藥師琉璃光如來本願功德經 十二大願（一至四）
前一段只給了一句總標——發十二大願，令諸有情，所求皆得。現在開始一條一條交。
願在行的前面
願與行，哪個在先？古來的答覆是願在先：願先把輪廓想出來，行把那個輪廓一分一分填滿。
願因此不是行的裝飾，也不是事後的心得。它是先畫的那條線——沒有線，行填到哪裡算數都無從說起。
還有一件事在字面上：十二願每一條都繫著「得菩提時」。所誓不是當下就辦，是繫在證得菩提的那個時候——願先立，果後圓，中間隔著整個菩薩道。
古來讀十二願不逐條讀，兩條一組讀，成六對。這一段是前兩對：一對分淨與穢，一對分世與出世。
前四願給了什麼
第一願求的是自身：光照無邊世界，三十二相八十隨好莊嚴其身。讀起來像在求佛自己的成就。
第二願寫身如琉璃、內外明徹、焰網莊嚴過於日月——仍然在寫佛身。而它的落點是「幽冥眾生，悉蒙開曉，隨意所趣，作諸事業」。留意末句的兩層：先是明白了，再是能動了。光的用處，經沒有寫成好看，寫成的是人在暗處敢走、能做事。
第三願換了題目，講吃的穿的用的。要解決的是最實在的匱乏，動用的卻是「無量無邊智慧方便」——在願體裡，衣食之事不比見地低一階。而末句是「莫令眾生有所乏少」；隋代的譯本作「莫令一人有所少乏」——一人。願立到這裡，就不能拿大體上豐足來交差。
第四願處理兩種人：走錯了路的，與路沒錯而窄的。走錯的安住菩提道中，走窄的以大乘安立。兩種放在同一條裡。
末句的主語
把四願的末句排在一起——「令一切有情，如我無異」「隨意所趣，作諸事業」「莫令眾生有所乏少」「皆以大乘而安立之」。
四句話，主語全是眾生。
四願的前半都在寫佛：光明、相好、琉璃身、焰網、智慧方便；四願的後半全部轉出去。沒有一願停在佛身自己的成就上。
這是願體的定式而非修辭之巧：所誓在自身之成，所歸在他人之得。
前一段那句「令諸有情，所求皆得」於是有了著落——它是十二願末句加起來的總數。
願文句子長，前半又多是難以親近的話，讀著容易滑過去。每一願讀到末句才停——四願讀完，手上會剩下四件很具體的事。
重量在末句，不在前半。
The passage before gave only a single sentence of summary — he made twelve great vows, that sentient beings might obtain all they sought. Now they are handed over one at a time.
Which Comes First, Vowing or Practicing
Which comes first, the vow or the practice? The old answer is that the vow comes first: the vow yearns out the outline, and practice fills that outline in, portion by portion.
A vow is therefore not the ornament of practice, nor a reflection gathered afterwards. It is the line drawn first — without the line, there is no saying how far practice has to fill.
And one thing lies right on the surface of the wording: every one of the twelve vows is tied to “when I have attained awakening.” What is pledged is not to be done at once; it is tied to the moment of realizing awakening — the vow set up first, the fruit rounded off later, with the whole bodhisattva path lying between.
Of old the twelve vows were read two at a time rather than one by one, making six pairs. This passage is the first two: one pair dividing pure from defiled, one dividing mundane from supramundane.
What the First Four Hand Over
Vow one asks for the buddha’s own body: light illumining boundless worlds, the thirty-two marks and eighty accompanying excellences adorning it. It reads like a request for the buddha’s own attainment.
Vow two writes a body like beryl, clear and translucent within and without, adorned with a net of flame and surpassing the sun and moon — still the buddha-body. And its landing place is: beings in gloom and darkness shall all receive opening and awakening, and shall go wherever their intention turns and do every kind of work. Notice the two layers in that clause: first they understand, then they can move. The use of light is not written as something fine to look at, but as a person in the dark daring to walk and able to work.
Vow three changes the subject to what is eaten, worn, and used. What is to be solved is the most concrete kind of want, and what is brought to bear on it is measureless, boundless wisdom and skilful means — within the body of the vow, food and clothing do not rank below insight. Its closing clause is that no being shall suffer any lack or want; the Sui-period translation renders it, let not one person suffer want or lack — one person. A vow set at that height cannot be discharged with sufficiency on the whole.
Vow four handles two kinds of people: those who took the wrong road, and those whose road is not wrong but narrow. The ones who went wrong are settled within the path of awakening; the ones on the narrow road are established in the Great Vehicle. Both are put in one sentence.
Whose Name Is the Subject at the End
Set the closing clauses of the four vows side by side — all sentient beings just as I am, with no difference; they shall go wherever their intention turns and do every kind of work; let no being suffer any lack or want; I shall establish them all in the Great Vehicle.
Four sentences, and the subject of every one is beings.
The first halves are all writing the buddha: light, marks, a body of beryl, a net of flame, wisdom and skilful means. The second halves all turn outward. Not one vow stops at the buddha-body’s own attainment.
That is the fixed form of a vow, not a flourish of style: what is pledged is one’s own accomplishment, what it returns to is another’s gain.
So the sentence of summary in the passage before, that sentient beings might obtain all they sought, now has something to rest on — it is the sum of the closing clauses of the twelve vows.
Vow-sentences are long, and their first halves are mostly hard to come near, easy to slide past. Stop at the closing clause of each — four vows through, and four very concrete things are left in hand.
The weight is at the end of the sentence, not the beginning.
大唐、三藏法師玄奘奉 詔譯《藥師琉璃光如來本願功德經》〈十二大願（一至四）〉· 大正藏 T14n0450〔起 T14 0405a07〕。段／行首〔T14 …〕＝大正藏頁・欄・行錨。
〔T14 0405a07〕「第一大願：願我來世得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時，自身光明，熾然照曜無量無數無邊世界，以三十二大丈夫相、八十隨好，莊嚴其身；令一切有情，如我無異。 「第二大願：願我來世得菩提時，身如琉璃，內外明徹，淨無瑕穢，光明廣大，功德巍巍，身善安住，焰網莊嚴，過於日月；幽冥眾生，悉蒙開曉，隨意所趣，作諸事業。 「第三大願：願我來世得菩提時，以無量無邊智慧方便，令諸有情，皆得無盡所受用物，莫令眾生有所乏少。 「第四大願：願我來世得菩提時，若諸有情行邪道者，悉令安住菩提道中；若行聲聞獨覺乘者，皆以大乘而安立之。
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.
大唐三藏法師玄奘譯《藥師琉璃光如來本願功德經》T14n0450，自「第一大願」至「皆以大乘而安立之」。段首（…）＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。願文是誓願之辭，白話仍作願體，不改成敘述。
〔一·第一大願·相好齊等〕（0405a07）『第一大願：願我未來世中證得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提（梵語，即無上正等正覺，佛所證的最高覺悟）的時候，（0405a08）自身的光明熾盛地照耀無量、無數、無邊的世界，（0405a09）以三十二種大丈夫相、八十種隨形之好（佛身上的三十二種主要殊勝之相，與八十種隨附之美好），莊嚴我的身；並且使一切有情，都和我一樣，沒有差別。』
〔二·第二大願·身如琉璃〕（0405a11）『第二大願：願我未來世中證得菩提的時候，身體像琉璃一樣，裡外通透明徹，潔淨而無一點瑕疵污穢，（0405a12）光明廣大，功德巍然崇高，此身安住善妙，有焰網般的莊嚴（身光交織如網），超過日月的光；（0405a13）幽暗冥昧之中的眾生，都蒙受開導曉悟，隨著自己的心意所往之處，能作種種事業。』
〔三·第三大願·資具無盡〕（0405a15）『第三大願：願我未來世中證得菩提的時候，以無量無邊的智慧方便，（0405a16）使一切有情都得到用不完的受用之物，不要讓眾生有任何缺乏短少。』
〔四·第四大願·邪道歸正·二乘入大〕（0405a18）『第四大願：願我未來世中證得菩提的時候，假使有情之中有行於邪道的，全都使他們安住在菩提道之中；（0405a19）假使有行聲聞乘、獨覺乘（二乘：聞佛聲教而悟道者，及無師自悟而不度他者）的，都以大乘來安立他們。』
Xuanzang’s translation, T14n0450, from “the first great vow” to “establish them all in the Great Vehicle.” The figures in parentheses at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line. The vow-text is language of pledging; the plain reading keeps it as vow and does not turn it into narration.
〔1 · The first great vow · the marks and excellences made equal〕（0405a07）“The first great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained unsurpassed perfect awakening (in Sanskrit anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, the highest awakening a buddha realizes),（0405a08）the light of my own body shall blaze forth and illumine measureless, countless, boundless worlds,（0405a09）and with the thirty-two marks of a great man and the eighty accompanying excellences (the thirty-two chief marks of distinction on a buddha’s body, and the eighty subsidiary beauties) shall adorn my body; and I shall cause all sentient beings to be just as I am, with no difference.”
〔2 · The second great vow · a body like beryl〕（0405a11）“The second great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained awakening, my body shall be like beryl, clear and translucent within and without, pure and without flaw or stain,（0405a12）its light vast and great, its merits lofty, this body well and finely established, adorned with a net of flame (the body’s light interwoven as a net), surpassing the sun and moon;（0405a13）and beings in gloom and darkness shall all receive opening and awakening, and shall go wherever their intention turns and do every kind of work.”
〔3 · The third great vow · goods of use without end〕（0405a15）“The third great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained awakening, with measureless, boundless wisdom and skilful means（0405a16）I shall cause all sentient beings to obtain goods of use that are never exhausted, and shall let no being suffer any lack or want.”
〔4 · The fourth great vow · those on wrong paths turned to the right, those of the two vehicles brought into the Great〕（0405a18）“The fourth great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained awakening, if among sentient beings there are any who walk wrong paths, I shall cause them all to be settled within the path of awakening;（0405a19）and if there are any who walk the vehicle of the śrāvakas or of the pratyekabuddhas (the two vehicles: those who awaken by hearing the Buddha’s voice and teaching, and those who awaken of themselves without a teacher and do not deliver others), I shall establish them all in the Great Vehicle.”
