華嚴經探玄記 4.63

4.63

In the seventh section, on the profundity of correct practice, there are three parts: 1. citing the Buddha's words to adduce the correct doctrine; 2. from "how then" downward, posing the objection to reveal the contradiction, wherein the first line is general, and next, following the ten kinds of defiled phenomena, is specific, [showing that] they constantly appear in the mind and therefore do not depart from the mind; 3. "the mind has nowhere to practice" and so forth concludes the challenge with a counter-inquiry, meaning that although one hears the correct Dharma, one has no intention to practice in accordance with it, yet wishes to sever defilements; thus we know: regarding the Buddha's statement that hearing the Dharma can sever [defilements], where does its meaning lie? Alternatively explained: this is a refutation of the counter-argument that restates the challenge. That is, if they counter by saying: "If one practices according to the teaching, one is then able to sever defilements, and therefore the meaning that hearing the Dharma can sever [them] still stands"—now the challenge is restated: "Since this practicing according to the teaching is an activity wherein the mind has somewhere to practice, how can it sever defilements? According to the principle, it is strictly necessary that the mind has nowhere to practice before it can sever the fetters; therefore, hearing the Dharma ultimately cannot sever them." The intent of the answer is that precisely this "mind having nowhere to practice" is called practicing as expounded, and thus it can sever the fetters. If one merely hears, there is truly no principle of severing; one may have hearing without practice, but there is never practice without hearing; hence it is said that all Buddha-dharmas take hearing the Dharma as their root. What is the difference between this and the previous profundity of the correct teaching? The previous one challenged the teaching by means of practice, and answered with the power of teaching encompassing practice, meaning that without teaching, diligent practice cannot be accomplished. Here, it challenges practice by means of the teaching, and answers that practice is able to enact the teaching, meaning that without practice, much learning is useless, and upholding the teaching accomplishes practice. Dharmavaktra answers it in ten verses. The first one exhorts listening and answers generally. "Not merely accumulating much learning" clarifies that much learning is not a fault; it is just the word "merely" [that indicates the fault], because lacking practice is the error. The following nine adduce similes to reveal the fault: 1. the simile of not practicing as expounded; 2. the simile of following the exposition while abandoning contemplation; 3. the simile of clinging to the text and losing one's way regarding practice; 4. the simile of presuming it is beyond one's lot, also called the simile of indulging in the text and abandoning practice; 5. the simile of obstructive bad karma; 6. the simile of not understanding what one expounds oneself; 7. the simile of not seeing one's own meaning, where the previous was in terms of the teaching and this is in terms of the meaning; 8. the simile of abandoning the primary to accomplish the auxiliary, as when the bhikṣu Gavāṃpati recited eighty thousand aggregates of teachings and liberated many hundreds of millions of beings who attained the Way, yet could not himself avoid falling into hell, and so forth; 9. the simile of hiding the wrong and showing the right, as when Devadatta expounded the Dharma well while harboring rottenness within, and relying on this exposition, arrogantly elevated himself beyond his lot, only to be harmed by it, and so forth. Question: Why is much learning disparaged here, while in the "Ten Abodes" chapter much learning is praised? Answer: Because within faith one's practice is inferior, there was fear of stagnating in the texts. Furthermore, it is the beginning of the permeation through hearing, so that it causes them to listen single-mindedly without inversion. From the Ten Abodes onward, because practice is superior, they do not stagnate or become attached, and are able to widely benefit sentient beings.