Eleven topics for the full realisation of all aspects (AA chapter 4)

II.B.intro

2. The thirty-six dharmas characterizing the four applications. Therein: eleven dharmas characterize the full realisation of all aspects, eight characterize the culminating realisation, thirteen characterize the serial realisation, and four characterize the realisation in a single instant — making thirty-six.

II.B.i.intro

(a) The eleven dharmas characterizing the full realisation of all aspects. They are: 1. the aspects (ākāra); 2. the applications (prayoga); 3. the qualities (guṇa); 4. the faults (doṣa); 5. the marks (lakṣaṇa); 6. the [roots] conducive to liberation (mokṣabhāgīya); 7. the [roots] conducive to penetration (nirvedhabhāgīya); 8. the irreversible community (avaivartika gaṇa); 9. the sameness of existence and quiescence; 10. the unsurpassed purification of the [buddha-]field; 11. skill in means — these eleven dharmas characterize the full realisation of all aspects, as shown in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in two verses. Thus: // The aspects together with the applications, the qualities, the faults, together with the marks; the [roots] conducive to liberation and to penetration; the learner [community], the irreversible community; // and the sameness of existence and quiescence, the unsurpassed purity of the [buddha-]field — this full realisation of all aspects, together with skill in means. // Definition: the yoga of a being, established as taken up by the wisdom consisting of meditative cultivation, [directed at] the 173 aspects connected with the three knowledges, is the full realisation of all aspects — that is its definition. Synonyms: 'the bodhisattva path,' 'the path of the perfections,' 'the yoga of a being,' 'the application of the knowledge of aspects,' 'the application of the knowledge of the paths,' and 'the armour-practice' are synonyms. Divisions: from the standpoint of aspects, 173; from the standpoint of applications, twenty. Scope: its range extends from the Mahāyāna path of accumulation up to the stage of the bodhisattva at the final moment.

II.B.i.1

1. The aspects (ākāra). The whole definition and so forth of the aspects is well described at length in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in five verses. Definition: the distinction of cultivation-application, [directed] at the aspects of the three knowledges, by way of comprising the knowledge of all aspects, the path, and the bases, is the definition of the aspects. Divisions: the aspects have 173 divisions, namely: twenty-seven of the knowledge of bases, thirty-six of the knowledge of the paths, and 110 of the knowledge of all aspects — making 173. Of the four noble truths, four [aspects] for each of the first three truths makes twelve, and fifteen for the fourth, the truth of the path — so the knowledge of bases has twenty-seven aspects. As stated in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra: // Beginning with the aspect of non-existence up to the aspect of immovability — these are four per truth, and fifteen are reckoned for the path. // Eight for the truth of origin, seven for the truth of the path, five for the truth of suffering, and sixteen for the truth of cessation — so the knowledge of the paths has thirty-six aspects. As stated in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra: // For origin, path, suffering, and cessation respectively, they are proclaimed as eight, seven, five, and sixteen. // The thirty-seven limbs of awakening are the aspects of the knowledge of bases [shared] with the learner-śrāvakas; thirty-four are [the aspects] of the knowledge of the paths of the bodhisattvas; thirty-nine uncommon ones are [the aspects] of the buddhas' knowledge of all aspects — so the knowledge of all aspects has 110 aspects. As stated in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra: // Beginning with the applications of mindfulness and ending with the aspect of buddhahood, for the disciples, the bodhisattvas, and the buddhas respectively, // they are held to be thirty-seven, thirty-four, thirty-nine, and nine, by the division of the three [kinds of] omniscience, in accordance with the truth of the path. // Since the object-aspects are to be understood before the knowledge-aspects, the 173 object-aspects are shown first.

II.B.i.2

2. The applications (prayoga). The definition and so forth of the applications is described at length and very clearly in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in four verses. Definition: the very knowledge — having the nature of the cultivation that is the union of calm-abiding and insight, [directed] at the cognizer and cognized and at the aspects of the bases and of the path, and having the character of essencelessness and freedom from elaboration — is here the definition of the explicitly indicated application. Or else: the yoga of a being, taken up by the wisdom consisting of the cultivation that is the union of calm-abiding and insight, [directed] at all the aspects of the three knowledges, is here the definition of the indicated application. Divisions: the applications have twenty divisions: by nature, five; from the standpoint of the supporting person, eight; from the standpoint of the means of perfecting the cultivation of the Perfection of Wisdom, four; from the standpoint of the fruit of application, two; and from the standpoint of swift cultivation, one — making twenty. By nature, five: the application of non-abiding (in form and the rest, by essencelessness); the application of non-application (since application to them is no application at all); the profound application (in the section on the knowledge of bases, by reason of the non-apprehension of a foundation, owing to the profundity of the suchness of form and the rest); the hard-to-fathom application (in the section on the knowledge of the paths, by reason of the naturally undisturbed character, owing to the hard-to-fathom nature of form and the rest); and the immeasurable application (in the section on the knowledge of all aspects, by reason of the non-apprehension of any limit, owing to the immeasurability of form and the rest). From the standpoint of the supporting person, eight: the application of awakening with difficulty over a long time (of the beginner prone to fear in profound emptiness); the application of obtaining the prophecy (from the heat-realisation of the path of preparation onward, there is no terror at the profound true nature, nor estrangement from the practice of the six perfections even in dreams); the irreversible application (from the summit-realisation onward, by long habituation in realising the true nature); the issuing-forth application (from forbearance onward, by skill in means, through the firmness of realising the true nature, abandoning the dharmas that obstruct toward the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha [vehicles]); the uninterrupted application (from the supreme-dharma-realisation onward, by the power of uninterrupted application through continuous cultivation, there is the certainty of nearness to the direct vision of the dharmadhātu, like the nearness of the great ocean); the application of nearness to awakening (by the practice of being the support of the fresh uncontaminated dharmas that are the causes of omniscience); the application of swift awakening (by swiftly accomplishing the fruit, the Dharma-body); and the application for others' welfare (turning the wheel of Dharma and the rest). From the standpoint of means, four: the application of non-increase-and-non-decline (since, ultimately, no increase or decline of qualities and faults is seen, one is sanctioned in coursing in the Perfection of Wisdom); the application of the non-apprehension of dharma, non-dharma, and the rest (by the practice of, ultimately, not apprehending dharma, non-dharma, and the rest); the inconceivable application (form and the rest being inconceivable, since they have the nature of the dharmadhātu); and the non-conceptual application (since, form and the rest having the nature of the dharmadhātu, there is no conceptualization of form, its sign, its nature, and so forth). From the standpoint of fruit, two: the application of bestowing the jewel of the fruit (since it bestows the jewel of the fruit, [the stages] from stream-entry up to unsurpassed perfect awakening); and the application of purification (since it is the cause of abandoning the afflictive and cognitive obscurations). From the standpoint of swift cultivation, one: the application of the [time-]limit (since it is the nature of things that great jewels have many obstacles, the writing-down of the Mother — whose nature is the supreme jewel — though it has many obstacles over a year, is yet swift).

