大毘盧遮那成佛經疏 5.24

5.24

The sūtra next speaks of the retinue of bodhisattvas of the third precinct. In the eastern gate directly within that of Śākya, paint Mañjuśrī, his body of saffron-gold color, with five topknots on his head, in the form of a youth. In his left hand he holds a nīlotpala, which is a fine-petaled blue lotus, upon which is a vajra seal. He has an exceedingly gentle and delightful smile, seated upon a white lotus pedestal. These are his secret symbolic emblems. The ācārya said: Saffron is Jambū-gold, used to represent profound vajra wisdom. That his head has five topknots signifies that he has long since perfected the five wisdoms of the Tathāgata, and due to the conditions of his fundamental vow, he manifests in the form of a youthful Kumārabhūta Prince of the Dharma. The blue lotus is the samādhi of non-attachment to phenomena; because the mind has no abode, he immediately perceives the vajra wisdom seal of dharmatā, able to illuminate the dharmadhātu with constant tranquil light. That he sits upon a white lotus signifies that he is not distinct from the central womb-garbha. To the north of Mañjuśrī, one should paint the bodhisattva Jālinīprabha Kumāra, his body of true gold color, holding a jeweled net, adorned with various necklaces, seated within a jeweled lotus. Mañjuśrī holds markless wondrous wisdom, while Jālinīprabha holds the adornment of myriad virtues. As explained in the Da zhidu lun, when salt is used to season various foods, it multiplies their flavor, yet it cannot be eaten alone. Therefore, if a practitioner loses the upāya of prajñā and practices empty wisdom alone, he falls into annihilationism; if he exclusively cultivates meritorious virtues, he falls into [the clinging to] attainment. Therefore, visualizing the Buddha's eldest son carries this meaning. Next, paint the five messengers of Mañjuśrī: the first is named Keśinī, the second Upakeśinī, the third Citrā, the fourth Vasumatī, and the fifth Ākarṣaṇī. Array them in order to the right and left of Mañjuśrī; they each maintain one of Mañjuśrī's wisdoms. Keśinī means ‘hair of fine adornment.’ Upa means ‘secondary to it.’ Mañjuśrī uses the five topknots to symbolize the five wisdoms, hence this messenger is also named after beautiful hair. Citrā means ‘variegated color.’ Below these five messengers, paint one kāṅkara beneath each, all kneeling facing the messengers in the posture of receiving their verbal commands. All of these are samādhis of Mañjuśrī; hence the sūtra says: “Surrounding and guarding the Invincible Wisdom.” Next, in the second tier, to the left of Mahāvairocana Tathāgata, paint Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin Bodhisattva. In western worldly customs, governance is conducted facing east; therefore, east is the primary direction, south is the right, west is the rear, and north is the superior direction. Now, since the gate of this maṇḍala altar faces west, it corresponds to the left of Mahāvairocana. In the diagram, Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin Bodhisattva holds a lotus in his left hand, upon which is placed a cintāmaṇi jewel, while his right hand forms the gesture of granting fearlessness. This bodhisattva and his entire retinue are the gateway of great compassion that uproots suffering and eliminates hindrances. It is precisely by means of this wish-fulfilling jewel of bodhicitta that he bestows fearlessness upon all sentient beings and fulfills their wishes. Regarding the sūtra's statement: “Setting aside two positions, / One should paint eight bodhisattvas”: this means that beside Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin one should paint two messengers, and then arrange the eight bodhisattvas in proper sequence. Whenever arraying the various retinues, always place the first on the right, the second on the left, the third on the right again, and the fourth on the left again, placing them in this alternation of left and right. Now, among these eight bodhisattvas, first place Sarvaśokāpagata to the right of Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, and place Sarvābhayaprada to his left. Next, place Sarvāpāyajaha to the right of Sarvaśokāpagata, and place Trāṇāśayamati to the left of Sarvābhayaprada. Next, place Karuṇāmṛdita Bodhisattva to the right of Sarvāpāyajaha, and Maitryabhyudgata Bodhisattva to the left of Trāṇāśayamati. Next, place Sarvadāhapraśamita to the right of Karuṇāmṛdita, and Acintyamati to the left of Maitryabhyudgata. The arrangement of the remaining positions follows this example in all cases. Next, in the north, paint Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva upon ground adorned with varied ornamentation and mixed jewels, with a lotus seat fashioned from the four treasures of gold, silver, sphatika, and crystal, also making it exquisitely beautiful. This bodhisattva is upon the flower seat, with blazing light fully encompassing his body as if within a womb; hence it says: “dwelling in an embryo of flames.” This holy one presides over the boundless treasure-store of virtue arising from the essential nature within the mind-ground of the jewel king; hence his symbolic emblem is richly adorned with all precious and wondrous gems. The remaining bodhisattvas of his retinue share the same meaning. To the right of Kṣitigarbha, place Ratnākara Bodhisattva; to