華嚴一乘成佛妙義 1.16

1.16

Third, in terms of the teaching of the initial diversion of the mind, there are eight aspects. First, in terms of stages, it refers to the ten stages beginning with the stage of dry wisdom: attaining Buddhahood in the tenth stage. The reason attaining Buddhahood is counted within the ten stages is that the Buddha descends to match the causal stages; therefore, this explanation is made. The Record says: The Fajing lun says, "It leads those of lesser aspiration to develop the great practice, [so that when faced with] fear of life and death, they turn away and forget, relinquishing adherence to understanding." The explanation states: Establishing the ten stages, from dry wisdom onward, is intended to cause them to abandon the adherence to Hinayāna understanding and enter the Mahāyāna. Question: If so, why make it the stage of dry wisdom and so forth? Answer: Because they have not yet accomplished awakening and understanding of emptiness, their sharpness is not brought forth, making it the stage of dry wisdom. That is, the moisture of the principle of emptiness is like water; only when one awakens to emptiness can the mind of wisdom increase. Second, the nature stage: because of understanding emptiness. Using this understanding to subdue defilements, the understanding becomes firm and unalterable; hence it is called the nature stage. Third, the stage of the eight persons: because of understanding the real and provisional four truths. In each of the four truths there are two persons; hence the eight patiences are called the stage of the eight persons. In each of the truths there are two patiences: therefore, in the truth of suffering of the desire realm there is the patience regarding suffering, and in the truth of suffering of the two higher realms there is the subsequent patience regarding suffering, and the remaining three truths should be inferred accordingly. The eight patiences mean aspiring to the uninterrupted path. The eight [factors] induced by these eight patiences are the liberations. Fourth, the stage of seeing: because through these eight patiences one obtains the eight stages, and fulfilling the sixteenth moment of mind, one sees the egalitarian principle of the four truths; therefore it is called the stage of seeing. Fifth, the stage of thinning: arising from the stage of seeing into the wisdom of the path of cultivation, one severs the first six grades among the nine grades of cultivating defilements of the desire realm and retains only the last three grades; therefore it is called the stage of thinning. Sixth, the stage of separation from desire: the final three grades of cultivating defilements are completely exhausted, so one does not return to the desire realm; therefore it is called the stage of separation from desire. Seventh, the stage of having completed [the task]: because the fetters of the three realms are completely exhausted, one attains the fruit of an arhat; therefore it is called the stage of having completed [the task]. The last three stages can be understood accordingly. The above summarizes the meaning of the Fajing lun. Question: The ten stages from dry wisdom onward are the ten stages common to the Three Vehicles. Why are the ten stages of dry wisdom taught here in the teaching of the initial diversion of the mind, whereas in the Fifty Essential Questions and Answers, the causes and effects of the six destinies are established first, the Two Vehicles ignorant of the Dharma next, the Hinayāna and the diverted-mind Hinayāna Buddhas next, the Buddhas of the fulfilled mind of the five stages of the One Vehicle next, then the ten stages from dry wisdom onward are established, and finally the seventeen-gate sequence of the direct-progressing bodhisattva is established? Answer: Master Huijing said: The basis for establishing the ten stages common to the Three Vehicles must have been stated by Master Fabiao. That master explained it through three iterations based on the stages: first, explaining the ten stages of the distinct teaching of the Three Vehicles; second, integrating the ten stages of the distinct teaching into the stages of the shared teaching; third, integrating the ten stages of the shared teaching into the stages of the comprehensive lineage. If one follows the first set of stages: the stage of dry wisdom is taught in the stage bordering nature-emptiness at the end of external ordinary beings (the contemplation of the five mental halts can be practiced here). The nature stage refers to the contemplation of the universal mindfulness, contemplation of the particular mindfulness, and the four wholesome roots; combining these five preparatory stages makes the nature stage. In these five expedient means, the universal and particular stages of mindfulness jointly contemplate the emptiness of self-nature, while the subsequent four wholesome roots discern and contemplate the emptiness of dharmas; therefore, the universal and particular mindfulnesses are combined into one. The stage of the eight persons is established in the stage of patience regarding suffering. The stage of seeing is established in the path-of-seeing stage of the srotāpanna. The stage of thinning is established in the stage of the sakṛdāgāmin. The stage of separation from desire is established in the stage of the anāgāmin. The stage of having