大般涅槃經集解 68.102

68.102

Sengliang comments: He treats the fourth briefly and expands on the fifth, the cultivation of the path. Having delusion is called a sentient being; lacking delusion is not a sentient being. These are the cause and effect of afflictions; delusion arising from delusion leaves no path that can be cultivated, showing that the eightfold path also arises taking afflictions as its cause. From 'one cause and two fruits' up to 'because the fruit is bad, the seed is bad', the fault of the cause clarifies the manifestation of the fruit, which becomes the seed for the future; all three times are bad. The previous analogy of the snowy mountains spoke of having the king of wonderful medicines within the body, yet examining the matter shows it differs from the earlier simile. There should not be one who can cultivate such pure holy conduct; nirvāṇa and the eightfold path can lead to nirvāṇa, and are called holy. Baoliang comments: The third section below clarifies the three outflows. Now Kāśyapa raises the initial objection: If the cause and effect of afflictions are both bad dharmas, why is it said that sentient beings have the king of wonderful medicines within their bodies? However, the similes and dharmas are different: earlier, the king of wonderful medicines illustrated the primary cause of buddhadhātu; here, the king of wonderful medicines refers to uncontaminated understanding. The Buddha now answers, saying: Just as in the world a fruit is obtained from a seed, some of these fruits can in turn serve as causes for seeds, while others cannot. Just as now a grain seed arises from past grain, it is called its fruit. Yet this seed can also produce future grain, returning to the status of a cause. Although branches, leaves, and the like arise from a cause, they can no longer become subsequent causes. This shows that afflictions are also like this: from past causes of delusion one obtains the present five aggregates, and upon the present fruit one gives rise further to future causes. Retributions continue in succession; thus there is the principle of being both cause and fruit. Having borrowed the simile as above, he then brings out the facts below. First, there are affliction fruits that are affliction causes: this is the meaning of the cause being both the fruit and the seed. Second, those that are fruits and not causes: this refers to uncontaminated understanding. Once cultivated and attained within this karmic retribution, it never again produces what follows. It is merely a fruit and not a retribution; therefore it is called pure holy conduct.