法華義疏 12.217

12.217

「爾時普賢」下，第三，發誓擁護。初既出所護人德，今正明擁護其人。就文為二：第一、明普賢護人勸發；第二、次明護法勸發。護人中為二：第一、廣舉眾事勸發；二者、結勸持經。初又開四別：一、護難勸發；二、現身生善勸發；三、嘆自行勸發；四、舉果報勸發。此四略舉滅惡生善、行因得果兩雙以勸發也。初、護難，如文。「是人若行若立」下，第二、現身生善勸發。此中凡有三感三應，第一、明讀誦法華故感普賢現來，安慰人心及供養經法；第二、思惟此經感普賢來，授其文句令得總持之益；第三、教其行法釋成上感見之義。初章以讀《法華經》為因故見普賢來，《智度論》云「有一比丘讀《法華》，有國王見一金色人乘白象來，住其人前立聽《法華經》也。所以乘六牙白象者又二：一、明菩薩儀則，二、欲以靈獸伏諸魔毒」。《普賢觀經》云「六牙表六度，四足表四如意足，七支跓地表七覺分」。經云「閻浮提人三障重故，以智慧力化乘白象，其象六牙，七支跓地，於七支下生七蓮華。象色鮮白，頗梨雪山不得為比。象身長四百五十由旬，高四百由旬，於六牙端有六浴池，池中生四蓮華，華上有一玉女，手中化五箜篌，有五百樂器以為眷屬。象鼻有華，華中有化佛及化菩薩，放金色光照象頂上，化成金臺。象頭有三化人，一捉金輪，一持摩尼珠，一執金剛杵，舉杵擬象象即浮空離地七尺，而印文現，於印文中千輻轂輞皆悉具足，一一輞中生一蓮華，蓮華上有一化象。如是舉足下足生七千象以為眷屬，隨大象行化佛放光，至象背上化成金鞍，金鞍四面有七寶柱以成寶臺，臺中有七寶華，百寶為鬚，有大摩尼為臺，普賢端坐其上，身白玉色有五十種光，光中有五十種色以為頂光，身諸毛孔流出金光，其金光端有無量化佛及化菩薩，雨大寶華至行者前象即開口，諸玉女鼓樂絃歌，其聲微妙讚嘆大乘一實之道，行者見已歡喜頂禮。」如《普賢觀經》中廣說也。「是人若坐」下，第二、明思惟經時普賢來也。「旋陀羅尼」者，得此總持故知十方諸佛菩薩所說皆能憶持也。以解一法門即解一切故名為旋。「法音方便」者，解諸佛一切方便門，如三乘之流也。「世尊若後世」下，第三、示其行法。依《普賢觀經》行法五品，一、三七日即見普賢來；二、七七日見；三、一生得見；四、二生得見；五、三生得見。今但明上品人得見，故三七日必見也。

