大般涅槃經集解 53.6

53.6

Sengliang comments: Having faith in the Three Jewels means knowing the place of refuge. However, taking refuge inevitably requires practice: taking giving as the beginning of practice, giving is explained next. Practice is itself the vehicle; vehicles have the real and the provisional, so next the two truths are explained. Since the One Vehicle is the ultimate truth and the two vehicles are worldly truth, the text below explains that one quickly attains liberation: the small vehicle is slow, but now it is said to be quick; relative to the lesser it is quick, for if one did not speak of the lesser vehicle, beings would eternally remain in birth-and-death. Because preaching it enables them to leave, it is called 'quick'. The nature of the noble ones is indestructible faith. Baoliang says: Faith has three grades. From the external ordinary worldling up to those in the wisdom of hearing, all are generally termed 'faith'. Although faith has myriad stages, because one resides in an indeterminate rank, it counts as the lower grade. If the five faculties headed by faith are established up to the worldly supreme dharmas, it is called medium-grade faith. Receiving and attaining the true understanding of anutpāda and progressing up to the ninth bhūmi is generally termed upper-grade faith. However, what is clarified here takes faith at the medium grade. Why is this? Because this faith having been established, supported by it one enters emptiness and ascends to the path of seeing the truths. Before this, lower-grade faith is not without its distant contribution, but it is not yet firm. Since the stage is not yet determinate, it is not recorded here. If one relies on it from afar along the path, by principle one forgets words. However, in entering the ocean of the Buddhadharma, faith must necessarily come first. Once this mind is established, the treasures within the Buddhadharma naturally arise in succession. Therefore, now it first marks taking refuge in the Three Jewels as the beginning, showing the inception of the establishment of faith. Even though one has faith in the Three Jewels, if one does not believe there are causes that practice the six perfections, those practices will not be accomplished either; therefore, the sūtra text broadly lists the objects of faith. However, in setting forth the spheres of faith here, it presents two kinds of ultimate truth. First, having faith in the two truths means believing that birth-and-death is falsely existent, yet its essence is devoid of intrinsic nature; this relies on the opening of the two gates of emptiness and existence since the *Dapin* [Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]. Later it goes on to speak of having faith in the ultimate truth: this is believing in the ultimate reality of the wondrous essence of spiritual illumination, which is true suchness. Thus we know that the truth clarified in the present teaching is not the emptiness of inherent nature of the former teachings. Once this faith is established, one recognizes that birth-and-death is illusory and unreal; and relying on the tathāgatagarbha, one cultivates the path to sever folly, eliminating the causes and destroying the results, thereby revealing the nirvāṇa of dharmatā.