大乘起信論廣釋卷第三．四．五 5.47

5.47

論。答曰至法身不現故　釋曰。此答也。諸佛如來等者。初舉法也。法身平等。遍在一切眾生心中。能無功用而起。任運自然作用。但依眾生心有厭求。隨其勝劣現報化相。眾生心者等者。次舉喻也。如是眾生已下後法合也。此由染著生死過。速未有厭求佛之機。名心有垢。非謂煩惱。以彼善星及外道等煩惱以彼善心中亦見佛故。法身不現者。法身雖遍。而不能現報化用也。攝末歸本亦名法身故。攝大乘十二甚深。皆是法身之勝德故。故彼顯現甚深。頌云。由失尊不現。如月於破器。彼釋意云。世間皆說。佛身常住。云何不現。如破器中水不得住。雖實有月而不現影。如是眾生無奢摩他軟滑相續。而過失續。實有諸佛亦不顯現。水喻止者。軟滑性故。此中依定得見佛者。由先修習念佛三昧。乃於此世得見佛身。非謂今世要依定見如佛在日散亦見故。攝論約先習定為因。非約今世。此論即約根熟為因。非約無惑。所望義別言左右耳。

The treatise says: "Answer: …because the dharmakāya does not manifest." The commentary says: This is the answer. "The Buddha-Tathāgatas…" and so on first brings up the dharma. The dharmakāya is uniform and pervasive within the minds of all sentient beings, able to arise without effort, functioning spontaneously and naturally. It is only in dependence on whether sentient beings' minds harbor revulsion [for saṃsāra] and seek [buddhahood] that, following their superiority or inferiority, it manifests the attributes of the saṃbhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya. "Sentient beings' minds…" and so on next brings up the simile. From "Such sentient beings…" downward, it then draws the doctrinal correlation. This is because by being stained and attached to the faults of birth and death, they have not yet developed the capacity of revulsion and seeking the Buddha; this is called "the mind having defilement." It does not mean the afflictions, because even amidst afflictions Shanxing (Sunakṣatra) and non-Buddhists still saw the Buddha with their wholesome minds. As for "the dharmakāya does not manifest": although the dharmakāya is pervasive, it cannot manifest the functions of the saṃbhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya. Gathering the branches to return to the root is also called the dharmakāya; thus the twelve profundities in the Mahāyānasaṃgraha are all the supreme virtues of the dharmakāya. Therefore, concerning its profundity of manifestation, the verse says: "Due to faults, the Lord does not manifest, / Just as the moon [does not appear] in a broken vessel." Its commentary means: In the world everyone says that the Buddha's body is eternally abiding; why does it not manifest? Just as water cannot stay in a broken vessel, so that although the moon truly exists its reflection does not appear; likewise, when sentient beings lack the smooth and pliant continuity of śamatha and their faults continue, even though the Buddhas truly exist, they do not become manifest. Water is a simile for calming (śamatha) because of its smooth and pliant nature. In this context, "gaining sight of the Buddha in dependence on samādhi" means that because one has previously cultivated the mindfulness-of-the-Buddha samādhi, one comes to see the Buddha's body in this life. It does not mean that in this life one must depend on samādhi to see him, just as when the Buddha was alive in the world, people also saw him with distracted minds. The Mahāyānasaṃgraha takes prior cultivation of samādhi as the cause, not referring to the present life. This treatise takes the maturity of faculties as the cause, not referring to the absence of delusions. The intended perspectives differ, each having its own emphasis.