華嚴經 品三十九 入法界品 · 文殊師利（寄十信）Avataṃsaka Sūtra · Entering the Dharma Realm · Mañjuśrī (Assigned to the Ten Faiths)
四十一位善知識，四十位都是十人一位。只有第一位，一個人。
為什麼？澄觀答得極短——「初文殊一人寄十信，信未成位，故但一人」。
信還沒有成為一個位。十住可以住、十行可以行、十地可以入，位位有體段，所以各配十人以顯位中之十門。信沒有體段，它只是門口的那一步；一個人就夠了，多了反而像有階級可爬。
而這一步偏偏是整條路的起點。文殊表能信之心，普賢表所依法界；善財最初見文殊而發心，最後見普賢而位滿——一頭一尾，把五十三參夾在中間。
還要記住一件事：『寄位』這個判，不是經文自己說的。澄觀立五相之前，先錄了不配位的一家，說「二皆有理」，然後才說「且依古德配為五相」。一個「且依」，把分寸交代清楚了——尺是後人量的，路是經文走的。
文殊末後只給善財一件事做：「應決定求真善知識。」
信未成位，所以只有一人；也所以，這一人指出去的那條路，要靠五十三個人走完。
且信到此地。
Of the forty-one good friends, forty of them are ten persons to one stage. Only the first is a single person.
Why? Chengguan answers in the shortest possible way: the first, Mañjuśrī, one person assigned to the ten faiths — faith has not yet become a stage, and so there is only one person.
Faith has not yet become a stage. The ten abodes can be abided in, the ten practices can be practiced, the ten grounds can be entered; every stage has a body and a span to it, and so ten persons are assigned to each so as to display the ten gates within that stage. Faith has no body or span; it is only that one step at the doorway, and one person is enough — more would look like a ladder of ranks to be climbed.
And that one step is precisely where the whole road begins. Mañjuśrī stands for the mind that is able to have faith, Samantabhadra for the Dharma realm that is relied upon; Sudhana at the first sees Mañjuśrī and gives rise to the mind, and at the last sees Samantabhadra and his stage is full — head and tail, with the fifty-three visits held between them.
One more thing is to be remembered: the judgment called assignment to a stage is not something the sūtra text says of itself. Before Chengguan set up the five marks, he first recorded the house that does not assign the stages, said that both have their reason, and only then said for the present I follow the ancient worthies and assign them as five marks. That one word, for the present, states the measure of the thing plainly — the ruler was laid on by later men; the road is the one the sūtra text walks.
At the very end Mañjuśrī gives Sudhana only one thing to do: he should with settled determination seek out a true good friend.
Faith has not yet become a stage, and so there is only one person; and for that same reason, the road that this one person points out takes fifty-three persons to walk to the end.
Let faith rest here for now.
〔T10 0330〕 爾時，文殊師利童子從善住樓閣出，與無量同行菩薩，及常隨侍衛諸金剛神、普為眾生供養諸佛諸身眾神、久發堅誓願常隨從諸足行神、樂聞妙法主地神、常修大悲主水神、智光照耀主火神、摩尼為冠主風神、明練十方一切儀式主方神、專勤除滅無明黑暗主夜神、一心匪懈闡明佛日主晝神、莊嚴法界一切虛空主空神、普度眾生超諸有海主海神、常勤積集趣一切智助道善根高大如山主山神、常勤守護一切眾生菩提心城主城神、常勤守護一切智智無上法城諸大龍王、常勤守護一切眾生諸夜叉王、常令眾生增長歡喜乾闥婆王、常勤除滅諸餓鬼趣鳩槃荼王、恒願拔濟一切眾生出諸有海迦樓羅王、願得成就諸如來身高出世間阿脩羅王、見佛歡喜曲躬恭敬摩睺羅伽王、常厭生死恒樂見佛諸大天王、尊重於佛讚歎供養諸大梵王。文殊師利與如是等功德莊嚴諸菩薩眾，出自住處，來詣佛所，右遶世尊，經無量匝，以諸供具種種供養；供養畢已，辭退南行，往於人間。 爾時，尊者舍利弗承佛神力，見文殊師利菩薩，與諸菩薩眾會莊嚴，出逝多林，往於南方，遊行人間；作如是念：「我今當與文殊師利俱往南方。」時，尊者舍利弗與六千比丘，前後圍遶，出自住處，來詣佛所，頂禮佛足，具白世尊；世尊聽許，右遶三匝，辭退而去，往文殊師利所。此六千比丘是舍利弗自所同住，出家未久，所謂：海覺比丘、善生比丘、福光比丘、大童子比丘、電生比丘、淨行比丘、天德比丘、君慧比丘、梵勝比丘、寂慧比丘……。如是等，其數六千，悉曾供養無量諸佛，深植善根，解力廣大，信眼明徹，其心寬博，觀佛境界，了法本性，饒益眾生，常樂勤求諸佛功德，皆是文殊師利說法教化之所成就。 〔T10 0331〕 爾時，尊者舍利弗在行道中觀諸比丘，告海覺言：「海覺！汝可觀察文殊師利菩薩清淨之身相好莊嚴，一切天人莫能思議。汝可觀察文殊師利圓光映徹，令無量眾生發歡喜心。汝可觀察文殊師利光網莊嚴，除滅眾生無量苦惱。汝可觀察文殊師利眾會具足，皆是菩薩往昔善根之所攝受。汝可觀察文殊師利所行之路，左右八步，平坦莊嚴。汝可觀察文殊師利所住之處，周迴十方常有道場隨逐而轉。汝可觀察文殊師利所行之路，具足無量福德莊嚴，左右兩邊有大伏藏，種種珍寶自然而出。汝可觀察文殊師利曾供養佛，善根所流，一切樹間出莊嚴藏。汝可觀察文殊師利，諸世間主雨供具雲，頂禮恭敬以為供養。汝可觀察文殊師利，十方一切諸佛如來將說法時，悉放眉間白毫相光來照其身，從頂上入。」 爾時，尊者舍利弗為諸比丘稱揚讚歎、開示演說文殊師利童子有如是等無量功德具足莊嚴。彼諸比丘聞是說已，心意清淨，信解堅固，喜不自持，舉身踊躍，形體柔軟，諸根悅豫，憂苦悉除，垢障咸盡，常見諸佛，深求正法，具菩薩根，得菩薩力，大悲大願皆自出生，入於諸度甚深境界，十方佛海常現在前，於一切智深生信樂；即白尊者舍利弗言：「唯願大師將引我等，往詣於彼勝人之所。」時，舍利弗即與俱行，至其所已，白言：「仁者！此諸比丘，願得奉覲。」 爾時，文殊師利童子，無量自在菩薩圍遶并其大眾，如象王迴觀諸比丘。時，諸比丘頂禮其足，合掌恭敬，作如是言：「我今奉見，恭敬禮拜，及餘所有一切善根。唯願仁者文殊師利、和尚舍利弗、世尊釋迦牟尼，皆悉證知！如仁所有如是色身、如是音聲、如是相好、如是自在，願我一切悉當具得。」 爾時，文殊師利菩薩告諸比丘言： 「比丘！若善男子、善女人，成就十種趣大乘法，則能速入如來之地，況菩薩地！何者為十？所謂：積集一切善根，心無疲厭。見一切佛承事供養，心無疲厭。求一切佛法，心無疲厭。行一切波羅蜜，心無疲厭。成就一切菩薩三昧，心無疲厭。次第入一切三世，心無疲厭。普嚴淨十方佛剎，心無疲厭。教化調伏一切眾生，心無疲厭。於一切剎一切劫中成就菩薩行，心無疲厭。為成熟一眾生故，修行一切佛剎微塵數波羅蜜，成就如來十力；如是次第，為成熟一切眾生界，成就如來一切力，心無疲厭。 「比丘！若善男子、善女人，成就深信，發此十種無疲厭心，則能長養一切善根，捨離一切諸生死趣，超過一切世間種姓，不墮聲聞、辟支佛地，生一切如來家，具一切菩薩願，學習一切如來功德，修行一切菩薩諸行，得如來力，摧伏眾魔及諸外道，亦能除滅一切煩惱，入菩薩地，近如來地。」 時，諸比丘聞此法已，則得三昧，名：無礙眼見一切佛境界。得此三昧故，悉見十方無量無邊一切世界諸佛如來，及其所有道場眾會；亦悉見彼十方世界一切諸趣所有眾生；亦悉見彼一切世界種種差別；亦悉見彼一切世界所有微塵；亦悉見彼諸世界中，一切眾生所住宮殿，以種種寶而為莊嚴；及亦聞彼諸佛如來種種言音演說諸法文辭訓釋，悉皆解了；亦能觀察彼世界中一切眾生諸根心欲；亦能憶念彼世界中一切眾生前後十生；亦能憶念彼世界中過去、未來各十劫事；亦能憶念彼諸如來十本生事、十成正覺、十轉法輪、十種神通、十種說法、十種教誡、十種辯才；又即成就十千菩提心、十千三昧、十千波羅蜜，悉皆清淨；得大智慧圓滿光明，得菩薩十神通，柔軟微妙，住菩提心，堅固不動。 爾時，文殊師利菩薩勸諸比丘住普賢行；住普賢行已，入大願海；入大願海已，成就大願海。以成就大願海故，心清淨；心清淨故，身清淨；身清淨故，身輕利；身清淨、輕利故，得大神通無有退轉；得此神通故，不離文殊師利足下，普於十方一切佛所悉現其身，具足成就一切佛法。
〔卷62〕
爾時，文殊師利菩薩勸諸比丘發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心已，漸次南行，經歷人間，至福城東，住莊嚴幢娑羅林中往昔諸佛曾所止住教化眾生大塔廟處，亦是世尊於往昔時修菩薩行能捨無量難捨之處；是故，此林名稱普聞無量佛剎，此處常為天、龍、夜叉、乾闥婆、阿脩羅、迦樓羅、緊那羅、摩睺羅伽、人與非人之所供養。
〔T10 0332〕
時，文殊師利與其眷屬到此處已，即於其處說普照法界修多羅，百萬億那由他修多羅以為眷屬。說此經時，於大海中有無量百千億諸龍而來其所；聞此法已，深厭龍趣，正求佛道，咸捨龍身，生天人中。一萬諸龍，於阿耨多羅三藐三菩提得不退轉；復有無量無數眾生，於三乘中各得調伏。
時，福城人聞文殊師利童子在莊嚴幢娑羅林中大塔廟處，無量大眾從其城出，來詣其所。時，有優婆塞，名曰：大智，與五百優婆塞眷屬俱，所謂：須達多優婆塞、婆須達多優婆塞、福德光優婆塞、有名稱優婆塞、施名稱優婆塞、月德優婆塞、善慧優婆塞、大慧優婆塞、賢護優婆塞、賢勝優婆塞……如是等五百優婆塞俱，來詣文殊師利童子所，頂禮其足，右遶三匝，退坐一面。復有五百優婆夷，所謂：大慧優婆夷、善光優婆夷、妙身優婆夷、可樂身優婆夷、賢優婆夷、賢德優婆夷、賢光優婆夷、幢光優婆夷、德光優婆夷、善目優婆夷……如是等五百優婆夷，來詣文殊師利童子所，頂禮其足，右遶三匝，退坐一面。復有五百童子，所謂：善財童子、善行童子、善戒童子、善威儀童子、善勇猛童子、善思童子、善慧童子、善覺童子、善眼童子、善臂童子、善光童子……如是等五百童子，來詣文殊師利童子所，頂禮其足，右遶三匝，退坐一面。復有五百童女，所謂：善賢童女、大智居士女童女、賢稱童女、美顏童女、堅慧童女、賢德童女、有德童女、梵授童女、德光童女、善光童女……如是等五百童女，來詣文殊師利童子所，頂禮其足，右遶三匝，退坐一面。
爾時，文殊師利童子知福城人悉已來集，隨其心樂現自在身，威光赫奕蔽諸大眾；以自在大慈令彼清涼，以自在大悲起說法心，以自在智慧知其心樂，以廣大辯才將為說法。復於是時，觀察善財以何因緣而有其名？知此童子初入胎時，於其宅內自然而出七寶樓閣，其樓閣下有七伏藏，於其藏上，地自開裂，生七寶芽，所謂：金、銀、瑠璃、玻瓈、真珠、硨磲、碼碯。善財童子處胎十月然後誕生，形體肢分端正具足；其七大藏，縱廣高下各滿七肘，從地涌出，光明照耀。復於宅中自然而有五百寶器，種種諸物自然盈滿。所謂：金剛器中盛一切香，於香器中盛種種衣，美玉器中盛滿種種上味飲食，摩尼器中盛滿種種殊異珍寶，金器盛銀，銀器盛金，金銀器中盛滿瑠璃及摩尼寶，玻瓈器中盛滿硨磲，硨磲器中盛滿玻瓈，碼碯器中盛滿真珠，真珠器中盛滿碼碯，火摩尼器中盛滿水摩尼，水摩尼器中盛滿火摩尼……。如是等五百寶器，自然出現。又雨眾寶及諸財物，一切庫藏悉令充滿。以此事故，父母親屬及善相師共呼此兒，名曰：善財。又知此童子，已曾供養過去諸佛，深種善根，信解廣大，常樂親近諸善知識，身、語、意業皆無過失，淨菩薩道，求一切智，成佛法器，其心清淨猶如虛空，迴向菩提無所障礙。
爾時，文殊師利菩薩如是觀察善財童子已，安慰開諭，而為演說一切佛法。所謂：說一切佛積集法，說一切佛相續法，說一切佛次第法，說一切佛眾會清淨法，說一切佛法輪化導法，說一切佛色身相好法，說一切佛法身成就法，說一切佛言辭辯才法，說一切佛光明照耀法，說一切佛平等無二法。爾時，文殊師利童子為善財童子及諸大眾說此法已，慇懃勸諭，增長勢力，令其歡喜，發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，又令憶念過去善根；作是事已，即於其處，復為眾生隨宜說法，然後而去。
爾時，善財童子從文殊師利所聞佛如是種種功德，一心勤求阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，隨文殊師利而說頌曰：
「三有為城廓，憍慢為垣牆，
諸趣為門戶，愛水為池塹。
愚癡闇所覆，貪恚火熾然，
魔王作君主，童蒙依止住。
貪愛為徽纆，諂誑為轡勒，
疑惑蔽其眼，趣入諸邪道。
慳嫉憍盈故，入於三惡處，
或墮諸趣中，生老病死苦。
妙智清淨日，大悲圓滿輪，
能竭煩惱海，願賜少觀察！
妙智清淨月，大慈無垢輪，
一切悉施安，願垂照察我！
一切法界王，法寶為先導，
遊空無所礙，願垂教敕我！
福智大商主，勇猛求菩提，
普利諸群生，願垂守護我！
身被忍辱甲，手提智慧劍，
自在降魔軍，願垂拔濟我！
住法須彌頂，定女常恭侍，
滅惑阿脩羅，帝釋願觀我！
三有凡愚宅，惑業地趣因；
仁者悉調伏，如燈示我道！
捨離諸惡趣，清淨諸善道；
超諸世間者，示我解脫門！
世間顛倒執，常樂我淨想；
智眼悉能離，開我解脫門！
善知邪正道，分別心無怯；
一切決了人，示我菩提路！
住佛正見地，長佛功德樹，
雨佛妙法華，示我菩提道！
去來現在佛，處處悉周遍，
如日出世間，為我說其道！
善知一切業，深達諸乘行；
智慧決定人，示我摩訶衍！
願輪大悲轂，信軸堅忍鎋，
功德寶莊校，令我載此乘！
總持廣大箱，慈愍莊嚴蓋，
辯才鈴震響，使我載此乘！
梵行為茵蓐，三昧為采女，
法鼓震妙音，願與我此乘！
四攝無盡藏，功德莊嚴寶，
慚愧為羈鞅，願與我此乘！
常轉布施輪，恒塗淨戒香，
忍辱牢莊嚴，令我載此乘！
禪定三昧箱，智慧方便軛，
調伏不退轉，令我載此乘！
大願清淨輪，總持堅固力，
智慧所成就，令我載此乘！
普行為周校，悲心作徐轉，
所向皆無怯，令我載此乘！
堅固如金剛，善巧如幻化，
一切無障礙，令我載此乘！
廣大極清淨，普與眾生樂，
虛空法界等，令我載此乘！
淨諸業惑輪，斷諸流轉苦，
摧魔及外道，令我載此乘！
智慧滿十方，莊嚴遍法界，
普洽眾生類，令我載此乘！
清淨如虛空，愛見悉除滅，
利益一切眾，令我載此乘！
願力速疾行，定心安隱住，
普運諸含識，令我載此乘！
如地不傾動，如水普饒益，
如是運眾生，令我載此乘！
四攝圓滿輪，總持清淨光；
如是智慧日，願示我令見！
已入法王城，已著智王冠，
已繫妙法繒，願能慈顧我！」
〔T10 0333〕
爾時，文殊師利菩薩如象王迴，觀善財童子，作如是言：「善哉善哉！善男子！汝已發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，復欲親近諸善知識，問菩薩行，修菩薩道。善男子！親近供養諸善知識，是具一切智最初因緣，是故於此勿生疲厭。」
善財白言：「唯願聖者廣為我說，菩薩應云何學菩薩行？應云何修菩薩行？應云何趣菩薩行？應云何行菩薩行？應云何淨菩薩行？應云何入菩薩行？應云何成就菩薩行？應云何隨順菩薩行？應云何憶念菩薩行？應云何增廣菩薩行？應云何令普賢行速得圓滿？」
爾時，文殊師利菩薩為善財童子而說頌言：
「善哉功德藏，能來至我所，
發起大悲心，勤求無上覺。
已發廣大願，除滅眾生苦，
普為諸世間，修行菩薩行。
若有諸菩薩，不厭生死苦，
則具普賢道，一切無能壞。
福光福威力，福處福淨海；
汝為諸眾生，願修普賢行。
汝見無邊際，十方一切佛，
皆悉聽聞法，受持不忘失。
汝於十方界，普見無量佛，
成就諸願海，具足菩薩行。
若入方便海，安住佛菩提，
能隨導師學，當成一切智。
汝遍一切剎，微塵等諸劫，
修行普賢行，成就菩提道。
汝於無量剎，無邊諸劫海，
修行普賢行，成滿諸大願。
此無量眾生，聞汝願歡喜，
皆發菩提意，願學普賢乘。」
〔T10 0334〕
爾時，文殊師利菩薩說此頌已，告善財童子言：
「善哉善哉！善男子！汝已發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，求菩薩行。善男子！若有眾生能發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，是事為難；能發心已，求菩薩行，倍更為難。
「善男子！若欲成就一切智智，應決定求真善知識。善男子！求善知識勿生疲懈，見善知識勿生厭足，於善知識所有教誨皆應隨順，於善知識善巧方便勿見過失。
「善男子！於此南方有一國土，名為：勝樂；其國有山，名曰：妙峯；於彼山中，有一比丘，名曰：德雲。汝可往問：菩薩云何學菩薩行？菩薩云何修菩薩行？乃至菩薩云何於普賢行疾得圓滿？德雲比丘當為汝說。」
爾時，善財童子聞是語已，歡喜踊躍，頭頂禮足，遶無數匝，慇懃瞻仰，悲泣流淚。
The canonical text stands in Chinese only. This edition renders the essence, the plain reading, the exposition and the apparatus into English — never the sūtra itself. Switch to 漢讀本 or 並行雙語 above to read it.
出閣（澄觀科）：文殊師利從善住樓閣走出來
那時候，文殊師利童子從善住樓閣走了出來，和無量的同行菩薩同行；還有常常隨身侍衛的種種神王，他們是——
伴從（一·澄觀科）：十四位主神，各以所行之德立名
常常隨身侍衛的諸位金剛神；普遍為了眾生而供養諸佛的諸位身眾神；很久以前就發過堅固誓願、常常隨從不離的諸位足行神；愛聽妙法的主地神；常常修習大悲的主水神；智慧之光照耀的主火神；以摩尼寶為頭冠的主風神；對十方一切儀式都明白熟練的主方神；專一勤懇地除滅無明黑暗的主夜神；一心不懈怠地闡揚佛日的主晝神；莊嚴法界一切虛空的主空神；普遍度脫眾生、超出諸有大海的主海神；常常勤懇積集趣向一切智的助道善根、高大得如同山一樣的主山神；常常勤懇守護一切眾生菩提心之城的主城神。
伴從（二·澄觀科）：九位王，各以所願之事立名
常常勤懇守護一切智智無上法城的諸位大龍王；常常勤懇守護一切眾生的諸位夜叉王；常常令眾生增長歡喜的乾闥婆王；常常勤懇除滅諸餓鬼趣的鳩槃荼王；恆常發願拔濟一切眾生、令他們出離諸有大海的迦樓羅王；發願要成就諸如來之身、高高超出世間的阿脩羅王；見了佛就歡喜、彎身恭敬的摩睺羅伽王；常常厭離生死、恆常樂於見佛的諸位大天王；尊重於佛、讚歎供養的諸位大梵王。
出儀（澄觀科）：辭佛南行
文殊師利和這樣一群以功德莊嚴的諸菩薩眾，從自己的住處出來，來到佛的處所，向著世尊右繞，繞了無量匝，用種種供具作種種供養；供養完畢之後，辭別退出，往南方而行，走向人間。
舍利弗：承佛神力而起念
那時候，尊者舍利弗承著佛的神力，看見文殊師利菩薩和諸位菩薩的眾會莊嚴，走出逝多林，往南方去，遊行人間；他就這樣起了一個念頭——「我現在應當和文殊師利一同往南方去。」
那時候，尊者舍利弗和六千位比丘前後圍繞，從自己的住處出來，來到佛的處所，頂禮佛足，把這件事詳細地稟白世尊；世尊聽許了，他們向右繞了三匝，辭別退出而去，前往文殊師利的處所。
六千比丘（一）：出家未久·列名十人
這六千位比丘，是舍利弗自己所同住的人，出家還沒有多久。他們是——海覺比丘、善生比丘、福光比丘、大童子比丘、電生比丘、淨行比丘、天德比丘、君慧比丘、梵勝比丘、寂慧比丘……像這樣的一群，數目共有六千。
六千比丘（二）：歎德十句
他們全都曾經供養無量的諸佛，深深地種下了善根，理解之力廣大，信之眼明澈通徹，他們的心寬廣博大，能觀佛的境界，了達諸法的本性，饒益眾生，常常樂於勤懇尋求諸佛的功德——這一切，都是文殊師利說法教化所成就的。
舍利弗告海覺（一）：身相·常光·光網·眾會
那時候，尊者舍利弗在行路的途中觀察諸位比丘，告訴海覺說——
「海覺！你可以觀察文殊師利菩薩清淨的身，相好莊嚴，一切天與人都無法思議。
「你可以觀察文殊師利的圓光映澈通徹，能令無量眾生生起歡喜之心。
「你可以觀察文殊師利的光網莊嚴，能除滅眾生無量的苦惱。
「你可以觀察文殊師利的眾會具足，這些人全都是菩薩往昔的善根所攝受來的。
舍利弗告海覺（二）：行路·住處·福嚴·林樹
「你可以觀察文殊師利所行的路，左右各八步，平坦而莊嚴。
「你可以觀察文殊師利所住的地方，四周十方常有道場隨著他而轉。
「你可以觀察文殊師利所行的路，具足無量的福德莊嚴，左右兩邊有大的伏藏，種種珍寶自然湧出。
「你可以觀察文殊師利曾經供養佛，那善根所流出的果報，使得一切樹木之間都出現莊嚴之藏。
舍利弗告海覺（三）：自在·上攝
「你可以觀察文殊師利，諸位世間之主降下供具之雲，頂禮恭敬，以此作為供養。
「你可以觀察文殊師利，十方一切諸佛如來將要說法的時候，全都放出眉間白毫的相光來照他的身，光從他的頂上進入。」
比丘得益：聞讚歎而心意清淨
那時候，尊者舍利弗為諸位比丘稱揚讚歎、開示演說文殊師利童子有像這樣無量的功德具足莊嚴。
那些比丘聽了這番話之後，心意清淨，信解堅固，歡喜得自己都拿捏不住，全身踊躍，形體柔軟，諸根愉悅，憂苦全部消除，垢障全部窮盡；他們常常見到諸佛，深深地尋求正法，具備了菩薩之根，得到了菩薩之力，大悲與大願都自然而然地生出來，進入了諸波羅蜜甚深的境界，十方的佛海常常現在眼前，對於一切智生起深深的信與樂。
詣勝人（澄觀科）：請舍利弗引見
他們就稟白尊者舍利弗說——「唯願大師帶引我們，前往那位殊勝之人的處所。」
那時候，舍利弗就和他們同行，到了那裡之後，稟白說——「仁者！這些比丘，希望能夠奉見。」
蒙勝攝（澄觀科）：如象王迴顧
那時候，文殊師利童子，有無量自在的菩薩圍繞著他，連同他的大眾，就像象王迴身一樣回顧諸位比丘。
那時候，諸位比丘頂禮他的足，合掌恭敬，這樣說道——「我今日奉見、恭敬禮拜，以及其餘所有的一切善根，唯願仁者文殊師利、和尚舍利弗、世尊釋迦牟尼，全都證知！像仁者所有的這樣的色身、這樣的音聲、這樣的相好、這樣的自在，願我一切都能具足得到。」
十無疲厭（一）：標句與前五句
那時候，文殊師利菩薩告訴諸位比丘說——
「比丘！如果善男子、善女人成就了十種趣向大乘之法，就能夠迅速進入如來之地，何況是菩薩地！哪十種呢？就是——
「積集一切善根，心裡沒有疲倦厭煩。
「見一切佛，承事供養，心裡沒有疲倦厭煩。
「尋求一切佛法，心裡沒有疲倦厭煩。
「行一切波羅蜜，心裡沒有疲倦厭煩。
「成就一切菩薩三昧，心裡沒有疲倦厭煩。
十無疲厭（二）：後五句
「依著次第進入一切三世，心裡沒有疲倦厭煩。
「普遍嚴淨十方的佛剎，心裡沒有疲倦厭煩。
「教化調伏一切眾生，心裡沒有疲倦厭煩。
「在一切剎土、一切劫中成就菩薩之行，心裡沒有疲倦厭煩。
「為了成熟一位眾生的緣故，修行一切佛剎微塵數那麼多的波羅蜜，成就如來的十力；像這樣依次下去，為了成熟一切眾生界，成就如來的一切力，心裡沒有疲倦厭煩。
舉益勸修：發此十心之所得
「比丘！如果善男子、善女人成就了深信，發起這十種沒有疲倦厭煩之心，就能夠長養一切善根，捨離一切諸生死之趣，超過一切世間的種姓，不墮入聲聞、辟支佛之地，生在一切如來之家，具足一切菩薩之願，學習一切如來的功德，修行一切菩薩諸行，得到如來之力，摧伏眾魔以及諸外道，也能夠除滅一切煩惱，進入菩薩地，接近如來地。」
得三昧（一）：眼之所見
那時候，諸位比丘聽了這個法之後，就得到了一種三昧，名叫「無礙眼見一切佛境界」。
因為得到這個三昧的緣故，他們全都見到了十方無量無邊一切世界的諸佛如來，以及那裡所有的道場眾會；也全都見到了那十方世界一切諸趣所有的眾生；也全都見到了那一切世界種種的差別；也全都見到了那一切世界所有的微塵；也全都見到了那些世界之中，一切眾生所住的宮殿，用種種珍寶作為莊嚴。
得三昧（二）：耳·他心·宿住三用
也聽見了那些諸佛如來種種的言音演說諸法、文辭訓釋，全都理解了；
也能夠觀察那些世界之中一切眾生的諸根與心之所欲；
也能夠憶念那些世界之中一切眾生前後十生的事；也能夠憶念那些世界之中過去、未來各十劫的事；也能夠憶念那些諸如來的十種本生之事、十次成正覺、十次轉法輪、十種神通、十種說法、十種教誡、十種辯才。
得三昧（三）：多門之益
他們又隨即成就了十千的菩提心、十千的三昧、十千的波羅蜜，全都清淨；得到大智慧圓滿的光明，得到菩薩的十種神通，柔軟微妙，安住在菩提心上，堅固而不動搖。
受勝進法（澄觀科）：勸住普賢行
那時候，文殊師利菩薩勸諸位比丘安住在普賢行上；安住在普賢行之後，就進入了大願之海；進入大願之海之後，就成就了大願之海。
因為成就了大願之海的緣故，心清淨；因為心清淨的緣故，身清淨；因為身清淨的緣故，身輕便；因為身清淨、身輕便的緣故，得到了大神通而沒有退轉；因為得到這個神通的緣故，他們不離開文殊師利的足下，卻普遍在十方一切佛的處所都現出自己的身，具足成就一切佛法。
至福城：化處之來歷
那時候，文殊師利菩薩勸諸位比丘發起了無上正等正覺之心以後，依著次第往南而行，經歷人間，到了福城的東邊，住在莊嚴幢娑羅林中往昔諸佛曾經止住、教化眾生的大塔廟之處。這裡也是世尊在往昔修菩薩行的時候，能夠捨去無量難捨之物的地方；因為這個緣故，這座林的名稱普遍傳聞於無量佛剎。這個地方常常受到天、龍、夜叉、乾闥婆、阿脩羅、迦樓羅、緊那羅、摩睺羅伽、人與非人的供養。
說法度龍：普照法界修多羅
那時候，文殊師利和他的眷屬到了這個地方之後，就在這裡演說《普照法界修多羅》，還有百萬億那由他那麼多的修多羅作為它的眷屬經。
說這部經的時候，大海之中有無量百千億的諸龍前來他的處所；聽了這個法之後，深深厭離龍趣，端正地尋求佛道，全都捨去了龍身，生在天上與人間。有一萬條龍，在無上正等正覺上得到了不退轉；還有無量無數的眾生，在三乘之中各自得到了調伏。
四部雲奔（一·澄觀科）：五百優婆塞
那時候，福城的人聽說文殊師利童子在莊嚴幢娑羅林中的大塔廟之處，無量的大眾就從城裡出來，來到他的處所。
那時候，有一位優婆塞，名叫大智，和五百位優婆塞眷屬一同前來，他們是——須達多優婆塞、婆須達多優婆塞、福德光優婆塞、有名稱優婆塞、施名稱優婆塞、月德優婆塞、善慧優婆塞、大慧優婆塞、賢護優婆塞、賢勝優婆塞……像這樣的五百位優婆塞一同來到文殊師利童子的處所，頂禮他的足，向右繞了三匝，退坐在一旁。
四部雲奔（二·澄觀科）：五百優婆夷
又有五百位優婆夷，她們是——大慧優婆夷、善光優婆夷、妙身優婆夷、可樂身優婆夷、賢優婆夷、賢德優婆夷、賢光優婆夷、幢光優婆夷、德光優婆夷、善目優婆夷……像這樣的五百位優婆夷，來到文殊師利童子的處所，頂禮他的足，向右繞了三匝，退坐在一旁。
四部雲奔（三·澄觀科）：五百童子
又有五百位童子，他們是——善財童子、善行童子、善戒童子、善威儀童子、善勇猛童子、善思童子、善慧童子、善覺童子、善眼童子、善臂童子、善光童子……像這樣的五百位童子，來到文殊師利童子的處所，頂禮他的足，向右繞了三匝，退坐在一旁。
四部雲奔（四·澄觀科）：五百童女
又有五百位童女，她們是——善賢童女、大智居士女童女、賢稱童女、美顏童女、堅慧童女、賢德童女、有德童女、梵授童女、德光童女、善光童女……像這樣的五百位童女，來到文殊師利童子的處所，頂禮他的足，向右繞了三匝，退坐在一旁。
三業調化（澄觀科）：現自在身而將說法
那時候，文殊師利童子知道福城的人全都已經來聚集了，就隨著他們心裡所樂欲的，現出自在之身，威光赫奕，蓋過了諸位大眾；用自在的大慈使他們清涼，用自在的大悲生起說法之心，用自在的智慧知道他們心裡所樂欲的，用廣大的辯才將要為他們說法。
觀善財（一）：七寶樓閣與七伏藏
又在這個時候，文殊師利觀察善財是因為什麼因緣而有這個名字。他知道這個童子最初入胎的時候，在他家的宅內自然湧出了七寶樓閣，那樓閣底下有七處伏藏；在那藏的上面，地自己裂開，生出了七寶之芽，就是——金、銀、瑠璃、玻瓈、真珠、硨磲、碼碯。
善財童子在胎中十個月然後才誕生，形體肢節端正具足；他的七處大藏，縱、廣、高、下各各滿七肘，從地下湧出，光明照耀。
觀善財（二）：五百寶器·十三句盛物
又在宅中自然出現了五百個寶器，種種東西自然充滿其中。就是——金剛器裡盛滿一切香，在香器裡盛滿種種衣，美玉器裡盛滿種種上味的飲食，摩尼器裡盛滿種種殊異的珍寶，金器裡盛銀，銀器裡盛金，金與銀的器裡盛滿瑠璃以及摩尼寶，玻瓈器裡盛滿硨磲，硨磲器裡盛滿玻瓈，碼碯器裡盛滿真珠，真珠器裡盛滿碼碯，火摩尼器裡盛滿水摩尼，水摩尼器裡盛滿火摩尼……像這樣的五百個寶器，自然出現。又降下眾寶以及種種財物，一切庫藏都令它充滿。
立名：父母與相師共呼善財
因為這件事的緣故，父母親屬以及善於看相的人共同稱呼這個孩子，名叫善財。
觀善財（三）：內因十句
文殊師利又知道這個童子已經曾經供養過去的諸佛，深深地種下善根，信與解都廣大，常常樂於親近諸位善知識，身業、語業、意業都沒有過失，清淨菩薩之道，尋求一切智，是成佛之法的法器，他的心清淨得猶如虛空，迴向菩提沒有任何障礙。
當機授法：十句佛法
那時候，文殊師利菩薩這樣觀察了善財童子之後，安慰開導，而為他演說一切佛法。就是——說一切佛的積集之法，說一切佛的相續之法，說一切佛的次第之法，說一切佛的眾會清淨之法，說一切佛的法輪化導之法，說一切佛的色身相好之法，說一切佛的法身成就之法，說一切佛的言辭辯才之法，說一切佛的光明照耀之法，說一切佛的平等無二之法。
結說勸進：發菩提心而後去
那時候，文殊師利童子為善財童子以及諸位大眾說了這個法之後，慇懃勸導，增長他們的勢力，使他們歡喜，發起無上正等正覺之心；又使他們憶念過去的善根。做完這些事之後，就在那個地方，又為眾生隨著所宜而說法，然後才離去。
善財頌（一）：三有為城（初四偈·傷己沈溺）
那時候，善財童子從文殊師利那裡聽到了佛這樣種種的功德，一心勤懇尋求無上正等正覺，跟隨著文殊師利而說了偈頌——
「三有是一座城郭，憍慢是它的垣牆， 諸趣是它的門戶，愛之水是它的護城池塹。
「愚癡的暗把它覆蓋，貪與瞋的火在裡面熾然燃燒， 魔王在裡面做君主，蒙昧的孩童就依止在其中住。
「貪愛是綁人的繩索，諂媚欺誑是駕人的轡與勒， 疑惑遮蔽了他的眼睛，於是走入了種種邪道。
「因為慳吝、嫉妒、憍慢自滿的緣故，落入三惡之處， 或者墮在種種趣中，受生、老、病、死之苦。
善財頌（二）：日月與法界王（讚人求法·對苦集）
「您是妙智的清淨之日，是大悲的圓滿之輪， 能夠使煩惱之海枯竭，願您賜給我一點觀察！
「您是妙智的清淨之月，是大慈的無垢之輪， 一切都施與安樂，願您垂顧照察我！
「您是一切法界之王，以法寶作為先導， 遊行虛空而無所障礙，願您垂顧教敕我！
「您是福與智的大商主，勇猛地尋求菩提， 普遍利益諸群生，願您垂顧守護我！
善財頌（三）：忍甲慧劍與帝釋（讚人求法·續）
「您身上披著忍辱的鎧甲，手裡提著智慧的劍， 自在地降伏魔軍，願您垂顧拔濟我！
「您住在法的須彌山頂，禪定的天女常常恭敬侍立， 滅除迷惑的阿脩羅，帝釋啊，願您觀照我！
「三有是凡愚的住宅，惑與業是墮入諸地諸趣的因； 仁者您全都能調伏，請像燈一樣為我指示道路！
「您能捨離種種惡趣，清淨種種善道； 超出諸世間的人，請為我指示解脫之門！
善財頌（四）：顛倒與正道（對滅道·冀成行果）
「世間顛倒的執取，是常、樂、我、淨的妄想； 您的智之眼全都能離，請為我開啟解脫之門！
「您善於了知邪道與正道，分別的時候心裡沒有怯弱； 一切都決斷明了的人，請為我指示菩提之路！
「您住在佛的正見之地，長養佛的功德之樹， 降下佛的妙法之華，請為我指示菩提之道！
「過去、未來、現在的佛，處處全都周遍， 如同太陽出現於世間，請為我宣說那條道路！
「您善於了知一切業，深深通達諸乘之行； 智慧決定的人，請為我指示摩訶衍！
善財頌（五）：乘喻·悲智定（讚法求乘·初四）
「以願為輪、以大悲為轂，以信為軸、以堅忍為鎋， 以功德之寶作為裝飾，請令我乘上這輛車！
「以總持為廣大的車箱，以慈愍為莊嚴的車蓋， 以辯才為震響的鈴，請讓我乘上這輛車！
「以梵行為茵褥，以三昧為采女， 以法鼓震出妙音，願您給我這輛車！
「以四攝為無盡之藏，以功德莊嚴為寶， 以慚愧為羈鞅，願您給我這輛車！
善財頌（六）：乘喻·十度自行（次三）
「常常轉動布施之輪，恆常塗上淨戒之香， 以忍辱為牢固的莊嚴，請令我乘上這輛車！
「以禪定三昧為車箱，以智慧方便為車軛， 調伏而不退轉，請令我乘上這輛車！
「以大願為清淨之輪，以總持為堅固之力， 由智慧所成就，請令我乘上這輛車！
善財頌（七）：乘喻·二利滅障（次四）
「以普賢之行為周遍的裝飾，以悲心作為徐緩的運轉， 所往之處都沒有怯弱，請令我乘上這輛車！
「堅固得如同金剛，善巧得如同幻化， 一切都沒有障礙，請令我乘上這輛車！
「廣大而極為清淨，普遍給與眾生安樂， 與虛空、法界相等，請令我乘上這輛車！
「清淨種種業與惑之輪，斷除種種流轉之苦， 摧伏魔與外道，請令我乘上這輛車！
善財頌（八）：乘喻·運載廣大（後四）
「智慧充滿十方，莊嚴遍於法界， 普遍霑潤眾生之類，請令我乘上這輛車！
「清淨得如同虛空，愛與見全都除滅， 利益一切眾生，請令我乘上這輛車！
「以願力迅速地行，以定心安穩地住， 普遍運載諸有情，請令我乘上這輛車！
「如同大地一樣不傾動，如同水一樣普遍饒益， 就這樣運載眾生，請令我乘上這輛車！
善財頌（九）：雙結人法（末二偈）
「四攝是圓滿之輪，總持是清淨之光； 像這樣的智慧之日，願您指示、令我得見！
「您已經進入法王之城，已經戴上智王之冠， 已經繫上妙法之繒——願您能夠慈悲地眷顧我！」
略讚略教（澄觀科）：象王迴顧而讚發心
那時候，文殊師利菩薩像象王迴身一樣，回顧善財童子，這樣說道——
「善哉善哉！善男子！你已經發起了無上正等正覺之心，又想要親近諸位善知識，問菩薩之行，修菩薩之道。善男子！親近供養諸位善知識，是具足一切智最初的因緣，所以在這件事上不要生起疲倦厭煩。」
廣問（澄觀科）：善財十一句問
善財稟白說——「唯願聖者廣為我說：菩薩應當怎樣學菩薩行？應當怎樣修菩薩行？應當怎樣趣向菩薩行？應當怎樣實行菩薩行？應當怎樣清淨菩薩行？應當怎樣入菩薩行？應當怎樣成就菩薩行？應當怎樣隨順菩薩行？應當怎樣憶念菩薩行？應當怎樣增廣菩薩行？應當怎樣使普賢之行迅速得到圓滿？」
文殊答頌（一）：讚其發心（二偈）
那時候，文殊師利菩薩為善財童子而說偈頌——
「善哉！功德之藏，你能夠來到我的處所， 發起了大悲之心，勤懇尋求無上的覺。
「你已經發起了廣大之願，要除滅眾生的苦， 普遍為了諸世間，修行菩薩之行。
文殊答頌（二）：略教與重讚（二偈）
「如果有諸位菩薩，不厭離生死之苦， 就具足了普賢之道，一切都不能破壞。
「福之光、福之威力，福之處、福之淨海； 你為了諸位眾生，發願修習普賢之行。
文殊答頌（三）：廣教五偈（前二）
「你見到無有邊際的十方一切佛， 全都聽聞他們說法，受持而不忘失。
「你在十方世界之中，普遍見到無量的佛， 成就種種願海，具足菩薩之行。
文殊答頌（四）：廣教五偈（後三）
「如果進入方便之海，安住在佛的菩提上， 能夠隨著導師而學，當來就成就一切智。
「你遍歷一切剎土，在微塵那麼多的諸劫之中， 修行普賢之行，成就菩提之道。
「你在無量的剎土、無邊的諸劫之海中， 修行普賢之行，圓滿成就種種大願。
文殊答頌（五）：結益（一偈）
「這無量的眾生，聽了你的願而歡喜， 全都發起菩提之意，發願學習普賢之乘。」
長行總讚（澄觀科）：發心已而求行，倍更為難
那時候，文殊師利菩薩說了這個偈頌之後，告訴善財童子說——
「善哉善哉！善男子！你已經發起了無上正等正覺之心，尋求菩薩之行。善男子！如果有眾生能夠發起無上正等正覺之心，這件事就已經是難的了；發了心之後又能尋求菩薩之行，那就加倍地更難。
總教（澄觀科）：求善知識四句誡勸
「善男子！如果想要成就一切智智，應當決定地尋求真正的善知識。善男子！尋求善知識不要生起疲倦懈怠，見到善知識不要生起厭足，對於善知識所有的教誨都應當隨順，對於善知識的善巧方便不要見他的過失。
指示後友（澄觀科）：勝樂國·妙峯山·德雲比丘
「善男子！在這裡的南方有一個國土，名叫勝樂；那個國裡有一座山，名叫妙峯；在那座山中，有一位比丘，名叫德雲。你可以前往問他——菩薩怎樣學菩薩行？菩薩怎樣修菩薩行？乃至於菩薩怎樣使普賢之行迅速得到圓滿？德雲比丘會為你解說。」
念恩辭退（澄觀科）：歡喜踊躍而悲泣流淚
那時候，善財童子聽了這番話之後，歡喜踊躍，頭頂禮足，繞了無數匝，慇懃地瞻仰，悲泣流淚。
Coming Out of the Tower (Chengguan's Outline): Mañjuśrī Comes Out of the Tower of Good Abiding
At that time, the youth Mañjuśrī came out of the Tower of Good Abiding, and walked together with measureless bodhisattvas who walk the same practice; and there were also the many kinds of spirit kings who constantly follow at his side to guard him. They were these —
The Retinue, Part One (Chengguan's Outline): The Fourteen Presiding Spirits, Each Named from the Virtue of What He Practices
The vajra spirits who constantly follow at his side to guard him; the body-multitude spirits who universally make offerings to the Buddhas for the sake of beings; the foot-going spirits who long ago gave rise to firm vows and constantly follow him without parting; the earth-presiding spirit who loves to hear the wondrous Dharma; the water-presiding spirit who constantly cultivates great compassion; the fire-presiding spirit whose light of wisdom shines out; the wind-presiding spirit whose head-crown is made of maṇi jewels (wish-fulfilling gems); the direction-presiding spirit who understands and is practiced in all the ceremonies of the ten directions; the night-presiding spirit who single-mindedly and diligently wipes out the darkness of ignorance; the day-presiding spirit who is single-minded and unremitting in setting forth the sun of the Buddha; the space-presiding spirit who adorns all of empty space in the Dharma realm; the sea-presiding spirit who universally delivers beings and comes out beyond the great sea of the many kinds of existence; the mountain-presiding spirit who constantly and diligently gathers up the roots of goodness that assist the path and tend toward omniscience, and who is tall and great as a mountain is; the city-presiding spirit who constantly and diligently guards the city of the mind of awakening of all beings.
