Observing the Five Aggregates to Cut Through the View of Self (Part 2)
Section Two: How to Clearly Understand the Marks of the Truth of Origin, Cessation, and Path
By cultivating the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truths, one can clearly understand the marks of the Four Noble Truths. Through the four aspects of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self, one clearly understands the mark of the truth of suffering; through the four aspects of cause, origin, arising, and condition, one clearly understands the mark of the truth of origin; through the four aspects of cessation, tranquility, excellence, and departure, one clearly understands the mark of the truth of cessation; through the four aspects of path, suchness, practice, and emergence, one clearly understands the mark of the truth of the path. Among these, the ten aspects for contemplating the truth of suffering and the realization of the four aspects of the truth of suffering have already been explained. Below we explain how to cultivate the four aspects of the truth of origin to clearly understand its mark.
Original text: 复由四行。于苦谛相。正觉了已。次复观察。如是苦谛。何因何集。何起何缘。由断彼故。苦亦随断。如是即以。集谛四行。了集谛相。谓了知爱。能引苦故。说名为因。既引苦已。复能招集。令其生故。说名为集。既生苦已。令彼起故。说名为起。复于当来。诸苦种子。能摄受故。次第招引。诸苦集故。说名为缘。
Explanation: After one has awakened without error, through the four aspects of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self, to the mark of the truth of suffering, one then contemplates again: what is the cause of the appearance of this truth of suffering? How does suffering accumulate? How does suffering arise? By what condition does suffering appear? Only by severing these four aspects—cause, origin, arising, and condition—will suffering be severed accordingly. Therefore one must contemplate the four aspects of the truth of origin to sever the mark of the truth of origin. Knowing that craving can draw forth suffering, craving is said to be the cause of suffering. Having drawn forth suffering, it can further gather and accumulate it, causing suffering to be born—this is called the origin of suffering. After suffering is born, it causes that suffering to manifest—this is called arising. It can also take hold of the seeds of future suffering, sequentially drawing forth the accumulation of all sufferings—this is called condition.
Original text: 复有差别。谓了知爱。是取因故。复能招集。即以其取。为因有故。复能生起。有为上首。当来生故。又能引发。以生为缘。老病死等。诸苦法故。随其所应。当知说名。因集起缘。
Explanation: There are further distinctions among the four aspects, with different sequences: knowing that craving is the cause of grasping, and craving can further gather and accumulate; then grasping becomes the cause of future becoming, whereby future becoming can be generated; with becoming as the condition, the future five aggregates are born; and it can further induce old age, sickness, death, and other mass of sufferings, with birth as their condition. According to the sequence of the four aspects, they are respectively named: cause, origin, arising, and condition.
The cause of the truth of origin is craving. Because there is craving, grasping arises. Whether or not the grasping is obtained, there is the mark of suffering. After the future becoming is produced, the mark of birth appears, and the mark of suffering appears. Only by severing the root of suffering—craving—can suffering be severed. The cause of craving is feeling, and the cause of feeling is contact. There can be contact and feeling, but if at the time of contact and feeling there is no craving, no mind dwelling on what is contacted and felt, then future suffering will not appear, and the truth of origin ceases. Since present craving is the cause that induces suffering, and the accumulation of craving causes suffering to be born, the accumulation of craving is the origin of suffering. After suffering is born and the feeling of suffering manifests, this is called the arising of suffering. Because craving can take hold of the seeds of future suffering, and what craving gathers are all seeds of suffering capable of producing future suffering—craving, grasping, becoming, birth, and old age sequentially drawing forth the accumulation of all sufferings—therefore craving is the condition of suffering.
The truth of origin is one link in the twelve links of dependent origination. The path to liberation: the Śrāvaka Dharma and the Pratyekabuddha Dharma mutually contain each other and share commonalities. There is no independent Pratyekabuddha Dharma, nor an independent Śrāvaka Dharma; the only difference lies in the relative depth of the levels the two dharmas involve, while liberation is no different.
Original text: 复有差别。谓正了知。烦恼随眠。附属所依。爱随眠等。是当来世。后有生因。又正了知。彼所生缠。随其所应。是集起缘。谓后有爱。能招引故。即是其集。此后有爱。复能发起。喜贪俱行爱。此喜贪俱行爱。复与多种。彼彼喜爱为缘。如是依止。爱随眠等。及三种缠。能生后有。及能发起。诸爱差别。是故说名。因集起缘。如是行者。由四种行。了集谛相。
Explanation: The four aspects have further distinctions. One correctly and truly knows that the latent tendencies of afflictions are subordinate to that on which they depend: it is only by relying on the latent tendencies of craving that there are latent tendencies of afflictions; without craving there are no afflictions. Craving is also the cause of afflictions—severing craving severs afflictions—and the latent tendencies of craving are the cause of the birth of the threefold becoming in future lives. One correctly knows that the entanglements of afflictions produced by those latent tendencies correspond one by one to the three aspects of origin, arising, and condition: the entanglements of afflictions can gather the seeds of suffering, can cause suffering to become manifest, and are the condition for producing the feeling of suffering.
Because the latent tendencies of afflictions can draw forth the craving for future becoming, they can accumulate the craving for future becoming, and can also initiate the craving that operates together with delight and greed. This craving operating together with delight and greed can in turn serve as the condition for various kinds of fondness. In this way, relying on the latent tendencies of craving and so forth, together with the three kinds of entanglements, one can give rise to future becoming and initiate the various differentiated forms of craving. Therefore they are named the four aspects of cause, origin, arising, and condition. Because there are latent tendencies of craving, there will be entanglements of afflictions, entanglements of delight, and entanglements of greed. With these three entanglements, future becoming will certainly be born; with becoming born, suffering will be born. Thus the practitioner clearly understands the mark of the truth of origin through the four aspects.
