大乘義章 2.5

2.5

Second, discerning the nature. The three liberations, the three antidotes, and the three emptinesses take these dharmas as their essence. The three samādhis take practice as their essence, but within practice, wisdom is used as the principal factor. If discussing their retinue, it is of the nature of the five aggregates: the sovereign mind is consciousness, the mental factor of ideation is conception, the mental factor of feeling is sensation, the remaining mental factors are mental formations, and the unmanifest [form] arising concomitantly is the matter aggregate. Question: These three use wisdom as the principal factor; why are they spoken of in the sūtras as samādhis? Explanation: All minds and mental factors receive names mutually from one another, just as with the four applications of mindfulness: their essence is in truth wisdom, yet they are named mindfulness; this is also like that. Furthermore, Nāgārjuna said: "If these three wisdoms do not abide in samādhi, they are wild wisdom, falling mostly into deviated doubts and incapable of accomplishing anything." Because they abide in samādhi, they are able to destroy the afflictions; therefore, based on that which they rely upon, they are spoken of as samādhis. Furthermore, samādhi is called "correct concentration"; if all meditational absorptions lack these three, they retrogress and are unstable, not being called samādhi; by virtue of these three, they are correctly concentrated and non-retrogresing; based on their capability, they are named, and thus called samādhi. Such is their essential nature.