大般涅槃經疏 5.14

5.14

Now the text is divided into three parts: first, praising and granting; second, reproaching and depriving; third, exhorting and encouraging. For when one wishes to deprive them, one must first grant to them. Since their reproachful entreaty was earnest, the present reproach and deprivation are likewise profound. Having rebuked their falsehood, he must further reveal the true; granting and depriving, depressing and exalting naturally form an order. Within these three, there are precisely three pairs: First, praising and granting make one pair: that is, being able to obtain and able to leave; therefore he must praise them. Second, reproaching and depriving make one pair: that is, having not obtained and not left—not obtaining the real and not leaving the false; therefore he must reproach them. Third, exhorting and encouraging make one pair: that is, what should be left and what should be obtained—the former teaching should be left, and the new letter *i* should be obtained; therefore he must exhort them. First, from "It is difficult for a Buddha to appear in the world" onward is praising and granting their obtaining and leaving. This again has three parts: first, explanation; second, metaphor; third, conclusion. In the initial passage on the five difficulties, between this and the previous text there are mutual inclusions and omissions. Above, it was for laypeople, so it did not praise the difficulty of leaving home and cutting off affection, nor did it praise the difficulty of becoming an arhat. Here, it is for renunciants, so it does not praise the difficulty of the final almsgiving, nor does it praise the difficulty of hearing the Dharma; the rest all correspond. As for leaving the eight difficulties: obtaining a human body leaves the three destinies; encountering a Buddha leaves the difficulties of being born before or after a Buddha, Uttarakuru, the long-lived devas, and the borderlands; obtaining renunciation leaves the difficulty of deficient sense faculties; and obtaining arhatship leaves the difficulty of worldly cleverness. Next, he adduces the metaphors of gold sand and the *uḍumbara* flower. Next, from "free from" onward concludes it (and so on). From "You have encountered me" onward is reproaching and depriving regarding their having not obtained and not left. Now, pointing out this meaning to respond to the five reproaches: you have encountered me, and I initially caused you to obtain the five difficulties and leave the eight difficulties; this is my good beginning. Now I further cause you not to pass [your lives] in vain; this is my bringing it to completion. How can you say I have a beginning but no end? Furthermore, interpreting the meaning: the text above states that giving birth to sons of upright appearance is the Buddha's beginning, while handing them over to a caṇḍāla is the Buddha's lack of an end. If one grasps the Buddha's intent, one should not take kinship to recognize the Buddha. Why? Those who do not recognize the Buddha are not princes, do not recognize the jewel city, are not of upright appearance, and are obscured by ignorance; they are precisely caṇḍālas, so what need is there to dispatch and hand them over? This returns the fault of having neither beginning nor end back to the monks. From "In the past I" onward, the third is precisely responding to the reproach of violating his original vow. Difficult practices and austerities were not limited to a single path; I found them as sweet as shepherd's purse. The gates of the unsurpassed expedient means are not small, and I have never begrudged them. You, being negligent, neither received nor practiced them, and were unwilling to labor in this Great Vehicle; it is not that I lacked kindness. As for life and limb, who does not cherish them? I took life lightly and disregarded death through immeasurable kalpas; pointing to the mountains and pointing to the earth, my skeletons are many times more; pointing to the seas and pointing to the rivers, my marrow and brains defy metaphor, to say nothing of wives, children, countries, and cities cast away without count. For such grace and virtue, only because you were negligent and shameless, bound in a dungeon unable to attain liberation, it is not that I lacked benevolence. This returns the fault of lacking shame and not receiving [the teaching] back to the monks. From "O monks, how have you adorned" onward responds to the second reproach regarding fear. My jewel city of the true Dharma is fully endowed with virtues: morality is its wall, stern, precipitous, and inaccessible, which the hordes of māras and robbers cannot peer over; concentration is its moat, deep, wide, billowing, shoreless and bottomless, wherein the five dusts and six thieves drown and sink; wisdom is its parapet, discerning the subtle and perceiving the distant, broadly mastering past and present, complete and luminous. Since my city is like this, what does it not awe? What is there to fear? You monks have neither city nor adornment, and you have terror and fear; therefore he returns the terror and fear back to the monks. From "You now encounter this" onward responds to the fourth reproach regarding inequality. This jewel city of the true Dharma is precious inside and out, filled with fine jade, brilliant and dazzling; not only is it