[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [大般涅槃經集解](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1763) › 1.12 # 大般涅槃經集解 1.12 大般涅槃經集解 1.12 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1763.1.12) 案寶亮：夫至靈幽寂，體踰有無，凝照虛湛，妙過數表，其旨絕於生死、超有為於言境，故大覺垂悲以被苦為本，但群品根異，則教成五別。猶物迷障重，未能安深，所以先開方便之說，資今圓常之旨也。眾生既蒙昔教以習心，便稍涉虛以入道，體常無常二輪雙徹，鑒生死為不有之有、涅槃為不無之無。既安真而悟理、識苦空而斷迷，自非修行入道發理緣之知，則煩惑不遣、生死難除。故今教之興，開神明之妙體也。辨生死，以二苦為本；明涅槃，以常樂為源。妙質恒而不動、用常改而不毀，無名無相，百非不辨。今涅槃之音，就用而得稱，是出世法之總名、貫眾德之通號，代生死之要目、美無餘之極說。障累既盡，萬行歸真，無德不滿、眾用皆足，轉因字果，名大涅槃。故下文言「若一德不脩，則不得稱大涅槃」也。然斯之語，乃是方土之音。聖既出於彼國，此亦無名以正翻，但文中訓況指義釋而已也。然其德淵曠，難可備舉，今略陳其樞要。理可有三，故〈哀歎品〉明，謂正法寶城及祕密藏也。二標別德、三寄功用，其義云何？夫涅槃無體，為眾德所成，故取況寶城喻於斯旨，非二乘所守瓦礫而非寶也。既體備萬工，亦何寶不滿。但昔教未明，今說始彰，隱實顯權，非祕密如何？二舉別德者，〈功德品〉云「謂大常大我大樂淨」等，此是成涅槃之勝因，故據別而標美也。體無生滅故稱曰常，八用自在謂之為我，寂然無苦目之為樂，塵穢永盡名之為淨，體相無邊便名為大，此乃是讚嘆之辭、裒美之稱也。三歎其工用者，故〈師子吼品〉稱謂「歸依洲渚」也。能使物免苦而永安、離河而登洲，越四流之淵海到無為之彼岸也。若尋其名用理數忘言，故聖化㢡被談德萬端，是以就開宗之始，借喻於伊字，云三點不縱不橫，異昔有餘無德之說，明具法身般若解脫也。然此三乃化道邊要，復貫通於諸德，亦表異因中之色心，顯佛果之勝用，無感不應，稱曰法身。囑境皆明，謂之般若。即體無累，便名解脫。明一一之德皆非涅槃，要總為其體。故下〈名字功德品〉中借八味甜蘇為嘆也。談真俗，兩體本同、用不相乖，而闇去俗盡、偽謝真彰，朗然洞照，故稱為佛。此經既於出世法之中開出世之教，引外凡之近資、接下愚之要道，斯理圓而益人，體無為而進德。但文博而旨幽，乃寄述於後釋也。經者，以經由為義。凡學者若不由此理教，則無容得解，故以經之一字貫斯一部之文理也。 > Baoliang's note: The ultimate spiritual \[nature\] is tranquil and quiet; its essence surpasses being and non-being. Its concentrated illumination is empty and serene; its wonder exceeds all calculation. Its purport is cut off from saṃsāra and transcends the conditioned beyond the realm of words. Therefore the Great Awakened One, in extending compassion, made the relieving of suffering primary; yet because the capacities of sentient beings differ, the teachings became five distinct \[vehicles\]. Since beings were shrouded in confusion and heavy hindrances, unable to settle into the profound, he first opened up conventional expositions to support the present principle of complete permanence. Once sentient beings had received the former teachings to train their minds, they gradually stepped into the empty to enter the path: the two wheels of the enduring and the impermanent thoroughly penetrated both, viewing saṃsāra as an existence that is not real existence, and nirvāṇa as a non-existence that is not absolute non-existence. Having settled in the true and awakened to the principle, having recognized suffering and emptiness and severed confusion, unless one practices and enters the path to develop knowledge conditioned by principle, afflictions and doubts cannot be dispelled, and saṃsāra will be difficult to eliminate. Thus the arising of the present teaching reveals the wondrous essence of spiritual clarity. Analyzing saṃsāra, it takes the two sufferings as its foundation; clarifying nirvāṇa, it takes permanence and bliss as its fountainhead. Its wondrous substance is constant and unmoving; its functions continually adapt without being destroyed. Devoid of name and form, the hundred negations cannot define it. Now the sound of 'nirvāṇa' acquires its designation in terms of function; it is the comprehensive name for world-transcending dharmas, the universal title linking all virtues, the essential term replacing saṃsāra, and the ultimate discourse praising the remainderless. When obstacles and burdens are exhausted and the myriad practices return to truth, no virtue is unfulfilled and all functions are complete; transforming causes to designate the fruit, it is named mahānirvāṇa. Hence the subsequent text states: 'If one virtue is uncultivated, it cannot be called mahānirvāṇa.' Yet these words are the speech of that land. Since the Sage appeared in that country, here too there is no single word for a direct translation; the text merely glosses and analogies to point to the meaning and explain it. Still, its virtues are vast and profound, difficult to enumerate fully; now I briefly set forth its pivotal essentials. In terms of principle, there are three, as explained in the 'Chapter on Lamentation': the jewel city of the True Dharma and the secret storehouse. The second indicates distinct virtues; the third draws upon efficacy and