即時，如來將罷法座，於師子床攬七寶机，迴紫金山再來凭倚，普告大眾及阿難言：「汝等有學緣覺、聲聞，今日迴心趣大菩提無上妙覺，吾今已說真修行法，汝猶未識修奢摩他、毘婆舍那微細魔事，魔境現前汝不能識，洗心非正落於邪見，或汝陰魔或復天魔，或著鬼神或遭魑魅，心中不明認賊為子，又復於中得少為足，如第四禪無聞比丘妄言證聖，天報已畢衰相現前，謗阿羅漢身遭後有，墮阿鼻獄。汝應諦聽，吾今為汝仔細分別。」阿難起立并其會中同有學者，歡喜頂禮伏聽慈誨。
Thereupon, the Thus-Come One prepared to leave the Dharma seat. Rising from the Lion’s Throne, he placed his hand on the table before him, which was wrought of the seven precious things. But then, moving his body, which was the color of purple-golden mountains, he sat down again, and he said to Ānanda and to the rest of the great assembly, “You who still need instruction, you Hearers of the Teaching and you Solitary Sages, have now dedicated yourselves to attaining a great awakening — the supreme and wondrous enlightenment. I have now taught you the right method for practice. But you are still not aware of the subtle demonic events that can occur when you undertake the practices of calming the mind and contemplative insight. If you do not purify your mind, you will not be able to recognize ‘the doings of Māra’ as they arise. You will not find the right path, and you will fall into the error of wrong views. Māra may arise within you from the five aggregates. Or a celestial Māra or a ghost or a spirit — perhaps a mountain spirit or an animal-possessing ghost — may come to possess you. If your mind is not clear when this happens, you may well take a burglar to be your own child. Or you may feel satisfied with a small accomplishment, as did that monk who was ignorant of the Dharma. Having only reached the level of the fourth dhyāna, he made the false claim that he had become a sage. When his reward of celestial life had run its course and the signs of decay had appeared, he vilified the Arhats’ enlightenment, and so he was reborn in the Unrelenting Hell. Listen carefully while I explain this matter in detail.”
Ānanda and the others in the assembly who still needed instruction stood up, bowed to the ground joyfully, and then quieted their minds in order to be ready to receive the Buddha’s compassionate teaching.
佛告阿難及諸大眾：「汝等當知，有漏世界十二類生，本覺妙明覺圓心體，與十方佛無二無別；由汝妄想，迷理為咎癡愛發生，生發遍迷故有空性，化迷不息有世界生，則此十方微塵國土非無漏者，皆是迷頑妄想安立。當知虛空生汝心內，猶如片雲點太清裏，況諸世界在虛空耶？汝等一人發真歸元，此十方空皆悉銷殞，云何空中所有國土而不振裂？汝輩修禪飾三摩地，十方菩薩及諸無漏大阿羅漢，心精通[淴-心+目]當處湛然；一切魔王及與鬼神諸凡夫天，見其宮殿無故崩裂，大地振坼水陸飛騰無不驚慴。凡夫昏暗不覺遷訛。彼等咸得五種神通唯除漏盡，戀此塵勞，如何令汝摧裂其處？是故神鬼及諸天魔魍魎妖精，於三昧時僉來惱汝。
The Buddha said to Ānanda and the rest of the great assembly, “You should know that although the twelve classes of beings in this world have outflows, they are, nevertheless, fundamentally identical to the Buddhas of the ten directions, in that they all are fundamentally endowed with the wondrous enlightened understanding — with the awakened, perfect, essential mind. But their thinking is deluded and they have a confused view of the truth, and so they stubbornly cling to emotional attachments. As a result, space appears, and as they become more and more confused, worlds come into being. In the lands in the ten directions, numerous as motes of dust, beings who have outflows are created out of confusion, obstinacy, and deluded thinking. You should know that space is created within the mind. It is like a wisp of cloud in the vastness of the sky. The worlds in the emptiness of space are even less significant. If you discover true reality by returning to the source, space throughout the ten directions will disappear. How could all the lands not cease to be as well? When you practice meditation in stillness and enter samādhi, the essence of your mind merges with the minds of the Bodhisattvas of the ten directions and with the minds of all the great Arhats, who have ended outflows. You abide in a place of profound purity. Then the kings of demons, ghosts, and spirits and the general population of gods see their palaces collapse inexplicably. Their lands quake. Terror strikes the creatures who move through water, on land, and in the air. Ordinary people, in the darkness of their confusion, know nothing of these events. All these demonic beings have five spiritual powers; they lack only freedom from outflows because they are still attached to the stress of entanglement with perceived objects. How could they be happy with seeing their palaces destroyed? Celestial demons, shape-shifting ghosts, and succubus-demons will all come to disturb your samādhi.”
「然彼諸魔雖有大怒，彼塵勞內，汝妙覺中，如風吹光如刀斷水了不相觸，汝如沸浪彼如堅氷，煖氣漸隣不日銷殞，徒恃神力但為其客，成就破亂由汝心中五陰主人，主人若迷客得其便；當處禪那覺悟無惑，則彼魔事無奈汝何。陰銷入明則彼群邪咸受幽氣，明能破暗，迷自銷殞，如何敢留擾亂禪定？若不明悟被陰所迷，則汝阿難必為魔子成就魔人。如摩登伽殊為眇劣，彼雖呪汝破佛律儀，八萬行中秖毀一戒，心清淨故尚未淪溺，此乃隳汝寶覺全身，如宰臣家忽逢籍沒，宛轉零落無可哀救。
But despite their furious rage, they are subject to the stress of entanglement with perceived objects, while you abide within wondrous enlightenment. Therefore they can do you no harm any more than wind can blow light away or a knife cut water. You are like water at the boil, and they are like ice frozen solid; as they come close to your warmth, they will melt. They have only their spiritual powers, so they can visit you only briefly. They cannot disturb you except through your mind, which is the host of the five aggregates. Only when the innkeeper is befuddled can his guests do as they please. When you are absorbed in meditation, fully awake and free of delusion, how will the deeds of these demons be able to affect you? For you, the five aggregates will have dissolved, and you will have entered into the light of understanding. These deviant hordes rely upon dark energy, and your light will overcome their darkness. If they come near you, they will be destroyed. How will they dare to linger and try to disrupt your samādhi? But if you have not awakened to the light of understanding and are confused by the five aggregates, Ānanda, you yourself could become a disciple of demons and could turn into a demon yourself. Your encounter with the Mātaṅga woman was an exception, and it turned out to be a minor incident. Though she tried to make you break the Buddha’s rules, all she was able to do was to cast a spell on you. In the end, you only broke one among all the eighty thousand rules of conduct. Because your mind was pure, you did not fall. But if the demons of the aggregates had been able to destroy your precious Dharma-body, you would have become like a member of the family of a government minister whose property has been confiscated. The family is uprooted and scattered, with no one to pity them or come to their aid.”
「阿難當知！汝坐道場銷落諸念，其念若盡則諸離念一切精明，動靜不移憶忘如一，當住此處入三摩提，如明目人處大幽暗，精性妙淨心未發光，此則名為色陰區宇；若目明朗，十方洞開無復幽黯，名色陰盡，是人則能超越劫濁。觀其所由，堅固妄想以為其本。
“Ānanda, you should know! When you sit in a place for awakening, all your thoughts may melt away. When your thoughts come to a halt, only an essential awareness will remain. Movement outside your mind will seem the same as stillness, and the presence of thoughts in your mind will seem the same as the absence of thoughts. When you abide in this state, having entered samādhi, you will be like someone who ordinarily can see clearly but who finds himself in a dark place. His essential nature will be wonderfully pure, but his mind does not yet emit light. He is in the region of the aggregate of forms. When his mind’s vision does become bright, then ten directions will open out before him, and the darkness will be dispelled. Having come to the end of the aggregate of forms, he will now transcend the turbidity of time. His contemplations show him that the illusion of solid matter is the basis of this aggregate.”
「阿難！當在此中精研妙明，四大不織少選之間身能出礙，此名精明流溢前境。斯但功用暫得如是，非為聖證不作聖心，名善境界；若作聖解，即受群邪。
1. “Ānanda! In the midst of his mental darkness, this person’s intense scrutiny within his wondrous awareness may reveal that the four primary elements are not ultimately interwoven into the body. Then in an instant he will be able to leave his body. This state is called ‘the essential awareness being able to emerge into one’s surroundings.’ What the practitioner has gained is temporary. It does not indicate that he has become a sage. There is nothing unwholesome about his state unless he thinks that he is now a sage. If he does think he is a sage, he will be open to a host of deviant influences.
「阿難！復以此心精研妙明其身內徹，是人忽然於其身內拾出蟯蛔，身相宛然亦無傷毀，此名精明流溢形體。斯但精行暫得如是，非為聖證不作聖心，名善境界；若作聖解，即受群邪。
2. “Ānanda! In the midst of his mental darkness, this person’s intense scrutiny within his wondrous awareness may allow him to see inside his own body. Suddenly he may find that he can pull intestinal worms out of his body without harming himself or the worms. This state is called ‘the essential awareness being able to reach deep into the physical body.’ What the practitioner has gained is temporary. It does not indicate that he has become a sage. There is nothing unwholesome about his state unless he thinks that he is now a sage. If he does think he is a sage, he will be open to a host of deviant influences.”
「又以此心內外精研，其時魂魄、意志、精神，除執受身餘皆涉入，互為賓主，忽於空中聞說法聲，或聞十方同敷密義，此名精魂遞相離合。成就善種暫得如是，非為聖證不作聖心，名善境界；若作聖解，即受群邪。
3. “Further, in the midst of his mental darkness, this person’s intense scrutiny may be directed both inward and outward. Then his will and the vital energies of his individual spirit may merge or become dissociated or exchange roles. His body will be unaffected. Suddenly he may hear the sound of someone teaching the Dharma in the middle of the air, or he will hear voices throughout the ten directions proclaiming identical esoteric teachings. This state is called ‘essential mental elements becoming dissociated and reintegrated as the result of the sprouting of wholesome seeds.’ What the practitioner has gained is temporary. It does not indicate that he has become a sage. There is nothing unwholesome about his state unless he thinks that he is now a sage. If he does think he is a sage, he will be open to a host of deviant influences.”
「又以此心澄露皎徹內光發明，十方遍作閻浮檀色，一切種類化為如來，于時忽然見毘盧遮那踞天光臺，千佛圍繞，百億國土及與蓮華俱時出現，此名心魂靈悟所染。心光研明照諸世界，暫得如是，非為聖證不作聖心，名善境界；若作聖解，即受群邪。
4. “Further, in the midst of his mental darkness, a brilliant light may appear within this person’s mind and then shine forth to imbue everything throughout the ten directions with the purple-golden color of the River Jambu. He may see creatures of every kind becoming Thus-Come Ones. At that moment, he will see Vairocana Buddha seated upon a dais of celestial light and surrounded by a thousand Buddhas. Each of these Buddhas, while seated on a lotus-flower, will appear in a hundred million lands at once. This state is called ‘the mind and spirit becoming imbued with a spiritual awakening while the mind illuminates all worlds clearly and in detail.’ There is nothing unwholesome about his state unless he thinks that he is now a sage. If he does think he is a sage, he will be open to a host of deviant influences.”
「又以此心精研妙明觀察不停，抑按降伏制止超越，於時忽然十方虛空成七寶色或百寶色，同時遍滿不相留礙，青黃赤白各各純現，此名抑按功力踰分。暫得如是，非為聖證不作聖心，名善境界；若作聖解，即受群邪。
5. “Further, in the midst of his mental darkness, as this person continues these contemplations within his wondrous awareness, he may be unable to bring them to a halt. When he tries to subdue his mind so that these visions do not become overwhelming, all of space throughout the ten directions may suddenly take on the colors of the seven precious things or perhaps the colors of a hundred precious gems. Each of these colors will pervade all of space, but without interfering with each other. The practitioner will see the blues, yellows, reds, and whites with perfect clarity. This state is called ‘restraining the mind so that its contemplations do not become excessive.’ What the practitioner has gained is temporary. It does not indicate that he has become a sage. There is nothing unwholesome about his state unless he thinks that he is now a sage. If he does think he is a sage, he will be open to a host of deviant influences.”
「又以此心研究澄徹精光不亂，忽於夜合，在暗室內見種種物不殊白晝，而暗室物亦不除滅，此名心細密澄其見所視洞幽。暫得如是，非為聖證不作聖心，名善境界；若作聖解，即受群邪。
6. Further, in the midst of his mental darkness, this person’s awareness may shine constantly with a brilliant light. Then in the middle of the night and in darkened rooms, he may be able to see as clearly as if it were broad daylight. Objects that would ordinarily be hidden may be clearly visible to him. This state is called ‘refining the mind and purifying the vision to reveal what is hidden so that one can see in the dark.’ What the practitioner has gained is temporary. It does not indicate that he has become a sage. There is nothing unwholesome about his state unless he thinks that he is now a sage. If he does think he is a sage, he will be open to a host of deviant influences.”
「又以此心圓入虛融，四肢忽然同於草木，火燒刀斫曾無所覺，又則火光不能燒爇，縱割其肉猶如削木，此名塵併排四大性一向入純。暫得如是，非為聖證不作聖心，名善境界；若作聖解，即受群邪。
7. “Further, in the midst of this person’s mental darkness, what is external and what is internal may become mutually interfused within his awareness. In this state, this person may suddenly become incapable of sensation. It may seem to him that his limbs are made of grass or wood. If he is burned, he will feel nothing. If he is stabbed, he will feel that his body is like a piece of wood that is being carved. This state is called ‘rejecting the four primary elements so that sense-objects disappear and only awareness remains.’ What the practitioner has gained is temporary. It does not indicate that he has become a sage. There is nothing unwholesome about his state unless he thinks that he is now a sage. If he does think he is a sage, he will be open to a host of deviant influences.”
「又以此心成就清淨，淨心功極，忽見大地十方山河皆成佛國，具足七寶光明遍滿，又見恒沙諸佛如來，遍滿空界樓殿華麗，下見地獄上觀天宮得無障礙，此名欣厭凝想日深想久化成。非為聖證不作聖心，名善境界；若作聖解，即受群邪。
8. “Further, in the midst of his mental darkness, this person’s awareness may become pure, and as a result, his skill will be perfected. Then he suddenly may see the whole world throughout the ten directions being transformed into a Buddha-land. This land will be filled with the seven precious things and will be suffused with light. In his vision the sky will be filled with magnificent and beautiful multistoried palaces and with Buddhas — with as many Thus-Come Ones as the sand-grains in the River Ganges. Nothing will obstruct this person’s vision of the hells below and of the palatial abodes of the gods above. This state is called ‘thoughts of pleasure and displeasure gradually being transformed and purified as day by day one’s concentration deepens.’ This state does not indicate that the practitioner has become a sage. There is nothing unwholesome about his state unless he thinks that he is now a sage. If he does think he is a sage, he will be open to a host of deviant influences.”
「又以此心研究深遠，忽於中夜遙見遠方，市井街巷親族眷屬或聞其語，此名迫心逼極飛出故多隔見。非為聖證不作聖心，名善境界；若作聖解，即受群邪。
9. “Further, in the midst of his mental darkness, this person’s mind may explore distant places. In the middle of the night, he may suddenly see marketplaces, or public wells, or streets and lanes. He may see relatives or friends, and he will be able to listen to them conversing. This state is called ‘the mind, having been restrained to an extreme, flying outward to see much that has been blocked from view.’ This state does not indicate that the practitioner has become a sage. There is nothing unwholesome about his state unless he thinks that he is now a sage. If he does think he is a sage, he will be open to a host of deviant influences.”
「又以此心研究精極，見善知識形體變移，少選無端種種遷改，此名邪心含受魑魅或遭天魔入其心腹，無端說法通達妙義。非為聖證不作聖心，魔事銷歇；若作聖解，即受群邪。
10. “Further, in the midst of his mental darkness, as he pushes his mental explorations to their limit, this person may have a vision of himself as a good and wise teacher. He may be able to change his appearance from moment to moment, quickly taking on different forms one after another. This state is called ‘a vision arising from a deviance in the mind, leading to possession by a nightmare-ghost, a mountain spirit, or a celestial demon.’ While he is possessed, the practitioner may speak spontaneously of what he supposes to be the Dharma, and he may claim to have discovered wondrous truths. The practitioner has not become a sage. There is nothing unwholesome about this state unless he thinks that he is now a sage. If he does think he is a sage, he will be open to a host of deviant influences.”
