大方廣佛華嚴經疏 28.23

28.23

The sixteenth, the giving of chariots, has two parts: first, a general listing of the wealth and fields [of merit]; second, from "The Buddha's sons, the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, with such…" onward, an individual elucidation according to the fields. The former contains three parts: first, a general heading of the items given. Second, from "respectfully giving to…" onward, an individual presentation of the fields of merit, within which the types are first distinguished, and then from "these people…" onward, the intent of their coming is revealed. "Coming due to causes and conditions" means that due to causes in the past, they ought to receive the gift. Third, from "The bodhisattva at that time…" onward, an individual listing of the items given, so as to explain the practice of giving. Question: The thirty-ninth fascicle of the Yogācārabhūmi states: "If sentient beings come asking for various gifts that can induce frivolous amusements or induce what is meaningless, one should not give them." Here, giving beautiful women—does that not conflict [with this]? Furthermore, it says: "When giving wife and children, one should not give them to enemies, evil people, yakṣas, rākṣasas, or those engaged in ferocious karma." Here it speaks of various fields of merit; can it be that they are all given [such]? Answer: The capacity [of giving] has two aspects: if one definitely knows they can cause harm and distress, not giving is blameless; if one does not know thoroughly, but merely generates a mind to benefit and bring peace, giving is likewise blameless. How much more so when the bodhisattva can know there is no defilement, and furthermore, women of the same practice will definitely not give rise to defilement in sentient beings, and moreover, because the women are able to transform them by means of the Dharma. Therefore, in the Mahāyānasaṃgraha: beneficial with defilement, non-beneficial without defilement, defiled without benefit—these three the bodhisattva does not practice; beneficial and without defilement, this the bodhisattva indeed practices. Second, an individual elucidation according to the fields. Grouped by the five types of fields, it is divided into five parts; each section's text is fully equipped with the four parts. Now, the first is giving to the Buddha. The practice of giving comes first, which can be understood. Within the practice of pariṇāmanā, there are twenty vows: the first ten establish vows with reference to the Buddha field that is given to; the latter ten establish vows with reference to the chariots given. Both are clear and understandable. Regarding merely speaking of cultivating the practice of peace and happiness, the "Chapter on the Practice of Peace and Happiness" in the Lotus Sūtra speaks of four practices of peace and happiness: First, the practice of ultimate emptiness. The sūtra names it the sphere of action and the sphere of close approach. Having entered into the noumenon and walked upon it, it is called the sphere of action. Hence the sūtra says: "Moreover, regarding phenomena, there is no sphere of action, yet one contemplates all phenomena as being in accordance with their true mark," and so forth. Although one has not yet entered into the noumenon, being able to distance oneself from all evils and draw near to it is called the sphere of close approach. Hence the sūtra says: "Not drawing close to kings, non-Buddhists, and the like," which is to distance oneself from evil. Contemplating all phenomena as empty is drawing near to the noumenon. Second is called the practice of having no faults in body and speech. Third is the practice of having no jealousy in the mind. Fourth is the practice of great kindness and compassion. It is detailed as explained there. However, "peace and happiness" broadly has two meanings: First, the fruit of nirvāṇa is called peace and happiness; this practice being able to lead to it is thus the practice of peace and happiness. Second, abiding in these four practices, the body is quiet and the spirit is settled; when the body is quiet and the spirit is settled, external suffering does not disturb, hence it is called peace and happiness. Furthermore, externalists with the view of eternalism suffer in both cause and effect; externalists with the view of annihilationism have pleasure in the cause and suffering in the effect; the two vehicles who analyze phenomena have suffering in the cause and pleasure in the effect; only the bodhisattva has pleasure in both cause and effect. Hence the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] says: "Those of definitely painful practice are the common mortals; those of painful and pleasant practice are the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; those of definitely pleasant practice are the Buddhas and bodhisattvas." Both cause and effect being pleasant is called the practice of peace and happiness. Third, in the concluding text, all the stūpas and temples after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa are added. Stūpas house relics; temples house images. As for "stūpa", properly it is said stūpa, here translated as high and prominent, also called the place of returning to the lineage. Saying "all" is because it is not restricted to Buddha stūpas. The Dīrgha Āgama speaks of four kinds of people for whom stūpas should be raised: first, Buddhas; second, pratyekabuddhas; third, arhats; fourth, cakravartins. The Dvādaśacaturnidāna-sūtra says: "Eight kinds of people should have stūpas raised: first, the Buddha, whose dew-basin has eight tiers or more; the remaining seven are bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, the four fruits [of the śramaṇa], and cakravartins, successively decreasing by one tier, with the cakravartin having only one tier. Seeing a one-tiered stūpa, one should not pay homage, because he is not a noble person." The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya says that ordinary monks are also permitted to have stūpas raised, yet are not allowed to install dew-basins and must have them placed in