止觀輔行傳弘決 4.13

4.13

Fourth, under explaining purification through repentance, first a question is raised: Having transgressed against [both] phenomenal [precepts] and the principle, how is the method of repentance [conducted]? From "If one transgresses" downward is the answer. First it answers regarding repentance of light [faults]. From the second category (saṃghāvaśeṣa) downward, the Vinaya texts all contain methods of repentance; only when repentance succeeds and precepts are purified do calming and contemplation become clear. How could light precepts still [require reliance on] principle? From "If one commits a grave sin among phenomenal [precepts]" onward, it means that craving has culminated in committing a grave offense; not only can altering contemplation extinguish deep offenses, but one must also rely on samādhi, entrusting oneself to phenomena while adhering to principle and observing signs to counteract [the sin], before one can become pure. From here downward the text explains the ten mental states of following the flow [of saṃsāra] and the ten of reversing it; these are precisely the methods of repentance, hence it says "further explaining." From "Next, contemplation of principle" onward, it explains [repentance] due to deviated views and understanding. When it has not reached body or speech and one has not committed light or grave sins, there is also no need to employ the four types of samādhi; one merely alters the contemplation to make it correct, and the mind of [false] views perishes of itself. Because the deviation has not manifested outwardly to other people, one simply bows one's head and reproaches oneself. Regarding "If the view is grave, one returns to the contemplating mind to practice repentance": since it says one has committed a grave [fault], it is not solely the contemplating mind. Speaking of the contemplating mind, when practicing phenomenal repentance one must rely on the contemplating mind; without the contemplating mind, grave sins are not extinguished. Because contemplation is primary, it says "in the contemplating mind." When citing the wondrously supreme samādhi from the Contemplation of Samantabhadra, one must practice phenomena and principle together before the previous matter can be accomplished. Regarding "The Vaipulya says," etc.: if one violates the three refuges and takes refuge in evil teachers, evil teachings, and evil assemblies, or breaks the grave precepts among the five precepts up to the two hundred and fifty precepts, one becomes a dead person in the Buddha-Dharma. Because one's precepts are restored through repentance, it says "born anew." Nanshan (Daoxuan) also established a method of repentance based on non-arising, listing three kinds in total: First, all phenomena are empty in nature and without self; illuminating the mind with this principle is called the Hinayana. Second, the fundamental marks of all phenomena are empty, being only deluded views of sentiment; applying this principle in illumination belongs to the lesser bodhisattva. Third, the external dusts of all phenomena are originally unreal; this principle is profound and wondrous, known only through mental conditioning, and is the realized practice of the great bodhisattva and the fruit of buddhahood. Although this text of Nanshan has its basis, yet the first is determined to belong to the Hinayana, and the Hinayana does not even have the principle of repenting grave sins, let alone that this stage is already separated from the initial mind. The second and third, moreover, belong to bodhisattvas and to the fruit of buddhahood; if ordinary beings wish to rely on them, they will have nowhere to set their minds. What is established now directly addresses ordinary, lowly [beings]; those who wish to use the Mahayana to repent grave sins should rely on the Vaipulya, the Contemplation of Samantabhadra, and the like. Therefore, the stages determined by Nanshan are too high, and the initial mind has no share in them. Since high stages are free from sin, why need they be listed? From "If a person" downward, explaining the distant and recent [sins] does not go beyond past and present. If one activates the ten mental states to penetrate beginningless ignorance and inverted views, what sin will not be dissolved? Moreover, there are foolish people in the world who claim that the mind is non-arising and all phenomena are also non-existent, and so proceed to commit new sins. One who commits sins inevitably relies on the three poisons; a person truly [dwelling in] non-arising does not even create merit, so how much less sin? For sin and merit alike accord with saṃsāra. Regarding "repentance" (kṣamā-apology): as stated in the seventeenth fascicle of the Great Sūtra: "Jīvaka said to King Ajātaśatru: 'Cultivating a single wholesome mind can destroy a million kinds of evil, just as a small piece of vajra can shatter Mount Sumeru, as a small fire can burn everything, and as a small drop of poison can harm sentient beings. A small wholesome [deed] is likewise: it can destroy great evil.'" Although called a small wholesome deed, it is in truth great. For this reason, one should repent; repentance is merely the wholesome deeds of the three karmas. In this text twenty [mental states] are established, divided into three pairs of meanings, with proximate and distant intents. As for the three pairs: first, reversing and following; second, craving and views; third, phenomena and principle. Reversing and