inexhaustible, but it also has no obstruction. When merchants encounter it, they hold onto false gravel; that the collectors are base and stingy is not the inequality of the city. This returns the fault of partiality back to the monks. From "You monks" onward responds to the fifth reproach of lacking great compassion and not showing the broad and level path. Reproaching you: being content with an inferior mind is not disliking the narrow path; not craving the Great Vehicle is not longing for the broad and level path; wearing the kaṣāya is not disliking dung-swept rags; not being dyed by the pure Dharma is not longing for necklaces; begging food in many places is not disliking poor neighborhoods; not seeking the food of Dharma is not longing for the supreme flavor; shaving off hair and beard is not disliking small wisdom; and not striving for the true Dharma is not longing for great illumination. Since you do not dislike [the inferior], compassion has nothing to pull you out of; since you do not long for [the superior], friendliness has nothing to bestow upon you. Hesitating on the narrow path, hating and turning your back on the level path—this returns the fault of lacking longing and lacking dislike back to the monks. Having implicitly responded to the five reproaches above, now we further track the text. From "You have encountered me" onward is the second pair of having not obtained and not left. The text has two parts: first, briefly explaining not obtaining and not leaving; second, extensively explaining not obtaining and not leaving. "You have encountered me" briefly explains not obtaining; "you should not pass [your lives] in vain" briefly explains not leaving. "I" refers to the true Buddha. This Buddha is self, permanent, and pure; that is, the Dharmakāya, the adamantine body, not the body of the final boundary, not the body of mixed food. Such a true Buddha you do not recognize; you only recognize the response and transformation [body]. The transformation is not the true Buddha and does not preach the Dharma. The *Vimalakīrtinirdeśa* says: "You do not see the Buddha, do not hear the Dharma, and do not enter the ranks of the Saṅgha, being equal to the six masters." Not recognizing the true Buddha reproaches their not obtaining; "you should not pass [your lives] in vain" deprives them of their not leaving. How have they not left? Although they have left the eight difficulties, they have not attained the state of no difficulty; although they have obtained the four fruits, they have not obtained the true fruit. Since the fruit is not real, the difficulties are also not left; hence it says "pass [your lives] in vain," which is precisely depriving them of their not obtaining. Next, from "In the past I" onward extensively reproaches not obtaining. The text has two parts: first, reproaching the failure to obtain the true Three Jewels; second, extensively revealing the true Three Jewels. The text of reproach has three parts: first, extensively explaining the true Buddha; second, extensively explaining the true Dharma; third, extensively explaining the true Saṅgha. Extensively revealing these three demonstrates their failure to obtain. First, explaining the true Buddha also has two parts: first, adducing the expedients prior to the path, hence saying "in the past I"; second, adducing the expedients posterior to the path, hence saying "now I have attained the unsurpassed expedient means." Comparing the latter to the former, both are unsurpassed. As for the unsurpassed expedient means: prior to the path is the perfect cause, as the later text states, "There is another practice which is the practice of the Tathāgata"; posterior to the path is the perfect function, as the later text states, "the two birds swimming together." Adducing the unsurpassed expedients before and after explains and completes the true Buddha as permanent, blissful, self, and pure, whom you do not recognize. What you recognize is ash and extinction entering cessation, lacking the perfect function posterior to the path; although it has [practices] prior to the path, they are not the unsurpassed perfect cause. This reproaches their failure to see the true Buddha. From "How have you adorned" onward extensively explains not seeing the true Dharma. The true Dharma is true, excellent, wonderful form, giving birth to wonderful, wholesome ambrosia, perfect and complete without deficiency. It is also called ghee, into which all medicines enter. All the various virtues of the three trainings, horizontal and vertical, high and broad, fill and pervade it, just like the walls, moats, and parapets of the jewel city; only this is named the true Dharma. You use the contemplation of emptiness to eliminate defilements; when defilements are exhausted, the contemplation perishes, taking body and wisdom as the nirvāṇa with remainder; if you enter [nirvāṇa] without remainder, ash body and annihilated wisdom become eternally quiescent, identical to emptiness. The *Vimalakīrtinirdeśa* calls it "the dharma delighted in by the poor"; the *Mahāyānasaṃgraha* takes it as the "inferior vehicle"; the *Lotus Sūtra* calls it "base work"; and this sūtra terms it "false gravel." This reproaches their failure to obtain the true Dharma. From "You monks, do not with an inferior mind" onward extensively reproaches failure