大般涅槃經疏 7.16

7.16

Next, the Buddha's answer has three parts: setting forth the simile, applying the simile, and bringing out [the meaning] by comparison. Setting forth the simile has four parts: first, siring several sons; second, entrusting them to a strict teacher; third, instructing him to train them sternly; fourth, obtaining merit without fault. First, the king and the great ministers represent the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Siring several sons represents producing faithful persons; because the faith they produce is not the same, they are called 'several sons.' Having upright and handsome appearances represents morality's ability to guard the physical body. Being clever and sharp-witted represents samādhi and wisdom guarding the mind. As for 'two, three, and four', someone says: 'The first two are the two monastic assemblies, and the third and fourth are the two lay assemblies.' This meaning is incorrect. An older commentary says: 'Two refers to the small and the great [vehicles]; three refers to the three faculties; four refers to the fourfold assembly.' This is also incorrect. If one is the one vehicle; two is the small and the great, where the great is the one vehicle; three is the three faculties, where the superior faculty is the one vehicle; and four is the fourfold assembly, within which there is the one vehicle—if so, the one son and the several sons would be attached everywhere and present everywhere, which would be utterly disordered. Now, we take the faithful mind to be the son; the differences in producing faith are briefly four kinds, namely: Tripiṭaka, Shared, Distinct, and Perfect [teachings], each possessing the three trainings, and in all of them uprightness and cleverness may be discussed. According to the text below that applies the simile, taking the destroyers of the Dharma as the sons does not conflict with this: the three kinds of faith, being one-sided, destroy the dharmatā, and so are fit for compassion as sons; while in terms of correct faith, they are fit for friendliness as sons. Next, entrusting them to a strict teacher: an older commentary says the four reliances are the teacher. According to the text below that applies the simile, the kings and the fourfold assembly are the teacher. These are the persons who uphold the Dharma. And those who uphold the Dharma take the Dharma as their teacher; as the lower text says: 'That which all Buddhas take as teacher is what is called the Dharma.' The Dharma has strict and non-strict: the non-strict are three; the strict is the Perfect Dharma. Third, from 'and saying' downwards is the instruction on training. 'You may instruct them' means instructing the one-sided to enter the Perfect. 'Demeanor and etiquette' represents Perfect morality. 'Arts and skills' represents Perfect samādhi; 'writing and mathematics' represents Perfect wisdom. Learning the Perfect is quickly accomplished without needing severe discipline; but if it is not quickly accomplished, it must be severely punished. The cane represents wisdom; through the cane, the sons die. Just as through wisdom the one-sided is broken, and because the one-sided is broken it is like three sons dying, while because the Perfect is established it is like one son succeeding. Speaking of breaking the one-sided does not only mean punishing violations; whether keeping or violating within the Tripiṭaka, Shared, and Distinct [teachings], all are severely disciplined. Why is this? What is keeping in the Tripiṭaka is a violation in the Perfect, and likewise for the Shared and Distinct. Therefore it says: 'Even though I lose three sons, I will never have regrets.' The son of the Perfect has faith in permanence, and therefore does not die. Having not yet reached the ultimate, it therefore speaks of severe discipline. The older commentary took the fourfold assembly as the four sons: which assembly was beaten to death? Which assembly did not die? The application of meaning fails to work and does not accord with the sūtra text, so we do not adopt it now. Next, in applying the simile: the Tathāgata corresponds to the king and ministers; regarding the destroyers of the Dharma corresponds to the sons; the kings and the fourfold assembly correspond to the teacher; the three grades of teachings correspond to etiquette, etc.; 'should be severely disciplined' corresponds to being beaten to death; 'not so' corresponds to having only merit without fault (and so forth). Third, from 'Good son' downwards is bringing it out by comparison. The king and the teacher care for those who are their sons and do not care for those who are not, and bring their own sons to completion but do not bring others to completion. If one-sided care and one-sided discipline are still without fault, how much less could the Buddha—who has equal compassionate care, equal completion, and equal discipline—have any fault? Therefore it says that the Tathāgata well cultivates an equal mind. Thus, if the king and the teacher, caring and teaching one-sidedly, still obtain immeasurable merit, how could the Tathāgata, caring and teaching equally, fail to obtain merit? Therefore the merits of the three times are cited: 'well cultivates' is the present lifetime, 'long life' is the future lifetime, and 'knowledge of past lives' is the past lifetime (and so forth).