大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 80.3

80.3

Regarding the commentary’s statement, “Joining the manifestation of the sūtra to benefiting beings,” and so forth: the text of the commentary has two parts. First, it directly explains the text. Second, from “However, in the *Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra*, etc.” onward, it cites examples to explain. As for “the nine similes”: the *Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra* completely possesses nine similes; one or two differ from other sūtras, or [other sūtras] have one, two, three, or four—an indefinite number—and thus it adds the word “etc.” As for the *Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra*: the Tathāgata, residing on Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain in Rājagṛha, only expounded it ten years after attaining Buddhahood, together with a hundred thousand great bhikṣus and bodhisattvas [as numerous as] the sands of sixty Gaṅgā rivers, and so forth. At that time, the World-Honoured One sat upright in samādhi upon a tiered sandalwood pavilion and manifested divine transformations: there were thousand-petaled lotus flowers as large as cartwheels, boundless in number, fully endowed with colour and fragrance yet not yet bloomed. Inside all the flowers were transformation Buddhas, which ascended into the sky and completely covered the world like a jewelled canopy. Each and every lotus flower radiated immeasurable light, and all the lotus flowers simultaneously opened in splendour through the Buddha’s divine power. In an instant, they all withered and changed, and all the transformation Buddhas within those flowers sat cross-legged, each radiating countless hundreds of thousands of rays of light. At that time, this land was extraordinarily adorned, and the entire great assembly leaped for joy, and so forth. Bodhisattva Vajramati questioned [the Buddha], and the Buddha answered below, saying: “With my Buddha-eye I observe that within the defilements of greed, anger, and delusion of all sentient beings, there are the Tathāgata’s wisdom, the Tathāgata’s eye, and the Tathāgata’s body, sitting cross-legged, majestic and unmoving. Good sons! Although all sentient beings are in the various destinies, within their bodies of defilements there is the tathāgatagarbha, eternally undefiled and fully endowed with the marks of virtue, no different from myself. Furthermore, good sons! First, it is like a person with the divine eye observing unbloomed flowers: he sees that within the flowers there are Tathāgata bodies sitting cross-legged, and by removing their withered petals, they are made manifest. In this way, good sons, after the Buddha sees the tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings, wishing to make it bloom, he preaches the sūtra teachings for them to eradicate defilements and manifest the Buddha-nature. Good sons! The dharmatā of the Buddhas is such that whether Buddhas appear in the world or do not appear in the world, the tathāgatagarbha of all sentient beings is permanently abiding and unchanging. Yet because those sentient beings are obscured by defilements, the Tathāgata appears in the world and broadly expounds the Dharma for them to eradicate afflictions and accomplish omniscience,” and so forth. After each simile there are verses. Second: “Furthermore, good sons! It is like pure honey in a rock tree, surrounded and guarded by countless swarms of bees. At that time, there is a person with skillful wisdom and upāya who first drives away those bees, and then takes their honey to consume as he pleases, conferring its benefit near and far.” Below, it draws the meaning to make the application: “The honey is a simile for the tathāgatagarbha; the bees are a simile for defilements; the person is a simile for the Tathāgata; and driving away the bees is a simile for preaching the Dharma to eliminate defilements.” Third: “Furthermore, good sons! It is like non-glutinous grain that has not yet been separated from its husk and chaff. The poor and foolish disesteem and regard it as something to be discarded, but once thoroughly cleaned and purified, it serves for royal consumption.” The application states: “The chaff is a simile for defilements; the rice is a simile for the Tathāgata’s vision and knowledge. Preaching the Dharma eliminates defilements, purifies omniscience, and makes one the most truly awakened in all worlds.” Fourth: “Furthermore, good sons! It is like genuine gold that has fallen into an impure place, submerged and unseen. Passing through years and months, the genuine gold does not decay, yet no one can know it. One with the divine eye tells the people: ‘In this impurity there is a genuine gold treasure; you should extract it and use it as you please.’” The application to the Dharma can be known by this model. Fifth: “Furthermore, good sons! It is like a poor household having a hidden treasure of precious jewels, but the jewel treasure cannot speak and say, ‘I am here.’ Since they do not know it themselves and no one speaks of it, they are unable to uncover this jewel treasure. All sentient beings are also like this: the great Dharma treasure of the Tathāgata’s vision and knowledge, powers, and fearlessnesses is within their bodies, yet not hearing and not knowing it, they are indulged and deluded in the five desires, transmigrating through saṃsāra and suffering immeasurably. Therefore, the Buddhas appear in the world to open the Tathāgata’s Dharma treasure within their bodies, acting as great donors of unhindered eloquence.” Sixth: “Furthermore, good sons! It is like the kernel inside a mango fruit that does not decay: planted in the ground, it becomes a great king of trees. Good sons! With my Buddha-eye I observe sentient beings: the Tathāgata’s jewel treasure is within the husk of avidyā, just as the fruit seed is within the kernel. Good sons! That tathāgatagarbha is utterly pure, a mass of great wisdom, wonderfully quiescent