淨名玄論 7.10

7.10

Five conditions must be fulfilled for an auspicious gathering to be called an assembly: first, having a location; second, having a time; third, having a teaching master; fourth, having an assembly of followers; fifth, preaching the gate of doctrine. When the five conditions harmonize and beings awaken to the Way, it is therefore called an assembly. As the Catuhśataka-ṭīkā says: 'Because the true Dharma, the speaker, and the listeners are difficult to obtain, saṃsāra is neither with an end nor without an end.' The treatise briefly clarifies three kinds: first, having the true Dharma; second, having a speaker; third, having listeners. Having these three conditions, cyclic existence cannot be endless; lacking a single one of these conditions, saṃsāra does not have an end. Now, explaining the five conditions in full makes five stages. The different places of conversion were briefly discussed above, and will be explained in detail in the section on the pure land. Regarding the time of conversion, this sūtra has both a general time and specific times. As for the general time, ancient scholars said: Vimalakīrti was preached in the thirtieth year after the Buddha's attainment of enlightenment. It is also said: preached in the twenty-sixth year. As for specific times, concerning these four assemblies, there are two differences: first, the chronological sequence of events; second, the order of compiling the Dharma. Regarding the chronological sequence of events: first, the initial assembly in the ten-foot-square room; second, the subsequent assembly at Āmrapālī's garden; third, the reassembly in the ten-foot-square room; fourth, the reconvened assembly at Āmrapālī's garden. Question: How is this known? Answer: The five hundred elders were companions of Vimalakīrti in the fortress of the Dharma; when inquiring about the Way and paying visits, they gathered without fail. Yet when Ratnarāśi had arrived, Vimalakīrti, being close by, did not come; one must know he was ill. Because of his illness, all the nearby multitude within the country came to inquire after him, whereupon he briefly preached the Dharma based on bodily illness, causing countless thousands of people to give rise to the aspiration for enlightenment—which is the Upāya Chapter. Therefore, we know that the first assembly in Vaiśālī took place first. However, at the time of the first gathering, the assembly of humans and gods was small and the benefits were not yet extensive, not yet sufficient to express his divine wisdom or fulfill the purpose of manifesting illness. But since the Buddha and Vimalakīrti shared the goal of converting beings, their two minds perceived one another. Once the householder feigned illness in Vaiśālī, the Tathāgata preached the Dharma at Āmrapālī's garden to gather the multitude for him, and therefore dispatched envoys to inquire about his illness. Only after the śrāvakas and bodhisattvas all recounted their inadequacy was there the assembly at Āmrapālī's garden. Next, he commissioned Mañjuśrī to go and prompt the exchange, widely proclaiming the wonderful Dharma, hence there was the reassembly in the ten-foot-square room. But when the work of conversion was complete, they returned to the Buddha's place, and the Tathāgata confirmed and praised them, causing them to discuss the wonderful Dharma; hence there was the reconvened gathering at Āmrapālī's garden. Deducing from chronological events, it must be like this. Second, regarding the order of compiling the Dharma: to compile a sūtra, one must first clarify 'Thus have I heard: at one time the Buddha resided in such a place with the great assembly.' If at the outset one introduced the events of Vimalakīrti, the sūtra could not be formed. The precedent of the Śrīmālā[devī-sūtra] is also like this. Therefore, the assembly at Āmrapālī's garden is clarified first. After the assembly at Āmrapālī's garden was concluded, about to initiate the dispatching of messengers to inquire about the illness, it then further introduced the initial assembly in the ten-foot-square room, praising Vimalakīrti's virtues to arouse the sincere reverence of the assembly at that time, and recounting his illness to give rise to the reason for the Tathāgata's condolence inquiry; hence next there is the single Upāya chapter, the Vaiśālī assembly. The remaining two gatherings are explained in the same way as above.