大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 89.5

89.5

In the commentary, “Fourth, ca,” the Xingshan translation has the syllable “za” (ca), the meaning of which is completely identical to the Five Syllables Sūtra. In the text, first it explains the meaning, and afterward, from “All conditioned activities being empty…” onward, it reconciles it with the sūtra. The Mahāprajñāpāramitā states: “Entering the syllable gate ca, one awakens to all phenomena being far removed from saṃsāra; whether birth or death, neither can be attained.” Explanation: Conditioned activities are the substance of saṃsāra itself. However, the various sūtras mostly clarify the activities of saṃsāra. In the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā and the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra], the meaning corresponds to the syllable “zhe” (ca), both clarifying the gate of transcending the world. The Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā states: “The syllable ca: cultivation cannot be attained.” The Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] states: “Ca is precisely the meaning of cultivation, because of taming all sentient beings.” However, only when world-transcending activities also cannot be attained does it become a gate of prajñā. The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa states: “If one hears the syllable ca, one immediately knows that among all phenomena, all conditioned activities are entirely non-activities, because caryā means ‘activity’ in this language.”