請觀音經疏闡義鈔 3.52

3.52

"Persons of the five skillful stages": the outer ordinary stages are combined into one, and the inner ordinary stages are divided into four—namely, heat, summit, forbearance, and supreme mundane qualities. "Deliberate thought still remains": this is the presence of mental sickness. The residual thoughts of the desire realm in the second fruit and the thoughts of the form realm in the third fruit are all mental sicknesses; they are omitted without detailed discussion, which is why it says "even up to." "Physical illness still remains": as when Śāriputra suffered from heat, or Pilindavatsa suffered from eye pain. "Habitual propensities are not extinguished": as Pilindavatsa had arrogance, and Śāriputra had anger. Because pratyekabuddhas have not cut deeply into habitual propensities, mental sickness still remains; hence it says "is also like this." The six pāramitās are the same as ordinary mortals, and the ten stages of the shared teaching can be understood by analogy with the four fruits; hence it says "is also like this." That it does not mention the inner and outer ordinary stages of the distinct and perfect teachings is due to the text's brevity. "Born into [the land of] change": the phrase "change" covers two lands; here, when it says "in terms of the four truths of non-action," it refers provisionally to persons born into the [pure land of] true retribution and those born into the [land of] expedience who have severed the sand-like delusions. If one is born into the land of expedience but has not yet severed the sand-like delusions, one must study the measureless four truths. From "five divisions" onward, it clarifies physical illness. From "ignorance" onward, it clarifies mental illness. Across the forty-two stages, depth, superiority, weight, and lightness are established relative to one another: looking toward what is below, they are deep, superior, and light; looking toward what is above, they are shallow, inferior, and heavy. Even up to equal enlightenment, where a single lifetime remains, both illnesses are present. From "therefore the sūtra" onward, it shows that wondrous enlightenment has no illness. A single grade in equal enlightenment is still impermanent; wondrous enlightenment is ultimate, so its five are all permanent, and only then is it free of both illnesses. Outer and inner fires refer to the seven fires in the Benevolent Kings Sūtra: first, ghost fire; second, dragon fire; third, thunderbolt fire; fourth, mountain-spirit fire; fifth, human fire; sixth, tree fire; seventh, bandit fire. Human fire means that when evil karma erupts, fire issues spontaneously from the body. Tree fire means that during a prolonged drought, trees spontaneously catch fire. Here, when it says "inner fire," it refers to human fire. Outer fire refers to the other six. Furthermore, inner fire is sickness: sickness afflicting the body is like fire burning an object. Moreover, it is the fire element inside the body being out of harmony, which causes sickness. Thus the sūtra says: "every joint aches and is in pain; reciting the name and chanting the dhāraṇī, they immediately attain relief and recovery." When an illness clears, it is called recovery (yu). "The phenomenal interpretation is as in the text": if based on phenomenal proof, it is as clarified in the Records of Avalokiteśvara's Responses composed by Xie Fu of the Eastern Jin and Lu Guo of the Southern Qi. "Therefore it is said to burn the body": body is an analogy for seeing the truths. "Rains down": the upper word "rain" is in the falling tone, meaning to fall or shower down. "These are practitioners following faith": because they receive instruction and cultivate contemplation to cut off the delusions of view. "It is the delusion of thought..." and so forth: thought does not obstruct principle, but in fact adheres to principle. "As in the case of must..." and so forth shows the aspect of adhering to principle. "Therefore it is called inner fire": because inner fire is inside the body, just as the delusion of thought adheres to principle. "Nine grades in every realm": nine grades in each of the nine stages of the three realms, making eighty-one grades of the delusions of thought in total.