大方廣佛華嚴經願行觀門骨目 1
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Preface to the Essential Framework of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra
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The new translation of this sūtra was completed in eighty fascicles in the first year of the Zhengsheng era of the Great Tang by Śikṣānanda of Khotan.
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The Venerable Master of Jingxi, the ninth patriarch of the Tiantai school, produced one fascicle of the Essential Framework of the Contemplation of Vows and Practices (now divided into two fascicles). It briefly gathers the essential guidelines to serve as a guide for contemplation. This text circulated abroad for a long time and was not in circulation in China, so people rarely had the chance to see it. However, regarding the secret store of all Buddhas and the nature-ocean of the Tathāgata, those who gaze at it cannot discern its ultimate aim, and those who ladle from it cannot fathom its shores. If one turns one's mind to this text, it is indeed an essential portal for profound contemplation, penetratingly clarifying the source of the Buddhas' fruition and awakening sentient beings to the principle of their true nature: how could boundless oceans of lands be separated by even the tip of a hair, and how could the ancient and modern of the ten time periods exceed the present single thought-moment? The vast extent of the dharmadhātu is entered here. How then could this differ from measuring the merits of reading and reciting the entire great teaching of the Avataṃsaka? Respectfully narrating its origins to place at the head of the sūtra, I hope only that its provenance will be known.
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First Assembly: Preaching Six Chapters in Eleven Fascicles in the Bodhimaṇḍa
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Chapter 1: The Wondrous Adornments of the Rulers of the Worlds (This sūtra has thirty-nine chapters in all; only the Chapter on Asamphyeyas and the Chapter on the Merits of the Tathāgata's Secondary Marks and Radiance were spoken by the Buddha himself, while the rest were spoken by various bodhisattvas through his empowerment.)
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The Buddha, having first attained sambodhi in the bodhimaṇḍa of the Dharma of araṇya in the country of Magadha. It also says: By the Buddha's supernatural power, he caused all the adornments of this bodhimaṇḍa to appear within it. Comment: As this is distinct from having attained enlightenment long ago as in the Life Span [Chapter], and is unlike the effortless abiding in traces under the bodhi tree in the Āgamas, it belongs to the distinct and perfect teachings. It also says: Empowered by the supernatural power of all Buddhas, in a single thought-moment it completely encompassed the dharmadhātu. Comment: Empowerment is distinct from one's own power, which also belongs to the pedagogical method. It also says: In all dharmas he attained supreme sambodhi; his wisdom entered the three periods of time, his body filled the worlds, and he pervaded all lands. In the listing of the assembly, bodhisattvas as numerous as dust motes in ten Buddha-worlds surrounded him, all being diverse assemblies who had gathered roots of goodness together with the Tathāgata, all of whom are said to have accomplished great vows, to be endowed with bodhisattva practices, and so forth. Each and every one is said to be as numerous as dust motes in Buddha-worlds, or said to be in an inconceivable number, an immeasurable number, and so forth, each attaining the inconceivable vimokṣa-dharma-gates of all Buddhas (ending at the fifth fascicle).
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Chapter 2: The Tathāgata's Manifestation of Marks (Fascicle 6. Wishing to preach the supreme Dharma, he first manifested supreme marks; since marks are formed relying on principle, they in turn represent principle, and thus they are first manifested to serve as emblems of principle.)
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The bodhisattvas and all rulers of the worlds had this thought: "What are the realms of all Buddhas' bhūmis, the power of their empowered practice, their fearlessnesses, their samādhis, their unhindered eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind, lights, and sounds?" (Each has the words "What are the all Buddhas'..."). In the verses it says: "How can the Buddha's eye be measureless?" and so forth. The Buddha knew their thoughts and emitted light from between his teeth and mouth, and within the light he spoke verses, whereupon the bodhisattvas of the ten directions all assembled. The bodhisattvas spoke verses within the light, saying: "Namely, benefiting all sentient beings / serves as one's own pure karma." It also says: "In each and every dust mote are immeasurable bodies, / which further manifest variously adorned lands. / All lands that exist across the three periods of time / can all be manifested in a single kṣaṇa." Furthermore, from the Tathāgata's white curl mark between the eyebrows, a bodhisattva spoke this verse: "The Buddha's body completely fills the dharmadhātu, / universally manifesting before all sentient beings; / responding to affinities according to their resonance, it leaves nothing unreached, / yet constantly abides on this bodhi-seat. / In each and every pore of the Tathāgata / sit all the Buddhas of the dust motes of all lands, / surrounded by assemblies of bodhisattvas, / expounding the supreme practices of Samantabhadra." (This chapter merely fully clarifies the Tathāgata's major and minor marks, showing that one contains many and that primary retribution encompasses dependent retribution.)
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Chapter 3: The Samādhi of Samantabhadra (Fascicle 7. To state the origin of the marks, he enters the matrix-body, pointing to the cause to express the fruit, clarifying that marks have their basis.)
