起信論疏 1.7

1.7

Next is explaining the title. As for "Mahāyāna" (Great Vehicle): "great" is a name applied to the reality, meaning vast inclusion; "vehicle" is an appellation drawn from a metaphor, functioning to carry and transport. Although spoken of generally in this way, if distinguished within it, there are two gates: first, explaining according to sūtras; second, clarifying according to treatises. Explaining according to sūtras: as the Ākāśagarbha-sūtra says: "'Mahāyāna' means immeasurable, boundless, and cliff-less; it pervades everything, like space, because it broadly accommodates all sentient beings; and because it is not shared with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, it is called the Mahāyāna." Furthermore, regarding the vehicle: taking properly abiding in the four means of embrace as its wheels; taking pure ten wholesome actions as its spokes; taking the pure sambhāra of merit as its hub; taking firm, pure, and dedicated intent as its linchpins and axle-pins; taking the good accomplishment of the dhyānas and liberations as its shafts; taking the four immeasurables as its good training; taking good spiritual friends as its driver; taking knowledge of the right and wrong time as its movement; taking the sounds of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self as its whip; taking the jeweled ropes of the seven bodhyaṅgas as its traces and reins; taking the purified five eyes as its girth-straps; taking broad, pervasive, upright mahākaruṇā as its pennant and banner; taking the four samyakprahāṇas as its brake (zhěn, the root of the wheel's branch); taking the four smṛtyupasthānas as its levelness; taking the four ṛddhipādas as its rapid progress; taking the superior five powers as its vanguard; taking the eightfold noble path as its direct advance; taking unimpeded bright wisdom toward all sentient beings as its carriage-box; dedicating the non-abiding six pāramitās toward sarvajñā; and crossing over to the other shore through the unobstructed four truths—this is the Mahāyāna. Explanation: Above, with twenty phrases, metaphors are raised to illustrate the Dharma and reveal the meaning of the vehicle. Again, the text below says: "This vehicle is received by all Buddhas, contemplated by śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, ridden by all bodhisattvas, reverently saluted by Śakra, Brahmā, and the World-Protectors, worshipped by all sentient beings, praised by all the wise, sought as a refuge by all the world; it cannot be destroyed by any māras, cannot be fathomed by any non-Buddhists, and cannot be rivaled by anything in all the world." Explanation: Above, with ten phrases, the Mahāyāna is revealed in relation to persons.