妙法蓮華經玄贊 2.13

2.13

The commentary says: Here there are three clauses; the first two clauses combine to form the fourth, 'non-retrogression of relying upon a spiritual friend': 'offering to immeasurable hundreds of thousands of buddhas, planting roots of many virtues before the buddhas.' In the Treatise it is called 'planting roots of many goods,' because one's own bodily and mental karmas are integrated relying upon the physical body. In the bodhisattva's cultivation, nothing surpasses body and mind; here, by adducing the superior karma of the physical body in offering to the buddhas and deeply planting the roots of virtues, all wholesome karmas possessed by one's own body and mind are integrated. There are ten kinds of offering. The Bodhisattvabhūmi states: (1) Offering in the presence: directly and in person making offerings to the three jewels before the relics (śarīra), caityas, and so forth of a present Buddha. (2) Offering in absence: producing the thought of the Buddha and so forth before the caityas and so forth of other Buddhas, cultivating offering in absence. (3) Offering both in presence and absence: when being directly present, further generating the thought: 'The Dharma-nature of the caitya and so forth of one Buddha is identical with the Dharma-nature of the caityas and so forth of all buddhas of the three times and ten directions; therefore, my present offering to the caitya and so forth of one Buddha is just offering to the caityas and so forth of the buddhas of the three times and ten directions'—cultivating offering both in presence and absence. (4) In such places, solely making offerings oneself. (5) If giving rise to a mind of compassion, according to one's capability bestowing material goods upon the poor and suffering, wishing them peace and joy and causing others to make offerings. (6) Both making offerings: having already done so oneself, furthermore exhorting and instructing others to make this offering. (7) Offering of material wealth and reverence: with flowers, incense, and so forth reverently inquiring and bowing in worship, up to cultivating offering of material wealth and reverence with precious jewels and so forth. (8) Vast offering: namely, using material wealth and reverence over a long time, abundantly and wondrously, up to pure thoughts dedicating toward bodhi, gathering wealth by one's own power or seeking it from others, making vows and imagining transforming into hundreds of thousands of bodies, respectfully bowing in worship, each transformed body producing hundreds of thousands of hands holding and scattering flowers and incense, producing hundreds of thousands of sounds singing praises of virtues, further producing hundreds of thousands of wondrous adornments to make offerings, generating rejoicing everywhere in all offerings throughout Jambudvīpa up to the ten directions, so that though expending little effort, one gives rise to boundless, vast offerings. (9) Offering free of defilement: not using contemptuous, deceitful, negligent, or impure goods, cultivating offering free of defilement. (10) Offering of correct practice: if for an instant one cultivates the four immeasurables, or even for a brief time faithfully assents to the ineffable true thusness of Dharma-nature, generating non-conceptualization and abiding in the signless mind, which is just guarding the pure precepts of the bodhisattva, up to practicing the four articles of attraction and so forth. In cultivating the offering of correct practice, one should contemplate that this is supreme and most wondrous, exceeding the previous offerings by hundreds of thousands of myriads of times beyond comparison. When cultivating offerings, one should contemplate: The Tathāgata is a great field of merit, possessed of great kindness and virtue, the most honored among sentient beings, rarely met and singularly emergent, the reliance of all purposes. As with the Buddha, so it is with the Dharma and Saṅgha. As is explained in the upper fascicle of the Profound Praise. 'Plant' (殖) means to sow, to accumulate, to establish. 'Many' (眾) encompasses both level and falling tones.