十二大願是這部經的骨。前一段只給了一句總標——發十二大願，令諸有情，所求皆得——現在開始一條一條交。
讀十二願有一個古來的辦法：不逐條讀，兩條一組讀。青丘沙門太賢的《本願藥師經古迹》把十二願分成六對，二願為一對，六對盡十二願；六對之名依次是饒益淨穢、世出世間、存戒存身、除內外苦、內外解縛、志食與衣。本段含前兩對。
兩條一組讀，好處是看得見一對之內的張力。
願是先發的
先說一件關於「願」的事。
古來另一路讀本經的疏，在講到十二願之前，先問了一個問題：願與行，哪個在先？答案是願在先——「常言願為慕廓行則闐滿故明願先行在後也」〔T85n2766 0308c22〕。
願是『慕廓』——先把輪廓慕想出來；行是把那個輪廓一分一分填滿。所以願在前，行在後。
這個說法把願的位置定住了。願不是行的裝飾，也不是行做完之後的心得。它是先畫的那條線。沒有那條線，行不知道要填到哪裡為止。
十二願之所以能當一部經的骨，就在這裡：它是藥師如來在因位上先畫的十二條線。
還有一件事在句子的表面上：十二願每一條都繫著「得菩提時」四個字。所誓之事不是當下就辦，是繫在證得菩提的那個時候。願先立，果後圓，中間隔著整個菩薩道。
我們讀願文時容易把它讀成承諾。它更像是誓——先把要成的事說定，再用無量劫去成它。
第一願：求的是相好，理由在末句
「第一大願：願我來世得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時」〔T14n0450 0405a07〕——十二願之中，唯有第一願用了「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」的全稱，其餘十一願都只作「得菩提時」。開頭一次用足，後面從簡。
第一願所誓的是自身：「自身光明，熾然照曜無量無數無邊世界」〔T14n0450 0405a08〕，再加「以三十二大丈夫相、八十隨好，莊嚴其身」〔T14n0450 0405a09〕。
光照無邊世界，相好莊嚴其身。讀到這裡，會覺得這一願求的是佛自己的成就。
然後末句一轉：「令一切有情，如我無異」〔T14n0450 0405a10〕。
八個字，把前面整句的方向翻了過來。前面求的相好與光明，理由不在自身受用，在「令一切有情如我無異」——要眾生跟自己一樣，沒有差別。
求莊嚴，是為了讓別人也有這份莊嚴。
次序也值得看一眼：先說光照無邊世界，後說相好莊嚴其身。光是往外的，相好是在自身的；一往外一在內，而兩者同繫於末句那個「令」字。
十二願的第一條就把定式立了：所誓在佛，所歸在眾生。
第二願：身如琉璃，而用處在暗處
第二願是本段譬喻最多的一願：「身如琉璃，內外明徹，淨無瑕穢，光明廣大，功德巍巍，身善安住，焰網莊嚴，過於日月」〔T14n0450 0405a11〕。
琉璃之譬，經題裡已經有了；到這裡落實在身上——內外明徹，沒有一處是不透的。「焰網莊嚴」是另一個譬：身上的光交織如網。而它的量詞是「過於日月」——比日月更亮。
寫到這裡都還在寫佛身。接著又是一轉：「幽冥眾生，悉蒙開曉，隨意所趣，作諸事業」〔T14n0450 0405a13〕。
留意末句的兩層。第一層是「悉蒙開曉」——在幽暗裡的人得到開導、明白了。第二層才是關鍵：「隨意所趣，作諸事業」——他們能往自己要去的地方去，能做事了。
光的用處，經沒有寫成好看，寫成的是能動。人在暗處不是看不見風景，是不敢走、不能做。光來了，路認得出來，事做得下去。
這是我們對「光明」二字最容易讀淺的地方：在這一願裡，它不是景象，是條件。
而同一處，另一位唐代譯人聽出了第二層。義淨的譯本在此多一句：「鐵圍中間，幽冥之處，互得相見」〔T14n0451 0413a12〕——鐵圍山間最暗的地方，那裡的眾生彼此看得見了。
底本沒有這一句（隋本、古譯本也都沒有）。但兩相對照，底本「幽冥眾生，悉蒙開曉」四字裡本有的東西就顯出來了：光來了，不只是一個人看見路，是原先各自困在暗處的人開始看見彼此。
一個譯人聽見的是「能走了」，一個聽見的是『能互相看見了』。並錄不判——而經自己那句「隨意所趣，作諸事業」，兩層都容得下。
一個講佛身莊嚴的願，落點在眾生的手腳可以動起來。
第一對之名：淨與穢
這兩願為什麼是一對？疏門給它取的名字是「饒益淨穢門」，理由是：「一饒益淨穢門，即初二願，淨土一切如我身故，乃至世界中間幽冥眾生皆逐意故」〔T38n1770 0258b20〕。
淨的那一頭，是「一切如我身」——國土之中人人與佛身無異；穢的那一頭，是「世界中間幽冥眾生」——連在世界夾縫暗處的眾生，也各隨其意。
另一路讀《灌頂》古譯本的疏，配得更直白：「初願願作穢土佛身。第二願願作淨土佛身」〔T85n2766 0308c29〕。一願在穢，一願在淨。
一對之內，一頭在淨土，一頭在穢暗。願不挑地方。
第三願：不要有一個人缺
第三願換了題目：「以無量無邊智慧方便，令諸有情，皆得無盡所受用物，莫令眾生有所乏少」〔T14n0450 0405a15〕。
前兩願講光、講相好、講明徹；這一願講「所受用物」——吃的、穿的、用的。
而所憑的是「智慧方便」。不是變現財寶，是以智慧與方便令眾生受用無盡。手段在智慧，對象在日用。
這一句的配置頗可玩味。要解決的是最實在的匱乏，動用的卻是「無量無邊智慧方便」——可見在願體裡，衣食之事並不比見地之事低一階，它同樣要用上智慧的全副力量。
末句是「莫令眾生有所乏少」〔T14n0450 0405a17〕。隋代的譯本這一句作「莫令一人有所少乏」〔T14n0449 0401c07〕——一人。
不要有一個人缺。願立到這個地步，就不能拿『大體上豐足』來交差了。
一部講佛身光明的經，第三願落在人的匱乏上。悲心不避俗事，這是願體的分寸。
第四願：兩種人一起處理
第四願處理的是走岔了的人：「若諸有情行邪道者，悉令安住菩提道中；若行聲聞獨覺乘者，皆以大乘而安立之」〔T14n0450 0405a18〕。
兩種人。前一種走錯了路——行邪道；後一種路沒錯而窄——行聲聞獨覺乘。
願把兩種人放在同一條裡：走錯的，安住菩提道中；走窄的，以大乘安立之。
疏門於此有一句話要留意：「二世出世間門，即次二願，以人天乘無所乏故，乃至行邪道者隨其種姓安住三乘菩提道中，不定二乘皆以大乘而安立故」〔T38n1770 0258b22〕。
「隨其種姓」四字使這一願不流於一概而論——行邪道者依其種姓而各安於三乘的菩提道；至於以大乘安立的，說的是不定種姓的二乘。這是法相一路的讀法，不把「皆以大乘」讀成一刀齊平。
義淨的譯本此處作「亦令安住大乘法中」〔T14n0451 0413a19〕，語勢比「皆以大乘而安立之」寬。二本並存，各如其字。
第二對之名：世與出世
第三、第四願之所以成對，名為「世出世間門」：第三願管的是世間的資生——人天乘無所乏；第四願管的是出世的三乘——邪道與二乘各得安立。
一對之中，一願管吃穿，一願管見地。
前一對分淨與穢，這一對分世與出世。四願走完，兩組坐標都立起來了：地方無論淨穢，事情無論世出世——四願之中，我們找不到一個被排除在外的處境。
四個末句
把四願的末句排在一起看：
願一結「令一切有情，如我無異」；願二結「隨意所趣，作諸事業」；願三結「莫令眾生有所乏少」；願四結「皆以大乘而安立之」。
四句話，主語全是眾生。
四個願的前半都在寫佛——光明、相好、琉璃身、焰網、智慧方便；四個願的後半全部轉出去。沒有一願停在佛身自己的成就上。
這不是修辭上的巧合，是願體的定式。誓的是自身之所成，回向的是他人之所得；成就寫在前半，理由寫在後半。
所以前一段那句總標「令諸有情，所求皆得」，不是一句客套。它是十二願末句的總和。
讀十二願若只看前半，會讀成一份佛身功德的清單；四個末句連起來讀，才看見這十二條線是朝哪個方向畫的。
這一點對讀願文的人有實際的用處。願文句子長，前半又多是相好光明一類難以親近的話，讀著容易滑過去。若你每一願都讀到末句才停，四願讀完，手上會剩下四件很具體的事：一切有情與佛無異、暗處的人能行動、沒有一個人短缺、走岔的人各有安立。
經自己把重量放在末句。
承衍——兩種「六」，配的不是同一批願
上來是本段自身的義。此下另以兩副眼旁照——鏡非經，只是同一組願，換兩種讀法來看；而這兩副眼有一件事必須先說明：它們讀的不是同一個譯本，因此它們的「六」也不是同一個六。
《本願藥師經古迹》（青丘沙門太賢撰）牒玄奘本而釋，其科為「廣說門中有六對門」〔T38n1770 0258b19〕：饒益淨穢、世出世間、「三存戒存身門」〔T38n1770 0258b24〕、「四除內外苦門」〔T38n1770 0258c01〕、「五內外解縛門」〔T38n1770 0258c06〕、「六志食與衣門」〔T38n1770 0258c08〕。上文前二對之判、「隨其種姓」與「不定二乘」之別，皆出於此。
敦煌所出的一卷失名疏（T85n2766，首已殘缺）所牒為《灌頂經》卷十二的古譯層，它也把十二願讀成六，卻是「六雙」，配法全異：「初上求佛果為一雙。第二功德智慧為一雙。第三自行化他為一雙。第四就慈悲體為一雙。第五制大魔化外道為一雙。第六就慈悲境為一雙也」〔T85n2766 0308c25〕。
兩種六，看似只是名目之別，其實根源在譯本：《灌頂》本的願三、願四所誓之事與玄奘本全不相同。彼本願三誓的是「使我來世智慧廣大，如海無窮潤澤枯涸無量眾生普使蒙益」〔T21n1331 0532c09〕，願四誓的是「使我來世佛道成就，巍巍堂堂如星中之月」〔T21n1331 0532c12〕——玄奘本第三願的資具無盡、第四願的邪道歸正與二乘入大，在那個本子裡不在這個位置。願的內容既不同，配對自然不同。
這一路又別立逐願三分之科：「就初求穢土身中復分為三。第一標數。第二興願。第三迴施眾生也」〔T85n2766 0309a02〕——每一願都有標數、興願、迴施眾生三節。第三節之名尤可留意：迴施眾生。這一路把『所誓歸於眾生』直接立成了每一願的固定末節，與四個末句所見者同一件事。兩科並錄，不設調停。
這一路釋到彼本第二雙（福德與智慧）時，還停下來訓了幾個字，而所訓的正是底本願三「智慧方便」四字裡的那兩個。
釋功德：「其功德者亦名福德。福謂福利。善能資閏。福利行人故名為福」〔T85n2766 0309a16〕；「功謂功能。善有資閏利益之功故名為功」〔T85n2766 0309a19〕。福就福利說，功就功能說，一個講所得，一個講所能。
中間插了一個譬，極簡而極準：「如清冷等是水家德」〔T85n2766 0309a18〕——清與冷不是加在水上的東西，是水自家的德。功德之為德，也是這樣：不是修行之外另掛一物，是善行處自有之德。
釋智慧則列四家而不定於一：「言智慧者依如毘曇決斷名智。對諸忍故」〔T85n2766 0309a21〕；「若依成實。無著名智別想識故」〔T85n2766 0309a22〕；下又舉地持、地論二家。列畢，它自己下了一句持平的話：「此智與慧通釋一物隨義別分非無差異」〔T85n2766 0309a23〕——智與慧通說是一物，隨義分別則不能說沒有差異。
四家並列而不判，末了只說通別各有其分。這一路雖以故事見長，論名相時卻毫不含糊。
另一卷敦煌失名疏（T85n2767）所牒為隋本，其現存部分自國土一節之末起，十二願通篇不在其中，故本段無可徵引。查無即記無。
至於古譯層之譬更繁——日、海、月三譬並用，而玄奘本第三、第四願俱不設譬，只是直說「莫令眾生有所乏少」與「皆以大乘而安立之」。
譬多譬少，各是譯筆。而四個願末句所指的那個方向，四本都沒有改。
The twelve great vows are the bone of this sūtra. The passage before gave only a single sentence of summary — he made twelve great vows, that sentient beings might obtain all they sought — and now they are handed over one at a time.
