妙法蓮華經玄贊 1.37

1.37

"Thus have I heard" and so forth are distinguished by three gates: first, the origin of its statement; second, the reason for establishing it; third, the direct explanation of the text. As for the origin of its statement, as related in sūtras such as the Dashu jing regarding its original circumstance: when the Buddha was on the verge of nirvāṇa, the Buddha commanded that if there were any doubts, they should ask. At that time Upāli and Aniruddha instructed Ānanda to inquire into four matters: first, after the Buddha passes into extinction, who shall the monks and the rest take as their teacher; second, in what place should they dwell; third, how should ill-natured monks be punished; fourth, what words should be placed at the beginning of all sūtras. The Buddha instructed him, saying: "After I pass into extinction, take the prātimokṣa as your great teacher and practice in accordance with the precepts; dwell in the four stations of mindfulness, peacefully settling your mind; punish ill-natured monks with the brahma-daṇḍa—brahma-daṇḍa means remaining silent, so you should not strike or scold them, but simply ostracize them with silence; at the beginning of all sūtras, you should place words such as 'Thus have I heard.'" Later, when Ānanda compiled [the teachings], he followed the Buddha's instruction; the extensive recounting of its origins is entirely as explained in the sūtras. As for the reason for establishing it, it is to cause sentient beings to generate faith and compliance. The Zhidu lun says: "'Thus have I heard' generates faith. To faithfully accept and practice it generates wisdom. Faith is that which enables entry; wisdom is that which enables crossing over. Faith is the initial foundation for entering the Dharma; wisdom is the profound art of ultimate attainment. When there is faith, the principle of what is spoken is complied with; when complied with, the way of master and disciple is accomplished. Because of faith, the Dharma that is preached can be complied with; because of compliance, the two groups of speaker and listener, master and disciple, are established." Regarding this faith, it is briefly explained in ten ways: First, the initial cause for proceeding to the ultimate fruit: based on sūtras such as the Renwang, it is the initial cause for proceeding to the stages of noble ones; therefore, among the forty minds, faith is the foremost. In initially generating the great bodhicitta, one must possess ten virtues and give rise to the three subtle contemplations; the great bodhicitta takes roots of goodness as its own-nature, takes good spiritual friends as its condition, and takes non-regression as its encouragement. The roots of goodness are faith, vigor, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. Thus the Mahāyānasaṃgraha says: "By pure and predominant power, / and a firm mind's superior progress, / it is called the bodhisattva's initial practice / through incalculable three great kalpas." Second, the gradual foundation for entering into the principle of truth: treatises all say that as one is about to enter the noble stages, there are the faculty of faith and the power of faith. Because there is the faculty of faith, the myriad goodnesses are generated from it; because there is the power of faith, the four māras cannot subdue it; therefore, at the beginning of the sūtra, it first causes faith to arise. Third, the verified purity that penetrates the subtle and true: it can transcend the evil destinies and leave behind the causes of lowliness and poverty; therefore, having entered noble status, one realizes the four kinds of indestructible faith. Because of faith in the Three Jewels, one transcends the evil destinies; because of faith in the precepts, one leaves behind the causes of lowliness and poverty; hence the treatises also speak of the direct realization of faith. Fourth, the joyful reliance that shoulders the utmost virtue: the Vibhāṣā says that faith is the auspicious hand that feeds upon the flavor of the Dharma; one who studies the Buddha's Dharma is like a great dragon-elephant, taking faith as its hand, renunciation as its tusks, mindfulness as its neck, and wisdom as its head, shouldering and gathering wholesome dharmas on its two shoulders. The food and drink consumed by the elephant uses its trunk as a hand; therefore, one who studies the Buddha's Dharma initially gives rise to faith. Fifth, the primordial womb of the seven noble treasures: because it is the beginning of the wealth of Dharma, the learner is a great merchant who, through the primordial design of the Dharma-jewel, is taught to obtain the noble wealth; thus one initially gives rise to faith. The Xianyang lun says: "The seven noble treasures are faith, morality, hearing, renunciation, wisdom, shame, and remorse"; faith is one of them. Sixth, the fine road of the fundamental causes of goodness: because it is the root of wholesome dharmas. The Yogācāra-bhūmi says: "In entering all wholesome dharmas, desire is the root, attention is what produces them, contact is what assembles them, feeling is what draws them in, concentration is the predominant, wisdom is the supreme, liberation is the firm, and renunciation is the culmination. Desire is the root because it gives rise to aspiration; attention is what produces them because it repeatedly alerts; contact is what assembles them because it harmonizes the mind and mental factors against supreme conditions; feeling is what draws them in because it receives them in the mind; concentration is the predominant because the mind is subtly tranquil; wisdom is the supreme because it discriminates good and bad; liberation is the firm because it stills entanglements; renunciation is the culmination because the path of awakening is fulfilled." Since faith is the support for desire, it is caused to arise first. Seventh, the supreme hand that opens the gate of capacity: because it is the hand that receives the teaching. The Kośa says: "[The Buddha] pulls sentient beings out of the mud of birth and death"; furthermore, the subsequent presentation of the main body is the Buddha's teaching hand, while the preface causing faith to arise is the sentient beings' hand; when the two hands join, one emerges from the mire. Furthermore, the Zhidu lun says: "Just as a person with hands goes to a jewel mountain and takes as he pleases, while if he has no hands he gains nothing in vain." A person with faithful mind enters the Buddha's jewel mountain and attains all fruits of the path; if without a faithful mind, even if he understands the textual meanings, he gains nothing in vain. Eighth, the clear jewel that settles the water of the mind: because it makes the mind pure. The Cheng weishi lun says: "Faith is like a water-clearing jewel, capable of purifying turbid water," because it cures the turbid nature of lack of faith. Ninth, the good provision for establishing name and path: Confucius said: "Among military, food, and trust, trust cannot be discarded; from antiquity everyone dies, but without trust one cannot stand; like a great carriage without a collar-bar or a small carriage without a yoke-pin, if a person lacks trust, I do not know how they can manage." Tenth, the fine sincerity of heartfelt loyalty: The Chunqiu says: "If there is bright sincerity, the grasses of valleys and ponds, the waterweeds and duckweeds, may be offered to ghosts and spirits, and presented to dukes and kings; how much more so when gentlemen forge trust between two states!" Among these ten meanings, the first eight rely on the ultimate, and the latter two rely on the conventional; therefore, at the beginning of the sūtra, "Thus" is placed, [meaning] the sūtra's meaning was personally heard from the Buddha, free from the errors of addition and subtraction, so as to cause sentient beings to give rise to faith and joy, and practice in compliance with it.