Vajragarbha, and Why So Many Buddhas Empower Him
Vasubandhu opens his treatise on the ten bodhisattva grounds with two homage verses and an eight-part outline of the whole first ground, then turns to the sūtra itself: the Buddha teaching in the palace of the King of the Heaven of Free Enjoyment of Others' Emanations, an assembly of bodhisattvas named for treasuries and lights, and Vajragarbha Bodhisattva entering a samādhi so that buddhas as numerous as motes of dust in ten koṭis of buddha-lands can empower him — all bearing his own name — to teach what no one has yet taught.
Two Homage Verses, and the Eight Divisions of the First Ground
說此法門者， 及諸勸請法，
分別義藏人， 受持流通等。
法門等最勝， 頂禮解妙義，
欲令法久住， 自利利他故。
十地法門，初地所攝八分：一、序分；二、三昧分；三、加分；
四、起分；五、本分；六、請分；七、說分；八、校量勝分。
To the one who expounds this Dharma-gate, and every dharma of exhortation and request, to the one who discerns the treasury of its meaning, and to those who uphold and cause it to spread and continue —
to this Dharma-gate, and to these, supreme above all, I bow in homage, expounding its subtle meaning, wishing to make the Dharma abide long, for the sake of benefiting both self and others.
The Dharma-gate of the ten grounds: the First Ground comprises eight divisions. First, the section of the setting. Second, the section of entering samādhi. Third, the section of empowerment. Fourth, the section of arising. Fifth, the section of the outline. Sixth, the section of request. Seventh, the section of exposition. Eighth, the section of comparative excellence.
Huiyuan reads this eight-part division through three overlapping schemes, and is explicit that they describe the same material at different grains rather than competing accounts. As a bare three-part sūtra structure — preface, main teaching, transmission (序、正、流通) — the setting and entering-samādhi sections are the preface, everything from the section of the outline onward is the main teaching, and only the very last division (which this page has not yet reached) is transmission proper; the section of empowerment can be read into either the preface or the transmission depending on which of two senses of "transmission" one adopts. As a six-part scheme organized by what each division accomplishes for the assembly (起化之由，為生物信 — "the occasion for beginning the teaching, so as to generate the assembly's faith," and so on through request, exposition, illustration, and benefit), and again as a nine-part scheme that simply splits the "preface" further into its own six named sections, Huiyuan's summary of the nine-part reading is direct: 初一是其由序，後八正顯證教之相 — "the first [section] is the prefatory opening; the remaining eight directly manifest the marks of realization and teaching." Within those eight, the section of entering samādhi is what shows realization in itself, and the remaining seven show teaching unfolding in sequence — a way of reading the eightfold outline that keeps the reader oriented as this treatise moves, division by division, from Vajragarbha's silent entry into samādhi toward his eventual, and much longer, act of speech.
The Section of the Setting: The Assembly, and Why He Is Called Vajragarbha
經曰：如是我聞。一時婆伽婆成道未久，第二七日在他化自在天中自在天王宮摩尼寶藏殿，與大菩薩眾俱，一切不退轉，皆一生得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，從他方佛世界俱來集會。此諸菩薩，一切菩薩智慧境界悉得自在，一切如來智慧境界悉皆得入，勤行不息善能教化一切世間，隨時普示一切神通等事，於剎那中皆能成辦具足；不捨一切菩薩所起大願，於一切世一切劫一切國土常修一切諸菩薩行，具足菩薩福德智慧，如意神足而無窮盡；能為一切而作饒益，能到一切菩薩智慧方便彼岸，能令眾生背世間道向涅槃門，不斷一切菩薩所行，善遊一切菩薩禪定解脫三昧神通明慧，諸所施為善能示現；一切菩薩無作自在如意神足皆悉已得，於一念頃能至十方諸佛大會，勸發諮請受持一切諸佛法輪，常以大心供養諸佛，常能修習諸大菩薩所行事業；其身普現無量世界，其音遍聞無所不至，其心通達明見三世，一切菩薩所有功德具足修習。如是諸菩薩摩訶薩功德無量無邊，於無數劫說不可盡，其名曰：金剛藏菩薩、寶藏菩薩、蓮華藏菩薩、勝藏菩薩、蓮華勝藏菩薩、日藏菩薩、月藏菩薩、淨月藏菩薩、照一切世間莊嚴藏菩薩、智慧普照明藏菩薩、妙勝藏菩薩、栴檀勝藏菩薩、華勝藏菩薩、俱素摩勝藏菩薩、優鉢羅華勝藏菩薩、天勝藏菩薩、福德勝藏菩薩、無礙清淨智藏菩薩、功德藏菩薩、那羅延德藏菩薩、無垢藏菩薩、離垢藏菩薩、種種樂說莊嚴藏菩薩、大光明網照藏菩薩、淨明勝照威德王藏菩薩、大金山淨光明威德王藏菩薩、一切相莊嚴淨勝藏菩薩、金剛焰勝胸相莊嚴藏菩薩、焰熾藏菩薩、宿王光照藏菩薩、虛空庫無礙智藏菩薩、無礙妙音遠藏菩薩、陀羅尼功德持一切世間願藏菩薩、海莊嚴藏菩薩、須彌勝藏菩薩、淨一切功德藏菩薩、如來藏菩薩、佛勝藏菩薩、解脫月菩薩。如是等菩薩摩訶薩，無量無邊阿僧祇、不可思議、不可稱、不可量、無有分齊、不可說不可說種種佛國土集，金剛藏菩薩而為上首。
