新華嚴經論 39

English (machine translation) 39

Language: English

In the second [section], on deferring virtue and advancing, from “all bodhisattva mahāsattvas” down to “he took his leave and departed,” including the verses, there are eighteen lines of the sūtra text, which are established under five headings: first, deferring virtue and advancing; second, pointing out the abode of the kalyāṇamitra, saying that she is here in this bodhimaṇḍa within the Tathāgata's assembly; third, citing the name of the spirit, named Sarvanagararakṣāsaṃvardhavīryaprabhāvā; fourth, Sudhana uttering verses praising the virtues of the night spirit Samanta-gambhadhvanitrāṇa; fifth, paying homage and departing. In explaining the meaning according to the text: being “here in this bodhimaṇḍa within the Tathāgata's assembly” indicates that one does not depart from the bodhicitta, the essence of tathatā, within the ocean of the great assembly. The presence of the night spirit clarifies that the wondrous principle and wisdom within the nature of bodhi, tathatā, constitute the spirit. Being able to shatter the ignorance and grasping of all sentient beings, she is a presiding night spirit, because she constantly never departs from the great night of saṃsāra, giving rise to the great dawn for all sentient beings. Being named “Protector of All Cities and Augmenting Majestic Power” symbolizes constantly protecting the mind-city of all sentient beings, augmenting the majestic power of wisdom in the sixth ground and of all sentient beings, causing the three kinds of emptiness to become manifest, and the power of quiescent meditative concentration and worldly and transworldly wisdom all to manifest before them—the power that eternally transcends the ocean of saṃsāra while constantly abiding in the world, attaining the ocean-like power of all transworldly wisdom, as will be explained fully below. As Sudhana with ten lines of verse praises the dharmadhātu body of the spirit Samanta-gambhadhvanitrāṇa—in which the boundless oceans of buddhas and oceans of sentient beings are all present within a single dust mote—this deity's power of liberation clarifies that the essence of dhyāna and nature of the dharmakāya in the preceding five grounds are boundless, without measure of large or small; just like a water-mirror or the dry essence in empty space, it universally contains the multitude of forms, all appearing within it without mutual obstruction. Imprinted by the power of samādhi, they naturally manifest, as is made clear in the verses themselves.

