藥師琉璃光如來本願功德經 救脫菩薩與續命法
佛才說完這法難信，眾中一位菩薩起身——名叫救脫。他接下來說的不是義理，是一套動得了手的事。
不是一隊差役來拘人
經寫將死之相寫得極近：長病羸瘦，不能飲食，「見諸方暗，死相現前」——四方昏暗，說的不是屋裡的光，是那人眼中的世界。
然後他臥在原處，卻見琰魔使者引其神識到法王前；而各人有俱生神，一生所作若罪若福都記著，交上去。
古來在此下了一個很重的判：那四樣——使者、自己的神識、法王、俱生神——都是這個病人自己意識所現的相分。
不是一隊差役來拘人。是一個人在死相現前時，心自己現起了這四樣。俱生神之所以名俱生，也有解：與此身同時而有的那個本識；所記的帳不在別處，在自己識裡。
這樣讀並不把事情看輕。若那四樣從外面來，人還可指望躲過；是自己識裡現的，就無處可躲。
而琰魔這個名字，漢語作『靜息』——他的職分不是罰，是讓人明白過來而停手。故雖屬鬼界，仍稱法王。
燈與幡，各治一病
親屬能做的有五件：歸依那位佛、請眾僧、轉讀此經、燃燈、懸幡。
燈與幡為什麼是這兩樣？古來就字取義：燈取其明，幡取其引導。所救的是兩件事——闇，與沈。看不見的用燈；沉下去的，用幡帶起來。
至於為什麼是七層、五色，注家說了一句極誠實的話：經沒有說原因。他先標明底下是推，然後才給七支罪與五方之解。
不知道就說不知道；要推，先聲明是推。
續回來的那個人變了
識還時，經用夢作譬——去如入夢，回如夢覺，都自己憶知善不善業所得果報。
而重量在後面一句：因為親眼見過，此後「乃至命難，亦不造作諸惡之業」。
續命法續的不只是那口氣。若只是多活幾年而照舊造業，救的是命，不是人。
一盞也成
問到怎麼造，答得極具體：誦經、燃燈、造像、幡長、放生——一張方子裡，四十九這個數出現五次。
讀到這裡，人會生一個念頭：辦不到。
古人看見了這個念頭，於是在此引了一句經，說貧窮的人點一盞燈也一樣得成；並提醒經文自己說過「隨力所能」。
數目給的是圓滿之量，不是入門之限。
先放人，再供養
同一套法推到國家上時，經列了七難：疫病、外患、內亂、星象、日月食、風雨失時、久旱。
而它要那位王先做的不是設壇，是「應於一切有情起慈悲心，赦諸繫閉」——先放人。
赦免牢裡的人，然後才依前法供養。次序寫得很清楚。
所感之相也不玄：「風雨順時，穀稼成熟」，無病歡樂。求的是收成與安寧，不是異象。
自王至黎庶，用的是同一套法。經沒有為王另設一種。
增益，是不橫死
阿難問：命已到頭，怎麼還能加？
答覆不改壽數，只反問一句：你沒聽如來說有九橫死嗎。
所謂增益，是不橫死。壽命未盡而中途被截，那叫橫；修福不是延長定數，是把那個截斷去掉。
九橫之中，第一橫寫得最長——而其中大半在說：信邪師、卜問覓禍、殺生解奏以求延年，「終不能得」。
求延年而殺生，經不只說它無效，說的是它本身就成了那個橫。
The Buddha had only just finished saying that this teaching is hard to believe when a bodhisattva in the assembly rose — Rescue-and-Deliverance by name. What he goes on to give is not doctrine; it is a set of things a pair of hands can manage.
No Officers Come to Fetch Him
The marks of a man near death are written very close up: long sick and wasted thin, unable to eat or drink, seeing all directions dark, the marks of death appearing before him. All directions dark: this is not the lamplight of the room, it is the world inside his eyes.
He then lies where he lay, and sees Yama’s messengers lead his consciousness before the Dharma King; and every man has a co-born spirit which has written down all that a life has done, offense or merit, and hands it up.
A very weighty judgment was passed here long ago. Those four — the messenger, his own consciousness, the Dharma King, the co-born spirit — are all image-objects manifested by this sick man’s own mind-consciousness.
No troop of officers has come for him. A man, at the hour when the marks of death appear, finds these four rising in his own mind. Why the co-born spirit bears that name is explained too: it is the root consciousness that came into being together with this body, so that the account it keeps lies nowhere but in his own consciousness.
Reading it this way makes nothing light. Were those four to come from outside, one might hope to dodge them; arising within one’s own consciousness, there is nowhere left to dodge.
And the name Yama is in Chinese ‘quiescing’ — his office is not punishment but bringing a man to see, so that he stops. Belonging to the realm of ghosts, he is called Dharma King all the same.
One Cures Darkness, One Cures Sinking
Five things lie within the reach of the kin: refuge in that buddha, the inviting of monks, the reciting of this sūtra, the lighting of lamps, the hanging of banners.
Why lamp and banner? The sense is taken straight from the graphs: the lamp for its brightness, the banner for its leading. Two things stand to be rescued — darkness, and sinking. What cannot be seen wants a lamp; what has gone under wants a banner to raise it.
Why seven tiers, why five colors? Here the commentator says something exceedingly honest: the sūtra gives no reason. He marks off what follows as inference, and only then offers the seven branches of offense and the five directions.
Not knowing, say so; inferring, say first that you infer.
The One Who Comes Back Is Not the Same
For the return of consciousness the figure used is a dream: out as into a dream, back as from waking, with the fruits of wholesome and unwholesome deeds remembered and known for oneself.
The weight falls in the line that follows: having seen it with his own eyes, from then on, even at the peril of his life, he makes no evil karma.
More than a breath is being prolonged here. A few added years spent making the same karma would save a life and not a man.
A Single Lamp Will Do
Asked how they are made, the answer is exceedingly concrete: recitations, lamps, images, the length of the banner, creatures released — within one prescription the number forty-nine falls five times.
A reader gets this far and thinks: not possible.
The ancients saw that thought and set a line of scripture against it — for one who is poor, a single lamp too brings it to completion — recalling that the sūtra had itself said, so far as their strength allows.
A number of that kind states completeness, not admission.
Release the Prisoners, Then Make the Offering
Extended to a country, the same method meets seven calamities: plague, invasion, revolt, portents among the stars, eclipses, rains out of season, drought past its season.
What the king is asked for first is no altar. He is to raise a mind of loving-kindness and compassion toward all beings and pardon those held in bonds — the prisoners go out first.
Pardon the men in the gaols; the offering by the method above comes after. That order is set down without ambiguity.
What follows is unspectacular: rain in season, grain ripening, beings free of sickness and glad. Harvest and quiet, not a marvel.
King and commoner get one method. None is set apart for a throne.
Increase Means Not Dying Untimely
Ānanda asks: the span is used up, so how can anything be added?
Nothing in the allotment is altered by the answer. It puts back a single question: have you not heard the Tathāgata say that there are nine untimely deaths?
Increase, here, means not dying untimely. A lifespan still unspent and cut through midway is what the word untimely names; merit does not stretch a fixed allotment, it removes the cut.
The first of the nine is written at the greatest length, and the greater part of it runs this way: heterodox masters believed, misfortune divined after, creatures killed for petitions, all in hope of lengthened years — and in the end they cannot get it.
Killing for the sake of longer life: the sūtra does not stop at calling it useless. It says that this very thing has become the untimely death.
