請觀音經疏 1.24

1.24

Second, from the passage "You should throw the five limbs to the ground" onward, he exhorts and instructs them to pray and invoke, expressing the capacity of the three karmas. The Great Sage is indeed constantly wishing to rescue and deliver, but serving as an external condition, if there is no wound, the poison cannot enter; there must be an internal cause, so he has them activate the three karmas as the capacity. To explain throwing the five limbs to the ground in terms of phenomena: the fundamental substance of sentient beings is one, having the same import as father and mother; therefore, reverently, respectfully, and veneratingly they throw themselves to the ground, expressing the desire to repay kindness. To explain it in terms of principle: the ground is the one true mark; if it is joined with the mind corresponding to sarvajñā, it is called throwing oneself to the ground; if separated from sarvajñā, it is called not throwing oneself to the ground. Just as when a person is humble, respectful, and prudent, they throw themselves to the ground to pay homage and accord with the eternal principle; if arrogant and contrary to principle, etiquette is not applied. Now, to clarify the five limbs: they represent the five aggregates. The left foot is form, the right foot is sensation, the left hand is formations, the right hand is perception, and the head is consciousness. Why is this? Sensation is a mental factor, being yang, like the right foot. Precepts are physical form, unmanifest and covertly hidden, like yin, representing the left foot. Hence it is said that the left is yin and the right is yang. Perception is delineating the objective realm before oneself, being yang, like the right hand. Formations is the mental factor of volition, like yin, representing the left hand. The head being consciousness: the five consciousnesses are in the head and capable of discerning, hence it corresponds to the head. If one gives rise to the five aggregates apart from sarvajñā, this is to stand upright on one's five limbs without taking refuge in Guanyin; poisonous harms will not be dispelled, which is called delusion, and therefore one sinks into birth and death, harmed by the five appropriated aggregates. If one relies on the mind-ground of sarvajñā, one obtains the five aggregates of the fivefold dharmakāya: precepts are guarding and protecting the seven bodily and verbal actions, hence they are the form aggregate. Samādhi is sensation: as the sūtras say, "samādhi is correct sensation (samāpatti)"; the settled mind opens forth, hence samādhi is the sensation aggregate. Wisdom is the understanding of emptiness, which is the perception aggregate. Liberation is the formations aggregate: because the formations aggregate incurs entanglements, liberation is free of entanglements, matching liberation. Knowledge and vision is the consciousness aggregate, because the consciousness aggregate is capable of discerning. Replacing the five aggregates of birth and death with the fivefold dharmakāya, the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] therefore says: "By destroying this form, one obtains eternal form, and so forth down to sensation, perception, formations, and consciousness being likewise." This is the mind of sarvajñā, hence it is called throwing the five limbs to the ground. Taking refuge with the five limbs is able to make poisonous harms dispelled and subdued, which is called liberation; then one emerges from birth and death, serene beyond entanglements; hence it is said to throw the five limbs to the ground. As for burning incense and scattering flowers: incense perfumes with fragrance, covering and concealing foul defilements, representing the cutting off of the fetters of poisonous harms by wisdom. Incense is wisdom, and it is also the good of cessation. Scattering flowers represents samādhi; samādhi is the adornment of meritorious virtue, just as flowers can adorn and beautify, so flowers are used to represent samādhi, also called the good of action. Furthermore, flowers represent wisdom. Why? Flowers are a visible phenomenon, and wisdom is the phenomenon of illuminating and seeing the principle; using flowers to correspond to wisdom and incense to correspond to samādhi: incense covertly perfumes to correspond to samādhi, having the sense of tranquil stillness, hence it is used to correspond to samādhi. Why make this reciprocal determination? This is a general explanation that within samādhi there is wisdom, and within wisdom there is samādhi. If individually correlated: the dharmakāya is universally called wisdom, but how could there be no samādhi within it? The seven purifications are all called flowers, but how could there be no wisdom within them, such that they would be individually correlated with samādhi and wisdom? Therefore it is said that the teachings extinguish the five aggregates and uproot the twelve sense bases. Furthermore, burning incense corresponds to unmanifest good; the unmanifest arises because of the manifest, not needing further action to arise continuously on its own. It is also like a person receiving precepts: generating the intention gives rise to the unmanifest, which continuously and naturally can destroy evil. As when burning incense, merely using fire as the condition, the fragrant smoke immediately fills everywhere naturally; hence incense is used to correspond to unmanifest good. Flowers are scattered with the hands; if one does not move the hands, the flowers are not scattered; this corresponds to manifest good: if one does not perform good, it does not arise. Since they represent both unmanifest and manifest good, samādhi and wisdom are also like this; clarifying that this is correlated with the ten kinds of practitioners, they are used to correspond to this (and so forth). This accords with the intention of dispelling and subduing poisonous harms. Fixing mindfulness is exhorting the karma of the mind; the reason mind comes before mouth is that one must first focus the mind and only then express it orally. Fixing mindfulness is invocation by silent contemplation; making obeisance is invitation by physical obeisance; orally invoking the Buddha is invocation by oral petition. In the method of fixing mindfulness, if one can harmonize so that there is no wind, no panting, and no rough breathing, it is called the breath. Ten breaths constitute one thought; altogether one hundred breaths make ten thoughts. For those capable of this: a person of lower capacity attains the settling of the mind and the cessation of distraction; a person of middling capacity attains subtle dwelling; a person of superior capacity attains the threshold concentration, and in the threshold concentration, one easily generates the various dhyānas and the outflows-free states, or in this concentration sees the Buddhas of the ten directions. The buddhānusmṛti-samādhi and even all dhyānas are mostly generated relying on the threshold concentration. Thus, taking this counting of breaths, it is correlated with the ten kinds of practitioners. If the breath-counting is harmonized and fitting, able to make body and mind peaceful and quiet and the four great elements harmonized, this is dispelling and subduing poisonous harms in retribution. If, when repeatedly counting, one can cause wholesome minds to open forth, unwholesome minds to be subdued, and afflictions and evil karma to cease for that lifetime, this is the breath-counting of humans and devas. If one contemplates this breath that is counted, it is the strongest of the wind and vapor of the four elements; hence it is said this body has no abiding, but is enabled by the power of wind. Wind and vapor are the forms of phenomena; the observing king of mind is consciousness; receiving this counting is sensation; grasping the counting is perception; the remaining mental factors are formations. Containing the five aggregates within counting the breath: this is the contemplation of the four applications of mindfulness, called the breath-counting of the śrāvaka. If one contemplates that the breath is formed through the conditions of past ignorance, resulting in present retribution, and calms the causes and conditions of the three times, this is the breath-counting of the pratyekabuddha. If one contemplates the breath as neither held nor loved, without attachment, it is dāna; not generating unwholesomeness regarding counting the breath is śīla; being able to patiently endure this breath-counting is kṣānti; thought-to-thought continuity is vīrya; knowing the phenomena of form and counting without error or confusion in relation to conditions is dhyāna; illuminating and clearly distinguishing whether the counted phenomena are wind or panting, discerning the mistaken from the correct, is the signless wisdom of prajñā: this is the breath-counting of the shared teaching. Distinctively practicing breath-counting, not fixed on emptiness and not fixed on the conventional, contemplating the Buddha-nature of the Middle Way before and after: this is the breath-counting of the distinctive teaching. If one roundly contemplates this breath as neither empty nor provisional, explaining roundly the three truths in one mind: this is the breath-counting of the round teaching.