法華文句記 4.7

4.7

Next, regarding bond and liberation: the term “practice” is still general and still includes both compliance and non-compliance; therefore, by means of bond and liberation one distinguishes the provisional and the real, termed “bond and liberation.” Furthermore, in the past [teachings], before the grounds in all sūtras, [practices] were still contrary to principle because the provisional had not yet been opened; in this sūtra, even snapping the fingers is nothing but a cause for buddhahood, because the real has been revealed. Who would know that in this sūtra the Buddha can even term bad conduct a skillful means? The metaphor of the dead corpse pervades everything, fully explained as in the Door of the Non-duality of Cultivation and Nature. Within [the pair of] cause and effect there are three parts: first, the direct explanation; second, the reason from “without effect” downward; third, the explanatory completion from “the two contemplations” downward. As for saying in the explanatory completion that “the two contemplations are skillful means,” this is provisionally demonstrating the characteristics with reference to dharmas, borrowing the provisional to illustrate and reveal: each layer generally subsumes all the teachings; how could it be rigidly confined to the separate two contemplations? As in the [pairs of] essence and function, gradual and sudden, opening and merging, general and specific, there are also the dharmas of essence and function of all the teachings, arising function from essence, opening the gradual from the sudden, merging the gradual into the sudden, and so on. Next, regarding essence and function: it refers back to the initial dwelling as the partial effect; this effect then possesses the function of the hundred realms. As for saying “establishing all dharmas,” in the earlier [pair of] phenomenon and principle, defiled conditions were taken as all dharmas; here, it refers to the dharmas of pure conditions, fully explained as in the Door of the Non-duality of Defilement and Purity. Next, in the gradual and sudden: first, both self and other have gradual and sudden; second, activating function to transform others contains both provisional and real, which is the provisional within essence. For the sake of this provisional and real dharma that benefits others, one must explain opening and merging. As for opening and merging: the gradual itself not merging is because the two teachings of the Tripiṭaka and Common do not discard the small [vehicle]; nor does it merge into the sudden, because the bodhisattvas of the three teachings do not enter the real. Next, regarding general and specific: although the gradual in the former gradual and sudden door has the half[-word] teaching, the half was at the beginning of the gradual, while now the half pervades what follows. The siddhāntas are precisely the determination of the preceding essence and function up to general and specific, explained according to the above. Next, from “ought to use” downward, the method is concluded and shown. As for “four phrases,” they are the four such as mutual negation, fully explained as before.