function. What does this mean? Nirvāṇa has no separate essence, but is constituted by myriad virtues; thus the jewel city is used as an analogy for this purport, unlike the rubble and shards clung to by the two vehicles, which are not jewels. Since its essence is equipped with myriad masteries, what jewel is not filled? But the former teachings did not clarify this, and only the present exposition reveals it; concealing the real and revealing the provisional—if not a secret storehouse, what is it? Second, as for presenting distinct virtues, the 'Chapter on Merits' states: 'It is called great permanence, great self, great bliss, and purity,' etc. These are the supreme causes constituting nirvāṇa; hence, relying on particulars, its excellence is displayed. Because its essence lacks birth and extinction, it is called permanent; because its eight functions are sovereign, it is called self; because it is tranquil and free from suffering, it is regarded as bliss; because defilements are eternally exhausted, it is named pure; because its essence and marks are boundless, it is named great. These are expressions of praise and titles of gathered excellence. Third, praising its efficacy and function, the 'Chapter on Lion's Roar' calls it 'the island of refuge.' It can make beings escape suffering and attain eternal peace, depart the river and ascend the island, cross the ocean abyss of the four currents, and arrive at the other shore of the unconditioned. If one pursues its names, functions, principles, and categories, words are forgotten; thus the holy transformation broadly covers beings and discusses myriad aspects of virtue. Therefore, at the opening of the school, it borrows the analogy of the letter \*i\*, saying that the three dots are neither vertical nor horizontal, unlike the former teachings on the remainder that lacked virtues, making clear that it is fully endowed with the dharmakāya, prajñā, and vimokṣa. These three are the essentials on the side of transforming beings, and they also run through all virtues, distinguishing it from physical form and mind in the causal state, and revealing the supreme functions of the Buddha-fruit. Responding to every stimulus is called the dharmakāya. Being clear regarding every object is called prajñā. Its very essence being free of encumbrance is named vimokṣa. This makes clear that each single virtue is not nirvāṇa alone; only when combined do they form its essence. Thus below, in the 'Chapter on the Merits of the Name,' the eight-flavored sweet clarified butter is borrowed as a praise. Regarding the true and the conventional, the two essences are originally identical, and their functions do not conflict; yet when darkness departs and the conventional is exhausted, when the false fades and the true is revealed, it shines clearly and penetrates thoroughly; hence it is called 'Buddha.' Since this sūtra reveals the world-transcending teaching within world-transcending dharmas, it draws upon the immediate capacities of ordinary beings outside the fold, and receives the essential path for the lowly and ignorant. This principle is complete and benefits humanity; its essence is unconditioned and advances virtue. But the text is broad and the purport profound, so it is relegated to the explanations that follow. As for \*sūtra\*, it takes 'passing through' (\*jingyou\*) as its meaning. If scholars do not pass through this principle and teaching, there is no way to attain understanding; hence the single word \*sūtra\* runs through the text and principle of this entire work. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 1.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1763.1.11) - [Next: 1.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1763.1.13) - [Up: 1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1763.1) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1763~en-mt.1.12) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1763.1.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1763.1.12) · Pramāṇa