Part 4 - The path of meditation

Because of becoming familiar with what has been seen:

There are lesser, middle, and greater paths of meditation.
Each of these again has been divided in three.
From lesser lesser to greater greater there are nine.
These are Stainless, Light-producer, and Brilliant Shining;
Difficult to conquer, Presence, and Far-going,
Immovable, Good Understanding, and finally Cloud of Dharma.
On these we travel over the noble eight-fold path,
Right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood,
Right effort, right mindfulness, and last right meditation.

The path of meditation accords with the true meaning seen on the path of seeing, producing ever higher familiarity with this. The Abhisamayalankara says:

With the path of seeing ascertain the limbs.
And also with the path of meditation
One should contemplate again and again.
Encounter and true perception are the path of meditation.

Within the path of meditation there are lesser, middle, and greater, again divided into three, so that there are nine in all. What are they?

The lesser lesser is the second bhumi, the Spotless One.
The middle lesser is the third bhumi, the Light Producer.
The greater lesser is the fourth bhumi, the Brilliantly Shining.
The lesser middle is the fifth bhumi, the One Difficult to Conquer.
The middle middle is the sixth bhumi, Presence.
The greater middle is the seventh bhumi, the Far-going.
The lesser greater is the eighth bhumi, the Immovable.
The middle greater is the ninth bhumi, Good Intellect.
The greater greater is the tenth bhumi, the Clouds of Dharma.

Regarding these nine levels, the same text says:

As for these nine bhumis, the greater greater and so on
They are antidotes to defilements, lesser of lesser and so forth,
On these paths those defilements will be purified.

What is abandoned by meditation also has greater, middle, and lesser, and they are similarly divided into nine as greater greater, middle greater, lesser greater, greater middle, middle middle, lesser middle, greater lesser, middle lesser, and lesser lesser. On the nine levels of the Stainless One and so forth these are gradually abandoned.

Moreover, these go from the lesser lesser, the second bhumi, the Stainless One, on which the greater greater defilement is abandoned by meditation, up to abandoning the lesser lesser defilement to be abandoned by meditation on the greater greater path of meditation, the tenth bhumi.

These terms have the approach that coarser defilements are called greater and subtle ones lesser. The bodily support arising on these paths of meditation is the same as for the path of seeing. For the most part they are men and women of the three continents^[1] and gods of the desire and form realms.

Other births are possible, and so the bodily support that has achieved birth can be any. The same text says:

The fields and the practice exist like an illusion,
Samsara is received according to one’s thoughts.

The support of mind is said to be mostly the four dhyanas and whatever others there may be. The cause is the first three paths. The fruition is the path of no more learning. The essence, is that depending on the antidote for abandoning particular defilements on the nine bhumis there are

union,
the path of non-obstruction
the path of complete liberation
the special path.

These also abandon the obscurations of those bhumis. Union and the path of non-obstruction are the antidote of abandoning. The path of complete liberation is the antidote to the support. The special path is the antidote of keeping one’s distance.^[2]

For example, at the instant of the arising of the wisdom of the second bhumi, by the finish of the previous one, the first, manifestations of suppressing kleshas that obscure the second are abandoned.

While the wisdom of the second arises unobstructed, the untrue apparent seeds of one’s alloted disregarded discipline, intrinsic but uncertain in their manifestation, are completely abandoned.

In the second instant, there is the main object. By the path of complete liberation, the antidote to the support is produced.

At the end of the bhumi, the level of the special path is the antidote of keeping one’s distance.

From the first instant of these bhumis until they are finished, their individual obscurations are abandoned in this way. These defilements are completely exhausted and abandoned at the same time the bhumi ceases.

Here these days some coarse describers of the perfections say that all abandonings by seeing are abandonment on arising. They maintain that all that is abandoned by meditation is abandoned by the path of cessation. By this stupid kind of antidote guarding and dharmas are seen as being the same thing. However, the Jewel Heap Sutra says:

Here by bodhisattvas, at the time when this spotless one has completely arisen, the defilements of disregarded discipline are completely abandoned.

