ _ ____ ______ __
"Into what kind of consequence," one may ask, "does the immediate misdeed
of dividing the community ripen?" It ripens into suffering, for the person who
committed it, within the hell known as "Without Respite." He must endure
this suffering for the length of an intermediate eon.
Reading Nine
164
___________________ __________
_______________________
"And what happens," one might continue, "when a person commits any of the
remaining immediate misdeeds?" Committing any of these other immediate
misdeeds is certain to lead one to a birth in the hells, but in a more specific
sense it is not a definite thing that they will always bring a birth in the hell
Without Respite.
______ ___ __ _________ _ __ ___
___ ________ _______
__ ___________________
_
One might next pose the following question:
Suppose a person commits two, or even more, of the
"immediate" misdeeds. If he takes only one birth in
the hells, then you would have to say that committing
several of these deeds is no more serious than
committing only one. If one the other hand he takes
two or however many births in the hells, you can no
longer say that these deeds give "immediate" results,
and that their results are invariably experienced in the
very next life.
______ ____________________
__________ ___________
____________________ ___
__________________ __
__ ____ _ _ ______ __ ___ __ ___ _ __
___
Reading Nine
165
The Detailists respond with the following claim:
A person takes no more than a single birth in the hells
as a result of committing "extra ones"that is two,
three, or even more immediate misdeeds. His body
there in the hell of "Without Respite" though is twice
the normal size (or more, according to the number of
such deeds committed), and much more sensitive. He
therefore feels an extra amount of pain: his torment
increases in multiples the same way as his size. This
frees us of both the problems you raised; incidentally,
the earlier of the deeds is the one that projects the
birth and the later one (or ones) finishes the details.
_______ ______________
___ ________________
__________ __________
______
The Sutrists and others though explain the point as follows:
If a person commits a number of immediate misdeeds,
he is born into the hell of torment Without Respite
again and again. There is though no other type of
birth taken between the body in which the deed was
done and the body of the hellbeing, so the result is
still "immediate." The idea that the result must be
experienced in the very next life cannot be
substantiated.
101
Details of a Schism
__________
____________
Reading Nine
166
The schism's made by an intellectual,
Full monk with his morals, elsewhere, children.
[IV.397-8]
_________ _____________
___ ___________________
____________ ______ ___
_____________
What kind of person causes the split? The schism is made by someone who
is a full monk and an intellectual type with all his morals. The person in
question cannot be a layman, or the type more inclined to sensual pleasures,
or someone who has lost his morals. This is because, first of all, he is vying
with the Buddha. Secondly, he must have a very sharp mind. Finally, the
community of monks would lend no credence to such types.
____ ___________________ __
_________ _______________
____ ________________ ___
_______ ___________________
_____
Where does the split occur? It must take place "elsewhere"that is, in some
location other than where the Buddha himself is residing. It could never occur
in the direct presence of the Buddha, since his overwhelming glory would
never permit it. And who is it that gets split off? It is only "children"that
is to say, common beings [which refers to those who have yet to see
selflessness directly]among the community of monks who are estranged.
Realized beings cannot be led into a schism, for they possess a faith in the
Buddha born from knowledge: they have perceived Reality directly.
_____________________
Reading Nine
167
Some people have claimed that it is also impossible to split up persons who
have achieved the "mastery" stage of the path of preparation.
102
Details of a Schism, Continued
__________
_________
_________
Split at the acceptance of another
Teacher, path. It does not remain.
Accepted as a breaking of the wheel.
[IV.399-401]
_____ _________________ __
______________________
_ _ _ ___ ____ __ __ ___ _ __
______ ________________
______________________
____
One may ask at what point a schism is considered to have occurred. The
community of monks is considered split at that point when, first of all, there
is an acceptance of some Teacher (namely, Devadatta) other than the Buddha
himself. Secondly, this is the point where there is an acceptance and attempt
to practice some path other than that enunciated by the Buddha. This
opposing path consists of the "Five Rules" set forth by Devadatta for attaining
freedom from the world:
1) giving up the use of curds;
2) giving up meat;
3) giving up salt;
4) giving up the traditional patchwork robes; and
5) staying in temples inside of towns.
Reading Nine
168
__________ _________________
____
And how long does the schism last? This split in the community has its own
peculiar nature: it does not remain for more than one 24-hour period.
