大毘盧遮那成佛經疏 6.155

6.155

Regarding the sūtra's statement, "First arrange and apply the inner colours; do not arrange and apply the outer colours": in the general method of painting, one should first establish the inner mind's secret lotus matrix. Once that is done, next construct the inner retinue of the first tier, [symbolized by] the three dots of the syllable 'i'. Next construct the great retinue of the four bodhisattvas and others of the second tier, and then all the worldly deva retinues of the third tier. Furthermore, regarding the dividing pathways: the centre and the first tier should be fully equipped with the five colours. First draw the perimeter border with white; next, on its outer [side], apply a red border; next, on the outer side of that, apply yellow; next, on the outer side of that, apply blue; and outermost, next apply black. The second tier also follows the sequence above, applying the three colours of white, red, and yellow. For the perimeter border of the third tier, apply only a single pure white colour. All must be made extremely even and straight, applied gradually in a clockwise rotation. For the walkways, the outer borders of the offering places, and so forth, make a border of any single pure colour. The Guhyakā says, "Use only white." As to why one begins with white and proceeds from the centre outward: this clarifies that the five kinds of faculties and powers of this bodhicitta gradually increase and expand, until by abiding in Mahāparinirvāṇa, it pervades all places without being absent anywhere; hence black resides outermost. If one proceeds from the shallow to the deep, returning from the traces to the origin, then the Bhagavat deigns to equal the six destinies to open up the pure bodhicitta for the retinue of the initial gateway. When sentient beings enter this luminously clear gateway and transcend the one hundred and sixty minds, they have already transcended the worldly realm and ascended to the rank of a bodhisattva; hence the third maṇḍala takes only white as its border. In the second maṇḍala, the addition of red and yellow on top of white is because red is vigorous exertion, progressively cultivating myriad practices within bodhicitta. Yellow is the flourishing of the Tathāgata's smṛtyupasthāna and myriad virtues; at that time one enters the gateway of profound mysteries and dwells in the Land of Tranquil Light, such that even those closely dwelling as [bodhisattvas bound to] one last rebirth still do not recognise a single person; thus in the second tier, only three colours serve as the border. In the first tier of the maṇḍala, the addition of blue and black on top of the three colours is because blue is the samādhi of great emptiness, namely the endless adhiṣṭhāna of the Tathāgata's mysteries of body, speech, and mind; hence it is rendered the colour of the great empty sky. Black refers to the Tathāgata's body of eternal lifespan; such a wondrous body is ultimately formless, and is therefore rendered a deep, dark colour. These two clauses represent the Tathāgata's secret treasury; they are not for all sentient beings universally, and are therefore called the "retinue". Furthermore, entering this deep, dark colour is the matrix of the central womb of the Tathāgata's personal realization. At that time, one sees that the colours of the five wisdoms are all the single colour of the dharmadhātu; how could there be any distinction of shallow or deep? Yet, among sentient beings, there are those who enter gradually, those who leap forward, and those who enter頓 suddenly; nonetheless, that towards which they tend ultimately converges in the same destination. Hence it is said: "All the inner [colours] are deeply profound and dark."