維摩經疏卷第三．第六 6.29

6.29

Second, explaining the fragrant rice mentioned earlier. The text contains three distinct parts: first, Ānanda asks a question, and the Buddha replies in full; second, Śāriputra himself speaks of the fragrance of his body, Ānanda inquires closely, and Śāriputra replies in full; third, Ānanda asks about the duration until the rice is digested, and Vimalakīrti explains it. In the first part, the question is raised at the beginning: from "The fragrance smelled now was never heard of from of old; what kind of fragrance is this?" down to where the Buddha explains it for him. The fragrance of that bodhisattva's pores is the pore-fragrance of the bodhisattvas of Sarvagandhasugandhā. Question: Earlier, the fragrance universally perfumed the trichiliocosm; why did Ānanda not smell it then and only smells it now? Answer: Because it was not his capacity, although it was near, he did not smell it; now, to broadly illuminate the Buddha's work, he is made to smell it. Alternatively, it is said: in the garden Ānanda had already smelled this fragrance, and now, wishing to reveal the preeminence of the rice and broadly illuminate the Buddha's work, he therefore asks again, not that he did not smell it before. In the second part, first Śāriputra himself speaks of his body's fragrance; next Ānanda asks where this came from; afterwards Śāriputra explains: "The elder Vimalakīrti fetched the leftover rice of the Buddha from the land of Sarvagandhasugandhā; for those who ate it in his house, all their pores are fragrant like this; therefore my body is fragrant." In the third part, there are two questions and answers. First, Ānanda asks about the abiding of the fragrance; the text is as below where Vimalakīrti replies. Up to this, when the rice is digested, Ānanda asks again; the text is as below where he replies. In the reply there are three parts: first the teaching, next the simile, and finally the application. In the first part, there are three: first regarding ordinary beings, next regarding the two vehicles, and finally regarding bodhisattvas. "The power of this rice lasts for seven days and only then is digested": this is spoken regarding ordinary beings whose capacity is only seven days, after which the rice is digested. Alternatively, it is said: fragrant rice has the three sense-data as its nature and is common to ordinary beings and āryas alike; the fragrant rice benefits the body for only seven days. If an ordinary person who has not yet aroused practice eats this fragrant rice, within seven days he arouses human and heavenly practices, and only then is it digested. If persons of the Mahāyāna or Hīnayāna who have not yet aroused the mind [for bodhi] eat this fragrant rice, within seven days, according to what is appropriate, the power of the fragrant rice perfumes them, and upon their arousing the mind it is digested; it is like an ārya destined for seven rebirths, or like a serpent whose poison acts within seven steps. Kuiji says: There are three powers of the rice: ordinary beings have slight merit and obtain only seven days, which is called the lowest. The two vehicles are intermediate, so upon attaining the first fruit, the correct state, and the arhat's mental liberation, it is only then digested, which is called the intermediate. In the Mahāyāna, from arousing the mind up to being bound to one rebirth, it is only then digested, which is called the highest. Corresponding to the three grades of sentient beings, it first says "seven days." If explained according to stages, these are the five contemplations for settling the mind and the seven expedients: first, contemplation of impurity; second, contemplation of the analysis of realms; third, contemplation of loving-kindness and compassion; fourth, contemplation of causes and conditions; fifth, contemplation of counting the breath; sixth, the mindfulness of specific and general characteristics; seventh, the roots of goodness leading to liberation. Passing through these seven stages, eating the rice of great compassion enables the abandoning of defilements, and the fragrant rice ceases its functioning; hence it says "digested in seven days." If following the Sarvāstivāda school: first, the five contemplations for settling the mind; second, mindfulness of specific characteristics; third, general characteristics; fourth, warmth; fifth, summit; sixth, patience; seventh, the highest worldly dharmas: these make up the seven. The "correct state": next, for the two vehicles, from the patience with the dharma of suffering onwards, the sixteen minds of seeing the truths are called entering the correct state. According to the New Sūtra: for those who have not yet abandoned desire, if they eat this rice, they must necessarily attain abandonment of desire, and only then is it digested; this is the third fruit. "Attaining mental liberation": this refers to the fruit of the arhat. Within the Mahāyāna, the three phrases: up to "arousing the mind" refers to arousing the mind for bodhi from the ten faiths upward. "Attaining patience with the unarisen": from the first bhūmi upward, one attains the patience with the unarisen nature of dharmas; in actual fact, all four patiences are