佛說觀無量壽佛經 · 名相Glossary

「「耆闍崛山」者，翻名靈鷲，諸聖仙靈依之而住。又名鷲頭，峰形似鷲。」—“‘Gṛdhrakūṭa’: the name is rendered Spirit Vulture; the sages and numinous immortals dwell in dependence upon it. It is also called Vulture Head, the shape of the peak resembling a vulture.”

「文殊，此云妙德，以法化人，名法王子也。」—“Mañjuśrī: here rendered Wondrous Virtue. Because he transforms people by the Dharma, he is named Prince of the Dharma.”

「又阿闍世者乃是西國正音，此地往翻，名未生怨，亦名折指。」—“Further, Ajātaśatru is the correct sound of the Western Country; rendered here in former times, the name is Enmity-Before-Birth, and also Broken-Finger.”

「唯損手小指。因即外人同唱言折指太子也。」—“Only the little finger of his hand was injured. Thereupon outsiders all called him the Broken-Finger prince.”

「頻婆娑羅，此云摸實，亦曰影堅。韋提希，此云思惟。阿闍世，此云未生怨，或婆羅留支，此云折指。」—“Bimbisāra: here rendered Likeness to the Real, also called Firm Shadow. Vaidehī: here rendered Reflection. Ajātaśatru: here rendered Enmity-Before-Birth; or Poluoliuzhi, here rendered Broken-Finger.”

「調達，此云天熱，亦云天授，是斛飯王子，是佛堂弟、阿難親兄。」—“Diaoda: here rendered Deva-Heat, also Deva-Given. He is a son of King Droṇodana, the Buddha’s cousin, and Ānanda’s own elder brother.”

「耆婆，此云固活，生時一手把藥囊、一手把針筒。」—“Jīvaka: here rendered Made Firmly Alive. At his birth he held a medicine bag in one hand and a needle case in the other.”

「富樓那，此云滿願子，亦滿慈子，從父母得名，說法第一，巧開人心，故偏遣之。」—“Pūrṇa: here rendered Son of Fulfilled Vows, also Son of Fulfilled Kindness, named from his father and mother. He was foremost in teaching the Dharma and skilled at opening people’s minds; therefore he in particular was sent.”

「言剎利者，乃是四姓高元，王者之種，代代相承」—“As for the kṣatriya: it is the highest and first of the four castes, the lineage of kings, handed on from generation to generation”

「言是旃陀羅者，乃是四姓之下流也。」—“As for the caṇḍāla: it is the lowest stream of the four castes.”

「此明廣引古今書史歷帝之文記。」—“This makes clear that he cites widely from the books and histories of past and present and from the records of successive emperors.”

「兩肘、兩膝、頭頂，是為五體也。」—“The two elbows, the two knees, and the crown of the head — these are the five parts of the body.”

「「阿那含」者，第三不還果也。」—“‘Anāgāmin’: it is the third fruit, that of the non-returner.”

「「煩惱賊」者，此能損慧命、傷法身，故名為賊也。」—“‘The thief of the afflictions’: it can damage the life of wisdom and wound the Dharma body, and is therefore named a thief.”

「諦聽令生聞慧，善思思慧念之修慧。」—“‘Listen intently’ causes the wisdom born of hearing to arise; ‘reflect well’ is the wisdom of reflection; ‘keep it in mind’ is the wisdom of cultivation.”

「「異方便」者，即十六觀。」—“‘A different skillful means’: it is the sixteen contemplations.”

「言五苦所逼者。八苦中取生苦、老苦、病苦、死苦、愛別苦，此名五苦也。」—“As for ‘pressed by the five sufferings’: from among the eight sufferings, the suffering of birth, of old age, of sickness, of death, and of parting from what is loved are taken; these are called the five sufferings.”

「四種淨土，謂凡聖同居土、方便有餘土、實報無障礙土、常寂光土也，各有淨穢。」—“The four kinds of pure land are the land of common residence of ordinary beings and noble ones, the land of expedient means with remainder, the land of true recompense free of obstruction, and the land of eternally quiescent light; each has its pure and its defiled aspect.”

「言生盲者，從母胎中出眼即不見物者，名曰生盲。」—“As for ‘blind from birth,’ one whose eyes, from the time he came out of the mother’s womb, did not see things is called blind from birth.”

