英語訳
**Chapter 3 of the Mahāyāna Yogācāra Research Divine Text**
The self is entirely empty, with only the dharmas existing, and [one] attained the śrāvaka fruit. After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, through attachment to the existence of dharmas, twenty schools arose, clinging to minor fruits and not seeking the great stage. When the Buddha was at Vulture Peak and taught "all dharmas are without inherent nature, unborn and unceasing, originally tranquil, of the nature of nirvāṇa," the śrāvakas and others turned their minds toward the Great [Vehicle]. After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, to empty the two grasps and make [people] seek the great fruit, Aśvaghoṣa, Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva and others appeared in the world and composed treatises, obtaining the teaching of dharma-emptiness and breaking attachment to dharma-existence. Therefore, generally "all dharmas are empty" is taken as the doctrine of the Three Treatises school.
Q: "Among the names of treatises, why is it sometimes called 'Middle Treatise' (Madhyamaka-śāstra) or 'Middle Way Contemplation Treatise' (Madhyamaka-kārikā)?"
A: "This treatise's title has extensive and abbreviated forms. The extensive name is 'Middle Way Contemplation,' the abbreviated name is 'Middle Treatise.' Therefore, due to these two meanings, it serves as the treatise's title."
Q: "Just one name would suffice as the treatise name. Why use two names?"
A: "Because it encompasses both doctrine-principle and object-wisdom, the extensive name is necessary. If speaking one name generates understanding, why would it be necessary to speak two?"
Q: "Since it's already named 'Middle Treatise,' it is Mahāyāna. Why does the treatise explain Hīnayāna doctrines?"
A: "It properly clarifies Mahāyāna while also expounding minor doctrines. The great encompasses the small."
Q: "If so, shouldn't it also fully explain human and celestial vehicle doctrines, also making humans and celestials ultimately return to the great?"
A: "In principle, this would indeed be so. However, the human and celestial vehicles only provisionally stop the three evils and are not the essential path, so they are not clarified."
Regarding the Śataśāstra, Q: "Why is it called the 'Hundred Treatise'?"
A: "Hundred refers to the number of verses. Treatise means explaining verses. It's a treatise clarifying one hundred verses, hence called the 'Hundred Treatise.'"
Q: "If so, does the treatise contain one hundred verses?"
A: "There are fifty verses, not reaching the number one hundred."
Q: "If so, why is it called the 'Hundred Treatise'? It should be called the 'Fifty Treatise.'"
A: "The Sanskrit original contained one hundred verses. The [missing] fifty had no connection [to this land] and didn't come to this country. Now we follow the original name and call it the 'Hundred Treatise.'"
Q: "The currently existing fifty verses—are they the first fifty verses or the latter fifty verses?"
A: "The first fifty verses."
Q: "If so, how can the doctrinal meaning be complete?"
A: "The doctrinal meaning is completely exhausted with nothing lacking."
Q: "If so, what matters do the latter fifty verses clarify? Isn't naming it the 'Hundred Treatise' largely useless?"
The Dvādaśadvāra-śāstra has ten chapters. The first chapter is called the "Chapter on Abandoning Merit and Demerit." What is called demerit and what is called merit?
A: "Demerit means the meaning of destruction. Creating unwholesome karma, experiencing the three evil [realms], heavily receiving karmic retribution, and destroying sentient beings—therefore it's called demerit. Merit means the meaning of prosperity. Generating wholesome karma and attracting human and celestial happiness—therefore it's called merit."
Q: "Demerit attracting suffering can be called abandonment, but merit producing pleasant results—why is it also called abandonment?"
A: "Demerit is suffering when present; merit is suffering when it perishes. Both times involve suffering, so suffering can be abandoned."
Q: "What is called abandonment?"
A: "Entering true-characteristic contemplation with the mind having nothing to depend on is called abandonment."
Q: "Are the names 'demerit' and 'merit' causal names or result names?"
A: "The names 'demerit' and 'merit' are both causal names, though they also obtain result names."
**Left Page**
Regarding the Dvādaśadvāra-śāstra, Q: "Why is it called the 'Twelve Gate Treatise'? What are the twelve, what is the gate, and what is treatise?"
A: "This treatise explains the gates of the twelve divisions of Buddhist scriptures, hence called 'Twelve Gates.' To distinguish from the two piṭakas, it's called treatise."
Q: "If so, the twelve are Buddhist scriptures, and gate is treatise. Then Buddhist scriptures are teaching, and the twelve gates are also teaching. How does teaching reveal that teaching?"
A: "Scriptures have doctrine-principle; treatises have principle-doctrine. If using treatise-teaching to reveal scripture-teaching, then 'Twelve Gate Treatise' is teaching—this is a karmadhāraya compound name. If using treatise-principle to reveal scripture-principle, using treatise-principle to reveal scripture-teaching, then it's 'treatise of twelve gates'—this is a tatpuruṣa compound name."
Q: "Nāgārjuna himself composed three treatises: first, Mahābhayā-śāstra; second, Madhyamaka-kārikā; third, Dvādaśadvāra-śāstra. Since the Middle Treatise is said to emerge from the Fearless Division, how is this Twelve Gates also so?"
A: "There can be two explanations. One says it's the same as the Middle Treatise. One says the essential points were extracted from within the Middle Treatise to form the Twelve Gates."
Q: "Which is correct?"
A: "The first explanation should be preferred."
Q: "The Middle Treatise and Twelve Gates were both composed by one master. What differences are there?"
A: "Briefly, there are ten differences. The fourth difference is that the Middle Treatise encompasses both great and small doctrines, while the Twelve Gates only expounds great doctrines."
**Yogācāra School**
The Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra, Chapter 2 on No Inherent Nature, together with Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Volume 72, states: "The World-Honored One, in this third period, universally for those who have set out toward all vehicles, based on 'all dharmas lacking inherent nature, unborn and unceasing, originally tranquil, of the nature of nirvāṇa, lacking inherent nature,' turned the wheel of true Dharma with explicit characteristics. This is truly definitive meaning."
The meaning indicates: Depending on the first period's teaching of selflessness of persons, one cannot enter the middle. Depending on the second period's teaching of selflessness of dharmas, one cannot enter the middle. By depending on the two emptiness teachings to enter the middle way, one makes [beings] depend on the two periods' two selflessness teachings and enter the third [period's] middle way correct principle of neither empty nor existent.
Therefore Maitreya, 900 years after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, descended to the human realm and, in Asaṅga's chamber, expounded four treatises: first, Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra; second, Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra; third, Madhyāntavibhāga; fourth, Yogavibhāga.
Regarding the first two periods' teachings, the Buddha already judged them as "surpassable, having room [for improvement], being provisional meaning, and places where various disputes can take hold." Regarding this third period, the Buddha judged it as "truly definitive meaning, unsurpassable, without room [for improvement], not a place where various disputes can take hold." Thus the Yogācāra Mahāyāna school represents the teaching of non-duality and the principle of final return.
The Madhyāntavibhāga verse states:
"False discrimination exists. In this, the two are entirely absent. In this there is only emptiness. In that also this exists. Therefore it is said: All dharmas are neither empty nor non-empty. Because of existence, non-existence, and existence—this accords with the middle way."
"False discrimination exists" means there is discrimination of grasped and grasper. "In this, the two are entirely absent" means in this false discrimination, the two natures of grasped and grasper are permanently absent. "In this there is only emptiness" means in false discrimination, there is only the emptiness nature free from grasped and grasper. "In that also..."