地藏菩薩本願經 閻羅王眾讚歎品
這一品開頭是一張名單。鐵圍山內的鬼王隨閻羅天子上忉利天，經一個一個報名，三十四個。
前二十八個都叫某某鬼王：惡毒、多惡、大諍、白虎、血虎、赤虎、散殃、飛身、電光、狼牙、千眼、噉獸、負石、主耗、主禍、主食、主財、主畜、主禽、主獸、主魅、主產、主命、主疾、主險、三目、四目、五目。
後六個只叫某某王，不叫鬼王：祁利失王、大祁利失王、祁利叉王、大祁利叉王、阿那吒王、大阿那吒王。這六個是梵音，漢地一直沒有把它們的意思譯出來，所以只留著音。
一個問題
名單報完，閻羅天子問了一句話。
他先讚地藏在六道之中「百千方便，而度罪苦眾生，不辭疲倦」，接著轉：「然諸眾生，脫獲罪報，未久之間，又墮惡道。」
然後是那一問：「是地藏菩薩既有如是不可思議神力，云何眾生而不依止善道，永取解脫？」
佛的答語沒有落在神力上：「南閻浮提眾生，其性剛彊，難調難伏。」
臨別的那一句
佛說了一個譬喻。有人迷失本家，誤入險道，道上有夜叉，有虎狼師子、蚖蛇蝮蠍。一位善知識喝住了他，把他引出來，到了好道。
故事到這裡本可以結束。可是臨別的時候，那位知識又交代一件事：
「若見親知及諸路人，若男若女，言於此路多諸毒惡，喪失性命。無令是眾，自取其死。」
被救出來的人要去救人。救法很簡單——只是把那條路上有什麼說出來。
一幡一蓋
譬喻說完，惡毒鬼王開口。牠先報自家的實情：這一族「或利益人，或損害人，各各不同」，眷屬遊行世界「多惡少善」。
然後說了一句不太像鬼王會說的話。牠所敬禮的，是「修毛髮善事」的人——懸一幡一蓋、一點香一點花，或者讀一句一偈的人。牠敬禮這個人，「如過去、現在、未來諸佛」。
說自己有本願的，只有牠一個
會中又有一位鬼王出來，名叫主命。牠說：「我本業緣，主閻浮人命，生時死時，我皆主之。」
接著是這一品最容易讀過去的六個字：「在我本願，甚欲利益。」
本願是這部經的題目。而全經之中，親口說自己有本願的，只有這一位。
牠求的兩件事都很具體。一件在生時：孩子生下來，「慎勿殺害，取諸鮮味，供給產母」。一件在死時：人臨命終，旁邊的人要「轉讀尊經，念佛菩薩名號」。因為那個時候，「神識惛昧，不辯善惡，乃至眼耳，更無見聞」——當事人已經幫不上自己的忙了。
實非鬼也
最後佛替牠揭了底：「是大士，慈悲願故，現大鬼身，實非鬼也。」
牠當得成佛，「號曰無相如來。劫名安樂，世界名淨住。」
一張兇惡的名單開場，一位當來成佛的鬼王收場。而佛說到牠時用的最後一句是：「所度天人，亦不可限量。」
This chapter opens with a roster. The ghost kings within the Iron Ring Mountains come up to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three in the train of Yama, Son of Heaven, and the sūtra calls them out one at a time, thirty-four of them.
The first twenty-eight are each called ghost king so-and-so: Evil and Poison, Many Evils, Great Contention, White Tiger, Blood Tiger, Red Tiger, Scatterer of Calamity, Flying Body, Lightning Flash, Wolf-Fang, Thousand Eyes, Devourer of Beasts, Bearer of Stones, Master-of-Wasting, Master-of-Calamity, Master-of-Food, Master-of-Wealth, Master-of-Livestock, Master-of-Birds, Master-of-Beasts, Master-of-Sprites, Master-of-Birthing, Master-of-Life, Master-of-Sickness, Master-of-Perils, Three Eyes, Four Eyes, Five Eyes.
The last six are called king so-and-so only, and not ghost king: the king Qilishi, the king Great Qilishi, the king Qilicha, the king Great Qilicha, the king Anazha, the king Great Anazha. These six are a Sanskrit sound, and the Chinese lands never did render their meaning; and so only the sound is kept.
A Question
The roster called out, Yama, Son of Heaven, asks one thing.
He praises Kṣitigarbha first — within the six destinies he delivers the guilty and suffering beings with a hundred thousand skillful means, and never excuses himself for weariness — and then he turns: and yet those beings, once free of the retribution for their guilt, fall into the evil destinies again before long.
And then comes the question: since this Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva has spiritual power so inconceivable as this, why is it that beings do not rest upon the good destinies and take liberation once and for all?
The Buddha’s answer does not fall on spiritual power: the beings of southern Jambudvīpa are hard and stubborn in their nature, difficult to tame and difficult to subdue.
The Sentence Spoken at Parting
The Buddha spoke a simile. A man loses his own home and strays into a road of peril, and on that road there are yakṣas, and tigers and wolves and lions, vipers and snakes and adders and scorpions. A good friend calls him back with a shout, leads him out, and brings him to a good road.
The story could have ended there. But at the time of parting the friend charges him with one more thing:
If you see those you know and are close to, and travelers upon the road, whether men or women, tell them that on this road there are many poisons and evils, and that they will lose their lives. Do not let these people take their own death upon themselves.
The one who has been saved is to go and save others. And the way of saving is a simple one — it is only to say out loud what is on that road.
One Banner, One Canopy
The simile finished, the ghost king Evil and Poison speaks up. He reports the plain truth about his own kind first: some of them benefit people and some of them harm people, each differing from the other, and his kindred roam through the world with much of evil in them and little of good.
And then he says something one would hardly expect a ghost king to say. The one he reveres is the person who cultivates a good deed as small as a hair or a strand of down — who hangs up one banner or one canopy, a little incense or a little flower, or who reads a single line or a single verse. He reveres that person as he reveres the buddhas of the past, the present, and the future.
The Only One Who Says the Original Vow Is His Own
Another ghost king comes forward in the assembly, named Master-of-Life. He says: because of my own original karmic conditions I am master over the lifespans of the people of Jambudvīpa; at the time of birth and at the time of death, I am master of both.
And then come six words that are the easiest in this chapter to read straight past: in my original vow I greatly desire to benefit them.
Original vow is the title of this sūtra. And in the whole of it, the only one who says with his own mouth that he has an original vow is this ghost king.
The two things he asks for are both quite concrete. One belongs to the time of birth: when the child has been born, take the greatest care not to kill and harm living things, taking their fresh flavors to set before the mother who has given birth. One belongs to the time of death: when a person comes to the end of life, those beside him are to read the venerable sūtras aloud and recite the names of the buddhas and the bodhisattvas. For at that hour the spirit-consciousness is dimmed and clouded and cannot tell good from evil, and even with eye and ear there is no more seeing or hearing — the one whom it concerns can no longer do anything to help himself.
In Truth No Ghost at All
At the last the Buddha discloses it for him: this great being, by reason of his vow of compassion, manifests the body of a great ghost, and is in truth no ghost at all.
He shall attain buddhahood, and his name shall be the Tathāgata Signless; the kalpa shall be named Peace and Ease, and the world Pure Abiding.
A fierce roster of names opens the chapter, and a ghost king who is to become a buddha closes it. And the last thing the Buddha says of him is this: the devas and humans he has delivered are likewise beyond all reckoning.
唐于闐國三藏沙門實叉難陀譯《地藏菩薩本願經》〈閻羅王眾讚歎品〉· 大正藏 T13n0412〔起 T13 0784c02〕。段／行首〔T13 …〕＝大正藏頁・欄・行錨。
〔T13 0784c02〕閻羅王眾讚歎品第八 爾時，鐵圍山內，有無量鬼王，與閻羅天子，俱詣忉利，來到佛所。所謂惡毒鬼王、多惡鬼王、大諍鬼王、白虎鬼王、血虎鬼王、赤虎鬼王、散殃鬼王、飛身鬼王、電光鬼王、狼牙鬼王、千眼鬼王、噉獸鬼王、負石鬼王、主耗鬼王、主禍鬼王、主食鬼王、主財鬼王、主畜鬼王、主禽鬼王、主獸鬼王、主魅鬼王、主產鬼王、主命鬼王、主疾鬼王、主險鬼王、三目鬼王、四目鬼王、五目鬼王、祁利失王、大祁利失王、祁利叉王、大祁利叉王、阿那吒王、大阿那吒王。如是等大鬼王，各各與百千諸小鬼王，盡居閻浮提，各有所執，各有所主。是諸鬼王，與閻羅天子，承佛威神，及地藏菩薩摩訶薩力，俱詣忉利，在一面立。 爾時，閻羅天子，胡跪合掌，白佛言：「世尊！我等今者與諸鬼王，承佛威神，及地藏菩薩摩訶薩力，方得詣此忉利大會，亦是我等獲善利故。我今有小疑事，敢問世尊，唯願世尊，慈悲宣說。」 佛告閻羅天子：「恣汝所問，吾為汝說。」 是時，閻羅天子瞻禮世尊，及迴視地藏菩薩，而白佛言：「世尊！我觀地藏菩薩，在六道中，百千方便，而度罪苦眾生，不辭疲倦。是大菩薩，有如是不可思議神通之事。然諸眾生，脫獲罪報，未久之間，又墮惡道。世尊！是地藏菩薩既有如是不可思議神力，云何眾生而不依止善道，永取解脫？唯願世尊，為我解說。」 佛告閻羅天子：「南閻浮提眾生，其性剛彊，難調難伏。是大菩薩，於百千劫，頭頭救拔如是眾生，早令解脫。是罪報人，乃至墮大惡趣。菩薩以方便力，拔出根本業緣，而遣悟宿世之事。自是閻浮眾生，結惡習重，旋出旋入。勞斯菩薩，久經劫數，而作度脫。 〔T13 0785a05〕「譬如有人，迷失本家，誤入險道。其險道中，多諸夜叉，及虎狼師子、蚖蛇蝮蠍。如是迷人，在險道中，須臾之間，即遭諸毒。有一知識，多解大術，善禁是毒，乃及夜叉諸惡毒等。忽逢迷人，欲進險道，而語之言：『咄哉！男子！為何事故，而入此路？有何異術，能制諸毒？』是迷路人，忽聞是語，方知險道，即便退步，求出此路。是善知識，提携接手，引出險道，免諸惡毒，至于好道，令得安樂，而語之言：『咄哉！迷人！自今已後，勿履是道。此路入者，卒難得出，復損性命。』是迷路人，亦生感重。臨別之時，知識又言：『若見親知及諸路人，若男若女，言於此路多諸毒惡，喪失性命。無令是眾，自取其死。』 「是故地藏菩薩具大慈悲，救拔罪苦眾生，欲生天人中，令受妙樂。是諸罪眾，知業道苦，脫得出離，永不再歷。如迷路人，誤入險道，遇善知識，引接令出，永不復入。逢見他人，復勸莫入，自言：『因是迷故，得解脫竟，更不復入。』若再履踐，猶尚迷誤，不覺舊曾所落險道，或致失命，如墮惡趣。地藏菩薩方便力故，使令解脫，生人天中。旋又再入，若業結重，永處地獄，無解脫時。」 爾時，惡毒鬼王合掌恭敬，白佛言：「世尊！我等諸鬼王，其數無量，在閻浮提，或利益人，或損害人，各各不同。然是業報，使我眷屬，遊行世界，多惡少善。過人家庭，或城邑聚落，莊園房舍。或有男子女人，修毛髮善事，乃至懸一旛一蓋，少香少華，供養佛像及菩薩像，或轉讀尊經，燒香供養一句一偈。我等鬼王，敬禮是人，如過去、現在、未來諸佛。勅諸小鬼，各有大力，及土地分，便令衛護。不令惡事橫事、惡病橫病，乃至不如意事，近於此舍等處，何況入門？」佛讚鬼王：「善哉！善哉！汝等及與閻羅，能如是擁護善男女等，吾亦告梵王帝釋，令衛護汝。」 說是語時，會中有一鬼王，名曰主命，白佛言：「世尊！我本業緣，主閻浮人命，生時死時，我皆主之。在我本願，甚欲利益。自是眾生，不會我意，致令生死，俱不得安。 「何以故？是閻浮提人，初生之時，不問男女，或欲生時，但作善事，增益舍宅。自令土地無量歡喜，擁護子母，得大安樂，利益眷屬。或已生下，慎勿殺害，取諸鮮味，供給產母。及廣聚眷屬，飲酒食肉，歌樂絃管，能令子母，不得安樂。 「何以故？是產難時，有無數惡鬼，及魍魎精魅，欲食腥血。是我早令舍宅土地靈祇，荷護子母，使令安樂，而得利益。如是之人，見安樂故，便合設福，答諸土地。翻為殺害，集聚眷屬，以是之故，犯殃自受，子母俱損。 「又閻浮提臨命終人，不問善惡，我欲令是命終之人，不落惡道，何況自修善根，增我力故。是閻浮提行善之人，臨命終時，亦有百千惡道鬼神，或變作父母，乃至諸眷屬，引接亡人，令落惡道，何況本造惡者？ 「世尊！如是閻浮提男子女人，臨命終時，神識惛昧，不辯善惡，乃至眼耳，更無見聞。是諸眷屬，當須設大供養，轉讀尊經，念佛菩薩名號。如是善緣，能令亡者，離諸惡道，諸魔鬼神，悉皆退散。世尊！一切眾生臨命終時，若得聞一佛名、一菩薩名，或大乘經典一句一偈，我觀如是輩人，除五無間殺害之罪，小小惡業，合墮惡趣者，尋即解脫。」 佛告主命鬼王：「汝大慈故，能發如是大願，於生死中，護諸眾生。若未來世中，有男子女人，至生死時，汝莫退是願，總令解脫，永得安樂。」 鬼王白佛言：「願不有慮，我畢是形，念念擁護閻浮眾生，生時死時，俱得安樂。但願諸眾生，於生死時，信受我語，無不解脫，獲大利益。」 爾時，佛告地藏菩薩：「是大鬼王主命者，已曾經百千生，作大鬼王，於生死中，擁護眾生。是大士，慈悲願故，現大鬼身，實非鬼也。却後過一百七十劫，當得成佛，號曰無相如來。劫名安樂，世界名淨住。其佛壽命，不可計劫。地藏！是大鬼王，其事如是，不可思議，所度天人，亦不可限量。」
The canonical text stands in Chinese only. This edition renders the essence, the plain reading, the exposition and the apparatus into English — never the sūtra itself. Switch to 漢讀本 or 並行雙語 above to read it.
唐于闐國三藏沙門實叉難陀譯《地藏菩薩本願經》〈閻羅王眾讚歎品〉，大正藏 T13n0412，卷下第八品，自品題至「所度天人，亦不可限量」。段首（…）＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔一·品題〕（0784c02）閻羅王眾讚歎品 第八。
〔二·鬼王與閻羅天子俱詣忉利〕（0784c03）那時，鐵圍山內有無量的鬼王，同閻羅天子一起，前往忉利天，來到佛所在的地方。
〔三·列鬼王之名·上二十八位以義立名〕（0784c04）就是：惡毒鬼王（惡毒，指十惡與三毒；三毒屬於意，是身口七種惡的根本）、多惡鬼王（一念之中已具諸惡，推廣開去便多得無量；外現忿怒的惡相，內起慈悲的善心）、大諍鬼王（諍就是鬬諍；牠以大諍的法門化導人無諍）、白虎鬼王（虎是山獸，又叫大蟲，猛而有威，慢而多暴；白虎是西方之獸）、血虎鬼王（口像血盆）、赤虎鬼王（毛像火一樣赤——這三位鬼頭如虎，所以各用虎為名）、散殃鬼王（殃，就是咎、就是禍）、飛身鬼王（飛行夜叉一類）、電光鬼王（眼光像電一樣閃爍，教看見的人害怕）、狼牙鬼王（這鬼的牙尖向外，像狼的牙）、千眼鬼王（觀音的千眼在手，獄卒的六十四眼在角；這鬼的千眼安在哪裡，古來未有定說）、噉獸鬼王（這鬼以獸為食）、負石鬼王（就是負石擔沙、填河塞海一類）、主耗鬼王（耗與禍二事相因：世傳天地有司過之神，依人所犯的輕重奪人的壽算；算減了就貧耗）、主禍鬼王（與主耗同其一事之兩面）、主食鬼王（食是民生之祿，善的人享用，惡的人減損）、主財鬼王（岳府有主財的案主，護人的財物）、主畜鬼王（畜有胎卵濕化四生，所住有三處）、主禽鬼王（飛的叫禽，是羽族的總名）、主獸鬼王（走的叫獸，是毛蟲的總名——這些禽獸各有鬼王主管）、主魅鬼王（魅就是魑魅，年老的精物）、主產鬼王（主人的產生）、主命鬼王（依經，毗沙門主護四天下人的命）、主疾鬼王（主疾病；古來於此只註如前二字，不另作解）、主險鬼王（高山峻嶺、大海深淵這些險難的地方，是身命所繫；應當死的記錄他，不應當死的護持他）、三目鬼王（兩眼中間豎起一目，像摩醯首羅的樣子）、四目鬼王（額上又橫開兩目）、五目鬼王（在上下之中，又豎生一目）。
〔四·下六位以音立名〕（0784c11）以下六位，經文只稱王，不稱鬼王，是梵音的音寫：祁利失王、大祁利失王、祁利叉王、大祁利叉王、阿那吒王、大阿那吒王。（古來於這一串三度說不詳：說祁利失等未見翻譯，說其中的失字未詳，說阿那吒則未可的指。因此只存漢地所傳的音，不作梵文的還原。）
〔五·各有所執，各有所主〕（0784c12）像這樣的一些大鬼王，各各與成百上千的小鬼王，全都住在閻浮提，各有各所執掌的，各有各所主管的。
〔六·承佛與地藏之力而來〕（0784c14）這些鬼王，同閻羅天子，承著佛的威神，以及地藏菩薩摩訶薩的力量，一起前往忉利天，站在一邊。
〔七·閻羅天子述來意而請問〕（0784c16）那時，閻羅天子胡跪合掌，稟白佛說：『世尊！我們今天同諸位鬼王，承著佛的威神，以及地藏菩薩摩訶薩的力量，才能夠來到這忉利天的大會，這也是我們獲得善利的緣故。我今天有一件小小的疑事，冒昧請問世尊，但願世尊慈悲宣說。』
〔八·佛許其問〕（0784c20）佛告訴閻羅天子：『任憑你問，我為你說。』
〔九·天子先讚地藏神通〕（0784c21）這時，閻羅天子瞻仰禮拜世尊，又回過頭來看地藏菩薩，然後稟白佛說：『世尊！我看地藏菩薩在六道之中，用成百上千的方便，度那些有罪受苦的眾生，不推辭疲倦。這位大菩薩，有這樣不可思議的神通之事。
〔十·而後轉出所疑〕（0784c25）可是那些眾生，脫離了罪報，沒有多久，又墮入惡道。世尊！這位地藏菩薩既然有這樣不可思議的神力，為什麼眾生不依止善道，永遠取得解脫呢？但願世尊為我解說。』
〔十一·佛總示眾生剛強難調〕（0784c28）佛告訴閻羅天子：『南閻浮提的眾生，他們的性子剛強，難調難伏。這位大菩薩，在百千劫之中，一個一個地救拔這樣的眾生，早早使他們解脫。這些受罪報的人，乃至於墮入大惡趣，菩薩就用方便力，把根本的業緣拔出來，並且教他省悟宿世的事。可是閻浮提的眾生，結下的惡習深重，剛出去又轉進來；勞動這位菩薩，經歷長久的劫數，作度脫的事。』
〔十二·設喻·迷失本家，誤入險道〕（0785a05）佛接著說一個譬喻。譬如有人迷失了本家，誤入險道。那條險道之中，有許多夜叉，以及虎、狼、獅子、蚖、蛇、蝮、蠍。像這樣的迷路人，在險道之中，一轉眼的工夫，就遭了諸毒。
〔十三·喻·善知識指迷〕（0785a08）有一位善知識，多懂大術，善於禁制這些毒，乃至夜叉那一類的諸惡毒。他忽然遇上迷路人正要走進險道，就對他說：『咄呀！男子！為了什麼緣故走上這條路？你有什麼特別的法術，能夠制伏諸毒？』
〔十四·喻·迷人退步求出〕（0785a11）這迷路的人忽然聽到這話，才曉得是險道，隨即退步，求著要出這條路。
〔十五·喻·接引至好道，並囑其莫再入〕（0785a13）這位善知識提攜他、接他的手，把他引出險道，免了諸惡毒，到了好道，使他得到安樂，並且對他說：『咄呀！迷路的人！從今以後，不要再踏這條路。這條路進去的人，猝然難得出來，還要損傷性命。』這迷路的人也生起深重的感念。
〔十六·喻·臨別囑令轉告〕（0785a16）臨別的時候，善知識又說：『若是見到親近相識的人以及路上的人，不論男女，你要說這條路上多的是毒惡，會喪失性命。不要教這些人自己去取死。』
〔十七·以法合喻〕（0785a19）所以地藏菩薩具備大慈悲，救拔有罪受苦的眾生，要他們生到天上人間，領受妙樂。這些有罪的眾人曉得了業道的苦，一脫得出去，就永遠不再經歷——像那迷路的人誤入險道，遇到善知識引接出來，永遠不再進去；遇見別人，又勸他不要進去，自己說：『因為這一迷的緣故，我才得了解脫；再也不進去了。』
〔十八·若再履踐則永處地獄〕（0785a24）若是再踏上去，還是照樣迷誤，不覺得這是舊時曾經落過的險道，或者以致喪命，就像墮惡趣一樣。地藏菩薩用方便力的緣故，使他們解脫，生在人天之中；轉眼又再進去，若是業結深重，就永遠處在地獄，沒有解脫的時候。
〔十九·惡毒鬼王敘其行處〕（0785a27）那時，惡毒鬼王合掌恭敬，稟白佛說：『世尊！我們這些鬼王，數目無量，在閻浮提，有的利益人，有的損害人，各各不同。然而這是業報，使我的眷屬遊行世界，惡多善少。
〔二十·所歷之善處〕（0785b02）經過人家的庭院，或者城邑聚落、莊園房舍，若是有男子女人修一毛一髮那樣小的善事，乃至於懸掛一幡一蓋、一點香一點花，供養佛像以及菩薩像，或者轉讀尊貴的經典，燒香供養一句一偈——
〔二十一·敬禮如三世佛，遣護却惡〕（0785b05）我們這些鬼王，敬禮這個人，就像敬禮過去、現在、未來的諸佛。並且吩咐諸位小鬼——他們各有大力，以及分內所管的那一片土地——就教他們衛護，不教惡事橫事、惡病橫病，乃至不如意的事靠近這個屋舍等處，何況進門？』
〔二十二·佛讚鬼王〕（0785b09）佛讚歎鬼王說：『好啊！好啊！你們以及閻羅，能夠這樣擁護善男子善女人等，我也告訴梵王、帝釋，教他們衛護你們。』
〔二十三·主命鬼王自陳所主〕（0785b11）說這話的時候，會中有一位鬼王，名叫主命，稟白佛說：『世尊！我因為本來的業緣，主管閻浮提人的壽命，生的時候、死的時候，我都主管。在我的本願，很想利益人；可是眾生不領會我的心意，以致生也好死也好，都不得安穩。
〔二十四·初生之時但作善事〕（0785b15）為什麼呢？這閻浮提的人初生的時候，不論男女，或者將要生的時候，只管作善事，增益這一家的屋宅，自然使土地無量歡喜，擁護孩子與母親，得到大安樂，利益眷屬。或者已經生下來了，千萬不要殺害，取那些鮮味來供給產婦；以及廣泛聚集眷屬，飲酒吃肉，歌樂絃管——這能夠使孩子與母親都不得安樂。
〔二十五·產難之時惡鬼欲食腥血〕（0785b20）為什麼呢？這產難的時候，有無數的惡鬼以及魍魎精魅，想吃腥血。是我早早教這一家的屋宅、土地靈祇荷護孩子與母親（荷護，像背負東西一樣，不可以失落），使他們安樂，而得到利益。
〔二十六·翻為殺害則子母俱損〕（0785b23）像這樣的人，看見安樂了，本該設福報答諸位土地；反而作起殺害，聚集眷屬。因為這個緣故，犯下的殃自己承受，孩子與母親都受損。
〔二十七·臨命終人不問善惡〕（0785b25）又閻浮提臨命終的人，不論善惡，我想使這個命終的人不落惡道，何況他自己修善根，增益我的力量。這閻浮提行善的人，臨命終的時候，也有成百上千惡道的鬼神，或者變作父母，乃至於變作諸位眷屬，把亡人引接了去，教他落入惡道——何況本來造惡的人？
〔二十八·神識惛昧·眷屬當設大供養〕（0785c01）世尊！像這樣的閻浮提男子女人，臨命終的時候，神識昏昧，分辨不出善惡，乃至眼睛耳朵再沒有見聞。這些眷屬，應當設大供養，轉讀尊貴的經典，念佛與菩薩的名號。像這樣的善緣，能夠使亡者離開諸惡道，諸魔鬼神全都退散。
〔二十九·聞一佛名一菩薩名，尋即解脫〕（0785c05）世尊！一切眾生臨命終的時候，若是能夠聽到一位佛的名、一位菩薩的名，或者大乘經典的一句一偈，我看這一類的人，除了五無間殺害的罪之外，小小的惡業本該墮惡趣的，隨即就得解脫。』
〔三十·佛讚勸主命鬼王〕（0785c08）佛告訴主命鬼王：『你因為大慈的緣故，能夠發這樣的大願，在生死之中護持諸眾生。若是未來世中有男子女人到了生死的時候，你不要退掉這個願，總要使他們解脫，永遠得到安樂。』
〔三十一·鬼王受命〕（0785c12）鬼王稟白佛說：『但願不要憂慮。我盡這一形的壽命，念念擁護閻浮提的眾生，生的時候、死的時候，都得到安樂。只願諸位眾生在生死的時候信受我的話，沒有不解脫的，獲得大利益。』
〔三十二·如來發其本地·記無相如來〕（0785c15）那時，佛告訴地藏菩薩：『這位大鬼王主命，已經經過百千生作大鬼王，在生死之中擁護眾生。這位大士因為慈悲願的緣故，現出大鬼的身，其實不是鬼。此後過一百七十劫，當得成佛，號叫作無相如來；劫名安樂，世界名淨住。那位佛的壽命，不可計算劫數。地藏！這位大鬼王，他的事這樣不可思議，所度的天人，也不可限量。』
Śikṣānanda’s translation, made under the Tang, of the chapter “The Praise of King Yama and His Multitude” in The Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, Taishō T13n0412, the eighth chapter, in Fascicle Two, from the chapter title down to “the devas and humans he has delivered are likewise beyond all reckoning.” The figures in parentheses at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.
〔1 · The title of the chapter〕（0784c02）The Praise of King Yama and His Multitude, Chapter Eight.
〔2 · The ghost kings and Yama, Son of Heaven, go together to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three〕（0784c03）At that time, within the Iron Ring Mountains, there were measureless ghost kings who went together with Yama, Son of Heaven, to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three and came to the place where the Buddha was.
〔3 · The ghost kings listed by name · the first twenty-eight named by sense〕（0784c04）Namely: the ghost king Evil and Poison (evil and poison: the ten evils and the three poisons; the three poisons belong to the mind, and are the root of the seven evils of body and speech), the ghost king Many Evils (a single thought already holds all the evils within it, and spread out they become measureless in number; outwardly he shows the wrathful marks of evil, inwardly he raises the good heart of compassion), the ghost king Great Contention (contention is strife; by the Dharma-gate of great contention he leads people into non-contention), the ghost king White Tiger (the tiger is a mountain beast, also called the great worm, fierce and full of awe, arrogant and given to violence; the white tiger is the beast of the west), the ghost king Blood Tiger (his mouth is like a basin of blood), the ghost king Red Tiger (his fur is red as fire — these three ghosts have heads like a tiger’s, and so each is named with the tiger), the ghost king Scatterer of Calamity (calamity is fault, is disaster), the ghost king Flying Body (of the sort of the flying yakṣas), the ghost king Lightning Flash (the light of his eyes flickers like lightning, and frightens those who see it), the ghost king Wolf-Fang (this ghost’s fangs point outward, like the fangs of a wolf), the ghost king Thousand Eyes (Avalokiteśvara’s thousand eyes are set in the hands, the hell-warden’s sixty-four eyes are set in the horns; where this ghost’s thousand eyes are set, the ancients had no settled account), the ghost king Devourer of Beasts (this ghost feeds upon beasts), the ghost king Bearer of Stones (of the sort that bear stones and carry sand to fill up rivers and block up seas), the ghost king Master-of-Wasting (wasting and calamity are two things that follow upon each other: it is handed down that heaven and earth have a spirit who keeps account of transgressions, and who takes years from a person’s reckoned span according to the weight of what he has committed; and when the reckoning is cut down, he grows poor and wasted), the ghost king Master-of-Calamity (with Master-of-Wasting, two faces of one and the same matter), the ghost king Master-of-Food (food is the emolument of a people’s livelihood; the good enjoy it, and for the evil it is diminished), the ghost king Master-of-Wealth (the court of the Sacred Peak has a case-officer in charge of wealth, who guards people’s goods), the ghost king Master-of-Livestock (livestock are of the four births, and their dwellings are of three places), the ghost king Master-of-Birds (what flies is called a bird, and this is the general name of the feathered kind), the ghost king Master-of-Beasts (what runs is called a beast, and this is the general name of the furred kind — and these birds and beasts each have their ghost king in charge of them), the ghost king Master-of-Sprites (a sprite is a hill-goblin, an aged thing of essence), the ghost king Master-of-Birthing (master over people’s giving birth), the ghost king Master-of-Life (according to the scriptures, Vaiśravaṇa is master over the guarding of the lives of the people of the four continents), the ghost king Master-of-Sickness (master over sickness and disease; the ancients gloss this one with two words only, “as above,” and set out no separate account), the ghost king Master-of-Perils (high mountains and steep ranges, the great sea and the deep abyss — these places of peril and hardship are where body and life hang; those who ought to die he enters in the register, and those who ought not to die he guards), the ghost king Three Eyes (between the two eyes a third stands upright, after the fashion of Maheśvara), the ghost king Four Eyes (upon the forehead two more open crosswise), the ghost king Five Eyes (in the middle, between the ones above and the ones below, yet another grows upright).
〔4 · The six that follow, named by sound〕（0784c11）The six that follow are called king only, and not ghost king, in the text of the sūtra; they are transcriptions of a Sanskrit sound: the king Qilishi〔祁利失〕, the king Great Qilishi〔大祁利失〕, the king Qilicha〔祁利叉〕, the king Great Qilicha〔大祁利叉〕, the king Anazha〔阿那吒〕, the king Great Anazha〔大阿那吒〕. (Three times over this string the ancients say that they do not know: that for Qilishi and the rest no translation has been found; that the character 失 within it is not ascertained; that Anazha cannot be pointed to for certain. For that reason only the sound as it was handed down in the Chinese lands is kept, and no reconstruction into Sanskrit is made.)
〔5 · Each has what he holds, each has what he is master of〕（0784c12）Great ghost kings such as these, each of them with a hundred thousand lesser ghost kings, all dwell in Jambudvīpa; each has what he holds in charge, each has what he is master of.
〔6 · They come by the power of the Buddha and of Kṣitigarbha〕（0784c14）These ghost kings, together with Yama, Son of Heaven, receiving the awesome spiritual power of the Buddha and the strength of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva-mahāsattva, went together to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three and stood to one side.
〔7 · The Son of Heaven states why he has come, and asks leave to question〕（0784c16）At that time Yama, Son of Heaven, knelt upon one knee with palms joined and said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! We today, together with the ghost kings, have been able to come to this great assembly in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three by receiving the awesome spiritual power of the Buddha and the strength of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva-mahāsattva; and this too is because we have gained a good benefit. I have today a small matter of doubt, and make bold to ask the World-Honored One; I pray only that the World-Honored One will in his compassion expound it.”
