維摩經略疏 2.150

2.150

From "The Buddha, knowing his thought" onward is the third [section], in which the Buddha resolves the doubt. The text has three parts: first, the Buddha questions him using the sun and the moon; second, Śāriputra replies based on facts; third, the Buddha applies the simile in explanation. As for the first part: the sun and the moon are a simile for the true and response pure lands. Just as the palaces of the sun and moon are made of various jewels and illuminate the four continents, and within them dwell devaputras, this is a simile for the two lands of the true and the response being formed by myriad virtues and constantly illuminating the four lands, serving as the basis for the true and response dharmakāyas of all beings. Furthermore, they are a simile for the two cultivations of the true and the conditional: just as the sun and moon rely on each other to bring the myriad things to completion and illuminate and reveal everything, so it is with the true and the conditional, mutually completing and revealing each other. Because the true and the conditional unite, they constantly and naturally reveal and illuminate the four kinds of pure lands, yet the blind cannot see them. This is because the two conditions accumulate sinful hindrances, obstructing the five eyes. Therefore, he raises the sun and the moon as a simile to question Śāriputra.