俱舍論疏 9.89

9.89

The Śāstra says: "The Mahānidāna-sūtra … up to extensive explanation." This cites scriptural testimony. The Nyāyānusāra states: "The intention here is that a pudgala who traverses all stages is called 'complete', not one who dies prematurely, nor beings in the form or formless realms, because they lack the stages of kalala and so forth. The World-Honoured One speaks of possessing all twelve only with reference to a small portion of pudgalas in the desire realm, as taught in the Mahānidāna-sūtra. The Buddha asked Ānanda: 'If consciousness were not to enter the womb, could it increase and grow great?' 'No, World-Honoured One!' and so on up to extensive explanation. Therefore, if there is a pudgala who in the immediately preceding lifetime created ignorance and karmic formations, they fully incur the five links in the present—consciousness and the rest. Again, in the present lifetime creating craving, grasping, and becoming, they incur the two links in the immediately subsequent lifetime—birth and the rest. One should know that this sūtra is taught based on such [a person]. If the links of existence were established based on all pudgalas, it would result in confusion. That is to say, some might have their five present links not being the fruit of the ignorance and karmic formations of the immediately preceding lifetime, and the birth and aging-and-death links of the immediately subsequent lifetime not being the fruit of the craving, grasping, and becoming of the present lifetime. None of those are what this sūtra intends to clarify. Do not, seeing that cause and fruit are separated and disjointed, doubt the efficacy of cause and fruit in bringing about retribution. According to this, in a single lifetime there is only one [set of] craving, grasping, and becoming." The Vibhāṣā, fascicle 23, states: "Question: This sūtra states that name-and-form conditions the six āyatanas; this should not encompass sentient beings of all four modes of birth. For those born from a womb, from an egg, or from moisture, the sense faculties arise gradually, so one may say that name-and-form conditions the six āyatanas. For spontaneously born sentient beings, the sense faculties arise all at once; how can one say that name-and-form conditions the six āyatanas? One should only say that consciousness conditions the arising of the six āyatanas. Some say: This sūtra only speaks of three modes of birth in the desire realm, not of the higher realms or spontaneous birth; therefore there is no fault. It should be stated: This sūtra applies generally to the three realms and the four modes of birth. For spontaneously born beings, at the initial moment of taking rebirth, although they possess all sense faculties, they are not yet sharp; later they gradually grow before becoming sharp. At the time when they are not yet sharp, the very first instant is called consciousness; from the second instant onward it is called the link of name-and-form; upon reaching the sharp stage, it is called the link of the six āyatanas. Therefore, this sūtra does not have the fault of failing to encompass them." Furthermore, the Vibhāṣā, fascicle 24, states: "Of these twelve links, how many belong to the desire realm? How many to the form realm? How many to the formless realm? Some say: The desire realm possesses all twelve links. The form realm has eleven links, excluding name-and-form. The formless realm has ten links, excluding name-and-form and the six āyatanas. For the form realm, it should be said: consciousness conditions the six āyatanas, because there is no period there when the four sense faculties have not yet arisen. For the formless realm, it should be said: consciousness conditions contact, because there is no matter or five sense faculties there. Evaluation: It should be said that all three realms possess the twelve links of existence. Question: When born in the form realm, the sense faculties arise all at once; how can there be a stage of name-and-form? When born in the formless realm, there is no matter or five sense faculties; how can there be stages of name-and-form and the six āyatanas? Answer: Although the five sense faculties in the form realm are said to arise all at once, not long after birth the faculties are not yet sharp; at that time they are subsumed only under the link of name-and-form. Although the formless realm lacks matter and the five sense faculties, it has name and the mental faculty. It should be said: consciousness conditions name, name conditions the mind āyatana, and the mind āyatana conditions contact; therefore, all three realms possess all twelve." According to the above two passages of the Vibhāṣā, both conflict with this Śāstra and the Nyāyānusāra. Examining them now, the Nyāyānusāra and the Abhidharmakośa adopt the position of the earlier masters of the Vibhāṣā, yet this conflicts with the evaluating master of the Vibhāṣā. Furthermore, the Vibhāṣā states that "in a single lifetime one creates craving, grasping, and becoming of the nine stages," which also conflicts with the Nyāyānusāra; how are they to be reconciled? Examining them now, the intentions of the two treatises differ, but their meanings do not conflict. The Vibhāṣā is based on indeterminate karma, while the Nyāyānusāra is based on determinate karma; therefore they do not conflict.