英語訳
【Right Page】
One Vehicle Doctrine Private Record, Volume Two
Commentary by Shinkō Collection
Question: The treatise states: "However, this essential nature contains five approaches." What are these five approaches?
Answer: The treatise states: "First, the discrimination of explanation and principle, penetrating teaching and principle. Second, the discrimination of cause and effect, penetrating practice and fruition. Third, the discrimination of wisdom and merit, penetrating merit and wisdom. Fourth, the discrimination of awakening and tranquility, penetrating the truths of cessation and path, bodhi and nirvana. Fifth, the discrimination of two benefits, penetrating self-benefit and benefiting others."
Question: Having previously clarified the One Vehicle substance through the three substances, why does it additionally present these five approaches?
Answer: These five approaches provide repeated detailed analysis of the previous three approaches. It does not mean that besides the previous three approaches, there are also these five approaches.
Question: If so, what is the meaning?
Answer: Generally speaking, within the previous three substances, if we discriminate by contrasting the explainer and the explained (principle refers to what is explained), it penetrates teaching and principle to become the One Vehicle substance. If we discriminate by contrasting cause and effect, it penetrates practice and fruition to become the One Vehicle (perhaps missing the character "substance" after "Vehicle"). If we discriminate by contrasting merit and wisdom, it penetrates merit and wisdom practices to become the One Vehicle substance. If we discriminate by contrasting awakening and tranquility, it penetrates bodhi and nirvana to become the One Vehicle substance. If we discriminate by contrasting the two benefits, it penetrates self-benefit and benefiting-others practices to become the One Vehicle substance. The previous three substances contain the meaning of the five approaches.
Question: Why do the previous three substances each have this sequence of five approaches?
Answer: First, teaching and principle are made the One Vehicle. Although teaching has expedient and ultimate aspects, the explainer has no distinctions. Within the single kind of principle, there are distinctions of cause and effect. Therefore, within principle, we divide into the two of practice and fruition. Within practice there are differences between merit and wisdom, so we divide into the two of merit and wisdom.
【Lower Section】
Within fruition there are differences between awakening and tranquility, so we divide into the two of bodhi and nirvana. These two of cause and effect do not exceed the two approaches of self-benefit and benefiting others, incorporating the two approaches of self-benefit and benefiting others to make the One Vehicle substance. Therefore each has this sequence of five approaches.
Question: The treatise states: "This explains the One Vehicle, so its meaning penetrates throughout. If one speaks of the 'Buddha Vehicle,' it raises the fruition to include the causal name. If one names it the 'Bodhisattva Vehicle,' it raises the cause to include the fruition designation. The names do not penetrate, but the meaning can be inclusive." What does this mean?
Answer: This raises the proper name and alternative names of the vehicle to clarify the reason why they penetrate or do not penetrate the previous five approaches. The meaning is that in this treatise, the One Vehicle name is taken as the doctrine for explanation, so it immediately penetrates cause and effect. Therefore its meaning penetrates throughout the previous five approaches. In other teachings, sometimes the Buddha Vehicle is explained, which raises the fruition name. Sometimes the Bodhisattva Vehicle is explained, which raises the causal name. These partial causal names (considering Bodhisattva Vehicle) and partial fruition names (considering Buddha Vehicle) do not penetrate the previous five approaches. However, investigating their meaning, they can also be inclusive.
Question: The One Vehicle is also called Mahayana and Supreme Vehicle. Do their meanings penetrate throughout the previous five approaches?
Answer: These two names are just like the One Vehicle name. Therefore they can penetrate the five approaches.
Question: The treatise states: "Also, through practitioners cultivating and practicing the fundamental and subsequently attained aspects of the two wisdoms, observing the emptiness of persons and dharmas in the two principles, severing the two obstructions of afflictive and cognitive, ceasing the two deaths of birth-and-death by segments and transformation, realizing the two fruitions of bodhi and nirvana, perfectly attaining the two cessations of with-remainder and non-abiding, practicing the two benefits of self-benefit and benefiting others—this is called fruition fulfillment." What does this mean?
Answer: This is also within the previous substance, first discriminating according to the Four Noble Truths approach to clarify the One Vehicle substance, initially establishing the practices of capable cultivating practitioners.
Question: How is this established?
Answer: Bodhisattvas necessarily cultivate wisdom and observe principle, sever delusions and separate from suffering, attain fruition and realize cessation, practice the two benefit practices, and this is called Buddha fruition fulfillment.
