三生 Three lives. (1) Past life, present life and future life.
The three births, or reincarnations, past, present, future. Tiantai has (a) 種 planting the seed; (b) 熟 ripening; (c) 脫 liberating, stripping, or harvesting, i.e. beginning, development, and reward of bodhi, a process either gradual or instantaneous. Huayan has (a) 見聞生 a past life of seeing and hearing Buddha-truth; (b) 解行生 liberation in the present life; (c) 證入生 realization of life in Buddhahood. This is also called 三生成佛, Buddhahood in the course of three lives. There is also a definition of three rebirths as the shortest term for arhatship, sixty kalpas being the longest. There are other definitions.
(一)指前生、今生、後生。(一)前生,又作前世、宿世。即過去之生涯。(二)今生,又作現世、現生。即現在之生涯。(三)後生,又作後世、來世、來生。即未來之生涯。
(二)三生成佛之略稱。即謂眾生因見聞、解行、證入,而於三生之中即能圓成佛道。此為華嚴宗之教義。(參閱「三生成佛」544)
三生===﹝出華嚴經隨疏演義鈔﹞
〔一、見聞生〕,見聞生者,謂八難眾生,宿世見聞華嚴大經正法,不能信受,反生毀謗,故感八難之報,墮地獄中,受諸極苦。今蒙如來放足下輪相清淨功德光明所照,由其宿有見聞華嚴大經善種,即得脫地獄苦,生兜率天,而得成道,於一生內,超登十地也。(八難者,地獄難、畜生難、餓鬼難、長壽天難、北鬱單越難、盲聾瘖啞難、世智辨聰難、生在佛前佛後難也。梵語兜率,華言知足。十地者,歡喜地、離垢地、發光地、焰慧地、難勝地、現前地、遠行地、不動地、善慧地、法雲地也。)
〔二、解行生〕,解行生者,謂善財童子於福城東初見文殊,得蒙開發而啟信解,遂令參問諸善知識,皆獲開示修行法門,乃至最後參見普賢,令其入於毛孔剎中,修行菩薩廣大願因,圓滿諸佛無上道果。如此解行,即於一生而得圓滿也。
〔三、證入生〕,證入生者,謂舍利弗,於逝多林中,令海覺等六千比丘觀察文殊師利無量功德、具足莊嚴。彼諸比丘聞是說已,心意清淨,信解堅固,頂禮文殊,作如是言:仁者所有色身相好,願我悉得。於是文殊為諸比丘開示演說大乘之法,令諸比丘成就深信,獲大智慧,於一生內,證入法界也。(梵語舍利弗,華言身子。梵語逝多,華言勝林,即給孤獨園也。梵語比丘,華言乞士。梵語文殊師利,華言妙德。)
(術語)即三世轉生之意。傳燈錄曰:「有一省郎,夢至碧岩下一老僧前。煙穗極,微云此是檀越結願,香煙存而檀越已三生矣。」白居易詩:「世說三生如不謬,共疑巢許是前身。」案此三生指轉生而言。其外又有諸宗所立三生成佛之義者有數家,今列之如圖。
tri-jāti, trayo bhavāḥ, janma-traya
tri-jāti, trayo bhavāḥ, janma-traya