大智度論 勝出品Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Surpassing
勝出品：摩訶衍以無法非法故勝出一切世間，三人度惡道喻顯三乘（經＋論）
前一品裡須菩提以五事問摩訶衍，佛一一答畢；這一品便是他聽完之後的稱歎——摩訶衍啊，勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅，與虛空等，能受無量無邊眾生，來處去處住處皆不可見，前際後際中際皆不可得，三世等，所以名為大乘。佛印可了，卻隨即說出一個出人意表的道理：這乘之所以能勝出一切，恰恰不是因為它比一切更「有」。經文一輪一輪地問下去——若欲界是實有、不虛妄、不顛倒、有常、不壞的，摩訶衍就勝不出它；正因欲界是虛妄憶想分別、和合名字而有，無常、無法，摩訶衍才勝出。色界無色界如是，五蘊六根如是，乃至法性、實際、六度、十八空、四念處到十八不共法，乃至賢聖之法、菩薩從初發心以來的諸心、如金剛的智慧，乃至諸佛的三十二相、光明、梵音、法輪——一路問到底，答案始終是同一句：以其無法、非法，故勝出。論主怕人聽不進這個翻轉，設了一個譬喻：三個人度同一段險道，一人趁夜逃遁、獨自脫身，一人拿錢求免，一人如大王領大軍、摧破賊寇、全軍而濟——聲聞、辟支佛、菩薩三乘，同樣度脫生死，方便之道卻如此不同。大乘之大，正在它不是繞開世間，而是摧破而勝出。可是憑什麼摧破？論主答得乾脆：三界如幻如夢、因緣而有，一切無常破壞磨滅皆是空相，摩訶衍與三界相違，所以能摧破；若三界定實不虛，兩邊力等，誰也破不了誰。原來勝出不是一種更大的「有」壓過較小的「有」——那樣永遠只是力等的僵持——勝出是空對於幻的勝出，是無法對於執有的勝出。所以連無為法也空，連眾生也無法非法：正因為沒有一個實在的眾生可滅，佛度眾生入無餘涅槃才沒有拔根之咎，眾生才得以已滅、今滅、當滅。這一品的名字叫勝出，它真正說的是——凡與萬法角力者，力等而已；唯不與萬法角力的，勝出一切。
In the previous chapter Subhūti questioned the Mahāyāna on five matters, and the Buddha answered each in turn; this chapter is his praise once he has heard it all: the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world together with the gods, humans, and asuras, is equal to space, can receive immeasurable and boundless beings, has no place of coming, going, or abiding that can be seen, has no prior limit, later limit, or middle limit that can be found, and is equal across the three times, and so it is named the Great Vehicle. The Buddha approves, yet at once states a principle no one expects: the reason this vehicle can surpass everything is precisely not that it ‘exists’ more than everything else. The sūtra asks round after round: if the desire realm were truly existent, not false, not inverted, permanent, and indestructible, the Mahāyāna could not surpass it; it is precisely because the desire realm exists through false recollection, imagining, and discrimination, through coming together and names, being impermanent and a non-existent dharma, that the Mahāyāna surpasses it. So too the form realm and the formless realm, so too the five aggregates and the six faculties, and on to dharma-nature, the limit of reality, the six perfections, the eighteen emptinesses, the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and on to the dharmas of the noble ones, the minds of the bodhisattva from the first arousing of the mind onward, wisdom like vajra, and on to the thirty-two marks of the buddhas, their light, their Brahmā voice, their wheel of Dharma: the questioning runs all the way to the bottom, and the answer is always the same sentence: because these are non-existent and not dharmas, it surpasses them. The treatise-author, afraid that people will not take in this reversal, sets up a simile: three persons cross the same stretch of dangerous road; one flees by night and escapes alone, one pays money to be let off, and one, like a great king leading a great army, crushes the bandits and brings the whole army across. Śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas, the three vehicles, are alike delivered from birth and death, yet their paths of skilful means differ this much. The greatness of the Great Vehicle lies exactly in this, that it does not skirt the world but crushes it and surpasses it. But by what power does it crush? The treatise-author answers crisply: the three realms are like an illusion, like a dream, existing through causes and conditions, and everything impermanent, breaking, and wearing away is the mark of emptiness; the Mahāyāna runs contrary to the three realms, and so it can crush them. If the three realms were fixed, real, and not false, the two sides would be of equal strength and neither could break the other. So surpassing is not a greater ‘existence’ pressing down a smaller one, which would only ever be a deadlock of equal forces; surpassing is the surpassing of the illusory by emptiness, the surpassing of clinging to existence by the non-existent. That is why even the unconditioned dharmas are empty, and why even beings are non-existent and not dharmas: precisely because there is no real being to be extinguished, the Buddha's bringing beings into nirvāṇa without remainder carries no fault of uprooting, and beings can have been extinguished, be extinguished now, and be extinguished hereafter. This chapter is named Surpassing, and what it truly says is this: whoever wrestles with the ten thousand dharmas is only their equal in strength; only what does not wrestle with the ten thousand dharmas surpasses them all.
卷51 〔T25 0422a19〕
大智度論釋勝出品第二十二 聖者龍樹造 後秦龜茲國三藏鳩摩羅什譯 【經】 慧命須菩提白佛言：「世尊！摩訶衍、摩訶衍者，勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。世尊！是摩訶衍與虛空等。如虛空受無量無邊阿僧祇眾生，摩訶衍亦如是受無量無邊阿僧祇眾生。世尊！是摩訶衍不見來處，不見去處，不見住處。是摩訶衍前際不可得，後際不可得，中際不可得，三世等是摩訶衍。世尊！以〔T25 0422b〕是故，是乘名摩訶衍。」 佛告須菩提：「如是！如是！菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍，所謂六波羅蜜：檀波羅蜜、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，是名菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍。復次，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍，所謂一切陀羅尼門、一切三昧門，所謂首楞嚴三昧乃至離著虛空不染三昧，是名菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍。復次，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍，所謂內空乃至無法有法空，是名菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍。復次，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍，所謂四念處乃至十八不共法，是名菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍。 「如須菩提所言：『是摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。』須菩提！若欲界當有實、不虛妄、不異、諦、不顛倒、有常、不壞相、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！以欲界虛妄憶想分別，和合名字等有，一切無常相、無法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！色界、無色界若當實有、不虛妄、不異、諦、不顛倒、有常、不壞相、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！以色界、無色界虛妄憶想分別，和合名字等有，一切無常、破壞相、無法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。 「須菩提！若色當實有、不虛妄、不異、諦、不顛倒、有常、不壞相、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！以色虛妄憶想分別，和合名字等有，一切無常、破壞相、無法，以是故，是摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。受、想、行、識〔T25 0422c〕亦如是。須菩提！若眼乃至意、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，若當實有、不虛妄、不異、諦、不顛倒、有常、不壞相、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！以眼乃至意觸因緣生受，虛妄憶想分別，和合名字等有，一切無常、破壞相、無法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。 「須菩提！若法性是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；須菩提！以法性無法、非法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！若如、實際、不可思議性是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；須菩提！以如、實際、不可思議性無法、非法；以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。 「須菩提！若檀波羅蜜是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；以檀波羅蜜無法、非法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。若尸羅波羅蜜、羼提波羅蜜、毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜，是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；以尸羅波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜無法、非法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。 「須菩提！若內空乃至無法有法空，是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天人、阿修羅；以內空乃至無法有法空無法、非法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天人、阿修羅。 「須菩〔T25 0423a〕提！若四念處乃至十八不共法是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；以四念處乃至十八不共法無法、非法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。 「須菩提！若性人法是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；以性人法無法、非法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！若八人法、須陀洹法、斯陀含法、阿那含法、阿羅漢法、辟支佛法、佛法是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；以八人法乃至佛法，無法、非法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。 「須菩提！若性人是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。以性人無法、非法；以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！若八人、須陀洹乃至佛是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；以八人乃至佛無法、非法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。 「須菩提！若一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；以一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅無法、非法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。 「須菩提！若菩薩摩訶薩從初發心乃至道場，於其中間諸心，若當是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；以菩薩從初發心乃至道場諸心無法、非法；以是故，摩訶衍〔T25 0423b〕勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。 「須菩提！若菩薩摩訶薩如金剛慧若是有法、非無法者，是菩薩摩訶薩不能知一切結使及習無法、非法，得一切種智；須菩提！以菩薩摩訶薩如金剛慧無法、非法，是故菩薩知一切結使及習無法、非法，得一切種智，以是故，摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。 「須菩提！若諸佛三十二相是有法、非無法者，諸佛威德不能照然、勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；須菩提！以諸佛三十二相無法、非法，以是故，諸佛威德照然，勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。 「須菩提！若諸佛光明是有法、非無法者，諸佛光明不能普照恒河沙等世界；須菩提！以諸佛光明無法、非法，以是故，諸佛能以光明普照恒河沙等世界。 「須菩提！若諸佛六十種莊嚴音聲是有法、非無法者，諸佛不能以六十種莊嚴音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇世界；須菩提！以諸佛六十種莊嚴音聲無法、非法，以是故，諸佛能以六十種莊嚴音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇世界。 「須菩提！諸佛法輪若是有法、非無法者，諸佛不能轉法輪，諸沙門、婆羅門、若天、若魔、若梵及世間餘眾所不能如法轉者；須菩提！以諸佛法輪無法、非法，以是故，諸佛轉法輪，諸沙門、婆羅門、若天、若魔、若梵及世間餘眾所不能如法轉者。須菩提！諸佛為眾生轉法輪，是眾生若實有法、非無法者，不能令是眾生於無餘涅槃而般涅槃；須菩提！以諸佛為眾生轉法輪，是眾生無法、非法，以是故，眾生於無餘涅槃中已滅、今滅、〔T25 0423c〕當滅。」 【論】 者言：須菩提上以五事問摩訶衍，佛已答竟。須菩提歡喜讚歎，作是言：「世尊！是摩訶衍有大力勢，破壞人、天世間已，能於中勝出。」 譬如三人度惡道：一者、於夜逃遁，獨脫其身；二者、以錢求免；三者、如大王將大軍眾，摧破寇賊，舉軍全濟，無所畏難。 三乘亦如是，如阿羅漢不能知一切總相、別相，亦不能破魔王，又不能降伏外道；厭老、病、死，直趣涅槃。如辟支佛入諸法實相，深於聲聞，少有悲心，以神通力化度眾生；能破煩惱，不能破魔人及外道。如菩薩從初發心，於一切眾生起大慈悲，雖未得佛，於其中間利益無量眾生；決定知諸法實相、具足六波羅蜜故，破諸魔王及壞外道；斷煩惱習，具足一切種智，總相、別相，悉知悉了，成阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。三人雖俱免生死，然方便道各異。是故須菩提讚歎摩訶衍：「摧破一切世間，勝出人、天、阿修羅上。」 譬如虛空含受一切國土，而虛空故不盡；摩訶衍亦如是，含受三世諸佛及諸弟子，摩訶衍亦不滿。 又如虛空常相故，無入相、無出相、無住相；是乘亦如是，無未來世入處、無過去世出處、無現在世住處；破三時故，三世等名摩訶衍。 問曰： 佛應讚須菩提所歎言「善哉」，何以更說摩訶衍？ 答曰： 佛將欲順須菩提所歎而讚說，以上說摩訶衍遠故，今略說摩訶衍相，然後廣述。 須菩提所讚摩訶衍者，所謂六波羅蜜、諸陀羅尼門、三〔T25 0424a〕昧門、十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法等。 如須菩提所說「摩訶衍，破壞一切世間，勝出人、天、阿修羅上」者，是事實爾。何以故？是三界虛誑，如幻如夢，無明虛妄，因緣故有，因果無有定實，一切無常、破壞、磨滅，皆是空相。以摩訶衍與三界相違，故能摧破勝出。若三界定實、常、不虛妄，是摩訶衍不能摧破勝出。何以故？力等故。 五眾、十二入、十八界、六觸生諸受亦如是。若法性是有法、非無法者，摩訶衍不能破世間得勝出；須菩提！以法性非有故，摩訶衍能得勝出世間。 問曰： 有為法，因緣和合虛誑故言無；如、法性、實際、不思議性，是無為實法，名為實際，云何言無？ 答曰： 無為空故言無。 復次，佛說：「離有為，無為法不可得；有為法實相即是無為法。」 復次，觀是有為法虛誑。如「如、法性、實際」是實；以人於法性取相起諍故，言「無法性」。或說「有」、或說「無」，各有因緣故無咎。如、實際、不可思議性亦如是。 世間檀波羅蜜著故有，出世間檀波羅蜜無故空；為破慳貪故言「有檀波羅蜜」，破邪見故言「檀波羅蜜無」；為度初學者說言「有」，若聖人心中說言「無」。 如檀波羅蜜，乃至若眾生實有、非是無法，不應令強滅、入無餘涅槃。 問曰： 從三十二相已後，何以不說言「摩訶衍勝出」？ 答曰： 應當說，直文煩故不說。 復次，三十二相乃至為眾生轉法輪亦是摩訶衍，但名字異耳。 復次，上總相說摩訶衍勝出，不知云何勝出；今別相說，所謂佛三十二相莊嚴身故，勝一切眾生；佛〔T25 0424b〕光明勝日月、諸天一切光明；佛音聲勝一切音樂、世界妙聲、諸天梵音；佛法輪勝轉輪聖王寶輪及諸外道一切法輪，無障無礙。餘法輪所利益微淺，或一世、二世，極至千萬世；佛法輪能令永入無餘涅槃，不復還入生死。 復次，若眾生實有者，佛不應令眾生入涅槃，永拔其根，此過於殺一身，有如是大咎。以眾生顛倒心見我故，佛欲破其顛倒，說言涅槃，無眾生可滅，故無咎。 有如是功德故，摩訶衍能勝出一切世間。 問曰： 「一切世間」者，十方六道眾生，何以獨說勝出諸天、人、阿修羅？ 答曰： 六道中，三是善道，三是惡道。摩訶衍尚能破三善道勝出，何況惡道！ 問曰： 《龍王經》中說龍得菩薩道，何以說是惡道？ 答曰： 眾生無量無邊，龍得道者少。 復次，有人言：「大菩薩變化身教化故，作龍王身。」
《大智度論》卷51 · T25n1509 0422a19–0424b18
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.
須菩提讚歎摩訶衍：勝出世間、與虛空等、三世平等
慧命須菩提對佛說：『世尊！摩訶衍啊、這所謂的摩訶衍，勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅之上。世尊！這摩訶衍與虛空相等。就像虛空能容受無量無邊阿僧祇的眾生，摩訶衍也是這樣，容受無量無邊阿僧祇的眾生。世尊！這摩訶衍看不見來處，看不見去處，也看不見住處。這摩訶衍前際不可得，後際不可得，中際不可得，三世平等的，就是摩訶衍。世尊！正因為這樣，這乘才名為摩訶衍。』
佛印可並標出摩訶衍之體：六度、三昧門、十八空、道品佛法
佛告訴須菩提：『正是這樣！正是這樣！菩薩摩訶薩的摩訶衍，就是六波羅蜜——檀波羅蜜、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，這就名為菩薩摩訶薩的摩訶衍。再者，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩的摩訶衍，是一切陀羅尼門、一切三昧門，也就是從首楞嚴三昧一直到離著虛空不染三昧，這就名為菩薩摩訶薩的摩訶衍。再者，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩的摩訶衍，是內空一直到無法有法空，這就名為菩薩摩訶薩的摩訶衍。再者，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩的摩訶衍，是四念處一直到十八不共法，這就名為菩薩摩訶薩的摩訶衍。』
若三界實有就不能勝出：欲界與色界無色界
『正如須菩提所說的：「這摩訶衍勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。」須菩提！如果欲界果真實有、不虛妄、不變異、諦實、不顛倒、恆常、沒有破壞之相、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！正因為欲界是由虛妄的憶想分別、和合與名字等而有，一切都是無常之相、是無法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！色界、無色界如果果真實有、不虛妄、不變異、諦實、不顛倒、恆常、沒有破壞之相、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！正因為色界、無色界是由虛妄的憶想分別、和合與名字等而有，一切都是無常、破壞之相、是無法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
五眾與眼等諸入處也是這樣：從色一直到意觸因緣所生的受
『須菩提！如果色果真實有、不虛妄、不變異、諦實、不顛倒、恆常、沒有破壞之相、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！正因為色是由虛妄的憶想分別、和合與名字等而有，一切都是無常、破壞之相、是無法，因此，這摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。受、想、行、識也是這樣。須菩提！如果眼一直到意、色一直到法、眼識一直到意識、眼觸一直到意觸、眼觸因緣所生的受一直到意觸因緣所生的受，果真實有、不虛妄、不變異、諦實、不顛倒、恆常、沒有破壞之相、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！正因為從眼一直到意觸因緣所生的受，都是由虛妄的憶想分別、和合與名字等而有，一切都是無常、破壞之相、是無法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
法性、如、實際、不可思議性：以無法非法故勝出
『須菩提！如果法性是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；須菩提！正因為法性是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！如果如、實際、不可思議性是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；須菩提！正因為如、實際、不可思議性是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
六波羅蜜自身也是無法非法
『須菩提！如果檀波羅蜜是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；正因為檀波羅蜜是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。如果尸羅波羅蜜、羼提波羅蜜、毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；正因為尸羅波羅蜜一直到般若波羅蜜是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
內空乃至無法有法空也是這樣
『須菩提！如果內空一直到無法有法空是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；正因為內空一直到無法有法空是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
四念處乃至十八不共法也是這樣
『須菩提！如果四念處一直到十八不共法是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；正因為四念處一直到十八不共法是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
性人法、八人法乃至佛法：賢聖所成之法也不例外
『須菩提！如果性人法是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；正因為性人法是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！如果八人法、須陀洹法、斯陀含法、阿那含法、阿羅漢法、辟支佛法、佛法是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；正因為八人法一直到佛法是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
性人、八人乃至佛：賢聖之人也不例外
『須菩提！如果性人是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。正因為性人是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。須菩提！如果八人、須陀洹一直到佛是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；正因為八人一直到佛是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
連所勝出的世間與天人阿修羅自身也是無法非法
『須菩提！如果一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；正因為一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
菩薩從初發心到道場之間的一切心
『須菩提！如果菩薩摩訶薩從最初發心一直到道場，在這中間的種種心，果真是有法、不是無法的話，這摩訶衍就不能勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；正因為菩薩從最初發心一直到道場的種種心是無法、非法，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
如金剛一般的智慧：能知結使及習，得一切種智
『須菩提！如果菩薩摩訶薩那如金剛一般的智慧是有法、不是無法的話，這菩薩摩訶薩就不能了知一切結使及習氣是無法、非法，不能得一切種智；須菩提！正因為菩薩摩訶薩那如金剛一般的智慧是無法、非法，所以菩薩才能了知一切結使及習氣是無法、非法，得一切種智，因此，摩訶衍才勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
諸佛三十二相：以無法非法故威德照然
『須菩提！如果諸佛的三十二相是有法、不是無法的話，諸佛的威德就不能照耀顯赫、勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅；須菩提！正因為諸佛的三十二相是無法、非法，因此，諸佛的威德才照耀顯赫，勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。』
諸佛光明：以無法非法故普照恒河沙世界
『須菩提！如果諸佛的光明是有法、不是無法的話，諸佛的光明就不能普照恒河沙那樣多的世界；須菩提！正因為諸佛的光明是無法、非法，因此，諸佛才能以光明普照恒河沙那樣多的世界。』
六十種莊嚴音聲：以無法非法故遍至十方
『須菩提！如果諸佛六十種莊嚴的音聲是有法、不是無法的話，諸佛就不能以六十種莊嚴的音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇的世界；須菩提！正因為諸佛六十種莊嚴的音聲是無法、非法，因此，諸佛才能以六十種莊嚴的音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇的世界。』
諸佛法輪與所度的眾生：以無法非法故能轉、能滅
『須菩提！諸佛的法輪如果是有法、不是無法的話，諸佛就不能轉那諸沙門、婆羅門、或天、或魔、或梵以及世間其餘大眾所不能如法而轉的法輪；須菩提！正因為諸佛的法輪是無法、非法，因此，諸佛才轉這諸沙門、婆羅門、或天、或魔、或梵以及世間其餘大眾所不能如法而轉的法輪。須菩提！諸佛為眾生轉法輪，這些眾生如果真是有法、不是無法的話，就不能使這些眾生在無餘涅槃中般涅槃；須菩提！正因為諸佛為眾生轉法輪，這些眾生是無法、非法，因此，眾生在無餘涅槃之中已滅、今滅、當滅。』
以下是論釋。
承前五問：須菩提歡喜讚歎摩訶衍的大力勢
論主說：須菩提在前面以五件事發問摩訶衍，佛都已經答完了。須菩提歡喜讚歎，這樣說：『世尊！這摩訶衍有大力勢，破壞了人、天世間之後，能在其中勝出。』
三人度惡道喻：夜遁、以錢求免、大王將大軍
譬如三個人度過險惡的道路：第一人趁著黑夜逃遁，只脫得自己一身；第二人拿錢財求得免脫；第三人像大王率領大軍兵眾，摧破寇賊，全軍安然得濟，沒有畏難。
三乘配三喻：方便道各異，所以獨讚摩訶衍
三乘也是這樣。像阿羅漢，不能了知一切法的總相、別相，也不能破魔王，又不能降伏外道；只是厭離老、病、死，一直趣向涅槃。像辟支佛，入諸法實相，比聲聞更深，稍有一些悲心，以神通力化度眾生；能破煩惱，卻不能破魔人及外道。像菩薩，從最初發心起，就對一切眾生生起大慈悲，雖然還沒有成佛，在這中間已經利益無量眾生；因為決定了知諸法實相、具足六波羅蜜，所以能破諸魔王、又能摧壞外道；斷除煩惱及習氣，具足一切種智，總相、別相全都了知、全都明了，成就阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。三人雖然都免脫了生死，可是所走的方便之道各不相同。正因為這樣，須菩提才讚歎摩訶衍：『摧破一切世間，勝出於人、天、阿修羅之上。』
兩重虛空喻：含受而不盡、無入無出無住
譬如虛空含受一切國土，可是因為是虛空，所以並不窮盡；摩訶衍也是這樣，含受三世諸佛及諸佛的弟子，摩訶衍也不會滿。
又像虛空因為是常相，沒有入相、沒有出相、沒有住相；這乘也是這樣，沒有未來世的入處、沒有過去世的出處、沒有現在世的住處；因為破除了三時，三世平等，才名為摩訶衍。
佛為什麼不只讚一聲善哉：先略說摩訶衍之相
有人問：佛應當讚許須菩提所歎的話、說一聲「善哉」就是了，為什麼還要再說摩訶衍呢？
論主回答：佛正想順著須菩提所歎的加以讚說；又因為前面說摩訶衍之處距離已遠，所以如今先簡略地說摩訶衍之相，然後再加以廣述。
須菩提所讚歎的摩訶衍，就是六波羅蜜、諸陀羅尼門、三昧門、十八空、四念處一直到十八不共法等。
三界虛誑如幻如夢：與其相違、力不相等，所以能摧破
如須菩提所說的「摩訶衍破壞一切世間，勝出於人、天、阿修羅之上」，這事確實如此。為什麼呢？因為這三界是虛誑的，如幻、如夢，由無明虛妄、因緣之故而有，因與果都沒有決定的實體，一切都是無常、破壞、磨滅，全是空相。正因為摩訶衍與三界相違，所以能摧破它、勝出它。如果三界是決定實有、恆常、不虛妄的，這摩訶衍就不能摧破勝出了。為什麼呢？因為那樣一來雙方力量相等的緣故。
五眾、十二入、十八界、六觸所生的諸受，也是這樣。如果法性是有法、不是無法的話，摩訶衍就不能破世間而得勝出；須菩提！正因為法性非有，摩訶衍才能勝出世間。
無為實法為什麼也說無：無為空故言無
有人問：有為法因為是因緣和合、虛誑不實，所以說它無；可是如、法性、實際、不思議性是無為的實法，名為實際，怎麼也說它無呢？
論主回答：因為無為也是空的，所以說無。
再者，佛說過：『離開有為，無為法不可得；有為法的實相就是無為法。』
再者，是觀這有為法虛誑，而像「如、法性、實際」這樣的是實；因為人們在法性上取相、生起諍論，所以才說「沒有法性」。或者說「有」、或者說「無」，各有各的因緣，所以都沒有過失。如、實際、不可思議性也是這樣。
說有說無各有因緣：從檀波羅蜜一直到眾生
世間的檀波羅蜜因為有所執著，所以是有；出世間的檀波羅蜜因為沒有這執著，所以是空。為了破除慳貪，所以說「有檀波羅蜜」；為了破除邪見，所以說「檀波羅蜜是無」。為了度初學的人，就說「有」；若在聖人心中，就說「無」。
像檀波羅蜜這樣，一直到眾生也是如此——如果眾生是實有、不是無法，就不應當使他強行滅去、進入無餘涅槃。
三十二相以後為什麼不說勝出：文煩不說、名字異耳
有人問：從三十二相以後，為什麼不再說「摩訶衍勝出」這句話呢？
論主回答：應當要說的，只因為文字繁瑣，所以不說。
再者，三十二相一直到為眾生轉法輪，也都是摩訶衍，只是名字不同罷了。
別相說勝出：相好、光明、音聲、法輪四重殊勝
再者，上面是就總相說摩訶衍勝出，還不知道究竟是怎樣勝出；如今就別相來說：所謂佛以三十二相莊嚴其身，所以勝過一切眾生；佛的光明勝過日月、諸天的一切光明；佛的音聲勝過一切音樂、世界的美妙聲音、諸天的梵音；佛的法輪勝過轉輪聖王的寶輪以及諸外道的一切法輪，無障無礙。其餘的法輪所給的利益微薄淺短，或者一世、二世，最多到千萬世；佛的法輪卻能使人永入無餘涅槃，不再回入生死。
若眾生實有，令入涅槃反成大咎
再者，如果眾生是實有的，佛就不應當使眾生入涅槃、永遠拔除他的根本——這比殺害一個身命還嚴重，有這樣的大過咎。正因為眾生是以顛倒心而見有「我」，佛想破除他的顛倒，才說「涅槃」；其實並沒有眾生可滅，所以沒有過咎。
有這樣的功德，所以摩訶衍能勝出一切世間。
六道之中為什麼只說天、人、阿修羅
有人問：所謂「一切世間」，是十方六道的眾生，為什麼只說勝出諸天、人、阿修羅呢？
論主回答：六道之中，三是善道，三是惡道。摩訶衍連三善道尚且能破而勝出，何況惡道呢！
龍得菩薩道的疑難：得道者少，或是菩薩變化
有人問：《龍王經》中說龍能得菩薩道，為什麼還說龍是惡道呢？
論主回答：眾生無量無邊，龍當中得道的很少。
再者，也有人說：『是大菩薩為了教化，變化身形，才作龍王之身。』
Subhūti Praises the Mahāyāna: Surpassing the World, Equal to Space, Equal in the Three Times
The venerable Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! The Mahāyāna (the Great Vehicle)—this so-called Mahāyāna—surpasses and rises above all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. World-Honored One! This Mahāyāna is equal to space. Just as space can contain and receive immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya beings, the Mahāyāna is also like this: it contains and receives immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya beings. World-Honored One! Of this Mahāyāna no place of coming is seen, no place of going is seen, and no place of abiding is seen either. Of this Mahāyāna the prior limit is unfindable, the later limit is unfindable, the middle limit is unfindable; that which is equal in the three times is the Mahāyāna. World-Honored One! Precisely because of this, this vehicle is named the Mahāyāna.’
