華嚴經旨歸 1.68

1.68

Eighth, as for the Host-and-Companion Sūtra: although the Avataṃsaka expounded by Rocana Buddha pervades the dharmadhātu, it mutually serves as host and companion with sūtras expounded by other Buddhas. Each host sūtra necessarily possesses immeasurable retinues of the same kind. For example, when the expounding of the "Manifestation of Nature Chapter" was finished, in each of the ten directions there were bodhisattvas equal to the subtle atoms of eighty ineffable hundred-thousand-million-nayuta Buddha-lands, all named Samantabhadra, who each came here from their own lands to bear witness, all saying: "At the places of our Buddhas this Dharma is also expounded, not different from this." Hence we know that for a single Manifestation of Nature Sūtra, each of the ten directions has sūtras equal to the subtle atoms of eighty ineffable hundred-thousand-million-nayuta Buddha-lands serving as its retinue. As Manifestation of Nature in a single place is thus, so Manifestation of Nature in all other places each gathers that many retinues, mutually pervading the dharmadhātu. As Manifestation of Nature is thus, so in the texts of other assemblies and other chapters there are numbers of witnessing dharmas, all of which serve as retinues, as can be known by analogous explanation. Since the retinues gathered by the seven locations and eight assemblies of this abridged version are such, one should know that all the other versions possess retinues; this can be seen by reflection.