華嚴經內章門等雜孔目章 3.98

3.98

The sūtra says: 'Lake Anavatapta flows forth into four rivers, which head toward the great ocean.' The Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] further says: 'There are eight rivers.' The Āgamas and the Vibhāṣā say: 'There are twenty rivers.' Lake Anavatapta has four animal mouths: to the east is a golden elephant mouth, producing the Gaṅgā River; to the west is a silver bull mouth, producing the Sindhu River; to the south is a lapis lazuli horse mouth, producing the Sītā River; to the north is a crystal lion mouth, producing the Vakṣu River. The four each emerge up to forty li away and divide into five rivers, thus making twenty. When the Buddha was on the eastern side, he mostly spoke in accord with what was famed: speaking of the five eastern rivers together with the original great rivers of the three [other] sides, there are therefore eight rivers. The Daśabhūmika Sūtra says: 'Lake Anavatapta produces four great rivers. Emerging from the four mouths, each circles the lake seven times, and then proceeds toward its direction into the great ocean. The surrounding rivers are each one li apart from one another, and within them are various famous flowers and diverse color adornments; these are all the boundary realm of the dragon king Anavatapta.' Now the Buddha adduces this to form the simile of the bhūmis: because the simile is superior, it reveals that the Dharma is also superior. The remaining meanings can be known.