無量壽經優波提舍 入出五門Treatise on Birth in That Land: The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life · The Five Gates of Entering and Exiting
先說能生
「如是菩薩智慧心、方便心、無障心、勝真心，能生清淨佛國土應知。」
上一段收出來的四種心，在這裡有了去處：它們能生清淨佛國土。不是別的緣，是這四種心。
五個門的名字
「一者近門；二者大會眾門；三者宅門；四者屋門；五者園林遊戲地門。此五種門，初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德。」
像走進一座宅子：先到門口，再見到眾人，再進到宅，再進到屋。然後——出到園林去。
四步進去
「以禮拜阿彌陀佛為生彼國故，得生安樂世界，是名入第一門。」
「以讚歎阿彌陀佛，隨順名義稱如來名，依如來光明想修行故，得入大會眾數，是名入第二門。」
「以一心專念作願生彼，修奢摩他寂靜三昧行故，得入蓮華藏世界，是名入第三門。」
「以專念觀察彼妙莊嚴，修毘婆舍那故，得到彼處受用種種法味樂，是名入第四門。」
禮拜、讚歎、作願、觀察——前面的四念門，一門一個果：到了，入眾，入世界，嘗法味。
一步出來
「出第五門，以大慈悲觀察一切苦惱眾生，亦應化身迴入生死園煩惱林中，遊戲神通至教化地，以本願力迴向故，是名出第五門。」
出門去的地方，叫「生死園煩惱林」。那是眾生所在之處。到那裡去，論用的字是「遊戲」——不是不苦，是自在。
憑什麼自在？「以本願力迴向故」。
進去四步，是為了這一步出來。
First, What Brings About Birth
“Such a bodhisattva, with the mind of wisdom, the mind of skillful means, the unobstructed mind, and the supreme true mind, can bring about birth in a pure buddha-land; this should be known.”
The four minds gathered up in the previous passage here find their destination: they can bring about birth in a pure buddha-land. Not some other condition—these four minds.
The Names of Five Gates
“The first is the gate of approach; the second, the gate of the great assembly; the third, the gate of the residence; the fourth, the gate of the chamber; the fifth, the gate of the garden-grove playground. Of these five gates, the first four accomplish the merit of entering, and the fifth accomplishes the merit of exiting.”
Like walking into a mansion: first to the doorway, then among the people, then into the residence, then into the chamber. And then—out into the garden.
Four Steps In
“Because, in worshipping the Buddha Amitābha, one aims to be born in that land, one attains birth in the world of Peace and Bliss; this is called entering the first gate.”
“Because, in praising the Buddha Amitābha, one calls the Tathāgata’s name in accordance with the meaning of the name and practices relying on the thought of the Tathāgata’s light, one attains entry into the number of the great assembly; this is called entering the second gate.”
“Because, single-mindedly recollecting and making the vow to be born there, one practices śamatha, the practice of the samādhi of stillness, one attains entry into the Lotus Treasury world; this is called entering the third gate.”
“Because, single-mindedly contemplating those wondrous adornments, one practices vipaśyanā, one reaches that place and enjoys the pleasure of every kind of taste of the Dharma; this is called entering the fourth gate.”
Worship, praise, making the vow, contemplation—the first four gates of mindful practice, each with one result: one arrives, enters the assembly, enters the world, tastes the Dharma.
One Step Out
“Exiting the fifth gate: with great compassion contemplating all suffering and afflicted beings, one also, in a body of response and transformation, turns back into the garden of birth and death and the forest of the afflictions, and with the play of supernormal powers reaches the ground of teaching, because one dedicates and directs by the power of the original vow; this is called exiting the fifth gate.”
The place one goes out to is called “the garden of birth and death and the forest of the afflictions.” That is where beings are. For going there, the treatise’s word is “play”—not that there is no suffering, but that there is freedom.
By what is one free? “Because one dedicates and directs by the power of the original vow.”
Four steps in, for the sake of this one step out.
大正藏 T26n1524〔起 T26 0233a01〕。段／行首〔T26 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔T26 0233a01〕如是菩薩智慧心、方便心、無障心、勝真心，能生清淨佛國土應知。是名菩薩摩訶薩隨順五種法門所作隨意自在成就。如向所說，身業、口業、意業、智業、方便智業，隨順法門故。復有五種門漸次成就五種功德應知。何者五門？一者近門；二者大會眾門；三者宅門；四者屋門；五者園林遊戲地門。此五種門，初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德。入第一門者，以禮拜阿彌陀佛為生彼國故，得生安樂世界，是名入第一門。 入第二門者，以讚歎阿彌陀佛，隨順名義稱如來名，依如來光明想修行故，得入大會眾數，是名入第二門。 入第三門者，以一心專念作願生彼，修奢摩他寂靜三昧行故，得入蓮華藏世界，是名入第三門。 入第四門者，以專念觀察彼妙莊嚴，修毘婆舍那故，得到彼處受用種種法味樂，是名入第四門。 出第五門，以大慈悲觀察一切苦惱眾生，亦應化身迴入生死園煩惱林中，遊戲神通至教化地，以本願力迴向故，是名出第五門。
The canonical text stands in Chinese only. This edition renders the essence, the plain reading, the exposition and the apparatus into English — never the sūtra itself. Switch to 漢讀本 or 並行雙語 above to read it.
婆藪槃豆菩薩造、元魏菩提流支譯《無量壽經優波提舍》T26n1524 長行之後段，自「如是菩薩智慧心、方便心、無障心、勝真心」至「是名出第五門」。段首（…）＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔一·願事成就〕（0233a01）像這樣，菩薩的智慧心、方便心、無障心、勝真心，能夠生於清淨的佛國土，應當知道。這就叫作菩薩摩訶薩隨順五種法門，所作所為隨意自在而得成就。就如前面所說的身業、口業、意業、智業、方便智業，是隨順法門的緣故。
〔二·利行滿足·五種門〕（0233a05）又有五種門，次第漸進地成就五種功德，應當知道。哪五種門呢？第一是近門；第二是大會眾門；第三是宅門；第四是屋門；第五是園林遊戲地門。這五種門之中，前四種門成就「入」的功德，第五門成就「出」的功德。
〔三·入第一門·近門〕（0233a09）所謂入第一門，是以禮拜阿彌陀佛、為了往生那個國土的緣故，得以往生安樂世界。這就叫作入第一門。
〔四·入第二門·大會眾門〕（0233a11）所謂入第二門，是以讚歎阿彌陀佛，隨順那名號所含的意義而稱念如來的名號，依照對如來光明的想念而修行的緣故，得以進入大會眾的行列之中。這就叫作入第二門。
〔五·入第三門·宅門〕（0233a14）所謂入第三門，是以一心專念、發願往生那裡，修習奢摩他（止）寂靜三昧之行的緣故，得以進入蓮華藏世界。這就叫作入第三門。
〔六·入第四門·屋門〕（0233a17）所謂入第四門，是以專心憶念、觀察那裡微妙的莊嚴，修習毘婆舍那（觀）的緣故，得以到達那個地方，受用種種法味之樂。這就叫作入第四門。
〔七·出第五門·園林遊戲地門〕（0233a19）所謂出第五門，是以大慈悲心觀察一切受苦惱的眾生，也以應化之身迴入生死之園、煩惱之林中，遊戲於神通，到達教化之地；是以本願之力迴向的緣故。這就叫作出第五門。
Composed by the bodhisattva Vasubandhu and translated in the Northern Wei by Bodhiruci, the Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life, T26n1524: the later portion of the prose, from “in this way the bodhisattva’s mind of wisdom, mind of skillful means, unobstructed mind, and supreme true mind” to “this is called exiting by the fifth gate.” The figures at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.
〔一 · The Accomplishment of the Vowed Undertaking〕（0233a01）In this way the bodhisattva’s mind of wisdom, mind of skillful means, unobstructed mind, and supreme true mind are able to be born in a pure buddha-land; this should be known. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva’s according with the five kinds of Dharma-gate, so that whatever he does is accomplished freely, as he wills. It is so because bodily action, verbal action, mental action, the action of wisdom, and the action of the wisdom of skillful means, as spoken of above, accord with the Dharma-gates.
〔二 · The Fulfillment of Benefiting through Practice: The Five Gates〕（0233a05）Further, there are five gates that, advancing step by step in order, accomplish five kinds of merit; this should be known. What are the five gates? The first is the gate of approach; the second, the gate of the great assembly; the third, the gate of the residence; the fourth, the gate of the chamber; the fifth, the gate of the garden-grove playground. Of these five gates, the first four accomplish the merit of “entering,” and the fifth gate accomplishes the merit of “exiting.”
〔三 · Entering the First Gate: The Gate of Approach〕（0233a09）Entering the first gate is this: because one worships the Buddha Amitābha in order to be born in that land, one attains birth in the world of Peace and Bliss. This is called entering the first gate.
〔四 · Entering the Second Gate: The Gate of the Great Assembly〕（0233a11）Entering the second gate is this: because one praises the Buddha Amitābha, calling the Tathāgata’s name in accord with the meaning that the name carries, and practices in keeping with one’s thought of the Tathāgata’s light, one is able to enter the ranks of the great assembly. This is called entering the second gate.
〔五 · Entering the Third Gate: The Gate of the Residence〕（0233a14）Entering the third gate is this: because with one mind and single intent one makes the vow to be born there and cultivates the practice of śamatha (stilling), the samādhi of quiescence, one is able to enter the Lotus Treasury world. This is called entering the third gate.
〔六 · Entering the Fourth Gate: The Gate of the Chamber〕（0233a17）Entering the fourth gate is this: because with an undivided mind one keeps in mind and contemplates the wondrous adornments there and cultivates vipaśyanā (contemplation), one is able to reach that place and enjoy the pleasure of every flavor of the Dharma. This is called entering the fourth gate.
〔七 · Exiting by the Fifth Gate: The Gate of the Garden-Grove Playground〕（0233a19）Exiting by the fifth gate is this: with the mind of great compassion one contemplates all beings who suffer affliction, and with responsive, manifested bodies one turns back into the garden of birth and death and the forest of the afflictions, playing in supernormal powers and reaching the ground of teaching; it is so because one dedicates and directs by the power of the original vow. This is called exiting by the fifth gate.
