十二門論宗致義記 1.35

1.35

第十、隨文解釋者，諸論之首皆有歸敬等頌，此論無者，為存略也。以此論是略論故，亦是作者隨意，有無無在。就此論中，文別有二：初、標宗辨意；二、從「釋空者」下，開宗解釋。前中三：先標宗；二、「問曰」下，辨意；三、「大分」下，會意歸宗。前中「說曰」者，問答稱論，直言曰說。又成教傳通曰論，曲授門人曰說。曰者，語辭也。「略解」者，略有四義：一、約人，謂對佛果圓音大無礙辯，廣說般若二十萬頌。今此龍樹位居不足、證法未圓、所說非廣，故云略也。二、約教，謂龍樹所造《大無畏論》十萬頌，對彼說此以為略也。三、約義，謂空為法本、有為末相，若演本從末，隨俗萬差，以為廣說；若攝末歸本，就理要妙，以為略說，則要略之略也。故文云「但解空義」，此之謂也。四、約機，謂佛在世為利根大士所說為廣；佛滅度後，菩薩為彼末世鈍根，所說為略。今此文中具斯四釋，故云略也。言解者，辨釋也。但佛經所說義理多門，未知今者解釋何義？為揀彼小乘，非此所釋，故云「摩訶衍義」。摩訶，此云大。衍者，此云乘。此大乘名，後論自釋。義者，是所以也，則是所詮義理，謂真空也。第二、辨意中有三番問答以辨其意：初一明法義利，次一彰略非廣，後一顯法名義。初中，先問後答。答中二：先歎本法甚深，後明作論之意。前中有二種甚深：初、歎證甚深，謂諸佛所有故；二、歎《阿含》甚深，為大功德利根者說故。又初則主勝故法深，後則機勝故法深。以若非諸佛大人無以能說，若非菩薩大士無以堪受。是故此法玄軌妙則無不甚深，故名為「法」。則法含攝蘊積，包容諸勝德，故名之為「藏」。「大功德」是福勝，「利根」是智，「深」者是人，謂具勝福深智之者，方堪為器，顯法深也。後明作論意，於中二：先答利；後「光闡」下，答義。何故此中先利後義者，謂表菩薩大士宜以接物為先故也。又釋：初是饒益有情，後是成就佛法。依《瑜伽》等論，然諸菩薩從初發心常修如此二種正行，亦是二利行也。前中二：先明所被劣根，後明論主設教。前中「末世」者，時劣也。此有二義：一、從佛滅後，總名末世；二、謂正法五百年已後，總名末世。「眾生薄福」等者，人劣也。謂六大五蘊積成眾生，故云眾生。薄福，翻上大功德，鈍根顯智劣，翻上利根也。尋經不達者，謂雖尋文而不達其義，聞說有無，皆隨言定解，故是迷謬失也。「我愍此」下，明論主起悲設教，論興由致，答利益也。第二、答義中，謂此菩薩光揚開闡無上大法，令久住世，報佛恩故。是《瑜伽論》菩薩造論六意之中，「為令失沒種種義門重開顯故」，此之謂也。第二、問答顯略說中，先問後答，可知。第三、顯名義中先問後答中，大有七義：一、對小超過故。二、能至大處故。三、大人所乘故，亦是曾運大。四、利用廣大故。五、多所乘故，亦是現運大。六、廣大甚深故，謂廣盡其邊，則是無邊之邊，量智境也；深窮其底，則是無底之底，理智境也。七、攝功德大故，佛經自說。又如《集論》乘有七義，《起信論》中三義皆有運轉義，是乘以無分別智為性等，廣如別說。

