大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 14.12

14.12

疏「同於涅槃盜牛之喻」者，即《涅槃》第三答迦葉問。經云「爾時迦葉菩薩白佛言：『世尊！出世之法與世間法有何差別？如佛言曰：「佛是常法、不變易法。」世間亦說梵天是常、自在天常無有變易、我常、性常、微塵亦常。若言如來是常法者。如來何故不常現耶？若不常現，有何差別。何以故？梵天乃至微塵、世性亦不現故。』佛告迦葉：『譬如長者多有諸牛，色雖種種同共一群，付放牧人令逐水草，但為醍醐不求乳酪，彼牧牛者搆已自食。長者命終，所有諸牛悉為群賊之所抄掠。賊得牛已，無有婦女，即自搆捋得已而食。爾時群賊各相謂言：「彼大長者畜養此牛，不期乳酪但為醍醐。我等今者，當設何方而得之耶？夫醍醐者，名為世間第一上味。我等無器，設使得乳，無安置處。」復共相謂：「唯有皮囊，可以盛之。」雖有盛處，不知鑽搖，漿猶難得，況復生酥。爾時諸賊以醍醐故加之以水，以水多故乳酪醍醐一切俱失。凡夫亦爾，雖有善法，皆是如來正法之餘。何以故？如來世尊入涅槃後，竊盜如來遺餘善法若戒定慧，如彼諸賊劫掠群牛。諸凡夫人雖復得是戒定智慧，無有方便不能解說。以是義故，不能獲得常戒常定常慧解脫。如彼群賊不知方便喪失醍醐，如彼群賊為醍醐故加之以水。凡夫亦爾，為解脫故，說我人眾生、壽者士夫、梵天、自在天、微塵、世性、戒定智慧及與解脫、非想非非想天即是涅槃，實亦不得解脫涅槃。如彼群賊不得醍醐。是諸凡夫有少梵行、供養父母，以是因緣得生天上受少安樂，如彼群賊加水之乳。而是凡夫實不知因修少梵行供養父母得生天上，又不能知戒定智慧歸依三寶，以不知故說常樂我淨，雖復說之而實不知。是故如來出世之後，乃為演說常樂我淨。如轉輪王出現於世，福德力故，群賊退散牛無損命。爾時轉輪王即以諸牛付一牧人多巧便者，是人方便即得醍醐，以醍醐故一切眾生無有患苦。法輪聖王出現世時，諸凡夫人不能演說戒定慧者即便退散，如賊退散。爾時如來善說世法及出世法，為眾生故，令諸菩薩隨而演說。菩薩摩訶薩既得醍醐，復令無量無邊眾生獲得無上甘露法味，所謂如來常樂我淨。以是義故，善男子！如來是常、不變易法，非如世間凡夫愚人謂梵天等是常法也。此常法稱，要是如來，非是餘法。迦葉！應當如是知如來身。』」釋曰：以法對喻，文相可了。是知儒道言同，皆佛法出。疏「況抨驢乳」下，即《智論》第三文。意謂佛教如牛乳，修得解脫如抨得酪生熟酥等。不解修行尚不得酪，況外道教猶彼驢乳。佛喻於牛，外道如驢。驢乳本非出酪之物，外道之教無解脫味，故抨驢乳但成屎尿。依外道教行，但招苦果，無所成益。

