勝鬘寶窟 1.62

1.62

「爾時勝鬘」下，十五章二章已竟，今第三次明三大願章，可作七門釋之。一來意門。第一歎如來真實義功德，此善必種至菩提，故佛為授記。如來既記，果在未來，此果非行不剋，故第二勝鬘對佛自誓受十大受，明修取果之因。因義雖多，不出止行兩善，受十大受即是止善；今發大願，此明行善。問：三種戒中，初止一切惡，可是止善。第二修一切善、第三度一切生，云何亦是止善？答：第二戒止不修一切善之惡、第三戒止不度一切眾生惡，故三戒並用止善為體。問：上亦有作義，云何判為止善耶？答：雖有作義，而意為止不作之失，故止門所攝。又求於佛果不出行願，就行願門相對者，上十大受名為行門，今三大願即是願門。又十受事難、誓期遐遠，要須以大願故扶持，故次十受而明三願。又若作分外內義，上來明內分之行，今明分外之行。以明自誓受戒是分內行，願者求分外之事，未得者願得之。問：上云我從今日乃至菩提，豈非分外勝進行耶？答：凡受三種戒，一切人皆得，此三戒在心。而發願要求，未得之事令得，故願是分外勝進解也。若文鉤鎖相生者，上第十受明攝受正法終不忘失，是故今發願，願得正法智乃至守護正法也。又前云令法種增長，上十受及以三願即是法種增長之事。

From "At that time, Śrīmālā" onwards: of the fifteen chapters, two chapters are already completed; now third is the chapter explaining the three great vows, which can be interpreted through seven sections. First, the section on the purpose of its occurrence. First, she praised the tathāgata's merits of the real meaning; this good must plant [the seed reaching] all the way to bodhi, and so the Buddha bestowed the prophecy upon her. Since the Tathāgata had already prophesied, the fruit lies in the future; as this fruit cannot be attained without practice, second, Śrīmālā made vows before the Buddha taking upon herself the ten great vows, explaining the cultivation of the cause that grasps the fruit. Although the meanings of the cause are many, they do not go beyond the two goods of cessation and practice: taking upon oneself the ten great vows is the good of cessation; now giving rise to the great vows explains the good of practice. Question: Among the three kinds of precepts, the first stops all evil and indeed can be the good of cessation; the second cultivates all goods and the third delivers all sentient beings—how are these also the good of cessation? Answer: The second precept stops the evil of not cultivating all goods; the third precept stops the evil of not delivering all sentient beings. Therefore, all three precepts take the good of cessation as their essence. Question: Above there is also the sense of positive action; why is it judged as the good of cessation? Answer: Although there is the sense of positive action, the intention is to stop the fault of not acting; hence it is subsumed under the category of cessation. Furthermore, seeking the Buddha fruit does not go beyond practice and vows: when contrasting the gates of practice and vows, the ten great vows above are called the gate of practice, while these three great vows are the gate of vows. Furthermore, the matters of the ten vows are difficult and the duration pledged is far-reaching; they indispensably require great vows to support them; therefore, following the ten vows, the three vows are explained. Furthermore, if taken in terms of internal duty versus external advancement: what came above explained the practice of one's internal duty, while this now explains the practice that exceeds one's duty. Taking the vows oneself is practice within one's duty; a vow seeks matters beyond one's present duty, wishing to attain what has not yet been attained. Question: Above it says, "From this day forth until bodhi"—is this not an advanced practice exceeding one's duty? Answer: Generally speaking, when the three kinds of precepts are taken, all people can obtain them, and these three precepts abide in the mind. But making vows entails aspiration, causing what has not yet been attained to be attained; hence vows are understood as an advanced progress exceeding one's duty. If explained as interlinked links: the tenth vow above explained embracing the saddharma and never forgetting it; therefore she now makes vows, wishing to attain the wisdom of the saddharma and ultimately to guard the saddharma. Furthermore, earlier it was said, "causing the seed of Dharma to increase"; the ten vows above along with the three vows are precisely the matters of the increase of the seed of Dharma.