英語訳
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"Like the heavenly drum... like seeking jeweled rain" - this text also shows that dharma is beyond language, revealing that the Buddha's teaching of dharma is spontaneously sovereign, not relying on discriminative thinking, but teaching dharma according to the thoughts of beings' faculties, like a heavenly drum producing sound and a wish-fulfilling gem raining treasures. This text is also used as evidence for the middle way. Its meaning can be understood.
"Though responding to things... no discord or competition arose" reveals that during the Buddha's lifetime and the early period after his nirvana (one thousand years for Mahāyāna, one hundred years for Hīnayāna), regarding the various dharma gates taught by the Buddha, though people believed and received them according to their faculties, wisdom and understanding harmoniously merged with each other, not generating discord. Question: In the first two periods, the targeted faculties mutually grasped existence and emptiness - why say there was no discord during his lifetime? Answer: That was temporary, not a final lack of harmony. Or it was one person's sequential grasping, so not real debate. Or because faculties differed, understanding was sequential. Ultimately there was unity without discord.
"After Buddha's nirvana... initially sealed and attached to existence" reveals that after one hundred years from the nirvana, Mahādeva appeared and established the Five Points, the twenty Hīnayāna schools arose with different views, each developing attachment to existence. This is the first-period existence-teaching among the three post-nirvana periods.
"As a verse says... take what is real" - this text is from the Samayabhedoparacanacakra by Venerable Vasumitra. The meaning of the text is that though the twenty schools' different views varied greatly, they all took the Four Noble Truths as foundation, with no one having doctrine that did not depend on the Four Truths teaching. Therefore, whatever school one practices in, all attain the Way. Do not mutually judge right and wrong. To take gold, do not discard sand, because gold exists within sand. These twenty schools arose different views and mutually
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held debates, thus being attached to existence. Therefore this is the first-period existence-teaching.
"Saint Nāgārjuna and others... thoroughly expounded emptiness" reveals that after seven hundred years from the nirvana, Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna appeared and, to refute those twenty Hīnayāna schools' attachment to existence, collected teachings that explained complete emptiness and thoroughly developed the emptiness school. Though this bodhisattva's original intention was the middle way, to break attachment to existence, he temporarily taught emptiness. Nevertheless, his words lean toward emptiness. Hence he might be called a "ultimate emptiness advocate."
"As another verse says... not arising like sky-flowers" - this text is a verse from the Ratnakaraṇḍaka by Ācārya Bhāvaviveka. It is not an original verse by Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna, hence called "another verse." In this verse, from the gate of true ultimate meaning, conditioned dharmas are empty, and the unconditioned has no reality. The first two lines are called the "syllogism of conditioned dharmas' emptiness in true nature." The syllogism states: In true nature, conditioned dharmas should be empty, because they arise from conditions, like illusions. Real illusory things serve as the positive example. The latter two lines are called the "syllogism of unconditioned dharmas having no reality." The syllogism states: The unconditioned has no reality, because it does not arise, like sky-flowers. Illusions arise from multiple conditions, so they illustrate conditioned origination. Sky-flowers have absolutely no substantial nature, so they illustrate that the perfected is characterless and from the beginning neither arising nor ceasing.
"They say conventionally... all completely empty" means that school's doctrine: the conventional gate says dharmas exist; the ultimate gate says dharmas are empty. For one dharma at one time, the aspect of non-existence is taken as ultimate, the aspect of existence as conventional.
"Though this true emptiness... subsequently give rise to emptiness views" reveals that sentient beings hearing this teaching, though breaking attachment to existence,
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conversely give rise to emptiness views. This master says emptiness is also empty. Because dharma-essence is beyond language, it is neither empty nor existent. However, when discussing dharma by relying on verbal gates, in the ultimate gate all is empty. Sentient beings hearing this, give rise to attachment as described, grasping that it is empty.
"Bodhisattva Asaṅga... eliminating both attachments" means that nine hundred years after Buddha's nirvana, Bodhisattva Asaṅga appeared and, to break those emptiness and existence attachments, requested Maitreya to teach the middle way. [Maitreya] then descended to Ayodhyā country, taught the five treatises, and propagated the middle way of neither-existence-nor-emptiness. This is the third period among the three post-nirvana periods.
"And a verse says... this accords with the middle way" - this text is from the Madhyāntavibhāga. The root verses are spoken by Maitreya Bodhisattva. The commentary was composed by Vasubandhu Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva Asaṅga received [the teaching] from Maitreya and entrusted it to Vasubandhu to compose the commentary. This is a verse from the Distinguishing Characteristics chapter of the Madhyāntavibhāga. "Distinguishing" means clear discrimination and differentiation. "Middle" means correct, good, and free from faults. "Extremes" refers to wrong, evil, and having faults. Middle and extremes are the principles being clarified. "Characteristics chapter" means the characteristics being explained - namely the characteristics of the three natures - are clarified herein. "False discrimination" refers to discrimination that takes grasped objects and grasping subjects as existing. Grasped objects and grasping subjects are parikalpita. "In these two there is complete non-existence" means that in this false discrimination, the two parikalpita of grasped objects and grasping subjects are permanently non-existent. "Herein there is only emptiness" means that in false discrimination paratantra, there is only the emptiness-nature pariniṣpanna that is free from grasped objects, grasping subjects, and parikalpita. "In that there is also this" means that upon that emptiness-nature pariniṣpanna, there is this false discrimination paratantra.
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"Therefore it is said all dharmas" - conditioned and unconditioned are called "all dharmas." Conditioned refers to the previous false discrimination. Unconditioned refers to the previous emptiness-nature of dual-grasping. "Neither empty nor non-empty" - because there are emptiness-nature and false discrimination, it is said to be "not empty." Because grasped object and grasping subject nature is absent, it is said to be "not non-empty." "Existence, non-existence, and existence" - "existence" means because emptiness-nature and false discrimination exist. "Non-existence" means because grasped object and grasping subject dual-natures are non-existent. "And existence" means because within false discrimination there is emptiness-nature, and upon emptiness-nature there is false discrimination. "This accords with the middle way" means all dharmas are neither one-sidedly empty nor one-sidedly non-empty. Such principle wonderfully accords with the middle way and also well corresponds to the Prajñāpāramitā and other sūtras' teaching that all dharmas are neither empty nor existent. This is the main doctrine of the Madhyāntavibhāga.
"They say conventionally... only these two emptinesses" - this school's doctrine: in the conventional gate, to guide ordinary people's understanding, following them it explains the names of self and dharmas; in the ultimate gate, to break their attachment to real self and dharmas, it teaches the non-existence of self and dharmas.
"Though Buddha, to break... both emptiness and existence denied" reveals the Buddha's teaching according to beings' capacities. Generally teaching that dharmas exist, teaching that dharmas are empty, or specifically teaching neither-empty-nor-existent - all are to counteract the illnesses of existence, emptiness, and so forth. Dharma-essence is beyond the designations of emptiness, existence, and dual-denial. "Dual-denial" refers to the expression "neither empty nor existent." Calling it "neither empty nor existent" is to break sentient beings' attachments. Dharma-essence cannot be called "not empty"