止觀輔行傳弘決 9.2

9.2

In the initial explanation of the object of dhyāna, the rationale for its introduction is first explained. Regarding "chronic illness" and so forth: according to the various *Āgamas*, there are five factors in total that cause regression from the fruit of arhatship: first, chronic illness; second, traveling far; third, disputes; fourth, managing affairs; fifth, excessive recitation. If they can even cause regression from the fruit, how much more so regression from dhyāna. Although the text concerns the Hinayana, the import extends to the Mahāyāna. For example, if practitioners of the four samādhis have these five things, not only will the wondrous object fail to be accomplished, but the concentrations practiced in past lives will also fail to manifest; this is why they are cited. The "thirty-six defilements" in the *Mañjuśrī-paripṛcchā-sūtra* have not yet been verified. Next, from "the objects above..." onward directly explains the rationale for its introduction. "Reaching the pond" means the initial dwelling. "Having entered the stream" is because from the initial dwelling onward there is effortlessness. If in this stage all active dhyānas are simultaneously manifested, they spontaneously accord with principle, and there is no need to contemplate further. Now directing one to contemplate pertains to the stage of the five grades of nominal designation, hence it says "one who has entered the stream does not need to contemplate." Question: If one has already entered the stream, how can one obtain active dhyāna? Answer: For example, the first nature-dhyāna among the nine dhyānas is an active dhyāna, which corresponds to the initial ground. It is also like the Master of Nanyue generating resemblance, which also manifested together with all active dhyānas. However, manifestation at this stage is different from the lower stages, so contemplation is not needed. Regarding "if māra affairs..." and so forth: since māra affairs have passed, there is no object to confront, so there is no separate cultivation. Relying on the previous contemplation of the aggregates, it is therefore called "universal cultivation." In the explanation it says "defilement and grease increase daily": after the various dhyānas have manifested, if one does not further cultivate the method of contemplation upon the dhyānas, afflictions will increase daily, generating views and generating affection, and one may even give rise to grave faults due to dhyāna. Like the various non-Buddhists, Devadatta, and others, they were all people who generated faults due to dhyāna; it is for this reason that one must contemplate the object of dhyāna. From "if considering it to be the path... down to... expedient means", it is further judged with measured flexibility. If one retains it without contemplating, then as in the text below, ignorant persons who attain the desire-realm concentration, unarrived concentration, and so forth, consider them to be non-arising. If one abandons it without practicing, one returns to a distracted mind; taking a distracted mind as an object makes applying contemplation difficult, whereas taking dhyāna as an object makes applying contemplation easy. If one uses worldly dhyāna as an expedient means for the wondrous object, one mostly enters the five grades, so it must not be abandoned. Regarding "merely the factors of dhyāna..." and so forth: the teachings are cited in praise, showing that both the Mahāyāna and Hinayana cultivate active dhyānas. Although the nine dhyānas of the *Bodhisattvabhūmi* (*Dichi*) are not the present object, the Mahāyāna and Hinayana are cited together to universally demonstrate the cultivation of dhyāna. Moreover, among the nine dhyānas there are universally active dhyānas; they are merely divided into Mahāyāna and Hinayana according to self-practice and transforming others; thus we know active dhyānas are praised by both Mahāyāna and Hinayana. As for the "four dhyānas and eight concentrations": the four being re-enumerated within the count of eight means that if the form and formless realms are contrasted, the form realm is called dhyāna, and the formless is called concentration. If the upper realms as a whole are contrasted with the lower desire realm, then the upper two realms are both meditative grounds, and the lower desire realm is distraction. Regarding the nine beginning with the innate nature: both the *Dichi* and the *Daśabhūmika* treatises explain the nine in terms of the six perfections, and the names of the nine are identical; as broadly explained there, the *Fajie cidi* briefly annotates and elucidates them. If one directly manifests the nine dhyānas, they fall within what is subsumed under the bodhisattva object. Here they are cited comparatively for praise, not to discern manifestation.