佛說阿彌陀經 六方證誠
前一段講完了行法：執持名號，一心不亂，臨終往生。話說到這裡其實已經完整。
可是經文沒有停。它把鏡頭拉到極遠——東、南、西、北、下、上六個方向，每一方都有恒河沙數那麼多的佛，各自在自己的國土伸出舌相，遮蓋三千大千世界，說同一句話。
簡到讓人不敢信之後
前面那段行法說得極簡：持一個名字，七天，就能往生。
簡到一個地步，人會不敢信。
於是這一段出現了。它不再說道理，也不再說方法——它做的是一件事：作證。
經文的次序很清楚：先是「如我今者，讚歎阿彌陀佛不可思議功德」，釋迦自己先說；然後才是六方諸佛出來。
一個人說是一家之言；恒河沙數的佛在六個方向同時說同一句話，就不是了。
譬喻要用人人認得的
這比喻用得太熟，反而值得問一句。
古來給了五個理由：那河的沙多；世人共以它為福水；雖經劫壞而名字常在；佛多在河邊說法；還有——眾人都認得它。
最後一條最實在。譬喻要用人人知道的東西，才譬得成。
把不妄語的證據攤開
「各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界」。
舌相廣長，是不妄語的果報之相。伸舌作證，等於把一生不曾說謊的證據攤在眼前。
而三千大千有多大？一千個須彌山、一千個日月、一千個四天下、一千個梵王叫小千；小千再乘千、再乘千，所以叫三千大千。
一條舌頭覆蓋這麼大的範圍——不是要人想像一個生理的畫面，是要人掂量那句話的分量。
六遍，同一句
六方諸佛所說的只有一句：「汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。」
一個字都沒有多。他們沒有各自補充、各自發揮，就是同一句話說六遍。
而內容也很單純：當信。
不是當修，不是當證，是當信。到這裡為止，經文對聽者的要求只有兩件：發願，與相信。
重複本身就是意思
六段逐字同構，只換方位與佛名。
若當文章看，這是冗贅；若當誦讀之文看，這正是它的力量。
一句話說一遍是主張，說六遍就成了迴響。東方說完南方說，南方說完西方說——聽的人被同一句話從六個方向包圍。
前一段講一心不亂，是專注的凝聚；這一段用六重複誦，是信心的環繞。一內一外，一凝一遍。
經文沒有解釋為什麼要重複。它只是重複了。
The previous passage finished setting out the practice: hold fast to the name, single-minded and undisturbed, and at the end of life take birth in that land. With that much said, the teaching was in fact already complete.
But the sūtra does not stop. It draws the view out to the very farthest reach — east, south, west, north, below, above, six directions; in every one of them there are buddhas as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, each in his own land putting forth the mark of his tongue to cover over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, and all of them saying one and the same sentence.
After It Became Too Simple to Believe
The passage of practice before it was said with extreme brevity: hold one name, seven days, and one can take birth in that land.
Brevity carried that far, and a person does not dare to believe it.
And so this passage appears. It states no further principle and gives no further method — it does one thing: it bears witness.
The sūtra’s own order is clear: first “Just as I now praise the inconceivable qualities of the Buddha Amitābha” — Śākyamuni speaking first, himself; only then do the buddhas of the six directions come forth.
One person speaking is the word of a single house; buddhas as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, speaking one and the same sentence in six directions at once, is not.
A Simile Must Use What Everyone Knows
The figure is used so familiarly that it becomes worth asking after all.
From of old, five reasons were given: that river’s sands are many; the people of the world hold it in common to be water of blessing; though aeons pass and are ruined, its name abides always; the Buddha often taught beside it; and — everyone knows it.
The last is the most solid. A simile has to be made of something everyone knows, or it does not carry.
The Evidence of Never Having Lied, Laid Open
“Each in his own land puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue, covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system.”
A broad and long tongue is the mark that is the fruit of never speaking falsely. To put forth the tongue in witness is to lay out, in plain sight, the evidence of a life in which no lie was told.
And how great is the three-thousandfold great-thousand? A thousand Mount Sumerus, a thousand suns and moons, a thousand sets of four continents, a thousand Brahmā kings make a small thousand; the small thousand multiplied to a thousand, and that again to a thousand — hence the three-thousandfold great-thousand.
One tongue covering a compass as great as that — this is not to have one picture a physiological scene; it is to have one weigh how much that sentence weighs.
Six Times, the Same Sentence
What the buddhas of the six directions speak is one sentence only: “You beings should trust this Sūtra Praising Inconceivable Qualities, Guarded and Kept in Mind by All Buddhas.”
Not one word more. None of them adds anything of his own, none elaborates anything of his own; it is the same sentence spoken six times.
And the content is very plain: you should trust.
Not you should cultivate, not you should realize, but you should trust. Up to this point the sūtra asks only two things of its hearer: to make the vow, and to believe.
The Repetition Is Itself the Meaning
Six sections identical in construction word for word, with only the direction and the buddha-names changed.
Taken as a piece of writing, this is redundancy; taken as a text for chanting, this is exactly its force.
A sentence said once is an assertion; said six times it becomes an echo. The east finishes and the south speaks; the south finishes and the west speaks — the hearer is encircled by one and the same sentence from six directions.
The previous passage spoke of being single-minded and undisturbed: the gathering of concentration. This passage, in its sixfold recitation, is the encircling of confidence. One inward and one outward, one gathered and one pervading.
The sūtra offers no explanation of why it repeats. It simply repeats.
大正藏 T12n0366〔起 T12 0347b18〕。段／行首〔T12 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔T12 0347b18〕「舍利弗！如我今者，讚歎阿彌陀佛不可思議功德；東方亦有阿閦鞞佛、須彌相佛、大須彌佛、須彌光佛、妙音佛，如是等恒河沙數諸佛，各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實言：『汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。』 「舍利弗！南方世界有日月燈佛、名聞光佛、大焰肩佛、須彌燈佛、無量精進佛，如是等恒河沙數諸佛，各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實言：『汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。』 「舍利弗！西方世界有無量壽佛、無量相佛、無量幢佛、大光佛、大明佛、寶相佛、淨光佛，如是等恒河沙數諸佛，各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實言：『汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。』 「舍利弗！北方世界有焰肩佛、最勝音佛、難沮佛、日生佛、網明佛，如是等恒河沙數諸佛，各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實言：『汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。』 「舍利弗！下方世界有師子佛、名聞佛、名光佛、達摩佛、法幢佛、持法佛，如是等恒河沙數諸佛，各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實言：『汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。』 「舍利弗！上方世界有梵音佛、宿王佛、香上佛、香光佛、大焰肩佛、雜色寶華嚴身佛、娑羅樹王佛、寶華德佛、見一切義佛、如須彌山佛，如是等恒河沙數諸佛，各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實言：『汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。』
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.
