妙法蓮華經文句 5.73

5.73

From "seeing the sentient beings" onward is second, the correspondence with the specific metaphors. The specific metaphors are four; now [this part] corresponds to the first metaphor of seeing the fire. The metaphor has three senses, and its text has four [points]; the correspondence also has four [points]. However, in the metaphor, terror comes first and the children's clinging attachment to the place of play comes later, whereas in the correspondence, absence of awareness and absence of alarm come first, and relieving suffering and bestowing joy come later; they are mutually presented to show their flexibility. Now, by means of the single word "seeing", it first corresponds to the first [point] above, the eyes capable of seeing, which are the Tathāgata's wisdom-eyes of quiescent illumination that are capable of seeing. From "sentient beings are by birth, old age..." onward, it secondly corresponds to the second [point] above, the fire that is seen rising from the four sides. Here, it explains the eight sufferings as the fire: the four sufferings are as in the text; "greedily clinging and seeking" is the suffering of not getting what one seeks; "later receiving [rebirth in] the hells, heavens, and the human realm" is the suffering of the five aggregates; separation from the beloved and association with the hated are as in the text. These eight sufferings arise from the four inversions on the four sides. From "sentient beings are submerged therein" onward, it thirdly corresponds to the fourth metaphor of the fire that is seen above: the children being unaware and unknowing, and so forth. Because they do not contemplate suffering and its accumulation, they "do not loathe [it]"; because they do not contemplate the path and cessation, they "do not seek liberation". "Though encountering great suffering, they do not consider it an affliction" corresponds to their minds having no loathing or weariness, and having no intention of seeking escape, as stated above. From "the Buddha, having seen this, then formed this thought" onward, it fourthly corresponds to the third [point] above, experiencing terror: "Although I was able to emerge safely and securely from this gate that is ablaze..." "Should relieve their suffering and distress" is the power of great compassion; "give them immeasurable joy" is the power of great loving-kindness. From "the Tathāgata again formed this thought" onward, it corresponds to the second metaphor of abandoning the stand and using carts. The metaphor above contains both encouragement and admonition; here it only corresponds to encouragement and not to admonition. In the Dharma exposition as well, encouraging the good is taught while admonishing against evil is not made explicit; thus, encouraging cultivation is primary and admonishing against evil is secondary, or encouraging the good is itself admonishing against evil and admonishing against evil is itself encouraging the good. Now, by corresponding to encouraging the good, one thereby knows that it corresponds to admonishing against evil. The above text of encouragement has three [parts], namely considering [which method to apply], [finding] a lack of capacity, and suspending conversion. Considering [which method to apply] involves the body, the hands, the folds of the robe, and so forth. "Merely by the power of supernormal faculties" corresponds to the strength of the body above. "And the power of wisdom" corresponds to the strength of the hands above. "Praising the Tathāgata's knowledge and vision" corresponds to the folds of the robe. "Powers and fearlessnesses" correspond to the stand. If, when the Buddha first appeared, he had used these to consider [teaching] sentient beings, they could not have attained salvation through them. From "why is this?" onward, it explains why they could not attain salvation, which corresponds to the second metaphor above of the children not accepting the encouragement. Precisely because the heavy obstacles of the five turbidities have not freed them from the fires of birth and death, and the like, and the Mahāyāna is subtle and profound, they cannot gain entry; therefore it says, "how could they understand the Buddha's wisdom?" This single phrase corresponds to "there was only a single gate and it was narrow and small" above; because it was small, they could not understand the wisdom, and not understanding wisdom means the practice serves as the gate. "Just as that elder, although his body and hands were strong, did not use them" corresponds to the third [point] above, giving up [bodily rescue], skillfully inducing [them], and suspending conversion due to lack of capacity, [lest] they should fall and be burned by the fire. Although this text has no words about giving up in the metaphor or the original metaphor, the intention to suspend conversion is very clear. The text on suspending conversion is divided into two: first, it cites the three metaphors before and after; next, it directly corresponds to the suspension of conversion. Citing the one preceding metaphor directly matches the correspondence to the suspension of conversion, while citing the two following metaphors tangentially supports the suspension of conversion. "Although his body and hands were strong, he did not use them" cites the preceding metaphor of being unable to save the children with his body and hands, matching the suspension of conversion: the Tathāgata likewise suspended his great conversion. From "merely by earnest [admonition]" onward, it cites the metaphor of bestowing