妙法蓮華經玄義 6.217

6.217

Ninth turn, the benefit of the transformation [body / realm]: This is the benefit for the people of the land of expedient means with remainder. Among the preceding eight turns, there are in total four places or nine places—namely, śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas of the shared teaching, the thirty minds of the distinctive teaching, and the semblance understanding of the perfect teaching—who have only broken [the delusions of] views and contemplation but have not yet eliminated ignorance; ignorance moistens the uncontaminated, and they take birth in [the realm of] expedient means. Therefore a later passage says: "In other lands I become a Buddha under different names, and there, seeking the Buddha's wisdom, they obtain hearing of this sūtra; this is their entry into the One Vehicle in that land." The Śrīmālā-sūtra states: "Three kinds of persons are born in the land of transformation, namely, arhats of great power, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas." The Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra speaks of three kinds of mind-made bodies: first, the mind-made body of the peaceful and happy Dharma, which designates the intention of the practitioners of the two vehicles to enter the peace and happiness of nirvāṇa; second, the mind-made body of samādhi, which designates the intention of the shared teaching to emerge from emptiness into the provisional to transform beings using supernormal powers and samādhi; third, the mind-made body of inherent nature, which designates the intention of the distinctive teaching to cultivate the inherent nature of the Middle Way. Speaking generally of "mind": peace and happiness constitute the mind of emptiness; samādhi constitutes the mind of the provisional; inherent nature constitutes the mind of the Middle. The semblance understanding of the distinctive and perfect [teachings] has not yet realized truth, so they are all called "making mind." Therefore the treatise says: "At this time one transcends the stage of mind and abides in the activity of wisdom." If one realizes truth, it may be the activity of wisdom; not having realized truth, one is still in the stage of mind. When these persons are born there, those who analyze dharmas are dull; those who embody dharmas are sharp; those of the distinctive teaching have already practiced the provisional and are slightly sharper; those of the perfect teaching from the outset accord with the Middle and are the sharpest. Since there are differences of sharp and dull, in their cultivation and study there, they have the two benefits of the sequential and the non-sequential. Furthermore, there are two responses—sequential and non-sequential—employing the twenty-five samādhis. Thus, nine kinds of persons are born in the land of expedient means, and first in that land they see the nature of the self in all existences and obtain the most real benefit. If spoken of analytically, it is said that the land of expedient means lies outside the three realms; but if one realizes truth directly in phenomenal events, it is not necessarily far away. As the text below says: "If one is capable of deep faith and understanding, one will see the Buddha ever present on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, surrounded by great bodhisattvas and the assembly of śrāvakas, preaching the Dharma." This is the meaning of the land of expedient means.