維摩經略疏 7.57

7.57

From "Not yet fully equipped" up to "realize the fruit": second, explaining diligence as capable of fully equipping the Buddha-dharma. When a bodhisattva of sharp faculties enters the provisional from emptiness, although they can, through experiencing nothing, experience all experiences—like planting a tree in empty space—if they lack the power of great diligence, they cannot accomplish all Buddha-dharmas within all experiences, just as a lazy person, though obtaining materials to make vessels, accomplishes nothing. If they have great diligence, it is like Prince Mahātyāgavat emptying the great ocean. As the *Avataṃsaka* explains, when [a bodhisattva on] the seventh ground is about to sink into emptiness, the Buddhas do not permit it, but exhort them to give rise to the power of great diligence. Therefore, when the bodhisattva enters the provisional, not having yet fully equipped the Buddha-dharma, they should be assiduously diligent, and should not extinguish experience to realize the fruit. Now, in explaining fully equipping the Buddha-dharma, it is again in terms of the three kinds of experiencing all dharmas. First, in terms of worldly beings: this is in terms of the experiences pertaining to craving and views; bad experiences pertaining to craving have already been listed above. Undergoing these various experiences, they fully cultivate all dharmas. With respect to all unwholesome experiences, the bodhisattva knows the disease and recognizes the medicine: knowing the disease means knowing suffering and its accumulation; recognizing the medicine means knowing the path and cessation. Knowing the four ineffables, they penetrate the four kinds of four noble truths; this is precisely practicing what is not the path to penetrate the Buddha-path. This unwholesome path is itself the seed of the Tathāgatas; using the four siddhāntas, they cultivate themselves and transform others; this is fully detailed in the chapter on the "Path of the Buddha" (and so on). Next, in terms of good experiences pertaining to craving, fully equipping the Buddha-dharma is also as listed above. In these good experiences, they are able to know astronomy, geography, the Vedas, historical records, the five sciences, and the six arts; the treatises on the wheel-turning kings' ten virtues and the five superknowledges of the immortals; the various wholesome treatises of Śakra Devānām Indra; and the treatises on abandoning desire spoken by the various Brahmā heavenly kings—there are none they do not know. Furthermore, in these dharmas they know the four ineffables, etc., on the pattern of the evil [experiences] above. Next, explaining experiencing evil experiences and good experiences pertaining to views: entering the correct Dharma by means of wrong characteristics, cultivating all Buddha-dharmas is also like this. Second, explaining experiencing the two vehicles to fully equip all Buddha-dharmas: namely, the four gates of the Tripiṭaka and shared teachings, in all of which they know the four ineffables, on the pattern of the evil [experiences] above. Third, explaining experiencing bodhisattva experiences to fully equip all Buddha-dharmas: bodhisattvas of the four teachings are as described above; the bodhisattva knows the four ineffables and enters the provisional to benefit sentient beings. A Tripiṭaka bodhisattva, through the gate of existence and the arising-and-ceasing four noble truths, gives rise to the four great vows, and throughout asaṃkhyeya kalpas practices the six perfections, fully equipping all dharmas, and within the arising-and-ceasing four noble truths penetrates the three kinds of four noble truths to benefit self and others; the other three gates are also like this. The twelve gates of the shared, distinct, and perfect are likewise so. If one undergoes worldly experience, not yet having fully equipped the Buddha-dharma, one must not extinguish it to realize the fruit, and so on up to bodhisattva experience being also like this. The *Avataṃsaka* rebuking the seventh ground for sinking into emptiness must have its intention here. The *Yīngluò* says: "On the ground of virtual enlightenment, throughout measureless hundreds of thousands of myriads of kalpas, one enters the gate of profound mystery to cultivate worldly activities"—this is precisely not extinguishing worldly experiences to realize the fruit. If worldly experiences are still like this, when the experiences of the two vehicles and bodhisattvas have not yet fully equipped the Buddha-dharma, how could one extinguish them to realize the fruit?