THE QUALITIES SUPPORTED BY SAMADHI W hy are there four of them? you ask Because they are antidotes for excessive malice and so forth, including hostility, dislike, and the attachm ent o f the Desire realm, their num ber is established as four c The essence of each classification 29cd Love and compassion are nonhatred, And joy is pleasure of the mind, 30a And equanimity is nongreed Love and compassion are the virtue of nonhatred, and joy is pleasure o f the m ind at others’ happiness, and equanim ity is the virtue o f nongreed There fore they are the antidotes for malice preceded by greed and so forth Alterna tively, the Master explains that they are nongreed and nonhatred both, so they are suitable as antidotes for both greed and hatred Distinguishing features This has six topics: a Distinctions o f aspects, b Distinctions of object, c Distinctions in levels, d Distinctions in how they function as antidotes for the levels, e Distinctions in support, and f Distinc tions in how they are possessed a Distinctions of aspects 30bc Their aspects are thinking, “May they be Happy! N ot suffer! Joyous! Beings!” T heir aspects are thus: the aspect o f love is thinking, “O! m ay they, sentient beings, be happy!” The aspect of compassion is thinking, “May they n ot suf fer!” The aspect of joy is thinking, “May they have joyous minds!” The aspect o f equanimity is thinking, “W ithout attachm ent to those near or hatred for the distant, I will treat all sentient beings equally.” One reflects with such an intention and enters absorption O ne rests in the middle, without any preju dice, and without any attachm ent or animosity either b Distinctions of object 30d Their sphere is beings o f Desire W hat they focus on when they meditate on these aspects? you ask T heir focus or sphere is sentient beings o f Desire, because the immeasurables are the antidote for malice and so forth that focus on beings of Desire 569 YOUTHFUL PLAY i* A R E A VIII c Distinctions in levels This has two points i Actual lab O n the two dhyanas, there is joy Others on six How m any levels are they on? you ask O n the first two dhyanas, there is joy because it is produced by meditation and is mental pleasure The other three immeasurables are on six levels: the four dhyanas, special dhyana, and N ot Unable ii Others' assertions 31b Some say on five Some say that they are on the five excluding N ot Unable Others say that they are on ten, adding Desire and the four preparations d Distinctions in how they function as antidotes for the levels 31c They don’t abandon It is explained that “They’re antidotes for malice, et cetera ” Do the immea surables discard the afflictions? you ask The explanation o f them as antidotes for malice and the others is through distinctions in power either in terms of suppressing or distancing They, the four, n o t actually abandon, because they are the pure actual practice so they not discard afflictions, and because they all focus only on sentient beings, so they are merely interested attention e Distinctions in support 31 cd They arise In humans As far as their bodily support, because a clear m ind and the power of famil iarization produce them, they arise in hum ans, excluding those on Unpleasant Sound Others not produce them f Distinctions in how they are possessed 31 d 570 One m ust have the three THE QUALITIES SUPPORTED BY SAMADHI If one possesses one immeasurable, must one also without a doubt possess all o f them? you ask It is not definite that one will possess them all However, if one possesses any o f the three excluding joy, they also have the other two, so one m ust have the three Joy is mental pleasure, so it is not possessed on the third or fourth dhyana This is intended in terms of attainment In terms of their manifestation, they are possessed individually because their aspects are exclusive B Teaching the other qualities This has four topics: The essence o f the qualities attained, How they are attained, Distinctions o f support, and How samadhi arises The essence of the qualities attained This has three topics: a The eman cipations, b The overpowering sense bases, and c The all-encompassing sense bases a The emancipations This has three topics: i Classifications o f the emanci pations, ii Their individual natures, and iii The spheres o f the first seven i Classifications of the emancipations 32a O f eight emancipations, As they are directed away from their focus, they are emancipations The eight em ancipations are, according to the sutras, viewing external form while con ceiving o f internal form, viewing external form while conceiving of no internal form, the emancipation o f loveliness, the four Formless, and the