[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [中觀論疏](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1824) › 3.3 # 中觀論疏 3.3 中觀論疏 3.3 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [3.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1824.3.3) 「以此二偈歎佛」下，第二次明釋八不。開為二：第一青目釋八不、第二龍樹自釋八不。就初為二：第一總釋兩偈意、第二別釋二偈。初問答，釋第二偈；從「不生者」以下，釋初偈。以此二偈者，標二偈也。歎佛略說第一義者，釋二偈意也。龍樹所以標二偈在論初者，有二種意：一為歎佛、二明第一義。歎佛者，歎能說之人也；明第一義諦，辯所說之法也。在義雖多，唯有人法，故標斯二。又歎佛者，明教用也；辯第一義者，明教體也。教用謂顯正破邪，教體即八不中道。又歎佛明二智中道，辯第一義明二諦中道。又歎佛明說教意，辯第一義正明說教也。二諦二智有二種之母，若二諦生二智，即二諦為生母、二智為子。故《瓔珞經．佛母品》二諦為母也。若二智說二諦，即二智為能說、二諦為所說，二智為說母。《智度論》以波若望佛具二種因，即是二母：波若望佛，能生於佛，即是生母；佛說波若，佛是說母。然斯言有離有合。若合而言之，二偈俱歎佛：初偈歎佛法身，法身即是中道，故《涅槃經》以中道為佛；後偈歎佛應身，謂應身能為眾生演說於教。又初之一偈明二身體，法身則俱離假實生滅，應身則不生而生、非滅而滅，離實生滅，故一八不具真應兩身。後偈歎佛能為眾生說此二身，滅諸戲論，令一切眾生得佛二身。故二偈俱歎佛也。二偈俱第一者，初偈法第一、次偈人第一，初偈教體第一、次偈教用第一，又初偈明諦第一、次偈明智第一，正意初偈明中道、後偈明正觀及經。此並明佛之中觀經也。佛因中發觀，觀辯於心、演之於口，故云經也。若離而言之，初偈正明第一義、次偈正明歎佛。問：初偈具明三種中道，何故偏言正明第一義耶？答三種中道並是第一，以其最上莫過故稱第一，深有所以目之為義。故偈中云「諸說中第一」，則知不偏主真諦。又云：八不雖具明二諦，但第一義諦為本，故略明第一義。是以〈觀十二因緣品〉初云「上以聞摩訶衍入第一義，今欲聞穀聞法入第一義。」故諸佛雖依二諦說法，意在第一義諦。又此八不正是第一義悉檀，故名第一。《智度論》釋第一義悉檀而引《中論》八不，故知八不是第一義悉檀。問：第一義悉檀是何等法？答：南方云是真諦頑境。北土稱實相，亦是無知。今明不爾。《智度論》云「緣是一邊、觀是一邊，因是一邊、果是一邊，乃至中偏虛實並是二邊。」第一義悉檀非緣非觀、非因非果，乃至非虛非實，故論云「一切言語道斷，心行處滅」，但無名相中為眾生故強名相說，隨義目之，對三悉檀故，名第一義。待偏稱中，形虛為實，能發觀智稱之為境，生觀智之果是故名因，故「波若是一法，佛說種種名」也。問：何故偏明第一義悉檀耶？答：三悉檀可破可壞，第一義不可破不可壞。今欲明究竟不可破不可壞、最上無過法，故明第一義悉檀也。又第一義悉檀是本，由第一義悉檀故發如實觀，故有三世佛；為眾生如實而說，故有十二部經及八萬法藏。今欲令末世眾生棄末尋本，是故偏明第一義悉檀也。師又云：「此非世諦之第一義，乃是中道第一義耳。故《仁王經》云『有諦無諦中道第一義諦』。所以明中道第一義者，雖牒八不明二諦，為欲開不二道。若不為開不二之道，諸佛終不說於二道，以道未曾真俗故名為第一。」 > From "\[He\] praises the Buddha with these two verses" onward is the second \[section\], which clearly explains the eight negations. It opens into two parts: first, Piṅgala explains the eight negations; second, Nāgārjuna himself explains the eight negations. Within the first, there are two parts: first, a general explanation of the purport of the two verses; second, a separate explanation of the two verses. The initial question and answer explain the second verse; from "'Unarising' means..." onward explains the first verse. "These two verses" indicates the two verses. "Praises the Buddha and briefly explains the ultimate truth" explains the purport of the two verses. Nāgārjuna placed these two verses at the beginning of the treatise for two reasons: first, to praise the Buddha; second, to clarify the ultimate truth. Praising the Buddha praises the person capable of expounding; clarifying the ultimate truth discusses the Dharma that is expounded. Although the meanings are many, they consist solely of person and Dharma; therefore, he presents these two. Furthermore, praising the Buddha clarifies the function of the teaching; discussing the ultimate truth clarifies the essence of the teaching. The function of the teaching means revealing the correct and refuting the erroneous; the essence of the teaching is the middle way of the eight negations. Furthermore, praising the Buddha clarifies the middle way of the two knowledges; discussing the ultimate truth clarifies the middle way of the two truths. Furthermore, praising the Buddha clarifies the intention of expounding the teaching; discussing the ultimate truth directly clarifies the expounding of the teaching. The two truths and the two knowledges have two kinds of mothers: if the two truths give birth to the two knowledges, then the two truths are the birth mother and the two knowledges are the children. Thus, the "Fo mu pin" (Chapter on the Mother of Buddhas) of the Yingluo jing takes the two truths as the mother. If the two knowledges expound the two truths, then the two knowledges are that which expounds and the two truths are that which is expounded, so the two knowledges are the expounding mother. The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa, viewing prajñā in relation to the Buddha, possesses two kinds of causes, which are the two mothers: prajñā viewed in relation to the Buddha is able to give birth to the Buddha, so it is the birth mother; the Buddha expounds prajñā, so the Buddha is the expounding mother. Yet these words may be understood separately or conjunctively. If understood conjunctively, both verses praise the Buddha: the first verse praises the Buddha's Dharma-body, and the Dharma-body is the middle way—hence the Nirvāṇa Sūtra takes the middle way to be the Buddha; the subsequent verse praises the Buddha's response-body (saṃbhogakāya/nirmāṇakāya), meaning the response-body is able to expound the teaching for sentient beings. Furthermore, the first single verse clarifies the essence of the two bodies: the Dharma-body is completely free of provisional and real arising and cessation, while the response-body arises without arising and ceases without ceasing, being free of real arising and cessation; thus a single set of eight negations possesses both the true and the response bodies. The subsequent verse praises the Buddha's ability to expound these two bodies for sentient beings, extinguishing all prapañca and causing all sentient beings to attain the Buddha's two bodies. Therefore, both verses praise the Buddha. That both verses are supreme means: in the first verse the Dharma is supreme, in the next verse the person is supreme; in the first verse the essence of the teaching is supreme, in the next verse the function of the teaching is supreme; furthermore, the