____________________________
__________________ ______
____________________
A division of the community of monks is accepted as a breaking of the wheel
of the teachings, for no new paths start up in the minds of anyone at all until
the estranged monks are reconciled. What we've described here is the
immediate misdeed of a schism in the community; other types of divisions are
possible, but do not constitute the "immediate" type of deed.
103
Further Details of a Schism
___________
___________
____________
On the Dzambu Continent, nine or such.
Split activities, on three continents;
This one with involvement of eight or more.
[IV.402-4]
______________________
_______ __________________
__ _ __ __ _ __ ___ _ _ _ __ ___ _
Reading Nine
169
________ ____________
____
The break in the wheel described above occurs on Dzambu Continent (as this
is where the Buddha resides), but not on the others. As for the individuals
involved, the deed can only be accomplished with nine "or such" (meaning "or
more") full monks. This is because it takes at least four monks to make what
we call a "community" of monks; there have to be two such groups created,
along with one person who incites the schismand he too must definitely be
a full monk. This of course represents the bare minimumthere is no
certainty that a great many more individuals might not be involved in such a
schism.
__ __ __ ___ ___ _____ __ _ __ __ _
_ ______ __ __ _ _ __ __ __ ___ _
Now what we call a "split in the activities" of the community can occur on
three different continentsthat is, on any one where the teachings exist, which
would eliminate only the northern continent of Terrible Sound. This type of
schism occurs only within the confines of a single physical monastic institution,
and where the required rites of the monastic confession and so on have been
performed with unity up to that point.
_______ _________________ __
____________
How many individuals are required for this type of schism? A split in the
activities of the community requires no separate person to incite the division,
so the deed can be accomplished with the involvement of eight or more full
monks.
104
Details of a Schism, Concluded
_________
______
Reading Nine
170
__________
_______
A breaking of the wheel never occurs
At the beginning, the end, before the faults
Or one of The Pair, after The Able passes,
Until the residences set apart.
[IV.405-8]
_ __ __ _ _ _____ _ __ _ __ __ _
_____ _________________
___
Now a breaking of the wheel of the teachings as described above never occurs
at "the beginning"that is, during the period just after the Buddha has first
set this wheel in motion. This is because at this point everyone shares a
peculiar sense of unity, a perfect harmony born of communal joy.
______________________
__________ ____________
_________
Neither does the break ever occur at the end of the Buddha's precious
lifewhen he passes into his final nirvana. This is because his followers at
this point share exactly the same thoughts: a special awareness of how rare the
Buddha is, and strong feelings of resignation with life once its impermanence
has been drawn to their attention then.
_______
__________
_________
__________
Reading Nine
171
_________
Verses on Vowed Morality contains the following lines:
Instructions of the Teacher remain pure,
Free of any breach for twelve years' time,
Free from taint, like waters of the autumn,
Working to remove the mental afflictions.
_________________________
____ ___________
This means that a schism in the community will furthermore never happen
before certain faults occurfaults in the way that followers view the teachings
and maintain their morality. For until such time, the teachings themselves
remain without defect.
__ ___ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____
__________________
Furthermore, no division can occur before the appearance of one or another
of The Great Pair. This is because the division is of very brief duration and
could not otherwise be brought to an end, since the reconciliation is always
performed by one of these two.
_______________ ___
__________
No schism can occur after The Able One himself passes on (that is, subsequent
to his final nirvana), since there is then no Buddha present for the leader of the
schism to compete with.
_____ _ ______ _ _ _ _____ __ __ _ _
___________ _____________
______
Reading Nine
172
Finally, no division of the community can occur until such time as different
monastic residences, both large and small, are set apart from each other. This
is because divisions between the community of monks that occur within a
single monastic institution do not qualify as a breaking of the wheel, although
they are a type of schism. In summary then we can say that there are six
periods during which it is impossible for a break in the wheel of the teachings
to occur.
_________________ ____
__________ ________________
___ _________________ _
_____________ __________
______
Now this schism is something that depends upon the past deeds of the
disciples involved, so does not occur with every single Buddha. The
explanation goes that, in a former birth as a bodhisattva, our own Teacher (the
Leader of the Shakyas) created a schism among the followers of a certain great
adept who possessed the five types of supernormal powers: the present schism
is just the eventual ripening of this misdeed. According to the teachings for
those of higher capacity though this description is not to be taken literally.
