Approaching the Teacher

III. The Third Yogasthāna

Thus, when the establishment of persons, of objects, on up to the establishment of the fruit of cultivation has been made — a person desiring his own benefit, wishing to attain his own goal, a beginner, a first-time worker, should approach a knower of yoga — a preceptor, an instructor, a person occupying the place of a teacher — establishing mindfulness in four respects. With intention to gain higher knowledge, not with a fault-finding mind, with reverence, not with the haughtiness of equality. Seeking what is wholesome. Not for self-exaltation. ‘I will yoke myself and others to wholesome roots,’ thinking thus. Not for the sake of gain and honor. And having so approached, in due time making an opportunity, baring one shoulder, placing the right knee-circle upon the earth, sitting on a yet lower seat, with all respect, he should make request for yoga: ‘I am one in need of yoga; teach me yoga, out of compassion.’ And the yogin who knows yoga, thus requested, that beginner, first-time worker, desirous of applying himself in yoga and mental engagement, should be roused by gentle words, gladdened, and the benefit of abandonment should be praised: [Damaged/Conjectural]: ‘Good, good, friend, that you, in a populace gone to heedlessness, fallen toward sense-objects, attached to sense-objects, wish to apply yourself to heedfulness; you who, in a current entering the lower realms, wish to issue forth from that current of the lower realms. You who wish to cast off the bonds of lust, hatred, and delusion into freedom from bondage. You who wish to cross the great forest-thicket of saṁsāra’s difficult path. You who wish to attain the prosperity of wholesome roots amid the great famine of wholesome roots caused by defilements. You who, where great fear of the defilement-thieves has come, wish to attain the safety of nirvāṇa. You who, gripped by the great illness of defilement, wish to attain the supreme medicine that is nirvāṇa. You who, in a current swept by the four floods, wish to cross over the flood. [Damaged/Conjectural]: You who, having entered the great darkness of ignorance, wish to attain the great light of knowledge. Moreover, friend, applying yourself thus, [Damaged/Conjectural]: you will partake of the kingdom’s alms without delusion. You will become a doer of the Teacher’s word, an unrejected meditator, endowed with insight. An augmenter of empty huts, applied to one’s own bodily yoga. Uncensured by the wise. Practiced for the equal welfare of fellow brahma-farers. For the welfare of others, for the welfare of many, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans’ — thus by such gentle words having gladdened, showing the benefit of abandonment, he should be inquired of with respect to four matters of inquiry. ‘Has the friend, single-mindedly, gone for refuge to the Buddha, the dharma, the saṅgha — does he not perceive any other teacher or worthy of offerings outside? Is your brahma-faring initially purified for cultivation, and is your virtue thoroughly pure, your view upright? Have you gone forth with the intention of nirvāṇa, based on the summary and analysis of the noble truths?’ If asked, ‘Yes,’ he knows. Beyond this, in four respects he should be examined by four causes. He should be examined by way of vow. By way of lineage, faculty, and conduct he should be examined; by speech, by behavior, by mind-investigation-method he should be inquired into.

There, how, by question, is he examined as to vow?

Thus he should be asked: ‘Where, friend, is your vow made?’ In the disciple-vehicle, the solitary-buddha-vehicle, the great-vehicle. Wherever he has made the vow, there he will declare himself. Thus by question he is examined as to vow. How by question are lineage, faculty, and conduct examined? He should be asked thus: ‘Friend, your own lineage, faculty, conduct — what is my lineage?

What kind are my faculties — mild, middling, sharp? Am I of lust-conduct?

Or of hatred-conduct?