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At that time, Samantabhadra sat upon a lion throne before the Buddha, and receiving the Buddha's supernatural power, entered the samādhi named the Body of the Matrix of All Buddhas and the Tathāgata Vairocana. He universally entered the sameness of all Buddhas, identical to the empty-space ocean of the dharmadhātu, giving rise to all samādhi dharmas and universally able to embrace the dharmadhātu of the ten directions. The oceans of wisdom-radiance of all Buddhas of the three periods of time are all born from this, containing all Buddha-powers, vimokṣas, and bodhisattva wisdoms, able to make the dust motes of all lands universally contain the boundless dharmadhātu. Just as Samantabhadra did so, so it was with the empty space of the ten directions and the dharmadhātu. In all the dust motes of all lands seen by the Buddha's eye, reached by the Buddha's power, and manifested by the Buddha's body, within each and every dust mote were Buddha-lands as numerous as the dust motes of an ocean of worlds; within each and every land were Buddhas as numerous as the dust motes of an ocean of worlds; before each and every Buddha were Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes of a Buddha-land, all entering this samādhi. Before each and every Samantabhadra, all Buddhas of the ten directions appeared, praising in one voice: "All Buddhas jointly empower you." All Buddhas of the ten directions simultaneously rubbed his head. At that time, Samantabhadra arose from the samādhi—that is, he arose from ten gates of samādhi, the fifth being the gate of the samādhi of the dwellings of all sentient beings. The verse says:
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"The lands manifested are all adorned and pure; / in a single kṣaṇa, many kalpas are seen. / Samantabhadra peacefully abides in all lands; / the abhijñās he manifests are supremely matchless."
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Chapter 4: The Formation of the World (Same fascicle. Since the agent of transformation is fully present, there must be those who are transformed; therefore what is seen is shown as the sphere to be transformed.)
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At that time, by the Buddha's supernatural power, Samantabhadra universally contemplated all oceans of worlds, oceans of sentient beings, oceans of Buddhas, oceans of sentient beings' karma, oceans of faculties and desires, oceans of the Buddha's wheel of Dharma, oceans of all three periods of time, oceans of the power of vows, and oceans of supernatural transformations. Having contemplated them, he addressed the bodhisattvas: "The Buddha's wisdom knowing the formation, destruction, and purification of all oceans of worlds is inconceivable, up to his wisdom knowing the ocean of supernatural transformations is inconceivable" (pervading all of them). The verse says: "All lands enter my body; / the Buddhas dwelling therein do likewise. / Samantabhadra's practices and vows are boundless; / I have already cultivated them and attained their completion." Samantabhadra further addressed the bodhisattvas, saying: "The Buddhas of the three periods of time have spoken of ten matters concerning the oceans of worlds: namely, the causal conditions for the arising and completion of the oceans of worlds, their basis of abiding, their shapes, their essential nature, their adornments, their purifications, the kalpas of the appearance of Buddhas, the kalpas of their duration, the distinctions of their transformations, and their gates of non-distinction (fully as in the first phrase). If explained extensively, they are equal to the dust motes of an ocean of worlds. Furthermore, due to ten causal conditions, they have already been formed, will be formed, and are presently being formed: namely, by the Buddha's supernatural power; because phenomena are naturally so; by the karma of sentient beings; by the wisdom of bodhisattvas; because sentient beings and bodhisattvas have gathered roots of goodness together; by the power of bodhisattvas' vows to adorn and purify Buddha-lands; because bodhisattvas have accomplished non-retrogressing practices and vows; by the mastery of bodhisattvas' pure resolve; by what flows from the Tathāgata's roots of goodness and the sovereign force when all Buddhas attain enlightenment; and by the power of Samantabhadra's sovereign vows. If explained extensively, they also equal the dust motes of an ocean of worlds." The verse says: "Each and every body encompasses all lands; / in a single thought-moment they are universally manifested across the three periods of time. / The Buddha with skillful means enters entirely into them; / this is what Vairocana has adorned and purified." It also says: "There are various bases, shapes, and natures, / up to the gates of distinction."
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Chapter 5: The Padmagarbha-lokadhātu (Fascicles 8, 9, 10. Although the persons of primary retribution who are to be transformed have been shown, one must also know the lands of dependent retribution that are manifested.)
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Samantabhadra addressed the great assembly, saying: "This ocean of Padmagarbha-lokadhātus is what the Tathāgata Vairocana, when cultivating bodhisattva practices in kalpas as numerous as an ocean of worlds in the past, in each and every kalpa drew near to Buddhas as numerous as the dust motes of an ocean of worlds, and in the presence of each and every Buddha purely cultivated great vows as numerous as the dust motes of an ocean of worlds to adorn and purify the worlds; it is upheld by wind-wheels as numerous as the dust motes of Mount Sumeru." The verse says: "In all the dust motes of the Padmagarbha-lokadhātu, / in each and every dust mote the dharmadhātu is seen; / jeweled light manifests Buddhas gathering like clouds: / this is the Tathāgata's mastery over lands." Furthermore, there is the Great Iron Ring Mountain of the ocean of worlds; within the mountain there is ground, all made of vajra and adorned with numerous jewels. Within the great earth of this ocean of worlds, there are fragrant water oceans as numerous as the dust motes of ineffable Buddha-lands, with bottoms and shores adorned with numerous jewels, and so forth. Each fragrant water ocean has fragrant water rivers as numerous as the dust motes of the four continents, with shores of varied precious maṇi-gems, and so forth, in which the causal practices of all Buddhas are all manifested, and each river has adornments as numerous as the dust motes of a world. This ocean of Padmagarbha-lokadhātus is adorned entirely with pure merits as numerous as the dust motes of an ocean of worlds. Furthermore, within these fragrant water oceans as numerous as the dust motes of ineffable Buddha-lands, there dwell seeds of worlds as numerous as the dust motes of ineffable lands, and each and every seed contains worlds as numerous as the dust motes of ineffable Buddha-lands, whose bases, shapes, and so forth within the ocean of worlds differ. The verse says: "The vast lands of the ten directions / all come and enter this seed of worlds. / Although manifested as universally entering from the ten directions, / yet in truth there is no coming and nowhere entered. / With one seed of lands entering all, / and all entering one without remainder, / their essence and marks remain as originally without distinction; / matchless and measureless, they are completely pervasive. / In all the dust motes of all lands, / one universally sees the Tathāgata in his abode." These fragrant water oceans are distributed within the Padmagarbha like the net of Śakra; the centralmost one is named the Fragrant Water Ocean of Boundless Wondrous Flower Light. Surrounding it in each of the ten directions are twenty tiers of worlds as numerous as the dust motes of a Buddha-land. The verse says: "The ocean of the Padmagarbha-lokadhātu / is equal to and non-different from the dharmadhātu, / adorned with utter purity, / and abiding stably in empty space."
