大智度論 無縛無脫品Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Neither Bound nor Freed
無縛無脫品：須菩提問何等是大莊嚴、何等菩薩能大莊嚴——佛答摩訶衍大莊嚴即六波羅蜜莊嚴、四念處乃至八聖道分、內空乃至無法有法空、十力乃至十八不共法及一切種智莊嚴，變身如佛放光動地，住檀波羅蜜化作轉輪聖王隨眾生所欲盡給所須而說六波羅蜜法，工幻師喻實無所與（檀、尸羅、羼提、毘梨耶、禪、般若六度各附一喻，十方遍行、決定誓願應薩婆若心不生我教若干人念，凡八喻）；論主釋化佛身度出家眾、作轉輪聖王度在家眾，二施財施法施，佛自說幻師喻須菩提答是但虛誑實無所有，檀尸二度因緣人中富貴作轉輪聖王餘度或作梵王或作法身菩薩，決定誓願名為大莊嚴；須菩提陳無大莊嚴為大莊嚴諸法自相空故，佛印可薩婆若非作法眾生亦非作法，作者不可得故非作非不作全枚舉，色無縛無脫受想行識無縛無脫，富樓那彌多羅尼子問答，如夢如嚮影幻焰化、三世、善不善無記世出世間有漏無漏、六度、十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法、菩提果、菩薩佛、諸法如等五異名及無為法皆無縛無脫，無所有故離故寂滅故不生故，總收無縛無脫大莊嚴；論主釋自相空故非深非難、作者不可得故一切智非作相、破如幻有來去相與十八空有用實有之疑、五眾無縛無解無作者誰縛誰解、凡夫法虛誑故非縛聖人法畢竟空故非解、不縛不解菩薩道即發大莊嚴相（經＋論）
前一品〈乘乘品〉問「云何乘於大乘」，這一品接著問「何等是大莊嚴」。仍是繞著富樓那先前立下的三句宗——大莊嚴、發趣大乘、乘於大乘——而來；須菩提向佛請問：怎樣才叫菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴？佛的回答，先是層層鋪陳——菩薩以六波羅蜜莊嚴、以四念處乃至十八不共法莊嚴，變身如佛，放光動地，化作轉輪聖王，把三千大千世界變成琉璃，隨眾生所要的一一給與，然後為他們說六波羅蜜法。可是佛緊接著設下一個幻師的譬喻：幻師在四衢道上化作大眾，給他們吃、給他們喝，你說這幻師當真有眾生可給嗎？須菩提答，不也。佛便說——菩薩也是這樣，雖有所施，實無所與，因為諸法之相本自如幻。這一喻，在六度的每一段都重演了一次。到了下半品，須菩提翻過來，說了一句更深的話——無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，諸法自相空故。莊嚴之所以為大，恰恰不在莊嚴之有，而在觀莊嚴自相空、無莊嚴可得。佛印可了他，並且點出根柢：薩婆若不是所作之法，眾生也不是所作之法——何以故？作者不可得故。既然連那個造作的人都了不可得，一切智、眾生、莊嚴便都無所作、無所起。於是接出了本品的命脈一問一答：富樓那反問須菩提，色是無縛無脫嗎？須菩提說，如是。何等色無縛無脫？如夢的色無縛無脫，如嚮、如影、如幻、如焰、如化的色受想行識無縛無脫；過去、未來、現在無縛無脫，善的、不善的、無記的無縛無脫，六波羅蜜、十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法無縛無脫——一路推到最徹底處，連阿耨多羅三藐三菩提、連菩薩、連佛，也一樣無縛無脫。何以故？無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故。這四句，是全品反覆不歇的根。到了論裡，佛把這無縛無脫落到凡聖兩頭來說——凡夫的法虛誑不可得，所以說不上真有一個縛；聖人的法畢竟空不可得，所以也說不上真有一個解。住在這條道上，煩惱牽你不動、拖你不墮凡夫，故名不縛；也用不著拿無漏法去破煩惱，故名不解。這，便是無縛無脫品要你去領會的般若——不是先把眾生莊嚴起來、再回頭把莊嚴看空，而是當下看清：莊嚴而無所莊嚴、脫而無所脫，這不縛不解本身，就是菩薩摩訶薩所發的大莊嚴。
The previous chapter, Riding the Vehicle, asked ‘how does one ride the Great Vehicle?’; this chapter goes on to ask ‘what is the great adornment?’ It still turns on the three propositions Pūrṇa set up earlier, the great adornment, setting out toward the Great Vehicle, and riding the Great Vehicle. Subhūti asks the Buddha: what is called the great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva? The Buddha's answer first spreads out layer upon layer: the bodhisattva adorns himself with the six perfections, adorns himself with the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, transforms his body to be like a Buddha, emits light and shakes the earth, conjures himself into a wheel-turning sage king, turns the three-thousand great-thousand world into vaiḍūrya, gives beings one by one whatever they want, and then teaches them the dharma of the six perfections. But at once the Buddha sets up the simile of a conjurer: a conjurer at a crossroads conjures up a crowd and gives them food and gives them drink; would you say this conjurer really has beings to give to? Subhūti answers, No. The Buddha then says: so too the bodhisattva; though there is giving, in truth nothing is given, because the marks of dharmas are of themselves like an illusion. This simile is played out once more in each of the passages on the six perfections. In the second half of the chapter Subhūti turns it round and says something deeper still: no great adornment is the great adornment, because dharmas are empty of specific marks. What makes the adornment great lies precisely not in the existence of adornment but in contemplating the adornment as empty of its specific mark, with no adornment to be found. The Buddha confirms him and points out the root: sarvajñā is not a made dharma, and beings are not made dharmas; why? Because the maker cannot be found. Since even the one who makes cannot be found at all, omniscience, beings, and adornment are all without making and without arising. From this follows the question and answer that is the lifeline of the chapter: Pūrṇa asks Subhūti in return, is form neither bound nor freed? Subhūti says, So it is. What form is neither bound nor freed? Form like a dream is neither bound nor freed; form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness like an echo, like a reflection, like an illusion, like a mirage, like a conjuration are neither bound nor freed; past, future, and present are neither bound nor freed; wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate are neither bound nor freed; the six perfections, the eighteen emptinesses, the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas are neither bound nor freed; pushed to the utmost, even anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, even the bodhisattva, even the Buddha are likewise neither bound nor freed. Why? Because they are without existence, because they are apart, because they are quiescent, because they do not arise. These four phrases are the root the whole chapter returns to without rest. In the treatise the Buddha brings this ‘neither bound nor freed’ down to the two ends of ordinary and noble: the dharmas of ordinary people are false and unfindable, so it cannot be said that there is really a bondage; the dharmas of the noble are ultimately empty and unfindable, so it cannot be said that there is really a release either. Dwelling on this path, the afflictions cannot pull you and cannot drag you down into the state of an ordinary person, hence it is called not bound; nor is there any need to take the dharmas without outflows to break the afflictions, hence it is called not released. This is the prajñā that the Chapter on Neither Bound nor Freed wants you to grasp: not first adorning beings and then turning back to see the adornment as empty, but seeing clearly right now that one adorns with nothing adorned and is freed with nothing freed; this very not-bound and not-released is itself the great adornment that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva arouses.
卷46 〔T25 0390a24〕
大智度論釋無縛無脫品第十七 【經】 爾時，須菩提白佛言：「世尊！菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴，何等是大莊嚴？何等菩薩能大莊嚴？」 佛語須菩提：「菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍大莊嚴，所謂檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜莊嚴；四念處莊嚴，乃至八聖道分；內空莊嚴，乃至無〔T25 0390b〕法有法空；十力乃至十八不共法，及一切種智莊嚴。變身如佛莊嚴，光明遍照三千大千世界，亦照東方如恒河沙等世界；南西北方、四維、上下，亦復如是。三千大千世界六種振動，亦動東方如恒河沙等諸世界；南西北方、四維、上下，亦復如是。是菩薩摩訶薩住檀波羅蜜摩訶衍大莊嚴，是三千大千世界，變為琉璃；化作轉輪聖王，隨眾生所欲，須食與食，須飲與飲，衣服、臥具、花香、纓珞、搗香、澤香、房舍、燈燭、醫藥種種所須盡給與之；與已，而為說法，所謂應六波羅蜜法。眾生聞是法者，終不離六波羅蜜，乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。如是，須菩提！是名菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍大莊嚴。須菩提！譬如工幻師、若幻師弟子，於四衢道中，化作大眾於前，須食與食，須飲與飲，乃至種種所須盡給與之。於須菩提意云何？是幻師實有眾生有給與不？」 須菩提言：「不也！世尊！」 「須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩亦如是，化作轉輪聖王，種種具足，須食與食，須飲與飲，乃至種種所須盡給與之；雖有所施，實無所與。何以故？須菩提！諸法相如幻故。復次，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩住尸羅波羅蜜，現生轉輪聖王家，以十善道教化眾生，又以四禪、四無量心、四無色定、四念處乃至十八不共法教化眾生；聞是法者，至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，終不離是法。譬如幻師、若幻師弟子，於四衢道中，化作大眾，以十善道教化令行，又以四禪、四無量心、四無色定、四念處乃至十八不共法，教化令行。須菩提！於汝意云何？是幻師，實有眾生，教〔T25 0390c〕化令行十善道乃至十八不共法不？」 須菩提言：「不也！世尊！」 「須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩亦如是，以十善道教化眾生令行，乃至十八不共法；實無眾生行十善道乃至十八不共法。何以故？諸法相如幻故。須菩提！是名菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴。 「復次，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩住羼提波羅蜜，教化眾生忍辱。須菩提！云何菩薩摩訶薩住羼提波羅蜜，教化眾生著忍辱波羅蜜中？須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩從初發意已來，如是大莊嚴：若一切眾生來罵詈、刀杖傷害，菩薩摩訶薩於此中不起一念，亦教一切眾生行此忍辱。譬如幻師、若幻師弟子，於四衢道中，化作大眾，令行忍辱；餘如上說。須菩提！是名菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴。 「復次，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩住毘梨耶波羅蜜，教化一切眾生令行毘梨耶波羅蜜。須菩提！云何菩薩摩訶薩住毘梨耶波羅蜜，教一切眾生令行毘梨耶波羅蜜？須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩應薩婆若心，身心精進，教化眾生。譬如幻師、若幻師弟子，於四衢道中，化作大眾，教令行身心精進；餘如上說。是名菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴。 「復次，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩住禪波羅蜜，教一切眾生令行禪波羅蜜。須菩提！云何菩薩摩訶薩住禪波羅蜜，教一切眾生令行禪波羅蜜？須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩住諸法等中，不見法若亂若定。如是，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩住禪波羅蜜，教一切眾生令行禪波羅蜜，乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，終不離禪波羅蜜。譬如工幻師、若幻師弟子，於四衢道中，化作大眾，教令行禪波羅〔T25 0391a〕蜜；餘如上說。須菩提！是名菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴。 「復次，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩住般若波羅蜜，教一切眾生令行般若波羅蜜。須菩提！云何菩薩摩訶薩住般若波羅蜜，教一切眾生令行般若波羅蜜？須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜時，無有法得此岸、彼岸。如是菩薩摩訶薩住般若波羅蜜中，教一切眾生令行般若波羅蜜。譬如幻師、若幻師弟子，於四衢道中，化作大眾，教令行般若波羅蜜。須菩提！是名菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴。 「復次，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴，十方如恒河沙等世界中，隨其所應，自變其身，住檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜，亦教眾生令行檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜。是眾生行是法乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，終不離是法。須菩提！譬如幻師、若幻師弟子，於四衢道中，化作眾生，教令行六波羅蜜；餘如上說。如是，須菩提！是名菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴。 「復次，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴，應薩婆若心，不生是念：『我教若干人住檀波羅蜜，不教若干人住檀波羅蜜。乃至般若波羅蜜亦如是。』不生是念：『我教若干人住四念處，不教若干人住四念處。乃至十八不共法亦如是。』亦不生是念：『我教若干人令得須陀洹果、斯陀含果、阿那含果、阿羅漢果、辟支佛道、一切種智；亦不教若干人令得須陀洹果乃至一切種智。』我當令無量無邊阿僧祇眾生住檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜，立眾生於四念處乃至十八不共法，令無量無邊阿僧祇眾生得須陀洹果乃至一切種智。譬〔T25 0391b〕如工幻師、若幻師弟子，於四衢道中，化作大眾，教令住六波羅蜜乃至得一切種智。餘如上說。須菩提！是名菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴。」 【論】 釋曰： 上富樓那說大莊嚴及發大誓莊嚴相，今須菩提作是念：「富樓那未得一切智，雖說大莊嚴，或當有錯。」是故問佛取定。佛為須菩提說「檀波羅蜜大莊嚴，乃至一切智」。 是諸善法果報故，得菩薩大神通力。 為出家好道眾生故，化作佛身，放大光明，照十方世界，震動大地，令眾生發心行善法，隨其所應而為說法，令得三乘。 為在家好樂眾生，作轉輪聖王，變三千世界悉為琉璃，為不障礙故；乘七寶車，身放光明，雨諸寶物，隨眾生所須，皆令充足，然後為說菩薩法。 菩薩住大乘中，以二施利益眾生，所謂財施、法施。眾生聞已，行六波羅蜜乃至十八不共法，至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，終不離是法。菩薩雖住是變化中，亦不於諸法中生著相，亦不自高。 須菩提作是念：「菩薩能作如是大事，又諸漏未盡故，云何於諸法得不著，亦不生高心？」 是中佛自說譬喻：「若幻師於四衢道中，化作種種物，隨人所須，悉能與之。於須菩提意云何？是幻師實有所與不？有受者、有用者不？」 須菩提言：「是但虛誑，實無所有。」 佛言：「菩薩亦如是，雖作佛身、轉輪聖王，以財、法施眾生，亦如幻師實無所與。何以故？諸法相畢竟空如幻。」 餘五波羅蜜亦如是，隨義分別。 復次，檀波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜因緣故，人中富貴，作轉〔T25 0391c〕輪聖王；餘波羅蜜，或作梵王，或作法身菩薩。 問曰： 六波羅蜜外，更有何法可莊嚴？ 答曰： 諸功德皆六波羅蜜中攝。 有人言：「別有智波羅蜜及方便等。」 於十方如恒河沙等世界中，隨所應度，作種種因緣說法，令眾生住六波羅蜜。 復次，決定誓願名為大莊嚴，所謂菩薩不作是念：「我度若干人令住檀波羅蜜，不能度餘人；乃至十八不共法亦如是。」亦不作是念：「我令若干人得須陀洹果，不能令若干人得須陀洹果；乃至佛道亦如是。」我當悉令無量阿僧祇眾生住諸功德中，檀波羅蜜乃至一切種智。 「自立如幻師」，如先說。 是名發大莊嚴。 【經】 爾時，須菩提白佛言：「世尊！如我從佛所聞義，菩薩摩訶薩無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，諸法自相空故，所謂色，色相空；受、想、行、識，識相空。眼，眼相空；乃至意，意相空。色，色相空；乃至法，法相空。眼識，眼識相空；乃至意識，意識相空。眼觸，眼觸相空；乃至意觸，意觸相空。眼觸因緣生受，受相空；乃至意觸因緣生受，受相空。世尊！檀波羅蜜，檀波羅蜜相空；乃至般若波羅蜜，般若波羅蜜相空。內空，內空空相空；乃至無法有法空，無法有法空相空。四念處，四念處相空；乃至十八不共法，十八不共法相空。菩薩，菩薩相空。世尊！以是因緣故，當知菩薩摩訶薩無大莊嚴為大莊嚴。」 佛告須菩提：「如是！如是！如汝所說。須菩提！薩婆若非作法，眾生亦非作法，菩薩為是眾生大莊嚴。」 須菩提白佛言：「世尊！何因緣故，薩婆〔T25 0392a〕若非作法，是眾生亦非作法，菩薩為是眾生大莊嚴？」 佛語須菩提：「作者不可得故，薩婆若非作非起法，是諸眾生亦非作非起法。何以故？須菩提！色非作非不作，受、想、行、識非作非不作；眼非作非不作，乃至意非作非不作；色乃至法，眼識乃至意識，眼觸乃至意觸，眼觸因緣生受乃至意觸因緣生受，非作非不作。須菩提！我非作非不作，乃至知者、見者非作非不作。何以故？是諸法畢竟不可得故。須菩提！夢非作非不作，何以故？畢竟不可得故；幻、嚮、影、焰、化非作非不作，何以故？畢竟不可得故。須菩提！內空非作非不作，畢竟不可得故；乃至無法有法空非作非不作，畢竟不可得故。須菩提！四念處非作非不作，畢竟不可得故；乃至十八不共法非作非不作，何以故？是法皆畢竟不可得故。須菩提！諸法如、法相、法性、法住、法位、實際，非作非不作，畢竟不可得故。須菩提！菩提非作非不作，畢竟不可得故；薩婆若及一切種智，非作非不作，畢竟不可得故。以是因緣故，須菩提！薩婆若非作非起法，是眾生亦非作非起法，菩薩為是眾生大莊嚴。」 爾時，須菩提白佛言：「如我觀佛所說義，世尊！色無縛無脫，受、想、行、識無縛無脫。」 爾時，富樓那彌多羅尼子語須菩提：「色是無縛無脫？受、想、行、識是無縛無脫？」 須菩提言：「如是！如是！色是無縛無脫，受、想、行、識是無縛無脫。」 富樓那彌多羅尼子問須菩提：「何等色無縛無脫？何等受、想、行、識無縛無脫？」 須菩提言：〔T25 0392b〕「如夢色無縛無脫，如夢受、想、行、識無縛無脫。如嚮、如影、如幻、如焰、如化色受想行識無縛無脫。 「富樓那彌多羅尼子！過去色無縛無脫，過去受、想、行、識無縛無脫；未來色無縛無脫，未來受、想、行、識無縛無脫；現在色無縛無脫，現在受、想、行、識無縛無脫。何以故無縛無脫？是色無所有故，無縛無脫；受、想、行、識無所有故，無縛無脫。離故，寂滅故，不生故，無縛無脫。 「富樓那！善色、受、想、行、識無縛無脫；不善色、受、想、行、識無縛無脫；無記色無縛無脫，無記受、想、行、識無縛無脫。世間、出世間、有漏、無漏色無縛無脫，受、想、行、識亦無縛無脫。何以故？無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故，無縛無脫。富樓那！一切法亦無縛無脫，無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故。 「富樓那！檀波羅蜜無縛無脫，尸羅波羅蜜、羼提波羅蜜、毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜無縛無脫；無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故，無縛無脫。 「富樓那！內空亦無縛無脫，乃至無法有法空亦無縛無脫。四念處無縛無脫，乃至十八不共法無縛無脫；無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故，無縛無脫。阿耨多羅三藐三菩提無縛無脫，一切智、一切種智無縛無脫。菩薩無縛無脫，佛亦無縛無脫；無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故，無縛無脫。 「富樓那！諸法如、法相、法性、法住、法位、實際、無為法無縛無脫，無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故，無縛無脫。 「富樓那！是名菩薩摩訶薩無縛無脫檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜，四念處乃至一切種智無縛無脫。是菩薩摩訶薩住無縛無〔T25 0392c〕脫檀波羅蜜中，乃至住無縛無脫般若波羅蜜；住無縛無脫四念處，乃至住無縛無脫一切種智；無縛無脫成就眾生，無縛無脫淨佛世界；無縛無脫諸佛當供養，無縛無脫當聽法；無縛無脫諸佛終不離，無縛無脫諸神通終不離，無縛無脫五眼終不離；無縛無脫陀羅尼門終不離，無縛無脫諸三昧終不離；無縛無脫當生道種智，無縛無脫當得一切種智；無縛無脫法輪轉，無縛無脫眾生安立三乘。如是，富樓那！菩薩摩訶薩行無縛無脫六波羅蜜，當知一切法無縛無脫，無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故。富樓那！是名菩薩摩訶薩無縛無脫大莊嚴。」 【論】 釋曰： 須菩提言：「如我聞佛義，無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，何以故？自相空故。」 問曰： 須菩提何以故如是說？ 答曰： 佛說發大莊嚴義，甚深、難得、難解。會中眾生聞是事，心或退沒：如是莊嚴畢竟空，亦以神通力故，一時能遍至十方如恒河沙世界可適眾生，言：「此是聖王事，我等云何能知！」以是故，須菩提說：「發大莊嚴非深非難！非但發大莊嚴自相空，易行易得；色、色中定相不可得，乃至十八不共法亦爾。若菩薩能如是知諸法空寂滅相，而不捨本願、精進，是故名發大莊嚴非是難得。」 佛證須菩提所說，故言「如是」。作法皆是虛誑，故言：「薩婆若無作法；眾生畢竟空故，亦無作法。」 佛說：「作者不可得故，一切智非作相；眾生不可得故，作者不可得；作者不可得故，薩婆若非作非起相。復次，色亦無所能作，法空故，乃至諸佛〔T25 0393a〕法亦如是。」 須菩提等謂「諸法中無有定作相，如幻雖無實事，而有來去相」；以是故，佛說：「如幻、如焰等無作相，畢竟不可得故。」 是時聽者作是念——「十八空能破一切法，則是有用，是則為實」，謂言「有作」。是以佛言：「內空無所作，乃至無法有法空，至十八不共法亦無所作。」 若謂今十八空，有為，虛誑無實，故可無作；如、法性、實際是真實法，應當有作！何以故？一切有為法各各共因，無為法亦與有為法作因故。佛言：「如、法性、實際、法住、法位亦無作。」 又謂：「菩薩、佛、一切種智是實法，能有所作。」以是故，佛言：「是法亦畢竟空故，亦無所作。」作相因緣生故。 行者念言：「佛法甚難！甚為希有！諸法都無作、無縛無解者，我等云何當從苦得脫？」是故須菩提白佛言：「如我知佛所說義，五眾無縛無解；若畢竟空無有作者，誰縛誰解？」 凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解。 如夢等五眾，及三世五眾、善不善等五眾，一切法亦如是，乃至實際等亦復如是；無所有故，離故，不生故，無縛無解。是名菩薩摩訶薩不縛不解菩薩道。 住是道中，諸煩惱不牽墮凡夫中，故言「不縛」；不以諸無漏法破煩惱，故言「不解」。 教化眾生，淨佛世界，乃至五神通、五眼、諸陀羅尼、三昧門，終不離佛，及安立眾生於三乘，亦無縛無解。所以者何？諸法無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故，畢竟空故。 如是等因緣，是名菩薩摩訶薩發大莊嚴相，所謂不縛不解。
《大智度論》卷46 · T25n1509 0390a24–0393b01
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.
