[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [大方廣佛華嚴經疏](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1735) › 16.7 # 大方廣佛華嚴經疏 16.7 大方廣佛華嚴經疏 16.7 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [16.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1735.16.7) 第二「時賢首」下賢首廣說。於中，先總標。舉以偈答者，此略有二：一少言攝多義故、二美詞讚說令淨信故。以始德該終，散說難盡故，顯此勝妙之功德故。第二正顯，偈詞有三百五十九頌半，大為三分：初四頌謙讚許說分、次三百四十六偈半正說勝德分、三九偈校量勸持分。初中分二：初偈總明，前半讚問勸修、後半謙己少說。海喻，次下當明。後三開章以發心之德，況出修行巧顯深廣。於中，初偈舉發心章、次偈況出修行章。初心祈於當證，德已叵量，況長時入位遍修，故多佛不能盡說。後偈許說分齊。前半法說。如是者，雙指發心、修行，下文具顯故，前文雙問故。後半喻明，然有二意：一顯喻少分，謂發心行德如太空大地，所說者陿如足履一塵。二密喻不異，謂鳥足之空不異太空，微細之塵不殊大地。故此略說義無不周，若廣若略皆無邊故。〈出現品〉云「如鳥飛虛空經於百年，已經過處未經過處皆不可量。何以故？虛空無邊際故」等。彼就果行，此就因德。然普賢行德似同佛果，是故皆以虛空為量，上下文中皆同此說。此初發心，與下文十住初發心住及〈發心功德品〉各何別耶？此中發心該於初後，取其成德乃是信終，取其為本乃在初發。雖如輕毛，功歸初簣故。十住初發，即是此終成彼初發。此終為能發、彼是所發，此正是發起之發，義兼開發；彼是開發之發，義兼發起。其〈發心品〉正顯十住初心之功德耳。以斯甄別，非無有異，故《瓔珞》云「發心住者，是人始從具縛未識三寶，乃至值佛菩薩，教法中起一念信便發菩提心。」既云始從凡夫最初發心，明知此中發心該於初後。問：此既是初，何得乃具後諸行位及普賢德耶？古德釋此略有二門：一行布次第門，謂從微至著、從淺至深，次第相乘以階彼岸，如《瓔珞》、《仁王》、《起信》、《瑜伽》等說。二圓融通攝門，謂一位即具一切位等，如此經所說，亦如《大品》等中一行具一切行。此中有二門：一緣起相由門、二法界融攝門。前中，普攬一切始終諸位，無邊行海同一緣起，為普賢行德。良以諸緣相望略有二義：一約用，由相待故，有有力、無力義，是故得相收及相入也。二約體，由相作故，有有體、無體義，是故得相即及相入是也。此經之中依斯義故，行位相收總有四說：一或始具終，如此門中具一切行位，普賢德海者是也。二或終具始，並在十地位，後如下文〈十定〉、〈十通〉等說。三或諸位齊收，並在十住等，一一位中各收一切，悉至究竟，如下文〈十住〉、〈十行〉等說。四或諸位皆泯、行德顯然，如〈離世間品〉說。二法界融攝門者，謂此諸位及所修行，皆不離普賢無盡法界。然此法界圓融無限，隨在一位即具一切，今在信門收無不盡。下諸位中皆具一切者，並準此釋。問：下〈發心功德品〉亦說初心具無邊德，與此何別？答：此據行首信門所具，彼約行本菩提心具。問：約法相收，是則可爾。約人修行，豈十千劫修信纔滿，即得如此無邊德海？答：以法是圓融具德法故。若諸菩薩行此法行，是彼所收，或無量劫或無定限。十千劫言，非此所說。如下善財童子及兜率天子等所行所得，並是其人不同行布，次第教中之所說也。又十千劫乃是一經，《瓔珞》但言一劫二劫，此經縱有行布亦皆圓融。亦有引此下文證成，此信乃是捨異生性，成就聖性，出無明地、生如來家。以有則獲灌頂而升位等，非是信故。若爾，初地豈得灌頂升位等耶？若云展轉進入佛地，何以不得始自於信展轉入耶？若許從信展轉入者，何以要判此乃捨凡入聖？下文自有十地之會，此中尚隔住、行、向等，判為入地乃孟浪之談。下〈發心品〉亦判為初地發心，義同此會。問：下云無量億劫勤修學，得是無上菩提智。斯則非一生也，亦非十千以為無量。通斯難者，應有二義：一此約行布展轉義故、二約圓融展促無礙義故，如上所辨故。善財見仙人執手，一一佛所經無量劫故。修短難思，特由於此故。賢首菩薩云：「信大乘者猶為易，能信此法倍更難。」以初心即具一切功德，故難信也。 > Second, from 'At that time, Bhadraśrī' downward is Bhadraśrī's extensive exposition. Therein, he first presents a general introduction. Answering in verse briefly has two reasons: first, because few words encompass many meanings; second, because beautiful phrasing praises and expounds so as to bring about pure faith. It is because the initial virtue encompasses the final, and an unsystematic exposition would be difficult to exhaust, and because of revealing these superior and wondrous merits and virtues. Second, the actual revelation: the verse phrases comprise three hundred and fifty-nine and a half gāthās, broadly divided into three parts: first, four gāthās of the section on humble praise and consenting to speak; second, three hundred and forty-six and a half gāthās of the section on the actual exposition of superior virtues; third, nine gāthās of the section on comparison and exhorting upholdance. The first part divides into two: the first gāthā is a general explanation, whose first half praises the question and exhorts cultivation, and whose second half humbles himself regarding expounding only a little. The ocean metaphor will be clarified directly below. The subsequent three open the sections: using the virtues of generating the mind, they analogise and bring forth the cultivation of practice, skilfully revealing its depth and breadth. Therein, the first gāthā presents the section on generating the mind; the next gāthā analogises and brings forth the section on the cultivation of practice. If the initial mind, aspiring toward future realization, already possesses immeasurable virtue, how much more so for one who enters the stages for a long duration and cultivates universally! Hence, many Buddhas cannot fully expound it. The final gāthā marks the scope of consenting to speak. The first half is the doctrinal statement. 'Such as this' points to both generating the mind and cultivating practice, because the text below fully reveals them, and the text above questioned both. The second half clarifies through metaphor, which however has two meanings: first, revealing the metaphor of a minute portion, meaning that the virtue of generating the mind and practice is like vast empty space and the great earth, whereas what is spoken is as narrow as a foot-tread or a single dust mote. Second, an esoteric metaphor of non-difference, meaning that the empty space beneath a bird's foot is not different from vast empty space, and a subtle dust mote is not different from the great earth. Therefore, in this