An Explanation of the Twelve Nidānas in the Āgama Sutras
Section 3 For Whom Are the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination Made
(288) The Dialogue on the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination Between Śāriputra and Mahākauṣṭhila
Original text: 尔时。尊者舍利弗。尊者摩诃拘絺罗。在耆阇崛山。尔时尊者舍利弗。晡时从禅觉。诣尊者摩诃拘絺罗。共相问讯庆慰已。于一面坐。语尊者摩诃拘絺罗。欲有所问。宁有闲暇见答与不。尊者摩诃拘絺罗语尊者舍利弗言。仁者且问。知者当答。尊者舍利弗问尊者摩诃拘絺罗。云何尊者摩诃拘絺罗。有老不。答言有。
Explanation: One afternoon, the Venerable Śāriputra rose from meditation and went to the residence of the Venerable Mahākauṣṭhila. After exchanging greetings and mutual congratulations, they sat to one side, and Śāriputra said to Mahākauṣṭhila: "I have a question I wish to ask you; I wonder whether you have the leisure to answer me." Mahākauṣṭhila said to the Venerable Śāriputra: "Venerable one, please ask; whatever I know, I shall answer." Śāriputra then asked Kauṣṭhila: "Venerable one, what do you think—is there aging in the world?" Kauṣṭhila replied that there is.
Original text: 尊者舍利弗复问。有死不。答言有。复问云何。老死自作耶。为他作耶。为自他作耶。为非自非他。无因作耶。答言尊者舍利弗。老死非自作。非他作。非自他作。亦非非自他作。无因作。然彼生缘故有老死。
Explanation: Śāriputra asked again: "Is there death in the world?" Kauṣṭhila replied: "There is." Śāriputra asked further: "What do you think—is aging-and-death self-made? Made by another? Made by both self and other? Or made by neither self nor other, arising without cause?" Kauṣṭhila replied: "Venerable Śāriputra, aging-and-death is not self-made, not made by another, not made by both self and other, nor is it made by neither self nor other without cause. However, because birth exists as a condition, there is aging-and-death."
Original text: 如是生有。取爱受触。六入处名色。为自作。为他作。为自他作。为非自他无因作。答言。尊者舍利弗。名色非自作。非他作。非自他作。非非自他作无因作。然彼名色缘识生。
Explanation: Śāriputra asked again: "Likewise, birth, existence (bhava), grasping, craving, feeling, contact, the six sense bases, and name-and-form—are these phenomena self-arising, or made by other conditions and causes? Or made jointly by self and other conditions? Or are they neither self-arising nor made by other conditions, nor arising without cause or condition?" Kauṣṭhila replied to Śāriputra: "Birth is not a self-arising phenomenon, not made by relying on other conditions, not made by the combination of self and other conditions, yet it is also not that it is not made by the combination of self and other conditions, nor does it arise without cause or condition. However, because of existence in the three realms, the phenomenon of birth appears."
Existence in the three realms is not self-arising, nor does it exist by relying on other conditions, nor does it arise from the combination of self and other conditions, yet it is also not that it does not arise from the combination of self and other conditions; it does not exist without cause or condition. However, because there is grasping, existence in the three realms appears. Grasping is not a self-arising phenomenon, not made by relying on other conditions, nor does it arise from the combination of self and other conditions, yet it is also not that it does not arise from the combination of self and other conditions; it does not exist without cause or condition. However, because of craving, the phenomenon of grasping arises. Craving is not self-arising, nor does it arise by relying on other conditions, nor is it produced by the combination of self and other conditions, yet it is also not that it is not produced by the combination of self and other conditions; it does not appear without cause or condition. However, because of feeling, craving arises.
Feeling is not self-arising, nor is it born by relying on other conditions, nor does it appear from the combination of self and other conditions, yet it is also not that it is not produced by the combination of self and other conditions; it does not appear without cause or condition. However, because of contact, feeling arises. Contact is not self-arising, does not appear by relying on other conditions, nor is it produced by the combination of self and other conditions, yet it is also not that it does not arise from the combination of self and other conditions; it does not appear without cause or condition. However, because of the six sense bases, contact is produced.
