本業瓔珞經疏 1.8

1.8

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.