「阿難！如是十種禪那現境，皆是色陰、用心交互故現斯事，眾生頑迷不自忖量，逢此因緣迷不自識謂言登聖，大妄語成墮無間獄。汝等當依如來滅後，於末法中宣示斯義，無令天魔得其方便，保持覆護成無上道。
“Ānanda! These ten states may manifest when these beings practice meditation in stillness and interact with the aggregate of form. They may be dulled and confused by these experiences, and they will no longer be capable of taking a proper measure of themselves. When faced with these circumstances, they will become further confused, and in their failure to know themselves, they will make the claim that they have reached the level of a sage. This egregious falsehood will cause them to fall into the Unrelenting Hell. After my nirvana, you must explain my teachings and transmit them to beings of the time of the Dharma’s ending so that all beings everywhere will understand what I have taught. Do not allow the celestial Maras to have their way. Protect these practitioners and lend them support so that they can realize the supreme enlightenment.”
「阿難！彼善男子修三摩提奢摩他中，色陰盡者見諸佛心，如明鏡中顯現其像，若有所得而未能用，猶如魘人手足宛然見聞不惑，心觸客邪而不能動，此則名為受陰區宇；若魘咎歇，其心離身返觀其面，去住自由無復留礙，名受陰盡，是人則能超越見濁。觀其所由，虛明妄想以為其本。
“Ānanda! As this good person practices samādhi-śamatha and as his mind becomes still, he no will longer experience the aggregate of form. He may see the mind of the Buddhas appear to him as if in a mirror. But he may not know how to make use of that mind. He may undergo what seems to him to be a kind of paralysis. It is as if a deviant being has come into contact with his mind and has prevented him from moving, even though his hands and feet are intact and his vision and hearing are unimpaired. He is now in the region of the aggregate of sense-perception (vedana). If the paralysis subsides, his mind will be able to leave his body, and he will be able to look back and see his own face. He will be able to stay or go as he pleases, without further hindrance. Having reached the end of the aggregate of sense-perception, he will now transcend the turbidity of perception. He contemplates how this aggregate arises, and he sees that its basis lies in illusion and deluded thinking.”
「阿難！彼善男子當在此中得大光耀，其心發明內抑過分，忽於其處發無窮悲，如是乃至觀見蚊虻猶如赤子，心生憐愍不覺流淚，此名功用抑摧過越。悟則無咎，非為聖證，覺了不迷久自銷歇；若作聖解，則有悲魔入其心府，見人則悲，啼泣無限，失於正受，當從淪墜。
1. “Ānanda! In this situation, this good person experiences an inner light of great brilliance. If he has been restraining his mind too severely, then wherever he sees beings illuminated by the light that shines forth from his mind, he may immediately be overwhelmed by a boundless sorrow. He will look upon even mosquitoes and worms as he would look upon a newborn child. His mind will be filled with compassion, and he will frequently burst into tears without knowing why. This state is called ‘an excess of severity in one’s practice.’ If he understands this state, he will not suppose that he has become a sage, and he will not become confused. Eventually the state will disappear of its own accord. But if he thinks that he has become a sage, then a demonic sorrow will enter into the depths of his mind. Whenever he sees someone, he will feel such sadness that he will break into uncontrollable sobs. Having lost his ability to enter correct samādhi, he is certain to fall.”
「阿難！又彼定中諸善男子，見色陰銷受陰明白，勝相現前感激過分，忽於其中生無限勇，其心猛利志齊諸佛，謂三僧祇一念能越，此名功用凌率過越。悟則無咎，非為聖證，覺了不迷久自銷歇；若作聖解，則有狂魔入其心腑，見人則誇，我慢無比，其心乃至上不見佛、下不見人，失於正受，當從淪墜。
2. “Ānanda! Further, in this samādhi, once this good person has seen the aggregate of form disintegrate, he will see the aggregate of sense-perception appear. He may then have a vision of his own superiority, for which he feels an overwhelming gratitude. Immediately a boundless courage and intensity may arise within him so that he comes to believe that his resolve is equal to the resolve of all Buddhas. He will announce that he can accomplish in a single moment of thought what others need three quadrillions of kalpas to accomplish. This state is called ‘an excessive and improper haste in trying to excel in one’s spiritual practice.’ If he understands this state, he will not suppose that he has become a sage, and he will not become confused. Eventually the state will disappear of its own accord. But if he thinks that he has become a sage, a demonic insanity will enter into the depths of his mind. He will boast about himself to everyone he meets. In his boundless arrogance he will acknowledge neither Buddhas nor ordinary people. Having lost his ability to enter the correct samādhi, he is certain to fall.”
「又彼定中諸善男子，見色陰銷受陰明白，前無新證歸失故居，智力衰微入中墮地逈無所見，心中忽然生大枯渴，於一切時沈憶不散，將此以為勤精進相，此名修心無慧自失。悟則無咎，非為聖證；若作聖解，則有憶魔入其心腑，旦夕撮心懸在一處，失於正受，當從淪墜。
3. “Further, in this samādhi, once this good person has seen the aggregate of form disintegrate, he will see the aggregate of sense-perception appear. He may then see nothing further to accomplish, while being unable to return to his previous state. He no longer has the wisdom to understand what is happening to him, and he enters a state in which it seems he is in a land that is desolate as far as the eye can see. Suddenly he will experience an overwhelming feeling of inner aridity and longing. He will be plunged at all times into memories that will not fade. He will mistake his situation for evidence that he is being diligent and vigorous. This state is called ‘losing one’s way by practicing without sufficient wisdom.’ If he understands this state, he will not suppose that he has become a sage. But if he thinks that he has become a sage, then a demonic longing for things past will enter into the depths of his mind. Day and night this longing will grasp hold of his mind, and he will not be able to let go of it. Having lost his ability to enter correct samādhi, he is certain to fall.”
「又彼定中諸善男子，見色陰銷受陰明白，慧力過定失於猛利，以諸勝性懷於心中，自心已疑是盧舍那，得少為足，此名用心亡失恒審溺於知見。悟則無咎，非為聖證；若作聖解，則有下劣易知足魔入其心腑，見人自言：『我得無上第一義諦。』失於正受，當從淪墜。
4. “Further, in this samādhi, once this good person has seen the aggregate of form disintegrate, he will see the aggregate of sense-perception appear. He may have developed his wisdom more strongly than he has developed his samādhi, and as a result he may lose himself in a fierce boldness. He will cherish a belief in his own superiority, and he will make the mistake of supposing that he has become Vairocana Buddha. He will be content with what he believes he has achieved, although in fact he will have accomplished very little. This state is called ‘mental effort leading to a loss of steady discernment upon becoming immersed in a wrong understanding of one’s state of mind.’ If he understands this state, he will not suppose that he has become a sage. But if he thinks that he has become a sage, then his contentment with an inferior accomplishment will become demonic and will seize hold of his mind. Under its influence he will announce, ‘I have discovered the supreme and ultimate truth.’ Having lost his ability to enter correct samādhi, he is certain to fall.”
「又彼定中諸善男子，見色陰銷受陰明白，新證未獲故心已亡，歷覽二際自生艱險，於心忽然生無盡憂，如坐鐵床如飲毒藥，心不欲活常求於人，令害其命早取解脫，此名修行失於方便。悟則無咎，非為聖證；若作聖解，則有一分常憂愁魔入其心腑，手執刀劍自割其肉欣其捨壽，或常憂愁走入山林不耐見人，失於正受，當從淪墜。
5. “Further, in this samādhi, once this good person has seen the aggregate of form disintegrate, he will see the aggregate of sense-perception appear. But he may feel that he has not accomplished anything new, as he feels he should have. Yet he cannot resume his previous state of mind, nor can he move forward to a new state. In both what is behind him and what is ahead of him he will sense that he is in peril. Immediately he will become extremely despondent. It may seem to him that he is lying on a bed of hot iron or that he has swallowed a dose of poison. He will have no wish to go on living, and he will persist in asking people to take his life so that he can escape his anxiety with an early death. This state is called ‘losing sight of what method is suitable to one’s practice.’ If he understands this state, he will not suppose that he has become a sage. But if he thinks that he has become a sage, then his chronic despondency will become demonic and will take over his mind. He may seize a sword and slash his own flesh, happy to give up his life, or driven by his chronic despondency, he may flee into the mountain forests because he cannot bear the company of other people. Having lost his ability to enter correct samādhi, he is certain to fall.”
「又彼定中諸善男子，見色陰銷受陰明白，處清淨中心安隱後，忽然自有無限喜生，心中歡悅不能自止，此名輕安無慧自禁。悟則無咎，非為聖證；若作聖解，則有一分好喜樂魔入其心腑，見人則笑，於衢路傍自歌自舞，自謂已得無礙解脫，失於正受，當從淪墜。
6. “Further, in this samādhi, once this good person has seen the aggregate of form disintegrate, he will see the aggregate of sense-perception appear. He may come to abide in a state of purity, and his mind will be at peace. A feeling of boundless joy may suddenly well up within him. He will take such pleasure in this state of mind that he loses control of it. This state is called ‘feeling what one takes to be serenity but lacking the wisdom to exercise self-control.’ If he understands this state, he will not suppose that he has become a sage. But if he thinks that he has become a sage, then his fondness for joy will become demonic and will take hold of his mind. He will laugh whenever he meets someone, and he will sing and dance in the streets. He will claim to have attained an unimpeded liberation. Having lost his ability to enter correct samādhi, he is certain to fall.”
「又彼定中諸善男子，見色陰銷受陰明白，自謂已足，忽有無端大我慢起，如是乃至慢與過慢、及慢過慢，或增上慢、或卑劣慢一時俱發，心中尚輕十方如來，何況下位聲聞、緣覺，此名見勝無慧自救。悟則無咎，非為聖證；若作聖解，則有一分大我慢魔入其心腑，不禮塔廟摧毀經像，謂檀越言：『此是金銅或是土木，經是樹葉或是疊花，肉身真常不自恭敬，却崇土木實為顛倒。』其深信者從其毀碎埋棄地中，疑誤眾生入無間獄，失於正受，當從淪墜。
7. “Further, in this samādhi, once this good person has seen the aggregate of form disintegrate, he will see the aggregate of sense-perception appear. Now he may tell himself that he has done enough, and immediately an unreasonable and intense arrogance will well up within him. He will feel pride in his actual status, and further, he will arrogantly consider himself to be the equal of people whose status is in fact above his. He may also have the arrogance to think that he is not merely equal to but superior to people whose status is above his. He may cherish the arrogant belief that he is already enlightened. Finally, he will come to the arrogant conclusion that he is almost the equal of people who are greatly superior to him. These feelings arise in him all at the same time. He will think disparagingly even of the Thus-Come Ones throughout the ten directions, not to speak of the sages at the lower levels of realization — the Hearers of the Teaching and the Solitary Sages. This state is called ‘having the view that one is superior and lacking the wisdom to free oneself of this view.’ If he understands this state, he will not suppose that he has become a sage. But if he thinks that he has become a sage, then a demonic arrogance will enter the depths of his mind. He will refuse to bow when he visits stupas or temples, and he will destroy sutras and images of the Buddhas. He will say to those who give him alms, ‘These images are nothing but gold or bronze, nothing but clay or wood. The sutras consist of nothing but palm-leaves or layers of cloth. What is everlasting and real is my physical body, yet you do not revere it. Instead you venerate clay and wood. That is to get it backwards.’ Some people will believe in him so strongly that they follow him in smashing images or in discarding sutras in refuse pits. He will raise doubts in people’s minds and lead them straight into the Unrelenting Hell. Having lost his ability to enter correct samādhi, he is certain to fall.”
「又彼定中諸善男子，見色陰銷受陰明白，於精明中圓悟精理得大隨順，其心忽生無量輕安，己言成聖得大自在，此名因慧獲諸輕清。悟則無咎，非為聖證；若作聖解，則有一分好清輕魔入其心腑，自謂滿足更不求進，此等多作無聞比丘，疑謗後生墮阿鼻獄，失於正受，當從淪墜。
8. “Further, in this samādhi, once this good person has seen the aggregate of form disintegrate, he will see the aggregate of sense-perception appear. He may perfect an even more subtle basis for his already refined understanding. He may reach a state in which everything is in accord with his wishes. Immediately a feeling of infinite serenity may arise in his mind. He may tell himself that he has become a sage and has achieved complete mastery of himself. This state is called ‘becoming pure and serene on the basis of wisdom.’ If he understands this state, he will not persist in supposing that he has become a sage. But if he continues to think that he has become a sage, then a demonic pleasure in serenity will enter into the depths of his mind. The good person will tell himself that he has done enough, and he will no longer try to make progress. In this he will be acting much like that ignorant monk. He will lead people into delusion and error, and as a result they will fall straight into the Unrelenting Hell. Having lost his ability to enter correct samādhi, he is certain to fall.”
「又彼定中諸善男子，見色陰銷受陰明白，於明悟中得虛明性，其中忽然歸向永滅，撥無因果一向入空，空心現前乃至心生長斷滅解。悟則無咎，非為聖證；若作聖解，則有空魔入其心腑，乃謗持戒名為小乘，菩薩悟空有何持犯？其人常於信心檀越，飲酒噉肉廣行婬穢，因魔力故攝其前人不生疑謗，鬼心久入或食屎尿與酒肉等，一種俱空破佛律儀誤入人罪，失於正受，當從淪墜。
9. “Further, in this samādhi, once this good person has seen the aggregate of form disintegrate, he will see the aggregate of sense-perception appear. Within what has been his clear understanding, an illusory understanding may arise, and immediately he may come to the conclusion that there is no existence after death. His preoccupation with this wrong idea of emptiness may cause him to deny the existence of causation. He will be convinced by this wrong idea so much so that he will come to the further conclusion that after death there is nothing at all. If he understands this state, he will not suppose that he has become a sage. But if he thinks that he has become a sage, then a demonic wrong view of emptiness will enter into the depths of his mind. He will speak ill of keeping the precepts, saying that precepts are the province of the Lesser Vehicle. He will say that since Bodhisattvas have understood emptiness, how could there be any keeping or breaking of precepts where Bodhisattvas are concerned? In the presence of almsgivers who have faith in him, he will often drink alcoholic beverages, eat meat, and defile himself with lustful promiscuity. His demonic power will keep his followers from doubting him and questioning his doctrines. When this ghostly state of mind has possessed him for a long time, he may even drink urine and eat excrement, saying that these things are the same as emptiness. Because he himself will feel free to violate the Buddha’s regulations, he will induce others to commit offenses. Having lost his ability to enter correct samādhi, he is certain to fall.”
「又彼定中諸善男子，見色陰銷受陰明白，味其虛明深入心骨，其心忽有無限愛生，愛極發狂便為貪欲，此名定境安順入心，無慧自持誤入諸欲。悟則無咎，非為聖證；若作聖解，則有欲魔入其心腑，一向說欲為菩提道，化諸白衣平等行欲，其行婬者名持法子，神鬼力故，於末世中攝其凡愚其數至百，如是乃至一百二百或五六百，多滿千萬，魔心生厭離其身體，威德既無陷於王難，疑誤眾生入無間獄，失於正受，當從淪墜。
10. “Further, in this samādhi, once this good person has seen the aggregate of forms disintegrate, he will see the aggregate of sense-perception appear. Now his previous illusory understanding may become so strong that it fills his mind and permeates his bones. Then a boundless craving may suddenly arise in his mind and may become so extreme that he goes mad with sexual desire. This state is called ‘being in a samādhi in which one’s mind seems filled with contentment and making the mistake of succumbing to desire because one lacks the wisdom needed for self-control.’ If he understands this state, he will not suppose that he has become a sage. But if he thinks that he has become a sage, a demon of desire will enter the depths of his mind and possess him. He will constantly speak of desire as the Bodhisattvas’ path. He will teach his white-robed followers that those who indulge in indiscriminate promiscuity will be the ones who will inherit his Dharma. Because in the time of the Dharma’s ending credulous people will be easily swayed by the power of ghosts and spirits, he will be able to attract a following of one or two hundred or perhaps five or six hundred people, or even a thousand or ten thousand people. But when the demon that has possessed him becomes weary of possessing him, it will abandon him. Then his charisma will vanish, and as a result he will become entangled in legal difficulties with the royal government. He will confuse his followers and lead them straight into the Unrelenting Hell. Having lost his ability to enter correct samādhi, he is certain to fall.”