Tenth, explaining according to the text: at the head of treatises there are usually verses of refuge and homage; that this treatise has none is to preserve brevity. Because this treatise is an abridged treatise, and it is also at the author's discretion, its presence or absence does not matter. Within this treatise, the text divides into two: first, setting forth the thesis and discerning the intention; second, from 'Regarding the explanation of emptiness' below, opening the thesis and explaining it. In the first part, there are three sections: first, setting forth the thesis; second, from 'It is asked' below, discerning the intention; third, from 'In the main' below, reconciling the intention with the thesis. In the first section, 'It is said': a question and answer is called a treatise; a direct statement is called 'saying'. Furthermore, establishing the teaching for transmission is called a treatise; instructing disciples in detail is called 'saying'. 'Said' (yue) is a particle of speech. Regarding 'briefly explains', 'brief' has four meanings: first, in terms of the person: in contrast to the Buddha's fruitional complete voice and great unimpeded eloquence, which expounded prajñā extensively in two hundred thousand verses, Nāgārjuna's stage here was incomplete, his realization of the Dharma not yet consummate, and what he expounded was not extensive, hence it is called brief. Second, in terms of the teaching: in contrast to the Akutobhayā in one hundred thousand verses composed by Nāgārjuna, this is called brief compared to that. Third, in terms of the principle: emptiness is the root of dharmas, and existence is the branch marks; if one unfolds the root into the branches according to the myriad conventional differences, that is an extensive exposition; if one gathers the branches back to the root according to the essential subtlety of principle, that is a brief exposition—hence it is brief in the sense of essential brevity. Thus the text says 'only explains the meaning of emptiness', which refers to this. Fourth, in terms of the capacity: during the Buddha's lifetime, what was expounded for great beings of sharp faculties was extensive; after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, what the bodhisattva expounded for those of dull faculties in the final age was brief. The text here possesses all four of these explanations, hence it is called brief. 'Explains' means discerning and commenting. But the principles expounded in the Buddha's sūtras have many approaches; what meaning is being explained here? To distinguish it from the Hīnayāna, which is not what is explained here, it says 'the meaning of the Mahāyāna'. Mahā means great here. Yāna means vehicle here. The name Mahāyāna will be explained by the treatise itself below. 'Meaning' is the reason, which is the principle expressed, namely true emptiness. Second, within discerning the intention, there are three rounds of questions and answers to discern the intention: the first clarifies the benefit of the Dharma; the next demonstrates that it is brief and not extensive; the last reveals the name and meaning of the Dharma. In the first round, the question comes first, followed by the answer. In the answer there are two parts: first, praising the profound depth of the fundamental Dharma; second, clarifying the intention of composing the treatise. In the first part there are two kinds of profound depth: first, praising the profound depth of realization, meaning that it is possessed by all buddhas; second, praising the profound depth of the āgamas, because they were expounded for those of great merit and sharp faculties. Moreover, in the first, because the master is superior, the Dharma is profound; in the second, because the capacities are superior, the Dharma is profound. For if not for the buddhas and great men, no one could expound it; if not for the bodhisattvas and great beings, no one could bear receiving it. Therefore, the mysterious norm and wondrous standard of this Dharma are universally profound, hence it is named 'Dharma'. And because the Dharma gathers, accumulates, and contains all superior virtues, it is named 'treasury' (piṭaka). 'Great merit' is superiority of blessing; 'sharp faculties' is wisdom; 'profound' refers to the persons—meaning that only those endowed with superior blessing and deep wisdom are fit vessels, demonstrating that the Dharma is profound. Second, clarifying the intention of composing the treatise has two parts within it: first, answering regarding the benefit; second, from 'broadly illuminate' below, answering regarding the meaning. Why does benefit precede meaning here? Because it indicates that bodhisattvas and great beings should take receiving and guiding beings as primary. Another explanation: the first is benefiting sentient beings; the second is accomplishing the Buddha Dharma. According to treatises such as the Yogācārabhūmi, bodhisattvas, from their initial resolve, constantly cultivate these two kinds of correct practice, which are also the practices of the two benefits. In the first part, there are two: first, clarifying the inferior faculties of those who are addressed; second, clarifying the treatise master's establishment of the teaching. In the first part, 'the final age' means the inferiority of the time. This has two meanings: first, from the Buddha's parinirvāṇa onward, it is collectively called the final age; second, it means five hundred years after the true Dharma onward is collectively called the final age. 'Sentient beings of meager blessings' and so on means the inferiority of the persons. That is, the six great elements and the five aggregates accumulate to form sentient beings, hence they are called sentient beings. 'Meager blessings' is the opposite of the 'great merit' above; 'dull faculties' demonstrates the inferiority of wisdom, the opposite of the 'sharp faculties' above. 'Inquiring into the sūtras without penetrating' means that although they inquire into the text, they do not penetrate its meaning; hearing existence and non-existence expounded, they form fixed interpretations following the words in every case, which is an error of confusion and delusion. From 'I, pitying these' onward clarifies the treatise master's arising of compassion to establish the teaching, the reason for the treatise's arising, which answers regarding the benefit. In the second part, answering regarding the meaning, it means this bodhisattva broadly illuminates and opens the unsurpassed great Dharma so that it abides long in the world, in order to repay the Buddha's kindness. This is what is meant in the Yogācārabhūmi among the bodhisattva's six intentions for composing treatises by 'in order to reopen and reveal the manifold approaches to meaning that have been lost'. In the second question and answer demonstrating the brief exposition, the question comes first and the answer follows, which can be understood. In the third, revealing the name and meaning, the question comes first and the answer follows; 'great' has seven meanings: first, surpassing the small; second, being able to reach the great place; third, being ridden by great men, which is also having conveyed the great in the past; fourth, the broad greatness of its functioning; fifth, being ridden by many, which is also conveying the great in the present; sixth, being vast and deeply profound—meaning extending exhaustively to its limits is the limit of the limitless, the realm of quantitative wisdom, and penetrating deeply to its bottom is the bottom of the bottomless, the realm of qualitative wisdom; seventh, subsuming great virtues, as the Buddha's sūtras themselves state. Furthermore, as in the Abhidharmasamuccaya, 'vehicle' has seven meanings; in the Awakening of Faith, all three meanings have the sense of conveying and revolving, this vehicle having non-conceptual wisdom as its nature, and so forth, as explained extensively elsewhere.