The Buddha Approves and Marks Out the Substance of the Mahāyāna: The Six Perfections, the Samādhi Gates, the Eighteen Emptinesses, the Limbs of the Path and the Buddha's Dharmas
The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Just so! Just so! The Mahāyāna of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is the six perfections—dānapāramitā, śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā; this is named the Mahāyāna of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Furthermore, Subhūti! The Mahāyāna of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is all the dhāraṇī gates and all the samādhi gates, that is, from the Śūraṃgama samādhi and so on up to the samādhi Free of Attachment, Undefiled as Space; this is named the Mahāyāna of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Furthermore, Subhūti! The Mahāyāna of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; this is named the Mahāyāna of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Furthermore, Subhūti! The Mahāyāna of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; this is named the Mahāyāna of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’
If the Three Realms Truly Existed, It Could Not Surpass Them: The Desire Realm, and the Form Realm and the Formless Realm
‘Just as Subhūti has said: 「這摩訶衍勝出一切世間以及諸天、人、阿修羅。」 tr. "This Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras." Subhūti! If the desire realm truly existed—were not false, not changing, true and real, not inverted, permanent, without the mark of destruction, and not a non-existent dharma—this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. Subhūti! Precisely because the desire realm exists by way of false recollection, imagining, and discrimination, of coming together, and of names and the like, and is wholly the mark of impermanence, a non-existent dharma, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. Subhūti! If the form realm and the formless realm truly existed—were not false, not changing, true and real, not inverted, permanent, without the mark of destruction, and not non-existent dharmas—this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. Subhūti! Precisely because the form realm and the formless realm exist by way of false recollection, imagining, and discrimination, of coming together, and of names and the like, and are wholly the mark of impermanence and destruction, non-existent dharmas, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
The Five Aggregates and the Sense-Fields Such as the Eye Are Likewise: From Form and So On Up to the Feeling Born from the Condition of Mind-Contact
‘Subhūti! If form truly existed—were not false, not changing, true and real, not inverted, permanent, without the mark of destruction, and not a non-existent dharma—this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. Subhūti! Precisely because form exists by way of false recollection, imagining, and discrimination, of coming together, and of names and the like, and is wholly the mark of impermanence and destruction, a non-existent dharma, therefore this Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. Feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are also like this. Subhūti! If the eye and so on up to the mind, forms and so on up to dharmas, eye-consciousness and so on up to mind-consciousness, eye-contact and so on up to mind-contact, the feeling born from the condition of eye-contact and so on up to the feeling born from the condition of mind-contact truly existed—were not false, not changing, true and real, not inverted, permanent, without the mark of destruction, and not non-existent dharmas—this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. Subhūti! Precisely because everything from the eye and so on up to the feeling born from the condition of mind-contact exists by way of false recollection, imagining, and discrimination, of coming together, and of names and the like, and is wholly the mark of impermanence and destruction, non-existent dharmas, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
Dharma-Nature, Suchness, the Limit of Reality, the Nature of the Inconceivable: It Surpasses Because They Are Non-existent Dharmas and Non-dharmas
‘Subhūti! If dharma-nature were an existent dharma and not a non-existent dharma, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; Subhūti! Precisely because dharma-nature is a non-existent dharma and a non-dharma, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. Subhūti! If suchness, the limit of reality, and the nature of the inconceivable were existent dharmas and not non-existent dharmas, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; Subhūti! Precisely because suchness, the limit of reality, and the nature of the inconceivable are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
The Six Perfections Themselves Are Also Non-existent Dharmas and Non-dharmas
‘Subhūti! If dānapāramitā were an existent dharma and not a non-existent dharma, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; precisely because dānapāramitā is a non-existent dharma and a non-dharma, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. If śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā were existent dharmas and not non-existent dharmas, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; precisely because śīlapāramitā and so on up to prajñāpāramitā are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
Inner Emptiness and So On Up to the Emptiness of Non-existent and Existent Dharmas Are Likewise
‘Subhūti! If inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas were existent dharmas and not non-existent dharmas, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; precisely because inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness and So On Up to the Eighteen Unshared Dharmas Are Likewise
‘Subhūti! If the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas were existent dharmas and not non-existent dharmas, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; precisely because the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
The Dharma of the Person of Nature, the Dharma of the Person of the Eight, and So On Up to the Buddha's Dharma: The Dharmas Accomplished by the Worthy and the Noble Are No Exception
‘Subhūti! If the dharma of the person of nature were an existent dharma and not a non-existent dharma, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; precisely because the dharma of the person of nature is a non-existent dharma and a non-dharma, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. Subhūti! If the dharma of the person of the eight, the dharma of the srota-āpanna, the dharma of the sakṛdāgāmin, the dharma of the anāgāmin, the dharma of the arhat, the dharma of the pratyekabuddha, and the Buddha's dharma were existent dharmas and not non-existent dharmas, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; precisely because the dharma of the person of the eight and so on up to the Buddha's dharma are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
The Person of Nature, the Person of the Eight, and So On Up to the Buddha: The Worthy and the Noble Themselves Are No Exception
‘Subhūti! If the person of nature were an existent dharma and not a non-existent dharma, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. Precisely because the person of nature is a non-existent dharma and a non-dharma, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras. Subhūti! If the person of the eight, and the srota-āpanna and so on up to the Buddha, were existent dharmas and not non-existent dharmas, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; precisely because the person of the eight and so on up to the Buddha are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
Even the World It Surpasses, and the Gods, Humans, and Asuras Themselves, Are Non-existent Dharmas and Non-dharmas
‘Subhūti! If all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras were existent dharmas and not non-existent dharmas, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; precisely because all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
All the Minds of the Bodhisattva from the First Arousing of the Mind to the Seat of Awakening
‘Subhūti! If the various minds of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva in between—from the very first arousing of the mind all the way to the seat of awakening—truly were existent dharmas and not non-existent dharmas, this Mahāyāna could not surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; precisely because the various minds of the bodhisattva from the very first arousing of the mind all the way to the seat of awakening are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
Wisdom Like Vajra: Able to Know the Fetters and Their Residues, and to Attain the Omniscience of All Kinds
‘Subhūti! If the vajra-like wisdom of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva were an existent dharma and not a non-existent dharma, this bodhisattva-mahāsattva could not know that all fetters and their habitual residues are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, and could not attain the omniscience of all kinds; Subhūti! Precisely because the vajra-like wisdom of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is a non-existent dharma and a non-dharma, the bodhisattva is able to know that all fetters and their habitual residues are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, and attains the omniscience of all kinds; therefore the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
The Thirty-two Marks of the Buddhas: Because They Are Non-existent Dharmas and Non-dharmas, Their Majestic Virtue Shines Forth
‘Subhūti! If the thirty-two marks of the Buddhas were existent dharmas and not non-existent dharmas, the majestic virtue of the Buddhas could not shine forth resplendent and surpass all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras; Subhūti! Precisely because the thirty-two marks of the Buddhas are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, therefore the majestic virtue of the Buddhas shines forth resplendent, surpassing all the world as well as gods, humans, and asuras.’
The Light of the Buddhas: Because It Is a Non-existent Dharma and a Non-dharma, It Shines Everywhere on Worlds as Many as the Sands of the Ganges
‘Subhūti! If the light of the Buddhas were an existent dharma and not a non-existent dharma, the light of the Buddhas could not shine everywhere on worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges; Subhūti! Precisely because the light of the Buddhas is a non-existent dharma and a non-dharma, therefore the Buddhas are able with their light to shine everywhere on worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges.’
The Voice Adorned in Sixty Ways: Because It Is a Non-existent Dharma and a Non-dharma, It Reaches Throughout the Ten Directions
‘Subhūti! If the voice of the Buddhas adorned in sixty ways were an existent dharma and not a non-existent dharma, the Buddhas could not, with the voice adorned in sixty ways, reach throughout the immeasurable asaṃkhyeya worlds of the ten directions; Subhūti! Precisely because the voice of the Buddhas adorned in sixty ways is a non-existent dharma and a non-dharma, therefore the Buddhas are able, with the voice adorned in sixty ways, to reach throughout the immeasurable asaṃkhyeya worlds of the ten directions.’
The Dharma-Wheel of the Buddhas and the Beings They Deliver: Because They Are Non-existent Dharmas and Non-dharmas, the Wheel Can Be Turned and the Beings Can Be Extinguished
‘Subhūti! If the dharma-wheel of the Buddhas were an existent dharma and not a non-existent dharma, the Buddhas could not turn the dharma-wheel which śramaṇas, brahmins, whether gods, whether Māras, whether Brahmās, and the rest of the multitudes of the world cannot turn in accordance with the Dharma; Subhūti! Precisely because the dharma-wheel of the Buddhas is a non-existent dharma and a non-dharma, therefore the Buddhas turn this dharma-wheel which śramaṇas, brahmins, whether gods, whether Māras, whether Brahmās, and the rest of the multitudes of the world cannot turn in accordance with the Dharma. Subhūti! The Buddhas turn the dharma-wheel for beings; if these beings truly were existent dharmas and not non-existent dharmas, they could not cause these beings to attain parinirvāṇa in nirvāṇa without remainder; Subhūti! Precisely because the Buddhas turn the dharma-wheel for beings and these beings are non-existent dharmas and non-dharmas, therefore beings, within nirvāṇa without remainder, have already been extinguished, are now being extinguished, and will be extinguished.’
What follows is the treatise's explanation.
Following the Five Earlier Questions: Subhūti Rejoices and Praises the Great Power and Force of the Mahāyāna
The treatise-author says: Earlier Subhūti asked about the Mahāyāna by way of five matters, and the Buddha has already answered them all. Subhūti, rejoicing, praises it, speaking thus: ‘World-Honored One! This Mahāyāna has great power and force; having destroyed the world of humans and gods, it is able to surpass it from within.’
The Simile of the Three Persons Crossing a Perilous Road: Fleeing by Night, Seeking Release with Money, a Great King Leading a Great Army
It is like three persons crossing a perilous road: the first person flees under cover of night and gets only his own body away; the second person uses money and wealth to seek release; the third person is like a great king leading a great army and its troops, who crushes the bandits, and the whole army crosses over safely, without fear or hardship.
Matching the Three Vehicles to the Three Similes: Their Paths of Skilful Means Differ, and So the Mahāyāna Alone Is Praised
The three vehicles are also like this. Take the arhat: he cannot know the general mark and the specific marks of all dharmas, nor can he defeat the Māra king, nor again can he subdue those of the outside paths; he only feels revulsion at old age, sickness, and death, and heads straight for nirvāṇa. Take the pratyekabuddha: he enters the real mark of all dharmas more deeply than the śrāvaka, has a little compassion, and by the power of supernormal abilities transforms and delivers beings; he can defeat the afflictions, but cannot defeat Māra's people and those of the outside paths. Take the bodhisattva: from the very first arousing of the mind he gives rise to great loving-kindness and compassion toward all beings; although he has not yet become a Buddha, in the meantime he already benefits immeasurable beings; because he knows with certainty the real mark of all dharmas and is complete in the six perfections, he can defeat the Māra kings and can also crush those of the outside paths; he cuts off the afflictions and their habitual residues, is complete in the omniscience of all kinds, knows the general mark and the specific marks entirely and understands them entirely, and accomplishes anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening). Although all three persons have escaped birth and death, the paths of skilful means they travel are each different. Precisely because of this, Subhūti praises the Mahāyāna: ‘It crushes all the world and surpasses and rises above humans, gods, and asuras.’
Two Similes of Space: Containing and Receiving Without Being Exhausted; No Entering, No Leaving, No Abiding
It is like space containing and receiving all lands, yet because it is space, it is not exhausted; the Mahāyāna is also like this: it contains and receives the Buddhas of the three times and the disciples of the Buddhas, and the Mahāyāna too does not become full.
Again, it is like space: because it is of the mark of permanence, it has no mark of entering, no mark of leaving, and no mark of abiding; this vehicle is also like this: it has no place of entering in the future time, no place of leaving in the past time, and no place of abiding in the present time; because it has broken through the three times and is equal in the three times, it is named the Mahāyāna.
Why the Buddha Does Not Merely Say ‘Excellent’ Once: First Briefly Stating the Mark of the Mahāyāna
Someone asks: The Buddha ought to approve the words Subhūti praised and simply say 「善哉」 tr. "Excellent!"; why does he go on to speak of the Mahāyāna again?
The treatise-author answers: The Buddha wishes precisely to follow what Subhūti praised and add his own praise; and also, because the place where the Mahāyāna was spoken of earlier is already far away, he now first briefly states the mark of the Mahāyāna, and afterwards expounds it at length.
The Mahāyāna that Subhūti praised is the six perfections, the dhāraṇī gates, the samādhi gates, the eighteen emptinesses, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and the like.
The Three Realms Are False and Deceptive, Like an Illusion, Like a Dream: Because It Runs Counter to Them and Their Power Is Not Equal, It Can Crush Them
As Subhūti said, 「摩訶衍破壞一切世間，勝出於人、天、阿修羅之上」 tr. "the Mahāyāna destroys all the world and surpasses and rises above humans, gods, and asuras"—this matter is indeed so. Why? Because these three realms are false and deceptive, like an illusion, like a dream; they exist by reason of ignorance and falsity, by reason of causes and conditions; neither cause nor effect has a fixed real substance; all is impermanent, breaking apart, wearing away—wholly the mark of emptiness. Precisely because the Mahāyāna runs counter to the three realms, it can crush them and surpass them. If the three realms were fixed and truly existent, permanent, and not false, this Mahāyāna could not crush them and surpass them. Why? Because in that case the power of the two sides would be equal.
