肇論新疏 3
English (machine translation) 3
- Language
- English
3.1
Composed by the Sramana and Constant Lecturer Wencai, Founding Abbot of Great Wansheng Youguo Temple on Mount Wutai, Leader of Great Baima Temple at the Source of the Śākya [Transmission], Conferred the Title of Duke of Gui State, Master of the Ocean-Seal Opening the Dharma.
3.2
Treatise on the Namelessness of Nirvāṇa, Fourth
3.3
"Nirvāṇa" is translated in the Tang as "complete quiescence" (yuanji). When the four virtues are fully present, it is called "complete"; when the three hindrances are entirely eliminated, it is called "quiescent"; that is, the primary truth, which encompasses both emptiness and existence, namely Buddha-nature. Therefore, the text below also recounts the primary truth, the intention being here. It is also called the truth of cessation, as explained within our school. In terms of stages: ordinary beings possess it but have not realized it; the three vehicles have realized it but have not reached the utmost; and the Buddha-fruit is the consummation of the path, where realization leaves nothing unexhausted. In terms of essence: cause and effect share the same source, objective and subjective realms are equal; in an icchantika it does not decrease, and ascending to the Stage of Extreme Joy it does not increase. The treatise below says: "Heaven and earth share the same root with me; myriad things are of one body with me." However, in terms of manifestation, four kinds are spoken of: first, self-nature [nirvāṇa]; second, [nirvāṇa] with remainder; third, [nirvāṇa] without remainder; fourth, non-abiding [nirvāṇa]. Substance and function are blent together; they are four and yet not four, as can be clearly understood below. "Nameless" has two senses: first, in terms of relativity, flowing along the stream is named saṃsāra, and reversing the stream is named nirvāṇa; arising in dependence on each other, it is called nirvāṇa. If saṃsāra is quiescent, nirvāṇa cuts off relativity and counterpart; who could name it nirvāṇa? Thus the sūtra says: "Saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—both are unobtainable." Second, regarding the fundamental essence: names arise based on marks, and marks appear following names; nirvāṇa is not a mark, so from where could a name arise? The treatise below says: "It cannot be obtained through shape or name." As the root sūtra also says, the name "nirvāṇa" is forcibly established. Thus Vimalakīrti stopped his mouth and all his friends lost their words, solely because it is nameless and thus cannot be spoken or shown. Although the King of Qin first initiated it and the treatise master expounded it, they together received the source of teaching, transmitting rather than inventing.
3.4
Sengzhao says: Zhao has heard that Heaven attains the One to be clear, Earth attains the One to be tranquil, and kings attain the One to bring order to the world under heaven.
3.5
At the head of the memorial he does not refer to himself as "subject" but calls himself by name, which is the loftiness of those beyond the world; later generations could not maintain this and also had the designation of "subject." From "Heaven attains" downward, the words come from Laozi; the One refers to the Dao of nature; having obtained the One, these three are then able to be clear, tranquil, and so forth.
3.6
I respectfully reflect that Your Majesty's sagely wisdom is reverent and luminous, your Dao tallies with the spirit, you wondrously accord with the center of the ring, and there is no principle you do not comprehend; you glide your blade through myriad affairs, propagating the Dao all day long; your majesty covers the common folk, and you bestow writings to serve as models. Therefore, within the realm there are four greats, and the king resides as one among them.
3.7
In the Shangshu, "sagely wisdom" is the virtue of Shun, and "reverent and luminous" is the virtue of Yao; using the virtues of these two emperors, he praises the King of Qin. "Dao" refers to the ultimate Dao, belonging to nirvāṇa. "Spirit" refers to Yao Xing's spirit; wisdom realizes and tallies with this. "Center of the ring" comes from Zhuangzi; its chapter "On the Equalization of Things" says: "The hinge only when it finds the center of the ring can respond without end." That uses the mutual pointing of worldly right and wrong, the reciprocal contraries of this and that, like an endless ring, as an analogy. The void at the center of the ring has no right or wrong that can lodge in it, using it to compare to the Dao. "There is no principle you do not comprehend" means all principles are penetrated. From "majesty covers" downward, it praises using military might to ward off disaster and civil virtue to govern the world, meaning spreading literary teachings to serve as a standard for the world. As for the "four greats," Laozi says: "Heaven is great, Earth is great, the Dao is great, and the king is also great," and so forth.
3.8
The Dao of nirvāṇa is indeed that to which the three vehicles return, the deep reservoir of the vaipulya [teachings], vast, indistinct, subtle, and silent, cutting off the realm of seeing and hearing; its profound purport is empty and abstruse, scarcely something that the sentiments of the multitude can measure.
3.9
Capacities differ into three, but that to which they return is originally one. Although the three vehicles leaving the realm differ, yet casting aside body and life, they together take Great Nirvāṇa as their ultimate dwelling. "Vast and indistinct" describes the appearance of vast waters. From "profound purport" downward, it is like dense bamboo. Śāriputra's ground is filled with clouds of wisdom, yet wisdom is still not knowledge, how much less the shallow sentiments of the ordinary multitude?
3.10
Zhao, being of humble person, unexpectedly received the state's grace, being able to reside at leisure in the hall of learning, remaining among the disciples of Master Kumārajīva for more than ten years. Although the myriad sūtras have diverse intents and their supreme bents are not one, yet with regard to the single meaning of nirvāṇa, I always took listening and studying as primary.