長行到了這裡，把前面講過的一切收成一條路。先說四種心能生清淨佛國土，再說五念門所作「隨意自在成就」，然後另立五種門：近門、大會眾門、宅門、屋門、園林遊戲地門——「初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德」。曇鸞《往生論註》把這一段判作解義分的第九重「願事成就」與第十重「利行滿足」的前半。此下所講的是論。
四種心，一個國土
「如是菩薩智慧心、方便心、無障心、勝真心，能生清淨佛國土應知。」
四種心是上一段末尾收出來的：智慧、慈悲、方便三門攝般若，是智慧心與方便心；遠離三種障，是無障心；三種清淨心略為一處，是勝真心。論說這四種心能生清淨佛國土，古來的讀法補了一句：「應知者，謂應知此四種清淨功德能得生彼清淨佛國土，非是他緣而生也。」生在那裡，是這四種心的事，不是別的緣。
然後論回頭總結五念門：「是名菩薩摩訶薩隨順五種法門所作隨意自在成就。如向所說，身業、口業、意業、智業、方便智業，隨順法門故。」五業各是一門：「身業者，禮拜也。口業者，讚歎也。意業者，作願也。智業者，觀察也。方便智業者，迴向也。」什麼叫隨意自在？「言此五種功德力能生清淨佛土，出沒自在也。」五業和合，往生淨土的門便成了自在之業——進得去，也出得來。
「出沒自在」四個字，預先說了下面五門的事。自在不是修行之外另得的一樣東西，是五業和合之後自然有的性質——身口意智方便智各在其位，進出便不必費力。前面講奢摩他時說「三種止」皆從如來如實功德生，此處的自在也是這樣：從五門所集的功德生，不從別處來。
五種門
「復有五種門漸次成就五種功德應知。何者五門？一者近門；二者大會眾門；三者宅門；四者屋門；五者園林遊戲地門。」
前面的五念門是行門，這裡的五種門是果門——一門一門走進去。「五種功德」四字在這一段出現兩次，所指不同：上一句「五種功德力能生清淨佛土」說的是五念門所成之力，這一句「漸次成就五種功德」說的是五種門各得之果。古來的讀法把它排成一條進屋的路：「初至淨土是近相，謂入大乘正定聚，近阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。入淨土已便入如來大會眾數，入眾數已當至修行安心之宅，入宅已當至修行所居屋㝢〔尤舉反〕，修行成就已當至教化地，教化地即是菩薩自娛樂地，是故出門稱園林遊戲地門。」
先到門口——近；進門見到眾人——大會眾；進到自己安心修行的宅；再進到起居的屋；最後，修行成就了，出門到園林裡去。「教化地即是菩薩自娛樂地」——教化眾生的地方，就是菩薩自己遊樂的地方，所以出門那一步叫園林遊戲地門。
近門的「近」，古來的讀法說是「入大乘正定聚，近阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」。一到那裡就在正定聚裡，不再退轉——偈首所歸命的無礙光如來，卷首所說的「不退之風航」，到此落實成第一門。前四個是進，第五個是出。進有四層深淺，出只有一步——因為出門之後的事，不在這座宅第裡算。「此五種門，初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德。」
把成佛之路比作一座宅第，從門口走到內室，再從內室走到園林——這個譬喻的分量在最後一步。一般人以為修行的終點在最裡面那間屋子；論說終點在屋子外面的園林。
入第一門：禮拜
「入第一門者，以禮拜阿彌陀佛為生彼國故，得生安樂世界，是名入第一門。」
禮拜門修的果，是生到那裡。古來的讀法給五門各配一句功德相，第一句是：「禮佛願生佛國，是初功德相。」第一門是近門——到了，就在正定聚裡，就近了菩提。五念門的第一門，對五種門的第一門：禮拜是因，得生是果。
入第二門：讚歎
「入第二門者，以讚歎阿彌陀佛，隨順名義稱如來名，依如來光明想修行故，得入大會眾數，是名入第二門。」
讚歎門修的果，是進到如來大會眾之中。前面講讚歎門時說「如彼如來光明智相，如彼名義」，這裡換了一個說法：「依如來光明想修行」。稱名時心裡所想的是那光明。「依如來名義讚歎，是第二功德相。」
入第三門：作願
「入第三門者，以一心專念作願生彼，修奢摩他寂靜三昧行故，得入蓮華藏世界，是名入第三門。」
作願門修的是奢摩他；奢摩他的果，是入蓮華藏世界。「為修寂靜止，故一心願生彼國，是第三功德相。」前面講奢摩他三義時說，第三義是阿彌陀如來正覺住持力自然止求小果之心；此處「寂靜三昧行」所得的，是一個世界——止不是停在自心裡的事，止到了，一個世界打開。蓮華藏世界這個名字，論文只出這一處；前面偈說眾人「正覺華化生」，說「微妙淨花臺」，那些華與臺所在的世界，就是這裡所說的。
入第四門：觀察
「入第四門者，以專念觀察彼妙莊嚴，修毘婆舍那故，得到彼處受用種種法味樂，是名入第四門。」
觀察門修的是毘婆舍那；毘婆舍那的果，是到了那裡「受用種種法味樂」。什麼是種種法味？古來的讀法數了四種：「毘婆舍那中有觀佛國土清淨味、攝受眾生大乘味、畢竟住持不虛作味、類事起行願取佛土味，有如是等無量莊嚴佛道味，故言種種。」觀國土的清淨，是一味；攝受眾生的大乘，是一味；住持不虛作，是一味；依類起行、願取佛土，是一味。前面觀察門所觀的二十九種莊嚴，到了這裡成了可以受用的滋味。「是第四功德相。」
四門走完，一個人從門口進到屋裡：生到那裡，入了大眾，入了蓮華藏世界，受用法味。這四步全是「入」。你若回頭看五念門，會發現論沒有讓任何一門白修：每一門的修，到這裡都有一個「得」字接著——得生、得入、得入、得到。
出第五門
「出第五門，以大慈悲觀察一切苦惱眾生，亦應化身迴入生死園煩惱林中，遊戲神通至教化地，以本願力迴向故，是名出第五門。」
這一句是整段論最長的一句，也是整部論的去向所在。前四門入，是自利；第五門出，是利他。
注意這一門開頭的兩個字：觀察。第四門是「專念觀察彼妙莊嚴」，第五門是「以大慈悲觀察一切苦惱眾生」——同一個觀察，所觀的從莊嚴換成了苦惱眾生。入門時觀的是淨土的好，出門時觀的是眾生的苦；觀察門修成的眼，到了出門這一步沒有閉上，只是轉了方向。
出的方式是「應化身」——「示應化身者，如《法華經》普門示現之類也」。出到哪裡？「生死園煩惱林中」。前面把淨土比作宅第，這裡把生死比作園林——而第五門的名字恰是「園林遊戲地門」。菩薩出門所到的園林，就是眾生的生死與煩惱。
為什麼叫「遊戲」？古來的讀法給了二義：「一者自在義。菩薩度眾生，譬如獅子搏鹿所為不難，如似遊戲。二者度無所度義。菩薩觀眾生畢竟無所有，雖度無量眾生，而實無一眾生得滅度者，示度眾生如似遊戲。」自在，所以像遊戲；度而無所度，所以也像遊戲。這兩義一體：若不是度無所度，便不會自在；若不自在，便還在被度者的生死裡打轉。
憑什麼能這樣出去？「以本願力迴向故」。本願力是什麼？「示大菩薩於法身中常在三昧，而現種種身、種種神通、種種說法，皆以本願力起。譬如阿修羅琴，雖無鼓者而音曲自然。」阿修羅琴沒有人彈，曲子自己響——菩薩不動本處而種種示現，不是起心去做，是本願的力自己在動。
「是名教化地第五功德相。」
一條路
把五念門、五種門並排看：禮拜、讚歎、作願、觀察、迴向，對近門、大會眾門、宅門、屋門、園林遊戲地門。前四對是入，第五對是出。而第五門的出，用的正是前四門入時修成的東西——第十重名「利行滿足」，利他之行要滿足，前面的自利必須先滿。
你若只讀偈，會覺得這部論寫的是一個人想去一個好地方；讀到這裡才知道，去，是為了能回來，而且回來得自在。我們在這一段看到的不是淨土的風景，是一條進去又出來的路，每一步有名字，每一步有因果。
承衍——宅、屋、園林
上來是這一段論文自身的義。此下另以曇鸞《往生論註》旁照——鏡非論，只是同一條路，換一個人來走。
曇鸞把這一段分為願事成就與利行滿足二重，是他的科。「非是他緣而生也」「出沒自在也」是他對論文「應知」「隨意自在」的補白。五種門之為一條進屋的路——近、大會眾、宅、屋、教化地——「入宅已當至修行所居屋㝢〔尤舉反〕，修行成就已當至教化地」，這一串是他排出來的，論文只有五個名字。四種法味之數，遊戲二義，阿修羅琴之喻，普門示現之比，皆出於他。五念門配五功德相，「禮佛願生佛國，是初功德相」以下五句，也是他逐門對上的。
而論自己只說：「此五種門，初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德。」
Here the prose gathers everything said before into a single road. First it says that four kinds of mind can bring about birth in a pure buddha-land; then that what the five gates of mindful practice do is “accomplished freely, as one wishes”; then it sets up five further gates: the gate of approach, the gate of the great assembly, the gate of the residence, the gate of the chamber, the gate of the garden-grove playground—“of these five gates, the first four accomplish the merit of entering, and the fifth accomplishes the merit of exiting.” Tanluan’s Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land judges this passage to be the ninth section of the explanation of meaning, “the accomplishment of the vowed matter,” and the first half of the tenth, “the fullness of the practice of benefiting.” What follows here is the treatise.
Four Minds, One Land
“Such a bodhisattva, with the mind of wisdom, the mind of skillful means, the unobstructed mind, and the supreme true mind, can bring about birth in a pure buddha-land; this should be known.”
The four minds were gathered up at the end of the previous passage: the three gates of wisdom, compassion, and skillful means gathering prajñā are the mind of wisdom and the mind of skillful means; leaving behind the three obstructions is the unobstructed mind; the three pure minds gathered into one place is the supreme true mind. The treatise says these four minds can bring about birth in a pure buddha-land, and the old reading adds: “‘This should be known’ means that one should know that these four kinds of pure merit can bring about birth in that pure buddha-land; it is not through some other condition that one is born.” Birth there is the work of these four minds, and of no other condition.
Then the treatise sums up the five gates of mindful practice: “This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva’s accomplishment, free and as he wishes, of what is done in accordance with the five kinds of Dharma-gates. As was said above, the karma of body, of speech, of mind, of knowing, and of the knowing of skillful means accord with the Dharma-gates.” Each of the five karmas is one gate: “the karma of body is worship; the karma of speech is praise; the karma of mind is making the vow; the karma of knowing is contemplation; the karma of the knowing of skillful means is dedication and direction.” What is “free and as he wishes”? “It means that the power of these five kinds of merit can bring about birth in a pure buddha-land, going out and coming in freely.” When the five karmas combine, the gate of birth in the pure land becomes a karma of freedom—one can get in, and one can also get out.
Freedom is not a separate thing gained outside of practice; it is a quality that the five karmas combined naturally have—body, speech, mind, knowing, and the knowing of skillful means each in its place, and going in and out costs no effort. In speaking of śamatha earlier it was said that the three stillings all arise from the Tathāgata’s merit in accordance with reality; the freedom here is the same: it arises from the merit gathered through the five gates, not from elsewhere.
The four words “going out and coming in freely” say in advance what the five gates below are about.
The Five Gates
“Moreover, there are five kinds of gates that gradually accomplish five kinds of merit; this should be known. What are the five gates? The first is the gate of approach; the second, the gate of the great assembly; the third, the gate of the residence; the fourth, the gate of the chamber; the fifth, the gate of the garden-grove playground.”
