妙法蓮華經玄贊 4.64

4.64

The Eulogy says: Below, he explains the reasons for a buddha's appearance in the five turbidities, restating and pointing back to the previously mentioned five turbidities; hence he says "so it is." "At the time of the confusion of the turbidity of the kalpa" restates the previously mentioned turbidity of the kalpa, when famine, pestilence, and warfare arise. "The defilements of sentient beings are heavy" restates the turbidity of sentient beings. "Defilements" refers to the six defilements: that which taints body and mind and stains them with impurity is called a defilement, and that which grows strong and difficult to break is called heavy. They are: (1) malice, (2) resentment, (3) affliction, (4) dissimulation, (5) deceit, and (6) pride. Taking pleasure in harming and afflicting sentient beings is called malice. Harboring enmity without letting go, preceded by anger, is called resentment. Having remembered past wrongs and encountering present contrary conditions, the mind becomes stubborn and perverse, frequently emitting turbulent, fierce, crude, and harsh words that sting and bite, which is called affliction. These three have anger as their essence. In order to ensnare others, conceal one's own faults, or pander to the intentions of others, putting on an artificial demeanor that is devious and crooked is called dissimulation. In order to gain profit and fame, pretending to possess virtues through deceit is called deceit; that is, the deceiver harbors covert schemes and frequently manifests false matters of wrong livelihood. These two have greed and ignorance as their essence. Deeply generating attachment to one's own prosperity, intoxicated and haughty, is called pride, which has greed as its essence. Because sentient beings' six defilements are heavy, they do not recognize śramaṇas and do not cultivate wholesome qualities; hence it is the turbidity of sentient beings. Parsimony, greed, and envy are the turbidity of afflictions. Clinging to wealth and Dharma already obtained and being unable to give them away, being secretive and stingy, is called parsimony. Harboring craving and desire for existence and the requisites of existence not yet obtained is called greed. Although parsimony is identical to greed, because the attachment and craving toward what has been obtained and what has not been obtained are distinct, they are divided into two aspects. Jí ("envy") is pronounced with the three fanqie spellings qín-xī, qín-xuè, or cí-lì; it is also written as 愱 or 𧪠, meaning malicious harm. Sacrificing oneself for fame and profit, being unable to bear another's glory, and being jealous and distressed is called envy. Although ji is identical to dù ("jealousy"), directing it toward another's correct Dharma, reputation, and substance is called ji, while directing it toward another's glory, pleasure, fame, and profit is called dù. The Shuowen and the Yupian say: "Harming the worthy is called ji; harming the beautiful is called dù." "Accomplishing all unwholesome roots": there are three unwholesome roots, namely greed, anger, and ignorance. Due to possessing two characteristics, they are established as unwholesome roots: first, they are fundamental afflictions capable of generating others, which excludes the secondary afflictions so that they cannot be established [as roots]; second, they pervade the six consciousnesses and their faults are deep and vast, whereas the remaining [afflictions]—arrogance, views, and doubt—are not unwholesome roots because they exist only in the mental consciousness. Possessing these two characteristics, only these three are called unwholesome roots. "Root" has the meaning of bringing forth, because it produces evil conditions; it also constitutes the turbidity of afflictions. The reason he mentions only three turbidities and does not mention the turbidities of views and lifespan is that the turbidity of the kalpa subsumes lifespan, because through famine, warfare, and pestilence life is mostly short; and the turbidity of afflictions subsumes views, and mentioning the unwholesome roots, which are the root of afflictions, subsumes all afflictions. Because at that time humans and devas decrease and the evil destinies increase, and sentient beings cannot suddenly be transformed by the Mahāyāna, by expedient means born of wisdom, within the single buddha vehicle, he discriminately expounds it as three to enable them gradually to enter the path. Thus a later passage in the sūtra states: "If I only praised the Buddha vehicle, sentient beings, submerged in suffering, would be unable to believe and accept it"; hence he speaks expedients.