維摩經略疏 7.9

7.9

「維摩」下，二、淨名答。為二：一先答第二第三問、次答第一問。所以問答有前後者，各有其意。文殊問意，欲令眾生知從本起迹。淨名答意，欲令眾生尋迹入本，亦為顯生滅相成之義。初答，文為三：一正疊答兩問、二釋、三譬顯。初文二：一答第二問疾生、次答第三問疾滅。今先答第二問疾生久近。「從癡有愛則我病生」者，疾之久近，皆由眾生十二因緣生，淨名權疾同其久近。所以知約因緣答者，《涅槃》云「生死本際凡有二種，無明與愛是二，中間即有生老病死。」無明是過去癡，愛是現在癡，二世相避故立兩名。無明潤行使有現在識等五果，現在愛取潤有則有未來生死，故有十二因緣輪轉，三界二十五有經生歷死則有因疾果疾。淨名為眾生有癡愛，生法身大悲，即權疾生。眾生癡愛生來非近，權疾亦爾。答疾久近，正意在此。復次淨名為眾生疾，何但同居有為癡愛疾生權病則生，有餘無為亦爾。何者？同居癡愛盡，有餘癡愛則生，以迷中道染涅槃，故是癡愛生。是二中間則有十二因緣因疾果疾，但是變易因緣與分段異。分段昇沈往返六趣，變易不爾，但約因愛生死，愛滅即生於上地，終不更退生於下地。何者？三界結盡不生分段，亦不退細受麁，類如那含於欲身修得初禪，初禪死即生二禪，終不生欲界更退初禪。界內聖人尚爾，何況界外而更生分段及受麁變易？若變易眾生有此癡愛，淨名大悲即癡愛疾生，是答疾生之久近也。若果報土無明未盡是癡，染依正是愛，是二中間有自體生死十二因緣因果疾生。故《勝鬘》云「無明住地其力最大，佛菩提智之所能斷。」若有餘癡愛疾滅，即果報癡愛疾生，淨名法身大悲即同其生，此亦答疾生之久近也。寂光極地無實癡愛疾，故無權疾生之久近。

From "Vimalakīrti [said]" onward is the second [section], in which Vimalakīrti replies. It has two parts: first, he replies to the second and third questions; next, he replies to the first question. As for why question and answer are out of order, each has its purpose. Mañjuśrī's intent in asking was to make sentient beings know how the traces arise from the origin. Vimalakīrti's intent in replying was to make sentient beings trace the traces back to enter the origin, and also to reveal the principle that arising and cessation mutually establish each other. His initial reply has three parts: first, directly repeating and replying to both questions; second, the explanation; third, elucidation through a simile. The first part has two: first, replying to the second question on the arising of the illness; next, replying to the third question on the cessation of the illness. Now he first replies to the second question on how long the illness has arisen. As for "From delusion there is craving, and thus my illness arose": the duration of the illness is entirely due to sentient beings' twelve links of dependent origination; Vimalakīrti's provisional illness matches their duration. How we know he answers in terms of dependent origination is that the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] says: "There are two primary extremes of birth and death: ignorance and craving are these two; in between them there is birth, aging, illness, and death." Ignorance is past delusion; craving is present delusion. Because they are situated in two different lifetimes, two names are established. Ignorance moistens karmic formations, causing the five present fruits such as consciousness; present craving and grasping moisten existence, resulting in future birth and death. Thus there is the revolving of the twelve links of dependent origination; experiencing birth and undergoing death through the twenty-five states of existence across the three realms, there are causal illnesses and fruitional illnesses. Because sentient beings have delusion and craving, Vimalakīrti gives rise to the great compassion of the dharmakāya, and thus the provisional illness arises. The arising of sentient beings' delusion and craving has not been recent, and the provisional illness is likewise. Replying to the duration of the illness—the main intent lies here. Furthermore, as for Vimalakīrti's being ill for sentient beings' sake, how could it be only that when the illness of conditioned delusion and craving in [the Land of] Common Abode arises, the provisional illness arises? The unconditioned in [the Land of] Remainder is likewise. Why? When the delusion and craving of the Common Abode are exhausted, the delusion and craving of the Remainder arise, because through confusing the Middle Way and being tainted by nirvāṇa, this delusion and craving arise. In between these two, there are the causal and fruitional illnesses of the twelve links of dependent origination; it is merely that this is transformative dependent origination, which differs from fragmented [birth and death]. Fragmented [birth and death] involves rising and sinking, transmigrating among the six destinies; transformative [birth and death] is not like this, but is merely birth and death in terms of causal craving: when craving ceases, one is immediately born in a higher stage and never falls back to be born in a lower stage. Why? When the bonds of the three realms are exhausted, one is not born into fragmented [birth and death], nor does one fall back from the subtle to receive the coarse. It is analogous to an anāgāmin cultivating and attaining the first dhyāna while having a body of the desire realm: upon death in the first dhyāna, he is immediately born in the second dhyāna, never being born into the desire realm or falling back to the first dhyāna. If even the noble ones within the realm are like this, how much more so those outside the realm—how could they be born again into fragmented [birth and death] or receive coarse transformation? If transformative sentient beings have this delusion and craving, Vimalakīrti's great compassion immediately gives rise to the illness of delusion and craving. This is the reply regarding how long the illness has arisen. If in the Land of Retribution, unexhausted ignorance is delusion and attachment to the environmental and personal [retribution] is craving, in between these two there is the arising of causal and fruitional illnesses through the twelve links of dependent origination of self-nature birth and death. Therefore the Śrīmālā [Sūtra] says: "The entrenchment of ignorance is of the greatest power; only the wisdom of a buddha's bodhi can sever it." If the illness of delusion and craving of the Remainder ceases, the illness of delusion and craving of Retribution immediately arises, and Vimalakīrti's dharmakāya great compassion immediately matches its arising. This too is the reply regarding how long the illness has arisen. In the ultimate stage of Quiescent Light, there is no real illness of delusion and craving; hence there is no duration for the arising of a provisional illness.