The Principle of Cultivating the Path and Eradicating Delusions

Original text of the Abhidharmakośa-śāstra, Volume Twenty-three: 应知此中下下品道势力。能断上上品障。如是乃至上上品道势力。能断下下品障。上上品等诸能治德。初未有故。此德有时。上上品等失已无故。如浣衣位粗垢先除。于后后时渐除细垢。又如粗闇。小明能灭。要以大明方灭细闇。 

Explanation: Practitioners of the path should understand that the power of the lowest-of-the-low grade path can eradicate the highest-of-the-high grade afflictive obstructions, and the power of the highest-of-the-high grade path can also eradicate the lowest-of-the-low grade afflictive obstructions. The counteractive virtue of the highest-of-the-high grade does not exist at the very beginning of cultivating the path; once this virtue arises, the faults of the highest-of-the-high grade no longer exist, and the delusions of contemplation of the highest-of-the-high grade have already been severed. For example, when washing clothes, the coarser stains should be removed first, and only afterward can the finer stains be gradually removed. Likewise, coarse and heavy darkness can be dispelled by a small light, whereas deep and subtle darkness must be dispelled by a great light; only when the subtle darkness is dispelled is there complete brightness without any darkness. 

Original text: 失德相对理亦应然。白法力强黑法力劣故。刹那顷劣道现行。无始时来展转增益上品诸惑。能令顿断。如经久时所集众病。服少良药能令顿愈。又如长时所集大闇。一刹那顷小灯能灭。

Explanation: The principle that faults and virtues correspond to each other is also like this. Because the power of wholesome dharmas is strong and the power of unwholesome dharmas is weak, in the space of a single instant, the lowest and shallowest path manifests, and the highest-grade afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion that sentient beings have continuously intensified since beginningless kalpas can be severed instantaneously. It is like illnesses accumulated over a long time, which can be suddenly cured by taking a small amount of good medicine. It is also like the great darkness accumulated over a long period, which a small lamp can dispel in a single instant. 

The path that can counteract afflictions and faults is virtue, that is, the merit generated through cultivating the path. The merit of cultivating the path includes precepts (śīla), meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā), and none of the three can be lacking. Precepts, like meditative concentration, can also be divided into low, middle, and high grades, and even wisdom can be divided into low, middle, and high grades. Because the mind holds the precepts and receives effective restraint, the mind does not scatter; combined with the effort of cultivating meditative concentration, dhyāna will appear. Because of dhyāna, the principles of the Four Noble Truths one encounters, as well as the principles of the Mahāyāna, will enter the mind and become thoroughly understood, and wisdom will appear. The more strictly the precepts are upheld, the deeper the meditative concentration; the deeper the meditative concentration, the more the dharma principles enter the mind, the more thoroughly the principles are understood, the lighter the afflictions become, and the greater the virtue. Therefore, upholding the precepts is virtue, meditative concentration is virtue, and wisdom is virtue. Virtue is not only the virtue of merit but also the virtue of blessings; by this virtue, one can be reborn in wholesome destinies in future lives. Virtue is also the indriya, the fundamental suitable vessel for the Path; with virtue there is the Path, and with the Path there is liberation. 

When the Path and virtue are combined, that is morality. A person of lofty virtue and great renown, a person of high morality, naturally carries weight in reputation without any deliberate promotion; his virtue naturally attracts others, just as the fragrance of flowers naturally draws butterflies. A person with the Path and virtue cannot be moved by people of the lowest grade; to move him incurs damage—cause and effect do not permit it, and neither does virtue. Great movement brings great damage, small movement brings small damage; the flowering retribution manifests in this life, and the retributive result comes in later lives—there is no escaping it, because his morality is towering. It is like a king whose position is honored and power is great: to insult him may lead to imprisonment or beheading, even implicating nine generations of one's clan, because his power is flourishing.