淨名經關中釋抄 1.28

"Thus" (evaṃ): The Da zhidu lun says: "'Thus' is an expression of good faith. One who does not believe says, 'This matter is not thus.' One who believes says, 'This matter is thus.' In the great ocean of the Buddha's teaching, faith is what enables one to enter, and wisdom is what enables one to cross over." However, because both the treatise and the commentary treat "thus" merely as an expression of faith, they explain "faith" directly without parsing the characters for "thus". Since this is not the main principle's secret meaning, there is no need to extensively cite wordy explanations. "Have I heard": The commentary's text already provides sufficient proof for the sutra's meaning; there is no trouble to explain it further. Yet, if one wishes to lay it out horizontally, the Da zhidu lun says: "To conform with worldly convention, one says 'I'; due to the harmonious coming together, it is called 'hearing'." This means that although Ānanda and the others had realized selflessness, to comply with worldly convention in transmitting the sutra they said "I". "Harmonious hearing" means that the three—faculty, object, and consciousness—harmoniously combine to constitute hearing. If Ānanda had said "I spoke", then because his wisdom was not yet perfect and his insight into dharmas was not deep, it would not have been believable. If he had said "It is reported [by others] that I heard it", that might have led to falsity and error. Now, saying "have I heard" indicates that he personally heard it and did not speak it himself; therefore, it is trustworthy. Question: During the six chapters [set] in the room, Ānanda was in the Āmra Grove and did not hear them; why does he say "have I heard"? Answer: The Bao'en jing says that when Ānanda was appointed by the Buddha to be his attendant, he asked the Buddha for four wishes: first, not to accept old robes; second, not to follow separate invitations; third, to have anyone wishing to see the Buddha restrained by him; fourth, to have what he had not yet heard repeated for him. Here, the six chapters [set] in the room, the sūtras before Ānanda became attendant when the Buddha first attained awakening, as well as what was not heard at the time of the Nirvāṇa, were all repeated for him. "At one time": [Daosheng] said: "When the capacity of beings affects the sage, the sage can respond. The spiritual communion between ordinary beings and the sage does not miss the opportune moment; this is called 'at one time'." It also says: "Because the speaking and listening are complete, it is called 'at one time'." Question: Why does it not specify the seasons, such as spring or autumn? Answer: The Buddhabhūmi-śāstra says: "The divisions of day and night are not uniform across the various regions; they cannot be spoken of separately." "The Buddha was staying": This is the master who speaks the sutra, proving that it is trustworthy. This has two senses: first, because his precepts are pure, he is eternally free from falsehood and what he speaks is genuine and true, hence trustworthy; second, because his awakening is complete, his wisdom shines without flaw and his speech necessarily accords with the principle, hence trustworthy. In the text, what is spoken by bodhisattvas and disciples is also certified by the Buddha, and all can be called sūtras. It is like the ministers of the world who submit affairs in a memorial to the ruler; once the master sanctions and puts it into practice, it is called an imperial edict. "Staying" (zai) means abiding (zhu). The Da zhidu lun says: "There are four kinds of abiding: first, heavenly abiding—abiding in giving, precepts, and goodness; second, brahma abiding—abiding in the four dhyānas and four immeasurables; third, noble abiding—abiding in the three gates of liberation; fourth, Buddha abiding—abiding in the Buddha's immeasurable virtues, powers, fearlessnesses, and so forth." Paramārtha adds four more: first, abiding in boundaries—abiding in the sixteen great states; second, abiding in reliance—abiding in the saṃghārāma; third, abiding in deportment—walking, standing, sitting, and lying down; fourth, not having abandoned the life-span, not having entered parinirvāṇa. Here, "staying" means abiding in the Āmrapālī Grove to preach. "The great city of Vaiśālī" (Guangyan Cheng): In the old Indic it was called Pishiāli. The Xiyu ji says: "In Central India, the state of Vaiśālī is five thousand li in circumference." Here it is translated as "Wide and Magnificent" (Guangyan); it is the place where the sutra was preached. Zhi Daolin says: "Although the dharmakāya is nowhere absent, the traces of response must have a specific location. If one did not record the place of preaching, it would be utterly reckless." However, the Buddha's true and pure dharmakāya abides in the city of the wide and magnificent fundamental dharma-nature; out of great compassion responding to beings, he abides in the city of the wide and magnificent among mortals. This is manifesting traces from the fundamental, revealing the fundamental by virtue of the traces. "Āmra Grove": In this grove, an āmra tree gave birth to a girl. The king of the country marvelled at this and enfeoffed the girl with the grove. When the girl saw the Buddha, she rejoiced and renounced it to make a saṃghārāma; hence it is called the grove. Therefore, the Xiyu ji says: "Not far south of the city of Vaiśālī, in front of the vihāra, there is a stūpa; it is the grove of the girl Āmrapālī, the place she took and offered to the Buddha." "Grove" (yuan) is called saṃghārāma in Sanskrit; here translated as "assembly grove". It is not a garden because vegetables are planted there; rather, it is a grove because the trees of the path are cultivated. Hence it is said: "the park of dhāraṇī"; it is also like a bodhimaṇḍa, which is a ground for cultivating the path. Furthermore, this grove and city are referred to generally together. "Determining the specific locations": In this sutra, the three chapters—Buddha Land, Disciples, and Bodhisattvas—as well as the subsequent seven chapters—Bodhisattva Practices, Seeing Akṣobhya, Dharma Offering, and Entrustment—are explicitly in the Āmra Grove. From the Inquiring about Illness Chapter onward, the six chapters where Mañjuśrī enters the room are located inside Vimalakīrti's room. The Expedient Means Chapter, according to its fundamental transforming activity, is also inside the room. When