新華嚴經論 22.3

22.3

Second, concerning interpreting according to the text: What is the dedication [of merit] that equals the dharmadhātu and is immeasurable? The commentary says: Just as the dharmadhātu has neither middle nor perimeter, the mind of dedication likewise has neither middle nor perimeter. Just as the dharmadhātu has no agent, the mind of dedication has no agent. The dharmadhātu has no coming, going, distance, or proximity; the mind of dedication has no coming, going, distance, or proximity. The dharmadhātu is like empty space; the wisdom of dedication is like empty space. The dharmadhātu is inconceivable; the wisdom of dedication is inconceivable. The dharmadhātu has nothing upon which it relies; the wisdom of dedication has nothing upon which it relies. The dharmadhātu is that wherein all Buddhas jointly abide; the wisdom of dedication is that wherein all Buddhas jointly abide. The dharmadhātu is not subsumed under the three times or any time divisions of arising and ceasing; the wisdom of dedication is not subsumed under the time divisions of the three times. In the dharmadhātu, the activities of the three times are fully present before one; in the wisdom of dedication, the activities of the three times are fully present before one. In the dharmadhātu, existence and nonexistence are unhindered; in the wisdom of dedication, existence and nonexistence are unhindered. Because it causes oneself and others to be unobstructed like the dharmadhātu and sovereign like all Buddhas, it is therefore called the dedication that equals the dharmadhātu and is immeasurable. The general idea is to cause all who generate the bodhimind to be completely identical with the virtues of the dharmadhātu, their functioning sovereign, perfect, vast and limitless, free from the nature of large or small, not belonging to limited measures such as one, two, three, a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand, thus equalling the limitless Dharma, the mundane and supramundane, great wisdom, great compassion, joy, and equanimity, equalling the dharmadhātu and the realm of sentient beings. If one does not dedicate [merits] in this way, even if one seeks bodhi, one will only attain the quiescent bodhi of the two vehicles, or bodhisattvas rejoicing in rebirth in a pure land, all dwelling in the three carts outside the gate, where the white ox in the open ground is not their lot. These ten dedications cause all practitioners of the three vehicles who have attained the supramundane mind to comprehend the nature of mundane saṃsāra and their own-nature dharmadhātu, giving rise to great compassion and enabling all sentient beings to attain it, because it causes them to see that the nature of sentient beings is dharmadhātu wisdom. It enables them to attain the gate of equal compassion and enter the abode of the universal light of perfect wisdom, so that they are not caused to abide long in the thatched hut or the conjured city. Thus, the single period of Dharma gates spoken by the lay devotee Vimalakīrti is a small portion that causes the three vehicles to dedicate [merits], and the vehicle of the white ox in the open ground in the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra briefly sets forth one part of the place of jewels; but the general raising of the dharmadhātu gate, the universal light of great wisdom, the Buddha fruition, and the ocean of Samantabhadra's practices is the universally final culmination. Thus, in this sūtra, the gates of the ten dedications turn back the adornments of the merits of the myriad practices of the dharmakāya of great compassion and great wisdom in the ten abodes and ten practices: wherever self and other are obstructed or hindered, where compassion and reverence are not genuine, where knowledge and vision are not vast, where the mind of compassion is not universal, where the mind is not expansive, and where they do not accord with the limitless dharmadhātu, one uses this dedication to equalize and rectify them, making them equal so that they accord with the unobstructed, limitless, sovereign abiding of the dharmadhātu. If one does not, by means of such limitless dedication, make vows universally for the sentient beings of the limitless dharmadhātu, one will abide personally in the gate of truth and be born one-sidedly in a pure land, and failing to rely on the unobstructed dharmadhātu, the equality of defilement and purity, and the limitless great compassion of the identical body, one will not accomplish the Buddha fruition. Such ten dedications equalize the practice gates of the ten faiths, ten abodes, ten practices, ten grounds, and the eleventh ground, all being contained within them. In this meaning, within the stages of the ten grounds there is no separate allocation of Buddha fruitions; one merely takes the ten upper names of the Buddha fruition in this stage as entirely identical, all having the title of 'wondrous' bodhisattvas. The upper names of the bodhisattvas in the stages of the ten grounds and the bodhisattvas of these ten dedication stages are all called 'Vajra'; they differ only as 