大般涅槃經集解 40.10

40.10

Sengliang states: Broadly classified, there are two kinds of bodhisattvas: those who are mundane and those who are supramundane. If one maintains the precepts purely with a firm and unshakable mind, one will ultimately give rise to concentration and generate wisdom, knowing that what is posited by the ninety-six heterodox paths is wrong and knowing that the principle clarified by the Buddha's Dharma is right. This is one who trusts and practices, cutting off the two extremes completely; such a one belongs to the class of people who know and see. Question: What kind of person is this? It is a person at or above the five faculties beginning with faith; this person is forever separated from saṃsāra, has no further anxiety about entering the three destinies, and is called a supramundane bodhisattva. If the faithful mind is not established and the maintenance of precepts is impure, then even if one encounters the Nirvāṇa Sūtra and accepts and upholds it with faith, but does not recognize that what is posited by the ninety-six kinds is wrong and that what is clarified by the Buddha's Dharma is right, this is called the four foundations of mindfulness. The former person is a mundane bodhisattva, and is in turn concluded to belong to the category of people who do not know, see, or perceive. From here on, there are altogether three levels of text that categorize them: First, categorizing what was just explained in terms of accomplishment or non-accomplishment within the mind of faith and wisdom; this is the first level. Second, categorizing among those who propagate the Dharma: if in an evil age one maintains purity without giving rise to slander, recognizes that what is posited by the ninety-six heterodox paths is wrong, and verifies what is posited by the Buddha's Dharma, this is a supramundane bodhisattva, falling into the rank of people who know, see, and perceive. If, even while propagating this sūtra in an evil age, one's maintenance of precepts is impure, one also causes beings to slander [the Dharma], and one also fails to recognize what is right and wrong between the internal and external, this is called a mundane bodhisattva, belonging to the stream of people who do not know, see, or perceive. Third, categorizing in terms of the six recollections: if, relying on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, one accomplishes the four foundations of mindfulness through the six recollections and knows the right and wrong of the internal and external, one is called a supramundane bodhisattva and is a person who knows, sees, and perceives. If one fails to accomplish the six recollections, still relying on past study, and also fails to recognize the right and wrong of the internal and external, one is called a mundane bodhisattva, one who does not know, see, or perceive.