大唐、三藏法師玄奘奉 詔譯《藥師琉璃光如來本願功德經》〈救脫菩薩與續命法〉· 大正藏 T14n0450〔起 T14 0407b10〕。段／行首〔T14 …〕＝大正藏頁・欄・行錨。
〔T14 0407b10〕爾時，眾中有一菩薩摩訶薩，名曰救脫，即從座起，偏袒右肩，右膝著地，曲躬合掌而白佛言：「大德世尊！像法轉時，有諸眾生，為種種患之所困厄，長病羸瘦，不能飲食，喉脣乾燥，見諸方暗，死相現前；父母、親屬、朋友、知識，啼泣圍繞。然彼自身，臥在本處，見琰魔使，引其神識，至于琰魔法王之前；然諸有情，有俱生神，隨其所作，若罪若福，皆具書之，盡持授與琰魔法王。爾時，彼王推問其人，算計所作，隨其罪福而處斷之。時，彼病人親屬、知識，若能為彼歸依世尊藥師琉璃光如來，請諸眾僧，轉讀此經，然七層之燈，懸五色續命神幡，或有是處，彼識得還。如在夢中，明了自見；或經七日，或二十一日，或三十五日，或四十九日，彼識還時，如從夢覺，皆自憶知善不善業所得果報。由自證見業果報故，乃至命難，亦不造作諸惡之業。是故，淨信善男子、善女人等，皆應受持藥師琉璃光如來名號，隨力所能，恭敬供養。」 爾時，阿難問救脫菩薩曰：「善男子！應云何恭敬供養彼世尊藥師琉璃光如來續命幡燈，復云何造？」救脫菩薩言：「大德！若有病人，欲脫病苦，當為其人，七日七夜，受持八分齋戒，應以飲食及餘資具，隨力所辦，供養苾芻僧；晝夜六時，禮拜供養彼世尊藥師琉璃光如來；讀誦此經四十九遍；然四十九燈；造彼如來形像七軀，一一像前各置七燈，一一燈量大如車輪，乃至四十九日，光明不絕；造五色綵幡，長四十九搩手，應放雜類眾生至四十九；可得過度危厄之難，不為諸橫惡鬼所持。 「復次，阿難！若剎帝利灌頂王等，災難起時，所謂人眾疾疫難，他國侵逼難，自界叛逆難，星宿變怪難，日月薄蝕難，非時風雨難，過時不雨難。彼剎帝利灌頂王等，爾時應於一切有情起慈悲心，赦諸繫閉；依前所說供養之法，供養彼世尊藥師琉璃光如來。由此善根，及彼如來本願力故，令其國界即得安隱：風雨順時，穀稼成熟；一切有情無病歡樂；於其國中，無有暴虐藥叉等神惱有情者；一切惡相，皆即隱沒；而剎帝利灌頂王等，壽命色力，無病自在，皆得增益。阿難！若帝后、妃主、儲君、王子、大臣、輔相、中宮婇女、百官、黎庶，為病所苦，及餘厄難；亦應造立五色神幡，然燈續明，放諸生命，散雜色華，燒眾名香，病得除愈，眾難解脫。」 爾時，阿難問救脫菩薩言：「善男子！云何已盡之命而可增益？」救脫菩薩言：「大德！汝豈不聞如來說有九橫死耶？是故勸造續命幡燈，修諸福德；以修福故，盡其壽命，不經苦患。」阿難問言：「九橫云何？」救脫菩薩言：「若諸有情，得病雖輕，然無醫藥及看病者，設復遇醫，授以非藥，實不應死而便橫死。又信世間邪魔、外道、妖𦾨之師，妄說禍福，便生恐動，心不自正，卜問覓禍，殺種種眾生，解奏神明，呼諸魍魎，請乞福祐，欲冀延年，終不能得；愚癡迷惑，信邪倒見，遂令橫死，入於地獄，無有出期，是名初橫。二者，橫被王法之所誅戮。三者，畋獵嬉戲，耽婬嗜酒，放逸無度，橫為非人奪其精氣。四者，橫為火焚。五者，橫為水溺。六者，橫為種種惡獸所噉。七者，橫墮山崖。八者，橫為毒藥、厭禱、呪詛、起屍鬼等之所中害。九者，飢渴所困，不得飲食而便橫死。是為如來略說橫死，有此九種。其餘復有無量諸橫，難可具說。 〔T14 0408a19〕「復次，阿難！彼琰魔王主領世間名籍之記。若諸有情，不孝五逆，破辱三寶，壞君臣法，毀於信戒，琰魔法王，隨罪輕重，考而罰之。是故我今勸諸有情，然燈造幡，放生修福，令度苦厄，不遭眾難。」
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「爾時，眾中有一菩薩摩訶薩，名曰救脫」至「令度苦厄，不遭眾難」。段首（…）＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔一·救脫菩薩起問〕（0407b10）那時，眾中有一位菩薩摩訶薩名叫救脫，就從座位起身，偏袒右肩，右膝跪地，彎身合掌而稟白佛說：『大德世尊！像法流轉之時，有些眾生被種種病患所困厄，（0407b13）長期患病、身體羸瘦，不能飲食，喉嚨嘴脣乾燥，看見四方一片昏暗，死相現在眼前；（0407b14）父母、親屬、朋友、相識的人啼哭圍繞著。
〔二·神識至琰魔王前〕（0407b15）然而他自身臥在原處，卻見到琰魔（義為「靜息」，能曉悟罪人止息眾惡）的使者引著他的神識，到琰魔法王之前；（0407b16）而諸有情各有俱生神，隨他所作的、若罪若福都一一記下，全部拿去交給琰魔法王。（0407b18）那時，那位王推問這個人，計算他所作的，隨他的罪福而處斷之。
〔三·親屬為之修福則識得還〕（0407b19）那時，那位病人的親屬、相識，假使能為他歸依世尊藥師琉璃光如來，（0407b21）請諸位眾僧轉讀此經，燃七層之燈，懸掛五色的續命神幡，或者有這樣的情形——他的神識得以還回。（0407b22）如在夢中一般明了自見；（0407b23）或經七日、或二十一日、或三十五日、或四十九日，（0407b24）他的神識回來的時候，如同從夢中醒來，都自己憶知善業不善業所得的果報。（0407b25）由於自己親證親見業的果報，乃至遇到性命之難，也不再造作種種惡業。
〔四·勸受持供養〕（0407b26）所以，淨信的善男子、善女人等，都應當受持藥師琉璃光如來的名號，隨自己的力量所能，恭敬供養。』
〔五·阿難問幡燈之造法〕（0407b29）那時，阿難問救脫菩薩說：『善男子！應當怎樣恭敬供養那位世尊藥師琉璃光如來的續命幡燈？又應當怎樣造作？』
〔六·續命法之詳〕（0407c03）救脫菩薩說：『大德！假使有病人想要脫離病苦，應當為那個人七日七夜受持八分齋戒，（0407c04）應以飲食以及其餘資具，隨力量所能辦到的，供養苾芻僧；（0407c06）晝夜六時禮拜供養那位世尊藥師琉璃光如來；（0407c07）讀誦此經四十九遍；燃四十九盞燈；（0407c08）造那位如來的形像七尊，一一像前各安置七盞燈，（0407c09）每一盞燈的量大如車輪，乃至四十九日光明不絕；（0407c10）造五色綵幡，長四十九搩手（一搩手約張開拇指與中指之距）；應當放生各類眾生至四十九；（0407c11）可以得度過危厄之難，不被種種橫禍惡鬼所執持。
〔七·國王七難〕（0407c12）又，阿難！假使剎帝利灌頂王等災難興起之時——所謂人眾疾疫難、他國侵逼難、自界叛逆難、星宿變怪難、日月薄蝕難、非時風雨難、過時不雨難；（0407c16）那些剎帝利灌頂王等，那時應當對一切有情起慈悲之心，赦免諸被繫閉之人；（0407c17）依照前面所說的供養之法，供養那位世尊藥師琉璃光如來。
〔八·國界安隱之相〕（0407c19）由於這樣的善根以及那位如來本願之力的緣故，使他的國界即得安隱：（0407c20）風雨順時，穀稼成熟；一切有情無病歡樂；（0407c21）在他的國中沒有暴虐的藥叉等神惱害有情；一切惡相都隱沒；（0407c23）而剎帝利灌頂王等，壽命、色力、無病自在，都得增益。
〔九·后妃百官黎庶亦然〕（0407c24）阿難！假使帝后、妃主、儲君、王子、大臣、輔相、中宮婇女、百官、黎庶，為病所苦以及其餘厄難；（0407c26）也應當造立五色神幡，燃燈續明，放諸生命，散雜色的花，燒眾多名香，病得除愈，眾難解脫。』
〔十·阿難問已盡之命何以可增〕（0407c28）那時，阿難問救脫菩薩說：『善男子！怎麼已盡之命而可以增益？』（0407c29）救脫菩薩說：『大德！你難道沒聽如來說有九種橫死嗎？所以勸人造續命幡燈，修諸福德；由於修福的緣故，得以享盡他的壽命，不經苦患。』
〔十一·初橫·無醫與信邪〕（0408a03）阿難問說：『九橫是怎樣的？』救脫菩薩說：『假使有情得病雖然輕微，然而沒有醫藥與看護的人，（0408a05）或者遇到醫者卻授以不對的藥，實在不該死卻橫死了。（0408a06）又相信世間邪魔、外道、妖孽之師，胡亂說禍福，便生起恐懼動搖，心不能自正，卜問尋覓禍事，殺種種眾生，解奏神明，呼喚魍魎，請求福祐，想要冀望延年，終究不能得到；（0408a09）愚癡迷惑，信邪倒見，遂令橫死，入於地獄，沒有出期——這叫作第一橫。
〔十二·其餘八橫〕（0408a10）二者，橫被王法所誅戮。三者，打獵嬉戲、耽於淫欲嗜好飲酒、放逸沒有節度，橫被非人奪其精氣。（0408a12）四者，橫被火焚。五者，橫被水溺。六者，橫被種種惡獸所吞噉。（0408a13）七者，橫墮山崖。八者，橫被毒藥、厭禱、咒詛、起屍鬼等之所中害。（0408a15）九者，飢渴所困，得不到飲食而橫死。（0408a16）這是如來略說的橫死，有這九種。其餘還有無量諸橫，難以一一具說。
〔十三·琰魔王主名籍〕（0408a19）又，阿難！那位琰魔王主管統領世間名籍的記錄。（0408a20）假使有情不孝、五逆，破辱三寶，敗壞君臣之法，毀於信戒，琰魔法王隨罪的輕重考察而處罰他。（0408a22）所以我如今勸諸有情，燃燈造幡，放生修福，令他度過苦厄，不遭眾難。』
Xuanzang’s translation, T14n0450, from “at that time there was in the assembly a bodhisattva-mahāsattva named Rescue-and-Deliverance” to “that they may pass beyond suffering and distress and not meet with the many calamities.” The figures in parentheses at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.
〔1 · Bodhisattva Rescue-and-Deliverance rises to ask〕（0407b10）At that time there was in the assembly a bodhisattva-mahāsattva named Rescue-and-Deliverance, who rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, set his right knee on the ground, bent his body and joined his palms, and said to the Buddha: “Greatly Virtuous World-Honored One! In the time when the Semblance Dharma turns, there are beings hemmed in and hard pressed by every kind of affliction: （0407b13）long sick and wasted thin, unable to eat or drink, throat and lips parched, seeing all directions dark, the marks of death appearing before them; （0407b14）father and mother, kin, friends and acquaintances weeping in a ring about them.
〔2 · The consciousness brought before Yama the Dharma King〕（0407b15）Yet his own body lies where it lay, while he sees the messengers of Yama (the name is rendered in Chinese as ‘quiescing’, for he brings the guilty to awareness so that they cease from all evil) leading his consciousness away into the presence of Yama the Dharma King; （0407b16）and sentient beings each have a co-born spirit, which sets down in full whatever they have done, whether offense or merit, and carries it all to Yama the Dharma King. （0407b18）Then that king examines the man and reckons up what he has done, and passes sentence upon him according to his offenses and his merits.
〔3 · The kin make merit for him and the consciousness returns〕（0407b19）At that time, if the sick man’s kin and acquaintances are able on his behalf to take refuge in the World-Honored One Bhaiṣajyaguru Vaiḍūryaprabha Tathāgata, （0407b21）to invite the assembly of monks to recite this sūtra through, to light lamps of seven tiers, and to hang up five-colored life-prolonging banners, then it may come about that his consciousness is able to return. （0407b22）As though in a dream, he sees it all clearly for himself; （0407b23）and after seven days, or twenty-one days, or thirty-five days, or forty-nine days, （0407b24）when his consciousness returns it is like waking from a dream, and he remembers and knows for himself the fruits and recompense that wholesome and unwholesome deeds obtain. （0407b25）Because he has himself borne witness to and seen the fruit and recompense of deeds, even at the peril of his life he will not again commit any evil deed.
