四教義 7.11

7.11

七下生成道者，即是三藏教明八相成道菩提果。所言八相成道者，一從兜率天下，二託胎，三出生，四出家，五降魔，六成道，七轉法輪，八入涅槃。一兜率天下者，菩薩將欲下生時，用四種觀人間：一觀時，即是人壽百歲時是佛出世之時。二觀土地，諸佛常依中國生，迦維羅衛即是百億日月之中也。三觀種姓，佛生二種姓中：一剎利姓，勢力大故；二婆羅門姓，智慧大故。釋迦牟尼佛生剎利姓也。四觀生處，何等女人能懷那羅延力菩薩？唯中國迦毘羅婆城淨飯王后能懷後身菩薩。如是思惟已，後從兜率陀天下。問：何故作白象形，非餘？二明處胎，即是正慧入母胎。一切眾生邪慧入母胎，菩薩憶念不失，故名正慧入母胎。中陰住則知中陰，入胎時知入胎，歌羅邏時知歌羅邏時，七日赤白精血合；安浮陀時，二七日如蠒狀；伽陀時，三七日如凝酪；五胞時，出生時，皆憶念不失，是名正慧入母胎。復次，餘人住中陰入母胎欲受生時，於父母生顛倒心、生不淨心。菩薩不爾，正慧明識父母相續入胎，是名正慧也。三明出胎相者，是菩薩滿足十月，正慧不失念，從右腋而出胎，生墮於地，即行七步，口自發言：「天上天下唯我為尊。」當初生時，國中即有三十二瑞事，在《瑞應經》具明。乃至將示相師阿姨相太子身具三十二相、八十種好，即便悲淚。王恐不祥，問阿姨曰：「我子不祥，故悲淚也？」仙人答曰：「吉無不祥，太子相好分明。其若在家，當作轉輪聖王飛行皇帝，王四天下，十善化世。其若出家，必成自然之佛，度脫萬姓。但太子相好分明，必不在家作轉輪王。若其出家，必得菩提，度脫天、人。傷吾年老，不覩佛興，故悲淚耳。」所以用三十二相、八十種好莊嚴其身故，欲為得三菩提之器也。問曰：何故現相三十二、好有八十？答曰：成佛莊嚴，法如此故。四明出家者，是時菩薩年漸長大，出四城門見老病死苦，厭怖心生，夜半踰城，出家六年苦行，食難陀婆羅門石蜜乳糜，益身十六功德。五明降魔相者，即於菩提樹下破萬八千億鬼兵魔眾，魔王敗勣、鬼兵退散。六成道相者，魔眾散已，攝心端坐，於第四禪住中忍，修觀成中忍一剎那、上忍一剎那、世第一法一剎那，發真無漏，三十四心得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。三十四心者，八忍、八智、九無礙、九解脫也。具足佛十力、四無所畏、十八不共法、三達無礙、三意止、大悲、四無礙智。一切諸法總想、別想悉知，故名為佛。第九解脫具足一切種智並在未來，故名小乘佛。七明轉法輪相者，於鹿野苑中為拘隣等五人三轉生滅四諦法輪。天人得道此為證，三寶於是現世間。次說十二因緣法輪，次為菩薩說六波羅蜜法輪，是則開三乘之教，名修多羅藏。十二年後，佛在毘舍離國，為須隣那迦陀長者子作婬欲，以是因緣結初大罪二百五十戒。次佛在舍婆提城告諸比丘：「諸有五怖、五罪、五怨不除不滅，是因緣故，於此世、未來受無量苦。」是名佛自說毘曇教。從此轉三藏法輪，乃至涅槃，教三乘弟子，是名轉法輪相。八明入涅槃相者，於拘尸那城沙羅雙樹間逆順出入超越三昧，於第四禪中入火光三昧，燒身滅度，唯留舍利為人天福田，身智俱滅入無餘涅槃，是為聲聞經中說大乘之位。

