大方廣佛華嚴經疏 57.3

57.3

第二「見彼勝熱」下見敬諮問，中三：先見苦行。四面火聚者，更加頭上有日，即五熱炙身。今但云四者，四句般若皆燒惑薪故。中有刀山者，無分別智最居中道，無不割故；高而無上，難可登故。故《智論》云「般若波羅蜜猶如大火聚，四邊不可取。」遠離於四句，四句即四邊，取則燒人、離則成智。又火有四義：一燒煩惱薪、二破無明闇、三成熟善根、四照現證理。投身入火者，從無分別智遍入四句皆無滯故。又釋：刀是斷德，無不割故。火是智德，無不照故。投身下者，障盡證理故。即刀山為能證，火聚為所證，故此火等即是法門。不須別表，現所用故、稱性事故。此為甚深難解，不可輕爾。二敬、三問，文並可知。

Second, from "Seeing that Jayoṣmīya..." onward, seeing, paying respects, and inquiring, which has three parts: first, seeing the ascetic practices. The fire blazing on four sides, with the addition of the sun overhead, constitutes the five heats scorching the body. The text mentions only the four sides here because the four propositions of prajñā burn away the fuel of delusion. In their midst is a mountain of swords, because non-conceptual wisdom abides centrally in the middle way, severing everything without exception; being loftily supreme, it is difficult to ascend. Thus the Dazhidulun states: "Prajñāpāramitā is like a great mass of fire, which cannot be grasped from any of its four sides." It stays far from the four propositions—the four propositions are the four sides: grasping it burns a person, while staying free of them perfects wisdom. Moreover, fire has four meanings: 1. burning the fuel of afflictions; 2. shattering the darkness of fundamental ignorance; 3. maturing good roots; and 4. illuminating the directly realized noumenon. Throwing oneself into the fire represents, from non-conceptual wisdom, entering ubiquitously into the four propositions without any obstruction. Another interpretation: swords represent the virtue of severance, because they cut through all things without exception. Fire represents the virtue of wisdom, because it illuminates all things without exception. Casting oneself down represents exhausting hindrances and realizing the noumenon. Thus the mountain of swords is the subject that realizes, and the mass of fire is the object realized; therefore, this fire and the rest are themselves the dharma-gate. There is no need to assign another symbolic representation; this is because of what is presently applied, and because phenomena accord with the nature [of reality]. This is profoundly deep and difficult to understand, and must not be taken lightly. Second, paying respects, and third, inquiring, can both be understood from the text.