The Retinue, Part Two (Chengguan's Outline): The Nine Kings, Each Named from the Matter He Vows
The great nāga kings who constantly and diligently guard the unsurpassed Dharma-city of the wisdom of omniscience; the yakṣa kings who constantly and diligently guard all beings; the gandharva kings who constantly cause beings to increase in delight; the kumbhāṇḍa kings who constantly and diligently wipe out the destinies of the hungry ghosts; the garuḍa kings who ever vow to draw out and rescue all beings and cause them to come forth from the great sea of the many kinds of existence; the asura kings who vow to accomplish the body of a Tathāgata and who tower high above the world; the mahoraga kings who rejoice when they see a Buddha and bend their bodies in reverence; the great god-kings who constantly turn away in weariness from birth-and-death and ever delight to see a Buddha; the great Brahmā kings who hold the Buddha in esteem and praise him and make offerings.
The Manner of Departure (Chengguan's Outline): Taking Leave of the Buddha and Going South
Mañjuśrī, together with such a company of bodhisattvas as this, adorned with merit, came out from his own dwelling place, came to where the Buddha was, circled the World-Honored One to the right, circling him measureless times, and with the many kinds of offering-articles made the many kinds of offering; and when the offering was finished, he took his leave and withdrew, and journeyed toward the south, walking off among human beings.
Śāriputra: Sustained by the Buddha's Spiritual Power, He Gives Rise to a Thought
At that time, the venerable Śāriputra, sustained by the Buddha's spiritual power, saw the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, together with the adorned assembly of bodhisattvas, come out of the Jeta Grove and go toward the south, journeying among human beings; and he gave rise to a thought in this manner — “I ought now to go south together with Mañjuśrī.”
At that time, the venerable Śāriputra, with six thousand monks surrounding him before and behind, came out from his own dwelling place, came to where the Buddha was, bowed his head to the Buddha's feet, and set this matter forth to the World-Honored One in full; the World-Honored One allowed it, and they circled to the right three times, took their leave and withdrew and went off, and made their way to where Mañjuśrī was.
The Six Thousand Monks, Part One: Not Long Gone Forth · Ten Named
These six thousand monks were those who dwelt together with Śāriputra himself, and they had not long gone forth from the household life. They were these — the monk Ocean-Awakening, the monk Well-Born, the monk Light of Merit, the monk Great Youth, the monk Lightning-Born, the monk Pure Conduct, the monk Virtue of the Gods, the monk Wisdom of the Ruler, the monk Brahmā-Surpassing, the monk Tranquil Wisdom — a company such as this, six thousand in number altogether.
The Six Thousand Monks, Part Two: Ten Sentences Praising Their Virtue
They had all of them made offerings to measureless Buddhas, had planted roots of goodness deeply, their power of understanding was vast, the eye of their faith was bright and clear through and through, their minds were wide and broad, they were able to contemplate the realm of a Buddha, they had penetrated to the original nature of dharmas, they benefited beings, and they constantly delighted to seek diligently after the merits of the Buddhas — and all of this was what Mañjuśrī's telling of the Dharma and teaching and transforming had brought to accomplishment.
Śāriputra Tells Ocean-Awakening, Part One: The Bodily Marks · The Constant Halo · The Net of Light · The Assembly
At that time, the venerable Śāriputra, on the road as they walked, contemplated the monks and said to Ocean-Awakening —
“Ocean-Awakening! You may contemplate the pure body of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, adorned with the marks and signs, which not one among the gods or among human beings can conceive.
“You may contemplate the round halo of Mañjuśrī, shining clear through and through, able to cause measureless beings to give rise to a mind of joy.
“You may contemplate the adornment of Mañjuśrī's net of light, able to wipe out the measureless suffering and vexation of beings.
“You may contemplate the fullness of Mañjuśrī's assembly: these are all persons drawn in and gathered by the roots of goodness of the bodhisattva in former times.
Śāriputra Tells Ocean-Awakening, Part Two: The Road · The Dwelling Place · The Adornment of Merit · The Trees of the Grove
“You may contemplate the road that Mañjuśrī walks: eight paces to the left and to the right, level and adorned.
“You may contemplate the place where Mañjuśrī dwells: on all four sides, in the ten directions, there are constantly seats of awakening that turn along with him.
“You may contemplate the road that Mañjuśrī walks: it is full of measureless adornment of merit, and on either side, left and right, there are great hidden treasuries out of which the many kinds of precious things well up of themselves.
“You may contemplate how Mañjuśrī made offerings to the Buddhas in former times, and how the reward that flows out from those roots of goodness causes an adorned treasury to appear among all the trees.
Śāriputra Tells Ocean-Awakening, Part Three: Sovereign Mastery · Gathered In from Above
“You may contemplate how, upon Mañjuśrī, the lords of the worlds send down clouds of offering-articles and bow their heads in reverence, and take this as their offering.
“You may contemplate how, when all the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas of the ten directions, are about to tell the Dharma, they all send out the mark-light of the white hair-tuft between the brows to shine upon his body, and the light enters in from the crown of his head.”
The Monks Gain the Benefit: Hearing the Praise, Their Minds Become Pure
At that time, the venerable Śāriputra, for the monks, extolled and praised, disclosed and set forth how the youth Mañjuśrī had such measureless merits, full and adorned, as these.
When those monks had heard these words, their minds became pure, their faith and understanding became firm, they rejoiced so that they could not hold themselves, their whole bodies leapt up, their forms became supple, their faculties were glad, their sorrow and suffering were all removed, their defilement and obstruction were all exhausted; they constantly saw the Buddhas, sought deeply after the right Dharma, were furnished with the faculties of a bodhisattva, obtained the powers of a bodhisattva, and great compassion and great vows were born in them of themselves; they entered the profound realm of the many pāramitās (the practices that go to the far shore), the seas of Buddhas of the ten directions were constantly present before them, and toward omniscience they gave rise to deep faith and delight.
Going to the Surpassing Person (Chengguan's Outline): Asking Śāriputra to Present Them
They then set it forth to the venerable Śāriputra, saying — “We only wish that the great master would take us and lead us, and go to where that surpassing person is.”
At that time, Śāriputra then went along with them, and when they had arrived, he set it forth, saying — “Benevolent one! These monks wish that they may be received in audience.”
Being Gathered In by the Surpassing One (Chengguan's Outline): Like an Elephant King Turning to Look Back
At that time, the youth Mañjuśrī, with measureless bodhisattvas of sovereign mastery surrounding him, together with his great multitude, looked back upon the monks as an elephant king turns his body around.
At that time, the monks bowed their heads to his feet, joined their palms in reverence, and spoke in this manner — “The seeing and the reverent bowing we have this day, together with all the other roots of goodness we have, we only wish that the benevolent Mañjuśrī, and the preceptor Śāriputra, and the World-Honored One Śākyamuni may all bear witness and know! Such a form-body as the benevolent one has, such a voice, such marks and signs, such sovereign mastery — may I too obtain them, complete in every part.”
The Ten Freedoms from Weariness, Part One: The Marking Sentence and the First Five Sentences
At that time, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said to the monks —
“Monks! If a good man or a good woman brings to accomplishment ten kinds of dharma that tend toward the Great Vehicle, then he is able swiftly to enter the ground of a Tathāgata, how much more the ground of a bodhisattva! Which are the ten? They are these —
“To gather up all roots of goodness, with no weariness or vexation in the mind.
“To see all the Buddhas, to serve them and make offerings to them, with no weariness or vexation in the mind.
“To seek after all the Buddha-dharmas, with no weariness or vexation in the mind.
“To practice all the pāramitās, with no weariness or vexation in the mind.
“To bring to accomplishment all the samādhis of a bodhisattva, with no weariness or vexation in the mind.
The Ten Freedoms from Weariness, Part Two: The Last Five Sentences
“To enter all the three times in due order, with no weariness or vexation in the mind.
“Universally to adorn and purify the Buddha-lands of the ten directions, with no weariness or vexation in the mind.
“To teach, transform, and tame all beings, with no weariness or vexation in the mind.
“In all lands and in all kalpas to bring the practice of a bodhisattva to accomplishment, with no weariness or vexation in the mind.
“For the sake of ripening a single being, to cultivate pāramitās as many as the dust-motes of all Buddha-lands, and to bring the ten powers of a Tathāgata to accomplishment; and so on in due order, for the sake of ripening the whole realm of beings, to bring all the powers of a Tathāgata to accomplishment, with no weariness or vexation in the mind.
Raising Up the Benefit and Urging Cultivation: What Is Gained by Giving Rise to These Ten Minds
“Monks! If a good man or a good woman brings deep faith to accomplishment and gives rise to these ten minds free of weariness and vexation, then he is able to nourish and grow all roots of goodness, to leave behind and let go of all the destinies of birth-and-death, to pass beyond all the lineages of the world, not to fall into the ground of the śrāvakas or the pratyekabuddhas, to be born in the house of all the Tathāgatas, to be furnished with all the vows of a bodhisattva, to study all the merits of a Tathāgata, to practice all the many practices of a bodhisattva, to obtain the powers of a Tathāgata, to crush down the hosts of Māra and the non-Buddhist paths, and to be able also to wipe out all afflictions, to enter the ground of a bodhisattva, and to draw near to the ground of a Tathāgata.”
Obtaining the Samādhi, Part One: What the Eye Sees
At that time, when the monks had heard this Dharma, they obtained a samādhi (a concentration of the mind that is gathered and steady) named Seeing the Realm of All Buddhas with the Unobstructed Eye.
Because they had obtained this samādhi, they all saw the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, of all the measureless and boundless worlds of the ten directions, together with all the assemblies at the seats of awakening there; they all saw as well the beings of all the destinies in those worlds of the ten directions; they all saw as well the many kinds of difference among all those worlds; they all saw as well all the dust-motes of all those worlds; they all saw as well, within those worlds, the palaces in which all beings dwell, adorned with the many kinds of precious things.
Obtaining the Samādhi, Part Two: The Three Uses of the Ear, of Others' Minds, and of Former Abodes
They heard as well those Buddhas, those Tathāgatas, setting forth the dharmas with the many kinds of speech and sound, with wording and glossing, and they understood it all;
they were able as well to contemplate the faculties of all beings within those worlds and what their minds desired;
they were able as well to call to mind the matters of the ten births before and after of all beings within those worlds; they were able as well to call to mind the matters of the ten kalpas past and the ten kalpas to come within those worlds; they were able as well to call to mind the ten matters of the former births of those Tathāgatas, their ten attainments of right awakening, their ten turnings of the Dharma wheel, their ten spiritual penetrations, their ten tellings of the Dharma, their ten instructions and admonishments, their ten kinds of eloquence.
Obtaining the Samādhi, Part Three: The Benefit of Many Gates
They then also brought to accomplishment ten thousand minds of awakening, ten thousand samādhis, ten thousand pāramitās, all of them pure; they obtained the light of the fullness of great wisdom, they obtained the ten spiritual penetrations of a bodhisattva, supple and subtle, abiding upon the mind of awakening, firm and unshaken.
Receiving the Dharma of Advancement (Chengguan's Outline): Urging Them to Abide in the Practice of Samantabhadra
At that time, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī urged the monks to abide in the practice of Samantabhadra; and having abided in the practice of Samantabhadra, they entered the sea of great vows; and having entered the sea of great vows, they brought the sea of great vows to accomplishment.
Because they had brought the sea of great vows to accomplishment, their minds were pure; because their minds were pure, their bodies were pure; because their bodies were pure, their bodies were light and nimble; because their bodies were pure and light and nimble, they obtained the great spiritual penetrations with no turning back; because they had obtained these spiritual penetrations, they did not depart from beneath Mañjuśrī's feet, and yet universally, in the presence of all the Buddhas of the ten directions, they manifested their own bodies, and brought all the Buddha-dharmas to accomplishment, complete in every part.
Arriving at the City of Blessings: The Provenance of the Place of Transforming
At that time, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, having urged the monks to give rise to the mind of unsurpassed right and perfect awakening, journeyed on southward in due order, passing through the human realm, and reached the east of the City of Blessings, and dwelt in the Grove of Śāla Trees of the Banner of Adornment, at the place of the great stūpa-shrine where the Buddhas of former times had stayed and had taught and transformed beings. This was also the place where the World-Honored One, when he cultivated the practice of a bodhisattva in former times, had been able to give away measureless things hard to give away; and for this reason the name of this grove was heard universally throughout measureless Buddha-lands. This place constantly received the offerings of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, human beings and nonhuman beings.
Telling the Dharma and Delivering the Nāgas: The Sūtra of the Universal Illumining of the Dharma Realm
At that time, when Mañjuśrī and his retinue had reached this place, he then set forth here the Sūtra of the Universal Illumining of the Dharma Realm, together with a million koṭis of nayutas of sūtras as its retinue scriptures.
While he was telling this scripture, measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nāgas within the great sea came to where he was; and when they had heard this Dharma, they turned away deeply in weariness from the destiny of nāgas, sought squarely after the Buddha's path, and all of them cast off their nāga bodies and were born among gods and human beings. Ten thousand nāgas obtained non-retrogression with regard to unsurpassed right and perfect awakening; and measureless and countless beings besides were each of them tamed within the three vehicles.
The Four Assemblies Rushing Like Clouds, Part One (Chengguan's Outline): Five Hundred Laymen
At that time, the people of the City of Blessings heard that the youth Mañjuśrī was at the place of the great stūpa-shrine in the Grove of Śāla Trees of the Banner of Adornment, and a measureless great multitude came out from the city and came to where he was.
At that time, there was a layman named Great Wisdom, who came together with five hundred laymen as his retinue. They were these — the layman Sudatta, the layman Vasudatta, the layman Light of Merit, the layman Possessed of Renown, the layman Bestower of Renown, the layman Virtue of the Moon, the layman Good Wisdom, the layman Great Wisdom, the layman Worthy Protector, the layman Worthy and Surpassing — five hundred laymen such as these came together to where the youth Mañjuśrī was, bowed their heads to his feet, circled him to the right three times, and withdrew and sat to one side.
The Four Assemblies Rushing Like Clouds, Part Two (Chengguan's Outline): Five Hundred Laywomen
There were also five hundred laywomen. They were these — the laywoman Great Wisdom, the laywoman Good Light, the laywoman Wondrous Body, the laywoman Body That Delights, the laywoman Worthy, the laywoman Worthy Virtue, the laywoman Worthy Light, the laywoman Light of the Banner, the laywoman Light of Virtue, the laywoman Good Eyes — five hundred laywomen such as these came to where the youth Mañjuśrī was, bowed their heads to his feet, circled him to the right three times, and withdrew and sat to one side.
The Four Assemblies Rushing Like Clouds, Part Three (Chengguan's Outline): Five Hundred Boys
There were also five hundred boys. They were these — the youth Sudhana, the youth Good Practice, the youth Good Precepts, the youth Good Deportment, the youth Good Valor, the youth Good Thought, the youth Good Wisdom, the youth Good Awakening, the youth Good Eyes, the youth Good Arms, the youth Good Light — five hundred boys such as these came to where the youth Mañjuśrī was, bowed their heads to his feet, circled him to the right three times, and withdrew and sat to one side.
The Four Assemblies Rushing Like Clouds, Part Four (Chengguan's Outline): Five Hundred Girls
There were also five hundred girls. They were these — the girl Good and Worthy, the girl Daughter of the Householder Great Wisdom, the girl Worthy Renown, the girl Beautiful of Face, the girl Firm Wisdom, the girl Worthy Virtue, the girl Possessed of Virtue, the girl Bestowed by Brahmā, the girl Light of Virtue, the girl Good Light — five hundred girls such as these came to where the youth Mañjuśrī was, bowed their heads to his feet, circled him to the right three times, and withdrew and sat to one side.
Taming and Transforming by the Three Kinds of Action (Chengguan's Outline): Manifesting the Body of Sovereign Mastery and About to Tell the Dharma
At that time, the youth Mañjuśrī, knowing that the people of the City of Blessings had all now gathered and come, then, according to what their minds delighted in, manifested the body of sovereign mastery, whose awesome light blazed forth and outshone the great multitudes; with sovereign great kindness he made them cool, with sovereign great compassion he gave rise to the mind to tell the Dharma, with sovereign wisdom he knew what their minds delighted in, and with vast eloquence he was about to tell them the Dharma.
Contemplating Sudhana, Part One: The Tower of Seven Jewels and the Seven Hidden Treasuries
Again at this time, Mañjuśrī contemplated by what cause and condition it was that Sudhana had this name. He knew that when this youth first entered the womb, within the house of his family there welled up of itself a tower of seven jewels, and beneath that tower were seven places of hidden treasure; and above those treasuries the ground split open of itself, and there grew forth sprouts of the seven jewels, which are these — gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, true pearl, giant clam shell, and carnelian.
The youth Sudhana was within the womb for ten months and only then was born, his form and his limbs and joints upright and complete; and his seven places of great treasure, each of them full seven cubits in length, in breadth, in height, and in depth, welled up out of the ground, their brightness shining out.
Contemplating Sudhana, Part Two: Five Hundred Jeweled Vessels · Thirteen Sentences of What Filled Them
Again, within the house there appeared of themselves five hundred jeweled vessels, and the many kinds of things filled them of themselves. They are these — the vajra vessel was filled with every kind of incense, within the incense vessel were the many kinds of clothing, the fine jade vessel was filled with the many kinds of food and drink of choice flavor, the maṇi vessel was filled with the many kinds of rare and precious things, the golden vessel held silver, the silver vessel held gold, the vessel of gold and silver was filled with lapis lazuli and maṇi jewels, the crystal vessel was filled with giant clam shell, the giant clam shell vessel was filled with crystal, the carnelian vessel was filled with true pearls, the true pearl vessel was filled with carnelian, the fire-maṇi vessel was filled with water-maṇi, the water-maṇi vessel was filled with fire-maṇi — five hundred jeweled vessels such as these appeared of themselves. And there rained down the many precious things and the many kinds of goods and wealth, and all the storehouses were caused to be filled.
The Giving of the Name: Parents and Physiognomists Together Called Him Sudhana
Because of this matter, his parents and his kin, together with those skilled in reading the marks of the body, together called this child by the name Sudhana.
Contemplating Sudhana, Part Three: Ten Sentences of the Inward Cause
Mañjuśrī knew as well that this youth had already made offerings to the Buddhas of the past, had planted roots of goodness deeply, that his faith and his understanding were vast, that he constantly delighted to draw near to the good friends, that in the actions of his body, of his speech, and of his mind he was without fault, that he purified the path of a bodhisattva, that he sought after omniscience, that he was a vessel for the dharma of becoming a Buddha, that his mind was pure as empty space is, and that he dedicated and directed himself toward awakening without any obstruction at all.
The Dharma Given to the One at Hand: Ten Sentences of the Buddha-Dharma
At that time, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, having contemplated the youth Sudhana in this manner, comforted and instructed him, and set forth for him all the Buddha-dharmas. They are these — he told of the dharma of the gathering up of all Buddhas, he told of the dharma of the continuing on of all Buddhas, he told of the dharma of the due order of all Buddhas, he told of the dharma of the purity of the assemblies of all Buddhas, he told of the dharma of the transforming and guiding by the Dharma wheel of all Buddhas, he told of the dharma of the marks and signs of the form-body of all Buddhas, he told of the dharma of the accomplishment of the dharma-body of all Buddhas, he told of the dharma of the wording and eloquence of all Buddhas, he told of the dharma of the shining illumination of all Buddhas, he told of the dharma of the equality and non-duality of all Buddhas.
Concluding the Telling and Urging Him Onward: Giving Rise to the Mind of Awakening and Then Departing
At that time, the youth Mañjuśrī, having told this Dharma for the youth Sudhana and for the great multitudes, earnestly urged and instructed them, increased and grew their strength, caused them to rejoice, and caused them to give rise to the mind of unsurpassed right and perfect awakening; and he caused them as well to call to mind their roots of goodness in the past. Having done these things, then, in that very place, he told the Dharma again for beings according to what suited them, and only then departed.
Sudhana's Verses, Part One: The Three Kinds of Existence as a Walled City (The First Four Verses · Grieving over His Own Sinking and Drowning)
At that time, the youth Sudhana, having heard from Mañjuśrī the many kinds of merit of a Buddha such as these, single-mindedly and diligently sought after unsurpassed right and perfect awakening, and following after Mañjuśrī he spoke these verses —
“The three kinds of existence are a walled city, and arrogance is its rampart wall, the destinies are its gates and doors, and the water of craving is the moat that guards it.
“The darkness of delusion covers it over, the fire of greed and of anger blazes and burns within, Māra the king plays the sovereign within it, and benighted children take their dwelling there.
“Craving is the rope that binds a man, flattery and deceit are the reins and bridle that drive him, doubt has covered over his eyes, and so he walks into the many kinds of wrong paths.
“Because of stinginess, envy, and arrogant self-satisfaction, he falls into the three evil places, or else he falls into the many kinds of destinies, and undergoes the suffering of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
Sudhana's Verses, Part Two: The Sun and Moon and the King of the Dharma Realm (Praising the Person and Seeking the Dharma · Facing Suffering and Its Origin)
“You are the pure sun of wondrous wisdom, the full orb of great compassion, able to dry up the sea of the afflictions — I pray you grant me one glance of contemplation!
“You are the pure moon of wondrous wisdom, the stainless orb of great kindness, who bestow peace and joy upon all — I pray you look down and behold me!
“You are the king of the whole Dharma realm, and take the Dharma-jewel as your forerunner, you journey through empty space without obstruction — I pray you look down and give me your command!
“You are the great caravan leader of blessings and of wisdom, valorously seeking awakening, universally benefiting the multitudes of the living — I pray you look down and guard me!
Sudhana's Verses, Part Three: The Armor of Patience, the Sword of Wisdom, and Śakra (Praising the Person and Seeking the Dharma · Continued)
“Upon your body you wear the armor of patience, and in your hand you hold the sword of wisdom, sovereignly you subdue the armies of Māra — I pray you look down and draw me out and rescue me!
“You dwell upon the summit of the Sumeru of the Dharma, and the goddesses of concentration constantly stand in reverent attendance, you destroy the asuras of confusion — O Śakra, I pray you shine upon me!
“The three kinds of existence are the dwelling house of the ordinary and the foolish, and confusion and karma are the cause of falling into the many grounds and destinies; you, benevolent one, are able to tame them all — I pray you show me the road as a lamp does!
“You are able to leave behind and let go of the many kinds of evil destinies, and to purify the many kinds of good paths; you who have come out beyond the worlds, I pray you show me the gate of liberation!
Sudhana's Verses, Part Four: Inversion and the Right Path (Facing Cessation and the Path · Hoping to Accomplish the Practice and Its Fruit)
“The inverted grasping of the world is the false imagining of permanence, bliss, self, and purity; your eye of wisdom is able to leave them all behind — I pray you open for me the gate of liberation!
“You know well the wrong paths and the right path, and when you distinguish them there is no timidity in your mind; you who decide and understand it all, I pray you show me the road to awakening!
“You dwell upon the ground of the Buddha's right view, you nourish and grow the tree of the Buddha's merits, you rain down the flowers of the Buddha's wondrous Dharma — I pray you show me the path to awakening!
“The Buddhas of the past, of the future, and of the present are everywhere entirely pervading, like the sun appearing in the world — I pray you proclaim that road for me!
“You know well all karma, and have penetrated deeply the practice of the many vehicles; you whose wisdom is settled, I pray you show me the Mahāyāna!
Sudhana's Verses, Part Five: The Simile of the Carriage · Compassion, Wisdom, and Concentration (Praising the Dharma and Seeking the Vehicle · The First Four)
“With vows for its wheels and great compassion for its hubs, with faith for its axle and firm patience for its linchpins, with the jewels of merit for its ornament — pray let me mount this carriage!
“With total holding for its broad carriage-box, with kindly pity for the adorning canopy, with eloquence for the bells that sound out — pray allow me to mount this carriage!
“With the practice of brahmacarya for its cushions, with samādhis for its serving women, with the Dharma-drum sounding out its wondrous tones — I pray you give me this carriage!
“With the four means of gathering for its inexhaustible treasury, with the adornment of merit for its jewels, with shame and conscience for its harness-straps — I pray you give me this carriage!
Sudhana's Verses, Part Six: The Simile of the Carriage · The Ten Perfections as Practice for Oneself (The Next Three)
“Constantly turning the wheel of giving, ever anointing it with the incense of pure precepts, with patience for its firm adornment — pray let me mount this carriage!
“With the samādhis of meditative concentration for its carriage-box, with wisdom and skillful means for its yoke, tamed and not turning back — pray let me mount this carriage!
“With great vows for its pure wheels, with total holding for its firm strength, brought to accomplishment by wisdom — pray let me mount this carriage!
Sudhana's Verses, Part Seven: The Simile of the Carriage · The Twofold Benefit and the Wiping Out of Obstructions (The Next Four)
“With the practice of Samantabhadra for its all-pervading ornament, with the mind of compassion for its unhurried motion, so that wherever it goes there is no timidity — pray let me mount this carriage!
“Firm as vajra is, skillful as a conjuring is, without obstruction of any kind — pray let me mount this carriage!
“Vast and utterly pure, universally bestowing peace and joy upon beings, equal to empty space and to the Dharma realm — pray let me mount this carriage!
“Purifying the many kinds of wheels of karma and of confusion, cutting off the many kinds of suffering of the round of rebirth, crushing down Māra and the non-Buddhist paths — pray let me mount this carriage!
Sudhana's Verses, Part Eight: The Simile of the Carriage · The Vastness of What It Carries (The Last Four)
“Wisdom filling the ten directions, adornment pervading the Dharma realm, universally moistening the kinds of beings — pray let me mount this carriage!
“Pure as empty space is, craving and views all wiped away, benefiting all beings — pray let me mount this carriage!
“By the power of vows going swiftly, by the concentrated mind abiding at ease, universally carrying the sentient beings — pray let me mount this carriage!
“Unshaken as the great earth is, universally benefiting as water is, carrying beings in just this way — pray let me mount this carriage!
Sudhana's Verses, Part Nine: Drawing Together Both the Person and the Dharma (The Last Two Verses)
“The four means of gathering are its full orb, total holding is its pure light; such a sun of wisdom as this — I pray you show me and let me see it!
“You have already entered the city of the Dharma-king, you have already put on the crown of the wisdom-king, you have already bound on the silk band of the wondrous Dharma — I pray you may look upon me with kindness!”
Brief Praise and Brief Teaching (Chengguan's Outline): The Elephant King Turns to Look Back and Praises the Giving Rise to the Mind
At that time, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, as an elephant king turns his body around, looked back upon the youth Sudhana and spoke in this manner —
“Good indeed, good indeed! Good man! You have already given rise to the mind of unsurpassed right and perfect awakening, and you wish further to draw near to the good friends, to ask about the practice of a bodhisattva, and to cultivate the path of a bodhisattva. Good man! To draw near to the good friends and make offerings to them is the first cause and condition of being furnished with omniscience; therefore in this matter do not give rise to weariness or vexation.”
The Broad Asking (Chengguan's Outline): Sudhana's Eleven Sentences of Question
Sudhana set it forth, saying — “I only wish that the holy one would tell me at large: how should a bodhisattva study the practice of a bodhisattva? How should he cultivate the practice of a bodhisattva? How should he tend toward the practice of a bodhisattva? How should he carry out the practice of a bodhisattva? How should he purify the practice of a bodhisattva? How should he enter the practice of a bodhisattva? How should he bring the practice of a bodhisattva to accomplishment? How should he accord with the practice of a bodhisattva? How should he call to mind the practice of a bodhisattva? How should he broaden and increase the practice of a bodhisattva? How should he cause the practice of Samantabhadra swiftly to reach fullness?”
Mañjuśrī's Verses in Answer, Part One: Praising His Giving Rise to the Mind (Two Verses)
At that time, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī spoke these verses for the youth Sudhana —
“Good indeed! Treasury of merit, you have been able to come to where I am, having given rise to the mind of great compassion, diligently seeking the unsurpassed awakening.
“You have already given rise to the vast vow to wipe away the suffering of beings, and universally, for the sake of the worlds, to cultivate the practice of a bodhisattva.
Mañjuśrī's Verses in Answer, Part Two: Brief Teaching and Renewed Praise (Two Verses)
“If there are bodhisattvas who are not wearied by the suffering of birth-and-death, then they are furnished with the path of Samantabhadra, and nothing at all can break it.
“The light of blessings, the awesome power of blessings, the place of blessings, the pure sea of blessings; you, for the sake of the many beings, vow to cultivate the practice of Samantabhadra.
Mañjuśrī's Verses in Answer, Part Three: The Broad Teaching in Five Verses (The First Two)
“You see all the Buddhas of the ten directions, who have no bound or limit, and hear them all telling the Dharma, and hold it and do not forget or lose it.
“You, within the worlds of the ten directions, universally see measureless Buddhas, bring to accomplishment the many kinds of seas of vows, and are furnished with the practice of a bodhisattva.
Mañjuśrī's Verses in Answer, Part Four: The Broad Teaching in Five Verses (The Last Three)
“If you enter the sea of skillful means and abide upon the awakening of a Buddha, and are able to study following the guiding master, then in time to come you will bring omniscience to accomplishment.
“You pass through all the lands, and within kalpas as many as the dust-motes, cultivate the practice of Samantabhadra and bring the path of awakening to accomplishment.
“You, within measureless lands and within the boundless seas of the many kalpas, cultivate the practice of Samantabhadra and fully bring the many kinds of great vows to accomplishment.
Mañjuśrī's Verses in Answer, Part Five: Drawing Together the Benefit (One Verse)
“These measureless beings, hearing your vows and rejoicing, all give rise to the intent for awakening and vow to study the vehicle of Samantabhadra.”
The Prose Passage of General Praise (Chengguan's Outline): Having Given Rise to the Mind and Then Seeking the Practice Is Harder Still
At that time, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, having spoken these verses, said to the youth Sudhana —
“Good indeed, good indeed! Good man! You have already given rise to the mind of unsurpassed right and perfect awakening and are seeking the practice of a bodhisattva. Good man! If there are beings who are able to give rise to the mind of unsurpassed right and perfect awakening, that matter is already hard; and having given rise to the mind, then to be able further to seek the practice of a bodhisattva, that is harder still by twice as much.
The General Teaching (Chengguan's Outline): Four Sentences of Warning and Urging on Seeking the Good Friend
“Good man! If you wish to bring the wisdom of omniscience to accomplishment, you should with settled determination seek out a true good friend. Good man! In seeking the good friend do not give rise to weariness or indolence, in seeing the good friend do not give rise to satiety, toward all the instruction that the good friend has you should be compliant, and toward the good friend's skillfulness in means do not look for his faults.
Pointing Out the Next Friend (Chengguan's Outline): The Land of Surpassing Joy · Mount Wondrous Peak · The Monk Cloud of Virtue
“Good man! Here to the south there is a land named Surpassing Joy; in that land there is a mountain named Wondrous Peak; within that mountain there is a monk named Cloud of Virtue. You may go and ask him — how does a bodhisattva study the practice of a bodhisattva? How does a bodhisattva cultivate the practice of a bodhisattva? And so on, down to: how does a bodhisattva cause the practice of Samantabhadra swiftly to reach fullness? The monk Cloud of Virtue will explain it for you.”
Calling the Kindness to Mind and Taking Leave (Chengguan's Outline): Rejoicing and Leaping Up, and Weeping and Shedding Tears
At that time, when the youth Sudhana had heard these words, he rejoiced and leapt up, bowed his head to his feet, circled him measureless times, gazed up at him earnestly, and wept and shed tears.