論曰：時處等校量顯示勝故。此法勝故，在於初時及勝處說，此處宮殿等勝是名處勝。何故不色界說？此處感果故。何故不初七日說？思惟行因緣行故，本為利他成道。何故七日思惟不說？顯示自樂大法樂故。何故顯己法樂？為令眾生於如來所增長愛敬心故，復捨如是妙樂悲愍眾生為說法故。何故唯行因緣行？是因緣行顯示不共法故。何故菩薩說此法門？為令增長諸菩薩力故。何故唯金剛藏說？一切煩惱難壞，此法能破，善根堅實猶如金剛，故不異名說。
何故名金剛藏？藏即名堅，其猶樹藏。又如懷孕在藏，是故堅如金剛如金剛藏。是諸善根，一切餘善根中其力最上，猶如金剛。亦能生成人天道行，諸餘善根所不能壞，故名金剛藏。已說序分，次說三昧分。
Sūtra: Thus have I heard. At one time the Bhagavān, not long after attaining the path, on the second week thereafter, was in the palace of the King of the Heaven of Free Enjoyment of Others' Emanations, in the Mani-Treasury Hall, together with a great assembly of bodhisattvas — all of them irreversible, every one of them certain to attain unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening within a single lifetime, all having come together from world-systems of other buddhas to assemble there. These bodhisattvas had all attained mastery in the domain of every bodhisattva's wisdom, and had all gained entry into the domain of every tathāgata's wisdom; diligent in practice without rest, skillfully able to teach and transform every world, manifesting every kind of spiritual power everywhere as the occasion required, able to bring each to complete accomplishment in an instant; never abandoning any great vow any bodhisattva had ever raised, they constantly cultivated every bodhisattva practice in every age, every eon, and every land, perfecting a bodhisattva's merit and wisdom, their spiritual feet of wish-fulfillment inexhaustible; able to bring benefit to all, able to reach the far shore of every bodhisattva's wisdom and skillful means, able to turn sentient beings away from the path of the world and toward the gate of nirvāṇa; never breaking off any bodhisattva practice, skillfully wandering through every bodhisattva's dhyāna, liberation, samādhi, spiritual power, and clear wisdom, able to manifest skillfully whatever they undertook; having already attained every bodhisattva's uncontrived, self-mastering spiritual feet of wish-fulfillment, able in a single thought-moment to reach the great assemblies of the buddhas of the ten directions, there to exhort, inquire, and receive and uphold the Dharma-wheel of every buddha; constantly making offerings to the buddhas with a great mind, constantly cultivating the deeds that every great bodhisattva performs; their bodies appearing everywhere throughout countless world-systems, their voices heard everywhere without exception, their minds penetrating clearly to see the three times, perfecting in full every merit possessed by any bodhisattva. The merits of these bodhisattva-mahāsattvas were immeasurable and boundless, not to be exhausted in the telling even over countless eons. Their names were: Vajragarbha Bodhisattva, Ratnagarbha Bodhisattva, Padmagarbha Bodhisattva, Jayagarbha Bodhisattva, Padmajayagarbha Bodhisattva, Sūryagarbha Bodhisattva, Candragarbha Bodhisattva, Śuddhacandragarbha Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva Who Adorns and Illumines Every World, the Bodhisattva Whose Wisdom Universally Illumines, Sublime Jayagarbha Bodhisattva, Candanajayagarbha Bodhisattva, Puṣpajayagarbha Bodhisattva, Kusumajayagarbha Bodhisattva, Utpalajayagarbha Bodhisattva, Devajayagarbha Bodhisattva, Puṇyajayagarbha Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva of Unobstructed, Pure Wisdom-Treasury, Guṇagarbha Bodhisattva, Nārāyaṇaguṇagarbha Bodhisattva, Vimalagarbha Bodhisattva, Rajovimalagarbha Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva Adorned with Every Manner of Eloquence, the Bodhisattva Illumined by the Net of Great Light, the Bodhisattva King of Majestic Virtue Illumined by Pure Splendor, the Bodhisattva King of Majestic Virtue Radiant as the Pure Light of the Great Golden Mountain, the Bodhisattva Adorned in Every Mark and Purely Supreme, the Bodhisattva Adorned with a Chest Blazing with the Supreme Mark of the Vajra-Flame, Blazing-Flame-Garbha Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva Illumined by the Light of the King of Constellations, the Bodhisattva of the Unobstructed Wisdom of the Treasury of Space, the Bodhisattva of Unobstructed, Sublime, Far-Reaching