肇論疏 3.29

3.29

The Shangshu states: “'Rank' (wei) means order (ci).” Just as with the gradations of ranks, where higher and lower differ, here it clarifies the order of the essence and characteristics of nirvāṇa; hence it is expressed in this way. When it says, “Nameless said,” “Nameless” is the responder. The responder clarifies that nirvāṇa is originally without name; hence it is called “Nameless.” In the passage below starting with “This is merely an external designation of nirvāṇa,” the true essence of nirvāṇa is neither existent nor non-existent; speaking of existence and speaking of non-existence are merely provisional names given in response to things, hence they are called “external designations.” In “Yet those who preserve designations become attached to names, and those who fix their intent on vessels and images are addicted to forms,” those who preserve designations refer to people attached to names. Those who fix their intent on vessels and images refer to people attached to forms and signs. Feng means attached fixation. Dan means addicted craving. In the passage below starting with “Names are limited to the title,” it means that names can only wander within the scope of titles; beyond that, they cannot name. Forms are only exhausted within the square and the circular; descending beyond this, they cannot fundamentally give form. In the passage below starting with “Where the square and circular cannot portray,” it means that square and circular cannot sketch out that which is not square or circular, and titles also cannot convey that which is not a title. In the passage below starting with “How could one apply names to the nameless,” “how could one” means one cannot. The nameless is not the dharma of titles; the formless is not the dharma of the square and circular; this is what is called nirvāṇa. In the passage below starting with “What the objection's preface called remainder and without remainder,” it refers to the remainder and without remainder set forth in the previous objection. In the passage below starting with “This is truly the original intent behind establishing the provisional and quiescent teachings,” it means that setting forth the remainder is the intent of the provisional teaching, and setting forth without remainder is the intent of the real teaching. “Provisional” means manifest; “real” means concealed. In the passage below starting with “Yet it is not the subtle import of the profound quiescence beyond words,” “profound quiescence” means the true principle of quiescent cessation, the emptiness in the ring's center. Shu means path. Hanzi states: “One who dumps ashes on the path has his finger severed.” This was an ancient law. In the passage below starting with “Have you alone not heard the explanation of correct contemplation,” the two sūtras provide the text of correct contemplation. In the passage below starting with “Thus when the sage is in the world, silent and empty,” it means that the sage responds to things in this manner. “Without clinging” means without anything to cling to. “Without contention” means not contending with things. The Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] states: “When worldly wisdom speaks of existence, I also speak of existence; when worldly wisdom speaks of non-existence, I also speak of non-existence.” This refers to that very matter. “Just like the echo in a deep valley, the reflection in a clear mirror”—these two similes illustrate what comes after, not what went before. Not knowing the reason for coming, it comes; not knowing the reason for departing, it departs. In the passage below starting with “Eerily emerging into existence,” this also conveys the meaning of coming and going. “Moving, yet increasingly quiescent.” Yu means increasingly. The more it moves, the more it is quiescent; the more it is concealed, the more it is manifest. “Transforming without constancy” means not being permanent. “Its designations are produced in accordance with responses,” meaning that names, designations, and operations exist only by virtue of responsive transformation. “Thus designations of existence and non-existence are rooted in the nameless”; originally it is nameless, and only following responsive transformation do names of existence and non-existence arise. In “For the Way of the nameless, what could not be named,” yu means in/at. Although it is said to be nameless, there is nothing it does not name among various names. In the passage below starting with “Therefore the ultimate person,” it clarifies various responsive manifestations. In “In tracing back to one who can be divine and can be human,” yuan means to trace back. If one were truly a human, one could not be divine; if one were truly divine, one could not be a human. Precisely because one is neither divine nor human, one can responsively manifest as humans and gods. “His governing,” refers to the sage governing and transforming the world. In the passage below starting with “Responding without contrivance,” although he responsively transforms, ultimately he has no intention to do or create anything; conforming to affairs, he acts without establishing anything. “In conferring, none is broader,” means broadly establishing. “In acting, none is greater,” means that in whatever the great sage confers and acts, gods, humans, the six destinies, and lesser sages and worthies cannot surpass or exceed it; hence it is said, “In conferring, none is broader; in acting, none is greater.” “Returning to minor completion,” means turning back to reside in the small. “Returning to the nameless,” means turning back to emptiness. In the passage below starting with “The sūtra says: 'The Path of bodhi cannot be measured',” this is text from the Yogācārabhūmi-sūtra (Xiuxing daodi jing). In the passage below starting with “Thus the great Way of nirvāṇa,” it concludes by returning to neither existence nor non-existence. In the passage below starting with “Yet the confused,” it rejects confused calculations. In “How could this suffice to placard the profound Way or speak of the sage's mind?” one cannot use the extreme views of existence and non-existence to placard the Way of nirvāṇa or speak of the mind of prajñā. Ti means title; bang means to placard and display. It means that the nameless nirvāṇa cannot be grasped in this way. In the passage below starting with “The intention is that the ultimate person is serene and omenless,” it generally shows the characteristics of the ultimate person. “The concealed and the manifest have the same source,” means that there is no distinction between concealed and manifest, just as explained below. In the passage below starting with “Why so? The Buddha said: 'I have no birth in which I am not born',” there is no place of birth where he does not take birth. This is text from the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā. Its