〔4 · Exhortation to uphold the name and make offerings〕（0407b26）Therefore good sons and good daughters of pure faith should all uphold the name of Bhaiṣajyaguru Vaiḍūryaprabha Tathāgata and, so far as their strength allows, revere him and make offerings.”
〔5 · Ānanda asks how the banners and lamps are made〕（0407b29）At that time Ānanda asked Bodhisattva Rescue-and-Deliverance: “Good son! How should one revere and make offerings to the banners and lamps for prolonging life of that World-Honored One Bhaiṣajyaguru Vaiḍūryaprabha Tathāgata? And how are they to be made?”
〔6 · The method of prolonging life, in detail〕（0407c03）Bodhisattva Rescue-and-Deliverance said: “Greatly Virtuous One! If there is a sick person who wishes to be freed from the suffering of illness, one should for that person, seven days and seven nights, undertake the eight-precept fast; （0407c04）one should with food and drink and whatever else is needful, prepared so far as one’s strength allows, make offerings to the bhikṣu saṅgha; （0407c06）at the six times of day and night pay homage and make offerings to that World-Honored One Bhaiṣajyaguru Vaiḍūryaprabha Tathāgata; （0407c07）read and recite this sūtra forty-nine times; light forty-nine lamps; （0407c08）make seven images of that Tathāgata, and before each image set seven lamps, （0407c09）each lamp as great in measure as a cartwheel, so that for forty-nine days the light is not broken off; （0407c10）make a banner of five-colored silk forty-nine spans〔漢文：搩手〕 long (a span is about the reach from an outstretched thumb to the middle finger); and set free living creatures of every kind to the number of forty-nine; （0407c11）then one may pass beyond the calamity of peril and distress and not be seized by the many mishaps and evil ghosts.
〔7 · The seven calamities of a king〕（0407c12）Further, Ānanda! When calamities arise for kṣatriya anointed kings and the like — namely the calamity of pestilence among the people, the calamity of invasion by another country, the calamity of revolt within their own borders, the calamity of portents among the stars, the calamity of eclipse of sun and moon, the calamity of wind and rain out of season, the calamity of rain withheld past its season; （0407c16）then those kṣatriya anointed kings and the like should at that time raise a mind of loving-kindness and compassion toward all sentient beings and pardon those held in bonds; （0407c17）and following the method of offering set out above, make offerings to that World-Honored One Bhaiṣajyaguru Vaiḍūryaprabha Tathāgata.
〔8 · The marks of a realm at peace〕（0407c19）By such roots of good, and by the power of that Tathāgata’s original vows, his realm at once gains peace: （0407c20）wind and rain come in season and the grain ripens; all sentient beings are without illness and are glad; （0407c21）in his land there are no violent yakṣas or other spirits to trouble sentient beings; every evil sign is hidden away; （0407c23）and for the kṣatriya anointed kings and the like, lifespan, complexion and strength, freedom from illness and sovereign ease are all increased.
〔9 · Queens, officials and common people likewise〕（0407c24）Ānanda! If empress and consorts, crown prince and princes, great ministers and counsellors, the women of the inner palace, the hundred officials and the common people are afflicted by illness or by any other distress, （0407c26）they too should set up five-colored spirit-banners, light lamps and keep them burning, release living creatures, scatter flowers of mixed colors and burn many famous incenses — and the illness will be cured, and the many distresses undone.”
〔10 · Ānanda asks how a life already spent can be increased〕（0407c28）At that time Ānanda asked Bodhisattva Rescue-and-Deliverance: “Good son! How can a life already spent be increased?” （0407c29）Bodhisattva Rescue-and-Deliverance said: “Greatly Virtuous One! Have you not heard the Tathāgata say that there are nine untimely deaths? It is for this that people are urged to make banners and lamps for prolonging life and to cultivate merits; and because they cultivate merit they live out their lifespan and do not pass through suffering and affliction.”
〔11 · The first untimely death: no physician, and belief in the heterodox〕（0408a03）Ānanda asked: “What are the nine untimely deaths?” Bodhisattva Rescue-and-Deliverance said: “Suppose sentient beings fall ill and, though the illness is slight, there is no medicine and no one to nurse them, （0408a05）or they meet a physician and are given the wrong medicine — then, when in truth they ought not to die, they die untimely. （0408a06）Again, they believe in the demons of the world, in those outside the way, in masters of baleful arts, who speak wildly of calamity and fortune, so that fear and agitation arise and the mind cannot right itself; they divine and enquire to seek out the source of misfortune, kill living beings of every kind, make petition to the spirits, call up the sprites and goblins, and beg for blessing and protection, hoping to lengthen their years — and in the end they cannot get it; （0408a09）foolish and deluded, believing the heterodox and holding upside-down views, they are brought thereby to an untimely death and enter the hells with no time of release: this is called the first untimely death.
〔12 · The remaining eight untimely deaths〕（0408a10）Second, being untimely put to death by the law of the king. Third, hunting and sporting, indulging in lust and craving wine, dissolute and without measure, and untimely robbed of their vital essence by non-human beings. （0408a12）Fourth, untimely burned by fire. Fifth, untimely drowned in water. Sixth, untimely devoured by beasts of every kind. （0408a13）Seventh, untimely falling from a mountain cliff. Eighth, untimely harmed by poison, by imprecation and curse, by corpse-raising demons and the like. （0408a15）Ninth, worn down by hunger and thirst, dying untimely for want of food and drink. （0408a16）These are the untimely deaths the Tathāgata has set out in brief, nine in kind. Besides these there are yet measureless untimely deaths, hard to set out one by one.
〔13 · Yama presides over the registers〕（0408a19）Further, Ānanda! That King Yama presides over the record of the registers of the world. （0408a20）If sentient beings are unfilial or commit the five heinous deeds, revile and dishonor the Three Jewels, ruin the law of ruler and subject, or break faith and precepts, then Yama the Dharma King examines them and punishes them according to the gravity of their offense. （0408a22）Therefore I now urge sentient beings to light lamps and make banners, to release living creatures and cultivate merit, that they may pass beyond suffering and distress and not meet with the many calamities.”
前一段之末，佛說這法難信。這一段換了一個人開口——眾中有一位菩薩起身，名叫救脫。他所說的不是義理，是一套可以動手做的事。
青丘沙門太賢的《本願藥師經古迹》把這一段判作「開像資助門」與「問答釋難門」：前者說法，後者釋難。而這一段也是他訓釋最密的地方——琰魔王一節，他逐字給了說法。
一個人快死的時候
經先寫病相，寫得極貼近：「長病羸瘦，不能飲食，喉脣乾燥，見諸方暗，死相現前」〔T14n0450 0407b13〕；旁邊是「父母、親屬、朋友、知識，啼泣圍繞」〔T14n0450 0407b14〕。
四方一片昏暗——這一句寫的不是屋裡的光，是那個人眼中的世界。
然後經說：他自己臥在原處，卻「見琰魔使，引其神識，至于琰魔法王之前」〔T14n0450 0407b15〕；而諸有情各有俱生神，「隨其所作，若罪若福，皆具書之」〔T14n0450 0407b17〕，全交給法王，法王推問計算，「隨其罪福而處斷之」〔T14n0450 0407b19〕。
那四樣，是誰見的
讀到這裡最容易的處置，是把它當作一段冥途的描寫。
歷來的讀法不這樣讀。它說：「病人意識現四相分：一琰魔使、二己神識、三琰魔王、四俱生神」〔T38n1770 0261b28〕。
四樣都是那個病人自己意識所現的相分。使者是，自己的神識是，法王是，連那個一生記帳的俱生神也是。
這個判法把整段從外面移到了裡面。不是有一隊差役來拘人，是一個人在死相現前的時候，他的心自己現起了這四樣。
