華嚴經 品三十七 如來出現品 · 般涅槃Avataṃsaka Sūtra · The Appearance of the Tathāgata · The Parinirvāṇa

The ninth sense, ‘the parinirvāṇa’, = Samantabhadra’s answer to 「菩薩摩訶薩應云何知如來、應、正等覺般涅槃」 tr. “how should the bodhisattva-mahāsattva know the parinirvāṇa of the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Fully and Rightly Awakened One” 〔T10n0279 0276a29〕. First it raises 「當須了知根本自性」 tr. “he must come to know the root nature” 〔T10n0279 0276b02〕, and by the ten ‘just so’ clauses (suchness · the true limit · the Dharma realm · space · the nature of dharmas · the limit free of desire · the limit without characteristic · the limit of the nature of self · the limit of the nature of all dharmas · the limit of suchness) shows by example that nirvāṇa has no arising and no coming forth; next it makes clear that the Tathāgata does not speak to bodhisattvas of an ultimate nirvāṇa, and that he abides ever in the pure Dharma realm; next it sets up the three similes of the sun’s reflection, of fire, and of the conjuror, making clear that the showing of extinction is not a real extinction; next it makes clear that at the time of manifesting nirvāṇa he enters the immovable samādhi, and that from each and every body light is sent forth manifesting numberless buddha-bodies; and last it returns in conclusion to 「本願持故，無有休息，不捨一切眾生、一切剎、一切法」 tr. “because the original vow sustains him, there is no time when he rests, and he forsakes not one sentient being, not one land, not one dharma” 〔T10n0279 0277a01〕, with six verses in repetition. The fifth of Chengguan’s ten gates is named 「示滅妙存」 tr. “showing extinction, wondrously abiding” 〔T35n1735 0884b21〕, while Fazang’s eight gates have no gate of that name — the outline headings of the two houses are recorded together without adjudication.

I. Doctrinal Outline and Placement

The reason for its coming — Chengguan attaches this ninth sense to the eighth before it, ‘the turning of the wheel of the Dharma’, making clear the sequence in which the showing of extinction follows upon the completion of the transforming:

「第九出現涅槃。轉化既周，安住祕藏，為物示滅，故次明之。」 tr. “Ninth, the nirvāṇa of the appearance. The transforming being now complete, he abides in the secret treasury, and for the sake of beings shows extinction; and therefore it is made clear next.” 〔T35n1735 0884a14〕

Fazang attaches it on the same principle, while labelling it outright 「性起涅槃」 tr. “the nirvāṇa of nature-arising”:

「第九明性起涅槃，謂轉法輪既訖，次辨涅槃以為次第。」 tr. “Ninth, making clear the nirvāṇa of nature-arising, that is: the turning of the wheel of the Dharma being finished, nirvāṇa is discerned next, and this is the sequence.” 〔T35n1733 0415a16〕

The general setting forth of the great purport — before opening the chapter Chengguan first displays in general the depth and breadth of nirvāṇa:

「然大涅槃蓋眾聖歸宗冥會之所，寂寥無為而廣大悉備，形名絕眹、識智難思。今以無名強名，亦為五別」 tr. “Now the great nirvāṇa is the place where the multitude of sages return to the source and meet in the dark; still and desolate, unconditioned, and yet vast and complete in every part; cut off from all trace of form and name, and hard for consciousness and wisdom to conceive. Now, giving it by force a name where there is no name, it is also set out in five divisions.” 〔T35n1735 0884a15〕

The Chao explains what this passage rests upon:

「疏『然大涅槃』下，第二總明大旨以顯深玄。多用肇公《涅槃無名論》，有十演九折。」 tr. “Under the commentary’s ‘now the great nirvāṇa’, second, the general setting forth of the great purport so as to display the profound and dark. Much use is made of Master Zhao’s Treatise on Nirvāṇa Being Without a Name, which has ten expositions and nine refutations.” 〔T36n1736 0630b02〕

The ten gates of the explaining of the text (Chengguan) —

「第五釋文中二：先徵起、後正顯。正顯中十：一體性真常、二德用圓備、三出沒常湛、四虧盈不遷、五示滅妙存、六隨緣起盡、七存亡互現、八大用無涯、九體離二邊、十結歸無住。然斯十段，隨義雖殊，皆含體用互相交徹，顯大涅槃。」 tr. “Fifth, within the explaining of the text there are two: first the raising of the question, afterwards the direct display. Within the direct display there are ten: first, the substance and nature truly constant; second, virtue and function perfectly complete; third, appearing and sinking away, ever clear and still; fourth, waning and filling without shifting; fifth, showing extinction, wondrously abiding; sixth, arising and ending according to conditions; seventh, abiding and vanishing manifested throughout one another; eighth, the great function without bound; ninth, the substance apart from the two extremes; tenth, the concluding return to non-abiding. Now these ten passages, though they differ according to their senses, all alike contain substance and function interpenetrating one another, displaying the great nirvāṇa.” 〔T35n1735 0884b18〕

The eight gates of the explaining of the text (Fazang) —

「釋文中，長行內釋中，長分有八門釋大涅槃。一體實真常、二簡異灰斷、三不礙出沒、四隨器虧盈、五起盡隨緣、六存亡常湛、七用窮來際、八總結所知。」 tr. “Within the explaining of the text, within the discerning and explaining inside the prose, it is divided at large into eight gates explaining the great nirvāṇa: first, the substance real and truly constant; second, distinguishing it from the ashes-and-cutting-off; third, not obstructed by appearing and sinking away; fourth, waning and filling according to the vessel; fifth, arising and ending according to conditions; sixth, abiding and vanishing ever clear and still; seventh, the function exhausting the future; eighth, the general conclusion of what is to be known.” 〔T35n1733 0415a19〕

The assigning of the verses to the gates (Chengguan) —

「偈文有六：初偈頌第四、次偈頌第六、次偈頌第七、次二偈頌第八、後偈頌第十。初句無生之生，次句無滅之滅，次句結歸涅槃無名，後句結其大用無盡。」 tr. “The verse text has six: the first verse praises the fourth, the next verse the sixth, the next verse the seventh, the next two verses the eighth, and the last verse the tenth. The first line is the arising that is no arising, the next line the ceasing that is no ceasing, the next line the concluding return to nirvāṇa’s namelessness, and the last line the concluding of its great function as inexhaustible.” 〔T35n1735 0885c08〕

Fazang, following the sixty-fascicle text, differs in the numbers by which he assigns the verses: 「頌中，初二頌第四、次二頌第五、次二頌第六、次四頌」 tr. “Within the verses, the first two praise the fourth, the next two the fifth, the next two the sixth, and the next four praise —” 〔T35n1733 0416a07〕 (what follows is not collated in this apparatus).

