起信論疏筆削記 13.28

13.28

Raising the question and listing [the dharmas]. Commentary: "This is..." Someone might ask: "Earlier it was said that tathatā is the gate that eliminates marks and reveals the nature, not distinguishing defilement and purity. Why does the present text instead speak of tathatā as a pure dharma?" Therefore, this is explained. Because this tathatā is the meaning of according with conditions within the gate of arising and ceasing, and possesses three meanings, it is called pure; it is not spoken with respect to the meaning of unchanging in the preceding gate. "Originally pure..." refers to the liberation of the purity of nature; this applies to both ordinary beings and nobles, because it has never been defiled. "Actualized purity..." refers to the liberation of parting from hindrances; this is restricted only to nobles, because it becomes pure only after severing defilement. Here, both essence and marks are spoken of together, because where there are marks there must be an essence, but where there is an essence there are not necessarily marks. Furthermore, when marks are pure, the essence must also be pure, but when the essence is pure, the marks are not necessarily pure. "The Saṃgraha says..." cites proof. In full, it says: "First, the object to be established, namely the ten pāramitās." The ten merits of tathatā are able to accomplish the ten pāramitās. The explanation says: The ten merits are the ten tathatās realized on the ten stages, namely universal practice and so forth; the newly arisen correct practices are the practices of the ten pāramitās aroused on the ten stages. Because these ten kinds of merits exist within tathatā, they can arouse the ten kinds of correct practices and accord with them. As a later passage states: "Because one knows that the essence of dharmatā is free from stinginess and greed, in accordance with the original nature, one practices the dāna-pāramitā." This differs from the characteristics school, which instead takes the merits of tathatā as that which is established; moreover, it additionally proves that there is the meaning of the perfuming agent and that which is perfumed. "Pure conditions..." refers to the sambhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya, because they can serve as pure conditions for sentient beings. Now among these three, the middle one is the mark of purity of wisdom, and the latter is the mark of inconceivable karma. Furthermore, among the four mirrors, the first consists of the first two mirrors, the second is the third mirror, and the latter is the fourth mirror. Furthermore, the first two are the perfuming of its own essence and marks, and the latter is the perfuming of function; they are also called the perfuming of internal and external causes and conditions.