The Simile of Ten Coins II — Same Substance, and the Ten Approaches Named
One Coin Already Holds the Many, and the First of Ten Gates Is Named十玄緣起無礙法門義・同體門
Part 28 worked out different substance — ten separate coins, related to one another by mutual inclusion and mutual identity. Fazang now turns the same lens on a single coin taken by itself, showing that the very same multiplicity he found between the coins was already sitting inside each one all along. With both halves of the simile complete, he closes it deliberately — a coin is only a coin — and turns to name, for the first time, the ten specific approaches the whole exercise exists to introduce.
Same Substance: The One Coin's Own Multiplicity
Where different substance related ten distinct coins to one another, same substance asks what multiplicity a single coin already contains within itself, simply by belonging to the set at all.
第二同體門者。亦有二義。一者一中多。多中一。二者一即多。多即一。初門二。一者一中多。二者多中一。
Second, the same-substance gate: this too has two meanings. First, the one within the many and the many within the one. Second, the one identical with the many and the many identical with the one. The first of these gates itself has two: first, the one within the many; second, the many within the one.
初一中多者。有十門不同。一者一。何以故。緣成故是本數。一中即具十。何以故。由此一錢自體是一。復與二作一故。即為二一。乃至與十作一故。即為十一。是故此一之中。即自具有十箇一耳。仍一非十也。以未是即門故。初一錢既爾。餘二三四五。已上九門皆各如是。準例可知耳。
As for the first, the one within the many: there are ten distinct gates. The first is "one." Why? Because it is completed through conditions, it is the base number. Within this "one" there is already "ten" contained. Why? Because this one coin, in its own substance, is "one"; and, further, together with the second coin it forms a "one," and so becomes "the one that is one-with-two"; and so on, up through forming a "one" together with the tenth coin, becoming "the one that is one-with-ten." Therefore, within this single coin there are already, in itself, ten distinct "ones" contained. Yet "one" is still not "ten," since this is not yet the gate of identity. As the first coin is so, the remaining nine gates — for the second, third, fourth, fifth coins and so on — are all likewise, and this may be known by the same pattern.
二者多中一亦有十門。一者十。何以故。緣成故十中一。何以故。由此一與十作一故。即彼初一在十一之中。以離十一即無初一故。是故此一即十中一也。仍十非一矣。餘下九八七乃至於一皆各如是。準例思之。
Second, the many within the one likewise has ten gates. The first is "ten." Why? Because it is completed through conditions, "one" is found within "ten." Why? Because this first coin forms a "one" together with the ten, so that the original "one" resides within "the one that is one-with-ten" — since apart from that combined one, there would be no original "one" at all. This is exactly why this coin is "the one within the ten." Yet "ten" is still not "one." The rest, counting down through nine, eight, seven, and so on to one, are all likewise, and should be considered by the same pattern.
問此與前異體何別。答前異體者。初一望後九異門相入耳。今此同體。一中自具十。非望前後異門說也。即義亦準思之。
Question: How does this differ from the different-substance gate discussed before? Answer: In the earlier, different-substance gate, the first coin, set against the other nine — separate, distinct coins — was mutually inclusive with them. Here, in same substance, the one coin is itself already replete with ten within its own single self; it is not spoken of by setting one coin against other, distinct coins. The meaning of identity, within same substance, should be considered in the same way.
Take the first coin off the table and look at it alone. It is, trivially, "one." But it is also the coin that, paired with the second coin, makes a set of two; paired with the second and third, a set of three; and so on, up to being one member of the full set of ten. Fazang's point is that all of these relations — being "the one within a pair," "the one within a set of three," all the way to "the one within the full ten" — are already, right now, true of this single coin, considered entirely on its own, without needing to look at the other nine coins as separate objects standing across from it. That is the whole difference from Part 28's different-substance gate: there, "one contains ten" meant one coin gathering nine other coins into itself by force of causal potency; here, "one contains ten" means a single coin's own identity is already inseparably bound up with every set it belongs to, simply because none of those sets — pair, triple, full ten — could be what they are without it.
One Is Exactly Ten
The second meaning within same substance runs the identity question — not just containment, but outright identity — over the same single coin.
二者一即十。十即一。亦有二門。一者一即十。亦有十門不同。一者一。何以故。緣成故。一即十。何以故。由此十一即是初一故。無別自體故。是故十即是一也。餘九門皆亦如是。準之可知。二者十即一者。亦有十門不同。一者十。何以故。緣成故十即一。何以故。彼初一即是十故。更無自一故。是故初一即是十也。餘九門準例知之。
Second, "one" identical with "ten," and "ten" identical with "one": this too has two gates. First, "one" identical with "ten," which itself has ten distinct sub-gates. The first is "one." Why? Because it is completed through conditions, "one" is identical with "ten." Why? Because this combined "one-with-ten" is exactly the original "one," with no separate substance of its own — therefore "ten" is exactly "one." The remaining nine gates are all likewise, and may be known by this pattern.