There is an old way of reading the twelve vows: not one by one, but two at a time. The Ancient Traces on the Medicine Buddha’s Original-Vow Sūtra, by Taehyŏn, śramaṇa of Ch’ŏnggu, divides the twelve vows into six pairs, two vows to a pair, six pairs exhausting the twelve; and the names of the six pairs in order are benefiting pure and defiled, mundane and supramundane, preserving precepts and preserving the body, removing inner and outer suffering, loosing inner and outer bonds, and intent upon food and clothing. This passage holds the first two pairs.
Reading two at a time has this advantage: the tension inside a pair becomes visible.
A Vow Is Made First
First, one thing about vowing.
Another old line of commentary on this sūtra, before coming to the twelve vows, raises a question: which comes first, vow or practice? The answer is that the vow comes first — 「常言願為慕廓行則闐滿故明願先行在後也」—“It is commonly said that the vow yearns out the outline and practice then fills it in; therefore it is made plain that the vow comes first and practice after.” 〔T85n2766 0308c22〕
The vow yearns out the outline — it draws the shape first; practice fills that shape in, portion by portion. So the vow is before and the practice after.
That fixes where a vow stands. A vow is not the ornament of practice, nor a reflection gathered after practice is done. It is the line drawn first. Without that line, practice has no way of saying where it is filling to.
This is why the twelve vows can be the bone of a whole sūtra: they are the twelve lines the Medicine Buddha drew first, while still in the position of the cause.
And one more thing lies on the surface of the sentences: every one of the twelve vows is tied to “when I have attained awakening.” What is pledged is not to be done at once; it is tied to the moment of realizing awakening. The vow is set up first and the fruit is rounded off later, with the whole bodhisattva path lying between.
It is easy, reading vow-texts, to read them as promises. They are closer to pledges — the thing to be accomplished is settled in words first, and then measureless kalpas are spent accomplishing it.
Vow One: What Is Sought Is the Marks, and the Reason Is in the Last Clause
「第一大願：願我來世得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時」—“The first great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained unsurpassed perfect awakening” 〔T14n0450 0405a07〕 — of the twelve vows, only the first uses the full title of unsurpassed perfect awakening; the other eleven read simply “when I have attained awakening.” Once in full at the opening, and thereafter in brief.
What vow one pledges is the buddha’s own body: 「自身光明，熾然照曜無量無數無邊世界」—“the light of my own body shall blaze forth and illumine measureless, countless, boundless worlds” 〔T14n0450 0405a08〕, and further 「以三十二大丈夫相、八十隨好，莊嚴其身」—“and with the thirty-two marks of a great man and the eighty accompanying excellences shall adorn my body” 〔T14n0450 0405a09〕.
Light illumining boundless worlds; marks and excellences adorning the body. Read this far, and it seems the vow is asking for the buddha’s own attainment.
Then the last clause turns: 「令一切有情，如我無異」—“I shall cause all sentient beings to be just as I am, with no difference.” 〔T14n0450 0405a10〕
Eight characters, and the direction of the whole preceding sentence is turned over. The marks and the light asked for have their reason not in the buddha’s own enjoyment but in causing all sentient beings to be as he is, with no difference.
To seek adornment, so that others may have that adornment too.
The order repays a glance as well: first the light illumining boundless worlds, then the marks adorning his own body. Light goes outward, the marks are on the body itself; one outward and one inward, and both are tied to that word “cause” in the closing clause.
The very first of the twelve vows sets up the fixed form: what is pledged is in the buddha, what it returns to is in beings.
Vow Two: A Body Like Beryl, and Its Use Is in the Dark
Vow two is the one vow in this passage richest in simile: 「身如琉璃，內外明徹，淨無瑕穢，光明廣大，功德巍巍，身善安住，焰網莊嚴，過於日月」—“my body shall be like beryl, clear and translucent within and without, pure and without flaw or stain, its light vast and great, its merits lofty, this body well established, adorned with a net of flame, surpassing the sun and moon.” 〔T14n0450 0405a11〕
The simile of beryl was already in the title; here it comes to rest on the body — clear and translucent within and without, with nothing anywhere that is not transparent. “Adorned with a net of flame” is a second figure: the light of the body interwoven as a net. And its measure is “surpassing the sun and moon” — brighter than sun and moon.
Thus far it is still the buddha-body being written. Then comes another turn: 「幽冥眾生，悉蒙開曉，隨意所趣，作諸事業」—“beings in gloom and darkness shall all receive opening and awakening, and shall go wherever their intention turns and do every kind of work.” 〔T14n0450 0405a13〕
Notice the two layers in that closing clause. The first layer is “all receive opening and awakening” — those in the dark are given light and understand. The second layer is the crucial one: “they shall go wherever their intention turns and do every kind of work” — they can go where they mean to go, and can get things done.
The use of light is not written as something fine to look at; it is written as the power to move. A person in the dark is not missing a view; he does not dare walk, and cannot work. Light comes, the road is recognizable, the work can be carried through.
This is where the two words “light and radiance” are most easily read too shallowly: in this vow, light is not a spectacle. It is a condition.
And at this same place another Tang translator heard the second layer. Yijing’s version has one clause more: 「鐵圍中間，幽冥之處，互得相見」—“In the space between the iron encircling mountains, in places of gloom and darkness, they shall be able to see one another.” 〔T14n0451 0413a12〕 — in the darkest place between the iron encircling mountains, the beings there can see one another.
The base text has no such clause, and neither do the Sui version or the old translation. But set the two side by side, and what was already inside the base text’s “beings in gloom and darkness shall all receive opening and awakening” comes out: when light comes, it is not only that one person sees the road; it is that people who were each shut in their own dark begin to see each other.
One translator heard “they can walk now,” another heard “they can see one another now.” Recorded without adjudication — and the sūtra’s own clause, “they shall go wherever their intention turns and do every kind of work,” has room for both.
A vow that speaks of the adornment of the buddha-body comes down where the hands and feet of beings can begin to move.
The Name of the First Pair: Pure and Defiled
Why are these two vows a pair? The name the outline gives is the gate of benefiting pure and defiled, and the reason: 「一饒益淨穢門，即初二願，淨土一切如我身故，乃至世界中間幽冥眾生皆逐意故」—“First, the gate of benefiting pure and defiled, that is, the first two vows: because in the pure land all are as my own body, and because even the beings in gloom and darkness in the interstices of the worlds all follow their intention.” 〔T38n1770 0258b20〕
At the pure end is “all are as my own body” — within that land, every person is no different from the buddha’s body; at the defiled end are “the beings in gloom and darkness in the interstices of the worlds” — even beings shut in the dark crevices between worlds follow, each of them, their own intention.
Another line of commentary, reading the old Consecration translation, matches them more bluntly: 「初願願作穢土佛身。第二願願作淨土佛身」—“The first vow is the vow to be a buddha-body of the defiled land. The second vow is the vow to be a buddha-body of the pure land.” 〔T85n2766 0308c29〕 One vow in the defiled, one in the pure.
Within one pair, one end stands in the pure land and one in the defiled dark. The vow does not pick its ground.
Vow Three: Let Not One Person Go Short
Vow three changes the subject: 「以無量無邊智慧方便，令諸有情，皆得無盡所受用物，莫令眾生有所乏少」—“with measureless, boundless wisdom and skilful means I shall cause all sentient beings to obtain goods of use that are never exhausted, and shall let no being suffer any lack or want.” 〔T14n0450 0405a15〕
The first two vows spoke of light, of marks, of translucency; this one speaks of “goods of use” — what is eaten, worn, and used.
And what it draws on is “wisdom and skilful means.” Not the conjuring of treasure, but wisdom and skilful means causing beings to have use without end. The instrument is wisdom; the object is daily life.
The arrangement of that sentence is worth turning over. What is to be solved is the most concrete kind of want, and what is brought to bear on it is “measureless, boundless wisdom and skilful means” — which shows that within the body of the vow, matters of food and clothing do not rank a step below matters of insight; they call on the whole force of wisdom just as much.
The closing clause is 「莫令眾生有所乏少」—“and shall let no being suffer any lack or want.” 〔T14n0450 0405a17〕 The Sui-period translation renders this clause 「莫令一人有所少乏」—“and shall let not one person suffer want or lack.” 〔T14n0449 0401c07〕 — one person.
Let not one person go short. A vow set at that height cannot be discharged with “sufficiency on the whole.”
A sūtra about the light of a buddha-body lets its third vow come down on human want. Compassion does not hold itself above ordinary matters; that is the measure of a vow.
Vow Four: Two Kinds of People Handled Together
Vow four deals with those who have gone off the way: 「若諸有情行邪道者，悉令安住菩提道中；若行聲聞獨覺乘者，皆以大乘而安立之」—“if among sentient beings there are any who walk wrong paths, I shall cause them all to be settled within the path of awakening; and if there are any who walk the vehicle of the śrāvakas or of the pratyekabuddhas, I shall establish them all in the Great Vehicle.” 〔T14n0450 0405a18〕
Two kinds of people. The first have taken the wrong road — they walk wrong paths; the second are on a road that is not wrong but narrow — they walk the vehicles of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.
The vow puts both kinds in one sentence: the ones who went wrong, settled within the path of awakening; the ones on the narrow road, established in the Great Vehicle.
One phrase from the outline deserves attention here: 「二世出世間門，即次二願，以人天乘無所乏故，乃至行邪道者隨其種姓安住三乘菩提道中，不定二乘皆以大乘而安立故」—“Second, the gate of mundane and supramundane, that is, the next two vows: because in the vehicle of humans and devas there is no lack, and because those who walk wrong paths are settled, each according to his lineage, within the path of awakening of the three vehicles, while those of the two vehicles who are of indeterminate lineage are all established in the Great Vehicle.” 〔T38n1770 0258b22〕
The four characters “each according to his lineage” keep this vow from being spoken of in one uniform way — those who walk wrong paths are settled, each according to his lineage, in the path of awakening of one of the three vehicles; and those established in the Great Vehicle are those of indeterminate lineage among the two vehicles. This is the Dharma-characteristics way of reading, and it does not take “all in the Great Vehicle” as one flat levelling.
Yijing’s version here reads 「亦令安住大乘法中」—“shall likewise be settled within the Dharma of the Great Vehicle” 〔T14n0451 0413a19〕, broader in force than “I shall establish them all in the Great Vehicle.” Both stand, each according to its own characters.
