大乘起信論廣釋卷第三．四．五 3.4

3.4

Treatise: As the two vehicles [...] it is called approximate awakening. Commentary: This is the second characteristic of awakening. In "the two vehicles' insight through contemplation and so forth," these are the persons capable of awakening. The newly resolved bodhisattvas are at the stages of the three grades of worthiness. The initial mind of the ten understandings is named the dwelling of resolving the mind. It is mentioned to include those after it, hence it says "initial resolve." Attaining the gate of personal emptiness is identical to what is taught for the two vehicles. In "awakening to the changing of thoughts," this clarifies the characteristics of what is awakened to. As previously explained, the three kinds of dreams of changing arise from the sleep of avidyā upon the originally calm mind. These practitioners of the three vehicles, through their shared insight into non-self, awaken from the dream of changing so that the characteristic of changing is forever gone; this is called "awakening to the changing of thoughts, so that thoughts are without the characteristic of changing." In "having abandoned coarse discrimination and so forth," this is the benefit of awakening. Since this characteristic of changing is none other than the mental consciousness giving rise to the differing attachments to self, what belongs to self, self, and other, which discriminates the six dusts following objects, it is called the "characteristic of coarse discrimination and grasping." In "it is called approximate awakening," this is the scope of the awakening. Although they have abandoned such coarse discriminative grasping, they have not yet attained the true principle of the emptiness of dharmas; therefore, it is merely called "approximate awakening." Alternatively, in this stage, one attains the tathatā of personal emptiness, knowing that that tathatā originally has no conceptual marks and that its substance and marks are distinct from the thoughts of avidyā. Through this, one can only abandon coarse discrimination, but is not yet able to know that thought is itself thoughtlessness; because it is not true awakening, it is called approximate awakening. Therefore, a sūtra describes it as "dhyāna that observes meaning," that is, having known the personal non-self of individual and common characteristics, one adaptively observes meaning regarding the dharma-self. The former explanation conforms to the old treatise and contradicts the new treatise; the latter explanation is quite superior and harmonises both treatises well. Thus the new treatise says: "awakening to the fact that thought and thoughtlessness are distinct in substance and marks, one abandons coarse discrimination."