3.11
From "more than ten" downward, Master Yao says: "At nineteen he met Kumārajīva; at thirty-one he passed away." From "although the myriad" downward: according to what the sūtras explain, their doctrinal bents are boundless; the meaning of nirvāṇa was what he first listened to and studied.
3.12
Yet my talent and understanding being dim and deficient, although I repeatedly (frequently) received instructions and analogies, I still harbored vague and murky doubts; exhausting (expending) my foolishness without cessation, it seemed as though I had some understanding. Yet not having been preceded by the declaration of exalted and superior ones, I did not dare decide on my own. Unfortunately, Master Kumārajīva passed away, leaving no one to consult, which I take as an everlasting lament.
3.13
"Vague and murky"—Master Yao says: "Not distinct." From "yet not having" downward, the treatise master speaks modestly that although he seemed to have some understanding, not having been previously shown by exalted and superior persons, he did not dare determine on his own that it was necessarily so. Kumārajīva died in the eleventh year of Hongshi.
3.14
Yet Your Majesty's sagely virtue is not solitary; you alone spiritually tallied with Master Kumārajīva, perceiving the Dao upon direct encounter, thoroughly plumbing the depths of his mind; therefore, you were able to raise up that mysterious wind to inspire the customs of the degenerate age.
3.15
The Analects says: "Virtue is not solitary; it must have neighbors." Because Qin established virtue, it moved Kumārajīva to come. Like voices answering each other, their wondrous intents in complete accord, their minds and spirits matched. From "perceiving upon direct encounter" downward, Zhuangzi briefly says: "Wenbo Xuezi went to Qi; Zhongni saw him, and both spoke not a single word. Zilu questioned him, and [Zhongni] said: 'With a man like that, upon direct encounter, the Dao is present.'" It means that with eyes meeting, they have already reached the intention of the Dao. "Square inch" means the heart-mind. The two men being of one mind, they propagated the Dharma transformation and awakened the customs of the degenerate age. "Wind" means teaching. "Inspire" means open up.
3.16
One day I happened to receive your letter answering the Marquis of Ancheng, Yao Song, inquiring about the ultimate principle of the unconditioned. Why so? The reason sentient beings have long transmigrated in saṃsāra is entirely due to their attachment to desire. If desire ceases in the mind, then there is no longer saṃsāra. Saṃsāra being no more, one submerges the spirit in mysterious silence and joins its virtue with empty space; this is called nirvāṇa. Since it is called nirvāṇa, how could there further be room for names within it?
3.17
Yao Song was also a member of the Qin imperial lineage. According to fascicle 18 of the Tang *Hongming ji*, it states in brief: “The King of Qin had earlier issued an edict stating, ‘Now, the Dao takes non-action (*wuwei*) as its fundamental tenet.’ Yao Song objected, saying: ‘I do not understand: in clarifying the non-action of the Dao, what should be taken as its essence? If one takes the subtle as the fundamental tenet, though it precedes the sovereign, it is not the ultimate, etc.’ The King of Qin replied in brief: ‘My view is that the Dao simply rests in non-action; what its fundamental tenet is has not yet been elaborated.’ At the end he also said: ‘The Dao takes having no basis to rely upon as its fundamental tenet. If one seeks where that basis lies, I fear that is the greatest of delusions.’” The text is lengthy and not recorded here. Non-action is nirvāṇa itself. Because it is based on birth-and-death and deduced to nirvāṇa, it says “transmigrating,” etc. Birth-and-death is the result. It is necessarily incurred by causes; hence it says “all due to attachment to desires.” “If desire [ceases]…” below clarifies returning from birth-and-death to revert to nirvāṇa. “No further…” below takes up what precedes to clarify it. “Submerging the spirit” means quietly submerging the mind-spirit. “Profound silence” (*xuanmo*) follows the sense of tranquil silence; the character *mo* is interchangeable. Profound, subtle, tranquil, and silent refers to nirvāṇa. “Empty space” is used as an analogy, animitta being roughly the same; hence it says “matches its virtue.” In the *[Hongming] ji*, “virtue” (*de*) is written as “essence” (*ti*). “Since it is called…” below directly reveals the intent, meaning that the fundamental principle of non-action turns back from the conditioned of birth-and-death and realizes the unconditioned of nirvāṇa; being without characteristics and without names, what essence or fundamental tenet could it have? Fearing that the mind might become attached to something, it must simply take having no basis to rely upon as its fundamental tenet.
3.18
“This indeed exhausts the beauty of subtle words and reaches the utmost of discourse beyond forms. Were one's realization of the Dao not to match Mañjuśrī's and one's virtue not to equal Maitreya's, who could propagate the profound Dao and serve as a moat and rampart for the Dharma, causing the Great Teaching to unfold anew after having rolled up, and bringing its obscure purport back to light after having sunk into oblivion?
3.19
The first two lines praise the depth of his understanding. “Subtle words” refers to the sūtras and treatises. He grasps the beautiful import of the sūtras and treatises, and exhausts lofty discourse beyond mundane things. “Were one's realization not…” below praises the far-reaching nature of his virtue. The ruler is the venerated of the four seas and the master of the Three Jewels. Although the praise exceeds reality, the situation demands it. “Causing the Great Teaching…” below means that the Great Teaching of the Buddha-Dharma unrolls anew after having rolled up, and the obscure purport of the nameless is made manifest again after having sunk into oblivion; all of this is by the power of the king.
3.20
“Pondering and savoring it attentively, I could not lay it down even for a moment. Joy and realization intermingled in my bosom, so that my hands danced without pause.
