觀音玄義記 3.9

3.9

Second, from "Like this..." downward, explaining the time and stages, which has three parts: First, explaining the characteristics of practice in terms of time. From the ancient Śākyamuni to Kṛkīcchanda Buddha is called the first asaṃkhyeya [eon]; measured against the stages of the śrāvaka, it resides in the five meditations for stilling the mind and the distinctive and general applications of mindfulness; because the power of contemplation is still weak, one does not know that one will become a Buddha. From Kṛkīcchanda to Dīpaṃkara Buddha is called the second asaṃkhyeya [eon], whose stage corresponds to the stage of heat; having faith in the realized Dharma, one must know that one will become a Buddha, but because the mind is not yet distinct, one does not speak of it to others. From Dīpaṃkara to Vipaśyin Buddha is called the third asaṃkhyeya [eon], whose stage corresponds to the stage of summit, where one internally clearly knows for oneself that one will become a Buddha, and verbally speaks it without fear or difficulty. As for "fat sheep without fat," the Da zhidu lun says: "Although this bodhisattva possesses supreme and wondrous five desires, he does not give rise to greed or attachment, because he has the contemplation of impermanence and so forth. For instance, there was a king whose chief minister hid his own transgression; the king wished to punish his crime and told him: 'If you can obtain a fat sheep without fat, I shall pardon your transgression.' The minister was wise: he tied up a sheep and fed it with water and grass, but terrified it three times every day with a wolf; although the sheep was nourished, it was fat yet had no fat. The king asked: 'How could you achieve this?' He answered with the matter above. The bodhisattva is also like this: seeing the wolf of impermanence and emptiness, he causes the fat of defilements to melt away while his body of merit grows fat." Second, from "Using this..." downward, explaining progression through the stages in terms of contemplation.