維摩經疏卷第三．第六 3.61

3.61

文四同前。第三先徵後釋。釋中文分為兩。一出昔日被呵事。二時維摩下明教呵相。前中憶念我昔至羅睺汝佛之子捨輪王位出家為道有何等利者。此第一舉昔呵事。先問後答。毘耶離城諸長者子等摽舉問人。來至我所明請方便。問我等請問辭也。汝佛之子所承至高既捨王位所捨極重佛不出家為金輪王王四天下羅睺在家為鐵輪王王一天下諸長者子見捨重位所希必大捨素從緇名為出家安心慕法名之為道其出家者有何等利者。問其所得也。我即為說出家功德之利者。第二答其所問。因行道品名為功德。涅槃果為大利。或可。善為功德。樂名為利。又云。出家功德經云。若放男女奴婢出家其德利益不可思議最為第一。膝造寶塔高至梵天。譬如有人殺三千世界一切眾生或挑其目得罪無量。若能救得福亦無量。放人出家能自出家。福多於彼。應說此利。又分別功德經云。若一日一夜出家除六十劫生死重罪。如是廣引諸經嘆說出家功德之利不可思議。是名如法為說出家功德之利也。

The four sections of text are as before. The third section first raises the question and then explains it. The explanation is divided into two parts: first, setting forth the past incident of being reprimanded; second, from "At that time Vimalakīrti..." onward, clarifying the manner of the reprimand and instruction. In the first part, "I recall that formerly..." down to "Rāhula, you are the Buddha's son; renouncing the rank of a wheel-turning king to go forth to practice the Path, what benefit is there?": this is the first part, raising the past reprimand. First comes the question, followed by the answer. "The sons of the elders of the city of Vaiśālī and others" specifies the questioners. "Came to where I was" clarifies that they requested an upāya. "Asked me..." gives the words of the question. "You are the Buddha's son": his lineage was supreme; "having renounced the royal throne": what he renounced was extremely weighty. Had the Buddha not gone forth, he would have been a gold-wheel-turning king, ruling over the four continents; had Rāhula remained at home, he would have been an iron-wheel-turning king, ruling over one continent. The sons of the elders saw that he had renounced a weighty position, so what he sought must be great. "Abandoning the white [robes of the laity] to follow the black [robes of the monastic]" is called "going forth"; settling one's mind to aspire to the Dharma is called "the Path." "In such renunciation, what benefit is there?" asks what was attained. "I then explained to them the benefit of the merits of renunciation": this is the second part, answering their question. Practicing the aids to the Path as a cause is called "merit"; the fruit of nirvāṇa is the "great benefit." Or alternatively, good is merit, and joy is called benefit. Moreover, the Sūtra on the Merit of Renunciation says: "If one permits sons, daughters, male and female slaves to go forth, the merit and benefit are inconceivable and supreme. Even if one were to build a jeweled stūpa reaching up to the Brahmā heaven... For example, if someone were to kill all the sentient beings of a three-thousandfold world or gouge out their eyes, their sin would be boundless; if one were able to save them, the merit would likewise be boundless. Yet if one allows others to go forth or can go forth oneself, the merit exceeds that." He must have spoken of such benefits. Furthermore, the Sūtra on the Discrimination of Merit says: "If one goes forth for a single day and night, it eliminates the grave sins of birth and death for sixty kalpas." Extensively citing various sūtras in this manner, he praised and spoke of the inconceivable benefits of the merits of renunciation. This is called explaining according to the Dharma the benefits of the merits of renunciation.