105
What Makes Deeds Immediate
__________
________
As objects of assistance, qualities,
Since you reject and also eliminate them.
[IV.409-10]
____________________ ___
___________ ______________ _
Reading Nine
173
_______________ _______
_____ ________ _____
___
One may ask the following: "Why is it considered an ìmmediate' misdeed only
when a person performs one of the actions such as killing his father or mother?
Why isn't it the same kind of deed when a person commits an act, such as the
killing, towards someone else?" The answer is that killing one's father or
mother is an "immediate" misdeed as they are very special objects, due to the
great assistance they have rendered one: they have given you a body, a body
with which you can attain freedom. And by thinking to kill them you reject
them; by actually undertaking the deed, you also eliminate them.
___________________________
__ _________ __________
_______
The case with enemy destroyers, the community of monks, and Buddhas is
similar. They are objects possessed of exceptional qualities; by thinking to do
the particular deed towards them you reject them, and by actually undertaking
the various deeds involved you create conditions which are not at all
conducive to their continued life.
_ __ ___ ____ ___ ________ _ _
________________ _________
Here we should mention that, although it is impossible for anyone to actually

kill a Buddha, the thought to do so is a rejection of the Buddha. Kinds of
actions other than those described above are in no way as serious, so are not
counted among the "immediate" misdeeds.
Reading Nine
174
106
Clarification of Certain
Immediate Misdeeds
___________
_________
It is, even should the organ switch.
Mother, the one whose menses he came from.
[IV.411-12]
_ _______________________
___________________________
______________ ________
__________
One might ask the following question: "Suppose a person kills a father or
mother whose sexual organ has changed. Is it still an ìmmediate' misdeed?"
Even should the sexual organ of one's father or mother switch (and they thus
become a female or a male, respectively), it is still the "immediate" deed of
patricide or matricide if he kills them. This is because one has still killed the
person who performed the function of a father or mother: the one who
endowed him with his very special body.
__ _ __ _____ _ _ ____ __ _ ____ __
____ ________________________
_________________________
_ ____________ _________
_____
One may then pose another question: "Suppose the embryo in one woman's
body is removed and placed in the womb of another, and the child takes birth
from this woman's womb. Killing which of these two women would constitute
Reading Nine
175
the ìmmediate' misdeed?" The mother of the person in question is the former
of the two women: the one whose menses he came from. Therefore killing
this first woman would be the immediate misdeed; she played the principal
role in providing the person a body fit for gaining freedom. We could not
consider the second woman, the woman who kept the child in her womb, the
child's motherthis act alone would not make hers the principal role.
________________ _________
_ __________________ ___
______________________ ______
______________________
__ ____________ _________
_______________
Now it is not an "immediate" misdeed if a person undertakes to kill his father
or mother and ends up killing someone else; nor is it if one undertakes to kill
someone else and ends up killing one of his parents. This is because, with an
"immediate" misdeed, the actual commission of the act must be concluded with
the same person towards whom the act was undertaken. And this is true of
neither of the cases mentioned. Similar examples would be where the person
killed his mother by accident as she hid under his bed, or where the son of the
washerman threw a rock to kill a fly and smashed his father's skull instead.
__________________________ ___
_ __ _____ ___ __ ___ ___ _ _ __ _
________________ ______________
___
Suppose that a person, in the single blow of some weapon, kills his mother and
some other living being. The non-communicating form here consists of both
deeds: the "immediate" misdeed and a simple act of killing. The
communicating form though is subsumed only by the immediate deed, since
an immediate deed possesses such tremendous force.
Reading Nine
176
__ _ _ ___ _ __ _ _ ___ _
_ ______ ___ ____ _____ __ __ _
__ ________
Next let's take a case where a person kills his father, a father who happens to
be an enemy destroyer as well. Or suppose he kills a person who is both his
mother and an enemy destroyer too. Here he commits a single "immediate"
misdeed, that of killing an enemy destroyerfor only the single physical base
of a person was involved.