II. Terminology

III. Similes and Rhetoric

(1) The nirvāṇa of the ten ‘just so’ (the list shown by example) — 「如真如涅槃，如來涅槃亦如是」 tr. “just as suchness has its nirvāṇa, so is the Tathāgata’s nirvāṇa too” 〔T10n0279 0276b02〕 and the ten clauses that follow 〔T10n0279 0276b02〕:

• The ground of the comparison: the respective nirvāṇas of suchness · the true limit · the Dharma realm · space · the nature of dharmas · the limit free of desire · the limit without characteristic · the limit of the nature of self · the limit of the nature of all dharmas · the limit of suchness.
• The thing compared: the Tathāgata’s nirvāṇa.
• The sense displayed: Chengguan: 「二指理同事中皆云如者，如即同義，能同涅槃通真及應。所同如等，即自性涅槃故。」 tr. “Second, in the pointing to the principle being the same as the phenomenon, the word ‘just as’ is used throughout: ‘just as’ has the sense of sameness, and the nirvāṇa that is able to be the same runs through both the true and the responsive; while suchness and the rest, with which it is the same, are just the nirvāṇa pure in its own nature.” 〔T35n1735 0884c01〕 And again: 「所以列十名者，欲明究竟妙道窮理盡性無不同故，德無盡故。」 tr. “The reason for listing ten names is to make clear that the ultimate and wondrous path, exhausting principle and fulfilling nature, is in nothing not the same, and that its virtue is inexhaustible.” 〔0884c05〕 Fazang: 「下九例然，竝是如之異名，意顯涅槃同彼真性令明淨，故約此多門說也。」 tr. “The nine below are on the same pattern, and all alike are other names for suchness; the intent is to display that nirvāṇa is the same as that true nature, making it bright and clean, and therefore it is spoken of by way of these many gates.” 〔T35n1733 0415a27〕

(2) The simile of the sun’s reflection — 「譬如日出，普照世間，於一切淨水器中影無不現，普遍眾處而無來往，或一器破便不現影」 tr. “it is like the sun coming forth and shining universally upon the world: in every vessel of clean water there is not one in which its reflection fails to appear; it is everywhere in every place and yet there is no coming and no going in it; and should one vessel break, the reflection no longer appears there” 〔T10n0279 0276b19〕:

• The ground of the comparison: the sun shines universally and its reflection appears in the vessels of clean water; when a vessel breaks the reflection does not appear, and this is no fault of the sun.
• The thing compared: the sun of the Tathāgata’s wisdom appears universally through the Dharma realm; when the vessel of the mind is always clean the Buddha’s body is always seen, and when the mind is muddied and the vessel broken he cannot be seen.
• The sense displayed: Chengguan judges it to be the fourth gate, 「虧盈不遷」 tr. “waning and filling without shifting” — 「然法身無像故，無器而不形；聖智無心故，無感而不應。像非我有，自彼器之虧盈；心非我生，豈普現之前後？」 tr. “Now since the Dharma body has no image, there is no vessel in which it does not take form; and since the sacred wisdom has no mind of its own, there is no stirring to which it does not respond. The image is not the sun’s own; it follows the waning and the filling of the vessel yonder. The mind is not of my producing; how then should there be a before and an after in that universal manifesting?” 〔T35n1735 0885a13〕 Fazang judges it to be his fourth gate, 「隨器虧盈」 tr. “waning and filling according to the vessel” — 「謂舉日影隨器現不現喻，喻佛隨器有虧有盈故。」 tr. “that is, the simile of the sun’s reflection appearing or not appearing according to the vessel is raised, as a simile for the Buddha waning or filling according to the vessel.” 〔T35n1733 0415b24〕

(3) The simile of the moon in the broken vessel (the collateral proof cited by the commentary) — under the simile of the sun’s reflection Chengguan cites a verse from the tenth fascicle of the She lun:

「故《攝論》第十頌云『眾生罪不見，如月於破器。遍滿諸世間，由法光如日。』是以經言非日咎也。」 tr. “Therefore the verse in the tenth fascicle of the She lun says, ‘Sentient beings, through their offenses, do not see, as the moon is not seen in a broken vessel. Filling all the worlds everywhere, the light of the Dharma is like the sun.’ And this is why the scripture says it is no fault of the sun.” 〔T35n1735 0885a16〕

(4) The simile of fire — 「譬如火大，於一切世間能為火事，或時一處其火息滅」 tr. “it is like the fire element, which can do the work that fire does throughout the whole world; and it may be that at some time and in some one place that fire dies out” 〔T10n0279 0276b28〕:

• The ground of the comparison: that the fire goes out in one place does not mean that the fires of the whole world have all gone out.
• The thing compared: that in one world the work he can do being finished he manifests his entry into nirvāṇa does not mean that the buddhas of all worlds have all passed away.
• The sense displayed: Chengguan judges it to be the sixth gate, 「隨緣起盡」 tr. “arising and ending according to conditions”, and makes clear the assigning of the terms in the conjoining — 「合中，以機喻薪、以涅槃喻火。眾生善根未熟，可熟者成正覺，以熟之如為火事。若所應度者皆已度竟，則現般涅槃寂無所為，如火息滅。」 tr. “In the conjoining, the capacities of beings are taken as the firewood and nirvāṇa as the fire. Where the roots of goodness of sentient beings have not ripened, those that can be ripened are brought to accomplish right awakening, and this ripening of them is taken as the work that fire does. If all those who ought to be liberated have been liberated, then he manifests parinirvāṇa, still and doing nothing, as the fire dies out.” 〔T35n1735 0885b07〕 And he cites the Lotus: 「佛此夜滅度，如薪盡火滅。」 tr. “The Buddha this night passes into extinction, as when the firewood is spent and the fire goes out.” 〔0885b11〕 And the tenth fascicle of the She lun naming it: 「涅槃如火。」 tr. “nirvāṇa is like fire.” 〔0885b12〕

(5) The simile of the conjuror — 「譬如幻師善明幻術，以幻術力，於三千大千世界一切國土、城邑、聚落示現幻身，以幻力持經劫而住；然於餘處，幻事已訖，隱身不現」 tr. “it is like a master of conjuring who is well versed in the art of conjuring: by the power of that art he manifests a conjured body in all the lands, cities, and villages of the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, and by the power of conjuring he sustains it and abides through eons; yet in some other place, the business of conjuring being finished, he hides his body and appears no more” 〔T10n0279 0276c06〕:

• The ground of the comparison: that the great conjuror hides himself and does not appear in one place does not mean that he has vanished in every place.
• The thing compared: that the Tathāgata manifests his entry into nirvāṇa in one place does not mean that he has passed away everywhere.
• The sense displayed: Chengguan judges it to be the seventh gate, 「存亡亙現」 tr. “abiding and vanishing manifested throughout one another” — 「由順機故，此滅彼存，非如來身不能長久。前喻約見滅見成，此喻約常見不見。」 tr. “Because he follows the capacities of beings, he is extinguished here and abides there; it is not that the Tathāgata’s body is unable to be long-lasting. The former simile is with respect to seeing the extinction and seeing the accomplishing; this simile is with respect to the constantly seeing and the not seeing.” 〔T35n1735 0885b15〕 Fazang judges it to be his sixth gate, 「存亡常湛」 tr. “abiding and vanishing ever clear and still”, and in the concluding passage says 「故上云『如來幻身常住如法界』也」 tr. “and therefore it was said above, ‘the Tathāgata’s conjured body abides constantly, like the Dharma realm’” 〔T35n1733 0415c26〕.

