大般涅槃經疏 2.15

2.15

第二、列中間眾。閻浮提是一邊，無量世界是一邊，其中間又為二：一結前列後、二悲近召遠。結前者，結前三十四眾。簡出二眾者，有事有顯。事者，迦葉入滅定，定所持故不來。阿難為魔所羂故不來。有所顯者，迦葉為顯不捨細戒故。迦葉最長子，方持佛法，佛若臨滅應赦細戒，告阿難言：「我滅度後，諸微細戒能持者善，不能者捨。」迦葉後問：「何等是微細戒？」阿難言：「不知。」即訶阿難云：「汝面受佛旨，今言不知可捨不可捨。又為外道所譏：師所制戒，滅後皆捨。」復不可捨。迦葉若來，寧得執正此事？阿難為顯最後佛稱歎付囑顯神呪力。阿難若來，則不顧問亦不稱歎，亦復不使文殊持呪解羂。二眾不來，其意顯此。問：佛令捨細戒，迦葉不許。師弟相拒，何也？答：不然。佛為利根，隨有利益；迦葉為鈍根，還令如故。故非違拒。次、列後，為三：初人天、次山神、三河海神。初文者，即是諸四天上下之人天也。經言中間，中間何所不收？文雖不云三天下及百億四天下，義推應有。何者？他方遠國尚復能來，東弗西瞿何緣不至？十方尚來，百億四天何意不來？若推中間之言，眾最應多，唯可意知，不可文載（云云）。次「及諸山神」下，他云山神山形，此未必爾。樹神示半身不作樹形，山神不必為山形也，直是神道附山而已。先列眾山、次談其相、後明詣佛。海神亦爾，如文。熙連者，相傳云：只跋提是熙連。今言不爾，跋提大，熙連小。或言廣四丈、或八丈，在城北。跋提在城南，相去百里，佛居其間涅槃，為散華所及。熙連未見翻。次「其林變白」下，是悲近召遠，已集者悲、未集者召。又為二：先悲近、次召遠。初悲近者，凡現三相。娑羅如前釋。此林榮茂忽然變白，猶如白鶴。林中有鶴，當林變時與鶴無別。此有所表，榮若定榮不應忽變，枯若定枯不應如鶴。枯既如鶴則枯非枯，榮既忽變則榮非榮。非榮非枯中間涅槃者，表不生不滅而現生滅。雙林一變隨類各解，上達其本、下悲其迹，中根在悲達之間。〈現病品〉云「下愚凡見言必涅槃，唯諸菩薩文殊師利等，能知如來常住不變。」即此義也。次虛空堂閣綺飾分明者，表佛身相，天上天下最為第一。今身緣已謝，無上智慧不復居御，下士所悲。又堂本地架而今處空，則空中有堂而彫文刻鏤綺飾分明。不動不墮妙麗莊嚴，表空中藏具足無減，中士所尚。又華堂嚴整光悅利益，是其有也。高處虛空無人受用，是其無也。若有無事訖，當收此空有歸非空有，此上士所達。下悲上達，中士悲達，季孟之間。三、堂下多有流泉浴池者，表佛身口赴下流出無量言教，猶如浴池。浴池有二：一能滌垢穢、二除熱悶。表於佛教能令客塵外盡、無明內除。有妙蓮華者，表遵佛教，即是修因。因逾世果，故引兩處為喻。化緣將訖，如堂高舉。言教流潤，如清泉在池。論其本體非去非留，語其利益故言去留。文云「咸覩如來涅槃之相」者，一往是下士所見。若具足論，應有上達下悲，具如前說。此之三相前後雖異而意同前。前以大聲勸問，問則祕密教顯，如今堂下清泉流出利益多人。前面門放光五色遍照，除三障、生三善，令立行升進。如今高堂逈出去下陵空，綺飾分明種種莊嚴，校前動地動水表於翻倒見性，今變林況鶴使不滯榮枯歸中會極。物之難悟，再更抵掌悲近召遠，相雖復異而意同前，但再令開曉。

Second is listing the assemblies in between. Jambudvīpa is one side, and the immeasurable worlds are the other side; the "in-between" is further divided into two: first, concluding the preceding and listing what follows; second, grieving for those close at hand and summoning those far off. As for concluding what precedes, this concludes the preceding thirty-four assemblies. The selection and omission of the two assemblies involves both practical affairs and that which is revealed. As for practical affairs, Kāśyapa had entered the meditative absorption of cessation (nirodhasamāpatti) and, being held by that absorption, did not come. Ānanda was ensnared by Māra and therefore did not come. As for what is revealed: Kāśyapa's [absence] was to reveal the non-abandonment of minor precepts. Kāśyapa was the eldest son who was just about to uphold the Buddhadharma. If the Buddha were approaching extinction, he should have relaxed the minor precepts, telling Ānanda: "After my parinirvāṇa, those who are able to keep all the minor precepts do well; those who cannot may abandon them." Kāśyapa later asked: "Which are the minor precepts?" Ānanda said: "I do not know." Thereupon he reproved Ānanda, saying: "You received the Buddha's command face to face, and now you say you do not know which may be abandoned and which may not be abandoned. Moreover, we are ridiculed by non-Buddhists [who say]: 'The precepts instituted by their master are all abandoned after his demise.'" Furthermore, they must not be abandoned. If Kāśyapa had come, how could he have maintained the rectitude of this matter? Ānanda's [absence] was to reveal that at the very end the Buddha praised, entrusted [the Dharma], and revealed the power of divine dhāraṇī. If Ānanda had come, [the Buddha] would neither have inquired after him nor praised him, nor would he have sent Mañjuśrī to uphold the dhāraṇī and untie the snare. That these two assemblies did not come reveals this intention. Question: The Buddha ordered the minor precepts to be abandoned, yet Kāśyapa did not permit it. Why did teacher and disciple oppose each other? Answer: It is not so. The Buddha spoke for those of sharp faculties, adapting to whatever benefited them; Kāśyapa acted for those of dull faculties, causing things to remain