佛說觀無量壽佛經 觀觀世音菩薩真實色身相
十六觀之中，只有這一觀明說：所觀的這個身，有兩處比不上佛。
他的光裡，有眾生
「舉身光中五道眾生，一切色相皆於中現。」
前面幾觀的光是往外照的。
這一句的光是往裡收的。
頭上那一尊是站著的
「其天冠中有一立化佛，高二十五由旬。」
一位菩薩，頭頂頂著一尊佛，而那尊佛站著。
數目翻完，落在一隻手上
指端八萬四千道紋，一紋八萬四千色，一色八萬四千光。
然後是落點：「其光柔軟普照一切，以此寶手接引眾生。」
億萬重莊嚴，最後是一隻伸出來的手。
而那光的性質只有兩個字：柔軟。
「如佛無異」，然後——
「其餘身相，眾好具足，如佛無異，唯頂上肉髻及無見頂相，不及世尊。」
該不及的，一樣也不多給。
從不足的那一處下手
「若有欲觀觀世音菩薩者，當先觀頂上肉髻，次觀天冠。」
教人下手的第一處，正是他方才說不及的那一處。
經文沒有點破，只是照著次第說下去。
Of the sixteen contemplations, this is the only one that says outright: the body here contemplated falls short of the Buddha in two places.
In His Light, There Are Sentient Beings
“In the light of his whole body the beings of the five destinies and all their forms appear.”
The light of the contemplations before shone outward.
The light of this sentence gathers inward.
The One upon His Head Is Standing
“Within that heavenly crown there stands a manifested Buddha, twenty-five yojanas high.”
A bodhisattva, bearing a Buddha upon the crown of his head — and that Buddha is standing.
The Numbers Turn Upward and Come Down in a Hand
Eighty-four thousand lines at a finger-tip; eighty-four thousand colours to a line; eighty-four thousand rays to a colour.
And then the place where it comes down: “That light is soft, and it shines everywhere upon all; with these jeweled hands he receives sentient beings and draws them in.”
Adornment heaped up in koṭis upon koṭis, and at the end a single hand held out.
And of the nature of that light, two characters: soft.
“No Different from a Buddha’s,” and Then —
“As for the rest of his bodily marks, the several excellences are complete, no different from a Buddha’s; only the fleshy protuberance on the crown and the mark of the invisible crown do not match the World-Honored One.”
What ought not to reach — not one of them is granted more.
Beginning at the Place Where He Falls Short
“If there is anyone who wishes to contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, he should first contemplate the fleshy protuberance on the crown, next contemplate the heavenly crown.”
The first place one is taught to begin is exactly the place just said not to reach.
The sūtra does not point it out; it merely goes on speaking in order.
大正藏 T12n0365〔起 T12 0343c11〕。段／行首〔T12 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔T12 0343c11〕佛告阿難及韋提希：「見無量壽佛了了分明已，次亦應觀觀世音菩薩。此菩薩身長八十億那由他恒河沙由旬，身紫金色，頂有肉髻，項有圓光，面各百千由旬。其圓光中有五百化佛，如釋迦牟尼。一一化佛，有五百菩薩，無量諸天，以為侍者。舉身光中五道眾生，一切色相皆於中現。頂上毘楞伽摩尼妙寶，以為天冠。其天冠中有一立化佛，高二十五由旬。觀世音菩薩面如閻浮檀金色；眉間毫相備七寶色，流出八萬四千種光明；一一光明，有無量無數百千化佛；一一化佛，無數化菩薩以為侍者，變現自在滿十方界。臂如紅蓮花色，有八十億微妙光明，以為瓔珞；其瓔珞中，普現一切諸莊嚴事。手掌作五百億雜蓮華色；手十指端，一一指端有八萬四千畫，猶如印文。一一畫有八萬四千色；一一色有八萬四千光，其光柔軟普照一切，以此寶手接引眾生。舉足時，足下有千輻輪相，自然化成五百億光明臺。下足時，有金剛摩尼花，布散一切莫不彌滿。其餘身相，眾好具足，如佛無異，唯頂上肉髻及無見頂相，不及世尊。是為觀觀世音菩薩真實色身相，名第十觀。」 〔T12 0344a11〕佛告阿難：「若欲觀觀世音菩薩當作是觀。作是觀者不遇諸禍，淨除業障，除無數劫生死之罪。如此菩薩，但聞其名，獲無量福，何況諦觀！若有欲觀觀世音菩薩者，當先觀頂上肉髻，次觀天冠。其餘眾相亦次第觀之，悉令明了，如觀掌中。作是觀者，名為正觀。若他觀者，名為邪觀。」
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.
宋畺良耶舍譯《佛說觀無量壽佛經》T12n0365 十六觀之第十觀，自「佛告阿難及韋提希」至「若他觀者，名為邪觀」。段首（…）＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔一·結成前真身觀〕（0343c11）佛告訴阿難和韋提希：『見到無量壽佛明明白白之後，接著也應當觀觀世音菩薩。
〔二·總標身相〕（0343c12）這位菩薩身長八十億那由他恒河沙由旬，身是紫金色，頭頂有肉髻，項後有圓光，圓光每一面有百千由旬。那圓光之中有五百尊化佛，像釋迦牟尼那樣；每一尊化佛，有五百位菩薩、無量諸天作為侍者。他全身的光明之中，五道的眾生、一切的色相都在裡面顯現。
〔三·天冠化佛〕（0343c17）頭頂上用毘楞伽摩尼妙寶（此寶全名釋迦毘楞伽，譯出來是「能聖」）作為天冠。那天冠之中有一尊站立的化佛，高二十五由旬。
〔四·面色〕（0343c19）觀世音菩薩的面像閻浮檀金的顏色。
〔五·毫光轉變〕（0343c20）眉間的毫相具備七寶的顏色，流出八萬四千種光明；每一道光明之中，有無量無數百千尊化佛；每一尊化佛，有無數化菩薩作為侍者，變現自在，遍滿十方世界。臂像紅蓮花的顏色。
〔六·身服光瓔〕（0343c23）有八十億道微妙的光明作為瓔珞；那瓔珞之中，普遍地顯現一切種種莊嚴的事。
〔七·手有慈悲之用〕（0344a02）手掌現出五百億種雜蓮華的顏色；手的十根指頭，每一根指端有八萬四千道紋，像印上的文；每一道紋有八萬四千種顏色；每一種顏色有八萬四千道光。那光柔軟，普照一切，用這雙寶手接引眾生。
〔八·足有德用〕（0344a05）抬起腳的時候，腳底有千輻輪相，自然化成五百億座光明臺；落下腳的時候，有金剛摩尼花，散布得處處都滿。
〔九·指同於佛〕（0344a08）其餘的身相，種種好都具足，和佛沒有差別；
〔十·二相不及〕（0344a09）只有頭頂上的肉髻，以及無見頂相，比不上世尊。
〔十一·總結〕（0344a09）這就叫做觀觀世音菩薩真實色身相，名為第十觀。』
〔十二·重結生後益〕（0344a11）佛告訴阿難：『若想要觀觀世音菩薩，應當作這樣的觀。
〔十三·勸觀利益〕（0344a12）作這樣的觀的人，不會遇到種種禍害，清淨地除掉業障，除滅無數劫生死的罪。像這樣的菩薩，只是聽到他的名字，就獲得無量的福，何況仔細地觀！
〔十四·重顯觀儀〕（0344a14）若有人想要觀觀世音菩薩，應當先觀頭頂上的肉髻，其次觀天冠。其餘種種相，也依次第一樣一樣觀，都要讓它明明了了，像看自己的掌心一樣。
〔十五·辨觀邪正〕（0344a16）作這樣的觀，名為正觀；若作其他的觀，名為邪觀。』
Translated in the Liu Song by Kālayaśas, The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life, T12n0365, the tenth of the sixteen contemplations, from “The Buddha told Ānanda and Vaidehī” down to “to make another contemplation is called wrong contemplation.” The figures at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.
〔一 · Gathering Up the Preceding Contemplation of the True Body〕（0343c11）The Buddha told Ānanda and Vaidehī: “When the Buddha of Measureless Life has been seen clear and distinct, next you should also contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.
〔二 · Marking the Bodily Marks in General〕（0343c12）This bodhisattva’s body is eighty koṭis of nayutas of yojanas in height, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā; his body is purple-gold in colour; on his crown is a fleshy protuberance, and behind his neck a circular radiance, each side of it a hundred thousand yojanas. Within that circular radiance are five hundred manifested Buddhas, like Śākyamuni; each manifested Buddha has five hundred bodhisattvas and measureless gods for attendants. In the light of his whole body the beings of the five destinies and every form there is appear.
〔三 · The Manifested Buddha in the Heavenly Crown〕（0343c17）Upon his crown he wears as a heavenly crown the wondrous jewel, the Pilengqie maṇi (the full name of this jewel is Shijiapilengqie, which is rendered “Able and Holy”). Within that heavenly crown there stands a manifested Buddha, twenty-five yojanas high.
〔四 · The Colour of the Face〕（0343c19）The face of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara is the colour of Jambūnada gold.
〔五 · The Transformations of the Light of the Tuft〕（0343c20）The mark of the tuft between his brows has the colours of the seven precious substances, and pours out eighty-four thousand kinds of light. In each light there are measureless, countless hundreds of thousands of manifested Buddhas; each manifested Buddha has countless manifested bodhisattvas for attendants, manifesting freely and filling the worlds of the ten directions. His arms are the colour of a red lotus flower.
