金光明經文句記 6.70

6.70

Second, from "A compassionate mind..." downward, explains the aspects of treatment by the four contemplations. The external conditions and internal causes previously explained that give rise to the minds of the four divisions are all the objects to be contemplated, which are the symptoms of illness. Now, explaining the four contemplations directly sets forth the four kinds of Dharma-medicines that are able to contemplate. That a compassionate mind treats anger means: since anger pervades both inside and outside the realms, the contemplation of compassion that can treat it not only contemplates sentient beings with the thought of them as parents and gives them worldly joy, but also contemplates all phenomena as lacking inherent nature and marks, thereby able to give sentient beings the joy of nirvāṇa, and contemplates all phenomena as nothing other than the Dharma-realm, thereby able to give sentient beings ultimate joy; treating the three kinds of angry minds with these is why the Treatise explains the three kinds of compassion. That [the contemplation of] impurity treats greed means: it not only cultivates real and provisional thoughts to destroy the defilements regarding the dependent and proper [retributions] of ordinary people, but is also able to destroy the defilement regarding nirvāṇa of the two vehicles, and also destroys the bodhisattva's defilement of clinging to the graduated three truths. Thus the Awakening of Faith says: "Initial awakening can destroy six kinds of defilement." That [the contemplation of] causes and conditions treats delusion means: it not only contemplates impermanent causes and effects throughout the three periods of time to destroy the delusion of annihilationism and eternalism of ordinary people, but is also able to contemplate the twelve links of causes and conditions in terms of the three truths in a graduated manner to destroy the delusion of existence and non-existence of the two vehicles, and is further able to contemplate the four kinds of twelve links of causes and conditions within a single mind to destroy the bodhisattva's delusion of vertical and horizontal [extremes]. Therefore, the Mahānirvāṇa Sūtra states that contemplating the twelve links of causes and conditions possesses the four kinds of wisdom. That counting breaths treats vitarka and vicāra means: it not only counts breaths to contemplate arising and cessation to destroy the scattered clinging to existence of ordinary people, but is also able to count breaths to cultivate the samādhi of the conventional truth and penetrate deeply into dependent origination to destroy the distracted thoughts of one-sided emptiness of the two vehicles, and furthermore realizes that counting breaths—with every breath being the middle, all phenomena tending toward the breath—destroys the distracted thoughts of the two extremes of the bodhisattva. Therefore, in the Qing Guanyin [jing], through the method of counting breaths one attains the paths of the three vehicles, abides in the Śūraṅgama, and sees the Buddha in every pore as in vaidūrya. However, these four treatments may perhaps be cultivated by four persons, each practicing one method, because these four methods each contain the threefold contemplation, so each person may naturally treat the three delusions either progressively or non-progressively; or perhaps the four treatments simply correspond to the threefold contemplation: a compassionate mind is the contemplation of provisionality, impurity is the contemplation of emptiness, causes and conditions is the contemplation of the middle that illuminates both, and counting breaths is the contemplation of the middle that negates both. These three can naturally be understood progressively or non-progressively. Progressive is again not fixed: it may be three persons each practicing one, or one person practicing them successively. If non-progressive, it is solely one person advancing in a single thought-moment. In the Commentary on the Avalokiteśvara [Sūtra], the three poisons are directly matched with the threefold contemplation to discuss progression and non-progression; how much more so should compassion and the other four not be the threefold contemplation? If a person of the Perfect [Teaching] has the four divisions arise specifically or collectively, then within a single mind they harmonize the wondrous threefold contemplation and apply it according to the illness; this is precisely the meaning of the superiority and distinctiveness of stopping and seeing.