妙法蓮華經文句 5.36

5.36

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.