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Chapter 6: Vairocana (Fascicle 11. Having generally shown the transforming agent and the transformed, dependent and primary retribution, one must still separately distinguish the particular traces of one region, discerning the round from the partial, and knowing the whole from the particular.)
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Samantabhadra Bodhisattva addressed the great assembly, saying: "In ancient times, passing kalpas as numerous as the dust motes of a world, and doubling this number again, there was an ocean of worlds named Radiance of the Universal Gate. In this ocean of worlds there was a world named Wondrous Sound, dwelling supported by an ocean of maṇi flowers, with worlds as numerous as the dust motes of Mount Sumeru as its retinue. Its shape was perfectly round, its ground immeasurably adorned, surrounded by three hundred tiers of jewels, with jewel clouds covering it above like Mount Sumeru; clothing, food, and drink arrived in accordance with one's thoughts. In that Wondrous Sound world there was a fragrant water ocean named Pure Radiance, within which appeared a Great Lotus Sumeru Mountain named the Mountain of the Banner of Universal Adornments of Flower Flames, atop which was a grove named Maṇi Flower, adorned with numerous jewels. A million billion nayutas of cities surrounded it, and various sentient beings dwelt therein. East of the grove was a city named Blazing Radiance, the capital of a human king, surrounded by a million billion nayutas of cities. In the first kalpa of that Wondrous Sound world, Tathāgatas as numerous as the dust motes of ten Mount Sumerus appeared; the first Buddha was named Sumeru Wondrous Cloud of All Merits Mountain. The king was named Pleasant Sight Good Wisdom, who governed a million billion nayutas of cities, with thirty-seven thousand wives and court ladies, and five hundred sons, with Great Mighty Radiance as the eldest, who had ten thousand wives. Seeing the light, the crown prince, by the power of roots of goodness cultivated in the past, attested to ten dharma-gates and then spoke verses; by the Buddha's supernatural power, his voice filled the Wondrous Sound world. Hearing it, the king and his consort came to the Buddha's abode, and their retinue of eight classes of beings all assembled. Hearing the Dharma, they gained benefit, and Great Mighty Radiance attained the immeasurable light of wisdom. After that Buddha's parinirvāṇa, the Buddha Adorned with Roots of Goodness of the Pāramitās appeared in the world. At that time the young prince Great Mighty Radiance saw the Buddha and immediately attained the Buddha-mindfulness samādhi named the Gate of the Boundless Ocean Matrix and other gates, ten thousand dharma-gates in all. Encountering the third and fourth Buddhas, having attained benefit, he returned to his original abode (all of the above, from the Samādhi of Samantabhadra onward, was spoken by Samantabhadra Bodhisattva)."
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Second Assembly: Preaching Six Chapters in Four Fascicles in the Universal Light Hall
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Chapter Seven: The Names of the Tathāgata (Fascicle 12. Although one knows the particular principle shown in a single direction, one must fully comprehend the particulars across the ten directions).
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In the bodhimaṇḍa, having just attained sambodhi, [the Buddha] sat upon the lion seat of the Lotus Treasury in the Universal Light Hall, his wondrous awakening completely fulfilled. He was together with bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes of ten buddha-kṣetras, all in the position of succession to Buddhahood in one life, who had all assembled here from other directions. In order to cause sentient beings to permanently cut off all afflictions, he spoke of the ten abodes, the ten practices, the ten dedications, the ten treasuries, the ten bhūmis, the ten vows, the ten samādhis, the ten supernormal knowledges, the ten crowns, and spoke of the Tathāgata's realm of bhūmis, the scope of his supernatural power, his powers, fearlessnesses, samādhi-abhijñās, sovereign and unhindered eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, his eloquence, wisdom, and supreme vows (all [phrased as] belonging to the Tathāgata). At that time, the World-Honoured One, knowing the thoughts in the minds of the bodhisattvas, manifested supernatural power; in each of the ten directions, past worlds as numerous as the dust motes of ten buddha-kṣetras, there was a world and a buddha, who each came to the Buddha's presence together with bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes of ten buddha-kṣetras. The world in the eastern direction was named Golden; its leading bodhisattva was named Mañjuśrī. Relying on the Buddha's majestic power, he observed the bodhisattvas and said: "O sons of the Buddha! The dwelling of the Buddha in the buddha-lands, the adornment of the buddha-kṣetras, the dharmatā of the buddhas, the purity of the buddha-kṣetras, the Buddha's teaching of the Dharma, the Buddha's appearance, the accomplishment of the buddha-kṣetras, and the Buddha's bodhi are all inconceivable. Why is this? The Buddha knows all sentient beings throughout the ten directions, and teaches the Dharma to tame them according to what is appropriate. For the various four continents of this Sahā [world], the Tathāgata's various bodies, names, physical characteristics, long and short lifespans, places, birthplaces of sense faculties, and contemplation of karma (all [phrased as] 'various'), all cause what sentient beings perceive to differ. In these four continents, the Tathāgata is named Sarvārthasiddha, or Full Moon, or Śākyamuni, or Vairocana, and so forth, comprising ten thousand names. In like manner, for each world in the ten directions of these four continents, there are ten thousand names each. In the ten billion sets of four continents in this Sahā world, there are one hundred billion manifold names. Furthermore, beyond the Sahā [world] in each of the ten directions there is a world, each having one hundred billion manifold names; throughout the ten directions and the entirety of empty space, they are manifold and distinct."
