止觀輔行傳弘決 5.52

5.52

「大經」下，以《涅槃》釋義。然無生義散在諸教，名相委悉不過《大經》，故引四句六句釋無生義，不出自他、智斷、能所、事理、思議不思議悉無生也，即是因果光揚能顯義也。並在第十九經也。初釋四句言「不聞聞一句有種種義」者，經初列不聞聞等四句，次以不生生等四句釋不聞聞等，復以不至至等四句釋不生生等，故云不聞聞等有種種義。今處中說又順無生，故用「不生生」等釋無生義。然古人以不聞聞、不生生等四句在前，下一一但是轉釋而已，故多釋不聞聞等四句，餘句但例。有云：聞不聞即俗而真，不聞聞是即真而俗，聞聞但俗，不聞不聞但真。又云：不聞聞從真起應，聞不聞攝應還本，不聞不聞法身凝然，聞聞是應迹不已。不生生等古亦多解，興皇以雪山偈銷，不生生是諸行無常，生不生是是生滅法，生生是生滅滅已，不生不生是寂滅為樂。又將四出偈銷。言四出者，此偈四處出之，古人名為涅槃四柱，謂九、十五、二十五、二十六。不生生本無今有，生不生本有今無，生生三世有法，不生不生無有是處。又云：如來證涅槃等四句對之。章安云：「準下文云『我因是事，即得解於一句半句，得見佛性入於涅槃。』當知並是見佛性句。不聞聞了因性，聞不聞緣因性，不聞不聞正因性，聞聞境界性。例此以釋不生生等，亦應可見。」雖古多釋，未會經旨。依章安解，復是一途。章安云：「並不如此。智斷、因果俱無生也，但為銷經，別作一途。彼經佛欲說此不聞聞等，放光照於十方世界。時東方有瑠璃光菩薩，初來之時，一切大眾非青見青乃至非白見白等。諸菩薩等見此光明，皆相問言：『此是何光？』皆默不答。次問文殊，文殊答言：『光明者即是智慧，智慧者即是常住，乃至即是如來、即是大慈。』佛言：『汝今莫入甚深第一義定，應以世俗而為解釋。』文殊言：『東方去此二十恒沙，有世界名滿月，彼有菩薩名瑠璃光。於彼見光，而問彼佛。彼佛答言：「西方去此二十恒沙，有世界名娑婆，佛名釋迦，為諸菩薩說不聞聞等。」彼菩薩而白彼佛：「欲來此聽不聞聞等。」從彼發來，先現此相。』」如古諸釋各自一途，將何以表光召之旨？將何以生十方大疑？將無枉辱彼佛遣命？何足以補遠來之情？偈雖廣攝，諸師意略，故知不可聊爾而釋。欲了此文，須曉大師用經文意。若釋餘文及下為他，則以生生居初用對四教，以隨生等義便故也。此中銷經釋無生義，是故具依經文次第。初列四句，次「案此」下略舉攝相。不生生者，自行因也，即初住位。不生不生，自行果也，位在妙覺。生不生者，即化他能。生生者，即化他所。若不爾者，何名為遍？故破遍門義同一部，一部秖是自他、因果、能所故也。

From "The Great Sūtra" onward, the meaning is explained using the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra*. The meaning of the unborn is scattered throughout the various teachings, but its terminology and details do not surpass the *Great Sūtra*. Therefore, the four phrases and six phrases are cited to explain the meaning of the unborn; they do not go beyond oneself and other, wisdom and eradication, the capable and the object, phenomena and principle, the conceivable and the inconceivable, all being unborn. This is precisely the cause and effect gloriously demonstrating what can reveal the meaning. All of this is in the nineteenth roll of the sūtra.

First, in explaining the four phrases, as for "The phrase 'hearing the unheard' has various meanings": The sūtra first lists the four phrases such as "hearing the unheard," next explains "hearing the unheard" and the rest using the four phrases such as "unborn birth," and further explains "unborn birth" and the rest using the four phrases such as "unreached reaching." Therefore it says that "hearing the unheard" and the others have various meanings. Now, speaking from the middle and also according with the unborn, "unborn birth" and the others are used to explain the meaning of the unborn.

