大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 35.70

35.70

On the commentary's "Moreover, this position of giving..." and so on: The second layer explains the next half-verse. Cherished objects are one of the three kinds of difficult practices. Next, Dharma and fearlessness, combined with the previous material wealth, make three, constituting giving of everything; furthermore, the latter two belong to giving according to requests. However, based on the Yogācāra[-bhūmi], the six pāramitās and the four means of embracing each have nine gates. The verse states: "Nature, everything, difficulty; / all gates, good persons; / all kinds, according to requests; / happiness in two worlds, purity. / 'Nature' is always one; 'everything' is either two or three; 'difficult practice' is always three; 'all gates' is always four; 'good persons' is always five; 'all kinds' is always six; 'according to requests' is always seven or eight; 'happiness in two worlds' is always nine; 'purity' is always ten." The four means of embracing correspond to fascicle thirty-three; when reaching the Chapter on the Ten Practices, their characteristics will be further explained. What the commentary now calls "the difficult practice" is because difficult practices are threefold: 1. Giving with ease when possessions are few; 2. Giving cherished objects; 3. Giving wealth acquired through extreme hardship. Here it corresponds to the second difficulty.