大方廣佛華嚴經疏 32.11

32.11

Third, Vimukticandra praises the assembly as capable of hearing, and makes the request. Having already praised them previously, the reason he praises them again here is that, upon hearing the statement above that realization and faith are difficult to attain, he shows that this assembly possesses both faith and realization, and has the capability. First is the prose, followed by the verses. The former divides into two: first, an account of the request; second, from 'O sons of the Buddha' onward, the formal voicing of the request. Within this are three parts: first, stating the assembly's gathering; second, from 'wholesomely purified' onward, praising the assembly as endowed with virtues; third, from 'It is well' onward, concluding the request. In the second part there are ten phrases, the first general and the remainder specific. The general one refers to 'wholesomely purified deep mind', being free of the faults of teaching and realization, hence called 'wholesomely purified'. The deep mind has two aspects: first, fully cultivating all wholesome practices, which corresponds to the purification of teaching below; second, corresponding with the noumenon, which corresponds to the purification of realization below. Among the nine specific phrases below, the first five concern the purification of the āgama (teaching), and the latter four concern the purification of realization; that is, practicing in accordance with the teaching is called the purification of the āgama, while giving rise to practice by realizing the noumenon is called the purification of realization. Teaching applies prior to the stages, whereas realization applies solely upon the stages. Now, regarding the first five: (1) 'wholesome and clean thoughts' is the purification of aspiration—depending on the āgama kept in mind, one attains skillful remembrance and mindful awareness; that is, attaining the skillful means of not grasping at the marks of thoughts is called 'wholesome and clean'. (2) 'Wholesomely cultivating practices' is the purification of seeking—because with the three karmas reverent and compliant, one undertakes the practice of seeking the Dharma. (3) 'Wholesomely gathering auxiliary factors to the path' is the purification of innate endowment—vowing to attain superior and supreme rebirths in states that benefit sentient beings, so that upon birth one immediately attains superior mindfulness of compassion and wisdom, thereby aiding the correct path. (4) 'Wholesomely capable' and so forth is the purification of receiving and upholding—drawing near to many Buddhas with the intent of hearing much and retaining it in memory. (5) 'Accomplishing roots of goodness' is the purification of practice—in order to seek the true realization of the Dharma on the stages, one practices the roots of goodness devoid of attachment, such as few desires and dhūta austerities. Regarding the latter four of the purification of realization: (1) 'forsaking folly and confusion' is attaining pure direct knowledge due to wholesome certainty. That is, within the path of true seeing one attains non-conceptual wisdom, which, not being inferential knowledge, is called direct knowledge; within the path of provisional seeing, one uses subsequently attained wisdom to scrutinize both noumenon and wisdom, hence one is definitively free from confusion. Or, it may apply to both within the path of provisional seeing; it is also called direct realization. Because within the path of true seeing the noumenon is determined without doubt and ignorance is fully shattered, it is said to 'forsake folly and confusion'. (2) 'Having no defilement' is the purification of non-occurrence—because throughout the path of cultivation all afflictions do not occur. From after the path of provisional seeing up to the vajropama-unhindered path is all the path of cultivation; continuously practicing non-conceptual wisdom is therefore called the path of cultivation, which extinguishes the two gross heavinesses and prevents both from occurring. In contrast to the initial severing of the cognizable [obscurations] in the path of seeing, this is termed 'defilement'. The tenth fascicle of the *Cheng weishi lun* says: 'The seeds to be severed through cultivation among the affliction-obscurations are all abruptly severed when the vajropama concentration becomes present. The active manifestations of that obscuration are gradually subdued prior to the stages; from the first stage onward, they can be abruptly and completely subdued so that they never arise, just like an arhat, through the power of deliberate intent; across the seven stages, although they temporarily arise, this does not constitute a fault; from the eighth stage onward, they absolutely never arise,' and so forth. Affliction is defilement; non-occurrence is 'having no'. However, it is not that confusion is not severed in the path of seeing, but the seeing of the noumenon is predominant; in the station of the path of cultivation, deliberate re-investigation and removal of obscurations is paramount, hence it is specifically spoken of here. (3) 'Deep mind of faith and understanding' is the purification of insatiability—not delighting in the Hīnayāna, but only with a deep mind aspiring to the superior virtues of the Buddha, with faith and understanding firmly determined. (4) From 'In the Buddha-Dharma' onward is the purification of not following other teachings—because on the path leading to the fulfillment of the bodhisattva stages, one practices autonomously and correctly. This concludes the praise of virtues.