大般涅槃經集解 56.68

56.68

Sengliang comments: There are four analogies in total: the first analogy illustrates past existence; the latter three analogies illustrate future existence. Baoliang comments: Although it once existed or will exist, at present it is non-existent, yet it is also not definitively non-existent. Just as sesame is present and oil is future, cause and result belong to different times; how could the result exist within the cause? Therefore, in our tradition's doctrinal formulations, we always rely on the sūtras to deduce the principle, and often see people make the mistake of claiming the result exists within the cause. The sūtras have explicit statements, which scarcely require explanation. In the previous chapter on the buddhadhātu, it already stated: 'Within the poisonous body there is the wondrous king of medicines.' The so-called buddhadhātu is not a created phenomenon (saṃskṛta-dharma); this does not mean the Buddha is not a created phenomenon. If one were to say that the Buddha is also not a created phenomenon, then within the bodies of sentient beings the fruit would already exist.