[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [法華玄義釋籤](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1717) › 19.27 # 法華玄義釋籤 19.27 法華玄義釋籤 19.27 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [19.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1717.19.27) 次難第三時者，彼以方等為第三時教，故須約褒貶等難。於中為二：初牒所計，次「今問」下正難。初如文。次為四：初難方等不應在般若之後，次「又彌勒」下難被彈不應獨在聲聞，三「若言」下難不應以七百之壽用判方等，四以三佛性難同涅槃常住。初二如文。第三中又三：初難，次「文辨」下再辨，三「又云」下引證常身。初文中云「七百阿僧祇」者，《楞嚴》七百及《淨名》、《金剛》二經俱是第三時教，何故不取《金剛》為正？而人師苦以七百判為無常，若七百無常，《金剛》豈常？方等金剛若無常者，涅槃金剛何必是常？涅槃無常，佛性何在？言「何疾何惱」者，《乳光經》中「佛在毘耶離音樂樹下眾會說法，佛少中風當用牛乳，時城中有梵志，名摩耶利，五百弟子，為國大長者，不信佛法，不知布施，羅覆宅庭，不令鳥侵，所居之處去佛不遠。佛告阿難：汝持我名至梵志所，索乳𮙬來。阿難受教而往，持鉢門下立。時梵志欲入王宮，因見阿難，問曰：何故晨朝持鉢住此？阿難具以佛意答梵志。梵志默然思惟：若不與乳，諸人咸謂我慳；若與乳者，諸梵志謂我事瞿曇道。復思惟已，即授弊牛，令阿難自𤚲，欲令弊牛觸殺阿難，折辱瞿曇。如謀而行。梵志五百弟子皆笑云：瞿曇常自言能度生老病死，今者自病須乳。」時維摩詰訶辭問答空聲等，具如《淨名》，仍廣於經。「時五百弟子，聞空中聲，即無狐疑，皆悉歡喜，發無上心。時梵志內外眷屬，及聚落中無數千人，皆隨阿難往看𤚲牛。阿難至牛傍，自念我師法，不自𤚲乳。言竟，忉利天座，為之大動，從天下來，化為小梵志，往牛傍。阿難見之歡喜，請取乳。即答阿難：我非梵志，是帝釋耳。聞世尊須乳，故來至此。阿難言：何能近此醒穢耶？答言：我之何如佛世尊耶？欲為取乳。唯願知時。帝釋諾，即持器至牛傍，牛便靜住。觀者驚怪：小梵志有何緣來，為之𤚲乳，儻為弊牛觸死，當奈何耶？帝釋說偈言：今佛小中風，與乳作乳種，令佛服之差，得福無有量，佛尊天人師，常慈心憂念，蜎飛蠕動類，皆欲令度脫。爾時犢母說偈云：此手捫摸我，一切快乃爾，取我兩乳𮙬，置於後餘者，當持遺我子，朝來未得食，雖知有多福，作意當平等。於是犢子為母說偈云：我從無數劫，今得聞佛聲，即言持我分，盡用奉上佛，世尊一切師，甚難得再見，我食草飲水，自可足今日。更有五偈云云。於是阿難滿𤚲乳去，梵志及親邑人見此稱歎，信解佛法得法眼淨。阿難至世尊所具述之。佛言：如是。此牛過去曾為長者，喜出息，償錢畢復抵觸他人，坐此墮畜生。今罪已畢。放口光授記：從此却後命終，七反生兜率天及梵天，復七反生人間豪家。牛母見彌勒成阿羅漢，犢子上下二十劫竟作佛號乳光。」當知世尊無疾無惱，為度人故現身有疾，為度眾生現行斯事。故淨名安慰阿難云：但為佛出五濁惡世，為眾生故現行斯法。二三如文。第四文又三：初引經題總具三脫即三佛性難，次引下文具三脫三佛性難，三「三義」下結難。 > Next, regarding refuting the third period: they take the Fangdeng \[Vaipulya\] as the teaching of the third period; therefore one must raise refutations based on praise and censure and the like. Within this there are two parts: first, restating their premise; next, from "Now I ask" onward, the refutation proper. The first is as in the text. The second has four parts: first, refuting that the Fangdeng should not come after the Prajñā; next, from "Moreover, Maitreya" onward, refuting that the rebuke should not apply solely to the śrāvakas; third, from "If you say" onward, refuting that a lifespan of seven hundred should not be used to classify the Fangdeng; fourth, using the three Buddha-natures to refute it as being identically eternally abiding with the Nirvāṇa \[Sūtra\]. The first two are as in the text. The third also contains three parts: first, the refutation; next, from "The text distinguishes" onward, differentiating it again; third, from "It also says" onward, citing evidence for the eternal body. In the first text, where it says "seven hundred asaṃkhyeyas": the seven hundred of the Śūraṅgama, as well as the two sūtras of Vimalakīrti and the Vajracchedikā, are all teachings of the third period; why do you not take the Vajracchedikā as standard? Yet the masters insist on classifying it as impermanent on account of the seven hundred. If the seven hundred is impermanent, how could the Vajracchedikā be eternal? If the adamantine nature in the Fangdeng is impermanent, why must the adamantine nature in the Nirvāṇa be eternal? If the Nirvāṇa is impermanent, where is the Buddha-nature? As for saying "What illness or ailment is there?": in the Ruguang jing, "The Buddha was in Vaiśālī beneath the Music Tree preaching the Dharma to an assembly. The Buddha had a slight wind-affliction and needed cow's milk. At that time in the city there was a brahmacārin named Mayali, who had five hundred disciples and was a great elder of the country. He did not believe in the Buddha-Dharma and did not know how to give alms; he had nets spread over his residence and courtyard to prevent birds from intruding, and his dwelling place was not far from the Buddha. The Buddha told Ānanda: 'Taking my name, go to the brahmacārin's place and ask for a bowl of milk to bring back.' Ānanda received the instruction and went, holding his bowl and standing by the gate. At that time, the brahmacārin was about to enter the royal palace; seeing Ānanda, he asked: 'Why are you standing here holding a bowl in the early morning?' Ānanda answered the brahmacārin fully with the Buddha's intention. The brahmacārin thought silently: 'If I do not give milk, everyone will call me stingy; if I give milk, the other brahmacārins will say that I serve the path of Gautama.' Having considered this, he gave him a vicious cow and ordered Ānanda to milk it himself, wanting the vicious cow to gore Ānanda to death and thereby humiliate Gautama. He acted according to his plot. The brahmacārin's five hundred disciples all laughed and said: 'Gautama always says of himself that he can deliver \[others\] from birth, old age, sickness, and death; now he is sick himself and needs milk.'" At that time, Vimalakīrti's words of rebuke, the questions and answers, the voice in the sky, and so forth, are fully as in the Vimalakīrti, yet