Abiding: Faith, Practice, and Dedication
The final third of the section of exposition analyzes what actually sustains a bodhisattva's joy over time — thirty clauses across faith, diligent practice, and dedication toward omniscience, closing with each of the six perfections named against its own characteristic corruption: flattery undermining giving, concealment undermining morality, disturbing others undermining patience, and so through diligence, concentration, and wisdom.
The Accomplishment of Faith, and of Practice
經曰：諸佛子！是菩薩以大悲為首，深大心堅固轉，復勤修一切善根成就故。
論曰：深大心堅固者，煩惱小乘不能壞此觀故。轉復勤修一切善根成就者，諸所說善根此地攝受故。云何勤修？於中有三種成就：一、信心成就；二、修行成就；三、迴向成就。有三十句示現，初十句說信心成就。
經曰：所謂信心增上故、多恭敬故、信清淨故、多以信分別故、起悲愍心故、成就大慈故、心無疲懈故、以慚愧莊嚴故、成就忍辱安樂故、敬順諸佛教法信重尊貴故。
論曰：信心增上者，隨所有事，於中信增上成就。此信增上有九種：一者敬信增上，尊敬三寶，如經「多恭敬」故。二者淨信增上，自證真淨智，如經「信清淨」故。三者分別信增上，令他證淨智，如經「多以信分別」故。四者悲信增上，五者慈信增上，教化眾生，如經「起悲愍心」故，成就大慈故。悲者除苦相，決定救濟故；慈者與樂相，永與無量樂故。起者，轉復現前故。六者不疲惓信增上，教化無量眾生，久處世間能利益故，如經「心無疲懈」故。七者慚愧信增上，不著世間故，於慳等波羅蜜障法深慚愧故，如經「以慚愧莊嚴」故。八者安樂信增上，於同法者不惱亂故，如經「成就忍辱安樂」故。九者敬法信增上，增益敬信殊勝心故，如經「敬順諸佛教法，信重尊貴」故。後三句示修何等行？波羅蜜行故。誰為等侶？同事安樂故。入何法中？謂諸佛教法故。如是信心成就。云何修行成就？
經曰：日夜修集善根無厭足故、親近善知識故、常愛樂法故、求多聞無厭故、如所聞法正觀故、心不貪著故、不著利養名聞恭敬故、不求一切資生之物故、常生如寶心無厭足故。
論曰：此十句說修行成就。云何修行成就？集諸善根無休息故，如經「日夜修集善根無厭足故」。此集有八種：一者親近集，不忘諸法，如經「親近善知識故」。二者樂法集，於問答中論義解釋心喜心樂故，如經「常愛樂法故」。三者多聞集，如經「求多聞無厭故」。四者正觀集，如經「如所聞法正觀故」。五者不著集，如經「心不貪著故」。向說多聞集等三句，是聞思修慧如是次第。不著者，於三昧中無愛著故。六者不貪集、七者不求集，於已得利養不貪、未得利養不求，障菩薩戒、退菩薩戒，如經「不著利養名聞恭敬故、不求一切資生之物故」。八者如寶心集，出世間心念念現前，如經「常生如寶心無厭足故」。如是修行成就。云何迴向成就？
Sūtra: Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva takes great compassion as his very head, his mind deep, great, and unshakably firm, and further diligently cultivates every root of goodness to accomplishment.
Commentary: "His mind deep, great, and unshakably firm" means that neither affliction nor the lesser vehicle is able to destroy this contemplation. "Further diligently cultivates every root of goodness to accomplishment" means that every root of goodness so far taught is gathered in by this ground. What is meant by diligent cultivation? Within this, there are three kinds of accomplishment: the accomplishment of faith; the accomplishment of practice; and the accomplishment of dedication. Thirty clauses make this manifest; the first ten clauses explain the accomplishment of faith.