這一段在整部經裡的位置：本會之後，末會之首
《華嚴》到了第九會，前面八會所說的，是佛與諸大菩薩在定中所現的法界；到了逝多林，佛入師子頻申三昧現出不可思議境界，諸大菩薩見了，而在座的聲聞不見不聞。那一大段結束之後，經文忽然轉調——文殊師利從善住樓閣走出來，往南方去，走進人間。
澄觀在此立一大科，說這以下是『大文第二末會』，並且先開十門作總綱：總顯會意、會數開合、會主多少、定會名義、二位統收、五相分別、圓攝始終、法界人類、法界事義、隨文解釋。十門是給整個末會五十段共用的，所以要在這第一段裡先立起來。
要先排一個誤解：末會不是前面八會的附錄。澄觀說前面是「故前明不異漸之頓，多門而眾人同契」，這裡是「此明不異頓之漸，一人而歷位圓修」——前面是許多人同契一法，這裡是一個人歷盡諸位。他並且說明何以要有這一段：「今託人進修以軌後徒，使大教弘通，即斯本意。」法要有人走過一遍，後來的人才有軌可循。落到地上：讀本段不要當作故事的開頭，要當作『樣板』的開頭——善財所走的每一步，都是替讀者走的。
這一會到底有幾會：澄觀的五種算法
末會之下，善知識一位一段，那麼「會」該怎麼數？澄觀不給一個定數，給五種算法。
就所化之機算，只有三會：「若約所攝之機，唯有三會：一比丘、二諸乘人、三善財會」——本段之內就把這三會全走完了。就能化所化通算，是五十五會，因為「善財自有五十三故」，而文殊一人四會、德生與有德同一問答、遍友無答不成會。就主伴算，「若約主伴，成百一十會」。若就散說，則是佛剎微塵數會。若就普賢之德，則無盡會——「若約普賢德則無盡會」。
會主之數也是同樣：「若以人剋定，唯五十四」，若以會顯人則五十七，因為文殊分作四處。
排一個誤解：這幾個數字不是彼此矛盾的異說，是同一件事在不同口徑下的計數。澄觀自己就說「是以唯就能化，不足定會」——單看能化的人數定不出會數來。落到地上：後人常引『五十三參』一語，要知道這是就善財的參訪次數說的，不是就會數說的；本段之文殊，是這五十三之外的『發起』一位。
二位統收：文殊表能信之心，普賢表所依法界
末會人物雖多，澄觀說「此中諸會不出文殊、普賢，略有二門：一相對明表、二互融顯圓」。相對一門有三對。
能所相對：「普賢表所依法界，即在纏如來藏故」，澄觀引《理趣般若》「一切眾生皆如來藏」為證；「文殊表能信之心」，引《佛名經》「一切諸佛皆因文殊而發心故」為證。解行相對：普賢表所起的萬行，文殊表能起的解。理智相對：普賢即所證的法界，「文殊即能證大智」。
互融一門則說，信必信於理，解起行、行證理，所以「則理智無二」。
排一個誤解：文殊與普賢不是兩位神格化的象徵，二位所表的是修行上的一對關節——一邊是能信能解的心，一邊是所信所證的法界。落到地上：本段之所以由文殊出閣起，正因為整條路是從『信』起步的；而善財之終見普賢，是這條路的另一端。
五相之配，是「且依古德」，不是經文自己這樣分
十門之第六是五相分別。五相就是把末會五十段分作五段——寄位修行相（四十一人）、會緣入實相（摩耶以下十一人）、攝德成因相（彌勒）、智照無二相（後文殊）、顯因廣大相（普賢）。
這是本段讀法上最要緊的一處分際：這五相不是經文自標的。澄觀在立五相之前，先錄了兩家的不同——「若意法師及臺山論，但隨文散釋，更無別配；光統等師皆配地位」，一家不配位，一家配位。他評曰「二皆有理」，並替不配位的一家說理由：既然「隨一一位具多法門」，凡夫之心也不是不得習求善友之法，所以不配也講得通。然後他才說：「然無次位中不礙次位，顯位是常規，配亦無失。」最後那句「且依古德配為五相」，一個「且依」，把這件事的分量交代得清楚。
排一個誤解：把『寄位』讀成經文明明白白排了階級。經文只說善財往南、遇某友、得某法門，位次之名一個也沒有。落到地上：讀寄位之判，要當作古德為後學所設的一把尺，尺量得出深淺，量不出經文本身的斷語。
文殊為什麼只有一個人：信未成位
寄位修行相之下分五，餘四位各配十人，唯獨第一位只有文殊一人。何以如此？澄觀答得極短：「初文殊一人寄十信，信未成位，故但一人」。
同一件事，他在法界人類一門裡又說了一次。末會之中現菩薩身的共有六位，分在三處：「於中，菩薩有六，三處現身：一初文殊，信位劣故，唯顯一人。二中間漸進，現於二人，謂大悲、正趣。三位後成滿，顯於三人，謂彌勒等。」
同一門裡，澄觀又說善知識「不出菩薩五生所收」。五生是《瑜伽》所辨：一息苦生，為救眾生之苦而生，如為大魚；二隨類生，隨一切類而現；三勝生，形色族姓富貴殊勝；四增上生，自初地至十地為諸王等；五最後生，即最後身菩薩。鈔說「今小不同者，意將彼義攝此友故」——不是把五十餘位善知識一一填進五格，是借五生之義來收攝：善友之所以現這樣的身、處這樣的位，皆是菩薩應生之相。讀到後面，每遇一位善知識現長者、國王、童女之身，可以先問：這是五生中的哪一種生。
要排一個誤解：『信未成位』不是說信不重要，是說信還沒有成為一個可以安立的位次。十住以上，位位可安、可住，所以各配十人以顯其位中之十門；信只是入門的一段，還沒有『位』的體段，所以不足以列十人。落到地上：這一句反過來也是給學人的提醒——不要急著替自己的信安一個位次。信的功課是繼續信下去，不是量高度。
圓攝始終：一位即一切位
配位之後，澄觀立刻補一門作救。第七門說：「上寄法顯異布之前後，據實圓融一位即一切位乃至無盡故。」寄位是布教之異，圓融才是實相；所歷的差別都是一中之多，一多同時而沒有障礙。
排一個誤解：以為華嚴既說圓融，就可以不管次第。澄觀兩句話是並立的——次第在，是為了讓人有階可上；圓融在，是為了讓人不把階梯當作牢籠。他前面那句「然無次位中不礙次位」，正是這個意思。落到地上：讀善財五十三參，既要看得出他是一步一步走的，也要看得出他每一步都不曾離開全體。
文殊出閣：為什麼是「童子」，為什麼從「善住樓閣」出
經文第一句就是「爾時，文殊師利童子從善住樓閣出」。這裡有兩個字眼要交代。
一是「童子」。文殊本是等覺大士，經文前面列菩薩眾時也把他列在菩薩之中，這裡卻稱童子。澄觀說：「文殊菩薩本是童子，而前列菩薩。此彰童子者，表創入佛法故」，又說如果不是童真之行，也入不了法界。二是「善住樓閣」。澄觀釋這個閣名說：「權實相依、悲智無住，名善住閣」——權與實互相依持，悲與智都不停住，這叫善住；而所謂「出」，並不是離開這個閣，是從這裡出來利生。
排一個誤解：把『出閣』讀成離開了那個境界。澄觀明說「從此利生為出，非離此矣」。落到地上：這一出一往，是整部末會的起手勢——不是從高處退下來，是從無住之中走出來。
伴從二十三類：般若導萬行
文殊出來的時候，同行的除了無量菩薩，還有一長串神王。經文逐一列出，實計二十三類：主神十四（金剛神、身眾神、足行神、主地神、主水神、主火神、主風神、主方神、主夜神、主晝神、主空神、主海神、主山神、主城神），諸王九（大龍王、夜叉王、乾闥婆王、鳩槃荼王、迦樓羅王、阿脩羅王、摩睺羅伽王、大天王、大梵王）。
要留意這一串的寫法：每一類前面都掛一句德行——「樂聞妙法主地神」「常修大悲主水神」「智光照耀主火神」——名字是通稱，掛在前面的才是這一類所表之德。澄觀正是這樣讀的：「二伴從中，初一同生、餘皆異生，並約通稱，表法之名，以明般若導萬行故。」同行菩薩是同生眾，其餘神王是異生眾；名是通名，德是表法；而所表的總義是一句——般若引導萬行。
排一個誤解：把這一串當作排場的鋪陳。落到地上：這是文殊出行時所帶的『行』——智若真出來利生，慈悲、精進、守護、除暗這些事會一齊跟著出來，不會只出來一個智。
舍利弗承佛神力：小乘之智也助大化
文殊南行之後，經文換了一個人：「爾時，尊者舍利弗承佛神力，見文殊師利菩薩，與諸菩薩眾會莊嚴，出逝多林」，於是起念要同往南方，並帶著六千比丘辭佛而去。
這裡有兩處值得點出。其一，舍利弗是『承佛神力』才見到的——前面本會之中，聲聞在座而不見不聞；到了這裡，佛力一加，他就見了。其二，澄觀判這一段為「一明助化攝大」，並說「小乘之智亦助大故」——舍利弗在這裡不是被度的對象，是助文殊化度的人。
排一個誤解：以為此段是在貶抑聲聞。經文的安排恰恰相反：迴小入大這件事，是由聲聞中的智慧第一者親手促成的。落到地上：勸人向上的，往往正是走過另一條路而知其局限的人。
六千比丘：為什麼是六千，為什麼要「出家未久」
經文特別交代這六千人的來歷：「此六千比丘是舍利弗自所同住，出家未久」。這兩句都不是閒筆，澄觀逐句給了說法。
數目：「六千者，表六根性淨，可入法界故」——六根各具千數，表六根清淨。出家未久：「出家未久者，未證實際，易可迴故；信心尚微，須誘化故」。已經證入實際的人，反而難迴；剛出家的人，執未固而信尚微，正是可迴可誘之機。
排一個誤解：以為修行愈久愈好回頭。澄觀釋此，讀出的是反面——尚未把自己封死的人，機會反而大。落到地上：這一句可以拿來自問——我在自己的路上，是還走得動，還是已經走成了一條不能拐彎的路。
歎德十句：本是大器，託迹比丘
列名之後，經文用十句讚這六千人：曾供養無量諸佛、深植善根、解力廣大、信眼明徹、其心寬博、觀佛境界、了法本性、饒益眾生、常樂勤求諸佛功德，末一句是「皆是文殊師利說法教化之所成就」。
澄觀判這十句說：「文有十句：初二歎宿因、次七明現德、後一結德屬緣。」前二句說宿世之因，中七句說現前之德，末一句把這一切歸屬到文殊這個緣上。他並且點出這樣讚的用意——所讚全是大乘之德，可見這些人「本大器、託迹比丘」，示現作比丘而已。
排一個誤解：以為此處是在誇獎他們的聲聞功夫。所讚的每一句都是菩薩之德，一句聲聞法也沒有。落到地上：末一句最要緊——所有的現德，都繫在一個『緣』上；沒有那個緣，宿因也發不出來。
十事觀察：舍利弗教人怎麼看一位善知識
行路途中，舍利弗指著文殊，教海覺比丘看。經文連下十句「汝可觀察」，逐字實計正好十事：身相、圓光、光網、眾會、所行之路（左右八步）、所住之處（道場隨轉）、路旁伏藏、樹間莊嚴藏、世間主雨供具雲、十方佛放白毫光從頂上入。
澄觀判這十句為「有十勝德」，逐一命名：「一身相勝、二常光勝、三放光勝、四眾會勝、五行路勝，表常依八正故」，其下六住處勝、七福嚴勝、八林樹勝、九自在勝、十上攝勝。其中第五之所以配八正道，是取『左右八步』之數；第十之所以名上攝，是因為諸佛之光從頂而入，表心常上攝諸佛之法。
要排一個誤解：這十句不是在讚歎相貌。看的次第是有講究的——先看身、看光，是就其身；再看眾會、看行路、看住處，是就其所行所處；最後看諸佛之光入頂，是就其所承。落到地上：這十句其實是一份『怎麼觀察善知識』的教材——先看他的人，再看他走的路和聚的眾，最後看他所承接的是什麼。
比丘得益：從讚歎生信，從信生行
聽完這番稱揚，比丘們起了變化。經文的寫法是層層遞進的：先是「心意清淨，信解堅固」，接著是身體上的反應——喜不自持、舉身踊躍、形體柔軟、諸根悅豫，然後是障的消除——憂苦悉除、垢障咸盡，然後是所得——常見諸佛、深求正法、具菩薩根、得菩薩力，末後是大悲大願自然出生，入諸度甚深境界，於一切智深生信樂。
排一個誤解：以為信是一件心裡的事，與身無關。經文從「心意清淨」寫到「形體柔軟」，是把信寫成了一件通身的事。落到地上：真起了信的人，身上是鬆的，不是緊的——這是一個可以自檢的相。
詣勝人與蒙勝攝：象王迴的意思
得了益，比丘們就請舍利弗引見：「唯願大師將引我等，往詣於彼勝人之所。」到了之後，文殊的反應經文只用一句——「如象王迴觀諸比丘」。
澄觀解這個比喻解得很細：「如象王迴者，身首俱轉，無輕舉故。」象要回頭，必得整個身子一起轉，不能只把頭一扭。所取的意思在『重』——攝受這一群人，是全身的事，不是隨便一瞥。
比丘們則頂禮合掌，發了一個願：願自己也得到像文殊那樣的色身、音聲、相好、自在。要留意他們求證的對象——「唯願仁者文殊師利、和尚舍利弗、世尊釋迦牟尼，皆悉證知」，三位並舉，和尚在中間。落到地上：這一願不避『求相好』之嫌，因為所求的相好是文殊的相好，其實是求文殊之德。
十無疲厭（一）：為什麼這十句都繫在「無疲厭」上
文殊開口所授的第一法，是十句趣大乘法。標句是：「比丘！若善男子、善女人，成就十種趣大乘法，則能速入如來之地，況菩薩地」——連如來地都能速入，何況菩薩地。
十句的內容各異——積集善根、承事諸佛、求佛法、行波羅蜜、成就三昧、入三世、嚴淨佛剎、教化眾生、於一切剎劫成就菩薩行、為成熟眾生修塵數波羅蜜——而每一句的結尾都是同一句：「心無疲厭」，逐字實計正好十見。
何以句句都落在這四個字上？澄觀答得很切：「皆言無疲厭者，法門無盡、眾生無邊，取相而修多生疲厭，厭則退墮二乘；若無愛見而修，則無疲矣。」疲厭的根不在事多，在取相；取相而修，事就永遠做不完，做不完就厭，厭就退。
排一個誤解：把『無疲厭』讀成意志力的堅忍。經文說的不是咬牙撐住，是把取相這個疲勞的來源拔掉。落到地上：檢查自己的厭，不要先問事情多不多，先問自己是不是在數自己做了多少。
十無疲厭（二）：十句的五對結構
十句不是十件並列的事。澄觀說「十句攝為五對」——一內因外緣（積集善根／承事諸佛）、二求法成行（求一切佛法／行波羅蜜）、三深定妙智（成就三昧／次第入三世）、四嚴剎調生（嚴淨佛剎／教化眾生）、五長時廣大（於一切剎劫成就菩薩行／為成熟眾生修塵數波羅蜜成就如來十力）。
第三對之所以稱『深定妙智』，是因為入三世正是智之所入。第五對之所以稱『長時廣大』，是因為前一句就時間說，後一句就數量說；澄觀並說第五對也通勝進之修。
排一個誤解：讀到排比句就跳過去。落到地上：這五對可以當作一張自檢表——因與緣、法與行、定與智、剎與生、時與量，五對十項，缺哪一項就補哪一項。
舉益勸修：發此十心之後會怎樣
十句說完，文殊接著說發此心的利益：「比丘！若善男子、善女人，成就深信，發此十種無疲厭心，則能長養一切善根」，其下一連串——捨離生死趣、超過世間種姓、不墮聲聞辟支佛地、生一切如來家、具一切菩薩願、學習如來功德、修行菩薩諸行、得如來力、摧伏眾魔外道、除滅一切煩惱、入菩薩地、近如來地。
澄觀判這一段也是五對：一長善離生、二超凡越小、三生家具業、四習果修因、五摧邪入證。
這裡要留意「成就深信」四個字。前面十句是行，這裡先立一個信；本段之所以配十信位，這句是最直接的經證。排一個誤解：以為『不墮聲聞辟支佛地』是在排斥二乘。說這話的對象正是六千位比丘，而他們正在被引出去；所不墮的是自限於彼地，不是彼地本身有過。落到地上：發心的檢驗不在發的當下，在發完之後這一串會不會漸漸出現。
得三昧：無礙眼見一切佛境界，四用而稱無礙
比丘們聞法之後，得了三昧，名叫「無礙眼見一切佛境界」。這個名字裡的『無礙』，澄觀給了三義：能見離障、所見無壅、一具多用。
所謂『一具多用』，指的是下面那一大段。經文列所見所知，實有四類：一是眼之所見（見諸佛如來、見諸趣眾生、見世界差別、見世界微塵、見眾生宮殿），二是耳之所聞（聞諸佛言音演說諸法文辭訓釋，悉皆解了），三是知他心（觀察一切眾生諸根心欲），四是宿住之憶念（憶念眾生前後十生、憶念過去未來各十劫事、憶念諸如來十本生事乃至十種辯才）。澄觀說：「一眼具斯四用，故稱無礙。」——一個眼具足了四種神通之用，這才叫無礙。
排一個誤解：把『無礙眼』讀成視力極好。所無礙者，是能所之間沒有隔；一根之用能通四根之事，才是此處之無礙。落到地上：這一段是講見佛境界的『量』，不是講神異的展示。
十信初心而得十地之後的通用：以始攝終
得了三昧之後，經文說他們又成就了十千菩提心、十千三昧、十千波羅蜜，得大智慧圓滿光明，得菩薩十神通。
這裡有一個看似不合次第的地方——這些人才剛迴小入大，怎麼就得到菩薩十神通？澄觀正面答了：「此顯圓教攝機創立大心，乃得十地之後十通之用，以始攝終故」，並說這與〈初發心功德品〉所辨是同一理。始位而得終位之用，是圓教攝機之相。
排一個誤解：以為這是躐等。圓教之『以始攝終』，說的是初發心中已攝盡後位之德，不是說可以跳過中間的修。落到地上：初發心之所以珍貴，正在這裡；而正因為它已攝盡了，才更不可輕忽初心。
受勝進法：住普賢行，一連串的「已」
文殊沒有停在十心上，接著勸他們「住普賢行」。經文寫得像一串鎖鏈：住普賢行已，入大願海；入大願海已，成就大願海；成就大願海故，心清淨；心清淨故，身清淨；身清淨故，身輕利；身清淨、輕利故，得大神通無有退轉；得此神通故，不離文殊師利足下，而普於十方一切佛所悉現其身。
澄觀判此為受勝進之法——前面十句只明大心無疲，這裡才是令其廣住行願而進趣普修。
要留意末後那一句「不離文殊師利足下」而能遍現十方。排一個誤解：以為遍現十方要先離開此處。經文說的正相反——不動此處而遍一切處。落到地上：這條鎖鏈是有次第的，願、心、身、通，一環扣一環；而最後那一環的秘密，是『不離』。
至福城：化處為什麼在城東的塔廟
比丘會結束，文殊南行到福城東，住在莊嚴幢娑羅林中的大塔廟處。經文交代這裡的來歷：往昔諸佛曾在此止住教化，也是世尊往昔修菩薩行「能捨無量難捨之處」，所以此林之名普聞於無量佛剎。
澄觀逐字解這幾個地名。城名：「其城居人多有福德，故曰福城，城表防非」。方位：東為群方之首，表順福分善而入道之初。林名：「娑羅林者，此云高遠」，林木森聳，表當起萬行莊嚴。塔廟則是歸宗之所。他並引日照三藏所傳的實地見聞為證：「此城在南天竺，城東大塔是古佛之塔」，又說「此處居人多唱善財歌辭」。
排一個誤解：以為這些地名只是背景。澄觀讀出的是一整套表法：有福德的人聚居之處（福）、初出之方（東）、高遠之林（行）、歸宗之塔（本）。落到地上：善財的緣起，是在一個既有福德又有古佛遺跡的地方發生的——機與處相稱，緣才成得起。
說普照法界修多羅：龍聞法而捨身
文殊在此說《普照法界修多羅》，並有百萬億那由他修多羅為其眷屬。澄觀釋這個經名說：「名普照等者，智用宏舒，故云普照」，而所照的既深且廣，故稱法界。
聽者之中，經文特別記了龍：無量百千億諸龍前來，聞法之後「深厭龍趣，正求佛道，咸捨龍身，生天人中」，一萬諸龍於無上菩提得不退轉；此外無量眾生於三乘中各得調伏。澄觀說諸龍是「得主教意，故云正求佛道」，而後面那些眾生是得眷屬經之教意，所以只說調伏而不別演說，因此不另立一會。
排一個誤解：以為龍眾捨身是神異情節。此段之義在『厭』與『求』並起——先深厭所在之趣，才談得上正求佛道。落到地上：離開一個處境的力量，一半來自看清它，一半來自看見別的可能。
四部雲奔：五百之數與四眾之名
福城人聞訊出城。經文列四眾：優婆塞五百（大智為首）、優婆夷五百、童子五百（善財為首）、童女五百，各列名而以「……」略其餘。逐字實計具名之數：優婆塞十一（領眾大智一人，「所謂」以下十人）、優婆夷十、童子十一（善財在內）、童女十。
澄觀釋四眾之名：「一優婆塞，此云近事男，謂親近比丘而承事故」，優婆夷則是近事女；二者都因受五戒而立近事之名；童男童女可準知。至於為何四眾之數都是五百，他說：「而數皆五百者，表五位證入並通此故。」五百表五位，四眾各具，表五位之證入四眾皆通。
排一個誤解：以為四眾雲集只是為了襯托場面。澄觀判「時福城人」以下為三會之第三「善財會」，其所顯者是「顯純一乘機，一生成辨故」；第二「諸乘人會」是前段龍眾與「復有眾生」得調伏之文，「顯通收諸權入一實故」。四眾都來，是善財會之眾——所顯的是純一乘之機，一生可辦。落到地上：善財出場的方式很值得注意——他不是被單獨召來的，是在五百童子的名單裡出場的。
三業調化：現自在身與四種自在
四眾既集，文殊做的第一件事不是說法，是「知福城人悉已來集，隨其心樂現自在身，威光赫奕蔽諸大眾」。先問一句：眾已來集，何以還要「現自在身」，不直說法？經文自答於下四句——「以自在大慈令彼清涼，以自在大悲起說法心，以自在智慧知其心樂，以廣大辯才將為說法」。四句是四種自在：慈之自在能除聞者之熱惱而令清涼，悲之自在能於能說者身上起說法之心，智之自在能鑑知一一聽者心之所樂，辯之自在則使所知者說得出來。四者次第相生：先安其心，次起說意，次知其機，後乃有言。
澄觀科此一段為『三業調化』，並判其中有二：「一身意調機、二……當機授法」；前者又二，「先總調大眾，為授法方便，故云將說」，後乃別觀善財。故「現自在身」不是威儀之飾，是說法之前方便——身之現、意之調，都還在「將為說法」之位，未曾出聲。
排一個誤解：以為「威光赫奕蔽諸大眾」是形容文殊比眾人尊貴。經文所指不在高下，在調機——光之所及是令彼清涼，不是令彼自慚。落到地上：要把一件事說給人聽，先讓對方的心涼下來、先知道他想聽什麼，話才有著落；未調機而先出口，是說者之急，不是聞者之益。
觀善財之外緣：七寶樓閣·七伏藏·五百寶器
文殊現自在身，將要說法，忽然轉去觀察一個人：「復於是時，觀察善財以何因緣而有其名？」
經文的答案分兩截。先說外緣：入胎之時宅內自然湧出七寶樓閣，閣下有七伏藏，藏上地裂而生七寶之芽——金、銀、瑠璃、玻瓈、真珠、硨磲、碼碯，七者逐一列名。處胎十月而生，形體端正，七大藏「縱廣高下各滿七肘」從地湧出。宅中又自然出現五百寶器，種種物自然盈滿，經文以十三句寫之，其中四對兩兩互盛：金剛器盛香、香器盛衣、美玉器盛飲食、摩尼器盛珍寶、金銀器盛瑠璃及摩尼寶，此五為單句；其下金與銀互盛、玻瓈與硨磲互盛、碼碯與真珠互盛、火摩尼與水摩尼互盛，此四對成八句。又雨眾寶，庫藏悉滿。
因為這件事，「父母親屬及善相師共呼此兒，名曰：善財」。
排一個誤解：以為這是在寫富貴。澄觀就名解義說：「財多屬依、善通依正，財現是其善相，稱曰善財」——財是依報，善通依正二報；財之所以現，是善的相。落到地上：這些寶不是他的資糧，是他宿善的顯相；經文寫得這麼細，是要讓人知道『善財』二字所指的不是家世。
觀善財之內因：十句
外緣之後是內因。經文說文殊「又知此童子」——已曾供養過去諸佛、深種善根、信解廣大、常樂親近諸善知識、身語意業皆無過失、淨菩薩道、求一切智、成佛法器、其心清淨猶如虛空、迴向菩提無所障礙，共十句。
澄觀在此另換一義解名：「又解心順理曰善，積德無盡曰財」——前面就外緣解，此處就內因解，一名而二義。他並說這十句「初一唯宿因，信解已去皆通過現」。
排一個誤解：把外緣與內因當作兩件不相干的事。經文先寫寶藏後寫善根，正是要讓人知道所現之相有所本。落到地上：這十句是善財之所以能承當五十三參的資格清單，其中最實在的一句是「常樂親近諸善知識」——這正是他接下來要做一輩子的事。
當機授法十句：從佛之因說到佛之果
文殊觀察已畢，「安慰開諭，而為演說一切佛法」，其下十句，句句以「說一切佛」起：積集法、相續法、次第法、眾會清淨法、法輪化導法、色身相好法、法身成就法、言辭辯才法、光明照耀法、平等無二法。
澄觀判這十句說：初二句約佛因（一積集萬行、二念念不斷），次七句約佛果（前三是妙用攝生，後四是體用圓備），第十句通因通果、通理通事。
排一個誤解：以為這十句是十條佛法的目錄。看它的結構——由因入果，末句歸於平等無二，這是一條線。落到地上：文殊給初學者說的第一課，不是修法，是先讓他看見佛之為佛是怎麼一回事；心裡先有這個全景，路才不會走偏。
結說勸進：發菩提心，並且憶念過去善根
十句說畢，經文說文殊「慇懃勸諭，增長勢力，令其歡喜，發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，又令憶念過去善根」，做完這些事，又隨宜為眾生說法，然後才離去。
澄觀判這一節為結說勸進，並逐句繫其用：結前所說，是普及無偏；指前因法勸令進修；令發大心求前佛果；「令憶宿善使不自輕」。
要點出最後一項。發心之外還要令他憶念過去的善根，用意是不讓他自輕。排一個誤解：以為發心只需要仰望高遠。經文的作法是兩頭都給——前面給他看佛果之高，後面提醒他自己宿善之厚。落到地上：對治退心，光說目標偉大是不夠的，還得讓人記起自己已經走過的路。
善財三十四偈（一）：初四偈自敘沈溺
文殊將去，善財說了三十四偈。澄觀判其大分為二：「三十四頌，分二：初四頌，傷己沈溺，自勉不能；後三十頌，仰德依人，請垂拔濟。」
初四偈是一整幅城喻。「三有為城廓，憍慢為垣牆」，其下「諸趣為門戶，愛水為池塹」；再下寫城中之景——愚癡之闇覆蓋，貪恚之火熾然，魔王作君主，童蒙依止而住。第三偈換喻，寫身上之縛：貪愛是徽纆，諂誑是轡勒，疑惑蔽眼而入邪道。第四偈說果：慳嫉憍盈而入三惡處，或墮諸趣而受生老病死之苦。
澄觀判前二偈是「明依果起因」，後二偈是「明依因趣果」；又說前二迷於苦集，後二失於滅道。
排一個誤解：以為這四偈是謙辭。看它的結構——城、牆、門、塹四事俱全，這是一幅走不出去的圖；而走不出去的原因，經文說得很清楚，是「魔王作君主，童蒙依止住」——自己認了那個君主。落到地上：求法之前先看清自己在哪裡，這是本段給的第一個次第。
善財三十四偈（二）：十三偈讚人求法
後三十偈，澄觀分三：「初十三偈讚人求法、次十五偈讚法求乘、後二偈雙結人法。」
讚人求法一段，體例極整齊——澄觀說「皆上三句讚文殊德，偈各一德；後一句正求運濟」，每偈前三句讚一德，末一句求救。前六偈對前面的苦集而希垂拔濟：日輪（妙智清淨日）、月輪（妙智清淨月）、法界王、大商主、忍甲慧劍、住法須彌頂。後七偈對前面所失的滅道而冀成行果：澄觀更細分為「初一總求其道、次二求涅槃道、次二求菩提道、後二求見道緣」。
排一個誤解：以為讚歎是客套。這十三偈每一偈的讚都對著一個病——闇則求日月，迷則求先導，怯則求守護，被縛則求拔濟。落到地上：向人求法，先要說得出自己缺的是什麼；說不出所缺，讚歎就真的只剩客套。
善財三十四偈（三）：十五偈以車喻求乘
自「願輪大悲轂，信軸堅忍鎋」起，連下十五偈，每偈以車乘的部件配法，末句是「令我載此乘」（十二偈）、「使我載此乘」（一偈）或「願與我此乘」（二偈）。輪是願、轂是大悲、軸是信、鎋是堅忍；箱是總持、蓋是慈愍、鈴是辯才；茵蓐是梵行、采女是三昧、鼓是法音；藏是四攝、寶是功德莊嚴、羈鞅是慚愧。其下布施輪、淨戒香、忍辱莊嚴，禪定箱、智慧軛，大願輪、總持力，乃至金剛之堅、幻化之巧、虛空法界之廣、地之不動、水之普潤。
澄觀判這十五偈分四：「初四求悲智定，攝利他乘；次三求十度自行乘；次四求二利滅障乘；後四求運載廣大乘。」他並說這四段所配大體同於三賢十聖，而「皆文義多含，可以意得」。
排一個誤解：以為這是修辭的堆疊。一輛車有輪、有軸、有箱、有蓋、有鈴、有軛——每一件都缺不得，這正是取喻之意：所求的不是某一種德，是一整套能載人走遠的配備。落到地上：對照這十五偈檢查自己的『車』，最常缺的往往不是輪（願），是鎋（堅忍）。
善財三十四偈（四）：末二偈雙結
末二偈，澄觀判為「後二偈雙結人法」，並說「初偈結法願見、後偈結人請攝」。前一偈「四攝圓滿輪，總持清淨光」，仍就法說而願見；後一偈「已入法王城，已著智王冠」，就人說而請攝——入城、著冠、繫繒三事，狀文殊之位已極，所以末句只求一句慈顧。
排一個誤解：把末二偈讀成收尾的客套。前面三十二偈一直在說『我缺什麼』和『您有什麼』，到這裡才把兩邊合起來——法既如此，人既如此，所以請攝受我。落到地上：一篇求法之辭的結構，於此可見：先陳己病，次讚彼德，再求其法，末歸於請攝。
大聖重教（一）：略讚略教與象王再迴
偈頌說完，經文第二次用象王之喻：「爾時，文殊師利菩薩如象王迴，觀善財童子」，然後說「善哉善哉！善男子！汝已發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心」。
澄觀判此下為大聖重教，分四別：一略讚略教、二廣問廣答、三指示後友、四念恩辭退。略讚有二——「一讚發心」「二讚近友」，而後教其往近善友。何以近友是種智的最初因緣？澄觀的理由是「法無人弘，雖慧莫了」，並引《涅槃》為證：「一切眾生得阿耨菩提近因緣者，莫先善友」。
這裡要接一件前面說過的事：澄觀在攝善財會十門中特別指出，「初文殊中，未發心前所以不歎，勸發心已方乃歎之」——文殊在善財發心之前並不讚歎他，發了心才讚。排一個誤解：以為讚歎是給人鼓勵的手段。此處的讚是有所指的，所讚正是那一件剛剛發生的事。落到地上：讚歎要落在事上，落不到事上的讚歎，於人無益。
大聖重教（二）：善財的十一句問
被讚之後，善財問了一長串：「唯願聖者廣為我說，菩薩應云何學菩薩行？」其下逐句——修、趣、行、淨、入、成就、隨順、憶念、增廣，末句是「應云何令普賢行速得圓滿」，逐字實計十一句。
澄觀說這十一句與前面的偈頌有兩重關係：一是前別此總（前面偈中悲智等是別行，這裡是總修）、二是前橫此竪（悲智等行位位同修，這裡是從始至終）。十一句之中，「初二為總」——學與修二字已收盡解與行，所以後面諸位善友多半只舉這兩句；其餘九句是別：始趣向、事造修、治障離過、達證分明、具足獲得、隨順人法、長時無間、無餘修習、究竟圓滿。他並且把這九句竪配到十住乃至十地等覺。
排一個誤解：以為這十一句是同義的重複。落到地上：這十一問其實是一份修行的全程檢查表，從『開始學』一直問到『圓滿』；後面五十二位善知識所答的，全在這張表裡。
大聖重教（三）：文殊十偈答
文殊以十偈答。澄觀判「十偈分五」：初二偈讚其發心、次一偈略教、次一偈重讚發心之德、次五偈廣教、後一偈結益。
讚發心二偈之中，澄觀指出前二句是總讚，次三句指發心之體即三種心——悲以下救、智以上求、大願為主，並引慈氏之語為證：「菩提心燈，大悲為油、大願為炷，光照法界」；後三句顯發心的意樂，是為眾生而非為五欲王位。略教一偈說的是「若有諸菩薩，不厭生死苦」——澄觀釋之曰：若厭苦趣寂，則大道不具而為魔小所壞；若能了生死之實，則攝眾魔為侍。重讚一偈把「福光福威力，福處福淨海」四句逐一配義：有智之福為福光、凡小不壞之福為威力、能生眾福為福處、離障深廣為淨海。
廣教五偈，澄觀說是「具答十一句問」——初偈答二總句，次偈答次三句，次二句答入與成就，次二句答隨順，次一偈答憶念，後一偈答後二句。末偈結益。
排一個誤解：以為頌只是長行的重述。此處恰恰相反：長行的十一問，是在頌裡被逐一答完的。落到地上：問得細，答才能細；這一問一答的對位，是本段最值得逐句比對的地方。
大聖重教（四）：總教——但能求友離過，前問皆圓
十偈之後，經文回到長行，先讚「汝已發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，求菩薩行」，並說一句重話：發心已難，「能發心已，求菩薩行，倍更為難」。
然後是總教。澄觀說這一段的意思是「但能求友離過，則前諸問皆圓」——前面十一問問得那樣細，這裡只給一條路：求真善知識。經文的四句是「求善知識勿生疲懈，見善知識勿生厭足，於善知識所有教誨皆應隨順，於善知識善巧方便勿見過失」。澄觀分其誡勸：「隨順是勸，餘皆為誡」，並就末句補一句極重的話：「設有實過，尚取法亡非，況權實多端生熟難測。」
他又釋『善知識』之名並開五級：「然知識有五：一知識世間善惡因果而令修斷、二厭世樂而欣涅槃、三有悲心相心修度、四以無相慧令物修行、五令無障礙修滿普賢行」，並判「此五前前非真，真唯第五人能行」。
排一個誤解：以為『勿見過失』是要人盲從。澄觀說的是取法亡非——就法而取，不在人事上計較；而他同時立了五級，正是要人知道所求的是第五種。落到地上：求友一事，既要有揀擇之明，又要有不苛之量；二者缺一，路都走不下去。
指示後友與辭退：勝樂國·妙峯山·德雲比丘
文殊末後指示：「善男子！於此南方有一國土，名為：勝樂；其國有山，名曰：妙峯；於彼山中，有一比丘，名曰：德雲。」並囑他去問前面那三句問——學、修、乃至普賢行疾得圓滿——並說「德雲比丘當為汝說」。
這三個名字，澄觀都解了。國名：「國名勝樂者，次下知識寄當初住，勝過前位，是信所樂故」——初住勝過信位，故名勝樂。山名妙峰有二義，一是寂靜不動，二是高出周覽，以況初住之解心創立、依定發慧。友名：「友名德雲者，具德如雲」，雲有普遍、潤澤、陰覆、注雨四義，如次配定、福、悲、智。
「於此南方」的南，也有講究。澄觀先限其分位：地前的善知識多在南方，地內無方，地後則兼二——所以南不是全程的地理，其所表隨分位而異。南之義古有五：一約事，舉一方之善友以例其餘，一方尚且無量，何況餘方；二明義，南方之明萬物相見，表捨闇向智；三中義，離東西二邊，契中正之道；四生義，南主陽而發生萬物，表善財增長行；五隨順義，背左向右，自東之南順日月而轉，表善財隨順教理。五義之中，初一通，明義與後二表地前，中義表地後，而亦通地前正證離相。
還有一問，是經文自己引出來的：文殊既有智能演，善財亦堪受，何不一次說完，而要指他去歷事諸友？澄觀申十義：一為後學作軌範，善財求法不懈、善友說法無吝；二顯行緣勝，真善友是全梵行；三破愚執，令不師愚心，虛己遍求；四破見慢，令不觀種性、不恥下問；五破遍空執，無求之中吾故求之；六令即事即行，寧可少聞便能證入，不在多聞而不證；七破說法者攝屬之心，我徒我資，彼此見故；八顯寄位漸修，不推後則位位中住、無勝進；九顯佛法甚深廣，善友尚皆謙推，凡流豈當臆斷；十顯善財與友成緣起，能入所入無二——無善友之外的善財，則一即一切；無善財之外的善友，則一切即一。澄觀自己收束：初一通於師資，次五多約學人說，第七約師，後三約教。落到地上：五十三參不是文殊講不完，是教法本身要人走一遍。
末段是善財的反應：「歡喜踊躍，頭頂禮足，遶無數匝，慇懃瞻仰，悲泣流淚。」澄觀解這一喜一悲說：「慶聞後友故喜躍，悵辭德音故悲淚」，並說以下諸位善友處都可以照此類推。
排一個誤解：把悲泣讀成軟弱。這一悲的來處是不捨教誨之音，而這一喜的來處是又有可學之人——本段以這一對情緒收束，正好把五十三參的基調定了下來。落到地上：善知識之可貴，要在辭別的那一刻才最看得清楚。
承衍
本段之文，向下所開之流有三條線。
其一是科判之線。本段是末會之首，澄觀在此立十門總綱與五相分別，其下五十段皆依此讀。五相之配，澄觀先錄意法師與臺山論之不配位、光統等師之配位，判曰「二皆有理」，而自云「且依古德配為五相」，並以「然無次位中不礙次位，顯位是常規，配亦無失」持平收之；配與不配二軌並存，誌錄不判。法藏《探玄記》就六十本亦以文殊出閣句判本末二會，而其相對三重與澄觀之十門異其取徑——「亦則前明果法界、後明因法界」「又前明頓入法界、後明漸入法界」「又前總、後別」。李通玄另立門名，判本段為「就俗利生成行門」，其下長科三分，並以文殊、普賢、佛三法為五位因果之體；伴從之數，八十本逐字實計二十三類，通玄就八十本作「此一段并菩薩神天有三十二眾」。智儼《搜玄記》於本品總釋四門之外，於本段亦立三分：文殊及眷屬辭退南行以為化緣、舍利弗以下對緣攝化、文殊知善財以下自位滿足進入勝境；攝化之中又三——化引聲聞、攝諸龍眾、攝化人眾。此諸家所立，各有其軌，誌錄之，不判高下。
其二是善財位次之線。這是本品最大的古釋分歧。澄觀錄「善財童子為聖為凡？有古多釋」，其下有地上菩薩說、地前實報凡夫說，又有引安住地神處「此人已生法王種中」為證而自為二解者；賢首則立三位而云「應是善趣信行中人」，並說「謂以在信是信位、在住是住位，一身歷五位，隨在即彼收」。澄觀於賢首之說下曰「此之一解甚順經宗」，又自申「但更有一理，謂歷位而修，得見普賢，一時頓具」——這是疏對賢首三生說的修正，鈔明說「疏正其釋」：一時頓具即是第三證入生，漸與頓於此交徹。末仍以「無得管見以害經宗」收，不剋定善財始末在哪一位。諸說並存，誌錄不判。
其三是承衍論典之線。本段屬經家敘事，不入唯識橋段：世親《十地經論》全檔不見文殊、善財、福城三詞；成唯識、攝論、瑜伽、解深密四論亦不見本段之句。華嚴宗諸論之中，《華嚴一乘十玄門》引本段善財從文殊發心之事，《華嚴經旨歸》以善財依經造修為益相之例，《華嚴一乘教義分齊章》以善財歷位為五教階位之例，《華嚴經孔目章》涉善財之文不一，其釋四十五知識文更直承本段之法——初一知識為迴心人說十大心、為善財廣說諸佛十正法以成信行；《華嚴法界玄鏡》則全不涉善財事。所查諸典，於本段之承接多在『人』而不在『法相』，唯孔目章一處兼承本段之法（十大心·十正法）——這正合末會「託人進修以軌後徒」之本意。
一段之文，前半是迴小入大，後半是純機受法。文殊只有一個人，因為信還不成位；而五十三參之所以能走成，正因為第一步是信。
Where This Passage Stands in the Whole Sūtra: After the Root Assembly, at the Head of the Last Assembly
The Avataṃsaka has reached its ninth assembly. What the eight assemblies before it told of was the Dharma realm manifested by the Buddha and the great bodhisattvas within concentration; and when it came to the Jeta Grove, the Buddha entered the samādhi of the lion's stretching and manifested an inconceivable realm, and the great bodhisattvas saw it, while the śrāvakas who sat in that very assembly neither saw nor heard. When that great stretch has ended, the sūtra text suddenly changes key — Mañjuśrī comes out of the Tower of Good Abiding, goes off toward the south, and walks into the human realm.
Chengguan sets up a great division of the outline here, saying that what follows is the second great division, the last assembly, and he first opens ten gates as a general framework: the general display of the sense of the assemblies, the opening and combining of the number of the assemblies, how many the lords of the assemblies are, the settling of the name and sense of an assembly, the drawing together under the two stations, the distinguishing of the five marks, the perfect gathering of beginning and end, the classes of persons in the Dharma realm, the events and senses of the Dharma realm, and the explaining as the text runs. The ten gates are held in common by all fifty stretches of the last assembly, and so they have to be set up here in this first stretch.
An error must be cleared away first: the last assembly is not an appendix to the eight assemblies before it. Chengguan says that what came before is the sudden that is not other than the gradual, in which many gates and many persons alike accord with it, and that here is the gradual that is not other than the sudden, in which one person passes through the stages and cultivates them perfectly — before, many persons accorded with one dharma; here, one person passes through every stage to the end. And he explains why there has to be such a stretch: now the cultivation is entrusted to a person so as to give the later followers a track to run in, so that the great teaching may be spread wide — this is the root intent of it. A dharma has to be walked through once by someone before those who come later have a track to follow. Bringing it down to the ground: do not read this passage as the opening of a story, read it as the opening of a pattern — every step Sudhana walks, he walks on the reader's behalf.
How Many Assemblies Are There in This Assembly: Chengguan's Five Ways of Reckoning
Under the last assembly, one good friend makes one stretch — so how is an assembly to be counted? Chengguan does not give one fixed number; he gives five ways of reckoning.
Reckoned by the capacities that are transformed, there are only three assemblies: if it is taken by the capacities gathered in, there are only three assemblies: first the monks, second the persons of the various vehicles, third the assembly of Sudhana — and within this one passage all three of these assemblies are walked through. Reckoned by transformer and transformed together, there are fifty-five, because Sudhana himself has fifty-three, while Mañjuśrī alone makes four assemblies, Virtue-Born and Endowed with Virtue share one question and answer, and Universal Friend, who gives no answer, does not make an assembly. Reckoned by lords and companions, if it is taken by lords and companions, there come to be one hundred and ten assemblies. And if it is taken by the scattered telling, then there are assemblies as many as the dust-motes of a Buddha-land. And if it is taken by the virtue of Samantabhadra, then the assemblies are endless — if it is taken by the virtue of Samantabhadra, then the assemblies are endless.
The number of the lords of the assemblies goes the same way: if it is fixed by persons, there are only fifty-four, and if the persons are displayed by the assemblies there are fifty-seven, because Mañjuśrī is divided among four places.
Clear away an error: these several numbers are not divergent accounts contradicting one another, they are countings of one and the same thing under different measures. Chengguan says so himself: and therefore, taking only the transformer, it is not enough to settle the assemblies — you cannot settle the number of assemblies by looking only at the number of persons who transform. Bringing it down to the ground: later men often quote the phrase the fifty-three visits, and one should know that this is said with regard to the number of Sudhana's visits and not with regard to the number of assemblies; the Mañjuśrī of this passage is the one who sets it in motion, standing outside those fifty-three.
Drawing Together Under the Two Stations: Mañjuśrī Stands for the Mind That Is Able to Have Faith, Samantabhadra for the Dharma Realm Relied Upon
Many as the persons of the last assembly are, Chengguan says: the assemblies here do not go beyond Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra, and there are in brief two gates: first, making the symbolism clear by setting them opposite; second, displaying the perfect by their mutual fusion. The gate of setting them opposite has three pairs.
The pair of what is able and what is its object: Samantabhadra stands for the Dharma realm relied upon, that is, the Tathāgata-womb wrapped in the bonds, for which Chengguan cites the Prajñā of the Guiding Principle, all beings are the Tathāgata-womb, as his witness; and Mañjuśrī stands for the mind that is able to have faith, for which he cites the Sūtra of the Names of the Buddhas, all Buddhas give rise to the mind by reason of Mañjuśrī, as his witness. The pair of understanding and practice: Samantabhadra stands for the ten thousand practices that are set in motion, Mañjuśrī for the understanding that is able to set them in motion. The pair of principle and wisdom: Samantabhadra is the Dharma realm that is witnessed, and Mañjuśrī is the great wisdom that is able to witness it.
The gate of mutual fusion then says that faith must have faith in the principle, and that understanding sets practice in motion and practice witnesses the principle, and therefore principle and wisdom are not two.
Clear away an error: Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra are not two deified symbols; what the two stand for is a pair of joints in cultivation — on one side the mind that is able to have faith and to understand, on the other the Dharma realm that is believed in and witnessed. Bringing it down to the ground: the reason this passage begins with Mañjuśrī coming out of the tower is precisely that the whole road sets out from faith; and Sudhana's seeing Samantabhadra at the last is the other end of that road.
The Assignment of the Five Marks Is For the Present, Following the Ancient Worthies, and Not the Sūtra Text Dividing Itself So
The sixth of the ten gates is the distinguishing of the five marks. The five marks are the dividing of the fifty stretches of the last assembly into five: the mark of cultivating under an assigned stage (forty-one persons), the mark of the conditions being gathered and entering the real (the eleven persons from Lady Māyā onward), the mark of gathering virtue and completing the cause (Maitreya), the mark of wisdom's illumination being not two (the later Mañjuśrī), and the mark of the vastness of the cause (Samantabhadra).
This is the most important line to be drawn in the way this passage is read: these five marks are not marked out by the sūtra text itself. Before he set up the five marks, Chengguan first recorded the divergence of two houses — as for Dharma-master Yi and the treatise of the Terrace Mountain, they only explain as the text runs and make no separate assignment; masters such as Guangtong all assign the stages — one house not assigning the stages, one house assigning them. He judged that both have their reason, and he supplied the reason on behalf of the house that does not assign: since each single stage is furnished with many Dharma-gates, it is not that the mind of an ordinary person may not practice and seek the dharma of the good friend, and so not assigning them also stands to reason. Only then did he say: yet where there is no order of stages, this does not obstruct the order of stages; to display the stages is the ordinary rule, and to assign them is no fault either. And that last sentence, for the present I follow the ancient worthies and assign them as five marks — that one phrase, for the present, states the weight of the matter plainly.
Clear away an error: reading assignment to a stage as though the sūtra text had plainly laid out a ladder of ranks. The sūtra text says only that Sudhana went south, met such and such a friend, and obtained such and such a Dharma-gate; not one name of a stage appears in it. Bringing it down to the ground: the judgment of assigned stages should be read as a ruler that the ancient worthies set up for those who came after; the ruler can measure depth and shallowness, but it cannot measure out a pronouncement of the sūtra text itself.
Why Mañjuśrī Is Only One Person: Faith Has Not Yet Become a Stage
Under the mark of cultivating under an assigned stage there are five divisions, and to the other four stages ten persons are assigned apiece, while to the first alone there is only the one person, Mañjuśrī. Why so? Chengguan answers in the shortest possible way: the first, Mañjuśrī, one person assigned to the ten faiths — faith has not yet become a stage, and so there is only one person.
He says the same thing over again in the gate on the classes of persons in the Dharma realm. Of those in the last assembly who manifest the body of a bodhisattva there are six in all, distributed over three places: among them the bodhisattvas are six, manifesting bodies in three places: first, the initial Mañjuśrī — because the stage of faith is weak, only one person is displayed. Second, the middle, where they advance by degrees, manifests two persons, namely Great Compassion and Right Course. Third, after the stages are fulfilled, three persons are displayed, namely Maitreya and the rest.
In the same gate Chengguan also says that the good friends do not fall outside what the five births of a bodhisattva gather in. The five births are those distinguished in the Yogācārabhūmi: first, the birth that stills suffering, born so as to rescue beings from suffering, as when he becomes a great fish; second, the birth according to kind, manifesting according to every kind; third, the superior birth, surpassing in form, clan, and wealth; fourth, the birth of ascendancy, from the first ground to the tenth as kings and the like; fifth, the final birth, the bodhisattva in his last body. The Yanyi chao says that there is now a small difference is because the intent is to take that sense and gather in these friends — it is not a matter of fitting the fifty-odd good friends one by one into five boxes; the sense of the five births is borrowed so as to gather them in: that a friend manifests such a body and stands in such a station is in every case the mark of a bodhisattva's responsive birth. Reading on, whenever a good friend appears in the body of an elder, a king, or a girl, one may first ask which of the five births this is.
An error must be cleared away: faith has not yet become a stage does not mean that faith is unimportant; it means that faith has not yet become a rank that can be set up. From the ten abodes upward, every stage can be settled in and abided in, and so ten persons are assigned to each so as to display the ten gates within that stage; faith is only the stretch at the entrance, and does not yet have the body and span of a stage, and so it is not enough to have ten persons listed for it. Bringing it down to the ground: this sentence, read the other way about, is also a reminder to the learner — do not be in a hurry to fix a rank for your own faith. The homework of faith is to go on having faith, not to measure your own height.
The Perfect Gathering of Beginning and End: One Stage Is All Stages
After the assigning of stages, Chengguan immediately adds a further gate as a rescue. The seventh gate says: the above assigned the dharmas so as to display the earlier and later of a spread-out arrangement; taken as they really are, they are perfectly fused, one stage being all stages and so on without end. Assignment to a stage is the difference of a spread-out teaching; perfect fusion is the real mark; the differences passed through are all the many within one, the one and the many at once and without obstruction.
Clear away an error: thinking that because the Avataṃsaka speaks of perfect fusion one may therefore pay no attention to the order of stages. Chengguan's two sentences stand side by side — the order is there so that people have steps to climb; the fusion is there so that people do not take the staircase for a cage. That earlier sentence of his, yet where there is no order of stages, this does not obstruct the order of stages, means exactly this. Bringing it down to the ground: in reading Sudhana's fifty-three visits, one must be able to see both that he walks step by step and that at no step does he ever leave the whole.
Mañjuśrī Comes Out of the Tower: Why Youth, and Why Out of the Tower of Good Abiding
The very first sentence of the sūtra text is at that time the youth Mañjuśrī came out of the Tower of Good Abiding. There are two expressions here that have to be accounted for.
The first is youth. Mañjuśrī is by origin a great being of equal awakening, and when the sūtra text listed the assembly of bodhisattvas earlier it listed him among the bodhisattvas; yet here he is called a youth. Chengguan says: the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī is by origin a youth, and earlier he was listed among the bodhisattvas. That the youth is brought out here is because it symbolizes the first entering into the Buddha's Dharma; and he says as well that without the practice of youthful truth one cannot enter the Dharma realm either. The second is the Tower of Good Abiding. Chengguan glosses the name of this tower thus: the provisional and the real lean upon each other, and compassion and wisdom abide nowhere — this is named the tower of good abiding — the provisional and the real uphold one another, and compassion and wisdom neither of them come to a halt; this is called good abiding. And as for coming out, it is not a departing from this tower, it is a coming out from here to benefit the living.
Clear away an error: reading coming out of the tower as having left that realm behind. Chengguan says plainly, coming out from here to benefit the living is the coming out; it is not a departing from this. Bringing it down to the ground: this one coming out and going forth is the opening gesture of the whole last assembly — it is not a stepping down from a height, it is a walking out from within abiding nowhere.
The Twenty-Three Classes of Retinue: Wisdom Leads the Ten Thousand Practices
When Mañjuśrī came out, besides the measureless bodhisattvas who walked with him there was also a long string of spirit kings. The sūtra text lists them one by one, twenty-three classes by actual count: fourteen presiding spirits (vajra spirits, body-multitude spirits, foot-going spirits, the earth-presiding spirit, the water-presiding spirit, the fire-presiding spirit, the wind-presiding spirit, the direction-presiding spirit, the night-presiding spirit, the day-presiding spirit, the space-presiding spirit, the sea-presiding spirit, the mountain-presiding spirit, the city-presiding spirit) and nine kinds of kings (great nāga kings, yakṣa kings, gandharva kings, kumbhāṇḍa kings, garuḍa kings, asura kings, mahoraga kings, great god-kings, great Brahmā kings).
