觀心論疏 3.5

3.5

第三半行半坐三昧者，亦為三——：一事相，二觀法，三觀修。初事相者，行者欲觀一念自生心，依此半行半坐三昧，出此二經：《方等》云「旋百二十遍，却坐思惟」，《法華》云「若行若坐讀誦是經，若坐思惟是經，我乘六牙白象現其人前」，故知二經「半行半坐」為方法也。方等至尊不可聊爾，若欲修習，神明為證，先求夢王，若得見一，是許懺悔。於閑靜處，莊嚴道場，香泥塗地，及室內外作圓壇，綵畫、懸五色旛，燒海岸香、燃燈、敷高座、請二十四尊像，多亦無妨，設餚膳，盡心力。須新淨衣鞋，屩無新浣故出入著脫，無令參雜。七日長齋，日三時洗浴。初日供養僧隨意多少，別請一明了內外律者為師，受二十四戒及陀羅尼呪，對師說罪。要誓用月八日、十五日，當以七日為一期，決不可減，若能更進，隨力堪任。十人已還不得出此，俗人亦許。須辦單縫三衣備佛法式，預誦陀羅尼呪一篇使利。於初日分，異口同音，三遍召請三寶十佛、方等父母、十法王子；召請竟，燒香運念，三業供養；供養訖，禮前所請三寶；禮竟，以志誠心悲泣雨淚陳悔罪咎竟，起，旋百二十匝，一旋一呪，不遲不疾，不高不下；旋呪竟，禮十佛、方等十法王子。如是作已，却坐思惟；思惟訖，更起，旋呪竟，更却思惟。周而復始，終竟七日。其法如是。從第二日，略召請一法，餘悉如常行之。二觀法者，經合思惟摩訶袒持陀羅尼，翻為大祕要遮惡持善，「祕要」只是實相中道正空。經云「吾從真實中來。真實者寂滅相，寂滅相者無有所求，求者亦空，乃至涅槃亦復皆空，一切虛空界分亦復皆空，無所求中吾故求之，如是空空真實之法當於何求？當於六波羅密中求」。此與《大品》十八空同，更無有異。以此空慧歷一切事，無不成觀。方等者，或言廣平；今言方者，法也。般若有四種方法，謂四門入清涼池，即方也。所契之理平等大慧，即等也。今求夢王，即二觀前方便也。道場，即清淨境界也。治五住糠，顯實相米，亦是定慧用莊嚴法身也。香泥者，即無上尸羅也。五色蓋者，觀五陰免子縛，起大慈悲，覆法界也。圓壇者，即實相不動地也。繒旛，即翻法界上迷生動出之解。旛、壇不相離，即動出不動出不相離也。香燈，即戒慧也。高座者，諸法空也，一切佛皆棲此空。二十四像者，即是逆順觀十二因緣覺了智也。餚膳者，即是無常苦酢，助道觀也。新淨衣者，即寂滅忍也。瞋或重積稱為故，翻瞋起忍名為新。七日，即七覺分也。一日，即一實諦也。三洗，即觀一實修三觀，蕩三障，淨三智也。一師者，即一實諦法也。二十四戒者，逆順十二因緣發道共戒也。呪者，矚對也。《瓔珞》明十二因緣有十種，即有一百二十支。一呪呪一支，束而言之，只是三道，謂苦、業、煩惱也。今呪此因緣，即是呪於三道而論懺悔。事懺，懺苦道、業道；理懺，懺煩惱道。文云「犯沙彌戒乃至大比丘戒，若不還生，無有是處」，即懺業道文也；「眼耳諸根清淨」即懺苦道文也；「第七日見十方佛，聞法得不退轉」，即懺煩惱道文也。三障去，即十二因緣樹壞，亦是五陰舍空，思惟實相正破於此，故名諸佛實法懺悔也。三勸修者，諸佛道皆由此法，是佛父母，世間無上大寶。若能修行，得全分寶；但能讀誦，得中分寶；華香供養，得下分寶。佛與文殊說下分寶，所不能盡，況中上耶？若從地積寶至梵天以奉供佛，不如施持經者一食充驅，如經廣說（云云）。次約《法華》亦為三：事相、觀法、勸修。事相者，行者觀自生心依《法華經》修三昧者，方法有十：一嚴淨道場、二淨身三業、三供養、四請佛、五禮佛、六六根懺悔、七繞旋、八誦經、九坐禪、十證相。別有一卷名《法華三昧》，是天台大師所著，流傳於世，行者宗之。二觀法者，《普賢觀》云「專誦大乘不入三昧，日夜六時懺六根罪」，〈安樂行品〉云「於諸法無所行，亦不行、不分別」。二經本為相成，豈可執文鬪競？蓋乃為緣前後互出，非碩異也。〈安樂行〉「護持讀誦、深心禮拜」等，豈非事耶？《觀經》明無相懺悔「我心自空，罪福無主，慧日能銷除」，豈非理耶？南嶽云：「有相安樂行，無相安樂行」，豈非就事理得如是名？特是行人涉事修六根懺，為悟入弄引，故名有相。若直觀一切法空為方便者，故名無相。妙證之時，悉皆兩捨。若得此意，於二經無疑，修理觀者，今歷事修觀。言六牙白象者，是菩薩無漏六神通。牙有利用，如通之捷疾；象有大力，表法身荷負；無漏無染，稱之為白；頭上三人，一持金剛杵、一持金剛輪、一時如意珠，表三智居無漏頂。杵擬象能行，表慧導行。輪轉表出假；如意表中。牙上有池，表八解是禪體，通是定用，體用不相離故。牙端有池，池中有華，華表妙因，以神通力淨佛國土利益眾生即是因，因從通生，如華由池發。華中有女，女表慈，若無無緣慈，豈能以神通力促身令小，入此娑婆？通由慈運，如華擎女。女執樂器，表四攝也。慈修身口，現種種同事利行。財法二施引物多端，如五百樂器音聲無量也。示喜見身者，是普現色身三昧也，隨所宜樂而為現之，未必純作白玉之像。語言陀羅尼者，即是慈熏口，說種種法也，皆法華三昧之異名。若得此意，於象身上自在作法門也。三勸修者，《普賢觀》曰「若七眾犯戒，欲一彈指頃除滅百千萬億阿僧祇劫生死之罪者；欲發菩提心，不斷煩惱而入涅槃，不離五欲而淨諸根見障外事，欲見分身多寶釋迦佛者；欲得法華三昧、一切諸陀羅尼，入如來室，著如來衣，坐如來座，於天龍八部眾中說法者；欲得文殊、藥王諸大菩薩持華香住立空中侍奉者，應當修習此《法華經》，讀誦大乘，念大乘事，令此空慧與心相應。念諸菩薩母，無上勝方便，從思實相生。眾罪如霜露，慧日能銷除，成辦如此諸事，無不具足。能解此經者，則為見我，亦見於汝，亦供養多寶及分身，令諸佛歡喜，如經廣說。誰聞如是法，不發菩提心，除彼不肖人，癡冥無智者。」

Third, the neither-walking-nor-sitting samādhi [i.e., half-walking and half-sitting samādhi] also has three [parts]: first, ritual practice; second, contemplation method; third, encouraging practice. First, regarding the ritual practice: when a practitioner wishes to contemplate the mind in a single thought-moment arising spontaneously by relying on this half-walking and half-sitting samādhi, it derives from these two sūtras: the Fangdeng [sūtra] says, 'Circumambulate one hundred and twenty times, and withdraw to sit and reflect'; the Lotus [Sūtra] says, 'Whether walking or sitting, if