英語訳
## [Page 2]
### [Upper Section]
...[the Hīnayāna practitioners seek] the Great [Vehicle].
**[On the passage: "The commentary on the two truths, conventional and ultimate... (up to)... mutually arising attachment and rejection"]**
*(Interlinear note: Master Sthiramati holds "consciousness-only, no external objects." Also "the conventional [is] illusory [existence].") (Interlinear note: The thesis that "in the ultimate there is true non-existence" is the position established by Bhāviveka.)*
"The commentary on the two truths, conventional and ultimate... (up to)... mutually arising attachment and rejection" — this refers to the divergent masters within Mahāyāna. In the conventional truth domain, [some] expound "existence (有)." In the ultimate truth domain, [others] expound "everything is empty (皆空)" and so forth. And there are also [positions such as] "objects are non-existent, only mind exists," and similar claims.
**[On: "The commentary: to rectify the meaning of the true Dharma... (up to)... briefly praising the Middle Way"]**
"The commentary: to rectify the meaning of the true Dharma... (up to)... briefly praising the Middle Way" — this expresses the aspiration of the author of the commentary to cause the true Dharma to long endure and to benefit sentient beings. If one does not know what is true and what is erroneous in the Dharma, the true meaning of the Dharma will fall into concealment and the true Dharma will not endure. Therefore, by fully distinguishing and discarding the erroneous and taking up the true, the true Dharma will long endure. The intention of benefiting sentient beings is clear.
"The commentary: first, relying on what was transmitted" means "the first [authority]," because it is what was transmitted by the preceding teacher, Tripiṭaka Master Xuanzang. "Briefly praising the Middle Way" means: ordinary beings (*異生*) are biased toward the extreme of sensual pleasure; non-Buddhist practitioners (*外道*) are biased toward the extreme of asceticism; the Hīnayāna is biased toward the position that "dharmas exist"; and [certain streams of] Mahāyāna are biased toward "everything is empty." Therefore, [the text] sets forth the abandonment of the extremes of one-sided existence and one-sided emptiness, and praises the Middle Way which is neither empty nor existent.
*(Interlinear note: From this point onward, the text cited [from the commentary] has no character "commentary (疏)" at the beginning.)*
**[On: "As the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra (up to)... is not the resting place of disputes"]**
"As the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra... (up to)... is not the resting place of disputes (*諍論安足処所*)" — this is in order to praise the Middle Way, and the text of the Middle Way teaching is cited to make known the appearance of the middle and the extremes.
*(Interlinear note: In the Dōgakushō, nine volumes, after [volume nine], there is the discussion of Asaṅga's (*無性*) commentary.)*
**[On: "The Buddha, based on the parikalpita... (up to)... the three non-natures"]**
"The Buddha, based on the parikalpita (遍計所執, the nature of conceptual construction)... (up to)... the three non-natures (三無性)" — this explains that the Buddha, upon the foundation of the Three Natures (三性), taught the Three Non-Natures. In order to negate (遮) the *parikalpita*, [the text] says "based on the parikalpita." Because the *parikalpita* is utterly devoid of intrinsic nature, it is called "non-nature in terms of characteristics (相無性)." Because the *paratantra* (依他起, dependent origination) has no self-arisen existence, it is called "non-nature in terms of origination (生無性)." Because the *pariniṣpanna* (円成実, the perfected nature) is the ultimate reality and there is nothing to be expressed as self or dharma, it is called "non-nature in terms of ultimate reality (勝義無性)." Having thus explained the Three Non-Natures, this passage presents the origins of how teaching the Three Times illuminates the middle and the extremes.