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Chapter Eight: The Four Noble Truths (Same fascicle. Having understood the distinct persons, one should know the distinct Dharmas).
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At that time Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva addressed the bodhisattvas: "O sons of the Buddha! The noble truth of suffering, in this Sahā world, is called sin, or oppression, or alteration, grasping, accumulation, thorns, and so forth. The noble truth of the origin [of suffering] is called bondage, destruction, attachment, delusive conceptualisation, and so forth. The noble truth of the cessation [of suffering] is called non-contention, freedom from defilement, tranquility, and so forth. The noble truth of the path [to cessation] is called the One Vehicle, heading toward tranquility, guidance, and so forth. In this way, every single world in the ten directions each has four hundred billion and ten thousand names."
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Chapter Nine: Awakening by Light (Fascicle 13. Wishing to proclaim his Dharma, he first moves their feelings, horizontally filling empty space, vertically exhausting the summit of the form realm, clarifying the capacity and scope of the persons and dharmas addressed).
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At that time, from beneath his feet the World-Honoured One emitted light, which illuminated ten billion sets of four continents, up to ten billion Akaniṣṭha Heavens. Due to the Buddha's supernatural power, all saw the Tathāgata surrounded by bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes of ten buddha-kṣetras; in each of the ten directions there was a great bodhisattva, each accompanied by bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes of ten buddha-kṣetras, with Mañjuśrī as the foremost. At that time, Mañjuśrī in all places simultaneously spoke gāthās before the Buddhas. At that time, the light passed beyond this world to worlds as numerous as the dust motes of ten buddha-kṣetras in each of the ten directions, each having four continents up to Akaniṣṭha; Mañjuśrī's speaking of gāthās in all places was also like this, and so it was throughout the dharmadhātu and the realm of empty space.
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Chapter Ten: Bodhisattvas Clarify through Inquiries (Same fascicle. Wishing to destroy ignorance, one first stimulates its sprout. Both the questioner and the questioned are great persons; hence they are called bodhisattvas, and being at the beginning of the stages, 'Chief' is used as their designation).
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At that time Mañjuśrī asked Bodhisattva Bodhiśīrṣa: "Son of the Buddha! The nature of the mind is one; why then are there various differences? Namely, good destinies and bad destinies, completeness or deficiency of faculties, identity or difference in birth, beauty or ugliness, suffering or joy. The mind does not know karma, karma does not know the mind; feeling does not know retribution, retribution does not know feeling; the mind does not know feeling, feeling does not know the mind; cause does not know condition, condition does not know cause; wisdom does not know the object, the object does not know wisdom." Bodhiśīrṣa replied: / "All phenomena have no operation, / nor do they possess intrinsic nature. / Therefore all of them / do not know one another. / Just as water in a river, / turbulent currents compete in rushing past, / each not knowing the other, / all phenomena are also like this. / Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, / the mind, intellect, and all sense faculties— / through these there is constant transmigration, / yet there is no one that can move them. / The dharmatā is originally unproduced; / it appears as being produced, / yet herein there is nothing that can manifest, / nor is there any object manifested. / Whether real or unreal, / whether false or not false, / worldly or world-transcending, / there are only provisional verbal designations." / Mañjuśrī asked Bodhisattva Dhanaśīrṣa: "Son of the Buddha! All sentient beings are not sentient beings. Why does the Tathāgata, in accordance with their times, life spans, bodies, practices and understandings, discourses, inclinations of mind, and expedients of contemplation (each phrased as 'in accordance with'), manifest his body among such sentient beings to teach and tame them?" Dhanaśīrṣa replied with a gāthā: / "Analytically contemplate the inner body: / herein, who is the self? / If one can understand in this way, / one will penetrate the existence or non-existence of a self." / Mañjuśrī asked Bodhisattva Ratnaśīrṣa: "All sentient beings equally possess the four great elements, and are without self and without what belongs to a self. Why then is there experiencing of suffering and experiencing of joy, beauty and ugliness, internal and external, present retribution and future retribution? Yet in the dharmadhātu there is neither good nor bad." Ratnaśīrṣa said in a gāthā: / "Just as in a clear, bright mirror, / according to the object facing it, / the manifested images are each different, / the nature of karma is also like this. / Also, as in the womb, / all the faculties become fully complete, / their substance and appearance having no place from which they come, / the nature of karma is also like this. / Also, as in the hells, / with their various painful matters, / they all have no source from which they come, / the nature of karma is also like this." / Mañjuśrī asked Bodhisattva Guṇaśīrṣa: "That which the Tathāgata awakens to is only a single Dharma; why then does he teach immeasurable dharmas, manifest immeasurable lands, transform immeasurable