華嚴經探玄記 3.44

3.44

Third is the division on the Master of the Dharma Entering Samādhi. Within this are two parts: First, evaluating the various assemblies has four aspects: (1) Presence or absence: Only the second assembly lacks it, because the dharma signified has not yet formed a stage; the dharmas signified by the other assemblies have their stages formed. (2) Emerging or not emerging: Only the eighth assembly does not emerge, signifying that once the dharmadhātu is realized, there is no regression; the others signify the arising of conversion. (3) Cause and fruit: The first, seventh, and eighth are the samādhis of fruit, because the first preaches fruit, the seventh involves profound practice, and the eighth involves abstruse realization; the rest all preach cause. Another explanation: The seventh also generally has the meaning of cause, because the flower ornament (avataṃsaka) is the completion of ornament by causal practices. Judged in this way, there are four propositions: either fruit alone, namely the first and eighth; or cause alone, namely the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth; or both cause and fruit, namely the seventh; or neither cause nor fruit, namely the second, which lacks it entirely. (4) The person capable of entering: Only in the eighth does the Buddha enter it himself, signifying that the sovereignty of dharmadhātu liberation is exhaustively reached only by Buddhas. Although the first preaches fruit, it is to cause sentient beings to have faith. Although the practices of the seventh are profound, they are the practices of a person on the causal stage. Second, as for explaining the text, there are two parts: first, this land, and later, concluding the pervasive connection. In the first part, sitting before the Buddha reveals that cause and fruit are not separated from one another. Why enter samādhi? To reveal that without realization one does not speak, to receive empowerment, and to remove the doubts of the assembly. Why enter the fruit samādhi? To preach the dharmas of fruit. Why does a person on the causal stage enter? To reach persons on the causal stage. "Pure" has four meanings: (1) purity of self-nature; (2) purity through curing affliction; (3) purity of roots of goodness; (4) purity of beneficial function. "Storehouse" (garbha) has four meanings: (1) containing; (2) accumulating; (3) generating; (4) inexhaustible. "Samādhi" is here called "equipoise" (dengchi), because it is free from sinking and floating. Because concentration and wisdom are equal, it is called "equi-" (deng). Because the mind is undispersed and abides on a single object, it is called "-poise" (chi). Taking the Dharma into the mind is called correct reception. Here, the storehouse of purity means that purity is itself the storehouse. The pure storehouse of the Tathāgata means that the Tathāgata is himself the pure storehouse. The samādhi of the pure storehouse means that the samādhi is itself the pure storehouse. All admit of two explanations, as can be seen upon reflection. Below, the explanation reveals its meaning: the first line explains Tathāgata, and the latter line explains the pure storehouse. "Free from defilement" is pure. "Fullness" is storehouse. "Empty space" is a metaphor for the preceding two. As for concluding the pervasive connection, this sūtra being preached everywhere constitutes one complete text as a whole; that is, the one text is itself all texts. Now, temporarily bringing up the matter in this one region, for fear of severing its root text, it frequently hooks up everything at the end of the text to conclude into the root text, in order to illuminate that it is inexhaustible and inexhaustible. Therefore, the differences in scope of the entered samādhis are briefly explained as having ten levels: (1) In terms of all samādhis being unimpeded, in the division on emerging it says: "Bodhisattva Samantabhadra arose from that samādhi, arose from samādhis equal in number to the dust motes of world realms." The explanation states: this has two meanings: first, this samādhi contains many samādhis; second, this samādhi enters pervasively into many samādhis; therefore, this samādhi is itself the ocean of samādhis equal to dust motes, etc. (2) In terms of all places being unimpeded, as this text states: "Bodhisattva Samantabhadra in this world realm entered correct reception in samādhi, and in all Buddha lands throughout the dharmadhātu and space, it was also like this." This also has two meanings: first, within samādhi the lands of the ten directions are contained; second, this samādhi pervades the paths of all dust motes. (3) In terms of all times being unimpeded, as the division on emerging states: "Samantabhadra arose from the samādhi of all three times," etc. This also has two meanings: namely, the samādhi contains the three times, and it enters pervasively into the three bounds [of time]. (4) These preceding three levels merge and contain into one, Samantabhadra's samādhi being unimpeded and sovereign, because these three are stated to be one samādhi and are not separated from one another. (5) In the above ocean of samādhis equal to dust motes, etc., any single one possesses all samādhis, each embracing the ten directions and exhausting the three times. (6) As with one samādhi, all are likewise so. (7) Within any single dust mote, one sees Samantabhadra's perfectly luminous samādhi, each subsuming the ten directions and also exhausting the three bounds [of time]. (8) As within one dust mote, all the paths of dust motes are also like this. (9) In any single thought-moment, there is Samantabhadra entering samādhis equal to dust motes, each embracing the paths of dust motes, exhausting the lands of the ten directions, and exhausting the nine times and ten times, etc. (10) As in one thought-moment, in all other thought-moments throughout the earlier and later bounds, all the oceans of kalpas are also like this. Taking these ten levels as a model, all other stages, as well as teachings, meanings, principles, and phenomena, etc., should be considered accordingly. The division on entering samādhi is finished.