佛說觀無量壽佛經 得益流通
說完那一刻
「爾時世尊說是語時，韋提希與五百侍女，聞佛所說，應時即見極樂世界廣長之相」。
應時即見。不待來日修成，不待來世償報，話說完的那一刻就見了。
序分裡那個被關在深宮、問「我宿何罪，生此惡子」的人，到這裡「豁然大悟，得無生忍」。
兩個名字
阿難問的是兩件事：這經叫什麼，這法怎麼持。
經的兩個名字，一個從所看的東西取——《觀極樂國土無量壽佛觀世音菩薩大勢至菩薩》；一個從所去的地方取——《淨除業障生諸佛前》。
說到最輕處，句子反而翻上來
「行此三昧者，現身得見無量壽佛及二大士。」這是最高的一層。
下一句就降下來：「但聞佛名、二菩薩名，除無量劫生死之罪」。只是聽見名字，不是修成三昧，就除無量劫生死之罪。
降到這最輕的一級，句子卻不再往下走，反而由輕翻上來：「何況憶念！」——聽見尚且如此，何況把名字放在心裡念。
十六觀那樣長的功課，在這裡被放進一道很寬的階梯。
念佛的人
「若念佛者，當知此人即是人中芬陀利花，觀世音菩薩、大勢至菩薩為其勝友」。
第十觀、第十一觀費了許多文字描寫的那兩位，在這裡成了念佛之人的朋友。
而最後一句是
「汝好持是語。持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名。」
十六道觀門講到底，交下去的卻是一句名號。
The Moment the Speaking Ended
“At that time, when the World-Honored One had spoken these words, Vaidehī, together with her five hundred attendant women, heard what the Buddha said, and thereupon saw the vast and far-reaching aspect of the world of Ultimate Bliss.”
Thereupon saw. No waiting for a later day and a practice brought to completion, no waiting for a life to come and a recompense repaid: at the moment the speaking ended, she saw.
The person shut up in the depths of the palace in the introduction, who asked, “What offence did I commit in the past, that I should give birth to so evil a son?” — here she is “all at once greatly awakened, and obtains the patience of non-arising.”
Two Names
Ānanda asked two things: what this sūtra is called, and how this Dharma is to be held.
The sūtra has two names: one taken from what is looked at — Contemplating the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the Buddha of Measureless Life, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and the Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta; one taken from where one goes — Purifying Away the Obstruction of Karma and Being Born Before All Buddhas.
At the Lightest Point, the Sentence Turns Upward Instead
“One who practises this samādhi will in this very body be able to see the Buddha of Measureless Life and the two great beings.” That is the highest layer.
The next sentence comes down at once: “Merely hears the name of the Buddha and the names of the two bodhisattvas, and the offences of measureless kalpas of birth-and-death are removed.” Merely to hear the names, and not to accomplish the samādhi, and the offences of measureless kalpas of birth-and-death are removed.
Having come down to that lightest rung, the sentence does not go further down; it turns upward from the light instead: “How much more one who holds them in mind and recollects them!” — if hearing is already so much, how much more to keep the name in the mind and recollect it.
A course of work as long as the sixteen contemplations is here set into a very wide stair.
One Who Recollects the Buddha
“If there be one who recollects the Buddha, know that this person is the fentuoli flower among men; the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara and the Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta are his excellent friends.”
The two on whose description the tenth and eleventh contemplations spent so many words become, here, the friends of the person who recollects the Buddha.
And the Last Sentence Is
“Hold these words well. One who holds these words holds the name of the Buddha of Measureless Life.”
Sixteen gates of contemplation have been taught to the end, and what is handed down is a name.
大正藏 T12n0365〔起 T12 0346a27〕。段／行首〔T12 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔T12 0346a27〕爾時世尊說是語時，韋提希與五百侍女，聞佛所說，應時即見極樂世界廣長之相，得見佛身及二菩薩。心生歡喜，歎未曾有，豁然大悟，得無生忍。五百侍女發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，願生彼國。世尊悉記，皆當往生，生彼國已，獲得諸佛現前三昧。無量諸天，發無上道心。 爾時阿難，即從座起，前白佛言：「世尊！當何名此經？此法之要，當云何受持？」佛告阿難：「此經名『觀極樂國土無量壽佛觀世音菩薩大勢至菩薩』，亦名『淨除業障生諸佛前』。汝當受持，無令忘失！行此三昧者，現身得見無量壽佛及二大士。若善男子及善女人，但聞佛名、二菩薩名，除無量劫生死之罪，何況憶念！若念佛者，當知此人即是人中芬陀利花，觀世音菩薩、大勢至菩薩為其勝友，當坐道場，生諸佛家。」 佛告阿難：「汝好持是語。持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名。」 佛說此語時，尊者目連、尊者阿難及韋提希等，聞佛所說，皆大歡喜。 爾時世尊，足步虛空，還耆闍崛山。爾時，阿難廣為大眾說如上事。無量人、天、龍、神、夜叉，聞佛所說，皆大歡喜，禮佛而退。 佛說觀無量壽佛經
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.
宋畺良耶舍譯《佛說觀無量壽佛經》T12n0365 之得益分與流通分，自「爾時世尊說是語時」至卷末尾題。段首（…）＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔得益分〕
〔一·總牒前文，生後得益〕（0346a27）那時候世尊說這番話的時候——
〔二·能聞法之人〕（0346a27）韋提希與五百侍女，聽聞佛所說的，
〔三·見極樂之相〕（0346a28）應時就見到極樂世界廣大長遠的相，
〔四·夫人得無生之益〕（0346a29）得以見到佛身以及二位菩薩。心裡生起歡喜，讚歎從未曾有；豁然大悟，得到無生忍（登初地之謂）。
〔五·侍女發心〕（0346b01）五百侍女發起無上正等正覺之心，願意生到那個國土。
〔六·蒙記得三昧〕（0346b02）世尊一一為她們授記，說她們都將往生；生到那個國土之後，獲得諸佛現前三昧。
〔七·諸天發心〕（0346b04）無量的諸天，發起無上道心。
〔王宮流通分〕
〔八·請發之由〕（0346b05）那時候阿難隨即從座位上起身，上前稟白佛說：『世尊！這部經應當叫什麼名字？這個法的要旨，應當怎樣受持？』
〔九·立經名〕（0346b06）佛告訴阿難：『這部經名叫《觀極樂國土無量壽佛觀世音菩薩大勢至菩薩》，也名叫《淨除業障生諸佛前》。
〔十·教其受持〕（0346b08）你應當受持，不要讓它忘失！
〔十一·比校顯勝〕（0346b09）修行這個三昧的人，現身就得以見到無量壽佛以及二位大士。若是善男子與善女人，只要聽聞佛的名、二位菩薩的名，就除掉無量劫生死的罪，何況是憶念呢！
〔十二·念佛者之名與其伴〕（0346b12）若是念佛的人，應當知道這個人就是人中的芬陀利花（人中的好華，也名希有華，也名人中上上華，也名人中妙好華）；觀世音菩薩、大勢至菩薩作他的勝友；他當坐道場（得道的場所名叫道場），生到諸佛的家裡。』
〔十三·付囑名號〕（0346b15）佛告訴阿難：『你好好地持這句話。持這句話的，就是持無量壽佛的名。』
〔十四·聞法歡喜〕（0346b16）佛說這句話的時候，尊者目連、尊者阿難以及韋提希等人，聽聞佛所說的，都非常歡喜。
〔耆闍分〕
〔十五·佛還耆闍崛山〕（0346b18）那時候世尊腳步虛空，回到耆闍崛山。
〔十六·阿難廣說〕（0346b18）那時候，阿難廣泛地為大眾說了以上這些事。
〔十七·大眾歡喜而退〕（0346b19）無量的人、天、龍、神、夜叉，聽聞佛所說的，都非常歡喜，向佛作禮而退。
〔十八·尾題〕（0346b21）《佛說觀無量壽佛經》。
Translated in the Liu Song by Kālayaśas, The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life, T12n0365, the section on the benefit obtained and the section on transmission, from “At that time, when the World-Honored One had spoken these words” down to the closing title at the end of the fascicle. The figures at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.
The Benefit Obtained
〔一 · Gathering Up the Text Before, and the Benefit Obtained Thereafter〕（0346a27）At that time, when the World-Honored One had spoken these words —
〔二 · Those Able to Hear the Dharma〕（0346a27）Vaidehī, together with her five hundred attendant women, heard what the Buddha said,
〔三 · Seeing the Aspect of Ultimate Bliss〕（0346a28）and thereupon saw the vast and far-reaching aspect of the world of Ultimate Bliss,
〔四 · The Lady Obtains the Benefit of Non-Arising〕（0346a29）and was able to see the body of the Buddha and the two bodhisattvas. In her mind joy arose and she marveled at what had never been before; all at once she was greatly awakened, and obtained the patience of non-arising (which is to say, she ascended to the first ground).
〔五 · The Attendant Women Give Rise to the Mind〕（0346b01）The five hundred attendant women gave rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening, and vowed to be born in that land.
〔六 · Receiving the Prediction and Obtaining the Samādhi〕（0346b02）The World-Honored One gave a prediction to each of them, that they would all be born there; and that, having been born in that land, they would obtain the samādhi in which all the buddhas are present before one.
〔七 · The Gods Give Rise to the Mind〕（0346b04）Measureless gods gave rise to the mind set on the unsurpassed path.
The Transmission at the Palace
〔八 · The Occasion of the Request〕（0346b05）At that time Ānanda rose at once from his seat, came forward, and said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! By what name should this sūtra be called? And the essential of this Dharma — how is it to be received and held?”
