[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [華嚴經探玄記](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733) › 18.51 # 華嚴經探玄記 18.51 華嚴經探玄記 18.51 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [18.51](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.18.51) 初中何故文殊不即為其一切宣說，而令善財廣歷多處求善友者，釋云：意乃多端，略論八種。一為軌範故，謂諸菩薩於佛聖法恒修二行，謂求法、說法。經云「明諸菩薩求法不懈、說法無悋。」此中顯斯二行示諸眾生，是故善財成求法之妙軌、善友現說法之良規，使諸眾生軌此躅成行，即佛花常敷、廣嚴恒著者也。二行緣勝故，謂成行之要莫不以良友為先，如阿難言：「善知識是半梵行。」佛言：「不爾。是全梵行。」經云「阿闍世王若不用耆婆語者，來月七日定墮地獄。是故我言得道之來莫若善友。」又如論說「迦旃延令應入地獄弟子而得聖果」等。又經言「善知識者是大因緣，能令汝等當得見佛。」又下文云「善知識者是奇特法」等。由是要用，是故善財求之無足。三破見慢故，令善財等新學菩薩破自憍慢及執見故，令其求法，不簡男女、長幼、貴賤、道俗、尊卑、神天、外道，但卑身屈辱務存得法。經云「有知法者，若老若少，應當恭敬，猶如諸天奉事帝釋。」四寄成行故。問：此善財得一法門足成修行，何不修習，乃遊歷無厭？答：即此廣求，成就菩薩事善友行及求法行；縱不得法，此已成行，況皆得彼未曾得法，慧眼開明見真法界。如《花手經》中求法千歲而不得聞，因茲捨命生佛土等，此即是其所得之法，謂得行法故也。問：何不觀空入理，乃隨事諠諠，豈成菩薩甚深之行？答：即此隨事常見理故，是故遍遊而未甞有去。問：若未甞有去仍有遍遊，何不未嘗有去而不去也？答：亦相似，以去不去無二相故。若爾，何不座而有，去外去坐？亦相似，以俱無性故。五寄現位故，謂廣寄善友，顯信等五位差別之相，文處可見。問：何故善財不向佛所求法？答：表因行未圓，未至佛故，不到佛所也。六顯深廣故，謂表顯佛法廣無邊故。諸知識雖有位極法雲，猶稱我唯知此一法門，豈能了知諸大菩薩無量行相？表顯佛法深無底故。善財縱位至登地，猶云而我未知云何菩薩行菩薩道等。況今具縛少善凡夫，微有所解，便自謂解一切佛法，起慢自高、𣣋蔑他人，恥有不知，便臆斷經論，自陷陷人，何悲之甚。八顯緣起故，善財與善友同成一緣起，以能入所入無二相故，是故無善友之外善財，故彰一即一切，明善財歷諸位也；無善財之外善友，故顯一切即一，明多位成在於善財也。由是卷舒自在相融無礙，思之可知。 > In the first gate, why does Mañjuśrī not proclaim everything for him immediately, but instead causes Sudhana to travel widely to many places seeking good friends? It is explained: The meanings are indeed numerous; we briefly discuss eight kinds. First, to serve as a model: all bodhisattvas constantly cultivate two practices with regard to the Buddha's holy Dharma, namely seeking the Dharma and preaching the Dharma. The sūtra says: "It clarifies that all bodhisattvas seek the Dharma untiringly and preach the Dharma without begrudging." Here, these two practices are revealed to show to living beings; therefore, Sudhana becomes a marvelous model for seeking the Dharma, and the good friends manifest a fine standard for preaching the Dharma, enabling living beings to model on these tracks and achieve practice; thus the Buddha-flowers constantly bloom and broad adornment is ever worn. Second, because the conditions for practice are superior: the essential factor in accomplishing practice always puts a fine friend first, as Ānanda said: "A good spiritual friend is half of the pure conduct." The Buddha said: "Not so. It is the entirety of the pure conduct." The sūtra says: "If King Ajātaśatru had not followed Jīvaka's words, on the seventh day of the coming month he would certainly have fallen into hell. Therefore I say: when it comes to attaining the Way, nothing compares to a good friend." Furthermore, as the treatise states: "Kātyāyana caused a disciple destined to enter hell to attain the holy fruit," and so forth. Furthermore, the sūtra says: "A good spiritual friend is a great causal condition, able to cause you to see the Buddha." Furthermore, the text below says: "A good spiritual friend is a wondrous Dharma," and so forth. Because of such vital necessity, Sudhana sought them insatiably. Third, to shatter views and pride: to cause Sudhana and other newly learned bodhisattvas to shatter their own arrogance and clinging views, he is made to seek the Dharma without discriminating between male and female, old and young, noble and base, ordained and lay, high and low, spirits, gods, or non-Buddhists, merely humbling his body and submitting to humiliation, striving only to obtain the Dharma. The sūtra says: "One who knows the Dharma, whether old or young, should be revered just as all gods serve Śakra." Fourth, to express the accomplishment of practice: Question: If Sudhana's obtaining of one Dharma gate was sufficient to achieve practice, why does he not cultivate