妙法蓮華經文句 2.66

2.66

First, as for the category, it is precisely 'bodhisattva mahāsattva'. If fully preserved, one should say bodhisattva mahāsattva; Master [Kumāra]jīva, disliking complexity, omitted the two characters sattva. Bodhi here means 'the Way'; sattva here means 'mind'; mahā here means 'great'. These persons all seek the broad and vast great Way and also mature sentient beings; hence they belong to the category of 'mind on the Way' and 'mind on the great Way'. Bodhisattvas are of many kinds, namely biased, shared, distinctive, and perfect. As the Treatise quotes Kātyāyanīputra explaining the completion of the six pāramitās within their distinct limits, this is to tame blood-natured beings into milk; when the Pañcaviṃśati clarifies that there are bodhisattvas whose initial resolve accords with sarvajñā, this is to tame milk into curd; when the Pañcaviṃśati clarifies that there are bodhisattvas whose initial resolve sports with supernormal powers to purify buddha lands, or like those in the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa who attain inconceivable liberation, all able to transform their bodies to ascend seats yet also submitting to being reprimanded, this is to tame curd into raw and cooked ghee; when the Pañcaviṃśati clarifies that there are bodhisattvas who, upon their initial resolve, sit beneath the tree of awakening, achieve correct awakening, and turn the wheel of the Dharma to save sentient beings, this is taming ghee into clarified butter. Therefore a later passage says: 'When bodhisattvas hear this Dharma, / their nets of doubt are all eradicated.' It also says: 'If a bodhisattva does not hear the Lotus Sūtra, he is not one who skillfully practices the bodhisattva way; if he hears this sūtra, then he skillfully practices the bodhisattva way.' Furthermore, the Mahāparinirvāṇa states: 'If a bodhisattva has not heard the Mahāparinirvāṇa, he constantly harbors expectations; if he hears the Mahāparinirvāṇa, his expectations completely cease.' Thus, there are in brief four kinds.