38th-41st Imperishable, Four Correct Eliminations.

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Further, reverend Śāradvatīputra, the bodhisattvas’ four correct eliminations are also imperishable. What four?

1) He produces eagerness, strives, acts with vigour, controls his thoughts and exerts himself correctly so that sinful and bad moments of existence which have not yet arisen should not arise.

2) He produces eagerness, strives, acts with vigour, controls his thoughts and exerts himself correctly so that sinful and bad moments of existence which have arisen should be eliminated.

3) He produces eagerness, strives, acts with vigour, controls his thoughts and exerts himself correctly so that good moments of existence which have not yet arisen may arise.

4) He produces eagerness, strives, acts with vigour, controls his thoughts and exerts himself correctly so that good moments of existence should remain, be cultivated, increase, not be lost or forgotten, so that they should be fulfilled.

1) “He produces eagerness so that sinful and bad moments of existence which have not yet arisen should not arise” is an expression for thorough mental effort. “He strives, acts with vigour” is an expression for not giving up thorough mental effort. “He controls his thoughts and exerts himself correctly” is an expression for thorough reflection.

Why? Thorough practice is the non-practice of sinful and bad moments of existence.

What then are the sinful and bad moments of existence? The adversary of morality, the adversary of concentration and the adversary of insight.

What then is the adversary of morality? It is the corruption of morality, and anything else that may corrupt morality, that function as the adversary of the lot of morality. This is called the adversary of morality.

What then is the adversary of concentration? It is the corruption of practice [that is, the corruption of concentration (samādhivipannatā) ], and anything else that may distract thought, that function as the adversary of the lot of concentration. This is called the adversary of concentration.

What then is the adversary of insight? It is the corruption of views, and anything else that may corrupt views, manifestations of vices, obstructions and hindrances (p. 136) that function as the adversary of the lot of insight. This is called the adversary of insight.

These are called the sinful and bad moments of existence.

The thorough mental effort that provides no scope for the origination of such sinful and bad moments of existence is called the first correct elimination.

2) Again, when it is said “He produces eagerness, strives, acts with vigour, controls his thoughts and exerts himself correctly so that sinful and bad moments of existence which have arisen should be eliminated,” that is an expression for thorough mental effort.

Why? There is no heaping up in thought of those sinful and bad moments of existence [as they perish as soon as they have arisen, and thus] they are not found in any [inner or outer] place or location, it is not possible to communicate them [with words and symbols].

Concerning the knowledge of eliminating [or exerting oneself in connection with] those sinful and bad moments of existence which are [only] activity of thought [that is, they arise from thought]: the causes [superficial mental effort (ayoniśomanasikāra), the habits of vices (klesavāsanā) ] and [the outer object-spheres (viṣaya), namely] the objects [generating vices (kleśa) ] by which covetousness arises for a beautiful form, aversion to a repulsive form, or delusion with regard to a form of ignorance, by thorough mental effort confronting the impure in connection with these [objects] he allays covetousness, by friendliness he allays aversion, and by understanding dependent origination he allays delusion; the allaying of these vices is called elimination.

Having thus grasped the conventional truth [allaying cupidity with the impure, etc.], then by way of the highest truth he does not apprehend any moment of existence to eliminate, as he is conscious [by sacred knowledge (āryajñāna) ] of the sameness of all moments of existence [and that there is no duality between something to eliminate and someone eliminating, finding himself situated in the sameness of emptiness (śūnyatā) ]. That is why it is called correct elimination..

This is called the second correct elimination.

3) Again, when it is said: “He produces eagerness, strives, acts with vigour, controls his thoughts and exerts himself correctly so that good moments of existence which have not yet arisen may arise” that is an expression denoting the immeasurable.

Why? The moments of existence that the bodhisattva should accumulate are immeasurable. Here, eagerness is the root of all good moments of existence, vigour is the accumulation of all good moments of existence, and by inspiring thought he acquires all the good moments of existence. He reflects on those good moments of existence and discerns them.

This is called the third correct elimination.

4) Again, when it is said: “He produces eagerness, strives, acts with vigour, controls his thoughts and exerts himself correctly so that good moments of existence which have arisen should remain, be cultivated, increase, not be lost or forgotten, so that they should be fulfilled,” that is an expression for the roots of good that have been transformed into awakening.

Why? There is no destruction in the interim of a root of good that has been transformed into awakening until the end point which is the place of awakening. (p. 137) Why? Because that root of good is not dependent on the threefold world [not producing births therein]. The root of good that is dependent on the threefold world perishes [after its matured fruit has been experienced (vipākaphalam anubhūya) ], but the root of good that is not dependent on the threefold world, having been transformed into omniscience, does not perish at all in the interim until the end point which is the place of awakening.

This is called the bodhisattva’s fourth correct elimination.

Those, reverend Śāradvatīputra, are called the bodhisattvas’ four imperishable correct eliminations.