須菩提問「何等是大莊嚴」「何等菩薩能大莊嚴」
那時，須菩提對佛說：『世尊！菩薩摩訶薩的大莊嚴，甚麼是大莊嚴呢。甚麼樣的菩薩能大莊嚴呢。』
佛答摩訶衍大莊嚴——六度、四念處乃至八聖道分、內空乃至無法有法空、十力乃至十八不共法及一切種智莊嚴，變身如佛放光動地
佛告訴須菩提說：『菩薩摩訶薩的摩訶衍大莊嚴，就是所謂的檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜的莊嚴。四念處的莊嚴，乃至八聖道分的莊嚴。內空的莊嚴，乃至無法有法空的莊嚴。十力乃至十八不共法，以及一切種智的莊嚴。又變現自身如佛那樣地莊嚴，光明遍照三千大千世界，也照到東方如恒河沙那樣多的世界。南方、西方、北方、四維、上方、下方，也都是這樣。三千大千世界起六種振動，也震動東方如恒河沙那樣多的諸世界。南西北方、四維、上下，也都是這樣。
住檀波羅蜜大莊嚴——化作轉輪聖王隨眾生所欲盡給所須，然後說六波羅蜜法；工幻師喻實無所與
『這菩薩摩訶薩安住在檀波羅蜜的摩訶衍大莊嚴當中，把這三千大千世界變成琉璃。化作轉輪聖王，隨著眾生所想要的，須要飲食就給飲食，須要飲料就給飲料，衣服、臥具、花香、纓珞、搗香、澤香、房舍、燈燭、醫藥，種種所須要的全都給與他們。給了以後，就為他們說法，也就是所謂相應於六波羅蜜的法。眾生聽了這法，始終不離六波羅蜜，乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。像這樣，須菩提！這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩的摩訶衍大莊嚴。須菩提！譬如巧妙的幻術師、或幻術師的弟子，在四通八達的道路當中，在眾人面前變化出大眾，須要飲食就給飲食，須要飲料就給飲料，乃至種種所須要的全都給與他們。在須菩提你看來怎麼樣，這幻術師真有眾生受他給與嗎。』
須菩提回答說：『沒有啊，世尊！』
『須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩也是這樣，化作轉輪聖王，種種具足，須要飲食就給飲食，須要飲料就給飲料，乃至種種所須要的全都給與他們。雖然有所布施，其實無所給與。這是甚麼緣故呢，須菩提！因為諸法之相如同幻化的緣故。
住尸羅波羅蜜——十善道、四禪四無量心四無色定、四念處乃至十八不共法教化眾生；幻師喻
『再者，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩安住在尸羅波羅蜜當中，現生在轉輪聖王之家，以十善道教化眾生，又以四禪、四無量心、四無色定、四念處乃至十八不共法教化眾生。聽了這法的人，直到阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，始終不離這法。譬如幻術師、或幻術師的弟子，在四通八達的道路當中，變化出大眾，以十善道教化他們令其修行，又以四禪、四無量心、四無色定、四念處乃至十八不共法，教化他們令其修行。須菩提！在你看來怎麼樣，這幻術師真有眾生受他教化令其修行十善道乃至十八不共法嗎。』
須菩提回答說：『沒有啊，世尊！』
『須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩也是這樣，以十善道教化眾生令其修行，乃至以十八不共法教化眾生令其修行。其實並沒有眾生修行十善道乃至十八不共法。這是甚麼緣故呢。因為諸法之相如同幻化的緣故。須菩提！這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩的大莊嚴。
住羼提波羅蜜——教化眾生忍辱，罵詈刀杖傷害不起一念；幻師喻
『再者，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩安住在羼提波羅蜜當中，教化眾生忍辱。須菩提！怎麼叫做菩薩摩訶薩安住在羼提波羅蜜當中，教化眾生安住在忍辱波羅蜜當中呢。須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩從最初發心以來，就這樣地大莊嚴。若一切眾生前來辱罵、以刀杖傷害，菩薩摩訶薩在這當中不起一念瞋恨，也教化一切眾生修行這忍辱。譬如幻術師、或幻術師的弟子，在四通八達的道路當中，變化出大眾，令其修行忍辱。其餘的就像上面所說。須菩提！這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩的大莊嚴。
住毘梨耶波羅蜜——應薩婆若心身心精進教化眾生；幻師喻
『再者，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩安住在毘梨耶波羅蜜當中，教化一切眾生令其修行毘梨耶波羅蜜。須菩提！怎麼叫做菩薩摩訶薩安住在毘梨耶波羅蜜當中，教化一切眾生令其修行毘梨耶波羅蜜呢。須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩相應於薩婆若的心，身心精進，教化眾生。譬如幻術師、或幻術師的弟子，在四通八達的道路當中，變化出大眾，教令他們修行身心精進。其餘的就像上面所說。這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩的大莊嚴。
住禪波羅蜜——住諸法等中不見法若亂若定；工幻師喻
『再者，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩安住在禪波羅蜜當中，教化一切眾生令其修行禪波羅蜜。須菩提！怎麼叫做菩薩摩訶薩安住在禪波羅蜜當中，教化一切眾生令其修行禪波羅蜜呢。須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩安住在諸法平等當中，不見有一個法是散亂的、是入定的。像這樣，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩安住在禪波羅蜜當中，教化一切眾生令其修行禪波羅蜜，乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，始終不離禪波羅蜜。譬如巧妙的幻術師、或幻術師的弟子，在四通八達的道路當中，變化出大眾，教令他們修行禪波羅蜜。其餘的就像上面所說。須菩提！這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩的大莊嚴。
住般若波羅蜜——無有法得此岸彼岸；幻師喻
『再者，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩安住在般若波羅蜜當中，教化一切眾生令其修行般若波羅蜜。須菩提！怎麼叫做菩薩摩訶薩安住在般若波羅蜜當中，教化一切眾生令其修行般若波羅蜜呢。須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩修行般若波羅蜜的時候，沒有一個法可得此岸、可得彼岸。像這樣，菩薩摩訶薩安住在般若波羅蜜當中，教化一切眾生令其修行般若波羅蜜。譬如幻術師、或幻術師的弟子，在四通八達的道路當中，變化出大眾，教令他們修行般若波羅蜜。須菩提！這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩的大莊嚴。
十方遍行六度——隨所應自變其身，住檀乃至般若亦教眾生令行；幻師喻
『再者，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴，在十方如恒河沙那樣多的世界當中，隨著各處所應度化的，自己變現己身，安住在檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜當中，也教化眾生令其修行檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜。這些眾生修行這法，乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，始終不離這法。須菩提！譬如幻術師、或幻術師的弟子，在四通八達的道路當中，變化出眾生，教令他們修行六波羅蜜。其餘的就像上面所說。像這樣，須菩提！這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩的大莊嚴。
決定誓願——應薩婆若心不生分別度化之念，當令無量眾生住六度乃至一切種智；工幻師喻總收
『再者，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴，相應於薩婆若的心，不生起這樣的念想：我教某個數目的人安住在檀波羅蜜，不教某個數目的人安住在檀波羅蜜，乃至般若波羅蜜也是這樣。不生起這樣的念想：我教某個數目的人安住在四念處，不教某個數目的人安住在四念處，乃至十八不共法也是這樣。也不生起這樣的念想：我教某個數目的人令得須陀洹果、斯陀含果、阿那含果、阿羅漢果、辟支佛道、一切種智，也不教某個數目的人令得須陀洹果乃至一切種智。他只想著：我應當令無量無邊阿僧祇的眾生安住在檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜，安立眾生在四念處乃至十八不共法，令無量無邊阿僧祇的眾生得須陀洹果乃至一切種智。譬如巧妙的幻術師、或幻術師的弟子，在四通八達的道路當中，變化出大眾，教令他們安住在六波羅蜜乃至得一切種智。其餘的就像上面所說。須菩提！這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩的大莊嚴。』
以下是論釋。
論主起釋——須菩提疑富樓那未得一切智，問佛取定
論主解釋說。
上面富樓那說了大莊嚴以及發大誓莊嚴之相，如今須菩提生起這樣的念想：富樓那還沒有證得一切智，雖然說了大莊嚴，或許會有錯。因為這緣故便問佛取個定準。佛就為須菩提說了檀波羅蜜的大莊嚴，乃至一切智的大莊嚴。
化佛身度出家眾、作轉輪聖王度在家眾——以二施財施法施利益眾生，住變化中不生著相不自高
由於這些善法果報的緣故，菩薩得了菩薩的大神通力。
為著出家好樂於道的眾生的緣故，菩薩化作佛身，放大光明，照亮十方世界，震動大地，令眾生發心修行善法，隨著他們所應度化的而為說法，令他們得三乘。
為著在家好樂之心的眾生，菩薩作轉輪聖王，把三千世界都變成琉璃，為著沒有障礙的緣故。乘著七寶之車，身放光明，雨下種種寶物，隨著眾生所須要的，都令他們充足，然後才為他們宣說菩薩之法。
菩薩安住在大乘當中，以兩種布施利益眾生，也就是所謂的財施、法施。眾生聽了以後，修行六波羅蜜乃至十八不共法，直到阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，始終不離這法。菩薩雖然安住在這變化當中，也不在諸法當中生起執著之相，也不自高。
佛自說幻師喻——須菩提答「是但虛誑，實無所有」；諸法相畢竟空如幻
須菩提生起這樣的念想：菩薩能作這樣的大事，又諸漏還沒有斷盡的緣故，怎麼能在諸法當中得無所執著，也不生起自高之心呢。
這當中佛自己說了個譬喻：若幻術師在四通八達的道路當中，變化出種種物事，隨著人所須要的，都能給與他。在須菩提你看來怎麼樣，這幻術師真有所給與嗎。真有受用的人、有享用的人嗎。
須菩提回答說：這只是虛假誑惑，其實無所有。
佛說：菩薩也是這樣，雖然作佛身、作轉輪聖王，以財物、以法布施眾生，也如同幻術師實在無所給與。這是甚麼緣故呢。因為諸法之相畢竟空、如同幻化。
檀尸二度因緣人中富貴作轉輪聖王，餘度或作梵王或作法身菩薩；六度外更有何法可莊嚴——諸功德皆六度攝
其餘的五波羅蜜也是這樣，隨著義理而分別解說。
再者，因著檀波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜的因緣，菩薩在人間富貴，作轉輪聖王。其餘的波羅蜜，或者作梵天之王，或者作法身菩薩。
有人問：六波羅蜜之外，更有甚麼法可以莊嚴呢。
論主回答：一切功德都攝在六波羅蜜當中。
有人說：另外別有智波羅蜜以及方便波羅蜜等。
菩薩在十方如恒河沙那樣多的世界當中，隨著所應度化的，作種種因緣為之說法，令眾生安住在六波羅蜜當中。
決定誓願名為大莊嚴——不作分別度人之念，當悉令無量眾生住諸功德；自立如幻師，是名發大莊嚴
再者，決定的誓願叫做大莊嚴，也就是所謂菩薩不生起這樣的念想：我度某個數目的人令安住在檀波羅蜜，不能度其餘的人，乃至十八不共法也是這樣。也不生起這樣的念想：我令某個數目的人得須陀洹果，不能令某個數目的人得須陀洹果，乃至佛道也是這樣。他只想著：我應當全都令無量阿僧祇的眾生安住在諸功德當中，也就是檀波羅蜜乃至一切種智。
至於經文說的「自立如幻師」，就如前面所說。
這就叫做發大莊嚴。
以下是經文。
須菩提陳自相空——無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，色色相空乃至菩薩菩薩相空
那時，須菩提對佛說：『世尊！照我從佛那裡所聽聞的義理，菩薩摩訶薩無大莊嚴才是大莊嚴，因為諸法自相空的緣故。也就是所謂色，色相是空的。受、想、行、識，識相是空的。眼，眼相是空的，乃至意，意相是空的。色，色相是空的，乃至法，法相是空的。眼識，眼識相是空的，乃至意識，意識相是空的。眼觸，眼觸相是空的，乃至意觸，意觸相是空的。眼觸因緣所生之受，受相是空的，乃至意觸因緣所生之受，受相是空的。世尊！檀波羅蜜，檀波羅蜜相是空的，乃至般若波羅蜜，般若波羅蜜相是空的。內空，內空之空相是空的，乃至無法有法空，無法有法空相是空的。四念處，四念處相是空的，乃至十八不共法，十八不共法相是空的。菩薩，菩薩相是空的。世尊！因著這緣故，應當知道菩薩摩訶薩無大莊嚴才是大莊嚴。』
佛印可、薩婆若非作法——薩婆若非作法眾生亦非作法，菩薩為是眾生大莊嚴；須菩提問何因緣故
佛告訴須菩提說：『對啊，對啊，正如你所說。須菩提！薩婆若不是造作出來的法，眾生也不是造作出來的法，菩薩為著這眾生而大莊嚴。』
須菩提對佛說：『世尊！甚麼因緣的緣故，薩婆若不是造作出來的法，這眾生也不是造作出來的法，菩薩為著這眾生而大莊嚴呢。』
作者不可得故——非作非不作全枚舉，色乃至薩婆若一切種智皆畢竟不可得故
佛告訴須菩提說：『因為造作者不可得的緣故，薩婆若不是造作、不是興起之法，這些眾生也不是造作、不是興起之法。這是甚麼緣故呢，須菩提！色不是造作也不是不造作，受、想、行、識不是造作也不是不造作。眼不是造作也不是不造作，乃至意不是造作也不是不造作。色乃至法，眼識乃至意識，眼觸乃至意觸，眼觸因緣所生之受乃至意觸因緣所生之受，都不是造作也不是不造作。須菩提！我不是造作也不是不造作，乃至知者、見者不是造作也不是不造作。這是甚麼緣故呢。因為這些法畢竟不可得的緣故。須菩提！夢不是造作也不是不造作，這是甚麼緣故呢。因為畢竟不可得的緣故。幻、回聲、影、陽焰、變化不是造作也不是不造作，這是甚麼緣故呢。因為畢竟不可得的緣故。須菩提！內空不是造作也不是不造作，因為畢竟不可得的緣故，乃至無法有法空不是造作也不是不造作，因為畢竟不可得的緣故。須菩提！四念處不是造作也不是不造作，因為畢竟不可得的緣故，乃至十八不共法不是造作也不是不造作，這是甚麼緣故呢。因為這些法都畢竟不可得的緣故。須菩提！諸法之如、法相、法性、法住、法位、實際，不是造作也不是不造作，因為畢竟不可得的緣故。須菩提！菩提不是造作也不是不造作，因為畢竟不可得的緣故，薩婆若以及一切種智，不是造作也不是不造作，因為畢竟不可得的緣故。因著這緣故，須菩提！薩婆若不是造作、不是興起之法，這眾生也不是造作、不是興起之法，菩薩為著這眾生而大莊嚴。』
須菩提陳色無縛無脫；富樓那彌多羅尼子反問，須菩提答「如是」
那時，須菩提對佛說：『照我觀察佛所說的義理，世尊！色沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，受、想、行、識沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。』
那時，富樓那彌多羅尼子問須菩提：『色是沒有繫縛也沒有解脫的嗎。受、想、行、識是沒有繫縛也沒有解脫的嗎。』
須菩提回答說：『對啊，對啊，色是沒有繫縛也沒有解脫的，受、想、行、識是沒有繫縛也沒有解脫的。』
富樓那問「何等色無縛無脫」；如夢及如嚮影幻焰化無縛無脫
富樓那彌多羅尼子問須菩提：『甚麼樣的色沒有繫縛也沒有解脫呢。甚麼樣的受、想、行、識沒有繫縛也沒有解脫呢。』
須菩提回答說：『如夢的色沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，如夢的受、想、行、識沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。如回聲、如影、如幻、如陽焰、如變化的色、受、想、行、識沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。
三世無縛無脫——何以故無縛無脫，無所有故、離故、寂滅故、不生故
『富樓那彌多羅尼子！過去的色沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，過去的受、想、行、識沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。未來的色沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，未來的受、想、行、識沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。現在的色沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，現在的受、想、行、識沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。為甚麼沒有繫縛也沒有解脫呢。因為這色無所有的緣故，所以沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。受、想、行、識無所有的緣故，所以沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。因為遠離的緣故、寂滅的緣故、不生的緣故，所以沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。
善不善無記、世出世間有漏無漏、一切法皆無縛無脫
『富樓那！善的色、受、想、行、識沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，不善的色、受、想、行、識沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，無記的色沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，無記的受、想、行、識沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。世間、出世間、有漏、無漏的色沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，受、想、行、識也沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。這是甚麼緣故呢。因為無所有的緣故、遠離的緣故、寂滅的緣故、不生的緣故，所以沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。富樓那！一切法也沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，因為無所有的緣故、遠離的緣故、寂滅的緣故、不生的緣故。
六波羅蜜皆無縛無脫
『富樓那！檀波羅蜜沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，尸羅波羅蜜、羼提波羅蜜、毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。因為無所有的緣故、遠離的緣故、寂滅的緣故、不生的緣故，所以沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。
十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法、菩提果、一切智一切種智、菩薩佛皆無縛無脫
『富樓那！內空也沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，乃至無法有法空也沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。四念處沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，乃至十八不共法沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。因為無所有的緣故、遠離的緣故、寂滅的緣故、不生的緣故，所以沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。阿耨多羅三藐三菩提沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，一切智、一切種智沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。菩薩沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，佛也沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。因為無所有的緣故、遠離的緣故、寂滅的緣故、不生的緣故，所以沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。
諸法如等五異名及無為法無縛無脫
『富樓那！諸法之如、法相、法性、法住、法位、實際、無為法沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。因為無所有的緣故、遠離的緣故、寂滅的緣故、不生的緣故，所以沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。
總收束——住無縛無脫檀波羅蜜乃至一切種智，成就眾生淨佛世界乃至安立三乘，是名無縛無脫大莊嚴
『富樓那！這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩沒有繫縛也沒有解脫的檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜，四念處乃至一切種智沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。這菩薩摩訶薩安住在沒有繫縛也沒有解脫的檀波羅蜜當中，乃至安住在沒有繫縛也沒有解脫的般若波羅蜜當中。安住在沒有繫縛也沒有解脫的四念處當中，乃至安住在沒有繫縛也沒有解脫的一切種智當中。以沒有繫縛也沒有解脫成就眾生，以沒有繫縛也沒有解脫清淨佛世界。沒有繫縛也沒有解脫地當供養諸佛，沒有繫縛也沒有解脫地當聽受法教。沒有繫縛也沒有解脫地始終不離諸佛，沒有繫縛也沒有解脫地始終不離諸神通，沒有繫縛也沒有解脫地始終不離五眼。沒有繫縛也沒有解脫地始終不離陀羅尼門，沒有繫縛也沒有解脫地始終不離諸三昧。沒有繫縛也沒有解脫地當生道種智，沒有繫縛也沒有解脫地當得一切種智。沒有繫縛也沒有解脫地轉法輪，沒有繫縛也沒有解脫地安立眾生於三乘。像這樣，富樓那！菩薩摩訶薩修行沒有繫縛也沒有解脫的六波羅蜜，應當知道一切法沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，因為無所有的緣故、遠離的緣故、寂滅的緣故、不生的緣故。富樓那！這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩沒有繫縛也沒有解脫的大莊嚴。』
以下是論釋。
論主釋「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴」自相空故——恐眾生聞甚深義退沒，故說發大莊嚴非深非難
論主解釋說。
須菩提說：照我所聽聞的佛義，無大莊嚴才是大莊嚴，這是甚麼緣故呢。因為自相空的緣故。
有人問：須菩提為甚麼緣故這樣說呢。
論主回答：佛所說發大莊嚴的義，甚為深奧、難以證得、難以理解。法會當中的眾生聽了這事，心中或許會退沒，心想：這樣的莊嚴畢竟空，又以神通之力的緣故，一時之間能遍到十方如恒河沙那樣多的世界去適應眾生，說這是聖王的事，我們怎麼能知道呢。因為這緣故，須菩提便說：發大莊嚴並不深、並不難。不但發大莊嚴自相是空、容易修行容易證得。色、色當中的定相不可得，乃至十八不共法也是這樣。若菩薩能這樣了知諸法空、寂滅之相，卻不捨棄本來的誓願、精進不已，因為這緣故名為發大莊嚴，這並不是難以證得的。
佛證「如是」——作法皆虛誑，薩婆若無作法眾生畢竟空亦無作法；作者不可得故一切智非作相
佛印證須菩提所說，所以說「如是」。造作出來的法都是虛假誑惑，所以說：薩婆若沒有造作之法，眾生畢竟空的緣故，也沒有造作之法。
佛說：因為造作者不可得的緣故，一切智不是造作之相。眾生不可得的緣故，造作者不可得。造作者不可得的緣故，薩婆若不是造作、不是興起之相。再者，色也無所能造作，因為法空的緣故，乃至諸佛之法也是這樣。
破如幻仍有來去相之疑——如幻如焰無作相畢竟不可得
須菩提等人心想：諸法當中沒有決定的造作之相，如同幻化雖然沒有真實之事，卻有來去之相。因為這緣故，佛便說：如同幻化、如同陽焰等沒有造作之相，因為畢竟不可得的緣故。
破十八空有用故實、破如法性實際真實應有作、破菩薩佛一切種智實法能作三疑
這時聽法的人生起這樣的念想：十八空能破一切法，這就是有用，這就是真實，於是說有造作。因此佛說：內空無所造作，乃至無法有法空、直到十八不共法也無所造作。
若有人心想：如今這十八空，是有為的、虛假誑惑無真實的，所以可以無所造作。而如、法性、實際是真實之法，應當有所造作。這是甚麼緣故呢。因為一切有為之法各各互相為因，無為之法也與有為之法作因的緣故。佛便說：如、法性、實際、法住、法位也無所造作。
又有人心想：菩薩、佛、一切種智是真實之法，能有所造作。因為這緣故，佛便說：這些法也畢竟空的緣故，也無所造作。因為造作之相是因緣所生的緣故。
無縛無解——行者疑諸法都無作云何從苦得脫；五眾無縛無解，無作者誰縛誰解
修行的人心想：佛法甚為難得，甚為稀有。諸法都沒有造作、沒有繫縛也沒有解脫，我們怎麼能從苦當中得到解脫呢。因為這緣故，須菩提便對佛說：照我所了知的佛義，五眾沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。若畢竟空、沒有造作者，那是誰在繫縛、誰在解脫呢。
凡夫法虛誑故非縛，聖人法畢竟空故非解；不縛不解菩薩道
凡夫之法虛假誑惑、不可得，所以不是繫縛。聖人之法畢竟空、不可得，所以不是解脫。
如夢等等的五眾，以及三世的五眾、善不善等等的五眾，一切法也是這樣，乃至實際等等也都是這樣。因為無所有的緣故、遠離的緣故、不生的緣故，所以沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩不繫縛、不解脫的菩薩道。
住是道中不牽墮故不縛，不以無漏法破煩惱故不解；總結不縛不解即發大莊嚴相
安住在這道當中，諸煩惱不牽引菩薩墮入凡夫當中，所以說不繫縛。不以諸無漏之法破除煩惱，所以說不解脫。
菩薩教化眾生，清淨佛世界，乃至五神通、五眼、諸陀羅尼、三昧門，始終不離佛，以及安立眾生在三乘當中，也沒有繫縛也沒有解脫。這是甚麼緣故呢。因為諸法無所有的緣故、遠離的緣故、寂滅的緣故、不生的緣故、畢竟空的緣故。
像這樣種種的因緣，這就叫做菩薩摩訶薩發大莊嚴之相，也就是所謂的不繫縛、不解脫。
Subhūti Asks ‘What Is the Great Adornment?’ and ‘What Kind of Bodhisattva Is Able to Adorn Greatly?’
At that time Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! As for the great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, what is the great adornment? And what kind of bodhisattva is able to adorn greatly?’
The Buddha Answers: The Mahāyāna Great Adornment—the Adornment of the Six Perfections, of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness up to the Limbs of the Eightfold Noble Path, of Inner Emptiness up to the Emptiness of Non-existent and Existent Dharmas, of the Ten Powers up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and of Omniscience of All Kinds; Transforming the Body to Be Like a Buddha's, Emitting Light, and Shaking the Earth
The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The Mahāyāna great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is what is called the adornment of dānapāramitā up to prajñāpāramitā; the adornment of the four foundations of mindfulness up to the adornment of the limbs of the eightfold noble path; the adornment of inner emptiness up to the adornment of the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; the adornment of the ten powers up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and of omniscience of all kinds. Again, he transforms his own body and adorns it so as to be like a Buddha's; his light shines throughout the three-thousand great-thousand world, and it also shines on worlds to the east as many as the sands of the Ganges. The south, the west, the north, the four intermediate directions, the zenith and the nadir are all likewise. The three-thousand great-thousand world shakes in six ways, and it also shakes the worlds to the east as many as the sands of the Ganges. South, west, and north, the four intermediate directions, above and below, are all likewise.
Abiding in the Great Adornment of Dāna-pāramitā—Conjuring Himself as a Wheel-turning Sage King, He Gives Beings All They Need According to What They Wish, and Then Teaches the Dharma of the Six Perfections; the Simile of the Skilled Conjurer Who in Truth Gives Nothing
‘This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in the Mahāyāna great adornment of dānapāramitā, transforms this three-thousand great-thousand world into vaiḍūrya. He conjures himself as a wheel-turning sage king and, according to what beings wish for—to those who need food he gives food, to those who need drink he gives drink—clothing, bedding, flowers and incense, necklaces, powdered incense, scented unguents, dwellings, lamps and candles, medicine: all the various things they need he gives them in full. Having given, he then teaches them the Dharma, namely the Dharma that accords with the six perfections. Beings who hear this Dharma never depart from the six perfections, up to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Thus, Subhūti, this is called the Mahāyāna great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Subhūti! It is like a skilled conjurer, or a conjurer's disciple, who at a crossroads, before a crowd of people, conjures up a great multitude, and to those who need food gives food, to those who need drink gives drink, up to all the various things they need, giving them in full. What do you think, Subhūti? Are there really beings who receive what this conjurer gives?’
Subhūti replied: ‘No, World-Honored One!’
‘Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: he conjures himself as a wheel-turning sage king, complete in every way; to those who need food he gives food, to those who need drink he gives drink, up to all the various things they need, giving them in full. Although he gives, in truth there is nothing given. Why is this, Subhūti? Because the mark of all dharmas is like an illusion, like a conjuration.
Abiding in Śīla-pāramitā—Teaching and Transforming Beings by the Ten Wholesome Paths, the Four Meditations, the Four Immeasurable Minds, the Four Formless Absorptions, and the Four Foundations of Mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; the Simile of the Conjurer
‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in śīlapāramitā, appears born into the house of a wheel-turning sage king and teaches and transforms beings by the ten wholesome paths; he also teaches and transforms beings by the four meditations, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, and the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. Those who hear this Dharma, until anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, never depart from this Dharma. It is like a conjurer, or a conjurer's disciple, who at a crossroads conjures up a great multitude and teaches and transforms them by the ten wholesome paths, making them practise them, and also teaches and transforms them by the four meditations, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, and the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, making them practise them. Subhūti! What do you think? Are there really beings whom this conjurer teaches and transforms and makes practise the ten wholesome paths up to the eighteen unshared dharmas?’
Subhūti replied: ‘No, World-Honored One!’
‘Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: he teaches and transforms beings by the ten wholesome paths, making them practise them, up to teaching and transforming beings by the eighteen unshared dharmas, making them practise them. In truth there are no beings who practise the ten wholesome paths up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. Why is this? Because the mark of all dharmas is like an illusion, like a conjuration. Subhūti! This is called the great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.
Abiding in Kṣānti-pāramitā—Teaching and Transforming Beings in Patience, Not Giving Rise to a Single Thought When Reviled or Harmed with Knives and Staves; the Simile of the Conjurer
‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in kṣāntipāramitā, teaches and transforms beings in patience. Subhūti! How is it that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in kṣāntipāramitā, teaches and transforms beings to abide in the perfection of patience? Subhūti! From the first arousing of the mind onward, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva adorns himself greatly in this way: if all beings come to revile him and harm him with knives and staves, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not give rise in this to a single thought of anger, and he also teaches and transforms all beings to practise this patience. It is like a conjurer, or a conjurer's disciple, who at a crossroads conjures up a great multitude and makes them practise patience. The rest is as said above. Subhūti! This is called the great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.
Abiding in Vīrya-pāramitā—With a Mind in Accord with Sarvajñā, Exerting Vigour of Body and Mind to Teach and Transform Beings; the Simile of the Conjurer
‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in vīryapāramitā, teaches and transforms all beings, making them practise vīryapāramitā. Subhūti! How is it that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in vīryapāramitā, teaches and transforms all beings, making them practise vīryapāramitā? Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, with a mind in accord with sarvajñā, exerts vigour of body and mind and teaches and transforms beings. It is like a conjurer, or a conjurer's disciple, who at a crossroads conjures up a great multitude and instructs them to practise vigour of body and mind. The rest is as said above. This is called the great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.
Abiding in Dhyāna-pāramitā—Abiding in the Equality of All Dharmas, He Does Not See Any Dharma as Either Scattered or Concentrated; the Simile of the Skilled Conjurer
‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in dhyānapāramitā, teaches and transforms all beings, making them practise dhyānapāramitā. Subhūti! How is it that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in dhyānapāramitā, teaches and transforms all beings, making them practise dhyānapāramitā? Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides in the equality of all dharmas and does not see a single dharma that is either scattered or concentrated. Thus, Subhūti, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in dhyānapāramitā, teaches and transforms all beings, making them practise dhyānapāramitā, up to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, never departing from dhyānapāramitā. It is like a skilled conjurer, or a conjurer's disciple, who at a crossroads conjures up a great multitude and instructs them to practise dhyānapāramitā. The rest is as said above. Subhūti! This is called the great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.
Abiding in Prajñāpāramitā—There Is No Dharma That Attains This Shore or the Other Shore; the Simile of the Conjurer
‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in prajñāpāramitā, teaches and transforms all beings, making them practise prajñāpāramitā. Subhūti! How is it that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in prajñāpāramitā, teaches and transforms all beings, making them practise prajñāpāramitā? Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, there is not a single dharma that can attain this shore or can attain the other shore. Thus the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in prajñāpāramitā, teaches and transforms all beings, making them practise prajñāpāramitā. It is like a conjurer, or a conjurer's disciple, who at a crossroads conjures up a great multitude and instructs them to practise prajñāpāramitā. Subhūti! This is called the great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.
Practising the Six Perfections throughout the Ten Directions—Transforming His Own Body According to What Is Fitting, He Abides in Dāna up to Prajñā and Also Teaches Beings to Practise Them; the Simile of the Conjurer
‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who adorns himself greatly, in worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, transforms his own body according to what is fitting for those to be ferried across in each place, abides in dānapāramitā up to prajñāpāramitā, and also teaches and transforms beings, making them practise dānapāramitā up to prajñāpāramitā. These beings practise this Dharma up to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, never departing from this Dharma. Subhūti! It is like a conjurer, or a conjurer's disciple, who at a crossroads conjures up beings and instructs them to practise the six perfections. The rest is as said above. Thus, Subhūti, this is called the great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.
The Decided Vow—With a Mind in Accord with Sarvajñā He Does Not Give Rise to Thoughts That Discriminate Whom He Will Ferry Across, but Thinks: I Shall Make Immeasurable Beings Abide in the Six Perfections up to Omniscience of All Kinds; the Simile of the Skilled Conjurer as a Summation
‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who adorns himself greatly, with a mind in accord with sarvajñā, does not give rise to this thought: I teach such-and-such a number of people to abide in dānapāramitā, and I do not teach such-and-such a number of people to abide in dānapāramitā; and up to prajñāpāramitā it is likewise. He does not give rise to this thought: I teach such-and-such a number of people to abide in the four foundations of mindfulness, and I do not teach such-and-such a number of people to abide in the four foundations of mindfulness; and up to the eighteen unshared dharmas it is likewise. Nor does he give rise to this thought: I teach such-and-such a number of people to attain the fruit of srota-āpanna, the fruit of sakṛdāgāmin, the fruit of anāgāmin, the fruit of arhat, the path of the pratyekabuddha, omniscience of all kinds; and I do not teach such-and-such a number of people to attain the fruit of srota-āpanna up to omniscience of all kinds. He only thinks: I shall make immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya beings abide in dānapāramitā up to prajñāpāramitā, establish beings in the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and make immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya beings attain the fruit of srota-āpanna up to omniscience of all kinds. It is like a skilled conjurer, or a conjurer's disciple, who at a crossroads conjures up a great multitude and instructs them to abide in the six perfections up to attaining omniscience of all kinds. The rest is as said above. Subhūti! This is called the great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’
What follows is the treatise's explanation.
The Treatise-author Begins His Explanation—Subhūti Doubts Pūrṇa, Who Has Not Yet Attained Omniscience, and Asks the Buddha to Settle It
The treatise-author explains.
Above, Pūrṇa spoke of the great adornment and of the marks of adorning oneself with the great vow. Now Subhūti gives rise to this thought: Pūrṇa has not yet realised omniscience; although he has spoken of the great adornment, there may be errors. For this reason he asks the Buddha in order to have it settled. The Buddha then speaks to Subhūti of the great adornment of dānapāramitā, up to the great adornment of omniscience.
Conjuring a Buddha-body to Ferry Across Renunciant Beings and Becoming a Wheel-turning Sage King to Ferry Across Householder Beings—Benefiting Beings by the Two Kinds of Giving, the Giving of Wealth and the Giving of Dharma; Abiding in Transformation, He Does Not Give Rise to the Mark of Clinging or Exalt Himself
Because of the fruit and recompense of these wholesome dharmas, the bodhisattva attains the great spiritual powers of a bodhisattva.
For the sake of renunciant beings who delight in the path, the bodhisattva conjures up a Buddha-body, emits great light that illuminates the worlds of the ten directions, and shakes the great earth, causing beings to arouse the mind and practise wholesome dharmas; according to what is fitting for those to be ferried across, he teaches them the Dharma, causing them to attain the three vehicles.
For beings whose minds delight in the household life, the bodhisattva becomes a wheel-turning sage king and transforms the whole three-thousand world into vaiḍūrya, so that there may be no obstruction. Riding a chariot of the seven treasures, his body emitting light, he rains down all kinds of treasures and, according to what beings need, makes them all content; only then does he proclaim to them the Dharma of the bodhisattva.
The bodhisattva, abiding in the Great Vehicle, benefits beings by two kinds of giving, namely the giving of wealth and the giving of Dharma. When beings have heard, they practise the six perfections up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, until anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, never departing from this Dharma. Although the bodhisattva abides in this transformation, he neither gives rise to the mark of clinging with regard to dharmas nor exalts himself.
The Buddha Himself Speaks the Simile of the Conjurer—Subhūti Answers ‘This Is Only Empty Deception; in Truth There Is Nothing’; the Mark of All Dharmas Is Ultimately Empty, Like an Illusion
Subhūti gives rise to this thought: Since the bodhisattva is able to do such great deeds, and yet his outflows are not yet exhausted, how can he attain non-clinging with regard to dharmas and also not give rise to a self-exalting mind?
Here the Buddha himself speaks a simile: If a conjurer at a crossroads conjures up all kinds of things and, according to what people need, is able to give them everything—what do you think, Subhūti? Does this conjurer really give anything? Is there really someone who receives and uses it, someone who enjoys it?
Subhūti replies: This is only empty deception; in truth there is nothing.
The Buddha says: The bodhisattva is also like this. Although he makes a Buddha-body, becomes a wheel-turning sage king, and gives to beings with wealth and with Dharma, he too, like the conjurer, in truth gives nothing. Why is this? Because the mark of all dharmas is ultimately empty, like an illusion, like a conjuration.
Through the Causes and Conditions of the Two Perfections of Dāna and Śīla He Is Wealthy and Noble among Humans and Becomes a Wheel-turning Sage King; through the Other Perfections He Becomes a Brahmā King or a Dharma-body Bodhisattva; What Other Dharma Besides the Six Perfections Can Adorn?—All Merits Are Contained in the Six Perfections
The other five perfections are likewise; they are to be explained distinctly according to their meaning.
Furthermore, through the causes and conditions of dānapāramitā and śīlapāramitā, the bodhisattva is wealthy and noble among humans and becomes a wheel-turning sage king. Through the other perfections he becomes either a king of the Brahmā heavens or a dharma-body bodhisattva.
Question: Besides the six perfections, what other dharma is there that can adorn?
Answer: All merits are contained in the six perfections.
Some say: There are, in addition, the perfection of knowledge, the perfection of skilful means, and so on.
The bodhisattva, in worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, according to what is fitting for those to be ferried across, creates all kinds of causes and conditions to teach them the Dharma, causing beings to abide in the six perfections.
The Decided Vow Is Called the Great Adornment—Not Forming Thoughts That Discriminate Whom He Ferries Across, He Shall Make Immeasurable Beings All Abide in the Merits; ‘Establishing Oneself Like a Conjurer’—This Is Called Arousing the Great Adornment
Furthermore, the decided vow is called the great adornment; that is, the bodhisattva does not give rise to this thought: I ferry across such-and-such a number of people, making them abide in dānapāramitā, and cannot ferry across the rest; and up to the eighteen unshared dharmas it is likewise. Nor does he give rise to this thought: I make such-and-such a number of people attain the fruit of srota-āpanna, and cannot make such-and-such a number of people attain the fruit of srota-āpanna; and up to the Buddha path it is likewise. He only thinks: I shall make immeasurable asaṃkhyeya beings all abide in the merits, namely dānapāramitā up to omniscience of all kinds.
As for the sūtra's words ‘establishing oneself like a conjurer’, it is as said before.
This is called arousing the great adornment.
What follows is the sūtra text.
Subhūti Sets Forth Emptiness of Specific Marks—No Great Adornment Is the Great Adornment; Form Is Empty of the Mark of Form, up to the Bodhisattva Is Empty of the Mark of a Bodhisattva
At that time Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! According to the meaning I have heard from the Buddha, for the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, no great adornment is the great adornment, because all dharmas are empty of their specific marks. That is: form—the mark of form is empty; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness—the mark of consciousness is empty. The eye—the mark of the eye is empty, up to the mind—the mark of the mind is empty. Form—the mark of form is empty, up to dharmas—the mark of dharmas is empty. Eye-consciousness—the mark of eye-consciousness is empty, up to mind-consciousness—the mark of mind-consciousness is empty. Eye-contact—the mark of eye-contact is empty, up to mind-contact—the mark of mind-contact is empty. Feeling born of the conditions of eye-contact—the mark of feeling is empty, up to feeling born of the conditions of mind-contact—the mark of feeling is empty. World-Honored One! Dāna-pāramitā—the mark of dānapāramitā is empty, up to prajñāpāramitā—the mark of prajñāpāramitā is empty. Inner emptiness—the empty mark of inner emptiness is empty, up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas—the mark of the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas is empty. The four foundations of mindfulness—the mark of the four foundations of mindfulness is empty, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas—the mark of the eighteen unshared dharmas is empty. The bodhisattva—the mark of the bodhisattva is empty. World-Honored One! For this reason one should know that for the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, no great adornment is the great adornment.’
The Buddha Confirms: Sarvajñā Is Not a Made Dharma—Sarvajñā Is Not a Made Dharma, Beings Too Are Not Made Dharmas, and the Bodhisattva Adorns Himself Greatly for These Beings; Subhūti Asks for What Cause and Condition
The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘So it is, so it is, just as you say. Subhūti! Sarvajñā is not a made dharma; beings too are not made dharmas; and the bodhisattva adorns himself greatly for the sake of these beings.’
Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! For what cause and condition is sarvajñā not a made dharma, are these beings too not made dharmas, and does the bodhisattva adorn himself greatly for the sake of these beings?’
Because the Maker Cannot Be Found—Neither Made nor Not Made, Enumerated in Full: Form up to Sarvajñā and Omniscience of All Kinds, All Because They Are Ultimately Not to Be Found
The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Because the maker cannot be found, sarvajñā is not a made, not an arisen dharma, and these beings too are not made, not arisen dharmas. Why is this, Subhūti? Form is neither made nor not made; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither made nor not made. The eye is neither made nor not made, up to the mind is neither made nor not made. Forms up to dharmas, eye-consciousness up to mind-consciousness, eye-contact up to mind-contact, feeling born of the conditions of eye-contact up to feeling born of the conditions of mind-contact—all are neither made nor not made. Subhūti! The self is neither made nor not made, up to the knower and the seer are neither made nor not made. Why is this? Because these dharmas are ultimately not to be found. Subhūti! A dream is neither made nor not made. Why is this? Because it is ultimately not to be found. An illusion, an echo, a reflection, a mirage, a conjuration are neither made nor not made. Why is this? Because they are ultimately not to be found. Subhūti! Inner emptiness is neither made nor not made, because it is ultimately not to be found, up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas is neither made nor not made, because it is ultimately not to be found. Subhūti! The four foundations of mindfulness are neither made nor not made, because they are ultimately not to be found, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas are neither made nor not made. Why is this? Because these dharmas are all ultimately not to be found. Subhūti! The suchness of dharmas, the mark of dharmas, dharma-nature, the abiding of dharmas, the fixed position of dharmas, and the limit of reality are neither made nor not made, because they are ultimately not to be found. Subhūti! Awakening is neither made nor not made, because it is ultimately not to be found; sarvajñā and omniscience of all kinds are neither made nor not made, because they are ultimately not to be found. For this reason, Subhūti, sarvajñā is not a made, not an arisen dharma, these beings too are not made, not arisen dharmas, and the bodhisattva adorns himself greatly for the sake of these beings.’
Subhūti Sets Forth That Form Is Neither Bound nor Freed; Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra Asks in Return, and Subhūti Answers ‘So It Is’
At that time Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘As I observe the meaning of what the Buddha teaches, World-Honored One, form is neither bound nor freed; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed.’
At that time Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra asked Subhūti: ‘Is form neither bound nor freed? Are feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness neither bound nor freed?’
Subhūti replied: ‘So it is, so it is: form is neither bound nor freed; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed.’
Pūrṇa Asks ‘What Form Is Neither Bound nor Freed?’; What Is Like a Dream, and Like an Echo, a Reflection, an Illusion, a Mirage, a Conjuration, Is Neither Bound nor Freed
Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra asked Subhūti: ‘What form is neither bound nor freed? What feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed?’
Subhūti replied: ‘Form that is like a dream is neither bound nor freed; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness that are like a dream are neither bound nor freed. Form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness that are like an echo, like a reflection, like an illusion, like a mirage, like a conjuration are neither bound nor freed.
The Three Times Are Neither Bound nor Freed—Why Neither Bound nor Freed? Because Nothing Exists, Because of Separation, Because of Stillness and Extinction, Because of Non-arising
‘Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra! Past form is neither bound nor freed; past feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed. Future form is neither bound nor freed; future feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed. Present form is neither bound nor freed; present feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed. Why are they neither bound nor freed? Because this form is nothing that exists, it is neither bound nor freed. Because feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are nothing that exists, they are neither bound nor freed. Because of separation, because of stillness and extinction, because of non-arising, they are neither bound nor freed.
The Wholesome, the Unwholesome, and the Indeterminate, the Worldly and the World-transcending, with Outflows and without Outflows—All Dharmas Are Neither Bound nor Freed
‘Pūrṇa! Wholesome form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed; unwholesome form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed; indeterminate form is neither bound nor freed; indeterminate feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed. Worldly, world-transcending, with-outflow, and outflow-free form is neither bound nor freed, and feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness too are neither bound nor freed. Why is this? Because nothing exists, because of separation, because of stillness and extinction, because of non-arising, they are neither bound nor freed. Pūrṇa! All dharmas too are neither bound nor freed, because nothing exists, because of separation, because of stillness and extinction, because of non-arising.
The Six Perfections Are All Neither Bound nor Freed
‘Pūrṇa! Dāna-pāramitā is neither bound nor freed; śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā are neither bound nor freed. Because nothing exists, because of separation, because of stillness and extinction, because of non-arising, they are neither bound nor freed.
The Eighteen Emptinesses, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, the Fruit of Awakening, Omniscience and Omniscience of All Kinds, the Bodhisattva and the Buddha Are All Neither Bound nor Freed
‘Pūrṇa! Inner emptiness too is neither bound nor freed, up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas too is neither bound nor freed. The four foundations of mindfulness are neither bound nor freed, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas are neither bound nor freed. Because nothing exists, because of separation, because of stillness and extinction, because of non-arising, they are neither bound nor freed. Anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is neither bound nor freed; omniscience and omniscience of all kinds are neither bound nor freed. The bodhisattva is neither bound nor freed, and the Buddha too is neither bound nor freed. Because nothing exists, because of separation, because of stillness and extinction, because of non-arising, they are neither bound nor freed.
The Suchness of Dharmas with Its Five Other Names, and the Unconditioned Dharma, Are Neither Bound nor Freed
‘Pūrṇa! The suchness of dharmas, the mark of dharmas, dharma-nature, the abiding of dharmas, the fixed position of dharmas, the limit of reality, and the unconditioned dharma are neither bound nor freed. Because nothing exists, because of separation, because of stillness and extinction, because of non-arising, they are neither bound nor freed.
Summation—Abiding in Dāna-pāramitā up to Omniscience of All Kinds That Are Neither Bound nor Freed, Bringing Beings to Maturity, Purifying Buddha-worlds, up to Establishing the Three Vehicles: This Is Called the Great Adornment That Is Neither Bound nor Freed
‘Pūrṇa! This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's dānapāramitā up to prajñāpāramitā that is neither bound nor freed; the four foundations of mindfulness up to omniscience of all kinds are neither bound nor freed. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides in dānapāramitā that is neither bound nor freed, up to abiding in prajñāpāramitā that is neither bound nor freed; he abides in the four foundations of mindfulness that are neither bound nor freed, up to abiding in omniscience of all kinds that is neither bound nor freed. Neither bound nor freed, he brings beings to maturity; neither bound nor freed, he purifies Buddha-worlds. Neither bound nor freed, he shall make offerings to the Buddhas; neither bound nor freed, he shall hear and receive the teaching of the Dharma. Neither bound nor freed, he never departs from the Buddhas; neither bound nor freed, he never departs from the spiritual powers; neither bound nor freed, he never departs from the five eyes. Neither bound nor freed, he never departs from the dhāraṇī gates; neither bound nor freed, he never departs from the samādhi. Neither bound nor freed, he shall give rise to the knowledge of the kinds of paths; neither bound nor freed, he shall attain omniscience of all kinds. Neither bound nor freed, he turns the Dharma wheel; neither bound nor freed, he establishes beings in the three vehicles. Thus, Pūrṇa, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises the six perfections that are neither bound nor freed should know that all dharmas are neither bound nor freed, because nothing exists, because of separation, because of stillness and extinction, because of non-arising. Pūrṇa! This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's great adornment that is neither bound nor freed.’
What follows is the treatise's explanation.
The Treatise-author Explains ‘No Great Adornment Is the Great Adornment’ as Because of Emptiness of Specific Marks—Fearing That Beings Hearing the Very Deep Meaning Would Shrink Back, Subhūti Says That Arousing the Great Adornment Is Neither Deep nor Difficult
The treatise-author explains.
Subhūti says: According to the meaning of the Buddha that I have heard, no great adornment is the great adornment. Why is this? Because of emptiness of specific marks.
Question: For what reason does Subhūti say this?
Answer: The meaning of arousing the great adornment that the Buddha teaches is very deep, hard to attain, and hard to understand. When the beings in the assembly hear this matter, their minds may shrink back, and they think: Such an adornment is ultimately empty, and moreover, by the power of spiritual powers, one can in a single moment reach everywhere throughout worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges to meet the needs of beings—this, they say, is the affair of a sage king; how could we know it? For this reason Subhūti says: Arousing the great adornment is not deep and not difficult. Not only is arousing the great adornment empty of its specific mark, easy to practise and easy to attain; in form, a fixed mark of form cannot be found, and up to the eighteen unshared dharmas it is likewise. If a bodhisattva is able in this way to know the empty, still, and extinguished mark of all dharmas, yet does not abandon his original vow and is vigorous without ceasing, for this reason it is called arousing the great adornment, and this is not hard to attain.
The Buddha Confirms ‘So It Is’—Made Dharmas Are All Empty Deception; Sarvajñā Has No Made Dharma, and Beings, Being Ultimately Empty, Also Have No Made Dharma; Because the Maker Cannot Be Found, Omniscience Is Not of the Mark of Something Made
The Buddha confirms what Subhūti has said, and so he says ‘so it is’. Made dharmas are all empty deception; therefore he says: Sarvajñā has no made dharma; and because beings are ultimately empty, they also have no made dharma.
The Buddha says: Because the maker cannot be found, omniscience is not of the mark of something made. Because beings cannot be found, the maker cannot be found. Because the maker cannot be found, sarvajñā is not of the mark of something made or arisen. Furthermore, form too has nothing it is able to make, because dharmas are empty; and up to the dharmas of the Buddhas it is likewise.
Refuting the Doubt That What Is Like an Illusion Still Has the Mark of Coming and Going—What Is Like an Illusion or a Mirage Has No Mark of Making and Is Ultimately Not to Be Found
Subhūti and the others think: Among dharmas there is no fixed mark of making; yet it is like an illusion, which, although it has no real substance, has the mark of coming and going. For this reason the Buddha says: What is like an illusion, like a mirage, and so on, has no mark of making, because it is ultimately not to be found.
Refuting Three Doubts: That the Eighteen Emptinesses Are Real Because They Have a Use; That Suchness, Dharma-nature, and the Limit of Reality Are Real and So Should Make Something; and That the Bodhisattva, the Buddha, and Omniscience of All Kinds Are Real Dharmas Able to Make
At this time the listeners give rise to this thought: The eighteen emptinesses are able to refute all dharmas; this is having a use, this is being real—and so they say there is making. Therefore the Buddha says: Inner emptiness makes nothing, up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, and on to the eighteen unshared dharmas, also make nothing.
If someone thinks: Now these eighteen emptinesses are conditioned, empty deception without reality, and so they can make nothing; but suchness, dharma-nature, and the limit of reality are real dharmas and should make something. Why? Because all conditioned dharmas are each causes for one another, and unconditioned dharmas too act as causes for conditioned dharmas. The Buddha then says: Suchness, dharma-nature, the limit of reality, the abiding of dharmas, and the fixed position of dharmas also make nothing.
Again, someone thinks: The bodhisattva, the Buddha, and omniscience of all kinds are real dharmas and are able to make something. For this reason the Buddha says: These dharmas too, because they are ultimately empty, also make nothing. For the mark of making is born of causes and conditions.
Neither Bound nor Released—The Practitioner Doubts: If No Dharma Makes Anything, How Is One Freed from Suffering?; the Five Aggregates Are Neither Bound nor Released; with No Maker, Who Is Bound and Who Is Released?
The practitioner thinks: The Buddha-dharma is very hard to obtain, very rare. If all dharmas make nothing and are neither bound nor freed, how can we be freed from suffering? For this reason Subhūti says to the Buddha: According to the meaning of the Buddha as I understand it, the five aggregates are neither bound nor freed. If they are ultimately empty and there is no maker, then who is bound, and who is freed?
The Dharmas of Ordinary People Are Empty Deception and So Are Not Bondage; the Dharmas of the Noble Ones Are Ultimately Empty and So Are Not Liberation; the Bodhisattva Path That Is Neither Bound nor Freed
The dharmas of ordinary people are empty deception and cannot be found, so they are not bondage. The dharmas of the noble ones are ultimately empty and cannot be found, so they are not liberation.
The five aggregates that are like a dream and so on, the five aggregates of the three times, the wholesome, unwholesome, and other five aggregates, and all dharmas are likewise, up to the limit of reality and so on, which are all likewise. Because nothing exists, because of separation, because of non-arising, they are neither bound nor freed. This is called the bodhisattva path of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva that is not bound and not freed.
Abiding on This Path He Is Not Dragged Down, and So Is Not Bound; He Does Not Break the Afflictions with Outflow-free Dharmas, and So Is Not Freed; in Sum, Being Neither Bound nor Freed Is the Mark of Arousing the Great Adornment
Abiding on this path, the afflictions do not drag the bodhisattva down among ordinary people; therefore it is said he is not bound. He does not break the afflictions by means of outflow-free dharmas; therefore it is said he is not freed.
The bodhisattva's teaching and transforming beings, purifying Buddha-worlds, up to the five spiritual powers, the five eyes, the dhāraṇīs, and the samādhi gates, never departing from the Buddha, and establishing beings in the three vehicles—these too are neither bound nor freed. Why is this? Because all dharmas are nothing that exists, because of separation, because of stillness and extinction, because of non-arising, because of ultimate emptiness.
By causes and conditions of all these kinds, this is called the mark of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's arousing the great adornment, namely not being bound and not being freed.
無縛無脫品：菩薩以『大莊嚴』釋摩訶薩而極於『無大莊嚴為大莊嚴』——摩訶衍大莊嚴即六度四念處乃至十八不共法莊嚴、變身如佛化作轉輪聖王盡給所須而雖有所施實無所與如幻，決定誓願應薩婆若心不生我教若干人念；諸法自相空故無莊嚴相為真莊嚴，薩婆若非作法作者不可得故非作非不作，色乃至佛無縛無脫無所有故離故寂滅故不生故，凡夫法虛誑故非縛聖人法畢竟空故非解，不縛不解菩薩道即發大莊嚴相
在問什麼
這一品承接前面幾品說摩訶薩的義——富樓那先立大莊嚴、發趣大乘、乘於大乘三句，這一品便回到頭一句「大莊嚴」上，把它說到底。須菩提一開口便問「何等是大莊嚴」「何等菩薩能大莊嚴」，佛答以摩訶衍大莊嚴，這一品的名，正落在這個「大莊嚴」上。全品的幾個難處由此逼出。其一，說是大莊嚴，莊嚴的究竟是甚麼、拿甚麼莊嚴——是六度、四念處乃至十八不共法及一切種智的莊嚴，又變身如佛、放光動地，化作轉輪聖王盡給眾生所須，這與尋常的華飾榮盛有何分別，而佛偏又說「雖有所施，實無所與」，施而無所與，那還施個甚麼。其二，決定誓願一段說菩薩「應薩婆若心」而「不生是念」——不生我教某數之人、不教某數之人的分別念，卻又發願「我當令無量無邊阿僧祇眾生住檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜」，不分別而普度，這兩頭豈不相礙。其三，前面盛陳大莊嚴，須菩提卻翻轉一句「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，諸法自相空故」——無莊嚴纔是莊嚴，這是廢去莊嚴嗎。其四，佛印可之下又立「薩婆若非作法」「作者不可得故」，色乃至薩婆若一切種智皆「非作非不作」——若薩婆若、菩提、眾生都非造作，那菩薩的莊嚴、所修所證豈不落空。其五，全品的眼目在「無縛無脫」——色乃至佛都無縛無脫，若既無繫縛、亦無解脫，那修道求脫落在何處，行者正是這樣疑問。這一品要回答的是這樣一件事：菩薩之名摩訶薩，在這一品落在「大莊嚴」上，而大莊嚴的極致，恰恰是「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴」——莊嚴宛然而諸法自相空、無所有故，故莊嚴而不取莊嚴之相；修證歷然而作者不可得，故不縛不解。這「不縛不解」，論末一句點定，正就是「發大莊嚴相」。
逐段解明
先看須菩提問、佛答的這一段經文。須菩提問「何等是大莊嚴」「何等菩薩能大莊嚴」，佛答以摩訶衍大莊嚴，先總標六度莊嚴、四念處乃至八聖道分莊嚴、內空乃至無法有法空莊嚴、十力乃至十八不共法及一切種智莊嚴，又變身如佛、光明遍照、大地六種振動——這是莊嚴的總相。隨即落到事上：菩薩住檀波羅蜜，化作轉輪聖王，把三千大千世界變為琉璃，隨眾生所欲，飲食衣服乃至醫藥種種所須盡給與之，給已而為說六波羅蜜法。這樣的盛給大施，佛卻緊接一喻煞住：譬如幻術師於四衢道中化作大眾而給施之，「是幻師實有眾生有給與不」，須菩提答「不也」，佛便結成「雖有所施，實無所與」，何以故，「諸法相如幻故」。此下尸羅、羼提、毘梨耶、禪、般若五度，各各住一度而教化眾生、各附一幻師喻，收於「是名菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴」；又十方遍行六度一喻，末以決定誓願一段總收：菩薩「應薩婆若心」而「不生是念」——不生我教若干人、不教若干人的分別，只發「我當令無量無邊阿僧祇眾生住檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜」的普願，仍以幻師喻收攝。莊嚴之盛、施化之廣，一路都被如幻、實無所與之義收住，這是經①的骨眼。
接著論主開釋大莊嚴。論主先牒定緣起：須菩提恐富樓那未得一切智而說或有錯，故問佛取定。隨即釋菩薩之神通大用——為出家好道眾生化作佛身、放光動地而說法令得三乘，為在家好樂眾生作轉輪聖王、雨寶充足而後說菩薩法，是以財施、法施二施利益眾生，而「亦不於諸法中生著相，亦不自高」。須菩提於是疑：菩薩諸漏未盡，何以能於諸法不著、不自高。佛便自說幻師之喻答之，須菩提答「是但虛誑，實無所有」，佛遂結成菩薩雖作佛身、轉輪聖王而以財法施眾生，「亦如幻師實無所與」，何以故，「諸法相畢竟空如幻」——與經①那一串幻師喻首尾相印。論主又釋檀尸二度因緣得人中富貴作轉輪聖王、餘度或作梵王或作法身菩薩，答「六波羅蜜外，更有何法可莊嚴」而歸於「諸功德皆六波羅蜜中攝」，末以決定誓願一段釋成「是名發大莊嚴」。
再看須菩提翻轉的這一段經文。須菩提陳自己所聞之義：「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴」，何以故，「諸法自相空故」——色色相空、受想行識識相空，眼乃至意、色乃至法、諸識諸觸、諸受、六度、十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法、乃至菩薩菩薩相空，一路自相皆空，故知無莊嚴之相纔是大莊嚴。佛印可「如是」，並進一步立「薩婆若非作法，眾生亦非作法，菩薩為是眾生大莊嚴」。須菩提問何因緣故，佛答「作者不可得故」，薩婆若非作非起法、眾生亦非作非起法，於是色受想行識、我及知者見者、夢與幻嚮影焰化、十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法、諸法如等五異名、菩提、薩婆若及一切種智，一一皆「非作非不作」，皆「畢竟不可得故」。此下便轉入全品的正題：須菩提說「色無縛無脫，受、想、行、識無縛無脫」，富樓那彌多羅尼子反問而印可，再問「何等色無縛無脫」，須菩提乃長篇作答——如夢，如嚮影幻焰化，過去未來現在三世，善不善無記、世出世間有漏無漏，一切法，六波羅蜜，十八空，四念處乃至十八不共法，菩提果與一切智一切種智，菩薩與佛，諸法如等五異名及無為法，無不無縛無脫，而句句歸於一個公式：「無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故，無縛無脫」。末以住無縛無脫六度乃至一切種智、成就眾生淨佛世界乃至安立三乘總收，結成「無縛無脫大莊嚴」——莊嚴的極致，就在這無縛無脫上。
末後論主釋這無縛無脫一段。論主先釋須菩提何以說「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴」，其故在「自相空故」：發大莊嚴義甚深難解，會中眾生恐聞而退沒，故須菩提反說「發大莊嚴非深非難」，只要能知諸法空寂滅相而不捨本願、精進，便是發大莊嚴，並非難得。次證佛言「如是」，釋「薩婆若非作法」由「作者不可得故」——一切智非作相、薩婆若非作非起相，乃至諸佛法亦無所能作。此下連破三疑：破諸法雖無定作之相而如幻似有來去之相的疑，答如幻如焰無作相畢竟不可得；破十八空能破一切法故似是有用、是則為實的疑；破如、法性、實際是真實法應當有作、菩薩佛一切種智是實法能有所作的疑，一一答以畢竟空故無所作。疑既盡，行者仍念「諸法都無作、無縛無解者，我等云何當從苦得脫」，須菩提乃直答「五眾無縛無解」，「若畢竟空無有作者，誰縛誰解」——這是全品最要緊的一問一答。論主遂點出正義：「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」，如夢等五眾乃至實際等一切法，無所有故、離故、不生故，皆無縛無解，「是名菩薩摩訶薩不縛不解菩薩道」。住是道中，煩惱不牽墮故名不縛，不假無漏法破煩惱故名不解，而教化眾生、淨佛世界乃至安立三乘宛然不廢。全品收於論末一句：「是名菩薩摩訶薩發大莊嚴相，所謂不縛不解」——大莊嚴之相，正是不縛不解。
不要讀錯
第一，不要把「大莊嚴」讀成外相的華飾、形量的莊麗。經明說莊嚴的是六度、四念處乃至十八不共法及一切種智，是內修諸行以趣佛道；化作轉輪聖王盡給眾生所須，而佛以幻師喻煞住，結成「雖有所施，實無所與」，何以故，「諸法相如幻故」——施化宛然而不著施相、不見受者，莊嚴的是行，不是妝點外相。
第二，不要把菩薩「應薩婆若心」而「不生是念」讀成不度眾生、無所作為。所不生的，是我教某數之人、不教某數之人那分別齊限之念；正在這不分別處，發起「我當令無量無邊阿僧祇眾生住檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜」的普願——不分別正是普為一切，不是不度。
第三，不要把「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴」讀成撥去莊嚴、廢事落空。所以說無，是「諸法自相空故」——色色相空乃至菩薩菩薩相空，所無的是莊嚴之相，不是莊嚴之行。莊嚴之相不可得而莊嚴之行不廢，無莊嚴相纔是真莊嚴，不是廢去莊嚴。
第四，不要把「薩婆若非作法」「作者不可得故」讀成無因果、無所修證。所遮的是實有一個造作者、實有一個所作之法；經文說「非作非不作」，連「不作」也一併遮去——遮作以破執實，遮不作以防落空，雙非並遣，正不是墮入斷滅無所知。
第五，不要把「無縛無脫」讀成既無繫縛便亦無解脫可求、修道落空。論自釋得分明：「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」——所遮的是實有繫縛可縛、實有無漏法能解，不是無有解脫。故名「不縛不解菩薩道」，而住是道中教化眾生、淨佛世界乃至安立三乘宛然不廢，不縛不解正是菩薩道的成就，不是無事可修。
修行作用
這一品最切近用功處，是把「大莊嚴」收到「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴」、無縛無脫這一味上。其一，莊嚴的下手，不在外相，而在行六度時念念「應薩婆若心」，而不取莊嚴之相——布施盡給所須而知「雖有所施，實無所與」，行檀而不見施者受者財物，這便是大莊嚴在日用中的落處。其二，那「無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故」的四句，是日用受持的把柄——色受想行識乃至菩提與佛，凡所稱名，觀其無所有、觀其寂滅不生，於名相不生實執，於是無縛無脫。其三，是「作者不可得故」的一味——行處歷然而不見一個能作的我，布施而不見能施、修道而不見能修，作者既不可得，繫縛便無所著。其四，是「不縛不解」的落處——煩惱不牽墮凡夫故名不縛，不假無漏法破煩惱故名不解，而教化眾生、淨佛世界、乃至安立眾生於三乘宛然不廢。這無所得而行、莊嚴而不取所莊嚴，正是這一品從頭到尾的發大莊嚴。
承衍
後來有古德為這一品逐文作疏，一開卷的總目便為它列名「莊嚴品第十七」，逐文之疏亦題作莊嚴品——與這一品所釋的那部經題名一致，未取「無縛無脫」為題。這一品的名，本論題作「無縛無脫」，而所釋之經題作「莊嚴」，古來別譯又有逕題為無縛之類——兩名並存，各有所本，並錄而不判孰為正；所以並存，正因這一品本有兩層主題，一是大莊嚴，一是無縛無脫，取此取彼，只是各本判何者為篇之重心的不同。
這古德還為本品立了一重科判：把它判在歎法諸品之首，先開為「問法」「問人」兩問，佛答亦分答法問、答人問——答法問正對這一品的大莊嚴一層。他釋論主所明的行果莊嚴，又分為四段：作佛身、作轉輪聖王身、作梵王身及菩薩身、住方便二度而現一切身——這四段，與本論論主所釋的化佛身度出家眾、作轉輪聖王度在家眾、餘波羅蜜或作梵王或作法身菩薩、十方遍行而自變其身，逐節相合。到了須菩提白佛「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴」以下，他判為第二段須菩提自陳所解，內開生法二空之述與問答；至「無縛無脫」一層，他別立「重除疑」一科：時會之眾聞畢竟無作的甚深之義，恐生若畢竟無作則無人法可得解脫之疑，故佛舉解以破之，分明無縛脫、明無縛無脫故得利益二節——縛既不可得故無所謂解，正與本品富樓那與須菩提那一番問答的義理動機逐義相合。這一科判，一次涵蓋大莊嚴與無縛無脫兩層，節節與本品經文可以相對，是本品一份完整而可對驗的古德科判。
把這古德的讀法帶回本品，最要留住的仍是那一句：菩薩之名摩訶薩，在這一品落在「大莊嚴」上，而大莊嚴的極致即是「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴」——名有莊嚴、無縛無脫之異，義只是這一味諸法自相空、無所有故，而莊嚴宛然、施化不廢，作者不可得而不縛不解。
Neither Bound nor Freed: ‘Mahāsattva’ Explained for the Bodhisattva by ‘the Great Adornment’ and Carried to Its Limit in ‘No Great Adornment Is the Great Adornment’—The Mahāyāna Great Adornment Is the Adornment of the Six Perfections, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, and So On up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; He Transforms His Body to Be Like a Buddha and Conjures Himself as a Wheel-Turning Sage King Who Supplies Every Need, yet Though There Is Giving, in Truth Nothing Is Given, as in an Illusion; In His Resolute Vow, with a Mind in Accord with Sarvajñā, He Does Not Give Rise to the Thought ‘I Teach So Many People’; Because All Dharmas Are Empty of Their Specific Marks, the Mark of No Adornment Is the True Adornment; Sarvajñā Is Not a Made Dharma, and Because the Maker Cannot Be Found It Is Neither Made nor Not Made; Form and So On up to the Buddha Are Neither Bound nor Freed Because They Are Nothing Whatever, Because They Are Apart, Because They Are Quiescent, Because They Do Not Arise; The Dharmas of Ordinary People Are False and Deceptive, Hence Not Bondage, and the Dharmas of the Noble Ones Are Ultimately Empty, Hence Not Release; The Bodhisattva Path Neither Bound nor Released Is Itself the Mark of Arousing the Great Adornment
What Is Being Asked
This chapter carries on from the meaning of “mahāsattva” set out in the several chapters before it—Pūrṇa first set up three phrases, the great adornment, setting out toward the Great Vehicle, and riding the Great Vehicle, and this chapter returns to the first of them, “the great adornment,” and speaks it through to the end. The moment Subhūti opens his mouth he asks 「何等是大莊嚴」 tr. "what is the great adornment?" and 「何等菩薩能大莊嚴」 tr. "what bodhisattva is able to put on the great adornment?", and the Buddha answers with the Mahāyāna great adornment; the name of this chapter falls squarely on this “great adornment.” The several difficulties of the whole chapter are forced out from here. First: since it is called the great adornment, what exactly is it that is adorned, and with what is it adorned? It is the adornment of the six perfections, of the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas and omniscience of all kinds; he also transforms his body to be like a buddha, emits light and shakes the earth, and conjures himself as a wheel-turning sage king who supplies beings with everything they need—how does this differ from ordinary ornament and splendour? And yet the Buddha goes on to say 「雖有所施，實無所與」 tr. "though there is giving, in truth nothing is given"—giving, and yet nothing given: what, then, is being given at all? Second: the section on the resolute vow says that the bodhisattva, 「應薩婆若心」 tr. "with a mind in accord with sarvajñā (omniscience)," 「不生是念」 tr. "does not give rise to this thought"—does not give rise to the discriminating thought that I teach a certain number of people and do not teach a certain number of people—and yet he vows, 「我當令無量無邊阿僧祇眾生住檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜」 tr. "I shall cause immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya beings to abide in the perfection of giving, and so on up to prajñāpāramitā": not discriminating, and yet liberating all—do these two ends not obstruct each other? Third: after the great adornment has been set out in all its splendour, Subhūti turns it round with a single phrase, 「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，諸法自相空故」 tr. "no great adornment is the great adornment, because all dharmas are empty of their specific marks"—only no adornment is adornment: is this doing away with adornment? Fourth: beneath the Buddha’s approval it is further established that 「薩婆若非作法」 tr. "sarvajñā is not a made dharma," 「作者不可得故」 tr. "because the maker cannot be found," and form and so on up to sarvajñā and omniscience of all kinds are all 「非作非不作」 tr. "neither made nor not made"—if sarvajñā, awakening, and beings are all not made, do not the bodhisattva’s adornment, and what he cultivates and what he realises, fall into emptiness? Fifth: the eye of the whole chapter lies in “neither bound nor freed”—form and so on up to the Buddha are all neither bound nor freed; if there is neither bondage nor liberation, where then does cultivating the path and seeking freedom come to land? This is exactly the doubt practitioners raise. What this chapter sets out to answer is this one matter: the bodhisattva’s name, mahāsattva, lands in this chapter on “the great adornment,” and the utmost of the great adornment is precisely “no great adornment is the great adornment”—the adornment is vividly present, yet because all dharmas are empty of their specific marks and are nothing whatever, he adorns without grasping the mark of adornment; cultivation and realisation are distinct and clear, yet the maker cannot be found, and so he is neither bound nor released. This “neither bound nor released,” as the treatise’s final sentence settles it, is exactly “the mark of arousing the great adornment.”
Passage by Passage
First, look at this section of the sūtra in which Subhūti asks and the Buddha answers. Subhūti asks “what is the great adornment?” and “what bodhisattva is able to put on the great adornment?”, and the Buddha answers with the Mahāyāna great adornment. He first sets out in summary the adornment of the six perfections, the adornment of the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eightfold noble path, the adornment of inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, and the adornment of the ten powers and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas and omniscience of all kinds; and further, he transforms his body to be like a buddha, his light shines everywhere, and the great earth quakes in six ways—this is the general mark of the adornment. At once it comes down to the concrete matter: the bodhisattva, abiding in the perfection of giving, conjures himself as a wheel-turning sage king, turns the three-thousand great-thousand world into beryl, and according to what beings desire gives them every kind of thing they need—food and drink, clothing, and so on up to medicine—and having given, teaches them the Dharma of the six perfections. Such abundant supply and great giving the Buddha nonetheless brings to a halt at once with a simile: it is like a conjurer who, at a crossroads, conjures up a great crowd and makes gifts to them—「是幻師實有眾生有給與不」 tr. "does this conjurer really have beings, and is there any giving?" Subhūti answers, “No indeed,” and the Buddha then concludes, 「雖有所施，實無所與」 tr. "though there is giving, in truth nothing is given"; and why? 「諸法相如幻故」 tr. "because the mark of dharmas is like an illusion." After this come the five perfections of morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and prajñā: in each, abiding in one perfection he teaches and transforms beings, and each is accompanied by a simile of the conjurer, gathered up in “this is called the great adornment of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva”; there is also a simile of going everywhere through the ten directions practising the six perfections, and at the end the section on the resolute vow gathers it all up: the bodhisattva, “with a mind in accord with sarvajñā,” “does not give rise to this thought”—does not give rise to the discrimination that I teach so many people and do not teach so many people, but only makes the universal vow, “I shall cause immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya beings to abide in the perfection of giving, and so on up to prajñāpāramitā,” and this too is gathered in by the simile of the conjurer. The splendour of the adornment and the breadth of the giving and transforming are held in check all the way through by the meaning of ‘like an illusion’ and ‘in truth nothing is given’—this is the backbone of Sūtra ①.
Next, the treatise-author opens up the meaning of the great adornment. The treatise-author first fixes the occasion: Subhūti, fearing that Pūrṇa, not yet having attained omniscience, might have spoken with some error, therefore asks the Buddha to have it settled. He then explains the bodhisattva’s great function of spiritual penetration—for beings who have left home and love the path he conjures up a buddha-body, emits light and shakes the earth, and teaches the Dharma, enabling them to attain the three vehicles; for householder beings who love pleasure he becomes a wheel-turning sage king, rains down treasures in abundance, and afterwards teaches the bodhisattva Dharma—so benefiting beings with the two gifts, the gift of wealth and the gift of Dharma, and 「亦不於諸法中生著相，亦不自高」 tr. "he also does not give rise to the mark of attachment among dharmas, and also does not exalt himself." Subhūti then doubts: the bodhisattva’s outflows are not yet exhausted—how can he be unattached to dharmas and not exalt himself? The Buddha then himself speaks the simile of the conjurer to answer him; Subhūti answers, 「是但虛誑，實無所有」 tr. "this is only false and deceptive; in truth there is nothing there"; and the Buddha thereupon concludes that the bodhisattva, though he makes a buddha-body or a wheel-turning sage king and gives to beings with wealth and Dharma, 「亦如幻師實無所與」 tr. "is also like the conjurer: in truth nothing is given"; and why? 「諸法相畢竟空如幻」 tr. "the mark of dharmas is ultimately empty, like an illusion"—answering, head to tail, that string of conjurer similes in Sūtra ①. The treatise-author further explains that by the causes and conditions of the two perfections of giving and morality one obtains wealth and nobility among humans and becomes a wheel-turning sage king, while by the other perfections one becomes the Brahmā king or a dharma-body bodhisattva; he answers the question “apart from the six perfections, what other dharma is there with which to adorn?” and brings it home to “all merits are gathered within the six perfections”; and at the end he explains the section on the resolute vow, concluding, “this is called arousing the great adornment.”
Look next at this section of the sūtra in which Subhūti turns it round. Subhūti sets out the meaning he himself has heard: 「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴」 tr. "no great adornment is the great adornment"; and why? 「諸法自相空故」 tr. "because all dharmas are empty of their specific marks"—form is empty of the mark of form; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness—consciousness is empty of the mark of consciousness; eye and so on up to mind, forms and so on up to dharmas, the consciousnesses, the contacts, the feelings, the six perfections, the eighteen emptinesses, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and so on up to the bodhisattva, empty of the mark of bodhisattva—all the way through, each is empty of its specific mark, and so one knows that the absence of the mark of adornment is precisely the great adornment. The Buddha approves, “So it is,” and goes a step further, establishing, 「薩婆若非作法，眾生亦非作法，菩薩為是眾生大莊嚴」 tr. "sarvajñā is not a made dharma, beings too are not made dharmas, and the bodhisattva puts on the great adornment for the sake of these beings." Subhūti asks for what cause and condition, and the Buddha answers, “because the maker cannot be found”: sarvajñā is a dharma neither made nor arisen, and beings too are dharmas neither made nor arisen; and so form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; the self, and the knower and the seer; dreams and illusions, echoes, reflections, mirages, and conjurations; the eighteen emptinesses; the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; the five other names, suchness and the rest; awakening; sarvajñā and omniscience of all kinds—each and every one is “neither made nor not made,” each 「畢竟不可得故」 tr. "because it ultimately cannot be found." After this the discourse turns into the main theme of the whole chapter: Subhūti says, 「色無縛無脫，受、想、行、識無縛無脫」 tr. "form is neither bound nor freed; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed"; Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra asks back and then approves, and asks again, “what form is neither bound nor freed?”, and Subhūti then answers at length—like a dream, like an echo, a reflection, an illusion, a mirage, a conjuration; the three times, past, future, and present; the wholesome, the unwholesome, and the indeterminate; the worldly and the world-transcending, those with outflows and those without; all dharmas; the six perfections; the eighteen emptinesses; the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; the fruit of awakening, and omniscience and omniscience of all kinds; the bodhisattva and the Buddha; the five other names, suchness and the rest, and unconditioned dharmas—there is none that is not neither bound nor freed, and phrase after phrase comes back to a single formula: 「無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故，無縛無脫」 tr. "because they are nothing whatever, because they are apart, because they are quiescent, because they do not arise, they are neither bound nor freed." At the end, abiding in the six perfections that are neither bound nor freed, and so on up to omniscience of all kinds, bringing beings to maturity and purifying buddha-worlds, and so on up to establishing the three vehicles, gathers it all up, concluding in 「無縛無脫大莊嚴」 tr. "the great adornment that is neither bound nor freed"—the utmost of the adornment lies just in this ‘neither bound nor freed.’
Last, the treatise-author explains this section on ‘neither bound nor freed.’ The treatise-author first explains why Subhūti says “no great adornment is the great adornment”: the reason lies in “because they are empty of their specific marks.” The meaning of arousing the great adornment is very deep and hard to understand, and the beings in the assembly, hearing it, might take fright and sink back; therefore Subhūti speaks in reverse, 「發大莊嚴非深非難」 tr. "arousing the great adornment is neither deep nor difficult": if only one can know the empty, quiescent mark of dharmas, and does not abandon one’s original vow, and is vigorous, that is arousing the great adornment, and it is not hard to attain. Next he confirms the Buddha’s word “So it is,” and explains that “sarvajñā is not a made dharma” rests on “because the maker cannot be found”—omniscience is not a made mark, sarvajñā is a mark neither made nor arisen, and so on up to the buddhas’ dharmas, which likewise can make nothing. After this he breaks three doubts in succession: he breaks the doubt that, although dharmas have no mark of fixed making, they seem, like an illusion, to have marks of coming and going—answering that, like an illusion, like a mirage, they have no mark of making and ultimately cannot be found; he breaks the doubt that the eighteen emptinesses, since they can break all dharmas, seem to have a function and so would be real; and he breaks the doubt that suchness, dharma-nature, and the limit of reality, being real dharmas, ought to have making, and that the bodhisattva, the Buddha, and omniscience of all kinds, being real dharmas, can make something—answering each in turn that because of ultimate emptiness there is nothing they make. When the doubts are exhausted, the practitioner still thinks, 「諸法都無作、無縛無解者，我等云何當從苦得脫」 tr. "if dharmas all have no making, and are neither bound nor released, how are we to get free from suffering?", and Subhūti then answers directly, 「五眾無縛無解」 tr. "the five aggregates are neither bound nor released," 「若畢竟空無有作者，誰縛誰解」 tr. "if it is ultimately empty and there is no maker, who is bound and who is released?"—this is the most important question and answer of the whole chapter. The treatise-author thereupon points out the true meaning: 「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」 tr. "the dharmas of ordinary people are false and deceptive and cannot be found, hence they are not bondage; the dharmas of the noble ones are ultimately empty and cannot be found, hence they are not release"; the five aggregates that are like a dream and the rest, and so on up to the limit of reality and all dharmas besides, because they are nothing whatever, because they are apart, because they do not arise, are all neither bound nor released—「是名菩薩摩訶薩不縛不解菩薩道」 tr. "this is called the bodhisattva path of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, neither bound nor released." Abiding in this path, because the afflictions do not drag him down it is called ‘not bound,’ and because he does not rely on dharmas without outflows to break the afflictions it is called ‘not released’; and yet teaching and transforming beings, purifying buddha-worlds, and so on up to establishing the three vehicles, are vividly present and not set aside. The whole chapter is gathered up in the treatise’s final sentence: 「是名菩薩摩訶薩發大莊嚴相，所謂不縛不解」 tr. "this is called the mark of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva’s arousing the great adornment, namely, neither bound nor released"—the mark of the great adornment is exactly ‘neither bound nor released.’
Do Not Misread
First, do not read “the great adornment” as outward ornament or as magnificence of form and size. The sūtra says plainly that what adorns is the six perfections, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas and omniscience of all kinds—the inner cultivation of all the practices in order to head toward the buddha-path; he conjures himself as a wheel-turning sage king and supplies beings with everything they need, yet the Buddha halts this with the simile of the conjurer and concludes, “though there is giving, in truth nothing is given”; and why? “because the mark of dharmas is like an illusion”—the giving and transforming are vividly present, yet he is not attached to the mark of giving and does not see a receiver; what adorns is practice, not the decoration of outward marks.
Second, do not read the bodhisattva’s “with a mind in accord with sarvajñā” and “does not give rise to this thought” as not liberating beings and doing nothing. What he does not give rise to is the thought that discriminates and sets a limit—that I teach a certain number of people and do not teach a certain number of people; it is exactly at this point of not discriminating that he makes the universal vow, “I shall cause immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya beings to abide in the perfection of giving, and so on up to prajñāpāramitā”—not discriminating is precisely acting universally for all; it is not failing to liberate.
Third, do not read “no great adornment is the great adornment” as brushing adornment aside, abandoning practice and falling into emptiness. The reason for saying “no” is “because all dharmas are empty of their specific marks”—form is empty of the mark of form, and so on up to the bodhisattva, empty of the mark of bodhisattva; what is absent is the mark of adornment, not the practice of adornment. The mark of adornment cannot be found, yet the practice of adornment is not set aside: the mark of no adornment is the true adornment; it is not doing away with adornment.
Fourth, do not read “sarvajñā is not a made dharma” and “because the maker cannot be found” as there being no cause and effect and nothing to cultivate or realise. What is negated is that there really is a maker and really is a made dharma; the sūtra says “neither made nor not made,” negating “not made” as well—negating making in order to break the clinging to reality, negating not-making in order to guard against falling into emptiness; the double negation sends both away, and this is precisely not falling into an annihilation in which nothing is known.
Fifth, do not read “neither bound nor freed” as meaning that, since there is no bondage, there is also no liberation to seek, and cultivating the path comes to nothing. The treatise explains it plainly itself: 「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」 tr. "the dharmas of ordinary people are false and deceptive and cannot be found, hence they are not bondage; the dharmas of the noble ones are ultimately empty and cannot be found, hence they are not release"—what is negated is that there really is a bondage that binds and really are dharmas without outflows that can release; it is not that there is no liberation. Hence it is called “the bodhisattva path, neither bound nor released,” and abiding in this path, teaching and transforming beings, purifying buddha-worlds, and so on up to establishing the three vehicles are vividly present and not set aside: neither bound nor released is precisely the accomplishment of the bodhisattva path, not a state with nothing to cultivate.
Bearing on Practice
The place in this chapter that bears most closely on practice is the gathering of “the great adornment” into the single flavour of “no great adornment is the great adornment” and ‘neither bound nor freed.’ First, the adornment begins not in outward marks but in keeping, thought after thought while practising the six perfections, “a mind in accord with sarvajñā,” without grasping the mark of adornment—giving everything that is needed while knowing that “though there is giving, in truth nothing is given,” practising giving without seeing a giver, a receiver, or a thing given: this is where the great adornment lands in daily life. Second, those four phrases—“because they are nothing whatever, because they are apart, because they are quiescent, because they do not arise”—are the handle to receive and hold in daily life: form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to awakening and the Buddha—whatever is named, contemplate that it is nothing whatever, contemplate that it is quiescent and does not arise, give rise to no clinging to reality in names and marks, and so one is neither bound nor freed. Third, there is the single flavour of “because the maker cannot be found”—the places of practice are distinct and clear, yet no self that makes is seen; giving without seeing one who gives, cultivating the path without seeing one who cultivates: since the maker cannot be found, bondage has nothing to attach to. Fourth, there is where ‘neither bound nor released’ lands—because the afflictions do not drag him down into the state of an ordinary person it is called ‘not bound,’ and because he does not rely on dharmas without outflows to break the afflictions it is called ‘not released’; and yet teaching and transforming beings, purifying buddha-worlds, and so on up to establishing beings in the three vehicles are vividly present and not set aside. This practising with nothing to be attained, this adorning without grasping what is adorned, is exactly the arousing of the great adornment in this chapter from beginning to end.
Further Resonances
Later an ancient master composed a commentary on this chapter phrase by phrase, and in the general table of contents at the opening of his work he lists it under the name “Chapter Seventeen: Adornment”; his phrase-by-phrase commentary likewise titles it the chapter on adornment—agreeing with the title of the sūtra this chapter explains, and not taking “neither bound nor freed” as its title. The name of this chapter is given in this treatise as “Neither Bound nor Freed,” while the sūtra it explains is titled “Adornment,” and among other translations of old there are also those titled directly with something like ‘No Bondage’—the two names stand side by side, each with its own basis, and both are recorded without judging which is correct; the reason they stand side by side is precisely that this chapter has two layers of theme, one the great adornment, the other ‘neither bound nor freed,’ and taking the one or the other is only a difference among the versions in judging which is the centre of gravity of the chapter.
This ancient master also set up a structural analysis of this chapter: he places it at the head of the chapters praising the Dharma, and first opens two questions, “the question about the Dharma” and “the question about the person,” and the Buddha’s answer likewise divides into the answer to the question about the Dharma and the answer to the question about the person—the answer to the question about the Dharma corresponds exactly to this chapter’s layer of the great adornment. The adornment of practice and fruit that the treatise-author makes clear he explains by dividing it further into four sections: making a buddha-body, making the body of a wheel-turning sage king, making the body of the Brahmā king and the body of a bodhisattva, and abiding in the two perfections of skilful means and manifesting every kind of body—these four sections match, section by section, what this treatise’s author explains: conjuring a buddha-body to liberate those who have left home, becoming a wheel-turning sage king to liberate householders, by the other perfections becoming the Brahmā king or a dharma-body bodhisattva, and going everywhere through the ten directions while transforming his own body. From Subhūti’s saying to the Buddha “no great adornment is the great adornment” onward, he places it as the second section, Subhūti’s own statement of what he understands, which opens within it an account of the twofold emptiness of beings and of dharmas, together with questions and answers; at the layer of ‘neither bound nor freed’ he sets up a separate heading, “Removing Doubt Again”: the assembly present at that time, hearing the very deep meaning of ultimate non-making, might give rise to the doubt that if there is ultimately no making then there are no persons or dharmas that can attain liberation, and so the Buddha offers an explanation to break it, in two sections: making clear that there is no bondage or freedom, and making clear that because there is neither bondage nor freedom one gains benefit—since bondage cannot be found, there is nothing to be called release; this matches, meaning for meaning, the doctrinal motive of that exchange of questions and answers between Pūrṇa and Subhūti in this chapter. This structural analysis covers both layers, the great adornment and ‘neither bound nor freed,’ at once, and can be set against this chapter’s sūtra text section by section: it is a complete and verifiable ancient master’s structural analysis of this chapter.
Bringing this ancient master’s reading back to this chapter, what most needs to be kept is still that one sentence: the bodhisattva’s name, mahāsattva, lands in this chapter on “the great adornment,” and the utmost of the great adornment is exactly “no great adornment is the great adornment”—the names differ, adornment and ‘neither bound nor freed,’ but the meaning is only this single flavour: all dharmas are empty of their specific marks and are nothing whatever, and yet the adornment is vividly present and the giving and transforming are not set aside; the maker cannot be found, and so he is neither bound nor released.
考據Apparatus
一、科判
本品在《大智度論》釋《大品般若》之次第中屬〈釋餘品〉一段，繫卷四十六之中段，論自題「大智度論釋無縛無脫品第十七」〔T25 0390a24〕，所釋為《大品般若》相當之一品。
本品前承〈乘乘品第十六〉（繫卷四十六之開卷首品），〈無縛無脫品第十七〉即卷四十六之次品，承前品續於卷四十六而下，未別起新卷，故本品品題後無「龍樹菩薩造」「鳩摩羅什奉詔譯」造譯題款（此與前〈乘乘品〉為卷首、有題款者相對，型態同前〈大莊嚴品〉〈斷見品〉為卷中段續品、無題款者）。
本品品名有一重須先辨之異名。就大正印本之表面品題觀之，本論題「無縛無脫品」、所釋經後秦鳩摩羅什譯《摩訶般若波羅蜜經》於同一位置題「莊嚴品第十七」〔T08 0247c12〕，二本表面異名；然逐核兩造各自完整之校勘叢集（詳第四目、第八目），其格局為兩造之傳本皆非一面倒，且交織互見。本論一系六本中，大正、石二本讀「無縛無脫」核心，宋、元、明三本讀「莊嚴品」（明本作「釋莊嚴品第十七」），聖本不作品名比對而改述編號（釋第十六品），宮本此卷全闕；所釋經 T223 一系六本中，大正底本（及宋、元、明、宮四本）讀「莊嚴」，聖本獨讀「摩訶般若波羅蜜經無縛脫」。是兩造之底本層各異（本論大石傾「無縛無脫」，所釋經大傾「莊嚴」），而雙方之少數異文各自指向對方之讀（本論宋元明→「莊嚴」與所釋經主流合，所釋經聖→「無縛脫」與本論底本近）。別有竺法護古譯《光讚經》逕題「無縛品第十五」〔T08 0185b20〕為第三方旁證。此一格局非「經莊嚴對論無縛無脫」之表面二分所能概，本目及第四目、第八目皆全幅並存兩造之傳本讀法，不偏取支持單一論斷之一側，誌錄不判。本目及以下讀者面正文仍隨本論題稱〈無縛無脫品〉。
本品經論為卷中之品，其架構為二〈經〉二〈論〉四大塊相承（與前〈大莊嚴品〉〈斷見品〉同為「二經二論」，然本品前後二軸為「立莊嚴」與「遣莊嚴」相對）。【經】①（〔T25 0390a25〕起）須菩提問「何等是大莊嚴」〔T25 0390a26〕，佛答摩訶衍大莊嚴（六度莊嚴、四念處乃至十八不共法、內空乃至無法有法空、變身如佛莊嚴），復以化作轉輪聖王變三千世界為琉璃、隨眾生所欲給施而說六波羅蜜法〔T25 0390b06〕開展，六度各段皆繫幻師喻，收於決定誓願段「應薩婆若心，不生是念」〔T25 0391a19〕。【論】①（〔T25 0391b04〕起）論主自繫前品「上富樓那說大莊嚴及發大誓莊嚴相」〔T25 0391b04〕，明化作佛身度出家眾、作轉輪聖王度在家眾之二施（財施、法施），佛自說幻師譬喻，辨檀尸二度得富貴作轉輪聖王、餘度或作梵王或作法身菩薩，問答六度外更有何法可莊嚴，收於「自立如幻師」〔T25 0391c12〕，如先說。【經】②（〔T25 0391c14〕起）須菩提陳「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，諸法自相空故」〔T25 0391c15〕，佛印可並立「薩婆若非作法，眾生亦非作法」〔T25 0391c27〕，須菩提追問，佛答「作者不可得故」〔T25 0392a02〕非作非起、非作非不作全枚舉，繼由須菩提與富樓那彌多羅尼子問答無縛無脫〔T25 0392a25〕，以如夢、三世、善不善、六度、十八空乃至佛、諸法如等異名層層枚舉，皆冠以「無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故」四理由，收於「無縛無脫大莊嚴」〔T25 0392c13〕。【論】②（〔T25 0392c13〕起，與經②末句同一行）釋須菩提何以說發大莊嚴非深非難，佛證「如是」，釋薩婆若非作法（作者不可得故），破如幻有來去相、十八空有用、如法性實際應有作、菩薩佛一切種智實法能作諸疑，末明凡夫法虛誑故非縛、聖人法畢竟空故非解，收於「是名菩薩摩訶薩發大莊嚴相，所謂不縛不解」〔T25 0393a28〕。二段【論】皆插於所釋經之外，T223 於此二段全無對應（詳第四目）。
本品全帙落於卷四十六之中段，起品題〔T25 0390a24〕，迄次品〈摩訶衍品第十八〉起題〔T25 0393b01〕不含。本卷（卷四十六）之校勘有二重須先誌之特殊格局：其一，宮本整卷缺席——本品全部四十六條校勘記無一條列宮本為傳本，續前〈乘乘品〉所載卷四十六宮本整卷佚失之格局（卷四十六開卷之〈乘乘品〉品題附語已明「此卷宮本缺」），本品非卷首，品題不另重宣，然四十六條窮盡核驗支持宮本於本品亦全缺；其二，石本品次負一之偏移——石本於本品題自報「品第十六」（較大正本「第十七」少一，詳第八目），復於品末自收「解釋第十六品竟」0393a29，二重證據互證。本品非卷首，卷次歸屬已由前品確立，石本於本品不另報卷次（異於前〈乘乘品〉石本兼報「卷四十八」者），故本品石本偏移唯品次一端。二事皆詳第八目，本目先標其存在。
二、術語考
無縛無脫（品命脈之名）。 本品得名之所繫。「無縛無脫」者，於諸法無所繫縛、亦無所解脫。經②須菩提陳「色無縛無脫，受、想、行、識無縛無脫」〔T25 0392a23〕，富樓那與之問答，須菩提以四理由公式釋其所以，云「何以故無縛無脫？是色無所有故，無縛無脫」〔T25 0392b06〕，復收之以「離故，寂滅故，不生故，無縛無脫」〔T25 0392b08〕——諸法以無所有、離、寂滅、不生四義故，無所縛亦無所脫。此觀遍色受想行識、三世、善不善、六波羅蜜、內空乃至十八不共法，終至「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提無縛無脫」〔T25 0392b21〕、「菩薩無縛無脫，佛亦無縛無脫」〔T25 0392b23〕——連無上菩提之果與佛身亦收入無縛無脫觀。論②以凡聖二門釋其所以，云「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」〔T25 0393a17〕——凡夫法虛誑故無實可縛，聖人法畢竟空故無實可脫。此名之「無縛無脫／莊嚴」跨本異讀，詳第一目、第四目、第八目。
摩訶衍大莊嚴·無大莊嚴為大莊嚴（前後二軸之樞）。 本品前後二軸之相對。經①佛答「菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍大莊嚴」〔T25 0390a27〕，以六度、四念處乃至十八不共法、內空乃至無法有法空、變身如佛層層莊嚴；經②則轉曰「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，諸法自相空故」〔T25 0391c15〕——莊嚴之為大，不在莊嚴之有，乃在諸法自相空、無莊嚴可得。二軸相對：經①立莊嚴之相，經②遣莊嚴之相而歸自相空，論①論②各釋其一。「摩訶衍」者大乘，「大莊嚴」跨本異讀（石本作「大誓莊嚴」，詳第八目），與前〈大莊嚴品〉〈乘乘品〉富樓那立宗三句（大莊嚴、發趣、乘於大乘）一脈相承，論①開宗即溯及之（詳第七目）。
薩婆若非作法·作者不可得（經②論②之論證關要）。 經②佛印可須菩提後，立「薩婆若非作法，眾生亦非作法，菩薩為是眾生大莊嚴」〔T25 0391c27〕；須菩提追問何因緣故，佛答「作者不可得故，薩婆若非作非起法」〔T25 0392a02〕——一切智（薩婆若）與眾生皆非所作、非能起之法，以作者不可得故，遍以「非作非不作」枚舉色乃至薩婆若一切種智。論②覆申之，云「作者不可得故，一切智非作相」〔T25 0392c26〕。是「作者不可得」為本品遣「莊嚴為所作之法」之總理由：既無作者，則莊嚴無所作、無所起，故無縛無脫。
富樓那彌多羅尼子（問答主客易位）。 經②「爾時，富樓那彌多羅尼子語須菩提」〔T25 0392a25〕起，富樓那發問、須菩提作答。此與前〈乘乘品〉〈大莊嚴品〉富樓那答舍利弗問之問答體結構相呼應，然本品富樓那轉為發問者、須菩提轉為答者，主客易位。富樓那僅發二問（覆述式確認問「色是無縛無脫」、追問式「何等色無縛無脫」），須菩提則以長篇枚舉答畢全段，問答結構呈「一問長答」之型。此名之異音譯（放光作「邠耨文陀尼子」、光讚作「分耨文陀尼弗」）詳第四目。
三、譬喻與故事
《大智度論》以譬喻與故事著稱，本品之教學命脈在二喻一意象——幻師喻（貫串經①、論①，六度各段各一見，決定誓願段第八見）、如夢等六喻（經②無縛無脫段）、化作轉輪聖王之意象（經①、論①）。皆繫於「如幻」「無所有」而明莊嚴之無實。
其一，幻師喻（經①·論①·貫串全品前軸）。經①佛設「譬如工幻師、若幻師弟子，於四衢道中，化作大眾於前」〔T25 0390b14〕，須食與食、須飲與飲乃至種種所須盡給與之，問「是幻師實有眾生有給與不」〔T25 0390b16〕，須菩提答「不也」，佛以「雖有所施，實無所與。何以故？須菩提！諸法相如幻故」〔T25 0390b20〕收之，其後續句「諸法相如幻故」〔T25 0390b21〕即此喻之義眼。此結構於六度各段（檀、尸羅、羼提、毘梨耶、禪、般若）各重演一次，另於決定誓願段第八見。論①佛自說此喻，云「是中佛自說譬喻」〔T25 0391b21〕，須菩提答「是但虛誑，實無所有」〔T25 0391b25〕，佛以「諸法相畢竟空如幻」〔T25 0391b27〕結。是幻師化眾生而實無眾生、菩薩莊嚴而實無所莊嚴，喻六度大莊嚴之如幻無所有。
其二，化作轉輪聖王（經①·論①·大莊嚴之相）。經①「化作轉輪聖王，隨眾生所欲，須食與食」〔T25 0390b08〕（「隨眾生所欲」四字有跨本異文，詳第八目），變三千大千世界為琉璃，隨眾生所欲給施十一物（食、飲、衣服、臥具、花香、纓珞、搗香、澤香、房舍、燈燭、醫藥），而後為說六波羅蜜法。論①分為二身，云「為出家好道眾生故，化作佛身」〔T25 0391b09〕度出家眾，作轉輪聖王度在家眾，以財施、法施二施利益。此轉輪聖王之景與幻師喻相扣——化作轉輪聖王種種給施而如幻無實。
其三，如夢如嚮如影如幻如焰如化（經②·無縛無脫之喻）。經②須菩提答富樓那，以「如夢色無縛無脫」〔T25 0392b01〕、「如嚮、如影、如幻、如焰、如化色受想行識無縛無脫」〔T25 0392b02〕明五蘊之無縛無脫如夢等六喻。論②承此六喻以破疑：須菩提等疑諸法「如幻雖無實事，而有來去相」，佛以「如幻、如焰等無作相，畢竟不可得故」〔T25 0393a03〕遣之。是夢、嚮、影、幻、焰、化六喻，於經明無縛無脫、於論明無作相，前後相貫。
四、所釋經文
本論所牒之【經】段，與後秦鳩摩羅什譯《摩訶般若波羅蜜經》〈莊嚴品第十七〉〔T08 0247c12–0249c28〕逐項相承。以下逐字對位，證論所釋確係此本經文；其論釋二段插入處，尤見本品義理之骨在論不在經。
第一組，品題異名（兩造傳本叢集全量並存）。本論〔T25 0390a24〕「大智度論釋無縛無脫品第十七」與 T223〔T08 0247c12〕「莊嚴品第十七」，表面品名用字全異。然逐核兩造完整校勘（詳第八目）：本論大、石傾「無縛無脫」，宋、元、明傾「莊嚴」，聖本改述編號，宮本闕；所釋經 T223 大正底本（及宋、元、明、宮四本）讀「莊嚴」，聖本獨讀「摩訶般若波羅蜜經無縛脫」（聖本異文，詳第八目）。別有《光讚經》「無縛品第十五」〔T08 0185b20〕。是兩造之底本層各異，而少數異文各指對方之讀，三方匯聚，誌錄不判。
第二組，開宗問逐字近全同。本論〔T25 0390a25〕「爾時，須菩提白佛言：『世尊！菩薩摩訶薩……』」與 T223〔T08 0247c13〕「爾時須菩提白佛言：『世尊！菩薩摩訶薩大莊……』」逐字相承（僅逗號有無之編輯層異），為本品經論分界之整句錨點。
第三組，檀那／檀之音譯詳略異文。本論全篇作「檀波羅蜜」，T223 全篇作「檀那波羅蜜」——如 T223〔T08 0247c15〕「菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍大莊嚴，所謂檀那波羅蜜」與本論〔T25 0390a27〕之「菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍大莊嚴」及其下「所謂檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜莊嚴」相承——鳩摩羅什兩次譯出音譯詳略之差異（檀那＝dāna 全音譯，檀＝略譯，本論慣用略譯），全篇貫穿，不逐處另列。
第四組，世界／國土之詞面異讀。本論〔T25 0390b02〕「變身如佛莊嚴，光明遍照三千大千世界」與 T223〔T08 0247c19〕「變身如佛莊嚴。光明遍照三千大千國土」——本論作「世界」、T223 作「國土」，全篇凡數見，世界、國土同義（皆譯 lokadhātu／kṣetra 系語），供譯者參考，誌錄不判。本論此字亦有系內異文（詳第八目）。
第五組，隨眾生所欲之有無。本論〔T25 0390b08〕「化作轉輪聖王，隨眾生所欲，須食與食」多「隨眾生所欲」四字，T223〔T08 0247c25〕「化作轉輪聖王，須食與食」無此四字；且本論自身之宋、聖二本亦闕此四字（詳第八目），趨同 T223，誌錄不判。
第六組，無縛無脫層逐字近全同。本論〔T25 0392a23〕「色無縛無脫，受、想、行、識無縛無脫」與 T223〔T08 0249b06〕之「如我觀佛所說義」下「色無縛無脫」段逐字相承；富樓那問答亦然（T223〔T08 0249b08〕「富樓那彌多羅尼子語須菩提」與本論〔T25 0392a25〕相承）。二本此段唯頓號有無之編輯層異，非傳本異文。
第七組，論①論②全屬本論獨有之插入（T223 零對應）。本論二段【論】（①〔T25 0391b04–0391c13〕、②〔T25 0392c13–0393a29〕）於 T223 全無對應：T223〈莊嚴品〉之全量〔T08 0247c12–0249c28〕恰與本論二段【經】之並集〔T25 0390a25–0392c13〕精確重合，二段【論】則全落於 T223 品界之外——論①插於經①經②之間（中段插入），論②插於經②收束句之後（末端插入，T223 已轉入次品）。此與前〈大莊嚴品〉〈句義品〉二段論插入之型態全同。又，T223 次品題「問乘品」〔T08 0249c29〕與本論次品題「摩訶衍品」不同——兩部漢譯自品十八起品名再度分歧（不屬本品範圍，誌錄供未來品十八研究參考）。
第八組，旁參異譯（本品三方均有對應，與前〈乘乘品〉「放光零命中」不同型）。其一，無羅叉《放光般若經》（T08n0221）：本品內容於放光得對應段落，其「五陰亦無縛無脫」〔T08 0022b05〕、「邠耨文陀尼子問須菩提」〔T08 0022b05〕（「邠耨文陀尼子」為富樓那彌多羅尼子之異音譯）逐義對應經②無縛無脫層，惟放光此品未見與經①大莊嚴層明確對應之段落（放光品分與大正本不同步，大莊嚴層旁參暫缺、無縛無脫層旁參俱在，誠實記錄，不強為考證）。其二，竺法護《光讚經》（T08n0222）：品題逕作「無縛品第十五」〔T08 0185b20〕，與本品第二層主題直接對應；開篇延續「摩訶僧那僧涅，菩薩摩訶薩被大德鎧」〔T08 0185b21〕（僧那僧涅＝saṃnāha，擐甲、大誓莊嚴之意象，CBETA 品題梵語腳註作「莊嚴 Sannāha」），與 T223／T1509「大莊嚴」及前〈乘乘品〉玄奘「擐大功德鎧」三方會聚，構成跨譯本、跨品之術語系譜；又光讚無縛層作「色無著、無縛、無脫」〔T08 0188a04〕三詞連用，較羅什二詞「無縛無脫」多一「無著」層，為光讚自身之三詞擴展式，誌錄不判、不作版本學批判性考證。其三，玄奘《大般若波羅蜜多經》初分（T05n0220a）：本品專屬之玄奘旁參段落（對應無縛無脫與作者不可得層）承前〈乘乘品〉品交界之「擐大功德鎧」框架，本目未再深掘，誠實標記為未盡之旁參，供未來如需時再行深考。
五、般若義眼
本品之眼，在「無縛無脫」——諸法無所有故，無所縛亦無所脫；莊嚴之為大，不在莊嚴之有，乃在諸法自相空、無莊嚴可得。全品二輪往復（大莊嚴一輪、無縛無脫一輪），皆繫於般若之無所得、畢竟空。
其一，大莊嚴之大，在無大莊嚴為大莊嚴。經①佛廣說摩訶衍大莊嚴（六度乃至變身如佛），皆繫幻師喻「雖有所施，實無所與。何以故？……諸法相如幻故」〔T25 0390b20〕；經②須菩提即翻之曰「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，諸法自相空故」〔T25 0391c15〕——是莊嚴之大，不在莊嚴之多，乃在觀莊嚴自相空而無莊嚴可得。論②收此義：恐眾生聞甚深義而心退沒，故明「發大莊嚴非深非難」〔T25 0392c20〕，以自相空易行易得故。
其二，薩婆若非作法，作者不可得故。莊嚴之無所有，其理在「作者不可得」。佛立「薩婆若非作法，眾生亦非作法」〔T25 0391c27〕，答須菩提之問曰「作者不可得故，薩婆若非作非起法」〔T25 0392a02〕，遍以「色非作非不作，受、想、行、識非作非不作」〔T25 0392a04〕枚舉色乃至薩婆若一切種智。論②覆之，云「作者不可得故，一切智非作相」〔T25 0392c26〕。是既無作者，則一切智、眾生、莊嚴皆非所作、非能起，無作故無縛無脫。
其三，無縛無脫，遍一切法乃至佛，不縛不解即發大莊嚴相。經②以「無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故」〔T25 0392b12〕四義貫下，自色受想行識、三世、善不善、六度、十八空，遍及「諸法如、法相、法性、法住、法位、實際、無為法無縛無脫」〔T25 0392b25〕，終至「菩薩無縛無脫，佛亦無縛無脫」〔T25 0392b23〕——連菩薩與佛亦收入無縛無脫觀，此本品畢竟空觀之極致（與前〈乘乘品〉「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提及佛但有名字、佛不可得」同一徹底化模式）。論②以凡聖二門明之，云「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」〔T25 0393a17〕，末歸「是名菩薩摩訶薩發大莊嚴相，所謂不縛不解」〔T25 0393a28〕。是本品自大莊嚴之如幻、自相空，以至薩婆若之無作者、諸法之無縛無脫，一線貫下，所歸唯在「不縛不解」即是發大莊嚴——莊嚴而無所莊嚴、脫而無所脫之般若義眼。
六、諸家異釋
古德引釋本品者，此目誌錄其所疏、所引與本品之對應，不判各家詮釋。本品古德之網：吉藏《大品經義疏》逐文直疏，其支持完整豐富、一家獨全（卷首品目、逐文疏品題雙渲染、八品歎法說般若大科、問法問人二問、重除疑段之明無縛脫與明無縛無脫故得利益，科判與本品四段結構逐一對應）；慧影《大智度論疏》現存殘卷於本品之逐文疏付之闕如（品十三至品三十六大段缺），三則表面命中皆同名／混淆陷阱；均正《大乘四論玄義》有一則品名標舉而引文實屬他品（品名誤植），及三則「縛」字義理泛用，皆與本品無涉；智顗諸著一則字面命中自陳典據《首楞嚴》，非本品。
吉藏《大品經義疏》（X24n0451）之支持為本品古德之最豐者，本品古德逐文疏一氣呵成，涵蓋大莊嚴、無縛無脫兩層，凡三層。其一，卷首品目與逐文疏品題。卷首品目逕列「莊嚴品第十七」〔X24 0195a21〕，逐文疏品題行以「莊嚴品第十七」〔X24 0244b21〕雙重渲染同一品題。吉藏全篇（品目與逐文疏）皆以「莊嚴品」稱本品，與 T223 底本題名一致，未見吉藏以「無縛無脫」指稱本品品名本身。
其二，本品所屬大科與二問。吉藏將本品判為「八品歎法說般若」大科之首品，云「此下第二，八品歎法說般若。前歎行法之人，今歎人」〔X24 0244b22〕，其首品開為二問，云「次開為二問：一、問法；次、問人」〔X24 0244c05〕——以「問法」（對應經①摩訶衍大莊嚴層，佛答滿六度）「問人」（對應經①決定誓願段及論①之答莊嚴因果）二分本品前軸。
其三，重除疑段之科判（對應無縛無脫層）。吉藏於經②無縛無脫層獨立科為「第三、重除疑」〔X24 0245c16〕，釋其動機為時眾聞「畢竟無作」之甚深義後、恐生「無人法生死得脫」之疑，故佛以「數論大小乘解」破之，復分「文二：初、明無縛脫；二、以明無縛無脫故得利益」〔X24 0246a01〕，並以「初有不可得故脫縛，縛不可得故無解也」〔X24 0246a02〕釋無縛無脫之義——有不可得故脫於縛、縛不可得故無所解。此吉藏之釋與本品論②「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」〔T25 0393a17〕逐義相印，為本品獨立、完整、可驗證之古德科判材料。其科判與本品四段結構之交叉對應，列表如下：
| 吉藏科判 | 對應本品段落 | loc |
|---|---|---|
| 八品歎法說般若·問法（佛答滿六度） | 經①摩訶衍大莊嚴（六度乃至變身如佛·幻師喻） | 〔T25 0390a25〕起 |
| 問人（答莊嚴因果） | 經①決定誓願段＋論①（化佛身輪王身度二眾） | 〔T25 0391a18〕／〔T25 0391b04〕 |
| 第三·重除疑·明無縛脫 | 經②無縛無脫層（須菩提與富樓那問答） | 〔T25 0392a22〕起 |
| 明無縛無脫故得利益 | 經②總收束＋論② | 〔T25 0392b27〕／〔T25 0392c13〕 |
慧影《大智度論疏》（X46n0791）之現存殘卷，於本品之逐文疏付之闕如。慧影疏原殘卷之逐文疏頭跳越品十三至品三十六一大段（含本品），故本品之逐文疏落於此一大段缺口之內，於此殘卷中不存。本目以「莊嚴品」「無縛無脫」「無縛」遍檢慧影疏，表面命中三則，經逐一核校上下文，皆與本品無涉：一者「大誓莊嚴品」〔X46 0808b12〕之引，「大誓莊嚴品」為 T223 之另一品（前〈辯才品／大莊嚴品〉之異名），字面偶合「莊嚴品」而非本品，屬同名陷阱；二者「無縛解」〔X46 0890b11〕、「無縛無解」〔X46 0890b21〕之段，為慧影對「色淨」深功德義另一品之逐文疏（其段以「色淨是亦淨」〔X46 0890b16〕明般若深義），其「無縛解」義乃般若系反覆母題，與本品「色無縛無脫」直接枚舉之脈絡不同，屬同題異品之混淆；三者「無縛黑」〔X46 0895b21〕，落於《華嚴》十地、金剛藏、解脫月譬喻之脈絡，屬「無縛」二字之字面偶合。慧影 mulu 結構亦確證品十三至品三十六逐文疏落於已知缺口。誠實記錄：本品在慧影現存殘卷中無逐文疏，如實記無，不臆稱其有。
均正《大乘四論玄義》（X46n0784）有一則品名標舉而引文實屬他品。均正明標「大品經〔缺一字〕莊嚴品云」（「經」「莊嚴品」二字間，CBETA 底本原鈔一字漫漶不可辨）而引「畢定眾中干慧地」（底本「干」為「乾」之俗寫，即乾慧地）一段〔X46 0564c21〕，然逐字核校 T223〈莊嚴品〉全文〔T08 0247c12–0249c28〕及本論本品全文〔T25 0390a24–0393b01〕，皆無「畢定」「乾慧地」二詞——經通檢核校，「乾慧地」實出 T223〈發趣品第二十〉之十地枚舉段，與均正所標舉之「莊嚴品」品名不符，屬品名誤植（所標品名與實際引文出處不合），非偽引，亦不構成本品之古德支持。另三則「縛」字義理泛用（「眾生無縛，何須解」〔X46 0588c04〕、「解脫是慧為體，而無縛義」〔X46 0657b07〕、「無縛作縛」引大論第九卷〔X46 0586b03〕）皆與本品無涉。誠實記錄：均正對本品之古德支持為零，不因表面命中而虛報引用件數。
智顗諸著，本目遍檢「莊嚴品」「無縛無脫」，「莊嚴品」通檢零命中，「無縛無脫」得《摩訶止觀》一處。智顗以「無縛無脫，是名般若。具如《首楞嚴》中廣說」〔T46 0016c06〕描述般若波羅蜜之觀法要旨，明自陳其典據為《首楞嚴》（首楞嚴三昧經），非本論，屬「無縛無脫」一詞之通用義理表述，非本品之逐字或義理引用。如實記錄，不強採、不臆造。
七、互讀與承衍
本品之骨有三，皆為般若一系及後出諸疏所承。
其一，富樓那三句、三品一貫之承——本品經①之「摩訶衍大莊嚴」承前〈大莊嚴品〉〈乘乘品〉富樓那立宗三句（大莊嚴、發趣大乘、乘於大乘）而下，論①開宗即自繫「上富樓那說大莊嚴及發大誓莊嚴相」〔T25 0391b04〕——論主自標本品所釋之莊嚴承前品富樓那所說之大莊嚴、發大誓莊嚴而來。是本品前軸之義理架構，論主自繫於前品之立宗三句。本目誌其相承，不代為定讀，所繫諸出處皆見第一目、第四目逐字之載。
其二，無縛無脫、畢竟空觀之承——本品經②以「無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故」四義遍枚無縛無脫，遍及諸法實相異名而終至「菩薩無縛無脫，佛亦無縛無脫」〔T25 0392b23〕，論承之而以凡聖二門明『非縛非解』之義（論②「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」〔T25 0393a17〕）。古德吉藏承此無縛無脫之義，於重除疑段以「初有不可得故脫縛，縛不可得故無解也」〔X24 0246a02〕釋之，與論②之凡聖二門逐義相印。此「一切法無縛無脫、畢竟空」之觀，為般若一系貫通之義，本品以「連菩薩與佛亦無縛無脫」為其極致。本目誌其相承，不代為定讀，所繫諸出處皆見第二目、第五目、第六目逐字之載。
其三，作者不可得、非作非起之承——本品經②立「作者不可得故，薩婆若非作非起法」〔T25 0392a02〕，論②覆申「作者不可得故，一切智非作相」〔T25 0392c26〕。此「作者不可得故無所作」之義，承般若「無作」一系，為本品遣莊嚴之相、明無縛無脫之總理由。本目誌其相承，不代為定讀，所繫諸出處皆見第二目、第四目逐字之載。
就本論次第言，本品有內部互讀之明文，係論主自繫。論①開宗自繫前品之二事為所承，云「上富樓那說大莊嚴及發大誓莊嚴相」〔T25 0391b04〕——論主自標本品所釋之「大莊嚴」承前〈大莊嚴品〉〈乘乘品〉富樓那三句而下；又論①末「自立如幻師」〔T25 0391c12〕，如先說，論主自標幻師喻為前文已說之喻，於此承而用之。此義脈之自繫，本目誌其相承，不代為定讀。
八、校本與版本說明
本品校勘可與經義相涉者，擇要如下；異本讀法並列保存，正文仍從現行底本讀法。本卷（卷四十六）有二重須先誌之特殊格局——宮本整卷缺席、石本品次負一之偏移，二事詳本目末段。
0390a24（品題·兩造傳本全量並存）：大智度論釋無縛無脫品第十七【大】｜大智度論釋莊嚴品第十七【宋】【元】｜釋莊嚴品第十七【明】｜釋第十六品【聖】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜品第十六無縛無脫品【石】——本論一系六本中，大正底本題「無縛無脫品」，宋、元二本讀「莊嚴品第十七」，明本讀「釋莊嚴品第十七」，聖本不作品名比對而改述編號「釋第十六品」（品次較大正本少一），石本讀「摩訶般若波羅蜜品第十六無縛無脫品」（品次記「十六」較大正本「第十七」少一，而題名兼含「無縛無脫品」與大正底本用字一致），宮本此卷全闕（本品品題無「此卷宮本缺」附語，其整卷缺席之核驗詳本目末段）。與所釋經 T223 之品題形成對照——T223 大正底本讀「莊嚴」，其校記作 莊嚴【大】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜經無縛脫【聖】〔T08 0247c12〕，即 T223 六本中僅聖本一席獨讀「……無縛脫」（較「無縛無脫」少一「無」字，同源異寫），其餘五本（大、宋、元、明、宮）皆讀「莊嚴」（T223 品題梵語腳註作「莊嚴 Sannāha」）。是兩造之底本層各異（本論大、石傾「無縛無脫」，所釋經大傾「莊嚴」），而雙方之少數異文各自指向對方之讀（本論宋元明→「莊嚴」與 T223 主流合，T223 聖→「無縛脫」與本論底本近）；別有竺法護古譯《光讚經》逕題「無縛品第十五」〔T08 0185b20〕為第三方旁證（詳第一目、第四目）。正文從底本「無縛無脫品」。
0390a26（莊嚴／誓莊嚴）：莊嚴【大】＊，誓莊嚴【石】＊——全品首見「大莊嚴」一詞（「菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴」）之「莊嚴」，石本於「莊嚴」前加「誓」字作「大誓莊嚴」。與論①開篇「上富樓那說大莊嚴及發大誓莊嚴相」〔T25 0391b04〕之雙軌術語（大莊嚴／發大誓莊嚴）相呼應，石本此異或反映對此雙軌之調和傾向，誌錄不判。正文從底本「莊嚴」。
0391a26（洹／含）：洹【大】，含【元】【明】——「亦不教若干人令得須陀洹果乃至一切種智」句之「洹」，元、明二本作「含」（與同句稍早「斯陀含果」字面雷同，或屬鄰字類化之技術性異文），誌錄不判。正文從底本「洹」。
0391c01（法身有無·義理負載）：法身【大】，〔－〕【聖】——「餘波羅蜜，或作梵王，或作法身菩薩」句，聖本闕「法身」二字（讀「或作菩薩」）。「法身」（dharmakāya）為義理負載詞彙，聖本闕如將弱化此句「法身菩薩」與「梵王」並列之對比效果，誌錄不判。正文從底本「法身」。
0391c22（空空／單空·義理負載）：空【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】——「內空，內空空相空」句，底本讀雙「空」字（內空之空相亦空，隱含「空空」一義），宋、元、明三本闕第二「空」字（讀「內空，內相空」）。「空空」為十八空系列中之獨立一項，此句雖屬「自相空」枚舉脈絡而非十八空本身之列，然雙空與單空之義理密度有別，誌錄不判、全量揭露。正文從底本雙「空」。
0392a18（菩提／菩薩·義理負載程度最高）：菩提【大】，菩薩【宋】【元】【明】——「須菩提！菩提非作非不作，畢竟不可得故」句，底本讀「菩提」（bodhi，覺悟果位本身），宋、元、明三本讀「菩薩」（bodhisattva，行者本身）。底本讀法使此句與後接「薩婆若及一切種智非作非不作」（皆果位／智慧範疇）語意連貫；「菩薩」讀法則轉為能修之人，於此以法／果為序之枚舉（色受想行識、我、夢幻、十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法、諸法如等、菩提、薩婆若及一切種智）中略顯突兀。此為本品義理負載程度最高之異文，誌錄不判、全量揭露。正文從底本「菩提」。
0393a03（無字有無）：無【大】，〔－〕【石】——論②「如幻、如焰等無作相，畢竟不可得故」句之「無」，石本闕之（讀「作相」），屬否定詞脫落之技術性異文，因與「無作相／作相」之義相涉並誌，餘不展開。正文從底本「無」。
0393a22（墮／隨·CBETA 自身版本歸屬不確定）：墮【大】，隨【？】——「住是道中，諸煩惱不牽墮凡夫中」句之「墮」，一本作「隨」，而 CBETA 校記於此異文之版本歸屬標記為「？」（即 CBETA 自身亦不確定此異文所屬版本），本目誠實轉錄此一不確定性，不代 CBETA 擅定其版本歸屬。「不牽墮」（不被拖拽墮入）與「不牽隨」（不被拖拽跟隨）語意相近而修辭側重有別，誌錄不判。正文從底本「墮」。
0393a29（石本品末自收·雙重確證鏈第二環）：解【大】，解釋第十六品竟【石】〔0393a29〕——石本於本品末（「所謂不縛不解」之「解」字後）附「釋第十六品竟」，與其品題自報「品第十六」互證石本編為「品十六」，為本卷石本品次負一偏移之雙重確證鏈之第二環。大正本於本品範圍內無此收尾註。誌錄不判。
本卷二重特殊格局，並誌如下。其一，宮本整卷缺席——本品全部四十六條校勘記（自品題 0390a24 至品末 0393a29 諸條）無一條列宮本為傳本，即整部卷四十六（含前〈乘乘品〉全文及本品）之宮本傳世抄本闕如，非個別異文而係整卷佚失。前〈乘乘品〉為卷四十六開卷首品，其品題附語已明「此卷宮本缺」；本品非卷首，品題不另重宣，然四十六條窮盡核驗支持宮本於本品亦全缺。其二，石本品次負一之偏移——石本於本品題自報「摩訶般若波羅蜜品第十六無縛無脫品」〔0390a24〕，即品次記「十六」（較大正本「第十七」少一），復於品末自收「解釋第十六品竟」〔0393a29〕，二重證據互證石本編為「品十六」。本品非卷首，卷次歸屬已由前〈乘乘品〉確立（前品石本兼報「卷四十八」），石本於本品不另報卷次，故本品石本偏移唯品次一端，異於前〈乘乘品〉石本之品次負一、卷次正二雙重偏移。石本此品次偏移與前諸品同源，成因未強考，誌錄不判。
本品全帙校勘記凡四十六條，扣除品題校記、上列義理負載諸條外，其餘各條均屬虛詞有無之增減（如經段起標籤〔經〕之有無、及「隨眾生所欲」「法」「化」「師」「來」「大」「故」「如」「亦」「人」等字之增減）、同音或形近假借（振／震、纓／瓔、搗／擣、杖／仗、岸之異體、嚮／響、給／所、意／心、王／主、施／說、是／如、何／作、住／行）、虛詞增字（知／知是、中／中眾生、故／故以是故、至／乃至、是／是亦、於六／六、出六／六）、或音譯詳略（工幻／幻）等之技術性異文，逐條核校未見義理層改變，故不逐條展開，僅統計性帶過。
本品底本為《大智度論》卷四十六〔T25 0390a24–0393b01〕之中段品，本品非卷首，品題後無造譯題款；卷四十六未於本品之末結卷（本品之後仍為卷四十六之〈摩訶衍品第十八〉），故本品無卷尾題，範圍終點取次品〈摩訶衍品第十八〉起題〔T25 0393b01〕，不含。所釋經校本為《摩訶般若波羅蜜經》〈莊嚴品第十七〉〔T08 0247c12–0249c28〕（其品題大及宋、元、明、宮五本讀「莊嚴」、聖本讀「……無縛脫」，詳第一目）。旁參異譯有無羅叉《放光般若經》（T08n0221·無縛無脫層有對應、大莊嚴層旁參暫缺）、竺法護《光讚經》（T08n0222·「無縛品第十五」·三詞式「無著、無縛、無脫」·僧那僧涅 saṃnāha）、玄奘《大般若波羅蜜多經》初分（T05n0220a·「擐大功德鎧」框架承前品交界）。古德疏校本為吉藏《大品經義疏》（X24n0451·本品支持完整豐富、一家獨全），別有慧影《大智度論疏》（X46n0791·本品逐文疏缺、三表面命中皆排除）、均正《大乘四論玄義》（X46n0784·一則品名誤植、非本品逐字）。異讀校記依大正校勘，涉大正底本與宋、元、明、聖、石諸本之異（本卷宮本全缺）。本品全帙校勘記詳存工作底本檔末；本表僅傳錄與本品核心義理措辭相涉之要目，不延伸為各本高下之判。
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 is attached to the middle portion of Fascicle 46. The treatise gives its own title as 「大智度論釋無縛無脫品第十七」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Neither Bound nor Freed, the Seventeenth"〔T25 0390a24〕, and what it explains is the corresponding chapter of the Larger Sūtra.
This chapter follows Chapter 16, "Riding the Vehicle" (the first chapter, opening Fascicle 46). Chapter 17, "Neither Bound nor Freed", is the next chapter of Fascicle 46: it continues from the preceding chapter within Fascicle 46 and does not begin a new fascicle. Hence after this chapter's title there is no colophon of authorship and translation, 「龍樹菩薩造」 tr. "composed by the Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna" and 「鳩摩羅什奉詔譯」 tr. "translated by Kumārajīva by imperial command" (this contrasts with the preceding "Riding the Vehicle", which heads its fascicle and has the colophon, and is of the same type as the earlier "The Great Adornment" and "Cutting Off Views", which continue in the middle of a fascicle and have no colophon).
The chapter's name involves a variant that must first be sorted out. Judged by the surface chapter titles of the printed Taishō edition, this treatise titles it 「無縛無脫品」 tr. "Chapter on Neither Bound nor Freed", while the sūtra it explains, the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra translated by Kumārajīva of the Later Qin, titles the same position 「莊嚴品第十七」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment, the Seventeenth"〔T08 0247c12〕: on the surface the two texts differ in name. Yet when the complete collation clusters of each side are checked one by one (see Sections IV and VIII), the pattern is that the witnesses of neither side lean all one way, and they interweave. Among the six witnesses of this treatise, the Taishō and Ishiyama texts read the core 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed"; the Song, Yuan, and Ming editions read 「莊嚴品」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment" (the Ming edition reads 「釋莊嚴品第十七」 tr. "Commentary on the Chapter on Adornment, the Seventeenth"); the Shōgozō does not give a chapter name for comparison but restates it by number (Commentary on the Sixteenth Chapter); and the Palace edition is wholly missing for this fascicle. Among the six witnesses of the sūtra explained, T223, the Taishō base text (together with the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace editions) reads 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment", and the Shōgozō alone reads 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經無縛脫」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra: Without Bondage or Freedom." Thus the base-text layers of the two sides differ (in this treatise the Taishō and Ishiyama lean toward 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed"; in the sūtra explained the Taishō leans toward 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment"), while the minority variants of each side point toward the other side's reading (in this treatise the Song, Yuan, and Ming → 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment", agreeing with the mainstream of the sūtra explained; in the sūtra explained the Shōgozō → 「無縛脫」 tr. "without bondage or freedom", close to this treatise's base text). In addition, Dharmarakṣa's old translation, the Praise of Light Prajñāpāramitā, titles it directly 「無縛品第十五」 tr. "Chapter on the Unbound, the Fifteenth"〔T08 0185b20〕, as third-party side evidence. This pattern cannot be summed up by the surface dichotomy 「經莊嚴對論無縛無脫」 tr. "the sūtra's 'Adornment' against the treatise's 'Neither Bound nor Freed'"; this section, and Sections IV and VIII, set out in full, side by side, the readings of the witnesses of both sides, without taking only the side that supports a single conclusion; they are recorded without judgement. In this section and below, the reader's main text continues to follow this treatise's title and calls it "Neither Bound nor Freed."
The Sūtra and Treatise of this chapter make up a chapter within a fascicle, and its framework is four large blocks in succession, two Sūtra and two Treatise (like the earlier "The Great Adornment" and "Cutting Off Views", it is 「二經二論」 tr. "two Sūtra, two Treatise"; but in this chapter the front and back axes are the opposition of 「立莊嚴」 tr. "establishing adornment" and 「遣莊嚴」 tr. "dispelling adornment"). In Sūtra ① (from〔T25 0390a25〕) Subhūti asks 「何等是大莊嚴」 tr. "what is the great adornment?"〔T25 0390a26〕, and the Buddha answers with the great adornment of the Mahāyāna (the adornment of the six perfections; the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; the adornment of transforming the body to be like a Buddha's), unfolding it further by conjuring up a wheel-turning sage king who transforms the three-thousand world into beryl, gives according to what beings desire, and teaches the Dharma of the six perfections〔T25 0390b06〕. Each section on the six perfections is tied to the simile of the conjurer, and it closes in the section on the resolute vow with 「應薩婆若心，不生是念」 tr. "with a mind in accord with sarvajñā, he does not give rise to this thought"〔T25 0391a19〕. In Treatise ① (from〔T25 0391b04〕) the treatise-author himself ties it to the preceding chapter, 「上富樓那說大莊嚴及發大誓莊嚴相」 tr. "above, Pūrṇa spoke of the great adornment and the marks of arousing the adornment of the great vow"〔T25 0391b04〕; it makes clear the two kinds of giving (the giving of wealth and the giving of Dharma), conjuring up a Buddha-body to liberate the renunciant multitude and becoming a wheel-turning sage king to liberate the householder multitude; the Buddha himself speaks the simile of the conjurer; it distinguishes how the two perfections of giving and morality obtain wealth and honour and make one a wheel-turning sage king, while the other perfections make one either a Brahmā king or a dharma-body bodhisattva; it asks and answers what other dharma besides the six perfections can adorn; and it closes with 「自立如幻師」 tr. "he himself stands like a conjurer"〔T25 0391c12〕, as explained before. In Sūtra ② (from〔T25 0391c14〕) Subhūti states 「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，諸法自相空故」 tr. "no great adornment is the great adornment, because all dharmas are empty of specific marks"〔T25 0391c15〕; the Buddha confirms it and sets out 「薩婆若非作法，眾生亦非作法」 tr. "sarvajñā is not a made dharma, and beings too are not made dharmas"〔T25 0391c27〕; Subhūti presses the question, and the Buddha answers 「作者不可得故」 tr. "because the maker cannot be found"〔T25 0392a02〕, enumerating in full what is neither made nor raised, neither made nor unmade. Then Subhūti and Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra ask and answer about neither bound nor freed〔T25 0392a25〕, enumerating layer upon layer through like a dream, the three times, good and not good, the six perfections, the eighteen emptinesses, up to the Buddha, and the other names such as the suchness of dharmas, every one prefaced by the four reasons 「無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故」 tr. "because it is nothing whatever, because of detachment, because of quiescence, because of non-arising", and it closes with 「無縛無脫大莊嚴」 tr. "the great adornment that is neither bound nor freed"〔T25 0392c13〕. Treatise ② (from〔T25 0392c13〕, on the same line as the final sentence of Sūtra ②) explains why Subhūti says that arousing the great adornment is neither deep nor difficult, and the Buddha's confirmation 「如是」 tr. "so it is"; it explains that sarvajñā is not a made dharma (because the maker cannot be found); it refutes the doubts that illusion has marks of coming and going, that the eighteen emptinesses have a use, that suchness, dharma-nature, and the limit of reality ought to involve making, and that the bodhisattva, the Buddha, and omniscience of all kinds are real dharmas able to make; and at the end it makes clear that the dharmas of ordinary people are false and deceptive and therefore not bondage, while the dharmas of the noble ones are ultimately empty and therefore not release, closing with 「是名菩薩摩訶薩發大莊嚴相，所謂不縛不解」 tr. "this is called the mark of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's arousing the great adornment, namely neither bound nor released"〔T25 0393a28〕. Both Treatise sections are inserted outside the sūtra explained; T223 has no counterpart at all to these two sections (see Section IV).
The whole of this chapter falls in the middle portion of Fascicle 46: it begins at the chapter title〔T25 0390a24〕and ends at, not including, the opening title of the next chapter, Chapter 18, "Mahāyāna"〔T25 0393b01〕. The collation of this fascicle (Fascicle 46) has two special patterns that must be noted first. First, the Palace edition is absent for the whole fascicle: not one of the chapter's forty-six collation notes lists the Palace edition as a witness, continuing the pattern recorded in the preceding "Riding the Vehicle", that the Palace edition of Fascicle 46 is lost as a whole fascicle (the note attached to the chapter title of "Riding the Vehicle", which opens Fascicle 46, already states 「此卷宮本缺」 tr. "the Palace edition lacks this fascicle"). This chapter does not head the fascicle and its title does not declare this again, but an exhaustive check of the forty-six notes supports that the Palace edition is wholly missing for this chapter too. Second, the Ishiyama text's chapter number is shifted back by one: in this chapter's title the Ishiyama text reports itself as 「品第十六」 tr. "Chapter Sixteen" (one less than the Taishō edition's 「第十七」 tr. "the Seventeenth"; see Section VIII), and at the end of the chapter it closes itself with 「解釋第十六品竟」 tr. "release. End of the Commentary on the Sixteenth Chapter"0393a29; the two pieces of evidence confirm each other. This chapter does not head a fascicle, and its fascicle attribution has already been established by the preceding chapter; the Ishiyama text does not report a separate fascicle number in this chapter (unlike the preceding "Riding the Vehicle", where the Ishiyama text also reports 「卷四十八」 tr. "Fascicle Forty-eight"), so in this chapter the Ishiyama shift concerns the chapter number alone. Both matters are detailed in Section VIII; this section first marks that they exist.
II. Terms Examined
Neither bound nor freed (the name of the chapter's lifeline). This is what gives the chapter its name. 「無縛無脫」 tr. "Neither bound nor freed" means that with regard to all dharmas there is nothing bound and also nothing freed. In Sūtra ② Subhūti states 「色無縛無脫，受、想、行、識無縛無脫」 tr. "form is neither bound nor freed; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed"〔T25 0392a23〕; Pūrṇa asks and answers with him, and Subhūti explains the reason with the formula of four reasons, saying 「何以故無縛無脫？是色無所有故，無縛無脫」 tr. "Why is it neither bound nor freed? Because this form is nothing whatever, it is neither bound nor freed"〔T25 0392b06〕, and further closes it with 「離故，寂滅故，不生故，無縛無脫」 tr. "because of detachment, because of quiescence, because of non-arising, it is neither bound nor freed"〔T25 0392b08〕—because of the four meanings of being nothing whatever, detachment, quiescence, and non-arising, dharmas have nothing that is bound and nothing that is freed. This contemplation extends over form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, the three times, good and not good, the six perfections, and inner emptiness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and at last reaches 「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提無縛無脫」 tr. "anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening) is neither bound nor freed"〔T25 0392b21〕 and 「菩薩無縛無脫，佛亦無縛無脫」 tr. "the bodhisattva is neither bound nor freed; the Buddha too is neither bound nor freed"〔T25 0392b23〕—even the fruit of unsurpassed awakening and the Buddha's body are gathered into the contemplation of neither bound nor freed. Treatise ② explains the reason through the two gates of the ordinary and the noble, saying 「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」 tr. "the dharmas of ordinary people are false and deceptive and cannot be found, therefore they are not bondage; the dharmas of the noble ones are ultimately empty and cannot be found, therefore they are not release"〔T25 0393a17〕—because the dharmas of ordinary people are false and deceptive, there is nothing real to be bound; because the dharmas of the noble ones are ultimately empty, there is nothing real to be freed. The cross-witness variant of this name, 「無縛無脫／莊嚴」 tr. "neither bound nor freed / adornment", is detailed in Sections I, IV, and VIII.
The great adornment of the Mahāyāna · no great adornment is the great adornment (the pivot of the front and back axes). The opposition between the chapter's front and back axes. In Sūtra ① the Buddha answers 「菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍大莊嚴」 tr. "the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's great adornment of the Mahāyāna"〔T25 0390a27〕, adorning layer upon layer with the six perfections, the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, and the transforming of the body to be like a Buddha's; Sūtra ② then turns and says 「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，諸法自相空故」 tr. "no great adornment is the great adornment, because all dharmas are empty of specific marks"〔T25 0391c15〕—the greatness of adornment lies not in the existence of adornment, but in all dharmas being empty of specific marks, with no adornment to be found. The two axes stand opposed: Sūtra ① establishes the marks of adornment, Sūtra ② dispels the marks of adornment and returns them to the emptiness of specific marks, and Treatise ① and Treatise ② each explain one of them. 「摩訶衍」 tr. "Mahāyāna" is the Great Vehicle; 「大莊嚴」 tr. "the great adornment" has a cross-witness variant (the Ishiyama text reads 「大誓莊嚴」 tr. "the adornment of the great vow"; see Section VIII), and it continues in one line from Pūrṇa's three thesis-phrases in the earlier "The Great Adornment" and "Riding the Vehicle" (the great adornment, setting out, riding the Great Vehicle), which Treatise ① traces back to at its very opening (see Section VII).
Sarvajñā is not a made dharma · the maker cannot be found (the key point of the argument of Sūtra ② and Treatise ②). After confirming Subhūti in Sūtra ②, the Buddha sets out 「薩婆若非作法，眾生亦非作法，菩薩為是眾生大莊嚴」 tr. "sarvajñā is not a made dharma, and beings too are not made dharmas, yet the bodhisattva takes up the great adornment for these beings"〔T25 0391c27〕; Subhūti presses the question of the cause and condition for this, and the Buddha answers 「作者不可得故，薩婆若非作非起法」 tr. "because the maker cannot be found, sarvajñā is a dharma neither made nor raised"〔T25 0392a02〕—omniscience (sarvajñā) and beings alike are dharmas neither made nor able to be raised, because the maker cannot be found; and it enumerates throughout with 「非作非不作」 tr. "neither made nor unmade", from form up to sarvajñā and omniscience of all kinds. Treatise ② restates it, saying 「作者不可得故，一切智非作相」 tr. "because the maker cannot be found, omniscience does not have the mark of being made"〔T25 0392c26〕. Thus 「作者不可得」 tr. "the maker cannot be found" is this chapter's overall reason for dispelling 「莊嚴為所作之法」 tr. "adornment as a dharma that is made": since there is no maker, adornment has nothing made and nothing raised, and therefore it is neither bound nor freed.
Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra (host and guest change places in the question and answer). From 「爾時，富樓那彌多羅尼子語須菩提」 tr. "at that time Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra said to Subhūti"〔T25 0392a25〕 in Sūtra ②, Pūrṇa asks and Subhūti answers. This echoes the question-and-answer structure of the earlier "Riding the Vehicle" and "The Great Adornment", where Pūrṇa answered Śāriputra's questions; but in this chapter Pūrṇa turns into the questioner and Subhūti into the one who answers: host and guest change places. Pūrṇa asks only two questions (a restating, confirming question, 「色是無縛無脫」 tr. "form is neither bound nor freed?", and a pressing question, 「何等色無縛無脫」 tr. "what form is neither bound nor freed?"), while Subhūti answers the whole section to its end with a long enumeration; the question-and-answer structure takes the form of 「一問長答」 tr. "one question, a long answer." The variant transcriptions of this name (the Emission of Light has 「邠耨文陀尼子」 tr. "Binnou Wentuonizi", the Praise of Light has 「分耨文陀尼弗」 tr. "Fennou Wentuonifu") are detailed in Section IV.
III. Similes and Stories
The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa is renowned for its similes and stories. The teaching lifeline of this chapter lies in two similes and one image: the simile of the conjurer (running through Sūtra ① and Treatise ①, appearing once in each section on the six perfections, and an eighth time in the section on the resolute vow), the six similes of the dream and the rest (the section on neither bound nor freed in Sūtra ②), and the image of conjuring up a wheel-turning sage king (Sūtra ①, Treatise ①). All are tied to 「如幻」 tr. "like an illusion" and 「無所有」 tr. "nothing whatever", and make clear that adornment has nothing real.
First, the simile of the conjurer (Sūtra ①, Treatise ①, running through the whole front axis of the chapter). In Sūtra ① the Buddha sets out 「譬如工幻師、若幻師弟子，於四衢道中，化作大眾於前」 tr. "just as a skilled conjurer, or a conjurer's disciple, at a crossroads conjures up a great multitude before him"〔T25 0390b14〕, giving food to those who need food and drink to those who need drink, down to giving them every kind of thing they need, and asks 「是幻師實有眾生有給與不」 tr. "does this conjurer really have beings, and does he really give anything?"〔T25 0390b16〕; Subhūti answers 「不也」 tr. "No", and the Buddha closes it with 「雖有所施，實無所與。何以故？須菩提！諸法相如幻故」 tr. "though there is giving, in reality nothing is given. Why? Subhūti! Because the mark of all dharmas is like an illusion"〔T25 0390b20〕; its continuing phrase 「諸法相如幻故」 tr. "because the mark of all dharmas is like an illusion"〔T25 0390b21〕 is the eye of meaning of this simile. This structure is re-enacted once in each section on the six perfections (giving, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, prajñā), and appears an eighth time in the section on the resolute vow. In Treatise ① the Buddha speaks this simile himself, as it says, 「是中佛自說譬喻」 tr. "here the Buddha himself speaks a simile"〔T25 0391b21〕; Subhūti answers 「是但虛誑，實無所有」 tr. "this is merely false and deceptive; in reality there is nothing whatever"〔T25 0391b25〕, and the Buddha concludes with 「諸法相畢竟空如幻」 tr. "the mark of all dharmas is ultimately empty, like an illusion"〔T25 0391b27〕. So the conjurer conjures up beings, yet in reality there are no beings; the bodhisattva adorns, yet in reality there is nothing adorned: a simile for the great adornment of the six perfections as being like an illusion and nothing whatever.
Second, conjuring up a wheel-turning sage king (Sūtra ①, Treatise ①, the marks of the great adornment). In Sūtra ①, 「化作轉輪聖王，隨眾生所欲，須食與食」 tr. "he conjures up a wheel-turning sage king and, according to what beings desire, gives food to those who need food"〔T25 0390b08〕 (the four characters 「隨眾生所欲」 tr. "according to what beings desire" have a cross-witness variant; see Section VIII): he transforms the three-thousand great-thousand world into beryl, gives according to what beings desire the eleven things (food, drink, clothing, bedding, flowers and incense, necklaces, powdered incense, scented ointment, dwellings, lamps and candles, medicine), and afterwards teaches them the Dharma of the six perfections. Treatise ① divides this into two bodies, saying 「為出家好道眾生故，化作佛身」 tr. "for the sake of beings who have gone forth and love the path, he conjures up a Buddha-body"〔T25 0391b09〕 to liberate the renunciant multitude, and he becomes a wheel-turning sage king to liberate the householder multitude, benefiting them with the two kinds of giving, the giving of wealth and the giving of Dharma. This scene of the wheel-turning sage king interlocks with the simile of the conjurer: he conjures up a wheel-turning sage king who gives in every way, and it is like an illusion, without reality.
Third, like a dream, like an echo, like a reflection, like an illusion, like a mirage, like a transformation (Sūtra ②, similes for neither bound nor freed). In Sūtra ② Subhūti answers Pūrṇa with 「如夢色無縛無脫」 tr. "form that is like a dream is neither bound nor freed"〔T25 0392b01〕 and 「如嚮、如影、如幻、如焰、如化色受想行識無縛無脫」 tr. "form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness that are like an echo, like a reflection, like an illusion, like a mirage, like a transformation are neither bound nor freed"〔T25 0392b02〕, making clear by the six similes of the dream and the rest that the five aggregates are neither bound nor freed. Treatise ② takes up these six similes to refute a doubt: Subhūti and the others doubt that dharmas, 「如幻雖無實事，而有來去相」 tr. "like an illusion, though without real substance, still have marks of coming and going", and the Buddha dispels it with 「如幻、如焰等無作相，畢竟不可得故」 tr. "illusions, mirages, and the like have no mark of making, because they ultimately cannot be found"〔T25 0393a03〕. Thus the six similes—dream, echo, reflection, illusion, mirage, transformation—make clear in the sūtra that there is neither bondage nor freedom, and in the treatise that there is no mark of making, running through from front to back.
IV. The Sūtra Passage Explained
The Sūtra sections cited by this treatise correspond item by item to Chapter 17, "Adornment"〔T08 0247c12–0249c28〕, of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra translated by Kumārajīva of the Later Qin. Below they are aligned word for word, to show that what the treatise explains is indeed the sūtra text of this version; at the places where the two Treatise sections are inserted, it is especially clear that the doctrinal bones of this chapter lie in the treatise and not in the sūtra.
First group: the variant chapter titles (the full clusters of both sides' witnesses set side by side). This treatise's〔T25 0390a24〕 「大智度論釋無縛無脫品第十七」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Neither Bound nor Freed, the Seventeenth" and T223's〔T08 0247c12〕 「莊嚴品第十七」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment, the Seventeenth" differ entirely in the characters of their surface chapter names. Yet when the complete collations of both sides are checked one by one (see Section VIII): in this treatise the Taishō and Ishiyama lean toward 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed", the Song, Yuan, and Ming lean toward 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment", the Shōgozō restates the number, and the Palace is missing; in the sūtra explained, T223, the Taishō base text (together with the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace) reads 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment", and the Shōgozō alone reads 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經無縛脫」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra: Without Bondage or Freedom" (a Shōgozō variant; see Section VIII). In addition there is the Praise of Light Prajñāpāramitā's 「無縛品第十五」 tr. "Chapter on the Unbound, the Fifteenth"〔T08 0185b20〕. Thus the base-text layers of the two sides differ, while the minority variants each point toward the other side's reading; three sides converge, and they are recorded without judgement.
Second group: the opening question is nearly identical word for word. This treatise's〔T25 0390a25〕 「爾時，須菩提白佛言：『世尊！菩薩摩訶薩……』」 tr. "At that time, Subhūti said to the Buddha: 'World-Honored One! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva …'" and T223's〔T08 0247c13〕 「爾時須菩提白佛言：『世尊！菩薩摩訶薩大莊……』」 tr. "At that time Subhūti said to the Buddha: 'World-Honored One! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva's great adorn…'" correspond word for word (differing only at the editorial layer of whether there is a comma); this is the whole-sentence anchor for the boundary between sūtra and treatise in this chapter.
Third group: the variant in fullness of transcription, dāna and dān. Throughout, this treatise reads 「檀波羅蜜」 tr. "dān-pāramitā", and T223 throughout reads 「檀那波羅蜜」 tr. "dāna-pāramitā"—for instance, T223's〔T08 0247c15〕 「菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍大莊嚴，所謂檀那波羅蜜」 tr. "the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's great adornment of the Mahāyāna, namely dāna-pāramitā" corresponds to this treatise's〔T25 0390a27〕 「菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍大莊嚴」 tr. "the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's great adornment of the Mahāyāna" and the following 「所謂檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜莊嚴」 tr. "namely the adornment of dān-pāramitā up to prajñāpāramitā." This is a difference in the fullness of transcription between Kumārajīva's two translations (dāna is the full transcription, dān the abbreviated one; this treatise habitually uses the abbreviation); it runs through the whole text and is not listed separately at each place.
Fourth group: a verbal variant, world and lands. This treatise's〔T25 0390b02〕 「變身如佛莊嚴，光明遍照三千大千世界」 tr. "the adornment of transforming the body to be like a Buddha's, its light shining everywhere throughout the three-thousand great-thousand world" and T223's〔T08 0247c19〕 「變身如佛莊嚴。光明遍照三千大千國土」 tr. "the adornment of transforming the body to be like a Buddha's. Its light shines everywhere throughout the three-thousand great-thousand lands"—this treatise reads 「世界」 tr. "world" and T223 reads 「國土」 tr. "lands." This occurs several times throughout; world and lands are synonymous (both render words of the lokadhātu / kṣetra family). It is offered for the translator's reference and recorded without judgement. This word in this treatise also has a variant within its own witnesses (see Section VIII).
Fifth group: the presence or absence of "according to what beings desire." This treatise's〔T25 0390b08〕 「化作轉輪聖王，隨眾生所欲，須食與食」 tr. "he conjures up a wheel-turning sage king and, according to what beings desire, gives food to those who need food" has the four additional characters 「隨眾生所欲」 tr. "according to what beings desire", while T223's〔T08 0247c25〕 「化作轉輪聖王，須食與食」 tr. "he conjures up a wheel-turning sage king and gives food to those who need food" lacks these four characters; moreover, the Song and Shōgozō witnesses of this treatise itself also lack these four characters (see Section VIII), converging with T223. This is recorded without judgement.
Sixth group: the layer of neither bound nor freed is nearly identical word for word. This treatise's〔T25 0392a23〕 「色無縛無脫，受、想、行、識無縛無脫」 tr. "form is neither bound nor freed; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither bound nor freed" corresponds word for word with the passage of T223〔T08 0249b06〕 that, after 「如我觀佛所說義」 tr. "as I understand the meaning of what the Buddha has said", reads 「色無縛無脫」 tr. "form is neither bound nor freed"; so too does the question and answer with Pūrṇa (T223's〔T08 0249b08〕 「富樓那彌多羅尼子語須菩提」 tr. "Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra said to Subhūti" corresponds with this treatise〔T25 0392a25〕). In this section the two texts differ only at the editorial layer of whether there are enumeration commas, and these are not variants of transmission.
Seventh group: Treatise ① and Treatise ② are wholly this treatise's own insertions (zero correspondence in T223). The two Treatise sections of this treatise (①〔T25 0391b04–0391c13〕, ②〔T25 0392c13–0393a29〕) have no counterpart at all in T223: the full extent of T223's chapter "Adornment"〔T08 0247c12–0249c28〕 coincides exactly with the union of this treatise's two Sūtra sections〔T25 0390a25–0392c13〕, while the two Treatise sections fall wholly outside the chapter boundaries of T223—Treatise ① is inserted between Sūtra ① and Sūtra ② (an insertion in the middle), and Treatise ② is inserted after the closing sentence of Sūtra ② (an insertion at the end, where T223 has already passed to the next chapter). This is exactly the same type as the insertion of two Treatise sections in the earlier "The Great Adornment" and "The Meaning of the Phrase." Further, T223's next chapter title, 「問乘品」 tr. "Chapter on Asking about the Vehicle"〔T08 0249c29〕, differs from this treatise's next chapter title, 「摩訶衍品」 tr. "Chapter on the Mahāyāna": from Chapter 18 onward the chapter names of the two Chinese translations diverge again (this does not belong to the scope of this chapter; it is recorded for the reference of future research on Chapter 18).
Eighth group: side reference to the other translations (in this chapter all three have correspondences, unlike the type of the preceding "Riding the Vehicle", with its 「放光零命中」 tr. "zero hits in the Emission of Light"). First, Wuluocha's Emission of Light Prajñāpāramitā (T08n0221): the content of this chapter has corresponding passages in the Emission of Light; its 「五陰亦無縛無脫」 tr. "the five aggregates too are neither bound nor freed"〔T08 0022b05〕 and 「邠耨文陀尼子問須菩提」 tr. "Binnou Wentuonizi asked Subhūti"〔T08 0022b05〕 (「邠耨文陀尼子」 tr. "Binnou Wentuonizi" is a variant transcription of Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra) correspond in meaning, item by item, to the layer of neither bound nor freed in Sūtra ②; but in this chapter of the Emission of Light no passage has been found that clearly corresponds to the layer of the great adornment in Sūtra ① (the chapter divisions of the Emission of Light are not in step with the Taishō; side reference for the layer of the great adornment is for now lacking, while side reference for the layer of neither bound nor freed is present; this is recorded honestly, without forcing a textual determination). Second, Dharmarakṣa's Praise of Light Prajñāpāramitā (T08n0222): its chapter title reads directly 「無縛品第十五」 tr. "Chapter on the Unbound, the Fifteenth"〔T08 0185b20〕, corresponding directly to the theme of this chapter's second layer; its opening continues 「摩訶僧那僧涅，菩薩摩訶薩被大德鎧」 tr. "the great saṃnāha: the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dons the armour of great virtue"〔T08 0185b21〕 (the transcription sengna sengnie = saṃnāha, the image of donning armour and of the adornment of the great vow; the Sanskrit footnote to the chapter title in CBETA reads 「莊嚴 Sannāha」 tr. "adornment, Sannāha"), and together with the 「大莊嚴」 tr. "great adornment" of T223 and T1509 and Xuanzang's 「擐大功德鎧」 tr. "donning the great armour of merit" in the preceding "Riding the Vehicle", three sides converge, forming a terminological lineage across translations and across chapters. Further, the Praise of Light's layer of the unbound reads 「色無著、無縛、無脫」 tr. "form is without attachment, without bondage, without freedom"〔T08 0188a04〕, three terms in succession; compared with Kumārajīva's two terms 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed", it has one more layer, 「無著」 tr. "without attachment"; this is the Praise of Light's own three-term expansion, recorded without judgement and not made the subject of a critical text-historical study. Third, Xuanzang's Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, First Assembly (T05n0220a): Xuanzang's side-reference passages proper to this chapter (corresponding to the layers of neither bound nor freed and of the maker not being found) carry on the framework of 「擐大功德鎧」 tr. "donning the great armour of merit" at the chapter boundary of the preceding "Riding the Vehicle"; this section has not dug further into them and honestly marks them as unfinished side reference, to be studied further in future if needed.
V. The Prajñā Eye
The eye of this chapter lies in 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed": because all dharmas are nothing whatever, there is nothing bound and also nothing freed; the greatness of adornment lies not in the existence of adornment, but in all dharmas being empty of specific marks, with no adornment to be found. The whole chapter goes back and forth in two rounds (a round of the great adornment and a round of neither bound nor freed), both tied to prajñā's nothing to be attained and ultimate emptiness.
First, the greatness of the great adornment lies in no great adornment being the great adornment. In Sūtra ① the Buddha broadly teaches the great adornment of the Mahāyāna (the six perfections up to transforming the body to be like a Buddha's), all tied to the simile of the conjurer, 「雖有所施，實無所與。何以故？……諸法相如幻故」 tr. "though there is giving, in reality nothing is given. Why? … Because the mark of all dharmas is like an illusion"〔T25 0390b20〕; in Sūtra ② Subhūti at once overturns this, saying 「無大莊嚴為大莊嚴，諸法自相空故」 tr. "no great adornment is the great adornment, because all dharmas are empty of specific marks"〔T25 0391c15〕—the greatness of adornment lies not in the abundance of adornment, but in contemplating adornment as empty of specific marks, with no adornment to be found. Treatise ② gathers up this meaning: fearing that beings, hearing the very deep meaning, will lose heart and sink back, it makes clear that 「發大莊嚴非深非難」 tr. "arousing the great adornment is neither deep nor difficult"〔T25 0392c20〕, because the emptiness of specific marks is easy to practise and easy to attain.
Second, sarvajñā is not a made dharma, because the maker cannot be found. The reason adornment is nothing whatever lies in 「作者不可得」 tr. "the maker cannot be found." The Buddha sets out 「薩婆若非作法，眾生亦非作法」 tr. "sarvajñā is not a made dharma, and beings too are not made dharmas"〔T25 0391c27〕, and answers Subhūti's question with 「作者不可得故，薩婆若非作非起法」 tr. "because the maker cannot be found, sarvajñā is a dharma neither made nor raised"〔T25 0392a02〕, enumerating throughout with 「色非作非不作，受、想、行、識非作非不作」 tr. "form is neither made nor unmade; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are neither made nor unmade"〔T25 0392a04〕, from form up to sarvajñā and omniscience of all kinds. Treatise ② restates it, saying 「作者不可得故，一切智非作相」 tr. "because the maker cannot be found, omniscience does not have the mark of being made"〔T25 0392c26〕. Thus, since there is no maker, omniscience, beings, and adornment are all neither made nor able to be raised; because there is no making, there is neither bondage nor freedom.
Third, neither bound nor freed extends over all dharmas up to the Buddha; neither bound nor released is precisely the mark of arousing the great adornment. Sūtra ② runs down through everything with the four meanings 「無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故」 tr. "because it is nothing whatever, because of detachment, because of quiescence, because of non-arising"〔T25 0392b12〕, from form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, the three times, good and not good, the six perfections, and the eighteen emptinesses, extending to 「諸法如、法相、法性、法住、法位、實際、無為法無縛無脫」 tr. "the suchness of dharmas, the mark of dharmas, the nature of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, the station of dharmas, the limit of reality, and the unconditioned dharma are neither bound nor freed"〔T25 0392b25〕, and at last reaching 「菩薩無縛無脫，佛亦無縛無脫」 tr. "the bodhisattva is neither bound nor freed; the Buddha too is neither bound nor freed"〔T25 0392b23〕—even the bodhisattva and the Buddha are gathered into the contemplation of neither bound nor freed. This is the utmost point of this chapter's contemplation of ultimate emptiness (the same pattern of radicalisation as the preceding "Riding the Vehicle"'s 「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提及佛但有名字、佛不可得」 tr. "anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi and the Buddha are only names; the Buddha cannot be found"). Treatise ② makes it clear through the two gates of the ordinary and the noble, saying 「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」 tr. "the dharmas of ordinary people are false and deceptive and cannot be found, therefore they are not bondage; the dharmas of the noble ones are ultimately empty and cannot be found, therefore they are not release"〔T25 0393a17〕, and at the end returns to 「是名菩薩摩訶薩發大莊嚴相，所謂不縛不解」 tr. "this is called the mark of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's arousing the great adornment, namely neither bound nor released"〔T25 0393a28〕. Thus this chapter runs down in a single line from the great adornment being like an illusion and empty of specific marks, to sarvajñā having no maker, to all dharmas being neither bound nor freed; and where it comes to rest is solely this: 「不縛不解」 tr. "neither bound nor released" is itself the arousing of the great adornment—the prajñā eye of adorning with nothing adorned, of being freed with nothing freed.
VI. Divergent Readings of the Masters
As for the ancient masters who cite and explain this chapter, this section records 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: Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra comments directly on the text line by line, and its support is complete and rich, the only complete one of all (the chapter list at the head of the work, the double rendering of the chapter title in the line-by-line commentary, the major division of the eight chapters praising the Dharma and teaching prajñā, the two questions, asking about the Dharma and asking about the person, and, in the section of again removing doubts, making clear that there is no bondage or freedom and the benefit gained by making clear neither bound nor freed; its outline corresponds one by one to the four-part structure of this chapter). In the surviving fragmentary fascicles of Huiying's Commentary, the line-by-line commentary on this chapter is missing (the great stretch from Chapter 13 to Chapter 36 is lacking), and its three surface hits are all traps of identical names or confusion. Junzheng's Profound Meaning of the Four Mahāyāna Treatises has one case where a chapter name is cited but the quotation in fact belongs to another chapter (a mistaken chapter name), and three general doctrinal uses of the character 「縛」 tr. "bondage", all unrelated to this chapter. Among Zhiyi's works there is one literal hit that itself declares its source to be the Śūraṃgama, and it is not this chapter.
The support from Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451) is the richest among the ancient masters for this chapter: his line-by-line commentary on this chapter proceeds in one breath, covering both the layer of the great adornment and the layer of neither bound nor freed, in three layers in all. First, the chapter list at the head of the work and the chapter title in the line-by-line commentary. The chapter list at the head of the work lists it directly as 「莊嚴品第十七」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment, the Seventeenth"〔X24 0195a21〕, and the chapter-title line of the line-by-line commentary renders the same chapter title a second time as 「莊嚴品第十七」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment, the Seventeenth"〔X24 0244b21〕. Throughout (chapter list and line-by-line commentary) Jizang calls this chapter 「莊嚴品」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment", agreeing with the title in the T223 base text; nowhere is Jizang found to use 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed" as the name of the chapter itself.
Second, the major division to which this chapter belongs, and the two questions. Jizang judges this chapter to be the first chapter of the major division 「八品歎法說般若」 tr. "eight chapters praising the Dharma and teaching prajñā", saying 「此下第二，八品歎法說般若。前歎行法之人，今歎人」 tr. "From here on is the second: eight chapters praising the Dharma and teaching prajñā. Before, it praised the person who practises the Dharma; now it praises the person"〔X24 0244b22〕, and he opens its first chapter into two questions, saying 「次開為二問：一、問法；次、問人」 tr. "Next it is opened into two questions: first, asking about the Dharma; next, asking about the person"〔X24 0244c05〕—dividing the front axis of this chapter in two by 「問法」 tr. "asking about the Dharma" (corresponding to the layer of the great adornment of the Mahāyāna in Sūtra ①, where the Buddha answers with the full six perfections) and 「問人」 tr. "asking about the person" (corresponding to the section on the resolute vow in Sūtra ① and to Treatise ①'s answer on the cause and fruit of adornment).
