大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 43.48

43.48

Regarding the Commentary's line "The Awakening of Faith states": other treatises discuss this at length, but this treatise is lucid and easy for people to consult; hence it is now briefly shown. That is, in the section on Developing Faith through Practice, the treatise states: "Some sentient beings lack the power of wholesome roots, and thus are deluded and confused by various māras, non-Buddhists, ghosts, and spirits. When sitting [in meditation], they may manifest terrifying forms, or manifest handsome male or female appearances. One should contemplate that they are mind-only; the objects will then perish and will never cause distress. Or they manifest the appearance of gods, of bodhisattvas, or even produce the appearance of a Tathāgata endowed with the major and minor marks, preaching dhāraṇīs, or preaching giving, precept-keeping, forbearance, vigor, dhyāna-concentration, and wisdom; or preaching equality, emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, having neither enemy nor kin, having neither cause nor effect, and that ultimate quiescence is true nirvāṇa; or causing a person to know the past events of previous lives and also to know future events, obtaining knowledge of others' minds and unhindered eloquence, capable of causing sentient beings to be greedily attached to worldly matters of fame and profit. Furthermore, they cause a person to become frequently angry and frequently joyful with no constant standard in temperament, or to have much affectionate love, much sleep, and much illness, their mind indolent, suddenly generating vigor but later dropping and abandoning it, producing lack of faith with much doubt and apprehension, or abandoning their original superior practice to cultivate mixed actions instead. They become attached to worldly affairs and are tangled in various ways. They can also cause a person to attain a slight resemblance to various samādhis, which are all attained by non-Buddhists and are not genuine samādhis. Or again, they cause a person to remain in meditative concentration for one day, two days, three days, or even seven days, obtaining naturally fragrant and delicious food and drink, with body and mind relaxed and joyful, without hunger or thirst, causing the person to cherish and cling [to it]. Or again, they cause a person to have no measure in eating, suddenly much and suddenly little, with complexion altering and changing. For these reasons, practitioners should observe with wisdom and not allow this mind to fall into the net of heterodoxy. One should diligently maintain correct mindfulness without grasping or clinging; then one will be able to leave far behind all these karmic hindrances," and so forth. In explanation: Although this passage of text is somewhat extensive, it is also essential and useful. As it also contains the antidotes, it demonstrates that the bodhisattva's mind is without delusion or confusion.