大乘起信論廣釋卷第三．四．五 3.5

3.5

論。如法身至名隨分覺　釋曰。此第三覺相也。法身菩薩是能覺人。初地能證遍行真如。顯自法身遍滿之位。乃至十地悉同證得。是故皆名法身菩薩。覺於念住等者。是所覺相。四種住夢無明眠起。既得法空真無相智。從住夢覺。住相永無名。覺於念住念無住相。已離分別麁念等者。是覺利益。即此所離法執夢念名為分別麁念相也。異前人我麁執但云分別。異後生相細念故云麁念。於一法執義說二言。名隨分覺者。是覺分齊。雖得如是無分別覺。而猶未離微細分別。當復眠於生相之夢覺道未圓。故名隨分。或此位中得真證智。念無念相皆悉捨離。名覺於念住念無住相。由此便能捨中分別。名離分別麁念相也。即經所說緣真如禪。故楞伽云。謂若分別無我有二。是虛妄念。若如實知。彼念不起名緣真禪。前釋順古違新論。後釋順經兼快新論。故新論云。覺念無念皆無有相捨中分別。

Treatise: As bodhisattvas of the dharmakāya [...] it is called partial awakening. Commentary: This is the third characteristic of awakening. "Bodhisattvas of the dharmakāya" are the persons capable of awakening. At the first stage, one can realise the omnipresent tathatā, manifesting the stage wherein one's own dharmakāya is all-pervading; up through the tenth stage, all equally realise this, and therefore all are called bodhisattvas of the dharmakāya. In "awakening to the abiding of thoughts," this is the characteristic of what is awakened to. The four kinds of dreams of abiding arise from the sleep of avidyā. Having attained the true, markless cognition of the emptiness of dharmas, they awaken from the dream of abiding, so that the characteristic of abiding is forever gone; this is called "awakening to the abiding of thoughts, so that thoughts are without the characteristic of abiding." In "having departed from the coarse thoughts of discrimination," this is the benefit of awakening. That is, these dream thoughts of attachment to dharmas that are departed from are called the "characteristics of coarse thoughts of discrimination." Distinct from the previous coarse grasping to personal self, it is only called "discrimination"; distinct from the subsequent subtle thoughts of the characteristic of arising, it is called "coarse thoughts." Regarding a single attachment to dharmas, two terms are spoken according to meaning. In "it is called partial awakening," this is the scope of the awakening. Although they attain such non-discriminative awakening, they have not yet departed from micro-subtle discrimination, and must still slumber in the dream of the characteristic of arising, so the path of awakening is not yet complete; thus it is called "partial." Alternatively, at this stage one attains the cognition of true realization, abandoning both the mark of thought and the mark of thoughtlessness; this is called "awakening to the abiding of thoughts, so that thoughts are without the characteristic of abiding." Through this, one is able to abandon medium discrimination; this is called "departing from the coarse thoughts of discrimination." This is the "dhyāna that takes tathatā as object" spoken of in the sūtra. Thus the Laṅkāvatāra says: "If one discriminates that non-self has two kinds, this is false thinking; if one knows it as it truly is, those thoughts do not arise—this is called dhyāna that takes tathatā as object." The former explanation conforms to the old treatise and contradicts the new treatise; the latter explanation conforms to the sūtra and also accords well with the new treatise. Thus the new treatise says: "awakening that thoughts and thoughtlessness are both without marks, one abandons medium discrimination."