〔九 · The Naming of the Sūtra〕（0346b06）The Buddha told Ānanda: “This sūtra is named Contemplating the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the Buddha of Measureless Life, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and the Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta; it is also named Purifying Away the Obstruction of Karma and Being Born Before All Buddhas.
〔十 · Teaching Him to Receive and Hold It〕（0346b08）You should receive and hold it, and let it not be forgotten or lost!
〔十一 · Comparison Showing What Excels〕（0346b09）One who practises this samādhi will in this very body be able to see the Buddha of Measureless Life and the two great beings. And if there be a good man or a good woman who merely hears the name of the Buddha and the names of the two bodhisattvas, the offences of measureless kalpas of birth-and-death are removed — how much more one who holds them in mind and recollects them!
〔十二 · The Name Given to One Who Recollects the Buddha, and His Companions〕（0346b12）If there be one who recollects the Buddha, know that this person is the fentuoli flower among men (the finest flower among men, also named the rare flower, also named the highest of the high flower among men, also named the wondrously fine flower among men); the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara and the Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta are his excellent friends; he will sit at the site of the way (the place where the way is obtained is called the site of the way), and be born into the household of all the buddhas.”
〔十三 · The Entrusting of the Name〕（0346b15）The Buddha told Ānanda: “Hold these words well. One who holds these words holds the name of the Buddha of Measureless Life.”
〔十四 · Hearing the Dharma and Rejoicing〕（0346b16）When the Buddha had spoken these words, the venerable Maudgalyāyana, the venerable Ānanda, Vaidehī, and the rest heard what the Buddha said, and all rejoiced greatly.
The Gṛdhrakūṭa Section
〔十五 · The Buddha Returns to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa〕（0346b18）At that time the World-Honored One, his feet stepping through empty space, returned to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa.
〔十六 · Ānanda Expounds at Length〕（0346b18）At that time Ānanda expounded at length for the great assembly the matters set out above.
〔十七 · The Assembly Rejoices and Withdraws〕（0346b19）Measureless humans, gods, nāgas, spirits, and yakṣas heard what the Buddha said, all rejoiced greatly, paid homage to the Buddha, and withdrew.
〔十八 · The Closing Title〕（0346b21）The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life.
一部經的末尾，通常會把這部經交代給誰、要人怎麼持。《觀無量壽佛經》講了十六觀——從落日、寶地、寶樹、華座，到佛身、二大士、自身往生想，再到三輩九品——而到了最後付囑的那一句，佛說的是：
「汝好持是語。持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名。」
善導《觀經四帖疏》把全經判為五分（序分、正宗分、得益分、王宮流通分、耆闍分），並在此下了一句：上來雖說定散兩門之益，望佛本願，意在眾生一向專稱彌陀佛名。智顗《觀無量壽佛經疏》則把正說之後分作利益與流通二段，於王宮流通中立列名教持、勸信、付囑、聞喜四事。兩家所歸不同，各自的理由都在自己的書裡。此下所講的是經。
話音才落，就有人得了
經文說完九品，第一件事不是散會，是當場的兌現。
「爾時世尊說是語時，韋提希與五百侍女，聞佛所說，應時即見極樂世界廣長之相，得見佛身及二菩薩。」
應時即見。不是回去修，不是來世成，是說完那一刻就見了。
韋提希「心生歡喜，歎未曾有，豁然大悟，得無生忍」；五百侍女發起無上道心、願生彼國，佛一一為她們授記；連在虛空中聽法的無量諸天，也都發了無上道心。
從序分那個被關在深宮裡、問「我宿何罪，生此惡子」的人，到這一刻豁然大悟——一部經的距離就這麼長。
而古來的讀法還在此加了一筆時間上的分辨：她得無生忍，並不是在此刻才得，是在第七觀初見無量壽佛的時候就已經得了；此處是總牒前文而說其益。經到末了才把帳結出來，事情卻是在中途發生的。
阿難問的是兩件事
得益之後，阿難起身，問了兩件事：
「世尊！當何名此經？此法之要，當云何受持？」
一問名，二問持。而佛的答也正好是兩層。
先答名。這部經有兩個名字：一個叫《觀極樂國土無量壽佛觀世音菩薩大勢至菩薩》，一個叫《淨除業障生諸佛前》。
前一個名，古來的讀法說是「雙標依正」——極樂國土是依報，無量壽佛與二菩薩是正報，一個名把全部十六觀的所觀之境攏在裡面。後一個名不說境，說效：業障淨除，生諸佛前。
一部經的兩個名字，一個從所看的東西取，一個從所去的地方取。
古來注家把前一個名叫做「雙標依正」，並補了一句：能依這部經起行的人，三障之雲自然卷開。名不只是稱呼，也是這部經自己給出的用途說明。
再答持：「汝當受持，無令忘失！」
「何況」二字往上翻
答完之後，佛接著說的是一段比校。
最高的那一層：「行此三昧者，現身得見無量壽佛及二大士。」修成這個三昧的人，這一身就見得到。
而下一句立刻往下降：「若善男子及善女人，但聞佛名、二菩薩名，除無量劫生死之罪」。
只是聽見名字——不是修成三昧，只是聽見——就除無量劫生死之罪。
再一句：「何況憶念！」
聽見尚且如此，何況把它放在心裡念。
這種『以少況多』的句法，第十三觀用過一次——「但想佛像得無量福，況復觀佛具足身相」。兩處同型，而所推的不是同一件事：那一處是從小像推到真身，這一處是從聞名推到憶念。你若把兩句並看，會看見經一直在做同一件事——先把最低的那一級寫下來，再說更高的還在上面。
十六觀那樣長的一部功課，到這裡被放進一個很寬的階梯裡：能作觀的作觀，作不成的聞名，聞了名的再憶念。十六觀講完之後，經把這道階梯一路讓到了聞名；順著它讀下來，沒有人是被關在門外的。
念佛的人，經給了他一個名字
接著是全經對念佛之人最重的一句判語：
「若念佛者，當知此人即是人中芬陀利花」。
芬陀利是華中的名品。古來注家逐一解它的別名：人中好華、希有華、人中上上華、人中妙好華。而他隨即把這幾個名轉到人身上——念佛的人，就是人中好人、人中妙好人、人中上上人、人中希有人、人中最勝人。
然後經給了他兩位同伴：「觀世音菩薩、大勢至菩薩為其勝友」。
前面第十觀、第十一觀費了那麼多文字描寫的兩位大士，在這裡成了念佛之人的朋友。
所付囑的是名
最後，佛單獨叫了一次阿難。
佛告阿難：「汝好持是語。持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名。」
「是語」指的是前面所說的一切。而佛沒有停在『好好記住這些話』，祂多說了一句：持這句話，就是持無量壽佛的名。
一部教觀想的經，末後所付囑的，是一個名字。
兩個會場
經還沒有完。
「爾時世尊，足步虛空，還耆闍崛山。」佛從王宮回到山上——序分裡祂是從耆闍崛山隱沒、在王宮出現的，此刻原路回去。
「爾時，阿難廣為大眾說如上事。」王宮之會，在場的是韋提希、五百侍女、目連與阿難，還有臨空聽法的無量諸天；山上的大眾沒有聽見。於是阿難把上面這些事，為大眾又說了一遍。
我們今天讀得到這部經，靠的正是這一句。
古來的讀法在此還記了一筆：佛何以不逕自散會，而要腳步虛空回到山上？說是為了增益大眾的敬心、也為了奉順自己先前所說。一部在密室裡說的經，最後被帶回公開的會場，於是它才成為可以流通的經。
你今天手上這一部，經過的正是這樣一條路：王宮裡說給一個人聽，山上由一個人轉說給所有人聽。
「無量人、天、龍、神、夜叉，聞佛所說，皆大歡喜，禮佛而退。」
讀到這裡回頭看，「聞佛所說」四個字在這一段裡出現了三次：韋提希與五百侍女聞佛所說而得益，目連阿難韋提希等聞佛所說而歡喜，人天龍神夜叉聞佛所說而歡喜作禮。三次同一語，把王宮的密室與耆闍崛山的公開法會縫在了一處。
古來注家還把末後那個「歡喜」拆出三義：能說法的人清淨——佛的無礙智沒有錯謬；所說的法清淨——能使眾生證得三昧；依法所得的果清淨——依法修行滿足，身證清淨之果。歡喜不是散會時的客套，是三重清淨都到齊了的一個表徵。
承衍——兩副眼看同一句付囑
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，只是同一句「持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名」，換兩種讀法來看。
善導一路是《觀經四帖疏》的讀法。他把全經判為五分，得益別立一分，是他與他家不同之一處。於王宮流通七句之中，他於第五句「若念佛者」下標出「正顯念佛三昧功能超絕，實非雜善得為比類」，逐一釋分陀利之四名而轉為念佛之人的五個名，並說專念彌陀名者，觀音、勢至常隨影護，亦如親友知識。到第六句，他釋付囑曰「正明付屬彌陀名號，流通於遐代」，隨即下了那句最為後世所繫的話：
「上來雖說定散兩門之益，望佛本願，意在眾生一向專稱彌陀佛名。」
這句話與他在下品上生處所說的「望佛願意者，唯勸正念稱名往生義疾」首尾相應：一在正宗分之末，一在流通分之末。
智顗一路是《觀無量壽佛經疏》的讀法。他把王宮流通開作四事：列名教持、勸人奉信、付囑令持、聞法歡喜。釋經名時他牒作「名觀極樂無量壽佛觀音勢至，亦名淨業生諸佛前」，後文又作「亦名觀無量壽佛，亦名滅除業障」——所牒與今本之字略有出入。他釋「當坐道場」曰：得道之場名曰道場；菩提樹下得道，故名為坐。而「皆大歡喜」四字他也不放過，出了三義：能說之人清淨，所說之法清淨，依法所得之果清淨。至於佛何以要腳步虛空回到耆闍崛山，他說是「為增物敬、奉順其言，故現此變」。
一路把末後一句讀成名號的付囑，一路把末後一段讀成一部經如何被交出去。
而經自己只說了一句：持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名。
At the end of a sūtra there is usually a statement of to whom the sūtra is committed and how people are to hold it. The Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life has taught sixteen contemplations — from the setting sun, the jeweled ground, the jeweled trees, and the flower throne, to the body of the Buddha, the two great beings, and the forming of the image of one’s own birth in that land, and then on to the three grades and the nine grades — and when it comes to that last sentence of entrusting, what the Buddha says is this:
“Hold these words well. One who holds these words holds the name of the Buddha of Measureless Life.”
