華嚴經探玄記 9.10

9.10

In the third, the Section on Empowerment, there are three parts: first, generally clarifying the cause of bestowing empowerment; second, revealing the purpose of empowerment; third, directly distinguishing the marks of empowerment. In the first part, there are two: first, clarifying the bestowing of empowerment; second, citing the causes. In the previous of these, there are two: first, manifesting bodies with the same name; second, praising in unison to reveal empowerment. In the previous of these, there are five clauses: 1. the proximity or distance of the places; 2. the number of buddhas is twice that of the previous assembly, as can be known; 3. manifesting bodies so that the assembly sees them and generates faith; 4. sharing the same name so that the leader hears it and increases in jubilation; 5. concluding that the ten directions are identical. In the second part, praising in unison, there are four clauses: 1. praising his attainment of samādhi; 2. revealing the number of their own buddhas; 3. demonstrating that their own names are the same; 4. directly discerning the bestowing of empowerment. In the second, explaining the causes of bestowing empowerment, there are three clauses: 1. the power of Rocana's past vows; 2. his present awe-inspiring power—these two are condition-power, fruit-power, and other-power; 3. "You possess..." etc., is cause-power and self-power. This means that only when self and other, causes and conditions, cause and fruit, etc., unite can this Dharma of the ten bhūmis be accomplished. In the second, the explanation in the treatise (Daśabhūmikā-śāstra), there are two parts: first, explaining the preceding; second, giving rise to the subsequent. In the previous of these, there are four: 1. Explaining the empowerment by many buddhas, as can be known. 2. Explaining the empowerment by those of the same name, in which there are four points: a. explaining through questioning the original vows; b. explaining by questioning the vows to reveal the multiplicity, meaning that Rocana's original vows caused many buddhas to bestow empowerment together; c. explaining through the Dharma spanning past and present, meaning that this is a Dharma identically realized and identically expounded, hence called the "Dharma-essence". However, there are two explanations: First, that the subsequent buddhas as numerous as the dust motes of ten billion [buddha-fields], in the past, also jointly bestowed empowerment; Vajragarbha Bodhisattva received empowerment and expounded this Dharma door of the ten bhūmis, and now having attained samyaksaṃbuddha, they also reside in this Dharma door; hence wherever there is expounding, they are able to bestow empowerment—this was those buddhas' original vows. This means that when this Vajragarbha Bodhisattva is to become a buddha, he will also participate in the same matter; this explanation accords with the treatise text. Second, explaining in terms of Rocana Buddha: When Rocana originally practiced the bodhisattva path, he saw at the place of a Rocana Buddha that the empowering buddhas were all named Vajra when empowering the expounding of the bhūmi Dharma; Rocana has now attained samyaksaṃbuddha, and his original vows are now fulfilled, so those empowering buddhas are also named Vajra, hence it says "not different names"; this explanation accords with the sūtra text, because the sūtra says: "Due to Rocana's original vows, he caused all buddhas to bestow empowerment." It is like the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra saying: "In the past, there was a buddha at this place named Śākyamuni, whose attendants were named Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, bringing great benefit; because of this I gave rise to a vow, and so now I also am the same, expounding the Dharma here." This is of that type. d. "Furthermore, this..." below explains the increase of jubilation due to having the same name, as can be known. 3. From "Why does it not say..." below explains the number of ten billion, in three clauses: a. An explanation generally questioning to reveal multiplicity: If one simply cited "immeasurable", it might perhaps not reach the dust motes of ten billion, because words of generality lack precision, so it is the same as the subsequent text's "many hundreds of thousands", etc. Another explanation: In the previous assembly there were buddhas as numerous as the dust motes of a million buddha-kṣetras; here there are ten billion, because a million constitutes one billion (koṭi). Therefore, by skillful means, it gradually reveals many buddhas; if it simply said "immeasurable", it would violate skillful means, hence it is not said. Another explanation: That this reveals many buddhas is because it takes the number ten as the paradigm to reveal endlessness; hence it says "many buddhas". If it were merely "immeasurable", one would only obtain a single layer of immeasurability, not layer upon layer of endlessness; therefore the number ten is greater than "immeasurable". b. From "Why does it definitely say..." below questions the identity of the fixed number in the explanation. c. From "This sūtra..." below explains that it broadly shares the same paradigm. 4. From "That Buddha..." below explains bestowing empowerment, in four parts: a. "first making this vow" explains empowerment by original vows; b. "now again himself empowering" explains empowerment by present awe-inspiring spiritual power; c. "subsequently other buddhas empower" differentiates the subsequent from the preceding, meaning these are all empowerments by Rocana's power, not empowerments by other buddhas; the empowerment by other buddhas will be distinguished in the later textual position; d. "therefore it is said", etc., cites the sūtra to match it. In giving rise to the subsequent: "Why empower the expounding of this Dharma?" gives rise to the purpose of the subsequent, meaning for the sake of expounding this Dharma of the bhūmis. "Furthermore, how is empowerment bestowed?" gives rise to the marks of empowerment of the subsequent; because the text is far behind, it is not cited here, but will be brought out in contrast in the subsequent text.