華嚴經探玄記 18.24

18.24

First, under recounting the ancient, theories are exceedingly numerous and difficult to present exhaustively, so one or two are briefly cited. One school says: the spiritual friends here are forty-five persons; since the later Mañjuśrī is not established [as distinct], there are only forty-four persons. The first is the spiritual friend of the ten faiths; the next forty are the spiritual friends of the forty stages of the ten abodes and so forth; the next two are the spiritual friends of the stage of virtual enlightenment; the last one is the spiritual friend of the stage of wondrous enlightenment. Because the old text lacked the supplement, they only identified forty-four or forty-five. Many virtuous masters such as Master Guangtong largely agreed with this theory. Further relying on another school: they do not assign stages at all, nor do they pre-establish outlines, but simply explain expansively in accordance with the text across the various assemblies, as seen in the Treatise of Wutai and Dharma Master Yi, who both share this explanation. Between these two, the former slightly conflicts with the text, while the latter presents no obstacle to the principle; this can be seen upon reflection.