Commentary on the Mahayana Vijnaptimatrata Sutra
Chapter 11: Bhadrapāla's Final Request for the Dharma to Benefit the Assembly
Original text: 尔时贤护。与大药王子。闻说是已。身惊毛竖。俱起合掌。作如是言。我等今者。俱归依佛。请垂救护。愿今以此。闻法功德。未脱有流。处生死轮。不落三涂。不入地狱。贤护复白佛言。欲有所请。唯愿听许。佛言。如汝悕望。恣汝所问。
Explanation: At this time, the Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla and Prince Mahāosadha, having heard of the sinful sufferings of the beings in the hells, trembled with alarm and the hair on their bodies stood on end. They rose together, pressed their palms together, and said to the Buddha: World-Honored One, we now all take refuge in You; please, out of compassion, rescue and protect us sentient beings. We wish to dedicate the merit of hearing the Dharma today to those sentient beings who have not escaped the ocean of suffering of birth and death in the three realms and who remain within the wheel of birth and death, hoping that they will not fall into the three evil paths, nor enter the hells. Bhadrapāla further said to the Buddha: I have some questions I would like to ask the World-Honored One, and I hope the World-Honored One will permit me to ask. The Buddha said: I will fulfill your wish and allow you to ask.
The Buddha showed sentient beings the scene of the hells, urging them to take refuge in the Buddha quickly. Once they take refuge in the Buddha, the Three Jewels will come to rescue them and bring them out of the hells, so they will not undergo the suffering of hell. Prince Mahāosadha and the Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla then made the vow to take refuge in the Buddha, asking the Buddha to come to their rescue, and further made the dedication of merit (pariṇāma), saying: We now wish, with the merit of hearing the Dharma, to cause those sentient beings who have not escaped the stream of birth and death of the three existences—the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm—not to fall into the three evil paths, nor enter the hells.
They made this vow not for themselves, but so that sentient beings would not enter the three evil paths—this is the very disposition of a bodhisattva's mind. They hoped that all sentient beings could escape the ocean of suffering and no longer enter the three evil paths, and especially no longer enter the hells. Because they felt that sentient beings are truly suffering, when they saw beings in such suffering, their bodies trembled and their hair stood on end. This was not fear that they themselves would enter the three evil paths, but fear that sentient beings would enter the three evil paths, for Prince Mahāosadha and Bhadrapāla were already bodhisattvas; bodhisattvas keep sentient beings in their hearts and do not think only of themselves.
Original text: 贤护白佛言。世尊。云何为积。云何为聚。云何为阴。云何为身不迁。
Explanation: Bhadrapāla said to the Buddha: World-Honored One, what is "accumulation" (积)? What is "congregation" (聚)? What is an "aggregate" (阴)? What is "the body not transmigrating" (身不迁)? "Accumulation" means gathering and heaping up; "congregation" means coming together into one mass; "aggregate" refers to covering—covering the truth, covering the true mind and its intrinsic nature; "the body no longer transmigrating" means there is no longer a material body in the three realms.
Original text: 佛言贤护。智界见界。意界明界。以此四界。和合成身。四界境识。名之为积。聚谓六界六入。六入境三界因。二入因即须发毛爪。皮肉脓血。涕唾黄痰。脂[月*册]髓液。手足面目。大小支节。和合崇聚。名之为聚。犹如谷豆麻麦。积集聚贮。而成高大。谓之为聚。
Explanation: The Buddha said to the Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla: The realm of the intrinsic wisdom of the Ālayavijñāna's substance, together with the realm of the seeing-nature by which the Ālayavijñāna can perceive the dharmadhātu, plus the realm of the seeing-nature of the manas and the realm of the clarity of the six consciousnesses—these four realms combined together constitute the consciousness-body of sentient beings; the consciousness-mind of these four realms is called "accumulation." "Congregation" refers to the six great elements of earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness; the internal six entrances of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; and the realms of the external six entrances of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas; greed, anger, and delusion are the causes that produce the three realms. The causes of the two entrances—the external six entrances and the internal six entrances—are the hair of the head, body hair, nails and teeth, skin and flesh, pus and blood, nasal mucus, saliva, yellow phlegm, marrow and brain fluid, hands and feet, face and eyes, and the large and small limbs and joints of the body; when the two entrances combine and gather together, this is called "congregation," aggregating the five-aggregate body. It is just like grain, beans, hemp, and wheat gathered together and piled up to form a tall heap—this is called "congregation."
