妙法蓮華經玄義 4.87

4.87

聖、梵兩行名修因，故論證地，天行正是所證。病、兒兩行，從果起應，故不論證耳。又有義：經顯別義，從地前各入證：經顯圓義，登地同一證。又，地前非不修圓，登地非無有別，互顯令易解，故不煩文。地前別者，戒行從淺至深，證不動地；定行從淺至深，證堪忍地；慧行從淺至深，證無畏地。地上去並同者，豈有三地條然永別？秖登地時，不為二邊所動，名不動地；上持佛法，下荷眾生，名堪忍地；於生死涅槃俱得自在，名無畏地。無畏地，從我德立名；堪忍地，從樂德立名；不動地，從常德立名。淨德通三處。登地之日，四德俱成，則無增減，蓋化道宜然。例如朝三暮四之意耳。從登地去，地地有自行，地地有自證。自行秖是修天行，自證秖是證天行，故不別說天行證也。若地前化他，名梵行。慈、悲、喜是化他之事，行一子地是其證；捨心是化他之理行，空平等是其證。此二地亦不條然，登地慈悲，故言一子；慈悲與體同，故言空平等耳。地地有悲同惡，名病行。地地有慈同善，名嬰兒行。證道是同，故不別說。佛地功德，仰信而已，豈可闇心定分別耶？略答如此（云云）。

Holy practice and pure practice are called cultivating the cause, and therefore their realization of stages is discussed; divine practice is precisely what is realized. Illness practice and infant practice arise as responses from the fruition, and so realization is simply not discussed for them. Furthermore, there is another explanation: when the sūtras reveal the distinctive meaning, entry into realization occurs individually prior to the stages; when the sūtras reveal the perfect meaning, ascending the stages entails a single identical realization. Moreover, it is not the case that the stages prior to the bhūmis do not cultivate the perfect, nor is it that ascending the bhūmis lacks distinctions; they mutually illuminate each other to make them easy to understand, so we need not multiply words. As for the distinctions prior to the stages: precept practice goes from shallow to deep, realizing the Immovable Stage; concentration practice goes from shallow to deep, realizing the Enduring Stage; wisdom practice goes from shallow to deep, realizing the Fearless Stage. As for being all identical upon ascending the stages, how could there be three stages cleanly and permanently divided? Just at the time of ascending the stages, not being moved by the two extremes is called the Immovable Stage; upholding the Buddhadharma above and shouldering sentient beings below is called the Enduring Stage; attaining mastery in both birth-and-death and nirvāṇa is called the Fearless Stage. The Fearless Stage takes its name from the virtue of self; the Enduring Stage takes its name from the virtue of bliss; the Immovable Stage takes its name from the virtue of permanence. The virtue of purity applies equally to all three positions. On the day one ascends the stages, all four virtues are fully established, neither increasing nor decreasing; this is merely what is appropriate for the path of transformation. This is like the idea of 'three in the morning and four in the evening.' From the ascent of the stages onward, every single stage has its own cultivation and every single stage has its own realization. Its own cultivation is simply cultivating divine practice; its own realization is simply realizing divine practice, which is why the realization of divine practice is not stated separately. If converting others prior to the stages, it is called pure practice. Love, compassion, and sympathetic joy are the phenomena of transforming others, and practice of the Single-Child Stage is their realization; the mind of equanimity is the principle practice of transforming others, and empty equality is its realization. These two stages are also not cleanly separated: upon ascending the stages, there is love and compassion, hence it is called 'single child'; love and compassion are identical to the substance, hence it is called 'empty equality.' In every stage there is compassion conforming with evil, termed illness practice. In every stage there is love conforming with the wholesome, termed infant practice. Because the path of realization is identical, they are not stated separately. As for the virtues of the Buddha stage, one can only look up with faith; how could an ignorant mind determinately discriminate them? A brief answer is like this (and so on).