而俱生神之所以叫俱生，注家也給了解：「傳說本識與身，故名俱生」〔T38n1770 0261c01〕——與這個身同時而有的那個本識。所記的帳不在別處，在自己識裡；所謂「具書之」，是識自己熏成的。並引一經為證：「同生同名，一神俱生」〔T38n1770 0261c03〕。
至於琰魔這個名字，漢語作「靜息」——「言琰魔者，唐云靜息，曉悟罪人止眾惡故」〔T38n1770 0261b27〕。他的職分不是罰，是讓人明白過來而停手。所以雖屬鬼界，仍稱法王。
一個看起來最恐怖的場景，被讀成了一個人心裡最後一次算總帳。
這個讀法並不因此把事情看輕。若那四樣是外面來的，人還可以指望躲過；若它們是自己識裡現的，就無處可躲——帳本一直在自己身上。你要問它嚴不嚴，這樣讀反而更嚴。
燈與幡
親屬能做的事，經列了五樣：歸依那位佛、請眾僧、轉讀此經、「然七層之燈，懸五色續命神幡」〔T14n0450 0407b21〕。注家把它數作「此中資緣有五，歸佛、請僧、轉法、燃燈及懸幡故」〔T38n1770 0261c05〕。
燈與幡為什麼是這兩樣？注家就字取義：「燈者明也，幡者將也。救闇沈故，須幡燈也」〔T38n1770 0261c06〕。
燈取其明，幡取其「將」——引導。而所要救的是兩件事：闇與沈。看不見，用燈；沉下去了，用幡把他帶起來。
至於七層、五色為什麼是七與五，注家說了一句極誠實的話：
「七層五色者，無說所以。若以義推，伏七支罪、調五方故」〔T38n1770 0261c07〕
「無說所以」四個字要記住。經沒有說為什麼是七、為什麼是五；注家不代經說，只標明「若以義推」，然後才給七支罪、五方之解。推的人自己說明那是推。
不知道就說不知道，要推就先聲明是推——這是讀經的分寸。
識還的時候，像從夢裡醒來
修福之後，「或有是處，彼識得還」。經用了一個譬，而且用了兩次：出去的時候「如在夢中，明了自見」，回來的時候「彼識還時，如從夢覺，皆自憶知善不善業所得果報」〔T14n0450 0407b24〕。
一去一還，都用夢。
而回來之後最要緊的一句是：「由自證見業果報故，乃至命難，亦不造作諸惡之業」〔T14n0450 0407b25〕。
因為親眼見過，所以此後遇到性命之難也不再造惡。
這一句把整段續命法的用意點破了。續的不只是那口氣——續回來的那個人，變了。若只是多活幾年而照舊造業，那救的是命，不是人。
四十九，與「隨力所能」
阿難接著問怎麼造。救脫菩薩答得極具體：七日七夜持八分齋戒，供養苾芻僧，晝夜六時禮拜，「讀誦此經四十九遍；然四十九燈」〔T14n0450 0407c07〕，造像七尊，一一像前各置七燈，「一一燈量大如車輪，乃至四十九日，光明不絕」〔T14n0450 0407c09〕，幡長四十九搩手，「應放雜類眾生至四十九」〔T14n0450 0407c10〕。
四十九這個數，一張方子之內出現五次——連同前文識還之期的「或四十九日」，這一段共六見。
讀到這裡，一般人會生一個念頭：這辦不到。四十九盞車輪大的燈、七尊像、四十九日不絕，不是尋常人家的力量。
注家看見了這個念頭，於是在此引了一句經：「貧者一燈亦得成」〔T38n1770 0262a12〕。並且提醒：經文自己說過「隨力所能」。
四十九是圓滿之量，不是入門之限。一盞也成。
這是一段讀者最容易被門檻嚇退的經文，而古人早已在此放了一句話。
我們讀到數目時，容易把數目本身當成條件。經給的是一個完整的規模，注家給的是一個下限——兩句並看，才是這一段的分寸。
七難，與一句先做的事
續命法說完，經把同一套法推到國家上。剎帝利灌頂王遇災難時——經列了七種：「所謂人眾疾疫難，他國侵逼難，自界叛逆難，星宿變怪難，日月薄蝕難，非時風雨難，過時不雨難」〔T14n0450 0407c13〕。
疫病、外患、內亂、星象、日月食、風雨失時、久旱。七難之中，前三是人事，後四是天時。
而經要那位王先做的，不是設壇供養。是這一句：「應於一切有情起慈悲心，赦諸繫閉」〔T14n0450 0407c16〕——先放人。
赦免牢裡的人，然後才「依前所說供養之法」。次序寫得很清楚：先有一件實事，供養才接得上。
所感之相也不玄：「風雨順時，穀稼成熟」〔T14n0450 0407c20〕，一切有情無病歡樂，國中沒有暴虐的藥叉惱害有情。求的是收成與安寧，不是異象。
而下一句把範圍再放寬：帝后、妃主、儲君、王子、大臣、輔相、中宮婇女、百官、黎庶——為病所苦或遇厄難，同樣造五色神幡、燃燈續明、放諸生命。
自王至黎庶，用的是同一套法。經沒有為王另設一種法。
九橫，與那句最重的話
最後是九橫。阿難問的是一個很尖的問題：「云何已盡之命而可增益」〔T14n0450 0407c28〕——命已經到頭了，怎麼還能加？
答覆不是說能改壽數，是反問：「汝豈不聞如來說有九橫死耶」〔T14n0450 0407c29〕。
所謂增益，是不橫死。本來的壽命還沒用完就被中途截斷，那叫橫；修福不是延長定數，是把中途的截斷去掉，讓人「盡其壽命，不經苦患」。
這個答覆值得我們留意，因為它其實沒有答應阿難所問的那件事。阿難問的是「已盡之命」能不能加，答覆卻是：那些看起來像壽盡的，多半並不是壽盡。不改定數，只去橫夭——經在這裡守得很緊。
九橫之中，第一橫獨詳，佔了將近一半的篇幅。它其實寫了兩件事：一是「得病雖輕，然無醫藥及看病者，設復遇醫，授以非藥，實不應死而便橫死」〔T14n0450 0408a04〕；二是信邪魔外道妖孽之師，卜問覓禍、殺生解奏、呼諸魍魎以求延年——「終不能得」。
求延年而殺生，是九橫裡寫得最長的一條。經沒有只說它無效，說的是它本身就成了那個橫。
其餘八橫各一句：王法誅戮、放逸為非人所奪、火焚、水溺、惡獸、墮崖、毒藥厭禱咒詛、飢渴。都是人間實有之事，沒有一條說得玄。
九條列完，經還補一句：「其餘復有無量諸橫，難可具說」。九不是窮舉，是舉例。
段末回到琰魔：他「主領世間名籍之記」〔T14n0450 0408a19〕，不孝五逆、破辱三寶、壞君臣法、毀於信戒者，隨罪輕重而罰。而救脫菩薩的結語仍是那五件事：「然燈造幡，放生修福，令度苦厄，不遭眾難」〔T14n0450 0408a22〕。
一段起於畏，終於勸。中間所給的，是幾件手上做得到的事。
承衍——一路讀成識，一路分成門
上來是本段自身的義。此下另以兩副眼旁照——鏡非經，只是同一段經文，換兩種讀法來看。
《本願藥師經古迹》（青丘沙門太賢撰）牒玄奘本，本段是他訓釋最密之處。上文琰魔之名義、四相分之判、俱生神之釋、資緣五事、燈明幡將之取義、七層五色之「無說所以」，骨幹全出於此。
他讀這一段的特點是把冥途讀成識。四相分之判，是以唯識之眼看一段看似鬼神之文——不否認其事，而指其所現之處在病人自己的意識。這與他釋十號指歸《瑜伽》、釋薄伽梵引《佛地論》是同一副眼。
而他最可敬的一筆，反倒是那句「無說所以」。一位注家在最容易發揮的地方——數目的象徵——先聲明無據，再標明所說是推。能推而自言其為推，比推得巧要難。
敦煌所出的失名疏（T85n2767）牒隋笈多本。它於本段立「八臨難蒙恩文分為三」〔T85n2767 0322a18〕一門，下又有「二阿難具陳文分」〔T85n2767 0322c19〕、「三如來順成文分為」〔T85n2767 0323a12〕諸目——仍是逐段細分之路，其目數多於《古迹》。
而於琰魔一節，這一路現存之文不作相分之判。一路把它讀成識所現，一路只科其文。兩說並錄，不設調停。
至於牒《灌頂》本的那一卷（T85n2766），其現存文訖於十二願之釋，本段沒有文字。查無即記無。
而經自己既不判其為識，也不判其為外——它只說那個人臥在本處，而見到了那些。
一段之中，最恐怖的畫面與最實在的辦法並排放著：一邊是被引到法王面前算帳，一邊是七盞燈、一面幡、放幾條命。經不解釋兩者為什麼接得上，只把做法交出來。
At the close of the passage before, the Buddha said that this teaching is hard to believe. In this passage someone else opens his mouth — a bodhisattva in the assembly rises, named Rescue-and-Deliverance. What he sets out is not doctrine; it is a set of things that can be done with the hands.
Ancient Traces on the Sūtra of the Original Vows of the Medicine Buddha, by Taehyŏn, śramaṇa of Ch’ŏnggu, marks this passage as “the gate of setting out images and rendering aid” and “the gate of question and answer resolving difficulties”: the first sets out the method, the second resolves the difficulty. And this is also the place where his gloss runs densest — at the Yama passage he gives a reading word by word.
When a Person Is Dying
The sūtra writes the marks of illness first, and writes them very close: long sick and wasted thin, unable to eat or drink, throat and lips parched, seeing all directions dark, the marks of death appearing before him; and beside him, father and mother, kin, friends and acquaintances weeping in a ring about him.
All directions dark — that sentence is not about the light in the room. It is about the world in that man’s eyes.
Then the sūtra says: his own body lies where it lay, yet he sees the messengers of Yama leading his consciousness into the presence of Yama the Dharma King; and sentient beings each have a co-born spirit, which sets down in full whatever they have done, whether offense or merit, and carries the whole of it to the Dharma King, who examines and reckons, and passes sentence according to offense and merit.
Those Four Things — Who Is It That Sees Them
The easiest way to handle this is to take it for a description of the dark road.
The reading handed down does not read it so. It says: the sick person’s mind-consciousness manifests four image-objects — first the messenger of Yama, second his own consciousness, third King Yama, fourth the co-born spirit.
All four are image-objects manifested by that sick person’s own mind-consciousness. The messenger is one; his own consciousness is one; the Dharma King is one; and so is the co-born spirit that has been keeping his accounts all his life.
This judgment moves the whole passage from the outside to the inside. It is not that a troop of officers has come to take a man into custody; it is that a man, at the hour when the marks of death appear before him, has these four arise in his own mind.
Why the co-born spirit is called co-born is glossed as well: it is handed down that the root consciousness comes together with the body, and it is therefore named co-born — the root consciousness that arose at the same moment as this body. The account it keeps is nowhere else; it is within his own consciousness. What is meant by “sets it down in full” is that consciousness has perfumed the record into itself. And a sūtra is cited as witness: born together and named together, one spirit born along with him.
As for the name Yama, in Chinese it is “quiescing” — for he brings the guilty to awareness so that they cease from all evil. His office is not to punish; it is to bring a man to see, so that he stops. Therefore, though he belongs to the realm of ghosts, he is still called Dharma King.
The most terrifying scene of all is read as one man’s last reckoning of accounts inside his own mind.
The reading does not thereby make the matter light. If those four came from outside, a man might still hope to dodge them; if they arise within his own consciousness, there is nowhere to dodge to — the ledger has been on his own person the whole time. Whether this is severe: read in this way it is more severe, not less.
Lamp and Banner
What the kin are able to do the sūtra lists as five: take refuge in that buddha — the Tathāgata of beryl radiance — invite the assembly of monks, recite this sūtra through, light lamps of seven tiers, and hang up five-colored life-prolonging banners. The commentator counts them out: the supporting conditions here are five — taking refuge in the Buddha, inviting the saṅgha, turning the Dharma, lighting lamps, and hanging banners.