as before. Therefore it was not a defiance. Next, listing what follows has three parts: first, humans and devas; second, mountain deities; third, river and ocean deities. As for the first text, these are the humans and devas of the various realms of the four heavens, above and below. The sūtra says "in between"; what does "in between" not encompass? Although the text does not speak of the three continents and the ten billion sets of four continents, by deduction of principle they must be present. Why is this? If distant lands from other regions were still able to come, for what reason would [Pūrva-]Videha in the east and [Apara-]Godānīya in the west not arrive? If the ten directions still came, with what intent would the ten billion sets of four heavens not come? If we infer from the expression "in between", the assembly should be the most numerous; it can only be understood in thought, not recorded in writing (and so forth). Next, below "and the various mountain deities", others say mountain deities have the form of mountains, but this is not necessarily so. Tree deities reveal half their bodies and do not take the form of trees; mountain deities need not take the form of mountains—it is simply that the divine spirit is attached to the mountain. It first lists the various mountains, next discusses their appearances, and finally clarifies their proceeding to the Buddha. The ocean deities are also like this, as in the text. As for the Hiraṇyavatī (Xīlián), tradition says that the Bhāgīrathī (Bāntí) is the Hiraṇyavatī. Now I say this is not so: the Bhāgīrathī is large and the Hiraṇyavatī is small. Some say it is four zhang wide, or eight zhang, north of the city. The Bhāgīrathī is south of the city, a hundred li away; the Buddha resided between them to enter nirvāṇa, and it was reached by the scattering of flowers. The translation of "Hiraṇyavatī" has not yet been seen. Next, below "the grove turned white", this is grieving for those close at hand and summoning those far off: those already gathered grieve, and those not yet gathered are summoned. This again has two parts: first, grieving for those close at hand; next, summoning those far off. First, regarding grieving for those close at hand, three signs in all are manifested. The śāla trees have been explained as before. This grove, lush and flourishing, suddenly turned white, just like white cranes. There were cranes in the grove, and when the grove transformed, it was no different from the cranes. This symbolizes something: if flourishing were definitively flourishing, it should not suddenly transform; if withered were definitively withered, it should not be like cranes. Since being withered is like cranes, then withered is not withered; since flourishing suddenly transforms, then flourishing is not flourishing. That which is neither flourishing nor withered, the nirvāṇa in between, symbolizes manifesting birth and death while being without birth and death. With this single transformation of the Twin Trees, each understands according to their kind: those of superior capacity penetrate its source, those of inferior capacity grieve over its traces, and those of middling faculties are between grief and penetration. The "Chapter on Manifesting Sickness" says: "The foolish and vulgar view of inferior beings says that [the Buddha] will certainly enter nirvāṇa, whereas only the bodhisattvas, Mañjuśrī, and the like are able to know that the Tathāgata is eternally abiding and unchanging." This is precisely the meaning. Next, that the halls and pavilions in the open sky are distinct