the three [carts]. Under "and afterward gave to each", it cites the third metaphor of equally bestowing the great carts. The sixteen characters from "the Tathāgata is also like this" onward directly correspond to the third [point], the suspension of conversion. From "merely by wisdom and expedient means" onward, it corresponds to the metaphor of successfully saving them by using carts. In the text above there were four [points], and here there are also four. From "merely by wisdom" onward corresponds to the first [point], considering the three carts. From "expounds for them the three vehicles" onward corresponds to the second [point] above, knowing the children's former inclinations. From "and makes this statement" onward corresponds to the third [point] above, praising the three carts as rare. Above there were encouragement, demonstration, and verification; here all are fully present, but not in strict sequence: the first corresponds to the second above. From "you must not delight in dwelling in the three realms" onward demonstrates to them the place of exhaustion and non-arising. The "three realms" demonstrates the truth of suffering; "do not covet coarse and wretched..." up to "giving rise to craving" demonstrates the truth of accumulation; "swiftly emerge from the three realms" demonstrates cessation and the path. Cessation and the path demonstrate that beyond the three realms there are the fruits of the three vehicles of wisdom and abandonment; hence, causing them swiftly to emerge from the three realms so that they will attain the three vehicles, the three vehicles properly taking the path and cessation as their essence. "I now guarantee this matter for you, it is ultimately not false" is the second [point], which corresponds to the third [point] above of definitely giving [them], verifying that the attainment is not false. From "he again speaks these words: 'You should know...'" onward is the third [point], which corresponds to the first [point] above of praising them as rare: such three vehicles are the expedient means of all Buddhas, the model for guiding beings, and are therefore praised by all the noble ones. Attaining the wisdom of non-arising is "self-mastery"; attaining the wisdom of exhaustion is "unbound"; when "my births are exhausted, I shall experience no further existence", it is called "having nothing on which to rely"; when "what had to be done has been done, the pure life has been established", it is called "having nothing to seek". From "if there are sentient beings who inwardly possess the nature of wisdom" onward, it corresponds to the fourth metaphor of suiting the children's wishes. Above there were the four stages of true and resemblance, and so forth; here the correspondence also has four, but whereas above it was general, here it is specific: each of the three vehicles has four, all citing the metaphors above to match. "Inwardly possessing the nature of wisdom" means that through their past practice they had desires for the three vehicles, forming the nature of wisdom of the three vehicles; hence the Buddha bestowed the teaching of the three vehicles. "Inwardly possessing wisdom" up to "hearing the Dharma from the Buddha, they faithfully accept it" corresponds to hearing the toys spoken of by the father suiting their wishes, corresponding to the wisdom of hearing above. "Earnest" corresponds to each having a brave and keen mind above, which is the wisdom of contemplation. "Vigorous" corresponds to pushing and shoving in the second [point] above: pushing is investigating principle, and shoving is driving away evil; because evil is gone, it is pure (jing), and because principle is clear, it is progress (jin), corresponding to the wisdom of cultivation above. From "wishing swiftly to emerge" onward corresponds to racing and running together in the third [point] above. "This is called the śrāvaka vehicle" corresponds to vying to emerge from the burning house in the fourth [point]. In the practice of all three vehicles, all have these four. As for a pratyekabuddha seeking unconditioned wisdom: a pratyekabuddha is a practitioner of Dharma; hearing little Dharma from others, he mostly deduces principle on his own; hence the metaphor of a deer is taken, as a deer does not rely on humans. "Natural [or unconditioned]" means entering via the gate of the twelve links of dependent origination; this gate originally exists of itself and is not created by Buddhas, gods, or humans, so it is called natural wisdom; also, because it is not heard from others, it is called natural wisdom. Bodhisattvas are called [seekers of] the all-knowledge: unlike the two vehicles, this is indeed the Buddha's wisdom; that a bodhisattva looks toward this and cultivates the causes is the intention of the Mahāyāna conveying both [self and others]. From "just as that elder, seeing that his children have safely emerged..." onward, it corresponds to the third metaphor of equally bestowing the great carts. In the text above there were four [points]: first, escaping danger; second, demanding the carts; third, equal bestowal; fourth, rejoicing. Here it abridges and does not correspond to the second and fourth; it only corresponds to escaping danger, which implicitly includes demanding the carts, and corresponds to equal bestowal, which implicitly includes rejoicing. Here it cites both metaphors of escaping danger and bestowing carts, and then matches both metaphors. From "just as that elder" onward, it cites escaping danger. From "reflecting on his wealth" onward, it cites