The Seven Exhortations
Having attained Acalā and its own ultimate acquiescence, this bodhisattva abides there through the power of his original vow — quiescent, on the very verge of abandoning all activity for sentient beings and passing into final cessation. One after another, the buddhas of the ten directions appear before him in person and rouse him, each address beginning "furthermore, good son," through seven successive exhortations: that the qualities of buddhahood he has not yet attained still call for exertion; that ordinary sentient beings remain unpeaceful, harmed by affliction; that he should recall his own original vow to benefit them; that the Dharma-nature itself remains constant whether or not a buddha appears in the world; that he should contemplate the buddhas' own immeasurable pure bodies, wisdom, lands, and voices; that what he has newly attained is but a single gateway of illumination among countless more still to come; and that he should contemplate the ten directions' countless lands, beings, and distinctions in the Dharma. Vajragarbha then explains to Vimuktacandra why this intervention is necessary — for without it, this bodhisattva would enter nirvāṇa there and then, abandoning every sentient being — and illustrates it through the simile of a ship that, once it reaches the open ocean, no longer needs the oar, but only the wind.
The Buddhas Appear: What Remains Unattained, the Suffering of Beings, the Vow, and the Dharma-Nature
經曰：佛子！是菩薩得此不動地已，本願力住故，諸佛爾時彼法流水門中與如來智慧。復作是言：善哉善哉！善男子！汝得此究竟忍，順一切諸佛法故。善男子！我等所有十力、四無所畏、十八不共佛法成就，汝今未得，當為成就諸佛法故，勤求精進，亦莫捨此忍門。
論曰：此與如來智慧力，轉彼深行樂足心故、歎得上法故、不得修教授故。若不捨此忍行，不得成就一切佛法故，依彼有力能作故。如經「佛子！是菩薩得此不動地已，本願力住乃至亦莫捨此忍門」故。
經曰：復次善男子！汝雖得是寂滅解脫，此凡夫眾生不善不寂滅，常在種種煩惱集中，為種種異念覺觀所害。汝當愍念如是眾生。
論曰：依彼眾生無大利益事，現起煩惱使，在家出家分中深著煩惱，眾生轉故。如經「善男子！汝雖得是寂滅解脫乃至汝當愍念如是眾生」故。不善者，現起煩惱染故。不寂滅者，不遠離彼使故。常在種種煩惱集中者，於在家分中故。為種種異念覺觀所害者，於出家分中故。
經曰：復次善男子！汝應念本所願，欲大利益眾生，欲得不可思議智慧門。
論曰：依願教化眾生，智行廣能轉故，如經「復次善男子！汝應念本所願乃至欲得不可思議智慧門」故。
經曰：復次善男子！此一切法中法性，有佛無佛法界常住。諸如來不以得此法故說名為佛，聲聞辟支佛亦得此無分別法。
論曰：依不共義，功行疲惓彼垢轉故，如經「復次善男子！此一切法中法性乃至亦得此無分別法」故。
Sūtra: Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva, having attained this Acalā, the Immovable Ground, abides there through the power of his own original vow. At that time the buddhas, within that very gateway of the Dharma's own flowing water, bestow upon him the Tathāgata's own wisdom, and speak to him further, saying: Excellent, excellent, good son! You have attained this ultimate acquiescence, according with the Dharma of every buddha. Good son, the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, and the eighteen unshared buddha-dharmas that we ourselves possess and have accomplished — these you have not yet attained. For the sake of accomplishing every buddha-dharma, diligently seek them and exert yourself, and do not abandon this gateway of acquiescence.
Commentary: This bestowal of the Tathāgata's own power of wisdom is for the sake of turning back the mind that rests content within that profound practice, for the sake of praising his attainment of the supreme Dharma, and because he has not yet cultivated its own instruction. If he does not abandon this practice of acquiescence, he will be unable to accomplish every buddha-dharma; it is in reliance upon that power that he is able to act. As the sūtra says, from "Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva, having attained this Acalā, the Immovable Ground, abides there through the power of his own original vow" all the way to "do not abandon this gateway of acquiescence."
