成唯識論了義燈 4.12

4.12

The Treatise says: 'contemplating present phenomena' and so forth. Ximing says: contemplating that the present seed phenomena have the function of leading to what follows, one nominally designates a future result on the cause, and in contrast speaks of the present cause. Now I say this is not so. Why? When one says: 'on the present seed-cause, one nominally designates a future result,' is one contemplating the present cause and calling it the future result, or is one contemplating that the present cause is able to lead to something and calling that the future result? If one contemplates the present cause and calls it the future result, then result and cause would have no distinction. Furthermore, the Treatise says: 'Nominal means that the present consciousness appears resembling that form.' If one contemplates the function of leading to what follows and speaks of that which is led forth, calling it the future result, then one is not nominally designating the future result on the present cause. That which is led forth is not the cause; it is simply that, relying on consciousness, it transforms into the future, and is nominally called the future result; being established as future on the basis of the present, it is therefore a nominal designation. Another explanation says: 'present consciousness' refers to the seed-consciousness. Since it has an aspect resembling the repayment of the previous and the leading forth of the subsequent, it is spoken of as 'resembling'; thus, relying on this aspect, one nominally speaks of past and future, and it is not a transformation upon the contemplating mind. This is also not so. Why? The previous text speaks of 'contemplating present phenomena' and so forth, and the subsequent text says 'nominal means that the present consciousness appears resembling that form.' If it were not relying on this contemplating mind, so that on the present consciousness an aspect resembling past and future appears, how could there resemble being such on seeds? However, the two tiers of cause and effect are clear in the text and can be known.