大智度論 無生品Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Non-arising

I. Structural Placement

Within the sequence in which the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa explains the Larger Sūtra, this chapter belongs to the section of the Commentary on the Remaining Chapters. It is tied to Fascicle 53 and occupies the whole of that one fascicle by itself—the fascicle head is titled 「大智度論釋無生品第二十六」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Non-arising, the Twenty-sixth"〔T25 0435c21〕, and it explains as a whole the chapter "Non-arising, the Twenty-sixth" of the Larger Sūtra〔T08 0270b17–0273b03〕. The preceding chapter, Chapter 25, "The Ten Non-existents", lies in Fascicle 52, and the following chapter, Chapter 27, "The Lord of the Gods", has already entered Fascicle 54. This chapter begins at〔T25 0435c21〕; its main text ends with 「取要言之，地動皆由說諸法實相，所謂般若波羅蜜。」 tr. "To put it in essentials: the shaking of the earth all comes from the teaching of the real mark of all dharmas, namely prajñāpāramitā."〔T25 0442b02〕, and it closes with the end-of-fascicle title 「大智度論卷第五十三」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty-three"〔T25 0442b04〕. Weibai of the Northern Song, in his Essentials of the Outline of the Great Canon, records this fascicle as 「釋般若中無生品義」 tr. "explaining the meaning of the Chapter on Non-arising in the Prajñā"〔C056 0185c07〕—one fascicle, one chapter—in agreement with these beginning and end points.

The preceding chapter alternates Sūtra and Treatise four times; this chapter increases that to six, and its number of Sūtra sections is the greatest among the chapters examined so far—the six Sūtra citations begin in turn at〔T25 0435c25〕〔T25 0436c01〕〔T25 0437b03〕〔T25 0438b22〕〔T25 0439b24〕〔T25 0440c24〕, and the six Treatise explanations begin in turn at〔T25 0436a24〕〔T25 0437a02〕〔T25 0437c15〕〔T25 0438c29〕〔T25 0440a22〕〔T25 0441b13〕. The whole chapter being long, the present reader's edition divides it into two parts: the First Part gathers Sūtra ①, Treatise ①, Sūtra ②, Treatise ②, Sūtra ③, Treatise ③, Sūtra ④, and Treatise ④ (0435c21–0439b23), and the Last Part gathers Sūtra ⑤, Treatise ⑤, Sūtra ⑥, and Treatise ⑥ (0439b24–0442b07). The dividing point lies at the boundary where the citation and explanation of Treatise ④ are exhausted and Sūtra ⑤ begins anew—the First Part ends with 「非但樂說、語言是無生，色乃至一切種智亦無所生。」 tr. "Not only eloquence and speech are non-arising; form, and so on up to omniscience of all kinds, is also without arising."〔T25 0439b22〕, and the Last Part begins with 「爾時，舍利弗語須菩提：『須菩提於說法人中，應最在上！』」 tr. "At that time Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘Among those who teach the Dharma, Subhūti ought to be the very highest!’"〔T25 0439b24〕.

The overall shape within the chapter: Sūtra ① opens with Śāriputra's three questions as a general heading—「何等是菩薩？何等是般若波羅蜜？何等是觀？」 tr. "What is a bodhisattva? What is prajñāpāramitā? What is contemplation?"〔T25 0435c26〕—and Treatise ① explains the reason for asking again and sets out glosses of the three words bodhisattva, prajñā, and contemplation〔T25 0436a24〕. Sūtra ② advances by three questions through three headings, 「不生」 tr. "not arising", 「不二」 tr. "non-duality", and 「入無二法數」 tr. "entering the count of non-dual dharmas"〔T25 0436c01〕, and Treatise ② distinguishes that the three meanings are one and the same while the gates of contemplation differ〔T25 0437a02〕. In Sūtra ③ Subhūti addresses the Buddha to make clear that all dharmas are non-arising and ultimately pure, and Śāriputra raises objections on the ground of the fruits of the path〔T25 0437b03〕; Treatise ③ sets forth the two kinds of contemplation of non-arising and the five kinds of awakening〔T25 0437c15〕. Sūtra ④ is the sixfold interrogation on 「生不生」 tr. "arising and not arising"〔T25 0438b22〕, and Treatise ④ sifts it by the four alternatives〔T25 0438c29〕. Sūtra ⑤ turns from 「無所依」 tr. "nothing relied upon" to the worldly and world-transcending six perfections〔T25 0439b24〕, and Treatise ⑤ makes clear the far path and the near path〔T25 0440a22〕. Sūtra ⑥ returns to the power of prajñāpāramitā, which the Buddha attests in person〔T25 0440c24〕, and Treatise ⑥ gathers in the whole chapter with the various causes and conditions of the shaking of the earth〔T25 0441b13〕. This arc broadly corresponds to Jizang's judgement of 「真無生」 tr. "true non-arising" and to his sequence of 「論無生五」 tr. "the five discussions of non-arising" (see Section VI).

The structure of speakers in this chapter has a type of its own. Throughout the chapter the axis is the exchange of questions and answers between Śāriputra and Subhūti—Śāriputra asks questions and raises objections in twenty-five places in all, Subhūti replies in thirty places in all, and the two occurrences of 「須菩提白佛言」 tr. "Subhūti said to the Buddha" are likewise only statements addressed to him—and only at the end of Sūtra ⑥ does the Buddha twice enter in person: 「爾時，佛讚須菩提言：『善哉！善哉！……』」 tr. "At that time the Buddha praised Subhūti, saying: ‘Excellent! Excellent! ……’"〔T25 0441a27〕 and 「佛告須菩提：『如我於此世界說般若波羅蜜……』」 tr. "The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Just as I teach prajñāpāramitā in this world ……’"〔T25 0441b06〕. These are the only two genuine words of the Buddha at the narrative level in the whole chapter. The treatise's words 「佛自說」 tr. "the Buddha himself states", by contrast, come in two types. Treatise ①'s 「佛此中自說因緣：『是人為佛道故修行，知一切諸法相亦不著。』」 tr. "Here the Buddha himself states the cause and condition: ‘This person practises for the sake of the Buddha path, knows the marks of all dharmas, and yet does not cling to them.’"〔T25 0436b14〕 cites words that in Sūtra ① actually come from Subhūti's mouth; it belongs to the general convention by which the treatise-author uses 「佛說」 tr. "the Buddha says" broadly to refer to the teaching of the sūtra. Treatise ⑥'s 「此中佛自說因緣，所謂我說般若波羅蜜」 tr. "Here the Buddha himself states the cause and condition, namely, ‘I teach prajñāpāramitā’"〔T25 0442a22〕 cites words that echo word for word the Buddha's own words to Subhūti in Sūtra ⑥〔T25 0441b06〕; it belongs to precise citation back. The two types are distinct, and each is assigned to its own place.

II. Terms Examined

Bodhisattva (in full, bodhi-sattva). The general answer of Sūtra ① establishes its meaning—「為阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，是人發大心，以是故名為菩薩」 tr. "for the sake of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi this person arouses the great mind; for this reason he is called a bodhisattva"〔T25 0435c28〕, and further 「知一切法、一切種相，是中亦不著」 tr. "he knows all dharmas and the marks of all kinds, and yet in them he does not cling"〔T25 0436a01〕. The treatise explains the word—「『菩提』有三種：有阿羅漢菩提，有辟支佛菩提，有佛菩提。無學智慧清淨無垢故，名為菩提」 tr. "‘Awakening’ is of three kinds: there is the awakening of the arhat, there is the awakening of the pratyekabuddha, and there is the awakening of the Buddha. Because the wisdom of one beyond training is pure and without stain, it is called awakening"〔T25 0436b05〕; here only the awakening of the Buddha is taken. 「薩埵」 tr. "sattva", in the language of Qin, is 'being'—「是眾生為無上道故，發心修行」 tr. "this being, for the sake of the unsurpassed path, arouses the mind and practises"〔T25 0436b10〕—and it is also called the great mind: 「是人發大心求無上菩提而未得，以是故名為『菩提薩埵』」 tr. "this person arouses the great mind and seeks unsurpassed awakening but has not yet attained it; for this reason he is called a ‘bodhisattva’"〔T25 0436b11〕. The Buddha is not called a bodhisattva, 「大心滿足故」 tr. "because his great mind is fulfilled"〔T25 0436b13〕. The treatise also sums it up itself—「略說菩薩義：先知諸法各各相，如地堅相，然後知畢竟空相；於是二種智慧中亦不著，但欲度眾生故」 tr. "To state the meaning of bodhisattva briefly: first he knows the particular marks of all dharmas, such as the mark of solidity of earth, and afterwards he knows the mark of ultimate emptiness; in these two kinds of wisdom he also does not cling, only because he wishes to carry beings across"〔T25 0436b16〕.

Separation (the gloss on prajñāpāramitā). Sūtra ① glosses prajñā directly by 「遠離」 tr. "separation"—「遠離故名般若波羅蜜。何等法遠離？遠離眾、界、入」 tr. "Because of separation it is called prajñāpāramitā. From what dharmas is there separation? Separation from the aggregates, the elements, and the sense-fields"〔T25 0436a07〕. The treatise sets out its sound-gloss—「『阿羅蜜』，秦言遠離。『波羅蜜』，秦言度彼岸。此二音相近，義相會，故以『阿羅蜜』釋『波羅蜜』」 tr. "‘Aluomi’ in the language of Qin is ‘separation’. ‘Pāramitā’ in the language of Qin is ‘crossing to the other shore’. These two sounds are close to each other and their meanings meet, so ‘aluomi’ is used to explain ‘pāramitā’"〔T25 0436b23〕—and settles its meaning—「如色中離色，離色即是自相空；『遠離』者，是『空』之別名」 tr. "as in form there is separation from form, and separation from form is the emptiness of specific marks; ‘separation’ is another name for ‘emptiness’"〔T25 0436b20〕, 「菩薩得般若波羅蜜，於一切法心皆遠離。所以者何？見一切諸法罪過故」 tr. "when the bodhisattva attains prajñāpāramitā, his mind is separated from all dharmas. Why is that? Because he sees the faults of all dharmas"〔T25 0436b21〕, and 「如禪波羅蜜能調伏人心，般若波羅蜜能令人遠離諸法」 tr. "just as dhyānapāramitā can tame a person's mind, prajñāpāramitā can make a person separate from all dharmas"〔T25 0436b27〕. Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra inherits and cites this gloss word for word (see Section VI).

Contemplation (the eightfold 'neither'). The third answer of Sūtra ① establishes its form—「觀色非常非無常、非樂非苦、非我非無我、非空非不空、非相非無相、非作非無作、非寂滅非不寂滅、非離非不離」 tr. "he contemplates form as neither permanent nor impermanent, neither pleasure nor suffering, neither self nor non-self, neither empty nor not empty, neither mark nor signless, neither action nor non-action, neither quiescent cessation nor not quiescent cessation, neither separated nor not separated"〔T25 0436a14〕—and from the five aggregates through the six perfections, the eighteen emptinesses, and the four foundations of mindfulness, up to omniscience of all kinds, all are set aside by these eight pairs. The treatise gathers it in with a single sentence—「『觀』者，不觀諸法常、無常等，如先說」 tr. "‘Contemplation’ means not contemplating dharmas as permanent, impermanent, and so on, as explained before"〔T25 0436b28〕.

