The Ten Inexhaustible Treasuries

Chapter Twenty-Two

V. The Treasury of Learning

Sutra:

“Disciples of the Buddha, what is the Bodhisattva Mahasattvas’ Treasury of Learning? These Bodhisattvas know that because some phenomena exist, other phenomena exist; that because some phenomena do not exist, other phenomena do not exist; that because some phenomena arise, other phenomena arise; that because some phenomena cease to be, other phenomena cease to be; whether they are mundane dharmas, transcendental dharmas, conditioned dharmas, unconditioned dharmas, determinate dharmas, or indeterminate dharmas.

What are the phenomena which exist because other phenomena exist? For instance, activity exists because ignorance exists.

Commentary:

When the Bodhisattva Forest of Merit and Virtue had finished talking about the Treasury of Remorse he called out once again, “Disciples of the Buddha, what is the Bodhisattva Mahasattvas’ Treasury of Learning? What is this Treasury of Learning that the Great Bodhisattvas cultivate? These Bodhisattvas who cultivate the Ten Inexhaustible Treasuries know that because some phenomena exist, other phenomena exist. This will be discussed in more detail, but it means, for instance, knowing that when ignorance exists, it conditions activity, so there comes to be activity.

The Bodhisattva knows that because some phenomena do not exist, other phenomena do not exist. When some particular matter doesn’t exist, then some other specific matter doesn’t exist either. They know that because some phenomena arise, other phenomena arise. They know that when there are certain causal conditions then certain phenomena come into being, arising as a result of those causal conditions. They know that because some phenomena cease to be, other phenomena cease to be; that is, when one particular matter is still and extinguished, then another is thereby still and extinguished.

They know this about them whether they are mundane dharmas, or transcendental dharmas. These may be dharmas of the world, or world-transcending dharmas. They may be enacted, conditioned dharmas, or unconditioned dharmas, yet in which there is nothing not conditioned. They may be reckonable, determinate dharmas, or they may be neutral, unreckonable, indeterminate dharmas.

What are the phenomena which exist because other phenomena exist? What is meant by some specific events existing due to the existence of other specific events? For instance, activity exists because ignorance exists. Because of the ignorance innate within each person, there is activity, a kind of behavior or action.

Sutra:

What are phenomena which do not exist because other phenomena do not exist? For instance, name and form do not exist when consciousness does not exist. What are phenomena which arise because other phenomena arise? For instance, suffering arises because emotional love arises. What are phenomena which cease to be because other phenomena cease to be? For instance, birth ceases to be when becoming ceases to be.

What are mundane dharmas? They are for instance, form, feeling, thinking, activity, and consciousness. What are transcendental dharmas? They are for instance, precepts, samadhi, and wisdom, liberation, and liberation of knowledge and views.

What are conditioned dharmas? They are for instance, the realm of desire, the form realm, the formless realm, and the realm of living beings. What are unconditioned dharmas? They are for instance, emptiness, nirvana, the extinction involving reckoning of conditions, the extinction not involving reckoning of conditions, arisal from conditions and dwelling in the Dharma nature.

What are determinate dharmas? They are for instance, The Four Holy Truths, the Four Fruits of a Shramana, the Four Eloquences, the Four Fearlessnesses, the Four Applications of Mindfulness, the Four Right Efforts, the Four Spiritual Fulfillments, the Five Roots, the Five Powers, the Seven Shares of Enlightenment, and the Eight Sagely Way Shares.

What are indeterminate dharmas? They are for instance, whether worlds are bounded, whether worlds are boundless, whether worlds are both bounded and boundless, whether worlds are neither bounded or boundless; whether worlds are permanent, whether worlds are impermanent, whether worlds are both permanent and impermanent, whether worlds are neither permanent nor impermanent; whether Thus Come Ones exist after extinction, whether Thus Come Ones do not exist after extinction, whether Thus Come Ones both exist and do not exist after extinction, whether Thus Come Ones neither exist nor do not exist after extinction; whether a self and living beings exist, whether a self and living beings do not exist, whether a self and living beings both exist and do not exist, whether a self and living beings neither exist nor do not exist.

How many Parinirvanas of Thus Come Ones and how many Parinirvanas of Sound Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas have there been in the past? How many Buddhas, Sound Hearers, Pratyekabuddhas and living beings will there be in the future? How many Buddhas, Sound Hearers, Pratyekabuddhas, and living beings are there at present? Which Thus Come Ones first appeared in the world? Which Sound Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas first appeared in the world?

Which living beings first appeared in the world? Which will be the last Thus Come Ones to dwell in the world? Which will be the last Sound Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas to appear in the world? Which will be the last living beings to dwell in the world? Which dharma first came to be, and which dharma will be the last? Where did worlds come from, and to what places will worlds go? How many world systems have arisen, and how many world systems have been destroyed? Where have world systems come from, and where do they go to? What is the boundary of before birth and death, and what is the boundary of after birth and death? These are called indeterminate dharmas.