_ _____ ____________
__________________ _
__________________ _______
____ ____ _ __ __ _ ___ __ __
___
One may ask how then we reconcile this position with the following message,
quoted in Divisions of the Word:
In days gone by there was a king of Rauruka City by
the name of Udrayana. He was murdered by his son
Shikhandi, who thus killed a person who was both his
father and an enemy destroyer. The King's last words
to the assassins sent by his son were "Return and tell
Shikhandi for me, `You have now committed two
immediate misdeedsthat of killing your father, and
that of killing an enemy destroyer.'"
________________________ __
__________ ______________
The point of the king's words was to tell his son that he had on two accounts
committed an immediate misdeed, or that he had committed the deed in two
different ways. There was though no more than one immediate misdeed done.
Reading Nine
177
107
Misdeeds and the Holy
____________
_________
__________
____________
Not with a mind to strike the Buddha, not with
An enemy destroyer after attack.
Freed from desire, results, impossible
For one who's undertaken immediate.
[IV.413-6]
________________________
_____________ _____________
___________ __________
Let's next consider the immediate misdeed of striking and drawing blood, with
evil intent, from the One Thus Gone. It's considered the immediate misdeed
when a person uses his weapon with the intent to kill the Buddha, but it is not
considered this type of misdeed when a person uses his weapon simply with
a mind to strike the Buddha. This is because such a person lacks the "intent"
stage for an act of taking life.
Suppose for a similar example that someone uses a weapon against a person
who has yet to reach the stage of "enemy destroyer," and then at some point
after the attack the victim does attain this level. Suppose further that our new
enemy destroyer then dies as a result of wounds incurred in the original attack.
It is not considered the immediate misdeed with such a person, for his attacker
did not undertake the action against someone who was an enemy destroyer.
__________________________
___ __________________
Reading Nine
178
_ __ __ _ __ __ _ ____ _ _____ __
______ ______________ ___
_ __ __ _ _____ _ _ ____ ____ _
______________________
One may pose the following question: "Suppose a person undertakes to commit
an immediate misdeed. Is it possible for such a personwithout abandoning
this course of actionto achieve the state where he is free of desire, or to gain
one of the results?" The answer is that it is impossible for one who has
undertaken an immediate misdeed to gain either the level where he is freed
from desire or one of the results. The two states of mind are completely
contradictory.
108
Severity of Immediate Misdeeds
___________
________
Lying to divide the community
Accepted as most heinous of misdeeds.
[IV.417-18]
_ ______________ ____________
________ _____________ _______
_____ ______________________
__ _____________ ______
_ ___ _ __ _ ________ _____
__________
Reading Nine
179
One may ask, "Which of all these immediate misdeeds is the most serious?"
Lying in order to divide the community of monks into two parts is accepted
as the most heinous of misdeeds among all the immediate. This is because
a person has thereby struck a blow to what is known as the "reality body" of
the One Thus Gone. And as long as the community remains unreconciled,
there is a general stop in the world to certain great virtuous deeds: no one
finds the true certainty, no one achieves the results, no one gains freedom from
desire, and no one brings an end to all stains.
________ _____ ___ __ ______ __
_____________ _____
_ __ ___ __ __ __ ___ __ _____
____ __________________
Moreover, such a division prevents persons from engaging in meditative
concentration, and from reading scripturefrom daily recitations and from
contemplations. This then interrupts progress in gaining both higher births
and the states of nirvana and Buddhahood. All the inhabitants of the world,
on up to the great pleasure beings, are thrown into turmoilthey lose their
happiness, they lose their freedom, they lose their ability to think. And the
perpetrator must take his birth in the lowest hell, Without Respite, for an eon.
These are what make this deed the worst.
_____ _______ _____
_________ ______________
The next most grave of the immediate misdeeds is the fifth; then come the
third, the first, and secondin that order. Thus the murder of one's father is
explained as the least serious of the five.
____ __________________ _
___ ___ ______ _ _ _ __ ___ __
_______ ___________________
Reading Nine
180
____________________
One may object that this description contradicts the statement in sutra that, of
all the three types of wrong, the three deeds of thought are most serious and
thatwithin these threeholding mistaken views is most grave. There is
though no inconsistency here. The misdeed we've described leads one to the
hell "Without Respite" for a full intermediate eon; from the viewpoint of the
magnitude of the result that ripens from the deed, we can say that dividing the
community is the most serious of all the immediate misdeeds.