Not arising · non-duality · the count of non-dual dharmas. The order of the three headings of Sūtra ②: 「色，色相空，色空中無色、無生，以是因緣故，色不生是非色」 tr. "Form: the mark of form is empty; in the emptiness of form there is no form and no arising; for this reason, form's not arising is not form"〔T25 0436c03〕; 「所有色，所有不二」 tr. "whatever form there is, is whatever non-duality there is"〔T25 0436c18〕, 「是一切法皆不合、不散，無色、無形、無對，一相，所謂無相」 tr. "all these dharmas neither come together nor disperse; they are without form, without shape, without resistance, of one mark, namely the signless"〔T25 0436c19〕; 「色不異無生，無生不異色，色即是無生，無生即是色」 tr. "form is not different from non-arising, non-arising is not different from form; form is itself non-arising, non-arising is itself form"〔T25 0436c26〕. The treatise distinguishes their boundaries—「破色二故言『不二』，破色生故言『無生』」 tr. "because it refutes the duality of form it says ‘non-duality’; because it refutes the arising of form it says ‘non-arising’"〔T25 0437a21〕, 「義雖同一空，上自相空，此是散空」 tr. "although the meaning is the same single emptiness, the one above is the emptiness of specific marks, and this is the emptiness of dispersal"〔T25 0437a23〕; and further 「義雖一，所入觀門異」 tr. "although the meaning is one, the gates of contemplation by which one enters differ"〔T25 0437a15〕, 「行者或先入無生觀門，後入不二」 tr. "the practitioner may first enter the gate of the contemplation of non-arising and afterwards enter non-duality"〔T25 0437a19〕; as to entering the count of non-dual dharmas—「色破散即是無生，不得更有無生。以是故，色即是入無二法數」 tr. "form broken up and dispersed is itself non-arising; there can be no further non-arising. For this reason, form is itself entering the count of non-dual dharmas"〔T25 0437a28〕.

Ultimate purity. The heading of Sūtra ③—「見色無生，畢竟淨故」 tr. "he sees form as non-arising, because of ultimate purity"〔T25 0437b04〕—runs from the five aggregates and self and person through the numbered dharmas to 「見凡夫、凡夫法無生」 tr. "he sees ordinary persons and the dharmas of ordinary persons as non-arising"〔T25 0437b12〕, and the Buddha and the Buddha-dharmas are all likewise. The treatise explains its stage—「是菩薩得無生忍時，滅諸煩惱，得菩薩道，入菩薩位，雖有煩惱氣，坐道場時乃盡，無所妨故畢竟淨」 tr. "when this bodhisattva attains the acceptance of non-arising, he extinguishes the afflictions, attains the bodhisattva path, and enters the bodhisattva position; although there remain traces of the afflictions, which are exhausted only when he sits at the seat of awakening, since they obstruct nothing, he is ultimately pure"〔T25 0437c19〕, and further 「『畢竟清淨』者，於柔順道畢竟清淨，非為佛道」 tr. "‘ultimate purity’ means ultimately pure with respect to the path of compliance, not with respect to the Buddha path"〔T25 0437c22〕, 「以眾生空、法空故，從見色無生畢竟淨」 tr. "because of the emptiness of beings and the emptiness of dharmas, from seeing form as non-arising there is ultimate purity"〔T25 0437c23〕.

The two kinds of contemplation of non-arising (compliant acceptance · the acceptance of non-arising). At the opening of Treatise ③ the treatise establishes this itself—「無生觀有二種：一者、柔順忍觀，二者、無生忍觀。前說無生是柔順忍觀，不畢竟淨；漸習柔順觀，得無生忍，則畢竟淨」 tr. "The contemplation of non-arising is of two kinds: first, the contemplation of compliant acceptance; second, the contemplation of the acceptance of non-arising. The non-arising spoken of before is the contemplation of compliant acceptance, which is not ultimately pure; practising the contemplation of compliance step by step, one attains the acceptance of non-arising, and then there is ultimate purity"〔T25 0437c15〕—the non-arising of the preceding chapter belongs to compliance, and the non-arising of this chapter belongs to acceptance; Jizang's explanation of the chapter name rests precisely on these two levels (see Section VI). Treatise ⑤ further matches these two acceptances with 「動」 tr. "moving" and 「出」 tr. "going forth" (see below).

The five kinds of awakening. A division of Treatise ③. First in general—「一者、柔順忍，二者、無生忍，及三種菩提。於三菩提中，過二而住第三菩提」 tr. "first, compliant acceptance; second, the acceptance of non-arising; together with the three kinds of awakening. Among the three awakenings, he passes beyond two and abides in the third awakening"〔T25 0438a01〕—and then five separate headings are opened: 「復有五種菩提：一者、名『發心菩提』」 tr. "Again, there are five kinds of awakening: the first is called ‘the awakening of arousing the mind’"〔T25 0438a03〕, 「於無量生死中發心為阿耨多羅三藐三菩提故，名為菩提——此因中說果」 tr. "because amid measureless births and deaths one arouses the mind for anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, it is called awakening—this is speaking of the fruit within the cause"〔T25 0438a03〕; the awakening of subduing the mind, 「折諸煩惱，降伏其心，行諸波羅蜜」 tr. "breaking the afflictions, subduing one's mind, practising the perfections"〔T25 0438a05〕; the awakening of illumination, 「觀三世諸法本末總相、別相，分別籌量，得諸法實相，畢竟清淨，所謂般若波羅蜜相」 tr. "contemplating the general marks and specific marks, root and branch, of the dharmas of the three times, discriminating and weighing them, one attains the real mark of all dharmas, ultimately pure, namely the mark of prajñāpāramitā"〔T25 0438a07〕; the awakening of going forth and arriving, 「於般若波羅蜜中得方便力故，亦不著般若波羅蜜」 tr. "because within prajñāpāramitā one attains the power of skilful means, one also does not cling to prajñāpāramitā"〔T25 0438a09〕, 「滅一切煩惱，見一切十方諸佛，得無生法忍，出三界，到薩婆若」 tr. "one extinguishes all afflictions, sees all the Buddhas of the ten directions, attains the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, goes forth from the three realms, and arrives at sarvajñā"〔T25 0438a10〕; unsurpassed awakening, 「坐道場，斷煩惱習，得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」 tr. "sitting at the seat of awakening, one cuts off the residual habits of the afflictions and attains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi"〔T25 0438a12〕. Jizang inherits these five divisions, listing their names one by one; where this treatise has 「出到」 tr. "going forth and arriving" he has 「出倒」 tr. "going forth from inversion", and where it has 「明」 tr. "clarity" he has 「明心」 tr. "clarity of mind"; the discrepancies of wording are given in Sections VI and VIII.

Nothing relied upon. The heading of Sūtra ⑤—「色性常空，不依內、不依外、不依兩中間」 tr. "the nature of form is always empty; it does not rely on the inner, does not rely on the outer, does not rely on the middle between the two"〔T25 0439b27〕—and so it is throughout the numbered dharmas. The treatise explains—「一切法無所依止，無所依止故無障無礙」 tr. "all dharmas have nothing they rely upon; because they have nothing they rely upon, there is no hindrance and no obstruction"〔T25 0440b18〕, 「內法空故，色不依止內；外法空故，色不依止外」 tr. "because inner dharmas are empty, form does not rely on the inner; because outer dharmas are empty, form does not rely on the outer"〔T25 0440b20〕, 「中間無所有故，色不依止中間」 tr. "because in the middle there is nothing at all, form does not rely on the middle"〔T25 0440b21〕.

Worldly · world-transcending (the three marks · purity in three parts). Sūtra ⑤ judges that each of the six perfections is of two kinds—「有世間檀波羅蜜，有出世間檀波羅蜜」 tr. "there is worldly dānapāramitā, and there is world-transcending dānapāramitā"〔T25 0439c12〕. The mark of the worldly—「我相、他相、施相。著是三相布施，是名世間檀波羅蜜」 tr. "the mark of self, the mark of the other, the mark of the gift. Giving while clinging to these three marks is called worldly dānapāramitā"〔T25 0439c26〕, 「於世間中不動不出」 tr. "within the world it neither moves nor goes forth"〔T25 0439c28〕; the mark of the world-transcending—「所謂三分清淨」 tr. "namely, purity in three parts"〔T25 0439c29〕, 「我不可得，不見受者，施物不可得亦不望報」 tr. "the self is unfindable, he does not see a receiver, the thing given is unfindable, and he does not look for a reward"〔T25 0440a01〕, 「於世間中能動、能出」 tr. "within the world it can move and can go forth"〔T25 0440a07〕. The treatise matches it with the two acceptances—「動者，柔順忍；出者，無生法忍。聲聞法中，動者，學人；出者，無學」 tr. "Moving is compliant acceptance; going forth is the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. In the Dharma of the śrāvakas, moving is the one in training; going forth is the one beyond training"〔T25 0440c10〕.

The far path · the near path (the bodhisattva path · the path of awakening). The judgement of Treatise ⑤—「遠道，所謂六波羅蜜菩薩道也；近道，所謂三十七品菩提道也」 tr. "the far path is the bodhisattva path of the six perfections; the near path is the path of awakening of the thirty-seven limbs"〔T25 0440c16〕; its reason—「六波羅蜜中布施、持戒等雜，故遠」 tr. "among the six perfections, giving, keeping the precepts, and the rest are mixed, therefore distant"〔T25 0440c18〕, 「三十七品但有禪定、智慧，故近」 tr. "the thirty-seven limbs have only meditative concentration and wisdom, therefore near"〔T25 0440c19〕; and it further sums up its extent—「從初發意乃至金剛三昧」 tr. "from the first arousing of intent up to the vajra samādhi"〔T25 0440c22〕 is all the path of awakening.

The thought of great compassion · the thought of ultimate emptiness. Sūtra ⑥—「菩薩道者，救一切眾生故，心不捨一切眾生，以無所得故」 tr. "the bodhisattva path: because he rescues all beings, his mind does not abandon any being, because there is nothing to be attained"〔T25 0441a06〕—he is never apart from the thought of great compassion. Treatise ⑥ joins the two and settles them—「無所得空、畢竟空，名異而義一」 tr. "the emptiness of nothing to be attained and ultimate emptiness differ in name but are one in meaning"〔T25 0441c29〕, 「不可得空在初，畢竟空在後；以畢竟空大故，生悲亦大」 tr. "the emptiness of the unfindable comes first and ultimate emptiness comes after; because ultimate emptiness is great, the compassion that arises is also great"〔T25 0442a01〕; it cites a sūtra as proof—「大悲，如《阿差末經》中說有三種悲：眾生緣、法緣、無緣。無緣悲從畢竟空生」 tr. "Great compassion: as the Akṣayamati Sūtra says, there are three kinds of compassion: with beings as object, with dharmas as object, and without object. Compassion without object arises from ultimate emptiness"〔T25 0442a02〕; and the pivot of its answer to the objection—「眾生空故，畢竟空念亦空」 tr. "because beings are empty, the thought of ultimate emptiness is also empty"〔T25 0441c20〕.

III. Similes and Stories

The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa is renowned for its similes. In this chapter the similes lie mostly in the treatise layer: in explaining the repeated questions, the practice of contemplation, and the virtues of teaching the Dharma, it generally uses worldly things as similes, and at the close it again shows the power of prajñā by the simile of the ocean and the simile of medicine.

The simile of the great tree (citing back the preceding chapter). The treatise answers why the three meanings are asked again—「先已答大樹喻，非一斫可斷；是事難，故更問」 tr. "the answer was given before by the simile of the great tree, which cannot be cut down by a single blow; this matter is difficult, therefore it is asked again"〔T25 0436a25〕—and so the preceding chapter's simile of the deep-rooted great tree is cited back here in a single sentence: the bodhisattva's emptiness is not attained by one telling, and asking again is exactly a way of putting more force into the axe.

The simile of the pure, cool, lovely pool. 「諸佛斷法愛，不立經書，亦不莊嚴言語」 tr. "the Buddhas have cut off love of dharma; they do not set up scriptures and books, nor do they adorn their words"〔T25 0436a29〕, 「但為拯濟眾生，隨應度者說」 tr. "only to rescue beings, they speak according to those who are to be carried across"〔T25 0436b01〕, 「如大清涼美池，無量眾生前後來飲，各飽而去」 tr. "like a great, pure, cool, lovely pool, to which measureless beings come one after another to drink, and each leaves satisfied"〔T25 0436b02〕—those who understood at the earlier assembly leave, and those who come later and have not yet heard ask; to speak again is not repetition. Jizang inherits and uses this simile (see Section VI).

The simile of removing the privy to build a house. The treatise explains 「色無生為非色」 tr. "form's non-arising is not form"—「如有人破色令空，猶存本色想」 tr. "as when someone breaks up form and makes it empty, yet still keeps the perception of the original form"〔T25 0437a09〕, 「譬如除廁作舍，今雖無廁，猶有不淨想。若能知廁本無，幻化所作，則無廁想」 tr. "just as when a privy is removed and a house is built: although there is now no privy, there is still the perception of impurity. If one can know that the privy was originally non-existent, made by illusory conjuration, then there is no perception of a privy"〔T25 0437a10〕—to break up form yet keep the perception of form is like removing the privy yet keeping the perception of the privy; only when one knows that form is from the first of itself non-arising is there no perception left to keep.

