大乘玄論 1.12

1.12

辨教第九。常途諸師，頓漸無方，三種判教。於漸教中有五時二諦：初四諦教時，事理二諦。般若教時，空有二諦。《淨名經》褒貶二諦，《法華經》三一二諦。涅槃教常無常二諦也。今義菩薩聲聞藏判於佛教，今明小乘明事理二諦，一切大乘經通明空有二諦。問：若爾者，《涅槃經》明空者二十五有，不空者大涅槃。以空為世諦，以妙有不空為第一義諦耶？答：此對三修比丘昔日灰身滅智為無餘涅槃。今日妙有不空，非是判於二諦。若汝所問，何故經云「迦毘羅城空，大涅槃亦空。」亦空并空，豈非空為第一義、有為世諦耶？問：四重二諦有文證耶？答：文證甚多。經云「或說世諦為第一義諦，或說第一義為世諦。或說空有為世諦，非有非無為第一義諦。」問：《華嚴經》為是釋迦所說耶？答：釋迦有兩名，盧舍那、釋迦，盧舍那名普遍淨，乃是功德之名；釋迦性名。又見者不同有二佛，故舍那在淨土說法，釋迦在穢土說法。故約見者，修者為報佛，短者化佛。乃如此方釋迦為本，十方分身釋迦為迹，故言舍那為本、釋迦是迹耳。

Distinguishing the Teachings, the ninth. The conventional masters, arbitrarily positing the sudden and gradual, divide the teachings into three kinds. Within the gradual teaching there are two truths across five periods: in the period of the teaching of the four noble truths, there are the two truths of phenomena and principle. In the period of the Prajñā teaching, there are the two truths of emptiness and existence. In the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, there are the two truths of praise and censure. In the Lotus Sūtra, there are the two truths of the three and the one. In the Nirvāṇa teaching, there are the two truths of the permanent and impermanent. In our present doctrine, the bodhisattva and śrāvaka piṭakas classify the Buddha's teachings; we now explain that the Hīnayāna clarifies the two truths of phenomena and principle, while all Mahāyāna sūtras comprehensively clarify the two truths of emptiness and existence. Question: If so, then the Nirvāṇa Sūtra clarifies that what is empty is the twenty-five realms of existence, and what is not empty is the great nirvāṇa. Does it take emptiness to be the conventional truth and wondrous existence, being not empty, to be the ultimate truth? Answer: This was addressed to the bhikṣus of the three trainings, who formerly took the reduction of the body to ashes and extinction of cognition to be nirvāṇa without remainder. Today's [teaching of] wondrous existence being not empty is not a classification of the two truths. If it were according to your question, why does the sūtra state, "The city of Kapilavastu is empty, and the great nirvāṇa is also empty"? If "also empty" means both are empty, how could emptiness not be the ultimate and existence be the conventional? Question: Are there textual proofs for the fourfold two truths? Answer: There are very many textual proofs. A sūtra states: "Sometimes the conventional truth is spoken of as the ultimate truth, and sometimes the ultimate truth is spoken of as the conventional truth. Sometimes emptiness and existence are spoken of as the conventional truth, and neither existence nor non-existence is spoken of as the ultimate truth." Question: Was the Avataṃsakasūtra spoken by Śākyamuni? Answer: Śākyamuni has two names: Rocana and Śākyamuni. Rocana means universally pure, which is a name based on virtues; Śākyamuni is a clan name. Furthermore, depending on the perceivers being different, there are two buddhas; therefore Rocana preaches the Dharma in the pure land, and Śākyamuni preaches the Dharma in the defiled land. Thus, in terms of the perceivers, for those who are cultivated he is the saṃbhogakāya buddha, and for those of short [faculties] he is the nirmāṇakāya buddha. Just as Śākyamuni in this realm is the root and the replicated Śākyamunis of the ten directions are the traces, Rocana is spoken of as the root and Śākyamuni as the trace.