The Thirty Topics characterizing the Three Knowledges (first group of the Seventy)

II.intro

The seventy categories. Divided into three [groups], the seventy categories are expounded separately: the thirty dharmas that characterize the three knowledges, the thirty-six dharmas that characterize the four applications, and the four that characterize the Dharma-body — making seventy.

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1. The thirty dharmas characterizing the three knowledges. Among them: ten teach the knowledge of all aspects, eleven teach the knowledge of the paths, nine teach the knowledge of bases — making thirty. (a) The ten dharmas characterizing the knowledge of all aspects. They are: 1. the Mahāyāna arising of bodhicitta, 2. instruction (avavāda), 3. the limbs of penetration (nirvedhabhāgīya ([roots of good] conducive to penetration — heat, summit, forbearance, supreme dharma)), 4. the support of [Mahāyāna] practice, 5. the object of practice, 6. the aim of practice, 7. the armour-practice (sannāha-pratipatti (practice, undertaking)), 8. the engagement-practice, 9. the equipment-practice, 10. the issuing-forth practice — these ten dharmas characterize the knowledge of all aspects, as set forth in two verses of the Abhisamayālaṅkāra. Thus: // The arising of [bodhi]citta, instruction, and the fourfold limb of penetration; the support of practice, whose nature is the dharmadhātu; // the object, the aim, the armour and the engagement deeds, the equipments together with the issuing-forth — [these are] the Sage's knowledge of all aspects. //

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1. The arising of bodhicitta (cittotpāda). Four things are to be known: its definition, divisions, object, and scope. All is set forth in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in three verses. Thus: // The arising of bodhicitta is the longing for perfect awakening for the sake of others. It is stated both in brief and at length, and in accordance with the sūtra. // It is twenty-twofold: [likened] to earth, gold, the moon, fire, a treasure, a jewel-mine, the ocean, a diamond, a mountain, medicine, a [spiritual] friend, a wish-fulfilling gem, the sun, sweet song, a king, a treasury, a great highway, a vehicle, a fountain-spring of water, joyful proclamation, a river, and a cloud. // Definition: the special Mahāyāna mental consciousness, marshalled by an aspiration arising from its own cause, conjoined with the longing for awakening, for the sake of others — that is the definition of the arising of bodhicitta. Object: the arising of bodhicitta operates by taking as its object awakening for one's own sake and nirvāṇa present in others' continuums for the sake of others. Divisions: by nature it has two — the arising of bodhicitta that is by nature an aspiration to awakening (praṇidhi-citta), and that which is by nature engagement in awakening (prasthāna-citta). From the standpoint of the associated mental factors, it has twenty-two sub-types, namely [it is] like: 1. earth, 2. gold, 3. the moon, 4. fire, 5. a great treasure, 6. a jewel-mine, 7. the great ocean, 8. a diamond, 9. a mountain, 10. medicine, 11. a spiritual friend, 12. a wish-fulfilling gem, 13. the sun, 14. sweet song, 15. a king, 16. a granary, 17. a great highway, 18. a vehicle, 19. fountain-water, 20. joyful proclamation, 21. a river, and 22. a cloud. Scope: the arising of bodhicitta in bodhisattvas is fourfold: that grounded in resolute faith, on the ground of conduct through resolution; that with pure superior intention, on the seven [pure] grounds; that of [karmic] maturation, on the eighth and following [grounds]; and that free of obscuration, on the buddha-ground. As stated in the Mahāyānasūtrālaṅkāra: // That arising of bodhicitta [first] is by resolute faith; the next is with pure superior intention; on the [eighth and higher] grounds it is held to be of maturation; and likewise [the last is] free of obscuration. //