The five aggregates, the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen elements, and the feelings born from the six contacts are also like this. If dharma-nature were an existent dharma and not a non-existent dharma, the Mahāyāna could not defeat the world and attain surpassing; Subhūti! Precisely because dharma-nature is not existent, the Mahāyāna is able to surpass the world.
Why the Unconditioned Real Dharmas Are Also Said Not to Exist: Because the Unconditioned Is Empty, It Is Said Not to Exist
Someone asks: Conditioned dharmas, because they are the coming together of causes and conditions, false and deceptive and not real, are said not to exist; but suchness, dharma-nature, the limit of reality, and the nature of the inconceivable are unconditioned real dharmas, named the limit of reality—how can they too be said not to exist?
The treatise-author answers: Because the unconditioned too is empty, it is said not to exist.
Furthermore, the Buddha has said: ‘Apart from the conditioned, the unconditioned dharma is unfindable; the real mark of conditioned dharmas is itself the unconditioned dharma.’
Furthermore, this contemplation regards these conditioned dharmas as false and deceptive, while such things as 「如、法性、實際」 tr. "suchness, dharma-nature, the limit of reality" are real; because people grasp at marks with regard to dharma-nature and give rise to disputes, it is therefore said: 「沒有法性」 tr. "there is no dharma-nature". Whether one says 「有」 tr. "existent" or says 「無」 tr. "non-existent", each has its own causes and conditions, and so neither is at fault. Suchness, the limit of reality, and the nature of the inconceivable are also like this.
Saying ‘Existent’ and Saying ‘Non-existent’ Each Have Their Causes and Conditions: From Dānapāramitā and So On Up to Beings
Worldly dānapāramitā, because there is clinging in it, is existent; supramundane dānapāramitā, because it lacks this clinging, is empty. In order to refute stinginess, it is said: 「有檀波羅蜜」 tr. "there is dānapāramitā"; in order to refute wrong view, it is said: 「檀波羅蜜是無」 tr. "dānapāramitā is non-existent". To deliver beginners, one says 「有」 tr. "existent"; within the mind of the noble ones, one says 「無」 tr. "non-existent".
As with dānapāramitā, so too all the way up to beings—if beings were truly existent and not non-existent dharmas, one ought not to force them to cease and enter nirvāṇa without remainder.
Why "Surpassing" Is Not Said After the Thirty-two Marks: The Wording Would Be Cumbersome; Only the Names Differ
Someone asks: From the thirty-two marks onward, why is the phrase 「摩訶衍勝出」 tr. "the Mahāyāna surpasses" not said again?
The treatise-author answers: It ought to be said; only because the wording would be cumbersome is it not said.
Furthermore, the thirty-two marks and so on up to turning the dharma-wheel for beings are all the Mahāyāna too; only the names differ.
Surpassing Told by Specific Marks: The Fourfold Excellence of the Marks and Minor Marks, the Light, the Voice, and the Dharma-Wheel
Furthermore, above, the surpassing of the Mahāyāna was spoken of in terms of the general mark, and it was not yet known just how it surpasses; now it is spoken of in terms of the specific marks: namely, the Buddha adorns his body with the thirty-two marks, and so surpasses all beings; the light of the Buddha surpasses all the light of the sun and moon and of the gods; the voice of the Buddha surpasses all music, the wondrous sounds of the world, and the Brahmā-voices of the gods; the dharma-wheel of the Buddha surpasses the precious wheel of the wheel-turning sage king and all the dharma-wheels of those of the outside paths, without obstruction and without hindrance. The benefit given by other dharma-wheels is meagre, shallow, and short—perhaps one life, two lives, at most ten million lives; the dharma-wheel of the Buddha, however, can make people enter nirvāṇa without remainder forever, never again returning into birth and death.
If Beings Truly Existed, Leading Them into Nirvāṇa Would Instead Become a Great Fault
Furthermore, if beings truly existed, the Buddha ought not to make beings enter nirvāṇa and pull out their root forever—this would be more serious than killing a single bodily life; there would be such a great fault. Precisely because beings, with inverted minds, see that there is a 「我」 tr. "self", and the Buddha wishes to refute their inversion, he speaks of 「涅槃」 tr. "nirvāṇa"; in fact there are no beings to be extinguished, and so there is no fault.
Having such merits, the Mahāyāna is able to surpass all the world.
Why, Among the Six Destinies, Only Gods, Humans, and Asuras Are Mentioned
Someone asks: What is called 「一切世間」 tr. "all the world" is the beings of the six destinies in the ten directions; why is it said to surpass only gods, humans, and asuras?
The treatise-author answers: Among the six destinies, three are good destinies and three are evil destinies. The Mahāyāna can defeat and surpass even the three good destinies—how much more the evil destinies!
The Difficulty of Nāgas Attaining the Bodhisattva Path: Few Attain the Path, or They Are Transformations of Bodhisattvas
Someone asks: The Nāga King Sūtra says that nāgas can attain the bodhisattva path; why then are nāgas still said to be an evil destiny?
The treatise-author answers: Beings are immeasurable and boundless; among nāgas, those who attain the path are few.
Furthermore, some also say: ‘It is great bodhisattvas who, in order to teach and transform, transform their bodily form and take on the body of a nāga king.’
勝出品：以無法非法故勝出，三人度惡道而方便各異
在問什麼
這一品開場，是慧命須菩提對佛的一聲讚歎：「摩訶衍、摩訶衍者，勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。」摩訶衍這名字，經文自己隨即點明——「以是故，是乘名摩訶衍」——它是「乘」，是那能運載眾生的大乘。須菩提一連用了幾層話形容它：它與虛空相等，如虛空容受無量無邊阿僧祇眾生，它也如此容受；它不見來處、去處、住處；它前際、後際、中際皆不可得，三世平等。佛印可說「如是如是」，隨即標出摩訶衍之體——六波羅蜜、一切陀羅尼門與三昧門、內空乃至無法有法空、四念處乃至十八不共法——然後展開全品最觸目的行文：同一條公式，反覆貫穿十七段經文。「若某某是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；以某某無法、非法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出。」代入公式的，從欲界、色界無色界，到色受想行識、眼耳等一切入處，到法性、如、實際、不可思議性，到六波羅蜜、十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法，再到性人、八人乃至佛的一列賢聖，到菩薩從初發心到道場的一切心、如金剛一般的智慧，最後竟然代入佛自己的三十二相、光明、音聲、法輪，乃至佛所度的眾生自身。於是問題來了。其一，勝出憑什麼？依常理，勝出總是憑更實、更強、更常；經文卻一路倒著說——正因為一切無法、非法，摩訶衍才勝出——這是什麼道理？其二，公式一路掃過去，連法性實際、六度道品、佛的功德都說無法非法，修行所依、佛果所成豈不被一併掃空？其三，論釋開篇放了全品最著名的譬喻——三人度惡道：三乘同樣度脫生死，憑什麼獨有摩訶衍稱得起「勝出」？其四，末後說勝出的是「一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅」，六道明明有六，何以只提三善道？這一品要回答的，正是「勝出」二字的真義——不是在諸有之中比高下，而是以無法非法故勝出。
逐段解明
先看須菩提的讚歎與佛的印可。須菩提的形容有三層：一層是「與虛空等」，容受無量無邊眾生而不揀擇、不盈滿；一層是「不見來處、去處、住處」，它不是一件從哪裡來、往哪裡去、停在哪裡的東西；一層是「三世等」，前際後際中際皆不可得。這三層其實已把後文的答案埋下了：唯有不是「一件東西」的，才能與虛空等。佛印可之後先標出摩訶衍之體——六波羅蜜是所行；陀羅尼門與三昧門是所持所入，陀羅尼是能總持善法而不失之名，三昧是心住一境的定；十八空是所觀，經文以「內空乃至無法有法空」舉其首尾；四念處乃至十八不共法，是從道品一直到佛不共功德的一整列佛法。摩訶衍不是在這些之外另有一物，正是這些的總名。
再看那條公式。公式前半把「有法」攤開成一串說法——實有、不虛妄、不變異、諦實、不顛倒、恆常、不壞相、非無法——若三界果真如此，摩訶衍便不能勝出；後半給出所以然——三界是「虛妄憶想分別、和合名字等有」，一切無常、破壞之相，是「無法」——所以勝出。這裡的「有法」「無法」是全品的樞紐：有法，是有那樣一個實有自性、恆常不壞之法；無法，不是說連現前的假有也沒有，而是說沒有那一串字所描畫的實性——它只是因緣和合、名字假立而有。論釋把這層道理說得更透：三界虛誑，如幻如夢，因緣故有，因果無有定實；摩訶衍與三界「相違」，所以能摧破勝出；若三界定實、常、不虛妄，摩訶衍便不能摧破——為什麼？「力等故。」這三個字是全品的眼目：實與實相抗，只是勢均力敵，誰也破不了誰；正因三界本是虛誑，而摩訶衍徹見其虛誑、不與它站在同一層虛誑之上，才談得上摧破、談得上勝出。勝出不是有中之最強，而是照破。
第三，公式的可畏處在於它一路向上、無所豁免。法性、如、實際、不可思議性是無為，也入公式——這正逼出論釋中的大問：有為法因緣和合虛誑，說它無，可以理解；無為是「實法」，怎麼也說無？論連下三答：一者，無為空，故言無；二者，佛自說「離有為，無為法不可得；有為法實相即是無為法」——無為不是有為之外另一件更實的東西，它就是有為法的實相；三者，「如、法性、實際」本自是實，因人們在它上面取相起諍，才說「無法性」——或說有、或說無，各有因緣，故皆無咎。接著六波羅蜜、十八空、道品也入公式；性人、八人乃至佛的一列賢聖，連同他們所成之法——性人法、八人法乃至佛法——也入公式：賢聖正是依無法非法而成其為賢聖的，不是又一批「實有」的人物。菩薩從初發心到道場之間的一切心也入公式；那如金剛一般堅利的智慧也入公式——結使是繫縛眾生的煩惱之名，習是煩惱斷後殘餘的氣息，正因這慧自身無法非法，才能了知一切結使及習皆無法非法，而得一切種智，也就是對諸法總相別相悉知悉了的佛智。最後，公式代入了佛自己：三十二相，佛身的三十二種大人之相，以無法非法故，威德才照然顯赫；光明以無法非法故，才能普照恒河沙世界；六十種莊嚴音聲以無法非法故，才遍至十方無量世界；法輪——佛說法名為轉法輪，如輪轉動、無障無礙——以無法非法故，佛才轉得動那一切沙門、婆羅門、天、魔、梵所轉不動的法輪；乃至所度的眾生也無法非法，才能於無餘涅槃已滅、今滅、當滅。讀到這裡才見出公式的正意：無法非法不是取消功德，恰是功德所以能起用的所以然——凡執實處即有礙，無法非法故無障無礙。
第四，論釋開篇的譬喻，把「勝出」從道理變成了圖景——三人度過險惡之道：第一人趁夜逃遁，獨脫其身；第二人以錢求免；第三人如大王率領大軍，摧破寇賊，舉軍全濟，無所畏難。論隨即配上三乘。阿羅漢如夜遁者——厭離老病死、一直趣向涅槃，但不能知一切總相別相，不能破魔王，不能降伏外道；他脫了身，賊眾未動。辟支佛如以錢求免者——入諸法實相深於聲聞，稍有悲心，以神通力化度眾生；能破煩惱，仍不能破魔人及外道。菩薩如將軍之王——從初發心即於一切眾生起大慈悲，未成佛時已於中間利益無量眾生；決定知諸法實相、具足六波羅蜜，故能破諸魔王、摧壞外道；斷煩惱及習，具足一切種智，總相、別相悉知悉了，成阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。論自己收束一句：三人雖俱免生死，然方便道各異。這譬喻與那條公式是一體兩面：第三人所以能「舉軍全濟、無所畏難」，正因他所乘的，是那個與一切虛誑不同層面、以無法非法故無堅不摧的大乘。隨後兩重虛空喻補足前面的讚歎：虛空含受一切國土而不盡，摩訶衍含受三世諸佛及諸弟子而不滿；虛空常相故無入無出無住，摩訶衍無未來世入處、無過去世出處、無現在世住處，破三時故三世平等。
第五，因果與對治。佛不只讚一聲善哉，而是順著須菩提所歎、先略說摩訶衍之相——六波羅蜜、諸陀羅尼門三昧門、十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法——再作廣述，因為上文說摩訶衍之處已遠。而在無為之問以後，論把「說有說無」落到最切身的一組例子：世間檀波羅蜜因執著而有，出世間檀波羅蜜無此執著故空；為破慳貪，說「有檀波羅蜜」；為破邪見，說「檀波羅蜜無」；為度初學說有，聖人心中說無。同一布施，說有說無，全看對治什麼病——「各有因緣故無咎」。這是全品給「無法非法」下的分寸：說無，是藥，不是斷語。乃至眾生亦然：若眾生實有、非是無法，便不應令他強滅、入無餘涅槃——這一句直接把公式末段的深意挑明了。
第六，勝出之意與利益。有人問：三十二相以後，何以不再逐段說「摩訶衍勝出」？論答得樸素：應當說，只因文煩不說；且三十二相乃至為眾生轉法輪，本來就都是摩訶衍，只是名字不同。又，上來是總相說勝出，未知究竟如何勝，所以再就別相說四重：佛以三十二相莊嚴身，勝一切眾生；佛光明勝日月諸天一切光明；佛音聲勝一切音樂、世界妙聲、諸天梵音；佛法輪勝轉輪聖王寶輪及外道一切法輪，無障無礙——其餘法輪利益微淺，一世二世極至千萬世，佛法輪能令永入無餘涅槃、不復還入生死。利益則從反面說：若眾生實有，佛令眾生入涅槃便是永拔其根，比殺一身還嚴重，有大咎；正因眾生以顛倒心見我，佛為破其顛倒而說涅槃——無眾生可滅，故無咎。滅的是顛倒，不是眾生。
第七，全品在六道問答中收束。一切世間本是十方六道眾生，何以獨說勝出天、人、阿修羅？答：六道中三善三惡，摩訶衍連三善道尚能破而勝出，何況惡道——舉難以明易，說了難的，容易的自然在內。又難：《龍王經》中說龍得菩薩道，何以說龍是惡道？答：眾生無量無邊，得道的龍太少，不以少數改變一道的名目；又有人說，那是大菩薩變化身形、為教化故作龍王之身。一問一答之間，「勝出一切世間」四字落到實處：不揀善道惡道，整個世間，摩訶衍無所不勝出。
不要讀錯
不要把「無法非法故勝出」讀成一切烏有的斷滅。無法，是無那實有自性、恆常不壞之法，不是連因緣假有也抹掉；論說得清楚，或說有、或說無，各有因緣故無咎——說無是對治取相之藥，不是宣告什麼都沒有。
不要把公式掃到佛功德處，讀成貶損佛。三十二相、光明、音聲、法輪，正因無法非法才照然、才普照、才遍至、才轉得動——無法非法是功德起用的所以然，不是功德的取消。
不要把三人度惡道喻讀成三乘無別，也不要讀成二乘不脫。論明說三人「俱免生死」——二乘確實度了險道；又明說「方便道各異」——獨行自脫、以錢求免與舉軍全濟，終究是三種走法。抹平了是錯，抹殺了也是錯。
不要把「不應令強滅、入無餘涅槃」讀成佛不度眾生，或把涅槃讀成消滅。論的原意恰恰相反：正因為無眾生可滅，佛說涅槃才無咎——佛破的是顛倒心中那個「我」，不是滅掉一個實有的人。
不要把「勝出三善道何況惡道」讀成輕賤惡道眾生。這是舉難明易的說法次第；緊接著的龍王問答還特意留了一句「或是大菩薩變化作龍王身」——惡道之中，未必無菩薩。
修行作用
拿公式照自己。凡是心裡執定「這是實有、恆常、不會壞」的地方——身體、財物、名位、見解，乃至自己的修行功德——便是勝出不了之處；公式教人一項一項代進去看：它是不是虛妄憶想分別、和合名字等有。
用三人喻檢驗發心。面對生死大事，是趁夜自脫、是以錢求免、還是願學那舉軍全濟的第三人？不必急著自命大乘，先誠實看清自己此刻走的是哪一條路，再問願不願往前挪一步。
學「各有因緣故無咎」的說話分寸。對慳貪的人說布施實有功德，對執相的人說布施了不可得——法無定說，應病與藥；聽人說法時也如此，先問這句話在對治什麼，不急著判它是有見還是無見。
行善而不執善相。佛的相好光明音聲法輪，尚且以無法非法故起用；自己的一點善行更不必握死——愈不執實，愈無障礙，這是本品給「功德」二字的用法。
記住「滅的是顛倒，不是眾生」。勸人向道、自己求解脫時，所要放下的是顛倒心中的「我」，不是厭棄這個人、這個世間——摩訶衍勝出世間，卻正在世間度眾生。
承衍
後來有古德為這一品逐文作疏，最先拈出的是它在全經中的位置：前品須菩提以五事發問摩訶衍，佛一一答畢，大眾聞答領解歡喜，故本品是須菩提為之作稱歎——與論釋開篇「上以五事問摩訶衍，佛已答竟」正相印合。疏中釋「勝出」之義，說此乘微妙，勝出人天修羅之上，與虛空等高，含受無量無邊眾生，無去無來，三世平等——與經文開篇幾乎逐義並行。又立「勝出二義」：一者歎此乘能摧破三界六道，故勝出三界；二者三乘同出三界，而大乘是其中之勝——大乘於過無不斷、於德無不修，二乘斷惑不盡、集德不備，故為劣。又把本品科為三段——正述勝出、勝出之意、明利益——其轉折處與論釋自身的段落恰相吻合；並把公式前半那一串「實有、不虛妄」以下的說法數為八句、一一過目，見出經文行文之嚴密。這些讀法各有取徑，此處只誌其所見、不判其高下。把它們帶回本品，最值得留住的，是「勝出」二字經此一品的翻轉：勝出不是在萬有之中站到最高一級，而是徹見一切無法非法，從而與一切虛誑不同層面；三人度惡道的第三人所以無所畏難，不因他兵刃更利，而因他所乘的道本不與寇賊爭一城一地。大乘之所以為大，不在多一分有，而在這徹底的照破——照破了，才含受得下無量眾生，也才捨不下任何一個眾生。
Surpassing: Surpassing Because Non-existent and Not a Dharma; Three Persons Cross the Evil Destinies, Yet Their Skilful Means Differ
What Is Being Asked
This chapter opens with a word of praise from the venerable Subhūti to the Buddha: 「摩訶衍、摩訶衍者，勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅。」 tr. "Mahāyāna, Mahāyāna: it surpasses all the world and the gods, humans, and asuras." The name Mahāyāna the sūtra text itself at once makes plain—「以是故，是乘名摩訶衍」 tr. "for this reason this vehicle is called Mahāyāna"—it is a 「乘」 tr. "vehicle," the Great Vehicle that is able to carry beings. Subhūti describes it in several layers of words one after another: it is equal to space—as space contains and receives immeasurable, boundless asaṃkhyeya beings, so too does it contain and receive them; it has no place of coming, place of going, or place of abiding that can be seen; its prior limit, later limit, and middle limit are all unfindable, and the three times are equal. The Buddha approves, saying 「如是如是」 tr. "So it is, so it is," and at once sets out the substance of the Mahāyāna—the six perfections, all the dhāraṇī gates and samādhi gates, inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas—and then unfolds the most striking stretch of writing in the whole chapter: one and the same formula, running again and again through seventeen passages of sūtra text. 「若某某是有法、非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；以某某無法、非法，以是故，摩訶衍勝出。」 tr. "If such-and-such is an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma, then this Mahāyāna cannot surpass all the world and the gods, humans, and asuras; because such-and-such is a non-existent dharma, not a dharma, for this reason the Mahāyāna surpasses." What is substituted into the formula runs from the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm, to form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, to the eye, the ear, and all the sense-fields, to dharma-nature, suchness, the limit of reality, and the nature of the inconceivable, to the six perfections, the eighteen emptinesses, and the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, then to a line of the worthy and noble—the person at the stage of nature, the person of the eight, up to the Buddha—to all the bodhisattva’s minds from the first arousing of the mind to the seat of awakening, and to wisdom like vajra; and at the very last it goes so far as to substitute the Buddha’s own thirty-two marks, radiance, voice, and wheel of the Dharma, and even the very beings the Buddha brings across. And so the questions arise. First, by virtue of what does it surpass? By common reason, surpassing is always by virtue of being more real, stronger, more permanent; yet the sūtra text speaks the whole way in reverse—precisely because all is non-existent and not a dharma does the Mahāyāna surpass—what principle is this? Second, as the formula sweeps all the way through, calling even dharma-nature and the limit of reality, the six perfections and the limbs of the path, and the Buddha’s merits non-existent and not dharmas, is not what practice relies on and what the fruit of buddhahood is made of swept away along with them? Third, at the opening of its explanation the treatise sets down the most famous simile of the whole chapter—the three persons crossing a perilous road: the three vehicles alike cross over birth and death, so by virtue of what does the Mahāyāna alone deserve to be called 「勝出」 tr. "surpassing"? Fourth, at the end what it surpasses is said to be 「一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅」 tr. "all the world and the gods, humans, and asuras"—the six destinies are plainly six, so why mention only the three good destinies? What this chapter sets out to answer is exactly the true meaning of the two words 「勝出」 tr. "surpassing"—not ranking high and low among all that exists, but surpassing because non-existent and not a dharma.
