妙法蓮華經玄贊 8.134

8.134

贊曰：此唯有一，謂食任持。此說二食，《佛地經》說二，廣大法味喜、樂所持。《無垢稱》云「既飡不死法，還飲解脫味」。餘經說四，謂段、觸、思、識。《攝論》說四：一不清淨，二清淨，三淨不淨，四示現依止住食。《增壹阿含經》說九食：四是世間食，五是出世間食。何等四種世間之食？謂段食、觸食、思食、識食。廣說其相。云何五種出世間食？一禪食，二願食，三念食，四八解脫食，五喜食。常共專念除捨四種世間之食，求於五種出世間食。無漏之法破裂有漏，非有漏食；有漏之法違害無漏，非無漏食。實各名食。暫爾資持可假名食，究竟即非。此及《佛地》、《無垢稱經》唯說無漏非有漏食，餘處說四唯有漏食非無漏食。《阿含》說九，通二種食。《攝論》說四，依人辨食，非是法食。異佛地法味所生喜樂即此法喜。此依初得唯在意識，欲界緣教但言喜食；彼依後時亦通六識，通色界有故開喜樂。此合名喜，適悅同故；彼但約外緣不說禪悅，禪悅即是輕安樂食。此通說內緣故兼說禪悅，此依初得唯在意識但喜名食；彼《無垢稱經》假實有為無為二勝為食，解脫苦故名解脫食，真如理性名不死食，二永資益故偏說之。餘經說四謂段等者，唯說有漏能長氣力、能長喜樂、能長希望、能攝諸根大種造色并壽與煖相續不壞。又身、受、法、心，此四如次長有漏身，觀入念住故但有四。《阿含》說九，有漏、無漏二合說故。後五之中，禪、喜二種即此二食，能長法身，資益勝故所以偏說。願、念、解脫雖亦實有資長之義，彼名為食，以非殊勝，通一切有，緣外、內生，劣於法、禪，故此等經略而不說。

The Eulogy states: Here there is only one: sustenance through food. Here two foods are spoken of; the *Buddhabhūmi-sūtra* speaks of two, being sustained by the wide and great taste of the Dharma: joy and pleasure. The *Vimalakīrtinirdeśa* says, 'Having eaten the deathless Dharma, they again drink the taste of liberation.' Other sūtras speak of four, namely material food, contact food, mental volition food, and consciousness food. The *Mahāyānasaṃgraha* speaks of four: (1) impure, (2) pure, (3) pure and impure, and (4) food that manifests as a support to abide in. The *Ekottarika-āgama* speaks of nine foods: four are mundane foods and five are supramundane foods. What are the four kinds of mundane foods? They are material food, contact food, mental volition food, and consciousness food, whose features are explained in detail. What are the five kinds of supramundane foods? (1) food of dhyāna, (2) food of aspiration, (3) food of mindfulness, (4) food of the eight liberations, (5) food of joy. They constantly and exclusively focus on eliminating the four kinds of mundane foods and seeking the five kinds of supramundane foods. Uncontaminated dharmas tear apart the contaminated, so they are not contaminated food; contaminated dharmas conflict with and harm the uncontaminated, so they are not uncontaminated food. In truth, each is called food. What temporarily sustains can provisionally be called food, but ultimately it is not. This text, the *Buddhabhūmi-sūtra*, and the *Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra* only speak of uncontaminated food, not contaminated food; other places speak of four, which are only contaminated food and not uncontaminated food. The *Āgama* speaks of nine, applying to both kinds of food. The *Mahāyānasaṃgraha* speaks of four, distinguishing food based on persons, not food of the Dharma. The joy and pleasure arising from the taste of the Dharma in the *Buddhabhūmi* is precisely this joy of the Dharma. This is based on its initial attainment being only in the mental consciousness; in the desire realm, focusing on teaching, it is only called the food of joy; that text is based on later stages also pervading the six consciousnesses, and because it also exists in the form realm, joy and pleasure are distinguished. Here they are combined and called joy, because the pleasant delight is the same; that text only deals with external conditions and does not speak of dhyāna delight, for dhyāna delight is precisely the food of the pleasure of pliancy (praśrabdhi). Here, broadly speaking of internal conditions, dhyāna delight is also mentioned; this is based on initial attainment being only in the mental consciousness, so joy alone is called food. That *Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra* takes the two superior states—provisional and real, conditioned and unconditioned—as food; because it frees one from suffering, it is called the food of liberation; the nature of reality (tathatā) is called the deathless food; because these two sustain and benefit forever, they are specifically mentioned. When other sūtras speak of four, meaning material food and so forth, they speak only of contaminated food being able to increase physical strength, increase joy and pleasure, increase hope, and gather the sense faculties, great elements, and derived matter, as well as continuity of life and warmth without destruction. Furthermore, body, feeling, dharmas, and mind—these four in order increase the contaminated body; because one enters mindfulness-foundations through contemplation, there are only four. The *Āgama* speaks of nine, because contaminated and uncontaminated are spoken of together. Among the latter five, the two types of dhyāna and joy are precisely these two foods; they can increase the Dharma-body, and because their sustenance is superior, they are specifically mentioned. Aspiration, mindfulness, and liberation, though they also truly possess the meaning of sustenance and growth, and are called food, are not extraordinary, exist throughout all states, and arise based on the external and internal, being inferior to Dharma and dhyāna; therefore these sūtras omit them and do not mention them.