Shandao’s Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra in Four Fascicles divides the whole sūtra into five sections (the introduction, the main body, the benefit obtained, the transmission at the palace, and the Gṛdhrakūṭa section), and lets fall a sentence here: although the benefit of the two gates, concentration and scattering, has been spoken of above, if one looks to the Buddha’s original vow, its intent lies in sentient beings uttering the name of Amitābha with single devotion. Zhiyi’s Commentary on the Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life instead divides what follows the direct teaching into the two segments of benefit and transmission, and within the transmission at the palace sets up four matters: setting out the names and teaching him to hold it, urging trust, entrusting, and hearing and rejoicing. The two houses come home to different places, and each keeps his reasons in his own book. What is set out below is the sūtra.
The Words Had Barely Ended, and Someone Had Already Gained It
When the sūtra has finished speaking of the nine grades, the first thing that happens is not the breaking up of the assembly. It is payment on the spot.
“At that time, when the World-Honored One had spoken these words, Vaidehī, together with her five hundred attendant women, heard what the Buddha said, and thereupon saw the vast and far-reaching aspect of the world of Ultimate Bliss, and was able to see the body of the Buddha and the two bodhisattvas.”
Thereupon saw. Not go back and cultivate it, not accomplish it in a life to come: at the very moment the speaking ended, she saw.
Vaidehī “in her mind joy arose and she marveled at what had never been before; all at once she was greatly awakened, and obtained the patience of non-arising.” The five hundred attendant women gave rise to the mind set on the unsurpassed path and vowed to be born in that land, and the Buddha gave a prediction to each of them; and even the measureless gods who had been listening to the Dharma from the air gave rise to the mind set on the unsurpassed path.
From the person shut up in the depths of the palace in the introduction, who asked, “What offence did I commit in the past, that I should give birth to so evil a son?” to this moment of being greatly awakened all at once — that is exactly how long a sūtra is.
And the readings handed down add here a distinction in time: she did not obtain the patience of non-arising at this moment, but had obtained it already at the seventh contemplation, when she first saw the Buddha of Measureless Life; what stands here is a general gathering up of the text before, stating the benefit. The sūtra settles the account only at the end, but the thing itself happened along the way.
Ānanda Asked Two Things
After the benefit, Ānanda rose and asked two things:
“World-Honored One! By what name should this sūtra be called? And the essential of this Dharma — how is it to be received and held?”
One question about the name, one about the holding. And the Buddha’s answer likewise has two layers.
First the name. This sūtra has two names: one is Contemplating the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the Buddha of Measureless Life, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and the Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta; the other is Purifying Away the Obstruction of Karma and Being Born Before All Buddhas.
Of the first name the readings handed down say that it marks both the dependent and the direct — the land of Ultimate Bliss is the dependent recompense, the Buddha of Measureless Life and the two bodhisattvas are the direct recompense; one name gathers into itself the whole field of what is contemplated in the sixteen contemplations. The second name speaks not of the object but of the effect: the obstruction of karma purified away, birth before all buddhas.
Two names for one sūtra: one taken from what is looked at, one from where one goes.
The commentators of old call the first name the marking of both the dependent and the direct, and add a line to it: for one able to rely on this sūtra and raise up practice, the clouds of the three obstructions roll away of themselves. A name is not only a way of being called; it is also this sūtra’s own statement of what it is for.
Then the answer about holding: “You should receive and hold it, and let it not be forgotten or lost!”
The Words “How Much More” Turn Upward
What the Buddha says next is a comparison.
The highest layer: “One who practises this samādhi will in this very body be able to see the Buddha of Measureless Life and the two great beings.” One who accomplishes this samādhi sees them in this very body.
And the next sentence at once comes down: “And if there be a good man or a good woman who merely hears the name of the Buddha and the names of the two bodhisattvas, the offences of measureless kalpas of birth-and-death are removed.”
Merely to hear the names — not to accomplish the samādhi, merely to hear — and the offences of measureless kalpas of birth-and-death are removed.
Then one more sentence: “How much more one who holds them in mind and recollects them!”
If hearing is already so much, how much more to keep them in the mind and recollect them.
This form of argument, from the less to the more, was used once at the thirteenth contemplation — “merely forming the image of an image of the Buddha obtains measureless merit; how much more contemplating the Buddha in the fullness of his bodily marks.” The two places are of one type, and yet what is being argued is not the same thing: there it runs from a small image up to the true body, here from hearing the name up to holding it in mind. Set the two sentences side by side and you will see that the sūtra keeps doing one and the same thing — first it writes down the lowest rung, and then says that the higher is still above.
A course of work as long as the sixteen contemplations is here set into a very wide stair: those who can make the contemplation make it; those who cannot hear the name; and those who have heard the name hold it in mind. When the sixteen contemplations have been taught, the sūtra lets the stair all the way down to the hearing of a name; read down along it, nobody is shut outside the door.
The Sūtra Gives One Who Recollects the Buddha a Name
There follows the weightiest judgment in the whole sūtra upon the person who recollects the Buddha:
“If there be one who recollects the Buddha, know that this person is the fentuoli flower among men.”
The fentuoli is the finest among flowers. The commentators of old gloss its other names one by one: the finest flower among men, the rare flower, the highest of the high flower among men, the wondrously fine flower among men. And then they turn these names at once upon the person: one who recollects the Buddha is the finest man among men, the wondrously fine man among men, the highest of the high among men, the rare man among men, the most excellent man among men.
Then the sūtra gives him two companions: “The Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara and the Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta are his excellent friends.”
The two great beings on whose description the tenth and eleventh contemplations spent so many words become, here, the friends of the person who recollects the Buddha.
What Is Entrusted Is a Name
At the last, the Buddha calls Ānanda by name once, alone.
The Buddha told Ānanda: “Hold these words well. One who holds these words holds the name of the Buddha of Measureless Life.”
“These words” means everything that has been said before. And the Buddha does not stop at remember these words well; he says one sentence more: to hold these words is to hold the name of the Buddha of Measureless Life.
A sūtra that teaches the forming of images entrusts, at the last, a name.
Two Assembly Halls
The sūtra is not yet finished.
“At that time the World-Honored One, his feet stepping through empty space, returned to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa.” The Buddha goes back from the palace to the mountain — in the introduction he had vanished from Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa and appeared in the palace, and now he goes back by the same road.
“At that time Ānanda expounded at length for the great assembly the matters set out above.” At the assembly in the palace those present were Vaidehī, the five hundred attendant women, Maudgalyāyana and Ānanda, and the measureless gods listening from the air; the great assembly on the mountain had not heard it. And so Ānanda expounded all these matters for that assembly a second time.
That we can read this sūtra today rests precisely on that one sentence.
The readings handed down set down a further note here: why did the Buddha not simply dismiss the assembly, instead of stepping through empty space back to the mountain? It is said to have been in order to increase the reverence of the assembly, and also to conform to what he himself had said before. A sūtra spoken in a closed chamber is at the last carried back to the open assembly, and only then does it become a sūtra that can be transmitted.
The copy in your hands today has come by exactly such a road: spoken in a palace for one person, and then, on a mountain, told over again by one person for everyone.
“Measureless humans, gods, nāgas, spirits, and yakṣas heard what the Buddha said, all rejoiced greatly, paid homage to the Buddha, and withdrew.”
Looking back from here, the words “heard what the Buddha said” appear three times in this passage: Vaidehī and the five hundred attendant women heard what the Buddha said and obtained the benefit; Maudgalyāyana, Ānanda, Vaidehī and the rest heard what the Buddha said and rejoiced; humans, gods, nāgas, spirits, and yakṣas heard what the Buddha said, rejoiced, and paid homage. One and the same expression, three times over, stitches the closed chamber of the palace and the open assembly on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa into one place.
The commentators of old also take that last word, “rejoiced,” and open it into three senses: the one able to expound is pure — the Buddha’s unobstructed wisdom has no error; the Dharma expounded is pure — it can bring sentient beings to realize the samādhi; and the fruit obtained by relying on the Dharma is pure — cultivation according to the Dharma being fulfilled, the body realizes a pure fruit. The rejoicing is not a courtesy at the breaking up of the assembly; it is the sign that three kinds of purity have all arrived together.
Carrying Forward — Two Eyes on the Same Sentence of Entrusting
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 sentence, “one who holds these words holds the name of the Buddha of Measureless Life,” seen through two ways of reading.
