藥師經疏 1.10

1.10

Sūtra: “They attain the knowledge of past lives […] up to: how much more so other wealth and goods.” / Sixth: delighting in generosity without weariness. Past lives [knowledge] has three kinds: first, obtained through cultivation; second, obtained through retribution; third, obtained through karma. That which is produced and attained by relying on the four fundamental dhyānas is called ‘obtained through cultivation’; the other two are easy to understand. Also, the fifth fascicle of the Dazhidulun states: “Constantly remembering past events: days, months, years, and ages, up to [the time] within the womb, and past lifetimes—from one life up to hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of lifetimes. Great arhats and pratyekabuddhas know eighty thousand great eons; great bodhisattvas and buddhas know immeasurable eons. This is called the supernormal power of the knowledge of past lives.” / Regarding “delighting in practicing generosity”: The second fascicle of the Mahālaṃkāra-śāstra states: “For one who can gladly extend the hand in giving, this hand is called adorned and superior; if the recipient can withdraw the hand, the adorned and superior again meets with that. If someone says, ‘I give [this],’ these words are of immeasurable value; if the recipient says, ‘I have enough,’ what is immeasurable again meets with that.” / Regarding “capable of giving all”: The first fascicle of the Abhidharma-samuccaya-vyākhyā states: “Because of relying on correct defilement without timidity or anxiety, one finally realizes the nature of abiding without effort of mind.” / Giving with the head is as described in the fifth fascicle of the Bao'en jing: King Prabhāsa and others. Giving for a cause is as described in that sūtra: Prince Kṣānti and others giving hands, feet, blood, flesh, and bodily members, as described in the twelfth fascicle of the Dazhidulun: Prince Candraprabha and others. / Question: What benefits does dāna have, up to giving one's head, eyes, hands, feet, blood, flesh, and bodily members to supplicants? / Answer: The eleventh fascicle of the Dazhidulun states: “Dāna is a precious treasury that constantly follows a person. Dāna breaks suffering and can give joy to people. Dāna is a good driver, showing the celestial path. Dāna is a good storehouse, capable of gathering good people. Dāna is peace and security; at the time of death, the mind is without fear. Dāna is a part of loving-kindness, capable of rescuing all. Dāna is a great general, capable of subduing the enemy of stinginess. Dāna is a wondrous fruit, beloved of gods and humans. Dāna is a pure path, traversed by the noble and sagely. Dāna is the accumulation of goodness, the gate of merit. Dāna destroys poverty and severs the three bad destinies. Dāna is the initial condition for nirvāṇa, the essential method for entering among good people, the profound storehouse of praise and acclaim, the merit of entering an assembly without difficulty, the dwelling place of a mind free from regret, the root of practicing the path of good qualities, the thicket of various delights, the field of merit for wealth and peace, the bridge and ferry to attaining the path and nirvāṇa. It is that which is practiced by sages, great beings, and the wise, and that which is emulated by other people of modest virtue and refined discernment.”