維摩經略疏 6.138

6.138

「爾時」下，三、賓主往復。文為四：一淨名空室現相、二文殊見相知表、三淨名稱歎文殊、四文殊述成其言。初又為二：一神力空室、二以疾而臥。空室表欲扶成佛國之教，現疾表欲顯三解脫。初云「即以神力」等者，神力表用智慧，「空室」表佛國皆空，顯真寂光。「除去所有」，表除依報。「及諸侍者」，表除魔外。具如淨名答文殊。空室表其佛國，即有二意：一成前、二生後。一、成前者，上佛說淨土，正為眾生罪故不見清淨佛土，不得生淨佛剎，不能成淨土之行，故廣說〈佛國品〉，為破眾生罪垢緣縛諸不淨業，令成淨土之因。淨名為扶成佛教，逆作方便折挫彈呵，又因託疾為凡夫說，又欲重發昔彈呵事，皆為扶成淨土之說。今文殊既來，所以現空室之相，表佛土皆空，欲與文殊廣論佛國，即成前也。二、生後者，若現空室表佛國皆空，文殊知表，因即往復論佛國義，故於此品即得明佛國也。又因空室，身子為眾須床、念食，時眾得見燈王佛土、香積淨剎。其間往復，品品開出佛國因果。斯義既訖，掌擎大眾至如來所，發起如來復宗廣說〈菩薩行品〉，明佛國因果〈見阿閦佛品〉，無量大眾見彼佛土，因此發心修阿閦佛淨土之行、生彼土，皆由空室現相而立，即生後也。今約四土釋此所表：一、同居穢淨。若表穢土，則有雜穢依報、魔外正報。淨名現穢，知穢即空，欲以智力破除穢業。若穢不空則不可破壞，以穢業空故依報可除，即是除諸所有、破諸魔外愛見正報，即是及諸侍者。次表同居淨土，雖無雜穢依報、魔外正報，而有分段清淨依報、分段愛見正報。淨名現生，知淨即空，以智慧力斷除分段依正之業，故云除去所有及諸侍者。次表有餘者，雖無分段穢淨依正，而有變易依報、無為正報，即彼愛見魔外。故淨名呵須菩提云「同於煩惱入諸邪見」。淨名現生，知其國空，即用智力除其依正，即是除去所有及諸侍者。次約實報者，其土雖無方便依正，而有自體淨妙依報、自體愛見正報。淨名應生，知國即空，用智慧力除彼依正，故言除去所有及諸侍者。次常寂光國，究竟清淨空無所有，即是極地所居，無可除斷，故《大經》明無所斷者名無上士。今淨名即用神力空其室內，除諸所有及諸侍者，表果報之末欲入寂光。故《地持》明二障斷時離一切見清淨淨禪，此即其義。若表權居前三方便利物，具如前釋。復次有國有物有侍即是方便，今悉除者為顯實也。空室現相，略釋如此。

