妙法蓮華經玄義 10.26

10.26

Next, I challenge the fourth-period teaching of 'common convergence' [i.e., the Lotus Sūtra], [which they claim] merely gathers together the myriad goods into the eka-yāna without clarifying the buddha-nature, and that [its mention of] extending life through supernatural powers—surpassing the sands of the Ganges before and doubling that number after—likewise does not clarify permanence. This cannot be so. The Lotus Sūtra clarifies a single nature and characteristic, born of a single ground, and that the teachings it expounds all reach the ground of omniscient knowledge (sarvajñatā-bhūmi). In opening its discourse, it immediately states, 'to open, show, awaken, and enter the vision and knowledge of the Buddha.' The Avataṃsaka clarifies the Buddha's wisdom, yet it still entails the wisdom of bodhisattvas, where the bodhisattvas' wisdom is like the earth on a fingernail and the Tathāgata's wisdom is like the earth of the ten directions. The Lotus Sūtra purely expounds the Buddha's wisdom like the earth of the ten directions; if it were not permanent, then how could the 'earth on a fingernail' of the Avataṃsaka clarify eternal permanence? Furthermore, the Avataṃsaka has him newly sitting at the bodhimaṇḍa and newly attaining true awakening, which places his attainment of buddhahood too close [in time]. The Lotus Sūtra clarifies that his attainment of buddhahood was long ago, and that the intervening events as well as today are merely traces. If what was expounded in the traces is said to be permanent, how could the teaching of the original source not clarify permanence? Moreover, the Anantanirdeśa-sūtra says: 'Though I expounded the ocean-like emptiness of the Avataṃsaka and practice through kalpas, I had not yet proclaimed such a profound Anantanirdeśa-sūtra.' The profound Anantanirdeśa-sūtra is already exceedingly profound, and this profound sūtra serves as a prelude to the Lotus Sūtra; how could it not clarify permanence? If they say that words about eternal permanence are sparse, is a single word of the emperor not an edict? The text says, 'The characteristics of the world are eternally abiding'; and further says, 'For immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas, life is immeasurable, eternally abiding and unperishing.' The lifespan at Gayā city and the frequent appearances are the lifespan of the response buddha (nirmāṇa-kāya); the immeasurable lifespan of asaṃkhyeyas is the lifespan of the reward buddha (saṃbhoga-kāya); and 'eternally abiding and unperishing' is the lifespan of the dharma buddha (dharma-kāya). The three buddhas are fully present; the meaning of eternal permanence is complete. The Saddharmapuṇḍarīkopadeśa says: It manifests three kinds of bodhi: First, the bodhi of the response-transformation buddha: manifested in accordance with what ought to be seen, referring to leaving the palace of the Śākyas, going not far from Gayā city, sitting at the bodhimaṇḍa, and attaining sambodhi. Second, the bodhi of the reward buddha: referring to fulfilling the ten grounds and attaining eternal nirvāṇa; the text says, 'Since I actually achieved buddhahood, it has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas.' Third, the bodhi of the dharma buddha: referring to the inherently pure nirvāṇa of the tathāgatagarbha, which is eternally pure and unchanging; the text says, 'The Tathāgata truly sees and knows the characteristics of the triple world... not as the triple world sees the triple world.' This means that the realm of sentient beings is identical to the realm of nirvāṇa; not separated from the realm of sentient beings, it is the tathāgatagarbha. It also says, 'I dare not disrespect you, for you will all become buddhas'—this is the direct-cause buddha-nature. It also says, 'In order to cause sentient beings to open the vision and knowledge of the Buddha'—this is the revealing-cause buddha-nature. It also says, 'The seeds of buddhahood arise from conditions'—this is the conditioning-cause buddha-nature. The Saddharmapuṇḍarīkopadeśa also clarifies three kinds of buddha-nature. The treatise says: Only the Buddha, the Tathāgata, realizes great bodhi, completely fulfilling all wisdom, and therefore it is called great. The statement 'I dare not disrespect you, for you will all become buddhas' reveals that all sentient beings possess the buddha-nature. With such clear evidence in sūtra and treatise, how can they say it is absent? Moreover, the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra says: 'The appearance of this sūtra in the world is like that fruit, bringing great benefit and peace to all, able to make sentient beings see the nature of the Tathāgata, just as in the Lotus Sūtra the eight thousand śrāvakas received vyākaraṇa, bringing forth the great fruit, like harvest in autumn and storage in winter, with nothing further to be done.' If the eight thousand śrāvakas did not see the buddha-nature in the Lotus Sūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra would not have referred back to it. The explicit text is reliable evidence; why labor to cling stubbornly? Furthermore, fascicle twenty-five of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra says: 'That which is ultimate and definitive is the eka-yāna attained by all sentient beings; the eka-yāna is called the buddha-nature. For this reason, I say that all sentient beings fully possess the buddha-nature, and all sentient beings fully possess the eka-yāna.' Thus, the present sūtra is the teaching of the eka-yāna, which profoundly accords with the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra. Furthermore, the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra still entails the three vehicles attaining the Way, whereas this sūtra is pure and unmixed; the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra does not further disclose the traces, whereas this sūtra reveals the original source and its meaning is manifest. Proclaiming birth everywhere, manifesting extinction everywhere, eternally abiding in the future, benefiting beings throughout the three periods of time; when the multitude sees it burned, my land is not destroyed—how could this be an extension of life through supernatural powers that has an exhaustion? This refutes the idea of extending life through supernatural powers (and so forth).