Voice, the Bodhisattva Who Upholds Through Dhāraṇī the Merit and Vow of Every World, the Bodhisattva Adorned as the Ocean, Sumeruśreṣṭhagarbha Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva Who Purifies Every Merit, Tathāgatagarbha Bodhisattva, Buddhajayagarbha Bodhisattva, and Vimuktacandra Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas such as these — immeasurable, boundless, incalculable, inconceivable, indescribable, without limit, gathered from world-systems too many to tell even were one to try beyond telling — had assembled, with Vajragarbha Bodhisattva foremost among them.
Commentary: The time, the place, and so forth are set forth by way of comparison, in order to make the Dharma's supremacy evident. Because this Dharma is supreme, it is taught at the very first possible time and in a supreme place; this place — the palace, the hall, and so on — being supreme is what is meant by "the place is supreme." Why was it not taught in the form realm? Because it is this place, the desire realm, where the fruit of teaching can be felt. Why was it not taught in the very first week after enlightenment? Because the Buddha was engaged in contemplating the practice of dependent origination, since his original purpose in accomplishing the path was to benefit others. Why was nothing taught during the seven days of contemplation? To make manifest his own enjoyment of the great Dharma's joy. Why make manifest his own enjoyment of the Dharma? So as to cause sentient beings to increase their love and reverence toward the Tathāgata — and further, so as then to set aside this sublime joy, out of compassion for sentient beings, in order to teach the Dharma for their sake. Why was only the practice of dependent origination engaged in? Because this practice of dependent origination makes manifest the Dharma unshared with other vehicles. Why did a bodhisattva teach this Dharma-gate? So as to cause the strength of every bodhisattva to increase. Why did only Vajragarbha teach it? Because every affliction, however hard to destroy, this Dharma is able to break; his roots of goodness are as solid and real as vajra — and so it is by no other name that he is spoken of as the teacher.
Why is he called Vajragarbha? Garbha means "solid," as with the heartwood hidden within a tree. Or again, as with a child carried within the womb — in either case, it is solid, like vajra, like a vajra-treasury. These roots of goodness, among all other roots of goodness, are supreme in their power, just like vajra; and they are also able to bring to completion the practice of the paths of humans and gods, unable to be destroyed by any other root of goodness — and this is why he is called Vajragarbha. This concludes the section of the setting; next comes the section of entering samādhi.
Huiyuan parses the etymology in the closing paragraph as two separate images collapsed into one word, not one image restated twice: 藏即名堅，其猶樹藏 — "garbha means solid, as with the heartwood [garbha] hidden within a tree" — takes garbha in the sense of a tree's dense inner core, prized for what it already, statically, is; 又如懷孕在藏 — "or again, as with a child carried within the womb" — takes garbha in the sense of something not yet delivered, prized for what it will become. His fuller commentary makes explicit that the treatise keeps both senses working at once: 如彼二藏即是堅故，況彼菩薩內德善根藏而是堅 — "just as those two kinds of garbha are each solid, so the bodhisattva's inner virtue, his root of goodness, is a garbha that is solid" — and then reverses the comparison, 又以二堅即是藏故，況彼菩薩內德善根堅而是藏 — "and again, since that same solidity in both cases is what makes each a garbha, so the bodhisattva's inner virtue, his root of goodness, is solid in a way that makes it a garbha." Heartwood and womb are offered as two independent grounds for the same claim — the root of goodness is both an already-realized solid core and a still-ripening solidity yet to be delivered — rather than one metaphor merely illustrated twice.
