維摩經義疏 4.12.2

4.12.2

Why is this so? Whenever the mind seeks something, attachment arises; when attachment arises, bond arises, and thus one cannot attain liberation, let alone accord with the true reality of phenomena. Therefore, the mind is caused to seek nothing. Because the mind seeks nothing, the mind's activity ceases and speech is extinguished; this is the inconceivability of real wisdom. Because true reality cannot be sought, there are no external objects; because real wisdom seeks nothing, there is no internal mind. Thus, the object and wisdom are both obscured in oneness, and the condition and contemplation are both tranquil; this is the ultimate principle, truly inconceivable. 'When these words were spoken, five hundred devaputras attained the purity of the Dharma-eye regarding all phenomena.' Because they awakened to the fact that condition and contemplation are both tranquil, and that inner and outer are both obscured in oneness, all defilements and burdens associated with grasping ceased; hence it is called 'the purity of the Dharma-eye.' However, the purity of the Dharma-eye has two meanings: according to the Hīnayāna, it is the fruit of the srotāpanna; according to the Mahāyāna, it refers to a bodhisattva of the first ground, because in the Mahāyāna, the first ground is the path of seeing. Master Zhao says, 'This passage refers to the purity of the Dharma-eye of the Mahāyāna.' 'Then the elder Vimalakīrti asked Mañjuśrī, saying, "Virtuous one, you have traveled through immeasurable tens of millions of billions of asaṃkhyeya lands. In which Buddha-land are there lion seats that possess such supreme, wondrous merits?"' This is the second section, explaining the inconceivability of expedient wisdom. Above, it explained that having nothing to seek accords with true reality; therefore, one can everywhere supply whatever all living beings seek. Within the text, it broadly divides into two: first, briefly presenting the characteristics of the inconceivability of expedient wisdom; second, broadly explaining the inconceivability of expedient wisdom. The first passage consists of ten phrases: first, Jingming's question; second, Mañjuśrī's answer; third, Jingming borrowing the seats; fourth, the King of Lamps sending the seats; fifth, the great assembly's praise; sixth, Jingming instructing the bodhisattvas to take their seats; seventh, the bodhisattvas receiving the teaching and seating themselves; eighth, Jingming instructing the śrāvakas to take their seats; ninth, Śāriputra and the others being unable to do so; tenth, repeating the instruction to pay homage to the King of Lamps. This is the first. The reason Jingming asks is, first, he wishes to let the guest choose the most marvelous seat himself, and then he will speak to borrow it; therefore, he asks. Second, he wishes to cause the assembly at that time to generate reverence and faith. If he had taken them without asking, they might have been created by magical illusion; now, asking before taking them, they know the seats actually came. As for borrowing seats from another land, there are also two reasons: first, he wishes to reveal the marvelous fruition of the merits of the Buddhas, causing the assembly to give rise to the aspiration to seek Buddhahood; second, through the affair of going back and forth, he causes the transformation to flow between the two lands. 'Mañjuśrī said, "Householder! Passing beyond thirty-six Ganges sands of lands to the east, there is a world named Mount Sumeru-like Marks. Its Buddha is named Sumeru Lamp King, who is present even now. That Buddha's body is eighty-four thousand yojanas in height, and his lion seat is eighty-four thousand yojanas high, supreme in adornment."' This is the second: Mañjuśrī's answer. Master Zhao says, 'A yojana is an Indian measure of li that is not fixed: a superior yojana is sixty li, a medium yojana is fifty li, and an inferior yojana is forty li.' 'Thereupon the elder Vimalakīrti manifested his supernatural power.' This is the third: Jingming borrowing the seats. In the chapter 'The Fragrance Accumulation', that bodhisattva comes, so an emanation is sent there. In the Buddha-land of the Lamp King, there was no assembly gathered, so he merely manifested supernatural power silently. Furthermore, these two chapters mutually illuminate something extraordinary: this chapter explains taking the large into the small, while that chapter explains accommodating the small to the large; therefore, that chapter explains sending an emanation, while this chapter shows silent resonance. 'Instantly that Buddha dispatched thirty-two thousand lion seats, tall, broad, strict, and pure, to come into Vimalakīrti's room.' This is the fourth: the Lamp King sending the seats. Although Jingming used supernatural power to go and fetch them, had that Buddha not sent them, there would have been no way to bring them. 'The bodhisattvas, great disciples, Śakra, Brahmā, the Four Heavenly Kings, and others had never seen anything like this before. His room was vast and spacious, entirely encompassing the thirty-two thousand lion seats without any obstruction, and without crowding the city of Vaiśālī, the four continents of Jambudvīpa, or anything else, all appearing just as before.' This is the fifth: the praise of the assembly at that time. Question: Taking the large into the small, with the small not increasing and the large not decreasing, is inconceivable. Now, since it praises his room as vast and spacious, that means the small increased; how can it be called unfathomable? Answer: Looking from within, the room was vast and spacious; looking from outside, its original appearance was as before, so nothing was increased. Question: Looking from outside, its original appearance was as before, so it might not have increased externally; but looking from within, the room was vast and spacious—should it not have increased internally? Answer: In reality, Jingming was able not to increase it internally, but he wished to capture two kinds of inconceivability: first, the large seats entered the small room while the external appearance of the small room was as before, which is the inconceivability of large and small; second, he wished to clarify the inconceivability of inside and outside regarding the room—being only a room ten feet square, looking from inside one sees it as vast, yet looking from outside it is still ten feet square, which is the inconceivability of inside and outside. Another explanation: internally it was not enlarged, but because people saw that the room accommodated the seats, they thought the small room had been modified; hence it next says that its original appearance was as before. 'Original appearance as before' means that in the end its external appearance was not large, nor was its interior increased. 'Then Vimalakīrti said to Mañjuśrī, "Take your places on the lion seats. Sit together with all the bodhisattva superiors; you should make your own bodies like the images of those seats."' This is the sixth: explaining the instruction for the bodhisattvas to take their seats. 'The bodhisattvas who had attained supernatural powers immediately transformed their bodies to forty-two thousand yojanas and sat upon the lion seats. All the newly resolved bodhisattvas and great disciples were unable to ascend.' This is the seventh: receiving the instruction and sitting. 'Then Vimalakīrti said to Śāriputra, "Take your place on a lion seat."' This is the eighth: instructing the śrāvakas again. 'Śāriputra said, "Householder! These seats are so tall and broad that I cannot ascend them."' This is the ninth: the śrāvakas being unable to take their seats. This naturally has two meanings: first, it was restricted by Vimalakīrti's supernatural power, wishing to make sentient beings realize how far apart the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna are in superiority and inferiority; second, the seat of the merits of the Buddhas is not something those without merit can sit upon—it naturally and obscurely excludes them by principle, and was not restricted [by him]. 'Vimalakīrti said, "Well, Śāriputra! Pay homage to the Tathāgata Sumeru Lamp King, and only then will you be able to sit."' This is the tenth: urging them to pay homage to the Lamp King. Since he is the Lamp King, by rising to pay homage to him, one receives the Buddha's supernatural power, and thus can sit. 'Thereupon the newly resolved bodhisattvas and great disciples immediately paid homage to the Tathāgata Sumeru Lamp King, and then were able to sit upon the lion seats. Śāriputra said, "Householder! It is unprecedented that such a small room can accommodate these tall and broad seats without obstructing anything in the city of Vaiśālī, or crowding the hamlets, cities, and palaces of devas, nāga kings, and spirits throughout the four continents of Jambudvīpa."' Below this is the second part: broadly explaining the inconceivable.