依照史實,世尊於菩提樹下夜睹明星而證悟,出定之後下座,赴鹿野苑為五比丘說法,此為佛之初轉法輪。然而大乘佛教史又說,《華嚴經》乃世尊證悟後於二七日(一說三七日)為法身大士說法。那麼依據天台宗的「五時八教」,「第一華嚴時」在前,「第二鹿苑時」在後,究竟何者才是佛的第一次說法?應說:兩者皆是。乃因盧舍那佛與釋迦牟尼佛在《華嚴經》中本就是個「合體」,二者重疊在一起;故知「華嚴時」與「鹿苑時」、華藏世界與娑婆世界也是合體,也是重疊在一起。所謂「重疊」,是指二佛雖處在不同的時空,但此時時空的距離因佛之威力、願力而瓦解。「時間」不再有前際、中際、後際;「空間」也不再有一由旬、百由旬、千萬億由旬的差別。在定中說法的舍那與在人間教化眾生的釋迦已合而為一──入定與出定不二,說「華嚴」與說「'阿含」也無分別,這是佛不可說的無上奧秘,也是《華嚴經》的閎旨。本文以智顗、法藏的判教觀出發,闡述天台、華嚴二宗對「華嚴時」的詮釋,並舉出「本迹不二」、「一念十世」與「隱顯俱成」三方法,會通華嚴時、鹿苑時的歧異。「本迹不二」是指遮那為本、釋迦為迹,二佛在法界合而為一。「一念十世」是指在圓融的、理事不二的世界裏,時間已不再是世俗的、分秒剎那的、念念生滅的;而是每一念中具足過、現、未之三世,每一世又各別具足三世,如此共有九世,再加上現前一念共計十世。十世皆在一念之中包容、含攝,故知「華嚴時」與「鹿苑時」一時頓現,皆在一念中得。「隱顯俱成」則是指就娑婆眾生而言,舍那是「隱」、釋迦是「顯」,然就華藏眾生而言則相反。如此隱、顯不再是相悖離,而是和合的、無等差的。理解了上述會通原理,「華嚴時」與「鹿苑時」就不再扞格不入;而有了深層意義。
According to Buddhism history, Buddha attained enlightenment one night, under a bodhi tree, while gazing at stars. After this meditation and the enlightenment, Buddha went to Deer Park and started giving Dharma lessons to five monk disciples. This was the beginning of Dharma teaching. In the "Mahayana Buddhist" history, however, it was mentioned that twenty-one days after being enlightened, Buddha began the instructions of Hua Yan Sutra, as the first lesson of Dharma, to Maha-bodhisattva. Based on the "Five Times-Eight Teachings" theory of Tein Tai Buddhist Sect, Buddha’s first teaching started when instructing "Hua Yan", not when giving lessons at Deer Park- the so-called "Hua Yan first, Deer Park second" theory. When was the first Dharma lesson given then? The answer is that both "Hua Yan" and "Deer Park" theories can be considered correct. The reason lies in the concept of "all-sides-merge-into-one". In HuaYan Sutra, we learned that Vairocana Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha were in fact "amalgamated" with each other and became one unity- they were one and the same. With this reasoning, we can consider that, on Buddha’s first Dharma instructions, there is no timing difference between "Hua Yan" and "Deer Park" theories. In other words, the world of Dharma and the world of sentient beings are also "amalgamated" with each other and they become one. Based on the theories of Masters Zhi-yi and Fa-zang, this thesis focuses on the explanations and interpretations of Tein Tai Buddhist Sect and Hua Yan Buddhist Sect regarding this timing issue. Their three theories are also discussed here and they are "Oneness of Vairocana Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha", "One Thought Encompasses Ten Time Cycles" and "Connectedness of the Obvious and the Invisible". The first theory, "Oneness of Vairocana Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha", means that the former is from the Dharma world ("the Invisible") and the latter, from the sentient-being world ("the Obvious"). Both Buddhas are one and the same - they are a duality. All these demonstrate and lead to the conclusion that there is no conflict, hence, no difference, between "Hua Yan time" and "Deer Park time".