觀彌勒上生兜率天經贊 1.6

1.6

First, as for the expedient and the real in the Buddha's attainment: 'expedient' refers to adapting to circumstances to receive beings; 'real' refers to investigating ultimate principle to reach truth. Both the body and teaching of a Buddha possess these two. Thus, as the Lotus Sūtra says to guide those of indeterminate lineage: 'Only this one matter is real; the other two are not true,' demonstrating that the teaching of the One Vehicle is real and the teaching of the Two Vehicles is expedient—this is the half-letter and full-letter teaching of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra. In the Śrīmālādevī Sūtra, expounding the definitive meaning, it says: 'If the Tathāgata, following their inclinations, speaks expediently, there is only the One Vehicle, and there are not the Two Vehicles.' Thus, stating only that there is the One Vehicle is expedient, while stating that there are Four Vehicles is real—namely, the Great Vehicle, Pratyekabuddha, Śrāvaka, and beings who lack learning and adhere to non-Dharma, bringing them to fulfillment through the wholesome roots of humans and gods. As it is with the teaching, so it is also with the body. Therefore the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says: 'If one sees me through form, or seeks me through sound, that person walks a deviant path and will not see me.' That wondrous body of the Tathāgata is the guide's dharmakāya; its substance cannot be seen, and that consciousness cannot cognize it. Its treatise also says: 'The response and transformation bodies are not the true Buddha, nor do they preach the Dharma.' As for preaching the Dharma being non-dual, taking the aspect of wordlessness and transcendence of language, it takes the dharmakāya as real and the two bodies as expedient. In the Lotus Sūtra, holding a dung basket and wearing soiled clothes is an allegory for the expedient body; manifesting an lifespan that is boundless reveals the real body. This takes the saṃbhogakāya as real and the nirmāṇakāya as expedient. However, regarding these three bodies, there are two sets of four propositions. [In the first set:] There is that which is saṃbhogakāya but not nirmāṇakāya, namely the self-enjoyment body. There is that which is nirmāṇakāya but not saṃbhogakāya, namely the body manifesting the eight aspects. There is that which is both saṃbhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya, namely the other-enjoyment body; because it abundantly enjoys Dharma joy, it may be called enjoyment, and because it manifests according to capacity, it may be called transformation. There is that which is neither saṃbhogakāya nor nirmāṇakāya, namely the Buddha's dharmakāya. Furthermore, there is a second set of four propositions: There is that which is saṃbhogakāya but not nirmāṇakāya, namely the self-enjoyment body. There is that which is nirmāṇakāya but not saṃbhogakāya, namely the transformation bodies among the six destinies according to kinds of living beings, such as the various bodies of elders, householders, monkeys, deer, and horses. There is that which is both saṃbhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya, namely the other-enjoyment body and the body of the eight aspects; the aforementioned transformation body is also subsumed under this proposition. There is that which is neither saṃbhogakāya nor nirmāṇakāya, namely the Buddha's dharmakāya. Although these four propositions speak of the bodies differently, the two virtues of the expedient and the real subsume them all completely. In brief, there are two interpretations: First, the dharmakāya is declared real, and the remaining two are both expedient. The 'real' is the true substance of all phenomena; the 'expedient' consists of the provisional traces of phenomenal characteristics. This is what the Prajñāpāramitā treatise means when it says: 'The response and transformation bodies are not the true Buddha,' and so forth. Second, the dharmakāya and self-enjoyment body can only be known by Buddha with Buddha; they are the fundamental basis of the bodies and both are free from differentiation. Their virtues and wisdom are each boundless, cannot be grasped by physical form or dimension, have no characteristics of arising and ending with boundaries or limits, are endowed with true virtues, and are truly accomplished through cultivation and realization; not being manifested in response to beings, they are called 'real.' The other-enjoyment body and the nirmāṇakāya of the eight aspects are bodies manifested according to kinds of living beings, enabling lower categories to perceive and know them. They are the branches of the bodies, both having distinctions. Their virtues and wisdom are not wholly boundless, can be grasped by the measures of form and mind, yet have the characteristics of arising and ending with limits, possess marked virtues, arise from grasping for the sake of benefiting others, and manifest in response to beings; therefore they are called 'expedient.' Hence the Buddhabhūmi treatise says: 'The Buddha's bodies are