one recites this sūtra, or sits and reflects on this sūtra, I will mount a white elephant with six tusks and appear before that person.' Therefore, one knows that 'half-walking and half-sitting' in these two sūtras serves as the method. The Fangdeng is supreme and must not be treated lightly; if one wishes to cultivate and practice it, taking the spirits and deities as witnesses, one must first seek the King of Dreams: if one sees one [of them], repentance is permitted. In a quiet and secluded place, adorn the ritual bodhimaṇḍa, smear the ground with fragrant mud, and construct a round altar inside and outside the room, painted with colors, hung with five-colored banners, burning coastal incense, lighting lamps, arranging a high seat, and inviting twenty-four sacred images—more is also permissible—setting out delicacies, expending all one's effort. One must use newly cleaned robes and shoes; if there are no new [shoes], wash the old ones, putting them on and taking them off when entering and leaving, without allowing any contamination. For seven days observe an unbroken fast, bathing at the three periods of the day. On the first day, make offerings to the saṅgha according to one's means, whether many or few, and separately invite one master who is clear on the inner and outer vinaya, receive the twenty-four precepts and the dhāraṇī incantation, and confess one's sins before the master. The solemn vows should be taken on the eighth or fifteenth day of the month; seven days must be set as one period, and it must never be reduced; if one can advance further, it is according to one's capacity. Up to ten people may participate, not exceeding this; laypeople are also permitted. One must prepare single-seamed three robes following the Buddhist regulations, and memorize in advance one text of the dhāraṇī incantation until fluent. At the initial part of the day, with different mouths but one voice, invoke and invite three times the Three Jewels, the ten Buddhas, the parents of the Fangdeng, and the ten Dharma Princes; having finished the invocation, burn incense and direct thought, making offerings with the three karmas; having finished the offerings, pay homage to the Three Jewels previously invited; having finished paying homage, with sincere mind and weeping tears of sorrow, confess one's sins and faults; having finished, rise and circumambulate one hundred and twenty times, with one incantation per circumambulation, neither slow nor fast, neither loud nor quiet; having finished the circumambulating and chanting, pay homage to the ten Buddhas and the ten Dharma Princes of the Fangdeng. Having done this, withdraw, sit, and reflect; having finished reflecting, rise again, finish circumambulating and chanting, and again withdraw to reflect. Revolving in this cycle, complete seven days. Its method is like this. From the second day onward, abridge the single dharma of invocation, while the rest are all practiced as normal.

