YOUTHFUL PLAY ?f A R E A VIII i Distinctions between the afflicted and unafflicted 10 In the afflicted, there is no joy or pleasure; Serenity; awareness, mindfulness; O r equanimity, pure mindfulness; Some say no pliancy, no equanimity Are those same branches previously explained also present in afflicted dhyana? you ask They are not W hich of them are not? you ask In the afflicted first dhyana, there is no joy or pleasure born of withdrawal, because it is not w ith drawn from the afflictions o f that level O n the second dhyana, there is no great serenity, because it is sullied by the afflictions o f its own level O n the third dhyana, there is no awareness or mindfulness because it has been made completely deluded by afflicted pleasure O n the fourth, there is no equanim ity or pure mindfulness, because those two have been stained by the afflictions Some say there is no pliancy on the afflicted first or second dhyana, and on the third and fourth there is no equanimity, because these are virtuous major grounds, they say ii Features of the fourth dhyana 11 The fourth is free from the eight faults, So it s immovable They are Considering, examining, breaths, And pleasure and the other three The Bhagavan said, “Because the three dhyanas have faults, they are movable.” T he fourth dhyana is free from eight faults explained below, so it is im mov able They, the eight faults, are considering, examining, the in-breath and out-breath, and pleasure and the other three, suffering, mental pleasure, and mental unhappiness ¡ii Distinctions in feeling between causal and resultant absorptions This has two points (1) Actual 12 554 Dhyanas o f birth have happiness, And pleasure and the neutral feeling; Neutral and happiness; and pleasure And neutral; and the neutral feeling THE DH YANAS AND THE FORMLESS Are those feelings that are in the causal dhyanas o f absorption also present in the resultant dhyanas o f birth? you ask The first dhyanas o f birth have happiness o f the level o f m ind conscious ness, and pleasure o f the three consciousnesses,330 and the neutral feeling of the four consciousnesses O n the second dhyana, there are both neutral and mental happiness; and on the third there is also pleasure and neutral And on the fourth there is only the neutral feeling O f these, the pleasure o f the first dhyana is solely bodily feeling supported by eye, ear, and body, and its neutral feeling is both bodily and mental From the second dhyana and above, they are all only mental feelings Bodily feeling is always accompanied by considering and examining, and because there is no considering and examining on the second and above, there can be no bodily feelings, either (2) Dispelling a doubt 13 O n second and so forth, the body, Eye, and ear consciousnesses, and W hat makes them perceive is of the first It s neutral; it is not afflicted O n the second dhyana, et cetera, if there is no considering and examination, how can they see, hear, or touch, and how is the act of knowing motivated? you ask Those who are born there are not without eye consciousness and so forth, but they are not of their own level O n the second dhyana and so forth, the third and fourth dhyanas, the body consciousness, eye consciousness, and ear consciousness, and that which is the considering and examining th a t makes them perceive is only manifested through those o f the first dhyana It, the consciousness on the second or higher dhyana, is unobscured neutral; be cause it is detached, it is also n ot afflicted Because it is inferior, it is also not pure absorption The manner in which absorptions are attained This has three topics: a T he actual m anner in which they are attained, b W hat arises following which, and c The m anner in which the skipping absorption arises a The actual manner in which they are attained This has three points 555 YOUTHFUL PLAY ?f A R E A VIII i How the pure is attained l4ab Those who not possess them gain The pure through detachment or from birth; How are the absorptions of dhyana and the Formless attained? you ask Those who n o t possess them , the dhyanas and Formless, from before gain any of the three pure with the exception of tendency toward the undefiled331 through detachm ent or, except for the Peak o f Existence, from birth from a higher into a lower The Peak is not attained by birth because there is no level above it ii How the undefiled is attained 14c The undefiled is through detachment; T he undefiled actual absorptions, if one has not previously possessed them, are only attained through detachm ent from the lower levels If previously pos sessed, they can also be attained through training such as the distinctive actual practices of the nonlearners and those with sharp faculties, but are not attained