Passage by Passage
First, look at Subhūti’s praise and the Buddha’s approval. Subhūti’s description has three layers: one layer is 「與虛空等」 tr. "equal to space," containing and receiving immeasurable, boundless beings without picking and choosing and without becoming full; one layer is 「不見來處、去處、住處」 tr. "no place of coming, place of going, or place of abiding is seen"—it is not a thing that comes from somewhere, goes somewhere, and stops somewhere; one layer is 「三世等」 tr. "the three times are equal," the prior limit, the later limit, and the middle limit all unfindable. These three layers in fact already bury the answer of what follows: only what is not 「一件東西」 tr. "a thing" can be equal to space. After his approval the Buddha first sets out the substance of the Mahāyāna—the six perfections are what is practised; the dhāraṇī gates and samādhi gates are what is held and what is entered: dhāraṇī is the name for being able to hold together wholesome dharmas without losing them, and samādhi is the concentration in which the mind abides on a single object; the eighteen emptinesses are what is contemplated, and the sūtra text names their head and tail with 「內空乃至無法有法空」 tr. "inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas"; the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas are a whole line of the Buddha’s dharmas, running from the limbs of the path all the way to the Buddha’s unshared merits. The Mahāyāna is not some separate thing outside these; it is precisely the collective name for these.
Next, look at that formula. The first half of the formula spreads 「有法」 tr. "an existent dharma" out into a string of expressions—really existent, not false, not changing, true and real, not inverted, constant and permanent, of an indestructible mark, not a non-existent dharma—and if the three realms were truly like this, the Mahāyāna could not surpass; the second half gives the reason why—the three realms are 「虛妄憶想分別、和合名字等有」 tr. "existent as false recollection, imagining, and discrimination, as a coming together, as names, and the like," all of them of the mark of impermanence and destruction, 「無法」 tr. "a non-existent dharma"—and therefore it surpasses. Here 「有法」 tr. "existent dharma" and 「無法」 tr. "non-existent dharma" are the pivot of the whole chapter: an existent dharma is a dharma having such a really existent self-nature, constant, permanent, and indestructible; a non-existent dharma does not mean that even the provisional existence now before us is absent, but that there is no such real nature as that string of words depicts—it exists only as a coming together of causes and conditions, provisionally set up by names. The treatise’s explanation says this principle more thoroughly still: the three realms are false and deceptive, like an illusion, like a dream, existing by reason of causes and conditions, and in cause and effect there is nothing fixed or real; the Mahāyāna and the three realms are 「相違」 tr. "mutually opposed," and so it can crush them and surpass them; if the three realms were fixed, real, permanent, and not false, the Mahāyāna could not crush them—why? 「力等故。」 tr. "Because their strength is equal." These few words are the eye of the whole chapter: when the real stands against the real, it is only an even match of strength, and neither can break the other; only because the three realms are at root false and deceptive, and the Mahāyāna sees through their deceptiveness thoroughly and does not stand on the same level of deceptiveness as they do, can there be talk of crushing and talk of surpassing. Surpassing is not being the strongest within existence; it is shining through.
Third, what is fearsome about the formula is that it goes upward the whole way and exempts nothing. Dharma-nature, suchness, the limit of reality, and the nature of the inconceivable are unconditioned, and they too enter the formula—and this is exactly what forces out the great question in the treatise’s explanation: conditioned dharmas are a false and deceptive coming together of causes and conditions, so calling them non-existent is understandable; the unconditioned is a 「實法」 tr. "real dharma"—how can it too be called non-existent? The treatise gives three answers in a row: first, the unconditioned is empty, and therefore it is called non-existent; second, the Buddha himself says 「離有為，無為法不可得；有為法實相即是無為法」 tr. "apart from the conditioned, unconditioned dharmas are unfindable; the real mark of conditioned dharmas is itself the unconditioned dharma"—the unconditioned is not another, more real thing outside the conditioned; it is just the real mark of conditioned dharmas; third, 「如、法性、實際」 tr. "suchness, dharma-nature, the limit of reality" are real in themselves, but because people grasp at marks and raise disputes over them, it is said that 「無法性」 tr. "there is no dharma-nature"—some say existent, some say non-existent, each with its own causes and conditions, and so none is at fault. Then the six perfections, the eighteen emptinesses, and the limbs of the path also enter the formula; the line of the worthy and noble—the person at the stage of nature, the person of the eight, up to the Buddha—together with the dharmas they accomplish—the dharma of the person at the stage of nature, the dharma of the person of the eight, up to the Buddha’s dharma—also enter the formula: the worthy and noble become worthy and noble precisely by relying on what is non-existent and not a dharma; they are not yet another batch of 「實有」 tr. "really existent" figures. All the bodhisattva’s minds between the first arousing of the mind and the seat of awakening also enter the formula; that wisdom, hard and sharp as vajra, also enters the formula—fetters is the name for the afflictions that bind beings, and traces are the residual breath of the afflictions after they have been cut off; precisely because this wisdom is itself non-existent and not a dharma can it know that all the fetters and their traces are non-existent and not dharmas, and so attain omniscience of all kinds, that is, the Buddha’s knowledge that knows fully and understands fully the general marks and particular marks of all dharmas. Last of all, the formula substitutes the Buddha himself: the thirty-two marks, the thirty-two marks of a great man on the Buddha’s body—because they are non-existent and not dharmas, their majestic virtue is brilliantly manifest; radiance—because it is non-existent and not a dharma, it can shine everywhere through worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges; the sixty kinds of adorned voice—because they are non-existent and not dharmas, they reach everywhere to the immeasurable worlds of the ten directions; the wheel of the Dharma—the Buddha’s teaching of the Dharma is called turning the wheel of the Dharma, turning like a wheel, without hindrance and without obstruction—because it is non-existent and not a dharma, the Buddha can turn the wheel of the Dharma that all the śramaṇas, brahmins, gods, Māra, and Brahmā are unable to turn; and even the beings brought across are non-existent and not dharmas, and so can, in nirvāṇa without remainder, have been extinguished, be extinguished now, and be yet to be extinguished. Only on reading this far does the true intent of the formula come into view: being non-existent and not a dharma does not cancel merit; it is exactly the reason why merit can come into function—wherever there is clinging to the real there is obstruction; because non-existent and not a dharma, there is no hindrance and no obstruction.
Fourth, the simile at the opening of the treatise’s explanation turns 「勝出」 tr. "surpassing" from a principle into a picture—three persons cross a perilous road: the first flees by night and escapes with his body alone; the second seeks release with money; the third, like a great king leading a great army, crushes the bandits and brings the whole army safely across, fearing nothing and finding nothing difficult. The treatise at once matches them with the three vehicles. The arhat is like the one who flees by night—weary of old age, sickness, and death, heading straight for nirvāṇa, but unable to know all general marks and particular marks, unable to defeat the Māra king, unable to subdue those of the outside paths; he has got his body free, but the band of bandits is untouched. The pratyekabuddha is like the one who seeks release with money—he enters the real mark of all dharmas more deeply than the śrāvaka, has a little compassion, and transforms and brings beings across by the power of supernormal powers; he can break the afflictions, yet still cannot defeat Māra’s people and those of the outside paths. The bodhisattva is like the king who is the general—from the first arousing of the mind he raises great kindness and great compassion toward all beings, and before becoming a buddha he has already, along the way, benefited immeasurable beings; he knows decisively the real mark of all dharmas and is complete in the six perfections, and so can defeat all the Māra kings and destroy those of the outside paths; he cuts off the afflictions and their traces, is complete in omniscience of all kinds, knows fully and understands fully the general marks and particular marks, and accomplishes anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening. The treatise itself closes with one sentence: though the three persons all escape birth and death, their paths of skilful means differ. This simile and that formula are two sides of one thing: the reason the third person can 「舉軍全濟、無所畏難」 tr. "bring the whole army safely across, fearing nothing and finding nothing difficult" is exactly that what he rides is that Great Vehicle which stands on a level different from all that is false and deceptive and which, because non-existent and not a dharma, has no stronghold it cannot crush. After this, two similes of space complete the earlier praise: space holds and receives all lands without being exhausted, and the Mahāyāna holds and receives the buddhas of the three times and all their disciples without becoming full; space, being of a constant mark, has no entering, no leaving, and no abiding, and the Mahāyāna has no place of entry in the future, no place of leaving in the past, and no place of abiding in the present—because it breaks the three times, the three times are equal.
Fifth, cause and effect, and counteraction. The Buddha does not merely say ‘excellent’ once in praise; following what Subhūti praised, he first states in brief the marks of the Mahāyāna—the six perfections, all the dhāraṇī gates and samādhi gates, the eighteen emptinesses, the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas—and then sets them out at length, because the place above where the Mahāyāna was spoken of is already far back. And after the question about the unconditioned, the treatise brings 「說有說無」 tr. "speaking of existence and speaking of non-existence" down to a set of examples closest to one’s own life: worldly dānapāramitā exists by reason of clinging, and world-transcending dānapāramitā is empty because it has no such clinging; to break stinginess and greed, it is said that 「有檀波羅蜜」 tr. "there is dānapāramitā"; to break wrong view, it is said that 「檀波羅蜜無」 tr. "dānapāramitā does not exist"; to bring beginners across it is spoken of as existent, and in the minds of the noble ones it is spoken of as non-existent. The same giving is spoken of as existent or as non-existent, depending wholly on which illness it counteracts—「各有因緣故無咎」 tr. "each has its causes and conditions, and so there is no fault." This is the measure the whole chapter gives to 「無法非法」 tr. "non-existent and not a dharma": to speak of non-existence is a medicine, not a verdict. And so it is with beings too: if beings really existed and were not non-existent dharmas, one ought not to make them be forcibly extinguished and enter nirvāṇa without remainder—this sentence brings the deep meaning of the formula’s last section straight into the open.
Sixth, the intent of surpassing, and its benefit. Someone asks: after the thirty-two marks, why is 「摩訶衍勝出」 tr. "the Mahāyāna surpasses" no longer said passage by passage? The treatise answers plainly: it ought to be said, and is left unsaid only because the text would become cumbersome; moreover, the thirty-two marks, up to turning the wheel of the Dharma for beings, are all the Mahāyāna from the start, only under different names. Again, what came above spoke of surpassing by the general mark, and it was not yet known how exactly it surpasses, so it speaks again of four layers by particular marks: the Buddha adorns his body with the thirty-two marks and surpasses all beings; the Buddha’s radiance surpasses all the radiance of the sun, the moon, and the gods; the Buddha’s voice surpasses all music, the wondrous sounds of the world, and the Brahmā voices of the gods; the Buddha’s wheel of the Dharma surpasses the precious wheel of the wheel-turning sage king and all the wheels of dharma of those of the outside paths, without hindrance and without obstruction—the benefit of the other wheels of dharma is slight and shallow, one life, two lives, at the very most ten million lives, while the Buddha’s wheel of the Dharma can make one enter forever into nirvāṇa without remainder and never again return into birth and death. The benefit is then spoken of from the reverse side: if beings really existed, the Buddha’s leading beings into nirvāṇa would be pulling out their root forever, graver than killing a single body, and a great fault; precisely because beings see a self with an inverted mind, the Buddha speaks of nirvāṇa to break their inversion—there are no beings to be extinguished, and so there is no fault. What is extinguished is inversion, not beings.
Seventh, the whole chapter closes in a question and answer about the six destinies. All the world is at root the beings of the six destinies in the ten directions—why is it said only that it surpasses gods, humans, and asuras? Answer: among the six destinies there are three good and three evil; the Mahāyāna can break and surpass even the three good destinies—how much more the evil destinies—raising the difficult to make clear the easy: once the difficult has been spoken of, the easy is naturally included. A further challenge: the Nāga King Sūtra says that nāgas attain the bodhisattva path, so why are nāgas said to be an evil destiny? Answer: beings are immeasurable and boundless, the nāgas who attain the path are too few, and a small number does not change the name of a whole destiny; again, some say that those are great bodhisattvas transforming their bodily form, taking the body of a nāga king for the sake of teaching and transforming. Between one question and one answer, the phrase 「勝出一切世間」 tr. "surpasses all the world" comes down to solid ground: without picking between good destinies and evil destinies, the whole world—there is nothing the Mahāyāna does not surpass.
Do Not Misread
Do not read 「無法非法故勝出」 tr. "surpassing because non-existent and not a dharma" as an annihilation in which everything is nothing at all. A non-existent dharma means there is no dharma with a really existent self-nature, constant, permanent, and indestructible; it does not wipe out even provisional existence by causes and conditions; the treatise says it clearly: some say existent, some say non-existent, each with its causes and conditions, and so without fault—to speak of non-existence is a medicine counteracting the grasping of marks, not a proclamation that nothing whatever exists.
Do not read the formula’s sweep, where it reaches the Buddha’s merits, as disparaging the Buddha. The thirty-two marks, radiance, voice, and the wheel of the Dharma are brilliantly manifest, shine everywhere, reach everywhere, and can be turned precisely because they are non-existent and not dharmas—being non-existent and not a dharma is the reason merit comes into function, not the cancellation of merit.
Do not read the simile of the three persons crossing a perilous road as saying that the three vehicles are without difference, nor as saying that the two vehicles do not get free. The treatise states plainly that the three persons 「俱免生死」 tr. "all escape birth and death"—the two vehicles truly have crossed the perilous road; it also states plainly that 「方便道各異」 tr. "their paths of skilful means differ"—going alone to free oneself, seeking release with money, and bringing the whole army safely across are, in the end, three ways of going. To level them out is wrong, and to wipe them out is wrong too.
Do not read 「不應令強滅、入無餘涅槃」 tr. "one ought not to make them be forcibly extinguished and enter nirvāṇa without remainder" as saying that the Buddha does not bring beings across, or read nirvāṇa as annihilation. The treatise’s original meaning is exactly the reverse: precisely because there are no beings to be extinguished is the Buddha’s speaking of nirvāṇa without fault—what the Buddha breaks is the 「我」 tr. "self" in the inverted mind, not the extinguishing of a really existent person.
Do not read 「勝出三善道何況惡道」 tr. "it surpasses the three good destinies, how much more the evil destinies" as looking down on the beings of the evil destinies. This is the order of exposition that raises the difficult to make clear the easy; the question and answer about the nāga king that immediately follows even deliberately keeps the sentence 「或是大菩薩變化作龍王身」 tr. "or it is a great bodhisattva transforming himself to take the body of a nāga king"—within the evil destinies, bodhisattvas are not necessarily absent.
Bearing on Practice
Hold the formula up to oneself. Wherever the mind has fixed on 「這是實有、恆常、不會壞」 tr. "this is really existent, permanent, and will not break down"—the body, wealth, name and position, views, even one’s own merit from practice—that is a place where one cannot surpass; the formula teaches one to substitute these item by item and look: is it or is it not existent as false recollection, imagining, and discrimination, as a coming together, as names, and the like?
Test the arousing of the mind with the simile of the three persons. Facing the great matter of birth and death, is one escaping alone by night, seeking release with money, or wishing to learn from the third person who brings the whole army safely across? There is no need to hurry to call oneself a follower of the Great Vehicle; first see honestly which road one is walking at this moment, and then ask whether one is willing to move one step forward.
Learn the measure of speech in 「各有因緣故無咎」 tr. "each has its causes and conditions, and so there is no fault." To a stingy person, say that giving truly has merit; to a person clinging to marks, say that giving is unfindable—the Dharma has no fixed saying, and the medicine is given according to the illness; so too when listening to someone teach the Dharma, first ask what this sentence is counteracting, and do not hurry to judge it a view of existence or a view of non-existence.
Do good without clinging to the mark of good. The Buddha’s marks and minor marks, radiance, voice, and wheel of the Dharma come into function because they are non-existent and not dharmas; all the less need one grip tight one’s own small good deeds—the less one clings to the real, the less the obstruction: this is how this chapter uses the word 「功德」 tr. "merit."
Remember 「滅的是顛倒，不是眾生」 tr. "what is extinguished is inversion, not beings." When urging others toward the path, and when seeking liberation oneself, what is to be put down is the 「我」 tr. "self" in the inverted mind, not a loathing and casting off of this person and this world—the Mahāyāna surpasses the world, yet it is right within the world that it brings beings across.
Further Resonances
Later an ancient master composed a commentary on this chapter, passage by passage, and the first thing he singled out was its place in the whole sūtra: in the preceding chapter Subhūti asked about the Mahāyāna by way of five matters, the Buddha answered each one in turn, and the great assembly, hearing the answers, understood and rejoiced; therefore in this chapter Subhūti offers praise on their behalf—which matches exactly the treatise’s opening words 「上以五事問摩訶衍，佛已答竟」 tr. "above, the Mahāyāna was asked about by way of five matters, and the Buddha has finished answering." In the commentary’s explanation of the meaning of 「勝出」 tr. "surpassing," it says that this vehicle is subtle and wondrous, surpassing and above humans, gods, and asuras, as high as space, holding and receiving immeasurable, boundless beings, without going and without coming, the three times equal—running almost meaning for meaning parallel with the opening of the sūtra text. It also sets up 「勝出二義」 tr. "two meanings of surpassing": first, it praises this vehicle as able to crush the three realms and the six destinies, and so it surpasses the three realms; second, the three vehicles alike go forth from the three realms, and the Great Vehicle is the superior among them—the Great Vehicle has no fault it does not cut off and no virtue it does not cultivate, while the two vehicles do not cut off delusion completely and their gathering of virtues is incomplete, and so they are inferior. It also divides this chapter into three sections—the direct account of surpassing, the intent of surpassing, and the clarification of benefit—whose turning-points coincide exactly with the treatise’s own divisions of passages; and it counts the string of expressions in the first half of the formula, from 「實有、不虛妄」 tr. "really existent, not false" onward, as eight phrases, looking over each one in turn, which brings out how rigorous the wording of the sūtra text is. These readings each have their own approach; here only what they see is noted, without judging which is higher. Brought back to this chapter, what is most worth keeping is the reversal that the two words 「勝出」 tr. "surpassing" undergo through this chapter: surpassing is not standing on the highest rung among the myriad things that exist, but seeing thoroughly that all is non-existent and not a dharma, and thereby standing on a level different from all that is false and deceptive; the reason the third person among the three crossing a perilous road fears nothing and finds nothing difficult is not that his blades are sharper, but that the path he rides never contends with the bandits for a single city or a single plot of ground at all. That the Great Vehicle is great lies not in having one measure more of existence, but in this thorough shining through—only having shone through can it hold and receive immeasurable beings, and only so is it unable to let go of any single being.
