大乘法苑義林章 6.9

6.9

住持者，世尊最後將般涅槃，於忉利天安居說法。優填王等思仰金容，雕檀為像以為供養。佛從忉利方下寶階，檀像起立禮拜迎逆，世尊摩頂而記像言：「未來住持，廣為佛事。」故《花嚴》說十佛，前五世俗佛中有住持佛。又餘經言「其未度者皆亦已作得度因緣」，即是舍利、遺形及像，皆是住持佛寶所攝。佛滅度後法有三時，謂正、像、末。具教、行、證三名為正法。但有教、行，名為像法。有教無餘，名為末法。此教行二有漏攝者，及葉文字皆住持法寶，無漏三法真法寶故。示道、命道二沙門中，異生具戒、具見等類，正、像、末法能住持者，是住持僧。又《十輪》說四沙門中，第四名為污道沙門。雖非真實，亦得墮在福田數中。無慚愧僧，於我正法亦名死屍，於清眾海應當擯棄，非聖器故。我於彼人不稱大師，彼人於我亦非弟子。有無慚僧，於我舍利及我形像及我法僧聖所愛戒，深生敬信，自無邪見亦令他無，能宣正法讚歎不毀，常發正願隨犯數悔，業障皆除。當知是人信三寶戒，力勝諸外道多百千倍，輪王不及，況餘有情。故勸有情作如是說：「於我法中剃除鬚髮，我終不聽毀辱擿罰。此出家者，三世諸佛慈悲護念，是故輕毀即毀諸佛。」有無慚僧毀破禁戒，非聖法器，自起邪見亦令他起，誹毀三乘不讚一乘。如是破戒惡行苾芻，誑惑有情令生惡見，師及弟子俱斷善根當墮地獄，如是死屍膖脹爛臭。若與交遊共住同事，臭穢熏染失聖法財，師及弟子俱斷善根當墮地獄。是故若無初三沙門，於污道中求雖破戒不壞正見者，親近承事聽聞法要，不應親近戒、見俱壞惡行苾芻。觀前文意，初無慚者亦得名為住持僧寶，及上座等僧像亦然。然彼經中第四卷說「若有苾芻於諸根本性重惡中隨犯一罪，雖名破戒惡行苾芻，而於親教和合僧中所得律儀猶不斷絕，乃至棄捨所學尸羅，猶有白法香氣隨逐。諸國王等無有律儀，不應輕慢及加擿罰。彼雖非法器、雜穢清眾，不捨戒故，猶勝一切在家白衣。犯性罪者尚應如是，況犯其餘諸小遮罪。」此文即是初無慚僧，壞戒有見，故得有戒。後無慚者，善根既斷，戒亦隨無，非住持攝，住持令他善根生故。法隨有故，彼令善滅，法隨滅故，非住持攝。