姚秦鳩摩羅什譯《佛說阿彌陀經》T12n0366，自「舍利弗！如我今者，讚歎阿彌陀佛不可思議功德」至上方一段之末。段首（…）＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔一·陳自讚言〕（0347b18）舍利弗！就像我現在這樣，讚歎阿彌陀佛不可思議的功德；
〔二·東方〕（0347b19）東方也有阿閦鞞佛（梵語「阿閦」漢語意思是「無動」，不被煩惱與四魔的違逆順從所動）、須彌相佛（金色的容貌尊嚴得像須彌山）、大須彌佛（種種相好甚大，如同大山之王）、須彌光佛（身光大得像山王）、妙音佛（聲音微妙清徹而遠聞），像這樣等恒河沙數那麼多的佛，各自在他們的國土伸出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實的話：『你們眾生，應當相信這部《稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經》。』
〔三·南方〕（0347b24）舍利弗！南方世界有日月燈佛、名聞光佛、大焰肩佛、須彌燈佛、無量精進佛，像這樣等恒河沙數諸佛，各自在他們的國土伸出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實的話：『你們眾生，應當相信這部《稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經》。』
〔四·西方〕（0347b29）舍利弗！西方世界有無量壽佛、無量相佛、無量幢佛、大光佛、大明佛、寶相佛、淨光佛，像這樣等恒河沙數諸佛，各自在他們的國土伸出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實的話：『你們眾生，應當相信這部《稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經》。』
〔五·北方〕（0347c06）舍利弗！北方世界有焰肩佛、最勝音佛、難沮佛、日生佛、網明佛，像這樣等恒河沙數諸佛，各自在他們的國土伸出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實的話：『你們眾生，應當相信這部《稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經》。』
〔六·下方〕（0347c11）舍利弗！下方世界有師子佛、名聞佛、名光佛、達摩佛、法幢佛、持法佛，像這樣等恒河沙數諸佛，各自在他們的國土伸出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實的話：『你們眾生，應當相信這部《稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經》。』
〔七·上方〕（0347c16）舍利弗！上方世界有梵音佛、宿王佛、香上佛、香光佛、大焰肩佛、雜色寶華嚴身佛、娑羅樹王佛、寶華德佛、見一切義佛、如須彌山佛，像這樣等恒河沙數諸佛，各自在他們的國土伸出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實的話：『你們眾生，應當相信這部《稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經》。』
Kumārajīva’s translation, T12n0366, from “Śāriputra! Just as I now praise the inconceivable qualities of the Buddha Amitābha” to the close of the passage on the direction above. The bracketed figures at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.
〔1 · His own praise declared〕（0347b18）Śāriputra! Just as I now praise the inconceivable qualities of the Buddha Amitābha;
〔2 · The East〕（0347b19）in the east too there are the Buddha Akṣobhya (the name is Sanskrit; in Chinese it is rendered “Unmoving” — he is not moved by the afflictions or by the four Māras, whether these run counter to him or comply with him), the Buddha Sumeru-Mark (his golden countenance august in form like Mount Sumeru), the Buddha Great Sumeru (his many excellent marks exceedingly great, like the great king of mountains), the Buddha Sumeru-Light (the light of his body as great as the king of mountains), and the Buddha Wondrous Sound (his voice subtle and clear, heard from afar) — such buddhas as these, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, each in his own land puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue, covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, and speaks words of truth: ‘You beings should trust this Sūtra Praising Inconceivable Qualities, Guarded and Kept in Mind by All Buddhas.’
〔3 · The South〕（0347b24）Śāriputra! In the southern world there are the Buddha Sun-Moon-Lamp, the Buddha Light of Renown, the Buddha Great Blazing Shoulders, the Buddha Sumeru-Lamp, and the Buddha Measureless Exertion — such buddhas as these, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, each in his own land puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue, covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, and speaks words of truth: ‘You beings should trust this Sūtra Praising Inconceivable Qualities, Guarded and Kept in Mind by All Buddhas.’
〔4 · The West〕（0347b29）Śāriputra! In the western world there are the Buddha of Measureless Life, the Buddha of Measureless Marks, the Buddha of Measureless Banners, the Buddha Great Light, the Buddha Great Brightness, the Buddha Jewel-Mark, and the Buddha Pure Light — such buddhas as these, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, each in his own land puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue, covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, and speaks words of truth: ‘You beings should trust this Sūtra Praising Inconceivable Qualities, Guarded and Kept in Mind by All Buddhas.’
〔5 · The North〕（0347c06）Śāriputra! In the northern world there are the Buddha Blazing Shoulders, the Buddha Most Excellent Sound, the Buddha Hard to Thwart, the Buddha Sun-Born, and the Buddha Net-Brightness — such buddhas as these, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, each in his own land puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue, covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, and speaks words of truth: ‘You beings should trust this Sūtra Praising Inconceivable Qualities, Guarded and Kept in Mind by All Buddhas.’
〔6 · The Direction Below〕（0347c11）Śāriputra! In the world below there are the Buddha Lion, the Buddha Renown, the Buddha Name-Light, the Buddha Dharma, the Buddha Dharma-Banner, and the Buddha Upholder of the Dharma — such buddhas as these, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, each in his own land puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue, covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, and speaks words of truth: ‘You beings should trust this Sūtra Praising Inconceivable Qualities, Guarded and Kept in Mind by All Buddhas.’
〔7 · The Direction Above〕（0347c16）Śāriputra! In the world above there are the Buddha Brahmā-Voice, the Buddha King of Constellations, the Buddha Supreme Fragrance, the Buddha Fragrance-Light, the Buddha Great Blazing Shoulders, the Buddha Whose Body Is Adorned with Jewel-Flowers of Many Colours, the Buddha King of Sāla Trees, the Buddha Jewel-Flower Virtue, the Buddha Who Sees Every Meaning, and the Buddha Like Mount Sumeru — such buddhas as these, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, each in his own land puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue, covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, and speaks words of truth: ‘You beings should trust this Sūtra Praising Inconceivable Qualities, Guarded and Kept in Mind by All Buddhas.’
