華嚴經 品六 毘盧遮那品Avataṃsaka Sūtra · Vairocana

Why the Last Chapter of the First Assembly Is a Story Out of the Ancient Past

Reading this chapter, the doubt a reader most readily raises is this: the preceding five chapters all spoke of the inconceivable sphere at the moment the Buddha had just attained the path — the Buddha's body, the light, the world-seas, the Lotus-Treasury world, growing broader and broader as they went; how is it that at the close of the first assembly the text suddenly turns into a story of ‘long, long ago’, telling of a prince named Great Majestic Light who saw four buddhas?

Look at where it is placed, and the doubt is resolved. Chengguan's determination of the reason for this chapter's coming is put with the utmost directness: “Earlier what was set forth was the fruit of this cause; now what is discerned is the cause of that earlier fruit. It answers the earlier question about the cause, and therefore it comes next.” What the preceding five chapters displayed is the “fruit” that a “cause” had brought to completion; what this chapter discerns is the “cause” by which that “fruit” came to be. He points out further that this question does not arise out of nowhere — the opening of the preceding chapter had already said that Vairocana “adorned and purified this by cultivating causes through vast kalpas”; well then, what exactly was that “cultivating causes through vast kalpas”? In this chapter “only now are those events made manifest.”

Li Tongxuan's way of setting it up differs, while what it comes home to is close: the preceding five chapters raise up the buddha-fruit of Vairocana in the present age, and one fears the reader will not be able to give rise to faith — “if in antiquity there were no former traces, whence should the present have come?” Therefore one must “cite the ancient to verify the present, making clear that the path is not mistaken.” The former speaks from the doctrinal sequence of cause and fruit; the latter speaks from the reader's faith. Both masters are recorded.

Coming down to how one reads: this chapter is not an interpolated legend, but the ‘provenance’ of the fruit set forth in the preceding five chapters. The endless adornment of the Lotus-Treasury world is not so of itself by nature; someone cultivated it kalpa after kalpa — this is the one sentence the whole assembly means to hand to the reader at the end.

Why the Chapter Is Titled with the Buddha's Name and Not with What It Narrates

What this chapter narrates is the past deeds of Prince Great Majestic Light; why then is the chapter named “Vairocana”? Chengguan gives an answer of the utmost concision: “the cause is the cause of that fruit, and therefore the title bears the name of the fruit” — what is discerned is indeed a cause, and yet this cause is the cause of that fruit, and so it is still with the name of the fruit that the chapter is titled. He adds one further layer: if one does not take the dharma by way of a person, the reader will have no way at all of knowing “whose” cause this is.

Fazang treats the same question on the side of the sixty-fascicle text, and puts the question more sharply: this whole long segment plainly discerns worlds at length — “why is it not called the World chapter, but is instead titled with the Buddha's name?” First he records the ancient worthies' answer: “Because it is named from the lord. Because the lord is the more excellent, the lord of the land is raised up in speaking of it.” Then he brings out his own explanation: because the Buddha extends through the three kinds of world, the receptacle world and the rest, and is complete in the ten bodies, the lands and the rest spoken of in the text below “are precisely the Buddha Rocana,” just as among the ten bodies there is a land-body; and again, because that which is depended upon and that which depends are unobstructed, the title and the exposition raise up each other, which is only a matter of the patterning of the words; and again, among the five oceans, the ocean of buddhas already contains the other four oceans, and because the Buddha is the more excellent, he alone is set up as the standard.

Li Tongxuan says it most briefly of all: “this chapter takes its name from its lord. It cites the ancient buddhas to establish faith in the present, and so it takes the Buddha's title as the name of the chapter.”

Clear away one misreading: do not suppose that the title's not matching the content is an oversight of the translator. The three masters answer differently, and their answers must be taken apart: Chengguan attaches it to cause and fruit — “the cause is the cause of that fruit, and therefore the title bears the name of the fruit”; Li Tongxuan attaches it to the manner of naming — “this chapter takes its name from its lord”; Fazang, going straight to the unobstructedness of that which is depended upon and that which depends, determines that “the lands and the rest in the text below are precisely the Buddha Rocana.” Among them it is Fazang alone who says outright that the world is not outside the Buddha; to title with the Buddha's name and yet speak of worlds is, on the sense of this one master, precisely meant to keep the reader from seeing the two as two separate things.

How the Four Graphs of “Vairocana” Are to Be Construed

For the explanation of the name in this chapter, Chengguan gives only one sentence: “put concisely, it means light shining everywhere; at length it is as explained before” — the detail was already given in the preceding chapter and is not repeated here. Hence for the fuller explanation of the name in this chapter one must go to the two masters Fazang and Li Tongxuan.

Fazang takes the graphs apart: “Rocana is here translated as ‘light shining’, and vai here means ‘everywhere’; that is to say, light shining everywhere.” He also records three old renderings handed down from antiquity — some said ‘complete in the three kinds of action’, some ‘complete in purity’, some ‘broadly vast, adorned and pure’ — and takes “Vairocana”, as obtained by examining the Sanskrit text, as the full name. He then divides both “light” and “everywhere” in two: light is of the light of wisdom and the light of the body; the light of wisdom is again divided into shining upon dharmas (mirroring both the real and the conventional) and shining upon capacities (responding universally to every sort of being), and the light of the body again into the constant light (perfectly bright and unobstructed) and the light released (rousing to awakening by means of light). “Everywhere” too is of two kinds: first, the level and unbroken everywhere, unobstructed and universally encompassing; second, the layer-upon-layer everywhere, like the repeated appearances in Indra's net. Most important of all is the judgment he lays down — “these two are perfectly interfused, each pervading everywhere in its entire substance; it is not a partial pervading.”

Li Tongxuan's construal differs: “vai means ‘of every kind’, and rocana means ‘light’; that is to say, with the compassion and wisdom of the dharma-body he sets up lights of teaching and practice of every kind, and thereby breaks the darkness of sentient beings' deeds.” Fazang construes vai as ‘everywhere’, Li Tongxuan construes vai as ‘of every kind’. Both accounts are recorded, with no ranking of higher and lower.

Where it comes down to earth: whether one construes it as ‘everywhere’ or as ‘of every kind’, neither master permits light to be read as a spectacle. Light is the wisdom that shines upon dharmas and shines upon capacities; everywhere is a pervading of the whole substance and not an occupying of a portion — and this settles how the light of the four buddhas below, and the prince's obtaining of the Dharma, ought to be read.

Tenet and Aim: What This Chapter Means to Verify and Establish

Chengguan sets up the tenet and aim in one sentence: “to make clear that the cause is vast is the tenet; to verify and establish the fruit set forth earlier is the aim” — the tenet made clear is the ‘vastness of the cause’, and the aim it comes home to is the ‘verifying and establishing of the fruit set forth earlier’.

This one sentence is in fact the general guide to reading the whole chapter. If one reads this chapter as a story of encouragement, the weight will fall on ‘how vigorous the prince was’; on Chengguan's determination, the weight should fall in two places: first, on the “vastness” of the cause — serving four buddhas, passing through oceans of kalpas, changing identity several times and yet never shifting what he sought; second, on the answering of this cause to the fruit of the preceding five chapters — only as broad as the cause is can the fruit be great. If a reader feels that the adornment of the Lotus-Treasury world is so remote as not to be his own affair, this chapter is precisely what fills in that distance.

The Time of These Past Deeds: A Number of Kalpas, First Stretching the Scale Open

The scriptural text begins with Samantabhadra speaking: “In an age long past, after kalpas as many as the dust-motes of a world, and then that number doubled again, there was a world-sea named: Universal Gate of Pure Light.” Chengguan determines this to be “first, a general clarification of the time of these past deeds,” and notes that this time is “kalpas as many as the dust-motes of two buddha-lands” — the dust-mote number of kalpas doubled again, that is, twice the dust-mote number of a buddha-land in kalpas.

First a question: why must the time be spoken of on so unmeasurable a scale? Answer: because the fruit to be verified and established is that fruit of boundless oceans of lands in the preceding five chapters. Cause and fruit must answer to each other; if the cause lay within a few lives and a few kalpas, the fruit could not be borne up by it. Clear away one misunderstanding: this is not the rhetoric of exaggeration but a doctrinal necessity — that Chengguan is willing to convert it into “kalpas as many as the dust-motes of two buddha-lands” shows exactly that the ancient worthies read it as a real measure and not as a figure of speech.

Coming down to oneself: the best use to make of this sentence is not astonishment at the numbers but a loosening of the calculation of ‘how many years before practice shows results’. From its very first line this chapter has changed the scale.

The Place of These Past Deeds (1): The World-Sea and the World Excellent Sound

Chengguan determines that from “there was a world” onward is “a separate display of the place of these past deeds,” and within the place there are again three: a general clarification of the ocean of lands, a separate clarification of one land, and pointing precisely to one quarter.

The general clarification of the ocean of lands is the single sentence “a world-sea named: Universal Gate of Pure Light.” The separate clarification of one land is “there was a world named: Excellent Sound, which rested upon a sea of nets of maṇi flowers and had as its retinue worlds as many as the dust-motes of Mount Sumeru” — and here Chengguan records one thing: “omitting the land-seeds.” The chapter “The Lotus-Treasury World” always lists the land-seeds when it speaks of a world-sea; here they are passed over and not spoken of, and the ancient worthy records this as the facts stand, without forcing a supplement.