3.21
This means that since what he attained was profound, his joy and gratitude were also deep; without intending to dance, his hands danced spontaneously, and dancing without pause, his feet must also have stamped.
3.22
“How could it merely be an exquisite guide for our own time? It will truly serve as a bridge across ages to come.
3.23
Since the teaching has been broadly expounded, its benefit extends infinitely.
3.24
“Yet the sagely intention is abstruse and profound, its principle subtle and its words concise; it may guide those advanced thinkers and rescue lofty scholars, but I fear that those who adhere to names and titles might not fully fathom Your Majesty's intent. Hoping to emulate the composition of Confucius's Ten Wings for the *Changes*—not that I covet profuse words, but seeking to amplify and manifest this obscure purport—I have ventured to compose the *Treatise on the Namelessness of Nirvāṇa*. The treatise consists of nine refutations and ten expositions, drawing broadly from the sūtras, citing evidence, and establishing analogies, so as to respectfully expound Your Majesty's purport of the nameless. How could I claim to have attained the divine mind or exhausted the far-reaching, correct principle? I have merely modeled it upon the profound gate and expounded it to instruct students of the way.
3.25
“It may guide…” below means that the purport of the nameless is profound and subtle, only fit to be a model for those advanced in learning and to dispel the doubts of lofty scholars. “Those who adhere to names and titles…” means those who cling to words and designations: merely hearing the word “nameless,” they cannot fully understand the ruler's intent. “Superior” (*shang*) refers to the king, since Sima Qian in recording events referred to the emperor as “the Superior.” “Hoping to emulate…” below means emulating the Ten Wings to produce the ten expositions, thereby reaching also the junior students who cling to words. The *Changes* originated with Fuxi drawing the trigrams, King Wen composing the hexagram judgments, the Duke of Zhou appending the line judgments, and Confucius composing the Ten Wings—that is, the First and Second *Tuan* Commentaries, and so forth. Here, the nine refutations and ten expositions resemble this. “Not that I covet…” below means it lies not in expanding the text, but in expounding the purport. “Ventured to compose…” below is readily understood. “How could I claim…” below means that although he composed this expository treatise, he did not dare claim to have plumbed the divine and subtle mind or exhausted the profoundly distant and correct principle. “I have merely…” below means only imitating the gate of subtle principle to make it known to students.
3.26
“The concluding section of Your Majesty's treatise says: ‘The various traditions in understanding the ultimate truth (*paramārtha-satya*) all say that it is wide open, empty, and tranquil, with no sage. I have always considered this to be discordant, excessively divergent, and contrary to human sentiment. If there were no sage, who would know non-existence?’”
3.27
“The concluding section” refers to the final chapter of the reply to Yao Song's letter. “Wide open…” below reflects the contemporary view that ultimate truth is empty and tranquil, leaving no room for a sage. “I have always…” below directly clarifies that this is discordant and divergent. The following two phrases are from the *Zhuangzi*; Lin Xiyi says, “A boundary, vastly far apart.” Here saying “excessively” means far apart indeed. “If there were no sage…” below turns back to interrogate. It is because of realizing ultimate truth that one is a sage; if now one asserts there is none, who is it that realizes non-existence if not a sage? “Non-existence” points to being empty and tranquil.
3.28
“It is truly as the enlightened edict states; it is truly as the enlightened edict states! Now, the Dao is elusive and dark, yet within it there is an essence. If there were no sage, who would consort with the Dao? Recently, among the students, there was none who did not hesitate before the gate of the Dao and feel aggrieved over this purport, harboring doubts all day long without anyone able to rectify them.
3.29
The first two lines directly agree. “Now, the Dao…” below presents the principle. “Elusive…” below borrows from Laozi, who says: “Elusive and vague, within it there are things; dark and indistinct, within it there is an essence.” This means that being and non-being are difficult to represent as forms, hence called “elusive”; deeply obscure and hard to fathom, hence called “dark and indistinct.” “Dark and indistinct” refers to being empty and tranquil; “there is an essence” refers to the sage. “Hesitate” describes the appearance of about to advance and about to retreat. “Aggrieved” means having the mind blocked, stifled, and obstructed.
3.30
“Fortunately encountering Your Majesty's lofty judgment, our school was decisively enlightened, as if fabric were torn asunder, and those who knock at the gate have ascended in abundance to the profound chamber. Truly, this may be called turning the wheel of the Dharma a second time in Jambudvīpa, and the light of the Dao shining once more across a thousand years.
3.31
The character *hua* (with fanqie *huo-mai*) represents the sound of tearing silk, an analogy for doubts being broken through. “In abundance” (*wei*) describes luxuriant vegetation. “Profound chamber” refers to ultimate nirvāṇa. The idea is: having encountered the enlightened sovereign's lofty judgment, the veil of doubts was torn asunder, and those who knock at the gate ascended abundantly to the profound chamber. “Truly, this may be called…” below is praise.
3.32
“Now, the intention in composing this expository treatise is to meticulously analyze the essence of the namelessness of nirvāṇa, quiet that wide-open emptiness, and dismiss discourses detached from the world.”