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2. Instruction (avavāda). Its whole domain — definition, divisions, scope, and the rule for [who may] hear it — is set forth in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in two verses. Thus: // [Instruction] is to be known in regard to practice, the [four] truths, the Three Jewels beginning with the Buddha, [the practice of] non-attachment, untiring [effort], full embrace of the path, // the five eyes, the six supernormal cognitions and their qualities, the path of seeing, and that called the path of cultivation — so instruction is tenfold. // Definition: the unerring teaching of the path of liberation is the definition of instruction. Or else: the unerring, pure teaching which is the means of attaining the goal sought, by way of the Mahāyāna arising of bodhicitta, is the definition of Mahāyāna instruction. Divisions: first, taking up non-decline so as to ripen qualities already attained, there is the instruction of training; thereafter, taking up the attainment of qualities not yet attained, there is the instruction of admonition — these are the two divisions. Again, by difference of object, instruction is to be known as tenfold. Thus: (1) instruction concerning practice (governed by [the two truths]); (2) instruction concerning the truths (the four noble truths, the object of practice); (3) instruction concerning the Three Jewels (the three refuges, the basis); (4) the teaching-instruction concerning non-attachment (the cause of progress to the distinguished [goal]); (5) the teaching-instruction concerning untiring effort (the cause of non-regressing progress); (6) instruction concerning full embrace of the path (the cause of progress on no other vehicle); (7) the instruction on the five eyes (the cause of not depending on another's conditions); (8) the instruction on the [six] supernormal cognitions (the cause of fulfilling the knowledge of all aspects); (9) the instruction concerning the path of seeing, which is the total uprooting, together with their seeds, of the imputed afflictions to be abandoned by seeing; (10) the instruction concerning the path of cultivation, which is the total uprooting, together with their seeds, of the innate obscurations to be abandoned by cultivation. Scope: its range extends from before entering the path up to the buddha-ground. Rule for hearing: even a person who has not entered the path, if he has pure superior intention and pure karma, is a fit vessel to hear Mahāyāna instruction; and the bodhisattva who has entered the path hears instruction, over many aeons, from buddhas, bodhisattvas, and spiritual friends.

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3. The limb of penetration (nirvedhāṅga). The definition, divisions, scope, object, aspects, and so forth of the fourfold roots conducive to penetration — heat and the rest — are set forth in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in two verses. Thus: // By object, by aspect, by being a cause, and by full embrace, [these roots] have the conjunction of the four conceptions, each in its own way, for the holy ones who possess them. // The [roots] of heat and the rest, in their weak, middling, and strong [degrees], of the protecting bodhisattva are superior to those of the śrāvakas together with the rhinoceros-like [pratyekabuddhas]. // Definition: the realisation arising immediately after its own cause, the [roots] conducive to liberation, is the path of preparation — that is its definition. 'Path of preparation,' 'realisation of the meaning,' and 'limb of penetration' are synonyms. Divisions: there are three paths of preparation, for the three vehicles beginning with the śrāvaka. Within each of the three paths of preparation there are four divisions called heat, summit, forbearance, and supreme dharma. Thus the divisions of the path of preparation number twelve. As for the Mahāyāna path of preparation: its four roots conducive to penetration — heat, summit, forbearance, supreme dharma — are superior to the śrāvaka roots conducive to penetration by five distinctions. Each of these roots, in turn, is threefold by weak, middling, and strong; thus twelve divisions of the Mahāyāna path of preparation arise. Scope: the pervasion of the path of preparation extends from the attainment of insight-meditation, operating by taking as its object some one of the three [kinds of] selflessness, up to the attainment of [the first] ground. Object, aspects, etc.: the Mahāyāna path of preparation is superior to the hīnayāna path of preparation by six distinctions, namely: by distinction of object, of aspect, of being a cause, of full embrace, of conjunction with the conceptions to be abandoned, and of the division into weak, middling, and strong. And this superiority is lucidly explained in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in nine verses, beginning 'the object [is impermanence and so forth]' and ending 'the full embrace in every way.'