The Name of the Second Pair: Mundane and Supramundane
Vows three and four make a pair under the name of the gate of mundane and supramundane: vow three has charge of livelihood in the world — no lack in the vehicle of humans and devas; vow four has charge of the three vehicles that transcend the world — the wrong paths and the two vehicles each given their settling.
Within one pair, one vow has charge of food and clothing and one of insight.
The first pair divides pure from defiled; this one divides mundane from supramundane. Four vows through, and both sets of coordinates stand: whatever the place, pure or defiled; whatever the matter, mundane or supramundane — among these four vows there is no situation left outside.
Four Closing Clauses
Set the closing clauses of the four vows side by side:
Vow one closes with “I shall cause all sentient beings to be just as I am, with no difference”; vow two with “they shall go wherever their intention turns and do every kind of work”; vow three with “and shall let no being suffer any lack or want”; vow four with “I shall establish them all in the Great Vehicle.”
Four sentences, and the subject of every one is sentient beings.
The first halves of all four vows are writing about the buddha — light, marks, a body of beryl, a net of flame, wisdom and skilful means; the second halves all turn outward. Not one vow stops at the buddha-body’s own attainment.
This is not a coincidence of style. It is the fixed form of a vow: what is pledged is one’s own accomplishment, what is dedicated is another’s gain; the accomplishment is written in the first half and the reason in the second.
So the summary sentence of the passage before, “that sentient beings might obtain all they sought,” is no formality. It is the sum of the closing clauses of the twelve vows.
Read only the first halves of the twelve vows and they come out as an inventory of the merits of a buddha-body; read the four closing clauses together and one sees which way these twelve lines were drawn.
This has a practical use for anyone reading vow-texts. The sentences are long, and their first halves are mostly talk of marks and radiance, hard to come near, easy to slide past. Read each vow through to its closing clause and stop there, and at the end of four vows four very concrete things are left in hand: all sentient beings no different from the buddha, people in the dark able to move, no one short of anything, those who went astray each given a settling.
The sūtra itself puts the weight on the closing clause.
Transmission — Two Kinds of “Six,” Matched to Different Vows
The above is the sense of the passage itself. Below, two eyes cast their light from the side — the mirror is not the sūtra, only the same set of vows seen through two ways of reading; and about these two eyes one thing must first be made plain: they are not reading the same translation, and therefore their “six” is not the same six.
The Ancient Traces on the Medicine Buddha’s Original-Vow Sūtra (by Taehyŏn, śramaṇa of Ch’ŏnggu) follows Xuanzang’s version and glosses it, and its outline is 「廣說門中有六對門」—“Within the gate of extensive exposition there are six paired gates.” 〔T38n1770 0258b19〕: benefiting pure and defiled, mundane and supramundane, 「三存戒存身門」—“third, the gate of preserving precepts and preserving the body” 〔T38n1770 0258b24〕, 「四除內外苦門」—“fourth, the gate of removing inner and outer suffering” 〔T38n1770 0258c01〕, 「五內外解縛門」—“fifth, the gate of loosing inner and outer bonds” 〔T38n1770 0258c06〕, 「六志食與衣門」—“sixth, the gate of intent upon food and clothing” 〔T38n1770 0258c08〕. The verdict on the first two pairs given above, and the distinction of “each according to his lineage” and “the two vehicles of indeterminate lineage,” come from here.
The one anonymous scroll of commentary recovered at Dunhuang (T85n2766, its opening already lost) follows the old-translation stratum of fascicle twelve of the Consecration Sūtra. It too reads the twelve vows as six, but as six couples, and the matching is wholly different: 「初上求佛果為一雙。第二功德智慧為一雙。第三自行化他為一雙。第四就慈悲體為一雙。第五制大魔化外道為一雙。第六就慈悲境為一雙也」—“The first, seeking the buddha-fruit above, makes one couple. The second, merit and wisdom, makes one couple. The third, practice for oneself and transformation of others, makes one couple. The fourth, taking the substance of kindness and compassion, makes one couple. The fifth, subduing the great Māra and converting the outer paths, makes one couple. The sixth, taking the object of kindness and compassion, makes one couple.” 〔T85n2766 0308c25〕
Two kinds of six that look like a mere difference of nomenclature, but whose root is in the translations: what is pledged in vows three and four of the Consecration version is not at all what is pledged in Xuanzang’s. There vow three pledges 「使我來世智慧廣大，如海無窮潤澤枯涸無量眾生普使蒙益」—“May it be that I, in an age to come, shall have wisdom vast and great, endless as the sea, moistening what is parched and dry, so that measureless beings all receive its benefit” 〔T21n1331 0532c09〕, and vow four pledges 「使我來世佛道成就，巍巍堂堂如星中之月」—“May it be that I, in an age to come, shall accomplish the buddha-path, lofty and stately as the moon among the stars” 〔T21n1331 0532c12〕 — the goods of use without end of Xuanzang’s third vow, and the turning of wrong paths and bringing of the two vehicles into the Great of his fourth, are not at these positions in that recension. The content of the vows differing, the pairing must differ too.
This line also sets up a threefold division within each vow: 「就初求穢土身中復分為三。第一標數。第二興願。第三迴施眾生也」—“Within the first, the seeking of a body of the defiled land, there is a further division into three. First, the marking of the number. Second, the raising of the vow. Third, the turning over and bestowing upon beings.” 〔T85n2766 0309a02〕 — every vow has three joints: the marking of the number, the raising of the vow, and the turning over and bestowing upon beings. The name of the third joint especially repays notice: the turning over and bestowing upon beings. This line has made “what is pledged returns to beings” into a fixed closing joint of every single vow — the very thing seen in the four closing clauses. The two outlines stand recorded together, and no reconciliation is set up.
When this line reaches that version’s second couple (merit and wisdom), it stops to train a few characters — and the ones it trains are precisely the two in the base text’s third vow, “wisdom and skilful means.”
On merit: 「其功德者亦名福德。福謂福利。善能資閏。福利行人故名為福」—“As for merit, it is also called blessing-virtue. Blessing means benefit of blessing: the good is able to nourish and enrich, and because it benefits and blesses the practitioner it is named blessing.” 〔T85n2766 0309a16〕; 「功謂功能。善有資閏利益之功故名為功」—“Merit means capacity: because the good has the capacity to nourish, enrich, and benefit, it is named merit.” 〔T85n2766 0309a19〕 Blessing is spoken of in terms of benefit, merit in terms of capacity — one speaks of what is gained, the other of what is possible.
Between them it inserts a simile, as brief as it is exact: 「如清冷等是水家德」—“As clearness and coolness and the like are the virtues belonging to water.” 〔T85n2766 0309a18〕 — clearness and coolness are not something added onto water; they are water’s own virtue. Merit as virtue is like that: not one more thing hung outside of practice, but the virtue that belongs to good conduct where it stands.
On wisdom it lists four houses and settles on none: 「言智慧者依如毘曇決斷名智。對諸忍故」—“As for wisdom: according to the Abhidharma, decisive judgment is named knowledge, since it stands over against the acceptances.” 〔T85n2766 0309a21〕; 「若依成實。無著名智別想識故」—“If according to the Tattvasiddhi, non-attachment is named knowledge, since it distinguishes conception from consciousness.” 〔T85n2766 0309a22〕; and below it raises the Bodhisattvabhūmi and the Daśabhūmika houses as well. The list complete, it sets down an even-handed sentence of its own: 「此智與慧通釋一物隨義別分非無差異」—“Knowledge and wisdom, explained in common, are one thing; distinguished according to sense, they are not without difference.” 〔T85n2766 0309a23〕 — spoken in common they are one thing; distinguished by sense, one cannot say there is no difference between them.
Four houses set side by side and none adjudicated, and at the end only the remark that the common and the distinct each have their portion. This line is known for its stories, yet on matters of terminology it is not vague in the least.
The other Dunhuang scroll (T85n2767) follows the Sui version; what survives of it begins at the end of that version’s section on the land, and the twelve vows are absent from it throughout, so nothing from it can be cited for this passage. Searched and not found is recorded as not found.
As for the old-translation stratum’s greater use of simile — sun, sea, and moon used together — Xuanzang’s third and fourth vows set up no figure at all, and say plainly only “let no being suffer any lack or want” and “I shall establish them all in the Great Vehicle.”
More figures or fewer is a matter of each translator’s hand. The direction in which the closing clauses of the four vows point, none of the four altered.