What is a settlement (聚落)? "Congregation" carries the meaning of a settlement or tribe: the six elements, the six entrances, and the realms of the six entrances together compose the settlement of the five-aggregate body. The six elements are earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness; the six entrances are the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; the realms of the six entrances are form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas. The three realms are the form realm, the desire realm, and the formless realm; the six elements and the internal and external six entrances are the causes that produce the three realms, and the "two entrances" are the external six entrances and the internal six entrances.
Original text: 其地水火风空识。名为六界。眼耳鼻舌身意。名为六入。色声香味触法。名六入境。即贪嗔痴。名三界因。又风黄痰。亦名三因。二入因者。谓戒与信。又有二因。谓舍与施。又有二因。谓进与定。又有二因。谓善不善。其受想行识。此四名无色阴。
Explanation: Among these, earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness are the so-called six elements; the six great elements are the basic components that make up sentient beings. The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are the six faculties of sentient beings. Only with the six faculties can there be the entering of sense objects; form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas are the six sense-object realms that enter through the six faculties; the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion of sentient beings are the cause for the arising and existence of the dharmas of the three realms. Keeping the precepts and faith are the causes of the two entrances: it is because of keeping the precepts and having faith in the Three Jewels that sentient beings can enter the Buddha's Dharma. There are two further causes: sentient beings' minds of relinquishment and of generosity (dāna), which are causes for them to enter the Buddha's Dharma; and diligence and meditative concentration (dhyāna) are causes for sentient beings to enter the gate of Buddhism. Furthermore, sentient beings' wholesomeness and unwholesomeness are causes for entering the Buddha's Dharma to cultivate practice. Among these, sentient beings' aggregate of feeling, aggregate of perception, aggregate of volitional formations, and aggregate of consciousness are the formless aggregates.
Earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness are called the six elements. The five elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space compose the material bodies of sentient beings, while the consciousness element generates the seven consciousnesses; the six elements combined together constitute the five aggregates. The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are called the six entrances; form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas are called the realms of the six entrances; when these combine together, they aggregate into the five-aggregate body of sentient beings. Greed, anger, and delusion are the causes of the three realms: because of greed, anger, and delusion, birth and death continue unbroken and the transmigration of saṃsāra never ceases; if there were no greed, anger, or delusion, one would attain nirvāṇa, the dharmas of the three realms would vanish and never arise again. Sentient beings are all within the three realms; to transcend the three realms is the nirvāṇic state of an arhat of the fourth fruit.
There are still other causes of the three realms that can also aggregate sentient beings' form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness. Furthermore, wind, bile, and phlegm are also called the three causes—these are the causes for the manifestation of a diseased five aggregates. Moreover, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness—these four are called the formless aggregates. The five aggregates are the form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness composed of one form aggregate and four formless aggregates. What is meant by "formless aggregates"? They have no marks of form dust (rūpa); they are not composed of the four great elements, but are the aggregate of feeling, aggregate of perception, aggregate of volitional formations, and aggregate of consciousness composed of the consciousness element among the six elements—they possess no form-marks, being entirely mind-marks.
Original text: 受谓领受。苦乐等相。及不苦不乐之相。想谓知苦乐相。行谓现念。作意及触。识者是身之主。遍行诸体。身有所为。莫不由识。不迁者谓。身语意净。证获道果。此人死已。识弃有阴。不重受有。不流诸趣。极乐而迁。不复重迁。是名不迁。
Explanation: "Feeling" means receiving and experiencing the realm-marks of suffering and pleasure, as well as the mark of neither suffering nor pleasure; "perception" means knowing the realm-marks of suffering and pleasure; "volitional formations" means operating and moving, including the arising and flowing of mental thoughts, and including attention (manaskāra) and contact (sparśa) directed toward sense objects; "consciousness" is the master of the material body, operating pervasively throughout the body—prompting the body faculty to move and act is all the function of consciousness.
