新華嚴經論 12.4

12.4

Fifth, there are further countless deva kings of Making Others' Transformations Free, borrowing phenomena to symbolize the Ground Hard to Conquer. Because this heaven is at the peak of the desire realm, it illustrates that the realm of desire is difficult for a bodhisattva to transcend; hence it is called the Ground Hard to Conquer. It illustrates that from the fifth ground onward, bodhisattvas have not yet attained complete mastery over the five sensual desires, but through the power of contemplating the pāramitās and practicing, they do not sink into them; they are not yet equal to the effortless and free flow of the Dharma of the eighth ground. A bodhisattva of this stage cultivates the contemplation of the ten truths to remedy the residual habituations of defiled and pure afflictive obstacles in the three realms; they attain the gate of knowledge of crafts and sciences, and the five sciences then become manifest. In this celestial abode, if one does not cultivate the contemplation of the ten truths to remedy them in this way, it becomes the realm of Māra. Being unable to achieve mastery over the habitual karmas of defilement and purity in the three realms, it is called the Ground Hard to Conquer. A bodhisattva of this stage constantly takes the meditation pāramitā as the essence of contemplation. When King Māra Pāpīyān, residing in this heaven, cultivates the contemplation of the ten truths, it becomes the bodhisattva stage; those who do not cultivate this contemplation are the retinue of Māra. Furthermore, this heaven is named Making Others' Transformations Free because it uses what others transform as its own pleasure, resembling a bodhisattva of this stage who constantly teaches and transforms sentient beings to bring them joy as their own joy. This uses the metaphor of polishing gold with tridacna stone, illustrating that the contemplation of the ten truths is the tridacna stone. Among them, the ten great deva kings illustrate the ten pāramitās within the meditation pāramitā; this can be seen by correlating them to the meaning of their names. The body of a deva here is sixteen yojanas tall, their clothing is thirty-two yojanas long, and their lifespan and count of years and months are all twice those of the preceding [heaven].