大智度論 集散品Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Gathering and Dispersal

I. Structural Placement

Within the sequence in which the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa comments on the Larger Sūtra, this chapter belongs to the section of the Commentary on the Remaining Chapters and spans Fascicles 42 to 43. The treatise gives its own title as 「大智度論釋集散品第九」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal, the Ninth"〔T25 0363c15〕, and it comments on the whole of the Larger Sūtra's Chapter 9, "Gathering and Dispersal"〔T08 0234a22〕. It follows Chapter 8, "Exhortation to Train" (assigned to Fascicle 41); "Gathering and Dispersal" begins afresh in Fascicle 42. Huiying marks its place in the arc, saying 「第九品者，名為集散品，即是命說分中第三大分」 tr. "the ninth chapter is named the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal; it is the third major section within the part spoken on command"〔X46n0791 0864a01〕, assigning this chapter to the third segment of the great part in which Subhūti, at the Buddha's command, expounds prajñā.

Both the sūtra and the treatise in this chapter are long, and the transmitted text already divides it at the fascicle titles into an upper and a lower part. The upper part (Fascicle 42 · 0363c15–0369b18) gives its own title as 「大智度論釋集散品第九」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal, the Ninth"; the Last Part (Fascicle 43 · 0369b19–0371b05) bears the separate title 「大智度論釋集散品第九下」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal, Chapter 9, Last Part"〔T25 0369b21〕 (the text of the chapter title stands in the third line of Fascicle 43, whose first line is the closing title of the preceding fascicle). This division into 「上／下」 tr. "upper / lower" has explicit counterparts in the chapter titles of the old Shōgozō lineage (see Section VIII) and is not a later editor's conjecture. At the end of the First Part stands the fascicle title 「大智度論卷第四十二」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Forty-two"; the Last Part runs to its last sentence, 「是菩薩福德、方便力故，常不離諸佛」 tr. "because of this bodhisattva's merit and the power of skilful means, he is never apart from the Buddhas"〔T25 0371b04〕, directly below which comes the title of Chapter 10, "Modes of Practice"〔T25 0371b06〕.

The chapter is built of alternating Sūtra and Treatise. The upper part has six Sūtra and six Treatise sections, twelve large blocks in alternation: Sūtra section 1 begins at〔T25 0363c19〕, Treatise section 1 at〔T25 0364b12〕, Sūtra section 2 at〔T25 0365b17〕, Treatise section 2 at〔T25 0365c05〕, Sūtra section 3 at〔T25 0366a17〕, Treatise section 3 at〔T25 0366b17〕, Sūtra section 4 at〔T25 0366c17〕, Treatise section 4 at〔T25 0366c26〕, Sūtra section 5 at〔T25 0367a08〕, Treatise section 5 at〔T25 0367c03〕, Sūtra section 6 at〔T25 0368a16〕, and Treatise section 6 at〔T25 0368b14〕. The lower part has one Sūtra and one Treatise section, two large blocks: the Sūtra section begins at〔T25 0369b26〕 and the Treatise section at〔T25 0370a17〕. Taking the two parts together, there are seven Sūtra and seven Treatise sections, fourteen large blocks in all; within each large block, the items are further enumerated one by one through question and answer, "furthermore" sections, and similes.

Sūtra section 1 opens with Subhūti's 「不覺、不得是菩薩行般若波羅蜜」 tr. "I am not aware of, do not attain, this bodhisattva practising prajñāpāramitā", and sets out item by item form down to consciousness, the eye down to the mind, the twelve links of causes and conditions, lust, anger, delusion, and wrong views, the six perfections and the four foundations of mindfulness down to the eighteen unshared dharmas, the five aggregates as like a dream, an echo, a reflection, a mirage, and a conjuration, suchness, dharma-nature, and the limit of reality, good and unwholesome, conditioned and unconditioned dharmas of the three times, the Buddha and the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and śrāvakas of the ten directions, and the real mark of all dharmas, saying of each one 「不得集散」 tr. "one does not attain its gathering or dispersal", with 「是字不住，亦不不住」 tr. "this word does not abide, nor does it not abide" as the thread running through. Treatise section 1 first judges, by the four kinds of craving, that craving for dharmas is hard to dispel and is therefore spoken of again; it then properly explains the meaning of the two words 「集」 tr. "gathering" and 「散」 tr. "dispersal", establishes four layers of grounds for the unfindability of gathering and dispersal, and makes clear why names have no abiding. Below it, Sūtra section 2 through Treatise section 6 unfold in turn through the gate of different approaches, the gate of non-abiding, letters and supernormal powers, the noble practices such as impermanence, and the brahmin ascetic Śreṇika; the section on the brahmin ascetic Śreṇika (Treatise section 6) is the longest explanation in the First Part. The Sūtra section of the Last Part makes clear three questions, 「應如是思惟：何者是般若、何以名般若、是誰般若」 tr. "one should reflect thus: what is prajñā, why is it named prajñā, whose prajñā is it?", and the Treatise section then properly makes clear the substance of prajñāpāramitā—the real mark of all dharmas, which cannot be broken or destroyed; leaving the two extremes and practising the middle way; and its belonging to the bodhisattva—and closes the whole chapter with the three kinds of purity and always obtaining birth by transformation.

