Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Volume Thirty-Four: Characteristics of the Four Noble Truths
Chapter 2 How to Clearly Understand the Marks of the Truth of Origination, Cessation, and the Path
Cultivating the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truths enables one to clearly understand the marks of the Four Noble Truths. Through the four aspects of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self, one clearly understands the mark of the truth of suffering; through the four aspects of cause, origination, arising, and condition, one clearly understands the mark of the truth of origination; through the four aspects of cessation, tranquility, excellence, and relinquishment, one clearly understands the mark of the truth of cessation; through the four aspects of path, suchness, practice, and emergence, one clearly understands the mark of the truth of the path. Among these, the contemplation of the truth of suffering through ten aspects and the realization of the four aspects of the truth of suffering have already been explained; below we explain how to cultivate the four aspects of the truth of origination to clearly understand the mark of the truth of origination.
Original text:复由四行。于苦谛相。正觉了已。次复观察。如是苦谛。何因何集。何起何缘。由断彼故。苦亦随断。如是即以。集谛四行。了集谛相。谓了知爱。能引苦故。说名为因。既引苦已。复能招集。令其生故。说名为集。既生苦已。令彼起故。说名为起。复于当来。诸苦种子。能摄受故。次第招引。诸苦集故。说名为缘。
Explanation: After one has correctly and truthfully awakened to the mark of the truth of suffering through the four aspects of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self, one again contemplates: what is the cause for the appearance of this truth of suffering; how does suffering accumulate; how does suffering arise; upon what condition does suffering appear. Only by severing these four aspects of cause, origination, arising, and condition will suffering be severed accordingly. Therefore one must contemplate the four aspects of the truth of origination to sever the mark of the truth of origination. Knowing that craving can draw forth suffering, craving is said to be the cause of suffering. Having drawn forth suffering, it can further gather and accumulate it, causing it to be born, and is therefore called origination. After suffering has been born, it causes that suffering to arise, and is therefore called arising. Furthermore, it can take hold of the seeds of future suffering, sequentially drawing forth the accumulation of various sufferings, and is therefore called condition.
Original text:复有差别。谓了知爱。是取因故。复能招集。即以其取。为因有故。复能生起。有为上首。当来生故。又能引发。以生为缘。老病死等。诸苦法故。随其所应。当知说名。因集起缘。
Explanation: There are further distinctions among the four aspects, with different sequences: knowing that craving is the cause of grasping, and that craving can further gather and accumulate, with grasping in turn becoming the cause of future becoming, thereby being able to give rise to future becoming; with becoming as the condition, the future five aggregates are born, which can further bring forth old age, sickness, death, and other great masses of suffering with birth as their condition. According to the sequence of the four aspects, they are respectively called: cause, origination, arising, and condition.
The cause of the truth of origination is craving; because there is craving, grasping arises. Whether one grasps or does not grasp, there is the mark of suffering. After the becoming of future lives is produced and the mark of birth appears, the mark of suffering appears. Only by severing the root of suffering—craving—can suffering be severed. The cause of craving is feeling, and the cause of feeling is contact. There can be contact and feeling, but if at the time of contact and feeling there is no craving, no mind dwelling on what is contacted and felt, then the suffering of future lives will not appear, and the truth of origination ceases. Since present craving is the cause that draws forth suffering, and the accumulation of craving can cause suffering to be born, the accumulation of craving is the origination of suffering. After suffering is born and the feeling of suffering manifests, this is called the arising of suffering. Because craving can take hold of the seeds of future suffering, and what craving gathers are all seeds of suffering that can produce future suffering, craving, grasping, becoming, birth, and old age sequentially draw forth the accumulation of various sufferings; therefore craving is the condition of suffering.
The truth of origination is one link in the twelve links of dependent origination. The path to liberation—the Śrāvaka dharma and the Pratyekabuddha dharma mutually encompass each other and share common ground; there is no independent Pratyekabuddha dharma, nor an independent Śrāvaka dharma; the only difference lies in the depth of the levels the two dharmas involve, while liberation is no different.
Original text:复有差别。谓正了知。烦恼随眠。附属所依。爱随眠等。是当来世。后有生因。又正了知。彼所生缠。随其所应。是集起缘。谓后有爱。能招引故。即是其集。此后有爱。复能发起。喜贪俱行爱。此喜贪俱行爱。复与多种。彼彼喜爱为缘。如是依止。爱随眠等。及三种缠。能生后有。及能发起。诸爱差别。是故说名。因集起缘。如是行者。由四种行。了集谛相。
Explanation: There are further distinctions among the four aspects: correctly and truthfully knowing that the latent tendencies of afflictions are subordinate to that upon which they depend—only by relying on the latent tendencies of craving do the latent tendencies of afflictions exist; without craving there are no afflictions; craving is also the cause of afflictions, and severing craving severs afflictions—while the latent tendencies of craving are the cause of the birth of the threefold becoming in future lives; correctly knowing the afflictive entanglements produced by those latent tendencies of craving, corresponding one by one to them are the three aspects of origination, arising, and condition: the afflictive entanglements can gather the seeds of suffering, can cause suffering to manifest, and are the condition for producing the feeling of suffering.
Because the latent tendencies of afflictions can draw forth the craving for future becoming, the latent tendencies of afflictions can accumulate the craving for future becoming, and can also give rise to the craving that operates together with delight and greed; this craving operating together with delight and greed can in turn become the condition for various kinds of fondness. In this way, relying on the latent tendencies of craving and so forth, together with the three kinds of entanglements, one can give birth to future becoming and can give rise to the various differentiated marks of craving; therefore they are called the four aspects of cause, origination, arising, and condition. Because there are latent tendencies of craving, there will be afflictive entanglements, entanglements of delight, and entanglements of greed; with these three entanglements, future becoming will certainly be born; with becoming born, suffering will be born. In this way, the practitioner clearly understands the mark of the truth of origination through the four aspects.
