妙法蓮華經玄義 10.8

10.8

Furthermore, in the section on the original source, bodhisattvas requested the Buddha to speak the Buddha's dharma; how can this be compared to bodhisattvas requesting a bodhisattva to speak a bodhisattva's dharma? In this respect, it surpasses the other. In the other assembly, those gathered from the ten directions like clouds were all good friends of Vairocana Buddha from past lifetimes. In the assembly gathered like clouds in this sūtra, the bodhisattvas welling up from the earth all aroused their aspiration through Śākyamuni and are those whom I have converted; while generally these are equal, there is nonetheless a difference in closeness and distance. Furthermore, the other sūtra explains that when the buddhas of the ten directions preached the Avataṃsaka-sūtra and imparted empowerments, all were identically named Dharmamati, Vajragarbha, and so forth, without saying that those buddhas were divided bodies of Vairocana. Here, it explains the threefold transformation of the lands, where in each direction there are four hundred myriads of koṭis of nayutas of lands filled with buddhas, all of whom are divided bodies of Śākyamuni; this meaning is distinct from the other.