Notice how this string is written: before every class there hangs a sentence of virtuous conduct — the earth-presiding spirit who loves to hear the wondrous Dharma, the water-presiding spirit who constantly cultivates great compassion, the fire-presiding spirit whose light of wisdom shines out — the name is the common designation, and what hangs before it is the virtue that this class stands for. This is exactly how Chengguan reads it: second, among the retinue, the first are of the same birth and the rest are all of different birth; and they are all taken by their common designations, names that symbolize the Dharma, so as to make clear that wisdom leads the ten thousand practices. The bodhisattvas who walk with him are the multitude of the same birth, and the rest, the spirit kings, are the multitude of different birth; the names are common names and the virtues are the symbolism; and the general sense they symbolize is a single sentence — wisdom leads the ten thousand practices.
Clear away an error: taking this string for a spreading out of pageantry. Bringing it down to the ground: this is the practice that Mañjuśrī brings with him when he goes forth — if wisdom really comes out to benefit the living, then compassion, vigor, guarding, and the wiping away of darkness all come out along with it; wisdom does not come out alone.
Śāriputra Sustained by the Buddha's Spiritual Power: The Wisdom of the Lesser Vehicle Also Assists the Great Transforming
After Mañjuśrī has gone south, the sūtra text changes to another person: at that time the venerable Śāriputra, sustained by the Buddha's spiritual power, saw the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, together with the adorned assembly of bodhisattvas, come out of the Jeta Grove, whereupon he gave rise to the thought of going south along with him, and took six thousand monks with him and left after taking leave of the Buddha.
There are two places here worth pointing out. The first is that it was sustained by the Buddha's spiritual power that Śāriputra saw it — earlier, within the root assembly, the śrāvakas sat in the assembly and neither saw nor heard; here, once the Buddha's power is added, he sees. The second is that Chengguan judges this stretch to be the first, making clear the assisting of the transforming and the gathering into the great, and says because the wisdom of the Lesser Vehicle also assists the great — Śāriputra here is not the object of the delivering, he is the one who assists Mañjuśrī in delivering and transforming.
Clear away an error: thinking that this stretch is disparaging the śrāvakas. The arrangement of the sūtra text is exactly the reverse: this matter of turning from the lesser and entering the great is brought about by the very hand of the foremost in wisdom among the śrāvakas. Bringing it down to the ground: the one who urges a person upward is very often precisely the one who has walked another road and knows its limits.
The Six Thousand Monks: Why Six Thousand, and Why They Must Have Not Long Gone Forth
The sūtra text takes particular care over where these six thousand come from: these six thousand monks were those who dwelt together with Śāriputra himself, and they had not long gone forth from the household life. Neither of these two sentences is idle, and Chengguan gives an account of each.
On the number: the six thousand are because they symbolize the purity in nature of the six faculties, which can enter the Dharma realm — each of the six faculties is furnished with a thousand, symbolizing the purity of the six faculties. On having not long gone forth: that they had not long gone forth is because they had not yet witnessed the real limit and so could easily be turned; and because their mind of faith was still slight and so had to be enticed and transformed. Those who have already entered and witnessed the real limit are on the contrary hard to turn; those newly gone forth, whose grasping is not yet set firm and whose faith is still slight, are exactly the capacity that can be turned and enticed.
Clear away an error: thinking that the longer one cultivates, the easier it is to turn back. What Chengguan reads out of this gloss is the reverse — the one who has not yet sealed himself shut has, on the contrary, the better chance. Bringing it down to the ground: this sentence can be used to ask oneself a question — on my own road, am I still able to walk, or have I already walked it into a road that cannot turn a corner.
The Ten Sentences Praising Their Virtue: Great Vessels by Origin, Lodging Their Traces as Monks
After the names are listed, the sūtra text praises these six thousand in ten sentences: they had made offerings to measureless Buddhas, had planted roots of goodness deeply, their power of understanding was vast, the eye of their faith was bright and clear through and through, their minds were wide and broad, they contemplated the realm of a Buddha, they penetrated to the original nature of dharmas, they benefited beings, and they constantly delighted to seek diligently after the merits of the Buddhas; and the last sentence is all of this was what Mañjuśrī's telling of the Dharma and teaching and transforming had brought to accomplishment.
Chengguan judges these ten sentences thus: the text has ten sentences: the first two praise the causes of former lives, the next seven make clear the present virtues, and the last one draws the virtues together and assigns them to the condition. The first two sentences speak of the causes of former lives, the middle seven of the virtues now present, and the last one assigns all of this to the one condition that is Mañjuśrī. And he points out what such praise is for: everything praised is virtue of the Great Vehicle, from which one can see that these persons are great vessels by origin, lodging their traces as monks, showing themselves as monks and no more.
Clear away an error: thinking that this is praising their attainment as śrāvakas. Every one of the sentences of praise is a virtue of a bodhisattva; not one sentence of the dharma of a śrāvaka appears. Bringing it down to the ground: the last sentence matters most — every one of the present virtues hangs upon a single condition; without that condition, even the causes of former lives cannot come out.
The Ten Matters of Contemplating: Śāriputra Teaches People How to Look at a Good Friend
On the road as they walk, Śāriputra points at Mañjuśrī and teaches the monk Ocean-Awakening how to look. The sūtra text runs down ten sentences of you may contemplate, and by actual count word for word they are exactly ten matters: the bodily marks, the round halo, the net of light, the assembly, the road he walks (eight paces to left and right), the place where he dwells (seats of awakening turning along with him), the hidden treasuries beside the road, the adorned treasuries among the trees, the lords of the worlds raining down clouds of offering-articles, and the Buddhas of the ten directions sending out the light of the white hair-tuft to enter from the crown of his head.
Chengguan judges these ten sentences to be ten surpassing virtues, and names them one by one: first, surpassing in bodily marks; second, surpassing in the constant halo; third, surpassing in sending out light; fourth, surpassing in the assembly; fifth, surpassing in the road he walks, symbolizing that he constantly relies upon the eightfold right path, and after these, sixth, surpassing in his dwelling place; seventh, surpassing in the adornment of merit; eighth, surpassing in the trees of the grove; ninth, surpassing in sovereign mastery; tenth, surpassing in being gathered in from above. The reason the fifth is matched to the eightfold right path is that it takes the number in eight paces to left and right; and the reason the tenth is named being gathered in from above is that the light of the Buddhas enters from the crown, symbolizing that his mind is constantly gathered up into the dharmas of the Buddhas above.
An error must be cleared away: these ten sentences are not praising an appearance. There is a care taken in the order of the looking — first look at the body and at the light, which is with regard to his person; next look at his assembly, at his road, and at his dwelling place, which is with regard to what he practices and where he is; last look at the light of the Buddhas entering his crown, which is with regard to what he receives. Bringing it down to the ground: these ten sentences are in fact a teaching manual on how to contemplate a good friend — first look at the person, then at the road he walks and the multitude he gathers, and last at what it is that he receives and carries on.
The Monks Gain the Benefit: Faith Is Born from Praise, and Practice from Faith
Having heard this extolling, a change comes over the monks. The way the sūtra text writes it advances in layer upon layer: first their minds became pure, their faith and understanding became firm; then the response in the body — they could not hold themselves for joy, their whole bodies leapt up, their forms became supple, their faculties were glad; then the removal of obstruction — their sorrow and suffering were all removed, their defilement and obstruction were all exhausted; then what was gained — they constantly saw the Buddhas, sought deeply after the right Dharma, were furnished with the faculties of a bodhisattva, obtained the powers of a bodhisattva; and last, great compassion and great vows were born of themselves, they entered the profound realm of the many perfections, and toward omniscience they gave rise to deep faith and delight.
Clear away an error: thinking that faith is a matter inside the mind and has nothing to do with the body. The sūtra text writes from their minds became pure through to their forms became supple, which is to write faith as a matter of the whole body. Bringing it down to the ground: a person in whom faith has really arisen is loose in the body, not tight — and this is a mark by which one may examine oneself.
Going to the Surpassing Person and Being Gathered In by Him: What the Elephant King's Turning Means
Having gained the benefit, the monks then ask Śāriputra to present them: we only wish that the great master would take us and lead us, and go to where that surpassing person is. And when they arrive, the sūtra text gives Mañjuśrī's response in one sentence only — he looked back upon the monks as an elephant king turns.
Chengguan glosses this simile very finely: as an elephant king turns means that body and head turn together, because there is nothing light in the lifting. For an elephant to look back, its whole body must turn along with it; it cannot simply twist its head about. The sense taken is in the weight of it — to gather in this company is a matter of the whole body, not a casual glance.
The monks then bow their heads and join their palms and make a vow: that they too may obtain such a form-body, such a voice, such marks and signs, and such sovereign mastery as Mañjuśrī has. Notice whom they ask to bear witness — we only wish that the benevolent Mañjuśrī, and the preceptor Śāriputra, and the World-Honored One Śākyamuni may all bear witness and know, three persons named together, with the preceptor in the middle. Bringing it down to the ground: this vow does not shy away from the charge of seeking the marks and signs, because the marks and signs sought are Mañjuśrī's marks and signs, which is in fact to seek Mañjuśrī's virtue.
The Ten Freedoms from Weariness, Part One: Why All Ten Sentences Hang upon No Weariness or Vexation
The first dharma Mañjuśrī gives when he opens his mouth is the ten sentences of the dharma that tends toward the Great Vehicle. The marking sentence is: monks, if a good man or a good woman brings to accomplishment ten kinds of dharma that tend toward the Great Vehicle, then he is able swiftly to enter the ground of a Tathāgata, how much more the ground of a bodhisattva — even the ground of a Tathāgata can be swiftly entered, how much more that of a bodhisattva.
The contents of the ten sentences differ one from another — gathering up roots of goodness, serving the Buddhas, seeking after the Buddha-dharmas, practicing the pāramitās, bringing the samādhis to accomplishment, entering the three times, adorning and purifying Buddha-lands, teaching and transforming beings, bringing the practice of a bodhisattva to accomplishment in all lands and kalpas, and cultivating pāramitās as many as dust-motes for the sake of ripening beings — and yet the ending of every one of the sentences is the same sentence: no weariness or vexation in the mind, and by actual count word for word it appears exactly ten times.
Why does every sentence come down upon these four words? Chengguan's answer goes straight to the point: that they all say no weariness or vexation is because the Dharma-gates are without end and beings are without bound, and to cultivate while grasping at marks gives rise to much weariness and vexation; and vexation makes one fall back into the two vehicles. If one cultivates without craving and views, then there is no weariness. The root of weariness and vexation is not in the number of things to be done, it is in grasping at marks; cultivate while grasping at marks and the work will never be finished, and what is never finished brings vexation, and vexation brings falling back.
Clear away an error: reading no weariness or vexation as endurance by force of will. What the sūtra text speaks of is not gritting the teeth and holding on; it is pulling out the source of the fatigue, which is the grasping at marks. Bringing it down to the ground: when you examine your own vexation, do not first ask whether there is much to be done; first ask whether you are counting up how much you have done.
The Ten Freedoms from Weariness, Part Two: The Structure of Five Pairs in the Ten Sentences
The ten sentences are not ten matters set side by side. Chengguan says the ten sentences are gathered into five pairs — first, the inward cause and the outward condition (gathering up roots of goodness / serving the Buddhas); second, seeking the Dharma and completing the practice (seeking all the Buddha-dharmas / practicing the pāramitās); third, deep concentration and wondrous wisdom (bringing the samādhis to accomplishment / entering the three times in due order); fourth, adorning the lands and taming the living (adorning and purifying Buddha-lands / teaching and transforming beings); fifth, long duration and vastness (bringing the practice of a bodhisattva to accomplishment in all lands and kalpas / cultivating pāramitās as many as dust-motes for the sake of ripening beings and bringing the ten powers of a Tathāgata to accomplishment).
The third pair is called deep concentration and wondrous wisdom because entering the three times is precisely what wisdom enters. The fifth pair is called long duration and vastness because the former sentence is said with regard to time and the latter with regard to quantity; and Chengguan says as well that the fifth pair also runs through to the cultivation of advancement.
Clear away an error: skipping over a passage because it is a string of parallel sentences. Bringing it down to the ground: these five pairs may be taken as a checklist for examining oneself — cause and condition, Dharma and practice, concentration and wisdom, lands and beings, time and quantity; five pairs, ten items, and whichever is lacking is the one to make good.
Raising Up the Benefit and Urging Cultivation: What Happens After These Ten Minds Are Given Rise To
When the ten sentences are finished, Mañjuśrī goes on to tell the benefit of giving rise to this mind: monks, if a good man or a good woman brings deep faith to accomplishment and gives rise to these ten minds free of weariness and vexation, then he is able to nourish and grow all roots of goodness, and after it a whole string — leaving behind the destinies of birth-and-death, passing beyond the lineages of the world, not falling into the ground of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, being born in the house of all Tathāgatas, being furnished with all the vows of a bodhisattva, studying the merits of a Tathāgata, practicing the many practices of a bodhisattva, obtaining the powers of a Tathāgata, crushing down the hosts of Māra and the non-Buddhist paths, wiping out all afflictions, entering the ground of a bodhisattva, and drawing near to the ground of a Tathāgata.
Chengguan judges this stretch also to be five pairs: first, growing goodness and leaving birth; second, passing beyond the ordinary and going past the lesser; third, being born in the house and being furnished for the work; fourth, practicing toward the fruit and cultivating the cause; fifth, crushing the wrong and entering the witnessing.
Here the four words brings deep faith to accomplishment deserve notice. The ten sentences before are practice, and here a faith is set up first; and this sentence is the most direct scriptural warrant for assigning this passage to the stage of the ten faiths. Clear away an error: thinking that not falling into the ground of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas is a rejection of the two vehicles. The very ones being spoken to are the six thousand monks, and they are in the act of being drawn out; what is not fallen into is the limiting of oneself to that ground, not any fault in the ground itself. Bringing it down to the ground: the test of giving rise to the mind is not at the moment of giving rise to it, but in whether this string of things gradually appears afterward.
Obtaining the Samādhi: Seeing the Realm of All Buddhas with the Unobstructed Eye — Four Uses, and Therefore Called Unobstructed
When the monks have heard the Dharma they obtain a samādhi named Seeing the Realm of All Buddhas with the Unobstructed Eye. To the word unobstructed in this name Chengguan gives three senses: what sees is free of obstruction, what is seen is unblocked, and one is furnished with many uses.
What is meant by one is furnished with many uses is the long stretch that follows. The sūtra text lists what is seen and known, and there are in fact four classes: first, what the eye sees (seeing the Buddhas and Tathāgatas, seeing the beings of the destinies, seeing the differences among the worlds, seeing the dust-motes of the worlds, seeing the palaces of beings); second, what the ear hears (hearing the Buddhas' speech and sound setting forth the dharmas, with wording and glossing, and understanding it all); third, knowing the minds of others (contemplating the faculties of all beings and what their minds desire); and fourth, the calling to mind of former abodes (calling to mind the ten births before and after of beings, calling to mind the matters of the ten kalpas past and to come, calling to mind the ten matters of the former births of the Tathāgatas down to their ten kinds of eloquence). Chengguan says: one eye is furnished with these four uses, and therefore it is called unobstructed — a single eye furnished with the use of four spiritual penetrations: this is what is called unobstructed.
Clear away an error: reading the unobstructed eye as extremely good eyesight. What is unobstructed is that there is no partition between what perceives and what is perceived; that the use of one faculty can run through the matters of four faculties is what unobstructed means here. Bringing it down to the ground: this stretch speaks of the measure of seeing the realm of a Buddha; it is not a display of marvels.
The First Mind of the Ten Faiths Obtains the Use That Belongs After the Ten Grounds: Gathering the End into the Beginning
After obtaining the samādhi, the sūtra text says that they further brought to accomplishment ten thousand minds of awakening, ten thousand samādhis, ten thousand pāramitās, that they obtained the light of the fullness of great wisdom, and obtained the ten spiritual penetrations of a bodhisattva.
Here there is a place that looks out of order — these persons have only just turned from the lesser and entered the great, so how is it that they obtain the ten spiritual penetrations of a bodhisattva? Chengguan answers it head on: this displays how the perfect teaching gathers in capacities, so that at the first setting up of the great mind one obtains the use of the ten penetrations that belongs after the ten grounds, because the end is gathered into the beginning; and he says that this is the same principle as what is distinguished in the Chapter on the Merit of the First Arousing of the Mind. To be in the beginning stage and obtain the use of the final stage is a mark of how the perfect teaching gathers in capacities.
Clear away an error: thinking that this is a skipping of grades. What the perfect teaching means by gathering the end into the beginning is that within the first arousing of the mind the virtues of the later stages are already gathered up entire; it does not mean that the cultivation in between may be skipped. Bringing it down to the ground: this is exactly why the first arousing of the mind is precious; and precisely because it has already gathered everything up, the beginner's mind is all the less to be taken lightly.
Receiving the Dharma of Advancement: Abiding in the Practice of Samantabhadra, and a String of Having Done So
Mañjuśrī does not stop at the ten minds; he goes on to urge them to abide in the practice of Samantabhadra. The sūtra text writes it like a chain of links: having abided in the practice of Samantabhadra, they entered the sea of great vows; having entered the sea of great vows, they brought the sea of great vows to accomplishment; because they had brought the sea of great vows to accomplishment, their minds were pure; because their minds were pure, their bodies were pure; because their bodies were pure, their bodies were light and nimble; because their bodies were pure and light and nimble, they obtained the great spiritual penetrations with no turning back; because they had obtained these spiritual penetrations, they did not depart from beneath Mañjuśrī's feet, and yet universally manifested their bodies in the presence of all the Buddhas of the ten directions.
Chengguan judges this to be the receiving of the dharma of advancement — the ten sentences before only made clear that the great mind is free of weariness; only here are they made to abide broadly in practice and vow and to advance toward universal cultivation.
Notice that last sentence, they did not depart from beneath Mañjuśrī's feet, and yet were able to manifest everywhere in the ten directions. Clear away an error: thinking that to manifest everywhere in the ten directions one must first leave this place. What the sūtra text says is exactly the reverse — without stirring from this place, one pervades every place. Bringing it down to the ground: this chain has an order to it — vow, mind, body, penetration, link joined to link; and the secret of that last link is not departing.
Arriving at the City of Blessings: Why the Place of Transforming Is the Stūpa-Shrine East of the City
The assembly of monks having ended, Mañjuśrī journeys south to the east of the City of Blessings and dwells at the place of the great stūpa-shrine in the Grove of Śāla Trees of the Banner of Adornment. The sūtra text accounts for the provenance of this place: the Buddhas of former times had stayed here and taught and transformed, and it is also the place where the World-Honored One in former times, cultivating the practice of a bodhisattva, was able to give away measureless things hard to give away, and therefore the name of this grove is heard universally throughout measureless Buddha-lands.
Chengguan glosses these place-names word by word. The name of the city: the people who dwell in that city have much merit, and so it is called the City of Blessings; and a city symbolizes the warding off of wrong. The direction: the east is the head of the directions, symbolizing the beginning of entering the path by according with the portion of blessings and with goodness. The name of the grove: as for the grove of śāla trees, this means lofty and far-reaching; the trees of the grove stand tall and thick, symbolizing that the ten thousand practices are to be raised up as an adornment. And the stūpa-shrine is the place where one returns to the source. He cites as well, as witness, what the Tripiṭaka master Rizhao transmitted from his own sight of the place: this city is in South India, and the great stūpa east of the city is the stūpa of an ancient Buddha, and again, most of the people who dwell in this place sing songs about Sudhana.
Clear away an error: thinking that these place-names are only background. What Chengguan reads out of them is a whole set of symbolism: a place where people of merit dwell together (blessings), the direction of first coming forth (the east), a lofty and far-reaching grove (practice), and a stūpa where one returns to the source (the root). Bringing it down to the ground: Sudhana's arising as a condition happens in a place that has both merit and the traces of an ancient Buddha — capacity and place answer to each other, and only then can a condition come together.
Telling the Sūtra of the Universal Illumining of the Dharma Realm: The Nāgas Hear the Dharma and Cast Off Their Bodies
Here Mañjuśrī tells the Sūtra of the Universal Illumining of the Dharma Realm, with a million koṭis of nayutas of sūtras as its retinue. Chengguan glosses the name of this scripture thus: that it is named universal illumining and the rest is because the use of wisdom is broadly unfurled, and so it says universal illumining; and what is illumined is both deep and wide, and so it is called the Dharma realm.
Among the listeners the sūtra text makes particular record of the nāgas: measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nāgas came, and having heard the Dharma they turned away deeply in weariness from the destiny of nāgas, sought squarely after the Buddha's path, and all of them cast off their nāga bodies and were born among gods and human beings, and ten thousand nāgas obtained non-retrogression with regard to the unsurpassed awakening; and besides them measureless beings were each of them tamed within the three vehicles. Chengguan says that the nāgas obtained the intent of the principal teaching, and so it says sought squarely after the Buddha's path, while those beings afterward obtained the intent of the retinue scriptures, and so it says only that they were tamed and does not set forth their case separately, and therefore no separate assembly is established for them.
Clear away an error: thinking that the nāga multitude casting off their bodies is a marvelous episode. The sense of this stretch is that weariness and seeking arise together — only when one has first turned away deeply in weariness from the destiny one is in can there be any talk of squarely seeking the Buddha's path. Bringing it down to the ground: the strength to leave a situation comes half from seeing it clearly and half from seeing that something else is possible.
The Four Assemblies Rushing Like Clouds: The Number Five Hundred and the Names of the Four Assemblies
The people of the City of Blessings hear the news and come out of the city. The sūtra text lists four assemblies: five hundred laymen (Great Wisdom at their head), five hundred laywomen, five hundred boys (Sudhana at their head), and five hundred girls, each with names listed and the rest abbreviated with an ellipsis. By actual count word for word the persons named are: eleven laymen (Great Wisdom at their head, and ten more after that is to say), ten laywomen, eleven boys (Sudhana among them), and ten girls.
Chengguan glosses the names of the four assemblies: first, the layman, which here means the man who serves in attendance, meaning that he draws near to the monks and serves them, and the laywoman is the woman who serves in attendance; both receive the name of serving in attendance because they take the five precepts; and boys and girls can be understood on the same pattern. As for why the number of each of the four assemblies is five hundred, he says: and that the numbers are all five hundred is because they symbolize that the witnessing entry of the five stages runs through them all alike. Five hundred symbolizes the five stages, and each of the four assemblies is furnished with it, symbolizing that the witnessing entry of the five stages runs through all four assemblies.
Clear away an error: thinking that the four assemblies gathering like clouds is only there to set off the scene. Chengguan judges the text from at that time the people of the City of Blessings onward to be the third of the three assemblies, the assembly of Sudhana, and what it displays is the displaying of the capacity of the pure one vehicle, accomplished in a single life; the second, the assembly of the persons of the various vehicles, is the earlier stretch of the dragons and of the further beings who are tamed, displaying the running through and gathering in of the various provisional capacities into the one real. That all four assemblies come makes them the multitude of Sudhana's assembly — what is displayed is the capacity of the pure one vehicle, to be accomplished in a single life. Bringing it down to the ground: the way Sudhana enters is worth noticing — he is not summoned by himself, he comes on stage within the list of five hundred boys.
Taming and Transforming by the Three Kinds of Action: Manifesting the Body of Sovereign Mastery and the Four Sovereign Masteries
The four assemblies having gathered, the first thing Mañjuśrī does is not to tell the Dharma but to know that the people of the City of Blessings have all now gathered and come, and, according to what their minds delight in, manifest the body of sovereign mastery, whose awesome light blazes forth and outshines the great multitudes. Ask first: the multitude has already gathered, so why still manifest the body of sovereign mastery and not tell the Dharma straight off? The sūtra text answers itself in the four sentences below — with sovereign great kindness he made them cool, with sovereign great compassion he gave rise to the mind to tell the Dharma, with sovereign wisdom he knew what their minds delighted in, and with vast eloquence he was about to tell them the Dharma. The four sentences are four sovereign masteries: the sovereign mastery of kindness is able to remove the burning vexation of the hearers and make them cool; the sovereign mastery of compassion is able to give rise, in the one who tells, to the mind to tell the Dharma; the sovereign mastery of wisdom is able to discern and know what each single hearer's mind delights in; and the sovereign mastery of eloquence then makes it possible to say aloud what is known. The four generate one another in order: first settle their minds, next give rise to the intent to tell, next know their capacity, and only afterward is there speech.
Chengguan outlines this stretch as taming and transforming by the three kinds of action, and judges that within it there are two: first, taming the capacity by body and by mind; second, ... the giving of the Dharma to the one at hand; and the former is again two — first the general taming of the great multitude, which is the skillful means for giving the Dharma, and so it says about to tell — and only afterward is Sudhana contemplated separately. So manifesting the body of sovereign mastery is not an ornament of deportment, it is the skillful means that precedes the telling of the Dharma; the manifesting of the body and the taming by mind are both still at the station of about to tell them the Dharma, and no sound has yet been uttered.
Clear away an error: thinking that whose awesome light blazes forth and outshines the great multitudes is describing Mañjuśrī as more honorable than the multitude. What the sūtra text points to is not high and low but the taming of capacity — what the light reaches is meant to make them cool, not to make them ashamed of themselves. Bringing it down to the ground: to say a thing to someone, first let the other person's mind cool down and first know what he wants to hear, and then the words will have somewhere to land; to speak before the capacity is tamed is the speaker's haste, not the hearer's benefit.
Contemplating Sudhana's Outward Conditions: The Tower of Seven Jewels · The Seven Hidden Treasuries · The Five Hundred Jeweled Vessels
Mañjuśrī has manifested the body of sovereign mastery and is about to tell the Dharma, and then he suddenly turns aside to contemplate one person: and again at this time he contemplated by what cause and condition it was that Sudhana had this name.
The sūtra text's answer falls into two halves. First it tells the outward conditions: at the time of entering the womb there welled up of itself within the house a tower of seven jewels, beneath the tower were seven hidden treasuries, and above the treasuries the ground split open and there grew forth sprouts of the seven jewels — gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, true pearl, giant clam shell, carnelian, the seven of them named one by one. He was in the womb for ten months and then born, his form upright, and his seven great treasuries, each of them full seven cubits in length, in breadth, in height, and in depth, welled up out of the ground. Within the house there further appeared of themselves five hundred jeweled vessels, and the many kinds of things filled them of themselves, which the sūtra text writes in thirteen sentences, of which four pairs hold each other's contents two by two: the vajra vessel holding incense, the incense vessel holding clothing, the fine jade vessel holding food and drink, the maṇi vessel holding precious things, and the vessel of gold and silver holding lapis lazuli and maṇi jewels — these five are single sentences; and after them gold and silver hold each other, crystal and giant clam shell hold each other, carnelian and true pearl hold each other, and fire-maṇi and water-maṇi hold each other — these four pairs make eight sentences. And there rained down the many precious things, and the storehouses were all filled.
Because of this matter, his parents and his kin, together with those skilled in reading the marks of the body, together called this child by the name Sudhana.
Clear away an error: thinking that this is writing about wealth and rank. Chengguan explains the sense from the name: wealth for the most part belongs to the environing reward, while goodness runs through both the environing and the direct; that wealth appears is the mark of his goodness, and so he is called Sudhana — wealth is the environing reward, and goodness runs through both rewards, direct and environing; the reason the wealth appears is that it is the mark of the goodness. Bringing it down to the ground: these treasures are not his provisions, they are the manifest mark of his goodness in former lives; the sūtra text writes them out so minutely in order to let people know that what the name Sudhana points to is not a family fortune.
Contemplating Sudhana's Inward Causes: Ten Sentences
After the outward conditions come the inward causes. The sūtra text says that Mañjuśrī knew as well that this youth had already made offerings to the Buddhas of the past, had planted roots of goodness deeply, that his faith and understanding were vast, that he constantly delighted to draw near to the good friends, that in the actions of body, speech, and mind he was without fault, that he purified the path of a bodhisattva, sought after omniscience, was a vessel for the dharma of becoming a Buddha, that his mind was pure as empty space is, and that he dedicated and directed himself toward awakening without obstruction — ten sentences in all.
Here Chengguan changes to another sense in explaining the name: and again, that the mind accords with the principle is goodness, and that virtue is gathered without end is wealth — the former explained it from the outward conditions, this one explains it from the inward causes; one name with two senses. And he says of these ten sentences that the first one alone is the cause of former lives, and from faith and understanding onward they all run through past and present.
Clear away an error: taking the outward conditions and the inward causes for two unrelated matters. That the sūtra text writes the treasuries first and the roots of goodness after is precisely to let people know that the marks that appear have something they rest upon. Bringing it down to the ground: these ten sentences are the list of qualifications by which Sudhana is able to carry the fifty-three visits, and the most substantial sentence among them is he constantly delighted to draw near to the good friends — which is exactly what he is about to do for the rest of his life.
The Ten Sentences of Dharma Given to the One at Hand: From the Cause of a Buddha to the Fruit of a Buddha
Mañjuśrī's contemplation being finished, he comforted and instructed him, and set forth for him all the Buddha-dharmas, and the ten sentences that follow all begin with he told of all Buddhas': the dharma of gathering up, the dharma of continuing on, the dharma of due order, the dharma of the purity of the assemblies, the dharma of transforming and guiding by the Dharma wheel, the dharma of the marks and signs of the form-body, the dharma of the accomplishment of the dharma-body, the dharma of wording and eloquence, the dharma of shining illumination, and the dharma of equality and non-duality.
Chengguan judges these ten sentences thus: the first two sentences are with regard to the cause of a Buddha (first, the gathering up of the ten thousand practices; second, thought after thought unbroken); the next seven are with regard to the fruit of a Buddha (the first three being the wondrous use that gathers in the living, and the last four the substance and use fully furnished); and the tenth sentence runs through both cause and fruit, and through both principle and event.
Clear away an error: thinking that these ten sentences are a table of contents of ten Buddha-dharmas. Look at the structure of it — from cause into fruit, with the last sentence returning to equality and non-duality; this is a single line. Bringing it down to the ground: the first lesson Mañjuśrī gives a beginner is not a method of cultivation; it is to let him first see what it is for a Buddha to be a Buddha. With that whole prospect in the mind first, the road will not go crooked.
Concluding the Telling and Urging Him Onward: Giving Rise to the Mind of Awakening, and Also Calling Past Roots of Goodness to Mind
The ten sentences told, the sūtra text says that Mañjuśrī earnestly urged and instructed them, increased and grew their strength, caused them to rejoice, caused them to give rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening, and caused them as well to call to mind their roots of goodness in the past; and having done these things, he told the Dharma again for beings according to what suited them, and only then departed.
Chengguan judges this section to be the concluding of the telling and the urging onward, and attaches its use sentence by sentence: to conclude what was told before is to spread it universally without partiality; to point to the dharma of the cause told before is to urge them to cultivate onward; to cause them to give rise to the great mind is to seek the Buddha-fruit told before; and to make them call former goodness to mind so that they do not think lightly of themselves.
The last item is to be pointed out. Besides giving rise to the mind, they are also made to call to mind their roots of goodness in the past, and the intent is to keep them from thinking lightly of themselves. Clear away an error: thinking that giving rise to the mind requires only looking up at what is lofty and far off. What the sūtra text does is to give both ends — before, it lets him see the height of the Buddha-fruit; after, it reminds him of the thickness of his own goodness in former lives. Bringing it down to the ground: to cure a mind that falls back, it is not enough to speak of the greatness of the goal; one must also make the person remember the road he has already walked.
Sudhana's Thirty-Four Verses, Part One: The First Four Verses Tell of His Own Sinking and Drowning
Mañjuśrī being about to go, Sudhana speaks thirty-four verses. Chengguan judges their great division into two: the thirty-four verses divide into two: the first four verses grieve over his own sinking and drowning and exhort himself that he is unable; the last thirty look up to the virtue and rely upon the person, asking that he be drawn out and rescued.
The first four verses are one whole picture of a walled city. The three kinds of existence are a walled city, and arrogance is its rampart wall, and under it the destinies are its gates and doors, and the water of craving is the moat that guards it; and after that the scene within the city is written — the darkness of delusion covers it over, the fire of greed and anger blazes, Māra the king plays the sovereign, and benighted children take their dwelling there. The third verse changes the simile and writes the bonds upon the body: craving is the cord that binds, flattery and deceit are the reins and bridle, and doubt covers the eyes so that one walks into wrong paths. The fourth verse tells the fruit: stinginess, envy, and arrogant self-satisfaction bring one into the three evil places, or else one falls into the many destinies and undergoes the suffering of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
Chengguan judges the first two verses to be making clear that the cause is set in motion from the fruit relied upon and the last two to be making clear that from the cause one tends toward the fruit; and he says as well that the first two are confusion about suffering and its origin, and the last two the loss of cessation and the path.
Clear away an error: thinking that these four verses are a modest formality. Look at the structure — city, wall, gates, and moat all present: this is a picture of a place one cannot walk out of; and why one cannot walk out of it the sūtra text says very plainly — Māra the king plays the sovereign, and benighted children take their dwelling there — one has acknowledged that sovereign oneself. Bringing it down to the ground: before seeking the Dharma, first see clearly where you are; this is the first step in order that this passage gives.
Sudhana's Thirty-Four Verses, Part Two: Thirteen Verses Praising the Person and Seeking the Dharma
Of the last thirty verses Chengguan makes three divisions: the first thirteen verses praise the person and seek the Dharma; the next fifteen praise the Dharma and seek the vehicle; the last two draw together both person and Dharma.
The stretch praising the person and seeking the Dharma is extremely regular in form — Chengguan says in each the upper three lines praise the virtue of Mañjuśrī, one virtue to each verse, and the last line squarely asks to be carried and delivered; in every verse the first three lines praise one virtue and the last line asks for rescue. The first six verses face the suffering and its origin above and hope to be drawn out and rescued: the orb of the sun (the pure sun of wondrous wisdom), the orb of the moon (the pure moon of wondrous wisdom), the king of the Dharma realm, the great caravan leader, the armor of patience and the sword of wisdom, and dwelling upon the summit of the Sumeru of the Dharma. The last seven face the cessation and the path that were lost above and hope to accomplish the practice and its fruit; Chengguan divides them still more finely as the first one asks generally for his path; the next two ask for the path of nirvāṇa; the next two ask for the path of awakening; the last two ask for the conditions for seeing the path.
Clear away an error: thinking that praise is a courtesy. Every verse of these thirteen has its praise directed at one particular sickness — in darkness one asks for sun and moon, in confusion one asks for a forerunner, in timidity one asks for a guard, in bondage one asks to be drawn out. Bringing it down to the ground: in asking someone for the Dharma, one must first be able to say what one lacks; if you cannot say what you lack, praise really is nothing but courtesy.
Sudhana's Thirty-Four Verses, Part Three: Fifteen Verses Seeking the Vehicle by the Simile of the Carriage
From with vows for its wheels and great compassion for its hubs, with faith for its axle and firm patience for its linchpins onward, fifteen verses run on, each matching the parts of a carriage to dharmas, and the last line is pray let me mount this carriage (twelve verses), pray make me mount this carriage (one verse), or I pray you give me this carriage (two verses). The wheels are vows, the hubs great compassion, the axle faith, the linchpins firm patience; the carriage-box is total holding, the canopy kindly pity, the bells eloquence; the cushions are the practice of brahmacarya, the serving women the samādhis, the drum the sound of the Dharma; the treasury is the four means of gathering, the jewels the adornment of merit, the harness-straps shame and conscience. After them come the wheel of giving, the incense of pure precepts, and the adornment of patience; the carriage-box of meditative concentration and the yoke of wisdom; the wheels of great vows and the strength of total holding; and on to the firmness of vajra, the skill of a conjuring, the breadth of empty space and the Dharma realm, the unshakenness of the earth, and the universal moistening of water.
Chengguan judges these fifteen verses in four parts: the first four ask for the vehicle of compassion, wisdom, and concentration, which gathers in the benefiting of others; the next three ask for the vehicle of the ten perfections as practice for oneself; the next four ask for the vehicle of the twofold benefit that wipes out obstructions; the last four ask for the vehicle whose carrying is vast. And he says that these four stretches correspond broadly to the three worthy stages and the ten holy stages, and that the wording and sense in every case hold much, and may be got at by intent.
Clear away an error: thinking that this is a heaping up of rhetoric. A carriage has wheels, an axle, a box, a canopy, bells, and a yoke — not one of them can be lacking, and this is exactly the point of taking the simile: what is asked for is not some one virtue, it is a whole outfit able to carry a person a long way. Bringing it down to the ground: check your own carriage against these fifteen verses, and what is most often lacking is not the wheels (vows), but the linchpins (firm patience).
Sudhana's Thirty-Four Verses, Part Four: The Last Two Verses Draw Both Together
Of the last two verses Chengguan judges that the last two verses draw together both person and Dharma, and says that the first verse draws the Dharma together and asks to see it; the second draws the person together and asks to be gathered in. The former verse, the four means of gathering are its full orb, total holding is its pure light, still speaks with regard to the Dharma and asks to see it; the latter verse, you have already entered the city of the Dharma-king, you have already put on the crown of the wisdom-king, speaks with regard to the person and asks to be gathered in — the three matters of entering the city, putting on the crown, and binding on the silk band describe Mañjuśrī's station as having reached its utmost, and so the last line asks for one thing only, a look of kindness.
Clear away an error: reading the last two verses as a closing courtesy. The thirty-two verses before have been saying all along what I lack and what you have; only here are the two sides put together — the Dharma being thus, and the person being thus, therefore gather me in. Bringing it down to the ground: the structure of a plea for the Dharma may be seen here: first set out your own sickness, next praise his virtue, then ask for his Dharma, and last come to asking to be gathered in.
The Great Sage Teaches Again, Part One: Brief Praise and Brief Teaching, and the Elephant King Turning a Second Time
The verses finished, the sūtra text uses the simile of the elephant king a second time: at that time the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, as an elephant king turns, looked back upon the youth Sudhana, and then said good indeed, good indeed! Good man! You have already given rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening.
Chengguan judges what follows to be the great sage teaching again, and divides it into four: first, brief praise and brief teaching; second, the broad asking and the broad answering; third, pointing out the next friend; fourth, calling the kindness to mind and taking leave. The brief praise has two — first, praising his giving rise to the mind, second, praising his drawing near to friends — and after that he teaches him to go and draw near to good friends. Why is drawing near to friends the first cause and condition of the wisdom of the kinds? Chengguan's reason is that where the Dharma has no one to spread it, then though there be wisdom it will not be understood, and he cites the Nirvāṇa as witness: as for the near cause and condition by which all beings obtain unsurpassed awakening, nothing comes before a good friend.
Here something said earlier is to be joined on: in the ten gates on gathering in the assembly of Sudhana, Chengguan points out expressly that in the first, with Mañjuśrī, before the mind is given rise to there is therefore no praising; only when he has urged him to give rise to the mind does he then praise him. Clear away an error: thinking that praise is a device for encouraging people. The praise here has something it points at, and what is praised is precisely the one thing that has just happened. Bringing it down to the ground: praise should land upon a deed; praise that cannot land upon a deed does a person no good.
The Great Sage Teaches Again, Part Two: Sudhana's Eleven Sentences of Question
Having been praised, Sudhana asks a long string: I only wish that the holy one would tell me at large: how should a bodhisattva study the practice of a bodhisattva? and after it, sentence by sentence — cultivate, tend toward, carry out, purify, enter, bring to accomplishment, accord with, call to mind, broaden and increase — and the last sentence is how should he cause the practice of Samantabhadra swiftly to reach fullness, by actual count word for word eleven sentences.
Chengguan says that these eleven sentences stand in two relations to the verses before: first, that the verses were particular and these are general (the compassion and wisdom and the rest in the verses above are particular practices; here it is general cultivation); second, that the verses were crosswise and these are lengthwise (practices such as compassion and wisdom are cultivated alike in every stage; here it runs from beginning to end). Among the eleven sentences, the first two are general — the words study and cultivate already gather up understanding and practice entire, and so most of the later good friends raise only these two sentences; the other nine are particular: the first tending toward, the taking up of the work of cultivation, the curing of obstructions and leaving of faults, the reaching and witnessing made plain, the being furnished and obtaining, the according with person and Dharma, the long duration without interval, the cultivating with nothing left over, and the ultimate fullness. And he further matches these nine lengthwise to the ten abodes and on to the ten grounds and equal awakening.
Clear away an error: thinking that these eleven sentences are repetitions of one meaning. Bringing it down to the ground: these eleven questions are in fact a checklist for the whole course of cultivation, asking from beginning to study all the way to fullness; and everything the fifty-two good friends afterward answer is within this list.
The Great Sage Teaches Again, Part Three: Mañjuśrī's Ten Verses in Answer
Mañjuśrī answers in ten verses. Chengguan judges that the ten verses divide into five: the first two verses praise his giving rise to the mind; the next one verse teaches briefly; the next one verse praises again the virtue of giving rise to the mind; the next five verses teach broadly; the last one verse draws the benefit together.
Within the two verses praising his giving rise to the mind, Chengguan points out that the first two lines are general praise, and that the next three lines point to the substance of giving rise to the mind, which is the three kinds of mind — compassion that rescues below, wisdom that seeks above, and the great vow as the lord; and he cites the words of Maitreya as witness: the lamp of the mind of awakening: great compassion is its oil, the great vow is its wick, and its light illumines the Dharma realm; while the last three lines display the intent and delight of giving rise to the mind, which is for the sake of beings and not for the five desires or a royal station. The one verse of brief teaching says if there are bodhisattvas who are not wearied by the suffering of birth-and-death, which Chengguan glosses thus: if one is wearied by suffering and tends toward quiescence, then the great path is not furnished and one is broken by Māra and by the lesser; but if one is able to penetrate the reality of birth-and-death, then one gathers in the hosts of Māra as one's attendants. The one verse of renewed praise matches the four lines the light of blessings, the awesome power of blessings, the place of blessings, the pure sea of blessings one by one to their senses: blessings that have wisdom are the light of blessings; blessings that the ordinary and the lesser cannot break are the awesome power; being able to give birth to the many blessings is the place of blessings; and being free of obstruction, deep and wide, is the pure sea.
Of the five verses of broad teaching Chengguan says that they answer the eleven sentences of question completely — the first verse answers the two general sentences, the next verse answers the next three sentences, the next two lines answer entering and bringing to accomplishment, the next two lines answer according with, the next one verse answers calling to mind, and the last one verse answers the last two sentences. The final verse draws the benefit together.
Clear away an error: thinking that verses are only a restatement of the prose. Here it is exactly the reverse: the eleven questions of the prose are answered one by one within the verses. Bringing it down to the ground: ask finely and the answer can be fine; this matching of question to answer is the place in this passage most worth comparing sentence by sentence.
The Great Sage Teaches Again, Part Four: The General Teaching — Only Seek Friends and Leave Faults, and All the Questions Before Are Complete
After the ten verses the sūtra text returns to prose, first praising that you have already given rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening and are seeking the practice of a bodhisattva, and saying one heavy sentence: to give rise to the mind is already hard, and having given rise to the mind, then to be able further to seek the practice of a bodhisattva, that is harder still by twice as much.
