華嚴經探玄記 2.15

2.15

第三寶座殊勝，於中亦有十句。初一是總，依《智論》，佛為人中師子，佛所坐處若床若地皆名師子座，王坐處亦爾。又坐此座說於無畏師子吼法，是故亦名師子座。下〈離世間品〉明十種座中師子座，分別演說甚深義。此上皆依主釋。或亦持業釋，以依正渾融故。又以此座苞含法界，人法教義一切法及彼十方諸佛世界深廣殊特，故云不可思議謂如大海。下以九句別顯不思議：一嚴飾不思議，謂體攝眾德，故云眾妙寶華等。二流光不思議，謂妙用無方如雲普遍，故云流光等。三含攝不思議，謂內含無數菩薩大海，故云藏也。四語業不思議，謂大音遠振成益難量，故云不思議。又此上三句，隨其所應，是身意語三業用也。五加持不思議，謂雖此座流光普照，然佛光明重更彌覆，顯殊勝故。以摩尼珠光可有照及四十由旬覆輪王宮，今佛光明遍照法界彌覆此座，超過彼量，故云踰摩尼等。六變化不思議，謂化用開覺，故云作佛事。七應機不思議，謂十方根熟一切悉覩，一座普應無所罣礙。八迅速不思議，謂一念者，時極促也。一切化者，所現多也。充法界者，極深廣也。於此一念能現一化已為希有，況現一切；能於一念化現一切已甚希有，況諸所現一一深廣充滿法界。於一念頃迅速起此無邊大用，餘念念中皆亦準此。九真性不思議，謂如來藏體普遍故，令前妙用速成無礙。又此上四句，明此座用次第相由：初有何相、二云何應、三如何速、四由何成。如次四句，答此四問應知也。下一句總結。以別說難周故，結云無量眾寶等。以座高顯，故亦稱臺。問：此師子座有何義理名不思議？答：既名不思議，義實無盡。略論十種，謂不可有分思，以同法界故；不可無分思，為機現故；不可以理思，寶華事嚴故；不可即事思，如來藏性故；不可依報思，以菩薩等所成故；不可正報思，是佛依果故；不可以人思，所依法攝故；不可以法思，具有三業為人用故；不可以果思，具有因位諸菩薩故；不可以因思，佛果所有故。此上十義無礙相即，謂一座是總相、十義是別相、齊是座義是同相、十義不雜是異相、由此十義令座法起是成相、各住自法是壞相。問：既云為機現故，非無分量，未知其量分齊若為？答：然亦難知，但可比況辨之。如〈地品〉說：十地菩薩座量周圍如十阿僧祇百千三千大千世界之量。以此座量比如來座，其猶以豆許土比大千世界，是如來座量極難量也。上來三段總明器世間圓滿竟。

