大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 21.26

21.26

Regarding the Commentary's stating that "in the stone cave leaving a shadow, the venomous dragon transformed its heart," ge means to transform. This is from the Guanfo sanmei hai jing. That narrative is extremely long; now its main points will be summarized. That is, in the seventh fascicle, the Buddha told Ānanda: "The Tathāgata went to the dwelling of the ancient ṛṣi in the country of Nagarahāra, staying in the Campaka flower grove. There was a venomous dragon's pool north of the blue lotus spring, and south of the stone cave of the rākṣasas on Mount Anāsa. At that time, in that cave were five rākṣasīs who transformed into dragon-maidens and consorted with the venomous dragon. The dragon then sent down hailstorms, and the rākṣasas acted wildly; famine and pestilence had already lasted for four years. At that time the king was terrified and offered prayers and sacrifices to the spirits and gods, but with no benefit to the situation." Below, the meaning is cited in summary: A certain brahmin praised the Buddha's virtues, and the king burned incense, inviting the Tathāgata from afar. The Tathāgata accepted the invitation of King Shubhabhūti of Nagarahāra and broadly manifested divine transformations. After the rākṣasas and the venomous dragon had received transformation, at that time the dragon king knelt on both knees with palms joined and entreatingly requested the World-Honoured One: "I only wish the Tathāgata would constantly abide here. If the Buddha is not present, I will give rise to evil intentions, with no way to attain anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi." Without leaving the dragon's cave, the World-Honoured One also accepted the king's invitation to enter the city to teach and transform. He wandered through places where he had practiced the bodhisattva path in the past, and all the dragons followed him. Hearing that the Buddha wished to return, they wept and shed tears, saying to the Buddha: "World-Honoured One! We request the Buddha to constantly abide here. Why abandon us? If we do not see the Buddha, we will commit evil deeds and fall into the evil destinies." At that time the World-Honoured One comforted the dragon king: "I accept your request, and will sit in your cave for one thousand five hundred years." Śākyamuni Buddha leapt up and entered the stone, just like a bright mirror where people see the reflection of a face. All the dragons saw the Buddha inside the stone, his shadow appearing outside. At that time the dragons joined their palms in joy, not leaving their pool, constantly seeing the Buddha-sun. At that time the World-Honoured One sat cross-legged inside the stone wall; when sentient beings saw him, looking from afar they saw him, but up close he did not appear. Hundreds of thousands of devas made offerings to the Buddha's shadow, and the shadow also preached the Dharma. At that time the Brahma King reverently joined his palms and praised in verse: "The Tathāgata abides in the stone cave, / Leaping his body into the stone, / Like the sun without obstruction, / Complete with golden-light marks. / I now bow my head in worship / To the Muni, the World-Honoured Savior." The sūtra text is very extensive. It also instructs sentient beings to visualize the Buddha's seat: seeing a sixteen-foot image sitting on a grass seat, one visualizes a stone cave eighteen feet high and twenty-four paces deep, visualized as blue-white stone. Furthermore, one visualizes this cave becoming a cave of seven jewels, seeing the form and image of the Buddha leaping into the stone wall, and so forth. The Guang hongming ji says that Master Huiyuan had this "Eulogy on the Stone Shadow," describing the location in complete agreement with the sūtra, stating: "Located in an ancient ṛṣi's stone chamber on the southern mountain of the country of Nagarahāra in the Western Regions; crossing the flowing sands, the route is 15,850 li from here." His responses that moved the world are fully recorded in his separate biography. Fascicle 8 of the Xiyu ji also quotes Master Huiyuan's preface: "Formerly meeting a śramaṇa from the Western Regions, I eagerly took in his accounts of traveling abroad, learning of the Buddha's shadow, yet those who transmitted it were not yet clear about it. However, when on this mountain, I encountered a Kashmiri meditation master and a Vinaya-master Daoist from the southern countries; their accounts matched what I had heard before, both having personally traveled through those lands. Thereupon detailing the matter, I drew it and composed an inscription, which says: / 'Vast is the great image! / Its principle is profound and nameless. / Its essence is spiritual, entering transformation, / Casting its shadow, transcending form. / Revolving brilliance upon layered crags, / Congealing radiance upon empty pavilions. / In darkness it is not dimmed; / Dwelling in shadow it shines all the more. / Gracefully emerging like a cicada's slough, / Revered by hundreds of spirits. / Responses vary according to place; / Traces vanish into the obscure.' (First) / 'Boundless is the desolate realm, / With none to exhort or encourage. / In tranquil emptiness its countenance is traced; / Brushing the void, the image is passed on. / Marks complete, its substance subtle, / Its spiritual bearing naturally luminous. / The white ūrṇā emits radiance, / Dispelling gloom in the dark night. / Responding when moved by sincerity, / Striking the trigger, resonance resounds. / Lingering sounds remain in the peaks; / Ferrying across, awakening to subtle appreciation. / Caressing it, there is encounter; / Its efficacy does not stem from outward form.' (Second) / The rest is as in the Guang hongming ji. The Kashmiri meditation master was the Tripiṭaka master Yaśas. Regarding the Commentary's 'Among worldly people, none fail to have a beginning' and so forth: this originally comes from Wang's commentary on the Mao Poetry, and the Zhouyi also uses this expression. Mi means none. Xian means few. Ke means able.