724 Groundless Paths 374 These refer to the paths o f accumulation and preparation, respectively 375 XI 1-3 Both in terms o f the content o f these qualities and their increasing numbers on the remaining nine bhum is (see below), the Madhyamakavatara follows the Dasabhumikasutra (their main source) However, there are other sources, which vary in both respects 376 D4037, fol 172a.2 377 Usually, as presented in LSSP and other commentaries, Mahabrahma is said to rule over a dichiliocosm, while the king o f gods in the pure abodes (Siva, a.k.a MaheSvara) rules over a trichiliocosm 378 MCG (fol 45a.5-6) says on the m anner in which the nature o f phenom ena is realized on the bhum is that what is to be realized has no parts, but clear realization increases progressively by virtue o f the progression o f the mistakenness in one’s mind stream becoming terminated, just as the sky has no parts, but the seeing o f the sky is said to increase by virtue o f the clouds vanishing progressively 379 IX.34 380 MCG (fol 53a.4-53b.2) explains that the meditative equipoises o f the b h u m is is with appearances because it is said, “Though they rest in true reality, appearances are suitable, just as in the case o f a buddha.” This is very important Therefore, w h en meditative equipoise and subsequent attainment are inseparable and the tw o realities are unified, within the scope o f the self-appearances o f a buddhas w isd o m o f seeing the nature o f phenom ena just as it is, appearances not cease, but appear on their own At the time o f the path, during m edita tive equipoise, emptiness predom inates and during subsequent attainment, appearances predominate Once meditative equipoise and subsequent attainment are unified, this is the buddhabhumi Therefore, (a) the manner o f a b u d d h as seeing through the two wisdom s o f suchness and variety and (b) the meditative equipoises during the path being w ith and without appearances, respectively, are not contradictory It is very important to understand this essential point 381 LSSP and P SD literally have “in the object” (yul n a , which m ay also b e just a typo for yul ni) 382 XI.13 383 In som etim es varying formulations, these kinds o f ignorance are found at th e beginning o f the sutra’s ninth chapter (D106, fols 40b.5-41b.2) 384 IN: desire 385 IN: the ignorance o f destroying signlessness 386 D4049, fol 84b.3-6 387 D4038, fol 114b.6-7 388 V.4ab-5 389 D4049, fol 83b.6 390 PSD follows LSSP’s reverse order o f the last tw o phrases without m en tion in g (as LSSP does) to which w ron g engagement they refer Obviously, w h en following PSD’s above order o f the four w ron g engagem ents here, the order o f said phrases is as rendered above 391 D4049, fol 84b.6-7 392 V.5a and 6cd Notes 725 393 D4059, fol 14a.3-4 LSSP/PSD have “com m entary on the Pañcaskandhaprakarana ,” but the above passage is found in said text itself 394 D4038, fol 258a.6-7 395 VI.26 396 PSD has “n in th factor,” but LSSP has “nine factors,” which is correct in term s o f the facts 397 In due order, these two ways o f mentally engaging refer to the ways in which one famil iarizes with personal identitylessness during the path o f preparation (still conceptually) and from the path o f seeing onward (nonconceptual yogic perception) 39 D4038, fol 114.4-5 399 XX.32 T h e follow ing quotes consist o f verses X X 33 -38 and the explanations are based o n the respective passages o f the Bhásya 400 N ote that the Maháyánasútrálamkárabhásya on XX.38cd says, “It is called ‘Cloud o f D h arm a’ because the gate o f sam ádhi and the gate o f dháranl pervade, like a cloud, the dharma that was heard—the skylike foundation in which they are deeply im mersed” ( samádhimukha dháranimukhavyápanán meghenevákásastháliyásrayasamnivistasya šrútadharmasya dharmameghety ucyate) Thus, thob pa’i rten in LSSP/PSD should rather be thos pa’i rten According to PGSD (pp 142-43), in the nam e o f the second bhümi, “stains” refers to the afflictions, the causes for corrupt ethics “The Radiating O n e” refers to its vast radiance o f w isdom “The Facing O n e” is endow ed with the manifest prajñá o f directly realizing the basic nature “Gone Afar” m eans having gon e far beyond any clinging to characteristics, w hich is by virtue o f this b hüm i being connected with the eighth one in the m anner o f being a direct cause and its result, respectively The eighth bhümi cannot be m oved by any clinging to characteristics or any mental