two: first, the real body; second, the birth body.' However, these real bodies each abide in their own lands, yet both pervade the realm of phenomena and are not to be sought in a particular direction or location. The dharmakāya is fundamentally possessed and shared in common by all Buddhas. Ordinary beings, because they are obscured by delusion, possess it without realizing it; wrapped by afflictions, it receives the name tathāgatagarbha. By relying on good friends and severing delusional birth-and-death, when it emerges from being wrapped, it is fully endowed with the title of dharmakāya, serving as the basis for all virtuous qualities. Therefore, in the Śrīmālādevī Sūtra, when entangled it is named tathāgatagarbha, and when freed from entanglement it is named dharmakāya, because different names are assigned according to the stages of cause and fruition. One can only speak of realizing it, not of producing it; from the first ground upwards it is partially realized, and at the fruit of Buddhahood it is perfectly realized. The self-enjoyment body arises newly through cultivation, because the individual substances of sentient beings differ. From the stage of an ordinary person, there are only beginningless untainted seeds; by drawing near to good friends and listening to the correct Dharma, the seeds gradually increase and become the basis of the saṃbhogakāya, which is also called tathāgatagarbha. The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra says: 'The ālaya-consciousness is called the empty tathāgatagarbha; because it is fully perfumed with untainted phenomena, it is called the non-empty tathāgatagarbha.' The former is the garbha of the dharmakāya; this is the garbha of the saṃbhogakāya. Arousing the aspiration and practicing cultivation is as explained in the Youzan. At the stages prior to the grounds, one merely cultivates the seeds to make them gradually grow; through this power, tainted wholesome karma arises, and upon taking birth, it will induce the retribution of fully complete marks and signs, being born into the lands of transformation of the eight aspects. Arriving above the first ground, one then supports the tainted [karma] to attain the position of the ten kings, constantly obtaining the thirty-two marks and eighty secondary signs birth after birth, yet it is not yet untainted nor yet perfectly luminous. Only the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are untainted, and one is born into the lands according to kind of the other-enjoyment [body]. As the Brahmajāla Sūtra speaks of the greatness and smallness of the stages: After the vajra-like path, all tainted [phenomena] are extinguished, and the untainted five aggregates are all completely luminous; abandoning impermanent form, one obtains permanent form, and so too for sensation, perception, formations, and consciousness, obtaining the untainted thirty-two marks and eighty secondary signs, mutually supporting and continuing to the end of future time. However, regarding bodhisattvas receiving the body of transformative change, there are those who receive transformative change right from the first ground, like those entering the cessation attainment because of dreading afflictions. There are those who only receive transformative change at the fulfillment of the seventh ground, like those entering the cessation attainment without dreading delusions. Once this body of transformative change is obtained, one does not abandon it; feeling that its momentum is exhausted, one again enters absorption to nourish it, up until the transformation of the state at the vajra-like [mind], when it is finally exhausted. Thereby, a bodhisattva who advances directly at the fulfillment of the seventh ground is born into the Heaven of Extensive Fruition in the Fourth Dhyāna, avoiding the five Pure Abodes by not being born there, nourishing the karma that induces the present body of this lower ground. Thus continuously supporting it up to the tenth ground, on the verge of the vajra-like [path], they proceed to the wondrous pure land above Akaniṣṭha. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: 'There is a wondrous pure land that surpasses the three realms. Tenth-ground bodhisattvas shall be born in it.' 'To be born' means to arise, to go, and to abide. The Daśabhūmika says: 'As visible retribution and benefit, they receive the rank of Buddha. As subsequent retribution and benefit, they are born in the wisdom-abode of Maheśvara.' Therefore the fourth fascicle of the Yogācāra, the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra, the Abhidharmasamuccaya-vyākhyā, and others all say: 'Transcending Akaniṣṭha there is a wondrous pure land; only tenth-ground bodhisattvas are born in it. A great jewel flower king emerges displaying ten aspects, and the bodhisattva sits within it and realizes perfect awakening.' At the stage of the vajra-like mind, the body still has measure, and as it is still the causal stage, all tainted [phenomena] are present. Upon reaching the path of liberation, the body then becomes