〔六 · The Light-Necklaces He Wears〕（0343c23）There are eighty koṭis of subtle lights that serve as his necklaces, and within those necklaces all the manifold adornments appear everywhere.
〔七 · The Hands and Their Work of Compassion〕（0344a02）His palms show the colours of five hundred koṭis of mixed lotus flowers. On his ten fingers, at each finger-tip, there are eighty-four thousand lines, like the lines of a seal; each line has eighty-four thousand colours; each colour has eighty-four thousand rays of light. That light is soft, and it shines everywhere upon all; with these jeweled hands he receives sentient beings and draws them in.
〔八 · The Feet and Their Work of Virtue〕（0344a05）When he lifts a foot, beneath the foot is the mark of the thousand-spoked wheel, which of itself becomes five hundred koṭis of daises of light; when he sets a foot down, there are adamantine maṇi flowers, scattered so widely that nothing is left unfilled.
〔九 · Pointing to What Is the Same as a Buddha’s〕（0344a08）As for the rest of his bodily marks, the several excellences are complete, no different from a Buddha’s;
〔十 · The Two Marks That Do Not Reach〕（0344a09）only the fleshy protuberance on the crown and the mark of the invisible crown do not match the World-Honored One.
〔十一 · General Conclusion〕（0344a09）This is what is called contemplating the true form-body of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and it is named the tenth contemplation.”
〔十二 · Gathering Up Again and Giving Rise to the Benefit That Follows〕（0344a11）The Buddha told Ānanda: “If you wish to contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, you should make this contemplation.
〔十三 · The Benefit of Being Urged to Contemplate〕（0344a12）One who makes this contemplation will not meet with calamities; he purely removes karmic obstruction, and removes the offences of birth-and-death of countless kalpas. Of a bodhisattva such as this, merely to hear his name is to obtain measureless merit — how much more to contemplate him closely!
〔十四 · Showing the Manner of Contemplation Once More〕（0344a14）If there is anyone who wishes to contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, he should first contemplate the fleshy protuberance on the crown, next contemplate the heavenly crown. The rest of the many marks he should likewise contemplate in order, one after another, letting them all be clear and distinct, as though he were looking at the palm of his own hand.
〔十五 · Distinguishing Right and Wrong in the Contemplation〕（0344a16）To make this contemplation is called right contemplation; to make another contemplation is called wrong contemplation.”
第九觀看的是佛的真身。這一觀，看的是站在祂左邊的那一位。
經文說：「見無量壽佛了了分明已，次亦應觀觀世音菩薩。」
善導《觀經四帖疏》把這一觀分作十五句，幾乎逐相有科；智顗《觀無量壽佛經疏》只分三科，全觀的釋文不過六行。兩家詳略之懸殊，以本觀為最。各自的理由都在自己的書裡。此下所講的是經。
從頂到足，一路排下來
這一段的寫法和前面都不同。
前幾觀是層層放大——一片葉子、一道光、一個相，數目往上翻。這一觀是從頭頂一路排到腳底：
頭頂的肉髻，項後的圓光，頂上的天冠，面，眉間的毫相，臂，手掌，十根指頭的指端，抬起的腳，落下的腳。
十個部位，一個一個過去。第八觀教過的「順觀」——從上向下——在這裡有了一個現成的樣本。
一個八十億那由他恒河沙由旬的身
先看數。
「此菩薩身長八十億那由他恒河沙由旬，身紫金色」。
上一觀的佛身是六十萬億那由他恒河沙由旬。這一位是八十億——數目的單位換了，前一個帶「萬億」，這一個只有「億」。經文沒有解釋這個差別，只是照著寫。
而身色也不同：佛身是「百千萬億夜摩天閻浮檀金色」，這一位是「紫金色」。到面上，經文又轉了一次：「觀世音菩薩面如閻浮檀金色」——身是紫金，面是閻浮檀金，一身之內兩種顏色。歷來的讀法在這裡特地立了一科，就叫「面色與身色不同」。
一部經寫到這樣的地步，連一位菩薩臉的顏色和身的顏色不一樣，都要單獨標出來。
他的光裡，有你
總標身相的一段裡，有一句很特別：
「舉身光中五道眾生，一切色相皆於中現。」
他全身的光明之中，五道的眾生、一切的色相，都在那光裡顯現。
前面幾觀的光是往外照的——遍照十方、遍其寶土。這一句的光是往裡收的：眾生現在他的光裡。
經文沒有解釋這件事，只是這樣寫著。
頭上那一尊站著的佛
接著是天冠：「其天冠中有一立化佛，高二十五由旬。」
一位菩薩，頭頂上頂著一尊佛，而且那尊佛是站著的。
有一路讀法在此下了五個字：帶果而行因。
果已經在頭上了，因還在腳下走著。
一雙手
然後是手。
手掌現出五百億種雜蓮華的顏色；十根指頭，每一根的指端有八萬四千道紋，像印上的文；每一道紋有八萬四千種顏色；每一種顏色有八萬四千道光。
數目又翻上去了。可是這一次翻完，落點極其具體：
「其光柔軟普照一切，以此寶手接引眾生。」
億萬重的莊嚴，最後是一隻伸出來的手。
而那光的性質，經文只給了兩個字：柔軟。
抬腳與落腳
腳的寫法也是兩個動作。
抬起腳的時候，腳底的千輻輪相自然化成五百億座光明臺；落下腳的時候，有金剛摩尼花散布得處處都滿。
抬起是臺，落下是花。一位菩薩走路，走過的地方就這樣。
歷來的讀法給這一節的科名是「足有德用之相」——德不在別處，就在那雙腳落下去的地方。經文寫手的時候說「接引」，寫足的時候不說用途，只寫抬起與落下所現的相；用不用得上，它一個字也沒有添。
「如佛無異」，然後「不及世尊」
全段最重的一判在這裡：
「其餘身相，眾好具足，如佛無異，唯頂上肉髻及無見頂相，不及世尊。」
其餘的身相，種種好都具足，和佛沒有差別。
只有兩樣不及：頂上的肉髻，和無見頂相。
這是全經唯一一處，明說所觀之身有兩處比不上佛。
歷來的讀法把這兩個字說得很清楚：這是師徒位別、果願未圓，所以這兩相有虧——用一個「不足」的地方，標出他還在因地上。
經文寫得極省。它不說『所以你要努力』，也不說『他其實已經成佛只是示現』。它就寫了「不及世尊」四個字，然後往下走。
而我們讀到這裡，其實已經被告知了一件事：在這部經裡，位次是照實記的。 相好可以八萬四千地數上去，該不及的那兩樣，一樣也不會多給。
只是聽見名字
觀儀之後，佛又叫了一次阿難，補了一段利益：
「作是觀者不遇諸禍，淨除業障，除無數劫生死之罪。」
接著是一句更輕的：「如此菩薩，但聞其名，獲無量福，何況諦觀！」
只是聽見他的名字，就得無量福；何況仔細地觀。
這一句的語氣是『舉輕以顯重』——先說那個最容易的，再說這個難的。而它順帶交代了一件事：這一觀所被的機，低到只要耳朵聽見過。
不遇諸禍
利益還有更前面的一句：「作是觀者不遇諸禍，淨除業障，除無數劫生死之罪。」
三件事：不遇諸禍、淨除業障、除無數劫生死之罪。
第一件是現世的，第二件是心地的，第三件是曠劫的。三件由近而遠排下來，而排在最前面的那一件最樸素——不遇到災禍。
經文沒有把它說成一個保證；而這三件利益所繫的人，句子開頭那四個字就寫著了——作這一觀的人。它只是這樣列著，然後接下去講觀儀。
三件之中，最先說的那一件也最貼近日用；經文把它放在最前面，而不放在最後作結。
從哪裡下手
末後是觀儀，也是這一觀最實用的兩句：
「若有欲觀觀世音菩薩者，當先觀頂上肉髻，次觀天冠。其餘眾相亦次第觀之」。
先觀肉髻，次觀天冠。
而剛才那個「不及世尊」的地方，正是肉髻。經文教人下手的第一處，恰恰是他不足的那一處。經文沒有點破這個對照，它只是照著次第說下去。
驗收的標準仍是那句老話：「悉令明了，如觀掌中。」
承衍——兩副眼看同一雙手
上來是這一段經文自身的義。此下另以隋唐兩副眼旁照——鏡非經，只是同一雙手，換兩種讀法來看。
善導一路是《觀經四帖疏》的讀法。他分本觀為十五句，總標身相之下再分六事：身量大小、身色與佛不同、肉髻與佛蠃髻不同、圓光大小、化佛侍者多少、身光普現五道眾生；手之一句再分六事，末歸於「以此寶光之手接引有緣也」。二相不及之義出於他——「師徒位別、果願未圓，致使二相有虧，表居不足之地也」。他讀觀音，是「通正報」；而第八像觀中所想的觀音像是假，此觀之真實色身相是真。全觀他以兩句收之：「斯乃觀音願重影現十方，寶手停輝隨機引接。」
智顗一路是《觀無量壽佛經疏》的讀法。他分本觀為三科：結上、正明觀菩薩身、觀之邪正；觀身相之下再分三：觀身相、明與佛同異、還舉利勸修。他於此觀所出之義唯一句——冠中的立化佛是「帶果而行因」；所出之訓亦唯一條——釋迦毘楞伽，翻作「能聖」。他所牒的首句作「復應觀觀世音菩薩」，與底本「次亦應觀」不同，所據之本於此一字有異。
一路把這一身讀成願重而手停輝的接引者，量到相相之同異與位次之不足；一路把它讀成帶果行因的菩薩法身，六行而止。
而經自己只說了一句：以此寶手接引眾生。
The ninth contemplation looked at the true body of the Buddha. This one looks at the figure who stands at his left.
