新華嚴經論 20.3

20.3

Ninth, there are twenty lines of verse, showing the part praising the past Tathāgatas who came and entered this palace. Saying 'propitious' (jíxiáng): the gathering of all goods is called propitious (jí); the blessing of all merits is called auspicious (xiáng). Saying 'golden palace': the palace has a golden radiance; it also signifies the undefiled dharmakāya. Saying 'lotus palace': the palace is adorned with multi-colored lotuses; it also symbolizes that dharmas are unstained, which is the meaning of the lotus. 'Mountain king palace' shows that accumulated virtue is like a mountain king; it does not mean the palace has a mountain. As the sūtra mentions 'jewel', it is honoring virtue as a jewel, not referring to a jewel king; the other meanings may be known by analogy. The reason it is necessary to praise the past Tathāgatas has three meanings: first, the Tuṣita heavenly king recalls that the power of his own past roots of goodness accords with antiquity; second, to show that the path-traces of the ancient and present Buddhas are universally pervasive; third, to show that the Tathāgata's path-traces conform to antiquity without difference, not being altered by devas, Māras, or Brahmās, now causing sentient beings to generate faith and enter. These ten Buddhas also take their names according to applied practice and congruent practice.