"Not transmigrating" means that a sentient being's bodily, verbal, and mental actions have all been purified and he has attained the fruit of the Path; after death he no longer enters the three realms to undergo the suffering of birth and death; the consciousness-mind abandons the five aggregates of the three realms, no longer takes up a five-aggregate body, no longer transmigrates through the six paths; at the end of life he passes away in great bliss and does not transmigrate onto another five-aggregate body—this is the meaning of "not transmigrating."
The feeling of the six consciousnesses: feeling means receiving and experiencing marks such as suffering and pleasure, as well as the mark of neither suffering nor pleasure; there are three kinds of feeling: the feeling of suffering, the feeling of pleasure, and the feeling of neither suffering nor pleasure. The "perception" of the aggregate of perception is the nature of knowing, the nature of discernment, and the nature of grasping (upādāna): knowing the marks of suffering and pleasure, discerning the mark of suffering, the mark of pleasure, and the mark of neither suffering nor pleasure; knowing form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas—not only knowing suffering and pleasure, but also knowing good and evil, knowing all dharmas, knowing the Buddha's Dharma, knowing the trichiliocosm (the three thousand great thousand worlds)—all such knowing belongs to perception.
"Volitional formations" means current manifestation and operation—various thoughts, ideas, and the mental factors of attention (manaskāra) and contact (sparśa). "Consciousness is the master of the body, pervasively operating throughout all its parts; whatever the body does, nothing is not due to consciousness." Does this consciousness refer to the six consciousnesses or to the Ālayavijñāna? The consciousness discussed here should refer to the six consciousnesses, because where there are the six consciousnesses there are bodily, verbal, and mental actions; without the six consciousnesses, bodily, verbal, and mental actions could not be carried out. The six consciousnesses are not inside, outside, or in the middle of the material body, yet they pervade the whole body—the six consciousnesses are present everywhere; walking, standing, sitting, and lying down are functions of the six consciousnesses.
The consciousness here refers to the six consciousnesses that directly perform sentient beings' bodily, verbal, and mental actions; where there are the six consciousnesses there are bodily, verbal, and mental actions—this differs from the consciousness-nature of the manas, which acts as the master at every moment and in every place. All the actions of the body are the result of the six consciousnesses' activities; without the six consciousnesses one could not walk, stand, sit, or lie down. For example, if one were sitting somewhere and there were no six consciousnesses, the body could not sit upright and could not remain seated—it would collapse like a puddle of mud, as if fast asleep. When asleep, one cannot sit up straight, because there are no six consciousnesses holding up the body. It is because of the six consciousnesses that we can speak and laugh, walk, stand, sit, and lie down, eat, drink, and relieve ourselves; moreover, it is also because of the seventh consciousness and the eighth consciousness that we can have these actions and activities—the eight consciousnesses in conjunction give birth to all the dharmas of the five-aggregate body.
After the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses have all been purified, one attains the fruit of the Path. When body, speech, and mind are all purified, without the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, that is an arhat of the fourth fruit. After a person who has attained the fruit of the Path dies, the Ālayavijñāna abandons the five-aggregate body of existence in the three realms and no longer takes up the existence of the three realms; when the arhat's life ends, he enters nirvāṇa without remainder (Anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa), no longer being born in the three realms and six paths, having escaped the birth-and-death transmigration of the six paths—this is an arhat of fixed nature.
Original text: 于是贤护与大药王子。礼佛双足白言。世尊。佛一切智。说此法聚。当于未来。作大利益。安乐众生。佛言。如来法聚。常住非断。一切智者。知而不为。我经无量勤苦。积集智光。今说此经。此正法日。为诸众生。作大明照。
Explanation: When the Buddha's teaching reached this point, the Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla and Prince Mahāosadha together bowed at the Buddha's feet and said to Him: World-Honored One, You are the omniscient one (sarvajña); You now proclaim here this congregation of Mahāyāna Dharma, which can bring great benefit to the sentient beings of the present and the future, giving them peace and benefit and enabling them to attain great liberation.