「言觀者照也，常以淨信心手以持智慧之輝，照彼彌陀正依等事。」—“As for ‘contemplating,’ it is illumining: constantly, with the hand of a mind of pure trust, one holds the radiance of wisdom and illumines the direct and the dependent matters of Amitābha.”

「言思惟者，即是觀前方便，思想彼國依正二報總別相也。」—“As for ‘reflection,’ it is the expedient prior to contemplation: to think out the general and the particular characteristics of the twofold recompense, dependent and direct, of that land.”

「言正受者，想心都息緣慮並亡，三昧相應名為正受。」—“As for ‘right reception,’ the imaging mind wholly rests and discursive concerns all vanish; correspondence with samādhi is called right reception.”

「言假者，即日想、水想、氷想等是其假依，由是此界中相似可見境相故。」—“As for ‘the provisional,’ the image of the sun, the image of water, the image of ice and the like are its provisional support, because they are objects of this world that resemble it and can be seen.”

「觀日見日，心境相應，名為正觀。觀日不見日，乃見餘雜境等，心境不相應，故名邪也。」—“Contemplating the sun, one sees the sun: mind and object correspond, and this is called right contemplation. Contemplating the sun, one does not see the sun but sees other mixed objects and the like: mind and object do not correspond, and it is therefore called wrong.”

「從日觀下至十三觀已來名為定善。三福九品名為散善。」—“From the contemplation of the sun down to the thirteenth contemplation is called the good done in concentration. The three kinds of merit and the nine grades are called the good done in a scattered mind.”

「言金剛者，即是無漏之體也。」—“As for ‘adamant,’ it is the substance free of outflows.”

「三明方楞具足表非圓相。」—“The third clarifies that the sides and angles being complete shows that it has no round shape.”

「「八種清風」者，彼處實無時節，若寄此八，謂除上下，餘四方四維，故云八。亦可用對八卦也。」—“As for ‘the eight kinds of pure wind’: in that place there are in truth no seasons; if this ‘eight’ is to be lodged somewhere, it means that, setting aside up and down, there remain the four cardinal directions and the four intermediate ones, and so it says eight. It may also be set against the eight trigrams.”

「三明顯說四倒四真恒沙等法。」—“The third clarifies the setting forth of the four inversions and the four real marks and dharmas as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā.”

「言假者，即日想、水想、氷想等是其假依」—“As for ‘the provisional,’ the image of the sun, the image of water, the image of ice and the like are its provisional support” 〔T37n1753 0246c17〕 · 「言真依者，即從瑠璃地下至寶樓觀已來是其真依。」—“As for ‘the true support,’ from the beryl ground down to the contemplation of the jeweled towers is its true support.”

「七寶池林等是能依，瑠璃寶地是所依。」—“The pools and groves of the seven precious substances and the rest are that which rests; the jeweled ground of beryl is that which is rested upon” 〔T37n1753 0263a25〕 · 「地是能持，池臺樹等是所持。」—“The ground is that which bears; the pools, terraces, trees and the rest are that which is borne.”

「五明凝心不絕即見淨土之相，此名想心中見，猶有覺想故。」—“The fifth clarifies that when the mind is gathered without a break one sees the appearance of the Pure Land; this is called seeing within the imaging mind, because thought and conception are still present.”

「言正受者，想心都息緣慮並亡，三昧相應名為正受。」—“As for ‘right reception,’ the imaging mind wholly rests and discursive concerns all vanish; correspondence with samādhi is called right reception.”

「言思惟者，即是觀前方便，思想彼國依正二報總別相也。」—“As for ‘reflection,’ it is the expedient prior to contemplation: to think out the general and the particular characteristics of the twofold recompense, dependent and direct, of that land.”

「從日觀下至十三觀已來名為定善。三福九品名為散善。」—“From the contemplation of the sun down to the thirteenth contemplation is called the good done in concentration. The three kinds of merit and the nine grades are called the good done in a scattered mind.”

「文有四：一漸想觀。從「若得三昧」下，第二實觀。」—“The text has four parts: first, the gradual image-contemplation. From ‘if one attains samādhi’ onward is the second, the actual contemplation.”