On why buddhas as numerous as motes of dust all share Vajragarbha's own name, Huiyuan traces the empowerment back to Vairocana's own vow, made while Vairocana was himself still a bodhisattva under a buddha of the same name: 盧舍那佛過去本行菩薩道時，見過去世盧舍那佛說地法時，能加、所加悉字金剛…今日之同原由於彼 — "when Vairocana Buddha, in the past, practiced the bodhisattva path, he witnessed a past Vairocana Buddha teaching the doctrine of the grounds, at which time both the empowering buddhas and the one empowered all bore the name Vajra[garbha] — today's identity of name has its origin in that." The point, on Huiyuan's reading, is pedagogical rather than merely ceremonial: 顯示多佛同依此法…彰法要勝出生多佛，多佛同依使眾重敬，於法渴仰後得為說 — "it makes manifest that many buddhas alike depend on this very Dharma… showing that the Dharma is so essential it gives rise to many buddhas, and that many buddhas alike depending on it causes the assembly to hold it in still greater reverence, longing for it, before it is finally taught." An assembly that has just watched an unnamed number of buddhas independently confirm the same name is an assembly primed to listen — which is, on this reading, the entire reason the sūtra bothers to stage the scene this elaborately before Vajragarbha has said a single word of the teaching itself.
The Section of Entering Samādhi
經曰：爾時金剛藏菩薩摩訶薩，承佛威神，入菩薩大乘光明三昧。
論曰：入三昧者，顯示此法非思量境界故。已說三昧分，次說加分。
Sūtra: At that time, Vajragarbha Bodhisattva-mahāsattva, sustained by the Buddha's majestic spiritual power, entered the bodhisattva samādhi of the Light of the Great Vehicle.
Commentary: His entering samādhi makes manifest that this Dharma is not a domain reachable by discursive thought. This concludes the section of entering samādhi; next comes the section of empowerment.
Huiyuan reads the single line of commentary here against the full range of reasons a sūtra might have a bodhisattva enter samādhi at all — 或為斷煩惱，或為生諸德，或為正受樂，或為現神通，或為觀物機，隨順為說法，或彰法離言，或顯證能說，或為受勝力 ("sometimes to cut off affliction, sometimes to give rise to virtues, sometimes to properly receive joy, sometimes to manifest spiritual powers, sometimes to observe beings' capacities and teach the Dharma accordingly, sometimes to make manifest that the Dharma is beyond words, sometimes to make manifest a realization capable of speech, sometimes to receive supreme power") — before narrowing to the two that apply here: this samādhi both shows that the teaching to come exceeds ordinary discursive thought, and positions Vajragarbha to receive the buddhas' empowering power in the section that follows. The silence itself is doing two jobs at once — declaring what the coming teaching is not (a product of reasoning) and staging what has to happen before it can be given (empowerment received while wordless) — which is also why, on Huiyuan's account, the treatise can move directly from this single terse sentence into the far longer section of empowerment without any further transition.
