法苑珠林 72.69

72.69

The explanation says: As for the severance of these ten drive afflictions having varying degrees of difficulty, generally speaking, the nature of these drives is always present in ordinary persons. Now, to clarify entry into the Path, their difficulty and ease are described. The defilements of views are hard to recognise but easy to sever, whereas the four drives such as craving are easy to recognise but hard to eliminate. 'Views are hard to recognise' means that ordinary persons are constantly deluded by them. 'They are easy to sever in terms of principle' means that upon seeing the principle, they are immediately exhausted. That is to say, if one can train in contemplating non-self, when one first sees the principle, one is called [an attainer of] the first fruit [of srotāpanna], immediately severing first the eighty-eight drives. However, in first seeing the truths there are the sharp and the dull [faculties]. Those of sharp faculties contemplate all phenomena collectively as mere designations lacking intrinsic nature and do not see a self or a person; in a single thought-moment they sever the eighty-eight [drives], and this single thought-moment is called the Path of Seeing. Those of dull faculties contemplate the Four Truths separately, gradually severing the eighty-eight drives in sequence. Therefore, the Treatise on Buddha-Nature says: 'If a person of sharp faculties in a single thought-moment equally contemplates the Four Truths, the eighty-eight drives are severed simultaneously at once; all are called "seeing the truths". If a person of dull faculties contemplates in sequence, in the first thought-moment he contemplates suffering and does not see the other three truths; he severs only what is under suffering.' Proven by this text, whether by collective or separate contemplation, both can enter the Path, and one must not cling to one alone. If one follows the sūtras to instruct people in entering the Path, they mostly directly speak of contemplating arising, ceasing, and non-self, whereupon one severs the fetters and escapes saṃsāra. As the Bodhisattvabhūmi-sūtra says: 'Rebirth in the world is entirely due to attachment to self; if one is free from attachment to self, there is no place in the world to receive a body or be born.' Also, as a sūtra says: 'Those of the pratyekabuddha disposition do not comprehend the names of the Dharma-gates of the Four Truths; they directly rely on factual conditions to contemplate that arising is non-self, and thus sever the fetters, surpassing the śrāvakas.' In this direct practice of contemplation on non-self, although one does not form separate understandings of the Four Truths, when contemplating in this manner, the Four Truths are completely present: that is, the conditioned retributive body under contemplation arises and ceases from moment to moment, which in principle is suffering and origination; coming from the prior [moment] is called suffering, and producing the subsequent [moment] is called origination. Knowing non-self is seeing suffering; at that time, being free from self severs the factual origination; that which is severed does not arise, which is realising cessation; and this wisdom capable of contemplation is the noble path. Therefore, at the time of directly contemplating non-self, the Four Truths are completely present, the fetters are severed, and escape is achieved; it is not necessary to contemplate the Four Truths separately in order to escape. Therefore the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra cites a sūtra saying: 'As stated in the Kiṃśuka-sūtra, there are various causes and conditions for attaining the Path, and it is not only through the Four Truths that one attains the Path.' Hence we know that to enter the Path it is not necessary to contemplate separately; collective contemplation of non-self as a single practice also succeeds. If one can clearly see that body and mind are without a self, this is the Path of Seeing, severing the defilements of views. However, when these defilements of views are distinguished according to the truths, collectively across the tridhātu there are eighty-eight. If discussed with respect to a single person's deluded mind, in general they are merely the five views and doubt. These six, viewed from the perspective of fools, are called hard to recognise; yet viewed from the perspective of the wise, they are called easy to sever. This means that ordinary fools who train in cultivating the good mostly know how to detest craving, anger, delusion, and arrogance, yet regarding their concept of self and grasping at precepts, they do not perceive them as faults; thus they are hard to recognise. Because they are hard to recognise, the sūtras describe them as grave. As explained in the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra]: 'Because view of self, adherence to precepts and vows, doubt, and the rest are constantly arisen by all sentient beings and are hard to become aware of, just as a chronic disease that constantly breaks out is called a grave illness, being hard to recognise they are likewise called a grave