〔8 · The Buddha grants the question〕（0784c20）The Buddha said to Yama, Son of Heaven: “Ask as you please; I will explain it for you.”
〔9 · The Son of Heaven first praises Kṣitigarbha’s spiritual powers〕（0784c21）At this time Yama, Son of Heaven, gazed up and bowed to the World-Honored One, and turned his head back to look at Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, and then said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! I see that Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, within the six destinies, with a hundred thousand skillful means delivers those beings who are guilty and suffering, and never excuses himself for weariness. This great bodhisattva has matters of spiritual power as inconceivable as these.
〔10 · And then he brings out his doubt〕（0784c25）And yet those beings, once they have got free of the retribution for their guilt, fall into the evil destinies again before long. World-Honored One! Since this Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva has spiritual power so inconceivable as this, why is it that beings do not rest upon the good destinies and take liberation once and for all? I pray only that the World-Honored One will explain it for me.”
〔11 · The Buddha shows in sum that beings are hard and stubborn and difficult to tame〕（0784c28）The Buddha said to Yama, Son of Heaven: “The beings of southern Jambudvīpa are hard and stubborn in their nature, difficult to tame and difficult to subdue. This great bodhisattva, through a hundred thousand kalpas, rescues such beings one head at a time and would have them liberated early. Even when these people who undergo the retribution of guilt fall into the great evil destinies, the bodhisattva uses the power of skillful means and draws out the root of their karmic conditions, and makes them awaken to the matters of their former lives. Yet the beings of Jambudvīpa have knotted their evil habits deep; no sooner are they out than they turn back in, and they put this bodhisattva to labor through long kalpas at the work of delivering them.”
〔12 · The simile · one loses his own home and strays into a road of peril〕（0785a05）The Buddha then spoke a simile. Suppose there were a man who lost his own home and strayed by mistake into a road of peril. On that road of peril there are many yakṣas, and tigers, wolves, lions, vipers, snakes, adders, and scorpions. A man lost in this way, on the road of peril, in the space of a moment meets with all the poisons.
〔13 · The simile · a good friend calls him back from his straying〕（0785a08）There is a good friend who understands many great arts and is skilled at binding these poisons, and the yakṣas and every such evil poison as well. He suddenly meets the man who has lost his way just as that man is about to go on into the road of peril, and says to him: “Hey there! Good man! For what cause do you take this road? What uncommon art have you, that you could subdue all the poisons?”
〔14 · The simile · the lost man steps back and seeks a way out〕（0785a11）The man who had lost his way, hearing these words all at once, then knew that it was a road of peril, and straightway stepped back and sought to get out of that road.
〔15 · The simile · he is led to the good road, and charged not to enter again〕（0785a13）This good friend took him up and took him by the hand, and led him out of the road of peril, and spared him all the evil poisons, and brought him to a good road, and made him find peace and ease; and he said to him: “Hey there! You who have lost your way! From this day on, do not tread this road again. Those who go in by this road find it hard to get out on a sudden, and they lose their very lives besides.” And the man who had lost his way felt gratitude weighty within him.
〔16 · The simile · at parting he is charged to pass the word on〕（0785a16）At the time of parting the good friend spoke again: “If you see those you know and are close to, and travelers upon the road, whether men or women, tell them that on this road there are many poisons and evils, and that they will lose their lives. Do not let these people take their own death upon themselves.”
〔17 · The Dharma matched to the simile〕（0785a19）Therefore Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, being complete in great kindness and compassion, rescues the beings who are guilty and suffering, and would have them born among devas and humans and there receive wondrous bliss. These guilty multitudes, once they have known the suffering of the paths of karma, get out of it and never pass through it again — like the man who lost his way and strayed into the road of peril, who met a good friend and was led out, and never went in again; and who, meeting others, exhorted them too not to go in, saying of himself: “It was by reason of this one straying that I came to be liberated, and I shall never go in again.”
〔18 · If he treads it again he abides in hell forever〕（0785a24）If he should tread it again, he goes astray just as before, and does not perceive that this is the road of peril he once fell into; and he may thereby lose his life, just as one falls into the evil destinies. Because of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva’s power of skillful means they are liberated and born among devas and humans; and in the turn of an eye they go in again, and if the knot of their karma is deep and heavy they abide in hell forever, with no time of liberation.
〔19 · The ghost king Evil and Poison tells where his kind go〕（0785a27）At that time the ghost king Evil and Poison joined his palms in reverence and said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! We ghost kings are measureless in number, and in Jambudvīpa some of us benefit people and some of us harm people, each differing from the other. Yet it is the retribution of karma that makes my kindred roam through the world with much of evil in them and little of good.
〔20 · The good they come upon〕（0785b02）Passing the courtyards of people’s houses, or their walled towns and villages, their manors and dwellings, if there be a man or a woman who cultivates a good deed as small as a hair or a strand of down, or who so much as hangs up one banner or one canopy, a little incense or a little flower, and makes offerings to an image of a buddha or an image of a bodhisattva, or who reads a venerable sūtra aloud and burns incense in offering to a single line or a single verse —
〔21 · They revere him as they revere the buddhas of the three times, and send guards to turn evil away〕（0785b05）— we ghost kings revere that person as we revere the buddhas of the past, the present, and the future. And we charge the lesser ghosts, who have each of them great strength and each of them their own allotted stretch of land, to stand guard over him, and not to let evil happenings or freak happenings, evil sicknesses or freak sicknesses, or anything at all that runs contrary to his wish, come near that house or its precincts — how much less come in at the gate?”
〔22 · The Buddha praises the ghost kings〕（0785b09）The Buddha praised the ghost kings, saying: “Excellent! Excellent! That you and Yama are able to guard good men and good women in this way — I too shall tell the Brahmā King and Śakra to stand guard over you.”
〔23 · The ghost king Master-of-Life tells what he is master of〕（0785b11）While these words were being spoken, there was in the assembly a ghost king named Master-of-Life, who said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! Because of my own original karmic conditions I am master over the lifespans of the people of Jambudvīpa; at the time of birth and at the time of death, I am master of both. In my original vow I greatly desire to benefit them; but beings do not take my meaning, and so neither their living nor their dying comes to any peace.
〔24 · At the time of birth, only do good deeds〕（0785b15）Why is this? When the people of Jambudvīpa are first born, whether boy or girl, or when the birth is about to come, let them only do good deeds and so add to the increase of the household; then of themselves the earth spirits are gladdened beyond measure, and guard the child and the mother, who gain great peace and ease, and the whole kindred is benefited. Or when the child is already born, take the greatest care not to kill and harm living things, taking their fresh flavors to set before the mother who has given birth; nor to gather the kindred together in numbers to drink wine and eat meat, with singing and music of strings and pipes — for this can make both child and mother fail of peace and ease.
〔25 · At the hard hour of birth the evil ghosts would eat the raw blood〕（0785b20）Why is this? At that hard hour of birth there are numberless evil ghosts and goblins and sprites of essence that would eat the raw blood. It is I who early on charge the house and the numinous powers of that soil to bear the child and the mother up (to bear up: as one bears a thing upon one’s back, which must not be let fall), so that they may be at peace and ease and gain the benefit.
〔26 · Turning instead to killing, both child and mother are harmed〕（0785b23）Such people as these, seeing that all is at peace and ease, ought by rights to set out blessings and requite the earth spirits; and instead they turn to killing and harming and gather their kindred together. For this cause the calamity they commit falls upon themselves, and child and mother are both harmed.
〔27 · Those who come to the end of life, be they good or evil〕（0785b25）Again, of the people of Jambudvīpa who come to the end of life, be they good or evil, it is my wish that this person at the end of life should not fall into the evil destinies — how much more when he himself cultivates roots of goodness and so adds to my strength. Of the people of Jambudvīpa who do good, even these, at the time when life ends, have a hundred thousand ghosts and spirits of the evil destinies about them, who may take the shape of father and mother, or of any of the kindred, to lead the dying away and make him fall into the evil destinies — how much more one who has all along done evil?
〔28 · The spirit-consciousness grows dim · the kindred should set out a great offering〕（0785c01）World-Honored One! Such men and women of Jambudvīpa as these, at the time when life ends, have their spirit-consciousness dimmed and clouded, and cannot tell good from evil, and even with eye and ear there is no more seeing or hearing. Their kindred ought to set out a great offering, to read the venerable sūtras aloud, and to recite the names of the buddhas and the bodhisattvas. Good conditions such as these can make the dead one leave all the evil destinies, and all the demons, ghosts, and spirits scatter and withdraw.
〔29 · Hearing one buddha’s name or one bodhisattva’s name, they are straightway liberated〕（0785c05）World-Honored One! When all beings come to the end of life, if they can but hear the name of one buddha or the name of one bodhisattva, or a single line or a single verse of a Mahāyāna scripture, I see that people of this kind, apart from the sins of the five Uninterrupted deeds and of killing and harming, have their small evil deeds — those that ought to have made them fall into the evil destinies — straightway loosed.”
〔30 · The Buddha praises and exhorts the ghost king Master-of-Life〕（0785c08）The Buddha said to the ghost king Master-of-Life: “Because of your great kindness you are able to make a great vow such as this, and to guard all beings in the midst of birth and death. If in ages to come there be a man or a woman who reaches the hour of birth and death, do not withdraw this vow of yours, but bring them all to liberation and to peace and ease forever.”
〔31 · The ghost king receives the charge〕（0785c12）The ghost king said to the Buddha: “I pray that you may have no anxiety. To the end of this form of mine, thought after thought I shall guard the beings of Jambudvīpa, so that at the time of birth and at the time of death they may both find peace and ease. I pray only that all beings may believe and accept my words in the hour of birth and death; then there will be none who is not liberated, and they will gain the great benefit.”
〔32 · The Tathāgata discloses his original ground · the prediction of the Tathāgata Signless〕（0785c15）At that time the Buddha said to Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva: “This great ghost king Master-of-Life has already through a hundred thousand lives been a great ghost king, guarding beings in the midst of birth and death. This great being, by reason of his vow of compassion, manifests the body of a great ghost, and is in truth no ghost at all. A hundred and seventy kalpas hence he shall attain buddhahood, and his name shall be the Tathāgata Signless; the kalpa shall be named Peace and Ease, and the world Pure Abiding. That buddha’s lifespan shall be kalpas beyond all reckoning. Kṣitigarbha! The affairs of this great ghost king are inconceivable in this way, and the devas and humans he has delivered are likewise beyond all reckoning.”
本經今存唯一逐文而下的注解，是清代青蓮沙門靈椉的《地藏菩薩本願經科註》六卷。他把本品編在「大章第三，明度脫緣分。二。初、化主放光讚歎；二、閻王興問讚歎」〔X21n0384 0706b17〕之下——前二品是化主放光而讚，本品是冥界之王發問而讚。品題所以稱讚歎，他引《寶雨經》為據：菩薩「如月出現，能使人間城邑聚落諸剎帝利、婆羅門等，若男若女，悉皆稱讚」〔X21n0384 0706b19〕。品內先分「二、品文，二。初、經家敘；二、正興問。敘中三。初、主伴來儀」〔X21n0384 0724a10〕，而以「二、鬼王護助，二。初、惡毒擁護；二、主命助修」〔X21n0384 0729b10〕殿後。以下所說，還是先看經自己怎麼走。
三十四個名字，兩種取法
一品之首是一張名單。鐵圍山內無量鬼王隨閻羅天子同上忉利，經一個一個報名，報到「大祁利叉王、阿那吒王、大阿那吒王」〔T13n0412 0784c12〕為止。古來注家自己數過：「已上三十四位，皆是大鬼王」〔X21n0384 0725b18〕。
三十四個名字不是一種取法，是兩種。
前二十八個一律作某某鬼王，其名可解：惡毒、多惡、大諍是就其行說，白虎、血虎、赤虎是就其貌說，散殃、飛身、電光、狼牙、千眼、噉獸、負石是就其相與其事說；主耗以下十二個一律以主字領起——耗、禍、食、財、畜、禽、獸、魅、產、命、疾、險，各主一事；最後三個又回到形貌：三目、四目、五目。
後六個不同。經文寫的是祁利失王、大祁利失王、祁利叉王、大祁利叉王、阿那吒王、大阿那吒王——只稱王，不稱鬼王。這一字之差不是脫落，是這六個名字為梵音的音寫，漢地並未把它們的義譯出來。
古來注家在這一串上老實得罕見。他先說「祁利失王等，未見翻譯」〔X21n0384 0725b02〕；接著去考《立世阿毘曇論》，查到恒河之南有娑多耆利山、之北有醯摩䟦多山，山南山北的神各以山為名，因斷此語「的是山名」〔X21n0384 0725b04〕，並由閻王界與祁利山俱在恒河之南，南方屬火，推其義近於大力火神。可是推到下一個字就停住了——「失字未詳」〔X21n0384 0725b10〕。祁利叉他勉強解作「叉具云：叉耶，秦言盡。即大力盡王」〔X21n0384 0725b11〕。到阿那吒，他引《大經》八臂那吒為天中力士，隨即又收回：「則未可的指，然其名既同，未可知也」〔X21n0384 0725b12〕。
我們讀這一長串，很容易一眼掃過去。而注家在這六個字上停了三次，三次都停在同一個地方——不知道。
前二十八個裡也有一處照樣說不知道。釋千眼時他寫：「觀音千眼在手，獄卒六十四眼在角，此鬼千眼，不知如何安立」〔X21n0384 0724c09〕——觀音的千眼長在手上，獄卒的六十四眼長在角上，這一位的千眼安在哪裡，他說不出來。
名單照抄，不懂的地方照說不懂。這是本品第一件值得留意的事。
惡毒為首
名單的第一個是惡毒鬼王。歷來的讀法解釋這個次序：「惡毒乃鬼王之首，故前列之」〔X21n0384 0724b03〕。惡毒二字也有分解——「惡毒即十惡三毒」〔X21n0384 0724b03〕，而「三毒屬意，為身口七惡之本」〔X21n0384 0724b04〕：貪瞋癡在意，殺盜婬妄那七件在身口，前者是後者的根。
可是接下來一句，把整張名單的性質翻了過來：「然此等鬼王，皆是不思議菩薩，大權應化」〔X21n0384 0724b05〕。名字兇惡的這些，都是不思議菩薩的權巧示現。所以「以惡攻惡，以毒出毒」〔X21n0384 0724b06〕，「故用惡毒，以為化門」〔X21n0384 0724b07〕——惡毒不是牠的病，是牠的門。
同一副眼貫穿全串。多惡是「外現忿怒之惡相，內起慈悲之善心」〔X21n0384 0724b11〕；大諍更直接——「故鬼王以大諍法門化人無諍也」〔X21n0384 0724b18〕，以大諍教人不諍。
這個讀法不是憑空來的。經在本品末尾親自說了一句同樣的話，只是說的是另一位：「是大士，慈悲願故，現大鬼身，實非鬼也」〔T13n0412 0785c17〕。名單開頭的讀法，是從名單末尾那一句回推的。
發問的那一位，自己也在受
名單報完，開口的是閻羅天子。他是誰，本經一句沒有交代；要知道，得回到《長阿含》的〈世記經〉。
那裡先寫他的居處：「閻浮提南大金剛山內，有閻羅王宮」〔T01n0001 0126b09〕，王所治處縱廣六千由旬，其城七重。接下來寫的卻不是威儀：「然彼閻羅王晝夜三時，有大銅鑊自然在前」〔T01n0001 0126b12〕——鑊出現在宮內，他驚怖著往宮外走；鑊出現在宮外，他又往宮內躲。躲不掉的時候，「有大獄卒，捉閻羅王臥熱鐵上」〔T01n0001 0126b15〕，「以鐵鈎擗口使開，洋銅灌之」〔T01n0001 0126b16〕，燒其脣舌，從咽至腹，通徹下過。受完了才「受罪訖已，復與諸婇女共相娛樂」〔T01n0001 0126b17〕；而「彼諸大臣同受福者，亦復如是」〔T01n0001 0126b18〕。
一日三時。掌著冥界的那一位，一天三次被洋銅灌口。
同一部經還寫了他的職務怎麼辦。他所憑的是三位使者：「有三使者，云何為三？一者老，二者病，三者死」〔T01n0001 0126b19〕。獄卒把罪人押到他面前，說的是「此是天使所召也，唯願大王善問其辭」〔T01n0001 0126b22〕——請大王好好地問他的話。於是他一項一項地問：在人間可曾見過頭白齒落、僂脊柱杖的人；可曾見過臥病在牀、飲食須人的人；可曾見過命終之後被棄在塚間的人。罪人一律答見過。他每次再追一句：那何以不自己想一想，我也會這樣。答語也一律是我當時放逸，不自覺知。末後他說的是「汝自有惡，汝今自受」〔T01n0001 0126c04〕。
閻羅的本業就是問。這一品他向佛所發的一問，正是他日日在做的事——只是這一次，被問的不是罪人，答話的也不是他。
古來注家還補了兩件事。一是他何以獨稱天子：「今唯閻羅一王興問者」〔X21n0384 0725c19〕，因其位居正中而統攝諸王，故特加天子之名；並說「以帝釋天為父王，命閻羅為天子，主攝冥司」〔X21n0384 0725c20〕。二是這樣的王不止一位：「準長阿含：小千世界，有一千閻羅王」〔X21n0384 0726a02〕。
一千位王，各守一片冥界，各自一日三時受同一種苦。這一品開口發問的，是其中一位。
一個不客氣的問題
鬼王到齊，發問的是閻羅天子。他先讚：「我觀地藏菩薩，在六道中，百千方便，而度罪苦眾生，不辭疲倦」〔T13n0412 0784c23〕；讚完立刻轉：「然諸眾生，脫獲罪報，未久之間，又墮惡道」〔T13n0412 0784c25〕。
然後是本品的第一根軸：「是地藏菩薩既有如是不可思議神力，云何眾生而不依止善道，永取解脫？」〔T13n0412 0784c26〕
歷來的讀法把這一問拆成兩半：「此中問意兩關發疑」〔X21n0384 0726b18〕——一疑菩薩既有此力，自應令彼永取解脫；二疑六道既受此化，亦應久依善道。既然都不然，問題出在哪一邊：「為地藏神力不逮歟？為眾生心力不及歟？」〔X21n0384 0726b21〕
問的人不是外人。他掌冥界，日日看著同一批人出去又回來。他所說的未久有多久，注家替他算過：「未久云者，如等活地獄，對四天王壽」〔X21n0384 0726b13〕——以等活地獄對四天王天之壽計，「人間五十年，為上天一日夜；縱經百年，冥司秪得二日，豈非纔出即來」〔X21n0384 0726b13〕。人間活滿一百歲，在冥司的帳上只是兩天。
佛的答語，落在眾生身上的只有一句：「南閻浮提眾生，其性剛彊，難調難伏」〔T13n0412 0784c29〕。注家在此補一刀，說明剛強的是哪個性：「其性者，習性也，故曰剛強。若是法性，從本柔和」〔X21n0384 0726c03〕。剛強的是習性，不是法性。
答案沒有落在神力不逮上，也沒有落在誰該負責上。它落在習性上。
可是佛的答語還有下半，而下半才是實話。經接著說：「菩薩以方便力，拔出根本業緣，而遣悟宿世之事」〔T13n0412 0785a03〕。
拔出根本業緣——拔的是哪一條根？這四個字若不落實，方便力就只是一句好聽的話。
古來注家在此把梵名與義訓一併出：「梵名阿浮訶那，此云拔除罪根」〔X21n0384 0726c18〕。罪根還要再往下追一層：「須知諸惡，隨業受報，而以三毒為本」〔X21n0384 0726c18〕——諸惡各隨其業受報，而根柢是貪瞋癡。三毒之中還有一層：「三毒之中，貪愛為根。如捉布一頭，餘則盡隨」〔X21n0384 0726c19〕。
抓住一塊布的一角提起來，整塊布都跟著上來。這是本品最實在的一個譬：不是一件一件地替人消惡業，是找到那一角。
底下引了兩句作證。一句是「若不斷愛，愛則潤生」〔X21n0384 0726c20〕——愛不斷，它就一直在澆灌下一次的生；一句是「如樹根不拔，其樹猶生。貪根不拔，苦樹常在」〔X21n0384 0726c21〕。所以斷曰「故知生死，貪愛為本」〔X21n0384 0726c22〕。至於拔的樣子，注家引《十輪》一語：「滅除一切惑障習氣，猶如烈日銷釋輕冰」〔X21n0384 0726c23〕。
經文的下半句是「而遣悟宿世之事」——根一拔，人自己就想起來了：「今根本業緣既拔，自悟宿世之事」〔X21n0384 0727a01〕，「譬古鏡之重揩，其常光而自現矣」〔X21n0384 0727a01〕。鏡子沒有新添一分光，是把積的塵擦掉。
於是這一答的兩層齊了：眾生剛強的是習性；而所拔的，是那習性底下的貪愛。一層說病在哪裡，一層說刀下在哪裡。
險道
佛接著說了一個譬喻，是本經少見的長譬。
「譬如有人，迷失本家，誤入險道」〔T13n0412 0785a05〕。險道之中「多諸夜叉，及虎狼師子、蚖蛇蝮蠍」〔T13n0412 0785a06〕，迷路的人「須臾之間，即遭諸毒」〔T13n0412 0785a08〕。
有兩個字先要定住：本家。歷來的讀法說得毫不迂迴——「常寂光土為本家」〔X21n0384 0727a18〕，而且「十惡眾生，原是如來之子；三塗苦處，無非常寂之家」〔X21n0384 0727a19〕。迷的過程是「以不知真如法一，不覺無明風動，漂流異國，墮落他鄉」〔X21n0384 0727a20〕，於是「既忘本處，便迷歸路，遊行逐境，險道斯臻」〔X21n0384 0727a21〕。這個次序與我們慣常的想法是倒過來的：不是走錯了路才回不了家，是先忘了家在哪裡，路才成為險道。
道上的猛獸也各有所配：夜叉「有智有通，飛行捷疾」〔X21n0384 0727b02〕，配利使；「故虎狼等，畜類愚頑，以譬鈍使」〔X21n0384 0727b04〕，其中「故以虎喻慢使」〔X21n0384 0727b07〕、「狼譬貪使」〔X21n0384 0727b09〕、「師子表癡使」〔X21n0384 0727b10〕、「蚖蛇蝮蠍譬瞋使」〔X21n0384 0727b12〕。
然後路上出現一位知識。經只說「有一知識，多解大術，善禁是毒」〔T13n0412 0785a08〕，沒有點名。注家點了：「知識指地藏」〔X21n0384 0727c03〕。
這不是空點的。同尊而異的另一部經裡，這位菩薩兩度被寫成路上的指引者：「如迷方者所逢示導」〔T13n0411 0722a02〕——迷了方向的人所遇見的那位指路人；又「譬如明月，於夜分中，能示一切失道眾生平坦正路」〔T13n0411 0727b02〕——夜裡替失道的人照出平坦正路的那一輪月。險道之中忽然出現的那位知識，站的正是這個位置。
這位知識做的第一件事不是拉人，是喝止：「咄哉！男子！為何事故，而入此路？」〔T13n0412 0785a10〕注家釋這兩個字：「咄哉，喚醒之辭。男子，警惕之意」〔X21n0384 0727c15〕。而他所問的此路，注家在此接上本經第一品的一句舊話——「以此路，二種人到。所謂威神、業力，非此二事，終不能到」〔X21n0384 0727c19〕。第一品裡，婆羅門女問無毒鬼王她怎麼到得了獄所，答的正是這兩件事。同一句話，一次用來解釋聖女如何進去，一次用來喝住迷人不要進去。
喝止之後才是接引：「是善知識，提携接手，引出險道，免諸惡毒，至于好道，令得安樂」〔T13n0412 0785a13〕。
而全喻最要緊的一節在臨別。知識沒有就此走開，他交代了一件事：「若見親知及諸路人，若男若女，言於此路多諸毒惡，喪失性命。無令是眾，自取其死」〔T13n0412 0785a17〕。注家說明這一囑的用意：「臨別時，將他化也。令轉勸者，冀展轉傳化，化化不絕也」〔X21n0384 0728b19〕。被救的人要去救人；而救法不是提携接手，只是把路上有什麼說出來。
末後自取其死一句，注家引《五苦章句經》作解：閻羅王有弘普之慈，對墮地獄者現身而問何為至此，罪人答以死時不知自己行了諸惡，自然被送來；王曰「自汝所作，今當受之。吾不枉汝」〔X21n0384 0728c04〕。注家接著下了斷語：「譬如抱石投淵，自沉自墜；飛蛾赴火，自燋自爛。非天與人授也」〔X21n0384 0728c05〕。
最後五個字，第五品講地獄苦具時已經說過一次。那裡說銅鐵石火不是誰發下來的，這裡說路也不是誰指過去的。
這條路，只講到人天為止
險道之喻讀到這裡，還要補一件事——而這件事關乎的不只是本品，是全書怎麼讀。
前面把夜叉配利使、虎狼師子蚖蛇配鈍使，又把本家讀作常寂光土；照這個配法，險道應該是整個生死，不會只是三惡道。歷來的讀法自己知道這一點。他先出《法華文句》之判：「文句釋法華險難惡道，通譬九界生死因果」〔X21n0384 0727a22〕——險難惡道通譬九界，聲聞、緣覺、菩薩也在那條路上。可是他接著自限：「今據下文生人天中，令受妙樂，秪以三塗為險道」〔X21n0384 0727a24〕。因為經文自己說的是「欲生天人中，令受妙樂」〔T13n0412 0785a20〕，所以他把險道收窄成三惡道，把好道收窄成人天。
到全喻收尾處，他把這個自限說得更明白。他先承認：「據此亦應約九界因果明險道」〔X21n0384 0728a20〕，而且照《法華》的走法，要「過五百由旬，到涅槃寶所，方為安隱」〔X21n0384 0728a20〕。《法華》那個譬也正是這一路：「譬如五百由旬險難惡道，曠絕無人、怖畏之處」〔T09n0262 0025c26〕，「有一導師，聰慧明達，善知險道通塞之相」〔T09n0262 0025c28〕。同樣是險道，同樣有一位導師；所差的是，那位導師中途化出一座城讓人歇腳，歇夠了再把城滅掉，繼續往寶所走。
然後是最要緊的一句。他說自己之所以只講到人天：「今秪約三塗人天敵論者」〔X21n0384 0728a21〕，是「化五濁迷流之要著也」〔X21n0384 0728a22〕——對著五濁裡漂流的人，這是最管用的一著。接著他親自攔了一句：「先以小接，次令入大，方便巧逗，妙化隨機，毋謂是經秪生人天也」〔X21n0384 0728a22〕。先用小的接住，再引他入大——不要以為這部經只能生人天。末了他寫下六個字：「點逗於此，前後例之」〔X21n0384 0728a23〕。
前後例之，是說這句話不只管這一段，全書其餘各處照此類推。一位注家在自己講得最順的地方停下來，聲明我這樣講是為了接引，不要把它當成邊界——這是本品之外的事，卻是讀這一整部經最該先知道的事。
敬禮是人，如三世諸佛
譬喻說完，說話的人換了。惡毒鬼王合掌白佛，先報自己的實情：「我等諸鬼王，其數無量，在閻浮提，或利益人，或損害人，各各不同」〔T13n0412 0785a28〕，而且「然是業報，使我眷屬，遊行世界，多惡少善」〔T13n0412 0785b01〕。牠沒有替自己辯護，牠說牠的眷屬惡多善少，而這是業報。
接著是這一段裡分量最重的一句。牠說牠所敬禮的是誰：「我等鬼王，敬禮是人，如過去、現在、未來諸佛」〔T13n0412 0785b05〕。
敬禮的門檻低得出奇。經列的是「修毛髮善事」〔T13n0412 0785b03〕——一毛一髮那麼小；「乃至懸一旛一蓋，少香少華」〔T13n0412 0785b03〕；「或轉讀尊經，燒香供養一句一偈」〔T13n0412 0785b04〕。一幡、一蓋、一句、一偈——都是我們隨手辦得起的分量。
歷來的讀法自己設了問答：鬼是惡儔，何以見人作毫善便敬禮如三世佛。答語只有一句：「所言佛者，修一切善法而得」〔X21n0384 0730b06〕，因此「今男女修諸善事，佛果斯栽，故鬼神敬之」〔X21n0384 0730b07〕。所敬的不是那個人現在的位置，是那件小事裡已經下了的種。注家並引荊谿之語作證：「一句一偈，增進菩提；一色一香，永無退轉」〔X21n0384 0730a24〕。
同一段裡還有一組對照，出自《長阿含》：世人若行邪見作十惡，「如是百千人，乃有一神護耳」〔X21n0384 0729c02〕；若修善法見正信行十善，「如是一人有百千神護」〔X21n0384 0729c03〕。百千人共一位神，與一人得百千位神——同一批鬼神，比例整個顛倒過來。
佛的回應也短：「善哉！善哉！汝等及與閻羅，能如是擁護善男女等」〔T13n0412 0785b09〕，並說「吾亦告梵王帝釋，令衛護汝」〔T13n0412 0785b10〕。護人的，自己也在被護。
鬼何以為鬼，王何以為王
品首那一判——這些鬼王都是不思議菩薩的大權應化——讀著痛快，卻容易把另一半蓋掉。歷來的讀法並沒有只講權的那一邊；同一副筆也照著業道，講了鬼何以為鬼。
鬼道之因，他引《正法念》：「準正法念經，明其因行，乃由貪嫉、邪倿、諂曲、欺誑、積財不施」〔X21n0384 0729c09〕。五件事：貪嫉、邪倿、諂曲、欺誑，末一件是積財不施——攢著而不肯給出去。
鬼中還有貧富。他分兩種住處：「有威德者，住山谷空中海邊，皆有宮殿」〔X21n0384 0729b20〕；「無威德者，依不淨糞穢草木塚墓屏廁故塸，皆無舍宅」〔X21n0384 0729b21〕。同在鬼道，一種住宮殿，一種連遮身的地方都沒有。
而王之所以為王，他也給了因：「若惡中兼布施因，生鬼道中，大有威德，為諸鬼王」〔X21n0384 0731a14〕。惡業裡兼著布施，所以墮鬼道而為王。我們一生所作本來就不是純的，果報也就不是純的。
接下來一句很冷：「雖威德為王，恒為諸天駈役，守門防邏，導從給使，亦繫往業」〔X21n0384 0731a15〕。雖然是王，仍舊被諸天差遣——守門、巡邏、隨從、供使，這些也一樣繫在往業上。所以連主命的職務都是業排下來的：「其主命之職，亦循業而為之」〔X21n0384 0731a16〕。
這一讀與品首那一判，表面上是相反的：一邊說牠們本是菩薩，一邊說牠們循業受形。同一部注裡二說並存，沒有調停。而經自己在末尾只指認了一位「實非鬼也」〔T13n0412 0785c17〕；其餘三十三位，經沒有說。
生時死時
第二根軸在本品後半。會中有一位鬼王越班而出，名叫主命。牠自陳所主：「我本業緣，主閻浮人命，生時死時，我皆主之」〔T13n0412 0785b12〕。
這句話容易讀重。歷來的讀法先把它收住：「然言主者，不過司命存亡，非能與奪人命，令生之死之」〔X21n0384 0731a06〕——主只是司其存亡，不是能與奪人命、令生令死。牠掌的是簿冊，不是生殺。
牠接著說了兩件事，一件在生時，一件在死時。
生時的一件是不要殺。經說初生之時「但作善事，增益舍宅」〔T13n0412 0785b16〕；「或已生下，慎勿殺害，取諸鮮味，供給產母」〔T13n0412 0785b18〕。理由牠自己給了：產難之時「有無數惡鬼，及魍魎精魅，欲食腥血」〔T13n0412 0785b20〕，而牠早已令舍宅土地靈祇荷護子母；主人家見了安樂，「便合設福，答諸土地」〔T13n0412 0785b23〕，卻反而殺害聚眷，於是「犯殃自受，子母俱損」〔T13n0412 0785b24〕。
注家在此引雲棲之語，說得很平常，也很難躲：「生子不宜殺生。人無子則悲，有子則喜」〔X21n0384 0731c06〕，而「不思一切禽獸，亦各愛其子。慶我子生，令他子死，於心安乎」〔X21n0384 0731c06〕。他又記一則舊事：周豫煮鱔，見鱔鞠身向上而以首尾就湯，剖開才知腹中有子。注家於是說：「雖人畜不同，愛子之心一也」〔X21n0384 0731c11〕。慶我子生而令他子死，這件事在我們的日子裡常常辦得不覺得。
同一段經還誡了聚集眷屬、飲酒食肉、歌樂絃管，說這些能令子母不得安樂。注家的斷語只有兩句：「飲酒斷智慧種，食肉斷慈悲種」〔X21n0384 0731c21〕。一句斷智慧，一句斷慈悲——一場為新生兒辦的酒席，兩頭都在斷。
死時的一件是臨終。經寫得極冷：「臨命終時，神識惛昧，不辯善惡，乃至眼耳，更無見聞」〔T13n0412 0785c01〕。注家引《涅槃》狀之：「雖有五情，無所知覺」〔X21n0384 0733a18〕；而先所修的善惡報相現前，「如日垂沒，山陵堆阜，影現東移，理無西逝」〔X21n0384 0733a19〕——日頭西沉，山陵的影子只會往東移，沒有往西回去的道理。
去的次第注家也記了一句：「唯第八識最後去」〔X21n0384 0733a16〕——諸識次第捨離，最後走的是那一個。走了以後：「中陰有二種：一善業果，二惡業果」〔X21n0384 0733b02〕，隨業因緣，往所應受生之處去。
所以事情不在亡者身上，在旁邊的人身上：「是諸眷屬，當須設大供養，轉讀尊經，念佛菩薩名號」〔T13n0412 0785c02〕。注家形容這個時機：「當須設供者，事之要處也。譬船行險處，急宜著力。稍有錯時，人船俱失」〔X21n0384 0733b01〕。
而最後牠把門檻又降了一次：「一切眾生臨命終時，若得聞一佛名、一菩薩名，或大乘經典一句一偈」〔T13n0412 0785c05〕，除五無間殺害之罪外，「小小惡業，合墮惡趣者，尋即解脫」〔T13n0412 0785c08〕。注家引《華嚴》為證：「寧受地獄苦，得聞諸佛名；不受無量樂，而不聞佛名」〔X21n0384 0733c05〕。
聞一個名字何以能算數，他還引了兩句。一句出《大品》：「若有一人稱南無佛，乃至畢苦，其福不盡」〔X21n0384 0733b11〕——稱一聲南無佛，這一分福到苦盡了都還用不完。一句說明何以有人一聞便得：「有眾生福德淳熟，結使心薄，若聞佛名，即時得道」〔X21n0384 0733c08〕，「如新淨白氈，易為受色」〔X21n0384 0733c09〕。新的白布最容易上色——不是顏料特別，是布上還沒有別的顏色。
在我本願
主命的話裡有一句，容易讀過去：「在我本願，甚欲利益」〔T13n0412 0785b13〕。
本願二字是這部經的題名。全經用到這兩個字的地方共九處：卷端卷末的四處經題，第六品佛授三名時所說的「此經有三名：一名地藏本願」〔T13n0412 0783c16〕，第十一品兩處稱說這部經所用的經名，第十三品的「或聞地藏本願事行」〔T13n0412 0789c20〕——除此之外，以第一人稱說我有本願的，全經只剩這一處，而說話的是一位鬼王。
地藏的願，全經處處在說，卻總是由別人替他說——佛說，文殊問，閻羅讚。自己開口說本願的，是這位主命。
佛的印可也用了同一個字：「汝大慈故，能發如是大願，於生死中，護諸眾生」〔T13n0412 0785c09〕，並囑他「汝莫退是願，總令解脫，永得安樂」〔T13n0412 0785c11〕。鬼王的回答只有一句誓：「我畢是形，念念擁護閻浮眾生」〔T13n0412 0785c12〕。
現大鬼身，實非鬼也
一品到此，經自己揭了底。佛告地藏：「是大鬼王主命者，已曾經百千生，作大鬼王，於生死中，擁護眾生」〔T13n0412 0785c15〕，而後那一句：「是大士，慈悲願故，現大鬼身，實非鬼也」〔T13n0412 0785c17〕。
歷來的讀法在此立本跡之義：「凡論本跡，本同而跡異」〔X21n0384 0734a13〕，並設一喻：「譬一月在天，影臨眾水。若執影為真，則失本矣」〔X21n0384 0734a16〕。水裡的月是天上那個月的影；把影當作本身，本身就丟了。
記莂的三個名也不是隨手取的。牠當得成佛，「號曰無相如來。劫名安樂，世界名淨住」〔T13n0412 0785c18〕。注家把這三個名一一對回鬼相：無相者，「不但無生住異滅之相，無相亦無，故名無相」〔X21n0384 0734a24〕；以鬼相而成無相，並非空無一物，故「今日之鬼相，即不思議之妙有」〔X21n0384 0734b04〕。至於劫名與世界名，他說得更直：「孰謂鬼神恒受駈使不安樂乎，劫劫本自安樂」〔X21n0384 0734b07〕。誰說鬼神只能被驅使而不得安樂——那一劫的名字就叫安樂。
一張三十四個名字的兇惡名單開場，一位當來成佛的鬼王收場。這兩頭是同一件事的兩端：開頭那一串名字所以能被讀成大權應化，只因末尾這一位先被經指認為大士。
承衍——一部清代的科註，與它引的那些書
上來是本品自身的義。此下另以一副眼旁照——鏡非經，只是同一段經文，換一種讀法來看。
《地藏菩薩本願經科註》六卷，清代靈椉輯，號青蓮。上文所引的科與釋，骨幹全出於此：本品在大章第三之判、三十四位之數、惡毒為首與大權應化之讀、六個音寫名之三度存疑、本家即常寂光、知識指地藏、主非與奪、本跡與無相之釋。
本品是全書引書最雜的一段。他釋惡毒二字，除十惡三毒之外還引《列子》生之育之、亭之毒之一語，說毒轉聲為篤，本是大善之義；釋大諍引《長阿含》佛與帝釋論怨結之生皆由貪嫉，又引莊子婦姑勃豀之譬；釋狼牙引《白澤圖》丘墓之精；釋主耗、主禍、主財、主食一路引太上司過之神奪算之說；釋主禽主獸引天台《止觀》與《輔行》所出《大集》十二時獸；釋主產引東岳懺與鬼子母姊；釋十殿冥王引《佛祖統紀》。經、論、疏、道書、外典、志怪並在一處。
而他引《統紀》那一條，自己也把界線畫了出來。他先說「按道明和尚所傳十殿冥王，閻羅天子在五殿」〔X21n0384 0725c13〕，緊接著照抄《統紀》的原話：「統紀云：十王名字，藏典傳記可考者六」〔X21n0384 0725c13〕——十個名字裡，藏典與傳記可考的只有六個。可考的六個他一一注出所據，餘下的沒有補。同一副筆，在那六個音寫名上說三次未詳，在十殿之名上說只考得六個。
