[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) › 8.8.1 # 華嚴經探玄記 8.8.1 華嚴經探玄記 8.8.1 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [8.8.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.8.8.1) 第五十施連肉爪者，亦求法而施也。 為法投火中，七仞者，一仞七尺，七七四十九尺，火坑也。 為法受苦者，如勇健王者，《菩薩本行經》過去有王名處闍那彌梨，為求一偈割身千燈。 後因帝釋問，立誓表心，遂還平復。 所求一偈言：常者皆盡，高者亦墮，合會有離，生者有死。 王聞偈喜忘其所苦，勅舉國人皆令書誦（云云）。 為法捨國等，如《法華．提婆達多品》說等。 教斷殺等是無畏施，以施其命，故過一切也。 《智論》世間所貴各唯己命，無有價直。 五戒等，望能殺是法施，望所殺是無畏。 三種戒者，是律儀等三聚戒也。 救毀形苦亦是無畏施，《俱舍論》有黃門救五百頭牛毀形之事，以此善根力故男形具足，是其現報也。 文中肆字者是恣也。 具足無上丈夫正法者，依《涅槃經》，莫問男女，具四相義即名丈夫，謂自正、正他、能隨問答、善解因緣義。 若不具此四種相義，雖曰男子，不名丈夫。 女以反上，即名丈夫。 又云「雖是女人，能信自身有佛性者，即是丈夫。 若有男子，不知自身有佛性者，我說彼人猶是女人。 」又云七丈夫趣者，有四說：一依世間。 依《瑜伽》中，丈夫有七義：一長壽久住、二妙色端嚴、三無病少惱、四非僕非女非半擇迦、五智慧猛利、六發言威肅、七有大宗業，具此七法名為丈夫，亦有趣故。 二依小乘，亦有七丈夫，即七賢聖：一隨信行人、二隨法行、三信解脫、四見到、五身證、六慧解脫、七俱解脫。 信他得度名信行，不從他信名法行。 鈍根三果是隨信行所得，信果離縛名信解脫。 利根三果是隨法行所至，故名見到。 滅盡正受法似涅槃，與身合故名為身證。 障有二種：一煩惱障、二解脫障。 但離煩惱障名慧解脫，二障竝除名俱解脫。 三依大乘瑜伽有七地，亦是賢聖丈夫所遊履，故名趣也。 一種性地、二勝解行地、三淨勝意樂地、四行正行地、五決定地、六決定行地、七到究竟地。 初二是地前，次一是初地，次一從二地至第七，次一第八地，次一第九地，末後是第十地及佛地合說，以因果俱究竟。 四依《瓔珞本業》等亦有七位：一信、二十住、三十行、四十迴向、五十地、六等覺、七妙覺。 歎佛出世是法施，如上普莊嚴童子讚佛偈聲普遍世界。 又如《悲華》中，釋迦往作大悲菩薩，行遍諸國大聲教言：「如來出世，如來出世為甚難遇」等。 施大地中，如來及塔、菩薩知識并父母等，是恩田亦敬田； 聖僧二乘，是德田亦敬田； 餘乞者是貧人等，是悲田亦苦田。 此等皆能生福，故名福田，從喻為名。 又有四句：自有是敬非悲，如佛等； 自有是悲非敬，如貧苦眾生等； 自有亦悲亦敬，如貧病羅漢等； 自有非悲非敬，除上所餘等。 《智論》十四云「若憐愍施，謂於貧窮下賊及諸畜生。 二恭敬施，謂於佛及法身菩薩等。 三憐愍恭敬施，謂於老病貧窮阿羅漢辟支等。 」問：悲、敬二田，何者為勝？ 答：有三義。 一若就約境救彼現苦，約心增大悲行，為利他行本，即悲田為勝。 是故《像法決疑經》中，乃至施佛菩薩聲聞眾生，不如人施畜生一口飲食等。 二若就約境恩深德厚，約心領法增智，為自利行源，即敬田為勝。 是故《校量功德經》中，施畜生得百倍等校量。 又《甚希有經》以七寶等供滿四州施四果聖人，及滅度後起極廣塔，不如造\[麩-夫+廣\]麥等佛塔功德，乃至算數譬喻非比等。 又《大品》中天帝云：「我非不欲供舍利，但舍利從般若中出，是故寧供養般若也。 」三若約二利齊均、悲智雙舉，即二田平等。 如《淨名》云「一分施難勝如來，一分施最下乞人。 」猶如如來福田之想，無所分別等于大悲，此之謂也。 問：等是敬中，如父母恩田與聖僧德田，勝劣云何？ 答：如《校量經》乃至云供養百羅漢，不及供養一生身父母。 又《阿含經》中供養父母功德，共供養一生補處菩薩功德齊等。 > In the fiftieth, giving the nails together with the flesh is also given for the sake of seeking the Dharma. Casting oneself into fire for the sake of the Dharma to a depth of seven rèn: one rèn is seven feet; seven times seven is forty-nine feet, which is the fire-pit. Enduring suffering for the sake of the Dharma is exemplified by the Valiant King: as recounted in the Pusa benxing jing, in the past there was a king named Chuzhanamili, who, to seek a single gāthā, cut a thousand oil-lamps into his body. Later, when Śakra questioned him, he made an oath revealing his intention, whereupon he was restored completely. The single gāthā he sought said: 'All that is permanent comes to an end; the exalted also fall; meetings end in separation; the living must die.' Hearing the gāthā, the king rejoiced, forgetting his suffering, and ordered the people throughout the entire state to transcribe and recite it, and so forth. Relinquishing the kingdom and so forth for the sake of the Dharma is as spoken in the 'Devadatta Chapter' of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra and elsewhere. Teaching the cessation of killing and the like is the giving of fearlessness; because it gives them their lives, it surpasses all else. The Dà zhìdù lùn states that what is valued in the world is solely one's own life; it is beyond price. The five precepts and the like, with respect to those capable of killing, are the giving of Dharma; with respect to those who would be killed, they are the giving of fearlessness. The three types of precepts are the three collections of precepts: the precepts of restraint and so forth. Rescuing \[beings\] from the pain of bodily mutilation is also the giving of fearlessness: the Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya recounts the case of a paṇḍaka who saved five hundred cattle from mutilation, and through the power of this wholesome root, his male physical organs were fully restored, which was his present-life retribution. The character sì in the text means 'to allow freely'. As for 'endowed with the unsurpassed true dharma of a puruṣa': according to the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, regardless of male or female, one who possesses the meaning of four characteristics is named a puruṣa: namely, correcting oneself, correcting others, being able to answer questions