secluded spots; these refer to: first, a vinaya-holder; second, a dharmabhāṇaka; third, an administrator; fourth, one of distinguished virtue. Those who build stūpas today should examine this text carefully. Speaking broadly of raising stūpas, there are six intentions overall: first, to represent the superiority of the person; second, to cause pure faith to arise; third, to provide an object for the mind to focus upon; fourth, to cause making offerings to generate merit; fifth, to complete the practice of repaying kindness; sixth, to produce merit and extinguish sins. If one builds a Buddha stūpa, nearby it incurs brahma-merit, and far off it brings deliverance from saṃsāra. Hence the Anuttarāśraya-sūtra says that making offerings to the Buddha's relics even as small as a mustard seed will entirely enable one to ultimately transcend the suffering of saṃsāra. Second, in giving to bodhisattvas, there are twenty vows: the first ten produce corresponding vows with reference to the field given to; the latter ten produce corresponding vows with reference to the chariots given. Both are clear and understandable. Third, giving to the Saṃgha. First, within the practice of giving, ten minds of giving are revealed: first, wealth without holding anything back, fields without discrimination; second, comprehending whether things are permissible or not, because receiving and keeping what is impure should not be given; third, purifying the three wheels; fourth, according with the practice of dāna; fifth, because through the Buddha there is the Saṃgha, and the Buddha is difficult to encounter; sixth, because by relying on the Saṃgha one knows the Buddha; seventh, because by relying on the Saṃgha one knows the teaching; eighth, that one should admire and revere; ninth, not being restricted to a single monk; tenth, because the teaching speaks of the Saṃgha. Second, within the practice of pariṇāmanā, there are twenty vows; likewise, the first ten concern the field, and the latter ten concern the chariots. The thirteenth mentions "riding on the body of empty space," which corresponds to the function of having no chariot. Fourth, in giving to the two vehicles, there are also four parts. First, in the practice of giving, the statement "born from the power and influence of the Tathāgata" means that even if one is a pratyekabuddha, it is also due to having previously trained in the Buddhadharma, though later attaining the path in an era without a Buddha. The sixth and seventh overturn their three lifetimes and one hundred kalpas. Second, from "with this…" onward, within the practice of pariṇāmanā there are also twenty vows, mostly overturning the inferior to reveal the superior. The first ten mostly overturn the pratyekabuddha's delighting in solitary goodness and tranquility, and the like. Non-contention has two aspects: first, if someone dislikes my walking, I will stand continuously, and so forth. Second, contemplating conditions as lacking self-nature, so there is no discord. The latter ten overturn the śrāvaka. First, overturning that Hīnayāna is not the teaching that ultimately extinguishes sins: their violations of monastic discipline can possibly be repented and extinguished, but violating the four gravest prohibitions is irremediable. The supreme teaching of the Mahāyāna leaves nothing unextinguished. The Buddhanāma-sūtra says that hearing the Buddha's name once extinguishes the heavy sins of saṃsāra for immeasurable kalpas. The tenth fascicle of the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] says: "If one violates the four prohibitions and commits the five heinous sins, or is possessed by evil demons and vicious malice, hearing this scripture, all evils will entirely dissolve." It also says: "That one who violates the four gravest prohibitions does not return to life is impossible." Texts like this exist everywhere, because of the power of the great scriptures never heard before. Second, although the śrāvaka has heard from the Buddha, they have not awakened to the profound noumenon. Third, because they cannot propagate it widely. Fourth, viewed from the perspective of the Mahāyāna, they are still deviant. For this reason, many places speak of ninety-five kinds, there being distinctly ninety-five kinds of non-Buddhist scriptures of deviant treatises. Here, speaking of ninety-six naturally has two meanings: First, according to the Sarvāstivāda-vinaya, each of the six non-Buddhist teachers had sixteen kinds of dharmas to study: one dharma they studied themselves, and the other fifteen were taught to fifteen disciples each; teachers and disciples taken together total ninety-six. Second, non-Buddhists are of two kinds: first, external non-Buddhists, which are outside the Buddhadharma. Second, internal non-Buddhists, who are further of three kinds: First, non-Buddhists affiliated with the Buddhadharma, originating from the Vātsīputrīyas and the Vaipulyakas, who, relying on their own cleverness, read the Buddha's sūtras and treatises and generated a single view; arising affiliated with the Buddhadharma, they thus obtain this name. The Vātsīputrīyas read the Śāriputrābhidharma and fabricated their own doctrine, claiming that the self exists outside the four alternatives, within a fifth, inexpressible storehouse. The Buddha declared that this person is not different from non-Buddhists. All treatises refute and reject this, calling it non-Buddhist. Furthermore, the Vaipulyaka practitioners, relying on their own cleverness, read the Buddha's ten metaphors and fabricated the doctrine that: unarisen and unceasing, like an illusion and like a transformation, emptiness and illusion are the ultimate doctrine. Nāgārjuna rebuked them, saying: "This is not the Buddhadharma; it was made by the Vaipulyakas, and is likewise the doctrine of deviant people." Second, studying the Buddhadharma to become a non-Buddhist: this refers to clinging to the Buddha's teachings and giving rise to defilements, unable to enter the noumenon. Hence the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: "If one does not grasp the meaning of prajñā, entering