考據Apparatus
全段定位 本段為十二大願之前四願，屬逐文鏡「答第二問」三科中之「廣說」。逐文鏡讀十二願為六對，二願一對；本段正含前二對——饒益淨穢門（願一、二）與世出世間門（願三、四）。四譯之中，本段是全經歧異最大之處：玄奘、隋笈多、義淨三本之十二願前後相當，而東晉《灌頂經》卷十二之願三、願四所誓之事與三本全異（彼本願三誓智慧潤物、願四誓佛道成就），故其疏之科亦隨之而別。異同並錄，不判優劣。
一、科判定位
十二願之總科：「廣說門中有六對門」〔T38n1770 0258b19〕——二願為一對，六對盡十二願。六對之名依次為：饒益淨穢門、世出世間門、「三存戒存身門」〔T38n1770 0258b24〕、「四除內外苦門」〔T38n1770 0258c01〕、「五內外解縛門」〔T38n1770 0258c06〕、「六志食與衣門」〔T38n1770 0258c08〕。
本單元含前二對：
| 對 | 願 | 疏文逐字 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一·饒益淨穢門 | 願一、願二 | 「一饒益淨穢門，即初二願，淨土一切如我身故，乃至世界中間幽冥眾生皆逐意故」 | 〔T38n1770 0258b20〕 |
| 二·世出世間門 | 願三、願四 | 「二世出世間門，即次二願，以人天乘無所乏故，乃至行邪道者隨其種姓安住三乘菩提道中，不定二乘皆以大乘而安立故」 | 〔T38n1770 0258b22〕 |
| 願 | 經文起訖逐字（各繫其錨） |
|---|---|
| 一 | 「第一大願：願我來世得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時」〔T14n0450 0405a07〕…「令一切有情，如我無異」〔T14n0450 0405a10〕 |
| 二 | 「第二大願：願我來世得菩提時」〔T14n0450 0405a11〕…「隨意所趣，作諸事業」〔T14n0450 0405a14〕 |
| 三 | 「第三大願：願我來世得菩提時」〔T14n0450 0405a15〕…「莫令眾生有所乏少」〔T14n0450 0405a17〕 |
| 四 | 「第四大願：願我來世得菩提時」〔T14n0450 0405a18〕…「皆以大乘而安立之」〔T14n0450 0405a20〕 |
六對與本帙單元界之相合：六對以二願為一對，本經十二願之三單元（願一至四·五至八·九至十二）各含二對——單元二＝對一＋對二，單元三＝對三＋對四，單元四＝對五＋對六。單元界與疏之對界相合而不切斷任何一對。
二、異譯對勘（一經四譯·異同誌錄不判）
| 願 | 玄奘 T14n0450（底本） | 隋笈多 T14n0449 | 唐義淨 T14n0451 | 東晉《灌頂經》卷十二 T21n1331 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 起句 | 「第一大願：願我來世得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時」〔T14n0450 0405a07〕（唯願一作全稱，餘作「得菩提時」〔T14n0450 0405a11〕） | 「願我來世於佛菩提得正覺時」〔T14n0449 0401b26〕 | 「願我來世得菩提時」〔T14n0451 0413a07〕 | 「使我來世得作佛時」〔T21n1331 0532c03〕 |
| 一 | 「自身光明，熾然照曜無量無數無邊世界」〔T14n0450 0405a08〕·「以三十二大丈夫相、八十隨好，莊嚴其身；令一切有情，如我無異」〔T14n0450 0405a09〕 | 「三十二丈夫大相及八十小好以為莊嚴」〔T14n0449 0401b27〕 | 「自身光明照無邊界，三十二相、八十隨好，莊嚴其身，令諸有情如我無異」〔T14n0451 0413a07〕 | 「使我來世得作佛時，自身光明普照十方，三十二相八十種好而自莊嚴，令一切眾生如我無異」〔T21n1331 0532c03〕 |
| 二 | 「身如琉璃，內外明徹，淨無瑕穢，光明廣大，功德巍巍，身善安住，焰網莊嚴，過於日月」〔T14n0450 0405a11〕·「幽冥眾生，悉蒙開曉，隨意所趣，作諸事業」〔T14n0450 0405a13〕 | 「若有眾生生世界之間，或復人中昏暗及夜莫知方所，以我光故，隨意所趣作諸事業」〔T14n0449 0401c03〕 | 「鐵圍中間，幽冥之處，互得相見，或於此界，闇夜遊行，斯等眾生見我光明，悉蒙開曉，隨作眾事」〔T14n0451 0413a12〕 | 「使我來世自身猶如瑠璃，內外明徹淨無瑕穢，妙色廣大功德巍巍，安住十方如日照世，幽冥眾生悉蒙開曉」〔T21n1331 0532c06〕 |
| 三 | 「以無量無邊智慧方便，令諸有情，皆得無盡所受用物，莫令眾生有所乏少」〔T14n0450 0405a15〕 | 「以無邊無限智慧方便，令無量眾生界受用無盡，莫令一人有所少乏」〔T14n0449 0401c06〕 | 「以無量無邊智慧方便，令諸有情所受用物，皆得無盡」〔T14n0451 0413a15〕 | 所誓全異：「使我來世智慧廣大，如海無窮潤澤枯涸無量眾生普使蒙益」〔T21n1331 0532c09〕 |
| 四 | 「若諸有情行邪道者，悉令安住菩提道中；若行聲聞獨覺乘者，皆以大乘而安立之」〔T14n0450 0405a18〕 | 「諸有眾生行異道者，一切安立菩提道中，行聲聞道、行辟支佛道者，皆以大乘而安立之」〔T14n0449 0401c09〕 | 「悉令遊履菩提正路，若行聲聞、獨覺乘者，亦令安住大乘法中」〔T14n0451 0413a18〕 | 所誓全異：「使我來世佛道成就，巍巍堂堂如星中之月」〔T21n1331 0532c12〕 |
誌錄不判六事：
- 願之起句四本各異——底本唯願一作「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」全稱而餘願略作「得菩提時」；隋本作「於佛菩提得正覺時」；《灌頂》本作「使我來世」，通篇十二願皆然（十二例）。
- 相好之譯例：底本「三十二大丈夫相、八十隨好」，隋本「三十二丈夫大相及八十小好」，義淨本「三十二相、八十隨好」，《灌頂》本「三十二相八十種好」。四本所指同而字異。
- 願二之幽冥所在：底本但言「幽冥眾生」；隋本指「生世界之間，或復人中昏暗及夜」；義淨本更明指「鐵圍中間，幽冥之處」而增「互得相見」一益；《灌頂》本作「安住十方如日照世」。義淨本之「互得相見」為他三本所無。
- 《灌頂》本願三、願四之所誓與三本不同——彼本願三誓智慧如海潤澤枯涸並及飲食施與，願四誓佛道成就巍巍如星中之月。二者須分別：三本願四之所誓（邪道歸正·二乘入大）於彼本通篇不見；三本願三之所誓（資具無盡·莫令乏少）則見於彼本而不在此願次——彼願十二有「倉庫盈溢無所乏少」〔T21n1331 0533a09〕，彼願三有「悉令飽滿無飢渴想，甘食美饍悉持施與」〔T21n1331 0532c10〕。故願四屬「不見」，願三屬「異位」。此為四譯之中最大之結構歧異；十二願之全表見單元 04 目二乙。
- 底本「莫令眾生有所乏少」與隋本「莫令一人有所少乏」——「乏少」與「少乏」倒文。
- 義淨本願四「亦令安住大乘法中」與底本「皆以大乘而安立之」——「亦令」與「皆以」語勢有寬嚴之別。
六事並錄，不判優劣、不據以改底本一字。
三、經論宗依（眼）
逐文鏡於本段不別引經論——前二對之釋純以科門判之，其所引之《佛地論》《瑜伽》《大集經》皆在序分一段（見該單元）。本段之義理依據唯經文自身與六對之科。誠實記之。
六對之判即是宗依所在：饒益淨穢門之名，取義於願一所饒益者屬淨、願二所饒益者屬穢——門名之「淨穢」二字即依此序；其疏語自明——「淨土一切如我身故，乃至世界中間幽冥眾生皆逐意故」〔T38n1770 0258b20〕。世出世間門之名，取義於願三屬世間資生（「以人天乘無所乏故」）、願四屬出世三乘（「行邪道者隨其種姓安住三乘菩提道中，不定二乘皆以大乘而安立故」）〔T38n1770 0258b22〕。
「隨其種姓」與「不定二乘」二語繫法相義：願四之得度非一概而論——行邪道者依其種姓而安立於三乘菩提道，唯不定種姓之二乘方以大乘安立之。此讀法與逐文鏡他處之法相引據（《佛地論》《成唯識論學記》）同一脈絡。
四、本段釋要（逐文鏡逐文）
逐文鏡於十二願之牒經作一整段連引，釋則以六對總判，不逐願分釋。本段所得之釋要即前二對之判語（已具目一、目三），此外別無逐句之訓。本段釋要之詳處在對三以下（其釋願六之「下劣」曰「此中下劣，不具標句也」〔T38n1770 0258b26〕、「言醜陋者，釋身下劣。言頑愚者，釋意下劣」〔T38n1770 0258b27〕），不屬本單元。
牒經與底本相合：其牒願一作「三十二大丈夫相八十隨好莊嚴其身」〔T38n1770 0258a11〕，與底本同字（底本於「相」「好」之間有頓號，疏牒無標點，屬引錄之常）。
五、諸家異釋（三疏分欄·誌錄不判）
| 鏡 | 所牒之本 | 逐字 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 《本願藥師經古迹》（青丘沙門太賢撰） | 玄奘本（與底本同） | 「廣說門中有六對門」 | 〔T38n1770 0258b19〕 |
| 敦煌失名《藥師經疏》（T85n2766·殘卷·首闕） | 《灌頂》本 | 「後就初明願中凡十二願。今為六雙」 | 〔T85n2766 0308c24〕 |
| 敦煌失名《藥師經疏》（T85n2767） | 隋笈多本 | 本段零命中（已查 T85n2767：現存 0310c14–0327c17，其牒經始於彼本國土一節之末，十二願無文；全篇唯一及「十二大願」之語在 0323b21，屬後文供養一節） | — |
二疏俱讀十二願為六，而所配之願全異——此因所牒之本願序本異：
| 《古迹》六對（玄奘本） | T85n2766 六雙（《灌頂》本） | |
|---|---|---|
| 一 | 饒益淨穢門（願一、二） | 「初上求佛果為一雙」 |
| 二 | 世出世間門（願三、四） | 「第二功德智慧為一雙」 |
| 三 | 存戒存身門 | 「第三自行化他為一雙」 |
| 四 | 除內外苦門 | 「第四就慈悲體為一雙」 |
| 五 | 內外解縛門 | 「第五制大魔化外道為一雙」 |
| 六 | 志食與衣門 | 「第六就慈悲境為一雙」 |
六雙之逐字全文：「初上求佛果為一雙。第二功德智慧為一雙。第三自行化他為一雙。第四就慈悲體為一雙。第五制大魔化外道為一雙。第六就慈悲境為一雙也」〔T85n2766 0308c25〕。
T85n2766 於初一雙之釋：「初願願作穢土佛身。第二願願作淨土佛身」〔T85n2766 0308c29〕、「此二願是菩提善善報」〔T85n2766 0309a01〕；其釋願二之琉璃曰「自身猶如瑠璃淨無瑕穢。豈非淨土身」〔T85n2766 0309a09〕、「夫瑠璃之體淨」〔T85n2766 0309a10〕，釋彼本「如日照世」曰「如日照世明智慧習果也」〔T85n2766 0309a12〕，末結「幽冥眾生悉蒙開曉。第三下施眾生也」〔T85n2766 0309a13〕。其第二雙則配彼本之願三、願四：「第三願者。此一雙明福德莊嚴智慧」〔T85n2766 0309a14〕；第三雙自願五起：「第五願者此下兩段」〔T85n2766 0309b10〕、「自行化他以為一雙」〔T85n2766 0309b11〕。
T85n2766 別立逐願三分之科：「就初求穢土身中復分為三。第一標數。第二興願。第三迴施眾生也」〔T85n2766 0309a02〕——每一願皆有標數（第幾願）、興願（所誓之事）、迴施眾生（以所成施與眾生）三節。《古迹》之六對無此逐願三分，二科並錄，不設調停。
T85n2766 又論願行之先後：「就明願中大分為二。第一出願體」〔T85n2766 0308c23〕，而以願先行後為序——「常言願為慕廓行則闐滿故明願先行在後也」〔T85n2766 0308c22〕。此一問屬彼疏所自設，《古迹》不及。
二疏之寫本狀況：T85n2766 為敦煌寫本殘卷，首已闕失，文中訛字時見（如「三毒四到」「魏魏堂堂」「行則闐滿」），凡引皆照寫本之字，不擅改、不擅補。
六、術語（首見名相）
| 名相 | 釋義所據（逐字各繫其錨） |
|---|---|
| 阿耨多羅三藐三菩提 | 底本唯願一作全稱「第一大願：願我來世得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時」〔T14n0450 0405a07〕，餘願略作「得菩提時」〔T14n0450 0405a11〕；隋本作「願我來世於佛菩提得正覺時」〔T14n0449 0401b26〕 |
| 三十二大丈夫相·八十隨好 | 四本譯例各異（見目二）；底本作「以三十二大丈夫相、八十隨好，莊嚴其身」〔T14n0450 0405a09〕 |
| 焰網莊嚴 | 義淨本同作「焰網莊嚴，過於日月」〔T14n0451 0413a11〕而別增「鐵圍中間」〔T14n0451 0413a12〕一節；隋本與《灌頂》本無此語。底本作「焰網莊嚴，過於日月」〔T14n0450 0405a13〕 |
| 幽冥眾生 | 《灌頂》本作「幽冥眾生悉蒙開曉」〔T21n1331 0532c08〕；底本作「幽冥眾生，悉蒙開曉」〔T14n0450 0405a13〕 |