(6) The cloud of bodies of the immovable samādhi — 「於一一身各放無量百千億那由他大光明，一一光明各出阿僧祇蓮華，一一蓮華各有不可說妙寶華蘂，一一華蘂有師子座，一一座上皆有如來結跏趺坐」 tr. “from each and every body he sends forth measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of great light-rays; from each and every light-ray there come forth asaṃkhyeya lotus flowers; in each and every lotus flower there are unspeakably many flower-stamens of wondrous jewels; in each and every flower-stamen there is a lion seat; and upon each and every seat there is a Tathāgata sitting cross-legged” 〔T10n0279 0276c18〕:

• The ground of the comparison: the light, the flowers, the stamens, the seats, and the buddhas coming forth layer within layer.
• The thing compared: the number of the buddha-bodies is exactly equal to the number of all sentient beings, and they arise from the power of the original vow.
• The sense displayed: Chengguan judges it to be the eighth gate, 「大用無涯」 tr. “the great function without bound” — 「謂正宗涅槃，而便分身無邊。」 tr. “that is, just at the very point of nirvāṇa he divides his body without bound.” 〔T35n1735 0885b17〕 And he records one comparison: 「《涅槃》受純陀供處，大同於此，而佛數少，順機不同故。」 tr. “The place in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra where the offering of Cunda is received is largely the same as this, and yet the number of buddhas is smaller, because the capacities being followed are not the same.” 〔0885b20〕

(7) The simile of the bright and clean round pearl (set up by the commentary itself) — Chengguan explains the three virtues as one substance:

「如一明淨圓珠，明即般若、淨即解脫、圓體法身，約用不同，體不相離。」 tr. “It is like a single bright and clean round pearl: the brightness is prajñā, the cleanness is liberation, and the round substance is the Dharma body; with respect to function they differ, while in substance they are not apart from one another.” 〔T35n1735 0884b03〕

(8) The gathering lines within the verses — the last verse in repetition, 「如無生性佛出興，如無滅性佛涅槃，言辭譬諭悉皆斷，一切義成無與等」 tr. “as with the nature that has no arising, so does the Buddha arise in the world; as with the nature that has no ceasing, so does the Buddha enter nirvāṇa; words and similes are all alike cut off, and every meaning is accomplished, beyond compare” 〔T10n0279 0277a14〕〔T10n0279 0277a〕: the whole passage sets up three similes, and the last verse says of itself 「言辭譬諭悉皆斷」 tr. “words and similes are all alike cut off” 〔T10n0279 0277a15〕 — to set up a simile and then to wipe the simile away is the pivot of the rhetoric of this sense.

IV. Collation with Parallel Translations

The Chinese witnesses for this sense: Śikṣānanda, T279 (the base text, the ninth sense of the Chapter on the Appearance of the Tathāgata, the thirty-seventh) · Buddhabhadra, T278 (the Jin translation, the sixty-fascicle Avataṃsaka, the fourth part of the Chapter on the Nature-Arising of the Jewel-King Tathāgata, the thirty-second, beginning 〔T09n0278 0628b06〕 and ending 〔0629b10〕). For this sense there is no separately circulating scripture and no treatise-gloss quoting the text 〔not found〕. What follows is recorded in full, clause by clause, without adjudication.

Clause One　The Question Raised

Where the variation lies: (a) The eighty has 「應云何知」 tr. “how should he know”, while the sixty has 「云何……知、見」 tr. “how … know and see” (throughout this passage the sixty pairs 「知、見」 tr. “knowing and seeing”). (b) The eighty has the summary heading 「當須了知根本自性」 tr. “he must come to know the root nature” 〔T10n0279 0276b02〕, while the sixty has 「當如是知」 tr. “he ought to know it thus” and lacks the item 「根本自性」 tr. “the root nature” — Chengguan sets up his gloss precisely upon these four graphs 〔T35n1735 0884b25〕, and the sixty has no such text. (c) For the epithets of the Buddha the eighty has 「應、正等覺」 tr. “the Worthy of Offerings, the Fully and Rightly Awakened One”, while the sixty has 「應供、等正覺」 tr. “the Worthy of Offerings, the Rightly and Fully Awakened One”.

Clause Two　The Nirvāṇa of the Ten ‘Just So’

Where the variation lies: (a) In the first clause the eighty has 「如真如涅槃」 tr. “just as suchness has its nirvāṇa” against the sixty’s 「如如般涅槃」 tr. “just as suchness has its parinirvāṇa”. (b) For the fifth item the eighty has 「法性」 tr. “the nature of dharmas” and the sixty 「實性」 tr. “the real nature”. (c) For the tenth item the eighty has 「真如際」 tr. “the limit of suchness” and the sixty 「真實際」 tr. “the truly real limit”. (d) The eighty attaches 「如來涅槃亦如是」 tr. “so is the Tathāgata’s nirvāṇa too” to each clause in turn, while the sixty attaches one such clause in general after the list of the ten names is finished · the opening and closing differ. (e) The sixty has 「虛空界」 tr. “the realm of space” where the eighty has 「虛空」 tr. “space”.

Clause Three　No Arising and No Coming Forth

Where the variation lies: the eighty has the two branches 「無生無出」 tr. “no arising and no coming forth”, while the sixty has 「非生滅法」 tr. “not a dharma of arising and ceasing” and adds besides the clause 「去無所至」 tr. “in going it goes nowhere”.

Clause Four　He Does Not Speak to Bodhisattvas of an Ultimate Nirvāṇa

Where the variation lies: (a) The eighty divides 「說」 tr. “proclaiming” and 「示現其事」 tr. “manifesting this matter” into two things, while the sixty joins them as 「演說顯現」 tr. “expounding and displaying”. (b) The eighty has the two layers 「一切如來常住其前」 tr. “all the Tathāgatas ever abiding before them” 〔T10n0279 0276b13〕 and 「色相圓滿皆如現在」 tr. “their form and marks perfect and complete, all just as in the present” 〔T10n0279 0276b14〕, while the sixty has 「普見三世一切諸佛悉現前」 tr. “seeing universally all the buddhas of the three times present before them” 〔T09n0278 0628b16〕 and 「出生一切如來妙色」 tr. “bringing forth the wondrous form of all the Tathāgatas” 〔T09n0278 0628b17〕 · the opening and closing differ.

Clause Five　What the Manifesting of Nirvāṇa Is For

Where the variation lies: (a) The eighty’s 「生欣樂」 tr. “give rise to delight and gladness” against the sixty’s 「歡喜」 tr. “rejoice”. (b) The eighty’s 「生戀慕」 tr. “give rise to longing” against the sixty’s 「憂悲感慕」 tr. “grieve and yearn”. (c) The eighty’s 「常住清淨法界」 tr. “abides ever in the pure Dharma realm” against the sixty’s 「常住如法界」 tr. “abides ever as the Dharma realm”. (d) The eighty’s 「隨眾生心」 tr. “in accordance with the minds of sentient beings” against the sixty’s 「為化眾生」 tr. “for the transforming of sentient beings”.