the Abhidharma will cause one to fall into [the view of] existence," and so forth. Third, using the Mahāyāna to rebuke the Hīnayāna. Hence the first fascicle of the seven-fascicle Laṅkāvatāra says: "Mahāmati! What are the evil views of non-Buddhists? They do not know that sense objects are manifestations of the discrimination of their own minds, and seeing existence and non-existence in the ultimate truth, they produce verbal expressions." Also, the second fascicle says: "Furthermore, some say: seeing all phenomena as existing due to an agent is nirvāṇa. Mahāmati! They have no liberation, because they cannot see the selflessness of phenomena. This is the disposition of śrāvakas and non-Buddhists, who generate the notion of renunciation amidst what is not renunciation. One should diligently cultivate to abandon this evil view." All Mahāyāna texts scolding the two vehicles as identical to non-Buddhists does not mean stripping away the intent of expedient means. Now combining the latter three into a single class makes ninety-six. Relying on this meaning, one makes the vow to be forever free from them. In the seventh, "attaining seeing with one's eyes" means not seeing through hearing. The rest can be understood by analogy. Fifth, giving to various fields. First, within the practice of giving, because there are objects of compassion, words such as "bowing and kneeling" are added. Because there are inferior fields, wondrous objects are brought forth again; the lowest beggar is equal to the Tathāgata. "Splendid attire" refers to elaborate dark-and-yellow garments. Second, from "with this…" onward, the practice of pariṇāmanā also has twenty vows. Since the fields given to are not one, vows corresponding only to the chariot are produced. Therein are also included the women and others given; this can be inferred. The sixth mentions the "ten paths of emancipation," which are the ten stages, because by means of the practice of the ten pāramitās, one emerges from the ten heavy hindrances and departs from the ten coarse [states]. The seventh, "riding the vehicle of four wheels", is individually listed in the text. However, the sixth fascicle of the Sūtrālaṃkāra names them the four wheels of non-negligence. To first distinguish their characteristics, each is equipped with five kinds of causes and conditions: First, the wheel of dwelling in a good land is named by that [text] the wheel of an excellent land. The five conditions are: first, easily sought, meaning the four requisites are easy [to obtain]; second, a well-protecting king, being in accordance with the Dharma; third, a good location, being harmonious; fourth, good companions, sharing the same precepts and views; fifth, good tranquility, having no noisy clamor. Second, the wheel of relying on virtuous persons; its five conditions are: first, much hearing; second, seeing the truth; third, skillful speech; fourth, compassion, not coveting gain; fifth, non-regression, without weariness. Third, the wheel of gathering superior merit and virtue corresponds to the fourth there, named the wheel of prior merit: first, delightful, caused by dwelling in an excellent world; second, free from adversity, caused by meeting virtuous persons; third, free from illness; fourth, samādhi; fifth, wisdom—these three take the wheel of self-rectification as their cause. Fourth, giving rise to great vows corresponds to the third there, named the wheel of self-rectification, which the Satyasiddhi-śāstra thus calls the wheel of self-generating correct vows: first, wholesome conditions, taking the wondrous Dharma as condition; second, wholesome gathering, possessing merit and wisdom; third, wholesome cultivation of śamatha and vipaśyanā, cultivating the corresponding practices; fourth, wholesome exposition, without seeking gain; fifth, wholesome emergence of what one has, respectfully vowing to cultivate superior dharmas. However, the first two establish their names with respect to the fruit, and the latter two derive their names from the cause; although both apply to cause and fruit, they mutually imply and reveal each other. The first two are external conditions, and the latter two are internal causes: vows are the cause of wisdom, and merit is the cause of merit. For what reason do these four receive the name of "wheels"? According to the Satyasiddhi-śāstra, because these four wheels can crush the eight adversities. Namely, first, dwelling in a good place can eliminate five adversities, which are the three bad destinies, Uttarakuru, and the long-lived devas; next, relying on virtuous persons eliminates the adversity of being born before or after a Buddha; third, giving rise to great vows eliminates worldly intellect and clever eloquence; fourth, having planted roots of goodness in the past eliminates being blind, deaf, and mute. The first five are evil places, the sixth is an evil time, the seventh is an evil cause, and the eighth is an evil fruit. Having understood the four wheels, why are they collectively called a vehicle? The Yogācārabhūmi says that dwelling in a good land refers to attaining a human or deva body, emerging from all places of adversity, which serves as the body of the chariot. Second, due to gathering superior merit, all sense faculties are fully intact, like the chariot's hub, axle, casing, and linchpins, which can be lubricated with grease. Third, giving rise to great vows is like a fine ox pulling heavy loads to a distance. Fourth, relying on virtuous persons refers to Buddhas and bodhisattvas acting like a skilled driver. Through possessing these four, great nirvāṇa is achieved; hence it says "fulfilling and completing all pure brahma-practices," for when the cause is complete, the fruit must be attained. If in accordance with this sūtra, the land is the ocean of ten lands, the virtuous persons are the ten-bodied Tathāgatas, the superior merit is the merit and virtue arising from nature, and the great vows are Samantabhadra's ocean of vows, together constituting the inexhaustible chariot of the pratītyasamutpāda of the great dharmadhātu. The rest can all be understood.