boundless; being termed the fruition stage, the untainted is fulfilled. The untainted fruition body and other phenomena generated through this cultivation are such that the measure of the body and the sphere of wisdom are both as they are; phenomena and principle correspond, completely without measure, and cannot be sought through marks; hence it is called 'real.' Those two expedient bodies each have their distinctions; they manifest according to need, and their direction and location can be sought. For example, the other-enjoyment body manifests for bodhisattvas of the first ground; because those bodhisattvas awaken to the ten hundred gates, they are able to see a hundred Buddhas. One Buddha is precisely the trichiliocosm ruled by one Buddha; this principle is precisely the ten billion transformation bodies. Because the transformations of one Buddha are identical, it is spoken of as one Buddha. Although they see a hundred Buddhas, in total it is one saṃbhogakāya; this saṃbhoga Buddha sits on a hundred-petaled flower, and each single petal is one Buddha-land of ten billion transformation bodies. This single Buddha-land is what is seen prior to the grounds; the body manifested for them corresponds to that land. Yet there are two categories: first, the body manifested within one set of four continents; second, the single lord Buddha within the trichiliocosm. Because there are hierarchical grades prior to the grounds, the other-enjoyment body seen by the first ground corresponds to the hundred-petaled flower, neither large nor small; the first-ground bodhisattvas attending that Buddha correspond in size. However, prior to the grounds, according to whichever realm they are born in, their bodies correspond in smallness or greatness, generally equaling half of the Buddha's size. From the first ground onwards, having realized tathatā, the untainted virtues manifested in their births gradually excel and their marks and signs become clearer; hence the body they induce corresponds to the Buddha's size, and delimited [birth-and-death] and transformative change differ in coarseness and subtlety. Supported by the power of merit, the bodily measure must be large; in the ranks of the ten kings, they become the king of this continent. Transforming and being born according to species, whether they take up delusions or not, this bodily measure is likewise not fixed. The fundamental wisdom realizes tathatā, and the subsequent wisdom sees that Buddha, expounding each one like the ten hundred gates. When reaching the second ground, obtaining a thousand Dharma-gates, they see the saṃbhogakāya sitting on a thousand-petaled flower, with ten billion transformation Buddhas in each petal; that Buddha sits in place with size corresponding, and the attending bodhisattvas' bodily measure is likewise so, just as transformation disciples correspond to the Buddha's size in attending him. Hence the Brahmajāla Sūtra says: 'I am now Rocana, seated on the lotus seat; in one flower are ten billion realms, in one realm is one Śākya, each seated beneath a bodhi tree, simultaneously attaining the Buddha Way.' It is also like Amitābha Buddha: his eyes are like the waters of the four great oceans, and the white curl mark between his eyebrows is like five Sumeru mountains. The Lotus Sūtra also says: 'When sentient beings see the kalpa ending and being consumed by a great fire, this land of mine is tranquil, always filled with gods and humans. I am always on Vulture Peak and in other abodes, preaching this Lotus Sūtra,' and so forth—all of these are other-enjoyment bodies. Manifesting according to what is appropriate for greater or lesser bodhisattvas, their bodily measure is not fixed, and the places of manifestation are likewise so; it is not only in the pure land that forms and appearances differ. The places where they are induced may be in the West, or may be here. Thus, what Mañjuśrī saw was the other-enjoyment body, whereas what Śāriputra saw was the nirmāṇakāya. Therefore, in the Avataṃsaka assembly, Śāriputra was as if blind and deaf, neither hearing nor seeing; only after Mañjuśrī led him out of the assembly did he begin to perceive and understand. What is contemplated by subsequent attainment is the expedient body; what is realized by fundamental wisdom is the real body. When a bodhisattva of the tenth ground is about to become a Buddha, they must go to the wondrous pure land of the Great Sovereign God above Akaniṣṭha, and take their seat within the great jewel flower king to realize perfect awakening. This great jewel flower king is equal in measure to ten asaṃkhyeyas of hundred-thousand trichiliocosms; the tenth-ground bodhisattva sitting within it corresponds in size. How much more so the other-enjoyment Buddha seen here, whose bodily measure is immeasurable and boundless! This place is definitely above Akaniṣṭha. As stated in the scriptures and treatises cited above, in such lands there certainly are no beings born of the Two Vehicles, women, pandakas, or evil destinies. If there appear to be any, they are all transformations