大方廣佛華嚴經疏 60.2

60.2

Second, from "good man, a good spiritual friend is like a loving mother" onward, teaching and encouraging, meaning instructing him in the method of serving the friend. The text has four sections, all revealed through metaphors. 1. Instructing him to be mindful of the superior virtues of the friend; within this, first praising the superiority, and next, from "one should always like this..." onward, concluding with encouragement. 2. From "furthermore, you serving..." onward, instructing him to give rise to the mind and practice of serving the friend; there are twenty-one clauses, and the text is clear. 3. From "furthermore, toward your own body you should..." onward, contrasting and distinguishing between oneself and the friend; there are ten clauses, each clause having four matters, which can be understood. 4. From "good man, you should generate such a mind" onward, concluding with encouragement to accomplish the benefits. In this there are two parts: first, directly encouraging; next, from "why?" onward, citing the benefits to explain and establish it. In this there are also two parts: first, directly explaining the benefits of serving the friend; next, from "furthermore" onward, reiterating praise of the friend as being able to benefit, so one ought to serve him. Third, from "good man, in brief" onward, concluding both portals of admonition and encouragement together, meaning that individual explanations are hard to exhaust, so it concludes the extensive by following the concise. In this there are also two parts: first, lodging in numbers to conclude the many; next, from "I shall further briefly explain" onward, generally gathering and concluding the many. Since it extends to all, how could it be merely hundreds of thousands? It clearly shows that what was previously called ten ineffables was intended to reveal inexhaustibility. Sixth, from "then Sudhana..." onward, cherishing his virtues, paying homage, and taking leave.