'Banner' (dhvaja) versus 'Treasury' (garbha), clarifying that the Buddha fruition of wondrous functioning and the Dharma practiced are no different from this; it is only that the accumulation of merit reaching its conclusion and the merit of great compassion being fulfilled is named 'Treasury', not that it is a separate dharma outside this dedication stage. Therefore, among the kalyāṇamitras of Sudhana's ten dedications, who are householders, devas, and earth spirits, those that represent the kalyāṇamitras of the ten grounds are nine night-goddesses who are all female, and one who was the Tathāgata's wife when he was the crown prince, in order to represent the stage of purely cultivating great compassion. To clarify that in the wisdom stages of the ten abodes and ten practices, the ten dedications harmonize and blend them through the power of vows, causing wisdom and compassion to advance equally to the accumulation and cultivation of the ten grounds so that great wisdom and great compassion become profound, vast, and fully equipped, they are represented by ten females. In the eleventh ground, where compassion and wisdom are fulfilled to accomplish the gate of Samantabhadra's practices, this clarifies using compassion to give rise to wisdom; thus the Buddha's mother Māyā is taken as the first kalyāṇamitra of the eleventh ground, representing the ability to give birth to all Buddhas. The mother is the stage of compassion and the Buddha is wisdom; because compassion gives birth to wisdom, it is said that Māyā gives birth to the Buddha, and thus she attains the Dharma gate of illusory birth. This clarifies that the virtues of compassion and wisdom are accomplished and Samantabhadra's practices are fulfilled; hence the sequence of gradual cultivation is established in this way. If one considers cultivation as advancing simultaneously at one time, this is just like the bhikṣu Sāgaramegha of the country of Sāgaramukha in the second of Sudhana's ten abodes, who accomplishes the gate of compassion and wisdom of the abode of first generating the mind. For this reason, the ten kings within it, such as the asura king, represent the practice of entering saṃsāra. Furthermore, Sāgaramegha is within this dedication stage able to enter the great ocean of saṃsāra, and because the ocean of saṃsāra is itself the ocean of the Buddha, it is therefore said that a Buddha appeared and spoke the Samantamukha Sūtra. Setting forth the ten kings and so forth represents sovereignty in the myriad practices. The same applies through the laywoman Acala of the seventh of the ten abodes, but this is discussed merely in terms of the increase and decrease of maturity and habituation. Moreover, the Dharma gates of these five stages entirely do not depart from a single kṣaṇa; because beginning and end are accomplished [simultaneously], there is strictly speaking no sequential before and after. As in the twentieth section, where the dedication of the roots of good from the gift of Dharma adorns the Buddha lands: this is adornment through the power of vows. Where the meaning is obscure, I will explain it; what is readily understood is as in the text. For example, 'breadth and length' (yanmao) means that the towers and pavilions are interconnected, extending limitlessly. As for 'jewelled windows and small windows', the large are called chuang and the small are called you. As for 'jewelled tāla trees shaped like a half-moon', this is the name of a tree from the Western Regions, like the palm tree here; having jewels as their substance, the trees are adorned with half-moon gems, but one cannot say the tree itself is shaped like a half-moon. As for 'none that were not produced from the Tathāgata's roots of good', it means that through the power of vows, one uses adornments produced like the Buddha's roots of good to adorn the Buddha lands. As for 'asṃkhyeyas of jewelled oceans filled with Dharma-water', it means that the water expounds the Dharma. As for 'asaṃkhyeyas of jewelled puṇḍarīka flowers constantly emitting the sound of the wondrous Dharma puṇḍarīka', these are hundred-petalled white lotus flowers, which can also emit a hundred kinds of sounds expounding a hundred kinds of Dharmas. As for 'asaṃkhyeyas of jewelled Mount Sumerus, kings of wisdom mountains, towering forth pure', this clarifies that through vows and the karma of wisdom, retribution is obtained as being uniquely superior and surpassing other dharmas, which is called 'towering forth', and being able to purify all karma is called 'pure'. Sumeru means 'wondrously high'; a mountain is called 'cessation' (zhi), using the hexagram Gen as mountain to represent cessation. 'King' means sovereign. This clarifies that by stilling one's mind, the mind becomes pure; and if the mind is pure, the wondrous functioning of wisdom is sovereign. Therefore, the mountain obtained as retribution is also like this, because cause and effect correspond. As for 'asaṃkhyeyas of eight-faceted wondrous gems strung through with jewelled cords, adorned and pure beyond compare', this clarifies retribution obtained from the eightfold noble path. The 'jewelled cords' are the teaching: stringing them together with words, bamboo, and silk prevents the Dharma from being scattered and lost, thereby fulfilling the karmic retribution. 