註華嚴法界觀門 1.3

1.3

法界者，一切眾生身心之本體也。從本已來，靈明廓徹、廣大虛寂，唯一真之境而已。無有形貌而森羅大千，無有邊際而含容萬有，昭昭於心目之間而相不可覩，晃晃於色塵之內而理不可分，非徹法之慧目、離念之明智，不能見自心如此之靈通也。甚矣！眾生之迷也，身反在於心中，若大海之一漚爾而不自知，有廣大之威神而不能用，觳觫而自投於籠檻而不自悲也。故世尊初成正覺，歎曰：「奇哉！我今普見一切眾生，具有如來智慧德相；但以妄想執著而不證得。」於是稱法界性說《華嚴經》，令一切眾生自於身中得見如來廣大智慧而證法界也。故此經極諸佛神妙智用，徹諸法性相理事，盡修行心數門戶，真可謂窮理盡性者也。然此經雖行於世，而罕能通之。有杜順和尚，歎曰：「大哉法界之經也。自非登地，何能披其文、見其法哉？吾設其門以示之。」於是著《法界觀》，而門有三重：一曰真空門，簡情妄以顯理；二曰理事無礙門，融理事以顯用；三曰周遍含容門，攝事事以顯玄。使其融萬象之色相、全一真之明性，然後可以入華嚴之法界矣。然此觀雖行於世，而罕能入之。有圭山禪師，歎曰：「妙哉法界之門也。自非知樞鑰之淺深、識閫闃之廣陜，又何能扣其門而入之哉？」於是直以精義注於觀文之下，使人尋注而見門，得門而入觀，由觀以通經，因經以證性，朗然如秉炬火而照重關矣。或問曰：法界真性，超情離見，動念則隔、疆言則乖，世尊欲令眾生悟自身之法體，何必廣說而為《華嚴》？答曰：吾聞諸圭山云：「法界，萬象之真體、萬行之本源、萬德之果海。故如來演萬行之因華以嚴本性，而顯示諸佛證法性之萬德也。故九會之經，品品有無量義，或剎塵數因地行願，或恒沙數果位德用，行布差別、無礙圓融，故佛身一毛端則遍一切而含一切也。世界爾，眾生爾，塵塵爾，念念爾，法法爾，無一法定有自體而獨立者。證此本法，故能凡聖融攝、自在無礙，納須彌於芥中、擲大千於方外，皆吾心之常分爾，非假於他術也。」由是觀之，則吾輩從來執身心我人及諸法定相，豈非甚迷甚倒哉？然則《華嚴》稱法界而極談，猶未為廣也。問曰：《華嚴》理深而事廣、文博而義玄，非法身大士不能證入。今數紙觀文，豈能盡顯之哉？若觀門以文略義廣為得，則大經以文繁義局為失矣。答曰：吾聞諸圭山云：「夫欲覩宗廟之邃美、望京邑之巨麗，必披圖經而登高臺，然後可盡得也。不登高而披圖，則不可謂真見；不披圖而登高，則眊然無所辨。故法界具三大、該萬有，性相德用備在心，不在經也。明因果、列行位，顯法演義、勸樂生信，備在經，不在觀也。觀者，通經法也。文者，入觀之門也。注者，門之樞鑰也。故欲證法界之性德莫若經，通經之法義莫若觀，入觀之重玄必由門，闢三重之祕門必由樞鑰。」夫如其則經不得不廣、門不得不束矣。然則其門何以為三重？答曰：吾聞諸圭山云：「凡夫見色為實色、見空為斷空，內為筋骸所梏、外為山河所眩，故困踣於迷塗、局促於轅下，而不能自脫也。於是菩薩開真空門以示之，使其見色非實色，舉體是真空；見空非斷空，舉體是幻色。則能廓情塵而空色無礙，泯智解而心境俱冥矣。菩薩曰：於理則見矣，於事猶未也。於是開理事無礙門以示之，使觀不可分之理皆圓攝於一塵，本分限之事亦通遍於法界，然後理事圓融無所罣礙矣。菩薩曰：以理望事則可矣，以事望事則未也。於是開周遍含容門以示之，使觀全事之理隨事而一一可見，全理之事隨理而一一可融，然後一多無礙、大小相含，則能施為隱顯神用不測矣。」問曰：觀文有數家之疏，尚未能顯其法；今略注於文下，使學者何以開心目哉？答曰：吾聞諸圭山云：「觀者見法之智眼，門者通智眼令見法之門。初心者悟性之智雖明，不得其門則不能見法。此文即入法之門矣。但應以智眼於門中觀照妙境，若別張義目而廣釋之，是於門中復設門也。又此門中重重法界事理無邊，雖百紙不能盡其義，徒以繁文廣說，蕪沒真法而惑後人爾。且首標修字者，欲使學人冥此境於自心。心慧既明，自見無盡之義，不在備通教典、碎列科段也。然不指而示之，則學者亦無由及其門。故直於本文關要之下，隨本義注之。至其門已，則使其自入之也。」故其注簡而備，不備則不能引學者至其門，不簡則不能使學者專妙觀。夫觀者，以心目求之之謂也，豈可以文義而至哉？問曰：略指其門誠當矣，吾恐學者終不能自入也。答曰：吾聞諸圭山云：「夫求道者必資於慧目。慧目不能自開，必求師以抉其膜也。若情膜未抉，雖有其門，亦焉能入之哉？縱廣何益？」問曰：既遇明師，何假略注？答曰：法界難覩，須依觀以修之。觀文難通，須略注為樞鑰之用也。惑者稽首讚曰：入法界之術盡於此矣。

The dharmadhātu is the fundamental substance of the body and mind of all sentient beings. From the very beginning, numinously luminous and completely clear, vast, empty, and serene, it is solely the realm of the One True. Devoid of form and appearance, it arrayed the great chiliocosm; having no boundaries, it contains all existents. Clear and distinct between mind and eyes, yet its characteristic cannot be seen; brilliantly shining within rūpa and dusts, yet its principle cannot be divided. Without the wisdom-eye that penetrates phenomena and the luminous intelligence free from thoughts, one cannot see that one's own mind is so spiritually pervasive! Extreme indeed is the delusion of sentient beings! The body, on the contrary, resides within the mind, like a single bubble on the great ocean, yet they do not know it themselves. Possessing vast spiritual potency, they are unable to apply it; trembling with fear, they cast themselves into cages and pens, without pitying themselves. Therefore, when the World-Honoured One first achieved correct awakening, he exclaimed with admiration: "How wondrous! I now universally see that all sentient beings possess the wisdom, virtues, and characteristics of the Tathāgata; it is only because of false conceptualisations and clinging that they do not realise and attain it." Thereupon, according with the dharmadhātu-nature, he preached the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, causing all sentient beings to see within their own bodies the vast wisdom of the Tathāgata and realise the dharmadhātu. Hence, this sūtra exhausts the spiritual and wondrous functioning of wisdom of all buddhas, penetrates