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，繫卷五十一，論自題「大智度論釋勝出品第二十二」〔T25 0422a19〕，總釋《大品般若》〈勝出品第二十二〉〔T08 0261a17–0262c04〕。品名品次與所釋經全然同形同號，異於〈報應品〉之「報應」「奉鉢」異名同品；惟聖、石諸本及唐代經錄別傳品次「第二十一」，其詳見第八目。前承〈出到品第二十一〉，次接〈含受品第二十三〉，本品全在卷五十一之內，不別分卷，起於〔T25 0422a19〕，訖於品二十三起題「大智度論釋含受品第二十三」〔T25 0424b18〕之前，是為一卷小品。北宋惟白《大藏經綱目指要錄》著錄「大智度論五十一釋般若中勝出品．含受品．此二品要義」〔C056 0185c05〕，卷五十一兼涵二品，與此起訖相合。
異於〈報應品〉之〈經〉〈論〉交替七番，本品同〈歎度品〉之體，一〈經〉一〈論〉——單段〈經〉牒引起〔T25 0422a23〕，幾攝所釋經全品；〈論〉釋起〔T25 0423c02〕。論起首「者言：須菩提上以五事問摩訶衍，佛已答竟」〔T25 0423c02〕，「者言」二字為底本原樣，元、明、石三本「者」上有「論」字，正文從底本。所謂五事問者，承前品〈出到品〉須菩提五問摩訶衍而來，本品即佛答既竟、須菩提歡喜稱歎之品。
品內宏觀，經文以一公式貫穿——若某法「是有法、非無法」，摩訶衍即不能勝出，以其「無法、非法」故勝出——自欲界、色無色界，歷五蘊、根塵識觸受，法性、如、實際、不可思議性，六波羅蜜、十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法，性人法、八人法乃至佛法，性人、八人乃至佛，菩薩初發心以來諸心、如金剛慧，至諸佛三十二相、光明、音聲、法輪，終於眾生，逐類迴施，貫穿全經。論釋則先釋稱歎之由（三人度惡道喻、虛空二喻），次明佛所以更說摩訶衍，略說其相——「所謂六波羅蜜、諸陀羅尼門、三昧門、十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法等」〔T25 0423c29〕——然後廣述；次明三界虛誑故勝出，答無為云何言無之難，推及檀度因果；次明別相殊勝四項與利益，終以六道問答結品。吉藏科此品文為「正述勝出、勝出之意、明利益」三段（見第六目），與此弧一一相合。
二、術語考
摩訶衍。 品初慧命須菩提白佛言「世尊！摩訶衍、摩訶衍者，勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅」〔T25 0422a23〕，又以三事狀之——「是摩訶衍與虛空等」〔T25 0422a25〕、不見來去住處、「三世等是摩訶衍」〔T25 0422a29〕。佛印可而列其體，六波羅蜜、「所謂一切陀羅尼門、一切三昧門」〔T25 0422b05〕（「首楞嚴三昧乃至離著虛空不染三昧」〔T25 0422b06〕）、內空乃至無法有法空、四念處乃至十八不共法。論末釋三世等曰「破三時故，三世等名摩訶衍」〔T25 0423c24〕。
勝出。 品名所繫。自欲界至金剛慧，經文輪輪皆結以摩訶衍勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅；三十二相以下不復言之，論設問答明其故——「應當說，直文煩故不說」〔T25 0424a25〕，「三十二相乃至為眾生轉法輪亦是摩訶衍，但名字異耳」〔T25 0424a26〕。又「上總相說摩訶衍勝出，不知云何勝出；今別相說」〔T25 0424a27〕，別相四項逐一——「佛三十二相莊嚴身故，勝一切眾生」〔T25 0424a29〕；「光明勝日月、諸天一切光明」〔T25 0424b01〕；「佛音聲勝一切音樂、世界妙聲、諸天梵音」〔T25 0424b01〕；「佛法輪勝轉輪聖王寶輪及諸外道一切法輪，無障無礙」〔T25 0424b02〕，「餘法輪所利益微淺，或一世、二世，極至千萬世」〔T25 0424b03〕，「佛法輪能令永入無餘涅槃，不復還入生死」〔T25 0424b05〕。勝出之所以，論歸於空幻相違、力等不能破，其義詳第五目。
有法非無法／無法非法。 全品公式之兩極。首輪備列諸辭——「若欲界當有實、不虛妄、不異、諦、不顛倒、有常、不壞相、非無法者」〔T25 0422b13〕，其反面「以欲界虛妄憶想分別，和合名字等有，一切無常相、無法」〔T25 0422b16〕；自法性以下，正反縮為「是有法、非無法」與「無法、非法」對舉，如「若法性是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0422c09〕。吉藏於首輪拆出八例之目（見第六目）。
性人法·性人。 經文先舉「若性人法是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0423a05〕，與「八人法、須陀洹法、斯陀含法、阿那含法、阿羅漢法、辟支佛法、佛法」〔T25 0423a09〕並列；後復舉「若性人是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0423a14〕，與八人乃至佛並列——「性人法」謂其法，「性人」謂其人，一品之內連續出現之兩詞，非一詞之訛。所釋經此二處「性人」作「性地人」，詳第四目其五。
如金剛慧。 「若菩薩摩訶薩如金剛慧若是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0423b01〕——此輪獨不以勝出直結，而以知斷與種智為果，「以菩薩摩訶薩如金剛慧無法、非法，是故菩薩知一切結使及習無法、非法，得一切種智」〔T25 0423b04〕。吉藏科判以此句下為「勝出之意」一段之首（見第六目）。
六十種莊嚴音聲。 「若諸佛六十種莊嚴音聲是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0423b15〕，但標其數而本品未逐一列名，屬數具而目闕，此目誌其如是，不以他經之目強足其名。
三、譬喻與故事
《大智度論》以譬喻著稱，本品論釋不繁，而所設數喻皆切中全品命脈——勝出者何以能勝出。
三人度惡道喻（三乘配對）。 全品之名喻。論釋須菩提稱歎「是摩訶衍有大力勢，破壞人、天世間已，能於中勝出」〔T25 0423c03〕，設喻曰「譬如三人度惡道：一者、於夜逃遁，獨脫其身；二者、以錢求免；三者、如大王將大軍眾，摧破寇賊，舉軍全濟，無所畏難」〔T25 0423c05〕。三乘依序配之——「如阿羅漢不能知一切總相、別相，亦不能破魔王，又不能降伏外道；厭老、病、死，直趣涅槃」〔T25 0423c08〕，是夜遁獨脫者；「如辟支佛入諸法實相，深於聲聞，少有悲心，以神通力化度眾生；能破煩惱，不能破魔人及外道」〔T25 0423c10〕，是以錢求免者；「如菩薩從初發心，於一切眾生起大慈悲，雖未得佛，於其中間利益無量眾生」〔T25 0423c12〕，「決定知諸法實相、具足六波羅蜜故，破諸魔王及壞外道」〔T25 0423c14〕，「斷煩惱習，具足一切種智，總相、別相，悉知悉了，成阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」〔T25 0423c16〕，是大王將軍摧賊全濟者。結曰「三人雖俱免生死，然方便道各異」〔T25 0423c17〕，是故稱歎摩訶衍「摧破一切世間，勝出人、天、阿修羅上」〔T25 0423c19〕。
虛空含受喻。 「譬如虛空含受一切國土，而虛空故不盡」〔T25 0423c20〕，摩訶衍亦如是，「含受三世諸佛及諸弟子，摩訶衍亦不滿」〔T25 0423c21〕——釋經初「如虛空受無量無邊阿僧祇眾生」〔T25 0422a25〕之歎。
虛空常相喻。 「又如虛空常相故，無入相、無出相、無住相」〔T25 0423c22〕，是乘亦如是，「無未來世入處、無過去世出處、無現在世住處」〔T25 0423c23〕，破三時故三世等。與前喻同以虛空為喻依，前喻取其含受不盡，此喻取其常相無出入，一喻二用。
如幻如夢。 論判三界「是三界虛誑，如幻如夢，無明虛妄，因緣故有」〔T25 0424a03〕，「因果無有定實，一切無常、破壞、磨滅，皆是空相」〔T25 0424a04〕。幻夢之喻於此非泛設色，乃勝出論證之基——三界與衍若俱定實，力等而不能相破，唯其如幻，故可摧破而勝出。
四、所釋經文
本論所牒之單段〈經〉，與後秦鳩摩羅什譯《摩訶般若波羅蜜經》〈勝出品第二十二〉〔T08 0261a17–0262c04〕相承，品題「摩訶般若波羅蜜經勝出品第二十二」〔T08 0261a17〕，品名品次與本論全然同形同號。〈勝出品〉本經全篇二千一百餘字，本論一段牒引幾與之等長——是論所牒即〈勝出品〉之全。異於〈報應品〉之七段插入式牒經，乃同〈歎度品〉之單段完整牒經。
起句自「慧命須菩提白佛言」以下，率皆逐字或近乎逐字。經逐字核對，得十三處實質異文，兩本各自成文，非轉抄之訛，並錄不判，供定本裁斷。其中四處與本論檔末校勘記相互印證（其三、其八、其十二、其十三），詳各條並見第八目。
其一，六波羅蜜列名，T223 作「所謂六波羅蜜，檀那波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜」〔T08 0261a26〕，本論作「所謂六波羅蜜：檀波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜」〔T25 0422b02〕，「檀那」全稱與「檀」略稱之異；同型又二見——T223「若檀那波羅蜜是有法非無法者」〔T08 0261c13〕「以檀那波羅蜜無法非法」〔T08 0261c15〕，本論「若檀波羅蜜是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0422c17〕「以檀波羅蜜無法、非法」〔T25 0422c18〕——純音譯繁簡之別，非義理歧異。所釋經自身校勘記載「檀那【大】＊，檀【聖】＊」——聖本三見皆作「檀」，與本論之略稱全合。
其二，同列禪度，T223 作「毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪那波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜」〔T08 0261a28〕，本論作「毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜」〔T25 0422b03〕，「禪那」與「禪」，與其一同一模式；重述處 T223 又見〔T08 0261c17〕，本論又見〔T25 0422c20〕。
其三，陀羅尼門三昧門句，T223 作「菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍，一切陀羅尼門、一切三昧門」〔T08 0261a29〕，無「所謂」；本論作「菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍，所謂一切陀羅尼門、一切三昧門」〔T25 0422b05〕，多「所謂」二字。本論此處校勘記載宋、元、明、宮、聖諸本皆無「所謂」（第八目），T223 之讀與諸本一致，而與大正底本獨異。
其四，無常想與無常相，T223 作「和合名字等，有一切無常想無法」〔T08 0261b12〕，本論作「和合名字等有，一切無常相、無法」〔T25 0422b16〕，「想」與「相」異——義理層有別之異文，並錄不判。此條與論釋段「總相」之「相」聖本作「想」（第八目）分屬兩處，勿混。所釋經自身校勘記另載「想【大】，相【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」——宋、元、明、宮四本作「相」，與本論之讀全合。
其五，性地人與性人，T223 作「若性地人是有法非無法者」〔T08 0262a12〕「以性地人無法非法」〔T08 0262a14〕，本論作「若性人是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0423a14〕「以性人無法、非法」〔T25 0423a15〕，凡二處——「性地」連文與單言「性」之異，術語精粗有別，並錄不判。其前「性人法」則兩本皆同——T223「若性人法是有法非無法者」〔T08 0262a03〕，本論〔T25 0423a05〕不異。所釋經自身校勘記載「地【大】＊，〔－〕【聖】＊」——聖本二見皆無「地」字，與本論「性人」之讀全合。
其六，八人法與八人，重述句 T223 作「若八人法、須陀洹乃至佛是有法非無法者」〔T08 0262a16〕，本論作「若八人、須陀洹乃至佛是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0423a17〕，T223 存「法」字，本論略之；其前列名處兩本皆作「八人法、須陀洹法」云云，不異。所釋經自身校勘記載「法【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】」——五本皆無「法」字，與本論之讀全合。
其七，發心至道場句首見，T223 作「從初發心乃至道場，於其中間諸心若是有法非無法者」〔T08 0262a25〕，本論作「從初發心乃至道場，於其中間諸心，若當是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0423a26〕，本論多一「當」字，虛字之異。所釋經自身校勘記載「若【大】，若當【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」——宋、元、明、宮四本作「若當」，與本論之讀全合。
其八，同句重述，T223 作「以菩薩從初發心乃至道場，於其中間諸心無法非法」〔T08 0262a27〕，仍存「於其中間」；本論作「以菩薩從初發心乃至道場諸心無法、非法」〔T25 0423a28〕，省之。本論校勘記載元、明二本「道場」下有「於其中間」（第八目），T223 之讀恰與元明本一致，而與大正底本不同。所釋經自身校勘記另載「於其中間諸【大】，〔－〕【聖】」——所釋經聖本併「諸」字省之，省略方向與本論相合而範圍略寬。
其九，金剛慧句，T223 作「如金剛慧是有法非無法者」〔T08 0262b02〕，本論作「如金剛慧若是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0423b02〕，本論多一「若」字。所釋經自身校勘記載「是【大】，若是【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」——宋、元、明、宮四本作「若是」，與本論之讀全合。
其十，國土與世界，凡四處系統性替換。光明二句，T223 作「諸佛光明不能普照如恒河沙等國土」〔T08 0262b13〕「諸佛能以光明普照如恒河沙等國土」〔T08 0262b15〕，本論作「諸佛光明不能普照恒河沙等世界」〔T25 0423b12〕「諸佛能以光明普照恒河沙等世界」〔T25 0423b14〕；音聲二句，T223 作「不能以六十種莊嚴音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇國土」〔T08 0262b18〕「諸佛能以六十種莊嚴音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇國土」〔T08 0262b20〕，本論作「不能以六十種莊嚴音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇世界」〔T25 0423b16〕「諸佛能以六十種莊嚴音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇世界」〔T25 0423b19〕。四處 T223 全作「國土」、本論全作「世界」，一致替換而非偶然；光明二句 T223 恒河沙上並多一「如」字。「國土」「世界」之替換與〈報應品〉考據所誌「三千大千國土／三千大千世界」屬同一跨品模式，二本於此類詞各有一貫譯例，並錄不判。
其十一，法輪句，T223 作「諸佛法輪若當是有法非無法者」〔T08 0262b22〕，本論作「諸佛法輪若是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0423b20〕——此處反而 T223 有「當」而本論無，與其七方向相反，虛字有無無定則。所釋經自身校勘記載「當【大】，〔－〕【元】」——元本無「當」字，與本論之讀相合。
其十二，餘眾所字，重述句 T223 作「若梵及世間餘眾不能如法轉者」〔T08 0262b26〕，無「所」；本論作「若梵及世間餘眾所不能如法轉者」〔T25 0423b24〕，有「所」。本論校勘記載宋、元、明、宮、聖、石諸本皆無此「所」（第八目），T223 之讀與諸本一致，而與大正底本獨異；其前首出句兩本皆有「所」字，不異。所釋經自身校勘記另載「不【大】，所不【宋】【明】【宮】」——所釋經宋、明、宮三本作「所不」，與本論底本之讀相合，兩經於此字各有內部分歧，適成鏡像。
其十三，能令眾生句，T223 作「能令眾生於無餘涅槃中，已滅今滅當滅」〔T08 0262c02〕，本論作「眾生於無餘涅槃中已滅、今滅、當滅」〔T25 0423b29〕，無「能令」。本論校勘記載元、明二本「眾生」上有「能令」（第八目），T223 之讀恰與元明本一致，同其八之模式。
十三處之中，其三、其八、其十二、其十三四處，T223 之讀法皆與非大正系統之諸本一致，而與大正底本獨異——獨立傳本與諸本校記互證，於此四處構成跨文本之外部佐證，其權重供定本裁斷時參酌。其一、其二屬音譯繁簡，其四、其五涉術語精粗，餘多虛字有無、詳略之別。全數兩本各自成文，此目並列其異，不代為定何本。
五、般若義眼
本品之眼，在「勝出」二字之翻轉——勝出一切，非因更有，正因無法。其義可約為四重。
其一，勝出以無法故。全品公式先立反面——若欲界乃至眾生「是有法、非無法」，摩訶衍即不能勝出；後立正面——以其「無法、非法」，故勝出。論釋其所以曰「以摩訶衍與三界相違，故能摧破勝出」〔T25 0424a05〕，「若三界定實、常、不虛妄，是摩訶衍不能摧破勝出。何以故？力等故」〔T25 0424a06〕——有與有角力，力等而不能相破；唯空與幻相違，故能摧破。「五眾、十二入、十八界、六觸生諸受亦如是」〔T25 0424a08〕，「以法性非有故，摩訶衍能得勝出世間」〔T25 0424a10〕。品末六道問答又明勝出之量——「六道中，三是善道，三是惡道。摩訶衍尚能破三善道勝出，何況惡道」〔T25 0424b12〕。
其二，無為亦空。問者以如、法性、實際「是無為實法，名為實際，云何言無」〔T25 0424a13〕為難，論答「無為空故言無」〔T25 0424a14〕，復引佛說「離有為，無為法不可得；有為法實相即是無為法」〔T25 0424a14〕；又明如、法性、實際是實，「以人於法性取相起諍故」〔T25 0424a16〕乃言無法性——或說有、或說無，「各有因緣故無咎」〔T25 0424a18〕。是空義不但空有為，並無為之執亦空之，而不壞其為有為法之實相。
其三，有無皆因緣說。論以檀度為例——「世間檀波羅蜜著故有，出世間檀波羅蜜無故空」〔T25 0424a19〕，破慳貪故言其有，破邪見故言其無，為度初學說有，聖人心中言無——說有說無，各隨所治，非有定實。推之於極，「如檀波羅蜜，乃至若眾生實有、非是無法，不應令強滅、入無餘涅槃」〔T25 0424a22〕，有無之判直繫於涅槃度生之義，非名相之戲。
其四，無眾生可滅故無咎。經末明眾生亦無法非法，故「眾生於無餘涅槃中已滅、今滅、當滅」〔T25 0423b29〕；論釋曰「若眾生實有者，佛不應令眾生入涅槃，永拔其根，此過於殺一身」〔T25 0424b06〕，唯「以眾生顛倒心見我故，佛欲破其顛倒，說言涅槃，無眾生可滅，故無咎」〔T25 0424b08〕。是勝出之空非沈斷——正以無一實眾生可滅，度生乃得無咎，「有如是功德故，摩訶衍能勝出一切世間」〔T25 0424b09〕，此全品義眼所歸。
六、諸家異釋
《大智度論》本無逐文全疏之傳統，古德引釋率屬據實偏倚。本品之古德覆讀情況適與〈報應品〉相反——釋論之慧影疏於本品殘佚不覆，釋所釋經之吉藏疏則存有一段完整逐文之疏，為本品古德對讀之唯一主體。此目誌錄其所疏與本品之對應，不判各家詮釋高下。
吉藏《大品經義疏》（X24n0451）卷五「勝出品第二十二」〔X24 0251c20–0252c20〕，疏文千三百餘言，非僅回溯性題名之及，乃逐文對應本品之疏。其開篇明本品承前品之位——「此下兩品有四章，第三稱歎摩訶衍，善吉第一作五問問摩訶衍，次第二佛一一答五問竟。今大眾聞佛答領解歡喜，故善吉為之作稱歎摩訶衍」〔X24 0251c21〕——明指本品承〈出到品〉須菩提五問，與本論起首「者言：須菩提上以五事問摩訶衍，佛已答竟」〔T25 0423c02〕正相接軌。
其釋勝出義曰「故此乘微妙勝出人天修羅之上，與虗空高等，含受無量無邊眾生，無去無來，無過去未來現在，三世平等」〔X24 0252a01〕（「虗」字其書原樣），與本品經文開端幾乎逐義並行。其立勝出二義曰「言勝出二義：一者歎乘能摧破三界六道故勝，以勝出三界。二者三乘內出，三界為出。而大乘是中之勝，以無過不難，無德不修。二乘如不爾，斷惑不盡，集德不備，故劣也」〔X24 0252a19〕——此二義之分為吉藏自立之架構，本論原文未見此二分之名。
其科判總綱曰「就文為二：第一、舉出等五義歎摩訶衍；第二、舉出生三世諸佛摩訶衍」〔X24 0252a23〕，又明本品所居曰「今盡品述第一、勝出歎」〔X24 0252b06〕——廣述五章之中，本品盡品唯述第一勝出歎，餘章在後續品。就此第一復科為三——「就第一、正述勝出歎中又三：第一、正述勝出；第二、勝出之意；第三、明利益」〔X24 0252b08〕，與本品論釋之弧一一相合（見第一目）。其於首輪經文拆出八例曰「今是第一勝出有為，云一句。一句例有八：一者有，二者不虗妄，三不實，四諦，五顛倒，六有常，七不壞，八非無法」〔X24 0252c03〕——八例之目為吉藏所立之邏輯分解，本論原文未自列此名目。
四處科判轉折，逐一與本品經文精確接軌——「須菩提！若法性是有法下，第二、勝出無為」〔X24 0252c06〕，應本品〔T25 0422c08〕一輪；「須菩提！若檀波羅蜜下，第三、明勝出大乘因果」〔X24 0252c07〕，應〔T25 0422c16〕一輪；「須菩提如金剛慧下，第二、明勝出之意」〔X24 0252c11〕，應〔T25 0423b01〕一輪；「須菩提！諸佛為眾生轉法輪下，第三、明利益」〔X24 0252c13〕，應〔T25 0423b26〕一段——是吉藏此疏確據羅什譯本逐句敷演，非泛論而已。疏中並存義理諍議二則，皆他家之解而吉藏駁之——他解以大乘雖世間而勝出世間，吉藏答「今謂佛及龍樹不許作此解。既是有為，豈與空等？既是有，即應礙，何能容受？」〔X24 0252a13〕；又一解謂皆是真諦遣、過分歎，吉藏答「今謂佛及論主不許也」〔X24 0252a17〕——並錄其有此諍，不代判。
慧影《大智度論疏》（X46n0791）為釋本論之唯一古疏，然僅殘卷存世。現存諸卷之覆，於〈句義品第十二〉後中斷，再起已在〈校量舍利品第三十七〉——其間二十四品全數斷失，本品適在斷層之中，全然未覆；回搜「勝出品」於其書零命中，與斷層相印。非其未疏本品之證，亦非可虛列之目，據實記其殘佚而已。
至若智顗、湛然、窺基、慧沼名下著作，回搜「勝出品」題名及本品獨有經句皆零命中。慧琳《一切經音義》有「音大智度論一百卷」之部〔T54 0609c22〕，其下逐卷出詞條，而無第五十一卷之條——本品之語未見音釋，其闕在彼書之取捨，非本品之特。北宋惟白《大藏經綱目指要錄》於〈勝出品〉條下提要曰「超勝一切天人等法。如虛空等。含容包遍」〔C056 0139a06〕，一句提其綱，無詮釋之發揮，誌之而已。近代演培法師《勝鬘經講記》嘗引本品六波羅蜜一節，屬近代之作，依例不歸古德引據之列，誌其存而不列入採用。
七、互讀與承衍
本品之義脈，前後相承者有三，皆此目所誌，不代定讀。
其一，承前啟後之自指。論起首「者言：須菩提上以五事問摩訶衍，佛已答竟」〔T25 0423c02〕，直承前品〈出到品〉五問之答；「佛將欲順須菩提所歎而讚說」〔T25 0423c26〕，「今略說摩訶衍相，然後廣述」〔T25 0423c28〕，則啟後品之廣述——吉藏所謂盡品唯述五章之第一（見第六目），正與此略說廣述之自指相應。卷五十一兼涵本品與〈含受品〉，見第一目所引經錄。
其二，十八空之掛鏈。本品經文以「所謂內空乃至無法有法空」〔T25 0422b08〕略舉十八空，公式段復以「若內空乃至無法有法空，是有法、非無法者」〔T25 0422c25〕迴施之，全品皆舉首尾二名而略其中——十八空全目之開列與逐名之釋，在本論卷三十一〈釋初品中十八空義〉〔T25 0285b01〕，本品不自列名，此目誌其所出，不代補。
其三，龍王經之外引。品末問答引「《龍王經》中說龍得菩薩道」〔T25 0424b14〕以難六道之判，論主答以「眾生無量無邊，龍得道者少」〔T25 0424b15〕，復存一家之言「大菩薩變化身教化故，作龍王身」〔T25 0424b16〕為全品末句——《龍王經》所指何本，本品未著其詳，誌其名而不代考。
八、校本與版本說明
本品底本為《大智度論》卷五十一〔T25 0422a19–0424b18〕；所釋經校本為《摩訶般若波羅蜜經》〈勝出品第二十二〉〔T08 0261a17–0262c04〕；古德疏校本為吉藏《大品經義疏》卷五（X24n0451），慧影《大智度論疏》（X46n0791）殘卷不覆本品。異讀校記依大正校勘，涉大正底本與宋、元、明、宮、聖、石（石山寺本）諸本之異。工作底本檔末校勘記凡四十一條，此表擇與品次、題署、術語、義理相涉者傳錄，並補入唯直讀原檔校記方得之品次編號二條，異本讀法並列保存，正文仍從現行底本讀法。
品次編號。 本品卷題〔T25 0422a19〕之下，校記載諸本卷題互異——宮本作「大智度論釋卷第五十一釋第二十二品勝出品」，聖本作「大智度經論卷第五十一釋第二十一品訖第二十二品」，石本作「摩訶般若波羅蜜品二十一勝出品」，且石本於此不分卷。聖、石二本並題本品為第二十一品，與大正、宮本及所釋經 T223 之第二十二相差一位。唐《大唐開元釋教廣品歷章》著錄所釋經品目，亦作「摩訶般若波羅蜜經勝出品第二十一」〔A097 0812a09〕——三方一致，非偶然訛字，或係品目分合之異傳統，並錄不判，供定奪何本編號為據。此條工作底本四十一條清單未收，唯直讀原檔校記方得，補入誌錄。
石經卷末別記。 品末〔T25 0424b17〕校記載石本卷末題「大智度經論卷第五十二終」，其下復有「釋廿一品竟」五字——石經自題本品為廿一品，與上條聖、石本編次互證；且其分卷作卷第五十二，與大正卷五十一不同，石經分卷較大正超前一卷。此條在品二十三起題之界，工作底本清單亦未收，補入誌錄。
造者題署。 「聖者龍樹造」〔T25 0422a21〕，宋、元、明、宮本作「龍樹菩薩造」，聖、石本此行全不載。
譯者題署。 「後秦龜茲國三藏鳩摩羅什譯」〔T25 0422a22〕，宋、元、明、宮本銜名作「姚秦三藏法師」，聖、石本此行亦全不載——與造者行同一模式，聖石一系卷首不具造譯之署。
所謂有無。 「所謂一切陀羅尼門」〔T25 0422b05〕之「所謂」，宋、元、明、宮、聖諸本皆無，所釋經 T223 亦無（第四目其三）——諸本與獨立傳本一致，大正底本此二字獨有，並錄不判。
道場下於其中間。 重述句「以菩薩從初發心乃至道場諸心無法、非法」〔T25 0423a28〕之「道場」下，元、明二本有「於其中間」四字，所釋經 T223 同有（第四目其八），大正底本無——並錄不判。
餘眾所字。 重述句「若梵及世間餘眾所不能如法轉者」〔T25 0423b24〕之「所」，宋、元、明、宮、聖、石諸本皆無，T223 亦無（第四目其十二），大正底本獨有，與所謂條同一模式，並錄不判。
能令有無。 「眾生於無餘涅槃中已滅、今滅、當滅」〔T25 0423b29〕，元、明二本「眾生」上有「能令」二字，T223 同有（第四目其十三），大正底本無——並錄不判。
總相與總想。 論釋段「上總相說摩訶衍勝出」〔T25 0424a27〕之「相」，聖本作「想」；同行之「總」，聖本又作「惱」。此「相／想」屬論釋段之異讀，與經文段 T223 對讀所得之「無常想／無常相」（第四目其四）分屬兩處，勿混為一談。
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 51. The treatise gives its own title as 「大智度論釋勝出品第二十二」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Surpassing, the Twenty-second"〔T25 0422a19〕, and it comments on the whole of the Larger Sūtra's Chapter 22, "Surpassing"〔T08 0261a17–0262c04〕. The chapter name and chapter number are entirely identical in form with those of the sūtra it explains, unlike Chapter 2, "Recompense", where 「報應」 tr. "Recompense" and 「奉鉢」 tr. "Offering the Bowls" are different names for the same chapter; only the Shōgozō manuscript, the Ishiyama-dera manuscript, and other texts, together with the scripture catalogues of the Tang, transmit a different chapter number, 「第二十一」 tr. "the twenty-first", for the details of which see Section VIII. It carries on from Chapter 21, "Going Forth and Arriving", and is followed by Chapter 23, "Containing and Receiving". This chapter lies wholly within Fascicle 51 and is not divided into a separate fascicle; it begins at〔T25 0422a19〕 and ends before the title that opens Chapter 23, 「大智度論釋含受品第二十三」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Containing and Receiving, the Twenty-third"〔T25 0424b18〕: it is a short chapter within a single fascicle. The Northern Song monk Weibai's Essentials of the Outline of the Great Canon lists 「大智度論五十一釋般若中勝出品．含受品．此二品要義」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fifty-one: explaining, within the Prajñā, the Chapter on Surpassing and the Chapter on Containing and Receiving—the essential meaning of these two chapters"〔C056 0185c05〕: Fascicle 51 embraces both chapters, which agrees with the beginning and end given here.