他釋題的那一卷《綸貫》，在本品之前已先把閻羅一眾的位置寫定了。他在那裡先依事相說「是則閻王與眾臣佐，皆欲脫冥界之苦，故申讚嘆而發菩提心也」〔X21n0383 0649b21〕，隨即轉一句：「若準下文主命鬼王本迹，則閻王與眾皆是不思議菩薩住王三昧」〔X21n0383 0649b22〕。他讀整品的鑰匙，是從品末那一句回頭配上的。
後人也接著這樣讀。明代智旭所述的《讚禮地藏菩薩懺願儀》，禮佛一節把這位鬼王將來的佛號請進了所禮的名單：「一心頂禮未來淨住世界安樂劫中無相如來」〔X74n1486 0585a14〕——一部行儀裡，鬼王的記莂已經成了所禮之佛。另一部《法界聖凡水陸大齋法輪寶懺》逐品作短評，於本品下寫：「閻羅王眾讚歎品，實者鬼神無所私，權者菩薩多所護」〔X74n1499 0890b01〕，並斷曰「心靈神妙，呼吸全通，成佛之鬼王，即地藏化身眷屬也」〔X74n1499 0890b02〕。
而經自己並沒有替這些讀法作保。它只是把三十四個名字報完，讓其中一位開口，然後說牠「實非鬼也」〔T13n0412 0785c17〕，說牠所度的天人「亦不可限量」〔T13n0412 0785c21〕。
The only commentary on this sūtra now extant that runs through it phrase by phrase is the Outline and Commentary on the Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva in six fascicles, by Lingcheng, the śramaṇa styled Qinglian, of the Qing. He places this chapter under 「大章第三，明度脫緣分。二。初、化主放光讚歎；二、閻王興問讚歎」—“The third great section, making plain the part on the conditions of deliverance. Two. First, the lord of the transforming work sends forth light and is praised; second, King Yama raises a question and praises.” 〔X21n0384 0706b17〕 — the two chapters before it are the praise that follows upon the lord of the transforming work sending forth light, and this chapter is the praise that follows upon a king of the dark realm raising a question. For the word praise in the chapter title he gives the Sūtra of the Jewel Rain as his ground: the bodhisattva 「如月出現，能使人間城邑聚落諸剎帝利、婆羅門等，若男若女，悉皆稱讚」—“appears as the moon appears, and can make the kṣatriyas and brahmins of the walled towns and villages of the human world, men and women alike, praise him one and all.” 〔X21n0384 0706b19〕 Within the chapter he divides first 「二、品文，二。初、經家敘；二、正興問。敘中三。初、主伴來儀」—“Second, the text of the chapter, in two: first, the narration of the compilers; second, the raising of the question proper. Within the narration there are three: first, the coming of the host and his companions.” 〔X21n0384 0724a10〕, and closes with 「二、鬼王護助，二。初、惡毒擁護；二、主命助修」—“Second, the ghost kings guard and assist, in two: first, Evil and Poison gives protection; second, Master-of-Life aids the cultivation.” 〔X21n0384 0729b10〕 What is said below still begins by watching how the sūtra itself walks.
Thirty-Four Names, Taken in Two Ways
At the head of this chapter is a roster. The measureless ghost kings within the Iron Ring Mountains go up together to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three in the train of Yama, Son of Heaven, and the sūtra calls them out one at a time, down to 「大祁利叉王、阿那吒王、大阿那吒王」—“the king Great Qilicha, the king Anazha, the king Great Anazha.” 〔T13n0412 0784c12〕 The commentator of old counted them for himself: 「已上三十四位，皆是大鬼王」—“the above are thirty-four in number, and all of them are great ghost kings.” 〔X21n0384 0725b18〕
Thirty-four names, and they are not taken in one way but in two.
The first twenty-eight are without exception written as ghost king so-and-so, and their names can be construed. Evil and Poison, Many Evils, Great Contention speak of what they do; White Tiger, Blood Tiger, Red Tiger speak of what they look like; Scatterer of Calamity, Flying Body, Lightning Flash, Wolf-Fang, Thousand Eyes, Devourer of Beasts, Bearer of Stones speak of their marks and their business. From Master-of-Wasting on, twelve of them are without exception headed by the word master — of wasting, of calamity, of food, of wealth, of livestock, of birds, of beasts, of sprites, of birthing, of life, of sickness, of perils — each master of one thing. And the last three go back to bodily form: Three Eyes, Four Eyes, Five Eyes.
The last six are otherwise. What the sūtra text writes is the king Qilishi, the king Great Qilishi, the king Qilicha, the king Great Qilicha, the king Anazha, the king Great Anazha — called king only, and not ghost king. That difference of one word is not an omission: these six names are transcriptions of a Sanskrit sound, and the Chinese lands never did render out their sense.
On this string the commentator of old is honest to a rare degree. He says first 「祁利失王等，未見翻譯」—“for the king Qilishi and the rest, no translation has been found.” 〔X21n0384 0725b02〕 Then he goes to the Lokasthiti Abhidharma Treatise and finds that south of the Ganges there is Mount Suoduoqili and north of it Mount Ximobaduo, and that the spirits south and north of those mountains are each named after their mountain; and so he judges that these words 「的是山名」—“are certainly the name of a mountain.” 〔X21n0384 0725b04〕, and since the realm of King Yama and Mount Qili both lie south of the Ganges, and the south belongs to fire, he infers that the sense comes near to a spirit of mighty fire. But at the very next character he stops — 「失字未詳」—“the character 失 is not ascertained.” 〔X21n0384 0725b10〕 Qilicha he construes with difficulty as 「叉具云：叉耶，秦言盡。即大力盡王」—“cha, given in full, is chaye, which in the tongue of Qin is ‘exhausted’; that is, the king of mighty strength exhausted.” 〔X21n0384 0725b11〕 At Anazha he cites the Great Sūtra on the eight-armed Nazha as a strong man among the gods, and then draws it back at once: 「則未可的指，然其名既同，未可知也」—“then it cannot be pointed to for certain; yet since the name is the same, neither can it be known.” 〔X21n0384 0725b12〕
We read this long string and it is easy to let the eye slide over it at a glance. The commentator stopped three times upon these six names, and all three times he stopped at the same place — he did not know.
Among the first twenty-eight there is one place where he says he does not know in just the same way. Glossing Thousand Eyes he writes: 「觀音千眼在手，獄卒六十四眼在角，此鬼千眼，不知如何安立」—“Avalokiteśvara’s thousand eyes are in the hands, the hell-warden’s sixty-four eyes are in the horns; where this ghost’s thousand eyes are set, I do not know.” 〔X21n0384 0724c09〕 — Avalokiteśvara’s thousand eyes grow upon the hands, the hell-warden’s sixty-four eyes grow upon the horns; where this one’s thousand eyes are set, he cannot say.
The roster is copied out as it stands, and where he does not understand, he says so as it stands. This is the first thing in this chapter worth noticing.
Evil and Poison at the Head
The first upon the roster is the ghost king Evil and Poison. The reading handed down explains the order: 「惡毒乃鬼王之首，故前列之」—“Evil and Poison is the head of the ghost kings, and so he is set out first.” 〔X21n0384 0724b03〕 The two words evil and poison are taken apart as well — 「惡毒即十惡三毒」—“evil and poison are the ten evils and the three poisons.” 〔X21n0384 0724b03〕, and 「三毒屬意，為身口七惡之本」—“the three poisons belong to the mind, and are the root of the seven evils of body and speech.” 〔X21n0384 0724b04〕: greed, anger, and delusion are in the mind; the seven — killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech and the rest — are in body and speech; and the former are the root of the latter.
But the line that comes next turns the whole nature of the roster over: 「然此等鬼王，皆是不思議菩薩，大權應化」—“yet these ghost kings are all of them inconceivable bodhisattvas, appearing and transforming by great expedient power.” 〔X21n0384 0724b05〕 These, whose names are fierce, are every one of them the skillful manifestation of an inconceivable bodhisattva. And therefore 「以惡攻惡，以毒出毒」—“with evil he attacks evil, with poison he draws out poison.” 〔X21n0384 0724b06〕, and 「故用惡毒，以為化門」—“and so he uses evil and poison as his gate of transforming.” 〔X21n0384 0724b07〕 — evil and poison are not his disease; they are his gate.
One and the same eye runs through the whole string. Many Evils 「外現忿怒之惡相，內起慈悲之善心」—“outwardly shows the wrathful marks of evil, and inwardly raises the good heart of kindness and compassion.” 〔X21n0384 0724b11〕; and Great Contention is more direct still — 「故鬼王以大諍法門化人無諍也」—“and so the ghost king transforms people into non-contention by the Dharma-gate of great contention.” 〔X21n0384 0724b18〕, teaching people not to contend by means of great contention.
This reading does not come out of the air. At the end of this very chapter the sūtra says the same thing in its own voice, only of another one of them: 「是大士，慈悲願故，現大鬼身，實非鬼也」—“this great being, by reason of his vow of compassion, manifests the body of a great ghost, and is in truth no ghost at all.” 〔T13n0412 0785c17〕 The reading given at the head of the roster is inferred backwards from that one line at the roster’s end.
The One Who Asks Is Himself Undergoing It
The roster called out, the one who speaks is Yama, Son of Heaven. Who he is, the sūtra does not say in a single line; to know it one must go back to the Sūtra of the Record of the World in the Dīrgha Āgama.
That text writes his dwelling first: 「閻浮提南大金剛山內，有閻羅王宮」—“within the great adamantine mountain south of Jambudvīpa there is the palace of King Yama.” 〔T01n0001 0126b09〕, and the place the king governs is six thousand yojanas across, and its city has seven walls. What comes next, however, is not his state and dignity: 「然彼閻羅王晝夜三時，有大銅鑊自然在前」—“yet three times by day and by night a great copper cauldron appears of itself before King Yama.” 〔T01n0001 0126b12〕 — when the cauldron appears within the palace, he goes out of the palace in terror; when it appears outside the palace, he goes back in to hide. And when he cannot escape it, 「有大獄卒，捉閻羅王臥熱鐵上」—“great hell-wardens take King Yama and lay him upon hot iron.” 〔T01n0001 0126b15〕, 「以鐵鈎擗口使開，洋銅灌之」—“they pry his mouth open with an iron hook and pour molten copper into it.” 〔T01n0001 0126b16〕, burning his lips and his tongue, and from throat to belly it passes clean through him. Only when it is undergone to the end — 「受罪訖已，復與諸婇女共相娛樂」—“the punishment undergone, he takes his pleasure again with his court women.” 〔T01n0001 0126b17〕; and 「彼諸大臣同受福者，亦復如是」—“for those great ministers of his who share the same blessings, it is likewise.” 〔T01n0001 0126b18〕
Three times a day. The one who has the dark realm in his charge has molten copper poured into his mouth three times a day.
The same sūtra also writes how he goes about his office. What he relies upon is three messengers: 「有三使者，云何為三？一者老，二者病，三者死」—“there are three messengers. What are the three? The first is old age, the second is sickness, the third is death.” 〔T01n0001 0126b19〕 The hell-wardens bring the guilty one before him and say 「此是天使所召也，唯願大王善問其辭」—“this one was summoned by the heavenly messengers; we pray the great king will question him well upon his words.” 〔T01n0001 0126b22〕 — we ask the great king to put his questions well. So he asks item by item: whether in the human world he ever saw a person with white head and fallen teeth, bent of back and leaning on a staff; whether he ever saw a person lying sick in bed who needed others to feed him; whether he ever saw a person cast out among the grave-mounds after life had ended. The guilty one answers each time that he saw. And each time the king presses once more: then why did you not think for yourself, I too shall be like that. And the answer each time is that I was heedless then, and did not know it of myself. At the last what he says is 「汝自有惡，汝今自受」—“the evil is your own; now you undergo it yourself.” 〔T01n0001 0126c04〕
Yama’s own trade is asking. The one question he puts to the Buddha in this chapter is exactly the work he does day after day — only this time the one questioned is not a guilty man, and the one who answers is not himself.
The commentator of old adds two things. The first is why he alone is called Son of Heaven: 「今唯閻羅一王興問者」—“that here it is Yama alone among the kings who raises the question.” 〔X21n0384 0725c19〕 — because his seat is at the very center and he governs all the other kings, and so the title Son of Heaven is added to him in particular; and he says 「以帝釋天為父王，命閻羅為天子，主攝冥司」—“Śakra of the heavens being the father-king, Yama is appointed Son of Heaven and given the dark offices to govern.” 〔X21n0384 0725c20〕 The second is that there is more than one such king: 「準長阿含：小千世界，有一千閻羅王」—“according to the Dīrgha Āgama, in a small chiliocosm there are a thousand King Yamas.” 〔X21n0384 0726a02〕
A thousand kings, each guarding one stretch of the dark realm, each undergoing the same suffering three times a day. The one who opens his mouth to ask in this chapter is one of them.
A Question Without Courtesies
The ghost kings all assembled, the one who asks is Yama, Son of Heaven. He praises first: 「我觀地藏菩薩，在六道中，百千方便，而度罪苦眾生，不辭疲倦」—“I see that Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, within the six destinies, with a hundred thousand skillful means delivers the beings who are guilty and suffering, and never excuses himself for weariness.” 〔T13n0412 0784c23〕; and the praise done, he turns at once: 「然諸眾生，脫獲罪報，未久之間，又墮惡道」—“and yet those beings, once they have got free of the retribution for their guilt, fall into the evil destinies again before long.” 〔T13n0412 0784c25〕
And then comes the first axle of this chapter: 「是地藏菩薩既有如是不可思議神力，云何眾生而不依止善道，永取解脫？」—“since this Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva has spiritual power so inconceivable as this, why is it that beings do not rest upon the good destinies and take liberation once and for all?” 〔T13n0412 0784c26〕
The reading handed down takes this question apart into two halves: 「此中問意兩關發疑」—“the sense of the question here raises its doubt at two joints.” 〔X21n0384 0726b18〕 — one doubt is that since the bodhisattva has this power, he ought of himself to make them take liberation once and for all; the second is that since the six destinies have received this transforming, they ought to rest long upon the good destinies. Since neither is so, on which side does the trouble lie: 「為地藏神力不逮歟？為眾生心力不及歟？」—“is it that Kṣitigarbha’s spiritual power does not reach so far? or that the strength of beings’ minds does not come up to it?” 〔X21n0384 0726b21〕
The one who asks is no outsider. He has the dark realm in his charge, and watches the same people go out and come back day after day. How long the “before long” he speaks of is, the commentator has reckoned for him: 「未久云者，如等活地獄，對四天王壽」—“as to the words ‘before long’: take the Reviving Hell over against the lifespan of the Heaven of the Four Great Kings.” 〔X21n0384 0726b13〕 — reckoning the Reviving Hell against the lifespan of the Heaven of the Four Great Kings, 「人間五十年，為上天一日夜；縱經百年，冥司秪得二日，豈非纔出即來」—“fifty years among men is one day and night in that heaven above; so even a full hundred years comes to no more than two days on the reckoning of the dark offices — is that not going out and coming straight back again?” 〔X21n0384 0726b13〕 A full hundred years lived among men is, on the books of the dark offices, no more than two days.
Of the Buddha’s answer, only one line falls upon beings themselves: 「南閻浮提眾生，其性剛彊，難調難伏」—“the beings of southern Jambudvīpa are hard and stubborn in their nature, difficult to tame and difficult to subdue.” 〔T13n0412 0784c29〕 The commentator adds one stroke here, making plain which nature it is that is hard and stubborn: 「其性者，習性也，故曰剛強。若是法性，從本柔和」—“‘their nature’ means the nature formed by habit, and that is why it is called hard and stubborn. If it were the dharma-nature, it is soft and mild from the first.” 〔X21n0384 0726c03〕 What is hard and stubborn is the nature formed by habit, not the dharma-nature.
The answer does not fall upon any shortfall of spiritual power, nor upon who is to be held responsible. It falls upon habit.
But the Buddha’s answer has a second half, and it is the second half that is the plain business. The sūtra goes on: 「菩薩以方便力，拔出根本業緣，而遣悟宿世之事」—“the bodhisattva by the power of skillful means draws out the root of their karmic conditions, and makes them awaken to the matters of their former lives.” 〔T13n0412 0785a03〕
To draw out the root of the karmic conditions — which root is it that is drawn? If those four characters are not made concrete, the power of skillful means is no more than a pleasant phrase.
The commentator of old brings out the Sanskrit name and the gloss of sense together here: 「梵名阿浮訶那，此云拔除罪根」—“the Sanskrit name is Afuhena, which here means the plucking out of the root of guilt.” 〔X21n0384 0726c18〕 The root of guilt is then to be pursued one layer further down: 「須知諸惡，隨業受報，而以三毒為本」—“it should be known that all the evils receive their retribution according to their karma, and that the three poisons are their root.” 〔X21n0384 0726c18〕 — every evil receives its retribution according to its own karma, and the ground of them is greed, anger, and delusion. And within the three poisons there is one layer more: 「三毒之中，貪愛為根。如捉布一頭，餘則盡隨」—“among the three poisons, craving and love are the root. It is as when one takes hold of a cloth by one corner: the rest all comes after it.” 〔X21n0384 0726c19〕
Take a cloth by one corner and lift, and the whole cloth comes up with it. This is the most solid simile in the chapter: it is not that a person’s evil karma is worn away one piece at a time; it is that the corner is found.
Two lines are cited below in witness. One is 「若不斷愛，愛則潤生」—“if love is not cut off, love moistens birth.” 〔X21n0384 0726c20〕 — love uncut goes on watering the next birth; the other is 「如樹根不拔，其樹猶生。貪根不拔，苦樹常在」—“as a tree whose root is not pulled up goes on growing, so while the root of greed is not pulled up the tree of suffering stands always.” 〔X21n0384 0726c21〕 And so the judgment: 「故知生死，貪愛為本」—“hence it is known that birth and death have craving and love for their root.” 〔X21n0384 0726c22〕 As for what the drawing out looks like, the commentator cites a line of the Daśacakra: 「滅除一切惑障習氣，猶如烈日銷釋輕冰」—“he extinguishes every obstruction of delusion and every residue of habit, as a fierce sun melts away thin ice.” 〔X21n0384 0726c23〕
The second half of the sūtra’s sentence is “and makes them awaken to the matters of their former lives” — the root once drawn, a person remembers of himself: 「今根本業緣既拔，自悟宿世之事」—“the root of the karmic conditions being now drawn out, he awakens of himself to the matters of his former lives.” 〔X21n0384 0727a01〕, 「譬古鏡之重揩，其常光而自現矣」—“it is as when an old mirror is wiped again, and its constant brightness appears of itself.” 〔X21n0384 0727a01〕 The mirror has not had one part of brightness added to it; the dust that had gathered has been wiped away.
With that the two layers of this answer stand complete: what is hard and stubborn in beings is the nature formed by habit; and what is drawn out is the craving and love beneath that habit. One layer says where the disease is, the other says where the knife goes in.
The Road of Peril
The Buddha then spoke a simile, a long one such as this sūtra seldom gives.
「譬如有人，迷失本家，誤入險道」—“Suppose there were a man who lost his own home and strayed by mistake into a road of peril.” 〔T13n0412 0785a05〕 On that road of peril there are 「多諸夜叉，及虎狼師子、蚖蛇蝮蠍」—“many yakṣas, and tigers, wolves, lions, vipers, snakes, adders, and scorpions.” 〔T13n0412 0785a06〕, and the man who has lost his way 「須臾之間，即遭諸毒」—“in the space of a moment meets with all the poisons.” 〔T13n0412 0785a08〕
Two words must be fixed first: own home. The reading handed down says it without a turn — 「常寂光土為本家」—“the Land of Constant Quiescent Light is the own home.” 〔X21n0384 0727a18〕, and further 「十惡眾生，原是如來之子；三塗苦處，無非常寂之家」—“beings of the ten evils are from the first the Tathāgata’s own children, and the places of suffering in the three evil courses are none of them other than the home of constant quiescence.” 〔X21n0384 0727a19〕 The course of the straying is 「以不知真如法一，不覺無明風動，漂流異國，墮落他鄉」—“because he does not know that suchness and dharma are one, he does not notice the wind of ignorance stirring, and he drifts to a foreign country and falls into another land.” 〔X21n0384 0727a20〕, and thereupon 「既忘本處，便迷歸路，遊行逐境，險道斯臻」—“having forgotten his own place, he loses the road home; he wanders on chasing after objects, and the road of peril is reached.” 〔X21n0384 0727a21〕 That order runs backwards to what we habitually suppose: it is not that he cannot get home because he took the wrong road; it is that he first forgot where home was, and only then did the road become a road of peril.
The fierce beasts upon the road are each matched to their own as well. The yakṣas 「有智有通，飛行捷疾」—“have cunning and have powers, and fly swift and quick.” 〔X21n0384 0727b02〕, and answer to the sharp agents; 「故虎狼等，畜類愚頑，以譬鈍使」—“and so the tigers and wolves and the rest, being beasts and dull and stubborn, are made the figure of the dull agents.” 〔X21n0384 0727b04〕, and within these 「故以虎喻慢使」—“and so the tiger is the simile for the agent of pride.” 〔X21n0384 0727b07〕, 「狼譬貪使」—“the wolf is the figure of the agent of greed.” 〔X21n0384 0727b09〕, 「師子表癡使」—“the lion shows forth the agent of delusion.” 〔X21n0384 0727b10〕, 「蚖蛇蝮蠍譬瞋使」—“vipers, snakes, adders, and scorpions are the figure of the agent of anger.” 〔X21n0384 0727b12〕
And then a friend appears upon the road. The sūtra says only 「有一知識，多解大術，善禁是毒」—“there is a friend who understands many great arts and is skilled at binding these poisons.” 〔T13n0412 0785a08〕, and does not name him. The commentator names him: 「知識指地藏」—“the friend points to Kṣitigarbha.” 〔X21n0384 0727c03〕
This is not named out of nothing. In another sūtra of the same honored one but of different text, this bodhisattva is twice written as the one who guides upon a road: 「如迷方者所逢示導」—“like the guide met with by one who has lost his bearings.” 〔T13n0411 0722a02〕 — the one who points out the way, met by a person who has lost his direction; and again 「譬如明月，於夜分中，能示一切失道眾生平坦正路」—“like the bright moon, which in the watches of the night can show to all beings who have lost the way the level and right road.” 〔T13n0411 0727b02〕 — the moon that lights up the level and right road at night for those who have lost the way. The friend who appears all at once within the road of peril stands in exactly this place.
The first thing this friend does is not to pull the man along but to stop him with a shout: 「咄哉！男子！為何事故，而入此路？」—“Hey there! Good man! For what cause do you take this road?” 〔T13n0412 0785a10〕 The commentator glosses those two words: 「咄哉，喚醒之辭。男子，警惕之意」—“‘Hey there’ is a word that wakes one up; ‘good man’ carries the sense of putting him on his guard.” 〔X21n0384 0727c15〕 And upon this road that he asks about, the commentator here joins an old sentence from the first chapter of this very sūtra — 「以此路，二種人到。所謂威神、業力，非此二事，終不能到」—“by this road two kinds of person arrive: that is, by awesome spiritual power and by the power of karma; without one of these two things one can never arrive.” 〔X21n0384 0727c19〕 In the first chapter, when the brahmin woman asked the ghost king Poisonless how she had been able to reach the place of the hells, this is precisely what was answered. One and the same sentence: used once to explain how the holy woman came in, and once to stop a straying man from going in.
Only after the shout comes the leading out: 「是善知識，提携接手，引出險道，免諸惡毒，至于好道，令得安樂」—“this good friend took him up and took him by the hand, and led him out of the road of peril, and spared him all the evil poisons, and brought him to a good road, and made him find peace and ease.” 〔T13n0412 0785a13〕
And the most important passage of the whole simile stands at the parting. The friend does not simply walk away; he charges him with one thing: 「若見親知及諸路人，若男若女，言於此路多諸毒惡，喪失性命。無令是眾，自取其死」—“if you see those you know and are close to, and travelers upon the road, whether men or women, tell them that on this road there are many poisons and evils, and that they will lose their lives. Do not let these people take their own death upon themselves.” 〔T13n0412 0785a17〕 The commentator makes plain what this charge is for: 「臨別時，將他化也。令轉勸者，冀展轉傳化，化化不絕也」—“at parting, he is about to transform others. He is made to exhort them in turn, in the hope that the transforming will be handed on and handed on, and that transforming upon transforming will not come to an end.” 〔X21n0384 0728b19〕 The one who has been saved is to go and save others; and the way of saving is not to take them up and take them by the hand, but only to say out loud what is on that road.
