大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 35.2

35.2

On the Commentary's passage from "All Buddhas and bodhisattvas, starting from their initial aspiration..." downward, within the text there are three parts: first, enumerating the ten kindnesses; second, concluding the greatness of the kindness; and third, citing scripture to corroborate.

Regarding the initial ten kindnesses: First is the kindness of universally enveloping [beings] upon generating the aspiration.

Second is the kindness of [undergoing] "difficult and ascetic practices," like a loving mother swallowing the bitter and spitting out the sweet, relinquishing head, eyes, marrow, and brain, state, city, wife, and child, carving one's body for a thousand lamps, casting one's form to a starving tigress, grinding one's bones at Fragrant City, and losing one's life on the Snow Mountains—deeds such as these are all for the sake of sentient beings.

Third, regarding "having no regard for one's own body," it is the kindness of single-mindedly working for others, never having a single thought for oneself, just like a loving mother who, provided only that her child is joyful, would not shrink from death. A sūtra says: "The meritorious practices cultivated by the bodhisattva are neither for oneself nor for another; it is solely with the mind of supreme wisdom that they are dedicated for the benefit of sentient beings."

Fourth is the kindness of "descending in form into the six destinies": having already realized the path of cessation, they ought to enjoy the unconditioned bliss of quiescent cessation, yet they descend in bodily forms into the six destinies, comprehensively entering the three bad destinations, rescuing living beings through long kalpas, entering the hells, and ransoming all sentient beings with their own bodies.

Fifth is the kindness of "following and accompanying sentient beings." The above explained the horizontal pervasiveness across the six destinies; here it refers to not abandoning them through long kalpas. Just as when a son beholds his father, he simply gazes at his father without any mind to depart, so too the Tathāgata follows them, as a calf follows its mother, fully deploying the myriad practices to follow, rescue, and gather them in. Like the Heavenly King of Universal Purity of Sumeru Sound, who obtained the liberation door of following all sentient beings perpetually transmigrating in the ocean of birth and death.

Sixth, "seeing them commit evil is like having one's limbs severed," which is the kindness of deep and grave great compassion. Thus the youth Sudhana said to the goddess Nirvīrya-guṇā: "O Noble One! Suppose a person has only an only child whom he loves to the utmost; suddenly seeing him having his limbs cut and severed by someone, his heart aches intensely and he cannot be at ease. The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: seeing all sentient beings commit the karma of afflictions and fall into the three bad destinies to undergo all kinds of suffering, their mind is greatly grieved and distressed. If they see sentient beings produce the three kinds of good karma of body, speech, and mind, being born in the human and celestial destinies to receive mental and bodily bliss, the bodhisattva at that time produces great joy." Here grief's depth is briefly presented because joy is also deep.

Seventh, "upon attaining right awakening, concealing their superior virtues," which is the kindness of concealing the superior and displaying the inferior. The dust-mote-like marks and features of the ten lotus-treasuries are as hard to enumerate as drops of an ocean, and their inexhaustible virtues are all concealed and not displayed; they merely say that through a hundred kalpas they cultivated and accomplished the thirty-two marks, with thirty-four minds severed the delusions of seeing and cultivating, and beneath the tree of awakening first perfected the five-part dharmakāya, like an old monk resembling the five arhats. Hence, in the Lotus Sūtra: "he took off his fine, costly garments, put on ragged and soiled clothes, took up a dung-removing implement, and went to where the son was."

Eighth, "enticing, gathering, and rescuing with the teachings enjoyed by the poor," which is the kindness of concealing the real and implementing the provisional. The round and sudden One Vehicle is concealed and not spoken; rather, sentient beings are taught and transformed with the minor teachings of the three vehicles and human and celestial realms. These two preceding lines correspond to Chapter 3, "Fragrance Accumulated," of the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa: "Those bodhisattvas asked Vimalakīrti: 'By what Dharma does the World-Honoured Śākyamuni now preach?' Vimalakīrti said: 'The sentient beings of this land are unyielding and difficult to transform, therefore the Buddha speaks unyielding words to tame them, saying: "This is hell, this is animals, this is hungry ghosts, these are the difficult places, these are the birthplaces of fools, this is bodily misconduct, this is the retribution for bodily misconduct," and so forth; up to saying that, because sentient beings are unyielding and difficult to transform in this way, it is only with all manner of harsh and cutting words that they can be brought into the discipline.' Having heard this, those bodhisattvas all said: 'It is unprecedented! How the World-Honoured One, Śākyamuni Buddha, conceals his boundless power of mastery and delivers sentient beings with the teachings enjoyed by the poor! These bodhisattvas too are able to endure toil and remain humble, being born in this Buddha-land through boundless great compassion.'"

Ninth, "seeing them grow arrogant and undisciplined, showing the trace of nirvāṇa," which is the kindness of displaying extinction to generate goodness. Thus the Lotus Sūtra says: "If the Buddha were to remain long in the world, people of meager merit would not plant good roots; poor, wretched, and lowly, coveting and attached to the five desires, they would enter the net of mental fabrications and false views. If they saw that the Tathāgata was always present and did not become extinct, they would become arrogant and undisciplined, harbor weariness and sloth, and be unable to conceive the thought of his being hard to encounter or a mind of reverence. Therefore, the Tathāgata says by upāya: 'Monks, you should know that the appearance of Buddhas in the world is difficult to encounter'"—up to saying that these sentient beings, having heard such words, will certainly generate the thought of his being hard to encounter, cherish yearning and longing for the Buddha, and thereupon plant good roots. Chapter 47 of the [sixty-fascicle] sūtra contains the Buddha-work of nirvāṇa, largely identical with this.

Tenth, "leaving behind surplus merit and teachings to aid the endangered and suffering," which is the kindness of inexhaustible compassionate mindfulness. That is, the World-Honoured One, sharing the human lifespan, should have lived for a hundred years, but left behind twenty years of merit to shield the disciples of the final Dharma age. Fascicle 10 of the Candragarbha section of the Mahāsaṃnipāta says: "Relinquished his lifespan out of compassion for sentient beings"; and in the third section: "To make my ocean of Dharma full, bathing all devas and humans, even if they violate the prohibitions and precepts, they all abide in the stage of non-retrogression. If anyone beats them, it is beating my body; if anyone insults them, it is insulting me." It also says: "He left behind the merit of the white ūrṇā hair to shelter his disciples." As for "leaving behind teachings," this refers to the three piṭakas and eight piṭakas extensively benefiting sentient beings; by practicing in accordance with them, all can attain Buddhahood. With respect to images, stūpas, shrines, and even relics, once an offering is made to them, one is reborn in heaven a thousand times, and so forth.