釋摩訶衍論 7.4

7.4

The basic text says: Regarding "distinguishing the characteristics of setting out on the path," it means the path realized by all Buddhas, in the sense that all bodhisattvas generate the mind, practice, and advance toward it. In brief, the generation of the mind has three kinds. What are the three? The first is the generation of mind through the completion of faith; the second is the generation of mind through understanding and practice; the third is the generation of mind through realization. As for the generation of mind through the completion of faith, relying on what kind of person and practicing what kind of cultivation is faith completed so that one is able to generate the mind? Namely, relying on sentient beings of indeterminate destiny who, because they have the power of perfumed wholesome roots, have faith in karma and its retributions and can initiate the ten good deeds, loathe the suffering of birth and death, desire to seek supreme bodhi, happen to meet Buddhas, personally attend to and make offerings to them, and practice faithful mind, completing their faithful mind after passing through ten thousand kalpas. Buddhas and bodhisattvas instruct them to generate the mind, or because of great compassion they are able to generate the mind by themselves, or because the true Dharma is about to perish, by reason of protecting the Dharma, they are able to generate the mind by themselves. Those who complete their faithful mind and come to generate the mind in this way enter the group of the definitely destined, never backslide, and are called those who abide in the lineage of the Tathāgata, in accord with the correct cause. If there are sentient beings whose wholesome roots are minute and few, and whose defilements have been deep and heavy from long ago, even though they happen to meet a Buddha and also manage to make offerings, they nevertheless generate seeds of humans and gods, or generate seeds of the two vehicles. Even if there are those who seek the Mahāyāna, their faculties are indeterminate, either advancing or retreating. Or there are those who make offerings to Buddhas without having passed through ten thousand kalpas, and in the midst of this, encountering conditions, they also generate the mind; that is to say, seeing the physical form of a Buddha they generate their mind, or by reason of making offerings to the Saṅgha they generate their mind, or because people of the two vehicles instruct them they generate the mind, or imitating others they generate the mind. Such generations of mind as these are all indeterminate; upon encountering evil conditions, they may backslide and fall into the stages of the two vehicles. Furthermore, regarding the generation of mind through the completion of faith, what kind of mind is generated? In brief, there are three kinds. What are the three? The first is the straightforward mind, because of correctly contemplating the dharma of tathatā; the second is the profound mind, because of taking joy in gathering all good deeds; the third is the mind of great compassion, because of wishing to pull out the suffering of all sentient beings. Question: It was stated above that the dharmadhātu has one single mark and the Buddha's essence is non-dual. Why do we not solely contemplate tathatā, but also rely on seeking and learning all good practices? Answer: It is like a great maṇi jewel whose essence is clear and pure, yet it has the impurities of ore and grime. Even if a person contemplates the nature of the jewel, if they do not polish it in various ways through skillful means, it can never be made pure. In the same way, the dharma of tathatā in sentient beings is by nature empty and pure, yet it has immeasurable defilements and impurities. Even if a person contemplates tathatā, if they do not cultivate and practice in various ways through skillful means, it also cannot be made pure. Because the defilements are immeasurable and permeate all dharmas, one cultivates all wholesome deeds as an antidote. If a person cultivates all wholesome dharmas, they naturally conform to the dharma of tathatā. In brief, there are four kinds of skillful means. What are the four? The first is the skillful means of the foundation of practice: namely, contemplating that the self-nature of all dharmas is unborn, being free from false views, and not abiding in birth and death; contemplating that all dharmas are a harmonious conjunction of causes and conditions and that karmic fruits are not lost, giving rise to great compassion, cultivating all merits, gathering and transforming sentient beings, and not abiding in nirvāṇa, because of conforming to the non-abiding nature of dharmas. The second is the skillful means of being able to cease [evil]: namely, being ashamed and repenting errors, being able to stop all evil dharmas and not letting them increase, because of conforming to the nature of dharmas being free from all faults. The third is the skillful means of giving rise to wholesome roots and increasing them: namely, diligently making offerings and paying homage to the Three Jewels, praising, rejoicing in, and entreating all Buddhas; because of a genuine and deep mind of loving and revering the Three Jewels, faith increases, and one is then able to aspire to seek the supreme path; furthermore, because of being protected by the power of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, one is able to extinguish karmic hindrances and wholesome roots do not backslide, conforming to the nature of dharmas being free from the hindrance of delusion. The fourth is the skillful means of the great vow of impartiality: namely, making a vow to transform and liberate all sentient beings to the end of the future without remainder, causing all to reach ultimate nirvāṇa without remainder, because of conforming to the uninterrupted nature of dharmas; for the nature of dharmas is vast, pervasively equal and non-dual for all sentient beings, not considering self and other, and ultimately quiescent. Because the bodhisattva generates this mind, they obtain a partial vision of the dharmakāya. Because of seeing the dharmakāya, according to the power of their vows, they can manifest eight kinds of benefits for sentient beings: namely, descending from Tuṣita Heaven, entering the womb, abiding in the womb, emerging from the womb, leaving