| 邪道 | 隋本作「諸有眾生行異道者」〔T14n0449 0401c09〕；底本作「若諸有情行邪道者」〔T14n0450 0405a18〕 |
| 聲聞·獨覺乘 | 隋本作「行聲聞道、行辟支佛道者」〔T14n0449 0401c10〕；底本作「若行聲聞獨覺乘者」〔T14n0450 0405a19〕 |
| 饒益淨穢門·世出世間門 | 「一饒益淨穢門，即初二願」〔T38n1770 0258b20〕·「二世出世間門，即次二願」〔T38n1770 0258b22〕 |
| 標數·興願·迴施眾生 | 旁照之疏所立逐願三節：「第一標數。第二興願。第三迴施眾生也」〔T85n2766 0309a02〕 |
七、譬喻·修辭
- 經文自用之譬二枚（皆在願二）：「身如琉璃，內外明徹，淨無瑕穢」〔T14n0450 0405a11〕——以琉璃之表裏通透譬佛身；「焰網莊嚴，過於日月」〔T14n0450 0405a13〕——以焰網譬身光交織，以日月為所過之量。願一、願三、願四直陳無譬。
- 《灌頂》本之譬更繁（古譯層之風·所牒非底本，錄以備參）：願二作「安住十方如日照世」〔T21n1331 0532c07〕，願三作「如海無窮潤澤枯涸」〔T21n1331 0532c09〕，願四作「巍巍堂堂如星中之月」〔T21n1331 0532c12〕——日、海、月三譬並用，而底本此三處俱無譬。
- 旁照之疏用譬：釋琉璃曰「夫瑠璃之體淨」〔T85n2766 0309a10〕；釋彼本日譬曰「如日照世明智慧習果也」〔T85n2766 0309a12〕——以日譬智慧之習果。
- 修辭：四願句式全同——『第N大願：願我來世得菩提時』＋所誓之事＋所施之益，四疊而下。願一以「令一切有情，如我無異」結，願二以「隨意所趣，作諸事業」結，願三以「莫令眾生有所乏少」結，願四以「皆以大乘而安立之」結：四願之末句皆落在眾生身上，無一句止於佛身之自成。 此為願體之定式，非偶然。
八、徵引承衍
- 本段被本 corpus 其餘各帙徵引者，零命中。
- 軸內對讀點：十二大願之願體定式（自誓＋所成＋迴施）與《大乘大集地藏十輪經》之願行文、《地藏菩薩本願經》之本願文為同一 genre，屬本軸內對讀之目。
- 《灌頂》本願三之「悉令飽滿無飢渴想，甘食美饍悉持施與」〔T21n1331 0532c10〕與底本願十一（飲食）所誓相近而不同位——古譯層願序與後三譯之對應，屬待勘之目，本段唯誌其相涉而不作對應表。
- 逐文鏡於本段不引經論（見目三），故無跨軸承衍點；其序分一段之《瑜伽》《佛地論》二引所繫者見該單元。
九、校本定位
大正藏校記（<app>）本單元域內一處：
| 錨 | 底本 | 異讀 | 見證 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0405a09 | 「好」 | 形好 | 敦 |
此條在願一「八十隨好」（敦本作「八十隨形好」）。四本於此各異：底本與義淨本作「隨好」，敦本作「隨形好」，隋本作「小好」，《灌頂》本作「種好」——校記之敦本異讀與他譯之譯例於此同向，誌錄不判。
逐文鏡所牒同底本：其牒作「三十二大丈夫相八十隨好莊嚴其身」〔T38n1770 0258a11〕，作「隨好」而非「隨形好」，與底本同流而與敦本異。
gaiji：本單元零命中。 夾註：本單元零命中。
Placement of the passage as a whole. This passage holds the first four of the twelve great vows, and belongs to the extensive exposition, the second of the three sections into which the word-by-word mirror divides the answer to the second question. The mirror reads the twelve vows as six pairs, two vows to a pair; this passage contains exactly the first two — the gate of benefiting pure and defiled (vows one and two) and the gate of mundane and supramundane (vows three and four). Of the four translations, this passage is where the divergence across the whole sūtra is greatest: Xuanzang, Dharmagupta of the Sui, and Yijing correspond throughout in the order of the twelve vows, whereas in fascicle twelve of the Consecration Sūtra of the Eastern Jin what is pledged in vows three and four differs entirely from the other three (there vow three pledges wisdom that moistens beings, and vow four pledges the accomplishment of the buddha-path), and the outline of its commentary differs accordingly. The divergences stand recorded together; no ranking of better and worse is imposed.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
The overall outline of the twelve vows: 「廣說門中有六對門」—“Within the gate of extensive exposition there are six paired gates.” 〔T38n1770 0258b19〕 — two vows make a pair, and six pairs exhaust the twelve vows. The names of the six pairs in order are: the gate of benefiting pure and defiled, the gate of mundane and supramundane, 「三存戒存身門」—“third, the gate of preserving precepts and preserving the body” 〔T38n1770 0258b24〕, 「四除內外苦門」—“fourth, the gate of removing inner and outer suffering” 〔T38n1770 0258c01〕, 「五內外解縛門」—“fifth, the gate of loosing inner and outer bonds” 〔T38n1770 0258c06〕, and 「六志食與衣門」—“sixth, the gate of intent upon food and clothing” 〔T38n1770 0258c08〕.
This unit contains the first two pairs:
| Pair | Vows | Verbatim from the commentary | Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|
| One · the gate of benefiting pure and defiled | Vows one and two | 「一饒益淨穢門，即初二願，淨土一切如我身故，乃至世界中間幽冥眾生皆逐意故」—“First, the gate of benefiting pure and defiled, that is, the first two vows: because in the pure land all are as my own body, and because even the beings in gloom and darkness in the interstices of the worlds all follow their intention.” | 〔T38n1770 0258b20〕 |
| Two · the gate of mundane and supramundane | Vows three and four | 「二世出世間門，即次二願，以人天乘無所乏故，乃至行邪道者隨其種姓安住三乘菩提道中，不定二乘皆以大乘而安立故」—“Second, the gate of mundane and supramundane, that is, the next two vows: because in the vehicle of humans and devas there is no lack, and because those who walk wrong paths are settled, each according to his lineage, within the path of awakening of the three vehicles, while those of the two vehicles who are of indeterminate lineage are all established in the Great Vehicle.” | 〔T38n1770 0258b22〕 |
| Vow | Opening and closing of the sūtra text, verbatim (each with its anchor) |
|---|---|
| One | 「第一大願：願我來世得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時」—“The first great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained unsurpassed perfect awakening” 〔T14n0450 0405a07〕 … 「令一切有情，如我無異」—“I shall cause all sentient beings to be just as I am, with no difference” 〔T14n0450 0405a10〕 |
| Two | 「第二大願：願我來世得菩提時」—“The second great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained awakening” 〔T14n0450 0405a11〕 … 「隨意所趣，作諸事業」—“they shall go wherever their intention turns and do every kind of work” 〔T14n0450 0405a14〕 |
| Three | 「第三大願：願我來世得菩提時」—“The third great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained awakening” 〔T14n0450 0405a15〕 … 「莫令眾生有所乏少」—“and shall let no being suffer any lack or want” 〔T14n0450 0405a17〕 |
| Four | 「第四大願：願我來世得菩提時」—“The fourth great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained awakening” 〔T14n0450 0405a18〕 … 「皆以大乘而安立之」—“I shall establish them all in the Great Vehicle” 〔T14n0450 0405a20〕 |
How the six pairs meet the unit divisions of this edition: the six pairs take two vows to a pair, and the three units of the sūtra’s twelve vows (one to four · five to eight · nine to twelve) each contain two pairs — unit two is pair one plus pair two, unit three is pair three plus pair four, unit four is pair five plus pair six. The unit boundaries agree with the pair boundaries of the commentary and cut no pair in half.
