妙法蓮華經玄義 3.92

3.92

Regarding contemplation with supreme wisdom: one contemplates that feeling arises from contact, and so on up to formations arising from ignorance, knowing that the three paths of the twelve links are themselves the three virtues. How could one sever and destroy the three virtues to seek the three virtues elsewhere? That would be to ruin the characteristics of dharmas. The path of affliction is itself prajñā; one should know that affliction is not dark. Prajñā is itself affliction; prajñā is not bright. Since affliction is not dark, why should it be further severed? Since prajñā is not bright, what could it destroy? Darkness is fundamentally not dark; it has no need for brightness. Like Jīvaka grasping poison and making it into medicine, how could one discard this and take that? The path of karma is itself liberation; one should know that the path of karma is not bondage. Liberation is itself karma; liberation is not ease. Because karma is not bondage, what could be escaped? Because liberation is not ease, what could be attained? Like a person of supernormal powers, how could they flee this to go to that? The path of suffering is itself the dharma-kāya; one should know that suffering is not birth-and-death. The dharma-kāya is itself birth-and-death; the dharma-kāya is not pleasure. Since suffering is not birth-and-death, what is there to grieve over? Since the dharma-kāya is not pleasure, what is there to rejoice over? Like empty space, it has neither gain nor loss, neither joy nor sorrow. For one who contemplates thus, the three paths are not different from the three virtues, the three virtues are not different from the three paths, and within the three paths all buddha-dharmas are complete. Why is this? The three paths are themselves the three virtues; the three virtues are the great nirvāṇa, called the secret store; this is possessing the Buddha-fruit. Deeply contemplating the twelvefold conditioned co-arising is sitting at the site of enlightenment; this is possessing the Buddha-cause. The Buddha-cause and the Buddha-fruit are all completely fulfilled; the rest can be known by analogy. This is called contemplating the twelvefold conditioned co-arising with supreme wisdom, attaining Buddha bodhi.