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問曰。若諸見皆有過失。第一義悉檀。何者是。
答曰。過一切語言道心行處滅遍無所依不示諸法。諸法實相無初無中無後不盡不壞。是名第一義悉檀。如摩訶衍義偈中說：
語言盡竟
心行亦訖
不生不滅
法如涅槃
說諸行處
名世界法
說不行處
名第一義
一切實一切非實
及一切實亦非實
一切非實非不實
是名諸法之實相
如是等處處經中說。第一義悉檀。是義甚深難見難解。佛欲說是義故。說摩訶般若波羅蜜經。
復次欲令長爪梵志等大論議師。於佛法中生信故。說是摩訶般若波羅蜜經。有梵志號名長爪。更有名先尼婆蹉衢多羅。更有名薩遮迦摩揵提等。是等閻浮提大論議師輩言。一切論可破。一切語可壞。一切執可轉。故無有實法可信可恭敬者。
如舍利弗本末經中說。舍利弗舅摩訶俱絺羅。與姊舍利論議不如。俱絺羅思惟念言。非姊力也。必懷智人寄言母口。未生乃爾。及生長大當如之何。
思惟已生憍慢心。為廣論議故出家作梵志。入南天竺國始讀經書。諸人問言。汝志何求。學習何經。
長爪答言。十八種大經盡欲讀之。
諸人語言。盡汝壽命猶不能知一。何況能盡。
待續
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Question: If all views possess faults, then what is [the status of] the supreme-meaning siddhÁnta?
Reply: It goes beyond the path of all discourse. The very locus of thought’s activity is extinct in it. Nowhere is there anything upon which it relies. It does not proclaim any dharma . The ultimate reality aspect of all dharmas has no beginning, has no middle and has no end. It is inexhaustible and indestructible . This is what is meant by the “supreme-meaning siddhÁnta.” This is as described in the Verse on the Meaning of the Mahayana:
Discourse is entirely ended.
The actions of thought cease as well.
Neither produced nor destroyed, —
The dharmas are like nirvana.
Every place where speaking functions
Is known as worldly dharma.
The place where speaking does not function
Is known as the supreme meaning.
“Everything is real,” “Everything is unreal,”
As well as “Everything is both real and unreal,”
And “Everything is neither real nor unreal” —
This all refers to the ultimate reality aspect of all dharmas.
[Explanations] such as these are spoken forth in many places in the Sutra. The meaning of the supreme-meaning siddhÁnta is extremely deep, difficult to perceive and difficult to understand. It was because the Buddha wished to set forth this meaning that he spoke the MahÁprajñÁpÁramitÁ Sutra.
MahÁkauçéhila “Long Nails”
Additionally, he (the Buddha) spoke the MahÁprajñÁpÁramitÁ Sutra because he wished to cause the brahmacÁrin “Long Nails,” and other great dialecticians like him to develop faith in the Dharma of the Buddha. [At that time] there was a brahmacÁrin named “Long Nails” as well as ãreÜika Vatsagotra, Satyaka NirgranthÍputra and others. The great dialectical masters of Jambudviipa such as these claimed that all treatises can be demolished, all discourses can be devastated, and all beliefs can be subverted and that therefore there are no actual dharmas in which one may have faith or towards which one may feel reverence.
As recounted in The Sutra on the Life of ãÁriputra, ãÁriputra’s uncle, MahÁkau.s.thila, found that he could not match his own sister, ãÁri, in debate. Kauçéhila cogitated upon this and thought to himself, “This cannot be due to my sister’s own power. It must be that she is pregnant with a wise man who is conveying his words to his mother’s mouth. If, before he is even born, he is already like this, what will he be like once he’s born and grown?”
Having thought this over he became afflicted with [hurt] pride and, for the sake of gaining extensive dialectical knowledge, left home and became a brahmacaarin. He went to the south of India and began to study the classical texts. People asked him, “What have you set your mind on obtaining? Which classic do you wish to study?”
“Long Nails” replied, “I wish to exhaustively study all of the eighteen great classics.”
Those people all said to him, “You could spend your entire lifetime studying and still would not be able to know even one. How much the less could you know them all?”
To be continued
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