For the last words, take their own death upon themselves, the commentator cites the Sūtra of the Sections on the Five Sufferings by way of explanation: King Yama has a vast and universal kindness, and shows himself to those fallen into the hells and asks them why they have come here; and the guilty ones answer that at death they did not know they had done all those evils, and were brought here as a matter of course. And the king says 「自汝所作，今當受之。吾不枉汝」—“it is your own doing, and now you must undergo it. I do you no wrong.” 〔X21n0384 0728c04〕 The commentator then sets down his judgment: 「譬如抱石投淵，自沉自墜；飛蛾赴火，自燋自爛。非天與人授也」—“it is as when one clasps a stone and throws himself into a deep pool: he sinks of himself and drops of himself; or as when the moth goes into the flame: it scorches of itself and shrivels of itself. It is not handed him by heaven or by any man.” 〔X21n0384 0728c05〕
Those last five characters were said once already, in the fifth chapter, where the instruments of suffering in the hells are set out. There it was said that the copper and iron and stone and fire are issued down by no one; here it is said that the road is pointed out by no one either.
This Road Is Spoken of Only as Far as Gods and Men
Read to this point, the simile of the road of peril still wants one thing added — and that thing bears not upon this chapter alone but upon how the whole book is to be read.
Above, the yakṣas were matched to the sharp agents, and the tigers and wolves and lions and vipers and snakes to the dull agents, and the own home was read as the Land of Constant Quiescent Light. On such a matching, the road of peril ought to be the whole of birth and death, and not the three evil courses alone. The reading handed down knows this of itself. It brings out first the judgment of the Words and Phrases of the Lotus: 「文句釋法華險難惡道，通譬九界生死因果」—“the Words and Phrases explains the perilous and evil road of the Lotus as figuring throughout the causes and fruits of birth and death in the nine realms.” 〔X21n0384 0727a22〕 — the perilous and evil road figures the nine realms throughout, and śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas are upon that road as well. But then he sets his own limit: 「今據下文生人天中，令受妙樂，秪以三塗為險道」—“here, going by the words below, ‘born among men and gods, made to receive wondrous bliss,’ we take only the three evil courses as the road of peril.” 〔X21n0384 0727a24〕 Because the sūtra itself says 「欲生天人中，令受妙樂」—“would have them born among gods and men and there receive wondrous bliss.” 〔T13n0412 0785a20〕, he narrows the road of peril down to the three evil courses, and the good road down to gods and men.
At the close of the whole simile he says this self-limitation more plainly still. He grants first: 「據此亦應約九界因果明險道」—“on this ground one ought also to make the road of peril plain in terms of the causes and fruits of the nine realms.” 〔X21n0384 0728a20〕, and that, walking it as the Lotus walks it, one must 「過五百由旬，到涅槃寶所，方為安隱」—“pass the five hundred yojanas and reach the treasure-place of nirvāṇa; only then is there safety.” 〔X21n0384 0728a20〕 That simile in the Lotus runs exactly this way: 「譬如五百由旬險難惡道，曠絕無人、怖畏之處」—“suppose there were a perilous and evil road five hundred yojanas long, a place waste and empty of people and full of dread.” 〔T09n0262 0025c26〕, 「有一導師，聰慧明達，善知險道通塞之相」—“and there is a guide, clever and clear-sighted, who knows well the marks of what is open and what is blocked upon a road of peril.” 〔T09n0262 0025c28〕 The same road of peril, and the same one guide; and what differs is that the guide there conjures up a city midway for the people to rest in, and when they have rested enough he makes the city vanish, and they go on toward the treasure-place.
And then comes the most important line of all. He says that his own reason for speaking only as far as gods and men — 「今秪約三塗人天敵論者」—“that here we argue only in terms of the three evil courses set over against men and gods.” 〔X21n0384 0728a21〕 — is that this is 「化五濁迷流之要著也」—“the telling move for transforming those adrift in the delusion of the five turbidities.” 〔X21n0384 0728a22〕: for people drifting in the five turbidities, this is the move that tells. And then, with his own hand, he blocks the misreading: 「先以小接，次令入大，方便巧逗，妙化隨機，毋謂是經秪生人天也」—“first they are caught with the small, and next they are brought into the great; skillful means draws them cunningly, and wondrous transforming follows their capacity. Do not say that this sūtra only brings birth among men and gods.” 〔X21n0384 0728a22〕 First catch them with the small, then lead them into the great — do not suppose that this sūtra can do no more than bring birth among men and gods. And at the end he writes six characters: 「點逗於此，前後例之」—“the point is touched in here; before and after, take it as the pattern.” 〔X21n0384 0728a23〕
Before and after, take it as the pattern: that is to say that this sentence governs not this passage alone, and that the rest of the book throughout is to be read by the same rule. A commentator stops at the very place where his own exposition runs most smoothly, and declares that he is speaking this way in order to draw people in, and that it is not to be taken for a boundary — a matter lying outside this chapter, and yet the thing one ought to know first in reading the whole of this sūtra.
They Revere That Person as They Revere the Buddhas of the Three Times
The simile finished, the speaker changes. The ghost king Evil and Poison joins his palms and speaks to the Buddha, reporting the plain truth about himself first: 「我等諸鬼王，其數無量，在閻浮提，或利益人，或損害人，各各不同」—“we ghost kings are measureless in number, and in Jambudvīpa some of us benefit people and some of us harm people, each differing from the other.” 〔T13n0412 0785a28〕, and further 「然是業報，使我眷屬，遊行世界，多惡少善」—“yet it is the retribution of karma that makes my kindred roam through the world with much of evil in them and little of good.” 〔T13n0412 0785b01〕 He offers no defense of himself. He says that his kindred have much of evil and little of good, and that this is the retribution of karma.
And then comes the weightiest line in the passage. He says whom it is that he reveres: 「我等鬼王，敬禮是人，如過去、現在、未來諸佛」—“we ghost kings revere that person as we revere the buddhas of the past, the present, and the future.” 〔T13n0412 0785b05〕
The threshold of that reverence is astonishingly low. What the sūtra lists is 「修毛髮善事」—“cultivates a good deed as small as a hair or a strand of down.” 〔T13n0412 0785b03〕 — no larger than that; 「乃至懸一旛一蓋，少香少華」—“or so much as hangs up one banner or one canopy, a little incense or a little flower.” 〔T13n0412 0785b03〕; 「或轉讀尊經，燒香供養一句一偈」—“or reads a venerable sūtra aloud and burns incense in offering to a single line or a single verse.” 〔T13n0412 0785b04〕 One banner, one canopy, one line, one verse — every one of them a quantity we can manage offhand.
The reading handed down poses its own question and answer: ghosts are of the company of evil, so how is it that upon seeing a person do a hair’s worth of good they revere him as the buddhas of the three times? The answer is a single line: 「所言佛者，修一切善法而得」—“what is called a buddha is gained by cultivating every good dharma.” 〔X21n0384 0730b06〕, and therefore 「今男女修諸善事，佛果斯栽，故鬼神敬之」—“now that these men and women cultivate good deeds, the fruit of buddhahood is planted right there, and so ghosts and spirits revere them.” 〔X21n0384 0730b07〕 What is revered is not that person’s present station but the seed already put down within that small deed. The commentator cites a saying of Jingxi in witness: 「一句一偈，增進菩提；一色一香，永無退轉」—“a single line, a single verse advances one toward awakening; a single form, a single scent, and there is never any falling back.” 〔X21n0384 0730a24〕
In the same passage there is a pair set over against each other as well, out of the Dīrgha Āgama: if the people of the world hold wrong views and do the ten evils, 「如是百千人，乃有一神護耳」—“for a hundred thousand such people there is but one spirit that guards them.” 〔X21n0384 0729c02〕; and if they cultivate good dharmas, hold right views and right faith, and do the ten good deeds, 「如是一人有百千神護」—“one such person has a hundred thousand spirits that guard him.” 〔X21n0384 0729c03〕 A hundred thousand people sharing one spirit, and one person getting a hundred thousand spirits — the same body of ghosts and spirits, and the proportion turned entirely upside down.
The Buddha’s response is short too: 「善哉！善哉！汝等及與閻羅，能如是擁護善男女等」—“Excellent! Excellent! That you and Yama are able to guard good men and good women in this way.” 〔T13n0412 0785b09〕, and he says 「吾亦告梵王帝釋，令衛護汝」—“I too shall tell the Brahmā King and Śakra to stand guard over you.” 〔T13n0412 0785b10〕 Those who guard others are themselves being guarded.
Why a Ghost Is a Ghost, and Why a King Is a King
That judgment at the head of the chapter — that these ghost kings are all inconceivable bodhisattvas appearing and transforming by great expedient power — is bracing to read, and it easily covers over the other half. The reading handed down did not speak of the expedient side alone; the same brush, following the path of karma, spoke also of why a ghost is a ghost.
For the cause of the ghost destiny he cites the Sūtra of the Right Mindfulness of the True Dharma: 「準正法念經，明其因行，乃由貪嫉、邪倿、諂曲、欺誑、積財不施」—“according to the Sūtra of the Right Mindfulness of the True Dharma, the practices that cause it are made plain: greed and envy, wickedness and sycophancy, flattery and crookedness, cheating and deceit, and heaping up wealth without giving it away.” 〔X21n0384 0729c09〕 Five things: greed and envy, wickedness and sycophancy, flattery and crookedness, cheating and deceit; and the last of them is heaping up wealth without giving it away — hoarding it and not willing to hand it out.
Among ghosts too there are rich and poor. He divides their dwellings in two: 「有威德者，住山谷空中海邊，皆有宮殿」—“those who have awesome virtue dwell in mountain valleys, in the open air, and by the sea, and all of them have palaces.” 〔X21n0384 0729b20〕; 「無威德者，依不淨糞穢草木塚墓屏廁故塸，皆無舍宅」—“those without awesome virtue depend upon filth and dung, upon grass and trees, grave-mounds, privies, and old ruined mounds, and none of them has house or dwelling.” 〔X21n0384 0729b21〕 In one and the same ghost destiny, one sort lives in palaces and the other has not so much as a place to cover its body.
And for why a king is a king he gives a cause as well: 「若惡中兼布施因，生鬼道中，大有威德，為諸鬼王」—“if within the evil there is also a cause of giving, then being born in the ghost destiny one has great awesome virtue and becomes a ghost king.” 〔X21n0384 0731a14〕 Giving mixed in with evil karma: hence he falls into the ghost destiny, and is a king there. What we do in a lifetime is never pure to begin with, and so the fruit of it is not pure either.
The line that comes next is a cold one: 「雖威德為王，恒為諸天駈役，守門防邏，導從給使，亦繫往業」—“though by awesome virtue he is a king, he is forever driven at the service of the gods — guarding gates and patrolling, going before as escort and waiting upon them — and this too is bound to former karma.” 〔X21n0384 0731a15〕 A king, and still sent on errands by the gods: guarding gates, patrolling, attending, serving; and these too alike are bound to former karma. So even the office of Master-of-Life is an assignment karma has made: 「其主命之職，亦循業而為之」—“his office of mastery over life is likewise performed in accordance with karma.” 〔X21n0384 0731a16〕
This reading and that judgment at the head of the chapter are on the face of it contrary to each other: the one says that they are bodhisattvas from the first, the other that they take their form in accordance with karma. The two accounts stand together within one and the same commentary, and no reconciling is offered. And the sūtra itself, at the end, identifies only one of them as 「實非鬼也」—“in truth no ghost at all.” 〔T13n0412 0785c17〕; of the other thirty-three the sūtra says nothing.
At the Time of Birth, at the Time of Death
The second axle stands in the latter half of this chapter. A ghost king in the assembly steps out of his rank, and his name is Master-of-Life. He states for himself what he is master of: 「我本業緣，主閻浮人命，生時死時，我皆主之」—“because of my own original karmic conditions I am master over the lifespans of the people of Jambudvīpa; at the time of birth and at the time of death, I am master of both.” 〔T13n0412 0785b12〕
That sentence is easily read too heavily. The reading handed down reins it in first: 「然言主者，不過司命存亡，非能與奪人命，令生之死之」—“yet to say master is to say no more than that he has charge of the register of life and death; he cannot give or take a life, or make one live or make one die.” 〔X21n0384 0731a06〕 — master means only that he has charge of their surviving and perishing, not that he can give or take a life, or make one live or die. What he holds is the register, not the power of life and death.
He then speaks of two things, one belonging to the time of birth and one to the time of death.
The one belonging to the time of birth is: do not kill. The sūtra says that at the first birth one should 「但作善事，增益舍宅」—“only do good deeds and so add to the increase of the household.” 〔T13n0412 0785b16〕; 「或已生下，慎勿殺害，取諸鮮味，供給產母」—“or when the child is already born, take the greatest care not to kill and harm living things, taking their fresh flavors to set before the mother who has given birth.” 〔T13n0412 0785b18〕 He gives the reason himself: at the hard hour of birth 「有無數惡鬼，及魍魎精魅，欲食腥血」—“there are numberless evil ghosts and goblins and sprites of essence that would eat the raw blood.” 〔T13n0412 0785b20〕, and he has long since charged the house and the numinous powers of that soil to bear the child and the mother up; and the household, seeing all at peace and ease, 「便合設福，答諸土地」—“ought then to set out blessings and requite the earth spirits.” 〔T13n0412 0785b23〕, and turns instead to killing and gathers the kindred together, and so 「犯殃自受，子母俱損」—“the calamity they commit falls upon themselves, and child and mother are both harmed.” 〔T13n0412 0785b24〕
Here the commentator cites a saying of Yunqi, plainly put and hard to dodge: 「生子不宜殺生。人無子則悲，有子則喜」—“when a child is born one ought not to take life. A man without a child grieves; with a child he rejoices.” 〔X21n0384 0731c06〕, and 「不思一切禽獸，亦各愛其子。慶我子生，令他子死，於心安乎」—“yet he does not consider that every bird and beast also loves its own young. To celebrate my child’s being born by making another’s child die — is the heart at ease in that?” 〔X21n0384 0731c06〕 He records an old story besides: Zhou Yu was boiling eels, and saw one arch its body upward with head and tail down in the broth; cutting it open, he found that it had young in its belly. And so the commentator says: 「雖人畜不同，愛子之心一也」—“though man and beast are not the same, the heart that loves its young is one.” 〔X21n0384 0731c11〕 To celebrate my own child’s birth by making another’s child die is a thing that gets done in our days again and again without our noticing it.
The same passage of the sūtra warns as well against gathering the kindred together, drinking wine and eating meat, and singing and music of strings and pipes, and says that these can make both child and mother fail of peace and ease. The commentator’s judgment is only two clauses: 「飲酒斷智慧種，食肉斷慈悲種」—“drinking wine cuts off the seed of wisdom; eating meat cuts off the seed of compassion.” 〔X21n0384 0731c21〕 One clause cuts off wisdom and one cuts off compassion — a banquet laid on for a newborn child, and it is cutting at both ends.
The one belonging to the time of death is the last hour. The sūtra writes it very coldly: 「臨命終時，神識惛昧，不辯善惡，乃至眼耳，更無見聞」—“at the time when life ends, the spirit-consciousness is dimmed and clouded and cannot tell good from evil, and even with eye and ear there is no more seeing or hearing.” 〔T13n0412 0785c01〕 The commentator describes it out of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra: 「雖有五情，無所知覺」—“though the five senses are there, nothing is known or felt.” 〔X21n0384 0733a18〕; and the marks of the retribution of the good and evil formerly cultivated appear before him, 「如日垂沒，山陵堆阜，影現東移，理無西逝」—“as when the sun is going down and the shadows of hills and mounds appear moving eastward: there is no principle by which they should go west.” 〔X21n0384 0733a19〕 — the sun sinks in the west, and the shadow of the hill will only move east; there is no way for it to travel back west.
Of the order in which they depart the commentator sets down a line too: 「唯第八識最後去」—“the eighth consciousness alone departs last.” 〔X21n0384 0733a16〕 — the consciousnesses let go one after another, and the last to leave is that one. And once it has gone: 「中陰有二種：一善業果，二惡業果」—“the intermediate state is of two kinds: first, the fruit of good karma; second, the fruit of evil karma.” 〔X21n0384 0733b02〕, and following the causes and conditions of karma it goes to the place where it is to be reborn.
So the matter does not lie with the dead one but with those beside him: 「是諸眷屬，當須設大供養，轉讀尊經，念佛菩薩名號」—“their kindred ought to set out a great offering, to read the venerable sūtras aloud, and to recite the names of the buddhas and the bodhisattvas.” 〔T13n0412 0785c02〕 The commentator describes the timing of it: 「當須設供者，事之要處也。譬船行險處，急宜著力。稍有錯時，人船俱失」—“that an offering must then be set out — this is the crucial point of the whole affair. It is like a boat going through a perilous place: one must put out one’s strength at once. Let the moment be missed by a little, and boat and men are lost together.” 〔X21n0384 0733b01〕
And at the last he lowers the threshold once more: 「一切眾生臨命終時，若得聞一佛名、一菩薩名，或大乘經典一句一偈」—“when all beings come to the end of life, if they can but hear the name of one buddha or the name of one bodhisattva, or a single line or a single verse of a Mahāyāna scripture.” 〔T13n0412 0785c05〕, then apart from the sins of the five Uninterrupted deeds and of killing and harming, 「小小惡業，合墮惡趣者，尋即解脫」—“their small evil deeds, those that ought to have made them fall into the evil destinies, are straightway loosed.” 〔T13n0412 0785c08〕 The commentator cites the Avataṃsaka in witness: 「寧受地獄苦，得聞諸佛名；不受無量樂，而不聞佛名」—“better to undergo the sufferings of hell and get to hear the names of the buddhas, than to receive measureless bliss and not hear a buddha’s name.” 〔X21n0384 0733c05〕
As to how hearing one name can count for anything, he cites two more lines. One is from the Larger Prajñā: 「若有一人稱南無佛，乃至畢苦，其福不盡」—“if there be one person who says ‘Homage to the Buddha,’ then even to the ending of suffering that blessing is not used up.” 〔X21n0384 0733b11〕 — say ‘Homage to the Buddha’ once, and that portion of blessing is still not spent when suffering has come to its end. The other explains why some gain it upon a single hearing: 「有眾生福德淳熟，結使心薄，若聞佛名，即時得道」—“there are beings whose merit is ripe and mellow and whose mind is thin of fetters, and if they hear a buddha’s name they attain the way at once.” 〔X21n0384 0733c08〕, 「如新淨白氈，易為受色」—“like new clean white felt, which takes color easily.” 〔X21n0384 0733c09〕 New white cloth takes the dye most easily — not because the dye is anything special, but because there is no other color on the cloth yet.
In My Original Vow
There is one line in what Master-of-Life says that is easy to read straight past: 「在我本願，甚欲利益」—“in my original vow I greatly desire to benefit them.” 〔T13n0412 0785b13〕
The two characters original vow are the title of this sūtra. In the whole sūtra those two characters are used in nine places: the four occurrences of the sūtra’s title at the head and the end of the fascicles; what the Buddha says in the sixth chapter when he gives the three names, 「此經有三名：一名地藏本願」—“this sūtra has three names: the first is The Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha.” 〔T13n0412 0783c16〕; the two places in the eleventh chapter where the sūtra is called by name; and in the thirteenth chapter 「或聞地藏本願事行」—“or hears of the deeds and practice of Kṣitigarbha’s original vows.” 〔T13n0412 0789c20〕 — and apart from these, the whole sūtra has only this one place where anyone says in the first person that he has an original vow, and the one who speaks is a ghost king.
Kṣitigarbha’s vow is spoken of everywhere in the sūtra, but always by others on his behalf — the Buddha tells it, Mañjuśrī asks after it, Yama praises it. The one who opens his own mouth and speaks of his original vow is this Master-of-Life.
The Buddha’s confirmation uses the same word: 「汝大慈故，能發如是大願，於生死中，護諸眾生」—“because of your great kindness you are able to make a great vow such as this, and to guard all beings in the midst of birth and death.” 〔T13n0412 0785c09〕, and he charges him 「汝莫退是願，總令解脫，永得安樂」—“do not withdraw this vow of yours, but bring them all to liberation and to peace and ease forever.” 〔T13n0412 0785c11〕 The ghost king’s answer is a single sentence of vowing: 「我畢是形，念念擁護閻浮眾生」—“to the end of this form of mine, thought after thought I shall guard the beings of Jambudvīpa.” 〔T13n0412 0785c12〕
He Manifests the Body of a Great Ghost, and Is in Truth No Ghost at All
At this point in the chapter the sūtra discloses it itself. The Buddha says to Kṣitigarbha: 「是大鬼王主命者，已曾經百千生，作大鬼王，於生死中，擁護眾生」—“this great ghost king Master-of-Life has already through a hundred thousand lives been a great ghost king, guarding beings in the midst of birth and death.” 〔T13n0412 0785c15〕, and then that line: 「是大士，慈悲願故，現大鬼身，實非鬼也」—“this great being, by reason of his vow of compassion, manifests the body of a great ghost, and is in truth no ghost at all.” 〔T13n0412 0785c17〕
Here the reading handed down sets up the sense of root and trace: 「凡論本跡，本同而跡異」—“in every discussion of root and trace, the root is one and the traces differ.” 〔X21n0384 0734a13〕, and it lays down a simile: 「譬一月在天，影臨眾水。若執影為真，則失本矣」—“it is as when one moon is in the sky and its reflection comes down upon many waters. If one grasps the reflection as the real thing, the root is lost.” 〔X21n0384 0734a16〕 The moon in the water is the reflection of that moon in the sky; take the reflection for the thing itself, and the thing itself is lost.
The three names of the prediction were not picked up at random either. He is to attain buddhahood, 「號曰無相如來。劫名安樂，世界名淨住」—“and his name shall be the Tathāgata Signless; the kalpa shall be named Peace and Ease, and the world Pure Abiding.” 〔T13n0412 0785c18〕 The commentator matches these three names back one by one to the marks of a ghost. Signless: 「不但無生住異滅之相，無相亦無，故名無相」—“not only are the marks of arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing absent; the absence of marks is itself absent, and therefore he is named Signless.” 〔X21n0384 0734a24〕; and to become signless by way of the marks of a ghost is not to be empty of everything, and so 「今日之鬼相，即不思議之妙有」—“this day’s marks of a ghost are the inconceivable wondrous being itself.” 〔X21n0384 0734b04〕 As for the name of the kalpa and the name of the world, he speaks more directly still: 「孰謂鬼神恒受駈使不安樂乎，劫劫本自安樂」—“who says that ghosts and spirits are forever driven at others’ errands and never at ease? Kalpa upon kalpa they are of themselves at peace and ease.” 〔X21n0384 0734b07〕 Who says that ghosts and spirits can only be driven about and never be at ease — the name of that kalpa is Peace and Ease.
A fierce roster of thirty-four names opens the chapter, and a ghost king who is to become a buddha closes it. These two ends are the two ends of one and the same thing: the string of names at the beginning can be read as an appearing and transforming by great expedient power only because this one at the end was first identified by the sūtra as a great being.
Transmission — A Qing Outline and Commentary, and the Books It Cites
The above is the sense of this chapter itself. Below, one eye casts its light from the side — the mirror is not the sūtra, only the same passage seen through another way of reading.
The Outline and Commentary on the Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, in six fascicles, was compiled by Lingcheng of the Qing, styled Qinglian. The outline and the glosses cited above come from it in their whole frame: the placing of this chapter under the third great section, the count of thirty-four, the reading of Evil and Poison at the head and of the appearing and transforming by great expedient power, the three admissions of doubt over the six transcribed names, the own home as the Constant Quiescent Light, the friend as pointing to Kṣitigarbha, mastery as neither giving nor taking, and the glossing of root and trace and of the Signless.
This chapter is the passage in the whole book where the books cited are most mixed. In glossing the two words evil and poison, besides the ten evils and the three poisons he cites a line of the Liezi — that they are given life and reared, settled and ripened — and says that 毒 shifts in sound to 篤 and is at root a word for great goodness. In glossing Great Contention he cites the Dīrgha Āgama on the Buddha and Śakra discussing how the knot of enmity arises wholly out of greed and envy, and cites besides the figure in the Zhuangzi of the wife and the mother-in-law wrangling. In glossing Wolf-Fang he cites the Chart of Baize on the sprites of grave-mounds. In glossing Master-of-Wasting, Master-of-Calamity, Master-of-Wealth, and Master-of-Food he cites throughout the account of the Most High’s spirit who keeps register of transgressions and takes away years. In glossing Master-of-Birds and Master-of-Beasts he cites the twelve beasts of the twelve watches from the Great Collection, as set out in the Tiantai Great Calming and Contemplation and the Fuxing. In glossing Master-of-Birthing he cites the Eastern Peak repentance rite and the elder sister of Hārītī. In glossing the ten kings of the dark realm he cites the Comprehensive Record of the Buddhas and Patriarchs. Sūtra, treatise, commentary, Daoist book, outer classic, and record of the strange all stand together in one place.
And in the one item where he cites the Comprehensive Record, he draws the boundary himself. He says first 「按道明和尚所傳十殿冥王，閻羅天子在五殿」—“according to the ten kings of the dark realm as handed down by the reverend Daoming, Yama, Son of Heaven, is in the fifth court.” 〔X21n0384 0725c13〕, and immediately copies out the Comprehensive Record’s own words: 「統紀云：十王名字，藏典傳記可考者六」—“the Comprehensive Record says: of the names of the ten kings, six can be verified from the canonical books and the records.” 〔X21n0384 0725c13〕 — of the ten names, only six can be verified from the canon and the records. For the six that can be verified he notes his grounds one by one, and the rest he does not fill in. One and the same brush: three times not ascertained upon those six transcribed names, and only six verified among the names of the ten courts.
The one fascicle of the Guiding Thread in which he explains the title had already, before this chapter, fixed the standing of Yama and his multitude. There he says first, following the aspect of events, 「是則閻王與眾臣佐，皆欲脫冥界之苦，故申讚嘆而發菩提心也」—“thus King Yama with his ministers and aides all wish to be free of the suffering of the dark realm, and therefore they set forth praise and raise the thought of awakening.” 〔X21n0383 0649b21〕, and then turns at once: 「若準下文主命鬼王本迹，則閻王與眾皆是不思議菩薩住王三昧」—“if one goes by the root and trace of the ghost king Master-of-Life below, then King Yama and his multitude are all inconceivable bodhisattvas abiding in the samādhi of kingship.” 〔X21n0383 0649b22〕 The key by which he reads the whole chapter is fitted on backwards from that one line at the chapter’s end.
