法華文句記 6.5

6.5

Regarding the statement in the conclusion, "concluding and fulfilling," it can also be divided into two parts: first, a verse and a half that concludes; next, one verse that fulfills. In the initial conclusion there are three parts: the first three lines conclude the Buddha's voice, which is the joy of the mouth. The next three lines conclude the joy of the mind, which also uses hearing the Buddha's [voice] as encompassing [seeing] his body. Hence there are joy and the elimination of doubts, [as well as] the functions of stimulus and response for what is realized and accomplished. In fulfilling the above three meanings: seeing the Buddha fulfills the joy of the body; hearing the Dharma fulfills the joy of the mouth; awakening and understanding fulfills the joy of the mind. In the past [the Buddha] even taught the Great [Vehicle]; why should it be only today that one draws near to his body? Although one was deluded midway, what was heard in the past was not in vain, thereby revealing the conditions for hearing it again today. The teaching of the Small [Vehicle] midway was not truly small; that one is able to hear it again now is surely due to the past teaching. Testing today's mental understanding against the past proves it is not empty. However, the three things such as seeing the Buddha generally have three apprehensions. As for the "condition of seeing the Buddha," it was due to the great seeing in the past that it became the condition for obtaining the real today, because only [seeing] the real is truly called seeing. As for the "condition of hearing the Dharma with sorrow and regret," it arose from grasping the Small after forgetting midway. Moreover, from hearing the two curds up to the brief exposition, all sorrow and regret arose because of the past Small [Vehicle]. As for "not empty," having originally heard the Great in the past, one believes today that it was not empty. Next, citing the Daśabhūmika to explain "unsurpassed" and then citing the Yingluo jing to explain the "path" is temporarily borrowing names of the separate [teaching] to reveal the meaning of the perfect [teaching]. The meaning being perfect while the names belong to the separate [teaching] applies to everything; others lack this intention and must not employ them indiscriminately. These seven unsurpassed [aspects] are listed in the text in two tiers: in the first tier, the former one is the fruit and the latter six pertain to the cause. Among the six causes, the first two are the six harmonies, the next two are merit and wisdom, and the next two are realization and practice. Although divided into three pairs of two, they mutually empower one another; therefore all six causes are named unsurpassed. Looking toward the fruit while practicing the causes, the fruit comes first and the causes follow. As for the six harmonies, the initial unsurpassed upholding refers to body, speech, and mind; because these three harmonies exist, one benefits oneself and others. The Mahāyāna six harmonies encompass all dharmas completely. The two obscurations are simply afflictive obscuration and cognitive obscuration. If these two obscurations are discussed according to the separate [teaching], prior to the grounds of the separate [teaching], nescience is solely the dust and sand [delusions] outside the triple realm. If applied universally throughout, nescience encompasses inner and outer nescience as well as fundamental ignorance; thus one knows it is merely a difference of opening and combining. In the unsurpassed practice, only the holy and Brahmā [practices] are mentioned, without the remaining three, because the divine [practice] is what is realized, and the sick-child [practice] is the function of the fruit; cultivating the two and realizing the one possesses these two capacities, which is why only two are mentioned without listing the other three. As for the second tier, they are established from the perspective of the fruit; that is, the designations of the six causes are established from the fruit, investigating the names and explaining them in detail to bring out the purport of the sūtra. Since it concludes below by saying, "Such various kinds illuminate the unsurpassed path," the meanings of the path are immeasurable, accomplished in accordance with whatever teaching; hence it says the perfect unsurpassed path of the present sūtra. That is to say, the path of the house of the unsurpassed is called the unsurpassed path; each and every unsurpassed [aspect] possesses the unsurpassedness of all paths.