大方廣佛華嚴經疏 58.24

58.24

Third, from 'At that time, that night-goddess' onward, [she] praises and confers the Dharma. Therein, [she] first praises, and then from 'Good son, I have attained' onward, [she] directly confers the dharmadhātu. Therein are two [parts]: first, [she] briefly designates the name and essence. According to what follows, there are two meanings: first, generating joy because transforming sentient beings fulfills her aspiration, which is the adornment of merit; second, rejoicing because of contemplating the superior functions of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, which is the adornment of wisdom. Since contemplation and transformation are uninterrupted, joy also arises from thought to thought. Later, from 'Sudhana said' onward, [the text] extensively reveals its marks. Therein are three [parts]: first, revealing and explaining the activities and functions; second, clarifying the causes of the liberation; and third, making known the duration since [her] initial resolve, each having questions and answers. Now, first, the questions are four: first, asking about the activities and functions that are initiated; second, asking about the sphere that is practiced; third, asking about the skillful means that can initiate, which complete what is initiated above; and fourth, asking about the contemplation that can contemplate, which completes what is practiced above. In the subsequent answers, they are divided into four: First, answering what skillful means are initiated, taking the mind of the simultaneous functioning of compassion and wisdom and so forth as the skillful means that can initiate. Second, from 'Having generated this mind' onward, answering what enterprises [she] performs, because she takes transforming sentient beings as her proper enterprise. Third, from 'Furthermore, good son, I constantly contemplate' onward, answering what contemplation [she] performs, meaning contemplating the bodhisattvas and the Tathāgatas. Fourth, from 'Furthermore, good son, this liberation is boundless' onward, answering what sphere [she] practices, taking the non-duality of the capable and the objective, boundless, inexhaustible, extremely profound, and vast, as the sphere of practice. Because in the questions [he] wishes to reveal the distinction between the capable and the objective, [he] first asks about what is completed and then asks about what can complete [it]; in the answers, wishing to reveal that the capable and the objective accomplish each other, alternating sentences correspond to each other. Furthermore, because the capable initiates the objective, [the text] first distinguishes the capable. Moreover, although in the contemplation there is an object contemplated, the intention lies in the capable contemplation. In the sphere practiced, although it is that which is practiced, the meaning encompasses both the capable and the objective; therefore, the four questions are entirely distinct. It is for this reason that the Jin version's 'what sphere is practiced,' 'what sphere is it named,' and 'how is it' encompass the sphere of the scope [of practice], not merely the object of contemplation. Now first, within the skillful means that can initiate, there are twenty minds: the first ten initiate the mind of great wisdom that seeks upward, and the latter ten minds, from 'I arouse [the mind] to make all sentient beings transcend' onward, are the mind of great compassion that transforms downward. In the second part, answering the enterprises performed, there are the designation, explanation, and conclusion. The initial designation can be known. Second, from 'That is to say' onward, [the text] individually explains, having thirty-seven gates, divided into three: First, the fifteen gates transform and remedy their ten obscurations with the ten pāramitās according to what is suitable. Therein, the first five gates jointly clarify giving and morality, because when all attachments are abandoned, morality is pure; the latter ten minds clarify the remaining eight pāramitās, with prajñā and vows each having two gates. Next, from 'Those who lack complete physical marks' onward, there are twelve gates, transforming sentient beings without merit and causing them to attain the cause and fruition merits of buddhahood and see the paramārtha-satya. Later, from 'Those who have much lustful conduct' onward, there are ten gates, which merely break their obstacles of afflictions through remedial gates. Third, from 'Good son, I, through these and such' onward, [she] summarizes the intention of transformation. Seeing beings attain benefit, [she] experiences great joy; this is the first meaning in explaining the name. In the third part, answering the question on contemplation, therein are two: first, contemplating the sphere of bodhisattvas; and second, from 'Good son, I contemplate this bodhimaṇḍa' onward, contemplating the superior functions of the Buddha. Therein are three: first, concluding the preceding to introduce what follows, because from 'knowing the Buddha's spiritual power' onward the meaning corresponds to introducing what follows; next, from 'I contemplate Vairocana' onward, directly revealing its ten gates; and finally, from 'Having seen this, I, in thought after thought' onward, summarizing, immediately concluding the preceding ten gates and also distantly concluding the preceding contemplation of the bodhisattvas' sphere, because the spheres contemplated all correspond to the nature. Therein, [she] first designates that joy accomplishes benefit. Later, from 'Why is this?' onward, [she] investigates and explains the reason for the benefit: because the great wisdom that can contemplate accords with the essence and marks of the dharmadhātu, the faith and so forth generated are equal to the sarvajñā. In the fourth part, answering the question on the sphere practiced, it penetrates two kinds of spheres: as when saying 'the gate of entering the dharmadhātu' is the sphere contemplated, and 'arousing the mind of the nature of all-knowledge' is the sphere of the scope. The rest can be inferred accordingly. The text is divided into three: first, the teaching through Dharma in ten gates; next, from 'Just like a shadow' onward, the teaching through similes in twenty-two gates, because the profound and vast marks are difficult to know; and finally, the single sentence from 'I now, for your sake' onward summarizes and exhorts practice. Second, from 'At that time, the youth Sudhana' onward, clarifying the causes of attaining liberation, there is first the question and then the answer. The answer is just the ten pāramitās as causes, which can be known. Third, from 'The youth Sudhana said: "Noble One"' onward, clarifying the duration since the resolve was aroused, [he] wishes to reveal that the root of the path is deep. There is first the question and then the answer. In