II. Terms Examined

Gathering · dispersal. The two words from which this chapter takes its name are established in their meaning by the treatise in Treatise section 1. The treatise takes the eye-consciousness produced by the causes and conditions of eye and form, the eye-contact, feeling, perception, and construction produced by the coming together of the three things, and the good and evil deeds by which one receives the fruit of recompense in the six destinies and then again plants good and evil deeds—「如是展轉無窮」 tr. "thus it turns on and on without end"〔T25 0364c08〕—and names this 「集」 tr. "gathering"; its opening sentence reads 「譬如眼、色因緣生眼識，三事和合故生眼觸」 tr. "just as from the causes and conditions of eye and form eye-consciousness arises, and because the three things come together eye-contact arises"〔T25 0364c04〕. 「散」 tr. "Dispersal" is the reverse; the treatise explains it as 「是眼識等諸法，念念滅故、諸因緣離故」 tr. "these dharmas such as eye-consciousness, because they cease moment by moment and because their causes and conditions separate"〔T25 0364c09〕: when they arise they have no place from which they come, and when they cease they have no place to which they go, and so this is named 「散」 tr. "dispersal." The treatise gathers the whole up, saying 「是名略說諸法集散相」 tr. "this is called, in brief, the mark of the gathering and dispersal of dharmas"〔T25 0364c12〕—gathering is not like grain on a field being carried in and heaped together, and dispersal is not like grain being scattered to the people; dharmas arise coming from nowhere and disperse going nowhere, all like a conjuration. These two words, 「集」 tr. "gathering" and 「散」 tr. "dispersal", are the ground the whole chapter pushes toward.

The unfindability of gathering and dispersal (four layers). This is the doctrinal backbone of the chapter. Subhūti says that he is not aware of and does not attain the bodhisattva on the ground that he does not see or attain the gathering and dispersal of dharmas, and the treatise lists four layers to make clear why gathering and dispersal are unfindable: 「無來處故，集不可得；無去處故，散不可得。復次，生無故集不可得，滅無故散不可得。畢竟空故集不可得，業因緣不失故散不可得。復次，觀世間滅諦故，集不可得；觀世間集諦故，散不可得」 tr. "Because there is no place from which it comes, gathering is unfindable; because there is no place to which it goes, dispersal is unfindable. Furthermore, because arising is non-existent, gathering is unfindable; because ceasing is non-existent, dispersal is unfindable. Because of ultimate emptiness, gathering is unfindable; because the causes and conditions of deeds are not lost, dispersal is unfindable. Furthermore, because one contemplates the truth of the cessation of the world, gathering is unfindable; because one contemplates the truth of the arising of the world, dispersal is unfindable"〔T25 0364c15〕. With the four layers established, the treatise concludes: 「當知集散不可得，云何當作菩薩字」 tr. "one should know that gathering and dispersal are unfindable; how then should one make the word 'bodhisattva'?"〔T25 0364c20〕—since gathering and dispersal are unfindable, the name "bodhisattva" too has nowhere to rest, and hence 「是字不住，亦不不住」 tr. "this word does not abide, nor does it not abide."

Leaving the two extremes and practising the middle way. In the Last Part, the Treatise section explains the substance of prajñā and threads it through with 「離二邊」 tr. "leaving the two extremes." The treatise says 「常是一邊，斷滅是一邊——離是二邊行中道，是為般若波羅蜜」 tr. "permanence is one extreme, annihilation is one extreme—leaving these two extremes and practising the middle way: this is prajñāpāramitā"〔T25 0370a25〕, and then takes as examples one by one the pairs of permanence and impermanence, suffering and pleasure, empty and real, self and non-self, form and the formless, conditioned and unconditioned, with outflows and without outflows, worldly and world-transcending, ignorance and the ending of ignorance, old age and death and the ending of old age and death, the existence and non-existence of dharmas, the bodhisattva and the six perfections, the Buddha and awakening, the six inner faculties and the six outer sense-objects, and this prajñā and non-prajñā: in each, 「離是二邊行中道」 tr. "leaving these two extremes and practising the middle way" is named prajñā. Thus the meaning of the unfindability of gathering and dispersal is gathered up in the Last Part into the practice of the middle way that leaves the two extremes of existence and non-existence.

III. Similes and Stories

The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa is known for its similes, and in this chapter they are dense, attached above all to the Treatise sections; all serve to make clear the meaning that gathering and dispersal are unfindable, that names have no abiding, and that dharmas have only names and are ultimately empty.

To make clear that names have no place of abiding, the treatise sets out the simile of the cart—「如車，輪、輞、輻、轂等和合故有車名，若散是和合，則失車名」 tr. "as with a cart: because wheels, rims, spokes, hubs, and so on come together, there is the name 'cart'; if this coming together is dispersed, the name 'cart' is lost"〔T25 0364c23〕. The name "cart" does not abide in the wheels and the rest, nor does it exist apart from the wheels and the rest; sought as either one with them or different from them, it is in both cases unfindable. That the five aggregates come together and there is the name "being" is likewise so. To make clear that names are neither within dharmas nor outside them, the treatise sets out the simile of fire burning the mouth—「如說火則燒口，說有則塞口」 tr. "if saying 'fire' burned the mouth, saying 'something' would stop up the mouth"〔T25 0365a09〕: if the name were definitely within the dharma, saying "fire" ought to burn the mouth; if it were definitely not within the dharma, saying "fire" ought not to give rise to the thought of fire, and seeking fire one might get water. Hence the meaning of names neither abides nor does not abide.

To make clear how the gathering and dispersal of unconditioned dharmas are established, the treatise sets out the simile of empty space, the most important simile of this chapter. When a practitioner attains suchness, dharma-nature, the limit of reality, and the like, this is named gathering; when he loses them, it is named dispersal. The treatise compares this with empty space—「如虛空雖無集無散」 tr. "just as empty space, although it has no gathering and no dispersal"—〔T25 0365b12〕, yet when doors and windows are cut to let it through, this is called gathering, and when they are blocked to close it off, this is called dispersal. Empty space has from the outset no gathering or dispersal to be attained; gathering and dispersal are set up only as provisional names according to passage and blockage. The gathering and dispersal of unconditioned dharmas such as suchness, dharma-nature, and the limit of reality are likewise spoken of only as provisional names according to attainment and loss; it is not that there is really gathering and dispersal in the dharmas themselves—this simile precisely extends the meaning that gathering and dispersal are unfindable and yet provisional names are not destroyed.