the nature, characteristics, principle, and phenomena of all dharmas, and completes the gateways of mental states in cultivation; truly it may be called one that fathoms principle and exhausts the nature. Yet, although this sūtra is circulated in the world, rare are those who can penetrate it. There was the Venerable Dushun, who sighed and said: "Great indeed is the sūtra of the dharmadhātu! Unless one has ascended the stages, how could one open its text and see its dharmas? I shall set up its gates to reveal it." Thereupon he composed the Contemplation of the Dharmadhātu, which has three tiers of gates: the first is called the gate of true emptiness, which selects against emotional delusions to reveal principle; the second is called the gate of the non-obstruction between principle and phenomena, which harmonises principle and phenomena to reveal functioning; the third is called the gate of all-pervading and mutual containment, which subsumes phenomenon and phenomenon to reveal the mystery. It enables one to harmonise the forms and characteristics of myriad phenomena and make whole the luminous nature of the One True; only then may one enter the dharmadhātu of the Avataṃsaka. Yet, although this contemplation is circulated in the world, rare are those who can enter it. There was Chan Master Guishan, who sighed and said: "Wondrous indeed is the gate of the dharmadhātu! Unless one knows the depth of the pivot and key, and recognises the breadth of the inner chamber, how could one knock at its gate and enter it?" Thereupon he directly annotated the contemplation text with refined meanings below it, enabling people to trace the commentary and see the gate, find the gate and enter contemplation, through contemplation penetrate the sūtra, and by means of the sūtra realise the nature, brightly shining as though holding a torch to illuminate successive barriers. Someone asked: "The true nature of the dharmadhātu transcends emotions and departs from views; stirring a thought creates separation, and forced words run contrary to it. If the World-Honoured One wished to cause sentient beings to awaken to the dharma-substance of their own bodies, why was it necessary to speak extensively to make the Avataṃsaka?" The answer is: I heard Guishan say: "The dharmadhātu is the true substance of the myriad phenomena, the fundamental source of the myriad practices, and the ocean of fruition of the myriad virtues. Therefore, the Tathāgata unfolded the causal flowers of the myriad practices to adorn the original nature, thereby displaying the myriad virtues of all buddhas realised from the dharmatā. Hence, in the sūtra of the nine assemblies, chapter after chapter has immeasurable meanings: sometimes causal-stage practices and vows numerous as kṣetra-dusts, sometimes fruition-stage virtues and functions numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Sequential differentiation and unobstructed perfect interpenetration; thus, a single tip of a hair of the Buddha's body pervades all and contains all. Worlds are so; sentient beings are so; every speck of dust is so; every thought is so; every dharma is so—not a single dharma definitely possesses its own substance and stands independently. Realising this fundamental dharma, one is therefore able to harmoniously subsume ordinary and sagely, completely free and unobstructed, putting Meru into a mustard seed and casting the great chiliocosm beyond spatial bounds; these are all the regular portion of our mind, not relying