維摩義記 1.66

1.66

Second, comprehensively subsuming all that Vimalakīrti taught throughout his lifetime as the main body. In this case, from the beginning up to 'by skillful means manifesting bodily illness' is judged to be the introductory section; from 'Because of his illness, kings and ministers all went to inquire after him' onwards is entirely the main body. Gathering comprehensively what Vimalakīrti taught throughout his lifetime constitutes the practice of the true Dharma, causing people to emulate it. Within the initial introduction, the text has three divisions: first, identifying and listing the speaker; second, from 'He had previously made offerings' onwards, praising the virtues of his teaching; third, from 'He, by skillful means, manifested bodily illness' onwards, manifesting illness to initiate the teaching. In the first part, 'in Vaiśālī' indicates his dwelling place. 'There was an elder' identifies and lists the person. His virtue was esteemed by his contemporaries, so he is called an 'elder.' 'Named Vimalakīrti' lists his personal name. Next is the praise of his virtue. Therein, it first praises his real virtue. From 'Desiring to liberate people' onwards, it praises his skillful virtue. Since the real is the basis for transformation, it is praised first; since the skillful is the occasion for transformation, it is praised next. Within the real virtue there are two parts: first, explaining that Vimalakīrti's internal virtue was full and abundant; second, from 'The Buddhas extolled' onwards, his fine reputation resonated far and wide, winning people's reverence and praise. In the former part, it first praises the merits of his own stage; from 'Having long been established in the Buddha-way, his mind was already pure and ripe' onwards, it praises his superior progress. Within his own stage, it first praises his self-benefit; from 'He clearly understood the inclinations of living beings' mind' onwards, it praises his benefiting of others. In the preceding praise of self-benefit, it first praises the perfection of his practice; 'His great vows were accomplished' praises the fulfillment of his vows. In praising the perfection of practice, it praises him in terms of spiritual stages; also because Vimalakīrti, while abiding in a single bhūmi, universally gathered the merits of all bhūmis, he is praised in terms of various stages. 'Having previously made offerings to immeasurable Buddhas, deeply planting good roots' praises the effortful practice up through the seventh bhūmi, as taught in the Daśabhūmika Sūtra. In each single bhūmi having made offerings to many Buddhas is called 'having previously made offerings.' 'Immeasurable Buddhas' gathers merits. 'Deeply planting good roots' indicates the gathering of wisdom. Furthermore, offering to Buddhas is that upon which practice relies; deeply planting good roots is the actual practice that arises. 'Attaining the tolerance of the unarisen' praises the practice of the eighth bhūmi. Tolerances are differentiated into five, as taught in the Benevolent King Sūtra: first, tolerance of subduing, wherein through the lineage and understanding-practice afflictions are deeply subdued, hence called 'subduing'; second, tolerance of faith, wherein in the first, second, and third bhūmis one has deep, indestructible faith in the subsequent unarisen; third, tolerance of conformity, wherein in the fourth, fifth, and sixth bhūmis one inclines toward and accords with the unarisen; fourth, tolerance of the unarisen, wherein in the seventh, eighth, and ninth bhūmis one sees dharmas as unproduced; fifth, tolerance of quiescence, wherein in the tenth bhūmi and as a Buddha, signs are exhausted and one realizes quiescence, attaining great nirvāṇa. Although the seventh bhūmi attains tolerance of the unarisen, it is not yet purified; from the eighth bhūmi onward the tolerance of the unarisen is pure, hence it is spoken of here. 'Eloquence without obstruction' praises the practice of the ninth bhūmi. There, possessing the four unobstructed eloquences, preaching the Dharma for living beings is called 'eloquence without obstruction.' 'Sporting in supernormal powers' and so forth praises the practice of the tenth bhūmi. Sporting in supernormal powers is the greatness of supernormal powers in the tenth bhūmi. Transformative functions being difficult to fathom is called 'supernormal' (shen); being spiritual without impediment is called 'powers' (tong). Moving through these supernormal powers is called 'sporting' (you); entering and exiting without hindrance like play is further called 'play' (xi). 'Attaining all dhāraṇīs' is the great dhāraṇī of the tenth bhūmi. 'Acquiring fearlessness' and so forth is the greatness of wisdom in the tenth bhūmi. Wisdom is of four kinds: first, wisdom that crushes heresy; second, wisdom that enters correctness—these two form a pair; third is real wisdom; fourth is upāya-wisdom—these again form a pair. In the text, it first says 'Acquiring fearlessness, subduing the weariness and hostility of Māra,' which is the wisdom that crushes heresy. 'Acquiring fearlessness' means obtaining the four fearlessnesses to subdue non-Buddhists. 