華嚴經探玄記 14.5

14.5

Third, regarding the obstacles abandoned: according to the Daśabhūmika-śāstra, it abandons the obstacle of activity within signlessness. The Cheng weishi lun says, 'The obstacle of generating preparatory effort within signlessness means that an innate portion of the cognitive obstacle prevents signless contemplation from arising spontaneously. In the preceding five bhūmis, sign-conditioned contemplation was frequent and signless contemplation was rare; in the sixth bhūmi, sign-conditioned contemplation was rare and signless contemplation was frequent; in the seventh bhūmi, although purely signless contemplation continued constantly, there was still preparatory effort. Because there was preparatory effort within signlessness, it was not yet able to manifest signs and lands spontaneously. Such preparatory effort obstructs the path of effortlessness in the eighth bhūmi. If one can enter the eighth bhūmi, it is then eternally severed. Because it is eternally severed, two masteries are attained; therefore, the eighth bhūmi is said to sever two types of ignorance and their coarse heaviness: first, the ignorance of making effort within signlessness; second, the ignorance regarding mastery over signs. Because at present there is no mastery over signs, this also includes a portion of the signs of lands. Because above the eighth bhūmi the purely uncontaminated path arises spontaneously, the afflictions of the three realms never manifest, yet the subtle cognitive obstacle in the seventh consciousness can still manifest, because the fruit of the wisdom of the emptiness of persons does not contradict it.' Explanation: according to Dharmapāla's school, the wisdom with preparatory effort within signlessness is not inherently an obstacle in its essence, because it is of a wholesome nature. Because of the obstacle to be severed, it is caused to make preparatory effort; therefore it is called the obstacle of preparatory effort. Because this seventh [bhūmi] involves preparatory effort, even though it manifests various signs such as gold and pure lands, they do not manifest spontaneously; hence it is considered an obstacle. 'Fruit of the wisdom of the emptiness of persons' refers to the subsequent wisdom and the cessation attainment induced by the wisdom of the emptiness of persons. The Suvarṇaprabhāsa says, 'First, the ignorance of great effort in signless phenomena; second, the ignorance of grasping at mastery over signs being difficult to cross over.' Explanation: the manifestation of signs deluded by this also includes lands, because the broader subsumes the narrower. The Liang translation of the Treatise and others can all be understood accordingly.