「阿難！如是十種禪那現境，皆是受陰、用心交互故現斯事，眾生頑迷不自忖量，逢此因緣迷不自識謂言登聖，大妄語成墮無間獄。汝等亦當將如來語，於我滅後傳示末法，遍令眾生開悟斯義，無令天魔得其方便，保持覆護成無上道。
“Ānanda! These ten states may manifest when these beings practice meditation in stillness and interact with the aggregate of sense-perception. They may be dulled and confused by these experiences, and they will no longer be capable of taking a proper measure of themselves. When faced with these circumstances, they will become further confused, and in their failure to know themselves, they will make the claim that they have reached the level of a sage. This egregious falsehood will cause them to fall into the Unrelenting Hell. After my nirvana, you must explain my teachings and transmit them to beings of the time of the Dharma’s ending so that all beings everywhere will understand what I have taught. Do not allow the celestial demons to have their way. Protect these practitioners and lend them support so that they can realize the supreme enlightenment.”
「阿難！彼善男子，修三摩提受陰盡者，雖未漏盡心離其形，如鳥出籠已能成就，從是凡身上歷菩薩六十聖位，得意生身隨往無礙，譬如有人熟寐寱言，是人雖則無別所知，其言已成音韻倫次，令不寐者咸悟其語，此則名為想陰區宇；若動念盡浮想銷除，於覺明心如去塵垢，一倫死生首尾圓照，名想陰盡，是人則能超煩惱濁。觀其所由，融通妄想以為其本。
“Ānanda! When a good person who has been practicing samādhi no longer experiences the aggregate of sense-perception, he will be able to leave his body as if he were a bird escaping from a cage, although he will not have put an end to his outflows. He retains his ordinary human body, but he already has the potential to ascend through the sixty stages of a Bodhisattva. He is now able to use his mind to create a spiritual body (manomayakāya) that can travel about freely just as he wishes. He will be like a man who talks while sound asleep but who does not realize he is doing it. His voice will be clear enough and his words will make sense enough to be understood by others who are awake. He is now in the region of the aggregate of perception (saṁjñā). Now, if the movement of thought in his mind ceases such that all superfluous perception dissipates, then his awakened mind will cease to be defiled. He will understand with complete clarity the deaths and rebirths of all the classes of beings, without exception. He has reached the end of the aggregate of perception and will now be able to transcend the turbidity of affliction. He will contemplate how this aggregate arises, and he will see that its basis is the pervasive influence of deluded mental activity.”
「阿難！彼善男子，受陰虛妙不遭邪慮圓定發明，三摩地中心愛圓明，銳其精思貪求善巧。爾時天魔候得其便，飛精附人口說經法，其人不覺是其魔著，自言謂得無上涅槃，來彼求巧善男子處敷座說法。其形斯須或作比丘令彼人見，或為帝釋或為婦女或比丘尼，或寢暗室身有光明。是人愚迷惑為菩薩，信其教化搖蕩其心，破佛律儀潛行貪欲，口中好言災祥變異，或言如來某處出世，或言劫火或說刀兵，恐怖於人令其家資無故耗散，此名怪鬼年老成魔惱亂是人；厭足心生去彼人體，弟子與師俱陷王難。汝當先覺，不入輪迴；迷惑不知，墮無間獄。
1. “Ānanda! In the wonder that ensues when this good person no longer experiences the aggregate of sense-perception, he will not give rise to any harmful anxiety. As he perfects his concentration, he will experience light, and within his samādhi he may come to crave a more ample illumination. He will intensify his concentrated thought as he seeks avidly to develop his skill. Then a celestial demon, seizing the opportunity it has been waiting for, will descend upon some other person and possess him. This other person will not realize that he has been possessed, and so when he is speaking about the sutras, he will claim that he himself has entered the supreme nirvana. He will then seek out the good person who has avidly desired to develop his skill. Then the possessed person will arrange a seat and begin to teach his methods. He will be able to instantly change his appearance, causing his listeners to see him as a monk or as Lord Śakra, or as a precepted laywoman or a nun. He may cause his body to emit light while he is reclining in a darkened room. His listeners will have such confidence in him that they will be fooled into thinking that he is a Bodhisattva. He will disturb their minds profoundly. As a result, their sexual desires will overwhelm them, and their lusts will lead them into illicit and clandestine liaisons in violation of the Buddha’s moral guidelines. This possessed person will also take pleasure in predicting extraordinary occurrences, whether calamitous or auspicious. He may announce that a Thus-Come One has appeared in the world in a certain place. He may speak of fires at the end of eons; he may predict war. In this way he will frighten people into recklessly squandering their families’ wealth. This is called ‘being troubled and confused by an uncanny ghost that in its old age has become a demon.’ When the demon has wearied of troubling and confusing the person it has possessed, it will abandon him. Then he and his followers will run afoul of the law of the royal domain. You should be aware of all this in advance so that you will not be reborn among these celestial demons. If you do not recognize what is happening to you, you will become confused, and you will fall into the Unrelenting Hell.”
「阿難！又善男子，受陰虛妙不遭邪慮圓定發明，三摩地中心愛遊蕩，飛其精思貪求經歷。爾時天魔候得其便，飛精附人口說經法，其人亦不覺知魔著，亦言自得無上涅槃，來彼求遊善男子處敷座說法。自形無變，其聽法者忽自見身坐寶蓮華，全體化成紫金光聚，一眾聽人各各如是得未曾有。是人愚迷惑為菩薩，婬逸其心，破佛律儀潛行貪欲，口中好言諸佛應世，某處某人當是某佛化身來此，某人即是某菩薩等來化人間，其人見故心生傾渴，邪見密興種智銷滅，此名魑鬼年老成魔惱亂是人；厭足心生去彼人體，弟子與師俱陷王難。汝當先覺，不入輪迴；迷惑不知，墮無間獄。
2. “Ānanda! Further, in the wonder that ensues when this good person no longer experiences the aggregate of sense-perception, he will not give rise to any harmful anxiety. As he perfects his concentration, he will experience light, and within his samādhi he may come to crave the experience of roaming far and wide by letting his concentrated thought fly forth. He may avidly seek such experiences. Then a celestial demon, seizing the opportunity it has been waiting for, will descend upon another person and possess him. This other person will not realize that he has been possessed, and so when he is speaking about the sutras, he will claim that he himself has entered the supreme nirvana. He will then seek out the good person who avidly wishes to roam far and wide. Then the possessed person will arrange a seat and begin to teach his methods. He himself will not change his appearance, but he may cause the people who are listening to him to suddenly see themselves sitting on magnificent lotus-flowers, with their entire bodies transformed into masses of purple-golden light. They all will feel that they have experienced something entirely new. They will be fooled into thinking that the possessed person is a Bodhisattva, and as their minds are weakened by lust, they will enter into illicit and clandestine liaisons in violation of the Buddha’s moral guidelines. The possessed person will like to say that Buddhas are appearing in the world. He will claim that in such and such a place, such and such a Buddha has appeared as a particular person. Or he will claim that such and such a person is some particular Bodhisattva who has come to teach people and transform them. Those who witness all this will be filled with admiration. Their wrong views will imperceptibly grow into a dense profusion, while the seeds from which wisdom grows will be destroyed. “This is called ‘being troubled and confused by a drought-causing ghost that in its old age has become a demon.’ When the demon has wearied of troubling and confusing the person it has possessed, it will abandon him. Then he and his followers will run afoul of the laws of the royal domain. You should be aware of this in advance so that you will not be reborn among these celestial demons. If you do not recognize what is happening to you, you will become confused, and you will fall into the Unrelenting Hell.”
「又善男子，受陰虛妙不遭邪慮圓定發明，三摩地中心愛綿[淴-心+目]，澄其精思貪求契合。爾時天魔候得其便，飛精附人口說經法，其人實不覺知魔著，亦言自得無上涅槃，來彼求合善男子處敷座說法。其形及彼聽法之人外無遷變，令其聽者未聞法前，心自開悟念念移易，或得宿命、或有他心、或見地獄、或知人間好惡諸事、或口說偈、或自誦經，各各歡喜得未曾有。是人愚迷惑為菩薩，綿愛其心，破佛律儀潛行貪欲，口中好言佛有大小，某佛先佛某佛後佛，其中亦有真佛假佛、男佛女佛，菩薩亦然，其人見故洗滌本心易入邪悟，此名魅鬼年老成魔惱亂是人；厭足心生去彼人體，弟子與師俱陷王難。汝當先覺，不入輪迴；迷惑不知，墮無間獄。
3. “Further, in the wonder that ensues when this good person no longer experiences the aggregate of sense-perception, he will not give rise to any harmful anxiety. As he perfects his concentration, he will experience light, and within his samādhi he may come to crave the experience of a sustained merging of minds. He will purify his mind at its subtlest levels in his avid search for that merging. Then a celestial demon, seizing the opportunity it has been waiting for, will descend upon another person and possess him. This other person will not realize that he has been possessed, and so when he is speaking about the sutras, he will claim that he himself has entered the supreme nirvana. He now will seek out that good person who craves a merging of minds. Then the possessed person will arrange a seat and begin to teach his methods. He himself will not change his appearance, nor does he cause people who have come to hear him to change their appearance. But even before they begin listening to him, he will make them undergo a series of constantly changing mental experiences. He may enable them to remember their past lives, or to read other people’s minds, or to see into the hells, or to be aware of all the good and evil events that are occurring in the human realm. Or he may enable them to speak spontaneously in verse or to recite sutras. They all will rejoice in their belief that they have just experienced something entirely new and extraordinary. They will all be fooled into thinking that the possessed person is a Bodhisattva. He will make them feel inexhaustible cravings, and they will enter into illicit and clandestine liaisons in violation of the Buddha’s moral guidelines. This possessed person will delight in saying that some Buddhas are greater and some lesser, or that some Buddhas are senior and some junior, or that some are genuine and some are false, or that some are male and some are female. He will say the same of Bodhisattvas. Hearing all this will erode his listeners’ connection with their fundamental minds so that it becomes easy for them to adopt deviant ideas. This is called ‘being troubled and confused by an animal-possessing ghost that in its old age has become a demon.’ When the demon has wearied of troubling and confusing the person it has possessed, it will abandon him. Then he and his followers will run afoul of the laws of the royal domain. You should be aware of this in advance so that you will not be reborn among these celestial demons. If you do not recognize what is happening to you, you will become confused, and you will fall into the Unrelenting Hell.”
「又善男子，受陰虛妙不遭邪慮圓定發明，三摩地中心愛根本，窮覽物化性之終始，精爽其心貪求辯析。爾時天魔候得其便，飛精附人口說經法，其人先不覺知魔著，亦言自得無上涅槃，來彼求元善男子處敷座說法。身有威神摧伏求者，令其座下雖未聞法自然心伏，是諸人等將佛涅槃菩提法身，即是現前我肉身上，父父子子遞代相生，即是法身常住不絕，都指現在即為佛國，無別淨居及金色相，其人信受忘失先心，身命歸依得未曾有。是等愚迷惑為菩薩，推究其心，破佛律儀潛行貪欲，口中好言眼耳鼻舌皆為淨土，男女二根即是菩提涅槃真處，彼無知者信是穢言，此名蠱毒魘勝惡鬼年老成魔惱亂是人。厭足心生去彼人體；弟子與師俱陷王難。汝當先覺，不入輪迴；迷惑不知，墮無間獄。
4. Further, in the wonder that ensues when this good person no longer experiences the aggregate of sense-perception, he will not give rise to any harmful anxiety. As he perfects his concentration, he will experience light, and within his samādhi, he may crave knowledge of ultimate origins. He may wish to make a thorough investigation of beginnings and endings as he contemplates the changing natures of all things. He may seek to refine his understanding of things, and he avidly seeks analytical explanations. Then a celestial demon, seizing the opportunity it has been waiting for, will descend upon another person and possess him. This other person will not realize that he has been possessed, and so when he is speaking about the sutras, he will claim that he himself has entered the supreme nirvana. He now will seek out the good person who craves knowledge of ultimate origins. Then the possessed person will arrange a seat and begin to teach his methods. “His body will have an overwhelming spiritual presence that will allow him to intimidate those who seek him out. Even before he has begun to speak, he will effortlessly subdue the minds of the people who sit at his feet. He will say to all of them, ‘This physical body of mine that you see before you is none other than the Dharma-body of the Buddhas’ full awakening, which is nirvana. This everlasting Dharma-body has been passed down from father to son in uninterrupted succession. What you see at this moment is nothing else but the land of the Buddha. The pure abode is nowhere else, and no other body has the hallmark of golden light.’ His listeners, accepting his words on faith, will abandon their former intentions. They will offer up their lives to him in the belief that they have obtained something new and extraordinary. They will be fooled into thinking that the possessed person is a Bodhisattva. Striving slavishly to anticipate his wishes, they will enter into illicit and clandestine liaisons in violation of the Buddha’s moral guidelines. The person who has been possessed will delight in saying that the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue are the Pure Land and that the male and female genital organs are the real locus for full awakening to nirvana. Ignorant people will believe such degrading words. This is called ‘being troubled and confused by a surpassingly evil hexpoison ghost that in its old age has become a demon.’ When the demon has wearied of troubling and confusing the person it has possessed, it will abandon him. Then he and his followers will run afoul of the laws of the royal domain, You should be aware of this in advance so that you will not be reborn among these celestial demons. If you do not recognize what is happening to you, you will become confused, and you will fall into the Unrelenting Hell.”
「又善男子，受陰虛妙不遭邪慮圓定發明，三摩地中心愛懸應，周流精研貪求冥感。爾時天魔候得其便，飛精附人口說經法，其人元不覺知魔著，亦言自得無上涅槃，來彼求應善男子處敷座說法。能令聽眾暫見其身如百千歲，心生愛染不能捨離，身為奴僕四事供養不覺疲勞，各各令其座下人心，知是先師本善知識別生法愛，粘如膠漆得未曾有。是人愚迷惑為菩薩，親近其心，破佛律儀潛行貪欲，口中好言：『我於前世、於某生中先度某人，當時是我妻妾兄弟，今來相度與汝相隨，歸某世界供養某佛。』或言別有大光明天佛於中住，一切如來所休居地。彼無知者信是虛誑遺失本心，此名厲鬼年老成魔惱亂是人。厭足心生，去彼人體；弟子與師俱陷王難。汝當先覺，不入輪迴；迷惑不知，墮無間獄。
5. Further, in the wonder that ensues when this good person no longer experiences the aggregate of sense-perception, he will not give rise to any harmful anxiety. As he perfects his concentration, he will experience light, and within his samādhi, he may begin to crave psychic responses from afar. He will make an intense and wide-reaching investigation as he avidly seeks responses that ordinary people cannot perceive. Then a celestial demon, seizing the opportunity it has been waiting for, will descend upon another person and possess him. This other person will not realize that he has been possessed, and so when he is speaking about the sutras, he will claim that he himself has entered the supreme nirvana. He now will seek out that good person who craves psychic responses. Then the possessed person will arrange a seat and begin to teach his methods. This possessed person will be able to briefly appear to his listeners as a man who is a hundred years old or even a thousand years old. Their minds will be infected with such devotion to him that they cannot bear to be parted from him. They will act as his personal attendants and never weary of making four kinds of offerings to him. Each wishes to sit at his feet, and he makes them all believe that he was their teacher in previous lives, their good and wise mentor. Out of a singular infatuation for his teachings, and in the belief that they have experienced something new and extraordinary, his followers will cleave to him as if they have been adhered to him with glue. They will be fooled into thinking that he is a Bodhisattva. Seduced by his teachings, they will enter into illicit and clandestine liaisons in violation of the Buddha’s moral guidelines. The person who has been possessed will delight in saying that in the past, during such and such a previous lifetime, he had brought the teachings to a certain group of people, who in their previous lives had been his wives or concubines or his older or younger brothers. He will say, ‘Now we are together again so that I can come to your rescue. We will all return to such and such a world and make offerings to the Buddha there.’ Or he may speak of another place, a heaven filled with brilliant light, a place where a certain Buddha dwells and where all the Thus-Come Ones find rest and repose. People who have no wisdom will believe his mendacious ravings, and they will forget their original intent to practice in accord with Dharma. This is called ‘being troubled and confused by a plague-ghost that in its old age has become a demon.’ When the demon has wearied of troubling and confusing the person it has possessed, it will abandon him. Then he and his followers will run afoul of the laws of the royal domain. You should be aware of this in advance so that you will not be reborn among these celestial demons. If you do not recognize what is happening to you, you will become confused, and you will fall into the Unrelenting Hell.”
