Explanations of Selected Passages from Volume Eight of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra

Original text of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Volume Eight: 复次，阿难，从是有顶色边际中，其间复有二种歧路。若于舍心，发明智慧，慧光圆通，便出尘界，成阿罗汉入菩萨乘，如是一类名为回心大阿罗汉。若在舍心，舍厌成就，觉身为碍，销碍入空，如是一类名为空处;诸碍既销,无碍无灭，其中唯留阿赖耶识，全于末那半分微细，如是一类名为识处;空色既亡，识心都灭，十方寂然，迥无攸往，如是一类名无所有处;识性不动，以灭穷研，于无尽中，发宣尽性，如存不存,若尽非尽，如是一类名为非想非非想处。

Explanation: Above the four dhyāna heavens of the form realm there are the four formless heavens. When a non-returner attains the fourth fruit in the fourth dhyāna heaven, there are two divergent paths. One is that the arhat, in the form heaven, does not enter nirvāṇa without remainder, but instead chooses to turn his mind toward the bodhisattva path, studying and cultivating the bodhisattva vehicle; he also will not go to the heaven of the infinity of space in the formless realm. The other is that this arhat's mind loathes his own body of the five aggregates, so he will abandon the physical body and enter the heaven of the infinity of space in the formless realm.

When the arhat is in the heaven of the infinity of space, his mind consciousness no longer feels the obstruction of the physical body, but the mind consciousness does not cease, and he enters the heaven of the infinity of consciousness. In this samādhi there are the ālayavijñāna and the manas, as well as the mind consciousness. The manas still has subtle ignorance of the three realms, so he cannot relinquish the mind consciousness and cannot enter nirvāṇa. At the next step, when the mind consciousness is extinguished, he enters the samādhi of no perception and ascends to the heaven of no perception. But the manas still has subtle ignorance of the three realms, so he still cannot enter nirvāṇa without remainder.

Within the heaven of no perception there is another branch, which is the heaven of neither perception nor non-perception. In the samādhi of neither perception nor non-perception, there is the ālayavijñāna, the manas, and an extremely subtle mind consciousness; the mind consciousness is half-extinguished yet not extinguished, seemingly existing yet not existing, with its functions greatly reduced, and among the mental factors, feeling and perception have ceased.

Only by entering the cessation of perception and feeling (nirodha-samāpatti) can one become a great arhat liberated in both ways, and directly enter nirvāṇa from within the cessation attainment. If it is an arhat liberated by wisdom, he will enter nirvāṇa without remainder at the time of death. What is discussed here is the arhat liberated through meditative concentration, who, through cultivating concentration, ascends step by step to become an arhat liberated in both ways, thereby entering nirvāṇa without remainder and attaining liberation from the three realms.

Why is the eighth consciousness of an arhat liberated through meditative concentration called the ālayavijñāna rather than the vipāka consciousness? Because before the arhat liberated through meditative concentration enters the cessation attainment and before he enters nirvāṇa without remainder, the manas still has subtle ignorance of the three realms that has not been fully eliminated, and segmented birth-and-death has not yet ended, so the seeds still undergo transformation; therefore it cannot be called the vipāka consciousness and remains the ālayavijñāna.