wrought by Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Therefore the Treatise on the Sukhavatīvyūha Sūtra says: 'Women, those with defective faculties, and the seeds of the Two Vehicles are not born there.' The Buddhabhūmi treatise says: 'If there are parrots and such adorning the bodhimanda, they are all transformed by Buddhas and bodhisattvas to induce joyous minds in bodhisattvas arriving from other directions.' The Guśabdajāraja Sūtra says: 'Amitābha Buddha's father was named Candrottara, his mother was named Utpalagandhā, his son was named Candraprabha, his attending disciple was named Vimalakīrti, the māra king was named Aparājita, and Devadatta was named Śānta.' Since there are no women, the mother is not an actual woman, but a transformation of the Buddha and others, like the jīvañjīvaka birds. Therefore, it is a retribution land, and there is no contradiction. There is an explanation: being actual women, they are the retribution-Buddha land of the transformation Amitābha Buddha. What Śikhin saw—always preaching the Dharma on Vulture Peak when the kalpa ends—is a retribution-Buddha land. However, the Avataṃsaka says: 'In the samādhi of Queen Māyā's womb, one sees the womb containing boundless worlds with assemblies of great bodhisattvas listening to the Dharma.' Hence we know that retribution Buddhas have transformed parents; this too is not erroneous. The Sūtra on the Prediction for Avalokiteśvara says: 'Amitābha Buddha's lifespan is immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of kalpas, but it shall have an end. After his extinction, when the morning star appears, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva will attain complete and perfect awakening beneath the bodhi tree of seven jewels, with the title King of the Mountain of Universal Light and Virtues. His land will surpass Amitābha Buddha's land by hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis, beyond compare, named Array of Universally Gathered Myriad Jewels. After this Buddha passes away, Mahāsthāmaprāpta will become a Buddha named Virtuous Abiding Jewel King of Merits.' It does not say in which direction they previously dwelt before succeeding to the rank later; it is not like transformation Buddhas. Yet succeeding to the rank in this place does not undermine the place of transformation; wishing to make beings' aspiration deep, they previously have an abode. Other-enjoyment bodies take the flower dais as the seat of their bodhimanda; in lower ranks they have parents, while in higher ranks no father is seen. Now, as for the nirmāṇakāya, it manifests for bodhisattvas prior to the grounds, the Two Vehicles, and so forth, either pure or defiled, small or large, entirely in accordance with what is appropriate for beings. When about to become a Buddha, one first ascends to Tuṣita, because that celestial realm corresponds to the beings' capacity and suitability: their revulsion toward suffering is deep, and they already know contentment with the instruments of pleasure in birth-and-death; hence they do not abide in other heavens, but must be here. Just like Śākyamuni and Maitreya abiding in Tuṣita Heaven, the Sūtra on the Bodhisattva Dwelling in the Womb says: 'Fully completing fifty-six billion seven hundred million years, when the faculties of beings below are mature, he will descend to attain the Way.' Attaining the Way across the three periods of time all involves the bodhi tree, the vajra-seat, subduing Māra at the bodhimanda, and such events. The subduing of Māra differs, as explained in the Commentary on the Adhyardhaśatikā. On the vajra-like holy path, the two obstructions are already wiped away; in the path of liberation, the untainted path is complete, having silently united with truth, harmonized with virtue, realized awakening, and benefited beings; hence it is called becoming a Buddha. Now, what this Sūtra on the Descent clarifies is the matter of becoming a Buddha; it is not the dharmakāya Buddha, for that principle can only be realized, and lacks the meaning of ascending, descending, being born, and attaining; nor is it the self-enjoyment body, for it lacks the marks of dwelling in heaven, becoming a Buddha, or preaching the Dharma to benefit beings and causing them to see it. The other-enjoyment Buddha does not dwell in the heavenly palace or abide in Magadha to be seen by those prior to the grounds; thus it is the nirmāṇakāya ascending to birth and becoming a Buddha. Although designated as a transformation Buddha, it implicitly manifests the other bodies. The self-enjoyment body perfectly accomplishes the fruit of the Way; the wondrous principle of tathatā is completely realized with obstructions exhausted; the fruit of self-benefit is fulfilled, and past vows must be practiced; at this assembly, the transformation body expediently arises as an other-enjoyment Buddha responding to what is appropriate for the ten grounds, and as a transformation Buddha body manifesting according to those prior to the grounds. Although here the transformation substance is