前一段講完了行法：執持名號，一心不亂，臨終往生。話說到這裡，其實已經完整了。
可是經文沒有停。它忽然把鏡頭拉開，拉到極遠——東方、南方、西方、北方、下方、上方，每一個方向都有恒河沙數那麼多的佛，各自在自己的國土伸出舌頭，遮蓋三千大千世界，說同一句話。
這是全經最長的一段，也是句式重複得最徹底的一段。六方各一段，除了方位與佛名，其餘逐字相同。
為什麼要有這一段
前面那段行法，說得極簡：持一個名字，七天，就能往生。
簡到一個地步，人會不敢信。
於是這一段出現了。它不再說道理，也不再說方法——它做的是一件事：作證。
慈恩一路把這裡判為「諸佛證明」，分三節：先陳自讚言，再引他佛證，最後釋經名。經文自己的次序也是這樣：「如我今者，讚歎阿彌陀佛不可思議功德」——這是釋迦自己先說；然後才是六方諸佛出來。
一個人說，可能是一家之言；恒河沙數的佛在六個方向同時說同一句話，那就不是了。
六方的排法
每一方都是同樣的五段：先指出是哪個方向，再舉出佛名，再說有多少，再說證明的樣子，最後引出所證的話。
東方排在最前面。為什麼？——因為西域以東為上，所以先舉。一個地理的習慣，不是義理的高低。
各方的佛名數目並不整齊：東方五位、南方五位、西方七位、北方五位、下方六位、上方十位，合共三十八個名字。上方最多。經文沒有解釋為什麼不均，也沒有湊成整數。
而每一方的名單之後，都跟著同一句：「如是等恒河沙數諸佛」。列出來的只是舉例，真正的數目是恒河的沙。
為什麼用恒河的沙
這個比喻用得太熟，反而值得問一句：為什麼是恒河？
歷來的注家給了五個理由：一、那河的沙多；二、世人共同以它為福水，入河洗浴則罪滅，投身而死則生天；三、雖然經過劫壞，這條河的名字仍然常在；四、佛多在這條河附近宣說妙法；五、眾人都認得它，所以常拿來作比。
還記下了它的地理：無熱惱池流出四條大河，這是其中一條；作比喻時取的是剛出池口那一段，河面方四十里。
五個理由裡，第五個最實在——「眾人共委」，大家都認得。譬喻要用人人知道的東西，才譬得成。恒河之於印度人，就像黃河之於中土人。佛說法取譬，取的是聽者現成的知。
伸出舌頭這件事
「各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界」。
這個動作在今天讀來很陌生，甚至有點怪。但它在印度的語境裡有確定的意思：舌相廣長，是不妄語的果報之相。伸舌作證，等於把自己一生不曾說謊的證據攤在眼前。
注家釋得很簡單：「即各在本國舒舌相也。」——各在自己的國土伸展舌相，不是飛過來。
而「遍覆三千大千世界」是多大？疏引《大智度論》：一千個須彌山、一千個日月、一千個四天下、一千個梵王，叫做小千；以小千為一個單位再乘一千，叫做大千；因為經過三次「千」的累乘，所以叫三千大千。
一條舌頭，覆蓋這麼大的範圍。這不是要人想像一個生理的畫面，是要人掂量那句話的分量。
那句話
六方諸佛所說的，只有一句：
「汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。」
一個字都沒有多。他們沒有各自補充、沒有各自發揮，就是同一句話說六遍。
而這句話的內容也很單純：當信。
不是「當修」，不是「當證」，是當信。到這裡為止，經文對聽者的要求只有兩件：發願（第六段），與相信（這一段）。
至於這部經的名字——《稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經》——經文在下一段才會解釋它為什麼叫這個名字。這裡先讓六方諸佛把這個名字念出來。
玄奘本舉的是十方
還有一件事應當說明。羅什的譯本舉六方，玄奘的譯本舉十方——四方、四維、上下都有。
這不是後人的比較，是唐代的疏家自己記下的。他釋這一段時明白寫著：《稱讚淨土經》說的是十方諸佛，這裡略舉六方，所以分成六段。
一個「略」字，把兩本的關係說清楚了：不是相違，是詳略。二本並錄，不判優劣，亦不據一本改一本。
而「恒河」與「殑伽」——玄奘作殑伽，羅什作恒河——注家也早已自陳：「恒河數者，梵云殑伽，訛略云恒河。」唐人已經知道那是同一條河的兩種音寫。
三十八個名字
還有一件事值得看：那三十八個佛名，本身就在說法。
東方的阿閦，梵語意思是「無動」——不被煩惱與四魔的違逆順從所動；須彌相，是說金色的容貌尊嚴得像須彌山；大須彌，是說相好之大如同山王；須彌光，是說身光之大如山王；妙音，是說聲音微妙清徹而遠聞。
再往下讀：南方有日月燈、名聞光、大焰肩、須彌燈、無量精進；西方有無量壽、無量相、無量幢、大光、大明、寶相、淨光；北方有焰肩、最勝音、難沮、日生、網明；下方有師子、名聞、名光、達摩、法幢、持法；上方有梵音、宿王、香上、香光、大焰肩、雜色寶華嚴身、娑羅樹王、寶華德、見一切義、如須彌山。
把這些名字並排看，會發現它們幾乎都繫在三件事上：光（名聞光、大光、大明、淨光、須彌光、香光）、音（妙音、最勝音、梵音、名聞）、不動不壞（阿閦、須彌相、大須彌、如須彌山、難沮、法幢）。
而這三件事，正是前面幾段說過的：那尊佛以光明無量得名，那個國土以法音遍滿為莊嚴，往生的人皆得不退轉。
六方諸佛的名字，等於把這部經的內容用另一種方式再說了一遍。
西方一組裡還列著「無量壽佛」——與所讚歎的那一位同名。經文沒有註明這是否即是阿彌陀佛，此處也不代它斷。
重複本身就是這一段的意思
最後回到這一段的形式。
六段逐字同構，只換方位與佛名。若當作文章看，這是冗贅；若當作誦讀之文看，這正是它的力量所在。
一句話說一遍是主張，說六遍就成了迴響。東方說完南方說，南方說完西方說——聽的人被同一句話從六個方向包圍。
前一段講「一心不亂」，講的是專注的凝聚；這一段用六重複誦，做的是信心的環繞。一內一外，一凝一遍。
經文沒有解釋為什麼要重複。它只是重複了。
承衍——一路考名相與實地，一路六方全誦
上來是本段自身的義。此下另以唐代兩副眼旁照——鏡非經，只是同一場作證，換兩種讀法來看。
慈恩一路是窺基《通贊疏》的讀法。他把每一方拆成五段，逐一釋東方五佛之名（阿閦「此云無動，不被煩惱四魔違順等動故」、須彌相「金容尊狀若須彌」、妙音「其聲微妙清徹遠聞」），考恒河取喻之五義與其地理，引《大智度論》定三千大千之量，並以玄奘新譯之十方與本經之六方相勘。
他讀這一段的方式，是把每一個看似套語的成分都當真：恒河沙不是隨口說多，廣長舌相不是修辭，三千大千是有算法的。這種讀法未必人人需要，但它守住了一件事——經文的每個字都有來歷。
善導一路在《法事讚》中把六方一段全文誦出——六段逐字同構的文字，正是法事轉誦最相宜的段落。上文說這一段「若當作誦讀之文看，這正是它的力量所在」，《法事讚》就是那個力量落地的實證：唐代的法會裡，這六段真的被一方一方誦過去。
一路把套語逐字考實，一路把套語一方一方誦出來。並錄不判，各還其位。
The previous passage finished setting out the practice: hold fast to the name, single-minded and undisturbed, and at the end of life take birth in that land. With that much said, the teaching was in fact already complete.
