四教義 7.11

7.11

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.