accordingly, and thoroughly understanding the meaning of causes and conditions. If one does not possess these four kinds of characteristics and meanings, though called a male, he is not named a puruṣa. A woman who conversely possesses the above is named a puruṣa. It also says: 'Though being a woman, one who is able to have faith that her own person has the Buddha-nature is a puruṣa. If there is a male who does not know that his own person has the Buddha-nature, I say that that person is still a woman.' It also mentions the seven puruṣa-destinies, for which there are four explanations. First, according to the worldly: according to the Yogācārabhūmi, a puruṣa has seven meanings: 1. long life and enduring existence; 2. sublime and handsome form; 3. freedom from disease and few afflictions; 4. being neither a slave, nor a woman, nor a paṇḍaka; 5. keen and fierce wisdom; 6. utterances of majestic gravity; 7. having great family lineage and enterprise. One endowed with these seven phenomena is named a puruṣa, and because there are destinations \[to this\], it is termed a 'destiny'. Second, according to the Hīnayāna, there are also seven puruṣas, which are the seven noble ones: 1. followers by faith; 2. followers by Dharma; 3. those released through faith; 4. those attained through vision; 5. those who bodily realise; 6. those released through wisdom; 7. those released both ways. Having faith in others and attaining deliverance is called following by faith; not relying on faith from others is called following by Dharma. The three fruits of dull faculties are what is attained by following by faith; through the fruit of faith being freed from bondage, one is called released through faith. The three fruits of sharp faculties are what is reached by following by Dharma, hence called attained through vision. The meditative attainment of cessation resembles nirvāṇa; because it is united with the body, it is called bodily realised. Hindrances are of two kinds: 1. afflictive hindrances; 2. hindrances to liberation. Being freed only from afflictive hindrances is called released through wisdom; having both hindrances eradicated together is called released both ways. Third, according to the Mahāyāna Yogācāra, there are seven bhūmis, which are also what the noble puruṣas tread, and are therefore called destinies: 1. the bhūmi of gotra; 2. the bhūmi of practice with resolute intention; 3. the bhūmi of pure superior intention; 4. the bhūmi of practicing correct conduct; 5. the bhūmi of determination; 6. the bhūmi of determined conduct; 7. the bhūmi of reaching the ultimate. The first two are prior to the bhūmis; the next one is the first bhūmi; the next one is from the second bhūmi up to the seventh; the next one is the eighth bhūmi; the next one is the ninth bhūmi; and the final one combines the tenth bhūmi and the Buddha-bhūmi, because both cause and fruition are ultimate. Fourth, according to the Yingluo benye jing and others, there are also seven stages: 1. Faith; 2. the Ten Abodes; 3. the Ten Practices; 4. the Ten Dedications; 5. the Ten Bhūmis; 6. Equal Enlightenment; 7. Wondrous Enlightenment. Praising the Buddha's appearance in the world is the giving of Dharma, just as above, the sound of the youth Samantālaṅkāra's verses in praise of the Buddha pervaded the world. Furthermore, as in the Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka Sūtra, Śākyamuni in the past was the Bodhisattva Mahākāruṇika, who traveled throughout the states proclaiming with a loud voice: 'The Tathāgata has appeared in the world! The Tathāgata's appearance in the world is extremely difficult to encounter!' and so forth. In the giving of the great earth: the Tathāgata, stūpas, bodhisattvas, spiritual friends, and parents are both fields of gratitude and fields of reverence; the noble Saṅgha and the two vehicles are both fields of virtue and fields of reverence; the remaining mendicants, poor people, and the like are both fields of compassion and fields of suffering. Because all of these can generate merit, they are called fields of