completed [the task] is established in the stage of the arhat. These seven stages belong to the śrāvaka vehicle. The stage of the pratyekabuddha can be understood accordingly. As for the bodhisattva stage: in this distinct teaching, the stages of the thirty minds are not yet taught, but only the ten abodes, and only four bodhisattvas are discussed: the first abode is named the abode of the newly aroused intention; from the second to the sixth abode is named the stage of long-cultivated practice; from the seventh to the ninth abode is named the stage of avaivartika; the tenth abode is named the stage of being bound to one life [before Buddhahood]. Neither equal awakening nor the adamantine mind is taught; the tenth abode is taken as the culmination. This is the actual attainment of Buddhahood in the six-foot bodily form. In the second iteration: the Buddha of the distinct teaching is the Buddha who covers his tracks; therefore, he regresses to the ten faiths of the shared teaching, being made to enter the ten faiths. The five fruits of the Two Vehicles are placed prior to the ten faiths, being made to enter the stages of the ten faiths. Question: If so, why are the five fruits of the Two Vehicles not placed in the ten abodes, even if they are in the initial mind of the ten faiths? The Renwang jing says, "The initial mind of the lineage of practice already surpasses the Two Vehicles"; thus we know they are not placed in the ten abodes. The nature stage and stage of dry wisdom taught within the five expedient means are both regressed and placed in the ordinary stages before faith. Thus they are integrated. In order to cause entry from the ten stages of the distinct teaching into the shared teaching, the ten stages common to the Three Vehicles are established. Since it is the shared teaching, one only then realizes that the Buddha path is long and distant, and that one must traverse the three classes of worthies and ten stages of cultivation before being able to attain Buddhahood. Therefore, within the ten faiths of the shared teaching, there are five grades of disciples: the four fruits of the śrāvakas and the fruit of the pratyekabuddha make five. Question: If so, how should the four bodhisattva stages be coordinated? Answer: The lineage of practice corresponds to the newly resolved bodhisattva; the lineage of nature and the lineage of the path correspond to the long-practicing bodhisattva; from the first stage upward corresponds to the avaivartika; equal awakening is the one bound to one life; and sublime awakening is the bodhisattva. Question: If one integrates the distinct teaching through the shared teaching, and by integrating the distinct teaching provisionally adapts the stages of the distinct teaching into the shared teaching, how are the ten stages common to the Three Vehicles explained directly from the shared teaching itself? Answer: Integrating the five fruits of the Two Vehicles into the stages of the ten faiths of the shared teaching is called the stage of dry wisdom; the stages of the three classes of worthies are the nature stage; the proximate expedient means within the first eight stages is called the stage of eight patiences; the first stage is called the stage of seeing; the second stage, being the sakṛdāgāmin, is called the stage of thinning; the third and fourth stages are called the stage of separation from desire; the fifth stage, being aligned with the contemplation of the truths, is called the arhat stage of having completed [the task]; the sixth stage, being contemplation of causes and conditions, is called the pratyekabuddha stage; up to equal awakening is called the bodhisattva stage; and sublime awakening is called the Buddha stage. In the third iteration: completely severing the defilements of obstacles in the shared teaching, the attained fruit of Buddhahood is in turn regressed and placed into the ten faiths of the comprehensive lineage. The ten stages of the shared teaching are regressed and placed into the five grades of disciples of the ten abodes in the comprehensive lineage: that is, the srotāpanna has the candidate and the fruitional state, so they are coordinated in order with the first and second abodes, up to the fifth grade of disciples, called pratyekabuddha, which also has candidate and fruit, and are coordinated with the ninth and tenth abodes. Question: If so, why is its fruit of Buddhahood established in the fulfilled mind of the ten faiths of the comprehensive lineage, while the ten stages of the shared teaching become the five grades of disciples of the ten abodes? Answer: In terms of actual reality, the five grades of disciples and the Buddha are not distinct. The continuity relies solely on the shared teaching; because it reaches the stage of the fruit of Buddhahood of that teaching and is regressed to the fulfilled mind of faith, when the actual Buddha regresses, his nature regresses and is established as identical with the five grades of disciples. Therefore, when this person, who is actually a Buddha of the fulfillment of faith, regresses, upon changing designations and fully cultivating the practices of the ten faiths, he becomes a śrāvaka and also becomes a bodhisattva of the ten abodes. One should reflect on this carefully. Question: If so, why does one regress the Buddha of the shared teaching to stand in the