The Shandao line is the reading of the Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra in Four Fascicles. He divides the whole sūtra into five sections and sets up the benefit obtained as a section of its own, which is one of the places where he differs from the other houses. Among the seven sentences of the transmission at the palace, at the fifth, “if there be one who recollects the Buddha,” he marks out that it “directly shows that the power of the samādhi of recollecting the Buddha is beyond compare, and that the mixed goods are truly not of a kind to be set beside it”; he glosses the four names of fentuoli one by one and turns them into five names for the person who recollects the Buddha; and he says that for one who recollects the name of Amitābha with single devotion, Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta constantly follow him like his shadow and guard him, as close kin and friends do. At the sixth sentence he explains the entrusting as “directly clarifying the entrusting of the name of Amitābha, to be transmitted to distant ages,” and then lets fall the sentence to which later ages have most attached themselves:
“Although the benefit of the two gates, concentration and scattering, has been spoken of above, if one looks to the Buddha’s original vow, its intent lies in sentient beings uttering the name of Amitābha with single devotion.”
This sentence answers, head to tail, what he said at the highest birth of the lowest grade: “Yet if one looks to the intent of the Buddha’s vow, it only urges the uttering of the Name in right mindfulness, the meaning being that birth in that land comes swiftly thereby.” One stands at the end of the main body, the other at the end of the section on transmission.
The Zhiyi line is the reading of the Commentary on the Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life. He opens the transmission at the palace into four matters: setting out the names and teaching him to hold it, urging people to uphold and trust, entrusting and charging him to hold it, and hearing the Dharma and rejoicing. In glossing the name of the sūtra he cites it as “named Contemplating Ultimate Bliss, the Buddha of Measureless Life, Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta; also named Pure Karma and Birth Before All Buddhas,” and later in his text as “also named Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life, and also named Extinguishing and Removing the Obstruction of Karma” — what he cites differs slightly in its characters from the text current today. Of “he will sit at the site of the way” he says: the place where the way is obtained is called the site of the way; the way is obtained beneath the tree of awakening, and therefore it is called sitting. Nor does he let the words “all rejoiced greatly” pass: he gives three senses — the one able to expound is pure, the Dharma expounded is pure, and the fruit obtained by relying on the Dharma is pure. As for why the Buddha had to step through empty space back to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, he says it was “in order to increase the reverence of beings and to conform to what he himself had said, and therefore he manifests this change.”
One line reads that last sentence as the entrusting of the Name; the other reads that last section as the account of how a sūtra is handed on.
And the sūtra itself has said only this: one who holds these words holds the name of the Buddha of Measureless Life.
考據Apparatus
全段定位 本單元為全經之末，含得益分與流通分。得益分明韋提希與五百侍女於前說既竟之時所獲之益；流通分先於王宮，阿難請經名、佛答二名並教受持，次比校顯勝而歸於念佛，末以「汝好持是語。持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名」付囑；其下佛還耆闍崛山，阿難為大眾廣說，人天龍神歡喜而退，終以尾題。全段四百三十三字。付囑一句所付者是名而非觀，善導於此下「望佛本願，意在眾生一向專稱彌陀佛名」之語；智顗則以列名教持、勸信、付囑、聞喜四事釋王宮流通。二鏡所繫不同，並錄不判。
一、科判定位
善導《四帖疏》判全經為五分（序·正宗·得益·王宮流通·耆闍分），本單元居其後三：
「三、就得益分中，亦先舉，次辨。即有其七。」〔T37n1753 0277c07〕 「四、次明流通分，於中有二。一明王宮流通。二明耆闍流通。」〔T37n1753 0277c26〕 「五、就耆闍會中，亦有其三。」〔T37n1753 0278b01〕
得益分七句：
| 句 | 疏標起訖（逐字） | 錨 | 本帙白話段位 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 初 | 「初、言說是語者，正明總牒前文生後得益之相。」 | 〔T37n1753 0277c07〕 | 〔一〕 |
| 四 | 「四、從得見佛身及二菩薩已下，正明夫人於第七觀初見無量壽佛時，即得無生之益。」 | 〔T37n1753 0277c11〕 | 〔四〕 |
| 五 | 「五、從侍女已下，正明覩斯勝相，各發無上之心，求生淨土。」 | 〔T37n1753 0277c13〕 | 〔五〕 |
| 七 | 「七、從無量諸天已下，正明前厭苦緣中釋梵護世諸天等，從佛王宮臨空聽法。」 | 〔T37n1753 0277c16〕 | 〔七〕 |
「上來雖有七句不同，廣解得益分竟。」〔T37n1753 0277c24〕
王宮流通七句：
| 句 | 疏標起訖（逐字） | 錨 | 本帙白話段位 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | 「一、從爾時阿難已下，正明請發之由。」 | 〔T37n1753 0277c28〕 | 〔八〕 |
| 二 | 「二、從佛告阿難已下，正明如來雙標依正以立經名。」 | 〔T37n1753 0277c29〕 | 〔九〕 |
| 三 | 「三、從汝當受持已下，答前後問云何受持一句。」 | 〔T37n1753 0278a02〕 | 〔十〕 |
| 五 | 「五、從若念佛者下，至生諸佛家已來，正顯念佛三昧功能超絕，實非雜善得為比類。」 | 〔T37n1753 0278a09〕 | 〔十二〕 |
| 六 | 「六、從佛告阿難汝好持是語已下，正明付屬彌陀名號，流通於遐代。」 | 〔T37n1753 0278a22〕 | 〔十三〕 |
「今先就王宮流通分中，即有其七。」〔T37n1753 0277c27〕
全經五分之總結——疏於耆闍分之後回收全經：
「上來雖有五分不同，總解《觀經》一部文義竟。」〔T37n1753 0278b11〕
witness 分欄·智顗疏之科（誌錄不判）：
「第二、利益。中有二：初、明夫人道悟無生；二、明侍女發心也。」〔T37n1750 0194b28〕 「第三、流通。亦二：第一、明王宮流通；第二、「爾時世尊足步」下，明崛山流通。」〔T37n1750 0194c01〕 「初有四：一、列名教持；二、「行此」下，明修有益勸人奉信；三、「告阿難」下，付囑令持；四、「說此」下，目連等聞歡喜。」〔T37n1750 0194c02〕 「耆山流通中，初、佛步空還耆闍崛山，為增物敬、奉順其言，故現此變。」〔T37n1750 0194c21〕
善導判全經五分而以得益別立一分，智顗判正說之後為利益與流通二段——二式不同，並錄不判。
二、異譯對勘
本經漢地無第二譯本——今檢大正藏第十二冊 T12n0360 至 T12n0396 諸經題名，題《觀無量壽佛經》者止此一本，無異譯可勘。誠實記之。
經名二種，二鏡所牒與底本互有詳略——底本作「此經名『觀極樂國土無量壽佛觀世音菩薩大勢至菩薩』，亦名『淨除業障生諸佛前』」〔T12n0365 0346b07〕；智顗牒之作「佛答「名觀極樂無量壽佛觀音勢至，亦名淨業生諸佛前」，對其初問。」〔T37n1750 0194c07〕，又於後文作「結名付囑，亦名觀無量壽佛，亦名滅除業障也。」〔T37n1750 0194c17〕。疏所牒者略而不同其字，或是隨文舉大意，本帙錄其異而不代為裁。誌錄不判。
三、經論宗依（眼）
付囑之所在——經以「汝好持是語。持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名。」〔T12n0365 0346b15〕作結，善導判此為付囑名號，並下一斷語：
「六、從佛告阿難汝好持是語已下，正明付屬彌陀名號，流通於遐代。」〔T37n1753 0278a22〕 「上來雖說定散兩門之益，望佛本願，意在眾生一向專稱彌陀佛名。」〔T37n1753 0278a24〕
念佛三昧之功能——疏於「若念佛者」一節標其超絕：
「五、從若念佛者下，至生諸佛家已來，正顯念佛三昧功能超絕，實非雜善得為比類。」〔T37n1753 0278a09〕 「四明專念彌陀名者，即觀音、勢至常隨影護，亦如親友知識也。」〔T37n1753 0278a18〕
得益分之無生忍，善導繫其時於第七觀：
「四、從得見佛身及二菩薩已下，正明夫人於第七觀初見無量壽佛時，即得無生之益。」〔T37n1753 0277c11〕
智顗於「歡喜」出三義：
「「歡喜」者，三義故喜：一、能說人清淨，佛無礙智無有錯謬，名為清淨。」〔T37n1750 0194c18〕
本段經文自身不引他經他論——所引皆在疏。誠實記之。
四、本段釋要（四帖疏逐文）
得益分之所以立——疏以諸天所聞列七事，而歸於一句：
「七、從無量諸天已下，正明前厭苦緣中釋梵護世諸天等，從佛王宮臨空聽法。」〔T37n1753 0277c16〕
經名之立——疏釋佛所答之初問：
「二、從佛告阿難已下，正明如來雙標依正以立經名。」〔T37n1753 0277c29〕
其所謂雙標依正者：經名前半舉極樂國土（依），後半舉無量壽佛與二菩薩（正）。疏又云依經起行則「三障之雲自卷」。
比校顯勝——疏於「但聞佛名、二菩薩名」一節立四事，其第四：
「四正明比校顯勝，但聞三身之號，尚滅多劫罪愆，何況正念歸依，而不獲證也。」〔T37n1753 0278a07〕
分陀利之釋——疏逐名釋之，並以之轉釋念佛之人：
「言分陀利者，名人中好華，亦名希有華，亦名人中上上華，亦名人中妙好華，此華相傳名蔡華是。」〔T37n1753 0278a14〕 「若念佛者，即是人中好人，人中妙好人，人中上上人，人中希有人，人中最勝人也。」〔T37n1753 0278a17〕
經之付囑所付者是名——見目三所引〔T37n1753 0278a22〕〔T37n1753 0278a24〕。