From “At that time” onward is the third [part]: the exchange between guest and host. The text comprises four parts: first, Vimalakīrti empties his room to manifest signs; second, Mañjuśrī sees the signs and understands what they signify; third, Vimalakīrti praises Mañjuśrī; fourth, Mañjuśrī corroborates his words. The first further comprises two: first, emptying the room through supernatural power; second, lying down on account of illness. Emptying the room signifies the intention to support and fulfill the teaching on buddha-lands; manifesting illness signifies the intention to reveal the three liberations. As for the opening phrase “thereupon, through supernatural power,” and so forth: supernatural power signifies the application of wisdom; “emptied his room” signifies that buddha-lands are entirely empty, revealing the true realm of Calm Light. “Removing everything” signifies removing the circumstantial retribution. “And all attendants” signifies removing Māras and non-Buddhists. This is fully explained in Vimalakīrti's reply to Mañjuśrī. Emptying the room signifies his buddha-land, which has two senses: first, fulfilling what came before; second, generating what follows. First, regarding fulfilling what came before: above, the Buddha taught on the pure land precisely because sentient beings, due to sin, do not see the pure buddha-land, cannot be born in a pure buddha-kṣetra, and cannot cultivate the practices of a pure land; therefore he broadly expounded the “Buddha-Land Chapter” to destroy sentient beings' bonds to conditions of defilement and various impure karmas, causing them to establish the causes for a pure land. To support and fulfill the Buddha's teaching, Vimalakīrti used contrary expedients to crush, reprimand, and rebuke them, and also feigned illness to teach ordinary people, intending as well to revive the former rebukes—all to support and fulfill the teaching on the pure land. Now that Mañjuśrī has arrived, Vimalakīrti manifests the sign of an empty room to signify that buddha-lands are entirely empty, wishing to discuss buddha-lands at length with Mañjuśrī; this is fulfilling what came before. Second, regarding generating what follows: if manifesting an empty room signifies that buddha-lands are entirely empty, Mañjuśrī understands the sign and consequently engages in an exchange discussing the meaning of buddha-lands; hence, within this chapter, the buddha-land is clarified. Furthermore, because the room is empty, Śāriputra needs couches and thinks of food for the assembly, whereupon the assembly is able to see the buddha-land of King of Lamps and the pure kṣetra of Fragrance Accumulated. In the exchanges between them, chapter after chapter opens up the causes and effects of the buddha-lands. Once this meaning is concluded, he holds the great assembly in his palm and brings them to the Tathāgata, inspiring the Tathāgata to resume the fundamental theme and broadly expound the “Bodhisattva Practice Chapter” and clarify the causes and effects of buddha-lands in the “Seeing Akṣobhya Buddha Chapter,” where the immeasurable great assembly sees that buddha-land, thereby generating the aspiration to cultivate the pure land practices of Akṣobhya Buddha and be born in that land. All of this is established from the manifestation of the empty room; this is generating what follows. Now, this signification is explained in terms of the four lands: First, the impure and pure lands of shared residence. If signifying an impure land, then it has the circumstantial retribution of mixed impurities and the direct retribution of Māras and non-Buddhists. Vimalakīrti manifests impurity and knows that impurity is fundamentally empty, wishing to use the power of wisdom to break and remove impure karma. If impurity were not empty, it could not be destroyed; because impure karma is empty, circumstantial retribution can be removed, which is removing everything; and breaking the direct retribution of loving and holding views of Māras and non-Buddhists is removing all attendants. Next, signifying the pure land of shared residence: although it lacks the circumstantial retribution of mixed impurities and the direct retribution of Māras and non-Buddhists, it has the circumstantial retribution of fragmented purity and the direct retribution of fragmented love and views. Vimalakīrti manifests birth, knows that purity is fundamentally empty, and uses the power of wisdom to sever the karma of fragmented circumstantial and direct retribution; hence it says “removing everything and all attendants.” Next, signifying the land of residue: although it lacks the circumstantial and direct retributions of fragmented impurity and purity, it has the circumstantial retribution of transformation and the direct retribution of the unconditioned, which are the Māras and non-Buddhists of love and views. Thus Vimalakīrti rebuked Subhūti, saying: “Equal to afflictions, entering into all wrong views.” Vimalakīrti manifests birth, knows that this land is empty, and immediately uses the power of wisdom to remove its circumstantial and direct retributions; this is removing everything and all attendants. Next, regarding the land of true retribution: although that land lacks the circumstantial and direct retributions of expedients, it has the intrinsically pure and marvelous circumstantial retribution and the intrinsic direct retribution of love and views. Vimalakīrti responds and takes birth, knows that the land is fundamentally empty, and uses the power of wisdom to remove those circumstantial and direct retributions; therefore it says “removing everything and all attendants.” Next, the land of Eternally Calm Light: ultimately pure and empty of anything existing, it is the dwelling place of the ultimate stage, wherein there is nothing to be severed or eliminated; thus the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra explains that one who has nothing left to sever is called the Unexcelled Master. Now Vimalakīrti uses supernatural power to empty his room, removing everything and all attendants, signifying that at the culmination of fruition-retribution he is about to enter Calm Light. Thus the Bodhisattvabhūmi explains that when the two hindrances are severed, one leaves behind all views in the pure and clean dhyāna; this is its meaning. If signifying his provisional dwelling in the prior three lands as expedients to benefit sentient beings, it is fully as explained above. Furthermore, having lands, having objects, and having attendants are all expedients; now removing them all is done to reveal reality. A brief explanation of manifesting the sign of the empty room is like this.