淨名玄論 7.20

7.20

Next, regarding the fourfold propositions of opening and concealing. First, directly revealing the real and tangentially opening the provisional: this refers to the Avataṃsaka explaining the Great Dharma gate for all bodhisattvas, which is called directly revealing the real; it also caused the bodhisattvas to tangentially recognize the Hinayana teachings, which is called tangentially opening the provisional. Thus the "Bhadraśrī Chapter" says: "Sometimes showing the Hinayana gate of the śrāvakas, sometimes displaying the middle vehicle gate of the pratyekabuddhas, sometimes preaching the unsurpassed Great Vehicle gate." The "Tathāgatotpattisaṃbhava Chapter" also extensively clarifies that he first transforms bodhisattvas and next reaches the two vehicles, just as when the sun rises it first illuminates the high mountains and later reaches the plains; reaching the plains is entirely a tangential opening of the small provisional. Second, directly concealing the real and directly closing the provisional: this is the teaching gate of the Deer Park. Preaching the teaching of the three vehicles, he therefore concealed the real nonduality of the one vehicle; stating that it is provisional, he therefore closed the provisional gate. Third, directly revealing the real and tangentially closing the provisional: this is the teaching of the Prajñā and the Vimalakīrti. Preaching the bodhisattva practice, he therefore directly revealed the real; not yet clarifying that the three vehicles are provisional, he therefore tangentially closed the provisional. Regarding the fourfold propositions of opening and concealing, the fourth proposition can be seen. Question: Since he had not yet opened the provisional gate, how could he have already revealed the real? Answer: There are two ways of revealing the real: first, in contrast to opening the provisional gate of the three vehicles, revealing the one vehicle as the real; second, by contrasting the great and the small, revealing the real. The great open vehicle is the ultimate real; the Hinayana is a partial real. In contrast to the partial real, he clarifies the ultimate real. Question: What text proves that the Prajñā had not yet opened the provisional, but had already revealed the real? Answer: The "Adhimukti Chapter" of the Lotus Sūtra states: "All the secret treasuries possessed by the Buddhas / Were expounded in their true reality solely for the bodhisattvas, / And not preached to us in their genuine essence"—this refers precisely to the events during the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā period. Question: If so, within the Tripiṭaka he also praised the Buddha as supreme in contrast to the middle and lower vehicles; why is this not called revealing the real? Answer: In the Tripiṭaka teaching, he extensively clarified the Dharma of the two vehicles and minimally clarified the bodhisattva Dharma; because it follows the majority, it is not called revealing the real meaning. Furthermore, although the Buddha vehicle was clarified in the Tripiṭaka, it was still an expounding in concealment—truly born in the royal palace, attaining Buddhahood from the status of an ordinary being. From the Prajñā onwards, he directly preached the Great Dharma and reached the Hinayana tangentially, and also clarified that the Buddha vehicle was already fully complete; therefore, it is directly revealing the real and tangentially closing the provisional. Question: What is the difference between clarifying the real in the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā and the real of the one vehicle in the Lotus Sūtra? Answer: The ancients said that the Mahāyāna is inferior while the one vehicle is superior. Now I say this is not so. The Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā clarifies the great in contrast to the small; the Lotus Sūtra eliminates the small and reveals the great. The great is not two. Just as the elder's entrusting of the wealth and his bestowing of the household estate differ in their two periods, the seven treasures of the burning house are nevertheless one and the same. In the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā, bodhisattvas attain Buddhahood while the two vehicles have not yet attained Buddhahood; in the Lotus Sūtra, both bodhisattvas and the two vehicles attain Buddhahood, yet the Buddha vehicle is nondual. Question: If so, how can the Mahāyānasaṃgraha say: "There are three kinds of vehicles: first, the Hinayana; second, the Mahāyāna; third, the one vehicle; and the one vehicle is the most supreme"? Answer: The Lotus Sūtra directly clarifies that the persons capable of riding the vehicle all become Buddhas, and takes this to be supreme; it does not say that the Dharma that is ridden has superiority or inferiority.