Selected Lectures on the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra
Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Volume Eighteen
Original text:云何无攀无住。所谓诸爱永尽离欲。寂灭涅槃。及灭尽定。所以者何。所言攀者。诸烦恼缠。所言住者。烦恼随眠。于彼处所二种俱无。是故说言无攀无住。此谓涅槃无攀无住。又想名攀，受名为住，若于是处二种俱无。即说彼处无攀无住。如是显示灭想受定无攀无住。今此义中意取灭定。
Explanation: What is meant by neither clinging nor abiding? It means that all craving is forever exhausted, one departs from any desire for the world of the three realms, the mind attains tranquility and enters the state of nirvāṇa, or one attains the cessation attainment (nirodha-samāpatti). Why is this said? Because "clinging" means the mind being entangled by the various afflictions; one who is not entangled by afflictions does not cling to any dharmas with the mind. "Abiding" means there are afflictive latent tendencies (anuśaya) in the mind, and therefore the mind abides in dharmas. If afflictions and afflictive latent tendencies are completely exhausted, it is said that there is neither clinging nor abiding. This is the meaning of nirvāṇa being without clinging and without abiding. In this way, the state of neither clinging nor abiding within the cessation of perception and feeling is displayed, showing that this person has attained the cessation attainment.
When the manas extinguishes the two mental factors of feeling and perception, that is the cessation attainment. Feeling is the meaning of abiding in dharmas—receiving the dharma objects is called abiding. Perception is the meaning of clinging—knowing and grasping is clinging. Clinging means being entangled by afflictions; when the manas eradicates afflictions, it does not cling; eradicating afflictions is called the forever-exhaustion of all craving; the forever-exhaustion of all craving is precisely departing from desire. When the manas departs from desire, it has forever exhausted all craving and no longer clings. When the manas departs from desire, without clinging and without abiding, it enters nirvāṇa without remainder. That sentient beings are not in nirvāṇa without remainder shows that the manas has clinging, has craving and desire and abiding, receiving dharmas and perceiving dharmas, entangled by afflictions, with the mind not tranquil.
How rigorous the logic of contemplation here is—impeccable. Bodhisattva Maitreya clearly states: if sentient beings' manas has desire and craving, then there is clinging and abiding, and they cannot attain the cessation attainment, nor enter the state of nirvāṇa and attain liberation; if sentient beings' manas departs from desire and craving, then they can attain the cessation attainment and also attain nirvāṇa, and this is called attaining liberation.
By departing from desire—leaving behind all craving for the dharmas of the world of the three realms—one can leave the three realms. By departing from hatred—eradicating the manifest affliction of hatred—one should not only eradicate the mind consciousness's hatred, but even more should eradicate the manas's hatred. It is because the manas has hatred that it directs the six consciousnesses to commit unwholesome karmic actions. For example, when the mind consciousness becomes angry for no reason and inexplicably, it is caused by the manas's hatred. When encountering matters, the mind consciousness tells itself not to get angry, that it must not get angry, yet it cannot control the anger—this shows that the manas does not obey the mind consciousness's commands and insists on getting angry. When the manas eradicates the mental factor of hatred, it no longer directs the six consciousnesses to commit unwholesome karmic actions, no longer repays enmity with enmity against sentient beings, and the deeply rooted knot of hatred is severed.
Bodhisattva Maitreya says that greed, hatred, and delusion are sentient beings' entrenched afflictions; "entrenched" means they are difficult to eradicate and pull out, the afflictions being very deep. This refers not merely to the mind consciousness's greed, hatred, and delusion, but mainly to the manas's greed, hatred, and delusion. The mind consciousness's greed, hatred, and delusion are easy to subdue and eradicate; the mind consciousness is intelligent and wise, and through studying Buddhism it can be transformed. The manas is not intelligent, does not easily understand the dharma or comprehend the dharma, and cannot deliberate, so it is difficult to transform; its afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion are deeply rooted and relatively entrenched.
If the manas is not subdued and only the mind consciousness is subdued, then the manas directs the mind consciousness; wherever the manas points, the mind consciousness must strike there, and one is still bound by the manas's greed, hatred, delusion, and ignorance. If the mind consciousness eradicates hatred but the manas has not, when the manas's hatred arises and orders killing, the mind consciousness must inexplicably and helplessly go kill, trembling inwardly, killing while thinking that one should not do this—yet what can be done about it?
So-called impulsive crimes are entirely dominated by the manas; the mind consciousness may not even have time to deliberate before being dragged along by the manas. Only afterward, when the mind consciousness deliberates, does it begin to regret having caused a great disaster.
The manas knows that it had a grudge with a certain person in past lives, so it hates that person; but the mind consciousness knows this person is useful and beneficial to itself, so it advises the manas that when meeting this person, it must endure and flatter and please him. Yet when seeing this person, while flattering and pleasing him, the manas simultaneously feels disgust, wishing it could beat him to death. This is the manas reluctantly obeying the mind consciousness's advice; as soon as the mind consciousness relaxes its vigilance slightly, the manas erupts, directing the six consciousnesses to commit hateful actions in order to take revenge on that person.