### [Lower Section]
**[On: "At that time, Noble Wisdom (Śrīmati)... (up to)... resting place of disputes"]**
"At that time, Noble Wisdom... (up to)... resting place of disputes" — this is the First Time Teaching. The Buddha first, at Deer Park (鹿野苑, Mṛgadāva), taught the purport of "the self is empty, dharmas exist (我空法有)." This is the teaching of the Āgamas and so forth — the Hīnayāna teaching. The two truths of suffering and arising are the worldly cause-and-effect; the two truths of cessation and path are the supra-mundane cause-and-effect. Because the Dharma had not previously been heard, it is called "rare and extraordinary (希奇)." Because it did not reveal that "self and dharmas are not existent, and empty consciousness is not non-existent," it is called "not of definitive meaning (未了義)." Since all dharmas are neither empty nor existent, yet [the First Time Teaching] expounds existence exclusively, the argument that [dharmas] should be empty arises. Therefore it is called "the resting place of disputes (諍論安足処所)." "Resting place (安足処所)" probably means "the place where the disputes remain without departing — where they plant their feet."
**[On: "Next, again, only for... (up to)... resting place of disputes"]**
"Next, again, only for... (up to)... resting place of disputes" — this is the Second Time Teaching. The Buddha, on Vulture Peak (靈鷲山, Gṛdhrakūṭa), taught the purport of "everything is empty (皆空)" for those heading toward Mahāyāna — this is the Prajñāpāramitā sūtra and so forth. Because it teaches the emptiness of dharmas, it is a Mahāyāna teaching. However, because it does not yet explain what "that emptiness" empties out — i.e., which dharmas [it negates] — it is called "the hidden wheel (隱密輪)" and "not of definitive meaning (未了義)." The usage of "furthermore (更)," "still (猶)," and "also (亦)" — the intent should be clear. (Since it can give rise to disputes with the First Time Teaching, it is again called "disputes" here.)
## [Page 3]
### [Upper Section]
**[On: "Now, to inspire... (up to)... not the resting place of disputes"]**
"Now, to inspire... (up to)... not the resting place of disputes" — this is the Third Time Teaching. The Buddha at the Third Time taught the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra, the Lotus Sūtra, and similar teachings — the utterly supreme, definitive-meaning teaching of Mahāyāna. "All vehicles (一切乘)" refers to the five vehicles. The *parikalpita*, which is empty, is called "not existent (非有)"; the *paratantra* and *pariniṣpanna*, which are existent, are called "not empty (非空)." Therefore, there is nothing hidden (無所隠密). Hence it is called "the explicit wheel (顯了輪)." Compared to the First Time's teaching of existence, the Second Time's teaching of emptiness is superior — hence "there is something above (有上)." In the present Third Time Teaching, there is nothing that surpasses this Dharma — hence "unsurpassed (無上)." The First and Second Time Teachings are incomplete (未滿) and thus have room [for further development]. The Third Time Teaching is completely fulfilled (圓滿) and therefore
has no such room. It expounds existence as existence, and non-existence as non-existence; there is no Dharma for disputes to settle upon. Hence it is called "not the resting place of disputes (非諸諍論安足處所)." The First and Second Times are the extremes; the Third Time is the middle. In order to make this meaning known, the present passage is cited.
**[On: "The Golden Light Sūtra (translated by Yijing of the Great Zhou in eight fascicles)... (up to)... named 'turning, illuminating, and upholding'"]**
"The Golden Light Sūtra (translated by Yijing of the Great Zhou in eight fascicles)... (up to)... named 'turning (轉), illuminating (照), and upholding (持)'" — in general, regarding the entire body of the sacred teaching of one [Buddha's] lifetime, the divergent views of various schools are numerous. Some say "one time" (Bodhiruci), while others establish "four times" or "five times." However, there is no textual evidence for the theory of one, two, three, four, or five times [as such]. As for the Three Times of our school (the Yogācāra/Dharmalakṣaṇa school), it is not only the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra that is the ultimate, definitive-meaning teaching — the Golden Light Sūtra also sets forth the purport of the Three Times, and therefore it is again cited here as corroborating evidence. The "Three Dharmas (三法)" refer to the three of existence, emptiness, and the middle. In the First Time, the Wheel of the Four Noble Truths is turned — hence "turning (轉)." In the Second Time, emptiness illuminates existence — hence "illuminating (照)." In the Third Time, existence and emptiness are both held together — hence "upholding (持)." Therefore in the present text, "turning" and "illuminating" are the extremes, and "upholding" is the middle. Therefore, in order to negate the extremes and reveal the middle, these passages are cited.
