The eighty-one grades of thought-delusion in the three realms to be eliminated through cultivating the path

Original text of the Abhidharmakośa-śāstra, Volume Twenty-three: 地地失德九。下中上各三。论曰。失谓过失。即所治障。德谓功德。即能治道。如先已辩。欲修断惑九品差别。如是上地。乃至有顶。例亦应尔。如所断障一一地中各有九品。诸能治道。无间解脱九品亦然。 

Explanation: The faults and virtues of each of the stages (bhūmis) of the three realms total nine kinds; each of the nine is further divided into lower, middle, and upper—three grades each—giving twenty-seven in a rough classification, and each of these is again divided into lower, middle, and upper three grades. Therefore, the thought-delusions and afflictions of sentient beings are subdivided into eighty-one kinds.

The treatise says that "fault" means faults and errors; the faults of sentient beings are the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, which are the afflictive obstructions to be counteracted in the path of cultivation. "Virtue" means merit and virtue, which is the path of cultivation that can counteract the thought-delusions and afflictions. If one wishes to cultivate in order to eliminate the nine grades of differentiation of afflictive delusions, one must cultivate the path; to cultivate the path, one must cultivate meditative concentration (samādhi); without samādhi, one cannot eliminate delusions. From the desire realm up to the Heaven of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception at the summit of the three realms, each stage has nine grades of afflictive faults that need to be eliminated, and correspondingly, the path of cultivation that counteracts each grade of afflictive fault is also divided into nine grades. When the nine grades of thought-delusions of all stages of the three realms are completely eliminated, uninterrupted liberation is attained. 

Uninterrupted liberation means that body and mind are liberated in every instant, liberated with respect to every dharma, and liberated at all times. Such liberation cannot be attained by the mind consciousness alone; it is ultimately attained by the manas. When the manas is liberated, everything is liberated; if the manas is not liberated, nothing is liberated. If the manas is to be liberated, the path of cultivation must penetrate deeply into the manas. To cultivate to such a depth that it reaches the manas, one must certainly cultivate samādhi; without samādhi, one cannot reach the manas, the manas cannot obtain wisdom, and without wisdom there can be no liberation. Therefore, liberation is the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā; it is not something that the dry wisdom of the mind consciousness can accomplish. 

The three realms are divided into nine stages in total: the desire realm, the First Dhyāna heaven of the form realm, the Second Dhyāna heaven, the Third Dhyāna heaven, the Fourth Dhyāna heaven, and in the formless realm, the Heaven of the Infinity of Space, the Heaven of the Infinity of Consciousness, the Heaven of Nothingness, and the Heaven of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception. Each stage has a corresponding state of meditative concentration, and each kind of concentration can counteract the corresponding thought-delusions and afflictions—this is the merit of the path of cultivation. Thought-delusion is the fault, and its fault is counteracted by meditative concentration. When samādhi appears, the merit of cultivation appears; using the merit of this samādhi to counteract the afflictive thought-delusions, one subsequently realizes the fruits with this merit. Of course, within this there is the wisdom and realization of liberation generated by samādhi, and only when combined can liberation be achieved. 

The nine stages have corresponding nine grades of thought-delusions. The greed, hatred, and delusion of the desire realm are roughly divided into lower, middle, and upper grades, and each grade is further divided into lower, middle, and upper, making nine grades in total: lower-lower 1, lower-middle 2, lower-upper 3; middle-lower 4, middle-middle 5, middle-upper 6; upper-lower 7, upper-middle 8, upper-upper 9. These nine thought-delusions must be eliminated within the samādhi of the desire realm and the samādhi of the First Dhyāna. Without meditative concentration, not a single grade can be eliminated, and one cannot attain the path-tendency toward the first fruit, let alone the first fruit itself. A practice that bypasses meditative concentration cannot be called cultivation. No matter how much theoretical knowledge one learns, if thought-delusions are not eliminated, one cannot withstand the suffering of birth and death and will inevitably drift through birth and death according to karma. From this it can be seen that the merit of cultivating samādhi is immense and cannot be bypassed; shrinking from difficulty and avoiding the heavy while taking the light will not solve the problem. Moreover, cultivating samādhi is inseparable from strict observance of the precepts. Without receiving and upholding the precepts, samādhi cannot be cultivated, one will not receive the path of cultivation, there will be no merit, afflictions and faults will not be lightened or reduced, and at the end of life one will transmigrate into the three evil destinies following afflictions, delusions, and karma. 

The thought-delusions of greed, hatred, and delusion in the First Dhyāna heaven are divided into lower, middle, and upper grades, and each grade is further divided into lower, middle, and upper, making nine grades in total: lower-lower 1, lower-middle 2, lower-upper 3; middle-lower 4, middle-middle 5, middle-upper 6; upper-lower 7, upper-middle 8, upper-upper 9. By the same principle, the thought-delusions of greed, hatred, and delusion in the Second Dhyāna heaven are divided into: lower-lower 1, lower-middle 2, lower-upper 3; middle-lower 4, middle-middle 5, middle-upper 6; upper-lower 7, upper-middle 8, upper-upper 9. The Third Dhyāna heaven, the Fourth Dhyāna heaven, the Heaven of the Infinity of Space, the Heaven of the Infinity of Consciousness, the Heaven of Nothingness, and the Heaven of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception all have corresponding nine grades of thought-delusions; taken together, they are the eighty-one kinds of thought-delusion afflictions.