But the sūtra does not stop. It suddenly draws the view open, and open to the very farthest reach — east, south, west, north, below, above; in every one of these directions there are buddhas as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, each in his own land putting forth his tongue to cover over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, all of them speaking one and the same sentence.
This is the longest passage in the sūtra, and the one whose construction is repeated most thoroughly. One section for each of the six directions; apart from the direction and the buddhas’ names, the rest is identical word for word.
Why This Passage Is Here
The passage of practice before it was said with extreme brevity: hold one name, seven days, and one can take birth in that land.
Brevity carried that far, and a person does not dare to believe it.
And so this passage appears. It states no further principle and gives no further method — it does one thing: it bears witness.
The Cien line judges this to be “the buddhas’ attestation,” in three sections: first declaring the praise he himself has spoken, then adducing the other buddhas as witnesses, and last explaining the sūtra’s name. The sūtra’s own order runs the same way: “Just as I now praise the inconceivable qualities of the Buddha Amitābha” — this is Śākyamuni speaking first, himself; only then do the buddhas of the six directions come forth.
One person speaking may be the word of a single house; buddhas as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, speaking one and the same sentence in six directions at once, is no longer that.
How the Six Directions Are Arranged
Each direction has the same five parts: first pointing out which direction it is, then citing the buddhas’ names, then saying how many there are, then the look of the attestation, and last adducing the words attested.
The east is placed first. Why? — because in the Western regions the east is taken as the superior quarter, and so it is cited first. A geographical custom, not a ranking in doctrine.
The number of buddha-names in each direction is not even: five in the east, five in the south, seven in the west, five in the north, six below, ten above — thirty-eight names in all. Above has the most. The sūtra offers no explanation of the unevenness, nor does it round the count off.
And after the roster of every direction there follows the same sentence: “such buddhas as these, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā.” What is listed is only a sample; the true number is the sand of the Gaṅgā.
Why the Sands of the Gaṅgā
The figure is used so familiarly that it becomes worth asking after all: why the Gaṅgā?
The commentators of former times gave five reasons: first, that river’s sands are many; second, the people of the world hold it in common to be water of blessing — entering the river to bathe, their offences are extinguished; casting themselves in to die, they are born in the heavens; third, though aeons pass and are ruined, the name of this river abides always; fourth, the Buddha often expounded the marvellous Dharma near this river; fifth, everyone knows it, and so it is often taken for a comparison.
Its geography was recorded as well: from the lake free of heat and torment four great rivers issue, and this is one of them; what is taken for the figure is the stretch just where the river issues from the lake’s mouth, its surface forty li square.
Of the five reasons the fifth is the most solid — “all people alike acknowledge it”: everyone knows it. A simile has to be made of something everyone knows, or it does not carry. The Gaṅgā is to the people of India what the Yellow River is to the people of the Middle Land. When the Buddha takes a figure in teaching, he takes what the hearer already knows.
The Matter of Putting Forth the Tongue
“Each in his own land puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue, covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system.”
Read today, this gesture is unfamiliar, even a little strange. But within the Indian setting it has a settled sense: a broad and long tongue is the mark that is the fruit of never speaking falsely. To put forth the tongue in witness is to lay out, in plain sight, the evidence of a whole life in which no lie was told.
The commentator glosses it very simply: “that is, each in his own land extends the mark of the tongue” — each in his own land, not coming flying over.
And how great is “covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system”? The commentary cites the Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom: a thousand Mount Sumerus, a thousand suns and moons, a thousand sets of four continents, a thousand Brahmā kings — this is called a small thousand; taking the small thousand as one unit and multiplying it to a thousand is called the great thousand; and because the multiplying by a thousand is compounded three times over, it is called the three-thousandfold great-thousand.
One tongue, covering a compass as great as that. This is not to have one picture a physiological scene; it is to have one weigh how much that sentence weighs.
That One Sentence
What the buddhas of the six directions speak is one sentence only:
“You beings should trust this Sūtra Praising Inconceivable Qualities, Guarded and Kept in Mind by All Buddhas.”
Not one word more. None of them adds anything of his own, none elaborates anything of his own; it is the same sentence spoken six times.
And the content of that sentence is very plain: you should trust.
Not “you should cultivate,” not “you should realize,” but you should trust. Up to this point the sūtra asks only two things of its hearer: to make the vow (the sixth passage), and to believe (this one).
As for the name of this sūtra — the Sūtra Praising Inconceivable Qualities, Guarded and Kept in Mind by All Buddhas — the sūtra explains why it bears that name only in the passage that follows. Here it first lets the buddhas of the six directions pronounce the name aloud.
Xuanzang’s Version Cites Ten Directions
One further matter should be stated. Kumārajīva’s translation cites six directions; Xuanzang’s cites ten — the four quarters, the four intermediate quarters, above and below, all of them.
This is no comparison made by later hands; it was recorded by the Tang commentator himself. Glossing this passage he writes plainly: The Sūtra on Praising the Pure Land speaks of the buddhas of the ten directions; here six directions are cited in brief, and so the text divides into six sections.
The single word “in brief” makes the relation of the two recensions clear: they do not contradict one another; the one is full and the other abbreviated. Both are recorded; neither is judged the better, and neither is altered on the authority of the other.
