華嚴經探玄記 18.7

18.7

First, regarding the doctrinal meaning, we first explain the entered dharmadhātu. There are five gates of meaning: 1. the conditioned dharmadhātu, 2. the unconditioned dharmadhātu, 3. the dharmadhātu that is both conditioned and unconditioned, 4. the dharmadhātu that is neither conditioned nor unconditioned, and 5. the unhindered dharmadhātu. First, the conditioned dharmadhātu has two gates: 1. The fundamental consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna), capable of holding the seeds of all phenomena, is called the dharmadhātu, as a treatise says, "The realm from beginningless time..." and so forth; this is according to the meaning of cause. 2. The distinct limits of all phenomena across the three times are called the dharmadhātu, as the "Chapter on the Inconceivable" says: "All buddhas know all past dharmadhātus without remainder, know all future dharmadhātus without remainder, know all present dharmadhātus without remainder," and so on. Second, the unconditioned dharmadhātu also has two gates: 1. The gate of inherent purity: because at the stage of an ordinary being its nature is eternally pure; because true emptiness is of one flavor and without differentiation. 2. The gate of freedom from defilement: because its purity is revealed only through antidotes, and it is divided into ten kinds according to the shallowness or depth of practice. Third, that which is both conditioned and unconditioned also has two gates: 1. The gate of conforming to characteristics: namely, the aggregates of feeling, perception, and formations, as well as the five kinds of matter and the eight unconditioned [dharmas]—these sixteen phenomena are known exclusively by the mental consciousness, and among the eighteen dhātus, this is called the dharmadhātu. 2. The gate of non-obstruction: the one-mind dharmadhātu completely contains two aspects: 1. the mind as true suchness, and 2. the mind as arising and ceasing. Although these two gates each universally subsume all phenomena, their two states are eternally unmixed, just like waves subsuming water are not still, yet the water subsuming waves is not moving. Therefore the "Chapter on Transference" says: "From the unconditioned realm the conditioned realm emerges, yet without destroying the unconditioned nature; from the conditioned realm the unconditioned realm emerges, yet without destroying the conditioned nature." Fourth, that which is neither conditioned nor unconditioned also has two gates: 1. The gate of mutual displacement: because conditions are never conditions without principle, it is not conditioned; because principle is never principle without conditions, it is not unconditioned. The essence of phenomena is equal, and mutual displacement completely vanishes. The thirty-ninth fascicle of the Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says: "Subhūti said to the Buddha: 'This phenomenon is equal; is it a conditioned phenomenon or an unconditioned phenomenon?' The Buddha said: 'It is neither a conditioned phenomenon nor an unconditioned phenomenon. Why? Apart from conditioned phenomena, unconditioned phenomena cannot be found; apart from unconditioned phenomena, conditioned phenomena cannot be found. Subhūti, this conditioned nature and unconditioned nature—these two phenomena neither combine nor disperse.'" This is what is meant. 2. The gate of non-abiding: this dharmadhātu is free from characteristics and free from nature, and therefore is neither of these two. Because it is free from characteristics, it is not conditioned; because it is free from nature, it is not unconditioned. Furthermore, because it is the ultimate truth, it is not conditioned; because it is not conventional truth, it is not unconditioned. Furthermore, it is not reachable by the verbal expressions of either, and therefore is neither. The first fascicle of the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra says: "All phenomena are, in brief, of two kinds: namely, conditioned and unconditioned. Therein, the conditioned is neither conditioned nor unconditioned; the unconditioned is neither unconditioned nor conditioned"—and so on at length. Fifth, the unhindered dharmadhātu also has two gates: 1. The gate of universal subsumption: because any one of the above four gates immediately subsumes all the rest. Thus, whether Sudhana beholds mountains and seas, or sees halls and towers, all are called entering the dharmadhātu. 2. The gate of perfect interpenetration: because principle interpenetrates phenomena, phenomena in their entirety have no delimitation—a single paramāṇu is not small, for it can contain ten lands; an ocean of lands is not large, for it is concealed within a single dust mote. Because phenomena interpenetrate principle, principle in its entirety is not without differentiation—the one and the many are unobstructed, sometimes called the single dharmadhātu, sometimes called the various dharmadhātus. The "Chapter on Nature Manifestation" says: "Just like the various dharmadhātus, their limits cannot be grasped; all is not all, not seen and unobtainable." This clarifies that the "various" are precisely not the various. The "Chapter on Rocana" says: "Within this Padmagarbha-lokadhātu ocean, in each and every paramāṇu, one sees all dharmadhātus." This clarifies that the "one" is precisely not the one. Therefore, for Sudhana, whether holding hands for a brief moment entails passing through many kalpas, or entering a multistoried tower reveals all the trichiliocosm, all are of this kind. The above five gates and ten meanings generally explain the entered dharmadhātu, and they should be evaluated according to the six characteristics of universal and particular, perfect interpenetration. Second, explaining the entering capacities also has five gates: 1. pure faith, 2. correct understanding, 3. practice, 4. realization, and 5. consummation. These five, within the aforementioned five gates of the entered dharmadhātu, have two applications: 1. Any one entering capacity penetrates all five entered [dharmadhātus], and any one entered [dharmadhātu] penetrates all five entering capacities. 2. These five entering capacities enter, in their respective order, each of the five entered [dharmadhātus]. Furthermore, these above ten gates of the two meanings of mind and object are unobstructed and perfectly interpenetrating, totally forming a single whole. The unhindered dharmadhātu should also be evaluated and subsumed through the six characteristics; contemplate this.