The five gates of mindful practice before were gates of practice; these five gates are gates of result—one passes through them one by one. The phrase “five kinds of merit” appears twice in this passage with different referents: in the previous sentence “the power of these five kinds of merit can bring about birth in a pure buddha-land” means the power accomplished by the five gates of mindful practice; in this sentence “gradually accomplish five kinds of merit” means the result obtained at each of the five gates. The old reading sets them out as a road into a house: “First arriving in the pure land is the mark of approach, namely entering the group of right fixity of the Mahāyāna and approaching unsurpassed perfect awakening. Having entered the pure land, one then enters the number of the Tathāgata’s great assembly; having entered the assembly, one comes to the residence where the mind is settled in practice; having entered the residence, one comes to the chamber where one dwells in practice; the practice accomplished, one comes to the ground of teaching—and the ground of teaching is the bodhisattva’s own ground of play; therefore the gate of going out is called the gate of the garden-grove playground.”
First to the doorway—approach; through the door to see the people—the great assembly; into the residence where one settles the mind in practice; further into the chamber where one lives; and at last, the practice accomplished, out the door into the garden. The first four are entering; the fifth is exiting. “Of these five gates, the first four accomplish the merit of entering, and the fifth accomplishes the merit of exiting.” “The ground of teaching is the bodhisattva’s own ground of play”—the place where beings are taught is the place where the bodhisattva himself takes his pleasure, and so the step out the door is called the gate of the garden-grove playground. Entering has four depths; exiting has only one step—because what happens after going out is not counted inside this house.
The “approach” of the gate of approach, the old reading says, is “entering the group of right fixity of the Mahāyāna and approaching unsurpassed perfect awakening.” On arrival one is already in the group of right fixity, and does not fall back—the Tathāgata of Unobstructed Light taken as refuge in the first verse, the “wind-borne boat of non-retrogression” spoken of at the opening of the commentary, here come to rest as the first gate.
To liken the road to buddhahood to a mansion, going from the doorway to the inner room and then from the inner room out to the garden—the weight of this simile is in the last step. Most people suppose the goal of practice lies in the innermost room; the treatise says the goal is in the garden outside the room.
Entering the First Gate: Worship
“Entering the first gate: because, in worshipping the Buddha Amitābha, one aims to be born in that land, one attains birth in the world of Peace and Bliss; this is called entering the first gate.”
The fruit of the gate of worship is to be born there. The old reading gives each gate a sentence naming its merit; the first is: “Worshipping the Buddha and aspiring to be born in the Buddha’s land is the mark of the first merit.” The first gate is the gate of approach—having arrived, one is in the group of right fixity, near awakening. The first of the five gates of mindful practice answers to the first of the five gates: worship is the cause, birth there the result.
Entering the Second Gate: Praise
“Entering the second gate: because, in praising the Buddha Amitābha, one calls the Tathāgata’s name in accordance with the meaning of the name and practices relying on the thought of the Tathāgata’s light, one attains entry into the number of the great assembly; this is called entering the second gate.”
The fruit of the gate of praise is to enter the Tathāgata’s great assembly. Where the gate of praise earlier spoke of “according to the mark of that Tathāgata’s light, which is wisdom, and according to the meaning of that name,” here it is put another way: “practices relying on the thought of the Tathāgata’s light.” When one calls the name, what the mind holds is that light. “Praising in accordance with the Tathāgata’s name and meaning is the mark of the second merit.”
Entering the Third Gate: Making the Vow
“Entering the third gate: because, single-mindedly recollecting and making the vow to be born there, one practices śamatha, the practice of the samādhi of stillness, one attains entry into the Lotus Treasury world; this is called entering the third gate.”
What the gate of making the vow practices is śamatha; the fruit of śamatha is entry into the Lotus Treasury world. “For the sake of practicing the stilling of stillness, one single-mindedly aspires to be born in that land—this is the mark of the third merit.” When the three meanings of śamatha were explained, the third was that the sustaining power of Amitābha’s right awakening stills of itself the mind that seeks a lesser fruit; here what “the practice of the samādhi of stillness” obtains is a world—stilling is not something that stays inside one’s own mind; when stilling is reached, a world opens. The name “Lotus Treasury world” occurs only here in the treatise; earlier the verses said the assembly is “born by transformation from the flower of right awakening,” and spoke of “a wondrous pure flower-dais”; the world where those flowers and that dais are, is what is spoken of here.
Entering the Fourth Gate: Contemplation
“Entering the fourth gate: because, single-mindedly contemplating those wondrous adornments, one practices vipaśyanā, one reaches that place and enjoys the pleasure of every kind of taste of the Dharma; this is called entering the fourth gate.”
What the gate of contemplation practices is vipaśyanā; the fruit of vipaśyanā is to reach that place and “enjoy the pleasure of every kind of taste of the Dharma.” What are the kinds of taste? The old reading counts four: “Within vipaśyanā there is the taste of contemplating the purity of the buddha-land, the taste of embracing beings in the Mahāyāna, the taste of ultimate sustaining that is not in vain, and the taste of raising practice according to kind and vowing to take up a buddha-land—there are such measureless tastes of the adornment of the buddha-path; hence ‘every kind.’” To contemplate the purity of the land is one taste; to embrace beings in the Mahāyāna is one; sustaining that is not in vain is one; to raise practice according to kind and vow to take up a buddha-land is one. The twenty-nine adornments contemplated in the gate of contemplation become here tastes that can be enjoyed. “This is the mark of the fourth merit.”
When the four gates have been passed, a person has gone from the doorway into the room: born there, entered the assembly, entered the Lotus Treasury world, enjoying the taste of the Dharma. All four steps are “entering.” If you look back at the five gates of mindful practice, you find that the treatise let no gate be practiced in vain: each one’s practice is met here by a word, “attains”—attains birth, attains entry, attains entry, reaches.
Exiting the Fifth Gate
“Exiting the fifth gate: with great compassion contemplating all suffering and afflicted beings, one also, in a body of response and transformation, turns back into the garden of birth and death and the forest of the afflictions, and with the play of supernormal powers reaches the ground of teaching, because one dedicates and directs by the power of the original vow; this is called exiting the fifth gate.”
This is the longest sentence in the passage, and it is where the whole treatise is going. The four gates of entering are self-benefit; the fifth gate of exiting is benefiting others.
Note the two words at the head of this gate: contemplating. The fourth gate is “single-mindedly contemplating those wondrous adornments”; the fifth is “with great compassion contemplating all suffering and afflicted beings”—the same contemplation, with its object changed from adornments to suffering beings. Entering, one contemplates the good of the pure land; exiting, one contemplates the suffering of beings. The eye trained in the gate of contemplation does not close at the step of exiting; it only turns direction.
The manner of exiting is “a body of response and transformation”—“to show a body of response and transformation is of the kind of the universal manifestation in the Lotus Sūtra.” Out to where? “The garden of birth and death and the forest of the afflictions.” Before, the pure land was likened to a mansion; here birth and death is likened to a garden—and the fifth gate’s name is precisely “the gate of the garden-grove playground.” The garden to which the bodhisattva goes out is the birth and death and the afflictions of beings.
Why “play”? The old reading gives two meanings: “First, the meaning of freedom. The bodhisattva delivering beings is like a lion seizing a deer—what he does is not difficult, as if at play. Second, the meaning of delivering without anything delivered. The bodhisattva contemplates beings as ultimately non-existent; though he delivers measureless beings, in reality not a single being attains extinction; so his showing the delivering of beings is as if at play.” Free, and therefore like play; delivering with nothing delivered, and therefore also like play. The two meanings are one: without delivering with nothing delivered, there would be no freedom; without freedom, one would still be circling in the birth and death of those being delivered.
By what can one go out like this? “Because one dedicates and directs by the power of the original vow.” What is the power of the original vow? “It shows that the great bodhisattva, within the dharma-body, is always in samādhi, and that his manifesting every kind of body, every kind of supernormal power, and every kind of teaching all arises from the power of the original vow. It is like the lute of the asuras: though no one plays it, its music sounds of itself.” No one plays the asuras’ lute, and the music plays itself—the bodhisattva’s manifestations without leaving his place are not a mind set to doing; the power of the original vow moves on its own.
“This is the mark of the fifth merit, the ground of teaching.”
One Road
Set the five gates of mindful practice and the five gates side by side: worship, praise, making the vow, contemplation, dedication—against the gate of approach, the gate of the great assembly, the gate of the residence, the gate of the chamber, the gate of the garden-grove playground. The first four pairs are entering; the fifth is exiting. And the exiting of the fifth gate uses exactly what the first four gates accomplished on entering—the tenth section is named “the fullness of the practice of benefiting”; for the practice of benefiting others to be full, the self-benefit before it must first be full.
If you read only the verses, you feel the treatise is about one person who wants to go to a good place; only here does one learn that going is in order to be able to return, and to return freely. What we see in this passage is not the scenery of the pure land but a road that goes in and comes out, each step with a name and each step with its cause and result.
Carrying Forward — Residence, Chamber, Garden
What came above is the meaning of this passage of the treatise in itself. Below, it is seen once more in the mirror of Tanluan’s Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land—a mirror is not the treatise; it is the same road, walked by another.
Tanluan’s dividing this passage into the accomplishment of the vowed matter and the fullness of the practice of benefiting is his outline. “It is not through some other condition that one is born” and “going out and coming in freely” are his fillings-in of the treatise’s “this should be known” and “free and as he wishes.” That the five gates are a road into a house—approach, great assembly, residence, chamber, the ground of teaching—“having entered the residence, one comes to the chamber where one dwells in practice; the practice accomplished, one comes to the ground of teaching”—this sequence he laid out; the treatise has only five names. The count of four tastes of the Dharma, the two meanings of play, the simile of the asuras’ lute, the comparison to the universal manifestation—all are his. The matching of the five gates of mindful practice to the five marks of merit, “worshipping the Buddha and aspiring to be born in the Buddha’s land is the mark of the first merit” and the four sentences after it, he too paired gate by gate.
And the treatise itself says only: “Of these five gates, the first four accomplish the merit of entering, and the fifth accomplishes the merit of exiting.”
