大般涅槃經疏 14.9

14.9

From "Kāśyapa said to the Buddha" downward is the second part, explaining the practice of round meditation. Others said that this is an analysis of breaking the precepts. It should have followed the practice of precepts, yet its being stated here has three explanations: first, one said the compiler of the sūtra made an error; second, one said it is intended to harmonize the two stages so that they have no different substance—the former being called 'immovable' and this one being called 'forbearance,' which are just a single stage; third, one said that merely upholding the precepts cannot see the capacities [of others] and one must not commit killing, whereas meditation can see capacities and one may engage in acts of breaking precepts. This interpretation is not correct. Here it is precisely the intention of explaining round meditation. Question: This text states, "When one has not yet entered the immovable stage, may one break the precepts or not?" Why then do you say it is round meditation? Answer: If it were not the round precepts, how could one uphold them by breaking them? Since upholding and breaking are spontaneous and free, the same applies to meditation by analogy. Being tranquil right in the midst of distraction, not rising from round meditation while carrying out killing, it remains round meditation. Since the precepts can already be understood, right within the precepts there is meditation, without needing further redundant text; therefore, pointing to this is called the practice of round meditation. Question: Previously, after explaining the round precepts, the fruition of precepts was explained; now, only after explaining the fruition of meditation is round meditation explained—why is this? Answer: The sequence being variable all the more reveals round meditation. The text consists of three rounds of questions and answers: the first round is brief, the next round is extensive, and the third is Mañjuśrī's recounting of events. When events diverge from the principle yet accord with it, one should not incur an evil fruition—this is the question, and the Buddha's answer is as in the text.