39.3

First, within the section on directly entering the Dharma gate of the present stage, from "At that time Sudhana..." down to "I know only this liberation gate of profound, sovereign, wondrous sound," the text is divided into ten parts. First, from "At that time Sudhana the youth..." down to "went to the night goddess Protector of All Cities" has four and a half lines of text, explaining his right mindfulness of the preceding Dharma and contemplation of superior progress. Second, from "He saw that night goddess..." down to "manifesting bodies that ultimately tame sentient beings" has six lines of text, explaining the various different bodies manifested by the night goddess to educate and transform all sentient beings. Third, from "Having seen her, Sudhana leaped for joy..." down to "I only pray that in your compassion you will explain it for me" has five lines of text, explaining Sudhana's application and what he sought. Fourth, from "Then that night goddess told Sudhana..." down to "and asked about the gates of practice cultivated by the bodhisattvas" has seven lines of text, explaining the night goddess praising Sudhana's aspiration, virtue, and the Dharma he sought. Fifth, from "Good son, I have attained the bodhisattva liberation of profound, sovereign, wondrous sound..." down to "in mind never abandoning the ground of all-knowledge" has fourteen and a half lines of text, explaining the night goddess stating her own practice of benefiting sentient beings through practical gates. Sixth, from "Good son, by such light of pure Dharma..." down to "enter the Tathāgata's unfathomable realm" has fourteen lines of text, explaining the night goddess speaking of the ten kinds of contemplation for entering the Tathāgata's realm. Seventh, from "Furthermore, good son, as I thus in right mindfulness contemplated..." down to "Holy one, how long has it been since you realized and attained this?" has twenty-nine lines of text, explaining that through attaining this wondrous sound liberation, she attained the Buddha's dhāraṇī and attained sovereignty in preaching the Dharma to all sentient beings. Eighth, from "The night goddess said: 'Good son, in ancient times...'" down to "universally entering the ocean of all Dharma gates, the perfection of wisdom" has thirty-five lines of text, explaining the answer to Sudhana regarding the length of time since she attained this Dharma and the first Buddha she beheld. Ninth, from "Next there arose a Buddha named Radiance of the Stainless Dharma..." down to "dwelling in the supreme Dharma city of all-knowledge" has sixty-nine and a half lines of text, explaining the answer to Sudhana regarding how long she had attained the Dharma and the number of Buddhas she made offerings to. Tenth, from "I know only this liberation of profound, sovereign, wondrous sound that causes all worlds to have constantly pure speech..." onward, explains the section on deferring virtue and advancing upward. A bodhisattva's wheel of wisdom is far removed from all realms of conceptual discrimination; it cannot be differentiated and shown through such kalpas of long or short, defiled or pure, broad or narrow, many or few within saṃsāra. The Dharma gates contained within the preceding ten sections are complete in the text itself. From "Sudhana asked: 'How long has it been since you realized and attained this Dharma?'" onward, the meaning in the Dharma is expressed through the mutual symbolism of principle and phenomena. Where it is hidden and difficult to understand, a small portion is briefly explained to raise the main outline. The intent is to show that the retributive realm is itself Dharma, and that the Dharma of skillful practice brings about its retribution. Cause and effect correspond to one another, showing that through the practice performed, one sees the retribution and understands the Dharma. The sūtra says: "In ancient times, past kalpas equal to the dust motes of a world-revolution..." Here, "world-revolution" is a large numeral among Western numerals, as fully explained in the counting method of the Bodhisattva Śakra-deva-kumāra. This explains turning the worldly names and words of all sentient beings, numerous as the dust motes of a world, into an ocean of sounds of great wisdom, causing the world to be free from harsh, bad words and defiled speech. As the text below states: "I attained this liberation of profound, sovereign, wondrous sound, causing all worlds to abandon frivolous speech, to make no double speech, to speak words that are always true, and to speak words that are constantly pure." The intent is to explain transforming all worldly speech so that it entirely becomes the gate of the perfection of wisdom, taking the dust motes of a world-revolution as its measure. Calling the kalpa Stainless Radiance symbolizes the fundamentally threefold empty, quiescent ontological essence within prajñā. The world being named Cloud of Merits of the Dharmadhātu explains that wisdom is the cloud of merits of the spoken teaching within the dharmadhātu. Taking an ocean of wish-fulfilling jewel-kings manifesting the karma of all sentient beings as its substance symbolizes that the wondrous wisdom of the threefold emptiness of selfless quiescence thoroughly knows the differentiated ocean of the karma of all sentient beings; hence it is called a king. Its shape being like a lotus symbolizes the wondrous function of wisdom: while discerning substances and marks, its interior is empty and undefiled. This world dwelling within a net of Sumeru mountains made of fragrant jewels equal in number to the dust motes of the four continents explains that this wondrous wisdom of the threefold emptiness dwells within the fragrance of the Tathāgata's unobstructed fourfold eloquence, and thus possesses a net of teachings equal to the dust motes of Mount Sumeru. Emitting the sounds of the original vows of all Tathāgatas refers to the sixth ground, where at the time of initial resolve one makes great vows relying on all Buddhas, and the sound of turning the Dharma wheel completely fills the ten directions to awaken all sentient beings, having arisen from this vow. Being adorned with lotus flowers explains that its Dharma sound causes all sentient beings to attain non-clinging wisdom. Having lotuses equal to the dust motes of Mount Sumeru as its retinue: Sumeru explains wisdom towering above the world; dust motes explain the vastness and multiplicity of wisdom; lotuses explain the unattached nature of wisdom; retinue explains skillfully discerning differentiated karma and the conditions of various objects as arising in their totality, specificity, identity, difference, formation, and disintegration. Having fragrant jewels equal to the dust motes of Mount Sumeru set in between explains using differentiated wisdom to skillfully preach the unblemished, pure fragrance of immeasurable morality, concentration, wisdom, and liberation set in between, for the jewel signifies freedom from defilement. Possessing four continents equal to the dust motes of Mount Sumeru is merely because Sumeru is formed of the four treasures, signifying its towering height above the great ocean. If one discusses this prajñā wisdom's four unobstructed eloquences and so forth, measuring the differentiated karma of the vocal sounds and mental factors of all sentient beings, then in each and every set of four continents there are hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of inexpressible-inexpressible cities, meaning there are Dharma gates that accomplish such nayutas of inexpressible-inexpressible sentient beings. "Nayuta" corresponds to the counting unit gou here. "Good son" is an appellation of praise for Sudhana's virtue, used to announce the Dharma to him. That in that world there were four continents named Wondrous Banner: within a single set of four unobstructed eloquences, they are collectively called Wondrous Banner. The royal capital therein: fundamental wisdom is taken as the king, and the capital being named Universal Jewel-Flower Radiance means that from fundamental wisdom arises differentiated wisdom, named Universal Jewel-Flower Radiance. Not far from this was a bodhimaṇḍa named Palace of the Universally Manifesting Dharma King: this explains taking fundamental wisdom to arouse the mind of unexcelled right enlightenment, forming the palace of great compassion and the halls of differentiated wisdom, to govern sentient beings with the true Dharma. That Tathāgatas equal in number to the dust motes of Mount Sumeru appeared therein means that the afflictions of all sentient beings, numerous as dust motes, become the ocean of prajñā as the Buddhas appear, all relying on fundamental wisdom as the site of enlightenment to give rise to differentiated wisdom capable of curing afflictions and habits. Its very first Buddha was named King of the Radiance of the Thunderous Sound of the Dharma Ocean: this explains that when fundamental wisdom gives rise to differentiated wisdom, investigation and contemplation transcend the realm of emotions and consciousness, and this is called the first Buddha. Being skilled at preaching the Dharma, he is titled Thunderous Sound. The light of the teaching destroying the delusion of all sentient beings, he is called Radiance. Establishing the Dharma with sovereignty and being able to destroy all heterodoxies, while remaining indomitable amidst heterodoxy, he is called King. When that Buddha appeared, there was a wheel-turning king named Face of Pure Sunlight: this explains that the sunlight of the wisdom wheel-king shines brilliantly and manifestly, just as the face of a jewel mirror clearly reflects all forms. In the presence of that Buddha, he upheld all dhāraṇīs of the ocean of Dharma: this explains that differentiated wisdom upholds numerous dharmas within fundamental wisdom, profound and boundless, which is called an ocean-whirlpool. A sūtra (xiuduoluo) is the prose text of a scripture. The king leaving home after the Buddha entered nirvāṇa symbolizes that in this sixth ground, the wisdom of right enlightenment of the ten grounds has come to an end; wisdom emerged from entanglements is fulfilled, and investigation and contemplation emerged from entanglements have vanished, which is called the Buddha's extinction, the wisdom transcending the world having been perfected. In the eleventh ground, there is only Samantabhadra's gate of practice entering entanglements, which cannot be reached by the gates of emerging from entanglements through the threefold empty wisdom of the sixth ground, the ten grounds, and so forth. Just as in the Chapter on the Ten Concentrations, thirty bodhisattvas liberated through threefold empty wisdom, all already in the empowerment stage, sought Samantabhadra three times through immeasurable supramundane samādhi gates, yet ultimately could not find or see him; only when the Tathāgata had them seek him in mindful thought did Samantabhadra appear. The intent is to explain that threefold empty wisdom reaches only the gate of emerging from entanglements of the ten grounds. For this reason, below it merely lists one hundred Buddha fruits from beginning to end, without setting up the Samantabhadra Dharma gate of the subsequent eleventh ground. This quiescent threefold empty wisdom liberation of the sixth ground merely reaches the Buddha stage of the ten grounds, where investigation and contemplation have ceased, which is called the Buddha's nirvāṇa. The king leaving home: this gate of quiescent threefold empty wisdom of the sixth ground possesses the meaning of leaving home, just as in the ten abodes it was symbolized by the monk Sāgaradhvaja entering the concentration of cessation. The king leaving home to protect and uphold the true Dharma: using threefold empty wisdom to protect and uphold the supramundane true Dharma, when the Dharma is about to perish and there are a thousand differing sects and a thousand ways of expounding the Dharma. Approaching the end of the kalpa, the obstacles of karmic delusion are heavy, and evil monks engage in much contention. As for reaching the point of "not seeking merit": this explains that in this stage there is only the gate of quiescent threefold empty wisdom, lacking compassion and someone to educate and transform. The king manifesting supernormal powers, radiantly luminous, and various works to cause the true Dharma to flourish for sixty-five thousand years: sixty thousand is the number of progressive advancement through the six stages; five thousand years means a single stage completely encompasses the causes and effects of all five stages advancing simultaneously. This explains that the empty liberation gate uses wisdom to give rise to compassion within the supramundane realm, through to the successive appearance of one hundred Buddhas including those before and after, symbolizing that this sixth prajñā gate reaches only the conclusion of the supramundane Buddha fruit stage of the ten grounds, with each ground containing ten grounds. All the above mentions of making offerings to Buddhas equal to the dust motes of Mount Sumeru merely symbolize that prajñā emerging from entanglements is towering and superior. The one hundred Buddhas mentioned above are the fruits of the superior progress of the ten grounds, each ground corresponding to ten. The night goddess's seeking, serving, and making offerings to the Buddha bodies constitutes the cultivation and practice within the ten grounds. Like making offerings to Buddhas equal in number to the dust motes of Buddha lands, this is the universal characteristic of the dharmadhātu. There is not a single thing that is not a Buddha, for within each and every dust mote there are inexhaustible Buddhas. All of the above clarifies that based on Dharma practice, the fruits of kalpas, lands, and countries are accomplished, causing one to contemplate the fruit and match it to the cause, which are entirely Dharma gates, immediate phenomena being immediate principle, because principle is phenomena. The king and his daughter both becoming a monk and a nun: because the perfection of wisdom's gate of threefold empty quiescence is the gate of wisdom and compassion emerging from saṃsāra. The wheel-turning king at that time was what is now Samantabhadra Bodhisattva; this clarifies wisdom. The nun was my very self; this clarifies compassion. "I know only this liberation of profound, sovereign, wondrous sound": this explains that a single sound pervades the dharmadhātu, and the sound furthermore has no substance and nothing discriminated, being able to turn all Dharma gates and educate and transform all sentient beings; hence it is named the liberation of profound, sovereign, wondrous sound. This is the sixth, the Ground of Direct Presence, because all wisdom directly manifests. It takes the perfection of wisdom as the king and the remaining nine as companions. This remedies the obstacle of lack of sovereignty in the quiescence and functioning of threefold empty wisdom, causing one to attain sovereignty.