Sūtra: Furthermore, good son! Though you have attained this quiescent liberation, these ordinary, worldly sentient beings are not virtuous, are not quiescent, and constantly dwell within the accumulation of every manner of affliction, harmed by every manner of divergent thought and discursive reflection. You should feel compassion, and be mindful of sentient beings such as these.
Commentary: This is in reliance upon the matter of sentient beings having no great benefit, in that the underlying tendencies of affliction now actively arise, and, whether in the portion of the householder or of the renunciant, they are deeply attached to affliction, and sentient beings are thereby turned about. As the sūtra says, from "Good son! Though you have attained this quiescent liberation" all the way to "you should feel compassion, and be mindful of sentient beings such as these." "Not virtuous" means that the defilement of affliction now actively arises. "Not quiescent" means that they are not far removed from these underlying tendencies. "Constantly dwelling within the accumulation of every manner of affliction" refers to the portion of the householder. "Harmed by every manner of divergent thought and discursive reflection" refers to the portion of the renunciant.
Sūtra: Furthermore, good son! You should recall your own original vow — to wish to bring great benefit to sentient beings, and to wish to attain the inconceivable gateway of wisdom.
Commentary: This is in reliance upon the vow to teach and transform sentient beings, since the practice of wisdom, made vast, is thereby able to turn him onward. As the sūtra says, from "Furthermore, good son! You should recall your own original vow" all the way to "and to wish to attain the inconceivable gateway of wisdom."
Sūtra: Furthermore, good son! Within all dharmas, this very Dharma-nature, this Dharma-realm, remains constant whether or not a buddha appears in the world. It is not on account of attaining this Dharma that the Tathāgatas are spoken of as "buddhas" — for the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha, too, attain this very dharma free of discrimination.
Commentary: This is in reliance upon the meaning of what is unshared, since it turns back the taint of a mind wearied by exertion. As the sūtra says, from "Furthermore, good son! Within all dharmas, this very Dharma-nature" all the way to "the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha, too, attain this very dharma free of discrimination."
Fazang is the source of this passage's traditional name, and he explains why it must take this exact form: 但有此深奧法流之處，必有諸佛作七勸橋，是故無有一人墜墮 — "wherever there is this place of the Dharma's own profound, mysterious flow, there must always be the buddhas building, of these seven exhortations, a bridge — this is why not a single person ever falls." He then divides the seven by function rather than by content: 於中七勸，攝以為二：前六舉多未作，轉其住心；後一明其少作能成，增其去心 — "within this, the seven exhortations are gathered, in effect, into two: the first six raise up how much still remains undone, in order to turn back his mind of abiding, while the last one makes clear that, with little now left to do, he is able to accomplish it, in order to increase his mind of departure."
Those first six he further sorts into three paired exhortations, each pairing a matter of the bodhisattva's own unfinished benefit against a matter of unfinished benefit to others — the first pair being 一明自德未成、後一所化未出, "the first shows that his own virtue is not yet complete, the second that those he is to transform have not yet emerged," matching exactly the first two exhortations translated above: the buddha-qualities not yet attained, then the suffering of ordinary beings not yet relieved. The second pair, 一化願未滿、後一自德未勝, "the first shows that his vow to transform beings is not yet fulfilled, the second that his own virtue is not yet supreme," matches the third and fourth: the vow recalled, and the Dharma-nature not yet what makes a buddha a buddha. On that fourth exhortation's blunt comparison to the two vehicles, Fazang calls it exactly what it sounds like: 謂定性二乘亦住寂捨化，此是抑挫之辭 — "namely, that the two vehicles of fixed lineage, too, abide in quiescence and forsake transformative activity — this is a phrase of restraint and rebuke." The buddhas are not merely instructing here; they are needling him with an unflattering comparison.
