能顯中邊慧日論 4.13

4.13

First, the non-equivalence in name; second, the non-equivalence in substantial nature; third, the non-equivalence in the persons who attain them.

Regarding the non-equivalence in name: First, considered in terms of faults, they differ. Following the Śrīmālādevī-sūtra, delimited [death] and transformative [death] are respectively named "the world bound by impermanence" and "the world sickened by impermanence."

Second, considered in terms of the distinction between ordinary beings and noble ones: they are respectively called "conditioned birth-and-death" and "unconditioned birth-and-death," because of the distinction between having emptiness and lacking emptiness.

Third, considered in terms of cognitive objects: the birth-and-death brought about when afflictions initiate karma is called the delimited cause, whereas the birth-and-death obtained with cognitive obscurations and the undefiled as conditions is called the inconceivable transformative death.

Fourth, considered in terms of the distinction between defiled and undefiled conditions: delimited birth-and-death is also called intra-realm birth-and-death. Following the Anuttarāśraya-sūtra, it says: "Existence-and-existence birth-and-death, like the adversity of birth within the three realms." Transformative birth is also called extra-realm birth-and-death. The Buddhagotraśāstra says: "Because beyond the three realms there are three kinds of noble beings," down to saying: "Abiding in the undefiled realm, there are four adversary-obscurations." Since it speaks of persons outside the three realms, it is clear that their birth-and-death is called extra-realm.

Fifth, considered in terms of the distinction between the force of karma and the force of samādhi: the ancient master Kuiji says, "In the *Lakṣaṇābhāvaśāstra*, delimited death is called the retribution body, and transformative death is called the transformation body."

Sixth, according to the transformative [kind], considered in terms of stages and realizations, they differ: the fifth fascicle of the Laṅkāvatārasūtra calls them the three kinds of mind-made bodies. The sūtra says: "The Buddha told Mahāmati: There are three kinds of mind-made bodies. What are the three? First, the mind-made body of obtaining the bliss of samādhi and samāpatti; second, the mind-made body of truly comprehending the marks of phenomena; third, the mind-made body of spontaneous action born together with its kind."

Seventh, considered in terms of nature and function, they differ: the two deaths are each divided into four kinds. Delimited birth-and-death is called the four adversities, and transformative is called the four kinds of birth-and-death. Hence the Anuttarāśraya-sūtra says: "Ānanda, within the three realms there are four kinds of adversity: first, affliction-adversity; second, karma-adversity; third, birth-adversity; fourth, fault-adversity. The expedient birth-and-death arising from the ground of the latency of ignorance is like the affliction-adversity within the three realms. The condition-and-cause birth-and-death arising from the ground of the latency of ignorance is like the karma-adversity within the three realms. The existence-and-existence birth-and-death arising from the ground of the latency of ignorance is like the birth-adversity within the three realms. The non-existence birth-and-death arising from the ground of the latency of ignorance is like the fault-adversity within the three realms."

Regarding the non-equivalence in substantial nature: Delimited birth-and-death takes the delusions of the path of seeing as the primary initiator of karma, and the delusions of the path of cultivation as the primary moistener, producing the maturation of the six destinies within the three realms. The four or five aggregates constitute the substance of the delimited, and their substance is exclusively defiled, being subsumed under suffering and origination; because delusion, karma, and suffering are all named birth-and-death, as they all arise and cease. Transformative birth-and-death takes cognitive obscurations as a condition to give rise to undefiled conceptual karma, which aids and brings forth what pertains to the present body. Therefore, the karma extends across the three continents, the six desire [heavens], and the four dhyānas. It is the unmoving karma of dhyāna, excluding the places of adversity and the five pure abodes, which causes the produced five aggregates of the body to continue, becoming ever more superior and ever more marvelous. Reaching the Buddha ground constitutes the substance of the transformative; its substance extends to the defiled as well as the undefiled fruit, but is exclusively defiled [in its primary maturation], because the cause extends to both.

Question: Why are the places of adversity excluded?
Answer: Having entered the path of seeing, eunuchs, hermaphrodites, women, and the places of adversity attain uncalculated cessation, so one never again experiences them.

