大乘起信論內義略探記 1.29

1.29

第二還源門者，約覺四相之夢，相始覺之義。於中先總後別。總者謂是等流轉四相，是因本覺不思議熏力，起求厭心。亦因真如所流聞熏教法，熏於本覺。以體同用融，彼聞熏益解性，力損無明，能漸向心原，始息滅相、終息生相，朗然大悟，覺覺心源本無所動，令無始靜平等平等無始覺異。論云「以始覺者即同本覺。」如《金光明．三身品》云「譬如有人，於睡夢中，見大河水，漂泠其身，運手動足，截流而渡，得至彼岸，由彼身心不懈怠故。從夢覺已，不見有水彼此岸別，非謂無心。生死妄相既滅已，是覺清淨，非謂無覺也。」別者，此始覺智，隨位四種得名：一雖覺，謂十位中覺滅相夢之智。未入十信以前，不知善惡二業定招善惡二報，今入此位，方始覺了，故名□雖覺。然猶未知滅相是夢，亦未覺菩薩，故名不覺也。二相似覺，謂三賢位中菩薩及二乘人，得入空觀故，能滅分別內外計我我所貪瞋見愛等菩薩。如論云「捨麁分別執著相」也，猶眠住相夢中又未至證位。又二乘未了法空，故云相似覺也。三隨分覺，謂從初地至九地，覺四種住相之夢。此菩薩雖能知一切法唯是識故，不起心外麁執分別，而出觀後，自心所現法上猶起染淨法執分別。然無分別智得覺住相，返照住相終無所有，故云覺住無住離分別麁念所等。此四住相，初地七八九地各離一相，猶眠生相夢，覺道未滿，故云隨分覺。四究竟覺，覺金剛喻定，此位有二剎那，故《對法論》云「究竟道謂金剛喻定。此有二種，謂方便道攝，及無間道攝。」令此位中動念都盡，唯一心在，故云心無初相也。業識動念，念中最細，名微細念，即生相也，真性即顯，故云見心性也。前諸位中，覺未至原，猶夢生相，動彼淨心，成業識等，起滅不住；今此生相夢盡，無明風止，性海浪歇，湛然常住，故云得見心性。心即常住也。前未至心原，夢念未盡，求滅此動，望到彼岸；今既夢念都盡，覺了心原，本不流轉，念無始靜，常自一心，平等平等，始不異本，故云究竟覺。若通說者，如《金光明經》云「依諸伏道，起事心滅；依法斷道，根本心滅；依勝拔道，根本心盡。」此言諸伏道，謂之賢位。起事心滅者，即此論中「捨麁分別」等，即異相滅也。法斷道，謂法身位。依根本心滅者，猶此論中「捨分別麁念」，即住相滅。勝拔道者，金剛心定。根本心盡者，此論中「離微細念」，即生相盡也。