Sūtra: Namely: because faith is increased; because reverence abounds; because faith is purified; because discernment abounds through faith; because compassion arises; because great loving-kindness is accomplished; because the mind is never weary; because he is adorned with a sense of shame and conscience; because he accomplishes forbearance and ease; and because he reveres and accords with the teaching of every buddha, holding it in honored, resolute faith.
Commentary: "Faith is increased" means that, whatever the matter at hand, one's faith within it is increased to accomplishment. This increase of faith is of nine kinds. First, the increase of reverent faith: revering the Three Jewels — as the sūtra says, "reverence abounds." Second, the increase of pure faith: realizing for oneself true, pure wisdom — as the sūtra says, "faith is purified." Third, the increase of discerning faith: causing others to realize pure wisdom — as the sūtra says, "discernment abounds through faith." Fourth, the increase of compassionate faith, and fifth, the increase of loving faith: teaching and transforming sentient beings — as the sūtra says, "compassion arises," and "great loving-kindness is accomplished." Compassion has the mark of removing suffering, resolutely saving beings; loving-kindness has the mark of bestowing happiness, forever bestowing boundless happiness. "Arises" means it turns and becomes ever more present. Sixth, the increase of untiring faith: teaching and transforming boundless sentient beings, able to benefit them by dwelling long in the world — as the sūtra says, "the mind is never weary." Seventh, the increase of faith through shame and conscience: not attached to the world, deeply ashamed before the dharmas that hinder the perfections, such as stinginess and the rest — as the sūtra says, "adorned with a sense of shame and conscience." Eighth, the increase of faith through ease: not disturbing those who share the same Dharma — as the sūtra says, "accomplishes forbearance and ease." Ninth, the increase of faith through reverence for the Dharma: increasing a mind of supreme reverence and faith — as the sūtra says, "reveres and accords with the teaching of every buddha, holding it in honored, resolute faith." What practice do the final three clauses show him cultivating? The practice of the perfections. Who are his companions in this? Those who share the same task, in ease. Into what Dharma does he enter? The teaching of every buddha. Such is the accomplishment of faith. What is the accomplishment of practice?
Sūtra: Because, day and night, he cultivates and gathers roots of goodness without ever being satisfied; because he draws near to good spiritual friends; because he constantly loves and delights in the Dharma; because he seeks great learning without ever being satisfied; because he rightly contemplates whatever Dharma he has heard; because his mind is free of greed and attachment; because he is not attached to material gain, renown, or reverence; because he does not seek after any object needed merely to sustain life; and because he constantly gives rise to a mind that treasures the Dharma, never satisfied.
Commentary: These nine clauses explain the accomplishment of practice. What is the accomplishment of practice? Gathering every root of goodness without ever resting — as the sūtra says, "day and night, he cultivates and gathers roots of goodness without ever being satisfied." This gathering is of eight kinds. First, the gathering of drawing near: never forgetting any dharma — as the sūtra says, "he draws near to good spiritual friends." Second, the gathering of delight in the Dharma: within questioning and answering, discussing and expounding doctrine, his mind delights and rejoices — as the sūtra says, "he constantly loves and delights in the Dharma." Third, the gathering of great learning — as the sūtra says, "he seeks great learning without ever being satisfied." Fourth, the gathering of right contemplation — as the sūtra says, "he rightly contemplates whatever Dharma he has heard." Fifth, the gathering of non-attachment — as the sūtra says, "his mind is free of greed and attachment." The three clauses just mentioned, from "great learning" onward, correspond in this same order to the wisdoms born of hearing, reflection, and cultivation. "Non-attachment" means being free of craving-attachment within samādhi. Sixth, the gathering of non-greed, and seventh, the gathering of non-seeking: not being greedy for material gain already received, and not seeking material gain not yet received — since these would hinder and cause one to retreat from the bodhisattva precepts — as the sūtra says, "he is not attached to material gain, renown, or reverence," and "he does not seek after any object needed merely to sustain life." Eighth, the gathering of a mind that treasures the Dharma: the supramundane mind present in thought after thought — as the sūtra says, "he constantly gives rise to a mind that treasures the Dharma, never satisfied." Such is the accomplishment of practice. What is the accomplishment of dedication?
