大乘起信論裂網疏 6.89

6.89

"Remaining samādhis" refers to the various samādhis that rely on breath, visible forms, and so forth. Although the various samādhis such as the six marvelous gates, the sixteen extraordinary attainments, the nine perceptions, the ten perceptions, the [eight] liberations, the [eight] spheres of mastery, and the [ten] totalities can all give rise to untainted wisdom and realize the fruits of the three vehicles, it is only after one has already generated the untainted that they are not shared with non-Buddhists. If one has not yet generated the untainted, or takes rebirth according to dhyāna, then one differs very little from non-Buddhists. Even with the nine progressive absorptions, the first eight are entirely shared with non-Buddhists; although the absorption of the cessation of feeling and perception is said to be unshared, it is still entered by relying on the untainted contemplation of the summit of existence, and is not yet completely unshared. Furthermore, even if one attains the absorption of cessation, if one has not completely severed the afflictions of thought of the higher realms, one is still reborn in the five pure abodes, and remains together with non-Buddhists in the stage of purity of equanimity and mindfulness, unable to encounter Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Therefore, only this tathatā samādhi enables one to enter the Tathāgata's gotra. If one attains this samādhi, then all the arising fundamental four dhyānas, four immeasurables, four formless absorptions, the three samādhis with examination and reflection, up to all the samādhis of viewing, refining, perfuming, and cultivating—every single one is named an unshared samādhi, because one penetrates their unobtainability, and all are Mahāyāna. It is like a guest monk staying in the Buddha's room: when the Buddha entered from the first dhyāna up to the fourth dhyāna, the guest followed him into each; but when the Buddha entered the first dhyāna with a different mark, the guest was baffled and did not know what absorption the Buddha had entered. One should know that what the Buddha entered before used shared dhyāna, so the guest could know and enter it; what the Buddha entered afterward was unshared dhyāna, so the guest no longer knew it. Again, when the Buddha transformed the pure land three times in the *Lotus Sūtra*, he also still used the three kinds of samādhi—the liberations, spheres of mastery, and totalities—yet their spiritual functioning was far beyond what the two vehicles could fathom. All this is because the unshared samādhi fuses those shared characteristics, causing the shared samādhis to all become unshared; hence it is said that the tathatā samādhi can give birth to immeasurable samādhis.