'Subduing Māra's hostility' means obtaining the Buddha's ten powers to destroy Māra's hostility. Māra's ability to weary and trouble is called 'weariness'; spoiling people's good roots is called 'hostility'; the ten powers, being firm, are able to subdue them. These are all Buddha-virtues; why are they spoken of as the greatness of wisdom in the tenth bhūmi? Their fullness lies in the Buddha-fruit, but their attainment is in the tenth bhūmi; therefore, the 'Chapter on Setting Forth' in the Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra declares that the ten powers, four fearlessnesses, and so forth are all attained in the tenth bhūmi. 'Entering the deep dharma-gate' is the wisdom that enters correctness. The tathāgatagarbha-nature is the deep dharma-gate; realization and union is called 'entering.' This concludes the first pair. 'Skilled in the perfection of wisdom' is his real wisdom. The sūtra says that in the tenth bhūmi the prajñāpāramitā is supreme; being skilled in the perfection of wisdom is this realized wisdom. 'Thoroughly penetrating upāya' is upāya-wisdom. Skillful knowing according to what is present is called penetrating upāya; this is instructional wisdom. The preceding praised the perfection of practice; 'His great vows were accomplished' praises the fulfillment of his vows. Obtaining whatever is sought is called the accomplishment of great vows. The preceding praised self-benefit; below praises benefiting others. 'Clearly understanding the inclinations of living beings' minds' means knowing their desires. An arising wish is called desire; knowing what desire seeks is called 'inclination.' 'And able to distinguish the sharpness and dullness of their faculties' means knowing beings' faculties. What was habitually cultivated in the past and is perfected in the present is called 'faculties,' referring to faith, vigor, and so forth. The nature of faculties differs in being sharp or dull, and Vimalakīrti knew them all. The preceding praised his own stage; below praises his superior progress. Subsuming the Buddha's virtues above is called superior progress. Therein are four phrases: 'Having long been established in the Buddha-way, his mind was already pure and ripe' is the first phrase, explaining the accomplishment of his vow. The fruit of great bodhi is the Buddha-way. 'Pure' means refined; 'ripe' means good. Toward the Buddha, Vimalakīrti's seeking mind was refined and pure, good and ripe, hence called 'pure and ripe.' 'Determined in the Mahāyāna' is the second phrase, explaining the accomplishment of his faith. The Buddha-fruit is the Buddha; that which great beings ride is called the Mahāyāna. Having deep faith in this without doubt is called 'determined.' 'Able to consider well all that he undertook' is the third phrase, explaining the accomplishment of his understanding. Superior practices are not just one, hence called 'all that he undertook.' Discerning them carefully without error is called 'considering well.' 'Abiding in the Buddha's deportment, his mind was as vast as the ocean' is the fourth phrase, explaining the accomplishment of his practice. Abiding in the Buddha's deportment, his bodily actions were identical to the Buddha's. His mind as vast as the ocean, his mental actions were identical to the Buddha's. The preceding praised the fullness of his virtues; below praises his renown as revered and praised by others. 'Extolled by the Buddhas' means praised by Buddhas above. The Buddhas of the ten directions sighed in praise, hence 'extolled.' 'Revered by disciples, Śakra, Brahmā, and world-protectors' means revered by people below. Revered by disciples means revered by humans, shared reverence by the Buddha's fourfold disciples. Śakra, Brahmā, and world-protectors means revered by gods. Śakra is Lord Śakra; Brahmā is King Brahmā; world-protectors are the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world; he was constantly revered by them. Living beings of the six destinies shared in revering him, of which these are cited. Above praised real virtue; below praises skillful virtue. Within skillful virtue, the beginning is general; from 'Possessing immeasurable wealth to gather the poor' onwards is specific. From 'Benefiting living beings with such immeasurable skillful means' onwards, it concludes with a general praise. In the initial general statement, 'desiring to liberate people' is the purpose of his manifesting birth. 'With excellent upāya' is the wisdom of his manifesting birth. The meaning of upāya, broadly discussed in terms of practice, has three kinds: first, upāya of realization: able to abandon conceptual signs with respect to ultimate truth and skillfully enter realization. Therefore, the eighth bhūmi in the Daśabhūmika Sūtra calls that practice of realization the 'upāya of good intelligence.' Second, auxiliary upāya: skillfully cultivating whatever practices assist the path is called upāya. Therefore, the Bodhisattvabhūmi speaks of twelve skillful practices of upāya; within this gate, skillfully cultivating self-benefit and skillfully benefiting others are all called upāya. Third, skillfully arising within non-abiding practice. Therein are six: 1. Contemplating emptiness without attachment, yet able to give rise to practices in the realm of existence, is called upāya. As the Daśabhūmika Sūtra says, 'ten wisdoms of upāya initiate superior practices,' which refers to this. 2. Practicing in the realm of existence without defilement, the mind constantly realizing quiescence, is called upāya. 