multitudes, utter sounds, display bodies, know minds, manifest supernatural powers, and shake the realms, and so forth (all phrased as 'immeasurable')?" Guṇaśīrṣa replied with a gāthā: / "Just as the nature of fire is one, / yet it can burn all things, / the flame being without discrimination, / the Dharmas of all Buddhas are like this. / Ocean waves, blowing wind, and rain on the earth are also like this. / Furthermore, just as the earth element is one, / yet it can produce various sprouts, / without the earth having any differences, / the Dharmas of all Buddhas are like this." / Mañjuśrī asked Bodhisattva Netraśīrṣa: "The Tathāgata's field of merit is uniform and without difference; why then is it seen that the fruits and retributions of sentient beings' giving are not the same? Namely, various colours and forms, families and faculties, property and masters, retinues, official ranks, merits, and wisdom (all phrased as 'various'), yet the Tathāgata is impartial toward them without differing thoughts." Netraśīrṣa replied with a gāthā: / "Just as the great earth is one, / yet sprouts grow according to their seeds, / having neither hostility nor affection toward them, / the Buddha's field of merit is also like this. / It is also like water having a single flavour, / which differs according to the vessel, / and like a clear, bright mirror, / which manifests images according to colour. / Like agada medicine, / which can cure all illnesses (the following two lines are largely the same)." / Mañjuśrī asked Bodhisattva Vīryaśīrṣa: "The Buddha's teaching is one; when sentient beings get to see it, why do they not immediately cut off all afflictions? Since their five aggregates, three realms, and three poisons have no differences, then is the Buddha's teaching either beneficial or not beneficial to sentient beings?" He replied: "It is due to the difference between diligence and indolence that there are various kinds." / Mañjuśrī asked Bodhisattva Dharmaśīrṣa: "As the Buddha has taught, if there are sentient beings who receive and uphold the true Dharma, all can cut off all afflictions. Why then are there those who receive and uphold the true Dharma yet do not cut them off, but follow along with afflictions?" Dharmaśīrṣa replied: / "Like a person swept away by water, / who fears drowning yet dies of thirst; / failing to cultivate the Dharma, / being widely learned is also like this. / Like a person who prepares delicious food, / yet starves himself and does not eat; / like a person skilled in medicine and prescriptions, / yet unable to cure his own disease; / like a person counting others' treasures, / yet having not half a coin himself; / like a person born in a royal palace, / yet suffering hunger and cold; / like a deaf person playing music, / pleasing others but not hearing it himself; / like a blind person painting various images, / showing them to others but not seeing them himself (the following two lines are also the same)." / Mañjuśrī asked Bodhisattva Matiśīrṣa: "In the Buddha's Dharma, wisdom is foremost; why then does the Tathāgata praise giving, morality, and even wisdom and the four immeasurable minds, yet in the end no one can achieve bodhi through only a single dharma?" Matiśīrṣa replied with a gāthā: / "The Buddha knows the minds of sentient beings, / whose natures and dispositions each differ; / according to what is appropriate to save them, / he teaches the Dharma as a remedy. / For the stingy, he praises giving, and so forth for all dharmas." / Mañjuśrī asked Bodhisattva Bhadraśīrṣa: "All buddhas attain emancipation through only a single path; why then do we now see buddha-lands differing?" Bhadraśīrṣa replied with a gāthā: / "Mañjuśrī, the nature of dharmas is ever thus: / the Dharma King has only a single Dharma; / all unhindered persons / escape birth and death by a single path. / The bodies of all buddhas / are only a single dharmakāya, / one mind, one wisdom; / powers and fearlessnesses are also like this. / All buddha-kṣetras / are completely adorned; / according to the differences in sentient beings' practices, / they are thus seen differently. / Buddha-kṣetras have no discrimination, / neither hatred nor love; / merely following sentient beings' minds, / they are thus seen to have distinctions." / The ten Chiefs then in turn asked Mañjuśrī: "We have finished speaking; the benevolent one should explain what the Tathāgata's realm is. What is the Buddha's realm, the cause of salvation, the entering wisdom, the Dharma explanation, the knowledge of realization, the manifestation and extent (all like the first phrase)?" Mañjuśrī also replied with ten gāthās: / "The profound realm of the Tathāgata / has an extent equal to empty space. / All sentient beings enter it, / yet in reality there is nowhere entered. / The profound realm of the Tathāgata / has supreme and wondrous causes / that could be constantly proclaimed for billions of kalpas, / yet still cannot be exhausted (the remaining nine are all answered with ultimate non-differentiation)." Due to these answers, by the Buddha's supernatural power, throughout the Sahā [world] and the ten directions to the exhaustion of empty space, all clearly saw ten kinds of differences: namely, differences of dharmas, karma, worlds, bodies and faculties, taking rebirth, the fruit of observing precepts, the fruit of breaking precepts, the fruit of lands (the following nine phrases are the same as the first).
1.27
Chapter Eleven: Pure Conduct (Fascicle 14. Although one appreciates its destination, without practice one cannot advance. Leaving behind the secular to advance along the path is therefore called 'pure', because it purifies those practices. Practice relies on this purity; both subject and object thus acquire the name 'pure conduct').
