本業瓔珞經疏 1.8

1.8

從此已下。經之第二。次明真實根本分。上來明發起。正宗分緣起既興。正宗得顯故。次明真實根本分。若作五門次第。從此已下第三明修道門。問曰。眾生起相。迴流三有。欲滅斯患。當何所行。答曰。習三寶教修信賢聖四十二門真觀成就乃可除也。故從此已下次明修道門也。就此修道門中有三品經文。第一直列賢聖名字。第二學觀一品明觀行法用。第三釋義一品解釋名字學觀所由。就名字品中。復有五分經文。第一從初已下訖一切賢聖名字何等。明敬首菩薩發問賢聖名字。第二從爾時釋迦牟尼以金剛口已下訖一而無二。明如來將欲為說賢聖根本故。先誡勅敬首菩薩也。第三從佛子所謂留伽度已下。正明胡漢相幡。列四十二賢聖名字。酬其問意。第四從是故名門已下。結觀修學。第五從吾今略說已下。略舉一賢名門起學觀之由。就初問中有其二問。第一從品初已下訖欲成斯道當如何行。正問修行成佛之方。第二一切賢聖名字何等者。正問四十二賢聖名字也。就初問中復有其二。從初至發少問問佛。是出經家語。第二從大師本修何行已下。正問修行之方也。爾時他方敬首者。東方菩薩也。以佛神力者。初明舉佛神力也。復以大眾已下。後明假大眾威德也。皆是龍王師子王者。於龍師子中勝故名王也。發少問問佛者。當是大士尚謙也。如涅槃中。迦葉菩薩將欲發三十六問。先噵我今所有智慧微少。猶如蚊虻。何能思量如來大海。為當承佛神力。及因大眾威德。少發問耳。此中亦爾也。就第二發問修行中有四句經文。第一從大師本修何行。至一切眾生不得其過去。總明如來三業無失。第二內性明照。乃至過一切菩薩之上。別成意業清淨也。三從出生端政。至常為釋梵所敬。別成身業清淨。四除闇昧如燭火。至如船師。別成口業清淨。大師本修何行者。本在因地修何等行也。一切眾生不得過者。明如來三業無失故。不得過也。內性明照者。內明外朗也。常住不滅者。古今莫異也。過一切菩薩上者。圓窮後除果德不共因同也。出生端政者。明如來相好具足。故云端政也。色相無比者。身紫金色。更無等者。圓極自然者。意無不備也。無為清淨者。累無不盡也。二種常身者。一法性生身。二應化身。法身常故。應身亦常也。釋梵所敬者。如來行時。金剛例待。梵釋奉迎也。除闇昧如燭火者。如來說法能除物障。如明能破闇也。明天地如日月者。日月在空。玄照四野。令有心之徒明見正路。如來說法能除惑障。令有緣眾生返迷歸正也。度人天如船師者。明如來乘大涅槃船。周迴往返。運度眾生也。竪過三界為妙覺尊乃至當如何行者。結成上問修行成佛之方也。一切賢聖名字何等者。第二正問四十二賢聖名字也。

