Notes 849 the nature o f this en ligh ten m en t— (7) acting for the welfare o f others through the rüpakáyas (the distinctive feature o f not abiding in the extreme o f peace) and (8)—(9) their activity and its result—the dharmakáya as on e’s own welfare (the distinctive feature o f not abiding in the extreme o f samsáric existence) As for the second nine, their objects are (a) the path and (b) the fruition o f the hínayána (a) consists o f (a) its nature and (b) its distinctive features, (aa) refers to (1) the realization o f merely personal identitylessness being deficient because o f falling into either samsára or nirvána (ab) consists o f (2) lacking the inner and outer mentors (the inferior cause o f the path), (3) there being only the sixteen aspects o f the four realities as the remedies for the afflictive obscurations, while the aspects o f being free from the thirty-two superim posi tions—the remedies for the cognitive obscurations— are incom plete (the inferior aspects o f the path), and (4) relying on spiritual friends even at the end o f their samsáric existence (the infe rior function o f the path), (b) consists o f the fruition (a) in general and (b) in particular, (ba) is represented by (5) (bb) consists o f (6) relinquishm ent being limited because o f relinquishing merely the afflictive obscurations (inferior relinquishment), (7) various conceptions because o f focusing on personal identitylessness as the different reference points o f the sixteen aspects o f the four realities (inferior realization), (8) being ignorant about abiding and engaging because o f lacking the relinquishment o f the cognitive obscurations—the svábhávikakáya (the inferior function), and (9) pursuing the m aháyána subsequent to their ow n fruitions because o f not hav ing attained the complete realization o f phenomenal identitylessness—the w isdom dharmakáya 1005 Under the first nine conceptions about the apprehender, PGBG (pp -7 ) has (2) n o t m entally engaging in real existence, but mentally engaging in th e lack o f real existence, (4) clinging to abiding in em ptiness in th e m anner o f nonabiding, (5) clinging through n ot clinging to entities, (6) clinging to all phenom enal entities as being mere imputations because they are not established as substantially existent, (7) clinging to the practice o f the six páramitás through not clinging to them during subsequent attainment by virtue o f not being attached to them during meditative equipoise, (8) clinging to the remedy for clinging to what is to be adopted and to be rejected, and (9) the impairment o f proceeding toward the know ledge o f all aspects as on e wishes if on e lacks the mother The objects o f the second nine consist o f (1) focusing on the enlightenm ent o f the hínayána, in which there is no final deliverance according to the aim, and clinging to it as an imputed entity, (3) focusing on the arising o f results that entail the ceasing o f causes, (4) clinging to being conjoined with the entities o f the path during m editative equipoise while not being conjoined with them during subsequent attainment, and (5) clinging to abiding in form and so on through not abiding As for the first nine, MCG (fols 134a.2135b.2) has clin gin g to the real existence o f (1) the p ersons w h o seize and discard qualities and flaws, respectively (the nature o f conduct), (2) those w h o mentally e n gage in an actuality that does not accord with the basic nature (the cause o f conduct), (3) those who take birth in the three realms, (5) those w ho cling to the lack o f real existence o f all p h en om en a through taking them as objects, (7) those w h o have attachment to the six páramitás in terms o f what is to be adopted and to be rejected, and (8) the remedy for the clinging to characteristics as being the experiencer The second nine consist o f clinging to (1) the persons w ho are not finally delivered according to the aim (the three greatnesses), or w h o not attain the fruition according to their wishes, as being merely imputed experiencers, (3) those persons who cling to the seem ing (the arising o f results that entail the ceasing o f causes) as being the ultimate, (4) those w h o cling to being uninterruptedly conjoined or not being so conjoined with the entities o f the path (the tinu u m o f the maháyána), (5) those who abide in form and so on through clinging to their real existence, (6) those who destroy the disposition o f árávakas through generating bodhicitta and so on, (7) those without striving for buddhahood or the maháyána by virtue o f contenting themselves with mere emptiness, and (8) those in w h om the cause (prajñápáramitá) is absent and who thus lack activity, the teaching, m editation, and so on As for the m anner o f relinquish ing the clinging to