觀音義疏 2.52

2.52

Explaining the response Buddha in the land where ordinary beings and sages co-dwell: there are two kinds of lands: first, pure; second, defiled. For instance, the land of Pūrṇa, the Western land, and so forth: the sentient beings therein possess the three poisons, views, and thoughts, but there are no names of the three evil destinies, and their retributive rewards are adorned and pure; this is called a pure land. Lands like this Sahā, with the three evil destinies, the four destinies, brambles, hills, and ruins, are called defiled lands. Whether pure or defiled, they are both lands where ordinary beings and sages co-dwell. The sentient beings of both lands each have two types: sharp capacities with heavy defilement, dull capacities with heavy defilement, sharp capacities with light defilement, and dull capacities with light defilement. As for those with heavy defilement: sentient beings of the Sahā world have ugly and deformed bodies, are short and lowly, have lifespans limited to eighty years or die prematurely, have blazing afflictions, have strong minds inclined to views, and live in coarse and perilous times; these constitute heavy five defilements. The pure land is not like this; these constitute light five defilements. Why is this? Those who do not cultivate much merit are born in heavily defiled lands; those who cultivate much merit are born in lightly defiled lands. If born within defiled lands, there are those who are lax in both precepts and the vehicle; those who are urgent in the vehicle but lax in precepts; those who are lax in the vehicle but urgent in precepts; and those who are urgent in both precepts and the vehicle. Being urgent in precepts brings the bodies of humans and devas; being urgent in the vehicle brings the capacity to evoke the sages. Capacities are of two kinds: first, great; second, small. For small capacities, he manifests the body of a Tripiṭaka Buddha to preach the Dharma; for great capacities, he should preach the Dharma in the body of a Rocana Buddha. Therefore, in descending spiritually into the mother's womb, he immediately manifests two aspects: those of sudden capacity evoke him, and immediately see Rocana Bodhisattva residing in the womb preaching the Dharma surrounded by hundreds of thousands, with all the sages of the ten directions within the womb; emerging from the womb, his radiance completely fills the place of awakening of tranquil extinction, where he becomes Vairocana Buddha and turns the wheel of the Dharma of the one real truth, the immeasurable four truths, and so forth. Just as the rising sun first illuminates the high mountains, they immediately hear the sudden teaching, see the Buddha-nature, and attain deliverance; thus the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: "On the Snowy Mountains there is a grass named Endurance; if cows eat it, they produce clarified butter (sarpirmanda)." This is what this means. If persons of small capacity evoke the Buddha, with correct mindfulness he enters the mother's womb, is born in the royal palace, undergoes six years of ascetic practices, sits on grass beneath the tree, and becomes an old bhikṣu. In the Deer Park the Buddha turns the wheel of the Dharma of the four truths of arising and ceasing; Kaundinya and the five persons first attain the sweet dew (amṛta) and awaken to the path of the small vehicle; since this is not clarified butter, it is not yet called attaining deliverance. Thus it is said: "Merely being free from delusion is called liberation; in reality, they have not yet attained complete liberation." Being unable to bear the great teaching, like the deaf and the mute, it has no benefit for them; within the great teaching they only have the power of hidden merit; drawing an analogy, it is like milk. When they hear the expedient teaching on severing views and thoughts in the three realms, at that time the milk transforms and is called curd (kṣīra). Next, hearing the four kinds of four truths in the Vaipulya teachings, where the great is used to reprove the small, they feel ashamed of the provisional and yearn for the real, giving rise to earnest devotion; this is called raw butter (navanīta). Next, hearing the three kinds of four truths in the Prajñā teachings, their minds are gradually purified through instruction; this is called cooked butter (ghṛta). Next, hearing the Lotus Sūtra, which abandons the three expedients and only expounds the one real Buddha's knowledge and vision, the doubts of the śrāvakas are removed and they receive prediction of attaining Buddhahood; the perplexities of the bodhisattvas vanish, their path increases, and their births decrease; at that time, it is called clarified butter.