Ratnakūṭa addresses and proclaims to the Buddha and the Buddha gives his confirmation, that takes place in the Āmra Grove. Furthermore, the Sarvagandhadhvaja Chapter also includes that [other] realm; questions and answers are likewise subsumed according to each chapter, and are not discussed separately. As for the matter appearing in other sūtras: the Wu edition saying "the Grove of Lady Nai" is mistaken. That is, someone saw the Nai Nü Jing mentioning that the girl Nai was born, and thought that the girl Āmrapālī was Lady Nai; this misses the correct fact. From "together with a great assembly of bhikṣus" onward, the assembly is enumerated. Some say there are eight intentions: first, to certify faith and assist in accomplishing the path, since Ānanda's hearing it together makes it trustworthy; second, to reveal virtue, since Śakra and Brahmā surrounding the Buddha reveals his virtue; third, to initiate the questioning about the pure land; fourth, to illuminate the virtues of Vimalakīrti; fifth, to benefit the appropriate capacities; sixth, for common tasks, leading and gathering those with whom there is an affinity; seventh, for fulfillment, cultivating the Dharma offering; eighth, to receive and bear, promising to transmit the sutra upon being entrusted. In "together with the great bhikṣus", "together with" (yu) has the sense of "in common with", meaning that Ānanda heard it in common with them. This single "together with" carries through to the various assemblies below. The Da zhidu lun gives seven meanings of "in common with": first, having the same marks, sharing the mark of being without outflows; second, having the same mind, sharing the concentration without outflows; third, having the same view, sharing right view; fourth, having the same path, sharing the path of the non-learner; fifth, having the same liberation, sharing liberation through both; sixth, having the same time, sharing the time of hearing the sutra; seventh, having the same place, sharing the Āmra Grove. "Great": The Buddhabhūmi-śāstra explains it with four meanings: first, having the gotra of the pāramitās with sharp faculties; second, the fruit of the non-learner; third, an indeterminate gotra turning the mind toward the Great; fourth, a vast number in the assembly. The Da zhidu lun gives five meanings: first, being the most supreme among all assemblies; second, having severed all hindrances; third, being respected by kings and great people; fourth, being vast in number; fifth, crushing the treatises of the ninety-six heterodox teachers. The four meanings of "bhikṣu" include pure begging for food, because of leaving behind the four wrong [livelihoods]: first, downward-facing eating, through plowing fields and planting; second, upward-facing eating, through looking up at the stars and constellations, etc.; third, directional eating, through running messages and communications; fourth, intermediate-directional eating, through divination and so forth. The five wrong ways: first, displaying the extraordinary and altering normal behavior; second, speaking loudly to display authority; third, proclaiming one's own virtues; fourth, divining auspiciousness and misfortune; fifth, praising the gains one has received. "Sattva": In the Qin language it is said to be "great mind". The Da zhidu lun says:

"Endowed with great vows" (vows being great is called 'great', which refers to the four universal vows), "their minds immovable" (the mind being great is called 'great', unmoved by the four māras), and "advancing vigorously without turning back" (able to endure what is hard to endure). The first, great vows, constitutes the meaning of sentient beings. The second, great mind, constitutes the meaning of sentient beings with great minds. The third, great vigor, constitutes the meaning of bravery and strength. The *Daśabhūmikavyākhyāna* lists ten kinds: first, bodhi-sattva, because of being born from awakening-wisdom; second, mahā-sattva, because of abiding in the Great Vehicle; third, agra-sattva (foremost sattva), because of realizing the foremost dharma; fourth, viśiṣṭa-sattva (distinguished sattva), awakening to the distinguished dharma; fifth, uttama-sattva (supreme sattva), because wisdom is supreme; sixth, uttara-sattva (higher sattva), because of giving rise to higher vigor; seventh, anuttara-sattva (unexcelled sattva), because of disclosing the unexcelled dharma; eighth, bala-sattva (empowered sattva), because of broadly knowing the ten powers; ninth, anupama-sattva (incomparable sattva), because of being incomparable in the world; tenth, acintya-sattva (inconceivable sattva), because of achieving Buddhahood in a single thought-moment. Furthermore, as explained below in "Not Exhausting the Conditioned," not departing from great loving-kindness, not abandoning great compassion, being courageous in mind through countless kalpas of saṃsāra, and being tireless in intent upon hearing of the Buddha's immeasurable virtues—all these elucidate the mind of a bodhisattva. / Regarding "bodies born of defilement and karma": what is explained in the Lesser Vehicle's *Kośa* is that up until achieving Buddhahood and entering nirvāṇa, all are bodies born of defilement and karma, not recognizing responsive births of the dharmakāya. What the Great Vehicle explains is responsive births of the dharmakāya. The *Benevolent Kings Sūtra* states that the thirty minds of bodhisattvas prior to the stages are born of defilement and karma; from the first to the seventh stage they are born according to their vows; and from the eighth stage onward the dharmakāya is unborn, manifesting births in response to beings. This is the dharmakāya. / Regarding "great wisdom and fundamental practices," Tiantai states: "Great wisdom praises understanding; fundamental practices praise conduct. Understanding is like the eyes; conduct is like the feet. When eyes and feet are both complete, one reaches the cool pond." Furthermore, there are two kinds of wisdom: both ultimate and provisional wisdom; ultimate wisdom is the fundamental, hence it is great. Furthermore, there are three kinds of wisdom: first, all-knowledge, which contemplates emptiness; second, knowledge of the aspects of the path, which illuminates the provisional; third, knowledge of all aspects, which illuminates the middle. Because wisdom's substance and function are complete, it is called 'great wisdom'. Furthermore, there are four kinds