華嚴經探玄記 10.5

10.5

Third, the empowerment and request by the Buddhas has two parts: first, the prose explains the empowerment through light; second, the verses explain the request for exposition. However, distinguishing empowerment and request involves four permutations: 1. It is empowerment and not a request, as in the empowerment section above; 2. It is a request and not empowerment, as in the request by the bodhisattvas above; 3. It is both empowerment and a request, as in this present passage; 4. It is neither request nor empowerment, as in other passages. Furthermore, the body of radiant light is empowerment and not a request; the verses producing vocal sounds are both empowerment and a request; in relation to the listeners, it is empowerment and not a request. Regarding the prose, in accordance with the Śāstra, there are five meanings in the sūtra: 1. This Buddha emits light illuminating those [realms]; 2. Those Buddhas emit light illuminating this [realm]; 3. This assembly follows the light and sees those [realms]; 4. Those assemblies follow the light and see this [realm]; 5. The dais of light speaks verses. These verses from the dais of light should pertain to oral empowerment; why are they here? Because the sounds produced are subsumed under oral empowerment, but identifying the locus capable of emitting the sounds assigns them to the body. Emitting light from between the brows indicates that the teaching path flows forth from the middle-way dharmadhātu. The white ūrṇā hair indicates that the ten bhūmis are uncontaminated dharmas. Therefore, in these five sections of the sūtra, the text describing mutual sight between here and there (the third and fourth) is briefly omitted. Furthermore, three gateways are established here: 1. Explaining the eight activities, which should be known as in the Śāstra, within which the activity of rolling up and unfurling and the activity of subjugation are briefly omitted. 2. Regarding bodies, among the eight activities, the three types—rolling up and unfurling, reverence, and manifestation—constitute the substance of the light; coming and going is named the meteor body; the eighth, remaining motionless in the sky, is named the sun body. 3. Correlating activity and body involves four permutations: (1) It is activity and not a body, which refers to awakening, cause, subjugation, and cessation; (2) It is a body and not an activity, which refers to the dais of light in the sky; (3) It is both body and activity, which refers to rolling up and unfurling, reverence, and manifestation; (4) It is neither body nor activity, which refers to the third and fourth sections among the previous five sections, merely causing them to see each other by following the light, which is not an activity-body. The remaining points are as explained in the Daśabhūmika-śāstra and the Mahāyānasaṃgraha. Second, within the verses there are seven and a half verses, treated through three gateways: 1. Distinguishing instruction and request: The first six verses are requesting exposition, in order to display the supremacy of the Dharma and cause people to revere it; the latter one and a half verses instruct exposition, in order to reveal that the exposition is true and cause the assembly to have deep faith. 2. Distinguishing empowerment and request: Among the six verses, the first two and a half verses, in relation to the speaker, are both empowerment and request, meaning giving power is called empowerment and encouraging exposition is called a request. Among the latter three and a half verses, the first one gives power to the listeners so that they are capable of hearing, in order to complete the request; the latter two and a half verses cite the benefits of the Dharma, in order to complete the empowerment and request. 3. Explaining the text: The first one and a half verses explain those who can empower; the next verse reveals the purpose of the empowerment; the next three verses display the benefits of the Dharma; the last two verses explain the scope of instructing the exposition. In the first part, two explanations are made: first, according to the sūtra; second, regarding the Śāstra. According to the sūtra, six lines reveal the six superiorities of the Buddha: 1. Superiority of the ultimate rank, because he is the unequalled one; 2. Superiority of taintlessness, because he is undefiled like space; 3. Superiority of awesome power, because he possesses the ten powers and so forth; 4. Superiority of retinue, because bodhisattvas are revered by the world and the Buddha is their master; 5. Superiority of the host of the assembly, because Śākyamuni Buddha is the host of this assembly, and the Buddhas emit light before this Buddha to assist in propagating the transformation; 6. Superiority of performing empowerment, because he manifests spiritual power to empower the speaker and listeners. Second, regarding the Śāstra: the spiritual power here is their performing empowerment. 