「又善男子，受陰虛妙不遭邪慮圓定發明，三摩地中心愛深入，克己辛勤樂處陰寂貪求靜謐。爾時天魔候得其便，飛精附人口說經法，其人本不覺知魔著，亦言自得無上涅槃，來彼求陰善男子處敷座說法。令其聽人各知本業，或於其處語一人言：『汝今未死，已作畜生。』勅使一人於後踏尾，頓令其人起不能得，於是一眾傾心欽伏。有人起心已知其肇，佛律儀外重加精苦，誹謗比丘罵詈徒眾，訐露人事不避譏嫌，口中好言未然禍福，及至其時毫髮無失，此大力鬼年老成魔惱亂是人。厭足心生，去彼人體；弟子與師多陷王難。汝當先覺，不入輪迴；迷惑不知，墮無間獄。
6. “Further, in the wonder that ensues when this good person no longer experiences the aggregate of sense-perception, he will not give rise to any harmful anxiety. As he perfects his concentration, he will experience light, and within his samādhi he may crave deep mental concentration. He will diligently exercise self-control, and he will enjoy silent and secluded places as he avidly seeks stillness and quietude. Then a celestial demon, seizing the opportunity it has been waiting for, will descend upon another person and possess him. This other person will not realize that he has been possessed, and so when he is speaking about the sutras, he will claim that he himself has entered the supreme nirvana. He now will seek out that good person who craves states of deep mental concentration. Then the possessed person will arrange a seat and begin to teach his methods. He will enable his listeners to know the karma they created in their previous lives. He may say to one follower, ‘Although you have not yet met your death, you have already become an animal.’ He may order another follower to stand behind the first follower, saying, ‘Step on his tail.’ And immediately that first follower will be unable to stand up when he is ordered to do so. At this, all who are present are filled with admiration for the person who has been possessed. The possessed person will be able to discern immediately the thoughts that arise in people’s minds. He will require extreme ascetic practices that go beyond what is permitted by the Buddha´s precepts and rules for deportment. He will slander monks and scold his followers. He will expose people’s private affairs such that they cannot escape ridicule and contempt. He will take pleasure in foretelling events that bring disaster or good fortune, and when the time comes, it will turn out that his predictions were accurate in every respect. This is called ‘being troubled and confused by a ghost of great power that in its old age has become a demon.’ When the demon has wearied of troubling and confusing the person it has possessed, it will abandon him. Then he and his followers will run afoul of the laws of the royal domain. You should be aware of this in advance so that you will not be reborn among these celestial demons. If you do not recognize what is happening to you, you will become confused, and you will fall into the Unrelenting Hell.”
「又善男子，受陰虛妙不遭邪慮圓定發明，三摩地中心愛知見，勤苦研尋貪求宿命。爾時天魔候得其便，飛精附人口說經法，其人殊不覺知魔著，亦言自得無上涅槃，來彼求知善男子處敷座說法。是人無端於說法處得大寶珠，其魔或時化為畜生，口銜其珠及雜珍寶，簡策符牘諸奇異物，先授彼人後著其體，或誘聽人，藏於地下有明月珠照耀其處，是諸聽者得未曾有。多食藥草不飡嘉膳，或時日飡一麻一麥，其形肥充魔力持故，誹謗比丘罵詈徒眾不避譏嫌，口中好言他方寶藏，十方聖賢潛匿之處，隨其後者往往見有奇異之人，此名山林土地城隍川嶽鬼神年老成魔，或有宣婬破佛戒律，與承事者潛行五欲，或有精進純食草木，無定行事惱亂彼人。厭足心生，去彼人體；弟子與師多陷王難。汝當先覺，不入輪迴；迷惑不知，墮無間獄。
7. “Further, in the wonder that ensues when this good person no longer experiences the aggregate of sense-perception, he will not give rise to any harmful anxiety. As he perfects his concentration, he will experience light, and within his samādhi he may come to crave knowledge that he alone will possess. With diligence and toil, examining and probing, he will avidly seek to know about previous lives. Then a celestial demon, seizing the opportunity it has been waiting for, will descend upon another person and possess him. This other person will not realize that he has been possessed, and so when he is speaking about the sutras, he will claim that he himself has entered the supreme nirvana. He will now seek out that good person who craves exclusive knowledge. Then the possessed person will arrange a seat and will begin to teach his methods. At the place where he has been teaching his methods, the possessed person will inexplicably come into possession of a large pearl. Because a demon has possessed him, he may be able to transform himself into an animal that carries the pearl in its mouth. Or the animal carries other jewels, or letters and other documents, or bamboo tablets, or tallies or talismans, or other peculiar objects. Anyone who takes one of these objects from the animal will be possessed by the demon. He may beguile his listeners into believing in him by saying that the place where they are is illuminated by a pearl that is buried underground and yet emits the light of the moon. All who witness this feel that they have experienced something entirely new and extraordinary. The possessed person may restrict his diet to medicinal herbs, or he may simply refrain from eating fine foods. Or he may eat only one sesame seed and one grain of wheat a day, and yet his body will remain sleek and robust, sustained by the power of the demon. He will slander monks, scold his followers, and expose people’s private affairs such that they cannot escape ridicule and contempt. He will delight in speaking about treasures to be found in other places or in speaking about remote locations where sages from the ten directions dwell in seclusion. Those who accompany him in his wanderings will encounter strange and remarkable people. This is called ‘being troubled by a ghost or spirit that has become a demon in its old age.’ It may be a ghost or spirit of a mountain forest, or of the earth, or of a walled town, or of a river or a mountain peak. The possessed person may publicly advocate lustful behavior in violation of the Buddha´s precepts, while privately he and his attendants indulge themselves in the objects of the five desires. Perhaps he may adhere strictly to a diet of wild plants and the bark of trees, but he will not exert himself to practice samādhi. When the demon has wearied of troubling and confusing the person it has possessed, it will abandon him. Then he and his followers will run afoul of the laws of the royal domain. You should be aware of this in advance so that you will not be reborn among these celestial demons. If you do not recognize what is happening to you, you will become confused, and you will fall into the Unrelenting Hell.”
「又善男子，受陰虛妙不遭邪慮圓定發明，三摩地中心愛神通種種變化，研究化元貪取神力。爾時天魔候得其便，飛精附人口說經法，其人誠不覺知魔著，亦言自得無上涅槃，來彼求通善男子處敷座說法。是人或復手執火光手撮其光，分於所聽四眾頭上，是諸聽人頂上火光皆長數尺，亦無熱性曾不焚燒；或水上行如履平地；或於空中安坐不動；或入瓶內或處囊中；越牖透垣曾無障礙；唯於刀兵不得自在。自言是佛身著白衣，受比丘禮，誹謗禪律，罵詈徒眾訐露人事不避譏嫌，口中常說神通自在，或復令人傍見佛土，鬼力惑人非有真實，讚歎行婬不毀麁行，將諸猥媟以為傳法，此名天地大力山精、海精、風精、河精、土精，一切草樹積劫精魅，或復龍魅，或壽終仙再活為魅，或仙期終計年應死，其形不化他怪所附，年老成魔惱亂是人。厭足心生，去彼人體；弟子與師多陷王難。汝當先覺，不入輪迴；迷惑不知，墮無間獄。
8. Further, in the wonder that ensues when this good person no longer experiences the aggregate of sense-perception, he will not give rise to any harmful anxiety. As he perfects his concentration, he will experience light, and within his samādhi he may come to crave spiritual powers, including extraordinary bodily powers. He will seek to know the source of these powers and capabilities. He will desire to possess these powers for himself. Then a celestial demon, seizing the opportunity it has been waiting for, may descend upon another person and possess him. This other person will not realize that he has been possessed, and so when he is speaking about the sutras, he will claim that he himself has entered the supreme nirvana. He now will seek out that good person who avidly seeks to acquire spiritual powers, and he will arrange a seat and begin to teach his methods. This possessed person may take hold of some fire, and holding the fire in his hands, he may place a portion of it on top of the head of each of his listeners among the four assemblies. The flames on top of the listeners’ heads may rise several feet, but they will not be hot, and no one will be burned. Or the possessed person may walk on water as if he were walking on dry land; or he may sit tranquil and unmoving in the middle of the air; or without the slightest difficulty, he may enter into a large jar or bag, or he may pass through closed windows or through walls. Only in the presence of weapons will he feel ill at ease. He will say that he is a Buddha, and wearing the clothes of a layperson, he will accept reverential bows from monks. He will vilify the practice of meditation and the keeping of precepts. He will scold his followers and will expose their private affairs such that they cannot escape ridicule and contempt. He will speak often of spiritual powers and mastery of the self. He may cause people to see visions of Buddha-lands, but these visions will not be of anything real. Rather, they will be created by the demon’s power to delude people. He will praise lustful acts, and instead of condemning such coarse behavior, he will use these indecencies to transmit his teachings. This is called ‘being troubled by a powerful goblin who has become a demon in its old age.’ It may be a mountain-goblin either of the heavens or of the earth, or it may be a goblin of the seas or of the winds, or a rivergoblin, or an earth-goblin, or a forest-demon that over a period of eons has absorbed the vital essences of trees and grasses. Or it may be an evil dragon or an ascetic master who at the end of a long life has been reborn as a forest-demon. It may be an ascetic master whose toll of years has reached its end and whose death should come, but who lives on with his body unchanged while he is possessed by some other uncanny demon. Any one of these may possess the person, but when it has wearied of troubling and confusing him, it will abandon him. Then he and his followers will run afoul of the laws of the royal domain. You should be aware of this in advance so that you will not be reborn among these celestial demons. If you do not recognize what is happening to you, you will become confused, and you will fall into the Unrelenting Hell.”
「又善男子，受陰虛妙不遭邪慮圓定發明，三摩地中心愛入滅，妍究化性貪求深空。爾時天魔候得其便，飛精附人口說經法，其人終不覺知魔著，亦言自得無上涅槃，來彼求空善男子處敷座說法。於大眾內其形忽空，眾無所見，還從虛空突然而出，存沒自在，或現其身洞如瑠璃，或垂手足作旃檀氣，或大小便如厚石蜜，誹毀戒律輕賤出家，口中常說無因無果，一死永滅無復後身，及諸凡聖雖得空寂，潛行貪欲受其欲者，亦得空心撥無因果，此名日月薄蝕精氣金玉芝草麟鳳龜鶴，經千萬年不死為靈出生國土，年老成魔惱亂是人。厭足心生，去彼人體；弟子與師多陷王難。汝當先覺，不入輪迴；迷惑不知，墮無間獄。
9. “Further, in the wonder that ensues when this good person no longer experiences the aggregate of sense-perception, he will not give rise to any harmful anxiety. As he perfects his concentration, he will experience light, and within his samādhi he may come to crave a state of mental cessation. He may seek to understand how subtle mental transformations occur, and he will avidly seek the depths of mental vacuity. Then a celestial demon, seizing the opportunity it has been waiting for, will descend upon another person and possess him. This other person will not realize that he has been possessed, and so when he is speaking about the sutras, he will claim that he himself has entered the supreme nirvana. He now will seek out that good person who craves mental vacuity. Then the possessed person will arrange a seat and begin to teach his methods. Before his audience, the possessed person may suddenly make his body disappear into the air, and then suddenly reappear. He will show that he has such mastery over himself that he can control whether he is visible or invisible. Or he will be able to make his body seem as transparent as crystal. Or it may be that when he shakes his hands or feet, they emit the fragrance of sandalwood. His urine and feces may be as sweet as candy. This person will vilify the precepts, and he will be contemptuous of people who have entered the monastic life. He will often deny the existence of cause and effect, saying that there is no life after death — that there is no rebirth into another body. Further, he will make no distinction between sages and ordinary beings. Though he can enter into a state in which he experiences a kind of vacuous stillness, he nevertheless secretly indulges in acts of desire. People who are the objects of his lusts will also have an experience of vacuous stillness. They too will deny the existence of cause and effect. This is called ‘being troubled by a demon that began as a vital energy generated by eclipses of the sun or moon.’ Such energy may have been incubated within a piece of gold or jade, or in a medicinal fungus or herb, or else in a one-horned beast, a spirit-raptor, a tortoise, or a crane. Having passed undying through thousands of years, this vital energy will develop its own sentient life and will be reborn into this world. In its old age it will become a demon. It will possess the person just mentioned, and when it has wearied of troubling and confusing that person, it will abandon him. Then the possessed person, together with his followers, will run afoul of the laws of the royal domain. “You should be aware of this in advance so that you will not be reborn among these celestial demons. If you do not recognize what is happening to you, you will become confused, and you will fall into the Unrelenting Hell.”
「又善男子，受陰虛妙不遭邪慮圓定發明，三摩地中心愛長壽，辛苦研幾貪求永歲棄分段生，頓希變易細相常住。爾時天魔候得其便，飛精附人口說經法，其人竟不覺知魔著，亦言自得無上涅槃，來彼求生善男子處敷座說法。好言他方往還無滯，或經萬里瞬息再來，皆於彼方取得其物，或於一處在一宅中，數步之間令其從東詣至西壁，是人急行累年不到，因此心信疑佛現前。口中常說，十方眾生皆是吾子，我生諸佛、我出世界、我是元佛，出生自然不因修得，此名住世自在天魔使其眷屬，如遮文茶及四天王毘舍童子，未發心者利其虛明，食彼精氣或不因師；其修行人親自觀見，稱執金剛與汝長命，現美女身盛行貪欲，未逾年歲肝腦枯竭，口兼獨言聽若魑魅，前人未詳多陷王難，未及遇刑先已乾死，惱亂彼人以至殂殞。汝當先覺，不入輪迴；迷惑不知，墮無間獄。
10. “Moreover, in the wonder that ensues when this good person no longer experiences the aggregate of sense-perception, he will not give rise to any harmful anxiety. As he perfects his concentration, he will experience light, and within his samādhi he may come to crave a long life. Then he will labor to understand the mental process involved in becoming immortal. He will hope for immediate escape not only from the physical death and rebirth of the body but also from the coming into being and perishing of mental hindrances. He wishes to abide forever in a subtle form. Then a celestial demon, seizing the opportunity it has been waiting for, will descend upon another person and possess him. This other person will never realize that he has been possessed, and so when he is speaking about the sutras, he will claim that he himself has entered the supreme nirvana. He will seek out that good person who craves immortality, and he will arrange a seat and begin to teach his methods. He will like to say that he can travel unhindered to and from other places, or that he can travel a thousand miles and more and then return in the time it takes to blink an eye. He will say that he can bring things back from the places he has traveled to. Or when he is in a dwelling, he may tell someone to walk from the east wall to the west wall of a room — a distance of a few paces — and yet no matter how quickly that person walks, he will not be able to cross the room. He would not be able to do so even over a period of years. For such reasons as these, people will believe in the possessed person and make the mistake of thinking that he is a Buddha who has appeared before them. He will often tell them: ‘All beings throughout the ten directions are my children. It is from me that all Buddhas come into being. I created the world and did it effortlessly. I am the original Buddha and always have been; I did not become a Buddha through some spiritual practice.’ This is called ‘being troubled by the king of the Paranirmita-vaśavartin Heaven.’ This king will send down to earth a member of his retinue — perhaps a goddess (camuṇdā) from his own heaven or a young energy-eating demoness (piśāca) from the Heaven of the Four Kings, but not one who has made a resolve to practice in accord with the Dharma. This being will take advantage of the good person’s vacuous clarity, and it will devour his vitality. The possessed person who acted as the practitioner’s teacher may not b e involved at this point. The demon will appear directly to the practitioner, taking the form of a vajra-wielding spirit. It will tell the practitioner that it has come to grant him immortality. It will appear to him in the form of a beautiful woman, and together they will engage in such a frenzy of lust that before a year has passed, the practitioner’s physical vitality will be depleted. To those who can hear him, he seems to be having conversations with himself in the gabbling language of ghosts. They will not understand what is happening to him. He is likely to run afoul of the laws of the royal domain. If he does, his vital energies will have already been so greatly depleted that he will die before his punishment can be meted out to him. Thus by troubling and confusing him, the demon will have brought about his death. You should be aware of this in advance, so that you will not be reborn among these celestial demons. If you do not recognize what is happening to you, you will become confused, and you will fall into the Unrelenting Hell.”
