新華嚴經論 12.2

12.2

Third, there are further inconceivable Tuṣita deva kings. This borrows phenomena to symbolize the Ground of Emitting Light. This [heaven] is named the Heaven of Contentment. The Fodijing lun states: "Bodhisattvas in their final existence teach and transform beings here." As the Yingluo benye jing states: "At the eleventh ground, the ground of equal enlightenment, one is first called 'one life remaining until Buddhahood' (ekajātipratibaddha) and only then designated 'final existence', correlated to the third dhyāna." That this Heaven of Contentment is for the final existence, and that bodhisattvas dwell within it, are all provisional methods set up by the Tathāgata in accordance with the times to benefit sentient beings; it cannot be fixed definitively. The preceding stage explained that through the highest-grade pure precepts of the ten wholesome actions, one leaves behind the coarse defilements and impurities of active afflictions in the desire realm. A bodhisattva of this stage uses the nine successive meditative absorptions to purify the mental habituations of the form realm, the formless realm, and the desire realm, attaining a mind that transcends the three realms. It uses the metaphor of refining gold: skillfully refining it without losing a single scruple, making it increasingly bright and pure. Refining it with the nine successive meditative absorptions, contemplating it with the Dharma-eye, and harmonizing it through practice, the original nature is not diminished, only becoming increasingly bright and pure. In the desire realm, one cultivates meditation to remedy the obstacle of desire; in the higher realms, one cultivates wisdom to remedy the obstacle of meditative absorption. Remedies such as this are like the sixth-ground bodhisattva positioned in the first dhyāna of the form realm cultivating the contemplation of the twelve links of dependent origination to remedy the obstacle of meditative absorption, according with the practice of Dharma, skillfully benefiting sentient beings without attachment: this is named the Ground of Emitting Light. It takes the forbearance pāramitā as its essence. Among them, the ten great deva kings are the ten pāramitās within the forbearance pāramitā. The body of a deva here is four yojanas tall; their clothing is eight yojanas long and four yojanas wide; their lifespan is four thousand years; the count of their days, months, and years is twice that of the preceding heaven. To be born into this Heaven of Contentment, one must cultivate three dharmas, namely precepts, meditative absorption, and wisdom. If one only cultivates precepts and generosity, one will be born into the other heavens, all of which entail heedlessness. If within the Dharma of the One Vehicle, the matter is not so: because wisdom is universally pervasive, it serves as the celestial essence.