觀音義疏 1.53

1.53

Furthermore, the first fruit [of the śrāvaka] escapes the current of views, the third fruit escapes the current of desire, the fourth fruit escapes the current of existence, and only up to the Perfect teaching does one escape the current of ignorance. The reason the Bodhisattva universally responds to the perils of water is entirely because he originally cultivated the compassions of both the Separate and Perfect contemplations, and today has accomplished the power of the king of samādhis. Why is this? When the Bodhisattva cultivated the Separate contemplation, he saw sentient beings drifting in the water of retribution and gave rise to vows to rescue them. When the Bodhisattva cultivated morality and concentration, he used goodness to cure evil; regarding all dhyāna concentrations, the water-radiance samādhi, the water-overcoming bases (abhibhvāyatana), and the water-totality bases (kṛtsnāyatana), he gave rise to compassion in all of them, using goodness to attack evil. Furthermore, entering emptiness from the conventionality of water, he aroused genuine non-outflow [wisdom]; emerging from emptiness into conventionality, he comprehended the causes and conditions of water; entering the middle way of water, he saw the true mark of water. At every single stage of these dharma gates, he gave rise to compassion and perfumed all sentient beings. Now having accomplished the king of samādhis, quiescent yet ever illuminating, when sentient beings are drifted by the water of retribution and invoke his name, this acts as the capacity [that triggers a response]: with phenomenal compassion he saves them from the water of retribution, with morality-and-concentration compassion he saves them from the water of evil karma, and with the three-contemplations compassion he saves them from the water of afflictions, so that all are liberated simultaneously at once. As the thirty-eighth [fascicle] of the Huayan jing explains: 'Sudhana came to the country of Haimen, where the monk Haiyun expounded the Samantamukha Sūtra (Puyan jing) for him, saying: "For twelve years I have constantly contemplated this ocean gradually becoming deeper, inhabited by great bodies and gathering rare treasures. Having contemplated thus, I then saw a great lotus flower growing from the ocean floor, adorned by immeasurable devas, nāgas, and the eightfold pantheon. Upon the flower was a Buddha with boundless marks and signs, who then extended his right hand, rubbed my crown, and expounded the Samantamukha Sūtra for me for one thousand two hundred years. What I received in a single day was immeasurable and boundless across asaṃkhyeya chapters. Even if the ocean water were made into ink and Mount Sumeru gathered into a brush to write this sūtra, it could never be exhausted."' One should know that the dharma gate of water subsumes all dharmas, just as the syllable 'A' gate in the Dapin jing fully possesses all meanings. Avalokiteśvara has long since thoroughly penetrated the dharma gate of water, and therefore is able to respond universally to all perils of water.