英語訳
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They do not proceed to the two vehicles' remainderless nirvana. Having already entered the immovable ground, they cannot enter the remainderless nirvana proven in the Buddha stage. Because the time has not yet arrived. If so, what dharma is called nirvana when entering nirvana in this ground? Therefore know: the signless principle is provisionally called nirvana. According to this, explaining people of indefinite nature in the two vehicles, the first explanation is superior. Explaining that those of fixed nature in the two vehicles enter remainderless is still difficult to understand. How much more would people of indefinite nature abandon Buddha seed-nature and enter the two vehicles' remainderless?
Question: The Water Commentary cites Master Zhangjing's interpretation saying: "Question: If in explaining the essence, the two-vehicle dharmas are called expedient means, human and heavenly [realms] are also expedient means for the two vehicles. Why are they not explained?" What does this mean?
Answer: This is an analogical question. The meaning is: "In explaining the One Vehicle essence, it says 'explaining two-vehicle dharmas as expedient means for the One Vehicle, and also as the essence of expedient One Vehicle.' By analogy, the human and heavenly vehicles are also expedient means for the two vehicles. Discussing this in sequence, why are they not [considered] the essence of expedient One Vehicle?"
Question: How is this answered?
Answer: The next text says: "There are two interpretations. First: 'Take the One Vehicle's uncontaminated dharmas as expedient means. Because they are not fixed-nature human and heavenly [beings].' Second: 'Fixed-nature human and heavenly [beings] are not expedient means for the Lesser Vehicle, so they are not taken. Indefinite-nature human and heavenly vehicles can also be called expedient means, so they are taken. The principles of taking have distinctions and do not contradict.'"
Side Discussion: Question: The Lotus Commentary explains the Lotus Sutra with sixty-four dharma gates. In which dharma gate is this One Vehicle doctrine explained?
Counter-question: First, what are those sixty-four dharma gates?
Counter-answer: The brief verse says: "Five profound, eight profound, four seven. Accomplishing four records and six records. Ten suchnesses, seven analogies. Three level and ten supreme."
Proper answer: Among the six records, the fourth "causing to dwell" explains this One Vehicle doctrine. The meaning is that the sutra says: "The Tathāgata explains dharma for sentient beings using only One Buddha Vehicle. There are no other vehicles, whether two or three." This text encourages sentient beings to come and dwell in the One Vehicle, therefore it is called "causing to dwell."
Question: Regarding the sixty-four dharmas, which chapter explains which dharma gate?
Answer: In the Expedient Means chapter, forty-four dharmas are explained. In the following chapters, the remaining twenty dharma gates are explained (excluding the introduction chapter).
Question: How are the forty-four dharmas explained in the Expedient Means chapter?
Answer: In explaining the Expedient Means chapter, the commentary has five sections.
First, the section praising dharma: praising the buddhas' wisdom and wisdom gates. Praising wisdom is called "profound realization." This has five aspects. 1. Profound meaning: referring to correct wisdom, being the essence and function of suchness. 2. Profound essence: referring to suchness, being the original nature of dharma. 3. Profound inner realization: again revealing correct wisdom, because it inwardly merges with suchness. 4. Profound foundation: again revealing suchness, being the foundation of all virtues. 5. Profound supremacy: referring to great bodhi. The sutra text simply says "the buddhas' wisdom is profound and immeasurable," not matching it to five texts.