full text says: “The bodhisattva ultimately does not enter a womb, ultimately does not enter the five desires; there is no birth in which he is not born, and ultimately he is not defiled by the dharma of birth.” Now adding “no form in which he is not formed” is said in analogy to birth. In “Thereby knowing that remaining is not being,” this concludes that it is not existent. Taking this text as proof, we know that remaining is not being. Some editions have “亡不為無” (passing away is not non-being) added after “以知存不為有”; this is incorrect. “Passing away is not non-being” appears naturally in the later text and is not missing here. In “The sūtra says: 'The bodhisattva enters the inexhaustible samādhi',” this passage below clarifies that passing away is not non-being. Which sūtra this is from is not clear. It also says, “Entering parinirvāṇa yet not entering nirvāṇa”; this is text from the Nirvāṇa Sūtra. It says: “When parinirvāṇa occurs, he does not parinirvāṇize.” In “Thereby knowing that passing away is not non-being,” this sentence finally concludes that it is not non-existent. Taking this sūtra text as proof, we know that passing away is not non-being. In the passage below starting with “Passing away is not non-being; though non-existent, it is existent,” these two lines merely reiterate neither existence nor non-existence. “Thus the Way of nirvāṇa indeed transcends the realm of existence and non-existence, cutting off the path of words and images” forms a sentence. Guo means definitively. It definitively transcends the realm of existence and non-existence, definitively cutting off the path of words and images. “Severed indeed” means that the judgment is clear and can be known. In the passage below starting with “You then say,” it rejects the previous view. In “Would this not go against the divine ultimate,” wu nai means indeed. “Would this not go against” means intending to say it goes against. In the passage below starting with “The sūtra says: 'The Dharma-body has no image, but displays forms in response to things',” “forms” means manifest. “Conditions” means cognitive objects. In “Though ten thousand triggers rush upon him at once, they do not perturb his spirit,” it means that the Way of the sage's responsive resonance reaches ten thousand conditions at one time, yet the spirit of his mind is not confused or perturbed. The Shuowen says: “The character nao has the sound of rao (perturb).” The Wenzi jilüe says: “Nao means crooked movement.” Meeting a thousand difficulties at once, yet his reflections are not turbid or perturbed. In “Moving like drifting clouds, resting like the valley spirit,” drifting clouds move without mind; the valley spirit rests also without mind. It refers to the spirit of mountain valleys. Laozi says: “The valley spirit never dies; it is called the profound female.” It means that if one can nourish the spirit like the valley spirit, one does not necessarily die. The commentary that says “valleys nourish the spirit” is incorrect. “There is no vessel in which it does not take form,” wherever there are conditions, it manifests. “There is no resonance to which it does not respond,” wherever there is an impulse, it responds. Thus, “Mind arises from having mind”—when sentient beings have the mind to resonate with it, it then manifests forms and images. In “Therefore when gold melts, it is not scorched,” Zhuangzi says: “For the ultimate person, nothing can harm him. Even if great floods reach the sky, he does not drown; even if a great drought melts metal and stone and scorches mountains, he is not hot.” Now saying “not scorched” means not hot. In “Operating daily without moving,” Laozi says: “Using it without exhaustion.” Qin means toil. In “The turmoil belongs to the other; what does it matter to me?” the turmoil inherently belongs to conditions; the sage is constantly tranquil. “Me” refers to the sage. In “Thus wisdom encompasses all things without toil,” the sagely wisdom thoroughly observes all things, so why would it toil? Because it is without mind. In “The bodily form responds to the eight directions without affliction or harm,” it is because it is without body and without self. In “Increasing cannot make it full, decreasing cannot make it deficient,” seeking to increase it, it cannot be increased; seeking to decrease it, it cannot be decreased. In “How could there be pestilence in the middle of the road, or a lifespan reaching its limit at the twin trees?” e-li means disease. Kui means thoroughfare. The Erya says: “A nine-way thoroughfare is called a kui.” The two-scroll Niyuan jing says: “When the Buddha was about to enter nirvāṇa, he went toward the country of Kuśinagara and suffered from diarrhea on the road. Afterwards he reached the twin trees and then entered nirvāṇa.” Now it says: how could there be such a principle? The Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: “When the Buddha was expounding the Dharma up to the tenth scroll, he manifested illness mid-way.” This is also pestilence in the middle of the road. In “The spirit depleted in the heavenly coffin, the body left to burning fire,” after the Buddha's nirvāṇa, wrapped in layers of fine cotton, placed into gold and silver coffins, then bronze, then iron, filled with fragrant oil, it was burned with fire. This is the custom of a wheel-turning sage king, hence called the “heavenly coffin.” Fen and liao both mean burning. In “Yet the confused reside in the realm of seeing and hearing,” seeing with ordinary ears and eyes, seeing cessation and complete burning, they think the sage is also like this. In “Pursuing the traces of diverse responses,” pursuing concrete traces of affairs, when there is existence they say it is definitively existent, and when there is non-existence they say it is definitively non-existent. In “Grasping compasses and squares to measure the great square,” Jia Kui's commentary on the Guoyu says: “Bing means to grasp. Compass is round and square is rectangular.” “Great square” refers to the Mahāyāna. Laozi says: “The great square has no corners.” How could one hold compasses and squares to measure it? In the passage below starting with “Wishing to toil the ultimate person with wisdom,” it means taking wisdom as toil and having form as affliction. In “Abandoning existence to enter non-existence, naming it accordingly,” abandoning the conditioned to enter the unconditioned, they name it nirvāṇa; hence it says “naming it accordingly.” In “How could this be called gleaning subtle words beyond what is heard,” subtle words are profound and wonderful and can be grasped by intention; the profound root is deep and quiet and can be proclaimed by principle. For those who cling to words and grasp at signs, this is not gleaning subtle words beyond sight and hearing, nor uprooting the profound root from the realm of non-being.