Regarding the commentary's "identical to the parable of stealing the cows in the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra]": this is in the third fascicle of the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra], answering Kāśyapa's question. The sūtra says: "At that time Bodhisattva Kāśyapa addressed the Buddha: 'World-Honoured One! What difference is there between supramundane dharmas and mundane dharmas? As the Buddha said: "The Buddha is a permanent dharma, an unchanging dharma." The mundane world also says that Brahmā is permanent, Īśvara is permanent and unchanging, the self is permanent, nature is permanent, and subtle atoms are also permanent. If you say that the Tathāgata is a permanent dharma, why does the Tathāgata not appear permanently? If he does not appear permanently, what difference is there? Why? Because Brahmā down to subtle atoms and worldly nature also do not appear.' The Buddha told Kāśyapa: 'For example, a householder had many cows; although their colours were various, they belonged to the same herd. He entrusted them to a herdsman to let them follow water and grass, seeking only sarpirmaṇḍa and not seeking milk or curd. That herdsman, having milked them, ate it himself. When the householder died, all the cows were plundered by a band of thieves. Having obtained the cows, the thieves had no women, so they milked the cows themselves and ate it once obtained. At that time the band of thieves said to one another: "That great householder raised these cows not expecting milk or curd, but only for sarpirmaṇḍa. By what method shall we now obtain it? Sarpirmaṇḍa is called the foremost, supreme flavour in the world. We have no vessels; even if we obtain milk, there is no place to put it." They again said to one another: "We have only leather pouches to contain it." Although they had a container, they did not know how to churn it; even buttermilk was hard to obtain, how much more so fresh butter! At that time the thieves, for the sake of sarpirmaṇḍa, added water to it. Because the water was abundant, the milk, curd, and sarpirmaṇḍa were all lost. Ordinary persons are also like this: although they have wholesome dharmas, they are all remnants of the Tathāgata's correct Dharma. Why? After the Tathāgata, the World-Honoured One, entered nirvāṇa, they stole the Tathāgata's remaining wholesome dharmas such as morality, concentration, and wisdom, just as those thieves plundered the herd of cows. Although those ordinary persons obtained this morality, concentration, and wisdom, they lacked upāya and could not explain them. For this reason, they could not obtain the liberation of permanent morality, permanent concentration, and permanent wisdom. They are like those thieves who, not knowing the upāya, lost the sarpirmaṇḍa, and like those thieves who, for the sake of sarpirmaṇḍa, added water to it. Ordinary persons are also like this: for the sake of liberation, they say that the self, person, sentient being, living soul, individual, Brahmā, Īśvara, subtle atoms, worldly nature, morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and the heaven of neither-perception-nor-non-perception are nirvāṇa; yet in truth they cannot obtain liberation and nirvāṇa, just as those thieves could not obtain sarpirmaṇḍa. These ordinary persons practice a small amount of brahma-conduct and make offerings to parents; through these causes and conditions they are born in the heavens and receive a little peace and joy, just like the thieves' milk with added water. But these ordinary persons truly do not know that it is due to cultivating a small amount of brahma-conduct and making offerings to parents that they are born in the heavens, nor can they know to take refuge in the Three Jewels through morality, concentration, and wisdom. Because they do not know, they speak of permanence, bliss, self, and purity; although they speak of them, in truth they do not know them. Therefore, after the Tathāgata appears in the world, he expounds permanence, bliss, self, and purity for them. Just as when a wheel-turning king appears in the world, by the power of his merit the band of thieves retreats and disperses, and the cows do not lose their lives. At that time the wheel-turning king entrusts the cows to a herdsman who has many skillful upāyas; this person, through upāya, immediately obtains sarpirmaṇḍa, and because of the sarpirmaṇḍa all sentient beings are free from affliction and suffering. When the Dharma-wheel sage king appears in the world, all ordinary persons who cannot expound morality, concentration, and wisdom retreat and disperse, just as the thieves retreat and disperse. At that time, the Tathāgata skillfully expounds mundane dharmas and supramundane dharmas, and for the sake of sentient beings causes the bodhisattvas to expound them accordingly. When the bodhisattva mahāsattvas have obtained the sarpirmaṇḍa, they further cause immeasurable and boundless sentient beings to obtain the supreme flavour of the amṛta Dharma, namely the Tathāgata's permanence, bliss, self, and purity. For this reason, good man, the Tathāgata is a permanent, unchanging dharma, not like mundane ordinary foolish people claiming that Brahmā and the like are permanent dharmas. This designation of a permanent dharma applies only to the Tathāgata, not to other dharmas. Kāśyapa! You should know the Tathāgata's body in this way.'" Explanation: Matching the Dharma to the parable, the textual meaning is clear. From this we know that the similar words of Confucianism and Daoism all originated from the Buddha's Dharma. Regarding the commentary's "how much more so churning donkey's milk" and what follows: this is the text of the third [fascicle] of the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa. The meaning is that the Buddha's teaching is like cow's milk: through cultivation one obtains liberation, just as through churning one obtains curd, fresh butter, clarified butter, and so forth. If one does not understand how to cultivate, one cannot even obtain curd, how much less when the non-Buddhist teachings are like that donkey's milk! The Buddha is compared to a cow, while non-Buddhists are like donkeys. Donkey's milk is fundamentally not something from which curd can be produced; the teachings of non-Buddhists have no flavour of liberation, so churning donkey's milk produces only feces and urine. Practicing according to non-Buddhist teachings incurs only bitter fruit, with nothing achieved or beneficial.