'Appearing herein' is that which can appear, namely above devas and humans. Furthermore, 'appearing before Śākyamuni Buddha' here: Śākyamuni is the family name, and appearing is like taking birth. The explanation is clearly as in the Śāstra. Furthermore, these four meanings constitute the Dharma King: 1. Sovereignty, not being subdued by others; 2. Superiority of power, being able to destroy and subdue others; 3. Retinue, assistants who are powerful and noble; 4. Lineage, relying on an exalted ancestry. In the first part there are two lines: 1. Wisdom without compare; 2. Mind without obstruction; therefore the two obscurations along with their latencies are permanently exhausted. Why is it not merely said 'without equal'? Regarding 'manifesting samyaksaṃbuddha', there are two meanings here: 1. In relation to lower stages, all the noble ones and sages are also without equal, yet they do not necessarily match the Buddha fruit above; thus it is necessary to explain 'equal' to show that they match above. 2. If one merely explains that the Buddha is without equal, then one might think that other Buddhas are also not equal to this; therefore it reveals that Buddha and Buddha are equal without superiority or inferiority, and thus it says 'equal to the unequalled' (asamasama). The remaining meanings should be known as in the Śāstra. Second, regarding the purpose of the empowerment: opening through the Buddha's power causes one to rely on the Buddha's power to dispel the doubts of the assembly, namely the doubt that the Buddha cannot speak. As for 'the treasury of fearlessness of the Dharma King': text and meaning are accumulated, and so it is called a treasury. The text and meaning correspond to principle and cannot be broken by anyone, and so it is called fearlessness. This treasury is solely the realm of the Buddha's sovereignty, and thus he is called the Dharma King. The above is a general revelation. In the two lower lines distinguishing specifically: expounding the practices of the bhūmis is the fulfillment of the treasury of characters; the distinct meanings of the bhūmis is the fulfillment of the treasury of meanings. Below, explaining the benefits of expounding the Dharma, there are benefits at three times. The one verse starting with 'Relying on the spiritual power of the Buddhas' explains the benefit at the time of hearing, meaning that because the Dharma is superior, when hearing it, one attains the empowerment and protection of the Buddhas, leaving behind all demonic affairs. Because the first half is empowerment, one is able to hear; being able to hear is definitive, so it says 'none can destroy it'. Because of hearing in the second half, one has already attained protection; above, Vimukticandra said: 'The matter guarded and recollected by the Buddhas causes people to easily have faith and understanding'—this is this meaning. The two lines starting with 'Gradually' explain the benefit at the time of cultivation, meaning that through gradual cultivation, the bhūmis are fully perfected, and one is certain to attain the fulfillment of unexcelled bodhi. That is, the upper line is the cause perfected, and the lower line is the fruit fulfilled. The subsequent one and a half verses explain the benefit at the time of subsequent rebirth: the first verse directly explains that there is benefit; the latter half excludes others who have no benefit. 'If a person is capable of hearing' refers to having the bodhisattva gotra and having once planted the roots of goodness of this One Vehicle, being capable of hearing this Dharma and able to faithfully accept it correctly. Therefore, even if born into the long life in the dragon world of the great ocean, one also attains the hearing of this sūtra. This refers to the long-lived in the difficult situation of an unfortunate realm. As it is said, in the time when the right side lies on the ground without moving, already a thousand Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa have appeared in the world; when turning over once more, another such duration passes; just a temporary rest lasts so long, so how could an entire lifetime be calculated? Being therein, one does not hear the Buddha-dharma, so it is called a difficult situation. If one is a vessel for this Dharma, even if born there, one also attains the hearing, in order to reveal that the Dharma follows the faculties without abandoning them, without excluding difficult situations. Question: If they are capable of hearing this, why are they born there? Answer: Due to other past karma, like the dragon girl hearing the Dharma and so forth. Also, because there are sūtras in the dragon palace. Question: If they attain hearing when born there, why is it