Explanation of the Mahāyāna Sūtra of the Revelation of Consciousness

Original text: 如是我闻。一时薄伽梵。在王舍城。迦兰陀竹林，与大比丘众。千二百五十人俱。皆阿罗汉。诸漏已尽。无复烦恼。逮得自在。心善解脱。慧善解脱。

"Outflows" (āsrava) refers to the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion; "exhausted" means completely eradicated—when the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion have all been eradicated, it is called the exhaustion of outflows (āsrava-kṣaya). After eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) and attaining the first fruit, one cultivates the first dhyāna and begins to eradicate a portion of the afflictions, attaining the third fruit. After the first dhyāna arises, the affliction of greed is eradicated first, then the affliction of hatred; together with the eradication of the three fetters of the first fruit, this eradicates the five lower fetters, and at the fourth fruit, the five higher fetters are then eradicated. At this point, the scattered mind, the conceit of self, the craving for the three realms, the grasping on self, the love of self, and so on of ordinary worldlings (pṛthagjana) have all been eradicated—that is, the manas' attachment to self has been completely exhausted. All the afflictive views and thoughts—greed, hatred, delusion, conceit, doubt, and wrong views—have been completely eradicated, with not a trace of craving for the dharmas of the three realms; when all these afflictions have been utterly eradicated, this is "exhaustion of outflows." If afflictions still remain, there are outflows; with outflows, one cannot escape the three realms and will continue to suffer within the three realms.

For example, a person of the third fruit still has the afflictions of self-conceit and grasping on self not fully eradicated, so he cannot directly leave the three realms; he may need to continue contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) in the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava), and only after completely eradicating the afflictions can he leave the three realms. Some third-fruit practitioners, after death, ascend to the heavens and eradicate their remaining afflictions there before they can leave the three realms. Afflictions bind oneself within the three realms and the six paths, making it impossible to escape; therefore every sentient being must first resolve and end afflictions before being able to leave the three realms. Only by attaining the fourth fruit of arhatship, possessing the wisdom that exhausts the mundane world, can one exhaust the worldly dharmas of the three realms. That is to say, the arhats all know how to extinguish their own five aggregates (pañca-skandha) in order to escape the world—this belongs to the wisdom of those of the Small Vehicle. The arhats are all endowed with omniscience regarding liberation, endowed with the wisdom to escape birth and death; this is called liberation by wisdom (prajñā-vimukti).

Only by eradicating afflictions can one attain freedom. What does this "freedom" refer to? It refers to the freedom of the seven consciousnesses—no longer bound by afflictions, with regard to all worldly dharmas the mind has no obstructions, the mind attains liberation and is not subject to bondage. Of course, all worldly dharmas do not include the Mahāyāna dharma. Regarding the Mahāyāna dharma, the arhat is still not free, because he has not realized the Mahāyāna dharma. But in the mundane life within the world of the five aggregates, his mind is free, able to not be bound by any of the six sense-object realms; his craving and fetters for the three realms have all been completely eradicated, his mind has already attained liberation, and his wisdom has also attained liberation. Liberation of mind means the mind has attained freedom; liberation of wisdom means at the very least an arhat liberated by wisdom.

Arhats are divided into two types: those liberated by wisdom (prajñā-vimukti) and those liberated in both ways (ubhayato-bhāga-vimukta). An arhat liberated by wisdom has only cultivated up to the first dhyāna, not yet to the fourth dhyāna, and lacks the five superknowledges, yet in terms of wisdom he already has the capacity to attain liberation. What does it mean to attain liberation through wisdom? It means that with this wisdom he can escape the three realms; although he does not yet have the second, third, or fourth dhyāna, he has the first dhyāna, his afflictions are completely eradicated, and without the bondage of afflictions and grasping on self, at the end of his life he can extinguish the five aggregates and eighteen realms and escape the three realms. Having the wisdom of liberation, one is no longer bound by worldly dharmas—this is called "well liberated in mind, well liberated in wisdom."