妙法蓮華經玄贊 3.131

3.131

The Eulogy says: Below is the explanation of the reason for their departure. This self-query observes that five things are difficult to obtain: first, obtaining human form is difficult; second, being born in a central region is difficult; third, possessing all sense faculties is difficult; fourth, encountering a buddha’s appearance is difficult; fifth, hearing the correct Dharma is difficult. The group of five thousand had already possessed the first four; why, just as the wonderful Dharma was about to be spoken, did they avoid it and rise to leave? What is meant by this reason for their departure? It is now explained with two meanings: first, their roots of transgression were deep and heavy; second, they had overweening pride. This word “group” (bèi) is pronounced bǔ pèi fǎn; it means an assembly or faction. The Shuowen says: “By military law, dispatching one hundred chariots constitutes one bèi.” The Guangya and other texts also translate bèi as kind or class. The Yupian says it is a section, category, or class. “Transgression” (zuì) has the meaning of blameworthy, rebukable, terrifying, and repulsive; whether cause or fruit, whatever is blameworthy and repulsive is called a transgression. According to the Hīnayāna, these transgressions are numerous, the heavy ones being three: first, the affliction obstacle (kleśāvaraṇa); second, the karma obstacle (karmāvaraṇa); third, the retributive obstacle (vipākāvaraṇa). All afflictions are broadly divided into two classes: first, arising repeatedly is called persistent; second, arising intensely is called sharp. They are divided into four alternatives: first, persistent but not sharp; second, sharp but not persistent; third, both persistent and sharp; fourth, neither persistent nor sharp. Here we take the first and third alternatives as the affliction obstacle; the five unpardonable acts (ānantarya) as the karma obstacle; and the three destinies and eight difficulties as the retributive obstacle. These three obstacles obstruct entry into the noble path and are called heavy transgressions. Now according to the Mahāyāna, obstacles are of two kinds: first, the affliction obstacle; second, the cognitive obstacle (jñeyāvaraṇa). The cognitive obstacle, as appropriate, obstructs entry into the noble stages of the Mahāyāna; the affliction obstacle, as appropriate, obstructs entry into the noble stages of the three vehicles. According to the Buddhabhūmi-śāstra, the affliction obstacle has three aspects: first, the one hundred and twenty-eight afflictions along with secondary afflictions; second, the karma initiated by them; third, the fruits obtained. What this text intends to say is that these categories are collectively called obstacles, not referring specifically to the heavy ones. According to the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra, the heavy obstacles are four: first, the affliction obstacle; second, the karma obstacle; third, the retributive obstacle; fourth, the Dharma obstacle (dharmāvaraṇa). The affliction obstacle refers to the one hundred and twenty-eight fundamental afflictions and the various secondary afflictions that flow from them; whatever can obstruct the noble ones as appropriate is called this obstacle, because if one completely possesses them, they obstruct those noble ones accordingly. The karma obstacle, according to the Satyaka-nirgrantha-sūtra, consists of five kinds of heinous deeds: first, destroying stūpas, ruining monasteries, burning scriptures and images, or stealing and using the property of the Three Jewels; second, slandering the Dharma of the three vehicles, claiming it is not the noble Dharma, and obstructing, hindering, concealing, or suppressing it; third, in the presence of any renunciant—whether with or without precepts, keeping precepts or breaking precepts—striking, scolding, rebuking, publicizing their faults, locking them in prison, or stripping off their kāṣāya robes to force their return to lay life, placing levies and burdens on them, exacting debts from them, or terminating their life-faculties. The Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra says: “Speaking of the faults of a single monk who has broken the precepts is worse than shedding the blood of ten thousand billion buddhas”; fourth, killing one’s father, slaying one’s mother, killing an arhat, shedding the blood of a buddha, and breaking the harmony of the Saṅgha; fifth, giving rise to great wrong views, denying cause and effect, and constantly practicing the ten unwholesome actions through the long night. These five kinds are called the obstacle of the five heinous karmas only in the Mahāyāna. Some also speak of seven and so on, but they do not exceed these five, which is why they are not stated. The retributive obstacle refers to all retributive fruits that can obstruct the noble path—namely, the three evil destinies, the eight inopportune states, and so on. Among them, the difficulty of being born before or after a buddha should be called being before or after the Dharma, since one cannot attain noble status before or after the Buddha’s Dharma. The Dharma obstacle means that in past lives, one obstructed others from doing good and generated karma that depleted the Dharma, so that in this life one cannot hear the Dharma, being devoid of the true Dharma; it is subsumed under two of the five fruits: the causally concordant fruit (niṣyanda-phala) and the sovereign fruit (adhipati-phala). Those whose roots of transgression are deep and heavy bring about the karma of depleting the Dharma; because it is the root of transgression, they currently do not hear the Dharma, and because it is the substance of transgression, it is the fourth obstacle. “Pride” (màn): the Yupian says it means to belittle and regret, to be fearless, and to be arrogant. It is sometimes written as 嫚. The Qieyun says deception is mán, remissness is màn; relying on oneself to demean others and exalting oneself is its characteristic. The Yogācārabhūmi and other texts state that pride is of seven kinds: first, pride (māna); second, excessive pride (atimāna); third, pride beyond pride (mānātimāna); fourth, egotistic pride (asmimāna); fifth, overweening pride (adhimāna); sixth, inferiority pride (ūnamāna); seventh, erroneous pride (mithyāmāna). First, pride means conceiving oneself to be superior to an inferior, or conceiving oneself to be equal to an equal. Excessive pride means conceiving oneself to be superior to an equal, or conceiving oneself to be equal to a superior. Pride beyond pride means conceiving oneself to be superior to a superior. Egotistic pride has the characteristic of exalting oneself relying on the grasped self. Overweening pride means, when one actually has few virtues, conceiving that one has many virtues. Inferiority pride means, when another is mostly superior to oneself, conceiving that one is only slightly inferior to them. Erroneous pride means, when one has no virtue at all, conceiving that one has virtue. Here, overweening pride is the fifth: having few actual virtues, one conceives oneself to have many virtues. Because they have attained mundane nirvāṇa, meditative absorptions, and so on, having not attained much, they think they have attained many virtues; having not verified much, they think they have verified much. “Attaining” refers to the conditioned path; “verifying” refers to unconditioned cessation. This is the characteristic of overweening pride, not that of having attained nothing at all and now thinking one has attained it. Were it not so, it would not be the characteristic of overweening pride, but rather the seventh, the characteristic of erroneous pride. Due to the two forces of this affliction obstacle and the previous Dharma obstacle, they lacked the capacity to hear the Dharma.