Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Volume Ten (The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination)

(Twenty-nine) Original text: 复次。几支能生。爱非爱境界果。几支能生自体果。谓前六支。能生前果。后三支能生。后边的自体果。一支俱生二果。 

Explanation: Furthermore, which links can give rise to the retributive results of agreeable and disagreeable realms of objects? Which links can give rise to the retributive results of one's own body? The first six links give rise to the former results; that is, the six links of ignorance, formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, and contact can give rise to the results of agreeable and disagreeable realms of objects. The last three links—becoming, birth, and aging-and-death—can give rise to the results of the five-aggregate body itself. One link gives rise to both results simultaneously: that is the link of grasping. 

The first five links—ignorance, formations, consciousness, name-and-form, and the six sense bases—can give rise to the link of contact; the link of contact can give rise to the results of agreeable and disagreeable realms of objects. Without contact, the results of objects would not appear; without the six sense bases, there would be no contact; without name-and-form, there would be no six sense bases; without the six consciousnesses of past lives, there would be no name-and-form; without the manas' formations, there would be no six consciousnesses; and without ignorance, there would be no formations of the manas. The last three links—becoming, birth, and aging-and-death—can give rise to the results of one's own body, because when existence in the three realms is present, there will be the retributive result of birth, and with birth there will be the retributive result of aging-and-death. As for the link of grasping, because of grasping at all dharmas, it can give rise to the results of agreeable and disagreeable realms of objects, and moreover can cause the five aggregates to appear continually in the world, giving rise to the results of the five aggregates as one's own body. Without grasping, no realm of objects would appear, nor would future becoming appear, and there would be no retributive results at all. 

Original text: 复次。几支乐受俱行。谓除二所余支。几支苦受俱行。谓即彼及所除中一。几支不苦不乐受俱行。谓如乐受道理应知。几支不与受俱行。谓所除中一。 

Explanation: Furthermore, how many links operate together with pleasant feeling? Excluding the two just mentioned, the remaining links—feeling and craving—are the links that operate together with pleasant feeling. Because there is pleasant feeling, there is craving; because of craving, there is the decision to grasp. If it is painful feeling, there is no craving, and without craving there is no grasping. Therefore feeling and craving are accompanied by pleasant feeling. 

How many links operate together with painful feeling? They are feeling itself, as well as one of the previously excluded links, namely aging-and-death; the link of aging-and-death also operates together with painful feeling. How many links operate together with neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling? Following the same principle as with pleasant feeling, feeling and craving are also accompanied by neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling and operate together with it. How many links do not operate together with feeling? It is one of the previously excluded links, namely the link of becoming; the link of becoming does not operate together with feeling. 

Original text: 复次。几支坏苦摄。谓乐受俱行支。及非受俱行支一分。几支苦苦摄。谓苦受俱行支。及非受俱行支一分。 

Explanation: How many links are subsumed under the suffering of change? The links subsumed under the suffering of change are the links of feeling and craving that operate together with pleasant feeling, as well as one portion of the link of becoming, which does not operate together with feeling. The meaning of the suffering of change is the painful feeling produced when dharmas that already exist are destroyed. When pleasant feeling cannot be maintained and disappears, the mind is displeased and there is painful feeling; when craving cannot be maintained and disappears, there is painful feeling; when becoming in the three realms cannot be held onto and disappears, there is painful feeling. All of these are called the suffering of change. 

How many links are subsumed under the suffering of suffering? The links that operate together with painful feeling, as well as one portion of the links that do not operate together with feeling. The links of feeling and aging-and-death operate together with painful feeling and are subsumed under the suffering of suffering, because painful feeling within feeling is suffering in itself, and aging-and-death is also suffering in itself; suffering that is suffering in itself is called the suffering of suffering. As for the link of becoming, which does not operate together with feeling, one portion of it involves suffering, and therefore it is subsumed under the suffering of suffering. 

Original text: 几支行苦摄。谓所有坏苦。苦苦支。亦是行苦支。或有行苦所摄。非余二苦。谓不苦不乐受俱行支。及非受俱行支一分。 

Explanation: How many links are subsumed under the suffering of conditioned existence? All the links of the suffering of change and the suffering of suffering are also links of the suffering of conditioned existence. Moreover, there are links subsumed under the suffering of conditioned existence but not under the other two sufferings: these are the links that operate together with neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, as well as one portion of the links that do not operate together with feeling. 

The scope of the suffering of conditioned existence is extremely broad: all dharmas that flow and shift moment by moment without abiding are suffering, all subsumed under the suffering of conditioned existence. Because they flow and do not abide, do not stay, they cannot be grasped or maintained; they arise, cease, and change impermanently, and therefore they are suffering.