大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 76.8

76.8

Regarding the commentary's "First, matching oil and water against the sun and moon above constitutes the water-and-moon metaphor": the sun and moon illustrate the bodhisattva's compassion and wisdom, while the water illustrates the mind of the receptive beings. The moon in the water illustrates the realm of the state of meditative absorption (samādhi), meaning seeing the Buddha within absorption and so on. It also illustrates the kasina-spheres (kṛtsnāyatana), because the realms of absorption are blue, yellow, red, white, and so on. The verse in the "Appearance" chapter says: "Just like the pure moon in empty space, / Able to outshine the host of stars and show waxing and waning, / Casting reflections in all waters, / Appearing right before all who look upon it: / The pure moon of the Tathāgata is also like this, / Able to outshine the other vehicles and show long and short life, / Universally appearing in the pure mind-water of humans and devas, / So that all say he is right before them." Master Sengrui said: "The moon in the water is not real, there is only an empty reflection. People are also like this, never grasping it; toiling busily for it, turning their backs on this true purity. If one can awaken to this, one awakens alone, transcendent."