俱舍論頌疏論本 9.63

9.63

釋曰：世尊為遣三際愚惑，故說緣起唯約有情。問：「如何有情前際愚惑？」答：「謂於前際生如是疑：我於過去世為曾有非有？何等我曾有？云何我曾有？」解云：曾有非有者，疑我有無也。何等我者，疑我自性為即蘊我、為離蘊我也。云何曾有者，疑我差別為當常我、無常我耶。問：「如何有情後際愚惑？」答：「謂於後際生如是疑：我於未來為當有非有？何等我當有？云何我當有？」解云：當有非有者，疑我有無也。何等我者，疑我自性也。云何我者，疑我差別也。問：「如何有情中際愚惑？」答：「謂於中際生如是疑：何等是我？此我云何？我誰所有？我當有誰？」解云：何等是我者，疑我自性也。此我云何者，疑我差別也。我誰所有者，疑我因也，謂此現在我，過去誰因所有也。我當有誰者，疑我果也，謂我當有誰果也。為除如是三際愚惑，故經唯說有情緣起。以契經說：「苾芻諦聽，若有苾芻於諸緣起、緣已生法，能以如實正慧觀見彼，必不於三際愚惑，謂我於過去世為曾有非有等。」

The commentary says: The World-Honoured One taught dependent origination solely in terms of sentient beings in order to dispel delusion regarding the three limits of time. Question: "How do sentient beings have delusion regarding the past limit?" Answer: "They give rise to doubts regarding the past limit such as: 'Did I exist in past lifetimes or not? What kind of self did I have? How did I exist?'" The explanation states: "Existed or did not exist" doubts the existence or non-existence of the self. "What kind of self" doubts the intrinsic nature of the self—whether the self is identical with the skandhas or separate from the skandhas. "How did I exist" doubts the particular characteristics of the self—whether it was an eternal self or an impermanent self.
Question: "How do sentient beings have delusion regarding the future limit?" Answer: "They give rise to doubts regarding the future limit such as: 'Shall I exist in the future or not? What kind of self shall I have? How shall I exist?'" The explanation states: "Shall exist or not" doubts the existence or non-existence of the self. "What kind of self" doubts the intrinsic nature of the self. "How shall I exist" doubts the particular characteristics of the self.
Question: "How do sentient beings have delusion regarding the intermediate limit?" Answer: "They give rise to doubts regarding the intermediate limit such as: 'What is the self? How is this self? Whose is this self? What shall I become?'" The explanation states: "What is the self" doubts the intrinsic nature of the self. "How is this self" doubts the particular characteristics of the self. "Whose is this self" doubts the cause of the self—namely, belonging to what past cause is this present self? "What shall I become" doubts the result of the self—namely, what result shall I possess?
It is to remove such delusions regarding the three limits of time that the sūtras teach dependent origination solely of sentient beings. For a sūtra states: "Monks, listen attentively: if there is a monk who can view dependent origination and dependently arisen dharmas with correct wisdom as they truly are, he will certainly have no delusion regarding the three limits of time, thinking: 'Did I exist in past lifetimes or not?' and so on."