「雖得往生含華未出、或生邊界，或墮宮胎。」—“Though such a one gains birth in that land, he is held within the flower and does not come out, or is born in the border region, or falls into a palace-womb.”

「言量者，一一樹高三十二萬里」—“As for the measure: each tree is three hundred and twenty thousand li high” (the conversion of eight thousand yojanas)

「今言七重者，或有一樹，黃金為根，紫金為莖，白銀為枝，碼碯為條，珊瑚為葉，白玉為華，真珠為果，如是七重互為根莖乃至華果等，七七四十九重也。」—“To say ‘seven layers’ now is this: there is a single tree in which gold is the root, purple gold the trunk, white silver the branches, agate the twigs, coral the leaves, white jade the flowers, and pearl the fruit; these seven layers serve one another in turn as root and trunk and on to flower and fruit, which makes seven times seven, forty-nine layers.”

「言行者，彼國林樹雖多，行行整直而無雜亂。」—“As for ‘row,’ although the groves and trees of that land are many, row after row they stand straight and orderly with no confusion.”

「言想者，未閑真觀自在隨心，要藉假想以住心，方能證益也。」—“As for ‘the image,’ one is not yet at ease in that true contemplation which is free and follows the mind, and must borrow a provisional image in order to settle the mind; only then can the benefit be realized.”

「釋迦毘楞伽，翻能聖。」—“Shijiapilengqie is rendered ‘Able and Holy.’”

「「摩尼」者，如意珠也。」—“As for maṇi, it is the wish-fulfilling pearl.”

「五明八池之水皆從如意寶中出，即名如意水。」—“The fifth clarifies that the water of the eight pools all comes forth from the wish-fulfilling jewel, and is therefore called wish-fulfilling water.”

「此水即有八種之德。一者清淨潤澤，即是色入攝。」—“This water has eight kinds of excellence. First, pure and moistening, which is gathered under the entry of form.” (the full list of eight is given in the fourth topic)

「言金剛者，即是無漏之體也。」—“As for ‘adamant,’ it is the substance that is free of outflows.”

「八德之水一同雜寶之色，故名寶水也。」—“The water of the eight qualities takes on the very colour of the mingled jewels, and is therefore called jewel water.”

「佛是眾生無上大師，除邪向正。法是眾生無上良藥，能斷煩惱毒病，法身清淨。僧是眾生無上福田」—“The Buddha is the unsurpassed great master of sentient beings, removing what is wrong and turning them toward the right. The Dharma is the unsurpassed good medicine of sentient beings, able to cut off the poisonous sickness of the afflictions, so that the dharma-body is pure. The Saṅgha is the unsurpassed field of merit of sentient beings.”

「此明專心住境，悕見寶樓，剋念不移，自上莊嚴總現。」—“This clarifies that dwelling single-mindedly upon the object, hoping to see the jeweled towers, holding the thought fast without shifting, all the adornments from the ground upward appear together.”

「寶樂飛空聲流法響，晝夜六時如天寶幢，無思成自事也。」—“The jeweled music flies in the air, its sound streaming forth the tones of the Dharma, through the six periods of day and night like the jewel banners of the heavens; with no thought raised, the thing accomplishes itself.”

「五明凝心不絕即見淨土之相，此名想心中見，猶有覺想故。」—“Fifth, it clarifies that when the mind is gathered without a break one sees the appearance of the pure land; this is called seeing within the imaging mind, because awareness and imaging are still there.”

「言別者，華座一觀是其別依，唯屬彌陀佛也。餘上六觀是其通依」—“As for ‘the particular,’ the single contemplation of the Flower Throne is its particular support, belonging to Amitābha alone. The other six contemplations above are its common support.”

「「摩尼」者，如意珠也。」—“As for ‘maṇi,’ it is the wish-fulfilling pearl.”

「釋迦毘楞伽，翻能聖。」—“Shijiapilengqie is rendered ‘Able and Holy.’”

「一者想見，猶有知覺故，雖見淨境，未多明了。」—“The first is seeing by way of the image: because awareness is still there, the pure object, though seen, is not greatly clear” 〔T37n1753 0266b18〕 · 「二者若內外覺滅，即入正受三昧」—“the second: if awareness within and without is extinguished, one enters the samādhi of right reception” 〔T37n1753 0266b19〕

「言別者，華座一觀是其別依，唯屬彌陀佛也。」—“As for ‘the particular,’ the single contemplation of the Flower Throne is its particular support, belonging to Amitābha alone.”