__ _ __ ______ __ __ __ _ _ _ _ _
_____ ___________________
________________
One the other hand there is the case where the raw emotion of fury in the
mind of the great adept brought death to the many individuals of Dantaka
Monastery and other places; we can say then that, with respect to the general
result of death among the populace, actions of the thought are the most
powerful among three groups of deeds that relate to the three passageways.
______________________ ______
_ __ ___ ___ ___ __ ______ ___
_______ _________ _______
____ ____ ________
And with respect to the "creative" result of losing one's most basic virtue,
mistaken views would be the most serious of the deeds of the thought, for the
others in this group lack the power to make one lose this virtue. To express
it in a different way, we can say that each was stated to be the most serious:
dividing the community, deeds of the thought, and holding mistaken
viewsbut only with the respective assumptions that one is limiting himself
to the five immediate deeds, deeds of the three passageways, or the five views.
181
Reading Ten: The Relative Severity of Deeds and What Causes It
____ _ __ __ ___ __ __ __ ______ _
________
116
The Meritorious Act of Giving
__________
_____________
________
_________
Giving is when anyone acts to give,
Out of a wish to honor or to aid.
Deeds of body and speech with motive, linked;
Its result, possession of great wealth.
[IV.449-52]
___________________ _____
______________ ________
Reading Ten
182
_________________________
______
Now among these three, giving is described as follows. It is when any person,
with thoughts of virtue, acts to give any thing he owns to someone else. As
we read in A Sutra Taught at the Request of Vyasa, a Great Adept: "Oh great
adept, all acts of giving even the smallest thing from faith are Giving."
_ __ _ __ __ __ _________ _ _
________ ____________
As for the motivation involved, it is only the meritorious act of giving when
one gives away the thing either out of a wish to honor (some very high object)
or out of a wish to aid (some very miserable object). It is not real giving when
one does so only out of fear, or out of hopes of getting something in return,
and so on.
_____________________
__ _____________________
Giving moreover consists of deeds of body and speech along with their
motivation and what is linked with it mentally. The result of the giving is the
possession of great wealth, at least for the time being.
117
Giving that Benefits the Other,
and the Rest
_______________
____________
Giving is that which benefits oneself,
The other, both, and neither one of them.
[IV.453-4]
____ _____________________
Reading Ten
183
__ ______________________
____
As for the different divisions of giving, the first is that giving which benefits
oneself. This would be for a person who had not yet freed himself from desire
for desire-realm objects, or for a common person who had done so but through
the "path of the world," to make offerings to a shrine.
_________________________
_ _________ ________ _ _______ _
Giving that benefits the other would be any act of giving performed by a
realized person free of desire towards another living being not so freed. This
assumes by the way that we do not consider any results that the former
individual will experience in this same life.
__ __ _ __ _ _ __ ____ _________ _
_____________ _____________
_____
Giving that benefits both would be for a realized being who was not yet free
of desire, or for a common being who was not thus free, to present something
to another living being who was not yet free from desire either.
_____________ ___________
____ ______ __________ __ __ _ _
_ __________________
Giving that benefits neither would be for a realized being who was free of
desire for the desire realm to make offerings to a shrine. This is because the
only point of the offering is for this being to express his deep respect and
gratitude. Here again incidentally we are not counting any results of the
offering that he will achieve in the same life.
Reading Ten
184
118
Exceptional Types of Givers
_________
________
_________________
__________
_________
__________
Exceptional types of it from exceptional
Givers, given thing, whom given; of these the
Giver's exceptional through faith and the rest,
Performs his giving with respect and the like.
As a result one gains the honor, a wealthy,
The timely and a freedom from hindrances.
[IV.455-60]
_______________________
____ _____________________
______________________
________________ ______
_____
Very exceptional types of "it"of this giving, come from exceptional kinds of
givers, exceptional kinds of things which are given, and exceptional kinds of
objects to whom the things are given. Of these, the giver is made exceptional
through a motivation of faith and "the rest"which refers first of all to the
rest of the "seven riches of realized beings": morality, generosity, learning, a
sense of shame, a conscience, and wisdom. The phrase also refers to having
little desire for things.