of wisdom: first, the wisdom of accomplishing actions; second, the wisdom of marvelous observation; third, the wisdom of equality; fourth, the great round mirror wisdom. Here, the fourth is the great one. The ten wisdoms of the Lesser Vehicle are not what is explained here. / "Dharma city": In Wei Zhao's *Shimeng*, it is said: "'City' (*cheng*) means abundant (*cheng*), because it abounds in people and goods." The *Bowuzhi* says: "Yu of the Xia built cities: the strong attack, equals battle, and the weak defend." Now the Buddha's Dharma is also like this: the weak defend with precepts, equals battle with concentration, and the strong attack with wisdom. Thus a metaphor is borrowed. The *Daśabhūmika Sūtra* speaks of four kinds of protection: first, protecting the teaching-dharma, by copying and expounding it; second, protecting the principle-dharma, by personally realizing it and teaching others; third, protecting the practice-dharma, by personally practicing it and teaching others; fourth, protecting the fruit-dharma, by personally attaining it and causing others to attain it. / "All have been completely purified": Non-Buddhists sever fetters through the six practices, but once severed they arise again. When the two vehicles sever defilements via the paths of seeing and cultivation, they do not comprehend that the original nature is quiescent and extinguished; hence neither is called 'completely'. Bodhisattvas comprehend original quiescence and extinction, hence it is called 'completely'. / The five hindrances and ten bonds are as usual. Regarding "immeasurable hindrances and bonds": in the complete Great Vehicle, all defilements equally obscure the true principle; whenever defilements arise, they are all called hindrances and bonds, because they equally cover the true principle. A later passage says: "All defilements are the seat of awakening, because one knows them as they truly are." It also says: "Knowing all dharmas in a single thought-moment is the seat of awakening, because one accomplishes all-knowledge." According to this, if they did not equally cover the true principle, how could one in a single thought-moment know all dharmas equally at the time of awakening? / Regarding the "seven kinds of eloquence," the *Da zhidu lun* lists: [first,] swift eloquence (being fearless regarding dharmas); second, sharp eloquence (entering deeply with sharp faculties); third, inexhaustible eloquence (the true mark being inexhaustible); fourth, uninterrupted eloquence (free from all conceptual proliferation); fifth, adaptable eloquence (having already severed attachment to dharmas); sixth, meaningful eloquence (obtaining the benefit of nirvāṇa); seventh, supreme worldly eloquence (speaking of the matters of the Great Vehicle). / The "seven virtues" are the seven pāramitās, because they cure the defilements of the seven veils. The first, everything is distinct, such as giving curing stinginess, etc.; because they are formless and not different, it says 'their marks are not different'. / "Attaining non-attainment": 'Attaining' (*dai*) means reaching (*ji*). This means that upon reaching the eighth stage, through non-attainment it is called the forbearance of non-arising dharmas. Non-arising is simply non-birth. / "The irreversible wheel of the Dharma": In the Lesser Vehicle it is merely called the wheel of the Dharma, because it involves arising and cessation. In the Great Vehicle it is called the irreversible wheel of the Dharma, because the principle has no arising or cessation. 'Turning' means speaking. / "Adorning their forms to sway the worldly": 'Sway' (*mi*) means bend down (*yan*). This means that through the thirty-two marks and preaching the Dharma they generate goodness, just as the wind sways the grass. The *Classic of History* says: "The virtue of the gentleman is the wind; the heart of the petty person is the grass. When the wind bends the grass, the transformative guidance proceeds." / "Deeply entering dependent origination, etc.": This refers to the depth of contemplative wisdom. Because non-Buddhists hold wrong causes or no causes, they fall into wrong views. Because the two vehicles contemplate the twelve links of dependent origination as arising and ceasing, and impermanent, they only sever the primary defilements. Because bodhisattvas contemplate dependent origination as neither arising nor ceasing, with no ignorance and no exhaustion of ignorance, deeply penetrating and realizing the true mark, they have no remaining residual habits. / "Approaching the unequaled": The unequaled is the Buddha. Now the great being's sovereign wisdom is able to approach him. Tiantai says: "Equal contemplation is contemplating emptiness; unequal contemplation is contemplating nominal distinctions." / "Those who are equal and unequal": In the correct contemplation of the middle way, its substance is complete, hence 'equal'; its functions are distinct, hence 'unequal'. / "Pure joy": Joyful feeling; the joy of the pure Dharma. / "Nominal devas": The *Da zhidu lun* says: "Just as a king of a country is called the Son of Heaven." / "Born devas": All the gods. / "Noble and sage devas": Those devas who have realized the ultimate meaning. / "Wondrous birth": It can also mean being transformed and born from the Dharma. / The "four brahma practices": The *Viśeṣacintibrahmaparipṛcchā* says: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. / "The mixed assembly of devas and nāgas": In this assembly there were humans, devas, ordinary beings, sages, fundamental traces, and manifested traces, hence it is called 'mixed'. Question: If these eight classes of beings were invited by wholesome karma, they ought to receive human and deva retributions; if by unwholesome karma, they should not be fit to see the Buddha and hear the Dharma. Now, having received the forms of nāgas and ghosts, why do they attend the assembly and hear the Dharma? Answer: Tiantai says that past causes differ. First, if precepts were urgent but the vehicle was relaxed, one receives a human or deva body but does not hear the true Dharma. Second, if precepts were relaxed but the vehicle was urgent, one receives a body of a nāga or ghost and hears the true Dharma. Third, if both vehicle and precepts were urgent, one receives a human or deva body and hears the Dharma. Fourth, if both vehicle and precepts were relaxed, one receives an evil body and does not hear the Dharma.

