妙法蓮華經文句 9.10

9.10

Third, the comfortable practice of mind also consists of prose and verses. The prose is also divided into three: marking the heading, explaining the practice, and concluding with completion. In the explanation, cessation comes first and contemplation after. Within cessation there are four: first, not being jealous or flattery-prone; second, not being scornful or abusive; third, not troubling or disturbing; fourth, not disputing or contending. While the Two Vehicles, wishing to quickly emerge from birth-and-death, first eliminate greed and desire, bodhisattvas first eliminate anger and wrong views. Jealousy is the defilement of anger, and flattery is the defilement of wrong views. Jealousy contravenes the mind of loving-kindness and compassion and is not the method of converting others; flattery and deceit depart from the path of wisdom and are not the method of one's own practice. If wisdom is obstructed, how can one seek [the fruit] above? If loving-kindness and compassion are hindered, how can one transform [sentient beings] below? The bodhisattva of comfortable practice must discard them above all. From "nor being scornful or abusive" below: one should not use the perfect practice to rebuke the distinctive teaching; knowing the capacity one may reprove, but not knowing it one should not abuse, as there is the risk of regressing wholesome roots. From "monks" below: one should not use the perfect to rebuke the shared teaching; if they fundamentally lack capacity for the great, forcibly rebuking them with the perfect goes against their minds and results in distress; having been rebuked regarding the shared teaching yet not having understood the perfect, with earlier doubt and later regret, they lose both the great and the small. Going by a circuitous path away from the Way is termed "very far away"—this disturbs practitioners of the distinctive teaching; submerging in emptiness and seizing realization is termed "not attaining"—this disturbs practitioners of the shared teaching. Loathing birth-and-death is termed "remiss"—the *Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka* explains that followers of the Hīnayāna are remiss. From "giving rise to a mind of great compassion" onward clarifies contemplation practice, which also has four aspects: giving rise to wholesome practice counter to the four previous evils. First, "giving rise to great compassion toward all" opposes jealousy and flattery. Second, "giving rise to the thought of a loving father toward the Tathāgata" opposes scorn and abuse. Anyone who seeks the Buddha Way is a learner; respecting a learner as a Buddha, one must not be scornful or abusive. "All" encompasses the three periods of time; these are the Tathāgatas of the future. Third, "giving rise to the conception of a great master toward bodhisattvas" opposes troubling and disturbing. In principle, all three vehicles are bodhisattvas: possessing the virtue of converting and instructing, they are all masters of sentient beings; one should conceive of them as masters and not speak of their shortcomings. Fourth, "impartially expounding the Dharma" opposes disputation; impartiality smashes biased clinging and contention; not too much and not too little, it measures the sharpness or dullness of the capacity. From "Mañjuśrī" below concludes the completion of practice, again in two: first, because of ceasing evil, evil cannot be inflicted, hence it is said "none will be able to trouble or disturb"; second, because of contemplation practice, superior people assemble, "gaining good fellow practitioners".