Reading Ten
185
____________________ _
_______ ___________ _____
_____ ___________________
___________
As for how he undertakes the act, the exceptional giver performs his giving
(1) with an attitude of respect and "the like." These last words refer to
handing the object to the other person with one's own hands; (2) giving
something when it is really needed; and (3) performing the actual deed in a
way that does no harm to anyone else. Examples would be where one had
stolen the object from someone else in the first place, or where one presented
a sheep to a butcher. Included here too are cases where the object given hurt
the recipientexamples would be giving someone poison or unhealthy food.
______________ ______
_ _ ___ _ _ __ __ ___ _ ____
___ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ __ __
_____________________
Concerning the consequences of such giving, the person has performed his
charity with an attitude of respect and so on, as listed above. As a result he
gains the following (and here the list follows the three numbers above). In his
future life he wins (1) the honor and respect of those who follow him, as well
as a wealth of material things (which because of his former faith he enjoys at
his total discretion). In this next life he also gains (2) the timely fulfillment of
his own needs, as well as (3) complete freedom from any hindrances to his
wealth: enemies, loss of his things in a fire, and so on.
Reading Ten
186
119
Exceptional Things to Give
____________
______________
___________
_________
Things given, excellent color and such.
From it an excellent form and reputation,
Happiness and a very youthful complexion,
A body which in each time's pleasant to touch.
[IV.461-4]
__ ___ _______ _ _ ___ __ __ ___ _ _
______
An excellent color "and such"which refers to an excellent smell, or taste, or
feelare what make things that are given exceptional.
__ __ __ __ ___ __ __ _______ __ ______
__ _______ _____ __ __ __ __
__ _ __ _ _ _ ___ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ __
___________________ _
_____
From "it" (that is, from giving things with an excellent color), one gains an
excellent bodily format least for the time being. Temporarily too he gains
other results (following the order of the qualities just listed): a good and
widespread reputation; great happiness; and a body with a very youthful
complexion. The body that one possesses is moreover like that which belongs
to the "jewel of the queen": it is pleasant to touch in each of the
timeswhether the temperature is just normal, or whether it is cold (when the
queen's body gives you warmth), or hot (at which time the queen feels to you
cool).
Reading Ten
187
120
Exceptional Objects to Give a Gift
____________
______________
__________
___________
________
________
__________
________
Exceptionalthose you give toby the being,
Suffering, aid, and by good qualities.
The highest someone freed by someone freed,
By a bodhisattva, or the eighth.
Gifts made to a father or a mother,
To the sick, a spiritual teacher, or
A bodhisattva in his final life
Cannot be measured, even not realized.
[IV.465-72]
________ ______ _______
______________________
_ ________________
_____ __________
Those to whom you give a gift can be exceptional by virtue of four different
reasons, first by the type of being involved. As Gautami's Sutra states,
Reading Ten
188
Ananda, you can look forward to a hundredfold result
ripening back to you, if you give something to an
individual who has reached the animal's state of birth.
But you can look forward to a thousandfold result if
you give something even to a human who's immoral.
__________________ _____
_ _____ __ _ __ _ ____ _______ _
___________
The object towards whom you perform your giving may also be distinguished
by his suffering. Suppose for example that you take all the things that a
person can give in one of those types of acts where the merit derives from a
substantial thing. It is stated that if you give these things to a sick person, or
to someone nursing a sick person, or to someone when it's cold outside or
whatever, the merit is immeasurable.
____________ _________
____________
The recipient may furthermore be distinguished by the aid he has given one
in the past. Here we include one's father and mother, or anyone else who has
been of special help to one. Examples may be found among stories of the
Buddha's former lives, such as the one about the bear and the ru-ru deer.
_ __ __ _ _ _ ______ _____ __ _
_ _ __ _ __ _ __ ___ _ ___ ____
_______ ____________________
___________ ____________
____
The person to whom one gives his gift may, lastly, be exceptional by virtue of
his good qualities. Gautami's Sutra provides some examples:
Reading Ten
189
If you give to someone who has kept his morality, you
can expect it to ripen into a result a hundred thousand
times as great. If you give to someone who has
entered that stage known as the "result of entering the
stream," it ripens into something which is
immeasurable. And if you give even more to
someone who has entered the stream, the result is
even more immeasurable.