broader than that sūtra. "Then the five hundred disciples, hearing the voice in the sky, immediately had no doubts; all were joyful and brought forth the unsurpassed aspiration. Then the brahmacārin's inner and outer kin, as well as countless thousands of people in the settlement, all followed Ānanda to go and watch the milking of the cow. Ānanda approached the side of the cow and thought to himself, 'The Dharma of my master is that one does not milk the cow oneself.' As he finished speaking, the seat of Trāyastriṃśa Heaven shook greatly because of it, and \[Indra\] descended from heaven, transformed into a young brahmacārin, and went to the side of the cow. Ānanda saw him and was joyful, asking him to take the milk. He immediately replied to Ānanda: 'I am not a brahmacārin; I am Śakra Devendra. Hearing that the World-Honoured One needs milk, I have come here.' Ānanda said: 'How could you approach such foul-smelling impurity?' He replied: 'How can I compare to the Buddha, the World-Honoured One? I wish to take the milk for him; please only tell me the time.' Śakra assented, took the vessel to the cow's side, and the cow then stood quietly. The onlookers were astonished: 'For what reason has this young brahmacārin come to milk it for him? If he should be gored to death by the vicious cow, what will be done?' Śakra spoke a verse: 'Now the Buddha has a slight wind-affliction; / giving him milk serves as the seed of milk, / causing the Buddha to take it and recover, / yielding immeasurable merit. / The Buddha is the revered Teacher of gods and humans, / who always with a compassionate mind cares for and considers / all crawling and squirming creatures, / desiring to bring about the deliverance of them all.' At that time the mother cow spoke a verse: 'This hand strokes me; / everything is so delightful. / Take two portions of my milk; / leave behind the rest / and take it to give to my calf. / Since morning it has not eaten. / Although I know this brings great merit, / your intention should be impartial.' Thereupon the calf spoke a verse for its mother: 'From countless kalpas past, / only today do I get to hear the Buddha's voice; / I say, take my share / and offer it entirely to the Buddha. / The World-Honoured One is the Teacher of all, / very difficult to see again. / Eating grass and drinking water / will certainly suffice for me today.' There are five more verses, and so forth. Thereupon Ānanda took the full milk and left; the brahmacārin and his relatives and townsfolk, seeing this, praised it with admiration, gained faithful understanding in the Buddha-Dharma, and attained the purity of the Dharma-eye. Ānanda arrived at the World-Honoured One's place and recounted it completely. The Buddha said: 'It is so. In the past, this cow was an elder who loved to lend money at interest; after the debts were paid, he would again accuse and bully others. On account of this, he fell into the animal destiny. Now his sins are exhausted.' He emitted light from his mouth and bestowed a prophecy: 'From this time onward, after life ends, he will be reborn seven times in Tuṣita Heaven and the Brahmā Heaven, and again seven times in wealthy human families. The mother cow will see Maitreya and become an arhat; after twenty kalpas above and below, the calf will become a Buddha named Milk Light (Ruguang).' One should know that the World-Honoured One has neither illness nor ailment; to deliver people he manifests a body that has illness, and to deliver sentient beings he manifests the performance of such deeds. Therefore Vimalakīrti consoled Ānanda, saying: 'It is only because the Buddha has appeared in the evil world of the five turbidities that, for the sake of sentient beings, he manifests the performance of such dharmas.' The second and third are as in the text. The fourth text also has three parts: first, citing the sūtra title as completely possessing the three liberations, which is the refutation by the three Buddha-natures; next, citing the subsequent text as possessing the three liberations and three Buddha-natures to refute it; third, from 'three meanings' onward, concluding the refutation. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 19.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1717.19.26) - [Next: 19.28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1717.19.28) - [Up: 19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1717.19) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1717~en-mt.19.27) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [法苑珠林](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.55.15) — 道世, Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1717.19.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1717.19.27) · Pramāṇa