From here onward is the second part of the sūtra, next explaining the section on the real foundation. Above, the initiation was explained; once the causal conditions of the main text have arisen, the main text can be revealed, so next the section on the real foundation is explained. If arranged according to the sequence of the five gates, from here onward is the third, explaining the gate of cultivating the path. Question: Sentient beings give rise to marks and cycle through the three existences; if one wishes to extinguish this affliction, what should one practice? Answer: Only when one studies the teachings of the Three Jewels, cultivates faith, and accomplishes the true contemplation of the forty-two gates of the worthies and nobles can it be eliminated. Therefore, from here onward the gate of cultivating the path is explained next. Within this gate of cultivating the path there are three chapters of sūtra text: the first directly lists the names of the worthies and nobles; the second, the single Chapter on Learning Contemplation, explains the methods and applications of contemplative practice; the third, the single Chapter on Explaining the Meaning, explains the reasons for the names and for learning contemplation. Within the Chapter on Names, there are again five passages of sūtra text: First, from the beginning up to 'What are the names of all the worthies and nobles?' explains Jingshou Bodhisattva inquiring about the names of the worthies and nobles. Second, from 'At that time Śākyamuni, with an adamantine mouth' onward down to 'one and not two', explains that because the Tathāgata wishes to expound the roots of the worthies and nobles, he first admonishes Jingshou Bodhisattva. Third, from 'O Son of the Buddha, the so-called liujiadu' onward directly clarifies the correspondences between Indic and Chinese, listing the names of the forty-two worthies and nobles to respond to what was asked. Fourth, from 'Therefore the gate of names' onward concludes contemplation and study. Fifth, from 'I now briefly explain' onward briefly brings up one worthy's gate of names to initiate the reason for learning contemplation. Within the first inquiry there are two questions: First, from the beginning of the chapter down to 'Wishing to accomplish this path, how should one practice?' directly asks about the method of practicing to attain buddhahood. Second, 'What are the names of all the worthies and nobles?' directly asks about the names of the forty-two worthies and nobles. Within the first inquiry there are again two parts: from the beginning to 'raised a few questions to ask the Buddha' is the narrator's phrasing. Second, from 'What practice did the Great Master originally cultivate?' onward directly asks about the method of practice. 'At that time, Jingshou from another region' is a bodhisattva of the east. 'By the Buddha's spiritual power' initially explains relying on the Buddha's spiritual power. Next, 'also by the great assembly' onward explains relying on the majestic virtue of the great assembly. 'All are dragon kings and lion kings' means that being supreme among dragons and lions, they are called kings. 'Raised a few questions to ask the Buddha' indicates that the great being remains modest. Just as in the *Nirvāṇa-sūtra*, when Kāśyapa Bodhisattva was about to raise thirty-six questions, he first said: 'The wisdom I possess now is trifling, like a mosquito or gnat; how could I fathom the great sea of the Tathāgata? I merely rely on the Buddha's spiritual power and depend on the majestic virtue of the great assembly to ask a few questions.' Here it is also like this. Regarding the second [part], asking about practice, there are four sentences of sūtra text: First, from 'What practice did the Great Master originally cultivate?' to 'All sentient beings cannot surpass him' generally explains that the Tathāgata is free from error in the three karmic actions. Second, 'Internal nature brightly illuminating' down to 'surpassing all bodhisattvas' separately establishes the purity of mental karma. Third, from 'Born upright and handsome' to 'always revered by Śakra and Brahmā' separately establishes the purity of physical karma. Fourth, 'Dispelling darkness like a torch' down to 'like a ferryman' separately establishes the purity of vocal karma. 'What practice did the Great Master originally cultivate?' means what kind of practice did he originally cultivate on the causal stage. 'All sentient beings cannot surpass him' explains that because the Tathāgata is free from error in the three karmic actions, they cannot surpass him. 'Internal nature brightly illuminating' means inwardly luminous and outwardly radiant. 'Eternally abiding without perishing' means there is no difference between past and present. 'Surpassing all bodhisattvas' means that completely exhausting the subsequent [defilements], the fruit virtue does not share in common with the cause. 'Born upright and handsome' explains that the Tathāgata is fully endowed with the marks and signs, hence called 'upright and handsome'. 'Unrivaled physical appearance' means his body is of purple-golden color, with none equal. 'Perfect, ultimate, and spontaneous' means there is nothing in his mind not complete. 'Unconditioned and pure' means all burdens are completely exhausted. 'Two kinds of eternal bodies' are: first, the body born of dharma-nature; second, the responsive and transformation body. Because the dharmakāya is eternal, the responsive body is also eternal. 'Revered by Śakra and Brahmā' means that when the Tathāgata travels, vajra-bearers attend him and Brahmā and Śakra receive and welcome him. 'Dispelling darkness like a torch' means that the Tathāgata's expounding of the Dharma can dispel the hindrances of beings, just as light can destroy darkness. 'Illuminating heaven and earth like the sun and moon' means that the sun and moon in the sky illuminate the four quarters from on high, enabling beings with minds to clearly see the right path; the Tathāgata's expounding of the Dharma can dispel the hindrances of delusion, leading conditioned sentient beings to turn away from confusion and return to the truth. 'Ferrying across humans and devas like a ferryman' explains that the Tathāgata boards the great boat of nirvāṇa, journeying back and forth to transport and deliver sentient beings. 'Vertically transcending the three realms as the Honored One of wondrous enlightenment' down to 'how should one practice?' concludes the previous question on the method of practicing to attain buddhahood. 'What are the names of all the worthies and nobles?' is the second, directly asking about the names of the forty-two worthies and nobles.