In his Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, Master Hsuan Hua often quotes from Zhiyi of the Tiantai School, the same Zhiyi whom Nichiren relied upon in establishing the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra. Hsuan Hua is not a strict adherent of Zhiyi’s teaching. This is particularly pronounced when the subject of the Avataṃsaka Sutra – Flower Garland Sutra – comes up. Although Zhiyi recognized the Avataṃsaka Sutra as presenting the highest pinnacle of the Buddha’s insight and represented the sudden teaching method, Zhiyi ultimately maintained that the Perfect Teaching (which represents the Buddha’s highest insight) is set forth in its pure form only in the Lotus Sutra. Here are two examples of where Hsuan Hua places the Avataṃsaka Sutra above and beyond the Lotus Sutra.
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v3, p160-161Now that I have finished lecturing on the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, I am lecturing on the Dharma Flower Sūtra. When I have finished lecturing on it, I intend to lecture on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra for you. That is even more wonderful because it is the king of the sūtras. The Dharma Flower Sūtra is also a king of sūtras, but it is not as magnificent as the Avataṃsaka Sutra. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra is really the king of the kings of sūtras. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra can be likened to a gold wheel-turning sage king, while the Dharma Flower Sūtra can be likened to a silver wheel-turning sage king. The Śūraṅgama Sūtra can be likened to a copper wheel-turning sage king. These three are kings among all sūtras.
I have not yet begun lecturing on the Avataṃsaka Sutra, but I can first talk a little about its background. After the Buddha realized Buddhahood, the first thing he did was to teach the Avataṃsaka Sutra. When he taught it, those of the Two Vehicles could not hear him. They could not even see him. It is said,
They had eyes but could not see Nişyanda Buddha;
They had ears but could not hear the perfect, sudden teaching.The Buddha manifested a body ten thousand feet high to teach the sūtra, and although they had eyes, they could not see it. They had ears, but they could not hear the perfect, sudden teaching.
When the Buddha taught the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, those of the Two Vehicles could not understand it; only the Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas were able to understand it. Later, it was taken by the dragon king to his palace and disappeared from the human realm. Then, the fourteenth patriarch, Nagarjuna [Dragon Tree] Bodhisattva, who had mastered all worldly literature, used his spiritual powers to go to the dragon palace to take a look at their Tripiṭaka collection. There he found the three-volume set of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. The first volume contains verses as many as dust motes in ten trichiliocosms, with chapters as numerous as dust motes in one set of four great continents. The first and second volumes were too long for Bodhisattva Nagarjuna to remember, so he memorized the third volume, the last volume. When he returned to the human realm, he wrote this sūtra out from memory. Since Bodhisattva Nagarjuna had an excellent memory, he remembered it in its entirety after reading it just once. That is the source of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra.
After we finish the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sūtra, we shall proceed to listen to the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. By then, you will understand the three kings of Buddhist sūtras. Then you will be able to understand all the other sūtras on your own, without having them explained to you. Here in the West, the Buddhadharma has just begun to flourish. It is fitting that the Great Vehicle Dharma be propagated in order to teach and transform the Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas.
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v3, p236-237The twelve hundred Arhats present
Will all attain Buddhahood.The Buddha gave all his disciples predictions of future Buddhahood.
In hundreds of thousands of eons, it is not easy to encounter the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sūtra. Though one may encounter the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sūtra, it is difficult to be able to read and recite it. Even if you are able to read and recite it, should you study it for hundreds of thousands of eons, you still may not understand its meaning. Finally, it is most difficult to hear it explained.
Now, in the entire world, there are very few places where the Dharma Flower Sūtra is explained. Rare as it is, I am now explaining it. In the future, we will study the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, which is even more difficult to encounter. In China, it would be difficult to find even one occasion when the Avataṃsaka Sūtra was lectured on during the past hundred years.
The principles of the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sūtra are wonderful beyond words. Similarly, the principles of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra are so magnificent that they also surpass words. Without a solid foundation in learning, one would not be able to understand much less explain the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. Therefore, no one feels capable of explaining it. For example, one passage says that those who cultivate samadhi will enter samadhi in the west and emerge from samadhi in the east. Those who enter samadhi in the south will emerge from it in the north. It says that those who enter samadhi through the eyes will emerge from samadhi through the ears. It further says that those who enter samadhi through the nose will emerge from samādhi through the tongue.
What does all this mean? What does it mean to enter samadhi through the nose and emerge from samadhi through the tongue? Within the six sense faculties, you enter through one and exit through another. This passage is confusing! What is going on? What on earth is entering and exiting?
In the future, if there are those who like to study the Buddhadharma and who wish to truly understand it, they should have the answers to such questions. But don’t worry. Don’t be concerned. Unlike Dharma Master Xuanzang, who walked to India from China seeking the Dharma, wearing himself out and blistering his feet, you can remain in your own country and listen to lectures on the wonderful Dharma. In the future, your options will be much better than those of Dharma Master Xuanzang.