萬善同歸集 1.21

1.21

「祖師馬鳴《大乘起信論》云：『信成就發心有三：一、直心：正念真如法故。二、深心：樂集一切諸善行故。三、大悲心：欲拔一切眾生苦故。論問：「上說法界一相、佛體無二，何故不唯念真如，復假求學諸善法之行？」論答：「譬如大摩尼寶，體性明淨，而有鑛穢之垢；若人雖念寶性，不以方便，種種磨治，終無得淨。如是眾生真如之法，體性空淨，而有無量煩惱、垢染；若人雖念真如，不以方便種種熏修，亦無得淨；以垢無量，遍修一切善行，以為對治；若人修行一切善法，自然歸順真如法故。略說方便有四種：一者行根本方便。謂觀一切法自性無生，離於妄見，不住生死；觀一切法因緣和合，業果不失，起於大悲，修諸福德，攝化眾生，不住涅槃，以隨順法性無住故。二者能止方便。謂慚愧、悔過能止一切惡法，令不增長，以隨順法性離諸過故。三者發起善根增長方便。謂勤修供養、禮拜三寶，讚歎、隨喜、勸請諸佛，以愛敬三寶淳厚心故，信得增長，乃能志求無上之道；又因佛、法、僧力所護故，能消業障，善根不退，以隨順法性離癡障故。四者大願平等方便。所謂發願，盡於未來，化度一切眾生，使無有餘，皆令究竟無餘涅槃，以隨順法性無斷絕故；法性廣大，遍一切眾生，平等無二，不念彼此，究竟寂滅故。」』

Ancestor Aśvaghoṣa's Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna says: 'The arousal of the mind upon the perfection of faith has three aspects: first, the straightforward mind, because one correctly contemplates the dharma of tathatā; second, the deep mind, because one delights in amassing all good practices; third, the mind of great compassion, because one wishes to pull all sentient beings out of suffering.' The treatise asks: 'Above, it was said that the dharmadhātu is of a single characteristic and the Buddha's essence is non-dual; why do you not merely contemplate tathatā, but also rely on seeking and learning the practices of all good dharmas?' The treatise answers: 'It is like a great maṇi jewel whose essence is bright and pure, yet it has the defilement of ore and impurities. If someone merely contemplates the nature of the jewel without using upāya to grind and polish it in various ways, it will never be purified. Just so, the dharma of sentient beings' tathatā is by essence empty and pure, yet it has immeasurable afflictions and defilements. If someone merely contemplates tathatā without using upāya to perfume and cultivate it in various ways, they will likewise never be purified. Because the defilements are immeasurable, one universally cultivates all good practices as antidotes. If someone cultivates all good dharmas, they naturally accord with and return to the dharma of tathatā. Briefly speaking, upāya has four kinds: The first is the fundamental upāya of practice. That is, contemplating that the intrinsic nature of all dharmas is unproduced, departing from deluded views, and not dwelling in saṃsāra; contemplating that all dharmas are a harmonious union of causes and conditions with karmic fruit never lost, giving rise to great compassion, cultivating all merits, gathering and transforming sentient beings, and not dwelling in nirvāṇa, because one accords with the non-dwelling nature of the dharmatā. The second is the upāya of capability to cease. That is, shame and repentance can cease all evil dharmas, preventing them from increasing, because one accords with the dharmatā's freedom from all faults. The third is the upāya of generating and increasing roots of goodness. That is, diligently cultivating offerings and reverent prostrations to the triratna, praising, rejoicing in, and entreating all Buddhas; because of a genuine and profound mind of love and respect for the triratna, faith increases, and one can aspire to seek the unexcelled Path; furthermore, because of being protected by the power of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, one can eliminate karmic hindrances and one's roots of goodness will not regress, because one accords with the dharmatā's freedom from the hindrance of delusion. The fourth is the upāya of the great, equal vow. That is, giving rise to vows that extending to the end of the future one will transform and deliver all sentient beings without exception, causing them all to attain final nirvāṇa without remainder, because one accords with the dharmatā's unbroken continuity; because the dharmatā is vast, pervading all sentient beings, equal and non-dual, without thoughts of this or that, and ultimately quiescent.'"