Clause Six　The Simile of the Sun’s Reflection

Where the variation lies: (a) The sixty has besides the clause of no-mindedness, 「日無是念：『我能普現一切淨水。』」 tr. “the sun has no such thought: ‘I am able to appear universally in all the clean waters’” 〔T09n0278 0628b25〕, where the eighty has 「普遍眾處而無來往」 tr. “it is everywhere in every place and yet there is no coming and no going in it” 〔T10n0279 0276b20〕. (b) The sixty has the measuring phrase 「圓滿明淨與法界等」 tr. “perfectly full, bright and clean, equal to the Dharma realm” 〔T09n0278 0628b23〕, which the eighty lacks. (c) For the answer the eighty has 「但由器壞，非日有咎」 tr. “it is only because the vessel is ruined; it is not that the sun has any fault” 〔T10n0279 0276b23〕 and the sixty 「水器破，故日影不現」 tr. “the water vessel is broken, and therefore the sun’s reflection does not appear” 〔T09n0278 0628b27〕.

Clause Seven　The Simile of Fire

Clause Eight　The Simile of the Conjuror

Where the variation lies: (a) The eighty’s 「以幻力持經劫而住」 tr. “by the power of conjuring he sustains it and abides through eons” 〔T10n0279 0276c07〕 against the sixty’s 「住持幻身，壽命無盡」 tr. “he sustains the conjured body, whose lifespan is without end” 〔T09n0278 0628c14〕. (b) The sixty sets forth besides the place 「大王之都」 tr. “the capitals of the great kings”, where the eighty has 「一切國土」 tr. “all the lands”. (c) The eighty’s 「隱身不現」 tr. “he hides his body and appears no more” against the sixty’s 「便捨幻身」 tr. “forthwith casts off the conjured body”.

Clause Nine　The Cloud of Bodies of the Immovable Samādhi

Where the variation lies: (a) The eighty’s 「入不動三昧」 tr. “he enters the immovable samādhi” against the sixty’s 「先入不動三昧」 tr. “he first enters the immovable samādhi”. (b) The eighty’s 「不可說」 tr. “unspeakably many” against the sixty’s 「不可說不可說」 tr. “unspeakably, unspeakably many”. (c) The eighty’s 「華蘂」 tr. “flower-stamens” against the sixty’s 「華鬚」 tr. “flower-filaments”. (d) For the numerals, the eighty’s 「百千億那由他」 tr. “hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas” against the sixty’s 「億千那由他」 tr. “koṭis of thousands of nayutas”.

Clause Ten　The Concluding Return

Where the variation lies: (a) The subject in the eighty is 「如來住於」 tr. “the Tathāgata abides in”, while the subject in the sixty is 「此菩薩摩訶薩知、見如來涅槃」 tr. “this bodhisattva-mahāsattva knows and sees the Tathāgata’s nirvāṇa” 〔T09n0278 0629a09〕 — Fazang’s ten concluding items are assigned, item by item, to the eight gates before, precisely upon this clause of the sixty 〔T35n1733 0415c26〕. (b) The eighty has the clause ‘there is no time when he rests’, which the sixty lacks. (c) The sixty has the item 「淨如虛空」 tr. “clean as space”, where the eighty, in the list before, has 「虛空界」 tr. “the realm of space”.

Clause Eleven　The First and the Last of the Verses in Repetition

Where the variation lies: (a) In the number of verses, the eighty has six verses of seven graphs and the sixty ten verses of five graphs — Chengguan assigns the six verses to the ten gates 〔T35n1735 0885c08〕 and Fazang assigns the ten verses to the eight gates 〔T35n1733 0416a07〕, each of the two houses assigning according to the witness before him. (b) In the last verse the eighty has for its second line 「如無滅性佛涅槃」 tr. “as with the nature that has no ceasing, so does the Buddha enter nirvāṇa”, while the sixty has 「猶如無生性」 tr. “just as with the nature that has no arising” for both lines (taking both the arising in the world and the nirvāṇa on the pattern of no-arising). (c) The eighty’s 「一切義成無與等」 tr. “every meaning is accomplished, beyond compare” against the sixty’s 「天中天難勝，具足一切德」 tr. “the god among gods, hard to surpass, is furnished with every virtue” 〔T09n0278 0629b09〕.

V. Scriptural Grounds of Sectarian Doctrine (the doctrinal eye)

(1) The arising that is the same as no arising is itself nature-arising — Fazang labels the outline of this sense outright as 「性起涅槃」 tr. “the nirvāṇa of nature-arising”, and under the first gate sets up a question and answer of his own that points out why it is nature-arising:

「何故不約彼性淨門說此真如即是涅槃，乃言猶如耶？釋云：若約真如實際即涅槃者，此即但是性無有起義；若但取彼化現涅槃，即但是起無有性義。今顯起同不起，明是性起，即是約會事同理說性起。」 tr. “Why does it not, with respect to that gate of the purity of nature, say that this suchness is itself nirvāṇa, but says rather ‘just as’? The explanation: if one takes suchness and the true limit as being identical with nirvāṇa, this is only the nature without any sense of arising; and if one takes only that nirvāṇa which is manifested in transforming, this is only arising without any sense of nature. Now, showing the arising to be the same as no arising, it is made clear that this is nature-arising, that is, nature-arising spoken of by way of gathering the phenomenon into sameness with the principle.” 〔T35n1733 0415b01〕

The reason the ten ‘just so’ clauses do not say 「即」 tr. “is identical with” but say 「如」 tr. “just as” has its key here: say 「即」 tr. “is identical with” and the arising is lost; say 「起」 tr. “arising” alone and the nature is lost; say 「如」 tr. “just as”, and nature and arising are both preserved — the doctrinal backbone of the whole Chapter on the Appearance of the Tathāgata is nowhere so plainly seen as in this one sentence.

(2) Nirvāṇa is named extinction, and yet this lies in what has no extinction — Chengguan explains the closing lines of the first gate:

「是知玄道存於妙悟，妙悟在於即真，即真則生滅齊觀，齊觀則彼此莫二，所以真如與我同根，法性與我一體。真既不滅，應滅寧真？是知涅槃名滅者，乃在於無滅者矣。」 tr. “Know then that the dark path lies in wondrous awakening, and that wondrous awakening lies in being identical with the true; being identical with the true, arising and ceasing are viewed as equal; viewing them as equal, this and that are not two. And so suchness shares one root with me, and the nature of dharmas is one substance with me. Since the true is not extinguished, how should the responsive extinction be the true? Know then that nirvāṇa is named extinction, and yet this lies in that which has no extinction.” 〔T35n1735 0884c12〕