The Section of Empowerment (I): Why So Many Buddhas, and the Twenty Clauses
經曰：爾時金剛藏菩薩入是菩薩大乘光明三昧，即時十方過十億佛土微塵數等諸佛世界，有十億佛土微塵數諸佛皆現其身，同名金剛藏。是諸佛如是讚言：善哉善哉！金剛藏！乃能入是菩薩大乘光明三昧。復次善男子！如是十方十億佛土微塵數等諸佛皆同一號，加汝威神，此是盧舍那佛本願力故加。
論曰：何故多佛加？顯法及法師，增長恭敬心故。何故同號金剛藏？加本願力故。何故如來作如是願？顯示多佛故。此三昧是法體，本行菩薩時皆名金剛藏，同說此法；今成正覺亦名金剛藏，故不異名加。又是菩薩聞諸如來同己名已增踊悅故。何故不言過無量世界？方便顯多佛故。何故定言十億佛土？為說十地故，此經如是多說十數。彼佛先作是願，今復自加，後餘佛加，故言盧舍那佛本願力故加。何故加？為說此法故加。復云何加？
經曰：又一切菩薩不可思議諸佛法明說，令入智慧地故、攝一切善根故、善分別選擇一切佛法故、廣知諸法故、善決定說諸法故、無分別智清淨不雜故、一切魔法不能染故、出世間法善根清淨故、得不可思議智境界故，乃至得一切智人智境界故，又得菩薩十地始終故、如實說菩薩十地差別方便故、念隨順一切佛法故、觀達分別無漏法故、善擇大智慧光明方便故、令入具足智門故、隨所住處正說無畏辯才明故、得大無礙智地故、憶念不忘菩提心故、教化成就一切眾生界故、得通達分別一切處法故。
論曰：此二十句，依一切菩薩自利利他故加。如是初十句依自利行，後十句依利他行。是中一切菩薩者，謂住信行地。不可思議諸佛法者，是出世間道品。明者，見智得證。說者，於中分別。入者，信樂得證。智慧地者，謂十地智。如本分中說，此是根本入。
如經「又一切菩薩不可思議諸佛法明說，令入智慧地」故。此修多羅中說，依根本入有九種入：一者攝入，聞慧中攝一切善根故，如經「攝一切善根」故。二者思議入，思慧於一切道品中智方便故，如經「善分別選擇一切佛法」故。三者法相入，彼彼義中無量種種知故，如經「廣知諸法」故。四者教化入，隨所思義名字具足善說法故，如經「善決定說諸法」故。五者證入，於一切法平等智見道時中善清淨故，如經「無分別智清淨不雜」故。菩薩教化眾生即是自成佛法，是故利他亦名自利。六者不放逸入，於修道時中遠離一切煩惱障故，如經「一切魔法不能染」故。七者地地轉入，出世間道品無貪等善根淨故，如經「出世間法善根清淨」故。復有善根能為出世間道品因故。八者菩薩盡入，於第十地中入一切如來祕密智故，如經「得不可思議智境界」故。九者佛盡入，於一切智入智故，如經「乃至得一切智人智境界」故。
是諸入為校量智義差別次第轉勝，非根本入。一切所說十句中皆有六種差別相門。此言說解釋應知除事，事者謂陰界入等。六種相者，謂總相、別相、同相、異相、成相、壞相。總者是根本入，別者餘九入。別依止本，滿彼本故。同相者，入故。異相者，增相故。成相者，略說故。壞相者，廣說故。如世界成壞。餘一切十句中隨義類知。第二十句，所謂得菩薩十地始終故。此根本始終，是中始者，信欲親近等。終者，念持諸地。復有阿含及證，如是次第依初相，應知依根本始終。
有十種始終：一者攝始終，思慧智隨所聞義受持說故，如經「如實說菩薩十地差別方便」故。二者欲始終，令證一切佛法故，如經「念隨順一切佛法」故。三者行始終，觀分時中無漏道品分別修相覺故，如經「觀達分別無漏法」故。四者證始終，見道時中法無我智方便故，如經「善擇大智慧光明方便」故。是中善擇者，擇中最勝。最勝者，法無我智故。大智慧者，過小乘故。光明者，對治無明故。此事中彼時中皆善知故。五者修道始終，出世間智智力得入法義故，如經「令入具足智門」故。此處菩薩於菩提有五種障：一者不能破諸邪論障，已說正義，他言能壞，復眷屬離散。二者不能答難障，於他問中茫然無對，設有言說人不信受。三者樂著小乘障，自不能得大菩提，復捨利益眾生。四者化眾生懈怠障，於中捨利他行，不助他善，復自善根不增長故。五者無方便智障，不能善化眾生，復自菩提行不滿足故。對治是障有五始終：一者能破邪論障始終，隨彼所著顯己正義，對治邪執無畏辯才性不闇故，如經「隨所住處正說無畏辯才明」故。二者能善答難始終，證大無礙智地故，如經「得大無礙智地」故。三者樂著小乘對治始終，大菩提願大菩提念不忘失故，如經「憶念不忘菩提心」故。四者化眾生懈怠對治始終，利益眾生無疲倦故，如經「教化成就一切眾生界」故。五者無方便智對治始終，於五明處通達分別故，如經「通達分別一切處法」故。已說何故加，復云何加？謂口、意、身加。云何口加？
Sūtra: At that time, once Vajragarbha Bodhisattva had entered this bodhisattva samādhi of the Light of the Great Vehicle, at that very moment, in the ten directions, beyond world-systems as numerous as the fine motes of dust in ten koṭis of buddha-lands, buddhas as numerous as the fine motes of dust in ten koṭis of buddha-lands all manifested their bodies — all bearing the same name, Vajragarbha. These buddhas praised him thus: "Excellent, excellent, Vajragarbha! You are able to enter this bodhisattva samādhi of the Light of the Great Vehicle. Furthermore, good son, we — buddhas as numerous as the fine motes of dust in ten koṭis of buddha-lands in the ten directions, all bearing this same name — now empower you with our majestic spiritual power; it is through the power of Vairocana Buddha's original vow that we empower you."
