止觀輔行傳弘決 1.17

1.17

「論曰至次良」者，欲明付法，汎引教驗有師無師。言無師者，如《大論》第二云「我行無師保，志一無等侶。積一行得佛，自然通其道。」《增一》第十五云「阿若等五人問佛：『師為是誰？』佛答云：『我亦無師保，亦復無等侶，獨等無過者，冷而無復溫。』」律文大同。《那先經》云「佛無師成道，自悟一切法。」《法華》云「佛智無師智。」俗中太師、太傅、太保，皆師義也。次云有師。「受莂」等者，莂字謂派莂，亦分別，字書多作別字，如《瑞應》云「至于昔者定光佛興時，我為菩薩名曰儒童，乃至買華奉定光佛，散華供養，華住空中。佛知其意而讚歎言：『汝無數劫所學清淨。』因記之曰：『汝自是後九十一劫，劫號為賢，汝當作佛，名釋迦文。』乃至身升虛空得無生忍。」論云無師，經稱記莂。「書言」去，復引俗典，亦具二義：生知，如無師；學成，如記莂。故《論語》云「生而知之者上，學而知之者次，困而學之又其次也。困而不學，民斯為下矣。」良者，善也長也。書雖不論久遠因果，今且汎引相似之言，以證二義於理無失。讀此文者，應以良字而為句末。世有不曉句逗之人，以良字為句頭，甚為未隱。如第二本下句頭復有然字，豈可讀彼第二本云良然法門等耶？故不可用。然無師之與記莂，約事雖殊其理不二，在因必藉師保，果滿稱為獨悟，以此因果共為諸師所承元祖。

From "The treatise says" to "secondary: that is fine": wishing to clarify the transmission of the Dharma, it broadly cites doctrinal proofs regarding having a master or having no master. Speaking of having no master, it is as the second fascicle of the Dazhidulun says: "In my practice I had no master or protector, my resolve was singular and without equals. By accumulating a single practice I attained buddhahood, spontaneously penetrating its path." The fifteenth fascicle of the Zengyi [Ahan Jing] says: "The five persons including Ājñāta asked the Buddha: 'Who was your master?' The Buddha answered: 'I also had no master or protector, nor did I have any equals. Alone, matched by none, devoid of fault, cool and no longer warm.'" The Vinaya texts are largely identical. The Milindapañha (Naxian Jing) says: "The Buddha attained the Way without a master, awakening to all dharmas by himself." The Lotus Sūtra says: "The Buddha's wisdom is unmastered wisdom." In secular terms, the Grand Preceptor (Taishi), Grand Tutor (Taifu), and Grand Guardian (Taibao) all convey the sense of master. Next, it speaks of having a master. "Receiving prophecy", etc.: the character bie (莂) means allotment, also distinction; character dictionaries mostly write the character bie (別). For example, the Ruiying [Benqi Jing] says: "Formerly, when Dīpaṅkara Buddha arose, I was a bodhisattva named Ru Tong (the Young Scholar); I bought flowers and offered them to Dīpaṅkara Buddha, scattering them in offering, and the flowers remained suspended in the air. The Buddha knew my intent and praised me, saying: 'What you have learned throughout countless kalpas is pure.' He thereupon gave prophecy to me, saying: 'After ninety-one kalpas from now, in a kalpa named Bhadra, you shall become a buddha named Śākyamuni', even unto ascending into space and attaining the patience of non-arising." The treatise says there was no master, while the sūtra proclaims the bestowal of prophecy. From "The book says" onward, it further cites secular classics, which also possess both meanings: innate knowledge is like having no master; completion through learning is like receiving prophecy. Thus the Analects says: "Those who are born with knowledge are the highest; those who learn and attain it are the next; those who learn after facing difficulty are yet the next. Those who face difficulty and do not learn are the lowest of the people." Liang (良) means good, also superior. Although secular books do not discuss distant cause and effect, here it temporarily cites broadly analogous words to prove that the two meanings are logically without error. Those reading this text should place the character liang at the end of the sentence. In the world there are those who do not understand phrasing and punctuation and place the character liang at the beginning of the sentence, which is very inappropriate. For example, in the second edition, the beginning of the lower sentence further contains the character ran; how could one read that second edition as "Fine indeed (liang ran) are the Dharma gates", etc.? Therefore, it cannot be used. However, having no master and receiving prophecy, although distinct in terms of phenomena, are non-dual in their principle: in the cause one must rely on masters and protectors; when the fruit is complete it is called solitary awakening. Taking this cause and effect together, it constitutes the prime ancestor transmitted by the various masters.