The Remaining Exhortations: Immeasurable Qualities, a Single Gateway, and the Ten Directions
經曰：復次善男子！汝觀我等無量淨身、無量智慧、無量佛國土、無量光輪、無量起智、無量淨音，汝今應起如是等事。
論曰：無量淨身等，彼佛法成就有力示現，依利益眾生故。此利益眾生事，以何等身？如經「復次善男子！汝觀我等無量淨身」故。以何等智？世諦智、第一義諦智，如經「無量智慧」故。以何等土？清淨國土，如經「無量佛國土」故。以何等攝伏？如經「無量光輪」故。隨所度眾生行智慧，如經「無量起智」故。隨所言說，如經「無量淨音」故。如來作無量利益眾生，汝今應起如是等事示現。
經曰：復次善男子！汝今適得此一法明，所謂一切法寂滅無分別法明。如是善男子！如來法明無量入、無量作、無量轉。汝為得彼故，應起此法。
論曰：復示諸佛無量勝行，如經「復次善男子！汝今適得此一法明乃至應起此法」故。無量入者，法門差別故。無量作者，作事差別故。無量轉者，依上上不斷差別故。
經曰：復次善男子！汝觀十方無量國土、無量眾生、無量法差別，汝應如實盡通達彼事。如是佛子！諸佛與此菩薩如是等無量無邊起智慧門，以此無量智慧門故，是菩薩能起無量差別業皆悉成就。
論曰：復少作在隨所見無量世界、眾生、法差別，少分觀即能成就轉故，如經「復次善男子！汝觀十方無量國土乃至皆悉成就」故。
Sūtra: Furthermore, good son! Contemplate our own immeasurable pure bodies, our immeasurable wisdom, our immeasurable buddha-lands, our immeasurable wheels of light, our immeasurable arising wisdom, and our immeasurable pure voices — you should now give rise to matters such as these.
Commentary: "Immeasurable pure bodies" and the rest is the manifestation of the power of this accomplished buddha-dharma, in reliance upon benefiting sentient beings. As for this matter of benefiting sentient beings: through what kind of body? — as the sūtra says, "Furthermore, good son! Contemplate our own immeasurable pure bodies." Through what kind of wisdom? — the wisdom of conventional truth and the wisdom of ultimate truth, as the sūtra says, "immeasurable wisdom." Through what kind of land? — a pure land, as the sūtra says, "immeasurable buddha-lands." Through what kind of gathering-in and subduing? — as the sūtra says, "immeasurable wheels of light." According with the wisdom by which he leads sentient beings across — as the sūtra says, "immeasurable arising wisdom." According with what is spoken — as the sūtra says, "immeasurable pure voices." The Tathāgata's own immeasurable benefiting of sentient beings — you should now give rise to and manifest matters such as these.
Sūtra: Furthermore, good son! You have now only just attained this single gateway of illumination — namely, the gateway of illumination that is the dharma of the quiescent cessation of all dharmas, free of any discriminating thought. Just so, good son: the Tathāgata's own gateways of illumination in the Dharma have immeasurable modes of entry, immeasurable modes of activity, and immeasurable modes of transformation. For the sake of attaining these, you should give rise to this Dharma.
Commentary: This, further, points to the buddhas' own immeasurable surpassing practice — as the sūtra says, from "Furthermore, good son! You have now only just attained this single gateway of illumination" all the way to "you should give rise to this Dharma." "Immeasurable modes of entry" refers to the distinctions among the gateways of the Dharma. "Immeasurable modes of activity" refers to the distinctions among what is done. "Immeasurable modes of transformation" is in reliance upon the distinctions of what rises higher and higher without ceasing.
Sūtra: Furthermore, good son! Contemplate the ten directions' immeasurable lands, immeasurable sentient beings, and immeasurable distinctions in the Dharma — you should, just as they truly are, thoroughly penetrate every one of these matters. Just so, son of the Buddha! The buddhas, for this bodhisattva, in this way give rise to immeasurable, boundless gateways of wisdom such as these; and through these immeasurable gateways of wisdom, this bodhisattva is able to give rise to immeasurable, distinct karmic activity, every bit of it brought to accomplishment.
