淨名玄論 7.27

7.27

Illness is of two kinds: first, sentient beings take ignorance and craving as the root of illness; second, bodhisattvas take great compassion as the source of disease. This comprehensively subsumes the transformer and the transformed, leaving nothing unexhausted. Question: The two assemblies in the square-chamber room can elucidate the manifestation of disease, but how do the two gatherings in Āmrapālī's grove also elucidate illness? Answer: The first assembly opens its tenet, and the later gathering brings its explanation to completion; both are subsumed by the Dharma gate of manifesting disease. Furthermore, although the four assemblies differ, they all arise from great compassion and together pluck out the disease of ignorance and craving; therefore, they are all subsumed under this gate. Question: For what reason does Vimalakīrti manifest disease? Answer: There are many gates to this. Taking the intention of the "Chapter on Upāya": in general, if one wishes to cause beings to awaken to impermanence, one should rely on the three declines—old age, sickness, and death. Old age must await the arrival of years and cannot come suddenly; death extinguishes consciousness, having nothing with which to awaken people; sickness can be added suddenly while consciousness is not extinguished. Therefore, among the three, he manifests this physical illness and, on this basis, broadly speaks the Dharma gates. Furthermore, as Vimalakīrti was about to return to Abhirati, he lodged his illness in Vaiśālī and, on this basis, broadly spoke the Dharma gates, which was his final benefiting of beings. Furthermore, ignorance and craving are the roots of saṃsāra, and great compassion is the source of all sages; now, wishing to distinguish the fundamental Dharma gate, he manifests illness. Furthermore, although Vimalakīrti holds the rank of a bodhisattva, he is still not apart from sickness; how could ordinary people and the two vehicles be spared from illness? If one wishes to depart from great suffering, one should seek the Buddha-body. Because he wished to preach this Dharma, he manifested illness.