大方廣佛華嚴經疏 47.8

47.8

Second, the verses. The one hundred and twenty verses are broadly divided into two: the first six clarify that Samantabhadra's virtues are vast and cannot be exhaustively spoken; the remaining verses clarify that the Buddha's virtues are profound and vast, and that Samantabhadra exhausts their fathomability. The former is divided into two: the first four and a half verses clarify the vastness of the counting [numbers]; the latter one and a half verses reveal the vastness of what is counted. First, the accumulation of numbers itself has ten levels to reveal inexhaustibility; from this we know that reaching up to the "turn of the ineffable" is still in accord with capacities, for according to what the Buddha knows, it is truly inexhaustible. As for the ten levels: 1. The first line accumulates the ineffable to the ineffable. However, this should accumulate the ultimate "turn of the ineffable of the ineffable," yet only accumulates the ineffable due to two reasons: first, to take what is easy to state, as the verses below frequently use it; second, to express the numbers beyond words. 2. The next three lines take the above accumulations and fill all ineffables, wherein the first line presents the topic and the latter two lines explain it. Namely, what are "all ineffables"? The explanation states: those that cannot be exhaustively spoken within ineffable kalpas. 3. Half a verse takes each of the above ineffables as a kṣetra and pulverizes them all into dust motes. 4. Half a verse shows that within each of the aforementioned dust motes there are ineffable kṣetras. 5. Half a verse takes the kṣetras within the aforementioned dust motes and in a single thought-moment pulverizes them all into dust motes. 6. Half a verse shows that pulverizing dust motes thought-moment after thought-moment further exhausts many kalpas. 7. One line clarifies that the previously pulverized dust motes again contain many kṣetras. 8. One line shows that these many kṣetras are again pulverized into dust motes. 9. Half a verse takes many calculations traversing many kalpas to count all the above dust motes, saying "such numbers." 10. Taking the kalpas equal to the above dust motes, one dust mote has one hundred thousand ineffable kalpas, thus repeating layer upon layer without end. In the second part, revealing the vastness of what is counted, three levels are briefly cited: 1. Taking the above kalpas to praise the virtue of a single Samantabhadra without exhausting it; 2. How much more so when within a single dust mote there are many Samantabhadras; 3. How much more so when there are many throughout all the dust motes of the entire dharmadhātu! From this we know virtues are inexhaustible; if one does not contemplate them with a mind that accords with nature, the mind will become deluded and crazed.