Because of these differences, their physical forms and dharmas have different conditions. / Regarding "the devas of great majesty": / First, the six heavens of the desire realm: 1. The Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, dwelling midway up Mount Sumeru. 2. Trāyastriṃśa (here translated as "Thirty-Three Heavens"), at the summit of Mount Sumeru. 3. Yāma (here translated as "wondrous excellence"). 4. Tuṣita (here translated as "wondrously content" and also "content"). 5. Sunirmita; here translated as "delighting in transformations," where they transform palaces for themselves and enjoy them. 6. Vaśavartin; here translated as "controlling others' transformations," where they enjoy palaces transformed by others. / Second, the form realm has eighteen heavens: 1. The three heavens of the first dhyāna: Brahmā-pāriṣadya, Brahmā-purohita, and Mahā-brahmā. 2. The three heavens of the second dhyāna: Parīttābha, Apramāṇābha, and Ābhāsvara. 3. The three heavens of the third dhyāna: Parīttaśubha, Apramāṇaśubha, and Śubhakṛtsna. 4. The nine heavens of the fourth dhyāna: 1. Anabhraka; 2. Puṇyaprasava; 3. Bṛhatphala (the above are the three grades of ordinary-being heavens); 4. Asañjñisattva (the non-Buddhist heaven); 5. Avṛha; 6. Atapa; 7. Sudṛśa; 8. Sudarśana; 9. Akaniṣṭha (these five are the anāgāmin heavens). / The formless realm has four heavens: 1. The sphere of infinite space; 2. The sphere of infinite consciousness; 3. The sphere of nothingness; 4. The sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. / The explanation of these various heavens involves five different categories: / 1. Explaining the bodily measurements. A verse in the Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya states: / "The height of humans in Jambudvīpa / is three and a half cubits or four cubits (a cubit being one chi and five cun). / For humans of the eastern, western, and northern continents, / each doubles successively." / The explanation states: The height of a human in Jambudvīpa is six chi. The eastern continent doubles that of the southern; the western again doubles that of the eastern; and the northern again doubles that of the western. / "For the desire-realm devas, [starting from] a krośa, / each increases by a quarter." / The explanation states: A krośa is two li. Increasing by a quarter means: in the first heaven it is half a li, up to the sixth heaven where it is three li. / "For the form-realm devas, [measured in] yojanas, / the first four increase by halves; / above these, they double successively, / with Anabhraka alone decreasing by three." / The explanation states: This means Brahmā-pāriṣadya is half a yojana, Brahmā-purohita is one yojana, the King of Brahmā is one and a half yojanas, and Parīttābha is two yojanas. "Above these, they double successively" means Apramāṇābha is four yojanas, and so on. Only Anabhraka Heaven decreases by three yojanas from the doubled number. / 2. Explaining the lifespan. A verse in the treatise states: / "Fifty human years / make one day and night in the lowest heaven; / based on this, the lifespan is five hundred [years], / and the upper five double successively." / "The lowest heaven" refers to the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings. "Double successively" means: each doubles the days and months, and each doubles the lifespan. / "In the form realm there is no difference of day and night; / the number of kalpas equals their bodily measure." / The explanation states: This means the body of Brahmā-pāriṣadya is half a yojana and the lifespan is half a kalpa; the body of Brahmā-purohita is one yojana and the lifespan is one kalpa. The rest can be understood accordingly. / A verse in the treatise states: / "The first formless [realm] is twenty thousand; / each subsequent one increases by two and two." / The explanation states: This means the sphere of infinite space is twenty thousand [kalpas], the sphere of infinite consciousness is forty thousand, and so on. / 3. Explaining size at birth. A verse states: / "In the desire [realm], from five to ten; / in the form [realm], complete and clothed." / The explanation states: This means that when first born in the first heaven of the desire realm, one is like a five-year-old, up to the sixth heaven where one is like a ten-year-old. When first born in the form-realm heavens, they are already complete and furthermore their bodies are clothed, which is because their practice of causes placed weight on the mind of shame and modesty. / 4. Distances between the celestial palaces. A verse in the treatise states: / "As the distance descending below, / the count ascending above is also thus." / The explanation states: This means the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings is forty thousand yojanas above the ocean, and the distance to the heaven above is also thus. Trāyastriṃśa is eighty thousand [yojanas] above the ocean, and the distance to the heaven above is also thus. The higher ones can be understood accordingly. / Furthermore, as a verse in the treatise states: / "The formless realm has no location; / because birth is of four kinds, / relying on generic similarity and the life faculty, / it causes mind and so forth to continue." / Furthermore, the doctrine of the various schools and the Mahāyāna asserting that form exists [there] is explained elsewhere. / Next, what about the lifespans of the three destinies? / The lifespans of animals are mostly indeterminate; if the lifespan is extremely long, it can also be one medium kalpa. / Hungry ghosts take one human month as one day, and multiplying this into years, their lifespan is five hundred years. / The lifespans in the hells are indeterminate. For the eight hot hells: Saṃjīva has the same lifespan as the Four Heavenly Kings. Kālasūtra, Saṃghāta, Raurava, Mahāraurava, and Tapana—these five correspond in order to the five desire-realm heavens. In