And as for the river’s name, transliterated one way by Xuanzang and another by Kumārajīva — the commentator had long since stated it himself: “As for the number of the Gaṅgā’s sands: in Sanskrit Gaṅgā; through corruption and abbreviation it is called Henghe.” The Tang already knew these to be two transliterations of one and the same river.
Thirty-Eight Names
One more thing deserves looking at: those thirty-eight buddha-names are themselves teaching.
In the east, Akṣobhya — the Sanskrit is rendered “Unmoving,” not moved by the afflictions or by the four Māras, whether these run counter or comply; Sumeru-Mark says that his golden countenance is august in form like Mount Sumeru; Great Sumeru, that the greatness of his excellent marks is like the king of mountains; Sumeru-Light, that the light of his body is as great as the king of mountains; Wondrous Sound, that his voice is subtle and clear, heard from afar.
Read on: in the south, Sun-Moon-Lamp, Light of Renown, Great Blazing Shoulders, Sumeru-Lamp, Measureless Exertion; in the west, Measureless Life, Measureless Marks, Measureless Banners, Great Light, Great Brightness, Jewel-Mark, Pure Light; in the north, Blazing Shoulders, Most Excellent Sound, Hard to Thwart, Sun-Born, Net-Brightness; below, Lion, Renown, Name-Light, Dharma, Dharma-Banner, Upholder of the Dharma; above, Brahmā-Voice, King of Constellations, Supreme Fragrance, Fragrance-Light, Great Blazing Shoulders, the Body Adorned with Jewel-Flowers of Many Colours, King of Sāla Trees, Jewel-Flower Virtue, Seeing Every Meaning, Like Mount Sumeru.
Set these names side by side and they are found to hang, almost all of them, upon three things: light (Light of Renown, Great Light, Great Brightness, Pure Light, Sumeru-Light, Fragrance-Light), sound (Wondrous Sound, Most Excellent Sound, Brahmā-Voice, Renown — a name that is heard), and the unmoving and the unruinable (Akṣobhya, Sumeru-Mark, Great Sumeru, Like Mount Sumeru, Hard to Thwart, Dharma-Banner).
And these three are precisely what the earlier passages have already said: that buddha takes his name from light without measure; that land has for its adornment the Dharma-sound filling it everywhere; those who take birth there all attain non-retrogression.
The names of the buddhas of the six directions amount to saying the content of this sūtra over again in another manner.
In the western group there stands also the Buddha of Measureless Life — the same name as the one being praised. The sūtra does not note whether this is Amitābha, and that is not decided here in its stead.
The Repetition Is Itself the Meaning of This Passage
Last, back to the form of this passage.
Six sections identical in construction word for word, with only the direction and the buddha-names changed. Taken as a piece of writing, this is redundancy; taken as a text for chanting, this is exactly where its force lies.
A sentence said once is an assertion; said six times it becomes an echo. The east finishes and the south speaks; the south finishes and the west speaks — the hearer is encircled by one and the same sentence from six directions.
The previous passage spoke of being “single-minded and undisturbed,” which is the gathering of concentration; this passage, in its sixfold recitation, works the encircling of confidence. One inward and one outward, one gathered and one pervading.
The sūtra offers no explanation of why it repeats. It simply repeats.
Carrying Forward — One Way Examines Names and Terrain, the Other Recites All Six Directions
Above is the meaning of this passage itself. Below, two Tang eyes cast their light from the side — the mirror is not the sūtra; only the same act of witness, seen through two ways of reading.
The Cien line is the reading of Kuiji’s Comprehensive Praise Commentary. He takes each direction apart into five parts and glosses the names of the five buddhas of the east one by one (Akṣobhya, “here rendered ‘Unmoving,’ because he is not moved by the afflictions or by the four Māras, whether they run counter or comply”; Sumeru-Mark, “his golden countenance august in form like Mount Sumeru”; Wondrous Sound, “his voice subtle and clear, heard from afar”); he examines the five senses in which the Gaṅgā is taken as a figure, together with its geography; he cites the Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom to fix the measure of the three-thousandfold great-thousand; and he collates the ten directions of Xuanzang’s new translation against the six directions of the present sūtra.
His way of reading this passage is to take in earnest every element that looks like a set formula: the Gaṅgā’s sands are not an offhand way of saying “many,” the mark of a broad, long tongue is not a rhetorical flourish, the three-thousandfold great-thousand has a reckoning behind it. Not every reader needs to read in this way, but it holds one thing fast — that every character of the sūtra has a provenance.
The Shandao line, in the Liturgical Hymns, recites the whole of this six-direction passage — six sections identical word for word being exactly the sort of text most suited to liturgical recitation. It was said above that, taken as a text for chanting, this is exactly where its force lies; the Liturgical Hymns are that force come to ground, attested by a surviving text: in the Dharma assemblies of the Tang, these six sections were really recited through, one direction after another.
One way verifies the set formula character by character; the other chants the set formula out, one direction at a time. Both are recorded without adjudication, each in its own place.