emancipation of cessation ii Their individual natures This has four topics: (1) Explanation of the first two emancipations, (2) O f the third, (3) O f the Formless emancipations, and (4) O f the emancipation of cessation (1) Explanation of the first two emancipations This has two points (a) Actual 32ab the first two, Repulsive, 57i YOUTHFUL PLAY * AREA VIII Because the first two of the emancipations have the aspects of bluishness and so forth, they have the nature o f meditation on the repulsive.337 (b) Distinctions of level 32b are on the two dhyanas These two emancipations are antidotes for desire for color, so they are on the first two dhyanas, but they are absent from the third and higher, because above that there is no desire for color T hat is because there is no eye consciousness above the second dhyana (2) Explanation of the third 32c The third, on the last, is nongreed T he third, the emancipation of the lovely, is on the last o f the dhyanas, the fourth As its essence is the antidote for greed, it is primarily nongreed, but since it has the lovely as its aspect, it is not repulsiveness meditation Thus one emanates an attractive form and views it as lovely As that itself is manifested by the body of samadhi, it is so called Including their associations, the first three are the five aggregates by nature The need for the emancipation of the lovely is that by meditating on the repulsive, ones m ind is depressed, so one uplifts it with intense joy Also, if attachm ent to a lovely em anation arises, the first two emancipations have not been completed, but if it does not arise, they have, so this is in order to examine that The emancipation of the lovely is not taught in the first three dhyanas be cause there is joy on those levels, so if one pays attention to the lovely and has joy and craving for that object, nongreed will not be accomplished Alterna tively, it is not taught there because they are dhyanas that have faults, so non greed is not accomplished there (3) Explanation of the Formless emancipations 32d Virtuous Formless equipoise Only the four virtuous— pure or undefiled— Formless equipoises are eman cipations; the afflicted and the states o f beings not in equipoise such as the state o f death are not O n the preparations, the paths of liberation are emancipation, but the paths of no obstacles are not because they focus on the lower level 572« THE QUALITIES SUPPORTED BY SAMADHI (4) Explanation of the emancipation of cessation This has three points (a) Identifying its essence 33a It is absorption o f cessation It, the eighth emancipation, is the absorption o f cessation of conception and feeling This was explained in the second area.338 W hy are these called emancipations? you ask It is because the first two are directed away from greed; the third, away from being discouraged and at tached; the four Formless, from the conception of form; and cessation is di rected away from conceptions and feelings, or alternatively all formations (b) The mind of entry 33b That follows the subtlest of the subtle Regarding entering the absorption of cessation, the conception of the Peak of Existence is the subtlest in the three realms, but focusing on cessation is by far the subtlest of all, so one enters that absorption of cessation immediately following th at subtlest o f the subde minds (c) The mind of arising 33cd One rises from that through own level’s Pure or the noble of the lower W hen arising, one rises from that cessation, as one has resolved to do, through one’s own level— the Peak’s— pure, or through the noble undefiled m ind o f the lower sense base of Nothingness In this way, the absorption of cessation and the m ind that enters it are on the level o f the Peak, so they are defiled only The m ind of arising can be either defiled or undefiled iii The spheres of the first seven This has two points (1) The sphere of the first three 34a Sights of Desire are the first’s object The sights of the sense base of form o f Desire are the object of the first two of the eight emancipations, and the third has an attractive object Well then, 573 ... (1 ) The sphere of the first three 34a Sights of Desire are the first’s object The sights of the sense base of form o f Desire are the object of the first two of the eight emancipations, and the. .. formations (b) The mind of entry 33b That follows the subtlest of the subtle Regarding entering the absorption of cessation, the conception of the Peak of Existence is the subtlest in the three... way, the absorption of cessation and the m ind that enters it are on the level o f the Peak, so they are defiled only The m ind of arising can be either defiled or undefiled iii The spheres of the