大般涅槃經集解 23.38

23.38

案僧亮曰：次答船師問也。生死苦海，人皆求度，而經能勸人脩學。佛度生死，更無餘道，乘大涅槃以救苦人也。下二風譬，初譬速度、後譬自慶，皆勸美也。寶亮曰：自前四問明因中利益，此明果中利益也。有三意：此第一，先明諸佛得度已，還濟眾生也。智秀曰：答第十八問。此下三問，皆明經力能為外物作緣。船有二種：一者為眾生作境界，正以信教故，便能生善也；二者妙佛住果地，還度生死也。

Sengliang comments: Next is the reply to the question about the ferryman. In the bitter sea of saṃsāra, all people seek deliverance, and the sūtra can exhort people to cultivate and learn. For the Buddha to deliver from saṃsāra, there is no other way: he boards the great nirvāṇa to rescue suffering beings. The two parables of the wind below—the first illustrates swift deliverance and the second illustrates self-rejoicing—both exhort and praise. Baoliang comments: The previous four questions clarified benefits within the cause; this clarifies benefits within the fruit. There are three meanings: this first one first clarifies that all Buddhas, having attained deliverance, return to ferry sentient beings across. Zhixiu says: Answering the eighteenth question. The three questions below all clarify that the power of the sūtra can serve as conditions for external beings. There are two kinds of ships: first, serving as an object of focus for sentient beings, precisely because they believe in the teaching and can then generate goodness; second, the wondrous Buddha abides in the stage of the fruit and returns to deliver from saṃsāra.