維摩經義疏 2.4.3

2.4.3

Gain, loss, defamation, fame, praise, blame, suffering, and pleasure: the winds of these eight conditions do not move the Buddha, just as the four winds blowing against Mount Sumeru cannot shake or topple it. Gain and loss pertain to wealth: prosperity and increase is gain; deprivation and loss is loss. Defamation, fame, praise, and blame—these four pertain to speech: slander is defamation; excessive praise is fame; speaking well of what is genuinely good is praise; speaking ill of what is genuinely bad is blame. Suffering and pleasure pertain to the body: what harms the body and life is suffering; what benefits the body and life is pleasure. Furthermore, gain and the other three can generate greed, while loss and the other three can generate anger. Where there are greed and anger, there must be the underlying afflictions of delusion. Because the Buddha has already severed the three poisons, the eight winds do not sway him. "Regarding the good and the not good, treating them equally with compassion." When his hand is severed, he feels no grief; when his feet are held up [in reverence], he feels no joy. Good and evil come from others; his compassionate protection is non-dual. "Mental activity is impartial, like space." This is the fourth praise, praise of space. That he is unmoved by good and evil is because his mental activity is like space; this explains the preceding meaning. Where there is a mind, there are boundaries; where there are boundaries, it is not universal. Because the sage's mind is no mind, it is as impartial as space. "Who, hearing of the treasure of humanity, would not revere and uphold him?" This is the fifth praise, praise as the treasure of humanity. Because his mental activity is like space, he transcends humanity, and is therefore the treasure of humanity. Among devas he is the deva-treasure; among humans he is the human-treasure. Being a treasure to devas and humans—how could devas and humans achieve this? Therefore, none among beings fail to revere him. "Now I present to the World-Honoured One this humble canopy; / in it are shown to me the three-thousandfold world, / the palaces inhabited by the devas, nāgas, and spirits, / the gandharvas and so forth, along with the yakṣas, / and all that exists in the world is seen completely. / With the ten powers, you compassionately manifest these transformations. / The assembly observes this rarity and all praise the Buddha; / now I bow my head to the Honoured One of the Three Realms." This fourth part re-praises the trace-functions. In the text there are two parts: first, praising his profound grace which is difficult to repay; next, extolling the three mysteries which are hard to conceive. Preceding this are four lines: first, stating that what was offered was extremely humble; next, explaining that what was manifested was exceedingly vast; third, clarifying that it was manifested out of loving compassion; fourth, praising and bowing the head. "The Great Sage, the King of the Dharma, is the refuge of all; / contemplating the Buddha with a pure mind, none are not joyful. / Each sees the World-Honoured One right in front of them— / this is the divine power of the exclusive qualities." This is the second part, praising the three mysteries as hard to conceive. First, praising the physical mystery; next, praising the verbal mystery. According to the Dazhidulun, the physical mystery has two aspects: First, he merely manifests a single body, yet the assembly far and near each see the Buddha face-to-face before them, like the single moon rising in the sky and casting reflections upon a hundred waters. Second, the Tathāgata, in accordance [with beings], manifests a single body that enables the myriad kinds each to see their own Buddha, just as devas see the Buddha as a deva, and humans see the Buddha as a human. "The Buddha expounds the Dharma with a single voice, / and sentient beings, each according to their kind, attain understanding; / each thinks that the World-Honoured One speaks their own language— / this is the divine power of the exclusive qualities." This praises the verbal mystery. In the text there are three parts: first, explaining that as he utters a single sound, the myriad kinds have different understandings; next, explaining that though he merely preaches a single Dharma, it is universally practiced according to its meanings; last, explaining that though the matter spoken of is identical, both joy and sorrow are generated. Question: What is meant by "a single voice"? Answer: Some say that "one" is the dharmakāya; because the dharmakāya is non-dual, it is called one, and the voice produced from the single dharmakāya is called "a single voice." Some say that within a single moment he simultaneously produces all voices without them being aware of one another, and so it