The simile of small worldly affairs. 「若菩薩生難心、苦心，則不能度一切眾生。如世間小事，心難以為苦，猶尚不成，何況成佛道！」 tr. "If a bodhisattva gives rise to a mind of difficulty or a mind of suffering, he cannot carry all beings across. Even in small worldly affairs, if the mind finds them hard and takes them as suffering, they still do not get done—how much less the accomplishing of the Buddha path!"〔T25 0438b03〕

The perception of father and mother, children, and one's own self. 「成因緣者，所謂大慈大悲心，於眾生如父母、兒子、己身想。何以故？父母、兒子、己身，自然生愛，非推而愛也」 tr. "The accomplishing cause and condition is the mind of great kindness and great compassion, which regards beings with the perception of father and mother, children, and one's own self. Why is that? Toward father and mother, children, and one's own self, love arises naturally; one does not love them by reasoning"〔T25 0438b05〕—and at the end it gathers this in with the matter of labouring at one's work—「如人為自身及為父母、妻子，勤身修業，不以為苦；若為他作，則無歡心」 tr. "as when a person labours at his work for his own sake and for the sake of his father and mother, wife and children, and does not take it as suffering; but if he works for others, he has no gladness in it"〔T25 0438b16〕.

The simile of illusion and dream. Treatise ④ concludes the four alternatives on arising and not arising—「是生如幻、如夢，從虛誑法生，應離、應不取相」 tr. "this arising is like an illusion, like a dream; it arises from false and deceptive dharmas; one should separate from it and should not grasp its marks"〔T25 0439b05〕, and further 「若世諦虛誑可有生，生如幻化」 tr. "if in worldly truth, false and deceptive, there can be arising, the arising is like an illusory conjuration"〔T25 0439b09〕.

The simile of the wind moving in space. 「舍利弗見須菩提隨所問皆能答，如風行空中，無所罣礙」 tr. "Śāriputra sees that Subhūti can answer whatever is asked, like the wind moving in space, with nothing to obstruct it"〔T25 0440b08〕.

The simile of the skilled craftsman and the one-sided specialist. 「譬如巧師多有所能，所能多故，普不精悉」 tr. "just as a skilled craftsman is able in many things, and because he is able in many things he is not thoroughly expert in all of them"〔T25 0440b04〕, 「如有人偏能一事，則必盡其美」 tr. "as when someone is able in one thing alone, he is sure to bring it to its full excellence"〔T25 0440b05〕—Pūrṇa is able in many things but not thoroughly expert, while Subhūti is expert solely in the meaning of emptiness, and so surpasses him in teaching emptiness.

The simile of the old and sick person. 「譬如老病人依恃他力，能行、能立」 tr. "just as an old and sick person, depending on the strength of others, can walk and can stand"〔T25 0440c06〕, 「施者離實智慧、心力薄少故依止」 tr. "the giver is apart from real wisdom and his strength of mind is thin and slight, therefore he relies on something"〔T25 0440c07〕—giving that relies on something is exactly the mark of worldly dāna.

The simile of clearing the thorns to open the road. 「『淨』者名為開；如去道中荊棘，名為開道」 tr. "‘Purifying’ means opening; as when the thorns in the road are removed, it is called opening the road"〔T25 0440c02〕—the 「淨」 tr. "purifying" of purifying the bodhisattva path is glossed as opening the road.

The simile of the great ocean and the many streams. Prajñā can receive all wholesome dharmas—「如大海能受眾川萬流」 tr. "just as the great ocean can receive the many rivers and ten thousand streams"〔T25 0441b26〕.

The simile of the croton seed. 「譬如和合下藥，巴豆最有力；般若波羅蜜亦如是，雖與餘波羅蜜合，而破諸煩惱、拔邪見、捨戲論，般若波羅蜜力最勝」 tr. "just as when a purgative medicine is compounded, the croton seed is the most powerful; prajñāpāramitā is also like this: although it is joined with the other perfections, in breaking the afflictions, uprooting wrong views, and abandoning idle discourse, the power of prajñāpāramitā is the most excellent"〔T25 0441c02〕—the most powerful among medicines is a simile for the most honoured among the perfections.

IV. The Sūtra Passage Explained

The six Sūtra sections cited by this treatise continue from the chapter "Non-arising, the Twenty-sixth"〔T08 0270b17–0273b03〕 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra translated by Kumārajīva of the Later Qin. In the sūtra explained this chapter lies in its Fascicle 8, immediately after the chapter "The Ten Non-existents, the Twenty-fifth" and before the chapter "Asking about Abiding, the Twenty-seventh"; its chapter title reads directly 「無生品第二十六」 tr. "Chapter on Non-arising, the Twenty-sixth"〔T08 0270b17〕, and its chapter name and chapter number are wholly identical in form and number with this treatise. This 「一致」 tr. "agreement" was obtained by checking in both directions: within the boundary of the chapter title of the sūtra explained there is only the recursive mark of the eight characters beginning 「摩訶般若」 tr. "Mahāprajñā" set at the head of the title〔T08 0270b17〕, and for the three characters 「無生品」 tr. "Chapter on Non-arising" the editions record no variant; in the collation notes to this treatise's chapter-and-fascicle title, by contrast, there is the variant by which the four editions Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace title it 「無生三觀品」 tr. "Chapter on the Three Contemplations of Non-arising", and the Ming edition itself notes 「經作無生品」 tr. "the sūtra has 'Chapter on Non-arising'", proving of itself that the chapter name of Kumārajīva's original translation was only the three characters 「無生品」 tr. "Chapter on Non-arising", and that 「三觀」 tr. "three contemplations" belongs to a later addition of the nature of a structural division (the note texts are detailed in Section VIII). Thus the transmission of the chapter name is stable in both works, and the type of paired titles 「等空」 tr. "equal to space" and 「含受」 tr. "containing and receiving" recorded in the two preceding chapters is not seen in this chapter.

The lack of synchrony, within the currently transmitted electronic canon of the sūtra explained, between the internal numbering of the chapter list and the chapter names as titled—a type recorded in the preceding chapter—continues in this chapter: the one numbered twenty-six is titled 「25 十無品」 tr. "25 The Ten Non-existents", the one numbered twenty-seven is titled 「26 無生品」 tr. "26 Non-arising" (that is, this chapter), and the one numbered twenty-eight is titled 「27 問住品」 tr. "27 Asking about Abiding". The internal numbering always counts one chapter more than the titled chapter number, and it has still not come into step by the next chapter; this is recorded as it is.

The whole of this chapter in the sūtra explained is almost equal in length to this treatise's six Sūtra citations—counting Chinese characters only, the sūtra cited by this treatise has three thousand nine hundred and seventy-one characters, and the sūtra explained has three thousand nine hundred and ninety-six—so what the treatise cites is the whole of "Non-arising", inserted in six Sūtra sections, each followed by its 【論】 explanation. Checking word for word yields seventy-five places of divergence, which are grouped into sixteen classes of substantive variant readings: nine classes correspond directly to this treatise's own collation notes and form two-way crossings; two classes rest entirely on the sūtra explained's own collation notes, which prove the matter in reverse; three classes have the notes on both sides agreeing pair by pair, forming four-way crossings; one class has notes on both sides that cross but do not fully agree; and one class belongs to a parallel pattern. The two texts each form their own text and are not errors of transcription; they are recorded side by side without judgement, for the determination of the final text; the original texts of the individual collation notes are given together in Section VIII.

First, the presence or absence of the character 'as'. The sūtra explained reads 「須菩提語舍利弗：『汝所問：何等是菩薩？』」 tr. "Subhūti said to Śāriputra: ‘You asked: what is a bodhisattva?’"〔T08 0270b20〕, without 「如」 tr. "as"; this treatise reads 「須菩提語舍利弗：『如汝所問：何等是菩薩？』」 tr. "Subhūti said to Śāriputra: ‘As you asked: what is a bodhisattva?’"〔T25 0435c27〕, with it. This treatise's collation note—「如【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】【石】」 tr. "'as' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama"〔T25 0435c28〕—the six editions agree in lacking 「如」 tr. "as", fully agreeing with the reading of the sūtra explained; the Taishō alone has it. This is the first instance in this chapter of six editions agreeing.

Second, 'ordinary person' (fanfu) and 'ordinary person' (fanren). The sūtra explained reads 「見凡人凡人法無生」 tr. "he sees ordinary persons and the dharmas of ordinary persons as non-arising"〔T08 0271a28〕; this treatise reads 「見凡夫、凡夫法無生」 tr. "he sees ordinary persons and the dharmas of ordinary persons as non-arising"〔T25 0437b12〕. This treatise's collation notes—「凡夫凡夫【大】，凡人乃至見一切種智無生畢竟淨故見凡人【聖】」 tr. "'ordinary persons (fanfu), ordinary persons (fanfu)' in the Taishō; 'ordinary persons (fanren) … up to seeing omniscience of all kinds as non-arising, because of ultimate purity, seeing ordinary persons (fanren)' in the Shōgozō"〔T25 0437b12〕 and 「凡夫【大】＊，凡人【宋】【元】【明】【宮】＊」 tr. "'ordinary person (fanfu)' in the Taishō (recurring); 'ordinary person (fanren)' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace (recurring)"〔T25 0437b12〕—the four editions Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace read 「凡人」 tr. "ordinary person (fanren)", fully agreeing with the reading of the sūtra explained; the Shōgozō note also involves a displacement of the passage, and is recorded alongside.

Third, the presence or absence of the character 'now'. The sūtra explained reads 「今不應得須陀洹須陀洹果」 tr. "now one should not attain srota-āpanna and the fruit of srota-āpanna"〔T08 0271b05〕, with 「今」 tr. "now"; this treatise reads 「不應得須陀洹、須陀洹果」 tr. "one should not attain srota-āpanna and the fruit of srota-āpanna"〔T25 0437b17〕, without it. This treatise's collation note—「不【大】，今不【元】【明】」 tr. "'not' in the Taishō; 'now not' in the Yuan and Ming"〔T25 0437b17〕—the two editions Yuan and Ming have 「今」 tr. "now", fully agreeing with the reading of the sūtra explained.

Fourth, the presence or absence of 'within the dharma of non-arising'. The sūtra explained reads 「我亦不欲令菩薩作難行為眾生受種種苦」 tr. "nor do I wish to make the bodhisattva do difficult practices and undergo all kinds of suffering for beings"〔T08 0271b19〕, lacking, after 「令」 tr. "make", 「無生法中」 tr. "within the dharma of non-arising"; this treatise reads 「我亦不欲令無生法中菩薩作難行、為眾生受種種苦」 tr. "nor do I wish to make the bodhisattva within the dharma of non-arising do difficult practices and undergo all kinds of suffering for beings"〔T25 0437c02〕, with it. This treatise's collation note—「無生法中【大】，〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'within the dharma of non-arising' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T25 0437c02〕—the three editions lack these four characters, fully agreeing with the reading of the sūtra explained.

Fifth, the presence or absence of the character 'this'. The sūtra explained reads 「如是能利益無量阿僧祇眾生，用無所得故」 tr. "in this way he can benefit measureless asaṃkhyeya beings, by means of there being nothing to be attained"〔T08 0271b24〕, without 「是」 tr. "this"; this treatise in the same sentence reads 「是用無所得故」 tr. "this is by means of there being nothing to be attained"〔T25 0437c08〕, with it. This treatise's collation note—「是【大】，〔－〕【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'this' in the Taishō; absent in the Palace and Shōgozō"〔T25 0437c08〕—the two editions Palace and Shōgozō lack 「是」 tr. "this", fully agreeing with the reading of the sūtra explained. Further, for the character 「用」 tr. "by means of" the sūtra explained has its own note—「用【大】，以【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'by means of' (yong) in the Taishō; 'by means of' (yi) in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace"〔T08 0271b25〕—the four editions read 「以」 tr. "by means of (yi)"; that side wavers of itself, and this is recorded alongside.

