止觀輔行傳弘決 8.48

8.48

Next, explaining the demonic realm: regarding "demonic affairs," the heavenly demons precisely take following birth-and-death, greed for the five desires, regressing from bodhi, and being jealous of [the loss of] their retinue as their affairs. The practitioner formerly practiced demonic karma, and now running counter to those past causes, past affairs come to obstruct him; hence they are called "demonic affairs." In the Dazhidulun, demons take destroying people's wholesome dharmas as their affair, as fully explained in the "Chapter on Demonic Affairs." In the initial explanation of the motivation for its arising, it fully refutes the four siddhāntas. Regarding "practicing the four samādhis," this reiterates the general cultivation of the aggregates and sense bases mentioned previously. From "evil being about to perish" onwards, it reiterates the preceding karmic realm. Previously, contemplating the karmic realm was considered inconceivable; phenomenal evil being about to perish and principle good being about to arise, the demon fears [the practitioner] will transcend the realm and performs acts of destruction. For this reason, one must contemplate the realm of demonic affairs. Thus this realm arises following the karmic realm. Regarding "transcending the realm," this refutes the worldly siddhānta. From "further, should…" onwards, fearing the arising of principle good, this refutes the individual siddhānta. From "further, anxious that…" onwards, it refutes the therapeutic siddhānta. "Attaining great spiritual penetrations" is calming. "Attaining great wisdom" is contemplation. Those attainments of calming and contemplation would certainly be able to destroy me; therefore, I should now forestall and break them. "Suddenly" (ju) means reaching. Regarding "destroying wholesome roots": demons only begrudge the wholesome roots of bodhi, not the defiled. The defiled is identical with the demonic, so the demon does not begrudge it. Regarding "one's own realm": proximately, it takes the desire heavens as its boundary; distantly, it takes Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception as its boundary. If the demon knows that sentient beings do not transcend birth-and-death and do not yearn for the Buddha vehicle, he still conceives thoughts of kinship toward such people. "Guarding" (shu): the Erya says, "It means to thwart." It means guarding to stop thieves; hence the character is composed of a man holding a lance. Thus to the demon, the Buddha is like an inimical thief. From "the sutra says" onwards, it is a passage from the "Chapter on Demonic Affairs" in the Dapin. What is called "sin": because of the demon there are affairs, and because of the affairs sins arise; hence they are called "demonic sins." Moreover, simply following birth-and-death is called a demonic sin. The Dapin says: "Teaching a bodhisattva to abandon the six pāramitās is in all cases called a demonic affair. Furthermore, having an evil spiritual friend is also called a demonic affair. Again, as for demonic sins, a bodhisattva mahāsattva does not tell sentient beings, speaking thus: 'The demon comes transformed as the likeness of a Buddha, bodhisattva, or the Saṅgha, and teaches, saying: "What use are these six pāramitās?" Or saying: "You have no true bodhi, nor non-regressing practice, and you will not attain bodhi either." Or saying: "Within emptiness there are no dharmas whatsoever; what use is this bodhi?" Or saying: "Within emptiness there are also no three vehicles; what use is this bodhi?"' One who does not call these bodhisattvas [is deceived], because these are all called demonic affairs and demonic sins." Fascicle 80 of the Dazhidulun says: "As for subtle demonic affairs: not yet having attained the stage of non-retrogression (bocci), one falsely claims to have already attained it." According to the present text, Māra is able to perform such affairs as above; therefore, one must briefly understand such affairs. If one does not distinguish them well for others, one is called an evil spiritual friend, and all these are called demonic sins. From "if one realizes" onwards, it briefly demonstrates the characteristics of contemplating the realm to break evil. If evil is already broken, one's inner disposition becomes calm and clear. From "knowing the demonic realm to be thus" onwards, this is the meaning of the ultimate truth. The principle of demon and Buddha is one; hence it is called "thus" (tathatā). The Śūraṅgamasūtra says: "When this sutra was spoken, the Buddha prophesied that two hundred demon maidens in the assembly, who had already planted deep wholesome roots under five hundred Buddhas, after passing seven hundred asaṃkhyeya kalpas, would all attain buddhahood with the same title of King of Purity. The demon, hearing that these maidens had received prophecies of attaining buddhahood, came and addressed the Buddha, saying: 'Now I no longer have mastery over my own retinue.' At that time the devīs, showing an appearance of timid weakness, proclaimed the wondrous principle, saying directly to the demon: 'Do not grieve or be troubled; we at present have not transcended your realm. Why is this? The thusness of the demonic realm and the thusness of the Buddha realm are not two and not different. We do not depart from such a demonic realm, for the demonic realm is precisely the Buddha realm. The demonic realm has no determinate dharma that can be pointed to, and the Buddha realm likewise has no determinate dharma that can be pointed to. All dharmas lack any determinate nature; because they lack determinate nature, there is neither retinue nor non-retinue.'"