大通方廣懺悔滅罪莊嚴成佛經 2.5

2.5

At that time, the Buddha praised the Bodhisattva *Śraddhāpratibhāna: "Excellent, excellent! Good son, you are indeed able to inquire of the Buddha about this great matter. One who inquires of the Buddha about this great matter is not on the first bhūmi, the second, the third, the seventh, or the eighth bhūmi; only a great being of the tenth bhūmi, the Cloud of Dharma, is able to inquire of the Buddha about such a great matter. Listen attentively now, and I will explain it for you. Good son, since vast kalpas ago, all sentient beings have been obscured by ignorance, imprisoned in the jail of the three realms, transmigrating through birth and death, with various terrors descending in succession, passing back and forth among the six paths without any place of refuge. Therefore, they have taken refuge in celestial spirits and cast their bodies among tīrthikas, binding their own hands and feet, harming life while seeking life, never escaping momentary calamities—furthermore, avoiding fire only to leap into an abyss, failing in both cases to escape calamity. Therefore, the Great Holy Tathāgata, arising from samādhi out of compassion and pitying their long delusion, expounds the Three Jewels to be the true place of refuge. At first, for those of the beginning and end who study the two vehicles, he spoke of the distinct-substance Three Jewels like a ladder. Later, for great beings who have long cultivated brahma-practices, he spoke of the ultimate, single-substance Three Jewels: within the one Buddha Jewel, there is the Dharma and the Saṅgha. Good son, why are they called jewels? Just as the seven worldly treasures can sustain life, so when the Three Jewels are in the world, they guide and nurture the dharmakāya, and can perpetuate the practitioner's body and life of wisdom; hence they are called jewels. As for the Three Jewels of distinct characteristics: the Buddha manifests in the royal palace, with the two response bodies and the dharmakāya; it is said that this bodhisattva, to deliver sentient beings, cultivated ascetic practices and, beneath the tree at the bodhimanda, manifested the realization of right awakening, awakening himself and awakening others; therefore, he is titled Buddha. 'Buddha' means the Awakened One. The Saṅgha is named from receiving transformation; the disciples follow the teaching and attain the principle, therefore they are called the Saṅgha. There are two kinds of Saṅgha: first, being in harmony, it attains the name of Saṅgha; second, being unconditioned, it is also named Saṅgha. Attaining the unconditioned means that through the liberating wisdom of true emptiness and the unconditioned nature of emptiness, the continuation of confusion is realized and defilements are completely extinguished; having already extinguished the fetters, the noble assembly dwells together, harmonious and without dispute. By these two meanings, it receives the name Saṅgha. Good son, the Dharma refers to all good and evil dharmas, conditioned and unconditioned, and the principles of the Buddhas: evil dharmas should be abandoned, and good dharmas should be revered, both serving as a mental model; these are all the Dharma Jewel. Therefore, the two jewels of the Buddha and the Saṅgha differ in person and are distinct in substance; the Dharma and the Saṅgha and Buddha are identical in substance and difficult to differentiate. Why are they difficult to differentiate? Some might say: 'The two jewels of Buddha and Saṅgha merely refer to practitioners of provisional designation; the fivefold dharmakāya and all the wholesome merits attained by practitioners are divided to form the Dharma Jewel.' This meaning is not correct. Why is that? It is by relying on these various wholesome merits that a person is formed; apart from the Dharma, there is no person—how could there be a separate person together constituting two jewels? Now I explain persons and dharmas as having both identity and difference: because the Dharma forms the person, the Dharma pertains to the person. For this reason, the fivefold dharmakāya, the ten powers, the [four] fearlessnesses, the thirty-two marks, the eighty minor characteristics, the pāramitās, and the immeasurable samādhis are said to be the Buddha Jewel; the fivefold [dharmakāya] of the Hīnayāna is said to be the Saṅgha Jewel. These various merits, conditioned and unconditioned, the characteristics of dharmas and their principles, can serve as a model for use, and are also named the function of the Dharma. These, then, share the same substance; although two senses are spoken of, there is also a substance of Dharma distinct from Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. Such is the Dharma Jewel. These three have been taught; sentient beings who take refuge in them will be able to escape the terrors of birth and death in the three realms. Although all practitioners can escape coarse [suffering], subtle suffering is not yet exhausted. Therefore, the supreme Three Jewels are taught for them. Clarifying the Three Jewels of former days, it was said that the Buddha has suffering, the Dharma is impermanent, and the Saṅgha is also impermanent and suffering, not being a true place of refuge. Now it is taught that the permanent practitioner, having awakened to and comprehended the emptiness of the principle of dharma-nature, forever free from the eight inversions, without suffering of arising, ceasing, agitation, or seeking, is the true place of refuge and is named the Buddha Jewel. The permanent Dharma attained, functioning supremely as a model, is named the true Dharma Jewel. The permanent practitioner, uniting with the true dharma-nature and realizing the permanent and unconditioned, is therefore named the Saṅgha. Furthermore, because the eight inversions are forever exhausted and one is entirely in harmony with the nine noble assemblies, forever free from dispute, it is named the Saṅgha Jewel. The Three Jewels of former days consisted of different persons and distinct dharmas. The Three Jewels of today, within the single substance of one Buddha, are divided into Dharma and Saṅgha. By this meaning, I teach for the sake of the Dharma the Three Jewels of one characteristic, leading all sentient beings now toward the One Vehicle."