考據Apparatus
全段定位 本段為正宗分第三大文「諸佛證明」之前二節（陳自讚言·引他佛證），是全帙最長之單元（621 code points）。六方各出恒河沙數諸佛，各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，同說一句誠實言。二本方位數目不同：羅什舉六方，玄奘舉十方——窺基於此有明文自陳，見目二。
一、科判定位
「第三諸佛證明。文分為三：初、陳自讚言；二、引他佛證；三、釋經名字。」〔T37n1758 0344a16〕——本單元含前二節，第三節「釋經名字」屬下一單元（09）。
每一方之五段結構：
「《稱讚淨土經》云十方諸佛，此略舉六方，便為六段。且舉東方，每一方各有五段：一、指國土；二、舉佛名；三、辨多少；四、明證相；五、引證言」〔T37n1758 0344a21〕
| 五段 | 東方之例 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 一·指國土 | 「東方」 | 〔T12n0366 0347b19〕 |
| 二·舉佛名 | 「亦有阿閦鞞佛、須彌相佛、大須彌佛、須彌光佛、妙音佛」 | 〔T12n0366 0347b19〕 |
| 三·辨多少 | 「如是等恒河沙數諸佛」 | 〔T12n0366 0347b20〕 |
| 四·明證相 | 「各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界」 | 〔T12n0366 0347b21〕 |
| 五·引證言 | 「汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。」 | 〔T12n0366 0347b22〕 |
六方之序何以東方居首：「先引東方者，西域以東為上，所以先舉。」〔T37n1758 0344a26〕
佛數統計（逐字點檢）：東方 5 佛、南方 5、西方 7、北方 5、下方 6、上方 10——共 38 名，各方復繫以「如是等恒河沙數諸佛」。
二、異譯對勘（T367 玄奘本·異同誌錄不判）
| 位 | 羅什 T12n0366 | 玄奘 T12n0367 |
|---|---|---|
| 方數 | 六方（東·南·西·北·下·上） | 十方——四方四維上下俱舉，如「如是東南方亦有現在最上廣大」〔T12n0367 0350c07〕、「如是西北方亦有現在無量功德」〔T12n0367 0350c19〕 |
| 疏家自陳 | — | 窺基明言：「《稱讚淨土經》云十方諸佛，此略舉六方」〔T37n1758 0344a21〕 |
| 恒河沙 | 「如是等恒河沙數諸佛」〔T12n0366 0347b20〕 | 「十殑伽沙諸佛」〔T12n0367 0351a12〕——作「殑伽」不作「恒河」 |
誌錄不判二事：①方數六與十；②河名之音寫「恒河」與「殑伽」。窺基釋恒河時已自陳：「恒河數者，梵云殑伽，訛略云恒河」〔T37n1758 0344b06〕——唐人已知二名為一。並錄，不判。
三、經論宗依（眼）
三千大千之量，疏引《大論》：
「准《大論》云：千須彌山、千日月、千四天下，及千梵王是謂小千，以小千為一數至千名大千，故名三千，非小中故為大千。」〔T37n1758 0344b15〕
——corpus 內對讀點：canon/prajna/dazhidulun/。此為本帙第二次引《大智度論》（前見光壽一段釋佛光）。
四、本段釋要（通贊疏逐文）
六佛名之釋（東方）：
- 「阿閦梵語，此云無動，不被煩惱四魔違順等動故。」〔T37n1758 0344a27〕
- 「須彌相者，謂金容尊狀若須彌。」〔T37n1758 0344a28〕
- 「大須彌者，謂諸相甚大如大山王。」〔T37n1758 0344a28〕
- 「須彌光者，大如山王身光故。」〔T37n1758 0344a29〕
- 「妙音者，其聲微妙清徹遠聞。」〔T37n1758 0344b01〕
何以取恒河沙為喻——五義：
「由具五義：一、由沙多；二、由世人共為福水，入洗罪滅、投死生天；三、雖經劫壞名字常在；四、佛多近此宣說妙法；五、眾人共委，故多為喻。」〔T37n1758 0344b09〕
並記其地理：「無熱惱池出四大河，此河即一也。」〔T37n1758 0344b08〕；「仍取初出池口方四十里河以為喻」〔T37n1758 0344b12〕。
廣長舌相之釋：「諸佛各於其國出廣長舌相者，即各在本國舒舌相也。」〔T37n1758 0344b13〕
五、諸家異釋（雙鏡分欄·誌錄不判）
| 鏡 | 逐字 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 慈恩（窺基·唐） | 「先引東方者，西域以東為上，所以先舉。」 | 〔T37n1758 0344a26〕 |
| 善導系（善導《法事讚》·唐） | 「功德。東方亦有阿閦鞞佛。須彌相佛。大須彌」 | 〔T47n1979 0433c14〕 |
善導《法事讚》全文轉誦六方〔T47n1979 0433c14〕起，各方之末亦誦「各於其國。出廣長舌相。遍覆三千大千世界。」〔T47n1979 0433c16〕與「功德。一切諸佛所護念經。」〔T47n1979 0433c18〕。
慈恩於本段逐佛釋名、逐方分五段，並考恒河之地理與取喻之由——名相與實地一路；善導系六方全誦——行儀一路。前文所言本段「最宜諷誦」，於此得其實證。
六、術語（首見名相）
| 名相 | 釋義所據 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 阿閦 | 「阿閦梵語，此云無動，不被煩惱四魔違順等動故。」 | 〔T37n1758 0344a27〕 |
| 恒河（殑伽） | 「恒河數者，梵云殑伽，訛略云恒河，是河神之名，河從彼稱。」 | 〔T37n1758 0344b06〕 |
| 廣長舌相 | 「即各在本國舒舌相也。」 | 〔T37n1758 0344b14〕 |
| 三千大千世界 | 「千須彌山、千日月、千四天下，及千梵王是謂小千，以小千為一數至千名大千」 | 〔T37n1758 0344b15〕 |
七、譬喻·修辭
- 經文本身無譬喻——唯以「恒河沙數」為量喻，屬計量之比而非義理之譬。
- 全經最強之重複：六方各段句式逐字同構——「舍利弗！○方（世界）有〔佛名若干〕，如是等恒河沙數諸佛，各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實言：『汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。』」六度重複，僅方位與佛名替換。此為本經最宜諷誦之一段。
- 內層引號：證言六見皆作『』（底本原式），是全經唯一之二層引文。本帙照原不改。
八、徵引承衍
- 《大智度論》為證〔T37n1758 0344b15〕——corpus 內對讀點：
canon/prajna/dazhidulun/。 - 玄奘本為對照〔T37n1758 0344a21〕——窺基以《稱讚淨土經》十方與本經六方相勘，是承衍鏈內證第三見（前見「乾陀訶提」、「四寶」二處）。
- 本段被本帙 corpus 其餘各帙徵引者，零命中（已查
canon/全樹）。
九、校本定位
大正藏校記（<app>）本單元域內二處：
| 錨 | 底本 | 異讀 | 見證 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0347b19 | 「德」 | 德之利 | 宋·元·明 |
| 0347c07 | 「沮」 | 爼 | 宋 |
前者即「讚歎阿彌陀佛不可思議功德」〔T12n0366 0347b18〕之「德」字，宋元明作「德之利」；後者為北方「難沮佛」〔T12n0366 0347c06〕之佛名用字。底本一字不改，異讀誌錄。
gaiji：本單元零命中。 夾註：本單元零命中。
佛名逐字：三十八佛名皆依底本字形錄入，白話層不改一字；其中「阿閦鞞佛」之「鞞」、「難沮佛」之「沮」，異譯本或作他形，本帙不比附。
Placement of the passage as a whole. This passage is the first two sections of the third great division of the main body, “the buddhas’ attestation” (declaring the praise he himself has spoken · adducing the other buddhas as witnesses), and is the longest unit in this volume (621 code points). In each of the six directions there issue buddhas as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā; each in his own land puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue, covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, and all speak one and the same word of truth. The two recensions differ in the number of directions: Kumārajīva cites six, Xuanzang ten — on which Kuiji states himself plainly; see Topic II.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
「第三諸佛證明。文分為三：初、陳自讚言；二、引他佛證；三、釋經名字。」—“Third, the buddhas’ attestation. The text divides into three: first, declaring the praise he himself has spoken; second, adducing the other buddhas as witnesses; third, explaining the sūtra’s name” 〔T37n1758 0344a16〕 — this unit holds the first two sections; the third, “explaining the sūtra’s name,” belongs to the next unit (09).
