法華文句記 8.158

8.158

「兩存兩沒」者，文云：此經是五年譯之。東安法師云：七年三月十六日譯訖。慧遠經序同。或云：弘始十年二月譯竟。不同之事未可追尋。竺法護太康元年八月十一日譯訖，為十一卷，名「正法華」，亦云八卷，出聶道真錄，此兩存本也。次有沙門支道根，晉咸康元年譯為五卷，名「方等法華」。外國沙門支彊梁接，魏甘露元年七月於交州譯，彼沙門釋道敷筆受為六卷，名「法華三昧」，出姚錄、魏錄。武丘道亮云：「有五本，四如前，更有《薩雲分陀利》本，既存於世，乃成三存。」「叡開九轍」者，什譯纔畢叡便講之，開為九轍，時人呼為九轍法師。一者昏聖相扣轍，即序品是。次有七轍即是正宗，一者涉教歸真轍，為上根人；二者興類潛彰轍，為中根人；三者述窮通昔轍，中根領解；四者彰因進悟轍為下根人，即化城授記；五讚揚行李轍，即法師品為如來使；六本迹無生轍，即多寶品，多寶不滅釋迦不生，多寶為本釋迦為迹，本既不滅迹豈有生？本迹雖殊不思議一。七舉因徵果轍，即踊出壽量品，彌勒舉因徵果佛舉壽量因果所由。八稱揚遠濟轍，即隨喜去訖，經屬流通也。名目甚美而宗體不顯。叡公又有二十八品生起，甚有眉目於今無妨，但品旨未彰，而不的語遠本，但云因果，何成發迹？「四瀆」者，江、河、准、濟。意云天下大同。「提婆達多」至「為五逆」者，《俱舍》云：「殺父、殺母、殺阿羅漢、破和合僧、出佛身血」。今初云「破僧」，略如前目連緣中及《止觀》第一記。「出血」者，如佛在阿耨達泉告舍利弗：「往昔世於羅悅祇，有長者名須檀，財富七珍，子名須摩提。父命終後其異母弟名修耶舍，須摩提設計不與彼財分者，唯當殺之。便語弟言：詣耆闍崛山，有所論說。弟即可之。即執弟手將至懸崖，推弟崖底以石𡸠之，即便命終。佛告舍利弗：爾時長者今大王是，須摩提者即我身是，異母弟者即調達是。以是因緣，無數千劫入餓鬼中，入𡸠山地獄，以殘緣故我於耆闍崛山經行，提婆達多於高崖，舉石長三丈闊丈六，以擲我頭。耆闍崛山神名鞞羅，以手接石，小片迸墮傷佛母指，出於佛血。」出《興起行經》。教阿闍世放醉象等，具如《釋籤》第三。餘文可見。具列在諸經論。《俱舍．業品》云：「五並業障攝，約處人除北，約人除扇搋，四身一語業，三殺一虛誑，一殺生加行，無間一劫熟，隨罪增苦增，入比丘分二，以為所破僧。」言「若作」等者，如文，調達但有破、出、殺三逆，兼放象、毒爪二殺方便，正兼方便且云五耳。論有同類五逆，謂污母無學尼，殺住定菩薩及有學聖者，殺有學聖者，殺羅漢同類，奪僧和合緣，是破僧同類；破壞窣覩波是出血同類。不以放象、毒爪為同類者，彼是方便，非同類故。《入大乘論》問：彼提婆達多世世為佛怨，云何而言是大菩薩？《論》答云：若是怨者，云何而得世世相值？如二人行東西各去步步轉遠，豈得為伴？此五逆緣當因緣釋。「若作」下本迹者，前題注中又並略述竟。「此品」下別明來意者，驗嘉祥三意，全無所以。「可以意知」下「云云」者，應重敘文殊是遊方大士，十方弘經乃至入海，唯常宣說《妙法華經》，乃至一切大乘諸經，文殊皆為發起之眾。

