大方廣佛華嚴經疏 4.14

4.14

Third, regarding the specific explanation of the time: previously, 'at one time' was indicated, yet it was not known what time; therefore it is now specifically revealed that this was the time when he first attained buddhahood, and it also makes evident the time when the Great Master appeared. Because this teaching is supreme and because it is the root of all teachings, it takes place at the initial time. The word 'initial' is still general: how many days constitute this 'initial', and do the texts of the nine assemblies share this same initial time or not? There are, in brief, three explanations: First, explaining in terms of not destroying the marks of prior and subsequent: having just accomplished [enlightenment], in the first seven days he preached the first five assemblies; on the second seven days he preached the 'Ten Stages' and so on; the ninth single assembly was then at a later time, because the Jetavana and Śāriputra both belong to a later time. Preaching continuously does not hinder [its being at] a later time; although he can preach頓 [suddenly / all at once], it has that which it symbolizes. Because faith, understanding, practice, and vow of the first five are most initial, it is therefore said in all of them that he did not leave the Bodhi tree. For the sixth assembly, the stage of realization on the causal ground ranks next in depth, so it does not say that he did not rise from the Bodhi tree. The ultimate realization of the dharmadhātu is placed last, and also to reveal that the two vehicles are utterly cut off from seeing and hearing it; although in different places and at distinct times, they are also not separate from one another: in order to lodge in an impure land to manifest the pure, there must be prior and subsequent. If so, why did Vasubandhu say: 'In the first seven days he did not preach, but only contemplated the practice of the practice of causes and conditions'? Vasubandhu, as soon as he saw the Daśabhūmika, immediately composed a commentary on it; perhaps he had not yet exhausted the extensive text, or perhaps his understanding had discrepancies and was not completely definitive. Bodhiruci's intention was largely the same as this. Second, following the explanation of the commentary: all nine assemblies were after the second seven days; the second seven days are not long [after], so it is also called 'first attained'. Third, explaining according to the ultimate perfect interpenetration: all were within a single thought of the initial attainment; with one voice he suddenly expounded the inexhaustible text of the seven places and nine assemblies. Within the ocean-seal samādhi, it was imprinted and manifested at one time; appearing in the world in response to capacities, as soon as capacities resonate, there is immediate response, and where there is response there is preaching, so there is no fault of untimeliness. The Jetavana and Śāriputra are simply the mutual containment of the nine periods of time, and the statements about repeated assemblies are also like the interpenetration of lamp lights; thus, when the dharmadhātu emits light, one also sees bodhisattvas everywhere sitting in bodhimaṇḍas attaining sambodhi. Therefore, at the beginning of the 'Ten Stages' in this sūtra there is no mention of the second seven days; the mention of the second seven days accords with distinct capacities. Therefore, the various sūtras and treatises show many discrepancies regarding the time of the first preaching: namely, the two sūtras Lalitavistara and Guhyakādhipati state that on the second seven days he immediately preached the three vehicles; the Lotus Sūtra says that only after three seven days did he preach the Hinayāna; the Dharmaguptaka-vinaya says six seven days; the Xingxianxing jing says seven seven days; the Mahīśāsaka-vinaya says eight seven days; the Mahāprajñāpāramitōpadeśa says fifty-seven days. Some say it is largely identical to the one year of the Shi'er you jing. Since the times are not fixed, the preachings are also not the same; all differ in what is seen and heard according to what is suitable for the faculties and vessels. In terms of the Buddha responding to capacities, there is no time he does not preach; looking from the perspective of vessels without resonance, he has never preached. Those who have ascended the stages constantly see him always preaching the sūtra of one flavor; speaking with respect to the Buddha, there is neither preaching nor non-preaching. If one encompasses expedient means, they are all merely differences in the imprint-manifestation of the Ekayāna. One should not be rigidly attached to an unfathomable preaching; therefore, one should subsume it into tenfold layers, as has been analyzed previously. The above reveals the time.