Later hands went on reading it in this way. In the Rite of Repentance and Vows in Praise of and Homage to Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, set down by Zhixu of the Ming, the section of homage to the buddhas brings this ghost king’s future buddha-name into the roll of those to whom homage is paid: 「一心頂禮未來淨住世界安樂劫中無相如來」—“with one mind I bow my head to the Tathāgata Signless, of the kalpa Peace and Ease in the future world Pure Abiding.” 〔X74n1486 0585a14〕 — in a book of ritual practice, the ghost king’s prediction has already become a buddha to whom homage is paid. Another work, the Jeweled Repentance of the Dharma-Wheel for the Great Water-and-Land Feast for the Holy and the Common of the Dharma Realm, makes a short comment upon each chapter, and writes under this one: 「閻羅王眾讚歎品，實者鬼神無所私，權者菩薩多所護」—“The Praise of King Yama and His Multitude: on the real side, ghosts and spirits show no favor; on the expedient side, bodhisattvas guard many.” 〔X74n1499 0890b01〕, and judges: 「心靈神妙，呼吸全通，成佛之鬼王，即地藏化身眷屬也」—“the mind is numinous and the spirit wondrous, and the breath passes wholly through; the ghost king who is to become a buddha is none other than kindred of Kṣitigarbha’s transformation-body.” 〔X74n1499 0890b02〕
And the sūtra itself gives no warrant for any of these readings. It only calls out the thirty-four names to the end, lets one of them speak, and then says of him 「實非鬼也」—“in truth no ghost at all.” 〔T13n0412 0785c17〕, and says that the devas and humans he has delivered are 「亦不可限量」—“likewise beyond all reckoning.” 〔T13n0412 0785c21〕
考據Apparatus
全段定位 本段自「閻羅王眾讚歎品第八」〔T13n0412 0784c02〕起，訖「所度天人，亦不可限量」〔T13n0412 0785c21〕，屬底本卷下。內分經家敘（主伴來儀·列鬼王號·承力俱來）與正興問（閻羅興問正歎·鬼王護法助揚）二大節，後節又分惡毒擁護、主命助修二支。鬼王之名凡三十四，其式有二：作某某鬼王者二十八，作某某王者六——後六為音寫之名，底本不繫鬼字，二式不得混為一類。本經為單譯，無同本異譯可對勘；同尊而異經者有《大乘大集地藏十輪經》《占察善惡業報經》，屬並置對讀，不作異譯之校。逐文鏡之卷制與底本不同，本品在鏡本屬「卷中」（見目九）。
一、科判定位
逐文鏡先繫本品於大章之下：
「大章第三，明度脫緣分。二。初、化主放光讚歎；二、閻王興問讚歎」〔X21n0384 0706b17〕——如來讚歎、利益存亡二品屬初支，本品獨當第二支。其立讚歎之名，據《寶雨經》：「云何菩薩能令稱歎」〔X21n0384 0706b18〕，答云菩薩「如月出現，能使人間城邑聚落諸剎帝利、婆羅門等，若男若女，悉皆稱讚」〔X21n0384 0706b19〕。本品訖處即大章之界：「大章第四，明成佛因分。二。初、示成佛正行；二、顯成佛助道」〔X21n0384 0734b24〕，其下即稱佛名號品第九。
品內之科：
| 疏節 | 逐字 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 品題 | 「二、閻羅興問讚歎，二。初、品題」 | 〔X21n0384 0724a08〕 |
| 品文·經家敘·主伴來儀 | 「二、品文，二。初、經家敘；二、正興問。敘中三。初、主伴來儀」 | 〔X21n0384 0724a10〕 |
| 列鬼王號 | 「二、列鬼王號」 | 〔X21n0384 0724a17〕 |
| 承力俱來 | 「三、承力俱來」 | 〔X21n0384 0725b14〕 |
| 正興問 | 「二、正興問，二。初、閻羅興問正歎；二、鬼王護法助揚」 | 〔X21n0384 0725c10〕 |
| 經家提起 | 「初、經家提起」 | 〔X21n0384 0725c11〕 |
| 天子述意 | 「二、天子述意」 | 〔X21n0384 0725c22〕 |
| 許問為說 | 「三、許問為說」 | 〔X21n0384 0726a11〕 |
| 申疑致請 | 「四、申疑致請」 | 〔X21n0384 0726a15〕 |
| 答示顯德 | 「五、答示顯德，二。初、總示難化」 | 〔X21n0384 0726c01〕 |
| 別歎方便 | 「二、別歎方便，三。初、以法直示；二、以喻釋明；三、以法合顯」 | 〔X21n0384 0726c05〕 |
| 鬼王護助 | 「二、鬼王護助，二。初、惡毒擁護；二、主命助修」 | 〔X21n0384 0729b10〕 |
| 主命助修 | 「二、主命助修，二。初、當機白事；二、如來發本」 | 〔X21n0384 0730c15〕 |
| 主命述意之分 | 「初、陳我業緣主命；二、轉釋人不會意」 | 〔X21n0384 0730c17〕 |
| 鬼王受命 | 「三、鬼王受命，二。初、明已擁護」 | 〔X21n0384 0733c20〕 |
| 如來發本 | 「二、如來發本三初發遠本」 | 〔X21n0384 0734a09〕 |
| 記劫國 | 「二、記劫國」 | 〔X21n0384 0734a21〕 |
| 結度人 | 「三、結度人」 | 〔X21n0384 0734b12〕 |
本科之樞紐＝鬼王之權實一判，前後兩處相扣。列名之初即斷曰：「然此等鬼王，皆是不思議菩薩，大權應化」〔X21n0384 0724b05〕；品末發本又申之：「凡論本跡，本同而跡異」〔X21n0384 0734a13〕，並歸結為「發本之意，妙在斯乎」〔X21n0384 0734b11〕。此判非本品所創——同一撰者於釋題之卷已先立：先依事相言「是則閻王與眾臣佐，皆欲脫冥界之苦，故申讚嘆而發菩提心也」〔X21n0383 0649b21〕，隨即轉云「若準下文主命鬼王本迹，則閻王與眾皆是不思議菩薩住王三昧」〔X21n0383 0649b22〕。其讀本品之鑰，自品末回配於品首，誌錄不判。
二、異譯對勘（本段無）
本段無異譯可勘。《地藏菩薩本願經》為單譯本，藏中無同本異譯。已查：以題名含「地藏」「本願經」二式，並以本段獨有之鬼王名串（「所謂惡毒鬼王、多惡鬼王、大諍鬼王」〔T13n0412 0784c04〕・「祁利失王、大祁利失王、祁利叉王」〔T13n0412 0784c11〕）被引之式，遍檢 T·X·B·GA·Y·ZW 諸部，除本經與其注疏、行儀外無第二譯本。
同尊異經二種，並置不判（非異譯，不作字句之校）：
| 書 | 譯人 | 卷·品 | 位 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 《大乘大集地藏十輪經》T13n0411 | 三藏法師玄奘奉 詔譯 | 10 卷 8 品 | 同尊異經·對讀 |
| 《占察善惡業報經》T17n0839 | 天竺三藏菩提燈譯 | 2 卷 | 經錄疑議，誌不判 |
一事可注意（誠實記之）：「閻羅」二字於玄奘本《十輪經》T13n0411 零命中；於北涼失譯本 T13n0410 四見，其一作「作閻羅王身，或作地獄卒身」〔T13n0410 0684c28〕。「鬼王」於二本俱零命中。故本品鬼王眾與閻羅天子一節，同尊異經無平行之文可對讀，其可對者唯地藏為導師一義（見目三）。逐文鏡稱「十輪經」時兼牒二本，引其語須先定所牒之本；本段所引二處俱與玄奘本合。
三、經論宗依（眼）
經證
- 閻羅王宮之經據——《長阿含經》〈世記經〉：「閻浮提南大金剛山內，有閻羅王宮」〔T01n0001 0126b09〕，王所治處縱廣六千由旬，其城七重；彼經復記閻羅王晝夜三時受洋銅灌口之苦，受罪訖已復與婇女娛樂，諸大臣同受福者亦復如是——其逐字作「然彼閻羅王晝夜三時，有大銅鑊自然在前」〔T01n0001 0126b12〕，「有大獄卒，捉閻羅王臥熱鐵上」〔T01n0001 0126b15〕，「以鐵鈎擗口使開，洋銅灌之」〔T01n0001 0126b16〕，「受罪訖已，復與諸婇女共相娛樂」〔T01n0001 0126b17〕，「彼諸大臣同受福者，亦復如是」〔T01n0001 0126b18〕。彼經之閻羅自身猶在受報之中——與本段閻羅天子詣忉利而自陳「亦是我等獲善利故」〔T13n0412 0784c19〕，位格相接。
- 閻羅之職在問——同經：「有三使者，云何為三？一者老，二者病，三者死」〔T01n0001 0126b19〕；獄卒將罪人詣王所而白言「此是天使所召也，唯願大王善問其辭」〔T01n0001 0126b22〕，王乃逐使問之，末乃斷之曰「汝自有惡，汝今自受」〔T01n0001 0126c04〕。彼經之閻羅以問為職，本段之閻羅天子亦以一問發起全品，二處同型；而其歸罪於自作一義，與本段鏡所引《五苦章句經》閻羅之語「自汝所作，今當受之。吾不枉汝」〔X21n0384 0728c04〕同流（見目四）。
- 主命之職與俱生神——《藥師琉璃光如來本願功德經》：命終之人「見琰魔使，引其神識，至于琰魔法王之前」〔T14n0450 0407b15〕；「諸有情，有俱生神，隨其所作，若罪若福，皆具書之，盡持授與琰魔法王」〔T14n0450 0407b17〕；又「彼琰魔王主領世間名籍之記」〔T14n0450 0408a19〕。本段主命鬼王自陳「我本業緣，主閻浮人命，生時死時，我皆主之」〔T13n0412 0785b12〕——職事相當而名籍所繫不同：彼繫於琰魔法王，此別立主命一位。並錄不強合。彼經又言眷屬為病人修福則「或有是處，彼識得還」〔T14n0450 0407b22〕，與本段眷屬設供之義同其骨幹。
- 險道與導師——《妙法蓮華經》〈化城喻品〉：「譬如五百由旬險難惡道，曠絕無人、怖畏之處」〔T09n0262 0025c26〕，「有一導師，聰慧明達，善知險道通塞之相」〔T09n0262 0025c28〕。二喻同以險道與導師為骨，而所往異：彼往珍寶處而中設化城，此但引出險道而至好道；彼之導師滅化城以更前，此之知識臨別而囑令轉告。逐文鏡自覺此異，故先引《法華文句》——「文句釋法華險難惡道，通譬九界生死因果」〔X21n0384 0727a22〕——而後自限其釋：「今據下文生人天中，令受妙樂，秪以三塗為險道」〔X21n0384 0727a24〕。復自設通會：其引《十輪》明月示路一段既畢，即承之曰「據此亦應約九界因果明險道」〔X21n0384 0728a20〕，「過五百由旬，到涅槃寶所，方為安隱」〔X21n0384 0728a20〕，「今秪約三塗人天敵論者，化五濁迷流之要著也」〔X21n0384 0728a21〕，「先以小接，次令入大，方便巧逗，妙化隨機，毋謂是經秪生人天也」〔X21n0384 0728a22〕，末繫一句以推及全品——「點逗於此，前後例之」〔X21n0384 0728a23〕。鏡自言其取三塗為險道是應機之限，非謂本經止於人天；其自限與自解並存，二喻並錄不強合。
- 示導與明月（同尊異經）——《十輪經》以地藏為「如迷方者所逢示導」〔T13n0411 0722a02〕；又「譬如明月，於夜分中，能示一切失道眾生平坦正路」〔T13n0411 0727b02〕，「於無明夜，能示一切迷三乘道，馳騁生死曠野眾生，三乘正路」〔T13n0411 0727b04〕。逐文鏡於本段兩處逕引之〔X21n0384 0727c17〕〔X21n0384 0728a16〕，以證喻中之知識即地藏。
論說（皆逐文鏡於本段所引）
- 拔根本業緣之名義——「梵名阿浮訶那，此云拔除罪根」〔X21n0384 0726c18〕；而所拔之根：「須知諸惡，隨業受報，而以三毒為本」〔X21n0384 0726c18〕，「三毒之中，貪愛為根。如捉布一頭，餘則盡隨」〔X21n0384 0726c19〕。其下鏡連引三書以實之：《智論》「若不斷愛，愛則潤生」〔X21n0384 0726c20〕；《成論》「如樹根不拔，其樹猶生。貪根不拔，苦樹常在」〔X21n0384 0726c21〕，故「故知生死，貪愛為本」〔X21n0384 0726c22〕；《十輪經》「滅除一切惑障習氣，猶如烈日銷釋輕冰」〔X21n0384 0726c23〕。「根本業緣」四字之所指，鏡定為貪愛，非泛指眾惡；誌錄不判。
- 十使配諸惡獸——夜叉「有智有通，飛行捷疾」〔X21n0384 0727b02〕譬利使；「故虎狼等，畜類愚頑，以譬鈍使」〔X21n0384 0727b04〕，內分「故以虎喻慢使」〔X21n0384 0727b07〕、「狼譬貪使」〔X21n0384 0727b09〕、「師子表癡使」〔X21n0384 0727b10〕、「蚖蛇蝮蠍譬瞋使」〔X21n0384 0727b12〕。其不以蜈蚣譬戲論瞋者，自云以三塗無戲論。
- 鬼道感報之因——「準正法念經，明其因行，乃由貪嫉、邪倿、諂曲、欺誑、積財不施」〔X21n0384 0729c09〕；而鬼中之為王者別有其因：「若惡中兼布施因，生鬼道中，大有威德，為諸鬼王」〔X21n0384 0731a14〕，然「雖威德為王，恒為諸天駈役，守門防邏，導從給使，亦繫往業」〔X21n0384 0731a15〕，故「其主命之職，亦循業而為之」〔X21n0384 0731a16〕。
- 中陰二種——「中陰有二種：一善業果，二惡業果」〔X21n0384 0733b02〕，隨業因緣向受生處。
- 臨終識去之次第——「唯第八識最後去」〔X21n0384 0733a16〕；引《涅槃》狀其相：「雖有五情，無所知覺」〔X21n0384 0733a18〕，而先所修善惡報相現前，「如日垂沒，山陵堆阜，影現東移，理無西逝」〔X21n0384 0733a19〕。
- 稱名之福——引《大品》「若有一人稱南無佛，乃至畢苦，其福不盡」〔X21n0384 0733b11〕，《大論》釋之曰「是曾聞佛功德，能度人老病死苦」〔X21n0384 0733b13〕；又引《華嚴》「寧受地獄苦，得聞諸佛名；不受無量樂，而不聞佛名」〔X21n0384 0733c05〕；並釋聞名得道之機：「有眾生福德淳熟，結使心薄，若聞佛名，即時得道。如新淨白氈，易為受色」〔X21n0384 0733c08〕。
- 一偈之量——「一偈，天竺但數字滿三十二，即為一偈」〔X21n0384 0733c01〕。
四、本段釋要（逐文鏡逐文）
閻羅之位——「閻羅，鬼官之總司，無量鬼王俱為所統」〔X21n0384 0724a14〕。其所以獨稱天子：「今唯閻羅一王興問者，大約第五殿乃正中之位，統攝諸王，故特加天子之名」〔X21n0384 0725c19〕，「以帝釋天為父王，命閻羅為天子，主攝冥司」〔X21n0384 0725c20〕。其數則不止一：「準長阿含：小千世界，有一千閻羅王」〔X21n0384 0726a02〕，故經文之「我等」非等餘殿，是慶幸之語。
鬼王之數——「已上三十四位，皆是大鬼王」〔X21n0384 0725b18〕。此為鏡自作之計數，與底本逐字枚舉相合。
惡毒為首與大權應化（本段之樞）——「惡毒乃鬼王之首，故前列之」〔X21n0384 0724b03〕；「惡毒即十惡三毒」〔X21n0384 0724b03〕，「三毒屬意，為身口七惡之本」〔X21n0384 0724b04〕。繼而總判全串：「然此等鬼王，皆是不思議菩薩，大權應化」〔X21n0384 0724b05〕，故「以惡攻惡，以毒出毒」〔X21n0384 0724b06〕，「故用惡毒，以為化門」〔X21n0384 0724b07〕。
二十八位義訓之名（逐名各有所釋，此錄其定名之語）——多惡：「一念尚具諸惡，增廣多有無量」〔X21n0384 0724b10〕，「外現忿怒之惡相，內起慈悲之善心」〔X21n0384 0724b11〕。大諍：「大諍，諍即鬬諍」〔X21n0384 0724b12〕，引《長阿含》「怨結之生，皆由貪嫉」〔X21n0384 0724b13〕、「貪嫉之生，皆由愛憎」〔X21n0384 0724b14〕，而結曰「故鬼王以大諍法門化人無諍也」〔X21n0384 0724b18〕。白虎·血虎·赤虎：「虎乃山獸，亦名大蟲，猛而有威，慢而多暴」〔X21n0384 0724b19〕，「白虎，西方之獸。血虎，口似血盆。赤虎，毛如火赤」〔X21n0384 0724b20〕，「鬼頭如虎，故各以虎名」〔X21n0384 0724b21〕。散殃：「散殃，殃，咎也、禍也」〔X21n0384 0724b21〕，引「東岳經云：世間眾生不信因緣善惡果報」〔X21n0384 0724b22〕以下一段為其所司。飛身：「飛身，飛行夜叉之類也」〔X21n0384 0724c03〕。電光：「電光，眼光如電閃爍，令見者怕怖」〔X21n0384 0724c04〕。狼牙：「狼大如狗，青色，善逐獸」〔X21n0384 0724c05〕，「此鬼牙尖外向，如狼之牙」〔X21n0384 0724c06〕。千眼：「觀音千眼在手，獄卒六十四眼在角，此鬼千眼，不知如何安立」〔X21n0384 0724c09〕。噉獸：「噉獸，此鬼以獸為食者，然鬼亦獸耳」〔X21n0384 0724c10〕。負石：「負石，即負石擔沙，填河塞海之類」〔X21n0384 0724c12〕。主耗·主禍：「主耗、主禍，二事相因」〔X21n0384 0724c13〕，引「天地有司過之神，依人所犯輕重，以奪人算」〔X21n0384 0724c13〕。主食：「主食，食乃民生之祿，善者享之，惡者減之」〔X21n0384 0724c18〕。主財：「岳府有主財案主者」〔X21n0384 0724c20〕，「浮陀摩尼鉢，主護人財物」〔X21n0384 0724c21〕，結以「財各有所主也」〔X21n0384 0724c24〕。主畜：「主畜，畜有四生，住有三處」〔X21n0384 0725a01〕。主禽·主獸：「飛曰禽，羽族之總名」〔X21n0384 0725a03〕，「走曰獸，毛蟲之總名」〔X21n0384 0725a03〕，「此諸禽獸，各有鬼王主之」〔X21n0384 0725a04〕，並引「若止觀引大集十二時獸者」〔X21n0384 0725a05〕——「準大集，東海瑠璃山，有虎、兔、龍」〔X21n0384 0725a07〕以下四海十二獸，「一一獸，皆修聲聞慈，曾於過去佛所發願」〔X21n0384 0725a10〕。主魅：「主魅，魅謂魑魅，老精物也」〔X21n0384 0725a13〕。主產：引「東岳懺云：結秀成胎，稟兩儀之造化」〔X21n0384 0725a14〕，又「又鬼子母姊，名炙匿，亦主人產生」〔X21n0384 0725a17〕。主命：「主命，準經，毗沙門主護四天下人命」〔X21n0384 0725a18〕。主疾：鏡於此條唯作「主疾，如前」〔X21n0384 0725a19〕，不另出釋。誌錄不判。主險：「高山峻嶺，大海溟淵，險難之處，身命所係，應死者錄之，不應死者護之」〔X21n0384 0725a20〕，復引「準大論，地獄有二部，一寒冰，二炎火」〔X21n0384 0725a22〕，而斷「此名大黑暗處，危難嶮道，即鬼所主之處耳」〔X21n0384 0725a23〕。三目·四目·五目：「三目，二目中間豎亞一目，如摩醯狀」〔X21n0384 0725a24〕，「四目，額上又橫開二目，與蒼頡同」〔X21n0384 0725a24〕，「五目，於上下中，豎生一目也」〔X21n0384 0725b01〕。
六位音寫之名（Rule 9a 之本案·古德三度明言未詳）——鏡於此串首出總語：「祁利失王等，未見翻譯」〔X21n0384 0725b02〕。其所嘗試之旁證有三：「金光明有薩多琦黎，翻大力天」〔X21n0384 0725b02〕、「名義集載惡祁尼，此翻火神」〔X21n0384 0725b03〕、《立世阿毘曇論》夜叉品「時閻浮提中，有兩眾山。恒河之南，名娑多耆利山；恒河之北，名醯摩䟦多山」〔X21n0384 0725b04〕，山南山北之神各以山為名，因斷此語「的是山名」〔X21n0384 0725b04〕，復以閻王界與祁利山俱在恒河之南而「南屬離火，故祁尼祁利，而翻大力火神」〔X21n0384 0725b09〕。然三度自止：①「失字未詳」〔X21n0384 0725b10〕；②祁利叉但云「叉具云：叉耶，秦言盡。即大力盡王」〔X21n0384 0725b11〕，是解叉而不解祁利失之全；③阿那吒引《大經》八臂那吒為天中力士，隨即收回——「則未可的指，然其名既同，未可知也」〔X21n0384 0725b12〕，其夾註別存一說「那吒即多聞天王之長子」〔X21n0384 0725b13〕。
⇒ 本帙之處置：此六名存漢音，不作梵文還原（Rule 9a：梵文唯依古德所傳；古德既三度明言未詳，即無所傳可依）。轉寫之體例待裁，故考據誌之而讀者面唯存漢字。同藥師十二神將之例。
各有所執，各有所主——「各有執者，執，守法也」〔X21n0384 0725b19〕，取彼有罪，明正典刑。釋主字則自文字立說：「言主者，古之制字」〔X21n0384 0725b23〕，丶即主心之神明，配王而成主；「天地有司過之神，依人所犯輕重，以奪人算」〔X21n0384 0725b22〕再出於此。
在一面立——鏡本作一面𡗓，其釋曰「住足名」〔X21n0384 0725c08〕𡗓，人縱而生，𡗓則戴天履地；「敬佛尊君，故」〔X21n0384 0725c09〕𡗓而不坐。（鏡此處用字與底本異，見目九。）
閻羅興問——「恣，縱也」〔X21n0384 0726a13〕，「如洪鐘在架，隨扣隨鳴」〔X21n0384 0726a14〕。「瞻禮，敬佛求法之儀。迴視，事有所專也」〔X21n0384 0726a17〕。所問雖自稱小疑，鏡判其分量：「雖云小疑，障信則大，故須問明」〔X21n0384 0726a09〕。其問之結構：「此中問意兩關發疑」〔X21n0384 0726b18〕——一約菩薩之力，二約六道之機，故其疑落在「為地藏神力不逮歟？為眾生心力不及歟」〔X21n0384 0726b21〕。所謂未久，鏡以天壽折算：「未久云者，如等活地獄，對四天王壽」〔X21n0384 0726b13〕，「人間五十年，為上天一日夜；縱經百年，冥司秪得二日，豈非纔出即來」〔X21n0384 0726b13〕。
佛答總示——「其性者，習性也，故曰剛強。若是法性，從本柔和」〔X21n0384 0726c03〕，「譬之惡象駑馬，難於調伏也」〔X21n0384 0726c05〕。頭頭：「頭頭，猶言處處」〔X21n0384 0726c12〕；其調法為「剛者教之以柔，強者教之以和，難調伏者必令調伏」〔X21n0384 0726c13〕。釋「而遣悟宿世之事」一句與上句之次第：「今根本業緣既拔，自悟宿世之事」〔X21n0384 0727a01〕，「譬古鏡之重揩，其常光而自現矣」〔X21n0384 0727a01〕——悟宿世非別得一法，是拔根之後自現；誌錄不判。眾生旋出旋入之責，鏡明其所歸：「乃眾生自造惡業，以自縛之。非菩薩之咎」〔X21n0384 0727a07〕，而「結惡習重，緊要之語」〔X21n0384 0727a07〕。
喻之三節——初迷本入險：「常寂光土為本家」〔X21n0384 0727a18〕，「十惡眾生，原是如來之子；三塗苦處，無非常寂之家」〔X21n0384 0727a19〕；其迷之次第為「以不知真如法一，不覺無明風動，漂流異國，墮落他鄉」〔X21n0384 0727a20〕，「既忘本處，便迷歸路，遊行逐境，險道斯臻」〔X21n0384 0727a21〕。次知識指迷：「知識指地藏」〔X21n0384 0727c03〕，「智慧弘深名多解，方便巧妙曰大術」〔X21n0384 0727c07〕；「莫知遇而遇之，曰忽逢。將入而未入，曰欲進」〔X21n0384 0727c12〕；「咄哉，喚醒之辭。男子，警惕之意」〔X21n0384 0727c15〕。此路二字上溯第一品：「以此路，二種人到。所謂威神、業力，非此二事，終不能到」〔X21n0384 0727c19〕——與第一品無毒鬼王答婆羅門女之語同其判。三迷求出路：「忽聞者，聞四諦也」〔X21n0384 0728a02〕，「便退步，止十惡修十善也。求出路，離三塗求人天也」〔X21n0384 0728a08〕。臨別轉告一節：「臨別時，將他化也。令轉勸者，冀展轉傳化，化化不絕也」〔X21n0384 0728b19〕，「親知，稟內道未解脫者；路人，未受道在生死者」〔X21n0384 0728b20〕。末句自取其死，引《五苦章句經》——「昔閻羅王有弘普之慈」〔X21n0384 0728c01〕，現身問墮獄者所以至此，罪人自陳死時不知行諸惡，王曰「自汝所作，今當受之。吾不枉汝」〔X21n0384 0728c04〕，鏡斷之曰「譬如抱石投淵，自沉自墜；飛蛾赴火，自燋自爛。非天與人授也」〔X21n0384 0728c05〕。末五字與第五品結顯苦器處同語（彼處作「皆罪人業行所感，非天與人授也」〔X21n0384 0706a11〕）。
惡毒鬼王章——「惡毒為眾鬼王首。故率先陳白」〔X21n0384 0729b16〕。鬼之住處分正邊二種：「有威德者，住山谷空中海邊，皆有宮殿」〔X21n0384 0729b20〕，「無威德者，依不淨糞穢草木塚墓屏廁故塸，皆無舍宅」〔X21n0384 0729b21〕。護與不護之比，引《長阿含》：「一切男女生時，皆鬼神隨逐守護」〔X21n0384 0729b23〕，而行邪見作十惡者「如是百千人，乃有一神護耳」〔X21n0384 0729c02〕，修善見正信者「如是一人有百千神護」〔X21n0384 0729c03〕，故「故善者利人處多，惡者損人處多」〔X21n0384 0729c04〕。鬼神遊處，引《長阿含》「一切人民所居舍宅，皆有鬼神，無有空者」〔X21n0384 0730a02〕。敬禮如三世佛之問答：「所言佛者，修一切善法而得」〔X21n0384 0730b06〕，「今男女修諸善事，佛果斯栽，故鬼神敬之」〔X21n0384 0730b07〕；並引荊谿「一句一偈，增進菩提；一色一香，永無退轉」〔X21n0384 0730a24〕。土地分之訓：「分內所司之地，云土地分」〔X21n0384 0730b11〕。
主命鬼王章——鏡先自問其越班之由：「惡毒陳事既竟，主命越班白己事者，何也」〔X21n0384 0730c20〕，答以命之所重：「夫世人之生也，有命而已矣」〔X21n0384 0730c20〕，「其修善者，謂之衛生；其作惡者，謂之戕生」〔X21n0384 0730c21〕，並引「春秋成公篇云：民受天地之中以生，所謂命也」〔X21n0384 0730c22〕。主字之界限（不得讀重）：「然言主者，不過司命存亡，非能與奪人命，令生之死之」〔X21n0384 0731a06〕，「獄府主死生案者，是其職事耳」〔X21n0384 0731a07〕。不會我意之意：「意者，思量之稱」〔X21n0384 0731a21〕。舍宅之訓：「舍，於中舍，息也；宅，擇也。擇吉處而營之也」〔X21n0384 0731b09〕，「土，吐也，吐生萬物也」〔X21n0384 0731b10〕。慎勿殺害一節，引雲棲之語：「生子不宜殺生。人無子則悲，有子則喜」〔X21n0384 0731c06〕，「不思一切禽獸，亦各愛其子。慶我子生，令他子死，於心安乎」〔X21n0384 0731c06〕；並記周豫煮鱔一事，鱔鞠身向上而以首尾就湯，剖之腹中有子，因曰「雖人畜不同，愛子之心一也」〔X21n0384 0731c11〕。酒肉歌樂之誡：「飲酒斷智慧種，食肉斷慈悲種」〔X21n0384 0731c21〕，「飲酒食肉亂性而傷慈，歌樂管絃蕩情而逸志」〔X21n0384 0731c24〕。荷護之訓：「是使其如背負物，不可失墜一般，故云荷護」〔X21n0384 0732a18〕。設福答土地：「便合設福善之業，以酬宅主之恩」〔X21n0384 0732b06〕；翻為殺害則「乃由人殺害自致，非土地不護也」〔X21n0384 0732b23〕。臨終一節：「但臨終之時，平時所造善惡之業，其相俱時頓現，隨業趣生」〔X21n0384 0732c07〕；引《淨度三昧經》「若人造善惡業，生天墮獄，各有迎人」〔X21n0384 0732c17〕，故「故知臨終之時，實有惡鬼嬈亂」〔X21n0384 0732c21〕，「或變作父母兄弟，伯叔姑姨，令心著愛，精神瞀亂」〔X21n0384 0732c23〕。設供之時機：「當須設供者，事之要處也。譬船行險處，急宜著力。稍有錯時，人船俱失」〔X21n0384 0733b01〕；「供言大者，謂傾己資財，竭力營辦」〔X21n0384 0733b06〕。
如來發本——「凡論本跡，本同而跡異」〔X21n0384 0734a13〕，「譬一月在天，影臨眾水。若執影為真，則失本矣」〔X21n0384 0734a16〕。記莂三名逐一對回鬼相：「無相者，不但無生住異滅之相，無相亦無，故名無相」〔X21n0384 0734a24〕，「今日之鬼相，即不思議之妙有」〔X21n0384 0734b04〕，「孰謂鬼神恒受駈使不安樂乎，劫劫本自安樂」〔X21n0384 0734b07〕；至於名相俱泯之處，則「若鬼若佛，其名安寄」〔X21n0384 0734b06〕。總結曰「以本而驗跡，跡還同本；以因而望果，果不異因」〔X21n0384 0734b10〕，「發本之意，妙在斯乎」〔X21n0384 0734b11〕。結度人一節：「其事不可思議者，約本而歎跡也」〔X21n0384 0734b15〕，引《救焰口經》「慈悲誓願，分形布影，示現化身在六道中，同類受苦」〔X21n0384 0734b17〕。
五、諸家異釋（分欄並錄·誌錄不判）
本經之注，撰者唯一家（證已見卷首與第一單元）。本段之分欄如次：
| 鏡 | 所牒之本 | 位 | 逐字 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 《地藏菩薩本願經科註》六卷（靈椉輯·號青蓮·清） | 本經（逐句牒） | 逐文鏡 | 「然此等鬼王，皆是不思議菩薩，大權應化」 | 〔X21n0384 0724b05〕 |
| 《地藏菩薩本願經綸貫》一卷（同一撰者） | 本經（釋題玄義·不逐句） | 同書卷首 | 「若準下文主命鬼王本迹，則閻王與眾皆是不思議菩薩住王三昧」 | 〔X21n0383 0649b22〕 |
| 《地藏本願經科文》一卷（同一撰者） | 本經（科目·無經文） | 同書卷首 | 本段無可徵引之釋語（該卷唯列科目，經文只標首字） | — |
| 《讚禮地藏菩薩懺願儀》一卷（智旭述·明） | 非本經（宗十輪） | 儀軌旁證 | 「一心頂禮未來淨住世界安樂劫中無相如來」 | 〔X74n1486 0585a14〕 |
《綸貫》於本品別有一段先行之釋——其釋閻羅之名曰「云閻羅，𦦨魔，聲之轉也」〔X21n0383 0649b10〕，繼引《長阿含》閻羅王宮一段（與本帙目三所引之經同源），而後判其位：先依事相言「是則閻王與眾臣佐，皆欲脫冥界之苦，故申讚嘆而發菩提心也」〔X21n0383 0649b21〕，隨即轉為本迹之讀。同一撰者於同一事上並存事相與本迹二讀，不自調停；本帙從之，並錄。
鏡自身之存疑三則（其人不自足其說，本帙從之）：①六音寫名——「祁利失王等，未見翻譯」〔X21n0384 0725b02〕以下三度自止。②千眼鬼王——「觀音千眼在手，獄卒六十四眼在角，此鬼千眼，不知如何安立」〔X21n0384 0724c09〕。③十殿冥王之名——自引《佛祖統紀》而錄其限：「統紀云：十王名字，藏典傳記可考者六」〔X21n0384 0725c13〕。
十殿冥王之層級（誌錄不判）——鏡云「按道明和尚所傳十殿冥王，閻羅天子在五殿」〔X21n0384 0725c13〕。所據之《佛祖統紀》自標其性質：「十王供 世傳。唐道明和上。神遊地府見十王分治亡人。因傳名世間」〔T49n2035 0322a29〕，而其名之可考者有限——「十王名字。藏典傳記可考者六」〔T49n2035 0322b02〕。十殿之說出世傳與傳記，非本經之文；本經唯出閻羅天子一位，不列十殿。誌錄不判，讀者面不採十殿之目。
本段之異釋零命中：除逐文鏡與同撰者之《綸貫》外，本段無第二家之釋可分欄並錄。誠實記之。
六、術語（本段首見名相）
| 名相 | 釋義所據 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 閻羅（天子） | 「閻羅，鬼官之總司，無量鬼王俱為所統」；《綸貫》別出其音「云閻羅，𦦨魔，聲之轉也」〔X21n0383 0649b10〕 | 〔X21n0384 0724a14〕 |
| 惡毒 | 「惡毒即十惡三毒」——三毒屬意，為身口七惡之本 | 〔X21n0384 0724b03〕 |
| 大諍 | 「大諍，諍即鬬諍」——「故鬼王以大諍法門化人無諍也」〔X21n0384 0724b18〕 | 〔X21n0384 0724b12〕 |
| 白虎·血虎·赤虎 | 「白虎，西方之獸。血虎，口似血盆。赤虎，毛如火赤」 | 〔X21n0384 0724b20〕 |
| 散殃 | 「散殃，殃，咎也、禍也」 | 〔X21n0384 0724b21〕 |
| 千眼 | 「此鬼千眼，不知如何安立」——古德明言不知，誌錄不判 | 〔X21n0384 0724c09〕 |
| 主耗·主禍 | 「主耗、主禍，二事相因」 | 〔X21n0384 0724c13〕 |
| 主禽·主獸 | 「飛曰禽，羽族之總名」／「走曰獸，毛蟲之總名」 | 〔X21n0384 0725a03〕 |
| 主魅 | 「主魅，魅謂魑魅，老精物也」 | 〔X21n0384 0725a13〕 |
| 主疾 | 鏡唯作「主疾，如前」，不另出釋 | 〔X21n0384 0725a19〕 |
| 主險 | 「高山峻嶺，大海溟淵，險難之處，身命所係，應死者錄之，不應死者護之」 | 〔X21n0384 0725a20〕 |
| 三目·四目·五目 | 「三目，二目中間豎亞一目，如摩醯狀」／「四目，額上又橫開二目，與蒼頡同」／「五目，於上下中，豎生一目也」〔X21n0384 0725b01〕 | 〔X21n0384 0725a24〕 |
| 祁利失王等六名 | 「祁利失王等，未見翻譯」；「失字未詳」〔X21n0384 0725b10〕；「則未可的指，然其名既同，未可知也」〔X21n0384 0725b12〕——古德三度明言未詳，存漢音不作梵文還原（Rule 9a） | 〔X21n0384 0725b02〕 |
| 執·主 | 「各有執者，執，守法也」；「言主者，古之制字」〔X21n0384 0725b23〕 | 〔X21n0384 0725b19〕 |
| 恣 | 「恣，縱也」 | 〔X21n0384 0726a13〕 |
| 頭頭 | 「頭頭，猶言處處」 | 〔X21n0384 0726c12〕 |
| 拔出根本業緣 | 「梵名阿浮訶那，此云拔除罪根」 | 〔X21n0384 0726c18〕 |
| 咄哉·男子 | 「咄哉，喚醒之辭。男子，警惕之意」 | 〔X21n0384 0727c15〕 |
| 荷護 | 「是使其如背負物，不可失墜一般，故云荷護」——底本全帙唯此一見〔T13n0412 0785b22〕 | 〔X21n0384 0732a18〕 |
| 主命（鬼王） | 「主命，準經，毗沙門主護四天下人命」；而其權有界——「然言主者，不過司命存亡，非能與奪人命，令生之死之」〔X21n0384 0731a06〕 | 〔X21n0384 0725a18〕 |
| 無相（如來） | 「無相者，不但無生住異滅之相，無相亦無，故名無相」 | 〔X21n0384 0734a24〕 |
本段計數：鬼王之名三十四，其式二分——作某某鬼王者二十八（惡毒·多惡·大諍·白虎·血虎·赤虎·散殃·飛身·電光·狼牙·千眼·噉獸·負石·主耗·主禍·主食·主財·主畜·主禽·主獸·主魅·主產·主命·主疾·主險·三目·四目·五目），作某某王者六（祁利失·大祁利失·祁利叉·大祁利叉·阿那吒·大阿那吒）。二式不歸併、不節略、不以「等」代之；讀者面亦分列而不相混，義訓之名逐一訓釋，音寫之名唯存漢音。底本之枚舉與鏡之計數「已上三十四位」〔X21n0384 0725b18〕相合。
本帙用字統計（底本 T13n0412 全帙對本品）：「閻羅」全帙八見，八見皆在本品；「主命」全帙四見，四見皆在本品；「鬼王」全帙六十一見，本品四十三見；「荷護」全帙一見，在本品；「魍魎」全帙二見，本品居一（餘一在第七品「拜祭鬼神，求諸魍魎」〔T13n0412 0784a17〕）。
七、譬喻·修辭
- 經自有之譬唯一，而為全段之骨——險道之喻：迷失本家、誤入險道、遭諸毒、遇知識、退步求出、提携接手、至于好道、臨別轉告。其法先以事說一遍，再以法合一遍，末以「若再履踐」〔T13n0412 0785a24〕逆折一節。逐文鏡科之為「以法直示」「以喻釋明」「以法合顯」三段〔X21n0384 0726c05〕，正照此三重。
- 喻中諸物皆有所配（配出鏡，非經自標）——夜叉配利使、虎配慢使、狼配貪使、師子配癡使、蚖蛇蝮蠍配瞋使（見目三）。經只列獸名而不作配；配法屬鏡，誌錄不判。
- 鏡自設之喻二——①月影之喻：「譬一月在天，影臨眾水。若執影為真，則失本矣」〔X21n0384 0734a16〕，釋現大鬼身而實非鬼。②抱石飛蛾之喻：「譬如抱石投淵，自沉自墜；飛蛾赴火，自燋自爛」〔X21n0384 0728c05〕，釋自取其死。
- 鏡所引之喻二——①洪鐘之喻：「如洪鐘在架，隨扣隨鳴」〔X21n0384 0726a14〕，釋佛之恣汝所問。②行船之喻：「譬船行險處，急宜著力。稍有錯時，人船俱失」〔X21n0384 0733b01〕，釋臨終設供之時機。
- 拔根本業緣一節之喻，另成一叢（皆繫於「根」字）——①捉布：「如捉布一頭，餘則盡隨」〔X21n0384 0726c19〕，釋貪愛為三毒之根。②樹根與苦樹（引《成論》）：「如樹根不拔，其樹猶生。貪根不拔，苦樹常在」〔X21n0384 0726c21〕。③烈日銷冰（引《十輪經》）：「滅除一切惑障習氣，猶如烈日銷釋輕冰」〔X21n0384 0726c23〕。④古鏡重揩（鏡自設）：「譬古鏡之重揩，其常光而自現矣」〔X21n0384 0727a01〕，釋「而遣悟宿世之事」。前三喻狀所拔之根，末一喻狀拔後所現——四喻同繫經文一句，是本段鏡層最密之一處。
- 修辭之骨一＝名之二式——三十四名先以義訓者二十八，同以鬼王收尾，同式反覆；末六名改以音寫，且去鬼字而但稱王。同一串名而二易其式，經不作說明；鏡於改式之處另起一段而三度存疑（見目五）。
- 修辭之骨二＝門檻之三降——惡毒鬼王章降至「修毛髮善事」〔T13n0412 0785b03〕與「一句一偈」〔T13n0412 0785b05〕；主命章降至「聞一佛名、一菩薩名」〔T13n0412 0785c06〕；而所許之果反升——前者得鬼王「敬禮是人，如過去、現在、未來諸佛」〔T13n0412 0785b05〕，後者得「尋即解脫」〔T13n0412 0785c08〕。所施愈小，所許愈大：此為本段勸信之轉軸。
- 修辭之骨三＝發問與揭底之相扣——全品以閻羅天子之一問啟：「云何眾生而不依止善道，永取解脫」〔T13n0412 0784c27〕；以佛之一句揭底收：「現大鬼身，實非鬼也」〔T13n0412 0785c17〕。問者與被揭者同屬鬼王一眾，一問一答之外別有一層：發問的一方，其身分在品末被重新界定。
八、徵引承衍
- 《法界聖凡水陸大齋法輪寶懺》X74n1499——逐品作短評，於本品曰「閻羅王眾讚歎品，實者鬼神無所私，權者菩薩多所護」〔X74n1499 0890b01〕，並斷「心靈神妙，呼吸全通，成佛之鬼王，即地藏化身眷屬也」〔X74n1499 0890b02〕。其讀法與逐文鏡之大權應化同流。
- 《地藏慈悲救苦薦福利生道場儀》ZW06n0052——本品入行儀。①目次列十三品，本品在第八〔ZW06n0052 0229a17〕。②召請一節合第一品九鬼王與本品之名為一串：「一心奉請忉利天宮閻羅天子所統他方國土及娑婆世界諸大鬼王」〔ZW06n0052 0273a21〕以下，先列第一品之九名（其字作啖不作噉），次「無毒鬼王、多惡鬼王、大諍鬼王」〔ZW06n0052 0274a01〕而下至大阿那吒王，再接牛頤獄卒、馬面夜叉等冥司之屬。該儀之名單於本品首名惡毒鬼王零命中，而別入第一品敘事中之無毒鬼王一名——是以無毒補惡毒之位。誌錄不判，不據以改底本一字。③其宣演之讚曰「閻羅天子，統惡毒多毒之鬼；瞿曇老子，說今世後世之因」〔ZW06n0052 0282a19〕，次即入第八品經；所繫之偈有「閻羅天子大威雄，判赦惟憑業鏡中」〔ZW06n0052 0283a04〕、「故統諸天來啟問，云何地獄不能空」〔ZW06n0052 0283a07〕（同偈於卷前 0250a10 已一見）。④其禮佛名一節，將本品之無相如來列入諸佛之中〔ZW06n0052 0271a18〕。
- 《讚禮地藏菩薩懺願儀》X74n1486（智旭述·明）——禮佛一節作「一心頂禮未來淨住世界安樂劫中無相如來」〔X74n1486 0585a14〕。本品之記莂於後世行儀中已成所禮之佛名，且劫名世界名一併入文。該儀自陳所宗以十輪為首，其於本經之接點以此條為顯。
- 《大乘大集地藏十輪經》T13n0411——同尊異經。本段之地藏為導師一義於彼經有平行之文（見目三）；而閻羅、鬼王二事於彼經零命中。二經互證之界，於本品最為分明。
- 本段被本軸其餘各帙徵引者，零命中。
九、校本定位
本段域內校記二處（皆為 CBETA 訂大正藏原刻之字，非諸本異讀）：
| 錨 | 今本 | 原刻 | 所據見證 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0785a20 | 「欲生天人中」之「欲」 | 原刻無此字（<space quantity="0"/>） | U202n1355 p0150a11·永樂南藏思十一第 7 圖 |
| 0785b16 | 「自令土地無量歡喜」之「令」 | 今 | 逐文鏡 X21n0384 p0731b03 |
第二條可注意：訂正所據之唯一見證即本帙逐文鏡。鏡於此處牒經作「但作善事，增益舍宅，自令土地無量歡喜」〔X21n0384 0731b03〕，與今本同流。第一條亦可注意：原刻本無欲字，而鏡所牒之本於此句作「救拔罪苦眾生，生人天中，令受妙樂」〔X21n0384 0728c08〕——既無欲字，人天二字之序亦與底本相反。三本三態，並錄不強一。
gaiji：本單元零命中（全帙一枚，在地獄名號品「或有地獄，純飛𨪏鏫」〔T13n0412 0782b11〕）。
夾註：本單元零命中（底本 <body> 內 <note> 元素全帙為零，故無夾註可錄；其 124 處 cb:place="inline" 皆繫於段落而非注文，非夾註）。
鏡之卷制與底本不同——底本二卷（卷上訖如來讚歎品，卷下起利益存亡品），本品在底本為卷下之第二品；逐文鏡所據之本作三卷，其卷中始於「地藏菩薩本願經卷中科注卷之三」〔X21n0384 0700b04〕（次行即地獄名號品第五），卷下始於「地藏菩薩本願經卷下科注卷之五」〔X21n0384 0740a04〕（次行即較量布施功德緣品第十），故本品在鏡本屬卷中。掛鏈依品，不依卷；誌錄不判，不據以改底本一字。
鏡與底本之用字歧異（引鏡文時照鏡之字，不回改為底本字形）：
| 底本 | 鏡 | 鏡之錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 爾時，鐵圍山內，有無量鬼王 | 爾時，銕圍山內有無量鬼王（山內下無逗） | 〔X21n0384 0724a12〕 |
| 在一面立 | 在一面𡗓 | 〔X21n0384 0725b17〕 |
| 譬如有人，迷失本家，誤入險道 | 譬如有人，迷失本家，譌入險道 | 〔X21n0384 0727a14〕 |
| 至于好道，令得安樂 | 至於好道，令得安樂 | 〔X21n0384 0728a10〕 |
| 救拔罪苦眾生，欲生天人中 | 救拔罪苦眾生，生人天中 | 〔X21n0384 0728c08〕 |
| 永不再歷 | 永不載歷 | 〔X21n0384 0728c09〕 |
| 如迷路人，誤入險道 | 如迷路人譌入險道 | 〔X21n0384 0729a05〕 |
| 若再履踐，猶尚迷誤 | 若載履踐，猶尚迷譌 | 〔X21n0384 0729a15〕 |
| 旋又再入，若業結重 | 旋又載入，若業結重 | 〔X21n0384 0729a24〕 |
| 乃至懸一旛一蓋 | 乃至懸一旛一葢 | 〔X21n0384 0729c20〕 |
| 勅諸小鬼，各有大力 | 敕諸小鬼，各有大力 | 〔X21n0384 0730b02〕 |
| 救拔（科文） | 捄拔——「初、合方便捄拔」 | 〔X21n0384 0728c06〕 |
一事可注意：底本之「再」字於本品三見（永不再歷·若再履踐·旋又再入），鏡三處俱作「載」；底本之「誤」字二見（誤入險道·猶尚迷誤），鏡俱作「譌」。同一字系之歧異全品一致，非偶誤，是所據之本不同。並錄不強一。
鏡引書之用字亦有出入——其引《十輪經》作「如迷方者，所逢示導」〔X21n0384 0727c17〕，而該經本文作「如迷方者所逢示導」〔T13n0411 0722a02〕，無逗；又引作「於無明夜，能示一切迷三乘道、馳騁生死曠野眾生，三乘正路」〔X21n0384 0728a18〕，而該經本文於三乘道下作逗不作頓〔T13n0411 0727b04〕。引文用字與標點之異，照各書之字並錄，不互改。
鏡自身科名之小異——大章之下作「二、閻王興問讚歎」〔X21n0384 0706b17〕，而品題之科作「二、閻羅興問讚歎，二。初、品題」〔X21n0384 0724a08〕，一作閻王一作閻羅。誌錄不判。