first verse clarifies that the truth is supreme, and the next verse clarifies that the knowledge is supreme. The primary meaning is: the first verse clarifies the middle way, and the subsequent verse clarifies right contemplation and the sūtras. These all clarify the Buddha's sūtra of the middle contemplation. The Buddha gives rise to contemplation based on the middle \[way\]; contemplation is articulated in the mind and expounded by the mouth, hence it is called a "sūtra". If understood separately, the first verse directly clarifies the ultimate truth, and the next verse directly clarifies the praise of the Buddha. Question: The first verse fully clarifies the three kinds of middle way; why does it exclusively say that it directly clarifies the ultimate truth? Answer: The three kinds of middle way are all supreme. Because it is the most supreme and unsurpassable, it is called "ultimate" (prathama/paramārtha), and because it is profound and meaningful, it is designated as "truth" (artha). Therefore the verse says "supreme among all preachings", from which we know it does not exclusively refer to the ultimate truth. Furthermore, it is said: although the eight negations fully clarify the two truths, the ultimate truth is the fundamental, and therefore it briefly clarifies the ultimate truth. This is why the beginning of the "Chapter on Examining the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination" states: "Previously, by hearing the Mahāyāna, one entered the ultimate truth; now, one wishes to enter the ultimate truth by hearing the analogy of the grain and hearing the Dharma." Therefore, although the Buddhas preach the Dharma relying on the two truths, their intent lies in the ultimate truth. Furthermore, these eight negations are precisely the ultimate-truth siddhānta, hence called "ultimate". The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa, in explaining the ultimate-truth siddhānta, cites the eight negations of the Madhyamaka-śāstra; thus we know that the eight negations are the ultimate-truth siddhānta. Question: What kind of dharma is the ultimate-truth siddhānta? Answer: The Southern \[masters\] say it is the dull, inanimate object of ultimate truth. The Northern regions call it the real mark, which is also an absence of knowledge. Now we clarify that this is not so. The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa states: "Conditions are one extreme, contemplation is one extreme; cause is one extreme, effect is one extreme; ... and so forth, up to the middle and the biased, the empty and the real, all being two extremes." The ultimate-truth siddhānta is neither condition nor contemplation, neither cause nor effect, and so forth, up to neither empty nor real. Therefore the treatise says: "The path of all words is cut off; the place of mental activity is extinguished." It is only within the absence of names and characteristics that, for the sake of sentient beings, names and characteristics are forcibly spoken; it is designated according to meaning. Because it contrasts with the three siddhāntas, it is called "ultimate truth". In contrast to the biased, it is called the middle; contrasting with the empty, it is the real; that which can give rise to contemplative knowledge is called the object; being that which gives birth to the fruit of contemplative knowledge, it is called the cause. Therefore, "prajñā is a single dharma, yet the Buddha speaks of it with various names." Question: Why is the ultimate-truth siddhānta alone clarified? Answer: The three siddhāntas can be refuted and broken, but the ultimate truth cannot be refuted or broken. Now, wishing to clarify the unsurpassable dharma that is ultimately irrefutable and indestructible, he clarifies the ultimate-truth siddhānta. Furthermore, the ultimate-truth siddhānta is the fundamental: due to the ultimate-truth siddhānta, true contemplation arises, and thus there are the Buddhas of the three periods; because they expound in accordance with reality for sentient beings, there are the twelve divisions of scriptures and the eighty thousand treasuries of Dharma. Now, wishing to lead sentient beings of the final age to abandon the branches and seek the root, he exclusively clarifies the ultimate-truth siddhānta. The Master also said: "This is not the ultimate truth of conventional truth, but the ultimate truth of the middle way. Therefore the Renwang jing says: 'The middle way ultimate truth of the truth of existence and the truth of non-existence.' The reason for clarifying the middle way ultimate truth is: although reciting the eight negations clarifies the two truths, it is to open up the non-dual path. If not for opening up the non-dual path, the Buddhas would never speak of the two paths, because the path has never been ultimate or conventional; hence it is called 'supreme'." > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 3.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1824.3.2) - [Next: 3.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1824.3.4) - [Up: 3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1824.3) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1824~en-mt.3.3) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1824.3.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1824.3.3) · Pramāṇa