The First of Ten Wrong Paths – Two Fallacies That Deny Causation
“Ananda, once the good practitioner has put an end to the cognition skandha in the cultivation of Samadhi, he is free of random dreaming and idle thinking. His mind remains aware and clear whether awake or asleep, being as empty and still as a cloudless sky, devoid of any coarse cognitive occupation or impression. All phenomena in the world – the lands, the mountains, the rivers, and everything else – are merely reflections in his clear mental mirror, appearing with no adherence, received and reflected neutrally, and then disappearing with no trace left behind. All old habitual mental patterns vanish, only the true Essence of Mind remains.
“Within this Essence, the source of coming to be and ceasing to be is revealed; and the twelve categories of living beings in the ten directions are seen clearly. Although he is not yet able to discern the causal thread of each individual life, he can see the common origin they share, which is like a shimmering phantom, subtle yet teeming with vibrations; the ultimate pivotal point where the sense faculties and sense objects meet. This is the region of the mental formation skandha.
“Once the nature of this shimmering vibration returns to its original clarity, all karmic habits become still, as if waves subsiding to water calm and clear. This is the end of the mental formation skandha. The practitioner can then transcend the turbidity of living beings. Contemplating the cause of it all, one sees that subtle and obscure mental distortions are its source.
“Ananda, you should know that when the good practitioner has acquired proper knowledge in the cultivation of Shamatha, his mind is firm, clear and in the right state, where none of the ten kinds of celestial demons can disturb him. Now he may thoroughly investigate the origin of all categories of living beings, and once the origin is revealed, contemplate the cause of this subtle, clear, and constant movement. But if he begins to speculate on the all-encompassing origin, he could fall into either one of the two wrong views that deny causation:
“First, he sees no cause for the beginning. Why is that? Since he has completely unplugged the power source of cognitive arising, now he can, by means of the perfect efficacy of the eye faculty, see that all living beings are caught up in the continuity of transmigration during the past eighty thousand eons, along with the flux of karma; yet he cannot see beyond those eighty thousand eons. Therefore, he speculates that eighty thousand eons ago all beings in the worlds throughout the ten directions have come into being without any cause. With such speculation, he loses the ground of proper, universal wisdom, takes the wrong path, and becomes confused about the nature of Bodhi.
“Second, he sees no cause for the ending. Why is that? Observing the origins of all beings, he sees that humans give birth to humans, birds bring about birds, crows are black, swans are white, humans and gods walk upright, animals walk on four legs, whiteness comes not from being washed, and blackness does not come from getting dyed – for the past eighty thousand eons there have been no changes to these facts; therefore the same must hold true to the present moment too. Then he goes on speculating: ‘I have never seen Bodhi, how can I know there is such a thing as the attainment of Bodhi? I can only conclude that all the phenomena in this world today came from nowhere.’
“With such speculations, he loses the ground of proper, universal wisdom, takes a wrong path, and becomes confused about the nature of Bodhi. This is the first wrong path – the two fallacies that deny causation.”
阿难！彼善男子，修三摩地，想阴尽者，是人平常梦想消灭，寤寐恒一，觉明虚静，犹如晴空，无复粗重前尘影事。观诸世间大地山河 ，如镜鉴明，来无所黏，过无踪迹，虚受照应，了罔陈习，唯一精真。生灭根元从此披露，见诸十方十二众生 ，毕殚其类，虽未通其各命由绪，见同生基，犹如野马，熠熠清扰，为浮根尘究竟枢穴，此则名为行阴区宇。若此清扰熠熠元性，性入元澄，一澄元习 ，如波澜灭，化为澄水，名行阴尽。是人则能超众生浊，观其所由，幽隐妄想以为其本。
阿难当知，是得正知奢摩他中诸善男子，凝明正心，十类天魔不得其便，方得精研，穷生类本。于本类中生元露者 ，观彼幽清圆扰动元，于圆元中起计度者，是人坠入二无因论。一者、是人见本无因。何以故？是人既得生机全破，乘于眼根八百功德，见八万劫所有众生业流湾环，死此生彼 ，只见众生轮回其处，八万劫外，冥无所观。便作是解，此等世间十方众生，八万劫来，无因自有。由此计度，亡正遍知 ，堕落外道，惑菩提性。二者、是人见末无因。何以故？是人于生既见其根，知人生人，悟鸟生鸟。乌从来黑，鹄从来白；人天本竖，畜生本横 ；白非洗成，黑非染造。从八万劫无复改移。今尽此形，亦复如是。而我本来不见菩提，云何更有成菩提事？当知今日一切物象 ，皆本无因。由此计度，亡正遍知，堕落外道，惑菩提性。是则名为第一外道，立无因论。
Buddha Mind 