Pratāpana, it is half a medium kalpa; in Avīci, an entire medium kalpa. Mahāyāna sūtras also speak of eighty-four thousand kalpas, and so on. / For the eight cold hells, a verse in the treatise states: / "The lifespan of Arbuda / is like a vāha of sesame seeds: / removing one every hundred years until exhausted; / each subsequent one increases twenty-fold." / A vāha of sesame seeds: like twenty hu bins of sesame seeds, from which one sesame seed is removed every hundred years until exhausted. The lifespan of Arbuda is also like this. / 5. Differences in types of birth: Humans and animals possess all four. Hells, devas, and the intermediate state have only apparitional birth. Hungry ghosts may have womb or apparitional birth. / The eight cold hells are: 1. Arbuda (here translated as "bursting blisters"); 2. Nirarbuda (also translated as "bursting blisters"); these two are the arising of blisters due to cold. 3. Aṭaṭa; 4. Hahava; 5. Huhuva; these three are sounds made while enduring the cold. 6. Utpala, here translated as "blue lotus"; 7. Padma, here translated as "red lotus"; 8. Mahāpadma, here translated as "great lotus"; these three describe bodies split by the cold. / Regarding "the four assemblies": / In principle, there are seven assemblies: 1. bhikṣus; 2. bhikṣuṇīs; 3. śikṣamāṇās, here translated as "trainees"; 4. śrāmaṇeras, here translated as "diligently striving"; 5. śrāmaṇerikās; 6. upāsakas, of whom there are two kinds: first, those who receive the five precepts, here translated as "approaching attendants," and second, those who receive the eight precepts, here translated as "dwelling near"; 7. upāsikās, where yi means female, and the rest is as above. / Regarding "flinging a night-luminous pearl at someone": / In ancient times, the Marquis of Sui encountered a wounded snake and applied medicine to it; the snake held a night-luminous pearl in its mouth and came to repay him. Not knowing it was to repay his kindness, the Marquis of Sui drew his sword to ward it off. How much more so with the profound import of the Mahāyāna: if one does not display supernormal powers to dispel doubts and generate faith, who could transmit it? / The auspicious signs manifested here as a specific preface differ among the sūtras. As in the Lotus Sūtra, emitting a single light signifies the One Vehicle; emitting it from between the eyebrows signifies the middle way; illuminating the eastern direction signifies nirvāṇa above the three vehicles; and emitting various lights from the mouth signifies that beings of different classes all equally possess the Buddha-nature. In the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, emitting light from all limbs and joints signifies the perfection of wisdom pervading the myriad virtues of the dharmakāya. In this sūtra, uniting the canopies and manifesting the lands signifies that this sūtra is expounded with the complete dharmadhātu as the single true pure land, and further, within the single true pure land, displaying the various distinct responsive Buddha-lands throughout the ten directions according with conditions. Therefore, although this sūtra sets forth various differences, all take the pure land as their core doctrine. / Regarding "and expounded the Dharma for them": / Formerly, Master Shangtong of the Northern Qi asked Tripiṭaka Master Chang'er:

refers to preaching the Sūtra of Universal Assembly. As for "overshadowed the great assembly": in the past, when he taught the Hinayana, because the Dharma was inferior, he only manifested an inferior sixteen-foot body of a monk. Now, when he teaches the Mahayana of the Pure Land, because the Dharma is superior, he sits upon a precious lion throne and manifests a towering, sublime body that outshines and overshadows the gathered assembly. Therefore the Lotus Sūtra says that when the elder is inside the gate, his feet rest upon a precious stool and his majesty is singularly exalted; but when he steps outside the gate, he wears ragged, soiled robes, appearing fearful. Inside the gate represents the internal principle of the Mahayana true mark; outside the gate represents the inferior trace of the Hinayana manifested externally. Furthermore, the inferior manifestation in the past represented the conceivable liberation of the Hinayana; the superior manifestation now represents the inconceivable liberation of the Mahayana. Furthermore, because the Buddha manifested an inferior body in the past teachings, Vimalakīrti also took on an inferior body and lay ill; but because the present teaching manifests superior power, Vimalakīrti displays supernormal powers, sits on his seat, and lifts the great assembly in his palm. Moreover, the verse below praises his pure, wide, and long eyes, and conversely states that his preaching is neither existent nor nonexistent: this directly praises the superior body and superior Dharma of this Mahayana Dharma assembly. His initial presence under the Buddha-tree, his three turnings of the wheel of the Dharma, and so on, all pertain to the inferior body and provisional teachings of the past Hinayana period. As for "offering the canopies and joining the canopies": offering the canopies below by presenting them upwards signifies that the cause necessarily tends toward the fruit. Joining the canopies, where the many different ones become this single one, signifies that in the cause there are distinctions, but upon reaching the fruit one awakens to unity. Furthermore, the canopy symbolizes loving-kindness and compassion: in the cause there is condition-based compassion, which is diverse; in the fruit there is unconditioned compassion, which is one. As for "everything was manifested therein": manifesting the trichiliocosm within a single canopy symbolizes that the pure land of the single Dharma-nature can manifest pure and defiled lands of the ten directions in response to conditions. Hence the text below says: "The merit