Unlike Chapter 2, "Recompense", in which Sūtra and Treatise alternate seven times, this chapter takes the same form as Chapter 5, "Praise of the Perfections": one Sūtra section and one Treatise section—the single Sūtra citation begins at〔T25 0422a23〕 and takes in almost the whole of the sūtra chapter explained; the Treatise explanation begins at〔T25 0423c02〕. The Treatise opens with 「者言：須菩提上以五事問摩訶衍，佛已答竟」 tr. "[One] says: above, Subhūti asked about the Mahāyāna by five matters, and the Buddha has finished answering"〔T25 0423c02〕. The two characters 「者言」 tr. "[one] says" are the base text as it stands; above 「者」 tr. "[one]" the three texts Yuan, Ming, and Ishiyama-dera have the character 「論」 tr. "treatise"; the main text follows the base text. The questions by five matters carry on from Subhūti's five questions about the Mahāyāna in the preceding chapter, "Going Forth and Arriving"; this chapter is the one in which, the Buddha having finished answering, Subhūti rejoices and praises.
Seen as a whole, the sūtra text runs through a single formula from end to end—if a certain dharma 「是有法、非無法」 tr. "is an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma", the Mahāyāna cannot surpass; because it is 「無法、非法」 tr. "a non-existent dharma, not a dharma", it surpasses. From the desire realm and the form and formless realms, through the five aggregates, the faculties, objects, consciousnesses, contacts, and feelings; dharma-nature, suchness, the limit of reality, and the nature of the inconceivable; the six perfections, the eighteen emptinesses, the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; the dharma of the person of nature, the dharma of the person of the eight, up to the Buddha-dharma; the person of nature, the person of the eight, up to the Buddha; the minds of the bodhisattva from the first arousing of the mind onward, and the vajra-like wisdom; up to the thirty-two marks of the Buddhas, their radiance, their voice, and their Dharma wheel; and ending with beings—class by class the formula is turned upon each, running through the whole sūtra. The Treatise explanation first explains the grounds of the praise (the simile of the three persons crossing a perilous road, and the two similes of space); next it makes clear why the Buddha speaks further of the Mahāyāna, briefly stating its marks—「所謂六波羅蜜、諸陀羅尼門、三昧門、十八空、四念處乃至十八不共法等」 tr. "namely the six perfections, the dhāraṇī gates, the samādhi gates, the eighteen emptinesses, the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and so on"〔T25 0423c29〕—and afterwards expounding them at length; next it makes clear that the Mahāyāna surpasses because the three realms are false and deceptive, answers the objection of how the unconditioned can be called non-existent, and extends this to the cause and fruit of the perfection of giving; next it makes clear the four items of particular excellence and the benefit; and it closes the chapter with a question and answer on the six destinies. Jizang divides the text of this chapter into three sections, 「正述勝出、勝出之意、明利益」 tr. "the proper statement of surpassing, the meaning of surpassing, and making clear the benefit" (see Section VI), which correspond point for point with this arc.
II. Terms Examined
Mahāyāna. At the start of the chapter the venerable Subhūti says to the Buddha 「世尊！摩訶衍、摩訶衍者，勝出一切世間及諸天、人、阿修羅」 tr. "World-Honored One! The Mahāyāna, the Mahāyāna, surpasses all the world and gods, humans, and asuras"〔T25 0422a23〕, and further describes it by three matters—「是摩訶衍與虛空等」 tr. "this Mahāyāna is equal to space"〔T25 0422a25〕; its place of coming, of going, and of abiding is not seen; and 「三世等是摩訶衍」 tr. "the three times being equal: this is the Mahāyāna"〔T25 0422a29〕. The Buddha approves and lists its substance: the six perfections; 「所謂一切陀羅尼門、一切三昧門」 tr. "namely all the dhāraṇī gates and all the samādhi gates"〔T25 0422b05〕 (「首楞嚴三昧乃至離著虛空不染三昧」 tr. "the Śūraṃgama samādhi up to the samādhi Free of Attachment, Undefiled as Space"〔T25 0422b06〕); inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. At the end the Treatise explains the equality of the three times: 「破三時故，三世等名摩訶衍」 tr. "because the three times are refuted, the equality of the three times is called the Mahāyāna"〔T25 0423c24〕.
Surpassing. What the chapter name is bound to. From the desire realm up to the vajra-like wisdom, every round of the sūtra text concludes that the Mahāyāna surpasses all the world and gods, humans, and asuras; from the thirty-two marks onward this is no longer said, and the Treatise sets up a question and answer to make clear why—「應當說，直文煩故不說」 tr. "it ought to be said; it is simply not said because the text would be burdensome"〔T25 0424a25〕, 「三十二相乃至為眾生轉法輪亦是摩訶衍，但名字異耳」 tr. "the thirty-two marks, up to turning the Dharma wheel for beings, are also the Mahāyāna; only the names differ"〔T25 0424a26〕. Further, 「上總相說摩訶衍勝出，不知云何勝出；今別相說」 tr. "above, the surpassing of the Mahāyāna was stated by its general mark, and it was not known how it surpasses; now it is stated by particular marks"〔T25 0424a27〕, and the four items of particular marks follow one by one—「佛三十二相莊嚴身故，勝一切眾生」 tr. "because the Buddha's body is adorned with the thirty-two marks, he surpasses all beings"〔T25 0424a29〕; 「光明勝日月、諸天一切光明」 tr. "his radiance surpasses the sun and moon and all the radiance of the gods"〔T25 0424b01〕; 「佛音聲勝一切音樂、世界妙聲、諸天梵音」 tr. "the Buddha's voice surpasses all music, the wondrous sounds of the world, and the Brahmā voices of the gods"〔T25 0424b01〕; 「佛法輪勝轉輪聖王寶輪及諸外道一切法輪，無障無礙」 tr. "the Buddha's Dharma wheel surpasses the jewel wheel of the wheel-turning sage king and all the dharma wheels of the outside paths, unimpeded and unobstructed"〔T25 0424b02〕, 「餘法輪所利益微淺，或一世、二世，極至千萬世」 tr. "the benefit brought by other dharma wheels is slight and shallow—for one life or two lives, at the utmost up to ten million lives"〔T25 0424b03〕, 「佛法輪能令永入無餘涅槃，不復還入生死」 tr. "the Buddha's Dharma wheel can cause one to enter for ever into nirvāṇa without remainder, never again to return into birth and death"〔T25 0424b05〕. The reason for surpassing the Treatise traces to the contrariety of the empty and the illusory, and to the principle that equal forces cannot break one another; its meaning is detailed in Section V.
An existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma / a non-existent dharma, not a dharma. The two poles of the formula of the whole chapter. The first round lists all the terms in full—「若欲界當有實、不虛妄、不異、諦、不顛倒、有常、不壞相、非無法者」 tr. "if the desire realm were real, not false, not otherwise, true, not inverted, permanent, of an indestructible mark, and not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0422b13〕—and its reverse side, 「以欲界虛妄憶想分別，和合名字等有，一切無常相、無法」 tr. "because the desire realm is false recollection, imagining, and discrimination, existing by coming together, by names, and the like, wholly of the mark of impermanence, a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0422b16〕; from dharma-nature onward, the positive and negative sides contract into the pair 「是有法、非無法」 tr. "is an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma" and 「無法、非法」 tr. "a non-existent dharma, not a dharma", as in 「若法性是有法、非無法者」 tr. "if dharma-nature were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0422c09〕. Jizang draws out of the first round the heading of eight instances (see Section VI).
The dharma of the person of nature · the person of nature. The sūtra text first gives 「若性人法是有法、非無法者」 tr. "if the dharma of the person of nature were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0423a05〕, listed alongside 「八人法、須陀洹法、斯陀含法、阿那含法、阿羅漢法、辟支佛法、佛法」 tr. "the dharma of the person of the eight, the dharma of the srota-āpanna, the dharma of the sakṛdāgāmin, the dharma of the anāgāmin, the dharma of the arhat, the dharma of the pratyekabuddha, and the Buddha-dharma"〔T25 0423a09〕; later it gives 「若性人是有法、非無法者」 tr. "if the person of nature were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0423a14〕, listed alongside the person of the eight up to the Buddha. 「性人法」 tr. "the dharma of the person of nature" names the dharma; 「性人」 tr. "the person of nature" names the person. These are two terms appearing in succession within one chapter, not a corruption of a single term. At these two places the sūtra explained reads 「性人」 tr. "the person of nature" as 「性地人」 tr. "the person at the stage of nature"; details in Section IV, the fifth item.
The vajra-like wisdom. 「若菩薩摩訶薩如金剛慧若是有法、非無法者」 tr. "if the vajra-like wisdom of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0423b01〕—this round alone does not conclude directly with surpassing, but takes knowing and cutting off, and omniscience of all kinds, as its fruit: 「以菩薩摩訶薩如金剛慧無法、非法，是故菩薩知一切結使及習無法、非法，得一切種智」 tr. "because the vajra-like wisdom of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is a non-existent dharma, not a dharma, therefore the bodhisattva knows that all fetters and their residual impressions are non-existent dharmas, not dharmas, and attains omniscience of all kinds"〔T25 0423b04〕. Jizang's division takes the passage from this sentence onward as the head of the section 「勝出之意」 tr. "the meaning of surpassing" (see Section VI).
The sixty kinds of adorned voice. 「若諸佛六十種莊嚴音聲是有法、非無法者」 tr. "if the sixty kinds of adorned voice of the Buddhas were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0423b15〕—only the number is given, and this chapter does not name them one by one: the number is complete but the list of items is missing. This section records that it is so, and does not force the names to be filled out from the lists of other sūtras.
III. Similes and Stories
The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa is renowned for its similes; the Treatise explanation in this chapter is not lengthy, yet the few similes it sets up all strike at the life-vein of the whole chapter—how it is that what surpasses is able to surpass.
The simile of the three persons crossing a perilous road (paired with the three vehicles). The celebrated simile of the whole chapter. Explaining Subhūti's praise, 「是摩訶衍有大力勢，破壞人、天世間已，能於中勝出」 tr. "this Mahāyāna has great strength and power; having broken the world of humans and gods, it is able to surpass it from within"〔T25 0423c03〕, the Treatise sets up a simile: 「譬如三人度惡道：一者、於夜逃遁，獨脫其身；二者、以錢求免；三者、如大王將大軍眾，摧破寇賊，舉軍全濟，無所畏難」 tr. "it is like three persons crossing a perilous road: the first flees by night and escapes alone with his own body; the second seeks release with money; the third is like a great king leading a great army, who crushes the bandits, brings the whole army across intact, and has nothing to fear"〔T25 0423c05〕. The three vehicles are paired with it in order—「如阿羅漢不能知一切總相、別相，亦不能破魔王，又不能降伏外道；厭老、病、死，直趣涅槃」 tr. "like the arhat, who cannot know all general marks and particular marks, nor defeat the Māra kings, nor subdue the outside paths; weary of old age, sickness, and death, he goes straight to nirvāṇa"〔T25 0423c08〕—this is the one who flees by night and escapes alone; 「如辟支佛入諸法實相，深於聲聞，少有悲心，以神通力化度眾生；能破煩惱，不能破魔人及外道」 tr. "like the pratyekabuddha, who enters the real mark of all dharmas more deeply than the śrāvaka, has a little compassion, and by the power of his supernormal powers transforms and liberates beings; he can defeat the afflictions, but cannot defeat Māra's people or the outside paths"〔T25 0423c10〕—this is the one who seeks release with money; 「如菩薩從初發心，於一切眾生起大慈悲，雖未得佛，於其中間利益無量眾生」 tr. "like the bodhisattva, who from the first arousing of the mind gives rise to great loving-kindness and compassion toward all beings, and, though he has not yet attained buddhahood, benefits immeasurable beings in the interval"〔T25 0423c12〕, 「決定知諸法實相、具足六波羅蜜故，破諸魔王及壞外道」 tr. "because he knows with certainty the real mark of all dharmas and fulfils the six perfections, he defeats the Māra kings and destroys the outside paths"〔T25 0423c14〕, 「斷煩惱習，具足一切種智，總相、別相，悉知悉了，成阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」 tr. "he cuts off the afflictions and their residual impressions, fulfils omniscience of all kinds, knows and understands completely the general marks and the particular marks, and accomplishes anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening"〔T25 0423c16〕—this is the great king leading the army, who crushes the bandits and brings all across intact. It concludes: 「三人雖俱免生死，然方便道各異」 tr. "though the three persons alike escape birth and death, their paths of skilful means differ"〔T25 0423c17〕; therefore the Mahāyāna is praised as 「摧破一切世間，勝出人、天、阿修羅上」 tr. "crushing all the world and surpassing humans, gods, and asuras, rising above them"〔T25 0423c19〕.
