Samyukta Āgama, Volume One (4)

Original text:如是我闻。一时。佛住舍卫国祗树给孤独园。尔时。世尊告诸比丘。于色不知不明。不断不离欲。心不解脱者。则不能越生老病死怖。如是受想行识。不知不明。不断不离欲贪。心不解脱者。则不能越生老病死怖。比丘。于色若知若明。若断若离欲。则能越生老病死怖。诸比丘。若知若明。若离欲贪。心解脱者。则能越生老病死怖。如是受想行识。若知若明。若断若离欲贪。心解脱者。则能越生老病死怖。时。诸比丘闻佛所说。欢喜奉行。

Explanation: The World-Honored One said to the bhikkhus that if one does not understand or clearly know the aggregate of form, does not eliminate the view that the aggregate of form is the self, and cannot abandon craving for the aggregate of form—still clinging to it—then one cannot transcend the terror of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Conversely, if one can truly understand the aggregate of form, clearly know its true characteristics, eliminate the identity view regarding the aggregate of form, and become free of craving for it, then one can transcend the terror of birth, aging, sickness, and death; hereafter one will no longer fear the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and will extinguish that suffering entirely and attain the bliss of nirvāṇa.

Here, "knowing" is a rough understanding of the aggregate of form—knowing that it is impermanent, empty, suffering, and not-self, arising and ceasing, changing, and not lasting long. "Clearly knowing" is a finer understanding of the impermanence, emptiness, suffering, arising-and-ceasing mutability, and not-self nature of the aggregate of form. "Eliminating" is cutting off the view that the aggregate of form is the self. "Freedom from craving" means that after attaining the first dhyāna, at the third fruit one eliminates craving and desire for the aggregate of form, departing from sensual craving. After freedom from craving, the mind is liberated from the aggregate of form, no longer bound by it, and has the capacity to extinguish the aggregate of form and leave the three realms, attaining liberation.

The World-Honored One continued to tell the bhikkhus that if one cannot properly recognize the aggregates of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness—does not understand, does not clearly know and realize their true characteristics of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and not-self—then one cannot abandon craving for the aggregates of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. With craving uncut, one cannot transcend the terror of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and will continue to undergo the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death hereafter; because craving for feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness is not eliminated, suffering arises from craving.

Conversely, if one can truly know the aggregates of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, clearly recognize their true characteristics, and realize their impermanence, emptiness, suffering, and not-self, then one will eliminate the self-view that takes these aggregates as the self, and will then be able to abandon craving for them. In this way one can transcend the terror of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and hereafter there will be no more suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death. Because craving is eliminated, one can break free from the bondage of the aggregates of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, leave the three realms, become liberated from birth and death, and attain the bliss of nirvāṇa.

To cultivate this dharma, one must first know the aggregate of form roughly, and then know and understand it in finer detail. This requires meditative concentration and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā). Only through contemplative practice within meditative concentration—raising one eye high—can one see the aggregate of form clearly, recognize it, and realize its true characteristics of impermanence, emptiness, suffering, and not-self. Raising one eye high involves the deliberation (manana) of the manas; the mind consciousness must also stand at a certain height, observing while detached from the physical body, with the mind not sticking to the body. Then one can view and observe the body objectively and impartially, come to recognize the essential problems of the body, and one's understanding will be vastly different from before. In this way, eliminating self-view and realizing the fruits will be relatively easier.

Raising one eye high means lifting the mind out, isolating it, not mixing it together with the five aggregates subject to grasping; this is also called introspection. Introspection easily gives rise to wisdom, makes it easy to recognize objective facts, and makes it easy to discover a new continent. Raising one eye high and glaring with one eye is meditative concentration; it can isolate old认知 and give birth to wisdom. Morning and evening, day after day, with practice deepening over time, one overturns former mistaken understandings and gains the wisdom of liberation.

Recognizing a problem is not difficult; changing one's views is the hardest. The view held since beginningless kalpas—that form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are the self and what belongs to the self—is deeply rooted and has become habitual. Even if one understands the impermanence of the five aggregates, one cannot change the manas's old views. One must engage in long-term contemplative practice, introspection, and deliberation (manana) within meditative concentration, striving to thoroughly clarify this matter and striving to overturn one's original views and concepts. Finding a breakthrough point and eliminating the self-view of the entire five aggregates subject to grasping—then there is great hope. A fortress must be breached bit by bit; at the start one must not be overly greedy in one's aims, lest one's strength fall short of one's ambitions.