substantially and im putedly existent persons w h o are experiencers, the sütras 850 Groundless Paths teach the examples o f illusions and so on, in which there is no conceiving o f object, agent, and the result o f activity Accordingly, once the nonconceptual wisdom in which all reference points o f apprehender and apprehended are at peace has matured, while there is no conceiving o f any object whatsoever by thinking, “I experience this object,” noble bodhisattvas engage and reject objects through effortless enlightened activity Other noble ones cling to objects being experi enced by a merely imputed self and thus engage in and reject them in this way Ordinary beings cling to objects being experienced by a substantially existent self, thus engaging in and rejecting them through clinging to their real existence Therefore, one should abide in nonconceptuality through relinquishing conceptions in said way According to MPZL (pp 158-60), the first nine conceptions are in terms o f conceiving (a) ordinary beings, (b) šrávakas, and (c) maháyánists as being substantially existent, (a) consists o f the persons who (1) seize and abandon births like illusory machines (the nature o f ordinary beings), (2) entertain improper mental engagement (the cause), and (3) thus adhere to the three realms (the result), (b) consists o f (4) the persons w ho not abide in the realization o f emptiness, but abide in the limited realizations that entail clinging to the real existence o f form and so on (c) consists o f the m aháyána persons in terms o f (a) the path and (b) their faculties, (ca) consists o f (5) the persons on the impure bhiimis w ho not conceive o f real entities, but cling to all phenom ena through apprehending characteristics, and (6) the persons on the pure bhiimis w ho not cling to phenom enal entities as p henom ena in terms o f substance and characteristics, but cling to them as im putations—mere illusions, (cb) As for persons o f sharp faculties, they consist o f (7) the persons who are skilled in relinquish ing attachment through knowing true reality (the distinctive feature o f relinquishment) and (8) th e persons who are skilled in giving rise to remedial w isdom through realizing equality (the distinctive feature o f the remedy) The persons o f duller faculties are (9) those whose proceed ing toward the final fruition as they wish is impaired through not being skilled in the means to familiarize with prajňápáramitá The second nine conceptions o f clinging to imputedly existent persons are in terms o f (a) hlnayána and (b) maháyána persons, (a) consist o f the persons who, in general, (1) by virtue o f inferior fruitions, are not finally delivered into the ultimate fruition as represented by the aim o f the maháyána and, (2) by virtue o f having entered the path o f the hlnayána, identify the maháyána path as not being the path that they them selves should enter In particular, these persons (3) cling to the ground—the seeming phen om en a o f causes and results, which arise and cease—as being the ultimate, (4) are conjoined or not conjoined with a long continuum o f the entities o f the path by virtue o f there being or not being obstacles in their meditative equipoise, and (5) abide in phenomena such as form by virtue o f clinging to real existence during subsequent attainment, (b) consists o f (6) the persons who destroy the hlnayána disposition through means (such as generating bodhicitta), (7) realize through prajňá that, ultimately, by virtue o f the nature o f suchness, there is no fruition to be accomplished that one could strive for, (8) realize that, ultimately, by virtue o f the lack o f nature, there is no cause such as cultivating the phenom ena o f the path, and (9) conventionally k now the antagonistic factors o f the path (máras and opponents) through observing them 1006 PGBG (p 376) says that the first two causes represent the cooperative causes o f great enlightenm ent, while the third one is its substantial cause because they respectively aid enlightenment in the form o f cooperative conditions and in a substantial way MCG (fols 135b.2-136a.2) explains that (1) “enlightenm ent” refers to the realization o f ultimate great enlightenment, while the path is the wisdom o f knowing termination and nonarising (explained in V.18) Therefore, in order to establish others in these two, bodhisattvas teach the path and introduce others to meditation (2) As the cause o f that realization, they grant prajňápáramitá to others (3) The uninterrupted cause for attaining the path o f seeing is to rest in meditative equipoise in the nature o f phenomena During subsequent attainment, bodhisattvas illuminate the dharma o f scriptures and realization to others and during meditative equipoise, they famil iarize with their