Second, "ten" identical with "one": this too has ten distinct sub-gates. The first is "ten." Why? Because it is completed through conditions, "ten" is identical with "one." Why? Because that original "one" is exactly "ten," with no separate "one" of its own remaining — therefore the original "one" is exactly "ten." The remaining nine gates may be known by the same pattern.
Ten, or Inexhaustible? It Depends on the Understanding Brought to It
A pair of searching questions asks how far this containment really goes — does a single gate hold only these ten coins, or does it hold everything without limit, including every other gate as well?
問此同體中。一即十等者。為秖攝此十耶。為攝無盡耶。答此並隨智而成。須十即十。須無盡即無盡。如是增減隨智趣矣。十即如前釋。曰無盡者。一門中既有十。然此十復自迭相即相入。重重成無盡也。然此無盡重重。皆悉攝在初門中也。
Question: Within this same-substance gate, when "one" is identical with "ten" and so forth, does it gather in only these ten, or does it gather in the inexhaustible? Answer: This is entirely determined by the understanding brought to it. Where "ten" is called for, it is exactly ten; where inexhaustibility is called for, it is exactly inexhaustible — such increase and decrease follow wherever understanding is directed. The case of "ten" has already been explained above. As for "the inexhaustible": since a single gate already contains "ten" within it, and this "ten," in turn, layer upon layer, mutually identifies with and mutually includes itself, inexhaustibility is thereby constituted, layer upon layer. Yet all of this layered inexhaustibility is, in every case, already gathered within this very first gate.
問為但攝自一門中無盡重重耶。為一攝餘異門無盡耶。答或俱攝。或但攝後自無盡。何以故。若無自一門中無盡。餘一切門中無盡。皆悉不成故。是故初門同體。即攝同異二門中無盡無盡無盡無盡無盡無盡無盡無盡無盡無盡。窮其圓極法界。無不攝盡耳。或但自攝同體一門中無盡。何以故。由餘異門如虛空故。不相知故。自具足故。更無可攝也。此但隨智而取。一不差失也。如此一門既具足無窮箇無盡。及相即相入等成無盡者。餘一一門中皆悉如是。各無盡無盡誠。宜如是準知。
Question: Does it gather in only the layered inexhaustibility within its own single gate, or does it also gather in the inexhaustibility of every other, different gate? Answer: Either it gathers in both together, or it gathers in only its own further inexhaustibility. Why? Because without the inexhaustibility within its own single gate, the inexhaustibility within every other gate could not be constituted at all. This is exactly why the first, same-substance gate gathers in inexhaustible-inexhaustible-inexhaustible-inexhaustible-inexhaustible-inexhaustible-inexhaustible-inexhaustible-inexhaustible-inexhaustible within both the same-substance and different-substance gates together — exhausting the perfectly complete dharma-realm to its very limit, leaving nothing whatsoever ungathered.
Or else, it gathers in only the inexhaustibility within the single same-substance gate itself. Why? Because the other, different gates are, to it, like empty space — they do not know one another, each being complete and replete in itself, with nothing further left over to gather in. This, again, is determined entirely by the understanding one brings to it, and either way nothing whatsoever is lost. Just as this single gate is already replete with boundless inexhaustibility, constituted through mutual identity and mutual inclusion, so too is every single other gate — each one genuinely inexhaustible upon inexhaustible. This should be understood accordingly.
此且約現理事錢中。況彼一乘緣起無盡陀羅尼法。非謂其法秖如此也。應可去情如理思之。
This, however, has only been spoken of in terms of an actual, visible coin — an instance of principle within phenomena. How much more so, then, the One Vehicle's own dhāraṇī-teaching of inexhaustible dependent origination! It is not meant that this Dharma is exactly and only like the coin. One should set aside ordinary feeling and consider it according to principle.
Notice that the source text itself writes the word "inexhaustible" 無盡 ten times in a row without a break — not a copying error, but the text performing, typographically, the very point it is making. We have kept the repetition rather than smoothing it into a single "inexhaustible" or a phrase like "inexhaustible without end," because the effect Fazang wants is exactly the slightly overwhelming one of watching the word refuse to stop.
The logical content underneath the repetition is a genuine infinite regress, offered deliberately rather than apologetically: a single gate contains ten; that ten, examined closely, turns out to be built from mutually identical, mutually inclusive relations that generate a further "ten" at the next level down, and so on without any floor to hit. Fazang then adds a second axis to the regress — does one gate's inexhaustibility also swallow up the inexhaustibility of every other gate, or does each gate keep its own infinite depth to itself, "like empty space" to its neighbors? His answer is that both descriptions are correct, and which one applies depends only on "the understanding brought to it" — not because the facts are indeterminate, but because a totality this thoroughly interpenetrated has no single privileged place to stand and describe it from. Fazang's own closing line is worth taking literally: this entire elaborate structure has so far only been established for a coin. The teaching itself, he says outright, is not confined to what a coin can show — the coin was only ever scaffolding.