Sixth, the presence or absence of the character 'dharma' (two occurrences). The sūtra explained reads 「我亦不欲令無生中佛得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，亦不欲令無生中轉法輪」 tr. "nor do I wish that within non-arising the Buddha attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, nor do I wish that within non-arising the Dharma wheel be turned"〔T08 0271b29〕, lacking in both places, after 「無生」 tr. "non-arising", 「法」 tr. "dharma"; this treatise reads 「我亦不欲令無生法中佛得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，亦不欲令無生法中轉法輪」 tr. "nor do I wish that within the dharma of non-arising the Buddha attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, nor do I wish that within the dharma of non-arising the Dharma wheel be turned"〔T25 0437c12〕, with it in both. This treatise's collation notes—「法【大】，〔－〕【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'dharma' in the Taishō; absent in the Palace and Shōgozō"〔T25 0437c12〕 and 「法【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'dharma' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T25 0437c13〕—the lack of 「法」 tr. "dharma" fully agrees with the reading of the sūtra explained, the latter with five editions in agreement. Further, below it, 「亦不欲令以無生法得道」 tr. "nor do I wish that the path be attained by the dharma of non-arising" is the same text in both〔T25 0437c14〕〔T08 0271c02〕, yet the sūtra explained's collation note 「法【大】，法中【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'dharma' in the Taishō; 'within the dharma' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace"〔T08 0271c03〕—the four editions all read 「法中」 tr. "within the dharma", drawing toward the form 「無生法中」 tr. "within the dharma of non-arising"; the tendencies of addition and omission on the two sides show in each other, and this is recorded alongside.

Seventh, the position of the character 'and'. The sūtra explained reads 「諸無生法、無生相及樂說語言」 tr. "the non-arising dharmas, the mark of non-arising, and eloquence and speech"〔T08 0272a02〕, with 「及」 tr. "and" appearing once and placed later; this treatise reads 「諸無生法及無生相，樂說及語言」 tr. "the non-arising dharmas and the mark of non-arising, eloquence and speech"〔T25 0438c19〕, with 「及」 tr. "and" appearing twice and placed in the middle. This treatise's collation note—「及【大】，〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'and' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T25 0438c19〕—the three editions all lack it; the sūtra explained's collation note—「及樂說【大】，樂說及【宮】」 tr. "'and eloquence' in the Taishō; 'eloquence and' in the Palace"〔T08 0272a02〕—the Palace edition's order 「樂說及」 tr. "eloquence and" happens to agree with this treatise's 「樂說及語言」 tr. "eloquence and speech". Both sides have notes that cross but do not fully agree: a partial two-way case.

Eighth, tanna and tan, channa and chan. In the sūtra explained, within the bounds of this chapter the full form 「檀那波羅蜜」 tr. "dānapāramitā (full transliteration)" appears twenty-three times in all, and 「禪那波羅蜜」 tr. "dhyānapāramitā (full transliteration)" three times—「有世間檀那波羅蜜，有出世間檀那波羅蜜」 tr. "there is worldly dānapāramitā, and there is world-transcending dānapāramitā"〔T08 0272b01〕; this treatise's corresponding places uniformly use the abbreviated form—「有世間檀波羅蜜，有出世間檀波羅蜜」 tr. "there is worldly dānapāramitā, and there is world-transcending dānapāramitā"〔T25 0439c12〕. This is purely a matter of fuller or briefer transliteration, continuing the same cross-chapter pattern of the preceding several chapters. Yet the sūtra explained's own collation note—「那【大】＊，〔－〕【聖】＊」 tr. "'na' in the Taishō (recurring); absent in the Shōgozō (recurring)"〔T08 0272b01〕—recurs through the passage fourteen times in all; the Shōgozō consistently omits 「那」 tr. "na" in this passage, and its reading fully agrees with this treatise's form: within the parallel there is again self-proof on one side.

Ninth, 'is called' and 'is'. The sūtra explained reads 「尸羅波羅蜜有所依是名世間尸羅波羅蜜，無所依是為出世間尸羅波羅蜜」 tr. "śīlapāramitā that relies on something is called worldly śīlapāramitā; that which relies on nothing is world-transcending śīlapāramitā"〔T08 0272b29〕, using 「名」 tr. "is called" in the first clause; this treatise reads 「尸羅波羅蜜有所依，是為世間尸羅波羅蜜；無所依，是為出世間尸羅波羅蜜」 tr. "śīlapāramitā that relies on something is worldly śīlapāramitā; that which relies on nothing is world-transcending śīlapāramitā"〔T25 0440a08〕, using 「為」 tr. "is" in both clauses. This treatise has no collation note here; the sūtra explained's collation note—「名【大】，為【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'is called' in the Taishō; 'is' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T08 0272b29〕—the five editions agree in reading 「為」 tr. "is", fully agreeing with the reading of this treatise; the Taishō sūtra explained alone reads 「名」 tr. "is called". This is an instance resting entirely on self-proof on the side of the sūtra explained.

Tenth, 'the path of awakening' and 'the bodhisattva path'. The sūtra explained reads 「當知是菩薩摩訶薩行菩薩道。行菩薩道者救一切眾生」 tr. "know that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the bodhisattva path. One who practises the bodhisattva path rescues all beings"〔T08 0272c25〕; this treatise reads 「當知是菩薩摩訶薩行菩提道。菩薩道者，救一切眾生」 tr. "know that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the path of awakening. The bodhisattva path: it rescues all beings"〔T25 0441a06〕. This treatise's collation note—「菩提道【大】，菩薩道【宋】【元】【明】【聖】，菩薩行【宮】」 tr. "'the path of awakening' in the Taishō; 'the bodhisattva path' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Shōgozō; 'the bodhisattva practice' in the Palace"〔T25 0441a06〕—the four editions read 「菩薩道」 tr. "the bodhisattva path", fully agreeing with the reading of the sūtra explained; in the same line there are two further notes, 「菩薩【大】，行菩提【石】」 tr. "'bodhisattva' in the Taishō; 'practises awakening' in the Ishiyama" and 「道者救【大】，應若度【宮】」 tr. "'the path: it rescues' in the Taishō; 'should, if, carry across' in the Palace"〔T25 0441a06〕. At the juncture of 'awakening' and 'bodhisattva' the editions are in disarray; this is a doctrinally sensitive passage, recorded side by side without judgement.

Eleventh, 'make' and 'now'. The sūtra explained reads 「今一切眾生皆當作菩薩」 tr. "now all beings shall all become bodhisattvas"〔T08 0273a01〕; this treatise reads 「令一切眾生皆當作菩薩」 tr. "to make all beings all become bodhisattvas"〔T25 0441a11〕. This treatise's collation note—「令【大】，今【石】」 tr. "'make' in the Taishō; 'now' in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0441a11〕—the Ishiyama edition reads 「今」 tr. "now", fully agreeing with the Taishō reading of the sūtra explained; the sūtra explained's collation note—「今【大】，令【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'now' in the Taishō; 'make' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T08 0273a01〕—the five editions agree in reading 「令」 tr. "make", fully agreeing with the Taishō reading of this treatise. At a single place, base texts and variant editions agree pair by pair: a four-way crossing.

Twelfth, the presence or absence of the character 'as'. The sūtra explained reads 「汝所說般若波羅蜜，皆是承佛意故」 tr. "the prajñāpāramitā you have taught is all because you receive the Buddha's intent"〔T08 0273a20〕, without 「如」 tr. "as"; this treatise reads 「如汝所說般若波羅蜜，皆是承佛意故」 tr. "the prajñāpāramitā as you have taught it is all because you receive the Buddha's intent"〔T25 0441a29〕, with it. This treatise's collation note—「如汝【大】，法【聖】，汝【宮】」 tr. "'as you' in the Taishō; 'dharma' in the Shōgozō; 'you' in the Palace"〔T25 0441a29〕—the two editions Shōgozō and Palace both lack 「如」 tr. "as", fully agreeing with the reading of the sūtra explained.

Thirteenth, the presence or absence of the character 'should'. The sūtra explained reads 「應如汝所說學」 tr. "one ought to train as you have taught"〔T08 0273a21〕, without 「當」 tr. "should"; this treatise reads 「應當如汝所說學」 tr. "one ought and should train as you have taught"〔T25 0441b01〕, with it. This treatise's collation note—「當【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'should' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T25 0441b01〕—the five editions agree in lacking 「當」 tr. "should", fully agreeing with the Taishō reading of the sūtra explained; the sūtra explained's collation note—「應【大】，應當【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'ought' in the Taishō; 'ought and should' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace"〔T08 0273a21〕—the four editions read 「應當」 tr. "ought and should", fully agreeing with the Taishō reading of this treatise. Again they agree pair by pair: a second instance of four-way crossing.

Fourteenth, 'shake' (zhen) and 'quake' (zhen). The sūtra explained reads 「三千大千國土六種震動」 tr. "the three-thousand great-thousand lands quaked in six ways"〔T08 0273a22〕; this treatise reads 「三千大千世界六種振動」 tr. "the three-thousand great-thousand world shook in six ways"〔T25 0441b02〕. This treatise's collation note—「振【大】，震【明】【宮】【聖】【石】」 tr. "'shake' in the Taishō; 'quake' in the Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama"〔T25 0441b03〕—the four editions read 「震」 tr. "quake", fully agreeing with the reading of the sūtra explained (for the difference between 'lands' and 'world', see the final paragraph).

Fifteenth, 'surge' and 'leap'. The sūtra explained six times says 「踊」 tr. "leap up"—from 「東踊西沒」 tr. "leaping up in the east and sinking in the west"〔T08 0273a23〕 onward; this treatise six times says 「湧」 tr. "surge up"—from 「東湧西沒」 tr. "surging up in the east and sinking in the west"〔T25 0441b03〕 onward. This treatise's collation note—「湧【大】＊，涌【宮】，踴【石】＊」 tr. "'surge' in the Taishō (recurring); 'surge' (variant graph) in the Palace; 'leap' (variant graph) in the Ishiyama (recurring)"〔T25 0441b03〕, recurring five times through to〔T25 0441b04〕; the sūtra explained's collation note—「踊【大】＊，湧【宋】【元】【明】【宮】＊」 tr. "'leap' in the Taishō (recurring); 'surge' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace (recurring)"〔T08 0273a23〕, recurring five times—the 「湧」 tr. "surge" of the four editions of the sūtra explained is the very same character as this treatise's Taishō, and this treatise's Ishiyama 「踴」 tr. "leap (variant graph)" is a different writing of the same origin as the sūtra explained's Taishō 「踊」 tr. "leap". Base texts and variant editions agree pair by pair, recurring through six occurrences: the extreme of four-way crossing, and the strongest single item of cross-textual mutual attestation in this chapter.

Sixteenth, 'what condition' and 'smiling'. The sūtra explained reads 「何因緣故笑」 tr. "for what cause and condition do you smile"〔T08 0273a25〕; this treatise reads 「何因何緣故微笑」 tr. "for what cause and for what condition do you gently smile"〔T25 0441b05〕. This treatise's side has no note; the sūtra explained's collation notes—「緣【大】，何緣【聖】」 tr. "'condition' in the Taishō; 'what condition' in the Shōgozō"〔T08 0273a26〕 and 「笑【大】，微笑【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'smile' in the Taishō; 'gently smile' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace"〔T08 0273a26〕—the Shōgozō's 「何緣」 tr. "what condition" and the four editions' 「微笑」 tr. "gently smile" both draw toward the Taishō reading of this treatise. Further, for 「須菩提白佛」 tr. "Subhūti addressed the Buddha" just above, the sūtra explained's collation note—「佛【大】，佛言佛【宋】【元】【明】【宮】，佛言【聖】」 tr. "'the Buddha' in the Taishō; 'the Buddha, saying: Buddha' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace; 'the Buddha, saying' in the Shōgozō"〔T08 0273a25〕—the editions all have the character 「言」 tr. "saying", corresponding to this treatise's 「須菩提白佛言」 tr. "Subhūti said to the Buddha"〔T25 0441b05〕. This is another instance resting entirely on self-proof on the side of the sūtra explained.

