金剛經纂要刊定記 1.105

1.105

From "Milk is not" below, he cites the sūtra metaphor. The tenth scroll of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says: "Furthermore, good man! It is like a cowherd girl who, wishing to sell milk and greedy for much profit, added two parts of water, and then sold it to another cowherd girl. Having obtained it, that cowherd girl again added two parts of water and sold it to a woman near the city. Having obtained it, that woman again added two parts of water and sold it to a woman inside the city. Having obtained it, that woman again added two parts of water and went to the market to sell it. At that time, there was a man taking a wife for his son, who needed good milk to entertain guests, and went to the market wishing to buy it. The milk seller asked a high price. The man replied: 'Your milk has much water and is not worth such a price. Now, because I must provide for my guests, I must take it.' Having taken it, he returned home and boiled it to make gruel, but it lacked the flavor of milk; yet among bitter flavors, it was a thousand times superior. Why? Because the flavor of milk is the foremost among all flavors. Good man! After my nirvāṇa, when eighty years remain before the True Dharma is extinguished, at that time this sūtra will be widely circulated in Jambudvīpa. At that time there will be monks who abridge this sūtra and divide it into many parts, taking what is before and putting it behind, taking what is behind and putting it before, putting before and behind in the middle, and putting the middle in front and behind, mixing it with worldly language and mistakenly establishing this sūtra. Now many sentient beings do not attain right view. It is just like that woman progressively selling milk, until it became gruel and lacked the flavor of milk." However, that sūtra's meaning used this to metaphorize nirvāṇa; here it is borrowed to metaphorize prajñā. The language about being inside the city here is somewhat loose; now we take the very first newly milked milk to which no water has yet been added as the metaphor.