Commentary: This, further, is "little yet to do," in that, according with what he already sees of the immeasurable distinctions among world-systems, sentient beings, and the Dharma, even the smallest fraction of contemplation is able to accomplish this very turning onward. As the sūtra says, from "Furthermore, good son! Contemplate the ten directions' immeasurable lands" all the way to "every bit of it brought to accomplishment."
The third of Fazang's three paired exhortations covers the two translated first in this section: 一明化業未廣、後一明自得法未窮 — "the first shows that his transformative karmic activity is not yet vast, the second that what he has himself attained is not yet exhausted." The buddhas' immeasurable pure bodies, wisdom, lands, and voices name the vastness of activity still ahead of him; the "single gateway of illumination" — one dharma of quiescence among the Tathāgatas' countless gateways of entry, activity, and transformation — names how little of that activity's own basis he has yet exhausted. Read together, the pairing makes an almost mathematical point: he has reached one gate out of an unspecified but vast number, and the buddhas want that ratio, not just the fact of having reached a gate, to register.
The seventh exhortation stands apart from all six before it, and Fazang is precise about how: 少作者，望佛果不遙，故云少在 — "'little yet remains to do' means that, measured against the fruit of buddhahood, [what remains] is no longer far off — hence it is said that little now remains." Where the first six worked by enlarging his sense of what is still undone, this last one works by the opposite motion — narrowing the distance that remains, so that what pulls him forward is not shame at falling short but the plain visibility of how near the goal already stands.
Why the Buddhas Must Intervene: Vajragarbha's Ship Simile
經曰：金剛藏菩薩語解脫月菩薩言：佛子！若諸佛不與此菩薩起智門者，是菩薩爾時即入涅槃，棄捨利益一切眾生。以諸佛與此菩薩無量無邊起智門故，於一念中所起智業，比從初發心以來乃至竟第七地，百分不及一，千分、百千分、百千那由他分、億分、百億分、千億分、百千億分、百千億那由他分不及一，乃至無量無邊阿僧祇分亦不及一，乃至非算數譬喻之所能及。所以者何？佛子？先以一身起行起故，今此菩薩地中得菩薩無量身差別故、集無量行力故、無量音聲起故、無量智慧起故、無量生起故、無量清淨國土故、教化無量眾生故、供養恭敬無量諸佛故、隨順覺無量法故、得無量神通力起故、無量眾會差別故，無量身口意業集一切菩薩行力，以不動法故。佛子！譬如乘船欲入大海，未至大海多用功力，若至大海不復用力，但以風力而去。若於大海一日所行，比本功力，至於百歲不能得及。如是佛子！菩薩善集善根資糧，乘大乘船，到菩薩所行大智慧海，於一念間無功用智能入一切智智處，本有功用行若一劫若百千萬劫不能得及。
論曰：是中即入涅槃者，與智慧示現，如經「以諸佛與此菩薩無量無邊起智門故乃至以不動法故」。以諸佛與此菩薩無量無邊起智門者，彼行中攝功德因勝，同作教授說故。乃至算數等，次第解釋應知。數分者，一一為二、二二為四，如是等。喻亦不及一，是事不可喻比故。無量身差別者，一切菩薩身信解如自身故。如是無量音聲起等，亦無量應知。此十句依教化眾生、依集助道行、依障清淨應知。隨身住、隨所說、隨依智、隨所取生、隨何國土得教化眾生，隨集功德助道、集智慧助道、供養恭敬無量諸佛故。隨順覺無量法故、隨神通障正覺障清淨故。此一切處隨順無量身口意業應知。以不動法者，無間不斷集故。佛子譬如乘船乃至百千萬劫不能得及者，船喻彼行速疾，知因勝示現。善集善根資糧者，於七地中修菩薩行故。乘大乘船到菩薩所行大智慧海者，八地智慧海應知。
如是八地得勝行分已說。次說淨佛國土。此淨佛國土有三種自在行：一、器世間自在行；二、眾生世間自在行；三、智正覺自在行。云何器世間自在行？
Sūtra: The bodhisattva Vajragarbha said to the bodhisattva Vimuktacandra: Son of the Buddha! If the buddhas did not bestow upon this bodhisattva a gateway that arouses wisdom, this bodhisattva would then and there enter final nirvāṇa, abandoning and forsaking the benefiting of every sentient being. Because the buddhas bestow upon this bodhisattva immeasurable, boundless gateways that arouse wisdom, the karmic activity of wisdom he gives rise to within a single thought-moment, compared to everything from his first setting forth of the [bodhi-]mind all the way to the very completion of the Seventh Ground, does not amount even to one part in a hundred; it does not amount to one part in a thousand, a hundred thousand, a hundred thousand niyutas, a koṭi, a hundred koṭis, a thousand koṭis, a hundred thousand koṭis, or a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas; nor, indeed, does it amount even to one part in immeasurable, boundless asaṃkhyeyas — nor, indeed, can it be reached by any calculation or simile at all. Why is this so? Son of the Buddha! Formerly, he gave rise to practice through a single body alone; now, within this ground of the bodhisattva, he attains the bodhisattva's own distinctions of immeasurable bodies, gathers the power of immeasurable practice, gives rise to immeasurable voices, gives rise to immeasurable wisdom, gives rise to immeasurable births, attains immeasurable pure lands, teaches and