fulfillment of faith, and only cause him to be taught by the comprehensive lineage to cultivate the practices of the ten abodes, without causing him to cultivate the ten faiths of the comprehensive lineage again? Answer: That vehicle's teaching does not speak of the real; only the comprehensive lineage can be considered real. When he is at that fruit of Buddhahood, he has faith in the comprehensive lineage; therefore, the fruit of Buddhahood of that vehicle is identical to faith in the comprehensive lineage. This is just like arising faith in the One Vehicle while in the first stage: right within that first stage, one accomplishes faith in the One Vehicle. Question: Why should a Buddha of the distinct teaching of the Three Vehicles further cultivate the faith of the shared teaching? Answer: That teaching speaks of attaining Buddhahood in thirty-four mind-moments, and since there is faith in an actual Buddha, that person who is an actual Buddha is in turn made to cultivate the faith of the shared teaching. But do not believe this matter! Hence no one who has reached the fruit of Buddhahood of the distinct teaching is further made to cultivate the faith of the Mahāyāna. Question: Does the comprehensive lineage surpass that lineage so that one further cultivates this practice? Answer: The first five of the ten faiths are the five roots, such as faith; in the sense of augmenting these five roots, five minds are established, and in terms of reality, the dharmic substance is fully present within these five. A practitioner of the shared teaching possesses the five mundane roots such as faith, possessing them all at once. If a direct-progressing practitioner has not yet perfected the previous five roots, he must traverse ten thousand kalpas before being able to cultivate the practice of the ten faiths and accomplish this mind of faith. Question: If so, does the distinct teaching of the Three Vehicles possess the supramundane five roots of the Hinayāna, so that when encountering the shared teaching, faith is immediately accomplished? Answer: The Hinayāna faculties and the Mahāyāna faculties are not different. Question: If so, when these five disciples cultivate the practices of the ten abodes, for what reason are they given the name of śrāvakas? Answer: Because this person is taught and cultivates under the teaching of the comprehensive lineage, and because he arouses practice upon hearing the sound, he is called a śrāvaka disciple in this sense. If one speaks solely in terms of understanding the principle of the one true mind, he is a bodhisattva of the ten faiths. Since he has already severed obstacles and defilements to become a Buddha, why is he regressed and placed at the beginning of the ten faiths of the comprehensive lineage? Answer: The fruit of Buddhahood established by you is the transformation Buddha emanated by the eight aspects of attaining awakening in our stage of the ten faiths; taking it as the real Buddha, he is regressed and made to cultivate again. Question: If so, in synthesizing the sequence of the comprehensive lineage to form the common practice of the Three Vehicles, what are the forms? Answer: A srotāpanna practitioner practicing the five expedient means corresponds to the three stages of the ten faiths. The Daji jing says: "The ten faiths comprise three grades: the lower grade is dry wisdom; the middle grade is the stage of conforming to faith; the upper grade is the stage of the Dharma practice." That is, the middle and upper grades are the nature stage. The next two abodes are the stage of thinning, namely the third and fourth abodes, up to the tenth abode which is the pratyekabuddha stage. If coordinated by stages: the lineage of nature is the newly resolved; the lineage of the path is the long-practicing; from the first stage upward is the avaivartika; equal awakening is the one bound to one life; and sublime awakening is the Buddha stage. If considered from the comprehensive lineage itself: the ten faiths are external ordinary beings, so the stage of dry wisdom and the stage of the lineage of practice apply to both. That is, if one enters from the Sudden Teaching, the five grades of disciples are established, concealing the principle of the bodhisattva stages: taking the ten abodes as the stage of dry wisdom, the two stages of the lineage of nature and lineage of the path enter the proximate expedient means of the first stage, hence becoming the stage of the eight patiences. The first, second, and third stages are the patience of faith, so the srotāpanna is called the stage of seeing. The fourth, fifth, and sixth stages are the patience of compliance, so the sakṛdāgāmin is called the stage of thinning. The seventh, eighth, and ninth stages are the patience of non-arising, so the anāgāmin is called the stage of separation from desire. The tenth stage is the lower grade of the patience of extinction, so the arhat is called the stage of having completed [the task]. Equal awakening is the pratyekabuddha stage. The aforementioned stages collectively are called the bodhisattva stage, and sublime awakening is called the Buddha stage. The above summarizes the view of the Master of the Fajing lun. Preceptor Yan's view is: That master's doctrine has a threefold teaching. As for the ten stages common to the Three Vehicles, their disciples lack the Perfect