釋禪波羅蜜次第法門 1.67

1.67

Third, discriminating analysis: As the Mahāyāna[-śāstra] says: 'Question: Why are the liberations, stations of mastery, totality spheres, and so forth not called pāramitā, while dhyāna alone is called pāramitā? Answer: Dhyāna is the greatest, like a king. When dhyāna-pāramitā is mentioned, all are subsumed. Within these four dhyānas are the eight liberations, eight stations of mastery, ten totality spheres, four immeasurables, five supernormal knowledges, refined dhyāna, mastery absorption, the fourteen minds of transformation, the araṇa-samādhi, aspiration-knowledge, summit dhyāna, the śūraṅgama and other samādhis numbering one hundred and eight, as well as the Buddha-[samādhi], Immovable, and others numbering one hundred and twenty—all are within dhyāna. The Buddhas' attainment of the Way, turning the wheel of the Dharma, and entering nirvāṇa, and all their supreme and sublime merits are entirely within dhyāna. Speaking of dhyāna subsumes everything; if one spoke of other absorptions, there would be things not subsumed. Therefore, dhyāna is called pāramitā. Furthermore, within the four dhyānas, wisdom and concentration are equal, and for this reason it is called pāramitā. In the anāgamya and the intermediate dhyāna, wisdom is plentiful while concentration is deficient; in the four formless [absorptions], concentration is plentiful while wisdom is deficient. It is like the wheels of a cart: if one is strong and the other weak, it cannot bear a load. Because wisdom and concentration are equal in the four dhyānas, it is called pāramitā. Furthermore, when speaking of pāramitā in terms of dhyāna, it subsumes all absorptions. Why is this? "Dhyāna", in the language of Qin, means "cultivation through reflection". These various absorptions are all merits of cultivation through reflection.' One should know that all absorptions may receive the name of pāramitā. Just as the Pañcaviṃśati speaks of one hundred pāramitās and also states that the liberations, stations of mastery, and so forth are all called pāramitās, the four dhyānas are simply at the root and receive the name first; it is not that [the name] does not extend to the other absorptions.