The sūtra says: “When the Buddha of Measureless Life has been seen clear and distinct, next you should also contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.”
Shandao’s Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra in Four Fascicles divides this contemplation into fifteen sentences, with an outline item for very nearly every mark; Zhiyi’s Commentary on the Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life divides it into three items only, and his exposition of the whole contemplation runs to no more than six lines. Nowhere are the two houses further apart in fullness and brevity than here. Each keeps its reasons in its own book. What is set out below is the sūtra.
From the Crown to the Sole, Laid Out in a Single Descent
The manner of writing in this passage is unlike that of any before it.
The contemplations just past enlarged layer upon layer — one leaf, one ray, one mark, the numbers turning ever upward. This one runs from the crown of the head straight down to the sole of the foot:
the fleshy protuberance on the crown, the circular radiance behind the neck, the heavenly crown above, the face, the tuft between the brows, the arms, the palms, the tips of the ten fingers, the foot lifted, the foot set down.
Ten places, gone through one after another. The “contemplating in sequence” — from above downward — that the eighth contemplation taught has here a ready specimen.
A Body of Eighty Koṭis of Nayutas of the Sands of the Gaṅgā of Yojanas
Look first at the numbers.
“This bodhisattva’s body is eighty koṭis of nayutas of yojanas in height, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā; his body is purple-gold in colour.”
The Buddha’s body in the contemplation before was six hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of yojanas, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā. This figure is eighty koṭis — the unit of the number has changed: the former carried “myriads of koṭis,” this one has only “koṭis.” The sūtra offers no explanation of the difference; it simply writes it down.
The colour of the body differs too. The Buddha’s body was “the colour of a hundred thousand myriads of koṭis of Jambūnada gold of the Yāma heaven”; this figure is “purple-gold in colour.” And when it comes to the face the sūtra turns once again: “the face of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara is the colour of Jambūnada gold” — the body purple-gold, the face Jambūnada gold, two colours within one body. The readings handed down set up an outline item here on purpose, and called it just that: “the colour of the face differs from the colour of the body.”
A sūtra written to such a pitch that even a bodhisattva’s face being of a different colour from his body must be marked out on its own.
In His Light, There Is You
In the passage that marks the bodily marks in general there is one sentence of a very singular kind:
“In the light of his whole body the beings of the five destinies and all their forms appear.”
Within the light of his whole body, the beings of the five destinies and every form there is appear inside that light.
The light of the contemplations before shone outward — shining everywhere over the ten directions, everywhere over that jeweled land. The light of this sentence gathers inward: sentient beings appear inside his light.
The sūtra offers no explanation of this; it simply writes it so.
The Standing Buddha upon His Head
Next comes the heavenly crown: “Within that heavenly crown there stands a manifested Buddha, twenty-five yojanas high.”
A bodhisattva, bearing a Buddha upon the crown of his head — and that Buddha is standing.
One line of reading sets down five characters here: “he bears the fruit while walking the cause.”
The fruit is already upon his head; the cause is still being walked beneath his feet.
A Pair of Hands
Then come the hands.
The palms show the colours of five hundred koṭis of mixed lotus flowers; on the ten fingers, at each finger-tip there are eighty-four thousand lines, like the lines of a seal; each line has eighty-four thousand colours; each colour has eighty-four thousand rays of light.
The numbers turn upward again. But this time, when the turning is done, where it comes down is utterly concrete:
“That light is soft, and it shines everywhere upon all; with these jeweled hands he receives sentient beings and draws them in.”
Adornment heaped up in koṭis upon koṭis, and at the end a single hand held out.
And of the nature of that light the sūtra gives two characters only: soft.
Lifting the Foot and Setting It Down
The feet too are written in two motions.
When he lifts a foot, the mark of the thousand-spoked wheel beneath it becomes of itself five hundred koṭis of daises of light; when he sets a foot down, there are adamantine maṇi flowers scattered so widely that nothing is left unfilled.
Lifted, a dais; set down, a flower. A bodhisattva walks, and this is what becomes of the ground he has walked over.
The readings handed down give this section the outline name “the mark of the feet having the working of virtue” — the virtue is nowhere else than in the place where those feet come down. Where the sūtra writes of the hands it says “receives and draws in”; where it writes of the feet it says nothing of any use they serve, but only what appears in the lifting and the setting down. Whether it can be put to use, it does not add a word about.
“No Different from a Buddha’s,” and Then “Do Not Match the World-Honored One”
The weightiest judgment of the passage stands here:
“As for the rest of his bodily marks, the several excellences are complete, no different from a Buddha’s; only the fleshy protuberance on the crown and the mark of the invisible crown do not match the World-Honored One.”
As for the rest of his bodily marks, the several excellences are all complete, and there is no difference from a Buddha.
Only two do not reach: the fleshy protuberance on the crown, and the mark of the invisible crown.
This is the one place in the whole sūtra where it is said outright that the body contemplated falls short of the Buddha in two respects.
The readings handed down state these two characters quite plainly: master and disciple differ in position, and the fruit of his vows is not yet full, and therefore these two marks are wanting — a place of “insufficiency” is used to mark that he still stands upon the ground of the cause.
The sūtra writes with the utmost economy. It does not say therefore you must strive, nor does it say he is in fact already a Buddha and merely displays this. It writes the four characters “do not match the World-Honored One,” and moves on.
And by the time we have read this far we have in fact been told something: in this sūtra, position and rank are recorded as they are. The marks and excellences may be counted upward by eighty-four thousands, but of the two that ought not to reach, not one of them is granted more.
Merely Hearing the Name
After the manner of contemplation, the Buddha calls Ānanda once again and adds a passage of benefit:
“One who makes this contemplation will not meet with calamities; he purely removes karmic obstruction, and removes the offences of birth-and-death of countless kalpas.”
Then comes a sentence lighter still: “Of a bodhisattva such as this, merely to hear his name is to obtain measureless merit — how much more to contemplate him closely!”
Merely to hear his name is to gain measureless merit; how much more to contemplate him closely.
The tone of this sentence is that of raising the light to show the weighty — first the easiest thing, and then the hard one. And in passing it settles a further matter: the capacity this contemplation reaches down to is as low as an ear that has once heard.
Not Meeting with Calamities
The benefit has an earlier sentence still: “One who makes this contemplation will not meet with calamities; he purely removes karmic obstruction, and removes the offences of birth-and-death of countless kalpas.”
Three things: not meeting with calamities; purely removing karmic obstruction; removing the offences of birth-and-death of countless kalpas.
The first belongs to the present life, the second to the ground of the mind, the third to kalpas beyond reckoning. Three things laid out from near to far — and the one placed first is the plainest of all: not meeting with disaster.
The sūtra does not turn it into a guarantee; and the person to whom these three benefits are tied is written in the four characters at the head of the sentence itself — the one who makes this contemplation. It merely sets them out like this, and goes on to speak of the manner of contemplation.
Of the three, the one spoken of first is also the one closest to daily use; the sūtra puts it at the head and not at the end as a conclusion.
Where to Begin
Last comes the manner of contemplation, and these are the two most practical sentences of the contemplation:
“If there is anyone who wishes to contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, he should first contemplate the fleshy protuberance on the crown, next contemplate the heavenly crown. The rest of the many marks he should likewise contemplate in order.”
First the fleshy protuberance, next the heavenly crown.
And that place just now said not to match the World-Honored One is precisely the fleshy protuberance. The first place the sūtra teaches one to begin is exactly the place where he falls short. The sūtra does not point the contrast out; it merely goes on speaking in order.
The test of it is still the old sentence: “letting them all be clear and distinct, as though he were looking at the palm of his own hand.”
Carrying Forward — Two Eyes on the Same Pair of Hands
The above is the meaning of this passage of the sūtra itself. Below, two eyes, one of the Sui and one of the Tang, cast their light from the side — the mirror is not the sūtra; only the same pair of hands, seen through two ways of reading.
The Shandao line is the reading of the Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra in Four Fascicles. He divides this contemplation into fifteen sentences, and beneath the general marking of the bodily marks divides again into six matters: the size of the body, the colour of the body differing from a Buddha’s, the fleshy protuberance differing from a Buddha’s spiral topknot, the size of the circular radiance, how many the manifested Buddhas and their attendants are, and the light of the body making the beings of the five destinies appear everywhere; the single sentence on the hands he divides into six matters again, ending in “with these hands of jeweled light he receives and draws in those who have the connection.” The meaning of the two marks that do not reach comes from him — “master and disciple differ in position, and the fruit of his vows is not yet full, so that the two marks are wanting, showing that he dwells in a place of insufficiency.” He reads Avalokiteśvara as belonging to “the common direct recompense”; and the image of Avalokiteśvara formed in the eighth contemplation, the contemplation of the image, is provisional, while the true form-body of this contemplation is true. The whole contemplation he gathers up in two clauses: “This is Avalokiteśvara: his vows are weighty and his reflection appears in the ten directions; his jeweled hands rest their radiance and receive and draw beings in according to their capacities.”
The Zhiyi line is the reading of the Commentary on the Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life. He divides this contemplation into three items: gathering up what is above, directly clarifying the contemplation of the bodhisattva’s body, and the wrong and right of the contemplation; and beneath the contemplation of the bodily marks he divides into three again: contemplating the bodily marks, clarifying wherein he is the same as and differs from a Buddha, and again raising the benefit and exhorting cultivation. The meaning he brings out in this contemplation is a single sentence — the standing manifested Buddha in the crown “bears the fruit while walking the cause”; and the gloss he brings out is a single entry — Shijiapilengqie is rendered “Able and Holy.” The opening sentence he cites reads “again you should contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara,” which differs from the base text’s “next you should also contemplate,” the recension he relied on diverging in that one character.
