瑜伽論記 8.71

8.71

Regarding the subsequent passage 'It should be known that here...': the commentary says: Above the fourth dhyāna, within them the nine paths of liberation, the seventh attention is exclusively in fundamental dhyāna. At the single moment when the path of liberation is first attained, it solely perceives the aggregates of its own stage; at the second mental moment, it can perceive the aggregates of the higher and lower stages. Now, speaking in terms of the very first moment of the path of liberation, it says that it 'also perceives the aggregates of its own stage'. In the preparatory dhyāna, the preceding nine uninterrupted paths only perceive the lower stages because revulsion is produced; hence it says 'it also perceives all aggregates of the lower stages'. The preceding eight paths of liberation also perceive the aggregates of the higher and lower stages; now, speaking in terms of the uninterrupted path, it says that it 'also perceives the aggregates of the lower stages'. Yet it does not rule out that the preparatory and fundamental [stages] simply perceive the aggregates of the higher, lower, and their own stages. Because it does not speak of the eight paths of liberation in preparatory dhyāna but discusses the nine uninterrupted paths, it says it 'perceives lower aggregates'; regarding fundamental dhyāna, it speaks of the first moment while concealing the second moment onward, so it says it 'also perceives the aggregates of its own stage'. Therefore, the śāstra text does not say that it 'only perceives the aggregates of its own stage', but says 'also perceives'. This uninterrupted path and path of liberation are explained as in the first dhyāna above. If this contradicts the Prakaraṇāryavācā or the second fascicle of the Abhidharmasamuccaya, as explained by the great master there, Xuanzang's explanation is fully recorded: There are three kinds of persons who give rise to the concentration on space: 1. Noble ones: entering the fundamental dhyāna, they universally perceive their own stage, higher stages, and space; 2. Ordinary beings within [the Buddhist teaching]: when entering fundamental dhyāna, due to the power of prior hearing and perfuming, they perceive higher stages and space; 3. Non-Buddhists: entering that fundamental dhyāna, although they perceive space and the four aggregates of self and other, they do not perceive higher stages, because they grasp the concentration on space as the ultimate fruition. Now, this statement is made with respect to non-Buddhists; the author of the Abhidharmasamuccaya also explains it in this way.