home, attaining the path, turning the wheel of the Dharma, and entering into nirvāṇa. Yet this bodhisattva is not yet called the dharmakāya, because their outflow-tainted karma from immeasurable past lifetimes has not yet been severed, and in accordance with where they are born, they are associated with subtle suffering; yet they are not bound by karma, because of possessing great power of sovereign conformity. When sūtras say there are those who backslide and fall into evil destinies, it is not an actual backsliding, but is only to cause beginner bodhisattvas who have not entered the correct stage and are indolent to be frightened, so as to make them vigorous. Furthermore, after this bodhisattva once generates the mind, they are far removed from timidity, and ultimately have no fear of falling into the stages of the two vehicles. Even if they hear that one attains nirvāṇa only through diligent, bitter, and difficult practices for immeasurable, boundless asaṃkhyeya kalpas, they are also not timid, because they faithfully know that all dharmas have been naturally in nirvāṇa from the very beginning. Regarding the generation of mind through understanding and practice, one should know that it is progressively superior. Because this bodhisattva, from initial correct faith onward, is about to fulfill the first asaṃkhyeya kalpa. In the dharma of tathatā, profound understanding manifests before them and their cultivation is free of marks: knowing that the essence of the nature of dharmas is free of stinginess and greed, they practice the dāna-pāramitā in accordance with it; knowing that the nature of dharmas is unpolluted and free of the faults of the five desires, they practice the śīla-pāramitā according to their aspiration; knowing that the nature of dharmas is without suffering and free of anger and distress, they practice the kṣānti-pāramitā in accordance with it; knowing that the nature of dharmas is without marks of body and mind and free of conceit and indolence, they practice the vīrya-pāramitā in accordance with it; knowing that the nature of dharmas is constantly in concentration and its essence is without distraction, they practice the dhyāna-pāramitā in accordance with it; knowing that the nature of dharmas is fundamentally luminous and free of ignorance, they practice the prajñā-pāramitā in accordance with it. As for the generation of mind through realization, from the stage of the pure mind up to the ultimate stage of a bodhisattva, what realm do they realize? Namely, tathatā. It is spoken of as a realm relying on the evolving consciousness, but this realizer has no realm; only the wisdom of tathatā is called the dharmakāya. This bodhisattva, in a single thought-moment, can reach all worlds of the ten directions without remainder, make offerings to all Buddhas, and entreat them to turn the wheel of the Dharma, solely to instruct and benefit sentient beings, without relying on words. Or they manifest surpassing stages to quickly attain correct awakening, for the sake of timid sentient beings. Or they say, 'I will attain the Buddha-path after immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas,' for the sake of indolent and conceited sentient beings. They are able to manifest countless such inconceivable skillful means, yet in reality the bodhisattvas' lineage and faculties are equal, their generation of mind is equal, and what they realize is also equal, without any dharma of surpassing, because all bodhisattvas pass through three asaṃkhyeya kalpas. It is only according to the differences among sentient beings and worlds—differences in what they see and hear, their faculties, desires, and natures—that their manifested practices also have distinctions. Furthermore, regarding the characteristics of this bodhisattva's generation of mind, there are subtle characteristics of three kinds of mind. What are the three? The first is the true mind, because of being free from discrimination; the second is the skillful-means mind, because of naturally and pervasively acting to benefit sentient beings; the third is the karma-consciousness mind, because of subtle arising and ceasing. Furthermore, when this bodhisattva's merits are fulfilled, they manifest the highest and largest body in all worlds in the Akaniṣṭha heaven: namely, with wisdom associated with a single thought-moment, ignorance is suddenly exhausted, which is called the wisdom of all modes, and they naturally possess inconceivable karma, being able to manifest in the ten directions to benefit sentient beings. Question: Because space is boundless, worlds are boundless; because worlds are boundless, sentient beings are boundless; because sentient beings are boundless, the distinctions in mental activities are also boundless. Such a realm cannot be delimited and is difficult to know and comprehend. If ignorance is severed and there are no thoughts in the mind, how can one comprehend it and call it the wisdom of all modes? Answer: All realms are originally the one mind, free from conceptions and thoughts. Because sentient beings falsely perceive realms, their minds have limitations; because they falsely give rise to thoughts that do not correspond to the nature of dharmas, they cannot comprehend them. All Buddhas, Tathāgatas, are free from views and thoughts and are all-pervading; because their minds are real, that very nature of all dharmas in its own essence clearly illumines all false dharmas, possessing great cognitive function and immeasurable skillful means, and according to what each sentient being ought to comprehend, they are able to reveal all kinds of Dharma meanings. Therefore it is named the wisdom of all modes. Question: If all Buddhas possess spontaneous karma and can manifest everywhere to benefit sentient beings, then if any sentient being sees their body, or witnesses their spiritual transformations, or hears their preaching, none would fail to be benefited. Why is it that the world mostly cannot see them? Answer: The dharmakāya of the Buddhas, Tathāgatas, is impartial and pervasive everywhere without intention, and so is said to be spontaneous. It merely manifests relying on the minds of sentient beings. The minds of sentient beings are like a mirror; if the mirror has dirt, images do not appear. In the same way, if the minds of sentient beings have dirt, the dharmakāya does not appear.