Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Volume Thirty-Four (V)

Original text: 又世尊言。苾刍当知。此器世间长时安住。过是已后。渐次乃至七日轮现。如七日经广说。乃至所有大地。诸山大海。及苏迷卢大宝山王。乃至梵世诸器世界。皆被焚烧。灾火灭后灰烬不现。乃至余影亦不可得。由此法门。世尊显示诸器世间是无常性。如是且依至教量理。修观行者净信增上作意力故。于一切行无常之性获得决定。得决定已。即由如是净信增上作意力故。数数寻思观察。一切现见不背。不由他缘。

Explanation: The World-Honored One said in the Sūtra on the Causes and Conditions of the Origin of the World: Bhikṣus, you should know that this Saha world, this inanimate vessel-world, can still remain stable and abiding for a long time now, but after this period has passed, gradually two suns will appear, then three suns, and finally as many as seven suns will appear, as extensively described in the Seven Suns Sūtra. At that time, all the great earth, the mountains, and the great oceans within the vessel-world, as well as Mount Sumeru in the heaven of the desire realm, and indeed all the vessel-worlds of the form realm up to the Brahmā world, will all be burned up. After the fire calamity has passed, even the ashes will vanish without a trace, and not even any residual image can be found.

What the World-Honored One describes here precisely reveals the impermanent nature of all vessel-worlds. Hearing the World-Honored One's teaching and relying on the principle of the authoritative teaching (āgama) spoken by the World-Honored One, practitioners of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) have their pure faith in the impermanence of all formations strengthened, and their power of intensified attention (adhimātra-manaskāra-bala) directed toward the impermanence of all formations increases; thus they attain certainty regarding the impermanent nature of all formations. Once the mind has attained certainty, by means of this same power of intensified attention born of pure faith, they repeatedly deliberate (manasikāra) and contemplate, directly perceiving everything without contradiction, not depending on other conditions.

Contemplating the impermanence of all formations requires reliance on the power of pure faith—believing the World-Honored One's words that all formations are impermanent, with the mind pure and free of other thoughts. Only through pure faith can one direct attention to contemplate and investigate the impermanent nature of all formations; without pure faith, without believing in the impermanence of all formations, one will not direct attention to contemplate. Contemplation is direct perception by one's own mind; if it is not directly perceived, it cannot be called present observation. Direct perception by one's own mind is also called direct-perception contemplation and direct-perception realization: "direct" means presently existing and truly existing, not something produced by thinking, imagining, or mental fabrication. Through repeatedly immersing themselves in the World-Honored One's authoritative teaching on the impermanence of all formations, practitioners observe the impermanent nature of all formations within meditative concentration (samādhi); when the conditions ripen, they will directly perceive that all formations are indeed impermanent, and thereby personally realize the truth of suffering. Because they directly perceive that all formations are suffering, they no longer wish to undergo suffering, and the aspiration to extinguish suffering arises.