it, but instead travels untiringly? Answer: This very seeking widely accomplishes the bodhisattva's practice of serving good friends and practice of seeking the Dharma. Even if he did not obtain the Dharma, this would already accomplish practice; how much more so when he obtains those teachings never attained before, his eye of wisdom opens clearly, and he sees the true dharmadhātu! Just as in the Kuśalamūlasaṃparigraha Sūtra, seeking the Dharma for a thousand years without hearing it, on account of this he relinquished his life and was born in a Buddha land, and so forth; this is precisely the Dharma he obtained, meaning he obtained the Dharma of practice. Question: Why does he not contemplate emptiness and enter the principle, but instead busily follows after phenomena—how could this accomplish the bodhisattva's profound practice? Answer: Because right through following phenomena he constantly sees the principle, he travels everywhere without ever having gone. Question: If he has never gone and yet travels everywhere, why does he not never go and not go? Answer: It is also similar, because going and not going have no dual characteristics. If so, why is there sitting, and going outside going and sitting? It is also similar, because both lack intrinsic nature. Fifth, to express the manifestation of stages: widely relying on good friends reveals the distinct characteristics of the five stages such as faith, as can be seen in the text. Question: Why does Sudhana not seek the Dharma at the Buddha's place? Answer: This indicates that causal practice is not yet complete and he has not yet reached the Buddha; hence he does not go to the Buddha's place. Sixth, to reveal depth and breadth: to indicate that the Buddha-Dharma is boundless, even though various spiritual friends have stages culminating in the Dharma-cloud, they still claim, "I only know this one Dharma gate; how could I completely understand the immeasurable characteristics of practice of all great bodhisattvas?" To indicate that the Buddha-Dharma is bottomless, even when Sudhana's stage reaches stepping onto the bhūmis, he still says, "Yet I do not know how a bodhisattva practices the bodhisattva path," and so forth. How much more so for an ordinary being today who is fully bound and has little wholesome goodness: having a slight understanding, he immediately considers himself to understand all Buddha-Dharma, giving rise to pride, exalting himself, scorning others, and ashamed of not knowing, he recklessly judges sūtras and treatises, ruining himself and ruining others—how profoundly pitiable! Eighth, to reveal dependent origination: Sudhana and the good friends together accomplish one single dependent origination, because that which enters and that which is entered have no dual characteristics. Therefore, there is no Sudhana outside the good friends; thus it demonstrates that one is all, clarifying that Sudhana traverses all stages. There are no good friends outside Sudhana; thus it reveals that all is one, clarifying that the multiple stages are established in Sudhana. On account of this, opening and contracting are sovereign, mutually interpenetrating without obstruction, which can be understood upon reflection. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 18.50](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.18.50) - [Next: 18.52](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.18.52) - [Up: 18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.18) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733~en-mt.18.51) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.18.51](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.18.51) · Pramāṇa