大乘起信論廣釋卷第三．四．五 4.36

4.36

[Treatise:] Confidently believing in one's own nature [...] not grasping or conceiving. / [Commentary:] Next below, the functional efficacy of perfuming is revealed. Although five stages are revealed therein, because the causes and results of cultivation and realization differ, they are generally divided into two: first explaining the cause, and then revealing the result. This is the first. Therein, four stages of a bodhisattva are revealed: "Confidently believing in one's own nature" refers to the stage of equipment (saṃbhāra-mārga); because its longing and revulsion directly reveal the real, one confidently believes that one's own person possesses the nature of tathatā, which can serve as the direct cause to definitely accomplish the fruit of Buddhahood. "Knowing the mind's deluded movement" and so forth refers to the stage of application (prayoga-mārga); gradually nearing the adamantine path, one can give rise to true cognition and attain deep understanding of the dharma of tathatā, thus knowing that the mind's deluded movement fundamentally has no external object confronting it. Relying on this understanding, one cultivates the thorough investigation of actual cognition (tattvajñāna), the contemplation of consciousness-only, and other practices free of the two graspers; therefore it also says "cultivating methods of detachment". "Through knowing in accordance with reality" and so forth refers to the path of seeing (darśana-mārga); because within the path of seeing the contemplation of consciousness-only is accomplished in reality, one is genuinely free of the two graspers and has nothing whatsoever to attain, which differs from the preceding inferential contemplation, and is therefore called "knowing in accordance with reality". From "manifold" below, the path of cultivation (bhāvanā-mārga) is revealed: during the path of cultivation on the ten stages, wishing through many expedient means to reveal tathatā, one gives rise to superior practices cultivated in accordance with tathatā; hence it says "giving rise to conforming practices through manifold expedient means". Not viewing the marks of practice, it is called "not grasping"; not anticipating a different result, it is called "not conceiving". Or, again, it generally brings forth the understanding and practice of the causal stages without categorizing them into four distinct stages: cultivating "confident belief in one's own nature" and the like means cultivating understanding based on faith; from "through knowing in accordance with reality" below, it means cultivating practice based on understanding; that is, believing that one's own nature fundamentally has no stirred thoughts, one cultivates the dharma free of thoughts as the direct cause, and engages in conforming practice as an auxiliary condition.