39.4

In the second [section], "Deferring to the [other's] virtue and progressing onward," from "Like all bodhisattva-mahāsattvas..." down to "taking his leave and departing," there are eighteen lines of sūtra text, including verses, which are organized roughly into six divisions: first, deferring to the [other's] virtue and progressing onward; second, indicating the kalyāṇamitra's location, stating that [she] is in this assembly of the Buddha; third, citing the name of the kalyāṇamitra night-goddess, named Blooming All Tree Flowers; fourth, there are twenty-two lines of verse in which the city-guarding goddess reiterates the previous teaching, as is fully detailed in the text; fifth, Sudhana praises the virtues of the city-guarding goddess in twenty lines of verse, as is clearly expounded in the text; sixth, paying homage and taking his leave. Regarding "in this assembly of the Buddha": this makes clear that [she] does not depart from this principle of unconditioned, inconceivable, non-active, and natureless correct enlightenment and bodhi; hence it is called "in this assembly of the Buddha." And blooming all practice-flowers, she accomplishes the upāyapāramitā, entering into all saṃsāra within the absence of saṃsāra, and practicing the four means of embracing: coworker-benefit actions. This is identical to Upāsikā Vasumitrā's eighty-four thousand nayutas of defilement gates being all practiced in common; it clarifies that the sixth ground's liberation emerging from entanglement has already ended, and this seventh ground uses that gate of emerging from entanglement to enter into the mundane and benefit sentient beings without fear. Because abiding in entanglement and emerging from entanglement are both equal, [this practice] nurtures all great compassion to make it vast, making it limitless, desiring to cause the practice of great compassion to pervade the evil destinies and embrace sentient beings so as to bring them to liberation.

