英語訳
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school's seven patriarchs. According to legend, Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna entered the iron tower of South India, personally received initiation from Vajrasattva, was transmitted the secret dharma, and spread it to the human world (etc.). Another transmission states: Vairocana Tathāgata transmitted the dharma to Vajrapāṇi, Vajrapāṇi transmitted it to Dharmagupta of Nālandā monastery, Gupta transmitted it to Tripiṭaka Śubhakarasiṃha. Tripiṭaka Śubhakarasiṃha came to China and translated the Vairocana Sūtra, with Ācārya Yixing taking dictation and receiving the tripiṭaka's oral instructions to compose the commentary. According to tradition, Gupta had been in the world for nearly eight hundred years yet appeared like thirty years old. It is uncertain whether Gupta is another name for Nāgabodhi. If so, there would be no great contradiction between the two transmissions. Their great purport of using the five divisions' secrets to indicate the true characteristics of form and mind, and using the three mysteries yoga to reveal the Buddha's wisdom and knowledge, would have no different import.
Second, scriptural basis: The present school's proper foundation consists of two sūtras: first, the Vajraśekhara Sūtra; second, the Mahāvairocana Sūtra. The so-called Vajraśekhara Sūtra has two versions: first, the eternally natural fundamental version, which is the dharma maṇḍala of all Buddhas pervading the dharma realm; second, the extensively branched version of eighteen assemblies and one hundred thousand verses. The currently circulating three fascicles constitute the first assembly: the Vajradhātu assembly, five peak illuminations, four types of maṇḍala, four wisdom seals, complete with thirty-seven honored ones. Each division contains thirty-seven, mutually interpenetrating like Indra's net, manifesting five billion koṭi subtle vajras pervading the void dharma realm. This relies on the differential wisdom seals of original enlightenment and self-realization to reveal the pure bodhicitta of true characteristics beyond characteristics. Although it establishes ritual procedures such as altar methods through the three dharmas of śāntika, pauṣṭika, and abhicāraka, what it ultimately returns to is the great skillful means of enabling practitioners to awaken and enter formless true emptiness, achieving vajra wisdom and stainless
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pure bodhi. The so-called Mahāvairocana Sūtra has three versions: first, the eternally natural fundamental version, as above; second, the extensively branched version of one hundred thousand verses; third, the abbreviated version of three thousand verses in seven currently circulating fascicles. Although this abbreviated version has concise text, each sentence and phrase encompasses inexhaustible meaning. Both teaching and doctrine exhaust the source of dharma-nature. It is truly the perfect sūtra of the secret maṇḍala. The Susiddhikara Sūtra and other sūtras that establish secret ritual procedures are all subsidiary foundations to be investigated.
Among esoteric school adherents are those of shallow learning who stubbornly cling to legends like the South India iron tower, rashly claiming "esoteric teaching is superior because it was expounded by the dharma-body Buddha Vairocana, while exoteric teaching is inferior because it was expounded by the response-body Buddha Śākyamuni," falsely adding praise and disparagement, willingly placing themselves outside Śākyamuni's dharma. This has continued for so long it cannot be corrected. Does not the sūtra say: "Turning the dharma wheel thrice in the great thousandfold world, that wheel is inherently ever pure. When gods and humans attain the path, this serves as proof, and the Three Jewels thereby appear in the world"? The so-called exoteric teaching represents the inconceivable great dharma treasure that the Tathāgata accomplished by sacrificing bodies and lives countless as Ganges sands over immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas. Understanding and practice take this as their standard, and realization of fruition takes this as their verification. Whatever does not accord with this is demonic teaching. How can one despise it? Moreover, when Śākyamuni Buddha enters profound samādhi, he abides in the dharma-body ground, manifests the excellent special body, sits in luminous palaces, enters the treasury of supernatural illumination, etc. Also, when the sages of the three vehicles each enter profound samādhi, each individually hears the dharma-body Buddha manifest empowerment bodies expounding inexhaustible Buddha-dharma. How could esoteric teaching alone be expounded by the dharma-body Buddha? Let me ask: what kind of person is Vajrasattva?