The six sense bases are not self-arising, not born by relying on other conditions, nor made by the combination of self and other conditions, yet they are also not that they are not produced by the combination of self and other conditions; they do not appear without cause or condition. However, because of name-and-form, the six sense bases appear. Name-and-form is not self-arising, not produced by relying on other conditions, nor born from the combination of self and other conditions, yet it is also not that it is not produced by the combination of self and other conditions; it is not born without cause or condition. However, because of the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses, name-and-form is produced.
Original text: 复问。彼识为自作。为他作。为自他作。为非自非他无因作。答言尊者舍利弗。彼识非自作。非他作。非自他作。非非自他作无因作。然彼识缘名色生。
Explanation: Śāriputra asked again: "Are those karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses self-arising, or produced by relying on other conditions? Or made by the combination of self and other conditions? Or are they neither self-made nor made by another, produced without cause or condition?" Kauṣṭhila replied to Śāriputra: "The karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses are not self-arising, do not exist solely by relying on other conditions, nor are they born from the combination of self and other conditions, yet they are also not that they are not born from the combination of self and other conditions; they are not produced without cause or condition. However, the six consciousnesses arise because name-and-form exists as a condition."
Original text: 尊者舍利弗。复问尊者摩诃拘絺罗。先言名色非自作。非他作。非自他作。非非自他作无因作。然彼名色缘识生。而今复言识缘名色。此义云何。尊者摩诃拘絺罗答言。今当说譬。如智者因譬得解。譬如三芦立于空地。展转相依。而得竖立。若去其一。二亦不立。若去其二。一亦不立。展转相依。而得竖立。识缘名色亦复如是。展转相依。而得生长。
Explanation: Śāriputra asked Kauṣṭhila again: "You just said that name-and-form is not self-arising, not produced by relying on other conditions, not born from the combination of self and other conditions, yet it is also not that it is not born in accordance with the combination of self and other conditions, and not born without cause or condition; however, name-and-form is born because the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses exist as a condition. Now you also say that the six consciousnesses are born because name-and-form exists as a condition. What does this mean?"
Kauṣṭhila replied: "Let me now give an analogy. Just as a wise person gains understanding through an analogy: it is like three reeds standing on open ground. They can only stand upright by leaning on one another in mutual dependence. If one reed is removed, the other two cannot stand; if two reeds are removed, the remaining one cannot stand either. Only by mutually depending on one another can they stand upright. It is the same with consciousness being conditioned by name-and-form: through mutual dependence, they grow and develop."
That name-and-form, the five aggregates, can only be born conditioned upon the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses—the principle is this: because the six consciousnesses continually create bodily, verbal, and mental actions, karmic seeds are stored, and the world of the five aggregates cannot cease; in future lives the five-aggregate body will continue to be born within the three realms. Because there are karmic seeds for future lives, there will be an intermediate body (antarā-bhava) and name-and-form in the next life. The manas, within the intermediate body, transmigrates through the six paths of rebirth according to the karmic seeds, and together with the Ālayavijñāna enters the womb, giving rise to the initial name-and-form of the next life: name is the manas, the seventh consciousness; form is the fertilized egg. The six consciousnesses arise conditioned upon name-and-form—the principle is this: when the name-and-form of a being's fetal period continues to grow, the six sense bases mature, the six faculties contact the six sense objects, and the six consciousnesses are born within the five-aggregate body of name-and-form. Thus name-and-form and the six consciousnesses are mutually dependent; each can give birth to and sustain the other, and in this way birth and death continue without end.
Among the ten links of dependent origination, there is also the statement "consciousness conditions name-and-form, and name-and-form conditions consciousness." Here, consciousness is not the consciousness of the six consciousnesses, but the consciousness of the Ālayavijñāna, the consciousness of the eighth consciousness. It means that the Ālayavijñāna, depending on the condition of the five aggregates of name-and-form, can have its own operation and activity within the world of the five aggregates; and name-and-form also needs to be conditioned upon the Ālayavijñāna in order to be born, develop, and continuously operate. Without the Ālayavijñāna to rely upon, name-and-form would not arise; and without name-and-form, the Ālayavijñāna would abide in the state of Nirvāṇa without remainder.