Outside the table of classes there are three further items of the parallel and word-order kinds. First, 'lands' and 'realms' or 'world' (three occurrences)—the sūtra explained's 「今現在十方諸國土中諸佛」 tr. "the Buddhas now present in the lands of the ten directions"〔T08 0272c22〕 appears in this treatise as 「今現在十方諸國界中諸佛」 tr. "the Buddhas now present in the realms of the ten directions"〔T25 0441a03〕, a difference of the single character 'land' against 'realm'; the sūtra explained's 「三千大千國土」 tr. "the three-thousand great-thousand lands"〔T08 0273a22〕 and 「如我於此國土說般若波羅蜜」 tr. "just as I teach prajñāpāramitā in this land"〔T08 0273a26〕 both appear in this treatise as 「世界」 tr. "world"—「三千大千世界」 tr. "the three-thousand great-thousand world"〔T25 0441b02〕 and 「如我於此世界說般若波羅蜜」 tr. "just as I teach prajñāpāramitā in this world"〔T25 0441b06〕. This treatise's collation note—「諸國【大】，世【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】，諸世【石】」 tr. "'the lands' in the Taishō; 'world' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō; 'the worlds' in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0441a03〕—the reading of the five editions yields exactly 「世界中」 tr. "in the world", consistent with the term 「世界」 tr. "world" at the two places below; but its collation position is the replacement of the whole expression 「諸國」 tr. "the lands", not the same collation position as the single-character difference between 「界」 tr. "realm" and 「土」 tr. "land", so it does not form a clear two-way crossing—this is made especially clear so that the two are not wrongly merged. Second, 'not' and 'no'—in the passage of this treatise on 「樂說不生法」 tr. "eloquence as an unarisen dharma", the 「不」 tr. "not" is read by the editions as 「無」 tr. "no" in all three notes at〔T25 0438c21〕〔T25 0438c27〕〔T25 0438c28〕; the sūtra explained too has in the same passage the note 「不【大】＊，無【宋】【元】【明】【宮】＊」 tr. "'not' in the Taishō (recurring); 'no' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace (recurring)"〔T08 0272a11〕—each side wavers internally, belonging to a parallel systematic pattern. Third, one item of word order—this treatise reads 「眾生性無故念亦性無」 tr. "because the nature of beings is non-existent, thought too is non-existent in nature"〔T25 0441a14〕, and the sūtra explained reads 「眾生性無故念性亦無」 tr. "because the nature of beings is non-existent, the nature of thought too is non-existent"〔T08 0273a04〕; the sūtra explained's collation note—「性亦【大】＊，亦性【聖】＊」 tr. "'nature too' in the Taishō (recurring); 'too nature' in the Shōgozō (recurring)"〔T08 0273a05〕—the Shōgozō's order fully agrees with this treatise; this too is an instance of self-proof by the sūtra explained, appended outside the sixteen classes.

Among the sixteen classes, nine (the first to the sixth, the tenth, the twelfth, and the fourteenth) agree two-way between this treatise's own collation notes and the reading of the sūtra explained; two classes (the ninth and the sixteenth) rest entirely on the sūtra explained's own collation notes proving in reverse; three classes (the eleventh, the thirteenth, and the fifteenth) have base texts and variant editions agreeing pair by pair, forming four-way crossings, with the fifteenth, recurring through six occurrences, as their extreme; the seventh has notes on both sides that cross but do not fully agree; and the eighth is parallel, with the Shōgozō's omission of 「那」 tr. "na" as partial self-proof. The three instances of four-way crossing, together with the word order, the 'said to the Buddha', and the other points, show enough that the benefit of checking in both directions lies not only in checking the sūtra explained by this treatise: the transmitted editions of the sūtra explained can also trace back the sources of this treatise's base text. In every case the two texts each form their own text; this section sets out their differences side by side and does not decide on anyone's behalf which edition is right.

V. The Prajñā Eye

The eye of this chapter lies in the acceptance of 「無生」 tr. "non-arising"—the preceding chapter's thorough examination by ten gates is the washing of compliant contemplation, while this chapter directly shows the acceptance of non-arising itself; and the utmost of non-arising neither destroys the fruits of the path nor obstructs great compassion. Its meaning can be summed up in five levels.

First, the reason for speaking again, and the gloss of 'separation'. The three meanings had already been asked above and are asked again, and the treatise-author answers why—「先已答大樹喻，非一斫可斷」 tr. "the answer was given before by the simile of the great tree, which cannot be cut down by a single blow"〔T25 0436a25〕; prajñā has measureless meanings, 「如〈曇無竭品〉中說」 tr. "as is said in the chapter ‘Dharmodgata’"〔T25 0436a27〕; the Buddhas speak according to those who are to be carried across, like those who come one after another to drink at the pure, cool, lovely pool〔T25 0436b02〕. And what the three answers return to lies precisely in 「遠離」 tr. "separation"—「『遠離』者，是『空』之別名」 tr. "‘separation’ is another name for ‘emptiness’"〔T25 0436b21〕; 「見一切諸法罪過故」 tr. "because he sees the faults of all dharmas"〔T25 0436b22〕 the mind is separated from them all—prajñā is not a single dharma that can be pointed to; only when one is separated from all dharmas without remainder is it prajñā.

Second, the threefold not arising: one emptiness, but the gates of contemplation differ. Not arising refutes arising—this is the emptiness of specific marks; non-duality refutes duality—this is the emptiness of dispersal: 「破色二故言『不二』，破色生故言『無生』」 tr. "because it refutes the duality of form it says ‘non-duality’; because it refutes the arising of form it says ‘non-arising’"〔T25 0437a21〕; entering the count of non-dual dharmas means that even non-arising is not further had〔T25 0437a28〕. 「義雖一，所入觀門異」 tr. "although the meaning is one, the gates of contemplation by which one enters differ"〔T25 0437a15〕: the practitioner may take non-arising first and non-duality after, or non-duality first and non-arising after〔T25 0437a19〕—one and the same ultimate emptiness, which can be entered by every gate. The simile of removing the privy to build a house gathers up the essentials〔T25 0437a10〕: to break up form yet keep the perception of form is like removing the privy yet keeping the perception of the privy; 「色性常自無生，非今智慧力故使無生」 tr. "the nature of form is always of itself non-arising; it is not now by the power of wisdom that it is made non-arising"〔T25 0437a08〕—knowing it to be originally non-arising, there is no perception left to keep.

Third, non-arising, and yet there is knowing and attaining. Śāriputra objects on the ground of the fruits of the path—「若一切法不生相，何以故須陀洹為斷三結故修道」 tr. "if all dharmas have the mark of not arising, why does the srota-āpanna cultivate the path in order to cut off the three fetters"〔T25 0437b22〕, and so on up to why the Buddha turns the Dharma wheel; if so, then 「聖人無大無小，聖法亦無優劣，亦無六道別異」 tr. "the noble ones would be neither great nor small, the noble dharmas would have neither superior nor inferior, and there would be no distinctions among the six destinies"〔T25 0437c27〕. Subhūti settles it—「我不欲令無生法有所得」 tr. "I do not wish the dharma of non-arising to have anything to be attained"〔T25 0437b28〕—yet this is not a denial: 「有知有得，不以二法」 tr. "there is knowing and there is attaining, but not by way of two dharmas"〔T25 0438b27〕, 「今以世間名字故有知有得，世間名字故有須陀洹」 tr. "now it is by worldly names that there is knowing and attaining; it is by worldly names that there is the srota-āpanna"〔T25 0438b27〕, 「第一實義中無業無報、無生無滅、無淨無垢」 tr. "in the highest real meaning there is no deed and no retribution, no arising and no ceasing, without purity and without stain"〔T25 0438c05〕. The four alternatives on arising and not arising exhaust the rest—「若『生』生，生法已生，不應更生！」 tr. "If ‘arising’ arises—the arising dharma has already arisen; it should not arise again!"〔T25 0439b01〕 「若『不生』生，生法未有故，不應生」 tr. "If ‘not arising’ arises—since the arising dharma does not yet exist, it should not arise"〔T25 0439b01〕—the mark of arising being exhausted, 「是生如幻、如夢，從虛誑法生」 tr. "this arising is like an illusion, like a dream; it arises from false and deceptive dharmas"〔T25 0439b05〕. Each of the two truths has its own place; non-arising does not destroy provisional names.

Fourth, the purity of the acceptance of non-arising and the accomplishment of great compassion. The contemplation of non-arising is of two kinds: compliant acceptance is not ultimately pure, the acceptance of non-arising is ultimately pure〔T25 0437c15〕; the five kinds of awakening, from arousing the mind up to the unsurpassed〔T25 0438a03〕, are precisely the stages before and after this acceptance. Yet ultimate purity is not the abandoning of beings—「於眾生如父母、兒子、己身想」 tr. "he regards beings with the perception of father and mother, children, and one's own self"〔T25 0438b06〕, 「若行者初入佛法，用眾生空，知諸法無我；今用法空，知諸法亦空」 tr. "when the practitioner first enters the Buddha-dharma, he uses the emptiness of beings and knows that dharmas are without self; now he uses the emptiness of dharmas and knows that dharmas too are empty"〔T25 0438b12〕; only when the two causes and conditions, great compassion and the emptiness of dharmas, come together can he give up everything he has, inner and outer, without begrudging it and without taking it as suffering. Within the dharma of non-arising there are two kinds of fault—「『麁失』者，殺盜等罪故，有三惡道；『細失』者，用著心布施、持戒等福故，有三善道」 tr. "‘Coarse faults’: because of offences such as killing and stealing, there are the three evil destinies. ‘Subtle faults’: because of merits such as giving and keeping the precepts with a clinging mind, there are the three good destinies"〔T25 0438b01〕—to dismiss both offence and merit is precisely the purity of the acceptance of non-arising.

Fifth, the power of relying on nothing, and the proof of the earth's shaking. The nature of all dharmas is always empty and does not rely on the inner, the outer, or the middle〔T25 0439b27〕; therefore the one who teaches the Dharma is 「如風行空中，無所罣礙」 tr. "like the wind moving in space, with nothing to obstruct it"〔T25 0440b09〕. The six perfections are judged worldly or world-transcending by relying or not relying: 「動者，柔順忍；出者，無生法忍」 tr. "moving is compliant acceptance; going forth is the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas"〔T25 0440c10〕. This power returns to prajñā—「離斷常、有無二邊等故，能生一切善法」 tr. "because it is apart from the two extremes of annihilation and permanence, existence and non-existence, and the like, it can give rise to all wholesome dharmas"〔T25 0441b24〕—like the ocean receiving the many streams〔T25 0441b26〕, like the croton seed among medicines〔T25 0441c02〕. The thought of great compassion and the thought of ultimate emptiness are 「名異而義一」 tr. "different in name but one in meaning"〔T25 0441c29〕; 「眾生空故，畢竟空念亦空」 tr. "because beings are empty, the thought of ultimate emptiness is also empty"〔T25 0441c20〕; 「無緣悲從畢竟空生」 tr. "compassion without object arises from ultimate emptiness"〔T25 0442a03〕. When the Buddha attests in person that 「皆是承佛意」 tr. "it is all by receiving the Buddha's intent"〔T25 0441a29〕, the earth shakes in six ways—「取要言之，地動皆由說諸法實相，所謂般若波羅蜜」 tr. "to put it in essentials: the shaking of the earth all comes from the teaching of the real mark of all dharmas, namely prajñāpāramitā"〔T25 0442b02〕—the teaching of non-arising is itself the real mark shaking the earth; this is where the eye of meaning of the whole chapter returns.

VI. Divergent Readings of the Masters

The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa has no tradition of a full commentary following the text line by line, and the ancient masters' citations and explanations are, as the facts stand, uneven. The ancient masters' coverage of this chapter is of the same type as in the preceding several chapters—Jizang's commentary explaining the sūtra explained preserves a complete dedicated section, whose explanation of the chapter name and whose divisions correspond one by one to this chapter's sūtra and treatise; Huiying's commentary explaining the treatise has a gap that does not cover it, but three places in its Fascicle 17 look back and touch on this chapter's name, and they allow the doubt about 「集散品」 tr. "Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal" recorded in the preceding chapter to be resolved. This section records the correspondences between what they comment on and cite and this chapter, without judging the relative merit of the various masters' interpretations.

