妙法蓮華經玄義 1.175

1.175

六、起聖說、聖默者。《思益》云：「佛告諸比丘：汝等當行二事，若聖說法、若聖默然。」聖說如上辨。聖默然者，夫四種四諦並是三乘聖人所證之法，非下凡所知，故不可說；假令說之，如為盲人設燭，何益無目者乎！故不可說，名聖默然。華嚴中數世界，不可說、不可說，明理極不可說、不可說。約無量、無作兩番四諦，不生生、不生不生法，明不可說。不可說，名聖默然。若三藏中，憍陳如比丘最初獲得真實之知見，寂然無聲字。身子云：「吾聞解脫之中，無有言說者。」是約生滅四諦生生之法，明不可說。不可說，名聖默然。《淨名》杜口，《大集》無言菩薩不可智知，不可識識，言語道斷，心行亦訖，不生不滅，法如涅槃。此約四番四諦不可說。不可說，名聖默然。若《大品》句句悉不可得。不可得者，不可以身得，不可以心得，不可以口得。此約三番四諦，生、不生、不生生、不生不生法，明不可得。不可得，故不可說。不可說，名聖默然。此經明「止止不須說，我法妙難思」；「是法不可示，言辭相寂滅」，不可以言宣，非思量分別之所能解。此約無作四諦，不生不生法，明不可說。不可說故，名聖默然。

Six: giving rise to noble speech and noble silence. The *Viśeṣacintā-brahma-paripṛcchā* says: "The Buddha addressed the monks: 'You should practice two things: either noble exposition of the Dharma, or noble silence.'" Noble speech has been discerned above. As for noble silence: the four kinds of four noble truths are all dharmas realized by the noble ones of the three vehicles; they cannot be known by ordinary mortals below, and therefore are ineffable. Even if they were spoken of, it would be like holding a candle for a blind man—what benefit would it bring to one without eyes? Therefore they cannot be spoken of, and this is called noble silence. In the *Avataṃsaka*, counting the worlds as ineffable and ineffable illuminates that the ultimate principle is ineffable and ineffable. In terms of the two sets of the four truths—immeasurable and non-action—and the dharmas of non-origination of origination and non-origination of non-origination, it illuminates ineffability. This ineffability is called noble silence. If in the Tripiṭaka, the monk Kauṇḍinya first attained true knowledge and vision, still and devoid of sounds and words; and Śāriputra said: "I have heard that within liberation there is no verbal expression"—this illuminates ineffability in terms of the four truths of origination and cessation, the dharma of the origination of origination. This ineffability is called noble silence. In the *Vimalakīrti*, closing the mouth, and in the *Mahāsaṃnipāta*, the bodhisattva without words [show that it] cannot be known by wisdom, cannot be cognized by consciousness; the path of language is cut off, the activities of mind have ended; neither origination nor cessation, the Dharma is like nirvāṇa. This illuminates ineffability in terms of the four sets of four truths. This ineffability is called noble silence. In the *Pañcaviṃśati*, every phrase is ungraspable. Being ungraspable means it cannot be grasped through the body, cannot be grasped through the mind, and cannot be grasped through the mouth. This illuminates ungraspability in terms of the three sets of four truths: the dharmas of origination, non-origination, non-origination of origination, and non-origination of non-origination. Because it is ungraspable, it cannot be spoken of. This ineffability is called noble silence. This sūtra clarifies: "Cease, cease, no need to speak; my Dharma is wondrous and hard to conceive"; "This Dharma cannot be shown; the characteristics of words are extinguished"—it cannot be proclaimed in words, and is not something that conceptual deliberation and discrimination can understand. This illuminates ineffability in terms of the four truths of non-action, the dharma of the non-origination of non-origination. Because it is ineffable, it is called noble silence.