大般涅槃經集解 26.35

26.35

Sengliang notes: Next he answers 'Why does he teach the ultimate and the non-ultimate?' First explaining the practice of illness: the great assembly requested the Buddha to cure illness, so he explains the practice that first cures illness. 'Medicine' is named in relation to illness; relying on nirvāṇa for practice, there is no illness that is not cured. Wishing to reveal the efficacy of the practice of illness, he first explains that in the sūtras there are incurable illnesses. These three kinds of people cannot be cured by the sūtras; this explains the ultimate illness of the two vehicles. Having heard the other vaipulya [sūtras], even if they arouse the mind, because they do not know that the Buddha is permanent they ultimately do not attain buddhahood; this is called non-ultimate. When people such as those above hear the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] and generate faith, they do not require external treatment and can naturally attain buddhahood; this is the teaching that severs doubt. The designation 'practice of illness' is fully accounted for here. Fayao says: This mahānirvāṇa is the profound samādhi of the buddhas, not the realm traversed by the two vehicles. Entering this deep samādhi is called ultimately entering nirvāṇa. Because it is not entering nirvāṇa by eternal complete extinction, it is called not ultimately entering nirvāṇa. The meanings of ultimate and non-ultimate reside here. Sengzong says: Ultimate and non-ultimate each have their own purport; they are not non-definitive. But clinging to the words loses the purport, and taking it as a non-definitive teaching, a net of doubt arose; grasping the purport, one knows it is a definitive teaching, and the net of doubt is severed. Another meaning: past teachings all spoke of ultimate eternal extinction; now, because manifesting illness expresses freedom from illness, it can be revealed that illness is an esoteric expression, and through this he extensively expounds the esoteric expressions of the Tathāgata.