Huáyán fǎ jiè xuán jìng 華嚴法界玄鏡
The Profound Mirror of the Dharma-Realm of the Huáyán [Sūtra] by 澄觀 (Chéngguān, 述)
About the work
The Huáyán fǎjiè xuánjìng 華嚴法界玄鏡 in 2 fascicles is 澄觀 Chéngguān’s elaborate treatise on the Avataṃsaka’s doctrine of the dharma-realm (法界 / dharmadhātu), drawing together the conceptual articulation of his master’s master (杜順 Dùshùn’s [[法界觀門|Fǎjiè guānmén]] 法界觀門, preserved in 宗密 Zōngmì’s later commentary T1884) with his own mature philosophical articulation. The “xuánjìng” / “profound mirror” metaphor figures the dharma-realm as a mirror that perfectly reflects all phenomena while remaining itself unobstructed.
Prefaces
No formal preface.
Abstract
The work is conventionally datable to 澄觀 Chéngguān’s mature period, c. 787 – 838 CE. The bracket adopted here reflects this window. The doctrinal substance — the articulation of the four levels of the dharma-dhātu (shì fǎjiè 事法界 / phenomenal realm; lǐ fǎjiè 理法界 / principial realm; lǐ shì wú’ài fǎjiè 理事無礙法界 / principle-and-phenomenon non-obstructed realm; shì shì wú’ài fǎjiè 事事無礙法界 / phenomenon-and-phenomenon non-obstructed realm) — is the metaphysical apex of mature Huáyán doctrine and was the basis for all subsequent East Asian Buddhist articulations of the Avataṃsaka’s ontology.
The Taishō text (T1883) is established on the standard apparatus.
Translations and research
- No complete Western-language translation located.
- Hamar, Imre. A Religious Leader in the Tang (2002).
- Cook, Francis H. Hua-yen Buddhism (1977) — substantial discussion of the four-level dharma-dhātu.
- Hamar, Imre, ed. Reflecting Mirrors (2007).
- Sakamoto Yukio 坂本幸男. Kegon kyōgaku no kenkyū (1956).
Other points of interest
- The four-level dharma-dhātu schema (事法界 / 理法界 / 理事無礙 / 事事無礙) — formalised here in Chéngguān’s mature articulation — became the canonical East Asian Buddhist metaphysical schema and was the conceptual foundation for the entire later East Asian Mahāyāna ontology.