Second, regarding the contemplation method: the sūtra joins reflecting on the Mahādaṇḍadhāraṇī, translated as the Great Secret Essential that Prevents Evil and Holds Good. 'Secret essential' is simply the correct emptiness of the Middle Way of the true mark. The sūtra says: 'I come from within the real. The real is the mark of extinction; the mark of extinction has nothing sought after, and what is sought is also empty, up to nirvāṇa is also completely empty, and the entire boundaries of the space realm are also completely empty; within the unsought I intentionally seek it. In where should such empty-empty real phenomena be sought? They should be sought within the six pāramitās.' This is the same as the eighteen emptinesses in the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, with no difference at all. Tracing all phenomena with this empty wisdom, none fails to become contemplation. As for 'Fangdeng', some say it means vast and level; here 'fang' means method: prajñā has four methods, called the four gates entering the cool pool, which is 'fang'; the principle realized is the equal, great wisdom, which is 'deng'. Now, seeking the King of Dreams is the preliminary expedient before the two contemplations. The ritual bodhimaṇḍa is the pure realm. Threshing the chaff of the five entrenchments reveals the rice of the true mark; it is also using concentration and wisdom to adorn the dharmakāya. The fragrant mud is the unsurpassed śīla. The five-colored canopies signify contemplating the five skandhas to escape the bond of offspring, giving rise to great compassion to cover the Dharmadhātu. The round altar is the unmoving ground of the true mark. The silk banners signify turning over delusion on the Dharmadhātu and generating the understanding that moves outward. That the banners and altar are not separated means that moving outward and not moving outward are not separated. The incense and lamps are precepts and wisdom. The high seat is the emptiness of all phenomena, where all Buddhas dwell. The twenty-four images are the understanding wisdom of contemplating the twelve links of dependent origination in reverse and direct orders. The delicacies are the suffering and sourness of impermanence, contemplations that aid the path. The newly cleaned robes are the patience of extinction; anger or heavy accumulations are called old, and turning anger into patience is called new. The seven days are the seven factors of awakening. One day is the One True Truth. The three washings are contemplating the One Reality to cultivate the three contemplations, wash away the three obstructions, and purify the three wisdoms. The single master is the teaching of the One True Truth. The twenty-four precepts are the path-concomitant precepts generated from