Third, the excellence of the jewelled seat; in this there are also ten clauses. The first clause is the general one. According to the Dà zhìdù lùn, the Buddha is the lion among humans; wherever the Buddha sits, whether a couch or the ground, is called a 'lion seat' (siṃhāsana), and the place where a king sits is also like this. Furthermore, sitting on this seat he preaches the teaching of the lion's roar of fearlessness; therefore it is also called a lion seat. Below, in the 'Chapter on Transcending the World', among the ten kinds of seats, the lion seat is explained as distinguishing and expounding the profoundly deep meaning. All the above are tatpuruṣa compounds. Or it is also a karmadhāraya compound, because the objective [environment] and the subjective [person] completely interpenetrate. Furthermore, because this seat encompasses the dharmadhātu—all dharmas such as persons, teachings, doctrines, and meanings, as well as those worlds of all Buddhas of the ten directions, deep, vast, and extraordinary—it is therefore said to be inconceivable, which is to say, like a great ocean. Below, nine clauses individually display the inconceivable: First is inconceivable adornment, meaning that its essence gathers all virtues; therefore it says 'various wondrous jewel flowers', and so forth. Second is inconceivable flowing light, meaning that its wondrous function is boundless, ubiquitous like clouds; therefore it says 'flowing light', and so forth. Third is inconceivable containment, meaning that it internally contains an ocean of countless bodhisattvas; therefore it is called a 'storehouse' (garbha). Fourth is inconceivable karmic action of speech, meaning that the great sound vibrates afar, its benefits difficult to measure; therefore it is said to be inconceivable. Moreover, these preceding three clauses, according to what is appropriate, are the functions of the three karmas of body, mind, and speech. Fifth is inconceivable empowerment, meaning that although this seat's flowing light universally illumines, yet the Buddha's light further overshadows it to display its excellence; for the light of a maṇi jewel may shine upon and cover forty yojanas over a cakravartin's palace, but now the Buddha's light universally illumines the dharmadhātu and overshadows this seat, surpassing that measure; therefore it says 'surpassing maṇis', and so forth. Sixth is inconceivable transformation, meaning that its transformative function opens and awakens [beings]; therefore it says 'performing Buddha-work'. Seventh is inconceivable response to capacities, meaning that all those in the ten directions whose faculties are ripe witness it, and one seat universally responds without obstruction. Eighth is inconceivable swiftness, meaning that 'in a single thought-moment' indicates that the time is extremely brief; 'all transformations' indicates that what is manifested is manifold; 'filling the dharmadhātu' indicates that it is extremely deep and vast. In this single thought-moment, to be able to manifest a single transformation would already be rare, let alone manifesting all; to be able in a single thought-moment to manifest all transformations would already be exceedingly rare, let alone each and every manifestation being deep and vast, filling the dharmadhātu. In a single thought-moment, it swiftly raises this boundless great function; in all other thought-moments it is likewise by analogy. Ninth is inconceivable true nature, meaning that because the essence of the tathāgatagarbha is omnipresent, it causes the preceding wondrous functions to be swiftly accomplished without obstruction. Moreover, these preceding four clauses explain the sequential interdependence of this seat's functions: first, what characteristics it has; second, how it responds; third, how it is swift; fourth, through what it is accomplished. One should know that the four clauses in sequence answer these four questions. The next clause is the general conclusion. Because individual explanations are difficult to exhaust, the conclusion says 'immeasurable myriad jewels', and so forth. Because the seat is tall and conspicuous, it is also called a terrace (dais). Question: By what principle is this lion seat called inconceivable? Answer: Since it is called inconceivable, its meanings are indeed endless. Briefly discussing ten kinds: It cannot be conceived as having delimited parts, because it is identical to the dharmadhātu. It cannot be conceived as lacking delimited parts, because it is manifested for the sake of capacities. It cannot be conceived through principle, because it is adorned with the concrete phenomena of jewel flowers. It cannot be conceived through concrete phenomena alone, because its nature is the tathāgatagarbha. It cannot be conceived as the circumstantial retribution, because it is accomplished by bodhisattvas and others. It cannot be conceived as the direct retribution, because it is the Buddha's circumstantial fruition. It cannot be conceived as a person, because it is gathered by the supporting dharma. It cannot be conceived as a dharma, because it possesses the three karmas to serve as function for the person. It cannot be conceived as the fruition, because it possesses all the bodhisattvas of the causal stages. It cannot be conceived as the cause, because it belongs to the Buddha-fruition. These ten meanings above are unobstructed and mutually identical: the one seat is the general characteristic; the ten meanings are the particular characteristics; their all being the meaning of the seat is the common characteristic; the ten meanings not being confused is the distinct characteristic; the fact that due to these ten meanings the phenomenon of the seat arises is the constructive characteristic; each abiding in its own dharma is the destructive characteristic. Question: Since you say that because it is manifested for capacities it is not without measure, we do not know what the extent of its measure is like? Answer: Yet it is also difficult to know, and can only be discerned by analogy. As the 'Chapter on the Bhūmis' states, the measure of the seat of a tenth-bhūmi bodhisattva has a perimeter of the measure of ten asaṃkhyeyas of hundreds of thousands of trichiliocosms. Comparing this measure of the seat to the Tathāgata's seat is like comparing an amount of soil the size of a bean to a trichiliocosm; thus the Tathāgata's seat is extremely difficult to measure. The preceding three sections fully explaining the perfection of the receptacle world are concluded.