Whence comes the name Excellent Sound? Chengguan's answer is of the utmost concision: “the land is named Excellent Sound because many buddhas appear in the world there with the sound of expounding the Dharma” — this world is named Excellent Sound because many buddhas appear there in the world and expound the Dharma. This sentence in fact announces the whole chapter beforehand: in the text below, Tathāgatas as many as the dust-motes of ten Mount Sumerus arise here, and the four buddhas follow one another, all of them footnotes to this name.

The scripture goes on to say that its shape was perfectly round, that its ground had immeasurable adornments, that it was encircled by three hundred layers of jeweled trees and ring-shaped mountain walls, that clouds of every jewel covered it over, that clothing and food came at the mere thought of them, and at the end it gives the kalpa's name, “Adornments of Every Kind.” Chengguan determines this as “next, setting forth its characteristics; afterward, giving the name of the kalpa — this may be known” — the setting forth of characteristics and the giving of the kalpa's name are two passages plain in wording and needing no laborious explanation.

The Place of These Past Deeds (2): The Sea of Fragrant Waters, the Great Flowering Sumeru, and the Great Grove of the Wheel of Maṇi Flower Branches

Within the pointing precisely to one quarter, the first is “a general clarification of the place of stimulus and response,” that is, the three passages on the sea of fragrant waters, the flowering mountain, and the great grove.

On the “sea of fragrant waters” Chengguan distinguishes one important thing: “the first clarification, of the fragrant sea, is not the sea that upholds the land-seeds; it is just like the sea of the four continents in the present age” — this sea of fragrant waters is not that sea of fragrant waters in the chapter “The Lotus-Treasury World” which bears up the land-seeds, but corresponds only to the sea of this set of four continents of ours. Clearing away an error: a reader who has just come out of the endless seas of fragrant waters of the Lotus-Treasury chapter will very readily go on reading the sea of fragrant waters here as being of the same order; the ancient worthy's distinguishing them here is a reminder that what this chapter speaks of is an affair within ‘one set of four continents’, as one might speak of a single set of four continents within the Sahā world.

Out of the sea there emerges a great flowering Mount Sumeru named Banner of Flaming Blossoms Universally Adorned, with railings of ten jewels encircling it all around — Chengguan determines this as “second, from ‘that sea’ onward, the sea puts forth the flowering mountain.” Upon the mountain there is a great grove named Wheel of Maṇi Flower Branches, wherein flower-pavilions, jeweled terraces and belvederes, banners of wondrous fragrance, banners of jeweled mountains, jeweled puṇḍarīka flowers, and nets of fragrant maṇi lotuses are ranged layer upon layer — Chengguan determines this as “third, from ‘upon that mountain’ onward, clarifying the grove on the mountain's summit: first indicating it, afterward displaying its adornment,” and he points out the intent in speaking of this grove: “this grove is spoken of because the Buddha appears within it.” This sentence is of the first importance: in the text below all four buddhas appear in the world within this one grove, and the grove is the fixed point of the whole chapter. As for the cities and their inhabitants, “the cities and their inhabitants are spoken of as a general raising up of those to be transformed” — they are there in order to raise up in general the capacities to be transformed.

Li Tongxuan sets up a different outline for this segment, dividing it “in meaning into eight” (the sea of fragrant waters and its name; the flowering mountain within the sea; the ten adornments of the mountain; the great grove upon the mountain and its name; the five kinds of immeasurable things upon the mountain; the general raising up of adornments too many to record; the number of cities upon the mountain; the mixed classes of beings dwelling together), and in passing he construes one term: “as for what is called the puṇḍarīka flower, this means the white lotus.” The two masters' ways of dividing differ; both are recorded.

The Place of These Past Deeds (3): The Principal City, Flaming Light

Chengguan determines that from “Sons of the Buddha, to the east of this grove” onward is “a separate clarification of the inhabitants who are able to stimulate,” and within it there are three: indicating the two kinds of city, principal and companion; explaining the principal city at length; explaining the companion cities concisely.

In indicating principal and companion he first distinguishes one doubt: the text below plainly has cities of gods, so why is a human city the principal one? Answer: “though there are cities of gods, because the Buddha appears there the human city is the principal one” — the criterion for determining principal and companion is where the Buddha appears in the world and transforms beings, not the height of the station.

The explanation of the principal city at length first displays the adorning of the place and afterward sets forth the excellence of its people. In the passage on the adorning of the place Chengguan explains several names of things: “what is on the city wall for defense is called a watchtower; the earthen terrace built up separately around the city is called a counter-terrace” — the scriptural phrase “turrets, watchtowers, and counter-terraces” names the system of a city's defenses; “utpala and the rest are the lotuses of the four colors: blue, red, yellow, and white” — the scripture lists the four flowers utpala, padma, kumuda, and puṇḍarīka, which are precisely the four colors blue, red, yellow, and white. The intent here is not in the architecture but in displaying the thickness of the blessings and recompense of the capacities to be transformed.

The setting forth of the excellence of the people lies in the passage “among all the inhabitants of this great city there was not one who had not accomplished the supernormal power of movement that comes as the fruit of deeds, so that they could come and go riding upon space, moving as the gods do.” Clearing away an error: the supernormal power here is what the fruit of deeds brings about, not a supernormal power obtained by cultivation — the scripture itself says “the supernormal power of movement that comes as the fruit of deeds.” However thick their blessings and recompense, they must still wait for a buddha to appear before they obtain the Dharma; and this is the reason for what follows.

The Place of These Past Deeds (4): The Companion Cities and the Caution Against a Single Pattern

Chengguan determines that from “to the south of that city” onward is “explaining the companion cities concisely,” first discerning the cities' names and the classes that dwell in them, afterward displaying their encircling adornment. The scripture lists the city of gods Adorned with Flowering Trees, the city of dragons Ultimate, the city of yakṣas Banner of Adamantine Excellence and Wonder, the city of gandharvas Wondrous Palace, the city of asuras Jeweled Wheel, the city of garuḍas Adorned with Wondrous Jewels, the city of kiṃnaras Play and Delight, the city of mahoragas Vajra Banner, and the city of Brahmā kings Adorned with Wonders of Every Kind — and so on, to a million koṭis of nayutas of them.

At the close of this passage Chengguan lays down a caution: “worlds differ, and their establishing is somewhat different; one may not take this as the pattern for them” — the establishing of each world is different to begin with, and the city-system of this world may not be taken as the general pattern. This sentence matters especially for the reader: the geography of this chapter is not a map of the cosmos but the actual state of that one world; to extract it and take it as a model of all worlds is precisely what the ancient worthy fends off.

The Place of These Past Deeds (5): The Site of Awakening, Universal Radiance of Jeweled Flowers, and the Great Lotus

The third, “a separate display of the adorning of the site of awakening,” Chengguan divides in two: first discerning the adorning of the place, then “second, from ‘in front of that site of awakening’ onward, it clarifies that the lotus and the fragrant sea are for the sake of the Buddha's appearing.”

The site of awakening is named Universal Radiance of Jeweled Flowers; within it wheels of maṇi flowers are opened wide and filled everywhere, incense lamps burn constantly, clouds of flame of jewel-colors spread over and cover it, nets of light shine everywhere, all the articles of adornment constantly produce wondrous jewels, all the music constantly plays elegant strains, and maṇi jewel-kings manifest the bodies of bodhisattvas — the weight of this passage lies in the fact that the “articles of adornment” themselves put forth jewels, put forth sound, and manifest bodies: that is, the receptacle world is itself an instrument of expounding the Dharma.

In front of the site of awakening there is a great sea named Fragrant Maṇi Adamant, out of which comes forth a great lotus named Wheel of Flame from the Flower's Stamens, a hundred koṭis of yojanas broad, encircled by ten unspeakable hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of lotuses. Chengguan makes plain the use of this flower: “for the sake of the Buddha's appearing” — in the text below the first buddha indeed “suddenly appeared within the great lotus at that site of awakening.” Clearing away an error: reading this passage one readily takes it for a description of scenery, when in fact it is a seat set in advance for the Buddha's appearing; the scripture's narrations of adornment have always had their function and are not mere embellishment.

The General Raising Up of the Many Buddhas Within the Kalpa: Which “First” Is “the First Kalpa”

Chengguan determines that from “in the first kalpa of that world Excellent Sound” onward is “a separate display of the past deeds within that time,” falling into two: “first, a general raising up of the many buddhas within the kalpa; afterward, from ‘the first of them’ onward, a separate display one by one, properly setting forth the past deeds.” And he records one thing: “the scripture as transmitted is not complete, and therefore there is no general conclusion” — there is no concluding wording at the end of this chapter because the text as handed down is incomplete, not because a conclusion is doctrinally unneeded. This is the ancient worthy's record as the facts stand, and the reader need not supply the lack.

The general raising up is the single sentence “there arose in the world Tathāgatas as many as the dust-motes of ten Mount Sumerus.” On the three graphs “the first kalpa” Chengguan distinguishes a doubt: “saying ‘the first kalpa’ means the kalpa Adornments of Every Kind. Since it says ‘first’, then that there are further great kalpas after this is not contrary to principle” — what is called the first is the first as taken within this one segment of past deeds; that there are further great kalpas after it is not contrary to principle.

