維摩經抄 1.27

1.27

The commentary explains: The character yue (曰) has the sound yue (越); it is an initial particle for Śāriputra's speech. The sūtra states: "How could one listen to the Dharma while eating food mixed with desire?" The commentary explains: Among the four kinds of food, morsel food of the desire realm is called "mixed with desire," because it can generate greedy thoughts and arouse defiling desire. The sūtra states: "The Buddha lands of the ten directions are all like empty space." The commentary explains: Having neither defilement nor purity, open, pervasive, and unobstructed; therefore they are like space. The sūtra states: "The Buddha, wishing to transform those who delight in lesser teachings, does not fully display his pure land." The commentary explains: The two vehicles and ordinary persons are called "lesser sentient beings"; defilement arises from purity, which is termed "manifesting"; because it is difficult to transform them while dwelling in purity, it is not manifested. The sūtra states: "Do not eat it with a measured mind, causing it not to be digested." The commentary explains: Gauging its quantity is called a "measured mind"; the small being unable to accommodate the large is called "not digested." The sūtra states: "Still it was not exhausted (ci)." The commentary explains: Ci means "exhausted"; east of the mountains, being exhausted is called ci. The sūtra states: "The Tathāgata Gandhavyūha does not teach with letters, but merely uses various fragrances to enable all the devas and humans to enter the practice of the discipline." The commentary explains: Fragrance is one among the five sense objects. Among the three natures, it is of the indeterminate nature alone, neither wholesome nor unwholesome, and also without verbal expression. Among the six sense faculties, it is grasped by the olfactory faculty. The sentient beings of the Gandhavyūha world have sharp faculties and do not depend upon letters, sounds, or words to express good and evil; merely by smelling the fragrance, they are able to enter realization and immediately attain the virtue-treasury samādhi. This samādhi possesses merits as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, hence it is called "virtue-treasury." The sūtra states: "The sentient beings of this land are unyielding and difficult to transform; only by speaking harsh and painful words can they be brought to generate the mind [for bodhi]. This is hell, this is the animal realm, this is the hungry ghost realm (the three evil destinies); these are the difficult situations (the eight difficult situations); these are the birthplaces of foolish people (the borderlands and low castes)." Furthermore, sound in this land is also one among the five sense objects; it encompasses good and evil, possesses verbal expression, and constitutes verbal karma. The dull-rooted beings of this land necessarily require verbal karma; only with earnest and severe words can they be taught and transformed. Furthermore, the sounds and fragrances of this land increase defilement and foster transgression, whereas the sounds and fragrances of the pure land are all Buddha-deeds, just as the waterbirds and groves of trees are all able to expound the Dharma and cause them to enter the discipline of hearing fragrance. The sūtra states: "These bodhisattvas are also capable of toiling and yielding, born in this Buddha land with immeasurable great compassion."