華嚴經內章門等雜孔目章 3.26

3.26

Regarding pratītyasamutpāda: when the Great Sage gathers sentient beings, he wishes to cause them to tally with principle and abandon phenomena. This is because when ordinary people see phenomena, they are confused about principle; and when sages attain principle, they do not find phenomena [existing independently]. Now, pointing to the true principle to reconcile deluded feelings, causing sentient beings to know that phenomena are nonexistent, and to tally with principle right within phenomena, he therefore established this teaching. Thus the Daśabhūmika-śāstra states: 'There are three kinds of specific characteristics: first, the characteristic of retribution, where nāmarūpa is born together with the ālayavijñāna, as the sūtra says: "On the ground of the three realms a sprout is born again, namely, because nāmarūpa is born together [with it]." Born together with nāmarūpa means that nāmarūpa is born together with that [ālayavijñāna]. Second, the causal characteristic of that, which means that this nāmarūpa is not separate from that support, because it is born together with it, as the sūtra says: "Because it is not separate." Third, the sequential characteristic of its fruit, from the six sense bases up to becoming, as the sūtra says: "When this nāmarūpa grows, it accomplishes the accumulation of the six sense bases; when the six sense bases are accomplished, internal and external encounter each other to generate contact; caused and conditioned by contact, feeling arises; deeply relishing feeling, craving arises; craving increasing, grasping arises; grasping increasing, future becoming arises again; caused and conditioned by becoming, there are birth, old age, death, worry, sorrow, suffering, and distress. In this way, sentient beings generate and grow the accumulation of suffering."' Herein, 'free from self and what belongs to self'—these two demonstrate emptiness. 'Without knowing and without sensing'—because their intrinsic essence is without self. One should know that the twelve links of dependent origination and so forth are in their essence svabhāva-śūnya, arising in dependence upon that ālayavijñāna. The ālayavijñāna is subtle and in its own essence lacks a self, giving birth to the twelve links of dependent origination; the twelve links of dependent origination are also all without self; therefore, dependently arisen dharmas and the rest have no separate reality. The Buddha pointed to the contemplation gateway of pratītyasamutpāda to harmonize all dharmas, all being free from conceptual differentiation, which is none other than the pariniṣpanna-svabhāva. The Daśabhūmika-śāstra states: 'Conforming to the contemplation of saṃvṛti-satya, one immediately enters paramārtha-satya'—this is that matter. The contemplation gateway of pratītyasamutpāda has such benefit; this meaning is in the Triyāna and also applies to the exposition of the Ekayāna. Why? Because it is that which is designated. If evaluated in terms of superiority and inferiority, pratītyasamutpāda is a superior contemplation. It is also that within the Ekayāna and Hīnayāna, though there are names, they do not contradict this meaning. Why? Because the self of dharmas is not severed. The remaining meanings are as in the separate chapter.