新華嚴經論 14.25

14.25

一從初歎德中二：一歎如來德、二歎菩薩大眾德。從初如來德中，「爾時」已下兩行經是序分。敘前初得菩提處并普光明殿，意明二處不異，為不移本處道場而身遍坐一切處故，為菩提場體是法界體故，為普光明殿是法界報居所都故，法報二體性相一真本末因果本末無異故。由斯道理故重敘。古人釋云：由相近故，故須重敘者。經意不然。又云：見佛露居，龍造普光明殿。此意亦不然。設有此事，是三乘之說。又云：菩提場在熙連河邊，與普光明殿相去三里，在菩提場東南，明菩提場是阿蘭若得道之處，普光明殿是報居之宅。一部之經前後通〈法界品〉，五度重有「爾時世尊在」者，意明居處是法界如來身及宮殿莊嚴，總是法界性相根本智不二故。五度敘意，前會已述。從「妙悟已滿」下至「普見三世」，於中有兩行半經，是正歎佛德妙悟已滿，明十智遍周自在故。二行永絕者，為有為無為二行盡故，達無相法取捨盡故。住於佛住者，過去未來三世諸佛共住法界大智大悲故。又如來及十方三世諸佛住五種遍周：一示成正覺遍周，如初會菩提場是也。二依報正報莊嚴及名號遍周，即第二會普光明殿是也。三定體遍周，即〈十定品〉是也。四普賢行教遍周，即〈離世間品〉是也。五法界圓滿無礙不思議智用遍周，即〈法界品〉是也。以此五種諸佛遍周故，故名住佛所住也。以此義故，於此一部之經安立五度「爾時世尊在摩竭提國」，唯〈法界品〉少異，明重重遍周，不離一處、一菩提體、一法界、一根本智、一時無前後故。經文恐失其意，五度重敘，令後學者不迷其事故。明此五遍周，總明一際無前後，於一剎那際無二念，說四十年中所轉法輪，兜率天猶未下、母胎猶未出，已入涅槃。得佛平等者，理事無二故，到無障處。不可轉法者，明佛常處生死，不為業遷故。又能轉不遷之法也。所行無礙者，明佛於生死中皆能同事，真俗不礙故。立不思議者，歎佛道滿行終，總無功用任運利生，以智自在非想思意議可度量故。普見三世者，眼圓明故，非三世中見三世中眾生事也。從「與十佛剎微塵數諸菩薩俱」已下至「過現未來」，於中可有四行經，歎菩薩德。與十佛剎微塵數諸菩薩俱者，明從眾圓滿遍法界海故。俱者，同時而至，無去來故。莫不皆是一生補處者，皆十地菩薩，故為十地。經等覺位中普賢位熟道滿功終，方登佛果，故名一生也，如《瓔珞本業經》說。又從初發心住，亦名一生菩薩，以初見性根本智，不見有生前後際故，名為一生。《瓔珞經》云「三賢菩薩，法流水中任運至佛。」悉從他方而共來集者，言他方共來集，簡非舊眾，皆是不來而到、不去而遍。又明前會舉果勸修信他佛果，今此第二會明以他佛果行解，成其自心信證之道，名從他方而共來集。為從前信佛果中來皆是一生補處者，明於初會信解生，至於此會信滿入位便成佛故，如龍女善財等。由是義故，為他方來皆是一生之眾。此乃即是表入法之言，從他方來也。迷名他方，悟名曰來。「普善觀察諸眾生界法界世界涅槃界」已下此三行經，歎所來眾善觀此三種世界無二性故，亦知眾生隨煩惱業，亦知菩薩隨位煩惱行業等事故。餘如經說。