One line reads this body as one who receives and leads, weighty in vow and with hands that rest their radiance, and measures it by the sameness and difference of mark upon mark and by the insufficiency of rank; the other reads it as the dharma-body of a bodhisattva who bears the fruit while walking the cause, and stops at six lines.
And the sūtra itself has said only this: with these jeweled hands he receives sentient beings and draws them in.
考據Apparatus
全段定位 本單元為十六觀之第十觀，是三聖之中第二位所觀之身。經文先結成前真身觀而生後菩薩觀，次總標身量、身色、肉髻、圓光、化佛侍者與舉身光現五道眾生，次言天冠中之立化佛、面色、眉間毫光、臂色、瓔珞、手掌指端之畫、足下千輻輪與金剛摩尼花，末以「其餘身相，眾好具足，如佛無異，唯頂上肉髻及無見頂相，不及世尊」判菩薩與佛之際；復以佛告阿難一段重顯觀儀，勸「先觀頂上肉髻，次觀天冠」，結而判邪正。全段五百五十四字。本觀是全經唯一明言所觀之身有二相「不及世尊」者（頂上肉髻與無見頂相），其義見目四。
一、科判定位
善導《四帖疏》分本觀為十五句：
「十、就觀音觀中，亦先舉，次辨，後結。即有其十五。」〔T37n1753 0268b14〕
| 疏之十五句 | 疏標起訖（逐字） | 錨 | 本帙白話段位 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | 「一、從佛告阿難下，至菩薩已來，正明結成前真身觀，生後菩薩觀。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268b15〕 | 〔一〕 |
| 二 | 「二、從此菩薩身長下，至皆於中現已來，正明總標身相。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268b16〕 | 〔二〕 |
| 三 | 「三、從頂上毘楞伽下，至二十五由旬已來，正明天冠之內化佛殊異。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268b21〕 | 〔三〕 |
| 四 | 「四、從觀音已下，正明面色與身色不同。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268b22〕 | 〔四〕 |
| 五 | 「五、從眉間下，至蓮華色已來，正明毫光轉變遍滿十方，化侍彌多更比紅蓮之色。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268b23〕 | 〔五〕 |
| 六 | 「六、從有八十億光明下，至莊嚴事已來，正明身服光瓔非眾寶作。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268b28〕 | 〔六〕 |
| 七 | 「七、從手掌作五百億下，至接引眾生已來，正明手有慈悲之用也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268b29〕 | 〔七〕 |
| 八 | 「八、從舉足時下，至莫不彌滿已來，正明足有德用之相。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268c06〕 | 〔八〕 |
| 九 | 「九、從其餘身相已下，指同於佛。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268c08〕 | 〔九〕 |
| 十 | 「十、從唯頂上下，至不及世尊已來，正明師徒位別、果願未圓，致使二相有虧，表居不足之地也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268c08〕 | 〔十〕 |
| 十一 | 「十一、從是為下，總結。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268c11〕 | 〔十一〕 |
| 十二 | 「十二、從佛告阿難下，至當作是觀已來，正明重結前文生其後益。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268c11〕 | 〔十二〕 |
| 十三 | 「十三、從作是觀者下，至何況諦觀已來，正明勸觀利益。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268c13〕 | 〔十三〕 |
| 十四 | 「十四、從若有欲觀觀音下，至如觀掌中已來，正明重顯觀儀勸物傾心，使沾兩益。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268c14〕 | 〔十四〕 |
| 十五 | 「十五、從作是觀已下，正明辨觀邪正相。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268c16〕 | 〔十五〕 |
witness 分欄·智顗疏之科（誌錄不判）：
「第十觀觀音。中有三：初、結上」〔T37n1750 0193a08〕 「次、「復應觀觀世音菩薩」下，正明觀菩薩身也」〔T37n1750 0193a08〕 「第三、「作此觀者」，觀之邪正也」〔T37n1750 0193a09〕 「觀菩薩法身中有三：初、觀身相」〔T37n1750 0193a10〕 「第二、明與佛同異。第三、「佛告阿難」下，還舉利勸修也」〔T37n1750 0193a11〕
二疏於本觀之科粗細懸殊：善導分十五句，逐相坐實；智顗分三科，身相之下再分三，全觀之釋僅六行。智顗所牒之首句作「復應觀觀世音菩薩」，與底本「次亦應觀觀世音菩薩」〔T12n0365 0343c12〕不同，與大正原式所記之明註（見目九）相涉，誌錄不判。
二、異譯對勘
本經漢地無第二譯本——已查大正藏第十二冊 T12n0360–T12n0396 諸經題名，止此一本，無異譯可勘。誠實記之。
同軸他經有無觀音之文？《佛說阿彌陀經》T12n0366 與玄奘《稱讚淨土佛攝受經》T12n0367 全篇零命中（「觀世音」「大勢至」二名一無所出）。《無量壽經》T12n0360 有之，逐字錄於目三。誠實記之。
三、經論宗依（眼）
觀音在正報中之位——善導於玄義分辨正報之通別真假，明觀音等屬「通正報」，而其像亦有假：
「言通正報者，即觀音聖眾等已下是也。」〔T37n1753 0247a04〕 「觀音勢至等亦如是，此由眾生障重染惑處深，佛恐乍想真容無由顯現，故使假立真像以住心想，同彼佛以證境故言假正報也。」〔T37n1753 0246c26〕
第八像觀中所想之觀音像是假，本觀所觀之真實色身相是真——本觀之名自標「真實色身相」〔T12n0365 0344a10〕，二觀真假之界即在此。
二大士之名與位，出於大本：
「有二菩薩最尊第一，威神光明普照三千大千世界。」〔T12n0360 0273b23〕 「一名觀世音，二名大勢至。是二菩薩於此國土修菩薩行，命終轉化生彼佛國。」〔T12n0360 0273b25〕
大本言二菩薩之名、位與其因地，本經言其身相之量與相好——二經所詳不同，並錄。
智顗於本觀所繫之義在冠中立化佛之表——「冠中立化佛者，帶果而行因也。」〔T37n1750 0193a11〕。善導於此唯標「天冠之內化佛殊異」〔T37n1753 0268b22〕，不出表法。二家所繫不同，並錄。
四、本段釋要（四帖疏逐文）
總標身相之六事——
「一明身量大小。二明身色與佛不同。三明肉髻與佛蠃髻不同」〔T37n1753 0268b18〕 「四明圓光大小。五明化佛侍者多少。六明身光普現五道眾生」〔T37n1753 0268b19〕
毫光轉變之五事——
疏標其總：「正明毫光轉變遍滿十方，化侍彌多更比紅蓮之色」〔T37n1753 0268b24〕。
手有慈悲之用之六事——
「二明一一指端有八萬印文。三明一一文有八萬餘色。四明一一色有八萬餘光」〔T37n1753 0268c03〕 「五明光體柔軟等照一切。六明以此寶光之手接引有緣也」〔T37n1753 0268c05〕
疏所牒之數與底本不同：底本作「一一指端有八萬四千畫」「一一畫有八萬四千色」「一一色有八萬四千光」〔T12n0365 0344a03–a04〕，疏牒作「二明一一指端有八萬印文。三明一一文有八萬餘色。四明一一色有八萬餘光」〔T37n1753 0268c03〕。誌錄不判，不以疏之牒文改底本一字。
「唯頂上肉髻及無見頂相，不及世尊」之義——此為本觀最重之一判，疏文逐字：
「十、從唯頂上下，至不及世尊已來，正明師徒位別、果願未圓，致使二相有虧，表居不足之地也。」〔T37n1753 0268c08〕
其餘身相既「如佛無異」，疏標「指同於佛」〔T37n1753 0268c08〕；唯此二相為別，其所以別者在「師徒位別、果願未圓」。
重顯觀儀——
「十四、從若有欲觀觀音下，至如觀掌中已來，正明重顯觀儀勸物傾心，使沾兩益。」〔T37n1753 0268c14〕
全觀之結語——
「斯乃觀音願重影現十方，寶手停輝隨機引接。」〔T37n1753 0268c17〕
五、諸家異釋（分欄並錄·誌錄不判）
| 事 | 善導《四帖疏》（唐） | 錨 | 智顗疏（隋·天台） | 錨 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 本觀之分句 | 十五句 | 〔T37n1753 0268b14〕 | 三科（身相之下再分三） | 〔T37n1750 0193a08〕 |
| 首句之牒 | 「一、從佛告阿難下，至菩薩已來」 | 〔T37n1753 0268b15〕 | 「復應觀觀世音菩薩」 | 〔T37n1750 0193a08〕 |
| 天冠中立化佛 | 「正明天冠之內化佛殊異」——不出表法 | 〔T37n1753 0268b21〕 | 「冠中立化佛者，帶果而行因也。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193a11〕 |
| 二相不及世尊 | 「正明師徒位別、果願未圓，致使二相有虧，表居不足之地也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0268c09〕 | 科作「第二、明與佛同異」，不釋其所以 | 〔T37n1750 0193a11〕 |
| 毘楞伽之訓 | 全篇不釋 | — | 「釋迦毘楞伽，翻能聖。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193a12〕 |
| 觀儀之次第 | 「重顯觀儀勸物傾心，使沾兩益」 | 〔T37n1753 0268c15〕 | 「還舉利勸修也」 | 〔T37n1750 0193a12〕 |
二家之詳略在本觀最為懸殊：善導十五句幾於逐相有科，智顗六行而止。二說並錄，不設調停。
六、術語（首見名相·釋義皆自二鏡）
| 名相 | 疏釋逐字 | 錨 | 鏡 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 毘楞伽 | 「釋迦毘楞伽，翻能聖。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193a12〕 | 智顗 |
| 肉髻（與佛蠃髻之別） | 「三明肉髻與佛蠃髻不同」 | 〔T37n1753 0268b19〕 | 善導 |
| 通正報 | 「言通正報者，即觀音聖眾等已下是也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0247a04〕 | 善導 |
