仁王護國般若波羅蜜多經疏 1.53

1.53

As for the phrase "at one time," it is the third factor, the establishment of the time, free of the defect of improper timing. When the Tathāgata preached the Dharma, he skillfully responded to the capacities and suited the needs of beings, meeting them without error; this is simply the "one time." According to the *Buddhabhūmi-śāstra*, there are three meanings in this explanation: First, it refers to the completion of preaching and listening as one time. This refers to the continuous, uninterrupted succession of moments in which preaching and listening reach completion, which is collectively termed "one time." If this were not so, the characters, words, and phrases would differ in their times of preaching and hearing; how could one say "one"? The text of the treatise explains by reductio ad absurdum: if one did not take the completion of preaching and listening as "one time," then just as first a character is spoken, next a word, then a phrase, up until the completion of a whole chapter or a whole work, since the times of preaching and hearing differ, how could one say "one"? It does not depend on the duration being long or short, but on the completion of that single occasion, thereby excluding the preaching of other texts as not belonging to this one time. Second, it refers to the instant of comprehension as one time. Either the speaker has attained dhāraṇī, being able within a single character and a single moment to hold and preach all Dharma gates; or the listener has attained the purified faculty of hearing, so that in a single moment upon hearing a single character, he is unimpeded in all others and completely comprehends them all; this is called "one time." This refers to those of superior faculties preaching, hearing, and comprehending within a single moment, distinguishing them from the differing lengths of time required by those of medium and lower faculties. Third, it refers to the meeting of preaching and listening as one time. Or, because there is no differentiation at the time of their encounter, it is called "one time"; that is to say, the simultaneous meeting of preaching and listening has the meaning of "one and the same time," excluding times before and after that do not match the beings' faculties. These are all nominal designations of "one time."