II.B.i.3

3. The qualities (guṇa). The whole definition and so forth of the qualities is shown in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in half a verse. Thus: // The destruction of the power of the Māras and the rest is the fourteenfold quality. // Definition: the excellence attained by the power of cultivating the applications is the definition of the qualities. Divisions: the qualities have fourteen divisions, namely: the quality of destroying the power of the Māras (when the perfection is being taken up, the obstacles made by the Māras are warded off by the power of the Tathāgatas); the quality of being known to the buddhas' attention (since, in the preparatory, main, and concluding stages of application, one gains the attention of the Tathāgatas); the quality of being made manifest to the buddhas (since one gains the buddhas' knowledge-vision); the quality of nearness to perfect awakening (by gaining the proximity of the Tathāgatas); the quality of great purposefulness and the rest (by gaining great benefit); the quality of determining the [right] place (by gaining the quality of determining the place [for teaching], doing the Tathāgatas' work); the quality of fulfilling all uncontaminated dharmas (by gaining the fulfilment of the antidote-dharmas); the quality of being a person of [authoritative] speech (by gaining the ability to speak the discourse of the knowledge of all aspects); the quality of indivisibility (by gaining the protection of the Tathāgatas); the quality of producing uncommon roots of virtue (by accomplishing vast joy); the quality of accomplishing the truthfulness of one's vow (when, in the rejoicing-in-vows, one gradually accomplishes the conformity of the vow to reality through the practice of application); the quality of taking hold of the lofty fruit (by resolute faith in the profound and lofty meaning); the quality of accomplishing the welfare of beings (by gaining the capacity to act for beings' welfare); and the quality of attaining certainty (by the practice of application when endowed with the roots of virtue that bring about the unimpaired Perfection of Wisdom) — these are the fourteen qualities.

II.B.i.4

4. The faults (doṣa). The faults of the applications are shown in the Abhisamayālaṅkāra in half a verse. Thus: // And six faults are to be recognized, together with four sets of ten. // Definition: the obstructions that hinder the arising, persistence, intensification, and progress of the applications are the faults — that is the definition. Divisions: the faults have forty-six divisions. The first set of ten: attaining [the perfection] with difficulty (slow inspiration in the Mother); too-swift inspiration; bodily badness; mental badness; reciting and the like done improperly; grasping the signs of aversion; loss of the cause; loss of the relish of the sublime; loss of the supreme vehicle; and loss of the aim — these ten. The second set of ten: loss of the connection of cause and fruit; loss of the unsurpassed station; the arising of inspiration that conceptualizes manifold objects; clinging to the writing of syllables; clinging to non-existence; clinging to syllables; clinging to non-syllables; attending to one's homeland and the like; relishing gain, honour, and fame; and seeking skill-in-means on the wrong path — these ten. These twenty faults are set forth as obstacles to the practitioner engaged in the perfection. Now, in turn, the incompatibility that arises in [teacher-student] engagement is explained. The third set of ten: discordance of zeal and indolence [between hearer and speaker — this is a fault of both]; discordance in the object of zeal [likewise of both]; discordance of having few wants and many wants; the [mis]match of practising and not practising the ascetic virtues; being of good or bad character; generosity and stinginess; accepting or not accepting a gift; being a quick-witted or a needs-elaboration learner; being expert or not expert in the dharma of the sūtras and the rest; and being endowed or not endowed with the six perfections — these ten. The fourth set of ten: skill or lack of skill in means; obtaining or not obtaining the retention-formulae; wishing or not wishing to write [it] down; being free or not free from desire and the like — these four; aversion to the way of [skilful] means; and gladness at going to a happy destiny — these two; one or other of the hearer and speaker delighting in solitary assembly; not giving an opportunity to one who wishes to follow; longing for some material trifle and [un]willingness to give it; and going in a direction that is or is not an obstacle to life — these four; making ten. The remaining set of six faults: going to or coming from a famine-stricken region; going to or coming from a region troubled by bandits and the like; the despondency of [excessive] attention to families — these three; the application that creates Māra-induced division; the introduction of a counterfeit [teaching] (presenting something fabricated); and the arousing of longing for an unsuitable object — these other three; making six. Thus there are forty-six faults in all.