考據Apparatus
全段定位 本單元先結上文：智慧心、方便心、無障心、勝真心四種心能生清淨佛國土，名為隨順五種法門所作隨意自在成就——五種法門即前說之身業、口業、意業、智業、方便智業。次另立五種門，漸次成就五種功德：近門、大會眾門、宅門、屋門、園林遊戲地門；前四門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德。末逐門出其因與果：禮拜得生安樂世界，讚歎得入大會眾數，一心作願修奢摩他得入蓮華藏世界，專念觀察修毘婆舍那得受用種種法味樂；出第五門，以大慈悲觀察苦惱眾生，示應化身迴入生死園煩惱林中，遊戲神通至教化地，以本願力迴向。曇鸞《往生論註》卷下解義分十重，本單元當其第九重「願事成就」之全體與第十重「利行滿足」之前段，第十重跨本單元與下一單元，見目一。曇鸞以入宅之次第釋五門之名，以五種業配五念門，以四味釋「種種法味樂」，以二義釋「遊戲」，以阿修羅琴喻本願力，見目四、目六、目七；論本「依如來光明想修行」「亦應化身」二處，鏡之所牒作「光明智相」「示應化身」，見目九。
一、科判定位
解義分十重之第九、第十——曇鸞卷下之首總標十重，其末：
「九者願事成就、十者利行滿足。」〔T40n1819 0835a09〕
| 十重 | 曇鸞標目（逐字） | 錨 | 本單元之段 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 九·願事成就 | 「願事成就者：」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a06〕 | 〔一〕 |
| 十·利行滿足（前段） | 「利行滿足者：」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a18〕 | 〔二〕至〔七〕 |
前界——第九重之標目緊接第八重「名義攝對」之末句：「真言不虛偽不顛倒。」〔T40n1819 0843a06〕 第九重之末句：「言此五種業和合，則是隨順往生淨土法門自在業成就。」〔T40n1819 0843a17〕 其下同行即起第十重之標目。
後界——第十重跨二單元：曇鸞第十重自「利行滿足者」起，至卷下之結語前止，論文含五種門、入四門、出第五門、自利利他之總結；本單元止於出第五門之功德相：「是名教化地第五功德相。」〔T40n1819 0843c01〕 下一單元自曇鸞次一牒論起：「菩薩入四種門，自利行成就應知。」〔T40n1819 0843c02〕 單元之界正落曇鸞牒論之新起點，第十重之文分屬二單元。
曇鸞第九、第十重與論文之界：論文「是名菩薩摩訶薩隨順五種法門所作隨意自在成就」以上屬第九重；「復有五種門漸次成就五種功德應知」以下屬第十重。曇鸞第十重之首牒：「復有五種門，漸次成就五種功德應知。何者五門？一者近門、二者大會眾門、三者宅門、四者屋門、五者園林遊戲地門。」〔T40n1819 0843a20〕
本單元起訖——起「如是菩薩智慧心、方便心、無障心、勝真心，能生清淨佛國土應知。」〔T26n1524 0233a01〕，訖「以本願力迴向故，是名出第五門。」〔T26n1524 0233a21〕（同行其後「菩薩入四種門」屬下一單元）。全單元三百七十六字（含標點），純漢字三百二十七字。
二、異譯對勘
本論無異譯；偈頌所依之《無量壽經》經文，見偈頌部之目三。本段所出五種門（近門、大會眾門、宅門、屋門、園林遊戲地門），經無同名之文，其所依見目三。
三、經論宗依（眼）
五門與五念門——入出：論於本段以五種業還牒五念門；曇鸞於五念門之初，已以入出釋門：「門者入出義也，如人得門則入出無礙。前四念是入安樂淨土門，後一念是出慈悲教化門。」〔T40n1819 0835a21〕 本段「初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德」，與彼前四念、後一念之分相應。
| 五念門 | 業 | 曇鸞配（逐字） | 入出五門 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 禮拜門 | 身業 | 「身業者，禮拜也。」 | 近門 |
| 讚歎門 | 口業 | 「口業者，讚歎也。」 | 大會眾門 |
| 作願門 | 意業 | 「意業者，作願也。」 | 宅門 |
| 觀察門 | 智業 | 「智業者，觀察也。」 | 屋門 |
| 迴向門 | 方便智業 | 「方便智業者，迴向也。」 | 園林遊戲地門 |
（五業之配，曇鸞一句總出：「身業者，禮拜也。口業者，讚歎也。意業者，作願也。智業者，觀察也。方便智業者，迴向也。」〔T40n1819 0843a15〕 五念門與五門之對，依論文入四門、出第五門各門所修之行——禮拜、讚歎、作願、觀察、大慈悲觀察眾生而迴向——逐門並列。）
近門——正定聚：曇鸞釋近門為「入大乘正定聚」；其於下文以第十一願證住正定聚（屬五門總結之單元）。經下卷亦言：「其有眾生生彼國者，皆悉住於正定之聚。」〔T12n0360 0272b08〕
大會眾門——讚歎所依之光明智相：論於讚歎門言「如彼如來光明智相」；曇鸞釋之：「如彼如來光明智相者，佛光明是智慧相也。」〔T40n1819 0835b15〕 本段入第二門鏡牒作「依如來光明智相修行」，與讚歎門同語（論本之字見目九）。
宅門·屋門——止觀：入第三門「修奢摩他寂靜三昧行」、入第四門「修毘婆舍那」，承五念門之作願、觀察：「云何作願？心常作願，一心專念，畢竟往生安樂國土，欲如實修行奢摩他故。」〔T40n1819 0835c18〕；「云何觀察？智慧觀察，正念觀彼，欲如實修行毘婆舍那故。」〔T40n1819 0836a05〕
出第五門——示應化身之經據：曇鸞自舉《法華經》：「示應化身者，如《法華經》普門示現之類也。」〔T40n1819 0843b21〕 經之本文：「若有國土眾生應以佛身得度者，觀世音菩薩即現佛身而為說法」〔T09n0262 0057a23〕
本願力：曇鸞釋出第五門之「本願力」；觀察門佛莊嚴之末一種亦繫於本願力：「不虛作住持功德成就者，蓋是阿彌陀如來本願力也。」〔T40n1819 0840a06〕 本段曇鸞所舉四味之一作「畢竟住持不虛作味」，與彼同名。
論之義理繫屬——入四門、出第五門，論於下一單元結為自利、利他：「菩薩入四種門，自利行成就應知；菩薩出第五門，利益他迴向行成就應知。」〔T26n1524 0233a22〕（屬五門總結之單元）。
四、本段釋要（往生論註逐文）
〔一〕願事成就——曇鸞牒論分二，先釋四種心，次釋隨意自在與五種業：
「如是菩薩智慧心、方便心、無障心、勝真心，能生清淨佛國土應知。」〔T40n1819 0843a08〕 「應知者，謂應知此四種清淨功德能得生彼清淨佛國土，非是他緣而生也。」〔T40n1819 0843a09〕 「是名菩薩摩訶薩隨順五種法門，所作隨意自在成就。如向所說身業、口業、意業、智業、方便智業隨順法門故。」〔T40n1819 0843a12〕 「隨意自在者，言此五種功德力能生清淨佛土，出沒自在也。」〔T40n1819 0843a14〕 「身業者，禮拜也。口業者，讚歎也。意業者，作願也。智業者，觀察也。方便智業者，迴向也。」〔T40n1819 0843a15〕 「言此五種業和合，則是隨順往生淨土法門自在業成就。」〔T40n1819 0843a17〕
〔二〕五種門·入出次第——曇鸞牒五門之名，以入宅之次第釋之，再牒入出之分，自問而以「釋言」接下論文：
「復有五種門，漸次成就五種功德應知。何者五門？一者近門、二者大會眾門、三者宅門、四者屋門、五者園林遊戲地門。」〔T40n1819 0843a20〕 「此五種示現入出次第相。」〔T40n1819 0843a22〕 「入相中，初至淨土是近相，謂入大乘正定聚，近阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。入淨土已便入如來大會眾數，入眾數已當至修行安心之宅，入宅已當至修行所居屋㝢〔尤舉反〕，修行成就已當至教化地，教化地即是菩薩自娛樂地，是故出門稱園林遊戲地門。」〔T40n1819 0843a23〕 「此五種門，初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德。此入出功德門何者是？釋言：」〔T40n1819 0843a29〕
〔三〕入第一門·近門——
「入第一門者，以禮拜阿彌陀佛為生彼國故，得生安樂世界，是名入第一門。」〔T40n1819 0843b02〕 「禮佛願生佛國，是初功德相。」〔T40n1819 0843b03〕
〔四〕入第二門·大會眾門——
「入第二門者，以讚歎阿彌陀佛，隨順名義稱如來名，依如來光明智相修行故，得入大會眾數，是名入第二門。」〔T40n1819 0843b05〕 「依如來名義讚歎，是第二功德相。」〔T40n1819 0843b07〕
〔五〕入第三門·宅門——
「入第三門者，以一心專念作願生彼，修奢摩他寂靜三昧行故，得入蓮華藏世界，是名入第三門。」〔T40n1819 0843b09〕 「為修寂靜止，故一心願生彼國，是第三功德相。」〔T40n1819 0843b11〕
〔六〕入第四門·屋門——曇鸞以四味釋「種種法味樂」：
「入第四門者，以專念觀察彼妙莊嚴，修毘婆舍那故，得到彼處受用種種法味樂，是名入第四門。」〔T40n1819 0843b13〕 「種種法味樂者，毘婆舍那中有觀佛國土清淨味、攝受眾生大乘味、畢竟住持不虛作味、類事起行願取佛土味，有如是等無量莊嚴佛道味，故言種種。是第四功德相。」〔T40n1819 0843b15〕
〔七〕出第五門·園林遊戲地門——曇鸞分釋「示應化身」「遊戲」「本願力」三語：
「出第五門者，以大慈悲觀察一切苦惱眾生，示應化身，迴入生死園煩惱林中遊戲神通，至教化地，以本願力迴向故，是名出第五門。」〔T40n1819 0843b19〕 「示應化身者，如《法華經》普門示現之類也。」〔T40n1819 0843b21〕 「遊戲有二義：一者自在義。菩薩度眾生，譬如獅子搏鹿所為不難，如似遊戲。二者度無所度義。菩薩觀眾生畢竟無所有，雖度無量眾生，而實無一眾生得滅度者，示度眾生如似遊戲。」〔T40n1819 0843b22〕 「言本願力者，示大菩薩於法身中常在三昧，而現種種身、種種神通、種種說法，皆以本願力起。譬如阿修羅琴，雖無鼓者而音曲自然。是名教化地第五功德相。」〔T40n1819 0843b27〕
誌錄：「五種功德」一語，曇鸞於第九重言「此五種功德力能生清淨佛土」，指五種業；於第十重言「漸次成就五種功德」，其下逐門出「初功德相」至「第五功德相」，指五門之果。二處同名，所指之事不同，並錄。
誰問誰答——本段無『問曰……答曰』之問答。論文「何者五門？」為論主自問自答；曇鸞「此入出功德門何者是？釋言：」一句，為曇鸞自問，以其下所牒之論文為答，無他說者介入。
五、諸家異釋（分欄並錄·誌錄不判）
此論唯以曇鸞一家為鏡。本段之中，曇鸞未引他師之說，亦未議譯語，可分欄並列者本段無。曇鸞所引《法華經》見目三。
六、術語（首見名相·釋義皆自鏡註）
| 名相 | 曇鸞釋義（逐字） | 錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 智慧心·方便心·無障心·勝真心（四種清淨功德） | 「應知者，謂應知此四種清淨功德能得生彼清淨佛國土，非是他緣而生也。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a09〕 |
| 隨意自在 | 「隨意自在者，言此五種功德力能生清淨佛土，出沒自在也。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a14〕 |
| 五種業（身業·口業·意業·智業·方便智業） | 「身業者，禮拜也。口業者，讚歎也。意業者，作願也。智業者，觀察也。方便智業者，迴向也。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a15〕 |
| 五種門 | 「此五種示現入出次第相。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a22〕 |
| 近門 | 「初至淨土是近相，謂入大乘正定聚，近阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a23〕 |
| 大會眾門 | 「入淨土已便入如來大會眾數」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a24〕 |
| 宅門 | 「入眾數已當至修行安心之宅」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a25〕 |
| 屋門 | 「入宅已當至修行所居屋㝢〔尤舉反〕」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a26〕 |
| 園林遊戲地門·教化地 | 「修行成就已當至教化地，教化地即是菩薩自娛樂地，是故出門稱園林遊戲地門。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a27〕 |
| 入功德·出功德 | 「此五種門，初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a29〕 |
| 功德相 | 「禮佛願生佛國，是初功德相。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843b03〕 |
| 寂靜三昧 | 「為修寂靜止，故一心願生彼國，是第三功德相。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843b11〕 |
| 種種法味樂 | 「種種法味樂者，毘婆舍那中有觀佛國土清淨味、攝受眾生大乘味、畢竟住持不虛作味、類事起行願取佛土味，有如是等無量莊嚴佛道味，故言種種。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843b15〕 |
| 應化身 | 「示應化身者，如《法華經》普門示現之類也。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843b21〕 |
| 遊戲 | 「遊戲有二義：一者自在義。菩薩度眾生，譬如獅子搏鹿所為不難，如似遊戲。二者度無所度義。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843b22〕 |
| 本願力 | 「言本願力者，示大菩薩於法身中常在三昧，而現種種身、種種神通、種種說法，皆以本願力起。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843b27〕 |
曇鸞牒而不別釋者：「蓮華藏世界」「生死園」「煩惱林」三名，曇鸞於本段皆隨論文牒出，無別釋之語。近似之語，曇鸞於迴向門之還相言：「迴入生死稠林，教化一切眾生共向佛道。」〔T40n1819 0836a25〕 並錄，不以彼釋此。
四心之釋：智慧心、方便心、無障心三名，曇鸞無逐心之釋，唯以「此四種清淨功德」總釋；勝真心之釋見善巧迴向之單元（「妙樂勝真心」）。
論文無『五功德門』一詞：論作「五種門」「五種功德」「入功德」「出功德」；曇鸞於〔二〕作「入出功德門」，照錄。
梵語：「奢摩他」「毘婆舍那」之釋見長行總說及五念門之單元；「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」之逐字釋見五門總結之單元。
七、譬喻·修辭
論文自用之譬：
| 譬 | 論文逐字 | 錨 | 曇鸞之解 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 近·大會眾·宅·屋·園林 | 「一者近門；二者大會眾門；三者宅門；四者屋門；五者園林遊戲地門。」 | 〔T26n1524 0233a06〕 | 「此五種示現入出次第相。」〔T40n1819 0843a22〕——自近而入會眾、而至宅、而至屋，修行成就而出至園林 |