transforms immeasurable sentient beings, makes offerings to and reveres immeasurable buddhas, according with awakening to immeasurable dharmas, attains the arising of immeasurable spiritual power, and attains immeasurable distinctions among assemblies — his immeasurable bodily, verbal, and mental actions gathering in the power of every bodhisattva practice, through the dharma of the unmoving. Son of the Buddha! It is like a person who, boarding a ship, wishes to enter the great ocean: before reaching the great ocean, he must use much exertion and effort, but once he has reached the great ocean, he no longer needs to exert his own effort, but simply goes forward on the power of the wind alone. What he accomplishes in a single day upon the great ocean, compared to his own original exertion and effort, could not be equaled even across a hundred years. Just so, son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who has well gathered the provisions of roots of goodness, boarding the ship of the Great Vehicle, arrives at the great ocean of wisdom in which bodhisattvas practice; within a single thought-moment, through wisdom free of effortful application, he is able to enter the very place of the wisdom of omniscience — something that his own original practice, with effortful application, could not equal even across a single eon, or across hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of eons.
Commentary: Here, "he would then and there enter final nirvāṇa" is manifested in order to show forth the bestowal of wisdom — as the sūtra says, from "because the buddhas bestow upon this bodhisattva immeasurable, boundless gateways that arouse wisdom" all the way to "through the dharma of the unmoving." "The buddhas bestow upon this bodhisattva immeasurable, boundless gateways that arouse wisdom" means that, within that practice, the cause that gathers in merit is supreme, and the buddhas, acting alike, give this very instruction. The calculations that follow, and the rest, should each in turn be understood by their explanation. "Divisions of number" means one and one make two, two and two make four, and so forth. "Nor can it be reached even by any simile" is because this matter cannot be measured by simile or comparison at all. "The distinctions of immeasurable bodies" means that he grants his own confident understanding to the body of every bodhisattva, as though it were his own body. In the same way, "immeasurable voices" and the rest, too, should be understood as immeasurable. These ten phrases should be understood in reliance upon teaching and transforming sentient beings, in reliance upon gathering the practice that assists the path, and in reliance upon the purification of hindrance. According with where his body dwells, according with what he teaches, according with the wisdom he relies upon, according with the births he takes up, according with whatever land in which he teaches and transforms sentient beings — this is in reliance upon gathering the merit that assists the path, and gathering the wisdom that assists the path, and making offerings to and revering immeasurable buddhas. "According with awakening to immeasurable dharmas" and "according with the purification of the hindrance to spiritual power and the hindrance to correct enlightenment" — throughout every one of these, his according with immeasurable bodily, verbal, and mental action should be understood. "Through the dharma of the unmoving" means that this is gathered without gap and without interruption. "Son of the Buddha, it is like boarding a ship" all the way to "could not be equaled even across hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of eons" — the ship is a simile for the swiftness of this practice, making manifest the knowledge of its excellent cause. "Well gathering the provisions of roots of goodness" means the bodhisattva practice cultivated throughout the previous seven grounds. "Boarding the ship of the Great Vehicle, arriving at the great ocean of wisdom in which bodhisattvas practice" should be understood as the ocean of wisdom belonging to the Eighth Ground.
