注維摩詰經 4.268

4.268

什曰：起慈心也。有三種：凡夫為生梵天、二乘則為求功德、菩薩則為求佛度脫眾生。今欲令其為求佛道而起慈心。自此已下，隨文求義不必盡類，但令不乖法施耳。肇曰：夫財養養身、法養養神。養神之道存乎冥益，冥益之義豈待前後？經曰「一人出世，天下蒙慶」。何則？群生流轉以無窮為路，冥冥相承莫能自反。故大士建德不自為身，一念之善皆為群生。以為群生故願行俱果，行果則己功立，願果則群生益。己功立則有濟物之能，群生益則有反流之分。然則菩薩始建德於內，群生已蒙益於外矣。何必待哺養啟導然後為益乎？菩提者，弘濟之道也。是以為菩提而起慈心者，一念一時所益無際矣。生曰：施是救物之懷，以四等為主，故先明焉。然要在行實四等也，虛則不成法施會矣。慈本所念在彼，理不得偏。不偏念者，唯欲普益也。菩提既無不等，又能實益，若以此理為懷，豈虛也哉？

[Kumāra]jīva says: Giving rise to a mind of loving-kindness. There are three kinds: ordinary persons do so to be born in the Brahmā heaven; the two vehicles do so to seek merit; bodhisattvas do so to seek Buddhahood and deliver sentient beings. Now he wishes him to give rise to a mind of loving-kindness for the sake of seeking the Buddha Way. From here on, one follows the text to find the meaning, not requiring every case to be of the same class, but merely ensuring it does not diverge from the giving of Dharma. [Seng]zhao says: Material sustenance nourishes the body; Dharma sustenance nourishes the spirit. The way of nourishing the spirit resides in hidden benefit; how could the meaning of hidden benefit wait for before and after? A sūtra says: "When one person appears in the world, all under heaven receive blessings." Why is this? Sentient beings wander in saṃsāra, taking the endless as their road, following one another in darkness with none able to return by themselves. Therefore the mahāsattva establishes virtue not for his own person; a single thought of goodness is entirely for sentient beings. Because it is for sentient beings, vows and practices both bear fruit; when practice bears fruit, his own merit is established; when vows bear fruit, sentient beings are benefited. When his own merit is established, he has the capacity to save beings; when sentient beings are benefited, they have the share of turning back the flow. Thus, when the bodhisattva first establishes virtue within, sentient beings have already received benefit without. Why must one wait for feeding and guiding before it constitutes benefit? Bodhi is the Way of vast salvation. Therefore, when one gives rise to a mind of loving-kindness for the sake of bodhi, what is benefited in a single thought at one time is boundless. [Dao]sheng says: Giving is the intention to rescue beings, taking the four immeasurables as primary; hence they are clarified first. However, the essential point is to practice the four immeasurables in reality; if hollow, they do not form an assembly of the giving of Dharma. Loving-kindness originally focuses its mindfulness on the other; in principle it cannot be partial. To be impartial in mindfulness means solely desiring universal benefit. Since bodhi is nowhere unequal and can truly benefit, if one holds this principle in mind, how could it be hollow?