39.5

In the first [section], "Directly entering the dharma gate of the current stage," from "At that time, the youth Sudhana..." down to "I only know this liberation gate of a bodhisattva generating vast joyful radiance," the section is broadly divided into five divisions. First, from "At that time, the youth Sudhana..." down to "I only pray that you will show compassion and explain it for me," there are seven lines of sūtra text, which clarify Sudhana's arrival at the night-goddess's place to directly present what he seeks. Second, from "The night-goddess said, 'Good son...'" down to "a bodhisattva generating vast joyful radiance liberation," there are fifteen and a half lines of sūtra text, which clarify the night-goddess imparting her own practice's dharma gate to Sudhana. Third, from "Sudhana said, 'Great Sage...'" down to "causing them to settle in bodhisattva wisdom," there are sixty-six lines of sūtra text, which clarify the answer to Sudhana regarding the sphere of entering this dharma gate. Fourth, from "The youth Sudhana said, 'Sage, how long has it been since you gave rise to the mind of unsurpassed great bodhi?'" down to "and spoke verses, saying..." there are nineteen lines of sūtra text, which clarify that what she wishes to say about the duration since giving rise to the mind is difficult to believe; there are twenty-nine lines of verse that reiterate that the previous dharma is exceedingly deep and difficult to believe, selecting those whose faculties are capable of hearing it, as fully detailed in the sūtra. Fifth, from "'Good son, in the distant past...'" down to "'I only know this liberation gate of a bodhisattva generating vast joyful radiance,'" the above portion answers what Sudhana asked earlier regarding how long it has been since giving rise to the mind. Regarding the line-by-line explanation of the meaning: from "'Good son, in the distant past...'" downward, there are roughly four divisions: first, citing kalpas as numerous as fine dust motes in an ocean of worlds to answer the previous question of how long it has been since giving rise to the mind; second, citing an ocean of worlds named Universal Radiance Real Gold Mani Mountain; third, citing that within this ocean of worlds there was a buddha who appeared named Quiet Majestic Virtue King of the Wisdom Mountain Universally Illuminating the Dharmadhātu; fourth, citing that within that ocean of worlds there were world systems as numerous as fine dust motes in a world, each world system having worlds as numerous as fine dust motes in a world, and every single world having a Tathāgata appear in it. From "up to..." downward, specific instances are cited. Within it there was a Jambudvīpa with a royal capital named Steadfast Wondrous Jewel Adornment Cloud Lamp, surrounded by ten thousand great cities, where human lifespan was ten thousand years. Within it was a king named Perfect Canopy of All Dharma Sounds, who had five hundred ministers, sixty thousand concubines, and seven hundred princes. In this assembly was an elder's daughter named Jewel Radiance, accompanied by sixty maidens, all with golden bodies and dark blue eyes and hair. In the text below, the king praises the maiden Jewel Radiance, who faithfully knows the merits of others, and with his own hands bestows on the maiden a jeweled robe, from which the light of all constellations universally emanates. The king Perfect Canopy of All Dharma Sounds at that time is the present Tathāgata Vairocana. King Light is King Śuddhodana. Lady Lotus Radiance is the present Lady Māyā. The maiden Jewel Radiance is my very self. The sentient beings embraced by the four means of embracing are all the bodhisattvas in this assembly. This answers Sudhana's question regarding the practice of how long it has been since giving rise to the mind of unsurpassed great bodhi, making clear that in cultivating the practice of great compassion of the seventh ground, unless one arouses a vast mind not limited by kalpas, exhausting the limits of saṃsāra and equaling the kalpas of the three times—like the fine dust motes in an ocean of worlds, taking immeasurable kalpas as the term and equaling the defilements and suffering of all sentient beings as the limit—one cannot match the practice of great compassion of this stage. The dust motes in an ocean of worlds are an approximate comparison. If one uses worldly phenomena to represent the gates of cultivation, contemplating phenomena to know the principle, citing numbers like dust motes in an ocean of worlds means that no time can delimit it. In cultivating the practice of great compassion, one cuts off the mind of limitation. That there is an ocean of worlds named Universal Radiance Real Gold Mani Mountain represents that from universal radiance wisdom one gives rise to the cultivation of the practice of great compassion, which from the beginning has had no start or end. Real gold represents the dharmakāya. Mani represents this wisdom's freedom from defilement. Mountain represents that this universal radiance wisdom is pure and free from defilement, abiding in saṃsāra to benefit all sentient beings, immovable like a mountain. Awakening to this wisdom is called a buddha appearing. Being named Quiet Majestic Virtue King of the Wisdom Mountain Universally Illuminating the Dharmadhātu represents that the Buddha's name is established on the basis of universal radiance wisdom. Universally illuminating is the wisdom that illuminates successively without interruption or exhaustion. Mountain means not moving according to objects, and furthermore has the meaning of loftily transcending. Its essence is free from fabrication; this is the meaning of stillness and tranquility. Wisdom appearing and defilement-karma vanishing is majestic virtue; king is sovereignty. Hence it is said that the Buddha is named Quiet Majestic Virtue King of the Wisdom Mountain Universally Illuminating the Dharmadhātu. 'Good son! When that buddha formerly cultivated the bodhisattva practices, he purified that ocean of worlds': this means that using fundamental wisdom, he gave rise to bodhisattva practices, adorning his own retribution to make it adorned and pure. In the world systems as numerous as fine dust motes below, that Tathāgatas all appear in the world makes clear that universal radiance wisdom universally seals the world systems and the like, so that there is none where one does not see a Tathāgata appear in the world. As for the four continents mentioned below, all are universally sealed by the seal of universal radiance wisdom without distinction, up to universally sealing the ocean of the minds of all sentient beings, like the sun dwelling in the sky: when the water is clear, the sun appears. As for the royal capital mentioned below, it takes the dharmadhātu as the capital city, governed by the wisdom-king. That the king is named Perfect Canopy of All Dharma Sounds makes clear that citing the twin practices of compassion and wisdom operating together through the skillful means practices of the five stages is called the five hundred ministers. In the six destinies, practicing compassion and the joy of the Dharma constitutes the concubines; hence it says sixty thousand concubines. The seven hundred princes are the seven factors of awakening. Furthermore, when the evil age arises below, human lifespan is short, suffering is plentiful and joy is scarce; this is the place to practice compassion. The sixty maidens represent the practice of wisdom and compassion in the six destinies, as synthesized below. Could the king Perfect Canopy of All Dharma Sounds at that time have been someone else? He is the present Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha Vairocana. King Light is King Śuddhodana. Lady Lotus is Lady Māyā. The maiden Jewel Radiance is my very self. What is broadly signified is cultivating the practices of great wisdom, great kindness, and great compassion, being endowed with these three dharmas. The treatise master's verse says:

39.6

Universal radiance wisdom is named the Buddha;
Accordance with original vows is named the Father;
Kindly nurturing sentient beings is named the Lady;
Delighting in the Dharma and benefiting beings is named the Maiden.

39.7

All the oceans of worlds and world systems mentioned above, measured by the dust motes of oceans of worlds, are entirely the realms transformed by these four means of embracing; with limitless wisdom and compassion one ought to practice in this way. In the ocean of the dharmadhātu, measures of far and near, long and short cannot be found, thereby making clear that this sūtra is immediate phenomena and immediate principle. Citing such seas of kalpas, worlds, lands, and royal capitals, completely pervading the ten directions, vast and limitless, Tathāgatas appearing throughout their lands, their kings carrying out practices to rescue beings, and maidens seeking the Dharma—with beings of the evil age in distress reporting their suffering to the great king—these events are indeed so. Moreover, this teaching is used to represent the rules and models for cultivating the upāyapāramitā in this seventh ground, citing the teaching to illustrate it. The overarching meaning of the above sūtra passage and verses is to cause one to cultivate great compassion while dwelling in the mundane, without establishing the marks of leaving the household. Taking Vairocana Buddha as the signified foundation and lord directly represents the seventh ground's gate of compassion, comprehensively encompassing the five stages straight through to the Buddha's ocean of ultimate fruition. Because of this, from beginning to end it does not differ from universal radiance wisdom; with one Buddha universally gathering, it does not establish the progressive advances of the ten grounds and the hundred buddhas. It is not like the previous stages of prajñā of emerging from entanglement and the three kinds of emptiness, where the king and his daughter leave the household to become a monk and nun to represent it. Here it is represented merely through laypersons; even in the buddha-fruition, Vairocana Buddha also has a lay body, adorned with a flower crown, necklaces, armlets, and bracelets, not being one who has left the household. Because this single compassion gate of the seventh [ground] is practiced in common with the preceding and following five stages, it is only through the distinction of representations between world-transcending and dwelling in the world that it causes one to recognize the progressive advances and discern similarities and differences. This is the kalyāṇamitra of the seventh ground, the Far-Reaching Ground. Why is it called the Far-Reaching Ground? Because in this ground one cultivates the practice of great compassion while dwelling in the world, penetrating far to the oceans of worlds in the ten directions, penetrating through all practices of humans, devas, and hells; it is not like having a single thought of seeking to transcend the world. Taking upāyapāramitā as primary and the other nine as companions, it remedies the obstacle of lack of ease when dwelling in saṃsāra with great compassion due to the two minds of defilement and purity, enabling one to attain ease. Arriving at the eighth ground, bodhisattva practices attain one portion of ease, yet regarding the ten powers of a buddha one still lacks ease; only at the tenth ground is it completed. Before the sixth ground, one has not yet attained ease within the four means of embracing, because the two karmas of defilement and purity are not yet eradicated. From the seventh ground onward, one first attains ease in the matters of the four means of embracing; because this stage remedies the two obstacles of defilement and purity, one enters the practice of compassion free from defilement and purity. 'I only know this bodhisattva liberation of generating vast joyful radiance': it is because in this stage the dharmas of the four means of embracing and the four immeasurable minds first truly penetrate.