engagem ent in one’s ow n welfare On the ninth bhüm i, through having attained the approxi m ately concordant four discrim inating awarenesses, insight is unobstructed 401 PGSD (pp 140-45) defines a maháyána bhüm i as “a maháyána learner’s clear realiza tion o f directly realizing emptiness, which serves as the foundation o f special qualities (such as the visions and supernatural knowledges).” The first bhümi consists o f three paths The defini tion o f its uninterrupted paths is “the clear realizations o f the reality o f the m aháyána, which consist o f the process o f directly relinquishing the cognitive obscurations that are factors to be relinquished through seeing.” They are instantiated by the eight poised readinesses o f persons on the m aháyána path o f seeing with duller faculties The definition o f its paths o f liberation is “the clear realizations o f said reality that consist o f the remedies which are the foundations o f being liberated from the cognitive obscurations that are the factors to be relinquished through seeing by their respective uninterrupted paths as their specific causes.” These are instantiated by the eight cognitions o f said persons The definition o f its special path is “the knowledge that arises after the com pletion o f the maháyána subsequent cognition o f the path and repre sents the increase o f the types o f realization o f the path o f seeing.” W hen divided, the special path consists o f the subsequent attainment o f the first bhümi and, in terms o f m editative equi poise, the special paths that are included in its ow n level (such as the lion ’s sport) and those that are included in higher bhümis (such as the knowledges o f the second bhüm i and above) T h e sam e division in terms o f these three paths applies to all follow ing bhümis as well A s for the second bhümi, the definition of its uninterrupted paths is “the subsequent clear realiza tions o f the maháyána, which consist o f the process o f directly relinquishing the great degrees o f the cognitive obscurations o f the respective levels o f the desire realm that are factors to be relinquished through familiarization.” W hen divided, these uninterrupted paths are threefold in terms o f the great, m edium , and lesser great degrees o f these obscurations The definition o f the paths o f liberation o f the second bhümi is “the subseqent clear realizations that consist o f 726 Groundless Paths the remedies which are the foundations o f being liberated from the great degrees o f the cogn i tive obscurations o f the respective levels o f the desire realm that are factors to be relinquished through familiarization by their respective uninterrupted paths as their specific causes.” Their division accords with the previous The definition and division o f its special path are analogous to those o f the first bhümi The divisions o f the remaining bhümis can be inferred from those o f the second one The first seven bhümis are said to be impure because they are not pure o f the characteristics o f effort The ten bhümis are definite in number in terms o f the three trainings in ethics, samadhi, and prajnà—the first one represents the cause o f these trainings; the second through sixth, their nature; and the last four, their fruitions The bhümis are also tenfold in terms o f the ten pàramitàs as what is to be practiced m ainly on each one o f them They are likewise tenfold in terms o f their factors to be relinquished—the tenfold ignorance about the actuality o f the dharmadhàtu being omnipresent and so on as presented in Madhyântavibhâga 11.14-15 (and PSDs section “Explanation o f wisdom (the subject)” above) As for the progression o f realization on the bhüm is, it is twofold in term s o f the isolates o f realizing natural purity and the purity o f adventitious stains During the meditative equipoises o f the ten bhümis, there is no difference in the manner o f seeing the naturally pure true nature o f p henom ena because when the naturally pure true nature o f the reality o f suffering is seen directly through the dharma readiness o f suffering on the mahàyàna path o f seeing, the naturally pure true nature o f all phenom ena is seen directly For this is the direct perception o f engaging the true nature o f ph e nom ena through practice and there are no divisions o f different kinds in the naturally pure true nature o f phenomena As Àryadeva’s Catuhsataka VIII 16 says, w h oever sees the suchness o f one entity sees