宗鏡錄 71.25

71.25

Answer: Discussed generally across ordinary beings and sages, there are summarily five kinds. The Vijñaptimātratāsiddhiśāstra says: 'The first is the maturation effect (vipākaphala), meaning that which is brought about by tainted wholesome and unwholesome phenomena—the indeterminate nature born of maturation within one's own continuity.' The commentary explains: 'Tainted wholesome' excludes untainted wholesome. 'One's own continuity' excludes other bodies and non-sentient things. If one speaks only of 'maturation', that refers to retribution within the six consciousnesses, which is not subsumed under true maturation. Now, in order to encompass both collectively, it says 'born of maturation'. However, the fundamental consciousness is also called 'born of maturation', because it is indeterminate. This stage is rather long, extending up to the vajra-like mind, penetrating all at once to the non-learners of the three vehicles. First is true maturation, which is the eighth consciousness. Second is born of maturation, which is the preceding six consciousnesses. This establishes that the fundamental consciousness is also called 'born of maturation' because it arises from its own maturation seeds. If it is the preceding six consciousnesses, because they arise from the true maturation consciousness, they are also called 'born of maturation'. They are a portion of mind and mental factors whose cognition of objects is dim, inferior, and not distinct or sharp, and because they do not perfume seeds of an understanding mind, they are of an indeterminate nature. Maturation has four aspects: 1. Maturing at a different time: 'different' means distinct, pertaining to the cause; 'maturing' means ripening, which is the effect. The different cause resides in the past, and the ripened effect is in the present; hence it is called maturation. 2. Maturing with a different nature: in the past one cultivated different causes—due to the karma of the five precepts, ten precepts, and so forth, one brings about the total and particular retribution maturation effects of devas and humans; if due to the evil karma of the ten unwholesome actions, one brings about the unwholesome total and particular retribution maturation effects of the three bad paths—these are completely of an indeterminate nature. 3. Maturing in different categories: performing different categories of karma, one undergoes different categories of rebirth, distinct across the five destinies. 4. Maturing differently from the sages: that is, the maturation effect has the functional efficacy of differentiating rebirth destinies based on the seeds of the two obstacles of conceptual discrimination; thus the sages no longer have it. Among the eight consciousnesses, only the eighth possesses the three aspects: 1. pervasive, which excludes the first five consciousnesses; 2. continuous, which excludes the sixth; 3. karmically induced, which excludes the seventh. Second is the uniformly flowing effect (niṣyandaphala): 'uniform' means equal; 'flowing' means flowing category. The uniformly flowing has two distinct forms: 1. The true uniformly flowing: taking wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate—the three natures—as causes, it induces effects of the same class; hence it is called the uniformly flowing effect. Just as the seeds of the three natures within the eighth consciousness each produce active effects of the three natures, because the effect is identical in nature with the cause: that is, mental seeds produce mental activity, material seeds produce material activity, tainted seeds produce tainted activity, and untainted seeds produce untainted activity. Being called 'uniformly flowing' has the meaning of flowing in the same category. 2. The nominal uniformly flowing: in a past life one caused another's life to be short, and in this life one's own life is also short; because it is an effect homogeneous with the prior karma of killing, it is nominally called uniformly flowing based on the length or brevity of the total retribution of the eighth consciousness brought about. In reality, it is a sovereign effect (adhipatiphala), but merely taking the killing of another causing their life to be short, and in this life one's own life being short as having a resemblance, it is nominally called uniformly flowing; in truth, wholesome and unwholesome deeds induce an indeterminate effect. Third is the sovereign effect (adhipatiphala): sovereign means prevailing and superior. Simply excluding the other four effects, all remaining obtained effects are subsumed under this effect of the sovereign condition. This sovereign effect is the most extensive, like the sovereign condition among the four conditions, or false view among the five views: it does not distinguish between tainted and untainted, conditioned and unconditioned—whatever effect is obtained that is not included among the preceding four effects is entirely subsumed under the sovereign effect. This has two kinds: 1. the sovereign effect that imparts power, such as the external container world possessing the sense of being enjoyable and beneficial; 2. the sovereign effect that does not impart power, such as another's gold, silks, wife, and children. Again, there are two kinds: 1. conforming, like the visual consciousness obtaining the condition of light; 2. contrary, like encountering the characteristic of darkness and the like. Fourth is the virile effect (puruṣakāraphala): that is, when various agents and other various implements accomplish diverse enterprises, it is called a virile effect. The Yogācārabhūmiśāstra says: 'A class of people in the present life, relying on and following all places of arts and crafts, initiate human effort—namely, scholars, farmers, merchants, traders, scribes, reckoners, diviners, and such matters. Due to this human effort, they accomplish crops, wealth, profits, and other effects—this is called the virile effect.'