Jewels from the treasury vasubandhus ( (112)

Dhyanas o f birth have happiness, And pleasure and the neutral feeling; Neutral and happiness; and pleasure And neutral; and the neutral feeling... O n the second dhyana, there are both

i Distinctions between the afflicted and unafflicted

10 In the afflicted, there is no joy or pleasure;

Serenity; awareness, mindfulness;

O r equanimity, pure mindfulness;

Some say no pliancy, no equanimity

Are those same branches previously explained also present in afflicted dhyana? you ask They are not W hich o f them are not? you ask In the afflicted first dhyana, there is no joy or pleasure born of withdrawal, because it is not w ith­ drawn from the afflictions o f that level O n the second dhyana, there is no great serenity, because it is sullied by the afflictions o f its own level O n the third dhyana, there is no awareness or mindfulness because it has been made completely deluded by afflicted pleasure O n the fourth, there is no equanim ­ ity or pure mindfulness, because those two have been stained by the afflictions Some say there is no pliancy on the afflicted first or second dhyana, and on the third and fourth there is no equanimity, because these are virtuous major grounds, they say

ii Features of the fourth dhyana

11 The fourth is free from the eight faults,

So it s immovable They are

Considering, examining, breaths,

A nd pleasure and the other three

The Bhagavan said, “Because the three dhyanas have faults, they are movable.”

T h e fourth dhyana is free from eight faults explained below, so it is im m ov­ able They, the eight faults, are considering, examining, the in-breath and out-breath, and pleasure and the other three, suffering, mental pleasure, and mental unhappiness

¡ii Distinctions in feeling between causal and resultant absorptions This has two points

(1) Actual

12 Dhyanas o f birth have happiness,

And pleasure and the neutral feeling;

Neutral and happiness; and pleasure

And neutral; and the neutral feeling

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Are those feelings that are in the causal dhyanas o f absorption also present in the resultant dhyanas o f birth? you ask

T he first dhyanas o f birth have happiness o f the level o f m ind conscious­ ness, and pleasure o f the three consciousnesses,330 and the neutral feeling o f the four consciousnesses O n the second dhyana, there are both neutral and mental happiness; and on the third there is also pleasure and neutral A nd

on the fourth there is only the neutral feeling

O f these, the pleasure o f the first dhyana is solely bodily feeling supported

by eye, ear, and body, and its neutral feeling is both bodily and mental From the second dhyana and above, they are all only mental feelings Bodily feeling

is always accompanied by considering and examining, and because there is no considering and examining on the second and above, there can be no bodily feelings, either

(2) Dispelling a doubt

13 O n second and so forth, the body,

Eye, and ear consciousnesses, and

W hat makes them perceive is o f the first

It s neutral; it is not afflicted

O n the second dhyana, et cetera, if there is no considering and examination, how can they see, hear, or touch, and how is the act o f knowing motivated? you ask Those who are born there are not w ithout eye consciousness and so forth, but they are not o f their own level O n the second dhyana and so forth, the third and fourth dhyanas, the body consciousness, eye consciousness, and ear consciousness, and that which is the considering and examining th a t makes them perceive is only manifested through those o f the first dhyana It, the consciousness on the second or higher dhyana, is unobscured neutral; be­ cause it is detached, it is also n o t afflicted Because it is inferior, it is also not pure absorption

3 The manner in which absorptions are attained This has three topics:

a T he actual m anner in which they are attained, b W h a t arises following which, and c T he m anner in which the skipping absorption arises

a The actual manner in which they are attained This has three points

i H ow the pure is attained

l4ab Those who do not possess them gain

The pure through detachm ent or from birth;

How are the absorptions o f dhyana and the Formless attained? you ask Those

w ho do n o t possess them , the dhyanas and Formless, from before gain any o f the three pure with the exception o f tendency toward the undefiled331 through detachm ent or, except for the Peak o f Existence, from b irth from a higher into a lower T he Peak is not attained by birth because there is no level above it

ii How the undefiled is attained

14c The undefiled is through detachment;

T he undefiled actual absorptions, if one has not previously possessed them, are only attained through detachm ent from the lower levels If previously pos­ sessed, they can also be attained through training such as the distinctive actual practices o f the nonlearners and those with sharp faculties, but are not attained through birth or regression

iii H ow the afflicted is attained

I4 d Afflicted, by regressing, birth

Afflicted absorption, when not previously possessed, is attained by regressing such as when one regresses from detachm ent from the first dhyana and attains the afflicted first dhyana Except for the Peak, it is also attained by b irth from

a higher realm into a lower realm For example, when one is born from the second or higher dhyana into the first dhyana, one can attain the afflicted first dhyana T he afflicted Peak is only attained through regression Afflicted ab­ sorption is not attained through training or detachment

b W h at arises following which This has two topics: i General teaching, and

ii Specifics o f the latter two

i General teaching This has three points

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(1) W h a t arises right after the undefiled

15a-c Right after undefiled, the virtue

O f levels up to two above

O r below can arise

Right after which substances o f absorption can how many arise? Right after the substance o f undefiled absorption o f dhyana and Formless, the pure and undefiled virtue o f its own level and up to two levels above or two levels below can arise, because when doing skipping absorption, one cannot skip more than one level.332

(2) W h a t arises right after the pure

The same, or own levels afflicted

From the pure absorption, the pure and undefiled arise, which should be known to be the same as what has just been explained O r in addition, just after the pure, its own levels afflicted can also arise T he afflicted cannot arise right after the undefiled, because that is totally exclusive o f entry into the afflicted

(3) W h a t arises right after the afflicted

I6ab From the afflicted, own pure, afflicted,

And one pure o f the lower, too

From the afflicted absorption, in the instance o f taking hold o f it with m ind­ fulness and awareness and then arising from it, the pure o f its own level can arise directly In the instance o f continuation, the afflicted arises N ot only that, when greatly torm ented by the afflictions, one gains affection for the pure o f the lower level, and so the one pure o f the lower can arise, too

ii Specifics of the latter two This has two topics: (1) At the time o f death, and (2) Particulars o f the four tendencies

(1) At the tim e of death This has two points

It has been explained that during the period o f absorption only their own levels afflicted can follow directly upon the pure or afflicted absorptions, but other levels’ cannot However, from a pure absorption that was attained upon birth, at the time o f death it is possible to be reborn in any o f the levels above

or below, so at the time o f rebirth-linking, all the afflicted o f the nine levels can possibly arise

(b) Afflicted

I6 d But from afflicted, not the higher

B ut from afflicted absorptions at the time o f death, the afflicted o f their own level or lower arise, but n o t the afflicted of higher, because if the afflicted o f the lower level has not been discarded, there is no birth in the higher This is because the lower afflicted is exclusive o f rebirth-linking in the higher

(2) Particulars of the four tendencies This has three points

(a) Classifying the pure in four

17ab Four types o f pure tend toward regression,

Et cetera

N ot all pure absorptions produce the undefiled In general, there are four types

o f pure absorption: the tendency toward regression, et cetera, the tendency

to staying, the tendency toward the superior, and the tendency toward the un­ defiled O n the Peak o f Existence, there is no tendency toward the superior, because there is no higher level

(b) The meaning of each classification

They tend toward birth o f the afflictions,

O f own, o f higher, o f undefiled

In essence, respectively, they tend in the instance o f continuation tow ard the birth o f the afflictions, toward the birth o f virtue o f their own level, toward the birth o f virtue o f a higher level, and toward the birth o f undefiled The

meaning o f tend here is “directed toward its birth.”

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