Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra: Commentary on the Twelve Links of Dependent Arising (Twelve)

Original text:问。几支是引因所摄。答。从无明乃至受。问。几支是生因所摄。答。从爱乃至有。问。几支是生引二因果所摄耶。答。于现法后法中。识等乃至受。于生老死位。所摄诸支。

Explanation: Question: Among the twelve links, how many links are subsumed under the attracting cause (ākṣepaka-hetu)? Answer: Ignorance conditions volitional formations, formations condition consciousness, consciousness conditions name-and-form, name-and-form conditions the six sense bases, the six sense bases condition contact, contact conditions feeling—these seven links are subsumed under the attracting cause, and can attract and give rise to the subsequent links. Question: How many links are subsumed under the generative cause (janaka-hetu)? Answer: Feeling conditions craving, craving conditions grasping, grasping conditions existence—these three links are subsumed under the generative cause, and can give rise to the links of birth and aging-and-death. Question: How many links are subsumed under both the generative cause and the attracting cause? Answer: In the presently existing dharmas and the dharmas arising in future lives, the four links of consciousness conditioning name-and-form, name-and-form conditioning the six sense bases, the six sense bases conditioning contact, and contact conditioning feeling, with respect to the links at the stage of birth and aging-and-death, are subsumed under both the generative cause and the attracting cause.

Ignorance can attract and give rise to volitional formations, but cannot give birth to them; "attracting" means guiding, serving as a supporting condition and dominant condition, whereas "giving birth" means directly producing. Ignorance has no substance, no mind, and no seeds, so it cannot give birth to volitional formations; it can only serve as the trigger for the ālayavijñāna to give birth to volitional formations. Without this trigger, the ālayavijñāna cannot give birth to volitional formations. Volitional formations are the attracting cause of the six consciousnesses (karmic seeds), not the cause that directly gives birth to the six consciousnesses (karmic seeds). Volitional formations have no self-nature and no seeds, so they cannot give birth to the six consciousnesses (karmic seeds); it is the ālayavijñāna that, by means of volitional formations, gives birth to the six consciousnesses (karmic seeds). The karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses are the condition for name-and-form, but cannot directly give birth to name-and-form; it is the ālayavijñāna that, by relying on the condition of the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses, gives birth to name-and-form. The seeds deposited by the actions of the six consciousnesses can attract and give rise to the name-and-form of future lives.

Name-and-form is the attracting cause of the six sense bases, and cannot directly give birth to the six sense bases; it is the ālayavijñāna that, by means of name-and-form, gives birth to the six sense bases, among which the mind base already existed originally and is not newly born from the ālayavijñāna. The six sense bases are the attracting cause of contact, and can attract and give rise to contact, but cannot directly give birth to contact, because the six sense bases have no self-nature and no seeds, and thus cannot give birth to contact; it is the ālayavijñāna that, by means of the six sense bases as the attracting cause, gives birth to contact. Contact is the attracting cause of feeling, and can attract and give rise to feeling, but cannot directly give birth to feeling, because contact has no self-nature, is not a mind-consciousness, and has no seeds; it is the ālayavijñāna that, by means of contact, gives birth to feeling.

The three links of craving, grasping, and existence are the generative cause for the arising of the links of birth and aging-and-death in future lives. If there were no craving, grasping, and existence, the five-aggregate body would cease and one would enter nirvāṇa without remainder, with no more birth and aging-and-death. Therefore the three links of craving, grasping, and existence are the generative cause of the links of future lives.

Original text:问。若说无明。以不如理作意为因。何因缘故。于缘起教中不先说耶。答。彼唯是不断因故。非杂染因故。所以者何。非不愚者。起此作意。依杂染因。说缘起教。无明自性是染污。不如理作意自性非染污。故彼不能染污无明。然由无明力所染污。又生杂染业。烦恼力之所熏。发业之初因。谓初缘起。是故不说不如理作意。

Explanation: Question: If it is said that ignorance takes improper mental engagement (ayoniso manasikāra) as its cause, for what reason is improper mental engagement not taught first in the teaching of dependent arising? Answer: It is only the cause of non-cessation, not the cause of defilement. Why is this so? It is not that those who are not deluded give rise to this mental engagement. The teaching of dependent arising is expounded based on the cause of defilement. The self-nature of ignorance is defiled, while the self-nature of improper mental engagement is not defiled; therefore improper mental engagement cannot defile ignorance, but is itself defiled by the power of ignorance. Moreover, the defiled karma that arises is perfumed by the power of afflictions, and the initial cause of engaging in karma is the initial dependent arising. Therefore improper mental engagement is not taught first.

The self-nature of ignorance is defiled and afflicted, while the self-nature of improper mental engagement is not defiled or afflicted; therefore improper mental engagement cannot defile ignorance, yet it can be defiled by ignorance. Moreover, the defiled karma that arises is perfumed by the power of afflictions, and the power of afflictions is precisely the power of ignorance. The initial cause of the arising of defiled karma is the initial link of dependent arising; therefore improper mental engagement is not taught first.