39.8

In the second [section], "Deferring to the [other's] virtue and progressing onward," from "Like all bodhisattva-mahāsattvas..." down to "taking his leave and departing," there are roughly three divisions established: first, deferring to the [other's] virtue and progressing onward; second, that within this bodhimaṇḍa there is a night-goddess named Rescuing and Protecting All Sentient Beings through the Power of Great Vows and Vigour; third, paying homage and taking his leave. Saying "within the bodhimaṇḍa" and not saying "bodhi" is because in this eighth Immovable Ground, effortless wisdom manifests and all dharmas universally converge; there is no bodhi that was previously aroused, will be aroused, or is currently aroused, and it does not speak of departing or not departing. It simply says "within the bodhimaṇḍa" because effortless wisdom abides in the middle way; for this reason, Sudhana also does not say, "I have already aroused the bodhicitta," and so forth. The night-goddess is named Rescuing and Protecting All Sentient Beings through the Power of Great Vows and Vigour because wisdom and compassionate practice are fulfilled, and without effort she allows the wind of her original vow to blow and benefit beings, using the wind of the praṇidhānapāramitā to unceasingly benefit sentient beings. All buddhas give seven admonitions and three empowerments, causing her to teach and transform sentient beings without rest, by which her name is established; hence she is named Rescuing and Protecting All Sentient Beings through the Power of Great Vows and Vigour.