________________ _________
_____ ___ ___ __ __ _ __ __ _ _
_ _ __________ _ _____ __ ___ _ _ _
__________ __________ _
____
Now the highest kind of giving is for someone who has freed himself of the
three realms to give something to someone else who has freed himself as well.
This is because both are the highest kind of individual. Again we see, in
Gautami's Sutra,
The highest form of giving a physical thing
Is by one free to another free of desire:
But one with his body and speech restrained,
Reaching out his hand to offer food.
________________________
________ _____________
_______________________ ____
_______________
We can also though take a giver who is a bodhisattva and who gives any
object at all, for the sake of helping every being alive. Although this is an act
of giving by a person who is not yet freed and is directed to another person
not yet freed, it is still the highest kind of giving. This is because the act has
been performed for the sake of total enlightenment and every living being.
Reading Ten
190
And this is because one has given something in order to become the savior of
every single being.
___ _____ ______ _____
____ ___________ _______
__________ __________ ___
______ __________ __________
__________ _______________
Now a certain sutra gives the following list of eight types of giving:
1) Giving to close ones;
2) Giving out of fear;
3) Giving because they gave to you;
4) Giving because they will give to you;
5) Giving because one's parents and ancestors used to give;
6) Giving with the hope of attaining one of the higher births;
7) Giving to gain fame;
8) Giving to gain the jewel of the mind, to gain the riches of the
mind, to win what great practitioners collect together, to achieve
the ultimate goal.
_ __ ______ _ ____ ____ ___ ___ __
_______
We can alternately describe the highest type of giving as the eighth in this list:
giving to gain the jewel of the mind and so on.
______ _________ _______
______ _ _ __ ____ __ _ __ __ _
________________ _________
Reading Ten
191
________________
As for the meaning of the expression "giving to close ones," certain masters of
the past have claimed that it refers to giving to someone when they are
standing close by, or to someone when they approach close by. "Giving out
of fear" means that a person decides he will give the best he has, but only
because he perceives some great imminent danger to himself. And "giving
because they gave to you" refers to giving something to a person with the
thought that "I'm doing this because he gave me something before."
______ _________ __________
_______ ________________
____________ _______ ___
____
The remaining members of the list are easily understood. "Jewel of the mind"
refers to the ability to perform miracles, while "riches of the mind" refers to the
eight parts of the path of realized beings. "What great practitioners collect
together" refers to perfectly tranquil concentration and special realization. The
"ultimate goal" can be described as achieving the state of an enemy destroyer,
or the state of nirvana. This is how the Master Jinaputra explains the various
types of giving.
__ _ _ ___ ___ _ __ ____ _ ___ _ __
_ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _____ _ __ _
_______ ________ ___
Master Purna explains them as follows:
Giving to gain the "jewel of the mind" and the rest of
the four refers respectively to (1) that which brings
one the riches of faith and the rest; (2) that which is
totally inconsistent with the stink of stinginess; (3) that
which makes the happiness of balanced meditation
grow; and (4) that which brings on the state of
nirvana.
Reading Ten
192
______________ _____
____ ____ _____ ______
________ _______ ___________
_
These four have also been accepted as relating respectively to the four "results
of the way of virtue," or to (1) the paths of collection and preparation, (2) the
path of seeing, (3) the path of habituation, and (4) nirvana. An alternate way
is to correlate them with (1) the paths of collection and preparation, (2) the
seven impure levels, (3) the three pure levels, and (4) the level of a Buddha.
_ _______ _ ___ __ _ ___ _ ____
_ ___ _ ____ _ __ __ __ ______ _
_ _ __ _____ _ __ _ ________ _ _ __
Beyond the above, we can say that there are other acts of giving where, even
though the recipient is not a realized being, the resulting merit still cannot be
measured in units such as a "hundred thousand times greater" or such. These
would involve gifts made to one's father or mother (recipients who had given
one great aid), to the sick (recipients who are in a state of suffering), to a
spiritual teacher, or to a bodhisattva in his final life.
___ __ _ ____ ___ __ _ ________
______________________
_ _ _ __ ___ ____________ _ ______
_____________
Support for this description can be found in the Sutra on Causes and Effect of
Right and Wrong, which equates the merit of giving to these objects with the
amount of merit you collect from giving something to the Buddha himself:
Reading Ten
193
Moreover, the act of giving performed towards any
one of the three different kinds of individuals ripens
into a result which never reaches an end at all. These
objects are the One Thus Gone, a person's parents, and
the sick.
