An Explanation of the Twelve Nidānas in the Āgama Sutras
Section Three How to Realize the Forty-Four Kinds of Knowledge
(367) How to Realize the Forty-Four Kinds of Knowledge
Original text:尔时。世尊告诸比丘。当勤方便修习禅思。内寂其心。所以者何。比丘禅思。内寂其心。精勤方便者。如是如实显现。
Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: You should diligently seek appropriate methods to cultivate pure contemplation within meditative concentration (samādhi), letting the mind become tranquil. Why should one do this? Because when a bhikṣu diligently and skillfully cultivates, contemplating within meditative concentration, and the mind becomes pure and tranquil, the dharmas can then manifest within the mind just as they truly are.
Original text:云何如实显现。老死如实显现。老死集。老死灭。老死灭道迹如实显现。生有取爱。受触六入处。名色识行。如实显现。行集行灭。行灭道迹。如实显现。此诸法无常。有为有漏。如实显现。
Explanation: What dharmas can manifest within the mind as they truly are? The dharma of aging-and-death can manifest as it truly is—realizing what aging-and-death is and the conditions for aging-and-death; the mind can manifest as it truly is how aging-and-death arises through accumulation, realizing that the accumulation of aging-and-death arises through the accumulation of birth; the mind can manifest as it truly is the cessation of aging-and-death, realizing that the cessation of birth causes the cessation of aging-and-death; the mind can also manifest as it truly is the method of practice on the path to the cessation of aging-and-death, knowing that one must cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path in order to extinguish the dharma of aging-and-death.
Through diligent cultivation of meditative concentration and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), the dharma of birth can manifest within the mind as it truly is—realizing the conditions of birth and knowing the phenomenon of birth; the arising of birth through accumulation can manifest as it truly is within the mind, the principle of the cessation of birth can manifest as it truly is within the mind, and the method of practice on the path that extinguishes birth can manifest within the mind. Likewise, the other dharmas, such as existence (bhava), grasping (upādāna), craving, feeling, contact, the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana), name-and-form, the six consciousnesses, and volitional formations, can all manifest within the mind, and even the accumulation, cessation, and path of these links can all manifest within the mind. Realizing that all these links are subject to arising and ceasing, impermanent, that they are all conditioned dharmas, and all dharmas with outflows and afflictions, they must therefore all be severed and extinguished; only then can one attain liberation from the bondage of birth and death.
The method of practice taught by the Buddha is: cultivate contemplation within meditative concentration, internally tranquilizing the mind—this is the method of dual cultivation of meditative concentration and contemplative wisdom, and neither of the two can be lacking. When the mind is internally tranquil, meditative concentration is very deep and the mind has no scattered thoughts; only then can the deliberation (manasikāra) of the manas be activated, only then can the Dharma be realized, and only then can all dharmas manifest as they truly are. Without skillful contemplation in meditation, if the mind is not tranquil, one cannot deeply deliberate and contemplate, and cannot attain realization. "Manifesting as it truly is" represents the wisdom state of direct perception, representing realization by the manas; neither non-valid cognition nor inference constitutes manifesting as it truly is.
For the dharma of the twelve links of dependent origination to manifest as it truly is within the mind is extremely difficult. Understanding it intellectually with the mind consciousness is of course not too difficult—comprehension is relatively easy—but to actually realize it as it truly is, to make the essence and the full ins and outs of the twelve links of dependent origination crystal clear, is extremely difficult. The difficulty lies in the cultivation of meditative concentration and the insufficiency of contemplative wisdom. Without meditative concentration there is no contemplative wisdom; not knowing how to begin actual contemplative practice, with shallow concentration and insufficient contemplative wisdom, contemplative practice will not get on track. Without meditative concentration or with insufficient concentration, one cannot truly deliberate (manasikāra) on the profound meaning of the Dharma; one can only float on the surface, engaging in emotional and intellectual speculation, with shallow wisdom that is not deep or penetrating, unable to withstand the karmic obstructions of birth and death. Therefore, in cultivating any dharma, one needs profound meditative concentration and skilled contemplative wisdom, knowing how to raise contemplation and deliberation; then the samādhi of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā easily arises.
(368) How to Realize the Forty-Four Kinds of Knowledge
Original text:尔时。世尊告诸比丘。当修无量三摩提。专精系念。修无量三摩提。专精系念已。如是如实显现。云何如实显现。谓老死如实显现。乃至行如实显现。此诸法无常。有为有漏。如是如实显现。
Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: You should cultivate boundless meditative absorption (samādhi), single-mindedly and diligently keeping the mind fixed on the dharma of the twelve links of dependent origination. After cultivating boundless meditative absorption and diligently keeping the mind fixed on the twelve links of dependent origination, the meaning of the Dharma can then manifest as it truly is within the mind. What dharma manifests as it truly is? The dharma of aging-and-death manifests as it truly is within the mind—the phenomenon of aging-and-death, the cause of aging-and-death, the conditions of aging-and-death, how aging-and-death arises through accumulation, how aging-and-death ceases, and the Noble Eightfold Path cultivated to extinguish aging-and-death—all manifest as they truly are, perfectly clear in the mind.
