華嚴經探玄記 2.42

2.42

Regarding the ten devas' attainment of the Dharma within the initial Śuddhāvāsa assembly: First, [the text] clarifies essence and function. Within the essence, the dharmadhātu is the objective realm of emptiness; "quiescence" is the realization. Within the function, "upāya" is being skillfully responsive to capacities; "radiance" is enlightening and illuminating to generate benefit. Regarding "Dharma-gate" (dharmamukha), Dharma has three meanings: its own nature, a model/norm, and [the object] confronting wisdom. "Gate" has four meanings: 1. the meaning of distinguishing and indicating, as this gate is not that one, etc.; 2. the meaning of allowing wisdom to enter and travel; 3. the meaning of gathering and taking in: all enter into one, taking the one as the gate; 4. the meaning of opening out: within one gate all can emerge, because it is inexhaustible. This is an appositional compound (karmadhāraya) of Dharma being itself the gate. "Dharmadhātu, empty space," and so on are precisely the Dharma-gate, likewise an appositional compound. All subsequent gates should be understood by analogy with this. All of these are distinct Dharma-gates within the Buddha's realm of dharmadhātu dependent origination. Since each of these assemblies thoroughly penetrates one gate to enter the ocean of Buddhahood, belonging to a particular virtue of the Buddha, it is called "mastery" (vaśitā). Furthermore, within this single gate all gates are subsumed and its active functions are inexhaustible, hence it is called "mastery"; all below should be understood accordingly. Second, "all dharmas" is the objective realm; "pervasively roaming" is wisdom. Alternatively, the first is teaching and the latter is meaning; the verses retain the latter interpretation. Third, "unborn and unextinguished" is the dharmakāya; "upāya" is the rūpakāya. Alternatively, the first is the path of realization (adhigama-mārga) and the latter is the path of teaching (deśanā-mārga). Furthermore, "unborn and unextinguished" has ten meanings: 1. True reality is free from the characteristics of conditioned things (saṃskṛta), hence it is unborn and unextinguished. 2. Because it is not conditioned, it is unborn; because it is unconditioned, it is unextinguished. 3. Because it does not preserve a rigid nature, it is unborn; because it does not alter its nature, it is unextinguished. 4. Because it does not change, it is unborn; because it accords with conditions, it is unextinguished (these above pertain to the perfected nature [pariniṣpanna]). 5. Because dependent origination lacks intrinsic nature, it is unborn; because dependent origination is not lost, it is unextinguished. 6. Because dependent origination is not lost, it is unborn, as the rational nature is not manifested; because dependent origination lacks intrinsic nature, it is unextinguished, as the rational nature is revealed. 7. Because it is dependently originated, it cannot be grasped through birth and death (these above pertain to other-dependent nature [paratantra]). 8. Because emotional attachments lack true principle, there is nothing that can be born or extinguished. 9. Because it is an imagined construct, it is unborn; because it is an objective realm of signless contemplation, it is unextinguished (these above pertain to the imagined nature [parikalpita]). The above pertain to the objective realm. As for "upāya," it skillfully manifests the above principles to capacities. 10. Because it does not abide in the mundane world, it is unborn, unlike ordinary beings; because it does not abide in nirvāṇa, it is unextinguished, unlike the two vehicles. Because not being born possesses upāya, one does not abide in nirvāṇa; because not being extinguished possesses upāya, one does not abide in the mundane world. If it were not so, differing from ordinary beings would mean being identical to the Hinayāna, and differing from the Hinayāna would mean being identical to ordinary beings; due to upāya, one can differ from both. These ten meanings above are non-dual in general and particular; consider and calibrate them using the fusion of the six characteristics. Fourth, skillful wisdom is profound, vast, and difficult to fathom; "radiance" is because it dispels darkness; "roaming" is because it ascends and enters. Fifth, relying on the dhyāna of the universal gate, it says "all"; because one sees the principle-Buddha of the dharmadhātu and extinguishes delusion, it generates immeasurable joy. Sixth, because the defiled part that is terrifying is transformed and extinguished, while the pure part that is tranquil is increasingly manifested; "roaming" is realization. Seventh, "objective realm" is the scope, because transformative functions are pervasive; "without arising" means not creating, because while functioning it is constantly tranquil. Eighth, it wonderfully transcends the three time periods; furthermore, the Buddha's virtue responds to capacities without coming or going. Ninth, the quiescence of true principle is the object cognized by the Buddha. Tenth, the Buddha's abundant upāya is the object