四教義 6.19

6.19

Next, second, explaining the contemplation that demolishes the twelve links of dependent origination of afflictions belonging to views also has two aspects: first, deducing and inquiring; second, contemplating and demolishing. First, deducing and inquiring: if one sees that the soul and the world are permanent, impermanent, both permanent and impermanent, or neither permanent nor impermanent, these give rise in the present to the four views of self-body and extreme, and due to these four views of self-body and extreme, the fourteen difficult questions and sixty-two views are generated. These four views of self-body and extreme are precisely the four graspings. One inquires into these four graspings in reverse and forward sequence. Inquiring into the four graspings in reverse: the four graspings are due to four cravings; the four cravings are due to four sensations; the four sensations are due to four contacts; the four contacts are due to four sense fields; the four sense fields are due to four kinds of name-and-form; the four kinds of name-and-form are due to four consciousnesses; the four consciousnesses are due to four karmic formations; the four karmic formations are due to four kinds of ignorance. Again, inquiring forward into the four graspings: the four graspings can produce four existences; these four existences then receive all twenty-five states of existence, with birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, and affliction. If, through the contemplation that stills the mind, he attains deep meditative absorption, he may see events of past and future lives, fully as explained before. Second, explaining contemplation and demolishing: through the contemplation of the four applications of mindfulness of dharmic nature, one contemplates the four graspings and the four views of self-body and extreme, continuing thus in sequence down to ignorance, demolishing [the views regarding] the past of whether one has departed [as such], has not departed, both has departed and has not departed, or neither has departed nor has not departed, which are the defiled five aggregates of the two views of self-body and extreme. Further, contemplating forward existence, the four graspings, up to future birth and death, one demolishes whether [the world] is finite, infinite, both finite and infinite, or neither finite nor infinite, which are the defiled five aggregates of the two views of self-body and extreme. If one can thus use the four applications of mindfulness of dharmic nature to demolish the four views of the two views of self-body and extreme across the three times, one thereby demolishes the fourteen difficult questions and sixty-two views, and all afflictions belonging to views are extinguished simultaneously. This is called: with the extinction of ignorance, karmic formations are extinguished, up to the extinction of aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, and affliction. When afflictions belonging to views are extinguished, one then re-employs the previous contemplation of the four applications of mindfulness of dharmic nature regarding the twelve links of craving, contemplating and demolishing desire-craving, form-craving, and formless-craving, so that all are extinguished. Thus, when the paths of affliction and karma in the three realms are extinguished, this is called nirvāṇa with remainder. When the path of the suffering of craving is extinguished, this is nirvāṇa without remainder. This is called using the wisdom of the four applications of mindfulness of dharmic nature to contemplate the twelve links of dependent origination and enter nirvāṇa. The method of contemplation of mindfulness of dharmic nature is briefly as explained before. Therefore the sūtra says: 'The meaning of the twelve links of dependent origination is exceedingly profound, difficult to understand and difficult to see'—the point lies here. For instance, when the Buddha spoke the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra*, there was an outsider named Puṇa who asked the World-Honoured One, saying: 'Gautama, how will you cause me to know whether the soul and the world are permanent, up to neither permanent nor impermanent?' The Buddha replied, saying: 'If you can exhaust the old and not create the new, you will be able to know whether the soul and the world are permanent, up to neither permanent nor impermanent.' The brāhmaṇa then said: 'I already know.' The Buddha asked: 'How do you know?' The brāhmaṇa replied, saying: 'The old is called ignorance; the new is called grasping and existence. If one knows ignorance and does not give rise to grasping and existence, one immediately knows whether the soul and the world are permanent, up to neither permanent nor impermanent.' At that time, the brāhmaṇa requested to go forth as a disciple of the Buddha. Furthermore, the *Mūlamadhyamakakārikā* explains: 'The sūtras of the śrāvakas enter paramārtha-satya entirely by contemplating the twelve links of dependent origination to demolish the sixty-two views and enter the paramārtha.' If one thoroughly grasps this meaning, it does not only demolish outsiders. If disciples of the Buddha, through study and seated meditation, produce various views, grasp and attach to them, disputing and giving rise to afflictions, gathering the karmas of birth and death in the twenty-five states of existence, these are all the twelve links of dependent origination belonging to views. Those who realize this are able to examine and demolish them using mindfulness of dharmic nature, and are then able to attain liberation. Those who are confused about this will have the twelve links of dependent origination flowing through birth and death without bound. Therefore the *Mūlamadhyamakakārikā* says: 'Because true dharma, as well as a teacher and a listener, are difficult to find, therefore birth and death are neither finite nor infinite.' The assistance of shared mindfulness and object-oriented mindfulness in contemplating the twelve links of dependent origination can be known by analogy with the above.