大方廣佛華嚴經疏 32.19

32.19

From here below is the third part, the Tathāgata's empowerment and request. Although previously there were four requests by the two parties, in order to reveal the supremacy of the Dharma, they further await the Buddha's empowerment. Previously, to distinguish host and companion, the host Buddha only made clear the mental empowerment; now, wishing to make it complete with body and speech, he therefore repeats the empowerment. Furthermore, previously he silently bestowed spiritual power to cause there to be an empowered request; now he empowers him to speak, which is not the same as before. If so, since the Buddhas had previously already completed the three karmas, how can they empower again? Previously it was only an empowerment, not yet a request; now, using empowerment as a request, it is entirely different from before. The power of the superior affecting the inferior is called "empowerment"; because of the empowerment, urging him to speak is designated as a "request." Empowerment is itself the request, hence it is called "empowerment-request." The prose takes empowerment as the request, while the verses take the request as the empowerment. Not requesting with an ordinary mouth, but emitting speech from a cloud platform, and not showing respect with an ordinary body, but substituting the karma of light, is done in order not to slight the venerated position; that it is necessary to request again is done to honor the Dharma. In the previous empowerment section, he did not empower the great assembly; as for this empowerment now, if he had empowered them right away previously, the master of speech would have had no cause to stop three times; if he did not empower now, the previous statement of the requester that they would receive the Buddha's mindful protection would lack verification. In the text, there are eight karmas and two bodies altogether, which are tentatively divided into two: first, the prose has two bodies and seven karmas; second, the verses only clarify the karma of requesting. In the former there are two: first, this Buddha's light illuminates the ten directions; second, the Buddhas of the ten directions emit light that illuminates him. These two lights mutually illuminating each other must mean that they mutually see each other. Both passages have two bodies and seven karmas. Now the first is divided into two: first, clarifying the essence and functional karma of the light; second, from "having performed these acts" below, directly clarifying what was performed. In the first, it first clarifies the origin of the light. The superior empowering the inferior mostly uses the light between the eyebrows, also signifying that he is about to expound the middle and correct Path. From "emitting pure..." downward, it directly clarifies the essence and function. Therein, the text has six karmas: First, the karma of awakening, which is the name and essence of the light, meaning that once this light illuminates the bodhisattva's body, he spontaneously awakens to the empowerment of the Tathāgata's power. Awakening and illuminating are the function of the light, hence called "flazing brilliance." Second, from "hundreds of thousands" downward, the causal karma, because it has the meaning of being able to generate a retinue. Third, from "universally illuminating" downward, the karma of gathering and spreading: spreading, it universally illuminates the ten directions; gathering, it returns into the regular light. The present text is abridged and lacks the karma of gathering. If one also includes the lower text, like the sun body abiding in empty space, then the meaning is fully present. Fourth, from "the three evil [destinies]" downward, the halting karma. Fifth, the subduing karma; the treatise sūtra states, "all the palaces of Māra were concealed and did not appear," but the present sūtra lacks this. Sixth, from "further illuminating all..." downward, the revering karma, making visible the Buddha assemblies so as to cause beings to revere them. Seventh, from "further illuminating the ten directions..." downward, the manifesting karma, specifically to cause the assembly to see that both speaker and listeners have attained the Buddha's empowerment, being capable of speaking and listening. The prose receives the name of bodily empowerment solely based on this. Second, directly revealing what was performed, which is one of the two bodies. Regarding the "two bodies": First, the meteor body, going to worlds in other directions. The treatise does not point to the sūtra text; ancient masters jointly designated the three karmas of gathering/spreading, revering, and manifesting as corresponding to it, because it is an essence of light that comes and goes like a shooting meteor. Second, the sun-like body, meaning like the sun dwelling in the sky, which is precisely this performance of forming a terrace in the air above. Therefore, contrasting bodily action [and bodily form], four propositions should be formed: 1. A karma and not a body, referring to removing three from the eight; 2. A body and not a karma, which is the sun-like body; 3. Both body and karma, which is the meteor body; 4. Neither body nor karma, which does not exist in this sūtra, but is the mutual seeing of one another in the treatise sūtra, where body refers to having an essence and karma refers to having a function. The third proposition is endowed with both. The fourth is not what is primarily performed. Second, as for the Buddhas of the ten directions emitting light to illuminate this [place], it is specifically to illuminate this place; yet their action also extends throughout the ten directions, their seven karmas and two bodies not differing from this Buddha's empowerment. Furthermore, it also illuminates this Sahā world; because the sūtra text has the host Buddha illuminate universally, this need not state that the companion Buddhas illuminate universally, for the primary intention is the mark of this empowerment.