大乘起信論廣釋卷第三．四．五 5.47

5.47

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.