YOUTHFUL PLAY AREA VIII An explanation of the dhyanas This has two topics: a Classifications, and b Individual natures a Classifications la The dhyans are twofold They are four The qualities of the knowings have been explained in the section on the know ings Now the other qualities m ust be told Because they support all the qual ities, first we must begin with the explanation o f the dhyanas The support o f the qualities, the dhyanas, are in brief twofold through the distinctions between the resultant birth and the causal absorption T hey are each the four o f the first dhyana and so forth b Individual natures This has two topics: i The reason the resultant dhyanas of birth are not explained here, and ii Understanding the causal dhyanas of absorption i The reason the resultant dhyanas of birth are not explained here 1b Rebirth there has been fully explained R ebirth in the dhyanas will not be further discussed here because the dhyanas of birth there have been fully explained in the Treasury that teaches the world H ow were they explained? you ask They were explained in the verses: Each of the dhyanas has three levels, But the fourth dhyana has eight levels.325 ii Understanding the causal dhyanas of absorption This has two topics: (1) Their general essence, and (2) Their individual essences (1) Their general essence This has two points (a) Actual lc Absorption is one-pointed virtue The causal absorption of dhyana is without differentiation one-pointed virtue because it is samadhi by nature By saying “virtue,” afflicted and nonobscured neutral one-pointed minds are excluded 544 THE DHYANAS AND THE FORMLESS (b) Including what is associated with it Id Its following, five aggregates Including its following or associated dharmas, it is known as five aggregates by nature, because they include imperceptible forms and so forth, the rest of the five aggregates W hat is so-called one pointedness? you ask It is called that because the m ind rests one-pointedly on the focus o f equipoise The Great Exposition says that the dharma that is the mental factor of samadhi that makes the cognition rest in equipoise is samadhi, and that itself is one-pointedness The Sutra school says that cognitions with the same focus only are samadhi, and other dharmas such as the mental factors are not The Great Exposition and Sutra schools both make many propositions The term is explained as meaning that it makes the m ind contemplate (2) Their individual essences This has two points (a) The essence of the first dhyana 2a It has examining, joy, pleasure It, the one-pointed virtuous first dhyana, has examining, joy, and pleasure Saying “examining” explains that considering is also present, because they function together, like fire and smoke W ithout considering, there is no ex amining that possesses joy and pleasure (b) The essence of the remaining dhyanas 2b The earlier branches are discarded The remaining dhyanas are one-pointed virtue in which the earlier branches of considering, examining, and so on are discarded The second dhyana has discarded examination but possesses joy and pleasure The third has discarded examination and joy but possesses pleasure The fourth has abandoned exam ination, joy, and pleasure An explanation of the Formless This has three topics: a T heir general essence, b Their individual essences, and c Elaboration a Their general essence T h i s h a s t w o p o i n t s 545 YOUTHFUL PLAY i* A R E A VIII i Comparing similar features 2c Formless are like The Formless are like those dhyanas, in that they have the resulting Formless o f birth and the causal Formless of absorption They are also the four o f Infi nite Space and so on Their births have been explained.326 ii Dissimilar features 2c Four aggregates, Including their associations, they are four aggregates, because there is no form that accompanies them b Their individual essences 2d Born of withdrawal from lower levels The one-pointed virtue born o f withdrawal from the lower level of the fourth dhyana is the sense base o f Infinite Space W hat is born from withdrawal from that is the sense base o f Infinite Consciousness W hat is born from with drawal from that is the sense base o f Nothingness W hat is born from with drawal from that is the sense base o f N either C onception nor Non-Conception Thus there are the four Formless W hat is withdrawal? you ask It is the path that separates completely from the lower level, because one becomes detached from it c Elaboration This has two topics: i Distinctions in conceptions, and ii Ex planations o f terms i Distinctions in conceptions 3ab They are called, with three preparations, Destruction of conception of form They, the Formless, are called w ith the three higher preparations, by the name destruction o f conception o f form, because there is no form on their own level and they not focus on the defiled form o f lower levels The preparation for Infinite Space is a conception that views the form o f the fourth dhyana as coarse and so forth, so it is not given the name destruction o f conception o f form 54 THE DHYANAS AND THE FORMLESS ii Explanations of terms This has two topics: (1) Explaining the term Formless realm, and (2) Explaining the names o f each o f the four (1) Explaining the term Formless re alm This has two points (a) Actual 3c In Formless realms, there is no form The Majority school and others say that the Formless is not entirely without form, but as the form there is subtle, it is said to be Formless Such a proposal is illogical If its form is subtle by aspect, tiny aquatic creatures would also be present there, and if it is subtle by nature, the Form realm would also be Form less If it is by extreme subtlety and clarity, you should only propose that the Peak of Existence is that Well then, merely the forms of vows o f body and speech are there, you say They are not, because there are neither body nor speech, nor any sources there It is also not acceptable to say that they are not on their own level but are born from other levels, similar to undefiled vows, because the forms o f vows of body and speech are bound by the bonds of existence and thus cannot exert power over another level From the Sutra o f the Great Welcomed7 Those dharmas that are life and that are warm th are mixed; they are not unm ixed Also: Name and form are mutually supporting And in teaching interdependence: By the condition o f consciousness, nam e-and-form These quotations are said with the lower two realms in mind If you propose that they apply to all situations, it would follow that external warm th would also be mixed with life and all external forms would depend upon name and arise from consciousness itself Because o f this, these quotations are not proof that there is form in Formless From a sutra: 547 YOUTHFUL PLAY ?f A R E A VIII The Formless are emancipation from form Whatever is one o f the four peaceful Formless emancipations transcends fo rm Also: There are sentient beings who not have form Also: Having transcended the conception o f form in all aspects These quotations contradict the proposition, so the name Formless is not ar bitrary Therefore, in the Formless realm there is no form, not even the slight est bit, which is why it is called Formless (b) Dispelling a doubt 3d Then form arises from cognition Well then, when one is born from the Formless in a lower realm, for more than a few aeons the continuum of form has been broken, so how does form arise again? you ask T hen at that time form arises from acquiring entry into the cognition that is stained with the cause of its full ripening The grasping cause is the four sources in Desire and Form The Sutra school says that there is a seed o f form in the m ind’s continuum , from which form arises The Yogic Conduct school says form arises from its seeds, which are in the all-ground (2) Explaining the names of each of the four This has two points (a) Explaining the names of the first three 4ab They’re called the Infinite Consciousness, Space, Nothing at All, from training so Are the sense bases o f infinite consciousness and so forth called that because they only focus on space and so on? you ask No Well then, what are they like? you ask T hey are called by those names because during the training for them, one views the lower levels as having faults and thinks, “C onscious ness is infinite Space is infinite There is nothing at all.” From training so 548 ... are there, you say They are not, because there are neither body nor speech, nor any sources there It is also not acceptable to say that they are not on their own level but are born from other... , from which form arises The Yogic Conduct school says form arises from its seeds, which are in the all-ground (2 ) Explaining the names of each of the four This has two points (a) Explaining the. .. names o f each o f the four (1 ) Explaining the term Formless re alm This has two points (a) Actual 3c In Formless realms, there is no form The Majority school and others say that the Formless is