**[On: "The wheel crushes and destroys; because it is equipped with negation and affirmation, the dharmas of the three times are all called 'wheel'"]**
"The wheel crushes and destroys; because it is equipped with negation (遮) and affirmation (表), the dharmas of the three times are all called 'wheel'" — The First Time affirms (*hyō*) the existent nature of the *paratantra* and *pariniṣpanna*. The Second Time negates (*sha*) the non-existent nature of the *parikalpita*. The Third Time possesses both negation and affirmation together. Thus, combining both singly and jointly, [the teaching] is equipped with both negation and affirmation, and is therefore called "turning/wheel (轉/輪)." The jeweled wheel of the wheel-turning monarch serves to make the road flat and easy for the great king to travel when he goes on tour — that is, by crushing and destroying mountains and rocks, and leveling and managing the roadway. Leaving and preserving what ought to be there is called "affirmation (表)"; taking away and discarding what ought not to be there is called "negation (遮)." This is an analogy for the meaning of negating the *parikalpita* (erroneous conceptual fixation) and affirming the *paratantra* and *pariniṣpanna* (依圓 — dependent and perfected natures).
**[On: "Because sentient beings... (up to)... the real nature of the Middle Way"]**
"Because sentient beings... (up to)... the real nature of the Middle Way (中道實相)" — this reveals that because sentient beings do not know the *paratantra* and *pariniṣpanna*,
### [Lower Section]
they are confused about [external] objects, give rise to afflictions, create karma, and receive the fruit of suffering. The Buddha realized *tathatā* (真如, suchness) and awakened to the dream-like nature of [external] objects, and therefore, perceiving the capacities of sentient beings, expounds [the Dharma] in language, expressing in speech [the reality of] the Dharma which transcends speech — in accordance with the capacities [of beings]. The wish that sentient beings, as he himself has done, may attain the real nature of the Middle Way — this is the Buddha's fundamental intent.
**[On: "Therefore the verse says:... (up to)... 'there is no self, nor non-self'"]**
"Therefore the verse says:... (up to)... 'there is no self, nor non-self'" — this is from the *Madhyamaka-śāstra* (中論), the third [fascicle]. This passage reveals the purport of "using words to express the Dharma that transcends words." It is precisely a passage expounding the Middle Way. The third line raises the two natures of *paratantra* and *pariniṣpanna*; the fourth line expounds the meaning that the two natures transcend verbal expression. The first two lines express the intent of setting up verbal teachings in accordance with the [capacities of] beings. The long prose section of that treatise says: "Thus the Buddhas, by means of omniscience (一切智), observe sentient beings and therefore teach in various ways — sometimes teaching that there is a self, sometimes teaching that there is no self. For those whose minds are not yet ripe, who have no share in nirvāṇa and do not know to fear sin — for such persons the teaching that there is a self is given. Also, for those who have gained the path and know that all dharmas are empty, [but for whom] a self is posited conventionally — for such persons, to speak of 'self' is without fault (and so forth)."
**[On: "Other sūtras furthermore say:... (up to)... each attaining understanding"]**
"Other sūtras furthermore say:... (up to)... each attaining understanding" — this is from the first fascicle of the *Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra* (*Wugoucheng jing* 無垢稱経). The virtue of the Buddha is without impediment: by means of a single sound he expounds boundless meanings, causing sentient beings to understand according to their kinds — but in reality it is not the case that there is only one sound and no other words arise. To establish "the teaching of one sound (一音教)" (as Bodhiruci does) and set up this doctrine is called "an incorrect view (不正義)." The reason for citing this passage is to reveal "the meaning that all dharmas transcend verbal expression (諸法離言義)." If a dharma were definitively [characterized as] "empty" or definitively [characterized as] "existent," how could it be taught with a single sound? Because [the Dharma's nature] is neither empty nor existent, saying "it is existent" does not contradict the nature of the dharma, and saying "it is empty" does not contradict the nature of the dharma. Therefore, in order to demonstrate the Middle Way, this passage is cited.