English
in the place of his friend, or a possession in the place of his possession, in any place, he does not see the self of another to be brought into this state of being anything. This is the meaning. Thus, because he neither sees himself anywhere, nor sees it to be brought into the state of being anything to another, nor sees the self of another, nor sees the self of another to be brought into the state of being anything of his. Therefore, the four-fold emptiness is grasped by him. 761. Thus, having grasped the four-fold emptiness, he again grasps emptiness in six ways. How? The eye is empty of self or what belongs to self, permanent... or permanent, or stable, or eternal, or of an unchangeable nature... mind is empty. Forms are empty... phenomena are empty. Eye-consciousness... mind-consciousness. Eye-contact, and so on, up to old age and death, the method should be applied. Thus, having grasped emptiness in six ways, one again grasps it in eight ways. That is to say: Form is without essence, without core, devoid of substance, or with the essence of permanence, or with the essence of stability, or with the essence of happiness, or with the essence of self, or permanent, or stable, or eternal, or of an unchangeable nature. Feeling... perception... formations... consciousness... eye... up to old age and death are without essence, without core, devoid of substance, or with the essence of permanence, or with the essence of stability, or with the essence of happiness, or with the essence of self, or permanent, or stable, or eternal, or of an unchangeable nature. Just as a reed is without essence, without core, devoid of substance. Just as a castor-oil plant... just as a fig tree... just as a white calf... just as a coral tree... just as a lump of foam... just as a water bubble... just as a mirage... just as a plantain trunk... just as an illusion are without essence, without core, devoid of substance. Even so, form... up to old age and death are without essence, without core, devoid of substance, or with the essence of permanence... or of an unchangeable nature. Having thus grasped emptiness in eight ways, one again grasps it in ten ways. One sees form as hollow. As void... as empty... as not-self... as without mastery... as not acting according to one's will... as unobtainable... as not under one's control... as alien... as separate one sees. Feeling... up to consciousness one sees as hollow... up to separate. Having thus grasped emptiness in ten ways, one again grasps it in twelve ways. That is to say: Form is not a being, not a life-principle, not a man, not a youth, not a woman, not a person, not a self, not belonging to a self. Not I, not mine, not another's, not anyone's. Feeling... up to consciousness is not anyone's. Thus, having comprehended emptiness in twelve ways, again, by way of discerning comprehension, he comprehends emptiness in forty-two ways. He sees form as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a boil, as a dart, as a misfortune, as an affliction, as alien, as disintegrating, as a calamity, as a danger, as a fear, as an obstacle, as wavering, as breaking up, as unstable, as having no protection, as having no shelter, as having no refuge, as having become no refuge, as empty, as vain, as void, as not-self, as having no delight, as full of danger, as subject to change, as without essence, as the root of misfortune, as a killer, as perishing, as with taints, as conditioned, as Māra's bait, as subject to birth, as subject to aging, as subject to sickness, as subject to death, as subject to sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair, as arising, as ceasing, as having no delight, as full of danger, as escape. He sees feeling... (and so on)... consciousness as impermanent... (and so on)... as escape. And this has been said: "Seeing form as impermanent... (and so on)... as escape, he surveys the world as empty. Seeing feeling... (and so on)... consciousness as impermanent... (and so on)... as escape, he surveys the world as empty." "Survey the world as empty, Mogharāja, ever mindful; Having uprooted the view of self, Thus you may cross beyond death; The King of Death does not see One who thus surveys the world." Having thus seen as empty, and having applied the three characteristics, comprehending the formations, he abandoned fear and delight, and became indifferent and neutral towards the formations. He does not grasp "I am" or "mine," like a man whose wife has been abandoned. Just as a man might have a wife who is desirable, lovely, and pleasing, he would not be able to endure even a moment without her, he would be excessively attached to her as "mine." If he were to see that woman standing or sitting or speaking or laughing with another man, he would be angry and displeased, and would experience extreme grief. But after some time, that woman... Seeing a fault in a woman, desiring to be free, he would let her go, not grasping her as "mine." From then