| 生死園·煩惱林 | 「迴入生死園煩惱林中」 | 〔T26n1524 0233a20〕 | 無別釋（見目六） |
鏡註自立之譬：
| 譬 | 曇鸞逐字 | 錨 | 所顯 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 入宅之次第 | 「入淨土已便入如來大會眾數，入眾數已當至修行安心之宅，入宅已當至修行所居屋㝢〔尤舉反〕」 | 〔T40n1819 0843a24〕 | 五門入出之漸次 |
| 獅子搏鹿 | 「譬如獅子搏鹿所為不難，如似遊戲。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843b23〕 | 遊戲之自在義 |
| 阿修羅琴 | 「譬如阿修羅琴，雖無鼓者而音曲自然。」 | 〔T40n1819 0843b29〕 | 本願力起，不待作意 |
修辭上可記者：①論文入四門同式——『入第某門者，以……故，得……，是名入第某門』；出第五門變其首字為「出」。②曇鸞於每門之下各出一句『是第某功德相』，第五門作「是名教化地第五功德相」。③曇鸞釋五門之名，以『入……已……當至……』一句連鎖而下，五門一氣貫通。④遊戲二義，一取「所為不難」，一取「度無所度」，皆以「如似遊戲」收。
八、徵引承衍
- 《佛說無量壽經》五惡段一單元之考據已引出第五門之文「以大慈悲觀察一切苦惱眾生，示應化身，迴入生死園煩惱林中」，以明經中所見眾生之苦為迴入教化之所緣。
- 曇鸞本人之前後呼應：五念門之初「前四念是入安樂淨土門，後一念是出慈悲教化門」（屬長行總說及五念門之單元），至本段而以五門之入出功德展開；本段之入出，下一單元結為「自利」「利他」，曇鸞並以「迴向因」「教化地果」釋之（屬五門總結之單元）。
- 今譯注諸帙所收古德經疏之中，引本段論文者未見。
九、校本定位
論本校記（<app>）於本單元域內凡三條：
| 序 | 錨 | 底本 | 異讀 | 見證 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 〔T26n1524 0233a12〕 | 想（依如來光明想修行故） | 知相 | 宋·元·明 |
| 32 | 〔T26n1524 0233a19〕 | 門（出第五門） | 門者 | 宋·元·明 |
| 33 | 〔T26n1524 0233a20〕 | 亦（亦應化身） | 示 | 宋·元·明 |
誌錄不判：第三十二、三十三條，鏡之所牒作「出第五門者」「示應化身」〔T40n1819 0843b19〕，與宋元明三本之異讀同。第三十一條，底本作「光明想」，三本於「想」字作「知相」，鏡之所牒作「光明智相」〔T40n1819 0843b06〕，三形並錄；論於讚歎門作「如彼如來光明智相」〔T26n1524 0231b16〕，與鏡之此處同字。照錄，不代裁原文。
論文與鏡牒之異同：
| 論（底本） | 鏡牒 | 鏡錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 是名菩薩摩訶薩隨順五種法門所作隨意自在成就 | 是名菩薩摩訶薩隨順五種法門，所作隨意自在成就 | 〔T40n1819 0843a12〕 |
| 如向所說，身業、口業、意業、智業、方便智業，隨順法門故 | 如向所說身業、口業、意業、智業、方便智業隨順法門故 | 〔T40n1819 0843a13〕 |
| 復有五種門漸次成就五種功德應知 | 復有五種門，漸次成就五種功德應知 | 〔T40n1819 0843a20〕 |
| 一者近門；二者大會眾門；…… | 一者近門、二者大會眾門、……（分號作頓號） | 〔T40n1819 0843a21〕 |
| 依如來光明想修行故 | 依如來光明智相修行故 | 〔T40n1819 0843b06〕 |
| 出第五門，以大慈悲 | 出第五門者，以大慈悲 | 〔T40n1819 0843b19〕 |
| 亦應化身迴入生死園煩惱林中，遊戲神通至教化地 | 示應化身，迴入生死園煩惱林中遊戲神通，至教化地 | 〔T40n1819 0843b19〕 |
末一條，「遊戲神通」之句讀，論屬下（遊戲神通至教化地），鏡屬上（煩惱林中遊戲神通）；並錄，不判。
gaiji：論本本單元無。夾註：論本本單元無；鏡文本段之〔…〕夾註凡一處，為反切——「屋㝢〔尤舉反〕」，上引皆照錄。
Placement of the passage as a whole. This unit first concludes what precedes: the four kinds of mind—the mind of wisdom, the mind of skillful means, the unobstructed mind, and the supreme true mind—are able to be born in a pure buddha-land, and this is called according with the five kinds of Dharma-gate, so that whatever one does is accomplished freely, as one wills; the five kinds of Dharma-gate are the bodily action, verbal action, mental action, action of wisdom, and action of the wisdom of skillful means spoken of before. It next sets up separately five gates that accomplish five kinds of merit step by step: the gate of approach, the gate of the great assembly, the gate of the residence, the gate of the chamber, and the gate of the garden-grove playground; the first four gates accomplish the merit of entering, and the fifth gate accomplishes the merit of exiting. Last, it sets out gate by gate their cause and fruit: by worship one attains birth in the world of Peace and Bliss; by praise one enters the number of the great assembly; by making the vow with one mind and cultivating śamatha one enters the Lotus Treasury world; by contemplating with undivided mindfulness and cultivating vipaśyanā one enjoys the pleasure of every flavor of the Dharma; exiting by the fifth gate, with great compassion one contemplates beings who suffer affliction, shows responsive, manifested bodies, turns back into the garden of birth and death and the forest of the afflictions, plays in supernormal powers and reaches the ground of teaching, dedicating and directing by the power of the original vow. Among the ten sections of the division explaining the meaning in the second fascicle of Tanluan’s Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land, this unit corresponds to the whole of his ninth section, 「願事成就」 (the accomplishment of the vowed undertaking), and the first part of his tenth, 「利行滿足」 (the fulfillment of benefiting through practice); the tenth section spans this unit and the next; see the first topic. Tanluan explains the names of the five gates by the order of entering a dwelling, matches the five kinds of action with the five gates of mindful practice, explains 「種種法味樂」 (the pleasure of every flavor of the Dharma) by four flavors, explains 「遊戲」 (play) by two senses, and illustrates the power of the original vow by the asura’s lute; see the fourth, sixth, and seventh topics. For two places in the treatise, 「依如來光明想修行」 (practices in keeping with one’s thought of the Tathāgata’s light) and 「亦應化身」 (also with responsive, manifested bodies), the mirror’s citation reads 「光明智相」 (the light that is the mark of wisdom) and 「示應化身」 (shows responsive, manifested bodies); see the ninth topic.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
The ninth and tenth of the ten sections of the division explaining the meaning — the end of the general list of the ten sections at the head of Tanluan’s second fascicle:
「九者願事成就、十者利行滿足。」—“ninth, the accomplishment of the vowed undertaking; tenth, the fulfillment of benefiting through practice.” 〔T40n1819 0835a09〕
| Ten sections | Tanluan’s heading (verbatim) | Anchor | Segment in this unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 · The accomplishment of the vowed undertaking | 「願事成就者：」—“As for the accomplishment of the vowed undertaking:” | 〔T40n1819 0843a06〕 | 〔一〕 |
| 10 · The fulfillment of benefiting through practice (first part) | 「利行滿足者：」—“As for the fulfillment of benefiting through practice:” | 〔T40n1819 0843a18〕 | 〔二〕 to 〔七〕 |
The boundary before — the heading of the ninth section follows directly on the last sentence of the eighth section, 「名義攝對」 (the gathering and matching of names and meanings): 「真言不虛偽不顛倒。」—“‘True’ means neither false nor inverted.” 〔T40n1819 0843a06〕 The last sentence of the ninth section: 「言此五種業和合，則是隨順往生淨土法門自在業成就。」—“It means that when these five kinds of action are joined together, this is the accomplishment of the free action that accords with the Dharma-gate of birth in the pure land.” 〔T40n1819 0843a17〕 Below it on the same line the heading of the tenth section begins at once.
The boundary after — the tenth section spans two units: Tanluan’s tenth section runs from 「利行滿足者」 (as for the fulfillment of benefiting through practice) to just before the closing words of the second fascicle, and the treatise’s text within it contains the five gates, entering by the four gates, exiting by the fifth gate, and the summary of self-benefit and benefiting others; this unit ends at the marks of the merit of exiting by the fifth gate: 「是名教化地第五功德相。」—“This is called the fifth mark of merit, that of the ground of teaching.” 〔T40n1819 0843c01〕 The next unit begins from Tanluan’s next citation of the treatise: 「菩薩入四種門，自利行成就應知。」—“When the bodhisattva enters by the four kinds of gate, the practice of self-benefit is accomplished; this should be known.” 〔T40n1819 0843c02〕 The unit boundary falls exactly at the new starting point of Tanluan’s citation of the treatise, and the text of the tenth section is divided between two units.