cognized by sentient beings. Among these ten Dharma-gates, the first gate is general and the remaining nine are particular; identity, difference, formation, and disintegration should be understood accordingly. In the verses, [the text] first generates the arising. "Through the Buddha's power" reveals that it is not one's own power. "Contemplating their own assembly" demonstrates pervasive inclusion and shows that they speak in unison. Why praise in verse? The *Daśabhūmika-śāstra* says: "Because few words gather many meanings, and those who offer praises mostly use verses." Furthermore, there are four kinds of verses: 1. Quantitative verse (pada-gāthā), where thirty-two syllables according to Sanskrit texts constitute one verse, regardless of prose or verse. 2. Gāthā verse, here translated as chanting verse (fengsong), or direct verse (zhisong), meaning it does not reiterate prose. 3. Geya verse, here translated as responsive verse (yingsong), meaning it responsively reiterates the Dharma of the prose. 4. Udāna verse, here translated as collected bestowal (jishi), meaning it gathers many meanings in few words, hence called "collection," and is used to bestow on people so that it is easy to uphold, hence called "bestowal." In the above three kinds of verses, whether seven-syllable, five-syllable, four-syllable, or three-syllable—such as "dwelling in the world," "like empty space," which are three-syllable—all take four lines as one verse. Here it corresponds to the third, responsive verses (geya). The subsequent verses below should be understood accordingly. In the verses, there are twenty lines, with four lines forming a verse, making ten verses in total; each verse praises one preceding Dharma-gate. Question: Wishing to praise the Buddha here, why do they praise their own Dharma-gates? Answer: Since this assembly is manifested within the Buddha's sāgara-mudrā and belongs to a particular virtue of the Buddha, praising their own Dharma is precisely praising the Buddha. Because the Buddha's virtues are abstruse and subtle, beyond the knowledge of others, if not for the Buddha's virtues, there would be no way to manifest the Buddha. As the twelfth fascicle of the *Dà zhìdù lùn* says: "Only a Buddha should make offerings to a Buddha; other people do not know the Buddha's virtues. As it is said: A wise person can respect wisdom; when discussing wisdom, the wise are pleased. A wise person can know wisdom, just as a snake knows a snake's feet." Among the verses, the first verse praises the first Dharma-gate. The first three lines praise the essence, and the last line praises the function. Within the former, the first line praises the objective realm, and the next two lines praise the realization. Either the body fills the dharmadhātu, or the dharmadhātu fills the body, because of their fusion. Because the mind is tranquil, there is no grasping; because the objective realm is tranquil, there is no arising. Furthermore, the first line praises the dharmadhātu above, the next line praises empty space, the next line praises quiescence, and the lower line praises upāya. In the second verse, the first two lines praise "all dharmas" above, the next line praises "pervasively roaming" above, and the last line concludes with the deva's name. In the third verse, the first line praises "unborn and unextinguished" above, the path of realization; the next two lines praise "upāya" above, the path of teaching. The first line is bodily upāya, and the latter line is verbal upāya. The last line designates the name with respect to the deva's attainment of Dharma mastery. In the fourth verse, the first two lines praise the ocean of upāya wisdom above, the next line praises the radiance above, and the last line praises roaming and concludes with the person's attainment of Dharma. In the fifth verse, the first three lines praise the immeasurable joy of dhyāna above, and the last line praises universal arising and the name of joy. In the sixth verse, the first line praises the fear of delusion above, the next line praises roaming in tranquility, the next line praises transformation—meaning illuminating and eliminating—and the last line concludes with the person's attainment of Dharma. In the seventh verse, the first two lines praise the immeasurable objective realm, the next line praises non-arising, and the last line links the Dharma to the person. In the eighth verse, the first two lines praise "all dharmas" above, the next line praises non-coming and non-going, and the last line links the Dharma to the person. In the ninth verse, the first three lines praise the quiescence of the Buddha's realm, and the last line links the Dharma to the person. In the tenth verse, the first three lines praise the immeasurable objective realm. Immeasurable objective realms are of three kinds: 1. immeasurable time, revealed by the first line; 2. immeasurable objective realm, meaning bodhi and sentient beings, revealed by the next line; 3. immeasurable skillfulness, revealed by the subsequent line. The last line concludes with the person's attainment of Dharma.