| 天冠立化佛之表 | 「冠中立化佛者，帶果而行因也。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193a11〕 | 智顗 |
二鏡零命中之名相，誠實記之：「無見頂相」「千輻輪相」「金剛摩尼花」「紅蓮花」四語，善導《四帖疏》T37n1753 與智顗疏 T37n1750 全篇皆無一字之釋（已逐篇查）。本帙不代擬其義。
本段梵語音寫二見（毘楞伽、那由他），二疏所出者唯前者之漢名（「翻能聖」），不代擬梵形。
七、譬喻·修辭
經文自用之譬三：
| 譬 | 經文逐字 | 錨 | 所顯 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 如釋迦牟尼 | 「其圓光中有五百化佛，如釋迦牟尼」 | 〔T12n0365 0343c14〕 | 化佛之相 |
| 猶如印文 | 「一一指端有八萬四千畫，猶如印文」 | 〔T12n0365 0344a03〕 | 指端之畫 |
| 如觀掌中 | 「悉令明了，如觀掌中」 | 〔T12n0365 0344a16〕 | 觀成之明了 |
「如觀掌中」一譬承第八觀「如觀掌中」〔T12n0365 0343a28〕而再用，此四字全經二見。第七觀同位之句別作一譬——「如於鏡中自見面像」〔T12n0365 0343a15〕，辭異而所顯之明了同，附記於此，不合為一數。
鏡疏自立之譬——本單元二鏡皆不別立譬，零命中，誠實記之。
修辭上可記者三：①本段之相由上而下鋪陳——頂上肉髻、項後圓光、天冠、面、眉間、臂、手掌、指端、舉足、下足，是全經唯一自頂至足一路排下之段，與第八觀所出之「順觀」次第相合。②數目之骨仍是「八萬四千」，而此觀移到了手上——八萬四千畫、八萬四千色、八萬四千光，三級相套，末歸於「以此寶手接引眾生」〔T12n0365 0344a05〕：極數之後歸於一手。③全觀以「如佛無異」與「不及世尊」二語作結，一同一異相對而立，是本經寫菩薩位次最直捷之處。
八、徵引承衍
-
卷端〈御製無量壽佛贊〉之「八萬四千相」不繫本單元：贊語「沙有八萬四千相，一一相中復如是」〔T12n0365 0340c03〕之所本，00 單元附目四證已繫於第九真身觀「無量壽佛有八萬四千相」〔T12n0365 0343b23〕。本觀之八萬四千在光明、在畫、在色，不在相，二處不相混——此處記其別，互見 00 單元附目與 09 單元目八。
-
本觀之相為本經第十三雜想觀所回顧：疏於雜想觀處標「九、從眾生但觀首相已下，正明勸觀二別」〔T37n1753 0270a09〕，並釋之曰「觀音頭首上有一立化佛，勢至頭首之上有一寶瓶」〔T37n1753 0270a10〕；智顗於同處亦云「上言觀音頭上天冠中有一立化佛，勢至頭上有寶瓶，以此為別」〔T37n1750 0193b05〕。二疏皆以本觀與次觀之首相為二大士之分別記。
-
本觀為次觀之所承：第十一觀首句「此菩薩身量大小亦如觀世音」〔T12n0365 0344a19〕、末句「餘諸身相如觀世音，等無有異」〔T12n0365 0344a29〕，兩度以本觀為準。
-
今譯注諸帙之內徵引本單元經文者，零命中（已查全樹：「無見頂相」「千輻輪相」「不遇諸禍」「寶手接引」諸語，除本帙原典層與鏡源逐行檔外，他帙所見皆為各自經論之自有文，非引本經）。誠實記之。
九、校本定位
大正藏校記於本單元域內共十四條，另有 CBETA 新增校注一條：
| 錨 | 底本 | 異讀 | 見證 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0343c13 | 「十」 | 十萬 | 宋·元·明·流布本 |
| 0343c13 | 「恒河沙」 | 無此字 | 宋·元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0343c14 | 「各」 | 各有 | 敦 |
| 0343c15 | 「尼」 | 尼佛 | 敦·流布本 |
| 0343c16 | 「菩薩」 | 化菩薩 | 宋·元·明·流布本 |
| 0343c18 | 「妙」 | 無此字 | 宋·元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0343c22 | 「化」 | 無此字 | 敦 |
| 0343c23 | 「界」 | 世界 | 宋·元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0343c23 | 「臂」 | 譬 | 敦·流布本 |
| 0343c23 | 「微妙」 | 無此字 | 敦·流布本 |
| 0344a10 | 「想」 | 相（CBETA 新增校注·據麗本） | CB·麗-CB |
| 0344a11 | 「若」 | 若有 | 流布本 |
| 0344a11 | 「薩」 | 薩者 | 宋·元·明·流布本 |
| 0344a15 | 「當」 | 無此字 | 宋·元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0344a16 | 「悉」 | 亦 | 流布本 |
另有大正原式校記（明註）一條，今行 <app> 不出：〔T12n0365 0343c12〕「次亦應觀觀世音菩薩」之「亦應」，其注逐字作：明註曰亦應宋藏作復當，流布本亦同。智顗疏牒作「復應觀觀世音菩薩」〔T37n1750 0193a08〕，與此注所記之「復當」同其首字而不同其次字。三形並錄不判。
四條可記者：
①〔T12n0365 0343c13〕身量之數——底本「此菩薩身長八十億那由他恒河沙由旬」，宋、元、明、流布本作八十萬億，而「恒河沙」三字宋、元、明、敦、流布本五本皆無。二處異讀相接於一句之內，並錄不判。（第九真身觀之「恒河沙」，智顗別有所議，見該單元目五。）
②〔T12n0365 0343c23〕「有八十億微妙光明」之「微妙」，敦、流布本無此二字；善導疏第六句標作「從有八十億光明下」〔T37n1753 0268b28〕，所牒亦無「微妙」二字，與二本合。並錄不判。
③〔T12n0365 0344a10〕觀名之末字——大正底本於此字作「想」，CBETA 依麗本改作「相」，故本帙讀者面與單元名皆作「相」。本經此類新增校注全帙五條，本單元居其一；五條之處為第二觀〔T12n0365 0342a12〕、第七觀〔T12n0365 0342c19〕、第八觀〔T12n0365 0343a29〕、本觀〔T12n0365 0344a10〕、流通分〔T12n0365 0346b09〕。
④疏牒之數與底本之數——底本手指端三級皆「八萬四千」〔0344a03–a04〕，善導疏牒作「二明一一指端有八萬印文。三明一一文有八萬餘色。四明一一色有八萬餘光」〔T37n1753 0268c03〕。大正校記於此三處無一條；疏牒之異不入校記，本帙逐字並錄而不據以改底本一字。
gaiji：本單元零命中。
夾註（place="inline" note）：本單元零命中。
全形空格（U+3000）：本單元零命中。
Placement of the passage as a whole. This unit is the tenth of the sixteen contemplations, and the body it contemplates is the second of the three holy ones. The sūtra first gathers up the preceding contemplation of the true body and gives rise to the contemplation of the bodhisattva that follows; next it marks in general the measure of the body, its colour, the fleshy protuberance on the crown, the circular radiance, the manifested Buddhas with their attendants, and the beings of the five destinies appearing in the light of his whole body; next it speaks of the standing manifested Buddha within the heavenly crown, the colour of the face, the light of the tuft between the brows, the colour of the arms, the necklaces, the lines at the palms and finger-tips, and, beneath the feet, the thousand-spoked wheels and the adamantine maṇi flowers; and at the last, with 「其餘身相，眾好具足，如佛無異，唯頂上肉髻及無見頂相，不及世尊」—“as for the rest of his bodily marks, the several excellences are complete, no different from a Buddha’s; only the fleshy protuberance on the crown and the mark of the invisible crown do not match the World-Honored One,” it judges the boundary between bodhisattva and Buddha. A further passage, the Buddha telling Ānanda, then shows the manner of contemplation once more and urges 「先觀頂上肉髻，次觀天冠」—“first contemplate the fleshy protuberance on the crown, next contemplate the heavenly crown,” closing with the judgment of right and wrong. The whole passage runs to five hundred and fifty-four characters. This is the one contemplation in the sūtra that states outright that the body contemplated has two marks which 「不及世尊」—“do not match the World-Honored One” (the fleshy protuberance on the crown and the mark of the invisible crown); for its meaning see the fourth topic.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
Shandao’s Commentary in Four Fascicles divides this contemplation into fifteen sentences:
「十、就觀音觀中，亦先舉，次辨，後結。即有其十五。」—“Tenth, within the contemplation of Avalokiteśvara there is likewise first the raising, next the distinguishing, and last the conclusion — there are fifteen in all” 〔T37n1753 0268b14〕.
