妙法蓮華經玄贊 3.49

3.49

贊曰：此顯第七句。佛所說法依證而說，故論引經有五句，謂何等法、云何法、何似法、何相法、何體法。論有四釋：第一番依捨權就實乘解，初說三乘名何等法；次於一一乘起種種事說，名云何法；次依三乘門修行清淨，名何似法；次明三乘唯一相故名何相法；後究竟唯一佛乘無二乘體，故名何體法。第二番依展轉訓釋法。何等法謂有為無為法，云何法謂因緣、非因緣等，以因緣生釋有為，非因緣生釋無為。何似法謂常、無常法等，以常釋非因緣生，無常釋因緣生。何相法謂生等三相法、不生等三相法，以有生等法釋前無常，以不生等釋常。何體法謂五蘊體、非五蘊體法，五陰即生等，非陰非生等。第三番但解後三句，唯依有為解，其初二句不異於前，所以不解。論云：「何似法者，謂無常、有為、因緣法；何相法者，謂可見相等法；何體法者，謂五陰能取所取，五陰是苦集體故，亦是道諦故。」如論可解。第四番依說法法用說，何等法者，謂以名句字身說故；云何法者，依如來所說之法而說之故；何似法者，能教化可教化眾生故，何相法者，依音聲取故，謂令聽者依於音聲取所詮法故；何體法者，假名體法相故，雖令依聲取所詮法，法性離言故。所詮者假名體法非稱法實，不令依文便生執著。然今經文恐人不解，翻譯之家遂依第二展轉訓釋法而釋。然少不次，以義正之不違聖教；若別義釋，便是人情非為聖教。如是相、如是性合是第一何等法，相是有為、性是無為故。如是體者是第五何體法，謂五蘊體非五蘊體故，合而為文。如是力、如是作者合是第三何似法，力謂常法，常法有力能故；作謂無常法，有造作故。如是因、如是緣、如是果、如是報合是第二云何法，因、緣、果、報之中，有為是因緣所生法，無為非因緣所生法。建立果義名因，成辦報義名緣；親得果名因，疎得果名緣；四果名果，異熟名報。如是本末是第四何相法，生等三相法是末，體是事故；不生等三相是本、體是理故。究竟等者，重解理本，法性究竟也。本論牒經更有何等、云何、何似、何相、何體，佛重以此顯前五義更無別理。

Commentary: This reveals the seventh phrase. The Dharma expounded by the Buddha is expounded based on realization; therefore the treatise quotes the sūtra as having five phrases, namely: what kind of Dharma, how is the Dharma, what is the Dharma like, what mark does the Dharma have, and what substance does the Dharma have. The treatise has four explanations: The first cycle explains according to relinquishing the provisional and approaching the real vehicle: initially expounding the three vehicles is called 'what kind of Dharma'; next, giving rise to various activities and expositions for each vehicle is called 'how is the Dharma'; next, cultivating purity based on the gate of the three vehicles is called 'what is the Dharma like'; next, clarifying that the three vehicles have only one mark is called 'what mark does the Dharma have'; finally, ultimately having only the Single Buddha Vehicle without the substance of two vehicles is called 'what substance does the Dharma have'. The second cycle explains according to sequential glossing of the Dharma: 'what kind of Dharma' refers to conditioned and unconditioned dharmas; 'how is the Dharma' refers to causes and conditions, non-causes and conditions, and so forth, explaining the conditioned by being produced from causes and conditions, and explaining the unconditioned by not being produced from causes and conditions; 'what is the Dharma like' refers to permanent and impermanent dharmas and so forth, explaining what is not produced from causes and conditions by permanence, and explaining what is produced from causes and conditions by impermanence; 'what mark does the Dharma have' refers to dharmas with the three marks such as arising, and dharmas with the three marks such as non-arising, explaining the preceding impermanence by dharmas that have arising and so forth, and explaining permanence by non-arising and so forth; 'what substance does the Dharma have' refers to dharmas that have the substance of the five aggregates and dharmas that do not have the substance of the five aggregates—the five aggregates being arising and so forth, and non-aggregates being non-arising and so forth. The third cycle explains only the latter three phrases, explaining them solely based on the conditioned; the first two phrases do not differ from before, and therefore are not explained. The treatise says: 'As for "what is the Dharma like", it refers to impermanent, conditioned, causal dharmas; as for "what mark does the Dharma have", it refers to dharmas with visible marks and so forth; as for "what substance does the Dharma have", it refers to the grasper and the grasped of the five aggregates, because the five aggregates are the substance of suffering and origination, and also the truth of the path.' This can be understood as in the treatise. The fourth cycle is expounded based on the operational function of expounding the Dharma: 'what kind of Dharma' is because it is expounded through bodies of names, phrases, and phonemes; 'how is the Dharma' is because it is expounded based on the Dharma expounded by the Tathāgata; 'what is the Dharma like' is because it can teach and transform sentient beings who can be taught and transformed; 'what mark does the Dharma have' is because it is apprehended based on sound, meaning that it causes the listener to apprehend the signified Dharma based on sound; 'what substance does the Dharma have' is because conventional designations are the mark of the substance of dharmas—although it causes one to apprehend the signified Dharma based on sound, the dharma-nature is free from words. What is signified is the conventional substance of dharmas, not matching the reality of the Dharma, so that one does not give rise to attachment based on the text. However, fearing that people would not understand the present sūtra text, the translators accordingly translated it based on the second [method of] sequential glossing. Although it is slightly out of sequence, rectifying it through the meaning does not contradict the noble teachings; if one were to explain it with a different meaning, that would merely be human sentiment and not the noble teachings. 'Suchness of marks' and 'suchness of nature' together constitute the first, 'what kind of Dharma', because marks are conditioned and nature is unconditioned. 'Suchness of substance' is the fifth, 'what substance does the Dharma have', referring to the substance of the five aggregates and the non-substance of the five aggregates; hence they are combined into the text. 'Suchness of power' and 'suchness of function' together constitute the third, 'what is the Dharma like': 'power' refers to permanent dharmas, because permanent dharmas have capacity; 'function' refers to impermanent dharmas, because they have activity. 'Suchness of cause', 'suchness of condition', 'suchness of fruit', and 'suchness of retribution' together constitute the second, 'how is the Dharma': among cause, condition, fruit, and retribution, the conditioned are dharmas produced from causes and conditions, and the unconditioned are dharmas not produced from causes and conditions. Establishing the meaning of fruit is called cause, and bringing about the meaning of retribution is called condition; directly obtaining a fruit is called cause, and indirectly obtaining a fruit is called condition; the four fruits are called fruit, and ripening is called retribution. 'Suchness from beginning to end' is the fourth, 'what mark does the Dharma have': the dharmas with the three marks such as arising are the end, because their substance is phenomenal; the three marks such as non-arising are the beginning, because their substance is principle. 'Ultimate equality' re-explains the fundamental principle, the ultimate dharma-nature. The root treatise's quotation of the sūtra further contains 'what kind', 'how', 'what like', 'what mark', and 'what substance'; the Buddha re-uses these to reveal the previous five meanings, with no other principle.