大乘起信論廣釋卷第三．四．五 4.31

4.31

The treatise states: "Deluded mind perfuming [...] suffering bound by karma."
The commentary states: This expands upon the preceding perfuming by the deluded mind, extensively explaining the meaning of the deluded mind perfuming avidyā. The deluded mind is twofold: karmic consciousness and phenomenal consciousness. Therefore, the perfuming by the deluded mind has two meanings. The deluded mind of karmic consciousness [...] can perfume fundamental avidyā, turning back to confuse the markless, and can give rise to the continuity of the characteristic of manifestation and characteristic of appearance, constituting the substance and marks of all sufferings in destinies and rebirths. Although persons of the three vehicles transcend the three realms and depart from the coarse suffering of fractured death of phenomenal consciousness, because this fundamental root consciousness remains, they still undergo the suffering of conditioning of transformative ālayavijñāna. Speaking generally, this has existed from beginningless time; but now, in order to differentiate the subtle from the coarse, it is explained in terms of the time when coarse suffering has already been abandoned: the deluded mind of phenomenal consciousness perfumes the branch avidyā of views and attachment, activating body and speech to produce various karmas, which constitutes the arising of the characteristic of karma, capable of inviting the coarse suffering of fractured death, which is the characteristic of suffering bound by karma for ordinary beings and trainees in the three realms. However, the various teachings describe these two sufferings differently. According to the characteristic of dharmas, fractured saṃsāra takes contaminated karma as cause and affliction obstacles as condition, with the extinguished coarse vipāka fruit of the three realms, where the length of life is cut off in definite limits according to the power of causes and conditions; hence it is called "fractured." This applies to ordinary beings, trainees of the two vehicles, and all bodhisattvas prior to the seventh stage, according to their possession of those causes of delusion and karma, because attachments to "I" and "mine" are not yet exhausted, the afflictions of manas are also not yet severed, and the designation ālayavijñāna is not yet abandoned; therefore they have not abandoned the coarse suffering of fractured death. Inconceivable transformative saṃsāra takes uncontaminated, conceptual karma as cause and cognitive obstacles as auxiliary condition, with the extinguished superior, subtle vipāka fruit, where life is [...] transformed by the power of compassion and vows without definite limits; hence it is called "transformative." Being directly assisted and extinguished by uncontaminated concentration and vows, its wondrous function is difficult to fathom, so it is called "inconceivable"; it is also called a mind-made body, being formed according to the mind's vows; it is also called a transformation body, because uncontaminated concentration power transforms it to differ from the original, like a magical transformation. This applies to non-fixed non-trainees of the two vehicles and great-vow bodhisattvas from the eighth stage onward who, to benefit and bring joy to others, retain their bodies for long abidance in order to permanently sever the cognitive obstacles that obstruct great bodhi; since they have already severed and subdued affliction obstacles, it is impossible for them to receive future fractured bodies. Fearing that long-term practice of the bodhisattva path would be interrupted, they rely on the power of uncontaminated, superior concentration and vows to assist the cause of their present body like [...] dharma, causing them to yield fruit continuously over a long time; repeatedly assisted by concentration and vows in this way, they continue until realizing unsurpassed bodhi. Because of this, they undergo transformative saṃsāra. If this meaning is shown according to dharmatā: fundamental avidyā perfumes to give rise to karmic consciousness, and karma perfumes avidyā to subsequently give rise to evolving and manifesting [consciousnesses], thereby forming the substance of saṃsāra in the ālayavijñāna; yet it is not yet called the suffering fruit of the five destinies. Branch avidyā perfumes to give rise to phenomenal consciousness, and consciousness perfumes views and attachment to give rise to wholesome and unwholesome karma, leading the ālayavijñāna to complete the fruit of the five destinies; only then does it become the coarse suffering bound by karma of ordinary beings. All ordinary beings, trainees of the two vehicles, and bodhisattvas who have not yet ascended to the stages have not severed the coarse delusions of views and attachment as appropriate, and through the coarse karma produced by the perfuming of phenomenal consciousness, they extinguish the coarse fruits of the three realms through delusion and karma; therefore, like ordinary beings, they undergo the coarse suffering bound by karma. If persons of the two vehicles reach the non-trainee stage, or if bodhisattvas attain entry into the first stage or above, coarse branch afflictions are permanently severed and subdued, and those coarse, contaminated karmas are all eliminated, so they do not receive coarse fractured bodies in the three realms. Although they are able to permanently depart from the coarse suffering of ordinary beings, because subtle fundamental avidyā is not yet severed and destroyed, the subtle consciousness produced still continues, and subtle uncontaminated karma is not yet abandoned; thus by the nature of things there is a continuity of subtle suffering. Sūtras state that the first stage attains the mind-made body, because persons of the two vehicles have three liberations. This does not mean that they deliberately arouse uncontaminated concentration and vows to assist the cause of their present body and must undergo transformation; rather, because suchness is revealed, they slightly depart from gross heaviness and realize the transformation of the basis, hence it is called "transformative." When the defilement of avidyā becomes thin, real virtues become manifest and spontaneously give rise to function; this is called the "inconceivable mind-made body." There is no error in this principle. Although those from the first abiding upward are sustained by vow-power and not bound by karma, seeming to depart from coarse suffering, because they still correspond to subtle suffering of contaminated karma, they differ from the transformative body of those on the stages. Alternatively, from the first abiding upward they depart from fractured death: the initial resolution is called "definitely determined"; they are not born into the eight difficulties, depart from the five cities [...], and attain weakening power. Responding to the path of turning, they abide in the Tathāgata's family and participate in the gathering of buddhas; they are already able to partially see the dharmakāya, can show one body as immeasurable bodies, and in all worlds manifest achieving buddhahood through the eight marks of attaining the path to transform sentient beings. Since they, like those on the stages, also depart from coarse suffering, stating that the first [stage] attains the mind-made body is said by way of heightened manifestation, which also presents no contradiction. Just as it is said that only on the stages does one see the sense-basis body, could it be that those in the stages of the three worthies do not see it at all? Let us set aside digressions to explain the main text. If it is said that phenomenal consciousness perfumes views and attachment, why is it said before and after that this consciousness is increased by the afflictions of views and attachment? The answer is: because both of these coarse and subtle deluded minds possess the meaning of relying on another and accomplishing another. That is, the preceding karmic consciousness is established based upon avidyā, and in turn acts as a basis for avidyā; because delusion gives rise to error and abides based upon error, if there were no basis in error, there would be no abiding place, since the pure nature of tathatā is not an abiding place; perfuming suchness gives rise to error, which serves as an abiding place. Phenomenal consciousness arises based upon views and attachment perfuming suchness, and in turn can habituate and perfume the avidyā of views and attachment to produce various karmas, and so forth, because primary mind and cetasika mutually assist each other. Previously it was explained in terms of relying on another; now, in terms of accomplishing another, it is said to perfume views and attachment; thus there is no contradiction. Here, karmic consciousness is called 'fundamental' because it directly arises based on fundamental avidyā and is the initial root of all deluded minds; discriminative phenomenal consciousness is called 'increasing' because it is increased by the delusions of views and attachment and can in turn increase the delusions of views and attachment.