維摩經略疏 8.37

8.37

From "He also asked" up to "all dharmas are established," this is the sixth question and answer. First, Mañjuśrī asks: If inverted conception takes the non-abiding as its basis, then when one has completely severed inverted conception, love of existence, and the defilements of the formless realm, there still remains beginningless ignorance. What then does this non-abiding ignorance take as its basis? Could it exist without a basis? Next, Vimalakīrti answers, "The non-abiding has no basis." This properly means that ignorance relies upon the dharma-nature, and the dharma-nature is precisely ignorance; they are not two, nor are they distinct. How could nature in turn rely upon nature? One should know that ignorance has no basis. Therefore, those of the ten abodes see its end but not its beginning, whereas the buddhas, the Tathāgatas, see both its end and its beginning. If one contemplates sentient beings entering emptiness down to the basis of the non-abiding, this reaches the very bottom and exhausts the source, reaching the principle of the Middle Way. Since he says "the non-abiding has no basis," this is precisely the sentient beings' empty space buddha-nature; all the preceding three truths are empty. Furthermore, it says that "from the basis of the non-abiding all dharmas are established"; this means that all mundane and supramundane, conditioned and unconditioned dharmas are established from the basis of the non-abiding. Why is this? If one is deluded about the non-abiding, then the three realms and six destinies arise in profusion, and thus all mundane dharmas are established. If one understands that the non-abiding is beginningless ignorance, one returns to the root and reverts to the source, revealing the real and achieving sagehood; hence there are the four kinds of supramundane noble dharmas. Therefore, by relying on the non-abiding, all dharmas are established. Now, using these six rounds of questions and answers to thoroughly investigate the fundamental source and penetrate to the non-abiding accomplishes the above contemplation of sentient beings' three truths. How so? The first question and answer clarifies good and non-good, which is to contemplate sentient beings of worldly truth as illusory, all born from the view of individuality, not yet having seen the real. The next three rounds of questions and answers sever the saṃsāra of sentient beings in the three realms, which is to contemplate sentient beings seeing the real, like the fifth great element and so forth. The next two rounds of questions and answers contemplate the ignorance of sentient beings veiling the Middle Way, which is called the basis of the non-abiding; if one sees the Middle Way, it is like the form of the formless realm and so on. The ignorance of the Middle Way is the source of sentient beings, the root of understanding and delusion. Therefore it says, "From the basis of the non-abiding all dharmas are established."