Why should it be these two, lamp and banner? The gloss is taken from the graphs themselves: the lamp is light; the banner is leading. Because darkness and sinking are what must be rescued, banner and lamp are needed.
The lamp is taken for its brightness, the banner for its “leading” — for guiding. And what is to be rescued is two things: darkness and sinking. He cannot see: a lamp. He has gone under: a banner, to bring him up.
As for why seven tiers and why five colors, the commentator says something exceedingly honest:
As for seven tiers and five colors, no reason is stated. If one reasons it out by sense, it is for subduing the offenses of the seven branches and harmonizing the five directions.
Those four words — no reason is stated — are worth holding on to. The sūtra has not said why seven and why five; the commentator does not speak in the sūtra’s stead. He marks off “if one reasons it out by sense,” and only then offers the seven branches of offense and the five directions. The man who reasons declares of himself that he is reasoning.
To say one does not know when one does not know; to declare the inference before one infers — that is the measure of reading a sūtra.
The Consciousness Returns as from a Dream
After merit is made, it may come about that his consciousness is able to return. The sūtra uses one figure here, and uses it twice: going out, it is as though in a dream that he sees clearly for himself; coming back, when his consciousness returns it is like waking from a dream, and he remembers and knows for himself the fruits and recompense that wholesome and unwholesome deeds obtain.
Out and back again, both by way of a dream.
And the weightiest sentence, once he is back, is this: because he has himself borne witness to and seen the fruit and recompense of deeds, even at the peril of his life he will not again commit any evil deed.
Because he has seen it with his own eyes, from that time on he will not make evil karma even when his life is at stake.
This one sentence lays bare what the whole method of prolonging life is for. What is prolonged is not only that breath — the man who has been brought back is not the man who went. If he merely lives a few more years and goes on making the same karma, what has been saved is a life and not a person.
Forty-Nine, and So Far as One’s Strength Allows
Ānanda then asks how they are to be made. Bodhisattva Rescue-and-Deliverance answers with great concreteness: seven days and seven nights holding the eight-precept fast, offerings to the bhikṣu saṅgha, homage at the six times of day and night, reading and reciting this sūtra forty-nine times, lighting forty-nine lamps, making seven images with seven lamps set before each, each lamp as great in measure as a cartwheel so that for forty-nine days the light is not broken off, a banner forty-nine spans long, and living creatures of every kind set free to the number of forty-nine.
Forty-nine, five times over inside a single prescription — and together with “or forty-nine days” in the passage above, six times within this one unit.
Reading this far, an ordinary person will have one thought: it cannot be done. Forty-nine lamps the size of cartwheels, seven images, forty-nine days unbroken — that is not within the strength of an ordinary household.
The commentator saw that thought coming, and at this place cited a line of scripture: for one who is poor, a single lamp too brings it to completion. And he pointed out that the sūtra itself had already said “so far as their strength allows.”
Forty-nine is the measure of completeness, not the threshold of entry. One lamp also completes it.
This is the passage at which a reader is most easily frightened off by the height of the doorstep, and the ancients had long since set a sentence here for that.
When we come to numbers, we easily take the number itself for the condition. The sūtra gives a complete scale; the commentator gives a floor. Only when the two are read side by side is the measure of this passage right.
Seven Calamities, and the Thing to Be Done First
The method of prolonging life once told, the sūtra extends the same set of acts to a country. When calamity comes upon a kṣatriya anointed king, seven kinds are listed: pestilence among the people, invasion by another country, revolt within his own borders, portents among the stars, eclipse of sun and moon, wind and rain out of season, rain withheld past its season.
Plague, attack from without, revolt within, the stars, eclipses, the rains failing, long drought. Of the seven, the first three are the affairs of men and the last four the seasons of heaven.
And what the sūtra asks that king to do first is not to set up an altar and make offerings. It is this: he should raise a mind of loving-kindness and compassion toward all sentient beings and pardon those held in bonds — let the prisoners out first.
Pardon the men in the gaols, and only then follow the method of offering set out above. The order of it is written very plainly: one real deed first, and then the offering can be joined on.
Nor is what is thereby brought about anything occult: wind and rain come in season and the grain ripens, all beings are without illness and are glad, and in the land there are no violent yakṣas to trouble sentient beings. What is sought is a harvest and quiet, not a marvel.
The next sentence then widens the range: empress and consorts, crown prince and princes, great ministers and counsellors, the women of the inner palace, the hundred officials, the common people — afflicted by illness or meeting with distress, they too set up five-colored spirit-banners, light lamps and keep them burning, and release living creatures.
From king down to commoner, the same set of acts. The sūtra sets up no separate method for a king.
The Nine Untimely Deaths, and the Weightiest Answer
Last come the nine untimely deaths. What Ānanda asks is a very sharp question: how can a life already spent be increased? The span has run out — how can anything be added to it?
The answer does not say that the allotted years can be altered. It asks back: have you not heard the Tathāgata say that there are nine untimely deaths?
What is called increase is the not dying untimely. A lifespan not yet used up and cut off midway is what “untimely” names; and cultivating merit is not the lengthening of a fixed allotment, but the taking away of the cut, so that a man may live out his lifespan and not pass through suffering and affliction.
This answer deserves attention, because it does not in fact grant the thing Ānanda asked after. Ānanda asked whether a life already spent can be added to; the answer is that most of what looks like a spent lifespan is no such thing. The allotment is not altered; only the untimely cutting-off is taken away — the sūtra holds itself very tight at this point.
Among the nine, the first alone is set out at length, taking nearly half the space. It in fact writes two matters: first, that though the illness is slight there is no medicine and no one to nurse, or a physician is met with who gives the wrong medicine, so that when a man truly ought not to die he dies untimely; second, that he believes in demons and in those outside the way and in masters of baleful arts, divining and enquiring after the source of misfortune, killing living beings to make petition, calling up sprites and goblins in the hope of lengthened years — and in the end he cannot get it.
To kill in the hope of a longer life is the longest-written item among the nine. The sūtra does not merely say that it does not work; it says that the thing itself has become that untimely death.
The remaining eight take a clause apiece: execution by the law of the king, dissolute living and the robbing of vital essence by non-human beings, fire, water, wild beasts, a fall from a cliff, poison and imprecation and curse, hunger and thirst. Every one of them is a thing that actually happens among men; not one is stated as a marvel.
The nine listed out, the sūtra adds one line more: besides these there are yet measureless untimely deaths, hard to set out one by one. Nine is not an exhaustive count; it is a giving of examples.
At the end of the passage it comes back to Yama: he presides over the record of the registers of the world, and those who are unfilial or commit the five heinous deeds, who revile and dishonor the Three Jewels, who ruin the law of ruler and subject or break faith and precepts, he examines and punishes according to the gravity of the offense. And the closing words of Bodhisattva Rescue-and-Deliverance are still those same acts: light lamps and make banners, release living creatures and cultivate merit, that they may pass beyond suffering and distress and not meet with the many calamities.
The passage opens in fear and closes in exhortation. What it hands over in between is a few things that a pair of hands can do.
Transmission — One Way Reads It as Consciousness, the Other Divides It into Gates
What stands above is the meaning of this passage itself. Below, two further eyes cast their light on it from the side — the mirror is not the sūtra; only the same passage of scripture, seen through two ways of reading.
Ancient Traces on the Sūtra of the Original Vows of the Medicine Buddha (by Taehyŏn, śramaṇa of Ch’ŏnggu) follows Xuanzang’s recension, and this passage is the place where his gloss runs densest. The name and sense of Yama, the judgment of the four image-objects, the gloss on the co-born spirit, the five supporting acts, the sense taken from lamp as light and banner as leading, and the “no reason is stated” at seven tiers and five colors — the whole framework above comes from here.
What marks his reading of this passage is that he reads the dark road as consciousness. The judgment of four image-objects looks with the eye of consciousness-only at a text that appears to be about ghosts and spirits — not denying the matter, but pointing out where it appears: in the sick person’s own mind-consciousness. This is the same eye with which he referred the ten epithets back to the Yogācārabhūmi and cited the Treatise on the Buddha-Stage in glossing Bhagavān.
And his most admirable stroke is, of all things, that sentence “no reason is stated.” A commentator, at the very place where it is easiest to expatiate — the symbolism of numbers — first declares that he has no ground for it, and then marks what follows as inference. To be able to infer and to say of oneself that one is inferring is harder than inferring cleverly.
The anonymous commentary recovered at Dunhuang (T85n2767) follows Dharmagupta’s Sui recension. At this passage it sets up the gate “eighth, receiving grace in the face of calamity; the text divides into three,” and beneath it such further headings as “second, Ānanda sets it forth in full; the text divides” and “third, the Tathāgata confirms it in accord; the text divides into” — still the way of dividing the text passage by passage into fine sections, and its headings outnumber those of Ancient Traces.
And at the Yama passage, the surviving text of this line makes no judgment of image-objects. One line reads it as manifested by consciousness; the other only outlines the text. Both are recorded together; no reconciliation is set up.
As for the scroll that follows the Consecration Sūtra recension (T85n2766), its surviving text ends with the gloss on the twelve vows, and it has nothing at this passage. What is not found is recorded as not found.
And the sūtra itself judges neither that these are consciousness nor that they are outside — it says only that the man lay where he lay, and that he saw them.
Within a single passage the most terrifying picture and the most practical measures are set side by side: on the one hand being led before the Dharma King to have one’s account reckoned, on the other seven lamps, one banner, a few creatures set free. The sūtra does not explain how the two are joined; it simply hands over what is to be done.
