金剛般若經疏 1.7

1.7

As for the rationale for its establishment, establishing 'Thus' and so forth inherently has four purposes: 1. To remove doubt. 2. To generate faith. 3. To exclude heterodoxy. 4. To manifest orthodoxy. As for removing doubt: Paramārtha cites the *Sūkṣma Vinaya* that when Ānanda mounted the seat, the assembly had three doubts: first, that the Buddha, out of great compassion, had risen from nirvāṇa; second, that another Buddha had come from another realm; third, that Ānanda had transformed his body, attained Buddhahood, and was expounding the Dharma for the assembly. By speaking 'Thus have I heard' and so forth, all three doubts were cut off at once. Second, to generate faith: the *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* says that stating the time, place, and person causes faith to arise, because faith enables entry into the perfection of wisdom. Question: What function does faith have that it should be caused to arise first? Answer: The essence of faith has pure mind as its nature; like a water-clearing jewel, it can clear turbid water, and it serves as the root of all goods. Thus the *Avataṃsaka Sūtra* says: 'Faith is the mother of the path and the origin of virtues.' Moreover, when generating the aspiration to proceed toward the three vehicles, there is the desire for wholesome dharmas, and faith is the basis of this desire; now, generating it first in the Mahāyāna stages, among the thirty stages of the holy embryo, faith is the foremost. The five faculties, the five powers, and the seven noble treasures all have faith at their head. Upon entering the noble state, one realizes the four kinds of indestructible faith. Because of faith in the Three Jewels, one can transcend evil destinies; because of faith in the precepts, one leaves behind the causes of poverty and lowliness. Therefore, the treatise also speaks of the clear realization of faith (śraddhābhisamaya). The *Mahāvibhāṣā-śāstra* says that a learner of the Buddha's Dharma is like a great dragon-elephant, with faith as its trunk, relinquishment as its tusks, mindfulness as its neck, and wisdom as its head, bearing and gathering wholesome dharmas on its two shoulders; an elephant drinks and eats using its trunk as a hand, so a learner of the Dharma must first give rise to faith. Furthermore, to pull sentient beings out of the mud of birth and death, one must raise the hand of faith: the subsequent presentation of the main body is the hand of the Buddha's teaching; the preface causing faith to arise is the hand of sentient beings; when the two hands join, one emerges from the mire. The *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* says: 'It is like a person who has hands; upon reaching a mountain of jewels, he takes whatever he wishes. If he has no hands, he attains nothing empty-handed.' A person with faithful mind, entering the jewel of the Buddha's Dharma, can realize the fruit of the path; without a faithful mind, though understanding words and meanings, he attains nothing empty-handed. Therefore, at the beginning of a sūtra, pure faith is caused to arise. Third, to exclude heterodoxy: at the beginning of the teachings of outsiders, the two syllables *A* and *Oṃ* are always placed, saying that Brahmā had seventy-two syllables to instruct the world; when sentient beings deteriorated, Brahmā grew enraged and swallowed the syllable *kṣa*, leaving only these two syllables at the two corners of his mouth: *A* expresses non-existence, and *Oṃ* expresses existence; these are placed at the beginning of their teachings. Now, placing the six phrases excludes them. Thus the *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* says: 'What words of faith should be placed at the head of all sūtras to distinguish them from outsiders?' Fourth, to manifest orthodoxy: because the Three Jewels are the most auspicious. At the beginning of our sūtras, the Buddha spoken of is the Buddha Jewel; 'I heard' and the monks are the Saṅgha Jewel; 'Thus', 'at one time', and the place are the Dharma Jewel. The Dharma Jewel consists of three: first, the Dharma spoken; second, the time of speaking; third, the place of speaking.