維摩經略疏 4.40

4.40

Question: Śāriputra represents wisdom, yet was rebuked using meditation; Maudgalyāyana represents dhyāna-meditation, yet was rebuked using preaching the Dharma. What is the meaning of this? Answer: The sūtra says, "Without dhyāna there is no wisdom; without wisdom there is no dhyāna." Master Yuǎn's Preface to the Meditation Sūtra says, "Without wisdom, dhyāna cannot deepen its tranquility; without dhyāna, wisdom cannot exhaust its illumination." If Śāriputra had deep dhyāna, he could attain great wisdom; since his dhyāna was not profound, his wisdom was also not extensive, and therefore in using rebuke, it concurrently touched upon his wisdom. Below, the text says, "Giving rise to quiet sitting by progressing toward the Buddha's wisdom"; since he did not rely on the Buddha's wisdom for his quiet sitting, he suffered the crushing blow regarding the four flourishings; the meaning lies here. As for Maudgalyāyana, if he had deeply cultivated dhyāna-meditation and was able to attain supernormal powers, how could his supernormal powers fail to discern capacities when preaching the Dharma? Since his preaching of the Dharma was mistaken, one should know that his meditation was shallow, and what his supernormal powers observed and applied was also not deep. Therefore, using meditation to rebuke him—the meaning lies in this. The remaining eight persons below are explained extensively as in the Lotus Sūtra Commentary; here it is explained briefly.