The characteristics of the Ten Suchnesses are defined in the group with evil destinies.

The first group includes four destinies to where hell-dwellers, hungry ghosts, animals and asuras tend to go (Ssu-ch’i). The meaning of the Ten Suchnesses in this group is portrayed by Chih-i in black color, consisting of evil activities and causes of suffering. “Appearance” means when a person who has an evil appearance is doomed to fall in one of these unpleasant states in his/her next incarnation. His/her destiny has been revealed through distinctive marks that can be thoroughly seen by the Buddha, less deeply by the bodhisattva, vaguely by the Two Vehicles, and are not seen by an ignorant man. “Nature” refers to the nature of beings that are in these states as “black and evil” (Hei-eh), and they can hardly change. The evil nature is paralleled with wood, within which fire is contained. Because of its fire-nature, the wood can burst into flames under certain conditions. The evil nature is what causes rebirth in these four destinies. Chih-i argues that if there were no evil nature (fire-nature) as the internal cause for fire to burst out, there would be no rebirth in the evil destinies. It is like in the case of a clay-image, which has the appearance of wood, but does not have the fire-nature, and thus, it would not burn. “Substance” refers to the material and the mental elements of beings that have been destroyed countless times as the form of torment in their past existence and are experiencing the same process of torment at present, and will suffer again in their future existence. Such tormented material and mental elements are what constitute the substance of a being. “Power” refers to evil abilities that beings can potentially possess, such as the hell-dwellers who are capable of treading the edge of a blade, the hungry ghosts who can swallow copper and chew iron, the stronger animals who conquer the weaker ones, and so on. “Function” means that beings who construct, engage in, and exercise three kinds of karman (Ch., Sanyeh; Skt., trīṇi karmaṇi), i.e., body (Shen), speech (Yü), and mind (I), build up wickedness. These are called functions. “Causes” refers to “habitual causes of evil” (Eh-hsi-yin) that reproduce themselves continuously. The tendency for evil to emerge by habit is the cause for wickedness to be easily completed. “Conditions” refers to the wickedness of self and wickedness of possession as auxiliary causes. “Effects” refers to the continuing effect of evil caused by the attachment to the state of desire. For example, beings with desires that are reborn in hell still mistake suffering for pleasure. “Retributions” refers to the retribution resulting from effect (Pao-kuo). For example, when beings with many desires are in hell, they are tortured by copper pillars and iron beds (as a consequence of tending to objects of desire). “Beginning-and-end-ultimately-alike” is spoken of in terms of the Threefold Truth (Emptiness, the Provisional, and the Middle Way). First, from the perspective of emptiness, the beginning and end suchnesses are all emptiness, and thus, are ultimately alike. Secondly, from the perspective of the provisional existence, the beginning and end suchnesses are all provisional existence, and thus, are ultimately alike. Thirdly, “ultimately alike” refers to the mind that is the Mind of the Middle Way-Ultimate Principle (Chung-shih Li-hsin). It is not different from that of the Buddha, and is capable of attaining Buddhahood. (Vol. 2, Page 76-77)