Regarding the maintained [Three Jewels]: when the World-Honoured One was finally about to enter parinirvāṇa, he resided in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven and expounded the Dharma. King Udayana and others longed for his golden countenance, and carved an image out of sandalwood to make offerings to it. When the Buddha was just descending the jewelled staircase from Trāyastriṃśa, the sandalwood image rose, bowed, and came forward to welcome him; the World-Honoured One rubbed its head and prophesied to the image, saying, 'Maintain [the Dharma] in the future, performing extensive Buddha-work.' Therefore, when the Avataṃsaka speaks of the ten Buddhas, among the first five mundane Buddhas there is the Buddha who maintains [the Dharma]. Furthermore, another sūtra states, 'For those who have not yet crossed over, causes and conditions for their crossing over have also already been made'; that is, the relics, the bodily remains, and the images are all subsumed under the Buddha-jewel that maintains [the Dharma]. After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, the Dharma has three periods, namely the correct, the semblance, and the final [eras]. Possessing all three—teaching, practice, and realization—is called the correct Dharma. Having only teaching and practice is called the semblance Dharma. Having teaching but nothing else is called the final Dharma. The teaching and practice subsumed under the tainted, as well as the written characters on leaves, are all the Dharma-jewel that maintains [the Dharma], because the three untainted dharmas are the real Dharma-jewel. Among the two śramaṇas who indicate the path and who live by the path, those ordinary persons who possess the precepts and possess [right] view and can maintain [the teaching] in the correct, semblance, and final Dharma [periods] are the Saṅgha that maintains [the Dharma]. Furthermore, among the four śramaṇas expounded in the Daśacakra, the fourth is called the śramaṇa who corrupts the path. Although not real, he is also included in the category of fields of merit. A monk without shame or remorse is called a corpse in my correct Dharma and should be expelled from the clear ocean-like community, as he is not a noble vessel. To that person I do not call myself the Great Master, and that person is also not my disciple. [Yet,] there are monks without shame who give rise to deep reverence and faith toward my relics, my images, my Dharma and Saṅgha, and the precepts cherished by the noble ones; who have no false views themselves and cause others to have none; who can propagate the correct Dharma, praising it without disparaging it; and who constantly make right vows, repeatedly repenting according to their transgressions, so that their karmic hindrances are all eliminated. One should know that the power of this person's faith in the Three Jewels and the precepts surpasses that of all non-Buddhists by many hundreds of thousands of times; wheel-turning kings cannot equal it, let alone other sentient beings. Therefore, sentient beings are exhorted with these words: 'If one has shaved off hair and beard within my Dharma, I never permit him to be reviled, humiliated, interrogated, or punished. These renunciants are protected by the compassionate mindfulness of all Buddhas of the three times; therefore, to slight or revile them is to revile all the Buddhas.' There are monks without shame who break the prohibitive precepts, are not vessels of the noble Dharma, give rise to false views themselves and cause others to give rise to them, and slander the three vehicles without praising the single vehicle. Such precept-breaking, evil-practicing bhikṣus deceive sentient beings and cause them to produce evil views; master and disciple alike sever their roots of goodness and will fall into hell, like swollen, rotten, foul-smelling corpses. If one associates with them, dwells with them, and shares tasks with them, one will be contaminated by the foul filth and lose the wealth of the noble Dharma; master and disciple alike will sever their roots of goodness and will fall into hell. Therefore, if there are none of the first three kinds of śramaṇas, one should seek among those who corrupt the path one who, though having broken the precepts, has not destroyed right view, and draw near to, attend upon, and listen to the essentials of the Dharma from him; one should not draw near to an evil-practicing bhikṣu whose precepts and views are both destroyed. Considering the intention of the preceding text, the first kind of shameless [monk] may also be called the Saṅgha-jewel that maintains [the Dharma], and images of elders and the like are also such. However, the fourth fascicle of that sūtra states: 'If a bhikṣu commits any one offence among the fundamentally grave evil offences, although he is called a precept-breaking, evil-practicing bhikṣu, the discipline he obtained within the harmonious saṅgha of his preceptor is still not severed; until he abandons the śīla he has trained in, the fragrance of white dharmas still follows him. Rulers and others, possessing no discipline, should not slight him or subject him to interrogation and punishment. Although he is not a vessel of the Dharma and defiles the pure assembly, because he has not abandoned the precepts, he still surpasses all white-robed householders. If it is so even for one who commits an inherently grave offence, how much more so for one who commits other minor prohibitive offences.' This text refers to the first kind of shameless monk, who breaks the precepts but possesses [right] view, and therefore may possess the precepts. As for the latter kind of shameless [monk], since his roots of goodness are severed, his precepts are also extinguished accordingly, and he is not subsumed under maintaining [the Saṅgha], because maintaining [the Saṅgha] causes the roots of goodness in others to arise. Since the Dharma follows existence, and that [latter monk] causes goodness to be destroyed, the Dharma follows destruction, so he is not subsumed under maintaining [the Saṅgha].