起信論疏筆削記 2.10

2.10

"By what it is made clear": the intent is to question the preceding skillful means, which merely unfolded those gates of meaning so that the one became many. Now, wishing to make these principles clearly visible, by what expedient means are they elucidated? "By" means through; "clear" means elucidate. "Sound" refers to voice and sound; "character" refers to written words. Sounds have no mark of sound, and characters have no mark of character, hence they are called "wondrous and good." This means that from the treatise master's unimpeded wisdom regarding the provisional and the real, sounds, names, sentences, and phonemes flow forth and are expounded; these are subsumed under the nature of undefiled goodness, unlike those of ordinary beings which belong to the indeterminate. Therefore the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa states: "Speaking the Dharma entails neither speech nor demonstration." This is solely to guide and benefit sentient beings, without relying on written words. In the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, "Daśabhūmika Chapter," the metaphors such as drawing pictures with wind in the sky all reveal that sounds, names, sentences, and phonemes are neither existent nor nonexistent; all of these are called wondrous sounds and good characters.