3.33
There are three intentions in its composition: first, to expound the nameless; second, to quiet divergent views; third, according to the *Liang Biographies of Eminent Monks*, it was also composed out of confusion and lingering sorrow following Kumārajīva's passing. Yun'an says: “To quiet means to put to rest—to put to rest the nihilistic views of wide-open emptiness held by the various traditions.” “Dismiss” means to drive away. Earlier in the text there was no separate account of discourses detached from the world; now it also dismisses them. The meaning is that scholars of that time held that an empty expanse without sages was what lay outside worldly things, or they dismissed the provisional, small-vehicle [teachings] as birth-and-death within the realm and nirvāṇa beyond the realm, and so on. Now, since essence and function are non-dual, what is inside and what is outside? Hence it says below: “To demarcate its regional bounds—is that not vastly remote?”
3.34
“The items are documented as follows, respectfully presented to Your Majesty. If they accord even slightly with the sagely intention, I hope you will order them to be preserved; if there are any errors, I humbly await your instruction. Sengzhao speaks.”
3.35
“Items” refers to sections; “documented” refers to the fact that before paper existed, writing was done on tablets and documents, a phrasing retained from antiquity. The ten expositions are set out in sections on documents to be submitted. “Instruction” means pointing out and teaching, showing humble deference to the ruler. His original biography states: “Yao Xing read it, replied with attentive words of full praise and acclaim, and ordered copies to be made and distributed to his sons and nephews. Such was the esteem in which Sengzhao was held by his contemporaries.”
3.36
“*Niyue*, *nihuan*, and *niepan*: these three names appeared at different times, simply due to differences in regional dialects. To say *niepan* (nirvāṇa) is the correct phonetics.
3.37
The Sanskrit monks who came from the west came from the five regions of India, whose local dialects differed, just as there are light and heavy accents between the Chu and Xia regions here.
3.38
“The Nine Refutations and Ten Expositions.
3.39
“Refutation” means dialectical refutation: raising an objection in terms of names is called refutation. “Exposition” means elaboration: resolving doubts through the nameless is called exposition.
3.40
“Section One: Opening the Fundamental Tenet.
3.41
This is the first of the ten expositions. “To open” means to lay out. “Fundamental tenet” means the basis. At first, it briefly sets forth the fundamental basis so that readers grasp the main principle; later, it conducts refutations and expositions with skillful detail so that people may enter deeply, modeled upon the naming of chapters in the *Classic of Filial Piety*. The subsequent nine expositions take this as their fundamental tenet and expound upon it.
3.42
“The Nameless One states: What the sūtras call nirvāṇa with remainder (*sopadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa*) and nirvāṇa without remainder (*nirupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa*) is called in the Qin language ‘non-action’ (*wuwei*), and also ‘quenched liberation’ (*miedu*).
3.43
Wishing to clarify the purport of the nameless, he cites the two names possessing names, and ultimately shows that these two are provisional designations responding to beings, in order to realize the wonderful mystery of true, permanent namelessness.
3.44
“‘Non-action’ is taken from its empty non-being and tranquil silence, marvelously transcending the conditioned. ‘Quenched liberation’ means that its great afflictions are eternally extinguished and it crosses beyond the four floods.
3.45
“Non-action” is designated in terms of essence; “quenched liberation” is named in terms of the pacification of obstacles. Fragmentary [transmigration] (*pariccheda*) and transformative [transmigration] (*pariṇāma*) are the great afflictions; desire, views, existence, and ignorance are the four floods.
3.46
“This indeed is that to which images in a mirror return, the profound dwelling where designations are cut off.
3.47
The first line provides an analogy to clarify that to which things return. The second line gives the doctrinal explanation, briefly showing namelessness. Traces of being and non-being are like images in a mirror: images, being empty, return to the mirror; traces, being empty, return to nature. This line cuts off characteristics, while the next line leaves behind names. “Profound dwelling” refers to nirvāṇa; because it is the place to which the three vehicles and nine currents return, it is figuratively called a dwelling. Question: If designations are cut off, why establish two names?
3.48
“Yet speaking of ‘with remainder’ and ‘without remainder’ is truly due to different designations for emerging and resting, merely provisional names in response to beings.
3.49
“Emerging and resting” is like movement and stillness. Emerging is named “with remainder”; resting is named “without remainder.” Because emerging and resting differ, the names “with” and “without” differ. They exist when responding to beings, and do not exist when not responding; hence they are provisional.
3.50
“I once ventured to say: As for nirvāṇa as the Dao, it is tranquil, empty, and vast, impossible to grasp by form or name; subtle and animitta, impossible to know with a discursive mind. Transcending all conditioned existents, it ascends into obscurity; commensurate with great space, it is eternal. Following it, one cannot find its tracks; greeting it, one cannot see its head. The six destinies cannot encompass its birth; physical force cannot transform its essence. Boundless and elusive, as if present and as if departed, the five eyes cannot view its form, and the two ears cannot hear its sound. Murky and deep, who sees it, who understands it? Encompassing all, there is nowhere it is not present, yet alone it emerges beyond the realms of being and non-being.
