宗鏡錄 55.13

55.13

Answer: The verse of the treatise says: 'These caittas are the universal, / the particular, the wholesome, the kleśas, / the upakleśas, and the aniyata; / they all associate with the three feelings.' These six transforming consciousnesses generally associate with six categories of caittas, namely the universal, and so forth. Always arising in reliance on citta, associating with citta, and bound to citta, they are therefore named caitta (belonging to citta), just as things belonging to oneself are designated 'mine'. With respect to the cognitive object, citta only apprehends the generic characteristic; caittas, with respect to that, also apprehend the specific characteristics, assisting in completing the tasks of citta, thus obtaining the name caitta. They are like a master painter and his apprentice, where one creates the sketch and the other fills in the colours. The Yogācārabhūmi says: 'Consciousness can discern the generic characteristic of an object; manaskāra discerns those of its characteristics that have not yet been discerned'—that is, the specific characteristics apprehended by the various caittas. 'Sparśa can discern its agreeable and other characteristics; vedanā can discern its embracing and other characteristics; saṃjñā can discern the characteristics that are the causes of verbal expression; cetanā can discern the characteristics that are the proper causes and so forth. Therefore, manaskāra and the rest are called mental factors (caittadharmas).' This indicates that caittas also cognise the generic characteristic. In another place it is further said: 'Chanda also can discern the characteristics of desirable objects; adhimokṣa also discerns the characteristics of determined objects; smṛti also can discern the characteristics of familiar objects; samādhi and prajñā also discern characteristics such as gain and loss.' From this, wholesome, defiled, and other [states] arise regarding cognitive objects; all caittadharmas concurrently apprehend the specific characteristics regarding the cognitive object. Regarding the differentiation of the six categories: the universal are five; the particular are also five; the wholesome are eleven; the kleśas are six; the upakleśas are twenty; the aniyata are four. These six categories total fifty-one. Because they are definitely obtainable in every mind; because they can arise toward distinct other objects; because they can only arise in wholesome minds; because their nature is subsumed under the root kleśas; because they are exclusively of a defiled nature like kleśas; and because they are indeterminate with respect to the wholesome, defiled, and so forth—down to the fact that because these six transforming consciousnesses are prone to shift and are indeterminate, they all can associate with the three feelings. This is because they all receive the agreeable, disagreeable, and neither-agreeable-nor-disagreeable characteristics: receiving agreeable objective characteristics, which brings comfort and joy to body and mind, is called pleasant feeling; receiving disagreeable objective characteristics, which oppresses body and mind, is called painful feeling; receiving neutral objective characteristics, which neither oppresses nor delights body and mind, is called neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. The commentary states: The upper three lines of the verse list the general names of the six categories of caittas; the one lower line directly explains the category of feeling. Regarding the cognitive functioning of caittas: citta apprehends the generic characteristic of an object; it merely apprehends generally and does not differentiate specifically. For instance, when it is said that it takes blue as its object, it only apprehends blue generally and does not differentiate further. Caittas, with respect to that, apprehend both generic and specific characteristics; therefore, the word 'also' is stated. As for the analogy of the master painter and apprentice creating the sketch and filling in the colours: 'master' means the painter, and 'apprentice' means the disciple. Just as when the master has already made the sketch and drawn the form, the disciple fills in the colours; because the colours are filled into the sketch and do not depart from the sketch, it is like apprehending the generic characteristic. When applying the colours, he causes its beauty and appeal to emerge, which is like also apprehending the specific characteristics. The apprehension of cognitive objects by citta and caittadharmas is also like this. 'Consciousness can discern the generic characteristic of an object' does not speak of apprehending specific characteristics, because it is the primary [agent]; if it apprehended specific characteristics, it would be a caitta. The single dharma of manaskāra can exclusively discern numerous specific characteristics; because manaskāra can cause citta and caittas to possess superior efficacy in apprehending cognitive objects, there is this general apprehension of the specific characteristics of multiple dharmas. The Yogācārabhūmi says: 'Taking manaskāra as the first'; this treatise takes sparśa as the first, because the combination is pre-eminent, each relying on one perspective. Sparśa can apprehend three [characteristics], namely, the agreeable, the disagreeable, and that which is contrary to both; in vedanā, there are embracing, damaging, that which is contrary to both, and so on. That saṃjñā can discern the characteristics that are the causes of verbal expression means that it can apprehend the delimiting characteristics of an object; namely, judging 'this is blue, this is not blue', and so on, it then gives rise to verbal expression; therefore, the characteristic of saṃjñā is the cause of verbal expression. Cetanā discerns the proper causes, improper causes, that which is contrary to both, and so on; these are the proper, improper, and other characteristics on the cognitive object, which are the causes of karma. 'Definitely obtainable in every mind' refers to the universal [caittas]; regardless of which mind it is, whenever it arises, they must be present. 'Arising toward distinct other objects' refers to the five particular [caittas]. 'Because they can only arise in wholesome minds' refers to the eleven wholesome dharmas, which exist only in wholesome minds. 'Their substance is the root that can generate the various defilements' refers to the six such as rāga. 'Being indeterminate with respect to wholesome and defiled minds' refers to the four aniyata, meaning that they are indeterminate with respect to minds of the three natures: wholesome, defiled, and neutral. 'Because these six transforming consciousnesses are prone to shift and are indeterminate' means: these six consciousnesses are not like the seventh and eighth; their substances are all prone to shift and are constantly indeterminate. 'Prone to shift' has the meaning of interruption and change; 'indeterminate' means that joyful, sorrowful, and equanimous dispositions arise alternately; therefore, they all apply to the three feelings.