Original text: 尊者舍利弗言。善哉善哉。尊者摩诃拘絺罗。世尊声闻中。智慧明达。善调无畏。见甘露法。以甘露法具足身作证者。谓尊者摩诃拘絺罗。乃有如是甚深义辩。种种难问。皆悉能答。如无价宝珠。世所顶戴。我今顶戴尊者摩诃拘絺罗。亦复如是。我今于汝所。快得善利。诸余梵行。数诣其所。亦得善利。以彼尊者善说法故。我今以此尊者摩诃拘絺罗。所说法故。当以三十种赞叹。称扬随喜。
Explanation: Śāriputra praised: "Excellent, excellent! Venerable Mahākauṣṭhila, among the World-Honored One's śrāvaka disciples, you are one of penetrating wisdom, skilled in taming the mind and fearless, who has beheld the ambrosia of the Dharma, and, having fully realized the ambrosia-dharma of liberation, can bear witness with the body: 'Birth is exhausted, the pure life has been established, what was to be done has been done, and I know for myself that there will be no more future existence.' You possess such unimpeded eloquence in the profound meaning of the Dharma, able to answer and respond to all manner of difficult questions. You are like a priceless jewel, revered and held aloft by the world. I now hold the Venerable Mahākauṣṭhila aloft in just this way. I have now gained wholesome benefit from you, and other practitioners of the pure life, by repeatedly visiting you for instruction and exchange, have also gained wholesome benefit. Because you, Venerable one, are skilled in teaching the Dharma, I now, on account of the Dharma taught by the Venerable Mahākauṣṭhila, shall offer thirty kinds of praise, extolling and rejoicing in these merits."
(289) How to Develop Disenchantment Toward the Five Aggregates and Attain Liberation
Original text: 尔时。世尊告诸比丘。愚痴无闻凡夫。于四大身厌患。离欲背舍。而非识。所以者何。见四大身。有增有减。有取有舍。而于心意识。愚痴无闻凡夫。不能生厌。离欲解脱。所以者何。彼长夜于此。保惜系我。若得若取。言是我我所相在。是故愚痴无闻凡夫。不能于彼生厌。离欲背舍。
Explanation: The Buddha told the bhikṣus: "Foolish ordinary beings without learning can feel disenchantment toward the body composed of the four great elements, can become free of desire for it, and can turn away from and abandon it—but not toward consciousness. Why is this so? They see that the body of the four great elements undergoes increase and decrease, can be grasped and relinquished. But toward mind, consciousness, and the mental faculty, foolish ordinary beings without learning cannot develop disenchantment, cannot become free of desire and attain liberation. Why is this so? Throughout the long night, they cherish and cling to it as self; whatever they gain or grasp, they say 'this is me, this is mine, I am in it and it is in me.' Therefore, foolish ordinary beings without learning cannot develop disenchantment toward it, cannot become free of desire, turn away, and abandon it."
Explanation: The Buddha told the bhikṣus: Ordinary beings whose minds are foolish and who have had no exposure to the Dharma of liberation can develop a mind of disenchantment toward their material body composed of the four great elements, can leave behind the various desires for the body, and can turn their backs on the body, no longer caring for it. But they are not like this toward the consciousness-mind; they cannot become free of desire for it, turn their backs on it, or abandon it. Why is this so? Because ordinary beings can see that the material body composed of the four great elements undergoes increase and decrease, is impermanent, not fixed and unchanging, and therefore it can be grasped or relinquished.
But toward their own mind consciousness and manas, foolish ordinary beings without exposure to the Dharma cannot develop a mind of disenchantment, cannot become free of desire and attain liberation. Why is this so? Because throughout the long night of birth and death, they especially cherish their own consciousness-mind, taking the consciousness-mind as self and becoming bound to it; they gain and grasp it, saying "this is me, this is mine, I am within consciousness, consciousness is within me, self and consciousness mutually exist within each other." Therefore, foolish ordinary beings without exposure to the Dharma cannot develop disenchantment toward the consciousness-mind and become free of desire, and cannot turn their backs on and abandon the consciousness-mind.
The Buddha used terms such as "foolish ordinary beings without learning." Although some people do not like to hear this, the Buddha was not cursing or insulting anyone; the Buddha was stating facts—ordinary beings are indeed foolish and without exposure to the Dharma. Not having heard the true Dharma and having deep ignorance is what "foolish without learning" means; if one has exposure and learning, ignorance will be broken and one will become wise.