To make clear that earth, water, fire, and wind have only names, the treatise sets out the simile of the image in the mirror and the simile of the divine eye dispersing the earth. Ordinary people cling to the four great elements as real; the treatise says 「譬如小兒見鏡中像」 tr. "just as a small child sees an image in a mirror"〔T25 0365c23〕 and, taking it as real, rejoices and wants to take hold of it, while an adult sees that it merely deceives the eye. It says further 「諸凡夫人見微塵和合成地」 tr. "ordinary people see fine particles come together to form earth"〔T25 0365c25〕 and call it real earth; one who has the divine eye disperses this earth and sees only fine particles, and when the wisdom eye discriminates and breaks them apart, they are altogether unfindable. To make clear that the bodhisattva does not abide in dharmas and yet can practise the path, the treatise sets out the simile of a bird flying in empty space—「如鳥於虛空中，無所依而能高飛」 tr. "as a bird in empty space, relying on nothing, is yet able to fly high"〔T25 0366c08〕: the bodhisattva does not grasp the marks of dharmas and yet does not enter the absorption of cessation, just as the bird relies on nothing and yet flies high. To make clear abiding within the nature of the avaivartika, the treatise sets out the simile of a child of noble lineage—「如小兒在貴性中生，雖未成事，以姓貴故便貴」 tr. "as a small child born into a noble lineage, though he has not yet accomplished anything, is noble because his clan is noble"〔T25 0366a15〕: the bodhisattva has not yet attained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas and has not yet received the prediction, but by the power of merit and wisdom he is able to believe in and delight in ultimate emptiness, and so he obtains a share of the air of the avaivartika.

To make clear that the residual habits of the two vehicles are a burden for the bodhisattva, the treatise cites the case of Mahākāśyapa hearing the bodhisattva's music—「如摩訶迦葉聞菩薩伎樂，於坐處不能自安」 tr. "as when Mahākāśyapa heard the bodhisattva's music and could not keep himself still in his seat"〔T25 0367c29〕. Kāśyapa states of himself that toward the five desires of humans and gods he is forever free and unmoved, yet toward the power of merit and transformation of the great bodhisattvas it is as 「四面風起，皆能堪忍；若隨嵐風至，不能自安」 tr. "when winds rise from the four directions, it can withstand them all; but if the vairambha wind arrives, it cannot keep itself still"〔T25 0368a04〕: Sumeru, king of mountains, withstands the winds of the four directions but cannot withstand the vairambha wind, a simile for his withstanding the five desires but not yet withstanding the bodhisattva's sphere. The section on the brahmin ascetic Śreṇika in Treatise section 6〔T25 0368b14〕 is the most detailed story of the chapter: Śreṇika, aged and of wisdom and virtue, had read widely in the scriptures and practised seated meditation seeking wisdom; he came to the Buddha, and the Buddha examined him with seven questions, such as whether form is the Thus-Gone; Śreṇika answered "No" to all seven, and at last, hearing the Buddha refute "I" and "mine" and knowing that from the outset there is no self, he attained the path at once, went forth, and became an arhat. The treatise uses this to show that even within the Small Vehicle there is the emptiness of dharmas; how much less should a practitioner of the Great Vehicle fail to believe in the emptiness of dharmas.

The similes of the Last Part are attached to the substance of prajñā. To make clear that the eighteen emptinesses can break all dharmas, the treatise sets out three similes side by side—「譬如大風能破散諸雲，亦如大火燒乾草木，如金剛寶摧破大山」 tr. "just as a great wind can break up and disperse the clouds, or as a great fire burns dry grass and trees, or as the vajra jewel shatters a great mountain"〔T25 0370b18〕—and the emptinesses' breaking of dharmas is likewise so. To make clear that the five aggregates are hard to understand while prajñā is easy to understand, the treatise sets out the simile of the moon in the water and the moon in the sky—「譬如水中月，易明其空；天上月，難令無所有」 tr. "just as with the moon in the water it is easy to make clear that it is empty, while with the moon in the sky it is hard to make it nothing at all"〔T25 0371a11〕: to contemplate the five aggregates by various causes and conditions and forcibly make them nothing at all is hard, whereas prajñā is itself nothing at all and so is easy. To make clear that ordinary people do not delight in prajñā, the treatise sets out the simile of the fly—「如蠅樂處不淨，不好蓮花」 tr. "as a fly delights to dwell in impurity and has no liking for the lotus flower"〔T25 0370c29〕: ordinary people cling to the dharmas of freedom from desire and delight to dwell in the defilement of wrongdoing, as the fly delights in impurity and has no liking for the lotus. Simile upon simile, all return to the single meaning that gathering and dispersal are unfindable and that dharmas have only names and are ultimately empty.

IV. The Sūtra Passage Explained

The Sūtra sections cited by this treatise correspond item by item to Chapter 9, "Gathering and Dispersal"〔T08 0234a22–0237a06〕, of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra translated by Kumārajīva of the Later Qin. The structure of the sūtra explained in this chapter has one distinctive feature: in T223 the sūtra text of the whole chapter "Gathering and Dispersal" is continuous without a break (from〔T08 0234a22〕 to〔T08 0237a06〕, with no other chapter inserted), whereas this treatise splits this one continuous sūtra into seven cited Sūtra sections (six in the First Part, one in the Last Part) and inserts this treatise's Treatise explanations between them. Below, ten groups are aligned word for word, sampling representative points of the seven citations across the upper and lower parts, to show that what the treatise cites is indeed the text of this sūtra, and that the seven sections follow the continuous sūtra text of T223 one by one, with no section skipped.

