大般涅槃經集解 4.49

4.49

Daosheng says: When giving requires food, it causes the obtainment of five fruits, and thus all five return to oneself. If the giving does not require food, then the five permanent ones are manifested. Because the five permanent ones are manifested, only then is there permanence. Thus, that the giving obtains a permanent fruit must stem from the recipient being permanent. Sengliang says: Above he encouraged questions on doubts, and now he opens the theme of doubts. How so? In the past he taught that from ordinary persons up to Buddhas all are impermanent; now he says that giving yields permanence. The words contradict the past, so in principle one ought to doubt and question. Fayao says: This purport has two aspects. How so? First, it expresses that what Cunda seeks from future eaters is intended to reveal the purport of permanence. Second, it clarifies that the Tathāgata today can bestow permanence, being himself the field of permanence. Thus, by means of eating he expresses non-eating, and by lodging in extinction he clarifies non-extinction; the destination and purport of the sūtra are revealed here. The records of Sengzong by Jingyi state: From the Deer Park to the Vulture Peak, the four periods unfolded in sequence, reaching the extreme of 'doubling the previous count.' There were also regional, separate teachings, such as the Mahāmegha and Śrīmālādevī sūtras, which were solely for those of superior faculties. Today, opening the doctrine to reveal permanence is precisely for those of lower faculties, hence there is this gradual sequence. Baoliang says: Form corresponds to the position of the body; strength corresponds to the position of the mind. That which is composed of form and mind does not arise and perish moment by moment, hence it is called permanent life. When the Tathāgata appears in the world, whatever he transforms to produce even a single thought of good is entirely bestowing permanence upon people. How so? Although the eighty thousand [eons] of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception are attained, they are still fabricated by defilement and karma. If there is even a hair of good, it will surely remotely aid the permanent fruit and not invite birth and death; thus we know that this belongs to the province of permanence. But because this principle is profound, it could not be taught right away; it is only now revealed. Zhixiu says: Now, in saying 'bestow upon you,' the purport has two aspects. How so? First, because Cunda's giving today encounters the field of permanence, it logically accomplishes a permanent fruit. The fruit is obtained from the field, hence it is said that the Buddha bestows it. Second, if Cunda, by the cause of a single giving, can still evoke permanence, how much more so the Buddha, who has accumulated practices over countless kalpas—how could he be impermanent? Huilang relates Sengzong's view: This is the second stage, clarifying the fruit of giving in terms of the gate of merit. These five matters are spoken of as permanent in contrast to impermanence. Form and eloquence are spoken of with respect to the trace; the three matters of life, strength, and ease are discussed with respect to the root.