Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra: Volume 34 (Part 7)

Original Text: Having established such internal and external phenomena, and through the power of intensified attention directed toward the direct perception of those phenomena, one contemplates and observes the nature of impermanence by investigating the aspect of transformation. Herein, there are fifteen kinds of transformative actions pertaining to internal phenomena, and eight causes and conditions for transformation. What are the fifteen kinds of transformative actions pertaining to internal phenomena? 1. Transformation due to states or stages. 2. Transformation due to manifest color. 3. Transformation due to form or shape. 4. Transformation due to flourishing and decline. 5. Transformation due to the completeness or incompleteness of limbs. 6. Transformation due to exertion and fatigue. 7. Transformation due to harm inflicted by others. 8. Transformation due to heat and cold. 9. Transformation due to deportment. 10. Transformation due to contact with objects. 11. Transformation due to defilements.

Explanation: After establishing these internal and external phenomena, and in order to directly perceive these phenomena, one strengthens the power of attention directed toward seeing the Dharma. From the perspective of the transformations of phenomena, one contemplates and observes the impermanent nature of internal and external phenomena. Among these, there are fifteen kinds of transformations pertaining to internal phenomena and eight causes and conditions for transformation. What are the fifteen kinds of transformations pertaining to internal phenomena? The first is transformation in the physical body due to different stages or periods of life. The second is transformation appearing in manifest color, such as changes in skin color like white, black, red, yellow, etc. The third is transformation appearing in form or shape, such as height, shortness, fatness, thinness, etc. The fourth is transformation appearing in the flourishing and decline of the physical body, such as having strength or lacking strength, etc. The fifth is transformation in the limbs and sense faculties, such as amputated arms or legs and other deficiencies.

The sixth is transformation due to labor, such as exhaustion and lack of exhaustion, etc. The seventh is transformation due to being harmed by others, such as being bullied, falsely accused, slandered, having one's reputation damaged, etc. The eighth is transformation due to heat and cold, such as fever, aversion to cold, etc. The ninth is transformation due to deportment and movement, such as a sluggish physical body, stooping, hunching, difficulty in movement, etc. The tenth is transformation due to the objects one contacts, such as changes and alterations in the people, things, or matters one encounters. The eleventh is transformation due to actions performed with a defiled mind, such as the shift from wholesome to unwholesome karma. The twelfth is transformation due to bodily illness, such as originally being healthy but now suffering from sickness, etc. The thirteenth is transformation due to death, the ending of life. The fourteenth is the transformation after death where the body becomes blue, swollen, and putrid. The fifteenth is the transformation after death where the corpse vanishes without a trace, and even the ashes disappear without a shadow.