The boundary between Tanluan’s ninth and tenth sections in the treatise’s text: the treatise’s text up to 「是名菩薩摩訶薩隨順五種法門所作隨意自在成就」 (this is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva’s according with the five kinds of Dharma-gate, so that whatever he does is accomplished freely, as he wills) belongs to the ninth section; from 「復有五種門漸次成就五種功德應知」 (further, there are five gates that accomplish five kinds of merit step by step; this should be known) onward belongs to the tenth. Tanluan’s first citation in the tenth section: 「復有五種門，漸次成就五種功德應知。何者五門？一者近門、二者大會眾門、三者宅門、四者屋門、五者園林遊戲地門。」—“Further, there are five gates that accomplish five kinds of merit step by step; this should be known. What are the five gates? First, the gate of approach; second, the gate of the great assembly; third, the gate of the residence; fourth, the gate of the chamber; fifth, the gate of the garden-grove playground.” 〔T40n1819 0843a20〕
Start and end of this unit — it begins at 「如是菩薩智慧心、方便心、無障心、勝真心，能生清淨佛國土應知。」—“In this way the bodhisattva’s mind of wisdom, mind of skillful means, unobstructed mind, and supreme true mind are able to be born in a pure buddha-land; this should be known.” 〔T26n1524 0233a01〕, and ends at 「以本願力迴向故，是名出第五門。」—“because one dedicates and directs by the power of the original vow; this is called exiting by the fifth gate.” 〔T26n1524 0233a21〕 (What follows on the same line, 「菩薩入四種門」 (the bodhisattva enters by the four kinds of gate), belongs to the next unit.) The whole unit runs to three hundred and seventy-six characters including punctuation, three hundred and twenty-seven Chinese characters alone.
II. Collation with the Alternate Translations — recorded without adjudication
There is no alternate translation of this treatise; for the text of the Sūtra of Measureless Life on which the verses rely, see the third topic of the unit on the verses. The five gates set out in this passage (the gate of approach, the gate of the great assembly, the gate of the residence, the gate of the chamber, the gate of the garden-grove playground) have no text of the same name in the sūtra; what they rely on is given in the third topic.
III. Scriptural and Treatise Grounding (the “eye”)
The five gates and the five gates of mindful practice — entering and exiting: in this passage the treatise cites the five gates of mindful practice again under the five kinds of action; at the head of the five gates of mindful practice Tanluan had already explained “gate” as entering and exiting: 「門者入出義也，如人得門則入出無礙。前四念是入安樂淨土門，後一念是出慈悲教化門。」—“‘Gate’ means entering and exiting: as when a person finds the gate, he goes in and out without obstruction. The first four mindful practices are the gate of entering the Pure Land of Peace and Bliss; the last one is the gate of going out in compassionate teaching.” 〔T40n1819 0835a21〕 This passage’s 「初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德」 (the first four gates accomplish the merit of entering, and the fifth gate accomplishes the merit of exiting) corresponds to the division there into the first four mindful practices and the last one.
| The five gates of mindful practice | Action | Tanluan’s matching (verbatim) | The five gates of entering and exiting |
|---|---|---|---|
| The gate of worship | Bodily action | 「身業者，禮拜也。」—“Bodily action is worship.” | The gate of approach |
| The gate of praise | Verbal action | 「口業者，讚歎也。」—“Verbal action is praise.” | The gate of the great assembly |
| The gate of making the vow | Mental action | 「意業者，作願也。」—“Mental action is making the vow.” | The gate of the residence |
| The gate of contemplation | The action of wisdom | 「智業者，觀察也。」—“The action of wisdom is contemplation.” | The gate of the chamber |
| The gate of dedication and direction | The action of the wisdom of skillful means | 「方便智業者，迴向也。」—“The action of the wisdom of skillful means is dedication and direction.” | The gate of the garden-grove playground |
(Tanluan gives the matching of the five actions in one sentence: 「身業者，禮拜也。口業者，讚歎也。意業者，作願也。智業者，觀察也。方便智業者，迴向也。」—“Bodily action is worship. Verbal action is praise. Mental action is making the vow. The action of wisdom is contemplation. The action of the wisdom of skillful means is dedication and direction.” 〔T40n1819 0843a15〕 The pairing of the five gates of mindful practice with the five gates is set out gate by gate according to the practice cultivated at each gate in the treatise’s text on entering by the four gates and exiting by the fifth—worship, praise, making the vow, contemplation, and contemplating beings with great compassion and dedicating and directing.)
The gate of approach — the group of right fixity: Tanluan explains the gate of approach as 「入大乘正定聚」 (entering the Mahāyāna group of right fixity); later he proves dwelling in the group of right fixity by the eleventh vow (in the unit on the conclusion of the five gates). The second fascicle of the sūtra also says: 「其有眾生生彼國者，皆悉住於正定之聚。」—“Those beings who are born in that land all dwell in the group of right fixity.” 〔T12n0360 0272b08〕
The gate of the great assembly — the light that is the mark of wisdom, on which praise relies: under the gate of praise the treatise says 「如彼如來光明智相」 (in keeping with that Tathāgata’s light, which is the mark of wisdom); Tanluan explains it: 「如彼如來光明智相者，佛光明是智慧相也。」—“‘In keeping with that Tathāgata’s light, which is the mark of wisdom’: the Buddha’s light is the mark of wisdom.” 〔T40n1819 0835b15〕 For entering the second gate in this passage, the mirror’s citation reads 「依如來光明智相修行」 (practices in keeping with the Tathāgata’s light, which is the mark of wisdom), the same words as for the gate of praise (for the characters of the treatise’s text, see the ninth topic).
The gate of the residence · the gate of the chamber — stilling and contemplation: entering the third gate, 「修奢摩他寂靜三昧行」 (cultivates the practice of śamatha, the samādhi of quiescence), and entering the fourth gate, 「修毘婆舍那」 (cultivates vipaśyanā), carry on from making the vow and contemplation among the five gates of mindful practice: 「云何作願？心常作願，一心專念，畢竟往生安樂國土，欲如實修行奢摩他故。」—“How does one make the vow? The mind constantly makes the vow, single-mindedly intent, that in the end one will be born in the land of Peace and Bliss—because one wishes to practice śamatha in accordance with reality.” 〔T40n1819 0835c18〕; 「云何觀察？智慧觀察，正念觀彼，欲如實修行毘婆舍那故。」—“How does one contemplate? With wisdom one contemplates; with right mindfulness one contemplates that land—because one wishes to practice vipaśyanā in accordance with reality.” 〔T40n1819 0836a05〕
Exiting by the fifth gate — the scriptural ground for showing responsive, manifested bodies: Tanluan himself cites the Lotus Sūtra: 「示應化身者，如《法華經》普門示現之類也。」—“‘Shows responsive, manifested bodies’: it is of the kind of the universal-gate manifestations in the Lotus Sūtra.” 〔T40n1819 0843b21〕 The sūtra’s own text: 「若有國土眾生應以佛身得度者，觀世音菩薩即現佛身而為說法」—“If there are beings in any land who are to be ferried across by means of a buddha’s body, the bodhisattva Guanshiyin at once manifests a buddha’s body and teaches the Dharma for them” 〔T09n0262 0057a23〕
The power of the original vow: Tanluan explains the 「本願力」 (the power of the original vow) of exiting by the fifth gate; the last of the Buddha’s adornments under the gate of contemplation is likewise tied to the power of the original vow: 「不虛作住持功德成就者，蓋是阿彌陀如來本願力也。」—“The accomplishment of the merit of abiding and sustaining that is not in vain is, indeed, the power of the original vow of the Tathāgata Amitābha.” 〔T40n1819 0840a06〕 One of the four flavors Tanluan names in this passage is 「畢竟住持不虛作味」 (the flavor of ultimate abiding and sustaining that is not in vain), the same name as that.
The doctrinal attachment of the treatise — entering by the four gates and exiting by the fifth the treatise concludes in the next unit as self-benefit and benefiting others: 「菩薩入四種門，自利行成就應知；菩薩出第五門，利益他迴向行成就應知。」—“When the bodhisattva enters by the four kinds of gate, the practice of self-benefit is accomplished; this should be known. When the bodhisattva exits by the fifth gate, the practice of dedication and direction that benefits others is accomplished; this should be known.” 〔T26n1524 0233a22〕 (This belongs to the unit on the conclusion of the five gates.)
