千手眼大悲心呪行法 1.38

1.38

8. Making vows and upholding the dhāraṇī. The sūtra says: “If there are bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, upāsikās, boys, or girls who wish to recite and uphold it, they should arouse a mind of kindness and compassion toward all sentient beings and first make such vows following me.” These vows comprehensively encompass both provisional and ultimate in breadth and depth; without the Tiantai doctrine and contemplation, one cannot reach their outer limits. Now, following [our] own school, I shall briefly point them out so that practitioners will have a focus for their minds. The vows have two sections: the first ten vows clarify methods of accomplishment, provisionally giving rise to the good; the latter six vows clarify methods of eradication, provisionally destroying evil. Moreover, according to [the text], hearing the dhāraṇī yields benefits such as attaining the four fruits and the ten bhūmis, which shows that this belongs to the Vaipulya division. These vows should encompass the bodhisattvas of the Four Doctrines and indirectly include the two vehicles of the [first] two doctrines as well, because they too possess compassion based on phenomena and benefit beings in accordance with the world. Since contemporary practitioners now manifest the perfect and sudden śamatha-vipaśyanā and the samādhi of awakening thought, in establishing their vows and initiating their practice they must accord with the intent of the Lotus [Sūtra]. Thus Jingxi says: “Quoting various texts at large covers the literary forms of an entire era, but the primary intent lies solely in ghee; therefore, the sixteen vows must be explained according to the meaning of opening and revealing the perfect [truth].” The fact that the first ten vows all recite “Homage to the Greatly Compassionate Avalokiteśvara” is because “namo” is translated as “refuging one’s life” and also “deliver me.” One also has faith in and follows Great Compassion, because this bodhisattva has a profound mind of eradicating suffering; thus he is called “one possessing Great Compassion” and “bestower of fearlessness.” The essence of this compassion is round and perfect, thus able to bestow joy. “Avalokiteśvara” is fully explained in the separate commentaries. Because his sorrowful pity is exceedingly deep, he teaches sentient beings to seek deliverance through him, to take refuge in and follow him in making vows, thereby prompting his responsive stimulus. One must also clearly realize that the Greatly Compassionate Avalokiteśvara is one’s own fundamental nature; wishing now to return to the root, one therefore establishes vows by calling upon the root. Furthermore, this vow is the power and function of one’s fundamental nature itself; thus Aśvaghoṣa says: “Arousing faith from one’s own mind, one still has faith in one's own mind.” This sūtra says: “You should make such vows following me.” Now I shall explain these ten vows with two meanings: first, explaining them according to the Four Universal Vows of the various sūtras; second, explaining them according to the Ten Vehicles of our school. Now, the Four Universal Vows arise on the basis of the Four Noble Truths. As for the Four Noble Truths, two demonstrate the worldly causes and results of suffering, and two demonstrate the world-transcending causes and results of joy. All bodhisattvas wish to eradicate this suffering and wish to bestow this joy; therefore, based upon them, they establish the four vows. Based on the truth of suffering, it is established: “Sentient beings are boundless, I vow to deliver them.” Based on the truth of origination, it is established: “Afflictions are innumerable, I vow to sever them.” Based on the truth of the path, it is established: “Dharma gates are inexhaustible, I vow to know them.” Based on the truth of cessation, it is established: “The Buddha path is supreme, I vow to achieve it.” However, in these present ten vows, eradicating worldly causes of suffering comes first; hence the order differs slightly from the four vows, yet they all support each other two by two. This is because knowing the Dharma through the eye of wisdom delivers sentient beings; one must have an expedient boat to cross the ocean; the path enables one to climb the mountain; and a shelter can house the body. The first two are established based on the truth of origination: first vowing to know that all worldly defilements are identical to the dharmadhātu; second vowing to attain this round and pure eye of wisdom, because without this wisdom one cannot know them. The third and fourth are established based on the truth of suffering: first vowing to deliver all submerged multitudes; second vowing to quickly attain expedients internal to the essence, because without these expedients one cannot deliver beings everywhere. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth are established based on the truth of the path. Although the path consists of myriad practices, it does not go beyond the three trainings. Here, one first seeks true wisdom, prajñā, which is the training in wisdom; next one vows that with wisdom perfected, one will cross the sea of suffering of the two kinds of death; next one seeks the supreme world-transcending discipline and concentration; finally one vows that with the efficacy of the two trainings achieved, one will enter the three virtues and nirvāṇa. The three trainings are the beginning of the truth of the path; crossing suffering and realizing cessation shows the culmination of the truth of the path. The ninth and tenth are established based on the truth of cessation: first seeking the unconditioned Dharma to house one’s mind, so that delusion is extinguished and practice ceases; finally vowing to merge with the Dharma-nature and restore the fundamentally pure body, which is ultimate, eternal quiescence. Even if there were hundreds of thousands of vows, how could they go beyond the Four Universal Vows, much less these ten? Furthermore, a vow that does not rely on the truths is called a mad vow. Although they do not go beyond the four, now, because Avalokiteśvara's wisdom is skillful and his compassion deep, the four are expanded into ten, enabling practitioners to direct their minds, establish their practice, and make both the beginning and the end entirely clear. One must also clearly realize that the characteristics of beginning and end are harmoniously merged in their essential nature; thus Jingxi says: “When the initial mind universally embraces and contemplates the defilement of the dharmadhātu, defilement itself becomes wisdom, and birth itself becomes cessation; this is called the perfect four vows.” Furthermore, one realizes that the first two vows eradicate the suffering of innate virtue, while the latter two vows bestow the joy of innate virtue. How could the suffering and joy of the nature need to be eradicated or bestowed? These are the vows of non-action. Second, explaining them according to the Ten Vehicles of our school: the holy intention is multi-faceted, so I offer two explanations for now. Tracing the sūtra from beginning to end and verifying the earlier by the later, one knows that these vows constitute the ten Dharmic vehicles. Why is this? Because before reciting the dhāraṇī he bids one make the ten vows, and after reciting the dhāraṇī he shows the characteristics of the dhāraṇī in nine phrases, which together with the dhāraṇī's essence make ten dharmas, with no difference from the Ten Vehicles of our school. This will be explained below under contemplative practice. As for the Ten Vehicles: first, contemplating the inconceivable realm; second, arousing the bodhicitta; third, skillfully settling in śamatha-vipaśyanā; fourth, thoroughly breaking down dharmas; fifth, discerning the open and blocked; sixth, harmonizing the path factors; seventh, auxiliary methods that assist opening; eighth, knowing the stages; ninth, calm endurance; tenth, freedom from attachment to dharmas conforming to the path. The ten vows correspond to these, differing only in one place regarding sequence: that one arouses the mind based on the realm, while this one cultivates contemplation based on the realm, each with its own rationale. First, the vow to know all dharmas manifests the inconceivable realm; without the three thousand realms in a single thought-moment, how could it encompass all? Second, the vow for the eye of wisdom is the fulfillment of the Buddha-eye wisdom through round śamatha-vipaśyanā, for without this eye of wisdom, the marvelous realm is not revealed. Third, the vow to deliver all multitudes is arousing the partially and fully realized bodhicitta, for non-objective bestowing and eradicating only manifests from the initial stage [of the ten abodes] onward. Fourth, the vow for good expedients fulfills the universal breakdown of dharmas: once the three delusions are broken, one can spontaneously bestow and eradicate. The universal breakdown is precisely the expedient for delivering sentient beings, for bodhisattvas break delusions for the sake of delivering sentient beings. Fifth, the vow for the prajñā boat is discerning the open and blocked; just as water has a boat, that which blocks becomes open. Sixth, the vow to cross the sea of suffering fulfills the path factors, for without the path factors of non-action one cannot cross the sea of the two kinds of death. Seventh, the vow for the path of discipline and concentration fulfills the auxiliary methods to the path, for cultivating phenomenal discipline and concentration with an unconditioned mind is most capable of curing evil. Eighth, the vow to climb the mountain of nirvāṇa is knowing the stages; a mountain must be climbed from below to high: although contemplation is identical with principle, one does not advance along the path in vain. Ninth, the vow to reach the unconditioned dwelling fulfills the practice of calm endurance; “dwelling” means renouncing the multitude to quickly realize the unconditioned. This practice is not restricted to the initial rank; the higher stages are also like this: being honored by devas and nāgas and not taking pleasure in it is an example of this. Tenth, the vow to be identical with the body of Dharma-nature is freedom from attachment to dharmas: not lingering in resemblance understanding and uniting with the Buddha's true body. Thus, according to the text, they support each other two by two: illuminating the realm comes from śamatha-vipaśyanā; bestowing and eradicating comes from breaking delusions; one must first know the open and blocked before cultivating the path factors; without the merit of auxiliary counteractive methods, how could there be stages? If one does not have calm endurance, there is no resemblance attachment to be freed from. This contemplative method is cultivated in the stage of nominal identity, completed in the five ranks, experienced in resemblance in the six senses, truly realized in partial realization, and brought to culmination in marvelous enlightenment. In establishing vows now, one vows to find the gate through cultivating it, to achieve it in this very lifetime, and either in one contemplation or through remaining minds, enter resemblance and true realization up to equal and marvelous [enlightenment]. Furthermore, one should know that although these ten