金剛般若疏 2.4

2.4

In the sūtra text, there are altogether five phrases: first, indicating the person who confers blessings upon beings; second, explaining the proper time for begging food; third, discerning the deportment for begging food; fourth, explaining the location for begging food; fifth, explaining the method of begging food. "At that time, the World-Honored One": this is the first, indicating the person who confers blessings upon beings. The *Tattvasiddhi-śāstra* says, "Possessing all the nine epithets above, he is therefore called 'the World-Honored One.'" From "at mealtime" onward is the second, explaining the time for begging food. This is an ordinary worldly affair, yet from afar it represents the dual benefit of the Buddha-Dharma, being without annoyance to either self or other. In the world, laypeople have fixed times for their meals: at dawn they are just beginning to prepare them and have not yet finished; late in the day they have already finished eating. Now is the time when the prepared food has just cooked; proceeding thither at this point can be called arriving at the proper time. Although the mind of the sage abides in the Way, his body depends on material support. Now, internally he has not the burden of hoarding, and externally he possesses the merit of conferring blessings upon beings: if begging is done at the proper time, it benefits both that one and myself; if begging misses the proper time, it vexes both self and other; hence it says "at mealtime." Because he knows the proper time, he is called a Great Dharma Master. Truly this is a faithful teaching! From "donning his robe and taking his bowl" onward is the third, explaining the adjustment of deportment. There are three kinds of robes, and they are also donned at three times. If lying down or arising in ordinary circumstances, one dons the five-strip robe, called the *antarvāsas*; here this is called the lower-grade robe, and also called the inner-worn robe. If entering the assembly for legal acts, one dons the seven-strip robe, called the *uttarāsaṅga*; here this is called the middle-grade robe. If entering a settlement to see kings and elders, one dons the *saṅghāṭī*; here this is called the great robe, and also called the principal outer robe. From nine strips upward to twenty-five strips, they are briefly classified into three grades; within each grade there are three types, combining to form nine kinds. The three of the lower grade are: nine strips, eleven strips, and thirteen strips; the three of the middle grade are: fifteen, seventeen, and nineteen strips; the three of the upper grade are: twenty-one, twenty-three, and twenty-five strips. According to the size of the body, fewer or more strips and patches were prescribed. The Buddha's body was sixteen feet tall, so he could wear twenty-five strips; people nowadays may wear only fifteen strips. In foreign lands, they are collectively called *kāṣāya*; here this is translated as "garment free from dust." If red and purple are blended together, they increase beings' lustful minds; now with the three kinds of ruined colors, greedy thoughts do not arise. Secondly, it is called the "emaciation robe": when a person who has entered the Way covers his body with this garment, his defilements fall away. Thirdly, it is called the "lotus-blossom robe": this borrows a metaphor for its name, for its substance is pure and free from defilement, resembling the lotus. Fourthly, it is called the "mingled-color robe", because three colors are interspersed to jointly make up one robe. Tripiṭaka Master Paramārtha said, "The robe of red-blood color: although the five sects differ in their foreign *kāṣāya*s, they are all uniformly of red color." Question: It is commonly said that there are three kinds of ruined colors; why do you say that they are all red? Answer: The common explanation is that for a new robe one first takes blue dye, next puts it into mud, and next passes it through bark-juice, which is called *madder* (*mokuran*); hence it says "either blue, or mud, or madder." The Tripiṭaka Master said: All the people of the Central Country [of India] have no such practice. As for the three kinds of ruined colors, one uses whichever of the three colors to make a spot-mark. If there is a place with blue, one makes the mark with blue; if there is no place with blue, one uses mud for the mark; where there is no mud, one may grind iron-juice to make the mark; and taking just one color is sufficient. It is only because times and places differ and a single color is not constant that, out of concern that the monks might give rise to doubt and remorse, it was said that one may take any of the three. Although the doctrines of the eighteen schools differ, the robe-color is the same; thus the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra* says: "Seeing my disciples wearing red robes, they took them to be blood." It is only that the marking differs, and therefore there are differences among the various schools: the Sarvāstivāda marks visible places; the Sthaviras mark every joint; the Saṃmatīya mark only the four corners. The Tripiṭaka Master also said: In foreign lands the five schools also do not wear five different robes; but the Buddha interpreted King