The first group, the opening. This treatise's〔T25 0363c19〕 「我不覺、不得是菩薩行般若波羅蜜」 tr. "I am not aware of, do not attain, this bodhisattva practising prajñāpāramitā" and T223's〔T08 0234a23〕 「我不覺不得是菩薩行般若波羅蜜」 tr. "I am not aware of and do not attain this bodhisattva practising prajñāpāramitā" correspond word for word, except that this treatise's 「不覺、不得」 tr. "not aware, not attaining" has an enumeration comma and T223's 「不覺不得」 tr. "not aware and not attaining" has none; this belongs to the editorial layer of punctuation.

The second group, provisional names and designations. This treatise's〔T25 0365b17〕 「諸法因緣和合，假名施設」 tr. "dharmas come together through causes and conditions, and are designated by provisional names" and T223's〔T08 0234c14〕 「諸法因緣和合假名施設」 tr. "dharmas come together through causes and conditions and are designated by provisional names" correspond word for word; below this, this treatise reads 「是名字於五受陰中不可說」 tr. "this name cannot be spoken of within the five aggregates of clinging", while T223 reads 「所謂菩薩是名字，於五蔭中不可說」 tr. "what is called 'bodhisattva' is this name, and it cannot be spoken of within the five aggregates"—this treatise has 「五受陰」 tr. "five aggregates of clinging" and T223 「五蔭」 tr. "five aggregates" (the two graphs for "aggregate" are variant forms, and this treatise has one more character, 「受」 tr. "clinging"), and the phrasing is also divided differently; the meaning is the same.

The third group, the general opening of the gate of non-abiding. This treatise's〔T25 0366a18〕 「色中不應住，受、想、行、識中不應住」 tr. "one should not abide in form; one should not abide in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness" and T223's〔T08 0235a05〕 「色中不應住，受想行識中不應住」 tr. "one should not abide in form; one should not abide in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness" correspond word for word, differing only in the enumeration commas.

The fourth group, one should not abide in letters. This treatise's〔T25 0366c18〕 「文字中不應住，一字門」 tr. "one should not abide in letters; the one-syllable gate" and T223's〔T08 0235b07〕 「文字中不應住。一字門」 tr. "one should not abide in letters. The one-syllable gate" correspond word for word, differing only in the punctuation marks.

The fifth group, form is impermanent and one should not abide in it. This treatise's〔T25 0367a09〕 「色是無常不應住，受、想、行、識是無常不應住」 tr. "form is impermanent and one should not abide in it; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are impermanent and one should not abide in them" and T223's〔T08 0235b15〕 「色是無常不應住，受想行識是無常不應住」 tr. "form is impermanent and one should not abide in it; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are impermanent and one should not abide in them" correspond word for word, differing only in the enumeration commas.

The sixth group, the brahmin ascetic Śreṇika. This treatise's〔T25 0368a16〕 「先尼梵志於一切智中終不生信」 tr. "the brahmin ascetic Śreṇika never in the end gave rise to faith in omniscience" and T223's〔T08 0236a11〕 「先尼梵志於一切智中終不生信」 tr. "the brahmin ascetic Śreṇika never in the end gave rise to faith in omniscience" are identical word for word.

The seventh group, the beginning of the Last Part (the join across fascicles). This treatise's〔T25 0369b27〕 「應如是思惟」 tr. "one should reflect thus" and T223's〔T08 0236b12〕 「應如是思惟」 tr. "one should reflect thus" correspond word for word, and the three questions below it (what is prajñā, why is it named prajñā, whose prajñā is it) are likewise the same—this is the point of junction between "Gathering and Dispersal" in Fascicle 42 and "Gathering and Dispersal, Chapter 9, Last Part" in Fascicle 43, while T223 has no fascicle break here; this shows that the upper and lower parts of this treatise are a division into fascicles made on one continuous sūtra text.

The eighth group, what dharma is nothing at all. This treatise's〔T25 0369c02〕 「何等法無所有、不可得」 tr. "what dharma is nothing at all, unfindable?" and T223's〔T08 0236b16〕 「何等法無所有、不可得」 tr. "what dharma is nothing at all, unfindable?" are identical word for word.

The ninth group, form is apart from the nature of form. This treatise's〔T25 0369c21〕 「色離色性，受、想、行、識離識性」 tr. "form is apart from the nature of form; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are apart from the nature of consciousness" and T223's〔T08 0236c07〕 「色離色性，受想行識離識性」 tr. "form is apart from the nature of form; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are apart from the nature of consciousness" correspond word for word, differing only in the enumeration commas.

The tenth group, gradually drawing near to sarvajñā. This treatise's〔T25 0370a08〕 「漸近薩婆若，漸得身清淨、心清淨」 tr. "gradually drawing near to sarvajñā, gradually attaining purity of body and purity of mind" and T223's〔T08 0236c25〕 「漸近薩婆若，漸得身清淨、心清淨」 tr. "gradually drawing near to sarvajñā, gradually attaining purity of body and purity of mind" are identical word for word.

