觀心論疏 3.5

3.5

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?'