Likewise, of applied-thought-conduct, of sustained-thought-conduct?’ If he is wise, and from his prior and later, his lineage, faculty, conduct has been observed, noted, he declares it. If, again, he is fit, but he has not, from prior and later, noted, and so the conduct has been observed — when asked, he does not declare. For him, subsequent to that, by speech, three are examined. Before him a talk connected with the disciple-vehicle is to be made. By varied, ample, fluent ways of speaking — when that talk is being spoken, if he is of disciple-lineage, he is exceedingly delighted by that talk. He rejoices, gladdened, becomes joyful. [Damaged/Conjectural]: He is pleased, resolves. Or again, in the talk connected with the great-vehicle, when spoken, the one of great-vehicle-lineage is exceedingly delighted. Rejoices. Up to: he is pleased, resolves. The disciple-and-solitary-buddha-lineage one is not so. If, again, he is of mild faculties, he is exceedingly delighted; but he is not [yet fit] for noting the dharma and meaning, for grasping and penetration. The middle-faculty person [does] not [do so quickly]; the sharp-faculty person, however, quickly notes the dharma and grasps it, and penetrates it, even when a deep talk is being spoken. If, again, he is of lust-conduct, when a clarifying talk is spoken, he is exceedingly pleased, delights. His body enters dhyāna. And he displays tears, smooth continuity, softness of mind, fluidity of mind. If he is of hatred-conduct, when a penetrative talk is spoken, connected with nirvāṇa, free from worldly attachments, he is alarmed, falls into alarm. As stated for weak faculty, so it is to be understood here. [Damaged/Conjectural]: If he is of applied-thought-conduct [vitarka-carita], he understands the meaning and wants to listen. He does not lend ear. He does not so establish wisdom-mind. Even when directed [toward it], he does not apply himself with corresponding engagement. If, again, he is of sustained-thought-conduct, even when attentive, his mind is distracted. He grasps ill-grasped. He does not grasp firmly, not stably, and destroys what was grasped. Not again by talk does he become someone to be questioned and instructed. Thus by talk lineage, faculty, and conduct are examined.

How by behavior?

Those marks previously stated of the disciple-lineage and of lust-conduct persons — those are called ‘behavior.’ By that behavior, as appropriate, lineage, faculty, conduct should be examined.

There, how by mind-reading knowledge are lineage, faculty, conduct examined?

As when the yogin who knows yoga is a possessor of the knowledge of mind-reading. By that knowledge of others’ minds, he knows lineage, faculty, conduct as they truly are. Examining these four matters by these four causes, in five matters he disciplines him. Namely, in the protection-and-accumulation of the concentration-requisites, in seclusion, in mental one-pointedness, in purification of hindrances, in cultivation of mental engagement. There, protection-and-accumulation of the concentration-requisites: as long as he is endowed with restraint of virtue. And there he dwells heedfully; not abandoning, as instructed and authorized by the Buddha, the energy in the practice of training-precepts in the virtue-aggregate, thus he, not departing from the restraint of virtue, does not fall away from the training-path. And he attains the not-yet-attained training-path. As with restraint of virtue, so restraint of senses, knowing right measure in food, application to wakefulness in the early and late night, dwelling with full awareness, on up to the ornaments of a recluse. Whatever requisite-comprised dharma-section he gains, he protects it and further, for the fullness of the section, with eagerness for further-augmentation he becomes, free of distress, of aroused energy — this is called protection-and-accumulation of the concentration-requisites. Thus, becoming dispassionate toward dharmas on the side of decline and cultivating the remaining dharmas, he becomes a dweller-in-seclusion.

What is seclusion?

That which is fullness of place, fullness of posture. There, fullness of place: namely, the forest, the foot of a tree, the empty hut — there the mountain-cave, mountain-cavern, straw-heaps are called ‘empty hut.’ There, woodland is called ‘foot of a tree.’ There, the open air, the cemetery, remote dwellings are called ‘forest.’ All this summed up is the ‘place’ to be understood. Namely: forest, foot of tree, empty hut, mountain, mountain-cavern, straw-heap, open air, cemetery, woodland — remote dwellings. Fullness of place, again, is fivefold. Here, the place is from the beginning handsome. Pleasant to behold, agreeable, well-supplied with park, forest, lotus-pond, beautiful, charming, not steep and rugged, not full of stumps and thorns, not full of stones, gravel, and potsherds; where, seeing it, his mind becomes clear for dwelling, for abandonment, for application. With gladdened mind, joyful mind, he undertakes abandonment — this is the first fullness of place. Again, this is not, by day, of much disturbance. At night, of little sound, with little forest-clamor, little gnats, mosquitoes, wind, sun, creeping creature contact — this is the second fullness of place. Again further, free from lions, tigers, leopards, robbers, enemy armies, fear of humans and non-humans, where he dwells trusting, with mind free of suspicion, dwelling in pleasant contact — this is the third fullness of place. Again further, the life-requisites conforming, robes etc., are there obtained with little difficulty. so that he does not become exhausted over alms. Where provisions are not lacking — this is the fourth fullness of place. Again further, it is supported by good friends. Such wise fellow brahma-farers dwell there who make clear what has not been made clear. And having penetrated a deep statement of meaning with wisdom, they explain it well. For the purification of knowledge-and-vision. This is the fifth fullness of place.