(3) Distinguishing it from the ashes-and-cutting-off — Chengguan: 「標中，約人顯實，云不為菩薩，明說永滅是為二乘，迹盡雙樹並為凡小，據此亦名揀異灰斷。」 tr. “In the heading, with respect to the person addressed the real is displayed: it says ‘not for bodhisattvas’, making clear that saying he is extinguished forever is for the two vehicles, and that the ending of the traces between the twin trees is alike for the ordinary and the lesser — on this ground it is also named distinguishing it from the ashes-and-cutting-off.” 〔T35n1735 0884c18〕 Fazang labels a gate with the same name, and attaches to it its proper range:

「標中不為菩薩說究竟永滅者，是約人顯實，謂於二乘亦說如來永斷滅，故今就大機實教盡理，故不說也。」 tr. “That in the heading he does not for bodhisattvas speak of an ultimate and everlasting extinction is a displaying of the real with respect to the person addressed: that is, to the two vehicles it is also said that the Tathāgata is forever cut off and extinguished; and so now, with respect to the great capacity and the real teaching, the principle being exhausted, it is not spoken of.” 〔T35n1733 0415b07〕

And he sets up a further question and answer making clear the difference between 「不說究竟」 tr. “not speaking of an ultimate” and 「總無涅槃」 tr. “there being no nirvāṇa at all”: 「何故不云總無涅槃，乃云不說究竟涅槃？釋云：為諸菩薩亦說方便示現涅槃，但非究竟。」 tr. “Why does it not say that there is no nirvāṇa at all, but says rather that he does not speak of an ultimate nirvāṇa? The explanation: because to bodhisattvas too there is spoken a nirvāṇa manifested by skillful means; only it is not ultimate.” 〔T35n1733 0415b12〕 And he cites the sixth fascicle of the Sūtra of the Cutting Off of the Bonds in the Ten Abodes, 「佛告最勝：三世諸佛世尊有名號已來，吾未見泥洹者。」 tr. “The Buddha said to Most Excellent: from the time the buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, of the three times have had names until now, I have not seen one that entered final quiescence.” 〔0415b15〕 and, further on in this scripture, 「善財知識長者，開栴檀佛塔，見三世諸佛無涅槃者。」 tr. “Sudhana’s good friend the elder opens the sandalwood stūpa of the buddhas, and he sees that of the buddhas of the three times not one has entered nirvāṇa.” 〔0415b17〕

(4) The fault lies with the vessel and not with the sun — the eye of the simile of the sun’s reflection lies in 「非日有咎」 tr. “it is not that the sun has any fault” 〔T10n0279 0276b23〕. Chengguan’s conjoining: 「像非我有，自彼器之虧盈；心非我生，豈普現之前後？」 tr. “The image is not the sun’s own; it follows the waning and the filling of the vessel yonder. The mind is not of my producing; how then should there be a before and an after in that universal manifesting?” 〔T35n1735 0885a14〕 And, brought down to practice: 「持戒器破，定水無依；菩提器破，智水寧止？無信清珠故心水渾濁，何由見佛耶？」 tr. “When the vessel of the precepts is broken, the water of concentration has nothing to rest in; when the vessel of the awakening-mind is broken, how shall the water of wisdom be held? And lacking the clear pearl of faith, the water of the mind is turbid — by what means should one see the Buddha?” 〔0885a18〕 — the responsibility for whether or not one sees the Buddha rests wholly with the vessel of the one who sees, and this is the stroke in this sense that comes nearest to the reader.

(5) The concluding return to the nirvāṇa of non-abiding — Chengguan explains the tenth gate:

「是則初住實際故，不住生死；後不捨眾生故，不住涅槃。由雙住故，能俱不住。前即大智，後即大悲。大悲般若常所輔翼，為無住涅槃。」 tr. “Thus, because he first abides in the true limit, he does not abide in birth-and-death; and because he afterwards does not forsake sentient beings, he does not abide in nirvāṇa. Because he abides in both, he is able not to abide in either. The former is great wisdom, the latter great compassion. Great compassion and prajñā ever attend upon one another, and this is the nirvāṇa of non-abiding.” 〔T35n1735 0885c03〕

And he makes clear the ranges of the four kinds of nirvāṇa: 「自性涅槃，眾生等有，二乘無學容有前三，唯佛世尊獨言具四，故就無住總以結之，即安住涅槃建大事也。」 tr. “The nirvāṇa of one’s own nature is possessed by sentient beings alike; those of the two vehicles beyond learning may have the first three; and only of the Buddha, the World-Honored One, is it said that he alone is furnished with all four. And so it is with respect to non-abiding that the whole is concluded — which is to say, abiding in nirvāṇa he establishes the great matter.” 〔T35n1735 0885c06〕 — the closing sentence of this sense, 「不捨一切眾生、一切剎、一切法」 tr. “he forsakes not one sentient being, not one land, not one dharma” 〔T10n0279 0277a02〕, is the scriptural ground of that non-abiding.

(6) The function of nirvāṇa is itself the gate of the appearance — under the gate that displays the function Chengguan cites the Nirvāṇa Sūtra: 「故《涅槃》云『能建大事則出現法門』，皆斯用也。」 tr. “Therefore the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says, ‘to be able to establish the great matter is the gate of the Dharma of the appearance’; all this is that function.” 〔T35n1735 0884b16〕 — and here lies the ground of why the single gate of nirvāṇa is attached to the Chapter on the Appearance of the Tathāgata.

VI. Divergent Interpretations of the Commentators

Chengguan, Huayan jing shu T35n1735 (following the text of the eighty-fascicle Avataṃsaka · principal)

The opening of the chapter in five divisions: 「今以無名強名，亦為五別：一釋名……二出體性……三顯種類……四彰業用……第五釋文」 tr. “Now, giving it by force a name where there is no name, it is also set out in five divisions: first, explaining the name … second, setting forth the substance and nature … third, displaying the kinds … fourth, displaying the function … fifth, explaining the text.” 〔T35n1735 0884a17〕.

Explaining the name, the three greatnesses:

「若約義開，略明三義：一者體大，自性清淨故；二者相大，方便修淨，累亡德備故；三者用大，化用無盡故。」 tr. “If it is opened with respect to its sense, three senses are made clear in brief: first, the greatness of substance, for it is pure in its own nature; second, the greatness of characteristic, for by skillful means it is cultivated into purity, encumbrance gone and virtue complete; third, the greatness of function, for the function of transforming is inexhaustible.” 〔T35n1735 0884a21〕

Setting forth the substance and nature, the three dharmas:

「今以義求，不出三法，即摩訶般若、解脫、法身以為其體……然此三種，不離一如，德用分異，即寂之照為般若、即照之寂為解脫、寂照之體為法身。」 tr. “Now if it is sought with respect to its sense, it does not go beyond three dharmas: mahā-prajñā, liberation, and the Dharma body are taken as its substance … Now these three kinds are not apart from the one suchness, while in virtue and function they are divided and differ: the illumining that is identical with the stillness is prajñā; the stillness that is identical with the illumining is liberation; and the substance of stillness-and-illumining is the Dharma body.” 〔T35n1735 0884a27〕

Displaying the kinds:

