華嚴經探玄記 16.12

16.12

The sixth major section, from 'At that time, from each and every pore of the devaputras' onward, explains the successive penetration and fulfillment of inexhaustible practices. In it there are two parts: first, dharmadhātu offering-paraphernalia issue from their pores to make offerings to the Buddha; second, it reveals the benefits accomplished by these offering-paraphernalia. In the second part there are three points: first, the benefit of the flowers, because they see the buddhas extensively; second, the benefit of the incense, because it extensively extinguishes the afflictive obstacles; third, the benefit of the parasols, because it extensively accomplishes the great practice. Within the benefit of the incense, there are [four parts]: (1) the doctrine, (2) the simile, (3) the application, and (4) the conclusion. Alternatively, explaining these four: the first two concern smelling the incense and attaining joy; the next one concerns the extinction of obstacles; and the last one concerns the accomplishment of good. In the former, 'their bodies and minds are happy' because they are perfumed by the incense of meditative absorption (samādhi). Regarding the extinction of obstacles, concerning 'the five hundred afflictions within and without each of the five sense-objects': although there is a total number of five hundred fetters in the Dharmaguptaka-vinaya, their names are not individually listed. Since they are not found in the sūtras or treatises, past masters of virtue have all offered explanations. One master explained: the root afflictions of sentient beings have ten proclivities (anuśaya); however, each affliction's power also has ten, making one hundred. Calculated, they should be divided into nine grades, but because the superior grades are heavy, they are expanded into three grades, and because the middling and lower are light, they are each one grade, combining to form five grades, which makes five hundred. Arising with regard to internal and external objects, together they make one thousand. These are the fundamental proclivities. Then, taking one's own five sense-objects as internal and others' five sense-objects as external, one thousand for each makes five thousand. Deluded separately regarding the four noble truths, this makes twenty thousand. Combined with the original one thousand, there are twenty-one thousand. Based on the equal distribution of the three poisons, there are thus eighty-four thousand. Another explanation says: taking the ten unwholesome actions as the basis, mutually generating one another, ten for each makes one hundred. Delusion regarding one's own five sense-objects makes five hundred; delusion regarding others' five sense-objects makes five hundred; together they make one thousand. When directly deluded regarding the Dharma gates of the ten truths—namely the four truths, three truths, two truths, and one ultimate truth, or deluded regarding the ten truths such as the spoken truth of sincerity, etc., or deluded regarding the ten virtues—this makes ten thousand. Furthermore, delusion regarding the ten truths differs between emptiness and existence, dividing into twenty thousand; or delusion regarding the ten virtues and two truths is also twenty thousand. Combined with the original one thousand, the total is twenty-one thousand. Based on the equal distribution of the three poisons, there are thus eighty-four thousand gates of defilements. If based on the Bhadrakalpika-sūtra, there is another eighty-four thousand, as explained above regarding the ninth bhūmi. That 'all these afflictions are entirely extinguished' means that the manifest [afflictions], seeds, proclivities, and latencies are all completely ended, because it is a universal extinction, not an individual one. In what stage are they extinguished? Because it pervades the five stages. How are they extinguished? Because they are like empty space, and are originally extinguished. In the third part, the benefits of seeing the parasols, there are three points: first, it explains that because of seeing the parasols of this Dharma gate, one obtains the roots of goodness of a wheel-turning king (cakravartin) equal [in number] to the sands of one Ganges. They are all like the pure white jeweled net, etc.; this refers to wheel-turning kings from the ten-thousand sons onward within the realm-nature, such as King Aiji Shanji and others, not the gold-wheel king of four continents with a thousand sons, etc. It means that the roots of goodness of a pure white jeweled net wheel-turning king equal [in number] to the sands of one Ganges are suddenly accomplished upon merely seeing this parasol for a moment. Second, from 'the bodhisattva mahāsattva' onward, it explains the benefits of transforming beings upon attaining this royal position. In it, first, those transformed are