There, what is fullness of posture?

By day he passes the time in walking, by sitting; in the first watch of the night thus, in the middle watch he lies down on the right side; in the last watch he rises lightly, very lightly. He passes the time in walking and sitting. In that complete lodging, as authorized by the Buddha, he sits on a cot, a stool, grass, or a mat. He folds the legs cross-wise. For what reason? Seeing five reasons: with the body gathered compactly, tranquillity arises. This posture is favorable to the arising of tranquillity. Likewise in long-time sitting, he is able to pass the time. And by this posture, no bodily affliction arises in him. Likewise, this posture is uncommon with other sectarians, with other-doctrine speakers. Likewise others, seeing one seated in this posture, are exceedingly cleared in mind; this posture is resorted to and authorized by the Buddhas and the Buddha-disciples. These five reasons he sees and sits. Having folded the legs, he sets the body upright.

[Damaged/Conjectural]: There, what is bodily uprightness?

The body being clearly raised and held straight. Not with a dejected mind, but with sincerity free of pretense. There, with the body upright and held alert, sloth-and-torpor of mind does not overpower [him] and remain. When the mind is free of pretense, outward distraction of mind does not overpower [him] and remain. Having established mindfulness to the fore.

There, what is mindfulness ‘to the fore’?

The mindfulness which he establishes, associated with wise attention, is called ‘to the fore,’ because it stands foremost before all the dark side and runs counter to it. Further, mindfulness whose object is the concentration-sign, an image-object, is called ‘to the fore,’ because it stands foremost before all concentration-plane objects. This is called fullness of posture.

What is withdrawal?

Answer: twofold: bodily withdrawal, and mental withdrawal. There, bodily withdrawal: not dwelling together with householders or renunciants.

There, mental withdrawal: avoiding defiled and indeterminate mental engagement, he cultivates a mental engagement belonging to the concentration-plane or preparatory for the requisites of concentration. Wholesome, connected with the goal — this is called mental withdrawal. There, the fullness of place, this fullness of posture, this bodily withdrawal, this mental withdrawal — these gathered into one are called ‘seclusion.’

There, what is one-pointedness?

Answer: the mental continuum of recurrent mindfulness with a conformable object, yoked to continuity and blameless delight, that is called concentration. Wholesome mental one-pointedness too.

What does he recollect again and again?

Answer: the dharmas grasped, heard, and the admonition-instruction received. Taking the instruction received from teachers as authoritative, bringing the sign pertaining to the concentration-plane into presence, he follows mindfulness yoked to continuity with that as object. He fastens it.

There, what is the conformable-object?

Whatever concentration-plane object — manifold, of many kinds — by which the mind is supremely concentrated on the object, this is called conformable-object. To what is this conformable? Answer: it is a likeness of the cessation event [kṣaya-vastu]. Therefore it is called conformable. The continuous, gapless, uninterrupted mindfulness that proceeds with that object, constantly and respectfully — this is being yoked to continuity. As for dwelling undefiled while delighting in that very object, the path-conductive quality of mindfulness — this is being yoked to blameless delight. Hence: ‘again and again, mindfulness with a conformable object, a mental continuum yoked to continuity and blameless delight,’ is concentration. Such, indeed, is it.