the suchness o f all entities However, as outlined in Madhyântavibhâga 11.14-15, there is a difference in the m anner o f inducing various certainties about the nature o f p h e nom ena in relation to distinct bearers o f this nature As for realizing the purity o f adventitious stains, there are differences during the meditative equipoises o f the ten bhüm is because there is the manifestation o f the dharmadhàtu free from the factors to be relinquished through seeing on the first bhümi up through the manifestation o f the dharmadhàtu free from all obscurations w ithout exception on the buddhabhümi since a sütra (quoted in the Ratnagotravibhàgavyâkhyà \] 77; P5526, foL 119a5-6]) says: Just as the sun in a sky with a gap in the clouds, you are not seen in your entirety here Even by the noble ones who have the pure eye o f insight but w hose insight is limited Bhagavan, [only] those whose perceptiveness is infinite see your dharmakaya In its entirety, which pervades the infinite firmament o f knowable objects As for the manner o f realizing what is to be realized, the meditative equipoises o f the ten bhümis assess it in the m anner o f the tw o realities being in union For through the view one cuts through all reference points with regard to appearances and, through meditation, one familiarizes with appearances as being without nature by focusing on them The subsequent attainments o f the b h üm is also assess what is to be realized in the manner o f the tw o realities being in union because conditioned phenom ena are assessed as being illusionlike in that they appear yet are without nature For AA 11.21 says: As for special dedication, Its function is supreme It has the aspect o f nonreferentiality And the characteristic o f unmistakenness However, there is a difference between meditative equipoise and subsequent attainment in terms o f their m anners o f assessing what is to be realized For the former assesses this by way o f taking the ultimate as the object o f its own m ode o f apprehension and taking the seem ing merely as its Notes 727 focal object, while the latter does so by w ay o f taking the seem ing as the object o f its ow n m ode o f apprehension and taking the ultimate as its focal object 402 D3805, fol 168b.3-4 403 This etym ology is based on the Sanskrit dhuta (to shake) in dhutaguna , w h ich is rendered in Tibetan as sbyangba (to purify, train) 404 In the initial ou tlin e above, this heading was called “The final practice.” 405 PGSD (p 130) divides these eight into tw o in term s o f the place o f deliverance and the manner o f deliverance The first one consists o f (7) and (8) in terms o f the deliverances on to the final path o f nonleam ing and the final path o f learning, respectively The manner o f deliverance consists o f ( l ) - ( ) Thus, the k n ow led ge o f all aspects represents the level o f final deliverance The know led ges from the eighth bhum i up through the last m o m en t before the end o f the continuum represent the level o f accom plishing final deliverance The w isd om o f the end o f the continuum represents both, and the seven im pure bhumis, neither PVSD (fol lb -3 ) says that the eight practices o f final deliverance are the activities o f special m ea n s an d prajna that consist o f the cognizing subjects which take said eight levels o f ultimate deliverance as their objects 406 PGSD (p 147) says that the k n ow led ge o f the path that is the primary topic o f the sec ond chapter o f the AA is necessarily the causal know ledge o f the path because the knowledge o f the path is definite as tw ofold (the causal one and the fruitional one that is contained in the buddhabhumi) and the second chapter is taught in order to identify the cause o f the knowledge o f all aspects after the latter has been taught in the first chapter The purpose in teaching the knowledge o f the path separately from the knowledge o f all aspects is that the attainment o f the knowledge o f all aspects depends on having practiced the knowledge o f the path 407 Usually, as in AA II 1, the branches o f the know ledge o f the path are said to be five fold — (1) eclipsing the gods through the Tathagata’s light, (2) definite object (the generation o f bodhicitta), (3) pervasiveness (the disposition), (4) nature, and (5) activity (see also PGSD below) H ere (2) and (3) are subsum ed under “the m anner o f its arising.” 