妙法蓮華經玄贊 4.48

4.48

Antidotes: That is, speaking of antidotal methods according to their characteristics. In the *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* (*Zhìdù lùn*), four siddhāntas are established—'siddhānta' means fundamental tenet: 1. the worldly siddhānta; 2. the individual siddhānta; 3. the antidotal siddhānta; 4. the supreme-meaning truth siddhānta. The defilement of the kalpa and the defilement of sentient beings are countered by the worldly siddhānta: recognizing that the receptacle world and the world of sentient beings are entirely illusory, one feels aversion, dread, cultivates the path, and thereby leaves them forever. The defilement of lifespan is countered by the individual siddhānta: knowing that a human [existence] is obtained through wholesome karma, one cultivates and upholds pure precepts, practices non-killing, etc., and lifespan naturally increases; or, preaching the Dharma of their respective vehicles for the people of the three vehicles, causing them to attain the fruit of nirvāṇa of their own vehicle, one eliminates all the defilement of lifespan within saṃsāra. The defilement of afflictions and the defilement of views are countered by the antidotal siddhānta: cultivating the path of appropriate antidotes so that they do not arise. Because the five defilements are destroyed through the three siddhāntas, one enters the supreme meaning and realizes union with the true principle.