觀心論疏 1.6

1.6

The verse says: "As the Great Master was approaching nirvāṇa, / The Compassionate Father gave his final bequest: / 'In the four smṛtyupasthānas cultivate the Path; / You should dwell relying on the prātimokṣa.'" This one verse explains that the Compassionate Father Śākyamuni instructed the four assemblies to rely on the four smṛtyupasthānas to cultivate the Path, and to abide by the prātimokṣa precepts. Therefore, the Dazhidulun explains that when the Tathāgata was approaching nirvāṇa, Ānanda asked the Buddha: "After the Tathāgata's parinirvāṇa, on what path should the monks practice? On what should they rely to dwell?" The Buddha answered: "Instruct them to cultivate the Path relying on the four smṛtyupasthānas, and to dwell relying on the prātimokṣa precepts." Question: "The Dharma gates by which the Buddhas enter the Path are immeasurable; why did he instruct them to dwell relying only on the two dharmas of the smṛtyupasthānas and the prātimokṣa?" Answer: "Although the two dharmas are brief, their principle encompasses all Dharma gates without remainder; therefore, he specifically exhorted them [to practice them]." Now, in briefly discerning the characteristics of what these two practices comprehensively contain, what are they? The four smṛtyupasthānas are of the nature of wisdom, serving as the eyes; the prātimokṣa precepts serve as the feet. The sūtra says: "Because one possesses both eyes and feet, one can reach the cool pond." Furthermore, the wisdom of the smṛtyupasthānas is understanding, while the precepts of the prātimokṣa are practice; furthermore, the smṛtyupasthānas are the adornment of wisdom, while the precepts of the prātimokṣa are the adornment of merit; furthermore, the smṛtyupasthānas are the perfection of prajñā, while practice is the other five perfections; furthermore, the smṛtyupasthānas are the track of contemplation and illumination, while practice is the track of supporting conditions—by these two tracks, the track of true nature can be revealed. Furthermore, wisdom is completely pure nirvāṇa, while practice is expediently pure nirvāṇa—by these two nirvāṇas, intrinsically pure nirvāṇa can be revealed. Furthermore, wisdom is the elucidating cause, while practice is the conditional cause—by these two causes, the direct cause can be revealed. Furthermore, wisdom is the virtue of prajñā, while practice is the virtue of mokṣa—by these two virtues, the dharmakāya can be revealed, completing the three virtues. Furthermore, the smṛtyupasthānas are contemplative prajñā, while practice is expedient prajñā—by these two prajñās, the prajñā of the true mark can be revealed. Furthermore, the smṛtyupasthānas are completely pure mokṣa, while practice is expedient mokṣa—by these two mokṣas, intrinsically pure mokṣa can be revealed. Thus, the wisdom of the smṛtyupasthānas and the precepts of the prātimokṣa briefly possess ten meanings; hence he specifically exhorted them. But ordinary beings regard the body as pure, pronounce feeling to be bliss, cling to the mind as permanent, and reckon phenomena to be a self. Arising from these four inversions, greed and craving emerge; with greed, craving, and ignorance, there arise the formations down to old age and death. Suffering and accumulation are vast and boundless; the fires of the eighty-four thousand defilements burn the house of the five skandhas. Thus the Lotus Sūtra says: "On all four sides, fires suddenly arose all at once"—this is an analogy for the four inversions. If a practitioner of the Small Vehicle contemplates, they contemplate the body as impure to break the inversion of purity, contemplate feeling as suffering to break the inversion of bliss, contemplate the mind as impermanent to break the inversion of permanence, and contemplate phenomena as non-self to break the inversion of self. Thus, through the previous confused and inverted mind, which regarded the body as permanent, blissful, self, and pure, greed, craving, and various defilements arose. Now, having contemplated and known that the body is impure, down to being suffering and non-self, one does not give rise to greed and craving, and ignorance, formations, consciousness, down to old age and death are extinguished. Thus the river of birth and death is drained, the river of nirvāṇa is filled, and this is to vie and jostle with one another, striving to escape the burning house and reach the place of fearlessness. For this reason, he exhorted people of lesser practice to rely on the smṛtyupasthānas to cultivate the Path. Next, in clarifying the smṛtyupasthānas of the Great Vehicle: the sūtra says, "Defilements are themselves bodhi; birth and death are themselves nirvāṇa." Now, the Path of bodhi and nirvāṇa is serene and markless: neither pure nor defiled, neither suffering nor bliss, neither permanent nor impermanent, neither self nor non-self. Yet now it is said that the body of birth and death is itself the body of bodhi and nirvāṇa, which is itself the essence of the true mark of the dharmadhātu of suchness. Thus the sūtra says: "Without destroying the body, one accords with the single mark." It also says: "Contemplating the true mark of the body, one contemplates the Buddha likewise." All sentient beings are themselves the mark of nirvāṇa, not being extinguished again; this is neither withered nor flourishing, heard beneath the twin trees, calmly tranquil regarding the suffering of the two kinds of death. Yet sentient beings, though harboring wisdom, wander constantly in the night—how could they recognize the Buddha's vision and knowledge within their bodies? Drunk on the wine of ignorance, how could they perceive the jewel within their robes? Therefore, he exhorted them to cultivate the smṛtyupasthānas of the Great Vehicle: contemplating the body as neither pure nor defiled, contemplating feeling as neither suffering nor bliss, contemplating the mind as neither permanent nor impermanent, and contemplating phenomena as neither self nor non-self. This is neither withered nor flourishing, returning to great quiescent nirvāṇa and abiding in the Tathāgata's three virtues—the secret storehouse of nirvāṇa. The sūtra says: "I establish all my sons in the secret storehouse, and I too shall before long abide peacefully in it." For this reason, he instructed them to rely on the four smṛtyupasthānas to cultivate the Path.