on other arts." Viewed from this perspective, as we have always clung to definite characteristics of body, mind, self, person, and various dharmas, is this not extremely deluded and inverted? Thus, though the Avataṃsaka accords with the dharmadhātu and speaks to the utmost, it still cannot be considered broad. The question is asked: "The Avataṃsaka is profound in principle and vast in phenomena, extensive in text and mysterious in meaning; none other than great beings of the dharmakāya can realise and enter it. Now, how could a few sheets of contemplation text completely reveal it? If the contemplation gate takes brevity of text and breadth of meaning as its merit, then the great sūtra takes verbosity of text and narrowness of meaning as its defect!" The answer is: I heard Guishan say: "One who wishes to gaze upon the deep beauty of the ancestral temple and behold the grand magnificence of the capital city must open the illustrated maps and ascend the high terrace; only then can one fully take it all in. Ascending the height without opening the maps, one cannot be said to have truly seen; opening the maps without ascending the height, one is dim-sighted and cannot distinguish anything. Therefore, the dharmadhātu possesses the three greatnesses and encompasses all existents; its nature, characteristics, virtues, and functions are fully present in the mind, not in the sūtra. Clarifying cause and effect, arraying the stages of practice, revealing the dharmas and expounding the meanings, and encouraging joy to engender faith are fully present in the sūtra, not in the contemplation. The contemplation is that which penetrates the dharma of the sūtra. The text is the gate to enter contemplation. The commentary is the pivot and key to the gate. Therefore, to realise the nature and virtues of the dharmadhātu, nothing surpasses the sūtra; to penetrate the dharma-meanings of the sūtra, nothing surpasses contemplation; to enter the contemplation's layered mysteries, one must go through the gate; to open the threefold secret gate, one must use the pivot and key." If so, then the sūtra cannot but be broad, and the gate cannot but be concise. Then why is its gate threefold? The answer is: I heard Guishan say: "Ordinary persons see rūpa as real rūpa, and see emptiness as annihilationist emptiness; internally shackled by sinews and bones, externally dazzled by mountains and rivers, they fall exhausted on the path of delusion, confined beneath the carriage shafts, unable to free themselves. Thereupon the Bodhisattva opened the gate of true emptiness to reveal it to them, causing them to see that rūpa is not real rūpa, its entire substance being true emptiness; and to see that emptiness is not annihilationist emptiness, its entire substance being illusory form. Then they can clear away emotional defilements so that emptiness and rūpa are unobstructed, and obliterate intellectual understanding so that mind and object both merge in stillness. The Bodhisattva said: 'Regarding principle, they have seen it; regarding phenomena, not yet.' Thereupon he opened the gate of the non-obstruction between principle and phenomena to reveal it to them, causing them to contemplate that the indivisible principle is entirely and completely subsumed within a single speck of dust, and that phenomena, which originally have demarcations and limits, also universally pervade the dharmadhātu; thereafter, principle and phenomena perfectly interpenetrate without any impediment. The Bodhisattva