From that, up to the tenth aspect of defilements that do not accord with the tenth bhumi, at the time when these bhumis arise, having been abandoned on the path of non-obstruction, by the path of complete liberation the antidote to the support is produced, until by the special antidote, the obstruction of keeping one’s distance is abandoned.

Moreover, if all that is abandoned on seeing is abandoned by meditation on things as they are, how can these things be abandoned at all?

The quality was already explained in the case of the previous bhumi. As for how the nine defilements of the nine bhumis are abandoned, there are six co-emergent stains:

1. desire,
2. enmity,
3. pride,
4. ignorance,
5. the view of a transitory collection,
6. the view that fixates extremes.

By divisions of the realms, in the desire realm there are all 6. Within the dhyanas and formless attainments, enmity is absent, so there are 5 each there, 16 altogether.

By levels, in desire there are 6 defilements. There are 4 dhyanas + 5 formless attainments. With those 9, counting 5 each, there are 6 + (9x5)= 51 altogether

The six are multiplied by greater and middle, for example, desire multiplied by greater and middle = 9.^[3] In the other 5 defilements are also 9 each, altogether 6x9 = 54.

In each of the 4 levels of dhyana, since enmity is discarded, the 5 kleshas are multiplied by greater and middle making 9 each are 5x9 = 45, and altogether 5x9x4 = 180

Similarly in the formless realm, there are 5 defilements multiplied into 9 each, 45 in 5 sets, for the five realms, 5x9x5 = 225. By combining them, those things abandoned by meditation are 54 + 180 + 225 = 459. ???

The way of abandoning is that by union they are suppressed. By having no obstacles they are really abandoned. By complete liberation, the antidote to the support is produced. By the special path by the means of producing the antidote of keeping one’s distance, within the nine bhumis the manifestations and seeds are abandoned.

Within these bhumis one completely meditates on the eight-fold noble path. The Friendly Letter says:

Right view, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness
With right samadhi are limits placed on speech and action.
Right thought is concerned with the eight limbs of the path.
Meditate on these for the sake of producing peace.

The Sutra Teaching the Side of Enlightenment (byang chub phyogs bstan pa’i mdo) says:

Mañjushri, wherever someone sees all dharmas as without inequality and nondual, this is right view.

Mañjushri, wherever someone sees all dharmas as unseen, seeing them as without thought, without conception, completely without discursive thought, this is right thought.

Mañjushri, wherever someone sees all dharmas as inexpressible, this is right speech. Mañjushri, completely establishing all dharmas in a manner without effort and without establishing is right effort.

Mañjushri, seeing all dharmas without engaged attention and mindfulness is right mindfulness.

Mañjushri, since all dharmas are not conceptualized, they are naturally at rest in meditative equality/equanimity. Seeing them in the non-disturbance of non-conception is right samadhi.

If one looks at the intrinsic essence of these bhumis, it is beyond conceptual thought. The Avatamsaka Sutra says:

As for these bhumis of the buddha-sons, their appearance is utterly and completely pure, like the track of a bird in the sky.

By clearing away the details obscuring the dhatus, they are transformed into the ultimate dhatu, and one looks with the vision of buddhahood. This is differently presented. At the time of the final purification of individual defilements, the primordial space of the dhatu or luminous buddhahood is seen in its intrinsic luminosity, like the moon appearing by the power of the time of the month. The Praise of Dharmadhatu says:

Just as in the cycle of the moon,
It is seen to grow from moment to moment,
So the ones who dwell upon the bhumis,
Are gradually seen to be increasing.

Just as on the fifteenth day of waxing,
The circle of the moon is round and full,
So at the completion of the bhumis,
Dharmakaya is said to be complete.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Excluding the northern continent of the four continents.

[2]:

thog bsring Erik Schmidt’s dictionary.

[3]:

The nine greater greater etc. as above.