Prasenajit's dream and prophesied that in the degenerate age there would be evil monks who would disrupt my Dharma and divide into five schools. Because the laypeople of that land have five natures, they wear robes of five colors to signify the five kinds of supernatural wonders. Question: When the Buddha entered nirvāṇa, where were the three robes located? Answer: The accounts of the places differ. According to the *Garbha-sūtra*, "When the Buddha was about to enter nirvāṇa, he folded the three robes with his own hands and placed them in the golden coffin to line the Buddha's body." According to the *Mahāmāyā-sūtra*, when Māyā descended from Trāyastriṃśa Heaven and no longer saw the Buddha, seeing only the Buddha's *saṅghāṭī* and his staff, she sighed in grief, saying: "When my son was in the world, he wore and held these objects to deliver beings; now they are empty and without a master." Deducing from this, the three robes still exist. The Tripiṭaka Master said: The Buddha's five-strip robe is in the kingdom of Mithilā, the seven-strip robe is in the kingdom of Pañcāśī, the great robe and the staff are in the kingdom of Kashmir, and the *niṣīdana* is in the kingdom of Kapilavastu. Taking the bowl: first, it accords with the Dharma of the Buddhas of the three periods of time; second, to refute the non-Buddhists who hold their food in their hands; third, to manifest a dignified deportment that benefits beings, unlike base beggars; fourth, to demonstrate a lasting vessel of merit. The *Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra* says, "Storing up merit, demonstrating the field of merit. Donning the *kāṣāya*, demonstrating the field of merit." In the Vinaya it says: The Buddha took Ānanda to the southern mountain country; in that land there were many fertile fields, whose adjoining dikes were pleasing, so he ordered him to pattern the robe after them, signifying that one who has left household life is a field of merit for the world, able to cause the seed of a generous mind to reap an immeasurable reward. When one sows seeds in a fertile field, the harvest yields ten thousandfold; hence the strips and patches of the robe resemble the dikes and borders of fields; therefore the sūtra says "demonstrating the field of merit." *Pātra*: here this is translated as "receptacle of appropriate measure," which signifies that the person who has left household life inwardly possesses wisdom and severance, inner and outer corresponding, being a vessel fit to receive the offerings of humans and gods. When the Buddha first received the milk-rice from the two maidens, it was contained in a golden vessel more than a fathom wide; this was his eating vessel before attaining the Way. When he had completed the Way, he next received the fruits—or, some say, barley flour—offered by the elders Trapuṣa and Bhallika; at that time he did not yet have a bowl, and he reflected: The Buddhas of the three periods of time have no custom of holding food in their hands. Thereupon the Four Kings presented four bowls, and the Buddha pressed them with his hand, merging them into one bowl, yet the four layers of rim remained visible. The Tripiṭaka Master also said: The Śuddhāvāsa Devas returned the stone bowls of the past Four Kings to give to the Four Kings, and each of the Four Kings offered one to the Buddha. This bowl is now in the kingdom of Kashmir, enshrined in a stūpa. When the Semblance Dharma is destroyed, the Four Kings will again take it and deliver it to the Śuddhāvāsa Devas; the Śuddhāvāsa Devas will await Maitreya's appearance and command the Four Kings to deliver it to Maitreya. However, regarding the sizes of the bowl, there are three different grades: the upper grade holds three *prasthas* of cooked rice, one *prastha* of soup, and another half-*prastha* of other edible items; the lower grade holds one *prastha* of cooked rice, half a *prastha* of soup, and another half-*prastha* of other edible items. If it is larger than the smaller and smaller than the larger, it is a middle-grade bowl. A *prastha* is a foreign measure of six *chuan*; an upper-grade bowl holds three *dous*, able to contain two *dous* and seven *chuans* of food, requiring the top three *chuans* to be empty to demonstrate few desires; a lower-grade bowl holds one *dou* and a half, able to contain one *dou* and two *chuans* of food, requiring the top three *chuans* to be empty, thus being one *dou* and two *chuans*; between the two capacities is called a middle-grade bowl. The *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* says: "Explaining that there are eight kinds of bowls: disciples are not permitted to keep gold or silver bowls, out of fear that greed would arise; they are not permitted to keep wooden bowls, because they retain filth. They are only permitted to keep two kinds, namely iron and earthenware. The Buddha kept a stone bowl." Question: Has there ever been a Buddha who did not wear a *kāṣāya* and did not use a bowl? Answer: Yes. The *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* says: "Devarāja Buddha adopted the deportment of a white-robed layman." From "entering the great city of Śrāvastī to beg for food" onward is the fourth, explaining the location for begging food. The old