Commentary:

What are phenomena which do not exist because other phenomena do not exist? For instance, name and form do not exist when consciousness does not exist. The non-existence of consciousness implies the non-existence of name and form, because if there is no consciousness there can be no name and form. The very existence of consciousness implies the existence of ignorance, and because of ignorance there is activity and action. “Ignorance” just means not understanding, not being clear. What is not understanding? It’s just your being upside down, giving rise to delusion, creating karma, and undergoing retribution.

All of these arise from ignorance. Because you don’t understand, you become turned upside down. Being upside down, you do upside down things, and having done them all other sorts of things manifest. That’s knowing “that because some phenomena exist, other phenomena exist.” Now the text asks, “What are phenomena that do not exist, because other phenomena do not exist?” When one thing doesn’t exist, another doesn’t exist either.

Again, this is referring to consciousness. If you did not have consciousness there wouldn’t be any name or form. If you don’t even have consciousness, how could there be a material form or name? But because you have one thought of ignorance, then comes a kind of upside down sexual activity, and sexual activity creates consciousness. If consciousness didn’t exist, then name and form would never come into being. There would be no such thing as the womb—name and form.

What are phenomena which arise because other phenomena arise? For instance, suffering arises because emotional love arises. What do we mean when we say because one affair arises, another arises? It means that when the causal conditions of love arise, then there is suffering. You think that love or craving is happiness, but within “happiness” is the root cause of suffering.

What are phenomena that cease to be because other phenomena cease to be? What is meant when we say that when one matter is extinguished, others are extinguished? For instance, birth ceases to be when becoming ceases to be.

The extinction of existence in turn extinguishes birth. If there is no existence, then there is no coming into being, no birth, and no production. This is talking about the Twelve Links of Conditioned Co-Production.

The Twelve Links

• Ignorance conditions
• Karmic Activity, which conditions
• Consciousness, which conditions
• Name and Form, which conditions
• Six Entrances, which conditions
• Contact, which conditions
• Feeling, which conditions
• Love, which conditions
• Grasping, which conditions
• Having, which conditions
• Birth, which conditions
• Old age and Death.

If everything within that twelve-fold chain is extinguished, then they are all gone.

What are mundane dharmas? What is meant by worldly dharmas? They are, for instance, form, feeling, thinking, activity, and consciousness —the five skandhas—are all worldly dharmas.

What are transcendental dharmas? They are for instance, precepts, samadhi, wisdom, liberation, and liberation of knowledge and views. The fragrance of precepts, the fragrance of samadhi, the fragrance of wisdom, the fragrance of liberation, and the fragrance of the liberation of knowledge and views—the five-fold Dharma body—are transcendental dharmas.

What are conditioned dharmas? They are for instance, existence in the realm of desire , existence in the form realm , existence in the formless realm , and existence in the realm of living beings. The desire realm, form realm, and formless realm make up the Triple Realm, in which the realm of living beings revolves. They are all conditioned dharmas, dharmas that are bound to some sort of characteristic or activity.

What are unconditioned dharmas? They are for instance, emptiness, nirvana, the extinction involving reckoning of conditions, the extinction not involving reckoning of conditions, arisal from conditions, and dwelling in the Dharma Nature. What are unconditioned dharmas? They are: empty space, Nirvana, extinction brought about through the reckoning of conditions, extinction not brought about through such reckoning, arisal from conditions, and dwelling in the Dharma Nature.

What are determinate dharmas? They are for instance, the Four Holy Truths, the Four Fruits of a Shramana, the Four Eloquences, the Four Fearlessnesses, the Four Applications of Mindfulness, the Four Right Efforts, the Four Spiritual Fulfillments, also called the Four Bases of “as-you-will psychic powers”, the Five Roots, the Five Powers, the Seven Shares of Enlightenment, and the Eight Sagely Way Shares. What are determinate dharmas? They include the Four Holy Truths:

• Suffering
• Accumulation
• Extinction
• The Way

The Four Fruits of a Shramana:

• Srotaapanna
• Sakridagamin
• Anagamin
• Arhat

The Four Unobstructed Eloquences:

Phrasing
Meaning
Dharmas
Delight in Speaking

The Four Fearlessnesses:

The Fearlessness of all wisdom
The Fearlessness of speaking Dharma.
The Fearlessness of speaking about dharmas which obstruct the Way.
The Fearlessness of speaking Dharma which leads to the end of the path of suffering.

The Four Applications of Mindfulness:

The body contemplated as impure.
Feelings contemplated as suffering.
Thoughts contemplated as impermanent.
Dharmas contemplated as without a self.

Everyone should cultivate these Four Applications of Mindfulness. Determinate dharmas also include The Four Right Efforts;

• Putting an end to existing evil.
• Preventing evil that hasn’t arisen from arising.
• Bringing forth goodness not yet brought forth.
• Developing goodness that has already arisen.

