大方廣佛華嚴經疏 8.30

8.30

From here below, the ninth section explains the portents of heaven and earth, which means that the shaking of the earth and the raising of offerings are direct manifestations of verification. Above, when the Buddha realized sambodhi, the ocean-like assembly gathered like clouds, each presenting congratulations and praise to manifest the Buddha's loftiness and depth; below, it accords with the sentiments of [beings'] capacities, and above, it harmonizes with the Buddha's vows. Therefore, the leaders of the world raised offerings for him, and heaven and earth presented portents for him. The text is divided into two parts: first, the shaking of the earth; second, the raising of offerings. The first has three parts: 1. The locus of shaking; 2. The causes of shaking; 3. The marks of shaking. Now, the first: moving from the narrow to the broad, it is provisionally said to be the Padmagarbha, but in accord with the concluding unification below, it actually encompasses the dharmadhātu. The manifold heavens are all within the Padmagarbha; hence it says, what place does that earth not encompass? Moreover, because defilement and purity interpenetrate, although Magadha is specified, the earthquake occurs across the Padmagarbha. In the second, the causes of shaking: regarding the lord to manifest superiority, it explains only the Buddha's power; the mutual response of stimulus and response also stems from the capacities of beings. Speaking generally of the causes of shaking, there are ten in total; here it corresponds to the turning of the wheel of the Dharma and also includes the attainment of the path, with the rest as in the separate chapter. In the third, the marks of shaking: below, when the earth quakes (zhen), that is sound; when it moves (dong), that is form. Sound includes roaring (hou) and striking (ji); form includes rising (qi) and leaping (yong). Therefore there are six kinds. Each of these six has three aspects, forming eighteen marks: swaying unsteadily is moving; gradually rising from below is rising; suddenly leaping up is leaping; emitting sound muffled and deep is quaking; a powerful sound choked and roaring is roaring; crashing and emitting noise is striking. As for the eighteen marks: if only one direction moves, it is simply called 'moving'; if the four directions move successively or simultaneously, it is called 'all-moving'; if the eight directions move successively or simultaneously, it is called 'universally all-moving'. Furthermore, four directions, eight directions, and ten directions in sequence are called the three marks of moving. Again, one direction moving alone, ten directions moving successively, and ten directions moving simultaneously are another three marks, and the remaining five are modeled on this. But for what purpose is there shaking? Relying on the *Viśeṣacinti-brahma-paripṛcchā-sūtra*, there are seven purposes: 1. To make the māras terrified; 2. So that at the time of preaching the Dharma the assembly's minds are not distracted; 3. To cause the indolent to give rise to awareness; 4. To cause sentient beings to know the marks of phenomena; 5. To cause sentient beings to contemplate the place where the Dharma is preached; 6. To cause those who are mature to attain liberation; 7. To cause them to accord with and inquire about the true meaning. These seven conditions above are precisely the purposes of this sūtra. The *Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā* gives four, which do not apply to this text. The above pertains to the external vessel. If [applied to] the ground of the mind, the ground of noble beings, or the ground of dharmatā, they also have the meanings of quaking and so forth, which may be sought in the realm of open contemplation. In the second part, the raising of offerings, there are three: 1. Indicating the number: the multitude of co-arisen [beings] may also be called 'leaders' because they are what beings rely on; 2. Briefly enumerating below 'what is called'; 3. Concluding universality below 'all these'.