II. Cross-Recension Collation (one sūtra in four translations — divergences recorded without adjudication)
| Vow | Xuanzang, T14n0450 (base text) | Dharmagupta, Sui, T14n0449 | Yijing, Tang, T14n0451 | Consecration Sūtra fasc. 12, Eastern Jin, T21n1331 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening formula | 「第一大願：願我來世得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時」—“The first great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained unsurpassed perfect awakening” 〔T14n0450 0405a07〕 (only vow one uses the full title; the rest read 「得菩提時」—“when I have attained awakening” 〔T14n0450 0405a11〕) | 「願我來世於佛菩提得正覺時」—“I vow that in an age to come, when in the buddha-awakening I attain right awakening” 〔T14n0449 0401b26〕 | 「願我來世得菩提時」—“I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained awakening” 〔T14n0451 0413a07〕 | 「使我來世得作佛時」—“May it be that I, in an age to come, when I become a buddha” 〔T21n1331 0532c03〕 |
| One | 「自身光明，熾然照曜無量無數無邊世界」—“the light of my own body shall blaze forth and illumine measureless, countless, boundless worlds” 〔T14n0450 0405a08〕 · 「以三十二大丈夫相、八十隨好，莊嚴其身；令一切有情，如我無異」—“and with the thirty-two marks of a great man and the eighty accompanying excellences shall adorn my body; and I shall cause all sentient beings to be just as I am, with no difference” 〔T14n0450 0405a09〕 | 「三十二丈夫大相及八十小好以為莊嚴」—“the thirty-two great marks of a man and the eighty lesser excellences shall be its adornment” 〔T14n0449 0401b27〕 | 「自身光明照無邊界，三十二相、八十隨好，莊嚴其身，令諸有情如我無異」—“the light of my own body shall illumine boundless realms; with the thirty-two marks and the eighty accompanying excellences it shall adorn my body, and I shall cause sentient beings to be as I am, with no difference” 〔T14n0451 0413a07〕 | 「使我來世得作佛時，自身光明普照十方，三十二相八十種好而自莊嚴，令一切眾生如我無異」—“May it be that I, in an age to come, when I become a buddha, the light of my own body shall universally illumine the ten directions, the thirty-two marks and eighty kinds of excellence shall adorn it of themselves, and I shall cause all beings to be as I am, with no difference” 〔T21n1331 0532c03〕 |
| Two | 「身如琉璃，內外明徹，淨無瑕穢，光明廣大，功德巍巍，身善安住，焰網莊嚴，過於日月」—“my body shall be like beryl, clear and translucent within and without, pure and without flaw or stain, its light vast and great, its merits lofty, this body well established, adorned with a net of flame, surpassing the sun and moon” 〔T14n0450 0405a11〕 · 「幽冥眾生，悉蒙開曉，隨意所趣，作諸事業」—“beings in gloom and darkness shall all receive opening and awakening, and shall go wherever their intention turns and do every kind of work” 〔T14n0450 0405a13〕 | 「若有眾生生世界之間，或復人中昏暗及夜莫知方所，以我光故，隨意所趣作諸事業」—“If there are beings born in the interstices of the worlds, or among humans in dimness and by night not knowing where they are, then by my light they shall go wherever their intention turns and do every kind of work” 〔T14n0449 0401c03〕 | 「鐵圍中間，幽冥之處，互得相見，或於此界，闇夜遊行，斯等眾生見我光明，悉蒙開曉，隨作眾事」—“In the space between the iron encircling mountains, in places of gloom and darkness, they shall be able to see one another; and those who travel by dark night in this realm, such beings on seeing my light shall all receive opening and awakening, and shall do all manner of things as they will” 〔T14n0451 0413a12〕 | 「使我來世自身猶如瑠璃，內外明徹淨無瑕穢，妙色廣大功德巍巍，安住十方如日照世，幽冥眾生悉蒙開曉」—“May it be that I, in an age to come, shall have a body like beryl, clear and translucent within and without, pure and without flaw or stain, its wondrous color vast and its merits lofty, abiding in the ten directions as the sun lights the world; and beings in gloom and darkness shall all receive opening and awakening” 〔T21n1331 0532c06〕 |
| Three | 「以無量無邊智慧方便，令諸有情，皆得無盡所受用物，莫令眾生有所乏少」—“with measureless, boundless wisdom and skilful means I shall cause all sentient beings to obtain goods of use that are never exhausted, and shall let no being suffer any lack or want” 〔T14n0450 0405a15〕 | 「以無邊無限智慧方便，令無量眾生界受用無盡，莫令一人有所少乏」—“with boundless, limitless wisdom and skilful means I shall cause the realms of measureless beings to have use without end, and shall let not one person suffer want or lack” 〔T14n0449 0401c06〕 | 「以無量無邊智慧方便，令諸有情所受用物，皆得無盡」—“with measureless, boundless wisdom and skilful means I shall cause the goods of use of sentient beings all to be without end” 〔T14n0451 0413a15〕 | What is pledged differs entirely: 「使我來世智慧廣大，如海無窮潤澤枯涸無量眾生普使蒙益」—“May it be that I, in an age to come, shall have wisdom vast and great, endless as the sea, moistening what is parched and dry, so that measureless beings all receive its benefit” 〔T21n1331 0532c09〕 |
| Four | 「若諸有情行邪道者，悉令安住菩提道中；若行聲聞獨覺乘者，皆以大乘而安立之」—“if among sentient beings there are any who walk wrong paths, I shall cause them all to be settled within the path of awakening; and if there are any who walk the vehicle of the śrāvakas or of the pratyekabuddhas, I shall establish them all in the Great Vehicle” 〔T14n0450 0405a18〕 | 「諸有眾生行異道者，一切安立菩提道中，行聲聞道、行辟支佛道者，皆以大乘而安立之」—“All beings who walk other paths shall be established within the path of awakening; and those who walk the śrāvaka path or the pratyekabuddha path shall all be established in the Great Vehicle” 〔T14n0449 0401c09〕 | 「悉令遊履菩提正路，若行聲聞、獨覺乘者，亦令安住大乘法中」—“I shall cause them all to travel the right road of awakening; and those who walk the śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha vehicle shall likewise be settled within the Dharma of the Great Vehicle” 〔T14n0451 0413a18〕 | What is pledged differs entirely: 「使我來世佛道成就，巍巍堂堂如星中之月」—“May it be that I, in an age to come, shall accomplish the buddha-path, lofty and stately as the moon among the stars” 〔T21n1331 0532c12〕 |
Six matters recorded without adjudication:
- The opening formula of the vows differs in all four. In the base text only vow one uses the full title of unsurpassed perfect awakening, the rest reading “when I have attained awakening”; the Sui version reads “when in the buddha-awakening I attain right awakening”; the Consecration version reads “may it be that I, in an age to come,” and does so throughout all twelve vows (twelve instances).
- The rendering of the marks and excellences: the base text has “the thirty-two marks of a great man and the eighty accompanying excellences”; the Sui version “the thirty-two great marks of a man and the eighty lesser excellences”; Yijing “the thirty-two marks and the eighty accompanying excellences”; the Consecration version “the thirty-two marks and eighty kinds of excellence.” The four point to the same thing in different characters.
- Where the gloom lies, in vow two: the base text says only “beings in gloom and darkness”; the Sui version points to “born in the interstices of the worlds, or among humans in dimness and by night”; Yijing points more definitely to “the space between the iron encircling mountains, places of gloom and darkness,” and adds the further benefit of “being able to see one another”; the Consecration version reads “abiding in the ten directions as the sun lights the world.” Yijing’s “being able to see one another” is in none of the other three.
- What is pledged in vows three and four of the Consecration version differs from the other three — there vow three pledges wisdom endless as the sea, moistening what is parched, and reaching also to the giving of food and drink, while vow four pledges the accomplishment of the buddha-path, lofty and stately as the moon among the stars. The two must be told apart: what the other three pledge in vow four (wrong paths turned to the right, the two vehicles brought into the Great) is nowhere to be found in that version; what the other three pledge in vow three (goods of use without end, no lack or want) is found in that version, but not at this position in the sequence — its twelfth vow has 「倉庫盈溢無所乏少」—“granaries and storehouses brimming over, with no lack or want” 〔T21n1331 0533a09〕, and its third vow has 「悉令飽滿無飢渴想，甘食美饍悉持施與」—“causing all to be filled, with no thought of hunger or thirst, sweet food and fine dishes all given away” 〔T21n1331 0532c10〕. So vow four is a case of “not found” and vow three a case of “found elsewhere in the sequence.” This is the greatest structural divergence among the four translations; the full table of the twelve vows stands in unit 04, topic II, part B.
- The base text’s “let no being suffer any lack or want” against the Sui version’s “let not one person suffer want or lack” — the two characters for want and lack stand in reversed order.
- Yijing’s vow four, “shall likewise be settled within the Dharma of the Great Vehicle,” against the base text’s “I shall establish them all in the Great Vehicle” — “likewise” and “all” differ in the breadth or strictness of their force.
The six stand recorded together; no ranking of better and worse is imposed, and not one character of the base text is altered on their account.
III. Scriptural and Treatise Basis (the “eye”)
The word-by-word mirror cites no scripture or treatise separately in this passage — the first two pairs are judged purely by the gates of the outline, and the citations of the Treatise on the Buddha-Bhūmi, the Yogācārabhūmi, and the Great Collection Sūtra all fall within the introduction (see that unit). The doctrinal ground of this passage is the sūtra text itself together with the outline of the six pairs. This is recorded honestly.
The judgment of the six pairs is itself where the grounding lies: the name of the gate of benefiting pure and defiled takes its sense from vow one benefiting what belongs to the pure and vow two what belongs to the defiled — the order of “pure and defiled” in the gate’s name follows this — as the commentary’s own words make plain — 「淨土一切如我身故，乃至世界中間幽冥眾生皆逐意故」—“because in the pure land all are as my own body, and because even the beings in gloom and darkness in the interstices of the worlds all follow their intention.” 〔T38n1770 0258b20〕 The name of the gate of mundane and supramundane takes its sense from vow three belonging to the livelihood of the mundane (“because in the vehicle of humans and devas there is no lack”) and vow four to the three vehicles that transcend the world (“because those who walk wrong paths are settled, each according to his lineage, within the path of awakening of the three vehicles, while those of the two vehicles who are of indeterminate lineage are all established in the Great Vehicle”) 〔T38n1770 0258b22〕.
The phrases “each according to his lineage” and “the two vehicles of indeterminate lineage” are bound to Dharma-characteristics doctrine: the deliverance in vow four is not spoken of in one uniform way — those who walk wrong paths are settled, each according to his lineage, in the path of awakening of the three vehicles, and it is those of indeterminate lineage among the two vehicles who are established in the Great Vehicle. This reading stands in the same line as the mirror’s Dharma-characteristics citations elsewhere (the Treatise on the Buddha-Bhūmi and the Study Notes on the Cheng weishi lun).
IV. Exegesis of the Passage (the word-by-word mirror, phrase by phrase)
The word-by-word mirror sets out the twelve vows in one continuous lemma and glosses them by the overall judgment of the six pairs, not vow by vow. What this passage yields by way of exegesis is therefore the verdict on the first two pairs (already given under topics I and III), and beyond that there is no phrase-by-phrase training of the text. The dense place in its exegesis lies from pair three onward (glossing “lowly” in vow six it says 「此中下劣，不具標句也」—“Here ‘lowly’ and ‘not complete’ are the sentences of general heading.” 〔T38n1770 0258b26〕 and 「言醜陋者，釋身下劣。言頑愚者，釋意下劣」—“‘Ugly’ glosses lowliness of body; ‘dull and stupid’ glosses lowliness of mind.” 〔T38n1770 0258b27〕), which does not belong to this unit.
The lemma agrees with the base text: its lemma for vow one reads 「三十二大丈夫相八十隨好莊嚴其身」—“with the thirty-two marks of a great man and the eighty accompanying excellences adorn his body” 〔T38n1770 0258a11〕, in the same characters as the base text (the base text has a pause-mark between “marks” and “excellences,” and the commentary’s lemma has no punctuation, as is usual in quotation).