following are the functions; craving and views are the causes of transgression; phenomena and principle are what is revealed. As for the proximate and distant: the proximate lies in restoring purity; the distant aims at the correct practice. Therein, it first lists the ten mental states that follow the flow, going from subtle to coarse. At first, it stems from a single thought of beginningless ignorance, culminating in the completion of an icchantika sin. Next, the ten mental states that reverse the flow proceed from coarse to subtle; therefore, one first overturns and destroys the icchantika sin, until one finally arrives at the empty nature of ignorance. In the previous [section on] following the flow, views and craving alike go from subtle to coarse, according with saṃsāra; hence, following the flow is established under a single category, and only when arriving at reversing the flow are craving and views separated. In the initial [explanation of] following the flow, "stubborn and rebellious" and the like describe the appearance of being shameless and uncompliant. Next, from "This is called" downward, it summarizes and clarifies the reason for what follows. Next, under reversing the flow there are two: first, craving; next, views. In the first, on craving, in the initial [topic of] correct faith in cause and effect, chan means to manifest. "Alas, having no hook": this is an exclamation of astonishment and shock. Knowing that in past lives I was a shameless person, I now reproach myself that in the past I lacked the hook of faith, causing me to commit grave sins, just as a mad elephant without a hook cannot be controlled. Now, using the hook of shame and conscience, I hook the elephant of the shameless mind. Therefore, the Great Sūtra states that there are two pure dharmas that can save sentient beings: first, shame (hrī); second, conscience (apatrāpya). Shame means that one does not commit sins oneself; conscience means revealing them to others. Furthermore, shame means being internally ashamed; conscience means not causing others to do [evil]. Shame before humans, conscience before gods, and so forth—the various explanations differ. If one lacks shame and conscience, one is called a beast. "A thousand years" is a conventional expression; once human embodiment is lost, it cannot be regained for ten thousand kalpas. Mianmiao means a distant appearance. For the long road of the three realms, one should take the myriad practices as provisions; for the vast ocean of saṃsāra, one should take wisdom as a raft. Therefore, one should fear impermanence, prepare provisions in advance, and construct the raft in advance. Once one closes one's eyes [in death], upon whom can one rely? Hence it says "Where can one entrust oneself?" That this law of impermanence is abandoned by the worthy and the noble is because it is not something to rely on: there is no mother to rely on, no father to lean on. That it cannot nurture the supramundane wholesome body is called "having no reliance." "As the years gradually pass," etc., takes the passing of years as a starting point. Regarding the "wind-knives": when human life is about to end, it must be dismantled by the dispersing winds of karma, just as dismantling bellows causes the breath-wind not to continue, as dismantling a drainage ditch causes the blood vessels not to flow, as dismantling a mechanism causes sinews and joints not to respond, as extinguishing a torch causes the warm energy to vanish completely, and as breaking an unfired earthen vessel causes bone and flesh to separate. When the four great elements have separated, one must suffer disaster; how can one fold one's hands and not cultivate the root of wholesomeness? Regarding "like a jackal": the thirteenth fascicle of the Dazhidulun says: "For example, a jackal dwelling among the trees of a forest depends on lions, tigers, leopards, and the like, seeking their leftover meat to sustain its life. In an interval of hunger, at midnight it climbed over a city wall and went deep into a human house; failing to find meat, it ran to hide and rested, unknowingly sleeping until night ended, terrified and without a plan. Just as it wished to rise and leave, it feared it could not escape; staying, it feared the pain of death, so it feigned death on the ground. People came and saw it; one person said: 'I need the jackal's ears,' and immediately cut them off. The jackal thought to itself: 'Though cutting my ears is painful, as long as my body remains [I am fine].' Next, a person came and said: 'I need its tail.' It again thought: 'Cutting the tail is a small matter.' Next, a person came and said: 'I need the jackal's teeth.' The jackal thought to itself: 'Those who take parts are becoming more numerous; if someone takes my head, there will be no way to live.' It immediately sprang up from the ground, exerting all its courage and strength, and traversing the hazards, went straight ahead to save itself. The practitioner's mind seeking liberation from suffering and difficulty is also like this: not cultivating while alive is like losing the ears; not cultivating in old age is like losing the tail; not cultivating in sickness is like losing the teeth; how could one wait until death, which is like losing the head? If in old age and sickness one still relaxes oneself, when can there be an appointed time [for recovery]? The matter of death is not far off; one should know there is no hope [if one delays]." Regarding "Like