Jewels from the treasury vasubandhus ( (116)

Be­ cause it has no desire for the colors o f the level o f second dhyana and because it is produced by absorption o f pleasure, it is not presented.. According to the sutras, while conc

are these not emanations on the basis o f samadhi? you ask O f course they are, but they are emanations contained in Desire

(2) The sphere of the Formless

3 4 b -d The Formless’ sphere is suffering

And such o f own and higher levels,

Com patible with subsequent knowing

T h e sphere o f the four emancipations o f Formless is the suffering and such, including origin and all paths, o f their own and higher levels that is com pat­ ible w ith subsequent knowing It is possible that the Formless emancipations can be the samadhi o f no attributes o f no attributes, so they can also be non- analytic cessation Noncom posite space is also the object o f the sense base o f Infinite Consciousness

W hy is there no emancipation presented on the third dhyana? you ask Be­ cause it has no desire for the colors o f the level o f second dhyana and because

it is produced by absorption o f pleasure, it is not presented Well then, if on the third dhyana also there is no desire for color, why is the em ancipation o f the lovely produced on the fourth dhyana? you ask As one is discouraged

by repulsiveness, it is to make oneself intensely joyous or else to analyze whether or not the repulsive emancipations have been accomplished If when paying attention to the lovely, afflictions do not arise, those two have been accomplished

b The overpowering sense bases This has two topics: i Classifications, and

ii Explanation o f their characteristics

i Classifications

35a Eight overpowering sense bases

According to the sutras, while conceiving o f internal form, viewing small ex­ ternal forms with good and bad colors and viewing large external forms with good and bad colors are the first two overpowering sense bases W hile con­ ceiving that there is no internal form, viewing the same two are the third and fourth W hile conceiving only that there is no internal form, viewing external forms that are blue, yellow, red, and white are the last four W hen these eight all have overpowered those forms, the sort o f conception that arises is the first through the eighth overpowering sense bases

Conceiving o f internal form and that there is no internal form is the con­

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ception o f the form o f the viewer him self being destroyed or not Small and large are forms o f sentient beings and the world Good and bad colors are at­ tractive and unattractive Overpowering them is gaining mastery Knowing and seeing are explained as paths o f no obstacles and liberation, or tranquility and

insight according to Master Arya.339 In the sutra, for the four colors there are four phrases using the words blue and so forth that are repeated twice each, once for the example and once for the meaning T he first m ention is an overview, the second the natural, the third the fabricated, and the fourth the

dharmas com m on to both T he flax, karnikara flowers,340 bandhujivaka flow­

ers, and the planet Venus are examples o f the natural, and the cloth is an ex­ ample o f the fabricated.341

ii Explanation of their characteristics This has three points

(1) Explanation of the tw o overpowering sense bases of that with form viewing form

35b Two like the first emancipation;

O f those, the first two overpowering sense bases are like the first emancipation

in the particulars o f their nature, level, and aspects

(2) Explanation of the tw o overpowering sense bases of that w ithout form viewing form

35c Two like the second

Two o f the overpowering sense bases, the third and fourth, are views like the second emancipation

(3) Explanation of the four overpowering sense bases of color

Em ancipation o f the lovely

T he others, the four emancipations o f color, like em ancipation o f lovely are

on the level of fourth dhyana, focus on attractive forms o f the Form realm, are nongreed by nature, and are the five aggregates, it should be understood

c The all-encompassing sense bases This has two topics: i Classifications, and ii T heir individual natures

575

i Classifications

36a Ten all-encompassing sense bases

T he sutras teach o f the ten all-encom passing sense bases, which have the meaning o f making the visualized aspect pervade the focus uninterruptedly

To classify them, there are the ten o f earth, water, fire, air, blue, yellow, red, white, space, and consciousness

ii Their individual natures This has two points

(1) Explaining the first eight

36bc Eight are nongreed on the last dhyana

Their sphere is Desire

O f these, the first eight are in essence the virtue o f nongreed They are on the level o f the last fourth dhyana T h eir sphere is the sense base form o f Desire, similar to how the four sources are known as color and shape in the w orld.342 According to some, since it says, “T he atmosphere/Is the element itself ”343 the object o f the all-encompassing sense base o f wind is touch

