萬善同歸集 2.34

2.34

答：「台教初品，即是凡夫；若信入圓門，亦可說法。以凡夫心同佛所知，用所生眼齊如來見。《般若經》中校量，正憶念自修行般若之福，不如廣為人天巧說譬喻，令前人易解般若，其福最勝。經云：『其人戒足雖羸劣，善能說法利多人；若有供養是人者，則為供養十方佛。』《未曾有經》云：『說法有二大因緣：一者開化天人，福無量故。二者為報施食恩故，豈得不說。』又財施如燈，但明小室；法施若日，遠照天下。《大方廣總持經》云：『佛言：「善男子！佛滅度後，若有法師，善隨樂欲，為人說法，能令菩薩、學大乘者，及諸大眾，有發一毛歡喜之心，乃至暫下一滴淚者，當知皆是佛之神力。」』但見解不謬，冥契佛心，雖為他人，亦乃化功歸己；既能助道又報佛恩，儻不涉名聞，實一毫不棄。至於傳持法寶、講唱大乘、制論釋經、著文解義，拔不信之疑箭，照愚暗之智光；建法垣牆，續佛壽命。或取經西土，求法遐方；或翻譯大乘，潤文至教；或廣行經呪，遍施受持。開法施之門，續傳燈之焰。能將甘露，沃枯竭之心；善使金錍，扶癡盲之眼。經云：『假使頂戴經塵劫，身為床座遍三千；若不傳法度眾生，決定無能報恩者。』」

Answer: "The first rank in the Tiantai teaching is precisely an ordinary being; if they have faith and enter the perfect gate, they can also expound the Dharma. With the ordinary mind they align with what the Buddha knows; using the eyes born [of their physical body] they equal the vision of the Tathāgata. In the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, when making comparisons, the blessing of correctly recollecting and cultivating prajñā for oneself is not as great as skillfully expounding parables extensively for gods and humans so that the other person can easily understand prajñā—that blessing is supreme. A sūtra states: 'Though that person's feet of precepts are weak and frail, / If they can skillfully expound the Dharma to benefit many people, / If someone makes offerings to this person, / That is making offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions.' The Sūtra on What Has Never Happened Before states: 'Expounding the Dharma has two great causes and conditions: first, transforming devas and humans, because the merit is immeasurable; second, to repay the kindness of the gift of food—how could one not expound it?' Furthermore, the gift of material goods is like a lamp, illuminating only a small room; the gift of Dharma is like the sun, shining far across the whole world. The Mahāvaipulya Dhāraṇī Sūtra states: 'The Buddha said: "Good sons! After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, if there is a Dharma master who skillfully accords with their wishes and expounds the Dharma for people, being able to cause bodhisattvas, practitioners of the Mahāyāna, and the great assemblies to produce a single hair's worth of joyful mind, or even to shed a single drop of tear for a moment, you should know that these are all the divine power of the Buddha."' If only one's view and understanding are not erroneous and silently accord with the Buddha's mind, then although it is done for others, the merit of transformation also returns to oneself. Since it can both assist the Path and repay the Buddha's kindness, provided it is not involved with fame and praise, truly not a single hair is discarded. As for transmitting and maintaining the Dharma treasure, lecturing and chanting the Mahāyāna, composing treatises and commenting on sūtras, writing texts and explaining meanings, plucking out the arrow of doubt of disbelief, and shining the light of wisdom upon foolish darkness—this erects the ramparts of the Dharma and prolongs the lifespan of the Buddha. Some fetch sūtras from the Western regions, seeking the Dharma in distant lands; some translate the Mahāyāna, embellishing the text of the ultimate teaching; some widely circulate sūtras and dhāraṇīs, everywhere bestowing and upholding them. Opening the gates of Dharma giving, they continue the flame of the transmission of the lamp. They are able to take the sweet dew of ambrosia to water the dried-up mind; they are skilled at using the golden probe to support the eyes of the foolish and blind. A sūtra states: 'Even if one carried [the Buddha] upon one's head through dust-mote kalpas, / Or made one's body a couch throughout the trichiliocosm, / If one does not transmit the Dharma to liberate sentient beings, / One can definitely never repay the kindness.'"