This sentence draws out a passage of discernment at the opening of the Yanyi chao. The reason Chengguan must say “not contrary to principle” is to fend off a difficulty raised by Master Jingfa: the text below says that a great kalpa has small kalpas as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, that the human lifespan is two small kalpas, that the Buddha's lifespan was fifty koṭis of years, and that Majestic Light served three buddhas in succession and upon the turning of his recompense was born in heaven; now it is said that within the first kalpa there were buddhas as many as the dust-motes of ten Mount Sumerus — is it, then, that within that land there are further many great kalpas and this is the first great one, or is it that among the small kalpas the first small one is taken? The subcommentary records his question, and the commentary fends it off with “not contrary to principle.” This question is recorded, and no answer is given on his behalf.

Coming down to how one reads: the Huayan is without beginning, and any “first” is a first with respect to one segment of narration. To read it as an absolute starting point is precisely what this passage of the ancient worthies' discernment means to prevent.

Serving Four Buddhas in Succession: The Skeleton of the Whole Chapter

Chengguan determines the segment properly displaying the past deeds to be “the serving of four buddhas in succession, which makes four distinctions”: first, meeting the Buddha Excellent Cloud of the Sumeru of the Mountain of All Merit; second, the Buddha Adorned with the Good Eye of the Perfections; third, the Buddha Ocean of Most Excellent Merit; fourth, the Buddha Banner of the Lotus Eye of Universally Heard Renown — “each of them has the words ‘Sons of the Buddha’.” Each segment opens with Samantabhadra calling out “Sons of the Buddha,” and this is the textual warrant for the division.

Li Tongxuan's way of dividing differs: he lays out the chapter in an extended outline of fifteen segments, and here he lays down a determination: “four buddhas appear in the world, which altogether makes clear that the single title Vairocana differs in name according as it responds to conditions in the world, and that it is not that the Buddha's names and titles are different” — the four buddhas are not four honored ones, but the single title Vairocana differing in name as it responds to conditions in the world. He also places his warrant in the chapter “The Names of the Buddha” below: each and every buddha is complete in names and titles that follow conditions and are equal to the Dharma realm and the realm of sentient beings, and all the names in the world are the names of the buddhas.

He further sets up a passage of question and answer to handle whether the ancient buddhas and the present buddha are one or different: “as for the ancient buddhas and the present buddha, are they one or different?” The answer, “they are one and they are different” — the dharma-body and the wisdom-body, the marks of a great person, great loving-kindness and great compassion, wisdom and liberation, are one; each and every sentient being raising the mind and attaining buddhahood, they are different; the buddhas of the three times all attaining buddhahood in a single thought without earlier or later limit, they are one, and yet this does not undo the seeing, within that single thought, of the measure of the kalpas of the three times of immeasurable sentient beings, and so they are different. He says this must “be comprehended and understood by the ten mysterious gates and the sense of the six characteristics,” and adduces the scripture as verification: “the bodies of all the buddhas are only one dharma-body, one mind and one wisdom, and so likewise are the powers and the fearlessnesses.”

Recorded without adjudication: Chengguan establishes the four distinctions by the opening phrases of the scriptural text; Li Tongxuan outlines it in fifteen segments and determines that the four buddhas bear one title. The two tracks stand side by side.

The First Buddha (1): The Three Parts of the Buddha's Title, Each Standing for a Virtue

The passage on the first buddha Chengguan divides into six: the general indication of the Buddha's title; the prior auspicious signs ripening the capacities; the proper display of the Buddha's arising; the light from between the brows rousing and summoning; those whose capacities are ripe gathering like clouds; the extensive setting forth of the Dharma-gates. What follows reads by these six.

First comes the general indication: “the first buddha of them was titled: Excellent Cloud of the Sumeru of the Mountain of All Merit.” Why is the Buddha's title so long? Chengguan explains part by part what each stands for: “‘the mountain of all merit’ means that his blessings and merit are so lofty and steep that one cannot look up to them. Saying further ‘Sumeru’ means that his concentration and wisdom are so high and wondrous that they are hard to shake. Saying ‘excellent cloud’ means that the covering of his loving-kindness and the moistening of his wisdom are vast and boundless.” The mountain stands for the loftiness of blessings and merit, past looking up to; Sumeru stands for the height and wonder of concentration and wisdom, not to be shaken; the excellent cloud stands for the covering of loving-kindness and the moistening of wisdom, vast and boundless.

Clear away one misunderstanding: a buddha's name is not merely a form of address. That Chengguan explains part by part what each stands for shows that in this scripture a buddha's name is a gathering of items of virtue; to read a buddha's title is to read a list of qualities. Coming down to earth: these three parts are exactly the three faces of practice — blessings, concentration and wisdom, loving-kindness and wisdom; when the reader meets a long name and knows it to be three things, the name is no longer a string of syllables hard to remember.

The First Buddha (2): A Hundred Years Before the Buddha Appeared, the Ten Auspicious Signs

Chengguan determines that from “Sons of the Buddha” onward is “the prior auspicious signs ripening the capacities,” falling into two: first the manifesting of signs that ripen the capacities; second, from “within that world” onward, the seeing of the signs and the ripening of capacities. Within the former there are again three: first indicating the time (namely, a hundred years beforehand); next, from “this maṇi” onward, properly displaying the signs, of which there are ten; afterward, from “manifesting such” onward, concluding the intent of the signs.

The signs the scriptural text lists are these: the appearing of inconceivable clouds of jeweled flame; the giving forth of the sound praising the buddhas' merits; the sending forth of the sounds of countless buddhas; the stretching out of light spread as a net, filling and covering the ten directions; the palaces and pavilions shining upon one another; the light of the jeweled flowers surging up and gathering into clouds; and further, wondrous sounds going forth to proclaim the vast roots of goodness that all sentient beings had practiced in former lives; to proclaim the names and titles of all the buddhas of the three times; to proclaim the ultimate path of the vows and practices cultivated by the bodhisattvas; and to proclaim the various words in which the Tathāgatas turn the wondrous wheel of Dharma. Chengguan determines these to be ten in number.

What matters is that he attaches an intent to each of the last four signs: “that it proclaims what was practiced in former lives is in order to show that their seeds are about to ripen. That it proclaims the names and titles of the buddhas is in order to make them remembered. That it proclaims the great practices and vows is in order to make them cultivated and raised. That it proclaims the turning of the wheel of Dharma is in order that they may hear and study it beforehand and so give rise to the Dharma-eye.” To proclaim what sentient beings practiced in former lives is to display that the seeds of their roots of goodness are about to ripen; to proclaim the buddhas' names is to make people remember; to proclaim the bodhisattvas' vows and practices is to make people cultivate and raise them; to proclaim the turning of the wheel of Dharma is to let people hear and study it beforehand and thereafter give rise to the Dharma-eye.

Clearing away an error: the auspicious signs are not a ceremony of announcement; they are the transforming itself. The Buddha has not yet appeared, and the transforming has already begun — what is called “ripening the capacities” is precisely the nourishing of capacities to ripeness while the Buddha has not yet appeared. Where it comes down to earth is in the scripture's own concluding words: “because all the kings in that world saw these signs, their roots of goodness ripened, and all of them, wishing to see the Buddha, came to the site of awakening.” When capacities are ripe they come of themselves, without waiting to be summoned.

The First Buddha (3): To Appear in One Place Is to Appear Everywhere

Chengguan determines that from “at that time” onward is the proper display of the Buddha's arising, falling into two: “first, the attaining of the path in one place; second, from ‘just as … here’ onward, a concluding statement extending it broadly everywhere.”

In the attaining of the path in one place, the Buddha “suddenly appeared within the great lotus at that site of awakening.” The two graphs “suddenly” are to be attended to — he does not come from without, nor arrive by degrees. Then his body is described: “his body pervaded and covered all, equal to the true Dharma realm; in all buddha-lands he manifested his birth, and to all sites of awakening he went”; boundless was the wonder of his colors, complete in purity; no one in any world could outshine him; within every palace his image appeared; all sentient beings were able to see the boundless transformation-buddhas issuing from his body.

First a question: if it is said that “his body pervaded and covered all, equal to the true Dharma realm,” how can it also be said that he ‘appeared within the great lotus’? Do the one and the everywhere not obstruct each other? The scriptural text itself gives the answer — “just as he manifested his body and sat upon the seat here in this sea of fragrant waters of Pure Light, upon the summit of the Sumeru named Banner Adorned with Flaming Blossoms, within the great grove of the Wheel of Maṇi Flower Branches, so also, upon the sixty-eight thousand koṭis of Sumeru summits in that world Excellent Sound, he likewise manifested his body there and sat.” To manifest his body upon this one seat is to manifest it at the same moment upon sixty-eight thousand koṭis of Sumeru summits. Chengguan determines this to be “the concluding statement extending it broadly everywhere.”

Clearing away an error: this is not a trick of multiplying bodies. Multiplying bodies means one body producing many bodies; what is spoken of here is that the body from the first pervades and is equal to the true Dharma realm — and therefore wherever he manifests, he does not come from somewhere else. Coming down to earth: if at this point the reader entertains the thought that ‘the Buddha is only over there’, the sense of the Dharma realm established in the preceding five chapters comes to nothing.

The First Buddha (4): The Light from Between the Brows Rouses and Summons; Whatever the Light Touches Awakens

In the fourth passage, the Buddha “then released from between his brows a great light, and that light was named: Sound That Rouses All Roots of Goodness; it had as its retinue lights as many as the dust-motes of ten buddha-lands, and it filled all the lands of the ten directions.”

