A scholar in the Song dynasty once said, “Reading the Avatamsaka Sutra is not as good as contemplating the Gen hexagram.” The wise recognize the fallacy of this claim, yet the mediocre accept it without question. Such words open the door to wrongful views and block the path to the Perfect Realization; one really should be careful with words.
If it is not right to even say that reading I Ching is not as good as studying the hexagram, how much more so regarding a Buddhist sutra! Not to mention how much more so the Avatamsaka Sutra!
The Avatamsaka Sutra encompasses boundless Dharma gateways; all the Mahayana classics are merely one of its boundless gateways. The Avatamsaka Sutra is the sovereign, while the Mahayana sutras are the feudal lords, and the Theravada sutras are the vassals of the lords … You may figure out the rest accordingly.
by Grand Master Lian Chi (蓮池大師), the Eighth Patriarch of Pure Land Buddhism
華嚴不如艮卦 – 錄自明末蓮池大師《竹窗隨筆》(初筆)
宋儒有言:「讀一部華嚴經，不如看一艮卦。」此說高明者自知其謬，庸劣者遂信不疑。開邪見門，塞圓乘路，言不可不慎也。假令說讀一部易經，不如看一艮卦，然且不可，況佛法耶! 況佛法之華嚴耶! 華嚴具無量門，諸大乘經，猶是華嚴無量門中之一門耳。華嚴，天王也; 諸大乘經，侯封也; 諸小乘經，侯封之附庸也。餘可知矣!
Buddha Mind 