法華義疏 6.93

6.93

「譬如長者」下，此第一、明宅主，頌上化主也。長行明化主為正，故須廣說，長行既廣，故偈即略之也。「有一大宅」，第二、序宅相，則頌上第二、化處。所言「有一大宅」者，上明化處有四：謂國、邑、聚、落。今且就一方三界為言，故言一也。三界是眾生所居，佛為化主，有屬佛義，故言有也。大宅者，即上其家廣大義也。「其宅久故」，廣序宅相。長行既略，偈則廣之。三界是無常朽敗之物，稱為久故。一時無常故言「頓蔽」，蔽由敗也。「堂舍高危」，上總序宅相，今別明也。就文為三：第一、作三界無常譬；第二、作三界無我譬；第三、作三界不淨譬。下別有火起，以譬苦故不明苦譬。堂者如上釋之，六道眾生共聚三界之內故稱為堂。前名為閣今轉稱舍者，凡有二義：上辨三界昇沈不同故稱為閣，今明為物所栖目之為舍。二者、三界轉迴昇墜不定，或生上界或在下界，故不專守定名也。三界之法重累故稱為高，而六道果報非安穩法故云危也。又天堂與地獄相對門，故高處必危，如《智度論》云「譬群羊肥者前死也」。「柱根摧朽」者，上總明三界無常，今別明無常也。柱根持一舍之本，命根持一身之主，故《大品》云「如人命根在故餘根在，命根若滅餘根盡滅」，是故前辨命根。念念損滅為摧朽也。「梁棟傾斜」者，此明心法無常，如前釋也。以識無定形、生滅如幻為傾斜也。「基陛頹毀」者，以三種業為三界基陛。如《大品》云「罪業因緣故三惡道中生，福業因緣故欲界人天中生，無動業因緣故色、無色界中生」，故知三業為三界基陛。行業漸盡為頹毀也。「牆壁圮坼」者，「柱根」辨非色非心無常，「梁棟」明心法無常，今明色法無常。前二無常相隱故略說之，色法無常相顯宜廣明也。外四大如牆，內四大如壁，四大性相違反如圮坼。圮者毀也。坼者裂也。「埿塗陀落」者，埿塗者四微也。《毘曇》則四微與四大常俱，故四大造四微。《成論》則四微成四大，如埿塗成於牆壁。今謂四微亦無常，故稱陀落。又細無常如圮坼，麁無常如褫落。褫者頹褫，落者墜落。「覆苫亂墜」者，蓋屋之物或瓦或茅，今正以茅覆舍故稱苫也。眾生以薄皮裹於一身，如脆茅蓋於一舍。亂墜者，聊亂墜落也。即皮緩面皺齒疎形竭之貌也。「椽梠差脫」者，意根為棟，身根為梠，眼等四根為椽，椽之所依，上即釘之著棟，下又恊之在梠，二根為主、四根依附，有像之也。差脫者，諸根為用互相資持，乃至其衰朽資持之力微弱，義言差脫。故經言「少年去死遠生近，故六根皆明；老年去生遠死近，故六根皆闇也」。

