涅槃玄義發源機要 4.6

4.6

Second, from "I thereupon" below, he contemplates his faults after [the master's] demise. The master having already passed into extinction, the principles of this sūtra could not be heard. Reflecting on his own past misdeeds, he thereupon personally attended to the stūpa and temple, and recited this sūtra aloud, in the hope of meeting his master and hearing the Dharma in the future. Sweeping the tomb, he wished to encounter his master; reciting the verses, he hoped to hear the Dharma. The *stūpa* of the western land is the burial mound of this land. He swept and sprinkled the tomb-stūpa, and planted groves of trees. Because trees must be planted at a tomb, the *Hanwenjia* says: "A Son of Heaven's mound is three fathoms high, planted with pines. That of feudal lords is half of that, planted with cypresses. That of grand masters is eight feet, planted with scholar-trees. Commoners have no mound, and are planted with poplars and willows." As for "changing clothes at the ash-field": "changing" (*gēng*) is read in the level tone, meaning constantly changing into clean clothes to recite the sūtra at the stūpa site. Thus the *Lotus Sūtra* says: "Putting on fresh, clean robes, being pure both inside and outside." Some texts write the character "prostrating" (*fú*), which is incorrect. The cremation site of a Tathāgata is called the "ash-field." Now, although the Great Master had an earth burial, speaking of an "ash-field" merely applies this precedent. It is just like the Preface to the *Commentary on the Lotus Sūtra*, which says: "Late in life he returned to the peaks of Tiantai, where he met the crane grove." The expression "crane grove" follows the same pattern as "ash-field." The "stone verses" are this very sūtra. Because in the "Chapter on Sacred Conduct" the Mahāsattva of the Snowy Mountains, having received half a verse, inscribed it upon grass, trees, and stone walls to display it to future generations, this sūtra is therefore named the "stone verses." Since the commentary's author had already recited half the sūtra in his childhood, we know that here he recited its entirety, not just a single verse. "Pondering faults for the rest of my life": he considered that his faults from past lifetimes had formed his present hindrances to the Dharma; thereupon, personally sweeping and reciting aloud, living in seclusion to pursue his aspirations, he resolved to end his life in this way; hence he says "for the rest of my life."