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 全經之分 | 五分（序·正宗·得益·王宮流通·耆闍分） | 〔T37n1753 0278b11〕 | 正說之後為利益與流通二段 | 〔T37n1750 0194b28〕 |
| 王宮流通之開 | 七句 | 〔T37n1753 0277c27〕 | 「初有四：一、列名教持；二、「行此」下，明修有益勸人奉信；三、「告阿難」下，付囑令持；四、「說此」下，目連等聞歡喜。」 | 〔T37n1750 0194c02〕 |
| 付囑之所歸 | 「上來雖說定散兩門之益，望佛本願，意在眾生一向專稱彌陀佛名。」 | 〔T37n1753 0278a24〕 | 「結名付囑，亦名觀無量壽佛，亦名滅除業障也。」 | 〔T37n1750 0194c17〕 |
| 分陀利之釋 | 「言分陀利者，名人中好華，亦名希有華，亦名人中上上華，亦名人中妙好華，此華相傳名蔡華是。」 | 〔T37n1753 0278a14〕 | 「「念佛者人中分陀利華」，明其身勝。」 | 〔T37n1750 0194c13〕 |
| 當坐道場之釋 | 疏於本段不別釋 | — | 「「當坐道場」，得道之場名曰道場。菩提樹下得道，故名為坐。」 | 〔T37n1750 0194c14〕 |
| 佛還耆山之意 | 疏唯標其分而不釋其意 | — | 「耆山流通中，初、佛步空還耆闍崛山，為增物敬、奉順其言，故現此變。」 | 〔T37n1750 0194c21〕 |
第三事為本單元二鏡所異之要——同是釋末後之付囑，善導歸於「一向專稱彌陀佛名」，智顗歸於結出經之二名。二家所歸不同，本帙並錄，不設調停，不以一家為正。
六、術語（首見名相·釋義皆自二鏡）
| 名相 | 疏釋逐字 | 錨 | 鏡 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 分陀利（芬陀利） | 「言分陀利者，名人中好華，亦名希有華，亦名人中上上華，亦名人中妙好華，此華相傳名蔡華是。」 | 〔T37n1753 0278a14〕 | 善導 |
| 念佛者之名 | 「若念佛者，即是人中好人，人中妙好人，人中上上人，人中希有人，人中最勝人也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0278a17〕 | 善導 |
| 勝友 | 「四明專念彌陀名者，即觀音、勢至常隨影護，亦如親友知識也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0278a18〕 | 善導 |
| 道場 | 「「當坐道場」，得道之場名曰道場。菩提樹下得道，故名為坐。」 | 〔T37n1750 0194c14〕 | 智顗 |
| 歡喜 | 「「歡喜」者，三義故喜：一、能說人清淨，佛無礙智無有錯謬，名為清淨。」 | 〔T37n1750 0194c18〕 | 智顗 |
本帙白話所用之括注，其所從逐條記此：芬陀利之四名從主鏡善導〔T37n1753 0278a14〕；「道場」之釋主鏡零命中，從智顗〔T37n1750 0194c14〕；「無生忍」之釋從智顗〔T37n1750 0193c15〕（該條首見於本帙第十四單元）。主鏡無說而取 witness 之說者，於此明記所從。
「諸佛現前三昧」——經文自出之名，二鏡於本段皆牒而未釋（善導唯以之標得益分第六句「即獲現前三昧」〔T37n1753 0277c16〕）。本帙不代擬——疏未傳者不補。
本段經文之梵語音寫有「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」「芬陀利」二語，善導於分陀利唯出漢釋與別名（好華·希有華·上上華·妙好華·蔡華）而未出梵形，本帙不代擬。
七、譬喻·修辭
經文自用之譬：
| 譬 | 經文逐字 | 錨 | 所顯 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 芬陀利花 | 「若念佛者，當知此人即是人中芬陀利花」 | 〔T12n0365 0346b12〕 | 念佛之人 |
此為本段唯一之譬，而二鏡皆就之轉為人之名（見目四、目五）。
鏡疏自立之語可記者二：
| 語 | 疏文逐字 | 錨 | 所顯 | 鏡 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 三障之雲 | 「又能依經起行，三障之雲自卷，答前初問云何名此經一句。」 | 〔T37n1753 0278a01〕 | 依經起行之效 | 善導 |
| 常隨影護 | 「四明專念彌陀名者，即觀音、勢至常隨影護，亦如親友知識也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0278a18〕 | 二聖與念佛之人 | 善導 |
修辭上可記者三：①本段以三重「聞佛所說」貫之——韋提希與五百侍女「聞佛所說」而得益，目連阿難韋提希等「聞佛所說，皆大歡喜」，人天龍神夜叉「聞佛所說，皆大歡喜，禮佛而退」；一語三見，把王宮之會與耆闍之會縫在一處。②比校之句法：「但聞佛名、二菩薩名，除無量劫生死之罪，何況憶念！」——以少況多，與第十三觀「但想佛像得無量福，況復觀佛具足身相」同型。③付囑一句以「是語」二字回指全經，而末後自釋其為名——「持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名」，一句之內由語轉名。
八、徵引承衍
- 本帙以外諸帙徵引本單元經文者，零命中（「持是語者」「芬陀利花」「諸佛現前三昧」諸語，本帙以外之帙無一命中；「分陀利」一語他帙雖有命中，皆是各本文自有之語，非徵引本段）。誠實記之。
- 本單元在本經內部之承衍：得益分之無生忍，善導繫其時於第七觀初見無量壽佛之際〔T37n1753 0277c11〕——是本經末分回指正宗分之一例。
- 付囑名號一語與第十六單元之「望佛願意」相為首尾——善導於下品上生云「然望佛願意者，唯勸正念稱名往生義疾」〔T37n1753 0276c02〕，於此則云「望佛本願，意在眾生一向專稱彌陀佛名」〔T37n1753 0278a25〕。二語同繫一義，分居正宗之末與流通之末。
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0346a27 | 「爾時世尊」四字 | 無此四字 | 宋·元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0346b01 | 「豁」 | 廓 | 敦·流布本 |
| 0346b01 | 「得」 | 逮 | 宋·元·明·敦 |
| 0346b03 | 「獲」 | 無此字 | 敦·流布本 |
| 0346b05 | 「前」 | 無此字 | 宋·元·明 |
| 0346b09 | 「等」 | 當（CBETA 新增校注·據麗本） | CB·麗-CB |
| 0346b10 | 「及」 | 無此字 | 敦·流布本 |
| 0346b12 | 「即」 | 無此字 | 流布本 |
| 0346b12 | 「芬」 | 分 | 宋·元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0346b16 | 「目連」 | 目犍連 | 宋·元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0346b16 | 「尊者」 | 無此二字 | 敦·流布本 |
| 0346b19 | 「人、天」 | 諸天 | 元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0346b19 | 「龍、神」 | 龍（元·明·敦）／及龍（流布本） | 元·明·敦／流布本 |
| 0346b21 | 「佛」 | 無此字 | 流布本 |
| 0346b21 | 「經」（尾題之末字） | 經一卷，其下並綴敦本寫經題記 | 敦 |
第六條為本經 CBETA 新增校注五條之末一條，亦是本單元唯一之一條——大正底本作「等」，CBETA 依麗本改作「當」，故今讀者面作「汝當受持，無令忘失」〔T12n0365 0346b08〕。主鏡所牒正作「當」：善導標王宮流通第三句曰「三、從汝當受持已下，答前後問云何受持一句。」〔T37n1753 0278a02〕；智顗亦作「「汝當受持無令忘失」，對其後問。」〔T37n1750 0194c08〕。二鏡與麗本同，並錄不判。
第九條與主鏡所據相合——底本作「芬陀利花」，宋、元、明、敦、流布本皆作「分」。二鏡所牒皆作「分」：善導曰「言分陀利者」〔T37n1753 0278a14〕，智顗曰「「念佛者人中分陀利華」」〔T37n1750 0194c13〕。此為疏所據與底本異、而與諸本合之又一例（前例見第十二觀「想作心，自見」〔T12n0365 0344b15〕與第十五觀「行世仁義」〔T12n0365 0345c02〕）。並錄不判，不以疏之所牒改底本。
末條為敦煌寫本之題記，非經文——大正校記於尾題「經」字下錄敦本所綴之寫經題記一段（其中出寫經者之名與其願辭）。此屬寫本流傳之跡，不入經文計數，本帙照錄其存在而不錄其文入讀者面（同本帙卷端御製贊之處置法：照錄並標明，不混入經文）。
gaiji：本單元零命中。
夾註（place="inline"）：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 end of the whole sūtra, and contains the section on the benefit obtained and the section on transmission. The section on the benefit obtained clarifies what Vaidehī and the five hundred attendant women gained at the moment when the foregoing teaching was finished. The section on transmission stands first at the palace: Ānanda asks for the name of the sūtra, the Buddha answers with two names and teaches him to receive and hold it; next comes the comparison showing what excels, which comes to rest in the recollecting of the Buddha; and at the end the entrusting is made with 「汝好持是語。持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名」—“hold these words well; one who holds these words holds the name of the Buddha of Measureless Life.” After that the Buddha returns to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, Ānanda expounds at length for the great assembly, humans and gods and nāgas and spirits rejoice and withdraw, and the whole closes with the title at the end. The whole passage runs to four hundred and thirty-three characters. What the sentence of entrusting entrusts is a name and not a contemplation, and Shandao here lets fall the words 「望佛本願，意在眾生一向專稱彌陀佛名」, that looking to the Buddha’s original vow, its intent lies in sentient beings uttering the name of Amitābha with single devotion; Zhiyi, for his part, explains the transmission at the palace by four matters — setting out the names and teaching him to hold it, urging trust, entrusting, and hearing and rejoicing. What the two mirrors attach here is not the same, and both are recorded without adjudication.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
Shandao’s Commentary in Four Fascicles divides the whole sūtra into five sections (the introduction, the main body, the benefit obtained, the transmission at the palace, and the Gṛdhrakūṭa section), and this unit occupies the last three of them:
「三、就得益分中，亦先舉，次辨。即有其七。」—“Third, within the section on the benefit obtained, there is likewise first the raising and next the distinguishing — there are seven in all” 〔T37n1753 0277c07〕. 「四、次明流通分，於中有二。一明王宮流通。二明耆闍流通。」—“Fourth, next clarifies the section on transmission, within which there are two: the first clarifies the transmission at the palace, the second the transmission at Gṛdhrakūṭa” 〔T37n1753 0277c26〕. 「五、就耆闍會中，亦有其三。」—“Fifth, within the assembly at Gṛdhrakūṭa there are likewise three” 〔T37n1753 0278b01〕.
