大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 55.10

55.10

疏「然蜂」下，三別釋喻。法喜如蜜，蜜即食故。故《法華》云「法喜禪悅食，更無餘食想。」解脫合上甘露，甘露如漿故。故《淨名》云「甘露法之食，解脫味為漿。」即甘露為食。今以蜜當於食，故以甘露配於解脫。故《涅槃》中亦以甘露況於涅槃，涅槃即解脫故。

From the Commentary's "However, bees…" onward is the third part, distinctly explaining the metaphors. The joy of the Dharma is like honey, for honey is food. Therefore the Lotus Sūtra says: "With the food of Dharma joy and dhyāna delight, / There is no further thought of other food." Liberation matches the aforementioned sweet dew (amṛta), for sweet dew is like syrup. Thus the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa says: "With sweet dew as the food of Dharma, / The flavour of liberation serves as syrup"—that is, sweet dew serves as food. Here, honey corresponds to food, so sweet dew is matched with liberation. Therefore, in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra as well, sweet dew is used to metaphorise nirvāṇa, since nirvāṇa is indeed liberation.