Original text: 于集谛相。正觉了已。复正觉了。如是集谛。无余息灭。故名为灭。一切苦谛。无余寂静。故名为静。即此灭静。是第一故。是最胜故。是无上故。说名为妙。是常住故。永出离故。说名为离。如是行者。由四种行。了灭谛相。
Explanation: After one has correctly and truly understood and awakened to the mark of the truth of origin, one must further correctly and truly awaken to the four aspects of the truth of cessation. When the truth of origin is completely extinguished and ceased, it is named cessation; when the truth of origin no longer accumulates, suffering ceases. When the entire truth of suffering is extinguished with no remaining suffering, there is then tranquility—no more creation by the five aggregates and no more suffering by the five aggregates—this is named tranquility. When the truth of suffering is thus extinguished and tranquil, it is foremost in the world, most excellent, and unsurpassed—this is called excellence. After the truth of suffering is extinguished there is no remaining suffering, and suffering will never again be produced; such a state exists forever, having departed from suffering forever—this is called departure. Thus the yogic practitioner clearly understands the mark of the truth of cessation through the four aspects of cessation, tranquility, excellence, and departure.
Through the four aspects of cessation, tranquility, excellence, and departure, one clearly understands the mark of the truth of cessation. Suffering ceases because the origin has ceased and no longer accumulates suffering formations. The bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the five-aggregate body are all suffering formations, especially unwholesome and bad bodily, verbal, and mental actions. When the mind no longer clings to the worldly dharmas of the five aggregates, suffering is no longer accumulated, and tranquility is attained. After the mind attains tranquility, one is freely liberated. In the world this is wondrous and marvelous, because in the world there is universally clinging and suffering, without tranquility, freedom, or liberation, so life is not marvelous. A life of liberation and freedom is foremost and most excellent in the world, hence it is marvelous. After suffering is extinguished and liberation attained, there will be no more feeling of suffering; liberation is eternal liberation, never regressing back into the realm of ignorance and afflictions, forever departing from suffering—hence it is called departure. In this way the mark of the truth of cessation is very clearly revealed through the four aspects of cessation, tranquility, excellence, and departure.
Original text: 于灭谛相，正觉了已。复正觉了，真对治道。于所知境。能通寻求义故。能实寻求义故。由于四门，随转义故。一向能趣。涅槃义故。所以说名。道如行出。如是行者。由四种行。了道谛相。如是名为。于四圣谛。自内现观。了相作意。
Explanation: After the practitioner has truly and correctly awakened to the mark of the truth of cessation, one must finally truly and correctly awaken to the path cultivated to genuinely counteract suffering; only then can suffering be extinguished and liberation attained. Regarding the knowable realm, one is able to comprehensively seek its true meaning and to truly seek its true meaning—this is named suchness. In the course of cultivating the path, one's bodily, verbal, and mental actions accord with the principle of the Four Noble Truths and are continuously transformed toward purity—this is named practice. After cultivating the path, the mental formations gradually become tranquil and cease, tending toward nirvāṇa and departing from birth-and-death—this is named emergence. Thus the yogic practitioner clearly understands the mark of the truth of the path through the four aspects of path, suchness, practice, and emergence. Only this is called the attention that discerns marks (lakṣaṇa-pratyavekṣā-manaskāra), the direct realization from within oneself of the Four Noble Truths.
What does the true counteractive path refer to? "Path" refers to the manner, method, and route; "counteractive" refers to counteracting the afflictions of greed, hatred, delusion, and ignorance in the mind. Ignorance is not knowing suffering and not knowing the origin of suffering; therefore one must counteract this not-knowing and transform it into knowing. If there were no ignorance, no counteraction would be needed. The path cultivated in order to extinguish suffering and sever the origin is named the path. The process of extinguishing suffering is cultivating the path—cultivating precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom, the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, and contemplating and practicing the Four Noble Truths. This is the aspect of path.
The aspect of suchness is making the mind accord with the truths and dharmic principles of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. Regarding the knowable realm of the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths, one can penetratively and deeply deliberate on its true principle, can truly contemplate and practice its dharmic principle, and comprehend the correct principle of the knowable realm's content, thereby realizing the truth of the Four Noble Truths. The aspect of practice, on the basis of the aspect of suchness severing ignorance, is the transformation of mental formations, whereby all one's mental formations accord with the recognized truth and do not contradict the true principle of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. The aspect of emergence is that through cultivating the path, afflictions are severed, bodily, verbal, and mental actions become pure, one no longer clings to the world of the five aggregates, abiding in tranquil nonaction, with body and mind liberated, tending toward nirvāṇa, according with nirvāṇa, departing from the three realms, and liberated from the suffering of the cycle of birth and death.
Through the four aspects of path, suchness, practice, and emergence, one clearly understands the truth of the path. From the above four aspects it can be known that in the course of cultivating the path, precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom grow; one's understanding of the world of the five aggregates accords with the true principle; ignorance becomes thinner and afflictions lighter; mental formations do not contradict the noble path; and the body-mind world gradually transforms. When purified to a certain degree, according with the Path and according with the noble sages, one realizes the noble path. It is not that one begins to slowly transform body and mind only after realizing the fruits; if one does not transform body and mind to accord with the noble sages, one cannot become a noble sage. It is like a student taking an examination: if one does not pass, one cannot be admitted—the principle is the same.