3.51
From 'Now, nirvāṇa as a path' downward, there are nineteen phrases in all. The first phrase designates its essence; the remainder all distinguish its characteristics. This is the naturally pure nirvāṇa common to ordinary people and sages, as in the Tathāgatotpattisaṃbhava Chapter's gateway of the true eternity of the essential nature. In the first two pairs, each upper phrase reveals characteristics, and each lower phrase reveals transcendence: the former transcends name and characteristic; the latter transcends mental conditions. From 'the hosts of being' downward, it is transcendence of suffering in the twenty-five states of existence. From 'spanning the great void' downward, it spans as equal to the great void and endures forever; it wonderfully exists and is not empty. The two phrases below 'pursue it' mean it has neither past nor future limits, transcending impermanence. The two phrases below 'the six destinies' are transcendence of arising and ceasing, and also transcendence of non-self. This means that because the true self of nirvāṇa has the meaning of genuine mastery and freedom, they cannot contain it to make it arise, nor transform it to make it cease; this is explained in terms of refuting the latter four inversions of the two vehicles. From 'vast and immense' downward: accumulating water to form a pool is called huang; vast water is called mang; here it takes the meaning of vastness. Presence and departure are difficult to determine, hence it says 'hazy and indistinct'—if one says it remains here, it is distantly off there; if one says it has gone there, it is clearly here. It is also like Laozi's saying: 'Being great, it is said to pass on; passing on, it is said to return.' It can also be that remaining and departing are like existence and non-existence. From 'the five eyes' downward, it completes the previous [point on] having no characteristics. The five eyes are the five visions; the two listenings are the two ears, completing the previous [point on] having no name. From 'dark and profound' downward: ming means obscure; deep-set eyes are called yao; here it takes the meaning of profundity. 'Who sees, who understands?' completes the previous [point on] transcending the mind. 'Encompassing' has the meaning of including all. 'There is nowhere it is not present'—the Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: 'Dharmatā is omnipresent in all places,' and so forth.
3.52
Thus, those who speak of it lose its truth; those who know it turn into its folly; those who regard it as existent go against its nature; those who regard it as non-existent harm its person.
3.53
Not knowing that it is neither name nor characteristic, they forcibly speak and forcibly cognize; thus they lose its truth and turn into folly. Not knowing that it is neither existent nor non-existent, they forcibly assert existence and non-existence; thus they go against its nature and harm the person. To 'harm its person': the body originally arises from nature; now since one takes it to be non-existent, one thereby harms one's own body. Duke Zhuang of Dong'an said: 'If form is existent, it does not hold, for probing the source reveals obscurity; if form is non-existent, it does not hold, for conditioned arising brings forth ten thousand forms.'
3.54
Therefore, Śākya shut his door in Magadha, and Vimalakīrti closed his mouth in Vaiśālī; Subhūti proclaimed that there is no teaching to reveal the Way, and Śakra and Brahmā ceased their listening to rain down flowers.
3.55
This cites three events in all: the first two clarify no-preaching, and the latter one additionally clarifies no-listening, inversely corroborating the preceding 'those who speak of it lose its truth.' Magadha is the name of a country. The Saddharmapuṇḍarīka says: 'For three weeks after the Tathāgata attained Buddhahood, he did not preach the Dharma.' The seventh fascicle of the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: 'For fifty-seven days after the Buddha attained the Way, he did not speak,' and so forth. In meaning, this is called 'shutting his door.' The matter in the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa is readily known. Regarding 'Śakra and Brahmā, and so on': in the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, from the 'Lord of the Devas Chapter' onward, Subhūti, relying on the metaphor of an illusion, extensively preaches the principle that profound prajñā has no preaching and no listening. Arriving at the 'Scattering Flowers Chapter', Śakra Devānām Indra and the Four Heavenly Kings in the trichiliocosm and so on magically produce divine flowers and scatter them over the Buddha and the great assembly. The meaning is: because preaching and listening are empty, Subhūti preached without preaching to reveal the dharmatā. The devas understood emptiness and listened without listening; to make an offering to the profound Dharma, they scattered flowers.
3.56
In all these cases, the principle is encountered by spirit, and so their mouths remained silent because of it. How could one say they lacked eloquence? It is that eloquence could not speak of it.
3.57
'In all these cases' refers comprehensively to the three above: only realization corresponds [to it], which is why their mouths were all silent. It does not mean that Śākya and Vimalakīrti lacked the eloquence of delightful speech, but only that they possessed eloquence yet could not speak of it.
3.58
A sūtra states: 'True liberation transcends words and enumeration; it is peaceful, ceased, and eternally serene, without beginning and without end, neither obscure nor bright, neither cold nor hot, pure and still like empty space, without name and without exposition.' A treatise states: 'Nirvāṇa is neither existent nor non-existent; the path of language is cut off, and the sphere of mental activity has ceased.'
3.59
This paraphrases sūtras such as the Nirvāṇa and the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa. The fifth fascicle of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra extensively preaches the characteristics of true liberation. In the twenty-first fascicle, it also says that 'nirvāṇa is without any characteristics.' In the Akṣobhyabuddha Chapter of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, when explaining the contemplation of the dharmatā, the text is also largely identical; citing it in detail would be overly cumbersome. The broad meaning is that the essence of nirvāṇa is itself the dharmatā of all phenomena and ultimate emptiness, cut off from names and numbers, free from all dualities, its nature originally transcendent of itself, not a matter of expedient means. The treatise is the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.
3.60
When we examine the composition of the sūtras and treatises, how could they have been constructed in vain? Indeed, there is that by which it is not existent, so it cannot be apprehended as existent; there is that by which it is not non-existent, so it cannot be apprehended as non-existent.
3.61
Expressing principle constitutes teaching; if there were no such principle, how could their texts have been composed in vain?