own prajňápáramitá These three are the causes o f the path o f seeing and each Notes 851 one o f them entails an abundance o f merit According to MPZL (p 161), (1) the conditions for the arising o f the path o f seeing are to establish others in the dharma o f scriptures and realization— (a) teaching others the path o f seeing and so on (the path toward the fruition o f great enlightenm ent—the dharm a o f realization) and (b) entrusting the cause o f that realiza tion (scriptural prajñápáramitá as the dharma o f scriptures) to others through explaining it to them and so on, which is illustrated by the explicit passage in the sütras in which the Buddha entrusts prajñápáramitá to Ánanda (2) The uninterrupted substantial cause for attaining the special w isdom o f the path o f seeing is the accumulation o f merit—the special samádhi o f uni fied calm abiding and superior insight that has the characteristic o f an abundance o f merit by virtue o f having completed said accumulation during the first countless eon (of the three it takes to becom e a buddha) 1007 PGBG (p 376) says that this verse teaches the nature o f enlightenm ent and the reason for it The ultimate wisdom of termination and nonarising is called “great enlightenm ent” because one must understand that what accomplishes the termination and nonarising o f knowable objects means to realize that there are no previously existent stains to be terminated newly by any remedies and that there is nothing to be caused to arise newly from causes and conditions A ccording to MPZL (pp 161-62), this verse presents the fruition in terms o f relinquishment and attainment according to the system o f Great Madhyamaka The svábhávikakáya as the nature o f the purity o f being free from adventitious stains (the relinquishment o f having termi nated the two obscurations) and the dharmakáya (the realization o f the basic nature— the lack o f arising) are called “the enlightenm ent o f being free from adventitious stains.” These two are also naturally pure because there is no termination o f any essence o f the two obscurations that is established by a nature o f its own and because remedial uncontam inated w isd om is primordially nonarising Said tw o purities, in due order, are to be understood as the nature o f the great enlightenm ent that is endow ed with twofold purity 1008 The Tibetan o f the last two lines reads, “W hat type o f conceptions could be terminated and what kind o f nonarising could be attained?” (m am par rtogrigs ci zh igzad/ skye med m am pa ci zhig ’thob ) PBG com m ents accordingly 1009 PGBG (p 377) says that this verse teaches the manner in which enlightenment is with out arising and ceasing Through the path o f seeing, what cognitive obscurations (the types o f conception) to be relinquished could be terminated and ceased, and what kind o f remedial w isdom o f realizing nonarising could arise or be attained? It follows that there is no ceasing and arising o f factors to be relinquished and their remedies, respectively, because enlightenm ent has the nature o f lacking the kind o f cessation that has the characteristics o f having terminated what has arisen and obstructing the arising o f what has not arisen MCG (fols 136b.4-137a.3) explains that, in terms o f the fundamental nature o f p henom ena that is primordially pure, within abiding in the nature in which there is nothing to be ceased whatsoever, there is nothing to be terminated or to be attained (as explained in PBG) As for the reason o f this, if the true nature o f phenomena is stainless, it is suitable for an unmistaken state o f m ind to see it in this way, but if this nature is intrinsically stained, it would not be suitable to be seen as stainless Rather, a state o f m ind that sees it as being stained would be a correct cognition, whereas seeing it as stainless wou ld be a mistaken cognition, and a person with the latter state o f m ind w ould not be pure According to MPZL (pp 162-63), the reason for there being no termination and attainment is that, contrary to the assertions o f realists, any stains that exist by a nature o f their own cannot be terminated and a substantially existent cessation as the cause for such stains not arising again cannot be attained either 1010 PGBG (p 377) says this verse implicitly teaches the four yogas in the m anner o f saying that great enlightenm ent is not tenable if there were arising and ceasing According to MCG (fol 137b 1-2), if all phenom ena were ultimately existent, how could one ever terminate the 852 Groundless Paths cognitive obscurations through not observing phenom ena as the three spheres? MPZL (p 163) says that realists h old the contradictory position that phenom ena em p ty o f the duality o f apprehender and apprehended exist ultimately, while, in