In this way, the section on the Eighth Ground's own attainment of surpassing practice has now been explained. Next comes the purification of the buddha-land, which has three kinds of mastery: first, mastery over the receptacle-world; second, mastery over the world of sentient beings; and third, mastery of correct enlightenment through wisdom. What, then, is mastery over the receptacle-world?
Fazang asks, and answers, the exact question a careful reader would raise about timing — why must this intervention happen precisely here, and not sooner or later? 何不前地與智？以得法未深故。何不後地與？以依此勸發修不住故 — "why do the buddhas not bestow this wisdom at an earlier ground? Because what he has attained there is not yet profound enough. Why do they not bestow it only at a later ground? Because it is precisely in reliance upon this very exhortation that he cultivates non-abiding." Any sooner, and there would be nothing yet won worth being roused from; any later, and the very practice of moving on without abiding — the hallmark of the ground still ahead — would never have had its own occasion to begin.
On the ship simile itself, Fazang keeps his gloss almost as spare as the image: 船喻行疾應知。因勝者，顯行疾所因，以無生忍是行勝因，令行疾 — "the ship should be understood as a simile for the swiftness of this practice. 'The excellence of its cause' makes manifest what causes this swiftness: it is the acquiescence to non-arising that is the excellent cause of this practice, and it is this that makes it swift." And on the "provisions" the bodhisattva is said to have already gathered before ever boarding: 善集等，是前七地中所修諸行，助發於此，故曰資糧 — "'well gathered' and the rest refers to the very practices cultivated throughout the previous seven grounds, which now assist and give rise to this — hence it is called 'provisions.'" The oar-work of the first seven grounds is not wasted once the wind takes over; it is exactly what earns the ship its place on open water.
Part 37 Complete
This closes Part 37. The buddhas of the ten directions, appearing in person before the bodhisattva settled deep within Acalā's quiescent liberation, rouse him through seven successive exhortations — reminding him of the buddha-qualities he has not yet attained, of ordinary sentient beings still unpeaceful and afflicted, of his own original vow, of the Dharma-nature's constancy whether or not a buddha appears in the world, of the buddhas' own immeasurable pure bodies and wisdom and lands and voices, of the single gateway of illumination he has newly attained among countless more still to come, and of the ten directions' countless lands, beings, and distinctions in the Dharma still to be thoroughly penetrated. Vajragarbha then explains to Vimuktacandra why this intervention cannot be withheld — without it, this bodhisattva would enter nirvāṇa then and there, forsaking every sentient being — and illustrates the swiftness that follows it through the simile of a ship that, once past the shallows, sails on the wind rather than the oar, the acquiescence to non-arising itself serving as the excellent cause of this newfound speed. Part 38 continues within the Eighth Ground with the bodhisattva's arising of the mind of effortless action through great skillful means, and his attainment of mastery over the receptacle-world, mastery according with the differing faith and resolve of sentient beings themselves, and the profound wisdom of ultimate meaning reached by departing from all discrimination of bodily characteristics.
Continue to Part 38 — Mastery over the Receptacle-World →