3.62
Why so? If we seek it in the realm of existence, the five aggregates are forever extinguished; if we trace it to the realm of non-existence, the subtle spirit is inexhaustible. If the subtle spirit is inexhaustible, it embraces the One with pristine stillness; if the five aggregates are forever extinguished, the myriad entanglements are completely cast away. Because the myriad entanglements are completely cast away, it is in unison with the Way; because it embraces the One with pristine stillness, it is spiritual and without exertion. Because it is spiritual and without exertion, its supreme exertion endures forever; because it is in unison with the Way, it is profound and unchanging. Because it is profound and unchanging, it cannot be considered existent; because its supreme exertion endures forever, it cannot be considered non-existent.
3.63
The first two pairs double-negate existence and non-existence. The two kinds of painful aggregates have already perished, hence it says 'forever extinguished.' Non-existence is also not a realm, but because the territories of existence and non-existence are distinct, it is figuratively called a realm. Prajñā wonderfully persists, hence it says 'inexhaustible.' In dark oneness with principle, it is called 'embracing the One.' The matters of defilement, karma, and suffering are like dust and sand, hence 'myriad entanglements.' 'Completely cast away' is because of true liberation; it can also be that the five aggregates being forever extinguished is bliss. The subtle spirit being inexhaustible is self. Embracing the One with pristine stillness is permanence. The myriad entanglements completely cast away is purity. 'In unison with the Way' is because the three things and four virtues have no distinct essence. From 'embracing the One' downward clarifies the essence. From 'spiritual and' downward reveals the function. 'Without exertion' is because it is spiritual yet ever still. 'Endures forever' is because although called without exertion, its spiritual response never ceases. Therefore the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says it 'can establish great meaning.' The final four phrases clarify non-existence with respect to essence, and clarify non-non-existence with respect to function; essence and function share a single source, and are therefore neither existent nor non-existent. If explained separately: because the five aggregates are extinguished, the myriad entanglements are cast away; because the myriad entanglements are cast away, it is united with the Way; because it is united with the Way, it is profound and unchanging; because it is profound and unchanging, it cannot be considered existent—this step-by-step interpretation completes the preceding 'seek it in the realm of existence,' and so forth. The above is with respect to essence; function can be explained by analogy.
3.64
Thus, existence and non-existence are cut off within, and appellations are submerged without; seeing and hearing do not reach it, and the four formless realms are benighted by it. Serene and level, tranquil and expansive, here the nine streams converge, and here the multitude of sages darkly unite.
3.65
This also follows upon what precedes it. The first phrase cuts off the two kinds of characteristics; the next phrase transcends the two kinds of names. From 'seeing and hearing' downward: because it is free of name and characteristic, seeing and hearing do not reach it. The 'four formless realms' are the four formless [absorptions]. 'Benighted' means that nirvāṇa is not the concentration of the four formless realms; if one seeks it through these, how could one comprehend it clearly? Hence it is called benighted. From 'serene' downward, it again completes the preceding meaning. Why is it so? Because it is serene and level, and so forth. 'Nine streams' has two explanations: one says the nine stages; one says the nine schools of worldly statecraft, namely Daoism, Confucianism, Mohism, the School of Names, and so forth. 'Multitude of sages' means the three vehicles. The meaning is: the Way of nirvāṇa is where the nine streams converge and the multitude of sages meet; royal transformation is not two, different paths converge on the same goal.
3.66
This is indeed the realm of the silent and formless, the domain of the Great Profundity; yet to seek to label it with existence and non-existence, to mark out its boundaries, and to speak of its wondrous Way—is that not far wide of the mark?
3.67
The Way of nirvāṇa is neither sound nor form; how could one take remainder as existence, and no-remainder as non-existence, pointing out places based on conventional labels, asserting that entrusting form to the royal palace is existence, and extinguishing traces in the twin śāla trees is non-existence? To speak of its wondrous Way in such a manner, is that not far wide of the mark? This completes the preceding text regarding the provisional names that respond to things.
3.68
Section 2: Examining the Essence
3.69
This is the first of the nine rejoinders. He means to investigate and examine. Because it was previously stated that the essence of nirvāṇa is neither existent nor non-existent, he now breaks it down: where after all does the essence reside? This posits the questions of existence and non-existence of the two vehicles to shatter their attachments.
3.70
The One with Name says: Names and titles do not arise in vain; appellations do not emerge of themselves.
3.71
'Appellations' are verbal expressions. Names are generated based on meaning, and speech arises on the basis of names.
3.72
That the sūtras speak of nirvāṇa with remainder and nirvāṇa without remainder is surely the true designation for returning to the source, the wondrous title of the spiritual Way. I beg leave to set this forth.
3.73
'Returning to the source' is the name for [nirvāṇa] without remainder. 'Spiritual Way' is the title for [nirvāṇa] with remainder. Being hidden or manifest and hard to fathom is called 'spiritual'; where one roams in coming and going is called the 'Way'.
3.74
'With remainder' refers to when the Tathāgata's Great Awakening first arose and the Dharma body was newly established: bathing in the pure streams of the eight liberations, resting in the lush groves of the seven factors of awakening, amassing myriad good deeds over vast eons, and sweeping away the lingering dust of beginningless time.