Then comes the general teaching. Chengguan says that the sense of this stretch is that if only one can seek friends and leave faults, then all the questions before are complete — the eleven questions before were asked so finely, and here only one road is given: seek out a true good friend. The four sentences of the sūtra text are in seeking the good friend do not give rise to weariness or indolence, in seeing the good friend do not give rise to satiety, toward all the instruction that the good friend has you should be compliant, and toward the good friend's skillfulness in means do not look for his faults. Chengguan divides them into warnings and urgings: complying is the urging, and the rest are all warnings; and upon the last sentence he adds a sentence of great weight: even were there a real fault, one should still take the Dharma and let the wrong go — how much more when the provisional and the real have many sides and the ripe and the unripe are hard to fathom.
He further glosses the name good friend and opens it into five ranks: now good friends are of five kinds: first, one who knows the causes and fruits of good and evil in the world and makes people cultivate and cut off; second, one who is wearied of the joys of the world and delights in nirvāṇa; third, one who has the mind of compassion and a mind that still abides in marks, and cultivates the perfections; fourth, one who by markless wisdom causes beings to cultivate and practice; fifth, one who causes them to cultivate the practice of Samantabhadra to fullness without obstruction, and he judges that of these five, each earlier one is not the true; the true is only what the fifth person can practice.
Clear away an error: thinking that do not look for his faults is asking for blind following. What Chengguan says is taking the Dharma and letting the wrong go — taking it with regard to the Dharma and not reckoning up the affairs of the person; and he sets up five ranks at the same time precisely so that people will know that what is sought is the fifth kind. Bringing it down to the ground: in the matter of seeking friends one must have both the clarity to discriminate and the generosity not to be harsh; lacking either of the two, the road cannot be walked.
Pointing Out the Next Friend and Taking Leave: The Land of Surpassing Joy · Mount Wondrous Peak · The Monk Cloud of Virtue
At the last Mañjuśrī points the way: good man, here to the south there is a land named Surpassing Joy; in that land there is a mountain named Wondrous Peak; within that mountain there is a monk named Cloud of Virtue. And he charges him to go and ask those three sentences of question above — study, cultivate, and on to the practice of Samantabhadra swiftly reaching fullness — and says the monk Cloud of Virtue will explain it for you.
Chengguan glosses all three of these names. The name of the land: that the land is named Surpassing Joy is because the friend next below is assigned to the first abode, which surpasses the stage before it and is what faith delights in — the first abode surpasses the stage of faith, and so it is named Surpassing Joy. The name of the mountain, Wondrous Peak, has two senses: first, quiet and unmoving; second, high and giving a view all around, so as to liken the understanding-mind of the first abode being first set up and wisdom being roused in dependence upon concentration. The name of the friend: that the friend is named Cloud of Virtue is that he is furnished with virtue as a cloud is, and a cloud has four senses — pervading, moistening, shading, and pouring down rain — which are matched in order to concentration, blessings, compassion, and wisdom.
The south in here to the south also has its point. Chengguan first bounds it by station: the good friends before the grounds are mostly in the south, within the grounds there is no direction, and after the grounds the two are combined — so the south is not the geography of the whole journey; what it symbolizes differs with the station. Of old the south had five senses: first, with regard to the event, one quarter's good friends are raised to stand for all the rest — one quarter alone has measureless friends, how much more the other quarters; second, the sense of brightness, the brightness of the south in which the ten thousand things see one another, symbolizing casting off darkness and turning toward wisdom; third, the sense of the middle, leaving behind the two extremes of east and west and according with the right way of the center; fourth, the sense of birth, the south presiding over the yang and giving birth to the ten thousand things, symbolizing Sudhana's growth in practice; fifth, the sense of according, turning the left side away and facing the right, going from east to south with the turning of sun and moon, symbolizing Sudhana according with the teaching and its principle. Of the five, the first runs through all; the sense of brightness and the last two symbolize the stage before the grounds; the sense of the middle symbolizes the stage after them, and it applies as well to the stage before the grounds as true realization apart from marks.
There is one more question, and the sūtra text itself raises it: since Mañjuśrī has the wisdom to expound and Sudhana the capacity to receive, why not say it all at once, instead of sending him to serve friend after friend? Chengguan sets out ten senses: first, to make a pattern for later learners — Sudhana seeking the Dharma without slackening, the good friends teaching it without stinting; second, to display the excellence of the conditions of practice — a true good friend is the whole of the brahma-conduct; third, to break the grasping of folly, so that one does not take one's own foolish mind as teacher but empties oneself and seeks everywhere; fourth, to break views and pride, so that one does not look at lineage and is not ashamed to ask those below one; fifth, to break the grasping of a pervasive emptiness — within there being nothing to seek, one deliberately seeks; sixth, to make event and practice one — better to hear little and be able to witness entry than to hear much and not witness; seventh, to break the possessive mind of the one who teaches — my disciple, my pupil, the view of this side and that; eighth, to display the gradual cultivation of entering under assigned stages — without pushing on to the next, one would settle in each stage with no advance; ninth, to display how deep and vast the Buddha-dharma is — even the good friends all humbly defer, how should the common run presume to decide; tenth, to display that Sudhana and the friends together form a dependent arising, the enterer and the entered having no two marks — there being no Sudhana outside the good friends, one is all; there being no good friends outside Sudhana, all is one. Chengguan himself sums up: the first runs through teacher and pupil alike, the next five speak mostly of the learner, the seventh of the teacher, the last three of the teaching. Bringing it down to the ground: the fifty-three visits are not there because Mañjuśrī could not finish telling; the teaching itself requires a person to walk the road once.
The last stretch is Sudhana's response: he rejoiced and leapt up, bowed his head to his feet, circled him measureless times, gazed up at him earnestly, and wept and shed tears. Chengguan glosses this one joy and one grief thus: he leapt for joy because he rejoiced to hear of the friend to come; he wept in grief because he was downcast at taking leave of the voice of virtue, and he says that at all the good friends below this pattern may be followed.
Clear away an error: reading the weeping as weakness. This grief comes from being unwilling to part with the sound of the instruction, and this joy comes from there being a further person to learn from — that this passage closes with this pair of feelings sets the keynote of the fifty-three visits exactly. Bringing it down to the ground: the preciousness of a good friend is seen most clearly at the very moment of taking leave.
Lineage
The text of this passage opens three lines that are carried on from it.
The first is the line of the outline. This passage is the head of the last assembly, and here Chengguan sets up the ten gates as a general framework and the distinguishing of the five marks, and all fifty stretches below are read according to them. As for the assignment of the five marks, Chengguan first recorded the non-assignment of Dharma-master Yi and of the treatise of the Terrace Mountain and the assignment of masters such as Guangtong, judged that both have their reason, said of himself for the present I follow the ancient worthies and assign them as five marks, and closed the matter evenhandedly with yet where there is no order of stages, this does not obstruct the order of stages; to display the stages is the ordinary rule, and to assign them is no fault either; assigning and not assigning stand together as two tracks, and they are recorded without being judged. Fazang's Tanxuan ji, upon the sixty-fascicle text, likewise takes the sentence of Mañjuśrī coming out of the tower to divide the root assembly from the last, and his three opposed pairs take a different road from Chengguan's ten gates — and thus the earlier makes clear the Dharma realm of the fruit, and the later the Dharma realm of the cause, and again, the earlier makes clear the sudden entering of the Dharma realm, and the later the gradual entering of the Dharma realm, and again, the earlier is general and the later particular. Li Tongxuan sets up a gate-name of his own and judges this passage to be the gate of accommodating the worldly and benefiting the living so as to complete practice, with a long outline of three divisions below it, and he takes the three dharmas of Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, and the Buddha as the substance of cause and fruit in the five stages; as for the number of the retinue, the eighty-fascicle text by actual count word for word has twenty-three classes, while Tongxuan, upon the eighty-fascicle text, has this one stretch, together with the bodhisattvas, spirits, and gods, has thirty-two multitudes. Zhiyan's Souxuan ji, beyond its general explanation of the chapter in four gates, also sets up three divisions for this passage: Mañjuśrī and his retinue taking leave and going south as the condition for transformation; from Śāriputra onward, gathering in and transforming in response to conditions; from Mañjuśrī knowing Sudhana onward, his own stage being fulfilled and entering the superior state; and within the gathering and transforming, three again — transforming and drawing in the śrāvakas, gathering in the multitudes of dragons, and gathering in and transforming the multitude of people. What these several houses set up each has its own track; they are recorded, and no ranking is judged among them.
The second is the line of Sudhana's stage. This is the greatest divergence among the ancient glosses within this chapter. Chengguan records that as for the youth Sudhana, is he a sage or an ordinary man? The ancients have many explanations, and below it there is the account that he is a bodhisattva on the grounds, the account that he is an ordinary man of real reward below the grounds, and further an account that cites the passage of the earth goddess Peaceful Abiding, this person has already been born into the lineage of the Dharma-king, as its proof and then makes two explanations of its own; while Xianshou sets up three stations and says he should be a person within the practice of faith in a good destiny, and says that is, while in faith he is of the stage of faith, and while in the abodes he is of the stage of the abodes; in one body he passes through the five stages, and wherever he is he is gathered in by that one. Chengguan says beneath Xianshou's account that this one explanation accords very well with the tenet of the sūtra, and then sets out his own: but there is yet another principle: cultivating through the stages, when he comes to see Samantabhadra, all is complete at once — this is the commentary's correction of Xianshou's account of the three lives, and the Yanyi chao says plainly the commentary corrects that explanation: being complete at once is the third, the life of witnessing entry, and here the gradual and the sudden interpenetrate. He still closes at the last with let no one harm the tenet of the sūtra with a view through a tube, fixing no stage for where Sudhana begins and ends. The several accounts stand together, and are recorded without being judged.
The third is the line of the treatises that carry it on. This passage belongs to the narrative of the compilers and does not enter the passages that bridge to consciousness-only: in the whole of Vasubandhu's Shidi jing lun (the Treatise on the Ten Grounds Sūtra) the three words Mañjuśrī, Sudhana, and City of Blessings do not appear; nor do the sentences of this passage appear in the four treatises, the Cheng weishi lun, the She lun, the Yogācārabhūmi, or the Jieshenmi jing. Among the treatises of the Huayan house, the Ten Mysterious Gates of the One Vehicle of the Huayan cites the matter of Sudhana giving rise to the mind at Mañjuśrī's place in this passage; the Essential Purport of the Huayan Sūtra takes Sudhana's cultivating in reliance upon the sūtra as an instance of the mark of benefit; the Essay on the Divisions of Doctrine of the One Vehicle of the Huayan takes Sudhana's passing through the stages as an instance of the ranks of the five teachings; and the Kongmu Essay on the Huayan Sūtra touches Sudhana in more than one place, and in its explanation of the text of the forty-five friends it directly carries on the doctrine of this passage — the first friend speaks the ten great minds for those who turn their minds, and explains at length the ten right dharmas of the buddhas for Sudhana so as to accomplish the practice of faith — while the Mysterious Mirror of the Dharma Realm of the Huayan does not touch the matter of Sudhana at all. In the works examined, the carrying on from this passage lies mostly in the person and not in the marks of dharmas, the one place in the Kongmu Essay alone also carrying on the doctrine of this passage (the ten great minds · the ten right dharmas) — which accords exactly with the root intent of the last assembly, that the cultivation is entrusted to a person so as to give the later followers a track to run in.
In the text of this one passage, the first half is the turning from the lesser and entering the great, and the second half is a pure capacity receiving the Dharma. Mañjuśrī is only one person because faith has not yet become a stage; and the reason the fifty-three visits can be walked to the end is precisely that the first step is faith.
考據Apparatus
本節是末會之首。澄觀於此處立一大科——「大文第二末會」，並「略啟十門」以總攝其下五十子；十門之第六為「五相分別」，五相之首即「寄位修行相」，寄位之首即本節之文殊一人。澄觀於此明說寄位之判非經文自標，而是「且依古德配為五相」〔T35n1735 0918b07〕，並先錄二家之異（「若意法師及臺山論，但隨文散釋，更無別配；光統等師皆配地位」〔0918b02〕）而云「二皆有理」〔0918b04〕，末以「然無次位中不礙次位，顯位是常規，配亦無失」〔0918b06〕持平收之。文殊一人何以獨當十信而不足十人，澄觀亦有逐字之答——「初文殊一人寄十信，信未成位，故但一人」〔0918c19〕。本節之文，前半是文殊出閣、舍利弗率六千比丘迴小入大，後半是福城四眾雲集、善財生相與三十四偈求法、文殊十偈答教並指示德雲。眷屬伴從實計二十三類（主神十四·諸王九），十事觀察十句，十無疲厭十句，十一句問，善財頌三十四偈，文殊答頌十偈——凡數皆逐字實計。
一、科判定位
| 科判系統 | 此子之位 |
|---|---|
| 底本 T279 三十九品 | 品三十九 入法界品（第九會 逝多林）；文殊師利（寄十信）＝卷六十一末–卷六十二〔T10 0330b29〕–〔0334a15 前〕 |
| 般若 T293（貞元四十華嚴·唯存本品） | 本節對位窗〔T10n0293 0675b14〕–〔0679b21〕（本無分子之科·依場景對位）：出閣·伴從·舍利弗攝眾·六十比丘·至福生城·四眾雲集·善財三十七偈·廣問廣答·指示吉祥雲·辭退 |
| 澄觀《華嚴經疏》 | 末會十門〔T35n1735 0917c06〕起；十隨文釋〔0918c17〕；十信段〔0918c23〕–〔0922c12 前〕（成彼化事三會〔0919a07〕·攝善財會〔0920a04〕） |
| 澄觀《演義鈔》 | 釋疏「五相」「二十類」「五生」段〔T36n1736 0663a22〕起 |
| 法藏《探玄記》（六十華嚴疏） | 品總釋「四釋文」判本品二分，末會起於文殊出閣句〔T35n1733 0441c02〕 |
| 李通玄《新華嚴經論》 | 「就俗利生成行門」〔T36n1739 0948c28〕；本段長科三分〔0949a02〕起 |
| 智儼《搜玄記》 | 品總釋四門（辨名·來意·宗體·釋文）〔T35n1732 0087c06〕起；本節之科：「此初知識菩薩，字文殊入菩提心法門。初文殊，文有三」〔0090c02〕 |
澄觀末會十門——此十門是全末會五十子共用之總綱，故錄於本節（末會之首）：
「大文第二末會，亦即一部流通，略啟十門：一總顯會意、二會數開合、三會主多少、四定會名義、五二位統收、六五相分別、七圓攝始終、八會主類別、九法界事義、十隨文解釋。」〔T35n1735 0917c06〕
十門之第八，列句作「八會主類別」〔0917c09〕，而其分節之標題作「八法界人類」〔0918b27〕——二形俱是疏文逐字，並錄不判。
十門逐目之要義，各以疏文逐字繫之：
- 一總顯會意〔0917c10〕：「夫圓滿教海攝法無遺」；末結「今託人進修以軌後徒，使大教弘通，即斯本意」〔0917c18〕。
- 二會數開合〔0917c19〕：「若約所攝之機，唯有三會：一比丘、二諸乘人、三善財會」〔0917c20〕；「若約能所通辨，有五十五會，善財自有五十三故」〔0917c21〕；「若約主伴，成百一十會」〔0917c26〕。
- 三會主多少〔0917c29〕：「若以人剋定，唯五十四」〔0917c29〕。
- 四定會名義〔0918a02〕：「此下諸會雖無佛說，以本收末亦得名經」〔0918a02〕。
- 五二位統收〔0918a07〕：「此中諸會不出文殊、普賢」〔0918a08〕；「普賢表所依法界，即在纏如來藏故」〔0918a10〕，「文殊表能信之心」〔0918a13〕，又「文殊即能證大智」〔0918a20〕。
- 六五相分別〔0918b02〕：詳見下。
- 七圓攝始終〔0918b24〕：「上寄法顯異布之前後，據實圓融一位即一切位乃至無盡故」〔0918b24〕。
- 八法界人類〔0918b27〕：「知識雖多，不出二十類」〔0918b28〕；又「不出菩薩五生所收」〔0918c07〕；又「於中，菩薩有六，三處現身：一初文殊，信位劣故，唯顯一人」〔0918c10〕。
- 九法界事義〔0918c14〕：「通下諸位總有十門」〔0918c14〕。
- 十隨文釋〔0918c17〕：「依五相中，今當第一寄位修行相」〔0918c18〕。
五相總綱——澄觀立五相之全文與其持平語：
「六分五相者，若意法師及臺山論，但隨文散釋，更無別配；光統等師皆配地位。二皆有理，謂隨一一位具多法門，豈容凡心不得習求善友之法，故不配有理。然無次位中不礙次位，顯位是常規，配亦無失。橫竪無礙，且依古德配為五相」〔T35n1735 0918b02〕
五相逐目〔0918b07〕：一寄位修行相（初四十一人）·二會緣入實相（摩耶下九會十一人）·三攝德成因相（慈氏）·四智照無二相（後文殊）·五顯因廣大相（普賢）。澄觀復以五行相配之——「此五亦是菩薩五種行相：一高行、二大行、三勝行、四深行、五廣行」〔0918b22〕。
寄十信之判——寄位修行相分五，本節當其第一：
「依五相中，今當第一寄位修行相。分五：初文殊一人寄十信，信未成位，故但一人；餘四十人寄十住等，位各有十，謂二從德雲至慈行寄十住位；三善見至遍行寄十行；四鬻香長者至安住地神寄十向；五婆珊夜神至瞿波寄十地。」〔T35n1735 0918c18〕
本節釋文骨架（澄觀）：
「信中分二：先明能化發起、二『爾時尊者舍利弗』下成彼化事。」〔T35n1735 0918c23〕
「第二成彼化事中，通有三會：一比丘會，顯迴小入大故；二諸乘人會，顯通收諸權入一實故；三善財會，顯純一乘機，一生成辨故。」〔T35n1735 0919a07〕
攝善財會復開十門〔0920a04〕：一趣求有異·二修入眾殊·三示方不同·四見處差別·五遣不遣別·六歎不歎別·七推不推別·八結不結別·九去不去別·十正釋本文。第十門『正釋本文』下四別〔0920b25〕：一四部雲奔·二三業調化·三上根隨逐·四大聖重教。
法藏之科（就六十本，以文殊出閣句判本末二會）：
「此一品中大分有二：初明本會」〔T35n1733 0441c02〕；「亦則前明果法界、後明因法界」〔0441c04〕；「又前明頓入法界、後明漸入法界」〔0441c05〕。
李通玄之科（別立門名）：本段名「就俗利生成行門」〔T36n1739 0948c28〕，其下長科三分——第一「創始就根入俗遊歷門」〔0949a06〕、第二段起於「漸次南行經歷人間至福城東」〔0949a07〕、第三「是辨根與法成行門」〔0949a10〕。
智儼之科：本品總釋四門，其來意云「上雖得行解法，若不依知識加持無由進會，故來也」〔T35n1732 0087c13〕；本節之科三分：「初明文殊及眷屬辭退南行以為化緣」〔0090c04〕，二自「爾時尊者舍利弗」〔0090c05〕下「對緣攝化」〔0090c06〕，三自「爾時文殊知善財」〔0090c06〕下「明自位滿足進入勝境」〔0090c07〕；攝化復三：「初化引聲聞，即迴小入大也」〔0090c08〕，次「攝諸龍眾」〔0090c09〕，三「攝化人眾」〔0090c10〕。
二、術語
| 漢 | 古德傳梵（羅馬字·發音輔助） | 所徵 | 精義 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 善住樓閣 | — | 本品「從善住樓閣出」〔T10n0279 0330b29〕 | 文殊所出之閣；澄觀釋「權實相依、悲智無住，名善住閣」〔T35n1735 0918c29〕。六十本作「善安住樓閣」〔T09n0278 0686c10〕 |
| 童子 | — | 本品「爾時，文殊師利童子從善住樓閣出」〔T10n0279 0330b29〕 | 文殊之通稱；澄觀「文殊菩薩本是童子，而前列菩薩。此彰童子者，表創入佛法故」〔T35n1735 0918c26〕 |
| 鳩槃荼 | —（「鳩槃荼」本即古傳音寫） | 本品「常勤除滅諸餓鬼趣鳩槃荼王」〔T10n0279 0330c12〕 | 伴從九王之一 |
| 迦樓羅 | —（「迦樓羅」本即古傳音寫） | 本品「恒願拔濟一切眾生出諸有海迦樓羅王」〔T10n0279 0330c13〕 | 伴從九王之一 |
| 摩睺羅伽 | —（「摩睺羅伽」本即古傳音寫） | 本品「見佛歡喜曲躬恭敬摩睺羅伽王」〔T10n0279 0330c14〕 | 伴從九王之一 |
| 比丘 | —（「比丘」本即古傳音寫） | 本品「其數六千」〔T10n0279 0331a01〕 | 出家眾；《演義鈔》舉舊譯五義「古有五義：一曰怖魔」〔T36n1736 0663c07〕，又「新云苾芻，苾芻草名，具五德故」〔0663c12〕 |
| 無礙眼見一切佛境界 | — | 本品「無礙眼見一切佛境界」〔T10n0279 0331b28〕 | 六千比丘所得三昧之名；六十本作「無礙淨眼三昧」〔T09n0278 0687b20〕 |
| 普照法界修多羅 | —（「修多羅」本即古傳音寫） | 本品「說普照法界修多羅」〔T10n0279 0332a07〕 | 文殊於福城所說之經；澄觀「名普照等者，智用宏舒，故云普照」〔T35n1735 0919c27〕 |
| 福城 | — | 本品「至福城東」〔T10n0279 0331c29〕 | 化處；澄觀「其城居人多有福德，故曰福城，城表防非」〔T35n1735 0919c16〕。六十本作「覺城」〔T09n0278 0687c18〕 |
| 娑羅林 | —（「娑羅」本即古傳音寫） | 本品「住莊嚴幢娑羅林中」〔T10n0279 0332a01〕 | 大塔廟所在之林；澄觀「娑羅林者，此云高遠」〔T35n1735 0919c19〕 |
| 善財 | — | 本品「名曰：善財」〔T10n0279 0332b28〕 | 本會當機；澄觀就外緣釋「財多屬依、善通依正，財現是其善相，稱曰善財」〔T35n1735 0920c13〕，又就內因釋「又解心順理曰善，積德無盡曰財」〔0920c15〕 |
| 阿耨多羅三藐三菩提 | —（本即古傳音寫） | 本品「發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心」〔T10n0279 0331c28〕 | 無上正等正覺 |
| 優婆塞·優婆夷 | —（本即古傳音寫） | 本品「時，有優婆塞，名曰：大智」〔T10n0279 0332a14〕 | 四眾之二；澄觀「一優婆塞，此云近事男，謂親近比丘而承事故」〔T35n1735 0920b29〕 |
| 勝樂·妙峯·德雲 | — | 本品「名為：勝樂」〔T10n0279 0334a09〕·「名曰：妙峯」〔0334a10〕·「名曰：德雲」〔0334a11〕 | 次友之依正；澄觀「國名勝樂者，次下知識寄當初住，勝過前位，是信所樂故」〔T35n1735 0922b08〕，「友名德雲者，具德如雲」〔0922b14〕。疏文山名作「妙峰」〔0922b10〕，底本作「妙峯」，字形異而所指同 |
三、譬喻·修辭
(一) 象王迴喻（二見）——本節二處以象王之迴顧狀文殊之攝機：一在比丘會，「如象王迴觀諸比丘」〔T10n0279 0331b04〕；一在善財會，「如象王迴，觀善財童子」〔0333b27〕。澄觀釋其取喻之點在「身首俱轉」：
「如象王迴者，身首俱轉，無輕舉故。」〔T35n1735 0919b14〕
象迴首必舉全身而轉，不似他獸之側顧——所顯者是攝機之全與重，非姿態之奇。
(二) 三有城喻（善財頌初四偈）——「三有為城廓，憍慢為垣牆」〔T10n0279 0332c17〕，其下「諸趣為門戶，愛水為池塹」〔0332c18〕：以城郭、垣牆、門戶、池塹四事配三有、憍慢、諸趣、愛水，成一整幅之城喻。澄觀判此段「初四頌，傷己沈溺，自勉不能」〔T35n1735 0921a26〕。
(三) 日月輪喻——「妙智清淨日，大悲圓滿輪」〔T10n0279 0332c25〕，次偈「妙智清淨月，大慈無垢輪」〔0332c27〕：日配智悲，月配智慈，二偈相對成文。
(四) 商主喻——「福智大商主，勇猛求菩提」〔T10n0279 0333a02〕：以領眾涉險而歸之商主喻善知識。
(五) 帝釋須彌喻——「住法須彌頂，定女常恭侍」〔T10n0279 0333a06〕：以帝釋居須彌頂、天女侍側、降阿脩羅之事，配住法之高、定之侍、惑之滅。
(六) 乘喻群（善財頌後段）——自「願輪大悲轂，信軸堅忍鎋」〔T10n0279 0333a22〕起，連下十五偈，一一以車乘之部件配法：輪·轂·軸·鎋·箱·蓋·鈴·茵蓐·采女·鼓·藏·寶·羈鞅·軛，末以「令我載此乘」（十二偈）、「使我載此乘」〔0333a25〕（一偈）、「願與我此乘」（二偈）句收。澄觀判此段為「次十五偈讚法求乘」〔T35n1735 0921b10〕，並判其分四——「初四求悲智定，攝利他乘；次三求十度自行乘；次四求二利滅障乘；後四求運載廣大乘」〔0921b17〕。
(七) 金剛·幻化·地水喻（乘喻群之內）——「堅固如金剛，善巧如幻化」〔T10n0279 0333b09〕；「如地不傾動，如水普饒益」〔0333b21〕：以金剛之堅配不壞，以幻化之巧配無礙，以地之不動、水之普潤配運眾生之德。
(八) 王城冠繒喻（末二偈）——「已入法王城，已著智王冠」〔T10n0279 0333b25〕：以入城、著冠、繫繒三事狀文殊之位已極。澄觀判末「後二偈雙結人法」〔T35n1735 0921b10〕。
四、異譯對勘
本節要句之漢譯校本：實叉難陀 T279（底本·卷六十一末–卷六十二）· 佛馱跋陀羅 T278（晉譯六十華嚴〈入法界品第三十四〉·卷四十五–四十六）· 般若 T293（貞元四十華嚴·唯存本品）。三本全錄。T293 與本節相當之對位窗〔T10n0293 0675b14〕–〔0679b21〕，起於文殊出閣句，訖於善財辭退句，與八十本本節首尾相當。句一至句十以八十・六十兩本對校，體例不改；四十本之要異別出於下，自句十一起，每組三本並列。
句一 文殊出閣與伴從
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 爾時，文殊師利童子從善住樓閣出，與無量同行菩薩，及常隨侍衛諸金剛神 | T10n0279 0330b29 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 爾時，文殊師利童子從善安住樓閣出 | T09n0278 0686c09 |
異文所繫：(甲) 閣名一字之異——80 作「善住樓閣」，60 作「善安住樓閣」。(乙) 伴從之列，80 於同行菩薩下開二十三類（主神十四·諸王九·逐字實計），60 之列名與句序與 80 微異且不作『主某神』之整齊句式。誌錄不判。
句二 六千比丘之出身
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 此六千比丘是舍利弗自所同住，出家未久 | T10n0279 0330c27 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 此六千比丘是舍利弗共行弟子，皆新出家 | T09n0278 0686c27 |
異文所繫：80 作「自所同住」，60 作「共行弟子」；80 作「出家未久」，60 作「皆新出家」。比丘列名十人，二本俱十而名多異形（80 海覺·善生·福光↔60 海智·大善調伏·功德光等）。誌錄不判。
句三 文殊授十心之標句
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 比丘！若善男子、善女人，成就十種趣大乘法，則能速入如來之地，況菩薩地 | T10n0279 0331b10 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 汝等當知，若善男子、善女人，成就十種大心，則得佛地，況菩薩地 | T09n0278 0687b04 |
異文所繫：(甲) 所成之法，80 作「十種趣大乘法」，60 作「十種大心」。(乙) 所入之地，80 作「速入如來之地」，60 作「則得佛地」。(丙) 十句之結語，80 十見「心無疲厭」（逐字實計），60 十見「心無厭足」。誌錄不判。
句四 比丘所得三昧之名
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 時，諸比丘聞此法已，則得三昧，名：無礙眼見一切佛境界 | T10n0279 0331b27 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 彼諸比丘聞此法已，皆得無礙淨眼三昧 | T09n0278 0687b20 |
異文所繫：三昧之名，80 作「無礙眼見一切佛境界」而以「名」字別出，60 作「無礙淨眼三昧」。其下定用之列，80 開眼·耳·他心·宿住四用（澄觀判「一眼具斯四用，故稱無礙」〔T35n1735 0919c06〕），60 之列較略而次第互有出入。誌錄不判。
句五 化處之城名
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 時，福城人聞文殊師利童子在莊嚴幢娑羅林中大塔廟處 | T10n0279 0332a12 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 時，覺城人聞文殊師利在莊嚴幢娑羅林中 | T09n0278 0687c18 |
異文所繫：城名 80 作「福城」，60 作「覺城」。四眾之數，80 優婆塞五百·優婆夷五百·童子五百·童女五百；60 優婆塞作「千優婆塞」而餘三眾皆五百。誌錄不判。
句六 立名之緣
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 以此事故，父母親屬及善相師共呼此兒，名曰：善財 | T10n0279 0332b27 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 以此事故，婆羅門中，善明相師，字曰善財 | T09n0278 0688a27 |
異文所繫：命名之人，80 作「父母親屬及善相師」，60 作「婆羅門中，善明相師」。生相之量，80 七大藏「縱廣高下各滿七肘」〔T10n0279 0332b16〕，60 作「其七種寶芽，高二尋，廣七尋」〔T09n0278 0688a19〕。誌錄不判。
句七 善財頌之首偈
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 三有為城廓，憍慢為垣牆 | T10n0279 0332c17 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 三有為城郭，高慢為園牆 | T09n0278 0688b14 |
異文所繫：(甲) 字形與用語之異——「城廓」／「城郭」·「憍慢」／「高慢」·「垣牆」／「園牆」。(乙) 偈數：80 三十四偈（澄觀判「三十四頌，分二」〔T35n1735 0921a26〕），60 之對應段〔T09n0278 0688b14–0689a23〕法藏就六十本亦判「於中有三十四頌，分二」〔T35n1733 0454b07〕，二本偈數同；所異在字詞如上。誌錄不判。
句八 文殊答頌之首偈
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 善哉功德藏，能來至我所 | T10n0279 0333c10 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 善哉功德藏，能來詣我所 | T09n0278 0689b18 |
異文所繫：一字之異——80 作「能來至我所」，60 作「能來詣我所」。偈數 80 十偈（澄觀判「十偈分五」〔T35n1735 0921c21〕），60 亦十偈而句義互有詳略。誌錄不判。
句九 指示後友
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 善男子！於此南方有一國土，名為：勝樂 | T10n0279 0334a09 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 善男子！於此南方，有一國土，名曰可樂 | T09n0278 0689c09 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 有一比丘，名功德雲 | T09n0278 0689c11 |
異文所繫：國名 80 作「勝樂」，60 作「可樂」；山名 80 作「妙峯」，60 作「和合」；友名 80 作「德雲」，60 作「功德雲」。誌錄不判。
句十 念恩辭退
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 爾時，善財童子聞是語已，歡喜踊躍，頭頂禮足 | T10n0279 0334a13 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 時，善財童子從文殊師利，聞法歡喜，頭面禮足 | T09n0278 0689c14 |
異文所繫：80 作「頭頂禮足」，60 作「頭面禮足」；80 末四字「悲泣流淚」，60 作「瞻仰悲戀，泣涕辭退」。誌錄不判。
句十一 文殊出閣與伴從（T293 對位）
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 爾時，文殊師利童子從善住樓閣出，與無量同行菩薩，及常隨侍衛諸金剛神 | T10n0279 0330b29 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 爾時，文殊師利童子從善安住樓閣出，與一切同行諸菩薩俱；金剛力士，常隨侍衛 | T09n0278 0686c09 |
| 般若 T293 | 爾時，文殊師利童子從善住樓閣出，與無量同行大菩薩眾，及常侍衛諸金剛神 | T10n0293 0675b14 |
異文所繫：閣名，40 與 80 同作「善住樓閣」，不從 60 之「善安住樓閣」。同行之眾，80 作「無量同行菩薩」，40 作「無量同行大菩薩眾」，60 作「一切同行諸菩薩俱」。金剛之屬，80 作「常隨侍衛諸金剛神」，40 作「常侍衛諸金剛神」，60 別出為「金剛力士，常隨侍衛」。伴從之類數，80 開二十三類（主神十四·諸王九·逐字實計），40 開二十四類（主神十五·諸王九·逐字實計），其多出之一類為「發大誓願運度眾生稱讚諸佛勇猛無倦主河神」〔T10n0293 0675b24〕，八十本主山神下逕接主城神，無主河神一類。又龍王與夜叉王之繫語，80 作「常勤守護一切智智無上法城諸大龍王」「常勤守護一切眾生諸夜叉王」〔T10n0279 0330c10〕，40 作「常勤守護一切眾生諸大龍王」「常勤守護一切智城諸夜叉王」〔T10n0293 0675b27〕，二繫語互易。出儀，80 作「出自住處，來詣佛所，右遶世尊」〔T10n0279 0330c18〕，40 作「從自住處來詣佛所，右遶如來，經無量匝」〔T10n0293 0675c07〕而多「頂禮辭退，右遶而出」〔0675c09〕一節。
句十二 舍利弗眷屬之數（T293 對位）
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 時，尊者舍利弗與六千比丘，前後圍遶，出自住處 | T10n0279 0330c24 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 爾時，尊者舍利弗與六千比丘，眷屬圍遶，從自房出 | T09n0278 0686c25 |
| 般若 T293 | 時，舍利弗即與眷屬六十比丘前後圍遶，出自住處 | T10n0293 0675c15 |
異文所繫：眷屬之數，80、60 皆作「六千」，40 作「六十」；40 於列名之後復結云「與如是等六十人俱」〔T10n0293 0675c22〕，二處同數。列名之人，三本俱十而名多異形（80 海覺·善生·福光·大童子·電生·淨行·天德·君慧·梵勝·寂慧；40 海覺·妙德·福光·大悲·電德·淨行·天德·實慧·梵勝·寂慧；60 海智·大善調伏·功德光·大童子·電光興·清淨行·天妙德·因陀羅慧·梵天·寂靜慧·逐字實計）。所繫之師，80 作「此六千比丘是舍利弗自所同住，出家未久」〔T10n0279 0330c27〕，60 作「此六千比丘是舍利弗共行弟子，皆新出家」〔T09n0278 0686c27〕，40 作「此諸比丘皆舍利弗之所化度，出家未久，自所同住」〔T10n0293 0675c18〕而兼二義。又 40 於歎德之末別出「皆是文殊師利童子之所教化」〔T10n0293 0675c27〕，80 作「皆是文殊師利說法教化之所成就」〔T10n0279 0331a04〕。
句十三 化處之城名與四眾（T293 對位）
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 漸次南行，經歷人間，至福城東 | T10n0279 0331c29 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 漸遊南方。至覺城東 | T09n0278 0687c09 |
| 般若 T293 | 漸次南行，經歷人間城邑、聚落、至福生城 | T10n0293 0677a10 |
異文所繫：城名，80 作「福城」，60 作「覺城」，40 作「福生城」。所歷之處，80 作「經歷人間」，40 作「經歷人間城邑、聚落」。所說之經名，80 作「說普照法界修多羅」〔T10n0279 0332a07〕，60 作「說普照一切法界修多羅」〔T09n0278 0687c13〕，40 作「說修多羅名普照法界圓滿光明」〔T10n0293 0677a18〕，40 復多「坐師子座」〔0677a18〕一節。四眾之數與其首，80 優婆塞「有優婆塞，名曰：大智，與五百優婆塞眷屬俱」〔T10n0279 0332a15〕而優婆夷·童子·童女三眾唯云「復有五百」不別出其首；60 優婆塞作「與千優婆塞眷屬俱」〔T09n0278 0687c21〕而餘三眾皆五百；40 則四眾各出其首而各「與其眷屬五百人俱」——優婆塞名曰大慧〔T10n0293 0677a27〕·優婆夷名曰大慧〔0677b05〕·童子名曰善財〔0677b12〕·童女名曰妙賢〔0677b18〕。列名之數，40 優婆塞十·優婆夷十·童子十·童女九（逐字實計）。
句十四 善財偈之首偈與偈數（T293 對位）
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 三有為城廓，憍慢為垣牆 | T10n0279 0332c17 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 三有為城郭，高慢為園牆 | T09n0278 0688b14 |
| 般若 T293 | 有大智慧威神力，行菩提行利眾生 | T10n0293 0678a13 |
異文所繫：偈數異——80 三十四偈〔T10n0279 0332c17–0333b26〕（澄觀判「三十四頌，分二」〔T35n1735 0921a26〕），40 三十七偈〔T10n0293 0678a13–0678c28〕（逐字實計），60 亦三十四偈〔T09n0278 0688b14–0689a23〕（法藏判「於中有三十四頌，分二」〔T35n1733 0454b07〕）。句式異——80、60 皆五言，40 皆七言。首偈異——80、60 皆以三有城郭之喻起，40 別冠一偈於首，作「有大智慧威神力，行菩提行利眾生，無量境界誓當求，唯願仁尊哀聽許。」〔T10n0293 0678a13〕，其三有城郭之喻降在次偈，作「愛水深濬為池塹，憍慢高舉為垣牆，諸趣出入為門戶，三有難超作城郭。」〔T10n0293 0678a15〕。喻序異——80 之首偈四句以城廓·垣牆·門戶·池塹為序，40 之次偈以池塹·垣牆·門戶·城郭為序。誌錄不判。
句十五 善財廣問之問項（T293 對位）
六十本此段為文殊教善財求友請問之語（問項在文殊引語內），非善財已問；八十、四十本則為善財自問。
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 唯願聖者廣為我說，菩薩應云何學菩薩行 | T10n0279 0333c03 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 問菩薩行：云何修習菩薩道 | T09n0278 0689b12 |
| 般若 T293 | 聖者！唯願慈悲，廣為我說，我應云何學菩薩行 | T10n0293 0679a06 |
異文所繫：問項之數——80 十一問（學·修·趣·行·淨·入·成就·隨順·憶念·增廣，末問「應云何令普賢行速得圓滿」·逐字實計；澄觀云「今初，有十一句」〔T35n1735 0921c03〕），40 十三問（學·修·起·行·滿·淨·轉·深入·出生·觀察·增廣·成就，末問「應云何令普賢行速得圓滿」·逐字實計），60 九問（修習·滿足·清淨·究竟·出生·正念·緣於境界·增廣，末問「云何菩薩具普賢行」·逐字實計）。問語之式——80、40 皆冠「應云何」，60 逕作「云何」。所問之目——80 有趣·入·隨順·憶念而 40 無；40 有起·滿·轉·深入·出生·觀察而 80 無；成就一目兩本俱有，80 在第七、40 在第十二，次第不同。請詞——80 作「唯願聖者廣為我說」，40 作「聖者！唯願慈悲，廣為我說」。誌錄不判。
句十六 指示後友（T293 對位）
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 善男子！於此南方有一國土，名為：勝樂 | T10n0279 0334a09 |
| 實叉 T279 | 有一比丘，名曰：德雲 | T10n0279 0334a10 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 善男子！於此南方，有一國土，名曰可樂 | T09n0278 0689c09 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 有一比丘，名功德雲 | T09n0278 0689c11 |
| 般若 T293 | 善男子！於此南方有一國土，名為勝樂 | T10n0293 0679b13 |
| 般若 T293 | 彼有比丘名吉祥雲 | T10n0293 0679b14 |
異文所繫：國名，80、40 皆作「勝樂」，60 作「可樂」。山名，80、40 皆作「妙峯」，60 作「和合」。友名，80 作「德雲」，60 作「功德雲」，40 作「吉祥雲」。囑辭，80 作「德雲比丘當為汝說」〔T10n0279 0334a13〕，60 作「彼比丘者，善能顯說菩薩所行」〔T09n0278 0689c13〕，40 作「彼善知識當為汝說具足圓滿普賢行願」〔T10n0293 0679b17〕。誌錄不判。
句十七 念恩辭退（T293 對位）
| 校本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 實叉 T279 | 爾時，善財童子聞是語已，歡喜踊躍，頭頂禮足，遶無數匝 | T10n0279 0334a13 |