The fivefold structure within each direction:
「《稱讚淨土經》云十方諸佛，此略舉六方，便為六段。且舉東方，每一方各有五段：一、指國土；二、舉佛名；三、辨多少；四、明證相；五、引證言」—“The Sūtra on Praising the Pure Land speaks of the buddhas of the ten directions; here six directions are cited in brief, and so there are six sections. Take the east: each direction has five parts — first, pointing out the land; second, citing the buddhas’ names; third, determining how many; fourth, showing the mark of attestation; fifth, adducing the words attested” 〔T37n1758 0344a21〕
| Five parts | Example: the east | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Pointing out the land | 「東方」—“the east” | 〔T12n0366 0347b19〕 |
| 2 · Citing the buddhas’ names | 「亦有阿閦鞞佛、須彌相佛、大須彌佛、須彌光佛、妙音佛」—“there are also the Buddha Akṣobhya, the Buddha Sumeru-Mark, the Buddha Great Sumeru, the Buddha Sumeru-Light, and the Buddha Wondrous Sound” | 〔T12n0366 0347b19〕 |
| 3 · Determining how many | 「如是等恒河沙數諸佛」—“such buddhas as these, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā” | 〔T12n0366 0347b20〕 |
| 4 · Showing the mark of attestation | 「各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界」—“each in his own land puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue, covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system” | 〔T12n0366 0347b21〕 |
| 5 · Adducing the words attested | 「汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。」—“You beings should trust this Sūtra Praising Inconceivable Qualities, Guarded and Kept in Mind by All Buddhas” | 〔T12n0366 0347b22〕 |
Why the east stands first among the six directions: 「先引東方者，西域以東為上，所以先舉。」—“That the east is adduced first is because in the Western regions the east is taken as the superior quarter; hence it is cited first” 〔T37n1758 0344a26〕
Count of the buddhas (checked name by name): five in the east, five in the south, seven in the west, five in the north, six below, ten above — thirty-eight names in all, each direction further carrying 「如是等恒河沙數諸佛」—“such buddhas as these, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā.”
II. Collation with the Alternate Translation (T367, Xuanzang) — recorded without adjudication
| Position | Kumārajīva, T12n0366 | Xuanzang, T12n0367 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of directions | six directions (east · south · west · north · below · above) | ten directions — the four quarters, the four intermediate quarters, above and below are all cited, as 「如是東南方亦有現在最上廣大」—“so too in the southeast there are, present now, [the Buddha] Most Supreme and Vast [and the rest]” 〔T12n0367 0350c07〕 and 「如是西北方亦有現在無量功德」—“so too in the northwest there are, present now, [the Buddha] Measureless Qualities [and the rest]” 〔T12n0367 0350c19〕 |
| The commentator’s own statement | — | Kuiji states plainly: 「《稱讚淨土經》云十方諸佛，此略舉六方」—“The Sūtra on Praising the Pure Land speaks of the buddhas of the ten directions; here six directions are cited in brief” 〔T37n1758 0344a21〕 |
| The Gaṅgā’s sands | 「如是等恒河沙數諸佛」—“such buddhas as these, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā” 〔T12n0366 0347b20〕 | 「十殑伽沙諸佛」—“buddhas as many as the sands of ten Gaṅgās” 〔T12n0367 0351a12〕 — writing 殑伽 and not 恒河 |
Recorded without adjudication, two matters: ① six directions and ten; ② the transliteration of the river’s name, 「恒河」 and 「殑伽」. Kuiji, glossing the Gaṅgā, already states of his own accord: 「恒河數者，梵云殑伽，訛略云恒河」—“As for the number of the Gaṅgā’s sands: in Sanskrit Gaṅgā; through corruption and abbreviation it is called Henghe” 〔T37n1758 0344b06〕 — the Tang already knew the two names to be one. Both are recorded; neither is forced.
III. Scriptural and Treatise Grounding (the “eye”)
For the measure of the three-thousandfold great-thousand, the commentary cites the Great Treatise:
「准《大論》云：千須彌山、千日月、千四天下，及千梵王是謂小千，以小千為一數至千名大千，故名三千，非小中故為大千。」—“According to the Great Treatise: a thousand Mount Sumerus, a thousand suns and moons, a thousand sets of four continents, and a thousand Brahmā kings — this is called a small thousand; taking the small thousand as one unit and multiplying to a thousand is called the great thousand. Hence the name three-thousand; and because it is neither the small nor the middling, it is the great thousand” 〔T37n1758 0344b15〕
— point of cross-reading within the corpus: canon/prajna/dazhidulun/. This is the second citation of the Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom in this volume (the first at unit 05, glossing the Buddha’s light).
IV. Essentials of the Commentary on This Passage
The gloss of the buddha-names (the east):
- 「阿閦梵語，此云無動，不被煩惱四魔違順等動故。」—“Akṣobhya is Sanskrit; here rendered ‘Unmoving,’ because he is not moved by the afflictions or by the four Māras, whether they run counter or comply” 〔T37n1758 0344a27〕
- 「須彌相者，謂金容尊狀若須彌。」—“As for Sumeru-Mark: his golden countenance is august in form like Mount Sumeru” 〔T37n1758 0344a28〕
- 「大須彌者，謂諸相甚大如大山王。」—“As for Great Sumeru: his many marks are exceedingly great, like the great king of mountains” 〔T37n1758 0344a28〕
- 「須彌光者，大如山王身光故。」—“As for Sumeru-Light: because the light of his body is as great as the king of mountains” 〔T37n1758 0344a29〕
- 「妙音者，其聲微妙清徹遠聞。」—“As for Wondrous Sound: his voice is subtle and clear, heard from afar” 〔T37n1758 0344b01〕
Why the Gaṅgā’s sands are taken as the figure — five senses:
「由具五義：一、由沙多；二、由世人共為福水，入洗罪滅、投死生天；三、雖經劫壞名字常在；四、佛多近此宣說妙法；五、眾人共委，故多為喻。」—“Because it possesses five senses: first, its sands are many; second, the people of the world hold it in common to be water of blessing — entering it to bathe, their offences are extinguished; casting themselves into it to die, they are born in the heavens; third, though aeons pass and are ruined, its name abides always; fourth, the Buddha often expounded the marvellous Dharma near it; fifth, all people alike acknowledge it, and so it is often taken as a figure” 〔T37n1758 0344b09〕
Its geography is recorded as well: 「無熱惱池出四大河，此河即一也。」—“From the lake free of heat and torment four great rivers issue, and this river is one of them” 〔T37n1758 0344b08〕; 「仍取初出池口方四十里河以為喻」—“and it is the stretch where the river first issues from the lake’s mouth, forty li square, that is taken as the figure” 〔T37n1758 0344b12〕.