Why does a light have a name? The name is its function — “Sound That Rouses All Roots of Goodness.” What this light does the scriptural text lists in the finest detail: if there are sentient beings who can be tamed, then as soon as the light touches them they awaken of themselves, quiet the burning fevers of the afflictions, tear open the nets of the coverings, crush the mountains of the obstructions, wash clean the defilements and turbidity, give rise to great faith and understanding, produce surpassing roots of goodness, forever leave behind every calamity and terror, extinguish every suffering of body and mind, give rise to the mind that wishes to see the Buddha, and turn toward omniscience.

This string should be read as a sequence: first quieting (quieting the burning fevers of the afflictions); next breaking (tearing the nets of the coverings, crushing the mountains of the obstructions, washing clean the defilements and turbidity); then producing (giving rise to faith and understanding, producing roots of goodness); then departing (leaving behind calamity and terror, extinguishing the sufferings of body and mind); and only last, turning toward (giving rise to the mind that wishes to see the Buddha, turning toward omniscience). Clearing away an error: the light is not an atmosphere of blessing but an actual working of transformation — every clause has something it counters and something it produces.

The scriptural text goes on: “at that time all the lords of the world, together with their retinues, immeasurable hundreds of thousands of them, having been awakened by the Buddha's light, all went to where the Buddha was and bowed their heads to his feet” — this sentence is the beginning of “those whose capacities are ripe gathering like clouds,” and it also proves that the light spoken of before was indeed effective.

The First Buddha (5): King Delightful-to-See Good Wisdom and Prince Great Majestic Light

Among those whose capacities are ripe, the scripture singles out one household: “in that great city Flaming Light there was a king named: Delightful-to-See Good Wisdom, who ruled over a million koṭis of nayutas of cities; consorts and court women thirty-seven thousand in number, with Blessed Auspiciousness as their foremost; princes five hundred in number, with Great Majestic Light as their foremost; and Prince Great Majestic Light had ten thousand consorts, with Wondrous Sight as their foremost.”

Why must the numbers of this household and the names of the foremost be listed one by one? Because the protagonist of the whole chapter that follows comes from it. The king's name is “Delightful-to-See Good Wisdom” — to see him is to be delighted, and his wisdom is good; the prince's name is “Great Majestic Light” — answering to the Buddha's light spoken of above. The scripture states the prince's station in a single phrase: foremost among the five hundred princes. Clearing away an error: this is not the laying out of a pedigree, but the marking of a concrete position for “one whose capacities are ripe” — not an abstract sentient being, but the son of a certain king of a certain city in a certain world. However broad the Huayan's expounding of Dharma, it always comes down upon one concrete person.

Coming down to earth: here the reader meets for the first time a person he can compare himself to. He is not a bodhisattva but the son of a human king; and all he has to rely on is “the power of the roots of goodness cultivated in the past.”

The First Buddha (6): The Ten Dharma-Gates the Prince Realized

“When Prince Great Majestic Light had seen the light of the Buddha, then, by the power of the roots of goodness he had cultivated in the past, he at that moment realized ten Dharma-gates.” Look first at the three junctures of this sentence: what he met with was the Buddha's light (not the hearing of Dharma); what he relied upon was the power of roots of goodness cultivated in the past (not the effort of this present life); what he obtained was realized at that very moment (not accomplished by degrees of cultivation). Clearing away an error: this does not say that roots of goodness may be had without cultivating them — quite the contrary; the three graphs “cultivated in the past” make plain that the sudden obtaining of this moment rests entirely upon the accumulation of ages past. The suddenness is in this life, the gradualness in kalpas past.

The ten gates, item by item, are as follows:

One, he realized the samādhi of the wheel of the merits of all the buddhas — that samādhi comes first means the root of what is obtained lies in concentration; “wheel of merits” means that the buddhas' merits turn without cease as a wheel turns.

Two, he realized the dhāraṇī of the universal gate of all buddha-dharmas — a dhāraṇī is that which holds all together; within one dharma it holds together the gate of all buddha-dharmas, and hence is called the universal gate; obtaining it, what he hears is not lost.

Three, he realized the prajñā-pāramitā of the treasury of vast skillful means — prajñā is the wisdom that goes to the other shore, and this wisdom has “vast skillful means” as that within which it is held: wisdom does not arise alone but is always together with skillful means.

Four, he realized the great loving-kindness of the great adornment that tames all sentient beings — loving-kindness is the giving of joy; that it is called “great adornment” is because the taming of all sentient beings is what constitutes its adorning, and not the beauty of one's own person.

Five, he realized the great compassion of the sound of the universal cloud — compassion is the drawing out of suffering; as a cloud covers everywhere and as sound reaches everywhere, so the character of compassion lies in making no selection.

Six, he realized the great sympathetic joy of the most excellent mind that produces boundless merit — sympathetic joy is to rejoice in another's joy; this joy is able to produce the most excellent mind of boundless merit, and hence joy is not an emotion but a cause producing merit.

Seven, he realized the great equanimity that awakens to all dharmas as they really are — equanimity is not abiding; and the reason for this equanimity lies in “awakening to all dharmas as they really are,” so that equanimity is not coldness but the non-grasping that follows upon seeing clearly.

Eight, he realized the great spiritual power of the treasury of equality of vast skillful means — spiritual power too has skillful means as its treasury and equality as its substance, so that this power is not for one's own distinction but for the equality of its use.

Nine, he realized the great vow that increases the power of faith and understanding — that a vow can be sustained lies in the increase of the power of faith and understanding; if faith and understanding do not increase, the vow must fall back.

Ten, he realized the gate of eloquence of the light that enters universally into omniscience — eloquence is the capacity to expound the Dharma, and its gate lies in “entering universally into the light of omniscience,” so that eloquence does not come from a gift of speech but from wisdom.

Surveying the ten gates: the first is concentration; the second is holding together; the third is wisdom; the fourth through the seventh are the four immeasurables (loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity); the eighth is spiritual power; the ninth is vow; the tenth is eloquence. The four immeasurables stand in the middle and take four of the ten, which shows where the weight lies. Coming down to earth: if the reader asks ‘what can one obtain from seeing a buddha's light once’, the scripture's answer is not a marvel but these ten things — concentration, holding together, wisdom, loving-kindness and compassion and sympathetic joy and equanimity, spiritual power, vow, and eloquence.

The Prince's First Verses: Ten Verses Praising the Buddha's Light and Spiritual Powers

“When Prince Great Majestic Light had obtained this light of Dharma, then, upheld by the Buddha's majestic power, he looked out over the great assembly and spoke these verses” — the speaker is the prince, what he relies upon is the Buddha's majestic power, and those he addresses are the great assembly. The verses are ten in all.

The sequence of the verses is worth noting: the first two verses praise how rarely a buddha's appearing in the world is met with (“only after immeasurable koṭis of thousands of kalpas does a guiding teacher appear”); of the middle five verses, three exhort contemplation with “look, all of you” and “you should contemplate” — contemplate the Buddha's light, contemplate the Buddha's spiritual powers, contemplate the Buddha's body; the two after them turn to relate the wondrous sound spread through the world and the benefit of the light bringing ease to sentient beings; and the last three turn to praising the assembly at the site of awakening and the Buddha's spiritual power. Clearing away an error: this is not an outpouring of feeling but an exhortation to contemplate — the first thing the prince does upon obtaining the Dharma is to call the whole assembly to look together. Coming down to earth: the first movement of one who has obtained the Dharma is to direct it back to the assembly, and this lies on the same line as the king's gathering of the assembly and the bodhisattva's revealing, further on.

At the end the scripture records its effect: “by the Buddha's spiritual power the sound was carried everywhere throughout the world Excellent Sound” — a prince's verses, by the Buddha's spiritual power, pervade a whole world, and this is the occasion of the king's hearing the verses below.

The King Hears the Verses and Gathers the Assembly: A Mobilization Throughout the City

“At that time King Delightful-to-See Good Wisdom, having heard these verses, was greatly gladdened in mind, and looking over his retinue he spoke these verses” — the speaker turns to the king, and those he addresses are his retinue. The verses are eleven in all.

What the king's verses say is entirely a matter of mobilization: summon the hosts of kings, the princes, the great ministers, the magistrates of the towns; beat the great drums, ring the jeweled bells; purify the walled cities, raise banners, spread canopies, set out musical entertainments; adorn and purify the roads, rain down wondrous garments, make ready jeweled carriages; and further, rain down articles of adornment, canopies of lotuses, necklaces, wondrous garments, fragrant waters, sandalwood, and jeweled lamps to stand in the air. The last verse gathers it up: “take all of it and offer it to the Buddha, and let your minds give rise to great gladness; let wives and retinues go as one to see him who is honored by the world.”

First a question: why should seeing the Buddha require so grand an array? Answer: what this whole segment displays is offering — what lies within the king's power is this. The prince praised the Buddha with the light of Dharma; the king offers the Buddha what his kingdom possesses; the one is a gift of wisdom, the other a gift of wealth. Clearing away an error: do not read it as pomp. The scripture deliberately has every item “made to stand in the air” and “fill the whole of space,” in order to display that the mind of offering is not confined by the ground. Coming down to earth: to rain down articles of adornment everywhere, each according to his own strength — the single line “each of you, according to your own strength” is the most practical word these verses have for the reader.