| 佛馱 T278 | 時，善財童子從文殊師利，聞法歡喜，頭面禮足，遶無數匝；瞻仰悲戀，泣涕辭退 | T09n0278 0689c14 |
| 般若 T293 | 時，善財童子聞是語已，心生歡喜，踊躍無量，於彼比丘深生渴仰，於文殊師利慇懃戀慕，頂禮雙足，遶無數匝，悲泣流淚，辭退而去 | T10n0293 0679b18 |
異文所繫：所歡喜之由，80、40 皆作「聞是語已」，60 作「從文殊師利，聞法歡喜」。禮足之形，80 作「頭頂禮足」，60 作「頭面禮足」，40 作「頂禮雙足」。所繫之戀，80 無別文，60 作「瞻仰悲戀」，40 別出二所——「於彼比丘深生渴仰」「於文殊師利慇懃戀慕」。收句，80 末四字作「悲泣流淚」，60 作「泣涕辭退」，40 兼作「悲泣流淚，辭退而去」。誌錄不判。
五、宗義之經據〔眼〕
(一) 末會之立，在「託人進修以軌後徒」。澄觀總顯會意，先立本會與末會之對——
「故前明不異漸之頓，多門而眾人同契；此明不異頓之漸，一人而歷位圓修。」〔T35n1735 0917c14〕
前之本會是多人同契一法，此之末會是一人歷盡諸位；一卷一舒，而「本末無礙同入法界」〔0917c18〕。其所以要立此一人之歷程，澄觀說得直白：「今託人進修以軌後徒，使大教弘通，即斯本意。」〔0917c18〕
(二) 二位統收——文殊表能信之心，普賢表所依法界。此為末會之骨：
「此中諸會不出文殊、普賢，略有二門：一相對明表、二互融顯圓。」〔T35n1735 0918a08〕
三對之表：能所（「普賢表所依法界，即在纏如來藏故」〔0918a10〕／「文殊表能信之心」〔0918a13〕）·解行（普賢表所起萬行／文殊表能起之解）·理智（普賢即所證法界／「文殊即能證大智」〔0918a20〕）。澄觀並引二證——《理趣般若》「一切眾生皆如來藏」〔0918a11〕以證普賢之表，《佛名經》「一切諸佛皆因文殊而發心故」〔0918a13〕以證文殊之表。互融一門則云「則理智無二」〔0918a28〕。本節之文殊為五十三參之首，其所以為首，正由此表。
(三) 五相之配，是「且依古德」，不是經文自標。此為讀本節第一要緊之分際，澄觀自陳其所本與所讓：
「六分五相者，若意法師及臺山論，但隨文散釋，更無別配；光統等師皆配地位。二皆有理，謂隨一一位具多法門，豈容凡心不得習求善友之法，故不配有理。然無次位中不礙次位，顯位是常規，配亦無失。橫竪無礙，且依古德配為五相」〔T35n1735 0918b02〕
「二皆有理」與「且依」二語，是澄觀對此判之自我限定——配位可通，不配亦可通；配之為用，在顯位次之常規，不在斷定經文本有此位。
(四) 文殊獨當十信之故——「信未成位」。寄位之數，餘四十人皆十人一位，唯本節一人當一位：
「初文殊一人寄十信，信未成位，故但一人」〔T35n1735 0918c19〕
同一義，澄觀於「法界人類」門復以菩薩現身之數說之：「於中，菩薩有六，三處現身：一初文殊，信位劣故，唯顯一人。二中間漸進，現於二人，謂大悲、正趣。三位後成滿，顯於三人，謂彌勒等。」〔0918c10〕信位未入位次，故不足以列十；此是本節唯一人之所以。
(五) 圓攝始終——一位即一切位。澄觀於配位之外立此一門為救：
「上寄法顯異布之前後，據實圓融一位即一切位乃至無盡故。所歷差別並一中之多，一多同時無有障礙。」〔T35n1735 0918b24〕
寄位是布教之異，圓攝是據實之融；二者並立，故配位而不成階級之執。
(六) 三會之機——迴小入大·入權入實·純一乘機。本節之後半何以要三重眾會，澄觀逐一繫其所顯：
「第二成彼化事中，通有三會：一比丘會，顯迴小入大故；二諸乘人會，顯通收諸權入一實故；三善財會，顯純一乘機，一生成辨故。又前二會表居信未久尚不定故，善財信終可入證故。」〔T35n1735 0919a07〕
比丘會之六千比丘，澄觀釋數云「六千者，表六根性淨，可入法界故」〔0919a17〕；釋「出家未久」云「未證實際，易可迴故；信心尚微，須誘化故」〔0919a19〕。
(七) 十無疲厭之所以名「無疲厭」。澄觀不就辭釋，就病釋：
「皆言無疲厭者，法門無盡、眾生無邊，取相而修多生疲厭，厭則退墮二乘；若無愛見而修，則無疲矣。」〔T35n1735 0919b19〕
十句復「攝為五對」〔0919b22〕：一內因外緣·二求法成行·三深定妙智·四嚴剎調生·五長時廣大。
(八) 十信初心而得十地後之通用。比丘得三昧一段，澄觀點出其教相之意：
「此顯圓教攝機創立大心，乃得十地之後十通之用，以始攝終故」〔T35n1735 0919c07〕
始位而得終位之用，是圓教攝機之相，非位次之躐等。
(九) 南方五義。善財所往，澄觀先限其分位——地前知識多在南方、地內無方、地後兼二——而後於南立五義，不專主一義：
「三示方不同，大位有三：初地前知識多在南方、地內無方、地後兼二。然南者，古有五義」〔T35n1735 0920a15〕
五義：一約事（舉一例諸）·二明義（「表捨闇向智故」〔0920a18〕）·三中義（離東西二邊）·四生義（「南主其陽，發生萬物，表善財增長行故」〔0920a21〕）·五隨順義（背左向右，順日月轉）。
(十) 初文殊之三缺——不遣·先不歎·不推。攝善財會十門之中，五、六、七三門皆以本節為例外：
「初之文殊以在最初，表內重起信，前更無遣見」〔T35n1735 0920b07〕
「初文殊中，未發心前所以不歎，勸發心已方乃歎之。」〔T35n1735 0920b12〕
「唯初一後三缺斯二事，為顯人尊，德已備故。」〔T35n1735 0920b18〕
「謙己知一、推勝知多」二事，中間諸友皆有，唯首末四人無之——這是本節與其下四十餘子在體例上最顯之別。
(十一) 善財之位——古有多釋，澄觀不定一說。此為本品最大之古釋分歧，錄其骨幹：
「此菩提心為當何位？善財童子為聖為凡？有古多釋。」〔T35n1735 0920c29〕
其下所錄：一云即地上菩薩（證發心）；一云是地前實報凡夫；又一師引安住地神處「此人已生法王種中」為定，而自為二解（已入地／三賢內種性）。澄觀復錄賢首之說：
「應是善趣信行中人」〔T35n1735 0921a12〕；「謂以在信是信位、在住是住位，一身歷五位，隨在即彼收，以遍一切故如普賢位。」〔0921a18〕
澄觀於賢首之說下一語曰「此之一解甚順經宗」〔0921a20〕，而復自申一理：「但更有一理，謂歷位而修，得見普賢，一時頓具」〔0921a21〕，以地獄天子三重頓圓為例而難「何以善財剋定初地等」〔0921a22〕；《鈔》明此為「疏正其釋」〔T36n1736 0664c05〕，「一時頓具，即是第三證入生故，亦成漸頓得交徹故」〔0664c08〕。末以「無得管見以害經宗」〔0921a25〕收束，不剋定始末之位，而許歷位頓具。
(十二) 大聖總教，諸友別教。文殊答頌與長行之教，何以皆是總說，澄觀繫之於信位之相：
「大聖此中總教諸法，顯十信中總相信故；下諸善友各別教示，顯入位後別修證故。」〔T35n1735 0922a13〕
(十三) 善知識五級與求友之誡勸。文殊末教「應決定求真善知識」一段，澄觀釋「善知識」名並開五級：
「然知識有五：一知識世間善惡因果而令修斷、二厭世樂而欣涅槃、三有悲心相心修度、四以無相慧令物修行、五令無障礙修滿普賢行。」〔T35n1735 0922a21〕
並判「此五前前非真，真唯第五人能行」〔0922a25〕。經文四句之中，澄觀分其誡勸：「隨順是勸，餘皆為誡。設有實過，尚取法亡非，況權實多端生熟難測。」〔0922a27〕
(十四) 何不頓示而遣歷諸友——十義。此問雖科屬次子，其問自本節之指示後友而起，澄觀答以十義：
「大聖有智能演，善財有機堪受，何不頓為宣示，而別指他人歷事諸友？明此深旨，略申十義」〔T35n1735 0922b21〕
十義之末一義最要：「十顯善財與友成緣起故，謂能入所入無二相故，無善友之外善財，則一即一切，明善財歷位也；無善財之外善友故，一切即一，多位成就皆在善財」〔0922c07〕。
六、諸家異釋（古德·標宗）
澄觀《華嚴經疏》T35n1735 ·《演義鈔》T36n1736（八十華嚴逐文·主）
末會十門：見目一。五相之配與持平語：見目五(三)。
伴從之表：「二伴從中，初一同生、餘皆異生，並約通稱，表法之名，以明般若導萬行故。」〔T35n1735 0919a01〕
歎德十句之分：「文有十句：初二歎宿因、次七明現德、後一結德屬緣」〔T35n1735 0919a21〕
十事觀察之分：「有十勝德」〔T35n1735 0919b01〕，逐一為「一身相勝、二常光勝、三放光勝、四眾會勝、五行路勝，表常依八正故」〔0919b01〕，其下六住處勝·七福嚴勝·八林樹勝·九自在勝·十上攝勝。
四眾之數：「而數皆五百者，表五位證入並通此故。」〔T35n1735 0920c04〕
善財偈頌之分科：「三十四頌，分二：初四頌，傷己沈溺，自勉不能；後三十頌，仰德依人，請垂拔濟。」〔T35n1735 0921a26〕後三十偈復分三——「初十三偈讚人求法、次十五偈讚法求乘、後二偈雙結人法」〔0921b09〕。
文殊答頌之分科：「十偈分五」〔T35n1735 0921c21〕——讚發心二偈·略教一偈·重讚發心之德一偈·廣教五偈·結益一偈。其釋發心之體引慈氏語：「菩提心燈，大悲為油、大願為炷，光照法界。」〔0921c24〕
近友為種智初因之證：引《涅槃》——「一切眾生得阿耨菩提近因緣者，莫先善友」〔T35n1735 0921b29〕。
福城之古傳：澄觀引日照三藏語為外證——「日照三藏云」〔T35n1735 0919c21〕：「此城在南天竺，城東大塔是古佛之塔」〔0919c21〕，又「此處居人多唱善財歌辭」〔0919c24〕。
《演義鈔》：釋五行相「一歷位上昇，故云高行」〔T36n1736 0663a24〕；釋二十類「此二十類攝五十四人」〔0663a27〕，並逐類配名（菩薩五·比丘五·尼一·優婆塞一·優婆夷五·童男三·童女二·天一·天女一·外道一·婆羅門二·長者九·先生一·醫人一·船師一·國王二·仙人一·佛母一·佛妃一·諸神十）；釋五生明引《瑜伽》四十八品與《攝論》第六；釋比丘名義「古有五義：一曰怖魔」〔0663c07〕，又「新云苾芻，苾芻草名，具五德故」〔0663c12〕。
法藏《探玄記》T35n1733（六十華嚴疏）
以文殊出閣句為本末二會之界：「此一品中大分有二：初明本會」〔T35n1733 0441c02〕，其下三重相對——「亦則前明果法界、後明因法界」〔0441c04〕，「又前明頓入法界、後明漸入法界」〔0441c05〕，「又前總、後別」〔0441c06〕。法藏於品前先立所入法界五重（法法界·人法界·人法俱融·人法俱泯·無障礙）與能入五重（身·智·俱·泯·圓）〔0441a20〕，而後以此判文。逐善友之科，探玄記亦有之：「今依五相科釋此文。就初寄位修行相中，有四十一知識內，初文殊一人寄當十信知識，以信不成位，故不辨十人；餘四位成，故各有十」〔0451c08〕；本段分二，「先明發起能化之緣」〔0451c11〕，後自「爾時尊者承力」〔0451c12〕下「明成彼化事」〔0451c12〕；初中三，首「主伴出閣，明依本起末也」〔0451c13〕；又釋六十本名形善安住云「證如離念名善安住，法界數重名為樓閣，從此正證起後妙智名從閣出」〔0451c13〕。
李通玄《新華嚴經論》T36n1739（表法異軌）
本段門名：「就俗利生成行門」〔T36n1739 0948c28〕。長科三分〔0949a02〕：第一「創始就根入俗遊歷門」〔0949a06〕·第二自「漸次南行經歷人間至福城東」〔0949a07〕起·第三「是辨根與法成行門」〔0949a10〕。釋出閣句：「明以自法身現根本智，樓閣中起差別智，以利眾生故名為出」〔0949a21〕。伴從之數，通玄別為一計：「此一段并菩薩神天有三十二眾」〔0949a27〕，通後六千比丘眾為四十二眾。又以文殊·普賢·佛三法為五位因果之體：「文殊法身中根本智、普賢差別智中行、於此二中無所住智名之為佛」〔0948c12〕。
智儼《搜玄記》T35n1732
本品總釋四門：「此是第八會，在祇桓重閣說」〔T35n1732 0087c07〕；來意「上雖得行解法，若不依知識加持無由進會，故來也」〔0087c13〕。入法界之分齊「一始從初發心，終即不定」〔0087c23〕。本節之科三分（化緣·攝化·進入勝境），見§一。
誌錄不判
本會之會數，澄觀就所攝之機得三會，就能所通辨得五十五會，就主伴得百一十會，就散說得佛剎塵數會，就普賢德得無盡會；會主之數，就人剋定得五十四，就會顯人得五十七。本末二會之界，法藏與澄觀同定於文殊出閣句，而法藏以果法界·因法界、頓入·漸入、總·別三重相對判之，澄觀則以十門統之而以五相分之。五相之配位，澄觀先錄意法師與臺山論之不配、光統等師之配，云「二皆有理」〔T35n1735 0918b04〕而「且依古德配為五相」〔0918b07〕。伴從之數，八十本逐字實計二十三類，李通玄就八十本（其論牒「六十二卷之初」〔T36n1739 0949a04〕）計為菩薩神天三十二眾、通比丘眾為四十二眾。善財之位次，古釋有地上菩薩說、地前實報凡夫說、生法王種中之二解說，賢首立見聞·解行·證入三位而云隨在即彼收，澄觀錄之而末以不剋定收。城名之異，八十本作福城，六十本作覺城。此諸家所立與二本所傳，各有其軌，誌錄之，不判高下。
七、互讀·承衍
本節之文，承衍繫鏈皆自古德已行之互讀直回：
- 《華嚴一乘十玄門》T45n1868：涉本節場景一處——「乘中一念。故下明善財從文殊所。發心求善」〔T45n1868 0518a18〕，正指本節善財從文殊發心之事。
- 《華嚴經旨歸》T45n1871：「說。廣如彼品說。八造修益者。謂如善財依此」〔T45n1871 0596b13〕，以善財之依經造修為益相之例。
- 《華嚴一乘教義分齊章》T45n1866：以善財歷位為五教階位之例——「如小相品說。又如善財始從十信乃至十」〔T45n1866 0489c09〕；又「如彌勒告善財言」〔0489c12〕。專引本節出閣句者未見。
- 《華嚴經孔目章》T45n1870：涉善財之文不一，此錄二處——「其寶藏。任善財取。證會上地顯資財義」〔T45n1870 0556c17〕；又於釋四十五知識文中直承本段法義：「初一知識。依一乘別教為迴心人。說十大心。及為善財。分別廣說。諸佛十正法。成信行義」〔0584c06〕。
- 《華嚴法界玄鏡》T45n1883：「善財」「善住樓閣」「五十三」三詞全檔零命中〔查無〕，本論未涉善財事。
- 世親《十地經論》T26n1522：「文殊」「善財」「福城」三詞全檔零命中〔查無〕——十地經論唯釋十地品，與本節場景無直接相涉。
- 唯識軸：成唯識論 T31n1585 · 攝大乘論 T31n1594 · 瑜伽師地論 T30n1579 · 解深密經 T16n0676 四典，「善住樓閣」「文殊師利童子從」二詞全檔零命中〔查無〕。本節屬經家敘事段，非唯識橋段落，故不另立唯識繫鏈。
- 《演義鈔》之唯識軸接點：鈔家釋菩薩五生處明引《瑜伽》四十八品與《攝論》第六〔T36n1736 0663b21〕，是本節承衍面唯一之唯識軸接點；其所繫者為善知識類別之義，非本節經文本身。
- 澄觀疏本節段內：「攝論」「瑜伽」「本業」三詞零命中〔查無〕，異於品二十五第六迴向之引《本業》型引文；本節疏文之外證唯日照三藏一條〔T35n1735 0919c21〕與《理趣般若》《佛名經》《涅槃》三引〔0918a11〕〔0918a13〕〔0921b29〕。
八、校本定位
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實叉 T279（底本）：本節〔T10n0279 0330b29〕起（卷六十一末）–〔0334a15 前〕訖（卷六十二）。文殊出閣 0330b29 · 伴從二十三類 0330c01–c17 · 出儀辭退 0330c17–c20 · 舍利弗覩緣興念 0330c21–c24 · 攝眾同遊 0330c24–c27 · 六千比丘指數辨位 0330c27–c28 · 列名十人 0330c28–0331a01 · 歎德十句 0331a01–a05 · 告海覺標句 0331a05–a06 · 十事觀察 0331a06–a21 · 結略顯廣 0331a21–a23 · 比丘得勝益 0331a23–a29 · 詣勝人 0331a29–b03 · 蒙勝攝（象王迴）0331b03–b04 · 設敬興願 0331b04–b09 · 文殊告十無疲厭 0331b09–b21 · 舉益勸修 0331b21–b27 · 得三昧 0331b27–b29 · 定用四門 0331b29–c11 · 通顯多門 0331c11–c14 · 受勝進法 0331c14–c20 · 卷六十一訖 0331c21 · 卷六十二起 0331c24 · 結前所作 0331c28–c29 · 至化處 0331c29–0332a06 · 顯所說法 0332a06–a08 · 所益眾 0332a08–a12 · 四部雲奔 0332a12–b06 · 三業調化 0332b07–c14 · 觀善財外緣 0332b11–b27 · 總結立名 0332b27–b28 · 觀善財內因 0332b28–c03 · 當機授法十句 0332c03–c09 · 結說勸進 0332c09–c14 · 上根隨逐總序 0332c14–c16 · 善財頌三十四偈 0332c17–0333b26 · 大聖重教（略讚略教）0333b27–c02 · 廣問十一句 0333c03–c08 · 廣答十偈 0333c09–0334a01 · 長行總讚總教 0334a01–a09 · 指示後友 0334a09–a13 · 念恩辭退 0334a13–a15。
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佛馱 T278（晉譯主對校）：本節對位段〔T09n0278 0686c09〕起–〔0689c17 前〕訖（卷四十五–四十六）。文殊出閣 0686c09 · 伴從 0686c11–c21 · 舍利弗興念 0686c22–c25 · 六千比丘 0686c25–0687a06 · 告海智 0687a07–a18 · 比丘得益 0687a18–a25 · 詣文殊 0687a25–a27 · 象王迴顧 0687a27–b03 · 十種大心 0687b04–b20 · 無礙淨眼三昧 0687b20–c03 · 勸修普賢行 0687c03–c08 · 至覺城東 0687c08–c13 · 說普照一切法界修多羅 0687c13–c18 · 四眾雲集 0687c18–0688a11 · 觀善財因緣 0688a11–b02 · 為說法 0688b02–b11 · 善財偈頌 0688b11–0689a23 · 卷四十五訖 0689a24 · 卷四十六起 0689b02 · 象王迴觀善財 0689b06–b17 · 文殊偈頌十偈 0689b17–c08 · 指示功德雲 0689c09–c14 · 辭退 0689c14–c16。
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四十華嚴 T293（般若譯·唯存本品）：本節對位窗〔T10n0293 0675b14〕起–〔0679b21〕訖。文殊出閣 0675b14 · 伴從二十四類 0675b15–c05 · 出儀辭退往南 0675c05–c10 · 舍利弗覩緣興念 0675c11–c14 · 攝眾同遊（眷屬六十比丘）0675c15–c18 · 六十比丘辨位 0675c18–c19 · 列名十人 0675c19–c22 · 總結六十人與歎德 0675c22–c27 · 告海覺標句 0675c28–c29 · 十事觀察 0675c29–0676a17 · 結略顯廣 0676a17–a19 · 比丘得勝益 0676a19–a27 · 詣文殊 0676a27–a29 · 蒙勝攝（象王迴）0676a29–b02 · 設敬興願 0676b02–b09 · 文殊告十無疲厭 0676b10–c02 · 舉益勸修 0676b24–c02 · 得三昧（見一切佛境界無礙眼）0676c03–c04 · 定用諸門 0676c04–c24 · 受勝進法 0676c24–0677a08 · 結前南行至福生城 0677a09–a11 · 林處因緣 0677a11–a17 · 顯所說法 0677a17–a20 · 所益眾 0677a20–a25 · 四部雲奔 0677a26–b23 · 三業調化 0677b24–c23 · 觀善財外緣 0677b29–c18 · 總結立名 0677c18–c19 · 觀善財內因 0677c19–c23 · 當機授法十句 0677c24–0678a02 · 結說勸進 0678a03–a08 · 上根隨逐總序 0678a09–a12 · 善財頌三十七偈 0678a13–0678c28 · 大聖重教（略讚略教）0678c29–0679a06 · 廣問十三句 0679a06–a12 · 廣答標句 0679a12–a13 · 廣答十偈 0679a14–b04 · 長行總讚總教 0679b05–b13 · 指示後友 0679b13–b18 · 念恩辭退 0679b18–b21。
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澄觀《疏》T35n1735：末會十門 0917c06 起（總顯會意 0917c10 · 會數開合 0917c19 · 會主多少 0917c29 · 定會名義 0918a02 · 二位統收 0918a07 · 五相分別 0918b02 · 圓攝始終 0918b24 · 法界人類 0918b27 · 法界事義 0918c14 · 隨文釋 0918c17）· 寄位五分 0918c18–c23 · 十信段起 0918c23 · 能化發起 0918c25–0919a07 · 成彼化事三會 0919a07 · 比丘會 0919a12–0919c12 · 諸乘人會 0919c13–c29 · 攝善財會十門 0920a04–0920b25 · 正釋本文四別 0920b25–0921b21 · 四部雲奔 0920b26 · 三業調化 0920c05 · 上根隨逐 0920c26 · 偈頌分科 0921a26–b21 · 大聖重教 0921b21 · 廣問十一句 0921c03 · 廣答十偈五分 0921c19–c21 · 長行總讚總教 0922a16 · 卷五十五訖 0922b01 · 卷五十六起 0922b04 · 指示後友 0922b07 · 念恩辭退 0922b18 · 遣歷諸友十義 0922b23–0922c12。
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澄觀《鈔》T36n1736：釋五相·二十類·五生·比丘名義段 0663a22–0663c17。
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法藏《探玄記》T35n1733：法界類別五門 0441a20 · 約位明入法界 0441b21 · 四釋文本末二會 0441c02–c07 · 本會十分 0441c07 起。「善住樓閣」總科一見〔0441c03〕（跨行；其下明末會），詳釋處作善安住〔0451c14〕。
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李通玄《論》T36n1739：「善住樓閣」首見 0945a07 · 就俗利生成行門專段 0948c09 起 · 長科三分 0949a02–a10 · 隨文釋義 0949a19 起 · 三十二眾之計 0949a27。
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智儼《搜玄記》T35n1732：品總釋四門 0087c06–0088a15。「善住樓閣」全檔零命中〔查無〕。
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異讀：本單元 T279 範圍〔0330b29〕–〔0334a14〕內大正校記 17 條，逐條照錄不判（底本【大】｜他本異讀；多本異讀以／分列）：〔0330c04〕耀【大】｜曜【宮】 · 〔0331b14〕蜜【大】｜密【宮】 · 〔0331b18〕熟【大】｜就【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0331b23〕姓【大】｜性【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0332b14〕芽【大】｜牙【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0332b14〕玻瓈【大】＊｜頗梨【宋】【元】【宮】＊（＊同校並繫〔0332b22〕〔0332b23〕之玻瓈字） · 〔0332b16〕肢【大】｜支【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0332b17〕涌【大】｜踊【宮】 · 〔0332b17〕耀【大】＊｜曜【宮】＊（＊同校並繫〔0332c09〕〔0334b20〕〔0334b29〕〔0335c11〕之耀字） · 〔0332c04〕諭【大】＊｜喻【宋】【元】【明】【宮】＊（＊同校並繫〔0332c11〕之諭字） · 〔0333a22〕鎋【大】｜轄【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0333a25〕震【大】＊｜振【宮】＊（＊同校並繫〔0333a27〕之震字） · 〔0333b03〕箱【大】｜廂【宋】 · 〔0333b16〕類【大】｜願【宋】【元】【明】 · 〔0333b25〕城【大】｜位【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0333b26〕能【大】｜垂【宮】 · 〔0333c10〕哉【大】｜財【元】（明註曰哉作財）。（＊＝大正星號同校，該校並繫本文其餘同字處；T279 XML 於此類未出 corresp 重出位，故只呈星號、不另造錨）
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異讀補記：CBETA 回改 5 條（不入上列大正校記之數）：〔0331b19〕十【CB】｜一【大】／十【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0331c14〕提【CB】【麗-CB】｜薩【大】／薩【宮-CB】【磧乙-CB】 · 〔0332c21〕纆【CB】【麗-CB】｜纏【大】 · 〔0333a01〕敕【CB】【麗-CB】｜勅【大】 · 〔0334a13〕疾【CB】【麗-CB】【磧-CB】｜疲【大】。
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異讀補記：〔0333c10〕哉／財一條，大正校注另附語「明註曰哉作財」（校注附語，非別一異讀）。
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異讀補記：夾注已於原典層剝除誌錄。
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查無條目：世親《十地經論》T26n1522 ·《華嚴法界玄鏡》T45n1883 · 成唯識論 T31n1585 · 攝大乘論 T31n1594 · 瑜伽師地論 T30n1579 · 解深密經 T16n0676 · 智儼《搜玄記》之「善住樓閣」字面（其依六十本作「善安住樓閣」，釋見§六；《探玄記》總科一見，見上）——共七項。
This section is the head of the last assembly. Chengguan sets up a great division of the outline here — 「大文第二末會」 tr. “the second great division, the last assembly” — and 「略啟十門」 tr. “opens ten gates in brief” so as to gather in the fifty subsections below it; the sixth of the ten gates is 「五相分別」 tr. “the distinguishing of the five marks,” and the first of the five marks is 「寄位修行相」 tr. “the mark of cultivating under an assigned stage,” and the first of the assigned stages is the single person Mañjuśrī of this section. Chengguan states plainly here that the judgment of assigned stages is not marked out by the sūtra text itself but is 「且依古德配為五相」 tr. “for the present, following the ancient worthies, assigned as five marks” 〔T35n1735 0918b07〕; and he first records the divergence of two houses (「若意法師及臺山論，但隨文散釋，更無別配；光統等師皆配地位」 tr. “as for Dharma-master Yi and the treatise of the Terrace Mountain, they only explain as the text runs and make no separate assignment; masters such as Guangtong all assign the stages” 〔0918b02〕) and says 「二皆有理」 tr. “both have their reason” 〔0918b04〕, and closes evenhandedly at the last with 「然無次位中不礙次位，顯位是常規，配亦無失」 tr. “yet where there is no order of stages, this does not obstruct the order of stages; to display the stages is the ordinary rule, and to assign them is no fault either” 〔0918b06〕. As to why Mañjuśrī alone carries the ten faiths and is not made up to ten persons, Chengguan has an answer word for word as well — 「初文殊一人寄十信，信未成位，故但一人」 tr. “the first, Mañjuśrī, one person assigned to the ten faiths — faith has not yet become a stage, and so there is only one person” 〔0918c19〕. In the text of this section, the first half is Mañjuśrī coming out of the tower and Śāriputra leading six thousand monks to turn from the lesser and enter the great; the second half is the four assemblies of the City of Blessings gathering like clouds, the marks of Sudhana's birth and his thirty-four verses seeking the Dharma, and Mañjuśrī's ten verses of answering instruction together with his pointing out of Cloud of Virtue. The retinue that accompanies him is by actual count twenty-three classes (fourteen presiding spirits · nine kinds of kings); the contemplating of ten matters is ten sentences; the ten freedoms from weariness are ten sentences; there are eleven sentences of question, thirty-four verses of Sudhana, and ten verses of Mañjuśrī in answer — every number is counted out word for word.
I. Doctrinal Outline and Placement
| Outline system | The place of this section within it |
|---|---|
| The base text T279, in thirty-nine chapters | Chapter thirty-nine, Entering the Dharma Realm (the ninth assembly, the Jeta Grove); Mañjuśrī (Assigned to the Ten Faiths) ＝ the end of fascicle sixty-one to fascicle sixty-two 〔T10 0330b29〕–〔ending before 0334a15〕 |
| Prajñā T293 (the Zhenyuan forty-fascicle Avataṃsaka, preserving this chapter alone) | The stretch corresponding to this section 〔T10n0293 0675b14〕–〔0679b21〕 (it carries no outline dividing the chapter into subsections; the correspondence is set by the scenes): coming out of the tower · the retinue · Śāriputra gathering the multitude · the sixty monks · arriving at the City where Blessings Arise · the four assemblies gathering like clouds · Sudhana's thirty-seven verses · the broad asking and the broad answering · pointing out Cloud of Good Fortune · taking leave |
| Chengguan, Huayan jing shu | The ten gates of the last assembly begin at 〔T35n1735 0917c06〕; the tenth, explaining as the text runs, at 〔0918c17〕; the stretch of the ten faiths 〔0918c23〕–〔ending before 0922c12〕 (the three assemblies of completing the transforming for them 〔0919a07〕 · the gathering in of the assembly of Sudhana 〔0920a04〕) |
| Chengguan, Yanyi chao | The stretch glossing the commentary's 「五相」 tr. “five marks,” 「二十類」 tr. “twenty classes,” and 「五生」 tr. “five births” begins at 〔T36n1736 0663a22〕 |
| Fazang, Tanxuan ji (the commentary on the sixty-fascicle Avataṃsaka) | The general explanation of the chapter, at 「四釋文」 tr. “fourth, the explaining of the text,” divides this chapter into two, the last assembly beginning at the sentence of Mañjuśrī coming out of the tower 〔T35n1733 0441c02〕 |
| Li Tongxuan, Xin Huayan jing lun | 「就俗利生成行門」 tr. “the gate of accommodating the worldly and benefiting the living so as to complete practice” 〔T36n1739 0948c28〕; the long outline of this stretch into three divisions begins at 〔0949a02〕 |
| Zhiyan, Souxuan ji | The general explanation of the chapter in four gates (distinguishing the name · the reason for its coming · the tenet and substance · explaining the text) begins at 〔T35n1732 0087c06〕; the outline of this section: 「此初知識菩薩，字文殊入菩提心法門。初文殊，文有三」 tr. “This first friend is the bodhisattva named Mañjuśrī, the gate of the dharma of entering the mind of awakening. The first, Mañjuśrī: the text has three parts” 〔0090c02〕 |
Chengguan's ten gates of the last assembly — these ten gates are the general framework held in common by all fifty subsections of the last assembly, and so they are recorded in this section (the head of the last assembly):
「大文第二末會，亦即一部流通，略啟十門：一總顯會意、二會數開合、三會主多少、四定會名義、五二位統收、六五相分別、七圓攝始終、八會主類別、九法界事義、十隨文解釋。」 tr. “The second great division, the last assembly, which is also the circulation portion of the whole work, opens ten gates in brief: one, the general display of the sense of the assemblies; two, the opening and combining of the number of the assemblies; three, how many the lords of the assemblies are; four, the settling of the name and sense of an assembly; five, the drawing together under the two stations; six, the distinguishing of the five marks; seven, the perfect gathering of beginning and end; eight, the classification of the lords of the assemblies; nine, the events and senses of the Dharma realm; ten, the explaining as the text runs.” 〔T35n1735 0917c06〕
As for the eighth of the ten gates, the listing sentence has 「八會主類別」 tr. “eight, the classification of the lords of the assemblies” 〔0917c09〕, while the heading of that division itself has 「八法界人類」 tr. “eight, the classes of persons in the Dharma realm” 〔0918b27〕 — both forms are word for word the commentary's own, and both are recorded without being judged.
The essential sense of each of the ten gates, each fastened to the wording of the commentary:
- One, the general display of the sense of the assemblies 〔0917c10〕: 「夫圓滿教海攝法無遺」 tr. “now the sea of the perfect and complete teaching gathers in the dharmas without remainder”; and it closes with 「今託人進修以軌後徒，使大教弘通，即斯本意」 tr. “now the cultivation is entrusted to a person so as to give the later followers a track to run in, so that the great teaching may be spread wide — this is the root intent of it” 〔0917c18〕.
- Two, the opening and combining of the number of the assemblies 〔0917c19〕: 「若約所攝之機，唯有三會：一比丘、二諸乘人、三善財會」 tr. “if it is taken by the capacities gathered in, there are only three assemblies: first the monks, second the persons of the various vehicles, third the assembly of Sudhana” 〔0917c20〕; 「若約能所通辨，有五十五會，善財自有五十三故」 tr. “if transformer and transformed are distinguished together, there are fifty-five assemblies, because Sudhana himself has fifty-three” 〔0917c21〕; 「若約主伴，成百一十會」 tr. “if it is taken by lords and companions, there come to be one hundred and ten assemblies” 〔0917c26〕.
- Three, how many the lords of the assemblies are 〔0917c29〕: 「若以人剋定，唯五十四」 tr. “if it is fixed by persons, there are only fifty-four” 〔0917c29〕.
- Four, the settling of the name and sense of an assembly 〔0918a02〕: 「此下諸會雖無佛說，以本收末亦得名經」 tr. “although the assemblies below have no telling by the Buddha, since the root gathers in the branch they may also be named a scripture” 〔0918a02〕.
- Five, the drawing together under the two stations 〔0918a07〕: 「此中諸會不出文殊、普賢」 tr. “the assemblies here do not go beyond Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra” 〔0918a08〕; 「普賢表所依法界，即在纏如來藏故」 tr. “Samantabhadra stands for the Dharma realm relied upon, that is, the Tathāgata-womb wrapped in the bonds” 〔0918a10〕, 「文殊表能信之心」 tr. “Mañjuśrī stands for the mind that is able to have faith” 〔0918a13〕, and again 「文殊即能證大智」 tr. “Mañjuśrī is the great wisdom that is able to witness” 〔0918a20〕.
- Six, the distinguishing of the five marks 〔0918b02〕: see below in detail.
- Seven, the perfect gathering of beginning and end 〔0918b24〕: 「上寄法顯異布之前後，據實圓融一位即一切位乃至無盡故」 tr. “the above assigned the dharmas so as to display the earlier and later of a spread-out arrangement; taken as they really are, they are perfectly fused, one stage being all stages and so on without end” 〔0918b24〕.
- Eight, the classes of persons in the Dharma realm 〔0918b27〕: 「知識雖多，不出二十類」 tr. “many as the friends are, they do not go beyond twenty classes” 〔0918b28〕; and again 「不出菩薩五生所收」 tr. “they do not go beyond what the five births of a bodhisattva gather in” 〔0918c07〕; and again 「於中，菩薩有六，三處現身：一初文殊，信位劣故，唯顯一人」 tr. “among them the bodhisattvas are six, manifesting bodies in three places: first, the initial Mañjuśrī — because the stage of faith is weak, only one person is displayed” 〔0918c10〕.
- Nine, the events and senses of the Dharma realm 〔0918c14〕: 「通下諸位總有十門」 tr. “running through the stages below there are ten gates in all” 〔0918c14〕.
- Ten, the explaining as the text runs 〔0918c17〕: 「依五相中，今當第一寄位修行相」 tr. “within the five marks, we are now at the first, the mark of cultivating under an assigned stage” 〔0918c18〕.
The general framework of the five marks — Chengguan's full setting out of the five marks and his evenhanded words upon them:
「六分五相者，若意法師及臺山論，但隨文散釋，更無別配；光統等師皆配地位。二皆有理，謂隨一一位具多法門，豈容凡心不得習求善友之法，故不配有理。然無次位中不礙次位，顯位是常規，配亦無失。橫竪無礙，且依古德配為五相」 tr. “Sixth, the dividing into five marks: as for Dharma-master Yi and the treatise of the Terrace Mountain, they only explain as the text runs and make no separate assignment; masters such as Guangtong all assign the stages. Both have their reason: since each single stage is furnished with many Dharma-gates, how should it be that the mind of an ordinary person may not practice and seek the dharma of the good friend — and therefore not assigning them stands to reason. Yet where there is no order of stages, this does not obstruct the order of stages; to display the stages is the ordinary rule, and to assign them is no fault either. Crosswise and lengthwise are unobstructed, and for the present, following the ancient worthies, they are assigned as five marks” 〔T35n1735 0918b02〕
The five marks one by one 〔0918b07〕: first, the mark of cultivating under an assigned stage (the first forty-one persons) · second, the mark of the conditions being gathered and entering the real (the eleven persons in nine assemblies from Lady Māyā onward) · third, the mark of gathering virtue and completing the cause (Maitreya) · fourth, the mark of wisdom's illumination being not two (the later Mañjuśrī) · fifth, the mark of the vastness of the cause (Samantabhadra). Chengguan further matches the five marks to five kinds of practice — 「此五亦是菩薩五種行相：一高行、二大行、三勝行、四深行、五廣行」 tr. “these five are also the five kinds of marks of practice of a bodhisattva: first, lofty practice; second, great practice; third, surpassing practice; fourth, deep practice; fifth, broad practice” 〔0918b22〕.
The judgment of assignment to the ten faiths — the mark of cultivating under an assigned stage divides into five, and this section is the first of them:
「依五相中，今當第一寄位修行相。分五：初文殊一人寄十信，信未成位，故但一人；餘四十人寄十住等，位各有十，謂二從德雲至慈行寄十住位；三善見至遍行寄十行；四鬻香長者至安住地神寄十向；五婆珊夜神至瞿波寄十地。」 tr. “Within the five marks, we are now at the first, the mark of cultivating under an assigned stage. It divides into five: the first, Mañjuśrī, one person assigned to the ten faiths — faith has not yet become a stage, and so there is only one person; the other forty persons are assigned to the ten abodes and the rest, each stage having ten, that is: second, from Cloud of Virtue to Kindly Conduct, assigned to the stage of the ten abodes; third, from Well-Seeing to Universal Practice, assigned to the ten practices; fourth, from the elder who sells perfumes to the earth goddess Peaceful Abiding, assigned to the ten dedications; fifth, from the night goddess Vāsantī to Gopā, assigned to the ten grounds.” 〔T35n1735 0918c18〕
The skeleton of the explaining of this section's text (Chengguan):
「信中分二：先明能化發起、二『爾時尊者舍利弗』下成彼化事。」 tr. “Within faith it divides into two: first, making clear that the one who is able to transform sets it in motion; second, from ‘at that time the venerable Śāriputra’ onward, the completing of the transforming for them.” 〔T35n1735 0918c23〕
「第二成彼化事中，通有三會：一比丘會，顯迴小入大故；二諸乘人會，顯通收諸權入一實故；三善財會，顯純一乘機，一生成辨故。」 tr. “Second, within the completing of the transforming for them there are three assemblies in all: first the assembly of the monks, because it displays turning from the lesser and entering the great; second the assembly of the persons of the various vehicles, because it displays the running through and gathering in of the various provisional capacities into the one real; third the assembly of Sudhana, because it displays a capacity of the pure One Vehicle, completing the matter in a single lifetime.” 〔T35n1735 0919a07〕
The gathering in of the assembly of Sudhana further opens ten gates 〔0920a04〕: one, the differences in what is sought and tended toward · two, the differences among the multitudes cultivated and entered · three, the differences in the directions shown · four, the differences in the places of seeing · five, the difference of being sent on or not sent on · six, the difference of being praised or not praised · seven, the difference of deferring or not deferring · eight, the difference of drawing together or not drawing together · nine, the difference of going or not going · ten, the direct explaining of the text itself. Under the tenth gate, the direct explaining of the text itself, there are four divisions 〔0920b25〕: one, the four assemblies rushing like clouds · two, the taming and transforming by the three kinds of action · three, the following of the one of sharp faculties · four, the great sage teaching again.
Fazang's outline (upon the sixty-fascicle text, dividing the root and last assemblies at the sentence of Mañjuśrī coming out of the tower):
「此一品中大分有二：初明本會」 tr. “Within this one chapter the great division is twofold: first, making clear the root assembly” 〔T35n1733 0441c02〕; 「亦則前明果法界、後明因法界」 tr. “and thus the earlier makes clear the Dharma realm of the fruit, and the later the Dharma realm of the cause” 〔0441c04〕; 「又前明頓入法界、後明漸入法界」 tr. “and again, the earlier makes clear the sudden entering of the Dharma realm, and the later the gradual entering of the Dharma realm” 〔0441c05〕.
Li Tongxuan's outline (setting up a gate-name of his own): this stretch is named 「就俗利生成行門」 tr. “the gate of accommodating the worldly and benefiting the living so as to complete practice” 〔T36n1739 0948c28〕, and under it the long outline divides into three — the first, 「創始就根入俗遊歷門」 tr. “the gate of the very beginning, of going by the faculties, entering the worldly, and journeying through” 〔0949a06〕, the second beginning at 「漸次南行經歷人間至福城東」 tr. “journeying on southward in due order, passing through the human realm, and reaching the east of the City of Blessings” 〔0949a07〕, and the third, 「是辨根與法成行門」 tr. “this is the gate of distinguishing the faculties and, with the Dharma, completing practice” 〔0949a10〕.
Zhiyan's outline: the chapter is explained generally in four gates, and of the reason for its coming he says 「上雖得行解法，若不依知識加持無由進會，故來也」 tr. “although above one has obtained the dharma of practice and understanding, without relying upon the sustaining of a friend there is no way to advance and accord, and so this comes” 〔T35n1732 0087c13〕; the outline of this section is threefold: 「初明文殊及眷屬辭退南行以為化緣」 tr. “first, making clear that Mañjuśrī and his retinue take leave and go south, as the condition for transformation” 〔0090c04〕; second, from 「爾時尊者舍利弗」 tr. “at that time the venerable Śāriputra” 〔0090c05〕 onward, 「對緣攝化」 tr. “gathering in and transforming in response to conditions” 〔0090c06〕; third, from 「爾時文殊知善財」 tr. “at that time Mañjuśrī, knowing Sudhana” 〔0090c06〕 onward, 「明自位滿足進入勝境」 tr. “making clear that his own stage being fulfilled he enters the superior state” 〔0090c07〕; the gathering and transforming is again threefold: 「初化引聲聞，即迴小入大也」 tr. “first, transforming and drawing in the śrāvakas, which is turning from the lesser and entering the great” 〔0090c08〕, next 「攝諸龍眾」 tr. “gathering in the multitudes of dragons” 〔0090c09〕, third 「攝化人眾」 tr. “gathering in and transforming the multitude of people” 〔0090c10〕.
