起信論疏筆削記 17.36

17.36

As for what is termed an "asaṃkhyeya": according to the Benye jing, first, using a Trāyastriṃśa heaven robe and the time measurement of that heaven, to brush once every three years until a stone of forty li is completely worn away is a small kalpa. Next, using a Brahmā heaven robe to brush away an eighty-li stone is a medium kalpa. Finally, using a Śuddhāvāsa heaven robe to brush away an eight-hundred-li stone is a great kalpa. The Saṃyuktāgama differs from this. Moreover, a verse in the Chapter on Kalpas says: "Taking a wind-disaster as one count, / and continuing until it is unknowable, / this extremely long and distant time / is named one asaṃkhyeya kalpa." That is, taking this wind-disaster as a count and counting until it cannot be counted, if one were to count further, one's mind would become crazed and deranged; reaching this point where counting is impossible is called one asaṃkhyeya. If one calculates according to such [measures] that it takes three asaṃkhyeyas to attain the Buddha path, then among hundreds of thousands of people, not a single one would generate the mind to cultivate and advance. Even if there are those who fear the suffering of the three evil destinies, they would only cultivate the precepts and good deeds of humans and devas. Or if there are those who dread the saṃsāra of the three realms, they would also only cultivate the practices of the two vehicles; how could they dare aspire to the Buddha fruit and cultivate the bodhisattva practices? Therefore, making such an explanation of prolonged duration entails this great loss.