止觀輔行傳弘決 7.2.3

7.2.3

For instance, when entering emptiness, the [four] truths, [twelve] links of conditions, and [six] perfections are fully present: one examines mental factors and [objective] phenomena, as well as the subjective [cognition] and objective [realm], so that there are no suffering and origin, no ignorance, and no six hindrances. The examination in provisionality and the middle is also like this. In the initial entry into emptiness, the analytic and the embodiment [approaches] differ. In the initial explanation of analytic emptiness, first, in mentioning the three blockages: the first is suffering and origin; from "if one does not recognize" downward is the twelve links of conditions; next, from "if not extinguished" downward is the six hindrances. Among the six hindrances, only stinginess is raised, while the other five are omitted. Next, the Great Scripture is cited to prove the six hindrances. Hindrance (蔽) is blockage (塞). The eleventh fascicle states: "Just as a young brāhmaṇa boy, pressed by hunger, saw an āmrātaka fruit in human feces and immediately took it. A wise person then reproached him: 'You are of pure-conduct lineage; why do you take this defiled fruit and eat it?' Having heard this, the boy was abashed and ashamed, and immediately replied to him: 'I truly will not eat it; I will wash it clean and discard it.' The wise one reproached him: 'You are greatly foolish! If you intended to discard it, you should not have taken it in the first place.'" Zhang'an explains: "The brāhmaṇa exemplifies one initially cultivating the pure path of prajñā. The young boy exemplifies shallow and weak understanding and practice. Being pressed by the sufferings of the three evil paths is exemplified by hunger. Amid impermanence there are the fruits of humans and gods, just like the āmrātaka fruit in that defiled feces. Deeper practice reproaching shallow [practice] is called the reproach of the wise. The boy going beyond shallow practice and harbouring shame is not craving heavenly pleasure, but wishing to cultivate the path amidst it and abandon it; hence it is called washing and discarding. From 'the wise one said' downward, the bodhisattva admonishes that all should be relinquished together, without needing to receive it first and then contemplate it to discard it." Thus we know that the scripture's intention specifically exemplifies the Tripiṭaka bodhisattva, for whom contemplating birth and receiving birth is called having washed and then discarded. Hence we know that within the three asaṃkhyeya kalpas and one hundred eons, cultivating the phenomenal six perfections with an outflow-tainted mind entails that the perfections coexist with afflictions, which in sense is identical to hindrances. From "if for" downward, next the two passes are explained, which are the truths, links of conditions, and perfections. The aspects of the truths, links of conditions, and perfections can be seen by consulting the text. From "one should use" downward, next the examination is explained. "Each and every" means without distinguishing between subjective and objective or between mind and phenomena: wherever there is blockage, all must be demolished, just as in the earlier refutation of bandits. Thus we know that passes and blockages must all be examined. Among the three truths, the mention of "mind" and so forth means: 'mind' refers to the mind that embodies or analyzes [the attachments to] views and thought; 'phenomena' refers to the three such as knowing diseases in the contemplation of provisionality, and the three such as ignorance in the contemplation of the middle; these all have subjective and objective [aspects]. Furthermore, 'mind' refers to the mind that is the subjective condition, and 'phenomena' refers to the phenomena that are the objective condition; whether contemplation or object, both have mind and phenomena, and all must be examined. The subsequent [cases] follow the same pattern. From "furthermore" downward, next the embodiment of emptiness is explained. The text also first explains the characteristics of passes and blockages; from "just as an arhat" downward, the noble is used to illustrate the ordinary. When even the noble are still called aggregates, how could the ordinary be without them? From "if one conceives" downward, next suffering and origin are indicated: binding karma is origin, and birth-and-death is suffering. From "if one does not recognize" downward, next the twelve causes and conditions are explained. From "if one cherishes" downward, next the six hindrances are explained, also merely raising stinginess and omitting the other five. From "using wisdom that is identical to emptiness" downward, the examination for entering emptiness [is explained]. From "regarding disease-phenomena" and so forth downward, next the examination for entering provisionality is explained; these can all be seen. Question: Why is it that previously, upon entering emptiness, it spoke of "each and every mind", but now, upon entering provisionality, it speaks of "each and every phenomenon"? Answer: What is contemplated by the three contemplations is nothing other than mind and phenomena. When initially refuting views and thought, designating them as "mind" is convenient; when entering provisionality to practice phenomena, designating them as "phenomena" is convenient. Because the phenomena are formed through the practice of one's own and others' minds, when entering the middle, all are the dharma-dhātu; designating them as "phenomena" is again convenient. The text is brief and can be seen. Next, "examining the correct contemplation of the middle way" refers back to examining the three vertical turns of refutation in the contemplation of the middle. Here it is kept brief, merely speaking of contemplating the three provisionals of ignorance, dharma-nature, and true conditions to illustrate passes and blockages. From "each and every" downward, the characteristics of the examination are shown. "If one acts like this [...] down to the blockage, then one attains the pass" explains that the provisional stages are overly elevated. In the six stages of the shared teaching and the initial bhūmi of the distinctive teaching, it is only after passing through eons in these two teachings that one reaches the stage of the jewel-abode of the true mark; this stage is precisely the aspect of the vertical three truths. Next, the Great Scripture is cited to prove that the provisional stages pass through eons. In the Great Scripture there are four passages in all, earlier and later, which are largely the same with minor differences. The tenth fascicle states: "Having passed through that many eons, one will attain bodhi"; the nineteenth says: "reaches bodhi"; the twentieth says: "attains bodhi"; the twenty-first says: "abides in bodhi". "Abides" simply means abiding in the bodhi-dwelling of the initial abode; "will" means that only after passing through eons does one attain bodhi. "Reaching" and "attaining" differ in name but are the same in meaning: "reaching" means coming from the expedient, and "attaining" means attaining the place of arousing the aspiration [for awakening]. The mention of "srotāpanna" and so forth designates them according to their origin: having passed through seven lifetimes, they spontaneously enter nirvāṇa; being reborn there, they pass through eighty thousand eons, after which they finally arouse the great aspiration [for awakening]; the sakṛdāgāmin takes sixty thousand, the anāgāmin forty thousand, the aśaikṣa twenty thousand, and the pratyekabuddha ten thousand; by comparing these explanations, this can be understood. Depending on whether their faculties are sharp or dull, the eons they spend in transcending the realms vary in length. Only after arousing the aspiration [for awakening], cultivating the contemplation of the middle way, severing the afflictions of ignorance, and attaining vision of the Buddha-nature can they be called "having passed beyond the five hundred [yojanas]". This refers to the Tripiṭaka two vehicles who enter extinction; in the shared teaching, the majority can arouse it within the present life. Discussing it in this manner brings no benefit to beginners. However, regarding the aforementioned five persons, it is always said that they arouse the aspiration [for awakening] "upon reaching" or "upon attaining"; therefore, this is not the same as the doctrine of the Vijñaptimātra [school]. When a long period must pass before they arouse it, the teaching is still provisional; how much more so if one posited eternal extinction—how could that not be an expedient? If one clings to provisional treatises to refute the Buddha's real scripture, the fault incurred is already profound, and this is truly inadmissible. Although this vertical aspect was originally meant to accomplish what is neither vertical nor horizontal, because it is identical to the sequential stages of those provisional teachings, it must be repudiated and demolished. The horizontal [aspect] below is also like this.