the answer are two: first, the prose, wherein are three: first, arousing the resolve and cultivating practice in other oceans of worlds; second, from 'Thereafter, when life ended' onward, cultivating practice and attaining the Dharma in the Sahā world; and third, from 'Good son, you asked me' onward, concluding the response to his question. Now first, [it is] divided into two: first, cultivating during the first kalpa of world-dust [number of kalpas]; and second, cultivating during the second kalpa of world-dust. In the former, it is divided into five: first, generally revealing the ocean of worlds; second, from 'In this world' onward, individually showing the time and place; third, from 'There was a buddha named Non-retrogressing' onward, revealing that at the initial buddha she aroused the resolve and attained samādhi, which is the direct response to the question on arousing the resolve. From this point onward, all reveal cultivating practice and attaining the Dharma; thus one knows that the earlier question also implicitly contained asking about the duration since attaining the Dharma. The deity's name being 'Complete' and so forth also signifies that on the fifth stage one enters the conventional, because merit and wisdom are lofty and superior. Fourth, from 'In this bodhimaṇḍa there was next a Tathāgata' onward, [the text] briefly lists the nine buddhas that succeeded the former. Fifth, from 'Good son, Pure Light' onward, [she] concludes the brief to reveal the extensive, here citing that during one kalpa she served and attended as many buddhas as world-dust motes. Second, from 'Passing away from here, she immediately returned' onward, [she] cultivated practice during the second kalpa of world-dust. The world is not different from the previous one, hence it says 'returned.' The time of the kalpa is different, saying it spanned world-dust [kalpas]. Although she passed away repeatedly before, here it speaks of the end of the previous kalpa; thus one knows that the previous Universal Light Banner kalpa was a great kalpa, within which were already contained as many minor kalpas as world-dust motes; here it merely clarifies the dust-number minor kalpas, omitting the name of the great kalpa, the two texts mutually implying and omitting. Therefore below it concludes, saying, 'Cultivated bodhisattva practices throughout kalpas as numerous as the fine dust motes of two buddha-fields.' Thus, in the previous section, the arising of one Tathāgata in meaning corresponds to one kalpa. If the Universal Light kalpa were taken as one of the world-dusts, and below this passing away [it] formed a kalpa of world-dust, then the character 'two' would be missing; therefore, the Jin version says 'in that world passed through kalpas as numerous as the fine dust motes of two buddha-fields,' which only then accords with the statement of two kalpas in the text below. Since one kalpa already had as many buddhas as world-dust motes, the buddhas were exceedingly numerous. Second, regarding cultivating practice and attaining the Dharma in the Sahā world, therein are two: first, citing the three buddhas prior to this; and later, from 'Next, she met Vairocana' onward, revealing that meeting the root teacher she attained the present liberation; thus what was attained previously, looking toward this, were all causes. Therein are two: first, the name and essence; and later, from 'Having attained this liberation' onward, clarifying the activities and functions. The activities and functions here are not merely the enterprises, precisely because the four previous questions were all activities and functions, so this encompasses them all. Therein are two: first, designating the number of oceans entered; and later, from 'saw all of them' onward, clarifying that what was seen in the ocean was progressively deep and subtle. Briefly, there are four levels: first, the dust motes in the ocean of worlds; second, the worlds within the dust motes; third, the buddhas within the worlds; and fourth, from 'and also saw in that' onward, the transformations of the Buddha's body hairs. Therein are two: first, the supernormal powers expounding the Dharma; and later, from 'I attained' onward, clarifying the night-goddess's awakening and entry. Therein are two: first, generally revealing the awakening subject and object; and second, from 'each and every dharma-gate' onward, clarifying the multi-layered subtlety. Therein are two: first, generally revealing the ten levels; and later, from 'each and every light of wisdom' onward, individually revealing the functions of the light of wisdom. Now first, there are ten levels of 'all,' revealing the inexhaustible dharma-gates. Among the ten, the first five are based on what is awakened to: 1. the dharma-gate, like in the single gate of prajñā there are many sūtras; 2. any single sūtra explicates many profound and vast dharmas, meaning it contains the various pāramitās and so forth; 3. any single profound dharma has many varieties; 4. in any single variety there are many phenomenal dharmas, each single dharma containing purports like clouds; 5. from any single root cloud of dharma, there stream forth numerous branches. The latter five are based on the capable awakening, which can be known. Second, regarding individually revealing the functions of the light of wisdom, this is the eleventh level, which merely expands the boundless function of the final level, thus analogizing the preceding multiple layers as inexhaustible. Therein, the initial sentence generally encompasses the horizontal and vertical; later, from 'knowing immeasurable Tathāgatas' onward, [she] individually reveals what is known within the horizontal and vertical. Therein are five: 1. knowing the Tathāgatas' practices on the causal ground; 2. from 'knowing that in the past [they] surpassed the bodhisattva stages' onward, knowing the buddhas' stations on the causal ground; 3. from 'knowing that when [they] were bodhisattvas [they] constantly saw' onward, knowing their functions on the causal ground—the above three know the causes; 4. from 'knowing that immeasurable Tathāgatas emit great light' onward, knowing the fruition functions; 5. from 'those Tathāgatas' onward, generally knowing causes and fruitions. Third, concluding the response to his question, therein are three: first, concluding the preceding; next, from 'and in this kalpa' onward, analogously revealing the future and other realms; and later, from 'Good son' onward, concluding with the exhortation to cultivate and learn. Second, the verses consist of ten verses, divided into three: the first one warns to listen and exhorts cultivation; the next eight directly clarify past practices, wherein the first four are practices of wisdom offering upward, and the latter four are compassionate minds saving downward; the last one concludes the scope of the practices.