3.75
When practitioners of the three vehicles sever the obstacle of afflictions and are quiet without clamor, it is called nirvāṇa; because the remaining conditions and so forth have not yet perished, it is named 'with remainder.' The treatise means: perfect awakening to Buddhahood, amassing virtues and severing obstacles, benefiting oneself and benefiting others, are all the bliss of [nirvāṇa] with remainder. 'Tathāgata' means riding the path of suchness to come and realize right awakening. To distinguish it from partial, lesser awakening, it is called the Great Awakening. The fivefold division of precepts and so on is named the Dharma body; it abides dependent on retribution, hence this order. 'Eight liberations': by cultivating the eight contemplations, one successively attains liberation, namely internal possession of form and so on; these can purify defilements, metaphorically bathing in pure streams. 'Seven factors of awakening': namely the factors of awakening such as mindfulness and investigation; the Buddha has cultivated them to perfection, like resting in a lush grove. The above clarifies the fulfillment of the fruit; the below clarifies the perfection of causes. From 'amassing myriad' downward: both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna speak of the six perfections and myriad practices over three asaṃkhyeya eons, though their meanings differ, so they are not detailed here. From 'sweeping away' downward clarifies the severing of afflictions. Severing under the Bodhi tree refers to the thirty-four mental moments and so forth. Defiling pure wisdom is metaphorically called dust.
3.76
The three clarities mirrored within, the divine light shone without; taking the saṃnāha vow at the initial resolve, he concluded with great compassion to hasten to the rescue.
3.77
The 'three clarities' are the wisdom knowing birth and death across the three periods of time; being in the mind, they illuminate within, while observing others is without. Saṃnāha is a Sanskrit sound, translated here as the great vow. 'Rescue' refers to the realm of birth and death; because the Tathāgata made a vow at his initial resolve to completely deliver the realm of sentient beings, after attaining Buddhahood he fulfills his vow to benefit beings.
3.78
Looking up, he climbed to the mysterious root; looking down, he rescued those lost in ignorance. Transcending the three realms, he alone trod the Great Way, opening the level road of the Eightfold Path, smoothing the easy way for the multitude, spurring the divine steeds of the six supernatural knowledges, and riding the safe chariot of the five vehicles.
3.79
This demonstrates the conduct of benefiting sentient beings. "Climbing up" means going upward. "Reaching down" means bending downward. "Profound root" is a metaphor for principle. "Those who lost their way in youth" means those who, being young, lost their native land, a metaphor for turning one's back on enlightenment to unite with the defilements of dust. The meaning here is that just as someone rescuing a drowning person grasps upward onto a tree and reaches down to pull up the drowning one so that their own person does not sink, so too is the Tathāgata: fundamental wisdom illumines the real, and subsequent wisdom saves beings, so that he is not bound by birth and death. The next two sentences explain transcendence. "Three domains" refers to the triple realm. Beyond the realms is called "vast domain," which is also the principle of the two types of emptiness; the Buddha alone walks upon it, because the Lesser Teaching states that only Siddhārtha alone possesses the nature of universal awakening. "Eightfold Correct [Path]" refers to right view, right thought, and so forth. "Multitudes" refers to illegitimate offspring, namely, the heterodox non-Buddhists of deviant views. It means opening wide the Eightfold Correct Path to level all deviance; because deviant paths are uneven, by leveling them they become flat. "Spurring" means galloping; a swift steed is called a "divine steed." Supernormal powers transform beings with swiftness responding to their capacities, hence the metaphor of a divine steed. In Sanskrit it is called yāna, which here is translated as vehicle, namely the teachings of the five vehicles, which refers to morality, wholesomeness, the truths, conditions, the six perfections, and so on. Regarding "peaceful carriage," Yun'an says: "The three vehicles depart the triple realm, and humans and gods depart the three lower realms, hence it is called 'peaceful.' The general outline of transformative conduct is opening what is correct and crushing what is deviant, wielding supernormal powers and preaching the Dharma."
3.80
"As for entering life and entering death, moving and shifting along with beings, there is no place where the Way does not saturate, and no place to which virtue is not bestowed; exhausting the beginnings of things from the Mother of Transformation, carrying to the limit the marvelous functioning of the profound pivot."
3.81
The first two sentences clarify according with capacities: when it is fitting to emerge, he comes forth; when it is fitting to pass away, he enters into it; with only benefiting beings in his heart, what fixity is there in moving and shifting? The meaning also encompasses transforming according with kinds. The next two sentences clarify the breadth of transformation, meaning that the Eightfold Correct Path and the rest are spread abroad, the triple realm is entirely saturated, the five vehicles are operated together, and all capacities are delivered. From "Mother of Transformation" down: Daoist texts take qi as the mother of transformation. Yun'an says: "Causes and conditions are able to produce all dharmas, like the mother of transformation." "Profound pivot" is a metaphor for wisdom. The turning of a door pivot is a metaphor for subsequent wisdom responding and moving. However, the preceding sentence raises the sphere of transformation, and the subsequent sentence clarifies transformative wisdom. It means exhausting the principle by which causes and conditions bring things into being, carrying its functioning of wisdom to the utmost limit, preaching the teaching of arising and ceasing through causes and conditions, knowing to deliver those who can be delivered and to leave aside those who cannot be delivered, and also knowing what is suitable for the great, what is suitable for the small, and so on. Knowing through this is how one carries to the utmost the marvelous and spiritual functioning of wisdom to transform [beings].
3.82
"Clearing the expanse of emptiness into the boundless, shining the sarva[jña] to illumine the profound darkness, about to extinguish all signs in the nine abodes and sink forever into the Great Void."
3.83
The first sentence is that which is realized; the next sentence is that which realizes. The Sanskrit term sarvajña means all-knowledge here. It means that radiance of wisdom blazes forth, deeply illuminating the aforesaid principle. "Signs" refers to subtle omens. "Nine abodes" refers to the nine grounds. "Great Void" refers to [nirvāṇa] without remainder. Wishing to conclude with the name "with remainder," he first brings up realizing the principle and entering quiescence. Examining the intent of this turning point: it means that the Tathāgata originally wished to sink into the Void, but because residual conditions were not yet exhausted, he dwelt in [nirvāṇa] with remainder.
