維摩經疏 1.14

1.14

Next below is the question on subduing. Within the text there are three parts: first, Mañjuśrī asks; second, Vimalakīrti answers; third, it clarifies the benefit of the teaching. "Mañjuśrī said: 'Householder, how should a sick bodhisattva subdue their mind?'" is the first, the question. As for "a sick bodhisattva," it asks about those bodhisattvas from the initial mind of the ten understandings up to the diamond-[like samādhi], who are collectively called "having sickness." In terms of principle, bodhisattvas prior to the stages who have proceeded directly receive the retribution of fragmented [life and death] and have the fact of sickness; therefore they are called "having sickness." Those on the first bhūmi and above do not actually have sickness, but here, in terms of taking afflictions to be sickness, because those on the first bhūmi and above have that grasp of dharmas and the ground of ignorance, they are collectively called "bodhisattvas having sickness." As for "how should they subdue their mind?": "subduing" (tiao) means training them to leave faults behind; "subduing" (fu) means suppressing them to cultivate goodness. Now it asks how those bodhisattvas from the ten understandings onward cultivate contemplation to sever afflictions and cause themselves to ultimately have no sickness in their bodies; therefore it says, "how should they subdue their mind?" Below, Vimalakīrti answers. The purport of the answer is: teaching those bodhisattvas prior to the stages to cultivate preparatory wisdom, realize the emptiness of persons, and sever the self of persons; and also teaching them the contemplation of the emptiness of dharmas to suppress the self of dharmas. For those on the first bhūmi and above, he teaches them to cultivate fundamental nonconceptual wisdom, enter into the inherently existent true thusness of the emptiness of dharmas, sever the self of dharmas, and realize the two emptinesses, thereby forever eliminating the two selves. When the self does not arise, this is called subduing. Having [already] subdued oneself, one must furthermore benefit others; therefore he also teaches them to give rise to great compassion and gather and transform according to what is present. The meaning of his answer lies in this. In the text there are two parts: first, clarifying what is cultivated; second, from "not abiding therein" onward, revealing what is accomplished. What is cultivated is cultivating wisdom and cultivating compassion. What is accomplished is accomplishing the practices of the non-abiding path. Within the preceding "what is cultivated," the text again has two parts: first, directly clarifying what is cultivated; second, concluding the accomplishment of subduing. Within the first, directly clarifying what is cultivated, the text has three pairs of cultivating wisdom and cultivating compassion. From the beginning of the text up to "one should contemplate in this way" constitutes the first pair of cultivating wisdom and cultivating compassion. Again, from "furthermore contemplating the body as impermanent" onward constitutes the second pair of cultivating wisdom and cultivating compassion. Later, from "furthermore contemplating the body: the body is not separate from sickness" onward constitutes the third pair of cultivating wisdom and cultivating compassion. Question: What is the difference among these three pairs? Answer: If one relies on the commentary's explanation, four meanings clarify the difference; I cannot relate them in full, so I will briefly raise one meaning. The first pair cultivates wisdom and compassion in terms of the profound principle of emptiness. The second pair explains cultivating wisdom and compassion in terms of the principles of suffering and impermanence. The third pair explains cultivating wisdom and compassion in terms of the matter of bodily sickness. Furthermore, according to another explanation: the first pair is spoken for people of superior faculties; the next pair is spoken for people of middling faculties; the last pair is spoken for people of inferior faculties. Within the first pair, the text has two parts: first, directly teaching wisdom and compassion; second, concluding with an exhortation to cultivate and train. Within the former, directly teaching wisdom and compassion, the rough outline has two parts, and the fine division has four. The two of the rough outline: first, clarifying the cultivation of wisdom; second, from "that sick bodhisattva, through having nothing received" onward, clarifying the cultivation of compassion. The four of the fine division: in the former cultivation, one cultivates lesser wisdom and greater wisdom; in the latter cultivation of compassion, one cultivates lesser compassion and greater compassion; thus they make four. In terms of principle, when cultivating lesser wisdom, one immediately cultivates lesser compassion; when cultivating greater wisdom, one immediately cultivates greater compassion. However, expositors of Dharma wish to make wisdom and compassion distinct, and therefore speak of them separately. This is the sequence of explanation, not the sequence of practice. Within the former cultivation of wisdom, the text has two sections: first, clarifying the cultivation of lesser wisdom; second, from "attaining this equality" onward, clarifying the cultivation of greater wisdom. Cultivating lesser wisdom precisely corresponds to prior to the stages; cultivating greater wisdom is on the stages. Within the former cultivation of lesser wisdom, the text again has two parts: first, teaching the contemplation of the emptiness of persons; second, from "that sick bodhisattva, in order to extinguish the conception of dharmas" onward, teaching the contemplation of the emptiness of dharmas. Question: Since bodhisattvas prior to the stages cultivate that lesser wisdom, they should only practice the contemplation of the emptiness of persons; why do they also practice the contemplation of the emptiness of dharmas? Answer: Bodhisattvas prior to the stages, at the initial mind of the ten understandings, sever that ground of clinging to a single view; the grasp of a self of persons is exhausted, and they realize the emptiness of persons. In the grounds of the three attachments, they only sever active occurrences; regarding their seeds, they retain them and do not sever them. From the second thought of the ten understandings onward, they learn the contemplation of the emptiness of dharmas to suppress that mind of grasping at dharmas, which is the seeds of ignorance outside the realms. This is realizing and accomplishing the emptiness of persons. As for the emptiness of dharmas, they train in it but have not yet realized it. Therefore the Bodhisattvabhūmi Sūtra says: 'A bodhisattva of the gotra is purified of the two hindrances: if the affliction hindrance is severed, it is purified; the hindrance to all-knowledge is called purified because it is suppressed.' Thus we know that bodhisattvas prior to the stages learn the contemplation of the emptiness of dharmas to suppress the grasp of dharmas.