「或唯說一，即大涅槃。或說有二，自有三門：一餘無餘、二性淨方便淨、三真與應。或分為三，此有二種：一約三乘、二即自性真應。或分為四……有餘無餘義通大小，今唯說大。於三種內不明二乘，餘皆具論融而無礙，為大涅槃。如文具之，非獨應滅。」 tr. “Or only one is spoken of, namely the great nirvāṇa. Or two are said to be, and of these there are three gates: first, with remainder and without remainder; second, purity of nature and purity of skillful means; third, the true and the responsive. Or it is divided into three, and of this there are two kinds: first, with respect to the three vehicles; second, namely one’s own nature, the true, and the responsive. Or it is divided into four … The sense of with remainder and without remainder runs through both the great and the small, and here only the great is spoken of. Within the three kinds the two vehicles are not made clear, and all the rest are discussed in full, fused and unobstructed, as the great nirvāṇa. It is as the text sets out in full; it is not the responsive extinction alone.” 〔T35n1735 0884b08〕

The two accounts of awakening and nirvāṇa, by divided characteristics and by gathered characteristics:

「若分相說，菩提為能證智，唯是修生；涅槃是所證理，唯約修顯……若攝相說，菩提是即理之智，涅槃是即智之理。即智之理不礙摩訶般若，即理之智不礙寂滅菩提。」 tr. “If it is spoken of by divided characteristics, awakening is the wisdom that realizes and is only produced by cultivation, while nirvāṇa is the principle realized and is only displayed by cultivation … If it is spoken of by gathered characteristics, awakening is the wisdom that is identical with the principle, and nirvāṇa is the principle that is identical with the wisdom. The principle that is identical with the wisdom does not obstruct mahā-prajñā, and the wisdom that is identical with the principle does not obstruct quiescently extinguished awakening.” 〔T35n1735 0885a25〕

Fazang, Tanxuan ji T35n1733 (the commentary on the Chapter on the Nature-Arising of the Jewel-King Tathāgata in the sixty-fascicle Avataṃsaka)

The five gates and the eight gates: the five gates follow Chengguan’s opening of the chapter, while 「前四如別說」 tr. “the first four are as separately expounded” 〔T35n1733 0415a19〕, and the explaining of the text is made into eight gates (see heading I). The three parts of the first gate: 「就初門中三：先舉法勸知……二『如如』下正辨所知，先標一如門以會涅槃……三『何以故』下釋法同喻，亦是釋事同理。」 tr. “Within the first gate there are three: first, raising the dharma and urging that it be known … second, under ‘just as suchness’, directly discerning what is to be known, first setting up the gate of the one suchness so as to gather nirvāṇa in … third, under ‘why is this’, explaining that the dharma is the same as the simile, which is also explaining that the phenomenon is the same as the principle.” 〔T35n1733 0415a23〕

The ten concluding items assigned to the gates (the outline of the concluding passage) — Fazang assigns, item by item, the concluding clause of the sixty-fascicle text to the eight gates before:

「三無障礙者，結起盡隨緣門，明滅與不滅無有障礙。四不生滅者，結隨器虧盈門……五淨如虛空者，結不礙出沒門……六安住實際者，結前最初體實真常門……七隨其所應示現者，通結諸門內應機現用文也。八本願所持不捨眾生、九不捨剎、十不捨法，此三結末後用窮來際門」 tr. “Third, ‘without any obstruction’ concludes the gate of arising and ending according to conditions, making clear that extinction and non-extinction have no obstruction between them. Fourth, ‘does not arise and does not cease’ concludes the gate of waning and filling according to the vessel … Fifth, ‘clean as space’ concludes the gate of not being obstructed by appearing and sinking away … Sixth, ‘abides in the true limit’ concludes the first gate before, of the substance real and truly constant … Seventh, ‘manifests according to what is fitting’ concludes in general the text of responding to capacities and manifesting function within all the gates. Eighth, ‘sustained by the original vow, he forsakes not sentient beings’; ninth, ‘forsakes not lands’; tenth, ‘forsakes not dharmas’ — these three conclude the last gate, of the function exhausting the future.” 〔T35n1733 0415c27〕

Chengguan, Yanyi chao T36n1736

The commentary in three parts · the source it draws upon:

「第九出現涅槃。疏文分三：初來意、二彰大旨、三開章別釋……疏『然大涅槃』下，第二總明大旨以顯深玄。多用肇公《涅槃無名論》，有十演九折。」 tr. “Ninth, the nirvāṇa of the appearance. The text of the commentary is divided into three: first, the reason for its coming; second, the displaying of the great purport; third, the opening of the chapter and the separate glossing … Under the commentary’s ‘now the great nirvāṇa’, second, the general setting forth of the great purport so as to display the profound and dark. Much use is made of Master Zhao’s Treatise on Nirvāṇa Being Without a Name, which has ten expositions and nine refutations.” 〔T36n1736 0630a28〕

The list of the ten expositions and nine refutations: 「十演者，謂一開宗、二位體、三超境、四妙存、五辯差、六會異、七明漸、八動寂、九通古、十玄得。九折者，一覈體、二徵出、三搜玄、四難差、五責異、六詰漸、七譏動、八窮源、九考得。」 tr. “The ten expositions are: first, opening the source; second, placing the substance; third, transcending the object; fourth, the wondrous abiding; fifth, discerning the differences; sixth, reconciling the divergences; seventh, clarifying the gradual; eighth, motion and stillness; ninth, penetrating the ancient; tenth, the dark attaining. The nine refutations are: first, examining the substance; second, questioning the coming forth; third, searching the dark; fourth, objecting to the differences; fifth, challenging the divergences; sixth, interrogating the gradual; seventh, mocking motion; eighth, exhausting the source; ninth, testing the attaining.” 〔T36n1736 0630b04〕 And he attaches the reason for it: 「今多用者，亦顯肇公憑此經故。」 tr. “The reason so much use is made of it now is that it also shows that Master Zhao relied upon this scripture.” 〔0630b10〕

The ground for the forced naming: 「《涅槃》二十一云『羝羅波夷名為食油蟲，無有名字，強立名字。善男子！是大涅槃亦復如是，無有名字，強立名字。』」 tr. “The twenty-first fascicle of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says, ‘tailapāyī is the name of an oil-eating insect; it has no name, and a name is set up for it by force. Good man! This great nirvāṇa is likewise: it has no name, and a name is set up for it by force.’” 〔T36n1736 0630b21〕 And again: 「則無名亦假。」 tr. “then even ‘without a name’ is provisional.” 〔0630b28〕

The many ways of rendering by sense: 「言多方者，或云不生、或云無作、或云無起，亦云無為、亦云無相，或云不滅、或云寂靜、或曰安隱、或名解脫，皆是義翻。」 tr. “As for ‘many ways’: some say ‘not arising’, some ‘without making’, some ‘without rising’; some also say ‘unconditioned’ and ‘without characteristic’; some say ‘not ceasing’, some ‘still and quiet’, some ‘at peace’, and some name it ‘liberation’ — all of these are renderings by sense.” 〔T36n1736 0630c02〕 And he attaches the ancient masters’ proper rendering: 「《法華．序品》長行之中，便於中夜入無餘涅槃，次即云『佛滅度』，後偈中又云『佛此夜滅度』，明知古德正翻為滅，亦云滅度，超度四流故。」 tr. “In the prose of the Chapter on the Introduction of the Lotus, he forthwith at midnight entered the nirvāṇa without remainder, and immediately after it says ‘the Buddha passed into extinction’, and in the verses that follow it again says ‘the Buddha this night passed into extinction’ — from which it is plainly known that the proper rendering of the ancient masters was ‘extinction’, and also ‘extinction and passing over’, because it passes over and beyond the four floods.” 〔0630c05〕

Li Tongxuan, Xin Huayan jing lun T36n1739

No outline division belonging specifically to this sense is found — 〔not found〕.