「言法界者，是所化之境，即眾生界也。言身者，是能化之身，即諸佛身也。」—“As for ‘dharma-realm,’ it is the sphere that is converted, namely the realm of sentient beings; as for ‘body,’ it is the body that converts, namely the body of the buddhas.”

「「法界身」者，報佛法性身也」—“‘The dharma-realm body’ is the dharma-nature body of the recompense-buddha”

「此中略舉三號，即如來、應供、正遍知」—“Three of the titles are briefly cited here, namely Tathāgata, Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Universally Knowing One”

「阿羅訶翻應供，阿羅漢翻無生，阿盧漢翻殺賊」—“Aluohe is rendered ‘Worthy of Offerings’; aluohan (the arhat) is rendered ‘non-arising’; aluhan is rendered ‘slayer of the thieves’”

「「令與修多羅合」者，觀行之時，令與教法相應，故言合也。」—“As for ‘let it be made to accord with Xiuduoluo’: at the time of the practice of contemplation it is made to correspond with the scriptural teaching, and therefore ‘accord’ is said.”

「從上向下名順觀，從下千輪向上名逆觀」—“From above downward is called forward contemplation; from the thousand-spoked wheels below upward is called reverse contemplation”

「言假正報者，即第八像觀是也。」—“As for ‘the provisional direct recompense,’ it is the eighth contemplation, of the image.”

「既見聞此已，恒持莫失，名守定心也。」—“Having seen and heard this, he holds it constantly and does not lose it — this is called guarding the settled mind.”

「三者無緣，無心觀理，而於平等第一義中自然安住，以無緣慈攝諸眾生。」—“The third is without object: the mind is not raised to contemplate the principle, and yet it abides of itself in the level and equal first meaning, and with this kindness without object he embraces all sentient beings.”

「一眾生緣，無心攀緣一切眾生，而於眾生自然現益」—“The first has sentient beings as object: without raising the mind to lay hold of any sentient being, benefit appears of itself upon sentient beings”

「二法緣者，無心觀法，而於諸法自然普照，如日照物無所分別。」—“The second has dharmas as object: without raising the mind to contemplate dharmas, it shines of itself upon all dharmas everywhere, as the sun shines upon things making no distinctions.”

「言真正報者，即第九真身觀是也。」—“As for ‘the true direct recompense,’ it is the ninth contemplation, of the true body.”

「彼此三業不相捨離，故名親緣也。」—“The three acts of the one and of the other do not part from each other, and therefore it is called the intimate condition” 〔T37n1753 0268a09〕 · 「佛即應念現在目前，故名近緣也。」—“The Buddha, answering their thought, is at once present before their eyes, and therefore it is called the proximate condition” 〔T37n1753 0268a10〕 · 「諸邪業繫無能礙者，故名增上緣也。」—“No bond of wrong karma is able to hinder them, and therefore it is called the dominant condition” 〔T37n1753 0268a13〕

「釋迦毘楞伽，翻能聖。」—“Shijiapilengqie is rendered ‘Able and Holy.’”

「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”

「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.”

「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.”

「六明依光以立名。」—“The sixth clarifies that the name is set up from the light.”

「七明光之體用，即無漏為體，故名智慧光」—“The seventh clarifies the substance and function of the light: what is free of outflows is its substance, and hence it is named the light of wisdom” 〔T37n1753 0269a08〕 · 「又能除息十方三惡之苦，名無上力，即為用也」—“and because it can remove and quench the suffering of the three evil destinies throughout the ten directions, it is named unsurpassed power — and that is its function” 〔T37n1753 0269a09〕

「八明名大勢至者，此即依德立名也」—“The eighth clarifies that his being named Mahāsthāmaprāpta is a name set up from the virtue”

「今言苦樂者有二種：一者三界中苦樂，二者淨土中苦樂」—“Suffering and pleasure as now spoken of are of two kinds: first, suffering and pleasure within the three realms; second, suffering and pleasure within the Pure Land”

「次二大士是眷屬莊嚴，如王來即有營從，有佛必有菩薩也」—“these two great beings that come next are the adornment of his retinue — as when a king comes there are attendants in train, so where there is a Buddha there must be bodhisattvas”

「普觀作自身往想，稱彼境界一一具觀。」—“The universal contemplation forms the image of one’s own body going there, and, matching the objects of that land, contemplates them one by one and in full.”