Huiyuan groups the nine kinds of increased faith into a small internal sequence rather than nine unrelated items: reverence and purity come first as faith directed at what is already true (the Three Jewels, one's own realization); discernment comes third as that same purity now extended outward, causing others to realize it too; compassion and loving-kindness follow as the motive that turns realization into teaching; and the final four — tirelessness, shame and conscience, ease with one's companions, and reverence for the teaching itself — describe the temperament capable of sustaining all of this without burning out or drifting. He closes by tying the final three clauses directly back to the perfections named later in the same page: 後三句示修何等行？波羅蜜行故 — "what practice do the final three clauses show him cultivating? The practice of the perfections" — making explicit that faith itself, on this reading, is not a separate mental state sitting alongside the six perfections but the psychological condition that makes practicing them at all sustainable over time.
On the eight gatherings that constitute the accomplishment of practice, Huiyuan flags a precise internal structure the bare list leaves implicit: the middle three — great learning, right contemplation, and non-attachment — correspond, in exact order, to the three classical wisdoms 是聞思修慧如是次第 — "the wisdoms born of hearing, reflection, and cultivation, in this same order" — with the first two gatherings (drawing near to good friends, delighting in the Dharma) serving as the preconditions that make hearing possible at all, and the final three (non-greed, non-seeking, and the mind that treasures the Dharma) marking what happens once that threefold wisdom has matured into something no longer dependent on external gain or recognition. The eighth and final gathering, "a mind that treasures the Dharma," Huiyuan glosses specifically as 出世間心念念現前 — "the supramundane mind present in thought after thought" — the point at which practice has become continuous rather than an activity undertaken and set aside.
The Accomplishment of Dedication: The Six Perfections, Each Against Its Own Defilement
經曰：求一切智地故、求諸佛力無畏不共法故、求諸波羅蜜無著法故、離諸諂曲故、如說能行故、常護實語故、不污諸佛家故、不捨菩薩戒故、不動如大山王生薩婆若心故、不捨一切世間事成就出世間道故。集助菩提分法無厭足故、常求上上勝道故。諸佛子！菩薩摩訶薩成就如是淨治地法，名為安住菩薩歡喜地。
論曰：求一切智地等說何等事？示現迴向成就故。求一切智地是總，求如來力等於一切智地是別。一者觀求一切智地，二者無障求一切智地，三者離求一切智地故，四者如說能行求一切智地，五者護求一切智地，六者不污求一切智地，七者不捨求一切智地，八者不動求一切智地，九者不捨成就求一切智地，十者集求一切智地，十一者常求求一切智地。於中求何等事？求一切智地故。以何觀求？觀諸佛力無畏不共法故。云何求？求諸波羅蜜無著法故。此三求者是家，依家無障求故。云何求？求諸波羅蜜無著法故。此無障求、差別異求，於中檀波羅蜜有二種垢：一者諂曲，見乞求者詐設方便，無心許與；二者不隨先言，許而不與。對治是垢，如經「離諸諂曲故、如說能行故」。尸波羅蜜有一種垢，不護實語，違本所受，犯已覆藏。對治是垢，如經「常護實語故」。羼提波羅蜜有一種垢污如來家。云何菩薩污如來家？惱亂他業故。利益他業即是如來家，是故菩薩生此家者，惱亂他業非善事故。對治是垢，如經「不污諸佛家故」。毘梨耶波羅蜜有一種垢，菩薩戒無量劫數長遠難持難行生退轉心。對治是垢，如經「不捨菩薩戒故」。禪波羅蜜有二種垢：一者亂心；二不能調伏憶想分別。對治是垢，如經「不動如大山王生薩婆若心故」。般若波羅蜜有三種垢：一、無善巧方便，世間涅槃一向不現現故；二、不修集出出世間道故；三、於勝上證法中願欲心薄故。如是次第對治是垢，如經「不捨一切世間事，成就出世間道故，集助菩提分法無厭足故，常求上上勝道故」。如是迴向成就，是名勤行具足成就。是勤行有四種：一、信；二、欲；三、精進；四、方便。初十句示現信增上成就，是信增上即攝受欲。第二十句，日夜修集善根無厭，示現精進。第三十句，求一切智地，示現方便故。是名此地說中安住。何以故？如經「諸佛子！菩薩摩訶薩成就如是淨治地法，名為安住菩薩歡喜地」故。如是說分訖。
Sūtra: Because he seeks the ground of omniscience; because he seeks the buddhas' powers, fearlessnesses, and unique dharmas; because he seeks the perfections' dharma of non-attachment; because he is free of flattery and deceit; because he acts in accordance with what he says; because he constantly guards truthful speech; because he does not defile the family of any buddha; because he does not abandon the bodhisattva precepts; because, unmoved as the king of great mountains, he gives rise to the mind of omniscience; and because, without abandoning any worldly task, he accomplishes the supramundane path. Because he gathers the dharmas that assist enlightenment without ever being satisfied; and because he constantly seeks the path that is ever more supreme. Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who accomplishes such purifying and cultivating dharmas of the ground is said to abide in the bodhisattva's Ground of Joy.