vast and numerous, having doctrine, simile, and application; second, from 'emitting mandāra [rays]' onward, it explains that what is benefited is extraordinary, also having doctrine, simile, and application. Regarding 'attaining the ten bhūmis upon encountering the light': herein there are threefold benefits. First, it explains that the Buddha's light universally illuminates all the devaputras, causing them to attain the ten bhūmis. Second, the incense, flowers, parasols, and so on, issuing from the pores of these devaputras, further benefit sentient beings, causing them to attain the status of wheel-turning kings, which is also the ten bhūmis. Third, the wheel-turning kings emit light to illuminate other sentient beings, likewise causing them to attain the ten bhūmis. These three stages are all equal and suddenly accomplished at the same time, each being of many categories equal to the number of dust motes. Deducing backward from this, it is entirely the power of a single ray of light from a single minor mark of the Tathāgata. Since one ray of light is like this, the other rays of light are also like this. Since one minor mark is like this, the other minor marks are also like this. Since the minor marks are like this, the rest of the ocean of major marks is ineffably ineffable. Such is the meaning of the text; reflect upon it. The statement that 'these sentient beings all previously cultivated goodness' clarifies that they previously had the roots of goodness of hearing and seeing the One Vehicle and cultivating Samantabhadra's practices; thus in the simile, just as one who has attained the first dhyāna while still in the desire realm enjoys the pleasures of that deva [realm] even though their body has not yet changed, so too these sentient beings suddenly attain the ten bhūmis upon encountering this illumination; though their bodies have not yet changed, it causes their own physical eyes to attain universal vision, which is due to the power of the Dharma. This means that 'three asaṃkhyeya [kalpas] can be reached in a single thought-moment', showing that one subsumes all; 'dust-mote kalpas do not exhaust a single stage', showing that all subsume one. Such unobstructed and sovereign freedom regarding speed and slowness belongs to this Perfect Teaching, not to other traditions. Third, from 'thus attaining purity' onward, it explains and reveals the characteristics of the benefits obtained. Since it says that on this very body one attains the ten eyes and so forth, but the extent was not yet known, now, because the physical eye is the coarsest among the ten eyes, it explains its scope; the other eyes are deep and subtle and can be known by analogy. In this there are two parts: first, it explains seeing the vastness of the worlds; next, from 'also in thought-moment after thought-moment' onward, it explains seeing the great number of buddhas. In the former there are four points: first, it explains one tier of vastness, in which it takes all the realms up to where the dust-mote points are exhausted, along with the original dust motes, combining them all into one vast realm; second, question and answer to resolve the difficulty; third, from 'The Buddha said to Precious Hand' onward, it repeatedly multiplies the numbers to reveal [the extent], meaning that taking one such vast realm as above, it again counts to these thousand kotis and so on, and again crushes them into dust motes, each of these dust motes being equal in number to the dust motes of all buddha realms; the bodhisattva takes these dust motes and sows them through eighty cycles, each one generating fruits equal in number to the dust motes of all buddha realms; fourth, from 'the bodhisattva' onward, it concludes with the vision of the physical eye, meaning that such numbers and such vastness are the scope and realm known and seen by this physical eye, clearly showing that this eye is profoundly vast and boundless. The Dà zhìdù lùn says: 'Among the five eyes, the physical eye sees only the things within a trichiliocosm. If it sees outside the great trichiliocosm, then what use is the divine eye?' The explanation is: that is spoken in terms of the gradual teaching of the three vehicles, and thus it is not the same. Second, from 'also in thought-moment after thought-moment' onward, it explains seeing the bodies of the buddhas. It is like the dīpa-gem whose illumination is vast, and furthermore clear and pure. Below it explains the scope of the gem, and because it is also not what other stages see, it is attributed to the wheel-turning king. That such a vast physical eye constitutes the third tier of benefits broadly explains that the wheel-[turning kings] and devaputras above all possess the ten eyes and so forth, which can be known by following this explanation. The Chapter on the Radiance of the Minor Marks is concluded.