408 This and the follow ing qu ote are found on p 204 in CZ 409 D 4038, vol zi, fol 12 a - 125b.5 410 Ibid., fol 124a.6-124b.3 411 PSD has khams sna tshogs p d i mdo, but the Kangyur only contains the above khams mang p o ’i mdo 412 II.58cd-59 413 J 32-33; D4025, fol 92a.5-92b.3 414 J 56; D4025, fol 104b.6-7 415 XI.53 416 XI.54 (PSD om its the third line) 417 For details o n this and the following section, see Alokd, pp 133-34 418 II, w -5 (D 107, fol 109a.2-3) 419 Verse 94 The translation follows D 1800 (LSSP/PSD have “Since both yanas arise in the mahayana, [the one] is for the sake o f those w h o are tired out by the path o f [samsaric] exis tence, but it is not true reality.”) 420 Verse 21 728 Groundless Paths 421 LSSP (fol 17a.5) adds that Nágárjuna’s system is the one that com m ents on sütras such as the Saddharmapundarikasütra as being o f definitive m eaning and on sütras such as the Samdhinirmocanasütra as being o f expedient meaning 422 LSSP (fols 317b.6-318a.2) adds that both Aryavimuktisena and Haribhadra follow Nágárjuna’s position on the single yána PGSD (pp 150-51) says that the three yánas are pre sented w ith the intention o f the temporary existence o f three kinds o f persons w h o possess the dispositions o f árávakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas, respectively Ultimately, however, only a single yána is established For the Saddharmapundarikasütra says: The yána is a single on e—there is no second one, Nor is there ever a third one In the world, the supreme beings Only taught various yánas as [skillful] means The Lañkávatárasütra (11.205; D107, fol 109a.3) states: There is no presentation o f yánas, So I speak o f a single yána But in order to guide childish beings, I speak o f different yánas “But does this not contradict Maháyánasütrálamkára III.2 speaking o f m any [dispositions]: Because o f the differences in [beings’] dhátus, Aspirations, and accomplishments, And because o f observing different results, The existence o f the disposition is ascertained.” There is no flaw because this is said with the intention that the sentient beings who are fatigued by the suffering o f samsára are temporarily established in the inferior nirvánas and then finally guided into the maháyána MCG (fol 56a.2-56b.4) says that the presentation o f three yánas is o f expedient m eaning, bearing an intention For according to the Lañkávatárasütra , the Saddharmapundarikasütra , the Šrimáládevisutra, and others, the basis o f this intention is that the three yánas are certain temporarily; the purpose o f teaching three yánas is to provide som e temporary rest in the two lower yánas for those beings w ho are afraid o f the long time it takes to attain buddhahood and then guide them to buddhahood thereafter; and the invalidation o f the explicit teaching consists o f the following The stains to be relinquished are like clouds and dross, and w hen the nature o f the m ind has been m anifested in its ultimate state, the cause o f suffering (the clinging to an identity) has b een relinquished and the nature o f true realization cannot be harmed by suffering Also, there is the remedial prajñá o f analyzing the two kinds o f identity, which is directly opposed to said cause o f suffering Though árávaka and pratyekabuddha arhats cannot actually be reborn in samsára since the afflictions for such rebirth have been terminated, the Lañkávatárasütra says that they take on uncontam inated rebirths in lotus buds in pure lands upon being exhorted by the light rays o f the buddhas to awake from their sw oon in the uncontam inated dhátu There they generate bodhicitta, cultivate the maháyána path, and eventually attain buddhahood Furthermore, am ong the two kinds o f dying and tran siting (terminating a continuum and being inconceivable), it is said that the latter is not the one o f árávakas and pratyekabuddhas Therefore, it is established that, ultimately, there is only a single yána ... section “Explanation o f wisdom (the subject)” above) As for the progression o f realization on the bhüm is, it is twofold in term s o f the isolates o f realizing natural purity and the purity o. .. is to provide som e temporary rest in the two lower yánas for those beings w ho are afraid o f the long time it takes to attain buddhahood and then guide them to buddhahood thereafter; and the. .. five fold — (1 ) eclipsing the gods through the Tathagata’s light, (2 ) definite object (the generation o f bodhicitta), (3 ) pervasiveness (the disposition), (4 ) nature, and (5 ) activity (see also