(2) Explaining the last two

Their sphere is their four aggregates

It is explained in the Levels344 that the other sense bases are not set forth as

all-encompassing, since sound is discontinuous; and since the five faculties do not pervade the world, and scent and taste do not pervade the Form realm The last two all-encompassing sense bases are in nature the pure virtue of the first two Formless equipoises T h eir sphere is their own level’s four ag­ gregates only, unlike the Formless emancipations described above, because here it is in terms o f focus on particulars, the learned ones have said

The last two Formless are not set forth as all-encompassing sense bases since they are unclear and thus incompatible with expanding and contracting, or according to some, since they are the result o f the all-encompassing It is ex­

plained in the Great Compendium;345

because the all-encompassing o f Infinite Space and

Consciousness is infinitely and immeasurably accom­

plished, so there is no enhancement o f that

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T he distinctions am ong the emancipations, overpowering sense bases, and all-encompassing sense bases is that their qualities gradually increase First the emancipations are directed away from the discards T hen the discards are overpowered T hen it is made pervasive, so as the earlier are perfected and purified, the latter arise, and they are each superior to the previous For that reason, they are lesser, medium, and greater, or cause, both cause and result, and result only

2 H ow they are attained

37ab Cessation has been explained The rest

Are gained through detachm ent or by training

O f these twenty-six, the support and attainm ent o f the emancipation o f ces­ sation have already been explained in the second area.346 T h e rest, the re­ maining twenty-five, are gained merely through detachm ent if familiar— that

is, if they have ever arisen before— or if unfamiliar, by training and effort, be­ cause they arise from the power o f habituation or nonhabituation

3 Distinctions of support This has two points

i Actual

37cd The Formless are supported by

Three realms The rest arise in humans

T he four emancipations called Formless and two o f the all-encompassing are supported by three realms T he rest, the other nineteen, arise in hum ans, so they are only on the support of humans This is because they must be pro­ duced by the power o f scripture, and the gods and other wanderers do not have the scriptures

ii Elaboration

38ab In two realms, the power of cause and karma

Produces Formless equipoise

Well then, since there are no scriptures there, how do the absorptions o f dhyana and the Formless o f higher levels arise in the higher two realms? you ask T he absorptions o f dhyana and the Formless are produced by the power

of four things: scripture, cause, karma, and dharm a nature In the higher two realms, there is no scripture, but the power o f both cause and karm a produces

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Formless equipoise Production by power o f cause is when previously on a hum an support one has m editated on the samadhi o f the Peak o f Existence and regressed from that After being born either on one o f the lower Formless levels or in the Form realm, through the cause o f same status of previous m ed­ itation, the samadhi o f the Peak arises Production by force o f karma is also when in a previous hum an life one performs karma that will definitely ripen

as birth in the Peak in a future life After regressing, one is born in one o f the previously m entioned lower levels, and since one m ust definitely be reborn

on the Peak, at that point the absorption o f the Peak will be attained This also has a causal aspect, but since karma is prim ary it is explained to be called produced by the power o f karma

4 H ow samadhi arises

38cd Those two and also dharma nature

Produce the dhyanas in Form realm

Those two powers o f cause and karma, and also the power of the dharm a na­ ture produce the dhyanas in the Form realm

Second, an explanation of the branch that completes the composition, the actual summary of the treatise This has three topics: A How long the teach­ ings will remain, B T he sum m ary of the treatise itself, and C T he m anner of completing the explanation

A H ow long the teachings will remain This has two points

1 The teachings

39ab The Teacher’s True D harm a is twofold:

In essence, scripture and realization

H ow long will this true abhidharm a that explains the aspects o f dharmas— defiled, undefiled, level, focus, aspects, and so forth— remain? you ask T he Teacher s True D harm a is twofold: in essence, it is the Three Baskets o f scrip­ ture and realization, the factors o f enlightenment

2 H ow long they will remain

39cd These are upheld only by those

W ho teach them and accomplish them