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4. The support of practice (pratipatter ādhāra). The support of Mahāyāna practice is the natural lineage (gotra (spiritual lineage, disposition (the basis of practice))). Its definition and so forth is described in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in two verses. Thus: // The basis of the sixfold realised dharma, of the antidote and the abandoning, of the application of the two, of wisdom together with compassion, // of being uncommon with the disciples, of [acting for] the welfare of others in sequence, and of effortlessly functioning knowledge — that basis is called the lineage. // Definition: in general, that dharmadhātu which, once purified, ripens into awakening is the lineage; this is its definition. In particular, that dharmadhātu which, once purified, ripens into unsurpassed perfect awakening, and which is the support of Mahāyāna practice — that is the natural lineage. Divisions: by way of designation there are two — the natural lineage and the developed lineage. The naturally abiding lineage which is the basis of Mahāyāna practice is thirteenfold from the standpoint of the dharmas based upon it. This very natural lineage is also the support of the Mahāyāna path of accumulation. [The thirteen:] the four supports of the four worldly roots conducive to penetration — heat, summit, forbearance, supreme dharma; one support [each] for the supramundane path of seeing and the supramundane path of cultivation — making six natural lineages. Then: the support of the practice of the antidote; the support of the practice of abandoning; the support of the path of release (which, through the non-apprehension of what is to be abandoned by the antidote, is free of the conceptions bound up with the arising and ceasing of that); the support of wisdom and compassion; the support of the dharma uncommon with śrāvakas and the rest; the support of [acting for] the welfare of others in sequence; and the support of effortlessly functioning knowledge — these are the thirteen divisions of the naturally abiding lineage. Scope: its range extends from the Mahāyāna path of accumulation up to the stage of the bodhisattva at the final moment. In particular it should be understood that its pervasion extends from the heat-stage of the path of preparation explicitly indicated above, up to the stage of the bodhisattva at the final moment.

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5. The object of practice (pratipatter ālambana). Three things are set forth here: the definition, divisions, and scope of the objects of practice. The nature of the object is shown in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in two verses. Thus: // The object is all dharmas: namely the wholesome and the rest, those called worldly attainments and those held to be supramundane, the contaminated and uncontaminated dharmas, the conditioned and unconditioned, the dharmas common with the disciples, and those uncommon, [proper] to the Sage. // Definition: the very fact of being an object of knowledge for practice is its being an object — that is the definition. Divisions: the object is elevenfold. Thus: (1) the three — bodily action and the rest — that are wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate; (2) the five aggregates connected with the immature ordinary person; (3) the four uncontaminated meditative absorptions included among all noble persons; (4) the five appropriating aggregates, as that which is not the antidote to the view of self; (5) the four uncontaminated applications of mindfulness, as the antidote to the view of self; (6) the conditioned [dharmas] beginning with the limbs of awakening, included in the desire-realm and the other realms dependent on causes and conditions (= the truth of the path); (7) the unconditioned [dharmas] beginning with suchness, which is independent of causes and not contained in the three realms (= the truth of cessation); (8–10) the qualities beginning with the four meditative absorptions that arise in the continuum of all noble persons; (11) the uncommon [dharmas] beginning with the ten powers, the properties arising in the continuum of a Perfectly Awakened One — so the object is elevenfold. Scope: by the sequence of realisation all dharmas are taken as objects accurately; hence it should be understood that there is no ground-limit to the objects.

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6. The aim of practice (pratipatti-samuddeśa). Three things are to be known: its definition, divisions, and scope; they are indicated in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in this single verse. Thus: // By three greatnesses — in the triad of [the great] mind [intent on] the supremacy of all beings, of abandoning, and of realisation — the aim of the noble self-arisen ones is to be understood. // Definition: the very goal of the bodhisattva established in practice is the aim of practice — that is the definition. Divisions: it has three — the greatness of the mind [intent on] the supremacy of all beings, the greatness of abandoning, and the greatness of realisation. Scope: this aim is fully accomplished solely on the buddha-ground.

