大方廣佛華嚴經疏 35.25

35.25

Part three has two sections: transforming beings who seek becoming. The first is distinction of destinies, namely, transmigration in the five destinies; the second is distinction of realms, being bound and confined in the three realms. Now, the first: first the faults, then the remedy. Among the faults, the first phrase is the general statement, and from "entering desires" onward are the particulars. The general statement is the fault of drowning in the great river: being swept away and drowned in the six destinies is like that great river, and seeking becoming while sinking within it is the reason it is a fault. Yet the general statement contains the particular meanings below; it is also the torrent of the ālayavijñāna and the billows of the seven consciousnesses. Within the particulars, the billows of that great surging water have three marks: first, the drifting of their own nature, namely, the causes and results of the five destinies; second, from "view of self" onward, giving rise to disasters due to causes, namely, the many perils of dwelling there; third, from "settling in the six sense bases" onward, becoming a great loss, losing the path of transcendence. Now the first. Their own nature has five marks: first, deep; second, flowing; third, name; fourth, drifting; fifth, vast. Having even one would already make it hard to cross, not to mention possessing all five; what doubt can there be of being swept away and drowned? First, "deep": possessing the boundless waters of the four currents, it constitutes a river of afflictions. Second, "the churning vortex of saṃsāra" is "flowing." The cause of afflictions in the four currents above is deep in general, and so this painful fruit flows constantly without exhaustion. The above two are the place of drifting and drowning, for it is within this saṃsāra that one drifts and drowns. Third, "drifting and turning in the river of craving" is the "name." Although the four currents explained earlier subsume all delusions, craving moistens saṃsāra, and because one drifts and drowns through it, it specifically receives the name "river." Just as a fool falls into a river, with craving it is difficult to escape. Fourth, "torrential rush," etc., is "drifting." This has two meanings: first, to show the river's swiftness, hence saying "torrential rushing and surging violent currents." This means that although one cherishes and loves the body, wishing to make it last long, yet moment to moment it does not abide—this is the time of drifting and drowning. Second, due to its swiftness, one cannot know its faults as they truly are, nor can one see the other shore of nirvāṇa, hence saying "having no leisure to observe"; such is this drifting and drowning. Fifth, "pursued by sensual thoughts," etc., is "vast." This means that following sensual thoughts and the like, one comprehensively perceives the five sense objects; hence it is called vast, and one drifts and drowns based on this. The Nirvāṇa [Sūtra], for its part, takes sensual [thoughts] and the like to be poisonous insects. Second, giving rise to disasters has four [aspects]: First, attachment. Clinging to the cavernous dwelling of self and what belongs to self, one cannot move or set forth; hence it says "the rākṣasa of view of self seizes them within it." Saying "within it" means within the cavern of the aggregates. The phrase "seizes" also includes the attachment to precepts and vows. Second, from "carrying them away" onward is turning back, meaning that having previously renounced desire and managed to be born in the higher realms, through the clinging of the view of self, one returns to be born among the desires and thoughts of the lower realm. According to the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra], craving and views are both rākṣasas. That the treatise's sūtra text says "the rākṣasa within the waters of craving and views" is because the translator did not fully adapt the syntax. Third, from "in what they crave" onward is intermediate attachment, meaning that at the time of enjoyment, they seek desires and happily cling to them. Fourth, "dwelling upon the plateau of conceit" is the increase of conceit. This means that at the time of enjoying phenomena, through self-conceit, great conceit, and arrogant conceit, they elevate themselves and despise others. Conceit makes the mind haughty; hence it is compared to a plateau, upon which the rain of Dharma does not rest above, nor can the water of nature be seen below. A vast, flat height is called a plateau (yuan). A plateau is inherently high, and adding a mound (fu) atop a plateau is conceit atop conceit. In contrast to the shore of nirvāṇa, water is the affliction; in contrast to the water of Buddha-nature, the plateau is the wrong. Xianshou says: "Among the four, the first is view, the next two are craving, and the last is conceit. Within craving, first, because seeds are not extinguished, they return; second, because active manifestations are deeply attached, they are mired and drowned. Just as when a person is in a river, four things make escape difficult: first, being held fast; second, being caught in an eddying current; third, being mired in mud; fourth, being stranded on an arid sandbar without reaching the other shore. Ponder these by combining them with the metaphor." Third, explaining the loss has three [aspects]: First, the loss of having no intention to escape from good destinies. Settling in the hamlet of the six sense bases, there are no good causes here. Second, the loss of having no salvation in bad destinies; here there are no salvific conditions. Third, the loss of going to different places where none can ferry them across. This means being separated from their own good practices and being born in the various difficult places where they do not encounter a Buddha. This lacks both causes and conditions, and applies to both good and bad destinies. Below, under the remedy: first the thought of transforming arises; then from "with all" onward, the practices of transformation are accomplished. The practices of transformation are six: first, granting good causes, meaning the six pāramitās and myriad practices serve as a raft; second, acting as a salvific condition; third, causing them to be free from suffering and adversity; fourth, causing them to abandon the defilement of accumulation; fifth, realizing the stillness of nirvāṇa; sixth, causing them to attain the great wisdom of bodhi. All reverse the three passages above; ponder this. How can this benefit be attained? The treatise says, "Through the Dharma as it truly is." What is "as it truly is"? Realizing that the true nature of saṃsāra is originally suchness, directly within suffering and adversity one realizes nirvāṇa. Seeing that the original source of afflictions is of a detached nature, directly within the defilement of accumulation one accomplishes great wisdom. A teaching such as this truly grants good causes and is truly able to save.