Seventh, descending to be born and attaining the Way: this is what the Tripiṭaka teaching explains as the fruit of Bodhi through the eight marks of attaining the Way. The eight marks of attaining the Way are: 1. Descending from the Tuṣita Heaven; 2. Entering the womb; 3. Being born; 4. Leaving household life; 5. Subduing the demons; 6. Attaining the Way; 7. Turning the wheel of the Dharma; 8. Entering nirvāṇa. 1. Descending from Tuṣita Heaven: when the Bodhisattva is about to descend and be born, he contemplates the human realm in four ways. First, he contemplates the time: that is, when the human lifespan is one hundred years, that is the time for a Buddha to appear in the world. Second, he contemplates the land: the Buddhas are always born in the Central Country; Kapilavastu is the center of the ten billion suns and moons. Third, he contemplates the caste: Buddhas are born into two castes: first, the Kṣatriya caste, because their power and influence are great; second, the Brāhmaṇa caste, because their wisdom is great. Śākyamuni Buddha was born into the Kṣatriya caste. Fourth, he contemplates the place of birth: what kind of woman can bear a Bodhisattva with the strength of Nārāyaṇa? Only the queen of King Śuddhodana in the city of Kapilavastu in the Central Country can bear a Bodhisattva in his final body. Having reflected in this manner, he then descended from the Tuṣita Heaven. Question: Why did he assume the form of a white elephant and not something else? 2. Explaining dwelling in the womb: that is, entering the mother's womb with correct wisdom. All ordinary beings enter the mother's womb with erroneous wisdom; the Bodhisattva's mindfulness is unfailing, hence it is called entering the mother's womb with correct wisdom. Dwelling in the intermediate existence, he knows the intermediate existence; when entering the womb, he knows he is entering the womb; at the stage of the kalala, he knows it is the kalala, when in the first seven days the red and white seminal fluids merge; at the stage of the arbudam, in the second seven days it resembles a silkworm cocoon; at the stage of the ghana, in the third seven days it is like curdled milk; at the stage of the five vesicles, and at the time of birth, he is unfailing in his mindfulness in all of them; this is called entering the mother's womb with correct wisdom. Furthermore, when other people dwell in the intermediate existence and enter the mother's womb desiring rebirth, they give rise to inverted and impure thoughts toward their parents. The Bodhisattva does not do so; with correct wisdom, he clearly recognizes the continuum of father and mother and enters the womb; this is called correct wisdom. 3. Explaining the mark of emerging from the womb: this Bodhisattva, having completed ten months, with correct wisdom and unfailing mindfulness, emerged from the womb via the right flank. Falling to the ground at birth, he immediately walked seven paces and uttered from his own mouth: "In heaven above and on earth below, only I am supreme." When he was first born, there were thirty-two auspicious signs in the realm, as explained in detail in the Ruìyìng jīng. Then, when he was shown to the physiognomist Asita, seeing that the prince's body was complete with the thirty-two marks and eighty minor signs, Asita immediately wept. The king, fearing misfortune, asked Asita: "Is my son inauspicious that you shed tears of grief?" The ṛṣi replied: "It is auspicious and without misfortune; the prince's marks and signs are distinct. If he remains at home, he will become a wheel-turning sage king, a flying emperor, ruling over the four continents and transforming the world through the ten virtues. If he leaves household life, he will certainly become a self-awakened Buddha and liberate myriad people. However, the prince's marks and signs are distinct; he will certainly not remain at home to become a wheel-turning king. If he leaves household life, he will surely attain Bodhi and liberate gods and humans. Grieved that I am old and will not behold the arising of the Buddha, I shed tears of sorrow." The reason he adorned his body with the thirty-two marks and eighty minor signs was to make it a vessel for attaining sambodhi. Question: Why are thirty-two marks and eighty minor signs manifested? Answer: Because such is the dharma for the adornment of Buddhahood. 4. Explaining leaving household life: at this time, as the Bodhisattva gradually grew up, he went out of the four city gates and saw the sufferings of old age, sickness, and death; feelings of disgust and fear arose. At midnight he leaped over the city walls, left household life, practiced austerities for six years, and ate the rock-sugar milk-rice offered by the brāhmaṇa Nandā, enhancing his body with sixteen meritorious qualities. 5. Explaining the mark of subduing the demons: beneath the Bodhi tree, he routed the demon horde of eighteen thousand billion ghost soldiers; the demon king suffered total defeat, and the ghost soldiers retreated and scattered. 6. The mark of attaining the Way: after the demon horde scattered, he gathered his mind and sat upright; in the fourth dhyāna, he dwelt in middle forbearance, cultivated contemplation, and completed one kṣaṇa of middle forbearance, one kṣaṇa of upper forbearance, and one kṣaṇa of the worldly supreme dharma. Giving rise to the true untainted [wisdom], with thirty-four minds he attained anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi. The thirty-four minds are the eight forbearances, eight cognitions, nine unhindered paths, and nine paths of liberation. He was fully endowed with the Buddha's ten powers, four fearlessnesses, eighteen unshared dharmas, three unhindered penetrations, three applications of mindfulness, great compassion, and four unhindered knowledges. Knowing all dharmas collectively and separately, he is therefore called a Buddha. Because the ninth liberation fully endows the knowledge of all aspects and belongs to the future, he is called a Hīnayāna Buddha. 7. Explaining the mark of turning the wheel of the Dharma: in the Deer Park, for the five men including Kauṇḍinya, he turned the wheel of the Dharma of the four noble truths of arising and ceasing three times. Gods and humans attaining the Way served as witness to this, and the Three Jewels thereby appeared in the world. Next, he turned the wheel of the twelve links of dependent origination; next, he turned the wheel of the six pāramitās for the bodhisattvas; this opened the teaching of the three vehicles and is called the Sūtra Piṭaka. Twelve years later, when the Buddha was in the country of Vaiśālī, because the elder's son Sudinna engaged in sexual misconduct, he formulated on this basis the first major offence of the two hundred and fifty precepts. Next, in the city of Śrāvastī, the Buddha addressed the monks: "Those who do not eradicate and extinguish the five fears, five offences, and five enmities, due to these causes and conditions, will suffer immeasurable pain in this world and the future." This is called the Buddha personally speaking the Abhidharma teaching. From this point he turned the wheel of the Tripiṭaka Dharma until nirvāṇa, teaching the disciples of the three vehicles; this is called the mark of turning the wheel of the Dharma. 8. Explaining the mark of entering nirvāṇa: between the twin śāla trees at Kuśinagara, he entered and emerged from the transcendent samādhi in forward and reverse orders; in the fourth dhyāna he entered the fire-radiance samādhi, cremating his body and entering extinction, leaving only relics to serve as fields of merit for humans and gods; body and wisdom both extinguished, he entered nirvāṇa without remainder. This is the stage of the Great Vehicle explained in the Śrāvaka sūtras.