大方廣佛華嚴經疏 36.9

36.9

第三修行方便攝行，謂修攝生方便之行。故下經云「以何方便而能拔濟」，即知不離佛智等，故佛智等即是攝生之方便也。文分為四：一發起攝行之因、二「作是思惟」下思求方便攝行、三「便作是念」下思得攝生方便、四「菩薩如是」下依思修行。今初，分二：先牒前二行以為三因、後「欲依」下依前三因以明發起。今初。一如是厭離一切有為，是牒護煩惱行，為離妄想因。二如是愍念一切眾生，是牒護陜心，為不捨一切世間因。三知一切智智有勝利益，是牒護小心，為發精進因，謂既知佛智勝益，則修行彼道以趣入故。然三因之中，初後是智、中一是悲，悲智為因能求方便；後發起者既思三因，欲將有益之智救可愍之眾生，故說經者為此發起，故論云「此言示現發起方便攝行故。」第二思求方便者，亦只思前眾生墮有為惑業苦中，欲令永滅得大涅槃，未知方便，故思求之。今經闕一業字，論經具有。問：前決志救中知授三學滅業惑苦，今何故言以何方便？答：今但思其能授智慧耳。若爾，前護小中已知如來智慧有大勢力，及上因中云知一切智有勝利益，今何更思？答：前知智勝欲令物得，今亦思其令得攝生方便，下乃知之要自得佛智方令他得。第三思得攝生方便中，方便有五，自古皆將配位。論雖無文，於理無失。言有五者：一佛無礙智、二八地如實覺、三四地無行慧、四三地禪定、五亦三地多聞。然此五中從微至著，則後後起於前前。故今觀求逆尋其本，展轉相因，並云不離。此五之中，多聞唯能起，佛智唯所起，中間三種通能所起。論依此義攝五為三：一佛智窮盡果海，名證畢竟盡。二以中三皆有下從他起、上能起他，漸增至佛，故攝為一，名起上上證畢竟盡。三以聞慧為彼中間起行所依，名彼起依止行，以其聞慧未是證行，不得名起，而忘軀求聞亦得稱行。已知大旨，次略釋文。一佛智名無障礙解脫者，無二障故，是離障解脫，具十智力權實無礙，故是作用解脫，此是究竟攝生方便。二此智要依如實覺者，八地得無生忍，覺一切法如實性故。若覺實性方能盡惑，於事理無礙故，佛智由起。論釋一切法云如來所說一切法者，因音聲忍方得無生，尋於能詮悟所詮故。釋如實覺云隨順如實覺者，因於順忍得無生故。三此覺不離無生慧者，欲覺一切法。一切法不出二種：一者自相，謂色心等殊，是有為法體，故名為行；二者同相，色心雖殊，同皆生住異滅所遷，舉初攝後故但名生。今四地菩薩了自及同皆緣生無性，成無分別慧，故云無行。無生下一行字是慧行相，以無行無生為慧行相。若如是行，則得八地覺法自性也。四此慧不離禪等者，謂此無生慧非定不發。言禪善巧者，得三地滿勝進分禪故，出入自在亦不染禪，故名善巧。決定者，於他四地決能發也。觀察智者，論云自智慧觀故，謂即三地禪中之智，非前所發四地無生之慧。彼四地之慧，此中名光明，依此光明故名明地。故四地證慧，由三地禪中修慧而發。五此禪不離善巧多聞者，此中修慧，由後聞慧方得起故。三節皆慧，而慧不同。言善巧多聞者，不取聞相故。然佛智之因乃通十地，而偏舉三者，此地聞修近所行故，四地是慧增之首故，八地無功用之初故。

