華嚴法界玄鏡 1.4

1.4

The Commentary says: The six characters from "Great" (da) onwards designate the sūtra on which it relies, with the character "sūtra" (jing) omitted for brevity. From "contemplation of the dharmadhātu" downwards designates the contemplation that relies on it. Now I will first briefly explain the title of the sūtra. "Great, broad, and expansive" (mahāvaipulya) is the Dharma realized by all Tathāgatas. "Buddha-Avataṃsaka" is the person capable of realization who accords with the dharmadhātu. Dharma is divided into essence, characteristic, and function; the person has cause and effect. "Great" means greatness of essence, which is the profound dharmadhātu, the mental essence of all buddhas and sentient beings. Vastly encompassing like space, serene and eternally abiding, it is forcefully designated as "great." Therefore, the sūtra says: "The dharmatā pervades all places, all sentient beings, and lands; across the three times it is entirely present without remainder, yet no form or characteristic can be obtained." This is the meaning of "great." "Broad and expansive" means that characteristics and functions are all-pervading: identical to the characteristic of essence, the dharmas of the virtue of characteristics are boundless; identical to the function of characteristics, its karmic functions are vast and inexhaustible. The three are without obstruction, and adducing one fully gathers all; as the cognitive object of holy wisdom, it is the dharmadhātu that is realized. "Buddha" is the fruit, with myriad virtues completely luminous. "Flower" (avataṃsa/hua) is a metaphor for the cause, with myriad practices blooming radiantly. "Adornment" (alaṃkāra/yan) encompasses both the active and the passive, and has two levels: First, the cause of flowers is capable of adorning, and the fruit of buddhahood is what is adorned; by means of the causes of the ten pāramitās, the fruits of the ten bodies are accomplished, with no practice unprovided and no virtue unfulfilled. Second, the flowers are that which adorns, while the "great, broad, and expansive" is that which is adorned. Adorning the essence, characteristics, and functions accomplishes the three virtues of the Buddha: adorning according to essence reveals the virtue of true eternity; adorning according to characteristics articulates the virtue of accomplishment through cultivation; cultivating adornment relying on function accomplishes the virtue of great function. Universally adorning according with virtue, it is the flower adornment of boundless accomplished virtue. Thus, a single overall title possesses essence, characteristic, and function, and the person possesses cause and effect; person and Dharma are both titled, and Dharma and metaphor are presented together. The three greatnesses of the whole sūtra are all the great, broad, and expansive; the five cycles of cause and effect are all the Buddha-Avataṃsaka.