However, because the ancients considered the four phrases of "hearing the unheard" and "unborn birth" to be at the beginning, and each subsequent phrase was merely a successive explanation, they mostly explained the four phrases of "hearing the unheard" and treated the remaining phrases merely by analogy. Some said: "Hearing the unheard" is approaching the real from the conventional; "hearing the unheard" is approaching the conventional from the real; "hearing the heard" is merely the conventional; "not hearing the unheard" is merely the real. Others also said: "Hearing the unheard" is giving rise to response from the real; "hearing the heard" is drawing the response back to the origin; "not hearing the unheard" is the dharmakāya remaining motionless; "hearing the heard" is the responsive traces never ending.

There were also many ancient explanations for "unborn birth" and so forth. Xinghuang resolved it using the Snow Mountain verse: "unborn birth" is "all conditioned things are impermanent"; "born non-birth" is "this is the dharma of arising and ceasing"; "born birth" is "arising and ceasing having ceased"; "unborn non-birth" is "quiescent extinction is bliss." He also resolved it using the verse that appears four times. Saying that it "appears four times" means that this verse appears in four places, which the ancients called the "four pillars of the Nirvāṇa," namely rolls nine, fifteen, twenty-five, and twenty-six: "unborn birth" is previously non-existent but now existent; "born non-birth" is previously existent but now non-existent; "born birth" is the existent phenomena of the three periods of time; "unborn non-birth" is having no such state. It is also said: matched against the four phrases such as "The Tathāgata realizes nirvāṇa." Zhang'an said: "Conforming to the passage below which states, 'By means of this matter, I then attained understanding of a single phrase or half a phrase, attained sight of the buddha-nature, and entered nirvāṇa,' one should know that these are all phrases of seeing the buddha-nature. 'Hearing the unheard' is the nature of the revealing cause; 'hearing the unheard' is the nature of the conditioning cause; 'not hearing the unheard' is the nature of the direct cause; 'hearing the heard' is the nature of the objective realm. Explaining 'unborn birth' and so forth by analogy to this should also be discernible." Although there were many ancient explanations, they did not accord with the intent of the sūtra. Relying on Zhang'an's interpretation provides another approach.

Zhang'an said: "It is not like this at all. Wisdom and eradication, cause and effect, are all unborn; but in order to resolve the sūtra, a different approach was taken. In that sūtra, when the Buddha wished to speak of this 'hearing the unheard' and so forth, he emitted light that illuminated the worlds of the ten directions. At that time, in the east there was the bodhisattva Vaiḍūryaprabha. When he first arrived, the entire great assembly saw blue where there was no blue, and saw white where there was no white, and so on. The bodhisattvas, seeing this light, all asked one another, 'What light is this?' and all remained silent without answering. Next they asked Mañjuśrī. Mañjuśrī answered, 'Light is wisdom; wisdom is eternal presence; and up to it being the Tathāgata, it being great compassion.' The Buddha said: 'Do not enter into the profound samādhi of the supreme truth now; you should explain it in terms of the conventional.' Mañjuśrī said: 'Going east from here past twenty Ganges sands, there is a world named Full Moon; there is a bodhisattva there named Vaiḍūryaprabha. Seeing the light there, he asked that buddha. That buddha answered, "Going west from here past twenty Ganges sands, there is a world named Sahā; the buddha is named Śākyamuni, and he is speaking of hearing the unheard and so forth for the bodhisattvas." That bodhisattva said to that buddha, "I wish to go there and listen to hearing the unheard and the rest." Departing from there to come here, he first manifested this sign.'"

If the various ancient explanations each followed their own path, how could they express the purpose of the light's summons? How could they produce great doubt in the ten directions? Would this not unjustly insult that buddha's dispatching command? How could it suffice to answer the feeling of coming from afar? Although the verse broadly subsumes [these meanings], the intentions of the various masters were abridged; hence we know that it must not be interpreted carelessly.

If one wishes to understand this text, one must comprehend the Great Master's intention in using the scriptural text. If explaining the rest of the text and below for the sake of others, "born birth" is placed at the beginning to correlate with the four teachings, because of the convenience of the meaning of according with birth and so forth. Here, in resolving the sūtra to explain the meaning of the unborn, it fully follows the sequence of the scriptural text. First it lists the four phrases; next, from "Examining this" onward, it briefly adduces the subsumed characteristics: "unborn birth" is the cause of one's own practice, namely the rank of the first abode; "unborn non-birth" is the fruit of one's own practice, the rank of wondrous awakening; "born non-birth" is the capacity to transform others; "born birth" is that which is transformed in others. If it were not so, how could it be called universal? Therefore, the meaning of the gate of universal refutation is identical to the entire work, for the entire work is simply self and other, cause and effect, and capacity and object.