大般涅槃經疏 6.12

6.12

Now, to explain this section: Although the monks had heard of the new [letter] I, they had not eliminated their old attachments; thinking the Buddha was impermanent, they requested that he remain. Although they believed that the Dharma is permanent, they did not yet believe that the Buddha is permanent; although their mouths requested the new, their intent still followed the old. The Buddha rebuked their old attachment, saying: "You should not speak such words." The Buddha answered their request for the new, and therefore said: "All the correct Dharma is entrusted to Kāśyapa." Because the conditions for the Tathāgata had drawn to an end, he departed; because the capacity of Kāśyapa had arisen, it was entrusted to him. Internally identical to the Buddha's virtues, externally entrusted as a great minister to uphold the correct Dharma and teaching, he pointed directly to the perfect [letter] I as a refuge, answering what they had requested. Here, for the sake of those who learn the new [letter] I, he therefore says the Dharma is entrusted to Kāśyapa. Later in the text, for the sake of those who do not learn the new [letter] I, he therefore says Kāśyapa is impermanent and cannot bear the entrustment; each is for different conditions. Now, the first part, within answering the request by means of the Dharma, has two parts: 1. refutation by expounding the Dharma; 2. refutation by expounding a simile. Expounding the Dharma means: if you wish to learn the new [letter] I, you should transform delusion and generate faith; while false attachments still remain, the true Dharma cannot be imbued. Therefore it says: "What you previously cultivated concerning impermanence and suffering is not real." Next, within the simile, there are again two parts: the simile and its application. First, from "Like in springtime..." onwards, first sets forth the simile of negligence and losing the jewel, and next sets forth the simile of seeking and either attaining or not attaining; these are also called the simile of having skillful means and the simile of lacking skillful means. "Springtime": a time when year and things are both new and delightful, illustrating the five sense-objects and six desires as a realm of indulgence. "Various people": a general simile for the company of the negligent. "Bathing in a great pond": the great pond illustrates the river of birth and death; bathing illustrates anger, pride, love, hate, and the like; boarding a boat illustrates boarding various karmas; amusing themselves illustrates attachment to desirable karmic fruits. Losing the vaiḍūrya jewel illustrates lacking understanding: due to dissipation, wisdom and understanding are imperceptibly dimmed; therefore it is described as a "loss." Hence in this section, refuting the loss through conduct is expedient; it does not mean understanding first and losing it later, but rather that attachment to pleasure obscures understanding, which is figuratively called "loss." "Sank into the deep water": being obscured by birth and death and the aggregates. From "At that time the people..." onwards sets forth the simile of lacking skillful means and seeking understanding without attaining it. "The people": generally refers to the deluded crowd, specifically referring to the three cultivations. "All entered the water together": placing faith in the initial teaching is figuratively like entering the water. "Seeking this jewel": engaging in the inferior three cultivations. "Competed to grab tiles and stones": verifying the three [characteristics] as real. "Each claiming to have obtained it": saying they have attained extinction. The single sentence "joyfully took it out" illustrates praising the elephant's footprint above. First, well cultivating non-self, inner attachment was held in their hearts, hence it says "joyfully"; praising it before the Buddha, hence it says "took it out." This illustrates the intent of holding fast to attachments and giving rise to doubts above. "Only then did they realize it was not real" forms a simile for those with skillful means who seek understanding and attain it. This illustrates that upon hearing the present teaching refute the former principle and practice as unreal, only then did they realize that suffering, impermanence, and so forth are false, identical to tiles and gravel; therefore it says "only then did they realize it was not real." Taken altogether from above, this forms six meanings that jointly explain the text on seeking and attaining. As for the precious jewel: the jewel is fundamentally possessed, not merely of the present. Yet sentient beings, attached to pleasure, sink to the bottom of the water; investigating with clumsy contemplation, they ultimately cannot attain the jewel that is the principle itself. Through hearing the present teaching, knowing the former was not real, knowing words and knowing meanings begins from the present sūtra: this is the jewel of the name-and-word stage. "At that time the precious jewel was still in the water; by the power of the jewel, the water became completely clear and pure": this is the jewel of the contemplative practice stage. Contemplating the principle based on the teaching, the principle is what is expressed; therefore it says "was still in the water." That which expresses corresponds to that which is expressed, and that which is expressed corresponds to that which expresses; therefore it says that by the power of the jewel the water became clear and pure, and thereupon the great assembly saw the precious jewel. "Still beneath the water, just like looking up at the shape of the moon in the sky": this is the jewel of the stage of resemblance. Looking up at the moon, it vaguely resembles a jewel; resembling understanding borders on truth, hence it says "thereupon saw"; the stage of resemblance is clearly revealed. Empty space illustrates resemblance permanence; the round moon illustrates resemblance bliss; the moonlight illustrates resemblance purity; being neither above nor below, taking what is above to compare with what is below, unobstructed in freedom, illustrates resemblance self (and so on). "At that time, one person": illustrates the jewel of partial realization. Because "one" designates a person, and this person has found the entrance, it says "one person." "The power of skillful means": the perfect cultivation prior to the path. "Calmly and slowly": being at peace in birth and death, understanding it as nirvāṇa. The subtle, correct contemplation is calm, detailed, and precise without dullness; the water of the teaching is unmoving, the waves of the mind correspond with the principle, which is partially obtaining the precious jewel. This uses the six stages to reveal that a person of supreme cultivation with skillful means seeks and obtains the precious jewel, which is convenient in terms of practice. "You monks": applies the two similes of attainment and loss. This again has two parts. The reason it is applied in two turns is that the first turn applies to the gain and loss of the three cultivations, and the later turn applies to the gain and loss of the four cultivations. Applying this meaning across all phenomena, in each case there are the two kinds of cultivation, inferior and supreme. Therefore the text says: "In every place, always cultivate the thought of self, and the thoughts of permanence, bliss, and purity." How could this be only in the present sūtra? It is not confined to a single realm: wherever one touches, contemplation is accomplished. Reflect on this.