「阿難！當知是十種魔於末世時，在我法中出家修道，或附人體或自現形，皆言已成正遍知覺，讚歎婬欲破佛律儀，先惡魔師與魔弟子婬婬相傳，如是邪精魅其心腑，近則九生多踰百世，令真修行總為魔眷，命終之後必為魔民，失正遍知墮無間獄。汝今未須先取寂滅，縱得無學，留願入彼末法之中起大慈悲，救度正心深信眾生，令不著魔得正知見。我今度汝已出生死，汝遵佛語，名報佛恩。
“Ānanda! You should know that in the time of the Dharma’s ending these ten kinds of demons will join communities of monastics who practice in accord with my Dharma. These demons may possess people or may appear in a body that they have created for themselves, but in either case they will make the claim that they have already attained the right and universal awakening of a Buddha. They will praise sexual desire and will violate the Buddha’s regulations. These evil and demonic teachers that I have just described will transmit their teachings to their followers by engaging in sexual acts with them. In these ways, depraved demons will take control of practitioners’ minds, and for the practitioners’ next nine lives, or for as many as a hundred lives, the practitioners will join the retinues of demons, although they may have wished to be true to their former practices. At the end of those lives, they will inevitably become demons themselves. Having failed to realize their claim to right and universal awakening, they will fall into the Unrelenting Hell. There is no need for you to seek the nirvana of the Arhats. When you reach the level at which no further instruction is needed, you should still hold fast to your vow to be reborn during the time of the Dharma’s ending. Let your great compassion come forth. Rescue beings whose minds are true and whose faith is deep. Make sure that they are not possessed by demons and that their knowledge and viewpoints are correct. The Buddha is rescuing you now from the cycle of death and rebirth. By respectfully carrying out the instructions that the Buddha has given you, you will requite the kindness that he has shown you.”
「阿難！如是十種禪那現境，皆是想陰、用心交互故現斯事，眾生頑迷不自忖量，逢此因緣迷不自識謂言登聖，大妄語成墮無間獄。汝等必須將如來語，於我滅後傳示末法，遍令眾生開悟斯義，無令天魔得其方便，保持覆護成無上道。
“Ānanda! These ten states may manifest as these beings practice meditation in stillness while they are engaged in interaction with the aggregate of perception. They may become dulled and confused by this experience, and they may no longer be able to take a proper measure of themselves. When faced with these circumstances, they may become further confused, and in their failure to know themselves, they will make the claim that they have reached the level of a sage. This egregious falsehood will cause them to fall into the Unrelenting Hell. After my nirvana, you must explain my teachings and transmit them to beings of the time of the Dharma’s ending so that all beings everywhere will understand what I have taught. Do not allow the celestial demons to have their way. Protect these practitioners and lend them support so that they can realize the supreme enlightenment.”
「阿難！彼善男子修三摩提想陰盡者，是人平常夢想銷滅寤寐恒一，覺明虛靜猶如晴空，無復麁重前塵影事，觀諸世間大地河山如鏡鑑明，來無所粘過無蹤跡虛受照應，了罔陳習唯一精真，生滅根元從此披露，見諸十方十二眾生畢殫其類，雖未通其各命由緒，見同生基，猶如野馬熠熠清擾，為浮根塵究竟樞穴，此則名為行陰區宇；若此清擾熠熠元性，性入元澄一澄元習，如波瀾滅化為澄水，名行陰盡，是人則能超眾生濁。觀其所由，幽隱妄想以為其本。
“Ānanda! When a good person who has been practicing samādhi has reached the end of the aggregate of perception, the usual perceptive processes involved in dreaming will disappear from his mind. For him there will no longer be any difference between waking and sleeping. His awareness will be as luminous, as empty, and as still as a cloudless sky. Images of gross external objects (sthūla) will no longer appear before him as objects of cognition. He will view all the phenomena in the world — the mountains, the rivers, and everything else — as mere reflections that briefly appear in a clear mirror, leaving nothing behind, disappearing without a trace, receiving and reflecting, nothing more. He has done away with his habitual and long-cherished karmic impressions. Only the true essence of consciousness remains. As the source of the coming into being and ceasing to be is exposed to him, he may have a clear vision, which extends throughout the ten directions, of all the kinds of beings in their twelve classes. Although he cannot yet discern the thread of causes that is unique to each individual life, he will be able to perceive the origin that is common to all lives. This origin will appear to him as a subtle, glimmering, vibrating mirage. This is the ultimate point, the pivotal point, at which the faculties and their objects meet. He has reached the region of the aggregate of mental conditioning (saṃskāra). If he is able to see the subtle, glimmering vibrations, which are the origin of beings, revert to the clarity that is their original nature, then his habitual karma will become still, just as clear waters become calm when waves are stilled. He will have reached the end of the aggregate of mental conditioning. He will be able to transcend the turbidity of individual beings. He will contemplate how this aggregate arises, and he will see that its basis lies in perceptive confusion in the deep recesses of the mind.”
「阿難當知，是得正知奢摩他中諸善男子凝明正心，十類天魔不得其便，方得精研窮生類本，於本類中生元露者，觀彼幽清圓擾動元，於圓元中起計度者，是人墜入二無因論。一者是人見本無因。何以故？是人既得生機全破，乘于眼根八百功德，見八萬劫所有眾生，業流灣環死此生彼，秖見眾生輪迴其處，八萬劫外冥無所觀，便作是解：『此等世間十方眾生，八萬劫來無因自有。』由此計度亡正遍知，墮落外道惑菩提性。二者是人見末無因。何以故？是人於生既見其根，知人生人悟鳥生鳥，烏從來黑鵠從來白，人天本竪畜生本橫，白非洗成黑非染造，從八萬劫無復改移，今盡此形亦復如是，而我本來不見菩提，云何更有成菩提事？當知今日一切物象皆本無因。由此計度亡正遍知，墮落外道惑菩提性，是則名為第一外道立無因論。
1. “Ānanda, you should know! That this good person has gained right knowledge and has calmed his mind such that he is firmly settled into the light generated by his correct mental state. None of the ten kinds of celestial demons will have any chance to influence him. He may now focus intently on a thorough investigation of the origins of the lives of all the classes of beings. He will observe the subtle movement that is the origin of all beings in each of their twelve classes. As the source of their lives becomes apparent to him, he may begin to speculate about all that he has observed concerning these origins. In so doing, he may fall into the error of adopting either of two theories that deny causation. First, this person may not discern any causes for the origin of life. How might this be? This person will have already completely eliminated the means for the arising of cognitive distortions. Employing his eye-faculty, with its eight hundred degrees of efficacy, he will now be able to see all beings caught in the swirling flux of their karma during the previous eighty thousand eons, as they meet their death in one place and are born again in another. But he will not be able see beyond eighty thousand eons, and therefore he will suppose that eighty thousand eons ago, all beings in the worlds throughout the ten directions came into being of their own accord, independently of any cause. Because of this speculation, he will lose all the ground that he has gained in his quest for right and universal wisdom. In his confusion about the nature of full awakening, he will fall and take a wrong path. Or second, this person may not discern any cause for the ending of life. How might this be? This person has already observed the origins of all beings. He has discerned that some humans are reborn as humans, and he has been aware of birds being reborn as birds. He may therefore conclude that black crows are inevitably reborn as black crows, while swans are inevitably reborn as white swans. He may conclude that people and gods are always reborn among beings who walk upright and that animals are always reborn as beasts that walk on four legs, and also that washing is not what makes white swans white, nor dyeing what makes crows black. He will therefore conclude that for the last eighty thousand eons until the present moment, no being has been reborn into a different class. He further concludes, ‘In all this time I have observed no instance of full awakening. How then could a being who is not awake change into a being who has awakened? I can only conclude that to this very day all creatures have existed without any special cause for their being what they are.’ Because of this speculation, the practitioner will lose all the ground that he has gained in his quest for right and universal wisdom. In his confusion about the nature of full awakening, he will fall and take a wrong path. These two theories that deny causation constitute the first group of wrong paths.”
「阿難！是三摩中諸善男子，凝明正心魔不得便，窮生類本觀彼幽清常擾動元，於圓常中起計度者，是人墜入四遍常論。一者是人窮心境性，二處無因；修習能知二萬劫中，十方眾生所有生滅，咸皆循環不曾散失，計以為常。二者是人窮四大元，四性常住；修習能知四萬劫中，十方眾生所有生滅，咸皆體恒不曾散失，計以為常。三者是人窮盡六根，末那執受心意識中，本元由處性常恒故；修習能知八萬劫中，一切眾生循環不失，本來常住窮不失性，計以為常。四者是人既盡想元，生理更無流止運轉，生滅想心今已永滅，理中自然成不生滅，因心所度計以為常。由此計常亡正遍知，墮落外道惑菩提性，是則名為第二外道立圓常論。
2. “Ānanda! In his practice of samādhi, this good person’s mind has settled into the light generated by his correct mental state. No demon will have any chance to influence him. He may now focus on a thorough investigation of the constant and subtle movement at the origin of the lives of all the classes of beings. He may begin to speculate about all that he has observed about the constancy of this movement, and in so doing he may fall into the error of adopting one of four theories concerning universal everlastingness (’eternalism’). First, as this person fully investigates the nature of his mind and what it experiences, he may conclude that there is no cause either for the mind or for what it perceives. His practices may enable him to discern the deaths and rebirths that all beings throughout the ten directions have suffered during the previous twenty thousand eons. He may observe that throughout that period of time, as these beings have clung to the cycle of death and rebirth, their minds and their minds’ experiences have not been lost. On that basis he may speculate that the mind and its experiences are everlasting. Second, as this person fully investigates the origins of the four primary elements, it may seem to him that these primary elements never change. His practices may enable him to discern the cycle of death and rebirth that all beings throughout the ten directions have undergone during the previous forty thousand eons. He may observe that throughout this period of time, there has been no alteration in the nature of the primary elements. On that basis he may speculate that it is the nature of the primary elements to be everlasting. Third, as this person fully investigates the perceptual functions of the sixth consciousness, the individuating consciousness (kliṣṭa-mano-vijñāna), and the storehouse consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna), it may seem to him that, from their very origins, it has always been the nature of these consciousnesses to be everlasting. His practices may enable him to discern the cycle of death and rebirth undergone by all beings throughout the ten directions during the previous eighty thousand eons. It may seem to him that throughout this period of time, beings’ consciousnesses have maintained their original natures. On that basis he may speculate that the inherent nature of these consciousnesses is everlasting. Fourth, as this person comes to the end of the aggregate of perception, it may seem to him that the source of coming into being and ceasing to be has stopped functioning. Since he has put a stop to the activity of the aggregate of perception, he may reason that there can be no resumption of that activity. On that basis he concludes that the coming into being and ceasing to be of perception, with its ebb and flow, have come to a permanent end. He will therefore conclude that this state in which there is neither coming into being nor perishing must be everlasting. Because of this speculation, the practitioner will lose all the ground that he has gained in his quest for right and universal wisdom. In his confusion about the nature of full awakening, he will fall and take a wrong path. These four theories about what is everlasting constitute the second group of wrong paths.”
「又三摩中諸善男子，堅凝正心魔不得便，窮生類本觀彼幽清常擾動元，於自他中起計度者，是人墜入四顛倒見，一分無常一分常論。一者是人觀妙明心遍十方界，湛然以為究竟神我，從是則計我遍十方凝明不動，一切眾生於我心中自生自死，則我心性名之為常，彼生滅者真無常性。二者是人不觀其心，遍觀十方恒沙國土，見劫壞處名為究竟無常種性，劫不壞處名究竟常。三者是人別觀我心，精細微密猶如微塵，流轉十方性無移改，能令此身即生即滅，其不壞性名我性常，一切死生從我流出名無常性。四者是人知想陰盡見行陰流，行陰常流計為常性，色受想等今已滅盡名為無常。由此計度一分無常一分常故，墮落外道惑菩提性，是則名為第三外道一分常論。
3. Further, when in his practice of samādhi this good person’s mind is firmly settled in his correct mental state, no demon will have any chance to influence him. He may now focus on a thorough investigation of the constant and subtle movement at the origin of the lives of all the classes of beings. He may begin to speculate about self and other, and in so doing he may fall into error by adopting one of four deluded theories that consider some entities to be everlasting and others not to be everlasting. First, as he observes the above, this good person may speculate that his mind’s wondrous understanding pervades all the worlds throughout the ten directions. He may take his mind in its profound stillness to be the ultimate cosmic self (puruṣa), and he may speculate that this unmoving cosmic self, with its focused understanding, pervades the ten directions. He may suppose that within his cosmic mind, all beings die and are reborn. Therefore he may conclude that his mind, which he takes to be the cosmic self, is everlasting, while the beings that upon their death are reborn within his mind are not everlasting. Second, instead of observing his mind, this person may observe the worlds everywhere throughout the ten directions, as many as the sand grains in the River Ganges. He may see worlds that are in the declining eon of their life cycle, and he may conclude that these worlds must ultimately be impermanent. He concludes that worlds that are not in a declining eon must belong to a category of worlds that are everlasting. Third, this person may instead focus his observations on the refined, subtle, and hidden aspects of his mind, which may seem to him like the tiny motes of dust that float and swirl about throughout the ten directions, their nature never changing. He may speculate that this subtle aspect of his mind controls the death and rebirth of his body. He may conclude that this subtle aspect of his mind is an indestructible and everlasting self, whereas he as a person who repeatedly dies and is reborn from that permanent self must be impermanent. Fourth, as this person becomes aware of the ending of the aggregate of perception, and as he observes the wave-like flux of the aggregate of mental conditioning (saṃskāra), he may speculate that the constant flux of the aggregate of mental conditioning is everlasting. Since at that point, the aggregates of form, sense-perception, and perception have already ceased functioning, he may conclude that these three aggregates are not everlasting. Because of these speculations, the practitioner will lose all the ground that he has gained in his quest for right and universal wisdom. In his confusion about the nature of full awakening, he will fall and take a wrong path. These four theories about what is everlasting and what is not everlasting constitute the third group of wrong paths.”
「又三摩中諸善男子，堅凝正心魔不得便，窮生類本觀彼幽清常擾動元，於分位中生計度者，是人墜入四有邊論。一者是人心計生元流用不息，計過未者名為有邊，計相續心名為無邊。二者是人觀八萬劫，則見眾生八萬劫前寂無聞見，無聞見處名為無邊，有眾生處名為有邊。三者是人計我遍知得無邊性，彼一切人現我知中，我曾不知彼之知性，名彼不得無邊之心，但有邊性。四者是人窮行陰空，以其所見心路籌度，一切眾生一身之中，計其咸皆半生半滅，明其世界一切所有，一半有邊一半無邊。由此計度有邊無邊，墮落外道惑菩提性，是則名為第四外道立有邊論。
4. Further, when in his practice of samādhi, this good person’s mind is firmly settled in his correct mental state, no demon will have any chance to influence him. He may then fully investigate the origins of the lives of all the classes of beings. If he speculates about the existence of certain distinctions, he may fall into error by adopting one of four deluded theories concerning what is finite and what is not. First, this person may speculate that the wave-like flux that is the source of life continues to function without cease. He may conclude that both past time and future time are finite, while the mind functioning in the present moment continues (citta-santāna) indefinitely and so is infinite. Second, in his samādhi this person may be able to see beings throughout eighty thousand eons of the past. When he attempts to perceive earlier eons, he does not see or hear anything there. The expanse of time in which he sees and hears nothing he supposes to be infinite, while the expanse of time in which he perceives beings he supposes to be finite. Third, this person may speculate that his own awareness is infinite and that all other people appear within his awareness. However, he is not aware of other people’s awarenesses, and therefore he may conclude that their awarenesses are merely finite, not infinite, as he supposes his is. Fourth, this person may thoroughly investigate the aggregate of mental conditioning in his wish to bring this aggregate to an end. Based on what he has observed of the pathways of his mind, he speculates that a portion of the mind of each and every individual being is subject to coming into being and ceasing to be, while another portion is not subject to coming into being and ceasing to be. Thus he concludes that everything in this world is half finite and half infinite. Having made these suppositions about what is finite and what is infinite, he will fall and take a wrong path. He has become confused about the nature of full awakening. These theories about what is finite and what is infinite constitute the fourth group of wrong paths.