IV. Essentials of the Commentary on This Passage (the Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land, line by line)
〔一〕The accomplishment of the vowed undertaking — Tanluan cites the treatise in two parts, first explaining the four kinds of mind, then explaining “freely, as he wills” and the five kinds of action:
「如是菩薩智慧心、方便心、無障心、勝真心，能生清淨佛國土應知。」—“In this way the bodhisattva’s mind of wisdom, mind of skillful means, unobstructed mind, and supreme true mind are able to be born in a pure buddha-land; this should be known.” 〔T40n1819 0843a08〕 「應知者，謂應知此四種清淨功德能得生彼清淨佛國土，非是他緣而生也。」—“‘Should be known’: it means that it should be known that these four kinds of pure merit are able to attain birth in that pure buddha-land; it is not that one is born there by some other condition.” 〔T40n1819 0843a09〕 「是名菩薩摩訶薩隨順五種法門，所作隨意自在成就。如向所說身業、口業、意業、智業、方便智業隨順法門故。」—“This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva’s according with the five kinds of Dharma-gate, so that whatever he does is accomplished freely, as he wills. It is so because the bodily action, verbal action, mental action, action of wisdom, and action of the wisdom of skillful means spoken of above accord with the Dharma-gates.” 〔T40n1819 0843a12〕 「隨意自在者，言此五種功德力能生清淨佛土，出沒自在也。」—“‘Freely, as he wills’ means that the power of these five kinds of merit can be born in a pure buddha-land, and come forth and withdraw freely.” 〔T40n1819 0843a14〕 「身業者，禮拜也。口業者，讚歎也。意業者，作願也。智業者，觀察也。方便智業者，迴向也。」—“Bodily action is worship. Verbal action is praise. Mental action is making the vow. The action of wisdom is contemplation. The action of the wisdom of skillful means is dedication and direction.” 〔T40n1819 0843a15〕 「言此五種業和合，則是隨順往生淨土法門自在業成就。」—“It means that when these five kinds of action are joined together, this is the accomplishment of the free action that accords with the Dharma-gate of birth in the pure land.” 〔T40n1819 0843a17〕
〔二〕The five gates · the order of entering and exiting — Tanluan cites the names of the five gates and explains them by the order of entering a dwelling; he then cites the division into entering and exiting, asks the question himself, and passes on to the treatise’s text below with 「釋言」 (the explanation says):
「復有五種門，漸次成就五種功德應知。何者五門？一者近門、二者大會眾門、三者宅門、四者屋門、五者園林遊戲地門。」—“Further, there are five gates that accomplish five kinds of merit step by step; this should be known. What are the five gates? First, the gate of approach; second, the gate of the great assembly; third, the gate of the residence; fourth, the gate of the chamber; fifth, the gate of the garden-grove playground.” 〔T40n1819 0843a20〕 「此五種示現入出次第相。」—“These five show the marks of the order of entering and exiting.” 〔T40n1819 0843a22〕 「入相中，初至淨土是近相，謂入大乘正定聚，近阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。入淨土已便入如來大會眾數，入眾數已當至修行安心之宅，入宅已當至修行所居屋㝢〔尤舉反〕，修行成就已當至教化地，教化地即是菩薩自娛樂地，是故出門稱園林遊戲地門。」—“Among the marks of entering, first reaching the pure land is the mark of approach, namely entering the Mahāyāna group of right fixity and approaching unsurpassed perfect awakening. Having entered the pure land, one then enters the number of the Tathāgata’s great assembly; having entered the number of the assembly, one should reach the residence where one practices and settles the mind; having entered the residence, one should reach the chamber 〔尤舉反〕 where one dwells in practice; once practice is accomplished, one should reach the ground of teaching. The ground of teaching is the ground of the bodhisattva’s own enjoyment; therefore the gate of exiting is called the gate of the garden-grove playground.” 〔T40n1819 0843a23〕 「此五種門，初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德。此入出功德門何者是？釋言：」—“Of these five gates, the first four accomplish the merit of entering, and the fifth gate accomplishes the merit of exiting. What are these gates of the merit of entering and exiting? The explanation says:” 〔T40n1819 0843a29〕
〔三〕Entering the first gate · the gate of approach —
「入第一門者，以禮拜阿彌陀佛為生彼國故，得生安樂世界，是名入第一門。」—“Entering the first gate: because one worships the Buddha Amitābha in order to be born in that land, one attains birth in the world of Peace and Bliss. This is called entering the first gate.” 〔T40n1819 0843b02〕 「禮佛願生佛國，是初功德相。」—“To worship the Buddha and aspire to be born in the buddha-land is the first mark of merit.” 〔T40n1819 0843b03〕
〔四〕Entering the second gate · the gate of the great assembly —
「入第二門者，以讚歎阿彌陀佛，隨順名義稱如來名，依如來光明智相修行故，得入大會眾數，是名入第二門。」—“Entering the second gate: because one praises the Buddha Amitābha, calling the Tathāgata’s name in accord with the meaning of the name, and practices in keeping with the Tathāgata’s light, which is the mark of wisdom, one is able to enter the number of the great assembly. This is called entering the second gate.” 〔T40n1819 0843b05〕 「依如來名義讚歎，是第二功德相。」—“To praise in keeping with the meaning of the Tathāgata’s name is the second mark of merit.” 〔T40n1819 0843b07〕
〔五〕Entering the third gate · the gate of the residence —
「入第三門者，以一心專念作願生彼，修奢摩他寂靜三昧行故，得入蓮華藏世界，是名入第三門。」—“Entering the third gate: because with one mind and single intent one makes the vow to be born there and cultivates the practice of śamatha, the samādhi of quiescence, one is able to enter the Lotus Treasury world. This is called entering the third gate.” 〔T40n1819 0843b09〕 「為修寂靜止，故一心願生彼國，是第三功德相。」—“In order to cultivate the stilling of quiescence, one aspires with one mind to be born in that land: this is the third mark of merit.” 〔T40n1819 0843b11〕
〔六〕Entering the fourth gate · the gate of the chamber — Tanluan explains 「種種法味樂」 (the pleasure of every flavor of the Dharma) by four flavors:
「入第四門者，以專念觀察彼妙莊嚴，修毘婆舍那故，得到彼處受用種種法味樂，是名入第四門。」—“Entering the fourth gate: because with undivided mindfulness one contemplates the wondrous adornments there and cultivates vipaśyanā, one is able to reach that place and enjoy the pleasure of every flavor of the Dharma. This is called entering the fourth gate.” 〔T40n1819 0843b13〕 「種種法味樂者，毘婆舍那中有觀佛國土清淨味、攝受眾生大乘味、畢竟住持不虛作味、類事起行願取佛土味，有如是等無量莊嚴佛道味，故言種種。是第四功德相。」—“‘The pleasure of every flavor of the Dharma’: within vipaśyanā there are the flavor of contemplating the purity of the buddha-land, the Mahāyāna flavor of embracing beings, the flavor of ultimate abiding and sustaining that is not in vain, and the flavor of taking up a buddha-land by vow, arising in practice according to the matter; there are measureless flavors of the buddha-path of adornment such as these, hence it says ‘every.’ This is the fourth mark of merit.” 〔T40n1819 0843b15〕
〔七〕Exiting by the fifth gate · the gate of the garden-grove playground — Tanluan explains separately the three phrases 「示應化身」 (shows responsive, manifested bodies), 「遊戲」 (play), and 「本願力」 (the power of the original vow):
「出第五門者，以大慈悲觀察一切苦惱眾生，示應化身，迴入生死園煩惱林中遊戲神通，至教化地，以本願力迴向故，是名出第五門。」—“Exiting by the fifth gate: with great compassion one contemplates all beings who suffer affliction, shows responsive, manifested bodies, turns back into the garden of birth and death and the forest of the afflictions, plays there in supernormal powers, and reaches the ground of teaching—because one dedicates and directs by the power of the original vow. This is called exiting by the fifth gate.” 〔T40n1819 0843b19〕 「示應化身者，如《法華經》普門示現之類也。」—“‘Shows responsive, manifested bodies’: it is of the kind of the universal-gate manifestations in the Lotus Sūtra.” 〔T40n1819 0843b21〕 「遊戲有二義：一者自在義。菩薩度眾生，譬如獅子搏鹿所為不難，如似遊戲。二者度無所度義。菩薩觀眾生畢竟無所有，雖度無量眾生，而實無一眾生得滅度者，示度眾生如似遊戲。」—“‘Play’ has two senses. The first is the sense of freedom: the bodhisattva’s ferrying of beings across is like a lion seizing a deer—what he does is not difficult, as if at play. The second is the sense of ferrying across with none ferried across: the bodhisattva contemplates beings as ultimately nonexistent; though he ferries across measureless beings, in reality not a single being attains extinction; he shows the ferrying of beings across as if at play.” 〔T40n1819 0843b22〕 「言本願力者，示大菩薩於法身中常在三昧，而現種種身、種種神通、種種說法，皆以本願力起。譬如阿修羅琴，雖無鼓者而音曲自然。是名教化地第五功德相。」—“‘The power of the original vow’ shows that the great bodhisattvas, within the dharma-body, are always in samādhi, and yet manifest every kind of body, every kind of supernormal power, and every kind of Dharma-teaching, all arising from the power of the original vow. It is like the asura’s lute: though no one plays it, its music sounds of itself. This is called the fifth mark of merit, that of the ground of teaching.” 〔T40n1819 0843b27〕
Recorded: the expression 「五種功德」 (five kinds of merit)—in the ninth section Tanluan says 「此五種功德力能生清淨佛土」 (the power of these five kinds of merit can be born in a pure buddha-land), referring to the five kinds of action; in the tenth section he says 「漸次成就五種功德」 (accomplish five kinds of merit step by step), and below that sets out gate by gate 「初功德相」 (the first mark of merit) through 「第五功德相」 (the fifth mark of merit), referring to the fruit of the five gates. The two places have the same name but refer to different things; recorded side by side.
Who asks and who answers — there is no question and answer of the form “Question … Answer …” in this passage. The treatise’s 「何者五門？」—“What are the five gates?”—is asked and answered by the author of the treatise himself; Tanluan’s sentence 「此入出功德門何者是？釋言：」—“What are these gates of the merit of entering and exiting? The explanation says:”—is a question Tanluan asks himself, answered by the treatise’s text that he cites below; no other speaker intervenes.
V. Divergent Readings of the Commentators (in parallel columns — recorded without adjudication)
This treatise has Tanluan alone as its mirror. In this passage Tanluan neither cites the view of another master nor discusses a translated term, and there is nothing in this passage that can be set out in parallel columns. For the Lotus Sūtra that Tanluan cites, see the third topic.
VI. Terms (first occurrences — all glosses drawn from the mirror commentary)
| Term | Tanluan’s gloss (verbatim) | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| The mind of wisdom · the mind of skillful means · the unobstructed mind · the supreme true mind (the four kinds of pure merit) | 「應知者，謂應知此四種清淨功德能得生彼清淨佛國土，非是他緣而生也。」—“‘Should be known’: it means that it should be known that these four kinds of pure merit are able to attain birth in that pure buddha-land; it is not that one is born there by some other condition.” | 〔T40n1819 0843a09〕 |
| Freely, as he wills | 「隨意自在者，言此五種功德力能生清淨佛土，出沒自在也。」—“‘Freely, as he wills’ means that the power of these five kinds of merit can be born in a pure buddha-land, and come forth and withdraw freely.” | 〔T40n1819 0843a14〕 |
| The five kinds of action (bodily · verbal · mental · of wisdom · of the wisdom of skillful means) | 「身業者，禮拜也。口業者，讚歎也。意業者，作願也。智業者，觀察也。方便智業者，迴向也。」—“Bodily action is worship. Verbal action is praise. Mental action is making the vow. The action of wisdom is contemplation. The action of the wisdom of skillful means is dedication and direction.” | 〔T40n1819 0843a15〕 |
| The five gates | 「此五種示現入出次第相。」—“These five show the marks of the order of entering and exiting.” | 〔T40n1819 0843a22〕 |
| The gate of approach | 「初至淨土是近相，謂入大乘正定聚，近阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。」—“First reaching the pure land is the mark of approach, namely entering the Mahāyāna group of right fixity and approaching unsurpassed perfect awakening.” | 〔T40n1819 0843a23〕 |
| The gate of the great assembly | 「入淨土已便入如來大會眾數」—“Having entered the pure land, one then enters the number of the Tathāgata’s great assembly” | 〔T40n1819 0843a24〕 |
| The gate of the residence | 「入眾數已當至修行安心之宅」—“Having entered the number of the assembly, one should reach the residence where one practices and settles the mind” | 〔T40n1819 0843a25〕 |
| The gate of the chamber | 「入宅已當至修行所居屋㝢〔尤舉反〕」—“Having entered the residence, one should reach the chamber 〔尤舉反〕 where one dwells in practice” | 〔T40n1819 0843a26〕 |
| The gate of the garden-grove playground · the ground of teaching | 「修行成就已當至教化地，教化地即是菩薩自娛樂地，是故出門稱園林遊戲地門。」—“Once practice is accomplished, one should reach the ground of teaching. The ground of teaching is the ground of the bodhisattva’s own enjoyment; therefore the gate of exiting is called the gate of the garden-grove playground.” | 〔T40n1819 0843a27〕 |
| The merit of entering · the merit of exiting | 「此五種門，初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德。」—“Of these five gates, the first four accomplish the merit of entering, and the fifth gate accomplishes the merit of exiting.” | 〔T40n1819 0843a29〕 |
| Mark of merit | 「禮佛願生佛國，是初功德相。」—“To worship the Buddha and aspire to be born in the buddha-land is the first mark of merit.” | 〔T40n1819 0843b03〕 |
| The samādhi of quiescence | 「為修寂靜止，故一心願生彼國，是第三功德相。」—“In order to cultivate the stilling of quiescence, one aspires with one mind to be born in that land: this is the third mark of merit.” | 〔T40n1819 0843b11〕 |
| The pleasure of every flavor of the Dharma | 「種種法味樂者，毘婆舍那中有觀佛國土清淨味、攝受眾生大乘味、畢竟住持不虛作味、類事起行願取佛土味，有如是等無量莊嚴佛道味，故言種種。」—“‘The pleasure of every flavor of the Dharma’: within vipaśyanā there are the flavor of contemplating the purity of the buddha-land, the Mahāyāna flavor of embracing beings, the flavor of ultimate abiding and sustaining that is not in vain, and the flavor of taking up a buddha-land by vow, arising in practice according to the matter; there are measureless flavors of the buddha-path of adornment such as these, hence it says ‘every.’” | 〔T40n1819 0843b15〕 |
| Responsive, manifested bodies | 「示應化身者，如《法華經》普門示現之類也。」—“‘Shows responsive, manifested bodies’: it is of the kind of the universal-gate manifestations in the Lotus Sūtra.” | 〔T40n1819 0843b21〕 |
| Play | 「遊戲有二義：一者自在義。菩薩度眾生，譬如獅子搏鹿所為不難，如似遊戲。二者度無所度義。」—“‘Play’ has two senses. The first is the sense of freedom: the bodhisattva’s ferrying of beings across is like a lion seizing a deer—what he does is not difficult, as if at play. The second is the sense of ferrying across with none ferried across.” | 〔T40n1819 0843b22〕 |
| The power of the original vow | 「言本願力者，示大菩薩於法身中常在三昧，而現種種身、種種神通、種種說法，皆以本願力起。」—“‘The power of the original vow’ shows that the great bodhisattvas, within the dharma-body, are always in samādhi, and yet manifest every kind of body, every kind of supernormal power, and every kind of Dharma-teaching, all arising from the power of the original vow.” | 〔T40n1819 0843b27〕 |
Names Tanluan cites without separate explanation: the three names 「蓮華藏世界」 (the Lotus Treasury world), 「生死園」 (the garden of birth and death), and 「煩惱林」 (the forest of the afflictions) Tanluan cites in this passage as they come in the treatise’s text, without any words of separate explanation. A similar expression is found in the aspect of returning under the gate of dedication and direction: 「迴入生死稠林，教化一切眾生共向佛道。」—“to turn back into the dense forest of birth and death and teach all beings, so that together they turn toward the path of the Buddha.” 〔T40n1819 0836a25〕 Recorded side by side; the one is not used to explain the other.
