華嚴經探玄記 5.37

5.37

In the second, the part on empowerment, there are three: first, generally distinguishing the empowering [buddhas]; second, revealing the purpose of the empowerment; third, directly clarifying the characteristics of the empowerment. In the first there are six: first, revealing the distance of the empowering buddhas' locations; second, the number of the empowering buddhas. The treatise says: "Why do many buddhas empower? To reveal that deep reverence is increased toward the teaching and the Dharma master. Furthermore, to reveal that all buddhas preach the same, and therefore he receives the divine power of all buddhas." Dharma Wisdom's preaching here is the preaching of all buddhas. This applies to both causal and fruition teachings. Third, revealing that the buddhas have the same name has four reasons: 1. to show that the teaching attained is not different; 2. when that bodhisattva hears that the tathāgatas have the same name as himself, it increases his joyful leap; 3. to reveal that cause and effect are identical within the abodes; 4. whenever buddhas act as the empowerers in this gate of the abodes, they all appear under the name Dharma Wisdom, due to the power of the teaching, due to dharmatā. Fourth, praising the attainment of this samādhi: "actually able to" is an expression of rare excellence, showing that it is rare to be able to enter this samādhi. Question: Why do the buddhas praise the entry into this samādhi amidst the great assembly? Answer: Because Dharma Wisdom entered this samādhi silently, and lest the assembly not know what he entered and have no thirst or yearning in their minds so that he could not preach for them, therefore the buddhas bring up the name of the samādhi and praise it before the assembly, giving rise to the assembly's desire and joy. Fifth, from "Good son" down, clarifying what the attainment of samādhi relies upon: that is, those buddhas themselves say that by the power of their own empowerment, they caused him to attain this samādhi. Sixth, from "Moreover, Rocana" down, those buddhas themselves explain the reason for performing the empowerment; there are three clauses: 1. by the power of Rocana's original vow, he causes us to perform the empowerment. According to the explanation in the Daśabhūmika-śāstra, in the past Rocana once saw a Rocana Buddha empower a Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva to preach the teaching of the ten abodes, and at that time the empowering buddhas all shared the name Dharma Wisdom; he then made a vow: "May it be that when I become a buddha, the same event will occur." Now it is accomplished according to the original [vow], which is why they empower him. 2. It is also Rocana's present divine power inducing the shared empowerment. 3. Dharma Wisdom's own wholesome roots are mature, capable of preaching the Dharma to benefit the assembly, which upwardly induces the buddhas, so they jointly empower him. The responsive power of the great assembly's capacity is omitted here; it is fully present in later assembly locations. Furthermore, Rocana's past vow shows that the roots of the teaching are deep, meaning that he has cultivated this teaching of the abodes since long ago, intending to expound it for the sake of receptive capacities at this time. The divine power directly reveals the present transmission. The above are the power of the primary transformer; the last one is the auxiliary transforming power, revealing that cause and fruition are fully interpenetrated, and the host and companions are jointly distinguished to accomplish the work of transformation. In the second, revealing the purpose of the empowerment, the first clause is general, the next nine are specific, and the last one concludes; sameness, difference, formation, and destruction may be inferred accordingly. Among the specific: 1. increasing the true wisdom of the originally existent Buddha-nature, causing him to advance toward the buddha-fruit and become irreversible—this treats wisdom; 2. opening up and understanding the true principle of the dharmadhātu enmeshed [in defilements], causing it to become manifest—this treats the object; furthermore, opening, demonstrating, explaining, and interpreting the principle of the dharmadhātu; 3. analyzing the dispositions and categories of sentient beings, causing one to distinguish the differences in the stages of the ten abodes and so forth; furthermore, knowing the differences of the five dispositions—this treats subsequent wisdom; furthermore, the realm of sentient beings is itself the tathāgatagarbha, and analyzing it is for the sake of the revealing cause (vyaktā-hetu); furthermore, it is because of explaining; furthermore, where there is one sentient being, there are all sentient beings and all dharma gates, and so forth; 4. in terms of the One Vehicle, it is the nature of eradication, eradicating the three obstacles, four obstacles, proclivities, latencies, and so forth; in the three vehicles, it removes the non-Buddhist self-grasping and the black obstacles of the conscious mind—this treats the virtue of severance; 5. the obstacles of ignorance being exhausted, wisdom merges with the true object, hence it says "entering the unimpeded realm"; furthermore, entering the realm of Indra, hence it says "unimpeded"—this treats superior advancement into the fruit-realm; 6. skillfully entering the fruition wisdom, mutually subsuming dhāraṇī—this treats entering the fruition wisdom, that is, entering the secret wisdom; 7. clearly illuminating the ultimate and conventional—this treats the function of wisdom; 8. knowing that sentient beings' faculties have many modes of being immature and mature, and knowing they are identical to suchness, and knowing that one faculty is all faculties, like the ocean of faculties, desires, and natures; 9. preaching the Dharma according to faculties, upholding the faculty-nature so it is not lost or erroneous, and upholding practice without loss, upholding meaning without dissipation, and upholding the Dharma without extinction, and so forth. The conclusion means: preaching what Dharma extensively accomplishes these matters? Namely, the bodhisattva's ten abodes. In the third, the characteristics of empowerment, there is empowerment of the three karmas: empowerment of speech encourages preaching to increase eloquence; empowerment of mind secretly protects to benefit wisdom; empowerment of body pats the crown of the head to increase majesty. Why is the empowerment of speech first? Because it follows naturally from the preceding words. Next, in the empowerment of mind, there are two: first, empowerment; second, explanation. In the empowerment there are ten clauses: the first is general, meaning causing him to preach the Dharma in the great assembly without impediment, which is unimpeded understanding; the nine clauses specifically reveal being unimpeded; sameness, difference, formation, and destruction may be inferred accordingly: 1. unimpeded because of non-abiding and non-attachment, which is unattached eloquence; 2. uninterrupted when speaking, meaning not forgetting names and meanings, which is spontaneous eloquence, speaking without waiting for sequence, words being uninterrupted, and so forth; 3. when speaking, not mixed with ignorance, because of not contravening the correct principle; 4. because the principle preached is definitive, and also because rival doctrines cannot refute it; 5. because of being well purified and faultless, meaning not seeking fame and other evils; 6. because of being able to preach in accord with all phenomena, and also penetrating all meanings; 7. because of transcending lower stages, and also because others cannot surpass him; 8. because of preaching without weariness, and also being free from arrogance; 9. because words do not regress or fail, and also because words do not regress from principle, and also because he does not yield or retreat. Below explains the reason for exclusively empowering him. Since the buddhas have power and compassion, why do they only empower Dharma Wisdom and not others? The explanation has two causes: 1. because of the power of attaining the samādhi; 2. because of dharmatā. It is like water flowing, which by dharmatā heads downward; now here it is also like this: wherever there is a person, principle, or number capable of preaching the ten abodes, the divine power of the buddhas flows and gathers within them; hence this is said. Regarding the bodily empowerment of patting the crown: it increases his majesty, causes him to awaken from samādhi, and comforts him to induce preaching. Furthermore, those buddhas do not come here, nor are their hands long, yet they pat this crown; furthermore, the hands of the buddhas all completely pat his crown without obstructing one another—this is the inconceivable phenomenon of the dependent origination of the dharmadhātu.