Commentary: What matter does "seeks the ground of omniscience" and the rest explain? It makes manifest the accomplishment of dedication. "Seeks the ground of omniscience" is the universal aspect; "seeks the tathāgatas' power" and the rest, all directed toward the ground of omniscience, are the particular aspects. First, seeking the ground of omniscience through contemplation; second, seeking the ground of omniscience unobstructed; third, seeking the ground of omniscience freed from flattery; fourth, seeking the ground of omniscience by acting as one speaks; fifth, seeking the ground of omniscience through guarding; sixth, seeking the ground of omniscience without defiling; seventh, seeking the ground of omniscience without abandoning; eighth, seeking the ground of omniscience unmoved; ninth, seeking the ground of omniscience without abandoning what has been accomplished; tenth, seeking the ground of omniscience through gathering; and eleventh, seeking the ground of omniscience constantly. Here, what matter does he seek? He seeks the ground of omniscience. Through what contemplation does he seek it? Contemplating the buddhas' powers, fearlessnesses, and unique dharmas. In what manner does he seek it? Seeking the perfections' dharma of non-attachment. These three kinds of seeking constitute the family; it is in dependence on this family that he seeks unobstructed. In what manner does he seek? Seeking the perfections' dharma of non-attachment. This unobstructed seeking is distinguished into further kinds of seeking. Here, the perfection of giving has two kinds of defilement: first, flattery and deceit — seeing one who comes to beg and, through deceptive skillful means, having no genuine intention to give; second, not following through on one's earlier word — promising, and then not giving. The antidote to this defilement is as the sūtra says, "he is free of flattery and deceit," and "he acts in accordance with what he says." The perfection of morality has one kind of defilement: not guarding truthful speech, going against what one originally undertook, and, having transgressed, concealing it. The antidote to this defilement is as the sūtra says, "he constantly guards truthful speech." The perfection of patience has one kind of defilement that defiles the family of the Tathāgata. In what way does a bodhisattva defile the family of the Tathāgata? Through the karmic activity of disturbing others. The karmic activity of benefiting others is itself the family of the Tathāgata — and so, for a bodhisattva born into this family, disturbing others through karmic activity is not a wholesome deed. The antidote to this defilement is as the sūtra says, "he does not defile the family of any buddha." The perfection of diligence has one kind of defilement: because the bodhisattva precepts must be upheld and practiced across immeasurable eons, long and difficult, a mind of retreat may arise. The antidote to this defilement is as the sūtra says, "he does not abandon the bodhisattva precepts." The perfection of meditative concentration has two kinds of defilement: a scattered mind, and being unable to tame discriminating thought. The antidote to this defilement is as the sūtra says, "unmoved as the king of great mountains, he gives rise to the mind of omniscience." The perfection of wisdom has three kinds of defilement: first, lacking skillful means, so that the world and nirvāṇa remain fixedly unmanifest to one another; second, not cultivating and gathering the path that transcends even the supramundane; third, a weak aspiration toward the supreme dharma of realization. In this same sequence, these defilements are counteracted, as the sūtra says, "without abandoning any worldly task, he accomplishes the supramundane path; he gathers the dharmas that assist enlightenment without ever being satisfied; and he constantly seeks the path that is ever more supreme." Such is the accomplishment of dedication — this is called the complete accomplishment of diligent practice. This diligent practice is of four kinds: faith; aspiration; diligence; and skillful means. The first set of ten clauses makes manifest the accomplishment of increased faith, and this increase of faith already encompasses aspiration. The second set of ten clauses, cultivating and gathering roots of goodness day and night without satiety, makes manifest diligence. The third set of ten clauses, seeking the ground of omniscience, makes manifest skillful means. This is what is called "abiding" within this ground's teaching. Why is this? As the sūtra says, "Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who accomplishes such purifying and cultivating dharmas of the ground is said to abide in the bodhisattva's Ground of Joy." This concludes the section of exposition.
