大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 2.25

2.25

In the Commentary, "Moreover, encountering a sagely sovereign, and being able on the Sacred Mountain to exhaust my thoughts on the profound principle, how could there not be joyous leaping!" is the second [part], rejoicing for oneself by considering the present. In this rejoicing there are three: first, rejoicing in the time; second, rejoicing in the place; third, rejoicing in what is practiced. The first is "moreover, encountering a sagely sovereign," meaning that an era of clarity is difficult to encounter, and now we meet an enlightened and sagely Son of Heaven, who expounds the Five Teachings and loftily propagates the One Vehicle, with arrays of monasteries facing each other and the sounds of bells and Sanskrit chanting intermingling, so that one can reside in leisure in the halls of learning and probe the profundities of the mysterious gate—this is the first blessing. Second, "being able [to be] on the Sacred Mountain" rejoices in the place. The Sacred Mountain of Qingliang is the foremost of the three thousand [worlds], where the Great Sage Mañjuśrī, the ancestral master of all Buddhas, [resides]; although the Golden World is in the east, the place where he dwells is itself the Golden World. Although the Great Sage pervades the dharmadhātu, his gathering of receptive capacities is ever on this mountain. The response to sympathetic resonance is universal, like reflections descending into a hundred streams; Qingliang is ever-present, like the pale moon clear in the sky. The ten thousand sages mysteriously give aid upon the Five Peaks; hundreds of spirits transmit the blessing through a thousand ages; moreover, the Great Fu Lingjiu monastery bears the name of a holy temple, and this single, insignificant monk is privileged to be numbered among its dwellers. For this joyous fortune, I feel ashamed across many lifetimes—this is the second blessing. Third, "to exhaust my thoughts on the profound principle" rejoices in what is practiced. The Buddhāvataṃsaka-mahāvaipulya-sūtra is the deep treasury of Vairocana, the core marrow of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, that which all Buddhas realize, and that which all bodhisattvas uphold. It encompasses nature and characteristics without omission, and completes principle and wisdom to stand uniquely preeminent. It does not fall into the hands of ordinary people; how fortunate to receive and uphold it! Even bodhisattvas of accumulated practice are still bewildered; how fortunate to explore its profound depths! Giving up one's life finds its proper place; exhausting one's thoughts finds its proper destination—this is the third blessing. "How could there not be joyous leaping" concludes the three above. It is like being drowned in the great ocean and encountering a fragrant boat, or falling from the vast sky and mounting a miraculous crane; at the extremity of joy and leaping, how could dancing hands ever suffice? Therefore, in my feelings of gratitude and joy, only the sages and worthies truly know me.