大方廣佛華嚴經疏 13.24

13.24

Fifth, explaining the text. Broadly divided into two parts: first, the Tathāgata emits light; second, from 'illuminated this' onward, the reaches to which the light extends. Now, the first. Emitting it from beneath the feet expresses four meanings of faith: first, going from low to high, because faith is the very first; second, because it is the humblest and lowest; third, because it is the foundation of practice—as the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa, fascicle 9, says: 'As for emitting light from beneath the feet, the resting place gained by the body is entirely due to the feet'; fourth, showing that faith encompasses the ocean of fruition, being already fully complete. The meaning of the wheel is also thus, because it is round and without defect. Saying 'a hundred kotis of lights' is because the lands illuminated throughout the dharmadhātu are all a hundred kotis. Second, as for the reaches to which the light extends: herein, the grand total of the light's illumination, following the present text, has provisionally twenty-six sections; the first nine have distinct names, and the latter seventeen are expounded in common, thus forming ten passages. If judged by the actual meaning, there should be inexhaustible sections equal to the dharmadhātu, with verses in section after section, which the middle and superior recensions of the sūtra must elaborate in full. However, it is not that light is emitted multiple times, nor is it that light emitted once illuminates multiple sections sequentially; rather, a single emission of light simultaneously and suddenly illuminates worlds throughout all of space. But because words cannot run in parallel, the explanation has a before and an after; appearing according to the minds of the faculties, each sees section by section, and thus the Tathāgata's radiance illuminates section by section, and the golden-hued Mañjuśrī arrives section by section, up to each seeing likewise across the dharmadhātu. For the Buddha and Mañjuśrī, each section is fully pervasive, just as the moon universally shines and a hundred rivers each perceive it. If the faculties throughout the dharmadhātu perceive it simultaneously, just as it is for what is seen by the various classes in the Faith Assembly mentioned earlier, the same pervasiveness holds true for the assemblies of the Abodes, Practices, and so on. Among the ten passages, the text in each case has two parts: in each, the prose shows the Buddha using his bodily light to illuminate and manifest phenomenal objects, causing the assembly to witness them; the verses show Mañjuśrī's light of wisdom praising and recounting phenomena and noumenon, causing the assembly to awaken and enter. The ten passages accord with the answers, having three divisions in the text: the first five answer regarding bodhi, which are divided into five: first, generally revealing that bodhi transcends conceptual thought; second, comprehensively revealing the cause and fruition of bodhi; third, revealing the bodhi of the eight aspects; fourth, revealing the essence of bodhi; fifth, identifying the cause of bodhi. Now, the first: within the prose there are two parts: first, illuminating the defiled and pure of this realm; second, from 'just as in this place' onward, manifesting the pervasive aspect of his own Dharma assembly. In the first part there are three: first, generally indicating the scope; second, from 'a hundred kotis of Jambūdvīpas' onward, specifically revealing what is illuminated; third, from 'within it' onward, analogously concluding with distinct clarity. Now, the first. As for 'three-thousand great-thousand', the Abhidharmakośa says: 'Four great continents, sun and moon, Sumeru, the desire-heavens, and the Brahmā world, one thousand each, are called a small-thousand realm. A thousand times this small-thousand is called a middle-thousand; a thousand times this is a great-thousand, all sharing the same formation and destruction.' The Brahmā world refers to the first dhyāna, which is why it is said they share the same formation and destruction. Because it is multiplied three times, it is called 'three-thousand'. Omitting the small and middle, and mentioning the final one, it is called 'great-thousand'. The Dīrgha-āgama, fascicle 18; the Saṃyukta-āgama, fascicle 16; the Nyāyānusāra, fascicle 31; as well as the Yogācāra[-bhūmi], the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa, the Abhidharmasamuccaya, and the Prakaraṇāryavācā, are no different from this. Some say: however, the Prakaraṇāryavācā, fascicle 1, explains that the trichiliocosm is destroyed by the three disasters, so we know that the first dhyāna is the small-thousand, the second dhyāna is the middle-thousand, and the third dhyāna is the great-thousand. As for the Suvarṇaprabhāsa, it speaks of a hundred kotis all the way up to Naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana, its intention being to pervade all heavens. In this sūtra's text, it only reaches the peak of the form realm, on the grounds that the formless realm has no spatial location. Now we rely on both sūtras. Second, within specifically revealing what is illuminated: first, manifesting the human realm; second, manifesting the eight aspects; third, manifesting the heavens. In the first, Jambūdvīpa is newly rendered as Shanbu (Jambu). The Kośa says: 'On the bank of Lake Anavatapta there is a tree named jambu, after which the continent is named.' 'Dīpa' is rendered here as continent. Pūrvavideha is rendered here as 'Superior Body', because their bodies surpass those of other continents. Aparagodānīya in the west is rendered here as 'Ox-Market', because they trade with cattle. Uttarakuru in the north is rendered here as 'Superior Life', because their lifespan is fixed at a thousand years, and clothing and food are spontaneous. The great ocean is the outer salty sea. The hundred kotis of Cakravāḍas: because one set of four continents has one small Iron Ring, the middle has one thousand, and the great has only one. As for all saying 'a hundred kotis': in the methods of calculation of the Yellow Emperor in this land, numbers have three grades, namely superior, middle, and inferior. In the inferior system, it changes by tens; in the middle, by hundreds; in the superior, it doubles continuously. Now for this trichiliocosm, if calculated by the small system, there are ten thousand billions. Now following the middle system, changing by hundreds from one thousand upward, there are a hundred kotis; hence the Tang Tripiṭaka Master [Xuanzang] translated it as a hundred kotis of koṭis. Master Ce's Commentary on the Saṃdhinirmocana, fascicle 6, says: 'Traditionally, there are three explanations of koṭi: first, one hundred thousand; second, one million; third, ten million. Because of this, calculating the trichiliocosm by koṭis reaches either a hundred, or a thousand, or a hundred thousand. The Tang Tripiṭaka Master translated it as ten million, hence it reaches a hundred.' Furthermore, following the Kośa, lakṣa is translated as a hundred thousand (yì). Because this translation renders koṭi as yì, when the light illuminates one yì, ten yì, etc. below, the Sanskrit text in all cases says koṭi, all due to the discrepancy in the numerical value of koṭi. Second, in manifesting the eight aspects, the text has five aspects, receiving birth encompassing three. The Buddha emits light only after achieving the Way. Showing earlier birth and subsequent nirvāṇa retrospectively is done in terms of the subtle and minute gate interpenetrating the three times. Nor is it that the illuminator is the reward [body] and the illuminated is the transformation [body], because the body emitting light is in Magadha, and in this sūtra reward and transformation interpenetrate. Great bodhisattvas and the like see the reward body at the site of transformation, while faculties of lower stages see the transformation body at the site of the reward body, as the two do not run parallel. The illuminator and that which is illuminated are solely one Buddha, revealing that the Buddha's sovereignty transcends conceptual thought. Third, in manifesting the heavens from 'a hundred kotis of Sumerus' onward, Sumeru is mentioned because it is the support for the two heavens. Second, in manifesting his own Dharma assembly there are two parts: first, manifesting the original assembly—this is a single assembly pervading all places, not distinct assemblies existing in multiple places. It is pervasive in this way up to the entire dharmadhātu; this perfectly interpenetrated Dharma is not an object of conceptual thought. Second, from 'all by the Buddha's spiritual power' onward, manifesting the newly gathered assembly. Saying 'the Buddha's spiritual power' is also the manifesting of spiritual powers according to their respective kinds mentioned earlier. The text has four passages, namely: general indication, listing of names, names of lands, and names of Buddhas, all identical to those in the Chapter on the Names, differing only in the addition of 'a hundred kotis'.