The Gathering Like Clouds: A Nation's Host and the Kings of the Eight Classes Go to One Assembly

The scripture goes on to narrate the actual going to the assembly: the king, with thirty-seven thousand consorts and court women (with Blessed Auspiciousness as their foremost), five hundred princes (with Great Majestic Light as their foremost), and sixty thousand great ministers (with Power of Wisdom as their foremost) — and so on, a host of seventy-seven hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas — came out from the great city Flaming Light, went riding upon space, their articles of offering filling the whole of space, and arriving where the Buddha was they bowed their heads and withdrew to sit at one side.

Then it lists the kings of the eight classes, each coming with his retinue: the god-king Banner of Good Transformation of the city Wondrous Flowers with ten koṭis of nayutas of retinue; the dragon-king Pure Light of the great city Ultimate with twenty-five koṭis; the yakṣa-king Fierce and Strong of the city Vajra Banner of Excellence with seventy-seven koṭis; the gandharva-king Delightful-to-See of the city Stainless with ninety-seven koṭis; the asura-king Pure of Form and Reflective of the city Wondrous Wheel with fifty-eight koṭis; the garuḍa-king Practitioner of the Ten Powers of the city Wondrously Adorned with ninety-nine thousand; the kiṃnara-king Adamantine Virtue of the city Play and Delight with eighteen koṭis; the mahoraga-king Banner of Jeweled Renown of the city Vajra Banner with three koṭis of hundreds of thousands of nayutas; and the Brahmā king Most Excellent of the city Pure and Wondrously Adorned with eighteen koṭis of retinue.

First a question: why must the cities' names, the kings' names, and the numbers of the retinues of the eight classes be listed one by one? Because the principal and companion set up earlier in “indicating the two kinds of city, principal and companion” here receive their actuality. The human king of the principal city moves first, and the eight classes of the companion cities follow — this is the verification in fact of “because the Buddha appears there the human city is the principal one.” Clearing away an error: that the numbers of the retinues are uneven (some in koṭis, some in thousands, some in hundreds of thousands of nayutas) shows precisely that this is an actual record and not a formula.

The Extensive Setting Forth of the Dharma-Gates: The First Sūtra the Buddha Expounded

The sixth passage of the segment on the first buddha: “at that time that Tathāgata, in order to tame all sentient beings, expounded in the ocean-assembly of the site of awakening the sūtra of the Dharma of Mastery Universally Gathered from All Buddhas of the Three Times, with sūtras as many as the dust-motes of a world as its retinue, and following the minds of sentient beings, caused them all to obtain benefit.”

Three things are to be attended to. First, the occasion of the expounding is “in order to tame all sentient beings” — it is not in response to a request but the Buddha's own doing. Second, the sūtra's name is “the Dharma of Mastery Universally Gathered from All Buddhas of the Three Times” — what is gathered is the dharma of mastery of all the buddhas of the three times, so that this scripture is not the private teaching of one buddha. Third, there is a principal sūtra with a retinue of sūtras, “with sūtras as many as the dust-motes of a world as its retinue” — under one scripture there follow dust-mote numbers of scriptures, and this is the common pattern for the four buddhas' expositions in this chapter.

Clearing away an error: the retinue of sūtras is not an appendix. The sense of principal and companion is a general rule in the Huayan — the one gathers in the many, and the many do not depart from the one; the expounding of one scripture is at the same moment the expounding of immeasurable scriptures. Coming down to earth: the closing line “following the minds of sentient beings, caused them all to obtain benefit” is where this whole great mobilization comes to rest — those who came each obtained what was theirs to obtain, and the difference between what is obtained in the two segments below is owing precisely to this.

The Eleven Lights of Wisdom: What Was Obtained After Hearing the Dharma

“The Bodhisattva Great Majestic Light, having heard this Dharma, then obtained the light of the ocean of Dharma amassed in former lives by the Buddha Excellent Cloud of the Sumeru of All Merit.” Note that the form of address has already turned from “prince” to “bodhisattva.” Before, he saw the light and obtained ten gates; now he hears the Dharma and obtains lights of wisdom; the name of his station turns with what he obtains.

The names of what he obtained, item by item, are as follows, eleven in all, and all of them ending in the name “light of wisdom”:

One, the light of wisdom of the samādhi of the sameness of the whole gathering of dharmas — within the whole gathering of dharmas he sees sameness, and this sameness is what is seen within samādhi.

Two, the light of wisdom of the abiding in which all dharmas enter into the first mind of awakening — all dharmas are gathered into the first mind of awakening and abide there; the two graphs “first” matter: the initial mind already gathers in all.

Three, the light of wisdom of the pure eye of the treasury of universal light of the Dharma realm of the ten directions — with a pure eye he sees the Dharma realm of the ten directions as a treasury of universal light.

Four, the light of wisdom of contemplating the great ocean of vows of all buddha-dharmas — what is contemplated is the great ocean of vows of the buddha-dharmas, so that this wisdom takes vow as the sphere it contemplates.

Five, the light of wisdom of the pure practice that enters the ocean of boundless merit — it is by practice that one enters the ocean of merit, and this wisdom is attached to pure practice.

Six, the light of wisdom of the treasury of swiftness and great strength that turns toward non-retrogression — non-retrogression requires great strength, and within the treasury of great strength there is the sense of swiftness, so that non-retrogression is not a standstill but a swift advance.

Seven, the light of wisdom of the wheel of deliverance by the power of immeasurable transformations within the Dharma realm — within the Dharma realm, by the power of immeasurable transformations, the wheel of deliverance is accomplished; transformation and deliverance do not obstruct each other.

Eight, the light of wisdom of the definitive entry into the ocean of the fulfillment of immeasurable merit — “definitive” means without doubt and without falling back, and what is entered is the ocean of the fulfillment of merit.

Nine, the light of wisdom of knowing how the definitive understanding of all buddhas is adorned and accomplished as an ocean — what is known is how the buddhas' definitive understanding is adorned and accomplished.

Ten, the light of wisdom of knowing the ocean of spiritual powers by which boundless buddhas of the Dharma realm appear before all sentient beings — knowing the ocean of spiritual powers by which boundless buddhas appear before all sentient beings; this is the wisdom of the ‘manifesting in one place is manifesting everywhere’ set forth above.

Eleven, the light of wisdom of knowing the powers of all buddhas and the dharmas of fearlessness — knowing the Buddha's ten powers and four fearlessnesses.

Surveying them: the first two are sameness and the initial mind; the third through the eighth are the wisdoms of his own practice; the ninth through the eleventh are the wisdoms of knowing the Buddha's virtues. Clearing away an error: that all eleven gates are called “light of wisdom” and not samādhi or spiritual power is meant to display that the substance of what is obtained lies in wisdom. Coming down to earth: what was obtained by seeing the light inclined toward function (concentration, loving-kindness and compassion and sympathetic joy and equanimity, spiritual power, vow); what is obtained by hearing the Dharma inclines toward illumination and understanding — the one is a being moved, the other an understanding.

Great Majestic Light's Second Verses: Seeing the Sun's Orb by the Sun's Light

“When the Bodhisattva Great Majestic Light had obtained these immeasurable lights of wisdom, then, upheld by the Buddha's majestic power, he spoke these verses” — ten in all.

The first verse establishes the ground of it all: “I have heard the Buddha's wondrous Dharma, and thereby have obtained the light of wisdom; by this I have seen what the World-Honored One practiced in ages past.” The six verses that follow all speak of the ocean of past practices he has seen: all the places of his births, the distinctions of his names and bodily marks, and his offerings to the buddhas; cultivating practice through immeasurable kalpas and adorning and purifying the ocean of lands; giving away his own body, vast and without bound; giving away ears, nose, head, hands, feet, and palaces; within each single buddha-land cultivating the practice of awakening for koṭis of kalpas; and by the power of Samantabhadra's great vows cultivating practice within the ocean of all buddhas.

The eighth verse is the most important simile of the whole chapter: “just as it is by the shining of the sun's light that one comes in turn to see the orb of the sun itself, so I, by the Buddha's light of wisdom, see the path the Buddha practiced” — it is by the sun's light that one afterward sees the sun's orb. First a question: whence comes the wisdom that sees? Answer: precisely from the one who is seen. Clearing away an error: do not suppose that the practitioner first has an eye of his own with which to contemplate and then goes and contemplates the Buddha. This verse says it plainly — that eye is itself the Buddha's light. Coming down to earth: this line is the ‘mutual answering of cause and fruit’ of this chapter in miniature upon a single person — for one who sees the fruit, his very seeing is the gift of that fruit; and the fruit he sees is precisely the cause he is about to cultivate.

The last two verses turn to a vow: “I contemplate the Buddha's ocean of lands, pure and greatly radiant; in stillness he realized awakening, and the Dharma realm is wholly pervaded. Let me be as the World-Honored One is, vast in purifying the ocean of lands; by the Buddha's majestic and spiritual power let me cultivate the practice of awakening” — first seeing and then vowing, and this is the occasion of the prediction below.

