請觀音經疏闡義鈔 4.22

4.22

The sūtra's "valiant jeweled banner": destroying the obstacle of afflictions, it is therefore called valiant; supremely precious, it is called jeweled; towering above, it is called a banner. The sūtra's "shi" (駛) means swift. "If impermanence," etc., means that other sūtras perhaps contemplate impermanence first. "Therefore there are three explanations": the characteristics of the five gates are not explicitly discussed in the sūtra, and the Buddha's intention is difficult to fathom, so three explanations are made. "Cessation at five places," etc.: the Indeterminate Śamatha-Vipaśyanā states: "As for cessation being a wondrous gate, because the practitioner brings the mind to rest through this, the dhyānas of the five wheels successively manifest: first, the earth wheel, which is the stage not-yet-arrived; second, the water wheel, which is the manifestation of the roots of various meditative concentrations; third, the space wheel, which refers to persons of the five upāyas realizing that causes and conditions have no self-nature, like empty space; fourth, the golden sand wheel, which is liberation from views and thoughts, the non-attached correct wisdom like golden sand; fifth, the vajra wheel, which is the ninth path of non-obstruction, capable of completely severing the fetters of the three realms forever, realizing the knowledge of exhaustion and knowledge of non-arising, and entering nirvāṇa." The collective designation as wheels borrows its name from an analogy. The Gateways of Dhyāna states: "A wheel means revolving; just as when a worldly wheel turns, it leaves here and reaches there." Since the sūtra text says "tying mindfulness to each joint," tying mindfulness is the cessation gate, and the cessation gate gives birth to the five wheels; therefore it says, "this is precisely its meaning." Now clarifying the single gate of mindfulness of the Buddha: yet regarding the five-gate dhyāna, the dhyāna sūtras and the Abhidharma treatises differ in their presentations. The present master specifically adopts the dhyāna sūtras, and therefore takes the single gate of mindfulness of the Buddha without explaining the upāya of the realms, because the present sūtra itself says "attaining the samādhi of mindfulness of the Buddha." The "remaining" lower four gates are identical across both sūtras and treatises. "Loving-kindness," etc., refers to taking along what they counter, meaning mindfulness of the Buddha counters sleepiness that obstructs the path, counting the breath counters scattering, and so forth. "Whereas the Abhidharma," etc., directly clarifies that the five gates of that treatise differ from the present sūtra. The five gates of the present sūtra can precisely harmonize with the dhyāna sūtras, because both contain mindfulness of the Buddha. "The upāya of the realms breaks view of self": that treatise says, "For practitioners attached to views, through the upāya of the realms—foolish worldlings do not understand, and past karma and afflictions accumulate in the five aggregates, so that conditioned by them they impute a self—one should, in one's own body, by means of the upāya of the realms, contemplate the characteristics of the various natures and karma, namely the six realms of earth, etc. That earth realm is moistened by water and not separated; that water realm is held by the earth realm so it does not flow away; the fire realm ripens it so it does not decay; the wind realm moves it so it grows; the space realm is empty so food can enter and exit; and because of the consciousness realm there is action. Because of multitude of conditions, one knows there is no self." "Completing the five gates with counting breaths, etc.": "etc." includes impurity, causes and conditions, and loving-kindness, and thus lacks mindfulness of the Buddha. "It is simply causes and conditions," etc., means that the upāya of the realms breaking the self in the Abhidharma is merely the meaning of the contemplation of causes and conditions in the dhyāna sūtras. This is because causes and conditions are of three kinds, each breaking something different: first, causes and conditions across the three periods of time break [views of] annihilation and permanence—because the three periods are continuous, it is not annihilated; because the three periods alternate and decline, it is not permanent. Second, causes and conditions across two periods of time break [the view of] self, meaning that the present and future two periods are complete with the twelve links: giving rise to craving toward the father and anger toward the mother is called ignorance; regarding the father's semen as one's own is called volitional formations; from the consciousness link down to the old age and death link, it is identical with the three periods. Third, breaking nature in a single thought-moment, as explained in the note below. Thus we know that all three of these are attachments to various wrong views and do not escape samsāra, and so are collectively named ignorance. Hence causes and conditions breaking ignorance already fully possesses the meaning of breaking the self. For the five gates in the Abhidharma to explain the upāya of the realms breaking the self becomes tedious and lengthy, and regarding the destruction of obstacles to the path, it still lacks mindfulness of the Buddha. Therefore, only by relying on the dhyāna sūtras is it complete, and thereby conforms to the meaning of the present sūtra; hence it says "therefore using mindfulness of the Buddha," etc. "Impermanence," etc.: the first three are as explained in the commentary previously. "Selflessness" means not being attached to the contemplating subject. "Quiescence and cessation" means inquiring into the contemplating subject until it is unobtainable.