大般涅槃經集解 45.3

45.3

Sengliang states: "Having already explained the five practices, [the sūtra] next explains the meritorious virtues obtained through practice." Sengzong states: "This chapter elaborates upon the preceding five practices. Meritorious virtues are the excellence within practice; before reaching the fruit of buddhahood, one possesses meritorious virtues. Meritorious virtue and practice stand only in a conceptual relationship of cause and fruit. Just as with the single dharma of suffering and bliss, in terms of the sense of being able to produce, it is the origin [of suffering], while in terms of the sense of being produced, it is suffering; practice and meritorious virtue are also like this. Among the ten meritorious virtues, the first and second meritorious virtues together elaborate upon the noble practice; the third and fourth together elaborate upon the pure practice; the fifth and sixth together elaborate upon the heavenly practice; the seventh through the tenth have no separate practices to elaborate upon, but comprehensively elaborate upon the three practices above." Baoliang states: "The five practices and ten meritorious virtues are designations given from complementary perspectives. Practice takes proceeding from cause toward fruit as its meaning; meritorious virtue takes praise as its designation. Another interpretation is that the five practices are terms for the cause, while meritorious virtues are terms for the fruit. Why is this? The adamantine mind is the culmination among causes; nirvāṇa is the culmination among fruits. From a single thought onward, comprehensively encompassing all practices, all are the cause of nirvāṇa. Nevertheless, prior to the adamantine [mind], the meaning of both cause and fruit is also possessed. However, not knowing how long ago the arising of wholesome [roots] was, taking the preceding single thought as the cause, it can nourish and produce the subsequent thought; for the subsequent wholesome thought to be produced, it must take the preceding wholesome thought as its cause. When preceding and subsequent thoughts succeed one another in this way, upon reaching the fruit of buddhahood, there is the principle of being both cause and fruit. If one grasps the subsequent thought looking back toward the preceding thought, it is the cause; if one grasps the preceding thought looking toward the subsequent thought, it is the fruit. Thus, the five practices are based on the cause, and the ten meritorious virtues are based on the fruit. Now the ten meritorious virtues in turn elaborate upon the preceding five practices. How is this known? The noble practice takes discipline, concentration, and wisdom as its essence; here, the first meritorious virtue likewise clarifies the three wisdoms up to the exhaustion of outflows as comprehensively forming its essence. The second meritorious virtue takes the five superknowledges as its essence. Wisdom is prajñā, and the five superknowledges are the fruit of concentration; therefore, these two meritorious virtues elaborate upon the noble practice. The third meritorious virtue takes loving-kindness and compassion as its essence. The fourth meritorious virtue takes ten matters as its essence. The ten matters are sympathetic joy and equanimity; therefore, these two are used to elaborate upon the pure practice. The fifth meritorious virtue takes five matters as its essence. The sixth meritorious virtue takes the adamantine samādhi as its essence. These two elaborate upon the heavenly practice, because the heavenly practice takes the eight dhyāna-concentrations as its essence. Regarding the five matters: first, having all faculties intact, one is therefore able to cultivate concentration; second, not being born in borderlands, because it is not a difficult condition, one is therefore able to cultivate concentration; third, being protected and remembered by the devas; fourth, being loved and remembered by the world, having planted the roots of virtue in past lives, thus devas protect and humans love them, so they are then able to cultivate concentration; fifth, obtaining the knowledge of past lives, which is the fruit of concentration. Cultivating these five matters, one then obtains the heavenly practice; the adamantine samādhi is the culmination among all concentrations, so it is known to elaborate upon the heavenly practice. The seventh and eighth meritorious virtues elaborate upon the infant practice. The seventh takes four dharmas as its essence, namely: associating with good friends, listening to the correct Dharma, fastening mindfulness in reflection, and practicing as taught; these four were originally what beginners practice, the dharmas for instructing infants. The eighth takes nine gathered dharmas as its essence, from severing the five aggregates up to the mind's good liberation; this is also a dharma of initial teaching. Therefore, it is known that these two meritorious virtues both elaborate upon the infant practice. The tenth meritorious virtue elaborates upon the diseased practice. According to traditional transmission, the previously mentioned three types of sick persons and the five types of sick persons such as the srotāpanna are used as the characteristics of diseased practice; now the ninth meritorious virtue likewise clarifies the three types of sick persons. The tenth meritorious virtue clarifies the thirty-seven factors [of awakening]. These thirty-seven factors are the dharmas practiced by those five types of sick persons, and for this reason it elaborates upon the diseased practice." Zhixiu states: "Generally dividing this chapter, there are overall two meanings: first, presenting a comprehensive praise; second, delineating the essences in turn. Differentiating them into ten is merely one approach to the Dharma gates."