3.84
"Yet because residual conditions are not exhausted and residual traces are not obliterated, the retributive karma still retains spirit, and holy wisdom still persists. This is nirvāṇa with remainder."
3.85
Generally there are four matters: first, residual conditions, which are the capacities of those remaining to be delivered; second, residual traces, which is the body relied upon; third, residual karma, which is the karma that produces retribution still possessing spirit and breath; fourth, holy wisdom has not yet ceased. All of these belong to what has remainder.
3.86
"A sūtra states: 'Smelting away the dross is like refining pure gold. The myriad entanglements are completely exhausted, yet the luminous awareness alone remains.'"
3.87
The first two sentences speak through metaphor: the dross is like the myriad entanglements, and the gold is like the luminous awareness; when the impurities of the ore are removed, the pure gold appears; when the myriad entanglements are exhausted, the luminous awareness remains. "Smelting" means washing and filtering; "refining" means melting and smelting.
3.88
"As for [nirvāṇa] without remainder, it means that for the consummate person, the conditions for teaching are completely finished, luminous illumination is forever extinguished, wide and void without any sign; therefore it is called 'without remainder.'"
3.89
When conditions and traces have already ended, karma and wisdom are both extinguished, and none of them leave any remainder.
3.90
"Why is this? Now, no great affliction is greater than having a body; therefore one destroys the body to return to non-being. No toil takes precedence over having wisdom; therefore one cuts off wisdom to sink into the Void."
3.91
The text has two pairs, both of which raise the affliction in the first sentence and rejoice in quiescence in the second sentence. First the body, then wisdom, as is clear from the text. Laozi says: 'The reason I have great afflictions is that I have a body.'
3.92
"Thus, wisdom is wearied because of the form, and the form is toiled because of wisdom; turning and revolving along the long road, exhausted without end."
3.93
Desiring to nourish one's form, the deliberations of wisdom devise plans; this is wisdom being wearied because of the form. Once wisdom has devised plans, it in turn makes its body toil in work day and night; this is the form toiling because of wisdom. Employing each other because of this, they revolve like a wheel along the long road of birth and death, never stopping though exhausted.
3.94
"A sūtra states: 'Wisdom is mixed poison; the form is like fetters and shackles. Profound silence becomes distant because of them; afflictions and hardships arise because of them.'"
3.95
Because deliberations of wisdom are not unified, it is called "mixed poison," just as worldly poisons are able to harm life. "Fetters and shackles" are instruments of punishment: binding the feet is called fetters; binding the hands is called shackles. Fetters and shackles confine people, and people truly detest them; the form can afflict people, and the detestation should be just the same. From "profound silence" down, it shows the faults. "Profound silence" refers to [nirvāṇa] without remainder. The simultaneous presence of both body and wisdom has two faults: first, distancing from [nirvāṇa] without remainder; second, giving rise to toil and affliction.
3.96
"Therefore, the consummate person reduces the body to ashes and annihilates wisdom, casts away the form and cuts off deliberations, having internally no toil of responsive illumination and externally ceasing the root of great afflictions; transcendentally and forever parted from the multitude of existences, blending into identical substance with the Great Void, silent without sound, tranquil without signs, passing forever into the darkness, with none knowing where he has gone."
3.97
"Consummate person" refers to the Tathāgata. The physical substance is called the body, and the outward appearance is called the form; reducing the body to ashes is casting away its affliction of form. Wisdom is the substance of the mind, and deliberations are the function of the mind; annihilating wisdom is cutting off its thinking and deliberations. The next two sentences explain the accomplishment of having no afflictions. The six sentences from "transcendentally parted from the multitude" down clarify the benefits: first, transcending the multitude of existences departs from the marks of arising and ceasing; second, being identical to the Great Void displays the benefit of the unconditioned; third, it is neither sound nor form; fourth, it is ultimate and non-retrogressing.
3.98
"It is like a lamp exhausted and its fire extinguished, oil and brightness both depleted. This is nirvāṇa without remainder."
3.99
The lamp and fire are metaphors for body and wisdom; oil and brightness are metaphors for form and deliberations.
3.100
"A sūtra states: 'The five aggregates are forever exhausted, just like an extinguished lamp.'"
3.101
The five aggregates are the general substance of body and mind.
3.102
"Thus, [nirvāṇa] with remainder may have designations, while [nirvāṇa] without remainder may be nameless. When 'nameless' is established, those who take the Void as essential rejoice in and esteem the vacuous and silent; when 'having designations' arises, those who cherish virtue look up all the more to holy achievements. These are what the scriptural texts handed down in writing, and the tracks trodden by past sages."
3.103
The first two sentences mean that because there are these two principles, two names may be established. The next two sentences directly demonstrate the benefits. "Those who take the Void as essential" refers to the small capacities of the two vehicles, whose nature originally delights in cessation; relying on the name to seek the reality, they enter into [nirvāṇa] without remainder. "Those who cherish virtue" refers to the great persons of the six perfections, whose nature delights in establishing virtue; relying on the name to seek the reality, they look up to [nirvāṇa] with remainder. The last two sentences: first, because the holy teachings are quantitative authorities; second, because they are the tracks trodden by past sages.
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Linked texts (1)
- 肇論新疏 — Classical Chinese