the reverse and direct orders of the twelve links of dependent origination. The incantation is looking directly face to face. The Yingluo jing clarifies ten kinds of the twelve links of dependent origination, yielding one hundred and twenty branches. Chanting one incantation incants one branch; to summarize them, they are simply the three paths, namely suffering, karma, and defilements. Now incanting this dependent origination is incanting the three paths to discuss repentance. Ritual repentance repents the path of suffering and path of karma; principle repentance repents the path of defilements. The text says: 'If one breaks the novice precepts up to the great bhikṣu precepts, if one does not regain birth, it is impossible'—this is the passage on repenting the path of karma. 'The eye, ear, and all faculties become pure' is the passage on repenting the path of suffering. 'On the seventh day, seeing the Buddhas of the ten directions and hearing the Dharma, one attains non-retrogression' is the passage on repenting the path of defilements. When the three obstructions are removed, the tree of the twelve links of dependent origination is destroyed, which is also the five-skandha house becoming empty; reflecting on the true mark directly crushes this, hence it is called the real-phenomena repentance of all Buddhas.

Third, encouraging practice: the paths of all Buddhas all arise from this practice; it is the parent of the Buddhas, the supreme great jewel in the world. If one can cultivate and practice it, one obtains the full measure of the jewel; if one can merely read and recite it, one obtains the middle measure of the jewel; if one makes offerings of flowers and incense, one obtains the lower measure of the jewel. What the Buddha explained to Mañjuśrī concerning the lower measure of the jewel could not be exhausted, how much less the middle and upper? If one were to pile jewels from the earth up to the Brahmā heaven to offer to the Buddha, it would not equal providing a single meal to sustain one who upholds this sūtra, as the sūtra explains in detail, and so on.

Next, in terms of the Lotus [Sūtra], there are also three: ritual practice, contemplation method, and encouraging practice. As for the ritual practice: when a practitioner contemplates the mind arising spontaneously by relying on the Lotus Sūtra to cultivate samādhi, there are ten methods: first, adorn and purify the ritual bodhimaṇḍa; second, purify the three karmas of the body; third, make offerings; fourth, invite the Buddhas; fifth, pay homage to the Buddhas; sixth, repentance of the six faculties; seventh, circumambulate; eighth, recite the sūtra; ninth, sit in meditation; tenth, marks of realization. There is a separate single fascicle titled 'Lotus Samādhi', authored by Great Master Tiantai, circulated in the world, which practitioners take as their authority.

