Saṃyuktāgama (285), Part One

(1) Original text:如是我闻。一时。佛住舍卫国祇树给孤独园。尔时。世尊告诸比丘。我忆宿命未成正觉时。独一静处。专精禅思。生如是念。世间难入。所谓若生若老。若病若死。若迁若受生。然诸众生。于生老死上及所依不如实知。

Explanation: When the World-Honored One was staying at the Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍada's Park in the country of Śrāvastī, He told the bhikṣus: Through the recollection of past lives (pūrvanivāsānusmṛti), I recall that before I had attained perfect enlightenment, I dwelt alone in a quiet place, single-mindedly and diligently engaged in meditative contemplation, and the following thought arose in my mind: This world is difficult to enter—namely, there is birth, aging, sickness, and death; there is passing away and rebirth. Yet sentient beings do not truly know birth, aging, sickness, and death, nor do they truly know the dharmas upon which these depend.

Original text:我作是念。何法有故生有。何法缘故生有。即正思惟。起无间等知。有有故生有。有缘故生有。复思惟。何法有故有有。何法缘故有有。即正思惟。起如实无间等知。取有故有有。取缘故有有。

Explanation: The Buddha said: In my meditative contemplation, such a questioning thought arose: What dharma must exist for a living being to appear? By relying on what dharma as a condition is a living being born? Thereupon, right contemplation arose within the meditative contemplation, and after the right contemplation, uninterrupted and doubt-free wisdom-cognition arose, and I realized the following principle: Because there is the vessel-world of the three realms, living beings are born; because the conditions for the survival of living beings in the vessel-world of the three realms are complete, living beings appear.

On this basis, I continued to contemplate further: What dharma must be complete for the conditions for survival in the vessel-world of the three realms to be complete? Because of what dharma does the existence of the vessel-world of the three realms arise? Thereupon I entered right contemplation, and after the right contemplation, there arose the true, uninterrupted right and equal wisdom-cognition: Because of the grasping of the dharmas of the five-aggregate world, the existence of the vessel-world of the three realms arises; because the mind grasps the dharmas of the five-aggregate world, the existence of the vessel-world of the three realms appears.

In this passage, the Buddha is describing the process of practicing in accordance with reality, describing the process of genuine investigation and personal realization. First, doubt arises regarding the dharma being investigated. When the questioning doubt arises deeply, simple deliberation by the mind consciousness cannot resolve this doubt, because it is the manas that has raised the doubt; this doubt must be resolved by oneself personally, and the mind consciousness cannot substitute for the manas. Thus the Buddha engaged in right contemplation within meditative concentration—that is, the deep and subtle investigation by the manas—and the result of the investigation was the arising of uninterrupted right and equal cognition. Uninterrupted cognition is precisely the cognition of the manas; the cognition of the mind consciousness is subject to interruption, especially after death. Since it was the manas that personally carried out the investigation, in the end it was certainly the manas itself that uninterruptedly realized the truth and realized the true nature of the dharmas.

If the Buddha had not possessed meditative concentration, first, the manas could not raise doubt—there would only be the superficial doubt of the mind consciousness; second, the manas would be unable to personally carry out deep and subtle investigation, and in the end the uninterrupted equal cognition could not arise; there would only be inference, analysis, understanding, and judgment by the mind consciousness, and the true nature of the dharmas could not be realized. Therefore, the solitary realizer (pratyekabuddha) cultivated alone in the deep mountains, with very deep meditative concentration and extremely deep and subtle powers of contemplation, surpassing others, and moreover with right contemplation. Although the non-Buddhist practitioners also had deep meditative concentration, they lacked right contemplation; because they held wrong views, their contemplation was not right. With deep meditative concentration, the mind focused, and powerful contemplative ability, great wisdom and true wisdom can be opened up.

At that time the Buddha was still a solitary realizer (pratyekabuddha); there was no Buddha appearing in the world, no dharma appearing in the world, and no saṅgha transmitting the dharma. He went forth alone into the mountains and forests, with very deep and subtle meditative concentration and wisdom, contemplating alone the causes of the suffering dharmas of birth, aging, sickness, and death in the five-aggregate world. Then he contemplated further: since the world is so full of suffering, why do sentient beings not realize and awaken by themselves? The Buddha, in order to liberate sentient beings from suffering, sought within meditative concentration how life comes into being.