大毘盧遮那經供養次第法疏 2.15

2.15

5. Section on the Seed-Mantra of Mañjuśrī. "Middle" means the eight-petaled flower platform. "The letter of no-self" is the Sanskrit syllable MAṂ. Question: Why is the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī taught next after the Buddha? Answer: Received from the Tripiṭaka Upādhyāya: because he is the profound wisdom gateway of all Buddhas, it is acceptable to subsume him under the Tathāgata family, and it is also acceptable to subsume him under the Padma family; therefore he is listed next after the Buddha. MAṂ is Mañjuśrī's original essence, which is emptiness. The dot above is the emptiness gateway, the so-called great emptiness. Surpassing the eighteen emptinesses is called the great emptiness; dwelling in the stage of emptiness is called the great emptiness. Within the three passages there are three sections. First, listing the retinue. Next, from "in order to bring joy to the heart... down to ...corresponding according to category", explaining the mudrās, mantras, binding the boundary, and so forth. "Joy to the heart": because the practitioner obtains merit by making offerings, the noble ones' hearts rejoice; it is not that the noble ones rejoice because of receiving offerings. The three lines beginning with "presenting offerings", etc., rely on the ritual procedures of other texts, meaning presenting the offering mantras and so forth. If there is no specific ritual for oneself, rely on Acala to remove defilement. "Dispelling" means crushing obstacles. "Causing to shine brightly" is because the incense mantra is used on the incense and so forth to empower it. Regarding the three lines "empowering oneself with one's own fundamental ritual, and protecting my body", etc.: other texts have their own rituals for body protection and the like. If there is no separate ritual for body protection and the like, this method is used universally. Hence it says "or by Trailokyavijaya", referring to the distinction of various marks. Why? Because the incense mantra and the body-protecting mantra are distinct; hence it says "and". The four lines beginning with "summoning and inviting", etc.: other texts have their own according to ritual usage. If there is no separate ritual, use this universal method; hence it says "and this universal mudrā", etc. Section on the Noble Acala's Mantra. At that time, the Buddha again, in order to pacify all obstructors, produced fire; it is called the realization of samādhi, and he spoke this great obstacle-crushing mantra. This mantra has great majestic power; it can eliminate all manner of obstacle difficulties for all practitioners of the mantra path. Even when the Buddha sat beneath the tree of awakening, through this mantra, all the Māra hosts were scattered and destroyed without exception; how much more so the various obstacles of the world! Furthermore, regarding these obstacles there are two kinds: first, internal obstacles, meaning those born from one's own mind, whose categories are so numerous they cannot be detailed; second, external obstacles, meaning those born from external circumstances, which are also very numerous. It can crush and extinguish all of them.