equal bestowal. From "the Tathāgata is also like this" onward, it corresponds to escaping danger. The gate has three meanings: the meaning of entering, the meaning of emerging, and the meaning of distinction. If the three realms are the house and the five aggregates are the dwelling, entering form and mind due to delusion regarding form and mind is entering the house, the gate of birth and death. If it is taken as emerging, it is the vehicle emerging from the three realms, which is taking what is expressed under the Buddha's shared teaching as the gate. If it is the meaning of distinction, it is taking what is expressed under the distinctive teaching as the gate. Now, what is called the gate of the Buddha's teaching refers precisely to both the Tripiṭaka and shared teachings: the principle under the teachings together serves as the gate, enabling emergence from the three realms and escape from danger. From "the Tathāgata at that time then formed this thought" onward, it corresponds to equal bestowal. In the equal bestowal above, first the two chapter headings were listed, second came the broad exposition, and third came the explanatory conclusion. Here the correspondence is abridged, and the text is slightly out of sequence. From "the Tathāgata at that time then formed this thought: 'I have immeasurable power of wisdom...'" onward is first, which corresponds to the fourth [point] above explaining the reason for having carts, where it said above that his wealth was immeasurable and his storehouses were overflowing. From "these sentient beings are all my children" onward is second, which corresponds to the fifth [point] above of the broad and impartial mind, where it said above: "My treasures are infinite; I should not [give] inferior small carts." "Not allowing any person to attain extinction alone, but causing them all to attain extinction through the Tathāgata's extinction"—how does this not correspond to the meaning of the impartial mind? From "these sentient beings having escaped the three realms" onward is third, which corresponds to the first chapter heading on the impartial mind above, where it said above: "Giving equally to all his children..." From "the Buddhas' dhyāna, liberations, etc." onward is fourth, which corresponds to the second chapter heading indicating the carts above. From "all are of a single characteristic and a single type" onward is fifth, which corresponds to the third [point] above, directly elaborating on the great carts, generally corresponding to the height, broadness, and even the servants and attendants above. "A single characteristic" is the true characteristic, which is the Dharmakāya; "a single type" is the knowledge of the aspects of the path. Prajñā can give rise to pure and wonderful joy; joy is the absence of suffering and is called liberation. The three virtues are lofty and broad, fully adorned and encompassing all virtues, and are named Mahāyāna, corresponding to the metaphor of the great cart above. From "just as that elder with the three carts..." onward, it corresponds to the fourth metaphor of not being false. In the answer above there were two [points]: first, preserving their lives; second, not going against his original intention; each had three distinctions. Here it only corresponds to not going against his original intention, which implicitly includes preserving their lives. Why? The Buddha's intention was originally to eliminate their five turbidities; once the five turbidities were exhausted, great good was preserved of itself. In the above [section on] not going against his intention there were three [parts]: first, the heading; next, the explanation; third, the comparison a fortiori; here it only corresponds to the explanation and the comparison. First it cites the metaphor of enticing them with the three carts and later giving the great cart; next it matches the Tathāgata initially speaking of the three vehicles to guide them, and afterward only using the Mahāyāna. This corresponds to the explanation of not going against his original intention, where it said above: "First he formed this intention: 'By expedient means I will cause my children to emerge.'" From "why is this?" onward corresponds to the third [point] above, illustrating by comparison that it is not false: that is, the elder, knowing of his own accord that his wealth was immeasurable and wishing to benefit all his children, promised three and gave one, which was not false. This explanation differs slightly from the earlier one: the earlier intention was to cause the children to emerge and his intention did not lie in the three; once they had emerged, not giving them was also not falsehood. Now it clarifies that when the Tathāgata appeared in the world, he originally intended to teach the Great [Vehicle], but because those of lesser wisdom delightfully clung to the three realms, he enticed them by expedient means; having emerged, he gave them the Mahāyāna again, which accorded with his original intention; therefore it says that he was able to give sentient beings the Mahāyāna Dharma, yet they could not all receive it. If, as in the Avataṃsaka, they could receive it, he gave them the Great immediately without waiting to open the one into three; for those who could not receive it, by the power of expedient means he distinctively taught three within the One Buddha Vehicle. The three derived from sentient beings, not the Buddha's original intention; therefore this is used to explain and establish that not going against his original intention is not false.