"Two extant and two lost": the text says that this sūtra was translated in the fifth year [of Hongshi]. Master Dong'an says it was finished translating on the sixteenth day of the third month of the seventh year. Huiyuan's preface to the sūtra is the same. Some say it was finished translating in the second month of the tenth year of Hongshi. Such differing matters cannot be resolved now. Dharmarakṣa finished translating on the eleventh day of the eighth month of the first year of the Taikang era, in eleven fascicles, entitled Zhenghua (True Lotus Sūtra); it is also said to be in eight fascicles according to Nie Daozhen's catalogue. These are the two extant texts. Next, there was the śramaṇa Zhi Daogen, who translated it into five fascicles in the first year of the Xiankang era of the Jin, entitled Fangdeng Fahua (Universal Lotus Sūtra). The foreign śramaṇa Zhi Jiangliangjie translated it in Jiaozhou in the seventh month of the first year of the Ganlu era of the Wei, with the local śramaṇa Shi Daofu acting as scribe, into six fascicles entitled Fahua Sanmei (Lotus Samādhi), appearing in the Yao and Wei catalogues. Wuqiu Daoliang says: "There are five versions; four are as above, and there is further a Saddharmapuṇḍarīka version; since it exists in the world, that makes three extant versions." As for "Sengrui opening nine tracks": as soon as Kumārajīva finished the translation, Sengrui lectured on it, opening it into nine tracks, so that the people of the time called him the Nine Tracks Dharma Master. The first was the track of the ordinary and the holy addressing each other, which is the Introductory Chapter. Next, there were seven tracks that constituted the main body of the sūtra: first, the track of passing through teachings to return to truth, for people of superior capacity; second, the track of raising analogies to implicitly manifest [the truth], for people of medium capacity; third, the track of recounting former poverty to clear the past, being the understanding of those of medium capacity; fourth, the track of manifesting causes to advance awakening, for people of inferior capacity, which is the Apparitional City and the prophecies; fifth, the track of praising practice, which is the "Dharma Teacher" chapter, acting as envoys of the Tathāgata; sixth, the track of origin and traces being unproduced, which is the "Prabhūtaratna" chapter—Prabhūtaratna is not extinguished and Śākyamuni is not born; Prabhūtaratna is the origin and Śākyamuni is the trace; since the origin is not extinguished, how could the trace be born? Although origin and traces differ, they are an inconceivable unity; seventh, the track of adducing causes to examine fruits, which is the "Emerging from the Earth" and "Life Span" chapters—Maitreya adduces causes to examine fruits, and the Buddha presents the reasons for the causes and fruits of the life span; eighth, the track of praising distant salvation, which is from "Joyful Acceptance" onward to the end, belonging to the transmission section of the sūtra. The titles are very fine, but the essence and central theme are not evident. Master Sengrui also had a sequential emergence of the twenty-eight chapters, which is very clear and causes no problems today; yet the chapter themes were not made manifest, and he did not speak precisely of the distant origin, speaking only of causes and fruits—how could that accomplish the revelation of traces? As for "the four great rivers," they are the Yangtze, Yellow, Huai, and Ji rivers, meaning that all under heaven is united. From "Devadatta" to "constituting the five deadly sins": the Kośa says, "killing father, killing mother, killing an arhat, causing schism in the concordant saṅgha, and causing the Buddha's body to bleed." Now, first speaking of "causing schism in the saṅgha," it is briefly as described above in the conditions concerning Maudgalyāyana and in the First Record of the Cessation and Contemplation. As for "causing to bleed," as when the Buddha at Lake Anavatapta told Śāriputra: "In a past life in Rājagṛha, there was an elder named Sudāna, rich in the seven treasures, whose son was named Sumati. After the father died, his younger half-brother was named Suyaśas. Sumati plotted not to share the wealth with him, deciding he must kill him. He then said to his younger brother: 'Let us go to Vulture Peak to discuss something.' The younger brother agreed. Taking his brother's hand, he led him to a precipice, pushed him to the bottom of the cliff, and crushed him with a boulder, whereupon he died. The Buddha told Śāriputra: 'The elder at that time was the present Great King; Sumati was my own self; the younger half-brother was Devadatta. Due to this cause and condition, for countless thousands of kalpas I entered among the hungry ghosts and entered the Hell of Crushing Boulders. Due to a residual cause, when I was walking on Vulture Peak, Devadatta on a high cliff lifted a rock thirty feet long and sixteen feet wide to hurl at my head. The deity of Vulture Peak, named Bhela, caught the rock with his hand, but a small splinter flew off and injured the Buddha's toe, drawing the Buddha's blood.'" This appears in the Sūtra on the Manifestation of Past Deeds. Instructing Ajātaśatru to release intoxicated elephants and so forth are fully described in the third fascicle of the Notes on the Profound Meaning. The rest of the text is obvious, and all are listed in various sūtras and treatises. The "Karma Chapter" of the Kośa says: "All five are subsumed under karma hindrances; regarding realm, humans except Uttarakuru; regarding person, except eunuchs; four bodily, one vocal karma; three killing, one falsehood, one preparation for taking life; ripening in the Avīci for one kalpa; with the increase of sin, suffering increases; divided into two bhikṣu groups, constituting the saṅgha that is schismed." Regarding the phrase "if committed," etc.: as the text states, Devadatta had only the three deadly sins of schism, causing bleeding, and murder, combined with the two preparatory acts of releasing the elephant and poisoning his claws to kill; taking the principal together with the preparations, they are provisionally called five. The treatise mentions five sins of the same category, namely, defiling one's mother who is an arhat nun, killing a bodhisattva abiding in certainty or a noble one in training, killing a noble one in training, which is of the same category as killing an arhat; seizing the causes of saṅgha concord, which is of the same category as schisming the saṅgha; destroying a stūpa, which is of the same category as drawing blood. The releasing of an elephant and the poisoned claws are not included as of the same category because they are preparatory acts and not of the same category. The Commentary on Entering the Mahāyāna asks: "Since that Devadatta was the Buddha's enemy life after life, why is it said that he was a great bodhisattva?" The treatise answers: "If he were truly an enemy, how could they have met life after life? Just as two people walking, one east and one west, drift further apart with every step, how could they become companions?" These conditions of the five deadly sins are to be explained in terms of causes and conditions. For origin and traces from "if committed" downward, both were also briefly recounted above in the commentary note to the title. For explaining the specific reason for its coming from "this chapter" downward: examining Jiaxiang's three considerations, there is entirely no basis for them. As for "etc." after "can be understood by meaning": one should re-explain that Mañjuśrī is a great being who travels to various lands, propagating the sūtra in the ten directions and even entering the ocean, solely and constantly preaching the Wondrous Lotus Sūtra; and indeed, for all the Mahāyāna sūtras, Mañjuśrī acts as the figure who initiates them.