勝鬘寶窟 2.60

2.60

From the passage beginning "World-Honoured One, the arhats..." onward: above, it was specifically explained that arhats and pratyekabuddhas do not attain the four wisdoms; below, it generally explains the reason why they do not attain them. Furthermore, above it was specifically explained that arhats do not attain the four wisdoms; now it explains that they do not attain the four kinds of merits. Why so? Lest beings say only that arhats do not attain the four wisdoms yet attain all the merits, it is therefore explained now that they not only fail to attain the four wisdoms, but also fail to attain the four kinds of merits apart from the four wisdoms; hence this section follows. In explaining that they do not attain the merits of the four wisdoms, there are four points: first, having a remainder in severing faults; second, from "Because they do not sever..." onward, having a remainder in the three matters; third, from "Because they accomplish..." onward, having a remainder in knowing the truths; fourth, from "Termed attaining a minor portion..." onward, having a remainder in attaining nirvāṇa. As for the sequence of these four: first, directly continuing the above statement that the inexhaustion of the outflowless is precisely the stage of ignorance, it first explains having a remainder in severing faults. Because they do not sever ignorance, they only attain a liberation with remainder; hence next it explains having a remainder in the three matters. Because they have a remainder in the three matters, they only know the four truths with remainder; hence it explains having a remainder in knowing the truths. The four truths have nirvāṇa as their destination; hence it explains having a remainder in nirvāṇa. Moreover, among these four, the first explains that practitioners of the two vehicles have remaining faults that are not purified; the second [explains that] they do not accomplish all merits; the third [explains that] they do not accomplish immeasurable merits, because they cannot contemplate the immeasurable truths; the fourth [explains that] they do not accomplish inconceivable merits, because they cannot act constantly while remaining quiescent. Endowed with these four aspects, practitioners of the two vehicles do not attain the four wisdoms. These are similar to the four aspects in the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra*. In the first, there are two parts: first, revealing that the two vehicles and bodhisattvas of their final body, because they are obscured by ignorance, cannot realize and see all phenomena; second, from "Because they neither know nor see..." onward, showing that because they cannot realize and see them, they cannot eliminate the obstacles. Arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas of their final body being obscured by ignorance is the obstacle. "Arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas of their final body" adduces the persons who are obscured. Bodhisattvas in their final birth, before attaining buddhahood, are termed "the final [body]". All these are obscured by ignorance. Since even those in their final [body] are obscured, the others need hardly be mentioned. Question: It should properly be said that the two vehicles do not attain the four wisdoms because they are obscured by ignorance. Why adduce bodhisattvas? Answer: Bodhisattvas are adduced to reveal that the obscuration of the two vehicles is deep and severe. The lineage masters generally took the transformative body as the final body in contrast to the partitioned body; Master Fu held this view for the time being. This meaning is not restricted to those in the position of one more birth being the final body. "They neither know nor perceive those various phenomena" is the absence of an antidote. The sands-of-the-Ganges buddha-dharmas within the tathāgatagarbha are "those various phenomena." Being obscured by ignorance, they neither know nor perceive them. Because arhats and pratyekabuddhas do not sever it at all, they completely fail to understand, which is termed "not knowing"; although bodhisattvas of their final body have severed it, it is not yet exhausted, and they cannot attain the same complete awakening as the Buddha, hence it is said they "do not perceive." "Because they neither know nor see" means that because they do not realize and see, they cannot eliminate the obstacles. This also means having an obstacle and lacking an antidote: "because they neither know nor see" is the absence of an antidote. "Not seeing" is due to the preceding "not perceiving." "What should be severed is not severed and not brought to completion" is having an obstacle. The two vehicles do not know, and therefore cannot sever it even in part; the final body does not see, which shows that although the final body has severed [part of it], it is not exhausted, and thus it is "not brought to completion."