Original text:于集谛相。正觉了已。复正觉了。如是集谛。无余息灭。故名为灭。一切苦谛。无余寂静。故名为静。即此灭静。是第一故。是最胜故。是无上故。说名为妙。是常住故。永出离故。说名为离。如是行者。由四种行。了灭谛相。
Explanation: After correctly and truthfully understanding and awakening to the mark of the truth of origination, one must further correctly and truthfully awaken to the four aspects of the truth of cessation. When the truth of origination is completely extinguished and ceased, it is called cessation; when the truth of origination no longer accumulates, suffering ceases. When the entire truth of suffering is extinguished with no remaining suffering, there is then tranquility—no creation by the five aggregates and no suffering endured by the five aggregates—called tranquility. When the truth of suffering is thus extinguished and tranquil, it is foremost in the world, most excellent, and unsurpassed, and is therefore called excellence. After the truth of suffering is extinguished there is no remaining suffering, and suffering will not be born again; such a state exists forever, having forever departed from suffering, and is therefore called relinquishment. In this way, the yogi clearly understands the mark of the truth of cessation through the four aspects of cessation, tranquility, excellence, and relinquishment.
Through the four aspects of cessation, tranquility, excellence, and relinquishment, one clearly understands the mark of the truth of cessation. Suffering ceases because origination has ceased; no longer accumulating formations of suffering—the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the five-aggregate body are all formations of suffering, especially unwholesome and bad bodily, verbal, and mental actions—when the mind no longer engages with the worldly dharmas of the five aggregates, suffering is no longer accumulated, and tranquility is attained. After the mind attains tranquility, one is freely liberated; in the world this is wondrous and marvelous, because in the world there is universally engagement and suffering, without tranquility, freedom, or liberation, so life is not marvelous. A life of liberation and freedom is foremost and most excellent in the world, and therefore marvelous. After suffering is extinguished and one is liberated, there will be no more feeling of suffering; liberation is eternal liberation, never regressing back into the realm of ignorance and afflictions, forever free from suffering—therefore it is called relinquishment. In this way, the mark of the truth of cessation is very clearly revealed through the four aspects of cessation, tranquility, excellence, and relinquishment.
Original text:于灭谛相，正觉了已。复正觉了，真对治道。于所知境。能通寻求义故。能实寻求义故。由于四门，随转义故。一向能趣。涅槃义故。所以说名。道如行出。如是行者。由四种行。了道谛相。如是名为。于四圣谛。自内现观。了相作意。
Explanation: After the practitioner has truthfully and correctly awakened to the mark of the truth of cessation, one must finally truthfully and correctly awaken to the path truly cultivated as the antidote to suffering, in order to extinguish suffering and attain liberation. Regarding the knowable realm, being able to comprehensively seek its true meaning, and being able to truthfully seek its true meaning, is called suchness. In the process of cultivating the path, when one's bodily, verbal, and mental actions accord with the principle of the Four Noble Truths and are continuously transformed toward purity, it is called practice. After cultivating the path, when mental formations gradually become tranquil and cease, tending toward nirvāṇa and emerging from birth-and-death, it is called emergence. In this way, the yogi clearly understands the mark of the truth of the path through the four aspects of path, suchness, practice, and emergence. This is called the attention that discerns marks—the direct realization from within oneself of the Four Noble Truths.
What does the true antidotal path refer to? Path refers to the manner, method, and route; antidote refers to counteracting the afflictions of greed, hatred, delusion, and ignorance in the mind. Ignorance is not knowing suffering, not knowing the origination of suffering; therefore one must counteract this not-knowing and turn it into knowing. If there were no ignorance, no antidote would be needed. The path cultivated in order to extinguish suffering and sever origination is called the path; the process of extinguishing suffering is cultivating the path—cultivating precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom, the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, and contemplating and practicing the Four Noble Truths. This is the aspect of path.
The aspect of suchness is making the mind accord with the truths and dharmic principles of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self; regarding the knowable realm of the dharma of the Four Noble Truths, one can penetratively and deeply deliberate on its true principle, can truthfully contemplate and practice its dharmic principle, and comprehend the true principle of the knowable realm's content, thereby realizing the truth of the Four Noble Truths. The aspect of practice, on the basis of the aspect of suchness severing ignorance, is the transformation of mental formations, so that all one's mental formations accord with the truth one has cognized and do not contradict the true principle of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. The aspect of emergence is that through cultivating the path, afflictions are severed, bodily, verbal, and mental actions become pure, one no longer engages with the world of the five aggregates, becoming tranquil and unconditioned, with body and mind liberated, tending toward nirvāṇa, according with nirvāṇa, emerging from the three realms, and liberating oneself from the suffering of the cycle of birth and death.
Through the four aspects of path, suchness, practice, and emergence, one clearly understands the truth of the path. From the above four aspects, it can be known that in the process of cultivating the path, precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom grow, one's cognition of the world of the five aggregates accords with true principle, ignorance becomes thinner, afflictions become lighter, mental formations do not contradict the noble path, and the body-mind world gradually transforms; when purity reaches a certain degree, according with the Path and according with the noble sages, one realizes the noble path. It is not that one only begins to slowly transform body and mind after realizing the fruits; if one does not transform body and mind to accord with the noble sages, one cannot become a noble sage. It is like a student taking an examination: if one does not pass, one cannot be admitted—the principle is the same.
