金剛般若經旨贊 1.4

1.4

Explaining the central purport is again divided into two: first, revealing that which is taken as the principle; second, clarifying that toward which it aims. That which is taken as the principle has three aspects, namely the three prajñās. Although elsewhere five kinds are taught, here we follow the Treatise on Wisdom and the treatises' metaphors. The first is true-mark [prajñā], which is the wondrous, markless principle of tathatā. The second is contemplative [prajñā], which is the wondrous markless wisdom arising based on the true. The third is literary [prajñā], which consists of the names, phrases, and words that can express this. The first is the nature, the second is the mark, and the third is the cause. Because wisdom and the locus of wisdom are both called prajñā, adding the objective realm and the retinue makes five; since these are not the principle of the sūtra, they are taught elsewhere. Although there are three kinds, that which is taken as the primary principle here is strictly the first two, while also encompassing the literary. Without the true mark, contemplative wisdom does not arise; without contemplation, the principle of the true mark is not revealed. Therefore, objective realm and wisdom are taken as the primary principle. The literary is merely a provisional vessel; when realization is attained, the teaching is forgotten, so it is not what is primarily clarified. Yet since it is the cause of realization, it is also encompassed in the principle. That toward which it aims has four aspects: first, teaching prajñā, which refers to the expressive names and so forth that are spoken without speaking, being a true and skillful vessel that accords with reality; second, principle prajñā, which refers to the expressed wondrous principle of attainment without attainment, realized as possessing non-inverted marks just as it is expressed; third, practice prajñā, which refers to practicing the markless six perfections without practicing, being the unsurpassed cause that can induce and realize [fruition]; fourth, fruit prajñā, which refers to attaining bodhi and nirvāṇa without attainment, being the unsurpassed fruit expressed and realized. Among these four kinds toward which it aims, the teaching is shallow while the principle is profound; practice is partial while the fruit is complete. What is spoken here is primarily the principle and the fruit, which are the profound and perfect dharmas expressed and aimed toward; it also encompasses teaching and practice, for though called shallow and partial, they are also that to which the practitioner has recourse. Explaining the central purport is concluded.