[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) › [妙法蓮華經文句](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718) › 5.36 # 妙法蓮華經文句 5.36 妙法蓮華經文句 5.36 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [5.36](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.5.36) 「爾時佛告舍利弗吾今」下，是第三，述成段。上身子自陳得悟，今如來述解非虛，文有三：一、昔曾教大；二、中忘取小；三、還為說大。所以引昔曾教，述其見佛之緣；若中忘取小，述其憂悔聞法之緣；還為說大，述其悟解不虛。述成上三意也。《十住毘婆沙》云：「身無上，謂相好；受持無上，謂自利利他；具足無上，謂命見戒；智慧無上，謂四無礙；不思議無上，謂六波羅蜜；解脫無上，能壞二障；行無上，謂聖行梵行。又身無上名大丈夫，受持無上名大慈悲，具足無上名到彼岸，智無上名一切智，不思議無上名阿羅訶，解脫無上名大涅槃，行無上名三藐三佛陀。」《菩薩瓔珞》十三云：「道當清淨，穢濁非道；道當一心，多想非道；道當知足，多欲非道；道當恭敬，憍慢非道；道當檢意，放逸非道；道當顯曜，自隱非道；道當連屬，無行非道；道當覺悟，愚惑非道；道當教化，矜悋非道；道近善友，習惡非道。」如是等種種明無上道，今經以圓通為無上道，若偏、若次皆他經所論。「長夜隨我受學」者，昔雖大化未破無明，惑闇心中隨佛受學，了因雖遠猶尚不滅，況今真悟寧虛？故舉曾教述見佛不謬也。「我以方便生我法中」者，此義兩牽，若昔以大化，今生大解，此屬初意；若令免惡道權以小引，此是第二意。從「我昔教汝志願佛道，汝今悉忘」，自有中途廢大習小，名中途悉忘；若「而今便自謂已得滅度」，即是而今悉忘。由汝忘大、願即習小，致有憂悔，而得聞法不虛也。「我今還欲令汝憶念本願」，即是述其得解不虛。先施權教，成其中途小善，後顯真實，遂其本願大心也。 > From "At that time the Buddha addressed Śāriputra: 'I now...'" downward is the third part, the section relating and confirming. Above, Śāriputra presented his own attainment of awakening; now the Tathāgata relates that his understanding is not vain. The text has three parts: first, formerly having taught the great; second, midway forgetting and seizing the small; third, returning to preach the great for him. As for why he cites having taught him formerly, it relates the causes and conditions of his seeing the Buddha; when he midway forgot and seized the small, it relates the causes and conditions of his grief, regret, and hearing the Dharma; returning to preach the great relates that his awakening and understanding are not vain. These relate and confirm the above three meanings. The \*Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā\* says: "Unsurpassed body refers to the major and minor marks; unsurpassed upholding refers to benefiting oneself and benefiting others; unsurpassed completeness refers to life, view, and precepts; unsurpassed wisdom refers to the four unimpeded knowledges; unsurpassed inconceivable refers to the six pāramitās; unsurpassed liberation can destroy the two hindrances; unsurpassed practice refers to noble practice and brahma practice. Furthermore, the unsurpassed body is called the Great Man; unsurpassed upholding is called Great Compassion; unsurpassed completeness is called Reaching the Other Shore; unsurpassed wisdom is called All-Knowledge; unsurpassed inconceivable is called Arhat; unsurpassed liberation is called Great Nirvāṇa; unsurpassed practice is called Samyaksambuddha." Chapter Thirteen of the \*Bodhisattva Yingluo\* says: "The path must be pure, for defilement and turbidity are not the path; the path must be one-minded, for manifold thoughts are not the path; the path must know contentment, for many desires are not the path; the path must be reverent, for arrogance and conceit are not the path; the path must restrain the mind, for negligence is not the path; the path must shine brightly, for concealing oneself is not the path; the path must be continuous, for absence of practice is not the path; the path must be awakened, for foolish delusion is not the path; the path must teach and transform, for stinginess is not the path; the path draws near to good friends, for associating with evil is not the path." Various such statements clarify the unsurpassed path. The present sūtra takes perfect penetration as the unsurpassed path; whether partial or gradual, those are discussed in other sūtras. "Through the long night following me and receiving instruction": although formerly taught in the great, he had not broken ignorance; within a mind of deluded darkness he followed the Buddha and received instruction. Although the elucidating cause was distant, it was not yet extinguished; how much less could his present true awakening be vain? Therefore citing former teaching relates that seeing the Buddha was not erroneous. "With expedient means causing you to be born in my Dharma": this meaning pulls in two directions. If formerly transformed by the great and now giving rise to great understanding, this belongs to the first meaning; if causing him to avoid evil paths and expediently guiding him with the small, this is the second meaning. From "I formerly taught you to aspire to the Buddha path, yet now you have completely forgotten": there is midway discarding the great to practice the small, which is called midway completely forgetting; if "yet now you yourself consider that you have already attained extinction," this is completely forgetting right now. Because you forgot the great, your vows then practiced the small, leading to grief and regret, and thus hearing the Dharma was not in vain. "I now again wish to cause you to remember your original vow" is precisely relating that his attainment of understanding is not in vain. First deploying the expedient teaching accomplished his intermediate small good; later revealing the real fulfilled the great mind of his original vow. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 5.35](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.5.35) - [Next: 5.37](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.5.37) - [Up: 5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.5) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718~en-mt.5.36) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.5.36](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.5.36) · Pramāṇa