the m ind stream o f a buddha, all obscurations o f conceiving o f the three spheres have been terminated 1011 PGBG (p 377) says that, in dependent origination, no nature o f appearances is to be removed through d enying that appearing phenom ena exist at all and no nature o f the ultimate is to be added through superimposing ultimate existence For if there were such a nature, one could not be liberated from clinging Through relinquishing anything to be removed or to be added, actual reality is seen as it is Through seeing it, one is liberated from the two obscura tions because the mistakenness o f clinging to real entities is put to an end According to MCG (fols 137b.2-138a.2), in the true nature o f entities, there are no previously existing tw o types o f obscurations that are to be rem oved and no previously nonexisting qualities (such as being empty) that are to be added newly For the nature o f entities, which cannot be produced, can not be contrived through removal or addition Therefore, if one rests in meditative equipoise in the actual reality or nature free from superimposition and denial (equality without anything to be removed or to be added) by way o f seeing it as it is through a state o f m ind that concords with it in being free from denying and affirming, through the power o f having familiarized with that, actual true reality—the basic nature o f not abiding in any extreme whatsoever—is seen Through this, one’s mind stream is liberated from the bondage through conceptions about char acteristics This presents the ultimate essential point o f the profound yoga o f prajňápáramitá Thus, it is only in terms o f the sheer way o f h ow things appear that putting an end to the conceptions in one’s m ind stream that are mistaken about the nature o f phenom ena free from anything to be rem oved or to be added is called “relinquishing the factors to be relinquished,” while the arising o f a state o f mind that concords with the nature o f phenom ena is referred to as “the arising o f realization.” However, in the basic nature, neither relinquishment nor arising are established 1012 MCG (fol 138a.5-138b.2) explains that the w isdom o f the path o f seeing consists o f the am azing prajňá that is en d ow ed w ith the aspect o f m eans—all thirty-six subdivisions in terms o f the isolates o f the six páramitás (the generosity o f generosity and so on) being complete Or it is referred to as the w isdom o f seeing the nature o f all aspects o f means (such as generosity) without exception as emptiness For it means to rest, in the manner o f dualistic appearances having vanished, in meditative equipoise in the actuality o f the inexpressible equality o f appear ance and emptiness 1013 PGBG (p 378) says that the lion’s sport is the path o f liberation o f the path o f seeing Just as a lion is not afraid o f any other animals, in this samádhi one is not afraid o f the factors to be relinquished through seeing The purpose o f exam ining dependent origination during its subsequent attainment is to distance oneself further from the factors to be relinquished through seeing, train one’s dexterity in samádhi, and become learned in the topic o f dependent origina tion According to MPZL (pp 163-65), the nature o f the culmination o f the path o f seeing is described in verses V.21 -2 , referring to (a) its w isdom o f meditative equipoise and (b) an illustration o f the practice during its subsequent attainment, (a) consists o f (a) the wisdom o f poised readiness (the uninterrupted path as the cause) and (b) the lion’s sport (the w isd om o f the path o f liberation as the result), (aa) is threefold— (1) profound prajňá (the distinctive feature o f being free from anything to be removed or to be added), (2) vast means (the aspect o f being endowed with all páramitás), and (3) the nature o f the wisdom o f poised readiness (the union o f prajňá and means), (aal) is taught by V.21— in this nature o f the meditative equipoise of the path o f seeing, in terms o f the profound basic nature o f objects, no phenom enon is to be removed or ceased and none is to be established or added If this true end—the nature o f great equality free from extremes, in which there is nothing to be removed, added, ceased, or estab lished—is directly seen through the wisdom that sees in precise concordance with true reality, Notes 853 o n e is liberated from th e obscurations to be relinquished through seeing (aa2) is explained by V.22ab (aa3) is described in V.22cd— the vast and profound wisdom o f the union o f prajňá and means, which has the nature o f being in the process o f b ecom ing liberated from the factors to be relinquished, is divided in terms o f isolates into the eight poised readinesses, but they are all included in the poised