考據Apparatus
全段定位 本段含逐文鏡「勸物利益門」五門之後二：開像資助門（救脫菩薩說續命幡燈之法）與問答釋難門（九橫）。本段亦是全帙逐文訓釋最密之處——鏡於此以法相之眼讀琰魔王一節，判其所現四事皆是病人意識之相分，並釋琰魔之名、俱生神之義、幡燈之取義；而於「七層」「五色」之數，自言「無說所以」而以義推之，不飾其所不知。
一、科判定位
| 門 | 疏文逐字 | 錨 | 經文所據 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 四·開像資助 | 「此是第四開像資助門」 | 〔T38n1770 0261b24〕 | 「眾中有一菩薩摩訶薩，名曰救脫」〔T14n0450 0407b10〕以下 |
| 五·問答釋難 | 「自下第五問答釋難門」 | 〔T38n1770 0262a07〕 | 「云何已盡之命而可增益」〔T14n0450 0407c28〕以下 |
門四之再分：「此有二門：一資助所為門、二資助勝利門」〔T38n1770 0261b25〕—— 所為者配經「像法轉時乃至而處斷之」（自病相至琰魔處斷），勝利者配經「時彼病人乃至諸惡之業」 （自親屬修福至識還不造惡）。
門五之再分：一問答、二釋難；問答之中復二——初約病難答，後約國難答。
二、異譯對勘（誌錄不判）
本段亦四譯詳略互異。續命幡燈之數為底本所詳：「讀誦此經四十九遍；然四十九燈」〔T14n0450 0407c07〕、 「一一燈量大如車輪，乃至四十九日，光明不絕」〔T14n0450 0407c09〕、幡長四十九搩手、 「應放雜類眾生至四十九」〔T14n0450 0407c10〕——續命方之內四十九五見；併前文識還之期「或四十九日」〔T14n0450 0407b24〕，本單元凡六見。
國王七難之目亦為底本所詳：「所謂人眾疾疫難，他國侵逼難，自界叛逆難，星宿變怪難，日月薄蝕難，非時風雨難，過時不雨難」〔T14n0450 0407c13〕。
九橫之目同為底本所詳列。以上三事，《灌頂》古譯層皆遠略。本目僅列可對之位，不強為對當。
三、經論宗依（眼）
引《淨土三昧經》釋俱生神：「同生同名，一神俱生」〔T38n1770 0261c03〕——以證俱生神之說有據。
引《法社經》釋供養之量：「貧者一燈亦得成」〔T38n1770 0262a12〕——經言四十九燈、七尊像， 鏡恐人以力不能辦而卻步，故引此為釋；並自舉經文「隨力所能」以為斷。 ⇒ 數是圓滿之量，非入門之限。
引邁師釋七輪燈之形制：「像前一座，造七輪燈，形如車輪」〔T38n1770 0262a13〕—— 七輪燈非七盞，乃七具輪形之燈；一一像座前各置一輪，一一輪上各安七盞。 「邁師」為太賢所引之一家（其名三見於《古迹》，另二在單元 05 之域）， 其疏今不別存；本帙凡遇其語必標其名，不逕屬鏡（見凡例二）。
琰魔一節之法相讀法（本段最重之義理判）：
「病人意識現四相分：一琰魔使、二己神識、三琰魔王、四俱生神」〔T38n1770 0261b28〕
⇒ 經文所敘之四事——使者、自己的神識、法王、俱生神——鏡判為病人自己意識所現之四種相分， 而非外在四物。其下復釋俱生神之所以名：「傳說本識與身，故名俱生」〔T38n1770 0261c01〕， 末結曰由業威力而似神相現。此為以唯識讀冥途之顯例，與本帙鏡他處之法相引據一脈。
四、本段釋要（逐文鏡逐文·全帙最密）
琰魔之名義：「言琰魔者，唐云靜息，曉悟罪人止眾惡故」〔T38n1770 0261b27〕—— 琰魔漢言「靜息」；其所以名者，在能令罪人曉悟而止息眾惡。是故雖屬鬼界，亦得稱「法王」。
資緣五事：「此中資緣有五，歸佛、請僧、轉法、燃燈及懸幡故」〔T38n1770 0261c05〕—— 歸佛、請僧、轉讀此經、燃燈、懸幡，正配經文之五事。
幡燈之取義：「燈者明也，幡者將也。救闇沈故，須幡燈也」〔T38n1770 0261c06〕—— 燈取其明，幡取其「將」（引導、將引）；所救者是闇與沈二事，故燈幡並用。
七層五色之數——鏡自言無據：
「七層五色者，無說所以。若以義推，伏七支罪、調五方故」〔T38n1770 0261c07〕
⇒ 「無說所以」四字為本帙鏡誠實之最顯處：經未言其所以，鏡不代為之說， 唯標「若以義推」而後出七支（身三口四）與五方之解。推者自言其為推，不冒為經義。 今照錄其語與其自限，不代其斷。
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） | 「此是第四開像資助門」 | 〔T38n1770 0261b24〕 |
| 敦煌失名《藥師經疏》（T85n2767） | 隋笈多本 | 「八臨難蒙恩文分為三」 | 〔T85n2767 0322a18〕 |
| 敦煌失名《藥師經疏》（T85n2766·殘卷） | 《灌頂》本 | 本段零命中（其現存文訖於十二願之釋） | — |
T85n2767 於本段之科：其「八臨難蒙恩文分為三」〔T85n2767 0322a18〕一門正配本段病難之事， 下分三；又別立「二阿難具陳文分」〔T85n2767 0322c19〕、「三如來順成文分為」〔T85n2767 0323a12〕 諸門。其分目之數仍多於《古迹》（同單元 05、06 之型）。
二疏於琰魔一節之異：《古迹》以四相分之唯識讀法解之；T85n2767 現存文於此不作相分之判。 二說並錄，不設調停。
六、術語（首見名相）
| 名相 | 釋義所據（逐字各繫其錨） |
|---|---|
| 琰魔（法王） | 「言琰魔者，唐云靜息，曉悟罪人止眾惡故」〔T38n1770 0261b27〕 |
| 俱生神 | 底本作「然諸有情，有俱生神，隨其所作，若罪若福，皆具書之」〔T14n0450 0407b16〕；鏡釋「傳說本識與身，故名俱生」〔T38n1770 0261c01〕，引《淨土三昧經》「同生同名，一神俱生」〔T38n1770 0261c03〕 |
| 四相分 | 「病人意識現四相分：一琰魔使、二己神識、三琰魔王、四俱生神」〔T38n1770 0261b28〕 |
| 續命神幡 | 底本作「請諸眾僧，轉讀此經，然七層之燈，懸五色續命神幡」〔T14n0450 0407b21〕；鏡釋「燈者明也，幡者將也。救闇沈故，須幡燈也」〔T38n1770 0261c06〕 |
| 搩手 | 底本作幡「長四十九搩手」——量度之名，張指之距 |
| 剎帝利灌頂王 | 底本七難之目〔T14n0450 0407c13〕所繫 |
| 九橫 | 底本作「汝豈不聞如來說有九橫死耶」〔T14n0450 0407c29〕以下九目 |
七、譬喻·修辭
- 經文自用之譬二枚：①「如在夢中，明了自見」與「彼識還時，如從夢覺」〔T14n0450 0407b24〕 ——以夢譬識之出入，一段之內用兩次，出時如入夢，還時如夢覺； ②「一一燈量大如車輪」〔T14n0450 0407c09〕——以車輪狀燈之大。
- 鏡疏之取義非譬而是訓：燈明幡將〔T38n1770 0261c06〕，就字取義，不設喻。
- 修辭·數之重複：四十九一數於續命方中五見（誦經遍數·燈數·日數·幡長·放生數），併識還之期一見，本單元凡六； 七之數於續命一節四見（七層之燈·七日七夜·七軀像·一一像前各置七燈；別有識還之期「或經七日」 與九橫之序數「七者」，非同類不計）。數本身成為文之節奏。
- 修辭·九橫之列法：初橫獨詳（無醫與信邪二事並敘，佔九橫之半篇），餘八橫各一句而下。 詳略如此懸殊，是經自以初橫為最要。
- 首尾相銜：本段起於病人之神識被引至琰魔王前，訖於「彼琰魔王主領世間名籍之記」 〔T14n0450 0408a19〕——琰魔之名本段凡五見（首節三·末節二），首節為所畏，末節為所誡。
八、徵引承衍
- 與單元 06 之相承：彼段佛所教之供養法（造像·敷座·八分齋戒·幢幡）為本段續命法之所本； 阿難問「復云何造」〔T14n0450 0407c03〕，正是問彼法之詳。
- 與單元 05 之對讀：彼段第四節之呪詛厭媚，於本段列為第八橫 （「橫為毒藥、厭禱、呪詛、起屍鬼等之所中害」）——同一組事，一處為所治之障，一處為所防之橫。
- 與單元 03 之對讀：願七所誓「無救無歸，無醫無藥」，正是九橫之初橫所寫之境。 願與橫，一許一誡，同指一事。
- 《淨土三昧經》《法社經》〔T38n1770 0261c03〕〔T38n1770 0262a12〕——二書今不在本 corpus 之譯次， 誌其所引而不推其存否（同單元 01 之《阿脩羅經》《十方諸佛現前經》）。
- 邁師〔T38n1770 0262a13〕——非書而是人，太賢所引之一家；其說於本段釋七輪燈之形制。 本帙徵引之第四類——前三類為經、論、注疏；邁師之書不存，唯因太賢所引而見。全帙三見，餘二在單元 05。
- 本段被本 corpus 其餘各帙徵引者，零命中。
九、校本定位
大正藏校記（<app>）本單元域內十六處（次於單元 05 之密）：
| 錨 | 底本 | 異讀 | 見證 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0407b11 | 「右」 | 一 | 宋·元·明·宮·敦 |
| 0407b15 | 「彼」 | 後 | 宋·元·宮 |
| 0407b26 | 「命」 | 今 | 敦 |
| 0407c08 | 「七」 | 十 | 宋 |
| 0407c10 | 「幡」 | 旛 | 元·明 |
| 0407c15 | 「薄」 | 博 | 宋·元 |
| 0407c21 | 「虐」 | 惡 | 宋·元·明·宮·敦·縮 |
| 0407c24 | 〔「釆」／「婇」／「綵」〕 | 大作「釆」；宋元明宮作「婇」；敦作「綵」 | 大正藏出校 |
| 0407c26 | 〔「旛」／「幡」〕 | 大作「旛」；宋元敦作「幡」 | 大正藏出校（引麗藏） |
| 0408a01 | 「耶」 | 邪 | 敦 |
| 0408a02 | 「幡」 | 旛 | 元·明 |
| 0408a04 | 〔「有」／「若」〕 | 大作「有」；明敦縮作「若」 | 大正藏出校 |
| 0408a05 | 「復」 | 得 | 敦 |
| 0408a06 | 〔「妖𮓃」／「妖𦾨」〕 | 大作「妖𮓃」；宮作「妖𦾨」 | 大正藏出校（引麗藏） |
| 0408a15 | 〔「咀」／「詛」〕 | 大作「咀」；今作「詛」 | 大正藏出校（引麗藏） |
| 0408a22 | 「幡」 | 旛 | 元·明 |
「幡／旛」一字四見於校記（0407c10·0407c26·0408a02·0408a22）——元明系多作「旛」， 底本與宋敦系作「幡」。同字異形之四例集中於本單元，正因續命幡為本段之主物。誌錄不判。
0407c08 之「七」／宋作「十」：在「造彼如來形像七軀」一句——像數七或十，宋本異。 與本段「七」之數三見相涉，誌之。
gaiji 一枚：0408a06 之 #CB00752——本單元為全帙二枚 gaiji 之一（另一在單元 05·0406a22）。
其字守 XML 內文，不擅補字。（0408a06 另有校記「𮓃／𦾨」之異讀，屬校勘之字，與本 gaiji 標記為二事。）
夾註：本單元零命中。
Placement of the passage as a whole. This passage holds the last two of the five gates that make up the running commentary’s “gate of exhorting people to benefit”: the gate of setting out images and rendering aid (Bodhisattva Rescue-and-Deliverance sets out the method of the banners and lamps for prolonging life, done in the name of the Tathāgata of beryl radiance) and the gate of question and answer resolving difficulties (the nine untimely deaths). This passage is also the densest place of word-by-word gloss in the whole edition — here the mirror reads the Yama scene with the eye of dharma-characteristics and judges the four things that appear there to be image-objects of the sick person’s own mind-consciousness; it glosses the name of Yama, the sense of the co-born spirit, and the sense taken from banner and lamp; while of the numbers “seven tiers” and “five colors” it says of itself that no reason is stated, and only then reasons by sense — it does not dress up what it does not know.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
| Gate | The commentary, word for word | Anchor | Scriptural ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four · setting out images and rendering aid | 「此是第四開像資助門」—“This is the fourth, the gate of setting out images and rendering aid” | 〔T38n1770 0261b24〕 | 「眾中有一菩薩摩訶薩，名曰救脫」—“in the assembly there was a bodhisattva-mahāsattva named Rescue-and-Deliverance” 〔T14n0450 0407b10〕 and what follows |
| Five · question and answer resolving difficulties | 「自下第五問答釋難門」—“from here below is the fifth, the gate of question and answer resolving difficulties” | 〔T38n1770 0262a07〕 | 「云何已盡之命而可增益」—“how can a life already spent be increased” 〔T14n0450 0407c28〕 and what follows |
The subdivision of gate four: 「此有二門：一資助所為門、二資助勝利門」—“this has two gates: first the gate of what the aid is for, second the gate of the surpassing benefit of the aid” 〔T38n1770 0261b25〕 — what the aid is for answers to the sūtra from 「像法轉時乃至而處斷之」 (from the marks of illness to the sentence passed by Yama); the surpassing benefit answers to the sūtra from 「時彼病人乃至諸惡之業」 (from the kin’s making of merit to the consciousness’s return and its committing no more evil).
