大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 85.23

85.23

Regarding the Commentary's 'Nirvāṇa, fascicle twenty', this refers to King Ajātaśatru searching for the road and coming, and the Tathāgata praising him from afar. The sūtra says: 'At that time the Buddha said to the great assembly: "For all sentient beings seeking proximate causes and conditions for anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi, there is nothing like a good friend. Why is that? If King Ajātaśatru did not follow the words of Jīvaka, on the seventh day of next month he would certainly end his life and fall into the Avīci hell. Therefore, as a proximate cause, there is nothing like a good friend."' Regarding the Commentary's phrase 'extensively speaking of it as a complete share', this refers to the twenty-sixth fascicle of the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] expounding the fourth merit, namely approaching good friends, citing at length that Śāriputra and others are not the true good spiritual friends of sentient beings, and that I am the true good spiritual friend of sentient beings. It extensively cites past events where seeing the Buddha brought benefit. Finally it says: '"Always cultivating evil karma, yet because of seeing me, they at once abandoned it, like the icchantika monk; because of seeing me, they would rather give up life and limb than violate the precepts, like the monk tied with grass. For this reason, the monk Ānanda spoke of half of the pure conduct being called a good friend. I say this is not so: complete pure conduct is called a good friend. Therefore, when a bodhisattva cultivates the Mahāparinirvāṇa, they fulfill the fourth [merit], approaching a good friend."' Explanation: These words accord with the Western Regions. If conforming to this region, one should say 'a good spiritual friend is half of the pure conduct; I say this is not so, because a good spiritual friend is the whole of pure conduct.' The Commentary cited the meaning concisely.