The Ninth of Ten Wrong Paths – Speculations on the Cessation of Existence After Death
“Further, when the good practitioner’s mind is firm, clear, and proper in the cultivation of Samadhi, no demon can disturb him. He may then thoroughly investigate the origin of all categories of living beings, and he may contemplate the source of its subtle, clear, and constant movement. But if he begins to speculate that there is no individual existence after death, he could fall into one of the seven wrongheaded speculations on the cessation of existence:
“He may speculate that there is cessation of existence when the body ceases to exist, or that there is cessation of existence when desire has ended, or that there is cessation of existence when suffering has ended, or that there is cessation of existence when bliss has reached its ultimate point, or that there is cessation of existence when renunciation has reached an ultimate point. Cycling through these speculations, he exhaustively investigates each of these seven areas and sees that they have already ceased to be right here and now, and that they will not come into being again.
“With such speculations that assert the cessation of existence after death, he takes a wrong path and becomes confused about the nature of Bodhi. This is the ninth wrong path, constituted by the wrongheaded theories asserting that in the realm of five skandhas, existence ceases after death.”
又三摩中诸善男子，坚凝正心，魔不得便。穷生类本，观彼幽清常扰动元，于后后无，生计度者，是人坠入七断灭论。或计身灭，或欲尽灭，或苦尽灭，或极乐灭，或极舍灭。如是循环 ，穷尽七际，现前消灭，灭已无复。由此计度，死后断灭，堕落外道，惑菩提性。是则名为第九外道，立五阴中死后断灭 ，心颠倒论。
Buddha Mind 