Inversion
inversion (顛倒). The seven inversions are :
(1) taking the impermanence of dharmas as permanence;
(2) taking misery as happiness;
(3) taking impurity as purity;
(4) taking no self as self;
(5) inverted perceptions, which refer to the inverted differentiations in the first four inversions;
(6) inverted views, which refer to the establishment of, attachment to, and delight in the first four inversions; and
(7) inverted mind, which refers to afflictions arising from the first four inversions. According to the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (T12n0375), fascicle 7, the first four inversions also include
(1) taking the eternity of the Tathāgata as impermanence,
(2) taking the bliss of the Tathāgata as suffering,
(3) taking the purity of the Tathāgata as impurity, and
(4) taking the true self as no self.
