維摩經略疏 7.9

7.9

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.