Placement of the passage as a whole. This passage runs from 「閻羅王眾讚歎品第八」—“The Praise of King Yama and His Multitude, Chapter Eight” 〔T13n0412 0784c02〕 down to 「所度天人，亦不可限量」—“the devas and humans he has delivered are likewise beyond all reckoning” 〔T13n0412 0785c21〕, and belongs to Fascicle Two of the base text. Within it are two great sections — the narration of the compilers (the coming of the host and his companions · the listing of the ghost kings’ names · their coming together by received power) and the raising of the question proper (Yama raises his question and praises · the ghost kings guard the Dharma and help set it forth) — and the second of these divides again into two branches, Evil and Poison giving protection and Master-of-Life aiding the cultivation. The names of the ghost kings are thirty-four in all, and are of two forms: twenty-eight written as ghost king so-and-so, and six written as king so-and-so — the last six being names transcribed from sound, to which the base text attaches no word for ghost. The two forms may not be run together into one class. This sūtra exists in a single translation; there is no alternate recension of the same original against which to collate. Sūtras of the same honored one but of different text are the Daśacakra-kṣitigarbha Sūtra and the Sūtra of Divining the Requital of Good and Evil Karma; these belong to parallel reading set side by side, and are not collated as alternate translations. The word-by-word mirror’s division into fascicles differs from that of the base text: in the mirror’s recension this chapter falls within the middle fascicle (see Topic IX).
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
The word-by-word mirror first sets this chapter beneath a great section:
「大章第三，明度脫緣分。二。初、化主放光讚歎；二、閻王興問讚歎」—“The third great section, making plain the part on the conditions of deliverance. Two. First, the lord of the transforming work sends forth light and is praised; second, King Yama raises a question and praises.” 〔X21n0384 0706b17〕 — the chapters on the Tathāgata’s praise and on benefiting the living and the dead belong to the first branch, and this chapter alone occupies the second. For the name praise he gives the Sūtra of the Jewel Rain as his ground: 「云何菩薩能令稱歎」—“How is it that a bodhisattva can cause himself to be praised?” 〔X21n0384 0706b18〕, and the answer is that a bodhisattva 「如月出現，能使人間城邑聚落諸剎帝利、婆羅門等，若男若女，悉皆稱讚」—“appears as the moon appears, and can make the kṣatriyas and brahmins of the walled towns and villages of the human world, men and women alike, praise him one and all.” 〔X21n0384 0706b19〕 Where this chapter ends is the boundary of the great section: 「大章第四，明成佛因分。二。初、示成佛正行；二、顯成佛助道」—“The fourth great section, making plain the part on the causes of attaining buddhahood. Two. First, the right practice for attaining buddhahood is shown; second, the auxiliary path to attaining buddhahood is disclosed.” 〔X21n0384 0734b24〕, and below it stands the ninth chapter, on reciting the names of the buddhas.
The outline within the chapter:
| Section of the commentary | Verbatim | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| The chapter title | 「二、閻羅興問讚歎，二。初、品題」—“Second, Yama raises a question and praises, in two: first, the chapter title” | 〔X21n0384 0724a08〕 |
| The text of the chapter · the compilers’ narration · the coming of the host and his companions | 「二、品文，二。初、經家敘；二、正興問。敘中三。初、主伴來儀」—“Second, the text of the chapter, in two: first, the narration of the compilers; second, the raising of the question proper. Within the narration there are three: first, the coming of the host and his companions” | 〔X21n0384 0724a10〕 |
| The listing of the ghost kings’ names | 「二、列鬼王號」—“Second, the listing of the ghost kings’ names” | 〔X21n0384 0724a17〕 |
| Coming together by received power | 「三、承力俱來」—“Third, they come together by received power” | 〔X21n0384 0725b14〕 |
| The raising of the question proper | 「二、正興問，二。初、閻羅興問正歎；二、鬼王護法助揚」—“Second, the raising of the question proper, in two: first, Yama raises a question and praises in the proper sense; second, the ghost kings guard the Dharma and help set it forth” | 〔X21n0384 0725c10〕 |
| The compilers raise the matter | 「初、經家提起」—“First, the compilers raise the matter” | 〔X21n0384 0725c11〕 |
| The Son of Heaven states his intent | 「二、天子述意」—“Second, the Son of Heaven states his intent” | 〔X21n0384 0725c22〕 |
| The question is granted and answered | 「三、許問為說」—“Third, the question is granted and the exposition made” | 〔X21n0384 0726a11〕 |
| The doubt is set out and the request made | 「四、申疑致請」—“Fourth, the doubt is set out and the request made” | 〔X21n0384 0726a15〕 |
| The answer that discloses the virtue | 「五、答示顯德，二。初、總示難化」—“Fifth, the answer that discloses the virtue, in two: first, showing in sum that they are hard to transform” | 〔X21n0384 0726c01〕 |
| Praising the skillful means in particular | 「二、別歎方便，三。初、以法直示；二、以喻釋明；三、以法合顯」—“Second, praising the skillful means in particular, in three: first, showing it directly by the Dharma; second, explaining it by a simile; third, disclosing it by matching the Dharma to the simile” | 〔X21n0384 0726c05〕 |
| The ghost kings guard and assist | 「二、鬼王護助，二。初、惡毒擁護；二、主命助修」—“Second, the ghost kings guard and assist, in two: first, Evil and Poison gives protection; second, Master-of-Life aids the cultivation” | 〔X21n0384 0729b10〕 |
| Master-of-Life aids the cultivation | 「二、主命助修，二。初、當機白事；二、如來發本」—“Second, Master-of-Life aids the cultivation, in two: first, the one addressed states the matter; second, the Tathāgata discloses his root” | 〔X21n0384 0730c15〕 |
| The division of Master-of-Life’s statement | 「初、陳我業緣主命；二、轉釋人不會意」—“First, he sets out that by his karmic conditions he is master of life; second, he turns to explain that people do not take his meaning” | 〔X21n0384 0730c17〕 |
| The ghost king receives the charge | 「三、鬼王受命，二。初、明已擁護」—“Third, the ghost king receives the charge, in two: first, making plain the guarding he has already given” | 〔X21n0384 0733c20〕 |
| The Tathāgata discloses his root | 「二、如來發本三初發遠本」—“Second, the Tathāgata discloses his root; three; first, disclosing the distant root” | 〔X21n0384 0734a09〕 |
| The prediction of the kalpa and the land | 「二、記劫國」—“Second, the prediction of the kalpa and the land” | 〔X21n0384 0734a21〕 |
| Concluding upon those he delivers | 「三、結度人」—“Third, concluding upon those he delivers” | 〔X21n0384 0734b12〕 |
The pivot of this outline is the single judgment of the expedient and the real in the ghost kings, and it is clamped at two places, before and after. At the very outset of the listing of names comes the judgment: 「然此等鬼王，皆是不思議菩薩，大權應化」—“yet these ghost kings are all of them inconceivable bodhisattvas, appearing and transforming by great expedient power.” 〔X21n0384 0724b05〕; and the disclosure of the root at the chapter’s end states it again: 「凡論本跡，本同而跡異」—“in every discussion of root and trace, the root is one and the traces differ.” 〔X21n0384 0734a13〕, and gathers it up as 「發本之意，妙在斯乎」—“the intent of disclosing the root — its wonder lies just here.” 〔X21n0384 0734b11〕 This judgment was not first made in this chapter: the same compiler had already set it up in the fascicle that explains the title, saying first, according to the aspect of events, 「是則閻王與眾臣佐，皆欲脫冥界之苦，故申讚嘆而發菩提心也」—“thus King Yama with his ministers and aides all wish to be free of the suffering of the dark realm, and therefore they set forth praise and raise the thought of awakening.” 〔X21n0383 0649b21〕, and then turning at once to say 「若準下文主命鬼王本迹，則閻王與眾皆是不思議菩薩住王三昧」—“if one goes by the root and trace of the ghost king Master-of-Life below, then King Yama and his multitude are all inconceivable bodhisattvas abiding in the samādhi of kingship.” 〔X21n0383 0649b22〕 His key to reading this chapter is fitted back onto its head from its end. Recorded without adjudication.
II. Cross-Recension Collation (none for this passage)
There is no alternate recension against which this passage can be collated. The Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva exists in a single translation, and the canon holds no alternate translation of the same original. The search has been made: by two forms of title containing 「地藏」 and 「本願經」, and by the forms in which the string of ghost-king names peculiar to this passage is cited (「所謂惡毒鬼王、多惡鬼王、大諍鬼王」—“namely, the ghost king Evil and Poison, the ghost king Many Evils, the ghost king Great Contention” 〔T13n0412 0784c04〕 · 「祁利失王、大祁利失王、祁利叉王」—“the king Qilishi, the king Great Qilishi, the king Qilicha” 〔T13n0412 0784c11〕), the T, X, B, GA, Y, and ZW divisions were searched throughout, and apart from this sūtra with its commentaries and ritual manuals there is no second translation.
Two sūtras of the same honored one but of different text, set side by side without adjudication (they are not alternate translations, and no collation of wording is made):
| Work | Translator | Fascicles · chapters | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daśacakra-kṣitigarbha Sūtra, T13n0411 | Tripiṭaka Master Xuanzang, translated by imperial command | 10 fascicles, 8 chapters | Same honored one, different text · parallel reading |
| Sūtra of Divining the Requital of Good and Evil Karma, T17n0839 | Bodhiruci of India, translated | 2 fascicles | Questioned in the catalogues; recorded without adjudication |
One thing worth noting, honestly recorded: the two characters 「閻羅」 have no occurrence at all in Xuanzang’s Daśacakra, T13n0411; in the anonymous Northern Liang recension, T13n0410, they occur four times, one of them reading 「作閻羅王身，或作地獄卒身」—“taking the body of King Yama, or the body of a hell-warden” 〔T13n0410 0684c28〕. 「鬼王」 has no occurrence in either recension. Hence for the passage of the ghost-king multitude and Yama, Son of Heaven, in this chapter, the sūtra of the same honored one holds no parallel text for reading side by side; what can be read against it is only the single sense of Kṣitigarbha as guide (see Topic III). When the word-by-word mirror says “the Daśacakra” it may be quoting either recension, so before citing his words one must first fix which he quotes; the two places cited in this passage both agree with Xuanzang’s recension.
III. Scriptural and Treatise Basis (the “eye”)
Scriptural witness
- The scriptural ground for King Yama’s palace — the Sūtra of the Record of the World in the Dīrgha Āgama: 「閻浮提南大金剛山內，有閻羅王宮」—“within the great adamantine mountain south of Jambudvīpa there is the palace of King Yama.” 〔T01n0001 0126b09〕, and the place the king governs is six thousand yojanas across, and its city has seven walls; that sūtra further records that three times by day and night King Yama undergoes the suffering of molten copper poured into his mouth, and that when the punishment is undergone he takes his pleasure again with his court women, and that for his great ministers who share the same blessings it is likewise — its own words being 「然彼閻羅王晝夜三時，有大銅鑊自然在前」—“yet three times by day and by night a great copper cauldron appears of itself before King Yama.” 〔T01n0001 0126b12〕, 「有大獄卒，捉閻羅王臥熱鐵上」—“great hell-wardens take King Yama and lay him upon hot iron.” 〔T01n0001 0126b15〕, 「以鐵鈎擗口使開，洋銅灌之」—“they pry his mouth open with an iron hook and pour molten copper into it.” 〔T01n0001 0126b16〕, 「受罪訖已，復與諸婇女共相娛樂」—“the punishment undergone, he takes his pleasure again with his court women.” 〔T01n0001 0126b17〕, 「彼諸大臣同受福者，亦復如是」—“for those great ministers of his who share the same blessings, it is likewise.” 〔T01n0001 0126b18〕 In that sūtra Yama is himself still within the undergoing of retribution — and this joins in standing with Yama, Son of Heaven, in this passage, who comes to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three and states of himself 「亦是我等獲善利故」—“and this too is because we have gained a good benefit.” 〔T13n0412 0784c19〕
- Yama’s office is to ask — the same sūtra: 「有三使者，云何為三？一者老，二者病，三者死」—“there are three messengers. What are the three? The first is old age, the second is sickness, the third is death.” 〔T01n0001 0126b19〕; the hell-wardens bring the guilty one to the king’s place and say 「此是天使所召也，唯願大王善問其辭」—“this one was summoned by the heavenly messengers; we pray the great king will question him well upon his words.” 〔T01n0001 0126b22〕, and the king questions him by each messenger in turn, and judges at the last 「汝自有惡，汝今自受」—“the evil is your own; now you undergo it yourself.” 〔T01n0001 0126c04〕 In that sūtra Yama’s office is asking, and in this passage Yama, Son of Heaven, likewise sets the whole chapter going with a question; the two are of one type. And that sense of laying the guilt to one’s own doing runs in the same stream as the words of Yama in the Sūtra of the Sections on the Five Sufferings, cited by the mirror in this passage: 「自汝所作，今當受之。吾不枉汝」—“it is your own doing, and now you must undergo it. I do you no wrong.” 〔X21n0384 0728c04〕 (see Topic IV).
- The office of mastery over life, and the co-born spirit — The Sūtra of the Original Vows and Merits of the Medicine Buddha, Beryl Radiance Tathāgata: one at the end of life 「見琰魔使，引其神識，至于琰魔法王之前」—“sees the messengers of Yama, who lead his spirit-consciousness before Yama the Dharma King.” 〔T14n0450 0407b15〕; 「諸有情，有俱生神，隨其所作，若罪若福，皆具書之，盡持授與琰魔法王」—“sentient beings have a co-born spirit, who writes down in full whatever they do, whether of guilt or of blessing, and hands the whole of it over to Yama the Dharma King.” 〔T14n0450 0407b17〕; and again 「彼琰魔王主領世間名籍之記」—“that King Yama has the mastery over the registers of names in the world.” 〔T14n0450 0408a19〕 In this passage the ghost king Master-of-Life states of himself 「我本業緣，主閻浮人命，生時死時，我皆主之」—“because of my own original karmic conditions I am master over the lifespans of the people of Jambudvīpa; at the time of birth and at the time of death, I am master of both.” 〔T13n0412 0785b12〕 — the offices answer to each other, while the register they are bound to is not the same: there it is bound to Yama the Dharma King, here a separate Master-of-Life is set up. Both are recorded, and no forcing of the two together is made. That sūtra also says that when the kindred cultivate blessings for the sick 「或有是處，彼識得還」—“it may in some case be so, that his consciousness returns.” 〔T14n0450 0407b22〕, which shares its frame with the offering set out by the kindred in this passage.
- The road of peril and the guide — The Lotus Sūtra of the Wondrous Dharma, chapter of the conjured city: 「譬如五百由旬險難惡道，曠絕無人、怖畏之處」—“suppose there were a perilous and evil road five hundred yojanas long, a place waste and empty of people and full of dread.” 〔T09n0262 0025c26〕, 「有一導師，聰慧明達，善知險道通塞之相」—“and there is a guide, clever and clear-sighted, who knows well the marks of what is open and what is blocked upon a road of peril.” 〔T09n0262 0025c28〕 The two similes have the same frame of a road of peril and a guide, but the destination differs: there they go to a place of jewels with a conjured city set up midway, here they are only led out of the road of peril to a good road; the guide there makes the conjured city vanish so that they may go further, while the friend here charges the man at parting to pass the word on. The word-by-word mirror is aware of this difference, and so cites the Words and Phrases of the Lotus first — 「文句釋法華險難惡道，通譬九界生死因果」—“the Words and Phrases explains the perilous and evil road of the Lotus as figuring throughout the causes and fruits of birth and death in the nine realms.” 〔X21n0384 0727a22〕 — and only then sets his own limit upon the gloss: 「今據下文生人天中，令受妙樂，秪以三塗為險道」—“here, going by the words below, ‘born among men and gods, made to receive wondrous bliss,’ we take only the three evil courses as the road of peril.” 〔X21n0384 0727a24〕 He then sets out a reconciliation of his own: having finished citing the passage of the Daśacakra on the bright moon showing the road, he goes straight on to say 「據此亦應約九界因果明險道」—“on this ground one ought also to make the road of peril plain in terms of the causes and fruits of the nine realms.” 〔X21n0384 0728a20〕, 「過五百由旬，到涅槃寶所，方為安隱」—“pass the five hundred yojanas and reach the treasure-place of nirvāṇa; only then is there safety.” 〔X21n0384 0728a20〕, 「今秪約三塗人天敵論者，化五濁迷流之要著也」—“that here we argue only in terms of the three evil courses set over against men and gods is the telling move for transforming those adrift in the delusion of the five turbidities.” 〔X21n0384 0728a21〕, 「先以小接，次令入大，方便巧逗，妙化隨機，毋謂是經秪生人天也」—“first they are caught with the small, and next they are brought into the great; skillful means draws them cunningly, and wondrous transforming follows their capacity. Do not say that this sūtra only brings birth among men and gods.” 〔X21n0384 0728a22〕, and ties a last sentence to it that extends it over the whole chapter — 「點逗於此，前後例之」—“the point is touched in here; before and after, take it as the pattern.” 〔X21n0384 0728a23〕 The mirror says of himself that taking the three evil courses as the road of peril is a limit set to suit his hearers, and not a claim that this sūtra stops at men and gods; his self-limitation and his own undoing of it stand together, and the two similes are both recorded without being forced together.
- The guide and the bright moon (sūtra of the same honored one) — the Daśacakra has Kṣitigarbha as 「如迷方者所逢示導」—“like the guide met with by one who has lost his bearings.” 〔T13n0411 0722a02〕; and again 「譬如明月，於夜分中，能示一切失道眾生平坦正路」—“like the bright moon, which in the watches of the night can show to all beings who have lost the way the level and right road.” 〔T13n0411 0727b02〕, 「於無明夜，能示一切迷三乘道，馳騁生死曠野眾生，三乘正路」—“in the night of ignorance it can show the right road of the three vehicles to all beings who are lost to the road of the three vehicles and gallop about the wilderness of birth and death.” 〔T13n0411 0727b04〕 The word-by-word mirror cites this twice within the present passage 〔X21n0384 0727c17〕〔X21n0384 0728a16〕, to prove that the friend in the simile is Kṣitigarbha.
Treatise accounts (all as cited by the word-by-word mirror within this passage)
- The name and sense of drawing out the root of the karmic conditions — 「梵名阿浮訶那，此云拔除罪根」—“the Sanskrit name is Afuhena, which here means the plucking out of the root of guilt.” 〔X21n0384 0726c18〕; and as to the root drawn: 「須知諸惡，隨業受報，而以三毒為本」—“it should be known that all the evils receive their retribution according to their karma, and that the three poisons are their root.” 〔X21n0384 0726c18〕, 「三毒之中，貪愛為根。如捉布一頭，餘則盡隨」—“among the three poisons, craving and love are the root. It is as when one takes hold of a cloth by one corner: the rest all comes after it.” 〔X21n0384 0726c19〕 Below this the mirror cites three books in succession to make it good: the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, 「若不斷愛，愛則潤生」—“if love is not cut off, love moistens birth.” 〔X21n0384 0726c20〕; the Treatise on the Completion of Truth, 「如樹根不拔，其樹猶生。貪根不拔，苦樹常在」—“as a tree whose root is not pulled up goes on growing, so while the root of greed is not pulled up the tree of suffering stands always.” 〔X21n0384 0726c21〕, whence 「故知生死，貪愛為本」—“hence it is known that birth and death have craving and love for their root.” 〔X21n0384 0726c22〕; and the Daśacakra, 「滅除一切惑障習氣，猶如烈日銷釋輕冰」—“he extinguishes every obstruction of delusion and every residue of habit, as a fierce sun melts away thin ice.” 〔X21n0384 0726c23〕 What the four characters “the root of the karmic conditions” point to, the mirror fixes as craving and love, and not as the evils at large; recorded without adjudication.
- The ten agents matched to the evil beasts — the yakṣas, 「有智有通，飛行捷疾」—“they have cunning and have powers, and fly swift and quick.” 〔X21n0384 0727b02〕, figure the sharp agents; 「故虎狼等，畜類愚頑，以譬鈍使」—“and so the tigers and wolves and the rest, being beasts and dull and stubborn, are made the figure of the dull agents.” 〔X21n0384 0727b04〕, and within these are 「故以虎喻慢使」—“and so the tiger is the simile for the agent of pride.” 〔X21n0384 0727b07〕, 「狼譬貪使」—“the wolf is the figure of the agent of greed.” 〔X21n0384 0727b09〕, 「師子表癡使」—“the lion shows forth the agent of delusion.” 〔X21n0384 0727b10〕, 「蚖蛇蝮蠍譬瞋使」—“vipers, snakes, adders, and scorpions are the figure of the agent of anger.” 〔X21n0384 0727b12〕 That he does not make the centipede the figure of the agent of anger in speculative view, he explains by saying that in the three evil courses there is no speculative view.