through birth or regression iii How the afflicted is attained I4 d Afflicted, by regressing, birth Afflicted absorption, when not previously possessed, is attained by regressing such as when one regresses from detachment from the first dhyana and attains the afflicted first dhyana Except for the Peak, it is also attained by birth from a higher realm into a lower realm For example, when one is born from the second or higher dhyana into the first dhyana, one can attain the afflicted first dhyana The afflicted Peak is only attained through regression Afflicted ab sorption is not attained through training or detachment b W hat arises following which This has two topics: i General teaching, and ii Specifics of the latter two i General teaching This has three points 556 THE DHYANAS AND THE FORMLESS (1) W h at arises right after the undefiled 15a-c Right after undefiled, the virtue O f levels up to two above O r below can arise Right after which substances o f absorption can how many arise? Right after the substance of undefiled absorption of dhyana and Formless, the pure and undefiled virtue o f its own level and up to two levels above or two levels below can arise, because when doing skipping absorption, one cannot skip more than one level.332 (2) W h at arises right after the pure 15cd From pure, The same, or own levels afflicted From the pure absorption, the pure and undefiled arise, which should be known to be the same as what has just been explained O r in addition, just after the pure, its own levels afflicted can also arise T he afflicted cannot arise right after the undefiled, because that is totally exclusive o f entry into the afflicted (3) W h at arises right after the afflicted I6ab From the afflicted, own pure, afflicted, And one pure of the lower, too From the afflicted absorption, in the instance o f taking hold o f it with m ind fulness and awareness and then arising from it, the pure of its own level can arise directly In the instance o f continuation, the afflicted arises N ot only that, when greatly torm ented by the afflictions, one gains affection for the pure of the lower level, and so the one pure o f the lower can arise, too ii Specifics of the latter two This has two topics: (1) At the time o f death, and (2) Particulars of the four tendencies (1) At the time of death This has two points (a) Pure 16c From pure at death, all the afflicted, 557 YOUTHFUL PLAY ?f A R E A VIII It has been explained that during the period o f absorption only their own levels afflicted can follow directly upon the pure or afflicted absorptions, but other levels’ cannot However, from a pure absorption that was attained upon birth, at the time of death it is possible to be reborn in any o f the levels above or below, so at the time o f rebirth-linking, all the afflicted o f the nine levels can possibly arise (b) Afflicted I6d But from afflicted, not the higher B ut from afflicted absorptions at the time of death, the afflicted o f their own level or lower arise, but n ot the afflicted of higher, because if the afflicted of the lower level has not been discarded, there is no birth in the higher This is because the lower afflicted is exclusive o f rebirth-linking in the higher (2) Particulars of the four tendencies This has three points (a) Classifying the pure in four 17ab Four types of pure tend toward regression, Et cetera N ot all pure absorptions produce the undefiled In general, there are four types o f pure absorption: the tendency toward regression, et cetera, the tendency to staying, the tendency toward the superior, and the tendency toward the un defiled O n the Peak o f Existence, there is no tendency toward the superior, because there is no higher level (b) The meaning of each classification 17b-d Respectively, They tend toward birth o f the afflictions, O f own, o f higher, o f undefiled In essence, respectively, they tend in the instance of continuation toward the birth o f the afflictions, toward the birth o f virtue o f their own level, toward the birth o f virtue o f a higher level, and toward the birth o f undefiled The meaning of tend here is “directed toward its birth.” 558 ... affection for the pure of the lower level, and so the one pure o f the lower can arise, too ii Specifics of the latter two This has two topics: (1 ) At the time o f death, and (2 ) Particulars of the four... detachment or from birth; How are the absorptions of dhyana and the Formless attained? you ask Those who n o t possess them , the dhyanas and Formless, from before gain any of the three pure with the exception... level.332 (2 ) W h at arises right after the pure 15cd From pure, The same, or own levels afflicted From the pure absorption, the pure and undefiled arise, which should be known to be the same