新華嚴經論 8.55

8.55

The fifth assembly is in the Tuṣita Heavenly Palace: this clarifies that this heavenly place is joyful and content. Explaining the ten dedications of merit symbolizes that the stage of dedication of merit harmoniously blends principle and phenomena, and balances great vows, great compassion, and great wisdom so that they are not one-sided: neither craving worldly pleasure nor craving nirvāṇa, neither clinging to great compassion nor clinging to great vows, yet not departing from them, causing one to dwell in the world like a lotus flower that shares the dust without being stained. Furthermore, it symbolizes that this heaven is in the middle of the desire realm—below are Trāyastriṃśa and Yāma, above are Nirmāṇarati and Paranirmitavaśavartin, to indicate above and below. This heaven is located in the middle of the desire realm, and here he also explains the gateways of the ten dedications of merit to symbolize that the dharmakāya, great wisdom, myriad practices, great vows, and great compassion are harmoniously attuned in the middle: not allowing them to become worldly compassion with affectionate clinging, nor allowing them to resemble the faults of the three vehicles whose minds toward cultivating transcendence become excessive, the two vehicles hastening toward quiescence, or bodhisattvas remaining in birth and abandoning the pure land, all of which do not accord with intrinsic reality. The Dharma is symbolized in this way; it does not necessarily require birth in that heaven, clarifying that returning from the real to enter the mundane balances compassion and wisdom.