涅槃玄義發源機要 1.13

1.13

二、「若具」下，約三諦釋。然三德三諦同體異名，故前約三德、次約三諦。文分為二：初、重翻別名；二、再釋三字。初約真俗中俱名大也。初明真諦，遍蕩相著故大，故云大若虛空。次明俗諦，體具三千故大，故云其性廣博。後名中諦，遮照不二故大，故云又名不思議等。不因小相者，虛空絕待，非對小名大也。二、約真俗中俱名滅也。初約真諦自行名滅。滅凡夫生死故云滅。二十五有滅，二乘涅槃，故云及虛偽物。次約俗諦化他明滅。則隨類現形滅彼三惑，故云得二十五三昧也。二十五三昧，如〈聖行品〉說。後明中諦滅真滅俗，故云生滅滅已。生即是俗、滅即是真，二邊俱滅，故云滅已。是則中諦名寂滅樂。三、約真俗中俱名度者，度以過越為義。三諦無著悉是過越，咸得度名。不著於俗，故云度於不度。不著於真，故云又度於度。「又度此彼」下，約中諦明度也。不著雙照故云度。此彼之彼岸不著雙遮，故云亦度非彼非此等，此即生死俗，彼即涅槃真。神龜者，《中華古今注》云「靈龜者，玄文五色，神龜之精也。上隆法天、下平法地，能見存亡、明於吉凶。」水陸俱度者，譬中道度於二邊也。水喻生死，陸喻涅槃。

Second, from 'If fully' onward, it is explained according to the three truths. Now, the three virtues and the three truths share the same essence under different names; hence they were explained first in terms of the three virtues, and next in terms of the three truths. The text is divided into two: first, retranslating the distinct names; second, re-explaining the three words. First, regarding the ultimate, conventional, and middle all being called 'great' (mahā): First, explaining the ultimate truth: it is great because it universally sweeps away attached marks; thus it is said to be 'as vast as empty space'. Next, explaining the conventional truth: it is great because its essence possesses the three thousand [realms]; thus it is said that 'its nature is vast and extensive'. Finally, explaining the middle truth: it is great because negating and illuminating are non-dual; thus it is said to be 'also called inconceivable', and so forth. That 'it is not dependent on small marks' means that empty space is absolute and non-relative, not named 'great' in opposition to 'small'. Second, regarding the ultimate, conventional, and middle all being called 'cessation' (nir-): First, in terms of the ultimate truth, self-cultivation is called cessation. It is called cessation because it extinguishes the birth-and-death of ordinary beings. It extinguishes the twenty-five states of existence and the nirvāṇa of the two vehicles, and thus it says, 'as well as illusory and false entities'. Next, in terms of the conventional truth, converting others is explained as cessation. That is, manifesting forms according to each type to eliminate their three delusions; thus it says, 'obtaining the twenty-five samādhis'. The twenty-five samādhis are as expounded in the 'Chapter on Sacred Actions'. Finally, explaining the middle truth as extinguishing both the ultimate and the conventional: thus it says, 'birth and cessation having ceased'. Birth is conventional and cessation is ultimate; both extremes having ceased, it is therefore said, 'having ceased'. This, then, is the middle truth named the 'bliss of quiescent cessation'. Third, regarding the ultimate, conventional, and middle all being called 'crossing over' (vāṇa): 'Crossing over' has the sense of passing beyond. Free of clinging to any of the three truths, all are passes beyond, and all obtain the name 'crossing over'. Not clinging to the conventional, it is therefore said to 'cross over the uncrossed'. Not clinging to the ultimate, it is therefore said to 'further cross over the crossed'. From 'further crossing over this and that' onward, 'crossing over' is explained according to the middle truth. Crossing over means not clinging to dual illumination. That the other shore of 'this and that' does not cling to dual negation is why it says 'also crossing over neither that nor this', and so forth; 'this' is the conventional of birth-and-death, and 'that' is the ultimate of nirvāṇa. As for the 'divine turtle', the *Zhonghua gujin zhu* says: 'The spiritual turtle, with dark patterns and five colors, is the quintessence of divine turtles. Raised above, it models heaven; flat below, it models earth. It can perceive survival and ruin, and understands good and ill fortune.' Crossing over both water and land compares the Middle Way's crossing over the two extremes. Water exemplifies birth-and-death, and land exemplifies nirvāṇa.