Recorded without adjudication: as for the outline of the explaining of the text, Chengguan divides it into ten gates (the substance and nature truly constant · virtue and function perfectly complete · appearing and sinking away, ever clear and still · waning and filling without shifting · showing extinction, wondrously abiding · arising and ending according to conditions · abiding and vanishing manifested throughout one another · the great function without bound · the substance apart from the two extremes · the concluding return to non-abiding), and Fazang divides it into eight gates (the substance real and truly constant · distinguishing it from the ashes-and-cutting-off · not obstructed by appearing and sinking away · waning and filling according to the vessel · arising and ending according to conditions · abiding and vanishing ever clear and still · the function exhausting the future · the general conclusion of what is to be known); the two houses set up the name of the second gate differently (Chengguan gives 「德用圓備」 tr. “virtue and function perfectly complete” and takes 「揀異灰斷」 tr. “distinguishing it from the ashes-and-cutting-off” as its alternative name, while Fazang takes 「簡異灰斷」 tr. “distinguishing it from the ashes-and-cutting-off” outright as the name of the gate), and they differ also in the order and assignment of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth gates (Chengguan’s 「隨緣起盡」 tr. “arising and ending according to conditions” answers to the simile of fire and his 「存亡互現」 tr. “abiding and vanishing manifested throughout one another” to the simile of the conjuror, while Fazang’s 「隨器虧盈」 tr. “waning and filling according to the vessel” answers to the simile of the sun’s reflection, and the assignments of his 「起盡隨緣」 tr. “arising and ending according to conditions” and 「存亡常湛」 tr. “abiding and vanishing ever clear and still” are seen in his concluding passage); and as for the assigning of the verses to the gates, Chengguan, following the eighty-fascicle text with its six verses, makes five assignments, while Fazang, following the sixty-fascicle text with its ten verses, makes four or more. The opening and closing of the number of gates, and the closeness with which the verses are assigned — there are divergent explanations of old; they are recorded, and no adjudication is made.

VII. Cross-Reading and Lineage

• The Chapter on the Nature-Arising of the Jewel-King Tathāgata in the sixty-fascicle Avataṃsaka 〔T09n0278 0628b06–0629b10〕: the complete parallel translation of this sense, with the structure of the scene entirely the same (the question raised · the ten ‘just so’ · not speaking of an ultimate · the simile of the sun’s reflection · the simile of fire · the simile of the conjuror · the cloud of bodies of the immovable samādhi · the concluding return · the verses in repetition); for the clause-by-clause collation see heading IV.
• The Huayan school’s doctrine of nature-arising: Fazang, on the sixty-fascicle text, labels the outline of this sense outright as 「性起涅槃」 tr. “the nirvāṇa of nature-arising” 〔T35n1733 0415a16〕, and with 「起同不起，明是性起」 tr. “showing the arising to be the same as no arising, it is made clear that this is nature-arising” 〔0415b05〕 explains the word 「如」 tr. “just as” of the ten ‘just so’ clauses — the scriptural ground of the gate of nature-arising lies here. 〔recorded without adjudication〕
• The scriptures and treatises cited by the commentary and the subcommentary (all of them citations by the ancient masters · this apparatus sets up no further doctrinal judgment): the Nirvāṇa Sūtra 〔T35n1735 0884b17·0884c22·0884c25·0885b20; T36n1736 0630b21·0630c11〕 · the Laṅkāvatāra 〔T35n1735 0884c27〕 · the tenth fascicle of the She dasheng lun 〔T35n1735 0885a16·0885b12; T35n1733 0415b25〕 · the Lotus Sūtra 〔T35n1735 0885b11; T36n1736 0630c05〕 · the sixth fascicle of the Sūtra of the Cutting Off of the Bonds in the Ten Abodes 〔T35n1733 0415b15〕 · the Vimalakīrti Sūtra (the Jingming) 〔T36n1736 0630b19〕 · Sengzhao’s Treatise on Nirvāṇa Being Without a Name 〔T36n1736 0630b04〕.
• The Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna, T32n1666: tested with 「性起」 tr. “nature-arising”, there are no hits in the whole file — 〔not found〕. Although 「涅槃」 tr. “nirvāṇa” occurs often there, it belongs to the general doctrine of that treatise (the gate of arising-and-ceasing viewed against the gate of suchness) and is not cited specifically for this sense; this is recorded as it stands, without forcing a citation.
• Fazang’s Treatise on the Divisions of the Doctrine of the One Vehicle of the Huayan, T45n1866: no citation belonging specifically to this sense (the ninth sense, nirvāṇa) is found (the clauses from the Chapter on Nature-Arising cited throughout that work are none of them cited for the ninth sense alone) — 〔not found〕.
• The Ten Mysterious Gates, T45n1868 · the Mirror of the Mystery of the Dharma Realm, T45n1883: the hits for 「涅槃」 tr. “nirvāṇa” are all of them general doctrinal usage, and no joined phrase with 「性起品」 tr. “the Chapter on Nature-Arising” or 「如來出現」 tr. “the appearance of the Tathāgata” is found — 〔nothing found belonging specifically to this sense〕.
• The treatises of the lineage (the Cheng weishi lun T31n1585 · the She dasheng lun T31n1594 · the Yogācārabhūmi T30n1579 · the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra T16n0676): this sense has no treatise-gloss quoting the text, and no direct quotation of it is found in this apparatus — recorded as a lack, as it stands, and no text from elsewhere is put in its place 〔not found〕. (The tenth fascicle of the She lun cited by Chengguan and by Fazang is a citation made by the commentators, and is listed under the heading above; it is not a link in the lineage of this sense.)

