勝鬘寶窟 2.28

2.28

From "World-Honoured One! Furthermore, good sons..." onward: the exposition of the preceding three section headings—namely principle, practice, and fruit—is now complete. Through principle practice is accomplished; through practice the fruit is attained; this is the practice for the benefit of oneself. Once the practice for the benefit of oneself is accomplished, the practice for the benefit of others is then explained. Benefiting others refers to the eighty-four thousand Dharma-doors, which are the ultimate of benefiting others. Hence above there were four designations, and arriving here there are four corresponding expositions. Question: The present text explains protecting the Dharma; why do you say it explains the preceding eighty-four thousand Dharma teachings? Answer: Protecting the Dharma specifically refers to protecting the teaching. Therefore, explaining the protection of the Dharma here is precisely explaining the preceding teaching. Renouncing false teachings and manifesting the true teaching is called protecting the Dharma. Furthermore, the reason this text follows is to explain the intent of abandoning the three [impermanent things]. The reason one abandons the three is for the sake of protecting the Dharma. As the third vow above states: "For the sake of protecting the saddharma, I renounce body, life, and wealth." The Fo xing lun (Treatise on Buddha-Nature) explains that due to ten causes and conditions [the dharmakāya] is permanent; the first meaning states: "Renouncing body, life, and wealth is for the sake of upholding the saddharma." Since the saddharma is inexhaustible, through inexhaustible causes one brings about an inexhaustible fruit; the fruit is precisely the three bodies, and is therefore permanent. Furthermore, this brings to completion the preceding attainment of the three [impermanent things], as the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] states: "Through the causes and conditions of protecting the Dharma, one attains a vajra body." Moreover, a bodhisattva abandons the three for two purposes: first, below, to benefit sentient beings; second, above, to protect the great Dharma. The preceding passage explained that for the sake of benefiting the four modes of birth one therefore abandons the three; the present passage explains that for the sake of protecting the Three Jewels above one therefore abandons the three. Question: The preceding three all explain upholding; why in protecting the Dharma is there no mention of upholding? Answer: Principle, practice, and fruit are matters of realization; therefore upholding is explained. In protecting the Dharma it is the teaching that is explained; therefore upholding is not explained. Moreover, it is for the sake of brevity, and can also be understood by analogy with the preceding. In the text there are four parts: first, identifying the persons who protect the Dharma; second, from "when the Dharma is about to be destroyed" onward, determining the time of protecting the Dharma; third, from "without flattery" onward, manifesting the practices capable of protecting; fourth, from "entering the company of the Dharma" onward, the resulting benefit of protecting. "Good sons and good daughters" identifies the persons who protect the Dharma. "When the Dharma is about to be destroyed" is the time of protecting the Dharma. From "bhikṣu" onward identifies the persons who destroy the Dharma. The Sanskrit word bhikṣu has five semantic translations in this region: first, "one who frightens Māra," because when he first leaves household life he causes Māra to be timid and terrified—this meaning is based on the beginning; second, "mendicant," because once he has left household life he accumulates nothing and begs for alms to sustain himself; third, "pure livelihood," because he begs in accordance with the Dharma, free from wrong livelihood—these two are based on the middle; fourth, "pure observer of the precepts," because having left household life he cultivates and maintains the pure precepts; fifth, "destroyer of evil," because through keeping the precepts he is free from the evil of violating precepts—these two are based on the conclusion. "[Bhikṣu]ṇī" means woman. "Upāsaka" is translated here as "man of good lodging." Harboring goodness and abiding therein, he is therefore called a "man of good lodging." It is also called "abiding near," because by harboring goodness and abiding therein, he abides near the Buddha. "[Upāsikā]" means woman. If these four kinds of persons can practice in accordance with the teaching, they are the ones who protect the Dharma. Thus the Renwang jing (Humane Kings Sūtra) states: "Just as a lion is not devoured by other beasts, but rather is devoured by the worms inside its own body, so it is with the Buddha-Dharma: heavenly demons and non-Buddhists cannot destroy my Dharma; it is rather the disciples of my four assemblies who can destroy my Dharma." "Forming factions and engaging in disputes" brings out the marks of destroying the Dharma. Forming factions is corruption of the mind. Engaging in disputes is corruption of speech. "Breaking up and scattering" refers to corruption of the body. Furthermore, compiling false vinaya and emotionally siding with one or the other is called forming factions. Contentiously arguing over right and wrong is called engaging in disputes. Splitting into different factions is called breaking up. Each going their separate ways is called scattering. Moreover, this is schism of the saṃgha; hence it says "scattering." From "Through being without flattery" onward directly explains protecting the Dharma. There are six phrases in all: the first three are distinct from the false; the