起信論疏筆削記 13.27

13.27

The commentary text has two parts: first, stating the purport of the section. "Mutual" (hu) means alternating. Perfuming (xun) means stimulating and triggering, which also has the meaning of giving rise to. It means that they alternately give rise to and stimulate each other, keeping defilement and purity uninterrupted; "mutually supporting" and "mutually perfuming" have different names but the same meaning. "Mutually giving rise to" is precisely "mutually perfuming." "Uninterrupted" is discussed provisionally with respect to a single period; in truth, pure dharmas are uninterrupted, while defiled dharmas have an interruption. The meaning of interrupted and uninterrupted will be distinguished below. "Able to give rise to..." refers to the beginning of the aspect of arising and ceasing, which states: "This consciousness has two meanings: it is able to embrace all dharmas and give rise to all dharmas." The preceding section already explained the meaning of embracing, which is the passage on the two enlightenments. Now, this section properly distinguishes the meaning of giving rise to, and therefore speaks of mutual support. Question: Why is the meaning of embracing explained first, and the meaning of giving rise to explained afterward? Answer: The meaning of embracing is primary, and is therefore stated first. The meaning of giving rise to is the cause of that meaning of embracing, and therefore comes after it. This is why the Section on Establishing the Meaning only speaks of being able to embrace and does not speak of being able to give rise to—perhaps fearing there would be the doubt that things arise from non-existence, and are embraced only after they have arisen. Now, the intention is to make clear that the ālayavijñāna has never not given rise to and has never not embraced, so that between embracing and giving rise to, there is ultimately no before and after. Or it may be that the meaning of embracing is not restricted to the preceding text: throughout this entire gate of arising and ceasing, all the defilement and purity contained within it are completely embraced by the meaning of the two enlightenments, with nothing left out.