止觀輔行傳弘決 3.63

3.63

Next, explaining "partial and perfect": this is compared with the previous two chapters to differentiate common and restricted [applications], and additionally illustrated with an analogy so that its meaning becomes self-evident. First, the text explains the terms. Regarding "common and distinct": if discussed in a common manner, calling the Hinayāna "partial" does not miss the principle; but the meaning of "partial" extends further and is not identical with Hinayāna, which is why this approach must be used to differentiate them. From "For example" onward is the analogy. In this land, the moon is considered half on the fifteenth day. Here, "half" is taken in two senses: first, following the Western [Indian calendar] where the dark and bright halves are each half; second, following the waxing and waning of the moon's form until it reaches half. The end of the month is hui; hui means dark. The beginning of the month is shuo; shuo means revived. Shuo is an analogy for the beginning of the gradual, namely the crescent bow [of Chang'e]. The fifteenth day is called wang, meaning that on the fifteenth day the sun and moon gaze at each other; that is the full moon, which serves as an analogy for the culmination of the gradual. Thus the Shuowen says: "The moon is also called Wangshu; when the moon is at wang it expands." Here, "half" refers to using the upper and lower halves in this land, which are called quarters (xian). The shape of the moon is like a bow with its string fully drawn. The first quarter is the eighth or ninth day of the month; the last quarter is the twenty-second or twenty-third. Due to the differences of large and small months that precede, the two quarters of the following month are lengthened or shortened. Here, the quarter is used solely as an analogy for the half and the Hinayāna because the time is strictly fixed. From the first of the month to the full moon, omitting only one day, all serve as analogies for the "partial," because the meaning of "partial" is broader. Therefore it says, "From the crescent bow up to the fourteenth night," because when the moon first appears it resembles the delicate eyebrow of Chang'e and also resembles a drawn bow. Thus the Shuowen says: "The moon is also called Heng'e, and also called Chang'e. At the beginning and end of the month it is constantly like an eyebrow." Therefore we know that the two meanings of partial and half are not equal. From "Hinayāna and half" onward is the application [of the analogy]. From "Therefore the Great Scripture" onward is the cited proof; being heterodox, they are likewise partial. One should know that before Kāśyapa heard the eternal abiding of the perfect character "I", all was designated as "partial." From "Solely by means of" onward is the conclusion, as in the text.