Because they are antidotes for excessive malice and so forth, including hostility, dislike, and the attachm ent o f the Desire realm, their num ber is established as four.. T here fore
Trang 1W hy are there four o f them? you ask Because they are antidotes for excessive malice and so forth, including hostility, dislike, and the attachm ent o f the Desire realm, their num ber is established as four
c The essence of each classification
29cd Love and compassion are nonhatred,
And joy is pleasure o f the m ind,
30a And equanimity is nongreed
Love and com passion are the virtue o f nonhatred, and joy is pleasure o f the
m ind at others’ happiness, and equanim ity is the virtue o f nongreed T here fore they are the antidotes for malice preceded by greed and so forth Alterna tively, the Master explains that they are nongreed and nonhatred both, so they are suitable as antidotes for both greed and hatred
2 Distinguishing features This has six topics: a Distinctions o f aspects, b Distinctions of object, c Distinctions in levels, d Distinctions in how they function as antidotes for the levels, e Distinctions in support, and f Distinc tions in how they are possessed
a Distinctions of aspects
30bc Their aspects are thinking, “May they be
Happy! N ot suffer! Joyous! Beings!”
T heir aspects are thus: the aspect o f love is thinking, “O! m ay they, sentient beings, be happy!” The aspect o f compassion is thinking, “May they n o t suf fer!” T he aspect o f joy is thinking, “M ay they have joyous minds!” T he aspect
o f equanimity is thinking, “W ithout attachm ent to those near or hatred for the distant, I will treat all sentient beings equally.” O ne reflects with such an intention and enters absorption O ne rests in the middle, w ithout any preju dice, and w ithout any attachm ent or animosity either
b Distinctions of object
30d Their sphere is beings o f Desire
W hat do they focus on when they meditate on these aspects? you ask T h eir focus or sphere is sentient beings o f Desire, because the immeasurables are the antidote for malice and so forth that focus on beings o f Desire
Trang 2c Distinctions in levels This has two points.
i Actual
3 lab O n the two dhyanas, there is joy
Others on six
How m any levels are they on? you ask O n the first two dhyanas, there is joy because it is produced by m editation and is mental pleasure T he other three immeasurables are on six levels: the four dhyanas, special dhyana, and N ot Unable
ii Others' assertions
Some say that they are on the five excluding N ot Unable Others say that they are on ten, adding Desire and the four preparations
d Distinctions in how they function as antidotes for the levels.
31c They don’t abandon
It is explained that “They’re antidotes for malice, et cetera ” Do the immea surables discard the afflictions? you ask T he explanation o f them as antidotes for malice and the others is through distinctions in power either in terms of suppressing or distancing They, the four, do n o t actually abandon, because they are the pure actual practice so they do not discard afflictions, and because they all focus only on sentient beings, so they are merely interested attention
e Distinctions in support
In humans
As far as their bodily support, because a clear m ind and the power of famil iarization produce them, they arise in hum ans, excluding those on Unpleasant Sound Others do not produce them
f Distinctions in how they are possessed
31 d O ne m ust have the three
Trang 3If one possesses one immeasurable, m ust one also w ithout a doubt possess all
o f them? you ask It is not definite that one will possess them all However, if one possesses any o f the three excluding joy, they also have the other two, so one m ust have the three Joy is mental pleasure, so it is not possessed on the third or fourth dhyana This is intended in terms o f attainm ent In terms o f their manifestation, they are possessed individually because their aspects are exclusive
B Teaching the other qualities This has four topics: 1 T he essence o f the qualities attained, 2 H ow they are attained, 3 Distinctions o f support, and
4 How samadhi arises
1 The essence of the qualities attained This has three topics: a The em an cipations, b The overpowering sense bases, and c The all-encompassing sense bases
a The emancipations This has three topics: i Classifications o f the emanci pations, ii Their individual natures, and iii T he spheres o f the first seven
i Classifications of the emancipations
32a O f eight emancipations,
As they are directed away from their focus, they are emancipations T he eight
em ancipations are, according to the sutras, viewing external form while con ceiving o f internal form, viewing external form while conceiving o f no internal form, the emancipation o f loveliness, the four Formless, and the emancipation
o f cessation
ii Their individual natures This has four topics: (1) Explanation o f the first two emancipations, (2) O f the third, (3) O f the Formless emancipations, and (4) O f the emancipation o f cessation
(1) Explanation of the first tw o emancipations This has two points
(a) Actual
Repulsive,
Trang 4Because the first two of the emancipations have the aspects of bluishness and
so forth, they have the nature o f meditation on the repulsive.337
(b) Distinctions of level
32b are on the two dhyanas
These two emancipations are antidotes for desire for color, so they are on the first two dhyanas, but they are absent from the third and higher, because above that there is no desire for color T h at is because there is no eye consciousness above the second dhyana
(2) Explanation of the third
32c The third, on the last, is nongreed
T h e third, the emancipation of the lovely, is on the last o f the dhyanas, the fourth As its essence is the antidote for greed, it is primarily nongreed, but since it has the lovely as its aspect, it is not repulsiveness meditation Thus one emanates an attractive form and views it as lovely As that itself is manifested
by the body o f samadhi, it is so called Including their associations, the first three are the five aggregates by nature
The need for the emancipation o f the lovely is that by meditating on the repulsive, ones m ind is depressed, so one uplifts it with intense joy Also, if attachm ent to a lovely em anation arises, the first two emancipations have not been completed, but if it does not arise, they have, so this is in order to examine that
The em ancipation of the lovely is not taught in the first three dhyanas be cause there is joy on those levels, so if one pays attention to the lovely and has joy and craving for that object, nongreed will not be accomplished Alterna tively, it is not taught there because they are dhyanas that have faults, so non greed is not accomplished there
(3) Explanation of the Formless emancipations
32d Virtuous Formless equipoise
Only the four virtuous— pure or undefiled— Formless equipoises are em an cipations; the afflicted and the states o f beings not in equipoise such as the state o f death are not O n the preparations, the paths of liberation are emancipation, but the paths o f no obstacles are not because they focus on the lower level
Trang 5(4) Explanation of the emancipation of cessation This has three points.
(a) Identifying its essence
33a It is absorption o f cessation
It, the eighth emancipation, is the absorption o f cessation o f conception and feeling This was explained in the second area.338
W hy are these called emancipations? you ask It is because the first two are directed away from greed; the third, away from being discouraged and at tached; the four Formless, from the conception o f form; and cessation is di rected away from conceptions and feelings, or alternatively all formations
(b) The mind of entry
33b That follows the subtlest o f the subtle
Regarding entering the absorption o f cessation, the conception o f the Peak o f Existence is the subtlest in the three realms, but focusing on cessation is by far the subtlest o f all, so one enters th at absorption o f cessation immediately following th a t subtlest o f the subde minds
(c) The mind of arising
33cd O ne rises from that through own level’s
Pure or the noble of the lower
W hen arising, one rises from th at cessation, as one has resolved to do, through one’s own level— the Peak’s— pure, or through the noble undefiled m ind o f the lower sense base o f Nothingness In this way, the absorption o f cessation and the m ind that enters it are on the level o f the Peak, so they are defiled only T he m ind o f arising can be either defiled or undefiled
iii The spheres of the first seven This has two points
(1) The sphere of the first three
34a Sights of Desire are the first’s object
The sights o f the sense base o f form o f Desire are the object o f the first two
of the eight emancipations, and the third has an attractive object Well then,