Teaching. Why is this? Because none among the Two Vehicles enters the One Vehicle. Furthermore, within the Hinayāna, only the single Śākyamuni Bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, while none of the others attain Buddhahood; therefore, the stages common to all are not established. In general, establishing the ten stages common to all is intended to lead all Hinayāna practitioners into the Mahāyāna. Therefore, the intent of the questions and answers likewise does not establish the ten stages common to all. Following this pattern, it first clarifies the Hinayāna, and the diverted-mind meaning of the One Vehicle spanning the Initial, Final, and Sudden Teachings is established first, while the direct-progressing meaning of the Initial, Final, and Sudden Teachings is combined and established next. The intent of this chapter now is that, although in reality it extends through the Final Teaching, in terms of the initial diversion of the mind it sets forth and teaches the ten stages of dry wisdom and so forth. The Sudden Teaching has the ten stages common to the Three Vehicles, but it does not clarify distinct sequential stages, and therefore the ten stages common to the Three Vehicles are not used. Question: If so, why does the commentary on the Sudden Teaching again explain the reason for establishing the ten stages of dry wisdom and so forth, stating that these ten stages are utilized by the One Vehicle and entered by the Three Vehicles? Does this mean that the One Vehicle also establishes the ten stages common to all? Answer: Because the One Vehicle of the shared teaching is defined in terms of wisdom, because what is utilized by the One Vehicle of the shared teaching is defined in terms of the direct capacity of the distinct teaching, and because Hinayāna practitioners lack the One Vehicle, the ten stages common to all are not established. Those capacities utilized by the One Vehicle of the shared teaching that establish the ten stages common to all in order to guide the lower teachings are all directed by the One Vehicle; therefore, in this sense there are ten stages common to all. One should reflect on this. Moreover, Master Fabiao took Tripiṭaka Master Fotuo as his teacher. The Mahāyāna of the comprehensive lineage established by this Tripiṭaka Master clarifies the principle of the true mind of the tathāgatagarbha as the ultimate; therefore, it subsumes the Laṅkāvatāra, the Renwang, and the Avataṃsaka. Taking the six consciousnesses of the Three Vehicles of the distinct teaching as the norm to cultivate and attain Buddhahood, one diverts and enters the shared teaching. The shared teaching takes the deluded consciousness as the norm to cultivate and attain Buddhahood, and relying on the true mind of the tathāgatagarbha of the comprehensive lineage and relying on stages and grounds, causes one to further cultivate and awaken. Preceptor Yan's view is that the Mahāyāna of the comprehensive lineage of the Tripiṭaka Master is the Avataṃsaka One Vehicle outside the Three Vehicles, and the lower Initial Teaching subsumes the Mahāyāna of the shared teaching. Practitioners who cultivate and achieve realization based on this shared teaching do not have faith in that One Vehicle; therefore, they call the Buddha of the body of self-enjoyment a provisional-name bodhisattva. In this master's doctrine, there is no dispute, so the Buddha of the body of self-enjoyment is called a provisional-name bodhisattva. In the Tripiṭaka Master's view, practitioners of extremely dull faculties do not surpass the first stage, so he calls the Buddha of the body of self-enjoyment a provisional-name bodhisattva; moreover, bodhisattvas prior to the first stage are called provisional-name bodhisattvas. There is this dispute. Question: Tripiṭaka Master Fotuo, relying on what is taught in the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra, taught the shared Mahāyāna and the comprehensive lineage Mahāyāna, and thus established teachings such as the comprehensive lineage. Why does Preceptor Yan not subsume the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra within the comprehensive lineage? Answer: The text relies on the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra, but the doctrinal intent takes the Avataṃsaka as the comprehensive lineage. This master thus integrates the Tripiṭaka Master's doctrine. As for "because the Buddha descends to match the causal stages": in order to guide the Two Vehicles, when the Buddha is beyond the ten stages, those of the Two Vehicles do not seek the Buddha; therefore, descending to the causal stages, the Buddha stage is established. Also, the lower volume states: It also teaches the ten stages of dry wisdom and so forth. The ninth is called the bodhisattva stage and the tenth is called the Buddha stage because it is intended to guide the Two Vehicles who, looking upward, feel inadequate, so that they gradually practice and reach the fruit of Buddhahood. Furthermore, that fruit of Buddhahood is not outside the ten stages, but is likewise placed within the stages, because in order to guide them, skillful means are made identical to them. Since practitioners of the Two Vehicles attain the holy fruit in their present bodily lifetime, it is not placed afterwards. The intended ten stages are the ten stages of dry wisdom and so forth.