of all Buddhas, Tathāgatas, is equal, yet to teach and transform sentient beings, they manifest different Buddha lands." As Buddha lands differ in response to beings, the Buddha's body also varies in response to them. Therefore the Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra says: "The dharmakāya of all Buddhas is like empty space; it manifests forms in response to beings like the moon reflected in water." Since body and land are diverse, one should know that the preaching of the Dharma likewise differs in response to beings. Ratnakūṭa's question below regarding doubt arises from this. Praising it as unprecedented is an action of speech. Joining palms and paying homage to the Buddha is an action of body. Not averting one's gaze for an instant is the mind. Faith arises within, and therefore the three actions manifest externally; hence the commentary says, "The signs are manifested outwardly." "His mind pure, he has already crossed over all dhyānas and concentrations": in Sanskrit, pāramitā; here it is translated as "crossed over" and also as "the other shore." This praises the Tathāgata's reaching the ultimate limit of dhyāna and concentration. "Having guided the multitudes, he is already quiescent": "quiescent" means the cessation of nirvāṇa. This says that the Buddha guides all living beings to nirvāṇa by means of the Eightfold Noble Path, unlike the six non-Buddhist masters. "Skillfully distinguishing": within what is free of names and marks, he makes provisional distinctions with names and marks in response to sentient beings. "Unmoving in the ultimate truth": non-Buddhists speak with minds attached to views, and followers of the two vehicles speak with minds attached to dharmas—both are called "moving." The Tathāgata is free of views and attachments, and therefore remains unmoving. "Expounding the identical without contradicting the distinct, etc.": the One Vehicle is the identical; the three vehicles are the distinct. Preaching the three in response to beings means the identical does not contradict the distinct; gathering the three into one means the distinct does not contradict the identical. Furthermore, regarding self and nonself, they are non-dual: because the true nature of self and nonself is one, the distinct does not contradict the identical; because he preaches self and nonself differently in response to beings, the identical does not contradict the distinct. Pure and impure, and so forth, follow this pattern. Hence a verse in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā says: "The Buddhas have sometimes spoken of self, / And sometimes spoken of nonself; / In the true mark of all dharmas, / There is neither self nor non-self." As for "existing things are not self-originated, etc.": if a dharma originally possessed arising, it should exist without relying on conditions; but now that it exists relying on conditions, it is clear that it does not originally exist. If a dharma were definitively devoid of nature, it should remain nonexistent even when conditions assemble; yet since it exists when conditions assemble, it is clear that it is not devoid of nature. If it were definitively nonexistent, it would be like turtle hair or rabbit horns, remaining nonexistent even when conditions assemble. This refutes it by means of conditioned designations. As for "because there is existence, there is nonexistence": existence and nonexistence produce all dharmas in mutual dependence; at the exact moment of existence, there is not yet nonexistence. Since nonexistence does not yet obtain, in reliance on what can one speak of existence? Nonexistence is also like this. The Hinayana speaks of conditioned dharmas, where the four characteristics shift in sequence and thoughts arise and cease; these arisings and ceasings are also produced in mutual dependence. Furthermore, when there is arising, there is no cessation: in reliance on what can one speak of arising? When there is cessation, there is no arising: in reliance on what can one speak of cessation? Therefore it says that what is self-existent is not existent, and what is self-nonexistent is not nonexistent. "Existence also does not depend on conditions": because it already exists, it does not need conditions. Nonexistence also does not depend on conditions: because it is like rabbit horns, it is definitively nonexistent, so what use are conditions? "The treatise says": refers to the Da zhidu lun. "Arising from conditions, therefore not existent": relying on other conditions to exist, it does not possess other-existence. "Arising through conditions, therefore not nonexistent": because it is produced and arises from other conditions, how could it be called definitively nonexistent? As for "no self and no maker, etc.": since one is driven by good and evil karma, the self lacks autonomy; because the self lacks autonomy, there is no self. "The principle of nature (ziran)": the inevitability of the principle. For non-Buddhists it is nature (svabhāva); it also means the principle is naturally so. "Buddha-tree": bodhi. Because the Buddha attained the Way beneath it, it is called the Buddha-tree, and also called the Bodhi-tree. The Xiyu ji says: East of Mount Gayā in the country of Magadha lies the Mountain of True Awakening. Fourteen or fifteen li southwest of the mountain is the Bodhi-tree, an aśvattha (pippala) tree. It is enclosed by a stone wall, in the middle of which is the diamond seat (vajrāsana). In antiquity, at the beginning of the formation of the Bhadrakalpa, it arose together with the great earth; it occupies the center of the thousand realms, extending downward to the diamond wheel and upward to the surface of the earth, composed of diamond. It is over one hundred paces in circumference. Because the thousand Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa sit upon it and enter the diamond [absorption], it is called the diamond seat. This