The Buddha said: The Tathāgata's congregation of Dharma permanently abides and is not annihilated; the Buddha's undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna) has no defiled seeds that could be extinguished or severed, and therefore it is constant and unchanging, abiding in the world. All those who possess wisdom fully know this principle, and their minds have attained effortlessness. Having undergone the arduous cultivation of three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas, I have accumulated immeasurable wisdom-light, and only then have I expounded this sūtra, as a bright lamp of the true Dharma abiding in the world, guiding sentient beings out of darkness and toward liberation, guiding them to escape the three evil paths and to escape all the fire-pits of birth and death.
Original text: 德誉普流。一切智海。为能调心。流注者说。此经所在之处。请诵解说。诸天鬼神。阿修罗摩睺罗伽。咸悉拥护。皆来拜礼。水火王贼等怖。皆不能害。
Explanation: The Tathāgata's wisdom-virtue and supreme renown flow universally into the ocean of all wisdom; for those who are able to consciously subdue the flow of birth and death within their own minds, He reveals the profound meaning of the Mahāyāna Dharma. Wherever this sūtra resides, and wherever practitioners request the Dharma, recite, and expound it for the assembly, the Dharma-protecting deities—devas, spirits, asuras, mahoragas, and the like—all come to protect and uphold it, coming to worship and make offerings. All the terrors of floods, fires, royal peril (some kings hold the power to punish sentient beings, yet at such times they dare not punish), and the perils of thieves and bandits all stay far away and dare not inflict harm. For any practitioner who recites and expounds this sūtra, no calamity can harm him.
Original text: 诸比丘。从今已往。于不信前。勿说此经。求经过者。慎勿示之。于尼乾子。尼干部众。诸外道中。亦勿说之。不恭敬渴请。亦勿为说。若违我教。亏损法事。此人则为。亏损如来。诸比丘。若有礼拜。供养此经典者。应当恭敬。供养是人。斯人则为。持如来藏。
Explanation: Bhikṣus, from now on into future lives, do not expound this sūtra in the presence of those who do not believe in the Mahāyāna Dharma; those who seek out faults in the sūtra's text—be careful not to show it to them. Among the Nirgranthas, the Nirgrantha communities, and other tīrthika groups, do not recite or expound this sūtra either; to those who do not reverently and ardently seek it, do not expound this sūtra either. If you violate my teaching and impair the work of the Dharma, such a person is impairing the Tathāgata. Bhikṣus, if there are those who worship, make offerings to, and recite this sūtra, you should respect and make offerings to such people, because such a person is upholding the Tathāgata's Dharma treasury.
Original text: 尔时世尊。而说偈言。当勇超尘累。勤修佛正教。除灭死军众。如象践苇芦。持法奉禁戒。专精勿亏怠。以弃生流转。尽诸苦有边。佛说此经已。贤护胜上童真。大药王子。并诸比丘。菩萨摩诃萨。天人阿修罗。乾闼婆等。普会大众。闻佛所说。欢喜奉行。
Explanation: At this time, the World-Honored One spoke verses, exhorting His disciples to cultivate diligently and to leave worldly toil behind soon: You, the assembly, should courageously transcend the burdens and entanglements of the mundane world and diligently cultivate the true teaching taught by the Buddha; eradicate the host of thieves—the afflictions—that plunge you into the suffering of birth-and-death transmigration, just as an elephant tramples down reeds and rushes; you should strictly observe the prohibitions and precepts, cultivate much of the true Dharma, and be focused and diligent, without indolence or laxity; only thus can you cast off the suffering of the flow of birth and death, exhaust all the worldly weariness of birth and death, escape the three realms, and no longer receive future existence. After the World-Honored One had finished expounding this sūtra, Bhadrapāla the Youth of Supreme Excellence and Prince Mahāosadha, together with the bhikṣus, the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, devas, humans, asuras, gandharvas, and the rest of the assembled multitude, having heard what the Buddha proclaimed, all rejoiced and put it into practice.