| The commentary’s fifteen sentences | The commentary’s marked span (verbatim) | Anchor | Segment in this edition’s Plain Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 「一、從佛告阿難下，至菩薩已來，正明結成前真身觀，生後菩薩觀。」—“First, from ‘the Buddha told Ānanda’ down to ‘bodhisattva,’ directly clarifies the gathering up of the preceding contemplation of the true body and the giving rise to the contemplation of the bodhisattva that follows.” | 〔T37n1753 0268b15〕 | 〔一〕 |
| 2 | 「二、從此菩薩身長下，至皆於中現已來，正明總標身相。」—“Second, from ‘this bodhisattva’s body is in height’ down to ‘all appear within it,’ directly clarifies the general marking of the bodily marks.” | 〔T37n1753 0268b16〕 | 〔二〕 |
| 3 | 「三、從頂上毘楞伽下，至二十五由旬已來，正明天冠之內化佛殊異。」—“Third, from ‘upon his crown the Pilengqie’ down to ‘twenty-five yojanas,’ directly clarifies how the manifested Buddha within the heavenly crown is singular and distinct.” | 〔T37n1753 0268b21〕 | 〔三〕 |
| 4 | 「四、從觀音已下，正明面色與身色不同。」—“Fourth, from ‘Avalokiteśvara’ onward directly clarifies that the colour of the face differs from the colour of the body.” | 〔T37n1753 0268b22〕 | 〔四〕 |
| 5 | 「五、從眉間下，至蓮華色已來，正明毫光轉變遍滿十方，化侍彌多更比紅蓮之色。」—“Fifth, from ‘between the brows’ down to ‘the colour of the lotus flower,’ directly clarifies that the light of the tuft transforms and fills the ten directions, that the manifested attendants grow ever more numerous, and that the colour is further likened to the red lotus.” | 〔T37n1753 0268b23〕 | 〔五〕 |
| 6 | 「六、從有八十億光明下，至莊嚴事已來，正明身服光瓔非眾寶作。」—“Sixth, from ‘there are eighty koṭis of lights’ down to ‘the adornments,’ directly clarifies that the light-necklaces he wears are not made of the many jewels.” | 〔T37n1753 0268b28〕 | 〔六〕 |
| 7 | 「七、從手掌作五百億下，至接引眾生已來，正明手有慈悲之用也。」—“Seventh, from ‘the palms show five hundred koṭis’ down to ‘receives sentient beings and draws them in,’ directly clarifies that the hands have the working of compassion.” | 〔T37n1753 0268b29〕 | 〔七〕 |
| 8 | 「八、從舉足時下，至莫不彌滿已來，正明足有德用之相。」—“Eighth, from ‘when he lifts a foot’ down to ‘nothing is left unfilled,’ directly clarifies the mark of the feet having the working of virtue.” | 〔T37n1753 0268c06〕 | 〔八〕 |
| 9 | 「九、從其餘身相已下，指同於佛。」—“Ninth, from ‘as for the rest of his bodily marks’ onward points to what is the same as a Buddha’s.” | 〔T37n1753 0268c08〕 | 〔九〕 |
| 10 | 「十、從唯頂上下，至不及世尊已來，正明師徒位別、果願未圓，致使二相有虧，表居不足之地也。」—“Tenth, from ‘only upon the crown’ down to ‘do not match the World-Honored One,’ directly clarifies that master and disciple differ in position and that the fruit of his vows is not yet full, so that the two marks are wanting, showing that he dwells in a place of insufficiency.” | 〔T37n1753 0268c08〕 | 〔十〕 |
| 11 | 「十一、從是為下，總結。」—“Eleventh, from ‘this is’ onward is the general conclusion.” | 〔T37n1753 0268c11〕 | 〔十一〕 |
| 12 | 「十二、從佛告阿難下，至當作是觀已來，正明重結前文生其後益。」—“Twelfth, from ‘the Buddha told Ānanda’ down to ‘should make this contemplation,’ directly clarifies the gathering up again of the preceding text and the giving rise to the benefit that follows.” | 〔T37n1753 0268c11〕 | 〔十二〕 |
| 13 | 「十三、從作是觀者下，至何況諦觀已來，正明勸觀利益。」—“Thirteenth, from ‘one who makes this contemplation’ down to ‘how much more to contemplate closely,’ directly clarifies the benefit of urging contemplation.” | 〔T37n1753 0268c13〕 | 〔十三〕 |
| 14 | 「十四、從若有欲觀觀音下，至如觀掌中已來，正明重顯觀儀勸物傾心，使沾兩益。」—“Fourteenth, from ‘if there is anyone who wishes to contemplate Avalokiteśvara’ down to ‘like looking at the palm of the hand,’ directly clarifies the showing of the manner of contemplation once more, urging beings to incline their minds so that they may be moistened by both benefits.” | 〔T37n1753 0268c14〕 | 〔十四〕 |
| 15 | 「十五、從作是觀已下，正明辨觀邪正相。」—“Fifteenth, from ‘makes this contemplation’ onward directly clarifies the distinguishing of the marks of wrong and right in the contemplation.” | 〔T37n1753 0268c16〕 | 〔十五〕 |
The witness column · Zhiyi’s outline of this passage (recorded without adjudication):
「第十觀觀音。中有三：初、結上」—“The tenth, the contemplation of Avalokiteśvara. It has three parts within it: first, gathering up what is above” 〔T37n1750 0193a08〕. 「次、「復應觀觀世音菩薩」下，正明觀菩薩身也」—“next, from ‘again you should contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara’ onward directly clarifies the contemplating of the bodhisattva’s body” 〔T37n1750 0193a08〕. 「第三、「作此觀者」，觀之邪正也」—“third, ‘one who makes this contemplation’ — the wrong and right of the contemplation” 〔T37n1750 0193a09〕. 「觀菩薩法身中有三：初、觀身相」—“Within the contemplating of the bodhisattva’s dharma-body there are three: first, contemplating the bodily marks” 〔T37n1750 0193a10〕. 「第二、明與佛同異。第三、「佛告阿難」下，還舉利勸修也」—“Second, clarifying wherein he is the same as and differs from a Buddha. Third, from ‘the Buddha told Ānanda’ onward, again raising the benefit and exhorting cultivation” 〔T37n1750 0193a11〕.
The two commentaries stand far apart in the fineness of their outlines of this contemplation: Shandao divides it into fifteen sentences and fixes each mark in its place; Zhiyi divides it into three items, subdivides the bodily marks into three again, and his exposition of the whole contemplation runs to six lines only. The opening sentence Zhiyi cites reads 「復應觀觀世音菩薩」—“again you should contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara,” which differs from the base text’s 「次亦應觀觀世音菩薩」—“next you should also contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara” 〔T12n0365 0343c12〕; this bears upon the note recorded in the Taishō’s original form (see the ninth topic), and is recorded without adjudication.
II. Collation with the Alternate Translations — recorded without adjudication
There is no second Chinese translation of this sūtra. The titles of the sūtras in the twelfth volume of the Taishō canon, T12n0360 through T12n0396, have been searched: this recension stands alone, and there is no alternate translation against which to collate. Recorded honestly.
Is there text on Avalokiteśvara in the other sūtras of this same axis? The whole of The Amitābha Sūtra, T12n0366, and of Xuanzang’s The Sūtra on Praising the Pure Land and the Buddha’s Embrace, T12n0367, yields nothing found (neither of the two names 「觀世音」, Avalokiteśvara, and 「大勢至」, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, occurs at all). The Sūtra of Measureless Life, T12n0360, does have them, and they are recorded verbatim in the third topic. Recorded honestly.
III. Scriptural and Treatise Grounding (the “eye”)
The place of Avalokiteśvara within the direct recompense — in the Section on the Profound Meaning Shandao distinguishes the common from the particular and the true from the provisional within the direct recompense, showing that Avalokiteśvara and the rest belong to the 「通正報」, the common direct recompense, and that their images too may be provisional:
「言通正報者，即觀音聖眾等已下是也。」—“As for ‘the common direct recompense,’ it is Avalokiteśvara and the holy assembly and what follows them” 〔T37n1753 0247a04〕. 「觀音勢至等亦如是，此由眾生障重染惑處深，佛恐乍想真容無由顯現，故使假立真像以住心想，同彼佛以證境故言假正報也。」—“Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta and the rest are likewise: because the obstruction of sentient beings is heavy and their defiled delusion lies deep, the Buddha feared that were they at once to form the image of the true countenance it would have no way of appearing; and so he had a true image provisionally set up for the mind to dwell upon in its imaging, as with that Buddha, so that the object might be verified — hence it is called the provisional direct recompense” 〔T37n1753 0246c26〕.
The image of Avalokiteśvara formed in the eighth contemplation, the contemplation of the image, is provisional; the true form-body contemplated here is true — the name of this contemplation marks it of itself, 「真實色身相」—“the true form-body” 〔T12n0365 0344a10〕, and the boundary between the two contemplations, provisional and true, lies just here.
The names and station of the two great beings come from the larger sūtra:
「有二菩薩最尊第一，威神光明普照三千大千世界。」—“There are two bodhisattvas, most honored and foremost, whose majestic light shines everywhere throughout the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system” 〔T12n0360 0273b23〕. 「一名觀世音，二名大勢至。是二菩薩於此國土修菩薩行，命終轉化生彼佛國。」—“The first is named Avalokiteśvara, the second Mahāsthāmaprāpta. These two bodhisattvas cultivated the bodhisattva practice in this land, and at the end of life were transferred and took transformation-birth in that buddha-land” 〔T12n0360 0273b25〕.
The larger sūtra speaks of the names, the station, and the ground of the cause of the two bodhisattvas; this sūtra speaks of the measure and the marks of their bodies — what the two sūtras set out in detail is not the same, and both are recorded.