The material body is relatively easy for sentient beings to see through, because its arising, ceasing, and change are quite evident. The material body is born from the combination of the four great seeds of earth, water, fire, and wind. The earth element has the property of solidity: substances such as muscles, bones, sinews, hair, nails, teeth, and skin all have solidity and thus contain the earth-element seed; without solidity, one could not walk, stand, sit, or lie down. The water element has the property of moisture: the skin on the body's surface, the internal organs, blood, sweat, urine, and so on all have wetness and all contain the water-element seed. The fire element has the property of warmth: there is temperature both inside and outside the body—this is the fire property, containing the fire-element seed. After a person dies, the fire element is gone and the corpse is cold. The wind element has the property of movement: breathing, the flow of blood, and the circulation of the qi channels are all functions of the wind property and contain the wind-element seed; without the wind property, blood could not flow, and food and drink could not move, be digested, absorbed, and excreted.
All material form is formed by the combination of earth, water, fire, and wind in certain proportions. Whichever component predominates, the substance is characterized mainly by that property; with different proportions of combination, the substances formed differ, and thus the organs of the body differ in each part. Not only our material body—all matter in the universe and the world is composed of the four great elements; with different proportions of their combination, the substances formed differ. The six sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma are all composed of the four great elements and all belong to material form; it is only that their modes of manifestation differ, and the consciousness-minds that recognize these material forms differ accordingly. The seeds of the four great elements are stored in the tathāgatagarbha, and the tathāgatagarbha delivers the four great seeds to form the material body; therefore, the material body is born from the tathāgatagarbha.
The body's changes of increase and decrease, such as becoming fat or thin, and the implantation or removal of organs—these changes of increase and decrease show that this body is a false, unreal thing. Seeing through the arising-ceasing and mutability of the material body, one can develop a mind of disenchantment, can also become free of desire and turn one's back on it, no longer wishing to comply with it, no longer wishing to cherish and protect it, feeling that the body does not matter—it is just a false bag of skin, not the real self.
But foolish ordinary beings without exposure to the Dharma cannot develop disenchantment toward the consciousness-mind, cannot become free of desire, and cannot turn their backs on it. Where is the root of this? Because sentient beings all like to crave and cling to the functions of consciousness; the functions of consciousness are vivid and attractive, so they continually grasp at them and claim them as their own. All the functions of the material body arise only because there is consciousness. For example, walking, standing, sitting, and lying down cannot occur without the body consciousness; these are functions performed by the body consciousness. Life's activities cannot be separated from such undertakings as walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, so sentient beings crave them. There is the body consciousness enabling movement, the eye consciousness enabling seeing, the ear consciousness enabling hearing, the nose consciousness enabling smelling scents, and the mind consciousness enabling thinking, discriminating, analyzing, judging, reasoning, and entertaining thoughts; the various consciousnesses cooperate to produce all kinds of functions, with the mind consciousness and the first five consciousnesses discriminating and functioning together. These functions feel utterly real and vividly present—this is "me and mine"—and therefore beings cling without letting go.
That the consciousness-mind is not self is not easy to realize. One clearly feels there is an "I" that knows all dharmas, and it feels very real: "I am indeed sitting here listening to the Dharma; my eyes can see forms—I can indeed see all the material forms I contact; I can indeed hear sounds." One does not regard the functions of seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing of eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body as illusory, and so one grasps them without letting go. Toward the various functions of the mind consciousness, one even more cannot accept that they are illusory; one feels that the mind consciousness can indeed think, entertain thoughts, reason, and plan. Therefore sentient beings cannot regard the consciousness-mind as illusory. But if this barrier is not passed, neither the lesser nor the greater fruits can be realized.
Therefore the Buddha said: foolish ordinary beings without learning can develop disenchantment toward the material body of the four great elements, can become free of desire, and can turn their backs on it; but toward their own consciousness-mind they cannot become free of desire, cannot develop disenchantment, and cannot turn their backs on it. They like their own mind and want everything to go according to their own mind; they cannot become free of desire toward their own mind, because they feel that this consciousness-mind truly has these functions.
