觀無量壽佛經疏妙宗鈔 2.3

2.3

Second, explaining the word 'preached,' in two parts: first, taking up and explaining it. 'Delight' means to gladden; 'bosom' means the mind's intent. In terms of this sūtra, it is the Tathāgata having long cultivated and long realized the buddhamanasikāra-samādhi and harboured it in his bosom; now that the capacity knocks and evokes it, preaching it thereby gladdens what was harboured of old. Second, from 'namely ten' downward, displaying the characteristics. In terms of the present preaching, it centers precisely on buddhamanasikāra; the next passage will explain it in detail, so it is not set forth beforehand here, but its preaching characteristics are clarified generally. The text has two parts: first, clarifying the characteristics of the dharmas preached. The twelve divisions of scriptures generally clarify the characteristics of preaching, meaning preaching either in prose, or in verses repeating the prose, or as unprecedented tales, or as self-proclaimed without request, and so on. The eighty thousand dharma-treasuries fully display the various dharma-gates preached; [properly] speaking it should be eighty-four thousand, but here the round number is raised, yet one should clearly know that there are many eighty thousands. Taking the four truths to illustrate the various eighty thousands: if we speak of the eighty thousand dharma-treasuries, they are the truth of suffering; the eighty thousand defilements are the truth of origination; the eighty thousand gates of antidotes, the eighty thousand gates of samādhi, and the eighty thousand dhāraṇīs are all the truth of the path; the eighty thousand pāramitās are the truth of cessation. Now, although one is shown, in principle it subsumes the other three. Because the term 'dharma-treasury' has the meaning of an aggregate or heap, it is classified under the truth of suffering; further, through the meaning of aggregates, it subsumes the three truths, because the four names and concepts are not separate from the skandhas. As the Abhidharmakośa says: 'The aggregates of Dharma preached by the Sage number eighty thousand; their substance, whether speech or name, is subsumed under the skandhas of form and saṃskāras.' Thus both the twelve divisions and the eighty thousand pervade both Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna. Some say the Hīnayāna has only nine divisions and the Great [Vehicle] has twelve; some say the Hīnayāna has twelve and the Great has only nine; some say both Great and Small have twelve. Although the six pāramitās and the four immeasurables belong to the Mahāyāna, they also apply to the bodhisattvas of phenomenal deliverance in the Tripiṭaka [teaching]. However, their names and numbers are identical in all four teachings; one must determine their provisional or real nature according to the two principles of truth and the middle that are expounded. Furthermore, discussing the four kinds of contemplative practices capable of approaching them serves to distinguish the biased from the perfect, preventing the Jewel Islet and the Conjured City, the circuitous and the direct, from being conflated. Second, from 'furthermore, in' downward, clarifying the skillfulness in preaching, in two parts: first, clarifying the four siddhāntas with regard to one dharma and one gate. Since the eighty thousand and other dharmas listed above pervade the four teachings, they are the eighty thousand of arising and perishing, the eighty thousand of non-arising, the eighty thousand of the immeasurable, and the eighty thousand of unconditioned activity. Taking the eighty thousand of arising and perishing, if one takes any single dharma, one must open four gates. The nominal persons of the four gates are equally ungraspable; as for their real dharmas, the four meanings are distinct. Preaching according to the gate of existence, there is impermanence thought by thought, like the flame of a lamp. Preaching according to the gate of emptiness, the three designations are floating and hollow, like clouds and fog. Preaching according to the gate of both [existence and emptiness], the two marks are harmonious. Preaching according to the gate of neither [existence nor emptiness], both marks are abandoned. Through one of the four gates, because the capacities are raw or ripe, the four siddhāntas are bestowed upon them. For those who have not yet planted [good roots], he provides the worldly preaching to make them rejoice, praise, apply, receive, and practice it. For those who have already planted, he uses the middle two siddhāntas: if good roots have not arisen, he provides the individual preaching to cause their past good, faith, precepts, vigor, and mindfulness to arise. For those whose evil is not yet broken, he must provide the antidote preaching to make their three poisons melt away like ice. For those who are already ripe, he provides the supreme truth preaching to enable them to accord with the real, transform from ordinary to noble. The Buddha's wisdom discerns their capacities, so his preaching is sure to hit the mark: knowing they will not enter the principle, he causes them to attain three benefits; knowing they will not break evil, he causes them to attain two benefits; if no good can be aroused, he gives the worldly preaching merely to produce joy; if there were no benefit at all, the Buddha would not preach. Second, from 'if one' downward, analogizing the various dharmas and gates to show the four siddhāntas. Above, it was clarified that one gate bestows the four siddhāntas upon capacities; the remaining three gates bestow them upon capacities in the same way. Since one among the eighty thousand through the four gates and four siddhāntas bestows them upon capacities like this, all the other dharmas through their four gates and four siddhāntas bestowing them upon capacities are also like this. If the eighty thousand gates of one teaching are all like this, so are the other three teachings. The eighty thousand dharma-treasuries are analogized to the defilements, the gates of antidotes, samādhis, dhāraṇīs, pāramitās, and so forth: each and every eighty thousand, each and every dharma has four teachings, each and every teaching has four gates, and each and every gate has four siddhāntas. Its twelve divisions, six pāramitās, and four immeasurables may be understood by following this. In this way, the marks of the Buddha's preaching are briefly clarified.