大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 80.29

80.29

Regarding the commentary's "Ninth, leaving behind the extremes and according with the middle" and so forth: this explains the sūtra's phrase "leaving far behind the two extremes and abiding in the Middle Way," which corresponds to the subsequent text's "pervading all minds." The subsequent explanation states: "vast, all-pervading, nowhere absent, never separated, uninterrupted, without rest, entering the inconceivable gate of upāya teaching." The commentary has two parts: first, explaining leaving the extremes; second, explaining abiding in the middle. Now, as for the first: the sūtra says "leaving behind the extremes," yet it is not yet known what these are; therefore it adduces the Jin translation of the sūtra and draws upon the subsequent explanation, briefly citing four pairs to represent all [extremes]. Defilement and purity are stated in terms of afflictions; bondage and liberation encompass afflictions and karma; existence and non-existence encompass phenomena and principle; oneness and difference are stated in terms of mind and object. Why are there these [pairs]? That is to say, when bodhi is attained, fine thoughts have already been left behind, delusional afflictions are exhausted, and the dharmakāya manifests with wisdom purely clean. If one holds this view, one still cannot escape being at an extreme. Thus the preceding sūtra says: "If one sees the Rightly Awakened One / as liberated, free from all outflows, / unattached to any world, / his is not the eye that realizes the Path." Now, understanding that the essential nature of delusion is fundamentally empty and that subsequently there is nothing to be purified, one leaves behind the two extremes. Moreover, defilement and purity interpenetrate, and therefore there is no abiding attachment; this is called leaving behind the extremes. As for bondage and liberation: this refers to having formerly been bound by afflictions and karma, transmigrating endlessly, and now attaining bodhi, utterly liberated. If one holds this view, this is abiding in an extreme. The wisdom of bodhi understands that fundamentally there is no bondage; from what could there be release? Where there is neither bondage nor release, there is neither delight nor revulsion; hence one can leave [the extremes] behind. As for existence and non-existence, mentioned above as encompassing phenomena and principle: if formerly one considered afflictions to exist and now understands afflictions to be empty; or formerly considered the mind to be empty and now knows wondrous existence; or again, true bliss fundamentally exists yet was lost without one knowing, while delusional suffering is fundamentally empty yet was grasped without one being aware—if one now only begins to know that what is empty is delusional suffering and what exists is nirvāṇa, knowing in such a way still does not leave behind the extremes. Furthermore, that defilement, karma, and suffering fundamentally existed and now are not, while bodhi and the Buddha's body fundamentally did not exist and now exist, are all dharmas of the three times. The nature of bodhi does not belong to the three times; therefore, existence and non-existence in the three times are all subsumed under the extremes. True cognition accords with principle and transcends the three times; hence it leaves behind the two extremes of existence and non-existence, and so forth. Oneness and difference have two aspects: first, if mind and object are not understood, they are two; if they accord and unite, they are one—this too constitutes an extreme. Second, sentient beings and the Buddha are different, yet now one understands them to have a single nature—this is also called an extreme. Now, the Rightly Awakened One understands that herein there is neither duality nor non-duality, nor is there any possessor of great wisdom who sees well, because he skillfully abides in accordance with principle. In stating "and so forth" after leaving behind these extremes, it means that annihilation and permanence, coming and going, arising and ceasing, the dependent and the primary—leaving behind these dual dharmas are all called extremes. Furthermore, duality and non-duality are also called extremes. Now, once there is accord with bodhi, everything is completely tranquil; hence it says "leaving far behind."