Question: Why are the pure abodes excluded?
Answer: Because there is no turning toward [the Mahāyāna from there]. The Mahāyānāvatāra says: "As the verse spoken by the venerable Kumāralāta states: 'All destinies are entirely transformations, / Excepting only the Pure Abode heavens. / Turning in various ways according to karma, / There is no place where one does not take birth. / By this it is known that the bodhisattvas / Constantly share in benefiting, / Converting and guiding them according to their taking birth. / Through the power of expedients, / Simply for the sake of sentient beings, without following afflictions, / They are bound by the karmic retribution of bodhi.'" Following the sense of this text, since it says they "constantly share in benefiting, converting and guiding them according to their taking birth," and since the pure abodes are excluded, it is clear that there is no benefiting [there]. Those [dwellers] attain the realization of Hīnayāna nirvāṇa on their own, unlike bodhisattvas. If they could turn back toward [the Mahāyāna], why would one not be born there to teach and guide them?

Question: Why is the formless realm excluded?
Answer: Following the Abhidharmasamuccayavyākhyā, a bodhisattva who has attained noble status is not born into the formless realm, because the Hīnayāna noble ones [there] are of definitely fixed gotra. Furthermore, there are no five sense faculties that could be sustained as superior and marvelous for transformation; and further, they are not born again down into the lower two realms.

Question: Why is it not accepted that bodhisattvas on the grounds and Hīnayāna aśaikṣas separately receive the five aggregates as a transformative body, such that the body aids old karma, diminishes the cause of the present body, causes it to have superior power, projects the fruit for a long time, and reaches birth in the Buddha stage?
Answer: Because the aśaikṣas of the two vehicles are submerged in emptiness, they do not take birth again after death. As for bodhisattvas of great power, the Daśabhūmivyākhyāna says: "Because for the sake of the benefit of future retribution, they are born in the place of wisdom of Maheśvara." Therefore, if one were to allow that they presently give rise to new undefiled karma that brings about distinct, directly produced transformative birth-and-death, why would it be called future retribution? Furthermore, the Mahāyānāvatāra says: "It asks: 'By what practice does the Tathāgata sever the fetters and achieve Buddhahood?' It answers: 'The sūtra says: "The Buddha told Ānanda: One who is able to cultivate the four bases of psychic power can abide for a kalpa or for many kalpas, until birth-and-death is exhausted." All sūtras alike state this. If you say one is without afflictions, I too am like that. If there are those who have affection and faith in me, I shall explain it for you.' It asks: 'How does one sustain lifespan?' It answers: 'An arhat is without afflictions, equal to an eighth-ground bodhisattva; because of well cultivating the bases of psychic power, they are able to abide in the world as they wish, down to exhausting birth-and-death.' [It asks:] 'Do Rāhula, Piṇḍola, and the others who abide fully in the world abide in the world with this very body, or do they abide with another body?' It answers: 'That they abide in the world with a real body has no such meaning. But that they abide for many kalpas with a transformation body—this is plausible.' It is also like what is said in the Mahāsāṃghika[-vinaya]: 'In order to convert bodhisattvas, the Tathāgata Blue-Eye dwelt in the Ābhāsvara Heaven together with a multitude of śrāvakas for immeasurable hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas.' Just as the śrāvakas in that heaven sustained their lifespans for many kalpas, one should know that in this realm too there are śrāvakas who can abide like this." Following this treatise text, it clearly speaks of sustaining lifespan without separately taking birth; therefore one knows that transformative [death] definitely aids old karma. Nor can it be said that this treatise explains the teachings of the first forty years. Why? All sūtras alike state this, and it also cites the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka to prove the meaning. Furthermore, the Buddhagotraśāstra says: "As for condition-and-cause birth-and-death, like those from the srotāpanna upward, they only use old karma." Since it says they use their old karma like that, it is clear it is not newly created. The new undefiled karma directly can produce it, but it only aids old karma. Furthermore, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, fascicle thirty-four, says: "The undefiled has no retribution. If one allows that the undefiled directly produces transformative [death], this contradicts that." Furthermore, this agrees with the statements of the Yogācārabhūmi, the Buddhabhūmisūtraśāstra, and so on; since they speak of sustaining lifespan, it is clear it aids old karma. The eighth consciousness that is produced is caused to abide for a long time, down to the exhaustion of birth-and-death; hence it is defiled. However, where other places call it undefiled, as the Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi says: "It is spoken of relying on supporting conditions." Now to explain further: it is a person who has attained the undefiled who, on the basis of cognitive obscurations, gives rise to undefiled karma that aids the past to bring about the body; hence it is called undefiled. It is not that the transformative birth is substantially undefiled. Why? The primary substance of birth-and-death is the eighth consciousness. If it were undefiled, how would it differ from a Buddha? Furthermore, it would be wholesome, and should not receive perfuming. Furthermore, since it would be undefiled, how could it hold the seeds of defiled consciousnesses and cognitive obscurations? By this one knows that its substance is defiled and subsumed within the three realms. Thus the Zheng fahua jing uses the five destinies to allegorize the five hundred yojanas. If the transformative body were not bound to the realms and not subsumed within the five destinies, then the conjured city would exceed five hundred yojanas; why does it only exceed three hundred? When it is said to be undefiled and transcending the three realms, it is named undefiled and transcending the three realms because it is the birth-and-death undergone by persons who have attained the undefiled and persons who have transcended the three realms. If being called undefiled meant its substance were undefiled, then cognitive obscurations should also be substantially undefiled. The Śrīmālādevī-sūtra says: "Arhats and pratyekabuddhas sever the four kinds of latency grounds, but the undefiled is not exhausted; they do not obtain sovereign power, nor do they realize it." That "the undefiled is not exhausted" refers to the ground of the latency of ignorance; although this cognitive obscuration is called undefiled, in truth it is not undefiled. The transformative is also like this. Furthermore, if one says that transcending the three realms is the transformative substance itself, and it is truly an undefiled transcendence of the three realms, it would be called unconditioned and should be outside arising and ceasing. The Śrīmālādevī-sūtra calls it unconditioned birth-and-death. Since the eighth [consciousness] is outside the undefiled and presently possesses arising and ceasing, its substance is conditioned, making it clear that the substance of transformative birth-and-death is defiled and subsumed within the realms. The Renwang bore jing says: "Outside the three realms there are no distinct sentient beings."

