止觀輔行傳弘決 8.48

8.48

○次明魔境者，言「魔事」者，天魔正以順生死、貪五欲、退菩提、嫉眷屬為事。行者宿行魔業，今違宿因，宿事來遮，故云魔事。《大論》魔以破人善法為事，具如〈魔事品〉中說。初來意中，具破四悉。言「修四三昧」者，重牒前來通修陰入。從「惡將欲謝」去，牒前業境。前觀業境為不思議，事惡將謝、理善將生，魔恐出境作損壞事，是故須觀魔事境也。故有此境，次業境來。言「出境」者，破世界意。從「又當」去，恐生理善，破為人意。從「又慮其」去，破對治意。「得大神通」，止也。「得大智慧」觀，也。彼止觀或，必能壞我，是故我今應預破之。「遽」，及也。言「壞善根」者，夫魔唯忌菩提之善，不忌有漏。有漏同魔，故魔不忌。言「當界」者，近以欲天為界，遠以非想為界。若知眾生不出生死、不慕佛乘，魔於是人猶生親想。「戍」者，《爾雅》云「遏也。」守以止賊，故字從人執戈。故佛於魔，如怨賊也。「經云」去，《大品．魔事品》文。所言「罪」者，因魔有事，因事生罪，故名「魔罪」。又但順生死，皆名魔罪。《大品》云「教菩薩離六波羅蜜，皆名魔事。又有惡知識，亦名魔事。又魔罪者，菩薩摩訶薩不語眾生作是言：魔作佛菩薩像僧像來，教言：用是六波羅蜜為？或云：汝無真菩提，非不退行，亦不得菩提。或云：空中無一切法，用是菩提為？或云：空中亦無三乘，用是菩提為？不名菩薩，皆名魔事魔罪故也。」《大論》八十云「有微細魔事者，未得跋致誑言已得。」準今文中即是魔羅能作如上等事，故須略知如是等事。若不為他善分別者，名惡知識，皆名魔罪。「若達」下，略示觀境破惡之相。惡若已破，懷抱憺然。「知魔界如」下，即第一義意。魔佛理一，故名為如。《首楞嚴》云「說此經時，佛記眾中二百魔女，已曾五百佛所深種善根，過七百阿僧祇劫，當得作佛同號淨王。魔聞諸女得記作佛，來白佛言：『我今於自眷屬不得自在。』是時天女示怯弱相而宣妙理，便語魔言：『汝莫愁惱，我等今者不出汝界。所以者何？魔界如、佛界如，不二不異。我等不離如是魔界，魔界即佛界故。魔界無有定法可示，佛界亦無定法可示。一切諸法皆無定性，無定性故無有眷屬及非眷屬。』」

Next, explaining the demonic realm: regarding "demonic affairs," the heavenly demons precisely take following birth-and-death, greed for the five desires, regressing from bodhi, and being jealous of [the loss of] their retinue as their affairs. The practitioner formerly practiced demonic karma, and now running counter to those past causes, past affairs come to obstruct him; hence they are called "demonic affairs." In the Dazhidulun, demons take destroying people's wholesome dharmas as their affair, as fully explained in the "Chapter on Demonic Affairs." In the initial explanation of the motivation for its arising, it fully refutes the four siddhāntas. Regarding "practicing the four samādhis," this reiterates the general cultivation of the aggregates and sense bases mentioned previously. From "evil being about to perish" onwards, it reiterates the preceding karmic realm. Previously, contemplating the karmic realm was considered inconceivable; phenomenal evil being about to perish and principle good being about to arise, the demon fears [the practitioner] will transcend the realm and performs acts of destruction. For this reason, one must contemplate the realm of demonic affairs. Thus this realm arises following the karmic realm. Regarding "transcending the realm," this refutes the worldly siddhānta. From "further, should…" onwards, fearing the arising of principle good, this refutes the individual siddhānta. From "further, anxious that…" onwards, it refutes the therapeutic siddhānta. "Attaining great spiritual penetrations" is calming. "Attaining great wisdom" is contemplation. Those attainments of calming and contemplation would certainly be able to destroy me; therefore, I should now forestall and break them. "Suddenly" (ju) means reaching. Regarding "destroying wholesome roots": demons only begrudge the wholesome roots of bodhi, not the defiled. The defiled is identical with the demonic, so the demon does not begrudge it. Regarding "one's own realm": proximately, it takes the desire heavens as its boundary; distantly, it takes Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception as its boundary. If the demon knows that sentient beings do not transcend birth-and-death and do not yearn for the Buddha vehicle, he still conceives thoughts of kinship toward such people. "Guarding" (shu): the Erya says, "It means to thwart." It means guarding to stop thieves; hence the character is composed of a man holding a lance. Thus to the demon, the Buddha is like an inimical thief. From "the sutra says" onwards, it is a passage from the "Chapter on Demonic Affairs" in the Dapin. What is called "sin": because of the demon there are affairs, and because of the affairs sins arise; hence they are called "demonic sins." Moreover, simply following birth-and-death is called a demonic sin. The Dapin says: "Teaching a bodhisattva to abandon the six pāramitās is in all cases called a demonic affair. Furthermore, having an evil spiritual friend is also called a demonic affair. Again, as for demonic sins, a bodhisattva mahāsattva does not tell sentient beings, speaking thus: 'The demon comes transformed as the likeness of a Buddha, bodhisattva, or the Saṅgha, and teaches, saying: "What use are these six pāramitās?" Or saying: "You have no true bodhi, nor non-regressing practice, and you will not attain bodhi either." Or saying: "Within emptiness there are no dharmas whatsoever; what use is this bodhi?" Or saying: "Within emptiness there are also no three vehicles; what use is this bodhi?"' One who does not call these bodhisattvas [is deceived], because these are all called demonic affairs and demonic sins." Fascicle 80 of the Dazhidulun says: "As for subtle demonic affairs: not yet having attained the stage of non-retrogression (bocci), one falsely claims to have already attained it." According to the present text, Māra is able to perform such affairs as above; therefore, one must briefly understand such affairs. If one does not distinguish them well for others, one is called an evil spiritual friend, and all these are called demonic sins. From "if one realizes" onwards, it briefly demonstrates the characteristics of contemplating the realm to break evil. If evil is already broken, one's inner disposition becomes calm and clear. From "knowing the demonic realm to be thus" onwards, this is the meaning of the ultimate truth. The principle of demon and Buddha is one; hence it is called "thus" (tathatā). The Śūraṅgamasūtra says: "When this sutra was spoken, the Buddha prophesied that two hundred demon maidens in the assembly, who had already planted deep wholesome roots under five hundred Buddhas, after passing seven hundred asaṃkhyeya kalpas, would all attain buddhahood with the same title of King of Purity. The demon, hearing that these maidens had received prophecies of attaining buddhahood, came and addressed the Buddha, saying: 'Now I no longer have mastery over my own retinue.' At that time the devīs, showing an appearance of timid weakness, proclaimed the wondrous principle, saying directly to the demon: 'Do not grieve or be troubled; we at present have not transcended your realm. Why is this? The thusness of the demonic realm and the thusness of the Buddha realm are not two and not different. We do not depart from such a demonic realm, for the demonic realm is precisely the Buddha realm. The demonic realm has no determinate dharma that can be pointed to, and the Buddha realm likewise has no determinate dharma that can be pointed to. All dharmas lack any determinate nature; because they lack determinate nature, there is neither retinue nor non-retinue.'"