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Zhishou asked Mañjuśrī: "Son of the Buddha, how does one obtain bodily, vocal, and mental actions that are without fault, non-harming, unblamable, indestructible, irreversible, unshakeable, exceptionally pure, and led by unstained wisdom (each following the first phrase)? How does one obtain perfection of birthplace, of lineage, of family, of physical appearance, of mindfulness, of wisdom, of practice, of fearlessness, and of awakening (all saying 'perfection')? How does one obtain supreme wisdom: paramount, unsurpassed, most excellent, immeasurable, innumerable, inconceivable, unequaled, unfathomable, and inexpressible (all saying 'wisdom')? How does one obtain the power of causes, the power of aspiration, the power of skillful means, the power of conditions, the power of objects of cognition, the power of faculties, the power of observation, the power of śamatha, the power of vipaśyanā, and the power of reflection, as well as the ten kinds of skillfulness, the seven factors of awakening, the six perfections (the sūtra fully enumerates seventeen factors of awakening, adding emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness; and to the six perfections adds loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity), the ten powers of a Buddha, and the protection of the eight classes of beings? How does one come to serve for sentient beings as a reliance, a savior, a refuge, a torch, an illumination, a guide, an excellent guide, and a universal guide (as in the first phrase)? How does one become, among all sentient beings, the first, the greatest, the superior, the most supreme, the wondrous, the most wondrous, the elevated, the unsurpassed, the peerless, and the matchless (adding 'become')?" Mañjuśrī said to Zhishou Bodhisattva: "It is for the purpose of benefiting the devas and humans of the world that you ask such a meaning. If bodhisattvas use their minds well, they will attain all supreme and wondrous merits and virtues, and regarding all buddhadharmas their minds will abide without hindrance throughout past, future, and present. Abiding in accord with sentient beings along the path of all Buddhas, they never abandon them. They should be like Samantabhadra, foremost in physical form, fully endowed with all practices and vows, becoming a second guide for sentient beings. All this arises from generating all these great vows, beginning from dwelling at home to entering the saṅghārāma; in practicing all manners of deportment, they make great vows in every case." The verses say: / "When a bodhisattva dwells at home, they should vow that sentient beings / (the second line of the following twenty-one verses is the same) / realize the empty nature of the home, escaping its constraint. / Filially serving father and mother, they properly serve the Buddha and protect and nurture all. / When united with wife and children, they view foe and kin equally, forever parting from grasping desire. / If enjoying the five desires, they pull out the arrows of desire, attaining ultimate peace. / In gatherings of music and dance, they entertain themselves with the Dharma, understanding the arts are unreal. / Sitting cross-legged, their roots of goodness become firm, attaining the unshakeable ground. / When lifting the foot, they emerge from the sea of birth and death, fully possessing all wholesome dharmas. / Straightening clothes and tying the sash, they bind and restrain their roots of goodness, not letting them disperse. / At the time of defecation and urination, they cast away greed, anger, and delusion, eliminating sinful dharmas. / Washing off bodily filth, they become pure, pliant, and ultimately unstained. / Washing the face with water, they obtain the pure Dharma-door, forever free from defilement. / Seeing a garden being cultivated, within the garden of the five desires, they weed out the grasses of craving. / Seeing happy people, they always attain peace and joy, delighting in making offerings to the Buddha. / Seeing suffering and happy people, they obtain the fundamental wisdom, extinguishing all sufferings. / Seeing a sick person, they know the body is empty and quiescent, free from dharmas of conflict and dispute. / If seeing a śramaṇa, they become pliant and tranquil, ultimately foremost. / When taking food, they take the joy of dhyāna as food, fully filled with the bliss of the Dharma. / Bathing the body, body and mind are unstained, pure and bright inside and out. / In scorching summer and fiery heat, they renounce all afflictions, completely ending them all. / When washing the feet, they become endowed with the power of supernatural foot, walking without hindrance. / Resting at the proper time, their bodies attain comfort, their minds without disturbance. / First awakening from sleep, with the all-knowing awareness, they look around at the ten directions. / If bodhisattvas use their minds in this way, they will attain all supreme and wondrous merits and virtues."
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Chapter 11, "Pure Conduct" (Fascicle 14. Although the destinies [in the previous chapter] are good, without practice one cannot advance. Leaving the mundane and advancing along the Way is therefore named "pure," because it purifies those practices. Practice relies on this purity, so both subject and practice receive the designation of "pure conduct"). / Chapter 12, "Chief of the Virtuous" (Same fascicle. Exposing the beginning of the fifteen virtuous stages, it is thus called "Chief of the Virtuous" [Bhadraśrī], which is the proximate skillful means of the first abode. Being the virtuous among sages, they are named "virtuous"; being the chief of the family of the virtuous, they are named "Chief of the Virtuous").
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At that time, after Mañjuśrī had spoken of the great merit and virtue of pure conduct free from turbid confusion, wishing to manifest the merit and virtue of bodhicitta, he questioned Bhadraśrī Bodhisattva in verse, saying: / "I have now, for the sake of the bodhisattvas, / Spoken of the pure practices formerly cultivated by the Buddha. / You, Humane One, should also in this assembly / Expound the supreme merits and virtues of cultivation." / Bhadraśrī then spoke 715 seven-character lines of verse in reply. The initial line is an admonition, saying: "Excellent, O Humane One, you should listen attentively!" The next fifteen lines praise bodhicitta, modestly stating: "Those merits and virtues are immeasurable; / I now, according to my ability, speak a small portion, / Just like a single drop of water from the great ocean." The next two lines set forth the causes and conditions of generating the mind, saying: "When a bodhisattva generates the intent to seek bodhi, / It is not without causes and conditions." The next nine lines directly clarify the causes and conditions of generating the mind, taking the Three Jewels, bodhi, sentient beings, and buddha-lands as the objective condition, and the mind capable of faith as the internal cause. The verses say: / "Generating respectful faith toward the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, / Through this one generates the vast and great mind; / Not seeking the five desires or royal status, / Wealth, self-gratification, or great fame. / Solely to extinguish forever the suffering of sentient beings, / And to benefit the world, does one generate the mind; / Constantly desiring to benefit all sentient beings, / To adorn the lands and make offerings to the Buddha. / Upholding the true Dharma and cultivating all kinds of wisdom, / In order to realize bodhi, one generates the mind." / Next, the fourteen lines starting from "Faith is the source of the Way" praise the supremacy and wondrousness of the mind of faith. Next, the section from "If constantly..." onward extensively praises the generation of the mind, from beginning to end showing the arising of all practices in mutual succession, extending down to the functions of the fruit. Next, it extensively relates the various functions of causes and fruits.