From "At that time Samantabhadra" downward is the third, making vows of protection. First, having set forth the virtues of the persons to be protected, now he properly explains protecting those persons. In the text there are two parts: first, explaining Samantabhadra's protecting the persons to encourage and inspire; second, explaining protecting the Dharma to encourage and inspire. In protecting the persons, there are two parts: first, extensively citing various matters to encourage and inspire; second, concluding with an encouragement to uphold the sūtra. The first part opens into four distinctions: 1. encouraging and inspiring by protecting against perils; 2. encouraging and inspiring by manifesting his body to produce good; 3. encouraging and inspiring by praising their own practice; 4. encouraging and inspiring by citing the fruit and retribution. These four briefly cite the two pairs of extinguishing evil and producing good, and practicing the cause and attaining the fruit, in order to encourage and inspire. First, protecting against perils, as in the text. From "If this person, whether walking or standing" downward is the second, encouraging and inspiring by manifesting his body to produce good. Here there are altogether three evocations and three responses: First, explaining that because of reading and reciting the Lotus Sūtra, one evokes Samantabhadra's actual coming to comfort the person's mind and make offerings to the sūtra Dharma; second, contemplating this sūtra evokes Samantabhadra's coming to confer its sentences and phrases, causing one to obtain the benefit of dhāraṇī; third, teaching them the method of practice, explaining and completing the above meaning of evoking and seeing him. In the first section, taking reading the Lotus Sūtra as the cause, one therefore sees Samantabhadra come. The Dazhidulun says: "There was a monk who read the Lotus Sūtra; a king saw a golden-colored person riding a white elephant come, who stopped in front of the person, standing to listen to the Lotus Sūtra." The reason he rides a six-tusked white elephant also has two aspects: 1. showing the bodhisattva's deportment; 2. wishing to use the wondrous beast to subdue all māras and poisons. The Samantabhadra-dhyāna-sūtra says: "The six tusks represent the six perfections; the four legs represent the four bases of supernatural power; the seven points resting on the ground represent the seven limbs of enlightenment." The sūtra says: "Because the people of Jambudvīpa have heavy three obstacles, with the power of wisdom he transforms himself to ride a white elephant; the elephant has six tusks and seven points resting on the ground, and beneath the seven points seven lotus flowers are born. The elephant's color is pure white, with which crystal and snow-capped mountains cannot compare. The elephant's body is four hundred and fifty yojanas in length and four hundred yojanas in height; at the tips of the six tusks are six bathing ponds, in the ponds four lotus flowers grow, upon each flower is a jade maiden, in her hands transformed into five konghou lutes, with five hundred musical instruments as retinue. At the elephant's trunk there is a flower, within the flower are transformed Buddhas and transformed bodhisattvas emitting golden light illuminating the crown of the elephant's head, which transforms into a golden dais. On the elephant's head are three transformed persons: one holds a golden wheel, one holds a maṇi jewel, and one grasps a vajra pestle; raising the pestle toward the elephant, the elephant floats into the air, seven cubits off the ground, and print-marks appear, within which a thousand spokes, hubs, and rims are all fully complete, in each rim a lotus flower is born, and upon each lotus flower there is a transformed elephant. In this way, raising its feet and lowering its feet, seven thousand elephants are born as a retinue, following the great elephant. The transformed Buddhas emit light, which reaches the elephant's back and transforms into a golden saddle; on the four sides of the golden saddle are seven-jeweled pillars forming a jeweled platform; on the platform is a seven-jeweled flower, with a hundred jewels as stamens and a great maṇi as the dais; Samantabhadra sits upright upon it, his body of white jade color with fifty kinds of light, within the light fifty kinds of colors as a crown light; from all the pores of his body golden light flows forth, and at the tips of the golden light are immeasurable transformed Buddhas and transformed bodhisattvas, raining down great jeweled flowers. Arriving before the practitioner, the elephant opens its mouth, and the jade maidens play music and sing to strings, their sounds subtle and wondrous, praising the ekayāna truth of the Mahāyāna; having seen this, the practitioner rejoices and bows his head in homage." As is extensively explained in the Samantabhadra-dhyāna-sūtra. From "If this person, whether sitting" downward is the second, explaining that when contemplating the sūtra, Samantabhadra comes. "Dhāraṇī of revolution" means that having attained this dhāraṇī, one can remember and retain all that is spoken by the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions. Because understanding one Dharma door is understanding all, it is called "revolution." "Upāya of Dharma sounds" means understanding all upāya doors of the Buddhas, such as the stream of the triyāna. From "World-Honoured One, if in the future age" downward is the third, showing the method of practice. According to the Samantabhadra-dhyāna-sūtra, there are five grades in the method of practice: 1. seeing Samantabhadra come in three times seven days; 2. seeing him in seven times seven days; 3. attaining the vision in one lifetime; 4. attaining the vision in two lifetimes; 5. attaining the vision in three lifetimes. Here it only explains that persons of the superior grade attain the vision; hence in three times seven days they will surely see him.