華嚴一乘教義分齊章 4.47

4.47

Third is the approach of the unfettered mutual identity of all phenomena. In the various meanings above, one is identical to all and all are identical to one, completely interpenetrating and unfettered, established without obstruction. If considered according to the approach of the same substance, then it naturally completely subsumes all phenomena. Furthermore, this entirety itself mutually interpenetrates itself again, because it is multilayered and inexhaustible. Yet this inexhaustibility is entirely present in the initial approach. Therefore, this sūtra says: 'The acute virtue in a single thought-moment / Of a bodhisattva initially generating the mind [for bodhi] / Is deep, vast, and boundless. / If the Tathāgata were to explain it analytically, / He could not exhaust it in an aeon; / How much less [could one exhaust it] if, throughout boundless, / Innumerable, and immeasurable aeons, / One fully cultivated the perfections / And the practice of the virtues of the various stages!' The meaning that a single thought-moment is deep, vast, and boundless is precisely because in the Dharma-realm of dependent origination, one is identical to all. This is just like obtaining the multilayered and inexhaustible meaning in a single coin within the approach of the same substance; it is that very matter. 'How much less throughout boundless aeons' refers to each and every other approach manifesting inexhaustible meanings. Why is this so? Because this sūtra also says: 'The bodhisattva initially generating the mind is precisely the Buddha.' Because of this, the wondrous principle of dependent origination is uniform from beginning to end: attaining the beginning is attaining the end, and only by exhausting the end does one originate the beginning. Because it is simultaneously complete, as [explained] above, it can be so. It also says: 'Being in one stage, one universally subsumes the virtues of all the stages'; therefore, attaining one is attaining all. It also says: 'Because one knows that one is identical to many and many are identical to one.' The final mind of the ten faiths immediately becoming a buddha is precisely this matter.
Question: 'If in a single approach of the same substance all is inexhaustibly subsumed, does it manifest all at once, or before and after?'
Answer: 'Manifesting everything vividly all at once in a single approach belongs to the subsumption of the subtle. Multilayered mutual manifestation through concealment and revelation belongs to the subsumption of Indra['s net]. Other meanings—being identical and distinct, being many and few, being existent and non-existent, being the beginning and the end—are unfettered like this, complete with all inexhaustible Dharma approaches. Still, whichever is raised becomes the primary, and the rest become its companions; the principle does not err in the slightest. It has always been like this; it also explains the complete, unfettered, and inexhaustible virtues within a single approach of the same substance. One should understand the other approaches of distinct substances and so forth by analogy.'
Question: 'If one approach completely possesses all inexhaustible freedom, what use are the other approaches?'
Answer: 'The other approaches are like empty space. Why is that? Because the single approach of the same substance unites and subsumes everything, with nothing left unexhausted.'
Question: 'As for everything subsumed within this same substance, it should only subsume everything within its own approach; how could it subsume everything in the other approaches?'
Answer: 'Since it subsumes its own entirety, it also subsumes the inexhaustible entirety within each and every other approach; thus multilayered, it exhausts its Dharma-realm. Why is that? Because in the inexhaustible dependent origination of the completely interpenetrating Dharma-realm, without the one, the all cannot be established at all. Since this discusses only the real virtues of the household of the Dharma-nature, its boundaries and measures cannot be expressed. Therefore, a verse of this sūtra says: 'Throughout ineffable aeons, / Expounding all that is ineffable, / Even ineffable aeons may be exhausted, / But explaining the ineffable cannot be exhausted.' Another verse says: 'The minds of all sentient beings / Can all be distinguished and known; / The fine dust particles of all lands / Can still be calculated in number; / The realm of empty space in the ten directions / Can still be measured by a single hair; / Yet the bodhisattva's initial generation of the mind / Ultimately cannot be fathomed.' This is truly because in this supreme, completely unfettered, unobstructed Dharma approach of the One Vehicle, attaining one is attaining all. Cause and fruition are entirely uniform, without distinction of before and after. Therefore, the *Daśabhūmika-śāstra* says: 'A bodhisattva on the stage of faith forms a single dependent origination even with the inconceivable buddha-dharma, which is summed up through the meanings of the six characteristics of universal and particular, etc.' Know clearly that cause and fruition are simultaneous, mutually accommodating and mutually identical, each subsuming all and mutually serving as primary and companion. One must reflect on this deeply; this matter is beyond doubt. Furthermore, this sūtra says: 'Why is that? Because this bodhisattva who initially generates the mind is precisely the Buddha; they are completely equal to all the Tathāgatas of the three times, equal to the sphere of the buddhas of the three times, and completely equal to the correct Dharma of the buddhas of the three times; they attain the one body and immeasurable bodies of the Tathāgata, the equal wisdom of all the buddhas of the three times, and the sentient beings they transform are all completely equal.' It also says: 'At the time of first generating the mind, one immediately realizes correct awakening, completely endowed with the body of wisdom, not enlightened through another.' Boundless statements such as these are detailed in the sūtra text.'
Question: 'These only praise the virtues in the cause; how could they be identical to the fruition of perfected virtues?'
Answer: 'In this meaning of the One Vehicle, cause and fruition are of the same substance and form a single dependent origination: attaining this is attaining that, because this and that are mutually identical. If one does not attain the fruition, the cause does not become a cause. Why is that? If it does not attain the fruition, etc., it is not a cause.'
Question: 'It was said above that the fruition aspect transcends conditions and its characteristics cannot be spoken of, and that only the causal aspect is discussed; why is it explained that at the final mind of the ten faiths one immediately becomes a buddha and attains the fruition dharma?'
Answer: 'That one is now said to become a buddha means only that from the initial seeing and hearing onward, one achieves understanding and practice in the second lifetime; when the causal stage of the final mind of understanding and practice is fulfilled and exhausted, in the third lifetime one immediately attains that ultimate, unfettered, completely interpenetrating fruition. Because this causal substance is established based on the fruition, as soon as the cause is fulfilled, it is submerged in the ocean of fruition; because it is the sphere of realization, it cannot be spoken of. This is like the dragon girl, the youth Universal Adornment, the youth Sudhana, and the Tuṣita deva-putra, who achieved that meaning of fruition within three lifetimes, as explained extensively in the sūtra; one should reflect on it accordingly.'
Question: 'It was said above that in a single thought-moment one immediately becomes a buddha; this meaning already exists in the Three Vehicles. How does it differ from that?'
Answer: 'In the Three Vehicles, looking toward the principle, in a single thought-moment one can become a buddha. Now in this One Vehicle, in a single thought-moment one immediately completely possesses all teaching and meaning, principle and phenomena, cause and fruition, and so forth, as well as all the Dharma approaches mentioned above, and together with all sentient beings, simultaneously, simultaneously, simultaneously, simultaneously, simultaneously, simultaneously, simultaneously, simultaneously, simultaneously, simultaneously becomes a buddha; subsequently, all anew sever delusion, and without abiding in the stage of learning they realize correct awakening, completely endowed with the ten buddhas to reveal inexhaustible conformable and adverse virtues; and through the Indra[-net] and subtle [approaches], the nine times and ten times universally pervade all stages. This means that from the final mind of the ten faiths onward, the ten understandings, the ten practices, the ten dedications, the ten stages, and the buddha stage are all simultaneously and universally accomplished, without before or after, completely possessing all. Yet this single thought-moment is no different from hundreds of thousands of aeons; one must directly reflect on this.' This concludes the third approach, the unfettered mutual identity of all phenomena.