大方廣佛華嚴經疏 37.18

37.18

Third, as for the four bases of psychic power (ṛddhipāda): because striving may err in distraction, causing the fire of wisdom to be feeble, one must use samādhi to control it, and then what one desires will be mastered at will. 'Psychic' (ṛddhi) means psychic superknowledge, and 'base' (pāda) is samādhi. The Yogācārabhūmi says: 'Just as one who has feet can go and return, leap and be valiant, and is able to attain and realize superior worldly phenomena—phenomena of worldly excellence are called psychic, and because these can reach them, they are called bases of psychic power.' This is an analogy. Because supramundane dharmas are the most superior and sovereign, they are the most superior psychic power. The four samādhis, such as desire, are able to realize this; hence they are called bases of psychic power. They are also called 'bases of mastery as one wishes' (kāmapāda), because what one desires accords with one's mind. The cognitive object of the bases of psychic power is various kinds of transformative events; the intrinsic nature of the bases of psychic power is samādhi; desire, striving, mind, and investigation are all its auxiliaries. 'Desire' means fierce and ardent aspiration; 'striving' means uninterrupted zeal; 'mind' is samādhi itself, meaning concentrating the mind to guard the object; 'investigation' is wisdom, internally discerning by having heard the teachings. Through the predominant power of desire, one realizes one-pointedness of mind; this is called the samādhi of desire. The remaining three are also like this. Striving to contemplate the nature of the mind is called the highest samādhi; all take their names from their preparatory application. These four preparatory applications are precisely the 'generating desire, striving with zeal, arousing the mind, right severing', and so forth, in the preceding right strivings. Because within arousing the mind, holding the mind can produce the samādhi of the mind, since holding counteracts excessive elation; spurring the mind can produce the samādhi of investigation, since spurring counteracts excessive depression. Therefore, corresponding to any one application of mindfulness there are the four right strivings, and corresponding to any one right striving there are the four bases of psychic power. In the text, it first specifically clarifies the samādhi of desire, and later, from 'practicing zeal' onward, generally reveals the remaining three. Now first: speaking of 'practicing the samādhi of desire' identifies the auxiliary and the intrinsic nature that are cultivated. The two words 'severing practices' generally reveal the characteristics of cultivation, and also the fruit of cultivation. What are the characteristics of cultivation? These are again of two kinds: 1. Cultivating the samādhi of desire is able to sever the entanglements of all active afflictions. 2. To permanently destroy all latent dispositions (anuśaya), one cultivates the eight practices of severing—namely, desire, striving, faith, pliancy, mindfulness, clear comprehension, volition, and equanimity. How is it also a fruit? If one subordinates 'severing practices' to the following word 'attainment', then the attainment of severing practices is also the fruit of the bases of psychic power. Next, 'attaining the bases of psychic power' is solely their fruit. Later, from 'relying on revulsion' onward, it further reveals the characteristics of cultivation and also analyzes the cognitive object. According to the Abhidharmasamuccaya, only from the five faculties downward does one take the four noble truths as cognitive objects, and only from the seven limbs of awakening downward are there 'relying on revulsion' and so on as characteristics of cultivation. Now in this sūtra, the bases of psychic power are cultivated by taking the four truths as cognitive objects: cultivating with reference to suffering must rely on revulsion toward suffering; cultivating with reference to origination must rely on dispassion; cultivating with reference to cessation must seek the realization of cessation; cultivating with reference to the path must tend toward the practice of ending suffering, which is able to abandon suffering. When taking these objects as cognitive conditions, one must seek cultivation; hence it says 'dedicating' (pariṇāmanā), which also refers to the four paths of preparatory application, etc. The phrases below, 'relying on revulsion' and so forth, are all explained in the same way.