金剛般若經疏論纂要 1.30

1.30

This is explained in three clauses: First, gathering supporting conditions. When one is about to enter concentration, one must still associative conditions; if robe and bowl are not put away, the mind is troubled and anxious, so the Buddha manifested this as a model for later times—namely, putting away the great robe and wearing the seven-strip robe. Second, purifying bodily karma. The Āgamas say: 'When the Buddha walks, he is four finger-breadths above the ground, and lotus flowers support his feet.' His manifesting the washing of his feet now is in accord with worldly custom to signify the Dharma and serve as a model for later times. Third, properly entering concentration. Spreading the seat and sitting in meditation is because the body is upright and the mind is free from sinking and agitation. The Wei translation says: 'Spreading the seat as usual, he sat cross-legged, maintaining an upright body and keeping right mindfulness unmoved.' The Tang translation says: 'With body upright and proper aspiration, he abode in mindfulness facing before him.' Asaṅga says: 'Showing only tranquility, because within this he is capable of awakening and capable of expounding.' However, the manifestations of traces by the Great Sage necessarily have something they symbolize: they symbolize that the Buddha of innate enlightenment, in the capital of the five aggregates, awakens to the fact that the army of Māra is originally empty—this is called 'Victorious in Battle.' Illuminating the fact that mind and consciousness possess virtues is precisely 'Anāthapiṇḍada' (giving to the destitute); seeking the Dharma to nourish the spirit is called the 'mendicant assembly.' Once the awakened mind has arisen, how could one abandon worldly toils? About to contemplate universally, one thereupon enters the storehouse of consciousness, contemplating the mind and mental factors in succession; through delusion, truth is realized, and all attain the joy of the Dharma. The joy of the Dharma has no substance and merges with the awakened mind; thinking relies on false conditions, and when conditions are obliterated one can tally with the true nature. Contemplation is a trace; wiping away the traces, one reverts to the origin and returns to the source. Reverting to the origin and returning to the source, dharmas are empty and the mind is tranquil; the tranquil mind is the true essence, and prajñā is brilliant and clear. Wishing to discuss the main section on prajñā, he thus manifested this initiation. Zisheng said: 'As for the body, there are two kinds: first, the false; second, the true.' The false entity of the five aggregates relies on food and clothing to be nurtured and grown; the formless dharmakāya is illuminated and accomplished through prajñā. Sentient beings protect the false and abandon the true; the Buddhas nourish the true and cast away the false. Since sentient beings are deluded about the true and grasp at the false, I rely on the false traces to guide them to the true. Therefore, depending on the occasion of begging for food, he was about to bestow the transformation of the joy of the Dharma. Hence the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'Though you bhikṣus practice begging for food, from the beginning you have never begged for the Dharma-food of the Mahāyāna.'