attained, but it takes its name from the first. Question: The sūtra says, "For those who have already aroused the mind, eating this rice, it is only after [attaining] patience with the unarisen that it is digested"; from the ten faiths to the first bhūmi takes the first asaṃkhyeya-kalpa. Since this is a long time, casting off bodies and receiving bodies, the fragrant rice cannot still remain across lifetimes; how can it be said that it is digested only upon attaining patience with the unarisen? Answer: There are four meanings. First: bodhisattvas on the direct path, at the head of the bhūmis, have bodies of fragmented transmigration; although they cast off life and receive life, they still eat the fragrant rice and arouse the mind of contemplation in uninterrupted continuity; upon entering the first bhūmi, this induces outflow-free wisdom, severs delusions, and realizes suchness; when its function ceases, this is called "being digested." Second: these bodhisattvas again cast off life and receive bodies; in subsequent bodies, there are seeds within consciousness, and when seeds encounter conditions they arise again; the fragrant rice continues without interruption, flowing to the first bhūmi to arouse the outflow-free mind, severing delusions and realizing the real; this is called "being digested," not that the extinction of the food is called "being digested." Third: bodhisattvas who have converted their minds, from the ten faiths and ten abodes upward, receive bodies of inconceivable transformation in uninterrupted continuity; they still eat the fragrant rice, which induces the true path of seeing, severs both obstacles, and realizes true analytical cessation; when its function ceases, this is called "being digested," not that there is no food. Fourth: although the bodies of lesser bodhisattvas are of fragmented transmigration, they still eat this inconceivable rice, which sustains these bodies in uninterrupted continuity; upon entering the first bhūmi, it induces the mūla-jñāna, severs delusions, and realizes suchness; this is called "being digested," not the extinction of the food. Therefore the earlier sūtra says: "A morsel like Mount Sumeru... yet all could not exhaust it." Moreover, the earlier sūtra says: "The leftovers eaten by those endowed with inexhaustible morality, samādhi, wisdom, and merit can never be exhausted." The Lotus Sūtra says: "At that time Śākyamuni Buddha sat silently, and the four assemblies were also silent; for fifty small kalpas, through the Buddha's supernatural power, he made the great assembly deem it as half a day." Again, the Lotus Sūtra says: "When the Buddha Candrasūryapradīpa preached the Lotus Sūtra for sixty small kalpas, the listeners in the assembly deemed it as half a day." In truth they listened for sixty small kalpas; by the power of the sūtra, sentient beings were sustained through sixty kalpas without dying; this is also like that. Again, it is like Mahākāśyapa entering nirodha-samāpatti on Mount Kukkuṭapāda, preserving his body to await Maitreya Buddha; after 5,600,000,000 years, Maitreya will descend and be born to meet the Buddha; in the interim he does not die, for the power of samādhi sustains his body; the efficacy of the fragrant rice is also like this, as explained in the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa. According to the New Sūtra: for those who have already realized patience with the unarisen, if they eat this rice, they must necessarily dwell securely in the irreversible stage, and only then is it digested; this is the stage of the eighth bhūmi. "Those who attain being bound to one rebirth": in the final mind of the tenth bhūmi, the knowledge of all modes becomes manifest and subtle obstacles are eliminated; this rice is then digested. From "Just as there is a medicine..." downward: establishing a simile to elucidate. "Named 'Supreme Taste'": listing the name of the medicine. From "If anyone has eyes..." downward: clarifying the medicine's function. "This rice is also like this": the application. From "Supreme Taste eliminates..." downward: the application; all poisons of the body are eliminated, and only then is it digested. Question: Since the fragrant rice is a physical form (rūpa-dharma), how does it sever delusions? Answer: Huiyuan says: by the inconceivable power of the fragrant rice of great compassion, it is therefore able to sever delusions. Just as a cakravartin has a jeweled couch upon which the sage king sits, and he is immediately able to abandon desire; and having attained four kinds of jade maidens, though seeing them, it is like beholding an image of the Buddha, and no lustful mind arises; how much more so for the spheres experienced by buddhas and bodhisattvas! As the sūtra says: a bodhisattva has a crown that illumines dharma-nature; when wearing this crown, all dharmas are fully present to the mind; other matters are also like this. Although there is this explanation, in principle it is not so: how could a physical form have the intrinsic nature to sever delusions? It is only that the fragrant rice sustains and arouses the wisdom of contemplation that can sever afflictions, not that the substance of the food itself can sever delusions.