Third, the practice of gathering [beings] through skillful means refers to cultivating the practice of skillful means to gather sentient beings. Therefore, the sūtra below states, "By what skillful means can I rescue and deliver them?"—thus one knows it does not depart from the Buddha's wisdom, etc.; hence the Buddha's wisdom, etc., is itself the skillful means for gathering beings. The text is divided into four: 1) the causes that initiate the practice of gathering; 2) under "forms this contemplation," contemplating and seeking the practice of gathering through skillful means; 3) under "then forms this thought," contemplating and attaining the skillful means of gathering beings; 4) under "the bodhisattva in this way," cultivating practice based on contemplation. Now the first is divided into two: first, reviewing the preceding two practices to establish the three causes; next, under "wishing to rely on," clarifying the initiation based on the preceding three causes. Now the first: 1) "In this way detesting and abandoning all conditioned things" reviews the practice of guarding against afflictions, serving as the cause for leaving false thoughts. 2) "In this way sympathizing with and being mindful of all sentient beings" reviews guarding against a narrow mind, serving as the cause for not abandoning any worldly realm. 3) "Knowing that the omniscient wisdom has superior benefits" reviews guarding against a petty mind, serving as the cause for generating diligence; that is, having known the superior benefit of the Buddha's wisdom, one cultivates that path to enter it. However, among the three causes, the first and last are wisdom, and the middle one is compassion; compassion and wisdom as causes are able to seek skillful means. As for the subsequent initiation, having contemplated the three causes, one wishes to use beneficial wisdom to rescue pitiable sentient beings; thus the expositor of the sūtra initiates this for this reason. Therefore, the Treatise states, "These words demonstrate initiating the practice of gathering through skillful means." Second, contemplating and seeking skillful means also merely means contemplating that the aforementioned sentient beings have fallen into the afflictions, karma, and suffering of the conditioned realm, wishing to cause them to perpetually eliminate these and attain great nirvāṇa, yet not knowing the skillful means, one therefore contemplates and seeks them. The present sūtra text lacks the single character "karma," whereas the Treatise's sūtra text contains it. Question: Previously, in the resolute determination to rescue, one knew to confer the three trainings to extinguish karma, afflictions, and suffering; why does it now say "by what skillful means"? Answer: Here one is merely contemplating the wisdom that can confer them. If so, previously in guarding against the petty [mind] one already knew that the Tathāgata's wisdom possesses great power, and in the cause above it says "knowing that omniscience has superior benefits"; why contemplate it again now? Answer: Previously one knew the superiority of wisdom and wished to cause beings to attain it; now one also contemplates causing them to attain the skillful means of gathering beings; below one then realizes that one must personally attain the Buddha's wisdom before one can cause others to attain it. Third, in contemplating and attaining the skillful means of gathering beings, there are five skillful means, which since ancient times have all been matched to stages. Although the Treatise has no text [for this], there is no error in principle. As for the five: 1) the Buddha's unobstructed wisdom, 2) the true awakening of the eighth stage, 3) the actionless wisdom of the fourth stage, 4) the meditative concentration of the third stage, and 5) the vast learning also of the third stage. However, among these five, moving from the subtle to the manifest, each subsequent one arises from each preceding one. Therefore, in now observing and seeking, one traces backward to find its root; mutually causing one another, all are said "not to depart from." Among these five, vast learning can only initiate; the Buddha's wisdom is only what is initiated; the intermediate three function as both that which initiates and that which is initiated. Relying on this meaning, the Treatise subsumes the five into three: 1) The Buddha's wisdom exhausts the ocean of fruition, called "realizing ultimate exhaustion." 2) Because the middle three all arise from what is below and can initiate what is above, progressively increasing up to the Buddha, they are subsumed into one, called "initiating the higher and higher realization of ultimate exhaustion." 3) Because the wisdom gained from hearing is that on which the practice initiated in the intermediate stages relies, it is called "the practice on which that arising relies"; since this wisdom gained from hearing is not yet experiential practice, it cannot be called "arising," yet forgetting one's body to seek hearing may also be called practice. Having understood the general purport, next the text is briefly explained. 1) The Buddha's wisdom is called "unobstructed liberation" because it is free of the two obscurations; it is liberation free of obstacles. Endowed with the ten powers of wisdom, skillful means and reality are unobstructed; therefore it is the liberation of function. This is the ultimate skillful means for gathering beings. 2) That this wisdom must rely on true awakening means that in the eighth stage one attains the tolerance of the non-arising of dharmas, awakening to the true nature of all dharmas. Only if one awakens to the true nature can one exhaust afflictions and be unobstructed regarding noumenon and phenomena; therefore, the Buddha's wisdom arises from it. The Treatise explains "all dharmas" as "all dharmas spoken by the Tathāgata"; because of the tolerance of sound one then attains non-arising, tracing the expressive [words] to awaken to what is expressed. It explains "true awakening" as "conforming to true awakening," because by relying on conforming tolerance one attains non-arising. 3) That this awakening does not depart from unborn wisdom means wishing to awaken to all dharmas. All dharmas do not exceed two kinds: first, particular characteristics, referring to differences between form, mind, etc., which are the essence of conditioned dharmas, hence called "actions"; second, common characteristics—although form and mind differ, they are equally shifted by arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing; mentioning the first subsumes the rest, hence simply called "arising." Now the bodhisattva of the fourth stage comprehends that both particular and common [characteristics] arise from conditions and lack intrinsic nature, accomplishing non-conceptual wisdom; hence it is called "actionless." The character "action" after "unborn" is the active characteristic of wisdom, taking actionlessness and non-arising as the active characteristic of wisdom. If one practices in this way, one then attains the eighth stage's awakening to the intrinsic nature of dharmas. 4) That this wisdom does not depart from dhyāna, etc., means that this unborn wisdom will not arise without concentration. Speaking of "skillfulness in dhyāna," because one attains the dhyāna of the superior progression portion that completes the third stage, entering and emerging at will and not being defiled by dhyāna, it is therefore called skillful. "Definite" means that toward the other fourth stage it definitely can bring it forth. "Contemplative wisdom": the Treatise says "because of contemplation with one's own wisdom," meaning the wisdom within the concentration of the third stage, not the unborn wisdom of the fourth stage brought forth previously. That wisdom of the fourth stage is called "radiance" here, and relying on this radiance it is called the Radiant Stage. Therefore, the realization wisdom of the fourth stage is brought forth by cultivating wisdom within the concentration of the third stage. 5) That this dhyāna does not depart from skillful and vast learning means that the cultivated wisdom here can only arise on the basis of the subsequent wisdom of hearing. All three junctures are wisdom, yet the wisdoms differ. Speaking of "skillful and vast learning," it is because one does not grasp at the characteristics of what is heard. However, although the causes of the Buddha's wisdom extend throughout the ten stages, these three are specifically highlighted because the hearing and cultivating of this stage are immediately practiced; the fourth stage is the beginning of the increase of wisdom; and the eighth stage is the initial phase of effortlessness.