大乘法苑義林章 7.17

7.17

Fourth, the gate of the bodily forms and dimensions of the three bodies. The Buddhabhūmi-sūtra-śāstra states: "The dharmakāya is boundless, like empty space pervading all places; one cannot speak of its bodily size as large or small; speaking in terms of characteristics, it is like space without boundary. The self-enjoyment body has both form and non-form; being non-form, it is shapeless, and one cannot speak of its bodily size as large or small, yet following its body and realm it can also be said to pervade all places. As for all dharmas possessed of form, having cultivated causes throughout great kalpas, supreme faculties and realms are attained, and every single major and minor mark completely pervades the dharmadhātu; unlike samsaric karma that has limitations, bringing about bodies that are small or large, the Buddha's anāsrava body arises from having encountered boundless Buddhas, severed boundless hindrances, benefited boundless sentient beings, and cultivated immeasurable good throughout immeasurable kalpas; hence its fruit is also boundless, because the body manifested by the Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom is without limitation. That which is manifested by the Buddhas is in the same place and at the same time, their characteristics resembling each other without obstructing one another, experiencing the bliss of the Dharma without interruption forever. It is known only to the Buddhas, not an object of the faculties of others. Therefore the holy teachings say: 'The invisible crown mark and the boundless voice of the Dharma: each and every merit and function is without limit.' As for the other-enjoyment body, it manifests various bodies for the bodhisattvas, with undetermined voice, marks, and bodily dimensions." The Brahmajāla-sūtra says: "I am now Rocana, sitting upon a lotus pedestal... up to: one country, one Śākyamuni," and so forth. The Avataṃsaka and other sūtras say: "A bodhisattva of the first bhūmi sees a hundred Buddha-lands." One land is precisely one trichiliocosm; in one realm there is one Śākyamuni transformation body, and in each of the four continents there is one transformation body. In one realm there is one great Śākyamuni, seen by [those of] the four roots of goodness; a hundred billion small Śākyamunis are seen by the remaining [practitioners of] the three vehicles. A bodhisattva of the first bhūmi personally sees one Rocana across a hundred trichiliocosms; the dimension of Amitābha Buddha is what is seen by this [stage]. In this way, the second bhūmi sees a thousand, the third bhūmi sees ten thousand, and so on; the accumulated numbers should be understood accordingly, up to the vajra-like mind bodhisattva on the tenth bhūmi when about to achieve Buddhahood, where the mark of a great jeweled lotus appears in Akaniṣṭha Heaven, with a circumference as great as the number of dust motes in ten asaṃkhyeyas of hundreds of thousands of trichiliocosms. Each dust mote is a trichiliocosm, and seated upon it the bodhisattva achieves right awakening. The bodily size of the Buddha seen by him is difficult to fathom; the self-enjoyment body is not seen by him. When the Lotus Sūtra and other texts speak of the dimension of Ānanda's land upon achieving Buddhahood, by analogy with this, the Buddha's body is subsumed under the other-enjoyment body. By logical analogy, what bhūmi sees it should be understood. As for the transformation body, it transforms the assembly before the stages; those at the two positions of the provisions and the preparatory application see it differently, its bodily size being unfixed according to the suitability of the beings. Śākyamuni was sixteen feet, twice the height of ordinary beings; Maitreya will be a thousand feet, seen as appropriate for beings. Both the other-enjoyment and transformation bodies are transformed matter, of the nature of the four or five sense-data; non-material merits, though lacking bodily form, are also manifested by transformation. The Cheng weishi lun states: "The Unsurpassed Awakened One has inconceivable spiritual power, and hence can manifest dharmas without bodily form, manifesting greed, anger, and so forth so that others may know them." The Yogācārabhūmi states: "Transformations cannot perform four things: first, mind; second, mental factors; third, faculties; fourth, karmic fruit. Although lacking real function, they appear as if they exist. Mind and mental factors are precisely the objective aspect (nimittabhāga) of mind. Transformations resemble the five faculties, but their essence is of the nature of the four sense-data. Although resembling karmic fruit, their nature is indeed anāsrava. The six years of austerities, the horse barley, and the iron lance—although all resembling suffering—are in reality anāsrava."