- The causes that call down the ghost destiny — 「準正法念經，明其因行，乃由貪嫉、邪倿、諂曲、欺誑、積財不施」—“according to the Sūtra of the Right Mindfulness of the True Dharma, the practices that cause it are made plain: greed and envy, wickedness and sycophancy, flattery and crookedness, cheating and deceit, and heaping up wealth without giving it away.” 〔X21n0384 0729c09〕; and one who becomes a king among the ghosts has a cause of his own: 「若惡中兼布施因，生鬼道中，大有威德，為諸鬼王」—“if within the evil there is also a cause of giving, then being born in the ghost destiny one has great awesome virtue and becomes a ghost king.” 〔X21n0384 0731a14〕, and yet 「雖威德為王，恒為諸天駈役，守門防邏，導從給使，亦繫往業」—“though by awesome virtue he is a king, he is forever driven at the service of the gods — guarding gates and patrolling, going before as escort and waiting upon them — and this too is bound to former karma.” 〔X21n0384 0731a15〕, and so 「其主命之職，亦循業而為之」—“his office of mastery over life is likewise performed in accordance with karma.” 〔X21n0384 0731a16〕
- The two kinds of intermediate state — 「中陰有二種：一善業果，二惡業果」—“the intermediate state is of two kinds: first, the fruit of good karma; second, the fruit of evil karma.” 〔X21n0384 0733b02〕, and following the causes and conditions of karma it goes toward the place of rebirth.
- The order in which the consciousnesses depart at death — 「唯第八識最後去」—“the eighth consciousness alone departs last.” 〔X21n0384 0733a16〕; and he cites the Nirvāṇa Sūtra to describe its aspect: 「雖有五情，無所知覺」—“though the five senses are there, nothing is known or felt.” 〔X21n0384 0733a18〕, while the marks of retribution for the good and evil formerly cultivated appear before him, 「如日垂沒，山陵堆阜，影現東移，理無西逝」—“as when the sun is going down and the shadows of hills and mounds appear moving eastward: there is no principle by which they should go west.” 〔X21n0384 0733a19〕
- The blessing of calling the name — he cites the Larger Prajñā, 「若有一人稱南無佛，乃至畢苦，其福不盡」—“if there be one person who says ‘Homage to the Buddha,’ then even to the ending of suffering that blessing is not used up.” 〔X21n0384 0733b11〕, and the Great Treatise explains it: 「是曾聞佛功德，能度人老病死苦」—“this is because he has once heard of the merits of a buddha, which can carry a person across the suffering of old age, sickness, and death.” 〔X21n0384 0733b13〕; he cites the Avataṃsaka besides, 「寧受地獄苦，得聞諸佛名；不受無量樂，而不聞佛名」—“better to undergo the sufferings of hell and get to hear the names of the buddhas, than to receive measureless bliss and not hear a buddha’s name.” 〔X21n0384 0733c05〕; and he explains the capacity by which one attains the way upon hearing a name: 「有眾生福德淳熟，結使心薄，若聞佛名，即時得道。如新淨白氈，易為受色」—“there are beings whose merit is ripe and mellow and whose mind is thin of fetters, and if they hear a buddha’s name they attain the way at once, like new clean white felt, which takes color easily.” 〔X21n0384 0733c08〕
- The measure of a single verse — 「一偈，天竺但數字滿三十二，即為一偈」—“a verse: in India one simply counts the syllables, and when they come to thirty-two that is one verse.” 〔X21n0384 0733c01〕
IV. Exegesis of the Passage (the word-by-word mirror, phrase by phrase)
Yama’s standing — 「閻羅，鬼官之總司，無量鬼王俱為所統」—“Yama is the general director of the ghost officialdom, and measureless ghost kings are all governed by him.” 〔X21n0384 0724a14〕 Why he alone is called Son of Heaven: 「今唯閻羅一王興問者，大約第五殿乃正中之位，統攝諸王，故特加天子之名」—“that here it is Yama alone among the kings who raises the question is broadly because the fifth court is the seat at the very center and governs all the other kings, and so the title Son of Heaven is added to him in particular.” 〔X21n0384 0725c19〕, 「以帝釋天為父王，命閻羅為天子，主攝冥司」—“Śakra of the heavens being the father-king, Yama is appointed Son of Heaven and given the dark offices to govern.” 〔X21n0384 0725c20〕 As to their number, there is more than one: 「準長阿含：小千世界，有一千閻羅王」—“according to the Dīrgha Āgama, in a small chiliocosm there are a thousand King Yamas.” 〔X21n0384 0726a02〕; and so the sūtra’s 「我等」 is not a plural taking in the other courts, but a word of feeling fortunate.
The number of the ghost kings — 「已上三十四位，皆是大鬼王」—“the above are thirty-four in number, and all of them are great ghost kings.” 〔X21n0384 0725b18〕 This is a count the mirror made for himself, and it agrees with the base text’s enumeration item by item.
Evil and Poison at the head, and the appearing and transforming by great expedient power (the pivot of this passage) — 「惡毒乃鬼王之首，故前列之」—“Evil and Poison is the head of the ghost kings, and so he is set out first.” 〔X21n0384 0724b03〕; 「惡毒即十惡三毒」—“evil and poison are the ten evils and the three poisons.” 〔X21n0384 0724b03〕, 「三毒屬意，為身口七惡之本」—“the three poisons belong to the mind, and are the root of the seven evils of body and speech.” 〔X21n0384 0724b04〕 Then he judges the whole string together: 「然此等鬼王，皆是不思議菩薩，大權應化」—“yet these ghost kings are all of them inconceivable bodhisattvas, appearing and transforming by great expedient power.” 〔X21n0384 0724b05〕, and so 「以惡攻惡，以毒出毒」—“with evil he attacks evil, with poison he draws out poison.” 〔X21n0384 0724b06〕, 「故用惡毒，以為化門」—“and so he uses evil and poison as his gate of transforming.” 〔X21n0384 0724b07〕
The twenty-eight names glossed by sense (each name has its own gloss; what is recorded here is the wording that fixes the name) — Many Evils: 「一念尚具諸惡，增廣多有無量」—“a single thought already holds all the evils, and spread out they become measureless in number.” 〔X21n0384 0724b10〕, 「外現忿怒之惡相，內起慈悲之善心」—“outwardly he shows the wrathful marks of evil, and inwardly he raises the good heart of kindness and compassion.” 〔X21n0384 0724b11〕 Great Contention: 「大諍，諍即鬬諍」—“Great Contention: contention is strife.” 〔X21n0384 0724b12〕, citing the Dīrgha Āgama, 「怨結之生，皆由貪嫉」—“the arising of the knot of enmity is wholly from greed and envy.” 〔X21n0384 0724b13〕, 「貪嫉之生，皆由愛憎」—“the arising of greed and envy is wholly from love and hate.” 〔X21n0384 0724b14〕, and concluding 「故鬼王以大諍法門化人無諍也」—“and so the ghost king transforms people into non-contention by the Dharma-gate of great contention.” 〔X21n0384 0724b18〕 White Tiger · Blood Tiger · Red Tiger: 「虎乃山獸，亦名大蟲，猛而有威，慢而多暴」—“the tiger is a mountain beast, also called the great worm, fierce and full of awe, arrogant and given to violence.” 〔X21n0384 0724b19〕, 「白虎，西方之獸。血虎，口似血盆。赤虎，毛如火赤」—“the white tiger is the beast of the west; the blood tiger’s mouth is like a basin of blood; the red tiger’s fur is red as fire.” 〔X21n0384 0724b20〕, 「鬼頭如虎，故各以虎名」—“these ghosts have heads like a tiger’s, and so each is named with the tiger.” 〔X21n0384 0724b21〕 Scatterer of Calamity: 「散殃，殃，咎也、禍也」—“Scatterer of Calamity: calamity is fault, is disaster.” 〔X21n0384 0724b21〕, citing 「東岳經云：世間眾生不信因緣善惡果報」—“the Sūtra of the Eastern Peak says: the beings of the world do not believe in causes and conditions or in the fruits of good and evil.” 〔X21n0384 0724b22〕 and the passage below it for what he has charge of. Flying Body: 「飛身，飛行夜叉之類也」—“Flying Body: of the sort of the flying yakṣas.” 〔X21n0384 0724c03〕 Lightning Flash: 「電光，眼光如電閃爍，令見者怕怖」—“Lightning Flash: the light of his eyes flickers like lightning, and frightens those who see it.” 〔X21n0384 0724c04〕 Wolf-Fang: 「狼大如狗，青色，善逐獸」—“the wolf is as large as a dog, gray-green in color, and good at running down beasts.” 〔X21n0384 0724c05〕, 「此鬼牙尖外向，如狼之牙」—“this ghost’s fangs point outward, like the fangs of a wolf.” 〔X21n0384 0724c06〕 Thousand Eyes: 「觀音千眼在手，獄卒六十四眼在角，此鬼千眼，不知如何安立」—“Avalokiteśvara’s thousand eyes are in the hands, the hell-warden’s sixty-four eyes are in the horns; where this ghost’s thousand eyes are set, I do not know.” 〔X21n0384 0724c09〕 Devourer of Beasts: 「噉獸，此鬼以獸為食者，然鬼亦獸耳」—“Devourer of Beasts: this ghost takes beasts for its food, and yet a ghost is a beast too.” 〔X21n0384 0724c10〕 Bearer of Stones: 「負石，即負石擔沙，填河塞海之類」—“Bearer of Stones: of the sort that bear stones and carry sand to fill up rivers and block up seas.” 〔X21n0384 0724c12〕 Master-of-Wasting · Master-of-Calamity: 「主耗、主禍，二事相因」—“Master-of-Wasting and Master-of-Calamity: two things that follow upon each other.” 〔X21n0384 0724c13〕, citing 「天地有司過之神，依人所犯輕重，以奪人算」—“heaven and earth have a spirit who keeps account of transgressions, and who takes years from a person’s reckoned span according to the weight of what he has committed.” 〔X21n0384 0724c13〕 Master-of-Food: 「主食，食乃民生之祿，善者享之，惡者減之」—“Master-of-Food: food is the emolument of a people’s livelihood; the good enjoy it, and for the evil it is diminished.” 〔X21n0384 0724c18〕 Master-of-Wealth: 「岳府有主財案主者」—“the court of the Sacred Peak has a case-officer in charge of wealth.” 〔X21n0384 0724c20〕, 「浮陀摩尼鉢，主護人財物」—“Futuomonibo has charge of guarding people’s goods.” 〔X21n0384 0724c21〕, concluding with 「財各有所主也」—“wealth too has each its own master.” 〔X21n0384 0724c24〕 Master-of-Livestock: 「主畜，畜有四生，住有三處」—“Master-of-Livestock: livestock are of the four births, and their dwellings are of three places.” 〔X21n0384 0725a01〕 Master-of-Birds · Master-of-Beasts: 「飛曰禽，羽族之總名」—“what flies is called a bird, the general name of the feathered kind.” 〔X21n0384 0725a03〕, 「走曰獸，毛蟲之總名」—“what runs is called a beast, the general name of the furred kind.” 〔X21n0384 0725a03〕, 「此諸禽獸，各有鬼王主之」—“these birds and beasts each have their ghost king who is master over them.” 〔X21n0384 0725a04〕, and he cites besides 「若止觀引大集十二時獸者」—“as for the twelve beasts of the twelve watches, which the Calming and Contemplation cites from the Great Collection.” 〔X21n0384 0725a05〕 — 「準大集，東海瑠璃山，有虎、兔、龍」—“according to the Great Collection, on the beryl mountain of the eastern sea there are the tiger, the hare, and the dragon.” 〔X21n0384 0725a07〕 and the twelve beasts of the four seas below it, 「一一獸，皆修聲聞慈，曾於過去佛所發願」—“each one of these beasts cultivates the kindness of a śrāvaka, and made a vow of old in the presence of a buddha of the past.” 〔X21n0384 0725a10〕 Master-of-Sprites: 「主魅，魅謂魑魅，老精物也」—“Master-of-Sprites: a sprite means a hill-goblin, an aged thing of essence.” 〔X21n0384 0725a13〕 Master-of-Birthing: he cites 「東岳懺云：結秀成胎，稟兩儀之造化」—“the Eastern Peak repentance says: the flower knits and becomes an embryo, receiving the shaping of the two principles.” 〔X21n0384 0725a14〕, and again 「又鬼子母姊，名炙匿，亦主人產生」—“again, the elder sister of Hārītī, named Zhini, is also master over people’s giving birth.” 〔X21n0384 0725a17〕 Master-of-Life: 「主命，準經，毗沙門主護四天下人命」—“Master-of-Life: according to the scriptures, Vaiśravaṇa has the mastery of guarding the lives of the people of the four continents.” 〔X21n0384 0725a18〕 Master-of-Sickness: for this item the mirror writes only 「主疾，如前」—“Master-of-Sickness: as above.” 〔X21n0384 0725a19〕, and sets out no separate gloss. Recorded without adjudication. Master-of-Perils: 「高山峻嶺，大海溟淵，險難之處，身命所係，應死者錄之，不應死者護之」—“high mountains and steep ranges, the great sea and the deep abyss — these places of peril and hardship are where body and life hang; those who ought to die he enters in the register, and those who ought not to die he guards.” 〔X21n0384 0725a20〕, and he cites further 「準大論，地獄有二部，一寒冰，二炎火」—“according to the Great Treatise, the hells are of two divisions: first cold ice, second blazing fire.” 〔X21n0384 0725a22〕, judging 「此名大黑暗處，危難嶮道，即鬼所主之處耳」—“this is called the place of great darkness, a road of danger and peril — just the place of which this ghost is master.” 〔X21n0384 0725a23〕 Three Eyes · Four Eyes · Five Eyes: 「三目，二目中間豎亞一目，如摩醯狀」—“Three Eyes: between the two eyes a third stands upright, after the fashion of Maheśvara.” 〔X21n0384 0725a24〕, 「四目，額上又橫開二目，與蒼頡同」—“Four Eyes: upon the forehead two more open crosswise, as with Cangjie.” 〔X21n0384 0725a24〕, 「五目，於上下中，豎生一目也」—“Five Eyes: in the middle, between those above and those below, yet another grows upright.” 〔X21n0384 0725b01〕
The six names transcribed from sound (the very case of Rule 9a · the ancient worthy says three times over that it is not ascertained) — at the head of this string the mirror sets a general statement: 「祁利失王等，未見翻譯」—“for the king Qilishi and the rest, no translation has been found.” 〔X21n0384 0725b02〕 The side-evidence he attempts is of three sorts: 「金光明有薩多琦黎，翻大力天」—“the Golden Light has Saduoqili, rendered as the god of mighty strength.” 〔X21n0384 0725b02〕; 「名義集載惡祁尼，此翻火神」—“the Collection of Names and Their Meanings records Eqini, which is rendered here as the fire-spirit.” 〔X21n0384 0725b03〕; and from the chapter on yakṣas in the Lokasthiti Abhidharma Treatise, 「時閻浮提中，有兩眾山。恒河之南，名娑多耆利山；恒河之北，名醯摩䟦多山」—“at that time within Jambudvīpa there were two ranges of mountains: south of the Ganges the one named Mount Suoduoqili, north of the Ganges the one named Mount Ximobaduo.” 〔X21n0384 0725b04〕, the spirits south and north of those mountains being each named after their mountain, whence he judges that these words 「的是山名」—“are certainly the name of a mountain.” 〔X21n0384 0725b04〕, and further, since the realm of King Yama and Mount Qili both lie south of the Ganges, 「南屬離火，故祁尼祁利，而翻大力火神」—“the south belongs to the trigram Li, which is fire; and so Qini and Qili are rendered as the spirit of mighty fire.” 〔X21n0384 0725b09〕 Yet three times he stops himself: first, 「失字未詳」—“the character 失 is not ascertained.” 〔X21n0384 0725b10〕; second, of Qilicha he says only 「叉具云：叉耶，秦言盡。即大力盡王」—“cha, given in full, is chaye, which in the tongue of Qin is ‘exhausted’; that is, the king of mighty strength exhausted.” 〔X21n0384 0725b11〕, which glosses cha and not the whole of Qilishi; third, at Anazha he cites the Great Sūtra on the eight-armed Nazha as a strong man among the gods, and at once draws it back — 「則未可的指，然其名既同，未可知也」—“then it cannot be pointed to for certain; yet since the name is the same, neither can it be known.” 〔X21n0384 0725b12〕, while his interlinear note preserves another account besides, 「那吒即多聞天王之長子」—“Nazha is the eldest son of the Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa.” 〔X21n0384 0725b13〕
⇒ What is done in the present volume: these six names keep the Chinese sound, and no reconstruction into Sanskrit is made (Rule 9a: Sanskrit only as transmitted by the ancient worthies; and since the ancient worthy says three times over that it is not ascertained, there is no transmission to depend upon). The style of transcription awaits adjudication, and so the apparatus records it while the reader-facing layers keep the Chinese characters only. It is the same case as the twelve yakṣa generals of the Medicine Buddha sūtra.
Each has what he holds, each has what he is master of — 「各有執者，執，守法也」—“as for each having what he holds: to hold is to keep the law.” 〔X21n0384 0725b19〕: they take those who are guilty and make plain the due execution of the statutes. As for the word master, he argues from the graph itself: 「言主者，古之制字」—“as for the word master, it is a graph made by the ancients.” 〔X21n0384 0725b23〕 — the dot is the numinous brightness that is master of the mind, set atop the graph for king to make the graph for master; and 「天地有司過之神，依人所犯輕重，以奪人算」—“heaven and earth have a spirit who keeps account of transgressions, and who takes years from a person’s reckoned span according to the weight of what he has committed.” 〔X21n0384 0725b22〕 comes out again here.
Standing to one side — the mirror’s recension reads 一面𡗓, and he glosses: 「住足名」—“the name for standing on one’s feet.” 〔X21n0384 0725c08〕 is 𡗓; a person stands upright when born, and 𡗓 means to bear heaven above and tread the earth below; 「敬佛尊君，故」—“out of reverence for the Buddha and honor for the sovereign, therefore.” 〔X21n0384 0725c09〕 one stands and does not sit. (The mirror’s wording here differs from the base text’s; see Topic IX.)
Yama raises his question — 「恣，縱也」—“to grant as one pleases is to let go free.” 〔X21n0384 0726a13〕, 「如洪鐘在架，隨扣隨鳴」—“like a great bell hung on its frame, which sounds as soon as it is struck.” 〔X21n0384 0726a14〕 「瞻禮，敬佛求法之儀。迴視，事有所專也」—“to gaze up and bow is the form of revering the Buddha and seeking the Dharma; to turn the head back and look is to have one’s business fixed upon something.” 〔X21n0384 0726a17〕 Though he calls his question a small doubt, the mirror judges its weight: 「雖云小疑，障信則大，故須問明」—“though he says it is a small doubt, as an obstruction to faith it is a great one, and so it must be asked out clearly.” 〔X21n0384 0726a09〕 The structure of the question: 「此中問意兩關發疑」—“the sense of the question here raises its doubt at two joints.” 〔X21n0384 0726b18〕 — the first upon the bodhisattva’s power, the second upon the capacity of the six destinies; and so the doubt comes to rest at 「為地藏神力不逮歟？為眾生心力不及歟」—“is it that Kṣitigarbha’s spiritual power does not reach so far? or that the strength of beings’ minds does not come up to it?” 〔X21n0384 0726b21〕 As for “before long,” the mirror converts it against heavenly lifespans: 「未久云者，如等活地獄，對四天王壽」—“as to the words ‘before long’: take the Reviving Hell over against the lifespan of the Heaven of the Four Great Kings.” 〔X21n0384 0726b13〕, 「人間五十年，為上天一日夜；縱經百年，冥司秪得二日，豈非纔出即來」—“fifty years among men is one day and night in that heaven above; so even a full hundred years comes to no more than two days on the reckoning of the dark offices — is that not going out and coming straight back again?” 〔X21n0384 0726b13〕
The Buddha’s answer, shown in sum — 「其性者，習性也，故曰剛強。若是法性，從本柔和」—“‘their nature’ means the nature formed by habit, and that is why it is called hard and stubborn. If it were the dharma-nature, it is soft and mild from the first.” 〔X21n0384 0726c03〕, 「譬之惡象駑馬，難於調伏也」—“they are like a vicious elephant or a jaded horse, hard to tame and subdue.” 〔X21n0384 0726c05〕 “One head at a time”: 「頭頭，猶言處處」—“one head at a time is as much as to say in place after place.” 〔X21n0384 0726c12〕; and the manner of taming is 「剛者教之以柔，強者教之以和，難調伏者必令調伏」—“the hard he teaches with softness, the stubborn he teaches with mildness, and those hard to tame and subdue he must bring to be tamed and subdued.” 〔X21n0384 0726c13〕 On the order between the clause 「而遣悟宿世之事」 and the clause above it: 「今根本業緣既拔，自悟宿世之事」—“the root of the karmic conditions being now drawn out, he awakens of himself to the matters of his former lives.” 〔X21n0384 0727a01〕, 「譬古鏡之重揩，其常光而自現矣」—“it is as when an old mirror is wiped again, and its constant brightness appears of itself.” 〔X21n0384 0727a01〕 — awakening to former lives is not a further dharma separately obtained; it appears of itself once the root is drawn; recorded without adjudication. As for where the blame lies for beings going out and turning back in, the mirror makes it plain: 「乃眾生自造惡業，以自縛之。非菩薩之咎」—“it is beings themselves who make evil karma and bind themselves with it. It is not the bodhisattva’s fault.” 〔X21n0384 0727a07〕, and 「結惡習重，緊要之語」—“‘they have knotted their evil habits deep’ is the crucial phrase.” 〔X21n0384 0727a07〕
The three passages of the simile — first, the straying from the root and the entering of the perilous: 「常寂光土為本家」—“the Land of Constant Quiescent Light is the own home.” 〔X21n0384 0727a18〕, 「十惡眾生，原是如來之子；三塗苦處，無非常寂之家」—“beings of the ten evils are from the first the Tathāgata’s own children, and the places of suffering in the three evil courses are none of them other than the home of constant quiescence.” 〔X21n0384 0727a19〕; the order of the straying being 「以不知真如法一，不覺無明風動，漂流異國，墮落他鄉」—“because he does not know that suchness and dharma are one, he does not notice the wind of ignorance stirring, and he drifts to a foreign country and falls into another land.” 〔X21n0384 0727a20〕, 「既忘本處，便迷歸路，遊行逐境，險道斯臻」—“having forgotten his own place, he loses the road home; he wanders on chasing after objects, and the road of peril is reached.” 〔X21n0384 0727a21〕 Second, the friend who calls him back from his straying: 「知識指地藏」—“the friend points to Kṣitigarbha.” 〔X21n0384 0727c03〕, 「智慧弘深名多解，方便巧妙曰大術」—“wisdom broad and deep is called understanding much; skillful means subtle and apt is called a great art.” 〔X21n0384 0727c07〕; 「莫知遇而遇之，曰忽逢。將入而未入，曰欲進」—“to meet without knowing that one would meet is called meeting suddenly; about to go in and not yet in is called being about to advance.” 〔X21n0384 0727c12〕; 「咄哉，喚醒之辭。男子，警惕之意」—“‘Hey there’ is a word that wakes one up; ‘good man’ carries the sense of putting him on his guard.” 〔X21n0384 0727c15〕 The two words “this road” go back to the first chapter: 「以此路，二種人到。所謂威神、業力，非此二事，終不能到」—“by this road two kinds of person arrive: that is, by awesome spiritual power and by the power of karma; without one of these two things one can never arrive.” 〔X21n0384 0727c19〕 — the same judgment as the ghost king Poisonless’s answer to the brahmin woman in the first chapter. Third, the straying man seeking a way out: 「忽聞者，聞四諦也」—“that he hears all at once is his hearing the four truths.” 〔X21n0384 0728a02〕, 「便退步，止十惡修十善也。求出路，離三塗求人天也」—“that he then steps back is his stopping the ten evils and cultivating the ten good deeds; that he seeks a way out is his leaving the three evil courses and seeking men and gods.” 〔X21n0384 0728a08〕 On the passage of the charge to pass the word on at parting: 「臨別時，將他化也。令轉勸者，冀展轉傳化，化化不絕也」—“at parting, he is about to transform others. He is made to exhort them in turn, in the hope that the transforming will be handed on and handed on, and that transforming upon transforming will not come to an end.” 〔X21n0384 0728b19〕, 「親知，稟內道未解脫者；路人，未受道在生死者」—“those he knows and is close to are those who have received the inner path but are not yet liberated; travelers upon the road are those who have not received the path and are in birth and death.” 〔X21n0384 0728b20〕 For the last words, taking their own death upon themselves, he cites the Sūtra of the Sections on the Five Sufferings — 「昔閻羅王有弘普之慈」—“of old King Yama had a vast and universal kindness.” 〔X21n0384 0728c01〕, showing himself and asking those fallen into hell why they had come there; and the guilty ones state of themselves that at death they did not know they had done all those evils, whereupon the king says 「自汝所作，今當受之。吾不枉汝」—“it is your own doing, and now you must undergo it. I do you no wrong.” 〔X21n0384 0728c04〕, and the mirror judges it: 「譬如抱石投淵，自沉自墜；飛蛾赴火，自燋自爛。非天與人授也」—“it is as when one clasps a stone and throws himself into a deep pool: he sinks of himself and drops of himself; or as when the moth goes into the flame: it scorches of itself and shrivels of itself. It is not handed him by heaven or by any man.” 〔X21n0384 0728c05〕 The last five characters are the same words used at the close of the fifth chapter, where the instruments of suffering are disclosed (there in the form 「皆罪人業行所感，非天與人授也」—“all are called down by the karmic deeds of the guilty; they are not handed them by heaven or by any man.” 〔X21n0384 0706a11〕).
The chapter of the ghost king Evil and Poison — 「惡毒為眾鬼王首。故率先陳白」—“Evil and Poison is the head of the ghost kings, and so he is first to set forth his statement.” 〔X21n0384 0729b16〕 The dwellings of ghosts are of two sorts, the principal and the marginal: 「有威德者，住山谷空中海邊，皆有宮殿」—“those who have awesome virtue dwell in mountain valleys, in the open air, and by the sea, and all of them have palaces.” 〔X21n0384 0729b20〕, 「無威德者，依不淨糞穢草木塚墓屏廁故塸，皆無舍宅」—“those without awesome virtue depend upon filth and dung, upon grass and trees, grave-mounds, privies, and old ruined mounds, and none of them has house or dwelling.” 〔X21n0384 0729b21〕 For the proportion of guarding and not guarding he cites the Dīrgha Āgama: 「一切男女生時，皆鬼神隨逐守護」—“every man and woman, when born, has ghosts and spirits following and guarding him.” 〔X21n0384 0729b23〕, and yet for those who hold wrong views and do the ten evils 「如是百千人，乃有一神護耳」—“for a hundred thousand such people there is but one spirit that guards them.” 〔X21n0384 0729c02〕, while for those who cultivate good and hold right views and right faith 「如是一人有百千神護」—“one such person has a hundred thousand spirits that guard him.” 〔X21n0384 0729c03〕, whence 「故善者利人處多，惡者損人處多」—“and so where the good are, there is much benefiting of people; where the evil are, there is much harming of people.” 〔X21n0384 0729c04〕 On where ghosts and spirits move about, he cites the Dīrgha Āgama: 「一切人民所居舍宅，皆有鬼神，無有空者」—“in every house where people dwell there are ghosts and spirits; not one is empty of them.” 〔X21n0384 0730a02〕 The question and answer upon revering as the buddhas of the three times: 「所言佛者，修一切善法而得」—“what is called a buddha is gained by cultivating every good dharma.” 〔X21n0384 0730b06〕, 「今男女修諸善事，佛果斯栽，故鬼神敬之」—“now that these men and women cultivate good deeds, the fruit of buddhahood is planted right there, and so ghosts and spirits revere them.” 〔X21n0384 0730b07〕; and he cites Jingxi, 「一句一偈，增進菩提；一色一香，永無退轉」—“a single line, a single verse advances one toward awakening; a single form, a single scent, and there is never any falling back.” 〔X21n0384 0730a24〕 The gloss of the allotted stretch of land: 「分內所司之地，云土地分」—“the ground within one’s allotment that one has charge of is called the allotted stretch of land.” 〔X21n0384 0730b11〕
The chapter of the ghost king Master-of-Life — the mirror first asks himself why he steps out of his rank: 「惡毒陳事既竟，主命越班白己事者，何也」—“Evil and Poison having finished setting out his matter, why does Master-of-Life step out of his rank and state his own?” 〔X21n0384 0730c20〕, and answers by the weight of life itself: 「夫世人之生也，有命而已矣」—“as for the living of people in the world, they have their life-span and no more.” 〔X21n0384 0730c20〕, 「其修善者，謂之衛生；其作惡者，謂之戕生」—“those who cultivate good are said to guard life; those who do evil are said to wound life.” 〔X21n0384 0730c21〕, and he cites 「春秋成公篇云：民受天地之中以生，所謂命也」—“the Cheng Gong chapter of the Spring and Autumn says: the people receive the mean of heaven and earth and so are born, and this is what is called their allotted life.” 〔X21n0384 0730c22〕 The limit upon the word master (it is not to be read heavily): 「然言主者，不過司命存亡，非能與奪人命，令生之死之」—“yet to say master is to say no more than that he has charge of the register of life and death; he cannot give or take a life, or make one live or make one die.” 〔X21n0384 0731a06〕, 「獄府主死生案者，是其職事耳」—“in the offices of the prisons he is the one in charge of the files of death and life, and that is his office and no more.” 〔X21n0384 0731a07〕 On “do not take my meaning”: 「意者，思量之稱」—“meaning is a name for weighing in thought.” 〔X21n0384 0731a21〕 On the gloss of house and dwelling: 「舍，於中舍，息也；宅，擇也。擇吉處而營之也」—“a house is where one lodges within, and is rest; a dwelling is a choosing — one chooses an auspicious place and builds there.” 〔X21n0384 0731b09〕, 「土，吐也，吐生萬物也」—“soil is bringing forth: it brings forth and gives birth to the ten thousand things.” 〔X21n0384 0731b10〕 On the passage charging care not to kill, he cites the words of Yunqi: 「生子不宜殺生。人無子則悲，有子則喜」—“when a child is born one ought not to take life. A man without a child grieves; with a child he rejoices.” 〔X21n0384 0731c06〕, 「不思一切禽獸，亦各愛其子。慶我子生，令他子死，於心安乎」—“yet he does not consider that every bird and beast also loves its own young. To celebrate my child’s being born by making another’s child die — is the heart at ease in that?” 〔X21n0384 0731c06〕; and he records the affair of Zhou Yu boiling eels, how one arched its body upward with head and tail down in the broth, and when it was cut open there were young in its belly, whence he says 「雖人畜不同，愛子之心一也」—“though man and beast are not the same, the heart that loves its young is one.” 〔X21n0384 0731c11〕 The warning against wine, meat, singing, and music: 「飲酒斷智慧種，食肉斷慈悲種」—“drinking wine cuts off the seed of wisdom; eating meat cuts off the seed of compassion.” 〔X21n0384 0731c21〕, 「飲酒食肉亂性而傷慈，歌樂管絃蕩情而逸志」—“wine and meat disorder the nature and injure kindness; singing and strings and pipes loosen the feelings and let the will run wild.” 〔X21n0384 0731c24〕 The gloss of bearing up: 「是使其如背負物，不可失墜一般，故云荷護」—“it is to have them do as one does with a thing carried on the back, which must on no account be let fall; and so it is called bearing up and guarding.” 〔X21n0384 0732a18〕 On setting out blessings to requite the earth spirits: 「便合設福善之業，以酬宅主之恩」—“they ought then to set out deeds of blessing and goodness, to requite the kindness of the masters of the dwelling.” 〔X21n0384 0732b06〕; and when they turn instead to killing, 「乃由人殺害自致，非土地不護也」—“it comes about through the killing that the people themselves bring on, and not because the earth spirits fail to guard them.” 〔X21n0384 0732b23〕 On the passage of the last hour: 「但臨終之時，平時所造善惡之業，其相俱時頓現，隨業趣生」—“only, at the time of dying, the marks of the good and evil karma made in ordinary times appear all at once together, and one goes to birth according to that karma.” 〔X21n0384 0732c07〕; he cites the Sūtra of the Samādhi of Purifying and Crossing Over, 「若人造善惡業，生天墮獄，各有迎人」—“if a person makes good or evil karma, whether he is born in heaven or falls into hell there are those who come to meet him.” 〔X21n0384 0732c17〕, whence 「故知臨終之時，實有惡鬼嬈亂」—“hence it is known that at the time of dying there really are evil ghosts that trouble and confuse.” 〔X21n0384 0732c21〕, 「或變作父母兄弟，伯叔姑姨，令心著愛，精神瞀亂」—“or they change into father and mother, elder and younger brother, uncles and aunts, so that the mind clings in love and the spirit is thrown into confusion.” 〔X21n0384 0732c23〕 On the timing of setting out the offering: 「當須設供者，事之要處也。譬船行險處，急宜著力。稍有錯時，人船俱失」—“that an offering must then be set out — this is the crucial point of the whole affair. It is like a boat going through a perilous place: one must put out one’s strength at once. Let the moment be missed by a little, and boat and men are lost together.” 〔X21n0384 0733b01〕; 「供言大者，謂傾己資財，竭力營辦」—“that the offering is called great means emptying out one’s own goods and using all one’s strength to prepare it.” 〔X21n0384 0733b06〕
The Tathāgata discloses the root — 「凡論本跡，本同而跡異」—“in every discussion of root and trace, the root is one and the traces differ.” 〔X21n0384 0734a13〕, 「譬一月在天，影臨眾水。若執影為真，則失本矣」—“it is as when one moon is in the sky and its reflection comes down upon many waters. If one grasps the reflection as the real thing, the root is lost.” 〔X21n0384 0734a16〕 The three names of the prediction are matched back one by one to the marks of a ghost: 「無相者，不但無生住異滅之相，無相亦無，故名無相」—“Signless: not only are the marks of arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing absent; the absence of marks is itself absent, and therefore he is named Signless.” 〔X21n0384 0734a24〕, 「今日之鬼相，即不思議之妙有」—“this day’s marks of a ghost are the inconceivable wondrous being itself.” 〔X21n0384 0734b04〕, 「孰謂鬼神恒受駈使不安樂乎，劫劫本自安樂」—“who says that ghosts and spirits are forever driven at others’ errands and never at ease? Kalpa upon kalpa they are of themselves at peace and ease.” 〔X21n0384 0734b07〕; and where name and mark alike are extinguished, 「若鬼若佛，其名安寄」—“whether ghost or buddha, where is the name to be lodged?” 〔X21n0384 0734b06〕 He gathers it up: 「以本而驗跡，跡還同本；以因而望果，果不異因」—“test the trace by the root, and the trace turns out the same as the root; look toward the fruit from the cause, and the fruit does not differ from the cause.” 〔X21n0384 0734b10〕, 「發本之意，妙在斯乎」—“the intent of disclosing the root — its wonder lies just here.” 〔X21n0384 0734b11〕 On the passage concluding upon those he delivers: 「其事不可思議者，約本而歎跡也」—“that his affairs are inconceivable is praise of the trace in terms of the root.” 〔X21n0384 0734b15〕, citing the Sūtra for the Rescue of the Flaming-Mouth, 「慈悲誓願，分形布影，示現化身在六道中，同類受苦」—“by his vow of compassion he divides his form and spreads his reflections, manifesting transformation-bodies within the six destinies and undergoing suffering along with their kinds.” 〔X21n0384 0734b17〕
V. Divergent Readings of the Commentators (recorded side by side, without adjudication)
Of commentaries upon this sūtra there is but one compiler (the evidence has been given at the head of the volume and in the first unit). The columns for this passage stand as follows:
| Mirror | Recension quoted | Standing | Verbatim | Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outline and Commentary on the Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, 6 fascicles (compiled by Lingcheng · styled Qinglian · Qing) | This sūtra (quoted phrase by phrase) | The word-by-word mirror | 「然此等鬼王，皆是不思議菩薩，大權應化」—“yet these ghost kings are all of them inconceivable bodhisattvas, appearing and transforming by great expedient power” | 〔X21n0384 0724b05〕 |
| Guiding Thread to the Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, 1 fascicle (the same compiler) | This sūtra (the profound meaning of the title; not phrase by phrase) | At the head of the same work | 「若準下文主命鬼王本迹，則閻王與眾皆是不思議菩薩住王三昧」—“if one goes by the root and trace of the ghost king Master-of-Life below, then King Yama and his multitude are all inconceivable bodhisattvas abiding in the samādhi of kingship” | 〔X21n0383 0649b22〕 |
| Outline of the Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha, 1 fascicle (the same compiler) | This sūtra (headings only; no sūtra text) | At the head of the same work | No gloss in this passage can be cited from it (that fascicle lists headings only, and marks the sūtra text by its first character alone) | — |
| Rite of Repentance and Vows in Praise of and Homage to Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, 1 fascicle (set down by Zhixu · Ming) | Not this sūtra (it takes the Daśacakra as its school) | Side-evidence of ritual practice | 「一心頂禮未來淨住世界安樂劫中無相如來」—“with one mind I bow my head to the Tathāgata Signless, of the kalpa Peace and Ease in the future world Pure Abiding” | 〔X74n1486 0585a14〕 |
The Guiding Thread has a passage of its own upon this chapter, given in advance of it — it glosses the name of Yama as 「云閻羅，𦦨魔，聲之轉也」—“that it is said Yanluo, or Yanmo, is a shifting of the sound.” 〔X21n0383 0649b10〕, then cites the passage of King Yama’s palace from the Dīrgha Āgama (of the same source as the sūtra cited in Topic III of this volume), and then judges his standing: first, according to the aspect of events, 「是則閻王與眾臣佐，皆欲脫冥界之苦，故申讚嘆而發菩提心也」—“thus King Yama with his ministers and aides all wish to be free of the suffering of the dark realm, and therefore they set forth praise and raise the thought of awakening.” 〔X21n0383 0649b21〕, and then turning to the reading by root and trace. One and the same compiler lets the reading by events and the reading by root and trace stand together upon one and the same matter, and does not reconcile them himself; the present volume follows him and records both.