to obtain the true Saṅgha. This again has two parts: first, generally reproaching the inferior mind that does not aspire to the superior Dharma; second, separately reproaching them in terms of the virtues of cause and fruit. Originally, one is called a monk based on the virtues of cause and fruit. Your causes and fruits are none of them the true Saṅgha. Although you wear the kaṣāya, you have not broken the evils of the five entrenchments, nor do you terrify internal and external māras; although you practice begging food and pass through many places, you are not mendicants worthy of offerings; although you have shaved off hair and beard, you have not slain the thieves or attained non-arising, and thus are not the true Saṅgha. Above, he adduced the true Buddha and Dharma to reproach the false Buddha and Dharma without presenting the characteristics of the false Buddha and Dharma; now, he reproaches the false Saṅgha without presenting the characteristics of the true Saṅgha. The before and after mutually reveal each other; likewise, adducing the true makes known the false, and adducing the false makes known the true. From "You monks should now truly" onward reveals the true Three Jewels. The text has two parts: first, designating—"should now truly" is this. "True" contrasts with former falsehood; "real" contrasts with former unreality. Second, directly revealing—"now I am present" is this. "I" is the Buddha jewel; the harmony of the great assembly is the Saṅgha jewel; the Tathāgata's dharmatā is the Dharma jewel. Within the Dharma jewel, the three dots are complete: the Tathāgata is prajñā, the dharmatā is the Dharmakāya, and non-inversion is liberation. These three are called the treasury, which stores all dharmas; the Buddha and the Saṅgha are likewise. Third, from "Therefore you" onward is the pair of what should be left and what should be obtained. This again has two parts: first, exhorting them to leave the false; second, exhorting them to cultivate the real. In the first text: the essence of the false stems precisely from ignorance; as long as ignorance is not eliminated, one cannot escape the false; therefore he exhorts them to discard ignorance. From "O monks, just as the great earth" onward is exhorting them to cultivate the real. The text has four parts: first, metaphorically explaining the secret treasury; second, doctrinally explaining the secret treasury; third, interpreting the secret treasury; fourth, concluding the secret treasury. The metaphor has three parts: first, the metaphor of the great earth; second, the metaphor of the mountains and medicinal herbs; third, the metaphor of being used by sentient beings. The great earth not only universally supports, but also without producing produces and gives birth to medicinal herbs, and without functioning functions to be used by sentient beings. What the medicinal herbs produce is not separate from that which can produce them, and what is produced is also used by sentient beings. Although sentient beings take and use them, their karma also brings about the great earth, and their merit induces the medicinal herbs. The three kinds turn reciprocally and cannot be separated, yet their types differ and are not one. One is endowed with three, which can serve as a metaphor for "secret" (*bì*); three are one, which can serve as a metaphor for "hidden" (*mì*); containing all things can serve as a metaphor for "treasury" (*zàng*). Therefore, this is adduced to metaphorize the secret treasury. Next, from "My Dharma is also like this" onward directly matches the doctrine to the metaphor to clarify the secret treasury. Within this, there are direct matches and leaped matches, intending to show that the secret treasury is sovereign, unfixed, and inconceivable. First, "My Dharma is also like this" is the direct match: the Dharmakāya is like the great earth, and the great earth is like the Dharmakāya, hence saying "is also like this." Adducing the three Dharmakāyas matches the three meanings of the great earth. Giving birth to the wonderful, wholesome ambrosia flavor of Dharma: this adduces the three prajñās to match the three meanings of the mountains and medicinal herbs. Being used by sentient beings: this adduces the three liberations to match the three meanings within the function. "I shall now cause all sentient beings to enter the secret treasury" is the leaped match to the function. "The sons and the four assemblies enter the secret treasury" is the leaped match to the medicinal herbs. "I shall also enter myself" is the leaped match to the great earth. When afflictions and sufferings are healed, the efficacy of the herbs and earth ceases; dwelling serenely in tranquility, sentient beings obtain benefit; when the work of prajñā ceases, the function of the Dharmakāya ceases, together returning to the utmost quiescence within the secret treasury. All sentient beings are those of the initial resolve of mind, mapped to the stage of the first abiding; the four assemblies are the intermediate mind, mapped to the forty stages; the Buddha is the final mind, mapped to the stage of wonderful enlightenment. Together entering the secret treasury, all see the buddhadhātu. Question: Is the entry of sentient beings identical to that of the Buddha? Answer: Differentiated according to the six stages (and so on).