II. Terminology
| Term in Chinese | Sanskrit as transmitted by the ancient worthies (romanized · a help to pronunciation) | What is attested | Essential sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| the Tower of Good Abiding | — | This chapter, 「從善住樓閣出」 tr. “came out of the Tower of Good Abiding” 〔T10n0279 0330b29〕 | The tower Mañjuśrī comes out of; Chengguan glosses it, 「權實相依、悲智無住，名善住閣」 tr. “the provisional and the real lean upon each other, and compassion and wisdom abide nowhere — this is named the tower of good abiding” 〔T35n1735 0918c29〕. The sixty-fascicle text has 「善安住樓閣」 tr. “the Tower of Good and Peaceful Abiding” 〔T09n0278 0686c10〕 |
| youth | — | This chapter, 「爾時，文殊師利童子從善住樓閣出」 tr. “at that time the youth Mañjuśrī came out of the Tower of Good Abiding” 〔T10n0279 0330b29〕 | A common designation of Mañjuśrī; Chengguan, 「文殊菩薩本是童子，而前列菩薩。此彰童子者，表創入佛法故」 tr. “the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī is by origin a youth, and earlier he was listed among the bodhisattvas. That the youth is brought out here is because it symbolizes the first entering into the Buddha's Dharma” 〔T35n1735 0918c26〕 |
| kumbhāṇḍa | — (「鳩槃荼」 tr. “kumbhāṇḍa” is itself what was transmitted of old as a transcription) | This chapter, 「常勤除滅諸餓鬼趣鳩槃荼王」 tr. “the kumbhāṇḍa kings who constantly and diligently wipe out the destinies of the hungry ghosts” 〔T10n0279 0330c12〕 | One of the nine kinds of kings of the retinue |
| garuḍa | — (「迦樓羅」 tr. “garuḍa” is itself what was transmitted of old as a transcription) | This chapter, 「恒願拔濟一切眾生出諸有海迦樓羅王」 tr. “the garuḍa kings who ever vow to draw out and rescue all beings and cause them to come forth from the sea of the many kinds of existence” 〔T10n0279 0330c13〕 | One of the nine kinds of kings of the retinue |
| mahoraga | — (「摩睺羅伽」 tr. “mahoraga” is itself what was transmitted of old as a transcription) | This chapter, 「見佛歡喜曲躬恭敬摩睺羅伽王」 tr. “the mahoraga kings who rejoice when they see a Buddha and bend their bodies in reverence” 〔T10n0279 0330c14〕 | One of the nine kinds of kings of the retinue |
| monk | — (「比丘」 tr. “bhikṣu” is itself what was transmitted of old as a transcription) | This chapter, 「其數六千」 tr. “six thousand in number” 〔T10n0279 0331a01〕 | Those gone forth from the household life; the Yanyi chao raises the five senses of the old rendering, 「古有五義：一曰怖魔」 tr. “of old there were five senses: the first is called frightening Māra” 〔T36n1736 0663c07〕, and again 「新云苾芻，苾芻草名，具五德故」 tr. “the new rendering says bhikṣu, which is the name of a grass, because it is furnished with five virtues” 〔0663c12〕 |
| Seeing the Realm of All Buddhas with the Unobstructed Eye | — | This chapter, 「無礙眼見一切佛境界」 tr. “seeing the realm of all Buddhas with the unobstructed eye” 〔T10n0279 0331b28〕 | The name of the samādhi obtained by the six thousand monks; the sixty-fascicle text has 「無礙淨眼三昧」 tr. “the samādhi of the unobstructed pure eye” 〔T09n0278 0687b20〕 |
| the Sūtra of the Universal Illumining of the Dharma Realm | — (「修多羅」 tr. “sūtra” is itself what was transmitted of old as a transcription) | This chapter, 「說普照法界修多羅」 tr. “told the Sūtra of the Universal Illumining of the Dharma Realm” 〔T10n0279 0332a07〕 | The scripture Mañjuśrī tells at the City of Blessings; Chengguan, 「名普照等者，智用宏舒，故云普照」 tr. “that it is named universal illumining and the rest is because the use of wisdom is broadly unfurled, and so it says universal illumining” 〔T35n1735 0919c27〕 |
| the City of Blessings | — | This chapter, 「至福城東」 tr. “reached the east of the City of Blessings” 〔T10n0279 0331c29〕 | The place of transforming; Chengguan, 「其城居人多有福德，故曰福城，城表防非」 tr. “the people who dwell in that city have much merit, and so it is called the City of Blessings; and a city symbolizes the warding off of wrong” 〔T35n1735 0919c16〕. The sixty-fascicle text has 「覺城」 tr. “the City of Awakening” 〔T09n0278 0687c18〕 |
| the grove of śāla trees | — (「娑羅」 tr. “śāla” is itself what was transmitted of old as a transcription) | This chapter, 「住莊嚴幢娑羅林中」 tr. “dwelt in the Grove of Śāla Trees of the Banner of Adornment” 〔T10n0279 0332a01〕 | The grove where the great stūpa-shrine stands; Chengguan, 「娑羅林者，此云高遠」 tr. “as for the grove of śāla trees, this means lofty and far-reaching” 〔T35n1735 0919c19〕 |
| Sudhana | — | This chapter, 「名曰：善財」 tr. “named Sudhana” 〔T10n0279 0332b28〕 | The one at hand in this assembly; Chengguan explains it from the outward conditions, 「財多屬依、善通依正，財現是其善相，稱曰善財」 tr. “wealth for the most part belongs to the environing reward, while goodness runs through both the environing and the direct; that wealth appears is the mark of his goodness, and so he is called Sudhana” 〔T35n1735 0920c13〕, and again from the inward causes, 「又解心順理曰善，積德無盡曰財」 tr. “and again, that the mind accords with the principle is goodness, and that virtue is gathered without end is wealth” 〔0920c15〕 |
| unsurpassed perfect awakening | — (itself what was transmitted of old as a transcription) | This chapter, 「發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心」 tr. “gave rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening” 〔T10n0279 0331c28〕 | The unsurpassed right and perfect awakening |
| layman · laywoman | — (itself what was transmitted of old as a transcription) | This chapter, 「時，有優婆塞，名曰：大智」 tr. “at that time there was a layman named Great Wisdom” 〔T10n0279 0332a14〕 | Two of the four assemblies; Chengguan, 「一優婆塞，此云近事男，謂親近比丘而承事故」 tr. “first, the layman, which here means the man who serves in attendance, meaning that he draws near to the monks and serves them” 〔T35n1735 0920b29〕 |
| Surpassing Joy · Wondrous Peak · Cloud of Virtue | — | This chapter, 「名為：勝樂」 tr. “named Surpassing Joy” 〔T10n0279 0334a09〕 · 「名曰：妙峯」 tr. “named Wondrous Peak” 〔0334a10〕 · 「名曰：德雲」 tr. “named Cloud of Virtue” 〔0334a11〕 | The direct and environing rewards of the next friend; Chengguan, 「國名勝樂者，次下知識寄當初住，勝過前位，是信所樂故」 tr. “that the land is named Surpassing Joy is because the friend next below is assigned to the first abode, which surpasses the stage before it and is what faith delights in” 〔T35n1735 0922b08〕, and 「友名德雲者，具德如雲」 tr. “that the friend is named Cloud of Virtue is that he is furnished with virtue as a cloud is” 〔0922b14〕. The commentary writes the mountain's name 「妙峰」 tr. “Wondrous Peak” 〔0922b10〕, while the base text has 「妙峯」 tr. “Wondrous Peak”; the graphs differ and what they point to is the same |
III. Similes and Rhetoric
(1) The simile of the elephant king turning (twice seen) — twice in this section the turning back of an elephant king describes how Mañjuśrī gathers in capacities: once in the assembly of the monks, 「如象王迴觀諸比丘」 tr. “he looked back upon the monks as an elephant king turns” 〔T10n0279 0331b04〕; once in the assembly of Sudhana, 「如象王迴，觀善財童子」 tr. “as an elephant king turns, he looked back upon the youth Sudhana” 〔0333b27〕. Chengguan glosses the point of the simile as lying in 「身首俱轉」 tr. “body and head turning together”:
「如象王迴者，身首俱轉，無輕舉故。」 tr. “As an elephant king turns means that body and head turn together, because there is nothing light in the lifting.” 〔T35n1735 0919b14〕
When an elephant turns its head it must raise its whole body and turn, unlike other beasts that glance sidelong — what is displayed is the wholeness and the weight of the gathering in of capacities, not any strangeness of posture.
(2) The simile of the three kinds of existence as a walled city (the first four of Sudhana's verses) — 「三有為城廓，憍慢為垣牆」 tr. “the three kinds of existence are a walled city, and arrogance is its rampart wall” 〔T10n0279 0332c17〕, and below it 「諸趣為門戶，愛水為池塹」 tr. “the destinies are its gates and doors, and the water of craving is the moat that guards it” 〔0332c18〕: with the walled city, the rampart wall, the gates and doors, and the moat matched to the three kinds of existence, arrogance, the destinies, and the water of craving, making one whole picture of a city. Chengguan judges this stretch to be 「初四頌，傷己沈溺，自勉不能」 tr. “the first four verses grieve over his own sinking and drowning and exhort himself that he is unable” 〔T35n1735 0921a26〕.
(3) The simile of the orbs of the sun and moon — 「妙智清淨日，大悲圓滿輪」 tr. “the pure sun of wondrous wisdom, the full orb of great compassion” 〔T10n0279 0332c25〕, and the next verse 「妙智清淨月，大慈無垢輪」 tr. “the pure moon of wondrous wisdom, the stainless orb of great kindness” 〔0332c27〕: the sun matched to wisdom and compassion, the moon to wisdom and kindness, the two verses standing opposite and making one text.
(4) The simile of the caravan leader — 「福智大商主，勇猛求菩提」 tr. “the great caravan leader of blessings and of wisdom, valorously seeking awakening” 〔T10n0279 0333a02〕: the good friend likened to a caravan leader who takes a company through danger and brings them home.
(5) The simile of Śakra upon Sumeru — 「住法須彌頂，定女常恭侍」 tr. “dwelling upon the summit of the Sumeru of the Dharma, with the goddesses of concentration constantly in reverent attendance” 〔T10n0279 0333a06〕: the matters of Śakra dwelling upon the summit of Sumeru, the goddesses attending at his side, and his subduing of the asuras, matched to the height of dwelling in the Dharma, the attendance of concentration, and the wiping out of confusion.
(6) The cluster of carriage similes (the later stretch of Sudhana's verses) — from 「願輪大悲轂，信軸堅忍鎋」 tr. “with vows for its wheels and great compassion for its hubs, with faith for its axle and firm patience for its linchpins” 〔T10n0279 0333a22〕 onward, fifteen verses run on, matching the parts of a carriage one by one to dharmas: wheels · hubs · axle · linchpins · carriage-box · canopy · bells · cushions · serving women · drum · treasury · jewels · harness-straps · yoke, and they close with the lines 「令我載此乘」 tr. “pray let me mount this carriage” (twelve verses), 「使我載此乘」 tr. “pray make me mount this carriage” 〔0333a25〕 (one verse), and 「願與我此乘」 tr. “I pray you give me this carriage” (two verses). Chengguan judges this stretch to be 「次十五偈讚法求乘」 tr. “the next fifteen verses praise the Dharma and seek the vehicle” 〔T35n1735 0921b10〕, and judges it into four divisions — 「初四求悲智定，攝利他乘；次三求十度自行乘；次四求二利滅障乘；後四求運載廣大乘」 tr. “the first four ask for the vehicle of compassion, wisdom, and concentration, which gathers in the benefiting of others; the next three ask for the vehicle of the ten perfections as practice for oneself; the next four ask for the vehicle of the twofold benefit that wipes out obstructions; the last four ask for the vehicle whose carrying is vast” 〔0921b17〕.
(7) The similes of vajra, of conjuring, and of earth and water (within the cluster of carriage similes) — 「堅固如金剛，善巧如幻化」 tr. “firm as vajra is, skillful as a conjuring is” 〔T10n0279 0333b09〕; 「如地不傾動，如水普饒益」 tr. “unshaken as the great earth is, universally benefiting as water is” 〔0333b21〕: the firmness of vajra matched to being unbreakable, the skill of a conjuring to being unobstructed, and the unshakenness of the earth and the universal moistening of water to the virtue of carrying beings.
(8) The simile of the royal city, the crown, and the silk band (the last two verses) — 「已入法王城，已著智王冠」 tr. “you have already entered the city of the Dharma-king, you have already put on the crown of the wisdom-king” 〔T10n0279 0333b25〕: the three matters of entering the city, putting on the crown, and binding on the silk band describing Mañjuśrī's station as having reached its utmost. Chengguan judges the last of them, 「後二偈雙結人法」 tr. “the last two verses draw together both person and Dharma” 〔T35n1735 0921b10〕.
IV. Collation with Parallel Translations
The witness texts in Chinese for the principal sentences of this section: Śikṣānanda T279 (the base text · the end of fascicle sixty-one to fascicle sixty-two) · Buddhabhadra T278 (the Jin translation, the sixty-fascicle Avataṃsaka, the Chapter on Entering the Dharma Realm, thirty-fourth · fascicles forty-five to forty-six) · Prajñā T293 (the Zhenyuan forty-fascicle Avataṃsaka, which preserves this chapter alone). All three are recorded. The stretch in T293 corresponding to this section is 〔T10n0293 0675b14〕–〔0679b21〕, beginning with the sentence of Mañjuśrī coming out of the tower and ending with the sentence of Sudhana taking his leave, so that its head and its foot answer to those of this section in the eighty-fascicle text. Sentences One to Ten are collated against the eighty-fascicle and the sixty-fascicle texts, and their form is not altered; the principal divergences of the forty-fascicle text are set out separately below, from Sentence Eleven onward, each group setting the three texts side by side.
Sentence One Mañjuśrī Comes Out of the Tower, and the Retinue
| Witness text | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | At that time, the youth Mañjuśrī came out of the Tower of Good Abiding, together with measureless bodhisattvas who walk the same practice, and with the vajra spirits who constantly follow at his side to guard him | T10n0279 0330b29 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | At that time, the youth Mañjuśrī came out of the Tower of Good and Peaceful Abiding | T09n0278 0686c09 |
What the divergences attach to: (a) A one-graph difference in the name of the tower — the eighty-fascicle text has 「善住樓閣」 tr. “the Tower of Good Abiding,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「善安住樓閣」 tr. “the Tower of Good and Peaceful Abiding.” (b) In the listing of the retinue, the eighty-fascicle text opens twenty-three classes below the bodhisattvas who walk with him (fourteen presiding spirits · nine kinds of kings · counted out word for word), while the sixty-fascicle text differs slightly from the eighty in its listing of names and in the order of its sentences, and does not use the regular sentence-pattern of the such-and-such-presiding spirit. Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Two Where the Six Thousand Monks Came From
| Witness text | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | These six thousand monks were those who dwelt together with Śāriputra himself, and they had not long gone forth from the household life | T10n0279 0330c27 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | These six thousand monks were disciples who practiced together with Śāriputra, and all had newly gone forth from the household life | T09n0278 0686c27 |
What the divergences attach to: The eighty-fascicle text has 「自所同住」 tr. “those who dwelt together with him himself,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「共行弟子」 tr. “disciples who practiced together with him”; the eighty-fascicle text has 「出家未久」 tr. “they had not long gone forth from the household life,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「皆新出家」 tr. “all had newly gone forth from the household life.” Ten monks are named, ten in both texts, but the names are for the most part of different forms (the eighty-fascicle text has Ocean-Awakening · Well-Born · Light of Merit, against the sixty-fascicle text's Ocean-Wisdom · Great and Well Tamed · Light of Merit-and-Virtue, and the rest). Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Three The Marking Sentence of Mañjuśrī's Giving of the Ten Minds
| Witness text | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | Monks! If a good man or a good woman brings to accomplishment ten kinds of dharma that tend toward the Great Vehicle, then he is able swiftly to enter the ground of a Tathāgata, how much more the ground of a bodhisattva | T10n0279 0331b10 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | You should know that if a good man or a good woman brings to accomplishment ten kinds of great mind, then he obtains the ground of a Buddha, how much more the ground of a bodhisattva | T09n0278 0687b04 |
What the divergences attach to: (a) As to the dharma brought to accomplishment, the eighty-fascicle text has 「十種趣大乘法」 tr. “ten kinds of dharma that tend toward the Great Vehicle,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「十種大心」 tr. “ten kinds of great mind.” (b) As to the ground entered, the eighty-fascicle text has 「速入如來之地」 tr. “swiftly to enter the ground of a Tathāgata,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「則得佛地」 tr. “then he obtains the ground of a Buddha.” (c) As to the closing words of the ten sentences, the eighty-fascicle text has ten occurrences of 「心無疲厭」 tr. “no weariness or vexation in the mind” (counted out word for word), the sixty-fascicle text ten occurrences of 「心無厭足」 tr. “no vexation or satiety in the mind.” Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Four The Name of the Samādhi the Monks Obtain
| Witness text | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | At that time, when the monks had heard this Dharma, they then obtained a samādhi named: Seeing the Realm of All Buddhas with the Unobstructed Eye | T10n0279 0331b27 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | When those monks had heard this Dharma, they all obtained the samādhi of the unobstructed pure eye | T09n0278 0687b20 |
What the divergences attach to: As to the name of the samādhi, the eighty-fascicle text has 「無礙眼見一切佛境界」 tr. “seeing the realm of all Buddhas with the unobstructed eye” and sets it apart with the graph 「名」 tr. “named,” while the sixty-fascicle text has 「無礙淨眼三昧」 tr. “the samādhi of the unobstructed pure eye.” In the listing of the uses of the concentration that follows, the eighty-fascicle text opens the four uses of the eye, the ear, the minds of others, and former abodes (Chengguan judges 「一眼具斯四用，故稱無礙」 tr. “one eye is furnished with these four uses, and therefore it is called unobstructed” 〔T35n1735 0919c06〕), while the sixty-fascicle text's listing is briefer and its order differs here and there. Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Five The Name of the City Where the Transforming Takes Place
| Witness text | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | At that time, the people of the City of Blessings heard that the youth Mañjuśrī was at the place of the great stūpa-shrine in the Grove of Śāla Trees of the Banner of Adornment | T10n0279 0332a12 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | At that time, the people of the City of Awakening heard that Mañjuśrī was in the Grove of Śāla Trees of the Banner of Adornment | T09n0278 0687c18 |
What the divergences attach to: As to the name of the city, the eighty-fascicle text has 「福城」 tr. “the City of Blessings,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「覺城」 tr. “the City of Awakening.” As to the numbers of the four assemblies, the eighty-fascicle text has five hundred laymen · five hundred laywomen · five hundred boys · five hundred girls; the sixty-fascicle text has 「千優婆塞」 tr. “a thousand laymen” for the laymen while the other three assemblies are all five hundred. Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Six The Occasion of the Giving of the Name
| Witness text | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | Because of this matter, his parents and his kin, together with those skilled in reading the marks of the body, together called this child by the name: Sudhana | T10n0279 0332b27 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | Because of this matter, among the brahmins, one skilled and clear in reading the marks of the body styled him Sudhana | T09n0278 0688a27 |
What the divergences attach to: As to who gives the name, the eighty-fascicle text has 「父母親屬及善相師」 tr. “his parents and his kin, together with those skilled in reading the marks of the body,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「婆羅門中，善明相師」 tr. “among the brahmins, one skilled and clear in reading the marks of the body.” As to the measure of the marks of his birth, the eighty-fascicle text has of the seven great treasuries 「縱廣高下各滿七肘」 tr. “each of them full seven cubits in length, in breadth, in height, and in depth” 〔T10n0279 0332b16〕, the sixty-fascicle text has 「其七種寶芽，高二尋，廣七尋」 tr. “those sprouts of the seven kinds of jewel were two fathoms high and seven fathoms broad” 〔T09n0278 0688a19〕. Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Seven The First Verse of Sudhana's Verses
| Witness text | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | The three kinds of existence are a walled city, and arrogance is its rampart wall | T10n0279 0332c17 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | The three kinds of existence are a walled city, and haughtiness is its garden wall | T09n0278 0688b14 |
What the divergences attach to: (a) Differences of graph and of wording — 「城廓」 tr. “a walled city” against 「城郭」 tr. “a walled city” · 「憍慢」 tr. “arrogance” against 「高慢」 tr. “haughtiness” · 「垣牆」 tr. “a rampart wall” against 「園牆」 tr. “a garden wall.” (b) The number of verses: the eighty-fascicle text has thirty-four verses (Chengguan judges 「三十四頌，分二」 tr. “the thirty-four verses divide into two” 〔T35n1735 0921a26〕), and the corresponding stretch of the sixty-fascicle text 〔T09n0278 0688b14–0689a23〕, likewise has thirty-four verses by Fazang's judgment upon the sixty-fascicle text, 「於中有三十四頌，分二」 tr. “within it there are thirty-four verses, dividing into two” 〔T35n1733 0454b07〕; the two texts agree in the number of verses, and the differences lie in the wording as above. Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Eight The First Verse of Mañjuśrī's Verses in Answer
| Witness text | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | Good indeed! Treasury of merit, you have been able to come to where I am | T10n0279 0333c10 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | Good indeed! Treasury of merit, you have been able to come to my place | T09n0278 0689b18 |
What the divergences attach to: A one-graph difference — the eighty-fascicle text has 「能來至我所」 tr. “you have been able to come to where I am,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「能來詣我所」 tr. “you have been able to come to my place.” As to the number of verses, the eighty-fascicle text has ten verses (Chengguan judges 「十偈分五」 tr. “the ten verses divide into five” 〔T35n1735 0921c21〕), and the sixty-fascicle text likewise has ten verses, though the sense of the lines is fuller here and briefer there. Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Nine Pointing Out the Next Friend
| Witness text | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | Good man! Here to the south there is a land named: Surpassing Joy | T10n0279 0334a09 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | Good man! Here to the south there is a land named Delightful | T09n0278 0689c09 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | There is a monk named Cloud of Merit-and-Virtue | T09n0278 0689c11 |
What the divergences attach to: As to the name of the land, the eighty-fascicle text has 「勝樂」 tr. “Surpassing Joy,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「可樂」 tr. “Delightful”; as to the name of the mountain, the eighty-fascicle text has 「妙峯」 tr. “Wondrous Peak,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「和合」 tr. “Harmonious Union”; as to the name of the friend, the eighty-fascicle text has 「德雲」 tr. “Cloud of Virtue,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「功德雲」 tr. “Cloud of Merit-and-Virtue.” Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Ten Calling the Kindness to Mind and Taking Leave
| Witness text | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | At that time, when the youth Sudhana had heard these words, he rejoiced and leapt up, and bowed his head to his feet | T10n0279 0334a13 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | At that time, the youth Sudhana, having heard the Dharma from Mañjuśrī, rejoiced, and bowed his head and face to his feet | T09n0278 0689c14 |
What the divergences attach to: The eighty-fascicle text has 「頭頂禮足」 tr. “bowed his head to his feet,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「頭面禮足」 tr. “bowed his head and face to his feet”; the last four graphs of the eighty-fascicle text are 「悲泣流淚」 tr. “wept and shed tears,” while the sixty-fascicle text has 「瞻仰悲戀，泣涕辭退」 tr. “gazed up, grieved and longed, and wept as he took his leave and withdrew.” Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Eleven Mañjuśrī Comes Out of the Tower, and the Retinue (T293 counterpart)
| Witness | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | At that time, the youth Mañjuśrī came out of the Tower of Good Abiding, together with measureless bodhisattvas who walk the same practice, and with the vajra spirits who constantly follow at his side to guard him | T10n0279 0330b29 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | At that time, the youth Mañjuśrī came out of the Tower of Good and Peaceful Abiding, together with all the bodhisattvas who walk the same practice; and the vajra-bearing strong ones constantly followed at his side to guard him | T09n0278 0686c09 |
| Prajñā T293 | At that time, the youth Mañjuśrī came out of the Tower of Good Abiding, together with a measureless multitude of great bodhisattvas who walk the same practice, and with the vajra spirits who constantly guard him at his side | T10n0293 0675b14 |
What the divergences are fastened to: as to the name of the tower, the forty-fascicle text has 「善住樓閣」 tr. “the Tower of Good Abiding,” the same as the eighty-fascicle text, and does not follow the sixty-fascicle text’s 「善安住樓閣」 tr. “the Tower of Good and Peaceful Abiding.” As to the multitude who walk with him, the eighty-fascicle text has 「無量同行菩薩」 tr. “measureless bodhisattvas who walk the same practice,” the forty-fascicle text 「無量同行大菩薩眾」 tr. “a measureless multitude of great bodhisattvas who walk the same practice,” and the sixty-fascicle text 「一切同行諸菩薩俱」 tr. “all the bodhisattvas who walk the same practice.” As to the vajra beings, the eighty-fascicle text has 「常隨侍衛諸金剛神」 tr. “the vajra spirits who constantly follow at his side to guard him,” the forty-fascicle text 「常侍衛諸金剛神」 tr. “the vajra spirits who constantly guard him at his side,” while the sixty-fascicle text sets them apart as 「金剛力士，常隨侍衛」 tr. “the vajra-bearing strong ones, who constantly follow at his side to guard him.” As to the number of classes in the retinue, the eighty-fascicle text opens twenty-three classes (fourteen presiding spirits · nine kinds of kings · counted out word for word), the forty-fascicle text twenty-four (fifteen presiding spirits · nine kinds of kings · counted out word for word), the one class it has over being 「發大誓願運度眾生稱讚諸佛勇猛無倦主河神」 tr. “the river-presiding spirits who raise the great vow, ferry living beings across, and praise the Buddhas, brave and untiring” 〔T10n0293 0675b24〕; in the eighty-fascicle text the mountain-presiding spirits are followed straight off by the city-presiding spirits, with no class of river-presiding spirits. Further, as to the words fastened to the dragon kings and to the yakṣa kings, the eighty-fascicle text has 「常勤守護一切智智無上法城諸大龍王」 tr. “the great dragon kings who constantly and diligently guard the unsurpassed Dharma city of the knowledge of all knowledge” and 「常勤守護一切眾生諸夜叉王」 tr. “the yakṣa kings who constantly and diligently guard all living beings” 〔T10n0279 0330c10〕, while the forty-fascicle text has 「常勤守護一切眾生諸大龍王」 tr. “the great dragon kings who constantly and diligently guard all living beings” and 「常勤守護一切智城諸夜叉王」 tr. “the yakṣa kings who constantly and diligently guard the city of all knowledge” 〔T10n0293 0675b27〕 — the two attached phrases stand exchanged. As to the manner of departure, the eighty-fascicle text has 「出自住處，來詣佛所，右遶世尊」 tr. “he came out from his own dwelling place and went to where the Buddha was, and circled the World-Honored One to the right” 〔T10n0279 0330c18〕, while the forty-fascicle text has 「從自住處來詣佛所，右遶如來，經無量匝」 tr. “from his own dwelling place he went to where the Buddha was, and circled the Tathāgata to the right, passing measureless rounds” 〔T10n0293 0675c07〕 and has besides the stretch 「頂禮辭退，右遶而出」 tr. “he bowed his head, took his leave, and circling to the right went out” 〔0675c09〕.
Sentence Twelve The Number of Śāriputra’s Retinue (T293 counterpart)
| Witness | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | At that time, the venerable Śāriputra, with six thousand monks surrounding him before and behind, came out from his own dwelling place | T10n0279 0330c24 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | At that time, the venerable Śāriputra, with six thousand monks, his retinue, surrounding him, came out from his own chamber | T09n0278 0686c25 |
| Prajñā T293 | At that time, Śāriputra, with sixty monks of his retinue surrounding him before and behind, came out from his own dwelling place | T10n0293 0675c15 |
What the divergences are fastened to: as to the number of the retinue, the eighty-fascicle and the sixty-fascicle texts both have 「六千」 tr. “six thousand,” while the forty-fascicle text has 「六十」 tr. “sixty”; and after the naming the forty-fascicle text draws it together again with 「與如是等六十人俱」 tr. “together with sixty persons such as these” 〔T10n0293 0675c22〕, the same number in both places. As to those named, all three texts name ten, but the names are for the most part of different forms (the eighty-fascicle text: Ocean-Awakening · Well-Born · Light of Blessings · Great Youth · Lightning-Born · Pure Practice · Virtue of the Gods · Sovereign Wisdom · Brahmā-Surpassing · Quiescent Wisdom; the forty-fascicle text: Ocean-Awakening · Wondrous Virtue · Light of Blessings · Great Compassion · Lightning-Virtue · Pure Practice · Virtue of the Gods · True Wisdom · Brahmā-Surpassing · Quiescent Wisdom; the sixty-fascicle text: Ocean-Wisdom · Great and Well Tamed · Light of Merit-and-Virtue · Great Youth · Rising Lightning-Light · Pure and Clean Practice · Wondrous Virtue of the Gods · Indra-Wisdom · Brahmā · Still and Quiescent Wisdom · counted out word for word). As to the teacher they are fastened to, the eighty-fascicle text has 「此六千比丘是舍利弗自所同住，出家未久」 tr. “these six thousand monks were those who dwelt together with Śāriputra himself, and they had not long gone forth from the household life” 〔T10n0279 0330c27〕, the sixty-fascicle text 「此六千比丘是舍利弗共行弟子，皆新出家」 tr. “these six thousand monks were disciples who practiced together with Śāriputra, and all had newly gone forth from the household life” 〔T09n0278 0686c27〕, while the forty-fascicle text has 「此諸比丘皆舍利弗之所化度，出家未久，自所同住」 tr. “these monks had all been transformed and delivered by Śāriputra; they had not long gone forth from the household life, and dwelt together with him himself” 〔T10n0293 0675c18〕, holding both senses together. Further, at the close of the praise of their virtue the forty-fascicle text sets out 「皆是文殊師利童子之所教化」 tr. “all of them had been taught and transformed by the youth Mañjuśrī” 〔T10n0293 0675c27〕, while the eighty-fascicle text has 「皆是文殊師利說法教化之所成就」 tr. “all of them were brought to accomplishment by Mañjuśrī’s telling of the Dharma and transforming of them” 〔T10n0279 0331a04〕.
Sentence Thirteen The Name of the City Where the Transforming Takes Place, and the Four Assemblies (T293 counterpart)
| Witness | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | Going south by stages, passing through the world of men, he came to the east of the City of Blessings | T10n0279 0331c29 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | He journeyed by stages to the south, and came to the east of the City of Awakening | T09n0278 0687c09 |
| Prajñā T293 | Going south by stages, passing through the towns and the villages of the world of men, he came to the City where Blessings Arise | T10n0293 0677a10 |
What the divergences are fastened to: as to the name of the city, the eighty-fascicle text has 「福城」 tr. “the City of Blessings,” the sixty-fascicle text 「覺城」 tr. “the City of Awakening,” and the forty-fascicle text 「福生城」 tr. “the City where Blessings Arise.” As to what he passed through, the eighty-fascicle text has 「經歷人間」 tr. “passing through the world of men,” the forty-fascicle text 「經歷人間城邑、聚落」 tr. “passing through the towns and the villages of the world of men.” As to the name of the sūtra told, the eighty-fascicle text has 「說普照法界修多羅」 tr. “he told the sūtra of the universal illumining of the Dharma realm” 〔T10n0279 0332a07〕, the sixty-fascicle text 「說普照一切法界修多羅」 tr. “he told the sūtra of the universal illumining of the whole Dharma realm” 〔T09n0278 0687c13〕, the forty-fascicle text 「說修多羅名普照法界圓滿光明」 tr. “he told a sūtra named the Perfect and Full Light of the Universal Illumining of the Dharma Realm” 〔T10n0293 0677a18〕, and the forty-fascicle text has besides the stretch 「坐師子座」 tr. “he sat upon a lion seat” 〔0677a18〕. As to the numbers of the four assemblies and the head of each, the eighty-fascicle text has for the laymen 「有優婆塞，名曰：大智，與五百優婆塞眷屬俱」 tr. “there was a layman named Great Knowing, together with five hundred laymen of his retinue” 〔T10n0279 0332a15〕, while for the laywomen, the boys, and the girls it says only 「復有五百」 tr. “there were, further, five hundred” without setting out a head for them; the sixty-fascicle text has for the laymen 「與千優婆塞眷屬俱」 tr. “together with a thousand laymen of his retinue” 〔T09n0278 0687c21〕 while the other three assemblies are all five hundred; the forty-fascicle text sets out a head for each of the four assemblies, each 「與其眷屬五百人俱」 tr. “together with five hundred persons of his retinue” — the layman named Great Wisdom 〔T10n0293 0677a27〕 · the laywoman named Great Wisdom 〔0677b05〕 · the boy named Sudhana 〔0677b12〕 · the girl named Wondrous Worthy 〔0677b18〕. As to how many are named, the forty-fascicle text names ten laymen · ten laywomen · ten boys · nine girls (counted out word for word).
Sentence Fourteen The First Verse of Sudhana’s Verses, and the Number of the Verses (T293 counterpart)
| Witness | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | The three kinds of existence are a walled city, and arrogance is its rampart wall | T10n0279 0332c17 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | The three kinds of existence are a walled city, and haughtiness is its garden wall | T09n0278 0688b14 |
| Prajñā T293 | You have great wisdom and awesome spiritual power, and you walk the practice of enlightenment for the benefit of living beings | T10n0293 0678a13 |
What the divergences are fastened to: a difference in the number of verses — the eighty-fascicle text has thirty-four verses 〔T10n0279 0332c17–0333b26〕 (Chengguan judges 「三十四頌，分二」 tr. “the thirty-four verses divide into two” 〔T35n1735 0921a26〕), the forty-fascicle text thirty-seven 〔T10n0293 0678a13–0678c28〕 (counted out word for word), and the sixty-fascicle text likewise thirty-four 〔T09n0278 0688b14–0689a23〕 (Fazang judges 「於中有三十四頌，分二」 tr. “within it there are thirty-four verses, dividing into two” 〔T35n1733 0454b07〕). A difference in the metre — the eighty-fascicle and the sixty-fascicle texts are throughout in lines of five graphs, the forty-fascicle text throughout in lines of seven. A difference in the opening verse — the eighty-fascicle and the sixty-fascicle texts both begin with the simile of the walled city of the three kinds of existence, while the forty-fascicle text sets a further verse at the head, 「有大智慧威神力，行菩提行利眾生，無量境界誓當求，唯願仁尊哀聽許。」 tr. “You have great wisdom and awesome spiritual power, and you walk the practice of enlightenment for the benefit of living beings; measureless are the realms I vow to seek — I only pray that the compassionate honored one will hear and allow it.” 〔T10n0293 0678a13〕, and its simile of the walled city falls to the second verse, 「愛水深濬為池塹，憍慢高舉為垣牆，諸趣出入為門戶，三有難超作城郭。」 tr. “The water of craving, dug deep, is its moat; arrogance, raised high, is its rampart wall; the going out and coming in of the destinies are its gates; and the three kinds of existence, hard to pass beyond, make up the walled city.” 〔T10n0293 0678a15〕. A difference in the order of the similes — the four lines of the opening verse of the eighty-fascicle text run walled city · rampart wall · gates · moat, while the second verse of the forty-fascicle text runs moat · rampart wall · gates · walled city. Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Fifteen The Items of Sudhana’s Broad Asking (T293 counterpart)
In the sixty-fascicle text this passage is Mañjuśrī's instruction to Sudhana to seek friends and ask (the items stand within Mañjuśrī's speech), not a question Sudhana has already asked; in the eighty- and forty-fascicle texts Sudhana asks in his own person.
| Witness | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | I only pray that the holy one will tell me broadly — how should a bodhisattva learn the bodhisattva practice | T10n0279 0333c03 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | ask about the bodhisattva practice: how does one cultivate the bodhisattva path | T09n0278 0689b12 |
| Prajñā T293 | Holy one! I only pray that out of compassion you will tell me broadly — how should I learn the bodhisattva practice | T10n0293 0679a06 |
What the divergences are fastened to: the number of the items asked — the eighty-fascicle text asks eleven (learning · cultivating · tending toward · walking · purifying · entering · bringing to accomplishment · according with · calling to mind · broadening, with the last asking 「應云何令普賢行速得圓滿」 tr. “how should one cause the practice of Samantabhadra swiftly to become perfect and full” · counted out word for word; Chengguan says 「今初，有十一句」 tr. “now the first has eleven sentences” 〔T35n1735 0921c03〕); the forty-fascicle text asks thirteen (learning · cultivating · raising · walking · fulfilling · purifying · turning · entering deeply · bringing forth · contemplating · broadening · bringing to accomplishment, with the last asking 「應云何令普賢行速得圓滿」 tr. “how should one cause the practice of Samantabhadra swiftly to become perfect and full” · counted out word for word); the sixty-fascicle text asks nine (cultivating and practicing · fulfilling · purifying · bringing to its end · bringing forth · rightly calling to mind · taking as the object the realm of the path · broadening, with the last asking 「云何菩薩具普賢行」 tr. “how does a bodhisattva become furnished with the practice of Samantabhadra” · counted out word for word). The form of the asking — the eighty-fascicle and the forty-fascicle texts both head each item with 「應云何」 tr. “how should one,” while the sixty-fascicle text has simply 「云何」 tr. “how does one.” The items asked — the eighty-fascicle text has tending toward, entering, according with, and calling to mind, which the forty-fascicle text does not; the forty-fascicle text has raising, fulfilling, turning, entering deeply, bringing forth, and contemplating, which the eighty-fascicle text does not; bringing to accomplishment is in both texts, standing seventh in the eighty-fascicle text and twelfth in the forty-fascicle text, the order being not the same. The words of the request — the eighty-fascicle text has 「唯願聖者廣為我說」 tr. “I only pray that the holy one will tell me broadly,” the forty-fascicle text 「聖者！唯願慈悲，廣為我說」 tr. “Holy one! I only pray that out of compassion you will tell me broadly.” Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Sixteen Pointing Out the Next Friend (T293 counterpart)
| Witness | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | Good man! Here to the south there is a land named: Surpassing Joy | T10n0279 0334a09 |
| Śikṣānanda T279 | There is a monk named: Cloud of Virtue | T10n0279 0334a10 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | Good man! Here to the south there is a land named Delightful | T09n0278 0689c09 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | There is a monk named Cloud of Merit-and-Virtue | T09n0278 0689c11 |
| Prajñā T293 | Good man! Here to the south there is a land named Surpassing Joy | T10n0293 0679b13 |
| Prajñā T293 | There is a monk there named Cloud of Good Fortune | T10n0293 0679b14 |
What the divergences are fastened to: as to the name of the land, the eighty-fascicle and the forty-fascicle texts both have 「勝樂」 tr. “Surpassing Joy,” the sixty-fascicle text 「可樂」 tr. “Delightful.” As to the name of the mountain, the eighty-fascicle and the forty-fascicle texts both have 「妙峯」 tr. “Wondrous Peak,” the sixty-fascicle text 「和合」 tr. “Harmonious Union.” As to the name of the friend, the eighty-fascicle text has 「德雲」 tr. “Cloud of Virtue,” the sixty-fascicle text 「功德雲」 tr. “Cloud of Merit-and-Virtue,” the forty-fascicle text 「吉祥雲」 tr. “Cloud of Good Fortune.” As to the words of the charge, the eighty-fascicle text has 「德雲比丘當為汝說」 tr. “the monk Cloud of Virtue will tell it to you” 〔T10n0279 0334a13〕, the sixty-fascicle text 「彼比丘者，善能顯說菩薩所行」 tr. “that monk is well able to set forth what a bodhisattva practices” 〔T09n0278 0689c13〕, the forty-fascicle text 「彼善知識當為汝說具足圓滿普賢行願」 tr. “that good friend will tell you of the practice and vow of Samantabhadra, furnished and perfect and full” 〔T10n0293 0679b17〕. Recorded without being judged.
Sentence Seventeen Calling the Kindness to Mind and Taking Leave (T293 counterpart)
| Witness | Verbatim, rendered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Śikṣānanda T279 | At that time, when the youth Sudhana had heard these words, he rejoiced and leapt up, and bowed his head to his feet, and circled him countless rounds | T10n0279 0334a13 |
| Buddhabhadra T278 | At that time, the youth Sudhana, having heard the Dharma from Mañjuśrī, rejoiced, and bowed his head and face to his feet, and circled him countless rounds; he gazed up, grieved and longed, and wept as he took his leave and withdrew | T09n0278 0689c14 |
| Prajñā T293 | At that time, when the youth Sudhana had heard these words, joy arose in his mind and he leapt up beyond measure; toward that monk he conceived a deep thirsting, and toward Mañjuśrī an earnest longing; he bowed his head to both his feet, circled him countless rounds, wept and shed tears, and took his leave and departed | T10n0293 0679b18 |
What the divergences are fastened to: as to the ground of the rejoicing, the eighty-fascicle and the forty-fascicle texts both have 「聞是語已」 tr. “when he had heard these words,” the sixty-fascicle text 「從文殊師利，聞法歡喜」 tr. “having heard the Dharma from Mañjuśrī, he rejoiced.” As to the manner of the bowing, the eighty-fascicle text has 「頭頂禮足」 tr. “bowed his head to his feet,” the sixty-fascicle text 「頭面禮足」 tr. “bowed his head and face to his feet,” the forty-fascicle text 「頂禮雙足」 tr. “bowed his head to both his feet.” As to what the longing is fastened to, the eighty-fascicle text has no separate wording, the sixty-fascicle text has 「瞻仰悲戀」 tr. “he gazed up, grieved and longed,” while the forty-fascicle text sets out two objects — 「於彼比丘深生渴仰」 tr. “toward that monk he conceived a deep thirsting” and 「於文殊師利慇懃戀慕」 tr. “toward Mañjuśrī an earnest longing.” As to the closing words, the last four graphs of the eighty-fascicle text are 「悲泣流淚」 tr. “he wept and shed tears,” the sixty-fascicle text has 「泣涕辭退」 tr. “he wept as he took his leave and withdrew,” and the forty-fascicle text holds both together as 「悲泣流淚，辭退而去」 tr. “he wept and shed tears, and took his leave and departed.” Recorded without being judged.
V. Scriptural Grounds of Sectarian Doctrine (the doctrinal eye)
(1) Why the last assembly is set up — 「託人進修以軌後徒」 tr. “the cultivation may be entrusted to a person so as to give the later followers a track to run in”. In generally displaying the sense of the assemblies, Chengguan first sets up the opposition of the root assembly and the last —
「故前明不異漸之頓，多門而眾人同契；此明不異頓之漸，一人而歷位圓修。」 tr. “Therefore the earlier makes clear the sudden that is not other than the gradual, in which many gates and many persons alike accord with it; this makes clear the gradual that is not other than the sudden, in which one person passes through the stages and cultivates them perfectly.” 〔T35n1735 0917c14〕
The root assembly before is many persons according with one dharma; this last assembly is one person passing through every stage to the end; the one rolls up and the other unrolls, and yet 「本末無礙同入法界」 tr. “root and branch, unobstructed, enter the Dharma realm alike” 〔0917c18〕. As to why such a course of one person must be set up, Chengguan says it outright: 「今託人進修以軌後徒，使大教弘通，即斯本意。」 tr. “Now the cultivation is entrusted to a person so as to give the later followers a track to run in, so that the great teaching may be spread wide — this is the root intent of it.” 〔0917c18〕
(2) The drawing together under the two stations — Mañjuśrī stands for the mind that is able to have faith, Samantabhadra for the Dharma realm relied upon. This is the bone of the last assembly:
「此中諸會不出文殊、普賢，略有二門：一相對明表、二互融顯圓。」 tr. “The assemblies here do not go beyond Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra, and there are in brief two gates: first, making the symbolism clear by setting them opposite; second, displaying the perfect by their mutual fusion.” 〔T35n1735 0918a08〕
The symbolism in three pairs: what is able and its object (「普賢表所依法界，即在纏如來藏故」 tr. “Samantabhadra stands for the Dharma realm relied upon, that is, the Tathāgata-womb wrapped in the bonds” 〔0918a10〕 / 「文殊表能信之心」 tr. “Mañjuśrī stands for the mind that is able to have faith” 〔0918a13〕) · understanding and practice (Samantabhadra stands for the ten thousand practices set in motion / Mañjuśrī for the understanding able to set them in motion) · principle and wisdom (Samantabhadra is the Dharma realm witnessed / 「文殊即能證大智」 tr. “Mañjuśrī is the great wisdom that is able to witness” 〔0918a20〕). And Chengguan cites two witnesses — the Prajñā of the Guiding Principle, 「一切眾生皆如來藏」 tr. “all beings are the Tathāgata-womb” 〔0918a11〕, to attest what Samantabhadra stands for, and the Sūtra of the Names of the Buddhas, 「一切諸佛皆因文殊而發心故」 tr. “because all Buddhas give rise to the mind by reason of Mañjuśrī” 〔0918a13〕, to attest what Mañjuśrī stands for. The gate of mutual fusion then says 「則理智無二」 tr. “then principle and wisdom are not two” 〔0918a28〕. That the Mañjuśrī of this section is the first of the fifty-three visits is precisely by reason of this symbolism.
(3) The assignment of the five marks — 「且依古德」 tr. “for the present, following the ancient worthies” — is not marked out by the sūtra text itself. This is the first line to be drawn in reading this section, and Chengguan states of himself both what he relies upon and what he concedes:
「六分五相者，若意法師及臺山論，但隨文散釋，更無別配；光統等師皆配地位。二皆有理，謂隨一一位具多法門，豈容凡心不得習求善友之法，故不配有理。然無次位中不礙次位，顯位是常規，配亦無失。橫竪無礙，且依古德配為五相」 tr. “Sixth, the dividing into five marks: as for Dharma-master Yi and the treatise of the Terrace Mountain, they only explain as the text runs and make no separate assignment; masters such as Guangtong all assign the stages. Both have their reason: since each single stage is furnished with many Dharma-gates, how should it be that the mind of an ordinary person may not practice and seek the dharma of the good friend — and therefore not assigning them stands to reason. Yet where there is no order of stages, this does not obstruct the order of stages; to display the stages is the ordinary rule, and to assign them is no fault either. Crosswise and lengthwise are unobstructed, and for the present, following the ancient worthies, they are assigned as five marks” 〔T35n1735 0918b02〕
The two phrases 「二皆有理」 tr. “both have their reason” and 「且依」 tr. “for the present, following” are Chengguan's own limiting of this judgment — assigning the stages can be made to run, and not assigning them can be made to run too; the use of assigning them lies in displaying the ordinary rule of the order of stages, not in determining that the sūtra text itself has such stages.
