華嚴略疏卷第三 3.24

3.24

From 'observing' onward are prose and verses: thirteen and a half lines in the larger recension sutra, eleven and a half lines in the treatise's sutra text. This clarifies Vajragarbha's brief response. The treatise says that 'observing the ten directions' shows the absence of self-conceit and the absence of partiality; wanting to make the great assembly redouble their courage and joy—the larger recension says 'increase faith and reverence'—he therefore speaks verses, demonstrating that he speaks to rectify others and increase them, because the hearers have the capacity to accept the meaning. Courage and joy are of two kinds: (1) courage and joy in the great meaning, which is for attaining the meaning; (2) courage and joy in the great exposition, because through this great exposition one is able to attain that meaning. The larger recension says 'increase faith and reverence': taking faith and reverence as corresponding to courage and joy, one may also call it 'faith and reverence in the great meaning' and 'faith and reverence in the great exposition'. Why is it 'great meaning'? Because that meaning is profound. What is the profound meaning? The verse says: 'The path of the Buddhas, the Holy Lords, / is subtle, wondrous, and extremely difficult to comprehend.' Within this, the first seven and a half lines clarify faith and reverence in the great meaning. In the first part there are two: the first five lines clarify that the great meaning is identical to the ultimate truth, being difficult to explain as the object illuminated; the next two and a half lines clarify that the great meaning is identical to the Buddha's wisdom, being difficult to explain as the knowing agent that illuminates. Because this is the internally realized object and wisdom of the identical essence, the treatise says: 'because it relies on the wisdom ground.' Also, the treatise's sutra text says: 'because wisdom arises in the Buddha's realm.' The detailed parsing of the text is fully in the treatise's commentary. The great meaning having been explained, the subsequent six verses clarify the great exposition. Within this there are two: first, two and a half lines clarify the great exposition—though identical to the Buddha's wisdom, he makes vows, practices compassion, and speaks by relying on the Buddha's spiritual power; the latter three and a half lines directly open the six meanings to demonstrate the great exposition. In these two greats—the meaning and the exposition—the text and principle have implicit and explicit aspects that mutually illuminate each other. Both of these meanings are clarified by using difficulty to highlight difficulty. According to the Daśabhūmi-śāstra, there are three kinds of great accomplishment: (1) great accomplishment of the cause, which is making vows and practicing loving-kindness and compassion; (2) great accomplishment of the gradual cause, which is gradually completing the various grounds; (3) great accomplishment of the teaching's exposition, which has two kinds: first, that which those who have completed cultivation and knowing can reach; second, the contemplation-cultivation, which is from 'subtle, wondrous, and extremely difficult to see' onward. 'I shall rely on the Buddha's power' shows that the speaker is without fault. 'All with single mind listen together' shows that the listeners are without fault. 'That which wisdom complies with': sentient beings comply with this expounded Dharma by means of wisdom; 'complying' means entering. The practice of mutual entry of the various grounds is to comply and enter the six meanings. 'Waiting with single mind and reverence' has two aspects: (1) bodily reverence, (2) mental reverence; this shows that one is free from conceit. 'Proclaiming with a great voice causes, metaphors, meanings, and names that do not contradict each other': 'proclaiming with a great voice' is the sound of expounding the Dharma. 'Causes' is directly expounding the principle; since the principle has its rationale, it is called cause. 'Metaphors' are external similes. 'Names' are the phrasing. 'Meanings' are the purports realized. 'Not contradicting' means names and meanings are mutually accordant. The exposition of causes has three parts: first, briefly stating the ten names; second, briefly opening the six meanings; third, extensively explaining the six meanings. Metaphors are five: the metaphor of pure gold is expounded individually for each ground; the remaining four—pool, mountain, ocean, and jewel—are manifested across the ten grounds. The latter explanation, according to the treatise's commentary, states that 'proclaiming with a great voice causes, metaphors, meanings, and names that do not contradict each other' has four meanings: (1) what matter is manifested, namely the aforesaid Dharma; (2) by what matter, namely the proclamation with a great voice; (3) how the matter is, namely the correspondence of causes and metaphors; (4) relying on what syllables, namely relying on good syllables, which has two aspects: first, smoothly according with regional sounds and pronunciations; second, syllables and phrases being complete and corresponding with the principle. From 'the Buddha's spiritual power' onward, one directly relies on the Buddha's spiritual power desiring to expound the meaning of the grounds. The above briefly explained the ten grounds; below, the ten grounds are extensively explained. If according to the treatise's commentary, the entreaty section has already been explained; from this point onward, the first ground is directly explained. Within this there are three: (1) dwelling, (2) explaining the name, (3) settling securely. The initial dwelling has forty clauses; explaining the name has thirty; settling securely also has thirty clauses. These one hundred clauses together constitute the exposition section. In the first, explaining dwelling: the first ten clauses are 'relying on what body?'—the bodhi-body; the next ten clauses are 'for what purpose?'—to seek all-knowledge; the next ten clauses are 'by what cause?'—great compassion; the next ten clauses are 'what are the characteristics?'—surpassing the stage of ordinary beings. However, regarding the first ten clauses, their assignment to stages is unsettled: they are either in wisdom or in hearing-wisdom; or they are external ordinary beings with conceptual faith in the five grades; or they are internal ordinary beings in the thirteen dependencies; or they are the concluding mind of dedication, the beginning of the first ground, because it is the stage of entering the grounds. Using many expedient means, the thirty practices are for entering the dwelling patience. Therefore the larger recension sutra says: 'When the bodhisattva generates this mind, he immediately transcends the stage of ordinary beings and enters the bodhisattva's stage.' Now, relying on sutras such as the Brahmajāla, Renwang, and Yingluo, these thirty kinds are the three wise stages prior to the grounds: the firm-faith patience is the ten directings of the mind, which are the first ten minds; the firm-Dharma patience is the ten fosterings, which are the next ten minds; the firm-cultivation patience is the ten vajras, which are the next ten minds; the firm-noble patience is the ten grounds, and the latter ten minds are not called conceptual faith. The collection of ten clauses: the first collection is general, and the remaining nine are particular collections. Within these, the first two reveal higher concentration training; the next four reveal higher wisdom training; the latter three reveal surpassing the two vehicles. If one attributes profundity and breadth to the later stage: three clauses are wisdom, and four clauses surpass the two vehicles. Of the nine collections: (1) collecting all is collecting good practices, because of retinue upholding precepts; (2) collecting concentration is the auxiliary path; (3) collecting proximity is making offerings; (4) collecting accumulation is pure and white; (5) collecting protection is good spiritual friends, which is the actual realization of cultivation, because one attains supra-mundane mental wisdom; (6) collecting pure mind; (7) collecting breadth is profundity and breadth, because of benefiting sentient beings; (8) collecting faithful mind is faith and joy, because of seeking all-knowledge; (9) collecting presence is frequently inclining, because of frequently practicing loving-kindness and compassion. 'Keenly seeking the Buddha's wisdom' is the tenth clause in the larger recension: 'such sentient beings then generate the mind of sambodhi,' which provisionally corresponds to the stage of the ten abodes.