大乘入道次第開決 1.2

1.2

Now, those who climb a lofty mansion must first ascend step by step; those who scale a multistoried building must all traverse the stairs and terraces. How much more so is the elevated Path of Awakening: how could it not rely on the stages of practice? The remote and vast true source: how could it transcend the provisions? Therefore, over a period accumulating across three asaṃkhyeya kalpas, one's practice fulfills the four immeasurables; holding firmly to the six pāramitās, one makes the two minds resplendent. Only then does one attain the perfect and eternal, and only then ascend to the ultimate fruit. It is unacceptable to hope to hear the Path in the morning and reach full virtue by evening. This is comparable to just mooring a square raft and immediately expecting to cross the ocean; who else could this be but an indolent bodhisattva? Therefore, wishing to achieve bodhi in the long run, one must walk the Great Path. The stages of entering the path depend upon clear elucidation. Although these matters are fully present in the various sūtras, how could one comprehend them completely? Without a compiled record, how could they be observed? At the beginning of the Kaiyuan era of the Great Tang, there was a venerable of Puyang named Zhizhou. He was a great-grand-disciple of our Great Tang Tripiṭaka Master [Xuanzang], a grand-disciple of Master Ci'en, and an immediate disciple of Dharma Master Henan; that is, a fellow-student from another region of Master Qinglong. Inwardly, he thoroughly penetrated the Tripiṭaka; outwardly, he mastered the nine schools of thought. Serving as a master and model for scholars, he was a giant in the arena of literature. A skilled hand at authorship and an exquisite hand at praise, the treatises and subcommentaries he compiled totaled over a dozen works—such as the Summarized Exposition of the Lotus Sūtra, the Esoteric Meanings of the Cheng weishi lun, and the Determinations on Pramāṇa-samuccaya are all his creations. Although he never went to Chang'an, his renown spread afar, and all the worthies of the capital and surrounding prefectures looked up to his lofty style. Examining his writings, the words are concise and the meanings prominent; investigating his aspirations, he was endowed with kindness and genuine compassion. He was truly an exceptional worthy born into this world, a bodhisattva who transmits the Dharma. Fearing that beginners, gazing at the ocean of Dharma, would be at a loss, and looking up at the mountain of meaning, would retreat forever, he thereupon gathered the essential pivots of the great teaching and lifted up the main outline of the net of Dharma. Here he pointed out the directions and compiled this record of meanings. Now, the stages of entering the path are common to the three vehicles, yet only our Mahāyāna is proclaimed supreme. Now elucidating the most supreme, ultimate Mahāyāna, it is called the 'Stages of Entering the Mahāyāna Path'. As for 'Mahāyāna', in general, it does not exceed four kinds: that is, as commonly spoken of, teaching, principle, practice, and fruit. Because they all broadly encompass, they are called 'great'; and because they all can convey, they are named 'vehicle'. This meaning is fully presented in the Commentary on the Awakening of Faith. As for 'path', it has the meaning of directing toward, the meaning of treading upon, and the meaning of open conveyance. That is, it is not separate from teaching, principle, practice, and fruit. In accordance with each case, there are the meanings of directing toward, treading upon, and open conveyance; therefore, they are all called 'path'. They all appear in the text below and should be consulted and cited. As for 'entering the stages', generally it is the five stages; specifically, it is the forty-two worthies and nobles. Regarding these four kinds of Mahāyāna path, from shallow to deep, from partial to complete, one relies on the Mahāyāna teaching to awaken to the Mahāyāna principle, gives rise to the Mahāyāna practices, and attains the Mahāyāna fruit. Therefore, within the five stages of the Mahāyāna, one gradually awakens and enters the stages of the path. Thus, the ninth fascicle of the Cheng weishi lun says: 'For those endowed with the two lineages of the Mahāyāna, in brief, within the five stages, they gradually awaken and enter.' If so, there should be no meaning of leaping over. Why is it said that Śākyamuni leapt over Maitreya and others? Answer: Leaping over time is possible, but leaping over stages is not. This is because in stage after stage, there is that which is cultivated, that which is severed, and that which is realized, which cannot be skipped. Just as with walking slowly or quickly: though the hours and evenings differ, the miles and paces cannot be skipped. If so, why does the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra say that the first bhūmi is the tenth bhūmi, etc., and that there is nothing existent? What stages are there? Answer: That is stated according to the principle of the perfect interpenetration of what is realized. This is based on the principle of the sequential arrangement of the realized stages. That [sūtra] takes the initial realization and subsequent realization as identical in essence; regarding the realized principle, it says there is no [distinction of] existence and the like. If based on realized wisdom, the stages of practice are not identical; therefore, there can be the sequence of the five stages. Hence, it also does not contradict what was said there.