Explanation of Selected Sentences from the Eighth Volume of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra

Original text of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Volume Eight: 复次，阿难，从是有顶色边际中，其间复有二种歧路。若于舍心，发明智慧，慧光圆通，便出尘界，成阿罗汉入菩萨乘，如是一类名为回心大阿罗汉。若在舍心，舍厌成就，觉身为碍，销碍入空，如是一类名为空处;诸碍既销,无碍无灭，其中唯留阿赖耶识，全于末那半分微细，如是一类名为识处;空色既亡，识心都灭，十方寂然，迥无攸往，如是一类名无所有处;识性不动，以灭穷研，于无尽中，发宣尽性，如存不存,若尽非尽，如是一类名为非想非非想处。

Explanation: Above the fourth dhyāna heaven of the form realm there are the four formless heavens. When a person of the third fruit attains the fourth fruit in the fourth dhyāna heaven, there are two divergent paths. One is that this arhat, while in the form realm, does not enter nirvāṇa without remainder, but instead chooses to turn his mind toward the bodhisattva path, studying and cultivating the bodhisattva vehicle; he will also not go to the formless realm's heaven of the base of infinite space. The other is that this arhat's mind feels weariness toward his own body of the five aggregates, so he will abandon the material body and enter the formless realm's heaven of the base of infinite space.

When the arhat is in the heaven of the base of infinite space, his mind consciousness can no longer feel the obstruction of the material body, but the mind consciousness does not cease, and he enters the heaven of the base of infinite consciousness. In that meditative concentration there are the Ālayavijñāna and the manas, as well as the mind consciousness. The manas still has subtle ignorance of the three realms, so he cannot abandon the mind consciousness and cannot enter nirvāṇa. At the next step, when the mind consciousness is extinguished, he enters the concentration of no perception (asaṃjñi-samāpatti) and ascends to the heaven of no perception. But the manas still has subtle ignorance of the three realms, so he still cannot enter nirvāṇa without remainder.

Within the heaven of no perception there is another branch, which is the heaven of neither perception nor non-perception. In the concentration of neither perception nor non-perception, there is the Ālayavijñāna, there is the manas, and there is also an extremely subtle mind consciousness, a consciousness that is half-extinguished yet not extinguished, seemingly existing yet not existing, with its functions and operations greatly reduced; among the mental factors, feeling and perception have ceased.

Only by entering the cessation of perception and feeling (saṃjñā-veditā-nirodha) can one become a great arhat liberated in both ways (ubhayato-bhāga-vimukta), and in the cessation of perception and feeling one directly enters nirvāṇa. If it is an arhat liberated by wisdom (prajñā-vimukta), he will enter nirvāṇa without remainder at the time of death. What is discussed here is the arhat liberated by concentration (samādhi-vimukta), who, through cultivating meditative concentration, ascends step by step, becomes an arhat liberated in both ways, and thereby enters nirvāṇa without remainder, gaining liberation from the three realms.

Why is the eighth consciousness of the arhat liberated by concentration called the Ālayavijñāna and not the vipāka-consciousness (vipāka-vijñāna)? Because before the arhat liberated by concentration enters the cessation of perception and feeling, and before he enters nirvāṇa without remainder, the manas still has subtle ignorance of the three realms that has not been fully eradicated, and segmented birth-and-death (pariccheda-maraṇa) has not yet ended, so the seeds still undergo transformation; therefore it cannot be called the vipāka-consciousness and is still the Ālayavijñāna.