The subdivision of gate five: first question and answer, second the resolving of difficulties; and within the question and answer, two again — first the answer given in terms of the difficulty of illness, then the answer given in terms of the difficulty of the realm.
II. Cross-Recension Collation (recorded without adjudication)
Here too the four translations differ from one another in fullness and brevity. The numbers belonging to the banners and lamps for prolonging life are given in full by the base text: 「讀誦此經四十九遍；然四十九燈」—“read and recite this sūtra forty-nine times; light forty-nine lamps” 〔T14n0450 0407c07〕, 「一一燈量大如車輪，乃至四十九日，光明不絕」—“each lamp as great in measure as a cartwheel, so that for forty-nine days the light is not broken off” 〔T14n0450 0407c09〕, the banner forty-nine spans long, and 「應放雜類眾生至四十九」—“set free living creatures of every kind to the number of forty-nine” 〔T14n0450 0407c10〕 — within the method of prolonging life forty-nine occurs five times; adding the term of the consciousness’s return above, 「或四十九日」—“or forty-nine days” 〔T14n0450 0407b24〕, it occurs six times in this unit.
The list of the seven calamities of a king is likewise given in full by the base text: 「所謂人眾疾疫難，他國侵逼難，自界叛逆難，星宿變怪難，日月薄蝕難，非時風雨難，過時不雨難」—“namely the calamity of pestilence among the people, the calamity of invasion by another country, the calamity of revolt within their own borders, the calamity of portents among the stars, the calamity of eclipse of sun and moon, the calamity of wind and rain out of season, the calamity of rain withheld past its season” 〔T14n0450 0407c13〕.
The list of the nine untimely deaths is set out in full by the base text in the same way. In all three of these matters the old translation stratum of the Consecration Sūtra is far briefer. This topic lists only the positions that can be set side by side; it does not force them into correspondence.
III. Scriptural and Treatise Basis (the eye)
The Sūtra of the Pure Land Samādhi cited to explain the co-born spirit: 「同生同名，一神俱生」—“born together and named together, one spirit born along with him” 〔T38n1770 0261c03〕 — adduced as witness that the teaching of the co-born spirit has ground.
The Sūtra of the Dharma Society cited on the measure of an offering: 「貧者一燈亦得成」—“for one who is poor, a single lamp too brings it to completion” 〔T38n1770 0262a12〕 — the sūtra speaks of forty-nine lamps and seven images, and the mirror, fearing that a reader whose strength cannot reach so far would draw back, cites this by way of explanation; it also adduces the sūtra’s own words 「隨力所能」 as its decision. ⇒ The number is the measure of completeness, not the threshold of entry.
Master Mai cited on the form of the seven-wheeled lamps: 「像前一座，造七輪燈，形如車輪」—“before each image a stand, on which are made seven wheel-lamps, shaped like a cart-wheel” 〔T38n1770 0262a13〕 — the seven-wheeled lamps are not seven single lamps but seven wheel-shaped fittings: before each image-stand one wheel is set, and on each wheel seven lamps are placed. “Master Mai” is one authority quoted by Taehyŏn (his name occurs three times in Ancient Traces, the other two within unit 05); his own commentary does not survive separately, and this edition always names him rather than letting his words pass as the mirror's own (see Conventions II).
The dharma-characteristics reading of the Yama passage (the weightiest doctrinal judgment in this passage):
「病人意識現四相分：一琰魔使、二己神識、三琰魔王、四俱生神」—“the sick person’s mind-consciousness manifests four image-objects: first the messenger of Yama, second his own consciousness, third King Yama, fourth the co-born spirit” 〔T38n1770 0261b28〕
⇒ The four things the sūtra sets out — the messenger, one’s own consciousness, the Dharma King, the co-born spirit — the mirror judges to be four image-objects manifested by the sick person’s own mind-consciousness, and not four things standing outside him. Below this it glosses further why the co-born spirit is so named: 「傳說本識與身，故名俱生」—“it is handed down that the root consciousness comes together with the body, and it is therefore named co-born” 〔T38n1770 0261c01〕, concluding that by the force of karma what has the semblance of a spirit appears. This is a conspicuous instance of reading the dark road as consciousness, of one stream with the dharma-characteristics grounds adduced by this mirror elsewhere in the edition.
IV. Exegesis of the Passage (the running mirror, word by word — the densest in the edition)
The name and sense of Yama: 「言琰魔者，唐云靜息，曉悟罪人止眾惡故」—“as for Yama, in Tang speech quiescing, for he brings the guilty to awareness so that they cease from all evil” 〔T38n1770 0261b27〕 — Yama in Chinese is “quiescing”; and the ground of the name lies in his being able to bring the guilty to awareness so that they cease from all evil. Therefore, though he belongs to the realm of ghosts, he may still be called Dharma King.
The five supporting acts: 「此中資緣有五，歸佛、請僧、轉法、燃燈及懸幡故」—“the supporting conditions here are five: taking refuge in the Buddha, inviting the saṅgha, turning the Dharma, lighting lamps, and hanging banners” 〔T38n1770 0261c05〕 — taking refuge in the Buddha, inviting the saṅgha, reciting this sūtra through, lighting lamps, hanging banners: exactly the five matters of the sūtra text.
The sense taken from banner and lamp: 「燈者明也，幡者將也。救闇沈故，須幡燈也」—“the lamp is light; the banner is leading. Because darkness and sinking are what must be rescued, banner and lamp are needed” 〔T38n1770 0261c06〕 — the lamp is taken for its light, the banner for its “leading” (to guide, to lead forward); what is rescued is two things, darkness and sinking, and therefore lamp and banner are used together.
The numbers seven tiers and five colors — the mirror says of itself that it has no ground:
「七層五色者，無說所以。若以義推，伏七支罪、調五方故」—“as for seven tiers and five colors, no reason is stated. If one reasons it out by sense, it is for subduing the offenses of the seven branches and harmonizing the five directions” 〔T38n1770 0261c07〕
⇒ The four words “no reason is stated” are the most conspicuous place of honesty in this mirror: the sūtra has not said why, and the mirror does not speak in the sūtra’s stead; it marks off “if one reasons it out by sense” and only then brings forward the seven branches (three of body, four of speech) and the five directions. The one who reasons says of himself that he is reasoning, and does not pass it off as the sūtra’s meaning. It is recorded here with its own self-limitation, and no decision is made in its place.
