YOUTHFUL PLAY ?f A R E A VIII (1) Identifying its essence 22d In special dhyan, there’s no considering Well then, there is the term preparations and also the term special dhyana Are these two the same or different? you ask They are different The former is the path that brings detachment The special dhyan is an actual practice in which there is no considering, but in which there is examining Thus the first dhyana has the classifications as the mere actual practice that has both considering and examining, and the special that has examining only There is no such dis tinction in the second and so forth, so there is no classification of them as mere or special (2) Classifications 23a It’s threefold, It, the special dhyana, is threefold: concurrent w ith enjoyment, pure, and undefiled (3) Which feelings it has 23a neither pain nor pleasure, Because the special dhyana is a difficult path that must be created by exer tion, it only has neutral feeling that is neither pain nor pleasure (4) Result 23b And has Great Brahma as result And what is the particular result o f the special dhyana? you ask It has the Great Brahma realm as result, because those who meditate on it will be reborn in Great Brahma II Classifications of samadhi This has two topics: A Classifying samadhi in three, and B Classifying samadhi in four A Classifying samadhi in three This has three topics: Classifying in terms o f level, Classifying in terms o f path, and Classifying in terms o f the mode of engaging the object 564 CLASSIFICATIONS OF SAMADHI Classifying in terms of level 23cd Below, samadhi has considering, Examining Above, there’s neither The sutras teach that there are three types of samadhi O f these, on special dhyana there is samadhi that has no considering but does have examining alone Below it, on the first dhyana and N ot Unable, there is samadhi that has considering and examining Above it, from the preparations for the second to the Peak, there is samadhi that has neither considering nor examining Classifying in terms of path This has three points a Identifying the essences of the three samadhis 24 The signless has aspects o f peace, And emptiness engages selfless And emptiness No wishing has All other aspects of the truths The sutras speak o f the three samadhis: the samadhi of emptiness, samadhi of no wishing, and samadhi o f signlessness O f these, the signless samadhi is a samadhi that is free o f the ten attributes— the five objects, the four character istics of composites, and male and female attributes— and from focusing on noncomposites has aspects o f peace, the four aspects of the truth of cessation A nd the samadhi o f emptiness is samadhi that, for any focus, engages only the two aspects o f selfless and em ptiness The samadhi o f no wishing is a samadhi that focuses on composites and only has the aspects of the truths that create revulsion, so it is concurrent with all the other aspects o f the truths than those six previously mentioned It is a samadhi that is concurrent with the ten remaining aspects: four of the truth o f origin, four o f path, and suf fering’s aspects of impermanence and suffering Because the other six not create revulsion, it does not have them b Classifications of their internal categories 25a They’re pure or stainless They, these three samadhis, can be pure worldly or stainless, transworldly un defiled T he pure are on the eleven levels o f Desire, N ot Unable, special dhyana, the four dhyanas, and the four Formless The stainless are on the nine undefiled levels 565 YOUTHFUL PLAY AREA VIII c Examining their names 25ab W hen they’re stainless, They are three gates o f liberation W hen they, these three, are stainless, they are gates to liberation, so they are the three stainless gates o f liberation o f emptiness, no wishing, and signless ness Classifying in terms of the mode of engaging the object This has two topics: a Teaching the classification in general, and b Explaining their features in detail a Teaching the classification in general 25cd There are three more samadhis, called The empty o f emptiness, et cetera Also in the sutras, there are three more samadhis in addition to the previous three They are the samadhis called emptiness o f emptiness, et cetera, includ ing no wishing o f no wishing and signlessness of signlessness b Explaining their features in detail This has five points i Distinctions of focus and aspect 26 Two focus on nonlearner’s aspects O f empty and impermanent The signlessness of signlessness, O n peace, nonanalyzed extinction O f those three, the first two focus respectively on the nonlearner s aspect of emptiness while viewing the empty, and focus on the nonlearner’s no wishing while viewing the aspect of im perm anent As for the signlessness o f signless ness, if one arises from the nonlearner’s signlessness while viewing the aspect of peace, the conditions for the continuation o f signlessness are not met, so signlessness o f signlessness focuses on the nonanalytic extinction or the at tainm ent o f nonanalytic cessation O f these three, the first two look at liber ation itself The third focuses on its cessation and is thus diminished, so it is diminished liberation 566 CLASSIFICATIONS OF SAMADHI ii Distinction of essence 27a Defiled, These three are solely defiled iii Distinctions of support 27a by humans, W here are they produced? you ask They are only produced by hum ans, not by gods or others iv Distinctions of individual 27a unshakable W ho produces them? you ask They only arise for unshakable arhats, not for others v Distinctions of level 27b Except the seven preparations Except the seven latter preparations,336 they are on the eleven levels previously explained B Classifying samadhi in four 27cd First dhyanas virtue is meditation O n samadhi which is happiness 28 Clairvoyance o f eye is that which sees Produced by training is discernment The vajra-like o f the last dhyana Extinguishes all the defilements The Bhagavan said: There are four meditations on samadhi: if you always remain in meditation on samadhi and this many times, you will also dwell in happiness in the visible O f these the first, the first dhyanas virtue— pure or undefiled— isthe m edi tation on samadhi which is dwelling in happiness in the visible The other 5¿7 YOUTHFUL PLAY AREA VIII dhyanas are also known to be the same There is no certainty o f dwelling in happiness in future lifetimes, because it is possible to regress, and those who are reborn in higher realms or pass into complete nirvana not have the first dhyanas happiness The clairvoyance o f divine eye that knows death and re birth, and the knowing concurrent with the m ind consciousness that arises after that, are proposed as th at samadhi which knows and sees The defiled or undefiled qualities o f the three realms that are produced by training and everything undefiled are the meditation on samadhi of discernm ent or full knowing T he vajra-like samadhi that has the support o f the last fourth dhyana is samadhi meditation that extinguishes all the defilements Thus these four samadhis are taught just as the Bhagavan himself m ani fested them in the past At the very first, he produced the first dhyana in the shade o f a Rose-Apple tree Later he sat beneath the Bodhi Tree, and just after taming the Maras he saw with the divine eye the miserable deaths and births o f sentient beings In order to give them refuge, he produced the dhyanas, emancipations, and so forth during the night session At dawn, on the basis o f the fourth samadhi, he manifested the paths up to the vajra-like samadhi, the Great Exposition says III Explanation of the qualities sup po rted by sam adhi This has two topics: A Teaching the immeasurables, and B Teaching the other qualities A Teaching th e im m easurables This has two topics: Classifications, and Distinguishing features Classifications This has three points a Actual classification 29a Immeasurables are four As they focus on immeasurable sentient beings and have immeasurable merit, they are called immeasurables In focusing on immeasurable sentient beings, there are four: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity b Establishing their quantity 29ab 568 because They’re antidotes for malice, et cetera ... in happiness in the visible O f these the first, the first dhyanas virtue— pure or undefiled— isthe m edi tation on samadhi which is dwelling in happiness in the visible The other 5¿7 YOUTHFUL... first dhyana and N ot Unable, there is samadhi that has considering and examining Above it, from the preparations for the second to the Peak, there is samadhi that has neither considering nor examining... Identifying the essences of the three samadhis 24 The signless has aspects o f peace, And emptiness engages selfless And emptiness No wishing has All other aspects of the truths The sutras speak o f the