King Aśoka," etc.: the twentieth fascicle of the Dazhidulun says: "In King Aśoka's palace sixty thousand arhats were constantly provided for. King Aśoka's brother [called] Aśoka (Vītāśoka), whenever he saw the saṃgha receiving the king's offerings, would say: 'How can they constantly receive offerings?' The king said: 'Though they receive them, they constantly contemplate impermanence; what leisure do they have for greed and defilement?' The brother continually disbelieved. Wishing to tame him, the king secretly sent someone to instruct him to usurp the throne. The king then watched for the opportunity, captured him, and asked: 'Can there be two rulers in a state?' He was about to execute him, but temporarily allowed him to be the ruler of Jambudvīpa for seven days, after which he would be killed; within those seven days he could indulge in the five desires as he wished. When one day had passed, he ordered a caṇḍāla to ring a bell and announce: 'One day has passed; six days remain, and you will die.' When the seven days were completed in this way, he rang the bell and said: 'Seven days have passed; today you will die.' The king then asked him: 'Did the ruler of Jambudvīpa enjoy pleasures to his heart's content?' He answered: 'I saw nothing, heard nothing, and perceived nothing. Why? Every day the caṇḍāla rang the bell and proclaimed in a loud voice: "Among the seven days, such-and-such number of days have passed, and such-and-such remain until you die." Hearing this sound, although I was the ruler of Jambudvīpa and obtained the wondrous five desires, because of my deep grief I neither heard nor saw them. Therefore one should know that where grief is profound, the power of pleasure is weak; if a person's entire body enjoys pleasure but one spot is pierced by a needle, all pleasures cease and he feels only the piercing pain.' The king said: 'Bhikṣus are also like this: they only contemplate impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self; what leisure do they have to crave and grasp, or think about receiving offerings?'" Regarding "overturning the mind that does not fear the evil paths": contemplating those evil paths is like hearing the sound of the bell, knowing that one's head will soon be cut off. The Dharmapada Sūtra says: "Formerly, the heavenly lord Śakra, knowing that his life was ending and he would be reborn among donkeys, was endlessly sorrowful and said: 'The only one who can rescue [beings from] suffering and distress is the Buddha, the World-Honoured One.' He went to the Buddha's place, prostrated with his head to the ground, and took refuge in the Buddha. Before he arose, his life ended and he entered the womb of a donkey. The donkey broke its halter and shattered the unfired pottery of a potter; the potter struck it, thereby injuring the fetus, and [Śakra] returned to the body of the heavenly lord. The Buddha said: 'Taking refuge in the Three Jewels at the brink of death, your retributive penalty has ended.' Hearing this, the heavenly lord attained the first fruit (stream-entry)." Thus, taking refuge even briefly can overturn the mind [that does not fear] the evil paths. Regarding "revealing [transgressions]": the seventeenth fascicle of the Great Sūtra says: "The wise are of two kinds: first, those whose nature is not to do evil; second, those who reveal it to others. The foolish are also of two kinds: first, those who commit sins; second, those who conceal them." A blemish on the exterior of jade is called xia; an internal flaw of jade is called ci; hence they serve as metaphors for hidden and apparent faults. If one conceals blemishes and flaws, it is called shamelessness. Regarding "thieves, poison, and noxious weeds," etc.: if one reveals [transgressions], it is like inspecting for thieves so they cannot reside in secret; it is like cutting down a poisonous tree, for if left it fosters evil; it is like uprooting noxious weeds, for if left they spread profusely. Regarding "the roots being exposed," etc.: sins are concealed by the mind; if one overturns the previous concealing mind, it is like felling a tree and exposing its roots, or drying up a stream and reaching its source, whereupon the branches wither and the stream dries up. If one conceals, etc.: sin is an evil cause; if concealed, it is not extinguished. Because a person conceals sin, he becomes an ignoble person. Liang means wholesome. Regarding "Kāśyapa," etc.: the Buddha adapts to capacities, the essential point being the extinction of sin; whether private or in a gathering, there is no fixed rule. The seventeenth fascicle of the Great Sūtra says: "One who conceals has outflows; one who does not conceal is called free of outflows. If one commits a sin and does not conceal it, the sin becomes slight and thin." Regarding "The other methods of practice," etc.: aside from the Vaipulya and dhūta [practices], other sūtras such as the Pratyutpanna, the Divination Sūtra, the Golden Light, and so forth, as well as the saṃgha's regular rituals for the six periods of the day, do not speak of [confessing] to others; these belong to that category. Regarding "like an abscess hidden in the secret parts," etc.: committing a sin without revealing it is like an abscess hidden in the secret parts; if it comes to retribution, one dies. Regarding "If one is resolutely determined," etc.: after a single repentance, giving rise to the thought of resolute determination and attaining the place of sinlessness is called fruit (resolve). Guo means daring. Therefore one must sever and fix it, not allowing it to continue. Regarding "like committing an offense for the first time," etc.: yuan means pardoning. Having already received pardon the first time, committing it again is hard to tolerate. Thus we know that repeated offenses are difficult to extinguish; therefore, one must sever the continuous mind. Hence it uses vomiting as a metaphor: committing [an offense] again after repentance is just like eating vomit again. As the treatise says: "Having already abandoned the pleasures of the five desires, one casts them aside without looking back. How could one wish to obtain them again, like a fool who delights in eating vomit?" Regarding "arousing the aspiration for awakening (bodhicitta)": if one merely extinguishes sin, why must one arouse the aspiration? As in the Hinayana, where repentance is done either before the saṃgha or individually, this overturns [sin, yet] the object of beginningless sins is not all-pervasive. Such things as extinguishing sins according to the provisional texts of the lesser teaching are all due to not having aroused the aspiration for awakening. Furthermore, Hinayana repentance is merely called clearing charges, not acting for the protection of others; hence it lacks the principle of compensation. To overturn these, one arouses the aspiration for awakening; the rest is as explained in the text. Regarding "cultivating merit to compensate for faults": beginningless creation of sin must pervade the three karmas; because it pervades, it continues; because it continues, it becomes heavier. Therefore, now one cultivates merit to compensate for past faults. One must activate all three karmas together, mind-moment after mind-moment in succession, exerting oneself without rest. Regarding "without moving," etc.: past sins are as deep and wide as the sea, and activating the three karmas together is like a mountain; without moving the mountain of the three karmas, how could one fill the sea of the three faults? Regarding "The Śrīmālā says," etc.: causing the present Dharma not to perish is called protecting the true Dharma; gathering Dharma-medicines without satiety is called upholding the true Dharma. Regarding "associating closely with evil friends," etc.: it is because bad spiritual companions can ruin one's wholesome roots of bodhi. The twentieth fascicle of the Great Sūtra says: "Like mad elephants and the like, they can only ruin the impure, foul body. Bad spiritual companions can ruin the pure body, the physical body, and the Dharma body, reaching the three destinies or not reaching the three destinies. Bodily enemies and Dharma enemies are also like this." Regarding "mindfulness of unhindered compassion," etc.: compassion can accord with beings and serve as my good friend, overturning that past close association with evil persons. Wisdom can destroy the heterodox and guide my delusion and deviation, overturning past belief in the words of evil friends. Regarding "fully understanding greed, hatred, and delusion up to seeking the self without finding it": formerly, from non-abiding one gave rise to the view of self and up to greed and hatred; now one traces greed and hatred back to the place of non-abiding. Once the root is destroyed, the branches fall of themselves. What is calculated here is not an ātman, but merely the beginningless false calculation of provisional names. Regarding the "gate of quiescence": due to contemplating the mind, it leads through to quiescence; therefore the various minds are gates of quiescence. The sūtra also says: "Because it reveals quiescence." Since through the various minds one can see quiescence, it is like seeing the destination through a pointing finger. Thus the first fascicle of the Baoqie jing says: "Mañjuśrī was in the eastern country of Alaṅkāra; the Buddha was named Prabhāsa, currently preaching the Dharma. There was a great śrāvaka named Jñānapradīpa who, upon being questioned by Mañjuśrī, remained silent and did not answer. That Buddha said to Mañjuśrī: 'You may preach the Dharma gate to enable all sentient beings to attain the unsurpassed path.' Mañjuśrī answered: 'All phenomena are gates of quiescence, because they reveal quiescence.' At that time a bodhisattva named Dharmavīrya asked Mañjuśrī: 'Are what the Tathāgata spoke of, as well as greed, hatred, and delusion, gates of quiescence, because they reveal quiescence?' Mañjuśrī asked: 'From where do the three poisons arise?' He replied: 'They arise from false thoughts. False thoughts abide in inversion; inversion abides in "mine"; "mine" abides in the view of individuality; the view of individuality abides in the view of self; the view of self has nowhere to abide (each phrase is a question and answer, fully like the first phrase). Such a view of self cannot be found though sought in the ten directions.' 'For this reason, I say that all phenomena are gates of quiescence.'" Here, the text entirely uses the meaning of that sūtra, only abbreviated in wording; comparing them makes this visible. Regarding "The Nirvāṇa says: 'If one says,'" etc.: the Great Sūtra states that four dharmas are the causes of nirvāṇa: first, drawing close to good friends; second, hearing the true Dharma; third, reflecting on its meaning; fourth, practicing in accordance with the teaching. If one says that diligent cultivation of ascetic practices is the proximate cause and condition of great nirvāṇa, there is no such possibility.