起信論疏筆削記 15.4

15.4

三、方便。疏　悲深者，直見眾生如父母等，亦不如見同己身，方為至深。智深者，了唯心故，知諸眾生本無性故，元無念故，舊來涅槃不待滅故。小乘權教不能亡此相者，蓋緣智淺；今實教菩薩反之，故云深也。兼上，謂兼悲深。不顛倒者，眾生本與己同，同皆無相，故見異相即成顛倒，今皆反此也。長時所以者，兼釋廣大所以，疏文闕略也。若不能了同己身亡其相者，豈能如此普度永度耶？徵所以者，意云：以何義故得如己身，而又不取眾生相耶？依真如門等者，以此門中顯一切法皆即真故，皆同如故，故得彼身我身平等無二，豈不愍之而欲度耶？又既同一真，皆悉無相，誰為能度？誰為所度？故不取其眾生之相。然此段文細尋其意，但將以取一切下兩句，隔就前段為釋廣長所以，從而亦不取下，為舉本大智。下之徵釋但顯不取相之所以，詳之可見。

3. "Skillful means":
[Commentary:] "Deep compassion": directly seeing sentient beings as parents and so forth does not compare to seeing them as identical to one's own body; only then is it supreme depth. "Deep wisdom": comprehending mind-only, knowing that sentient beings fundamentally have no self-nature, are originally without thought, and have from the beginning been in nirvāṇa without waiting to be extinguished. That Hīnayāna and provisional teachings cannot obliterate these marks is entirely because their wisdom is shallow; the bodhisattvas of the true teaching nowadays are the converse, hence it is called "deep". "Along with the above" refers to being along with deep compassion. "Non-inverted": sentient beings are fundamentally identical with oneself, and identical in that all are without mark; thus seeing different marks constitutes inversion, whereas now it is entirely the converse. "The reason for the long-enduring [mind]": also explains the reason for the vast and great [mind]; the commentary text was abbreviated. If one could not comprehend identity with one's own body and obliterate their marks, how could one thus universally deliver and eternally deliver? In inquiring about the reason, the intent is: for what reason can they be taken as one's own body, while also not apprehending marks of sentient beings? "Relying on the gate of tathatā and so forth": because within this gate it is revealed that all phenomena are identical with the true and identical with suchness, therefore their bodies and one's own body are equal and non-dual; how could one not pity them and wish to deliver them? Furthermore, since they are identical with the One True and all without mark, who is the delivering subject? Who is the delivered object? Therefore one does not apprehend their marks of sentient beings. However, carefully investigating the meaning of this passage: taking the two lines from "grasping all [sentient beings]" downward to connect backwards to the preceding section explains the reason for the vast and long-enduring, while from "and yet not apprehending" downward adduces the fundamental great wisdom. The inquiry and explanation below merely reveal the reason for not apprehending marks; upon detailed examination this can be seen.