3. Identical to purity yet constantly in defilement, attaining great nirvāṇa without abandoning the mundane, is called upāya. 4. Identical to defilement yet ever pure, not abandoning the mundane yet constantly in nirvāṇa, is called upāya. 5. Self-benefit combined with benefiting others, not biased toward self-benefit alone, is called upāya. 6. Benefiting others combined with self-benefit, without losing one's own good, is called upāya. What is discussed here is the upāya of non-abiding. Within non-abiding, realizing emptiness while according with existence, being pure while according with defilement, and being for oneself while combining with others, is called upāya-wisdom. 'Dwelling in Vaiśālī' directly explains manifesting birth. Within the specific section there are two parts: first, gathering the secular through the path, meaning gathering living beings through the six pāramitās, the text of which is evident. Second, from 'Although a white-robed householder' onwards, penetrating the path through the secular. Therein are three parts: first, dwelling among the secular yet differing; second, from 'Entering to govern with the correct law' onwards, benefiting through Dharma-transformation; third, from 'If among elders, revered by elders' onwards, dwelling above to gather those below. In the first part, there are thirteen sentences altogether, gathered into three pairs of self-benefit and other-benefit: the first seven form a pair, the next four form a pair, and the last two form a pair. In the first pair, the first six are self-benefit, and the last one is other-benefit. In the former self-benefit, the first differentiates in terms of appearance between the secular and the path: 'Although a white-robed householder, he upheld the pure monastic rules of a śramaṇa.' The next is in terms of dwelling: 'Although dwelling at home, he was unattached to the three realms.' The next two are in terms of persons: 'Showing himself to have a wife and children, he constantly practiced celibacy; appearing to have a retinue, he constantly delighted in solitude.' The last two differentiate in terms of provisions: 'Although wearing jeweled adornments, the major and minor marks adorned his body; although partaking of food and drink, the joy of dhyāna was his flavor.' Food is of two kinds: mundane food and supramundane food. Mundane food is of four kinds: material food, contact food, volitional food, and consciousness food. Supramundane food is of five kinds: Dharma food, dhyāna food, mindfulness food, vow food, and liberation food. Here, although Vimalakīrti partook of material food, the joy of dhyāna was his flavor. 'Dhyāna' refers to dhyāna food. Dhyāna-concentration easing the spirit is called 'joy'; sweetening the spirit is called 'flavor.' This concludes the preceding self-benefit. 'Entering gambling and gaming houses, he consistently liberated people' is other-benefit. 'Gambling' refers to liubo; 'gaming' refers to weiqi and the like; in such playhouses, he consistently liberated people. This concludes the first pair. In the second pair, the first two are self-benefit: 'Receiving heterodox paths without corrupting correct faith' explains that faith is not broken. 'Although versed in secular classics, constantly delighting in the Buddha-Dharma' explains that vows are not broken. The latter two are other-benefit: 'Revered by all who saw him, foremost among recipients of offerings' benefits beings through bodily karma. Vimalakīrti skillfully transformed others so that all who saw him revered him together, hence 'revered by all who saw him.' Vimalakīrti's virtue being profound, those who revered him obtained immeasurable blessings, hence 'foremost among recipients of offerings.' 'Upholding the correct Dharma, gathering the young and old' benefits beings through verbal karma. Using the Buddha's correct Dharma to teach the great and small alike, he gathered both the young and old. This concludes the two pairs. In the third pair, the first is self-benefit: gathering few and rejoicing much is called 'harmony.' The mind being without greed or attachment, 'obtaining mundane gain, he did not rejoice.' The latter phrase is other-benefit: transforming people wherever he met them, hence 'wandering the four crossroads to benefit living beings.' The above is the first part, dwelling among the secular yet differing. Below is the second part, benefiting beings with the Dharma, containing five phrases: 'Entering to govern with the correct law, protecting all' benefits beings through royal law. 'Entering places of debate, guiding with the Mahāyāna' gathers people with the Buddha-Dharma. 'Entering academies, enticing and opening the minds of children' teaches beings with secular methods. 'Entering brothels, showing the faults of lust; entering taverns, able to establish their resolve'—these two phrases benefit living beings through conduct. These two passages are finished.