merit, named by metaphor. There are also four permutations: 1. there are those that are reverence and not compassion, such as the Buddha and the like; 2. there are those that are compassion and not reverence, such as impoverished, suffering sentient beings; 3. there are those that are both compassion and reverence, such as impoverished and sick arhats; 4. there are those that are neither compassion nor reverence, excluding the remainder above. The Dà zhìdù lùn, fascicle fourteen, says: 'First, giving out of pity, which refers to the impoverished, the lowly thieves, and the various animals. Second, giving out of reverence, which refers to the Buddha and dharmakāya bodhisattvas. Third, giving out of both pity and reverence, which refers to old, sick, and impoverished arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and the like.' Question: Between the two fields of compassion and reverence, which is superior? Answer: There are three meanings. First, if viewed in terms of the object relieving their present suffering, and in terms of the mind increasing practices of great compassion as the root of practices benefiting others, then the field of compassion is superior. Therefore, in the Xiangfa jueyi jing, it even states that giving to buddhas, bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and sentient beings is not as good as a person giving a single mouthful of food to an animal. Second, if viewed in terms of the object possessing profound gratitude and abundant virtue, and in terms of the mind receiving the Dharma and increasing wisdom as the source of practices benefiting oneself, then the field of reverence is superior. Therefore, in the Jiaoliang gongde jing, it is weighed that giving to animals brings a hundredfold reward, and so forth. Furthermore, the Shen xiyou jing states that making offerings of the seven jewels filling the four continents to the noble ones of the four fruits, and erecting an exceedingly vast stūpa after their nirvirṇa, does not equal the merit of building a Buddha-stūpa even of barley, and so on, to the extent that counting and metaphors cannot compare. Furthermore, in the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Śakra says: 'It is not that I do not wish to make offerings to relics, but relics emerge from prajñā; therefore, I would rather make offerings to prajñā.' Third, if viewed in terms of both benefits being equal and both compassion and wisdom being brought forth together, then the two fields are equal. As the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa states: 'Divide one portion to give to the Tathāgata Duṣprasaha, and one portion to give to the lowliest beggar.' It is like having the notion of the Tathāgata as a field of merit without discrimination, equal to great compassion; this is what it means. Question: Given that both are within reverence, between parents as a field of gratitude and the noble Saṅgha as a field of virtue, what is their relative superiority? Answer: The Jiaoliang jing states that making offerings even to a hundred arhats does not equal making offerings to the parents of one's own physical body. Furthermore, in the Āgama sūtras, the merit of making offerings to parents is equal to the merit of making offerings to a bodhisattva bound to one last birth. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 8.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.8.7) - [Next: 8.8.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.8.8.2) - [Up: 8.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.8.8) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733~en-mt.8.8.1) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (3) - [瑜伽論記](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1828.21.455) — Classical Chinese - [大方廣佛華嚴經疏](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1735.29.3) — Classical Chinese - [華嚴經內章門等雜孔目章](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1870.2.85) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.8.8.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1733.8.8.1) · Pramāṇa