妙法蓮華經文句 10.42

10.42

The meaning of "dharma teacher" is as explained above. As for "merits", previously [the merits of the five grades] referred to the initial merits of the first grade; now, above the five grades, it refers to the purification of the six sense faculties and inner and outer adornments: the purification of the five sense faculties is called outer adornment; the purification of the mental faculty is called inner adornment. Furthermore, from the hells up to the Buddha and back down, when all forms and images manifest within the body, this is called inner adornment; from the hells up to the Buddha and back down, when one uses the samādhi of universal manifestation to convert externally with all forms and images, this is called outer adornment. As this is so for the physical body faculty, so it is for the remaining five faculties. As this is so for reading and reciting, so it is for the [other] four kinds [of teachers]. As this is so for the first grade, so it is increasingly for the [other] four grades. As this is so for the stage of resemblance, so it is doubly so for the division of reality. When practitioners hear of these benefits of merit, they are overjoyed beyond measure; they seek diligently without satiety, their faith and vigor redouble, they clearly recognize that the Mahāyāna possesses great power and are definitively free from the net of doubt; the very beginning of resembling understanding surpasses the ultimate limits of the two vehicles hundreds of thousands of ten thousand times, pointing to the beginning to reveal the end, intuitively understanding the ultimate, inconceivable paramārtha-satya. What this chapter clarifies is complete with these four intentions, and is thus called the "Chapter on the Merits of the Dharma Teacher". Regarding the merits of the six faculties, Guangzhai says: "The three karmas combined with the ten good deeds make ten; one good deed possessing ten makes one hundred; one's own practice, converting others, rejoicing in accord, and praising together make four hundred; multiplied by the five kinds of dharma teachers, this makes two thousand; dividing them among the three grades gives six thousand merits. The function of three faculties in this realm is weak, so by deprivation they are spoken of as eight hundred; the function of three faculties is strong, so by endowment they are spoken of as twelve hundred; combining endowment and deprivation in discussion, it is still six thousand." Another authority clarifies the numbers identically with Guangzhai: the lower grade has eight hundred, the middle grade one thousand, and the upper grade twelve hundred. The biased explanations of these various masters have not accorded with the present sūtra, nor do they agree with the various teachings. The Pañcaviṃśati states: "Because form is pure, prajñā is pure; because prajñā is pure, form is pure; when form is pure, the five faculties are pure; when prajñā is pure, the mental faculty is pure." If the six faculties are equal, how could one determine higher, middle, and lower, or stronger and weaker functions? If one were strong and another not strong, one pure and another not pure, one would be superior and the rest not superior (and so forth). The Zheng fahua completely possesses six thousand merits without discussing higher, middle, or lower (and so forth). The Fahua lun says: "An ordinary person, through the power of the sūtra, attains superior functioning of the faculties; although not yet having entered the first stage, with the physical eye born of parents, one sees the interior and exterior of the trichiliocosm." The Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra says: "A single faculty of the Tathāgata can see forms, hear sounds, smell scents, discern tastes, feel touches, and know dharmas." The purification of the six faculties in the present sūtra is the same as in the Pañcaviṃśati; adorning the six faculties with these merits is the same as in the Zheng fahua; the nose seeing forms, hearing sounds, and feeling perceptions is the same as in the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra]; the physical eye possessing the functions of the divine eye, wisdom eye, dharma eye, buddha eye, and so forth is the same as in the Treatise. Since the text and meaning are like this, one must not suppress the genuine sūtra with biased views. Now it should be explained: Guangzhai's numbers are complete, but his faculties do not follow the text. Now, based on the three karmas of the peaceful practices, there are the ten good deeds; one good deed having ten makes one hundred good deeds; within one good deed there are ten suchnesses, making one thousand good deeds; with respect to converting others, this makes two thousand; and in terms of the Tathāgata's room, the Tathāgata's robe, and the Tathāgata's seat, this becomes six thousand. The five kinds of dharma teachers are all fully endowed with the purity of the six faculties, and each and every faculty possesses one thousand merits.