From "For instance, an elder" onward, this is the first, clarifying the master of the house, which versifies the master of conversion above. In the prose, clarifying the master of conversion was primary, so it had to be explained extensively; since the prose was already extensive, the verse is abbreviated. "Had a large house" is the second, recounting the features of the house, which versifies the second above, the place of conversion. As for the statement "had a large house," above, four places of conversion were explained: namely, state, city, town, and hamlet. Now, speaking temporarily in terms of the three realms in one direction, it says "one." The three realms are where sentient beings dwell, and the Buddha is the master of conversion; with the sense of belonging to the Buddha, it says "had." "A large house" is the meaning of "his house was broad and large" above. "The house was long decaying" extensively recounts the features of the house. Since the prose was abbreviated, the verse elaborates on it. The three realms are impermanent, decayed, and ruined things, so they are called "long decaying." Being impermanent all at once, it says "suddenly dilapidated," dilapidation being due to decay. "The halls and chambers lofty and precarious": above, the features of the house were recounted comprehensively; now they are clarified individually. In terms of the text, there are three: first, making the parable of impermanence in the three realms; second, making the parable of non-self in the three realms; third, making the parable of impurity in the three realms. Below, fire breaks out separately as a parable for suffering, so no parable for suffering is explained here. "Hall" is as explained above: sentient beings of the six destinies gather together within the three realms, so it is called a "hall." Previously it was called a "pavilion" and now shifts to being called a "chamber"; there are altogether two meanings: above, discerning the differences of rising and sinking in the three realms, it was called a "pavilion"; now, explaining that it is where beings dwell, it is designated a "chamber." Second, the three realms revolve and their ascending and descending are unfixed—sometimes born in higher realms, sometimes in lower realms—so fixed designations are not strictly adhered to. The phenomena of the three realms are piled upon one another, hence called "lofty," yet the retributions of the six destinies are not secure phenomena, hence called "precarious." Furthermore, the heavenly halls and the hells are opposite gates, so lofty places are inevitably precarious, just as the Da zhidu lun says, "Like a flock of sheep, the fat ones die first." "The base of the pillars crumbling and rotting": above, impermanence in the three realms was clarified comprehensively; now, impermanence is clarified individually. The base of the pillars supports the foundation of a chamber; the life-faculty supports the master of a body. Thus the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says, "Just as when a person's life-faculty is present, the other faculties are present; if the life-faculty ceases, the other faculties all cease." For this reason, the life-faculty is discerned first. Moment-to-moment deterioration and destruction is "crumbling and rotting." "Beams and ridgepoles tilting and askew": this clarifies the impermanence of mental phenomena, as explained before. Because consciousness has no fixed form and its arising and ceasing are like an illusion, they are "tilting and askew." "Plinths and steps collapsing and ruined": the three kinds of karma are the plinths and steps of the three realms. As the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says, "Due to the causes and conditions of sinful karma, one is born in the three evil destinies; due to the causes and conditions of meritorious karma, one is born among humans and devas of the desire realm; due to the causes and conditions of unshakeable karma, one is born in the form and formless realms." Therefore we know that the three karmas are the plinths and steps of the three realms. The gradual exhaustion of karmic practices is "collapsing and ruined." "Walls and partitions crumbling and split": "the base of the pillars" discerned the impermanence of neither-form-nor-mind; "beams and ridgepoles" clarified the impermanence of mental phenomena; now, the impermanence of material phenomena is clarified. The marks of impermanence in the previous two are concealed, so they were explained briefly; the marks of impermanence in material phenomena are obvious, so they should be explained extensively. The external four great elements are like the walls, and the internal four great elements are like the partitions; the natures and characteristics of the four great elements conflict with one another, like "crumbling and split." Crumbling means ruined; split means cracked. "Plaster peeling and falling": plaster is the four subtle atoms. In the Abhidharma, the four subtle atoms and the four great elements are always concurrent, so the four great elements generate the four subtle atoms. In the Tattvasiddhi Śāstra, the four subtle atoms compose the four great elements, just as plaster composes walls. Here it means that the four subtle atoms are also impermanent, hence called "peeling and falling." Furthermore, subtle impermanence is like crumbling and split; coarse impermanence is like peeling and falling. Peeling is collapsing and flaking; falling is dropping down. "Thatch and coverings chaotically falling": the coverings of a house are either tiles or thatch; here it is specifically thatch covering the chamber, hence called "thatch." Sentient beings wrap their whole body in thin skin, like fragile thatch covering a chamber. "Chaotically falling" means disorderly dropping down; this is the appearance of skin slackening, the face wrinkling, teeth loosening, and physical form wasting away. "Rafters and eaves misaligned and detached": the mental faculty is the ridgepole, the bodily faculty is the eaves, and the four faculties such as the eye are the rafters. What the rafters rely upon is nailed above to the ridgepole and joined below to the eaves; the two faculties are primary, and the four faculties rely on them, bearing a resemblance to this. "Misaligned and detached": the various faculties are used to mutually assist and maintain one another; when they decay and rot, their power to assist and maintain weakens, conceptually called "misaligned and detached." Thus the sūtra says, "In youth, being far from death and near to life, all six faculties are clear; in old age, being far from life and near to death, all six faculties are dim."