法華玄論 9.100

9.100

Answer: Scriptural exegetes all say that the Avataṃsaka is the sudden teaching, preached only upon first achieving enlightenment, and therefore its conversion period was short. Later, from the Deer Park to the Twin Trees, it was all the gradual teaching, and therefore the gradual teaching had a long duration. Now let us challenge this: the Avataṃsaka has seven locations and eight assemblies; the very first assembly could be said to have been preached upon first achieving enlightenment, but how could the seven assemblies in the six [other] locations also have been preached upon first achieving enlightenment? Furthermore, the eighth assembly, the "Entry into the Dharmadhātu" chapter, was preached in the Jeta Grove. Upon first achieving enlightenment there was not yet a Jeta Grove, nor were there śrāvakas; how could the eighth assembly have been preached in the Jeta Grove, and moreover list five hundred śrāvakas? What is explained now is that Śākya's conversion was short and Rocana's conversion was long, which can possess five senses. First, Śākyamuni's nirmāṇakāya abided in the world for eighty [years], whereas Rocana's saṃbhogakāya has an immeasurable lifespan. Second, Śākyamuni's defiled land is burned by the kalpa fire, whereas Rocana's pure land is not destroyed by the three disasters. Third, Śākyamuni converts only mixed capacities, and mixed capacities have short lifespans; Rocana purely converts exalted practices, and exalted practices have long lifespans. Fourth, the teaching Śākyamuni expounded was minor, whereas the teaching Rocana expounded was manifold. Fifth, Śākyamuni's kalpa is short, whereas Rocana's kalpa is long—as it is said: "The kalpas in the Sahā realm are short, while Maitreya's kalpas are long"; this comes from the text of the Avataṃsaka. Deducing from these five matters, Śākyamuni's conversion was short and Rocana's conversion was long. Because Rocana's conversion was long, from first achieving enlightenment up to Śākyamuni's nirvāṇa, Rocana did not pass away. If so, how could the Avataṃsaka have been preached only upon first achieving enlightenment? This is non-dual; from the non-dual, the differences between the two bodies unfold. Furthermore, in accordance with the two kinds of capacities, the two Buddhas are seen as different. The Xiangfa jueyi [jing] says: "Some see me entering nirvāṇa, while others see me as the reward Buddha, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Śākyas." Thus we know that when Śākyamuni entered nirvāṇa, Rocana still remained.