止觀輔行傳弘決 4.19

4.19

Next, regarding food, there are also three [levels]; this is also explained in comparison to clothing. Dhūta is translated here as "shaking off"; these twelve practices are all for the purpose of shaking off the twelve faults. The present text mentions both pronunciations. As for the sound of grazing, it means that beyond three leagues, the sounds of children herding livestock are not heard, making the dwelling place suitable for cultivating dhyāna-contemplation. There are people in the world who misapply this phrase, [saying that] one casts a wooden peg far away so that the sound of its fall is not heard, and upon retrieving it, casts it again, up to three times each night, which they call dhūta cutting off the sound of casting wood. For instance, Dhyāna Master Ren of Yanguan composed a Dhūta Sūtra which says: "'Dhu' refers to the leader of defilements, and 'ta' refers to washing away defilements." Although this is erroneous speech, it is still better than casting wood. Examples like these are particularly numerous south of the Yangzi. "Piṇḍapāta" is translated here as begging for food. It fully incorporates the five methods of eating in the dhūtas: always begging for food, eating at a single sitting, eating a regulated amount, not drinking gruel after midday, and begging sequentially. Here, one of the five is cited for the moment; thus it says "begging for food." That the seven Buddhas and the Vaipulya [sūtras] all speak of begging for food is as explained earlier under the four samādhis. Those living in an araṇya must beg for food. Clearing land and plowing, pounding grain with pestle and mortar, failing to refrain from damaging seeds, storing and leaving leftover cooked food overnight, and keeping the eight impure things involve the four wrong livelihoods, defiling donors; this is not the practice of an araṇya. In recent times, arrangements have departed even further from the sage's words, with men and women coming and going, additionally incurring ridicule and disgrace. If one relies on the Buddha's teaching, the benefits are not light. Thus the Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā states: "Begging for food has ten benefits: first, one sustains one's life by oneself, being self-reliant and not dependent on others; second, one causes those who give alms to abide in the Three Jewels, and only then eats; third, one constantly gives rise to compassion; fourth, one complies with the Buddha's teaching; fifth, one is easily satisfied and easily sustained; sixth, one destroys the dharma of arrogance; seventh, there are the roots of good of the invisible crown; eighth, seeing me beg for food, others will emulate me; ninth, one avoids affairs with men, women, elders, and youths; tenth, begging sequentially gives rise to an equanimous mind." For example, the Śākyan sons were originally kings; residing in the Nyagrodha grove, about half a yojana away from Śrāvastī, they entered the city to beg for food, but begging for food was burdensome and disruptive. Down to those of dull capacity, who are permitted to receive meals delivered by donors, one therefore knows that the dwelling place should not be too far away. The Avadāna Sūtra states: "Formerly, fifty leagues from the city of Vārāṇasī, there was a mountain where five monks dwelt. At dawn they entered the city to beg for food, and returned to the mountain after midday, arriving only at nightfall, so utterly exhausted that they were incapable of settling into dhyāna. It went on like this for years, toiling with nothing gained. The Buddha transformed himself into a practitioner of the way, went to their place, and consoled them. They answered: 'The body of the four great elements is far from the city on the road; what joy is there? We merely hold our mindfulness to end our lives.' The transformed śramaṇa said: 'For the way, morality is the root, and gathering the mind is the practice. One disdains the body and values the way, casting away and abandoning life and limb. Food is used to sustain the form, guarding the thought in correct absorption; internally one trains in calming and contemplation, extinguishing mental activity to attain the way. If one pampers the body and indulges the passions, how can one escape suffering? I pray that you practitioners of the way will not beg for food tomorrow; I shall provide one day's provisions.' The next day the Buddha delivered food; after the five men had eaten, they all attained arhatship." Therefore, the dwelling place is also a condition for the way and should not be too far away. Food being a condition for the way refers to this. Thus one knows that the Tathāgata not only receives offerings, but also provides them. As for "external protectors delivering alms," even the pure food in the sangha is for those of dull capacity; how could one sit comfortably in one's room, privately preparing special delicacies, or pretend to be sick when not sick to demand dedicated service from the assembly, claiming virtue without having virtue and troubling the donors? Although it is said that deliveries are permitted, when receiving them one must contemplate oneself. If the three grades do not gather it, by what means can the way be attained? Contemplating the practice of food also accords with the three grades. Material food nurtures the physical body and supports the retributive life; food of principle supports the dharma-body and nurtures the wisdom-life. Therefore, equanimous great wisdom and the empty-space dharma-body are established relying upon this. Clothing is also like this. First, regarding the highest grade, the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra cited is also the passage in that sūtra that reproves the three cultivations. "The Tathāgata's joy in the Dharma," etc., distinguishes it from the seven expedient means and so forth. "This..." onward explains the food of the Tathāgata. The intention of citing the Vimalakīrti is that giving rise to contemplation regarding food can make the food all-pervading. That text precisely takes food to be the dharma-dhātu, reproving material food. Therefore, Mount Nanyue states in his Accordance with One's Own Will: "Regarding any food obtained, one should say: 'The color, fragrance, and flavor of this food are offered above to the Buddhas of the ten directions, presented in the middle to the worthies and sages, and bestowed below upon the six destinies, given equally without distinction, so that all are satiated in accordance with their receptivity. May all donors attain immeasurable pāramitās.'" It also says: "Contemplate the color and fragrance of the food as a sandalwood breeze, universally perfuming the worlds of the ten directions at once. Worthies and ordinary beings, according to their receptivity, each obtain the supreme flavor. When the six destinies smell the fragrance, they arouse the aspiration for awakening." Regarding food, one can give rise to the six pāramitās and the three practices. In the Vimalakīrti Commentary, it is like smoldering medicinal herbs: the medicine follows the momentum of the fire and enters the person's body, and only when the affliction is eliminated does recovery come. The bodhisattva's contemplation of food is also like this: when bestowing food, food is the dharma-dhātu and is endowed with all phenomena. For all who receive it, the Dharma enters along with the food, bringing hidden benefit; whether near or far, it ultimately shatters ignorance. Imagining it as the sandalwood breeze is also like this. Next, according to the meaning of the dhūtas, the sequential contemplation is established. As for the "subordinate forest of the lower grade," Question: It should be called perfect and sudden; why use "subordinate forest"? Answer: This, together with what precedes, constitutes a single dharma.