Commentary: Why do so many buddhas empower him? So as to increase reverence toward both the Dharma and its teacher. Why do they all bear the identical name Vajragarbha? Because this is the empowering of Vairocana's original vow. Why did the Tathāgata make such a vow? To make manifest that there are many buddhas who share this same realization. This samādhi is the very substance of the Dharma to be taught: when Vairocana himself, in the past, practiced as a bodhisattva, he too was called Vajragarbha and taught this same Dharma; now that he has attained perfect enlightenment, he is still called Vajragarbha — and so it is by no different name that he now empowers this bodhisattva. Moreover, on hearing that all these tathāgatas share his own name, the bodhisattva's joy increases all the more. Why does the text not say "beyond immeasurable world-systems"? To make manifest the many buddhas through a skillful means of expression. Why does it specifically say "ten koṭis of buddha-lands"? Because the Dharma to be taught is the ten grounds, and this sūtra repeatedly speaks in terms of the number ten for this very reason. That buddha made this vow long ago; now he empowers Vajragarbha himself, and afterward the other buddhas empower him as well — and this is why it says, "through the power of Vairocana Buddha's original vow, they empower him." Why does he receive empowerment at all? So that this Dharma may be taught, he is empowered. And in just what way is he empowered?
Sūtra: "Furthermore, we empower you so that you may set forth, with clarity, the inconceivable Dharma of all buddhas for every bodhisattva — so as to bring them to enter the ground of wisdom; so as to gather in every root of goodness; so as to skillfully discern and select every buddha-dharma; so as to know all dharmas broadly; so as to skillfully and decisively expound all dharmas; so as to make non-discriminating wisdom pure and unmixed; so as to keep every demonic dharma from defiling it; so as to purify the roots of goodness belonging to the supramundane dharma; so as to attain the domain of inconceivable wisdom, up to attaining the domain of the wisdom of the one who knows all — and further, so as to attain the beginning and end of the bodhisattva's ten grounds; so as to expound, truly as it is, the skillful means that distinguish the bodhisattva's ten grounds; so as to hold in mind, in accordance with the truth, every buddha-dharma; so as to observe, penetrate, and discern the undefiled dharmas; so as to skillfully select the light of great wisdom and its skillful means; so as to cause beings to enter the gate of perfect wisdom; so as to speak rightly, wherever one dwells, with fearless and radiant eloquence; so as to attain the ground of great, unobstructed wisdom; so as to hold the thought of enlightenment in mind without forgetting it; so as to teach and transform every realm of sentient beings to completion; and so as to attain penetrating discernment of the dharma of every place."
Commentary: These twenty clauses are for the sake of every bodhisattva's self-benefit and benefit of others, and it is for this that he is empowered. Thus the first ten clauses depend on the practice of self-benefit, and the latter ten depend on the practice of benefiting others. Here, "every bodhisattva" refers to one abiding on the ground of practice through faith. "The inconceivable Dharma of all buddhas" is the factors of the supramundane path. "Clarity" is seeing, knowing, and attaining realization. "Setting forth" is discriminating within it. "Entering" is attaining realization through faith and delight. "The ground of wisdom" refers to the wisdom of the ten grounds. As is said in the section of the outline, this is the fundamental entering.
