尔时,世尊在摩竭提国阿兰若法菩提场中,始成正觉。普贤菩萨摩诃萨,与十佛刹微尘数菩萨俱。尔时,普贤菩萨告诸菩萨言:佛子!菩萨摩诃萨有十种大三昧。何等为十?一者、普光大三昧;二者、妙光大三昧;三者、次第遍往诸佛国土大三昧;四者、清净深心行大三昧;五者、知过去庄严藏大三昧;六者、智光明藏大三昧;七者、了知一切世界佛庄严大三昧;八者、众生差别身大三昧;九者、法界自在大三昧;十者、无碍轮大三昧。
逐句解释
什么是「大三昧」?
「三昧」(梵文 samādhi)是禅定、专注、定境的意思。「大三昧」不是普通的禅定,而是菩萨在高度证悟状态下(对应十地菩萨)的甚深定境。《华严经》的三昧论与一般佛教禅定理论有一个根本不同:这里的三昧不是「退出世界」的隔离状态,而是「在一切处同时自在」的全开放状态。第二十七品由普贤菩萨(而非之前的金刚系菩萨)来宣说,意义重大——普贤是《华严经》最核心的菩萨,代表「行愿」的完整展现,其名本身即含「遍行、遍礼、遍赞」之意。
What is a "great samadhi"?
Samadhi (三昧) in standard Buddhist usage refers to meditative concentration — the stilling of the mind into deep, stable clarity. The "great samadhis" of this chapter are something far beyond ordinary meditation states. They are described as boundless, world-encompassing conditions of awareness accessible to bodhisattvas at the highest levels of realisation. Crucially, the Avatamsaka's samadhis are not retreats from the world but complete opennesses to it: the first samadhi, for instance, is a state of universal luminosity in which all phenomena are perceived without obstruction. The chapter's speaker — Bodhisattva Samantabhadra (普贤, Universal Goodness) — is the Avatamsaka's own patron bodhisattva, whose name means "universally good" and whose defining quality is the completeness and universality of his vows and actions.
一者、普光大三昧;二者、妙光大三昧;三者、次第遍往诸佛国土大三昧
「普光大三昧」——「普光」即「遍照一切的光明」:在这个三昧中,菩萨的觉知如光明遍照一切,没有任何现象在其觉知范围之外,同时不为任何现象所束缚。「妙光大三昧」——「妙光」是精微而奇妙的光明:更细腻、更深入地照见一切的微妙光明。「次第遍往诸佛国土大三昧」——这个三昧的特点是「次第遍往」:能有序地、逐一地遍历一切诸佛国土,在无量世界中自由往来,而不失去其定境。这三个三昧呈现了觉知的不同质地:遍照(无遗漏)、精妙(深度)、遍历(广度与运动性)。
First: the Great Samadhi of Universal Light. Second: the Great Samadhi of Wondrous Light. Third: the Great Samadhi of Proceeding Gradually to All Buddha-Lands.
The first two samadhis describe the quality of awareness in deep realisation — universal, luminous, all-encompassing. "Universal Light" suggests breadth: nothing outside the field of awareness. "Wondrous Light" suggests depth: a quality of precision and subtlety in the perception of what is there. The third samadhi introduces movement: the bodhisattva can travel, in concentrated awareness, through all Buddha-lands in sequence — exploring the full extent of the Dharmadhatu while maintaining perfect inner stability. These three samadhis together describe the first three dimensions of the bodhisattva's contemplative capacity: breadth, depth, and range. Each world visited is fully present; no detail is lost; and the journey itself is the samadhi.
