大方廣佛華嚴經疏 16.11

16.11

Fourth, from "There may be lands" downward, two hundred and three verses explain the section on the vast functioning without fixed location. Those [beings] can have boundless vast functioning because Samantabhadra's virtue pervades all times and places, and the dharmadhātu is without limits. Briefly distinguished, there are ten gates of samādhi karmic functioning: 1. the gate of the ocean-seal samādhi of perfect luminosity; 2. the gate of the Avataṃsaka wondrous practice samādhi; 3. the gate of the Indrajāla samādhi; 4. the gate of the hands producing vast offerings samādhi; 5. the gate of manifesting all dharma gates samādhi; 6. the gate of gathering sentient beings through the four means of gathering samādhi; 7. the gate of bending to conform with the worldly samādhi; 8. the gate of the light from hair-pores illuminating and benefiting samādhi; 9. the gate of the majestic beauty of host and retinue samādhi; 10. the gate of boundless quiescence and functioning samādhi. Because there is no unfixed mind, they are all called samādhis; their functioning differs, so ten kinds are briefly distinguished. Furthermore, the first gate arises in function on the basis of essence; the last explains that function is not different from essence; and those in between all reveal the sovereignty of wondrous function. Moreover, each of the ten samādhis possesses these three. Now, the first six verses explain the ocean-seal samādhi, and the text is divided into two: the first five specifically explain the pervasiveness of karmic functioning, and the last one summarizes that on which the vast functioning relies. In the first [part] there are three: the first three are the Buddha's deeds; the next one is the three vehicles; the last one classifies the rest—collectively revealing the transformations of the ten dharmadhātus. In the first [part], the first [verse] generally explains manifesting Buddhas preaching the Dharma; the next one explains sovereignty of essence and function. The first line distinguishes two meanings of negation: first, thought is free of discrimination; second, movement is without effort. The next three lines reveal two meanings of affirmation, namely: the thought of thoughtlessness, where a single thought pervades the ten directions; the effort of effortlessness, where many gates gather all classes [of beings]. The moon analogy has four meanings, which can be understood in accord with the Dharma. The last [verse] concludes with that on which functioning relies. Although the meaning of the ocean-seal was briefly explained in the past, its source was not exhausted. Now I explain it with ten meanings to express its inexhaustible functioning. A later [passage of the] sūtra says: "Just as in clear water the images of the four divisions of an army, and so forth, down to everything manifests in the water," and also says: "The ocean has a rare and extraordinary quality, capable of being an equal seal for all: sentient beings, treasures, and flowing streams are all universally embraced without rejection." Fascicle fourteen of the Mahāsaṃnipāta says: "Just as the bodies of all sentient beings in Jambudvīpa and other external forms—forms such as these all have stamped images in the ocean; for this reason, the great ocean is called a seal. The bodhisattva is also like this: having attained the great ocean-seal samādhi, he is able to see and distinguish the mental activities of all sentient beings, and attains intellectual brilliance regarding all dharma gates. This is the bodhisattva's attainment of the ocean-seal samādhi, seeing where the mental activities of all sentient beings tend." However, much of the text of this sūtra is similar to the [chapter on] "Manifestation", but "Manifestation" manifests images of the four continents. Moreover, it is formulated in terms of Buddha bodhi, whereas the Mahāsaṃnipāta only speaks of Jambudvīpa, formulated in terms of what the bodhisattva attains. Yet both involve seeing where minds tend and so forth, understanding their capacity; what is manifested in the present text are bodily forms, responding to their capacity. The two texts cite each other as what is manifested, taking the bodhisattva's concentrated mind as that which is capable of manifesting. Concerning the ten meanings: 1. the meaning of being able to manifest without mind, for the sūtra says "without effort and without discrimination"; 2. the meaning of manifesting without anything manifested, for the sūtra says "like lights and shadows," and the "Manifestation Chapter" says "universally manifesting the thoughts, mental dispositions, and desires of all sentient beings, yet without anything manifested"; 3. the meaning of that which can manifest and that which is manifested being not one; 4. the meaning of their being not different, for the sūtra says: "The great ocean can manifest [images], and since the active and the passive are different, they are not one. Seeking the images outside the water is impossible, so they are not different"—this reveals that this concentrated mind and the manifested dharmas have the active and passive clearly apparent as the marks of nature, and self and other as non-dual as the nature of marks; 5. the meaning of having no coming or going: the water does not reach up to take, and objects do not descend to approach, yet manifestations occur. The mind in samādhi is also like this: it manifests the myriad dharmas in its own mind without them coming; it spreads clouds of bodies throughout the dharmadhātu without ever departing for an instant. The above five meanings are largely the same as the mirror analogy. 6. The meaning of vastness, for the sūtra says "because it pervades the ten directions, universally embracing everything without rejection," explaining that the samādhi mind pervades the dharmadhātu, so that the forms and minds of sentient beings are all objects within the samādhi mind, and functioning that pervades the dharmadhātu also does not depart from this mind; 7. the meaning of universal manifestation, for the sūtra says "all can be manifested," and "Manifestation" says "bodhi universally seals all mental activities"; this differs from vastness in that this is formulated from the perspective of what is manifested not distinguishing between large and small, while the former is formulated from the perspective of that which can manifest having a universally pervasive measure; furthermore, this is formulated from the perspective of what is manifested leaving out no category unmanifested, while the former is formulated from the perspective of that which can manifest leaving no practice uncultivated; 8. the meaning of sudden manifestation, for the sūtra says "manifesting in a single thought," meaning without before and after, like a seal formed all at once; 9. the meaning of constant manifestation, not like a bright mirror which has times of manifesting and not manifesting; 10. the meaning of manifesting what is not present, not like a bright mirror where an object must face it to manifest, for the sūtra says "manifesting images of the four continents"; the four divisions of an army arrayed in the air face it and can manifest, but the images of the four continents manifest without facing it, hence it is called manifesting what is not present. Because it does not depend on facing, it therefore constantly manifests, encompassing the three times. Possessing the above ten meanings, it is therefore called the ocean-seal. The Buddhas realize it exhaustively, while bodhisattvas have a resemblance to it. Question: In the Benevolent King Sūtra, there is no text mentioning the eight marks [of a Buddha] for the three stages of worthies; only on the first bhūmi does it say that one is born in a hundred great trichiliocosms and realizes sambodhi all at once. How could these eight marks be in the gate of faith? Answer: The Mahāsaṃnipāta cited above also says: "A bodhisattva in the consecration-abode attains the Buddha's spiritual power; if a bodhisattva accomplishes such dharmas, he can manifest the eight marks in Buddha-less worlds," and so forth extensively. That speaks of the end of the abodes. According to the Sūtra on the Divination [of Good and Evil Retribution], there are briefly four kinds of gradually becoming a Buddha. What are the four? First, becoming a Buddha because faith in the Dharma is fulfilled, namely, based on the stage of the lineage nature, having decisive faith that all dharmas are unarisen, unceasing, pure, and equal, with nothing to be wished for or sought; second, becoming a Buddha when understanding is fulfilled; third, becoming a Buddha when realization is fulfilled, which refers to the stage of the pure mind; fourth, becoming a Buddha when all merits and practices are fulfilled, based on the stage of the ultimate bodhisattva. The Awakening of Faith relies on this in saying that the fulfillment of faith and generating the aspiration can manifest the eight marks and become a Buddha. The textual evidence is clear and obvious. How much more so within the gate of perfect interpenetration, where it does not depend on stages and orders: relying on the ultimate teaching, it is said that when faith is fulfilled, cause and effect are immediately unobstructed; taking it through the causal gate, one is constantly a bodhisattva, while taking it through the fruition gate, one is constantly a Buddha, or both are preserved and both are eliminated, sovereign and inconceivable. Moreover, this transformative manifestation is not confined to a single stage; relying on one type of realm, it can completely encompass all stages and positions, pervading times and places; hence it is said, "thought after thought pervading the ten directions."