The Hidden and Subtle Delusion of the Aggregate of Volitional Formations in the Tenth Fascicle of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra

Original text:化理不住。运运密移。甲长发生。气销容皱。日夜相代。曾无觉悟。阿难。此若非汝。云何体迁。如必是真。汝何无觉。则汝诸行。念念不停。名为幽隐。第四妄想。

Explanation: The changes of the body have never stopped; moment by moment they are secretly moving and shifting. For example, the fingernails grow longer, the hair grows, the vital energy wanes, the countenance wrinkles; the body's various functions are renewed and replaced day and night, yet one has never been aware of it. Ānanda, if this aggregate of volitional formations were not you, why would your body undergo change? If this aggregate of volitional formations were truly you, why have you not realized it, not discovered it? Therefore, all your volitional formations that flow on without a moment's pause are called the fourth false thought, the hidden and subtle one.

This says that the aggregate of volitional formations is a hidden, secret false thought that is not easy to detect. "Hidden" means dark and secret; "subtle" means concealed — both refer to the phenomena of the material body's arising, ceasing, and changing, which are not easily perceived by people. These phenomena cannot be controlled by the subjective conscious mind; they are due to the power of karma, and the body undergoes various changes as time flows by. If karmic power were to disappear, one would enjoy eternal youth without aging, like the sentient beings in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī) and the devas of the desire realm and the form realm.

The hidden and subtle false thought is also a false thought; the aggregate of volitional formations, which is not easy to perceive, is also a product of false thought, flowing and shifting without pause — the preceding thought arises and the following thought ceases, like subtle waves flowing in darkness, with birth, aging, sickness, and death never ceasing even for a moment. If false thought is extinguished, the aggregate of volitional formations will not arise; there will be the tranquility of nirvāṇa, permanence, bliss, self, and purity.