The Ten Revealings: What He Does for the World After Obtaining the Dharma

“The Bodhisattva Great Majestic Light, because he had seen the Buddha Excellent Cloud of the Sumeru of the Mountain of All Merit and had served and made offerings to him, gained an awakened clarity of mind in the Tathāgata's presence, and for the sake of all the world” revealed ten things:

One, he revealed the ocean of the Tathāgata's practices in ages past — the first thing revealed is the Buddha's causal practice, precisely the same purport as this chapter's “discerning the cause of that earlier fruit.” Two, he revealed the skillful means of the bodhisattva practices of ages past — not only the practice but the skillful means along with it, so that people may learn it. Three, he revealed the ocean of the merits of all buddhas — from the cause he reveals the virtue of the fruit. Four, he revealed the pure wisdom that enters universally into the whole Dharma realm — he reveals the wisdom that is realized. Five, he revealed the masterful power of attaining buddhahood at every site of awakening — he reveals mastery in attaining buddhahood, which is the sense of the one place and the everywhere set forth above. Six, he revealed the Buddha's powers and fearlessnesses and undifferentiated wisdom — he reveals the Buddha's ten powers, four fearlessnesses, and undifferentiated wisdom. Seven, he revealed the universal manifestation of the Tathāgata's body — he reveals the universal manifesting of the Buddha's body. Eight, he revealed the inconceivable spiritual transformations of the Buddha — he reveals the inconceivability of the spiritual transformations. Nine, he revealed the adorning of immeasurable pure buddha-lands — he reveals the purity of that which is depended upon. Ten, he revealed all the practices and vows of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra — the last comes home to Samantabhadra's practices and vows, answering to “the power of Samantabhadra's great vows” in the verses above.

Its effect is twofold: “causing sentient beings as many as the dust-motes of Mount Sumeru to raise the mind of awakening, and causing sentient beings as many as the dust-motes of a buddha-land to accomplish the pure lands of a Tathāgata.”

Clearing away an error: these ten things are not a list of the contents of his preaching; they are what he “revealed” — that is, by his own obtaining of the Dharma he caused others to see. Coming down to earth: the proof of having obtained the Dharma lies in whether one can let others see it too. This section is the concrete showing of why the “cause” of this chapter is vast: what he cultivates does not stop with himself.

The First Buddha's Verses of Prediction: The Buddha Speaks Eleven Verses for Great Majestic Light

“At that time the Buddha Excellent Cloud of the Sumeru of the Mountain of All Merit spoke verses for the Bodhisattva Great Majestic Light” — the speaker is the Buddha, and the one addressed is Great Majestic Light. Eleven verses in all.

The first verse praises his raising of the mind: “Excellent, Great Majestic Light! Treasury of blessings, vast in renown, for the sake of benefiting sentient beings you have raised your mind and set out on the path of awakening.” The second records what he has obtained and holds out what he is to obtain: “you have obtained the light of wisdom, and the Dharma realm is wholly filled with it; blessings and wisdom are both vast in you, and you will attain the deep ocean of wisdom.” The third makes clear the measure of the cultivation: “cultivating practice within one buddha-land, passing through kalpas as many as the dust-motes of that land — just as you have seen me, so in time to come you will obtain such wisdom.” The line “just as you have seen me” is important: the me you see today is the fruit you shall obtain.

The verses that follow each distinguish one thing: that it is not those of inferior practice who can know this skillful means (distinguishing away sloth); cultivating practice for immeasurable kalpas within each single dust-mote (displaying how fine and how long the cultivation is); passing through oceans of kalpas in the round of birth and death for the sake of each single sentient being, the mind neither weary nor slack (displaying how long the compassion is); making offerings to each single buddha to the utmost limit of the future, without a moment's weariness in the mind (displaying how long the reverence is); all the buddhas of the three times together fulfilling your vows (displaying the buddhas' common verification); all the Tathāgatas' vows being without bound, and only one of great wisdom who penetrates them being able to know (displaying the depth of the vow). The last two verses gather it up: “Great Majestic Light has made offerings to me, and therefore has obtained great majestic power, causing sentient beings as many as dust-motes to ripen and turn toward awakening. All you bodhisattvas who cultivate the practice of Samantabhadra, great in renown, who adorn the ocean of buddha-lands — the Dharma realm is pervaded everywhere.”

Clearing away an error: a prediction is not a foretelling of fortune or misfortune; it is the pointing out of the road between cause and fruit — and this is why the whole passage of verses speaks entirely of ‘what to cultivate, how long to cultivate, and what to distinguish away’. Coming down to earth: what the Buddha grants is “just as you have seen me,” and what he requires is cultivation through kalpas as many as the dust-motes of a land — these verses state the tenet and aim of the chapter (the vastness of the cause as tenet, the verifying and establishing of the fruit set forth earlier as aim) more plainly than anywhere else.

The Measure of the Kalpa, the Buddha's Lifespan, and the Coming of the Second Buddha

“Within that kalpa of Great Adornment there were small kalpas as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, and the lifespan of human beings was two small kalpas.” — first the measure of the kalpa and the human lifespan. “That Buddha Excellent Cloud of the Sumeru of All Merit had a lifespan of fifty koṭis of years.” — next the Buddha's lifespan.

First a question: why must these numbers be recorded? Answer: because the text below is to say “after that buddha passed into extinction, there was a buddha who appeared in the world.” The Buddha's lifespan has a measure, and therefore there is a passing into extinction; there is a passing into extinction, and therefore there is a second buddha. This passage of numbers is the joint of the narrative, not miscellaneous record. Clearing away an error: neither should the Buddha's lifespan be read from this as the common measure of all buddhas — this is that buddha's lifespan in that world.

“After that buddha passed into extinction, there was a buddha who appeared in the world named: King Adorned with the Good Eye of the Perfections, who likewise accomplished right awakening within that great grove of the Wheel of Maṇi Flower Branches.” — the phrase “likewise within that great grove of the Wheel of Maṇi Flower Branches” ties the four buddhas to one and the same grove, answering exactly to Chengguan's determination that “this grove is spoken of because the Buddha appears within it.” Coming down to earth: four buddhas with different names in the same place — Li Tongxuan's determination of ‘four buddhas, one title’ rests upon just such textual features.

What Was Obtained Before the Second Buddha: Ten Thousand Dharma-Gates

From “when the youth Great Majestic Light saw that Tathāgata accomplish equal and right awakening and manifest the power of spiritual penetration, he then obtained the samādhi of the recollection of the Buddha” onward, the scripture lists ten items:

One, the samādhi of the recollection of the Buddha, named Gate of the Treasury of the Boundless Ocean — the buddha recollected is like a boundless ocean-treasury, so that recollecting the Buddha is not recollecting a single mark. Two, the dhāraṇī named Abyss of the Dharma of the Power of Great Wisdom — the power of holding together is named an abyss of Dharma: because it is deep, it can receive. Three, the great loving-kindness named Universally Following Sentient Beings to Tame and Liberate Them — the character of loving-kindness lies in following sentient beings and taming and liberating them, not in a bare giving of joy. Four, the great compassion named Cloud That Covers Over Every Sphere — compassion is like a cloud that covers over every sphere, reaching everywhere. Five, the great sympathetic joy named Treasury of the Majestic Power of the Ocean of the Merits of All Buddhas — what joy holds in treasury is the majestic power of the ocean of the buddhas' merits, and hence joy has strength. Six, the great equanimity named the Purity of the Sameness of the Dharma-Nature and Space — what equanimity rests upon is the pure sameness of the dharma-nature, like space. Seven, the prajñā-pāramitā named Pure Body of the Dharma Realm, Free of Stain by Its Own Nature — what wisdom accomplishes is the pure body of the Dharma realm: wisdom and body are not two. Eight, the spiritual power named Unobstructed Light That Manifests Following All — the character of spiritual power lies in the light's being unobstructed and manifesting universally in accord. Nine, the eloquence named Entering Well the Abyss Free of Stain — the ground of eloquence lies in entering well the abyss free of stain, and hence eloquence is born of purity. Ten, the light of wisdom named Pure Treasury of All Buddha-Dharmas — what the light of wisdom shines upon is the pure treasury of all buddha-dharmas.

The scripture concludes: “ten thousand Dharma-gates such as these he obtained and penetrated in full.”

Here one thing must be distinguished clearly: what the scriptural text explicitly lists is ten items, while the conclusion says “ten thousand Dharma-gates” — the ten items are instances raised, and the ten thousand is the whole of what was obtained. The scripture itself uses the three graphs “such as these,” which is to take the whole by an instance. Clearing away an error: one may not, on the strength of the ten listed items, say that the ten thousand is a hollow number; nor may one, on the strength of the ten thousand, say that the scripture has omitted items — since the scripture itself uses the three graphs “such as these,” an increase or decrease in the number never becomes a doubt at all.

Set this alongside what was obtained before the first buddha: there he saw the Buddha's light and obtained ten Dharma-gates (the first of them a samādhi); here he sees the Buddha accomplish right awakening and manifest spiritual power and obtains ten items (the first of them the samādhi of the recollection of the Buddha). The classes of names obtained are close (samādhi, dhāraṇī, loving-kindness and compassion and sympathetic joy and equanimity, prajñā, spiritual power, eloquence, light of wisdom), while the conditions met with differ. Coming down to earth: what one and the same person obtains before different buddhas may be similar — repetition is not wasted effort but deepening.

The Youth's Third Verses: And Now We Have Seen a Second Buddha

“The youth Great Majestic Light, upheld by the Buddha's majestic power, spoke verses for his retinue” — the speaker is the youth, and those addressed are his retinue; ten verses in all, and the metre turns from five graphs to seven.