Across the ten groups, apart from editorial-layer differences such as enumeration commas, punctuation, the variant graphs for "aggregate", and the division of phrases, the doctrinal wording corresponds word for word or nearly word for word; and the seven Sūtra citations across the upper and lower parts follow the continuous sūtra text of T223 in order one by one, with no section skipped and no case of an abridged citation passed off as a full one. The sūtra explained in this chapter is complete and continuous, while the treatise's explanation inserts between the sūtra sections detailed discussions of the meaning of the names "gathering" and "dispersal", of the four layers of unfindability, and of leaving the two extremes for the middle way—these detailed discussions belong to the treatise-author's own explanatory text. The sūtra text only sets up the heading 「不得諸法集散」 tr. "one does not attain the gathering and dispersal of dharmas"; this is the same pattern as in "The Three Designations" and "Exhortation to Train", where the doctrinal backbone lies in the treatise and not in the sūtra.

V. The Prajñā Eye

The eye of this chapter lies in the single meaning that gathering and dispersal are unfindable—the bodhisattva does not see that dharmas have gathering or have dispersal, and therefore no name can be forcibly set up for them, while prajñā designates by provisional names precisely at this point of unfindability, leaves the two extremes, and practises the middle way. The overarching sentence of the whole chapter is Subhūti's word to the Buddha, 「我不得一切諸法集散，若我為菩薩作字言菩薩，或當有悔」 tr. "I do not attain the gathering and dispersal of any dharmas; if I were to make a word for the bodhisattva and say 'bodhisattva', I might come to regret it"〔T25 0363c21〕; form down to consciousness, the twelve links of causes and conditions, the six perfections down to the eighteen unshared dharmas, the dharmas of the three times, the Buddha and the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and śrāvakas, and the real mark of all dharmas—in each one, their gathering is not seen and their dispersal is not seen, and therefore 「是字不住，亦不不住」 tr. "this word does not abide, nor does it not abide."

The grounds of the unfindability lie in the four layers (see Section II)—because there is no coming or going, because arising and ceasing are non-existent, because of ultimate emptiness while the causes and conditions of deeds are not lost, and because one contemplates the truth of the cessation and the truth of the arising of the world, gathering and dispersal are both unfindable; hence 「當知集散不可得，云何當作菩薩字」 tr. "one should know that gathering and dispersal are unfindable; how then should one make the word 'bodhisattva'?"〔T25 0364c20〕. Yet the unfindability of gathering and dispersal does not dismiss dharmas as annihilated non-existence: the treatise makes clear that although names have no place of abiding, they also do not not abide; if names were altogether non-existent, worldly truth would be extinguished, the truth of the highest meaning would also be extinguished, and all dharmas would be thrown into confusion. Therefore, at the point of unfindability, provisional names are not destroyed—this is why this chapter differs from annihilationist emptiness.

The lower part then properly establishes the substance of prajñā so as to return to this eye. The treatise says that prajñāpāramitā 「是一切諸法實相，不可破，不可壞」 tr. "is the real mark of all dharmas; it cannot be broken, it cannot be destroyed"〔T25 0370a21〕: whether there is a Buddha or there is no Buddha, the mark of dharmas and the station of dharmas constantly abide. Its practice is 「常是一邊，斷滅是一邊——離是二邊行中道，是為般若波羅蜜」 tr. "permanence is one extreme, annihilation is one extreme—leaving these two extremes and practising the middle way: this is prajñāpāramitā"〔T25 0370a25〕; among all the pairs of extremes—existence and non-existence, permanence and annihilation, inner and outer—it falls into none and practises the middle way. Among all kinds of wisdom, prajñā is 「一切諸智慧中最為第一」 tr. "foremost among all wisdoms"〔T25 0370b22〕, as nirvāṇa is foremost among all dharmas.

The belonging of the meaning lies in its belonging to the bodhisattva. The treatise sets out three kinds of wisdom (worldly skill, the wisdom of leaving birth, and world-transcending wisdom) and judges prajñā the most excellent; it then settles its belonging by the two truths—「佛法有二種：一者、世諦，二者、第一義諦」 tr. "the Buddha's Dharma is of two kinds: first, worldly truth; second, the truth of the highest meaning"〔T25 0370c25〕. For the sake of worldly truth, prajñāpāramitā belongs to the bodhisattva; when the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, prajñā changes its name to 「一切種智」 tr. "omniscience of all kinds"〔T25 0371a05〕; hence 「般若不屬佛，不屬聲聞、辟支佛，不屬凡夫，但屬菩薩」 tr. "prajñā does not belong to the Buddha, does not belong to śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas, does not belong to ordinary people, but belongs only to the bodhisattva"〔T25 0371a06〕—it does not belong to the Buddha because at the stage of Buddhahood its name has already changed to omniscience of all kinds; it does not belong to the two vehicles because the two vehicles lack deep kindness and compassion and turn single-mindedly toward nirvāṇa; it does not belong to ordinary people because ordinary people cling to the dharmas of freedom from desire and do not delight in ultimate emptiness (the simile of the fly that has no liking for the lotus; see Section III). The whole chapter, from the unfindability of gathering and dispersal, through the four layers and leaving the two extremes for the middle way, down to belonging to the bodhisattva, runs through in a single line, and what it returns to is only the prajñā eye of meaning: having only names and being ultimately empty, being ultimately empty and yet not destroying provisional names, leaving the two extremes and practising the middle way.

VI. Divergent Readings of the Masters

This section records, for the ancient masters who cite or explain this chapter, the correspondence between what they comment on or cite and this chapter, and does not judge the masters' interpretations. The network of ancient masters for this chapter consists of two works that comment on it passage by passage (one on the sūtra, one on the treatise), and in addition one work that adapts it in another book; as for direct citation of this chapter by the title 「集散品」 tr. "Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal", a full search of the works under the names of Zhiyi and Junzheng finds none, and this is recorded as it is. Chapter headings of the same name in other books are discussed at the end.

Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451) directly explains the sūtra sections being commented on. In his outline by the three gates of liberation he fixes the place of this chapter, saying 「初三解脫門說般若則三品，三品三假，初集散品明眾緣和合有有無所有則就空門，就第二相行品釋一切相不可得無相門說，第三約學品明無作之心故就無作門說」 tr. "First, prajñā is taught by the three gates of liberation in three chapters; the three chapters are the three designations. First, the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal makes clear that the coming together of many conditions has existence and is nothing at all, and so it goes by the gate of emptiness; in the second, the Chapter on Marks and Practice, it explains that all marks are unfindable, and so it is spoken by the signless gate; the third, the Chapter on Training, makes clear the mind of non-action, and so it is spoken by the gate of non-action"〔X24n0451 0234a20〕, matching the three chapters "Gathering and Dispersal", "Modes of Practice", and "Training" with the three gates of liberation—emptiness, the signless, and non-action—with the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal corresponding to the gate of emptiness. He further judges the three gates by which this chapter teaches prajñā, saying 「初有三門：一謙讓門說般若，二不住門說般若，三思惟門說般若」 tr. "First there are three gates: first, prajñā is taught by the gate of modest deference; second, prajñā is taught by the gate of non-abiding; third, prajñā is taught by the gate of reflection"〔X24n0451 0234b04〕—these three gates of modest deference, non-abiding, and reflection correspond exactly to this treatise's own wording in Treatise section 3, 「上須菩提以『謙讓門』說般若……今須菩提以『不住門』直為菩薩說」 tr. "above, Subhūti taught prajñā by the ‘gate of modest deference’ … now Subhūti speaks directly for the bodhisattva by the ‘gate of non-abiding’", and in the Treatise section of the Last Part, 「須菩提上來『謙讓門』說，次『不住門』說，今明般若波羅蜜體」 tr. "Subhūti spoke above by the ‘gate of modest deference’, next by the ‘gate of non-abiding’; now the substance of prajñāpāramitā is made clear"; Jizang's outlining terms are taken directly from this treatise. He explains how the 「集散品」 tr. "Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal" gets its name by extending the four layers of unfindability, saying 「言集散品者，行般若知無集散有：一無生故無集，無滅故無散；二無來故無集，無去故無散；三諸法畢竟故無集，業因果不失故無散」 tr. "As for the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal: practising prajñā, one knows that there is no existence of gathering and dispersal. First, because there is no arising there is no gathering, and because there is no ceasing there is no dispersal; second, because there is no coming there is no gathering, and because there is no going there is no dispersal; third, because dharmas are ultimate there is no gathering, and because deeds, causes, and fruits are not lost there is no dispersal"〔X24n0451 0234b15〕—the meaning of the four layers accords with this treatise's Treatise section 1, 「無來處故集不可得……觀世間滅諦故集不可得」 tr. "because there is no place from which it comes, gathering is unfindable … because one contemplates the truth of the cessation of the world, gathering is unfindable", except that Jizang rearranges their order (first no arising and no ceasing, then no coming and no going, whereas this treatise has first no coming and no going, then no arising and no ceasing), and the wording is not word for word (as 「業因果不失」 tr. "deeds, causes, and fruits are not lost" against this treatise's 「業因緣不失」 tr. "the causes and conditions of deeds are not lost"); it is an explanation summarising the doctrinal gist, not a word-for-word quotation, and it has been recorded without being treated as word-for-word identity.

Jizang also adapts two similes of this chapter in another book, his Commentary on the Middle Treatise. The first adapts the simile of empty space, saying 「穿物得空，是無為之集。塞物失空，是無為之散」 tr. "piercing a thing and obtaining space is the gathering of the unconditioned; blocking a thing and losing space is the dispersal of the unconditioned"〔T42n1824 0026a15〕; the meaning is the same as this treatise's 「如虛空雖無集無散，鑿戶牖名為集，塞故名為散」 tr. "just as empty space, although it has no gathering and no dispersal, when doors and windows are cut is called gathering, and because they are blocked is called dispersal", but the wording is Jizang's own (「穿物得空」 tr. "piercing a thing and obtaining space" against this treatise's 「鑿戶牖」 tr. "cutting doors and windows"). The second adapts the sentence-pattern of leaving the two extremes, saying 「緣是一邊、觀是一邊，離是二邊，名為中道」 tr. "the object is one extreme, contemplation is one extreme; leaving these two extremes is called the middle way"〔T42n1824 0050c19〕. The lower part of this treatise originally has such pairs as 「常是一邊，斷滅是一邊」 tr. "permanence is one extreme, annihilation is one extreme" and 「內六情是一邊，外六塵是一邊」 tr. "the six inner faculties are one extreme, the six outer sense-objects are one extreme", while the pair 「緣是一邊、觀是一邊」 tr. "the object is one extreme, contemplation is one extreme" is an application Jizang derived by analogy from that sentence-pattern, not an original sentence of this treatise. Both places are Jizang's own wording in retransmission; they are recorded without being treated as variant readings of the base text.

Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791) directly explains the treatise sections; his commentary now survives in fragmentary fascicles, and the fascicle sequence itself carries the explanation of this chapter's upper and lower parts. At the outset Huiying deals with the apparent contradiction between the chapter name 「集散品」 tr. "Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal" and the sūtra's words 「不見諸法集散」 tr. "not seeing the gathering and dispersal of dharmas." He marks the chapter name by saying 「第九品者，名為集散品，即是命說分中第三大分」 tr. "the ninth chapter is named the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal; it is the third major section within the part spoken on command"〔X46n0791 0864a01〕, and then resolves the doubt by what treats and what is treated, saying 「此舉所治以為品目，舉能治以置經名，故云爾也」 tr. "this receives what is to be treated as the chapter heading, and receives what treats it as the wording set in the sūtra; that is why it is said so"〔X46n0791 0864a11〕—the chapter heading is named for what is treated (the gathering and dispersal that are negated), while the sūtra text is worded for what treats it (the teaching that negates—not seeing gathering and dispersal); the two do not contradict each other but are different conventions of naming. This is the ancient masters' most direct positive reading of the paradox in the chapter name 「集散品」 tr. "Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal." Huiying further looks back, in a later chapter, on this chapter's standing within the part spoken on command, saying 「集散一品是善吉全說及次上半品」 tr. "the one chapter 'Gathering and Dispersal' is spoken entirely by Good-Auspice (Subhūti), together with the upper half of the next chapter"〔X46n0791 0872c11〕—the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal is the only whole chapter that Subhūti expounds single-handedly from beginning to end, and Huiying uses this to mark its unique standing within the part spoken on command. Both these matters are recorded, without judging how his outline system corresponds to this edition's division into Sūtra and Treatise blocks.

As for direct citation of this treatise by the title 「集散品」 tr. "Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal", this section searched throughout and found none. The citation of 「集散」 tr. "gathering and dispersal" under Junzheng's name in his Profound Meaning of the Four Mahāyāna Treatises (X46n0784) has as its object 「故菩薩瓔珞本業經第二卷集散品」 tr. "hence the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal in the second fascicle of the Sūtra of the Original Acts that Adorn the Bodhisattva"〔X46n0784 0580c15〕—what is cited is the chapter of the same name in the Sūtra of the Original Acts that Adorn the Bodhisattva, not this treatise's "Gathering and Dispersal"; it is a different book with a same-named chapter. Nor is there any direct citation by the title 「集散品」 tr. "Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal" in the works under Zhiyi's name; his Profound Meaning of the Golden Light Sūtra has the words 「覺了諸法集散非集非散」 tr. "fully awakening to the gathering and dispersal of dharmas as neither gathering nor dispersal"〔T39n1783 0003a23〕, defining prajñā by gathering and dispersal as neither gathering nor dispersal; this is in keeping with the spirit of this chapter's not seeing the gathering and dispersal of dharmas, but it does not name this chapter's title, and it is a resonance at the level of meaning, not a direct citation by title. Therefore the ancient masters' direct citations of this chapter by title are only those of the two masters Jizang and Huiying; for Zhiyi and Junzheng none has been found, and it is recorded as it is that no direct citation by title has been found, without forcing a connection.

Further, a full search of the assemblies of the Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra translated by Xuanzang finds no chapter heading of the same name, 「集散品」 tr. "Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal"; separately, there are the Sūtra of the Grounds of Practice, Chapter 1, "Gathering and Dispersal", the Sūtra of the Original Acts that Adorn the Bodhisattva, "Gathering and Dispersal", and Wonhyo of Silla's Commentary on the Sūtra of the Original Acts that explains it; all share the name with this treatise's "Gathering and Dispersal, the Ninth" but are different books, and do not concern this chapter. This is noted here to prevent mistaken citation.

VII. Cross-reading and Further Resonances

The backbone of this chapter lies in the two meanings of the unfindability of gathering and dispersal and of leaving the two extremes and practising the middle way, which the prajñā lineage and later commentaries have received. That gathering and dispersal are unfindable yet provisional names are not destroyed〔T25 0364c20〕, and that leaving the two extremes and practising the middle way is precisely prajñā〔T25 0370a25〕—the ancient master who receives these two meanings is Jizang in his Commentary on the Middle Treatise, recorded in the previous section: with 「穿物得空，塞物失空」 tr. "piercing a thing one obtains space, blocking a thing one loses space" he receives this chapter's simile of empty space to make clear the gathering and dispersal of unconditioned dharmas〔T42n1824 0026a15〕, and with 「緣是一邊、觀是一邊」 tr. "the object is one extreme, contemplation is one extreme" he receives this chapter's sentence-pattern of leaving the two extremes to make clear the middle way〔T42n1824 0050c19〕. Thus, as the two meanings of this chapter pass down into the Three Treatise lineage, each master receives their words according to what he is commenting on. This section records the transmission and does not fix a reading on anyone's behalf.

In terms of the treatise's own sequence, this chapter has many explicit internal cross-references, all made by the treatise-author himself. Treatise section 3, explaining Subhūti's own statement of the meaning of the emptiness of form, itself refers back: 「是義，第二品中已說」 tr. "this meaning has already been explained in the second chapter"〔T25 0366c14〕, making clear that the meaning of not abiding in the emptiness of form in this chapter takes as its basis what was established in the second chapter; Treatise section 1, explaining the meaning of suchness, dharma-nature, the limit of reality, and the like, says 「如先說」 tr. "as explained before"; Treatise section 4 explains 「神通義，先已說」 tr. "the meaning of the supernormal powers has already been explained before"; Treatise section 5 explains 「無常等聖行……先已說」 tr. "the noble practices such as impermanence … have already been explained before"—all of them refer the meaning of the dharmas raised in this chapter back to what was established earlier. The two or more places above are all the treatise-author's own references, not later analogies; their further resonance lies in the linking of the line of meaning. This section records the transmission and does not fix a reading on anyone's behalf.