【Left Page】
This is immediately called the One Vehicle. It is established in this way.
Question: Having established it this way, how does one discriminate according to the Four Noble Truths approach to clarify the One Vehicle substance?
Answer: As in the following text.
Question: The treatise states: "The two obstructions to be severed are included in the truth of origination. The two deaths to be ceased are included in the truth of suffering. The two wisdoms to be cultivated and the bodhi to be realized are included in the truth of the path. The two principles to be observed, the two cessations to be attained, and the nirvana to be realized are included in the truth of cessation. The two benefits to be practiced are included in the truths of cessation and path. Combining these cessation and path is called the One Vehicle." What does this mean?
Answer: This takes the seven kinds of matters (two wisdoms, two principles, up to two benefits) previously established and correlates them with the Four Noble Truths, clarifying that the two truths of cessation and path constitute the One Vehicle substance.
Question: Regarding the Four Noble Truths, there are two kinds—conditioned and unconditioned Four Noble Truths. Which Four Noble Truths do they correlate with?
Answer: They correlate by penetrating both conditioned and unconditioned Four Noble Truths. The meaning is: the afflictive obstructions to be severed are the conditioned truth of origination; cognitive obstructions are the unconditioned truth of origination; birth-and-death by segments to be ceased is the conditioned truth of suffering; transformational death is the unconditioned truth of suffering; the principle of personal emptiness to be realized is the conditioned truth of cessation; the principle of dharma emptiness is the unconditioned truth of cessation; the bodhi and nirvana to be realized and the two benefit practices to be practiced are included in the unconditioned truths of cessation and path. Therefore they penetrate the inclusion of both conditioned and unconditioned Four Noble Truths.
Question: How are the two benefits included in the truths of cessation and path?
Answer: The Water Commentary states: "Since the Dharma Body penetrates the two benefits, the Dharma Body is included in the truth of cessation. The Self-Enjoyment Body is only self-benefit and is included in the truth of the path. Since the two benefits are included in the truth of the path, combining these truths of cessation and path is generally called the One Vehicle." The meaning is that what the two benefits depend upon is called the two benefits and is included in the truths of cessation and path.
Question: The treatise states: "Therefore this root treatise states in the explanation of refutation: 'No Two Vehicles' means 'no Two Vehicle nirvana.' Only the Buddha Tathagata realizes great bodhi, ultimately fulfilling all wisdom, called great nirvana. Because there is only one Buddha Vehicle." What does this mean?
Answer: This is cited evidence to establish the meaning that the truths of cessation and path are called the One Vehicle. There are two citations. This is the first, citing the text where the Lotus Treatise explains the sixth refutation among the six records. It immediately explains the sutra passage: "In the ten direction worlds, there are not even Two Vehicles, how much more three."
Using the statement "not even Two Vehicles, how much more three," this is called refutation. Refutation means the meaning of rejection. (The six records are: 1) making the unheard heard, 2) explanation, 3) depending on what meaning, 4) making abide, 5) depending on dharma, 6) refutation, as in the treatise.)
Question: How does this text serve as evidence that the truths of cessation and path are called the One Vehicle?
Answer: The text states "Only the Buddha Tathagata realizes great bodhi"—this clarifies the truth of the path. "Fulfilling wisdom is called great nirvana"—this clarifies the truth of cessation. "Because there is only one Buddha Vehicle"—this clarifies that the bodhi and nirvana, the two truths of cessation and path explained above, are called the One Vehicle. Therefore this text can establish that evidence.
Question: "No Two Vehicles" means "no Two Vehicle nirvana"—is this with-remainder or without-remainder?
Answer: The Water Commentary states: "No with-remainder dependent nirvana, not saying no without-remainder dependent nirvana. Through turning mind toward the great, there is no small vehicle without-remainder nirvana. The meaning is that 'no' means those who turn mind toward the great should take the great parinirvana of three aspects, but lack it. This nirvana exists only in Mahayana and is what the Two Vehicles lack. It explains that those Two Vehicles have no real nirvana substance, not that there is no real nirvana that ceases suffering. The sutra states 'people enter the conjured city.'"
I now think that fixed-nature Two Vehicle practitioners actually have two kinds of nirvana, but this is not what is being discussed. Unfixed-nature Two Vehicle practitioners do not realize without-remainder nirvana, which is also not what is being discussed. Now, regarding with-remainder nirvana, it states there is no Two Vehicle nirvana. The nirvana that Two Vehicle practitioners attain by exhausting afflictions is provisional analytical cessation, namely