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The Third Assembly: in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven Palace, expounding six chapters in three fascicles.
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Chapter 13, "Ascending to the Peak of Mount Sumeru" (Fascicle 16. Ascending without moving, responding to capacities and finding the place).
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At that time, due to the Tathāgata's awe-inspiring supernatural power, in every single Jambudvīpa of the four continents in all the worlds of the ten directions, all saw the Tathāgata seated beneath the bodhi tree. At that time, the Tathāgata, without leaving this seat, ascended Mount Sumeru, heading toward the palace of Śakra. At that time, Śakra saw the Buddha coming from afar, and by the Buddha's supernatural power adorned this palace, set out a lion throne, adorned each and every offering implement, and those surrounding were ten thousand in each case; all said 'Welcome!' and invited the Buddha into the palace. The Buddha then accepted the invitation, and it was so in all the ten directions. By the Buddha's power, all musical sounds in the palace ceased on their own. Śakra recollected the roots of goodness he had planted in the presence of past Buddhas, and spoke twenty verses to praise the ten Buddhas. Referring to the seven Buddhas of the past and others, each and every one said: "Therefore, this place is the most auspicious, and so too are the worlds of the ten directions." After the World-Honoured One was seated, this palace suddenly became vast, expansive, and spacious, and so too were the worlds of the ten directions.
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Chapter 14, "Verses of Praise on the Peak of Mount Sumeru" (Same fascicle. Having already ascended the mountain, wishing to expound the dharmatā, he again relies on the dharmatā to praise the person. The person being supreme and the Dharma venerable, devotion finds its proper object).
1.35
At that time, in each of the ten directions there was a great bodhisattva, each accompanied by bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes of a buddha-field, who had come from worlds outside a hundred billion buddha-field dust motes away. The text lists the ten Bodhisattvas of Wisdom, with Dharmamati as the foremost. It lists each of those ten worlds and the ten Buddhas within those worlds; each magically created a lion throne of Vairocana, and each sat upon it. The gatherings in the ten directions were also like this. From beneath his two feet, the World-Honoured One emitted hundreds of thousands of koṭis of wondrously colored rays of light that illuminated the ten directions everywhere, and this assembly all saw it. The ten Bodhisattvas of Wisdom each spoke ten verses praising the Buddha. / The second, Sarvamati, said in verse: / "Even if for hundreds of thousands of kalpas / One constantly sees the Tathāgata, / If one does not rely on the true meaning / In observing the Savior of the World, / Such a person grasps at characteristics, / Increasing the net of ignorance and delusion, / Bound in the prison of birth and death, / Blind and in darkness, not seeing the Buddha. / Dharmatā is originally empty and tranquil, / Without grasping and without seeing; / The empty nature is itself the Buddha, / Inconceivable and beyond deliberation. / If one knows that all dharmas / Are all like this in their essential nature, / Such a person will not / Be defiled by or attached to afflictions. / Ordinary beings see all dharmas / Merely turning in accord with characteristics; / Failing to comprehend that dharmas have no characteristics, / Therefore they do not see the Buddha." / The third, Jinamati, said in verse: / "Completely knowing all dharmas / Have no self-nature whatsoever, / Understanding the dharmatā in this way, / One then sees Rocana. / Conditioned by the prior five skandhas, / Subsequent skandhas arise in continuity; / If one completely knows this nature, / Seeing the Buddha is difficult to conceive." / The fourth, Guṇamati, said in verse: / "In the past I suffered various miseries / Because I did not see the Buddha; / Therefore one should purify the Dharma-eye / To observe what ought to be seen. / Non-seeing is true seeing, / Able to see all dharmas; / If one has seeing toward dharmas, / This then is seeing nothing." / The fifth, Vīryamati, said in verse: / "The dharmas of worldly verbal convention / Are falsely discriminated by sentient beings; / Knowing the world is entirely unproduced / Is truly seeing the world. / If seeing sees the world, / That seeing is the characteristic of the world; / As it truly is, equal and without difference— / This is named a true seer. / Dharmatā is originally pure, / Like space without characteristics; / Here too there is nothing to cultivate, / Able to see the Great Muni." / The sixth, Bhadramati, said in verse: / "The wise speak of the inexhaustible, / Yet here too there is nothing spoken; / Because self-nature is inexhaustible, / There can be the inconceivably exhaustible. / Within what is spoken of as inexhaustible, / No sentient beings can be found; / Knowing that the nature of sentient beings is like this, / One then sees the One of Great Fame." / The seventh, Prajñāmati, said in verse: / "This person lacks the eye of wisdom / And cannot succeed in seeing the Buddha; / Where there is dispute, birth and death are spoken of; / Where there is no dispute, that is nirvāṇa. / Birth and death, as well as nirvāṇa— / Both cannot be apprehended." / The eighth, Satyamati, said in verse: / "Better to endure the sufferings of hell / And get to hear the names of the Buddhas, / Than not to receive immeasurable pleasure / While failing to hear the names of the Buddhas. / The present is not a combination; / So too with past and future. / All dharmas are without characteristics: / This is the true body of the Buddha. / If one can observe in this manner / The extremely profound meaning of all dharmas, / One then sees all Buddhas, / The true characteristic of the dharmakāya. / Knowing that because of the one, there are the many, / Knowing that because of the many, there is the one, / All dharmas have nothing to rely upon, / Arising solely from combinations." / The ninth, Anuttaramati, said in verse: / "The Tathāgata's light shines everywhere, / Eliminating all darkness; / This light is neither shining, / Nor is it non-shining. / In this there is no two, / Nor is there even one; / Those of great wisdom who see well / Skillfully abide in accord with principle. / In non-existence there is no duality, / And non-duality is also non-existent; / The three realms are completely empty: / This is the vision of the Buddhas."