tree does not wither in winter or summer, shedding its leaves only on the day of the Buddha's nirvāṇa, and immediately regrowing as before. After the Buddha's nirvāṇa, kings of various countries erected two statues of Avalokiteśvara as markers to the north and south. Elders traditionally recounted: When these statues sink completely into the ground, the Buddha-Dharma will perish. At present, the statue at the southern corner has sunk past its chest. As for "overcoming Māra by power, etc.": there are three meanings. First, renouncing home. The Sutra of Cause and Effect says that the crown prince climbed over the city wall and renounced home at the age of nineteen. Second, studying heterodox teachings and dismantling heterodoxy. The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya says: First, he went to the city of Rājagṛha and practiced the concentration of the sphere of nothingness together with Ārāḍa Kālāma; knowing it was not the correct path, he abandoned it. Second, he went to the territory of Magadha to Udraka Rāmaputra and practiced the concentration of neither perception nor non-perception; knowing it was not, he abandoned it. Third, he went to Mount Gayāśīrṣa and practiced six years of austerities together with those non-Buddhists; knowing it was not, he likewise abandoned it. Hence the sūtra says: "With no mental deliberation and no practice of sensation, he completely subdued all non-Buddhists." Third, accepting food and attaining the Way. The Sutra of Cause and Effect says: "Now if I were to attain the Way with this emaciated body, those non-Buddhists would say that self-starvation is nirvāṇa. Therefore I should accept food and thereafter attain the Way." The Mahāvibhāṣā says: "The Bodhisattva knew that austerities were not the truth."

[The Buddha] then accepted the fragrant honey-milk porridge endowed with sixteen virtues offered by the two sisters, Nandā and Nandabalā. Having eaten it, his body and mind were peaceful and strong. From the auspicious man [Svastika] he accepted auspicious grass (kuśa), went to the Bodhi tree, laid it out with his own hands, and sat cross-legged. Having sat, he made a firm vow: "If I do not attain unsurpassed awakening, I vow never to rise." At that time the great earth shook in six ways. The demon king was alarmed and observed where the shaking came from. He then saw that the Bodhisattva had vowed to attain awakening. He sent three demon daughters to bewitch the Tathāgata. The Buddha transformed them into three old crone-women and sent them back to the palace. The demon king was greatly enraged, and then led the ghost-soldiers of the desire realm to attack and shake the Tathāgata. The demon army was utterly defeated. Therefore the sūtra says: "Beginning beneath the Buddha tree, through his power he conquered the demons, / Attaining the cessation of nectar." "Nectar" and "cessation" mean the quietude and cessation of nirvāṇa. The eternal halting of saṃsāra is like heavenly nectar. The Mahāyāna, with a single mind-moment, knows all dharmas; this is the site of awakening where all-knowledge is accomplished. Hence the Hīnayāna takes the thirty-four minds that attain the analytical cessation of neither-perception-nor-non-perception as the truth of cessation. As for the thirty-four minds of nirvāṇa: eight knowledges and eight forbearances sever the defilements of view, making sixteen minds; nine unobstructed paths and nine liberations [sever] the defilements of cultivation of the lower eight stages, but because previously through cultivating the six practices of conventional dhyāna these were already severed, now it only speaks of the eighteen minds of the single stage of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. The six practices are: loathing the lower as suffering, coarse, and obstructed, while delighting in the upper as tranquil, subtle, and departed. Furthermore, leaping over the city wall, relinquishing reception, renouncing non-Buddhists, and casting aside views, being able to extinguish craving and views—this is called "leaving home." / "Practice without reception": Sengrui said: "Practice without reception (read hèng) is as previously cited; like the austerities of non-Buddhists, he had no mind to receive and practice them. Their teachings merely [intended] to crush and subdue the non-Buddhists to make them realize that false teachings have no fruit of nirvāṇa, so the Bodhisattva did not learn them. That is to say: 'Our Dharma also has nirvāṇa; since the Bodhisattva practiced it and did not attain it, one knows it does not.' Thus they were crushed and subdued." Zhao said: "Practice without reception (read xìng) means that ordinary beings and the two vehicles grasp at characteristics, and so have a mind that receives. When there is a mind that receives, there is attachment; when there is attachment, practice arises. The Buddha's wisdom does not grasp at characteristics, so he is without mind. When without mind, there is no receiving; when there is no receiving, practice does not arise. Therefore the commentary says: 'The mind is defiled with existence; once defiled with existence, it is born, and then grasps at characteristics.'" / "Suffering and pleasure are practices": this means that receiving and attaching to suffering and pleasure creates intention and gives rise to practices. / "Merged with the real, its substance is quiescent": this means that because both object and wisdom are empty, there is no mind. / "Emptying its destruction": this means that because there is no attachment to suffering and pleasure, there is no reception. Since there is no grasping and attachment, all views are eternally extinguished. Once one's own views are extinguished, one can crush and subdue all views of the non-Buddhists. / "Three turnings of the wheel of the Dharma": First is the turning that indicates characteristics, meaning indicating the characteristics of