The Sutra of Forty-two Chapters - 17 佛說四十二章經 第17章後漢 西域沙門迦攝摩騰 竺法蘭 同譯
Translated jointly by Indian Sramana Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaraksa in the Later Han Dynasty
△ 中文 | 能禀英文 | 弘惠 00 : 26 开始
第17章 明來暗謝
Brightness Illuminating Darkness
佛言。夫見道者。譬如持炬入冥室中。其冥即滅。而明獨存。The Buddha said: "Seeing the Way is like going into a dark room with a torch; the darkness instantly departs, while the light alone remains.
學道見諦。無明即滅。而明常存矣。
When the Way is attained and the truth is seen, ignorance vanishes and enlightenment abides forever."
English version sourced from Bodhi Fansubs, translated by D.T. Suzuki △ 英文 | 释宏添 中文 | 能禀 03 : 16开始
法师讲解：明来暗谢
Commentary: Brightness illuminating darkness
The Buddhas’ unsurpassed wisdom is actually possessed by everyone as innate potentials except that they are hidden by ignorance, and this makes Buddhism prestigious in that we are capable of attaining the same status as the Buddhas’. Now let’s learn about the Buddhas’ four types of wisdom, namely the Mirror-like Wisdom, the Wisdom of Equality, the Wisdom of Profound Insight, and the Wisdom of Unrestricted Activities.
The mirror-like wisdom is the origin of all other wisdom. It is undefiled, non-discriminating, and it can reflect thoroughly the true nature of all matters in the universe, seeing through in silence various phenomena in the universe as being illusory, and unreal. Besides, it can reveal the good and evil karma of all sentient beings. Therefore it is like a mirror which reflects exactly the reality, i.e., it will not make a person look better or worse.
Second, it is the wisdom of equality. With it one can understand that we are all equal, and one can also realize that all beings, you and I, as well as everything in the nature only exist temporarily rather than eternally as the result of the combination of causes and conditions. Because of the wisdom of equality, one’s Bodhi mind will arise to relieve others like relieving oneself.
Mirror-like wisdom can reveal the true nature of all phenomena and the wisdom of equality can initiate one’s Bodhi mind. The next thing is planning how to relieve sentient beings, which will need the wisdom of profound insight. Such wisdom can clearly see the potential, wisdom level, affinity, and undesirable habitual tendency of every sentient being. Apart from making observations of sentient beings, the wisdom can also evaluate the differences among methods of dharma practicing and their applicability, so appropriate dharma can be taught to certain sentient beings to make them determined in faith and liberated eventually. 大圆镜智可以了解万事万物的真理，平等性智可以让人发起菩提心，再下来就是计划如何度化众生，这就需要运用妙观察智。这种智慧可以清楚地观察出各个众生的根器、智慧、喜好、习气等等。除了能观察众生，它也能观察各种法门的差别以及适应性，从而为某众生对机说法，令他得不退转，最终解脱。
Finally, it will take the wisdom of unrestricted activities to execute the plan of liberation. Such wisdom can enable all kinds of transformations and supernatural changes so that expedient means can be deployed to direct sentient beings to the Great Way, thus fulfilling the Buddhas’ fundamental vows. For example, when some people see auspicious signs such as the holy light of the Buddha, their faith in Buddhism will arise. Also, the Buddhas can have trillions of transformation bodies to relieve trillions of people. So all these are related to the wisdom of unrestricted activities.