Praising the wisdom gates is called "profound Āgama." This has eight aspects. 1. Profound upholding and recitation: the sutra says "the Buddha formerly approached hundreds of thousands of millions of countless buddhas." This reveals that the World-Honored One, over three great kalpas, made offerings to buddhas numbering twenty-six Ganges sands, and at those buddhas' places upheld and recited this dharma gate, therefore it is profound. 2. Profound cultivation: the sutra says "exhaustively practicing all buddhas' immeasurable dao-dharmas." Because all the buddhas' merit and wisdom, the path practices of dual benefit, are all exhaustively practiced. 3. Profound fruit-practice: the sutra says
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"valiant vigorous progress." Fruit means decisive fruition. Pure valiant progress that can endure toil and fatigue, with all endeavors succeeding, is called decisive fruition. 4. Profound mind of increasing merit: the sutra says "reputation universally heard." Through reputation spreading far, ordinary and noble beings universally hear, encouraging themselves, promoting cultivation and elimination, and their own merit-mind increases doubly. 5. Profound mind of wonderful events: the sutra says "accomplishing profound never-before-experienced dharma." Because the accomplished dharma is never-before-experienced wonderful supreme events, the mind that accomplishes it also becomes wonderful. 6. Profound supremacy: not present in this sutra. The commentary cites the sutra saying "difficult-to-understand dharmas the Tathāgata can know." Because the Tathāgata can know extremely difficult-to-understand dharmas, this dharma gate achieves supremacy. 7. Profound entry: the sutra says "the intent of what is explained according to appropriateness is difficult to understand." Because the meaning of names, words, and phrases is difficult to grasp. 8. Profound dwelling and maintenance of activities not shared with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas: this sutra has no text. The commentary cites the sutra saying "not the same as what all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot know." Through the two vehicles' activities, external benefit activities, and internal benefit dwelling and maintenance, profundity is achieved.
Second, the section praising dharma teachers: praising the Tathāgata's excellence in realization and explanation as dharma teacher. Namely, the sutra's text below saying "Since I became Buddha, through various causes and conditions, various analogies, etc." Within this are four accomplishments. Citing the commentary sutra saying "accomplishment of buddhas and tathāgatas' sovereign explanation causes." Therefore, Śāriputra, the Tathāgata accomplishes various expedients, various knowledge and views, various mindful contemplations, various words and phrases. What the present sutra calls "various causes and conditions" refers to the three kinds: expedients, knowledge and views, and mindful contemplations, collectively called causes and conditions through the principle of reasoning. Analogies are the fourth - words and phrases. Because words and phrases often explain various analogies.
They are also called analogies. The commentary explains: 1. Going accomplishment: referring to various expedients. From Tuṣita Heaven until manifesting entry into nirvana. Able to go to the ten directions, arising inconceivable transformations. Using the eight phases to accomplish the way and benefit sentient beings. Skillful wisdom function, therefore called expedients. 2. Teaching transformation accomplishment: referring to various knowledge and views. Because of manifesting various causes of defilement and purity. Through possessing knowledge and views, within transformation bodies, able to manifest that all defiled causes (accumulation) can attract suffering, and all pure causes (the path) can realize cessation. 3. Complete accomplishment of merit: referring to various mindful contemplations. Through explaining those dharmas to accomplish them. Because causes and conditions correspond to dharma as they are. Through explaining various mindful contemplation dharmas, the Buddha accomplishes all those mindful contemplations, because the fundamental and derivative causes and conditions all correspond as explained. 4. Explanation accomplishment: referring to various words and phrases. Using the four unimpeded [understandings], depending on what, what names and phrases, following what, for what sentient beings able to receive [teaching]. "Depending on what" means what meaning - namely unimpeded understanding of meaning. "What names and phrases" means what names, etc. - unimpeded understanding of dharma. "Following what" means following what regional sentient beings' speech sounds to explain - namely unimpeded understanding of language. "What sentient beings able to receive explanation" means what sentient beings' capacities can receive, then Buddha explains - unimpeded understanding of eloquence. Next, the commentary also matches the second and following sutra passages to these four phrases to explain them. "Widely performing verbal teachings" etc. is for expedients. "Tathāgata's expedients" etc. is for knowledge and views. "Tathāgata's knowledge and views" etc. is for mindful contemplations. "Deeply entering without limit... to emptiness completion" etc. is for words and phrases. Within the fourth words and phrases explanation accomplishment, there are further seven accomplishments. Therefore the commentary says "the fourth