latter three are aligned with the true. "Through being without flattery" is freedom from falsehood of body. Bodily conforming to an evil faction is called flattery and crookedness. "Without deceit" is freedom from falsehood of speech. Verbally proclaiming false teachings is called deceit. "Without pretension" is freedom from falsehood of mind. Deluding the mind with false teachings is called pretension. Furthermore, being without flattery means being free from the defilement of flattery, not feigning goodness in outward appearance. Being without deceit means being free from the defilement of deceit, not concealing internal evil. The four-fascicle Abhidharma states: "Crookedness arises from flattery and pretension"; hence they are combined here as "without flattery." The Tattvasiddhi-śāstra states: "Because a flattering mind accomplishes its object, it is called deceit"; hence following "without flattery," "without deceit" is explained. As for without pretension, if one feigns goodness in outward appearance and conceals internal evil, that is called pretension. Because one does not feign goodness in outward appearance nor conceal internal evil, it is called without pretension. Master Lin said: "Bodily karma is deceit; mental karma is flattery; physical karma is pretension." Furthermore, when a teacher of the Dharma flatters those who are superior and faces them [submissively], and gives rise to deceit toward those inferior to himself, his mind is not authentic, which is called pretension. For instance, when King Brahmā was preaching the Dharma to the Brahmā sons, the monk Black Teeth (Kṛṣṇadanta) used his supernormal powers to go there and ask him: "From what samādhi does this body arise? In what samādhi does it cease?" He was unable to answer, and merely said: "I am the Great Brahmā King. I am the Great Brahmā King." When he finished preaching the Dharma, he took Black Teeth by the hand: "Do not question me in the midst of the assembly." This was flattering Black Teeth and giving rise to deceit toward the lesser Brahmās, being inauthentic in both places. Furthermore, the ordinary person's inverted two views are called flattery and crookedness; the two vehicles' lack of finality is deceit—Śāriputra said: "Alas! Deeply I reproach myself. How could I have deceived myself?"—and the bodhisattvas of confused and empty minds are called pretension. Now, the bodhisattva who protects the Dharma is free from these two minds. In the following part aligned with the true: "loving and delighting in the saddharma" is rectitude of the mind; "upholding the saddharma" is rectitude of speech—seeking the Dharma with good words is called upholding. Furthermore, loving and delighting is entering the correct practice. Moreover, loving and delighting in the saddharma is the initial mind's aspiration; upholding the saddharma is the final mind's concordance. "Entering the company of the Dharma" is rectitude of the body. Because of upholding the Dharma, one enters into the ranks of virtuous bodhisattvas, which is called entering the company of the Dharma. Entering the company of the Dharma explains that the practice of protecting the Dharma is perfected and one will definitely attain buddhahood; hence one is prophesied by the Buddha. From "World-Honoured One, I see that upholding the saddharma..." onward: this passage comes next for two intents: first, a distant origin; second, an immediate origin. As for the distant origin: up to this point Śrīmālā has spoken of upholding the saddharma, and now she looks up and defers to the Buddha. Looking up and deferring to the Buddha manifests that upholding the saddharma has great power of merit. As for the second, the immediate origin: she praises the bodhisattvas who uphold the saddharma and protect the Dharma as possessing great power, and requests the Buddha to bear witness and know it. In the text there are two parts: first, explaining the Buddha's virtue of being able to know; from "also fully knows and sees" onward, directly explaining the Buddha's knowledge. "The Buddha is the true eye": for such a person who protects the Dharma, the meritorious function of converting others is deep and vast, immeasurable to lower stages; only the Buddha illuminates it distinctly, so it says the Buddha is the true eye. The five phrases starting with "true wisdom" praise the Buddha. They are divided into two: first, the two phrases "true eye" and "true wisdom" praise the Buddha's function of being able to know and see the upholding of the saddharma; next, three phrases praise the Buddha's ability to comprehend the Dharma. Initial illumination is called the eye; subsequent knowledge is called wisdom. Furthermore, the designation "eye" is based on the Buddha-eye among the five eyes; "wisdom" refers to taking the Buddha-wisdom among the wisdoms of the three vehicles. Both can accord with the object as it truly is, and are therefore called "true." Nāgārjuna said: "Only the Buddha alone possesses unfailing phenomena." Therefore among the four eyes [the text] takes the Buddha-eye, and among the eleven wisdoms takes the true-knowledge-as-it-is. "Is the root of the Dharma": the Buddha is the source of attaining the Dharma. Furthermore, because the Dharma issues from the Buddha, he is the root of the Dharma. Completely comprehending everything, he is "one who has thoroughly penetrated the Dharma." Being able to confer the saddharma upon sentient beings, he is "the refuge of the saddharma." "Also fully knows and sees" explains that Śrīmālā says: "I see that the bodhisattva who protects the Dharma possesses such power; the Buddha possesses the true eye and true wisdom, and also fully knows and sees this person's great power."