VIII. Edition Location Register

• Śikṣānanda T279 (the base text): the ninth sense of the Chapter on the Appearance of the Tathāgata, the thirty-seventh, the parinirvāṇa, beginning 〔T10n0279 0276a29〕 and ending 〔up to just before 0277a16〕 (the seventh assembly, the return to the palace of Universal Light · fascicle fifty-two). The order of the passages: the question raised and the root nature 〔0276a29〕 · the nirvāṇa of the ten ‘just so’ 〔0276b01〕 · no arising and no coming forth 〔0276b10〕 · not speaking to bodhisattvas of an ultimate nirvāṇa 〔0276b11〕 · delight and longing, and abiding ever in the pure Dharma realm 〔0276b17–0276b18〕 · the simile of the sun’s reflection 〔0276b19〕 · the conjoining of the sun of wisdom 〔0276b23〕 · those who ought to be liberated by nirvāṇa 〔0276b26〕 · the simile of fire 〔0276b28〕 · the conjoining of the simile of fire 〔0276c02〕 · the simile of the conjuror 〔0276c06〕 · the conjoining of the simile of the conjuror 〔0276c11〕 · the cloud of bodies of the immovable samādhi 〔0276c17〕 · the number of the buddha-bodies equal to the number of sentient beings 〔0276c22〕 · the body without fixed place, neither real nor empty 〔0276c26〕 · the concluding return 〔0277a01〕 · the six verses in repetition 〔0277a〕. 〔recorded · the granularity of the sources〕 For the passage of the verses in repetition the sources at the level of the line of each verse have not been collated (the final verse, 0277a14, has been checked); this apparatus does not adopt undetermined line numbers, and marks them at the level of the column, 〔0276c〕〔0277a〕.
• Buddhabhadra T278 (the Jin translation, the principal witness for collation): the fourth part of the Chapter on the Nature-Arising of the Jewel-King Tathāgata, the thirty-second, beginning 〔T09n0278 0628b06〕 and ending 〔0629b10〕 (fascicle thirty-six). The question raised 0628b06 · the ten ‘just so’ 0628b08 · not a dharma of arising and ceasing 0628b13 · not expounding for bodhisattvas 0628b14 · rejoicing and yearning 0628b19 · the simile of the sun’s reflection 0628b23 · the conjoining of the sun of wisdom 0628b28 · the simile of the great fire 0628c04 · the conjoining of the simile of fire 0628c08 · the simile of the conjuror 0628c12 · the conjoining of the simile of the conjuror 0628c17 · the immovable samādhi 0628c24 · the buddha-bodies equal to the number of sentient beings 0629a01 · the body without a place 0629a05 · the concluding return 0629a09 · the verses in repetition beginning 0629a13 (the first verse 0629a15 · the last verse 0629b06).
• Chengguan, Shu, T35n1735: the ninth, the nirvāṇa of the appearance, beginning 0884a14 and ending just before 0885c13. The reason for its coming 0884a14 · the great purport 0884a15 · the opening of the chapter in five divisions 0884a17 · explaining the name 0884a18 (the three greatnesses 0884a22 · the syllable having the sense of entering 0884a24) · setting forth the substance and nature 0884a25 (the three dharmas 0884a27 · the simile of the round pearl 0884b03 · the secret treasury 0884b05) · displaying the kinds 0884b07 (the four kinds 0884b11) · displaying the function 0884b15 (citing the Nirvāṇa Sūtra 0884b17) · the ten gates of the explaining of the text 0884b18 · the three parts of gate one 0884b24 (the root nature 0884b25 · pointing to the principle being the same as the phenomenon 0884c01 · listing the ten names 0884c05 · explaining and displaying the mark of sameness 0884c08 · the closing lines 0884c12) · gate two, virtue and function perfectly complete 0884c16 (distinguishing it from the ashes-and-cutting-off 0884c19 · citing the Nirvāṇa Sūtra 0884c22 · citing the Laṅkāvatāra 0884c27) · gate three, appearing and sinking away, ever clear and still 0885a05 (remainder and no remainder as provisional titles 0885a08) · gate four, waning and filling without shifting 0885a12 (citing the She lun 0885a16 · the vessel broken 0885a18 · awakening and nirvāṇa by divided and by gathered characteristics 0885a25) · gate five, showing extinction, wondrously abiding 0885b05 · gate six, arising and ending according to conditions 0885b06 (the assigning of the firewood and the fire 0885b07 · citing the Lotus 0885b11 · nirvāṇa is like fire 0885b12) · gate seven, abiding and vanishing manifested throughout one another 0885b14 · gate eight, the great function without bound 0885b17 (the offering of Cunda 0885b20) · gate nine, the substance apart from the two extremes 0885b21 · gate ten, the concluding return to non-abiding 0885b26 (abiding in both and not abiding in either 0885c02 · the ranges of the four nirvāṇas 0885c06) · the assigning of the six verses 0885c08.
• Chengguan, Chao, T36n1736: the ninth, the nirvāṇa of the appearance, beginning 0630a28. The commentary in three parts 0630a29 · the great purport drawing on Master Zhao 0630b03 · the ten expositions and nine refutations 0630b04 · the nine streams returning together 0630b13 · nirvāṇa as a path 0630b17 · citing the Jingming 0630b19 · a name set up by force 0630b21 · the outward appellations and provisional names of the ‘Placing of the Substance’ 0630b23 · the full rendering ‘great perfect quiescence entered’ 0630b29 · the many ways of rendering by sense 0630c02 · citing the Chapter on the Introduction of the Lotus 0630c05 · the rendering by sense of the Tripiṭaka master of the Tang 0630c08 · the simile of the great void 0630c11 · the three greatnesses 0630c13 · the out-breath and the in-breath 0630c17 · the three enterings matched to the three greatnesses 0630c20. (The subcommentary’s gloss on this sense exceeds the commentary in length; only its opening passage is collated in this apparatus.)
• Fazang, Tanxuan ji, T35n1733: the ninth, making clear the nirvāṇa of nature-arising, beginning 0415a16 and ending just before 0416a09. The reason for its coming 0415a16 · the five gates 0415a18 · the names of the eight gates 0415a20 · the three parts of gate one 0415a23 (the gate of the one suchness 0415a25 · the nine below on the same pattern 0415a27 · explaining that the phenomenon is the same as the principle, and nature-arising 0415a29–0415b06) · gate two, distinguishing it from the ashes-and-cutting-off 0415b07 (displaying the real with respect to the person addressed 0415b08 · the explanation of not speaking of an ultimate 0415b12 · citing the Sūtra of the Cutting Off of the Bonds in the Ten Abodes 0415b15 · the sandalwood stūpa of the buddhas 0415b17 · bringing forth the wondrous form 0415b18) · gate three, not obstructed by appearing and sinking away 0415b20 · gate four, waning and filling according to the vessel 0415b23 (citing the tenth fascicle of Asvabhāva’s She lun 0415b25) · the ten concluding items of the concluding passage assigned to the gates 0415c26–0416a07 · the outline of the verses 0416a07. 〔The range 0415b26–0415c25 is not collated in this apparatus, and nothing within that range is cited.〕
• Li Tongxuan, Lun, T36n1739: an outline division belonging specifically to this sense 〔not found〕.
• Variant readings: within the range of T279 covered by this unit, 〔0276a29〕–〔0277a15〕, the Taishō base text carries 2 collation notes, recorded one by one without adjudication (base reading 【大】｜variant readings of other witnesses, several witnesses separated by ／): 〔0276c21〕跏【大】｜加【宋】【元】【宮】【聖】 · 〔0277a04〕照【大】｜明【聖】. The interlinear notes (phonetic and collation glosses) were stripped and recorded at the level of the original-text layer.