(4) Why Mañjuśrī alone carries the ten faiths — 「信未成位」 tr. “faith has not yet become a stage”. In the number of the assigned stages, the other forty persons are ten to a stage, and only in this section is one person a whole stage:
「初文殊一人寄十信，信未成位，故但一人」 tr. “The first, Mañjuśrī, one person assigned to the ten faiths — faith has not yet become a stage, and so there is only one person” 〔T35n1735 0918c19〕
The same sense Chengguan states again in the gate 「法界人類」 tr. “the classes of persons in the Dharma realm,” by the number of bodhisattvas manifesting bodies: 「於中，菩薩有六，三處現身：一初文殊，信位劣故，唯顯一人。二中間漸進，現於二人，謂大悲、正趣。三位後成滿，顯於三人，謂彌勒等。」 tr. “Among them the bodhisattvas are six, manifesting bodies in three places: first, the initial Mañjuśrī — because the stage of faith is weak, only one person is displayed. Second, the middle, where they advance by degrees, manifests two persons, namely Great Compassion and Right Course. Third, after the stages are fulfilled, three persons are displayed, namely Maitreya and the rest.” 〔0918c10〕 The stage of faith has not entered the order of stages, and so it is not enough for ten to be listed; this is why there is only one person in this section.
(5) The perfect gathering of beginning and end — one stage is all stages. Beyond the assigning of stages Chengguan sets up this gate as a rescue:
「上寄法顯異布之前後，據實圓融一位即一切位乃至無盡故。所歷差別並一中之多，一多同時無有障礙。」 tr. “The above assigned the dharmas so as to display the earlier and later of a spread-out arrangement; taken as they really are, they are perfectly fused, one stage being all stages and so on without end. The differences passed through are all the many within one, the one and the many at once and without obstruction.” 〔T35n1735 0918b24〕
Assignment to a stage is the difference of a spread-out teaching, and the perfect gathering is the fusion of things as they really are; the two stand side by side, and therefore the stages are assigned without becoming a grasping at ranks.
(6) The capacities of the three assemblies — turning from the lesser and entering the great · gathering the provisional into the real · a capacity of the pure One Vehicle. As to why the second half of this section requires three tiers of assembly, Chengguan fastens to each what it displays:
「第二成彼化事中，通有三會：一比丘會，顯迴小入大故；二諸乘人會，顯通收諸權入一實故；三善財會，顯純一乘機，一生成辨故。又前二會表居信未久尚不定故，善財信終可入證故。」 tr. “Second, within the completing of the transforming for them there are three assemblies in all: first the assembly of the monks, because it displays turning from the lesser and entering the great; second the assembly of the persons of the various vehicles, because it displays the running through and gathering in of the various provisional capacities into the one real; third the assembly of Sudhana, because it displays a capacity of the pure One Vehicle, completing the matter in a single lifetime. And further, the first two assemblies symbolize that those who have not long stood in faith are still unsettled, while Sudhana, faith having reached its end, can enter into witnessing.” 〔T35n1735 0919a07〕
Of the six thousand monks of the assembly of the monks Chengguan glosses the number thus: 「六千者，表六根性淨，可入法界故」 tr. “the six thousand are because they symbolize the purity in nature of the six faculties, which can enter the Dharma realm” 〔0919a17〕; and he glosses 「出家未久」 tr. “they had not long gone forth from the household life” thus: 「未證實際，易可迴故；信心尚微，須誘化故」 tr. “they had not yet witnessed the real limit and so could easily be turned; and their mind of faith was still slight and so had to be enticed and transformed” 〔0919a19〕.
(7) Why the ten freedoms from weariness are named — 「無疲厭」 tr. “free of weariness and vexation”. Chengguan glosses it not from the wording but from the sickness:
「皆言無疲厭者，法門無盡、眾生無邊，取相而修多生疲厭，厭則退墮二乘；若無愛見而修，則無疲矣。」 tr. “That they all say free of weariness and vexation is because the Dharma-gates are without end and beings are without bound, and to cultivate while grasping at marks gives rise to much weariness and vexation; and vexation makes one fall back into the two vehicles. If one cultivates without craving and views, then there is no weariness.” 〔T35n1735 0919b19〕
The ten sentences are further 「攝為五對」 tr. “gathered into five pairs” 〔0919b22〕: first, the inward cause and the outward condition · second, seeking the Dharma and completing the practice · third, deep concentration and wondrous wisdom · fourth, adorning the lands and taming the living · fifth, long duration and vastness.
(8) The first mind of the ten faiths obtains the use of the penetrations that belongs after the ten grounds. Upon the stretch where the monks obtain the samādhi Chengguan points out the intent as to the mark of the teaching:
「此顯圓教攝機創立大心，乃得十地之後十通之用，以始攝終故」 tr. “This displays how the perfect teaching gathers in capacities, so that at the first setting up of the great mind one obtains the use of the ten penetrations that belongs after the ten grounds, because the end is gathered into the beginning” 〔T35n1735 0919c07〕
To be in the beginning stage and obtain the use of the final stage is a mark of how the perfect teaching gathers in capacities, and not a skipping of grades in the order of stages.
(9) The five senses of the south. As to where Sudhana goes, Chengguan first bounds it by station — the friends before the grounds are mostly in the south, within the grounds there is no direction, and after the grounds the two are combined — and only then sets up five senses of the south, without holding to any one of them:
「三示方不同，大位有三：初地前知識多在南方、地內無方、地後兼二。然南者，古有五義」 tr. “Third, the differences in the directions shown: in the great stations there are three — at first, the friends before the grounds are mostly in the south; within the grounds there is no direction; after the grounds the two are combined. Now as for the south, of old there were five senses” 〔T35n1735 0920a15〕
The five senses: first, with regard to the event (raising one to stand for all) · second, the sense of brightness (「表捨闇向智故」 tr. “because it symbolizes casting off darkness and turning toward wisdom” 〔0920a18〕) · third, the sense of the middle (leaving behind the two extremes of east and west) · fourth, the sense of birth (「南主其陽，發生萬物，表善財增長行故」 tr. “the south presides over the yang, gives birth to the ten thousand things, and so symbolizes that Sudhana increases and grows in practice” 〔0920a21〕) · fifth, the sense of according (turning the left side away and facing the right, according with the turning of sun and moon).
(10) Three things lacking in the first Mañjuśrī — no sending on · no praising beforehand · no deferring. Among the ten gates of the gathering in of the assembly of Sudhana, the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh all take this section as an exception:
「初之文殊以在最初，表內重起信，前更無遣見」 tr. “The first, Mañjuśrī, being at the very beginning, symbolizes the weight given inwardly to setting faith in motion; before him there is no one further to send him on to be seen” 〔T35n1735 0920b07〕
「初文殊中，未發心前所以不歎，勸發心已方乃歎之。」 tr. “In the first, with Mañjuśrī, before the mind is given rise to there is therefore no praising; only when he has urged him to give rise to the mind does he then praise him.” 〔T35n1735 0920b12〕
「唯初一後三缺斯二事，為顯人尊，德已備故。」 tr. “Only the first one and the last three lack these two matters, so as to display that the persons are honored and their virtue is already complete.” 〔T35n1735 0920b18〕
The two matters of 「謙己知一、推勝知多」 tr. “humbling oneself as knowing one thing, and deferring to the surpassing as knowing many” are found in all the friends in the middle, and are absent only in the first and the last three persons — this is the most conspicuous difference in form between this section and the more than forty subsections below it.
(11) Sudhana's stage — the ancients have many explanations, and Chengguan settles upon none. This is the greatest divergence among the ancient glosses within this chapter, and its bones are recorded here:
「此菩提心為當何位？善財童子為聖為凡？有古多釋。」 tr. “At what stage should this mind of awakening be placed? Is the youth Sudhana a sage or an ordinary man? The ancients have many explanations.” 〔T35n1735 0920c29〕
What is recorded below it: one says he is a bodhisattva upon the grounds (the giving rise to the mind that is witnessing); one says he is an ordinary man of real reward below the grounds; and one master further takes the passage of the earth goddess Peaceful Abiding, 「此人已生法王種中」 tr. “this person has already been born into the lineage of the Dharma-king,” as fixing it, and then makes two explanations of his own (already entered the grounds / of the seed-nature within the three worthy stages). Chengguan further records Xianshou's account:
「應是善趣信行中人」 tr. “He should be a person within the practice of faith in a good destiny” 〔T35n1735 0921a12〕; 「謂以在信是信位、在住是住位，一身歷五位，隨在即彼收，以遍一切故如普賢位。」 tr. “That is, while in faith he is of the stage of faith, and while in the abodes he is of the stage of the abodes; in one body he passes through the five stages, and wherever he is he is gathered in by that one, because he pervades all of them as the station of Samantabhadra does.” 〔0921a18〕
Beneath Xianshou's account Chengguan says one thing, 「此之一解甚順經宗」 tr. “this one explanation accords very well with the tenet of the sūtra” 〔0921a20〕, and then sets out a principle of his own: 「但更有一理，謂歷位而修，得見普賢，一時頓具」 tr. “but there is yet another principle: cultivating through the stages, when he comes to see Samantabhadra, all is complete at once” 〔0921a21〕, taking the threefold sudden perfection of the hell-born gods as his instance and pressing 「何以善財剋定初地等」 tr. “why fix Sudhana at the first ground and the like?” 〔0921a22〕; the Yanyi chao makes this out to be 「疏正其釋」 tr. “the commentary correcting that explanation” 〔T36n1736 0664c05〕, 「一時頓具，即是第三證入生故，亦成漸頓得交徹故」 tr. “complete at once — this is the third, the life of witnessing entry; and it also makes the gradual and the sudden interpenetrate” 〔0664c08〕. He closes at the last with 「無得管見以害經宗」 tr. “let no one harm the tenet of the sūtra with a view through a tube” 〔0921a25〕, fixing no stage for the beginning or the end, while allowing that through the stages all is complete at once.
(12) The great sage teaches generally, and the friends teach particularly. As to why both Mañjuśrī's verses and his prose teaching are general tellings, Chengguan fastens it to the mark of the stage of faith:
「大聖此中總教諸法，顯十信中總相信故；下諸善友各別教示，顯入位後別修證故。」 tr. “The great sage here teaches the dharmas generally, because it displays that within the ten faiths the faith is of a general mark; the good friends below each teach and show particularly, because it displays that after entering the stages the cultivation and witnessing are particular.” 〔T35n1735 0922a13〕
(13) The five ranks of the good friend, and the warnings and urgings on seeking friends. Upon the stretch of Mañjuśrī's last teaching, 「應決定求真善知識」 tr. “he should with settled determination seek out a true good friend,” Chengguan glosses the name 「善知識」 tr. “good friend” and opens it into five ranks:
「然知識有五：一知識世間善惡因果而令修斷、二厭世樂而欣涅槃、三有悲心相心修度、四以無相慧令物修行、五令無障礙修滿普賢行。」 tr. “Now good friends are of five kinds: first, one who knows the causes and fruits of good and evil in the world and makes people cultivate and cut off; second, one who is wearied of the joys of the world and delights in nirvāṇa; third, one who has the mind of compassion and a mind that still abides in marks, and cultivates the perfections; fourth, one who by markless wisdom causes beings to cultivate and practice; fifth, one who causes them to cultivate the practice of Samantabhadra to fullness without obstruction.” 〔T35n1735 0922a21〕
And he judges 「此五前前非真，真唯第五人能行」 tr. “of these five, each earlier one is not the true; the true is only what the fifth person can practice” 〔0922a25〕. Among the four sentences of the sūtra text, Chengguan divides the warnings from the urgings: 「隨順是勸，餘皆為誡。設有實過，尚取法亡非，況權實多端生熟難測。」 tr. “Complying is the urging, and the rest are all warnings. Even were there a real fault, one should still take the Dharma and let the wrong go — how much more when the provisional and the real have many sides and the ripe and the unripe are hard to fathom.” 〔0922a27〕
(14) Why not show it all at once instead of sending him through the friends — ten senses. Although in the outline this question belongs to the next subsection, it arises out of the pointing out of the next friend in this section, and Chengguan answers it with ten senses:
「大聖有智能演，善財有機堪受，何不頓為宣示，而別指他人歷事諸友？明此深旨，略申十義」 tr. “The great sage has the wisdom to set it forth and Sudhana has the capacity to receive it — why is it not proclaimed and shown all at once, instead of pointing him to other persons and having him serve the friends one after another? To make this deep purport clear, ten senses are set out in brief” 〔T35n1735 0922b21〕
The last of the ten senses matters most: 「十顯善財與友成緣起故，謂能入所入無二相故，無善友之外善財，則一即一切，明善財歷位也；無善財之外善友故，一切即一，多位成就皆在善財」 tr. “Tenth, because it displays that Sudhana and the friends make up a dependent arising, meaning that what enters and what is entered have no mark of duality: there is no Sudhana outside the good friends, and so one is all, which makes clear that Sudhana passes through the stages; and there are no good friends outside Sudhana, and so all is one, and the accomplishment of the many stages lies wholly in Sudhana” 〔0922c07〕.
VI. Divergent Interpretations of the Commentators (the ancient worthies · with their tenets marked)
Chengguan, Huayan jing shu T35n1735 · Yanyi chao T36n1736 (glossing the eighty-fascicle text as the text runs · the principal commentary)
The ten gates of the last assembly: see heading I. The assignment of the five marks and the evenhanded words upon it: see heading V (3).
What the retinue symbolizes: 「二伴從中，初一同生、餘皆異生，並約通稱，表法之名，以明般若導萬行故。」 tr. “Second, among the retinue, the first are of the same birth and the rest are all of different birth; and they are all taken by their common designations, names that symbolize the Dharma, so as to make clear that wisdom leads the ten thousand practices.” 〔T35n1735 0919a01〕
The division of the ten sentences praising their virtue: 「文有十句：初二歎宿因、次七明現德、後一結德屬緣」 tr. “The text has ten sentences: the first two praise the causes of former lives, the next seven make clear the present virtues, and the last one draws the virtues together and assigns them to the condition” 〔T35n1735 0919a21〕
The division of the ten matters of contemplating: 「有十勝德」 tr. “there are ten surpassing virtues” 〔T35n1735 0919b01〕, one by one as 「一身相勝、二常光勝、三放光勝、四眾會勝、五行路勝，表常依八正故」 tr. “first, surpassing in bodily marks; second, surpassing in the constant halo; third, surpassing in sending out light; fourth, surpassing in the assembly; fifth, surpassing in the road he walks, symbolizing that he constantly relies upon the eightfold right path” 〔0919b01〕, and after them sixth, surpassing in his dwelling place · seventh, surpassing in the adornment of merit · eighth, surpassing in the trees of the grove · ninth, surpassing in sovereign mastery · tenth, surpassing in being gathered in from above.
The number of the four assemblies: 「而數皆五百者，表五位證入並通此故。」 tr. “And that the numbers are all five hundred is because they symbolize that the witnessing entry of the five stages runs through them all alike.” 〔T35n1735 0920c04〕
The outline of Sudhana's verses: 「三十四頌，分二：初四頌，傷己沈溺，自勉不能；後三十頌，仰德依人，請垂拔濟。」 tr. “The thirty-four verses divide into two: the first four verses grieve over his own sinking and drowning and exhort himself that he is unable; the last thirty look up to the virtue and rely upon the person, asking that he be drawn out and rescued.” 〔T35n1735 0921a26〕 The last thirty verses further divide into three — 「初十三偈讚人求法、次十五偈讚法求乘、後二偈雙結人法」 tr. “the first thirteen verses praise the person and seek the Dharma; the next fifteen praise the Dharma and seek the vehicle; the last two draw together both person and Dharma” 〔0921b09〕.
The outline of Mañjuśrī's verses in answer: 「十偈分五」 tr. “the ten verses divide into five” 〔T35n1735 0921c21〕 — two verses praising the giving rise to the mind · one verse of brief teaching · one verse praising again the virtue of giving rise to the mind · five verses of broad teaching · one verse drawing the benefit together. In glossing the substance of giving rise to the mind he cites the words of Maitreya: 「菩提心燈，大悲為油、大願為炷，光照法界。」 tr. “The lamp of the mind of awakening: great compassion is its oil, the great vow is its wick, and its light illumines the Dharma realm.” 〔0921c24〕
The witness that drawing near to friends is the first cause of the wisdom of the kinds: he cites the Nirvāṇa — 「一切眾生得阿耨菩提近因緣者，莫先善友」 tr. “as for the near cause and condition by which all beings obtain unsurpassed awakening, nothing comes before a good friend” 〔T35n1735 0921b29〕.
The old tradition about the City of Blessings: Chengguan cites the words of the Tripiṭaka master Rizhao as outward witness — 「日照三藏云」 tr. “the Tripiṭaka master Rizhao says” 〔T35n1735 0919c21〕: 「此城在南天竺，城東大塔是古佛之塔」 tr. “this city is in South India, and the great stūpa east of the city is the stūpa of an ancient Buddha” 〔0919c21〕, and again 「此處居人多唱善財歌辭」 tr. “most of the people who dwell in this place sing songs about Sudhana” 〔0919c24〕.
The Yanyi chao: in glossing the five marks of practice, 「一歷位上昇，故云高行」 tr. “first, ascending upward through the stages, and so it says lofty practice” 〔T36n1736 0663a24〕; in glossing the twenty classes, 「此二十類攝五十四人」 tr. “these twenty classes gather in fifty-four persons” 〔0663a27〕, matching the names to the classes one by one (bodhisattvas five · monks five · nun one · layman one · laywomen five · boys three · girls two · god one · goddess one · non-Buddhist one · brahmins two · elders nine · one born earlier · physician one · shipmaster one · kings two · seer one · the Buddha's mother one · the Buddha's consort one · spirits ten); in glossing the five births it cites expressly the forty-eighth chapter of the Yogācārabhūmi and the sixth chapter of the She lun; in glossing the sense of the name monk, 「古有五義：一曰怖魔」 tr. “of old there were five senses: the first is called frightening Māra” 〔0663c07〕, and again 「新云苾芻，苾芻草名，具五德故」 tr. “the new rendering says bhikṣu, which is the name of a grass, because it is furnished with five virtues” 〔0663c12〕.
Fazang, Tanxuan ji T35n1733 (the commentary on the sixty-fascicle Avataṃsaka)
He takes the sentence of Mañjuśrī coming out of the tower as the boundary between the root assembly and the last: 「此一品中大分有二：初明本會」 tr. “Within this one chapter the great division is twofold: first, making clear the root assembly” 〔T35n1733 0441c02〕, and below it three opposed pairs — 「亦則前明果法界、後明因法界」 tr. “and thus the earlier makes clear the Dharma realm of the fruit, and the later the Dharma realm of the cause” 〔0441c04〕, 「又前明頓入法界、後明漸入法界」 tr. “and again, the earlier makes clear the sudden entering of the Dharma realm, and the later the gradual entering of the Dharma realm” 〔0441c05〕, 「又前總、後別」 tr. “and again, the earlier is general and the later particular” 〔0441c06〕. Before the chapter Fazang first sets up five tiers of the Dharma realm that is entered (the Dharma realm of dharmas · the Dharma realm of persons · persons and dharmas fused together · persons and dharmas both extinguished · unobstructedness) and five tiers of what enters (body · wisdom · both · extinguished · perfect) 〔0441a20〕, and judges the text by these afterward. An outline friend by friend the Tanxuan ji has as well: 「今依五相科釋此文。就初寄位修行相中，有四十一知識內，初文殊一人寄當十信知識，以信不成位，故不辨十人；餘四位成，故各有十」 tr. “Now the text is outlined and explained according to the five marks. Within the first, the mark of cultivating under an assigned stage, among the forty-one friends the first, Mañjuśrī, one person, is assigned to the ten faiths; because faith does not form a stage, ten persons are not distinguished; the other four stages are formed, and so each has ten” 〔0451c08〕; this stretch divides in two, 「先明發起能化之緣」 tr. “first, making clear the arousing of the conditions of the one who transforms” 〔0451c11〕, and then from 「爾時尊者承力」 tr. “at that time the venerable one, receiving the power” 〔0451c12〕 onward, 「明成彼化事」 tr. “making clear the accomplishing of that work of transformation” 〔0451c12〕; the first has three parts, and the first of them is 「主伴出閣，明依本起末也」 tr. “the lord and his companions come out of the tower, making clear that the branch arises in dependence upon the root” 〔0451c13〕; and he glosses the sixty-fascicle name-form Good Abiding thus: 「證如離念名善安住，法界數重名為樓閣，從此正證起後妙智名從閣出」 tr. “witnessing suchness and leaving thought behind is named good abiding; the Dharma realm in its several tiers is named the storeyed tower; from this right witnessing the subsequent wondrous wisdom arises, which is named coming out of the tower” 〔0451c13〕.
Li Tongxuan, Xin Huayan jing lun T36n1739 (a different track of symbolizing the Dharma)
The gate-name of this stretch: 「就俗利生成行門」 tr. “the gate of accommodating the worldly and benefiting the living so as to complete practice” 〔T36n1739 0948c28〕. The long outline divides into three 〔0949a02〕: the first, 「創始就根入俗遊歷門」 tr. “the gate of the very beginning, of going by the faculties, entering the worldly, and journeying through” 〔0949a06〕 · the second beginning from 「漸次南行經歷人間至福城東」 tr. “journeying on southward in due order, passing through the human realm, and reaching the east of the City of Blessings” 〔0949a07〕 · the third, 「是辨根與法成行門」 tr. “this is the gate of distinguishing the faculties and, with the Dharma, completing practice” 〔0949a10〕. Glossing the sentence of coming out of the tower: 「明以自法身現根本智，樓閣中起差別智，以利眾生故名為出」 tr. “it makes clear that from his own dharma-body he manifests the root wisdom, and within the tower rouses the wisdom of difference, and because it is to benefit beings it is named coming out” 〔0949a21〕. As for the number of the retinue, Tongxuan reckons it apart: 「此一段并菩薩神天有三十二眾」 tr. “this one stretch, together with the bodhisattvas, spirits, and gods, has thirty-two multitudes” 〔0949a27〕, which with the six thousand monks below comes to forty-two multitudes. And he takes the three dharmas of Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, and the Buddha as the substance of cause and fruit in the five stages: 「文殊法身中根本智、普賢差別智中行、於此二中無所住智名之為佛」 tr. “Mañjuśrī is the root wisdom within the dharma-body, Samantabhadra is the practice within the wisdom of difference, and the wisdom that abides nowhere within these two is named the Buddha” 〔0948c12〕.
Zhiyan, Souxuan ji T35n1732
The chapter is explained generally in four gates: 「此是第八會，在祇桓重閣說」 tr. “this is the eighth assembly, told in the storeyed hall of the Jeta Grove” 〔T35n1732 0087c07〕; and of the reason for its coming, 「上雖得行解法，若不依知識加持無由進會，故來也」 tr. “although above one has obtained the dharma of practice and understanding, without relying upon the sustaining of a friend there is no way to advance and accord, and so this comes” 〔0087c13〕. On the bounds of entering the Dharma realm, 「一始從初發心，終即不定」 tr. “first, it begins from the first giving rise to the mind, and its end is not fixed” 〔0087c23〕. The threefold outline of this section (the condition for transformation · gathering and transforming · entering the superior state) is given in §I.
Recorded Without Being Judged
As for the number of assemblies in this assembly, Chengguan obtains three assemblies by the capacities gathered in, fifty-five by distinguishing transformer and transformed together, one hundred and ten by lords and companions, and assemblies as many as the dust-motes of a Buddha-land by the scattered telling, and endless assemblies by the virtue of Samantabhadra; as for the number of the lords of the assemblies, fifty-four when fixed by persons, and fifty-seven when the persons are displayed by the assemblies. As for the boundary between the root assembly and the last, Fazang and Chengguan alike fix it at the sentence of Mañjuśrī coming out of the tower, but Fazang judges it by the three opposed pairs of the Dharma realm of the fruit and of the cause, sudden entering and gradual entering, and general and particular, while Chengguan gathers it under his ten gates and divides it by his five marks. As for the assignment of the five marks, Chengguan first records the non-assignment of Dharma-master Yi and of the treatise of the Terrace Mountain and the assignment of masters such as Guangtong, says 「二皆有理」 tr. “both have their reason” 〔T35n1735 0918b04〕, and then 「且依古德配為五相」 tr. “for the present, following the ancient worthies, they are assigned as five marks” 〔0918b07〕. As for the number of the retinue, the eighty-fascicle text by actual count word for word has twenty-three classes, while Li Tongxuan, upon the eighty-fascicle text (his treatise cites 「六十二卷之初」 tr. “the beginning of fascicle sixty-two” 〔T36n1739 0949a04〕), reckons thirty-two multitudes of bodhisattvas, spirits, and gods, and forty-two together with the multitude of monks. As for Sudhana's stage, the ancient glosses have the account of a bodhisattva upon the grounds, the account of an ordinary man of real reward below the grounds, and the two explanations of being born into the lineage of the Dharma-king; Xianshou sets up the three stations of seeing and hearing, practice of understanding, and witnessing entry, and says that wherever he is he is gathered in by that one, and Chengguan records this and closes at the last without fixing it. As for the difference in the name of the city, the eighty-fascicle text has the City of Blessings and the sixty-fascicle text the City of Awakening. What these several houses set up and what these two texts transmit each has its own track; they are recorded, and no ranking is judged among them.
VII. Cross-Reading and Lineage
For the text of this section, the chains that carry it on all come straight back from cross-readings the ancient worthies already made:
- The Ten Mysterious Gates of the One Vehicle of the Huayan T45n1868: it touches the scene of this section in one place — 「乘中一念。故下明善財從文殊所。發心求善」 tr. “a single thought within the vehicle. Therefore below it makes clear that Sudhana, from Mañjuśrī's place, gave rise to the mind and sought the good” 〔T45n1868 0518a18〕, which points squarely to the matter of Sudhana giving rise to the mind at Mañjuśrī's place in this section.
- The Essential Purport of the Huayan Sūtra T45n1871: 「說。廣如彼品說。八造修益者。謂如善財依此」 tr. “told. At large as that chapter tells it. Eighth, the benefit of taking up cultivation, meaning as Sudhana, relying upon this” 〔T45n1871 0596b13〕, taking Sudhana's cultivating in reliance upon the sūtra as an instance of the mark of benefit.
- The Essay on the Divisions of Doctrine of the One Vehicle of the Huayan T45n1866: it takes Sudhana's passing through the stages as an instance of the ranks of the five teachings — 「如小相品說。又如善財始從十信乃至十」 tr. “as the Chapter on the Lesser Marks tells it. And again, as Sudhana, beginning from the ten faiths and on to the ten” 〔T45n1866 0489c09〕; and again 「如彌勒告善財言」 tr. “as Maitreya said to Sudhana” 〔0489c12〕. No citation specifically of the sentence of coming out of the tower in this section is seen.
- The Kongmu Essay on the Huayan Sūtra T45n1870: of its passages touching Sudhana, two are recorded here — 「其寶藏。任善財取。證會上地顯資財義」 tr. “those jewel treasuries — Sudhana is left to take them. Witnessing and according with the grounds above displays the sense of resources and wealth” 〔T45n1870 0556c17〕; and in its explanation of the text of the forty-five friends it directly carries on the doctrine of this passage: 「初一知識。依一乘別教為迴心人。說十大心。及為善財。分別廣說。諸佛十正法。成信行義」 tr. “The first friend, according to the distinct teaching of the one vehicle, for those who turn their minds speaks the ten great minds, and for Sudhana sets out and explains at length the ten right dharmas of the buddhas, so as to accomplish the sense of the practice of faith” 〔0584c06〕.
- The Mysterious Mirror of the Dharma Realm of the Huayan T45n1883: the three words 「善財」 tr. “Sudhana,” 「善住樓閣」 tr. “the Tower of Good Abiding,” and 「五十三」 tr. “fifty-three” have zero occurrences in the whole file 〔查無〕, that is, not found; this treatise does not touch the matter of Sudhana.
- Vasubandhu's Shidi jing lun (the Treatise on the Ten Grounds Sūtra) T26n1522: the three words 「文殊」 tr. “Mañjuśrī,” 「善財」 tr. “Sudhana,” and 「福城」 tr. “the City of Blessings” have zero occurrences in the whole file 〔查無〕, that is, not found — the Shidi jing lun glosses the Chapter on the Ten Grounds alone, and has no direct bearing upon the scene of this section.
- The axis of consciousness-only: in the four works, the Cheng weishi lun T31n1585 · the Mahāyāna-saṃgraha T31n1594 · the Yogācārabhūmi T30n1579 · the Jieshenmi jing T16n0676, the two expressions 「善住樓閣」 tr. “the Tower of Good Abiding” and 「文殊師利童子從」 tr. “the youth Mañjuśrī, from” have zero occurrences in the whole of each file 〔查無〕, that is, not found. This section belongs to the narrative of the compilers and is not a passage that bridges to consciousness-only, and so no chain to consciousness-only is set up for it separately.
- The point of contact with the axis of consciousness-only in the Yanyi chao: in glossing the places of the five births of a bodhisattva the author of the chao cites expressly the forty-eighth chapter of the Yogācārabhūmi and the sixth chapter of the She lun 〔T36n1736 0663b21〕, and this is the one point of contact with the axis of consciousness-only on the lineage side of this section; what it attaches to is the sense of the classification of good friends, and not the sūtra text of this section itself.
- Within Chengguan's commentary upon this section: the three words 「攝論」 tr. “the She lun,” 「瑜伽」 tr. “the Yogācārabhūmi,” and 「本業」 tr. “the Original Acts” have zero occurrences 〔查無〕, that is, not found, unlike the type of citation of the Original Acts in the sixth dedication of chapter twenty-five; the outward witnesses in the commentary upon this section are only the one item of the Tripiṭaka master Rizhao 〔T35n1735 0919c21〕 and the three citations of the Prajñā of the Guiding Principle, the Sūtra of the Names of the Buddhas, and the Nirvāṇa 〔0918a11〕〔0918a13〕〔0921b29〕.
VIII. Edition Location Register
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Śikṣānanda T279 (the base text): this section begins at 〔T10n0279 0330b29〕 (the end of fascicle sixty-one) and ends at 〔ending before 0334a15〕 (fascicle sixty-two). Mañjuśrī coming out of the tower 0330b29 · the retinue in twenty-three classes 0330c01–c17 · the manner of departure and the taking of leave 0330c17–c20 · Śāriputra seeing the occasion and giving rise to the thought 0330c21–c24 · gathering the multitude to journey together 0330c24–c27 · the six thousand monks, their number stated and their standing distinguished 0330c27–c28 · the naming of ten persons 0330c28–0331a01 · the ten sentences praising their virtue 0331a01–a05 · the marking sentence of the telling to Ocean-Awakening 0331a05–a06 · the contemplating of ten matters 0331a06–a21 · drawing it together briefly and displaying it broadly 0331a21–a23 · the monks obtaining the surpassing benefit 0331a23–a29 · going to the surpassing person 0331a29–b03 · being gathered in by the surpassing one (the elephant king turning) 0331b03–b04 · setting out their reverence and raising their vow 0331b04–b09 · Mañjuśrī telling the ten freedoms from weariness 0331b09–b21 · raising up the benefit and urging cultivation 0331b21–b27 · obtaining the samādhi 0331b27–b29 · the four gates of the use of the concentration 0331b29–c11 · displaying the many gates together 0331c11–c14 · receiving the dharma of advancement 0331c14–c20 · fascicle sixty-one ends 0331c21 · fascicle sixty-two begins 0331c24 · drawing together what was done before 0331c28–c29 · arriving at the place of transforming 0331c29–0332a06 · displaying the Dharma told 0332a06–a08 · the multitude benefited 0332a08–a12 · the four assemblies rushing like clouds 0332a12–b06 · the taming and transforming by the three kinds of action 0332b07–c14 · contemplating Sudhana's outward conditions 0332b11–b27 · drawing it together and giving the name 0332b27–b28 · contemplating Sudhana's inward causes 0332b28–c03 · the ten sentences of Dharma given to the one at hand 0332c03–c09 · concluding the telling and urging him onward 0332c09–c14 · the general preface to the following of the one of sharp faculties 0332c14–c16 · Sudhana's thirty-four verses 0332c17–0333b26 · the great sage teaching again (brief praise and brief teaching) 0333b27–c02 · the broad asking in eleven sentences 0333c03–c08 · the broad answering in ten verses 0333c09–0334a01 · the prose passage of general praise and general teaching 0334a01–a09 · pointing out the next friend 0334a09–a13 · calling the kindness to mind and taking leave 0334a13–a15.
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Buddhabhadra T278 (the Jin translation, the principal text collated against): the corresponding stretch of this section begins at 〔T09n0278 0686c09〕 and ends at 〔ending before 0689c17〕 (fascicles forty-five to forty-six). Mañjuśrī coming out of the tower 0686c09 · the retinue 0686c11–c21 · Śāriputra giving rise to the thought 0686c22–c25 · the six thousand monks 0686c25–0687a06 · the telling to Ocean-Wisdom 0687a07–a18 · the monks gaining the benefit 0687a18–a25 · going to Mañjuśrī 0687a25–a27 · the elephant king turning to look back 0687a27–b03 · the ten kinds of great mind 0687b04–b20 · the samādhi of the unobstructed pure eye 0687b20–c03 · urging the cultivation of the practice of Samantabhadra 0687c03–c08 · arriving at the east of the City of Awakening 0687c08–c13 · telling the sūtra of the universal illumining of the whole Dharma realm 0687c13–c18 · the four assemblies gathering like clouds 0687c18–0688a11 · contemplating Sudhana's causes and conditions 0688a11–b02 · telling the Dharma for him 0688b02–b11 · Sudhana's verses 0688b11–0689a23 · fascicle forty-five ends 0689a24 · fascicle forty-six begins 0689b02 · the elephant king turning to look at Sudhana 0689b06–b17 · Mañjuśrī's verses, ten verses 0689b17–c08 · pointing out Cloud of Merit-and-Virtue 0689c09–c14 · taking leave 0689c14–c16.
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The forty-fascicle Avataṃsaka T293 (translated by Prajñā, preserving this chapter alone): the stretch corresponding to this section begins at 〔T10n0293 0675b14〕 and ends at 〔0679b21〕. Mañjuśrī coming out of the tower 0675b14 · the retinue in twenty-four classes 0675b15–c05 · the manner of departure, the taking of leave, and the going south 0675c05–c10 · Śāriputra seeing the occasion and giving rise to the thought 0675c11–c14 · gathering the multitude to journey together (a retinue of sixty monks) 0675c15–c18 · the sixty monks, their standing distinguished 0675c18–c19 · the naming of ten persons 0675c19–c22 · drawing the sixty together and praising their virtue 0675c22–c27 · the marking sentence of the telling to Ocean-Awakening 0675c28–c29 · the contemplating of ten matters 0675c29–0676a17 · drawing it together briefly and displaying it broadly 0676a17–a19 · the monks obtaining the surpassing benefit 0676a19–a27 · going to Mañjuśrī 0676a27–a29 · being gathered in by the surpassing one (the elephant king turning) 0676a29–b02 · setting out their reverence and raising their vow 0676b02–b09 · Mañjuśrī telling the ten freedoms from weariness 0676b10–c02 · raising up the benefit and urging cultivation 0676b24–c02 · obtaining the samādhi (Seeing the Realm of All Buddhas with the Unobstructed Eye) 0676c03–c04 · the gates of the use of the concentration 0676c04–c24 · receiving the dharma of advancement 0676c24–0677a08 · drawing together what went before, going south, and arriving at the City where Blessings Arise 0677a09–a11 · the causes and conditions of the grove 0677a11–a17 · displaying the Dharma told 0677a17–a20 · the multitude benefited 0677a20–a25 · the four assemblies rushing like clouds 0677a26–b23 · the taming and transforming by the three kinds of action 0677b24–c23 · contemplating Sudhana's outward conditions 0677b29–c18 · drawing it together and giving the name 0677c18–c19 · contemplating Sudhana's inward causes 0677c19–c23 · the ten sentences of Dharma given to the one at hand 0677c24–0678a02 · concluding the telling and urging him onward 0678a03–a08 · the general preface to the following of the one of sharp faculties 0678a09–a12 · Sudhana's thirty-seven verses 0678a13–0678c28 · the great sage teaching again (brief praise and brief teaching) 0678c29–0679a06 · the broad asking in thirteen sentences 0679a06–a12 · the marking sentence of the broad answering 0679a12–a13 · the broad answering in ten verses 0679a14–b04 · the prose passage of general praise and general teaching 0679b05–b13 · pointing out the next friend 0679b13–b18 · calling the kindness to mind and taking leave 0679b18–b21.
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Chengguan, Huayan jing shu T35n1735: the ten gates of the last assembly begin at 0917c06 (the general display of the sense of the assemblies 0917c10 · the opening and combining of the number of the assemblies 0917c19 · how many the lords of the assemblies are 0917c29 · the settling of the name and sense of an assembly 0918a02 · the drawing together under the two stations 0918a07 · the distinguishing of the five marks 0918b02 · the perfect gathering of beginning and end 0918b24 · the classes of persons in the Dharma realm 0918b27 · the events and senses of the Dharma realm 0918c14 · the explaining as the text runs 0918c17) · the five divisions of the assigned stages 0918c18–c23 · the stretch of the ten faiths begins 0918c23 · the one who is able to transform sets it in motion 0918c25–0919a07 · the three assemblies of completing the transforming for them 0919a07 · the assembly of the monks 0919a12–0919c12 · the assembly of the persons of the various vehicles 0919c13–c29 · the ten gates of the gathering in of the assembly of Sudhana 0920a04–0920b25 · the four divisions of the direct explaining of the text itself 0920b25–0921b21 · the four assemblies rushing like clouds 0920b26 · the taming and transforming by the three kinds of action 0920c05 · the following of the one of sharp faculties 0920c26 · the outline of the verses 0921a26–b21 · the great sage teaching again 0921b21 · the broad asking in eleven sentences 0921c03 · the five divisions of the broad answering in ten verses 0921c19–c21 · the prose passage of general praise and general teaching 0922a16 · fascicle fifty-five ends 0922b01 · fascicle fifty-six begins 0922b04 · pointing out the next friend 0922b07 · calling the kindness to mind and taking leave 0922b18 · the ten senses of sending him through the friends 0922b23–0922c12.
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Chengguan, Yanyi chao T36n1736: the stretch glossing the five marks · the twenty classes · the five births · the sense of the name monk, 0663a22–0663c17.
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Fazang, Tanxuan ji T35n1733: the five gates of the classification of the Dharma realm 0441a20 · entering the Dharma realm made clear with regard to the stages 0441b21 · the fourth, the explaining of the text, on the root and last assemblies 0441c02–c07 · the ten divisions of the root assembly begin at 0441c07. 「善住樓閣」 tr. “the Tower of Good Abiding” occurs once in the general outline 〔0441c03〕 (across a line break; from there the last assembly is set forth), while the detailed gloss has the form Good Peaceful Abiding 〔0451c14〕.
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Li Tongxuan, Xin Huayan jing lun T36n1739: 「善住樓閣」 tr. “the Tower of Good Abiding” first occurs at 0945a07 · the stretch devoted to the gate of accommodating the worldly and benefiting the living so as to complete practice begins at 0948c09 · the long outline in three divisions 0949a02–a10 · the explaining of the sense as the text runs begins at 0949a19 · the reckoning of thirty-two multitudes 0949a27.
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Zhiyan, Souxuan ji T35n1732: the general explanation of the chapter in four gates 0087c06–0088a15. 「善住樓閣」 tr. “the Tower of Good Abiding” has zero occurrences in the whole file 〔查無〕, that is, not found.
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Variant readings: within the range of T279 covered by this unit, 〔0330b29〕–〔0334a14〕, the Taishō base text carries 17 collation notes, recorded one by one without adjudication (base reading 【大】｜variant readings of other witnesses, several witnesses separated by ／): 〔0330c04〕耀【大】｜曜【宮】 · 〔0331b14〕蜜【大】｜密【宮】 · 〔0331b18〕熟【大】｜就【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0331b23〕姓【大】｜性【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0332b14〕芽【大】｜牙【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0332b14〕玻瓈【大】＊｜頗梨【宋】【元】【宮】＊（＊同校並繫〔0332b22〕〔0332b23〕之玻瓈字） · 〔0332b16〕肢【大】｜支【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0332b17〕涌【大】｜踊【宮】 · 〔0332b17〕耀【大】＊｜曜【宮】＊（＊同校並繫〔0332c09〕〔0334b20〕〔0334b29〕〔0335c11〕之耀字） · 〔0332c04〕諭【大】＊｜喻【宋】【元】【明】【宮】＊（＊同校並繫〔0332c11〕之諭字） · 〔0333a22〕鎋【大】｜轄【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0333a25〕震【大】＊｜振【宮】＊（＊同校並繫〔0333a27〕之震字） · 〔0333b03〕箱【大】｜廂【宋】 · 〔0333b16〕類【大】｜願【宋】【元】【明】 · 〔0333b25〕城【大】｜位【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0333b26〕能【大】｜垂【宮】 · 〔0333c10〕哉【大】｜財【元】（明註曰哉作財）. (＊ ＝ a Taishō asterisked collation: the same note also governs the remaining occurrences of that graph in the text; for notes of this class the T279 XML supplies no corresp for the recurrences, so the asterisk alone is shown and no second anchor is created.)
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A further note upon the variant readings: 5 CBETA emendations (not counted among the Taishō collation notes listed above): 〔0331b19〕十【CB】｜一【大】／十【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 · 〔0331c14〕提【CB】【麗-CB】｜薩【大】／薩【宮-CB】【磧乙-CB】 · 〔0332c21〕纆【CB】【麗-CB】｜纏【大】 · 〔0333a01〕敕【CB】【麗-CB】｜勅【大】 · 〔0334a13〕疾【CB】【麗-CB】【磧-CB】｜疲【大】.
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A further note upon the variant readings: to the entry at 〔0333c10〕 the Taishō collation note appends the remark 「明註曰哉作財」 tr. “the Ming annotation says the graph is written as the variant” (an appended remark in the collation note, not a further variant reading).
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A further note on the variant readings: the inline notes were already stripped and recorded at the level of the original text.
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Items not found: Vasubandhu's Shidi jing lun T26n1522 · the Mysterious Mirror of the Dharma Realm of the Huayan T45n1883 · the Cheng weishi lun T31n1585 · the Mahāyāna-saṃgraha T31n1594 · the Yogācārabhūmi T30n1579 · the Jieshenmi jing T16n0676 · the surface form 「善住樓閣」 tr. “Tower of Good Abiding” in Zhiyan's Souxuan ji (which follows the sixty-fascicle text's 「善安住樓閣」 tr. “Tower of Good Peaceful Abiding”; its gloss is in §VI; the Tanxuan ji has one occurrence in its general outline, see above) — seven items in all.