「又三摩中諸善男子，堅凝正心魔不得便，窮生類本觀彼幽清常擾動元，於知見中生計度者，是人墜入四種顛倒，不死矯亂遍計虛論。一者是人觀變化元，見遷流處名之為變，見相續處名之為恒；見所見處名之為生，不見見處名之為滅；相續之因性不斷處名之為增，正相續中中所離處名之為減；各各生處名之為有，互互亡處名之為無。以理都觀，用心別見。有求法人來問其義，答言：『我今亦生亦滅，亦有亦無亦增亦減。』於一切時皆亂其語，令彼前人遺失章句。二者是人諦觀其心，互互無處因無得證，有人來問唯答一字但言其無，除無之餘無所言說。三者是人諦觀其心，各各有處因有得證，有人來問唯答一字但言其是，除是之餘無所言說。四者是人有無俱見，其境枝故其心亦亂，有人來問答言亦有即是亦無，亦無之中不是亦有，一切矯亂無容窮詰。由此計度矯亂虛無，墮落外道惑菩提性，是則名為第五外道四顛倒性，不死矯亂遍計虛論。
5. Further, when in his practice of samādhi, this good person’s mind is firmly settled in his correct mental state, no demon will have any chance to influence him. He may now focus on a thorough investigation of the constant and subtle movement at the origin of the lives of all the classes of beings. Then he may begin to speculate about his own knowledge and viewpoints, and in so doing he may fall into error by adopting one of four baseless and distorted theories involving conceptualizations (parikalpita) of immortality. First, this person may observe the source of the fluctuations within the aggregate of mental conditioning. If he perceives variation in the patterns of the flux, he will call that variation ‘change.’ If he perceives continuity (citta-santāna) in the patterns, he will call that continuity ‘constancy.’ He will say that what he sees is what has come into being, and if he sees nothing, he will say that whatever had been there has perished. If there is continuity in the patterns of flux, he will say that it is ‘caused by augmentation’; and if at some point the continuity in the patterns of flux is interrupted, he will say that it is ‘caused by diminution.’ All the places in which he has observed things come into being he will call the ‘totality of what exists,’ and all the places in which he has observed nothing he will call the ‘totality of nonexistence.’ In this way, by observing everything in the light of the aggregate of mental conditioning, he forms various conclusions about what he has seen. If someone seeking to learn his methods should come to ask him about his theories, he will reply: ‘I both come into being and cease to be. I exist and yet do not exist. I both grow and diminish.’ What he says is so confusing that no one can understand what he means. Second, this person may look intently into his mind, and he may not see any beings anywhere. On this basis he will draw his conclusions. When people come to him with questions, he will answer with one word: ‘No.’ He will say no more than the single word ‘no.’ Third, this person may look intently into his mind, and he may see all beings in their various places. On this basis he will draw his conclusions. When people come to him with questions, he will answer with one word. ‘Yes.’ He will say no more than the single word ‘yes.’ Fourth, this person, when looking into his mind, may sometimes see beings in their various locations, and at other times he may see no beings at all. Because of this inconsistency in his experience, he may become confused. When people come to him with questions, he will answer, ‘Both yes and no. But if it is “no,” then it isn’t “yes.”’ His confused sophistries will not stand up to scrutiny. “Having made these muddled suppositions about the existence and nonexistence of beings, he will fall and take a wrong path. He has become confused about the nature of full awakening. These four baseless theories concerning muddled ideas about immortality constitute the fifth group of wrong paths.”
「又三摩中諸善男子，堅凝正心魔不得便，窮生類本觀彼幽清常擾動元，於無盡流生計度者，是人墜入死後有相發心顛倒。或自固身，云色是我；或見我圓含遍國土，云我有色；或彼前緣隨我迴復，云色屬我；或復我依行中相續，云我在色。皆計度言死後有相，如是循環有十六相，從此惑計，畢竟煩惱畢竟菩提兩性並驅，各不相觸。由此計度死後有故，墮落外道惑菩提性，是則名為第六外道，立五陰中死後有相心顛倒論。
6. Further, when in his practice of samādhi this good person’s mind is firmly settled in his correct mental state, no demon will have any chance to influence him. He may now focus on a thorough investigation of the constant and subtle movement at the origin of the lives of all the classes of beings. He may begin to speculate about the endless flux that he has observed, and in so doing he may make the mistake of committing himself to confused ideas about the attributes of forms that exist after death. Perhaps he is strongly attached to his body, and so he will say that his body, which is composed of attributes of form, is his true self. Or perhaps his view is that all worlds are contained within himself, and so he will say that his true self contains the totality of all forms. Or perhaps he concludes that all perceived objects are dependent for their existence on his perceiving them, and so he will say that all the attributes of form belong to his experience. On the other hand, he may conclude that the existence of his true self is dependent on the constant flux of mental conditioning, and so he will say that he belongs to the attributes of form. All four of these speculations propose that the attributes of form continue after death. Cycling through these four speculations, he may apply them to each one of the four aggregates, so that there are sixteen propositions concerning the attributes of form. He also proposes that afflictions will always be afflictions, that full awakening will always be full awakening, and that the two continue to exist together without ever coming into contact. Because he has made these suppositions about the existence of attributes of form after death, he will fall and take a wrong path. He has become confused about the nature of full awakening. This belief in wrongheaded theories concerning the existence after death of attributes of all five aggregates is the sixth of these wrong paths.”
「又三摩中諸善男子，堅凝正心魔不得便，窮生類本觀彼幽清常擾動元，於先除滅色受想中生計度者，是人墜入死後無相發心顛倒。見其色滅形無所因；觀其想滅心無所繫；知其受滅無復連綴；陰性銷散，縱有生理而無受想與草木同；此質現前猶不可得，死後云何更有諸相？因之勘校死後相無，如是循環有八無相，從此或計涅槃因果一切皆空，徒有名字究竟斷滅。由此計度死後無故，墮落外道惑菩提性，是則名為第七外道，立五陰中死後無相心顛倒論。
7. “Further, when in his practice of samādhi this good person’s mind is firmly settled in his correct mental state, no demon will have any chance to influence him. He may now focus on a thorough investigation of the constant and subtle movement at the origin of the lives of all the classes of beings. He may speculate about the aggregates of form, sense-perception, and cognition — all of which have already ceased to function within his samādhi — and in so doing, he may make the mistake of adopting confused ideas about the nonexistence of those aggregates after death. Having seen that the aggregate of form has ceased to function within his samādhi, it may seem to him that his own body exists without a cause. Since he is aware that the aggregate of perception has ceased to function within his samādhi, he may suppose that his mind has no connection to anything. Having observed that the aggregate of sense-perception has ceased to function within his samādhi, he may suppose that his cognitive faculty has no connection with objects that he perceives. Since these three aggregates have all vanished — even though the fourth aggregate is still functioning — he may suppose that, without sense-perception or perception, he is the same as a blade of grass or a piece of wood. He may conclude that the attributes of the aggregates do not continue after death. Cycling through these speculations, he will conclude that there are eight instances of their nonexistence. Based on these instances, he may speculate that nirvana and causation ultimately do not exist but are mere names that do not refer to anything real. Because he has made these suppositions about nonexistence, he will fall and take a wrong path. He has become confused about the nature of full awakening. This belief in wrong-headed theories concerning the nonexistence after death of the attributes of the five aggregates is the seventh of these wrong paths.”
「又三摩中諸善男子，堅凝正心魔不得便，窮生類本觀彼幽清常擾動元，於行存中兼受想滅，雙計有無自體相破，是人墜入死後俱非起顛倒論，色受想中見有非有，行遷流內觀無不無，如是循環窮盡陰界，八俱非相隨得一緣，皆言死後有相無相，又計諸行性遷訛故，心發通悟有無俱非虛實失措。由此計度死後俱非，後際昏瞢無可道故，墮落外道惑菩提性，是則名為第八外道，立五陰中死後俱非心顛倒論。
8. “Further, when in his practice of samādhi this good person’s mind is firmly settled in his correct mental state, no demon will have any chance to influence him. He may now focus on a thorough investigation of the constant and subtle movement at the origin of the lives of all the classes of beings. Within his samādhi, the aggregate of mental conditioning continues, while the aggregates of form, sense-perception, and perception have ceased, and so he entertains contradictory notions about whether the aggregates exist or do not exist. Thus he will fall into error by proposing wrong-headed and incorrect theories about existence and nonexistence after death. Looking beyond the aggregates of form, sense-perception, and perception, he sees that although the aggregate of mental conditioning seems to exist, it does not really exist. As he observes the flux of the aggregate of mental conditioning, he may see that although the aggregates of form, sense-perception, and perception seem not to exist, they actually do exist. As he explores the aggregates in depth, he cycles through his speculations and proposes eight instances concerning the existence and nonexistence of attributes of the four aggregates after death. Following this line of reasoning, he concludes that the attributes of the four aggregates neither exist nor do not exist after death. Further, based on these speculations — that the nature of all mental conditioning is that they are in flux and that their reality is deceptive — he believes that he has made a breakthrough in his understanding. But although he has concluded that the attributes of the aggregates neither exist nor fail to exist, he is in fact still at a loss as to what is real about them and what is not real. Despite his suppositions that deny both the existence and the nonexistence of attributes of aggregates after death, he cannot in fact see into the future and ought not to speak of it. As a result of these errors, he will fall and take a wrong path. He has become confused about the nature of full awakening. This belief in wrong-headed theories concerning the existence and nonexistence of the attributes of all five aggregates after death is the eighth of these wrong paths.”
「又三摩中諸善男子，堅凝正心魔不得便，窮生類本觀彼幽清常擾動元，於後後無生計度者，是人墜入七斷滅論，或計身滅、或欲盡滅、或苦盡滅、或極樂滅、或極捨滅，如是循環窮盡七際，現前銷滅滅已無復。由此計度死後斷滅，墮落外道惑菩提性，是則名為第九外道，立五陰中死後斷滅心顛倒論。
9. “Further, when in his practice of samādhi this good person’s mind is firmly settled in his correct mental state, no demon will have any chance to influence him. He may now focus on a thorough investigation of the constant and subtle movement at the origin of the lives of all the classes of beings. He may then begin to speculate that there is no existence beyond the aggregate of mental conditioning. He may adopt any of seven wrong-headed theories concerning the cessation of individual existence after death. He may speculate about where within the realm of desire the bodies of individual beings might perish; or about where beyond the realm of desire the bodies of individual beings might perish; or about where beyond the reach of suffering the bodies of individual beings might perish; or about where, within the bliss that is beyond joy, the bodies of individual beings might perish; or about where, within the renunciation of cognition, the bodies of individual beings might perish. Cycling through these speculations, he will fully investigate each of these seven locations and conclude that in each, individual beings perish and that, having perished, they will not be reborn. Because he has made these suppositions concerning the cessation of individual existence after death, he will fall and take a wrong path. He has become confused about the nature of full awakening. This belief in wrongheaded theories concerning the cessation of individual existence after death within the realm of all five aggregates is the ninth of the wrong paths.”
「又三摩中諸善男子，堅凝正心魔不得便，窮生類本觀彼幽清常擾動元，於後後有生計度者，是人墜入五涅槃論。或以欲界為正轉依，觀見圓明生愛慕故；或以初禪性無憂故；或以二禪心無苦故；或以三禪極悅隨故；或以四禪苦樂二亡，不受輪迴生滅性故。迷有漏天作無為解，五處安隱為勝淨依，如是循環五處究竟。由此計度五現涅槃，墮落外道惑菩提性，是則名為第十外道，立五陰中五現涅槃心顛倒論。
10. “Further, when in his practice of samādhi this good person’s mind is firmly settled in his correct mental state, no demon will have any chance to influence him. He may now focus on a thorough investigation of the constant and subtle movement at the origin of the lives of all the classes of beings. He may speculate that beyond the aggregate of mental conditioning, there is existence after death. He may adopt any of five wrong-headed theories concerning nirvana. He may in his contemplations observe a radiance that suffuses the heavens of the realm of desire. Longing for this radiance, he may speculate that in those heavens he will be able to transform his future deaths and rebirths into a future entry into nirvana. Or he may speculate it is in the heavens of the first dhyāna that he will be able to enter nirvana, because in the first dhyāna beings have no anxiety. Or he may speculate that it is in the heavens of the second dhyāna that he will be able to enter nirvana, because in the second dhyāna beings do not suffer. Or he may speculate that it is in the heavens of the third dhyāna that he will be able to enter nirvana, because in the third dhyāna beings know the extremes of the bliss that is beyond joy. Or he may speculate that it is within the heavens of the fourth dhyāna that he will be able to enter nirvana, because in the fourth dhyāna both suffering and joy are transcended, and as he supposes, beings there are no longer bound to the cycle of death and rebirth. He will make the mistake of supposing that these dhyāna heavens are unconditioned states, although in fact the beings in them are still subject to outflows. Since beings in these five locations are able to experience an inner serenity, he will suppose that these are places where he will be able to abide in a supreme purity. Cycling through these suppositions, he will conclude that it is in these locations that ultimate nirvana may be found. Because he thought that he could enter nirvana if he could manage to abide in these five locations, he will fall and take a wrong path. He has become confused about the nature of full awakening. This belief in wrong-headed theories that, in these five locations, he could enter nirvana within the realm of the five aggregates is the tenth of these wrong paths.”
「阿難！如是十種禪那狂解，皆是行陰、用心交互故現斯悟，眾生頑迷不自忖量，逢此現前以迷為解自言登聖，大妄語成墮無間獄。汝等必須將如來語，於我滅後傳示末法，遍令眾生覺了斯義，無令心魔自起深孽，保持覆護消息邪見，教其身心開覺真義，於無上道不遭枝岐，勿令心祈得少為足，作大覺王清淨標指。
“Ānanda! While they are practicing meditation in stillness, these beings may adopt these ten wildly wrong interpretations of the dhyānas as a result of their interaction with the aggregate of mental conditioning. They may become dulled and confused by this experience, and they may no longer be able to take a proper measure of themselves. When faced with these circumstances, they may be even more confused, and in their failure to know themselves, they will make the claim that they have reached the level of a sage. This egregious falsehood will cause them to fall into the Unrelenting Hell. After my nirvana, you must explain my teachings and transmit them to those who will live during the time of the Dharma’s ending so that all beings everywhere will understand what I have taught. Then they will not allow their own demonic views to lead them into egregious offenses. Protect and support my Dharma so that wrong beliefs are dispelled. Instruct practitioners so that they are thoroughly convinced of the true meaning of my teachings, lest they stray from the supreme path and content themselves with insignificant attainments. You should all become leaders who are greatly enlightened. Become the pure ones who show others the Path.”
「阿難！彼善男子修三摩提行陰盡者，諸世間性幽清擾動同分生機，倏然墮裂沈細綱紐，補特伽羅酬業深脈感應懸絕，於涅槃天將大明悟，如鷄後鳴瞻顧東方已有精色，六根虛靜無復馳逸，內外湛明入無所入，深達十方十二種類受命元由，觀由執元諸類不召，於十方界已獲其同，精色不沈發現幽祕，此則名為識陰區宇；若於群召已獲同中，銷磨六門合開成就，見聞通隣互用清淨，十方世界及與身心如吠瑠璃內外明徹，名識陰盡，是人則能超越命濁。觀其所由，罔象虛無，顛倒妄想以為其本。
“Anānda! When a good person who has been practicing samādhi has reached the end of the aggregate of mental conditioning, he may observe, within the clear light in the deep recesses of his mind, the vibrations which are the shared foundation of the nature of all beings in the world. Then suddenly the tiny hidden knot that holds together the intricate net of karma of his individual being (pudgala) during his many lifetimes will burst open, and he will lose his connection to the vibrating resonances of that karmic net. He will now be on the verge of experiencing a great illumination in the sky of nirvana. It is as if he is gazing at the pale light of dawn in the eastern sky just as the rooster has finished crowing. His six faculties will be quiescent; they will have ceased to hurry outwards toward their objects. His faculties and their objects will merge into a single deep and luminous clarity. The duality of observer and observed will have ceased. He will have a deep understanding of how the twelve classes of beings throughout the ten directions enter into life. However, though he may take an interest in how beings are born into their various classes, in no case will he be drawn in to the process. His consciousness will merge with everything in the worlds throughout the ten directions. The pale light that he observed will not fade, and it will illuminate what has heretofore been hidden. This is the region of the aggregate of consciousness. He will attain a state of unified consciousness with the classes of beings, but he does not comply when they call him to follow them into rebirth. He has erased the distinctions among his six faculties, and he has succeeded in enabling each of the six to perform the functions of all of the others. For example, his faculties of seeing and hearing will become connected to one another and will function both separately and together and with complete clarity. The worlds throughout the ten directions and his own body and mind will be suffused with light, like a crystal. This state is the ending of the aggregate of consciousness. This person will now be able to transcend the turbidity of lifespans. He will contemplate how this aggregate arises, and he will understand that it neither exists nor does not exist — that its existence and nonexistence are both unreal. It is based on the distortions of deluded mental activity.”
