維摩經玄疏 6.121

6.121

Second, explaining the direct application to this sūtra: Now, Vimalakīrti wished to make Śākyamuni's true Dharma abide long, and for this reason he rebuked outside the room and embraced inside the room. Speaking generally of rebuking and embracing, they can be found everywhere; just as when a person scolds someone, it is temporary, while nurturing them is the original intention. At times he uses provisional knowledge to rebuke and ultimate knowledge to embrace: for example, rebuking the kings and elders is provisional rebuke, while causing them to delight in the Buddha's body is ultimate embrace. When he rebuked Subhūti, saying: 'One who is equal regarding food is also equal regarding dharmas,' entering the eight heterodoxies and thereby attaining the eightfold correct path—this is using ultimate knowledge to rebuke, yet using the provisional to embrace; when he said: 'Like a person conjured by the Buddha: if scolded with such things, would they feel any fear?'—this is provisional embrace; rebuking Ānanda is also like this. As for rebuking Maitreya and others, it is rebuking with ultimate knowledge and embracing with ultimate knowledge; as for rebuking Kātyāyana, it is provisional rebuke and provisional embrace. The different meanings inside the room are elaborated in detail elsewhere. Hence we know that Vimalakīrti's subduing and embracing brought this teaching to completion.