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By what colored ears does one hear the dharma-body's teaching? Is Śākyamuni Buddha unable to know the esoteric teaching that Nāgārjuna received and upheld? Nāgārjuna's entering the dragon palace and opening the South India iron tower, and Asaṅga's receiving Maitreya's teaching—what kind of realm is this? If you focus single-mindedly on this, contemplating and observing continuously without pause, you will eventually come to understand the day when the masters of exoteric and esoteric teachings are "thus and so."
I privately believe that the dharma gate of the two-division maṇḍala is precisely Śākyamuni Buddha's secret samādhi, the profound purport that the patriarchs of the dharma treasury transmitted mind-to-mind in secret, which first fell into verbal expression when it reached the great master Nāgārjuna. What was transmitted was received by Nāgabodhi alone. Bodhisattva Āryadeva was Nāgārjuna's legitimate successor, yet he only advocated the emptiness school and never spoke of the secret treasury. This was due to not violating the samaya prohibition against rash transmission.
Tripiṭaka Nāgabodhi's position reached the sage stages, his supernatural powers were inconceivable, his age reached seven hundred years yet his appearance remained unchanged. He personally inherited Nāgārjuna's path and propagated the various Mahāyāna sūtras. Regarding the Vajraśekhara yoga Vairocana dhāraṇī dharma gates and five-division initiation methods, he was extremely careful in transmission, obtaining only Vajrabodhi and Dharmabodhi to whom he transmitted. Also, during Tripiṭaka Xuanzang's dharma-seeking period, in Dhakārgala country of South India, he met Ācārya Nāgabodhi and studied various sūtras including the Middle and Hundred Treatises, but there is no record of studying esoteric teaching. Did Nāgabodhi keep it secret and not transmit? Or did Master Xuanzang not wish to receive esoteric teaching? This is because this teaching cannot be casually transmitted and received. Falsely transmitting and receiving already incurs the fault of violating Buddha's prohibitions. How much more so regarding exclusively praising this teaching,
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falsely criticizing exoteric teaching, and destroying the fundamental principles of Śākyamuni's single transformation? Alas, if such profound secret maṇḍala dharma gates are destroyed by those attached to esotericism, this school's true lineage hangs by a thread. How can one not feel deeply moved?
When the ancient patriarchs founded schools and established lineages, meeting times when various schools mutually used establishment, refutation, suppression, and elevation as the vanguard of opening dharma, they unavoidably distinguished exoteric and esoteric as shallow and deep, elevating self and suppressing others. This was merely adaptation appropriate to one time. Therefore, while the discussions of establishment, refutation, suppression, and elevation show considerable divergence from what the tripiṭaka taught, what their meaning returns to generally does not differ. This was simply an expedient to enable students to accomplish siddhis and realize entry into the true reality of the formless and unconditioned. Later generations of those attached to esotericism are different. They wantonly construct uncanonical speculations and obstruct the true dharma eye treasury of the Buddhas of the three times. Compared with the ancient patriarchs' suppression and elevation, what they say appears extremely similar, yet their purport is like ice and fire. They claim to "support and elevate the sectarian teaching" and monopolize beauty for a time, but observed from the side, they violate principle and teaching, flowing ugliness for a thousand generations.
Third, doctrinal purport: The Mahāvairocana Sūtra states: "I have awakened to original non-arising, transcending the path of verbal expression. All faults have attained liberation, far removed from causes and conditions. Knowing emptiness equal to space, as-is wisdom arises. Having left all darkness, supremely stainless. The various destinies are merely names and characteristics; Buddha characteristics are likewise so. This supreme reality, through the power of empowerment, for the sake of saving sentient beings, is expounded through written words." It also states: "Dharma is like the characteristics of space—non-dual, only one characteristic. Becoming Buddha through ten wisdom powers, therefore called enlightenment. Only