illness.' Also the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra says: 'Worldly people do not see the fault in adherence to precepts and vows; therefore it acts as a fetter.' Hence we know that fools do not recognise the sharp drives. The statement that 'from the perspective of the wise they are easy to sever' means that if one trains in contemplating the arising and ceasing of body and mind and partially sees non-self, when afflictions become thin, one knows that the contemplative wisdom is the path of the dharma of cessation, and the six drives in the mind are naturally gone forever. That is, knowing that the arising and ceasing of form and mind is not a person, the concept of self and extreme views are severed of themselves. Because through contemplating and seeing the principle one recognises the noble path, one has right faith without doubt, and slander of non-existence is severed of itself. Wisdom is the Path, while precepts and the like are not superior; hence there is no adherence to precepts and vows, and adherence to views is severed of itself. Therefore the six drives are hard to recognise but easy to sever. Because they are hard to recognise, beings have been deluded since beginningless time; because they are easy to sever, upon understanding the principle they are exhausted—unlike craving and the rest, which are easy to recognise but hard to sever. Because they are easy to recognise, people mostly do not cling to them; because they are hard to sever, even an anāgāmin still possesses them. Therefore, the sharp drives are erroneous minds deluded about principle; they directly obscure noble understanding and, acting together, prevent escape. They are unlike craving and the rest, which arise dependent on particular factual objects, only obstructing the cultivation of contemplation without directly obscuring principle. Therefore, although lesser noble ones still possess craving and anger, this does not hinder them from still understanding principle without doubt. Therefore, when wise persons train in cultivating their practice, they solely cultivate contemplative understanding to eliminate delusion and enter the Path. If one trains in contemplative practice, though still called an ordinary person while unrefined, upon slightly understanding the principle one is free from false grasping. If one does not train in understanding, one is constantly deluded about the Dharma of the Path; though one cultivates various goods, one does not eliminate erroneous clinging. Not only can one not escape on account of false clinging, but one mostly slanders the saddharma and practitioners of the Path. Because of their deluded minds not yet recognising the erroneous and the correct, they do not understand that when others are right, they simply differ from themselves; they immediately consider themselves right and say others are wrong. Therefore, the minds of deluded people lack the Dharma of the Path; mostly relying on worldly goodness, they falsely cling to finding fault with one another. Thus the Kośa-śāstra says: 'Householders, by grasping at the five sense objects, give rise to disputes with householders; renunciants, by grasping at various views that differ from one another, give rise to disputes with renunciants.' Also the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra says: 'If a person grasps at holding precepts as purity, it is called the fetter of adherence to precepts and vows. Considering that which is grasped as real and all else as falsehood is called the fetter of adherence to views. These two are the root of disputes among renunciants, and they are also called according with the extremes of suffering. Furthermore, relying on this adherence to precepts and vows, one can abandon the eightfold noble path; this is not the right path, not the pure path, and can follow along with the faults of suffering. Furthermore, adherence to precepts and vows is the bondage of renunciants, while the various desires are the bondage of householders. Furthermore, with adherence to precepts and vows, though one practices the renunciant's dharma in various ways, one gains nothing in vain. Furthermore, on account of this adherence to precepts and vows, one can slander the right path and those who practice the right path. Furthermore, adherence to precepts and vows is the source of arrogance for non-Buddhists, who form the thought: "I can surpass others."' Proven by these texts, adherence to precepts and vows and the like are merely worldly goods that incur the fruit of saṃsāra; hence they are called according with suffering, not the true Dharma of the Path. Fools are mostly deluded by them and give rise to offenses through false clinging. Therefore, although the ten drives are all unwholesome, when considering the origin of their obstructing the Path and generating faults, the deluded minds of the six drives are the fundamental root. If one cannot sever them, not only will one fail to escape, but by generating coarse offenses one will inevitably be born into evil destinies. This concludes the clarification of the difficulty and ease in severing the ten drives.