§5. The root cause of everything in the universe.

五、世间万物的根本因缘

The seven books of the Abhidhamma, except for the Patthana (The Book on Origination), are finite in scope. As for the Patthana, it is anantanaya, infinite in scope. Only a Buddha is capable of comprehending it in its entirety. When we consider the Pali text, which begins hetu-paccayo, we find that the cause (hetu) that acts as the primal sustaining factor (paccaya) for all things in the cosmos is nothing other than the heart. The heart is the great cause — what is primal, what is important. All things apart from it are effects or conditions. The remaining factors mentioned in the Patthana, from arammana (objective support) to aviggata (not without) can act as sustaining factors only because the great cause, the heart, comes first. Thus mano, discussed in § 4; thitibhutam, which will be discussed in § 6; and the great cause discussed here all refer to the same thing. The Buddha was able to formulate the Dhamma and Vinaya, to know things with his ten-powered intuition, and to comprehend all knowable phenomena, all because the great cause acted as the primal factor. His comprehension was thus infinite in scope. In the same way, all of the disciples had this great cause acting as their primal factor and so were able to know in accordance with the Buddha's teachings. This is why the Venerable Assaji, the fifth of the five brethren, taught Upatissa (the Venerable Sariputta),

　　七册的阿毗达磨(论藏)，除了发趣论之外，都有一定的范围；至于发趣，它的范围是无限的。只有佛陀才能瞭解它的全部。当我们思考巴利圣典，它以因缘相应开始，我们发现宇宙万物持续的主要因缘不外是心意，心意是伟大的因缘，它就是主要的，就是重要的。所有的事情除了它之外就是果报或因缘。在发趣论里所提到的其余因素，从所缘到不离缘，能够作为持续的因素，就是由于这伟大的因缘，心意，首先来到。如是第４节里讨论的 mano— 心意；第６节里即将讨论到的‘住地’；和这里讨论的伟大因缘都是指同一件事，佛陀能够明确解说正法律，以他的十力直觉了知事物，并瞭解一切法，正因为以这个大因缘做为主要的因素，他的理解范围是无限的。同样的，所有的弟子们也以这个伟大的因缘做为他们的主要因素，所以才能如实知道佛陀的教导，这就是阿说示尊者(马胜比丘)，五同修(比丘)中的第五位，所教导舍利弗尊者的—

ye dhamma hetu-pabhava tesam hetum tathagato
tesanca yo nirodho ca evam vadi mahasamano:

　‘诸法因缘生，亦从因缘灭；我师大沙门，常作如是说’

'Whatever dhammas arise from a cause...' This great cause being the important factor, the primal factor, then when the Venerable Assaji reached this point — the great cause — how could the Venerable Sariputta's mind help but penetrate down to the current of the Dhamma? — for everything in the world comes about due to the great cause. Even the transcendent dhammas are reached by the great cause. This is why the Patthana is said to be infinite in its scope. Whoever trains the heart, the great cause, until it is clear and dazzling, is capable of knowing everything of every sort infinitely, both within and without.

　‘诸法因缘生 ‥‥ ‥‥’由于这个伟大的因缘是重要的因素，主要的因素，因此当阿说示尊者达到这个程度时—伟大的因缘—舍利弗尊者怎能不深入于法流？—世间一切法都是因此大因缘而生，即使是超越世间的法义也是由此大因缘达到的，这就是为什么说发趣论的范围是无限的。任何人，训练心意—伟大的因缘—直到它明亮灿烂，便能够无限地了知内在和外在的各种事物。