華嚴經明法品內立三寶章 1.20

1.20

As for the essence of the Saṅgha Jewel, in the Hinayāna, according to the Abhidharma school, the Saṅgha has two kinds: 1. The Saṅgha worthy of offerings, extending upward to all buddhas and downward even to ordinary novice monks, is comprehensively the Saṅgha; therefore, when a dānapati invites one monk by order of the Saṅgha without distinguishing superior or inferior, he fully obtains the merit of offering to the Saṅgha. 2. The Saṅgha of the three refuges takes only the four fruits and four directions among the śrāvakas to be the Saṅgha. Because ordinary monks lack noble virtues and cannot be taken as refuges, they are not included. When pratyekabuddhas appear in the world, they lack a harmonious community and do not constitute a saṅgha. A single bodhisattva does not constitute a saṅgha. The Buddha is the Buddha Jewel and is likewise not the Saṅgha. Furthermore, among śrāvakas, only the jewel of uncontaminated virtues is the essence of the Saṅgha Jewel; contaminated [virtues] are not venerable and therefore not a jewel. Moreover, according to that school, the Saṅgha has another two kinds: 1. The Saṅgha of ultimate truth, namely renunciant noble persons of the four fruits. 2. The conventional Saṅgha, namely ordinary monks. Among the noble, there are three [aspects]: 1. The birth body, namely the five aggregates of retribution. 2. Conventional wisdom, contaminated morality, concentration, etc., namely the five aggregates of expedient good. 3. The uncontaminated five aggregates. The former two are called the Saṅgha by association and are not the primary essence of the jewel; the latter one is the primary. If according to the Satyasiddhi, the uncontaminated nominal person is the essence of the Saṅgha, and there are still four propositions: namely, having the virtues of the Saṅgha without the comportment of the Saṅgha, and so forth, which should be inferred accordingly. If within the three vehicles, for bodhisattvas, taking all contaminated and uncontaminated virtues as well as the nominal entities of the five aggregates of form, mind, etc., from the three stages of worthiness upward to equal enlightenment, is the essence of the bodhisattva Saṅgha. For solitary realizers and śrāvakas, taking the nominal entities of the five aggregates of contaminated and uncontaminated virtues accomplished from entering the stage of provisions upward to arhat is generally the essence of the Saṅgha Jewel. Moreover, among these people of the three vehicles, only those who have gone forth and conform to the monastic Vinaya are taken as the Saṅgha Jewel; because all householder śrāvakas, bodhisattvas, rhinoceros-horn-like pratyekabuddhas, and so on all enter into the Dharma Jewel. The "Scatter Flowers Chapter" of the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: "Scattering flowers over bodhisattvas is called making offerings to the Dharma; scattering flowers over bhikṣus is called making offerings to the Saṅgha." One should know that this is spoken according to the beginning of the initial teaching. Or, by distinguishing the superior to manifest the inferior, the Mahāyāna and Hinayāna are clarified, as the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra says: "'Saṅgha' means harmony. Harmony has two kinds: first, worldly harmony; second, harmony of ultimate truth. Worldly harmony is called the śrāvaka Saṅgha; harmony of ultimate truth is called the bodhisattva Saṅgha." One should know that this is spoken according to the end of the initial teaching. Or it is said that those of the two vehicles who enter the Mahāyāna are the Saṅgha Jewel, and if not, they are not, because only bodhisattvas are taken as the true Saṅgha Jewel. The Ratnagotravibhāga says: "Bodhisattvas are the ultimate Saṅgha." One should know that this is spoken according to the final teaching. Or, it is free from characteristics and free from conceptualization, as the treatise says: "Truly there are bodhisattvas, yet no bodhisattva is perceived," and so forth; this is revealed by resorting to words according to the sudden teaching. Or, taking any single bodhisattva as pervading the six ranks, exhausting the three realms and the inexhaustible dharmadhātu, complete with primary and secondary, as the essence of the Saṅgha Jewel: this is spoken according to the distinct teaching of the one vehicle. If expedient means are subsumed, as before, all the preceding teachings are also included within this. The distinct characteristics above are concluded.