Life after life, throughout the long night of birth and death, sentient beings cherish and cling to self, always following their own wishes, loving and cherishing their own consciousness-mind. "What do I want to obtain, what do I want to possess, what do I want to seize"—all these are the wishes of this consciousness-mind, and so beings take the functions of this consciousness-mind as self, as a truly existing, eternal, imperishable self. In fact, the consciousness-mind ceases under several circumstances. For example, while listening to the Dharma, one may fall asleep as one listens, and then no longer know what is being said—at that time the consciousness-mind has ceased and does not exist. When one is asleep without dreams, the six consciousness-minds have also ceased and do not exist. When you wake up, these consciousness-minds manifest again—there is ceasing and arising, they can arise and cease; the consciousness-mind is always changing in the process of arising and ceasing.
But the functions of the Ālayavijñāna always exist in that way, without change, not needing to rely on external conditions—its functions never change. The Ālayavijñāna can always produce all dharmas and manifest all dharmas, and no one can obstruct Him. That is what is real. Whether one is in meditative concentration or asleep, no matter what the circumstances, He always exists and always has His functional characteristics and functions. The first six consciousnesses cannot do this—they are always arising and ceasing, changing.
Original text: 愚痴无闻凡夫宁于四大身。系我我所。不可于识。系我我所。所以者何。四大色身。或见十年住。二十三十。乃至百年。若善消息。或复小过。
Explanation: The Buddha said: foolish ordinary beings without learning would rather take the material body composed of the four great elements as self and mine than take the consciousness-mind as self and mine. Why is this said? Because the material body composed of the four great elements can only remain in the world for ten years, twenty years, thirty years, or even a hundred years before perishing; if one takes good care of the body, it might perhaps last a little over a hundred years.
Original text: 彼心意识。日夜时克。须臾转变。异生异灭。犹如猕猴。游林树间。须臾处处。攀捉枝条。放一取一。彼心意识。亦复如是。异生异灭。
Explanation: But mind, consciousness, and the mental faculty, day and night, at every moment, are transmigrating in an instant, changing moment by moment—arising here, ceasing there; arising in one place, ceasing in another. It is like a monkey roaming through the woods, in a short while traveling everywhere, climbing trees and grasping branches, releasing one branch and seizing another, never at rest. The mind, consciousness, and mental faculty that people speak of are also like this—arising differently and ceasing differently: arising at one time, ceasing at another; arising in one place, ceasing in another; arising on one dharma, ceasing on another dharma; arising on that dharma, ceasing on this dharma; vanishing from this body and arising again in another body. Day and night, at every moment, undergoing all kinds of transformations, never stopping—arising at different times, arising in different places, arising in different forms.
The most serious form of the ordinary being's view of self is taking the functions of the consciousness-mind as self, as belonging to self; this view of self is the hardest to eradicate. The view of self regarding the material body is somewhat easier to eradicate, because the phenomena of the body's arising, ceasing, and change are easy to observe and can be separated from the consciousness-mind. The arising-ceasing and mutability of the consciousness-mind are not easy to observe and understand, because all the functions of the five-aggregate body belong to the consciousness-mind—too dense and continuous—so it feels real, as if it is oneself functioning, one's own functioning; it is very difficult to separate and see through the functions of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness of the consciousness-mind from oneself.
If one takes the consciousness-mind as self and mine, then at the time of death one will want to grasp the consciousness-mind firmly, single-mindedly wanting seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing to continue, fearing their gradual disappearance. Clearly perceiving that the functions of the consciousness-mind are growing weaker and weaker, that the body is becoming less and less responsive, one still does not want the consciousness-mind to cease, feeling intense pain, unable to accept the phenomenon of death. Even so, the ordinary being still does not recognize that his consciousness-mind is impermanent, arising, ceasing, and changing, and still hopes these functions will continue to operate.