「雜觀明佛菩薩神力自在，轉變非恒、大小不定，或隨物現，故名為雜。以此為別。」—“The mixed contemplation clarifies that the spiritual power of the Buddha and the bodhisattvas is unhindered, that their transformations are not constant and their size is not fixed, and that they appear according to what is before them; hence it is named mixed. By this the distinction is made.”

「從日觀下至十三觀已來名為定善。三福九品名為散善。」—“From the contemplation of the sun down to the thirteenth contemplation is called the good done in concentration. The three kinds of merit and the nine grades are called the good done in a scattered mind.”

「正明重舉能觀之人即蒙彌陀等三身護念之益。」—“Directly clarifies the raising again of the one who contemplates, that is, the benefit of being guarded and kept in mind by the three bodies of Amitābha and the rest.”

「雜觀明佛菩薩神力自在，轉變非恒、大小不定，或隨物現，故名為雜。以此為別。」—“The mixed contemplation clarifies that the spiritual power of the Buddha and the bodhisattvas is unhindered, that their transformations are not constant and their size is not fixed, and that they appear according to what is before them; hence it is named mixed. By this the distinction is made.”

「此是如來教諸眾生易境轉心入觀。」—“This is the Tathāgata teaching sentient beings to change the object and turn the mind, and so enter contemplation.”

「如是等處一一住心想之，皆作化佛想，為令機境相稱易得成故也。」—“In places such as these, settling the mind on each in turn and forming the image of it, one forms in every case the image of a manifested Buddha — this being so that capacity and object may match each other and accomplishment may come easily.”

「言如意者，有二種：一者如眾生意，隨彼心念皆應度之。二者如彌陀之意，五眼圓照六通自在。」—“As for ‘as one wills,’ there are two kinds. The first is according with the will of sentient beings: following what they think in their minds, he answers and delivers them all. The second is according with Amitābha’s own will: the five eyes illumine in full, and the six supernormal powers are unhindered.”

「云何二別？觀音頭首上有一立化佛，勢至頭首之上有一寶瓶。」—“How are the two distinguished? Upon the head of Avalokiteśvara there is a standing manifested Buddha; upon the head of Mahāsthāmaprāpta there is a jeweled vase.”

「雖起三業，名為雜毒之善，亦名虛假之行，不名真實業也。」—“Though the three kinds of karma be set going, it is called good mixed with poison, and is also called a practice that is hollow and false; it is not called true and real karma.”

「言深心者，即是深信之心也。」—“As for ‘the profound mind,’ it is the mind of profound trust.”

「一者決定深信，自身現是罪惡生死凡夫，曠劫已來常沒常流轉，無有出離之緣。」—“The first is to trust profoundly and decisively that one is oneself at present an ordinary person of offence and evil, of birth-and-death, who through vast kalpas has been constantly sinking and constantly drifting, with no condition for going forth.”

「然行有二種：一者正行，二者雜行。」—“Now, of practice there are two kinds: the first is right practice, the second is mixed practice.”

「一者一心專念彌陀名號，行住坐臥不問時節久近念念不捨者，是名正定之業，順彼佛願故。」—“The first, single-mindedly and exclusively to recollect the name of Amitābha, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, asking nothing of whether the season and time be long or short, and not letting go of it from thought to thought — this is called the act that rightly settles birth, because it accords with that Buddha’s vow.”

「若依禮誦等，即名為助業。」—“If one relies upon doing homage and reciting and the like, that is called the auxiliary act.”

「言迴向發願心者，過去及以今生身口意業所修世出世善根」—“As for ‘the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow,’ it takes the roots of good, worldly and world-transcending, cultivated in the karma of body, speech, and mind in the past and in the present life...”

「所謂念佛、法、僧，念戒、捨、天等。」—“That is to say, recollection of the Buddha, of the Dharma, and of the Saṅgha, recollection of the precepts, of relinquishment, and of the gods, and the rest.”

