大華嚴經略策 1.14

1.14

第七、經之部類，問：聖教之詮，廣略非一。未知此教為廣、為略、為具、為闕耶？答：無言之言，言窮法界；無說之說，物無非詮。略就言詮以為十重差別：一略本經，即今所傳八十卷三十九品是，以其梵本有十萬偈，今所譯四萬五千故。二下本經，即是具本十萬偈文四十八品，即龍樹菩薩於龍宮所見總有三本，此當下本。三中本經，即彼所見本有四十九萬八千八百偈一千二百品。四上本經，亦彼所見，有十三千大千世界微塵數偈，一四天下微塵數品。此中上二本竝非世人心力能傳。五普眼經，即善財童子所見第三善友海雲所持，以大海量墨、須彌聚筆，書此普眼法門，一品中一門，一門中一法，一法中一義，一義中一句，尚不得少分，何況能盡！總持菩薩方能受持故。六同說經，即一類世界盡法界虛空界容毛端處，以言聲說無窮盡故。七異說經，謂樹形等剎世界既異，施設亦殊，不可定其若色若言，部類難準。八主伴經，如遮那佛說，則十方佛為伴；如十方為主，則遮那等盡為伴故。九眷屬經，謂餘非器不聞此通方之說，隨宜說教皆入此門，故名眷屬經耳。十圓滿經，謂上諸本總融為一無盡教海故，一文一句皆攝無遺。以所詮難思故能詮難喻，略申十類以示玄門，然其略詮亦收義理，猶如海滴濕性同故。謹對。

Seventh: the divisions and categories of the sūtra. Question: The holy teaching's expressions are manifold in their breadth and brevity. Is this teaching extensive or brief, complete or deficient? Answer: Wordless words, their speech exhausts the dharmadhātu; unuttered exposition, nothing exists that does not express it. Briefly relying on verbal expressions, there are ten tiers of distinctions: First, the brief version of the sūtra, which is the eighty fascicles and thirty-nine chapters transmitted at present, because the Sanskrit text has one hundred thousand verses, whereas what is translated now is forty-five thousand. Second, the inferior version of the sūtra, which is the complete text of one hundred thousand verses in forty-eight chapters; of the three versions seen altogether by the Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna in the dragon palace, this corresponds to the inferior version. Third, the middle version of the sūtra, which is the version seen by him having four hundred ninety-eight thousand eight hundred verses in one thousand two hundred chapters. Fourth, the superior version of the sūtra, also seen by him, having as many verses as the atoms of thirteen great trichiliocosms, and as many chapters as the atoms of one set of four continents. Among these, the upper two versions cannot be transmitted by the mental capacity of worldly people. Fifth, the Samantacakṣu (Universal Eye) Sūtra, which was held by Sāgaramegha, the third spiritual friend seen by the youth Sudhana; using the great ocean as ink and Mount Sumeru heaped up as a brush to write this Universal Eye Dharma gate—one gateway within one chapter, one dharma within one gateway, one meaning within one dharma, one sentence within one meaning—one still could not obtain a minute part, let alone exhaust it! Only a bodhisattva who has attained dhāraṇī can uphold it. Sixth, the sūtra of identical exposition: in worlds of a single kind, exhausting the dharmadhātu and space even in an area accommodating the tip of a hair, it is expounded through vocal sounds without end. Seventh, the sūtra of different expositions: worlds such as tree-shaped lands being different, their arrangements are also distinct, so that one cannot determine them as either matter or speech, and their divisions and categories are hard to fix. Eighth, the sūtra of host and companion: when Vairocana Buddha speaks, the Buddhas of the ten directions serve as companions; when those of the ten directions are the host, Vairocana and the others all serve as companions. Ninth, the retinual sūtras: because other persons who are not suitable vessels cannot hear this all-encompassing exposition, teachings expounded according to what is appropriate all enter this gate; hence they are called the retinual sūtras. Tenth, the consummate sūtra: because all the above versions interfuse into a single inexhaustible sea of teaching, not a single phrase or sentence is omitted. Because what is expressed is difficult to conceive, that which expresses it is difficult to illustrate; I have briefly presented the ten categories to indicate the mysterious gate. Yet its brief expression also encompasses the doctrine, just as a drop of the ocean is identical in its wet nature. Respectfully answered.