華嚴經探玄記 4.63

4.63

第七正行甚深難，中三：初引佛語舉正義；二「云何」下設難顯違，於中初句總、次隨十種垢法是別，恒上心現行，故不離心也；三心無所行等是結難反徵，謂雖聞正法，無心依行，而欲斷惑。故知佛說聞法能斷，其義何在。又釋：此是遮救重難。謂若救言：若依教行即能斷惑，故聞法能斷義還存者。今重難云：此依教行既是心有所行，何能斷惑？若依道理，要須心無所行方能斷結故，是故聞法終不能斷。答意則此心無所行名如說行，故能斷結。若但唯聞，實無斷義，可有聞而不行，無有行而不聞，故曰一切佛法以聞法為本故也。此與前正教甚深何別者？前以行徵教難，教力攝行答，謂若無教，勤行不成故。此中以教徵行難，行能行教答，謂若不行，多聞無用故、執教成行故。法首答也，十偈。初一勸聽，總答。非但積多聞者，明多聞不是過患，但是唯也，以闕行為失故也。後九舉喻顯失，一不如說行喻；二隨說廢思喻；三計文迷行喻；四自謂非分喻，亦名耽文失行喻；五惡業障礙喻；六不解自說喻；七不見自義喻，謂前約教、此約義；八廢正成助喻，謂如牛王目比丘誦八萬法聚，度多億眾得道，自身不免墮地獄等；九隱非現是喻，謂如調達善說法，內懷朽爛等，又倚恃此說，非分自高，返為所害等。問：何故此中訶毀多聞，〈十住品〉中乃讚多聞？答：為信中行劣，恐滯文故。又是聞熏之初，令成一心無倒聽聞故。十住已去，行勝故、不滯著故、能廣利生故。

In the seventh section, on the profundity of correct practice, there are three parts: 1. citing the Buddha's words to adduce the correct doctrine; 2. from "how then" downward, posing the objection to reveal the contradiction, wherein the first line is general, and next, following the ten kinds of defiled phenomena, is specific, [showing that] they constantly appear in the mind and therefore do not depart from the mind; 3. "the mind has nowhere to practice" and so forth concludes the challenge with a counter-inquiry, meaning that although one hears the correct Dharma, one has no intention to practice in accordance with it, yet wishes to sever defilements; thus we know: regarding the Buddha's statement that hearing the Dharma can sever [defilements], where does its meaning lie? Alternatively explained: this is a refutation of the counter-argument that restates the challenge. That is, if they counter by saying: "If one practices according to the teaching, one is then able to sever defilements, and therefore the meaning that hearing the Dharma can sever [them] still stands"—now the challenge is restated: "Since this practicing according to the teaching is an activity wherein the mind has somewhere to practice, how can it sever defilements? According to the principle, it is strictly necessary that the mind has nowhere to practice before it can sever the fetters; therefore, hearing the Dharma ultimately cannot sever them." The intent of the answer is that precisely this "mind having nowhere to practice" is called practicing as expounded, and thus it can sever the fetters. If one merely hears, there is truly no principle of severing; one may have hearing without practice, but there is never practice without hearing; hence it is said that all Buddha-dharmas take hearing the Dharma as their root. What is the difference between this and the previous profundity of the correct teaching? The previous one challenged the teaching by means of practice, and answered with the power of teaching encompassing practice, meaning that without teaching, diligent practice cannot be accomplished. Here, it challenges practice by means of the teaching, and answers that practice is able to enact the teaching, meaning that without practice, much learning is useless, and upholding the teaching accomplishes practice. Dharmavaktra answers it in ten verses. The first one exhorts listening and answers generally. "Not merely accumulating much learning" clarifies that much learning is not a fault; it is just the word "merely" [that indicates the fault], because lacking practice is the error. The following nine adduce similes to reveal the fault: 1. the simile of not practicing as expounded; 2. the simile of following the exposition while abandoning contemplation; 3. the simile of clinging to the text and losing one's way regarding practice; 4. the simile of presuming it is beyond one's lot, also called the simile of indulging in the text and abandoning practice; 5. the simile of obstructive bad karma; 6. the simile of not understanding what one expounds oneself; 7. the simile of not seeing one's own meaning, where the previous was in terms of the teaching and this is in terms of the meaning; 8. the simile of abandoning the primary to accomplish the auxiliary, as when the bhikṣu Gavāṃpati recited eighty thousand aggregates of teachings and liberated many hundreds of millions of beings who attained the Way, yet could not himself avoid falling into hell, and so forth; 9. the simile of hiding the wrong and showing the right, as when Devadatta expounded the Dharma well while harboring rottenness within, and relying on this exposition, arrogantly elevated himself beyond his lot, only to be harmed by it, and so forth. Question: Why is much learning disparaged here, while in the "Ten Abodes" chapter much learning is praised? Answer: Because within faith one's practice is inferior, there was fear of stagnating in the texts. Furthermore, it is the beginning of the permeation through hearing, so that it causes them to listen single-mindedly without inversion. From the Ten Abodes onward, because practice is superior, they do not stagnate or become attached, and are able to widely benefit sentient beings.