The Hidden and Subtle Deluded Perception of the Aggregate of Volitional Formations in Volume Ten 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 ceased; moment by moment they are secretly moving and shifting. For example, the nails grow long, the hair grows, the vital energies wane, and the countenance wrinkles. The body's various functions are being renewed and replaced day and night, yet one has never been aware of it. Ānanda, if this aggregate of formations is not you, why has your body undergone change? If this aggregate of formations is truly you, why have you not realized it, why have you not noticed it? Therefore, all your formations that do not linger even from thought-moment to thought-moment are called the fourth delusion, the hidden and concealed delusion.

This says that the aggregate of formations is a hidden, secret delusion that is not easy to detect. "Hidden" (幽) means dark and secret; "concealed" (隐) means hidden away—both refer to the phenomena of the material body's arising, ceasing, and changing, which are not easily noticed by people. These phenomena are not something the subjective conscious mind can control; due to the power of karma, the body undergoes various changes as time flows on. If karmic power were to vanish, 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 concealed delusion is also a delusion; the aggregate of formations, which is hard to perceive, is also a product of delusion, flowing and shifting without resting from thought-moment to thought-moment—prior thoughts arise and later thoughts cease, like subtle waves flowing in darkness, with birth, aging, sickness, and death never ceasing for an instant. If delusion is extinguished, the aggregate of formations will not arise; there will be the tranquility of nirvāṇa, with permanence, bliss, self, and purity.