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Chapter 15, "The Ten Abodes" (Same fascicle. Directly expounding the true stages, these ten are the very first. Initially settling into the noble realm, they are therefore named "abodes"; wisdom and severance correspond, and they are briefly stated as ten).
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At that time, receiving the Buddha’s supernatural power, Dharmamati entered the Bodhisattva’s Samādhi of Immeasurable Upāya. Through the power of the samādhi, beyond worlds numbering as many dust motes as a thousand buddha lands in each of the ten directions, there were buddhas numbering as many dust motes as a thousand buddha lands who were all named Dharmamati; they universally appeared before him and said to Dharmamati: “Excellent, excellent! You are able to enter this samādhi, and buddhas numbering as many as dust motes of a thousand lands collectively empower you. Moreover, it is through the past vow-power of Vairocana and through the power of the roots of goodness you have cultivated that you have entered this samādhi to make you preach the Dharma: in order to augment the Buddha-wisdom; in order to enter deeply into the dharmadhātu; in order to fully comprehend the realm of sentient beings; in order that what is entered be unhindered; in order that what is practiced be unobstructed; in order to attain matchless upāya; in order to enter into the nature of all-knowledge; in order to awaken to all dharmas; in order to know all faculties; and in order to be able to uphold and proclaim all dharmas—that is to say, to initiate the ten kinds of abidings of bodhisattvas.” Thereupon, the buddhas bestowed upon Dharmamati the ten kinds of knowledges, such as unhindered [knowledge], and the buddhas of the ten directions extended their hands and rubbed his crown. Dharmamati arose from absorption and said to the bodhisattvas: “Children of the Buddha! The abiding-place of a bodhisattva is vast, equal to the dharmadhātu and space.” Having enumerated the ten names, he first explains the Initial Abiding, saying: “This bodhisattva generates the aspiration based upon ten kinds of rare dharmas, namely the ten powers. One should encourage [them] to study ten dharmas, namely: diligently making offerings to buddhas; delighting in abiding in birth-and-death; guiding the world; causing evil karma to be eliminated; constantly instructing with supreme and wonderful teachings; praising the unsurpassed Dharma; studying the Buddha’s merits; being born before buddhas and constantly receiving [their] gathering-in; through upāya proclaiming the samādhi of peaceful dispute; praising detachment from the transmigration of birth-and-death; and acting as a refuge for suffering sentient beings.” In the Abiding of Preparing the Ground, one generates ten kinds of minds; in the Abiding of Cultivation, one practices ten kinds of contemplations; in the Abiding of Noble Birth, one accomplishes ten dharmas; in the Abiding of Complete Upāya, one benefits beings through ten dharmas; in the Abiding of the Upright Mind, upon hearing ten kinds of dharmas, the mind is fixed and unmoving; in the Abiding of Non-Retrogression, upon hearing ten kinds of dharmas, one is firm and does not regress; in the Abiding of the Youthful State, one abides in ten kinds of activities; in the Abiding of the Crown Prince, one understands ten dharmas well; in the Abiding of Coronation, one accomplishes ten knowledges. In each and every abiding, one diligently cultivates ten dharmas; what is spoken throughout the ten directions in words, sentences, and doctrines has neither increase nor decrease.
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Chapter 16: Pure Conduct (Fascicle 17. This recounts again the holy cause; the cause is simply practice, hence it is named ‘conduct’. The substance of practice is free from defilement, hence it is named ‘pure’ [brahma]).
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The devaputra Right Mindfulness said to Dharmamati: “The hosts of bodhisattvas in all worlds rely on the Tathāgata’s teaching, dye their robes, and leave the household life; how can they cultivate and train in pure conduct?” Dharmamati said: “One should take ten dharmas as the objective conditions, namely the three karmas, as well as the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, and the precepts. Contemplating each one in this manner—because they are all empty and tranquil; because one knows the equality of the Buddha-dharma; because one is endowed with all Buddha-dharmas—is called pure conduct. Furthermore, one should cultivate the ten powers; within each and every power there are immeasurable meanings; one should inquire into all of them. Having heard them, one should give rise to the mind of great compassion, observe sentient beings, and reflect upon all dharmas without rest, not seeking karmic recompense, completely knowing the sense spheres to be like illusions and apparitions, not generating dualistic understanding regarding all dharmas; all Buddha-dharmas will swiftly manifest before one. At the very moment of generating the initial aspiration, one immediately attains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, knows all dharmas to be the mind’s own nature, and accomplishes the body of wisdom without depending on another’s awakening.”
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Chapter 17: Merits of Generating the Aspiration (Same fascicle. Presenting the inferior to reveal the superior, and taking the beginning to exemplify the end. That which is opened up at this stage is called ‘generation’; the substance of what is opened up is broadly called ‘mind’; the superior capacity of the mind is called ‘merit’).
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Linked texts (1)
- 大方廣佛華嚴經願行觀門骨目 — Classical Chinese