The seven sentences of the section on the benefit obtained:
| Sentence | The commentary’s marked span (verbatim) | Anchor | Segment in this edition’s Plain Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 「初、言說是語者，正明總牒前文生後得益之相。」—“First, the words ‘when he had spoken these words’ directly clarify the general gathering up of the text before and the appearance of the benefit obtained thereafter.” | 〔T37n1753 0277c07〕 | 〔一〕 |
| Fourth | 「四、從得見佛身及二菩薩已下，正明夫人於第七觀初見無量壽佛時，即得無生之益。」—“Fourth, from ‘was able to see the body of the Buddha and the two bodhisattvas’ onward directly clarifies that the lady, at the seventh contemplation, when she first saw the Buddha of Measureless Life, then obtained the benefit of non-arising.” | 〔T37n1753 0277c11〕 | 〔四〕 |
| Fifth | 「五、從侍女已下，正明覩斯勝相，各發無上之心，求生淨土。」—“Fifth, from ‘the attendant women’ onward directly clarifies that, beholding these excellent appearances, they each gave rise to the unsurpassed mind and sought birth in the Pure Land.” | 〔T37n1753 0277c13〕 | 〔五〕 |
| Seventh | 「七、從無量諸天已下，正明前厭苦緣中釋梵護世諸天等，從佛王宮臨空聽法。」—“Seventh, from ‘measureless gods’ onward directly clarifies that Śakra, Brahmā, the world-protecting gods and the rest, named earlier among the conditions for wearying of suffering, followed the Buddha to the palace and listened to the Dharma from the air.” | 〔T37n1753 0277c16〕 | 〔七〕 |
「上來雖有七句不同，廣解得益分竟。」—“Although the seven sentences above differ among themselves, the extensive explanation of the section on the benefit obtained is herewith finished” 〔T37n1753 0277c24〕.
The seven sentences of the transmission at the palace:
| Sentence | The commentary’s marked span (verbatim) | Anchor | Segment in this edition’s Plain Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 「一、從爾時阿難已下，正明請發之由。」—“First, from ‘at that time Ānanda’ onward directly clarifies the occasion of the request.” | 〔T37n1753 0277c28〕 | 〔八〕 |
| Second | 「二、從佛告阿難已下，正明如來雙標依正以立經名。」—“Second, from ‘the Buddha told Ānanda’ onward directly clarifies that the Tathāgata marks both the dependent and the direct in setting up the name of the sūtra.” | 〔T37n1753 0277c29〕 | 〔九〕 |
| Third | 「三、從汝當受持已下，答前後問云何受持一句。」—“Third, from ‘you should receive and hold it’ onward answers the later of the two questions asked before, the one sentence asking how it is to be received and held.” | 〔T37n1753 0278a02〕 | 〔十〕 |
| Fifth | 「五、從若念佛者下，至生諸佛家已來，正顯念佛三昧功能超絕，實非雜善得為比類。」—“Fifth, from ‘if there be one who recollects the Buddha’ down to ‘born into the household of all the buddhas’ directly shows that the power of the samādhi of recollecting the Buddha is beyond compare, and that the mixed goods are truly not of a kind to be set beside it.” | 〔T37n1753 0278a09〕 | 〔十二〕 |
| Sixth | 「六、從佛告阿難汝好持是語已下，正明付屬彌陀名號，流通於遐代。」—“Sixth, from ‘the Buddha told Ānanda, hold these words well’ onward directly clarifies the entrusting of the name of Amitābha, to be transmitted to distant ages.” | 〔T37n1753 0278a22〕 | 〔十三〕 |
「今先就王宮流通分中，即有其七。」—“Now, taking first the section on transmission at the palace, there are seven in it” 〔T37n1753 0277c27〕.
The gathering up of the five sections of the whole sūtra — after the Gṛdhrakūṭa section the commentary draws the whole sūtra back in:
「上來雖有五分不同，總解《觀經》一部文義竟。」—“Although the five sections above differ among themselves, the general explanation of the text and meaning of the whole Contemplation Sūtra is herewith finished” 〔T37n1753 0278b11〕.
The witness column · Zhiyi’s outline of this passage (recorded without adjudication):
「第二、利益。中有二：初、明夫人道悟無生；二、明侍女發心也。」—“Second, the benefit. Within it there are two: the first clarifies that the lady awakened to non-arising; the second clarifies that the attendant women gave rise to the mind” 〔T37n1750 0194b28〕. 「第三、流通。亦二：第一、明王宮流通；第二、「爾時世尊足步」下，明崛山流通。」—“Third, transmission. Also two: the first clarifies the transmission at the palace; the second, from ‘at that time the World-Honored One, his feet stepping,’ clarifies the transmission on the mountain” 〔T37n1750 0194c01〕. 「初有四：一、列名教持；二、「行此」下，明修有益勸人奉信；三、「告阿難」下，付囑令持；四、「說此」下，目連等聞歡喜。」—“The first has four: first, setting out the names and teaching him to hold it; second, from ‘one who practises this,’ clarifying that cultivation has benefit and urging people to uphold and trust; third, from ‘told Ānanda,’ entrusting and charging him to hold it; fourth, from ‘when he had spoken this,’ Maudgalyāyana and the rest hearing and rejoicing” 〔T37n1750 0194c02〕. 「耆山流通中，初、佛步空還耆闍崛山，為增物敬、奉順其言，故現此變。」—“In the transmission on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa: first, the Buddha steps through the air and returns to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa; in order to increase the reverence of beings and to conform to what he himself had said, he manifests this change” 〔T37n1750 0194c21〕.
Shandao divides the whole sūtra into five sections and sets up the benefit obtained as a section of its own, while Zhiyi takes what follows the direct teaching as the two segments of benefit and transmission — the two forms differ, and both are 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 now been searched: only this one bears the title The Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life, and there is no alternate translation against which to collate. Recorded honestly.
There are two names of the sūtra, and what the two mirrors cite is fuller or briefer than the base text in different places — the base text reads 「此經名『觀極樂國土無量壽佛觀世音菩薩大勢至菩薩』，亦名『淨除業障生諸佛前』」—“this sūtra is named ‘Contemplating the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the Buddha of Measureless Life, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and the Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta’; it is also named ‘Purifying Away the Obstruction of Karma and Being Born Before All Buddhas’” 〔T12n0365 0346b07〕; Zhiyi cites it as 「佛答「名觀極樂無量壽佛觀音勢至，亦名淨業生諸佛前」，對其初問。」—“the Buddha answers, ‘named Contemplating Ultimate Bliss, the Buddha of Measureless Life, Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta; also named Pure Karma and Birth Before All Buddhas,’ in reply to the first question” 〔T37n1750 0194c07〕, and further, later in his text, as 「結名付囑，亦名觀無量壽佛，亦名滅除業障也。」—“concluding the names and entrusting: it is also named Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life, and also named Extinguishing and Removing the Obstruction of Karma” 〔T37n1750 0194c17〕. What the commentary cites is briefer and does not agree in its characters; it may be that he raises the general sense as the text runs. This edition records the difference and does not adjudicate in their stead. Recorded without adjudication.
III. Scriptural and Treatise Grounding (the “eye”)
Where the entrusting stands — the sūtra concludes with 「汝好持是語。持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名。」—“hold these words well; one who holds these words holds the name of the Buddha of Measureless Life” 〔T12n0365 0346b15〕, and Shandao judges this to be the entrusting of the Name, and lets fall a decisive judgment upon it:
「六、從佛告阿難汝好持是語已下，正明付屬彌陀名號，流通於遐代。」—“Sixth, from ‘the Buddha told Ānanda, hold these words well’ onward directly clarifies the entrusting of the name of Amitābha, to be transmitted to distant ages” 〔T37n1753 0278a22〕. 「上來雖說定散兩門之益，望佛本願，意在眾生一向專稱彌陀佛名。」—“Although the benefit of the two gates, concentration and scattering, has been spoken of above, if one looks to the Buddha’s original vow, its intent lies in sentient beings uttering the name of Amitābha with single devotion” 〔T37n1753 0278a24〕.
