金剛般若論會釋 3.43

3.43

The above was the text instructing the explanation; next, questions and answers reveal it. The intention of the question is: here, by showing through comparison that the great merit of great giving is not equal to the greater merit of a bodhisattva's faith and understanding of selflessness and the unarisen, how does this reveal that the Buddha does not undergo the suffering of saṃsāra? The intention of the answer is: ordinary beings, with minds that grasp at marks, cultivate tainted merit such as giving and morality, and even then receive pleasant retributions among humans and gods without suffering and distress; how much more so for bodhisattvas who penetrate selflessness and the unarisen, and with markless minds cultivate benefits for self and others, whose merit surpasses theirs boundlessly and limitlessly—how could they instead undergo the suffering of saṃsāra? If bodhisattvas who partially realize selflessness do not undergo the suffering of saṃsāra, how much less could the Buddha, who fully realizes the two selflessnesses and whose body is not produced by afflictions and karma, conversely undergo the suffering of saṃsāra? Therefore we know that the Buddha dwells in saṃsāra without defilement, like a reflection in water or fire.