This is as the sūtra says: "so as to set forth, with clarity, the inconceivable Dharma of all buddhas for every bodhisattva, so as to bring them to enter the ground of wisdom." This sūtra teaches that, based on this fundamental entering, there are nine kinds of entering. First, the entering of gathering-in: within the wisdom born of hearing, one gathers in every root of goodness — as the sūtra says, "so as to gather in every root of goodness." Second, the entering of reflection: within the wisdom born of reflection, one has skillful means of wisdom regarding every factor of the path — as the sūtra says, "so as to skillfully discern and select every buddha-dharma." Third, the entering of the marks of dharmas: within each and every particular meaning, one knows its immeasurable varieties — as the sūtra says, "so as to know all dharmas broadly." Fourth, the entering of teaching and transforming: in accordance with whatever meaning has been reflected upon, one is fully equipped with its names and terms and is able to expound the Dharma well — as the sūtra says, "so as to skillfully and decisively expound all dharmas." Fifth, the entering of realization: at the time of the path of seeing, one is purified with respect to the wisdom that sees all dharmas as equal — as the sūtra says, "so as to make non-discriminating wisdom pure and unmixed." When a bodhisattva teaches and transforms sentient beings, this itself is the accomplishing of the buddha-dharma within himself — and this is why benefiting others is also called self-benefit. Sixth, the entering of non-negligence: at the time of cultivating the path, one is far removed from every hindrance of affliction — as the sūtra says, "so as to keep every demonic dharma from defiling it." Seventh, the entering of turning from ground to ground: the roots of goodness of the supramundane path, being free of greed and the rest, are purified — as the sūtra says, "so as to purify the roots of goodness belonging to the supramundane dharma." There is, further, a root of goodness that is able to serve as the cause of the supramundane path's factors. Eighth, the entering of a bodhisattva's exhaustive attainment: in the tenth ground, one enters the secret wisdom of every tathāgata — as the sūtra says, "so as to attain the domain of inconceivable wisdom." Ninth, the entering of a buddha's exhaustive attainment: one enters the wisdom of omniscience itself — as the sūtra says, "up to attaining the domain of the wisdom of the one who knows all."
These nine enterings are set out in order to compare and measure the distinctions in the meaning of wisdom, each progressively more excellent than the last — they are not the fundamental entering itself. In every set of ten clauses taught throughout this treatise, there are six kinds of distinguishing aspects to be found. In explaining these terms, it should be understood that concrete instances are set aside — "instances" meaning things like the aggregates, elements, and sense-bases. The six aspects are: the universal aspect, the particular aspect, the aspect of sameness, the aspect of difference, the aspect of formation, and the aspect of disintegration. The universal aspect is the fundamental entering; the particular aspect is the remaining nine enterings. The particular depends upon the universal, since it is what fulfills the universal. The aspect of sameness is what all nine share in being an "entering." The aspect of difference is the aspect of each adding something further. The aspect of formation is what is spoken of concisely. The aspect of disintegration is what is spoken of at length — just as with a world-system's formation and disintegration. In every other set of ten clauses elsewhere in this treatise, the same pattern should be understood according to its own meaning. As for the twentieth clause — namely, "so as to attain the beginning and end of the bodhisattva's ten grounds" — this is the fundamental beginning-and-end. Here, the "beginning" is faith, aspiration, drawing near, and so forth; the "end" is holding all the grounds in mind. There is, further, a distinction between scriptural transmission and realization; in this same order, based on this same initial aspect, one should understand there to be a fundamental beginning-and-end structure to what follows.
There are ten kinds of beginning-and-end. First, the beginning-and-end of gathering-in: through the wisdom born of reflection, one upholds and expounds whatever meaning one has heard — as the sūtra says, "so as to expound, truly as it is, the skillful means that distinguish the bodhisattva's ten grounds." Second, the beginning-and-end of aspiration: so as to bring about the realization of every buddha-dharma — as the sūtra says, "so as to hold in mind, in accordance with the truth, every buddha-dharma." Third, the beginning-and-end of practice: at the time of contemplative analysis, one discerns and is aware of the marks of cultivation among the undefiled factors of the path — as the sūtra says, "so as to observe, penetrate, and discern the undefiled dharmas." Fourth, the beginning-and-end of realization: at the time of the path of seeing, one attains the skillful means of the wisdom of the selflessness of dharmas — as the sūtra says, "so as to skillfully select the light of great wisdom and its skillful means." Here, "skillfully select" means the most excellent among all selecting. "Most excellent" means the wisdom of the selflessness of dharmas. "Great wisdom" means that which surpasses the lesser vehicle. "Light" means that which counteracts ignorance. In this matter, at that time, all of this is known well. Fifth, the beginning-and-end of cultivating the path: through the power of supramundane wisdom, one is able to enter the meaning of the Dharma — as the sūtra says, "so as to cause beings to enter the gate of perfect wisdom." At this point, a bodhisattva faces five kinds of hindrance with regard to enlightenment. First, the