大般涅槃經義記 7.403

7.403

此六復次偏明無貪，下二復次單明無脫。於中初句以喻無貪難破有脫，「若心無貪名解脫者，諸佛、菩薩何故不拔虛空中刺」，空中無刺，不可得拔，心中無貪，云何辯脫？偏徵諸佛菩薩不拔，明空無刺畢竟叵拔。後句約就三世推求，明無解脫。於中初法，「過去世心不名脫」者，過心已滅，故無解脫。「未來世心亦無脫」者，未來未至，故亦無脫。「現在世心不與道共」明現無脫，惑心現時，道心不現，云何得脫？「何等世心名解脫」者，總以結徵。次以喻顯，喻中與法言有左右，向前法中明所縛心三世無脫，喻中乃說能破之燈三世無破，有此左右。下合可知。

These six further arguments specifically clarify that there is no greed; the following two further arguments solely clarify that there is no liberation. Within these, the first clause uses the simile of having no greed to challenge and refute having liberation: "If the mind's lacking greed is called liberation, why do the buddhas and bodhisattvas not pull a thorn out of empty space?" Since there is no thorn in empty space, it cannot be pulled out; if there is no greed in the mind, how can liberation be discussed? He specifically presses on the buddhas and bodhisattvas not pulling it out to clarify that empty space having no thorn is ultimately impossible to pull out. The second clause investigates based on the three periods of time to clarify the absence of liberation. Within it, first is the doctrine: "the mind of the past period of time is not called liberated" means that because the past mind has already ceased, there is no liberation; "the mind of the future period of time is also not liberated" means that because the future has not yet arrived, there is also no liberation; "the mind of the present period of time does not coexist with the path" clarifies that the present lacks liberation—when the confused mind is present, the mind of the path is not present, so how could it attain liberation? "The mind of which period of time is called liberated?" concludes and questions generally. Next, it is illustrated with a simile; in the simile, there is an asymmetry with the doctrine: in the preceding doctrine, it clarified that the bound mind lacks liberation across the three periods of time, while in the simile, it states that the lamp capable of destroying lacks destruction across the three periods of time; there is this asymmetry. Below, the correspondence can be understood.