The first verse points out the occasion of the whole: “within inconceivable koṭis of kalpas, a bright teacher who guides the world is hard to meet even once; the sentient beings of this land have much benefit from goodness, for now we have obtained the sight of a second buddha.” The three graphs “a second buddha” are the key to the whole chapter's sense of time: he himself remembers the first buddha. The verses that follow praise the light of the Buddha's body, the light shining and removing suffering, the clouds of transformation, the clouds of light from his pores shining into the gloom and extinguishing the sufferings of the hells, the wondrous sound spread through the ten directions, his manifesting within all the oceans of assemblies, and the boundlessness of his spiritual power. The last two verses turn to exhortation and vow: “you should give rise to a gladdened mind, leaping with delight and love and utmost reverence; I shall go there together with you”; “raise the mind, dedicate and direct it, turn toward and seek awakening, hold all sentient beings in loving thought, and all of you abide in Samantabhadra's vast vows — then you will gain mastery as a king of Dharma does.”

Clearing away an error: these verses resemble the first verses spoken before the first buddha in form, but their position differs — there he had just obtained the Dharma and praised; here he has already served one buddha and exhorts the assembly to go together. Coming down to earth: the one who can say “I shall go there together with you” is one who has already been once.

Going Together to the Second Buddha: The Assembly Each Obtain Ten Benefits of Dharma

“When the youth Great Majestic Light spoke these verses, by the Buddha's spiritual power the sound was unobstructed and all the worlds were able to hear it, and immeasurable sentient beings raised the mind of awakening.” — compared with the segment on the first buddha, where “the sound was carried everywhere throughout the world Excellent Sound,” here it is “all the worlds were able to hear it”: the reach is broader.

“At that time Prince Great Majestic Light, together with his father and mother, together with all his retinue, and together with immeasurable hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of sentient beings, surrounding him before and behind, with jeweled canopies like clouds covering the whole of space, went as one to where the Tathāgata King Adorned with the Good Eye of the Perfections was.” — note the four graphs “together with his father and mother”: in the segment on the first buddha the king led his son and went; in this segment the son leads his parents and goes. The positions of the one transformed and the one who transforms have already turned.

“That buddha expounded for them the sūtra of the Pure Adornment of the Essential Nature of the Dharma Realm, with sūtras as many as the dust-motes of a world-sea as its retinue.” — the pattern of the exposition is the same as with the first buddha.

The ten things the assembly obtained upon hearing the scripture are, item by item: one, a pure wisdom named Entry into All Pure Skillful Means; two, a standing upon a ground named Light Free of Stain; three, a wheel of the perfections named Manifesting the Adornments Loved and Delighted in by All the World; four, a wheel of expanding practice named Boundless Light and Pure Vision That Enters Universally into All Lands; five, a wheel of the practice of turning toward named Banner of the Light of the Cloud of Merit Free of Stain; six, a wheel of realization by following and entering named Vast Light of the Ocean of All Dharmas; seven, a practice of setting out ever more deeply named Adornment of Great Wisdom; eight, an ocean of the wisdom of consecration named Utmost Wondrous Vision of Effortless Cultivation; nine, a great light of revealing named the Pervading Shine of the Reflected Light of the Marks of the Ocean of the Tathāgata's Merits; ten, a pure wisdom producing the power of vows named Treasury of Faith and Understanding of Immeasurable Vow-Power.

The sequence of these ten items is worth noting: first obtaining wisdom, next obtaining a ground, next obtaining a wheel of the perfections, then three wheels (expanding practice, the practice of turning toward, realization by following and entering), next setting out ever more deeply, next the ocean of the wisdom of consecration, next the great light of revealing, and last obtaining the pure wisdom producing the power of vows. By wisdom to enter a ground, from the ground to raise practice, by practice to enter realization, from realization to consecration, to revealing, and back again to producing the power of vows — this is a complete sequence of the positions of practice. Clearing away an error: these ten are what “that great assembly” obtained, not what Great Majestic Light alone obtained; the subject in the scriptural text is the assembly. Coming down to earth: that what the protagonist obtained and what the assembly obtained are set down side by side shows precisely that the benefit of this assembly does not lie in one person alone.

The Second Buddha's Verses of Prediction: Excellent, Ocean of Merit and Wisdom

“At that time that buddha spoke verses for the Bodhisattva Great Majestic Light” — the speaker is the Buddha King Adorned with the Good Eye of the Perfections; ten verses in all.

Set these verses beside the first buddha's verses of prediction and the tenor is plainly different: the first buddha says much of “you will attain” (you will attain buddhahood, you will obtain such wisdom, you will become a guiding teacher of the world), while this buddha says much of “already” — “you have already brought forth the ocean of great wisdom”; “you have already seen the clouds of the buddhas' merits, and have already entered the ground of inexhaustible wisdom”; “you have already obtained the gate of skillful means and holding-together”; “you have already brought forth the oceans of all vows; you have already entered the ocean of samādhis”; “you have already entered upon my practice of awakening.”

First a question: why this turn of tenor? Answer: because a buddha stands in between. Having served long, what he has accomplished is much, and therefore what the Buddha confirms turns from “you will attain” to “you have already attained.” Clearing away an error: this does not mean he has arrived at the end — within the same verses there is still “you shall, by wondrous skillful means past all measuring, enter the sphere of the Buddha's inexhaustible practice,” “you shall be complete in great spiritual powers of every kind,” “you shall attain buddhahood with great merit.” The already and the shall stand together, and this is just the character of the path.

The last verse gathers it up: “making offerings to the buddhas without remainder, the adornments of the lands all made pure, cultivating wondrous practices throughout all kalpas — you shall attain buddhahood with great merit.” Coming down to earth: if a reader wishes to know where he himself has come to, what he should look at is not how much is left, but the proportion of “already” and “shall” within one and the same sentence.

The Third Buddha: The Succession of the Throne and a Wheel-Turning King's Offering

“After the Tathāgata King Adorned with the Good Eye of the Perfections entered nirvāṇa, King Delightful-to-See Good Wisdom before long also passed away, and the youth Great Majestic Light received the position of a wheel-turning king.” — three matters in one sentence: the Buddha's nirvāṇa, his father's death, and his own receiving of the position of a wheel-turning king. His identity turns again: from prince to youth, and now to a wheel-turning sage-king.

First a question: why must the scripture record the changes of his identity? Answer: because this is one face of the “vastness of the cause” — the conditions he meets with change (seeing the light, hearing the Dharma, being a king, being born in heaven), while what he turns toward does not. Clearing away an error: the position of a wheel-turning king is not here a display of the fruits of recompense; it is the wherewithal of the offering in the next passage.

“Within that great grove of the Wheel of Maṇi Flower Branches a third Tathāgata appeared in the world, named: Ocean of Most Excellent Merit.” — still in the same grove.

“At that time the wheel-turning sage-king Great Majestic Light, seeing the marks of that Tathāgata's attainment of buddhahood, together with his retinue and the four kinds of armies and all the people of the towns and settlements, and bringing the seven jewels, went as one to where the Buddha was, and offered up to the Buddha a great pavilion adorned with maṇi jewels of every fragrance.” — what he offers is a great pavilion. In the two segments of the earlier buddhas what he offered was verses and his going; in this segment what he offers is what belongs to a wheel-turning king. Coming down to earth: the higher the station, the heavier what is given away; and this lies on the same line as the “he gave away his own body” and “ears, nose, head, hands, and feet, and palaces of every kind” of the second verses.

“At that time that Tathāgata expounded in that grove the sūtra of the Practice of the Light of the Universal Eye of a Bodhisattva, with sūtras as many as the dust-motes of a world as its retinue.” — the pattern of the exposition is still the same.

“When the Bodhisattva Great Majestic Light had heard this Dharma, he obtained a samādhi named: Universal Light of Great Merit; and because he obtained this samādhi, he was wholly able to know the ocean of merit and of what is not merit, past, present, and future, of all bodhisattvas and all sentient beings.” — what is obtained in this segment is a single samādhi, yet its use is exceedingly broad: to know the merit and non-merit of all bodhisattvas and sentient beings of the three times. Clearing away an error: that what is obtained goes from many items to a single samādhi does not mean that what is obtained has grown less, but that what is obtained has grown purer. Answering to the “merit” of offering the great pavilion, what is obtained lies likewise in the knowing of merit — a textual feature of cause and fruit answering to each other.

The Third Buddha's Verses of Prediction: Excellent, Meritorious Great Majestic Light

“At that time that buddha spoke verses for the Bodhisattva Great Majestic Light” — eleven verses in all.