the four truths: "This is suffering; this is accumulation; this is cessation; this is the path." Second is the turning that encourages practice, meaning urging them to practice: "This is suffering; you must know it. This is accumulation; you must sever it. This is cessation; you must realize it. This is the path; you must cultivate it." Third is the turning that cites proof, meaning citing oneself as proof: "This is suffering; I have already known it. This is accumulation; I have already severed it. This is cessation; I have already realized it. This is the path; I have already cultivated it." For this reason it is called the three turnings. / "Gods and humans attained the path": The Da zhidu lun says that five people realized the path of the Hīnayāna, and eighty thousand devas gave rise to the aspiration for the Mahāyāna. / "Among non-Buddhists, the superior could sever fetters": that is, loathing the lower as suffering, coarse, and obstructed, and delighting in the upper as tranquil, subtle, and departed—severing defilements through the six practices, like Udraka-Rāmaputra and others. / "Equally [acting] with compassion": the three applications of mindfulness of great compassion. There are two kinds: first, the three applications of mindfulness regarding form, meaning that whether cut with a blade, anointed with incense, or neither anointed nor cut, the mind is non-dual; second, the three applications of mindfulness regarding mind, meaning that towards conforming dharmas one is not pleased, towards opposing dharmas one does not grieve, and towards neither opposing nor conforming, the mind is non-dual. / "Three secrets": this means that the supernatural functions of the three karmas are difficult to fathom. The Tathāgata's secret manifestations cannot be measured by the mind, hence called "secrets." / "With a pure mind contemplating the Buddha": pure faith. / "Attaining their benefit": words that necessarily possess principle are called "meaning." When words have meaning, beings understand. Relying on understanding, they initiate cultivation. Cultivating, they obtain the benefit of the path. / "Different receptions, and so on": this means that because the teachings of the three vehicles necessarily accord with faculties, there are different receptions and different benefits. / "Some had terror": when worldly siddhānta is preached, they are terrified because the three realms are a burning house; when individual siddhānta is preached, they rejoice because good is generated; when therapeutic siddhānta is preached, they feel revulsion because evil is severed; when ultimate-meaning siddhānta is preached, they sever doubt because truth is realized. Furthermore, preaching the truth of suffering causes terror; preaching the truth of cessation causes joy; preaching the truth of accumulation causes revulsion; preaching the truth of the path severs doubt. / "Bowing with the head (jishou)": Zheng Xuan says that ji means "to reach"; it means bending the body to reach the hands, expressing reverence. / "Ten powers": the Tathāgata's ten kinds of powers of wisdom. 1. The power of the wisdom of knowing what is possible and what is impossible (sthānāsthāna-jñānabala): this is the wisdom that definitively knows cause and effect; when the principle of cause and effect corresponds, it is called possible; when it does not correspond, it is called impossible. 2. The power of karma (karmavipāka-jñānabala): the wisdom of karma knowing the differences of karma in the three realms and six destinies. 3. The power of dhyāna (dhyānavimokṣasamādhisamāpatti-jñānabala): knowing the various dhyānas and samādhis, having attained mastery over them. 4. The power of faculties (indriyaparāpara-jñānabala): knowing the superior, middling, and inferior faculties of beings. 5. The power of inclinations (nānādhimukti-jñānabala): knowing the different wishes and inclinations of beings. 6. The power of elements (nānādhātu-jñānabala), also called the power of realms: knowing the distinctions of various dispositions and elements. 7. The power of knowing where paths lead (sarvatragāminīpratipad-jñānabala): the path is the cause and the destination is the fruit; that is, knowing the cultivation of causes to obtain fruits. 8. The power of past lives (pūrvenivāsānusmṛti-jñānabala): knowing the differences of lifespans received in past lives. 9. The power of the divine eye (cyutyupapāda-jñānabala): knowing the cause and effect of death and rebirth. 10. The power of the extinction of out-flows (āsravakṣaya-jñānabala): knowing un-outflowing dharmas. All are called "powers." The Da zhidu lun says that knowing universally and thoroughly is called "power." The Satyasiddhi-śāstra states that unobstructed and complete knowledge is "power." The Saṃyuktābhidharmahṛdaya states that being unyielding, unbent, unsurpassable, and unshakable is "power." / "Fearlessnesses": the four fearlessnesses (vaiśāradya). 1. Fearlessness of all-knowledge: declaring oneself to possess all-knowledge. 2. Fearlessness of the exhaustion of out-flows: declaring that one's afflictions and out-flows are exhausted. 3. Fearlessness regarding obstacles to the path: declaring "I recognize the afflictions of craving and desire that can obstruct the noble path." 4. Fearlessness regarding the path of release from suffering: declaring "I know the un-outflowing path capable of transcending birth and death." Proclaiming these four dharmas in the midst of the great assembly without fear or dread in mind, hence called "fearlessness." / Second, explaining their characteristics: as the sūtra explains, a non-Buddhist objected: "If you possess all-knowledge, why do you ask the monks whether begging for food was easily obtained or not?" The Buddha answered: "It is not that I do not know; I merely ask in accordance with worldly customs between teacher and disciple." The second objected: "If your out-flows are exhausted,