dharmas speak of cultivation and realization, cause and effect, the present single thought-moment is fundamentally completely fulfilled of itself. The entirety of nature gives rise to cultivation, and cause is immediately fulfilled as result. In establishing the ten vows now, the direction of the mind lies here. Furthermore, one should know that although these ten dharmas were propagated by Zhizhe during the Semblance Era, they are the purport of all gradual and sudden sūtras, for apart from these ten there are no other methods of cultivation and realization; the great cart of the Lotus [Sūtra] serves as an apt parallel. The latter six vows provisionally destroy evil. Among them, the first three destroy the hells: the first two specifically destroy the two types of sword and fire; the third destroys all hells; the latter three destroy the remaining three destinies. One should know that the six vows are all established on the basis of the counteractive siddhānta; hence for hells it says “crumbled and dried up,” for hungry ghosts “replete,” for asuras “subdued,” and for animals “wisdom.” Just as the six Avalokiteśvaras counter and destroy the six destinies: only devas follow individual adaptation because their good is strong; humans combine entering principle because their reflective thinking is vigorous; the other four all follow counteraction because their evil is abundant. All of them use the term “I”: although this is uttered by the practitioner, it is entirely the true, eternal self-nature of all existence, the thousand dharmas in a single thought-moment. In the first ten vows, every single occurrence of the word “I” is no different. “If” is an indefinite word, applied in counteraction according to the destiny. The word “turn toward” means facing: it aligns perfectly with the meaning of counteraction; that is, taking the self-nature of the four destinies as the counteragent, and the three obstacles of the four destinies as that which is counteracted. The word “spontaneously” means that the three obstacles are fundamentally empty, existing only through ignorance; when countered with the round Dharma and aligned with the fundamentally empty and interpenetrating, they are no longer obstacles; hence it says “spontaneously crumble,” etc. However, that which counters includes self and other, and that which is counteracted includes the three obstacles. For self-counteraction in a person, there are phenomenal practice and principle-contemplation; for counteracting others, one discusses spiritual penetrations and stimulus and response. How so? If one self-generates the afflictions of the four destinies, creates the evil karma of the four destinies, and suffers the pain of the four destinies, when reciting the name and chanting the dhāraṇī to face them, vowing that these three obstacles will spontaneously crumble, etc., this is counteraction through phenomenal practice. If one utilizes the contemplative wisdom of the Ten Vehicles to face the delusions, karma, or retribution of the four destinies, vowing that contemplation will succeed and obstacles be eradicated, spontaneously crumbling, etc., this is counteraction through principle-contemplation. If one's own contemplative practice succeeds and can break the three obstacles, revealing one's self-nature and attaining great mastery, and seeing all sentient beings afflicted by the three obstacles of the four destinies, one faces them with the power of resemblance understanding: this is counteracting others through spiritual penetrations. Facing them with the power of partial and full realization: this is counteracting others through stimulus and response. Therefore, the single phrase “If I turn toward the mountain of swords, the mountain of swords spontaneously crumbles,” etc., has an extremely deep meaning that cannot be fully explained at once. Tracing back to their source, Avalokiteśvara is capable of blocking the three paths; the dhāraṇī and my essence are the dharmadhātu, also called the Middle Way. To point to one is to fully encompass all; dharma after dharma is non-dual and absolute. Because of strong delusion, stimulus and response are temporarily differentiated; hence it says “namo.” Because of turning delusion around, counteraction is established in principle; hence it says “I turn toward.” Now, establishing the above vows in accordance with the round Dharma is called the vow of non-action; its merit is immense. Question: For those with round understanding and round cultivation, obtaining benefit may well be so; but for those without this understanding, what benefit is there in cultivation? Answer: The essence of the Dharma is fundamentally so; the holy one reveals it in accordance with the root. Those who cultivate this, even if they have not yet attained round understanding, will spontaneously obtain benefit as long as their capacity matures. If one can understand, the merit is beyond reckoning. It is like a wish-fulfilling jewel: an ignorant person who gets it does not lack benefit entirely, but merely trades it for a suit of clothes or a meal; but if one recognizes it, through the ten preparations it rains jewels over the four continents. Therefore the sūtra says: “Those who have wisdom, contemplation, and expedients will find it not difficult to attain the fruit and stages of the ten bhūmis.” Therefore, practitioners should draw near to good teachers, learn this round understanding, and when making vows have mind and mouth be as one; then the three obstacles will immediately dissolve and the Dharmakāya will be swiftly realized. (Having briefly understood this purport, one should make these vows. The leader chants:)”