the left of Kṣitigarbha, place Ratnapāṇi Bodhisattva; next, to the right of Ratnākara, place Dharaṇīṃdhara Bodhisattva; to the left of Ratnapāṇi, place Ratnamudrāhasta Bodhisattva; to the right of Dharaṇīṃdhara, place Dṛḍhadhyāśaya Bodhisattva. In this way, each of these foremost deities also has various attendants painted to their left and right to encircle them. Next, in the west, paint Ākāśagarbha Bodhisattva wearing pure white garments, his left hand holding a lotus upon which is the seal of a great sword, from which blazing rays of light emanate everywhere, he and all his retinue seated upon upright lotuses. This bodhisattva maintains the Tathāgata's space-like wisdom; that he holds a great sword is the symbolic emblem of sharp wisdom. Wearing white robes signifies pure, clean, and stainless [nature], which is the outer adornment of his teaching gateway. Just as empty space neither discriminates nor accumulates, yet the myriad phenomena of the world arise in reliance upon it, so too is this Dharma gateway: within ultimate emptiness, it gives rise to inconceivable and unobstructed functions without end, as extensively explained in the Gaganagañja Sūtra; hence he is named Ākāśagarbha. His retinue of the Dharma gateway includes the bodhisattvas Gaganāmala, Gaganamati, Viśuddhamati, Cāritramati, and Sthiramati, who are also arrayed in order to the right and left as before. The reason they all say “and so forth” is to show that these foremost deities each have boundless retinues as well. Their physical forms are all as explained in the diagrams. At the end of these verses it says: “This completes the brief explanation / Of the layout of the Mahākaruṇāgarbha-maṇḍala”; these two lines were concluded conceptually by the transmitter, and are not the root text of the sūtra. As stated above, with bodhicitta as the cause, mahākaruṇā as the root, and upāya as the culmination, the flower pedestal of the mind's dharmatā—the mahākaruṇāgarbha—blossoms forth, manifesting through the upāya of mahākaruṇā as the threefold universal retinue; for this reason it is named the Mahākaruṇāgarbha-maṇḍala. Just as in a single world he universally manifests bodies corresponding to each category among the six destinies, so too does he do so throughout all worlds, being the foremost among each of those species, and the Dharma he preaches is likewise the most subtle and supreme among those teachings. Furthermore, by this principle, he is universally able to gather in endless sentient beings; therefore Vairocana is called the King of the Dharmadhātu. Now these foremost deities assemble together to seal and uphold this Dharma, causing all sentient beings of corresponding kinds each to give rise to a sense of wonder, saying: “The one whom I revere has no equal.” Seeing that they are also present within this assembly, one should know that this Dharma is extremely rare. Because they give rise to this sense of wonder, they plant good roots in accordance with every dharmadhātu gateway. Even those who have fostered bad roots throughout the long night wishing to destroy the true Dharma, once they arrive at the bodhimaṇḍa and behold the great devas they revere, and receive the gift of inconceivable Dharma food, their evil minds will immediately perish, they will abandon demonic activities, or give rise to a single thought of joyful approval; because they give rise to a single pure thought, the Mahākaruṇāgarbha-maṇḍala can be unfolded within them. Furthermore, although the various Dharma gateways of this maṇḍala share the same dharmadhātu, their functions differ in depth and shallowness. Just as they grow from one ground and are nourished by one rain, yet the properties of medicinal herbs differ: when a king of physicians observes them, he knows that such a medicinal herb is unsuitable as an antidote for a certain illness, yet possesses extraordinary power for another. If one can distinguish among these universal upāyas one by one without error, only then is one qualified to be a great ācārya. In the great hundred-thousand-verse text, those holy deities each expound the dharmadhātu gateways they have realized and their various distinct methods of upāya. This present abbreviated version merely raises the essential methods of universally advancing toward the path. If the practitioner practices according to the Dharma without violating the regulations, when receiving inconceivable adhiṣṭhāna, [the deities] will naturally reveal upāya in all details, leaving nothing uncomprehended. The ācārya said: “Whenever a practitioner does not abide in yoga, he is not permitted to establish a maṇḍala for others.” When first wishing to paint it, one first transforms the syllables into the deities, each corresponding in seat, form, color, and disposition, visualizing: “This Mahākaruṇāgarbha is my very body”; only then does one set one's hand to painting it. An ācārya of such profound practice will certainly never be separated from this assembly of Buddhas at all times. When the painting is completed and the rituals are performed, one establishes the vajra ground in accordance with the Dharma and sequence, visualizing this jewel king's palace upon the summit of Mount Sumeru, with every single adornment being as explained in the lower chapter. Having clearly realized this, only then may one summon [the deities].