華嚴經探玄記 7.43

7.43

Fifth, in the exposition section, the stages of the great dedication have two divisions: first, the division of the result, which corresponds to the ineffable and is not what is discussed here. Second, the division of the cause, in accordance with which four [explanations] are taught: 1. purely in terms of the marks of the stages, as taught in the initial and final teachings and distinguished in the Yingluo benye jing and other texts; 2. purely in terms of its own essence, such as the practice of the great dedication of Samantabhadra, which does not rely on any stages; 3. by explaining the essence of practice in accordance with the gradations of the approaches of the stages, as when the text below divides dedication into ten approaches; 4. by explaining the approaches of the stages in accordance with the perfect interpenetration of the essence of practice, as when the text below shows that each and every stage includes all stages, and the tenth directly reaches the complete perfection of the cause of the ultimate dharmadhātu. Now in this text, it is the latter two that are directly distinguished, while also encompassing the former two and implicitly subsuming the division of the result; one should reflect on this accordingly.