大乘入道次第 1.24

1.24

Next is seeking good friends: the significance of good friends is great indeed! For those who wish to cross dangerous terrain and reach eternal bliss, there is no way other than through them. Therefore the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, the Cheng weishi lun, and other texts say that only by the power of good friends can bodhi be accomplished. Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and their like are good friends; their supreme benefits are boundless and difficult to express fully. Here three are briefly cited to indicate the intent of seeking them: First, because they can serve as the proximate cause of bodhi. The Nirvāṇa Sūtra states: 'The Buddha addressed the great assembly, saying: "Among the proximate causes and conditions for all sentient beings to attain anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi, none comes before a good friend. Why is this? If King Ajātaśatru had not followed the words of Jīvaka, on the seventh day of next month he would certainly have died and fallen into the Avīci hell. Therefore, for proximate causes, none compares to a good friend."' Second, because when advancing toward the Tathāgata's wisdom, they have ten functions. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra states: 'A spiritual friend is the gate to all-knowledge, because he causes me to enter the true path. A spiritual friend is the vehicle to all-knowledge, because he causes me to reach the Tathāgata ground. A spiritual friend is the ship to all-knowledge, because he causes me to reach the jewel continent of wisdom. A spiritual friend is the torch of all-knowledge, because he causes me to produce the light of the ten powers. A spiritual friend is the path to all-knowledge, because he causes me to enter the city of nirvāṇa. A spiritual friend is the lamp of all-knowledge, because he causes me to see smooth and dangerous paths. A spiritual friend is the bridge to all-knowledge, because he causes me to cross hazardous and evil places. A spiritual friend is the parasol of all-knowledge, because he causes me to produce the coolness of great benevolence. A spiritual friend is the eye of all-knowledge, because he causes me to see the gate of the Dharma-nature. A spiritual friend is the tide of all-knowledge, because he causes me to be filled with the water of great benevolence.' Third, because they can enable one to cross the ocean of saṃsāra. A verse in the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra states: 'If one can draw near to a spiritual friend, / Hear and receive the unexcelled Dharma with a sincere mind, / And contemplate the samādhi of internal and external emptiness, / One can then cross over the ocean of saṃsāra.' Question: With what mind toward a spiritual friend does one seek them? Answer: The Avataṃsaka Sūtra states: 'One should give rise to ten kinds of minds toward a spiritual friend: that is, giving rise toward a spiritual friend to a mind regarding them as oneself, because they cause me to diligently accomplish all-knowledge and illuminate the dharmas of the path; giving rise toward a spiritual friend to a mind of purifying one's own karmic fruition, because drawing near and making offerings produces roots of good; giving rise toward a spiritual friend to a mind of adorning the bodhisattva practices, because they cause me to swiftly adorn all bodhisattva practices; giving rise toward a spiritual friend to a mind of accomplishing all Buddha-dharmas, because they instruct and guide me to cultivate the path; giving rise toward a spiritual friend to a mind of being able to give birth, because they can give birth to the unexcelled Dharma within me; giving rise toward a spiritual friend to a mind of renunciation, because they cause me to cultivate all the vows and practices of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and attain renunciation; giving rise toward a spiritual friend to a mind of being endowed with the ocean of all merit and wisdom, because they cause me to accumulate all pure dharmas; giving rise toward a spiritual friend to a mind of increase, because they cause me to increase all-knowledge; giving rise toward a spiritual friend to a mind of being endowed with all roots of good, because they cause my aspirations and vows to be fulfilled; giving rise toward a spiritual friend to a mind of being able to accomplish great benefits, because they cause me to comfortably abide in all bodhisattva dharmas, accomplish the path of all-knowledge, and obtain all Buddha-dharmas.'