nirvāṇa, named the Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksaṃbuddha.” Seventh: “Furthermore, good sons! It is like a person carrying a genuine gold statue who travels to another country: passing through a dangerous road and fearing robbery, he wraps it in tattered rags so that no one recognises it. This person suddenly dies on the way, whereupon the gold statue is abandoned in the wilderness, and travelers treading past all think it is foul. One who has attained the divine eye sees that within the tattered rags there is a genuine gold statue, and immediately extracts it, whereupon all pay homage.” The application is that they possess the Tathāgata’s wondrous jewel treasure. Eighth: “Furthermore, good sons! It is like an impoverished and ugly woman, despised by everyone, who is pregnant with a noble son destined to be a holy king ruling the four continents. This person does not know it, and as time passes, she constantly harbours lowly thoughts, thinking she will give birth to a base child.” The application is that they possess the Tathāgata’s jewel treasure. Ninth: “Furthermore, good sons! It is like a foundry master casting a genuine gold statue: having finished casting it, he places it upside down on the ground; the exterior appears scorched and black, but the inner statue is unchanged; opening the mould and bringing out the statue, its golden colour shines brilliantly.” The application states that they possess the Tathāgata’s body fully endowed with all the marks. Below, it evaluates the merit of upholding this sūtra: “Making offerings to past, present, and future Buddhas [as numerous as] the sands of the Gaṅgā, building seven-jewel towers ten yojanas high [as numerous as] the sands of the Gaṅgā, day after day like this, up to fifty Gaṅgā sands of seven-jewel towers offered to Gaṅgā sands of Tathāgatas, does not compare to a person who delights in bodhi and upholds this sūtra—even up to what reckoning and similes cannot reach.” Among the nine similes above: the first simile of the Buddha in the lotus flower is largely the same as the simile of the blue lotus in the mud, with minor differences; the gold falling into an impure place is largely the same as the mani jewel falling into a deep privy. That [text] lacks this one’s [similes of] being like gold in ore and like honey in the mountains; the others are mostly the same. That they are not in sequential order is because this takes their rounded meaning, merely citing ten. The honey in the mountains is also slightly different from the Buddha-nature in a speck of dust, and so it was omitted. Furthermore, citing this here accords with perfect fusion, fully containing all meanings from the ordinary person to the sage; hence they are cited without strict order. If one follows the *Buddhanature-śāstra* to fully explain the nine similes, although it does not cite the *Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra*, its sequence of similes is completely identical to this sūtra’s, each with a distinct purport, explained extensively as in the *Buddhanature-śāstra*, which has already been cited in a separate subcommentary. As for the statement “other sūtras may have one, two, or three,” and so forth: sūtras such as the *Nirvāṇa* and *Śrīmālā* all speak of this and cannot be cited in full. Regarding the simile of the gold ore, the tenth fascicle of the *Nirvāṇa-sūtra* has a passage saying: “Furthermore, good sons! It is like panning and smelting gold ore to remove dross and impurities, after which it is melted down to become gold, whose value is immeasurable. Good sons! The śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas are also like this: they all achieve the identical Buddha-nature. Why? Because they eliminate defilements, just as that gold ore has its dross and impurities eliminated. By this meaning, all sentient beings have the identical Buddha-nature without any distinction. Because they previously heard of the Tathāgata’s secret treasury, later, when they achieve Buddhahood, they naturally come to know it, just as that elder knows that milk is of a single characteristic. Why? Because of having severed immeasurable defilements.” Exegesis: This is because the simile of the elder with many cows yielding milk of a single colour is further turned to reveal [it]. In the fifth fascicle of that sūtra there is the simile of the sweet herb on the snowy mountains, which is completely identical to the simile of pure honey in a rock. There are many other similes that cannot be cited in full. As for the priceless maṇi wrapped in soiled garments, that is from the second fascicle of the *Laṅkāvatāra*, corresponding to the fifth in the commentary. The sūtra states: “At that time, Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva Mahāmati addressed the Buddha, saying: ‘World-Honoured One! The sūtra of the World-Honoured One states: “The tathāgatagarbha is pure by self-nature, transformed into the thirty-two marks, entering into the bodies of all sentient beings, like a priceless jewel wrapped in soiled garments. The tathāgatagarbha’s permanently abiding and unchanging nature is also like this; yet wrapped in the soiled garments of the skandhas, dhātus, and āyatanas, and defiled by the dust and toil of greed, anger, delusion, and false discriminations, it is expounded by all Buddhas.”’” Exegesis: Here, Mahāmati cites past teachings, and below raises an objection: that it is identical to the non-Buddhists’ teaching of a self. The Buddha answers below: it is not the same as the non-Buddhists because it is merely empty and false, devoid of true reality. When the Tathāgata speaks of the tathāgatagarbha, he sometimes speaks of emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, tathatā, bhūtakoṭi, dharmatā, dharmakāya, nirvāṇa, self-nature neither arising nor ceasing, and fundamentally quiescent self-nature nirvāṇa. Such phrases speak of the tathāgatagarbha, etc.; what is contained in other sūtras may be stated briefly.