First, the initial section praising virtues has two parts: 1. Praising the Tathāgata's virtues; 2. Praising the virtues of the great assembly of bodhisattvas. Within the first, the Tathāgata's virtues, the two lines of sūtra text from "At that time" onward are the introductory section. They recount the previous location where bodhi was first attained together with the Universal Light Hall, intending to clarify that the two locations are not different. This is because, without moving from the original bodhimaṇḍa, his body sits everywhere throughout all places; because the essence of the bodhimaṇḍa is the essence of the dharmadhātu; because the Universal Light Hall is the capital city where the dharmadhātu saṃbhoga resides; and because the two essences of dharma[kāya] and saṃbhoga[kāya], nature and characteristics, are of one true reality, with origin and branch, cause and effect, fundamentally having no difference. It is for this reason that it is recounted again. Earlier commentators explained that it had to be recounted again because the locations were close to each other. The intention of the sūtra is not this. They also said that, seeing the Buddha dwelling in the open air, a nāga created the Universal Light Hall. This intention is likewise not correct; even if such an event occurred, it is an exposition of the Three Vehicles. They also said that the bodhimaṇḍa is beside the Nairañjanā River, three li away from the Universal Light Hall, to the southeast of the bodhimaṇḍa, explaining that the bodhimaṇḍa is an araṇya, the place of attaining the Way, while the Universal Light Hall is the residence of the saṃbhoga dwelling. Throughout this entire single sūtra, including the "Chapter on the Dharmadhātu," the phrase "At that time, the World-Honoured One was in..." occurs repeatedly five times. The intention is to clarify that the dwelling place is the dharmadhātu, and the Tathāgata's body as well as the palace adornments are all non-dual from the dharmadhātu's nature and characteristics and the fundamental wisdom. The intention of the five recountings has already been described in the previous assembly. From "wondrous awakening was already fulfilled" down to "universally seeing the three periods of time," the two and a half lines of sūtra text within this directly praise the Buddha's virtues: "wondrous awakening was already fulfilled" clarifies that the ten wisdoms are all-pervading and sovereign. "The two activities were eternally severed" because the two activities of the conditioned and the unconditioned are exhausted, and having realized signless dharmas, grasping and rejection are exhausted. "Dwelling in the Buddha's dwelling" means that the Buddhas of the three periods of time—past, future, [and present]—mutually dwell in the great wisdom and great compassion of the dharmadhātu. Furthermore, the Tathāgata and the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three periods of time dwell in five kinds of all-pervasiveness: 1. The all-pervasiveness of manifesting the attainment of true awakening, as in the bodhimaṇḍa of the first assembly; 2. The all-pervasiveness of circumstantial and primary fruitions, adornments, and names, which is the Universal Light Hall of the second assembly; 3. The all-pervasiveness of the essence of samādhi, which is the "Chapter on the Ten Samādhis"; 4. The all-pervasiveness of Samantabhadra's conduct and teachings, which is the "Chapter on Transcending the World"; 5. The all-pervasiveness of the dharmadhātu's complete, unhindered, and inconceivable functioning of wisdom, which is the "Chapter on the Dharmadhātu." Because of these five kinds of all-pervasiveness of all Buddhas, it is called "dwelling in what the Buddha dwells in." For this reason, throughout this single sūtra, "At that time, the World-Honoured One was in the country of Magadha" is established five times, with only the "Chapter on the Dharmadhātu" having a slight difference, clarifying layer upon layer of all-pervasiveness, not departing from one single place, one essence of bodhi, one dharmadhātu, one fundamental wisdom, and one single time without before or after. Fearing that the intended meaning might be lost, the sūtra text recounts it five times so that later students will not be confused about this matter. Clarifying these five all-pervasivenesses completely reveals that in the one single limit without before or after, within the span of a single kṣaṇa without a second thought, the wheel of the Dharma turned during the forty years was spoken—yet before descending from Tuṣita heaven and before emerging from the mother's womb, he had already entered nirvāṇa. "Attained the Buddha's equality" means that principle and phenomena are non-dual, thus reaching the unobstructed state. "The unalterable Dharma" clarifies that the Buddha constantly abides in birth and death, yet is not displaced by karma, and can also turn the unalterable Dharma. "Unobstructed in action" clarifies that the Buddha can practice common enterprise in the midst of birth and death, as the absolute and conventional do not obstruct each other. "Established the inconceivable" praises the Buddha's completion of the Way and termination of practices, having no effort whatsoever and spontaneously benefiting beings, because with wisdom's sovereignty, he cannot be measured by thought, contemplation, conception, or discussion. "Universally seeing the three periods of time" means that because the eye is completely clear, it is not seeing the affairs of sentient beings within the three periods of time from within the three periods of time. From "together with bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes in ten Buddha-lands" down to "past, present, and future," the approximately four lines of sūtra text praise the virtues of the bodhisattvas. "Together with bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes in ten Buddha-lands" clarifies that the retinue is complete and pervades the ocean of the dharmadhātu. "Together" means arriving simultaneously, without going or coming. "There were none who were not bound to one last birth" means they were all bodhisattvas of the ten grounds; thus, traversing the ten grounds, in the stage of equal awakening, when the stage of Samantabhadra matures, the Way is fulfilled, and exertion ends, they only then ascend to the Buddha fruit, and thus it is called "one birth," as taught in the *Yingluo benye jing*. Moreover, starting from the abode of first generating the thought [of bodhi], they are also called bodhisattvas of "one birth," because having first seen the fundamental wisdom of nature, they do not see an anterior or posterior limit to birth; hence it is called "one birth." The *Yingluo jing* says: "The bodhisattvas of the three stages of worthiness spontaneously reach Buddhahood within the stream of the Dharma." "All came and assembled from other regions": saying that they came and assembled together from other regions distinguishes them as not being the old assembly; they all arrive without coming, and pervade without going. Furthermore, it clarifies that the previous assembly put forward the fruit to encourage cultivation and faith in the other's Buddha fruit; now, this second assembly clarifies that using the practice and understanding of that other Buddha fruit accomplishes the path of faith and realization in one's own mind, which is called "coming and assembling together from other regions." As for those who, coming from the previous faith in the Buddha fruit, are all bound to one last birth, it clarifies that generating faith and understanding in the first assembly, they then reach this assembly where faith is perfected, enter the stages, and immediately become Buddhas, like the dragon girl and Sudhana. For this reason, those who come from other regions are all an assembly of one birth. These are words expressing entry into the Dharma as "coming from other regions." Delusion is called "other regions"; awakening is called "coming." From "universally and skillfully contemplating the realm of sentient beings, the dharmadhātu, the realm of worlds, and the realm of nirvāṇa" onward, these three lines of sūtra text praise the assembled crowd as skillfully contemplating these three kinds of worlds as having a non-dual nature, and also knowing the afflictions and karma according with sentient beings, as well as the afflictions, practices, and karma according with the stages of bodhisattvas. The rest is as the sūtra explains.