V. Divergent Readings (three commentaries, side by side — recorded without adjudication)
| Mirror | Recension followed | Verbatim | Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Traces on the Sūtra of the Original Vows of the Medicine Buddha (Taehyŏn, śramaṇa of Ch’ŏnggu) | Xuanzang’s recension (the same as the base text) | 「此是第四開像資助門」—“this is the fourth, the gate of setting out images and rendering aid” | 〔T38n1770 0261b24〕 |
| The anonymous Dunhuang Commentary on the Medicine Buddha Sūtra (T85n2767) | Dharmagupta’s Sui recension | 「八臨難蒙恩文分為三」—“eighth, receiving grace in the face of calamity; the text divides into three” | 〔T85n2767 0322a18〕 |
| The anonymous Dunhuang Commentary on the Medicine Buddha Sūtra (T85n2766, fragmentary scroll) | The Consecration Sūtra recension | no hit in this passage (its surviving text ends with the gloss on the twelve vows) | — |
The outline of T85n2767 at this passage: its gate 「八臨難蒙恩文分為三」—“eighth, receiving grace in the face of calamity; the text divides into three” 〔T85n2767 0322a18〕 answers exactly to the matter of the difficulty of illness in this passage and divides into three below; and it further sets up such gates as 「二阿難具陳文分」—“second, Ānanda sets it forth in full; the text divides” 〔T85n2767 0322c19〕 and 「三如來順成文分為」—“third, the Tathāgata confirms it in accord; the text divides into” 〔T85n2767 0323a12〕. The number of its divisions is still greater than that of Ancient Traces (the same pattern as in units 05 and 06).
The divergence of the two commentaries at the Yama passage: Ancient Traces explains it by the consciousness-only reading of the four image-objects; the surviving text of T85n2767 makes no judgment of image-objects here. Both are recorded together; no reconciliation is set up.
VI. Terms (first occurrences)
| Term | Ground of the gloss (each verbatim with its own anchor) |
|---|---|
| Yama (the Dharma King) | 「言琰魔者，唐云靜息，曉悟罪人止眾惡故」—“as for Yama, in Tang speech quiescing, for he brings the guilty to awareness so that they cease from all evil” 〔T38n1770 0261b27〕 |
| Co-born spirit | the base text reads 「然諸有情，有俱生神，隨其所作，若罪若福，皆具書之」—“yet sentient beings have a co-born spirit, which sets down in full whatever they have done, whether offense or merit” 〔T14n0450 0407b16〕; the mirror glosses 「傳說本識與身，故名俱生」—“it is handed down that the root consciousness comes together with the body, and it is therefore named co-born” 〔T38n1770 0261c01〕, and cites the Sūtra of the Pure Land Samādhi, 「同生同名，一神俱生」—“born together and named together, one spirit born along with him” 〔T38n1770 0261c03〕 |
| The four image-objects | 「病人意識現四相分：一琰魔使、二己神識、三琰魔王、四俱生神」—“the sick person’s mind-consciousness manifests four image-objects: first the messenger of Yama, second his own consciousness, third King Yama, fourth the co-born spirit” 〔T38n1770 0261b28〕 |
| Life-prolonging banner | the base text reads 「請諸眾僧，轉讀此經，然七層之燈，懸五色續命神幡」—“invite the assembly of monks to recite this sūtra through, light lamps of seven tiers, hang up five-colored life-prolonging banners” 〔T14n0450 0407b21〕; the mirror glosses 「燈者明也，幡者將也。救闇沈故，須幡燈也」—“the lamp is light; the banner is leading. Because darkness and sinking are what must be rescued, banner and lamp are needed” 〔T38n1770 0261c06〕 |
| Span〔漢文：搩手〕 | the base text has the banner 「長四十九搩手」 — a name of measure, the reach of an outstretched hand |
| Kṣatriya anointed king | attached to the list of the seven calamities in the base text 〔T14n0450 0407c13〕 |
| The nine untimely deaths | the base text reads 「汝豈不聞如來說有九橫死耶」—“have you not heard the Tathāgata say that there are nine untimely deaths” 〔T14n0450 0407c29〕, with the nine items that follow |
VII. Simile and Rhetoric
- Two similes used by the sūtra itself: (i) 「如在夢中，明了自見」 and, at the return, 「彼識還時，如從夢覺」—“when his consciousness returns, it is like waking from a dream” 〔T14n0450 0407b24〕 — the going out and the coming back of consciousness are both figured by a dream, the figure used twice within one passage: going out is like entering a dream, returning is like waking from one; (ii) 「一一燈量大如車輪」—“each lamp as great in measure as a cartwheel” 〔T14n0450 0407c09〕 — the size of the lamp figured by a cartwheel.
- What the mirror takes is not simile but gloss: the lamp as light and the banner as leading 〔T38n1770 0261c06〕 — sense taken from the graph itself, with no figure set up.
- Rhetoric · the repetition of number: forty-nine occurs five times within the method of prolonging life (times of recitation · number of lamps · number of days · length of banner · number of creatures released), and once more in the term of the consciousness’s return, six times in this unit; seven occurs four times within the section on prolonging life (lamps of seven tiers · seven days and seven nights · seven images · seven lamps set before each image; the term “seven days” for the consciousness’s return and the ordinal “seventh” among the nine untimely deaths are not of the same kind and are not counted). The numbers themselves become the rhythm of the text.
- Rhetoric · the manner in which the nine untimely deaths are listed: the first is set out alone at length (two matters told together, the want of a physician and belief in the heterodox, taking half the space of the nine), the remaining eight each in a single clause. That the disproportion is so great is the sūtra’s own way of making the first the weightiest.
- Head and tail joined: the passage begins with the sick person’s consciousness led into the presence of Yama the Dharma King and ends at 「彼琰魔王主領世間名籍之記」 (that is: “that King Yama presides over the record of the registers of the world”) 〔T14n0450 0408a19〕 — the name of Yama occurs five times in this passage (three in the first section, two in the last): in the first section it is what is feared, in the last what is admonished.
VIII. Citation and Transmission
- Continuity with unit 06: the method of offering taught by the Buddha there (making images · spreading seats · the eight-precept fast · streamers and banners) is what the method of prolonging life here is built upon; Ānanda’s question 「復云何造」—“and how are they to be made” 〔T14n0450 0407c03〕 is precisely a question after the detail of that method.
- Read against unit 05: the imprecations and charms of the fourth section there are listed in this passage as the eighth untimely death (「橫為毒藥、厭禱、呪詛、起屍鬼等之所中害」) — one and the same set of matters, in the one place the obstruction to be cured, in the other the mishap to be guarded against.
- Read against unit 03: what the seventh vow pledges, 「無救無歸，無醫無藥」, is exactly the scene written in the first of the nine untimely deaths. Vow and untimely death, the one a promise and the other a warning, point at one thing.
- The Sūtra of the Pure Land Samādhi and the Sūtra of the Dharma Society 〔T38n1770 0261c03〕〔T38n1770 0262a12〕 — neither book stands in the translation series of this corpus; their citation is recorded without inferring whether they survive (as with the Asura Sūtra and the Sūtra of the Buddhas of the Ten Directions Appearing Before One in unit 01).
- Master Mai 〔T38n1770 0262a13〕 — not a book but a person, one authority quoted by Taehyŏn; his words here explain the form of the seven-wheeled lamps. The fourth class of citation in this volume — the first three being scripture, treatise, and commentary; Master Mai’s book does not survive, and he is visible only because Taehyŏn quotes him. Three occurrences in all, the other two in unit 05.
- Of citation of this passage by the remaining volumes of this corpus, nothing is found.
IX. Text-critical Placement
The Taishō collation notes (<app>) record sixteen instances within this unit (second in density only to unit 05):
| Anchor | Base text | Variant | Witnesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0407b11 | 「右」 | 一 | Song · Yuan · Ming · Palace · Dunhuang |
| 0407b15 | 「彼」 | 後 | Song · Yuan · Palace |
| 0407b26 | 「命」 | 今 | Dunhuang |
| 0407c08 | 「七」 | 十 | Song |
| 0407c10 | 「幡」 | 旛 | Yuan · Ming |
| 0407c15 | 「薄」 | 博 | Song · Yuan |
| 0407c21 | 「虐」 | 惡 | Song · Yuan · Ming · Palace · Dunhuang · Reduced-print |
| 0407c24 | 〔「釆」／「婇」／「綵」〕 | Taishō reads 「釆」; Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace read 「婇」; Dunhuang reads 「綵」 | Taishō collation note |
| 0407c26 | 〔「旛」／「幡」〕 | Taishō reads 「旛」; Song, Yuan and Dunhuang read 「幡」 | Taishō collation note (citing the Koryŏ canon) |
| 0408a01 | 「耶」 | 邪 | Dunhuang |
| 0408a02 | 「幡」 | 旛 | Yuan · Ming |
| 0408a04 | 〔「有」／「若」〕 | Taishō reads 「有」; Ming, Dunhuang and Reduced-print read 「若」 | Taishō collation note |
| 0408a05 | 「復」 | 得 | Dunhuang |
| 0408a06 | 〔「妖𮓃」／「妖𦾨」〕 | Taishō reads 「妖𮓃」; the Palace edition reads 「妖𦾨」 | Taishō collation note (citing the Koryŏ canon) |
| 0408a15 | 〔「咀」／「詛」〕 | Taishō reads 「咀」; the present text reads 「詛」 | Taishō collation note (citing the Koryŏ canon) |
| 0408a22 | 「幡」 | 旛 | Yuan · Ming |
The single graph 「幡／旛」 appears four times in the collation notes (0407c10 · 0407c26 · 0408a02 · 0408a22) — the Yuan and Ming line mostly reads 「旛」, while the base text and the Song and Dunhuang line read 「幡」. That four instances of one graph in two forms fall together in this unit is precisely because the life-prolonging banner is the chief object of this passage. Recorded without adjudication.
0407c08, the base text’s 「七」 against Song’s 「十」: it stands in the sentence 「造彼如來形像七軀」 — whether the images number seven or ten, the Song recension differs. It bears upon the three occurrences of the number seven in this passage, and is recorded here.
One gaiji: #CB00752 at 0408a06 — this unit holds one of the edition’s two gaiji (the other in unit 05, at 0406a22). The graph keeps to the text of the XML; no character is supplied on our own authority. (At 0408a06 there is also the collation note on the variant 「𮓃／𦾨」, a matter of collation of graphs and a separate thing from this gaiji marking.)
Inline glosses: none in this unit.