中觀論疏 2.26

2.26

五者即此八不是《淨名》入不二法門。然不二法門是不可思議之本，如肇公云：「語經宗極即不二為言，以一道清淨故名不二，真極可軌，所以云法。至妙虛通，目之為門。蓋是眾教之旨歸、群聖之靈府，淨名現病之本意、文殊問疾之所由。」問：何以知不二法門即是八不？答：三十餘菩薩說不二法，命初即云生滅為二。法本自不生，今亦無滅。得此無生法忍者，是為入不二法門。然此入不二法門，即是中觀論三字。不二法門故名為中，能生觀智所以稱入，諸菩薩說入不二即是論也。然彼品有三階明不二：一者眾人假言明不二，未辨不二無言；二者文殊雖明不二無言，而猶言於不二；三者淨名辨不二無言，而無言於不二。不二既有三階，八不亦爾。初假言明八不，未辨八不無言；二者明八不無言，而猶言於八不：三明八不無言，而無言於八不也。

Fifth, these very eight negations are the Dharma-gate of non-duality in the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa. Now, the Dharma-gate of non-duality is the root of the inconceivable, as Master Sengzhao said: "Speaking of the ultimate purport of the sūtra, it is expressed through non-duality. Because the single path is pure, it is termed 'non-dual'; because the true ultimate is a standard to follow, it is termed 'Dharma'; being supremely subtle, open and unobstructed, it is designated a 'gate'. It is truly the ultimate destination of all teachings, the spiritual repository of all sages, the original intent behind Vimalakīrti manifesting illness, and the reason Mañjuśrī inquired after his health." Question: How is it known that the Dharma-gate of non-duality is itself the eight negations? Answer: When more than thirty bodhisattvas explained the non-dual Dharma, at the very beginning they stated: "Arising and ceasing are dual. Phenomena are fundamentally unarisen themselves and now do not cease. One who attains this anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti enters the Dharma-gate of non-duality." Now, this "entering the Dharma-gate of non-duality" corresponds precisely to the three characters of "Madhyamaka-śāstra" (Mādhyamika-śāstra): because it is the Dharma-gate of non-duality, it is called the "middle"; because it can give rise to contemplative wisdom, it is called "entering"; and the bodhisattvas' explanation of entering non-duality is the "treatise". However, that chapter has three stages in clarifying non-duality: first, the various bodhisattvas used provisional words to clarify non-duality, but did not yet distinguish that non-duality is wordless; second, although Mañjuśrī clarified that non-duality is wordless, he still spoke about non-duality; third, Vimalakīrti clarified that non-duality is wordless and was wordless regarding non-duality. Since non-duality has three stages, the eight negations are also like this: first, using provisional words to clarify the eight negations without yet distinguishing that the eight negations are wordless; second, clarifying that the eight negations are wordless while still speaking about the eight negations; third, clarifying that the eight negations are wordless and being wordless regarding the eight negations.