花嚴經文義綱目 1.28

1.28

初定分齊者，菩提流支云「華嚴八會中，前之五會是佛成道初七日說，第六會後是第二七日說，以《十地經》初云第二七日故。」又有人說：第八會是後時說，以彼文中有鶖子等五百聲聞，並後時度故。此等所判，恐不順文，以初七日定不說法故。《十地論》言「何故不初七日說？思惟行因緣行故。」既言思惟，明知非說法。設有救言：只不說十地非不說餘法者，則不得言思惟也。下論又釋「為顯己法樂，是故不說。」故知初七日定非說耳。又第八會亦非後時。何得於一部經，前已說半，中說餘經，後方更續？豈令佛無陀羅尼力，不能一念說一切法？祇園鶖子竝是九世相入，下文云「過去一切劫，安置未來今。未來一切劫，迴置過去世。」又云「於一念中建立三世一切佛事。」乃至廣說。如是等文，處處皆有。豈鶖子祇洹而非此類？是知此經定是第二七日所說。

First, determining the limit: Bodhiruci says, "Among the eight assemblies of the Avataṃsaka, the first five assemblies were spoken during the first seven days after the Buddha attained the Way, and from the sixth assembly onward was spoken during the second seven days, because the beginning of the Daśabhūmika Sūtra says 'the second seven days.'" Someone else also says: the eighth assembly was spoken at a later time, because in that text there are Śāriputra and the other five hundred śrāvakas, all of whom were converted at a later time. Such determinations are feared to not accord with the text, because in the first seven days he definitely did not preach the Dharma. The Daśabhūmikā-śāstra states: "Why was it not spoken in the first seven days? Because he was contemplating the practice of causes and conditions." Since it says "contemplating," we clearly know it was not preaching the Dharma. Even if one were to rescue [this view] by saying that he only did not speak on the ten grounds and it was not that he did not speak other teachings, then one could not say "contemplating." Later in the treatise it also explains: "In order to manifest the joy of his own Dharma, therefore he did not speak." Hence we know that it was definitely not spoken in the first seven days. Moreover, the eighth assembly was also not at a later time. How could it be that for a single sūtra, the first half had already been spoken, other sūtras were spoken in between, and only later was it continued again? Could it make the Buddha lack dhāraṇī power and be unable to speak all dharmas in a single thought-instant? The Jetavana and Śāriputra are both mutual entries of the nine times. Later the text says, "All past kalpas are placed in the future and the present. All future kalpas are placed back into past epochs." It also says: "Within a single thought-moment, establishing all Buddha-actions of the three periods of time"—up to explaining it in detail. Passages such as these exist everywhere. Could Śāriputra and the Jetavana not belong to this category? Thus we know that this sūtra was definitely spoken during the second seven days.