39.9

First, within directly entering the Dharma-gate of the present stage, from "At that time the youth Sudhana" down to "I only know this liberation of teaching and transforming sentient beings to generate roots of goodness," six sections are outlined at length in this passage: (1) From "At that time the youth Sudhana" down to "manifesting the fundamentally pure body of the Dharma-nature," there are fifteen lines of sūtra text, explaining Sudhana's going to see the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadrakṣā and the various different appearances manifested by the night goddess that he beheld. (2) From "At that time the youth Sudhana" down to "these are the ten," it explains Sudhana beholding the night goddess, prostrating with his entire body, and generating ten kinds of mind. (3) From "having generated these minds" down to the verses, it explains Sudhana attaining equal practice with that night goddess and with bodhisattvas as numerous as the fine dust particles of Buddha-lands, and Sudhana uttering ten lines of verses praising the virtues of the night goddess, as fully explained in the text. (4) From "At that time Sudhana" down to "attaining non-retrogression in anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi," there are sixty-six lines of sūtra text, explaining the night goddess answering Sudhana regarding the name of the Dharma-gate and the inexhaustible manifesting of various physical bodies within this gate. (5) From "Good son, as you have asked: from how long ago did I generate the bodhi-mind and cultivate bodhisattva practices?" down to "fulfilling great vows and perfecting all powers," there are thirty-seven lines of sūtra text, explaining the night goddess telling Sudhana that the bodhisattva's wheel of wisdom is far removed from all realms of conceptual discrimination and cannot be known through [concepts of] long or short, defiled or pure, broad or narrow, many or few within saṃsāra. (6) From "Son of the Buddha, in the ancient past, beyond an ocean of worlds" down to the verses, this section explains the night goddess answering Sudhana regarding how long ago she generated the mind. The subsequent verse section explains the night goddess reiterating the preceding teaching in verse. In explaining the meaning following the text: Sudhana saw that night goddess sitting amid the great assembly, upon a lion throne that was a treasure store of mani jewels universally manifesting all palaces, with a mani jewel net universally manifesting the lands of the dharmadhātu completely covering it above; this represents the effortless wisdom, pure in essence and without defilement, as the throne, constantly manifesting the palaces of all humans, devas, and nāgas, with all residing within it. The mani jewel net covering it above represents effortless wisdom constantly casting the net of teaching; this is explained in terms of the completion of the reward of wisdom. Manifesting bodies that are reflections of the sun, moon, and stars, and manifesting bodies that universally allow sentient beings to see according to their minds, explains that by the reward of wisdom she attained that throne, and also that like the essence of wisdom, she can manifest all dharmas, the manifested dharmas being as numerous as the fine dust particles of Buddha-lands. What follows is fully explained according to the text. Sudhana prostrating with his entire body explains the depth and weight of his veneration for the Dharma. Sudhana obtaining benefit is fully explained in the text below. At that time, Sudhana asked the night goddess what the name of this liberation was. The night goddess answered, saying it is named "teaching and transforming sentient beings to cause them to generate roots of goodness"; this explains that all sentient beings are born from non-active wisdom. With this wisdom, all roots of goodness are generated naturally, and all sufferings are eliminated naturally, because the essential nature of wisdom is non-active. Sentient beings are deluded about it, falsely creating all kinds of karma where there is no suffering. If one understands this, suffering perishes and goodness arises; therefore it is called the liberation of teaching and transforming sentient beings to cause them to generate roots of goodness. Furthermore, within this liberation, in the formless body, through non-abiding wisdom, she universally manifests the bodies of all Buddhas and sentient beings, as fully explained in the text below. Furthermore, Sudhana asked the goddess how long ago she had generated the supreme great bodhi-mind. The night goddess answered, saying that the bodhisattva's wheel of wisdom is far removed from all realms of conceptual discrimination and cannot be revealed or shown through such discriminations as long or short, defiled or pure, broad or narrow, many or few within saṃsāra, because the bodhisattva's wheel of wisdom is by nature pure, free from all nets of discrimination, transcending all mountains of obstacles, and universally illuminating according to those who should be transformed. From here below, six similes are cited: (1) like the sun traveling in the sky without day or night; (2) like the sun disc abiding over Jambudvīpa, appearing in all jewels and in the pure waters of rivers and seas, such that there are no sentient beings who do not see the sun; (3) like a boatman constantly using a large boat on the river's flow, not relying on this bank, that bank, or the middle of the stream; (4) like great empty space, in which all worlds form and disintegrate without conceptual discrimination, being pure by original nature; (5) like the great vow, which, like a wind wheel, supports the ten thousand phenomena; (6) like an illusory person whose limbs and body are complete, yet without inhalation, exhalation, cold, heat, hunger, thirst, sorrow, joy, life, or death. These six similes roughly [mean that] the nature of wisdom is naturally like empty space, without nature, without reliance, and without location, yet it constantly manifests before all Buddhas and sentient beings, teaching and transforming without rest, being supported by the wind wheel of the previously generated great vow. From "Son of the Buddha, in the ancient past, beyond kalpas as numerous as the fine dust particles of an ocean of worlds" down is where the night goddess, adapting to worldly conventions, speaks of kalpas, citing the causes and conditions of how long ago she generated the mind; this is established within illusion. The sūtra says: "In the ancient past, beyond kalpas as numerous as the fine dust particles of an ocean of worlds"; this explains countlessness, representing that fundamentally no countable entity can be found, and the same is true of time periods and kalpas. There was a kalpa named Good Light (Śubhaprabha); this explains the name established for the essence of effortless wisdom. The world was named Jewel Light (Ratnaprabhā); effortless wisdom manifesting dharmas according to beings is called a world. In that kalpa, ten thousand Buddhas appeared in the world; because effortless wisdom manifests responsively according to capacities, it is called ten thousand Buddhas appearing. "Ten thousand" means responding to ten thousand practices with one wisdom. The initial Buddha was named Dharma-Wheel Sound King of Empty Space Lamps Tathāgata, complete with the ten epithets; because effortless wisdom spontaneously benefits sentient beings, constantly turning the sound of the Dharma wheel like an echo in empty space, without any place of reliance, yet illuminating all sentient beings, he is named Lamp-Bright Wisdom. Being sovereign, he is called King. Being complete with the ten epithets means that the function of wisdom is all-pervasive, names being established according to practices. In that Jambudvīpa there was a royal capital named Jewel Adornment; this is the realm transformed by the wisdom king, named Jewel Adornment. Not far to its east was a great forest named Wondrous Light; the east represents the place where wisdom transforms sentient beings to cause brightness to arise. This uses the east to represent the Dharma, the character for east (東) being formed by wood piercing the sun (日 through 木). The forest is named Wondrous Light because practices, like a forest, shade the world broadly and abundantly, and inspiring illumination to benefit beings is named Wondrous Light. Within it was a bodhimaṇḍa named Jewel Flower, representing that by benefiting sentient beings through practice, the flower of the mind blossoms; hence the bodhimaṇḍa is named Jewel Flower. In that bodhimaṇḍa was a lion throne of a lotus treasury of universally illuminating mani jewels; when that Tathāgata attained anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi upon this throne, it means that taking the nature of effortless wisdom constantly and universally illuminating the self-nature of the dharmadhātu without defilement as the throne, and because this essence of wisdom has no formation or disintegration, it is called attaining supreme bodhi. Sitting in the bodhimaṇḍa for a full one hundred years: "one hundred" represents the fulfillment of the ten grounds and ten pāramitās within a single ground. Furthermore, in terms of progressing toward the subsequent stages from this stage, passing beyond the single rank of the ninth ground, the hundred pāramitās are fulfilled, and reaching the tenth ground, one's own Buddha-stage is fulfilled; hence one hundred is established as the gradation. Below, King Suprabha is the practice governed by wisdom, the practice governed by compassion, the realm of compassion. The king and the prince cite the mutual execution of good and evil as an expedient means for generating the mind of compassion. The king, named Suprabha, is wisdom; Prince Sudamana is the practice of carrying out compassion; the states of all the sufferings below are the stage of compassion practiced by wisdom, as reconciled below. The five hundred ministers who wished to harm me are the five hundred followers of Devadatta today. These people were transformed by the Buddha, and in the future, beyond kalpas as numerous as the fine dust particles of Mount Sumeru, during the Good Light era, they will become Buddhas, with five hundred Buddhas attaining successively; furthermore, all those criminals whom I saved are Krakucchanda Buddha and the rest of the thousand Buddhas of the Auspicious Kalpa. Krakucchanda is translated here as "having severed what should be severed." And the one million asaṃkhyeya bodhisattvas who universally practice bodhisattva conduct in the ten directions are King Suprabha, who is today the great disputant Satyaka Nirgrantha. Satyaka Nirgrantha is this non-Buddhist who is naked and starves himself, not bound by food and clothing. The king's palace attendants and all his retinue are that Nirgrantha's sixty thousand disciples. The above collectively explains the persons who achieved the realm transformed by wisdom. "Son of the Buddha, after I had saved the criminals at that time, my parents permitted me to leave the household": this represents that the essence of the wisdom stage is pure and undefiled, which is called leaving the household—leaving the household of effortful practice. Leaving the household and studying the Path under the Buddha King of Empty Space Lamps, purely cultivating brahmacarya for five hundred years, she immediately attained the accomplishment of one million dhāraṇīs: "five hundred years" represents that the essence of effortless wisdom penetrates the five stages, differing only in being raw or mature; this is the initial Buddha penetrating [them]. This initial Buddha having nineteen Buddhas appearing successively explains that reaching the effortless wisdom of the eighth ground, one learns the ten powers of a Buddha and oneself becomes one Buddha, making twenty Buddhas in total, ascending to the Buddha-fruit of the ninth and tenth grounds; this is because reaching this eighth ground subsumes the fruits of the latter two grounds. Because in this eighth ground stage, through effortless wisdom, one is non-dual with the Buddha-fruit of the tenth ground, nineteen Buddhas are established in this stage, explaining that penetrating the effortless wisdom of the eighth ground makes twenty in total; because of mutual interpenetration, this represents that within the eighth ground are the practices of the tenth ground, the three periods of time being one. Serving the Buddhas therein represents the body conforming to practice. First citing ten thousand Buddhas appearing represents the fulfillment of the ten thousand practices of the ninth ground. Next, sixty billion Buddhas appearing in the Sunlight Kalpa represents that within the tenth ground the six stages are equal, cause and effect being one substance without before or after. The meaning above explains that using the universally luminous essence to progress and benefit sentient beings with the sovereign, effortless practice of great compassionate wisdom and the model for benefiting sentient beings, the Dharma of benefiting others, generating practice, and saving sentient beings is established, so that learners may emulate it as before. Or, according to stages, establishing one hundred Buddhas, and subsequently further establishing one, two, three, or four Buddhas, collectively explains that practices are perfected in accordance with stages, and within practice there is fruition. Even if one sees a Buddha outside the fruition of one's own practice, it is not separate from what is seen by one's own practice. Only when practice reaches it does one see it—that is the true Buddha; seeing only by appointment is a temporary transformation that vanishes again—that is a transformation Buddha. This is spoken of in terms of principle being phenomena and phenomena being principle. The twenty-eight marks, lacking four marks and not fulfilling the thirty-two marks, represents that this eighth ground still lacks the fourfold cause and effect of the ninth and tenth grounds, being an unfulfilled stage, since each ground has a twofold cause and effect, because in stage after stage there is the fruit of the present stage and the fruit directed toward [the next]. Drawing near to and making offerings to all Buddhas appearing in the world for kalpas as numerous as the fine dust particles of all oceans of worlds explains that effortless wisdom is all-pervasive: there is no dharma that is not Buddha, and Buddha is precisely Dharma. In the empty space of the ten directions there is no gap or defect; there is no tip of a needle or point of a hair that is not all dharmas and all Buddhas. If there is even a fine dust particle's worth of a mind of right or wrong, defilement or purity, none of it is Buddha, when sealed by the eye of wisdom. The subsequent section of verses re-explains the preceding teaching, as fully presented in the text itself. From "Good son, I only know this liberation of teaching and transforming sentient beings to cause them to generate roots of goodness" down, there is deferring virtue and advancing. This is the kalyāṇamitra in the eighth Immovable Ground, who takes the vow pāramitā as primary and the other nine as companions, remedying the obstacle of not yet being sovereign in preaching the Dharma within effortless wisdom, causing one to attain sovereignty.

