大方廣佛華嚴經疏 50.23

50.23

Ninth is the manifestation of nirvāṇa. The rotation of conversion being complete, he rests peacefully in the secret treasury, manifesting cessation for the sake of beings; hence it is explained next. Now, Great Nirvāṇa is indeed the locus where all the noble ones return to the source and merge in obscurity; quiescent and unconditioned, yet vast and fully complete; shapes and names are cut off from portents; consciousness and intellect find it difficult to fathom. Now, forcing a name upon the nameless, there are also five distinctions: First, explaining the name. Nirvāṇa's proper name is "cessation" (nirodha); drawing upon its semantic categories, there are many aspects. Generally translating it by meaning, it is called "complete quiescence" (yuánjì): because its significance fills the dharmadhātu and its virtues are as abundant as dust and sand, it is called "complete"; because its essence exhausts true nature and wonderfully cuts off the entanglements of marks, it is called "quiescent." And when one speaks of "great," horizontally there is nothing it does not encompass, and vertically it has no initial limit. This is in terms of the nirvāṇa of the three virtues. If opened in terms of meaning, three meanings are briefly explained: first is greatness of essence, because its self-nature is pure; second is greatness of marks, because through purification by skillful means, entanglements are eliminated and virtues are complete; third is greatness of function, because the transformative function is inexhaustible. "Pari-" has the meaning of "entering," because it enters by nature, enters truly, and manifests entry. When completely interpenetrating and unobstructed, it is Great Nirvāṇa. Second, presenting the essential nature. Since nirvāṇa is wondrously beyond conventional numbers, serene, tranquil, and subtle, though soaring far above the hundred negations, there is nowhere it is not present. Now, seeking it by its meaning, it does not go beyond three dharmas: namely, mahāprajñā, liberation, and the dharmakāya constitute its essence. Why these three? Because they overturn the three defilements; because they accomplish wisdom, grace, and abandonment; because they accomplish the dharma-gate, dharmatā, and response-transformation bodies; and because the great wisdom capable of realizing merges with the realized principle, with entanglements eternally quiescent. However, these three kinds are not separate from the single suchness; their virtues and functions are distinguished: illumination identical to quiescence is prajñā, quiescence identical to illumination is liberation, and the essence of quiescence and illumination is the dharmakāya. Like a bright, pure, round pearl: brightness is prajñā, purity is liberation, and the round essence is the dharmakāya; differentiated in terms of function, their essence is not separate. Therefore, these three dharmas are neither vertical nor horizontal, neither parallel nor distinct, like the eyes of [the god] Śakra, or like the worldly letter 'I' [in Siddhaṃ script]; this is called the secret treasury, being Great Nirvāṇa. Third, revealing the varieties. Although the principle leaves nothing ununified and the semantic categories are as numerous as dust and sand, now, moving from narrow to broad, they are briefly divided into one or two. Or only one is taught: namely, Great Nirvāṇa. Or two are taught, which naturally has three approaches: first, with remainder and without remainder; second, naturally pure and pure through skillful means; third, true and responsive. Or it is divided into three, which has two kinds: first, in terms of the three vehicles; second, namely, self-nature, true, and responsive. Or it is divided into four: first, naturally pure nirvāṇa; second, with residue of support; third, without residue of support; fourth, non-abiding [nirvāṇa]. With remainder and without remainder apply generally to the Great and Small [Vehicles]; here, only the Great is taught. Among the three kinds, the two vehicles are not explained; the rest are all fully discussed as interpenetrating and unobstructed, constituting Great Nirvāṇa. As the text sets forth fully, it is not merely the responsive extinction. Fourth, displaying activity and function. Encompassing all antiquity, guiding and reaching all directions, there are no beings not crossed over, none not brought to fulfillment. Therefore the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] says, "Being able to establish great affairs is the manifestation of the Dharma gate," which are all this function. However, the broad meanings of the various approaches are fully provided in separate treatises, and are briefly contained here in the text. Fifth, explaining the text has two parts: first, posing the inquiry; second, directly revealing [it]. Within directly revealing, there are ten: 1. the essential nature is true and permanent; 2. virtues and functions are perfectly complete; 3. appearance and disappearance are eternally serene; 4. waxing and waning do not alter it; 5. manifesting cessation while wondrously abiding; 6. arising and ending in accord with conditions; 7. presence and absence mutually appearing; 8. great function is boundless; 9. essence is free from the two extremes; 10. concluding by returning to non-abiding. Yet these ten passages, though different according to meaning, all contain essence and function mutually penetrating, revealing Great Nirvāṇa. Now the first has three parts: first, adducing the dharma to encourage understanding; second, pointing from principle to phenomena from "like tathatā" onward; third, explaining and revealing identical marks from "why is that?" onward. Now the first. The "fundamental self-nature" refers to the ten items listed below, such as tathatā, because they are the root of true and responsive nirvāṇa. The essence is naturally pure nirvāṇa; emerging from the two hindrances is called pure through skillful means, which is true nirvāṇa. Great compassion responding to beings also flows from this; hence it is called the root. Because it is the root, merely understanding tathatā is understanding nirvāṇa. In the second part, pointing from principle to phenomena, all of them say "like"; "like" means identical; the nirvāṇa capable of being identical pervades both the true and the responsive. What is identical, such as suchness, is naturally pure nirvāṇa; hence the preceding phrases all have the designation of nirvāṇa. If response and truth had no root, and the response were not unarisen, what would be wondrous about the manifestation? Therefore, using the root to encompass the branch, and using the essence to reveal the function, makes all completely quiescent as Great Nirvāṇa. The reason for listing ten names is to show that the ultimate wondrous Path completely exhausts principle and nature with none not identical, and virtues are inexhaustible. The ten names have already been explained above. In them, the reason "boundary" (koṭi) is added to the last two is that exhausting truth in the absence of truth constitutes the limit of tathatā, and so on. In the third part, explaining and revealing identical marks: as for the previous statement "is also thus," how is it thus? Hence it says that like tathatā and so forth, it is neither born nor destroyed. Why is it unarisen? Because it is only revealed by an elucidating cause (jñāpaka-hetu), not produced by a productive cause (kāraka-hetu). Since it has no birth, it is also not emerging from obstacles. Since at the beginning there is no birth, it is eternally permanent and unceasing. From this we know that the profound Path resides in wondrous awakening, and wondrous awakening resides in being identical to the true; being identical to the true, arising and cessation are viewed equally; viewing them equally, this and that are not two. Therefore tathatā shares the same root with me, and dharmatā is one essence with me. Since the true is not destroyed, how could the cessation of the responsive be real? From this we know that when nirvāṇa is called "cessation," it lies in the absence of cessation.