Ten Topics, to Show What the Coins Were Standing In For
With the simile set aside, Fazang turns to "discussing it broadly in terms of principle" — and opens by listing the ten actual topics the Ten Mysterious Gates will be shown to organize: not coins any longer, but the whole content of the One Vehicle's teaching.
第二約法廣辯者。略有二種。一者立義門。二者解釋門。初立義門者。略立十義門以顯無盡。何者為十。一教義。即攝一乘三乘乃至五乘等一切教義。餘下準之。二理事。即攝一切理事。三解行。即攝一切解行。四因果。即攝一切因果。五人法。即攝一切人法。六分齊境位。即攝一切分齊境位。七師弟法智。即攝一切師弟法智。八主伴依正。即攝一切主伴依正。九隨其根欲示現。即攝一切隨其根欲示現。十逆順體用自在等。即攝一切逆順體用自在等。此十門為首。皆各總攝一切法。成無盡也。
The second, discussing it broadly in terms of principle: there are, in brief, two approaches — first, the gate of establishing the topics; second, the gate of explaining them. As for establishing the topics: ten topics are briefly established, to manifest inexhaustibility. What are the ten?
First, teaching and meaning — gathering in all teachings and meanings of the One Vehicle, the three vehicles, and even the five vehicles; the rest below follow this same pattern. Second, principle and phenomenon — gathering in all principle and phenomena. Third, understanding and practice — gathering in all understanding and practice. Fourth, cause and fruit — gathering in all cause and fruit. Fifth, person and dharma — gathering in all person and dharma. Sixth, the bounds of position and station — gathering in all bounds of position and station. Seventh, teacher, disciple, dharma, and wisdom — gathering in all teacher, disciple, dharma, and wisdom. Eighth, host and retinue, dependent and direct retribution — gathering in all host and retinue, dependent and direct retribution. Ninth, manifestation according to each being's own faculties and desires — gathering in all such manifestation. Tenth, the free mastery of counter-flow and with-flow, substance and function — gathering in all such free mastery. These ten gates, taken as heads, each gather in the whole of every dharma entirely, and thereby constitute inexhaustibility.
This list is deliberately exhaustive rather than illustrative — Fazang means these ten to sweep up literally everything the treatise has discussed since Part 1, from doctrinal classification down to the buddha-bodies. A few of the less transparent items: "person and dharma" pairs a teacher (or a Buddha) with the teaching that person holds; "host and retinue" 主伴 — a term this site's other translations render the same way — names the relation between whichever figure or teaching is currently central and everything else clustered around it, ready at any moment to become the center in its own turn; "dependent and direct retribution" 依正 distinguishes a being's environment (dependent retribution) from the being's own body and mind (direct retribution). None of these ten is more important than the others — that is precisely the point about to be made: any one of them, examined closely enough, turns out to contain all the others.
The First Gate Named: Simultaneous and Full Mutual Correspondence
Fazang now explains the "ten" of the Ten Mysterious Gates is not arbitrary — it follows the Avataṃsaka's own numerical convention — and names the very first gate.
二言解釋者。亦以十門釋前十義。以顯無盡。問何以得知十數顯無盡耶。答依華嚴經中立十數為則以顯無盡義。一者同時具足相應門。此上十義同時相應成一緣起。無有前後始終等別。具足一切自在逆順。參而不雜成緣起際。此依海印三昧。炳然同時顯現成矣。
Second, as for explaining them: the preceding ten topics are likewise explained by way of ten gates, so as to manifest inexhaustibility. Question: How can it be known that the number ten manifests inexhaustibility? Answer: This follows the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, which itself establishes the number ten as a standard, so as to manifest the meaning of inexhaustibility.
The first is the gate of all things being simultaneously and fully mutually corresponding 同時具足相應門. The ten topics above, corresponding to one another all at once, constitute a single dependent origination, with no distinction of before and after, beginning and end; replete with every kind of free mastery, counter-flow and with-flow alike, intermingled yet unconfused, they constitute the very horizon of dependent origination itself. This rests upon the Ocean-Seal Samādhi 海印三昧, in which everything appears, radiant and simultaneous, all at once.
This first gate is really a statement of what all nine gates still to come will be examples of: that the ten topics just listed — and by extension everything they gather in — do not arise one after another in some sequence, with teaching preceding meaning, or cause preceding fruit, but all correspond to and complete one another in a single, undivided act of arising. Fazang calls the model for this the Ocean-Seal Samādhi, an image already familiar from Avataṃsaka literature: a calm, boundless ocean that, in a single moment, reflects every image in existence at once — not one after another, the way a mirror held up to a passing parade would, but the way still water reflects an entire sky in one unbroken instant. "Intermingled yet unconfused" is the phrase to hold onto for everything that follows in Parts 30 through 32: the point of the coming gates is never that distinct things blur into a formless sameness, but that they remain fully themselves while being, at the very same time, fully present within one another.