Second, the aspect of returning to the origin concerns the dream of awakening to the four characteristics, which characterizes the meaning of initial awakening. In this, there is first a general [explanation] and then a specific one. The general explanation is: these four characteristics of transmigration arise because, through the inconceivable perfuming power of innate awakening, one generates a mind of seeking [deliverance] and revulsion [toward saṃsāra]. Furthermore, because the teaching of the Dharma perfumed by hearing, which flows from tathatā, perfumes innate awakening, the essence is identical and functions fuse; that hearing and perfuming benefits the nature of understanding and its power diminishes avidyā, so that one can gradually approach the origin of the mind, beginning by quelling the characteristic of ceasing and ending by quelling the characteristic of arising. Attaining a great, luminous awakening, one awakens to the fact that the source of the mind was originally unmoving, making beginningless stillness universally equal without any difference of initial awakening. The treatise says: "Because initial awakening is identical to innate awakening." As the Chapter on the Three Bodies of the Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra says: "It is like a person who, in a dream, sees the water of a great river washing cold over his body; moving his hands and stirring his feet, he cuts through the current and crosses over, managing to reach the other shore because his body and mind were unflagging. Having awakened from the dream, he sees no distinction between water, this shore, or the other shore, yet it is not to say that he is without mind. When the illusory characteristics of birth and death have ceased, this awakening is pure, not that there is no awakening." Specifically: this wisdom of initial awakening receives names in four kinds according to stage: First, "although awakened" refers to the wisdom that awakens to the dream of the characteristic of ceasing in the ten stages [of faith]. Before entering the ten stages of faith, one does not know that the two karmas of good and evil definitely incur the two retributions of good and evil; now, entering this stage, one begins to awaken to it, and is thus called "[... although] awakened." Yet one still does not know that the characteristic of ceasing is a dream, nor has one awakened to bodhisattvahood, so it is called "non-awakening." Second, "approximate awakening" refers to the bodhisattvas in the stages of the three grades of worthies and the persons of the two vehicles: because they gain entrance to the contemplation of emptiness, they can extinguish the bodhisattva[-defilements] such as greed, anger, views, and love that conceptually discriminate internal and external, positing self and what belongs to self. As the treatise says: "[they] renounce the coarse characteristics of conceptual attachment"; yet they still sleep in the dream of the characteristic of abiding and have not reached the stage of realization. Moreover, the two vehicles have not comprehended the emptiness of phenomena, so it is called approximate awakening. Third, "partial awakening" refers to awakening from the dream of the four characteristics of abiding from the first bhūmi to the ninth bhūmi. Although these bodhisattvas can know that all phenomena are consciousness-only and therefore do not generate coarse conceptual attachments outside the mind, after emerging from contemplation they still generate conceptual attachments to defiled and pure phenomena upon the phenomena manifested by their own mind. However, non-discriminating wisdom can awaken to the characteristic of abiding; reflecting back upon the characteristic of abiding, [they see that] it is ultimately non-existent, so it is said: "awakening to abiding as non-abiding, free from coarse thoughts of conceptualization," and so forth. Among these four characteristics of abiding, the first, seventh, eighth, and ninth bhūmis each abandon one characteristic; because they still sleep in the dream of the characteristic of arising and the path of awakening is not yet complete, it is called partial awakening. Fourth, "ultimate awakening" refers to awakening in the vajropamasamādhi. There are two thought-moments in this stage; hence the Abhidharmasamuccaya-bhāṣya says: "The ultimate path refers to the vajropamasamādhi. This is of two kinds: subsumed under the path of expedient means, and subsumed under the uninterrupted path." Causing stirring thoughts to be entirely exhausted in this stage, only the One Mind remains; thus it is said: "the mind is without an initial characteristic." The stirring thought of karma-consciousness is the subtlest among thoughts; it is called the subtle thought, which is the characteristic of arising. The true nature is then manifested; hence it is said: "seeing the nature of the mind." In the preceding stages, awakening had not reached the origin; still dreaming the characteristic of arising, they stirred that pure mind to form karma-consciousness and so forth, arising and ceasing without abiding. Now, this dream of the characteristic of arising is exhausted, the wind of avidyā ceases, the waves of the ocean of the nature calm, and it is clear, still, and ever-abiding; hence it is said: "one attains seeing the nature of the mind, and the mind is ever-abiding." Previously, having not reached the origin of the mind, dream-thoughts were not yet exhausted, and they sought to extinguish this movement in hopes of reaching the other shore; now that dream-thoughts are completely exhausted, they awaken to the origin of the mind as originally untransmigrating, thoughts are beginninglessly tranquil, ever the One Mind itself, universally equal, the beginning not different from the origin; thus it is called ultimate awakening. If spoken generally: as the Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra says: "Relying on the paths of subduing, the mind generating phenomenal activity ceases; relying on the path of Dharma-severance, the fundamental mind ceases; relying on the path of superior uprooting, the fundamental mind is exhausted." Here, "the paths of subduing" refers to the stages of worthies. "The mind generating phenomenal activity ceases" is what this treatise calls "renouncing coarse conceptualization" and so forth, which is the cessation of the characteristic of changing. "The path of Dharma-severance" refers to the stage of the dharmakāya. "Relying on [it], the fundamental mind ceases" is like what this treatise calls "renouncing coarse thoughts of conceptualization," which is the cessation of the characteristic of abiding. "The path of superior uprooting" is the concentration of the diamond-like mind. "The fundamental mind is exhausted" is what this treatise calls "freedom from subtle thoughts," which is the exhaustion of the characteristic of arising.