Regarding the non-equivalence in the persons who attain them: all ordinary beings, the two vehicles of fixed gotra, and those of unfixed gotra who have not yet turned their minds, do not attain transformative birth-and-death. Only the noble ones of the two vehicles of unfixed gotra from having turned their minds onward, and the suddenly awakened bodhisattvas from the first ground onward, can all receive it, though among those in training and before the seventh ground there are some who have not yet received it. As is broadly explained in the Yogācārabhūmi, the Buddhabhūmisūtraśāstra, the Mahāyānāvatāra, and the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, it should be known.

Question: How is it known that the two vehicles of fixed gotra do not undergo the transformative?
Answer: The fourth fascicle of the Laṅkāvatāra says: "Because they have not realized the selflessness of phenomena and have not attained the inconceivable transformative birth, they have no share [in it]," clearly stating that śrāvakas of fixed gotra do not attain transformative birth. The second fascicle further says: "Mahāmati, what is the noble mark realized internally by śrāvakas? It is impermanence, suffering, emptiness," down to saying, "Having attained the path, fruit, and samāpatti of dhyāna, liberation, and samādhi, because their liberation does not regress, because they are free from the inconceivable transformative death through perfuming, and because they internally realize the practice of bliss of birth and abide in the śrāvaka ground." This speaks of the fixed gotra; since it says they are free from the inconceivable transformative death through perfuming and abide in nirvāṇa, by this one knows they do not attain the transformative.

Question: How is it known that those of unfixed gotra do not undergo the transformative before turning their minds?
Answer: That very preceding text says: "Being free from the inconceivable transformative death through perfuming, they abide in the ground of nirvāṇa." Furthermore, the Yogācāra, the Buddhabhūmi, the Prakaraṇāryavācā, the Mahāyānāvatāra, and others only say that those of unfixed gotra undergo the transformative only after having turned their minds.

Question: The two vehicles of unfixed gotra have also not realized the selflessness of phenomena; they should not attain transformative birth.
Answer: Because they are able to enter into it continuously with faithful realization, they attain transformative birth, unlike the fixed gotra.

Question: How is it known that those from the first ground onward attain the transformative?
Answer: The fifth fascicle of the Laṅkāvatāra speaks of three mind-made bodies, not only from the eighth ground onward. However, when the Mahāyānāvatāra says "equal to bodhisattvas of the eighth stage and above," and the Śrīmālā and so on say that arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas of great power attain it, these are stated based on certainty. Thus there is no contradiction. The differences in initiating karma and undergoing birth, and the distinctions in severing, relinquishing, and entering stages—such doctrinal approaches are broadly distinguished as in other places.