The meaning Zhiyi attaches to this contemplation lies in what the standing manifested Buddha within the crown represents — 「冠中立化佛者，帶果而行因也。」—“As for the standing manifested Buddha in the crown: he bears the fruit while walking the cause” 〔T37n1750 0193a11〕. Shandao here marks only 「天冠之內化佛殊異」—“how the manifested Buddha within the heavenly crown is singular and distinct” 〔T37n1753 0268b22〕, and draws out no representation. What the two houses attach is not the same, and both are recorded.
IV. Essentials of the Commentary on This Passage (the Commentary in Four Fascicles, line by line)
The six matters within the general marking of the bodily marks —
「一明身量大小。二明身色與佛不同。三明肉髻與佛蠃髻不同」—“The first clarifies the size of the body; the second clarifies that the colour of the body differs from a Buddha’s; the third clarifies that the fleshy protuberance on the crown differs from a Buddha’s spiral topknot” 〔T37n1753 0268b18〕. 「四明圓光大小。五明化佛侍者多少。六明身光普現五道眾生」—“The fourth clarifies the size of the circular radiance; the fifth clarifies how many the manifested Buddhas and their attendants are; the sixth clarifies that the light of his body makes the beings of the five destinies appear everywhere” 〔T37n1753 0268b19〕.
The five matters within the transformations of the light of the tuft —
The commentary marks them in general: 「正明毫光轉變遍滿十方，化侍彌多更比紅蓮之色」—“directly clarifies that the light of the tuft transforms and fills the ten directions, that the manifested attendants grow ever more numerous, and that the colour is further likened to the red lotus” 〔T37n1753 0268b24〕.
The six matters within the hands having the working of compassion —
「二明一一指端有八萬印文。三明一一文有八萬餘色。四明一一色有八萬餘光」—“The second clarifies that each finger-tip has eighty thousand seal-lines; the third clarifies that each line has eighty thousand and more colours; the fourth clarifies that each colour has eighty thousand and more lights” 〔T37n1753 0268c03〕. 「五明光體柔軟等照一切。六明以此寶光之手接引有緣也」—“The fifth clarifies that the substance of the light is soft and shines upon all alike; the sixth clarifies that with these hands of jeweled light he receives and draws in those who have the connection” 〔T37n1753 0268c05〕.
The numbers the commentary cites differ from those of the base text: the base text reads 「一一指端有八萬四千畫」—“each finger-tip has eighty-four thousand lines,” 「一一畫有八萬四千色」—“each line has eighty-four thousand colours,” and 「一一色有八萬四千光」—“each colour has eighty-four thousand lights” 〔T12n0365 0344a03–a04〕, while the commentary cites 「二明一一指端有八萬印文。三明一一文有八萬餘色。四明一一色有八萬餘光」—“the second clarifies that each finger-tip has eighty thousand seal-lines; the third, that each line has eighty thousand and more colours; the fourth, that each colour has eighty thousand and more lights” 〔T37n1753 0268c03〕. Recorded without adjudication; not one character of the base text is altered on the strength of the commentary’s citation.
The meaning of 「唯頂上肉髻及無見頂相，不及世尊」—“only the fleshy protuberance on the crown and the mark of the invisible crown do not match the World-Honored One” — this is one of the weightiest judgments of the contemplation; the commentary verbatim:
「十、從唯頂上下，至不及世尊已來，正明師徒位別、果願未圓，致使二相有虧，表居不足之地也。」—“Tenth, from ‘only upon the crown’ down to ‘do not match the World-Honored One,’ directly clarifies that master and disciple differ in position and that the fruit of his vows is not yet full, so that the two marks are wanting, showing that he dwells in a place of insufficiency” 〔T37n1753 0268c08〕.
The rest of the bodily marks being 「如佛無異」—“no different from a Buddha’s,” the commentary marks 「指同於佛」—“pointing to what is the same as a Buddha’s” 〔T37n1753 0268c08〕; these two marks alone are distinct, and what makes them so is that 「師徒位別、果願未圓」—“master and disciple differ in position, and the fruit of his vows is not yet full.”
Showing the manner of contemplation once more —
「十四、從若有欲觀觀音下，至如觀掌中已來，正明重顯觀儀勸物傾心，使沾兩益。」—“Fourteenth, from ‘if there is anyone who wishes to contemplate Avalokiteśvara’ down to ‘like looking at the palm of the hand,’ directly clarifies the showing of the manner of contemplation once more, urging beings to incline their minds so that they may be moistened by both benefits” 〔T37n1753 0268c14〕.
The concluding words of the whole contemplation —
「斯乃觀音願重影現十方，寶手停輝隨機引接。」—“This, then, is Avalokiteśvara: his vows are weighty and his reflection appears in the ten directions; his jeweled hands rest their radiance and receive and lead beings in according to their capacities” 〔T37n1753 0268c17〕.
V. Divergent Readings of the Commentators (in parallel columns — recorded without adjudication)
| Point | Shandao, Commentary in Four Fascicles (Tang) | Anchor | Zhiyi’s commentary (Sui, Tiantai) | Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The division of this contemplation | Fifteen sentences | 〔T37n1753 0268b14〕 | Three items (with the bodily marks subdivided into three again) | 〔T37n1750 0193a08〕 |
| The citation of the opening sentence | 「一、從佛告阿難下，至菩薩已來」—“First, from ‘the Buddha told Ānanda’ down to ‘bodhisattva’” | 〔T37n1753 0268b15〕 | 「復應觀觀世音菩薩」—“again you should contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara” | 〔T37n1750 0193a08〕 |
| The standing manifested Buddha in the heavenly crown | 「正明天冠之內化佛殊異」—“directly clarifies how the manifested Buddha within the heavenly crown is singular and distinct” — no representation drawn out | 〔T37n1753 0268b21〕 | 「冠中立化佛者，帶果而行因也。」—“As for the standing manifested Buddha in the crown: he bears the fruit while walking the cause.” | 〔T37n1750 0193a11〕 |
| The two marks that do not match the World-Honored One | 「正明師徒位別、果願未圓，致使二相有虧，表居不足之地也。」—“directly clarifies that master and disciple differ in position and that the fruit of his vows is not yet full, so that the two marks are wanting, showing that he dwells in a place of insufficiency” | 〔T37n1753 0268c09〕 | The outline reads 「第二、明與佛同異」—“second, clarifying wherein he is the same as and differs from a Buddha,” without explaining why it is so | 〔T37n1750 0193a11〕 |
| The gloss of Pilengqie | Nowhere glossed in the whole commentary | — | 「釋迦毘楞伽，翻能聖。」—“Shijiapilengqie is rendered ‘Able and Holy.’” | 〔T37n1750 0193a12〕 |
| The order of the manner of contemplation | 「重顯觀儀勸物傾心，使沾兩益」—“showing the manner of contemplation once more, urging beings to incline their minds so that they may be moistened by both benefits” | 〔T37n1753 0268c15〕 | 「還舉利勸修也」—“again raising the benefit and exhorting cultivation” | 〔T37n1750 0193a12〕 |
Nowhere are the two houses further apart in fullness and brevity than in this contemplation: Shandao has an outline item for very nearly every mark across his fifteen sentences, while Zhiyi stops at six lines. Both readings are recorded, and no reconciliation is imposed.
VI. Terms (first occurrences — all glosses drawn from the two mirrors)
| Term | The commentary’s gloss, verbatim | Anchor | Mirror |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilengqie | 「釋迦毘楞伽，翻能聖。」—“Shijiapilengqie is rendered ‘Able and Holy.’” | 〔T37n1750 0193a12〕 | Zhiyi |
| The fleshy protuberance on the crown (as distinct from a Buddha’s spiral topknot) | 「三明肉髻與佛蠃髻不同」—“the third clarifies that the fleshy protuberance on the crown differs from a Buddha’s spiral topknot” | 〔T37n1753 0268b19〕 | Shandao |
| The common direct recompense | 「言通正報者，即觀音聖眾等已下是也。」—“As for ‘the common direct recompense,’ it is Avalokiteśvara and the holy assembly and what follows them.” | 〔T37n1753 0247a04〕 | Shandao |
| What the standing manifested Buddha in the crown represents | 「冠中立化佛者，帶果而行因也。」—“As for the standing manifested Buddha in the crown: he bears the fruit while walking the cause.” | 〔T37n1750 0193a11〕 | Zhiyi |
Terms on which the two mirrors yield nothing, recorded honestly: for the four expressions 「無見頂相」 (the mark of the invisible crown), 「千輻輪相」 (the mark of the thousand-spoked wheel), 「金剛摩尼花」 (the adamantine maṇi flowers), and 「紅蓮花」 (the red lotus flower), neither Shandao’s Commentary in Four Fascicles, T37n1753, nor Zhiyi’s commentary, T37n1750, gives a single word of gloss anywhere in its whole length (each has been searched through). This edition does not supply a meaning in their stead.
Sanskrit transcription occurs twice in this passage (Pilengqie and nayuta); of the two, the commentaries give only the Chinese rendering of the former, 「翻能聖」—“rendered ‘Able and Holy,’” and no Sanskrit form is supplied in their stead.