In terms of the line of meaning, this chapter breaks through by the unfindability of gathering and dispersal to the point that dharmas have only names and are ultimately empty, and the Last Part further establishes the substance of prajñā as the real mark of all dharmas, which cannot be broken or destroyed, as leaving the two extremes and practising the middle way, and as belonging to the bodhisattva—this framework of speaking of the real mark without destroying provisional names, and of leaving the two extremes to practise the middle way, carries down the contemplation of emptiness of the prajñā lineage; wherever the prajñā sūtras make clear the provisional and make clear the empty, and make clear the middle way of the two truths, its line continues. This further resonance lies in the linking of the line of meaning. This section records the transmission and does not fix a reading on anyone's behalf.

VIII. Witnesses and Editions

The collation points of this chapter that can bear on the meaning of the sūtra are selected as follows; the variant readings are preserved side by side, while the main text continues to follow the reading of the current base text.

0363c15 (title of the First Part): 大智度論釋集散品第九（卷第四十二）【大】｜大智度經論卷第四十二釋第九品上【聖】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜經品第九集散品卷四十四【石】 (that is: Taishō, "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal, the Ninth (Fascicle Forty-two)"; Shōgozō, "Treatise on the Mahāprajñāpāramitā, Fascicle Forty-two, Commentary on the Ninth Chapter, Upper"; Ishiyama, "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Chapter Nine, Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal, Fascicle Forty-four")—the chapter title of the Shōgozō text reads explicitly 「第九品上」 tr. "the ninth chapter, upper", and this and the Last Part's chapter title 「第九品下」 tr. "the ninth chapter, lower" confirm each other: this edition's division into 「上／下」 tr. "upper / lower" has explicit counterparts in the chapter titles of the old Shōgozō lineage and is not a fabrication of modern segmentation; it is structural collation evidence.

0369b21 (title of the Last Part): 大智度論釋集散品第九下（卷第四十三）【大】｜大智度經論卷第四十三釋第九品下說第十品【聖】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜品第九之餘卷四十五【石】 (that is: Taishō, "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal, Chapter 9, Last Part (Fascicle Forty-three)"; Shōgozō, "Treatise on the Mahāprajñāpāramitā, Fascicle Forty-three, Commentary on the Ninth Chapter, Lower, Expounding the Tenth Chapter"; Ishiyama, "Mahāprajñāpāramitā, Chapter Nine, the Remainder, Fascicle Forty-five"); in the same entry there is also 「第九下【大】｜之餘【元】｜第九之餘【明】」 tr. "'Chapter 9, Last Part' in the Taishō | 'the Remainder' in the Yuan | 'the Remainder of the Ninth' in the Ming"—the Shōgozō text reads 「第九品下」 tr. "the ninth chapter, lower" (pairing with the First Part's 「第九品上」 tr. "the ninth chapter, upper"), and the Yuan and Ming editions call the Last Part 「之餘」 tr. "the remainder"; this is a difference in the editions' naming conventions for a title continued across fascicles, not a doctrinal divergence.

0364b15–b16: 非【大】｜非愛【聖】 and 有【大】｜有愛【宋】【元】｜有愛破有【宮】 (that is: "non-" in the Taishō against "craving for non-(existence)" in the Shōgozō; "existence" in the Taishō against "craving for existence" in the Song and Yuan and "craving for existence, breaking existence" in the Palace edition)—both these variants lie in the enumerating sentence of the 「四種愛」 tr. "four kinds of craving" (craving for sensual desire, craving for existence, craving for non-existence, craving for dharmas). In the Taishō text, 「有」 tr. "existence" and 「非」 tr. "non-" each lack one 「愛」 tr. "craving" (the sense can still be supplied from context), while the Song, Yuan, Palace, and Shōgozō texts keep the full forms 「有愛」 tr. "craving for existence" and 「非愛」 tr. "craving for non-(existence)"; this bears on the completeness of the enumeration of terms at the opening of the chapter and is not a mere difference of graph.

0369b14: 悲【CB】｜慈【大】｜悲【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】 (that is: "compassion" in the current established text; "kindness" in the Taishō; "compassion" in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō)—the current established text follows the second carving of the Korean canon in reading 「悲」 tr. "compassion", the Taishō base text alone reads 「慈」 tr. "kindness", and the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō texts also read 「悲」 tr. "compassion"; most transmitted texts agree with the current established text in reading 「悲」 tr. "compassion", and only the Taishō base text differs. This edition's main text follows the current established text in reading 「悲」 tr. "compassion"; this is noted to make clear that it is the established text's choice of character, not an oversight in the base text.

0364a02: 名【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】【石】 (that is: "name" present in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama)—in 「云何當作〔名〕字」 tr. "how should one make the [name-]word?", the Taishō alone has the character 「名」 tr. "name", which all six texts lack (reading only 「云何當作字」 tr. "how should one make the word?"); questions of this kind recur more than ten times in this chapter, and most texts read 「字」 tr. "word" and not 「名字」 tr. "name-word"; the Taishō here may be an isolated superfluous character. It is recorded for reference.

The base text of this chapter is Fascicles 42 to 43 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa〔T25 0363c15–0371b06〕, spanning two fascicles, with the transmitted fascicle titles themselves dividing it into upper and lower parts. The collation text for the sūtra explained is Chapter 9, "Gathering and Dispersal", of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra〔T08 0234a22–0237a06〕. The collation texts for the ancient-master commentaries are Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451 · explaining the sūtra sections) and Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791 · explaining the treatise sections · upper and lower parts). Variant notes follow the Taishō collation, covering differences between the Taishō base text and the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace editions, the Shōgozō, and the Ishiyama text. The collation notes for this chapter's whole text number two hundred and seven in all, preserved in detail at the end of the working base text; this list transcribes only the principal entries that bear on the chapter's core doctrinal wording, and does not extend into judging the relative merit of the texts.