Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Volume 10 (The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination)

(1) Original text:欲爱云何。谓欲界诸行为缘所生。于欲界行染污希求。由此能生欲界苦果。色爱云何。谓色界诸行为缘所生。于色界行染污希求。由此能生色界苦果。无色爱云何。谓无色界诸行为缘所生。于无色界行染污希求。由此能生无色界苦果。

Explanation: What is desire-craving? Desire-craving is the love and delight born conditioned upon all the formations of the desire realm—the defiled longing, pursuit, thoughts, and aspirations directed toward the formations of the desire realm; from these longings and delights, the suffering fruits of the desire realm are born. What is form-craving? Form-craving is the love and delight born conditioned upon all the formations of the form realm—the defiled longings and aspirations directed toward the formations of the form realm; from these defiled longings, the suffering fruits of the form realm are born. What is formless-realm craving? Formless-realm craving is the love and delight born with all the formations of the formless realm as condition—the defiled longings and aspirations directed toward the formations of the formless realm; from these, the suffering fruits of the formless realm are born.

The formations of the desire realm include all life activities within the desire realm: the conjunction of the faculties, sense objects, and consciousnesses giving rise to contact and feeling, and the defiled mental activities of craving and attachment that arise when the six consciousnesses perceive all dharmas. Defilement refers to the mind being impure, not tranquil, not relinquishing, having something it seeks, having a self, and having afflictions such as greed, hatred, and delusion. Because sentient beings' minds are constantly steeped in the pit of defilement, and the defilement is so severe that it is very difficult to introspect upon the defilement of one's own mind, they also do not know the boundary and standard between defilement and purity. They consider all their mental activities to be perfectly normal, only right and proper, as things should naturally be. Therefore, it is very difficult for sentient beings' practice to get on the right track; the path of cultivation and realization is indeed long and arduous. To be utterly transformed and to realize the first fruit or the path to the first fruit is by no means an easy matter.

The form realm and the formless realm have the four dhyānas and eight concentrations—so why is there still longing, still defilement, still defiled formations? Those of the first and second fruits do not possess the four dhyānas and eight concentrations; those who possess them are already third-fruit and fourth-fruit persons. The four dhyānas and eight concentrations of ordinary sentient beings can only suppress and subdue afflictions, not eliminate them. They have not eliminated self-view, and due to ignorance and self-view they have various kinds of inappropriate mental engagement and defiled longings. The formations of the form realm include feeling born from eye-contact, feeling born from ear-contact, feeling born from body-contact, and feeling born from mind-contact; afterward form-craving arises, and there are defiled longings. The formations of the formless realm consist only of feeling born from mind-contact; being attached to the states of meditative concentration, there are defiled longings.

By the same reasoning, the devas of the form and formless realms have defiled longings and defiled formations; except for third-fruit Anāgāmins and fourth-fruit arhats, all the rest have defilement to varying degrees. Those of the first fruit, Srotāpanna, and the second fruit, Sakṛdāgāmin, do not possess the concentration of the first dhyāna; if they are reborn in the heavens at death, they can only go to the desire-realm heavens, not to the form or formless realm heavens. Third-fruit persons have dhyāna concentration of the first dhyāna and above; at death they will be reborn in the five Pure Abode heavens (ākṛtsnaviha). Some will become fourth-fruit persons in the antarā-bhava and enter nirvāṇa without remainder; fourth-fruit persons who do not turn their minds toward the Great Vehicle directly enter nirvāṇa without remainder.

Therefore, the devas of the form and formless realm heavens are almost all ordinary beings possessing the four dhyānas and eight concentrations. Ordinary beings have not eliminated self-view, and thus have not eliminated afflictions; relying on meditative concentration, they can only subdue the relatively coarse afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion. Because ordinary devas have not eliminated self-view, they take some dharma, multiple dharmas, or all dharmas among the five aggregates and eighteen realms as the self and grasp onto them; they almost always have defiled mental activities and inclinations, and almost always have defiled longings and aspirations. For example, they long for eternal youth and immortality, long for everlasting life without death, long for the bliss and merit of meditative concentration—these longings are desires, are the karma of saṃsāra, capable of summoning the suffering of birth and death, unable to escape the cycle of rebirth. What suffering is there in the form and formless realms? Arising, ceasing, change, and alteration is suffering; death is suffering; knowing that there is still rebirth after death is suffering; knowing that after death one may take rebirth in the three evil destinies to undergo retribution is suffering; that life cannot endure forever is suffering; that the body cannot remain eternally young and undying is suffering.