The explanation of the four minds: for the three names of the mind of wisdom, the mind of skillful means, and the unobstructed mind, Tanluan has no explanation mind by mind, explaining them only together as 「此四種清淨功德」 (these four kinds of pure merit); for the explanation of the supreme true mind, see the unit on skillful dedication and direction (「妙樂勝真心」 (the supreme true mind of wondrous bliss)).
The treatise has no term “gates of the five merits”: the treatise has 「五種門」 (the five gates), 「五種功德」 (the five kinds of merit), 「入功德」 (the merit of entering), and 「出功德」 (the merit of exiting); in 〔二〕 Tanluan has 「入出功德門」 (the gates of the merit of entering and exiting); recorded as it stands.
Sanskrit: for the explanation of 「奢摩他」 (śamatha) and 「毘婆舍那」 (vipaśyanā), see the unit on the general statement and the five gates of mindful practice; for the word-by-word explanation of 「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」 (unsurpassed perfect awakening), see the unit on the conclusion of the five gates.
VII. Similes and Rhetoric
Similes the treatise uses of itself:
| Simile | The treatise verbatim | Anchor | Tanluan’s explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approach · the great assembly · the residence · the chamber · the garden-grove | 「一者近門；二者大會眾門；三者宅門；四者屋門；五者園林遊戲地門。」—“First, the gate of approach; second, the gate of the great assembly; third, the gate of the residence; fourth, the gate of the chamber; fifth, the gate of the garden-grove playground.” | 〔T26n1524 0233a06〕 | 「此五種示現入出次第相。」—“These five show the marks of the order of entering and exiting.” 〔T40n1819 0843a22〕—from approach one enters the assembly, reaches the residence, reaches the chamber, and, practice accomplished, goes out to the garden-grove |
| The garden of birth and death · the forest of the afflictions | 「迴入生死園煩惱林中」—“turns back into the garden of birth and death and the forest of the afflictions” | 〔T26n1524 0233a20〕 | No separate explanation (see the sixth topic) |
Similes set up by the mirror commentary:
| Simile | Tanluan verbatim | Anchor | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| The order of entering a dwelling | 「入淨土已便入如來大會眾數，入眾數已當至修行安心之宅，入宅已當至修行所居屋㝢〔尤舉反〕」—“Having entered the pure land, one then enters the number of the Tathāgata’s great assembly; having entered the number of the assembly, one should reach the residence where one practices and settles the mind; having entered the residence, one should reach the chamber 〔尤舉反〕 where one dwells in practice” | 〔T40n1819 0843a24〕 | The step-by-step entering and exiting of the five gates |
| A lion seizing a deer | 「譬如獅子搏鹿所為不難，如似遊戲。」—“It is like a lion seizing a deer—what he does is not difficult, as if at play.” | 〔T40n1819 0843b23〕 | The sense of freedom in play |
| The asura’s lute | 「譬如阿修羅琴，雖無鼓者而音曲自然。」—“It is like the asura’s lute: though no one plays it, its music sounds of itself.” | 〔T40n1819 0843b29〕 | Arising from the power of the original vow, without waiting on deliberate intention |
Things that may be recorded as rhetoric: First, the treatise’s text on entering the four gates follows one pattern—“Entering the such-and-such gate: because one …, one attains …; this is called entering the such-and-such gate”; for exiting by the fifth gate the first word is changed to 「出」 (exiting). Second, under each gate Tanluan gives one sentence of the form “this is the such-and-such mark of merit”; for the fifth gate it is 「是名教化地第五功德相」 (this is called the fifth mark of merit, that of the ground of teaching). Third, in explaining the names of the five gates, Tanluan runs them down in one linked chain of the form “having entered …, one should reach …,” carrying the five gates through in a single breath. Fourth, of the two senses of play, one takes up 「所為不難」 (what he does is not difficult) and the other 「度無所度」 (ferrying across with none ferried across), and both close with 「如似遊戲」 (as if at play).
VIII. Citation and Carrying Forward
- The apparatus of the unit on the five evils in The Sūtra of Measureless Life in this series has already cited the text of exiting by the fifth gate, 「以大慈悲觀察一切苦惱眾生，示應化身，迴入生死園煩惱林中」—“with great compassion one contemplates all beings who suffer affliction, shows responsive, manifested bodies, turns back into the garden of birth and death and the forest of the afflictions,” to make clear that the suffering of beings seen in the sūtra is the object of turning back to teach.
- Tanluan’s own echoes, earlier and later: what is said at the head of the five gates of mindful practice, 「前四念是入安樂淨土門，後一念是出慈悲教化門」—“the first four mindful practices are the gate of entering the Pure Land of Peace and Bliss; the last one is the gate of going out in compassionate teaching” (in the unit on the general statement and the five gates of mindful practice), is unfolded in this passage as the merits of entering and exiting of the five gates; the entering and exiting of this passage are concluded in the next unit as 「自利」 (self-benefit) and 「利他」 (benefiting others), which Tanluan further explains as 「迴向因」 (the cause of dedication and direction) and 「教化地果」 (the fruit of the ground of teaching) (in the unit on the conclusion of the five gates).
- Among the sūtra commentaries of the ancient masters gathered in the translated-and-annotated texts of this series, none has been found that cites the treatise’s text in this passage.
IX. Placement Among the Recensions
The collation notes (<app>) to the treatise within the domain of this unit come to three in all:
| No. | Anchor | Base text | Variant | Witnesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 〔T26n1524 0233a12〕 | 想 in 依如來光明想修行故 (because one practices in keeping with one’s thought of the Tathāgata’s light) | 知相 (the mark of knowing) | Song · Yuan · Ming |
| 32 | 〔T26n1524 0233a19〕 | 門 in 出第五門 (exiting by the fifth gate) | 門者 (adding the particle 者) | Song · Yuan · Ming |
| 33 | 〔T26n1524 0233a20〕 | 亦 in 亦應化身 (also with responsive, manifested bodies) | 示 (shows) | Song · Yuan · Ming |
Recorded without adjudication: in the thirty-second and thirty-third notes, the mirror’s citation reads 「出第五門者」 (exiting by the fifth gate) and 「示應化身」 (shows responsive, manifested bodies) 〔T40n1819 0843b19〕, agreeing with the variant readings of the three witnesses of the Song, Yuan, and Ming. In the thirty-first note, the base text reads 「光明想」 (one’s thought of the light), the three witnesses, in place of 「想」 (thought), read 「知相」 (the mark of knowing), and the mirror’s citation reads 「光明智相」 (the light that is the mark of wisdom) 〔T40n1819 0843b06〕; the three forms are recorded together. Under the gate of praise the treatise reads 「如彼如來光明智相」 (in keeping with that Tathāgata’s light, which is the mark of wisdom) 〔T26n1524 0231b16〕, the same characters as the mirror here. Recorded as it stands; no judgment is made in their stead as to the original text.
Agreements and differences between the treatise and the mirror’s citation:
| Treatise (base text) | The mirror’s citation | Mirror anchor |
|---|---|---|
| 是名菩薩摩訶薩隨順五種法門所作隨意自在成就 (no break) | 是名菩薩摩訶薩隨順五種法門，所作隨意自在成就 (with a break) | 〔T40n1819 0843a12〕 |
| 如向所說，身業、口業、意業、智業、方便智業，隨順法門故 (with breaks) | 如向所說身業、口業、意業、智業、方便智業隨順法門故 (no breaks) | 〔T40n1819 0843a13〕 |
| 復有五種門漸次成就五種功德應知 (no break) | 復有五種門，漸次成就五種功德應知 (with a break) | 〔T40n1819 0843a20〕 |
| 一者近門；二者大會眾門；…… (first, the gate of approach; second, the gate of the great assembly; …) | 一者近門、二者大會眾門、…… (the semicolons replaced by enumeration commas) | 〔T40n1819 0843a21〕 |
| 依如來光明想修行故 (in keeping with one’s thought of the Tathāgata’s light) | 依如來光明智相修行故 (in keeping with the Tathāgata’s light, which is the mark of wisdom) | 〔T40n1819 0843b06〕 |
| 出第五門，以大慈悲 (exiting by the fifth gate, with great compassion) | 出第五門者，以大慈悲 (adding the particle 者) | 〔T40n1819 0843b19〕 |
| 亦應化身迴入生死園煩惱林中，遊戲神通至教化地 (also with responsive, manifested bodies … ; playing in supernormal powers, reaches the ground of teaching) | 示應化身，迴入生死園煩惱林中遊戲神通，至教化地 (shows responsive, manifested bodies, … plays there in supernormal powers, and reaches the ground of teaching) | 〔T40n1819 0843b19〕 |
In the last entry, as to the punctuation of 「遊戲神通」 (playing in supernormal powers), the treatise attaches it to what follows (playing in supernormal powers, reaches the ground of teaching), while the mirror attaches it to what precedes (in the forest of the afflictions plays in supernormal powers); recorded side by side, without adjudication.
Gaiji: none in the treatise within this unit. Inline notes: none in the treatise within this unit; in the mirror’s text of this passage there is one inline note in 〔…〕, a fanqie spelling—「屋㝢〔尤舉反〕」—reproduced as it stands in the citations above.