VII. Similes and Rhetoric
Three similes the sūtra uses of itself:
| Simile | The sūtra verbatim | Anchor | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Like Śākyamuni | 「其圓光中有五百化佛，如釋迦牟尼」—“within that circular radiance are five hundred manifested Buddhas, like Śākyamuni” | 〔T12n0365 0343c14〕 | The look of the manifested Buddhas |
| Like the lines of a seal | 「一一指端有八萬四千畫，猶如印文」—“at each finger-tip there are eighty-four thousand lines, like the lines of a seal” | 〔T12n0365 0344a03〕 | The lines at the finger-tips |
| Like looking at the palm of the hand | 「悉令明了，如觀掌中」—“letting them all be clear and distinct, like looking at the palm of the hand” | 〔T12n0365 0344a16〕 | The clarity of an accomplished contemplation |
The simile 「如觀掌中」 is used here a second time, carried over from the eighth contemplation’s 「如觀掌中」 〔T12n0365 0343a28〕; these four characters occur twice in the sūtra. The sentence standing in the same position in the seventh contemplation gives a different simile — 「如於鏡中自見面像」—“as one sees the image of one’s own face in a mirror” 〔T12n0365 0343a15〕 — different in wording, and showing the same clarity; it is noted here and not counted together with them.
Similes set up by the mirror commentaries — in this unit neither mirror sets up a simile of its own: nothing found, recorded honestly.
Three things may be recorded as rhetoric. First, the marks of this passage are laid out from above downward — the fleshy protuberance on the crown, the circular radiance behind the neck, the heavenly crown, the face, the space between the brows, the arms, the palms, the finger-tips, the foot lifted, the foot set down: this is the one passage in the sūtra that runs from crown to sole in a single descent, and it agrees with the order of 「順觀」, contemplating in sequence, set out in the eighth contemplation. Second, the bone of the numbers is still 「八萬四千」, eighty-four thousand, but in this contemplation it has moved to the hands — eighty-four thousand lines, eighty-four thousand colours, eighty-four thousand lights, three tiers nested one within another and ending in 「以此寶手接引眾生」—“with these jeweled hands he receives sentient beings and draws them in” 〔T12n0365 0344a05〕: after the utmost of numbers, it comes to rest in a single hand. Third, the whole contemplation closes with the two phrases 「如佛無異」—“no different from a Buddha’s” and 「不及世尊」—“do not match the World-Honored One,” one sameness and one difference set over against each other; it is the most direct place in this sūtra for the position and rank of a bodhisattva.
VIII. Citation and Carrying Forward
-
The 「八萬四千相」, the eighty-four thousand marks, of the Imperially Composed Praise at the head of the fascicle do not belong to this unit: what the line of the praise, 「沙有八萬四千相，一一相中復如是」—“each grain of sand has eighty-four thousand marks, and within each mark it is so again” 〔T12n0365 0340c03〕, rests upon has already been assigned by the four proofs of the appended topic in unit 00 to the ninth contemplation, the contemplation of the true body, 「無量壽佛有八萬四千相」—“the Buddha of Measureless Life has eighty-four thousand marks” 〔T12n0365 0343b23〕. The eighty-four thousand of this contemplation are in the lights, in the lines, and in the colours, not in the marks; the two places are not to be confounded — the distinction is recorded here, and the appended topic of unit 00 and the eighth topic of unit 09 are to be read alongside it.
-
The marks of this contemplation are looked back upon in the thirteenth contemplation of this sūtra, the contemplation of mixed images: at that place the commentary marks 「九、從眾生但觀首相已下，正明勸觀二別」—“ninth, from ‘sentient beings need only contemplate the marks of the head’ onward directly clarifies the urging to contemplate the two distinguishing marks” 〔T37n1753 0270a09〕, and glosses it thus: 「觀音頭首上有一立化佛，勢至頭首之上有一寶瓶」—“upon Avalokiteśvara’s head there is a standing manifested Buddha; upon Mahāsthāmaprāpta’s head there is a jeweled vase” 〔T37n1753 0270a10〕; at the same place Zhiyi likewise says 「上言觀音頭上天冠中有一立化佛，勢至頭上有寶瓶，以此為別」—“above it was said that within the heavenly crown upon Avalokiteśvara’s head there is a standing manifested Buddha, and upon Mahāsthāmaprāpta’s head a jeweled vase; by this they are distinguished” 〔T37n1750 0193b05〕. Both mirrors take the head-marks of this contemplation and of the next as the sign by which the two great beings are told apart.
-
This contemplation is what the next one rests upon: the opening sentence of the eleventh contemplation, 「此菩薩身量大小亦如觀世音」—“this bodhisattva’s body is the same in size as Avalokiteśvara’s” 〔T12n0365 0344a19〕, and its closing sentence, 「餘諸身相如觀世音，等無有異」—“the rest of his bodily marks are as Avalokiteśvara’s, alike and without difference” 〔T12n0365 0344a29〕, take this contemplation as their measure twice over.
-
Within this corpus, no other edition cites the scriptural text of this unit. The whole tree has been searched for 「無見頂相」 (the mark of the invisible crown), 「千輻輪相」 (the mark of the thousand-spoked wheel), 「不遇諸禍」 (will not meet with calamities), and 「寶手接引」 (the jeweled hands that receive and draw in): apart from the source layer of this edition and the line-by-line mirror files, what appears in other editions is text proper to those sūtras and treatises themselves, not citation of this sūtra. Recorded honestly.
IX. Placement Among the Recensions
The Taishō collation notes within the domain of this unit come to fourteen in all, with one newly added CBETA collation note besides:
| Anchor | Base text | Variant | Witnesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0343c13 | 「十」 (the “ten” of “eighty koṭis”) | 十萬 | Song · Yuan · Ming · current-circulation printing |
| 0343c13 | 「恒河沙」 (as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā) | These characters absent | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0343c14 | 「各」 (each) | 各有 | Dunhuang |
| 0343c15 | 「尼」 (the last character of Śākyamuni) | 尼佛 | Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0343c16 | 「菩薩」 (bodhisattvas) | 化菩薩 | Song · Yuan · Ming · current-circulation printing |
| 0343c18 | 「妙」 (wondrous) | This character absent | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0343c22 | 「化」 (manifested) | This character absent | Dunhuang |
| 0343c23 | 「界」 (the worlds) | 世界 | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0343c23 | 「臂」 (arms) | 譬 | Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0343c23 | 「微妙」 (subtle) | These characters absent | Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0344a10 | 「想」 (image) | 相 (newly added CBETA collation note, following the Goryeo witness) | CB · Goryeo-CB |
| 0344a11 | 「若」 (if) | 若有 | current-circulation printing |
| 0344a11 | 「薩」 (the last character of bodhisattva) | 薩者 | Song · Yuan · Ming · current-circulation printing |
| 0344a15 | 「當」 (should) | This character absent | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0344a16 | 「悉」 (all) | 亦 | current-circulation printing |
There is besides one collation note in the Taishō’s original form (a Ming note) which the current <app> does not carry: at 〔T12n0365 0343c12〕 the sentence 「次亦應觀觀世音菩薩」—“next you should also contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara” has its 「亦應」 annotated verbatim thus: the Ming note says that 亦應 is written 復當 in the Song canon, and that the current-circulation printing agrees. Zhiyi’s commentary cites the sentence as 「復應觀觀世音菩薩」—“again you should contemplate the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara” 〔T37n1750 0193a08〕, agreeing with the first character of the 「復當」 recorded in that note but not with its second. All three forms are recorded without adjudication.
Four things may be recorded:
① 〔T12n0365 0343c13〕 The number of the body’s measure — the base text reads 「此菩薩身長八十億那由他恒河沙由旬」—“this bodhisattva’s body is eighty koṭis of nayutas of yojanas in height, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā,” while the Song, Yuan, Ming, and current-circulation witnesses read eight hundred thousand koṭis; and the three characters 「恒河沙」 are absent from all five of the Song, Yuan, Ming, Dunhuang, and current-circulation witnesses. Two variants meet within a single sentence, and both are recorded without adjudication. (On the 「恒河沙」 of the ninth contemplation, the contemplation of the true body, Zhiyi has a separate discussion; see the fifth topic of that unit.)
② 〔T12n0365 0343c23〕 The sentence 「有八十億微妙光明」—“there are eighty koṭis of subtle lights,” and its 「微妙」 — the Dunhuang and current-circulation witnesses lack these two characters; Shandao’s sixth sentence marks the span as 「從有八十億光明下」—“from ‘there are eighty koṭis of lights’ onward” 〔T37n1753 0268b28〕, and what he cites likewise lacks the two characters 「微妙」, agreeing with those two witnesses. Recorded without adjudication.
③ 〔T12n0365 0344a10〕 The last character of the contemplation’s name — at this character the Taishō base text reads 「想」, while CBETA, following the Goryeo witness, reads 「相」; hence the reader-facing text of this edition and the name of the unit alike read 「相」. Of newly added collation notes of this kind there are five in the whole sūtra, and this unit holds one of them; the five stand at the second contemplation 〔T12n0365 0342a12〕, the seventh 〔T12n0365 0342c19〕, the eighth 〔T12n0365 0343a29〕, this one 〔T12n0365 0344a10〕, and the section on transmission 〔T12n0365 0346b09〕.
④ The commentary’s numbers and the base text’s numbers — at all three tiers of the finger-tips the base text reads 「八萬四千」, eighty-four thousand 〔0344a03–a04〕, while Shandao’s commentary cites 「二明一一指端有八萬印文。三明一一文有八萬餘色。四明一一色有八萬餘光」—“the second clarifies that each finger-tip has eighty thousand seal-lines; the third, that each line has eighty thousand and more colours; the fourth, that each colour has eighty thousand and more lights” 〔T37n1753 0268c03〕. At these three places there is not one Taishō collation note; the commentary’s divergent citation does not enter the collation notes, and this edition records it verbatim alongside without altering a character of the base text on its strength.
Gaiji: nothing found in this unit.
Inline glosses (place="inline" notes): nothing found in this unit.
Ideographic space (U+3000): nothing found in this unit.