華嚴經探玄記 3.45

3.45

In the fourth, the division on the Empowerment by All Buddhas, there are two parts: First, distinguishing the assemblies has two aspects: First, presence or absence: the second, seventh, and eighth assemblies lack it, because in the second the stage is not yet formed and there is no entering into samādhi; in the seventh, practice relies on Dharma and is not different from before; in the eighth, the Buddha enters samādhi himself and does not require empowerment; the other assemblies are not like this, so they all have it. Second, the differences in distance, number, and names of the Buddhas should all be known according to the text. Second, in explaining the text, there are three parts: first, verbal empowerment and its purpose; second, mental empowerment; third, physical empowerment. Furthermore, the first encourages preaching to enhance eloquence; the next secretly aids to increase wisdom; the latter touches the crown of the head to bring about awakening. Now, empowerment and praise mutually complete each other in four propositions: (1) empowerment but not praise, like the Buddha's two empowerments of mind and body; (2) praise but not empowerment, like the verses of praise by the bodhisattvas; (3) both empowerment and praise, like the Buddha's verbal karma; (4) neither empowerment nor praise, like the rest of the text. In the verbal [empowerment], there are two parts: first, clarifying empowerment and praise; second, explaining the purpose. In the first, there are three points: (1) clarifying that the Buddhas, without moving from their own lands, manifest their bodies here, in order to illuminate that that is this without destroying that, and far is near without destroying far, which is understood through the nature of dependent origination; (2) praising the attainment of profound samādhi; (3) clarifying the causes of the samādhi—first other-power, then self-power; furthermore, fruit-power and causal-power combine through dependent origination. Moreover, "the Buddha's original vow" explains that the Buddha in the past once saw this matter, and thereupon gave rise to a vow, which is now accomplished. In explaining the purpose, for what meaning is the empowerment given? In order to preach this Dharma. Within this are ten lines: The first is general, meaning that the dharmacakra of the One Vehicle is first turned; because it is the fruit dharmacakra, it says "Buddha." In the specific, there are nine: (1) the meaning of what is turned, which is the essence of the dharmacakra; "opening" is like "manifesting"; (2) skillfully turning to exhaust the source, which is the characteristic of the dharmacakra; "and the ten directions" is concluding the pervasive location; (3) wonderfully eliminating the obstruction of afflictions, which is the function of the dharmacakra; (4) turning simultaneously in the ten directions, which is the location of the dharmacakra, also exhausting the ocean of lands; (5) turning cause into fruit, which is the scope of the dharmacakra; (6) one gate subsuming all fruits, which is the virtue of the dharmacakra; (7) skillfully causing beings to delight in the fruit, which is the cognitive realm of the dharmacakra; (8) skillfully conforming to worldly convention, which is the upāya of the dharmacakra; (9) examining faculties to impart the Dharma, which is what is reached by the dharmacakra; sameness, difference, completion, and destruction should be understood by considering this. Second, in mental empowerment, there are two parts: first the empowerment, and then the explanation. In the first, one is general, and the rest are specific. Among the specific: (1) the wisdom of attaining dharmas, meaning that the wisdom of the five oceans is not single, hence called boundless, etc.; (2) the wisdom of reaching the bounds, meaning exhausting the five oceans and encompassing the Buddhas of the three periods; (3) the wisdom of formation and disintegration, meaning the gathering and dispersion of the five oceans, which is also the ocean of world realms; (4) the wisdom of those to be converted, meaning the five oceans in terms of defilement, which is also the ocean of sentient beings; (5) the wisdom of principle, meaning that the five oceans are all profound, which is also the ocean of the dharmadhātu; (6) the wisdom of samādhi, meaning that the five oceans are all the realms of samādhi; (7) the wisdom of faculties and desires; (8) verbal eloquence wisdom; (9) bodily pervasiveness wisdom; (10) the wisdom of the perfect voice; all these reach through the five oceans, etc., by analogy. These largely correspond to the ten wisdoms below. In the explanation, first a question, and then the explanation. Question: The Buddhas have power and compassion; why do they only empower Samantabhadra and not others? Answer: Because he is the eldest son, the head of the assembly, exhausts the depth of the Buddha's vows, by virtue of his original vows, is endowed with universal virtue, has attained the dharma of the samādhi, and other persons have not attained it. Moreover, wherever this samādhi is present, all Buddhas by dharmatā gather there, just as the ocean by dharmatā subsumes all streams; hence it is called "dharma." In the gate of dependent origination, principle naturally works like this; therefore, the wisdom and elimination of all Buddhas can also be given to others. Question: Why does the Buddha not preach it himself? Answer: There are two meanings: first, since what is preached is abstruse, it is feared that persons on the causal stage would be excluded. If so, why do other persons not preach it? In order to preach the universal Dharma. Second, it clarifies that whenever this Dharma is preached, it must be preached jointly by all Buddhas. If the Buddha preached it himself, then in principle there would be no empowerment, which would contradict joint preaching. Therefore, when Samantabhadra speaks once, it is the preaching of all Buddhas. Third, in the physical empowerment, why touch [the head]? To cause awakening, and to cause one to be endowed with the Buddha's majesty and virtue. Here, the Buddha's body does not necessarily come here, extending the hand does not necessarily involve lengthening, having each touch the crown of the head does not necessarily obstruct one another, and touching simultaneously does not necessarily entail before and after; all are sovereign and unimpeded dependent origination, which should be known upon reflection. The division on empowerment is finished.