「「無生忍」，言登初地也。」—“‘The patience of non-arising’ speaks of ascending the first ground.”

「「陀羅尼」者，一、能持善，二、能遮惡，是總持也。」—“As for ‘dhāraṇī’: first, it can hold the good; second, it can block the evil. This is total retention.”

「「甚深第一義」者，謂諸法實相，言語道絕、心行處滅，名之深妙精進最稱第一。」—“As for ‘the utterly profound ultimate meaning’: it means the real character of all dharmas, where the road of speech is cut off and the place of mental activity is extinguished; it is named profound and wondrous, and energy toward it is best called first.”

「「現前受記」者，四種受記一往現前也。」—“As for ‘receiving the prediction there present’: of the four kinds of prediction, this is the one that comes present before one.”

「「歡喜地」者，初證聖處，多生歡喜也。」—“As for ‘the Ground of Joy’: it is realizing the holy place for the first time, and much joy arising.”

「「五戒」者，不殺、盜、婬、妄語、飲酒也。」—“As for ‘the five precepts’: not to kill, not to steal, not to engage in sexual conduct, not to speak falsely, not to drink liquor.”

「「八戒」者，加不上高床、不著華鬘瓔珞香塗身熏衣、不得歌舞作樂及往觀聽也。」—“As for ‘the eight precepts’: there are added not to mount a high bed, not to wear flower garlands or necklaces or to anoint the body with fragrance or perfume one’s robes, and not to sing, dance, or make music, nor to go and watch or listen to such things.”

「「具足戒」者，二百五十戒、五百戒等。」—“As for ‘the full precepts’: the two hundred and fifty precepts, the five hundred precepts, and the like.”

「「四諦」者，苦、集、滅、道也。」—“As for ‘the four truths’: suffering, its arising, its cessation, and the path.”

「言羅漢者此云無生，亦云無著，因亡故無生，果喪故無著。」—“As for ‘arhat,’ it is here rendered non-arising, and is also rendered non-attachment: because the cause is gone there is non-arising, and because the fruit is ended there is non-attachment.”

「言三明者，宿命明，天眼明，漏盡明也。」—“As for ‘the three knowledges,’ they are the knowledge of former lives, the knowledge of the divine eye, and the knowledge of the exhaustion of the outflows.”

「「六神通」者，天眼、天耳、他心、宿命、漏盡、身得如意，此六悉皆無壅故為通。」—“As for ‘the six supernormal powers’: the divine eye, the divine ear, the minds of others, former lives, the exhaustion of the outflows, and the body’s attaining of whatever it wills. These six are all without obstruction, and therefore they are powers.”

「言八解脫者。內有色外觀色，一解脫。內無色外觀色，二解脫。不淨相，三解脫。四空及滅盡，總成八也。」—“As for ‘the eight liberations’: having form within and contemplating form without is the first liberation; having no form within and contemplating form without is the second; the appearance of the impure is the third; and the four formless states together with cessation make eight in all.”

「「須陀洹」者，翻修習無漏，或逆流也。」—“As for ‘the stream-enterer’: it is rendered as cultivating the outflow-free, or as going against the stream.”

「言南無者即是歸命，亦是發願迴向之義。言阿彌陀佛者即是其行。」—“As for ‘Namo,’ it is the entrusting of one’s life, and it is also the sense of making the vow and of dedicating and directing. As for ‘Amitābha Buddha,’ it is the practice itself.”

「「稱無量壽佛至於十念」者，善心相續至於十念。」—“As for ‘uttering the name of the Buddha of Measureless Life up to ten thoughts,’ it is a good mind continuing in succession up to ten thoughts.”

「此義仰就抑止門中解。」—“This meaning is to be explained, in deference, within the gate of restraint.”

「一者不得見佛及諸聖眾。二者不得聽聞正法。三者不得歷事供養。」—“The first is that he cannot see the Buddha and the holy assembly. The second is that he cannot hear the right Dharma. The third is that he cannot go about serving and making offerings.”

「既自身不善，又見者皆憎，故云諸惡心自莊嚴也。」—“Since he himself is unwholesome and all who see him detest him, it is therefore said that with every sort of evil he adorns himself.”

「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.”

「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.”

「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.”

「「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.”

「「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.”