大般涅槃經集解 67.52

67.52

案僧亮曰：河譬涅槃經。七種眾生者，經說七種佛性，有無義異也。一是現有，六是現無。三世有者，一是現在，而六是過去。未來亦名中道也。僧宗曰：第七段，明因果不雜也。河中有七種眾生，《涅槃經》中有七種凡聖，所以知不雜者，言乃至龜方稱到岸，爾前六種猶在河中。在河則不名至岸，因中豈有果耶？寶亮曰：第三翻，就七人以明有無也。常沒，謂闡提也。暫出還沒，謂具縛凡夫，暫生世善，還入生死也。出已住，謂信等五根立也。遍觀四方，謂須陀洹果也。觀已行者，謂斯陀含也。行已復住，謂那含也。水陸俱行，謂得羅漢。以上乃至大涅槃，總為第七人也。

Sengliang states: The river is an analogy for the Nirvāṇa Sūtra. As for the 'seven kinds of sentient beings', the sūtra explains seven kinds of buddhadhātu, whose meanings of presence and absence differ. One is present existence, and six are present non-existence. Regarding existence across the three periods of time, one is present, and six are past. The future is also called the Middle Way. Sengzong states: The seventh section clarifies that cause and effect are not conflated. There are seven kinds of sentient beings in the river; in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, there are seven kinds of ordinary persons and noble ones. The reason we know they are not conflated is that only with the turtle can it be said that one has reached the shore; prior to that, the other six kinds are still in the river. Being in the river, one is not called having reached the shore—how could the fruit already exist in the cause? Baoliang states: The third cycle clarifies presence and absence in terms of seven persons. 'Constantly submerged' refers to the icchantika. 'Emerging briefly and submerging again' refers to the fully bound ordinary person, who temporarily gives rise to worldly goodness and then returns to birth-and-death. 'Having emerged, staying' refers to the establishment of the five faculties such as faith. 'Looking all around the four directions' refers to the fruit of the srotaāpanna. 'Having looked, proceeding' refers to the sakṛdāgāmin. 'Having proceeded, staying again' refers to the anāgāmin. 'Moving in both water and on land' refers to attaining arhatship. From this up to mahānirvāṇa, all together constitute the seventh person.