V. Divergent Readings of the Commentators (three commentaries side by side — recorded without adjudication)
| Mirror | Recension followed | Verbatim | Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Traces on the Medicine Buddha’s Original-Vow Sūtra (by Taehyŏn, śramaṇa of Ch’ŏnggu) | Xuanzang’s version (the same as the base text) | 「廣說門中有六對門」—“Within the gate of extensive exposition there are six paired gates.” | 〔T38n1770 0258b19〕 |
| Anonymous Commentary on the Medicine Buddha Sūtra from Dunhuang (T85n2766 · fragmentary scroll · beginning lost) | the Consecration version | 「後就初明願中凡十二願。今為六雙」—“Next, in the first setting forth of the vows there are in all twelve vows. These are now taken as six couples.” | 〔T85n2766 0308c24〕 |
| Anonymous Commentary on the Medicine Buddha Sūtra from Dunhuang (T85n2767) | Dharmagupta’s Sui version | Nothing found for this passage (T85n2767 has been searched: what survives runs 0310c14–0327c17, its lemmata begin at the end of that version’s section on the land, and the twelve vows are absent; the one place in the whole text that mentions the twelve great vows is at 0323b21, within the later section on making offerings) | — |
Both commentaries read the twelve vows as six, and the vows they match to each are wholly different — because the vow-order of the recensions they follow is itself different:
| The six pairs of the Ancient Traces (Xuanzang’s version) | The six couples of T85n2766 (the Consecration version) | |
|---|---|---|
| One | The gate of benefiting pure and defiled (vows one, two) | “The first, seeking the buddha-fruit above, makes one couple” |
| Two | The gate of mundane and supramundane (vows three, four) | “The second, merit and wisdom, makes one couple” |
| Three | The gate of preserving precepts and preserving the body | “The third, practice for oneself and transformation of others, makes one couple” |
| Four | The gate of removing inner and outer suffering | “The fourth, taking the substance of kindness and compassion, makes one couple” |
| Five | The gate of loosing inner and outer bonds | “The fifth, subduing the great Māra and converting the outer paths, makes one couple” |
| Six | The gate of intent upon food and clothing | “The sixth, taking the object of kindness and compassion, makes one couple” |
The six couples in full, word for word: 「初上求佛果為一雙。第二功德智慧為一雙。第三自行化他為一雙。第四就慈悲體為一雙。第五制大魔化外道為一雙。第六就慈悲境為一雙也」—“The first, seeking the buddha-fruit above, makes one couple. The second, merit and wisdom, makes one couple. The third, practice for oneself and transformation of others, makes one couple. The fourth, taking the substance of kindness and compassion, makes one couple. The fifth, subduing the great Māra and converting the outer paths, makes one couple. The sixth, taking the object of kindness and compassion, makes one couple.” 〔T85n2766 0308c25〕
T85n2766 on the first couple: 「初願願作穢土佛身。第二願願作淨土佛身」—“The first vow is the vow to be a buddha-body of the defiled land. The second vow is the vow to be a buddha-body of the pure land.” 〔T85n2766 0308c29〕, 「此二願是菩提善善報」—“These two vows are the good recompense of the good of awakening.” 〔T85n2766 0309a01〕; glossing the beryl of vow two it says 「自身猶如瑠璃淨無瑕穢。豈非淨土身」—“His own body is like beryl, pure and without flaw or stain — is this not a body of the pure land?” 〔T85n2766 0309a09〕 and 「夫瑠璃之體淨」—“Now, the substance of beryl is pure.” 〔T85n2766 0309a10〕; glossing that version’s “as the sun lights the world” it says 「如日照世明智慧習果也」—“‘As the sun lights the world’ makes plain the cultivated fruit of wisdom.” 〔T85n2766 0309a12〕; and it closes 「幽冥眾生悉蒙開曉。第三下施眾生也」—“‘Beings in gloom and darkness all receive opening and awakening’ — the third, below, is the bestowing upon beings.” 〔T85n2766 0309a13〕. Its second couple it matches to that version’s vows three and four: 「第三願者。此一雙明福德莊嚴智慧」—“As for the third vow: this one couple makes plain merit, adornment, and wisdom.” 〔T85n2766 0309a14〕; its third couple begins from vow five: 「第五願者此下兩段」—“As for the fifth vow: the two sections below this” 〔T85n2766 0309b10〕, 「自行化他以為一雙」—“practice for oneself and transformation of others make one couple” 〔T85n2766 0309b11〕.
T85n2766 also sets up a threefold division within each vow: 「就初求穢土身中復分為三。第一標數。第二興願。第三迴施眾生也」—“Within the first, the seeking of a body of the defiled land, there is a further division into three. First, the marking of the number. Second, the raising of the vow. Third, the turning over and bestowing upon beings.” 〔T85n2766 0309a02〕 — every vow has three joints: the marking of its number, the raising of what is pledged, and the turning over of what is accomplished to beings. The six pairs of the Ancient Traces have no such threefold division within each vow; the two outlines stand recorded together, and no reconciliation is set up.
T85n2766 also argues the priority of vow and practice: 「就明願中大分為二。第一出願體」—“In setting forth the vows, the broad division is into two. The first brings out the substance of the vow.” 〔T85n2766 0308c23〕, and it orders vow before practice — 「常言願為慕廓行則闐滿故明願先行在後也」—“It is commonly said that the vow yearns out the outline and practice then fills it in; therefore it is made plain that the vow comes first and practice after.” 〔T85n2766 0308c22〕. This question is one that commentary raises for itself; the Ancient Traces does not touch it.
The state of the two manuscripts: T85n2766 is a fragmentary Dunhuang manuscript whose beginning is lost, and miswritten characters appear here and there in it (as with “three poisons and four arrivals,” “lofty and stately,” “practice then fills it in”); every citation follows the characters of the manuscript, without emendation and without supplying what is missing.
VI. Terms (first occurrences)
| Term | Ground of the gloss (verbatim, each with its anchor) |
|---|---|
| Unsurpassed perfect awakening | In the base text only vow one uses the full title, 「第一大願：願我來世得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時」—“The first great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained unsurpassed perfect awakening” 〔T14n0450 0405a07〕, the rest reading in brief 「得菩提時」—“when I have attained awakening” 〔T14n0450 0405a11〕; the Sui version reads 「願我來世於佛菩提得正覺時」—“I vow that in an age to come, when in the buddha-awakening I attain right awakening” 〔T14n0449 0401b26〕 |
| The thirty-two marks of a great man · the eighty accompanying excellences | The four translations render differently (see topic II); the base text reads 「以三十二大丈夫相、八十隨好，莊嚴其身」—“and with the thirty-two marks of a great man and the eighty accompanying excellences shall adorn my body” 〔T14n0450 0405a09〕 |
| Adorned with a net of flame | Yijing likewise reads 「焰網莊嚴，過於日月」—“adorned with a net of flame, surpassing the sun and moon” 〔T14n0451 0413a11〕 but adds a further section beginning 「鐵圍中間」—“in the space between the iron encircling mountains” 〔T14n0451 0413a12〕; the Sui and Consecration versions have no such phrase. The base text reads 「焰網莊嚴，過於日月」—“adorned with a net of flame, surpassing the sun and moon” 〔T14n0450 0405a13〕 |
| Beings in gloom and darkness | The Consecration version reads 「幽冥眾生悉蒙開曉」—“beings in gloom and darkness all receive opening and awakening” 〔T21n1331 0532c08〕; the base text reads 「幽冥眾生，悉蒙開曉」—“beings in gloom and darkness shall all receive opening and awakening” 〔T14n0450 0405a13〕 |
| Wrong paths | The Sui version reads 「諸有眾生行異道者」—“all beings who walk other paths” 〔T14n0449 0401c09〕; the base text reads 「若諸有情行邪道者」—“if among sentient beings there are any who walk wrong paths” 〔T14n0450 0405a18〕 |
| Śrāvaka · pratyekabuddha vehicle | The Sui version reads 「行聲聞道、行辟支佛道者」—“those who walk the śrāvaka path or the pratyekabuddha path” 〔T14n0449 0401c10〕; the base text reads 「若行聲聞獨覺乘者」—“if there are any who walk the vehicle of the śrāvakas or of the pratyekabuddhas” 〔T14n0450 0405a19〕 |
| The gate of benefiting pure and defiled · the gate of mundane and supramundane | 「一饒益淨穢門，即初二願」—“First, the gate of benefiting pure and defiled, that is, the first two vows” 〔T38n1770 0258b20〕 · 「二世出世間門，即次二願」—“Second, the gate of mundane and supramundane, that is, the next two vows” 〔T38n1770 0258b22〕 |
| The marking of the number · the raising of the vow · the turning over and bestowing upon beings | The three joints within each vow set up by the commentary read alongside: 「第一標數。第二興願。第三迴施眾生也」—“First, the marking of the number. Second, the raising of the vow. Third, the turning over and bestowing upon beings.” 〔T85n2766 0309a02〕 |
VII. Simile and Rhetoric
- Two similes are used by the sūtra text itself (both in vow two): 「身如琉璃，內外明徹，淨無瑕穢」—“my body shall be like beryl, clear and translucent within and without, pure and without flaw or stain” 〔T14n0450 0405a11〕 — the clarity of beryl within and without figures the buddha-body; 「焰網莊嚴，過於日月」—“adorned with a net of flame, surpassing the sun and moon” 〔T14n0450 0405a13〕 — a net of flame figures the interweaving of the body’s light, and the sun and moon give the measure it exceeds. Vows one, three, and four state directly and raise no figure.
- The Consecration version uses more similes (the manner of the old-translation stratum; it is not the base text, and is recorded for reference): vow two reads 「安住十方如日照世」—“abiding in the ten directions as the sun lights the world” 〔T21n1331 0532c07〕, vow three 「如海無窮潤澤枯涸」—“endless as the sea, moistening what is parched and dry” 〔T21n1331 0532c09〕, vow four 「巍巍堂堂如星中之月」—“lofty and stately as the moon among the stars” 〔T21n1331 0532c12〕 — sun, sea, and moon used together, where the base text raises no figure in any of these three places.
- The commentary read alongside uses simile: glossing beryl, 「夫瑠璃之體淨」—“Now, the substance of beryl is pure.” 〔T85n2766 0309a10〕; glossing that version’s figure of the sun, 「如日照世明智慧習果也」—“‘As the sun lights the world’ makes plain the cultivated fruit of wisdom.” 〔T85n2766 0309a12〕 — the sun figuring the cultivated fruit of wisdom.
- Rhetoric: the four vows share one sentence-pattern throughout — “the Nth great vow: I vow that in an age to come, when I have attained awakening,” then what is pledged, then the benefit bestowed: four folds in succession. Vow one closes with “I shall cause all sentient beings to be just as I am, with no difference,” vow two with “they shall go wherever their intention turns and do every kind of work,” vow three with “and shall let no being suffer any lack or want,” vow four with “I shall establish them all in the Great Vehicle”: the closing sentence of every one of the four vows lands upon sentient beings, and not one stops at the buddha-body’s own accomplishment. This is the fixed form of the vow, and no accident.
VIII. Citation and Carrying Forward
- Of citation of this passage by the remaining volumes of this corpus, nothing is found.
- A point of parallel reading within the axis: the fixed form of the twelve great vows (self-pledge · what is accomplished · the turning over) belongs to the same genre as the vow-and-practice text of the Daśacakra-kṣitigarbha Sūtra and the original-vow text of the Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, and is a topic for parallel reading within this axis.
- The Consecration version’s vow three, 「悉令飽滿無飢渴想，甘食美饍悉持施與」—“causing all to be filled, with no thought of hunger or thirst, sweet food and fine dishes all given away” 〔T21n1331 0532c10〕, is close to what the base text’s eleventh vow (food and drink) pledges, but stands at a different position; the correspondence between the vow-order of the old-translation stratum and that of the three later translations is a matter still to be collated, and this passage records only that they touch, without drawing up a table of correspondence.
- The word-by-word mirror cites no scripture or treatise in this passage (see topic III), so there is no cross-axis point of carrying forward here; the two citations of the Yogācārabhūmi and the Treatise on the Buddha-Bhūmi in the introduction belong to that unit.
IX. Text-critical Placement
The Taishō collation notes (<app>) record one instance within this unit:
| Anchor | Base text | Variant | Witnesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0405a09 | 「好」—“excellences” | “marks of excellence” | Dunhuang |
This entry falls at “the eighty accompanying excellences” in vow one (the Dunhuang witness reads “the eighty accompanying marks of excellence”). The four recensions each differ here: the base text and Yijing read “accompanying excellences,” the Dunhuang witness “accompanying marks of excellence,” the Sui version “lesser excellences,” the Consecration version “kinds of excellence” — the Dunhuang variant of the collation note and the renderings of the other translations run in the same direction here, recorded without adjudication.
The word-by-word mirror’s lemma agrees with the base text: its lemma reads 「三十二大丈夫相八十隨好莊嚴其身」—“with the thirty-two marks of a great man and the eighty accompanying excellences adorn his body” 〔T38n1770 0258a11〕, reading “accompanying excellences” and not “accompanying marks of excellence,” running with the base text and differing from the Dunhuang witness.
Gaiji: none in this unit. Inline gloss: none in this unit.