The simile of space containing and receiving. 「譬如虛空含受一切國土，而虛空故不盡」 tr. "just as space contains and receives all lands, and yet space is still not exhausted"〔T25 0423c20〕; the Mahāyāna is also like this: 「含受三世諸佛及諸弟子，摩訶衍亦不滿」 tr. "it contains and receives the Buddhas of the three times and all their disciples, and the Mahāyāna is still not full"〔T25 0423c21〕—this explains the praise at the start of the sūtra, 「如虛空受無量無邊阿僧祇眾生」 tr. "like space, it receives immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya beings"〔T25 0422a25〕.
The simile of the permanent mark of space. 「又如虛空常相故，無入相、無出相、無住相」 tr. "again, just as space, because of its permanent mark, has no mark of entering, no mark of leaving, and no mark of abiding"〔T25 0423c22〕; this vehicle is also like this: 「無未來世入處、無過去世出處、無現在世住處」 tr. "it has no place of entering in the future, no place of leaving in the past, and no place of abiding in the present"〔T25 0423c23〕; because the three times are refuted, the three times are equal. Like the preceding simile it takes space as the basis of comparison: the preceding simile takes space's containing and receiving without exhaustion, this simile takes its permanent mark without leaving or entering—one simile put to two uses.
Like an illusion, like a dream. The Treatise judges the three realms: 「是三界虛誑，如幻如夢，無明虛妄，因緣故有」 tr. "these three realms are false and deceptive, like an illusion, like a dream; through ignorance they are false; they exist by causes and conditions"〔T25 0424a03〕, 「因果無有定實，一切無常、破壞、磨滅，皆是空相」 tr. "cause and fruit have no fixed reality; all is impermanent, broken, and worn away—all is of the mark of emptiness"〔T25 0424a04〕. Here the simile of illusion and dream is no mere colouring set up in passing; it is the ground of the argument for surpassing—if the three realms and the vehicle were both fixed and real, their forces would be equal and they could not break one another; only because the three realms are like an illusion can they be crushed and surpassed.
IV. The Sūtra Passage Explained
The single Sūtra section cited in this treatise stands in continuity with Chapter 22, "Surpassing"〔T08 0261a17–0262c04〕, of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra translated by Kumārajīva of the Later Qin; its chapter title, 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經勝出品第二十二」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Chapter on Surpassing, the Twenty-second"〔T08 0261a17〕, is entirely identical in form, in name and in number, with that of this treatise. The sūtra's chapter "Surpassing" runs in all to a little over two thousand one hundred characters, and the single citation in this treatise is nearly equal to it in length—what the treatise cites is thus the whole of "Surpassing". Unlike the seven inserted sūtra citations of Chapter 2, "Recompense", it is, like Chapter 5, "Praise of the Perfections", a single complete sūtra citation.
From the opening sentence 「慧命須菩提白佛言」 tr. "the venerable Subhūti said to the Buddha" onward, the correspondence is throughout word for word or nearly word for word. A word-by-word check yields thirteen substantive variants. 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. Four of them corroborate one another with the collation notes at the end of this treatise's file (the third, the eighth, the twelfth, and the thirteenth); see each item and Section VIII.
First, in the list of names of the six perfections, T223 reads 「所謂六波羅蜜，檀那波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜」 tr. "namely the six perfections: the perfection of giving (dāna), the perfection of morality"〔T08 0261a26〕, and this treatise reads 「所謂六波羅蜜：檀波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜」 tr. "namely the six perfections: the perfection of giving (dān), the perfection of morality"〔T25 0422b02〕—the difference between the full form 「檀那」 tr. "dāna" and the abbreviated form 「檀」 tr. "dān". The same pattern appears twice more—T223 has 「若檀那波羅蜜是有法非無法者」 tr. "if the perfection of giving (dāna) were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T08 0261c13〕 and 「以檀那波羅蜜無法非法」 tr. "because the perfection of giving (dāna) is a non-existent dharma, not a dharma"〔T08 0261c15〕, while this treatise has 「若檀波羅蜜是有法、非無法者」 tr. "if the perfection of giving (dān) were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0422c17〕 and 「以檀波羅蜜無法、非法」 tr. "because the perfection of giving (dān) is a non-existent dharma, not a dharma"〔T25 0422c18〕. It is purely a difference of fuller and shorter transliteration, not a divergence of doctrine. The collation notes of the sūtra explained itself record 「檀那【大】＊，檀【聖】＊」 tr. "'dāna' in the Taishō (and likewise throughout); 'dān' in the Shōgozō (and likewise throughout)"—in the Shōgozō manuscript all three occurrences read 「檀」 tr. "dān", entirely agreeing with this treatise's abbreviated form.
Second, in the same list, for the perfection of meditation, T223 reads 「毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪那波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜」 tr. "the perfection of vigour, the perfection of meditation (dhyāna), prajñāpāramitā"〔T08 0261a28〕, and this treatise reads 「毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜」 tr. "the perfection of vigour, the perfection of meditation (dhyān), prajñāpāramitā"〔T25 0422b03〕: 「禪那」 tr. "dhyāna" against 「禪」 tr. "dhyān", the same pattern as the first item. In the restatement T223 has it again〔T08 0261c17〕, and this treatise again〔T25 0422c20〕.
Third, in the sentence on the dhāraṇī gates and the samādhi gates, T223 reads 「菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍，一切陀羅尼門、一切三昧門」 tr. "the Mahāyāna of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva: all the dhāraṇī gates and all the samādhi gates"〔T08 0261a29〕, without 「所謂」 tr. "namely"; this treatise reads 「菩薩摩訶薩摩訶衍，所謂一切陀羅尼門、一切三昧門」 tr. "the Mahāyāna of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, namely all the dhāraṇī gates and all the samādhi gates"〔T25 0422b05〕, with the two extra characters 「所謂」 tr. "namely". This treatise's collation notes at this point record that the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō texts all lack 「所謂」 tr. "namely" (Section VIII); T223's reading agrees with these texts and differs from the Taishō base text alone.
Fourth, impermanence as perception and impermanence as mark: T223 reads 「和合名字等，有一切無常想無法」 tr. "coming together, names, and the like; there is the perception of all as impermanent, a non-existent dharma"〔T08 0261b12〕, and this treatise reads 「和合名字等有，一切無常相、無法」 tr. "existing by coming together, by names, and the like, wholly of the mark of impermanence, a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0422b16〕—the difference between 「想」 tr. "perception" and 「相」 tr. "mark", a variant that differs at the level of doctrine; recorded side by side without judgement. This item and the Shōgozō's reading, in the Treatise explanation's 「總相」 tr. "general mark", of its 「相」 tr. "mark" as 「想」 tr. "perception" (Section VIII) belong to two different places; do not confuse them. The collation notes of the sūtra explained itself further record 「想【大】，相【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'perception' in the Taishō; 'mark' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace editions"—the four editions Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace read 「相」 tr. "mark", entirely agreeing with this treatise's reading.
Fifth, the person at the stage of nature and the person of nature: T223 reads 「若性地人是有法非無法者」 tr. "if the person at the stage of nature were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T08 0262a12〕 and 「以性地人無法非法」 tr. "because the person at the stage of nature is a non-existent dharma, not a dharma"〔T08 0262a14〕, and this treatise reads 「若性人是有法、非無法者」 tr. "if the person of nature were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0423a14〕 and 「以性人無法、非法」 tr. "because the person of nature is a non-existent dharma, not a dharma"〔T25 0423a15〕, two places in all—the difference between 「性地」 tr. "the stage of nature" as a compound and 「性」 tr. "nature" said alone, a difference of finer and coarser terminology; recorded side by side without judgement. The preceding 「性人法」 tr. "the dharma of the person of nature" is the same in both texts—T223 reads 「若性人法是有法非無法者」 tr. "if the dharma of the person of nature were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T08 0262a03〕, and this treatise〔T25 0423a05〕 does not differ. The collation notes of the sūtra explained itself record 「地【大】＊，〔－〕【聖】＊」 tr. "'stage' in the Taishō (and likewise throughout); absent in the Shōgozō (and likewise throughout)"—in the Shōgozō manuscript both occurrences lack the character 「地」 tr. "stage", entirely agreeing with this treatise's reading 「性人」 tr. "the person of nature".
Sixth, the dharma of the person of the eight and the person of the eight: in the restatement, T223 reads 「若八人法、須陀洹乃至佛是有法非無法者」 tr. "if the dharma of the person of the eight, the srota-āpanna, up to the Buddha were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T08 0262a16〕, and this treatise reads 「若八人、須陀洹乃至佛是有法、非無法者」 tr. "if the person of the eight, the srota-āpanna, up to the Buddha were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0423a17〕; T223 keeps the character 「法」 tr. "dharma", and this treatise omits it. At the earlier place where the names are listed, both texts read 「八人法、須陀洹法」 tr. "the dharma of the person of the eight, the dharma of the srota-āpanna" and so on, without difference. The collation notes of the sūtra explained itself record 「法【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'dharma' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō"—all five texts lack the character 「法」 tr. "dharma", entirely agreeing with this treatise's reading.
Seventh, at the first appearance of the sentence on the time from the arousing of the mind to the seat of awakening, T223 reads 「從初發心乃至道場，於其中間諸心若是有法非無法者」 tr. "from the first arousing of the mind up to the seat of awakening, if the minds in the interval were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T08 0262a25〕, and this treatise reads 「從初發心乃至道場，於其中間諸心，若當是有法、非無法者」 tr. "from the first arousing of the mind up to the seat of awakening, the minds in the interval, if they were to be an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0423a26〕; this treatise has one more character, 「當」 tr. "were to", a difference in a function word. The collation notes of the sūtra explained itself record 「若【大】，若當【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'if' in the Taishō; 'if were to' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace editions"—the four editions Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace read 「若當」 tr. "if were to", entirely agreeing with this treatise's reading.
Eighth, in the restatement of the same sentence, T223 reads 「以菩薩從初發心乃至道場，於其中間諸心無法非法」 tr. "because the bodhisattva's minds from the first arousing of the mind up to the seat of awakening, in the interval, are a non-existent dharma, not a dharma"〔T08 0262a27〕, still keeping 「於其中間」 tr. "in the interval"; this treatise reads 「以菩薩從初發心乃至道場諸心無法、非法」 tr. "because the bodhisattva's minds from the first arousing of the mind up to the seat of awakening are a non-existent dharma, not a dharma"〔T25 0423a28〕, omitting it. This treatise's collation notes record that below 「道場」 tr. "the seat of awakening" the Yuan and Ming editions have 「於其中間」 tr. "in the interval" (Section VIII); T223's reading agrees exactly with the Yuan and Ming editions and differs from the Taishō base text. The collation notes of the sūtra explained itself further record 「於其中間諸【大】，〔－〕【聖】」 tr. "'in the interval, the' in the Taishō; absent in the Shōgozō"—the Shōgozō manuscript of the sūtra explained omits it together with the character 「諸」 tr. "the"; the direction of omission agrees with this treatise, though its range is somewhat wider.
Ninth, in the sentence on the vajra-like wisdom, T223 reads 「如金剛慧是有法非無法者」 tr. "if the vajra-like wisdom were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T08 0262b02〕, and this treatise reads 「如金剛慧若是有法、非無法者」 tr. "the vajra-like wisdom, if it were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0423b02〕; this treatise has one more character, 「若」 tr. "if". The collation notes of the sūtra explained itself record 「是【大】，若是【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'were' in the Taishō; 'if were' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace editions"—the four editions Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace read 「若是」 tr. "if were", entirely agreeing with this treatise's reading.
Tenth, lands and worlds: a systematic substitution in four places in all. In the two sentences on radiance, T223 reads 「諸佛光明不能普照如恒河沙等國土」 tr. "the radiance of the Buddhas could not shine everywhere over lands like the sands of the Ganges in number"〔T08 0262b13〕 and 「諸佛能以光明普照如恒河沙等國土」 tr. "the Buddhas are able, by their radiance, to shine everywhere over lands like the sands of the Ganges in number"〔T08 0262b15〕, and this treatise reads 「諸佛光明不能普照恒河沙等世界」 tr. "the radiance of the Buddhas could not shine everywhere over worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges"〔T25 0423b12〕 and 「諸佛能以光明普照恒河沙等世界」 tr. "the Buddhas are able, by their radiance, to shine everywhere over worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges"〔T25 0423b14〕; in the two sentences on the voice, T223 reads 「不能以六十種莊嚴音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇國土」 tr. "they could not, with the sixty kinds of adorned voice, reach everywhere throughout immeasurable asaṃkhyeya lands in the ten directions"〔T08 0262b18〕 and 「諸佛能以六十種莊嚴音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇國土」 tr. "the Buddhas are able, with the sixty kinds of adorned voice, to reach everywhere throughout immeasurable asaṃkhyeya lands in the ten directions"〔T08 0262b20〕, and this treatise reads 「不能以六十種莊嚴音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇世界」 tr. "they could not, with the sixty kinds of adorned voice, reach everywhere throughout immeasurable asaṃkhyeya worlds in the ten directions"〔T25 0423b16〕 and 「諸佛能以六十種莊嚴音聲遍至十方無量阿僧祇世界」 tr. "the Buddhas are able, with the sixty kinds of adorned voice, to reach everywhere throughout immeasurable asaṃkhyeya worlds in the ten directions"〔T25 0423b19〕. In all four places T223 reads 「國土」 tr. "lands" and this treatise reads 「世界」 tr. "worlds": a consistent substitution, not a chance one. In the two sentences on radiance, T223 further has one more character, 「如」 tr. "like", above the sands of the Ganges. The substitution of 「國土」 tr. "lands" and 「世界」 tr. "worlds" belongs to the same cross-chapter pattern as 「三千大千國土／三千大千世界」 tr. "the three-thousand great-thousand lands / the three-thousand great-thousand world", noted in the apparatus to Chapter 2, "Recompense"; for words of this class the two texts each have a consistent translation practice of their own. Recorded side by side without judgement.
Eleventh, in the sentence on the Dharma wheel, T223 reads 「諸佛法輪若當是有法非無法者」 tr. "the Dharma wheel of the Buddhas, if it were to be an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T08 0262b22〕, and this treatise reads 「諸佛法輪若是有法、非無法者」 tr. "the Dharma wheel of the Buddhas, if it were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0423b20〕—here, on the contrary, T223 has 「當」 tr. "were to" and this treatise lacks it, the opposite direction from the seventh item: the presence or absence of function words follows no fixed rule. The collation notes of the sūtra explained itself record 「當【大】，〔－〕【元】」 tr. "'were to' in the Taishō; absent in the Yuan"—the Yuan edition lacks the character 「當」 tr. "were to", agreeing with this treatise's reading.
Twelfth, the character for "that which" after the remaining assemblies: in the restatement, T223 reads 「若梵及世間餘眾不能如法轉者」 tr. "if Brahmā and the remaining assemblies of the world could not turn it in accordance with the Dharma"〔T08 0262b26〕, without 「所」 tr. "that which"; this treatise reads 「若梵及世間餘眾所不能如法轉者」 tr. "if it were that which Brahmā and the remaining assemblies of the world could not turn in accordance with the Dharma"〔T25 0423b24〕, with 「所」 tr. "that which". This treatise's collation notes record that the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama-dera texts all lack this 「所」 tr. "that which" (Section VIII); T223's reading agrees with these texts and differs from the Taishō base text alone. At the earlier first occurrence of the sentence both texts have the character 「所」 tr. "that which", without difference. The collation notes of the sūtra explained itself further record 「不【大】，所不【宋】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'not' in the Taishō; 'that which … not' in the Song, Ming, and Palace editions"—the three editions of the sūtra explained, Song, Ming, and Palace, read 「所不」 tr. "that which … not", agreeing with the reading of this treatise's base text. Each of the two texts has an internal divergence over this character, and the two form precisely a mirror image.
Thirteenth, in the sentence on causing beings, T223 reads 「能令眾生於無餘涅槃中，已滅今滅當滅」 tr. "can cause beings to have been extinguished, to be extinguished, and to be going to be extinguished in nirvāṇa without remainder"〔T08 0262c02〕, and this treatise reads 「眾生於無餘涅槃中已滅、今滅、當滅」 tr. "beings have been extinguished, are being extinguished, and will be extinguished in nirvāṇa without remainder"〔T25 0423b29〕, without 「能令」 tr. "can cause". This treatise's collation notes record that above 「眾生」 tr. "beings" the Yuan and Ming editions have 「能令」 tr. "can cause" (Section VIII); T223's reading agrees exactly with the Yuan and Ming editions, the same pattern as the eighth item.
Among the thirteen, in four places—the third, the eighth, the twelfth, and the thirteenth—T223's readings all agree with texts outside the Taishō lineage and differ from the Taishō base text alone. An independent transmission and the collation notes of the various texts thus corroborate one another, and in these four places they form external, cross-textual supporting evidence, whose weight is offered for consideration when a critical edition decides. The first and the second concern fuller and shorter transliteration; the fourth and the fifth concern finer and coarser terminology; the rest are mostly the presence or absence of function words and differences of fuller and briefer wording. In every case each of the two texts reads coherently on its own; this section sets out their differences side by side and does not decide on either text.
V. The Prajñā Eye
The eye of this chapter lies in the reversal of the two characters 「勝出」 tr. "surpassing"—it surpasses all, not because there is something more, but precisely because it is a non-existent dharma. Its meaning can be summed up in four layers.
First, it surpasses because it is a non-existent dharma. The formula of the whole chapter first sets up the negative side—if the desire realm, up to beings, 「是有法、非無法」 tr. "is an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma", the Mahāyāna cannot surpass; then it sets up the positive side—because they are 「無法、非法」 tr. "a non-existent dharma, not a dharma", it surpasses. The Treatise explains why: 「以摩訶衍與三界相違，故能摧破勝出」 tr. "because the Mahāyāna is contrary to the three realms, it can crush them and surpass them"〔T25 0424a05〕, 「若三界定實、常、不虛妄，是摩訶衍不能摧破勝出。何以故？力等故」 tr. "if the three realms were fixed and real, permanent, and not false, this Mahāyāna could not crush them and surpass them. Why? Because their forces would be equal"〔T25 0424a06〕—when the existent wrestles with the existent, the forces are equal and neither can break the other; only because the empty and the illusory stand contrary can there be crushing. 「五眾、十二入、十八界、六觸生諸受亦如是」 tr. "the five aggregates, the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen elements, and the feelings born of the six contacts are also like this"〔T25 0424a08〕; 「以法性非有故，摩訶衍能得勝出世間」 tr. "because dharma-nature is not existent, the Mahāyāna is able to surpass the world"〔T25 0424a10〕. At the end of the chapter, the question and answer on the six destinies further makes clear the measure of surpassing—「六道中，三是善道，三是惡道。摩訶衍尚能破三善道勝出，何況惡道」 tr. "among the six destinies, three are good destinies and three are evil destinies. The Mahāyāna can break even the three good destinies and surpass them—how much more the evil destinies!"〔T25 0424b12〕.
Second, the unconditioned too is empty. The questioner raises the objection that suchness, dharma-nature, and the limit of reality 「是無為實法，名為實際，云何言無」 tr. "are unconditioned real dharmas, called the limit of reality—how can they be said to be non-existent?"〔T25 0424a13〕; the Treatise answers 「無為空故言無」 tr. "because the unconditioned is empty, it is said to be non-existent"〔T25 0424a14〕, and further cites the Buddha's words, 「離有為，無為法不可得；有為法實相即是無為法」 tr. "apart from the conditioned, unconditioned dharmas are unfindable; the real mark of conditioned dharmas is itself the unconditioned dharma"〔T25 0424a14〕. It further makes clear that suchness, dharma-nature, and the limit of reality are real, and that it is 「以人於法性取相起諍故」 tr. "because people grasp at marks in dharma-nature and give rise to disputes"〔T25 0424a16〕 that it then says there is no dharma-nature—sometimes saying existent, sometimes saying non-existent: 「各有因緣故無咎」 tr. "each has its causes and conditions, and so there is no fault"〔T25 0424a18〕. Thus the meaning of emptiness does not empty the conditioned only; it empties the clinging to the unconditioned as well, and yet does not destroy its being the real mark of conditioned dharmas.
Third, existence and non-existence are both spoken according to causes and conditions. The Treatise takes the perfection of giving as its example—「世間檀波羅蜜著故有，出世間檀波羅蜜無故空」 tr. "the worldly perfection of giving exists because of clinging; the world-transcending perfection of giving is empty because it is non-existent"〔T25 0424a19〕. To refute stinginess and greed it is said to exist; to refute wrong view it is said not to exist; for the sake of liberating beginners existence is spoken of; in the minds of the noble ones non-existence is spoken of—speaking of existence and speaking of non-existence, each follows what it treats, and neither has fixed reality. Pushed to its limit: 「如檀波羅蜜，乃至若眾生實有、非是無法，不應令強滅、入無餘涅槃」 tr. "as with the perfection of giving, so on up to: if beings really existed and were not non-existent dharmas, they ought not to be forcibly extinguished and made to enter nirvāṇa without remainder"〔T25 0424a22〕—the judgement of existence and non-existence is tied directly to the meaning of nirvāṇa and the liberation of beings; it is not a play of names and marks.
Fourth, because there are no beings to be extinguished, there is no fault. At the end of the sūtra it is made clear that beings too are a non-existent dharma, not a dharma, and so 「眾生於無餘涅槃中已滅、今滅、當滅」 tr. "beings have been extinguished, are being extinguished, and will be extinguished in nirvāṇa without remainder"〔T25 0423b29〕. The Treatise explains: 「若眾生實有者，佛不應令眾生入涅槃，永拔其根，此過於殺一身」 tr. "if beings really existed, the Buddha ought not to cause beings to enter nirvāṇa, uprooting them for ever—this would be worse than killing a single body"〔T25 0424b06〕; it is only 「以眾生顛倒心見我故，佛欲破其顛倒，說言涅槃，無眾生可滅，故無咎」 tr. "because beings, with inverted minds, see a self, the Buddha, wishing to break their inversion, speaks of nirvāṇa; there are no beings to be extinguished, and so there is no fault"〔T25 0424b08〕. Thus the emptiness of surpassing is not a sinking into annihilation—precisely because there is not one real being to be extinguished can the liberation of beings be without fault. 「有如是功德故，摩訶衍能勝出一切世間」 tr. "because it has such merits, the Mahāyāna can surpass all the world"〔T25 0424b09〕: here is where the eye of meaning of the whole chapter comes to rest.
VI. Divergent Readings of the Masters
The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa has, from the first, no tradition of a complete line-by-line commentary, and the citations and explanations of the ancient masters are, as a matter of fact, uneven in their coverage. The ancient masters' coverage of this chapter is precisely the reverse of that of Chapter 2, "Recompense"—Huiying's commentary on the treatise is lost for this chapter and does not cover it, while Jizang's commentary on the sūtra explained preserves a complete line-by-line section, which is the sole body of ancient-master parallel reading for this chapter. This section records how what he comments on corresponds to this chapter, and does not judge the relative merit of the various interpretations.
Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451), Fascicle 5, 「勝出品第二十二」 tr. "Chapter on Surpassing, the Twenty-second"〔X24 0251c20–0252c20〕, runs to over thirteen hundred characters; it is not merely a retrospective mention of the title, but a commentary corresponding to this chapter line by line. Its opening makes clear the position of this chapter as carrying on from the preceding one—「此下兩品有四章，第三稱歎摩訶衍，善吉第一作五問問摩訶衍，次第二佛一一答五問竟。今大眾聞佛答領解歡喜，故善吉為之作稱歎摩訶衍」 tr. "the two chapters from here on have four sections; the third is the praise of the Mahāyāna. Good Auspice first put five questions about the Mahāyāna; next, second, the Buddha finished answering the five questions one by one. Now the great assembly, hearing the Buddha's answers, has understood and rejoices, and therefore Good Auspice, on their behalf, praises the Mahāyāna"〔X24 0251c21〕—stating explicitly that this chapter carries on from Subhūti's five questions in "Going Forth and Arriving", which joins seamlessly with the opening of this treatise, 「者言：須菩提上以五事問摩訶衍，佛已答竟」 tr. "[One] says: above, Subhūti asked about the Mahāyāna by five matters, and the Buddha has finished answering"〔T25 0423c02〕.
Explaining the meaning of surpassing, he says 「故此乘微妙勝出人天修羅之上，與虗空高等，含受無量無邊眾生，無去無來，無過去未來現在，三世平等」 tr. "therefore this vehicle is subtle and wondrous, surpassing and rising above humans, gods, and asuras, equal in height to space, containing and receiving immeasurable, boundless beings, without going and without coming, without past, future, or present, the three times being equal"〔X24 0252a01〕 (the form of the character 「虗」 tr. "space" is as in that book), running almost point by point in parallel with the opening of this chapter's sūtra text. He sets up two senses of surpassing: 「言勝出二義：一者歎乘能摧破三界六道故勝，以勝出三界。二者三乘內出，三界為出。而大乘是中之勝，以無過不難，無德不修。二乘如不爾，斷惑不盡，集德不備，故劣也」 tr. "As for surpassing, there are two senses. First, the vehicle is praised as able to crush the three realms and the six destinies, and so it is superior, because it surpasses and goes out of the three realms. Second, within the three vehicles, going out of the three realms is going out; and the Great Vehicle is the superior among them, for there is no fault it does not repel and no virtue it does not cultivate. The two vehicles are not so: their cutting off of delusion is not complete and their gathering of virtue is not full; therefore they are inferior"〔X24 0252a19〕—this division into two senses is a framework Jizang sets up himself; the original text of this treatise does not show the names of these two divisions.
His general outline of the divisions says 「就文為二：第一、舉出等五義歎摩訶衍；第二、舉出生三世諸佛摩訶衍」 tr. "the text divides into two: first, praising the Mahāyāna by raising the five senses, such as going forth; second, raising the Mahāyāna that gives birth to the Buddhas of the three times"〔X24 0252a23〕, and he further makes clear where this chapter stands: 「今盡品述第一、勝出歎」 tr. "now the whole chapter states the first: the praise of surpassing"〔X24 0252b06〕—of the five sections expounded at length, this whole chapter states only the first, the praise of surpassing, and the remaining sections are in the following chapters. Within this first he further divides into three—「就第一、正述勝出歎中又三：第一、正述勝出；第二、勝出之意；第三、明利益」 tr. "within the first, the proper statement of the praise of surpassing, there are again three: first, the proper statement of surpassing; second, the meaning of surpassing; third, making clear the benefit"〔X24 0252b08〕—which corresponds point for point with the arc of this chapter's Treatise explanation (see Section I). From the first round of the sūtra text he draws out eight instances: 「今是第一勝出有為，云一句。一句例有八：一者有，二者不虗妄，三不實，四諦，五顛倒，六有常，七不壞，八非無法」 tr. "now this is the first, surpassing the conditioned, called one phrase. The one phrase has eight instances: first, existent; second, not false; third, not real; fourth, true; fifth, inverted; sixth, permanent; seventh, indestructible; eighth, not a non-existent dharma"〔X24 0252c03〕—the heading of eight instances is a logical analysis set up by Jizang; the original text of this treatise does not itself list these headings.
The four turning points of his divisions each join precisely with this chapter's sūtra text—「須菩提！若法性是有法下，第二、勝出無為」 tr. "below 'Subhūti! If dharma-nature were an existent dharma': second, surpassing the unconditioned"〔X24 0252c06〕, corresponding to the round at〔T25 0422c08〕 in this chapter; 「須菩提！若檀波羅蜜下，第三、明勝出大乘因果」 tr. "below 'Subhūti! If the perfection of giving': third, making clear the surpassing of the cause and fruit of the Great Vehicle"〔X24 0252c07〕, corresponding to the round at〔T25 0422c16〕; 「須菩提如金剛慧下，第二、明勝出之意」 tr. "below 'Subhūti, the vajra-like wisdom': second, making clear the meaning of surpassing"〔X24 0252c11〕, corresponding to the round at〔T25 0423b01〕; 「須菩提！諸佛為眾生轉法輪下，第三、明利益」 tr. "below 'Subhūti! The Buddhas turn the Dharma wheel for beings': third, making clear the benefit"〔X24 0252c13〕, corresponding to the passage at〔T25 0423b26〕—so this commentary of Jizang's indeed expounds Kumārajīva's translation sentence by sentence, and is not merely a general discussion. The commentary also preserves two doctrinal disputes, both interpretations of other schools which Jizang refutes. One interpretation holds that the Great Vehicle, though worldly, surpasses the world; Jizang answers 「今謂佛及龍樹不許作此解。既是有為，豈與空等？既是有，即應礙，何能容受？」 tr. "now we say that the Buddha and Nāgārjuna do not permit this interpretation. If it is conditioned, how could it be equal to space? If it is existent, it must obstruct—how could it contain and receive?"〔X24 0252a13〕; another interpretation says that all of this is dispelling from the standpoint of the real truth, and praise beyond its due, and Jizang answers 「今謂佛及論主不許也」 tr. "now we say that the Buddha and the treatise-author do not permit it"〔X24 0252a17〕. That these disputes exist is recorded side by side, without judging them.
Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791) is the only ancient commentary on this treatise, but only fragmentary fascicles survive. The coverage of the extant fascicles breaks off after Chapter 12, "The Meaning of the Phrase", and resumes only at Chapter 37, "Weighing the Relics"—the twenty-four chapters in between are wholly lost, and this chapter falls precisely within the gap, entirely uncovered; a search back through that book for 「勝出品」 tr. "Chapter on Surpassing" yields zero hits, consistent with the gap. This is neither evidence that he did not comment on this chapter, nor an entry that may be listed without substance; it simply records, according to fact, that the commentary is lost here.
As for the works under the names of Zhiyi, Zhanran, Kuiji, and Huizhao, searching back for the title 「勝出品」 tr. "Chapter on Surpassing" and for the sūtra sentences unique to this chapter yields zero hits in every case. Huilin's Sounds and Meanings of All the Scriptures has a section 「音大智度論一百卷」 tr. "sounds for the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa in one hundred fascicles"〔T54 0609c22〕, under which it gives entries fascicle by fascicle, but it has no entries for Fascicle 51—the words of this chapter receive no sound-glosses; the lack lies in that book's own choices and is not peculiar to this chapter. The Northern Song monk Weibai's Essentials of the Outline of the Great Canon, under its entry for "Surpassing", gives the summary 「超勝一切天人等法。如虛空等。含容包遍」 tr. "It surpasses all dharmas of gods, humans, and the like. Like space, equal. It contains, holds, and pervades"〔C056 0139a06〕—a single sentence raising the outline, with no interpretive development; it is merely recorded. In recent times, Dharma Master Yanpei's Lectures on the Śrīmālā Sūtra once cited the passage on the six perfections in this chapter; it is the writing of a recent author and by rule does not belong among the citations of the ancient masters; its existence is recorded, but it is not adopted.
VII. Cross-reading and Further Resonances
The meaning of this chapter has three lines of continuity with what comes before and after; all are recorded in this section, without fixing a reading.
First, the self-reference that carries on from the preceding and opens the following. The opening of the Treatise, 「者言：須菩提上以五事問摩訶衍，佛已答竟」 tr. "[One] says: above, Subhūti asked about the Mahāyāna by five matters, and the Buddha has finished answering"〔T25 0423c02〕, carries on directly from the answers to the five questions in the preceding chapter, "Going Forth and Arriving"; 「佛將欲順須菩提所歎而讚說」 tr. "the Buddha, about to follow what Subhūti praised, extols and speaks of it"〔T25 0423c26〕 and 「今略說摩訶衍相，然後廣述」 tr. "now the marks of the Mahāyāna are briefly stated, and afterwards they will be expounded at length"〔T25 0423c28〕 open the extended exposition of the following chapters—Jizang's statement that the whole chapter states only the first of the five sections (see Section VI) corresponds exactly to this self-reference of brief statement and extended exposition. That Fascicle 51 embraces both this chapter and "Containing and Receiving" is shown by the catalogue cited in Section I.
Second, the link to the eighteen emptinesses. This chapter's sūtra text briefly names the eighteen emptinesses with 「所謂內空乃至無法有法空」 tr. "namely inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas"〔T25 0422b08〕, and the formula section turns the formula upon them with 「若內空乃至無法有法空，是有法、非無法者」 tr. "if inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas were an existent dharma, not a non-existent dharma"〔T25 0422c25〕; throughout the chapter only the first and last names are given and the middle ones are abbreviated. The full list of the eighteen emptinesses and the explanation of each name are in Fascicle 31 of this treatise, "Explaining the Meaning of the Eighteen Emptinesses in the First Chapter"〔T25 0285b01〕; this chapter does not list the names itself, and this section records where they are found without filling them in.
Third, the outside citation of the Nāga King Sūtra. The question and answer at the end of the chapter cites 「《龍王經》中說龍得菩薩道」 tr. "in the Nāga King Sūtra it is said that a dragon attained the bodhisattva path"〔T25 0424b14〕 to challenge the division of the six destinies; the treatise-author answers with 「眾生無量無邊，龍得道者少」 tr. "beings are immeasurable and boundless; of dragons, those who attain the path are few"〔T25 0424b15〕, and further preserves the words of another view, 「大菩薩變化身教化故，作龍王身」 tr. "because great bodhisattvas teach and transform beings with transformation-bodies, they take the body of a dragon king"〔T25 0424b16〕, as the last sentence of the whole chapter. Which text the Nāga King Sūtra refers to, this chapter does not state in detail; its name is recorded, and no investigation is made on its behalf.
VIII. Witnesses and Editions
The base text of this chapter is Fascicle 51 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa〔T25 0422a19–0424b18〕; the collated text of the sūtra explained is Chapter 22, "Surpassing", of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra〔T08 0261a17–0262c04〕; the collated text of ancient-master commentary is Fascicle 5 of Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451), while the fragmentary fascicles of Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791) do not cover this chapter. The variant-reading notes follow the Taishō collation and concern differences between the Taishō base text and the Song, Yuan, and Ming editions, the Palace edition, the Shōgozō manuscript, and the Ishiyama text (the Ishiyama-dera manuscript). The collation notes at the end of the working base-text file number forty-one in all; this table selects and transcribes those that bear on chapter number, headings, terminology, and doctrine, and adds two items on chapter numbering that are obtainable only by reading the collation notes of the original file directly. The variant readings are preserved side by side, while the main text continues to follow the reading of the current base text.
Chapter numbering. Below the fascicle title of this chapter〔T25 0422a19〕, the collation notes record that the fascicle titles differ among the texts—the Palace edition reads 「大智度論釋卷第五十一釋第二十二品勝出品」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary, Fascicle Fifty-one, explaining the twenty-second chapter, the Chapter on Surpassing", the Shōgozō manuscript reads 「大智度經論卷第五十一釋第二十一品訖第二十二品」 tr. "Sūtra-Treatise of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty-one, explaining the twenty-first chapter through the twenty-second chapter", and the Ishiyama-dera manuscript reads 「摩訶般若波羅蜜品二十一勝出品」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā, Chapter Twenty-one, Chapter on Surpassing"; moreover the Ishiyama-dera manuscript does not divide the fascicle here. The Shōgozō and Ishiyama-dera manuscripts both title this chapter the twenty-first, one place off from the twenty-second of the Taishō, the Palace edition, and the sūtra explained, T223. The Tang Extended Chapter Register of the Buddhist Teaching of the Kaiyuan Era of the Great Tang, in recording the chapter list of the sūtra explained, likewise reads 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經勝出品第二十一」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Chapter on Surpassing, the Twenty-first"〔A097 0812a09〕—the three sources agree, so it is no accidental miswriting; it may be a different tradition of dividing and combining chapters. Recorded side by side without judgement, for deciding which numbering to take as the basis. This item is not included in the working base text's list of forty-one; it was obtained only by reading the collation notes of the original file directly, and is added to the record.
The separate note at the end of the fascicle in the Ishiyama-dera text. At the end of the chapter〔T25 0424b17〕, the collation notes record that the Ishiyama-dera manuscript has as its fascicle-end title 「大智度經論卷第五十二終」 tr. "Sūtra-Treatise of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty-two, end", below which come five further characters, 「釋廿一品竟」 tr. "explanation of the twenty-first chapter completed"—the Ishiyama-dera text itself titles this chapter the twenty-first chapter, which corroborates the numbering of the Shōgozō and Ishiyama-dera manuscripts in the preceding item; moreover, its fascicle division makes this Fascicle 52, differing from the Taishō's Fascicle 51: the Ishiyama-dera text's fascicle division runs one fascicle ahead of the Taishō. This item lies at the boundary where the title of Chapter 23 begins; it too is not included in the working base text's list, and is added to the record.
The author heading. For 「聖者龍樹造」 tr. "composed by the noble Nāgārjuna"〔T25 0422a21〕, the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace editions read 「龍樹菩薩造」 tr. "composed by the Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna"; the Shōgozō and Ishiyama-dera manuscripts do not carry this line at all.
The translator heading. For 「後秦龜茲國三藏鳩摩羅什譯」 tr. "translated by Kumārajīva, Tripiṭaka master of the kingdom of Kucha, of the Later Qin"〔T25 0422a22〕, the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace editions give the title and name as 「姚秦三藏法師」 tr. "Tripiṭaka Dharma master of the Yao Qin"; the Shōgozō and Ishiyama-dera manuscripts also lack this line entirely—the same pattern as the author line: the Shōgozō and Ishiyama-dera line does not carry the author and translator headings at the head of the fascicle.
Namely: present or absent. In 「所謂一切陀羅尼門」 tr. "namely all the dhāraṇī gates"〔T25 0422b05〕, the 「所謂」 tr. "namely" is lacking in all the texts Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō, and the sūtra explained, T223, also lacks it (Section IV, the third item)—the various texts agree with the independent transmission, and the two characters are unique to the Taishō base text. Recorded side by side without judgement.
In the interval, below the seat of awakening. In the restatement 「以菩薩從初發心乃至道場諸心無法、非法」 tr. "because the bodhisattva's minds from the first arousing of the mind up to the seat of awakening are a non-existent dharma, not a dharma"〔T25 0423a28〕, below 「道場」 tr. "the seat of awakening" the Yuan and Ming editions have the four characters 「於其中間」 tr. "in the interval", and the sūtra explained, T223, likewise has them (Section IV, the eighth item), while the Taishō base text lacks them. Recorded side by side without judgement.
The character for "that which" after the remaining assemblies. In the restatement 「若梵及世間餘眾所不能如法轉者」 tr. "if it were that which Brahmā and the remaining assemblies of the world could not turn in accordance with the Dharma"〔T25 0423b24〕, the 「所」 tr. "that which" is lacking in all the texts Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama-dera, and T223 also lacks it (Section IV, the twelfth item); the Taishō base text alone has it—the same pattern as the entry on "namely". Recorded side by side without judgement.
Can cause: present or absent. In 「眾生於無餘涅槃中已滅、今滅、當滅」 tr. "beings have been extinguished, are being extinguished, and will be extinguished in nirvāṇa without remainder"〔T25 0423b29〕, above 「眾生」 tr. "beings" the Yuan and Ming editions have the two characters 「能令」 tr. "can cause", and T223 likewise has them (Section IV, the thirteenth item), while the Taishō base text lacks them. Recorded side by side without judgement.
General mark and general perception. In the Treatise explanation's 「上總相說摩訶衍勝出」 tr. "above, the surpassing of the Mahāyāna was stated by its general mark"〔T25 0424a27〕, for the 「相」 tr. "mark" the Shōgozō manuscript reads 「想」 tr. "perception"; for the 「總」 tr. "general" on the same line, the Shōgozō manuscript further reads 「惱」 tr. "affliction". This 「相／想」 tr. "mark / perception" is a variant reading within the Treatise explanation and belongs to a different place from the 「無常想／無常相」 tr. "perception of impermanence / mark of impermanence" obtained by comparing T223 in the sūtra section (Section IV, the fourth item); the two must not be confused.