on, seeing her doing anything with anyone, he would not get angry, nor fall into distress, but rather would be indifferent, neutral. Just so, desiring to be free from all formations, discerning formations through contemplation, not seeing anything to be grasped as "I" or "mine," abandoning fear and delight, he becomes indifferent and neutral towards all formations. For him, thus knowing, thus seeing, in the three existences, in the four wombs, in the five destinations, in the seven stations of consciousness, in the nine abodes of beings, the mind withdraws, shrinks, turns back, does not spread out, and equanimity or aversion becomes established. Just as water droplets on a slightly tilted lotus leaf withdraw, shrink, turn back, do not spread out, just so... Just as a chicken feather or a piece of sinew thrown into a fire withdraws, shrinks, turns back, does not spread out, just so for him, in the three existences, the mind... and equanimity or aversion becomes established. Thus, for him, the knowledge of equanimity towards formations arises. 767. If, however, he sees the peaceful state, Nibbāna, as peaceful, he abandons all activity of formations and rushes towards Nibbāna itself. If he does not see Nibbāna as peaceful, he repeatedly becomes an object of formations and continues to exist, like the "direction-crow" of seafarers. It is said that seafarer merchants, when boarding a ship, take a "direction-crow." When the ship, driven by wind, heads for a foreign land and the shore is no longer visible, they release the direction-crow. It, standing on the mast, leaps into the sky, surveys all directions and intermediate directions, and if it sees land, it goes straight towards it. If it does not see land, it repeatedly returns and clings to the mast. Just so, if the knowledge of equanimity towards formations... He constantly sees Nibbāna, the ultimate state, having abandoned all activity of formations, he leaps into Nibbāna itself. If he does not see it, again and again, becoming only the object of formations, he continues. This is like a well-spun thread being rolled. Like cotton that has been ginned and beaten, having comprehended formations in various ways, having abandoned fear and delight, having become impartial in the investigation of formations, he remains by means of the three kinds of contemplation. Thus remaining, having attained the state of the three doors to liberation, it becomes a condition for the classification of the seven noble persons. 768. Herein, because it proceeds by means of the three kinds of contemplation, it attains the state of the three doors to liberation by means of the dominance of the three faculties. For the three contemplations are called the three doors to liberation. As it is said: "These three doors to liberation, indeed, conduce to the escape from the world: by contemplating all formations as delimited and encompassed, and by the mind leaping into the signless element; by the mind being stirred in all formations, and by the mind leaping into the desireless element; by contemplating all phenomena as alien, and by the mind leaping into the element of emptiness. These three doors to liberation conduce to the escape from the world." Herein, "by contemplating as delimited and encompassed" means by delimiting and encompassing by way of arising and passing away. For the contemplation of impermanence, having delimited thus: "before arising, formations do not exist," and investigating their course, it contemplates as encompassed thus: "after passing away, they do not go beyond, they disappear right here." "By the mind being stirred" means by the mind being agitated. For by the contemplation of suffering, one agitates the mind in formations. "By contemplating as alien" means by contemplating thus as not-self: "not I, not mine." Thus, these three terms should be understood as said by way of the contemplation of impermanence and so on. Therefore, immediately after... It is said in the answer to the question: “When one attends to impermanence, formations appear as decay. When one attends to suffering, formations appear as fear. When one attends to non-self, formations appear as emptiness.” 769. But what are these liberations, of which these contemplations are the doors? They are these three: the Signless, the Aimless, the Emptiness. For it has been said: “One who attends to impermanence, abounding in determination, attains the signless liberation. One who attends to suffering, abounding in tranquility, attains the aimless liberation. One who attends to non-self, abounding in penetration, attains the emptiness liberation.” And here, the signless liberation is the Noble Path that proceeds by making Nibbāna its object in the aspect of signlessness. For it is signless because it arises in the element of signlessness. And it is liberation because it is freed from defilements. In the same way, the aimless is that which proceeds by making Nibbāna its object in the aspect of aimlessness.