釋淨土群疑論 7.35

7.35

釋曰：此正是菩薩修道次第。何以知然？如《華嚴經》四十五說「時文殊師利如象王迴，觀善財童子，作如是言：『善哉善哉。善男子！乃能發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，求善知識。』」如是等種種讚歎，略為說法，即令往覓功德雲比丘請學菩薩行。其功德雲比丘，即教善財念佛三昧，故知第一善知識是文殊師利，觀發菩提之心。第二善知識功德雲比丘，即教念佛三昧。如是展轉經百一十城求善知識，一一善知識皆教一法門，乘一法門後得一法門，悉是菩薩修學次第。故知發菩提心為萬行之首，此學念佛三昧為萬行之次。以此准知，念佛三昧正是初發心菩薩修學次第也。

Explanation: This is precisely a stage in the sequence of a bodhisattva's cultivation of the path. How is this known? In fascicle forty-five of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra it says: 'At that time, Mañjuśrī turned around like an elephant king, looked upon the youth Sudhana, and spoke these words: "Excellent, excellent! Good man, you have indeed been able to give rise to the anuttarasaṃyaksaṃbodhicitta and seek spiritual friends."' After various praises such as these and briefly preaching the Dharma for him, he immediately sent him to go seek the monk Meghasvara and request to learn the bodhisattva practices. That monk Meghasvara precisely taught Sudhana the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi. Therefore we know that the first spiritual friend was Mañjuśrī, who observed the generation of the bodhicitta. The second spiritual friend was the monk Meghasvara, who precisely taught the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi. Moving forward in this sequence through one hundred and ten cities seeking spiritual friends, each and every spiritual friend taught one Dharma gate; proceeding upon one Dharma gate, one subsequently attained the next Dharma gate—all of these constitute the sequence of a bodhisattva's cultivation and study. Therefore we know that generating the bodhicitta is the foremost of the myriad practices, and studying this buddhānusmṛti-samādhi is the second of the myriad practices. Inferring from this, the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi is precisely a stage in the sequence of cultivation and study for newly resolved bodhisattvas.