In the table of contents at the head of Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451), after 'The Ten Non-existents, the Twenty-fifth', is listed 「無生品第二十六」 tr. "Chapter on Non-arising, the Twenty-sixth"〔X24 0195b02〕, assigned to Fascicle 5; the next chapter, 'Asking about Abiding, the Twenty-seventh', is assigned to Fascicle 6, and under its entry there is an interlinear note 「亦云無生品」 tr. "also called the Chapter on Non-arising"〔X24 0195b04〕—the title of the next chapter also bears the name 「無生」 tr. "non-arising"; as this belongs to the boundary of the next chapter, it is recorded only as a clue. His dedicated section, 「無生品第二十六」 tr. "Chapter on Non-arising, the Twenty-sixth", begins at〔X24 0257a24〕 and runs to the end of Fascicle 5〔X24 0260b12〕; Fascicle 6 opens with the title 「大品經義疏第六」 tr. "Commentary on the Larger Sūtra, Sixth"〔X24 0260b16〕, followed at once by the section on 'Asking about Abiding', whose section title likewise continues with 「亦云無生品」 tr. "also called the Chapter on Non-arising"〔X24 0260b18〕. The commentary runs to more than five thousand characters and forms the main body of the ancient masters' parallel readings of this chapter.

At the head of the section he states the meaning of the chapter name himself—「依論而判，上除存人之心，今洗著法之念。今言無生品者，此品明順無生，次明無生忍，故明無生品。前品亦明無生，但是順忍；今正明無生忍，故目品也」 tr. "Judging according to the treatise: above, the mind that keeps a person is removed; now, the thought that clings to dharmas is washed away. As for now calling it the Chapter on Non-arising: this chapter makes clear compliant non-arising, and next makes clear the acceptance of non-arising, therefore it makes clear the Chapter on Non-arising. The preceding chapter also made clear non-arising, but it was compliant acceptance; now it directly makes clear the acceptance of non-arising, therefore the chapter is so named"〔X24 0257b01〕—and this carries through, head to tail, from his general judgement in the section on the preceding chapter, 「開三門：初、三脫門說般若；二、稱歎門說般若；三、無生門說般若」 tr. "It opens three gates: first, teaching prajñā by the gate of the three liberations; second, teaching prajñā by the gate of praise; third, teaching prajñā by the gate of non-arising"〔X24 0255a14〕 and 「此二品既云無生門，文相拘涉，開為二無生：第一、明順無生；第二、明真無生」 tr. "Since these two chapters are called the gate of non-arising and their texts are bound up with each other, they are opened into two non-arisings: first, making clear compliant non-arising; second, making clear true non-arising"〔X24 0255b22〕: the preceding chapter corresponds to compliant non-arising and this chapter to true non-arising; the two separately stated passages attest one and the same framework, and correspond precisely to the division of Treatise ③ into two kinds of contemplation of non-arising〔T25 0437c15〕. He further cites the chapters "The Broad Vehicle" and "Setting Out" to attest the stages of acceptance mutually—「依論釋廣乘品，忍法、世第一法是菩薩順忍，初果即菩薩無生忍」 tr. "According to the treatise's explanation of the Chapter on the Broad Vehicle, the stage of acceptance and the highest worldly dharma are the bodhisattva's compliant acceptance, and the first fruit is the bodhisattva's acceptance of non-arising"〔X24 0257b03〕, 「依論釋發趣品，七地又云得無生忍、無生智等定慧。地前則六地為順，七地為無生」 tr. "According to the treatise's explanation of the Chapter on Setting Out, at the seventh ground it again says one attains the acceptance of non-arising, the knowledge of non-arising, and the like, concentration and wisdom. Before the grounds—then the sixth ground is compliant, and the seventh ground is non-arising"〔X24 0257b05〕—and settles it, saying 「經亦爾，前是約凡聖分，故內凡為順，登地為無生；後是約淺深判，故六地順，七地無生也，不相違也」 tr. "The sūtra too is like this. The former divides by ordinary and noble, so the inner ordinary stage is compliant and ascending the grounds is non-arising; the latter judges by shallow and deep, so the sixth ground is compliant and the seventh ground is non-arising. They do not contradict each other"〔X24 0257b07〕—the two judgements, by ordinary and noble and by shallow and deep, stand together without contradiction; this is the key to his framework of the stages of acceptance.

「品初是第四，明三種大義：前問，次答」 tr. "The beginning of the chapter is the fourth, making clear the three great meanings: first the questions, then the answers"〔X24 0257b09〕—this corresponds directly to the three questions of this chapter's Sūtra ①. On why the three meanings are asked again he sets up three answers of his own—「論生起云此義無所不攝」 tr. "The treatise, in its introduction, says that this meaning includes everything"〔X24 0257b19〕, 「二者此三義有無量義，故今以異義釋之。三者前會已悟，今為後會，如清涼池喻也」 tr. "Second, these three meanings have measureless meanings, so now they are explained by different meanings. Third, the earlier assembly has already awakened, and now it is for the later assembly, as in the simile of the pure, cool pool"〔X24 0257b20〕—corresponding one by one to Treatise ①'s measureless meanings and simile of the pure, cool, lovely pool. When he comes to answer the meaning of prajñā, he directly inherits the treatise's sound-gloss—「論云阿羅蜜者，般羅蜜兩云相近，故舉阿羅蜜釋波羅蜜」 tr. "The treatise says that aluomi and boluomi, the two sounds, are close to each other, so aluomi is raised to explain pāramitā"〔X24 0257b23〕—proof that his commentary cites the treatise text directly.

His commentary also records by itself differences among the sūtra texts he saw—「第二、問答經本不同。一本云：身子問：云何色不生為非色？此既復重，云則非色。一本云：問不滅。問：云何色不滅為非色？上論前品不生，下論前品不滅也」 tr. "Second, in the questions and answers the sūtra texts differ. One text says: Śāriputra asks: why is form's not arising not form? Since this is a repetition, it says it is then not form. One text says: asking about not ceasing. He asks: why is form's not ceasing not form? The one above discusses the not arising of the preceding chapter; the one below discusses the not ceasing of the preceding chapter"〔X24 0257c24〕—the difference between two texts reading 「不生」 tr. "not arising" and 「不滅」 tr. "not ceasing" is not recorded in this treatise's own collation notes; it belongs to Jizang's independently observed information on a variant text. Yet the transmitted editions of the sūtra explained itself happen to bear its trace—for the question on non-duality in Sūtra ②, the sūtra explained's collation note 「二【大】＊，滅【宋】【明】【宮】＊」 tr. "'duality' in the Taishō (recurring); 'ceasing' in the Song, Ming, and Palace (recurring)"〔T08 0271a04〕 recurs through the passage eight times in all—the three editions Song, Ming, and Palace word the text precisely with 「不滅」 tr. "not ceasing", corresponding to the text Jizang saw that 「問不滅」 tr. "asks about not ceasing". This is recorded alongside, without deciding on anyone's behalf what it refers to.

「第二、論無生五：第一、總論願至無生；第二、別論得空無生；第三、明萬法無生；第四、論生相無生；第五、論稱歎無生」 tr. "Second, the five discussions of non-arising: first, discussing in general the vow reaching to non-arising; second, discussing specifically the attainment of the non-arising of emptiness; third, making clear the non-arising of the myriad dharmas; fourth, discussing the non-arising of the mark of arising; fifth, discussing the non-arising of praise"〔X24 0258b03〕—broadly corresponding to the progression of this chapter's Treatise ③ to Treatise ⑥, except that the grain and the blocks of division differ; recorded side by side without judgement. 「初歎中總別為二，合開為六。六者：一、歎云無生應無三乘；二者、無生應無六道；三、無生無五菩提；四、無生應無二乘斷結；五、無生應無大乘之行；六、無生應無佛果可得」 tr. "In the first objection, general and specific make two, which together open into six. The six: first, the objection that with non-arising there should be no three vehicles; second, with non-arising there should be no six destinies; third, with non-arising there are no five awakenings; fourth, with non-arising there should be no cutting of fetters by the two vehicles; fifth, with non-arising there should be no practice of the Great Vehicle; sixth, with non-arising there should be no fruit of buddhahood to be attained"〔X24 0258b07〕—doctrinally in communication with Śāriputra's objections in Sūtra ③, but differing in how they are opened and combined and in number; recorded side by side without judgement.

What is most worth recording in his section is the listing of the names of the five awakenings—「五菩提有二種：一、共五，謂順忍、無生忍為二；次、三乘無學為三，故五也。次獨五：一、發心，外凡位也；二、伏心，三十心也；三、明心，初地至六地觀解始也；四、出倒，七地至十地得無生，出三界到佛邊也；五、無上，謂佛法共不共」 tr. "The five awakenings are of two kinds. First, the shared five: compliant acceptance and the acceptance of non-arising make two; next, the stage beyond training of the three vehicles makes three; hence five. Next, the unique five: first, arousing the mind, the stage of the outer ordinary; second, subduing the mind, the thirty minds; third, clarity of mind, from the first ground to the sixth ground, the beginning of contemplative understanding; fourth, going forth from inversion, from the seventh ground to the tenth ground, attaining non-arising, going forth from the three realms and arriving at the Buddha's side; fifth, the unsurpassed, namely the Buddha-dharmas shared and unshared"〔X24 0258b11〕—the five headings of the 「獨五」 tr. "unique five" correspond precisely, one by one, to the five kinds of awakening of this chapter's Treatise ③〔T25 0438a03〕, each also assigned to a stage of practice. There are two discrepancies of wording: where this treatise has 「出到菩提」 tr. "the awakening of going forth and arriving", Jizang has 「出倒」 tr. "going forth from inversion"—'arriving' and 'inversion' are close in shape, and this treatise's own collation notes have no variant reading here; both are kept without judgement. Where this treatise has 「明菩提」 tr. "the awakening of illumination", Jizang has 「明心」 tr. "clarity of mind", and this treatise's collation notes happen to have 「明【大】，明心【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'clarity' in the Taishō; 'clarity of mind' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace"〔T25 0438a06〕—the reading of the four editions has exactly the same name as Jizang's list; their correspondence is merely recorded (the note text is given also in Section VIII).

Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791) is the only ancient commentary explaining this treatise, and survives only in fragmentary fascicles; the surviving fascicles break off after "The Meaning of the Phrase, the Twelfth" and resume only at "Weighing the Relics, the Thirty-seventh". This chapter falls precisely within the gap, and it is wholly uncovered by passage-by-passage commentary. Yet three places of outline-language in its Fascicle 17 look back and touch on this chapter's name. First, in the commentary on "The Three Designations", it announces the division of the whole treatise—「此下去是說分中第二時命說分有十九品經，至無生品亦明無數人得無生忍」 tr. "From here on, within the section of teaching, the second, the section of teaching at the time of the command, has nineteen chapters of sūtra; up to the Chapter on Non-arising it too makes clear that countless people attain the acceptance of non-arising"〔X46 0856a09〕—its 'countless people attain the acceptance of non-arising' corresponds precisely to the end of this chapter, 「十二那由他諸天人得無生法忍」 tr. "twelve nayuta of gods and humans attained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas"〔T25 0441b10〕; this is proof that Huiying saw the structure of the whole treatise. Second, in the same passage it opens three points in detail—「第三集散品已去至無生品有七品經，將明善吉正說」 tr. "Third, from the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal onward up to the Chapter on Non-arising there are seven chapters of sūtra, which make clear Good Auspice's main teaching"〔X46 0856a14〕—taking 'Gathering and Dispersal' through this chapter as the coordinate range of one great section of Good Auspice's main teaching. Third, in the commentary on 'Gathering and Dispersal'—「第四、從十無品及無生品生，此之二品，初明除生，後明遣法。故約遣相門，以明波若」 tr. "Fourth, arising from the Chapter on the Ten Non-existents and the Chapter on Non-arising: of these two chapters, the first makes clear the removal of beings and the latter makes clear the dispelling of dharmas. Therefore it makes clear prajñā by way of the gate of dismissing marks"〔X46 0864a07〕—this echoes precisely, in doctrine, Jizang's 「上除存人之心，今洗著法之念」 tr. "above, the mind that keeps a person is removed; now, the thought that clings to dharmas is washed away"〔X24 0257b01〕: the two masters independently and alike judge that the preceding chapter removes the person and this chapter dispels dharmas. The section on the preceding chapter once recorded that the name 「集散品」 tr. "Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal" is seen in both masters but that what it precisely refers to remained in doubt; taking these three places together, Huiying's 「集散品已去至無生品」 tr. "from the Chapter on Gathering and Dispersal onward up to the Chapter on Non-arising" is a macro-structural expression taking 'Gathering and Dispersal' as its starting coordinate and spanning a dozen or more chapters; it is not a separate alternative name—the doubt can thereby be resolved, and this is recorded as it is.