is called "a single voice." Some say that among the five tones he utters a single tone as he pleases, and the myriad kinds each understand it. The Vibhāṣā says: "The Buddha's body was an Indian body, and his voice was an Indian voice; therefore, when he first turned the wheel of the Dharma, relying on the Indian language he spoke the Four Truths; humans heard it as human speech, devas heard it as deva speech, and different kinds of beings did likewise." We now adopt this explanation. As for being called "exclusive [qualities]": the two vehicles can only use a single voice as one and multiple voices as many, and cannot, upon uttering a single word, have the myriad kinds understand it together; hence it is called "exclusive." "The Buddha expounds the Dharma with a single voice, / and sentient beings each according to their understanding / are universally able to accept and practice it, obtaining its benefit— / this is the divine power of the exclusive qualities." This clarifies that he merely preaches a single Dharma, yet according to its meaning it is universally practiced: those who love giving hear of giving, those who love morality hear of morality, and each receives benefit. "The Buddha expounds the Dharma with a single voice: / some are terrified, some are joyful, / some give rise to revulsion, and some sever doubt— / this is the divine power of the exclusive qualities." This clarifies that the matter spoken of is identical, yet both joy and sorrow are generated. Sengrui says: "As when speaking of the single Dharma of suffering, four kinds of minds are generated: some, hearing of suffering, give rise to dread; some, hearing of suffering, recognize suffering as suffering and give rise to joy; some, hearing of suffering, develop revulsion towards saṃsāra; some, hearing of suffering, know that it is truly suffering and cut off the web of doubts in their minds." Some say: hearing different dharmas generates four kinds of minds: hearing of the suffering of the three evil destinies, one is terrified; hearing of the wondrous pleasure of humans and devas, one is joyful; hearing of impurity, one feels revulsion; hearing of cause and effect, one severs doubt. "I bow my head to the Great Diligence of the Ten Powers; / I bow my head to the One who has already attained Fearlessness; / I bow my head to the One dwelling in the exclusive qualities; / I bow my head to the Great Guide of all." This is the fifth, general praise. In relation to the previous body and speech, this is the mental mystery. In the text there are two parts: first, praising in terms of attainment and abandonment; next, praising in terms of emptiness and existence. This is praising in terms of what has been attained. In praising what has been attained, there are two lines: first, praising his own virtues; from "Great Guide" downward, praising his transformation of others. Originally leading beings out of the three realms is called a lesser guide. Leading beings to completely transcend the inside and outside of the three realms and reach the Buddha Way is a great guide. "I bow my head to the One who can sever all fetters; / I bow my head to the One who has already reached the other shore; / I bow my head to the One who can deliver all the worlds; / I bow my head to the One who has eternally departed from the path of saṃsāra." This praises what has been abandoned. Within praising what has been abandoned there are also two parts: first, praising his own abandonment, being able to deliver all the worlds; second, praising his ability to lead others to abandon it. In others' abandonment, they leave the afflictions of retribution. In his own abandonment, he completely leaves both cause and retribution. "He fully knows the aspects of the coming and going of sentient beings." This praises in terms of characteristics and the gates of emptiness and existence. First, based on the gate of existence: sentient beings' karmic actions wander back and forth across the six destinies, and their minds race between right and wrong; he fully knows this. "Skillfully attaining liberation among all dharmas." I am tainted by dharmas, and therefore dharmas bind me; if my mind is untainted, the ten thousand fetters are thereby untied. Because sentient beings come and go, there is bondage. Awakening to the fact that the substance of coming ultimately has nowhere from which it comes, one thereby attains liberation. As in the "Examination of Bondage and Liberation" in the Madhyamaka-śāstra: under the gate of permanence and impermanence, coming and going cannot be found; under the gate of the fivefold search, sentient beings cannot be found. Therefore, there is nowhere to come and go. With permanence and impermanence, coming and going cannot be found, and therefore there is no more coming and going, which is the liberation from bondage.