大方廣佛華嚴經疏 9.7

9.7

Now, as for the first: we first distinguish the differences in the questions and requests across the various assemblies through five gates: 1. The presence or absence of questions; 2. Differences in the Dharma asked about; 3. Distinctions in the persons capable of asking; 4. Differences in ritual protocol; 5. The provisional or real nature of doubt. Regarding the first gate: the first two and the last two—these four [assemblies] have questions, while the middle five have none. That is, the first assembly questions because it points to the fruition to initiate the cause. The second assembly questions because it traces the cause to reach the fruition; but because causes have higher and lower grades, it relies on six assemblies to answer them; since the fruition has no distinctions, the seventh assembly itself answers it. Furthermore, if other assemblies have questions, they are all subsumed under the particular meanings of those assemblies, or they reiterate what came before, and are not questions concerning the major stations. The eighth assembly explains causes and fruition fully ripened, and therefore must have questions; that is, the cultivation of practice being unobstructed, the six stations are immediately completed, and therefore that assembly itself answers it. The ninth assembly explains causes and fruition that accord with nature, and therefore has distinct questions; that is, because all enter the dharmadhātu without distinction, that assembly itself also answers it. Across the four locations there are three hundred and ten questions in all: the first and second have forty questions each, the eighth has two hundred, and the ninth has thirty; in the medium and broad recensions, the questions are inconceivable. Regarding the second, the differences in what is asked: the questions of the first two assemblies are broad regarding the fruition and brief regarding the cause, in order to accomplish faith and understanding. The questions of the eighth assembly are broad regarding the cause and brief regarding the fruition, in order to accomplish practice. The questions of the ninth assembly are identical to those of the first assembly, but in terms of cause, they present the cause of the primary Buddha, clarifying that the cause is the cause of the fruition, and revealing that it is accessible only by realization. Regarding the third, the differences in the persons capable of asking: in both the first and the ninth assemblies, both kinds of assemblies—those born of identical nature and those born of different nature—question together, because the Dharma asked about is that upon which all assemblies equally rely. In the second assembly, only those born of identical nature question, because among those who enter the stages, those born of identical nature are superior. In the eighth assembly, only one person among those born of identical nature questions by himself, because the practices cultivated are individually accomplished. Regarding the fourth, the ritual protocol of requesting: there are again two aspects: 1. In terms of words and mental [intent]; 2. In terms of the general and the specific. In the first aspect, requests are of two kinds: 1. Spoken; 2. Mental. Answers are also of two kinds: 1. Spoken answers; 2. Manifestation of marks. Cross-matching them against each other should form nine permutations, but in the text there are only four. In the first assembly, both questions and answers are complete: that is, in the prose of the 'Chapter on the Manifestation of Marks', there is a mental request regarding offerings, and a spoken request voiced aloud. The first light revealing the master of the Dharma, the manifestation of flowers representing the meaning, and the manifestation of assemblies representing the teaching—these constitute the answer through the manifestation of marks. In the 'Chapter on Samādhi', the request is reiterated in words, and the following three chapters also answer in words. The second assembly has only mental requests; the Tathāgata first answers with marks, and the bodhisattvas answer with speech. The Buddha's mind is master of itself and does not wait upon the arising of speech; the Buddha's power is supreme and can answer by manifesting marks. The eighth assembly has spoken requests and spoken answers, revealing that bodhisattvas are not the same as the Buddha. The ninth assembly has mental requests and answers through the manifestation of marks, revealing mind-to-mind transmission, correspondence purely through realization, and transcendence of speech. Regarding the second aspect, general and specific: the first and last assemblies have specific questions and general answers; the second and eighth assemblies have specific questions and specific answers. Moreover, the first assembly may also be taken as having specific questions and specific answers, as will be clarified in the subsequent text. Regarding the fifth, the provisional or real nature of doubt: Question: The kingly bodhisattvas have all reached the consummate limit of their stages; how could they have doubt? Some say: It is on behalf of sentient beings' doubt. Some say: Because they aspire to the Buddha's fruition, and also to reveal the vast distance between cause and fruition. However, of the above two explanations, the first is provisional and the second is real; both have reason and can be applied to other teachings. Yet in this sūtra, whether real or provisional, none is not the doubt of the dharmadhātu; because doubt possesses efficacy, it forms the dependent origination with what is expounded and realized. This matter has always been thus, instantaneously manifested in the oceanic reflection samādhi. Regarding doubt and its answer: thought-moment by thought-moment there is constant doubt, and thought-moment by thought-moment it is constantly severed. It is just like a casting mold: due to the height of the mold, the low part of the image is formed; due to the low part of the mold, the high part of the image is formed. This is because the dharmadhātu of dependent origination is necessarily so in principle.