大方廣佛華嚴經疏 51.4

51.4

Second, explaining the title. There are also three distinctions: 1. The title of the section: obscuring the names of those stages and merely manifesting the dharmas of practice is intended to reveal the non-obstruction of practice and stages and the perfect interpenetration of prior and subsequent; therefore it is named thus. 2. The title of the assembly: in terms of the Dharma, it does not differ from the section's title; in terms of place, it is called the Assembly in the Hall of Universal Light, which is the third assembly [held there]. It is the seventh repeated assembly, because at the conclusion of the assemblies one returns to the beginning. Although it surpassed the four heavens, all were assemblies for generating understanding; now, re-convening the assembly, it comprehensively corresponds to the beginning and end of that section, accomplishing practice based on understanding, and hence the assembly is at Universal Light. In the previous section, the generation of understanding had distinctions, and so it was entrusted to successive locations to reveal shallow and deep; in this section, the arising of practice is perfectly interpenetrating, and therefore a single assembly gathers together both cause and fruit, also signifying that accomplishing practice does not depart from universal radiant wisdom. Here, without being separated by other places, what meaning of a 'repeated assembly' is there? In terms of sequence, earlier and later times precisely constitute the meaning of 'repetition'. In terms of perfect interpenetration, it is called repetition in terms of meaning; therefore, without moving from the previous two, it ascended to the four heavens. Comparing the second and seventh, how could there be any separation? One clearly knows that in terms of meaning, it is like the unobstructed interpenetration of lamp lights, and also like a lamp wick flaring again to shine anew. In terms of persons, it is called the Assembly of Questions and Answers between Samantamati and Samantabhadra. 3. The chapter title has two parts: 1. obtaining the name; 2. explaining the name. As for the first, there are again two: 1. Variant titles. There are ten meanings below, which will be discerned when reaching that point. There is an independent translation entitled the *Sūtra on Crossing Over the World* (Dushi jing), where 'crossing over' has the meaning of 'leaving'. There is also an independent translation entitled the *Sūtra of the Two Thousand Questions Answered by Samantabhadra Bodhisattva*, which receives its designation based on the persons and dharmas capable of leaving. 2. Directly discerning the original designation: as a whole, it receives its name from transcending the defilements of the world. Distinctly, there are three meanings: 1. in terms of Dharma; 2. in terms of practice; 3. in terms of stages. In terms of Dharma, first comes the world, and second, leaving the world. There are three categories: 1. In terms of phenomena, there are two worlds: the vessel and sentient beings; this divides them according to container and contained. 2. In terms of coarse and subtle, there are also two: the conditioned world and the unconditioned world; this divides them according to share-and-span [saṃsāra] and transformational [saṃsāra]. Because transformational [saṃsāra] is not subsumed under the three realms of existence, it is called unconditioned. Thus the *Śrīmālādevī-sūtra* states: 'Conditioned birth and death, and unconditioned birth and death.' Yet although coarse and subtle differ, their essence does not go beyond the two. 3. In terms of defilement and purity, there are three: to the initial two, the wisdom of sambodhi manifested as identical to the world is added, yet it is not the same as the world, as discerned in the *Daśabhūmika-śāstra*. Second, explaining 'leaving': leaving has two meanings: 1. leaving by nature, because the world's nature being empty is precisely transcending the world; 2. explaining leaving in terms of phenomena, because when practice is accomplished there is no defilement. The verse of Balavana states: 'The dharmas of the five aggregates in the three periods of time / Are spoken of as the world; / Their cessation is not the world: / These are merely conventional designations.' Cessation applies to both meanings. In leaving phenomena, there are semblance-leaving and true leaving, partial leaving and complete leaving, which will be discerned below. 2. In terms of practice, it is briefly analyzed in four propositions: 1. following; 2. leaving; 3. both; 4. eliminating both. As for 'following', ordinary mortals are submerged in the aggregates of the world; they neither leave nor [consciously] follow. Followers of the two vehicles lack compassion and cannot follow the world; though they leave, it is not true. Only when the bodhisattva can follow is it true leaving; hence 'following' is used to explain 'leaving'. As for 'leaving', because of having great wisdom, they understand that the world is by nature free [from defilement]; dwelling in it without defilement also differs from ordinary mortals and the Hinayāna. As for 'both', because of compassion they constantly act in the world; because of wisdom they are not defiled by worldly dharmas. Since they take the non-duality of the world and its nature-leaving as their object, they take the non-duality of compassion and wisdom as their practice. The interpenetration of object and practice has three propositions: 1. Compassion is never without wisdom, so the world is never not left; therefore, constantly remaining in the world, they have never not departed from it. 2. Wisdom is never without compassion, so leaving is never not the world; therefore, perpetually transcending beyond the world, there is nowhere they do not roam the world. 3. Because both are fused, movement and stillness are non-dual, being solely a single thought—namely, no-thought. Because of no-thought and so forth, between the worldly and the supramundane there is no obstruction. As for 'eliminating both', since the object consists of both the world and nature-leaving mutually neutralizing and both perishing, compassion and wisdom are completely fused, and the two thoughts are simultaneously terminated. Furthermore, because object and practice are mutually dependent, mutually neutralizing and equally abandoned, they are absolute and beyond words. Fusing the previous four propositions without any obstruction is what constitutes truly leaving the world. 3. In terms of stages: ordinary mortals are defiled and do not leave; the two vehicles have partial leaving which is not true, meaning that in the fruit they leave share-and-span [saṃsāra], and in the cause they have only phenomenal leaving, which is not what is elucidated here. The bodhisattva is equipped with the above true practice and can be said to leave, yet it is not ultimate. Only the Buddha is [truly] leaving, hence the sūtra states: 'The Buddha is constantly in the world, yet is not defiled by worldly dharmas.' However, in the present text, being equipped with the practices of the six stations is precisely leaving through practice; the stages upon which the practice relies are precisely leaving through stages. Therefore, whether phenomenal or noumenal, whether causal or fruitional, all are called 'leaving'.