brief exposition, the meaning is entirely comprehensive; whether extensive or brief, both are boundless. The chapter 'The Manifestation of the Tathāgata' says: 'Just as a bird flying in empty space for a hundred years, the places it has traversed and the places it has not traversed are alike immeasurable. Why is this? Because empty space has no boundaries,' and so forth. That passage concerns fruition-practice; this passage concerns causal virtue. Yet the practice and virtue of Samantabhadra seem identical to the Buddha-fruition; therefore, both take empty space as their measure, and the texts above and below all share this explanation. In what way does this initial generation of the mind differ from the Stage of the Initial Aspiration among the ten abodes below and the chapter 'The Merits and Virtues of Generating the Mind'? Here, generating the mind encompasses both beginning and end: taking its accomplished virtue, it is the completion of faith; taking its being the root, it lies in the initial generation. Though like a light feather, the merit belongs to the first basket of earth. The initial generation of the ten abodes is precisely this completion becoming that initial generation. This completion is the active generator, and that is the generated; this is precisely the 'generation' of initiating, its meaning including unfolding; that is the 'generation' of unfolding, its meaning including initiating. The chapter 'The Merits and Virtues of Generating the Mind' specifically reveals the merits and virtues of the initial mind of the ten abodes. Distinguishing them in this way, they are not without difference. Thus the Yingluo jing says: 'As for the Stage of the Initial Aspiration, this person, beginning from being fully bound and not yet knowing the Triratna, up to encountering Buddhas and bodhisattvas and giving rise to a single thought of faith within the teaching, then generates bodhicitta.' Since it says 'beginning from an ordinary person's earliest generation of the mind,' we know clearly that generating the mind here encompasses both beginning and end. Question: Since this is the beginning, how can it fully possess the subsequent stages of practice and the virtues of Samantabhadra? The ancient masters' explanation of this briefly has two approaches: First, the approach of graded sequence, meaning proceeding from subtle to prominent, from shallow to deep, mounting sequentially to reach the other shore, as expounded in texts such as the Yingluo jing, the Renwang jing, the Awakening of Faith, and the Yogācārabhūmi. Second, the approach of consummate interpenetration and universal inclusion, meaning that a single stage fully possesses all stages and so forth, as expounded in this sūtra, and also as in the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā and other texts where a single practice fully possesses all practices. Within this there are two approaches: first, the approach of mutual dependence through conditioned origination; second, the approach of interpenetrating inclusion of the dharmadhātu. In the former, universally gathering all stages from beginning to end, the ocean of boundless practices is of a single conditioned origination, constituting the practice and virtue of Samantabhadra. Truly, when the various conditions are viewed in relation to one another, there are briefly two meanings: first, regarding functioning, due to mutual relativity, there are the meanings of having efficacy and lacking efficacy; therefore they can mutually gather and mutually enter. Second, regarding essence, due to mutual constitution, there are the meanings of having essence and lacking essence; therefore they can be mutually identical and mutually enter. In this sūtra, relying on these meanings, the mutual gathering of practice and stages has four explanations in all: 1. Either the beginning possesses the end, such as in this gateway possessing all practices and stages, which is the ocean of Samantabhadra's virtues. 2. Or the end possesses the beginning, all residing in the ten stages, as expounded subsequently in chapters such as 'The Ten Samādhis' and 'The Ten Supernormal Powers'. 3. Or all stages are equally gathered together, all residing in the ten abodes and so forth, where each single stage gathers all, all reaching the ultimate, as expounded subsequently in chapters such as 'The Ten Abodes' and 'The Ten Practices'. 