大毘盧遮那成佛經疏 4.50

4.50

經云「祕密主！無大乘宿習，未曾思惟真言乘行，彼不能少分見聞歡喜信受。又金剛薩埵！若彼有情昔於大乘真言乘道無量門進趣，以曾修行，為彼等故限此造立名數」者，此意云：若諸眾生未曾於過去無量佛所久種善根，於此祕密乘未曾修習，則造次聞之不能信受。若傳法人徒以善心差機為說，或當增其誹謗，斷彼善根。故《法花》云「無智疑悔，則為永失」也。十方世界諸眾生，少有志求聲聞者，求緣覺者轉復少，求大乘者甚希有，求大乘者猶為易，信此法者最為難。故以普眼觀之，堪受是法者，猶須彌大海之塵渧耳。既將護彼意，時乃說之，安得不略制造立名數乎？所云無量門進趣者，即是兼釋漫荼羅名義。夫漫荼羅者名為聚集，今以如來真實功德集在一處，乃至十世界微塵數差別智印輪圓輻湊，翼輔大日心王，使一切眾生普門進趣，是故說為漫荼羅也。所云略此造立名數者，如以阿字五轉統如來無邊內德，以字輪百明攝如來普眼法門，此則名之略也。以剎塵方便開八葉之壇，以無極大悲制十人之限，此則數之略也。然其學者，隨於一法明道而得悟入，即是普入一切諸總持門。如從一門見王，即是遍入千門萬戶。若不能如說而行，則雖以種種文辭廣為開示，無所益也。故第三句，次明限略名數，自不礙於廣。是以經云「彼阿闍梨亦當以大悲心立如是誓願，為度無餘眾生界故，應當攝受無量眾生，作菩提種子因緣。」謂造立此漫荼羅，是隨有見聞觸知，下至舉手低頭一念隨喜，皆必定成於阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。故阿闍梨雖不得差機誤授為作具支灌頂，然繫珠毒鼓之緣豈當已乎？故當運大悲心務令廣洽也。復次如人家有祕寶，恐為盜賊所闚，故掩以蔽衣。今此曼荼羅法門亦復如是，以祕密之藏不可直宣說，故廻轉密意覆以有相方便。今言限以十人者，乃是世諦漫荼羅耳。然阿闍梨自當平治心地，畫作大悲漫荼羅，普眼度人多多益善，勿得如言而解也。

The sūtra says: "Lord of Secrets! Those without past habituation in the Mahāyāna who have never contemplated the practice of the Mantrayāna cannot see, hear, rejoice in, or faithfully accept even a small fraction of it. Furthermore, Vajrasattva! If those sentient beings in the past advanced through the immeasurable gateways to the path of the Mahāyāna and the Mantrayāna and have previously practiced it, it is for their sake that these names and numbers have been limited and established." This means: if sentient beings have not planted wholesome roots before immeasurable buddhas over a long time in the past and have never practiced this Secret Vehicle, then hearing it suddenly, they will not be able to faithfully accept it. If the transmitter of the Dharma merely, out of a wholesome mind, expounds it to those with the wrong capacity, it may increase their slander and sever their wholesome roots. Therefore the Lotus Sūtra says, "Those without wisdom who harbor doubt and regret will be lost forever." Among the sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions, few have the aspiration to seek the śrāvaka path; those who seek the pratyekabuddha path are even fewer; those who seek the Mahāyāna are extremely rare; yet seeking the Mahāyāna is still relatively easy, whereas having faith in this Dharma is the most difficult. Therefore, viewing with the universal eye, those capable of receiving this Dharma are like dust motes or water drops compared to Mount Sumeru and the great ocean. Since one must protect their minds and speak it only at the proper time, how could one not briefly establish names and numbers? The phrase "advancing through immeasurable gateways" also explains the name and meaning of maṇḍala. A maṇḍala is called an 'aggregation'; now the Tathāgata's true merits are gathered in one place, so that distinctive wisdom mudrās as numerous as the dust motes of ten worlds converge like the spokes of a round wheel, flanking the heart-king Vairocana and enabling all sentient beings to advance through universal gateways; therefore it is called a maṇḍala. What is meant by 'abbreviating this by establishing names and numbers' is, for instance, using the five inflections of the syllable A to unify the Tathāgata's boundless internal virtues, and using the hundred vidyās of the syllable wheel to encompass the Tathāgata's universal-eye Dharma gateways—this is abbreviation of names. Opening an altar of eight petals through upāyas as numerous as the dust motes of lands, and setting a limit of ten people through boundless mahākaruṇā—this is abbreviation of numbers. However, when learners awaken and enter in accordance with a single Dharma or vidyā-path, this is universally entering all dhāraṇī gateways. It is like seeing the king from a single gate, which is entering throughout thousands and tens of thousands of doors. If one cannot practice as spoken, then even if one broadly reveals it through various literary expressions, it will be of no benefit. Therefore the third section next explains that limiting and abbreviating names and numbers does not itself obstruct the broad. Thus the sūtra says: "That ācārya should also make such a vow with a mind of mahākaruṇā: for the sake of liberating the boundless realm of sentient beings, he should gather in immeasurable sentient beings and establish for them the conditions for the seed of bodhi." This means that establishing this maṇḍala ensures that whoever sees, hears, touches, or knows it, down to raising a hand, bowing the head, or having a single thought of rejoicing in accordance, will definitely achieve anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Therefore, although the ācārya must not confer upon them the full-limbed consecration by mistaking their capacity, could the karmic conditions of the tied jewel and the poisoned drum ever cease? Hence he must bring forth a mind of mahākaruṇā and strive to make it reach far and wide. Furthermore, it is like a household that possesses a secret treasure: fearing that thieves might peek at it, they cover it with ragged clothes. This maṇḍala Dharma gateway is just like this: because the secret treasury cannot be proclaimed directly, he reverses his esoteric intention and conceals it with upāyas that possess marks. Saying here that it is limited to ten people pertains merely to the conventional-truth maṇḍala. But the ācārya himself should cultivate his mind-ground, paint the maṇḍala of mahākaruṇā, and liberate people with the universal eye—the more, the better; do not understand it merely according to the words.