with splendid adornments symbolizes that the marks of the Buddha's body are foremost in heaven and earth. Now, the karmic conditions of the body have already drawn to an end, and unsurpassable wisdom no longer resides to direct them; this is what inferior people grieve over. Furthermore, while halls are originally erected on the ground, now they are situated in the sky; thus there are halls in empty space, distinct with carved lines, engravings, and splendid adornments. Motionless, not falling, wondrous and beautifully adorned, they symbolize that the treasury within space is fully complete and without diminution; this is what middling people value. Furthermore, that the splendid halls are stately, luminous, delightful, and beneficial represents their existence. That they are high up in the open sky with no one to use them represents their non-existence. When the matter of existence and non-existence is concluded, one should gather this emptiness and existence back into neither-emptiness-nor-existence; this is what superior people penetrate. Inferior people grieve, superior people penetrate, and middling people grieve and penetrate, in between the two. Third, that beneath the halls there are many flowing springs and bathing pools symbolizes that the Buddha's body and mouth flow downward, issuing forth immeasurable verbal teachings, just like bathing pools. A bathing pool has two functions: first, it can wash away defilement and dirt; second, it eliminates heat and distress. This symbolizes that the Buddha's teachings can exhaust adventitious defilements externally and eliminate ignorance internally. That there are wondrous lotus flowers symbolizes following the Buddha's teachings, which is precisely cultivating the cause. Because the cause surpasses worldly fruition, both places are cited as an analogy. The conditions for conversion being on the verge of ending is like the halls being lifted high. The verbal teachings flowing and moistening are like the pure springs in the pools. In terms of its fundamental essence, it neither departs nor remains; spoken in terms of its benefit, we therefore speak of departing and remaining. The text saying "all beheld the signs of the Tathāgata's nirvāṇa" refers, on the surface, to what is seen by inferior people. If fully discussed, there should be both the penetration of the superior and the grief of the inferior, fully as stated before. Although these three signs differ before and after, their intention is the same as before. Previously, with a great sound, he encouraged inquiries; when they inquired, the secret teachings were revealed, just as now pure springs flow forth beneath the halls to benefit many people. Previously, the front of his face emitted five-colored light shining everywhere, eliminating the three obstacles and generating the three kinds of good, causing them to establish their practice and advance. Now, the high halls soar far away, leaving behind what is below and rising into the sky, distinct with splendid adornments and various decorations; compared to the previous shaking of the earth and water symbolizing the overturned seeing of nature, now the transformation of the grove compared to cranes prevents them from stagnating in flourishing or withering, returning them to the center and converging on the ultimate. Because sentient beings are difficult to awaken, he once again claps his hands, grieving for those close at hand and summoning those far off; though the marks differ again, the intention is identical to before, merely causing them once more to gain understanding.