Huiyuan reads the closing portion of this passage as a deliberately structured pass through all six perfections, each named against its own specific and non-interchangeable defilement rather than a generic warning against moral failure. Giving alone gets two: 諂曲, "flattery and deceit" (offering assistance while secretly intending not to follow through) and failing to honor an earlier promise once made — two distinct ways a gift can be corrupted even when something is technically handed over. Morality gets one — concealing a transgression rather than the transgression itself, since 不護實語，違本所受，犯已覆藏 targets the cover-up specifically, not the original lapse. Patience gets a single, precisely named defilement — 汙如來家, "defiling the family of the Tathāgata" — which Huiyuan explains through an identity rather than a mere prohibition: 利益他業即是如來家 — "the karmic activity of benefiting others is itself the family of the Tathāgata" — so that disturbing others is not simply a violation of some external rule but a direct betrayal of what membership in that family actually consists of. Diligence gets one defilement keyed specifically to duration — a mind of retreat born from contemplating the sheer length of the bodhisattva path, "immeasurable eons, long and difficult." Concentration gets two (a scattered mind, and being unable to tame discriminating thought), and wisdom, fittingly the most subtle perfection, gets three: lacking the skillful means to hold worldly engagement and nirvāṇa together at once, neglecting to cultivate the path that surpasses even ordinary transcendence, and a merely weak aspiration toward the highest realization.
The total tally — two, one, one, one, two, three, across giving through wisdom — is not incidental variation but tracks something real about each perfection's own characteristic failure mode: giving fails in more ways because it involves another party's expectation as well as one's own intention; morality and patience and diligence each have one dominant corrupting tendency apiece; and wisdom, operating at the furthest remove from any single concrete act, admits the most ways of subtly falling short. Huiyuan closes the whole thirty-clause passage on abiding by tying its three divisions to a standard fourfold analysis of diligent practice — faith, aspiration, diligence, and skillful means — noting that the treatise collapses aspiration into the discussion of faith rather than giving it a separate block of its own, so that three visible divisions in the text (信心, 修行, 迴向) actually cover all four elements of what "diligent practice" requires. With this, he notes, the section of exposition on the First Ground closes exactly where the treatise's own eightfold outline, all the way back at the very start, said it would.
Part 9 Complete — The Section of Exposition Closes
This closes Part 9, and with it the entire section of exposition on the First Ground: the accomplishment of faith in nine clauses, the accomplishment of practice in eight, and the accomplishment of dedication in eleven — each of the six perfections named against its own specific defilement and its scriptural antidote. Only the section of comparative excellence remains for the First Ground: the ten great vows, the ten inexhaustible clauses that sustain them, and the threefold fruit of comparative excellence that closes out Pramuditā, the Ground of Joy, before the treatise moves on to the Second Ground.
Continue to Part 10 — The Ten Great Vows →