大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 16.12

16.12

疏「大方是體，大方無隅故」者，大方廣三字，總有三義：一、三字別釋，配體相用，如下廣說。二、方廣兩字屬之為用，對上大字為體。三者、大方為體，方字屬大，便成無方。言大方無隅者，語出《老子．德經》云「上德若谷，大白若辱，廣德若不足。建德若偷，質真若渝。大方無隅，大器晚成。大音希聲，大象無形。道隱無名，夫唯道善貸且成。」意云：小則有其圭角，大即絕其方隅。隅即角也，借其言用。今大方即法界，等於虛空，何有隅角？

Regarding the Commentary's statement, "'Great and vast' (dafang) is the essence, because the great square has no corners": the three characters da fang guang ("great, vast, and broad") have three meanings in total: 1. Explaining the three characters separately, correlating them with essence, characteristic, and function, as will be explained extensively below. 2. Ascribing the two characters fang guang ("vast and broad") to function, paired against the character da ("great") above as essence. 3. Taking dafang ("great and vast") as essence: the character fang belongs to da, thus forming "directionless" (wufang). The expression "the great square has no corners" comes from Laozi's Dejing, which says: "Highest virtue is like a valley; greatest white seems stained; expansive virtue seems deficient. Established virtue seems negligent; solid authenticity seems changeable. The great square has no corners; great vessels are completed late. The great tone sounds faint; the great image has no form. The Way is hidden and nameless; yet the Way alone excels at lending and bringing to completion." The intended meaning is: what is small has its sharp angles, whereas what is great eliminates its spatial corners. "Corner" (yu) means an angle; its wording is borrowed and applied here. Now, dafang is the dharmadhātu, which is equal to empty space; how could it have any corners or angles?