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7. The armour-practice (sannāha-pratipatti). Its definition and so forth is described in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in one verse, thus: // The armour-practice is that which, by way of comprising each of the six [perfections] within the sixfold [set of] giving and the rest — these are taught as six sets of six. // [Definition of Mahāyāna practice:] relying on the Mahāyāna arising of bodhicitta, for the accomplishment of unsurpassed perfect awakening, that activity which, in regard to the three knowledges in general, is grounded in the bright dharmas, and which, in each of the four realisations beginning with the full realisation of all aspects, is grounded in the six perfections — that is the definition of Mahāyāna practice. [Divisions of practice:] this Mahāyāna practice is fourfold, namely: the armour-practice, the engagement-practice, the equipment-practice, and the issuing-forth practice. Definition of the armour-practice: the yoga of a being, taken up by the wisdom that comprises [all] six perfections within each perfection, is the definition of the armour-practice. 'Armour-practice' and 'the bodhisattva path' are synonyms. Divisions: from the armour-practice of the perfection of giving up to the armour-practice of the perfection of wisdom, there are six divisions. Within giving too there are the six perfections — giving, morality, and so forth; so, since there are six sixes within the six perfections, in detail there are thirty-six divisions. Scope: its range extends from the bodhisattva on the path of accumulation up to the bodhisattva at the final moment.

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8. The engagement-practice (prasthāna-pratipatti). Its nature is described in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in two verses. Thus: // In the [four] meditative absorptions and formless [attainments], in giving and the rest, in the path, in loving-kindness and the rest, in the union of having-gone-beyond apprehension, in the threefold purity [of the three spheres], // in the aim, in the six supernormal cognitions, and in the way of the knowledge of all aspects — the engagement-practice, mounting up to the Mahāyāna, is to be known. // Definition: through practice in which cultivation predominates, the act of engaging in a Mahāyāna dharma — whether of the nature of cause or of fruit — is the definition of the engagement-practice. Divisions: this engagement-practice is to be known as ninefold, namely: engagement in the meditative-absorption and formless attainments; in the six perfections beginning with giving; in the noble paths; in the four immeasurables; in the union of non-apprehension; in the threefold purity [of agent, object, act]; in the threefold aim beginning with [the mind intent on] the supremacy of all beings; in the six supernormal cognitions; and in the knowledge of all aspects. Scope: its range extends from the heat-stage of the path of preparation on the ground of conduct through resolution, up to the bodhisattva at the final moment.

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9. The equipment-practice (sambhāra-pratipatti). The whole of its definition and so forth is well set forth in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in two verses. Thus: // Compassion, the sixfold set beginning with giving, calm-abiding together with insight, the path that is the union [of the two], and the skill that is in means; // knowledge, merit, the path, retention-formulae, the ten grounds, and the antidote — such is the sequence of the equipment-practice, to be understood. // Definition: that activity which directly bestows the great awakening that is one's own fruit — such activity is the definition of the equipment-practice. Divisions: this equipment-practice has seventeen divisions, namely: the equipment of great compassion, of giving, of morality, of forbearance, of effort, of meditative absorption, of wisdom, of calm-abiding, of insight, of the union [of the two], of skill in means, of knowledge, of merit, of the path, of retention-formulae, of the [ten] grounds, and of the antidote. Scope: mere equipment occurs even on the ground of the beginner; but those equipments explicitly indicated as the means of attaining the great awakening occur from the supreme-dharma stage of the path of preparation up to the stage of the bodhisattva at the final moment. The first fifteen equipment-practices occur up to the supreme-dharma stage of the path of preparation; the sixteenth, the equipment of the [ten] grounds, and the seventeenth, the equipment of the antidote, occur on the ten grounds.

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10. The issuing-forth practice (niryāṇa-pratipatti). Its nature is well shown in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in two verses. Thus: // The issuing-forth in the aim, in sameness, in the welfare of beings, and in effortlessness; the issuing-forth toward the ultimate; the issuing-forth marked by attainment; // and the issuing-forth in the knowledge of all aspects, whose range is the path — the issuing-forth practice is to be known as eightfold. // Definition: the yoga of a being, belonging to the pure grounds, which definitively issues forth into omniscience, is the definition of the issuing-forth practice. Divisions: this issuing-forth practice is eightfold, namely: issuing-forth in the threefold aim, in sameness, in the welfare of beings, the effortless issuing-forth, the issuing-forth toward the ultimate, the issuing-forth of attainment, the issuing-forth in the knowledge of all aspects, and the issuing-forth in the path. Scope: its pervasion occurs only on the three pure grounds. // Thus the ten dharmas characterizing the knowledge of all aspects. //