Selected Lectures on the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra

 Original text: 云何无攀无住。所谓诸爱永尽离欲。寂灭涅槃。及灭尽定。所以者何。所言攀者。诸烦恼缠。所言住者。烦恼随眠。于彼处所二种俱无。是故说言无攀无住。此谓涅槃无攀无住。又想名攀，受名为住，若于是处二种俱无。即说彼处无攀无住。如是显示灭想受定无攀无住。今此义中意取灭定。

 Explanation: What is meant by neither grasping nor abiding? It means that all craving is forever exhausted, one has departed from desire, the mind has attained tranquil cessation and entered the state of nirvāṇa, or one has realized the cessation attainment (nirodha-samāpatti). Why is this said? Because "grasping" refers to being entangled by the various afflictions, and "abiding" refers to the latent afflictive tendencies (anuśaya). When both of these are absent in that state, it is said to be "neither grasping nor abiding." This is what is meant by nirvāṇa being without grasping and without abiding. Furthermore, perception (saṃjñā) is called grasping, and feeling (vedanā) is called abiding; where these two are both absent, that place is said to be without grasping and without abiding. Thus it is shown that the cessation of perception and feeling is without grasping and without abiding. In this context, the meaning intended is the cessation attainment.

The cessation attainment is when the manas has extinguished the two mental factors of feeling and perception. Feeling is the meaning of abiding in dharmas—receiving sense objects is called abiding. Perception is the meaning of grasping—cognizing and apprehending is grasping. Grasping means being entangled by afflictions; when the manas eliminates afflictions, it does not grasp. When afflictions are eliminated, this is called "all craving forever exhausted"; all craving forever exhausted is precisely departure from desire. When the manas departs from desire, all craving is forever exhausted and it no longer grasps at dharmas. When the manas departs from desire, without grasping and without abiding, it enters nirvāṇa without remainder. That sentient beings are not in nirvāṇa without remainder shows that the manas has grasping, has craving and desire and abiding, receiving dharmas and perceiving dharmas, entangled by afflictions, with the mind not tranquil.

How rigorous is the logic here—impeccable. Bodhisattva Maitreya clearly states: if sentient beings' manas has desire and craving, then there is grasping and abiding, and they cannot realize the cessation attainment, nor enter the state of nirvāṇa and attain liberation; if sentient beings' manas departs from desire and craving, then they can realize the cessation attainment and also realize nirvāṇa—this is called attaining liberation. Departing from desire, leaving behind all craving for the worldly dharmas of the three realms, one can leave the three realms. Departing from hatred, eliminating the manifest affliction of hatred—not only should the mind consciousness's hatred be eliminated, but even more so the manas's hatred should be eliminated.

It is because the manas has hatred that it directs the six consciousnesses to commit evil karmic actions. For example, when the mind consciousness becomes angry for no reason at all, inexplicably, it is caused by the hatred of the manas. When the mind consciousness encounters situations, it tells itself not to get angry, that it must not get angry, yet it cannot control its anger—this shows that the manas does not obey the mind consciousness's commands and insists on getting angry. When the manas eliminates the mental factor of hatred, it no longer directs the six consciousnesses to commit evil karmic actions, no longer engages in mutual retaliation with sentient beings, and the deeply rooted knot of hatred is severed.

Bodhisattva Maitreya said that greed, hatred, and delusion are sentient beings' entrenched afflictions. "Entrenched" means difficult to eliminate and uproot—the afflictions are very deep. This refers not merely to the mind consciousness's greed, hatred, and delusion, but mainly to the manas's greed, hatred, and delusion. The mind consciousness's greed, hatred, and delusion are easy to subdue and eliminate; the mind consciousness is intelligent and wise, and through studying Buddhism it can be transformed. The manas is not intelligent, does not easily understand the Dharma or comprehend it, and cannot deliberate, so it is difficult to transform; its greed, hatred, and delusion are deeply rooted and relatively entrenched.

If the manas is not subdued and only the mind consciousness is subdued, then the manas directs the mind consciousness—wherever the manas points, the mind consciousness must strike—and one is still bound by the manas's greed, hatred, delusion, and ignorance. If the mind consciousness has eliminated hatred but the manas has not, when the manas's hatred arises and orders killing, the mind consciousness must inexplicably and helplessly go kill, trembling inside, killing while thinking that one should not do this—yet what can be done about it?

So-called impulsive crimes are entirely dominated by the manas: the mind consciousness does not even have time to deliberate before being dragged along by the manas; only afterward, when the mind consciousness deliberates again, does it begin to regret having caused a great disaster. The manas knows it had a grudge against someone in a past life, so it hates that person; but the mind consciousness knows this person is useful and beneficial to itself, so it advises the manas: when you meet this person, you must be patient and flatter and please him. Yet when meeting this person, while flattering and pleasing him, the mind feels disgust and wishes it could beat him to death. This is the manas reluctantly obeying the mind consciousness's advice; as soon as the mind consciousness relaxes its vigilance slightly, the manas will erupt, directing the six consciousnesses to commit acts of hatred in order to take revenge on that person.