displayed, it implicitly reveals the other Buddhas. Those who see naturally have different capacities, and the manifested body is also described differently, yet the real Buddha body does not have distinct substances. Just as when the moon emerges from the edge of the clouds, shining roundly and penetrating the sky, its reflection appears in water; the round and bright moon in the water conforms to the vessel, so that vessels produce myriad differences while the moon itself is fundamentally one—how could thousands of differences in reflections cause the moon itself to differ? The two substances of the real and expedient are necessarily like this in principle: the real is the source of principle, while the expedient follows the traces of beings. Hence we know that ascending to birth and becoming a Buddha fully displays the transformation nature, wishing to deliver living beings according to their kinds and make joyous cultivation easy. The Pātra Sūtra states that Maitreya said to Mañjuśrī: 'When in a future body I become a Buddha, [numerous] as the sands of the Ganges, Mañjuśrī will not be able to know my raising and lowering of a foot.' The Aṅgulimāla Sūtra says: 'In the north there is a land named Constant Joy, where the Buddha is named Joy-Treasury Maṇi-Treasure Accumulation; Mañjuśrī is that Buddha.' Since Mañjuśrī is already a Buddha, yet does not know Maitreya, we know this is a transformation. Since the eight aspects of attaining the Way in the Mahāyānasaṃgraha and other texts are the nirmāṇakāya, we know that ascending to birth is definitely not the true Buddha. Bodhisattvas are of three kinds: first, bound to one last birth; second, the final body; third, seated at the bodhimanda. Ascending to birth is 'bound to one last birth'; descending to birth is strictly confined to two bodies. Becoming a Buddha depends on causes; hence all three are exhausted. Only transformation Buddhas have this; for the others, no text is found. Inferring by principle, it should also apply generally: for instance, a bodhisattva of the seventh ground, receiving transformative change with only this one body, is called 'bound to one last birth.' From the eighth ground upward is called the 'final body,' because there are no further characteristics of delimited birth-and-death. Going to the palace of the Great Sovereign God and sitting on the lotus seat is called 'seated at the bodhimanda'; this is called attaining the self-enjoyment body, which also has three bodhisattvas. The other-enjoyment body is in principle likewise so. Avalokiteśvara's body is called the final body; as for his sitting at the bodhimanda and being bound to one last birth, though no explicit proof has been seen, in principle it definitely exists. Saying that Bodhisattva Maitreya is called 'one birth' means that dwelling among humans is called one birth, because it is one major birth, like seven births and so forth. In reality, including the intermediate existence, there are altogether four births. If it is said that there is only half a birth in heaven, including the intermediate existence there are two births; the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa calls them three births. If among humans, excluding the body of becoming a Buddha, there are therefore three. However, bodhisattvas have five kinds of births: First, birth to eliminate disasters. Through the sovereignty of their vows, they become a great fish and the like to relieve hunger and exhaustion, become a great physician king to cure illnesses, become a great craftsman to resolve disputes skillfully, become a great wheel-turning king to cease suffering in accordance with Dharma, become a great god to sever actions based on wrong views, or become fire, water, vehicles, boats, and various things to quell disasters and suffering. Second, birth according to kind. Through the sovereign power of vows, they are born among animals and other evil classes; the evil those beings commit they themselves do not commit, and the good those beings do not do they themselves practice. Just like entering wine shops to establish beings' resolve, or entering brothels to demonstrate the fault of desire, preaching the correct Dharma for them to eliminate their shortcomings. Third, birth of great majesty. Born with an endowment whose lifespan, form, complexion, caste, and wealth are most supreme, able to sever faults such as arrogance and contempt in sentient beings. Fourth, birth of predominance. Receiving the realms of the ten kings, sovereign in transforming and guiding, manifesting according to what is appropriate. Fifth, supreme birth. In this birth, the provisions are already completely fulfilled, like Śākyamuni and others, born into a great kṣatriya royal family, able to manifest equal awakening and perform all Buddha deeds. Now Maitreya dwells in Tuṣita Heaven, endowed with the latter four births, or the second, third, and fourth; if descending to this continent, it is subsumed under the fifth birth. This is the first section, on the expedient and real in the Buddha's attainment.