4. Or all stages are obliterated and the virtuous practice is manifest, as expounded in the chapter 'Transcending the World'. Second, as for the approach of the interpenetrating inclusion of the dharmadhātu: these various stages and the practices cultivated are all not separate from Samantabhadra's inexhaustible dharmadhātu. Yet this dharmadhātu is consummate, interpenetrating, and boundless; abiding in any single stage, it immediately fully possesses all. Now, within the gateway of faith, there is nothing it does not gather completely. That the stages below all fully possess everything is to be explained according to this. Question: The chapter 'The Merits and Virtues of Generating the Mind' below also states that the initial mind possesses boundless virtues; how does it differ from this? Answer: This is based on what is possessed by the gateway of faith as the head of practice; that is based on what is possessed by bodhicitta as the root of practice. Question: Regarding the mutual gathering of dharmas, it may indeed be so. But regarding a person's cultivation, how could cultivating faith for merely ten thousand kalpas to completion attain such an ocean of boundless virtue? Answer: Because the Dharma is a consummate, interpenetrating Dharma possessing all virtues. If bodhisattvas practice this practice of the Dharma, it is what is gathered by that, whether for immeasurable kalpas or without fixed limit. The phrase 'ten thousand kalpas' is not what is taught here. As with the practices and attainments of the youth Sudhana, the devaputra of Tuṣita, and others below, all are such persons; they are not the same as what is taught in the graded, sequential teachings. Furthermore, 'ten thousand kalpas' belongs to a single sūtra; the Yingluo jing speaks only of one kalpa or two kalpas. Even if this sūtra has graded sequence, it is entirely consummate and interpenetrating. Some also cite the text below to verify that this faith is abandoning the nature of ordinary beings, accomplishing the noble nature, emerging from the ground of ignorance, and being born into the house of the Tathāgata, because there is obtaining abhiṣeka and ascending the stage and so forth, which is not faith. If so, how could the first stage obtain abhiṣeka and ascending the stage, and so forth? If one says that one enters the Buddha-stage progressively, why could one not enter progressively beginning from faith? If one allows entering progressively from faith, why must one judge this as abandoning the ordinary and entering the noble? The text below itself has the assembly of the ten stages; here it is still separated by the abodes, practices, dedications, and so forth; judging this as entering the stages is wild talk. The chapter 'Generating the Mind' below is also judged as generating the mind of the first stage, its meaning being identical to this assembly. Question: Below it says: 'Diligently cultivating and studying for immeasurable koṭis of kalpas, one obtains this unexcelled wisdom of bodhi.' This then is not a single lifetime, nor is ten thousand kalpas taken as immeasurable. To resolve this difficulty, there should be two meanings: first, this is according to the progressive meaning of graded sequence; second, this is according to the meaning of the unobstructed expansion and contraction of consummate interpenetration, as analyzed above. For Sudhana saw the ṛṣi take his hand, and at each Buddha's place traversed immeasurable kalpas. The length or shortness of cultivation being inconceivable is specifically due to this. Therefore Bodhisattva Bhadraśrī says: 'Believing in the Mahāyāna is still easy; being able to believe in this Dharma is doubly difficult.' Because the initial mind immediately fully possesses all merits and virtues, it is difficult to believe. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 16.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1735.16.6) - [Next: 16.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1735.16.8) - [Up: 16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1735.16) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1735~en-mt.16.7) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1736.35.13) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1735.16.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1735.16.7) · Pramāṇa