The power of the samādhi of recollecting the Buddha — at the passage 「若念佛者」, “if there be one who recollects the Buddha,” the commentary marks it as beyond compare:
「五、從若念佛者下，至生諸佛家已來，正顯念佛三昧功能超絕，實非雜善得為比類。」—“Fifth, from ‘if there be one who recollects the Buddha’ down to ‘born into the household of all the buddhas’ directly shows that the power of the samādhi of recollecting the Buddha is beyond compare, and that the mixed goods are truly not of a kind to be set beside it” 〔T37n1753 0278a09〕. 「四明專念彌陀名者，即觀音、勢至常隨影護，亦如親友知識也。」—“The fourth clarifies that for one who recollects the name of Amitābha with single devotion, Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta constantly follow him like his shadow and guard him, as close kin and friends do” 〔T37n1753 0278a18〕.
The patience of non-arising in the section on the benefit obtained, whose time Shandao fixes at the seventh contemplation:
「四、從得見佛身及二菩薩已下，正明夫人於第七觀初見無量壽佛時，即得無生之益。」—“Fourth, from ‘was able to see the body of the Buddha and the two bodhisattvas’ onward directly clarifies that the lady, at the seventh contemplation, when she first saw the Buddha of Measureless Life, then obtained the benefit of non-arising” 〔T37n1753 0277c11〕.
Zhiyi gives three senses for 「歡喜」, rejoicing:
「「歡喜」者，三義故喜：一、能說人清淨，佛無礙智無有錯謬，名為清淨。」—“As for ‘rejoiced,’ there is joy for three reasons: first, the one able to expound is pure — the Buddha’s unobstructed wisdom has no error, and this is called pure” 〔T37n1750 0194c18〕.
This passage of the sūtra cites no other sūtra or treatise of itself — everything cited stands in the commentaries. Recorded honestly.
IV. Essentials of the Commentary on This Passage (the Commentary in Four Fascicles, line by line)
Why the section on the benefit obtained is set up as a section — the commentary lists seven matters for what the gods heard, and brings them home in one sentence:
「七、從無量諸天已下，正明前厭苦緣中釋梵護世諸天等，從佛王宮臨空聽法。」—“Seventh, from ‘measureless gods’ onward directly clarifies that Śakra, Brahmā, the world-protecting gods and the rest, named earlier among the conditions for wearying of suffering, followed the Buddha to the palace and listened to the Dharma from the air” 〔T37n1753 0277c16〕.
The setting up of the name of the sūtra — the commentary explains the Buddha’s answer to the first question:
「二、從佛告阿難已下，正明如來雙標依正以立經名。」—“Second, from ‘the Buddha told Ānanda’ onward directly clarifies that the Tathāgata marks both the dependent and the direct in setting up the name of the sūtra” 〔T37n1753 0277c29〕.
What is meant by marking both the dependent and the direct is this: the first half of the name raises the land of Ultimate Bliss (the dependent), and the second half raises the Buddha of Measureless Life and the two bodhisattvas (the direct). The commentary says further that for one who relies on the sūtra and raises up practice, 「三障之雲自卷」, the clouds of the three obstructions roll away of themselves.
The comparison showing what excels — at the passage 「但聞佛名、二菩薩名」, “merely hears the name of the Buddha and the names of the two bodhisattvas,” the commentary sets up four matters, of which the fourth is:
「四正明比校顯勝，但聞三身之號，尚滅多劫罪愆，何況正念歸依，而不獲證也。」—“The fourth directly clarifies the comparison that shows what excels: merely hearing the names of the three still extinguishes the offences and faults of many kalpas — how much more one who takes refuge with right mindfulness; how should he fail to obtain realization?” 〔T37n1753 0278a07〕.
The gloss of fentuoli — the commentary glosses its names one by one, and turns them upon the person who recollects the Buddha:
「言分陀利者，名人中好華，亦名希有華，亦名人中上上華，亦名人中妙好華，此華相傳名蔡華是。」—“As for ‘fentuoli,’ it is named the finest flower among men, also named the rare flower, also named the highest of the high flower among men, also named the wondrously fine flower among men; this flower has been handed down under the name caihua” 〔T37n1753 0278a14〕. 「若念佛者，即是人中好人，人中妙好人，人中上上人，人中希有人，人中最勝人也。」—“If there be one who recollects the Buddha, he is the finest man among men, the wondrously fine man among men, the highest of the high among men, the rare man among men, the most excellent man among men” 〔T37n1753 0278a17〕.
What the sūtra’s entrusting entrusts is a name — see the passages cited in the third topic 〔T37n1753 0278a22〕 〔T37n1753 0278a24〕.
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 the whole sūtra | Five sections (the introduction, the main body, the benefit obtained, the transmission at the palace, the Gṛdhrakūṭa section) | 〔T37n1753 0278b11〕 | What follows the direct teaching is the two segments of benefit and transmission | 〔T37n1750 0194b28〕 |
| The opening of the transmission at the palace | Seven sentences | 〔T37n1753 0277c27〕 | 「初有四：一、列名教持；二、「行此」下，明修有益勸人奉信；三、「告阿難」下，付囑令持；四、「說此」下，目連等聞歡喜。」—“The first has four: first, setting out the names and teaching him to hold it; second, from ‘one who practises this,’ clarifying that cultivation has benefit and urging people to uphold and trust; third, from ‘told Ānanda,’ entrusting and charging him to hold it; fourth, from ‘when he had spoken this,’ Maudgalyāyana and the rest hearing and rejoicing.” | 〔T37n1750 0194c02〕 |
| Where the entrusting comes to rest | 「上來雖說定散兩門之益，望佛本願，意在眾生一向專稱彌陀佛名。」—“Although the benefit of the two gates, concentration and scattering, has been spoken of above, if one looks to the Buddha’s original vow, its intent lies in sentient beings uttering the name of Amitābha with single devotion.” | 〔T37n1753 0278a24〕 | 「結名付囑，亦名觀無量壽佛，亦名滅除業障也。」—“Concluding the names and entrusting: it is also named Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life, and also named Extinguishing and Removing the Obstruction of Karma.” | 〔T37n1750 0194c17〕 |
| The gloss of fentuoli | 「言分陀利者，名人中好華，亦名希有華，亦名人中上上華，亦名人中妙好華，此華相傳名蔡華是。」—“As for ‘fentuoli,’ it is named the finest flower among men, also named the rare flower, also named the highest of the high flower among men, also named the wondrously fine flower among men; this flower has been handed down under the name caihua.” | 〔T37n1753 0278a14〕 | 「「念佛者人中分陀利華」，明其身勝。」—“‘One who recollects the Buddha is the fentuoli flower among men’ — this clarifies the excellence of his person.” | 〔T37n1750 0194c13〕 |
| The gloss of “he will sit at the site of the way” | The commentary gives no separate gloss in this passage | — | 「「當坐道場」，得道之場名曰道場。菩提樹下得道，故名為坐。」—“‘He will sit at the site of the way’: the place where the way is obtained is called the site of the way. The way is obtained beneath the tree of awakening, and therefore it is called sitting.” | 〔T37n1750 0194c14〕 |
| The intent of the Buddha’s return to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa | The commentary only marks the section and does not explain its intent | — | 「耆山流通中，初、佛步空還耆闍崛山，為增物敬、奉順其言，故現此變。」—“In the transmission on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa: first, the Buddha steps through the air and returns to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa; in order to increase the reverence of beings and to conform to what he himself had said, he manifests this change.” | 〔T37n1750 0194c21〕 |
The third point is the chief divergence of the two mirrors in this unit — explaining the same entrusting at the end, Shandao brings it home to 「一向專稱彌陀佛名」, the uttering of the name of Amitābha with single devotion, while Zhiyi brings it home to the drawing out of the two names of the sūtra. What the two houses come home to is not the same; this edition records both, imposes no reconciliation, and does not take either house as the correct one.
VI. Terms (first occurrences — all glosses drawn from the two mirrors)
| Term | The commentary’s gloss, verbatim | Anchor | Mirror |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fentuoli | 「言分陀利者，名人中好華，亦名希有華，亦名人中上上華，亦名人中妙好華，此華相傳名蔡華是。」—“As for ‘fentuoli,’ it is named the finest flower among men, also named the rare flower, also named the highest of the high flower among men, also named the wondrously fine flower among men; this flower has been handed down under the name caihua.” | 〔T37n1753 0278a14〕 | Shandao |
| The names of one who recollects the Buddha | 「若念佛者，即是人中好人，人中妙好人，人中上上人，人中希有人，人中最勝人也。」—“If there be one who recollects the Buddha, he is the finest man among men, the wondrously fine man among men, the highest of the high among men, the rare man among men, the most excellent man among men.” | 〔T37n1753 0278a17〕 | Shandao |
| Excellent friends | 「四明專念彌陀名者，即觀音、勢至常隨影護，亦如親友知識也。」—“The fourth clarifies that for one who recollects the name of Amitābha with single devotion, Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta constantly follow him like his shadow and guard him, as close kin and friends do.” | 〔T37n1753 0278a18〕 | Shandao |
| The site of the way | 「「當坐道場」，得道之場名曰道場。菩提樹下得道，故名為坐。」—“‘He will sit at the site of the way’: the place where the way is obtained is called the site of the way. The way is obtained beneath the tree of awakening, and therefore it is called sitting.” | 〔T37n1750 0194c14〕 | Zhiyi |
| Rejoicing | 「「歡喜」者，三義故喜：一、能說人清淨，佛無礙智無有錯謬，名為清淨。」—“As for ‘rejoiced,’ there is joy for three reasons: first, the one able to expound is pure — the Buddha’s unobstructed wisdom has no error, and this is called pure.” | 〔T37n1750 0194c18〕 | Zhiyi |
The parenthetical glosses used in this edition’s Plain Reading are recorded here item by item with their source: the four names of fentuoli come from the principal mirror, Shandao 〔T37n1753 0278a14〕; for the gloss of 「道場」, the site of the way, the principal mirror yields nothing, and the gloss is taken from Zhiyi 〔T37n1750 0194c14〕; the gloss of 「無生忍」, the patience of non-arising, is taken from Zhiyi 〔T37n1750 0193c15〕 (that item first occurs in the fourteenth unit of this edition). Where the principal mirror has nothing to say and the witness’s reading is taken, the source is set down expressly here.