called a difficult situation? Answer: Because those who do not hear are many and those who attain hearing are few; following the majority, it is called difficult. The Śāstra sūtra states: 'Those who have definitive faith without doubt attain hearing.' This sūtra states: 'Due to folly and doubt, they do not attain hearing.' As for 'and amidst the fire at the end of the kalpa': these words conform to Western grammar; if conforming to this [Chinese syntax], one should say 'amidst the end of the kalpa fire'. These words are incomplete; if fully stated, it should say 'at the time the kalpa fire ends, being in the Ābhāsvara [heaven]'. Because verses are constricted, it is skillfully abbreviated. This is because the Ābhāsvara is the second dhyāna and escapes the disaster of fire. In the Śāstra, saying 'and so forth' includes the third dhyāna escaping water and the fourth dhyāna escaping wind; these are all difficult situations among long-lived devas in fortunate realms. Question: Generally speaking, the entire form realm consists of difficult situations; why does it not speak of the first dhyāna, but directly mentions the second dhyāna and so forth? Answer: Because that first dhyāna possesses vitarka and vicāra, the difficulty is light and not mentioned. Question: If this entire form realm consists of difficult situations, why do sūtras such as the Brahmajāla have expositions in those places? Answer: This is based on the realm of the noble ones, so there is the exposition of the Dharma, causing sentient beings who are vessels of the Dharma there to also attain hearing the sūtra, as is expounded here; if taken in terms of actual retributive fruition, it is subsumed under difficulties. Also, it is subsumed under difficulties following the majority. Question: The formless [realm] is also a difficulty; why does it not mention that? Answer: Because bodhisattvas are not born in the formless devas. Another explanation: In truth they also hear it, but following appearances, they have no form and cut off auditory reception, so hearing is not displayed. The lower two lines exclude the non-benefited: meaning that although born in the non-difficult realm among humans, yet lacking wisdom and lacking faith, they ultimately cannot attain the hearing. Question: Not hearing among humans, why is it not subsumed under difficulties? Answer: It also follows the majority. Due to doubt they do not have faith; because they do not have faith, they do not accept it. Due to folly they do not understand; because they do not understand, they disparage and discard it. There are naturally those who accept but do not understand, or understand but do not accept; therefore, one must arouse faith to overturn this folly and doubt, and thus attain hearing. Regarding instructing the exposition in the two verses starting with 'Therefore': the first verse instructs exposition relying on three gradualities; the latter cites the two benefits to encourage exposition. In the former, 'the path of wisdom of the bhūmis': this is the graduality of contemplation, meaning that inquiring through preparatory wisdom is called contemplation. It leads to generating and entering realization, so it is said to be the path of wisdom of the bhūmis. The Śāstra states: 'Whether contemplating or relying, it can generate the wisdom of the bhūmis.' This explains the meaning of graduality within contemplation. Contemplating refers to mental-discourse contemplation; relying on this predominant power generates the correctly realizing wisdom of the bhūmis, so it says 'whether relying, it can generate...', and so forth. Second, 'entering the contemplation of dharmas with vigor' is the graduality of realization. This means that fundamental wisdom correctly realizes tathatā; this wisdom can sever delusion and realize principle, and based on it arises subsequent attainment; possessing these three powers, it is called graduality. 'Cultivating in sequence' is graduality in the Śāstra. 'Attaining arrival at other bhūmis' is the previous line's 'progressive succession' in the Śāstra. The two lines starting with 'Each attaining' explain the graduality of cultivation, which is subsequent-attainment wisdom, re-contemplating what was previously realized and hearing and receiving the methods of progressive cultivation of higher bhūmis to accomplish practice for the benefit of oneself, so it says 'attains benefit'. Furthermore, expounding for others and so forth, it benefits all the world. The Śāstra states: 'This practice has various scopes of distinct practice.' 'Scope' means measure. These three are accomplished sequentially, so it says 'graduality'. Furthermore, among these three, each individually has graduality, so it is also named thus. Also, these three are adjacent gradualities, saying 'Please expound it without letting it be interrupted'.