'Bodhisattva-gems' are obtained as retribution based on practice, resembling the form of a bodhisattva. 'Asaṃkhyeyas of jewelled spirals manifesting the bodhisattva's eye of wisdom' are obtained as retribution based on unobstructed wisdom; because within a single wisdom there are inexhaustible Dharma gates of wisdom, being profound and limitless, they are called 'spirals'. 'Asaṃkhyeyas of palaces and halls' are the retribution marks of the palace of compassion and the hall of wisdom adorning [the land]. 'Reflecting' means illuminating through and through. 'Jewelled mountains as enclosing walls' is obtained as retribution by using stillness for protection. 'Asaṃkhyeyas of jewelled transformative activities' means these jewels can transform into various matters and dharmas; this is obtained as retribution based on performing myriad practices with a single wisdom. 'Jewelled treasuries manifesting all true Dharmas' is obtained as retribution from the treasury of all diverse wisdoms. 'The Tathāgata's banner-marks standing distinctly lofty' means the jewels stand resembling the Buddha's physical image to adorn the land, clarifying retribution obtained from the unshakeable banner of the wisdom of tathatā. 'Asaṃkhyeyas of jewelled worthies possessing the forms of worthies of great wisdom' means the jewels resemble the forms of worthy persons, their appearances having the marks of worthy persons, born as retribution based on one's own worthiness. 'Jewelled parks producing the samādhi-bliss of bodhisattvas' clarifies retribution obtained by taking samādhi as park and grove. 'Jewelled sounds' means taking sound as jewels, not that they have physical form. 'Jewelled forms' means using various jewels to make various forms. 'Jewelled marks' means using jewels as the major marks and minor characteristics. 'Jewelled deportment' means using jewels to create the dignified and composed deportment of bodhisattvas. 'Jewelled clusters' means those who see them all give rise to clusters of wisdom, clarifying retribution obtained through clusters of wisdom. 'Jewelled abodes' means using the realm of wisdom to manifest the stages of the bodhisattvas' ten abodes. 'Jewelled cultivation' means using jewels for the sequence of cultivating Dharma gates; those who see them know that all jewels are karma, which is the retribution of consciousness-karma. 'Jewelled unobstructed knowledge and vision' means taking jewels as unobstructed knowledge and vision, so that those who see them attain the pure Dharma-eye, produced based on the unobstructed nature of pure wisdom. As for 'jewelled tāla trees', these trees resemble palm trees, are hard as iron, and their leaves are long and dense; even during long periods of heavy rain, beneath them is as dry as a house. As spoken in this sūtra, they are considered to take jewels as their substance, not like the wooden trees of the human world in the Western Regions. The part of the tree without branches is the trunk; what goes straight up from the trunk is the stem; what grows laterally from the stem are branches; and the slender parts upon the branches are twigs. 'Royal capitals and villages' are entirely transformed through great vows and practices to adorn the Buddha lands. As for 'bhadra trees', this means 'worthy', because worthy persons dwell beneath the trees; furthermore, the trees produce worthy talents, and above them are the adorning jewelled nets of Śakra. 'Jewelled horns' are jewels able to emit sound, in the shape of conch trumpets. 'Their sound clear and bright' means clear and resonant. 'Jewelled drums of wondrous tones harmonizing across exhausted kalpas': ke means able, and xie means harmonize; it means the musical tones are harmonious and elegant, their melodies incomparable. As for 'asaṃkhyeyas of jewel-births', it is because jewels can give birth to various Dharma-jewels, and it also means sentient beings being able to generate the mind is a jewel. 'Jewelled bodies' clarifies taking jewels as various bodies. 'Jewelled mouths' means having the form of a mouth made of jewels, able to expound Dharma sounds. 'Jewelled minds' means having the form of a mind made of jewels, endowed with mental karma and the jewel of great wisdom-vows. From this general idea onward, explain them as above according to the correspondence of cause and effect. The intelligible matters among them are fully clear as in the text. As a general guideline, know the cause by the fruit: the adornments above are all accomplished through the practices aroused by great vows. Just as the worlds of the Lotus Treasury all arise from the vow-power of Samantabhadra, this clarifies that practice is aroused based on vows. 'Jewelled bodily karma, verbal karma, and mental karma' means taking jewels as the three karmas: from one's own three karmas one arouses practice, establishes doctrine, and contemplates what to adopt and reject, doing so with the mind-jewel.