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〕, with an interlinear note under the title 「第九帙無音」 tr. "the ninth case has no sounds"〔T54 0609c22〕; after its entry for Fascicle Forty-three〔T54 0615a05〕, Fascicles Forty-four to Fifty-two are missing from the list, and it proceeds directly to 「第五十三卷」 tr. "Fascicle Fifty-three"〔T54 0615a08〕—the label happens to match the fascicle number in which this chapter lies. Yet when the words under that entry—「鏇師」 tr. "turner", 「淡飲」 tr. "phlegm-fluid", 「肪𦚻」 tr. "fat and suet"〔T54 0615a09–0615a11〕—are checked word for word, none of them corresponds to anything in the whole text of this chapter〔T25 0435c21–0442b07〕. The division of fascicles in the Tang manuscript that Huilin relied on is thus out of step with the present printed text, and the label 「卷五十三」 tr. "Fascicle Fifty-three" is not sufficient to judge that it covers this chapter. As far as the substance of this chapter is concerned, Huilin still offers no usable sound-and-meaning material; the label is present but the content does not match. This one check is recorded as a warning against the error of asserting on the strength of a label.

In the Northern Song Weibai's Essentials of the Outline of the Great Canon, the chapter name appears three times. The brief outline of the Larger Sūtra—「無生品　何等是菩薩。何等是般若。作如是觀。畢竟無生」 tr. "Chapter on Non-arising: What is a bodhisattva? What is prajñā? Contemplating thus. Ultimately non-arising"〔C056 0139a08〕—precisely summarises the three questions of this chapter's Sūtra ① and its purport of non-arising; the brief outline of the treatise records under the entry 「五十三」 tr. "fifty-three" 「釋般若中無生品義」 tr. "explaining the meaning of the Chapter on Non-arising in the Prajñā"〔C056 0185c07〕, continuing the form of the preceding chapter's entry 「五十二」 tr. "fifty-two". The third is in the brief-outline section for Fascicles 71 to 80 of the Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (translated by Xuanzang)—「由此緣故我作是說色入不二無妄法數　無生品　善現白佛。修行般若觀諸法時。見我無生。畢竟淨故」 tr. "For this reason I say this: form enters the count of non-dual, non-false dharmas. Chapter on Non-arising: Good Appearance addressed the Buddha: when practising prajñā and contemplating dharmas, he sees the self as non-arising, because of ultimate purity"〔C056 0118b14〕, after which it turns to 「淨道品　善現白佛。菩薩修行六度。應淨色。應淨受想行識」 tr. "Chapter on Purifying the Path: Good Appearance addressed the Buddha: the bodhisattva who practises the six perfections should purify form, should purify feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness"〔C056 0118c01〕—Xuanzang's Second Assembly has 「善現」 tr. "Good Appearance" in place of 「須菩提」 tr. "Subhūti", and makes the first half of this chapter correspond to 'Non-arising' and the latter half to 'Purifying the Path', dividing one chapter into two. The boundary of its division falls precisely at the juncture of this treatise's Sūtra ④ and Sūtra ⑤—the cutting point between the two parts of the present reader's edition also lies at this boundary; each forms its boundary naturally according to the meaning, and this is not proof of a common source. It is precious material for comparing chapter lists across translations, recorded for later parallel reading.

The Tang Extended Chapter Register of the Buddhist Teaching of the Kaiyuan Era of the Great Tang records the chapter list of the sūtra explained as 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經無生品第二十五」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Chapter on Non-arising, the Twenty-fifth"〔A097 0812b03〕, with the next entry 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經無生品之下」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Chapter on Non-arising, Last Part"〔A097 0812b04〕, each assigned to one fascicle—Fascicle Eleven and Fascicle Twelve〔A097 0812b02–0812b05〕. The chapter name is the same, but the chapter number is one less, continuing the same type recorded for the preceding several chapters, and it matches the chapter number of this treatise's Shōgozō and Ishiyama editions (Section VIII). Its division of one chapter into two fascicles belongs to its customary practice of dividing fascicles according to length, and has nothing to do with the cutting point between the two parts of the present reader's edition; it is set out alongside without forcing a connection.

As for the works under the names of Zhiyi, Zhanran, Teishun, Kuiji, Huizhao, and Wencai, a search of the whole corpus for 「無生品」 tr. "Chapter on Non-arising" yields zero hits in every case—the connections of citation that the preceding several chapters each had do not continue into this chapter; this is recorded as it is, without forcing a connection. The works of Yinshun are those of a recent author, and by convention are not counted among citations of the ancient masters; their existence is merely noted.

VII. Cross-reading and Further Resonances

Of the vein of meaning of this chapter, three strands carry on from what comes before and after; all are recorded in this section, without deciding the reading on anyone's behalf.

First, the treatise's references to itself, and the continuity from chapter to chapter. At the very opening it cites back—「先已答大樹喻，非一斫可斷」 tr. "the answer was given before by the simile of the great tree, which cannot be cut down by a single blow"〔T25 0436a25〕, gathering back the preceding chapter's simile in a single sentence; it also points forward to later chapters—「是般若波羅蜜有無量義，如〈曇無竭品〉中說」 tr. "this prajñāpāramitā has measureless meanings, as is said in the chapter ‘Dharmodgata’"〔T25 0436a26〕 and 「苦行、難行，如後品『本生因緣變化現受畜生形』中說」 tr. "ascetic practice and difficult practice, as is said in a later chapter, in ‘the causes and conditions of former births, transforming and appearing to take on animal form’"〔T25 0438b18〕; and it repeatedly uses the method of cross-reference—「『菩薩』餘義，如先廣說」 tr. "the remaining meanings of ‘bodhisattva’ are as explained at length before"〔T25 0436b13〕, 「是義，如初品中說」 tr. "this meaning is as said in the first chapter"〔T25 0440c05〕, and 「餘地動因緣，如先說」 tr. "the remaining causes and conditions of the earth's shaking are as said before"〔T25 0442a22〕—all clear proofs of the continuity of this treatise from chapter to chapter.

Second, the linked ring with the preceding chapter. Treatise ② itself points out its continuation—「上品竟，便應問『不生』，何以此中方問？」 tr. "When the chapter above ended, one should at once have asked about ‘not arising’; why is it only asked here?"〔T25 0437a02〕—the preceding chapter ended with 「入無二法數」 tr. "entering the count of non-dual dharmas", and this chapter's Sūtra ② takes it up precisely with the three questions 「不生」 tr. "not arising", 「不二」 tr. "non-duality", and 「入無二法數」 tr. "entering the count of non-dual dharmas"; the two layers of sūtra and treatise are linked ring by ring. The two ancient masters both read the two chapters together: Jizang's 「第一、明順無生；第二、明真無生」 tr. "first, making clear compliant non-arising; second, making clear true non-arising"〔X24 0255b22〕 and Huiying's 「初明除生，後明遣法」 tr. "the first makes clear the removal of beings, and the latter makes clear the dispelling of dharmas"〔X46 0864a08〕—their wording differs but their structural divisions point the same way (see Section VI).

Third, the transmission onward of the stages of acceptance and the five awakenings, and the proofs of outside connection. The divisions of the two kinds of contemplation of non-arising and the five kinds of awakening were inherited by Jizang as the headings of the shared five and the unique five and matched with stages of practice〔X24 0258b11〕, and his judgement of the stages of acceptance further cites "The Broad Vehicle" and "Setting Out" for mutual attestation〔X24 0257b03〕—the divisions of this chapter thus became material for later judgements of stages. Treatise ⑥ cites the three kinds of compassion of the Akṣayamati Sūtra to resolve the difficulty of holding ultimate emptiness and great compassion together〔T25 0442a02〕; this is the proof that this chapter explicitly cites an outside sūtra. The Second Assembly of the Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra translated by Xuanzang makes the two chapters 'Non-arising' and 'Purifying the Path' correspond to the text of this chapter (Section VI); this parallel in a different translation is an outside connection of this chapter's vein of meaning. These further resonances lie in the continuation of the vein of meaning; this section merely records their traces.

VIII. Witnesses and Editions

The base text of this chapter is Fascicle 53 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa〔T25 0435c21–0442b07〕; the collation text for the sūtra explained is the chapter "Non-arising, the Twenty-sixth" of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra〔T08 0270b17–0273b03〕; the collation text for the ancient-master commentary is Fascicle 5 of Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451), and Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791) survives in fragmentary fascicles that do not cover this chapter. The variant-reading notes follow the Taishō collation, covering differences between the Taishō base text and the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama (the Ishiyama-dera manuscript) editions, with a separate layer of recent editorial correction (see below).

The collation notes at the end of the working base text number two hundred in all, the most among the chapters examined so far, and this section sets out the structure of their full ledger. The anchored items with independent note texts number one hundred and eighty-six—one hundred and eighty-five are proper notes of variant readings among the transmitted editions, and one is a recent editorial correction (detailed below). There are in addition fourteen marks of recursive recurrence—places where the same variant reading appears again or many times, which the original notes join by 「＊」 tr. "asterisk" and which the working base text expands each into an item—attached to the ten notes for 'in the language of Qin', 'mi', 'ordinary person', 'perception' (two notes), 'not', 'arising', 'mixed', 'surge', and 'smile'; the one note for 'surge' alone recurs five times, and each of the other nine notes recurs once. One hundred and eighty-six plus fourteen makes exactly two hundred, in wholly mechanical agreement with the count of the working base text. All two hundred items are tied to within the bounds of this chapter—the first item is tied to the chapter-and-fascicle title〔T25 0435c21〕 and the last two to the end-of-fascicle title〔T25 0442b04〕, and not one is tied beyond the opening title of the next chapter; the ledger of the preceding chapter treats the one item at this chapter's opening title as outside its bounds, so that this chapter's first item is that ledger's last item—one and the same collation note joining the two ledgers, the most direct junction of chapter boundaries at the level of collation notes. This section transcribes those items that bear on the chapter title, on doctrine, and on the wording of the sūtra text, recording each note text as it stands; the readings of the variant editions are preserved side by side, while the main text continues to follow the reading of the current base text; the full ledger is given at the end of the working base text.

The chapter-and-fascicle title. 「（大智度論…三）十六字【大】，大智度論卷第五十三釋無生三觀品第二十六【宋】【元】，（大智度論卷第五十三釋無生三觀品第二十六（經作無生品））二十四字【明】，大智度論卷第五十三釋無生三觀品第二十六品【宮】，（大智度經論卷第五十三，釋第二十五品）十六字【聖】，大智論第二十五品無生品五十五【石】」 tr. "'(Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa … three), sixteen characters' in the Taishō; 'Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty-three, Commentary on the Chapter on the Three Contemplations of Non-arising, the Twenty-sixth' in the Song and Yuan; '(Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty-three, Commentary on the Chapter on the Three Contemplations of Non-arising, the Twenty-sixth (the sūtra has Chapter on Non-arising)), twenty-four characters' in the Ming; 'Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty-three, Commentary on the Chapter on the Three Contemplations of Non-arising, the Twenty-sixth Chapter' in the Palace; '(Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa Sūtra-Treatise, Fascicle Fifty-three, Commentary on the Twenty-fifth Chapter), sixteen characters' in the Shōgozō; 'Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, the Twenty-fifth Chapter, Chapter on Non-arising, fifty-five' in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0435c21〕—the four editions Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace title it 「無生三觀品」 tr. "Chapter on the Three Contemplations of Non-arising", and the Ming edition's interlinear note 「經作無生品」 tr. "the sūtra has 'Chapter on Non-arising'" proves of itself the chapter name of Kumārajīva's original translation; the Shōgozō and Ishiyama editions both give the chapter number as 「第二十五」 tr. "the Twenty-fifth", one less than the Taishō, matching the chapter number recorded in the Tang register (Section VI); the Ishiyama edition's fascicle number 「五十五」 tr. "fifty-five" is further two more than the Taishō (matching the item for the end-of-fascicle title; see the last item). Further, 「【經】【大】，〔－〕【宋】【聖】」 tr. "'【經】 (sūtra label)' in the Taishō; absent in the Song and Shōgozō"〔T25 0435c25〕, a difference in the sūtra and treatise labels.

The character 'as'. 「如【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】【石】」 tr. "'as' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama"〔T25 0435c28〕—the six editions agree; for the cross-textual mutual attestation see the first item of Section IV.

The translator's note 'in the language of Qin'. 「秦言【大】＊，（秦言）【石】＊」 tr. "'in the language of Qin' in the Taishō (recurring); '(in the language of Qin)' in the Ishiyama (recurring)"〔T25 0436b09〕—the Ishiyama edition records the translation phrase 「秦言」 tr. "in the language of Qin" as a small-character interlinear note, recurring again at〔T25 0436b23〕; a difference of format, not a doctrinal variant reading.

The two items for 'ordinary person'. 「凡夫凡夫【大】，凡人乃至見一切種智無生畢竟淨故見凡人【聖】」 tr. "'ordinary persons (fanfu), ordinary persons (fanfu)' in the Taishō; 'ordinary persons (fanren) … up to seeing omniscience of all kinds as non-arising, because of ultimate purity, seeing ordinary persons (fanren)' in the Shōgozō"〔T25 0437b12〕 and 「凡夫【大】＊，凡人【宋】【元】【明】【宮】＊」 tr. "'ordinary person (fanfu)' in the Taishō (recurring); 'ordinary person (fanren)' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace (recurring)"〔T25 0437b12〕—see the second item of Section IV.

'Now not' · 'within the dharma of non-arising' · the character 'this' · the character 'dharma' · the character 'and'. 「不【大】，今不【元】【明】」 tr. "'not' in the Taishō; 'now not' in the Yuan and Ming"〔T25 0437b17〕, 「無生法中【大】，〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'within the dharma of non-arising' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T25 0437c02〕, 「是【大】，〔－〕【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'this' in the Taishō; absent in the Palace and Shōgozō"〔T25 0437c08〕, 「法【大】，〔－〕【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'dharma' in the Taishō; absent in the Palace and Shōgozō"〔T25 0437c12〕, 「法【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'dharma' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T25 0437c13〕, and 「及【大】，〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'and' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T25 0438c19〕—all bear cross-textually on the sūtra explained; see the third to seventh items of Section IV.

The label 'treatise' and 'which says' / 'explanation'. 「〔－〕【大】，論【論】【元】【明】」 tr. "absent in the Taishō; 'treatise' under the 【論】 label in the Yuan and Ming"〔T25 0437c15〕〔T25 0438c29〕〔T25 0441b13〕 and 「者言【大】，釋曰【石】」 tr. "'which says' in the Taishō; 'explanation' in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0437c15〕〔T25 0438c29〕〔T25 0441b13〕—at the two characters 「者言」 tr. "which says" that open the three sections Treatise ③, ④, and ⑥, the Yuan and Ming editions have the character 「論」 tr. "treatise" under the label, and the Ishiyama edition further changes 「者言」 tr. "which says" to 「釋曰」 tr. "explanation"; the three places each form their own note and are not marks of recursion. Further, 「【論】【大】，〔－〕【宋】【聖】」 tr. "'【論】 (treatise label)' in the Taishō; absent in the Song and Shōgozō"〔T25 0436a24〕 and 「【論】【大】，〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'【論】 (treatise label)' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T25 0440a22〕, differences in the presence or absence of the label—directly attesting the format of the openings of this chapter's Treatise explanations.

The two items in the passage on the five kinds of awakening. 「種【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'kinds' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace"〔T25 0438a03〕—in 「五種菩提」 tr. "five kinds of awakening", the 「種」 tr. "kinds" is absent in the four editions; 「明【大】，明心【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "'clarity' in the Taishō; 'clarity of mind' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace"〔T25 0438a06〕—「明菩提」 tr. "the awakening of illumination" reads 「明心」 tr. "clarity of mind" in the four editions, corresponding to the name 「明心」 tr. "clarity of mind" in Jizang's list (Section VI). A doctrinally sensitive passage, recorded side by side without judgement.

'Not' and 'no'. 「不【大】＊，無【宋】【元】【明】【宮】＊」 tr. "'not' in the Taishō (recurring); 'no' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace (recurring)"〔T25 0438c21〕 and 「不【大】，無【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'not' in the Taishō; 'no' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T25 0438c27〕〔T25 0438c28〕—in the passage on 「樂說不生法」 tr. "eloquence as an unarisen dharma", the wavering between 'not' and 'no'; the same passage of the sūtra explained itself also has a note of the same type; see the final paragraph of Section IV.

The character 'arising' · the character 'mixed'. 「生【大】＊，〔－〕【聖】＊」 tr. "'arising' in the Taishō (recurring); absent in the Shōgozō (recurring)"〔T25 0439b01〕—in the passage refuting by the four alternatives, the Shōgozō twice omits 「生」 tr. "arising"; 「雜【大】＊，離【宮】【聖】＊」 tr. "'mixed' in the Taishō (recurring); 'separate' in the Palace and Shōgozō (recurring)"〔T25 0440c18〕—the 「雜」 tr. "mixed" of the passage on the far path and the near path reads 「離」 tr. "separate" in both the Palace and the Shōgozō, recurring again at〔T25 0440c20〕; the difference between 'mixed' and 'separate' bears on the reason for judging the paths, and is recorded side by side without judgement.

'The path of awakening' · 'the bodhisattva path' · 'the bodhisattva practice'. 「菩提道【大】，菩薩道【宋】【元】【明】【聖】，菩薩行【宮】」 tr. "'the path of awakening' in the Taishō; 'the bodhisattva path' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Shōgozō; 'the bodhisattva practice' in the Palace"〔T25 0441a06〕—three readings set out together; in the same line there are two further notes—「菩薩【大】，行菩提【石】」 tr. "'bodhisattva' in the Taishō; 'practises awakening' in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0441a06〕 and 「道者救【大】，應若度【宮】」 tr. "'the path: it rescues' in the Taishō; 'should, if, carry across' in the Palace"〔T25 0441a06〕—a dense point of collation, a doctrinally sensitive passage; see the tenth item of Section IV.

'Make' and 'now'. 「令【大】，今【石】」 tr. "'make' in the Taishō; 'now' in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0441a11〕—together with the collation note of the sūtra explained it agrees pair by pair, forming a four-way crossing; see the eleventh item of Section IV.

'As you' · the character 'should'. 「如汝【大】，法【聖】，汝【宮】」 tr. "'as you' in the Taishō; 'dharma' in the Shōgozō; 'you' in the Palace"〔T25 0441a29〕 and 「當【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'should' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T25 0441b01〕—two notes in the passage where the Buddha praises Subhūti; the latter agrees pair by pair with the note of the sūtra explained, forming a four-way crossing; see the twelfth and thirteenth items of Section IV.

The dense cluster in the passage on the six ways of shaking. 「振【大】，震【明】【宮】【聖】【石】」 tr. "'shake' in the Taishō; 'quake' in the Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama"〔T25 0441b03〕, 「湧【大】＊，涌【宮】，踴【石】＊」 tr. "'surge' in the Taishō (recurring); 'surge' (variant graph) in the Palace; 'leap' (variant graph) in the Ishiyama (recurring)"〔T25 0441b03〕 (recurring five times through to〔T25 0441b04〕), 「笑【大】＊，咲【聖】＊」 tr. "'smile' in the Taishō (recurring); 'smile' (variant graph) in the Shōgozō (recurring)"〔T25 0441b05〕, 「世界【大】，世界中【石】」 tr. "'world' in the Taishō; 'in the world' in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0441b07〕, and 「那由他【大】，阿僧祇【宮】，阿由陀【聖】」 tr. "'nayuta' in the Taishō; 'asaṃkhyeya' in the Palace; 'ayuta' in the Shōgozō"〔T25 0441b10〕—five notes gathered together within the last eight lines of Sūtra ⑥, the passage of highest collation density in the whole chapter; the one note for 'surge' agrees fully four-way with the note for 「踊」 tr. "leap" in the sūtra explained; see the fifteenth item of Section IV.

Recent editorial correction (the only one in the whole ledger). 「北【CB】【麗-CB】，化【大】」 tr. "'north' in 【CB】 and 【麗-CB】; 'transform' in the Taishō"〔T25 0441b04〕—in 「北湧南沒」 tr. "surging up in the north and sinking in the south", the 「北」 tr. "north" was originally written 「化」 tr. "transform" in the Taishō, and the recent revision, on the basis of the second carving of the Korean canon (K14n0549), corrects the reading to 「北」 tr. "north". This item is not of the type of a variant reading among the traditional editions but belongs to a layer of present-day editing, different in nature from the remaining items of the whole ledger; it is recorded as it is, in a layer of its own.

Nayuta. 「那【大】，阿【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'na' in the Taishō; 'a' in the Palace and Shōgozō"〔T25 0442a24〕 and 「陀【大】，他【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】」 tr. "'tuo' (one graph) in the Taishō; 'tuo' (another graph) in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Ishiyama"〔T25 0442a24〕—the discrepancy of characters between Treatise ⑥'s 「十二那由陀天人」 tr. "twelve nayuta of gods and humans" and Sūtra ⑥'s 「十二那由他諸天人」 tr. "twelve nayuta of gods and humans"〔T25 0441b10〕, with the editions each further wavering among nayuta, ayuta, and asaṃkhyeya: a fluidity of transliteration, recorded side by side without judgement.

'Mi, because'. 「蜜【大】，蜜故【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】【石】」 tr. "'mi' in the Taishō; 'mi, because' in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, Shōgozō, and Ishiyama"〔T25 0442b03〕—in the final sentence of the whole chapter, 「所謂般若波羅蜜」 tr. "namely prajñāpāramitā", the six editions agree in having the character 「故」 tr. "because", and the Taishō alone lacks it: a one-character difference at the closing stroke, recorded for attention.

The two items for the end-of-fascicle title and the chapter number. 「（大智度論…三）九字【大】，（大智度經論卷第五十三，釋第二十五品）十六字【聖】，（釋第二十五品竟，大智度經論卷第五十五）十七字【石】」 tr. "'(Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa … three), nine characters' in the Taishō; '(Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa Sūtra-Treatise, Fascicle Fifty-three, Commentary on the Twenty-fifth Chapter), sixteen characters' in the Shōgozō; '(Commentary on the Twenty-fifth Chapter ended, Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa Sūtra-Treatise, Fascicle Fifty-five), seventeen characters' in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0442b04〕 and 「三【大】，三釋第二十五【宋】，三釋第二十六竟【元】」 tr. "'three' in the Taishō; 'three, Commentary on the Twenty-fifth' in the Song; 'three, Commentary on the Twenty-sixth ended' in the Yuan"〔T25 0442b04〕—the Ishiyama edition's fascicle number 「五十五」 tr. "fifty-five" is two more than the Taishō's 「五十三」 tr. "fifty-three", matching the item for the chapter-and-fascicle title; the shift of the Ishiyama fascicle numbers was already recorded as the same type in the preceding chapter, and the difference is stable, not a widening drift; the three editions Shōgozō, Ishiyama, and Song all give the chapter number as 「第二十五」 tr. "the Twenty-fifth", and only the Yuan edition gives 「第二十六」 tr. "the Twenty-sixth", the same as the Taishō. The traces of the chapter number going off track are consistent from head to tail.