Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Volume VIII: Exegesis of Selected Passages

Original text from the eighth volume of the Shurangama Sutra: Furthermore, Ananda, from the summit of the form realm at its boundary, there are again two divergent paths. If, through the mind of renunciation, wisdom is manifested, and the light of wisdom becomes perfectly penetrating, one then transcends the world of defilement, becomes an Arhat, and enters the Bodhisattva vehicle; this category is called the Great Arhats Who Turn Their Minds Back. If, while in the mind of renunciation, the achievement of renunciation and aversion arises, one perceives the body as an obstruction, dissolves the obstruction to enter emptiness; this category is called the Sphere of Infinite Space. Once all obstructions are dissolved, and there is neither obstruction nor extinction, only the alaya-vijñana remains, along with half of the subtle manas; this category is called the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness. When both emptiness and form vanish, and the conscious mind completely ceases, the ten directions become utterly still, with nowhere to go; this category is called the Sphere of Nothingness. The nature of consciousness remains unmoving; through exhaustive investigation into extinction, within the endless, the nature of exhaustion is proclaimed—as if existing yet not existing, as if exhausted yet not exhausted; this category is called the Sphere of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception.

Explanation: Above the Four Dhyana Heavens of the form realm lie the Four Formless Heavens. When a third-fruit practitioner attains the fourth fruit in the Four Dhyana Heavens, there are two divergences. One is that this Arhat, instead of entering the non-residual Nirvana in the form realm heaven, chooses to turn his mind back to the Bodhisattva path and cultivate the Bodhisattva vehicle; he also does not enter the Sphere of Infinite Space in the formless realm. The other is that this Arhat, averse to his own five aggregates body, will discard the form body and enter the Sphere of Infinite Space in the formless realm.

In the Sphere of Infinite Space, the Arhat’s conscious mind no longer perceives the obstruction of the form body, yet consciousness does not cease; he then enters the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness. Within this concentration, the alaya-vijñana, manas, and consciousness are present. Manas still retains subtle ignorance of the three realms; thus, he cannot abandon consciousness and cannot enter Nirvana. In the next step, by extinguishing consciousness, he enters the concentration of no-thought and ascends to the Heaven of No-Thought. However, the mental faculty (manas) still retains subtle ignorance of the three realms and cannot yet enter non-residual Nirvana.

Within the Heaven of No-Thought, there is another branch: the Heaven of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception. In the concentration of neither perception nor non-perception, the alaya-vijñana, manas, and an extremely subtle consciousness are present. Consciousness is half-extinguished yet not extinguished, seemingly existing yet not existing, with greatly diminished functions; the mental factors cease, including sensation and perception.

Only upon entering the concentration of cessation does one become a Great Arhat with dual liberation (liberation of mind and liberation through wisdom). Within the concentration of cessation, one directly enters Nirvana. If it is an Arhat liberated through wisdom alone, he will enter non-residual Nirvana at the end of his lifespan. Here, it explains how Arhats liberated through concentration gradually ascend step by step through cultivation of concentration, becoming Arhats with dual liberation, thereby entering non-residual Nirvana and liberating themselves from the three realms.

Why is the eighth consciousness of an Arhat liberated through concentration called alaya-vijñana rather than vipaka-vijñana (maturation consciousness)? Because prior to entering the concentration of cessation and non-residual Nirvana, the manas of an Arhat liberated through concentration still has subtle ignorance of the three realms that is not fully severed; sectional birth and death remain unresolved, and his seeds still undergo transformation. Therefore, it cannot be called vipaka-vijñana but remains alaya-vijñana.