The Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Volume X: The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination

(XX) Question: If a dharma arises conditioned by ignorance, is that dharma volitional formation (saṃskāra)? And if it is volitional formation, is its arising conditioned by ignorance?

Answer: This should be addressed with four propositions:

1. There is volitional formation not conditioned by ignorance, namely, the non-outflow (anāsrava) and non-obscured, non-defined (avṛtāvyākṛta) bodily, verbal, and mental karmic activities.

2. There is [a dharma] conditioned by ignorance, yet it is not volitional formation, namely, all the conditioning factors (aṅga) except for volitional formation itself, such as consciousness (vijñāna), name-and-form (nāmarūpa), the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana), contact (sparśa), feeling (vedanā), craving (tṛṣṇā), grasping (upādāna), becoming (bhava), birth (jāti), and aging-and-death (jarāmaraṇa).

3. There is [a dharma] that is both conditioned by ignorance and is volitional formation, namely, the meritorious (puṇya), non-meritorious (apuṇya), and immovable (āniñjya) bodily, verbal, and mental karmic activities.

4. Apart from the aforementioned characteristics, the rest fall under the fourth proposition.

Explanation:

Question: If a dharma arises conditioned by ignorance (avidyā), is this dharma volitional formation (saṃskāra)? And if it is volitional formation, is its arising necessarily conditioned by ignorance?

Answer: This question should be addressed using four propositions:

1. Some volitional formations do not arise conditioned by ignorance, such as non-outflow (anāsrava) karmic activities and non-obscured, non-defined (avṛtāvyākṛta) bodily, verbal, and mental karmic activities.

2. Some dharmas arise conditioned by ignorance, yet they are not volitional formation, such as all the conditioning factors (aṅga) except for volitional formation itself—namely, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, becoming, birth, and aging-and-death.

3. Some dharmas arise conditioned by ignorance and also constitute volitional formation, such as meritorious bodily, verbal, and mental karmic activities; non-meritorious bodily, verbal, and mental karmic activities; and immovable bodily, verbal, and mental karmic activities (i.e., pure karmic activities that are neither meritorious nor non-meritorious).

4. Apart from these characteristics, all else falls under the fourth proposition.

Non-outflow karmic activities are no longer included within the twelvefold chain of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda); they transcend its scope and are not volitional formations induced by ignorance. Non-obscured, non-defined bodily, verbal, and mental karmic activities are likewise not encompassed by ignorance and transcend the twelvefold chain; thus, they bear no karmic fruit of birth and death. Within the twelvefold chain, eleven factors are encompassed by ignorance and all contain ignorance. However, ignorance directly induces volitional formation (saṃskāra), while its influence on the other factors is relatively indirect. Hence, it is said, "Conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise."

Among the volitional formations encompassed by ignorance:

- The karmic activities of creating merit (puṇya) are also encompassed by ignorance. Due to not understanding the truths of the Four Noble Truths and the principle of true reality, one engages in karmic activities seeking conditioned merit—this is the action of ignorance.

- The karmic activities of creating non-merit (apuṇya) are even more clearly encompassed by ignorance.

- The karmic activities of cultivating the immovable mind (āniñjya) through the four meditative absorptions (dhyāna) by non-Buddhists are also conditioned by ignorance, as they are cultivated without understanding the principle of liberation.