The Four Bases of Spiritual Power:

• Zeal
• Vigor
• Mindfulness
• Thought

The Five Roots:

• Faith
• Vigor
• Mindfulness
• Samadhi
• Wisdom

The Five Powers:

• Faith
• Vigor
• Mindfulness
• Samadhi
• Wisdom

The Five Roots and the Five Powers in name are the same, because

they have the direct relationship of cause and effect. First you cultivate the Five Roots and they form the basis or the root of that power derived in cultivation. For example, you cultivate the root of faith and it becomes the basis for the power of the faith after you have perfected its cultivation. Next come the Seven Shares of Enlightenment, or the Seven Bodhi Shares:

• Selecting a Dharma
• Vigor
• Joy
• Elimination
• Renunciation
• Samadhi

Then, there are the Eight Sagely Way Shares:

• Proper Views
• Proper Thought
• Proper Speech
• Proper Livelihood
• Proper Action or Karma
• Proper Vigor
• Proper Samadhi
• Proper Wisdom

These are all determinate dharmas.

What are indeterminate dharmas? They are for instance, whether worlds are bounded, whether worlds are boundless, whether worlds are both bounded and boundless, whether worlds are neither bounded or boundless; whether worlds are permanent, whether worlds are impermanent, whether worlds are both permanent and impermanent, whether worlds are neither permanent or impermanent; whether Thus Come Ones exist after extinction, whether Thus Come Ones do not exist after extinction, whether Thus Come Ones both exist and do not exist after extinction, whether Thus Come Ones neither exist nor do not exist after extinction; whether a self and living beings exist, whether a self and living beings do not exist, whether a self and living beings both exist and do not exist, whether a self and living beings neither exist nor do not exist;

how many Parinirvanas of Thus Come Ones and how many Parinirvanas of Sound Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas have there been in the past? How many Buddhas, Thus Come Ones, have entered Parinirvana in the past? How many Sound Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas have entered Nirvana? How many Buddhas, Sound Hearers, Pratyeka-buddhas, and living beings will there be in the future? In the future how many Buddhas, how many Sound Hearers, Pratyekabuddhas, and living beings will there be? How many Buddhas and how many Sound Hearers, Pratyekabuddhas, and living beings are there at present? Now, in the present, how many Buddhas are dwelling and how many Sound Hearers, Pratyekabuddhas, and living beings are dwelling?

Which Thus Come Ones first appeared in the world? Which Sound Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas first appeared in the world? Which living beings first appeared in the world? Which Buddha was first to appear? Which Sound Hearer and Pratyekabuddha were first to appear in the world? Which living being was the first to appear? Which will be the last Thus Come One to dwell in the world? Which will be the last Sound Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas to dwell in the world? Which will be the last living beings to dwell in the world? Which Thus Come Ones will be the last to appear? Which Sound Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas will be the last to appear? Which living beings will be the last to appear?

Which Dharma first came to be, and which Dharma will be the last? Which Dharma was at the very beginning and which Dharma will be at the very end? Where did worlds come from and to what places will worlds go? Where did the worlds come from and where do they go? How many world systems have arisen and how many world systems have been destroyed? How many worlds are there? How many have been created? How many have been destroyed? Where have world systems come from, and where do they go to? Where did the world systems, all the universes, come from and where are they going? What is the boundary of before birth and death, and what is the boundary of after birth and death? What is the very first limit of birth and death and what will be the very last point of birth and death? These are called indeterminate dharmas. These are what are known as indeterminate dharmas. The Bodhisattva Mahasattvas cultivate them, and so they are something that the Bodhisattvas should know.

Sutra:

“The Bodhisattva Mahasattvas have this thought, ‘All living beings in the midst of birth and death lack learning and cannot understand all these dharmas. I should resolve to uphold the Treasury of Learning and become certified to anuttarasamyaksambodhi, and for the sake of living beings speak true and actual Dharma.’ This is called the Bodhisattva Mahasattvas’ Fifth Treasury, that of learning.”

Commentary:

Above, many kinds of dharmas were discussed. About these, The Bodhisattva Mahasattvas have this thought —the Great Bodhisattvas among Bodhisattvas reflect and this is what they think: “All living beings in the midst of birth and death lack learning and cannot understand all these dharmas. All living creaturesd are in the turning wheel of birth and death. They revolve in the six paths of rebirth where they come and go, back and forth, in the bitter sea of birth and death. They do not have the wisdom of learning, of erudition, and are unable to understand the dharmas which were just discussed: determinate dharmas, indeterminate dharmas, conditioned dharmas, unconditioned dharmas, worldly dharmas, transcendental dharmas, and so forth. They don’t understand them.

I should resolve to uphold the Treasury of Learning and become certified to anuttarasamyaksambodhi, and for the sake of living beings speak true and actual Dharma.” “They don’t understand and so it is up to me to now resolve to cultivate and uphold the Dharma Treasury of much learning, and certify to anuttarasamyaksambodhi. I should certify to the attainment of Unsurpassed, Right and Equal, Proper Enlightenment, the fruit of Buddha-hood, and for the sake of all living beings expound the true and actual, wonderful Dharma.”

This is called the Bodhisattva Mahasattvas’ Fifth Treasury, that of learning.” This is what is known as the Fifth Treasury, the Treasury of Learning, which is cultivated by the Bodhisattva who is among Great Bodhisattvas.

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