Second, regarding the contemplation method: the Fahua sanmei jing (Samantabhadra Contemplation Sūtra) says, 'Devotedly recite the Mahāyāna without entering samādhi, repenting the sins of the six faculties during the six periods of day and night.' The 'Chapter on Peaceful and Joyful Practices' says, 'With respect to all phenomena, there is no practice, nor does one practice or conceptualize.' These two sūtras originally complete each other; how could one cling to the texts and dispute? They were merely set forth before and after in response to conditions, not fundamentally different. Does not the 'Chapter on Peaceful and Joyful Practices' saying 'protect and uphold, read and recite, pay homage with a profound mind', and so forth, refer to ritual? Does not the Guan jing explaining signless repentance—'My mind is inherently empty, sin and blessing have no master, the sun of wisdom can melt them away'—refer to principle? Nanyue said: 'There is the peaceful practice with signs and the peaceful practice without signs'; are these names not given on the basis of ritual and principle? It is specifically because the practitioner engages in ritual practice to cultivate the repentance of the six faculties as an initial lead-in to awakening and entering, that it is called 'with signs'. If one directly contemplates the emptiness of all phenomena as an expedient, it is called 'without signs'. At the time of wondrous realization, both are completely relinquished. If one grasps this meaning, one will have no doubts about the two sūtras; one who cultivates principle contemplation now traces phenomena to cultivate contemplation. As for the 'white elephant with six tusks', these are the bodhisattva's six uncontaminated supernormal powers. The tusks have sharp utility, like the swift agility of the supernormal powers; the elephant has great strength, expressing the dharmakāya's bearing of burdens; uncontaminated and unstained, it is called 'white'. The three persons on its head—one holding a vajra pestle, one holding a vajra wheel, and one holding a wish-fulfilling jewel—express the three wisdoms dwelling at the uncontaminated summit. The pestle mirrors the elephant's ability to walk, expressing wisdom guiding practice. The turning of the wheel expresses emerging from emptiness into provisionality; the wish-fulfilling jewel expresses the Middle. Above the tusks is a pond, expressing that the eight liberations are the essence of dhyāna, and supernormal powers are the function of concentration, because essence and function are not separated. At the tips of the tusks are ponds, and in the ponds are flowers; the flowers express wondrous causes: using the power of supernormal powers to purify Buddha-lands and benefit sentient beings is the cause; causes arise from supernormal powers, just as flowers emerge from the pond. In the flowers are women; the women express compassion: without unconditioned compassion, how could one use the power of supernormal powers to shrink one's body and enter this Sahā world? Supernormal powers are moved by compassion, just as the flowers support the women. The women hold musical instruments, expressing the four means of embracing. Cultivating body and speech with compassion, one displays various acts of identical endeavor and beneficial action. The two types of giving—wealth and Dharma—guide sentient beings in myriad ways, just as the five hundred musical instruments produce immeasurable sounds. Displaying the 'body pleasant to behold' is the samādhi of manifesting forms universally; appearing in accordance with what is pleasing, it is not necessarily purely a white jade statue. The dhāraṇī of speech is compassion perfuming speech, expounding various teachings; these are all different names for the Lotus Samādhi. If one grasps this meaning, one can freely construct Dharma gates upon the elephant's body.

Third, encouraging practice: the Fahua sanmei jing (Samantabhadra Contemplation Sūtra) says: 'If any of the seven assemblies break the precepts and wish to eradicate the sins of birth-and-death of hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of asaṃkhyeya kalpas in the span of a fingersnap; if they wish to give rise to the bodhi-mind, enter nirvāṇa without cutting off defilements, purify the faculties without abandoning the five desires and see things beyond obstacles, and wish to see the emanations of Prabhūtaratna and Śākyamuni Buddha; if they wish to attain the Lotus Samādhi and all dhāraṇīs, enter the Tathāgata's room, wear the Tathāgata's robe, sit on the Tathāgata's seat, and preach the Dharma among devas, nāgas, and the eight classes of beings; if they wish to have Mañjuśrī, Bhaiṣajyarāja, and all great bodhisattvas holding flowers and incense standing in the sky to attend upon them—they should cultivate and study this Lotus Sūtra, read and recite the Mahāyāna, be mindful of Mahāyāna matters, and make this empty wisdom correspond with their minds. Be mindful of the mother of all bodhisattvas, the supreme and excellent expedient, born from reflecting on the true mark. The multitude of sins is like frost and dew; the sun of wisdom can melt them away. Bringing such matters to fruition, nothing will be lacking. One who can understand this sūtra sees me, also sees you, and also makes offerings to Prabhūtaratna and his emanations, causing all Buddhas to rejoice, as the sūtra explains in detail. Who, hearing such Dharma, would not give rise to the bodhi-mind—except for those unworthy people, who are blind, dark, and devoid of wisdom?'