法華玄論 3.68

3.68

Answer: Both the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa and the earlier portion of Prajñā already reveal that the Buddha-vehicle is real, but have not yet revealed that the two vehicles are provisional; in this respect they are not different. Now we briefly clarify four meanings in which they differ. First, Prajñā broadly explains the bodhisattva practices, as the commentary says: 'Now, for Maitreya and others, I wish to broadly explain the bodhisattva practices.' The Vimalakīrtinirdeśa briefly clarifies two essential practices of bodhisattvas: first, purifying the buddha-land; second, maturing sentient beings; as the Chapter on the Buddha-Land explains the practice of the pure land. From the Chapter on Skillful Means onward, it refutes three kinds of persons to clarify the maturation of sentient beings. The Chapter on Skillful Means refutes the views of ordinary beings, therefore explaining the faults and perils of saṃsāra, and praises the merits of the dharmakāya to cause ordinary beings to enter the bodhisattva's dharma-gate. Next, it refutes the views of the two vehicles and clarifies the bodhisattva's dharma-gate, as explained in the Chapter on the Disciples. Third, it refutes the bodhisattvas' views of the Mahāyāna, as explained in the Chapter on Bodhisattvas. Ordinary beings attach to saṃsāra, and saṃsāra is the affliction of ordinary beings; the two vehicles stagnate in nirvāṇa, and nirvāṇa is the affliction of the two vehicles; bodhisattvas attach to the Buddha Path, and the Buddha Path is the affliction of the Mahāyāna. Therefore, by refuting these three kinds of persons, all awaken to the non-dual dharma-gate of neither ordinary nor noble, neither small nor great; and thereafter, using the two wisdoms of provisional and real, they adapt transformation without limit, benefiting beings according to conditions. Such is the general purport of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa.