大智度論 出到品Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Going Forth and Arriving

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 falls in Fascicle 50. The treatise gives its own title as 「大智度論釋出到品第二十一」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Going Forth and Arriving, the Twenty-first"〔T25 0419c13〕, and it comments on the whole of the Larger Sūtra's Chapter 21, "Going Forth and Arriving"〔T08 0259c16–0261a17〕. The chapter name in this treatise and the name of the sūtra chapter it explains are entirely identical in form, so there is no correspondence between different names to be sorted out. The opening of Fascicle 50 still carries on the remainder of the preceding chapter, "Setting Out", and only then enters this chapter; this chapter ends at the fascicle-end title 「大智度論卷第五十」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty"〔T25 0422a16〕, directly below which come the head of Fascicle 51 and Chapter 22, "Surpassing". This chapter in fact occupies the main body of Fascicle 50: from the start of the chapter to the end of the fascicle there is no main text of any other chapter.

Within the chapter, Sūtra and Treatise alternate three times. The three Sūtra citations begin in turn at〔T25 0419c14〕〔T25 0421a19〕〔T25 0421b12〕, each followed by a Treatise explanation, beginning in turn at〔T25 0420b17〕〔T25 0421a28〕〔T25 0421c22〕. The three Sūtra citations, pieced together, are nearly as long as the whole sūtra chapter explained (see Section IV), so this chapter takes the form of Sūtra citation and Treatise explanation giving rise to one another in three rounds.

What the three rounds answer is the continuation of the questions Subhūti raised in the preceding chapter. The first round cites 「汝所問『是乘何處出，至何處住』者」 tr. "as for what you asked, 'From where does this vehicle go forth, and where does it arrive and abide?'"〔T25 0419c14〕, and the treatise itself makes clear that two matters were already answered before, and that 「異時異日故稱第三問而答」 tr. "because it was at another time and on another day, it is called the third question and answered"〔T25 0420b21〕; the second round cites 「汝所問『是乘何處住』者」 tr. "as for what you asked, 'Where does this vehicle abide?'"〔T25 0421a19〕; the third round cites 「汝所問『誰當乘是乘出者』」 tr. "as for what you asked, 'Who will ride this vehicle and go forth?'"〔T25 0421b12〕. Jizang's commentary likewise marks the first round 「此品初答第三問」 tr. "this chapter first answers the third question", and for the latter two rounds explicitly marks 「次答第四位處問」 tr. "next it answers the fourth question, on position and place" and 「次答第五問乘乘人」 tr. "next it answers the fifth question, on the vehicle and the one who rides the vehicle" (all in Section VI), in keeping with the treatise's own markings: within the framework of questions and answers, this chapter answers the third, fourth, and fifth questions in succession. The meaning of the first round's answer is summed up in 「須菩提！以是因緣故，摩訶衍從三界中出，至薩婆若中住，不動法故」 tr. "Subhūti! For these causes and conditions the Mahāyāna goes forth from the three realms and arrives to abide in sarvajñā, because it is an unmoving dharma"〔T25 0420b16〕; in the last round the treatise-author gathers everything under the two divisions of the emptiness of dharmas and the emptiness of beings (see Section II), ending with 「菩薩用不可得法，乘是乘出薩婆若」 tr. "the bodhisattva, using unfindable dharmas, rides this vehicle and goes forth into sarvajñā"〔T25 0422a15〕; this is where the whole chapter comes to rest.

II. Terms Examined

Going forth and arriving. The chapter name. The sūtra's overall answer says 「是乘從三界中出，至薩婆若中住，以不二法故」 tr. "this vehicle goes forth from the three realms and arrives to abide in sarvajñā, by means of the non-dual dharma"〔T25 0419c15〕—going forth is going forth from the three realms; arriving is arriving to abide in sarvajñā. At the end the treatise explains the word 「出」 tr. "go forth": 「『出』者，行是乘到佛道邊出，又復以成就故名『出』，以是乘成就薩婆若，是名為『出』」 tr. "'going forth' means travelling this vehicle to the edge of the Buddha path and going forth; further, it is called 'going forth' because of accomplishment: by this vehicle sarvajñā is accomplished, and this is called 'going forth'"〔T25 0421c22〕. The two senses, travelling to arrive and accomplishment, stand side by side. Jizang records that this chapter 「亦名出乘品」 tr. "is also called the Chapter on Going Forth by the Vehicle"〔X24 0250b19〕; the distinction between its two names is in Section VI.

Mahāyāna · sarvajñā. The vehicle and the fruit arrived at. 「摩訶衍、薩婆若，是二法共，不合、不散，無色、無形、無對，一相所謂無相」 tr. "the Mahāyāna and sarvajñā: these two dharmas together neither combine nor disperse; they are formless, shapeless, and unobstructing, of a single mark, namely the signless"〔T25 0419c16〕—the two dharmas neither combine nor disperse, and this is the root of why the 「出」 tr. "going forth" and the 「到」 tr. "arriving" of the chapter name cannot in reality be obtained. The character 「共」 tr. "together" is absent from the sūtra explained; see Section IV, the first item.

The non-dual dharma. On the establishing of 「不二法」 tr. "the non-dual dharma", the treatise makes clear that it is 「斷諸菩薩著故說」 tr. "spoken in order to cut off the bodhisattvas' clinging"〔T25 0420c12〕; here the Buddha himself says 「大乘、薩婆若，是二法不一故不合，不異故不散；六情所知盡虛妄故，無色、無形、無對、一相」 tr. "the Great Vehicle and sarvajñā: because these two dharmas are not one, they do not combine; because they are not different, they do not disperse; because what the six faculties know is all false, they are formless, shapeless, unobstructing, and of a single mark"〔T25 0420c13〕. Neither one nor different: therefore, though there is no going forth and no arriving, going forth and arriving are spoken of.

A single mark · the signless. The treatise sets up a question—earlier it said that because they are not one they do not combine, so why does it now speak of a single mark?—and answers: 「無相則無有出至佛道；為引導凡夫人故，說言『一相』」 tr. "if it is signless, there is no going forth to arrive at the Buddha path; it is in order to guide ordinary people that it says 'a single mark'"〔T25 0420c17〕. The single mark is precisely the signless; to speak of a single mark is the expedient of guidance. This is where the eye of the chapter's meaning is fastened (see Section V).

The limit of reality · the nature of the inconceivable. 「實際」 tr. "the limit of reality" 「是諸法末後實相，無出無入」 tr. "is the final real mark of all dharmas, with no going out and no going in"〔T25 0420c18〕. For the term 「不可思議性」 tr. "the nature of the inconceivable", the treatise lists four explanations, preserving them side by side: one says 「即是如、法性、實際，無量無邊，心心數法滅，故言不可思議」 tr. "it is suchness, dharma-nature, and the limit of reality—immeasurable and boundless, where mind and mental dharmas cease; hence it is called inconceivable"〔T25 0420c21〕; one says 「過實際、涅槃，更求諸法實，若有若無，是名不可思議」 tr. "going beyond the limit of reality and nirvāṇa, further seeking the reality of dharmas, whether existent or non-existent—this is called inconceivable"〔T25 0420c23〕; one says 「一切諸佛法，無有能思惟籌量者，故名不可思議」 tr. "the dharmas of all the Buddhas—there is no one who can think about and measure them; hence they are called inconceivable"〔T25 0420c24〕; one says 「一切諸法，分別思惟，皆同涅槃相，是不可思議」 tr. "all dharmas, when discriminated and thought upon, are all the same as the mark of nirvāṇa—this is the inconceivable"〔T25 0420c26〕. The four explanations stand side by side; the treatise-author himself preserves the various understandings and does not decide on any one of them. This is an instance of this treatise preserving differences.

The ten grounds. 「云何為初地乃至十地」 tr. "What are the first ground up to the tenth ground?"〔T25 0421c10〕—「所謂乾慧地、性地、八人地、見地、薄地、離欲地、已作地、辟支佛地、菩薩地、佛地」 tr. "namely, the ground of dry wisdom, the ground of the stage of nature, the ground of the person of the eight, the ground of seeing, the ground of thinning, the ground free of desire, the ground of what has been done, the pratyekabuddha ground, the bodhisattva ground, and the Buddha ground"〔T25 0421c10〕: the proper names of the ten grounds are listed in full one by one. Below this it further counts them through by ordinal number: 「第二、第三、第四、第五、第六、第七、第八、第九、第十地不可得」 tr. "the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth grounds cannot be obtained"〔T25 0421c14〕. This passage is the place in this chapter most frequently cited in later ages (the citations by Zhanran and Teishun are both in Section VI).

The emptiness of dharmas · the emptiness of beings. The treatise-author gathers the items of unfindability throughout the chapter into two divisions: 「五眾、十二入、十八界，檀波羅蜜乃至十八不共法，須陀洹乃至薩婆若，不生不滅、不垢不淨，乃至三世、三相、增減等，是名法空」 tr. "the five aggregates, the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen elements; the perfection of giving up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; srota-āpanna up to sarvajñā; neither arising nor ceasing, neither stained nor pure; up to the three times, the three marks, increase and decrease, and so on—this is called the emptiness of dharmas"〔T25 0421c28〕; 「我乃至知者、見者，須陀洹乃至佛，是名眾生空」 tr. "the self, up to the knower and the seer; srota-āpanna up to the Buddha—this is called the emptiness of beings"〔T25 0422a02〕. The two emptinesses, of beings and of dharmas, are where the proper answer to the question 「誰當乘是乘出」 tr. "who will ride this vehicle and go forth?" comes to rest.

Ultimate. The sūtra text counts through all dharmas as unfindable and attaches to each 「畢竟淨故」 tr. "because of ultimate purity"; the treatise explains 「畢竟」 tr. "ultimate": 「若行者依『無』而破『有』，於『有』得清淨，於『無』未清淨，以依止故」 tr. "if the practitioner relies on 'non-existence' to refute 'existence', he attains purity with regard to 'existence' but is not yet pure with regard to 'non-existence', because he relies on it"〔T25 0422a08〕—relying on non-existence to refute existence still involves reliance and is not yet called ultimate. The words the Buddha himself speaks are only 「畢竟清淨故」 tr. "because of ultimate purity"〔T25 0422a07〕.

III. Similes and Stories

The similes of this chapter are sparse compared with other chapters, yet at the key points the meaning is established by means of similes.

The simile of the fire at the end of the kalpa. It makes clear that when the vehicle arrives at sarvajñā there is no superior place further to go, and so it speaks of abiding, and the abiding itself ceases: 「譬如劫盡火燒三千世界，勢力甚大，更無所燒，故便自滅；摩訶衍亦如是，斷一切煩惱，集諸功德，盡其邊際，更無所斷，更無所知，更無所集故，便自歸滅」 tr. "just as the fire at the end of the kalpa burns the three-thousand world—its force is very great, and when there is nothing further to burn, it goes out of itself; the Mahāyāna is also like this: it cuts off all afflictions and gathers all merits to their furthest limit, and because there is nothing further to cut off, nothing further to know, and nothing further to gather, it returns of itself to cessation"〔T25 0420c08〕. The abiding of the vehicle is not sitting at ease in one place; it is coming to rest of itself once the work is accomplished.

Sixty minor kalpas, and a dream within a dream. These make clear that the Buddha, by the power of his inconceivable supernormal powers, contracts a long time into a short time, and can therefore call a question by its number and answer it at another time and on another day: 「又如六十小劫說《法華經》，人謂從旦至食」 tr. "again, as when the Lotus Sūtra was spoken for sixty minor kalpas, and people thought it lasted from dawn to mealtime"〔T25 0420b25〕; and further, 「如人夢中，夢有所見，自以為覺；夢中復夢，如是展轉，故是一夜」 tr. "like a person in a dream who dreams he sees something and takes himself to be awake; dreaming again within the dream, and so on in turn, it is still one night"〔T25 0420b29〕, using a dream within a dream as a simile for the unreality of long and short spans of time.

The six similes: dream, illusion, mirage, echo, reflection, and transformation. The sūtra text itself brings six similes into its list—「若人欲使夢出，是人為欲使無相法出；若人欲使幻、焰、響、影、化出，是人為欲使無相法出」 tr. "if someone wishes to make a dream go forth, this person wishes to make the signless dharma go forth; if someone wishes to make an illusion, a mirage, an echo, a reflection, or a transformation go forth, this person wishes to make the signless dharma go forth"〔T25 0420a03〕. Dreams, illusions, and the rest are in themselves the emptiest of things; if even they cannot be made to go forth from the three realms and abide in sarvajñā, how much less can other dharmas be clung to as real and made to go forth.

The simile of sitting and lying in an illusion or a dream. It makes clear that arriving to abide in sarvajñā is also no fixed abiding: 「如幻、如夢，雖有坐臥行住，非實是住；菩薩亦如是，雖言『到薩婆若住』，亦無定住」 tr. "as in an illusion or a dream, though there is sitting, lying, walking, and standing, it is not really abiding; the bodhisattva is also like this: though it is said that he 'arrives to abide in sarvajñā', there is no fixed abiding"〔T25 0421b01〕.

The simile of the madman. It makes clear the inversion of those who wish to make the limit of reality go forth: 「若有狂人欲使實際出至佛道者，此人則欲使無相法出」 tr. "if there is a madman who wishes to make the limit of reality go forth and arrive at the Buddha path, this person then wishes to make the signless dharma go forth"〔T25 0420c19〕.

IV. The Sūtra Passage Explained

The three Sūtra sections cited by this treatise stand in continuity with Chapter 21, "Going Forth and Arriving"〔T08 0259c16–0261a17〕, of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra translated by Kumārajīva of the Later Qin, and the chapter titles are identical in form〔T08 0259c16〕. The sūtra's chapter "Going Forth and Arriving" and the three citations in this treatise, pieced together, are nearly equal in length—what the treatise cites is thus the whole of "Going Forth and Arriving", with no large section of the sūtra text added or omitted, while the Treatise explanations are this treatise's own. Apart from the variants listed below, the three sections correspond word for word or nearly word for word; a word-by-word check yields fourteen substantive variants (mere differences of punctuation and quotation marks are not counted). Each of the two texts reads coherently on its own, and these are not errors of copying; they are recorded side by side without judgement, for the decision of a critical edition.

First, in the overall answer at the head of the chapter, the sūtra explained reads 「摩訶衍、薩婆若是二法，不合不散」 tr. "the Mahāyāna and sarvajñā are two dharmas; they neither combine nor disperse"〔T08 0259c19〕, while this treatise reads 「摩訶衍、薩婆若，是二法共，不合、不散」 tr. "the Mahāyāna and sarvajñā: these two dharmas together neither combine nor disperse"〔T25 0419c16〕; this treatise has one more character, 「共」 tr. "together." This treatise's collation notes do not record any divergence on this character; but the collation notes of the sūtra explained itself record 「不【大】，俱不【宋】【明】，共不【元】」 tr. "'not' in the Taishō; 'both not' in the Song and Ming; 'together not' in the Yuan"—the Yuan edition of the sūtra explained reads 「共不合不散」 tr. "together neither combine nor disperse", agreeing with this treatise's character 「共」 tr. "together"; it is not an entirely isolated variant.

Second, in the translated names of the six perfections, the sūtra explained keeps the final syllable of the transcription throughout—「若人欲使檀那波羅蜜出」 tr. "if someone wishes to make the perfection of giving (dāna) go forth"〔T08 0260a12〕, 「禪那波羅蜜」 tr. "the perfection of meditation (dhyāna)"〔T08 0260a14〕, the character 「那」 tr. "na" appearing six times in all within the section; at the corresponding places this treatise has none of them—「若人欲使檀波羅蜜出」 tr. "if someone wishes to make the perfection of giving go forth"〔T25 0420a07〕, 「禪波羅蜜」 tr. "the perfection of meditation"〔T25 0420a09〕. Among the six perfections only the transcriptions for giving and meditation have a final syllable that can be dropped, so the difference appears only here; it is a systematic difference in translated names. Moreover, the collation notes of the sūtra explained itself record 「那【大】＊，〔－〕【元】【明】＊」 tr. "'na' in the Taishō (and likewise throughout); absent in the Yuan and Ming (and likewise throughout)"—the Yuan and Ming editions already lack the character 「那」 tr. "na" here, agreeing with this treatise's reading.

Third, the pattern of the repeated character 「性」 tr. "nature", in five places in all. The sūtra explained reads 「四念處性，四念處性空故」 tr. "the nature of the four foundations of mindfulness—because the nature of the four foundations of mindfulness is empty"〔T08 0260a28〕, 「八聖道分性，八聖道分性空故」 tr. "the nature of the limbs of the noble eightfold path—because the nature of the limbs of the noble eightfold path is empty"〔T08 0260b03〕, and 「阿羅漢性，阿羅漢性空；辟支佛性，辟支佛性空；佛性，佛性空故」 tr. "the nature of the arhat—the nature of the arhat is empty; the nature of the pratyekabuddha—the nature of the pratyekabuddha is empty; the nature of the Buddha—because the nature of the Buddha is empty"〔T08 0260b10〕; this treatise reads, respectively, 「四念處，四念處性空故」 tr. "the four foundations of mindfulness—because the four foundations of mindfulness are empty in nature"〔T25 0420a23〕, 「八聖道分，八聖道分性空故」 tr. "the limbs of the noble eightfold path—because the limbs of the noble eightfold path are empty in nature"〔T25 0420a26〕, and 「阿羅漢，阿羅漢性空；辟支佛，辟支佛性空；佛，佛性空故」 tr. "the arhat—the arhat is empty in nature; the pratyekabuddha—the pratyekabuddha is empty in nature; the Buddha—because the Buddha is empty in nature"〔T25 0420b05〕. At these five places this treatise's collation notes all record that the four editions—Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace—have the character 「性」 tr. "nature", agreeing with the reading of the sūtra explained (details in Section VIII). The five places belong to one batch and point in one direction; they are the key point of this chapter's cross-textual reading.

Fourth, 「四正懃」 tr. "the four right efforts" and 「四正勤」 tr. "the four right efforts." The sūtra explained reads 「若人欲使四正懃、四如意足」 tr. "if someone wishes to make the four right efforts and the four bases of supernormal power …"〔T08 0260a29〕, while this treatise reads 「若人欲使四正勤、四如意足」 tr. "if someone wishes to make the four right efforts and the four bases of supernormal power …"〔T25 0420a23〕; the two characters for "effort" are variant graphs.

Fifth, the presence or absence of a form of address. The sūtra explained reads 「何以故？阿羅漢性、辟支佛性佛性不出三界」 tr. "Why? The nature of the arhat, the nature of the pratyekabuddha, the nature of the Buddha do not go forth from the three realms"〔T08 0260b08〕, while this treatise reads 「何以故？須菩提！阿羅漢性、辟支佛性、佛性不出三界」 tr. "Why? Subhūti! The nature of the arhat, the nature of the pratyekabuddha, and the nature of the Buddha do not go forth from the three realms"〔T25 0420b03〕; this treatise has one more address, 「須菩提」 tr. "Subhūti."

Sixth, the concluding sentence of the first round. The sūtra explained reads 「摩訶衍從三界中出，至薩婆若中，住不動故」 tr. "the Mahāyāna goes forth from the three realms and arrives in sarvajñā, abiding because it is unmoving"〔T08 0260b22〕, while this treatise reads 「摩訶衍從三界中出，至薩婆若中住，不動法故」 tr. "the Mahāyāna goes forth from the three realms and arrives to abide in sarvajñā, because it is an unmoving dharma"〔T25 0420b16〕—the two texts differ in whether the character 「住」 tr. "abide" is read with what precedes or with what follows, and this treatise further has one more character, 「法」 tr. "dharma." For the character 「法」 tr. "dharma" this treatise's collation notes record that the four editions—Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace—lack it, and for the character 「至」 tr. "arrive" they record that the five texts—Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō—lack it (both detailed in Section VIII). The absence of 「法」 tr. "dharma" agrees with the sūtra explained, whereas the sūtra explained on the contrary retains 「至」 tr. "arrive"; the two characters are not distributed in step, and their causes do not run on a single track. They are recorded side by side without judgement.

Seventh, 「無相無作」 tr. "signless and without action" and 「無起無作」 tr. "without origination and without action." The sūtra explained reads 「譬如法性不生不滅、不垢不淨、無相無作，非住非不住」 tr. "just as dharma-nature neither arises nor ceases, is neither stained nor pure, is signless and without action, neither abiding nor not abiding"〔T08 0260b27〕, while this treatise reads 「譬如法性，不生不滅、不垢不淨、無起無作，非住非不住」 tr. "just as dharma-nature neither arises nor ceases, is neither stained nor pure, is without origination and without action, neither abiding nor not abiding"〔T25 0421a21〕: a difference of one character, "sign" against "origination." On re-examining the collation notes of the base text, for this character 「起」 tr. "origination" the five texts—Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō—all read 「相」 tr. "sign", exactly agreeing with the reading of the sūtra explained〔T25 0421a22〕 (details in Section VIII).

Eighth, the presence or absence of the phrase 「乃至無作相」 tr. "up to the mark of non-action." The sūtra explained reads 「法性相非住非不住」 tr. "the mark of dharma-nature is neither abiding nor not abiding"〔T08 0260b29〕, while this treatise reads 「法性相乃至無作相，非住非不住」 tr. "the mark of dharma-nature, up to the mark of non-action, is neither abiding nor not abiding"〔T25 0421a23〕; this treatise has one more phrase, 「乃至無作相」 tr. "up to the mark of non-action." The collation notes of the base text record that the six texts—Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama—all lack this phrase〔T25 0421a24〕: the six collated texts and the sūtra explained all lack it, and only the present base text alone retains it. The distribution of the evidence is the most lopsided in this chapter (details in Section VIII).

Ninth, the reading 「無住處」 tr. "no place of abiding." The sūtra explained reads 「以是因緣故，是乘無所住」 tr. "for these causes and conditions, this vehicle has nothing in which it abides"〔T08 0260c02〕, while this treatise reads 「以是因緣故，是乘無住處」 tr. "for these causes and conditions, this vehicle has no place of abiding"〔T25 0421a26〕. For 「住處」 tr. "place of abiding" the collation notes of the base text record three readings—the Song, Palace, and Shōgozō read 「所住」 tr. "that in which it abides", and the Yuan and Ming read 「所住處」 tr. "the place in which it abides"〔T25 0421a27〕; together with the sūtra explained's 「無所住」 tr. "nothing in which it abides", four readings of one sentence stand side by side (details in Section VIII). They are recorded side by side without judgement.

Tenth, 「陰」 tr. "aggregates" and 「眾」 tr. "aggregates." The sūtra explained reads 「陰入界不可得，畢竟淨故」 tr. "the aggregates, sense-fields, and elements cannot be obtained, because of ultimate purity"〔T08 0260c09〕, while this treatise reads 「眾、入、界不可得，畢竟淨故」 tr. "the aggregates, the sense-fields, and the elements cannot be obtained, because of ultimate purity"〔T25 0421b17〕: a difference between the two translation terms for the five aggregates. The collation notes of the base text record that the Ishiyama text reads 「陰」 tr. "aggregates"〔T25 0421b17〕, the same as the sūtra explained (details in Section VIII).

Eleventh, the list of six names. The sūtra explained reads 「如、實際、不可思議性、法相、法位」 tr. "suchness, the limit of reality, the nature of the inconceivable, the mark of dharmas, the position of dharmas"〔T08 0260c22〕, five names in all; this treatise reads 「如、實際、不可思議性、法性、法相、法位」 tr. "suchness, the limit of reality, the nature of the inconceivable, dharma-nature, the mark of dharmas, the position of dharmas"〔T25 0421b28〕, six names in all; the sūtra explained lacks the one name 「法性」 tr. "dharma-nature." This list is the standard table of alternative names for the real mark of all dharmas. The collation notes of the sūtra explained itself further record 「性【大】，性法性【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'nature' in the Taishō; 'nature, dharma-nature' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace"—the four editions, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace, already read 「不可思議性、法性」 tr. "the nature of the inconceivable, dharma-nature", so that the six names agree with this treatise. They are recorded side by side without judgement.

Twelfth, 「淨佛國土」 tr. "purifying the Buddha-land" and 「淨佛世界」 tr. "purifying the Buddha-world." The sūtra explained reads 「淨佛國土不可得，畢竟淨故」 tr. "purifying the Buddha-land cannot be obtained, because of ultimate purity"〔T08 0261a13〕, while this treatise reads 「淨佛世界不可得，畢竟淨故」 tr. "purifying the Buddha-world cannot be obtained, because of ultimate purity"〔T25 0421c18〕: "land" and "world" are a common pair of alternative translations. The collation notes of the sūtra explained itself record 「國土【大】，世界【元】」 tr. "'land' in the Taishō; 'world' in the Yuan"—the Yuan edition already reads 「世界」 tr. "world", agreeing with this treatise.

Thirteenth, the concluding sentence at the end of the chapter. The sūtra explained reads 「乘是摩訶衍出三界，住薩婆若」 tr. "riding this Mahāyāna, one goes forth from the three realms and abides in sarvajñā"〔T08 0261a16〕, answering from end to beginning to the chapter's opening, 「是乘從三界中出，至薩婆若中住」 tr. "this vehicle goes forth from the three realms and arrives to abide in sarvajñā"〔T08 0259c18〕; this treatise reads 「乘是摩訶衍出薩婆若」 tr. "riding this Mahāyāna, one goes forth into sarvajñā"〔T25 0421c21〕, without the three characters 「三界，住」 tr. "the three realms, abides", so that the structure of beginning and end answering each other does not appear in this treatise. This treatise's collation notes do not record this difference; but the collation notes of the sūtra explained itself record 「三界住【大】，〔－〕【元】」 tr. "'the three realms, abides' in the Taishō; absent in the Yuan"—the Yuan edition of the sūtra explained already lacks these three characters, agreeing with this treatise's reading; it is not an entirely isolated variant. Since it bears most heavily on the structure of the chapter, it is recorded side by side without judgement, for the decision of a critical edition.

Fourteenth, the question in the second Sūtra section. The sūtra explained reads 「汝所問：『是乘至何處住？』」 tr. "as for what you asked: 'Where does this vehicle arrive and abide?'"〔T08 0260b24〕, while this treatise reads 「汝所問『是乘何處住』」 tr. "as for what you asked, 'Where does this vehicle abide?'"〔T25 0421a19〕; the sūtra explained has one more character, 「至」 tr. "arrive." This treatise's collation notes have no corresponding record; but the collation notes of the sūtra explained itself record 「至【大】＊，〔－〕【元】【明】【聖】＊」 tr. "'arrive' in the Taishō (and likewise throughout); absent in the Yuan, Ming, and Shōgozō (and likewise throughout)"—the three texts of the sūtra explained, Yuan, Ming, and Shōgozō, already lack the character 「至」 tr. "arrive", agreeing with this treatise's reading. It is recorded side by side without judgement.

Among the fourteen, five—the third (five occurrences), the sixth (the character for "dharma"), the eighth, the ninth, and the tenth—correspond directly to this treatise's own collation notes: in each, the reading of the sūtra explained agrees with the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace editions of this treatise or with the Ishiyama text, while the present base text alone differs or yields yet another reading. On re-examining the collation notes of the base text, the one place of the seventh, the character 「起」 tr. "origination", also shows a correspondence of the same type〔T25 0421a22〕, and it is noted together with them. There thus exists a group of cross-textually consistent variant readings between the sūtra explained (a transmitted text of the sūtra circulating separately) and those collated texts of this treatise that are not of the base text's lineage; among them the one phrase of the eighth, which the six collated texts and the sūtra explained all lack while the base text alone retains it, shows the most lopsided distribution of evidence. For the remaining eight places this treatise's collation notes have no corresponding record. Of these, at six places (the first, second, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth), the collation notes of the sūtra explained itself have variant texts agreeing with this treatise's reading (see each item); only at two places, the fourth and fifth, do the texts of both works show no record of divergence, so that these are purely differences between the two texts. All are recorded side by side without judgement, and no decision is made on anyone's behalf as to which text to follow.

V. The Prajñā Eye

The eye of this chapter lies in 「無相」 tr. "the signless"—going forth yet with no going forth, abiding yet with no abiding, a vehicle yet no one who rides it, and at the last coming to rest in ultimate purity. The treatise-author explains it following the sūtra, and its meaning can be summarised in four layers.

First, going forth with nothing that goes forth. At the head of the chapter, in one and the same sentence pattern, ten classes of dharmas are counted through—the limit of reality together with suchness, dharma-nature, and the nature of the inconceivable; the five aggregates; the twelve sense-fields up to feeling born from the condition of mind-contact; the six similes of dream, illusion, mirage, echo, reflection, and transformation; the six perfections; inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; the places from which the fruits of the three vehicles arise, and srota-āpanna up to omniscience of all kinds; names, provisional names, designations, marks, and speech; and the dharmas that neither arise nor cease, are neither stained nor pure, and are without action. Whoever wishes to make any one of these dharmas go forth, 「是人為欲使無相法出」 tr. "this person wishes to make the signless dharma go forth"〔T25 0419c18〕. The reason is that each and every dharma is empty in mark: it does not go forth from the three realms, nor does it abide in sarvajñā. The treatise gathers up this meaning: 「是大乘即是無相，無相云何有出、有至」 tr. "this Great Vehicle is precisely the signless; how could the signless have going forth or arriving?"〔T25 0421a13〕, and further, 「用如是法，從三界出，至薩婆若中住；非是實法，亦無所動」 tr. "using such dharmas, it goes forth from the three realms and arrives to abide in sarvajñā; these are not real dharmas, and nothing moves"〔T25 0421a16〕—going forth is established by means of no going forth, and moving is accomplished by means of not moving.

Second, abiding with nowhere that is abided in. 「是大乘無住處。何以故？一切法無住相故。是乘若住，不住法住」 tr. "this Great Vehicle has no place of abiding. Why? Because all dharmas have no mark of abiding. If this vehicle abides, it abides by the dharma of non-abiding"〔T25 0421a19〕; the Buddha himself says 「一切法從本已來無住相，云何獨大乘有住？若有所住，以畢竟空法住」 tr. "all dharmas from the very beginning have no mark of abiding; how could the Great Vehicle alone have abiding? If there is any abiding, it abides by the dharma of ultimate emptiness"〔T25 0421b03〕. The treatise explains "not abiding and not not-abiding" by three pairs: 「『不住』者，自相中不住；『非不住』者，異相中不住」 tr. "'not abiding' means not abiding in its own mark; 'not not-abiding' means not abiding in a different mark"〔T25 0421b06〕; 「『不住』者，說空破有；『非不住』者，說世諦方便有住」 tr. "'not abiding' is speaking of emptiness to refute existence; 'not not-abiding' is speaking of worldly truth, in which by skilful means there is abiding"〔T25 0421b07〕; 「『不住』者，說無常破常相；『非不住』者，破滅相」 tr. "'not abiding' is speaking of impermanence to refute the mark of permanence; 'not not-abiding' is refuting the mark of annihilation"〔T25 0421b09〕. To speak of emptiness in refuting existence, while by the skilful means of worldly truth allowing abiding—this is precisely the stroke that illuminates both of the two truths together.

Third, no one who can ride. 「無有人乘是乘出者」 tr. "there is no one who rides this vehicle and goes forth"〔T25 0421b12〕, because 「是乘及出者、所用法及出時，是一切法皆無所有」 tr. "this vehicle and the one who goes forth, the dharmas used and the time of going forth—all these dharmas are altogether non-existent"〔T25 0421b13〕; the Buddha himself states the causes and conditions of emptiness: 「乘者，是六波羅蜜。所用法者，是慈悲、方便等諸法，六波羅蜜所不攝。出者，是菩薩。是三法皆空」 tr. "the vehicle is the six perfections. The dharmas used are kindness and compassion, skilful means, and the other dharmas that the six perfections do not include. The one who goes forth is the bodhisattva. These three dharmas are all empty"〔T25 0421c24〕. The treatise-author follows this by gathering everything under the two divisions of the emptiness of dharmas and the emptiness of beings (see Section II)—the vehicle and the dharmas used are the emptiness of dharmas; the one who rides the vehicle is the emptiness of beings. With the two emptinesses of beings and of dharmas set forth together, the question of who rides resolves itself.

Fourth, only because of ultimate purity is the vehicle's going forth accomplished. The question is that unfindability is of two kinds—the dharma exists but wisdom is slight and does not obtain it, or great wisdom searches for it and does not obtain it—and the answer is 「是法無故不可得」 tr. "it is because this dharma does not exist that it cannot be obtained"〔T25 0422a05〕; to the question what benefit it is to a person that all dharmas cannot be obtained from root to branch, the answer is only 「畢竟清淨故」 tr. "because of ultimate purity"〔T25 0422a07〕. Relying on non-existence to refute existence, one is not yet pure with regard to non-existence, and this is still not ultimate (see Section II). The final sentence of the whole chapter is 「菩薩用不可得法，乘是乘出薩婆若」 tr. "the bodhisattva, using unfindable dharmas, rides this vehicle and goes forth into sarvajñā"〔T25 0422a15〕—precisely because all things cannot be obtained and are ultimately pure, the vehicle goes forth bound to nothing and arrives abiding nowhere. This is 「出到」 tr. "going forth and arriving", and here the whole chapter comes to rest.

VI. Divergent Readings of the Masters

The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa has no tradition of a complete line-by-line commentary; the ancient masters' citations and explanations lean wherever the material happens to fall. The state of rereading for this chapter is quite particular: the fascicle of Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra, which explains the sūtra being explained, survives complete, with a complete dedicated section rereading this chapter; while of Huiying's Commentary, which explains the treatise, the fascicle in which this chapter falls happens to be lost. This section records the correspondence between what each master comments on and this chapter, and does not judge the relative merit of the interpretations.

Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451), Fascicle 5, has a dedicated section, 「出到品第二十一」 tr. "Going Forth and Arriving, Chapter Twenty-one." It begins with the chapter title, which continues 「亦名出乘品」 tr. "also called the Chapter on Going Forth by the Vehicle"〔X24 0250b19〕, and ends with 「菩薩以一切下，第二明無人乘，而所謂菩薩乘是大乘出到薩婆若」 tr. "from 'the bodhisattva … all' onward, the second makes clear that no one rides, and yet it is said that the bodhisattva rides this Great Vehicle, going forth and arriving at sarvajñā"〔X24 0251c17〕 (below which the original manuscript has an interlinear note of two small characters, 「云云」 tr. "and so on"); at the end of the section it records 「論五十卷」 tr. "the Treatise, Fascicle Fifty"〔X24 0251c18〕—this phrase itself shows that what this section corresponds to is Fascicle 50 of this treatise, in agreement with the fascicle to which this chapter belongs. On the chapter name it says 「欲平宗二品，出到為勝。若云出乘，此但得其始；今言出到，則得始終也」 tr. "if one would weigh the two names of the chapter, 'going forth and arriving' is superior. If it is called 'going forth by the vehicle', this obtains only its beginning; now saying 'going forth and arriving' obtains both beginning and end"〔X24 0250b20〕, making clear that 「出到」 tr. "going forth and arriving" comprises beginning and end, while 「出乘」 tr. "going forth by the vehicle" obtains only the beginning. This distinction between the chapter's two names is outside material not found in this treatise. It fixes the position of this chapter in the questions and answers thus: 「此品初答第三問。前始終問云：是乘從何處出？到何處住？」 tr. "This chapter first answers the third question. The earlier question on beginning and end said: From where does this vehicle go forth? Where does it arrive and abide?"〔X24 0250b21〕, which confirms and is confirmed by the treatise's own marking of the third question (see Section I). It explains the sense of the chapter title thus: 「無始，始從三界中出；無終，終到薩婆若；無出，出三界；無到，到薩婆若。故用目品」 tr. "Without beginning, it begins by going forth from the three realms; without end, it ends by arriving at sarvajñā; without going forth, it goes forth from the three realms; without arriving, it arrives at sarvajñā. Therefore this is used to name the chapter"〔X24 0250b23〕, establishing the substance of the chapter name through the mutual identity of two levels, no going forth and no arriving, and going forth and arriving. It divides the proper answer into four layers: 「佛言下，第二、正答，又四：第一、雖無出到而出到；第二、明說出到而無出到；第三、結無出到故出到成第一；第四、結上出到無出到諸法不動，故來第二也」 tr. "From 'the Buddha said' onward is the second, the proper answer, again in four: first, though there is no going forth and arriving, yet there is going forth and arriving; second, it makes clear that going forth and arriving are spoken of, yet there is no going forth and arriving; third, it concludes that because there is no going forth and arriving, going forth and arriving is accomplished, which completes the first; fourth, it concludes that in the above going forth and arriving and no going forth and arriving, dharmas do not move, and so it comes to the second"〔X24 0250c09〕. It further divides the ten classes at the head of the chapter into seven—「就文又七：第一、舉實際等無為法無出無到為類」 tr. "Within the text there are again seven: first, it takes the unconditioned dharmas such as the limit of reality, with no going forth and no arriving, as a class"〔X24 0251a08〕, 「若人欲使色空下，第二、舉陰、界、入等空為類」 tr. "from 'if someone wishes to make form-emptiness' onward, second, it takes the emptiness of the aggregates, elements, sense-fields, and so on as a class"〔X24 0251a15〕—these seven divisions are Jizang's consolidated outline, and their granularity differs from the ten classes that the sūtra text itself enumerates item by item (see Section V); they are recorded side by side without judgement. For the latter two rounds Jizang explicitly marks 「次答第四位處問」 tr. "next it answers the fourth question, on position and place"〔X24 0251b10〕 and 「次答第五問乘乘人。此中既標問，故乘品初有此問也」 tr. "next it answers the fifth question, on the vehicle and the one who rides the vehicle. Since the question is marked here, this question therefore stood at the beginning of the chapter on the vehicle"〔X24 0251c04〕. Under the fifth question Jizang divides thus: 「所言四法者，一是乘，謂六度；二是乘人；三是所用，即慈悲方便等非度攝；四是時」 tr. "As for what are called the four dharmas: first is the vehicle, namely the six perfections; second is the one who rides; third is what is used, namely kindness and compassion, skilful means, and so on, which are not included in the perfections; fourth is the time"〔X24 0251c09〕—in the original text of this treatise, what the Buddha himself says is only 「是三法皆空」 tr. "these three dharmas are all empty"〔T25 0421c26〕; Jizang adds the item 「乘人」 tr. "the one who rides" to make four dharmas, a number different from the treatise's three dharmas. This is the ancient master's own framework, recorded side by side without judgement.

Zhanran's Annotations on the Profound Meaning of the Lotus (T33n1717) cites a passage of this chapter: 「次〈發趣〉後〈出到品〉中『須菩提問：是乘從何處出？到何處住？佛言：無人乘而到乾慧等地。』是故結云『經文次比』」 tr. "Next, in the chapter 'Going Forth and Arriving', after 'Setting Out': 'Subhūti asked: From where does this vehicle go forth? Where does it arrive and abide? The Buddha said: No one rides, and yet one arrives at the ground of dry wisdom and the other grounds.' Therefore it concludes, 'the sūtra text is in sequence'"〔T33 0890a28〕. This is said to make clear that the sūtra texts of the two chapters, "Setting Out" and "Going Forth and Arriving", follow one upon the other in order. What is cited is Zhanran's own summarising wording, not a word-for-word citation of the sūtra—「無人乘而到乾慧等地」 tr. "no one rides, and yet one arrives at the ground of dry wisdom and the other grounds" fuses into one sentence two places, the question at the head of this chapter and the proper names of the ten grounds at its end; in citing it one must make clear that it is Zhanran's summary.

Teishun's Classified Compendium of Tiantai Terms (D40n8903) carries on Zhanran's statement and adds his own judgement: 「發趣品十地別教也」 tr. "the ten grounds of the chapter 'Setting Out' are the Distinct Teaching"〔D40 0699a02〕 and 「出到品乾慧等十地通教也」 tr. "the ten grounds of dry wisdom and so on in the chapter 'Going Forth and Arriving' are the Shared Teaching"〔D40 0699a02〕, then marks 「玄五云」 tr. "the Profound Meaning, Fascicle Five, says"〔D40 0699a03〕 and briefly cites the words 「經文次比」 tr. "the sūtra text is in sequence"〔D40 0699a03〕. This Tiantai doctrinal classification (assigning "Setting Out" to the Distinct Teaching and "Going Forth and Arriving" to the Shared Teaching) belongs to Teishun's own interpretation and is recorded without judgement. Directly below, he cites the proper names of the ten grounds of this chapter—「大品經出到品云」 tr. "the chapter 'Going Forth and Arriving' of the Larger Sūtra says"〔D40 0699a03〕, citing 「何為初地乃至十地」 tr. "what are the first ground up to the tenth ground"〔D40 0699a04〕 and 「所謂乾慧地性地八人地見地薄地離欲地已辨地辟支佛地菩薩地佛地」 tr. "namely the ground of dry wisdom, the ground of the stage of nature, the ground of the person of the eight, the ground of seeing, the ground of thinning, the ground free of desire, the ground of what has been accomplished, the pratyekabuddha ground, the bodhisattva ground, and the Buddha ground"〔D40 0699a04〕 (the original manuscript is unpunctuated, and below 「云」 tr. "says" there is a small mark of the original manuscript). Compared with this treatise there is a difference of only one character: Teishun reads 「已辨地」 tr. "the ground of what has been accomplished", while this treatise reads 「已作地」 tr. "the ground of what has been done"〔T25 0421c11〕. This one-character divergence, "done" against "accomplished", is not recorded in this treatise's collation notes; it is a cross-textual variant in an ancient master's citation, recorded side by side without judgement.

The Qing monk Zhiquan's Verifying Explanation of the Profound Meaning and Annotations of the Lotus Sūtra (X28n0592), commenting on the passage of Zhanran cited above, fixes its fascicle position: 「大論四十九卷釋發趣品，五十卷釋發趣之餘，即次釋出到品」 tr. "Fascicle 49 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa explains the chapter 'Setting Out'; Fascicle 50 explains the remainder of 'Setting Out' and then next explains the chapter 'Going Forth and Arriving'"〔X28 0604b12〕, in agreement with the fascicle to which this chapter belongs. It is of the class of later secondary citations; it is noted, but not listed as ancient-master usage.

The Essentials of the Outline of the Great Canon (C056n1159) touches on this chapter in two places, in the form of summary chapter headings: under the Larger Sūtra, 「出到品　是乘從三界中至薩婆若中住」 tr. "Chapter 'Going Forth and Arriving': this vehicle, from within the three realms, arrives to abide in sarvajñā"〔C056 0139a05〕; under the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, 「釋般若中出到品。乘是乘者。從何處出到何處住等妙義」 tr. "Explains the chapter 'Going Forth and Arriving' in the Prajñā. One who rides this vehicle: the wondrous meanings of from where he goes forth, where he arrives and abides, and so on"〔C056 0185c04〕. A summary is not a commentary; it is noted as it is.

Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791), in its surviving fascicles, does not cover this chapter. Seven fascicles of the work survive today (Fascicles 1, 6, 14, 15, 17, 21, and 24). At the end of Fascicle 17 the title 「大智度論疏卷第十七」 tr. "Commentary on the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Seventeen"〔X46 0875c19〕 is followed directly by 「智度論疏卷第二十一」 tr. "Commentary on the Upadeśa, Fascicle Twenty-one"〔X46 0876a01〕, which begins with 「釋校量舍利品第三十七」 tr. "Explaining the Chapter on Weighing the Relics, the Thirty-seventh"〔X46 0876a03〕—the original Fascicles 18 to 20 in between are wholly lost, and this chapter falls precisely within the range of the lost fascicles. At the end of Fascicle 17 Huiying himself records 「無相無礙等已下，上來至此釋佛答善吉上第一問已竟。今從此去訖入不二法門，釋答第二問也，當說」 tr. "From 'signless, unobstructed', and so on, onward: from above up to here, the explanation of the Buddha's answer to Good Auspice's first question above is finished. From here on, through to entering the Dharma-gate of non-duality, it explains the answer to the second question; this will be spoken of"〔X46 0875c16〕. To which passages the 「第二問」 tr. "second question" and 「入不二法門」 tr. "entering the Dharma-gate of non-duality" refer, and whether they run on the same track as the question numbering marked by Jizang, cannot be confirmed because the following fascicles are lost; this clue is recorded without being extended.

As for works under Zhiyi's sole name and works under the names of Kuiji and Huizhao, a search of the whole corpus for 「出到品」 tr. "Chapter on Going Forth and Arriving" and 「出乘品」 tr. "Chapter on Going Forth by the Vehicle" yields zero hits in every case (Zhanran's citation has been given above; its wording belongs to Zhanran's explanatory text and is not Zhiyi's own text). Huilin's Sounds and Meanings of All the Scriptures, Fascicle 46, gives the sounds for the hundred fascicles of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa〔T54 0609c22〕, with the interlinear note below the title 「第九帙無音」 tr. "the ninth case has no sound-glosses"〔T54 0609c22〕. The work gives entries fascicle by fascicle for this treatise, but after the sounds for the forty-third fascicle comes directly 「第五十三卷」 tr. "the fifty-third fascicle"〔T54 0615a08〕; the forty-fourth to fifty-second fascicles are missing in the original and have no sound-glosses. Fascicle 50 of the treatise, in which this chapter lies, falls precisely within the missing list, so there is no sound-gloss by Huilin for this chapter to rely on.

VII. Cross-reading and Further Resonances

On the continuity of this chapter's line of meaning, this section records three points, and does not fix a reading on anyone's behalf.

First, the treatise's own cross-references. The treatise explains 「如、法性、法相，如先說」 tr. "suchness, dharma-nature, and the mark of dharmas are as explained before"〔T25 0420c20〕, and further 「名字等假名相義，如先說」 tr. "the meaning of names and the other marks of provisional names is as explained before"〔T25 0421a16〕—both point to what was explained in earlier fascicles and are not broadened again; 「十八空乃至一切種智，亦如是」 tr. "the eighteen emptinesses up to omniscience of all kinds are likewise"〔T25 0421a06〕 and 「乃至十八不共法亦如是」 tr. "up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, likewise"〔T25 0420a27〕 use 「亦如是」 tr. "likewise" to take the earlier as the pattern and conclude the later. The explanations in this chapter everywhere stand on the numbered categories of the preceding chapters: evidence of how chapter runs through chapter.

Second, the citations of the proper names of the ten grounds. The passage of this chapter on the proper names of the ten grounds (see Section II) is the place in this chapter most frequently cited in later ages—Zhanran cites it to make clear that the sūtra texts of "Setting Out" and "Going Forth and Arriving" are in sequence, Teishun cites it word for word with the one-character difference 「已辨地」 tr. "the ground of what has been accomplished", and the Qing monk Zhiquan cites it again at second hand and fixes its fascicle position (all in Section VI). This section records the traces of its citation; the continuity lies there.

Third, the correspondence between beginning and end in the sūtra explained. The end of the sūtra explained, 「乘是摩訶衍出三界，住薩婆若」 tr. "riding this Mahāyāna, one goes forth from the three realms and abides in sarvajñā"〔T08 0261a16〕, answers from end to beginning to the chapter's opening, 「是乘從三界中出，至薩婆若中住」 tr. "this vehicle goes forth from the three realms and arrives to abide in sarvajñā"〔T08 0259c18〕; this treatise's citation lacks the three characters 「三界，住」 tr. "the three realms, abides" (see Section IV, the thirteenth item), so that the structure of correspondence does not appear in the text of the treatise. What this variant bears on is not merely a difference of one character but whether the answering of the chapter's structure is present or absent; for cross-reading the two are best viewed together, and they are recorded side by side without judgement.

VIII. Witnesses and Editions

The base text of this chapter is Fascicle 50 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa〔T25 0419c13–0422a19〕; the collation text for the sūtra explained is Chapter 21, "Going Forth and Arriving", of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra〔T08 0259c16–0261a17〕; the ancient-master texts for comparative reading are Fascicle 5 of Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451), Zhanran's Annotations on the Profound Meaning of the Lotus (T33n1717), Teishun's Classified Compendium of Tiantai Terms (D40n8903), and others, all in Section VI; the fascicle of Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791) in which this chapter falls is lost. Variant notes follow the Taishō collation, covering differences between the base text and the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace editions, the Shōgozō, and the Ishiyama text (the Ishiyama-dera manuscript). The collation notes at the end of the working base text number fifty in all; this section selects and transcribes the twelve that bear on the chapter name, terminology, doctrine, and the comparative reading of sūtra and treatise, preserving the variant readings side by side, while the main text continues to follow the reading of the current base text.

Chapter name and fascicle. For the chapter title 「大智度論釋出到品第二十一」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Going Forth and Arriving, the Twenty-first", the Shōgozō reads 「釋第二十品」 tr. "Commentary on the Twentieth Chapter", the Ishiyama text reads 「摩訶般若波羅蜜品第二十出到品」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā, Chapter Twenty, Chapter on Going Forth and Arriving", and the Ming edition lacks the four characters 「大智度論」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa"〔T25 0419c13〕; further, below 「二十一」 tr. "twenty-first", the Palace edition has the character 「品」 tr. "chapter"〔T25 0419c13〕. The chapter numbers in both the Shōgozō and the Ishiyama text read 「第二十」 tr. "the twentieth", running on the same track as the interlinear note to the fascicle-end title (see below); they are recorded side by side without judgement.

The character 「性」 tr. "nature" in five places. Below 「四念處」 tr. "the four foundations of mindfulness", 「分」 tr. "limbs", 「阿羅漢」 tr. "arhat", and 「佛」 tr. "Buddha" (two places), the four editions—Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace—all have the character 「性」 tr. "nature"〔T25 0420a23〕〔T25 0420a27〕〔T25 0420b05〕〔T25 0420b06〕. The five places are of one batch and one direction and agree with the reading of the sūtra explained; they are not random errors. Details in Section IV, the third item.

「性」 tr. "nature" and 「無作」 tr. "without action." In the concluding sentence of the last class at the head of the chapter, 「不生性乃至無作性，性空故」 tr. "the nature of non-arising up to the nature of non-action, because they are empty in nature"〔T25 0420b15〕, for its 「無作性」 tr. "nature of non-action", with respect to the 「性」 tr. "nature", the six texts—Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama—all read 「無作」 tr. "without action"〔T25 0420b15〕. Recorded side by side without judgement.

「至」 tr. "arrive", 「法」 tr. "dharma", and the Treatise marker: three notes on the same line. In the concluding sentence of the first round, 「至薩婆若中住，不動法故」 tr. "arrives to abide in sarvajñā, because it is an unmoving dharma"〔T25 0420b17〕—the five texts, Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō, lack the character 「至」 tr. "arrive"; the four editions, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace, lack the character 「法」 tr. "dharma"; and the Song and Palace editions lack the Treatise marker that immediately follows〔T25 0420b17〕. The absence of 「法」 tr. "dharma" agrees with the sūtra explained, whereas the sūtra explained on the contrary retains 「至」 tr. "arrive" (see Section IV, the sixth item); the two characters are not distributed in step, and they are recorded side by side without judgement.

「旦」 tr. "dawn" and 「日」 tr. "day." In 「人謂從旦至食」 tr. "people thought it lasted from dawn to mealtime"〔T25 0420b26〕, for the 「旦」 tr. "dawn" the present text follows the reading of the Korean canon, while the printed Taishō edition reads 「日」 tr. "day"〔T25 0420b26〕; this records a difference at the level of the base text.

「起」 tr. "origination" and 「相」 tr. "sign." In the second Sūtra section, for 「無起無作」 tr. "without origination and without action", its 「起」 tr. "origination"〔T25 0421a22〕: the five texts—Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō—all read 「相」 tr. "sign"〔T25 0421a22〕—exactly agreeing with the reading 「無相無作」 tr. "signless and without action" of the sūtra explained. Details in Section IV, the seventh item; recorded side by side without judgement.

The phrase 「乃至無作相」 tr. "up to the mark of non-action." In 「法性相乃至無作相，非住非不住」 tr. "the mark of dharma-nature, up to the mark of non-action, is neither abiding nor not abiding"〔T25 0421a23〕, the words 「乃至無作相」 tr. "up to the mark of non-action": the six texts—Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama—all lack it〔T25 0421a24〕; the sūtra explained also lacks this phrase (Section IV, the eighth item). The six collated texts and the sūtra explained all lack it while the base text alone retains it: the most lopsided distribution of collation evidence in this chapter. Recorded side by side without judgement.

Three readings of 「住處」 tr. "place of abiding." In 「是乘無住處」 tr. "this vehicle has no place of abiding", for the 「住處」 tr. "place of abiding"〔T25 0421a27〕, the three texts Song, Palace, and Shōgozō read 「所住」 tr. "that in which it abides", and the two editions Yuan and Ming read 「所住處」 tr. "the place in which it abides"〔T25 0421a27〕; together with the sūtra explained's 「無所住」 tr. "nothing in which it abides", four readings of one sentence (Section IV, the ninth item). Recorded side by side without judgement.

「眾」 tr. "aggregates" and 「陰」 tr. "aggregates." In 「眾、入、界不可得」 tr. "the aggregates, the sense-fields, and the elements cannot be obtained"〔T25 0421b17〕, for the 「眾」 tr. "aggregates", the Ishiyama text reads 「陰」 tr. "aggregates"〔T25 0421b17〕—the same as the sūtra explained's 「陰入界」 tr. "aggregates, sense-fields, and elements" (Section IV, the tenth item). Recorded side by side without judgement.

Three readings of 「者言」 tr. "[one] says." In the 「者言」 tr. "[one] says" set on its own line at the start of the Treatise explanation in the last round, for the 「者」 tr. "[one]", the Yuan and Ming editions read 「論者」 tr. "the expounder of the treatise", and the Ishiyama text reads 「釋」 tr. "explanation"〔T25 0421c22〕. The three readings differ in wording but share one function: each marks the opening of the treatise-author's speech. The readings of the Yuan, Ming, and Ishiyama texts show that the base text's 「者言」 tr. "[one] says" is an abbreviation of an opening formula of the kind 「論者言」 tr. "the expounder of the treatise says"; therefore in dividing this chapter into sections, 「者言」 tr. "[one] says" set on its own line opens a section, on the same pattern as 「問曰」 tr. "Question:" and 「答曰」 tr. "Answer:". Recorded side by side without judgement.

「知者」 tr. "the knower": its 「者」 tr. "-er." In 「我不可得，乃至知者、見者不可得」 tr. "the self cannot be obtained, up to the knower and the seer cannot be obtained"〔T25 0421c27〕, in its 「知者」 tr. "the knower", the 「者」 tr. "-er" is lacking in the five texts—Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō〔T25 0421c27〕; the corresponding place in the sūtra explained reads 「知者、見者不可得」 tr. "the knower and the seer cannot be obtained"〔T08 0260c08〕, the same reading as the base text—exactly the opposite direction from the preceding several notes, in which the sūtra explained agrees with the other texts while the base text alone differs. This shows that the variants do not run in one direction only; recorded side by side without judgement.

The fascicle-end title. For 「大智度論卷第五十」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty"〔T25 0422a16〕, the Ishiyama text lacks this title together with its interlinear note, eighteen characters in all〔T25 0422a16〕, and moreover the Ishiyama text does not divide the fascicle here〔T25 0422a15〕; for 「論」 tr. "treatise" the Shōgozō reads 「經論」 tr. "sūtra-treatise"〔T25 0422a16〕; the base text's interlinear note below the title, 「釋第十九品訖第二十品」 tr. "explaining the nineteenth chapter through the twentieth chapter"〔T25 0422a16〕, is absent in the four editions—Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace. The interlinear note calls this chapter 「第二十」 tr. "the twentieth", running on the same track as the chapter numbers in the chapter titles of the Shōgozō and the Ishiyama text (see the entry on chapter name and fascicle above). Recorded side by side without judgement.