Even the dharmas of birth, existence, grasping, craving, feeling, contact, the six sense bases, name-and-form, the six consciousnesses, and volitional formations all manifest one by one within the mind—the phenomena of these dharmas, the causes and conditions that produce these dharmas, how these dharmas arise through accumulation, how they cease, and the Noble Eightfold Path cultivated to extinguish these dharmas—all manifest as they truly are within the mind. These dharmas are all impermanent, all conditioned dharmas with outflows; if this principle can manifest as it truly is within the mind in this way, one will attain the great wisdom of liberation.
"As it truly is" means the inherent state of the dharmas, their true state unknown to people—not the superficial phenomena known to all, but rather that they are subject to arising and ceasing, change, impermanence, suffering, emptiness (śūnyatā), and non-self. When the mind can manifest the dharmas in this way, wisdom arises in an instant, and the mind abides in the state of liberation.
(369) Observing the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination in Forward and Reverse Order
Original text:尔时。世尊告诸比丘。昔者毗婆尸佛未成正觉时。住菩提所。不久成佛。诣菩提树下。敷草为座。结跏趺坐。端坐正念。一坐七日。于十二缘起逆顺观察。所谓此有故彼有。此起故彼起。缘无明行。乃至缘生有老死。及纯大苦聚集。纯大苦聚灭。彼毗婆尸佛正坐七日已。从三昧觉。说此偈言。
Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: In the past, when Buddha Vipaśyin had not yet attained perfect enlightenment, he dwelt at the site of bodhi and soon would become a Buddha. Buddha Vipaśyin went to the Bodhi tree, spread grass as a meditation seat, sat cross-legged in the full lotus posture, sat upright with right mindfulness, and sat continuously for seven days, observing the twelve links of dependent origination first in forward order and then in reverse order. He observed the twelve links of "because this exists, that exists; because this arises, that arises." Conditioned by ignorance there are volitional formations, and so on, up to conditioned by birth there are aging, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress—the great mass of suffering entirely assembled, and the great mass of suffering entirely extinguished. After Buddha Vipaśyin sat upright for seven days, he arose from meditative absorption (samādhi) and spoke the following verse.
Whether the Buddhas of the ten directions, the great bodhisattvas of the ten directions, or the pratyekabuddhas, when observing the dharma of the twelve links of dependent origination, all raise contemplation within profound meditative concentration, with the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, all possessing samādhi states of meditative absorption; only then can their contemplative practice be accomplished, thereby attaining realization and obtaining the samādhi state of liberation. Realizing any dharma gate is done through contemplative cultivation within profound meditative concentration, not departing from precepts and concentration to realize the wisdom of samādhi. Without meditative concentration, one cannot truly contemplate and practice, and cannot attain realization. Therefore, do not mistakenly think that the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and arhats realized the twelve links of dependent origination, or the Four Noble Truths, or seeing the mind and seeing one's nature, through reasoning. The sages realized the Buddha-dharma invariably within profound meditative concentration, invariably possessing complete meditative concentration; not a single one relied on reasoning or emotional and intellectual speculation to intellectually interpret the Buddha-dharma.
Original text:如此诸法生 梵志勤思禅 永离诸疑惑 知因缘生法
若知因生苦 知诸受灭尽 知因缘法尽 则知有漏尽
如此诸法生 梵志勤思禅 永离诸疑惑 知有因生苦
如此诸法生 梵志勤思禅 永离诸疑惑 知诸受灭尽
如此诸法生 梵志勤思禅 永离诸疑惑 知因缘法尽
如此诸法生 梵志勤思禅 永离诸疑惑 知尽诸有漏
如此诸法生 梵志勤思禅 普照诸世间 如日住虚空
破坏诸魔军 觉诸结解脱。
Explanation: How are these dharmas born? The brahmin diligently deliberated within meditative concentration, and finally his deliberation penetrated through; he forever departed from all doubts, his mind opened and his understanding resolved, realizing that all dharmas are born from causes and conditions. If one can realize that various causes and conditions lead to the arising of birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress, realize that all feelings have been extinguished, and also realize that all dharmas born of causes and conditions have been extinguished, then one attains the superknowledge of the exhaustion of outflows, and all afflictive outflows are severed. These dharmas born of causes and conditions—the brahmin diligently deliberated upon them within meditative concentration, and with his wisdom illuminated all worlds, like the sun abiding in empty space, destroying all the armies of Māra, awakening to all dharmas, severing the knots of affliction, and attaining liberation forever.