Third, the outline of the section of again removing doubts (corresponding to the layer of neither bound nor freed). Jizang sets the layer of neither bound nor freed in Sūtra ② apart as its own division, 「第三、重除疑」 tr. "third, again removing doubts"〔X24 0245c16〕, explaining its motive thus: after the assembly of the time heard the very deep meaning of 「畢竟無作」 tr. "ultimately without making", it was feared that the doubt would arise 「無人法生死得脫」 tr. "then there would be no person and no dharma that is freed from birth and death", and so the Buddha refutes it with 「數論大小乘解」 tr. "the understandings of the enumerative treatises and of the Great and Small Vehicles"; further, he divides it as 「文二：初、明無縛脫；二、以明無縛無脫故得利益」 tr. "the text has two parts: first, making clear that there is no bondage or freedom; second, the benefit gained by making clear neither bound nor freed"〔X24 0246a01〕, and he explains the meaning of neither bound nor freed with 「初有不可得故脫縛，縛不可得故無解也」 tr. "first, because existence cannot be found, one is freed from bondage; because bondage cannot be found, there is no release"〔X24 0246a02〕—because existence cannot be found one is freed from bondage, and because bondage cannot be found there is nothing released. This explanation of Jizang's matches in meaning, point by point, this chapter's Treatise ②, 「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」 tr. "the dharmas of ordinary people are false and deceptive and cannot be found, therefore they are not bondage; the dharmas of the noble ones are ultimately empty and cannot be found, therefore they are not release"〔T25 0393a17〕, and it is independent, complete, and verifiable ancient-master outline material for this chapter. The cross-correspondence between his outline and the four-part structure of this chapter is tabulated as follows:
| Jizang's outline | Corresponding section of this chapter | loc |
|---|---|---|
| Eight chapters praising the Dharma and teaching prajñā · asking about the Dharma (the Buddha answers with the full six perfections) | Sūtra ①, the great adornment of the Mahāyāna (the six perfections up to transforming the body to be like a Buddha's · the simile of the conjurer) | from〔T25 0390a25〕 |
| Asking about the person (answering on the cause and fruit of adornment) | Sūtra ①, the section on the resolute vow + Treatise ① (conjuring a Buddha-body and a wheel-king body to liberate the two multitudes) | 〔T25 0391a18〕／〔T25 0391b04〕 |
| Third · again removing doubts · making clear that there is no bondage or freedom | Sūtra ②, the layer of neither bound nor freed (the question and answer of Subhūti and Pūrṇa) | from〔T25 0392a22〕 |
| The benefit gained by making clear neither bound nor freed | Sūtra ②, the overall close + Treatise ② | 〔T25 0392b27〕／〔T25 0392c13〕 |
In the surviving fragmentary fascicles of Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791), the line-by-line commentary on this chapter is missing. The line-by-line commentary in Huiying's original fragmentary fascicles skips one great stretch, from Chapter 13 to Chapter 36 (including this chapter), so the line-by-line commentary on this chapter falls within this great gap and does not exist in these fragments. This section searched Huiying's commentary throughout for 「莊嚴品」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment", 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed", and 「無縛」 tr. "unbound", with three surface hits; checked one by one against their context, all are unrelated to this chapter. The first is the citation of 「大誓莊嚴品」 tr. "Chapter on the Adornment of the Great Vow"〔X46 0808b12〕; 「大誓莊嚴品」 tr. "Chapter on the Adornment of the Great Vow" is another chapter of T223 (an alternative name of the earlier "Eloquence" / "The Great Adornment"), which coincides literally with 「莊嚴品」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment" but is not this chapter: a trap of identical names. The second is the passage with 「無縛解」 tr. "without bondage or release"〔X46 0890b11〕 and 「無縛無解」 tr. "neither bondage nor release"〔X46 0890b21〕, which is Huiying's line-by-line commentary on another chapter, concerning the meaning of the deep merit of 「色淨」 tr. "the purity of form" (the passage makes clear the deep meaning of prajñā with 「色淨是亦淨」 tr. "the purity of form is also pure"〔X46 0890b16〕); its meaning of 「無縛解」 tr. "without bondage or release" is a recurring motif of the prajñā lineage, and its context differs from this chapter's direct enumeration of 「色無縛無脫」 tr. "form is neither bound nor freed": a confusion of the same theme in a different chapter. The third is 「無縛黑」 tr. "unbound black"〔X46 0895b21〕, which falls within the context of the ten grounds of the Flower Adornment Sūtra, Vajra Treasury, and the similes of Liberation Moon: a literal coincidence of the two characters 「無縛」 tr. "unbound." The structure of Huiying's table of contents also confirms that the line-by-line commentary on Chapters 13 through 36 falls in the known gap. Recorded honestly: this chapter has no line-by-line commentary in Huiying's surviving fragments; it is recorded as absent, as it is, without falsely claiming that it exists.
Junzheng's Profound Meaning of the Four Mahāyāna Treatises (X46n0784) has one case where a chapter name is cited but the quotation in fact belongs to another chapter. Junzheng plainly cites 「大品經〔缺一字〕莊嚴品云」 tr. "the Larger Sūtra 〔one character missing〕 Chapter on Adornment says" (between the characters 「經」 tr. "sūtra" and 「莊嚴品」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment", one character of the original manuscript of the CBETA base text is blurred and illegible) and quotes a passage, 「畢定眾中干慧地」 tr. "the ground of dry wisdom within the assembly of the assured" (the base text's 「干」 tr. "dry" is a popular form of 「乾」 tr. "dry", that is, the ground of dry wisdom)〔X46 0564c21〕. Yet a character-by-character check of the whole text of T223's chapter "Adornment"〔T08 0247c12–0249c28〕 and of the whole text of this chapter of this treatise〔T25 0390a24–0393b01〕 finds neither of the two terms 「畢定」 tr. "the assured" and 「乾慧地」 tr. "the ground of dry wisdom." A thorough general search and collation shows that 「乾慧地」 tr. "the ground of dry wisdom" in fact comes from the enumeration of the ten grounds in T223's Chapter 20, "Setting Out", which does not match the chapter name 「莊嚴品」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment" cited by Junzheng: it is a mistaken chapter name (the chapter name cited does not agree with the actual source of the quotation), not a false quotation, and it does not constitute ancient-master support for this chapter. The other three general doctrinal uses of the character 「縛」 tr. "bondage" (「眾生無縛，何須解」 tr. "beings are not bound; what need is there for release?"〔X46 0588c04〕, 「解脫是慧為體，而無縛義」 tr. "liberation has wisdom as its substance, and has no meaning of bondage"〔X46 0657b07〕, and 「無縛作縛」 tr. "making bondage where there is none", citing Fascicle 9 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa〔X46 0586b03〕) are all unrelated to this chapter. Recorded honestly: Junzheng's ancient-master support for this chapter is zero, and the number of citations is not falsely reported on account of surface hits.
As for Zhiyi's works, this section searched throughout for 「莊嚴品」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment" and 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed": a general search for 「莊嚴品」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment" yielded zero hits, and 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed" yielded one place in the Great Calming and Contemplation. Zhiyi uses 「無縛無脫，是名般若。具如《首楞嚴》中廣說」 tr. "Neither bound nor freed—this is called prajñā. It is explained at length in the Śūraṃgama"〔T46 0016c06〕 to describe the essentials of the contemplation of prajñāpāramitā, plainly declaring his source to be the Śūraṃgama (the Śūraṃgama-samādhi Sūtra) and not this treatise; it is a general doctrinal expression using the term 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed", not a verbatim or doctrinal citation of this chapter. It is recorded as it is, not forcibly adopted and not fabricated.
VII. Cross-reading and Further Resonances
The bones of this chapter are three, all carried on by the prajñā lineage and by the later commentaries.
First, the transmission of Pūrṇa's three phrases, running through three chapters as one: the 「摩訶衍大莊嚴」 tr. "great adornment of the Mahāyāna" of this chapter's Sūtra ① comes down from Pūrṇa's three thesis-phrases in the earlier "The Great Adornment" and "Riding the Vehicle" (the great adornment, setting out toward the Great Vehicle, riding the Great Vehicle), and Treatise ① at its very opening ties itself to 「上富樓那說大莊嚴及發大誓莊嚴相」 tr. "above, Pūrṇa spoke of the great adornment and the marks of arousing the adornment of the great vow"〔T25 0391b04〕—the treatise-author himself marks that the adornment explained in this chapter comes from the great adornment and the arousing of the adornment of the great vow spoken by Pūrṇa in the preceding chapters. Thus the doctrinal framework of this chapter's front axis is tied by the treatise-author himself to the three thesis-phrases of the preceding chapters. This section records the transmission and does not fix a reading on anyone's behalf; all the sources cited are found in the word-for-word records of Sections I and IV.
Second, the transmission of neither bound nor freed and of the contemplation of ultimate emptiness: this chapter's Sūtra ② enumerates neither bound nor freed throughout with the four meanings 「無所有故，離故，寂滅故，不生故」 tr. "because it is nothing whatever, because of detachment, because of quiescence, because of non-arising", extending over the other names of the real mark of all dharmas and at last reaching 「菩薩無縛無脫，佛亦無縛無脫」 tr. "the bodhisattva is neither bound nor freed; the Buddha too is neither bound nor freed"〔T25 0392b23〕; the treatise takes it up and makes clear the meaning of ‘neither bondage nor release’ through the two gates of the ordinary and the noble (Treatise ②, 「凡夫人法虛誑不可得，故非縛；聖人法畢竟空不可得，故非解」 tr. "the dharmas of ordinary people are false and deceptive and cannot be found, therefore they are not bondage; the dharmas of the noble ones are ultimately empty and cannot be found, therefore they are not release"〔T25 0393a17〕). The ancient master Jizang carries on this meaning of neither bound nor freed, explaining it in the section of again removing doubts with 「初有不可得故脫縛，縛不可得故無解也」 tr. "first, because existence cannot be found, one is freed from bondage; because bondage cannot be found, there is no release"〔X24 0246a02〕, which matches in meaning, point by point, the two gates of the ordinary and the noble in Treatise ②. This contemplation, 「一切法無縛無脫、畢竟空」 tr. "all dharmas are neither bound nor freed and ultimately empty", is a meaning that runs through the whole prajñā lineage, and this chapter takes 「連菩薩與佛亦無縛無脫」 tr. "even the bodhisattva and the Buddha are neither bound nor freed" as its utmost point. This section records the transmission and does not fix a reading on anyone's behalf; all the sources cited are found in the word-for-word records of Sections II, V, and VI.
Third, the transmission of the maker not being found and of neither made nor raised: this chapter's Sūtra ② sets out 「作者不可得故，薩婆若非作非起法」 tr. "because the maker cannot be found, sarvajñā is a dharma neither made nor raised"〔T25 0392a02〕, and Treatise ② restates 「作者不可得故，一切智非作相」 tr. "because the maker cannot be found, omniscience does not have the mark of being made"〔T25 0392c26〕. This meaning, 「作者不可得故無所作」 tr. "because the maker cannot be found, nothing is made", carries on the prajñā line of 「無作」 tr. "non-action", and is this chapter's overall reason for dispelling the marks of adornment and making clear neither bound nor freed. This section records the transmission and does not fix a reading on anyone's behalf; all the sources cited are found in the word-for-word records of Sections II and IV.
As for the sequence of this treatise, this chapter has explicit statements of internal cross-reading, tied by the treatise-author himself. Treatise ① at its opening ties itself to two matters of the preceding chapters as what it carries on, saying 「上富樓那說大莊嚴及發大誓莊嚴相」 tr. "above, Pūrṇa spoke of the great adornment and the marks of arousing the adornment of the great vow"〔T25 0391b04〕—the treatise-author himself marks that the 「大莊嚴」 tr. "great adornment" explained in this chapter comes down from Pūrṇa's three phrases in the earlier "The Great Adornment" and "Riding the Vehicle"; and at the end of Treatise ①, 「自立如幻師」 tr. "he himself stands like a conjurer"〔T25 0391c12〕, as explained before: the treatise-author himself marks the simile of the conjurer as one already spoken earlier, which he carries on and uses here. This self-tying of the line of meaning is recorded here as a transmission; this section does not fix a reading on anyone's behalf.
VIII. Witnesses and Editions
The collation readings of this chapter that bear on the meaning of the sūtra are selected below; the variant readings are preserved side by side, while the main text continues to follow the reading of the current base text. This fascicle (Fascicle 46) has two special patterns that must be noted first—the Palace edition absent for the whole fascicle, and the Ishiyama text's chapter number shifted back by one; both matters are detailed in the final paragraphs of this section.
0390a24 (chapter title · the full witnesses of both sides set side by side): 大智度論釋無縛無脫品第十七【大】｜大智度論釋莊嚴品第十七【宋】【元】｜釋莊嚴品第十七【明】｜釋第十六品【聖】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜品第十六無縛無脫品【石】—among the six witnesses of this treatise, the Taishō base text titles it 「無縛無脫品」 tr. "Chapter on Neither Bound nor Freed"; the Song and Yuan editions read 「莊嚴品第十七」 tr. "Chapter on Adornment, the Seventeenth"; the Ming edition reads 「釋莊嚴品第十七」 tr. "Commentary on the Chapter on Adornment, the Seventeenth"; the Shōgozō does not give a chapter name for comparison but restates it by number, 「釋第十六品」 tr. "Commentary on the Sixteenth Chapter" (its chapter number one less than the Taishō); the Ishiyama text reads 「摩訶般若波羅蜜品第十六無縛無脫品」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā, Chapter Sixteen, Chapter on Neither Bound nor Freed" (its chapter number recorded as 「十六」 tr. "sixteen", one less than the Taishō's 「第十七」 tr. "the Seventeenth", while its title also contains 「無縛無脫品」 tr. "Chapter on Neither Bound nor Freed", agreeing in wording with the Taishō base text); and the Palace edition is wholly missing for this fascicle (this chapter's title carries no appended note 「此卷宮本缺」 tr. "the Palace edition lacks this fascicle"; the verification of its absence for the whole fascicle is detailed in the final paragraphs of this section). This forms a contrast with the chapter title of the sūtra explained, T223: the T223 Taishō base text reads 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment", and its collation note reads 莊嚴【大】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜經無縛脫【聖】〔T08 0247c12〕; that is, of the six witnesses of T223 only the Shōgozō, a single seat, reads 「……無縛脫」 tr. "… without bondage or freedom" (compared with 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed", one character 「無」 tr. "no" fewer: the same source, written differently), while the other five witnesses (the Taishō, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace) all read 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment" (the Sanskrit footnote to the T223 chapter title reads 「莊嚴 Sannāha」 tr. "adornment, Sannāha"). Thus the base-text layers of the two sides differ (in this treatise the Taishō and Ishiyama lean toward 「無縛無脫」 tr. "neither bound nor freed"; in the sūtra explained the Taishō leans toward 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment"), while the minority variants of each side point toward the other side's reading (in this treatise the Song, Yuan, and Ming → 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment", agreeing with the mainstream of T223; in T223 the Shōgozō → 「無縛脫」 tr. "without bondage or freedom", close to this treatise's base text); in addition, Dharmarakṣa's old translation, the Praise of Light Prajñāpāramitā, titles it directly 「無縛品第十五」 tr. "Chapter on the Unbound, the Fifteenth"〔T08 0185b20〕, as third-party side evidence (see Sections I and IV). The main text follows the base text, 「無縛無脫品」 tr. "Chapter on Neither Bound nor Freed."
0390a26 (adornment / vow-adornment): 莊嚴【大】＊，誓莊嚴【石】＊—at the first occurrence in the chapter of the term 「大莊嚴」 tr. "the great adornment" (in 「菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴」 tr. "the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's great adornment"), for its 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment" the Ishiyama text, before 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment", adds the character 「誓」 tr. "vow", reading 「大誓莊嚴」 tr. "the adornment of the great vow." This echoes the double-track terminology (the great adornment / arousing the adornment of the great vow) at the opening of Treatise ①, 「上富樓那說大莊嚴及發大誓莊嚴相」 tr. "above, Pūrṇa spoke of the great adornment and the marks of arousing the adornment of the great vow"〔T25 0391b04〕; this variant of the Ishiyama text may reflect a tendency to harmonise this double track. It is recorded without judgement. The main text follows the base text, 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment."
0391a26 (huan / han): 洹【大】，含【元】【明】—in the sentence 「亦不教若干人令得須陀洹果乃至一切種智」 tr. "nor does he teach a certain number of people so that they attain the fruit of srota-āpanna, up to omniscience of all kinds", for the 「洹」 tr. "-an" (of srota-āpanna) the Yuan and Ming editions read 「含」 tr. "-gām-" (literally identical to the 「斯陀含果」 tr. "the fruit of sakṛdāgāmin" slightly earlier in the same sentence; perhaps a technical variant of assimilation to a neighbouring character). It is recorded without judgement. The main text follows the base text, 「洹」 tr. "-an."
0391c01 (presence or absence of dharma-body · doctrinally weighted): 法身【大】，〔－〕【聖】—in the sentence 「餘波羅蜜，或作梵王，或作法身菩薩」 tr. "the other perfections make one either a Brahmā king or a dharma-body bodhisattva", the Shōgozō lacks the two characters 「法身」 tr. "dharma-body" (reading 「或作菩薩」 tr. "or a bodhisattva"). 「法身」 tr. "Dharma-body" (dharmakāya) is a doctrinally weighted term; its absence in the Shōgozō would weaken the contrast in this sentence that sets 「法身菩薩」 tr. "dharma-body bodhisattva" beside 「梵王」 tr. "Brahmā king." It is recorded without judgement. The main text follows the base text, 「法身」 tr. "dharma-body."
0391c22 (emptiness of emptiness / single emptiness · doctrinally weighted): 空【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】—in the sentence 「內空，內空空相空」 tr. "inner emptiness: the emptiness-mark of inner emptiness is empty", the base text reads a double 「空」 tr. "empty" (the emptiness-mark of inner emptiness is also empty, implying the meaning of 「空空」 tr. "the emptiness of emptiness"), while the Song, Yuan, and Ming editions lack the second 「空」 tr. "empty" (reading 「內空，內相空」 tr. "inner emptiness: the inner mark is empty"). 「空空」 tr. "The emptiness of emptiness" is an independent item in the series of the eighteen emptinesses; although this sentence belongs to the context of an enumeration of 「自相空」 tr. "empty of specific marks" and not to the list of the eighteen emptinesses itself, the double emptiness and the single emptiness differ in doctrinal density, so it is recorded without judgement and disclosed in full. The main text follows the base text's double 「空」 tr. "empty."
0392a18 (awakening / bodhisattva · the most doctrinally weighted): 菩提【大】，菩薩【宋】【元】【明】—in the sentence 「須菩提！菩提非作非不作，畢竟不可得故」 tr. "Subhūti! Awakening is neither made nor unmade, because it ultimately cannot be found", the base text reads 「菩提」 tr. "awakening" (bodhi, the fruit-position of awakening itself), while the Song, Yuan, and Ming editions read 「菩薩」 tr. "bodhisattva" (bodhisattva, the practitioner himself). The base-text reading keeps this sentence coherent in sense with the following 「薩婆若及一切種智非作非不作」 tr. "sarvajñā and omniscience of all kinds are neither made nor unmade" (all in the category of fruit-position / wisdom); the reading 「菩薩」 tr. "bodhisattva" instead turns it to the person who cultivates, and is somewhat abrupt within this enumeration ordered by dharma / fruit (form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; self; dream and illusion; the eighteen emptinesses; the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; the suchness of dharmas and the rest; awakening; sarvajñā and omniscience of all kinds). This is the most doctrinally weighted variant in the chapter; it is recorded without judgement and disclosed in full. The main text follows the base text, 「菩提」 tr. "awakening."
0393a03 (presence or absence of the character "no"): 無【大】，〔－〕【石】—in Treatise ②'s sentence 「如幻、如焰等無作相，畢竟不可得故」 tr. "illusions, mirages, and the like have no mark of making, because they ultimately cannot be found", the Ishiyama text lacks the 「無」 tr. "no" (reading 「作相」 tr. "the mark of making"). This is a technical variant, the loss of a negative; because it touches the meaning of 「無作相／作相」 tr. "no mark of making / the mark of making", it is recorded as well, without further elaboration. The main text follows the base text, 「無」 tr. "no."
0393a22 (fall / follow · the edition attribution uncertain in CBETA itself): 墮【大】，隨【？】—in the sentence 「住是道中，諸煩惱不牽墮凡夫中」 tr. "abiding in this path, the afflictions do not drag one down to fall among ordinary people", for the 「墮」 tr. "fall" one text reads 「隨」 tr. "follow"; but the CBETA collation note marks the edition to which this variant belongs as 「？」 tr. "a question mark" (that is, CBETA itself is not certain which edition this variant belongs to). This section transcribes this uncertainty honestly and does not presume to fix its edition attribution on CBETA's behalf. 「不牽墮」 tr. "Not dragged down to fall" (not dragged so as to fall into) and 「不牽隨」 tr. "not dragged along to follow" (not dragged so as to follow along) are close in sense but differ in rhetorical emphasis; it is recorded without judgement. The main text follows the base text, 「墮」 tr. "fall."
0393a29 (the Ishiyama text's own close at the end of the chapter · the second link in a double chain of confirmation): 解【大】，解釋第十六品竟【石】〔0393a29〕—at the end of this chapter (in 「所謂不縛不解」 tr. "namely neither bound nor released", after the character 「解」 tr. "released"), the Ishiyama text attaches 「釋第十六品竟」 tr. "End of the Commentary on the Sixteenth Chapter", which confirms together with its chapter title's own report of 「品第十六」 tr. "Chapter Sixteen" that the Ishiyama text numbers it 「品十六」 tr. "Chapter Sixteen"; this is the second link in the double chain of confirmation for the Ishiyama text's shift of the chapter number back by one in this fascicle. The Taishō edition has no such closing note within the scope of this chapter. It is recorded without judgement.
The two special patterns of this fascicle are recorded together as follows. First, the Palace edition is absent for the whole fascicle: not one of the chapter's forty-six collation notes (from the chapter title 0390a24 to the end of the chapter 0393a29) lists the Palace edition as a witness; that is, the transmitted Palace manuscript of the entire Fascicle 46 (including the whole of the preceding "Riding the Vehicle" and this chapter) is lacking—not an individual variant, but the loss of a whole fascicle. The preceding "Riding the Vehicle" opens Fascicle 46, and the note attached to its chapter title already states 「此卷宮本缺」 tr. "the Palace edition lacks this fascicle"; this chapter does not head the fascicle and its title does not declare this again, but an exhaustive check of the forty-six notes supports that the Palace edition is wholly missing for this chapter too. Second, the Ishiyama text's chapter number is shifted back by one: in this chapter's title the Ishiyama text reports itself as 「摩訶般若波羅蜜品第十六無縛無脫品」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā, Chapter Sixteen, Chapter on Neither Bound nor Freed"〔0390a24〕, that is, it records the chapter number as 「十六」 tr. "sixteen" (one less than the Taishō's 「第十七」 tr. "the Seventeenth"), and at the end of the chapter it closes itself with 「解釋第十六品竟」 tr. "release. End of the Commentary on the Sixteenth Chapter"〔0393a29〕; the two pieces of evidence confirm each other that the Ishiyama text numbers it 「品十六」 tr. "Chapter Sixteen." This chapter does not head a fascicle, and its fascicle attribution has already been established by the preceding "Riding the Vehicle" (where the Ishiyama text also reports 「卷四十八」 tr. "Fascicle Forty-eight"); the Ishiyama text does not report a separate fascicle number in this chapter, so in this chapter the Ishiyama shift concerns the chapter number alone, unlike the double shift of the preceding "Riding the Vehicle" in the Ishiyama text, the chapter number back by one and the fascicle number forward by two. This shift of the Ishiyama chapter number shares its source with the preceding chapters; its cause has not been forcibly investigated, and it is recorded without judgement.
The chapter's collation notes number forty-six in all. Apart from the note on the chapter title and the doctrinally weighted items listed above, all the remaining notes are technical variants: the addition or omission of function words (such as the presence or absence of the section-opening label 〔Sūtra〕, and the addition or omission of characters such as 「隨眾生所欲」 tr. "according to what beings desire", 「法」 tr. "dharma", 「化」 tr. "conjure", 「師」 tr. "master", 「來」 tr. "come", 「大」 tr. "great", 「故」 tr. "because", 「如」 tr. "like", 「亦」 tr. "also", and 「人」 tr. "person"); homophonous or graphically similar loan characters (two graphs for "shake", two graphs for "necklace", two graphs for "pound", "staff" and "weapon", a variant form of "shore", two graphs for "echo", "give" and "what", "intent" and "mind", "king" and "lord", "give" and "speak", "this" and "like", "what" and "make", "abide" and "practise"); added function words ("know" and "know this", "in" and "among beings", "because" and "because, for this reason", "to" and "up to", "this" and "this also", "in the six" and "the six", "out of the six" and "the six"); or fullness of transcription ("skilled conjurer" and "conjurer"). A check of each note found no change at the doctrinal level, so they are not set out one by one but only passed over statistically.
The base text of this chapter is a chapter in the middle of Fascicle 46 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa〔T25 0390a24–0393b01〕. This chapter does not head the fascicle, and after its title there is no colophon of authorship and translation; Fascicle 46 does not end at the close of this chapter (after this chapter Fascicle 46 continues with Chapter 18, "Mahāyāna"), so this chapter has no fascicle-end title, and the endpoint of its range is taken as the opening title of the next chapter, Chapter 18, "Mahāyāna"〔T25 0393b01〕, not included. The collation text for the sūtra explained is Chapter 17, "Adornment", of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra〔T08 0247c12–0249c28〕 (whose chapter title reads 「莊嚴」 tr. "adornment" in the five witnesses, the Taishō, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace, and 「……無縛脫」 tr. "… without bondage or freedom" in the Shōgozō; see Section I). The other translations for side reference are Wuluocha's Emission of Light Prajñāpāramitā (T08n0221 · correspondence in the layer of neither bound nor freed; side reference for the layer of the great adornment for now lacking), Dharmarakṣa's Praise of Light Prajñāpāramitā (T08n0222 · 「無縛品第十五」 tr. "Chapter on the Unbound, the Fifteenth" · the three-term form 「無著、無縛、無脫」 tr. "without attachment, without bondage, without freedom" · the transcription sengna sengnie, saṃnāha), and Xuanzang's Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, First Assembly (T05n0220a · the framework of 「擐大功德鎧」 tr. "donning the great armour of merit" carried on from the chapter boundary with the preceding chapter). The collation text for the ancient-master commentary is Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451 · for this chapter its support is complete and rich, the only complete one of all); in addition there are Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791 · the line-by-line commentary on this chapter missing; its three surface hits all excluded) and Junzheng's Profound Meaning of the Four Mahāyāna Treatises (X46n0784 · one mistaken chapter name; not a verbatim citation of this chapter). The variant notes follow the Taishō collation, covering differences between the Taishō base text and the Song, Yuan, and Ming editions, the Shōgozō, and the Ishiyama-dera manuscript (in this fascicle the Palace edition is wholly missing). The complete collation notes of this chapter are preserved at the end of the working base text; this list transcribes only the principal items that bear on the wording of the chapter's core doctrine, and does not extend to judging the relative merit of the witnesses.