大般涅槃經集解 1.12

1.12

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.