commentary says: The park is twelve hundred paces from the city; or some say: four *li*. There are three ways the Tathāgata receives food: first, sitting and waiting for the mealtime, whereupon the fine delicacies arrive on their own; second, people coming from outside to invite the Buddha. Inviting the Buddha has two modes: first, the Buddha goes together with the saṅgha; second, the saṅgha goes while the Buddha does not go, sending someone to solicit the food. The reasons why he does not go are altogether five: first, to enter samādhi; second, to preach the Dharma for the devas; third, to care for sick monks; fourth, to inspect the dwellings; fifth, because he wishes to institute precepts. Third, the Tathāgata goes in person to beg for food. His manner of walking has three modes: first, flying through the empty sky; second, his feet four inches above the ground while their imprinted marks appear on the earth; third, his feet treading on lotuses, where the lotuses move while his feet do not move. The reasons why the Buddha walked on foot to beg for food, according to the *Sūtra of the Girl Mālā*, are altogether ten: first, when the Tathāgata enters the city to beg for food, sentient beings see the Buddha's thirty-two marks like Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains, and therefore generate bodhicitta, vowing to attain the Tathāgata's body; second, in the city there are the blind, deaf, and sick, down to those suffering a hundred torments who cannot come to where the Tathāgata is, and therefore the Tathāgata enters the city and emits light to shine upon them, causing their multiple sufferings to cease, whereupon they generate bodhicitta; third, for the kṣatriyas, brahmins, and noble elders who, relying on their caste, do not give rise to a mind of respect, when they see the Tathāgata's awe-inspiring virtue and stately deportment standing preeminent and distinct from the world, their arrogant minds are extinguished, and so they generate bodhicitta; fourth, women under guardianships who, having three supervisions and five hindrances, cannot see the Buddha, and also lazy people who, though living in the neighborhood of the Tathāgata, cannot go to him—the Buddha now enters the city to enable them thereby to pay homage and make inquiries, and so they generate bodhicitta; fifth, when the Tathāgata enters the city, the Four Kings and the eight classes of beings all act as his escort, each carrying flowers and incense and chanting praises in offering; when the people of the city see this, they immediately give rise to the thought: "Even the devas renounce heavenly pleasures to make offerings to the Buddha; how could we not make offerings and pay homage?" and thus generate the mind; sixth, the Tathāgata holds the bowl presented by the Four Kings, which is truly a single bowl yet with its four rims distinct; the people of the city, seeing this rare wonder, therefore generate bodhicitta; seventh, for the rich and the poor: if the rich see the Tathāgata's bowl empty, they give much; if the poor see the Tathāgata's bowl full, they give little; both give rise to joy and therefore generate bodhicitta; eighth, in the Tathāgata's bowl, hundreds of flavored foods are received without mingling, remaining as if placed in separate vessels, and when distributed freely to all the monks and sentient beings, it neither increases nor decreases; those who see it rejoice, and none fail to generate the mind; ninth, for the sake of future disciples and monks, to demonstrate the practice of begging food and establish its model, not hoarding conditioned things; tenth, the Tathāgata's body is constantly in samādhi and does not eat, yet solely for the sake of benefiting sentient beings, he manifests the practice of begging food. For these reasons, it says "entering the city to beg for food." As for "begging from door to door in that city," this fifth phrase explains the method of begging food. Some treatise masters say: In foreign lands, the noble families of the four castes all live inside the city, whereas the commoners, butchers, and the like all live outside the city. When entering the city, they each walk separately without intermingling. Now, when it says "begging in order," it means that within the city, among the four castes, without discriminating between rich and poor, he begs from them in consecutive order. Furthermore, Subhūti abandoned the poor and went to the rich, thinking that although they are now experiencing the fruit, they have no cause for the future, and he wished to make them cultivate future causes so that their karmic fruit would continue; therefore he abandoned the poor and went to the rich. Kāśyapa abandoned the rich and went to the poor, pitying their acute suffering; moreover, because they did not practice generosity in the past they are poor in this life, and if they do not practice generosity now they will again be poor in future lives, poverty succeeding poverty without any time of liberation, and therefore he abandoned the rich and went to the poor. Although these two men possessed compassion, they were not impartial, and were therefore reproved by Vimalakīrti. Now, the Tathāgata wishes to reveal the path of impartiality; therefore he begs from door to door.