大方廣佛華嚴經疏 16.22

16.22

大文第三「第一智慧」下九頌，校量勸持分。此廣大用人皆有分，見而不習，誠為自欺，故中人可勸而進也。於中分二：初一頌結前所說，略就六慧結之。第一者，上無加故。二廣大者，語其分量超二乘故。三真實者，明其體性內證無虛故。四無邊者，有二義：一量智普知故、二離種種二邊故，即中道慧也。五勝者，超地位故。六殊勝者，同普賢故。二「此法」下八頌，明信受難得，於中初一總顯、餘七別明。前中，希有者，佛出懸遠已難可遇，唯初成頓說，故希有也。奇謂初能具後，特謂逈出諸乘，此句讚也，下文勸耳。聞謂遇經。忍可謂信因，信則心淨。受謂領文領義。讚乃通言通筆，說唯約言。上皆所作，總說皆難。後別明中三：初二偈半明難信、次半偈況出餘行、後四偈舉事校量。前中，初一偈明人天之器信為甚難。若爾，今或能信，何耶？由二力故，一現修淨福稱所求故、二昔因聞熏今發種故。今不信者，願少聽聞，為毒塗鼓，終成堅種。後一偈半舉三乘之信展轉難得，況於一乘，明文昭然，權實有據。第二半偈況出餘行中，信忍尚難，況具餘行，難中之難也。真實解者，亦有說行而不信圓融之旨，非真實解也。願諸學者，善擇知見。第三四頌舉事校量。初三校量難信，初二舉二難以況信難、後一舉福勝以彰信勝。後一校量餘行之難，唯明誦持，餘略不說。亦顯修行真解非可校量也。此之四事，後後過於前前，巧辯深勝。

Third, in the major section, from "the foremost wisdom" below, nine verses form the section evaluating and urging upholdance. All people have a share in this vast function; to see it and not cultivate it is truly to deceive oneself, hence middling people can be urged to advance. This is divided into two parts: first, one verse concludes what was explained before, concluding it briefly in terms of six wisdoms. First is 'foremost', because nothing surpasses it. Second is 'vast', referring to its extent which transcends the two vehicles. Third is 'real', clarifying that its essence is internally realized without falsity. Fourth is 'boundless', which has two meanings: first, wisdom of measure universally knows; second, it is free from the various dual extremes; that is, the wisdom of the middle way. Fifth is 'superior', because it transcends the stages. Sixth is 'distinctly superior', because it is identical with Samantabhadra. Second, from "this Dharma" below, eight verses clarify that faith and acceptance are difficult to attain. Within this, the first verse generally manifests it, and the remaining seven distinguish it in detail. In the first part, 'rare' means that a Buddha's appearance is so remote that it is already difficult to encounter, and this is preached all at once only upon his initial awakening; thus it is rare. 'Extraordinary' means that the initial can fully possess the final; 'unique' means that it towers far above all vehicles. This phrase is praise, whereas the text below urges [practice]. 'Hearing' means encountering the sūtra. 'Acquiescence' means the cause of faith; when there is faith, the mind is pure. 'Acceptance' means receiving the text and receiving the meaning. 'Praise' applies to both speech and writing; 'expounding' applies only to speech. The above are all things to be done, and generally speaking, all are difficult. In the subsequent detailed explanation, there are three parts: first, two verses and a half clarify the difficulty of faith; next, half a verse illustrates other practices by comparison; finally, four verses adduce matters for evaluation. In the first part, the first verse clarifies that for the vessels of humans and devas, faith is extremely difficult. If so, why is it that some can have faith today? It is due to two powers: first, presently cultivating pure merit that accords with what is sought; second, having received perfuming through hearing in the past, seeds are now brought forth. For those who do not believe today, our wish is that they listen even a little, so that like a poison-smeared drum, it will ultimately form an indomitable seed. The following verse and a half adduces the progressive difficulty of attaining the faith of the three vehicles to illustrate that of the Ekayāna; the text is crystal clear, with provisional and real each having their proof. In the second part, the half-verse illustrating other practices by comparison, faith and acquiescence are already difficult, let alone being endowed with the remaining practices—the most difficult among the difficult. As for 'real understanding', there are also those who speak of practice but do not believe in the purport of perfect interpenetration; that is not real understanding. May all scholars carefully discern knowledge and vision! In the third part, four verses adduce matters for evaluation. The first three evaluate the difficulty of faith: the first two adduce two difficulties to illustrate the difficulty of faith; the last one adduces superior merit to reveal the excellence of faith. The last verse evaluates the difficulty of the remaining practices, mentioning only reciting and upholding, while omitting the rest. It also shows that the true understanding of cultivation is beyond evaluation. Among these four matters, each subsequent one surpasses the preceding; skillfully eloquent, profound, and superior.