readiness o f a single m om ent, (ab) The lions sport as the path o f libera tion is found in V.23ab (b) The practice during subsequent attainment is illustrated by V.23cd However, besides the exam ination o f the twelve links o f dependent origination, the distinct features o f practice during the subsequent attainment o f the first bhúm i include the ten puri fications o f this bhúmi, its twelve times one hundred qualities, the supram undane páramitás, and the m any meditative absorptions that m ake up its illusionlike subsequent attainment, such as the eight liberations, the four immeasurables, and various dháranls and samádhis This also eliminates the assertion that the path o f seeing has no subsequent attainment, which is an expla nation that conflates the systems o f the maháyána and the hlnayána 1014 PBG wrongly has “origin [of suffering” (kun ’byung) 1015 For the differing descriptions o f crossing in one leap by PGBG, MCG, and MPZL, see Appendix XI MCG (fol 141a.l) adds that the function o f cultivating the samádhis o f crossing in on e leap and so on is to terminate the conceptions to be relinquished through the path o f familiarization MPZL (pp 165-66) adds that the culminating training o f the path o f familiar ization is the special remedy for the innate factors to be relinquished through familiarization It consists o f calm abiding (the support) and superior insight (the supported) Here the focus is on the former, which consists o f the preparatory stage (the lion ’s sport) and the actual stage (crossing in one leap) As for the great crossing in one leap, the sutras explicitly teach only the descending progression, but the ascending one should be understood implicitly through that 1016 The Tibetan has “being abandoned.” 1017 As for (4 )-(6 ), PGBG (pp 379-80) has the qualities o f the path o f preparation not exist ing at the time o f the path o f seeing, the qualities o f the path o f seeing not really existing, and the qualities o f the path o f familiarization not existing at the time o f the path o f seeing MCG (fols 141a.3-142a.3) explains that the factors to engage in here consist o f the scriptures and the realizations o f the maháyána, while the factors to withdraw from (the second set o f nine cep tions about the apprehended) are the paths o f šrávakas and pratyekabuddhas Thus, the former are the objects to be engaged through the maháyána training, while the latter are not taken up through this training, but are mere objects o f engagement o f the primary minds and mental factors o f bodhisattvas In terms o f what is to be known and the path, conceptions (1 )—(2) refer to what is to be known; (3), to conduct; (4)—(6), to the qualities o f the path; and (7 )-(9 ), to the nature o f the path As for (4)—(6), the qualities o f the paths in the three times not exist ultimately, while existing seemingly because, in terms o f the path o f seeing being taken as the present, the path o f preparation has already ceased, the path o f seeing does not abide, and the path o f familiarization has not yet arisen MCG takes “training” (Tib sbyor ba) in V.27b to mean “preparation” and thus says that these nine conceptions are relinquished during the pre paratory stage o f the path o f familiarization Generally, it says, the explanation o f preparatory stage and actual stage refers to the difference in terms o f the m anifest factors to be relinquished being m ore or less easy to be relinquished, but their seeds are always relinquished at the time o f the uninterrupted path o f the actual stage According to MPZL (pp 167 -68), the conceptions about the apprehended are about phenom ena, w hile the conceptions about the apprehender are about persons Here ( l ) - ( ) represent the conceptions about the m aháyána scriptures and the remaining seven, the conceptions about the m aháyána realizations The latter consist o f (a) the conceptions about the flaws to be relinquished and (b) the qualities to be adopted, (a) consists o f (3), which refers to seem ing kinds o f prajňápáramitá that are to be relinquished, (b) consists o f (a) the ultimate qualities o f em ptiness and (b) the conventional qualities o f appearance, (ba) ... path, conceptions (1 )? ?(2 ) refer to what is to be known; (3 ), to conduct; (4 )? ?(6 ), to the qualities o f the path; and (7 ) -(9 ), to the nature o f the path As for (4 )? ?(6 ), the qualities o f the paths. .. existence o f form and so on (c) consists o f the m aháyána persons in terms o f (a) the path and (b) their faculties, (ca) consists o f (5 ) the persons on the impure bhiimis w ho not conceive o f... (b) the lion’s sport (the w isd om o f the path o f liberation as the result), (aa) is threefold— (1 ) profound prajňá (the distinctive feature o f being free from anything to be removed or to