What these verses have in view differs from the two before: it is entirely vow and blessings. The first verse praises his “taking pity on the whole ocean of sentient beings, you have raised the great vow-mind of surpassing awakening”; the second makes clear what he does — “for the sake of all sentient beings who suffer, you raise a mind of great compassion to set them free; you shall become the refuge of the deluded multitude — this is what is called the skillful practice of a bodhisattva” — and for this lays down a settled name: this is called the skillful practice of a bodhisattva. The fourth verse names him by four names, “you of the light of blessings, you of the banner of blessings, you of the place of blessings, you of the ocean of blessings,” and comes home to “all the vows the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra has, these you, Great Majestic Light, are able to enter into.” Of the five verses that follow, only the first and the last speak the word vow outright — “you are able by this vast vow to enter the inconceivable oceans of the buddhas” and “so also shall the adornment and purity of your land be — this is what one of boundless vows and practices should obtain”; the three in the middle speak of seeing immeasurable buddhas in the ten directions and the oceans of their practices in ages past, of one who abides in this ocean of skillful means certainly entering the ground of wisdom, and of cultivating practices through oceans of dust-mote kalpas within all the oceans of lands — matters subsumed under vow, though the word vow does not appear. The third of these verses brings out a separate sense: “if there is a bodhisattva able to be firm, cultivating all surpassing practices without weariness or sloth, then the most excellent and highest unobstructed understanding, such wondrous wisdom, is what he shall obtain” — that a vow can be accomplished depends upon firmness of practice without weariness, and therefore before speaking of vow this one line is set up first. The last two verses turn to the assembly: “the ocean of the assembly now at this site of awakening, having heard your vows, gives rise to delight; all of them enter Samantabhadra's vast vehicle, raise the mind, dedicate and direct it, and turn toward awakening. Within each single one of boundless lands, they enter therein and cultivate practice through oceans of kalpas; by the powers of their vows they are able to fulfill all the practices of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.”

Clearing away an error: the four names of blessings (the light of blessings, the banner of blessings, the place of blessings, the ocean of blessings) are not a heaping up of titles; they are of a piece with this segment's ‘offering of the great pavilion’ and ‘obtaining the samādhi of the Universal Light of Great Merit’. Coming down to earth: the three buddhas' verses of prediction each have their own weight — the first buddha weights the cultivation of “you will attain,” the second the confirmation of “you have already attained,” the third the pervasiveness of “vow.” Vow comes last because vow is the step that pushes what one person has obtained out into the whole assembly.

The Fourth Buddha: Coming to the End of Life and Being Born in Heaven; the Host of God-Kings Obtain a Samādhi

“Within that great grove of the Wheel of Maṇi Flower Branches there was again a buddha who appeared, titled: Banner of the Lotus Eye of Universally Heard Renown.” — the fourth buddha, still in the same grove.

“At this Great Majestic Light came to the end of his life here and was born within the heavenly city of the Still Jeweled Palace upon Mount Sumeru, becoming a great god-king named: Banner of Merit Free of Stain.” — his identity turns a fourth time: from wheel-turning king to god-king. The name “Banner of Merit Free of Stain” is still attached to “merit,” of a piece with the preceding segment.

First a question: why does the scripture have him come to the end of his life? Answer: the first three buddhas were all met with among human beings, while this buddha is met with in heaven — the place of meeting turns from human to heavenly, and the body he manifests from king to god-king. Clearing away an error: coming to the end of life is here not the end of the narrative but the manner of its continuing. The scriptural text goes straight on: “together with the host of gods he went to where the Buddha was and rained down clouds of jeweled flowers as an offering” — the identity has changed, and the offering has not been broken off.

“At that time that Tathāgata expounded for them the sūtra of the Universal Gate of Pervading Radiance of Vast Skillful Means, with sūtras as many as the dust-motes of a world-sea as its retinue.” — the names of the sūtras expounded by the four buddhas each differ (the Dharma of Mastery Universally Gathered from All Buddhas of the Three Times; the Pure Adornment of the Essential Nature of the Dharma Realm; the Practice of the Light of the Universal Eye of a Bodhisattva; the Universal Gate of Pervading Radiance of Vast Skillful Means), while the pattern of principal and companion is the same in all four segments.

“At that time, when the host of god-kings had heard this sūtra, they obtained a samādhi named: Treasury of Universal Joy. By the power of this samādhi they were able to enter the ocean of the true character of all dharmas.” — please note that the subject of what is obtained in this segment is “the host of god-kings,” not Great Majestic Light alone. This is of the same kind as “that great assembly” obtaining ten Dharma-gates in the segment on the second buddha. Coming down to earth: among the four segments, what the protagonist obtains and what the assembly obtains are written alternately; the past deeds take one person as their thread, yet what they display was never the affair of one person.

The Chapter's End: Coming Out from the Site of Awakening and Returning to Their Own Places

The last sentence of the whole chapter is: “having obtained this benefit, they came out from the site of awakening and returned to their own places.”

First a question: why is so plain a sentence the conclusion of the whole chapter? Answer: because it gathers the whole stretch of past deeds up into “obtaining benefit.” From the ten Dharma-gates before the first buddha to the samādhi of the Treasury of Universal Joy of the host of god-kings at the last, what the four segments record is nothing but the three matters of ‘seeing the Buddha — hearing the Dharma — obtaining benefit’; with this one sentence concluding it, the skeleton of the whole chapter appears.

Here Chengguan records one thing the reader ought to know: “the scripture as transmitted is not complete, and therefore there is no general conclusion.” — that there is no concluding wording at the end of this chapter is owing to the incompleteness of the text as handed down. Clearing away an error: one may not on this ground say that the scripture's sense is unfinished, nor may one supply a conclusion of one's own. The ancient worthy records the lack as the facts stand, and the reader too should read it as the facts stand.

Looking back over the whole chapter: one world-sea, one world, one grove, four buddhas, and one person in four identities — this is the entire provenance of that fruit of the preceding five chapters. The scripture does not say when he attained buddhahood; it says only what he obtained along the way. And the chapter's name has already said it for him — Vairocana.

Lineage

The sense of this chapter was carried forward by the various masters of later times, all of it recorded, with no adjudication. The line of Chengguan: he establishes the place of this chapter by the mutual answering of cause and fruit (“earlier what was set forth was the fruit of this cause; now what is discerned is the cause of that earlier fruit”), divides it section by section with a threefold outline (time, place, past deeds) locked to the opening phrases of the scriptural text, opens six sections within the segment on the first buddha, attaches four intentions to the auspicious signs, and records that “the scripture as transmitted is not complete, and therefore there is no general conclusion”; his two distinctions, that ‘the sea of fragrant waters is not the sea that upholds the land-seeds’ and that ‘worlds differ and this may not be taken as the pattern’, are both to prevent the reader from confusing the sphere of the preceding chapter with the events of this one. The Yanyi chao sets up no separate section explaining the name in this chapter; from its opening it takes up “that there are further great kalpas after this is not contrary to principle” and records Master Jingfa's question, recording the question without answering on his behalf.

The line of Fazang: he explains this segment together within the sixty-fascicle text's chapter “The Buddha Rocana,” takes the explanation of the name as his first gate, sets up the construal of the two lights (the light of wisdom, the light of the body) and the two modes of everywhere (the level and unbroken everywhere, the layer-upon-layer everywhere), and lays down the judgment “each pervading everywhere in its entire substance; it is not a partial pervading”; his answer to the question “why is it not called the World chapter, but is instead titled with the Buddha's name” takes as its warrant the three senses of ‘the Buddha extends through the three kinds of world and is complete in the ten bodies’, “that which is depended upon and that which depends are unobstructed,” and “among the five oceans the ocean of buddhas already contains the other four oceans,” determining that the lands and the rest in the text below are precisely the Buddha Rocana. This determination is what reading this chapter's narrative of the adornment of worlds by way of the dependent origination of the Dharma realm rests upon.

The line of Zhiyan: in the Souxuan ji his setting up of four gates is the same as in the Tanxuan ji while his text is more concise; separately, in the Shixuan men, he takes the past deeds of this chapter as scriptural verification of “attaining buddhahood in three lifetimes,” determining that the three lifetimes of seeing and hearing, of understanding and practice, and of entering into realization are ‘only within a single thought’, and further affirming that ‘it is not that he had not long been planting roots of goodness’ — the single thought and the long cultivation stand together, with neither side favored.

The line of Li Tongxuan: he reads it by three gates (the reason for its coming, the title, explaining the meaning following the text), determines the reason for its coming to lie in “citing the ancient to verify the present, making clear that the path is not mistaken,” construes “vai” as “of every kind” differing from Fazang's “everywhere,” lays this chapter out in an extended outline of fifteen segments, and determines that the four buddhas' appearing in the world “altogether makes clear that the single title Vairocana differs in name according as it responds to conditions in the world, and that it is not that the Buddha's names and titles are different,” his warrant lying in the sense of names following conditions in the chapter “The Names of the Buddha” below; in his question and answer on the oneness and difference of the ancient buddhas and the present buddha, he says outright that it must “be comprehended and understood by the ten mysterious gates and the sense of the six characteristics.” This determination differs from the way of reading that takes the four buddhas as four honored ones by following the narrative; the ancients held this account, and it is recorded.

As for the books that give the outlines of the Huayan school, the Wujiao zhang, under the gate of clarifying the positions with respect to practice, raises up the protagonist of this chapter as an instance of the allotment of what is obtained, attaching his position to that of a wheel-turning king of the pure white jeweled net; what it cites is the name as differently translated in the Jin-dynasty version, and the reader must know that what it refers to is the Great Majestic Light of the eighty-fascicle text. The differences between the two texts in personal names, in buddha-titles, and in the classes of names of what is obtained (Great Majestic Light and the Youth Universally Adorned; ten Dharma-gates and ten samādhis; eleven lights of wisdom and four samādhis) are recorded together, with no adjudication; the Jin-dynasty version's segment ends with the second buddha, and for the events of the third and fourth buddhas the Jin-dynasty version has no wording, which is recorded as the facts stand, without raising from that absence any argument about addition or subtraction.