「阿難當知，是善男子窮諸行空，於識還元已滅生滅，而於寂滅精妙未圓，能令己身根隔合開，亦與十方諸類通覺，覺知通[泳-永+曶]能入圓元；若於所歸立真常因生勝解者，是人則墮因所因執，娑毘迦羅所歸冥諦成其伴侶，迷佛菩提亡失知見，是名第一立所得心，成所歸果，違遠圓通背涅槃城，生外道種。
1. “Ānanda, you should know! This good person, having completely eliminated the mental conditioning aggregate, must now return the aggregate of consciousness to its source. At this point, although he has already done away with the coming into being and perishing of mental conditioning, he has not yet completed the journey to the wonder of his essential nature, which is nirvana. However, he will be able to merge his perceptual faculties so that they can function as one or function interchangeably. Since his consciousness is connected to all the classes of beings in the ten directions, he and they become as if one body. He may assume that he is himself the entire source of all of them. Based on that assumption, he will conclude that he is the true and permanent cause of everything. He will believe that in this he has discovered the ultimate truth. Thus this person will become attached to a mistaken notion concerning what acts as a cause and what is the effect of that cause. He will become an adherent of the doctrines of Kapila, who taught that one should return to what he called the ‘truth of the unmanifested nature.’ The practitioner is confused about the nature of the full awakening of the Buddhas, and as a result, the Buddhas’ right knowledge and correct views are no longer accessible to him. This first theory is called ‘concluding that one has fully achieved one’s goal.’ Instead of breaking through to enlightenment, this person proceeds far in the opposite direction. He turns his back on the city of nirvana and plants a seed that will result in his rebirth as a follower of a wrong path.”
「阿難！又善男子，窮諸行空已滅生滅，而於寂滅精妙未圓，若於所歸覽為自體，盡虛空界十二類內所有眾生，皆我身中一類流出生勝解者，是人則墮能非能執，摩醯首羅現無邊身成其伴侶，迷佛菩提亡失知見，是名第二立能為心，成能事果，違遠圓通背涅槃城，生大慢天我遍圓種。
2. “Ānanda! Further, although this good person has completely eliminated the aggregate of mental conditioning — although he has already done away with the coming into being and perishing of mental conditioning — he has not yet completed the journey to the wonder of his essential nature, which is nirvana. Once he has entered the consciousness aggregate, he may take that consciousness to be his own body, and he may have a vision of his body extending to the ends of space. He may have the experience of seeing all beings in all twelve classes being born from within his own body. He will believe that in this he has discovered the ultimate truth. Thus this person makes the mistake of believing that he has an ability that no one else has. He becomes one of the adherents of the doctrines of Maheśvara, who appears in an infinite body. The practitioner is confused about the nature of the full awakening of the Buddhas, and as a result, the Buddhas’ right knowledge and correct views are no longer accessible to him. This second theory is called ‘concluding that one has a special ability and believing that one has succeeded in exercising it.’ Instead of breaking through to enlightenment, this person proceeds far in the opposite direction. He turns his back on the city of nirvana and plants a seed that will result in his rebirth as a god who, in his great arrogance, considers his self to be all-pervading and to include everything within it.”
「又善男子，窮諸行空已滅生滅，而於寂滅精妙未圓，若於所歸有所歸依，自疑身心從彼流出，十方虛空咸其生起，即於都起所宣流地，作真常身無生滅解，在生滅中早計常住，既惑不生亦迷生滅，安住沈迷生勝解者，是人則墮常非常執計，自在天成其伴侶，迷佛菩提亡失知見，是名第三立因依心，成妄計果，違遠圓通背涅槃城，生倒圓種。
3. “Further, although this good person has completely eliminated the aggregate of mental conditioning — although he has already done away with the coming into being and perishing of mental conditioning — he has not yet completed the journey to the wonder of his essential nature, which is nirvana. Once he has entered the consciousness aggregate, he may become attached to abiding there. Then he may wrongly suppose that his body and mind are born from there and that everything in the ten directions throughout empty space arises from there. Because he supposes that both his body and mind well up from the consciousness aggregate, he may conclude that this supposed source constitutes an immortal body which neither comes into being nor ceases to be. In fact, he is still subject to death and rebirth. He has come to the unjustified conclusion that his consciousness is immortal. Already deluded about what is beyond coming into being and ceasing to be, he is also confused about what is subject to coming into being and ceasing to be. Having sunk into confusion, he is content to abide in that state of mind, considering it to be the ultimate truth. Thus this person becomes attached to the mistaken view that the consciousness aggregate is permanent and that everything else is impermanent. He becomes one of the adherents of the doctrines of the god Īśvara. He is confused about the nature of the full awakening of the Buddhas, and as a result, the Buddhas’ right knowledge and correct views are no longer accessible to him. This third theory is called ‘concluding that one has an origin and making deluded speculations about what arises from there.’ Instead of breaking through to enlightenment, this person proceeds far in the opposite direction. He turns his back on the city of nirvana and plants a seed that will result in his rebirth in a place that he has wrongly taken to be perfection.”
「又善男子，窮諸行空已滅生滅，而於寂滅精妙未圓，若於所知知遍圓故，因知立解，十方草木皆稱有情與人無異，草木為人人死還成十方草樹，無擇遍知生勝解者，是人則墮知無知執，婆吒霰尼執一切覺成其伴侶，迷佛菩提亡失知見，是名第四計圓知心，成虛謬果，違遠圓通背涅槃城，生倒知種。
4. “Further, although this good person has completely eliminated the aggregate of mental conditioning — although he has already done away with the coming into being and perishing of mental conditioning — he has not yet completed the journey to the wonder of his essential nature, which is nirvana. If he becomes aware that his consciousness is all-pervading and includes all things, then based on that awareness, he may theorize that all the vegetation throughout the ten directions is no less sentient than people are. He may suppose, further, that a plant can be reborn as a person and that, after death, a person can go anywhere in the ten directions to be reborn as a plant. Believing that awareness is universal in this way, and supposing that this belief is the ultimate truth, this person makes the mistake of ascribing awareness to what in fact is not aware. He becomes one of the adherents of the doctrines of Vaiśiṣṭa and Senika, who were convinced that everything is endowed with awareness. The practitioner is confused about the nature of the full awakening of the Buddhas, and as a result, the Buddhas’ right knowledge and correct views are no longer accessible to him. This fourth theory is called ‘supposing that all things are aware and drawing erroneous conclusions from that supposition.’ Instead of breaking through to enlightenment, this person proceeds far in the opposite direction. He turns his back on the city of nirvana and plants a seed that will result in his rebirth into a state of distorted awareness.”
「又善男子，窮諸行空已滅生滅，而於寂滅精妙未圓，若於圓融根互用中已得隨順，便於圓化一切發生，求火光明、樂水清淨、愛風周流、觀塵成就，各各崇事以此群塵，發作本因立常住解，是人則墮生無生執，諸迦葉波并婆羅門，勤心役身事火崇水，求出生死成其伴侶，迷佛菩提亡失知見，是名第五計著崇事迷心從物，立妄求因，求妄冀果，違遠圓通背涅槃城，生顛化種。
5. “Further, although this good person has completely eliminated the aggregate of mental conditioning — although he has already done away with the coming into being and perishing of mental conditioning — he has not yet completed the journey to the wonder of his essential nature, which is nirvana. When, in the perfect interfusing of his faculties, he has completely mastered their interchangeable functioning, he may theorize that all perceived objects come forth from that perfectly interfused functioning. This supposition will lead him to crave the brilliant light of fire, to delight in the purity of water, to cherish the ubiquitous motion of wind, and to enjoy contemplations of the earth, upon which all things depend. He will hold these primary elements in reverence, supposing that they are fundamental causes and are everlasting. Thus he makes the mistake of believing that the primary elements bring into being what in fact they do not bring into being. He becomes one of the adherents of the doctrines of Kāśaypa and of other Brahmins who, through mental diligence and physical asceticism, seek to escape death and rebirth by reverently making ritual offerings to water and to fire. The practitioner is confused about the nature of the full awakening of the Buddhas, and as a result, the Buddhas’ right knowledge and correct views are no longer accessible to him. This fifth theory is called ‘mistaken speculations and misplaced reverence that cause one to be so confused as to worship the primary elements.’ Having come to false conclusions concerning fundamental causes, this person seeks a wrong result. Instead of breaking through to enlightenment, he proceeds far in the opposite direction. He turns his back on the city of nirvana and plants a seed that will result in his rebirth among beings with distorted beliefs.”
「又善男子，窮諸行空已滅生滅，而於寂滅精妙未圓，若於圓明計明中虛，非滅群化，以永滅依為所歸依，生勝解者，是人則墮歸無歸執，無想天中諸舜若多成其伴侶，迷佛菩提亡失知見，是名第六圓虛無心，成空亡果，違遠圓通背涅槃城，生斷滅種。
6. “Further, although this good person has completely eliminated the aggregate of mental conditioning — although he has already done away with the coming into being and perishing of mental conditioning — he has not yet completed the journey to the wonder of his essential nature, which is nirvana. It may seem to him that his consciousness illuminates everything, and he may speculate that within this illumination there is a void. He may wish to negate any of the various forms that arise and to abide forever in permanent cessation. He will believe that his understanding of this place of abiding is the ultimate truth. Thus he makes the mistake of believing that what is not a place of permanent abiding nevertheless is such a place. He adopts the doctrines of the dwellers in the empty void of the Heaven of No Cognition. He is confused about the nature of the full awakening of the Buddhas, and as a result, the Buddhas’ right knowledge and correct views are no longer accessible to him. This sixth theory is called ‘making suppositions about a void and drawing various conclusions concerning that void.’ The person speculates that this void is the basis of his consciousness and that the result is permanent cessation. As a result, instead of breaking through to enlightenment, he proceeds far in the opposite direction. He turns his back on the city of nirvana and plants a seed that will result in his rebirth into a void in which everything has ceased to be.”
「又善男子，窮諸行空已滅生滅，而於寂滅精妙未圓，若於圓常固身常住，同于精圓長不傾逝生勝解者，是人則墮貪非貪執，諸阿斯陀求長命者成其伴侶，迷佛菩提亡失知見，是名第七執著命元，立固妄因趣長勞果，違遠圓通背涅槃城，生妄延種。
7. “Further, although this good person has completely eliminated the aggregate of mental conditioning — although he has already done away with the coming into being and perishing of mental conditioning — he has not yet completed the journey to the wonder of his essential nature, which is nirvana. If his consciousness seems to him to be all-pervading and permanent, he may attempt to fortify his body in the hope that it will become immortal — as long-lasting, as refined, and as all-pervading as his consciousness. He will conclude that his quest for immortality of the body is the ultimate truth. Thus this person makes the mistake of craving something that should not be an object of craving. He becomes one of the adherents of the doctrines of Asita and of others who seek a long life. He is confused about the nature of the full awakening of the Buddhas, and as a result, the Buddhas’ right knowledge and correct views are no longer accessible to him. This seventh theory is called ‘becoming attached to a belief concerning the source of life and drawing the erroneous conclusion that fortifying the body will result in a long life.’ Instead of breaking through to enlightenment, this person proceeds far in the opposite direction. He turns his back on the city of nirvana and plants a seed that will result in a long life of delusion.”
「又善男子，窮諸行空已滅生滅，而於寂滅精妙未圓，觀命互通却留塵勞恐其銷盡，便於此際坐蓮華宮，廣化七珍多增寶媛，縱恣其心生勝解者，是人則墮真無真執，吒抧迦羅成其伴侶，迷佛菩提亡失知見，是名第八發邪思因，立熾塵果，違遠圓通背涅槃城，生天魔種。
8. “Further, although this good person has completely eliminated the aggregate of mental conditioning — although he has already done away with the coming into being and perishing of mental conditioning — he has not yet completed the journey to the wonder of his essential nature, which is nirvana. Having contemplated the interconnectedness of the lives of all twelve classes of beings, he will retreat into a reengagement with his own stressful inner world of perceived objects. In this situation, fearing that this world will come to an end, he will cause himself to be seated in a palace made of lotus-flowers and the seven precious things, where he is surrounded by beautiful women.66 Concluding that this is the ultimate truth, he will abandon himself to luxurious enjoyments. Thus he makes the mistake of believing that what is not genuine is in fact genuine. He becomes one of the adherents of the doctrines of the lord of celestial demons. He is confused about the nature of the full awakening of the Buddhas, and as a result, the Buddhas’ right knowledge and correct views are no longer accessible to him. “This eighth theory is called ‘perverse thoughts arising and leading to the erroneous conclusion regarding the raging fire of the world of perceived objects.’ Instead of breaking through to enlightenment, this person proceeds far in the opposite direction. He turns his back on the city of nirvana and plants a seed that will result in rebirth as a celestial demon.”
「又善男子，窮諸行空已滅生滅，而於寂滅精妙未圓，於命明中分別精麁，疏決真偽因果相酬，唯求感應背清淨道，所謂見苦、斷集、證滅、修道，居滅已休，更不前進生勝解者，是人則墮定性聲聞，諸無聞僧、增上慢者成其伴侶，迷佛菩提亡失知見，是名第九圓精應心，成趣寂果，違遠圓通背涅槃城，生纏空種。
9. “Further, although this good person has completely eliminated the aggregate of mental conditioning — although he has already done away with the coming into being and perishing of mental conditioning — he has not yet completed the journey to the wonder of his essential nature, which is nirvana. In his understanding of the source of individual lives, he will distinguish between the fine and the coarse, and he will discern what is true and what is false, based on the interplay of cause and effect. He seeks an awakening in response to his efforts, thereby turning his back on the path to the highest purity. That is to say, he perceives the unsatisfactoriness of life, eliminates the accumulation of afflictions, and realizes cessation as he practices in accord with the Path. But once he comes to abide in cessation, he stops there and goes no farther in his practice. He considers cessation to be the ultimate meaning of life. In this way he makes the mistake of becoming a Hearer of the Teaching (śrāvaka) who is restricted to a single lineage. His companions will be ignorant members of the Sangha and supremely arrogant practitioners. He is confused about the nature of the full awakening of the Buddhas, and as a result, the Buddhas’ right knowledge and correct views are no longer accessible to him. This ninth theory is called ‘perfecting the essence of the mind and so realizing the goal of cessation.’ But instead of breaking through to enlightenment, this person proceeds far in the opposite direction. He turns his back on the city of nirvana and plants a seed that will result in his becoming restricted by [false] emptiness.
「又善男子，窮諸行空已滅生滅，而於寂滅精妙未圓，若於圓融清淨覺明，發研深妙即立涅槃，而不前進生勝解者，是人則墮定性辟支，諸緣獨倫不迴心者成其伴侶，迷佛菩提亡失知見，是名第十圓覺[淴-心+目]心，成湛明果，違遠圓通背涅槃城，生覺圓明不化圓種。
10. “Further, although this good person has completely eliminated the aggregate of mental conditioning — although he has already done away with the coming into being and perishing of mental conditioning — he has not yet completed the journey to the wonder of his essential nature, which is nirvana. If he inquires into the deep wonder of the pure and perfectly interfused illumination of his awakening, he may come to the conclusion that this deep wonder is the final nirvana. He then may cease to make progress, believing that he has already realized the ultimate meaning of his life. In this way this person will make the mistake of becoming a Solitary Sage who is restricted to a single lineage. His companions will be Solitary Sages — both those who have become enlightened through contemplation of the conditioned world and those who have become enlightened on their own. These sages do not turn their minds toward the Great Vehicle. Thus this person becomes confused about the nature of the Buddhas’ full awakening, and for him the Buddhas’ right knowledge and correct views are no longer accessible. This tenth theory is called ‘completely merging the mind with a perfected awareness and so realizing the goal of gaining a profound understanding.’ But instead of breaking through to perfect enlightenment, this person proceeds far in the opposite direction. He turns his back on the city of nirvana and plants a seed that will result in his continuing in the all-pervading but still imperfect illumination of a Solitary Sage (pratyekabuddha).
