大乘義章 4.8

4.8

第三約對二因分別。言二因者，如《地持》說，一是生因、二方便因。親而起體，名為生因。疎而助發，名方便因。二因如是。今對十因辨明其相，如論中說「種子於芽，是名生因，餘名方便。」然此非謂唯取十中第四生因以為生因，於十因中但使種子能生芽義皆屬生因，餘名方便。總相雖然，別猶難解，今宜辨之。就外無記，十因之中，生因一種唯是生因，隨說因、攝因、長因、相違因、不相違因，此之五因唯是方便。隨說因者，以言別法不生法故，非是生因。攝據外緣，故非生因。如《地持》說「芽莖已後，方名為長。」故非生因。若就心法，不同此釋。相違因者，但能滅法，與彼滅法以為方便，不能生法，故非生因。不相違者，與攝因同，故非生因。自餘四因，義有兩兼。以有因中通其緣正，以有種子令芽得生，是其生因；以有水土令芽得生，是方便因。種殖因中亦通緣正，種子於芽是其正因，水土於芽是方便因。自種因中，種子於芽以說自種，判屬生因。種子望彼莖葉等事以為自種，判屬方便，非親生故。共事因中，亦其二因：生及方便。相同以有乃至自種。總攝彼等。為共事因（此一門竟）。

Third, distinguishing them by correlation with the two causes. Regarding the two causes, as the Di chi lun says, the first is the generative cause, and the second is the expedient cause. That which directly produces the substantial entity is called the generative cause. That which remotely assists its arising is called the expedient cause. Such are the two causes. Now, clarifying their characteristics in correlation with the ten causes: as the treatise states, 'The seed in relation to the sprout is called the generative cause; the rest are called expedient.' However, this does not mean that only the fourth cause among the ten—the cause of generating—is taken as the generative cause; rather, within the ten causes, whenever a seed has the meaning of being able to generate a sprout, it belongs to the generative cause, and the rest are called expedient. Although the general characteristic is like this, the particulars are still difficult to understand, so they should now be clarified. In terms of external indeterminate [phenomena], among the ten causes, the single cause of generating is solely a generative cause. The five causes—the cause by conventional expression, the cause of gathering, the cause of growth, the contrary cause, and the non-contrary cause—are solely expedient. Regarding the cause by conventional expression: because words differentiate dharmas without generating dharmas, it is not a generative cause. The cause of gathering is based on external conditions, so it is not a generative cause. As the Di chi lun states: 'Only from the sprout and stem onwards is it called growth,' so it is not a generative cause. If speaking of mental dharmas, it is not according to this explanation. Regarding the contrary cause: it can only extinguish dharmas and serves as an expedient for the extinction of those dharmas, but cannot generate dharmas, so it is not a generative cause. The non-contrary [cause] is identical to the cause of gathering, so it is not a generative cause. The remaining four causes have a dual meaning: Within the cause by being, it encompasses both the conditional and the primary: because there is a seed, the sprout can arise—this is its generative cause; because there are water and soil, the sprout can arise—this is an expedient cause. The cause of planting also encompasses both the conditional and the primary: the seed in relation to the sprout is its primary cause; water and soil in relation to the sprout are expedient causes. Within the cause of its own seed: speaking of its own seed as the seed in relation to the sprout is determined to belong to the generative cause; the seed viewed in relation to matters such as the stem and leaves as its own seed is determined to belong to the expedient, because it does not directly generate them. Within the cause of shared function, there are also both causes: generative and expedient. This is identical to the causes from the cause by being down to the cause of its own seed; gathering them all together forms the cause of shared function (this concludes the first section).