said: 'Looking at phenomena from principle is permissible; looking at phenomena from phenomena is not yet accomplished.' Thereupon he opened the gate of all-pervading and mutual containment to reveal it to them, causing them to contemplate that the principle that is the totality of phenomena is visible one by one according with phenomena, and that phenomena that are the totality of principle are harmonised one by one according with principle; thereafter, the one and the many are unobstructed, large and small contain each other, and they are able to deploy concealment and manifestation with unfathomable spiritual functioning." The question is asked: "The contemplation text has commentaries by several authors, yet they were not able to reveal its dharma; now, writing brief notes beneath the text, how can this cause students to open their minds and eyes?" The answer is: I heard Guishan say: "Contemplation is the wisdom-eye that sees the dharma; the gate is the portal that opens the wisdom-eye to let it see the dharma. Although a beginner's wisdom that awakens to the nature may be clear, without obtaining its gate one cannot see the dharma. This text is precisely the gate for entering the dharma. One should merely contemplate and illuminate the wondrous realm through the gate with the wisdom-eye; if one were to set up separate conceptual topics and explain them extensively, that would be setting up another gate within the gate. Furthermore, in this gate, the layered dharmadhātus, phenomena, and principles are boundless; even a hundred sheets could not exhaust their meaning. Merely using verbose texts and extensive explanations would smother the true dharma and confuse later generations. Moreover, heading the text with the word 'cultivation' is intended to cause practitioners to merge this realm within their own minds. Once the mind's wisdom is luminous, it will naturally see the inexhaustible meanings, which do not depend on comprehensively mastering the doctrinal texts or minutely classifying sections and outlines. Yet without pointing and indicating it, students would also have no way to reach its gate. Therefore, right under the crucial passages of the original text, notes are added following the original meaning. Having reached its gate, they are then caused to enter it themselves." Therefore, its notes are concise yet complete: if not complete, they could not guide students to its gate; if not concise, they could not cause students to focus on the wondrous contemplation. Now, contemplation means seeking it with the mind and eye; how could it be reached through text and meaning? The question is asked: "Briefly indicating its gate is truly fitting; but I fear that students ultimately will not be able to enter by themselves." The answer is: I heard Guishan say: "One who seeks the Way must rely on the wisdom-eye. The wisdom-eye cannot open by itself; one must seek a teacher to pierce its cataract. If the cataract of emotions is not yet pierced, even though the gate exists, how could one enter it? Even if extensive, what benefit would it have?" The question is asked: "Having already encountered an enlightened teacher, why rely on brief notes?" The answer is: "The dharmadhātu is difficult to behold; one must rely on contemplation to cultivate it. The contemplation text is difficult to penetrate; one must use brief notes as a pivot and key." The doubter bowed his head and praised: "The method for entering the dharmadhātu is completely exhausted in this!"