Three admissions of doubt by the mirror himself (the man does not think his own account sufficient, and the present volume follows him): ① the six names transcribed from sound — 「祁利失王等，未見翻譯」—“for the king Qilishi and the rest, no translation has been found.” 〔X21n0384 0725b02〕 and the three self-stoppings below it. ② the ghost king Thousand Eyes — 「觀音千眼在手，獄卒六十四眼在角，此鬼千眼，不知如何安立」—“Avalokiteśvara’s thousand eyes are in the hands, the hell-warden’s sixty-four eyes are in the horns; where this ghost’s thousand eyes are set, I do not know.” 〔X21n0384 0724c09〕 ③ the names of the ten kings of the dark realm — he cites the Comprehensive Record of the Buddhas and Patriarchs and records its own limit: 「統紀云：十王名字，藏典傳記可考者六」—“the Comprehensive Record says: of the names of the ten kings, six can be verified from the canonical books and the records.” 〔X21n0384 0725c13〕
The tiering of the ten kings of the dark realm (recorded without adjudication) — the mirror says 「按道明和尚所傳十殿冥王，閻羅天子在五殿」—“according to the ten kings of the dark realm as handed down by the reverend Daoming, Yama, Son of Heaven, is in the fifth court.” 〔X21n0384 0725c13〕 The Comprehensive Record of the Buddhas and Patriarchs on which he relies states its own character: 「十王供 世傳。唐道明和上。神遊地府見十王分治亡人。因傳名世間」—“The offerings to the ten kings. It is handed down in the world that the reverend Daoming of the Tang journeyed in spirit to the netherworld offices and saw the ten kings dividing the government of the dead among them, and that their names were thereby transmitted in the world.” 〔T49n2035 0322a29〕, and the names that can be verified are limited — 「十王名字。藏典傳記可考者六」—“The names of the ten kings. Six can be verified from the canonical books and the records.” 〔T49n2035 0322b02〕 The account of the ten courts comes from what is handed down in the world and from records, and is not text of this sūtra; this sūtra brings forward only the one name Yama, Son of Heaven, and does not list ten courts. Recorded without adjudication; the reader-facing layers do not take up the roll of the ten courts.
Divergent readings for this passage: none found. Apart from the word-by-word mirror and the Guiding Thread by the same compiler, there is no second commentator whose reading could be set in a column beside them for this passage. Honestly recorded.
VI. Terms (first occurrences in this passage)
| Term | Ground of the gloss | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Yama (Son of Heaven) | 「閻羅，鬼官之總司，無量鬼王俱為所統」—“Yama is the general director of the ghost officialdom, and measureless ghost kings are all governed by him”; the Guiding Thread gives its sound separately, 「云閻羅，𦦨魔，聲之轉也」—“that it is said Yanluo, or Yanmo, is a shifting of the sound” 〔X21n0383 0649b10〕 | 〔X21n0384 0724a14〕 |
| Evil and Poison | 「惡毒即十惡三毒」—“evil and poison are the ten evils and the three poisons” — the three poisons belong to the mind and are the root of the seven evils of body and speech | 〔X21n0384 0724b03〕 |
| Great Contention | 「大諍，諍即鬬諍」—“Great Contention: contention is strife” — 「故鬼王以大諍法門化人無諍也」—“and so the ghost king transforms people into non-contention by the Dharma-gate of great contention” 〔X21n0384 0724b18〕 | 〔X21n0384 0724b12〕 |
| White Tiger · Blood Tiger · Red Tiger | 「白虎，西方之獸。血虎，口似血盆。赤虎，毛如火赤」—“the white tiger is the beast of the west; the blood tiger’s mouth is like a basin of blood; the red tiger’s fur is red as fire” | 〔X21n0384 0724b20〕 |
| Scatterer of Calamity | 「散殃，殃，咎也、禍也」—“Scatterer of Calamity: calamity is fault, is disaster” | 〔X21n0384 0724b21〕 |
| Thousand Eyes | 「此鬼千眼，不知如何安立」—“where this ghost’s thousand eyes are set, I do not know” — the ancient worthy says plainly that he does not know; recorded without adjudication | 〔X21n0384 0724c09〕 |
| Master-of-Wasting · Master-of-Calamity | 「主耗、主禍，二事相因」—“Master-of-Wasting and Master-of-Calamity: two things that follow upon each other” | 〔X21n0384 0724c13〕 |
| Master-of-Birds · Master-of-Beasts | 「飛曰禽，羽族之總名」—“what flies is called a bird, the general name of the feathered kind” ／ 「走曰獸，毛蟲之總名」—“what runs is called a beast, the general name of the furred kind” | 〔X21n0384 0725a03〕 |
| Master-of-Sprites | 「主魅，魅謂魑魅，老精物也」—“Master-of-Sprites: a sprite means a hill-goblin, an aged thing of essence” | 〔X21n0384 0725a13〕 |
| Master-of-Sickness | The mirror writes only 「主疾，如前」—“Master-of-Sickness: as above”, and sets out no separate gloss | 〔X21n0384 0725a19〕 |
| Master-of-Perils | 「高山峻嶺，大海溟淵，險難之處，身命所係，應死者錄之，不應死者護之」—“high mountains and steep ranges, the great sea and the deep abyss — these places of peril and hardship are where body and life hang; those who ought to die he enters in the register, and those who ought not to die he guards” | 〔X21n0384 0725a20〕 |
| Three Eyes · Four Eyes · Five Eyes | 「三目，二目中間豎亞一目，如摩醯狀」—“Three Eyes: between the two eyes a third stands upright, after the fashion of Maheśvara” ／ 「四目，額上又橫開二目，與蒼頡同」—“Four Eyes: upon the forehead two more open crosswise, as with Cangjie” ／ 「五目，於上下中，豎生一目也」—“Five Eyes: in the middle, between those above and those below, yet another grows upright” 〔X21n0384 0725b01〕 | 〔X21n0384 0725a24〕 |
| The six names, King Qilishi and the rest | 「祁利失王等，未見翻譯」—“for the king Qilishi and the rest, no translation has been found”; 「失字未詳」—“the character 失 is not ascertained” 〔X21n0384 0725b10〕; 「則未可的指，然其名既同，未可知也」—“then it cannot be pointed to for certain; yet since the name is the same, neither can it be known” 〔X21n0384 0725b12〕 — three times over the ancient worthy says plainly that it is not ascertained; the Chinese sound is kept and no reconstruction into Sanskrit is made (Rule 9a) | 〔X21n0384 0725b02〕 |
| To hold · to be master | 「各有執者，執，守法也」—“as for each having what he holds: to hold is to keep the law”; 「言主者，古之制字」—“as for the word master, it is a graph made by the ancients” 〔X21n0384 0725b23〕 | 〔X21n0384 0725b19〕 |
| To grant as one pleases | 「恣，縱也」—“to grant as one pleases is to let go free” | 〔X21n0384 0726a13〕 |
| One head at a time | 「頭頭，猶言處處」—“one head at a time is as much as to say in place after place” | 〔X21n0384 0726c12〕 |
| Drawing out the root of the karmic conditions | 「梵名阿浮訶那，此云拔除罪根」—“the Sanskrit name is Afuhena, which here means the plucking out of the root of guilt” | 〔X21n0384 0726c18〕 |
| Hey there · good man | 「咄哉，喚醒之辭。男子，警惕之意」—“‘Hey there’ is a word that wakes one up; ‘good man’ carries the sense of putting him on his guard” | 〔X21n0384 0727c15〕 |
| Bearing up | 「是使其如背負物，不可失墜一般，故云荷護」—“it is to have them do as one does with a thing carried on the back, which must on no account be let fall; and so it is called bearing up and guarding” — the only occurrence in the whole base text 〔T13n0412 0785b22〕 | 〔X21n0384 0732a18〕 |
| Master-of-Life (ghost king) | 「主命，準經，毗沙門主護四天下人命」—“Master-of-Life: according to the scriptures, Vaiśravaṇa has the mastery of guarding the lives of the people of the four continents”; and his power has a limit — 「然言主者，不過司命存亡，非能與奪人命，令生之死之」—“yet to say master is to say no more than that he has charge of the register of life and death; he cannot give or take a life, or make one live or make one die” 〔X21n0384 0731a06〕 | 〔X21n0384 0725a18〕 |
| Signless (Tathāgata) | 「無相者，不但無生住異滅之相，無相亦無，故名無相」—“Signless: not only are the marks of arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing absent; the absence of marks is itself absent, and therefore he is named Signless” | 〔X21n0384 0734a24〕 |
Counts for this passage: the names of the ghost kings are thirty-four, and are divided into two forms — twenty-eight written as ghost king so-and-so (Evil and Poison · Many Evils · Great Contention · White Tiger · Blood Tiger · Red Tiger · Scatterer of Calamity · Flying Body · Lightning Flash · Wolf-Fang · Thousand Eyes · Devourer of Beasts · Bearer of Stones · Master-of-Wasting · Master-of-Calamity · Master-of-Food · Master-of-Wealth · Master-of-Livestock · Master-of-Birds · Master-of-Beasts · Master-of-Sprites · Master-of-Birthing · Master-of-Life · Master-of-Sickness · Master-of-Perils · Three Eyes · Four Eyes · Five Eyes), and six written as king so-and-so (Qilishi · Great Qilishi · Qilicha · Great Qilicha · Anazha · Great Anazha). The two forms are not run together, not abridged, and not carried off with an “and the rest”; in the reader-facing layers too they are listed apart and not mixed — the names glossed by sense are each given their gloss, and the names transcribed from sound keep the Chinese sound only. The base text’s enumeration agrees with the mirror’s count, 「已上三十四位」—“the above are thirty-four in number” 〔X21n0384 0725b18〕.
Word counts in the present volume (base text T13n0412 against this chapter): 「閻羅」 occurs eight times in the whole volume, and all eight are in this chapter; 「主命」 occurs four times in the whole volume, and all four are in this chapter; 「鬼王」 occurs sixty-one times in the whole volume, forty-three of them in this chapter; 「荷護」 occurs once in the whole volume, and that once is in this chapter; 「魍魎」 occurs twice in the whole volume, one of them here (the other in the seventh chapter, 「拜祭鬼神，求諸魍魎」—“making sacrifice to ghosts and spirits and seeking after goblins” 〔T13n0412 0784a17〕).
VII. Simile and Rhetoric
- The sūtra has but one simile of its own, and it is the backbone of the whole passage — the simile of the road of peril: losing one’s own home, straying into a road of peril, meeting all the poisons, meeting a friend, stepping back and seeking a way out, being taken up and taken by the hand, coming to a good road, being charged at parting to pass the word on. Its method is to tell it once as an event, then to match the Dharma to it once, and at the end to fold it back with the passage 「若再履踐」—“if he should tread it again” 〔T13n0412 0785a24〕. The word-by-word mirror outlines it in three passages, “showing it directly by the Dharma,” “explaining it by a simile,” and “disclosing it by matching the Dharma to the simile” 〔X21n0384 0726c05〕, answering exactly to this threefold structure.
- Every creature in the simile is matched to something (the matching comes from the mirror, and is not marked by the sūtra) — the yakṣas to the sharp agents, the tiger to the agent of pride, the wolf to the agent of greed, the lion to the agent of delusion, and vipers, snakes, adders, and scorpions to the agent of anger (see Topic III). The sūtra only lists the names of the beasts and makes no matching; the matching belongs to the mirror. Recorded without adjudication.
- Two similes the mirror devises himself — ① the simile of the moon’s reflection: 「譬一月在天，影臨眾水。若執影為真，則失本矣」—“it is as when one moon is in the sky and its reflection comes down upon many waters. If one grasps the reflection as the real thing, the root is lost.” 〔X21n0384 0734a16〕, glossing the manifesting of the body of a great ghost while being in truth no ghost. ② the simile of the clasped stone and the moth: 「譬如抱石投淵，自沉自墜；飛蛾赴火，自燋自爛」—“it is as when one clasps a stone and throws himself into a deep pool: he sinks of himself and drops of himself; or as when the moth goes into the flame: it scorches of itself and shrivels of itself.” 〔X21n0384 0728c05〕, glossing the taking of one’s own death upon oneself.
- Two similes the mirror cites — ① the simile of the great bell: 「如洪鐘在架，隨扣隨鳴」—“like a great bell hung on its frame, which sounds as soon as it is struck.” 〔X21n0384 0726a14〕, glossing the Buddha’s granting the question as one pleases. ② the simile of the boat under way: 「譬船行險處，急宜著力。稍有錯時，人船俱失」—“it is like a boat going through a perilous place: one must put out one’s strength at once. Let the moment be missed by a little, and boat and men are lost together.” 〔X21n0384 0733b01〕, glossing the timing of setting out the offering at the last hour.
- The similes on the passage of drawing out the root of the karmic conditions form a cluster of their own (all bound to the word root) — ① taking hold of a cloth: 「如捉布一頭，餘則盡隨」—“it is as when one takes hold of a cloth by one corner: the rest all comes after it.” 〔X21n0384 0726c19〕, glossing craving and love as the root of the three poisons. ② the tree-root and the tree of suffering (citing the Treatise on the Completion of Truth): 「如樹根不拔，其樹猶生。貪根不拔，苦樹常在」—“as a tree whose root is not pulled up goes on growing, so while the root of greed is not pulled up the tree of suffering stands always.” 〔X21n0384 0726c21〕 ③ the fierce sun melting ice (citing the Daśacakra): 「滅除一切惑障習氣，猶如烈日銷釋輕冰」—“he extinguishes every obstruction of delusion and every residue of habit, as a fierce sun melts away thin ice.” 〔X21n0384 0726c23〕 ④ the old mirror wiped again (devised by the mirror himself): 「譬古鏡之重揩，其常光而自現矣」—“it is as when an old mirror is wiped again, and its constant brightness appears of itself.” 〔X21n0384 0727a01〕, glossing 「而遣悟宿世之事」. The first three describe the root drawn out and the last describes what appears once it is drawn — four similes bound to one sentence of the sūtra, the densest place in the mirror-layer of this passage.
- The first bone of the rhetoric is the two forms of naming — of the thirty-four names, twenty-eight come first, glossed by sense, all closing with the words ghost king, one and the same form repeated; the last six change to transcription of sound, drop the word ghost, and are called king only. One and the same string of names, and the form changes twice, and the sūtra offers no account of it; the mirror begins a new passage at the place where the form changes, and there admits doubt three times over (see Topic V).
- The second bone of the rhetoric is the threefold lowering of the threshold — in the chapter of the ghost king Evil and Poison it comes down to 「修毛髮善事」—“cultivates a good deed as small as a hair or a strand of down” 〔T13n0412 0785b03〕 and 「一句一偈」—“a single line or a single verse” 〔T13n0412 0785b05〕; in the chapter of Master-of-Life it comes down to 「聞一佛名、一菩薩名」—“hearing the name of one buddha or the name of one bodhisattva” 〔T13n0412 0785c06〕; and what is promised rises as the threshold falls — the first gains from the ghost kings that they 「敬禮是人，如過去、現在、未來諸佛」—“revere that person as they revere the buddhas of the past, the present, and the future” 〔T13n0412 0785b05〕, the second that they are 「尋即解脫」—“straightway loosed” 〔T13n0412 0785c08〕. The smaller what is given, the larger what is promised: this is the axle upon which this passage turns to persuade to faith.
- The third bone of the rhetoric is the clamping of the question to the disclosure — the whole chapter is set going by one question of Yama, Son of Heaven: 「云何眾生而不依止善道，永取解脫」—“why is it that beings do not rest upon the good destinies and take liberation once and for all” 〔T13n0412 0784c27〕; and it is closed by one sentence of the Buddha that discloses the ground: 「現大鬼身，實非鬼也」—“he manifests the body of a great ghost, and is in truth no ghost at all” 〔T13n0412 0785c17〕. The one who asks and the one who is disclosed both belong to the multitude of the ghost kings, and beyond the one question and its answer there is a further layer: the standing of the side that asked is redefined at the chapter’s end.
VIII. Citation and Carrying Forward
- The Jeweled Repentance of the Dharma-Wheel for the Great Water-and-Land Feast for the Holy and the Common of the Dharma Realm, X74n1499 — it makes a short comment upon each chapter, and upon this one says 「閻羅王眾讚歎品，實者鬼神無所私，權者菩薩多所護」—“The Praise of King Yama and His Multitude: on the real side, ghosts and spirits show no favor; on the expedient side, bodhisattvas guard many.” 〔X74n1499 0890b01〕, and judges 「心靈神妙，呼吸全通，成佛之鬼王，即地藏化身眷屬也」—“the mind is numinous and the spirit wondrous, and the breath passes wholly through; the ghost king who is to become a buddha is none other than kindred of Kṣitigarbha’s transformation-body.” 〔X74n1499 0890b02〕 Its reading runs in the same stream as the word-by-word mirror’s appearing and transforming by great expedient power.
- The Rite of the Bodhimaṇḍa of Kṣitigarbha’s Compassion for Rescuing Suffering, Commending Blessings, and Benefiting the Living, ZW06n0052 — this chapter enters a book of ritual practice. ① Its table of contents lists thirteen chapters, and this one stands eighth 〔ZW06n0052 0229a17〕. ② In the summoning it joins the nine ghost kings of the first chapter and the names of this chapter into one string: 「一心奉請忉利天宮閻羅天子所統他方國土及娑婆世界諸大鬼王」—“with one mind we respectfully summon the great ghost kings of the lands of other quarters and of the Sahā world, governed by Yama, Son of Heaven, in the palace of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three” 〔ZW06n0052 0273a21〕 and below it, first the nine names of the first chapter (with the graph 啖 rather than 噉), then 「無毒鬼王、多惡鬼王、大諍鬼王」—“the ghost king Poisonless, the ghost king Many Evils, the ghost king Great Contention” 〔ZW06n0052 0274a01〕 and so down to the king Great Anazha, and then the ox-headed wardens and horse-faced yakṣas and the rest of the dark offices’ retinue. In that rite’s roster the first name of this chapter, the ghost king Evil and Poison, has no occurrence at all; instead the ghost king Poisonless from the narrative of the first chapter is brought in — Poisonless is set in Evil and Poison’s place. Recorded without adjudication; not one character of the base text is altered on that account. ③ Its declamation reads 「閻羅天子，統惡毒多毒之鬼；瞿曇老子，說今世後世之因」—“Yama, Son of Heaven, governs the ghosts of evil poison and of many poisons; the old master Gautama expounds the causes of this world and of worlds to come.” 〔ZW06n0052 0282a19〕, and immediately after enters the eighth chapter of the sūtra; the verses attached to it include 「閻羅天子大威雄，判赦惟憑業鏡中」—“Yama, Son of Heaven, of great awe and might, whose sentence and pardon rest wholly upon the karma-mirror” 〔ZW06n0052 0283a04〕 and 「故統諸天來啟問，云何地獄不能空」—“and so, governing the gods, he comes to open his question: why is it that the hells cannot be emptied?” 〔ZW06n0052 0283a07〕 (the same verse having already appeared once earlier in the fascicle at 0250a10). ④ In its section of homage to the buddhas’ names, the Tathāgata Signless of this chapter is placed among the buddhas 〔ZW06n0052 0271a18〕.
- The Rite of Repentance and Vows in Praise of and Homage to Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, X74n1486 (set down by Zhixu · Ming) — the section of homage to the buddhas reads 「一心頂禮未來淨住世界安樂劫中無相如來」—“with one mind I bow my head to the Tathāgata Signless, of the kalpa Peace and Ease in the future world Pure Abiding.” 〔X74n1486 0585a14〕 The prediction given in this chapter has already, in the ritual practice of later ages, become the name of a buddha to whom homage is paid, and the name of the kalpa and the name of the world have entered the text along with it. That rite states of itself that it takes the Daśacakra first as its school, and this item is where its point of contact with the present sūtra is most plainly seen.
- The Daśacakra-kṣitigarbha Sūtra, T13n0411 — a sūtra of the same honored one but of different text. The one sense of Kṣitigarbha as guide, found in this passage, has a parallel text there (see Topic III); while the two matters of Yama and of ghost kings have no occurrence there at all. The limit of what the two sūtras can prove of each other is nowhere plainer than in this chapter.
- Citations of this passage in the other volumes of the present axis: none found.
IX. Text-critical Placement
Two collation notes fall within this passage (both are CBETA’s corrections of graphs in the Taishō’s printed text, and are not variant readings among the several recensions):
| Anchor | Present text | Original printing | Witness relied upon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0785a20 | the 欲 of 「欲生天人中」 | the original printing has no such character (<space quantity="0"/>) | U202n1355 p0150a11 · Yongle Southern Canon, case si 11, image 7 |
| 0785b16 | the 令 of 「自令土地無量歡喜」 | 今 | The word-by-word mirror, X21n0384 p0731b03 |
The second entry is worth noting: the sole witness relied upon for the correction is the word-by-word mirror of this very volume. The mirror quotes the sūtra here as 「但作善事，增益舍宅，自令土地無量歡喜」—“only do good deeds and so add to the increase of the household; then of themselves the earth spirits are gladdened beyond measure.” 〔X21n0384 0731b03〕, running in the same stream as the present text. The first entry is worth noting as well: the original printing had no character 欲, while the recension the mirror quotes reads this sentence as 「救拔罪苦眾生，生人天中，令受妙樂」—“rescues the beings who are guilty and suffering, born among men and gods, made to receive wondrous bliss” 〔X21n0384 0728c08〕 — not only without 欲, but with the two words for men and gods in the reverse order from the base text’s. Three recensions, three states; all are recorded, and none is forced into agreement.
Gaiji: none in this unit (there is one in the whole volume, in the chapter on the names of the hells: 「或有地獄，純飛𨪏鏫」—“there are hells where nothing flies but blades and lances” 〔T13n0412 0782b11〕).
Inline gloss: none in this unit (within the <body> of the base text the <note> elements are zero throughout the volume, so there is no inline gloss to record; the 124 instances of cb:place="inline" all attach to paragraphs rather than to notes, and are not inline glosses).
The mirror’s division into fascicles differs from the base text’s — the base text has two fascicles (Fascicle One runs to the chapter on the Tathāgata’s praise, and Fascicle Two begins with the chapter on benefiting the living and the dead), so that in the base text this chapter is the second chapter of Fascicle Two; the recension the word-by-word mirror follows has three fascicles, its middle fascicle beginning at 「地藏菩薩本願經卷中科注卷之三」—“The Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, Middle Fascicle; Outline and Commentary, Fascicle Three” 〔X21n0384 0700b04〕 (whose next line is the fifth chapter, on the names of the hells) and its lower fascicle at 「地藏菩薩本願經卷下科注卷之五」—“The Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, Lower Fascicle; Outline and Commentary, Fascicle Five” 〔X21n0384 0740a04〕 (whose next line is the tenth chapter, on weighing the merit and conditions of giving); hence in the mirror’s recension this chapter falls within the middle fascicle. The correspondence goes by chapter and not by fascicle; recorded without adjudication, and not one character of the base text is altered on that account.
Divergences of graph between the mirror and the base text (when the mirror’s wording is quoted, its own graphs are followed and not restored to the base text’s forms):
| Base text | Mirror | Anchor in the mirror |
|---|---|---|
| 爾時，鐵圍山內，有無量鬼王 | 爾時，銕圍山內有無量鬼王 (no comma after 山內) | 〔X21n0384 0724a12〕 |
| 在一面立 | 在一面𡗓 | 〔X21n0384 0725b17〕 |
| 譬如有人，迷失本家，誤入險道 | 譬如有人，迷失本家，譌入險道 | 〔X21n0384 0727a14〕 |
| 至于好道，令得安樂 | 至於好道，令得安樂 | 〔X21n0384 0728a10〕 |
| 救拔罪苦眾生，欲生天人中 | 救拔罪苦眾生，生人天中 | 〔X21n0384 0728c08〕 |
| 永不再歷 | 永不載歷 | 〔X21n0384 0728c09〕 |
| 如迷路人，誤入險道 | 如迷路人譌入險道 | 〔X21n0384 0729a05〕 |
| 若再履踐，猶尚迷誤 | 若載履踐，猶尚迷譌 | 〔X21n0384 0729a15〕 |
| 旋又再入，若業結重 | 旋又載入，若業結重 | 〔X21n0384 0729a24〕 |
| 乃至懸一旛一蓋 | 乃至懸一旛一葢 | 〔X21n0384 0729c20〕 |
| 勅諸小鬼，各有大力 | 敕諸小鬼，各有大力 | 〔X21n0384 0730b02〕 |
| 救拔 (in the outline headings) | 捄拔 — 「初、合方便捄拔」 | 〔X21n0384 0728c06〕 |
One thing worth noting: the base text’s graph 再 occurs three times in this chapter (永不再歷 · 若再履踐 · 旋又再入), and in all three places the mirror writes 載; the base text’s graph 誤 occurs twice (誤入險道 · 猶尚迷誤), and in both the mirror writes 譌. The divergence within one and the same family of graphs is consistent throughout the chapter, and is therefore no chance slip but a difference of the recension followed. Both are recorded, and neither is forced into agreement.
The mirror’s graphs when he quotes other books also differ at points — he quotes the Daśacakra as 「如迷方者，所逢示導」—“like the guide met with by one who has lost his bearings” 〔X21n0384 0727c17〕, while that sūtra’s own text reads 「如迷方者所逢示導」—“like the guide met with by one who has lost his bearings” 〔T13n0411 0722a02〕, without the comma; and again he quotes 「於無明夜，能示一切迷三乘道、馳騁生死曠野眾生，三乘正路」—“in the night of ignorance it can show the right road of the three vehicles to all beings who are lost to the road of the three vehicles and gallop about the wilderness of birth and death” 〔X21n0384 0728a18〕, while that sūtra’s own text puts a comma rather than an enumeration mark after 三乘道 〔T13n0411 0727b04〕. Divergences of graph and of punctuation in quotations are recorded with each book’s own characters, and the one is not altered to the other.
A small divergence in the mirror’s own outline headings — beneath the great section it reads 「二、閻王興問讚歎」—“Second, King Yama raises a question and praises” 〔X21n0384 0706b17〕, while the heading at the chapter title reads 「二、閻羅興問讚歎，二。初、品題」—“Second, Yama raises a question and praises, in two: first, the chapter title” 〔X21n0384 0724a08〕, the one writing 閻王 and the other 閻羅. Recorded without adjudication.