五者、知过去庄严藏大三昧;六者、智光明藏大三昧
「知过去庄严藏大三昧」——能了知过去无量劫中一切佛土的庄严:这是菩萨穿越时间的定力,能清晰见到已经消逝的无量世界与无量佛的庄严事迹,如同翻阅宇宙的历史档案。「智光明藏大三昧」——这个三昧是「智慧光明的宝藏」:在其中,一切智慧的宝藏都向菩萨开放,无数过去佛的教法都在这个定境中呈现。两者都是「宝藏式」(藏)的三昧——不是外出探险,而是向内打开宝库:原来一切时间与智慧,都储藏在觉悟的内在空间中。
Fifth: the Great Samadhi of Knowing the Treasury of Past Adornments. Sixth: the Great Samadhi of the Treasury of Wisdom-Light.
These two "treasury" samadhis (藏, garbha) share the metaphor of an inexhaustible store that the bodhisattva can access in concentration. The fifth samadhi is a form of cosmic memory — the ability to perceive clearly the history of the entire universe: all the world-systems that have appeared and dissolved, all the Buddhas who have taught, all the adornments that have manifested across time. This is not nostalgia but a full view of the conditions that produced the present moment. The sixth samadhi opens the treasury of wisdom itself: in this state, the teachings of all Buddhas become directly available, as if the entire tradition were held within a single act of awareness. Both samadhis point to the inexhaustibility of awakened knowing: the more deeply you enter, the more is available.
九者、法界自在大三昧;十者、无碍轮大三昧
「法界自在大三昧」——在法界中完全自在:没有任何法界的边界能限制菩萨的觉知,菩萨在整个法界中如鱼在水,无所不在,无所阻碍。「自在」(梵文 Iśvara,自主、无碍)是菩萨达到高度证悟后最重要的品质之一:不是随意而为,而是不受任何内外障碍所制约。「无碍轮大三昧」——「无碍轮」是「无阻障的法轮」:菩萨以此三昧转动法轮,宣说佛法,而这转法轮是无碍的,能遍及一切处。十定以「无碍」结束,与十地品的法云地相呼应:定的圆满是无碍——没有任何境界、任何众生、任何问题能阻止这颗心的照见与行动。
Ninth: the Great Samadhi of Freedom throughout the Dharmadhatu. Tenth: the Great Samadhi of the Unobstructed Wheel.
The ninth samadhi — freedom throughout the Dharmadhatu (法界自在) — is the contemplative corollary of the Avatamsaka's central philosophical claim: if all phenomena interpenetrate without obstruction, then a mind that has fully realised this interpenetration moves through the Dharmadhatu without obstruction. There is no boundary that this awareness cannot cross, no reality that is closed to it. The tenth samadhi — the Unobstructed Wheel — is the action-dimension of this freedom: the turning of the Dharma-wheel from this state of realisation is itself unobstructed. Whatever the bodhisattva says to whatever being in whatever context is exactly appropriate, exactly what is needed — because the obstruction between the speaker's wisdom and the listener's readiness has dissolved. The ten samadhis end where all of the Avatamsaka's teaching ends: in unobstructed flow.
总结 · Summary
第二十七品由普贤菩萨宣说菩萨的十种大三昧:普光、妙光、次第遍往诸佛国土、清净深心行、知过去庄严藏、智光明藏、了知一切世界佛庄严、众生差别身、法界自在、无碍轮。这十定不是退出世界的隔离定境,而是高度觉悟状态下的开放性觉知——能遍历一切时间、一切空间、一切众生,最终以「法界自在」与「无碍轮」作为定的圆满:没有任何障碍能阻止觉知的流动与法的宣说。
Chapter 27 presents the Ten Great Samadhis — but these are not the concentrated withdrawal states of early Buddhist meditation teaching. They are states of total openness: universal luminosity, access to all past worlds and all Dharma teachings, freedom of movement through the entire Dharmadhatu, and the capacity to turn the Dharma-wheel without obstruction. Bodhisattva Samantabhadra (普贤) is the teacher — the most characteristic figure of the entire Avatamsaka, representing universal action and universal vows. That he teaches the samadhis reminds the reader that the deep stillness of concentration and the expansive activity of the bodhisattva path are not opposites in the Huayan vision: they are the same thing, seen from different angles.