121
Severity of Deeds
according to Six Factors
_________
_________
________
________
Conclusion, one who's acted toward, commission;
Undertaking, thinking, and intention:
The power of the deed itself's exactly
As little or great as these happen to be.
[IV.473-6]
_ ____ _ __ _ ___ __ __ __ __ _ _
______
Here we might touch by the way on what determines how serious a given
deed will be. The first factor that can make a deed serious is what we call
"performance in conclusion," which means to continue a particular act well
after the original course of action.
_ _ __ __ ___ ___ __ __ __ __ __ __ _
_ __ __ __ __ _ ___ __ ___
_ __ __ _ _ ___ ___ __ ___ ___ _
Reading Ten
194
_____ _________ _______
________ __________
The one who's acted toward in any particular deedsomeone who may have
lent one great aid in the pastis also a factor in making the deed a serious
one. Deeds which are more serious because of the basic type involved in the
actual commission of the act would include cases like killing (among the
different deeds of the body), lying (among the deeds of speech), and mistaken
views (among the deeds of thought). Even among the different types of killing
there are those which are more seriouskilling an enemy destroyer, for
examplebecause as Close Recollection states,
...it leads one to the lowest hell, "Without Respite." A less serious
type of killing would be to take the life of a person who had
reached any of the paths. And the least serious type would be to
kill an animal, or a very immoral person.
________________ _______
_ ___ _ _ ___ __ _____ __ _ __ _ ___
___
Deeds made serious by the stage of their preliminary undertaking would be
those which involved actually applying oneself physically or verbally. Deeds
made serious by the thinking involved would be those where one's thoughts
in carrying out the act were particularly strong. And deeds which turn more
serious because of the intention involved would be those where one
undertakes an act with particularly strong thoughts of motivation.
___________________ ___
_________ ________________
_
We can summarize by saying that the power of the deed itself is exactly as
little or great as these six factors of conclusion and the rest happen to be in
their own force. One should understand that deeds where all six factors are
present in force are extremely serious.
Reading Ten
195
122
Whether Deeds are Collected or Not
____________
_________
_______
__________
A deed is called "collected" from its being
Done intentionally, to its completion,
Without regret, without a counteraction,
With attendants, ripening as well.
[IV.477-80]
__ _ _________ ________ _
_______ _______
Now sutra also mentions a number of concepts including "deeds which are
done and also collected" as well as "deeds which are done but which are not
collected." One may ask just what these are.
______________________
______ __ ___ __ ___ _____ __
______ ______________ _
____ ___ __ _ __ ____ ___ __
__________
A deed is called "done and also collected" from its being done with six
different conditions, described as follows:
1) The deed must be done intentionally; that is, it
cannot have been performed without premeditation,
or simply on the spur of the moment.
Reading Ten
196
2) I t must have been done "t o i t s
completion"meaning with all the various
elements of a complete deed present.
3) The person who committed the deed must feel no
regret later on.
4) There must be no counteraction to work against the
force of the deed.
5) The deed must come along with the necessary
attendants.
6) The deed must as well be one of those where one
is certain to experience the ripening of a result in
the future.
_________________ _________
____ _________
Deeds other than the type described are what we call "done but not collected."
From this one can understand what kinds of deeds are meant by the
expressions "collected but not done" and "neither done nor collected."
________________________
_____ _______________
_______ __________
As for the phrase "to its completion," in some cases a single act of right or
wrong leads one to a birth in the states of misery or to a birth in the happier
states. In other cases, all ten deeds of all three doors lead a person to the
appropriate one of these two births. In either case the deeds have been done
to their completion.
_______________ _______
_____
Reading Ten
197
The phrase "without a counteraction" refers to deeds done (1) with mistaken
ideas, misgivings, or the like; (2) without confession, future restraint, or such.
__________________ ___
__________________ ____
________
A deed "along with its necessary attendants" means a deed of virtue or non-
virtue along with attendants of further virtue or non-virtue. Admittedly, the
Commentary does explains these as "Any deed which you rejoice about having
done." Nonetheless the attendants here are the preliminary undertaking and
final conclusion stages of the deed.

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