Original text: 多闻圣弟子于诸缘起。善思惟观察。所谓乐触缘生乐受。乐受觉时。如实知乐受觉。彼乐触灭。乐触因缘生受。亦灭止。清凉息没。如乐受。苦触喜触。忧触舍触因缘。生舍受。舍受觉时。如实知舍受觉。彼舍触灭。彼舍触因缘生舍受。亦灭止。清凉息没。
Explanation: The well-trained noble disciples should skillfully contemplate and observe all conditioned arising: observing that when the conditions of pleasant contact come together, pleasant feeling arises; when experiencing pleasant feeling, one should truly know the experience of pleasant feeling; when the pleasant contact ceases, the feeling born from the conditions of pleasant contact also ceases and stops, and the mind becomes cool, tranquil, and subsided. Just as with pleasant feeling: when painful contact arises, one should truly know the experience of pain; and even when the conditions of joyful contact, sorrowful contact, or neutral contact give rise to the experiences of joy, sorrow, or neutrality, one should truly know the feelings of joy, sorrow, and neutrality. When the conditions of joyful contact, sorrowful contact, and neutral contact cease, the joyful, sorrowful, and neutral contacts also cease, and the mind becomes cool and tranquil.
Original text: 彼如是思惟。此受触生。触乐触缚。彼彼触乐故。彼彼受乐。彼彼触乐灭。彼彼受乐亦灭止。清凉息没。
Explanation: The well-trained noble disciples should contemplate thus: because these feelings of contact can give rise to the pleasant feeling of contact and the bondage of contact, when each pleasant contact arises, each pleasant feeling arises; when each pleasant contact ceases, each pleasant feeling also ceases and stops, and the mind becomes cool and tranquil.
The well-trained noble disciples can skillfully contemplate and observe all conditioned arising. All dharmas in the world are born of causes and conditions; there is no dharma that is not born of causes and conditions. With cause and condition, worldly dharmas assemble; without cause or condition, dharmas do not manifest. With different conditions, the dharmas born differ; the material bodies of sentient beings differ, and their living environments differ. Where do the conditions come from? From the seeds formed by bodily, verbal, and mental actions. The well-trained noble disciples can skillfully contemplate and observe all conditioned arising, whereas ordinary beings are not skilled in contemplation and observation; they regard the appearance of all dharmas on the five aggregates as normal and a matter of course. When noble disciples observe dependent origination, they deeply investigate the source and causes of birth, aging, sickness, and death, tracing them all the way back to that initial act of dependent origination.
Taking pleasant feeling as an example of dharmas born of conditions: painful contact, joyful contact, sorrowful contact, and neutral contact are all feelings produced through conditions. Pain, pleasure, sorrow, joy, and neutrality—these feelings arise because of contact: only with painful contact, pleasant contact, joyful contact, sorrowful contact, and neutral contact are there the various feelings; without these conditions of contact, these mental feelings would not arise. Therefore the contacts of pain, pleasure, sorrow, joy, and neutrality are all illusory, and the feelings are also illusory, arising, ceasing, changing, and impermanent. Behind all conditioned arisings there are reasons and hidden mysteries.
What is neutral feeling? Feeling neither pain nor pleasure, feeling neither comfortable nor distressed, as if one has forgotten oneself, with no other particular feelings—this is called neutral feeling. When does neutral feeling arise? It appears rather often during sitting meditation. Occasionally one seems to forget oneself and forget everything around one, producing neither pleasant nor painful feeling. That is neutral feeling. When the mind has meditative concentration, one can clearly perceive: "I am now having a painful feeling; I am now having a pleasant feeling; I am now having a joyful feeling; I am now having a sorrowful feeling—I truly know these feelings, I truly am aware of them." If those contacts of pain, pleasure, sorrow, joy, and neutrality cease, the feelings of pain, pleasure, sorrow, joy, and neutrality will also disappear and cease. After ceasing, there is stillness and cessation, and the mind becomes cool and tranquil.
Original text: 如是。多闻圣弟子于色生厌。于受想行识生厌。厌故不乐。不乐故解脱。解脱知见。我生已尽。梵行已立。所作已作。自知不受后有。
Explanation: Thus, the well-trained noble disciples develop disenchantment toward the aggregate of form, and develop disenchantment toward the aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness. Because of disenchantment, they take no delight in form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness; because of not delighting in them, there is liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation is fulfilled. Then they declare: "Birth is exhausted, the pure life has been established, what was to be done has been done, and I know for myself that there will be no more future existence—no future world of the three realms, no future dharmas of the three realms."