The gloss of the mark of a broad, long tongue: 「諸佛各於其國出廣長舌相者，即各在本國舒舌相也。」—“That the buddhas each in their own land put forth the mark of a broad, long tongue means that each, in his own land, extends the mark of the tongue” 〔T37n1758 0344b13〕
V. Divergent Readings of the Commentators (two mirrors in parallel — recorded without adjudication)
| Mirror | Verbatim | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Cien (Kuiji, Tang) | 「先引東方者，西域以東為上，所以先舉。」—“That the east is adduced first is because in the Western regions the east is taken as the superior quarter; hence it is cited first” | 〔T37n1758 0344a26〕 |
| Shandao line (Shandao, Liturgical Hymns, Tang) | 「功德。東方亦有阿閦鞞佛。須彌相佛。大須彌」—“qualities. In the east too there are the Buddha Akṣobhya. The Buddha Sumeru-Mark. Great Sumeru” | 〔T47n1979 0433c14〕 |
Shandao’s Liturgical Hymns recite all six directions in full, from 〔T47n1979 0433c14〕 onward, and at the close of each direction recite also 「各於其國。出廣長舌相。遍覆三千大千世界。」—“each in his own land. Puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue. Covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system.” 〔T47n1979 0433c16〕 together with 「功德。一切諸佛所護念經。」—“qualities. The sūtra guarded and kept in mind by all buddhas.” 〔T47n1979 0433c18〕.
The Cien mirror glosses this passage buddha by buddha and divides each direction into five parts, examining as well the geography of the Gaṅgā and the reason for taking it as a figure — the way of names and of actual terrain; the Shandao line recites all six directions — the way of ritual practice. What was said above, that this passage is “the most fit for chanting,” here finds its attestation.
VI. Terms (first occurrences)
| Term | Ground of the gloss | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Akṣobhya 阿閦 | 「阿閦梵語，此云無動，不被煩惱四魔違順等動故。」—“Akṣobhya is Sanskrit; here rendered ‘Unmoving,’ because he is not moved by the afflictions or by the four Māras, whether they run counter or comply” | 〔T37n1758 0344a27〕 |
| the Gaṅgā 恒河（殑伽） | 「恒河數者，梵云殑伽，訛略云恒河，是河神之名，河從彼稱。」—“As for the number of the Gaṅgā’s sands: in Sanskrit Gaṅgā; through corruption and abbreviation it is called Henghe. It is the name of the river’s deity, and the river is called after her” | 〔T37n1758 0344b06〕 |
| the mark of a broad, long tongue 廣長舌相 | 「即各在本國舒舌相也。」—“that is, each in his own land extends the mark of the tongue” | 〔T37n1758 0344b14〕 |
| the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system 三千大千世界 | 「千須彌山、千日月、千四天下，及千梵王是謂小千，以小千為一數至千名大千」—“a thousand Mount Sumerus, a thousand suns and moons, a thousand sets of four continents, and a thousand Brahmā kings — this is called a small thousand; taking the small thousand as one unit and multiplying to a thousand is called the great thousand” | 〔T37n1758 0344b15〕 |
VII. Similes and Rhetoric
- The sūtra text itself contains no simile — only “as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā” as a figure of quantity, which belongs to comparison of measure and not to simile of doctrine.
- The strongest repetition in the whole sūtra: the six directional sections are identical in construction word for word — 「舍利弗！○方（世界）有〔佛名若干〕，如是等恒河沙數諸佛，各於其國出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實言：『汝等眾生，當信是稱讚不可思議功德一切諸佛所護念經。』」 — “Śāriputra! In the [such-and-such] direction (world) there are [so many buddha-names]; such buddhas as these, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, each in his own land puts forth the mark of a broad, long tongue, covering over the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, and speaks words of truth: ‘You beings should trust this Sūtra Praising Inconceivable Qualities, Guarded and Kept in Mind by All Buddhas.’” Six times repeated, with only the direction and the buddha-names replaced. This is the passage in this sūtra most fit for chanting.
- The inner quotation marks: all six occurrences of the words attested stand in 『』 (the form of the base text), the only two-layer quotation in the whole sūtra. This volume keeps the original form unaltered.
VIII. Citation and Carrying Forward
- The Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom adduced as authority 〔T37n1758 0344b15〕 — point of cross-reading within the corpus:
canon/prajna/dazhidulun/. - Xuanzang’s recension taken as the point of comparison 〔T37n1758 0344a21〕 — Kuiji collates the ten directions of The Sūtra on Praising the Pure Land against the six directions of the present sūtra; this is the third internal evidence of the chain of transmission seen in this volume (earlier at unit 00, “Qiantuohedi,” and at unit 02, “the four jewels”).
- No citation of this passage is found in the remaining volumes of this corpus — nothing is found (a search of the whole
canon/tree).
IX. Placement Among the Recensions
The Taishō collation notes (<app>) record two instances within this unit:
| Anchor | Base text | Variant | Witnesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0347b19 | 「德」 | 德之利 | Song · Yuan · Ming |
| 0347c07 | 「沮」 | 爼 | Song |
The former is the character 「德」 in 「讚歎阿彌陀佛不可思議功德」—“praising the inconceivable qualities of the Buddha Amitābha” 〔T12n0366 0347b18〕, which the Song, Yuan, and Ming printings give as 德之利; the latter is a character used in the name of the northern buddha 「難沮佛」—“the Buddha Hard to Thwart” 〔T12n0366 0347c06〕. Not one character of the base text is altered; the variants are recorded.
Gaiji: nothing is found in this unit. Inline gloss: nothing is found in this unit.
The buddha-names word for word: all thirty-eight buddha-names are entered in the graphic forms of the base text, and the Plain Reading layer alters not one character of them; among them the 「鞞」 of 「阿閦鞞佛」 and the 「沮」 of 「難沮佛」 appear in other forms in other recensions, and this volume draws no analogy to them.