華嚴經探玄記 4.33

4.33

於初段中二：先佛以身光照事令眾得見、後文殊智光說法令眾得聞。前中二：初明能照之光、二明所照之境。前中初放光人、次光出處、後顯光數。足下相輪放光者，有三意：一初義，表信為萬行首故；二卑義，表信行最微故；三本義，表信為萬行之本故。《智論》第九云「足下放光者，身得住處皆由於足。」此之謂也。百億光明者，以所照世界雖復無邊，皆是須彌樓山世界故，各有百億四天等為所照故，是故光明亦唯百億。二所照現，中二：先明照現本世界中染淨等事、二「如此見佛」下明照現自法會普遍之相。前中四：一現人界。此海邊有大樹名閻浮提，因樹立此洲名也。弗婆提，此云勝身，以生彼者身皆殊勝故。狗伽尼，此云牛貨，以彼以牛為貨易故。欝單越，此云勝生，以定壽千歲、衣食自然故。二現佛興。於八相中，初三未是出現相，故此不論。

Within the first section there are two parts: first, the Buddha uses the light of his body to illuminate phenomena so that the assembly is able to see; second, Mañjuśrī's light of wisdom expounds the Dharma so that the assembly is able to hear. In the former there are two parts: first, clarifying the illuminating light; second, clarifying the illuminated realm. In the former, first is the person emitting the light; next, the place from which the light emerges; and last, revealing the number of rays of light. Regarding the emission of light from the wheel-marks beneath the feet, there are three meanings: first, the meaning of 'beginning', symbolizing faith as the head of all practices; second, the meaning of 'lowly', symbolizing the practice of faith as the most subtle/rudimentary; third, the meaning of 'root', symbolizing faith as the root of all practices. The ninth fascicle of the Dà zhìdù lùn states: 'Regarding the emission of light from beneath the feet, that the body obtains a place to stand is entirely due to the feet.' This is what it means. As for the 'ten billion rays of light', although the illuminated worlds are indeed boundless, because they are all Mount Sumeru worlds and each has ten billion four-heavens and so forth as what is illuminated, the rays of light are therefore also only ten billion. Second, regarding what is illuminated and manifested, there are two parts: first, clarifying the illumination and manifestation of defiled and pure phenomena in this base world; second, from 'Just as they see the Buddha here' onward, clarifying the illumination and manifestation of the universally pervasive character of his own Dharma assembly. In the former there are four parts: 1. Manifesting the human realm. At the shore of this ocean there is a great tree named jambu; this continent is named after the tree. Pūrvavideha: here translated as 'Superior Body', because the bodies of those born there are all superior. Godānīya: here translated as 'Cattle Commerce', because they use cattle as currency for trade. Uttarakuru: here translated as 'Superior Birth', because they have a fixed lifespan of one thousand years, and clothing and food are spontaneous. 2. Manifesting the arising of the Buddha. Among the eight marks, the first three are not yet the mark of appearing in the world, so they are not discussed here.