大般涅槃經義記 8.265

8.265

自下第三教其正義。文別有二：一明性非有、二「眾生佛性不破壞」下明性非無。前中有四：一喻說非有，喻別有三，文顯可知；二「一切法本無有性」法說非有；三舉前偈證成非有；四偈後釋義以顯非有。「一切諸法因緣生滅」，汎明諸法非是本有。「若眾生內有佛性者，應有佛身，如我今」者，正明佛性本無非有。此說無果，不言無因。問曰：經說眾生身中有佛眼耳鼻舌身等如我不異，此說言無，有何所以？釋言：佛性有其二種。一法佛性，本有法體與佛無別，隱顯為異。如在礦金，與出礦金多少無殊，淨穢為異。二報佛性，本無法體，但於向前法佛性上有其方便可生之義。如礦中金，有可造作莊嚴具義。亦如樹子，不腐不壞有可生義，非先有樹已在子中。以餘經說是法佛性，此經言無是法佛性，不相乖反。

From here below is the third [part], teaching him the correct meaning. The text has two distinct parts: first, clarifying that the nature is not existent; second, below "The buddha-nature of sentient beings is not destroyed...", clarifying that the nature is not non-existent. In the former part, there are four points: first, metaphorically speaking of non-existence—there are three distinct metaphors, and the text is clear and knowable; second, "All dharmas originally have no nature"—speaking of non-existence in terms of Dharma; third, adducing the previous verse to corroborate non-existence; fourth, explaining the meaning after the verse to reveal non-existence. "All dharmas are produced and destroyed through causes and conditions" generally clarifies that all dharmas are not originally existent. "If within sentient beings there were buddha-nature, there should be a buddha-body, just as I am now" directly clarifies that buddha-nature is originally non-existent and not existent. This speaks of the absence of the effect; it does not say there is no cause. Question: The sūtra says that within the bodies of sentient beings there are buddha-eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and so forth, no different from me; here it says there are none, what is the reason? The explanation says: Buddha-nature has two kinds. First, the dharma buddha-nature: its original entity of the Dharma is no different from the Buddha, differing only in being concealed or revealed. Just like gold in the ore, compared to gold extracted from the ore, there is no difference in quantity, differing only in purity and defilement. Second, the reward buddha-nature: it originally has no entity of the Dharma, but merely upon the aforementioned dharma buddha-nature possesses the sense that it can be produced through expedient means. Just as gold in the ore possesses the sense that it can be fashioned into ornaments. It is also like a tree seed, which being neither rotten nor destroyed possesses the sense that it can grow, not that a tree pre-exists already within the seed. Because other sūtras speak of this dharma buddha-nature, while this sūtra's saying it is non-existent refers to this reward buddha-nature, they do not contradict each other.