Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Volume 10 (The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination)

（十四）Original text: 问。此十二支。几是烦恼道。几是业道。几是苦道。答。三是烦恼道。二是业道。余是苦道。问。几唯是因。几唯是果。几通因果。答。初一唯因。后一唯果。余通因果。又即于此问。更作余答。三唯是因。二唯是果。当知所余。亦因亦果。

Explanation: Question: Among these twelve links of dependent origination, how many links belong to the path of affliction? How many belong to the path of karma? How many belong to the path of suffering? Answer: Three links belong to the path of affliction, two links belong to the path of karma, and the rest belong to the path of suffering. The links of the path of affliction contain the affliction of ignorance, which can give rise to karmic actions; the three links of ignorance, craving, and grasping belong to the path of affliction. The path of karma refers to the links that bear karmic retribution; the two links of name-and-form and becoming are karmic retribution. The path of suffering refers to the links that involve suffering feeling; the seven links of formations, consciousness, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, birth, and aging-and-death all involve suffering feeling.

Question: Among the twelve links, how many links are only causes? How many are only effects? How many are both causes and effects? Answer: The first link, ignorance, is only a cause; the last link, aging-and-death, is only an effect; the remaining links in between are both causes and effects. There is another answer to this question: three links are only causes, namely ignorance, craving, and grasping; two links are only effects, namely becoming and aging-and-death; the remaining links are both causes and effects, namely the seven links of formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, and birth.

Original text: 问。几是独相。几是杂相。答。三是独相。行等是杂相。问。何故行有是杂相。答。由一种说故。谓能引爱非爱果故。及能生趣差别故。

Explanation: Question: Among the twelve links, how many links have independent characteristics, and how many have mixed characteristics? Answer: Three links have independent characteristics, namely becoming, birth, and aging-and-death; the links of ignorance, formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, and so on have defiled characteristics. What is meant by defilement is that these links contain wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral (avyākṛta) natures, and can give rise to wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral retribution. Question: For what reason do the links such as formations have such defiled characteristics? Answer: There is one explanation, which is that the links such as formations can lead to agreeable and disagreeable retribution, and because the links such as formations can give rise to the distinctions among the six realms of existence, the links such as formations are said to have defiled characteristics.

Original text: 问。何故识与名色六处。一分有杂相。答。由三种说故。谓依杂染时故。依润时故。依转时故。问。何故识乃至受与老死有杂相。答。由二种说故。谓别显苦相故。及显引生差别故。

Explanation: Question: Why is it said that the six consciousnesses, name-and-form, and the six sense bases have a portion of defiled characteristics? Answer: There are three explanations: one explanation is that when the six consciousnesses are defiled by the wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral, the links of name-and-form and the six sense bases are said to have agreeable and disagreeable defiled characteristics; one explanation is that when the six consciousnesses are being moistened and perfumed, the links of name-and-form and the six sense bases are said to have agreeable and disagreeable defiled characteristics; one explanation is that when the six consciousnesses are transmigrating, the links of name-and-form and the six sense bases are said to have agreeable and disagreeable defiled characteristics.

Question: Why is it said that the links of the six consciousnesses, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, and feeling have defiled characteristics in relation to the link of aging-and-death? Answer: There are two explanations: one explanation is that the links of consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, and feeling can distinctly manifest the characteristic of the suffering of aging-and-death; the other explanation is that the links from consciousness through feeling, together with the link of aging-and-death, can manifest the distinctions in the aging-and-death link that is led forth and generated; therefore the links such as consciousness are said to have defiled characteristics.