止觀輔行傳弘決 5.43.3

5.43.3

"The Sāgara nāga" is a phrase from the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. The Dīrgha Āgama also says, "The nāga king Anavatapta, in body and mind, pours down rain filling Jambudvīpa." What the present text calls "pouring down rain in the four quarters" is this. As for "seven days": when the nāga king Manasvin wishes to send down rain, he first spreads clouds for seven days so that all sentient beings may complete their various tasks; then he gradually sends down gentle rain, lest he damage things. "Humans are also like this" below matches the analogy, but it does not match the seven days and the four directions; it only matches the general idea of pouring rain. Matching rivers and ponds, and adding the trees of the aids to awakening, does not entirely come from the authentic sūtras; expansion and contraction accord with the occasion. First, it inversely matches wholesome roots not being born. "If one is able..." below directly matches the arising of wholesome roots. It may be explained by pairing it with the three contemplations and the four teachings. To manifest the dhyānas like rain: if dhyāna-concentration manifests, immeasurable wholesome dharmas and all dharma-gates all manifest on the basis of dhyāna. "Heat, summit," and so forth belong to the Tripiṭaka [teaching]. "Eye, cognition," and so forth are stages within the path of seeing: patience regarding the dharma of suffering is the "eye"; cognition of the dharma of suffering is "cognition"; subsequent patience regarding suffering is "clarity"; subsequent cognition of suffering is "awakening." "Conformant patience" and so forth are the various wholesome roots within the shared teaching: the outer ordinary being is faith, and the inner ordinary being is conformity; the rest of the text is abbreviated. "Quiescent cessation and non-arising" are the wholesome roots within the distinctive and perfect [teachings]. All of these arise on the basis of dhyāna-stillness, which constitutes the meaning of generating the wholesome. "Conditions and parables" and so forth refers to various causes and conditions and various parables. "Causes and conditions" simply means broadly citing past and present to jointly establish this principle; it is the same below. The "drunken elephant" is as explained at the beginning of the fascicle. The "pierced camel" comes from Dazhidulun, fascicle thirty-three, and is also cited in fascicle seven, also having the sense of being without a hook. "Five obstructions" and so forth: the sūtras and treatises are largely the same. The Tattvasiddhi-śāstra says: "Just as the sun and moon in the sky are inherently bright and pure by nature, yet due to the five obstructions—smoke, clouds, dust, mist, and so forth—they do not appear." "And so forth" includes the hand of an asura. The Erya says: "Overcast with wind is called yi (obstruction); yi means obstructing light." Here, it broadly takes the five as all being capable of obstructing, collectively calling them "obstructions." Furthermore, when the wind stirs and dust rises, it is called ai (dust); when smoke, clouds, and mist arise, it is called ai (haze), ai meaning being veiled by clouds and the like. "Luminous spirit" is a name for the sun, meaning that the sun is veiled. Alternatively, "luminous" can refer to the seven luminaries. The Qiyao tu (Chart of the Seven Luminaries) says: "The sun, moon, and five planets are called the seven luminaries. The sun is the essence of yang; the moon is the essence of yin. The five planets are Jupiter in the east, Mars in the south, Venus in the west, Mercury in the north, and Saturn in the center." As for what is called "spirit": the Da Dai Liji says, "The refined qi of yang is called shen; the refined qi of yin is called ling." The Erya says: "The spirits of the eight directions are the eight spirits (ling), because the five obstructions obstruct the eight directions." Therefore, whenever secular texts explain gods and spirits, transformations, the subtle, and the nature of the Dao, they do not go beyond yin and yang, because that teaching does not yet know the supramundane path. Moreover, the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra uses the analogy of the sun and moon being prevented from being seen by sentient beings due to the causes and conditions of smoke, clouds, dust, mist, and the hand of an asura. Since one is obstructed by the cataracts of defilement, an antidote is required. Regarding "the eyelashes are close, the sky is distant," and so forth: "xiao" (sky) refers to the reddish vapor close to heaven. When clouds catch the sunlight, although the red color is visible, the clouds lack real substance yet can be seen. The Madhyamaka-śāstra and the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra are largely the same with minor differences. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, fascicle twenty-six, says: "That which cannot be seen due to conditions is like a bird's tracks in the sky. That which cannot be seen because it is too close is like eyelashes. That which cannot be seen because it is destroyed is like damaged sense-faculties. That which cannot be seen because it is disordered is like being unfocused. That which cannot be seen because it is minute is like fine dust. That which cannot be seen because it is obstructed is like the moon behind clouds. That which cannot be seen because of multiplicity is like hemp among rice. That which cannot be seen because of resemblance is like beans among beans." The Madhyamaka-śāstra adds "that which cannot be seen because it is distant is like the sky," and lacks "damaged sense-faculties." The intention of the present text is that because of defilements, [the truth] cannot be seen: that which cannot be seen because it is distant is like not seeing the middle; that which cannot be seen because it is close is like not seeing the conventional. From "a distracted mind comes to... all cannot be seen," it adduces those various evils to illuminate this cultivation of concentration as that which remedies them; therefore, cataracts, dust, and so forth are all what is refuted. "A lamp in a sealed room" excludes external wind and destroys internal darkness. Regarding "the golden probe" and so forth: the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, fascicle eight, "Chapter on the Tathāgata-Nature," states: "Kāśyapa asked the Buddha: 'Why is the Buddha-nature difficult to see and difficult to enter?' The Buddha said: 'Like a hundred blind persons who visit a good physician to treat their eyes. The good physician then lances the cataracts of their eyes with a golden probe. Showing one finger, he asks, "Do you see?" They answer, "I do not see." Again showing two fingers and three fingers, he asks, "Do you see?" They answer, "I see a little."' Matching the analogy, it says: 'Although immeasurable bodhisattvas fully practice the six pāramitās, up to the ten abodes they are still unable to see.'" Once the Tathāgata explained it, they then saw a little. This refers to the ten abodes of the distinctive teaching, hence it says "not yet seen." The commentary cites other interpretations: one says that the three fingers symbolize the three vehicles; the second says they symbolize the three wisdoms; the third says they symbolize the three teachings—first, the initial teaching of the Hinayāna is symbolized by one; from the Prajñā to the Lotus is one; and the Nirvāṇa is one; the fourth says that faith, conformity, and non-arising are the three. Zhang'an says: "Since it symbolizes faith in the Buddha, there should be no other interpretation." That is, he takes the three truths as the three fingers: the first finger is like the contemplation of emptiness, hence it says "not seen"; the three fingers are like the ten abodes, hence it says "sees a little"—namely, the ten abodes of the perfect [teaching]. The golden probe is like the teaching. Therefore, the lower text says: "Bodhisattvas of such a stage as the ten grounds are still not completely clear." Here, from the perspective of lancing cataracts and removing delusion, it is called an antidote. Regarding "if the mind..." and so forth: the worldly is the dharma of arising and ceasing, and the supramundane is the dharma of non-arising and non-ceasing; because concentration is able to understand [them], it is stated thus. Alternatively, the worldly arising and ceasing is the conventional within the realms, and the supramundane non-arising and non-ceasing is the ultimate beyond the realms; within the realms the ultimate is omitted, and beyond the realms the conventional is omitted; the ultimate and conventional within and beyond [the realms] are precisely the three truths. The three truths are the principle, and principle is precisely the import of the ultimate truth. Even when the Tathāgata attained awakening—which is the import of the ultimate truth—he still delighted in concentration. Entering concentration is again the ultimate truth; how much more so for ordinary beings! Ordinary beings in principle ought to cultivate the ultimate truth, because the Buddha demonstrated it for ordinary beings. Therefore, in the various sūtras, there are many passages explaining that the Buddha enters concentration.