Exposition of the Twelve Nidānas in the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra (Part 12)

Question: How many limbs are encompassed by the projective cause? Answer: From ignorance up to feeling. Question: How many limbs are encompassed by the generative cause? Answer: From craving up to existence. Question: How many limbs are encompassed by the two causes and effects, both generative and projective? Answer: Within the present life and the life to come, the limbs from consciousness up to feeling; and within the state of birth and old age and death, the encompassed limbs.

Explanation: Question: Among the twelve limbs, how many are encompassed by the projective cause? Answer: Ignorance conditions formations, formations condition consciousness, consciousness conditions name-and-form, name-and-form conditions the six sense bases, the six sense bases condition contact, contact conditions feeling—these seven limbs are encompassed by the projective cause and can project the subsequent limb. Question: How many are encompassed by the generative cause? Answer: Feeling conditions craving, craving conditions clinging, clinging conditions existence—these three limbs are encompassed by the generative cause and can generate the limb of birth and the limb of old age and death. Question: How many limbs are encompassed by the two causes and effects, both generative and projective? Answer: Within the present life and the life to come, the four limbs—consciousness conditions name-and-form, name-and-form conditions the six sense bases, the six sense bases condition contact, contact conditions feeling—are, with respect to the limbs of birth and old age and death, encompassed by the two causes and effects, both generative and projective.

Ignorance can project formations but cannot directly give rise to formations. "Project" means to guide; it is a supporting condition, an augmenting condition. "Give rise" means direct production. Ignorance has no intrinsic nature, no mind, no seeds; it cannot produce formations. It can only serve as the trigger for the ālaya-vijñāna to produce formations. Without this trigger, the ālaya-vijñāna cannot produce formations. Formations are the projective cause of the six consciousnesses (karmic seeds), not the direct cause that produces the six consciousnesses (karmic seeds). Formations have no intrinsic nature and no seeds; therefore, they cannot produce the six consciousnesses (karmic seeds). It is the ālaya-vijñāna that, relying on formations, produces the six consciousnesses (karmic seeds). The karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses are the cause and condition for name-and-form; they cannot directly produce name-and-form. It is the ālaya-vijñāna that, relying on the condition of the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses, produces name-and-form. The seeds deposited by the actions of the six consciousnesses can project name-and-form in the future life.

Name-and-form is the projective cause for the six sense bases; it cannot directly produce the six sense bases. It is the ālaya-vijñāna that, relying on name-and-form, produces the six sense bases. Among them, the mental sense base (manāyatana) is originally present; it is not newly produced by the ālaya-vijñāna. The six sense bases are the projective cause for contact; they can project contact but cannot directly produce contact. Because the six sense bases have no intrinsic nature and no seeds, they cannot produce contact. It is the ālaya-vijñāna that, relying on the six sense bases as the projective cause, produces contact. Contact is the projective cause for feeling; it can project feeling but cannot directly produce feeling. Because contact has no intrinsic nature, is not a conscious mind, and has no seeds, it is the ālaya-vijñāna that, relying on contact, produces feeling.

The three limbs—craving, clinging, and existence—are the generative cause for the birth and old age and death limbs in the future life. Without craving, clinging, and existence, the five-aggregate body would cease, leading to entry into final nirvāṇa, with no birth or old age and death. Therefore, the three limbs of craving, clinging, and existence are the generative cause for the limbs of the future life.

Original Text: Question: If it is said that ignorance has improper mental attention as its cause, for what reason is improper mental attention not spoken of first in the teaching of dependent origination? Answer: Because it is merely a perpetuating cause, not a defiling cause. Why is that? It is not that non-ignorant beings give rise to this mental attention. The teaching of dependent origination is expounded based on defiling causes. The intrinsic nature of ignorance is defiled; the intrinsic nature of improper mental attention is not defiled. Therefore, it cannot defile ignorance. However, it is defiled by the power of ignorance. Furthermore, the arising of defiled karma is instigated by the power of the afflictions. The initial cause for instigating karma is said to be the first link of dependent origination. Therefore, improper mental attention is not mentioned.

Explanation: Question: If ignorance is said to have improper mental attention as its cause, why is improper mental attention not mentioned first in the teaching of dependent origination, instead directly speaking of ignorance? Answer: Improper mental attention is only the cause for the perpetuation of dependent origination; it is not the karmically defiled cause of the three natures (wholesome, unwholesome, indeterminate). Why is that? Because it is precisely those ignorant beings afflicted by ignorance who give rise to improper mental attention. Without ignorance, improper mental attention would not arise. Therefore, ignorance comes first; the teaching of dependent origination is expounded based on the defiling afflictive cause.

The intrinsic nature of ignorance is defiled and afflicted. The intrinsic nature of improper mental attention is not defiled or afflicted. Therefore, improper mental attention cannot defile ignorance but can be defiled by ignorance. Furthermore, the arising of defiled karma is instigated by the power of the afflictions. The power of the afflictions is the power of ignorance. The initial cause for the arising of defiled karma is the first link of dependent origination. Therefore, improper mental attention is not mentioned at the very beginning.

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