大般涅槃經疏 7.10

7.10

「爾時佛讚」下，第三佛答。又二：初讚問、次答問。讚問又二：初讚、次謙。讚又二：先總讚、次別讚，酬其上別總二請。若三十四問是歷法別請，後則總請。先酬總請，故初云善哉善哉。所以須此讚者，世間問答酬往稱美，佛不違世法，是故先讚人。但見年幼不期智深，見問淵玄，方知非淺。又若見佛讚，皆發奇特心，是故須讚。他方來眾見小小菩薩能問大大事，皆生敬伏，是故須讚。又此一一問皆與理合，是故須讚。皆有所擬（云云）。次別讚者，即是別讚三世之問。初讚其問過去法門，有三義：一舉果讚因。言汝未得者，非全不得，乃是因中分證，非是果地究竟，故言未得。二舉甚深密藏讚其所問。汝問長壽，佛以一切種智為命，此之智命果地所證，故言我已得之。已得非始，得已圓滿，唯佛與佛乃能究盡，故云甚深密藏而汝能問，是故讚其所問之法。三讚其被加。其上請云承佛神力，今加而讚之，故言等無有異。坐道場者，讚其問現。其上問云：云何於此經究竟到彼岸？佛即舉三義讚之：一、舉初以成後，讚其巧問該現化之始終，故言我坐道場初成正覺。二、讚其一人以均大眾，故云有諸菩薩亦曾問我是甚深義。三、讚其現得大眾加助。其上請云及因大眾善根之力，今明功德句義無異，是為讚問現在法門。從如是問者則能利益無量眾生，是讚問未來。上問言：云何得廣大為眾作依止？此言利益可解（云云）。舊解：坐道場亦曾問者，或言：是《華嚴》中問翻經不盡，其文未來。或言：是偏方不定教，文亦不來。或言：是祕密教，非顯露攝。義皆不然。今明道場乃是元初圓滿始坐，非方便道場。第二卷云「我已久於無量劫來久已成佛。」亦如《法華》「成佛已來甚大久遠。」昔諸菩薩曾問此義，如今不異，正對過去之問，非一化之始，不應據寂滅道場及偏方祕密。「爾時迦葉」下，第二自謙。佛向讚其上等如來、下齊菩薩。其謙亦兩：一謙所問橫竪不及、二誓聞法頂戴增加。初文者，不能飛過大海，橫不及也。不能周遍虛空，竪不及也。次文云「頂戴」，守護高深；「增加」，守護廣大。何以知然？文中次釋云「願令我得深廣智慧。」

From "At that time the Buddha praised" onward is the third [section], the Buddha's answer. This also has two parts: first, praising the question; next, answering the question. Praising the question also has two parts: first, the praise; next, [Kāśyapa's] humility. The praise also has two parts: first, general praise; next, specific praise, which respond to the aforementioned specific and general requests [respectively]. If the thirty-four questions are specific requests made by going through phenomena, the conclusion is the general request. Since he first responds to the general request, at the outset he says: "Excellent, excellent!" The reason why this praise is needed is that in worldly interactions of asking and answering, one reciprocates with commendation; the Buddha does not go against worldly ways, and therefore first praises the person. Furthermore, seeing that he is young, people would not expect deep wisdom; seeing that the questions are profound and abstruse, only then do they realize he is not shallow. Moreover, if people see the Buddha praising him, all will give rise to an attitude of seeing him as extraordinary; therefore praise is needed. Furthermore, when the assemblies arriving from other directions see an insignificant bodhisattva able to ask about great matters, all give rise to reverence and submission; therefore praise is needed. In addition, each and every one of these questions accords with the principle; therefore praise is needed. All have their intended purpose (and so on). Next, as for the specific praise, this is specifically praising the questions regarding the three times. First, praising his question regarding the teachings of the past has three meanings: First, adducing the fruit to praise the cause. The statement "which you have not yet attained" does not mean he has not attained it at all, but rather that he has a partial realization on the causal stage, not the ultimate fruition of the fruit ground; hence it says "you have not yet attained it." Second, adducing the exceedingly profound secret treasury to praise what he asked. You asked about longevity: the Buddha takes sarvākārajñatā as life; this wisdom-life is realized on the fruit ground, and so he says, "I have already attained it." Having already attained it is not just beginning to do so; having attained it, it is complete and perfect, and only a Buddha together with a Buddha can fully fathom it; hence it says, "the exceedingly profound secret treasury, yet you are able to ask about it"; therefore he praises the Dharma he asked about. Third, praising his being empowered. In his request above he said, "relying on the Buddha's spiritual power"; now the Buddha empowers and praises him, and so says, "equal and without difference." "Sitting in the place of enlightenment" praises his question about the present. In his question above he asked: "How, in this sūtra, does one ultimately reach the other shore?" The Buddha then adduces three meanings to praise him: 1. Adducing the beginning to establish the end, praising his skillful questioning that covers the entirety of the present transformation from beginning to end; hence he says: "When I sat in the place of enlightenment and first realized true awakening." 2. Praising the one person to equalize the great assembly; hence it says: "There were bodhisattvas who also once asked me this exceedingly profound meaning." 3. Praising his present attainment of the great assembly's assistance. In his request above he said, "and by the power of the great assembly's roots of goodness"; now it explains that the merit, words, and meanings are without difference: this is praising the question on the present teaching. From "Those who ask such questions are able to benefit immeasurable sentient beings" on, this praises the question regarding the future. Above he asked: "How does one become vast and great, serving as a refuge for the assembly?" This statement about "benefiting" can be understood (and so on). Past interpretations: regarding "sitting in the place of enlightenment, [they] also once asked," some say this refers to questions in the *Avataṃsaka Sūtra*, but the translation was incomplete and its text did not come down. Some say it refers to an indeterminate teaching for regional areas, and the text likewise did not come down. Some say it refers to the secret teaching, not included in the explicit. None of these interpretations is correct. We now clarify that the place of enlightenment is the primordial, complete realization where he first sat, not an expedient place of enlightenment. Fascicle two states: "I have already, for immeasurable kalpas, long since attained buddhahood." It is also like the *Lotus Sūtra*'s "since I attained buddhahood, it has been exceedingly long and far." In the past, various bodhisattvas once asked about this meaning, no different from now; this directly corresponds to the question regarding the past, and is not merely the beginning of the single lifetime of transformation; one should not base it on the place of enlightenment of tranquil extinction or on regional and secret teachings. From "At that time Kāśyapa" onward is the second [part], his own humility. The Buddha had just praised him as being equal to the Tathāgata above and on par with the bodhisattvas below. His humility also has two points: first, humbling himself that his questioning falls short both horizontally and vertically; second, vowing to receive the Dharma reverently upon his head and increase it after hearing it. In the first text, being unable to fly across the great sea means falling short horizontally; being unable to pervade empty space means falling short vertically. In the second text, "reverently receiving upon the head" means guarding the lofty and deep; "increasing" means guarding the vast and great. How is this known? In the text it next explains: "May I attain deep and vast wisdom."