「諸佛現前三昧」, the samādhi in which all the buddhas are present before one — a name the sūtra gives of itself, which both mirrors cite in this passage without glossing (Shandao only uses it to mark the sixth sentence of the section on the benefit obtained, 「即獲現前三昧」 〔T37n1753 0277c16〕). This edition does not supply one in their stead: what the commentary has not transmitted is not made good.
The Sanskrit transcriptions in this passage of the sūtra are the two expressions 「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」, unsurpassed perfect awakening, and 「芬陀利」; of fentuoli Shandao gives only the Chinese gloss and the alternate names (the finest flower, the rare flower, the highest of the high flower, the wondrously fine flower, caihua) and gives no Sanskrit form, and this edition does not supply one in its stead.
VII. Similes and Rhetoric
The simile the sūtra uses of itself:
| Simile | The sūtra verbatim | Anchor | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| The fentuoli flower | 「若念佛者，當知此人即是人中芬陀利花」—“if there be one who recollects the Buddha, know that this person is the fentuoli flower among men” | 〔T12n0365 0346b12〕 | The person who recollects the Buddha |
This is the only simile in the passage, and both mirrors turn it into a name for the person (see the fourth and the fifth topics).
Two expressions set up by the mirror commentaries may be recorded:
| Expression | The commentary verbatim | Anchor | What it shows | Mirror |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The clouds of the three obstructions | 「又能依經起行，三障之雲自卷，答前初問云何名此經一句。」—“Further, one able to rely on the sūtra and raise up practice will see the clouds of the three obstructions roll away of themselves; this answers the earlier first question, the one sentence asking by what name this sūtra is called.” | 〔T37n1753 0278a01〕 | The effect of relying on the sūtra and raising up practice | Shandao |
| Constantly following like a shadow and guarding | 「四明專念彌陀名者，即觀音、勢至常隨影護，亦如親友知識也。」—“The fourth clarifies that for one who recollects the name of Amitābha with single devotion, Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta constantly follow him like his shadow and guard him, as close kin and friends do.” | 〔T37n1753 0278a18〕 | The two holy ones and the person who recollects the Buddha | Shandao |
Three things may be recorded as rhetoric. First, the passage is threaded through by three occurrences of 「聞佛所說」, “heard what the Buddha said”: Vaidehī and the five hundred attendant women 「聞佛所說」 and obtain the benefit; Maudgalyāyana, Ānanda, Vaidehī and the rest 「聞佛所說，皆大歡喜」, hear what the Buddha said and all rejoice greatly; humans, gods, nāgas, spirits, and yakṣas 「聞佛所說，皆大歡喜，禮佛而退」, hear what the Buddha said, all rejoice greatly, pay homage to the Buddha, and withdraw — one expression appearing three times, stitching the assembly at the palace and the assembly at Gṛdhrakūṭa into one place. Second, the sentence-form of the comparison: 「但聞佛名、二菩薩名，除無量劫生死之罪，何況憶念！」—“merely hearing the name of the Buddha and the names of the two bodhisattvas removes the offences of measureless kalpas of birth-and-death — how much more one who holds them in mind and recollects them!” — arguing from the less to the more, of the same type as the thirteenth contemplation’s 「但想佛像得無量福，況復觀佛具足身相」—“merely forming the image of an image of the Buddha obtains measureless merit; how much more contemplating the Buddha in the fullness of his bodily marks.” Third, the sentence of entrusting points back at the whole sūtra with the two characters 「是語」, “these words,” and then glosses them at the end as a name — 「持是語者，即是持無量壽佛名」, “one who holds these words holds the name of the Buddha of Measureless Life”: within a single sentence, words turn into a name.
VIII. Citation and Carrying Forward
- Editions outside this one that cite the scriptural text of this unit: nothing was found (for 「持是語者」, 「芬陀利花」, and 「諸佛現前三昧」 not a single hit is yielded by any edition outside this one; the expression 「分陀利」 does yield hits in other editions, but in every case it belongs to the text of those works themselves and is not a citation of this passage). Recorded honestly.
- How this unit carries forward within the sūtra itself: the patience of non-arising in the section on the benefit obtained is fixed by Shandao at the moment in the seventh contemplation when the Buddha of Measureless Life was first seen 〔T37n1753 0277c11〕 — one instance of the last section of this sūtra pointing back at the main body.
- The entrusting of the Name stands as head and tail with 「望佛願意」, the looking to the intent of the Buddha’s vow, in the sixteenth unit — at the highest birth of the lowest grade Shandao says 「然望佛願意者，唯勸正念稱名往生義疾」—“yet if one looks to the intent of the Buddha’s vow, it only urges the uttering of the Name in right mindfulness, the meaning being that birth in that land comes swiftly thereby” 〔T37n1753 0276c02〕, and here he says 「望佛本願，意在眾生一向專稱彌陀佛名」—“looking to the Buddha’s original vow, its intent lies in sentient beings uttering the name of Amitābha with single devotion” 〔T37n1753 0278a25〕. The two sayings are attached to one and the same meaning, and stand at the end of the main body and at the end of the transmission respectively.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0346a27 | The four characters 「爾時世尊」 (at that time the World-Honored One) | these four characters absent | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0346b01 | 「豁」 (all at once) | 廓 (wide open) | Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0346b01 | 「得」 (obtained) | 逮 (attained) | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang |
| 0346b03 | 「獲」 (obtain) | this character absent | Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0346b05 | 「前」 (came forward) | this character absent | Song · Yuan · Ming |
| 0346b09 | 「等」 (and the rest) | 當 (should) (newly added CBETA collation note, on the Goryeo edition) | CB · Goryeo-CB |
| 0346b10 | 「及」 (and) | this character absent | Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0346b12 | 「即」 (is) | this character absent | current-circulation printing |
| 0346b12 | 「芬」 (fen) | 分 (fen) | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0346b16 | 「目連」 (Maudgalyāyana) | 目犍連 (Maudgalyāyana) | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0346b16 | 「尊者」 (the venerable) | these two characters absent | Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0346b19 | 「人、天」 (humans and gods) | 諸天 (the gods) | Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0346b19 | 「龍、神」 (nāgas and spirits) | 龍 (Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang) ／ 及龍 (current-circulation printing) | Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang ／ current-circulation printing |
| 0346b21 | 「佛」 (the Buddha) | this character absent | current-circulation printing |
| 0346b21 | 「經」 (the last character of the closing title) | 經一卷, with the Dunhuang copyist’s colophon appended beneath | Dunhuang |
The sixth item is the last of the five newly added CBETA collation notes in this sūtra, and the only one in this unit — the Taishō base text reads 「等」, while CBETA, following the Goryeo edition, alters it to 「當」, and so the reader’s text here now runs 「汝當受持，無令忘失」—“you should receive and hold it, and let it not be forgotten or lost” 〔T12n0365 0346b08〕. What the principal mirror cites reads precisely 「當」: Shandao marks the third sentence of the transmission at the palace as 「三、從汝當受持已下，答前後問云何受持一句。」—“third, from ‘you should receive and hold it’ onward answers the later of the two questions asked before, the one sentence asking how it is to be received and held” 〔T37n1753 0278a02〕; and Zhiyi likewise gives 「「汝當受持無令忘失」，對其後問。」—“‘you should receive and hold it, and let it not be forgotten or lost’ — in reply to the later question” 〔T37n1750 0194c08〕. The two mirrors agree with the Goryeo edition; both are recorded without adjudication.
The ninth item agrees with what the principal mirror had before it — the base text reads 「芬陀利花」, while the Song, Yuan, Ming, Dunhuang, and current-circulation witnesses all read 「分」. What both mirrors cite reads 「分」: Shandao says 「言分陀利者」—“as for fentuoli” 〔T37n1753 0278a14〕, and Zhiyi says 「「念佛者人中分陀利華」」—“one who recollects the Buddha is the fentuoli flower among men” 〔T37n1750 0194c13〕. This is one more instance in which the text the commentaries had before them differs from the base text and agrees with the other witnesses (for earlier instances see the twelfth contemplation’s 「想作心，自見」 〔T12n0365 0344b15〕 and the fifteenth contemplation’s 「行世仁義」 〔T12n0365 0345c02〕). Recorded without adjudication; the base text is not altered by what the commentary cites.
The last item is a Dunhuang copyist’s colophon and is not the text of the sūtra — the Taishō collation notes record, beneath the character 「經」 of the closing title, a passage of the copyist’s colophon appended in the Dunhuang witness (in which the copyist’s name and his words of aspiration appear). This belongs to the traces of the manuscript’s transmission; it does not enter the reckoning of the sūtra’s text, and this edition records that it exists without bringing its words into the reader’s text (the same treatment given to the praise at the head of the fascicle in this edition: reproduced and marked as such, not mingled with the sūtra).
Gaiji: nothing found in this unit.
Inline glosses (place="inline"): nothing found in this unit.
Ideographic space (U+3000): nothing found in this unit.