39.10

In the second [part], 'deferring to the superior qualities [of another] and advancing': from 'Just as all bodhisattva-mahāsattvas...' down to 'he took his leave and departed,' there are eleven and a half lines of the sūtra text. In this passage, it is roughly divided into three sections: first, indicating the place where the kalyāṇamitra resides; second, explaining the name of the kalyāṇamitra; third, paying homage and taking leave. Stating that in this Jambudvīpa there is a grove explains the limit of cultivating the teaching of the ninth ground, the Ground of Good Intelligence (sādhumatī-bhūmi): its practices universally shelter all sentient beings of the ten directions, its liberation is vast, and staying in saṃsāra is like a grove, while the myriad practices are like a forest—hence the name. 'Lumbinī' (Lanbi): here [in Chinese] this means 'delightfully superior' (lesheng). 'Nī' (ni): here this means 'grove' (yuan). This is because it gladdens sentient beings with the Dharma of wisdom. This grove is also the birth garden where the Tathāgata manifested descending to be born, explaining that the bodhisattva of the eighth ground descends in spirit from Tuṣita heaven to be born, dwelling in the womb and taking birth. In the ninth ground, cultivating wisdom to benefit humans and gods and fulfilling the wisdom of all sentient beings is therefore called 'taking birth.' It means receiving and studying the wisdom of all buddhas to bring it to completion for all sentient beings, as the sūtra itself makes clear. That there is a goddess named Wondrous Virtue Perfected (Myōtoku-enman / Memyō-enman) explains that on the Ground of Good Intelligence, wondrous wisdom is perfected. She is called a 'goddess' (shen) because through compassion and wisdom she is skilled in explaining the teachings.

First 10 of 16 passages. Read on

Linked texts (1)

新華嚴經論 — Classical Chinese