hindrance of being unable to refute false doctrines: having already stated the correct meaning, others' words are nonetheless able to undermine it, and moreover his own followers scatter and disperse. Second, the hindrance of being unable to answer objections: faced with another's questions, one is at a loss with no reply, and even if some reply is given, people do not believe or accept it. Third, the hindrance of delighting in attachment to the lesser vehicle: one is then unable to attain the great enlightenment oneself, and moreover abandons the benefiting of sentient beings. Fourth, the hindrance of indolence in teaching and transforming sentient beings: in this, one abandons the practice of benefiting others, does not assist others' goodness, and moreover one's own roots of goodness fail to increase. Fifth, the hindrance of lacking the wisdom of skillful means: one is unable to skillfully transform sentient beings, and moreover one's own practice toward enlightenment remains unfulfilled. To counteract these hindrances, there are five further kinds of beginning-and-end. First, the beginning-and-end of being able to refute false doctrines: in accordance with whatever others are attached to, one makes manifest one's own correct meaning, counteracting false attachments with an eloquence whose fearless nature is never obscured — as the sūtra says, "so as to speak rightly, wherever one dwells, with fearless and radiant eloquence." Second, the beginning-and-end of being able to answer objections well: one realizes the ground of great, unobstructed wisdom — as the sūtra says, "so as to attain the ground of great, unobstructed wisdom." Third, the beginning-and-end of counteracting delight in attachment to the lesser vehicle: the great vow for enlightenment and the great thought of enlightenment are never forgotten — as the sūtra says, "so as to hold the thought of enlightenment in mind without forgetting it." Fourth, the beginning-and-end of counteracting indolence in teaching and transforming sentient beings: one benefits sentient beings without ever tiring — as the sūtra says, "so as to teach and transform every realm of sentient beings to completion." Fifth, the beginning-and-end of counteracting the lack of the wisdom of skillful means: one penetrates and discerns the five sciences — as the sūtra says, "so as to attain penetrating discernment of the dharma of every place." This concludes the explanation of why he is empowered; next, in just what way is he empowered? Namely, through empowerment of speech, of mind, and of body. What is the empowerment of speech?
Huiyuan reads the twenty clauses' own internal grammar as more load-bearing than it looks: every one of the twenty is a "so as to" clause of purpose, and the treatise's commentary is doing nothing more exotic than cashing out what each purpose-clause actually names. For the first ten, that turns out to be a single "fundamental entering" (信樂得證 — attaining realization through faith and delight, into 智慧地, "the ground of wisdom") that then gets analyzed nine further ways — by hearing, reflection, the particulars of dharmas, teaching others, realization itself, non-negligence, ground-to-ground advancement, a bodhisattva's exhaustive attainment, and a buddha's. Huiyuan's own gloss on why this analysis stops at nine and not some other number is procedural rather than doctrinal: 是諸入為校量智義差別次第轉勝，非根本入 — "these enterings are set out only in order to compare and measure distinctions in the meaning of wisdom, each more excellent than the last; they are not the fundamental entering" — meaning the ninefold list is a ladder for comparing degrees of the same wisdom, not nine different destinations. He extends the same total/particular logic explicitly to the treatise's recurring "six aspects" (六相: universal, particular, sameness, difference, formation, disintegration) — a framework that will resurface across the whole treatise wherever a single total division is broken into several particular ones, and that later Huayan exegesis (most famously Fazang's) inherits and develops considerably further from exactly this passage.
On the second ten clauses, Huiyuan is careful to keep the structural parallel with the first ten exact even where the content diverges: just as the first ten clauses unpack one "fundamental entering" into nine further enterings, the last ten unpack one "fundamental beginning-and-end" (根本始終 — beginning in faith and aspiration, ending in holding all ten grounds in mind) into ten further beginning-and-ends, the second five of which are explicitly paired as antidotes to five named obstacles a bodhisattva faces on the way to enlightenment: being unable to refute false doctrines, being unable to answer objections, clinging to the lesser vehicle, growing indolent in teaching others, and lacking skillful means. Reading the five obstacles and their five antidotes side by side against the clauses they cite makes visible something the bare sūtra text leaves implicit — that the ten "other-benefit" clauses are not simply a second list running parallel to the first ten, but a diagnosis of exactly what could go wrong for a bodhisattva attempting to teach this Dharma, paired one-for-one with what each specific empowerment is meant to guard against.
Part 1 Complete
This closes Part 1: Vasubandhu's two opening homage verses and the eightfold outline of the First Ground, the sūtra's own account of the assembly and Vajragarbha's naming, his entry into the samādhi of the Light of the Great Vehicle, and the first half of the section of empowerment — why buddhas as numerous as motes of dust all bear his name, and the twenty clauses of self-benefit and benefit of others that explain why he must be empowered at all. Part 2 turns to the empowerment's remaining three modes — speech, mind, and body — before Vajragarbha rises from samādhi and gives the outline of the ten grounds in brief.
Continue to Part 2 — Empowerment of Speech, Mind, and Body →