大方廣佛華嚴經搜玄分齊通智方軌 5.6

5.6

Third, as for the central theme and substance: its differentiation has two aspects, in terms of persons and in terms of teachings. First, as for persons, the principal transformer and the assisting transformers each have substance, marks, and function; one should reflect and subsume them accordingly. Second, as for dharmas, they are persons and dharmas, having two aspects: first, in terms of persons; second, in terms of dharmas. Persons refer to causal persons and fruition persons, each constituting teacher and companion spiritual friends; there are also those born identically and those born differently, as well as bodies of the five births; this may be reflected upon and gauged. Second, in terms of dharmas, there are ten: first, cause; second, fruit; third, practice; fourth, principle; fifth, teaching; sixth, meaning; seventh, phenomena; eighth, persons; ninth, dharmas; tenth, understanding. The former persons are those who propagate the teaching, while the latter persons are those upon whom the teaching relies; one may reflect upon and gauge this. What is the scope of entering the dharmadhātu? Answer: There are two meanings. First, starting from initial generation of the mind, its end is not fixed; if one relies on the sūtra text, it only reaches up to the vajra-like mind. If sought through meaning, it connects to the fruition-virtues; relying on the text makes it fixed, because the fruition stage cannot be spoken. Furthermore, looking toward capacities, it does not connect to the fruit; in terms of the spiritual friend's own practice, it connects to both cause and fruit; as for function, it connects to fruit and cause, yet in the fruition stage there are no marks of seeking. This is spoken in terms of the three vehicles; if spoken in terms of the single vehicle, it also connects to the fruit, as explained in the "Chapter on Leaving the World"; thus one may know this by analogy. Second, as for breadth and narrowness: it is only in the great vehicle mind; lesser bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and ordinary beings are not said to enter the dharmadhātu. Question: The "Nature Arising" chapter connects broadly, so why is this chapter restricted? Answer: Because the central theme of "Nature Arising" aims to distinguish boundaries in terms of dharma, it connects broadly; this chapter clarifies distinguishing boundaries in terms of the entering mind, and is therefore restricted. "Nature Arising" is in terms of dharma, so even if one does not realize it, it is not called non-arising. The remaining meanings will be explained individually against the text.