大般涅槃經集解 9.20

9.20

Sengliang comments: Benevolence fundamentally rescues from suffering; the precepts are the root of rescuing from suffering and the practice that brings benevolence to fruition. Being reborn in the heavens is the present retribution on the causal stage. Sengzong comments: The ten wholesome actions and the four immeasurables are the essential practices; the four great vows are the essential aspirations. In the ten wholesome actions, briefly indicating non-killing as the cause of long life is simply taking its analogous meaning; the remaining nine are omitted for brevity. Baoliang comments: Another sūtra explains that the four great vows correspond to the four noble truths: for those who have not crossed suffering, speaking the truth of suffering to cause them to cross over; for those not freed from bondage, speaking the truth of origination to cause them to be released; for those who have not attained nirvāṇa, speaking the truth of cessation to cause them to realize it; and for those who are not at peace, speaking the truth of the path to cause them to be at peace. Because the mind is vast, it is called ‘great’; because it will certainly be put into practice, it is called a ‘vow’.