英語訳
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"May all obstacles be completely removed, may I see Buddha Amida face to face, and immediately be born in the Land of Bliss." This is that passage. Wonhyo, a patriarch of that school, also composed a text called "The Way of the Mind's Journey to the Land of Bliss" (Yusim Anrakdo), praising the nembutsu and extolling the Western Paradise. How much more should ordinary people of the final age simply rely upon Amida's beneficial activity.
First, the heart of the Tendai school: In examining the Buddha's lifetime of teaching, there are four teachings and five periods. The four teachings are: first, the Tripitaka teaching; second, the Shared teaching; third, the Distinct teaching; fourth, the Perfect teaching. The five periods are: first, Avatamsaka; second, Agama; third, Vaipulya; fourth, Prajñā; fifth, Lotus and Nirvana. The teachings expounded in these five periods do not go beyond the above four teachings. That is to say, within the five periods: in Avatamsaka, the two teachings of Distinct and Perfect are expounded; in Agama, only the Tripitaka teaching is expounded; in the various Vaipulya sutras, the four teachings are expounded in detail; in Prajñā, the three teachings of Shared, Distinct, and Perfect are expounded; in Lotus, only the Perfect teaching is expounded; in Nirvana, the four teachings are again expounded. Among these, only the Lotus of the fifth period is regarded as the original intent of the buddhas' appearance in the world, and is called the wonderful dharma of perfect and sudden, perfect and interpenetrating. Therefore, among the four teachings, the other three teachings are not true reality when compared to the Perfect teaching. Among the five periods, the previous four flavors are all
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expedients for maturing the capacity for the one reality of the Lotus, and it is said that only the one great Perfect teaching is the direct path for sentient beings' liberation—this is made the great principle of this school. Therefore, setting aside temporarily the expedients of the three teachings and four flavors, speaking about the heart of the Lotus Perfect teaching: one concentrates on the contemplation of one thought-moment containing three thousand realms and the perfect interpenetration of the three truths, taking as the sectarian purpose the realization that afflictions are precisely enlightenment, and birth-and-death is precisely nirvana. What is meant by "one thought-moment containing three thousand realms" is that when speaking of all dharmas both pure and defiled, they do not exceed three thousand, and these three thousand dharmas clearly exist within the mind-nature of sentient beings. This is precisely what is explained in the Expedient Means chapter of the present sutra (Lotus Sutra): "Only a buddha together with a buddha can fully fathom the true aspect of all dharmas." What is meant by the three thousand dharmas is that when discussing both ordinary beings and sages together, there are ten realms. The ten realms are: first, hell; second, hungry ghosts; third, animals; fourth, asuras; fifth, humans; sixth, heavenly beings; seventh, voice-hearers; eighth, pratyekabuddhas; ninth, bodhisattvas; tenth, buddhas. Among these, the first six are called the six ordinary realms, and the latter four are called the four noble realms. Collectively these are called the ten realms. In these ten realms, each realm possesses the ten suchnesses. The ten suchnesses are those mentioned in the following
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passage: "So-called all dharmas: such appearance, such nature, such substance, such power, such function, such cause, such condition, such effect, such retribution, such ultimate equality from beginning to end." That is, beginning with "such appearance" and ending with "such ultimate equality from beginning to end," there are altogether ten suchnesses. "Suchness" means that what is spoken of—appearance, nature, substance, power, function, cause, condition, effect, retribution—are all originally dharma-nature and do not change. "Ultimate equality from beginning to end" means that these appearance, nature, etc., are ultimately equal from beginning to end. This is precisely the meaning of suchness. Thus, the sentient beings of the ten realms each possess the ten suchnesses, making one hundred suchnesses of the ten realms. However, the ten realms mutually possess the ten realms: hell also possesses the other nine realms, hungry ghosts also possess the other nine realms, and even the buddha realm possesses the other nine realms, making one hundred realms. Therefore, in the one hundred realms there are one thousand suchnesses. This is called "one hundred realms, one thousand suchnesses." When this hundred realms and thousand suchnesses is applied to the three kinds of worlds, it becomes three thousand. The three kinds of worlds are: first, the world of the five aggregates; second, the world of sentient beings; third, the world of the land. The five aggregates are the five skandhas. The five skandhas are
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first, the form aggregate—this is all form-dharmas such as the five sense organs and five sense objects; second, the feeling aggregate—this is the three feelings of suffering, pleasure, and equanimity; third, the perception aggregate—this takes the characteristics of black and white, long and short, male and female, square and round, etc.; fourth, the mental formations aggregate—this is all conditioned dharmas other than the four of form, feeling, perception, and consciousness. "Formations" means the meaning of creating and flowing. Fifth, the consciousness aggregate—this is the mind-king. The above is called the world of the five aggregates. "World" means the meaning of intervals. The world of sentient beings refers to the sentient beings created by those five aggregates. The world of the land refers to the environmental retribution that those sentient beings depend upon. This is collectively called the three thousand dharmas. That these three thousand dharmas exist within the mind-nature of sentient beings' single thought-moment and are originally unmoving is called the dharma-gate of "one thought-moment containing three thousand realms." In the fifth volume of the "Maha-śamatha-vipaśyanā," it says: "These three thousand exist in one thought-moment of mind. If there is no mind, that is all there is to it. If there is even the slightest bit of mind, it immediately possesses the three thousand." The fifth volume of the "Hongjue" commentary, receiving this, says: "Speaking of 'the slightest bit' means the momentary mind, continuing without interruption, never having been cut off. In just one moment, the three thousand are complete." This is that meaning. In cultivating this contemplation of the three thousand, there is the contemplation of the three truths of emptiness, conventional existence, and the middle. The truth of emptiness means contemplating these three thousand dharmas as empty.