「阿難！如是十種禪那中途成狂因依，或未足中生滿足證，皆是識陰、用心交互故生斯位，眾生頑迷不自忖量，逢此現前各以所愛，先習迷心而自休息，將為畢竟所歸寧地，自言滿足無上菩提，大妄語成外道邪魔，所感業終墮無間獄、聲聞、緣覺不成增進。汝等存心秉如來道，將此法門於我滅後傳示末世，普令眾生覺了斯義，無令見魔自作沈[卄/(阿-可+辛)/女]，保綏哀救消息邪緣，令其身心入佛知見，從始成就不遭岐路，如是法門先過去世，恒沙劫中微塵如來，乘此心開得無上道。識陰若盡，則汝現前諸根互用，從互用中能入菩薩金剛乾慧，圓明精心於中發化，如淨瑠璃內含寶月，如是乃超十信、十住、十行、十迴向、四加行心、菩薩所行金剛十地、等覺圓明，入於如來妙莊嚴海，圓滿菩提歸無所得。
“Ānanda! In these ways, these ten states are experienced while practicing meditation in stillness, and they are caused by confusion that leads to derangement. Because of their confusion, these practitioners will believe that they have completely attained what they have not completely attained. Each of these mental states is the result of the interaction of meditation practice and unwarranted speculation while within the realm of the aggregate of consciousness. In their obtuseness and confusion, these beings will not take proper measure of themselves. When they encounter these states — each one according to what he craves, each one confused by his long-cherished habits — they will choose to abide in one of these states, which they will suppose is the final and serene place of refuge. They will make the claim that they have completed a full and supreme awakening. This is an egregious lie, and because of it — once the karma of their present state has been exhausted — those whose karma has led them to be followers of wrong paths, or to be disciples of perverse demons, will fall into the Unrelenting Hell. As for the Hearers of the Teaching and the Solitary Sages, they will make no further progress on the Path. You all must devote yourselves to the Path of the Thus-Come Ones. After my nirvana, you must explain my teachings and transmit them to beings of the time of the Dharma’s ending so that all beings everywhere will understand what I have taught. Then they will not allow their own demonic views to lead them into egregious offenses. Protect them, give them comfort, compassionately rescue them, and free them of their perverse tendencies, so that in mind and body they may enter the path to the wisdom and vision of the Buddhas. Then from the beginning to the end of their journey, they will not stray from the Path. For as many past eons as there are sand-grains in the River Ganges, Thus-Come Ones as many as motes of dust have entered the gateway of this Dharma, have opened their minds, and have traveled along this supreme path. Once you have come to the end of the aggregate of consciousness, your faculties will function interchangeably, and then on the basis of that mutual functioning, you will be able to reach the Bodhisattva’s level of vajra-like wisdom. When you experience the full illumination of that refined state of mind, you will undergo a transformation. Your mind will become like a resplendent moon enclosed within a pure crystal, and then you will leap over all the stages of the Bodhisattva’s Path — the Ten Stages of Stabilizing the Mind, the Ten Abodes, the Ten Practices, the Ten Dedications, the Four Additional Practices, the vajra-like Ten Grounds, and Equivalent Enlightenment, in which understanding is finally perfected. You will enter into the wondrous and magnificent multitude of all the Thus-Come Ones, vast as the sea. You will attain the perfection of full awakening, in which there is nothing that is attained.”
「此是過去先佛世尊，奢摩他中毘婆舍那，覺明分析微細魔事，魔境現前汝能諳識，心垢洗除不落邪見，陰魔銷滅天魔摧碎，大力鬼神褫魄逃逝，魑魅魍魎無復出生，直至菩提無諸少乏下劣增進，於大涅槃心不迷悶。若諸末世愚鈍眾生，未識禪那不知說法，樂修三昧汝恐同邪，一心勸令持我佛頂陀羅尼呪，若未能誦，寫於禪堂或帶身上，一切諸魔所不能動。汝當恭欽十方如來，究竟修進最後垂範。」
“All the Buddhas, World-Honored Ones of the past, while calmly abiding (śamatha) in samādhi and while practicing contemplative insight (vipaśyanā), applied their contemplative insight to all these states. By means of their enlightened understanding, they analyzed these subtle demonic activities. Once you can clearly recognize these demonic states when they occur, you will be able to cleanse your mind of those defilements, and you will not fall prey to wrong views. Then the demonic states associated with the aggregates will be eradicated, and the celestial demons will be utterly defeated. Ghosts and spirits of great power will be frightened out of their wits and will run for their lives. Animal-possessing ghosts and nightmare-ghosts will no longer dare to show themselves. You will reach your goal of full awakening without having experienced the slightest weariness, and you will all progress directly to full awakening. Even those whose roots in the Dharma are inferior will be able to make progress toward nirvana without becoming confused or discouraged. In the time of the Dharma’s ending, some beings who like to practice samādhi may not have sufficient intelligence to practice meditation in stillness correctly or to explain the Dharma correctly. You should be concerned lest they fall under the influence of the kind of wrong views that I have been describing. Devote yourselves to teaching these beings how to hold in their minds the dhāraṇī-mantra spoken at the crown of the Buddha’s head. If they cannot learn to recite it from memory, teach them to write it out and to place it in their meditation halls or else to wear it close to their bodies. Then no demon will be able to disturb them. You should hold in the greatest reverence all the teachings of the Thus-Come Ones of the ten directions. These are my final instructions.”
阿難即從坐起，聞佛示誨頂禮欽奉憶持無失，於大眾中重復白佛：「如佛所言，五陰相中五種虛妄為本想心，我等平常未蒙如來微細開示，又此五陰為併銷除？為次第盡？如是五重，詣何為界？惟願如來發宣大慈，為此大眾清明心目，以為末世一切眾生作將來眼。」
Ānanda then once again stood up amidst the great assembly and bowed reverently, having fully retained in his memory the instructions he had heard the Buddha give. He said respectfully to the Buddha, “The Buddha has said that the five categories of delusion which characterize the five aggregates are the basis of the deluded activity of the mind. We have never before received from the Thus-Come One such a detailed explanation. Now, when these five aggregates disappear, do they do so all at once, or do they disappear in sequence, one after the other? And if they do disappear in sequence, what are the defining characteristics of each of the five aggregates? I only hope that the Thus-Come One, out of his great kindness, will explain this, so that all of us in this great assembly can purify our minds and make our vision clear. In this way we will be able to act as guides for beings in the future time of the Dharma’s ending.”
佛告阿難：「精真妙明本覺圓淨，非留死生，及諸塵垢乃至虛空，皆因妄想之所生起，斯元本覺妙明真精，妄以發生諸器世間，如演若多迷頭認影。妄元無因，於妄想中立因緣性，迷因緣者稱為自然；彼虛空性猶實幻生，因緣、自然，皆是眾生妄心計度。阿難！知妄所起，說妄因緣；若妄元無，說妄因緣元無所有，何況不知，推自然者。是故如來與汝發明五陰本因同是妄想。
The Buddha said to Ānanda, “In the subtle, true, wondrous understanding, in the fundamental, awakened, perfect purity, no death or rebirth remains, nor any defilement, not even space itself. All these arise out of deluded mental activity. From within the true essence which is the fundamental, original, awakened, wondrous understanding, delusion arises and brings about the world of perceived objects. We might compare the situation to Yajñadatta’s confusion about the face he saw in the mirror. His delusion did not arise from any cause. People’s deluded thinking leads them to conclude that what is subject to causes and conditions must have an independent existence. Others, not even understanding about causes and conditions, assert that things come into being on their own. The nature of space itself is that it, too, arises from illusion. The notion that things come into being due to causes and conditions and the notion that they come into being on their own are mere speculations born of beings’ deluded minds. Ānanda! One who understands where delusion comes from will say that it comes about due to certain causes and conditions. One who understands that there can be no place of origin for delusion will know that there is no place where causes and conditions can arise. We hardly need to mention the people who know nothing of causes and conditions and who say that all phenomena come into being on their own. Therefore, based on what the Thus-Come One has already shown you, you should understand that the fundamental cause for the coming into being of the five aggregates is the deluded activity of the mind.”
「汝體先因父母想生，汝心非想則不能來想中傳命，如我先言心想醋味口中涎生，心想登高足心酸起，懸崖不有醋物未來，汝體必非虛妄通倫，口水如何因談醋出？是故當知，汝現色身名為堅固第一妄想；即此所說臨高想心，能令汝形真受酸澁，由因受生能動色體，汝今現前順益違損二現驅馳，名為虛明第二妄想；由汝念慮使汝色身，身非念倫汝身何因，隨念所使種種取像，心生形取與念相應，寤即想心寐為諸夢，則汝想念搖動妄情，名為融通第三妄想；化理不住運運密移，甲長髮生氣銷容皺，日夜相代曾無覺悟。阿難！此若非汝，云何體遷？如必是真，汝何無覺？則汝諸行念念不停，名為幽隱第四妄想；又汝精明湛不搖處名恒常者，於身不出見聞覺知，若實精真不容習妄，何因汝等曾於昔年覩一奇物，經歷年歲憶忘俱無，於後忽然覆覩前異，記憶宛然曾不遺失，則此精了湛不搖中，念念受熏有何籌算？阿難當知！此湛非真，如急流水望如恬靜，流急不見非是無流，若非想元寧受想習？非汝六根互用合開，此之妄想無時得滅？故汝現在見聞覺知中串習幾，則湛了內罔象虛無，第五顛倒細微精想。
“Your body came into being because of mental activity on the part of your parents, but if there were no such activity in your mind as well, you would not have been born. It is through such mental activity that life is perpetuated. I already mentioned to you that thinking about something sour can cause the mouth to water, and that merely thinking about climbing up to the edge of a precipice can cause your feet to ache. In fact, there is no precipice under your feet, nor is there anything sour in your mouth. If there were no connection between your body and deluded thinking, what would cause your mouth to water when there is mention of something sour? From this you should know that the body which you now have is an instance of the illusion of solid matter. This is the first of the delusions of perception. As we have said, merely the thought of approaching a precipice can cause your feet actually to ache. In this way even a sense-perception caused by deluded mental activity can affect your physical body. You now experience what is pleasing and beneficial and what is displeasing and harmful. These two kinds of experience, which affect you in rapid succession, are an instance of the illusion of sense-perception. This is the second of the delusions of perception. Thus your thoughts and concerns exert control over your physical body. Suppose there were no relation between your body and your thoughts; what then would be the agency that exerts control over your body? In fact, your body tries to obtain various things that you have been thinking about. In other words, when the thought of a perceived object arises in the mind, that thought evokes the body’s response, which is to seek to obtain or to avoid that object. This is true not only when you are awake and thinking but also when you are asleep and dreaming. These are instances of the activity of cognition creating an illusory understanding. This cooperative functioning of mind and body constitutes the third delusion of perception. Then there are the systematic changes in your body which never stop — such incessant and imperceptible changes as the lengthening of your fingernails, the growth of your hair, the lessening of your vitality, and the wrinkling of your face. Each of these continues as day and night succeed one another. Yet you fail to be aware of them. If these systematic changes are not part of you, Ānanda, then why does your body undergo them? If in fact they are truly a part of you, how is it that you are not aware of them? The uninterrupted succession of thought after thought characterizes the aggregate of mental formations. This subtle and hidden mental activity constitutes the fourth delusion of perception. Further, if you were to attain a permanent state of refined mental clarity that is pure and unmoving, you would no longer be able to experience seeing, hearing, tactile awareness, and cognition. If your mind were in fact to attain this refined level of reality, it would no longer contain any traces of those habitual distorted mental activities. How then is it that you may have entirely forgotten about some strange sight that you once saw years ago, and yet the memory has not entirely disappeared, because when you suddenly see something very like that same strange sight, you recall perfectly the first time you saw it? This place of refined clarity that you wrongly suppose to be pure and unmoving is in fact permeated with an endless succession of countless mental impressions. Ānanda, you should know! That this subtle clarity is not the true mind. It is, rather, like a rapidly flowing stream that seems at first glance to be calm and still. Although you do not see it, there is nevertheless a current. Similarly, if in your consciousness aggregate there were no source of deluded perception, what else could be the repository of your deluded perception? Until your six faculties merge and become interchangeable, you will never be able to put an end to your deluded mental acts. That is why at present this subtle clarity of mind is still bound up with subtle habits belonging to seeing, hearing, tactile awareness, and mental awareness. In the same way, these false mental impressions lying within what seems to be the clarity of the consciousness aggregate seem to exist and yet not to exist. This extremely subtle and barely discernable activity constitutes the fifth kind of inversion of perception.”
「阿難！是五受陰五妄想成，汝今欲知因界淺深，唯色與空是色邊際；唯觸及離是受邊際；唯記與忘是想邊際；唯滅與生是行邊際；湛入合湛歸識邊際。此五陰元重疊生起，生因識有滅從色除，理則頓悟乘悟併銷，事非頓除因次第盡。我已示汝劫波巾結，何所不明再此詢問？汝應將此妄想根元心得開通，傳示將來末法之中諸修行者，令識虛妄深厭自生，知有涅槃不戀三界。
“Ānanda! The five aggregates are simply the development of these five kinds of deluded perception. Now you also wish to know what the defining attributes of each of the aggregates are and how coarse or refined they are. Form and emptiness are the defining attributes of the aggregate of form. Contact and separation are the defining attributes of the aggregate of sense-perception. What is recorded and what is not recorded are the defining attributes of the aggregate of perception. Coming into being and perishing are the defining attributes of the aggregate of mental conditioning. Entering into the state of deep clarity and being stored in that deep clarity are the defining attributes of the aggregate of consciousness. These five aggregates arise in successive layers, beginning with the coming into being of consciousness. Their perishing begins with the ceasing to be of the aggregate of form. You may suddenly reach an understanding of the principle of the aggregates, and on that basis you may presume the aggregates will all vanish together. But, in fact, they do not all vanish at once; they must be ended in sequence. I have already explained this to you with the example of untying my scarf. What is it that you did not understand, so that you ask me about it again? You should thoroughly understand the source of deluded acts of perception, and then you should transmit this teaching to future practitioners during the time of the Dharma’s ending. Lead them to recognize their delusion so that they come to abhor the fact that it arises within themselves. Let them know of nirvana so that they cease to long for further existence in the three realms.”
「阿難！若復有人遍滿十方，所有虛空盈滿七寶，持以奉上微塵諸佛，承事供養心無虛度。於意云何，是人以此施佛因緣，得福多不？」
“Ānanda! Suppose that someone gathered together as many of the seven precious things as would fill the realm of space to its farthest reaches in all ten directions. Suppose that this person then offered all these precious things to as many Buddhas as there are motes of dust, with his mind intent in every moment on reverently serving these Buddhas. What do you think? By making such an offering to the Buddhas, would this person merit many blessings?”
阿難答言：「虛空無盡、珍寶無邊，昔有眾生施佛七錢，捨身猶獲轉輪王位，況復現前虛空既窮，佛土充遍皆施珍寶，窮劫思議尚不能及，是福云何更有邊際？」
Ānanda replied, “The reaches of space are infinite, and so these precious things would be beyond counting. Yet someone once gave the Buddha a mere seven coins, and as a result, at the end of his life, he was reborn and became a universal monarch. How much greater must be the reward of blessings that would come to this other person who offers to the Buddhas as many of the seven precious things as would fill the Buddhas’ lands everywhere to the ends of space. Even if one were to ponder this for countless eons, one could not conceive of the extent of his reward.”
佛告阿難：「諸佛如來語無虛妄。若復有人身具四重、十波羅夷，瞬息即經此方他方阿鼻地獄乃至窮盡，十方無間靡不經歷，能以一念將此法門，於末劫中開示未學，是人罪障應念銷滅，變其所受地獄苦因成安樂國，得福超越前之施人百倍千倍千萬億倍，如是乃至算數譬喻所不能及。阿難！若有眾生，能誦此經能持此呪，如我廣說窮劫不盡，依我教言如教行道，直成菩提無復魔業。」
The Buddha said to Ānanda, “The Buddhas, the Thus-Come Ones, never speak falsely. Imagine then the situation of some other person who has committed the four grave offenses and the ten offenses that merit expulsion. He deserves to fall immediately into the Unrelenting Hell and then gradually to pass through the Unrelenting Hells of all the other worlds throughout the ten directions. Now, suppose this same person were to explain this Dharma, even for just a moment, to beings who in the time of the Dharma’s ending had not learned about this teaching. Then as a consequence of that one moment of explanation, this person’s offenses would vanish, and the hells in which he had deserved to suffer would be transformed into lands of peace and delight. In fact, the blessings merited by such a person would exceed by hundreds of thousands of tens of millions of billions of times the blessings merited by the other person I just mentioned, the one who made those offerings of precious things. The difference would be so great that no calculation or example could express it. Ānanda! Even in an infinite number of eons I could not fully describe the benefit that beings will gain from reciting this Sutra and from holding this mantra in their minds. By relying on this teaching that I have given you, and by practicing just as I have instructed you, you will go directly to full awakening without creating any more karma that would lead to entanglement in the demonic.”
佛說此經已，比丘、比丘尼、優婆塞、優婆夷，一切世間天人、阿修羅，及諸他方菩薩、二乘、聖仙童子，并初發心大力鬼神，皆大歡喜作禮而去。
The Buddha had now finished speaking this Sutra. Monks, nuns, precept-holding laymen, and precept-holding laywomen, as well as gods and asuras from all the worlds, and also Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and Solitary Sages from other worlds, together with sages, ascetic masters, pure young people, and ghosts and spirits of great power who had made the initial resolve to attain full awakening — all who were there felt great joy. They bowed in reverence and departed.